Di thing don finish. E dey work, you proud of am, and na only one step remain: make you tell people say e dey. But somewhere inside di last two weeks, dat small step turn into im own big project: checklist of forty items, most of dem about di announcement instead of di product, and dis feeling wey dey grow say if di day no big well well, di thing no go count.
E go count. Launch na di day wey you tell people, na so e always be. Di version wey dey work for business wey na one person dey run am na small, dated and repeatable: one sentence, three places wey your people don dey already, and shop wey still open next morning with nothing change. You no dey try win one afternoon. You dey try start di habit of telling people. Na di second telling and di third one be where most customers really dey come from.
Wetin count as launch when nobody sabi me yet?
One date, one sentence about wetin you make, and three places wey di people wey fit want am don dey already. Everything else for di checklist na optional, and most of am dey there to make di day feel important, no be to sell anything.
Most launch advice na for companies wey get audience, press contact and budget. You get phone and list of people. Di good news be say di small version no be weak copy of di big one. Na different thing wey dey work better for your size, because people wey dey buy from one person business dey buy from di person, and one person fit only dey few places at a time.
Pick di date first, before you even touch di checklist. Dat one no be scheduling trick, na di method: when you fix when and where you go act, na one of di better studied ways to turn intention into something wey really happen. Di date go also cut di work for you. Launch wey remain three weeks get space for forty tasks. Launch wey be for di twelfth get space for six, and di six wey survive na di six wey matter.
How I go write di one sentence?
Talk wetin e be, who e be for, and wetin e cost, for dat order, for plain words. If you fit talk am loud to your padi without shame, e don finish.
I dey make cotton apron with real pocket, for people wey dey cook every day, and na 48 dollars. I dey edit podcast for people wey dey record pass wetin dem fit handle, from 90 dollars per episode. Nobody need tagline. Nobody don ever buy anything from one person business because of tagline.
Two words to delete: just and kind of. Dem dey come without invitation and dem dey tell di reader say you no sure. "I just dey make kind of apron" na di same information with di confidence removed.
Talk am loud once before di day, to one person, and watch dia face when you mention di price. If dem no blink, you dey fine. If you catch yourself dey add explanation after di number, delete di explanation, no be di number.
Write di sentence one week before di date, read am once for di morning, and send am exactly as you write am. Di urge to improve am for 9am on launch day no be craft. Na nerves, and nerves never once make any sentence shorter.
Where I go tell people if I no get audience?
Three places wey your people don dey stand: di group, forum or club wey dem dey inside, di ten or twenty individuals wey go genuinely want dis thing, and one public post for where you already get small followers. Three don do, because first sale dey come out of conversation, no be out of reach.
Write di three places down beside di date. Choosing dem before di day na wetin dey stop di day from turning into six hours of refreshing one app. Di group wey you already belong to count double, because di people there understand wetin di thing be without you explaining am.
Choose di group well. One place where people already dey talk about di thing wey you dey make beat five places where you be stranger with link. If you don dey read one forum for one year without posting, na that one be your first place, and di fact say you bin dey useful there before you need anything na why di post go even get read.
Message di individuals one by one, with dia name inside and di price included. Ten separate messages go take twenty minutes, and every one of dem go land in front of somebody wey fit really reply. Blast na performance. Message na conversation, and conversation fit end for sale.
Di public post na di least important of di three, and na am people dey spend di whole week on. Write am, post am, close di app, and go do something with your hand.
Wetin if almost nobody respond on di day?
Dat na di normal shape of first launch and e no be judgement on di product. Di first telling dey reach people wey already sabi you, wey na small number by definition, and di orders usually dey come for di second and third telling instead.
So decide before di day wetin di day be for. E no be for sales figure. Na to make di thing public, to comot di sentence from your head, and to find out which of di three places bring reply. Write dose two or three replies down. Na dem be di beginning of your customer list.
Watch wetin people dey ask pass wetin dem dey buy. Three people wey dey ask whether e get bigger size worth pass eleven likes, and na di only free market research wey you go ever get.
And leave di price alone for two weeks. When you drop am for day two, you dey teach di people wey bin wan buy say waiting get reward, and you dey answer question wey nobody don even ask.
Di morning after, and di month after
Open di shop, change nothing, and go about your day. One week of leaving am alone worth pass one week of adjusting, because you no fit learn anything from page wey dey different every time somebody look am.
Then plan di second telling before di first one even land. Put am for calendar: two weeks after, then one month after dat. Almost nobody dey buy di first time wey dem hear about something, and spreading out di times wey you talk am beat talking am plenty for one burst, wey na one of di most reliable findings for di study of memory. Launch wey you fit run again next month beat one wey you had to survive.
Make di second telling different, no be louder. Show di thing for use, answer question wey somebody really ask, or talk wetin you learn for di first two weeks. Nobody go vex to hear about your work twice when di second time carry something new, and di second post easier to write pass di first because by then you get customer to write about.
Na dat be di real reason to keep am quiet. No be modesty, and no be say you dey lower di ambition. Launch wey small enough to repeat na launch wey you fit run twelve times dis year, and twelve tellings by steady person beat one loud afternoon by person wey don tire, every single time.
Sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Launch your business
- Frontiers in Psychology, A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions on Goal Attainment
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Parallels between spacing effects during behavioral and cellular learning