Speed matters when building a product. The longer you take to launch, the greater the risk of missing market opportunities. That’s why knowing how to launch a product quickly is a crucial skill for founders and product managers.
A fast launch helps you gather early feedback, validate your idea, and iterate based on real user insights.
Instead of striving for perfection, focus on building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and getting it into users’ hands.
In today’s post, we’ll be discussing product launches, specifically for launching new ideas with focus on the following points :
- Why shouldn’t you stress about your product’s first launch?
- What is a product soft launch?
- How can you execute a soft launch successfully?
This post is not just for product managers; it is for anyone who has an idea and is planning to launch soon.
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt stressed trying to make everything perfect for your product launch?
If so, this one is for you!
Maybe you’ve said,
“We’re not ready yet; only XYZ is pending. Once that is done, we can launch it”
“I’m afraid people won’t like it if I release it in this stage”
“I want a perfect launch because perfect products do better”
The problem is, chasing perfection is like a never-ending thirst.
Your to-do list never ends if you keep pushing changes to your product instead of actually pushing your product to production!
It’s not just about budling the product-
- You need SEO.
- You need perfect editing and illustrations.
- You need analytics.
- You need reports to analyze the data.
- You need automations, lifecycle mails, campaigns.
And the list goes on..
No matter how rational the reason to avoid launching might be, it’s ultimately preventing you from doing the most crucial thing: facing reality and getting early feedback!
This is exactly what a soft launch is- letting go of perfectionism and launching the product by allowing users to interact as early as possible.
Soft launch= launch a product quickly without worrying about imperfections.
It’s like a dress rehearsal for your product, giving you the chance to refine your offering based on real user experiences.
Let’s talk about a real example from my recent experience.
A couple of weeks ago, I launched this newsletter, and let me tell you how many ways I went ‘wrong’:
- Didn’t create an Instagram account to build an audience base.
- No welcome email for new subscribers.
- No giveaway planned for new subscribers.
- Only 2 articles were in draft, waiting to be published (That’s basically only 2 weeks of content left).
- Published articles at random times during the week instead of following a schedule.
- Haven’t even done any SEO- literally nothing!
I could go on and on!
Anyone who sees this list would say ‘Oh boy, You need to have more than this.’
Instead, this is what I’ve done..
Each week, I posted on LinkedIn and dropped a link to my newsletter in each post.
Here I am, about to hit next 100 subscribers- achieved in just 4 weeks with no publicity on any channels other than LinkedIn.
My first reaction: “Wow!”
Next, I realized this is valuable data. I was able to discover which content subscribers want to read in my newsletter and which types of content are worth their time.
There’s a lot to learn from this feedback.
Instead of spending time on perfection, I launched my product quickly (here, product is newsletter) and I’ve focused on user and content research.
You learn so much about your audience only after your product is out there!
This applies to any product. Instead of fantasizing about great traction and sales, you should just launch the product and get it into users’ hands.
Embrace the mess and imperfections in your product.
Sure, there may be early adopters who don’t like your product experience, and they may not even complete the trial period.
But that’s valuable feedback you have right in front of you, thanks to the soft launch with its imperfections. (Better than not having any data, right?)
A soft launch allows you to validate your product thinking by testing it with real users.
You can see if the product you’ve designed actually meets their needs and solves their problems effectively.
When you launch a product quickly-
- You get to talk to early adopters.
- You learn the likes and dislikes of the audience.
- You build real momentum and motivation to keep going.
- You may even discover that no one really wants to use your product because it’s not solving a real pain point (better to fail early!).
At the end of the day, that’s a win for you.
How to execute a soft launch?
First, you have to accept the fact that users may not fall in love with your product as soon as they use it.
Be realistic with your expectations.
Here’s how you should prepare to launch a product quickly:
🎯 Set clear goals
Be clear about what you want to achieve with your soft launch.
- Is it about gathering feedback?
- Testing your marketing strategy?
- Fine-tuning your product?
Having a clear goal will enable you to analyze the feedback you receive more effectively.
Prioritize feedback areas: Decide on the specific aspects of your product that you want feedback on. Whether it’s the user interface, feature set, pricing, or customer service experience, knowing what you need feedback on will help you gather actionable insights.
Timeline and milestones: Set a timeline for the soft launch with clear milestones. This will help you track progress and ensure that you have enough time to analyze feedback and make necessary adjustments before the public launch.
You cannot run your product indefinitely in the same version post the soft launch. You should define when to scale up and move to the next stage.
👥 Get into the shoes of users
Why should a user onboard for a free trial?
What is the need for user to give their email id to join the waitlist?
Why should a user spend even a minute trying out the product?
Ask yourself these questions.
If you’re not excited about what you’re building, you can’t expect users to be excited either.
Unless you put yourself in the user’s shoes, you’ll be living in a fantasy world of high engagement expectations.
Your product’s value should create the temptation that drives users to try it out.
This brings me to my next point: conveying the product’s value to users clearly.
🤝 Convey value to users
Ensure your product communicates the value it offers to users, whether through descriptions, emails, videos, posts, or any other form you’re comfortable with.
A simple landing page can be enough. Write content that highlights the value users get by using or trying out the product.
If you’re collecting email waitlists, justify why users should give you their email!
No one will test the product without actually knowing what it offers.
📣 Select the marketing channels wisely
Let’s say your research shows that Instagram would be effective for promoting your product.
However, if you only have a personal Instagram account with a few hundred followers, it might not be the best platform to focus on initially, as you’d need to build authority and brand recognition from scratch.
In my case, I have a considerable following on LinkedIn (close to 3k followers), so I started writing weekly posts and dropped my newsletter link in the comments.
I leveraged my existing LinkedIn follower base instead of creating reels and posts on Instagram, which might have generated more interest over time.
But the idea to launch a product quickly is to get feedback early, not gradually over time.
Additionally, I leveraged subreddits, posting comments wherever relevant to introduce my newsletter.
The key is to leverage your existing audience base instead of starting from scratch.
👨👨👧👧 Reach out to right audience
You launch a product quickly to get early feedback that can be incorporated into your product offering to make it better.
Asking family members to sign up is fine, but will they give you the unbiased feedback you need?
Your soft launch audience should be a mix of potential customers who can provide constructive feedback.
- Segment your audience: Identify a subset of your target market that is likely to engage with your product and provide valuable insights. This could include early adopters, loyal customers, or a specific demographic within your market.
- Include industry insiders: Consider inviting industry experts or influencers who can offer informed opinions and may even help promote your product later on.
- Leverage your network: Friends, colleagues, and existing customers who understand your vision can be part of your soft launch. They may be more forgiving yet constructive in their feedback.
Remember, your soft launch group should represent your target market.
It should be large enough to provide meaningful feedback but small enough to manage easily.
📉 Don’t worry about numbers
It’s called a soft launch for a reason. Don’t be too hard on yourself when tracking KPIs.
If you don’t get the intended number of signups, that could be a signal for you!
On the other hand, it’s totally okay if you don’t have KPIs at the soft launch stage. KPIs are just a way to quantify feedback.
If you’re able to gather feedback and draw insights without using analytics, that works too.
There is no one right approach to doing a soft launch. If any article claims otherwise, it’s like force-fitting a framework.
🕵 Gather and analyze feedback
The core value of a soft launch lies in the feedback you receive.
Gathering this feedback systematically and analyzing it effectively is crucial for making informed decisions.
- Encourage feedback: Make it clear to your soft launch audience that their honest feedback is essential for improving the product. Provide multiple channels for feedback, such as surveys, direct emails, or one-on-one interviews.
- Use structured surveys: Create surveys that ask specific questions about the product’s performance, user experience, and overall satisfaction. Don’t forget to include open-ended questions!
- Track user behavior: Use analytics tools to monitor how users interact with your product during the soft launch. Metrics like time spent on key features, drop-off points, and conversion rates can provide objective data to complement qualitative feedback.
- Analyze and prioritize: Once you’ve gathered the feedback, categorize it into themes (e.g., usability, features, pricing) and prioritize the issues based on their impact on user experience and business goals.
🛠️ Make improvements to your product
The feedback from your soft launch is only valuable if you use it to make meaningful adjustments.
- Identify features for improvement: Determine which features need tweaking or further development. If certain features are underperforming or confusing users, consider simplifying or reworking them.
- Adjust the user interface (UI): Make the UI more intuitive and user-friendly based on the feedback received.
- Refine marketing messages: Feedback might reveal that your marketing messages aren’t resonating as intended. Use this insight to refine your value propositions and calls-to-action.
- Enhance user support: If feedback indicates users are having trouble finding what they want or navigating the product, consider creating FAQs, user guides, and demo videos.
🚀 Plan the public launch
Once you’re armed with the insights and improvements from your soft launch, you’re ready to plan a successful public launch.
- Include social proof: Use testimonials and case studies from your soft launch audience to build credibility and excitement.
- Enhance your marketing strategy: With a better understanding of what resonates with your audience, tailor your marketing campaigns and focus on the channels that provided the most traction.
- Test the system: Ensure that your website, payment gateways, customer support, and other critical systems are ready to handle increased traffic and demand.
- Create a launch plan: Develop a comprehensive launch plan that includes timelines, promotional activities, content creation, and distribution strategies.
- Monitor the metrics: Once you go public, keep a close eye on performance metrics and be prepared to make quick adjustments based on real-time data.
Conclusion
A soft launch is a powerful tool for any entrepreneur or product manager.
Launching a product quickly allows you to test your product in the real world, gather invaluable feedback, and make adjustments before making a grand launch.
So, before you stress over the details of a big launch, consider starting with a soft launch. It’s a smart, strategic way to ensure your product is truly ready for prime time.
Remember, a successful launch isn’t just about making a splash- it’s about making sure you’re ready to make waves.
That’s all for today, see you again!
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