Community Launch Guide
12 launch activities for a less intimidating community launch.
What exactly is a launch?
To me, a launch is nothing but a cluster of visibility points in a short period of time.
That means it’s a period of time when you’re extra visible to your audience so that more people are more likely to pay attention to the invitation to join your community. If you can plan out a few different visibility opportunities for around the same period of time, you can have multiple ways to invite your people in.
For many of us the word “launch” makes our eyes glaze over. It sounds like something for someone fancier, richer and more salesy. We think of it as a carefully choreographed, precise 5-course tasting menu at a Michelin star restaurant. If you’re a small team and not particularly comfortable pitching, this is intimidating!
What if instead of a tasting menu, planning a launch was like a buffet?
You could choose a few visibility points to focus on and schedule them for around the same time.
What could those items be for you? I’ve included here a bunch of examples. Because it’s easy to get overwhelmed on what to work on, I’ve assigned points according to the ones I’ve seen be most predictably effective.
If you're planning a launch, this is meant to be a starting point and a guide. Your results with each item may vary!
10 POINTS EACH
Email Sequence
5+ emails that take your members through a journey to join your community.
Landing Page
Give a glimpse into what happens in the community and make a clear invitation for people to join.
Live Event + 10-min Pitch
Give people a sense of how it’ll feel in the community, share your excitement and invite them to join.
5 POINTS EACH
Open House
Have your existing members show potential new members around.
Guest Workshops
Partner with existing communities to host workshops on your expertise.
Summit
A live event that happens across many hours and/or days, where you bring together a number of speakers.
3 POINTS EACH
Public Speaking
Apply to speak at existing events and conferences that your potential members will attend.
Podcast Guesting
Reach out to podcasts your members listen to. Ask that the episode be released around your launch.
Co-hosting Events
Partner with someone with a similar audience and do an event about the intersection of your work.
1 POINT EACH
LinkedIn Interview
Feature your existing members and/or speakers as a way to reach wider audiences during launch.
Twitter Spaces
Have a specific (ideally spicy) topic to discuss, gather 2-5 others in your space and have everyone co-promote.
Instagram Live
Feature your existing members and/or speakers as a way to reach wider audiences during launch.
Which of these would you consider doing for your next launch?
Tally up your points from each activity and see how your launch ranks.
Less than 20 points: Great for testing.
21-31 points: Solid!
32-39 points: Awesome!
40+ points: You’re doing too much.
Not where you want to be? See where you might be able to add in an activity and where you might be able to remove an activity if you’re planning too many things.
Things to remember:
You can do all these things in a way that feels right to you. You don’t have to transform into another person.
The more you think about how your visibility points connect, the more effective they will be.
Committing to too many things will drain your energy and cause you to not show up fully. Do a few things well!