I’ve been considering running a special offer with a specific benefit. My first attempt last year with a different benefit was a disaster, but apparently I’m a masochist (well, aren’t most creative types?).
Thing is, I just realized today that it’s the middle of April, and I am thinking of running this special offer next week to tie it to my birthday, in hopes that might catch some attention. Am I shooting myself in the foot by not doing a whole “prelaunch” campaign for it? The benefit in question is having a character named after you. I would need the time between now and the benefit starting to figure out graphics and a promo plan of some kind.
I am thinking about running this offer for 10 days, so I imagine my limited audience will have plenty of time to become aware of it. I am small potatoes, and I’d be thrilled to get literally 2 or 3 new Patrons from any offer I run. But we’re also obviously in the middle of the pandemic, and folks might not have the mindset that would allow them to take on a new expense, even at $1/mo. And some may not be checking email/social media as often as normal. (I haven’t been great about that myself.)
So am I crazy? Should I wait? Any tips greatly appreciated!
Don’t know if this means much coming from me but I say run it.
I had the same trepidation last year with my special offer and it ended up getting me a lot of new patrons. (it also ran with little prelaunch). I think the deal is to make sure you are offering things you can FOR SURE deliver on quickly and efficiently (like bonus rewards). Start small and increase with later offers if you are unsure.
In the end you can always RE-Run the offer if you like with some tweaks.
Generally though - “do it and learn” is better than “do nothing and wonder”
Hmm, so it definitely would’t be quick. They wouldn’t see their name in the book until the book is ready to be read, which best case scenario will be months from now. So is that a reason to wait until the book is nearly ready to come out?
I can only speak from my experience and you will have to tailor things to your own situation.
Waiting or not waiting is really up to you. It depends a lot on how the campaign is framed. That said, I still think that generally speaking and not knowing much about your situation - action is better. Don’t just take my word but perhaps do a little more soul searching if needed.
Things always work out and mistakes are only mistakes until you correct them.
Hi @AriaGlazki! It was great to have you on the livestream this week! I wanted to chime in here, since I work a lot with creators getting Special Offer campaigns up and running. If you’re running a campaign for 10 days, and you want to launch but don’t have time to “preview” it, I’d say go for it! Ten days is still plenty of time to let your community know it’s happening (especially right now, when each day is soooo long!). I’d still create a plan for launch day if you can, maybe a FB event or go live to talk about the offer, and drum up excitement day-of the launch. You’ll also want to set up some messaging in all the places your community interact with you or your content.
I love it! If you need some simple graphics, Canva is a great tool for non-designers. (If you’re a designer, forget I mentioned it.)
Thanks, Laura! I guess I do have a couple more days to commit either way. A bigger launch sounds like it could get more awareness in place, so I should probably try and figure out my messaging and bite the bullet. (And I’m very familiar with canva because I have zero design skills ) Thanks for the tips!
Well, technically there are a couple days left, but at this point the special offer was primarily a waste of time. I recognize that this is likely my own fault, both how disengaged my “audience” (e.g. NL subscribers) are and my inability to promote it efficiently. But aside from a very generous friend, and some excitement from existing patrons for the bonus benefit (which is great), there has been zero growth.
Just wanted to follow up, and also to put this out there for anyone else who isn’t having those stellar results from special offers. (I know from other communities that people often only share positive experiences, leaving those who aren’t hitting those milestones feeling like they’re failing/alone.)
Thank you so much for sharing your experience @AriaGlazki, even though it didn’t have the impact you were after. I agree with you; it’s so important to share the highs and the lows to help folks feel less alone with where they are today. I really like listening to this talk when I get a bit bummed out by a failure or something not being a complete success. It’s great that you tried and I’m sure you learned some things along the way that will help you with the next one. Perhaps something else would entice folks more than naming a character?
We’d love to send you a little something for sharing your experience with the community , I’ll send you a DM!
) Thanks for the tips!