[cs_section id=”” class=” ” style=”margin: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 45px; ” visibility=”” parallax=”false”][cs_row id=”” class=” ” style=”margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; ” visibility=”” inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=””][cs_column id=”” class=”” style=”padding: 0px; ” bg_color=”” fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Product Launches Are EVERYWHERE![/x_custom_headline][cs_text id=”” class=”” style=”” text_align=””]It seems like there’s a new launch going on every few minutes these days…
People in the online scene learn from various people that one way to make their fortune is to have a product launch.
Product launching is an art form, there’s no doubt about it.
Some people nail 6 even 7 figures on a launch, while some are happy to make a few hundred bucks from theirs.
But this post is about the HOW and not the WHY of product launching.
To be clearer, it’s about how to get it right from the CUSTOMER point of view.
- They want to get to your site without any problems
- They expect to see sales pages, not 404 pages
- They want the experience to be fast, smooth and enjoyable
- They expect to be able to click buy buttons to buy your stuff
- They want access to their purchase now, not later on
So why on earth is it that we see launches where the server breaks during that critical period when all the affiliates hit send?
The money isn’t just left on the table at this point, it’s blown off the table and flown out the bloody window!
Not to mention the angry affiliates who’ve mailed for you and sent their own subscribers to a dead page…oh dear.
So the whole idea of this blog post is to cover the MAIN points of failure, where it all goes horribly wrong and of course how to avoid these issues in the first place.[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]An Overloaded Server Serves No One…[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row id=”” class=” ” style=”margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; ” visibility=”” inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=””][cs_column id=”” class=”” style=”padding: 0px; ” bg_color=”” fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″][cs_text id=”” class=”” style=”” text_align=””]When you do a product launch, you will attract new visitors and buyers to your website.
These new visitors put additional strain on your website so the server that keeps you online MUST be powerful enough to cope with the additional demand.
How?
Two things you can do:
Get yourself onto CloudFlare
Invest in a VPS (Virtual Private Server)
Leverage the power of CloudFlare
CloudFlare is awesome…there’s no other word to be used.
[cp_modal id=”cp_id_cc5bf”]See me explain the power of CloudFlare, Click here[/cp_modal]
It effectively takes a secure copy of your website, copies it to many servers around the world and gives your visitors the fastest access possible to access your website.
Choice of Web Host
If you’re sitting on a typical HostGator shared package (hatchling, baby even sometimes business) AND if your launch goes skywards then you are in for a world of hurt.
And here’s why…
Shared hosting packages are just not designed for product launches, especially in the busier niches like IM for example.
Increased visitors to your website will put all the resources under strain (CPU, RAM, Network)
The other thing about shared hosting is the all-too-often abused idea of “Fair Use Policy”.
This is the well buried concept that gives Web Hosts the power to shut you down should you start using too much bandwidth affecting others on the server you use.
The best part of this is don’t expect a warning at any point before the host turns off your website (they do, trust me).
If you’re 1 of 200 users on a server and you’re sapping all the juice AND you agreed to the FUP (Fair Use Policy) then they have every right to shut you down.
So what’s the alternative?
Start treating your choice of web host the same way you treat your other business assets…invest in a VPS from a company like Liquid Web who provide the power and scalability needed for product launches.[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Error Pages Will Cause You More Than Just Errors[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row id=”” class=” ” style=”margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; ” visibility=”” inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=””][cs_column id=”” class=”” style=”padding: 0px; ” bg_color=”” fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″][cs_text id=”” class=”” style=”” text_align=””]There is nothing worse at launch time to hit the GO button, start sending visitors to your website to find that all they’re seeing is the dreaded 404 page.
404 pages are the death of sales online.
Let’s face it…if your potential buyer lands on this instead of the sales page, they won’t be sticking around and will probably find something else to spend their money on.
When it comes to sales pages and sales funnels 404 Errors can be caused by something as simple as a typo in a URL.
It could also be caused by something more serious like your website being offline due to the host pulling the plug on you.
There are other reasons, but simply put…
404 = B A D
Avoiding this problem
Before you go live, days before you go live make sure that all your links (images and text) work as expected.
Put yourself in the customers shoes and click around your sales funnel.
Are you being taken to the right upsell, downsell, sidesell pages?
No?
Find the cause, fix it and test again.
Actually, once you’re done testing do it one more time to be safe.
(I’m serious…this is business, no room for errors)
As for customers who do get through the sales funnel…
Well, you need to give their needs as much attention as you did when they were visitors.
They’re your customers now, so continue with the good impression!
Again, put yourself in their shoes and go through the back end of the sales funnel.
- Do the other buy buttons work correctly?
- Once they’ve made their purchase do they receive their welcome email?
- Do they get access to all the products they’ve purchased?
- Check every possible combination of purchase, don’t just assume that because the front end purchase went correctly that the rest will work just the same.
[cp_modal id=”cp_id_cc5bf”]See My Complete Product Launch Webinar for Free…Click Here[/cp_modal][/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row id=”” class=” ” style=”margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; ” visibility=”” inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=””][cs_column id=”” class=”” style=”padding: 0px; ” bg_color=”” fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″][x_custom_headline level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Your Customer Experience Is Just As Important[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row id=”” class=” ” style=”margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; ” visibility=”” inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=””][cs_column id=”” class=”” style=”padding: 0px; ” bg_color=”” fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″][cs_text id=”” class=”” style=”” text_align=””]As for customers who do get through the sales funnel…
Well, you need to give their needs as much attention as you did when they were visitors.
They’re your customers now, so continue with the good impression!
Again, put yourself in their shoes and go through the back end of the sales funnel.
- Do the other buy buttons work correctly?
- Once they’ve made their purchase do they receive their welcome email?
- Do they get access to all the products they’ve purchased?
- Check every possible combination of purchase, don’t just assume that because the front end purchase went correctly that the rest will work just the same.
[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h3″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Is Your website Secure?[/x_custom_headline][cs_text id=”” class=”” style=”” text_align=””]I’ve intentionally left this until the end, as it’s typically the LAST thing on anyone’s mind, whether they’re launching a product or not.
But it really shouldn’t be.
It should be the first thing on your mind…
Think about that for a second.
If you launch with no security in place and a hacker decides to take a poke around…
and finds a way to bring your site crashing to the ground.
Well, see the 404 section!
While you’re at it, get on the phone to your host for them to tell you they’re sorry, there’s no backup of your site and you’ll have to start again from scratch!
Scary thought…isn’t it?
So, security is first and foremost from now on,
Promise? Good 🙂
Here’s what I want you to do right now.
- Grab a copy of WordFence (free)
- Install it to your website
- Run a scan, clean, backup…
- This is NOT everything…but it’s a good start!
These are just some of the things that are so important when planning to do a product launch.
I cover this and more inside my free Product Launch webinar which you can view by clicking the link below.
[cp_modal id=”cp_id_cc5bf”]See My Complete Product Launch Webinar for Free…Click Here[/cp_modal][/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section]