Product Launch: Lessons Learned, Key Insights, and Next Steps

Introduction

I launched my first digital product, and it didn’t go as expected.

The interest wasn’t as high as I had hoped. Nevertheless, I made a few takeaways from the process that taught me a few things. Insights that might be helpful for you, if you’re considering launching a digital product of your own.

Here are three insights I gained and the next steps I need to take after launching my course.

The 5 steps I followed to create my course

I launched a video course teaching the basics of starting your first newsletter.

Creating a video course for the first time is challenging. Beyond researching the content, there are numerous steps to master before launching your course.

Here are the 5 steps I followed to set up my video course:

1. Step #1: Outline the curriculum

2. Step #2: Create the slideshow presentation

3. Step #3: Shoot videos of yourself presenting the curriculum

4. Step #4: Setup course lessons on a platform like Gumroad

5. Step #5: Promote your course on social media or through paid advertisement

Now, I’ll share 3 key takeaways from the launch.

3 takeaways from launching a digital course

Takeaway 1: No one is more excited than yourself

Before the launch, my heart was beating rapidly with anticipation of the hundreds of people about to enter my course.

Spoiler alert: That didn’t happen.

I realized I was more excited about the launch than anyone else. I hadn’t built up enough hype or awareness about the product. Not enough people knew about the product or knew it was gonna drop.

Reframing this problem, it’s an opportunity to now talk about my product and let people know it exists.

With time, the product might be successful or at least the process is gonna teach me a lot.

Takeaway 2: 2.2% of my followers were initially interested

During the first week, 10 people signed up for my course.

With over 500 people across my social channels, that’s 2.2% of my followers who showed interest in my product. When I compare this to the people I admire on social media, whose followers are above 500,000, 2.2% translates to 11,000 people.

That’s a promising metric.

Takeaway 3: I have a lot to learn about promotion

I had a clear strategy for my product launch:

1. Tease the launch in my newsletter 7 days ahead

2. Release exclusively for newsletter readers (valid for 7 days)

3. Release the next day on social media as a free giveaway (valid for 72 hours)

4. Remind followers of the giveaway and its features (48 hours left)

5. Final reminder sharing what they’ll miss without it (24 hours left)

Now, the Newsletter Blueprint is on sale at 29$ (Get 10% off by using the link at the bottom of the newsletter).

My 3 next steps to promote the Newsletter Blueprint

Step 1: Setup an email capture system

I’ve struggled to set up an email capture system with the free plan on Beehiiv.

That’s why I plan to soon change the aggregator of this newsletter. I’m moving to ConvertKit. I’m not sure when this is going to happen.

All I know is that it’s going to happen soon.

ConvertKit is both free for what I need to do and it’s very easy to set up landing pages and create giveaways.

Step 2: Giveaway bonus material for free

Some of the bonus material from the course I’m going to give away for free on social media.

This will show my expertise and provide free value to my followers. Attracting more followers on social media and driving more traffic towards my newsletter and the Newsletter Blueprint.

Step 3: Write an ultimate guide

My biggest task is to write an ultimate guide.

It has to be of some length and be a very clear and easy guide on how to write a newsletter in the most time-efficient way. This will be a stable giveaway on social media as well as in this newsletter.

Conclusion

Launching my first digital product was filled with more challenges than I had imagined. Here are the key takeaways and action steps to remember

Key Insights:

• Excitement: You might be the most excited about your product. Therefore you must build anticipation and awareness to make your audience match your enthusiasm.

• Engagement Rate: A 2.2% engagement rate from your followers is a solid starting point. It’s about reaching and connecting with the right audience.

• Promotion: Having a clear, strategic launch plan can make a significant difference.

Action Steps:

• Create an email capture system: Transition to a reliable email marketing platform like ConvertKit to streamline my subscriber management and improve engagement.

• Create free Giveaways: Share valuable content from my course on social media to attract more followers and drive traffic toward my main offerings.

• Create an ultimate guide: Create a comprehensive, time-efficient guide to serve as a stable resource for my audience, reinforcing my expertise and providing lasting value.

These insights and steps are not only applicable to launching your first digital product.

You can also use them to impact aspects of your marketing and audience engagement needs.

Every launch is a learning opportunity.

Thank you for being part of the journey.

Talk to you next Monday.