Whether you’re planning a new launch or just want to freshen up your existing funnels, these 3 launch emails are a must-have.
I don’t know what it is but when the seasons change, people are ready for a fresh start and that usually means they are going to buy something to help them with their new goals. Smart marketers tap into that energy by launching new products and programs.
If you want your emails to stand out in the flood of launch emails landing in your audience’s inbox this year, now is the time to go ahead and get your email marketing strategy planned out so you’ll be sure to have a successful launch.
What exactly is a launch?
A launch is when you’re offering a program, product, or service for a limited time. There is a specific window of time where your buyers can buy and once that time has run out, it’s too late.
When you’re launching something, it usually is either a brand new product or program, an offer that isn’t available all of the time, or you’re offering one of your existing products at a promotional price.
What are launch emails?
Launch emails are the emails you send out when you are promoting a program or product. While you can definitely launch any time of the year, typically the Spring & Fall are the most popular (and lucrative) times of the year for launching.
When launching you typically have anywhere from 4-8 emails that address objections, show client success stories, have all the details about what they get when they buy, and reminders that their time is running out.
Your launch email sequence can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. If this is your first launch or you are new to writing emails, you might want to start with 3 or 4. You can always add more emails the next time you launch.
The most important thing is to have a strategy in place when planning your launch emails.
When you don’t have a real strategy in place, it’s easy to just throw in some testimonials, remind people that your cart is closing and hope for the best. The problem is that while testimonials are amazing and “cart close” emails are great, they aren’t going to ultimately convince someone who is on the fence to buy from you.
So if you’re looking for something else to say other than “Sally loved it and you will too” let’s dive into the 3 emails that you are going to want to have for a successful launch.
The 3 Must-Have Launch Emails
Email 1: The FAQ Email
The FAQ email is more than just “Where can I buy?” or “How much is it?”. You’re going to go deeper and get to the real questions your readers have that they don’t really talk about.
What it really boils down to is you want to answer the critical question which is “Will this work for me?”.
What I love about the FAQ launch email is that you can basically borrow everything straight from your sales page. If you’ve addressed their deepest fears, their secret desires, and all of the “yea, buts” in your sales page copy, most of your work is done.
Where I see a lot of people get this wrong, including students of Love Your List, is they start with what I call ‘red-hot buyer’ questions like, “Is there a payment plan?” or “How do I get access to my purchase?”.
Anyone who is asking those questions has basically already decided to buy and they just want to know how to get started. Your FAQ email goes a lot deeper than that.
Start With Core Objections
If somebody is looking at the FAQ on your sales page, chances are they’re still either not sure that you can deliver on your promise or they don’t believe they can actually succeed.
Basically they don’t believe in you OR they don’t believe in themselves.
Brainstorm some of the core objections your audience may have and take some time to answer a few of these questions:
- What makes my product/program/service different?
- What do they think is holding them back?
- What’s really holding them back?
- What comes up for them around time?
- What comes up around money?
- Do they think they will fail?
- What happens if they do fail?
- What would make them sure that you can help them?
- What would make them confident that they can finally succeed?
I love writing the Frequently Asked Questions launch email. It helps me get into the mindset of my buyer and helps me create even better programs that address my audience’s fears, hopes, and desires.
Planning a new launch or maybe freshening up your existing funnels, here are some MUST have launch emailsYou can literally start out by just saying “Hey guys. A lot of people have been asking me about (major fear or stumbling block)…”
Usually, the first question you want to address is going to be the “what makes this product/program/course different?” question. Then you can follow with some of the obstacles they face, time, money, and anything else that comes up for your people.
Of course, you also want to address the surface-level questions like what happens after they buy but the real magic of the FAQ launch email is when you answer the questions that they are too afraid to ask. I go into this in much more detail in the “5-Figure Funnel” bonus module of Love Your List.
Pro tip: if you are getting a lot of questions during a launch that aren’t on your sales page, make sure you add them to your sales page and your FAQ email.
Email 2: The Sneak Peek
The second must-send launch email is your “sneak peek” email. This email gives them a free preview of what you’re selling and makes them hungry for more.
In the sneak peek email entice them with a free mini-lesson from your course, a chapter of your e-book, or a couple of pages from a workbook. It’s basically a teaser to get them excited about what they get when they hit the buy button.
If you are launching a coaching program, you might share a recording from a coaching session where one of your students had a major breakthrough (with their permission, of course). You wouldn’t want to share an entire 60-minute coaching session, just the 5 or 10 minutes that show that you get results for your people.
Your sneak peek launch email should give them something tangible that they can walk away with that they could technically keep using without investing in your course.
For example, with Podia, I could have a preview lesson of Love Your List and give people access to it as a sneak peek. Then, below the free lesson, I would show what the next lesson would be if they went ahead and signed up for the course.
You can also use Loom to create sneak peek videos where you’re talking them through everything they get or a behind-the-scenes type of sneak peek.
A lot of times course creators will record a video for the sales page that walks people through the member’s area. Those are usually polished up and perfected and, as a result, don’t feel as personal as a Loom video. A Loom video feels more like a friend showing you how things work. By making it feel more personal, it’s going to help convince your people who are on the fence.
The main purpose of the sneak peek launch email is to let your person feel what it will be like on the other side of the buy button. It’s no different than the salesperson at the department store getting you to try on that pair of jeans or test driving a car at the car lot. Once they get a taste of what you have to offer, if they love it they will buy it.
Email #3: The Badge of Honor
The last must-have launch email is probably going to be the most difficult for most people to write. If you nail this one, it’s going to be the game-changer in your email marketing toolbox.
What is the ‘badge of honor’ email? Your badge of honor launch email is when you let your people know that you understand exactly how it feels to fail and then you call out your competition for the shortcomings in their program or product.
I know this may come as a shocker but you’re not the only person your list has been listening to when it comes to advice on productivity, growing their Instagram or scrapbooking with Critic.
You know that they have tried and failed at this before. They’ve already watched YouTube videos, listened to podcasts, and downloaded more freebies than they can count. And they are still stuck.
Take those failures and find a “moment” that you can talk about in your badge of honor launch email.
The short version is you’re sharing a moment that defines what it feels like to fail. Then, in your badge of honor email, you want to prove to them how failing is ultimately the shortcut to the success that they desperately want. Make them feel good about the fact that they are trying. Let them understand that you get it, you’ve been there.
I am so happy when someone comes to me and they say that they have 20 people on their email list because it means that they’re brave enough to get started. They’re brave enough to allow people into their world and that they really want to succeed. And the only reason why they didn’t succeed before is because most of the information out there is a hodgepodge of hot garbage.
This is your make or break email. This is the email that will get you fans and buyers for life.
The badges of honor are going to be different for every niche and every email list so there’s no formula I can share with you. Just think about the products, courses, or programs they have tried and failed at and how that feels for them.
You don’t want to call out your competition directly by name. Don’t be like that. What you do want to do is let them know why that program (or video or book or whatever it is) didn’t work for them and why it’s not their fault.
Honestly, when it comes down to it, I don’t really believe in competition. Sure there are other people who teach email marketing but we aren’t really competitors because we’re so different. The same thing goes for you and your offer.
Maybe the other people in your space are straight-laced and reserved and in contrast, you’re more outgoing and excited. Or maybe the other programs out there are full of hour-long video trainings and you’ve kept everything under 20 minutes so busy moms can fit it into their schedule. That’s what you want to call out.
By crafting your badge of honor email to combine a “moment” along with how that relates to your solution solving the reason they’ve failed all the other times before, you’re letting them know that your program is what they’ve been looking for all along.
In short, the badge of honor email is all about them. About how you understand them more than anyone else out there and you’ve got exactly what they need to overcome their struggles.
Since the badge of honor email packs such a punch, you want to use this email either at the beginning of your launch series or towards the end. During any launch the emails in the middle of your launch sequence don’t typically have as good of an open rate as the first and last ones. Again, this is your make or break launch email so you want to make sure they read it.
A Few Extra Tips for Your Launch Emails
Always sprinkle in some social proof, testimonials, screenshots, and success stories throughout all of your launch emails. While you can definitely have an email that’s just student highlights in your launch email sequence, try to include some aspect of proof in every single email you send during your launch.
In addition to the 3 must-have launch emails, you also want to have a last-chance email that goes out an hour or two before your cart closes.
This is where software like Deadline Funnel or Motion Mail really come in handy to emphasize that they only have a limited time to get in on your program.
Keep in mind that time zones can be confusing for a lot of people (including me). So even though you let everyone know that they only have until midnight EST, sending that last chance email will help you get last-minute sales you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
Recap
To recap, the 3 must-have launch emails are:
- The FAQ email
- The sneak peek
- The badge of honor
Remember not to start your FAQ email out with something like “how much is it?”. Those are your bottom questions. Start that email out by answering one of their biggest fears or what makes your program different from everything else out there
For your sneak peek, actually give them something they can use. You want to give them a tiny snippet from your course or a couple of pages from your e-book. The goal is to make them hungry for more.
The badge of honor email lets them know that you get them and that their struggle is not only valid but honorable. You want to make them feel like a badass for even trying. You’re letting them know that their failures are not their fault and you’ve got the solution they’ve been searching for. You know that because you 100% get them.
The good news is that your launch emails can be recycled for future launches.
The structure will pretty much stay the same so all you have to do is change out the product names and tweak the emails to reflect the new product that you’re launching.
You’re doing a great job! Let’s keep going…
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