I’m Launching a New Accessories Line. When Should I Start Telling People It’s Coming? 

Do you ever wonder when you should start promoting a new product? Or, when is it too soon and when is too late to tell people?

It doesn’t matter if it’s your 1st or your 50th product launch, we all want customers to buy as soon as we have something new to sell. We all worry that we won’t have enough customers –  kind of like when you throw a party and worry that no one will show up and you’ll be stuck with all this food and drink and embarrassment… 

Anyway…I recently got this question in the #askjanesbrain bin…

Q: “I’m getting ready to start my accessories line and I also inspire women over forty to live their best life. I’m at the early stages of developing my product and I won’t be able to sell for many months. What should I be doing in the meantime?” – Anonymous

A: Well, Anon…May I call you Anon? I get this type of question a LOT. I’m happy to hear you know there are things you can and should be doing even without a product ready to sell yet. Before I give you my answer, here’s a short story…

A while back I read about an author asking a book promoter how and when she should start promoting her book. She asked, 

“I’m writing a book and it should be ready in about three months. When do I start promoting it?”

The expert answered…

“3 years ago.”

Ummm…what?  

The author followed up with, 

“But how can I promote my book if people can’t actually buy it yet?”

If you’re feeling puzzled like the author was, you’re not alone.

There’s a simple mindset shift that will make this clear. Instead of thinking about promoting your actual product, consider gathering a group of like-minded people together.

***NOTE: I have a COMPLETE online training on this topic – a LIVE online class to help you GET SALES from day one of a new product launch.

Here’s an example of how to do it…

If you want to sell activewear, ask yourself — what kind of activewear? Who’s the person who will buy it? Is it the soccer mom Lululemon type? Or is it women who rock climb, mountain bike, more hardcore? Maybe it’s activewear for a healthy mindful Yoga type.

Whatever target customer you choose, I encourage you to be very, very specific in which type of person you pick.

After you pick your PERSON, here’s what to do next…

Every other week, produce bits of content that will attract the person who will eventually buy your product. Just try to add value to their lives in some small way — entertain, educate, connect. My suggestion is to house this content on a blog. You can use social media as well, of course, but the main hub of your content is on your blog.

Your goal is to build a following, a community, of like-minded people based around the LIFESTYLE of this person, not the actual product. 

But coming up with all this content doesn’t have to be as hard as you think.

Here are some simple types of blog posts / content you could produce that won’t be scary, annoying, or take too much time:

• Listicles
• A picture diary
• Book/movie/product reviews
• 3 minute Facebook Live videos answering a question related to your niche (then post the same videos back on your blog)
• Behind-the-scenes of your journey to launching a new product
• Inspirational quote graphics from people you admire
• Quick iPhone videos with simple tips on anything that you’re good at

The key is to work it backwards. 

1. Determine who you want to sell your product to when it’s ready
2. Figure out what interests them that relates to your niche
3. Produce relative content CONSISTENTLY to attract them to you
4. Keep them engaged and happy
5. Let them know when your product is ready and ASK for the sale

Now imagine this…you’ve been consistently putting useful, awesome content for 3 months (6, 9, 12 – whatever you can do) before your product is ready. What you’ve actually done is created a TON of trust within your community. When you have people’s trust, it’s much easier to say…

“Hey guys I know you already like seeing my tutorials and reading my quick tips, how ’bout you buy this?”

See how this works? Then you GET SALES form the very first day you launch your product. Bam!

If you’re interested to learn more about getting a following of paying customers, we have a course for that. 

How to Build a Following for Your Brand EVEN if Your Product Isn’t Ready to Sell.

As always, thanks for reading! 

Jane