4 Launch Lessons I learned at Disney World
Lesson # 1: Your waitlist page & and waiting lines in Disney – what’s the similarity?
The waiting lines for rides at DW are hours long. The rides make the wait worthwhile…but the process isn’t too bad either. By process, I mean the actual wait.
Most waiting lines have tunnel-like structures which you go through until it’s your turn to partake in the ride. These tunnel-like structures share snippets about the rides…the characters, the story, the props, and what to expect on the ride – essentially keeping the guests interested and somewhat entertained.
When it comes to your launches and getting people on the waitlist…how are you keeping their interest alive in your program?
You’ve attempted to get people on your waitlist – sometimes even a month in advance. But what happens when they’re there? Are you sharing the behind-the-scenes of your program creation? The program curriculum? The opportunities for graduates after they’ve taken your program? What to expect when they’ve enrolled?
Note: You can use pre-launch emails to communicate with your waitlist, just don’t use the “join the waitlist” as your CTA.
Instead, you can encourage them to email you if they’ve got questions.
Lesson # 2: Audience customization is a thing.
Mine was a 10-family member vacation.
The four of us, my sis-in-law and her fam (4) plus my in-laws (2).
6 adults. 4 kids.
2, 10-year-old boys, and 2 girls, aged 5 and 6.
Trip customization was a necessity and not just a nice-to-have idea.
The moms took the girls and conquered Magic Kingdom on Day 1, while the dads and the boys covered Universal Studios and checked off on the Harry Potter rides.
Day 3 was when all 10 members came together to enjoy the remaining parts of DW that would appeal to both groups irrespective of gender and age.
Result: no temper tantrums, meltdowns and the “We ALWAYS do what she/he wants. It’s never what I want” whiny outbursts.
Remember the classic direct response marketing rule?
40% List
40% Offer
20% Copy
When it comes to your launches, how well do you know your audience? What’s their experience with what you have to offer? Are they connecting with your messaging? Do they prefer being sold to in emails or IG Lives? The more you understand your audience, the easier it is to craft your messaging that leads to conversions.
Lesson # 3: Short rides (like 5 minutes and under). Guaranteed thrills in minimum time.
Most rides at DW (sans the shows and performance-oriented experiences) were timed at 5 minutes and under.
Now, we didn’t experience ALL the rides…just chose the ones that promised the most thrills. Like the Slinky Dog Dash, the Space Mountain, and the Splash Mountain (Splash Mountain was probably longer than 5 minutes…but oh so worth it)
Result: shorter experiences are equally thrilling and promise fun.
Imagine the Slinky Dog Dash (roller coaster) being a 10-minute “hell hole” where you’re guaranteed to throw up, walk in circles, or feel dizzy….
Point being…
Content bloat is a thing. It leads to information overwhelm followed by buyer’s remorse.
Some of it shows up in the gazillion bonuses that are stacked on top of the core curriculum.
Some of it shows up within the core curriculum itself. You add 5 extra modules about topics you think your student needs.
The remedy?
Stick to your offer promise.
(Your offer promise is crisp and promises to solve ONE problem. Ideally, it should be devoid of using “and” a lot. Like…I help you sign 3 clients in under 3 months AND get you making passive income. )
I cover The Offer Promise in detail in The Audit Superstar. Want in? Hop on the waitlist.
Lesson # 4: VIP access and how to use the same concept for your business.
I have a lot to say about the VIP experience in an upcoming email, but for now, here’s what I want to share.
We bought a Disney VIP package to avoid long lines, avoid looking at the map for directions (mostly for me because I’m directionally challenged), and collapse our timeline into hours instead of days.
Yes, it was more costly than a regular park ticket, but oh-so-worth-it!
How can you create a VIP-esque experience for your digital offers? Especially ones that are courses or group coaching programs, limited to a fixed number of participants.
Here are some strategies that come to mind:
#1) Have a strong onboarding experience for your students: Capture their intentions and expectations. This is a point where they’ll let you know where they are in their journey (and what they want to achieve through your offer). It also helps you form a personal connection with your students that can kickstart important conversations in Slack or a private Facebook group.
#2) Check in with your students/clients via DMs in a Slack channel: I love this strategy and I’ve used it personally in TAS. It could be a simple question like “Hey…how’s it going? Do you have any questions for me? What is the one thing I can help you overcome this week?”
#3) Shout-outs: Celebrate wins, big or small, and shout ‘em out in the group. This boosts morale and motivates the others to keep trucking along.
#4) Bonus credit: Create an extra resource (or two) to simplify some learning concepts. If you find that a handful of your students are struggling with a particular module OR it’s opened Pandora’s box of questions, you could record a Loom video or create a PDF that can minimize this pain. Think quick and easy. Maybe it’s an infographic, a checklist, or a 5-minute step-by-step video to help get ‘em through the learning hoops.
#5) Offer hot seats: Depending on the size of your cohort, this may not be feasible – but in my experience, not every student applies for a hot seat. This is a chance for some 1:1 time with you where they get to ask specific questions that pertain to their situation. This high-touch experience creates the most value for your student and bolsters their confidence.
That’s my top 4 lessons from Disney in a nutshell.
If you want to learn how to take your client’s ideas into money-making offers, I’d love for you to join me in The Audit Superstar.
We’ll roll up our sleeves and dive into:
Offer promise
Offer positioning
Offer packaging
And…the detailed market research efforts it requires getting there.
Plus so much more.
Hop on the waitlist.
