EventsListed.com - Website Launch Strategy

Posted by writer

Ok so now let’s walk through the Events Listed product website launch strategies that we are building and working on.

1- Building Traffic: Now that we have the blogs running, we need to drive traffic to it instead of letting the content go to waste. We know that there are a LOT of people out there who can benefit from these blogs, we just need to find a way to get them here. So the first step would be to generate targeted traffic to our blog posts and main website that contains quality content targeted specifically for event planners. I’m going to discus the different approaches we are using for generating traffic using social media and other strategies next week.

2- Free Information: Once we have the required traffic pouring in, we will build a blog/Vlog or video blog that will include a podcast audio track, video & text feed so consumers can read, listen or watch the free content provided in a place and time of their choice. If we present ourselves as employing the latest in media syndication strategies (which we are) through our own launch process we will anticipate we will attract high level, tech savvy industry leaders wanting to A. assess the quality of our content and B. Note with interest the way we are syndicating it.

3- Pre-launch Alpha Customers: Our strategy is to gain an active following of early adopters and thought leaders. If these people become the pre-launch customers, then they will bring the masses (or rather the rest of our targeted customers) with them. So, it’s important for us to get these people on board first and engage with them as much as possible.

4- Launch Ramp-up: Once these early adopters have tried out and tested our product website, we will obtain video and audio testimonials to add to our launch campaign to get the attention of the rest of the world (prospects).

5- Launch: Finally, once the pre-launch is complete, the official product website will be launched to the public . We are planning an extensive three week product launch campaign though are careful not to commit to a date until we know where we stand mid pre-launch.

This entire process up to the launch is going to take approximately 3 months from kicking off.

You may want to know the rationale behind targeting the thought leaders initially as opposed to getting straight into our niches. When you’re dealing with physical products, doing trade is relatively simple. Information trade, on the other hand, is quite a different ball-game altogether. All information has an original thought process (source). These are generated and demonstrated by thought leaders and early adopters. There are thought originators in every domain and industry: think about Apple’s design philosophy, 37signal’s usability philosophy, etc.

This original information is taken in, disseminated, split, dissected, rehashed, reworked and re-presented in various forms through multiple mediums down the line. Sometimes it takes years before the information is adopted by the general population and then it’s pretty much a rolling game thereon. The early adopters slowly but surely bring their friends, families, networks and everyone who looks to them as the people in their network who have the finger on the pulse. You know the people you turn to when it comes to new technology and innovation, you turn to them for their lead and authority and so does everyone else. If we get enough of these people enjoying our product early then we are assured that over time our websites concept will gain momentum. The transition from thought originators to masses can take a few months, weeks or even days, depending on what the concepts are. Generally things that have a higher learning curve (and hence a higher shifting cost) take a longer while to catch on.

For us it is important to bring people that others trust and respect already. This ensures a deep seeded market penetration that cuts to the chase. Ultimately if the early adopters end up learning about our product after the masses their response to it will ultimately have the same effect. If they are not first to try it on however they wont deem it as a viable opportunity as the first to put their name on it.

Take me to water - don’t just give me another map

Posted by writer

Ok, so as I mentioned yesterday, I am in the process of launching a social networking website for event planners and promoters. It’s called Events Listed. We are 5 months into development and currently in testing phase.

The idea behind Eventslisted:

The main idea behind Events Listed is to enable anyone, anywhere to build rich and interactive pages and applications for their events. The website will give people or companies the platform to promote and celebrate events that they want to share by leveraging the latest web 2.0 technologies. Its a complete end to end platform with ticketing and merchandising systems integrated within it.

It will be an international social networking web platform for event planners and promoters.

My interest in this field:
Having founded three start-ups, I have a preference for working against the odds & committed to breaking barriers. My interest in internet marketing in general and event management in specific led us to creating Events Listed. The Events Listed product website launch is going to be a product of intense social media marketing and intricate product design details.

Launch Strategies:
We’re about to begin our own website marketing & launch strategy and I’ve decided to show it to you as it happens. This is going to be a thorough getting-your-hands-dirty process for the doers and go-getters. I’ll keep it transparent and free from any loopholes. So, if you want to actually get “in the bunker” so as to speak, and see how these always-talked-about-but-never-demonstrated strategies can work, then you’re in for some interesting content.

My intention is to share the entire process with all of my readers as I go through the launch process myself.

You will be able to apply these strategies to event launches, product launches or any other activity that you are planning. These posts will run in tandem with our Event Launch Guidelines daily blog posts that will walk you through an event launch process from end to end linking you off the 5 fantastic FREE web 2.0 resources at every step in the process that you can utilize to improve your business.

Starting on August 11th 2008 (4 weeks away) I’ll also be walking you through the planning steps that I have executed for the Events Listed website and product launch so that you can better understand our strategic objectives from a real launch case study perspective.

Following the Events Listed website application product launch case study posts will provide a birds eye view of how a large scale website product launch is executed. You will watch us strategically turn our product launch into a series of event launches, each marketed no differently to any event launch campaign except that our only delivery platform will be the internet. At the same time you can follow our “Event Launch Guidelines” video blog which will link you off to the latest tips n tricks in FREE web 2.0 resources presented in sequence you will be able to relate to, we will be introducing some amazing resources that you can use for each phase of launching an event from the idea through to an actual launch.

Looking forward to seeing you on August the 11th.

Surfing the Free Line

Posted by writer

Despite the vastness of content and information on the internet, it’s interesting to see that most of the mavens only define and outline processes while charging for the actual in-depth how-to guides and consultation. Some people think that if they give away everything for free, they won’t have anything to hold on to. Others argue that without sharing information you can’t possibly expect to build followers and networks, hence butchering the purpose of being online.

It’s not a debate of who is right or wrong; it’s more of a question of how to draw a line between giving away free information and charging for it. Brad Fallon calls this “the FREE line” - the line between giving content, products and services away for free and the point of charging for them. This line is different for different people and businesses, and hence there isn’t any exact formula to follow. However, there are a number of factors that can be looked into; such as the perceived value of the information, the availability of the information, the ROI of consuming and implementing the information, the effect of the information on the reader’s businesses and profitability, the need and demand of the information and so on.

If you do a thorough exploratory research, you will find mountains of information designed to build the reader’s knowledge to a point where they become willing to pay someone to show them how it’s done. Community based platforms or personal sites may be an exception to this discussion - we are only referring to sites with business and sales motives. There is nothing wrong with this approach; in fact it is a somewhat preferred model for online businesses - building reputation first before drawing people to your services or products.

It seems the key to success in online businesses equates to which company can drive the free line farthest whilst still remaining profitable. These business practices are likely to strip industry of high price-points when there are multiple competitive forces at play. If your company is offering services or products that are not incredibly unique, then chances are that your monetary return per customer may fall unless you differentiate yourself enough.

As an example, if a company has consumers spending $20 per day and another company trots along with newer innovative technology offering the same value for $10 per day, then surely that industry has just had is overall price-points stripped by 50%. Either that or the ones with competitive prices will prevail while the others wilt away. Sometimes this also results in stock value high-points not seen before. Where is the true value contained?

One way in which companies deal with this is by leveraging the long tail by targeting smaller niches. This is where social media networks come into play, that have made it easier to find even the rarest sub-targeted markets, readers or audiences. On the flip side, with so much free information sources out there, I wonder where the consumer’s expectations are heading? There are a number of other ways in which companies are driving the direction of this debate; but for now I just want to limit the scope of this post to the free line point under discussion. How do we draw the line for our events or business launches without compromising on our bottom-lines. After all, a business is a business and we have to pay bills or buy the fancy new iphones, eh?

Testing the free line theory - Live!
I have an idea on how to give this blog some real direction and make it much more interesting for you to follow. If you’ve been reading my previous thoughts, strategies, perspectives and ramblings, you would know that I am a supporter of intensely remarkable launches. You would also know that I have a keen interest in the product launch formula strategies advocated by Jeff Walker and other such notable people in the internet marketing world. You may also know that I am in the process of launching a social networking website designed specifically for event planners and promoters using the latest social marketing technologies and strategies. Since you know all of that about me, I want to make the content of this blog more focused so as to deliver great value to all of you while testing the free line theory.

Stay tuned, hooked and subscribed.

The event launch hype cycle

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Typical launches follow a traditional hype cycle with the excitement rising up to launch (where it peaks) and then decreases all the way down until reaching a minimum constant level. Here is what the hype curve typically looks like:

Event Hype curve

When we talk about the revolving door techniques for launching your events, we are essentially looking at a curve that looks something like this:

Event hype curve

So, we have the sudden rise in hype with the help of emotional triggers and social marketing effects such as event pages and groups. These triggers are placed in such a sequence so as to raise the hype to a maximum level at the day of the event. Thats when most of your sales targets from tickets and sponsorships will have met. But we don’t want you to stop there - this strategy ensures that you have post-launch hype building and then carefully timed smaller relaunches to ensure that the hype curve always stays above the typical constant plateau. The smaller scale launches can be anything from event videos to smaller local events - anything that gets your fancy.

There is no limit to the potential amount of revenue you can make out of your events if you plan them correctly. I have been talking about these strategies for a long time, but I feel that it is now time to actually demonstrate the powerful impact of these tactics in event marketing. I am going to show you people step by step live demonstrations of an event launch in the coming weeks and answer any questions that you have regarding it as we go. Keep following this blog for an open and uncensored demonstration of the entire event launch process.

Book launch themes

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This is an event launch strategies blog - and I try not to go off on other topics. But when I received the third invitation to a book launch this month I just knew I had to write about this. Now although I don’t consider myself an author, I have written & sold e-learning books which has got to count as close. A book launch is an exciting and memorable step in your career as a budding author. You don’t always have to resort to launching in halls and bookstores. By using the internet you will be able to drive more attention to your launch and consequently your book than through any other medium.

Selecting a theme is an important step in planning a book launch and its no different if launching an event, a product or a book. You just need to look at your launch with the same creativity with which you used to pen your book, create your product or visualize your event.

You can have the book lauch around a similar setting to your book. If the book is about a trekking expedition have the launch atop a mountain (or hill). Get the audiences to trek all the way up. If the novel is an adventure, have it in a boat. If its a romance novel pick a beach spot or a romantic hideout.

The idea is to get creative with your launches and turn them into newsworthy events. Don’t just stick to traditional ways of launching anything. Go out of the way to build a theme that would attract your targeted audience, a theme that journalists will write about. The theme itself becomes an important part of the hype building process before your book launch.

Another interesting thing that you can do is get your prospects to design a theme for you - or you can involve them by getting them to fill out surveys or having discussions and online focus groups. If you involve your audiences in the planning process up front at this point, they will feel like they are already a part of your event and will take ownership in making it successful. This being the case they will feel obliged to attend and to spread the word out to their networks. Hey, the more people who attend, the more news worthy, the more press coverage, the more book sales.

So, to sum it up, get your creative juices flowing. Make your book launch as memorable as the book itself or if launching an event the same principle applies. The press are looking for newsworthy stories every day so they get noticed. Its not difficult to create a launch event that gives them something to work with that does not demand you to invest a lot of money.