Ideally, you want your audience to be hyped about your new product before it’s even out – you want pre-orders, shares, and subscribers before your latest service even hits the market. This is where marketing comes in: messaging aimed at the right audience, at the right time and place, creating excitement ahead of your launch. 

Marketing isn’t just about spreading information – although of course it should do that too! If you’re preparing to release a new product or service, you can be using marketing to identify your ideal customer, target your launch marketing, conduct market research to refine your product or service, and create a sense of community and excitement to guarantee sales when you’re ready to press LAUNCH. 

If you’re getting ready for an exciting launch that you’ve poured so much time and love into, here is our checklist of elements to think about: 

• Market research & self-awareness: Have you taken time to research and identify your ideal customer and the environment in which you are launching your product? Being familiar and comfortable with your WHY will be key in keeping you on your path. Do you know WHY customers should buy your latest release? Why should they choose you over your competitor? What problem are you solving, and how are you doing it differently? Determine your messaging for both new and existing audiences, and stay consistent and true to it. 
• Naming & Pricing: Have you chosen a strong, memorable, and relevant name for your new product or offering? Do you know your pricing strategy – including any special launch offers? Is your pricing easy to understand for new customers?
• Website: This launch is going to bring a lot of people to your website, so make sure it’s looking as updated, fresh, and professional as possible! Put your best foot forward with great copy, update logos, and an easy user journey as they click through your website pages. Ensure your new product is a key feature of the content and is featured on your home page. 
• Social Media: You will need to create hype, make noise, and keep the momentum going – which means having posts scheduled pre, during, and post launch. Do you have images and captions ready for ensuring you have a strong online presence on the social media platforms you are targeting? Does your social content have a clear call to action for people? 
• Timeline: Do you have a plan for your launch timeline, in terms of online content, touchpoints across different platforms, physical events, and new products? External factors to consider include major holidays that could drown out your launch, competitor releases, and industry events. Internal factors include product readiness, other launches and client commitments, and where you are in the sales this year so far.  
• Influencers & Press: Have you considered whether any partnerships could be of benefit to you during this launch? Are there influential and aspirational people or businesses that you could speak to ahead of the launch to help you spread the word? Have you spoken with blogs or magazines who might be interested in featuring exclusive news about your launch? 
• Staff: If you have employees – have you communicated the new product clearly so they understand its selling points, can talk confidently about it to customers if relevant and everyone is fully aware of their responsibilities during the launch? Make sure you are rallying the entire company around the new product. 
• System ready: Have you tested everything, proofread everything, and prepared everything, twice? Your launch needs to be seamless – so if you’re opening a new online shop, offering a new service, or shipping a new item, make sure there are no hitches or issues for your clients to notice.  
• Data gathering: Do you have feedback and data analytics tools in place to assess how sales of the new product or offering are going? These need to be in place before you kick off the launch, so that you can make any adjustments to your marketing and sales approach in the post-launch phase. Being adaptable is the key to long-term success.