5 ways to boost your media launch

You've made shot your videos, written your course, or recorded your podcast, it's all ready to go. You upload it, mention it a couple of times in your Stories, and then....

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You wonder what you did wrong. You worked so hard on your new project but no-one wants to buy it!

Sound familiar?

This feeling is so common, and yet so easily avoided with good planning and strategy. You get so caught up in making the product, that you forget to tell everyone about it, you forget to build your audience before you come to sell, and you forget to find them where they already are.

It's so common in fact that, in the case of podcasts, it is estimated that nearly a fifth of all podcasters don't make it to their tenth show. A small audience, a lack of planning and overwhelm put them off before they even really get going.

So what can you do?

Here are five tips to boost your launch so that when your new media drops, it doesn’t meet birdsong and tumbleweed -

1. Find your audience!
   When you see a new TV series, podcast or online course that looks like an overnight success, it’s almost always because it already had an audience. A star has a following already, eager to see their favourite in the latest thing. When a celebrity announces their new series, a large proportion of their fans will try it out.
   You have the same, on a smaller scale - those loyal customers who seem to buy everything you sell, those Instagram followers who can be relied on to comment on your posts - whoever they are, they are your first audience, so make sure you speak to them where they are, and get them on board. Bonus points if you can utilise some of their good will to share your new video with others, or get them to review your new podcast.

2. Show off some behind the scenes action
   People love to be in on a secret. Before your media launches, you can build excitement by showing the making process.
   Easy ways to do this include - creating Instagram stories in breaks between recording/filming, asking your audience for feedback on ideas for your project, or sharing your excitement when you cross something off your to do list.
   You don’t have to be coyly hush-hush about the content of the project, just share a little of your process to get your audience interested.

3. Don’t neglect your mailing list.
   It’s often said that your email list is the only promotional platform that is truly yours - if Meta disappeared overnight, with a healthy email list you’d still be able to contact your supporters, your audience. So don’t neglect it - make sure you are building your email list throughout the making of your media, and when you’re ready to launch, make sure you are sending out engaging material about it to draw your readers in.

4. Find other audiences
   Are you a Moana fan? In the movie, her community are suffering because they are hiding behind the safety of the reef - once she overcomes that obstacle, and pushes past it into the open ocean, her story can really begin.
   Similarly, your launch will suffer if you keep to your safe audience and don’t branch out to new audiences. You need to expand your reach past the same people you currently speak to for your media project to be a real success.
   Bringing a guest onto your podcast can be a good way to do this - encourage your guest to share your promotional material, or offer their audience some kind of incentive to subscribe to your channel. You can promote your series through ad swaps, or guesting yourself.
   You can also find a broader audience, by talking about your subject on other platforms - write an article in a trade publication, or do a talk at a networking event, and then mention your new media project as a way to connect with more of your work.

5. Don’t stop there.

   Too many people talk about their podcast, video series or course on launch day and then never again. They assume that anyone who wanted to find out more would have done so, and they are just boring their audience.
   Make sure that you keep talking about your project - not everyone who follows you on social media or your email list will see your every post.
   And don’t forget to cross refer - if a later episode of your podcast touches on a subject you have covered before, mention the episode number and add a link in your show notes. When you write a blog post about a hot topic, link to your course where you cover the subject in more depth.

So, that’s five ways you can make sure that your media project finds the audience it deserves.

You can book a call to get tailored advice for your media project by buying a Make a Plan session

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