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Last week, I shared my product launch strategy for Magnetic Emails. You can read part one here. Today, I’ll share the results and five lessons. Launch breakdownAs explained in last week’s email, I split my launch over two periods using the Open-Close-Refine-Relaunch technique. This gives urgency, scarcity, and allows you to work closely with first-round customers. The first launch was in September. The last was this month. September’s results: Total number of customers: 215 Revenue collected: $99,604 Revenue owed: $17,769 Revenue owed stems from a 3-month payment plan option. November was a little quieter: Total number of customers: 56 Revenue collected: $27,331 Revenue owed: $7,400 This means total revenue figures were $152,104—with 74% from the original launch. With refunds and failed payments it’s reasonable to say $140-145k. I paid for two newsletter ads so the profit margins are excellent. I’d expected November to be a little better. However, $27k is still a great win. Let’s unpack 5 lessons from the launch—starting with a derp on my behalf. 1. I forgot the electionIn hindsight, launching during the most important election of modern times was not my smartest move. 80% of my customers are American—and people don’t buy when fearful and uncertain. What’s more, the timeline was flooded with politics. Which made promotion next-to-impossible. Lesson learned: just because you don’t watch the news, it doesn’t mean it won’t affect you. Blissful ignorance is useful until it bites you on the arse. But I hate blaming external circumstances. Truth is, I screwed up a couple of things. 2. Two months is too soonMy previous relaunches were 4-month intervals. But I tested a 2-month window this time—which was too soon. The first issue was marketing fatigue. I sent 39 emails for September’s launch (including the build-up). A 4-month break would give me time to rest. Instead, I started writing November’s launch emails almost immediately. This meant I was less excited to write—and had no time for premarketing. Enterpreneurs bang on about speed being everything. But sometimes, it pays to go slow. You get more potential customers and social proof to persuade those on the fence from round 1. In the future, I’ll stick to 3-6 month windows. But I’m glad I tested things. You can’t optimize results without brushing up with the occasional obstacle. I also experimented with a new strategy. 3. Simplicity beats complexitySeptember’s launch was ‘private’— only for my email list. This was to increase exclusivity. But it complicated my marketing. Plus, social media is a useful pillar of promotion. For example, when I launched High Impact Writing, I built a flywheel asking customers to share their purchase on their timeline—helping with promotion. Next time, I’ll stick to using social in tandem with email. This will help ‘standardise’ the process, reduce risk (there was no election in September!), and tap into the biggest potential impact from day one. Another note on simplicity: 4. Short beats longTo become more high-leverage, I put my emails on my personal website. As I uploaded and edited the launch material, I noticed the second round’s emails were longer by several hundred words. Probably because I was itching for longer form content. Length can be good for depth—for example, with breakdown emails like this one. But for sales emails, less is more. The sweet spot is around 350-500 words. This is enough time to shift beliefs and win the click, but not so much that you lose your reader. On a more positive tone: 5. A long-term lens removes short-term problemsAside from the initial few hours of disappointment when I realised my relaunch wouldn’t be a smash hit, I was happy with the result. Why? Two reasons. First, perspective. It took me 18 months to make my first dollar. That was 31 months ago. I never expected such a catapult of results. But you’re most at risk of complacency after big wins. This was a good reminder to look backwards with pride but ahead with a critical eye. Second, I’m excited for the bigger picture. Sure, those 5 days weren’t my best. But this launch was just a small scene in a much longer movie. I now have:
Plus 7 bonus trainings. And I began working on my next project a month ago—which should wrap up early next summer. I’m also fleshing out automations using systems, software, and email sequences to make my business more high-leverage. I’m not the fastest entrepreneur. But it’s exciting to see things click together due to consistency. Most importantly, it’s exciting to share the journey with you. My best advice is to consider the life and business you want, then give yourself 3-5 years to pull it off. There’ll be bumps along the way. But if you stay focused, avoid ruin, and keep the ship steering in the right direction, you’ll get what you want. This seems like a good tone to finish on. Hope this helps, Kieran |
On a mission to become a better writer, thinker, and entrepreneur • Ex-dentist, now building an internet business (at ~$500k/year)
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