How to Successfully Launch a Digital Product in 3 Steps
Learn from my failed product launch
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How to Successfully Launch a Digital Product in 3 Steps
If you’re writing online, chances are you’ve considered launching a digital product at some point.
That could be anything of
PDF Guides
Online Courses
E-mail sequences
Coaching service
E-books.
The range is wide and open.
It makes perfect sense, too. If you’re writing about a topic, it’s smart to eventually gather all the valuable information and package it into a bundle.
That’s what I did. A few months into my writing journey, I decided to create a digital product. It took me a while to figure out Substack since it has a lot of features and it takes a while to figure everything out.
After a few months on Substack, I decided to create a Substack course with the 12 key lessons I learned. I worked hard on it and put a lot of energy and focus on it.
Over weeks, I built the product, changed it, and recorded videos, making it into a digital creation that I could be proud of. It turned into something I truly believed could help people.
The day came when I decided to launch the product.
I was excited but also a little nervous, hoping all my efforts would pay off.
I hit “publish” and waited for the magic to happen.
But instead of the rush of excitement and success I imagined, things quickly took a turn.
It all started going downhill, and I felt the sinking realization that my launch wasn’t going the way I had hoped.
The Embarrassing Failure of My Product Launch
Thankfully, I now know what went wrong.
Instead of promoting the product like crazy, creating some kind of excitement upfront, I only mentioned it once briefly in my newsletter.
“Next week, I’m going to launch my Grow Your Substack Course”.
That should be enough to get people excited, right?! Wrong.
When launch day arrived, I simply mentioned the product as part of another newsletter post. I included it in an article about my growth on Substack, thinking that would be enough. I shared my progress, explained what I had done, and briefly mentioned my course, assuming that would be sufficient to get people’s attention.
And guess what? Nobody signed up. Not from the 2 emails I sent out.
The only sign-up I got was when I posted a note about it. (Thank you for being my first customer - you know who you are 🧡)
2 weeks went by and I kept on mentioning my course at the beginning of some posts and no one signed up.
I was so sad about it because I honestly thought that it was a great product that could help people navigate Substack better.
And because I believed so much in the product, I decided to give it another try. First, I went out to see how other people promote their products.
It took me a while to figure it out. And while I did not super like what I read, it appeared to be working.
Second, I revamped my promotional strategy and did a proper product launch throughout a weekend.
And this is the outcome.
$530 earned with my course over the weekend. No freaking way. I was blown away. 🤯
I am so proud and although self-promotion is not my biggest strength and I will probably never really love it, it truly helps to get your product out there.
Let me tell you what where the three main steps I did to turn my failed product launch into a successful one.
3 Steps To Launch Your Digital Product The Right Way
Landing Page
The first thing I did was to create a proper landing page. I didn’t even have one before, just a basic sign-up form. Not exactly the most exciting thing to land on, right? So, the first thing I did was build a proper landing page.
The first thing I added was a clear, brief explanation of what my product actually does. No more guesswork. I wanted people to know within seconds how my product could help them.
Next, I highlighted the pain points my product solves. You need to hit on the struggles your audience faces and show them how your product fixes those issues. Speak their language, make it relatable.
This is what I wrote.
Do you want to grow on Substack?
Do you want to gain more subscribers?
Do you want to get paid for your writing?
Many writers find it challenging to build momentum on Substack. The platform can feel overwhelming, and it’s not always clear where to start or how to grow effectively.
I reached my first 500 subscribers and gained my first paid subscribers within just three months. Since then, I’ve grown to over 2,000 followers by applying key lessons I’ve learned and refined along the way.
I’m sharing these lessons with you, so you can focus on your writing while letting the Substack magic work in your favor.
This course covers everything that has worked for me, step by step.
Then, I added a little “why me” section. You’ve got to show some proof — whether it’s your experience or something that sets you apart. Let people know why you’re the best person to help them.
Finally, I added social proof. What are other people saying about your product? If potential customers can see that others love what you’re offering, it builds trust and makes them more likely to take the next step. Even if you are only starting out, collect some feedback from friends and family and use that to capture some initial references. You can use senjo.io to do this (a free tool for reviews).
In case you are curious, this is my landing page.
2. A Newsletter Post Only About the Product
The next step I took was to create an entire newsletter dedicated to the product. I didn’t just drop a quick mention in a random article. I made sure the entire focus was on the product itself. I wanted people to give it their full attention, without distractions, so they could really understand what makes it special.
The email included some storytelling elements and covered the same points as the landing page, but with a more personal touch. I shared my own journey, including my struggles with self-promotion. People want to feel like it’s really you behind the message, so adding that personal connection makes a big difference.
3. Create Urgency
The final trick of the playbook of self-promotion and marketing is to create some kind of urgency. Never thought in my life that this would work, but people need this extra push to buy a digital product. And this extra push can be time.
On Sunday, my summer sale (yes, I know I’m also sad summer ends 🍂) for my “Grow Your Substack” course ends and it goes back to its original value of $49. Until Sunday, you can get it for $35 — claim your discount here.
That was it. I set up a summer sale and gave people just two days, until Sunday evening, to take advantage of it.
In total, I wrote 3 emails pushing for this.
The first longer one with a full product focus.
A second one shorter telling them it’s only 1 day left
A very brief one with the reminder it’s 12 hours left.
With these 3 steps, I turned my failed product launch into a successful one.
Ideally, next time I even add more excitement upfront telling people in more detail about it and maybe getting pre-sign-ups to create that FOMO (fear of missing out). Playing with only a limited amount products can also create urgency and FOMO.
But the rest will all be learning by doing. You can bet that I will keep you updated on this.
As always, trust the process, learn, and have fun.
It’s a wild but rewarding journey you’re on, so make sure to enjoy every moment of it.
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To the 16 amazing people who purchased the course, I’m incredibly grateful for your trust and hope it meets all your expectations.
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Can you believe there are 696 of us here now? 🤯
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Great informative post. All the best. Keep it up.
Saved for the future!
Thanks for sharing! And thanks for being so open about your own experiences.