By Rachel
I like to give myself deadlines for everything. It helps to keep me on track with my goals. Sometimes, however, I am a little too ambitious.
Having set a launch date of November 5 for A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Social Media – when I just started in August – is a classic example. Pete tried to warn me that it would not be enough time, but I never listen. In addition to my overzealous release date, it seemed as if the universe was working against my punctuality. A week before the release, our area was hit by Hurricane Sandy. Thankfully, we were spared the worst of it, but it did require losing two days of work time and pushing our proofreading date back th
ree days. The day before the release, I experienced every possible difficulty with PayPal. I’m not going to bore you with the details, but I can say I didn’t sleep a wink this past weekend with this issue pending.
And, what’s up with launching the day before a presidential election? Although I knew I did not want the product release to conflict with the holiday rush, it’s obvious I did not consider the election during my summer planning. Several affiliates requested that I push the date back, but like I said, I failed to listen. To me, that would mean I didn’t do what I said I was going to do (my cardinal rule) and I can’t have that. If the world were planning to end on November 4, that guide would have somehow made its way to the November 5 launch date. It was a lot of pressure, but I did meet my deadline!
Recently, someone asked me which product I enjoyed more: Social Media Manager Profits, developed in August 2011, or A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Social Media. Both had their advantages and disadvantages and both involved lessons learned and rigid timetables. But one thing is for sure – if I create another product in the future, I know I will allow more time for set-backs. In fact, drumroll...I’m tentatively planning for a second edition to the guide in the summer of 2013!
Indeed, it’s been a fun ride and I’m grateful for your support. To my blog subscribers ONLY – as a gift for taking this journey with me – you’ll receive 25% off the guide! Just email me at rachel@strellasocialmedia.com and let me know you would like to take advantage of the blog subscription rate!
“Developing a Product” Blog Archive:
October 31: A Sneak Preview
October 24: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
October 18: An Inside Look at Content
October 11: The Pre-Launch Webinar
October 3: Navigating PA’s Required Sales Tax for Online Purchases
September 26: Marketing & the Affiliate System
September 19: Lessons Learned from My First Self-Hosted Webinar
September 12: Brain Drain is in Content
September 5: Marketing & List Building
August 29: Marketing & Content
August 22: A Fun Ride
