Ok, you have something you want to sell online. You want to this to be efficient, economical, and lucrative. A product launch may suit your goals very well.
What exactly will your Product Launch Manager do for you?
Short answer: it varies. Some PLMs are very hands on while others outsource many of the tasks. At the very least, the PLM comes up with the strategy and oversees its implementation.
However, the best PLMs are in the middle somewhere. They have the required strategic skills but also get their hands dirty. Copywriters make good launch managers because the strategy finds its full expression in the email and sales letter copy.
PLMs who are capable of content creation and design work also bring a lot to the table because again, they are acutely aware of the strategy and know how to produce a full expression of it in the content and design.
If your Product Launch Manager can perform any or all of these tasks, including the production of landing and squeeze pages, your launch will be a lot smoother due to the fact that you and your PLM won’t have to spend extra time and money communicating the vision to a number of different providers.
This can be an especially acute problem during a launch when sales copy and content creation needs to be produced in a matter of hours. Often prospects will have questions and you’ll need to produce a video or report overnight so you can keep their interest. If you rely on outsourcing, then you’re going need these people on standby during your launch. This gets expensive…unless you PLM can do it on the spot.
However, if I had to narrow it down, I think the biggest assets that your PLM should have are:
1. Copywriting and Marketing
2. Strategy and Project Management
3. Joint venture strategy / recruitment
But let’s get down to a bit of nitty gritty. Here’s a product launch checklist of sorts:
a) Depending on where you are at, the PLM is going to do some type of market / keyword research and competitive analysis.
b) In consultation with you, the PLM will set a number of launch goals. This may include: conversion rate, list growth, JV relationships, social proof, and the creation of additional products.
c) If you don’t have a list, your PLM will implement his / her strategy to build your list. In practical terms, this means the creation of some sort of freebie on the other side of a squeeze page. The PLM can create the squeeze page, setup the list host, write the copy, and create the content (or assist you). Then you’ll need traffic driven to that squeeze page and you’ll want to install every means available to do so. This can include any and all (recommended) of the following: blogging, SEO, social networking, paid advertising and accessing other lists.
d) The PLM will set up a timeline for the entire launch process with goals attached.
e) The PLM will advise and assist in the creation of pre-launch content. The types of pre-launch content are literally endless but it will certainly include an email sequence, videos, telesminars, and a landing page with a sales letter. Other sorts of content: case studies, reports, tutorials, lite software, spreadsheets, and surveys. There is always a launch blog where all the pre-launch content ends up.
f) The PLM will implement his / her strategy to recruit JV partners and affiliates for your launch. This is a particularity valuable skill and requires a complete understanding of how to approach JV partners and affiliates.
Note: JVs will nearly always say they are interested in promoting your products but often they won’t follow through. A good product launch manager has a number of strategies that will solidify your JV relationships to ensure their support.
