Jasmine Star 00:00:00  Improvement comes from continuous iteration. So each time the team and I launch, we learn more about what works and what doesn't because not everything works. We then refine our approach based on these insights and apply what we've learned to the next launch. I never thought I'd share this story, and yet here I am. Welcome to The Jasmine Star Show, where you talk about business, life and a lot of asking questions like, have you ever experienced a time in your business when you just simply sat there and you were shocked and a little embarrassed, like you were asking yourself if this like if this in fact is real life? I remember once I was launching a course and I had a massive goal. I got the team pumped up. I was casting a vision. I was constantly sending rocket ships, emojis and slack because we were going to the moon with this launch. And then the tech team started saying that we were going to make serious bread. And so then all of a sudden, slack was suddenly filled with like bread emojis and bread memes.

Jasmine Star 00:01:01  But against all odds, our email service provider was experiencing outages and so all of our email promotions were delayed or not sent at all. And this means that tens of thousands of people who signed up for our masterclass didn't get notifications, and this resulted in low shop rates and much lower sales than we had projected, simply because so few people showed up. And then, in an effort to connect with people, I was like, I have this idea. What we're going to do is I'm going to host a live Q&A class. And then I promoted it a lot in social media because our emails were still not sending. And then we prepped in zoom and I was ready and I was going to be there live. And I was gonna answer these questions. And we expected so many people that I asked five team members to be on zoom with me, to answer all the questions I couldn't get to in the live call. So there were six of us on the call. And when we went live, no one was there.

Jasmine Star 00:01:56  510, 20 minutes later. No one was there. I was so embarrassed. I told the team I was like, okay, yeah, guys, don't worry about it. You can log off. And so I sat there alone on zoom for the full thing. It was like 30 minutes or 60 minutes and not a single person showed up. A half an hour later. And like, right there in that moment, I was like, this launch is doomed. Like, for things that are outside of my control, I couldn't see a way to turn it around and make it a win. So the question that I have for you is, have you ever poured your heart into a launch or an event and then you just watch it flop, even if it was not because of you? Like you are totally not alone. Today we're diving into how to get over that sting of failure and what to do when you're scared to try it again. So welcome back to the show. A place where we discuss a bunch of things.

Jasmine Star 00:02:57  But today we're focusing on bouncing back. I should say like LL cool J. Like, don't call it a comeback, I never left. That's what I'm going to say today. Like, I'm not even calling it a bounce back. I'm calling like I was always here, but just now I'm popping. So let's talk specifically bouncing back from a launch that didn't go as planned. So what's a launch? It's a term that I use a lot of people use to describe a specific promotion, a debut, a new offer. It's the whole marketing and sales strategy to help your business. And sometimes launches do not go as planned. Because here's the thing when this happens, it is so easy to feel frustrated, discouraged, and doubtful. Now, you might even start questioning your abilities or whether your offer is good enough. But I want you to know that these feelings are normal and they don't define your potential. So if you've ever wondered, is there something wrong with me? Am I just not cut out for this when you're launching this episode is for you.

Jasmine Star 00:03:55  But before we dive in, I want to read some very nice words from somebody who listens to the show. J9 mix rated the show five stars and said, Jasmine brings the fire every time. I look forward to each episode knowing it's going to be no fluff, honest, informational and a total kick in the butt that I need today. This podcast gives so much value, you need to take notes. Hey Jane on mix. Thank you. You have no idea how much your words mean to me, so if you haven't left a review it will take you like 30s. I would love to read it in the next episode. Okay, so now let's get back to launching. Before we dive into our five step bounce back framework, I want to talk about why it's not such a terrible thing that your first, second, or third launch didn't go as planned. I read an article from the Journal of Applied Psychology, and it said that people who persist and continue trying after initial failure, after they try again after initial failure, they're 42% more likely to succeed just by trying again.

Jasmine Star 00:04:54  So just by trying again, you've significantly improved your chances of success. The very first step when you've launched and then, like you've missed your goals or it's not what you wanted and then you're doubtful about launching again, the first step is to acknowledge what you're feeling and analyse what went wrong. It's important to give yourself permission to feel disappointed or feel frustrated. That is completely normal now, but once you've recognized those emotions, it's time to take a step back and reflect on that launch that you just had. This means you're reviewing your launch objectively, without letting your emotions cloud your judgment, right? Like there are going to be three key areas that I want you to assess. The first area is to assess your offer. Ask yourself, is there a clear understanding of what my client wants? Like is there a clear understanding of their needs, and is the price aligned with what they're willing to pay? Now, the second area is marketing strategy, where the marketing efforts aligned with the audience and with the offer.

Jasmine Star 00:05:52  Did that marketing match? Did your message resonate with people that you were trying to reach? Did you have a long enough runway leading up to the launch? These are all just questions you have to look through and make that assess. The third area you want to assess is lead generation, where your leads actually qualified. How did you capture and track leads during the promotion and was it effective? Now once you assess the different things that could have affected your launch results, you can then move on to the next step. And I want you to adapt your strategy with what you've learned, because I want you to hear this one thing very clearly. Improvement comes from continuous iteration. So each time the team and I launch, we learn more about what works and what doesn't because not everything works. We then refine our approach based on these insights and apply what we've learned to the next launch. Now we have launched Social Curator more than 20 times and we get better every time. We're simply putting in the reps and getting stronger each time, and it doesn't mean that every time was amazing.

Jasmine Star 00:06:52  Now we have changed master class titles. Because of this, we have pivoted sales and closing mechanisms. When you're launching a higher ticket. Because of this, we've adjusted marketing strategies and refined our messaging based on feedback and performance data like so. Please trust me when I say you will get better every time you do it. And you don't have to change everything. You could just start by one or maybe two key lessons that you learned in the past launch, and then you're going to pivot and you're going to refine your strategy accordingly. So whether it means like tweaking your offer, changing your marketing tactics, or repositioning your product, all of that is iteration. And iteration just isn't normal. It is highly suggested. Now the third step to the launch bounce back. I'm going to call this the launch bounce back framework. Okay, so the third step to the launch bounce back framework is rebuilding your self-belief and motivation around launching. Okay, doesn't sound easy, but it's so effective. So how do you do this? First, you stack proof.

Jasmine Star 00:07:52  I've said it before. I want you to stack evidence around what you've done well in the past. Say, I've done that. Well, I'm gonna use it as evidence. And then I want you to take note of your past wins and successes, and let those achievements remind you of your capabilities. Another powerful way to rebuild your confidence around launching is surrounding yourself with other business owners, who are also planning a launch and who could provide encouragement and feedback. And this is huge. I know, because I've seen students do it together. In your biggest launch ever. This is the course that I teach around launching, and I want to talk about two students in particular who come to mind, Rodney and Jocelyn. They were part of an accountability group inside of our course, and they met regularly to review each other's work, even going so far to perform tech checks with each other before kicking off their launches. Jocelyn shared with the community that she not only felt confident teaching her master class because of Rodney's support, but she also had people purchase her offer for the very first time during the masterclass.

Jasmine Star 00:09:00  This is a huge testament to the encouragement and feedback that Rodney gave her along the way. Now, when you connect with other entrepreneurs who are preparing for their own launches, you create a support network of business owners who share experiences. You exchange ideas. These people cheer you on and they offer support. Now it's time to set goals for your next launch. Part of rebuilding your self-belief and motivation is to set a goal of what you're going to achieve the next time you launch. Now, obviously, goal setting is important, but mostly it'll get you excited again and it'll help you refocus. Now, by defining what you want to accomplish and then making a plan to get there, you can create a path forward, and then you get to identify potential challenges. And if or when those challenges occur, how are you going to overcome them? How are you going to avoid them? And then you're also going to create a plan that celebrates your wins along the way. And the fourth and final step to our launch bounce back framework is scheduling and preparing your next launch.

Jasmine Star 00:10:00  Okay, this is key. So first I want you to get a date on your calendar. We're going to make it official. Give yourself a two month timeline and reverse engineer your launch goals like work backwards from your goals. This means you're working backwards from your launch date to set milestones and deadlines. And then I want you to give yourself at least six weeks from the start of your promotion to your launch date, and this is what you're going to do within that time frame. Within the first two weeks, you'll develop and finalize your launch strategy. This includes your key messaging, your ideal client, your promotional tactics. You're going to also begin creating content and other promotional assets. Now during weeks three and four, you should start building awareness. And I want you to start generating buzz. And you're going to do this through teasers, social media posts, email campaigns. But one of the most important. And then it's so often underrated. One of the things that I have to do is you need to make yourself available for engaging and connecting with your ideal client.

Jasmine Star 00:10:57  This is going to play a huge role in the success of your launch. During weeks five and six, you're going to ramp up your promotional efforts, and you're going to ensure that all of your systems and processes are in place for a smooth launch. During week seven, you're going to focus on the final preparations, and this means that you are refining your messaging, setting up any last minute logistics, and doing a final review of all of your materials. And week eight is launch week. You're going to start your campaign, you're going to monitor performance, and you're going to make any necessary adjustments. And I want you to keep engaging with your audience, and I want you to continue to drive momentum. How? Through follow ups and support. Now, after you get a date on a calendar, it's going to be really important to reframe your mindset instead of seeing your next launch as a repeat of past failures. I want you to take a deep breath and view it as a fresh opportunity. Every launch is a chance to build on what you've learned and move forward.

Jasmine Star 00:11:50  Now, this simple shift in your perspective is going to turn your doubts into excitement for what's to come. And finally, now I know this is going to sound a little woo woo. I want you to take time to visualize what a successful launch looks and feels like. I want you to picture your launch going smoothly. I want you to imagine achieving results that you're going after. I want you to internalize what it feels like to get email notifications of new sales, and they're coming in over and over again. Now, doing this will help build momentum and keep you excited about your goals. The more vividly that you imagine a successful outcome, well, the more motivated you're going to become to make it a reality. I hope you know that you are more than capable of achieving each of your goals. You've got everything it takes to make your next launch an amazing success. Experience, determination and willingness to learn and grow. That is how you're going to win. I just side note every setback is a setup for a comeback.

Jasmine Star 00:12:52  Okay, I want you to trust your abilities. I want you to learn on the lessons that you've learned. Because they weren't failures. There were lessons. And I want you to take each step with confidence. Because you do, in fact, got this. You will, in fact, succeed. And you will, in fact, get better. I cannot wait to see what you achieve next, and I would be honored if you would be so kind and rate and review this episode. I love reading your reviews, and if you are knowing somebody who is launching or somebody who came off a launch, that wasn't exactly what they expected, send them this episode with a small note that says, we are better next time. And until next time, I want to say thank you for watching and listening to The Jasmine Star Show.