Let’s talk about beta testing an offer — what that means, pros and cons, and why I didn’t want to do it but did… and how it was the best decision I could have made for my business by having a successful beta launch.
If you missed it, I launched my new course for designers, Booked Out Designer, at the end of February. It sold out within an hour and a half. And filled halfway within 10 minutes! Like WHAT?! This was a very successful beta launch… and one that was absolutely not on my agenda. I wanted to make the course, then sell it — in that exact order.
If you launch anything in your business ever or are working on creating a new offer right now… you’ll want to tune in here! I think there’s a lot you can learn from my experience!
This episode is super conversational and jam packed with tips for launching and creating new offers, and I’m so excited to share what I’ve been learning with you! Be sure to check out the full episode below!
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What does beta launch even mean? My view of a beta launch is selling something before it has even been created. I was really against this idea at first and if you go back and listen to Episode #77 where I give the first behind the scenes look into creating my course, you will hear me say I am NOT doing a beta launch.
I eventually had a change of heart and honestly, this was the best decision for me and my business!
Why I didn’t want to beta launch:
1. I didn’t feel a need to validate my idea.
A huge reason why people like doing beta launches is to test the idea before spending time and money actually creating. If you have a successful beta launch, you know this is a worthy idea of your time and money. Also, if no one buys it, you don’t waste your time on it.
I already knew people wanted this course because I was talking to designers about it! Through calls with interested people, I was able to ask them questions before beginning any content creation. My waitlist was also growing with people specifically saying that they wanted this course.
So that reason wasn’t enough for me!
2. I didn’t feel like I needed the money to fund my time spent working on the course.
Another pro of beta launching is that you can get paid, then take the time away from other things in your business to create it.
I didn’t feel like I needed that so that didn’t motivate me either.
3. It felt sleazy to me to sell something that wasn’t created yet.
This is something I struggled with a lot. A goal of mine is to always have happy customers. I want to underpromise and over deliver, and a beta launch felt harder to do that in. Would people be disappointed in not getting the course immediately? What if they felt like I was taking their money and leaving them to hang? I hated that thought SO MUCH.
That was a huge struggle for me!
Basically, I liked the idea of creating the whole massive thing, THEN selling it. That was my plan!
But my plan wasn’t working. The course never felt that urgent, and it was really hard for me to make time to work on it and get the momentum going. I also had decided in my mind that I wanted to outline the entire thing first. Then I could move to making slides for all of it, then recording.
That was keeping me stuck.
After chatting with my client, Rick Mulready a few times about the idea of a successful beta launching being a big game changer, I started opening my eyes to a different way of looking at this. Rick gave me some great ideas about bonuses and a Facebook group in addition to other perks for people to buy during the beta launch.
This helped me see beta testing in a new way where I didn’t feel like I was just taking money and leaving my new Founding Members high and dry while I finished the course. Adam and my team agreed that this was our best move and it really was the perfect decision!
Tune in to the full episode to hear what happened next as the REAL content creation started to take place.
5 reasons why you should consider beta launching your offer:
From a girl who said she’d never do it but had a great successful beta launch!
- If you aren’t sure people want it.
- If you need it to be funded.
- You want the motivation to make the thing!!
- You want live feedback from real customers on what’s helpful and what they need to learn. This will help you create a better offer long term.
- You want testimonials for your later public launch!
Episodes Mentioned:
Episode #77 Insider Scoop Alert! The Making Of My Online Course For Designers
Full Launch Update *Coming Soon*
Links Mentioned:
Listen to the Breakthrough Brand Podcast
Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram
