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For every 100 new products that come to the market each year, 95 of them will fail. But how do you make sure your product succeeds? The truth is that the e-learning market is huge. In 2019, it was sized at almost $200 billion USD, and by 2026, it’s forecast to reach almost $400 billion USD. This means that digital products are fast becoming the favorite way to make more money. So, here are three ways to make your new launch a sell-out success:
Related: E-learning is Taking Over Offline Teaching. Here’s Why
1. Solve one thing really well
In such a crowded marketplace, it can feel difficult to actually find success for a new product or offer. Your customer is not a lifeless avatar. They’re real-life humans with beliefs and values. By knowing your audience and the problem they want to solve, you can design a product that solves their needs perfectly. And you’re making it easy for your audience to choose you. So, pick one problem your audience wants to be solved and create a solution.
According to course strategist Destinee Berman, “The secret to success when you’re starting out in the creator economy is to be like Amazon, Uber and Bombas. Start out fulfilling one niche need, like books, black cars and socks. Then as your business grows, you can expand your offerings.
But how do you articulate what you do to your potential customers? This is your positioning — what differentiates you in the marketplace and how you solve your customers’ needs. In marketing, your number one task is to convince your audience to buy your product instead of your competitors’. You have to know why your offer is better, faster or easier than others. Plus, it needs to be clear in your marketing. Otherwise, you risk losing potential customers and revenue.
2. Know your numbers
When you’re launching a new offer, it’s easy to feel like you’re guessing — and often, you are. When I’m working on marketing campaigns, I base all my strategy on the funnel statistics or research from the audience. Those numbers are intel for what you should keep, tweak or remove, because informed decisions come from data and research. And the reason that businesses have successful launches over and over again is because they understand what works for them and optimize the process.
This is why doing regular funnel audits to know your numbers and the metrics that are standard for you is so important. So, even if you’ve never launched your offer before, go through your current statistics.
Look at your email data to see what subject lines and links your audience responds to. Check your social media posts or blogs to see what topics your audience engages with the most. This can give you ideas for what problem your offer should solve. By finding out what’s resonating with your audience, you can replicate that in your new offer and new funnel.
Related: How to Launch a Product That Sells
3. Optimize your offer
This strategy is so often missed by marketers, because they usually create a product they would buy or that they want to offer. This is a huge opportunity to create an offer that your audience actually wants, so you can maximize the chances they’ll buy it.
Plus, you’ll be able to design your offer to eliminate any objections your audience may have. Here are some ways you can optimize your offer:
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Promise: What transformation can you promise your audience? It must be realistic and achievable, or you’ll risk losing trust.
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Urgency and scarcity: Why does your audience need your product right now? Will the price increase or a bonus run out? Or is that the problem of not buying the product outweighs the cost?
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Pricing: Is there something you can anchor your offer to that highlights the insane value or no-brainer price? Can you offer payment plans or buy-later?
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Social proof: Social proof comes in many forms. If this is the first time you’ve launched this offer, you might not have testimonials from happy customers, so consider adding logos of your customers to the page, or stats.
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The offer itself: What questions does your audience ask about your topic? Is that something you can resolve by adding in an extra deliverable to the offer? For example, if a topic is really confusing, you can add in a Q&A session so that your customers have the chance to get personal help.
The e-learning market is expected to skyrocket in the next four years. But instead of thinking you’d be in a crowded marketplace, see it as a pie you can grab a slice of. As long as your offer has a place in the market, then there’s no reason you can be a part of this huge growth.