Another perfect summer night for a concert In the park.
I dangled my hand out the window as we drove down the car-lined road until the music's murmur was lost down the hill behind us.
“We missed another one,” Kyle said.
It was almost comical at this point Reader.
It's been two summers since we moved to the small town we now call home (crazy).
Two summers of seeing the banner for the summer concert series in the park, taking a picture of it so we wouldn’t forget. And even getting excited about some of the acts.
What a nice night it could be.
Walking down to the park from our house with a blanket & a bottle of wine (I prefer a nice dry cab).
Sitting amongst the retirees and young families - and listening to some music.
We really loved the idea of this being our Wednesday night.
But here we were again, driving past the concert and running to Rite Aid instead..
Every year, we say we go to concerts in the park.
Yet, every Wednesday, we forget.
There is an errand to run.
Something else to to.
And we end up driving past the concert and having an “oh shit, we forgot again” moment.
The same thing is happening when it comes to promoting your offers.
Oftentimes - it’s more about timing and less about what you are selling.
It’s not that people don’t want it or that it isn’t a good offer.
It’s usually about the timing.
Yet there are brands out there with successful launches, timing them right, and getting new people in the door.
So, what’s their secret? How do they get their audience to pay attention and show up instead? How do they get the timing right?
That’s exactly what we are talking about in this week's newsletter.
Keep Reading For Newsletter Highlights
- How to make a solo splash during sales szn
- Building a brand that sells itself
- The most valuable thing you can do before the end of the year - re: your brand
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Building a brand that sells itself
Simple Sales & Launch Strategies for q4 sales szn
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Time is both the bff and the worst enemy of your sales cycle. There is a lot to consider when it comes to time. Starting now - you want to give yourself enough time to sell. One thing I have noticed a major shift in within the last couple of years is the length of people's pre-launch periods. Remember the course launch I mentioned?
One of the fundamental things that prevented the launch's success was the prelaunch period. The sooner you start talking about something, testing ideas, messaging, and getting beta testers, the better.
Sooner rather than later, start mentioning the offer or launch you are working on. Talk to your audience about it and get their input, even when it is just an idea.
Create a waitlist & open that shit up way in advance.
The days of the 7-day open cart are over.
People need to be reminded about what you offer more often than you think.
Just because you see an established brand in your space launching something overnight that seems like an overnight success doesn’t mean it is.
The brands having big launches have either:
A. Been talking about that offer for a long time and priming their audience in advance
B. Launched that offer before
C. Probably both ↑
The closer we get to the Holidays, the more time you need to allocate to your announcements and launch periods.
But it’s not just how much time you give your launch—its effectiveness will also depend on what your audience’s time looks like.
How busy is your audience when you launch? What do they really need at this point in their year/life? It might not be that they aren’t interested—it just might not be the right time.
This is where audience listening, testing, and launching offers more than once can be helpful. Just because they didn’t pull the trigger doesn’t mean they weren’t listening.
They might just:
- Be really busy right now
- Not have the budget (but would love to save up for what you have)
- They have a couple of other offers or courses they are working through
- Or all of the above.
New on the blog, Learn how to make more sales from your next offer launch even if, you are a small brand, still testing, or have a cold audience.
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BEHIND THE BETA LAUNCH
What I learned from last week's Beta Launch
Writing this newsletter and blog about selling with your brand and making a splash during sales season was a great way to reflect on my recent launch—what worked, what could have been different, and what I learned.
This was the first time I've launched a beta offer. Midway through figuring out my Instagram strategy, I was also creating content for it, so I mostly used email.
The wins in my book:
I wrote more emails for this launch than ever before. Although my overall open rates have dipped slightly with the increase in emails, I'm really happy with the content I put out and the emails I wrote.
My business coach challenged me to send invites for this offer, which definitely felt out of my comfort zone, but I'm glad I did. While plenty of people didn't respond and I got a handful of "no's," it was a great way to get feedback on the offer and gather leads to follow up with for the next launch.
What I could have done better:
I could have promoted the beta offer more on my stories. I was really happy with the copy on the HoneyBook sales page I created, but it wasn't until Friday that I thought I would share some of it in my stories.
I struggle with naming my offers. A fun name could have made this offer feel more desirable or helped it break through the online noise and grab people's attention. I was calling it a "12-week 1:1 Brand Mentorship program,"—which is precisely what it is—but it's a bit of a mouthful. I want to come up with more creative names moving forward.
I also realized I never really created a hook for this offer. I wanted to keep it a little open-ended and personalized, but a hook combined with a more creative name would have been more engaging for my audience.
When it comes to audience listening...
I don't really count this as a win or loss but more as an observation. The audience this offer was designed for shifted between spring (when it was first ideated) and late summer (when I launched it). I also took a month off work and created content for Instagram, which cooled my audience down. As I listened to the audience during the launch, I realized that the segment of my audience this offer is created for is looking to invest in something smaller right now (see more about this in the blog post).
Although the payment plans for this offer were fair and competitive, they were still a little more than someone who's a good fit for this offer wanted to pay right now. They might have been able to pay it in the spring, but the tides have shifted, and so has how people buy.
I'm planning on launching this offer fully in the new year, and these observations are informing some of the changes I'm considering making and how I'll market it next time around.
That's why I think testing your offers and messaging will be one of your brand's most valuable learning experiences as we round out 2024 and move into 2025.
If you are interested in being the first to know about updates to the Brand Mentorship program and when it will be open for registration again. Click the link below to join the waitlist!
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on the blog
Building A Brand That Sells Itself:
Sales & Launch Tactics for Small Brands
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Here’s how I can help you create brand-specific strategies to help you sell:
>>Book a 60-minute Strategy Session: This is a personalized one-on-one consultation to explore your brand, audience, and launch goals. We’ll then work together to develop tailored strategies and actionable steps to increase sales.
>> Design your Brand with Cedar June: Build a brand that feels authentic to you with 1:1 help from yours truly :) Together, we can design a brand strategy, identity, and/or website that aligns with your brand's long-term vision & short-term goals.
