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and then getting on the plane in Heathrow, ready or not—served as a powerful
motivation for Andreas. “It’s hard to put into words why the physical deadline
was such an important part of getting the project done,” he told me. “I think it
was so motivational because it seemed impossible to achieve, and it made me
kill everything that didn’t add to the project being finished.”‡

A good launch strategy can help almost any business, online or offline. Let’s take
a look at how an independent publishing company used the same tactics that
worked for Karol and Adam, but for a launch that was completely offline and
local. Anastasia Valentine publishes children’s books and used to work with “big
companies who had gigantic marketing budgets.” Naturally, she didn’t have
access to the same kind of resources for her own launch, but she knew enough to
create anticipation over time for a specific event.

The first part was to start with the ask—to ask everyone she knew for help.
“We weren’t sure how to filter our requests,” Anastasia said, “so instead of
filtering, we just asked everyone for everything. We asked for newspaper
coverage, TV appearances, endorsements, donations for a big party, and
anything else we could think of.”

The requests paid off when she got a positive response to almost everything.
When the big day arrived, the line went out the door, and Anastasia had made
sure to create a good experience for the attendees. Since adults who buy
children’s books usually arrive with kids in tow, she added coloring spaces and a
homemade pin-the-tooth-on-the-crocodile contest. Even though the launch was
for an offline event, Web traffic increased by 267 percent and the mailing list
doubled. Learning to ask was also instructive. “People we didn’t think would
have the slightest interest showed up … with friends!” she said. “Meanwhile,
people who we thought were totally interested never even responded. The lesson
was that you shouldn’t assume someone isn’t interested or won’t attend or won’t
buy.”

If you’re just getting started with your own launch planning, check out the
Thirty-Nine-Step Product Launch Checklist below. This checklist has two uses:
as a template for a new business planning its first launch and as an idea
generator for an existing business.

Thirty-Nine-Step Product Launch Checklist
Note: Every product launch is different. Use these steps as a guideline to your
own. Often by adding one or two steps you would otherwise leave out, you’ll get
a significant increase in sales.