GeekAffiliate

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise: launching a new product is hard, even on the Internet. Perhaps even harder than creating the product itself, oddly enough. There are dozens of things to do: getting the website up, the sales copy written, the graphics done, the sales system setup, the affiliate program started, the partners recruited, the buzz built. Many of these things are routine, especially if you’ve done them before, but they’re all important.

You can learn a lot about product launches by dissecting what others do. Here, then, are some things not to do based on what I saw happen with the AdSense Resurrected launch. (See my AdSense Resurrected review and the ensuing discussion for the full background on AdSense Resurrected.)

1. Postpone the Launch Date Several Times

AdSense Resurrected (AR) was originally going to launch in October, 2007. It was then delayed multiple times, finally launching only on January 18, 2008.

Now I must admit that part of the delay was my fault, since not too long before the initial launch date the authors of AR approached me about revamping my PLRSiteBuilder software and selling it as part of the AR system. This happened by accident, really, and so it was natural to expect a delay because of that. One or two delays is understandable and sometimes unavoidable. But it definitely leads to disappointed customers. More importantly, it also leads to disappointed partners, who expect firm launch dates so they can send traffic to the product site on launch day and make their affiliate commissions.

2. Don’t Communicate With Customers and Partners

If you can’t avoid delaying the launch, don’t wait until the last minute — or, worse yet, after the expected launch time has passed — to notify your customers and partners of the delay. It leaves everyone scratching their heads wondering what’s going on.

3. Deliberately Underdeliver

Marketing gurus always tell you it’s important to overdeliver when you deal with your customers. Releasing a watered-down version of what you promised to be a “revolutionary” ebook is not a good strategy.

4. Admit You Underdelivered

Even worse than underdelivering is telling your customers that you deliberately underdelivered! Do customers really need to know that they’re purchasing a watered-down version of AdSense Resurrected? Probably not. Especially not if you didn’t lower the price or otherwise reduce their expectations.

5. Complain About Your Customers

Anyone who launches a product can expect criticism from some of the customers who buy the product. And from potential customers who aren’t convinced your product has value. This is normal, it’s to be expected, and in some markets it’s even worse because skepticism abounds.

Telling your customers (or potential customers) that they’re being silly and that they’re wrong to feel the way they do is unproductive. Instead of complaining about your customers, deal with the underlying issues. Did you underdeliver? Make it up. Or explain why you feel you didn’t underdeliver.

You can’t please everybody, of course. There will always be people clamoring for refunds, no matter how good your product is. But you don’t have to go out of your way to deliberately annoy them.

6. Make It Hard To Get Refunds

Despite your best efforts, there will be customers who want refunds. Make it easy so that you and they can get on with your lives. If it’s a hassle, they’ll just complain even more and spread bad word-of-mouth.

* * * * *

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think AdSense Resurrected is a bad product. The basic premise is sound and I’m sure that the readers who take the time to implement the techniques presented there will be successful — it’s an extension of the advice I presented in The AdSense Crapshoot. I think the way it was launched, however, has turned off many potential customers. They’ve sold 600 copies so far, which is better than I’ve ever done with my launches. Perhaps the controversy has actually helped… but I can’t but think they could have sold even more and built lots of goodwill with a different approach.

Read Eric Giguere’s GeekAffiliate blog for insightful essays and product reviews on all aspects of online marketing. Be sure to check out his unofficial AdSense blog as well.

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