15: How to Get Started with a Challenge Launch and Why Your Business Needs One
Jun 22, 2022
Learn the basics of how to launch your offer with a challenge, the benefits of doing a Challenge Launch for your business, and some tips on how to get started.
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Transcript:
This is an exciting week for our team. It's launch week. We kicked off our Challenge Launch Bootcamp and decided that this episode would include an excerpt from day one of our bootcamp. We thought it was powerful and impactful information that would be helpful to listen to on the go. So, we're going to go ahead and jump right into just part of day one of our Challenge Launch Bootcamp. If you'd like to learn more, go to banishbusinessclutter.com/launch.
What is a Challenge Launch? A launch all ties back to the thing you want to sell. Okay. An offer is that thing. And tomorrow we're going to be talking about the different types of offers and how to kind of determine the best offer for you. All right. There are many different types of offers. If you've been listening to my podcast, Launch Perspective, we talk a lot about offers, figuring out what that is, and, you know, how to launch it and leads and all the things. But it all starts here because the whole purpose of a challenge launch is to bring awareness, and education, and basically eyeballs, okay, leads to your offer so that you can convert them to a customer, a student, a client, a member, any of the things that you call your people when they have purchased something with you. Okay. So, all starts with the offer.
A launch is that designated set time. Launching doesn't mean that I have this offer, I put it up on my website, and now it's open and anyone can buy it, and I just sit back and do nothing. Okay. If you are able to sell items that way, amazing, because I find that offers sit on the digital shelf collecting dust when we just put them on our website. Right. We need a launch strategy. This is your marketing strategy to get people knowing about your offer, why it's beneficial, why they need it, all the things. Okay. So, a launch, specifically what we're talking about this week is a challenge launch, typically three to five days. I'm going to say why those numbers are so important. Okay. But it's where you teach something of value as a way to connect with your audience and bring that awareness, education, and desire for your offer. Okay. That's what a launch is, and I'll share in a minute why I feel like challenge launches are so powerful.
It also generates leads. How many of you know that leads are the lifeline, right, of your business? Because if we don't consistently have new people to share with, then we're always going to be inviting the same people to buy our offer and that's not going to work. You are going to drive your friends and initial audience members crazy. Right. Because you're constantly trying to sell to only them. You have to broaden your lead list. And honestly, a challenge launch is one of the most amazing ways to generate new leads into your business. It is the way that I generated my first four hundred leads and subscribers. I launched my business with zero people. I launched my first challenge with zero people and was able to build my list to four hundred people. And they became my first subscribers. So, that is why we do a challenge launch. That's what it is. I hope that helps clear up any confusion on that.
Now here's just a little visual of what a basic challenge can look like. And I wanted to share this basic version. And when I say basic, I don't mean non effective. I don't mean not valued. I don't mean it's not awesome. Basic just meaning it's a bare bones version that is going to be the best option for some of you. Okay. And I want to explain what I mean by a basic challenge so you can get the visual of it. When I say a challenge launch, I mean holding an event inside a Facebook group.
Now, if you are anti-Facebook and you're like, I want to do my challenge on another platform. I do understand what you mean, but there is to this date nothing out there quite like the community that is built within a Facebook group. Even if you're frustrated on some of the other things Facebook does, to me Facebook groups are gold. They are gold for building relationships, connection, conversation. There's nothing quite like it and this is still a place where many people are comfortable. They understand the platform. This is where they are. Even if you're like an Instagram person or a LinkedIn person, you're thinking, well, my audience isn't really on Facebook, they still connect inside Facebook groups. Okay. And it's going to be very difficult to create the atmosphere, like we've had in our group, outside of Facebook.
So, a basic challenge means you set up a Facebook group and you invite people to join the group for a specific challenge, whether it's three, four or five days. And in those three, four or five days, you're going to deliver video content. It can be prerecorded or live. I'm going to talk about that in a minute. You're also going to send them emails, directing them to that content. And at the end of the bootcamp or challenge, whatever you're calling it, you're going to present an offer and invite them to join you in that offer whether it's a course or buying a product bundle or whatever it may be. And you're going to share with them how they buy that from you. You're going to thank them for that offer and deliver whatever that offer is. That is the basic challenge. Okay.
Now I wanted to share this example because I know some of you sell physical products. And it could be products made by a company. Maybe you're in direct sales or network marketing. So, you don't make the product, but you sell products that another company makes. Or maybe you make products yourself, something you sell on Etsy, okay, or eBay, or whatever. And this can apply to lots of different types of offers, but this is especially common for those who, I'm going to use direct sellers as an example. I had a direct sales career for 20 years, so I know their life well. And as a direct seller, you don't really have your own personal website. You have what's called a replicated website, a website offered to you by your company, and you sell products.
And so how would you run a challenge? So, your challenge is all purposed towards getting people to get started with what you sell. And I don't mean your entire catalog. I mean a product bundle that you're going to create. That's going to be your offer, a product bundle that includes everything they need as a getting started set. Jill is in our VIP membership and Jill was sharing how she sells non-toxic skincare. So, she can do a challenge that talks about the benefits of using products on your skin that are non-toxic. It's an educational challenge. It's also examples of, you know, how these products can benefit you and your family. And at the end of the challenge, she's going to share a bundle, maybe the price range is a $100, $150. But it's a bundle that when those people buy, they are going to fall in love with her product line, in love with what she does. And now that creates a new relationship for future purchases, potential hosts if she's trying to book parties, that sort of thing. Okay.
I just want to mention that this is a great option for those who don't have their own personal website. You have a replicated website through a company. Your focus on this challenge is just using the Facebook group. You're getting them to join the group and they're getting on your email list. How? Because when they join your Facebook group, there's three questions that they're going to answer. And one of them is what is your email address so that I can get you inside the challenge.
So, this is super basic, and this is what I recommend for anybody who maybe is doing their first launch. Maybe you have a small list. You don't yet have a team. You're doing everything on your own. You can a hundred percent do a challenge like this that is effective in moving you forward. And I want you to hear me because I'm going to share other examples. And if I had shared those examples first, many of you would've shut down. Because you'd be like, I can't do all of that. I don't know how to do that. I don't have a team. I don't have those tools. You don't need all of that to run a challenge.
You can run a basic challenge with nothing more than these tools: a Facebook group and an email service provider. Okay. This is the minimum thing you need. So, if you have never done a challenge, you don't yet have an offer, this is new for you. I want you to understand that an email service provider is a must have for all business owners. Even if you do work for a company, you need to own your list. You need to be building a list of people that you can communicate with to share value and market your programs and products. Okay.
So, if you do not yet have an email service provider, I have put some options on here. MailChimp and MailerLite are two that have free versions. You can start with up to like a thousand, two thousand subscribers. Mid-range ones that run anywhere from about, I think it's $15 to $30-ish, are things like Flodesk and Constant Contact. I do have a partner link that saves you 50% on Flodesk. If you want to check that out, it's lydiamartin.biz/flodesk. Advanced email service providers are things like ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign. These are great tools if you are in a business that you know is going to have lots of different email sequences, many different offers over time. So, you can see, we have lots of ranges.
Or you may already have email provided by tools you already use. Some of you may have a tool like I do, which is called Kajabi. Kajabi runs my website. It does all my landing pages, my emails. It basically runs my whole business. So, I want everybody to think about the toolkit they already have. Does it have email capability? If so, you're good. If not, you're going to need to set up some sort of email service provider. Because we don't want to rely just on the Facebook group for communication. Many people will miss what's posted in your Facebook group. That's why we send so many emails. We're constantly wanting to make sure you know exactly how to get back into the group. Okay. And there are many more email service providers than this. I just wanted to give you some ideas to get started.
So, let me answer this question. When you do a challenge, do I have to go live? There is nothing that creates stronger connection than live video. There's so much value to that. Okay. It is a scary thing. This is why I recommend creating a test group on Facebook that's just you so that you can practice going live, practice getting comfortable. But I do want you to know that you can absolutely run a challenge using pre-recorded video. If this is the only thing that's keeping you back from doing a challenge, I want to remove this obstacle for you. Okay. I have been in challenges where the training, this portion of the challenge, is a hundred percent pre-recorded and they post them at a certain time each day, those pre-recorded videos. And then they might do a live Q&A later, or they just don't do that part. It's really up to you. Remember, it's just a decision that you have to make. All right.
But if you're going to go live in your Facebook group, you have choices. And I just want to make sure everyone knows the different tools that are out there. You can go live directly from your phone, from your computer. Now, I'm not a big fan of going live directly from my desktop to Facebook. I feel like it's glitchy, but as a trainer who loves to share slides and screens and everything else this is why I knew I would need to invest in a tool that would allow me to do more than just go live in my group. So, I just want everyone to be aware of these tools. You don't have to check them out now. Check them out when you're ready.
But you can use a tool like the pro version of Zoom. It's the $14.99 a month plan you would have to have, not the free version. But you can use Zoom if you're already comfortable with Zoom, know Zoom. You can use Zoom to go live into your group. Okay. It's actually very, very simple to do. Now, if you want a little bit more bells and whistles, like you see me do. You see my countdown and, you know, slides, and I'll share my screen here in a minute. That is typically with what's called a live streaming tool and these tools can also be used to even record video.
I use Ecamm to record all the videos for my courses. Now Ecamm, what I'm using, is a Mac only tool. So, I do want to mention that. Don't even write that one down if you don't have a Mac. But if you have a Mac, you're going to want to jot this down. I do have my partner link here for all the different options. Streamyard is another great one, works for PCs or Macs. And Be.Live is also awesome. So, all of these are options. So, if everyone's thinking, well, I want to do a challenge, but I don't know how to go live. You can a hundred percent start by just recording videos from your phone. You record the training, you upload it each day, done. Okay. I want to remove the obstacles that have been holding you back because it's not the fact that we're going live. It's the fact that we're connecting with the audience in our Facebook group, and we can do that even by posting prerecorded videos. Okay. So, I just want to make mention of that.
Now let's talk about why challenges are so powerful. Just like I shared before, the community aspect of a Facebook group is like no other. People don't just get to know you; they get to connect with like-minded people inside the group. They don't feel alone. Aren't you all excited to be here, live, chatting with each other, connecting with each other, seeing people who live where you live, or who are at the same journey position that you're in? Right. There's something magical about doing something with others instead of doing it alone. Right. And to me, that is the magic of a challenge.
Unlike a webinar where the webinar is all eyes on me. Yes, we're commenting. You know, people are commenting in the chat. You only have one hour typically, okay, to take a cold lead and develop a relationship with them. And then promote an offer to them that they are willing to buy. You have one hour. Whereas in a challenge you have three to five days. To me, it releases the pressure. And I saw someone's comments, it is very common. It's like, isn't a challenge so much more work than a webinar? It is in some ways, because there are a few more emails to write, you have a few more lives to do. But it's also easier in some ways in that you don't have the pressure of having to convert people to this offer in a short amount of time. You get to build these relationships where they know, like, and trust you. Right. You're building your list, your group, and your credibility as the expert in your field.
And before anybody suffers from an imposter syndrome, limiting thought right now. I don't feel like an expert in anything. That cannot be farther from the truth. You are an expert in what you know and what you do. Because if you have any sort of framework, system, plan, roadmap that you are implementing, that has worked for you and worked for others. You know more than the person who doesn't. Okay. So, you are an expert in your field. Okay. Or your niche, whatever that may be.
But a challenge not only increases this connection, but it gives them a chance to have quick wins. And what I mean by that, you guys are going to experience that this week. I'm literally giving you behind the scenes of why we do what we do in a challenge. Why am I having you make these daily decisions? Because I want you to feel confident that you can make the decisions that you can make in order to have a successful challenge. I want to overcome those things that have been holding you back, and that's the magic of the challenge. If I can help you do all of that, you are going to have so much more confidence in yourself and this whole process.
Well, think about it in your niche. Okay. In fact, let me give you an example. When I do my Declutter Your Business Bootcamps, I give an action step every day where somebody has to take actions to start decluttering something, whether that's a paperwork pile or their desktop. Okay. And then they get to share their before and after photos in the group. Every time they're doing that, they're gaining confidence in themselves. We're cheering them on. Okay. This is the magic of a challenge. Okay. It's so much fun for them. It's fun for you. And obviously it's preparing them to now they're excited, they trust you, they trust themselves. They're ready to make the next step. And that's what leads to your offer. So that is why we do a challenge for all these reasons.
Now, here is what my first challenge looked like because I did have Kajabi at the time. Kajabi is that tool I use for my website, my landing pages. So, you can see, it looks just a little bit more sophisticated. But when I say better, let me just clarify this. I called them Basic Challenge, Better Challenge, Best Challenge. Only because I wanted a word that all started with the same letter. I'm an alliteration fanatic. If you hang out with me long enough, you'll know. But it doesn't mean that the basic challenge is not good. The basic challenge may be your best option. I'm just sharing variety so that you get to choose today. Am I doing a basic challenge, or can I do this better challenge because I have landing page software? Okay. I have the capability to do a little bit more things. Then this is your challenge.
So first through third launch, this would be great. Okay. You have a website. If you already have a website, you're ready for this challenge. Okay. Because you're going to have the capability of creating an actual registration page. You're not just sending them to the Facebook group to join there. You're collecting their email address from your webpage. Okay. So, this is kind of what this funnel or path or journey looks like. It's not much different in that, like I said, you have a few more software tools that are going to help you run this a little bit more efficiently. Okay. So that's what that means.
I did two challenges all by myself. After I did two, I swore I would never do one by myself again. And that's when I hired my first team member. So, by all means having a virtual assistant, somebody that helps you, you know, with all the back-end pieces. You do not have to do this alone. Okay. If this sort of thing feels a little overwhelming, there're so many resources out there. Okay. But, to run this type of challenge, in addition to emails and a Facebook group, you're going to need a landing page.
Now, I didn't know what a landing page was five years ago. So, I'm going to say it for those who may not know. It's basically a webpage with a very specific purpose. A landing page could be a registration page to a webinar. It could be an opt in page to a lead magnet, which is something you're giving for free to get people on your list. Okay. Well, a landing page for a challenge is where you send people, so they register for your challenge. Okay. And I'll show you some examples here in a minute. You had an example when you came into our bootcamp, but this is what you need in order to get people on your list, in your challenge. Okay.
Some people do get landing page software outside of their website. I prefer more all in one tools that do everything. That's why I love Kajabi. It does it all, but some people aren't ready to maybe jump into a tool with an ongoing subscription. So, they might jump into something like ThriveCart. I have my partner link for ThriveCart on here. That's a one time fee of something that gives you an opportunity to create landing pages, check out pages for your offers. You can even deliver courses through ThriveCart. So, I just want you to know that there are many tools out there. I'm not going to spend a ton of time in our bootcamp this week digging into tools. I just want you to know what is available to you. Okay.
So, you do have options at all price ranges and budgets. I just knew for me that I wanted a tool that would be able to do everything for me now and in the future, which is why I jumped into Kajabi. But I realize everyone's in a different place in their journey. But you would need something for your registration page.
Now, let me show you guys my first landing page. This is the actual landing page I created in Kajabi when I launched my business. I did not even build a homepage at this point. I did not have a website. The only thing I built in Kajabi was the registration form to my first challenge. This was before I had an email list, before I had a social following. Okay. The one thing I did have was some connections. Because I had been a business coach and trainer in various ways for the previous twenty to twenty-five years. So, I did know people personally that I was like, hey, come to this challenge.
It was a lot of personal messaging, honestly, that got me to the four hundred people. But I was like, I'm not spending time creating this beautiful website. Now the perfectionist in me wanted to. I was like, I can't launch my business until I have the perfect logo, all my branding colors, this perfect website. I'm like, no. I have to make money. I left my corporate job to have zero. I had to replace that income as fast as possible. So, I knew I had to focus on what would generate revenue. And I was like, I'm going to just put together this page. Join my Banish Business clutter five-day challenge. Put in your email. Sign me up.
This is literally what launched my business.
Thanks so much for listening to this portion of day one of our Challenge Launch Bootcamp. Now, if you would like to see the slides that we were sharing, please go to launchperspective.com and look for the link to episode 15. On our website, we have our transcript, show notes and video for today's episode so you can see the different types of challenges.
Now keep in mind, this was only a portion of day one. So, I encourage you to go to banishbusinessclutter.com/launch to learn more.
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