Eek! There’s nothing more exciting than launching your new brand and doing virtual cheers with all of your biz besties to celebrate.
When it comes to launching a new brand, people usually fall into one of two camps…
- They either get super overwhelmed and try to implement “all the things” to create a massive buzz and then get burnt out and resent the entire process or….
- They share a pretty graphic and an “Eek! We’re so excited about our new brand, check it out” post on all of their social profiles and in a couple of groups and then call it good, never really getting the buzz and virtual party they were hoping for.
I don’t want you to stumble into either camp, so I’m going to lay out a simple yet intentional step-by-step launch plan to help you launch your new brand with ease on launch day.
How does that sound?
Great! Let’s dive in:
Set a Firm Brand Launch Date in Your Calendar and Start Creating Hype Now
Before you whip a launch date out of thin air based on your calendar, talk to your designer, copywriter, brand strategist, etc., and tell them what you timeline is. Ask them whether it’s doable or not and then once you have an idea about what everyone’s schedule looks like, take one more look at your calendar and set a firm launch date.
Make sure you give yourself and everyone adequate time to truly “do this thing right,” because it’s super disappointing to rush, rush, rush and then feel like nothing is really ready and your launch balloon is deflating by the second.
Here are some ways you can create hype:
- Get a countdown and add it to your website, email campaign, blog posts, and more
- Start dropping regular hints on social media, in blog posts, and in emails. Give sneak peeks of where you’re at in the process and what’s to come. Share a little about the journey or any big ahas! you’ve had along the way.
- Host Giveaways and Competitions. Collaborate with some of your fave peeps or brainstorm some giveaways and competitions that are in line with your brand. Implement them in the days leading up to your rebrand to keep your engagement and buzz up.
- Create a Hashtag. Create a specific hashtag and hashtag everything that you share related to your rebrand throughout the journey. This is one way to keep the hype up. If you can also get your designer, copywriter, brand photographer, strategist, or whoever to use your hashtag when sharing sneak peeks or info, all the better.
- Tell Everyone You know. Tell your mastermind group, email your biz besties, and tell your closest peeps that you’re going through a rebrand and what your launch date is. Get them excited so they can’t wait to celebrate with you and share your new brand or website, too.
Create a Soft Launch with Friends, Family, and Close Biz Coaches or Friends
Having a soft launch with your closest peeps is a great way to get feedback and highlight any bugs, typos, or glitches you might be having before you release your new brand with a bang only to find out later that things were lackluster or not working properly.
A week or two before you launch date, give these close contacts a peek at what you’ve got going on and ask them if they’d be willing to provide feedback. When you ask them if they’d be willing to look at your site and answer these specific questions, it makes that feedback even better:
- Did you come across any spelling errors or hard to read text (if so what was it)?
- Did everything load quickly and fit on your screen?
- What stood out most to you?
- Do you have any other feedback about anything needs to be improved or fixed?
Be Prepared on Launch Day
- Check and double check everything—check all of your links, check your opt-in forms, check your contact form, check that your pages are loading properly, check that your page descriptions are showing up in search, check that your welcome packet or shareable pdfs are linked to the right pages, check that your canned emails all have the right links…just.check.everything LOL.
- Carve out time to be present—Make sure that you’re prepared to spend a lot of time on social media and responding to emails on launch day. You want to be present and respond to everyone who congratulates you or comments in order to create a real connection and make your launch feel like a real virtual party or get-together.
Keep Up the Momentum
Keep up the momentum of your launch and the buzz about your new brand by sending out post launch emails or a survey. You can even host an after-the-launch giveaway or competition to celebrate.
If you had people such as a designer, copywriter, coach, or biz besties who were super involved in the launch, send them a little something extra to make them feel special. When you truly connect, serve, and appreciate people, it does a lot for keeping you and your name top of mind.
NOW – the MOST important launch step
The most important step to remember when you’re launching your brand or rebrand is to stay true to who you are. Spread the word about your new brand exactly how you would tell your friends and in a way that fits you and your personality.
Don’t try to be stuffy or share in a way that feels icky. If it feels forced or like it’s just an “i-hafta-do-this-to-do-item,” then it will come off just like that.
Just be REAL and do things how you would do them using the advice that you find that resonates.
If you’re thinking about launching a new brand or rebranding in the near future, I’d love to chat and get to know what ideas are running through that brilliant mind of yours.
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hearts and hoorays friends!