The Truth Behind Failed Program Launches
Most entrepreneurs don’t realize this, but marketing your program starts with creating your program.
I’ve worked with over 5,000 clients, and the most common struggle people come to me with is low program sales or flopped launches.
Sometimes (and this is the heartbreaking part) people give up because they think marketing is too hard! Or they just put it on the back burner because they can’t figure out how to sell online more effectively.
I’ve seen entrepreneurs try dozens of random strategies to get better results, complex funnels, costly ads, time consuming 1-1 sales, anything to fill their program.
And after all this hustling, the numbers still aren’t where they need to be. If you can’t fill your programs, your profits suffer and too-small groups can lack engagement and energy.
Most of the time the real problem is the root cause, the way the program is positioned and packaged.
You need to design your program for sales success from the beginning. That’s what I call creating your Irresistible Offer.
I learned how to do this with my very first offer. Actually, this earned my first sales in business – ever! I was brand new to online marketing, so I had to start with something I had credibility in.
I used to work as an investigative journalist, writing hundreds of articles and front page stories that got seen by hundreds of thousands of people.
I had definitely proven my expertise in writing articles, so I could teach that in my first course. But who was going to pay for this and why?
Well my market sort of found me. Or I asked the right questions and listened to what people wanted. Notice I said wanted (not needed).
Too often, experts see what people need and try to sell them that.
But they miss understanding what people want, and they wonder why they can’t get enough enrollments.
Sell people what they want and then give them what they need when they’re in. To do this well, you need to hear what people want, in their own words. Don’t assume, ASK.
So I discovered that entrepreneurs wanted help with finding effective marketing messages to grow online, and they were very interested in learning how to write client-attracting articles for their email newsletters. This was back in 2007 when those were more widely used.
I designed a mock-up of my offer with a homemade cover inside a binder. It was the “E-Zine Articles Made Easy” course with quick article writing templates that made attracting more clients online a breeze.
Remember this was my FIRST offer ever and my first time selling anything in my business (I had no previous business experience). I had the opportunity to make a pre-sell presentation in a seminar group of about 40 entrepreneurs.
I had 60 seconds to describe my course and show the mock-up cover design. I offered it for a discounted price of just $97 for people willing to buy it before it was created.
I went up on stage, confidently made my offer, and watched as 16 people threw their money at me. There was such a scurry to pre-buy my course, I was wide-eyed with surprise!
Wow, I had earned just about $1600 in 60 seconds.
I was amazed at how quickly the money came in and more importantly, how awesome it felt to have clients wanting my offer.
Now I had a deadline to deliver my course! And the $1600 was a nice seed investment to get things started. This was the very beginning of my business in mid-2007, and I’ve never looked back.
The 16 clients who got my course loved it and many wanted more from me. I then created a copywriting coaching program for crafting sales pages.
That program easily attracted entrepreneurs wanting to sell their own courses online.
I stood out because I was a woman in a male-dominated marketing world. I taught copywriting with an authentic, caring voice that didn’t rely on “hype” to get noticed.
But great copywriting is so much more than the words in your headlines.
Before writing you have to begin with positioning: focusing your offer in the right direction, to reach the right people and align with your unique expertise in the right way.
When I developed my Irresistible Offer Positioning system my clients started getting significantly bigger results, to the tune of 6 and 7 figure growth.
And so I expanded to teaching program and offer creation along with copywriting. They had to go to together, because the most effective sales strategy starts with the offer positioning.
Then it continues with the way the program is structured and how each section is named.
When you have these building blocks in place, the rest of your copy flows more easily. You get the captivating emails and web pages that transform people from interested to invested.
All of a sudden, your marketing machine WORKS for you, filling your program 24-7, while you work less (and worry less).
I remember one of my biggest early launches in 2012, I filled my online program with over 300 people! It happened so fast and everything was automated. It was SO fun to see those online sales rolling in.
That was one of my first “online sales rush” experiences for a course called The List Building Booty-Camp. When I created that offer, I tapped into the hunger for list building to make filling your programs faster and easier – and people loved it.
The momentum of this launch fed other launches, and that year my business began earning over 7-figures. You see, when you strike gold with an irresistible offer that gets a big response, AND you deliver great value in your program, the clients want to continue with you.
Then you listen to what they want next and make them another offer. Now your business is growing like a snowball. Your income increases with even less work required to fill your programs.
Oh and remember, happy clients help you fill your programs. They refer friends and keep coming back for more.
While it’s critical to have irresistible offers, it’s just as essential to deliver amazing value. I always aim to under-promise and overdeliver.
Want the proven strategy to make your program offers so irresistible, they sell themselves?
Come to The Irresistible Offer Virtual Retreat, happening soon!
