the beginner's guide to launching & selling products in 2024 (my 10k launch strategy)

Summary

In this video, the creator shares insights from a successful product launch that generated substantial revenue, offering a step-by-step strategy to validate product ideas, prepare for launch, and effectively market the product. They emphasize the importance of consistent communication about the product and highlight the use of Cartra, a marketing platform, to facilitate the process. The video serves as a guide for artists and entrepreneurs looking to replicate this success with their own products.

Takeaways

• 🎯 The importance of validating your product idea before launching to ensure there is actual demand and interest from the target audience.
• 🔍 Three ways to validate a product idea: examining the popularity of similar products, polling the audience for their needs and pain points, and offering the product for free to a small group for feedback.
• 🛠️ The necessity of having a clear and compelling sales page that answers what the product is, who it's for, and why it's worth buying.
• 📝 The value of persuasive writing in crafting a sales page and how it can help in creating an effective elevator pitch for marketing purposes.
• 🎨 For creators of physical products, the suggestion to include storytelling elements such as a video discussing inspirations and the creative process to connect with potential buyers.
• 📈 The significance of consistent and frequent marketing of the product to achieve sales, emphasizing that one-time promotion is not enough.
• 🗓️ The strategy of launching a product with a series of marketing efforts over time, rather than a single push, to maximize reach and interest.
• 💌 The recommendation to prioritize and reward the most engaged community first during the launch, such as through a Discord announcement and exclusive discount.
• 📐 The suggestion to use tools like Cartra for creating sales pages, managing payments, and automating sales funnels, which can significantly aid in the launch process.
• 📊 The insight that even after a product launch, consistent promotion is key to maintaining sales, and that creators should not expect immediate or one-time results.
• 🔄 The idea that creators should be willing to relaunch, iterate, and continuously improve their product, and use this as an opportunity for further promotion.

Q & A

What was the total revenue generated from the recent product launch mentioned in the video?

The product launch generated over $10,000 in revenue for the business.

How much was made in direct product sales from the launch?

Direct product sales amounted to $88,000.

What was the source of the additional $2,000 revenue mentioned?

The additional $2,000 came from new brand deals and mentorship clients acquired since the launch.

What is the importance of validating a product idea before launching according to the video?

Validating a product idea ensures that it is something people want and are willing to buy, making the effort to design, create, and launch it worthwhile.

What are the three ways to validate a product idea as discussed in the video?

The three ways to validate a product idea are: 1) looking at the popularity of similar existing products, 2) asking the audience directly, and 3) offering the product to a small group for free in exchange for feedback.

Why is it suggested not to make financial decisions based on poll results for physical products?

Poll respondents and actual buyers can be two separate groups, so making financial decisions based on poll results can be risky and not representative of actual sales.

What is the purpose of creating a sales page for a product?

A sales page provides all the information anyone could want about a product, answering questions and convincing potential buyers that it's worth purchasing.

What are the three key questions a sales page should ideally answer according to the video?

The three key questions a sales page should answer are: 1) What is the product at its core, 2) Who is it for, and 3) Why should they buy it.

What is the role of storytelling in marketing a product as suggested in the video?

Storytelling adds a personal component to the marketing, making it more engaging and relatable, which can be advantageous in selling products.

What is Cartra and how did it support the video creator's product launch?

Cartra is an all-in-one marketing platform that the creator used to create sales pages, host the live virtual workshop, and manage email marketing during the product launch.

What is the recommended strategy for marketing a product post-launch according to the video?

The recommended strategy is to consistently talk about the product in various content forms, such as emails, social media posts, and videos, to maintain sales momentum.

What is the significance of mentioning the product in multiple pieces of content post-launch?

Mentioning the product in multiple pieces of content helps to reach a wider audience and maintain interest, leading to continued sales even after the initial launch.

Why is it important to talk about the product consistently even if it might annoy some people?

Consistent communication about the product ensures that all potential interested buyers are reached, as not everyone may see the initial launch announcement, and it can lead to more sales.

What is the creator's view on the effectiveness of Instagram as a marketing platform for this particular launch?

The creator found Instagram marketing to be ineffective for this launch, suggesting it was a waste of time and money.

What does the creator suggest as an alternative to Instagram for marketing purposes?

The creator suggests focusing on platforms like Discord, email lists, and YouTube, which were more effective for their audience.

How does the creator feel about the importance of post-launch marketing efforts?

The creator emphasizes the importance of post-launch marketing, stating that it's crucial for consistent sales and reaching all potential interested buyers.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Product Launch Success and Strategy Sharing

The speaker begins by sharing the success of their recent product launch, which generated significant revenue through direct sales and new brand deals. They express gratitude to Cartra for sponsoring the video and emphasize the importance of validating a product idea before launch. The speaker suggests three methods for validation: examining the popularity of similar products, polling the audience for interest, and offering the product for free to a small group for feedback. They acknowledge that it's normal for initial launches to face challenges and encourage learning from these experiences to improve future attempts.

05:00

📝 Pre-Launch Preparation and Sales Page Essentials

The speaker moves on to discuss the pre-launch phase, highlighting the necessity of having a completed product and considering the creation of a sales page for high-value items. A sales page should clearly answer what the product is, who it's for, and why it's worth purchasing. The speaker shares their experience with crafting a sales page for a live virtual workshop aimed at helping artists with business planning. They also mention the benefits of persuasive writing and the importance of personal storytelling in marketing materials. The speaker recommends Cartra as a valuable resource for creating sales pages and managing marketing efforts, offering a discount for the audience.

10:03

🔊 Consistent Marketing for Product Success

In this section, the speaker stresses the importance of consistent marketing to achieve sales. They recount their strategy of mentioning the product in multiple pieces of content across various platforms. The speaker details their launch approach, which included announcements on Discord, emails to their list, community posts on YouTube, and social media engagement. They reflect on the effectiveness of different marketing channels, noting that Instagram was not as fruitful for them. The speaker emphasizes the need to talk about the product repeatedly to reach potential buyers and convert interest into sales.

15:03

🔄 Post-Launch Engagement and Continuous Promotion

The speaker concludes by addressing the post-launch phase, cautioning against the assumption that a single launch announcement is sufficient. They advocate for ongoing promotion of the product, even after the launch, to maintain sales momentum. The speaker suggests that a portion of all content produced should include some form of product promotion. They reflect on their own launch, acknowledging missed opportunities to reach more interested buyers and expressing a commitment to better marketing in the future. The speaker reiterates the importance of believing in the product and treating its promotion as a natural recommendation to others.

Keywords

💡Product Launch

A product launch refers to the process of introducing a new product to the market. In the video's context, it's about the creator's experience with launching a new product that generated significant revenue. The creator emphasizes the importance of a successful launch strategy, which includes validating the product idea and preparing for the launch with a well-crafted sales page.

💡Revenue

Revenue is the total income that a business generates from its business activities. The video mentions generating over $10,000 in revenue from the product launch, highlighting the financial success of the strategy implemented.

💡Direct Product Sales

Direct product sales refer to the income derived from selling products directly to consumers without intermediaries. The video script indicates $88,000 in direct product sales, which is a key component of the total revenue generated from the launch.

💡Brand Deals and Mentorship

Brand deals and mentorship pertain to business arrangements where a brand collaborates with another entity or an individual provides guidance to others. The video mentions $2,000 in new brand deals and mentorship clients acquired through the launch, indicating additional income streams.

💡Validation

Validation in a business context refers to the process of confirming the viability or value of a product, idea, or strategy. The script discusses three ways to validate a product idea, such as looking at the popularity of similar products, polling the audience, and offering the product to a small group for feedback.

💡Sales Page

A sales page is a web page or section of a website designed to sell a product or service. The video emphasizes the importance of a sales page in providing detailed information about the product, answering potential customer questions, and persuading them to make a purchase.

💡Target Audience

The target audience refers to the specific group of people a product or marketing message is intended to reach. The video mentions identifying the target audience as a crucial step in creating a sales page and crafting marketing messages.

💡Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a short, persuasive speech that sparks interest in what one is offering. The video describes crafting an elevator pitch through the sales page, which helps in marketing the product effectively across various channels.

💡Marketing Platform

A marketing platform is a tool or service that provides various marketing functionalities in one place. The video mentions 'cartra' as an all-in-one marketing platform used for creating sales pages, managing digital products, and automating sales funnels.

💡Consistent Marketing

Consistent marketing refers to the ongoing and regular promotion of a product or service. The video script stresses the importance of talking about the product consistently to achieve results, suggesting multiple content pieces and communication channels for marketing.

💡Post-Launch

Post-launch refers to the period following the introduction of a product to the market. The video advises continuing to talk about the product even after the launch to maintain sales momentum and suggests that creators should not expect immediate or one-time sales from a single launch announcement.

Highlights

The speaker successfully completed a product launch generating over $10,000 in revenue, including $88,000 in direct product sales and $2,000 in new brand deals and mentorship clients.

The speaker intends to share their exact strategy for replicating the successful launch and the lessons learned along the way.

The importance of validating your product idea before launch is emphasized, with actionable advice for various types of products.

Three methods for validating a product idea are presented: examining similar products' popularity, polling the audience, and offering the product to a small group for free feedback.

The speaker warns against making financial decisions based on poll results, as they may not accurately represent the buying audience.

The necessity of creating a waitlist for interested customers during the audience querying process is suggested.

Pre-launch preparation involves finalizing the product and, for high-ticket items, creating a comprehensive sales page.

The sales page should answer three key questions about the product: what it is, who it's for, and why it's worth buying.

The speaker shares their experience with launching a live virtual workshop for artists to write a business plan.

The importance of consistent marketing and talking about the product to achieve sales is stressed.

The speaker recommends using a platform like Cartra for creating sales pages and managing marketing efforts.

A special offer for Cartra is mentioned, providing a discount for the audience using a specific code.

The speaker discusses the effectiveness of different marketing channels, including Discord, email, YouTube, and Instagram, with a preference for the former three.

The strategy of consistently mentioning the product in various content formats is highlighted as crucial for driving sales.

The post-launch phase should involve continued promotion of the product to maintain sales momentum.

The speaker reflects on the importance of storytelling in marketing and personalizing the sales page or marketing content.

The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of marketing as a service and the need for consistent communication about the product.

Transcripts

so last week I wrapped up a product

launch that is so far generated over

$10,000 in revenue for my business

$88,000 in direct product sales and

$2,000 in the new brand deals and

mentorship clients I've acquired since

this is the

largest launch that I've had so far in

terms of immediate results so in this

video I want to walk you through my

exact strategy so you can replicate it

for yourself and the lessons that I

learned along the way and regardless of

whether your selling oil paintings or an

online course or a novel there will be

actionable advice for you to take in

this video I also want to say thank you

to cartra for sponsoring this

[Music]

video so step one is your product before

you even think about a launch you need

to make sure that your product is one

actually worth selling I have a few

videos here on this channel about

designing products and selling things

and ideas for products and I recommend

that you check those out but I think the

most important thing to do here is

actually validating your idea you need

to make sure that you are offering

something people will actually want be

that your current audience or your ideal

target audience in the future you want

to make sure if you're going to put in

all this effort to design create and

launch something that it's actually

worth selling that that time spent would

be actually worth it because it's no use

going through all of this effort if no

one is going to be interested in buy

your product and there are three ways to

validate your product idea and the first

one is to look at the popularity of

similar existing pieces of content or

products that are kind of generally in

the scope of what you want to offer if

genuinely no one has ever made anything

like what you want to offer you should

investigate that more it's possible that

you have identified a gap in the market

where there is actually demand you want

to make sure that is actually the case

right you want to make sure there's

actually demand for your product before

you put in all of this effort another

way to do this is to actually ask or PLL

your audience this is really great for

folks that are offering educational

products right I often pull my audience

and ask them hey what are your pain

points right now what are you struggling

with what do you want me to talk about

what could I help you solve in your

business and your journey right now this

is great again for folks that want to

offer educational products but when it

comes to physical products things that

require inventory I would never make

Financial choices based on the results

of a poll because the folks that answer

polls and the folks that buy products

can be and are often two separate groups

of people so don't make risky Financial

choices and do this in a smart way and

the third way to validate interest in

your product idea is to build it and

then offer it to a small group of folks

for free in exchange for feedback if you

find that you can't give away this

product entirely for free just in

exchange for someone telling you if they

liked it or not you have a serious

problem hopefully you design a thing

that creates value right that provides

some kind of useful utility for someone

if that's not the case if you can't give

this thing away for free you have a

problem and once you go through these

three things you will discover if you

need to go to square one and design a

totally different product or if you

should actually go through this idea and

and it's totally fine and normal and

expected if you go through this one time

and discover that your product idea is

actually not worth making that you have

this great idea for a thing but the

audience that you have right now doesn't

want it that's fine go and try and try

and find a different audience or make a

different product but it's normal and

expected that your first launch won't be

a success that's okay but acknowledge

that you can do better and try better

next time and if you're really smart by

the way you will create a weit list for

the folks that indicate interest in your

product when you are querying your

audience and seeing what the demand is

like step two is pre-launch prep if you

haven't built your product yet do that

get that done get that done as soon as

possible and if you are building like a

relatively High ticket I.E expensive or

educational product consider building

what's called a sales page a sales page

provid provides all of the information

anyone could possibly want about your

product it answers all of their

questions and convinces them that it's

actually worth buying your sales page

ideally should answer these three

questions number one what is this

product at its core what is this thing

that you have made is it a book is it a

painting is it some kind of digital

product say that thing you want it to be

super clear what you are actually

offering number two who is it for is

your product for

artists that are struggling with

managing their time who is your target

audience you should explicitly State

this in your marketing material and in

your sales page as much as possible or

at least give like vague indications

number three why should they buy it why

is your product worth taking out their

wallet and actually giving you money for

and I think you'll find that even if you

don't go about creating a sales page for

something like a painting collection

answering these questions and actually

writing this out is still worth doing

because persuasive writing is a skill

this skill is improved through practice

you have to actually go out and do this

thing and by writing a sales page at

least for me I actually had to figure

out how I wanted to talk about my

product I had to actually state in clear

words concise messaging who is this

thing for why should they buy it what

does it provide and that was actually

enormously helpful when it came time to

Market my product and talk about it

right it

made it made crafting that elevator

pitch that I gave in reals and in emails

in a YouTube video and a Discord

announcement so much easier because I

had that sales page and I could

reference all of that writing when I was

doing everything else it saved me so

much time it was so worth doing also to

get any more context here the product

that I launched was a live virtual

Workshop that was specifically designed

to help artists write a business plan

right so they would gain Clarity on

their goals learn business and marketing

fundamentals and then actually put all

of that knowledge into practice and

create a business plan that was tailor

made for them so that was the elevator

pitch and by writing the sales page I

kind of crafted the elevator pitch so I

knew what I was talking about and it was

really important for me to make this

sales page because I had never done

anything like this event before this was

the very first time I had done a live

virtual Workshop of any kind and I knew

that that was going to be a weird new

thing for a lot of folks in my audience

and I wanted to make the messaging of

what this thing is and why you should go

for it super super clear and to try and

make that sales page as persuasive as

possible I also filmed a very short

two-minute video giving that pitch like

I am right now

basically it was really good practice

again for all of the marketing and stuff

that I would do later and I think it

really increased the conversion of folks

looking at the sales page I think that

video is just naturally very

engaging if you are selling any kind of

product be that a painting collection or

a course or whatever I think it's worth

it to put your name on this thing and

talk about why someone should buy it

just talk about it literally at all in

the case of a painting collection I

think it would be really cool if on the

sales page of all of the paintings that

you produce for this collection you have

a short little video talking about your

Inspirations your process why you went

about and made this work in the first

place what was the force driving you to

do this thing people buy things because

they like the story right they like the

person having some kind of Storytelling

or personal component to your sales page

or your Marketing in general I think is

really advantageous also if the things

that I've said so far feel a little

overwhelming I do want to recommend a

really valuable resource that I used

every step of the way of my own recent

launch it's called cartra it's an

all-in-one marketing platform and they

have very kindly sponsored this video

cartra is a very powerful all-in-one

marketing platform that allows you to

create high performing sales Pages

digital products and automated sales

funnels I used cartra at every step of

this past product launch from collecting

payments hosting the live virtual

workshop and keeping in touch with

attendees before during and after the

event with their email marketing tools

their email marketing tools oh my God

they are the most powerful I have seen

on any platform you can segment your

audience into categories like folks who

are interested in art versus educational

products filtered by whether they

purchased from you before and send

customized emails to that person or that

group that's barely scraping the surface

of what cartra can do I see creators and

entrepreneurs here on YouTube and on the

internet using cartra to generate six

figures in revenue for their business

and I am so excited to dive into this

product more by using my code kr4 at

checkout and using the links in the

description you can get 40% off your

first monthly payment or over 5 months

off an annual subscription that is crazy

this is the best deal you will find on

cartra anywhere online and is a special

offer just for our community all right

now we are on to step three launching

your product now you've got your product

you got your sales page you know what

you're talking about and you should

hopefully have a way for folks to

actually give you money for said product

that's great incredible good job I'm

glad we're at this point the next thing

that you need to actually start doing is

maybe the worst part maybe the scariest

part it's talking about your product

right you need to actually start

marketing this thing that you spent so

much time building what I'm about to say

is really important and if there's

nothing else that you take away from

this this video I really hope it's this

you need to talk about your product

consistently in order to get results

right you need to actually talk about

the thing to get people to buy it not

just one it done don't just launch it

one time talk about it early often and

consistently so when I launched my

product last week that Workshop I talked

about it in 15 separate pieces of

content over the course of two weeks

15 separate pieces of content okay

internalize that all right you've got

that number good I think that wasn't

enough I think I should have done way

more I think that the accelerated

strategy that I did worked fine um I

only had two weeks to talk about the

thing and Market it I that was a little

bit of a short compressed time frame

next time I'm going to do like 25 pieces

of content over the course of like 3

months and I think that will probably be

about right but I will admit it was a

slightly aggressive strategy perhaps to

do 15 pieces of content in like two

weeks so I first announced the product

on my free Discord community and I gave

them a discount code for buying and I

announced it there first for a reason

that is my most engaged community and I

think it's worth it to give back to

folks that um support you right and are

super active and love the stuff that you

make and it's worth it to give back to

them and also to reward folks that buy

in early and then after I announced on

Discord for the first time I sent over

the course of 2 weeks four emails to my

email list wrote five Community posts

here on YouTube posted on Instagram

talked about it in my stories which for

what it's worth I think Instagram for me

was a waste of time I spent like a

little under $100 to boost my Instagram

post that was a waste of money I would

not recommend that um at least it didn't

work for me and then I did two more

announcements on Discord and talked

about it in one YouTube video I think

for me I would eliminate the Instagram

stuff that was useless for me I think I

would scale back Discord to just twice

rather than three times and then I would

talk about it in two YouTube videos and

I think if I had had more time if this

had been a normal launch like because

this was a live virtual Workshop there

was an actual cut off point for when I

had to stop taking sales I didn't want

someone to join halfway through if this

been a painting collection or an

evergreen digital product or an online

course this would have been a slightly

different scenario but I would have

spread out that content that marketing

push a lot longer it would have been

like 15 posts over a month or something

and even then I do think that I didn't

talk about it enough because for every

single one of those 15 posts every

single time I talked about it I would

get sales every single time with no

exception and I know for an absolute

fact that maybe that annoyed some people

for sure but the testimonials that I got

were so impactful people loved this

event so much I created a thing that

provided a lot of value I know for a

fact like a 100 200% certainty that I

failed to reach all of the possible

people that would have been interested

in this thing I know for a fact that

there were people who would have

purchased this thing if if they had

known about it right and I miss some of

those people and that's on me that's my

fault that's my responsibility to Market

this thing and get the word out about it

right it kind of comes down to selling

as a service I think that if you build a

product that you genuinely believe in

you think it's high value it should feel

like a natural recommendation to sell

this to someone it should feel like

you're giving a good book recommendation

to a friend and all of that brings me to

step four post launch because

so many artists Just Launch a thing one

time talk about it the one time and then

that's it they're like all right we

solved it case closed on to the next

thing and that's just not how this works

that's just not how this works if you

want consistent sales you have to talk

about your product more than just the

one push more than just the one time

this needs to be a thing that if you

believe in it and you think that people

you know should still be out there

purchasing this thing you should be

talking about it often even after the

product launches granted you probably

don't want to talk about it 15 times in

2 weeks but I think 20 to 30% of the

content that you put out there can have

some kind of promotion of your product

for me I usually do a very brief like 10

15c mention this video is a big

exception because like the topic of the

video and the product are so intertwined

but you also so can't go out and

purchase this anymore anyway because

it's done the event is over um

but it can be so simple it can be a link

in a video description it can be a link

in your bio it can be an off-handed

mention in a caption or an Instagram

real or an Instagram story however you

post online you should just talk about

the things that you offer it doesn't

have to be so agonizingly hard or like a

thing that you're a huge perfectionist

about just talk about the thing

literally at all and you're going to get

at least some sales so you shouldn't

talk about your product just one time

and expect immediate sales and you

shouldn't just launch your product one

time and expect consistent results I

think that if you've made something that

you really believe in you can launch

your product often you can be like hey I

am relaunching this thing I am really

proud of it I love these paintings or I

love this ebook or I like I I'm so proud

of this online course I just added new

content to to it talk about it again

launch it improve on it iterate um just

constantly make it better and then you

can talk about it more I have a lot of

videos on this channel about marketing

and I feel like this one is very rambly

I've recorded this two times now three

times now so I apologize if anything I

said wasn't super clear it's very warm

in my studio right now and there's a lot

of road noise but I hope this video was

helpful for you I want to thank cartra

again for sponsoring this video and

helping put on this event this was a

huge new thing for me and I'm really

happy with how it all turned out and

Yeah there will be more videos on the

screen if you want to watch some more

from me and I will see you there

hopefully all right bye