Launching Your Website Templates
Website launches can be total chaos! Launching a new page or product may feel both terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time and either way, you’re probably going to be stressed out by the end of it, so we’ve compiled our best tips to help you make sure that your website template launch is the as effective and successful as possible.
Lesson 1 – Complete Your Product Before Planning the Launch
Finish Designing Your Product Before You Announce Your Website Launch
This means, make sure that the product or products that you are launching are 100% finished before you even start planning your website launch. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but in the past, I’ve chosen a website launch date before the templates I was launching were actually finished and let’s just say that it didn’t go very well. I thought that giving myself a deadline would help keep me accountable, but in reality, it just led to more stress.
The Value of a Well-Executed Launch Plan
Planning your website launch can be the difference between a sold-out product and a 404 website page on launch day. Consider your target audience and how you can best market to and reach them and define your site goals before anything else. Is your audience full of Gen-Z, millennial, or gen x customers? Your plan should include advertising based on how your target audience would most likely see the information. Without a plan in place beforehand, you may miss details like creating a mobile-friendly website or including SEO strategies to get your site ranking on Google.
Learn from my mistakes; a well-thought-out and thorough design plan is your best bet for a successful website launch. I couldn’t fully utilize all the tools at my disposal for the launch because of the time crunch and I never had a proper website launch plan because I was always rushing to get the product ready by the deadline. Without knowing how to launch a website and having a launch plan outlined ahead of time, you could end up with no potential customers even knowing that your website was launched! My social media posts could have been SO much more effective, my email marketing plan was done last minute, and to be honest, I was probably even rushing through the design process itself. Don’t let your product or website miss the recognition or marketing that it deserves.
Taking Time For Quality
I fully believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well, so it’s worth taking the time to make it right. Your customers will still be there in a few weeks, and they’ll probably be grateful you’re giving them a better product in the long run. Taking the time to develop a high-quality product means that your product will last customers longer or be more effective in its goal and this also means that your customers will keep coming back for more and will rave to their friends and create a bigger customer base for you. Quality products speak for themselves and you can never underestimate the power of a good review!
Lesson 2 – Launching Multiple Products
Embrace the Idea of Launching Multiple Products at Once
In the past, I’ve only ever launched one template at a time. I felt that by only launching one I was able to really just focus on one thing and I didn’t want people to be distracted or to be overwhelmed. I wanted to cater to one specific type of client with each website launch and was focusing on perfecting each product before I released it. I worried so much about perfecting the product though that sometimes I felt frozen and like it was never going to be good enough. Obviously, don’t release a mediocre or poorly designed product or launch a service before putting some thought into it, but sometimes it’s the best option to get a product out there and adjust as you go, rather than letting your worry and anxiety stop you from ever launching!
Sometimes, imposter syndrome or perfectionism gets in the way of you reaching your full potential with product launch numbers, too, but don’t forget that launching multiple products at a time can expand your reach AND your customer base! The more products you have, the wider your reach will extend and the greater the chances are of you reaching your desired market so get planning, launching, and releasing, and edit as you go. This doesn’t mean I think that you should make launching promises that you can’t follow through on or launch too many products at once, but you and your business can probably handle a website launch that includes a little more than you’re giving yourself credit for. The success we’ve had from overcoming this mental block has been well worth it; here we are now with our first three-template launch!
Expand Your Reach and Celebrate Your Wins!
For me, some of the issue was also just the fear of doing something big. Fear of standing out. Fear of celebrating a big win. You know, the whole imposter syndrome thing that plagues all of us. But this time I decided to just say….no and give myself the credit that I have earned with my blood, sweat, tears, and effort. I’ve built this business, I’ve put in my time, I deserve a spot at the table, and I deserve to have a big win. It’s okay to recognize and find pride in the work you’ve put into your business, while still acknowledging the growth that is your future goal!
Lesson 3 – Leveraging Your Email List
Make Your Email Subscribers Feel Special
Our newest three-product launch was a launch of three sleek and meticulously designed Showit templates. These Showit templates will up your website game by 1000% and are a product that we worked tirelessly on and really believe in, so I wanted to offer a 30% discount promotion with this template release and website page launch – but 30% is a BIG discount and I wanted this discount to be special. I launched the 3 templates on my 33rd birthday – so 30% off felt fitting.
I didn’t want the discount to be available to the public and just out in the world for everyone, so I decided to offer it only to my email subscribers. I want the potential customers on my email list to feel valued and feel like they’re part of something exclusive. They’re the ones who have signed up to support my business so I felt like these people deserved an extra reward! After all, the number one rule to growing an email list is to offer people something of value in exchange for their contact info, their time, and their attention. Offering things like freebies, promotions, and insight to your supporters creates an exclusive community and will make those on the outside want a peek behind the curtain, too, so an exclusive discount seemed like the perfect thing to offer this specific group.
Combine Email Marketing with Social Media
Don’t underestimate the influence of social media! I also promoted this exclusive 30% discount for our Showit templates on Instagram, telling people that they’d receive the discount code too if they signed up. We gained quite a few (a lot actually) new subscribers from these promotion posts and though the discount was given out to more people, this also meant more subscribers, more potential customers reached, and eventually, more sales. We’ve even advertised free Showit template downloads on our Instagram and other social media pages and shockingly, this actually encouraged more business for us because people loved our free template and were already on our site so they purchased other Showit website templates and services while there. Use social media as a resource and get the word about your business out!
Why the Website Launch Checklist Matters
Pre-launch Preparation
Like we said before, having a launch plan ahead of time is key to a stress-free and successful product or website launch. Having a plan in the form of a website launch checklist may be your best bet to make sure everything is executed correctly and you don’t run into any snags or skip any crucial steps during the launch-day madness. A website launch checklist or plan will make sure that you’re prepared and will be the foundation that sets the stage for your success.
Launch Day Execution
Now that you’ve got your foolproof launch day preparations in order, you’ve gotta get down to the nitty-gritty and think about how this launch is going to impact your business. A successful website launch is not only good for business upfront because it means more product or service sales (duh) but can also create excitement and engagement with your audience. It gives you and your customers and followers something to share and bond over when both parties are excited about a new product or website launch announcement. This means more sales overall, and a bigger customer base and wider reach so more sales in the long run, too!
Post-launch Analysis and Optimization
Yay! Your product or service is live and now you’ve figured out how to launch your website successfully! What now? Well, this is the perfect time to take advantage of the data that comes with a launch and evaluate your business and marketing strategies as a whole. Evaluating your post-launch data will provide you with some valuable insight into your sales and marketing strategy because you can see how this product or website launch affected your business as a whole. Did sales spike during the launch but drop steeply afterward? Or maybe this data showed a steady incline in people joining your email marketing list or in one specific type of product sales. Now that you’ve got this data, use it to your advantage! Don’t be afraid to edit as needed and learn from your mistakes. Take this opportunity to consider your business goals and how you can adjust your plan in the future to optimize sales and exposure and get the results that you want.
Final Thoughts on Your Website Launching
So if you’re trying to figure out how to launch a website or product on your website, use my experience and learn from my mistakes: plan ahead (maybe even by creating your own website launch checklist or social media promotion plan!), launch a few products at a time, and don’t doubt yourself and your abilities along the way, and use your social media, email, and marketing lists to your advantage to get the word out and learn from for future website launches!
We’re all human so our website launches and websites themselves are never going to be perfect, but you can leverage the lessons of others, learn from your own mistakes, and use the skills you have at your disposal already to make your launch great and recognize that you’re never done growing and learning, especially in the field of web design and template sales as a business owner.
Have your own product or website launch tips and tricks? Share your experiences and lessons with us and others in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you. We believe that a sense of community in your own business as well as within the sphere of web designers and template sellers is critical to the process. It takes a village as they say! So share your experiences below and remember that every experience is a learning experience. I fully expect that I’ll learn even more next time around – but I hope these three tips help you learn from my “mistakes!”
