Sometimes we wait to launch something until everything is “perfect”. In this episode you’ll hear how we launched “messy” and created a TON of momentum despite all the things that could have been done better.

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Big Ideas

Start Talking About Your Project Now [3:30]

Number one, start talking. Start talking about what you have early and often. People hear me talking about the importance of using stories all the time. If you think you don’t have any stories to tell, just get one! We used ourselves as a base for our first story. We started talking about how we were using Searchie, and the impact it was having on our business.

It was a problem that we’ve experienced ourselves – we had so much video content that neither we or our audience could consume it all. And not only did Searchie solve our problem, but it also created a way better experience for our audience. 

At that point, we rolled it out to a small beta group and started talking about how others were using it, and the results that they were getting. That’s how you start growing and incorporating all these different stories. We set the launch date way out in advance, and then we started building up towards that date with our stories. 

Listen to Your Audience [7:05]

Number two, listen closely. Our first webinar went okay. But one of the things we were very dialed into was what people were saying. We were looking for objections – why weren’t people buying? Where were they getting stuck? We asked people in our beta group, and one of the interesting things we discovered was that in my explanation, and in my webinar, I was saying something about the transcription side of the business. It was getting people tripped up – they were asking all kinds of unnecessary questions about it, and it was preventing them from buying. 

The very next day, we sat down and started brainstorming how can we explain this in a way that eliminates all these objections and questions. We changed our messaging, and the second webinar went way better, with no more unnecessary questions in sight. We made it possible because we were listening closely. So listen to what people are saying, where are they getting tripped up, and what objections they have. Messaging is not something you instantly get. Messaging comes from constantly listening and tweaking, modifying and adjusting it as you go. 

Keep Tweaking Your Messaging [9:22]

Number three, keep tweaking. You cannot get stuck on telling your story the exact same way over and over again if it’s not working. By listening closely, we discovered what we needed to change and tweak. The magic is in the subtlety and nuances. It’s the little tweaks that make a big difference. 

We looked at what worked in our first webinar, analyzing three numbers: webinar registrations, webinar attendance and webinar conversions. Our conversions were really high, we were solid on the sales messaging. But the webinar registrations and webinar attendance metrics were low, which meant that our marketing messaging was off. 

I was so excited for everybody to use Searchie and transform the way they interact with their content that I kept emphasising the tool. But nobody goes online looking to buy another tool for the sake of buying another tool. What they’re looking for are the benefits of the tool. How will the tool transform their life? It’s a subtle nuance in messaging, but it makes a big difference. 

One of the other tweaks that we did was in the checkout process. Just after that first webinar we had over 400 people who had submitted their email address, yet hadn’t completed their purchase. We discovered that there was something from a technical perspective that was getting people on a mobile device tripped up, and so we fixed it to make it work. 

Don’t Look for Perfection, Start Taking Action [13:18]

Oftentimes we think that what we’re going out with needs to be perfect. But you’ve got to listen, watch and keep tweaking what it is that you’re doing to get that whole process dialed in. Despite all of these challenges and gaps that we had in this launch, we’re still off to a rocking start. We still had success and created momentum. Now Searchie is serving so many people that it wasn’t serving before. And we get to work and do the tweaking to really dial this in. 

Great marketing never just happens. Great marketing comes down to the willingness to stay with it long enough to make it work. You’re never going to get everything perfect right out of the gate, but you have to get going. Whatever idea you’re sitting on right now, pick a date, start telling people about it, launch it, listen closely, and keep tweaking.

Memorable Quote

“Great marketing never just happens. Great marketing comes down to the willingness to stay with it long enough to make it work.” – Stu McLaren

“Messaging is not something you instantly get. Messaging comes from constantly listening and tweaking, modifying and adjusting it as you go.” – Stu McLaren

Resources

Searchie

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