Marketing 101 – Lessons Learned from a Product Launch

On December 28, 2009, my partner Mike Cliffe-Jones and I launched a book called Beyond Blogging. You might have heard of it.

We spent a lot of time developing this book, and poured our blood, sweat, and tears into making what we thought was an awesome product…and much of the world agreed.

We had positive reviews from heavy hitters like Marko, Chris Brogan, David Risley, Naomi Dunford (Ittybiz), Shama Kabani, Michael Martine (Remarkablogger), Jonathan Fields, Chris Guillebeau, and many others. By most standards, the launch was a huge success. I mean, who wouldn’t want their E-Book plastered all over the internet?

When Dreams Meet Reality

The truth is that Mike and I weren’t sure how many copies we’d sell during the launch, but we knew that we had something good. We expected success. What we didn’t expect though, was a surge of backlash that appeared midway through the launch and continued until it was over.

Our dream was the book, and what happened when our dream met reality was an interesting story. This post is an attempt to share that story with you, and in the process, show you what we learned.

Know Your Audience

Initially, we thought the naysayers were just jealous or terminally negative personalities. Yeah, some were the type that is never happy and always finds something to complain about, but the majority of the dissent came from an audience we weren’t marketing to.

We created the book in order to help people overcome the stumbling blocks that they’ll encounter while building a blog. We also wanted to help people see their blog as a business, so that they wouldn’t get trapped in a business model that doesn’t scale.

We reached that audience very well by creating a launch funnel that gave people hints about the content, while still building interest by not giving everything away. It worked, and we sold a lot of books and received a lot of positive reviews. However, in the process of reaching our target audience, we also reached another audience that we weren’t used to engaging, which was the authority bloggers that already knew much of what was in the book because they’ve already climbed that mountain. They saw people like Chris Brogan promoting it, and were confused whether to buy or not. They thought paying $47 for an E-Book was ridiculous, because they don’t buy E-Books.

So, the backlash began and the debate ensued for a week or so.

Don’t Cater to Everyone

At first, we tried to respond in a way that was intended to persuade them that they were wrong. But, over time, we realized that no matter what we said to them, they weren’t going to buy the book. Why? Because they weren’t the audience the book was intended for.

And that is an important lesson for anyone. If you try to cater to everyone, you won’t sell anything. You’ll be debating on both sides. Instead, pick an audience and cater to them. Dig in, and really focus on meeting their needs and answering their questions. Instead of trying to sell a guitar to a painter, sell it to a guitarist.

Taking Heat

Of course, knowing your audience doesn’t shield you from criticism and backlash. Since it was our first time in such a public spotlight, we hadn’t experienced anything like it. At first, we were hurt by the criticism, but eventually we realized that if people aren’t beating you up, then you aren’t doing a good enough job. It goes with the territory, and it’s something that comes with success. So, instead of trying to hush the critics, embrace them and enjoy the fact that you are in the spotlight.

Price point

As I mentioned earlier, part of the debate was over the price point. Although we struggled with our decision to price the E-Book at $47, I believe the book wouldn’t have been nearly as successful if we priced it lower.

1. One of the most important parts of selling anything is having a team of affiliates or promoters on your side. Had we relied purely on our own audiences to launch to, the buzz wouldn’t have been nearly as powerful as it became. Simply put…you need affiliates to promote your products.The problem though, is that it’s hard to get anyone excited about a $10 commission. If I’m a pro blogger and my own stuff pays me thousands per month, why would I want to work hard for a few hundred dollars? I wouldn’t.But a $23 commission…that’s not nearly as bad, which is why, when you price your products, you need to consider affiliates into the equation. Make it worth their while to promote for you.
2. We spent 5 months writing the book, including several hours of interviews. An hour of our time is worth more than $47, and an hour of consulting with any of the bloggers featured in the book is worth far more than $47. Most charge a minimum of $300…some over 4 figures. The book was cheap in comparison.
3. The people that buy products for $10-$20 don’t take the process as seriously as someone that’s invested $47 into something. When I buy something for that price, I’m going to make sure I get my money’s worth.

Still, it’s a good idea to split test pricing before you launch, so that you can tweak the number for maximum conversions. We didn’t do this, and probably should have.

Design and Copy

While we’re on the topic of split testing, another test you should run is on your sales page design, format, and copy. We decided to go with a long form sales letter (short compared to many in the industry), but we waited until now to split test other formats. It’s quite possible that a different design and sales page could’ve converted better. Now, we’ll never know.

No Regrets

Did we make mistakes along the way? Sure, but we don’t have any regrets. Everything in this business is a learning process, and if you wait to achieve perfection before you act, then you’ll never get anything done. There will always be room for improvement, and I think that’s exciting.

Every launch is a stepping stone. If you want to cross the river, then you’ll need a bunch of them. Once you’ve made a decision…once you’ve started to make a run at it, don’t look back. That’s the biggest mistake you can make.

Nathan Hangen is an entrepreneur, social media consultant, and co-authored the book Beyond Blogging. You can follow him on Twitter @nhangen. Want to guest post on HowToMakeMyBlog? See more info here.