I get it – you really don’t care that I’m launching a new product. Why should you? You want to know how I can help you. That is what today’s article is all about. It is also what my new book, The Influencer Effect, is also about. So, let me describe for you how I am launching my new book, and how you can apply these same techniques to your product launches.
I recently had a friend post this about me on social media: “My brilliant friend Greg Jameson is launching his new book. If you’ve ever thought about writing a book or are in the process yourself, connect with Greg and watch him weave his marketing magic and learn from the master. Most importantly, jump onto his Thunderclap platform and watch how it’s done. And of course, when the book comes out, grab it, read it, put it into action. This guy is scary smart when it comes to online marketing. Live. Learn. Prosper!”
Wow! Now I have to live up to that.
Here’s the link to the Thunderclap he is referring to: http://thndr.me/KL0maN
Of course, what I have to share with you is not really about launching a new book, but about launching your new products, whether it be a t-shirt with a new saying on it, a new flavor of jam, or a gadget you invented. I’ve decided to document my entire product launch and share it with you so you can apply this to your business.
The first thing you must understand when launching a new product is that it is not about the product. And It’s not about you. It’s about how you and your product can help someone else. I have to remind myself about that frequently. I’ve asked a lot of people to help me with my new book, and most of them have said yes. But the reason most people help you is either because you’ve done something for them, or you are going to do something for them. This might be
something like getting them expsoure for their products or because you have given them information they found helpful. Perhaps they are just family or friends. You may have to bribe them, such as giving them a sample of your product.
Thunderclap is just one of many tools I use when promoting a new product, and you can do this for your products as well. For this to work, you need to get 100 people to support your product launch. It turns out, that isn’t easy. As of this writing, I just hit my goal. I’ve had several people tell me that they want to support me, but they don’t want to join my Thunderclap because it will send a message to their friends. Yes, that is what Thunderclap is all about: sending out a mass message to all your social media contacts at the same time on the same day. You have the option to change the wording to anything that makes sense for your friends and followers – you don’t have to accept the current message. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds and doesn’t cost you anything. Here is the link again in case you want to put me over the 100%:
Thunderclap of course is only one small part of a product launch. A product launch is often a month long, and includes press releases, podcast interviews, launch parties, customer reviews, advertising, and emails. You are going to see a lot of these employed by me during my book launch, and I’ll talk more about each of these in upcoming blog posts as I go through the book launch. Stay tuned as I really believe this approach can help you with your product launches as well.
Let’s start with describing Thunderclap. Thunderclap is the first-ever crowdspeaking platform that helps people be heard by saying something together. It allows a single message to be mass-shared, flash mob-style, so it rises above the noise of your social networks. It has been used by people like Barack Obama, Richard Branson, and Lady Gaga. It can be used for musicians/artists, event organizers, agencies, political campaigns, authors, crowdfunding, fundraising, product promotion, and social justice. There are multiple levels of campaigns you can create. The basic level is free, and requires that you get a minimum of 100 supporters. If you do not reach your goal of 100 supporters, the campaign is not sent out. You can also pay and get the campaign sent out regardless of whether or not you reach your goal. The real advantage to this is that you can then view who your supporters are.
Create your campaign length to be at least 2 weeks. I prefer 3 weeks, as this gives you time to collect the number of supporters you need. Ask everyone you know to support you, as most people will not help you, even when you offer to help them. There are many reasons including thinking that the link is spam or that they don’t want you bothering their friends. Even when you tell them that they can change the message that goes out to their friends to say whatever they want, people are often hesitant to help you, and you may find that you can only get a handful of people and then have to pay to have your launch sent out. But you can do this and it is a good start to your product launches.
Try it for yourself. Support my campaign at http://thndr.me/KL0maN and I will support your product launch campaign in return. Thanks – I greatly appreciate it!
Next week I’ll discuss endorsements and product reviews – stay tuned.
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