Launch a Product: product options, launch offers and planning your launch

Launch a product helps you put something new on sale in one go: a book, a T shirt, a digital download, a coaching package or any other product or service. In a few short steps it creates your products with their prices, stock and an optional launch offer, puts them on sale in your store (creating a store for you if you do not have one), and builds a to do plan for the launch. You will find it under Products & Services: press the + button and choose Launch a product. Launch a product is available on the Growth plan and above.

How it works, a quick overview

1. Two ways to add something to sell

Press the + button on the Products & Services page and choose:

• Add a product or service: create one product or service with the full product form. Best when you just want to add an item.
• Launch a product: a short guided setup that creates your products, puts them on sale in your store and builds a launch plan. See Step 2.

Both create exactly the same kind of product, so you edit and manage them in the same way afterwards.

2. Launch a product, step by step

Launch a product takes you through four short steps. Your answers are saved as you go, so you can leave and come back to finish later.

• What you are launching: choose whether it is a product or a service, then give it a name, a launch date, a description and an image. The launch date is the date your plan is built around. If it will ship or become available later, say so in the description.
• Product options: one option, or several, for example Hardcopy and eBook, or Small, Medium and Large. Each option becomes its own product with its own price and, if you like, a stock limit and a launch offer: a lower price until a date you choose. Tick VAT applicable if VAT should be added. If you sell just one thing, leave the single option as it is and the product takes your launch name.
• The plan: build a to do list for the launch. The Need ideas? banner suggests things people often plan, such as telling your contacts it is coming, announcing it on launch day, sharing it on social media, a last chance reminder before the launch offer ends, thanking your buyers and asking for reviews. Click a suggestion to add it, or add your own. For each to do you choose the date, who it is for, its priority and, where it helps, a one click button such as Email everyone who bought it. Nothing is added unless you add it.
• Review: check everything before anything is created. If you have more than one store, tick every store it should be on sale in. If you do not have a store yet, give your new store a name and web address here.

Press Launch it and everything is created together. Your products are on sale straight away, so people can order ahead of the launch date. Each person given a to do receives one email listing theirs.

3. After the launch

Your new products appear on the Products & Services page with a small Launch tag. Each one is a normal product, so you can open it to add more photos, files to download, other currency prices or anything else, exactly as for any product.

The launch offer ends on its own on the date you chose, and the normal price applies after that. Stock goes down as people buy, and a product with limited stock shows as sold out in the store once it runs out.

4. To dos for your launch

Each launched product has a to do icon. It glows when there are to dos waiting and turns red when one is overdue. Click it to see the to dos for the launch, add new ones, or mark them done. Product options created together by Launch a product share one list of to dos.

Where a to do has a one click button, pressing it does the job for you. For example, Email everyone who bought it opens a draft email already addressed to everyone who has ordered any of the launch's products, ready for you to write and send.

Your to dos also appear on the main To-Dos board. Click the launch name on a card to see only that launch's to dos.

5. Add a launch event

Launching a book or a product with an event, such as a book signing or a launch party? You do not need to start from scratch. Straight after your launch is built, Products & Services shows a Plan a launch event button. You can also add the Hold a launch event suggestion to your plan and use its one click button later.

Either way, Plan an event opens with the event name, date, description and image filled in from your launch, and your launch's products already offered as pre order items with each ticket. Add the start time, put the venue in the description, choose your ticket types and, if you like, a lower item price with a ticket, then carry on as normal. Guests can then buy a ticket and pre order the product together, and collect it at the door. See the Tickets and Events help guide for more.

6. Good to know

• Nothing is created until you press Launch it. You can discard an unfinished launch at any time without affecting anything else.
• You can have more than one unfinished launch. They are listed at the bottom of the wizard so you can switch between them.
• Launch a product does not use automations or workflows. Everything it creates is a normal product, store listing and to do that you can change at any time.
• If you change your mind about a product option after launching, edit or switch off that product under Products & Services.