Launching a product online can be a very difficult task especially for those who have no previous experience. It’s a tough industry which is filled with competition so you have to be strategic in the way you approach online product marketing. By now you should have done your research and created your product. Before continuing I can’t stress how important it is to choose a product which is high quality and offers value to your customers. You have to remember there are hundreds of products available in almost every niche so you have to stand out compared to your competitors. If you do a quick search in Google and JohnChow.com you’ll be able to find a handful of resources which outlines the important elements of an effective online product. Next,
Once you’ve created your online product it’s time to jump into marketing. Approach this aspect step-by-step because instead of it being an event you’ll need to treat it as a complete life-cycle.
Let’s get started and your feedback will be appreciated…
Define Audience
No matter what type of product your marketing you have to know your audience to get the most out of your effort. If you’ve been blogging for years you’ll a good idea of your audience already. However for those getting started you’ll need creative ways to find your “target†audience. For example, the best strategy is to look at your competition and learn from them. It’s as simple as knowing their strategy because their audience is most likely yours. Try these things…
First, analyze their website within FREE tools like Alexa.com and Quantcast.com. These tools will give you a breakdown of their demographic, gender, devices and even age group. These tools provide keywords which bring traffic to your competitor websites which you can utilize if you decide to use PPC advertising. Once you’ve gathered the data, it’s time to move to the next step…
Establish Goals
Now that you know your audience and have created a game plan it’s time to establish goals going forward. Ask yourself this question before launching your product….What Are You Trying to Accomplish? This will help you figure out how your going to weigh out your success. The key is to have an outline of the factors you would like to accomplish before launching so you can check them off as you accomplish them. Here are a few questions to ask yourself which will help establish your goals….
- Are you creating brand awareness?
- Are you increasing product downloads?
- Trying to increase market share of the product?
- Increasing profits?
- Increase social media coverage?
- Do you want to increase user engagement?
You have to keep in mind no matter what goals you put into place you have to have a tool to measure your metrics. These tools should provide you with clear cut data so you know if you’ve met your goals or how close you are to achieving them.
Choose a Launch Date
Once you’ve defined your audience and know what you are trying to accomplish it’s important to launch your product. Launching a product online is much easier than an actual product in a physical location. However keep in mind certain months tend to perform better. Depending on the type of product your launching you might want to consider a Christmas launch or around the days people get paid. If you do a quick search online you’ll be able to find data analyzing peoples buying decisions. Work with the data and launch on a day when people browse online much more.
Ideally your launch date should be after you’ve created a marketing plan and have all other elements in order. You want to give yourself enough time to ensure your product is ready for a launch.
Create Landing Page
I can’t stress how important it is to create a landing page which has been tested and optimized for conversions. Your goal should be to get visitors as email subscribers so you can continue to market to them going forward. For example, many people don’t make purchases the first time they visit a page however if they subscribe to your email list you can send follow-ups over several weeks converting them at a later date. Do a quick search online for “optimal landing page design†and you’ll be able to gather information on creating the perfect landing page. I’ve written content on this topic for JohnChow.com so do a quick search on this blog and you’ll be able to find it. Please note…
I haven’t included the link because it hasn’t been published however it will be in the next couple of days.
Here are important factors in a optimal landing page…
- Colors which are attractive
- Avoid clutter
- Don’t overuse text and keep it simple
- A clear call-to-action button
- Add testimonials (depends on product)
- Provide benefits in bullet form
Marketing You Product
By now you should have the following figured out and completed…
- Defined audience
- Established goals
- Launch date
- Landing page
Next,
You have to start marketing you product. This isn’t tough as you have multiple avenues to start with however the one you choose will depend on your budget. If you have money to spend then try networks like Google Adwords, BuySellAds.com, etc. For those of you with NO budget then start reaching out to influential people within your network asking them to “share†on their social profiles. You can shoot a quick email to your email subscribers and even post a comment on your social profile. Remember to test and tweak as time goes on so you’ve optimized your marketing campaign. Here’s something to avoid going forward…
You don’t want to investing time and money in marketing strategies which yield NO results. This is why I recommend starting with an initial launch marketing small and trying different things. For example, try all avenues you can afford to and analyze the results until you find 1-2 which provide the best conversions. Remember your goals so you can track how well the launch and marketing is working.