5 planner launch mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Episode 18426th July 2022 • The Courageous CEO • Janet Murray
00:00:00 00:07:49

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IMPORTANT: THIS TRANSCRIPT IS AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED. WE GIVE IT A QUICK CHECK THROUGH BUT WE DON’T CORRECT EVERYTHING AS IT’S INTENDED TO HELP YOU FIND PARTS YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO AGAIN - NOT AS AN EXACT TRANSCRIPT. SO THERE MIGHT BE A FEW QUIRKY WORDS/PHRASES HERE!

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Wouldn't it be good if there was a content planet specifically for small business owners, one that was full of content ideas and prompts, something you could use to create your content plan, but also get ahead with your content planning and also have it on your desk every day. For those moments when you just need a bit of inspiration. Well, that's what I found myself thinking back in 2017.

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So in the true spirit of entrepreneurship, I created one, I published my first concept planet in 2017 as an experiment that I published it the next year and the next year and the next one tweaking and improving as I went, it's evolved so much that time. And it's even been through a few name, changes. It started off as the media diary last year,

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I changed it to the courageous content planner, and I've now trademarked that name. And somehow this has all turned into a multi figure plan, a business, and a ton of digital products that go alongside it and even an annual event. How did that happen? Well, that is a much longer episode, I think, but what I can tell you is the mistakes I made along the way.

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So you don't make them. I'm Janet Murray, I'm the creator of the greatest content planner and a whole host of content kits that will save you time and trouble with your content. In this episode of the courageous content podcast, I'll share the five common mistakes people make with kind of launches. So if you've got a secret ambition or not, so secret to launch a planner,

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the advice I share could save you a ton of time and trouble. And actually what I share in this episode applies to digital product launches too. And by the way, if you already have a planet and are disappointed with sales, you can still get tons of value from this episode because it may help you diagnose where some of the problems might be. And of course,

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that's the first step to fixing them. So let's get stuck into the common planning, launch mistakes. So number one, printing your planet before you've sold it. My first point, one of the courageous concept planet back in 2017 was just a few hundred copies and I didn't print a single one before I've made enough sales to cover my costs. Mistake, number two,

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skipping the product research. The most common question I get asked from aspiring panic creators is how do I find a printer for my planet? Or can you give me the name of yours, which is the wrong question to be asking, because even if I did give you the name of my printer, which I won't, if you don't know anything about printing a planet,

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you won't even be able to get a quote from a printer. Investing time in learning the basics will save you a ton of time and heartache in the long run state. Number three, setting on realistic sales targets. The average conversion rate for online sales is just one to 2%. And that's based on the size of your email list. So if you have a small or non-existent audience or email list,

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if you don't start with realistic targets, you could end up disappointed or even broke, but say state number four, thinking you need the fancy tech to launch a planner. Seriously, you don't need a fancy website, or even to have a website at all, to sell a planner or fancy email automation, because your sales are likely to be modest when you first start out and you won't know whether anyone wants to buy your planner until you're brave enough to ask people to buy it.

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And unless you already have a decent size audience, your sales are likely to be modest at first. Seriously. The only thing you need to figure out is how to get people to pay you for your planner. We say number five, creating a passion project planner. When you actually need to make money. Now, I would love it to create a piano practice planner because I know it's something that would help me a lot.

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Trouble is I don't have many people in my audience who I play the piano or want to, or B have told me they struggle with piano practice. So as a result, I'm not likely to sell a lot of piano practice planners. And I don't have any authority in that area either. Which means people are unlikely to buy a piano practice planner for me over someone who is an established teacher or educator,

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even if I charge less. However, I do have a lot of people in my audience who struggled with content planning. And I do have experience. I had authority in that area, and that's why I created a planner on that topic. But if I did want to launch a piano practice planner, I need to build an audience for that specific product,

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which might take me a couple of years to get the kind of sales I'll be hoping for. However, the experience I've gained with my concept plan. That means that when I am ready to do it, and maybe I will, one day in the future, the process will be a million times easier. If your planner is a passion project and you can generate income from elsewhere,

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not yourself out, enjoy yourself, but do bear in mind. You'll either have to invest time at building an audience to sell your planet to, and the authority to sell to that audience or B you'll have to launch your plan out while you're building your audience and accept that sales are likely to be slow to start with. And that you'll have to do a lot of high touch sales.

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And by that, I mean, you'll have to make less of ideal customers or clients, people that you already know of in your community, maybe existing clients, previous clients, and send emails to them and follow up with both options. You will have no way of knowing whether anyone will want to buy your planet until you actually try to sell it. But at least with option B,

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you'll be having discussions with ideal customers. As you grow your audience, which will help you to understand their problems and may reduce the risk of you launching a planet. No one wants to buy. If you're launching a plan out with the aim of generating income, creating a planet for an audience, you already have, even if it is small is usually a much better option.

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So I hope you found that episode useful. And if you'd like to save some time and trouble with your panel launch, then I've just launched my courageous planet, launch content kit. It contains an audio training that gives you everything you need to launch your planner and answers all of those questions that you have. Like, how do I get it printed? Should I organize my own printing or use a print on demand service?

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How much is it going to cost me? How much money can I expect to make? How do I get it designed? And the good news is, of course I've made all the mistakes. So you don't have to. The kits also includes all of the content templates and checklists you'll need to create your planner to launch it and sell it, including things like a checklist on what you need to know in order to get a quote for a printer or a quote from a print on demand service,

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the costs that you will need to consider for your planner. How do you price your planner and also fill in the gaps templates for all the content that you won't need. So your sales page or marketing emails, your social media posts, I've created it all for you. So you don't have to, the audio training would also help you to come up with an idea of your planner or refine an idea that you already have to make sure your planet actually sells.

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And if not, your planner is on your bucket list, as it were investing in my kits will save you a ton of time and trouble because there is a lot of time and resources involved in launching and planner. And if you make mistakes, it can be a costly business. So if you'd like to invest in my courageous plan, launch content kits,

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I will add a link in the show notes. And as a listener of this podcast, you can use the code or cost 97 to save third on the cost of a Cape. And to be reminded that any voucher codes I share on this podcast are typically valid for up to 90 days from the date, the podcast episode was published. Any questions about any of my kits or working with me,

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just drop us a line or Janet as Janet murray.co.uk, my team are always happy to help answer your questions.

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