4 Deadly Mistakes Most Startups Make When They Launch

DEADLY MISTAKES
MOST STARTUPS MAKE
WHEN THEY launch
Ross Simmonds | rosssimmonds.com | @TheCoolestCool

Have you ever wondered
why some startup launches
are things of beauty,
while others fail to meet
the mark?

Could it be the fault of the
founder for not planning
well enough in advance?

Or is it their PR teams
fault for not positioning
them correctly?

The reality is, not all
launches are created equal…

HOT NEWS
Some get more
media than others.
Some get more social
shares than others.
Some have to go back to
the drawing board.

TEST
Through all of my research on this topic, and
through experience with several successful
and failed startups alike, there are a few things
I’ve learned over the last few years.

TEST
Through all of my research on this topic, and
through experience with several successful
and failed startups alike, there are a few things
I’ve learned over the last few years.
In this deck, you’re going to learn
4deadlylaunchmistakes
and how to avoid them…

DeadlyMistakes
for Startup Launches
1 Using Sign Ups As Your
Only Metric
2 Not Planning Your Media
Strategy Before Launch
3 Not Asking For Help
From Others
4 Thinking Of Launch Day As a
24 Hour Event

Seasoned marketers know this quite well -
you’re not going to acquire every single
person that visits your site at launch.
It should also be pretty obvious that the
majority of your customers aren’t going
to come from a single 24-hour bump in
traffic.
UsingSignUpsAsYourOnlyMetric
TOTAL VISITORS
NEW CUSTOMERS

You need to recognize that your
customers have a lifecycle, before they
actually buy your product or sign up.
During the launch, you may have captured
their curiosity, but until they give you
their email or credit card – you don’t have
their complete attention.
TOTAL VISITORS
NEW CUSTOMERS
LEAD
GEN

It’s important that you recognize that
your customers have a lifecycle, before
they actually buy your product or sign up.
It’s your job to help move them through
that life cycle and get closer to actually
buying your product or signing up.

It’s important that you recognize that
your customers have a lifecycle, before
they actually buy your product or sign up.
It’s your job to help move them through
that life cycle and get closer to actually
buying your product or signing up.
UsingSignUpsAsYourOnlyMetricYou want them to say

Rather than solely focusing on new
customers, focus on using your launch to
capture emails of relevant leads.
Create content that is relevant to their
interests and align with your product
offering.
TOTAL VISITORS
NEW CUSTOMERS
LEAD
GEN

For example, if you’re in Accounting Software, create
an eBook or course that your target audience would
be interested in downloading.
Ask for ﬁrst name
(for personalization)
& email for outreach.
The Ultimate Guide
to Managing Your
Finances Without
An Expensive
Accountant
FREE:
Five Week Course
How To Charge More
Than Your Competition
And Win Business

This is a big one.
Planning your media outreach the day
before launch is a one-way street to
mediocre coverage and results.
NotPlanningYourMediaStrategyBeforeLaunch

If you have a product or service
that you’re planning to launch
within the next twelve months,
start planning your media
strategy NOW.
Generating press and earning
mentions on inﬂuential blogs
isn’t a 24-hour game.
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START
NOW

For brands that are relatively unknown and new to the market, success in
generating buzz will take time and a rigorous effort.
First, it’s important to ﬁgure out exactly what your key message is.
Here are a few stories that tend to resonate with journalists and press:
Game changing
product
Accepted in
accelerator
Already
Successful
Founder
Raised
$500K+ VC
Founder Has
Unique Story
Relevant To
Current Issues

Once you’ve uncovered your story, it’s time to start pitching media with
the goal of landing a big story. If no one bites, it’s time to go after some
smaller ﬁsh in the sea.
Another great launch strategy is leveraging sites like:
ProductHunt
BetaList
ShowHN
Mashable
CrunchBase
Reddit
(Trust me)

Once you have a clear understanding
of the story you’re hoping to tell, it’s
time to start ﬁnding the right media
outlets and journalists to establish
rapport with.
Dmitry Dragilev calls it the Hit List.

The hit list is the list of reporters and journalists you need to connect
with before and during your launch.
This process starts with a quick visit to Google, selecting news, and typing
in keywords using the following formulas:
[Your Industry] [Startup]
[Competitors Name]
[Your Industry] [Launch]
[Your Industry] [Investment]

Another great approach to ﬁnding sites
worth pitching is using Google image
search to track competitors’ primary
photos.
Start by ﬁnding one of the most recent or
popular stories that were used in one of
your competitor’s content.
COMPETITOR CONTENT

Upon ﬁnding this image, you would take it
over to Google Image Search and see what
other blogs or inﬂuencers used that image
in their content.
Once you drop it in, Google will give you a
list of articles and Twitter users who shared
the image.
COMPETITOR
CONTENT
COMPETITOR
CONTENT
COMPETITOR
CONTENT
COMPETITOR
CONTENT
COMPETITOR
CONTENT
COMPETITOR
CONTENT

Your next step is to ﬁnd out who authored
these articles and start building a
relationship.
It could start with a simple back and forth
exchange over Twitter or LinkedIn. From
there, it should be taken into email where
you can start to explain what you do and
what problem your product is looking to
solve.
Click for more on
this from Dmitry Dragilev

Your next step is to ﬁnd out who authored
these articles and start building a
relationship.
It could start with a simple back and forth
exchange over Twitter or LinkedIn. From
there, it should be taken into email where
you can start to explain what you do and
what problem your product is looking to
solve.
Butdon’tstopthere…

Game changing
product
Game changing
product
This is really just the beginning.
The key is to recognize that this is about
establishing a relationship, nurturing that
relationship, and having a story worth
writing about when you make the request.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to your those
in your circle for help.
Don’t be afraid to ask investors, partners,
clients, or past colleagues to support your
launch.
If you have built strong relationships, this
isn’t going to feel like an annoyance to
your network; it’s going to feel like a
friend or someone they like is simply
asking for a favour.
NotAskingForHelpFromOthers

If someone doesn’t want to support your launch, it’s likely that you simply
don’t have that strong of a connection yet.

If someone doesn’t want to support your launch, it’s likely that you simply
don’t have that strong of a connection yet.
Plus, the people who have your back
when you need it are the people who
you’ll know to support when
they need you. (Tweet This)

Build a real connection.
Add value to their life before
you need something.
Develop that bond.
Don’t be afraid to get personal
and hang out.
And don’t be afraid to ask for
help.
S.O.S

Your launch isn’t a one time thing.
ThinkingOfLaunchDayAsa24HourEvent
24-7-365
your launch is happening

You’re always
launching.
You’re always trying to
get buzz.
You’re always trying to
drive more sign ups
& generate leads.
! SIGN UP

For some reason, a lot of founders crack a
bottle on launch day and think it’s over.
In reality, the launch “day” should actually
be an entire month of effort and push.

It’s not over when TechCrunch writes about you.
It’s not over when you’re number one on ProductHunt.
It’s not over when the folks at Shark Tank reach out to you.
$
It’snotoveruntilyou’vesuccessfully
builtathrivingandconcretebusiness.
$
$
$
$

You need to now start looking at how you
can get an endorsement from a relevant
industry blogger.
You need to start thinking about how you
can land an interview on a very targeted
podcast.
You need to start building connections
with relevant inﬂuencers who would
beneﬁt from using your product.

Keep that Momentum. Keep Launching. Keep Hustling.
$$

For additional tips on how to
successfully launch a startup, check
out my book - Stand Out: A Content
Marketing Guide for Entrepreneurs
www.standoutguide.com

@TheCoolestCool
www.rosssimmonds.com
Ross
Simmonds

4 Deadly Mistakes Most Startups Make When They Launch

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