Plan For My Autumn Launch With Me

As of recording this I am just over a month away from opening my group program, Your Simple & Spacious Business, for enrolment.

This will be the second enrolment for this program as I launched it for the first time in the spring and back then I shared the entire behind the scenes process of developing, building, and launching a new offering in my business - I have a blog post with all of those videos if you want to dive into that here - so I thought I would now share how I’m planning for the second enrolment as I learned so much from the first one and I want to experiment a little with this second one too.

And most of all, I love seeing other business owners share the behind the scenes of the decisions they make in their business and the things they’re learning and experimenting with so my hope is by sharing my launch planning process with you it can offer some encouragement for any upcoming launches of your own too.

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So what am I launching and when?

If you’re new to my work you may be wondering, what is this program you’re opening for enrolment?

Your Simple & Spacious Business is my flagship lifetime group program for online business owners who want to bring more freedom, ease, and intentional growth into your business.

Inside there’s a members website with a vault of all of the best resources, courses, and programs I’ve brought to life over the years, there’s monthly coaching sessions diving into an area of business like marketing and content planning and client management, there’s quarterly live planning calls, twice monthly office hours where members can ask for guidance and support with anything they’re navigating in their business journey, and a super supportive Slack community too.

And it’s a lifetime program as members pay for just one year and then continue to get access to everything inside at no extra cost which is one of my favourite things about this offer as once someone has finished paying for it they will continue to feel deeply supported in their business and never have to pay a penny for this awesome support again.

However this being a lifetime program means that I do need to open up the doors throughout the year to invite new awesome humans inside for it to continue to be financially sustainable for me in my business.

I’m currently working with a bi-annual approach so a spring launch and an autumn launch and I really want to give these launches 100% because I really believe in this offer and have already seen through the first six months of delivering it how supportive it is for the members inside and because I want to give each launch the best shot at reaching my goals because this is my business and I want to support it to thrive as best as I can.

My autumn enrolment will be from October 10th-October 19th with early-bird access for waitlist subscribers from October 3rd-9th. So it’s a 2 and a half week launch altogether with 10 days of that being the main launch window after the waitlist only early bird. I have just 40 spots available for this launch as my goal isn’t to have huge enrolments twice a year, I want the community to continue to feel intimate and supportive and engaging but not overwhelming or too crowded for me to manage and show up for too so 40 feels like the perfect amount to welcome in.

What are my launch goals?

I like to set two goals when I’m launching something in my business: my baseline goal and my stretch goal.

Launching can be such an emotional rollercoaster, I’ve been in business for 8 years now and I’ve launched more things than I can even remember at this point but over these years I’ve had launches that have exceeded my initial hopes for it, others that have been somewhere in the middle, and some that have been completely met with crickets too.

Business is unpredictable - it can surprise you in both delightful and disheartening ways. And after all these years now I’m as okay with that uncertainty as I think I can be and I try my best to go into a launch with the mindset of: I will give this 100% and I will see what’s possible on the other side of that.

For the first enrolment in the spring I had 30 spots available total and I sold 28 so all in all I was over the moon with that launch. It was a 30K launch and really encouraged me to see that my vision for this becoming a flagship offering in my business moving forward is really possible.

For this launch my baseline goal is 20 spots.

Before I explain why the thing to note here is that picking these goal numbers isn’t a sure science, I just had to check in with myself for what goals I want to keep in mind as I bring this launch to life. 20 feels aligned for me as a baseline goal as it’s half the total amount of spaces and less than what I sold last time so it feels doable, and financially would be 25K in sales which would be a solid income injection for my business too.

Something else to note here is that this isn’t the only income stream in my business - I have 1:1 clients and some other smaller offerings too so as much in the long run I see Your Simple & Spacious Business being one of the main income streams in my business I’m not going into this launch without other income streams stabilising my income alongside it too.

And then my high goal was easy to choose as it would be selling all 40 spots available. 40 feels like a significant increase from the 28 I sold last time but not too much of an increase that it sounds wildly improbable. The program is also more valuable this time - there’s 6 months of coaching sessions that didn’t exist last time, more resources in the vault, and also the price will be increasing in 2023 so this will also be the last time to join Your Simple & Spacious Business at this lower price too.

So going into to launch knowing that I would love to sell 40 spots but that I’ll be over the moon with 20 really helps me to not feel overwhelmed at the thought of selling all 40 being the only goal.

My inviting, not selling mindset:

Before I dive into my plans for the actual launch I thought I would quickly share my mindset when it comes to selling anything in my business.

Like I’ve already said I’ve been running my business for 8 years now and I’ve been booked out with 1:1 clients for all of these years too and launched so many other offers like masterminds and workshops and courses and group programs so I have a lot of experience with selling at this point.

And a non-negotiable for me in my business is that I always want to feel like a human being in my work, I don’t want to try and convince or persuade anyone to buy from me I just want to make it easy for the people my work is a hell yes for to say hell yes when the time is right for them.

So like I do with all launches in my business I’m going into this one with the mindset of inviting not selling and basically what that means is that I see the job of my launch being an opportunity to share more about this offer, illuminate who it’s for and what’s possible by joining, and just making it super easy for the humans it’s an awesome fit for to find out more and say hell yes if this enrolment is the right time for them.

And because I’ve been booked out for so many years now and launched and sold so many different types of offers over the years too I know that this approach works best for me, it’s how I get to show up and feel aligned in my marketing and it’s also how I attract really awesome humans into my offerings who feel really respected in the process too.

So if you’re looking for someone to share their launch planning process with you that’s rooted in sales psychology and the latest tactics and strategies for persuading people to buy this isn’t going to be the video for you, but if like me you want to embrace a simple, gentle, human approach to selling in your business then hopefully this can be insightful and encouraging for you.

My pre-launch plan:

When I plan a launch I tend to put even more time and energy into the pre-launch than I do the actual launch window.

I’ve found that the magic tends to always happen in the pre-launch, it’s when I sow seeds for the enrolment period, it’s when I hold space for my hell yes people to get excited about this offer, and then the launch window is when I just open up the doors and invite them in and the pre-launch has done all the hard work of helping them decide whether or not this is the time they want to join.

When I’m pre-launching Your Simple & Spacious Business all roads lead back to the waitlist. In the spring enrolment 80% of spots sold during the early-bird waitlist and that told me that for this offer when it’s a hell yes for someone it’s a hell yes and they don’t need tons of sales emails during the launch to decide if it’s right for them or not.

I have technically a six week pre-launch window for this enrolment, but five weeks until the early-bird access opens to the waitlist so it’s those five weeks that I’m really seeing as the main pre-launch time.

My goal during this pre-launch is to consistently invite people to join the waitlist if Your Simple & Spacious Business feels like a hell yes for them right now. Something to note is that waitlist subscribers will also get access to 10% off their enrolment too and first access to the limited spaces available so that is the incentive for joining the waitlist and not just waiting for the main launch alongside of course getting access sooner to everything inside the program.

So what am I actually doing during the pre-launch?

I have 3 main content channels that I’ll be sharing insightful and valuable content through and that’s my podcast, this new YouTube channel, and my weekly newsletter too.

Each content channel has its own unique type of content - the podcast is where I share more bitesized actionable insights and guidance, my newsletter is where I share more in the moment mini essays and encouragement, and then for YouTube I want to share more behind the scenes insights into my business journey so all three content channels have their own job but all very cohesive with the same energy and message and perspective that shapes everything I do in my work.

I have weekly content planned out for each and will signpost in each that Your Simple & Spacious Business is opening for enrolment soon and to join the waitlist if someone wants to get access to early enrolment.

And then I have two other pieces I’m adding into this pre-launch too:

First is a new opt-in resource. I have a core opt-in for my marketing eco-system which is a quiz where someone discovers what their simple and spacious business archetype is and then they can subscribe and get a free video and workbook to support them in bringing more of the ease, freedom, and intentional growth they desire into their business.

I launched this during the spring launch so most of my audience have already been through it or had many invitations to dive into that quiz so I wanted to create a fresh new resource for this launch to both engage the people already on my email list and be something fresh for other people in my audience who haven’t signed up yet or dived as deep into my work.

So for this launch I’ve recorded a video presentation where I share the ways I’ve radically reshaped my business this year for more simplicity and spaciousness.

This has been a really pivotal season in my business as I’ve been shifting towards more of a hybrid business model where I don’t just make the majority of my income from working with clients 1:1. I’ve been able to take a 3 month summer sabbatical, bring even more spaciousness and ease into my workweek, work towards new financial goals without burning out, and honestly more than anything really feel re-energised in this season of my business too.

So I share all the nitty gritty behind the scenes details of this and the key decisions I’ve made in this new video presentation which I will share with my email list and will be available as an opt-in that I’ll share on social media and my website throughout this pre-launch too.

Your Simple & Spacious Business is all about bringing more freedom, ease, and intentional growth into our business journey so sharing how I’ve been doing this myself in this season of my work feels like a really meaningful way to hopefully just be of value through this free resource and also connect with people who want to go on their own journey of bringing more simplicity and spaciousness into their business too. The email sequence for this opt-in will also signpost to the waitlist for Your Simple & Spacious Business too.

And then during the pre-launch I’m also going to share a sneak peak of a coaching session from inside Your Simple & Spacious Business with my email subscribers too. The monthly coaching sessions are in many ways the heart of this program, it’s where I download my brain from my own business journey and the hundreds of clients I’ve supported in theirs too to share insightful and actionable guidance for bringing more ease, freedom, and intentional growth into our business so my hope is by sharing one for free as a sneak peak my audience can get a really clear idea of what they can expect inside if they want to join us.

As you can see I have a pretty focused plan here for my pre-launch window. Six weeks of very intentionally inviting people to find out more and join the waitlist if this program feels like an awesome fit for them in this season of their business and most of all hopefully just sharing really engaging and supportive content with my community too.

Because no matter what happens with this launch this pre-launch effort won’t be wasted, I’ll show up and sow seeds with people even if this isn’t the right time or offer for them. And as I’m going into the pre-launch window after my 3 month summer sabbatical of not sharing any content I really want to come back from my break with the best content I can create and share.

But what about social media?

You may have noticed I haven’t got a big social media plan here for my pre-launch and that’s because social media isn’t a big priority for me in my business. I don’t love spending too much time on social media - and when I say social media what I really mean is just Instagram as that’s the only platform I use - and I’ve always prioritised longer form content instead.

I’m sure I’ll show up and signpost in stories to the content I’m sharing but it’s not a priority and something I’ll just do as I go as and when I feel energised or aligned to do so.

And then finally, my launch plan:

Like I said earlier, Your Simple & Spacious Business will be opening for enrolment from October 10th to October 19th with a waitlist only early-bird enrolment the week before starting on the 3rd.

As I’ve already dived into I’m doing a lot of the heavy lifting through the pre-launch window of sharing that enrolment is opening soon and sharing really valuable and insightful content to connect with the people this program is a hell yes for right now so I see the job of my actual launch window is to just put my lights on and invite people to join if it’s the right time for them.

And the main way I’ll do that is through sales emails, which is basically just me sending an email to my email list with an invitation to come on inside and join us.

I’ll also have podcast episodes and hopefully videos on YouTube being published throughout the launch that will also highlight that the doors are open and I’m sure I’ll show up on Instagram too but that’ll be more in the moment whatever feels aligned throughout the launch.

So during the early-bird waitlist only part of the launch my plan is to send four emails, one at the start saying early bird enrolment is open, one at the end saying last chance to get the early bird discount, and two in the middle sharing sneak peaks and testimonials and really highlighting what makes this program so awesome and how it’s here to support them in their business journey.

And then during the 10 day main launch window my plan is to send 5 emails - similar to the early bird it will be one at the beginning saying enrolment is now open, one at the end assuming I haven’t sold all the spots by then saying last chance to join, and three in the middle that dive into more of how Your Simple & Spacious Business is here to support them, paint a picture of what’s possible through the support of this program, and most of all just make a really fun and human invitation to join us inside of the time is right for them.

I have a rough outline for each email during the launch but I tend to finalise this closer to the time as I tend to write my sales emails very intuitively in the moment so will just aim to have all of these scheduled before the doors open for this enrolment.

Okay, deep exhale.

That sounds like a lot, right?

That’s because launching is! It takes a whole lot of energy and work to bring our offers to life and help our hell yes people discover them and see if it’s the right time for them. And I don’t always do this much for a launch but as Your Simple & Spacious Business is my flagship group program and a higher investment too at £1250 I want to give this enrolment my version of 100% right now.

And this is just my plan, some things may need to shift and evolve as I go but this is the plan I’m working with and having it all mapped out really helps me to breakdown this workload into my schedule and feel like I’m on track and knowing what I’m doing.

And then I just have to show up and see what’s possible with the launch, which is both exciting and scary but that’s business and I think sometimes the most important thing is just choosing to show up anyway even though we don’t have any certainty of what will happen next.

I hope sharing this gives you a little insight into my launch planning and experiments and decisions I’m making and if you have a launch coming up soon hopefully it can spark some ideas for you too.

There’s no right or wrong way to launch, it’s all an experiment, and I’ve just found that the more intentional I can be the better my launches tend to go.

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Jen Carrington29 August 2022