SPP Product Launch Checklist!

Before launching any project, it's important to take several steps into account for its success. Here are a few that I've found especially helpful throughout my own experience:

1. Before launching your product, create a brand style guide that is consistent throughout so your audience can easily recognize and identify with the unique flavor of your business.

Constructing a comprehensive brand style guide from the start will guarantee that your branding is mirrored consistently across all platforms. You don't need to go as deep with it as design agencies usually do, but simply creating a manual which outlines colours, logos, messaging & fonts can save you lots of time when quickly putting together assets for various channels.

2. Guarantee that typography, color scheme, media/imagery and all social profiles are in perfect harmony with each other. Make sure your website and additional marketing channels/assets look astonishing!

It may seem like a no-brainer but you need to make sure everything is as polished as possible. If users come across something which feels liek "amateur hour", it may hurt their trust and decrease their chances of signing up for your product.

Discovering new ideas and products to launch can be a daunting task. Get inspired through our research-backed insights so you are well equipped with the right tools for success!

3. Have you investigated other successful product launches phase by stage, from launch to half a year post-launch?

Do you want to learn from other companies who have launched their brand/product/service successfully? Taking cues from the best launches can help your own strategies take off. There is a lot of knowledge out there waiting for you to grab it and make use of it!

- What companies employed successful pre-launch strategies?

- For those who experienced success, how did they go about their launches? Which channels were utilized and what messaging was used to reach people?

4. Have you studied your competitors' launches and the strategies they used? What could you have done differently from them to avoid their mistakes, and what did they do well that was successful?

Putting together a list and conducting detailed research into how your competitors (or even those outside of your niche) conducted their launches is incredibly helpful. Try creating an Airtable or Google Sheet with 10 entries - trust me, this kind of exercise will save you time and come up with more creative ideas!

5. Have you examined the active marketing channels of your competitors? What content do they post and rank for on search engines or social media platforms? Are they running any paid ads to drive more traffic to their website? Investigate these questions, as understanding what your rivals are doing in terms of marketing can help you craft better strategies.

In addition to the aforementioned, assess what your competitors are executing across all their active platforms. How can you outshine them and deliver an even better job?

6. Make certain that the name of your business can easily be located on Google search for maximum visibility.

Starting a business on limited resources can make it difficult to secure competitive keywords and terms for your product when you're aiming for visibility in Google searches. While this may not appear like a major issue at present, it will come into play down the road as organic search from Google becomes an essential channel of growth for your startup or product after its launch. Make sure that you plan accordingly now so you don't find yourself behind the eight ball later!

7. Ensuring that you have high-quality hosting is essential when launching your website, as the speed of it can be adversely affected by a sudden influx of visitors in a short amount of time.

When you're launching something new and your hosting provider fails to deliver a speedy site, the results can be devastating. I've experienced this firsthand and it's not pleasant - trust me! That's why investing in excellent hosting is absolutely pivotal for any launch if you want to ensure its success. Don't let yourself down; pay for superior quality hosting.

8. For the long run, be sure to pick an email marketing platform that you can develop and expand on; migrating emails later can prove to be a strain.

With all of the email marketing tools available, it can be difficult to determine which one is best for you. When selecting an email provider, make sure to pick a tool that will grow with your subscriber list. If you need more complex automations based on user behavior, I highly recommend using that option - although switching providers later may be tedious and irritating (I learned this from my own experience).

9. Develop other necessary pages on your website, like About Us and Pricing, to further provide value for potential customers.

Tap into the power of design and messages to create an effortless user experience that helps customers easily find other essential pages. Prioritize which pages should be made visible in the main header menu, footer menu, or even within the homepage content. Give these important pages due diligence with regards to design, content elements, as well as other contributing factors that make a great landing page - ensuring you don't underestimate good design and powerful messaging!

10. Configure analytics to track events and record conversions.

Make sure you are setting up your analytics in a way that will ensure you have personal success. This means creating the full picture of what happens when users enter the funnel, from start to finish. You'll be able to quickly identify any potential issues or discrepancies by having this setup working well and efficiently, enabling you to fix them before they become an issue.

11. Boost your early-stage credibility by harnessing social proof from trusted connections - embed reviews, tweets, videos and other forms of evidence to maximize conversions right away.

Social proof is an invaluable asset when it comes to user conversion. We suggest you accumulate as much of this type of evidence as possible and spread it across your funnel's multiple platforms - embedding reviews on your website, sharing them through social media channels, incorporating testimonials into ads etc. This form of content is the quickest way to stir up a buzz for your business!

12. Reach out to a few early adopters before launching and have them provide feedback, social proof, and validate your automation processes. This will help ensure that you're on-track for a successful launch!

Before you go live, test your product with a few beta users to get valuable feedback. Utilize this information to make tweaks before releasing the final version; in addition, take this opportunity to collect social proof quotes and testimonials that can be used for publicity purposes. This way, you will have everything set up and ready when it's time to launch!

13. Use email capture to organically drive traffic from a variety of sources, including advertisements and niche communities.

Prior to releasing your product for public consumption, consider sharing it with a committed niche community in order to receive more feedback. This is only beneficial if the niche group is relatively small, such as a Facebook Group. If the user base of that particular forum or community contains many potential customers then wait until any technical issues have been addressed and resolved before launching.

14. Reach out to 100 strangers via cold emails in order to get honest, unbiased feedback regarding your product or service.

For those looking to engage potential prospects, try cold emailing; although it can be controversial, done correctly and with personalised outreach this low-cost strategy is immensely powerful. Avoid generic messages at all costs—this could do more harm than good for your business. Although opinions vary when it comes to cold emailing, if executed thoughtfully and strategically you'll find that the rewards are numerous.

15.Maximize your ROI with minimal expenditure by launching cost-effective Social Paid Media Ads (Facebook, Instagram, Reddit) and exact match Search Ads.

If you're looking for a cost-effective way to get early feedback from your target market, look no further than targeted ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. This will drive traffic to your website so that you can observe how visitors engage with it and the actions they take afterwards. Additionally, advertising serves as an effective strategy for generating interest in advance - forming a waiting list before releasing your product or service publicly!

16. Make sure your public launch is a success by cultivating a waitlist ahead of time!

If it's feasible, construct a waiting list that consists of your initial beta users and afterward fill the place with more via other platforms. Launch some ads or post in forums about your product and why individuals should register for its launch date. Numerous startups have followed this tactic to make their products highly successful!

Now is the time to take off and unlock unprecedented success! Let's get ready for launch.

16. Unleash your product on Product Hunt, Indie Hackers and other specific online networks for maximum exposure.

It's time to launch your product and there are numerous low-cost channels + communities that can help. If you're in the startup space then consider Product Hunt, Indie Hackers, Reddit, Makerlog, Slack Groups and other similar platforms for a larger reach!

17. Create a captivating press release, blog posts, or personalized videos for journalists to gain traction and maximize engagement.

Have you built a strong foundation? If so, how can you potentially get PR or influencers/bloggers in your niche to write about your product for little money? Get creative! Send personalized Loom videos of your product, or craft an amazing blog post on why customers should try out what you have to offer. The possibilities are endless; it's just up to you now!

18. While submitting your product to the right directory websites is a great way to increase visibility, it's important not to go overboard.

It may be beneficial to submit your startup or product into directories where potential customers can easily find you. However, it is important to avoid posting on too many websites at once as this could hurt your chances of success.

19. Generate excitement for your product launch by launching a small user-generated content/giveaway competition!

To capitalize on the momentum from your launch, consider running a small competition centered around user-generated content (UGC). Award five users with annual subscriptions for creating and sharing a tweet in 140 characters or less as to why they deserve the prize! You can certainly brainstorm other ways of doing this too, but you understand the gist.

20.To create a buzz around the launch, think about allocating funds to pay influencers for their word-of-mouth marketing efforts. Doing this could help you spread the news of your launch quickly and effectively!

If you want to maintain the hype and buzz regarding your brand launch, why not pay influencers in your niche to do a post or video advocating for your product? Not only will it help build credibility fast but also allow potential users to get an idea of what message you're trying to convey.

21. When it comes to creating content that stands out, don't just settle for the ordinary. Create videos and other visually stunning pieces of content that will capture your audience's attention, and then make sure you distribute them through all channels possible!

With your launch in motion, now is the ideal time to create captivating videos and substantial content related to your product solution. Generating this kind of material helps keep up with the momentum of a successful launch while increasing traffic and spreading positive word-of-mouth.

Of course, it's not enough to make content - you need an effective distribution plan for maximum impact. Don't hesitate to share widely; get as much out of all that hard work as possible!