Right Message, Wrong Time – Self-auditing a slow promotion
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A few weeks ago, I launched a flash sale workshop I was super jazzed about. I asked my audience how they wanted to learn about running flash sales, they said live, so I built exactly what people asked for.
It included: a live workshop, my templates, my bots, and one-on-one feedback for VIPs.
My goal was twenty people in the VIP tier. I sold five.
However, I still see this promotion period as a success because I was able to pull a ton of data from it, and start really powerful conversations with people in my audience.
So! Is this a post about mindset? Maybe. But it’s also a post about honesty – because I think we could use a little more of it in the online space :)
If you've ever put solid work into an offer, watched the engagement numbers go up, and then wondered why the sales didn't follow, this one's for you. Because I looked at the data and found something worth sharing: the offer was solid. The timing wasn't.
What I Did Do
If I were my own launch strategy client, my first question would be about how I marketed the offer. Before anyone asks, I did do a lot of promotion for the Flash Sale Workshop:
Six emails to my list of about 2,000 people
About 10 reels and 10 Threads posts, most of them pre-planned
Two weeks of an open cart
Promotion like this has performed well for me in the past, and the numbers showed that people were clicking on my emails. There was interest, but very few ‘closes’.
The Reels and Threads performed well. I got likes, comments, and a steady stream of people DMing me the word "flash" to get the link. Everything about the response said this offer was going to land.
I had planned on this being a $5,000 to $7,000 promotional period. Instead, I made about $700.
What I'd Tell a Client (So I Told Myself)
Right around the point where I was tempted to just refund the first two people who'd bought, I asked myself what I'd tell a Copy On Demand client in the same spot.
The first thing: the middle of any open cart period is typically the slowest stretch of a launch. While being in the middle of a launch period sucks, it’s an honest part of how launches work. The sales psychology tells us that there is no urgency at that period, so it’s natural to have a slow middle. I didn’t give up, and had two sales in the final 2 days.
So I kept pushing. I’ll admit I slowed down on my mass marketing, but I kept having conversations in the DMs.
And I got honest with myself that I probably wasn't going to hit twenty spots, which meant my job shifted to something more useful: get as much data as possible out of this launch instead of chasing a number I wasn't going to hit.
NOTE: If you're in a similar spot mid-launch and want a second set of eyes on whether to keep pushing or pivot, this is exactly what I do through launch strategy support. Reach out at this link to get on my calendar!
I Ran the Workshop Like 40 People Were There
While five people signed up for the workshop, just one person showed up live each day. I ran every session with the same energy and depth I would have brought to a room of forty.
The people who did show up told me they walked away with a ton of ideas for their own mini launches and flash sales. They felt like they got more out of the smaller group, not less. And when my clients are winning, I feel like I’m winning. So that was great!
The Underlying ‘Flop’ Was Timing, Not Messaging
I looked at my own launch the way I'd look at a client's, and surveyed the people who had asked for or clicked on the link, but not purchased. Every person who responded said that the meeting times didn’t work for them.
In the US, some schools are back in session, and others have wild back to school schedules. Some people are seeing this as the last week of summer, and many said that they were completely off the grid while soaking up the final warm moments of the year.
Every person I talked to said the same thing: run this in October, or right before Black Friday, and they'd block their calendar a month in advance.
So, I’ll likely keep this information on deck, and pivot it in the future.
Bad Data Doesn't Exist
I say this to clients constantly and I think most people assume it's a nice thing to say rather than something I believe: there's no such thing as a failed launch, because there's no such thing as bad data.
My messaging worked. My emails got clicks. The issue was likely entirely in the timing. That's useful information for the future!
Gut Check Your Promo:
A slow launch isn't automatically a messaging issue. Check your timing before you rewrite your copy.
The middle of an open cart period is usually the slowest stretch. Don't panic and pull the offer early.
Ask the people who didn't buy why they didn't. Their answers are the fastest way to find the underlying gap.
Every launch produces data. A launch that undersells still tells you something you can use next time.
If you want help figuring out whether your next launch has a messaging problem or a timing problem, I offer launch strategy support.
Grab the Forgotten Launch Emails checklist for $1 with code PODCAST.
Listen to the full episode of Copy And wherever you get your podcasts.
Helpful Resources:
Forgotten Launch Emails checklist (use code PODCAST to get it for $1!)
Watch episodes with subtitles on my YouTube
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