Launch Debrief for The Audit Superstar Pilot Round
A debrief of my most recent (and the first group) launch, complete with intel on launch metrics, what went well and what didn’t
Re: The Audit Superstar
If I had to describe the launch in one word it would be…
Seamless.
Particularly because the whole process felt like a delightful conversation with a group of clever humans (i.e. my email list and Instagram following).
The kind I’ve hung out with since January of this year and poured my heart into, revealed the not so glossy Behind-The-Scenes in my biz, and shared everything I know with…like copywriting trade secrets learned on the job.
More on this ☝ in just a few…but first…
Back to the launch. I intended this to be a minimum viable launch. No webinars, no 5-day challenge. And, of course, zero ad spend.
In terms of numbers, I had a good, better, best goal for TAS.
Good goal: 10 enrollees
Better: 15 enrollees
Best: 20 enrollees (I exceeded this number)
I opened doors to TAS early this month for 6 days (1 day was exclusively for the waitlisters who snagged the Early Bird savings).
I sold – 24 spots. 14 out of 28 on the waitlist. That’s a 50% conversion rate.
Considering waitlist conversions hover between 5-10% as per industry benchmarks – I’m feeling pretty deep-in-me-bones chuffed about this metric.
*Oh ya!*
The rest of the 10 spots sold during the 5 cart open days…with the last day bringing in a whopping 8 delightful superstars.
The early bird special was priced at $397 ($100 off the price tag of $497).
AUDIENCE: Email List
I started with 398 from my email list for this launch.
By the time I closed the cart (November 12), I had:
- 20 overall unsubscribes from TAS promotions (each email included an option for subscribers to opt out of the promo sequence)
- 14 subscribers joined my waitlist.
AUDIENCE: Instagram
The Instagram stats get harder for me to track, but, all in all, here’s what happened:
- 14 hopped on the waitlist
- 4 folks joined my program
My expenses: $2,700
This went towards professionally designed sales and waitlist pages, IG promo posts (I got raves on these bad girls), copy editing, and email automations.
Side note: if your email automation and segmentation skills suck like mine, best to hire out these critical launch tasks to an expert.
Total sales made: $10,202
Sales Page Conversion rate: 14%
Pre-launch emails ran between October 18 – November 5th
Total # of pre-launch emails: 7
Pre-launch email with the highest open rate and CTR: The first email in the TAS sequence with the subject line – My top revenue generator in 2021…
- Open rate: 26.5%
- CTR: 5.28%
- # of signups on waitlist: 10
Pre-launch email with the lowest open rate and CTR: Email dated November 1st with the subject line – Don’t buy anything that mentions these 3 words in their sales copy
- Open rate: 17.13%
- CTR: 0.5%
Launch emails ran between November 8 – November 12th
Total # of pre-launch emails: 7
Launch email with the highest open rate and CTR: Email dated November 8 with the subject line – [The Audit Superstar is now open] Get Paid to Think
This simply proves that you’ll make the highest number of sales on the first day of your launch. This is super awesome because that reinforces your belief in the offer and gives you a strong jumping off point.
If this were to suck, I’d have no doubt that I’d want to scrap the entire launch by day 2!
Launch email with the lowest open rate: Email dated November 9 with the subject line – Why audits are better than VIP days.
- Open rate: 12.2%
- CTR: 1.03%
Launch email with the lowest CTR: Email dated November 11 with the subject line – Why I’m not offering website, social media audits (a.k.a. the FAQ email)
- CTR: 0% (Like really, no clicks at all!)
Sales Per Day
November 7 (for the Early Birdees): 13 sales
November 11: 5 sales
November 12: 2 sales
November 13: 3 sales
November 14: 1 sale
The most sales came in on November 7.
Zero sales between November 8 – 10
Launch blooper: Failure to convert the sales page into a waitlist page at midnight on November 13 (Official cart close date was November 12 at 11:59 pm).
Things that didn’t go well
- Paypal integration with MemberPress didn’t work for this launch.
At least half the people who paid using PayPal were unable to access their student dashboard. The solution? They were refunded and asked to pay with their credit cards. Not an ideal customer experience.
- The last few launch emails in Active Campaign were published in bold font. No idea why, even though these were triple checked. I believe even if you get the emails 100% professionally edited, scheduled, set the fonts and margins – something is bound to go wrong. At least in my universe 😆
- The sales page was still up post-midnight after the cart closed. Though it may not seem that way, this was one of those things that I completely overlooked. I guess my insistence on not using countdown timers wasn’t all that wise in the end. I had to ask Salma (my funnel designer) to take it down ASAP.
- I didn’t take the 13 waitlisters off the launch email sequence AFTER they enrolled. So, yes they were hit with nearly two days worth of emails asking them to purchase TAS. A tad annoying.
Things that went well
- I prompted conversations in DMs due to the overwhelming “hearts” I received on social posts (mostly repurposed launch emails). Surprisingly, I found this to be the easiest way to sell TAS. I prefaced my convos with gratitude, followed by a curiosity-inducing question: “Are you interested in TAS or showing a sense of solidarity?”
- Similar to DMs, I reached out to subscribers who were clicking on the sales page link but were on the fence for some reason. It wasn’t 100% successful, but a small segment did tap reply to let me know why.
- The professionally designed sales page and waitlist by the amazing Salma Sheriff was amazing. I particularly loved the illustrations used on the sales page, instead of relying on a default design tactic -stock imagery.
- I landed The 15-Minute Copywriter segment on The Copywriter Club’s large Facebook community. I didn’t convert any viewers to paid buyers, but it gave me practice to promote my idea, field Robira’s questions, and offer value all the same.
- My launch didn’t bleed into the Black Friday promotions. I didn’t have to compete with a bajillion online offers crowding my subscribers’ inboxes. The timing worked in my favor, and I used it to my advantage.
While it may seem like the copy in my funnel (landing pages + emails + IG posts) is responsible for this glorious launch. It’s not. At least not entirely.
The equally important things that crushed my best goals were:
- The offer itself. Audits have been around and copy stalwarts like Jo Wiebe touch on this subject in 10x Freelancer – it’s not deep enough. And that was the gap I intended to fill.
- The unique value proposition (the “get paid to think” angle hit the sweet spot for most copywriter peeps).
- My social proof that’s been baking the last couple of years that’s helped my business stand on the shoulders of giants. Case in point:
- The stuff I’ve been sharing with my audience (my content; copywriting tips and the BTS in my biz) since January of this year. This proves that cultivating a warm and engaged list, no matter the size, is like honey on a warm pudding. #holidaydessertsonmymind
- The courage to DM “interested” folks and gauge their interest level in TAS (I use the word courage because sliding into DMs is not my strength).
- The relationships I’ve formed with people on my waitlist (and outside it). I was honored when Content Bistro generously shared my offer with their email list. That one email was responsible for 5 sales.
For a launch that felt as though it wouldn’t bring in more than 5 enrollees (blame it on low self-belief, understandably a blog post for another time) – I’m grateful. And a bit in disbelief of what I was able to pull off in less than a month.
Suffice to say the quicker you test your ideas and bring ‘em to market,
the less time you waste in bland idea marination.
Tattoo that on your heart and brain the next time you launch.
Master how to do this for your client’s offers so they can crush their launches when you join The Audit Superstar.
(I cover 16 ways you can optimize your client’s offers in TAS.)
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