The best copywriters are also the best marketers.
With a dash of marketing nous, there’s no reason to be scrambling for short change on freelance bidding sites or mailbombing marketing managers to get work. You can create it yourself.
After all, when you’re a machine at pumping out emails, sales page and VSLs for clients, all you need to do is switch the output tray to your own.
Allow me to explain…
Recently, I got approached to help promote the relaunch of Jeff Goins’ Tribe Writers. Normally, I’d post a review. But instead I’m switching the lens to focus on how you can adopt Jeff’s launch strategy to grow your brand and sell your own products (and maybe even sign-up for Jeff’s free book while you’re at it).
Who’s Jeff Goins?
Jeff’s one of those overnight ten year sensations we all envy.
He built an audience of 100,000 in a mere 18 months, my guess would be as a result of his storytelling teaching style, smart outreach strategy and penning a towering pile of guest posts that lifted him above the crowd.
Jeff has endorsements from big guns including Brian Clark, Darren Rowse and Michael Hyatt. He’s also got a bestselling novel under his belt. So yes, I’m jealous.
He even appears above yours truly in this cartoonified list!
What’s Jeff’s Tribe Writers?
Jeff has achieved the metamorphosis we all aspire for – going from struggling writer to an online writing teacher, consultant and public speaker (and, dare I say it, creative writing celebrity).
In his soon to relaunch Tribe Writers program, he shows you exactly how to replicate his success. Along with modules on how to improve your writing and finding your voice, he lays out the steps for finding an audience, promoting your work, getting published and, with any luck, getting paid.
Sounds great, right?
But, as mentioned, I’m not here to pitch his course (well..maybe a little bit). But what I really want to focus on is how he’s promoting it and how you can adapt (and adopt) his strategy for yourself.
So just for you, I’m lifting the lid to reveal how his launch strategy works. Step closer and let’s take a look…
Jeff’s Product Launch Formula Dissected
To get students through his digital doors, Jeff’s not just posting about it on his blog and social media accounts. Oh, no siree. He’s got an entire affiliate network doing it for him. Better yet, he’s able to grow a massive following and generate sales without spending a dime (or penny) on advertising.
Here’s how to do it…
- Upload your product to Clickbank, JVZoo or another digital products site
After uploading your product to Clickbank or JVZoo, you can create a link to share with affiliates to help promote your stuff. Typically, you can expect to shell out 25-50% in commissions. But with enough affiliates, you won’t have to spend on advertising and will only lose a portion of what you gain. It’s like paying affiliates with free money.
- Create a launch sequence
Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula explains this in more detail. But in summary, you need to create a series of promotional assets that build excitement in your offer and get people registered for the next stage. ‘A sideways sales page’, as Jeff likes to call it. In the other Jeff’s case (Jeff Goins, that is), he’s created a free 100 page book on growing your following and put together some video tutorials:
Click here to get your free book- Every Writer Needs a Tribe
Click here to get the free video training
- Reach out to affiliates
You can hire an affiliate manager or do this yourself. Create a hitlist of the brightest and best bloggers with big lists and followings. Then drop them an email asking whether they’d be interested in promoting your product in exchange for some moolah.
People with uber lists may want some stats on conversions before deigning to send traffic your way. Popular bloggers are also busy people. So you want to make it as easy as possible for them to promote your offer. So create some emails, blog posts and banners which they can simply copy, paste and hit publish to start earning commissions.
- Keep emailing your affiliates in the runup to launching
The runup to a successful launch often starts weeks, or months, in advance. So continue nudging your affiliates to promote all the steps in the product launch sequence.
A great way of getting them to buy in is to send them leaderboards on the affiliates with the highest number of signups. This will give dawdlers that little kick once they see how much cash they could be making once you launch.
- Rinse and repeat
Whether you sell a course, eBook or one-to-one training, you can continually keep updating your product and relaunching it with the same formula.
Each time you’ll continue to grow your list of people who registered but weren’t quite ready, whom you can give some extra coaxing. You’ll also have a list of affiliates all signed up and ready to promote your relaunch for you.
See Jeff’s product launch machine in action
If you’d like to see Jeff’s promotional machine in action, simply register for his free eBook or video training course. Then analyze how the email sequence coaxes and prods you towards signing up for his Tribe Writers course at the end.
Remember, you can use this entire strategy to grow your own brand and to make money from your own products. You don’t have to be reliant on clients to make money.
And if you need an affiliate to help promote your products for you, you know who to call.
Disclaimer – Being a switched on Copywriter’s Crucible reader, I know that you know that the links on this page are affiliate links. But just so we’re on the level, if you buy Jeff Goins’ Tribe Writer’s course I earn commission. Jeff’s an ethical guy though, and didn’t get 100,000 followers from doing things on the sly. So please feel assured that his course is a quality product.