Part 5 - Launch Ladder

Want to know a crazy number? I've done over 80 launches this year.

Not a typo. Eighty plus launches. I tallied them up and was surprised myself.

Everything from $3 Kindle books to $100k+ launches.

Free playbooks, low-cost guides, medium-priced courses, subscriptions, lifetime deals, high-ticket offers... you name it, I've launched it.

And here's the beautiful part - each launch made the next one more successful.

And easier.

Why? Because launches aren't just about making sales. They're about building audience. And audience means your next launch starts from a stronger position.

That $3 Kindle book reader? They might join your email list. That email subscriber might buy your $47 course. That course student might join your $2000 coaching program.

But more importantly - they're there for your next launch. And the one after that. And the one after that.

Let’s get started

The Launch Ladder

Here's what my first launch looked like: Zero audience, zero proof, zero momentum, a few hundred dollars in sales.

Not exactly going to retire on that!

But you know what? That launch gave me my first testimonials, my first pieces of content, my first email subscribers, my first social followers.

So the next launch started with a small but engaged audience, some social proof, some momentum. Result? A few thousand in sales.

And each launch after that? More audience. More proof. More momentum. Sometimes more sales - but not always! And that's okay.

The basic trajectory is always drifting upwards. And that’s what matters.

Here's what most people get wrong: they think each launch needs to be completely different. New product, new audience, new everything.

Wrong.

The smartest launches build on what's already working. They create an ecosystem around your core tool.

This took me a LONG time to realise. I have to be held back from new shiny objects - totally new projects. Instead now launches are interrelated and stacking.

Think about it: You've already validated a problem. You've already found an audience. You've already built trust. Why start from scratch? That’s making it much harder than it needs to be.

Instead, build outward from your core. Take your main tool and create a whole ecosystem around it.

Here's a prompt to help you plan this ecosystem

You are a launch strategist helping plan an ecosystem of launches around a core AI tool.

First, tell me about your core tool:
1. What does it do?
2. Main customer problems it solves
3. Current target audience
4. Key features and benefits
5. Current price point

I will help you create:

1. Tool Variations:
- Stripped down essential version
- Premium/pro version
- Niche-specific versions
- Single-feature focused tools
- Bundle opportunities

2. Educational /supplemental Products:
- Quick-start guides
- In-depth courses
- Video tutorials
- Resource collections
- Templates/frameworks

3. Service Offerings:
- Implementation help
- Customisation services
- Training programs
- Consulting packages

4. Launch Sequence:
- Suggested order of launches
- Audience building opportunities
- Proof gathering points
- Price point progression
- Cross-sell opportunities

Focus on creating a cohesive ecosystem where each launch supports and strengthens the others.

Let's see this in action with a real example. It’s a little abstract otherwise.

Say you've built an AI tool that helps salespeople handle their DMs - it categorises leads, researches their background, and helps prioritise who to respond to first.

I want this for Twitter/X so I’m hoping someone will read this and run off and do it for me! Tell me if you do and let’s talk about distribution 😛.

The tool variations are obvious. You build a core product that you charge, say, $20/month for. That’s the centre, the linchpin.

You might then layer in a free version that just handles categorisation. Add a pro version with research and prioritisation. Build out a team version with collaboration features. Maybe split out the research component as a simple Chrome extension. Add Slack integration for teams.

You don’t do ALL of these things in one go. No. You strip them out and make each one a launch event. Simple change but suddenly you have multiple chances to go to the market and say “hey look what I’ve got for you!”.

This approach also allows you to test the specific parts. Launch of the Chrome extension flops? Fine - that tells you people don’t value that. That’s useful knowledge.

We can also add supplemental products. In this example it might be educational products; think about the whole sales process. A guide on qualifying leads. A playbook for DM sales. Templates for prospect research. Frameworks for responses. Scripts for cold outreach. Each one solving a specific part of the larger problem.

These are all tied to the original customer problem and give us more assets, more products, more launches. All tied back to our core tool.

Services flow naturally. Help with setup and integration. Custom research rule creation. Sales team training. Strategy consulting for larger clients.

Sequencing your launches

The launch sequence might look like this

• Start with a free guide on DM sales to build audience.

• Launch the Chrome extension as an easy entry point.

• Release the basic categorisation tool.

• Follow with the pro version.

• Add team features.

• Layer in services.

Here's the important part: Not every launch needs to be bigger than the last! It feels like they should be right? The Chrome extension might make less money than the guide. The basic tool might have lower revenue than the extension. That's fine.

What matters is that each launch reaches new people, solves real problems, builds your audience, adds to your proof, and strengthens your ecosystem. You are creating ties between each component - with each one supporting and boosting the others. Think of it like a mesh where you are layering in more strands.

And remember that money is just one metric. Sometimes a small, free launch that brings in 1,000 new email subscribers is worth more than a big launch that makes $10,000 but brings in no new audience.

Making It Sustainable

The beauty of launch-led growth is that it's sustainable. You're not relying on ads or virality or luck.

You're building an audience one launch at a time. Growing your reach one customer at a time. Building momentum one success at a time.

The disadvantage (and there is one!) is that you are always in launch mode. It’s a lot of work - take it from someone who has launch 80+ items this year!

Your goal is to built sufficiently so that it all starts to feed into itself and becomes sustainable. Once you are hitting a good MRR/ARR you can pull back, systematise and set your products to evergreen. But that comes later!

P.S. Your features list? Keep it. If you want: put it lower down the page for the technical folks who care. But lead with benefits. Always lead with benefits!

P.P.P.S. (!!!) If you’ve got this far we’re exploring launching a 30 Day AI Agent Accelerator where we:

1. Hone a business idea

2. Build a focused AI tool

3. Test and refine the tool

4. Market and launch

Course, community and live sessions.

Waitlist here: https://heyform.net/f/ZCCsfMqx