Launch Runway Process

"The more you plan, the more you profit." -someone smart

In any type of launch, we can identify three distinct phases: The Runway, The Free Content (Pre-Launch Content) and the Cart Open Period. 

In this process, we will dive deep into that first phase: The Launch Runway!

Your runway is the phase leading up to your Pre-Launch content. The intention in this phase is to warm up your audience and build anticipation for the free experience/pre-launch content. It's creating demand for the launch. Said another way, it's the launch of the launch. 

The Call to Action during the Runway Phase:

During the runway phase of your launch your call to actions are very simple:

• Remind people of the DATE of your FREE Content (webinar, workshop, challenge, etc)
• Tell them the BENEFIT of attending the free content (what's in it for me?!)
• Invite them to opt-in to your waitlist!

Checkout the BBD Waitlist Creation Process here!

Click the download below to see an example of one our launch calendars. Our runway was from May 5th-June 14th. The Video Series was released on June 14th.

A common question I see all the time is “What do I do between launches?”

And if you’ve asked yourself that question... OR you’ve already noticed the fact that scaling your business can be as simple as getting MORE people into your launches and building a STRONGER relationship with them BEFORE you launch... then you’re going to love implementing the Launch Runway in your business!

Well, what exactly is a LAUNCH? The “launch” is the mechanism that creates demand and desire for the offer (your stuff.) And if you’ve already run even just one launch, then you already know that having that webinar or video series or free content FIRST... made selling SECOND even easier, right?

So, the LAUNCH sets up the OFFER.

Well... your RUNWAY sets up your LAUNCH. Start now by thinking of your RUNWAY as the launch for the launch. It’s intention is three-fold:

1. Cast a wider net to attract more people
2. Build a relationship with those people
3. Create demand and desire for your launch

That way, when your launch comes, you’ll not only have more of the right people ready to participate, but they’ll be far more likely to invest in your offer.

Here are a few quick things to keep in mind BEFORE implementing your Runway:

1. The Launch Date. The first step is to DECIDE and LOCK IN that launch date. This is the date of your webinar or your first FB LIVE or VIDEO, etc. When does everything BEGIN? This is critically important. Why? Because in each of the 3 phases, you’ll be sharing this date over... and over... and over... and over. So, set the date.

2. The Waitlist Page. As soon as your date is set, your next step is to create a simple WAITLIST or INTEREST page. There is a process in the RESOURCE SECTION of Business By Design to assist you with this process. As you proceed through your runway, this is where most of your people will be directed. Here’s ours: www.BusinessByDesign.net 

3. Multiple Channels. One Message. You have multiple touch-points with your audience. Social Media. Email. Maybe even a podcast. As you learn and implement the three phases, you want to be mindful to leverage ALL the channels you already use to offer the same message. This is about repetition and consistency.

Click the download below to see an example of one our launch calendars. Our runway was from May 5th-June 14th. The Video Series was released on June 14th.

>>Sample Launch/Runway Calendar<<

Before we get into the three phases of your runway, it may help to offer a metaphor. Consider your launch (i.e. your webinar) AS a movie. Your launch is the “main attraction”. The Runway is the MARKETING for that film. Begin to notice what Hollywood Production Companies do to promote their films:

They tease that an event is coming.
They share the date.
The actors get interviewed.
Media and Critics share their reactions (testimonials).

Come opening night, there is a line down the street of eager fans waiting to watch! When you follow the same principles included here, imagine how that changes the future of your launches and promotions! Imagine how much more effective (and profitable) your launches will be when your eager fans are lining up to watch YOUR premiere!

Ok, so where do we begin?

The following are the three sequential phases of the Launch Runway. What’s important to note is the length of time is rather irrelevant. When you have your launch date set, you’ll simply want to DIVIDE by three on the calendar. For example: if your launch is 90 days out, each phase can be roughly 30 days long. If your launch is in 3 weeks, great! You have a week to do each phase. What’s more important (as you already know), is to not overthink this and operate from fear that you will somehow get it wrong. You can’t. You won’t. Unless you overthink it. 

Phase #1: INFLUENCE:

In this first phase, your intention is to REACH new audiences with DISRUPTING and POLARIZING content that influences people in your market to think differently. Here you will be challenging beliefs and the status quo. You’ll be picking a side or a stance, and inviting others to do the same. This will get attention, attract more people, and begin to create an initial relationship with you AS the AUTHORITY.

Phase #2: INSPIRE:

In the second phase, we go from shifting beliefs and creating polarizing content to creating INSPIRATIONAL content that speaks to the outcomes and results that your audience wants. This is best done through case studies and incredible stories.

Phase #3: INVITE:

In the third and final phase, this is the first time that you actually invite people to JOIN your launch. I have several strategies to help you do that.

So, to recap: first you will create INFLUENTIAL content that captures the attention of your market, then you will INSPIRE them with the possibility of a bigger,brighter future,THEN you will INVITE them into the experience that will help do that.

Let’s break down each of these three phases into more detail!

The focus on Phase #1 is to INFLUENCE the minds and hearts of your audience. One of the most effective ways you can do this is through shifting the beliefs of your marketplace.

ONE specific method we most commonly use here is The Thought-Reversal Video. This is essentially a process of SHIFTING the perspectives of your market away from the biggest mistakes they are making towards a new and better way of doing things.

note: for more training on how to create influential content, please visit the ATTRACTION MODULE here: https://www.jameswedmoretraining.com/products/james-wedmore-s-business-by-design/categories/1561871

STEP #1: CREATE YOUR THOUGHT-REVERSAL CONTENT

The entire Thought-Reversal Process is explained by Brandon Lucero below. 

In that training, the process is done through Facebook Video. But it’s not limited to video. Creating text-based posts will work in much the same way. Even a quick FB LIVE can be used and repurposed here!

The point here is that the content in this phase should be polarizing BUT still relate to your offer and what you’re selling. If changing the belief does not bring people closer to the sale, then don’t bother using it.

Here’s an example of one of the Thought Reversal Videos We ran:

Step #2: Publish and Pay!

In the second step, you’ll want to publish this content on all the social platforms you can, and use Facebook Ads to push this out in front of more audiences.  Using a simple “Video View” or “Post Engagement” will now get this content out to MORE people. 

Step #3: Build Your Audience

Inside Facebook’s Ad Manager, you’ll now have the opportunity to create an audience of everyone who watched a portion of your video or engaged with your post. This step is CRITICAL for the remainder of your runway.   

That’s it!  This can be a simple as just ONE video... or two or three. I would not recommend doing more than one per week.  

A "Thought Reversal"** video on FB is a great way to warm up your audience as well as start building a FB Audience for your launch FB Ad strategy. 

**To learn more about "Thought Reversals" check out Brandon Lucero!

Here is an example of the video we used:

The FB Post Copy:

I learned more in my first year of business than I did in 10 years of school! 

That’s because what you learned in class, sets you up for an Employee-Mindset (“Work hard! Ask permission! Wait your turn!").

and if you apply this Employee-Mindset to your business, you automatically set yourself up for FAILURE! 

With an employee-mindset, your value gets tied to your EFFORT and your EFFORT is limited by your time and your energy. Which means your income and impact is already capped! Why would you ever want that?

✅Successful businesses get created by visionaries, by CEO’s NOT employees. Visionaries take risks, they question EVERYTHING, break the rules, innovate, and leverage. They don’t raise their hands, or wait for permission.

❗They MAKE IT happen. ❗️

Find me any successful Digital CEO out there, someone who has built a thriving, scalable business, who actually thinks like an employee!

...you can’t! They simply don’t exist.

But ironically when you run your business like an employee, you start to FEEL like an employee. Instead of running a business, you feel like it’s running YOU!

Now, obviously, if you’ve never run a successful 6 or 7 figure business, how could know HOW to be a successful Digital CEO?

That’s why we’ve created an a community of over 13,000 online entrepreneurs who are stepping out of the employee-mindset and into the Role of The Digital CEO!

So, unless you want to continue building your business like an underpaid, overworked employee that relies solely on their effort, click the link to join us now:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bbdcommunity/

The focus on Phase #2 is to INSPIRE.  The most effective way to do this is through the power of transformative stories.  Here you can do anything to showcase individual case studies of past customers and clients or create a “montage” of clients in a video.  

 It’s important to note that we focus on the STUDENT and the VEHICLE they used for transformation. Not US or our product.  So, if your vehicle is “live video” as it is for Tiffany Lee Bymaster (example below), your focus here is to make the case for your vehicle by showing proof of others using live video to grow their business. 

The ENTIRE Case-Study Video Creation Process:

You can view our exact process for creating these types of videos HERE.

Montage-Style Case Study Video
In this example, Tiffany has “mashed together” different clips of students who are all sharing their stories and experience with LIVE VIDEO.  

A Couple of notes:

First, the videos don’t need to be fancy like ours.  Doing a simple FB LIVE or ZOOM CALL recording is enough.  Heck! You’ll also notice we do weekly podcast episodes sharing case studies as well! 

Second, you probably don’t want to publish more than one video PER week.

 Third, you’ll want to drop your waitlist page link and LAUNCH DATE in these videos. 

Fourth, you’ll also want to throw some ads as these videos (video view or post engagement) and build audiences form these.  

The focus on Phase #3 is to begin inviting people to your launch.  It’s in this phase that you will target all of the people in your FB AUDIENCES from Phases 1 and 2.  

We do two things here:

#1. 7 Days out from the launch start date, we release ads, emails, and announcements that invite people DIRECTLY into our launch. We’ll call these DIRECT-INVITE ADS. 

 #2. For the few weeks before THAT, we offer another way into the launch by releasing something like an ebook, cheat sheet or .pdf. THEN, once they opt-in for the book, we invite them into the launch.  We’ll call this an INDIRECT-INVITE AD.

We’ll take a closer look at both. 

A Direct Invite AD:

The following are examples of ads we used to invite people DIRECTLY into our Launch for The Rise of the Digital CEO video series.   

We began first by targeting our WARMEST audiences AND the audiences we built in phase 1 and 2. Then, we began to test colder audiences.  

*ALSO: This is also the time in which you should be reaching out to that WAITLIST segment of yours and getting them ready to join your upcoming launch! 

An INDIRECT Invite AD:

 Before our launch began, we released an ebook called Hardwired for Entrepreneurship.  We tend to see ebooks convert really well... so this was a “backdoor” entrance path we offered.  Once people opted in for the ebook, they were then invited to join the launch for our video series. 

Have your audience opt-in to your launch list with something else that will help build momentum for your pre-launch content. Here are some things we have done to give some you ideas:

Click the link below to view our entire launch email promotion schedule: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRq8W_VqNKNjssov8TN1FrPDuLnGMOE5jxA8yCH7V2bl7Ck5uYvWEXB3u_kJ3WrHnBTz0oE0RHaMTJo/pubhtml#

We’ve offered some strategic ways you can increase your audience size and increase your relationship with this audience so your launches can be bigger and more profitable.  This process could be done in as little as 3 weeks or expanded to be as long as 12 months!  

You are also free to add, change or improve on this process.  The goal isn’t to make it an exact science, because the fact is, ANYTHING you can do to put out great content while creating ANTICIPATION for your upcoming launch WILL make a difference.  So, do what is within your bandwidth, don’t be overwhelmed with the process and make sure to have fun with it!