Some entrepreneurs love launching – the buzz and excitement of creating the plan, setting up the runway, preparing for the social media/email blitz, and then watching the cash roll in.

Then there are entrepreneurs (like you?👀) who dislike the launch energy. It’s a lot of work to ideate, plan and write the content, show up live, and maintain momentum all throughout, just to repeat it all again in a few months. 

If the thought of launching again has you feeling like this 👇…

We got you! Because no matter what that guru said, you *can* make money without launching.

How? Well, if you have service-based offers, keep reading! We’ll tell you exactly how to master sales as a launch-free brand.

#1: First things first — define your evergreen offer ladder

Before we can give you those juicy tips though, we have to talk about why you need a defined (read: strategic) offer ladder. 

A strategic offer ladder is one that meets the needs and interests of your ideal clients wherever they’re at in the buyer’s journey. 

For an evergreen offer, you should have a lead generation or freebie to get people into the funnel. This is for folks who are just becoming aware of your brand. I like to call them “tortoise” buyers (yep, slowpokes just like in The Tortoise and The Hare), but you may also know them as “cold leads.” 

(I think my way is more fun though, so tortoise buyers it is!)

Your offer ladder helps tortoise buyers warm up to you and then take the next logical step. 

Let’s say you’re a brand strategist who typically launches twice a year using a webinar funnel. You’ll start your evergreen offer ladder with something that both solves a major pain point and gives your audience a quick win – like a DIY brand audit checklist. 

Then you have to figure out the next problem they’ll need your help solving that will also keep driving their interest towards your main offer. 

Where upsells can help

This is where an upsell can come in handy! You can keep the momentum going, while still making things exciting and rewarding for your audience.

 Here are a few ideas:

• Upsell #1: Join a paid membership community ($)
• Upsell #2: Purchase easy-to-customize brand board templates ($$)
• Upsell #3:  Purchase the signature brand audit offer ($$$)

You get them used to taking action with evergreen content describing what they need to do next and why it’s important to do it now. 

This defined offer ladder supported by strategic evergreen content will take your audience from a standoffish first date to having a full-blown love affair with your business. 

(Or going from tortoise to a hare…pick your fav metaphor!😉)

Sound like the funnel of a live launch? That’s because in essence, they’re pretty much the same. The difference is WHEN you’re offering. And in this case, it’s 24/7.

So let’s look at HOW you can make sure that 24/7, evergreen launch becomes a raving success!

#2: The secret to marketing evergreen offers is creating real urgency

Ask any copy or content writer about urgency, and we’ll tell you that it’s a non-negotiable. 

Think about it – anything we do expands into the time we give it. You give yourself the whole day to work on a report, it’s going to take the whole day (or never happen). Or in the case when you give yourself a time-based deadline (like 11 pm). You’ll probably get that report done with minutes to spare. 

Urgency clearly gives people a reason to act now. So the question is…how do you create urgency in an evergreen offer? It’s easier than you think…

How to create urgency without being deceitful

Service providers don’t have unlimited resources. You can only take on a certain number of clients at once, right?

Maybe you have a six-month membership club that limits the intake of new members to two times a year. Or you’re a web designer with only four VIP slots per month. This is exactly where creating urgency can be helpful!

A word of caution here, though – don’t entertain false urgency! Basically, don’t lie.

If you have four of those VIP slots per month, then say “per month.” Don’t try to chalk things up to “limited availability over the next quarter.” If you have a membership, don’t say “doors are closing for a while” if your email list advertises open spots all year long. 

If you were a consumer, what would make you feel duped? Yeah…DON’T do that. You risk damaging your brand trust and reputation by using false urgency. A big no-no.

#3: Map your evergreen marketing goals and timelines

Pay close attention to this one – “no live launch” is NOT the same as “no promotion”, friends. You still need to push traffic towards your offers. 

In a live launch, you’re promoting a whole lot in a short period of time (which leads to burnout city if not well planned!). While evergreen funnels are easier and lower energy to maintain, you still need to get people into your funnel.

So, how do you set it up? Well, first decide on your marketing goals for your evergreen funnel, including how you’ll promote each item in your offer ladder. 

It’ll work like an editorial calendar – just specifically for your evergreen promos – where all content is aligned to the marketing goal you and your team have previously outlined for each part of your funnel.

Maybe in one month, you focus on increasing newsletter traffic and signups for your freebie or lead magnet offer. All of your blog posts, emails, social media, and other content will focus on getting more people to click that subscribe button.

Then for the next month, you could create content across each platform about your signature services. Meanwhile, in your email nurture sequences, subscribers continue to be warmed up to the next upsell item on a timeline of 1 to 2 emails a week.

And notice that the “promotional” period can be towards either a paid or free offer – it just depends on how your funnel is set up!

When mapping your evergreen marketing plan, just focus on the actions you want your audience to take, and how you can help move them along your marketing funnel one step at a time.

#4: How to measure the success of no-launch marketing

When it’s all said and done, you should have numbers measuring what success looks like for your prior launches and offers, and have a plan to continue tracking important campaign metrics.

For example, for a four-week live launch, you could track:

• How many customers completed an application to join a membership program
• Signed up for a signature 1-on-1 coaching service 
• Clicked a “buy now” button in an email for a self-paced photography course.

When you convert your live launch into an evergreen funnel, you’ll still need to track metrics, but the goals and timelines are a bit different. Instead of tracking metrics during the four weeks of a launch, you’ll be tracking ongoing metrics – like conversions for a landing page hosting your evergreen webinar recording.

Don’t be alarmed if these numbers are lower

Keep in mind that evergreen metrics and goals may be lower than those for a live launch. Live launches involve using a whole lot of energy to drive a whole lot of traffic through your funnel in a short period of time. 

Evergreen launches are about maintaining relevancy and consistency over time, meaning a lower BUT sustainable flow of traffic and buyers. 

So define what success means for YOUR business and the offer you’re promoting evergreen-style. This data can help you decide on realistic goals for your evergreen funnel and even what you can do to improve conversions for your offers.

Time to launch your no-launch brand!

Whether it’s evergreen launches or live ones, what’s right for you is up to you. Both have plenty of opportunities to make bank and help you build a successful biz. 
But for folks who want to get away from always launching…to calmly increasing sales on repeat….it’s time to create your no-launch game plan tout suite.

Need help doing so? Then run (don’t walk!) to grab a strategy intensive! We’ll help you create a plan for your no-launch offer so it sells like hotcakes, no matter when your audience stumbles upon it.