The world of online launch copy can be a wonderful and terrible place. On the one hand, there’s so. much. possibility. So you can literally make a business out of teaching people how to bake bread? Or yodel? Or play the ukelele with their nose? And all you have to do is write a few words to convince people to buy your thing? That’s thrilling! Until you start trying to create the possibility for yourself. Dipping your toe into research can feel like wading into a toxic sludge of bro-marketing babble mixed with confusing sales jargon. Everywhere you turn it seems like if you “just buy this one thing” you’ll be able to understand what everyone else is talking about and achieve the success that’s being doled out like treats to kids in line for the ice cream truck. Which is actually B.S. — there’s no magic formula…a lot of factors go into online launching and creating launch copy that converts.
Launch copy and launch copywriting are weird and wild anomalies. When you google the terms, not much shows up. Which is *kinda* cool for us launch copywriters who are already established (after all, that shows there’s so much room for the market to grow)…but it also means that getting started on your own project or trying to figure out how to become a launch copywriter can feel daunting. Like you’re trying to break into an exclusive club where everyone else knows the lingo and jargon and makes you feel more than a little slow on the uptake for not knowing what you don’t already know.
It can be intimidating as hell — especially when your questions are met with vague answers like
“Launches are an experiment! Have fun with it…figuring out what works is the only way to figure out what works!” As a person who can be kind of slow to process stuff — that type of advice just left me scratching my head.
I promise, launch copy is not nearly as difficult to understand as it seems. Launches are as easy as 1,2,3…pre-launch hype, a launch event (which is optional!), and the sales copy assets.
Marketing Jargon — Why Is Everything A Closely Guarded Secret?
I’m not sure why some marketers keep their knowledge locked up and refuse to share…and I really don’t want to know how those types of people think.
All I know is I had to spend a TON of money on courses and products to find out that there is no magic formula to launching and a lot of the terms I heard floating around weren’t really anything scary.
I believe that there’s plenty to go around for everyone and that the more we can help bring others up, the better we all get…so here’s what I’ve found to be most helpful in learning about launch copy and becoming a launch copywriter. This is the foundation for every launch I’ve written, which has resulted in millions for my clients over the years.
The Basic Structure Of An Online Launch
First, let’s define a launch and take a drone’s eye view of what a launch actually looks like.
The basic formula for a launch looks like this:
1. Pre-launch
This is where you hype up your product before you offer it for sale. This can take anywhere from 1-3 months.
2. Launch Trigger
This is typically a challenge, webinar, or a masterclass that you offer for free to get your audience primed to purchase. During this event, you offer them a taste of what it would feel like to accomplish their BIG goal in your full program. You teach them what they need to do to achieve their goals, but not how.
3. The Launch
This is the main event! This is where your program or product is offered for sale and —if you’ve nurtured your audience, validated your offer, and nailed your launch copy…the sales start rollin’ in.
Seems simple enough, right? Lol
Other Types Of Launches And Funnels
So now that you understand what a basic launch *typically* looks like, let’s talk about the variations on the theme and the marketing jargon that accompanies each.
The Lazy Launch
This launch isn’t really lazy, per se. It’s more of an “introvert’s launch” or a “tech-challenged person’s” launch.
This is a launch where you skip the “launch trigger” part of the launch (#2 above) and go straight for the sale, usually all via email alongside promotion on your socials to supplement.
This is a great choice for beginners and those that are trying to validate their offer before investing in paid ads or techy-stuff like webinar software. It’s also ideal for people who know they don’t feel comfortable on camera, giving a sales pitch. With this type of launch, you don’t have to worry about the masterclass presentation or keeping up energy for a 5-day challenge.
S.L.O.
The “SLO funnel” is actually an acronym. It stands for self-liquidating offer. This is where you offer a lower-priced product that’s a no-brainer investment for your audience. It’s usually a massive value for the price, which is usually anywhere between $7 and say $37.
Typically, you run ads for this product, so you are usually offering it to a colder audience. What makes it self-liquidating is the fact that the price of the product is meant to pay for the cost of the ads. A good SLO funnel should cost you $0 or even make you a slight profit.
The benefit of this type of offer is that you are attracting a buyer who is a little more serious. They are willing to invest a little bit of money to get to know you and your brain…so they are statistically more likely to invest in other products from you down the line.
Essentially, a SLO funnel allows you to get people onto your mailing list so you can invite them into your world and then ideally, sell them something more valuable the further down the marketing funnel they travel.
Evergreen Funnel
An evergreen funnel is a launch that runs on auto-pilot. This type of funnel follows the same basic steps 1,2,3 above, but step 1 is replaced by ads or organic traffic and the launch trigger (step 2) is a recorded webinar. After your customer watches the webinar, they will receive an automated email sequence selling them the product or program.
What’s A Funnel, Anyway?
In the interest of making sure I’m covering all of my bases here…a funnel isn’t a plastic kitchen tool that helps you transfer your homemade kombucha into bottles.
A funnel is just a fancy way of describing the customer journey from lead to buyer.
Sometimes, the funnel looks like an actual funnel — at the top is your free content, leading all the way down to your paid content.
And other times, your funnel can look more like a circle. This is where your offerings tend to complement each other and your customers continue to buy from you as your relationship grows. It’s more of an organic process. Your customers can enter the funnel from any point. From a launch copy standpoint, this funnel still requires the same copy assets to close the sale, it’s just a different way of thinking about the customer journey.
What Is A Beta Launch?
Just like with video games and software, your product or course probably needs to run a beta launch (or two) before you step into a full-blown launch.
This is a crucial step that you don’t want to miss.
After you’ve got your idea for your course or product, and you’ve started to build it out — you can start selling it. It doesn’t have to be perfect or even completed. You’ve just got to get a handful of people on board to try out your thing…this is how you validate your offer (aka make sure people in your audience actually want it) and work out any kinks in your process or content.
You can offer the beta round of your program at a discounted price, or let a set number of people buy your product in exchange for providing feedback.
This feedback will be invaluable as you improve your course. But it will also be worth its weight in gold for your sales efforts. The beta round is where you can gather social proof to use in your launch copy.
What Type Of Copy Do I Need For A Launch?
Now that we’ve talked about what a launch looks like, let’s dig into the fun stuff — launch copy!
There’s actually quite a bit that needs to be written for a launch.
Here’s a general list. Again, this is a beginner’s guide and some of this may or may not work for your launch. But in a “typical” launch, these are the copy assets you may need (and this doesn’t include social content):
Pre-launch emails to pique your list’s curiosity.
Pre-launch trigger emails to invite them to the event (challenge or masterclass).
Show-up sequence. This is a series of emails used to remind registrants to actually come to your event. And try to convince them to show up live since attendees tend to convert the best.
Webinar script and slides.
Facebook ad copy.
A landing page for people that click on the Facebook ad to get them to register for your event.
Thank you page. Don’t forget to thank your registrants and tell them *exactly* what you want them to do next. This can be a great opportunity to further engage people since their excitement about you is highest the minute they register for your talk.
Affiliate emails. If you have a few business besties, it’s a good idea to hand them some pre-written content for them to distribute to promote your product in exchange for a commission. Some affiliates like to write their own emails for big launches with big money on the line, but most don’t have time and are more likely to promote your thing if they don’t have to write the emails for themselves.
Sales email sequence. This is a series of emails that are sent to those that either viewed your webinar or to your whole list, depending on your launch strategy.
The sales page. The sales page is the final destination for your potential buyer. This is a long-form piece of copy (roughly 2K words for a lower-priced product and 5K+ words for more expensive programs) that leads your buyer through a sales conversation…ultimately leading them to *hopefully* make the decision to purchase (assuming your product is a good fit for them, they are a good fit for you, and they have the financial means to afford your offer).
A launch copy package can incorporate all or just a few of the items above. I like to think of the core launch assets as the sales page and the sales email sequence. If you’ve only got the time or budget for a couple of items, these take highest priority.
Got Questions?
I know launch copy land can be kind of a scary and confusing place — I hope I’ve been able to clear up confusion and help guide you.
But if I’ve missed anything, anything at all — shoot me an email or DM me on IG and I’ll do my best to help you decipher what you need to do to write the best copy for yourself or your clients.
And if you’re ready to put your launch copy in the hands of a pro, be sure to apply for my VIP Experience here.