I came across a Facebook Ad the other day which brought to mind the well know saying, “failing to plan is planning to fail”.

The ad was promoting a lead magnet on the theme of digital marketing. As I am always eager to keep abreast of what’s happening in my industry, I signed up and opted in for the offer…. which I eagerly waited for but never received!

Not only did I never get it, but I immediately received a string of pushy sales emails, upsells and offers.

So here I was, disappointed that I never got the thing that I asked for….and then peeved by the fact my inbox was being spammed.

Now, the thing is I wouldn’t have minded the sales messages if the stage was properly set first and the sender had bothered to build a relationship with me first.

But as it stood, all I saw was an ill-conceived money grab… so I unsubscribed.

In hindsight, it occurred to me that this all probably started with a simple avoidable mistake.

I’m guessing someone was under pressure to publish a sales funnel fast and probably forgot to click a certain button or didn’t properly test the process. Either way, it didn’t make a good impression.

And it got me thinking about all the people I have come across who always seem to leave things to the last minute.

So, I’d like to take a moment and emphasize the importance of proper process and planning when it comes to launching a new funnel or campaign.

There are a few things you can do to make sure you set yourself up for success.

Make Sure You Give Yourself Enough Time

Launching a new funnel or campaign is not as simple as pushing a few buttons before kicking back in your computer chair and refreshing your eCommerce dashboard.

You need to allow enough time to make sure that you can gather or create all your content: written copy, landing pages, products, and email sequences. Oh and don’t forget about any integrations you need to set up with webinar apps, payment gateways, etc.

If you are working with an external fulfillment team or affiliates, then you need to add even more time to allow for back and forth communication.

Once everything is built, you need to thoroughly double-check all the work and test every pathway from start to finish.

By rushing things, you run the risk of launching and not realizing that there is a bug, critical error or missing connection somewhere in your process.

While it is technically possible to have everything set-up and done in a single day, practically, it’s unlikely to happen. It’s best to allow a few days and up to a week to allow time for planning, production, testing, and troubleshooting.

That gives you plenty of time, stay calm and in full control without the last-minute chaos.

Have Everything Planned Before Starting

Now I understand that we don’t live in an ideal world and things come at you out of the blue – like an amazing affiliate opportunity at short notice.

Sometimes you just have to work with what you are given – i.e. if its lemons, then make lemonade!

But that doesn’t mean you should be leaving big pre-scheduled things like your Black Friday sale to the last minute.

If you do, then you will force yourself into a reactive mode where the fear of missing out makes you frantically squeeze everything in….but at what cost?

These situations make you feel like you are chasing your tail and barely keeping control of the wheel.

All the balls are in motion at the same time.

You are developing your offer, writing your content, building your landing pages, shopping carts, and email automations and it’s easy to lose perspective of the big picture – or not pay attention to those crucial details and extra touches.

Somehow you slap it all together…..just!

But are you maintaining your standards and perceived value in front of your customers? Are you engaging them, entertaining them or adding value to their lives or does it come across as a thinly veiled grab for their money?

Perhaps if you had a bit more time for proper planning, you could have delivered a better offer? Or better yet had prepared them for the offer by building some pre-launch excitement and interest.

So, what it comes down to is this – are you creating the best experience you can for your prospects? Are you putting your best foot forward, one that will set you apart….or are you just doing the bare minimum?

Be Strategic – Focus on Engagement

Sometimes it can be hard to find the time to focus on quality or going the extra mile. There are so many things to do, and only so much time in the week.

That’s where it pays to develop a habit of saying ‘no’ – and not chasing every opportunity that comes your way. Focus on what is most likely to get you results and do it well.

Before you run any new launch, affiliate partnership, offer, etc. make sure it is a good fit with your overall marketing model and strategy.

Think about whether your offer, call to action or opt-in is a match for the intended audience of the campaign. Or are you trying to force-feed people something they have no appetite for?

As any fisherman will tell you, you will only catch a fish if you use the right kind of bait.

Think about what you may need to change if you suddenly find yourself fishing for a different type of lead…. or in a completely new fishpond!

Once you do present your bait (your attractor or offer), make sure you have a plan for what happens next.

If we think about the fishing example, how many times have you gone fishing and caught your fish straight away? Almost, never right? As with fishing, patience and consistency is key. If you keep casting that bait, you will get a bite on the hook.

So think about what you are going to do with the 75% or more people who don’t opt-in or buy something from you right away?

Are you going to abandon them? – pack up and call it quits after 30 minutes of fishing. Or are you going to nurture the relationship with relevant helpful information and resources? – and keep casting that line for as long as it takes.