Stress headaches, sweaty palms, a sinking pit gnawing at your tummy—these are all familiar symptoms of a little thing we like to call “launching”.

This is where you spend a week wooing potential customers to join your program. In my case, it was for the third round of Beyond Web Copy—a course and community that upskills copywriters in UX (user experience).

I wrapped the official debrief on Monday and am sharing all my learning with you. If you’re reading this and want me to do the same for you, I do offer a debrief and audit service. Get in touch if you’re interested.

Otherwise, if you’re just in the mood for behind-the-scenes launch goss, then I have just the ticket…

The numbers

• Total revenue: $42,414
• Total expenses: $290
• Sale page conversion (percentage of people who saw the page and bought): 28.6%
• Email conversions (clicked through to Sale Page): 8.7%
• Masterclass registrations: 123
• Masterclass show up rate (live or watched replay): 65.85%
• Number of countries students are joining from: 9

All in all, a bloody fantastic success! 🥳

What went well

Prelaunch: This was something I knew I had to work on this launch, so I enlisted the game-changing help of Brenna McGowan and her Prelaunch Plan Program.

Before I knew it, I was writing the best copy and content of my life.

I was showing up on Insta Lives—which pushed me so far out of my comfort zone. I had 5 sales before the cart opened, which gave me the momentum and energy I needed to fully show up for my launch.

I also wasn’t scrabbling around to get a sales page and cart ready in the final days. I had so much more time and space available to really support the people who were interested but not sure it was right for them.

Diversity & Representation: Beyond Web Copy is a global course, but the last 2 rounds didn’t have global representation. I truly believe the incredible coaching from Annie Gichuru inside REPRESENTED allowed me to create a more accessible and inclusive space. And this is the thing I’m the proudest of from this launch.

Tech stack: This was the first time the classes were recorded and available inside the Learn platform. I like to use as much of a free and existing tech stack as possible. I already had Thrivecart, so my 1 single expense this launch was upgrading to get the education platform. There were a couple of painful days learning how to do it all (like there is with any new platform), but this says more about my lack of patience with myself than anything!

Copywriting: My launch emails and sales page performed sooooo well. Which you’d kind of hope for a copywriter of 10+ years! But it also came down to a year’s worth of research. I don’t just write a page and then never revisit it. Like any UXer worth their salt, I’m constantly listening and asking questions to really understand what’s going on for the people I serve—and then updating the copy to reflect that.

(I’ll be showing you how to do this too if you join my Connect & Convert Writing Intensive in November)

If you’ve got a launch coming up, let’s talk. I have availability for Nov-Dec, and I’d love to chat about how we can tune into what’s going on inside your dream customers’ brains and hearts to attract more of them to you.

Masterclass: I love teaching live, and this masterclass felt manageable and performed well. Delivered lots of insight for people, with plenty of folks staying till the end and 1 person announcing they signed up during launch.

Positive feedback: Thank YOUUUUUUU for all the lovely emails about my launch from both people who signed up and didn’t. Every single one went straight into my “smile file” (thank you, Licia Morelli, for that awesome name). I wanted this launch to be enjoyable and inspiring for people who weren’t the right fit right now—and by all accounts, it was!

Charging in AUD: Last but not least, I think charging in AUD was the right call. And for the foreseeable future, this is how I’ll charge, although I’ll always provide a rough estimate in USD as well.

Social media: I used Instagram in a way I never have before. While email is my favourite way to get my message out there, I love the way I was able to connect in the DMs. And I had a LOT of fun (and success) with reels.

This debrief: As PAINFUL as it is to sift through all the numbers. As tempting as it is to launch straight into the next thing… I’ve found successful business boils down to 3 things:

1. Planning, you need to know what you’re working towards
2. Showing up, you need to put in the work once you have a plan
3. Iterating, looking at what went well and doing more of that and less of what didn’t go well. Talk to me about doing this for your launch or website.

What Didn’t Go Well

List growth: My email list grew around 150 people since my last launch. So my focus is to get at least 500 new perfect-fit people on my list before the next launch—still working out how I do that!

Email Call To Actions (CTAs): I fell into the trap a lot of us do of not being direct enough in my emails. Some of my CTAs to watch the Instagram LIVES were truly face-palm moments. If you want people to click, you need to tell them what to do and give them an incentive to do it. Most of the time, I did well. Next time I’ll do a LOT better!

Final checks: I sent out one email with a placeholder name and a couple with broken links. This would have been easy to catch with a final check. But if this happens to you, don’t stress, the “fix emails” I sent out after got some of the highest opens and click-throughs—vulnerability is a good thing. It makes you relatable.

Storytelling: I write awesome stories, yet for this launch, I included hardly any. I think there’s magic in this. Not every email has to rival War & Peace, but I’m curious to see how a touch more story will connect with people—my hunch is that it will do well.

Length: I accidentally made my launch 8 days—whoops! I was exhausted and an emotional wreck by the end. It didn’t help I was also premenstrual. I’m curious to see what shaving off a few days and timing it better with my cycle does for my mental health.

What I’ll Do Differently Next Time

Repurpose: I’m really proud of the emails I sent this round, but I was writing some of them on the same day I sent them. Next time I’m looking forward to using the same emails but upcycling to make them even stronger.

Testing: See point above. If the emails are ready in advance, I’ll be able to strategically test different subject lines to increase open rates. Optimising every step along the journey gets better results PERIOD.

Who it’s for: One of the biggest questions I got this round was “Is it right for me” so I’m going to be working on this part of the sales page so people can clearly see if it’s going to be the right fit. (This is a common objection, though, so getting these emails is pretty normal and a good thing!)

Stronger social strategy: Social was a bit of an afterthought this launch, and LinkedIn barely got a mention. I’ll use the content from the emails that got the best response this round to create social content next round.

Leverage my network: I’ve worked hard to grow an incredible network of people. I barely used it to get my masterclass in front of more people. I’ll be making the ask next time.

It’s a Wrap!

So that’s my candid, unadorned debrief from my most successful launch yet. Now I’m in full mentoring mode inside the course itself. The people that joined the program this round are so perfect I’m still pinching myself. And there are already so many positive comments flowing in the Slack group and my DMs.
If you want to check out the Sale Page that converted at almost 30%, you can view the BWC sale page here.

Want to work with me on your next launch or debrief your last? Get in touch, always happy to connect with other ambitious entrepreneurs.