The Launch Copywriter’s Checklist

Keep in mind, this is a simplified launch plan for beginners - but don’t feel like you have to do alllll the things. Take what you like, and what you can tackle now and leave the rest for the next time around. No pressure. No overwhelm.

Here’s where to start:

Pre-Launch Emails

Try to hype up your product in the month leading up to your launch. Send emails to your list that inform, educate, inspire, and entertain!

Use stories to keep interest, and then segue into hinting about your offer.

You can put your offer in the body of the email or in the p.s. Try it out both ways.

Try offering a special bonus for those who join the waitlist (if the tech isn’t too much to handle)

Pre-Launch Trigger Emails

This is where you invite your list to your webinar, challenge, or masterclass.

Try to send out a few emails in the week before the event.

Use these emails to share a little bit of wisdom, or tease what you’re going to be talking about in the class. Share what your subscribers will accomplish if they participate in the challenge.

Show-up Sequence Emails

For a webinar, send a few emails teasing the content and reminding them to show up live. Conversions for live attendees are the highest, so you want to encourage them to be there!

For a challenge, you’ll want to send an email for each day of the challenge that outlines what’s happening today and what happened the day before.

Webinar Slides

This is crucial if you’re doing a webinar — do not let the script be left to the last minute or try to improvise. Plan it out in advance, using the tone and structure of some of your fave digital marketers (think Amy Porterfield or James Wedmore). Here, you want to teach, offer a vision of tangible results, and demonstrate the power of a kind and competent mentor.

Facebook Ads Copy + Landing Page

Chances are, you’re opting out of Facebook Ads at this point in the game...but they can be very effective at growing your list quickly. FB Ads aren’t difficult, but they are specialized enough that hiring an ads expert to run your campaign is recommended. As for the copy, try a few different versions of your ad — long, short, and graphics-based...and have a few versions ready for different stages in they launch — one promoting your webinar, a now enrolling option, an outline of your bonuses, a testimonial, and a cart closing ad are all popular options.

Once a prospect clicks on your ad, they will be taken to a landing page where they will enter their email and be placed on your list. This landing page will also have to comply with FB’s ad policies, so be sure to research those for your niche.

Other Landing Pages You May Need

Webinar Registration Page — here’s where you sell your prospect on coming to your webinar that’s going to change their life. Include the name of your webinar, a few strong bullets, and a blurb about you and your awesomeness.
Webinar Thank you Page — be sure to thank them for signing up to attend your webinar. Allow them to add the event to their calendar and/or share on social if you can. Tell them what to do next (like check their email).
Purchase Confirmation Thank you Page — also don’t forget to thank them for purchasing your product! Be sure to tell them exactly what to do next.

The Sales Page

It’s a good idea to start with the sales page first. You can use this piece to guide the rest of the assets - pick and choose parts of it to use for the webinar registration page, take pieces, and put them into your email sequence…the possibilities are endless. If you’ve taken the journey from the top of the sales page through to the BUY button, it’s easier to see the motivation for the purchase. You can use that information to inform the rest of what you write. Imagine you’re creating a conversation between you and the prospect that flows and you control the direction the conversation takes - that’s how a great sales page works.

And always, always, always - think about the benefits and the transformation you provide, not the features of the course or program you’re selling.

Some other pieces and parts to think about:

Heading (remember, showcasing transformation) Think of this as the main benefit of taking the course…
And the subhead that announces the extra side benefit
This is a great place to follow up with “even if you don’t have the thing you think you’ll need” or “without doing that thing you hate”
Description of your ideal client and the results commonly yielded from the thing you’re teaching about
Bulleted benefits (3-4)
Bust a myth about your niche (or people think this is obvious, but that’s not true)
What have they tried before but didn’t work?
Reasons potential customers don’t usually achieve the results you’re offering
Introduce your program - the course for your ideal client that takes them from struggle to results
Why this solution is perfect and better than others they’ve tried
How to make sure your client doesn’t feel responsible for the failures of their past attempts to solve their problem
The results the prospect will likely achieve from purchasing
What life will look like if they don’t purchase
Detailed features (followed with a benefit for each) of the product…follow up each module with a “so that” statement showcasing benefits
Any bonuses you’re offering
Social proof and testimonials if you’ve got them
Description of the others in the group (and why your ideal client wants to be just like them)
Value of the components vs. the price you’re charging
Introduce yourself and mention your qualifications
Who is this for?
Who is this not for?
Any guarantees or refund possibilities (make these easy for the most powerful impact)
FAQ’s
Overcoming objections
Case studies showing struggle, how the product helps, challenges they’ve overcome, and a description of the success they’re enjoying now
Why your prospect should buy now
Normalize indecision (it’s ok to pause and think before deciding to buy, we all do it!)

You may not include ALL of these elements, and that’s OK. But the more expensive your product, the more you’ll want to consider adding to your sales page.

Even if you think it’s too long, it’s probably not. As long as your copy is engaging and keeps on reminding your client along the way of the amazing transformation they’ll experience by working with you, you’d be surprised at how much copy someone is willing to read before they make a decision to purchase.

Sales Email Sequence

This is where things get really labor-intensive, friend. But don’t worry, you’ve got this! This is just a guide, you don’t need to do all of the emails I’m listing out below. Just go for the minimum that feels right to you and your launch. And the suggestions below are just that, suggestions. You can mix up the order or throw it out completely and restructure the sequence in the way that best facilitates a great conversation about your product…

Ideally, you should send at least one email every day your cart is open, and a few extras near the cart close if you’re feeling up to it. It’s important to remember that not every person will read every email you send, so it’s OK to be a little repetitive here and send a few more emails than you may feel comfortable with. Try to hit on your customer’s pain points from a few different angles, you never know which one will be the right one that resonates.

If you can, give people an opt-out from the sales sequence that lets them skip the sales emails but stay on your list. If the tech is too much trouble at this point, don’t stress. Again, not every person will read or even receive every email you send.

If you’ve done a webinar, your first set of emails can be the webinar replay for those that registered but didn’t attend — you can also make this the “cart’s open” email for this segment. For the segment that *did* attend, they should get a cart open email with a link to your beautiful sales page. And, for the rest of your list, you can go ahead and send them the same cart open email you send to attendees.

The cart open email — make this strong, value-packed, and designed to spur readers into purchasing. Outline the course lightly. Try talking about why it’s different and the transformation it provides.
Introduce a fast action bonus — be sure to highlight how this bonus will exponentially improve the buyer’s experience and results from the course
Fast action bonus expiring — go into what they’ll be missing out on if they skip the fast action period
Testimonial — tell a story from one of your fave testimonials. Showcase a quick, viable win.
Build common ground with your prospect — share struggles, slam bad guys, go deep with the why behind your program or business (it’s OK to get a little vulnerable with this)
Address fears and struggles and show how your program can alleviate them
FAQs — answer all your common questions here. Who’s it for? How long will it take? Refunds? Typical results? Bonus points if you address questions in real-time as you receive them from your audience. Start adding in a countdown timer to an email here and there at this point. And if you’ve got a cart close bonus, start thinking about playing it up.
Closing bonus — if you’ve got one, play it up.
Case study — a relatable, typical result from one of your clients told in a story format works great here
Last chance — sent in the morning of cart close day. Ramp up the urgency and explain why they need to purchase now. If you have a payment plan, be sure to mention that they can get started for a low payment. What happens if they wait? Paint a picture of regret if they miss out. Normalize their indecision.
The out of left field story based email — give this one a shot and you won’t regret it. This is where you tell a story from your life that has nothing to do with the product you’re selling, but you use it as a metaphor and segue into the sale. It’s a slam dunk if you can get it right — but don’t stress out about it if you don’t.
Last, last chance(s) — send a few here if you’re up for it...a short video, a who’s it for/not for email, and/or just a short and sharp, don’t sit this out and keep struggling with your problems email.
A thank you for hanging in there with me email after the launch. You can also use this email to deliver a freebie just to say thank you and/or offer a survey to find out why they didn’t buy. This can help inform your launch results for next time.

Onboarding Emails

It’s a good idea to have some emails ready to go for the first few days after students join your course. Tell them how to log in, join the FB group, etc. Send a few emails to your students once a week, even after the course is delivered. This helps them feel well taken care of.

Email subject lines

Email subject lines are uber important. If your subject lines aren’t compelling, no one will be reading your glorious emails and buying your amazing offer.

You want to focus on piquing interest with shock, curiosity, numbers, or a combination of all three.

If you can, try testing out a different subject line for different parts of your list. It’s fun to see which ones perform better - and then you can use that data when crafting subject lines in the future.

Questions to ask before you sit down to write

What is the problem you’re solving for your customer?

What is the transformation your customer will experience after purchasing your product?

How can you paint a picture of the “after” of the transformation?

How can you confirm the way your prospect is feeling?

How can you legitimize their struggles?

How can you build common ground with your prospect?

What values do you share with her?

In what ways can you slam the bad guys and create a common enemy?

How do you answer the question, “what do you do?”

What do you do differently from others in your industry?

What makes your product/program different from what others are offering?

What do others in your industry do that you think is horrible?

What are some of the false beliefs that your prospect holds about getting the results she wants?

How can you bust those myths?

What are some typical mistakes your prospect makes when trying to get the desired result you provide?

Who would you NOT want to purchase your program or product?

What is your customer *really* buying when they buy your product? (Not just the product, but the feelings/belonging they experience from the said product)

Think about your customer’s pain points. What is she embarrassed about? Trying to hide from? Running away from?

What are your customer’s fears and how does your program allay them?

What excuses do people give you for not purchasing your course or product?

Does your ideal client need to forgive herself for something she’s done in the past to move forward with this purchase?

What do your favorite testimonials say?

What fears might purchasing your program bring up for your client?

Any common mistakes your customer is making when she’s tried to get results in the past?

At the end of your course, what are the specific results your client will achieve and how will she feel? (be specific here — not just one word or one feeling, include actions and post-course confidence)

What is your refund policy? Buyers like to have a no-guilt way to a refund to make their purchasing decision easier.

Is there a single thing that, if your client achieved it, would pay for the entire cost of the course?

Bonuses — think about what you want to offer as bonuses and for what time period of the launch (i.e. fast action, mid-cart, cart-close, etc.)