Just under a year ago, I put together my very first product launch for the blog and honestly at that time – I had no idea how to launch a product properly.
Even as an experienced digital marketer it was a daunting task with a lot of moving parts that left me feeling confused and pretty helpless.
I spent countless hours searching for the perfect product launch formula and boy did I find it because my very first product launch made $134,171 in just 6 days!
So today, for the first time ever – I am going to take you behind the scenes of my product launch. In fact, this is the first time I publicly revealed how much money it made.
What You Will Learn
- How I made $134,671 in just 6 days
- The exact product launch formula I used step by step
- How to layer mental triggers to make people buy like crazy
- A behind the scenes look at how I put it all together
- How I am taking it to the next level with a JV launch
- And most importantly… how you can achieve the same success!
Putting My Money On The Table
Before we get into the meat of things, let’s talk about the money because I know that’s all anyone is really interested in.
In total the product launch generated $134,171 in sales in just 6 days which was broken down like this-
- Day 1: $30,027
- Day 2: $15,264
- Day 3: $9,810
- Day 4: $22,701
- Day 5: $45,025
- Day 6: $11,344
That is right! On day 5 alone, I made over $45,000!
It would have taken me a year to earn that in my previous corporate job, but I made that in just 1 day using the product launch formula I’m about to introduce you to.
Now I know you might be wondering why the sales spiked so hard on day 5 and that is because I took the product off the market to create scarcity.
The trickle of sales you see on day 6 is just the difference in global timezones.
So technically it made over $56,000 on the final day.
Only making the product available to buy for 5 days might seem crazy, but that is part of the bigger product launch formula that I am going to share with you later.
But What About The Product Itself?
Before I introduce you to the product launch formula I used to achieve those results, I want to tell you a little about the product I launched.
My regular readers have probably already figured this out – but the product was my Private Blog Network Specialist Certification.
I put the course together because I kept seeing the same questions/problems coming up about Private Blog Networks and I had wealth of experience to share on the topic.
In total the course is made up of-
- 10 modules
- 53 lessons
- 39 videos
- 6 printable cheat sheets
- 6 exams
As you can appreciate that took some time to put together, which is why it was crucial that the product launch itself went well.
If you want to learn how to create your own product, you could read this, this or this.
The Tech Behind The Product
I know some of you will be wondering how I put the actual product together, so this is what I used-
- LearnDash – This is the WordPress plugin I used to make the course itself and structure it. LearnDash has a bunch of awesome features & integrates with a range of payment processors and membership platforms.
- SamCart – I used SamCart for the checkout as it integrated with lots of payment processors so I could switch them out in 1 click if I had a problem but it also made setting up payments plans and split testing the checkout design easy.
I may do a more detailed tutorial about the technical setup in the future, including how I automatically send out physical items like this postcard-
But for now, let’s focus on the product launch itself because that makes the difference between making no money and making a ton of money!
And you want to make a ton of money right?
The Perfect Product Launch Formula
I’m going to be honest with you.
Creating the product was easy, but when it came down to actually launching the product, I was like a deer caught in the headlights.
You see, I didn’t really know how to launch a product and I certainly didn’t know where to start!
On top of that as an experienced marketer I understood that trying to sell anything online these days is difficult because everyone is walking around with a super sensitive “BS Detector”.
But I was determined to break 6 figures with my first product launch and have the most profitable week of my life.
After making $134,171 in just 6 days, I’m pretty confident that I nailed it and that success was purely down to discovering the sideways sales letter.
Introducing The Sideways Sales Letter
After countless days of research, I decided to implement The Sideways Sales Letter technique which was created by Jeff Walker.
I highly recommend you watch his free training videos that explain it all step by step.
I remember when I first watched that video, it completely blew my mind and opened my eyes to the new world of selling & how to layer mental triggers to drive sales crazy.
And for those of you that are wondering who Jeff Walker is, he is the king of product launches. His strategy has been used to generate over $500 million dollars in niches like juggling, tennis coaching & internet marketing.
In fact, you have probably been the victim of his sales strategies over the past decade without even knowing it.
Essentially he took the traditional long form sales letter and turned it on it’s side.
Instead of having a single 10 page sales letter, he splits it up into a series of contacts over a number of days with individual pieces of prelaunch content which ends in a sales pitch.
Sounds complicated right?
Well don’t worry because it’s super simple and Jeff does a much better job of explaining it in these free training videos.
In essence it’s just 3 pieces of compelling, valuable pieces of content that is followed by a sales message.
The idea is that you deliver so much value across the 3 pieces of prelaunch content that people are ready to hand over their money by the time you make the actual sales pitch.
Before you continue you must watch Jeff’s free videos or the rest of what I’m going to share with you won’t make any sense.
And trust me when I tell you that he knows what he is talking about, his last launch made over a million dollars in a single hour!
Behind The Scenes Of My Prelaunch Content
So now you’ve watched the videos & understand the entire sideways sales letter concept & how to take advantage of the mental triggers that make us buy things.
Now I am going to take you behind the scenes of my own prelaunch content to give you a tangible real world example.
In the videos Jeff explained the different types of content we can use. I chose to use 4 videos to deliver the content and sales message.
As you can see, I used an iPad as a teleprompter, a GoPro and a lavalier microphone to record the videos. These videos are also the only time you’ll ever see me in a shirt.
What really counts though, is how the videos were structured as part of the sideways sales letter.
Each video introduces a problem, a solution and then another problem through story telling, education & TV like cliff hangers.
All of which eventually leads into the final video & sales pitch.
This is how I structured my sideways sales letter-
Prelaunch Content Video #1
The first piece of prelaunch content is critical because it has to grab peoples attention and answer “why”.
Why should people listen to you, why should they pay attention to you, why should they care?
To do that you need to focus on the opportunity for transformation or change.
Essentially you are communicating how someones life will change for the better if they listen to you & what you have to say.
This is how I structured it-
- Title: “How To Increase Traffic & Rankings With The Most Powerful Backlink On The Planet”
- Mental Triggers: Authority, Reciprocity, Credibility, Proof, Anticipation
- Launch Story Theme: Reluctant hero
- The Problem: Viewers have no traffic, no search engine rankings & confused by SEO
- The Solution: Introduce private blog networks
- Introduce The Next Problem: How do you build a private blog network?
If you don’t know what mental triggers are, then you need to go back and watch Jeff’s free training videos.
Prelaunch Content Video #2
The first piece of prelaunch content focused on the “why”. The second piece of content is all about the “what”.
What is the transformation or opportunity that will change the viewers life?
This video has a heavy focus on teaching and I really went overboard with what I taught in this video.
This is how I structured it-
- Title: “How To Create As Many Authoritative Links As You Want To Seriously Increase Your Websites Traffic”
- Mental Triggers: Community, Relatable, Proof, Controversy, Emotion
- Launch Story Theme: Loss & Redemption combined with The Underdog
- The Problem: How do you build a private blog network?
- The Solution: Show people a top down view of the process over my shoulder
- Introduce The Next Problem: Getting caught by Google & how to avoid detection
As you can see, in each video I am introducing a problem, the solution to that problem and then closing with the next problem.
That creates an “open loop” which keeps people in suspense for the next video, much like your favorite TV series always leaves you on a cliff hanger.
Prelaunch Content Video #3
The last 2 videos answered the “why” and the “what” – the third video shifts focus to the “how”.
It is also designed to shift into the product ownership experience and really dial down exactly how it will change the viewers life.
At this point I’ve already introduced people to private blog networks with a top down view of how to build them.
This video shows them how to avoid getting caught, but it doesn’t show them how to put all of the pieces of puzzle together.
This is how it was structured-
- Title: “My Secret Strategies To Fly Under The Radar & Remain Undetected For Complete Ranking Domination”
- Mental Triggers: Social proof, Proof, Simplicity
- Launch Story Theme: Discovery
- The Problem: Getting caught by Google & how to avoid detection
- The Solution: Understanding footprints
- Introduce The Next Problem: How to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together
The Sales Video
The last 3 videos were designed to take people on an educational journey by delivering huge amounts of value through story telling while simultaneously touching on key mental triggers.
You might not realise it by reading through these notes, but I can’t stress enough just how much value I delivered in the first 3 videos.
I ensured that I delivered actual tangible content with real substance that would change peoples lives if implemented.
That is where the true power of the sideways sales letter comes into play and with this power, we can now safely pivot into the sales pitch.
At this point people have a thorough understanding of private blog networks, how to build them and how to avoid the common pitfalls – but they don’t understand the wider strategy which is where the pivot into the sale comes in.
This is how I structured the sales video-
- Title: “How To Take Full Control Of Your Websites Traffic & Search Engine Rankings”
- Mental Triggers: Social Proof, Credibility, Scarcity, Proof, Reason/Why
- Launch Story Theme: Reluctant hero, loss & redemption, the underdog and discovery.
- The Problem: How to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together
- The Solution: Buy the full course
You should notice one significant change in the structure of this video.
Instead of introducing a new problem like the first 3 videos, this video delivers the full course as the final solution with a call to action to buy.
And people bought like wildfire!
The Results Speak For Themselves
The sideways sales letter technique took me from clueless to 6 figure product launch step by step.
Without it, I don’t know where I would be!
But what I do know is that the product launch formula Jeff teaches WORKS and it not only works, it works VERY VERY WELL.
Whether you have a new product to launch or want to re-launch a product you already made, his product launch formula is a license to print money.
I mean just look at these outrageous numbers-
Just to recap, that is $134,171 in 6 days!!!! It really is the perfect product launch formula.
So if you only do one thing today, make sure you watch these free training videos.
You might just regret it if you don’t.
Taking It To The Next Level With A JV Launch
Once you have had a successful launch the next phase of the product launch formula that Jeff teaches is a JV launch.
In essence you setup an affiliate program and split profits with affiliates 50/50.
That way I will have an army of people all promoting the course to their list in the same moment which will create a huge amount of buzz.
It also allows me to reach new audiences outside of my own subscribers.
How To Prepare For A JV Launch
Preparing for a JV launch is easy, all you need-
- Is a method to track affiliate sales
- And a page that explains the JV launch
And you can set all of that up in a day!
Choosing An Affiliate Platform
You have a huge range of options to consider when choosing an affiliate platform. But for 99% of people you are going to want to use JVZoo.
Not only is it super easy to setup – but it’s literally built from the ground up specifically to handle JV launches with some unique features.
For example you can build simple or complex sales funnel with your own products or other peoples products and the system automatically splits the money between you, the vendor and the affiliate.
Not only that but there is an existing pool of hundereds of thousands of affiliates all waiting to promote your product.
Creating Your JV Page
Your JV page needs to include all of your launch details, including-
- Important launch dates
- Product details
- Pricing/commission details
- Sales funnel details
- Graphics/emails/resources to make promotion easy
- Reasons affiliates should promote
You can see my JV page for yourself for a live example-
I also decided to record a short video that included all of the details of my launch.
It’s basically a GoPro and an iPad stuck to a stick but it works well-
Recruiting Affiliates
Once you have all of that in place it’s time to start recruiting affiliates because without affiliates your JV launch is going to fall flat on it’s face.
I am going to share all of the places I used to find affiliates, but first you should write a few lists-
- People you know who might want to promote your product
- People who have already bought or used your product
- People who promote similar products
- Companies you have generated affiliate sales for
Once you have finished that you should have quite an extensive list of people to contact.
You can take a look at an example email I sent out below-
Don’t forget you can also ask your existing email or social media subscribers.
This the email I sent out to them-
And you would be amazed at the glowing responses of support I have received!
Other Places To Find Affiliates
Once you have contacted everyone in “your world” you need to reach out to other places to recruit potential affiliates.
Product Launch Calendars
First of all you should submit your launch to the various launch calendars-
You can also choose to upgrade your listings.
For example I bought the following featured listing uogrades-
- MunchEye – $250 for a 7 day featured upgrade
- JVNewsWatch – $47 featured listing upgrade
- JVPlanet – $37 permanent featured listing upgrade
- JVPromote – $19 permanent featured listing upgrade
Some of these services will also mail your offer to their database of affiliates-
This isn’t cheap but it’s really worth it!
JVZoo Ads
One of the main benefits of using JVZoo as your affiliate platform is the fact they already have hundreds of thousands of affiliates across every niche you can think of.
But JVZoo also offer a number of advertising options that will see your affiliate sign up shoot through the roof,
For example this advert gets shown front and center to every single affiliate and seller that logs into JVZoo-
It costs $300 per day which may sound expensive, but the return will be huge once those affiliate sales start flowing.
It’s JV Launch Time!
So once you have prepared everything and recruited a small army of affiliates, it’s time to launch!
And while I would love to be able to share the next part of the story with you-
I can’t.
Because my JV launch hasn’t actually happened yet!
Right now I am recruiting affiliates ready to launch on September 22nd.
So sign up as an affiliate now and you’ll get a front row seat to the inner workings of a JV launch live!
And in the mean time if you want to learn more about how to build and launch a product the right way, watch Jeff’s free video training right now!
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