Why have you chosen Launch?
The book is a great way for busy business owners to learn smart tips and tricks for selling products online, and launching and scaling their business. As a part-time Marketing Director at The Marketing Centre, I’m often introduced to businesses with great ideas, but who don’t have the skills to bring them to market.
Having started his first online business in 1996, Jeff crystallises his 18 years’ worth of successful launches into one short book. His ‘Product Launch Formula’ is designed to apply to all types of online business, and works at both micro and macro levels, offering strategic insight and granular, tactical tips.
What will business owners gain from the book?
Launch deals with the marketing theory behind successful launches and includes a wide range of case studies, making the book useful for businesses both large and small.
Jeff breaks the product launch into six stages:
- Building your audience
- Partnering for profit
- Pre-pre-launch
- Pre-launch
- Launch
- Post-launch
Each section contains detailed step-by-step instructions for business owners, right down to the type of blog post to write and email to send at different points.
Throughout, a number of key themes emerge. First, Jeff is unequivocal about the importance of email marketing to effective launch campaigns (although, this aspect will likely need some reconsideration by the author, given how GDPR is set to shake up our use of email data.
Second is budget control. Jeff’s Product Launch Formula allows business owners to test the marketplace for their product before it’s built, while still making sales without a full product in place. This will be a comfort for business owners who think they’ve spotted a market opportunity, but are unsure whether to take it.Finally, Jeff emphasises the value of psychological triggers for building product interest, explaining the importance of scarcity, anticipation and customer relationships for effective launches.
If your business lacks ‘product thinking’ or basic internet marketing insight, then Launch is well worth the £12.99 investment. Each of the six sections is rammed with insight, but the framework remains simple to follow. Best are the in-depth case studies. If only there were more of them!
If readers enjoy this book, which other book would you recommend?
Having recently seen The Greatest Showman, I’m about to start re-reading Joe Vitale’s book on circus founder PT Barnum, There’s a Customer Born Every Minute. Joe analyses Barnum’s biography and ‘Ten rings of power’ for building a business empire. A great read for anyone seeking serious sales and marketing inspiration.
