The Flourishing Five: How to Plan a Launch

Generating Income as a Service Provider

The Flourishing Five is the five day sales launch I created to spark some excitement for myself in my business and attract new clientele. Each day, I launch something different that was ONLY available for that day.

As a service provider, I’d never had any Black Friday sales. I don’t love discounting my services or doing sales. It just isn’t something that feels aligned for me. It was also really important to me to not work on the holidays and instead spend that quality time with my family. With slow season approaching, I knew that I could push myself to create something new and different that could serve my audience well and generate some income.

So, I brainstormed some offers, new bundles, and even dropped a set of digital guides I’d had in the works. I picked the week before Black Friday and did my own version of a Black Friday sale.

In the end, the week went so well and it ended up generating just over 10k for my business. Some of my offers brought in future clients even a year in advance.

How To Plan a Launch - The Course

Because The Flourishing Five did so well, it really motivated me to create a course where could show others how to do the same thing. Sooo, I did! Creating a Flourishing Launch gives you a clear, step-by-step roadmap to take the guesswork out of your next big launch. Your launch doesn’t have to look exactly like mine. It could be a single day, or over a longer period of time. It could be to celebrate your business birthday or simply with the intention of putting out new offers you know are valuable and actually having them sell.

This course is an in depth look at the whole process. It covers creating your offers, launch structure, launch goals, knowing the numbers, branding your launch, marketing, launch week, and post launch.
Sometimes all you need is a bit of excitement and a clear plan.

Map Out Your Offers

Before you plan your launch, you have to first be clear on what you are launching. Is it your new service? Are they new offers or new bundles? Is it a digital product? Maybe you could push yourself and add in ways people can customize to get exactly what works best for them.

Will this offer always be available or can they only get it on the day you launch? Is there limited availability? Ask yourself all those questions and get really clear on the details. Leaving things open can cause confusion later on.

Figure out when you are launching. Give yourself time to prepare everything. I love having the ability to create new things on a whim, but when it comes to something really important, an offer you really want to do well and create impact, you need to take the time to plan it out in advance. Create a timeline and give yourself ample time to prepare as well as allow yourself to rest. It may be cliche, but you can’t pour from an empty cup. It is a disservice to the people you serve to let your needs be ignored. You have to take care of you before you can take care of everyone else.

Marketing Strategy - How to Plan a Launch

I go more in depth on my marketing strategy on this podcast episode and how to create your own strategy inside of Creating a Flourishing Launch. I went heavy on Instagram Stories and email marketing. I would recommend pouring into multiple platforms. Especially with how unreliable social media can be. It is important to reach people wherever they are.

For me, I essentially created marketing materials for each day of my launch as well as some ahead of time. I did invest in email templates which made a huge difference for me. All the writing is a lot and not necessarily my strong suit. I did however, devote some time to edit the templates and customize them to really make it sound like me and speak to my audience. Having a good foundation to build off of for that was huge for me.

I did a lot of it in advance and had it all scheduled out. That automation makes the process so much easier. I really wanted to make it easy on the client too. I wanted them to have all the info and be able to pay and book without having to personally interact with me.

I posted on my stories every day of the week. I did a lot of sharing ahead of time as well. I shared teasers on my story every single day the week before. I sent emails to my email list and warmed them up to it. Even if you feel like you are annoying, you aren’t annoying to the people who actually want what you are offering. Repetition makes a difference. Even if you don’t hear much from anyone—keep sharing.

Branding

Having branding specifically for your launch truly makes such a huge difference. It helps people to remember it is happening and want to engage with it. My first year I DIYed a logo and my second year, I invested in a branding extension with Mara, to create a mini brand suite just for The Flourishing Five. I am SO glad that I did. She went above and beyond for me and her service made my launch 10x easier on my end. She brought my vision to life in ways that I didn’t know were possible. From a beautifully curated brand that aligned perfectly with my photography brand - to creating cute graphics that were hand-drawn. I was blown away by the attention to detail in what she provided for me. It was everything I wanted AND MORE!!  I also found that this F5 brand sparked a lot of inspiration for my photography brand as well. I could not recommend Mara more - she is so talented in all that she does!! I couldn’t have done this big launch without her.

Even my first year, I plastered that logo everywhere. Every sales page, every story, emails. Everyone was going to know about The Flourishing Five and some kind of visual is important in making that happen.

Messaging

I would also suggest being really intentional with your messaging. People aren’t often sold by the details of your service alone. TELL them, SHOW them how what you offer will make their lives better. You aren’t trying to trick people into buying from you. You are offering them something valuable. Be clear and genuine in your message. You can have all the best tips and tricks for social media and getting your content seen, but it won’t mean much unless you are speaking a clear message.

Your Launch

Ultimately you have to plan a launch that works for you. Even if you did exactly the same things that I did, your results are going to look different. Remember that you get to plan this! You have to consider what works best for you—otherwise you are setting yourself up for a launch that is more challenging and less likely to succeed. Be honest with yourself. Do you want to work through the weekends? Will you be able to grind 24/7 to get everything ready on that timeline (hint: the answer is no because you are not a robot)? Will launching on a certain day of the week work better with your schedule? Will your audience respond best at a certain time of year? of the month? Do you want to mainly reach a new audience or pull people in from your current audience? Ask yourself these kinds of questions. Write it all down if that helps.

If it’s all a little overwhelming, take a break and consider finding help. If you could use more in-depth guidance, check out my course! The Flourishing Five totally changed my business. It all started with a podcast episode I listened to on a random day and believing that I could do more. I know that you can do the same and I truly want to see you succeed. Grab the course and follow me on IG for more updates on The Flourishing Five!