When you’re launching your online course or program for the first time it is extremely important that you allocate plenty of time to planning and executing your launch in order to avoid burnout.
Launching something for the first time is like having your first baby, meaning that pretty much everything is new to you, even if you are not new to the growth strategy of launching. That’s because when you create a new course or program you also need to create a number of assets that go along with the launch. Think lead magnet, graphics, launch emails, sales page, course or program content, etc.
A big mistake that I see many online entrepreneurs do is not allocate enough time to planning and executing their launch. And when they don’t, one of these four things usually happens:
- They get overwhelmed, stressed out and most likely burned out because things take longer than they think.
How many times have you told yourself that ‘x task’ is going to take you 15 minutes and it ends up taking 30 minutes? You’ve not done it before, so of course it is going to take you longer than expected.
Now, when you take this and think about your launch, can you see why you need to allocate plenty of time for the preparation? Otherwise it’s a sure path to disappointment and stress.
2. Life happens
I have worked with clients who got ill just before or during the main launch event. Or they had family members getting ill.
Life can happen and planning in advance as well as getting the right support means that you will be able to navigate what life throws at you with a lot more ease than if you didn’t.
When my client got ill, and then her daughter, I stepped in to provide more support to her team so that they could continue implementing the launch plan while my client was recovering.
If we hadn’t started planning and implementing in advance, this client would have been in big trouble. She keeps calling me a “God send…an angel”. While I may not be an angel, I am definitely a launch strategist that cares deeply about my clients and their clients.
And you know what else ‘tends’ to go wrong during a launch? TECH!
Your laptop may stop working.
You have internet issues.
Your Facebook ads don’t go live when they should.
Tech is a big one too. See why giving yourself plenty of time allows you to deal with tech issues and not panic that you are running out of time?
3. Resistance
Resistance is somewhat related to the point I made above because what life throws at us is a reflection of our resistance.
What I have seen many clients do when they experience resistance is procrastinate or get distracted by shiny objects. Have you experienced any one of these? I know I have. I think every entrepreneur has at some point in their life.
So, again, giving ourselves plenty of time to plan and execute means that we can allow ourselves time to practise self-awareness and manage any blocks or limiting beliefs that arise.
4. Mistakes and/or delays
What happens when we are under pressure to do something new and fast?
Mistakes happen!
Sometimes delays happen.
Some people work really well under pressure. But when things go wrong, like the ones I listed above, and you have a launch deadline to meet because you have told your people that on X date you are opening registration, what do you do? You work way more and sleep way less. And when you do that mistakes are more likely to happen (typos, graphics not aligned, questionable quality of copy?).
In the worst case scenario, you may get so tired and overwhelmed that you have to delay the main launch event. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not going to impact your confidence in a positive way.
Bottom line is this: allow at least 90 days to plan and execute your launch. The more the better, particularly when you are launching something for the first time.
To your launch success!
Hey Ya!
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