How to Plan a Digital Stationery Collection Launch
It's no secret that launching a business and being an entrepreneur isn't easy. There are lots of hats to wear and things to do, but a successful business launch can be well worth all the hard work! Building a strong foundation that allows your business to prosper can be tricky, but with a little bit of help, it gets a whole lot easier to manage. When it comes to creating a best-selling collection, having a well-thought-out plan is key!
There are six phases to launching a collection, but it all starts by planning out each detail. Having a plan means we can make the best use of our time, focus on specific areas of our launch, and keep track of important details. We're going to be talking about each of the different areas of your launch that you can plan ahead of time that will help you put together a stunning collection that will have all the passionate planners raving about your products!
Before you start
If you have a stellar business idea ready to go, you are already off to a great start. But it’s essential to recognize that you have much more work in front of you. And you may have to modify your idea to ensure it is truly unique or at least offers something that is missing in your target market.
If you have the entrepreneurial drive but have not yet settled on a specific business idea, dedicate time to brainstorming and researching the possibilities. Look for gaps in the market, and think of how you can use your skills and knowledge to fill them.
Planning your digital collection and launch
Collection Details
First things first, we need to work out collection details. This means answering questions like...
What will you name your collection? - Choose something on brand yet creative that will stick in the minds of potential customers and differentiate you from competitors.
Who is this collection for? - Knowing your target audience will help you create aligned, solution-based products that solve the problems for your ideal customers.
How many products are you going to include? - The size of your collection will determine how long each of the next phases will take, when you can launch, and how much money you can expect to make.
Psst! Struggling to visualize what the perfect collection looks like? Check out our Digital Planner Kits that allow you to easily and quickly build your online shop & business without starting from scratch. Shop the eight different editions of the Digital Planner Kits to find the perfect one for you.
Product Details
Once we know the overall collection details, we can work out the specifics for each product. Details are going to be different between a digital planner, notebook, sticker set, and so on. Next to each product, write down any additional information. Will it be horizontal or vertical? Dated or undated? Will it have a theme? Will there be different versions of the same product? How much will you charge for it? Easily decide which design program is the right fit for you in creating your digital stationery collection in this blog post where we break down four of the most common design programs.
Content Strategy
Now that you've planned your collection, it's time to work out the details of the content you'll share leading up to and during your launch. Outlining your content is similar to a marketing strategy. Feel free to come up with your own ideas for content here and don't be afraid to ask your audience for ideas to keep them engaged. Remember to create content that resonates and educates your niche audience, not just about digital planning, but empathetic content that shows your audience you understand their struggles and want to create a solution for them.
Launch Strategy
Before you even start designing your products, you can start thinking about your launch strategy. Now you can work out things like timeline and launch type! Your timeline depends on how many products you're creating, what time of year it is (will you be launching during the holiday season?), and the type of launch you're going to have. There are two different launch methods you can use to release your collection:
Waitlist launch - this is a pre-sale strategy where you can collect the names and email addresses of potential customers. You can use the email list you build to share educational content and build a relationship with your target audience before your launch comes. When your launch week comes, you can give them an incentive to purchase first – this can be an early-bird bonus or price that isn't available to the public. If you choose this kind of launch, promote your waitlist and invite your target audience to join the waitlist so they can receive exclusive content and benefits.
Giveaway launch - here you'll decide what you want to give away. It could be digital, physical, or both! Most giveaways last 3-5 days and are better for fast launches and smaller investments. Your giveaway can end on launch day since your audience will most likely be most engaged on the day that you announce the winners of your giveaway.
Setting a revenue goal
The great thing about launching a collection at the start of your business is that you can sell products individually or as a bundle, so once you work out a price for each product, you can determine a price for an entire bundle. These numbers will help you to also choose a revenue goal for your launch.
Planning out your financial goals before you even start designing can help you determine how many people you need to reach, how many leads you should shoot for, and even how long your "warm-up" period should be, or the amount of time you'll need to bring awareness to the issues your products are solving and introduce them to your products. If you're just starting out, you may need extra time to raise awareness of the world of digital planning and educate your audience on why it's such a great tool.
For example, if your goal is to make $1000 during the launch period and your product bundle is for $50, then you need 20 sales! If you want to make this many sales, you're going to need more leads, since not everyone is going to convert. On average, 1-3% of your email list will convert, maybe 5%. If we use the same example, a 2% conversion rate means we need at least 1000 leads on our waitlist, at 3% then we need at least 667 leads, and then at 5% then we need at least 400 leads.
These numbers can help us to implement the rest of our plan to make sure we see the results we want! All the research and planning we've done is a piece of the puzzle that leads to a successful launch. Even if we don't reach our goals, setting them in the first place can help us examine what we can do better next time.
You've planned your digital planner collection, now what?
Whew, that's a lot of planning! Once you have all the details worked out, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Next comes sketching and design, but that's a pretty big job. We've put together a 10-week free challenge inside our signature program, Digital Planner Academy®, perfect for digital planner business owners who want to launch their own collection in 10 weeks. The goal of this challenge is to help you see the full process and picture what it takes to plan, create, and launch your collection.