Today’s post is a bit different – I wanted to start a conversation about closing and not closing your launch – and why you might do one or the other depending on what you’re launching. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

If you’re planning your launch – maybe you're in the middle of one right now – you probably have several dates listed out or planned that you consider set in stone.

One of those set in stone dates might be your close date. The date that you stop offering your product for sale. You know from seeing other people do launches that you need to close – or so you think.

But – there is another option you may want to consider – not closing.  Opening on a specific date and then never publishing or releasing a CLOSE date.

What’s right for your launch?

Benefits of Having A Hard Close Date Your Launch

• Helps people going through the content form a sense of community
• Helps you with the overall housekeeping for the program – keeps all affiliate payouts and refund periods close together
• Encourages people to buy when you want and need them to!
• Encourages more of a special –  launch + event mentality – people will look forward to your program – and even look forward to your launch
• You can have a limited bonus offer for people buy during your launch dates

It’s proven marketing strategy that tells you to have a hard close date – build anticipation, then make people feel the scarcity and “oh no, I better get this before it's gone”.  This is a great option if you don’t want a lot of housekeeping – you don’t have a dedicated affiliate manager or customer service person.

Benefits of NOT closing your launch

• People don’t feel pressured – and you’ll get ongoing sales instead of just a surge at the specific time of the launch
• People will focus on your open date and when they can START as opposed to that closed date – you focus on anticipation rather than scarcity
• You get to keep adding people to your customer list – you don’t have to turn down sales
• You don’t burn people out with your launch message – because it’s more of an ongoing launch
• You can still offer a bonus or something special, but you may need to re-word the “how long” it's available

Not closing on a set date can mean a few different things:
– > not closing – keeping sales open indefinitely
– > closing but not announcing it

Not closing can work in your favor if you don’t get enough sales and/or you have a small list.  You might even trigger people thinking they have missed out – you’ll get emails that say things like – Did you close yet? Can I still get the program? Can I still sign up?

So should you close or not close?

I love it when people ask me to tell them what to do.

Here’s the deal though – you can make either of these options work.  It depends on your audience, their buying habits, how they like to consume content, if they are part of your industry or you are a service based business, and many other reasons that all boil down to you knowing how your peeps respond to your marketing.

So think about your audience.  Think about their buying needs. Think about what you are offering.

Think of some reasons why you might want to set a specific closing date and for staying open indefinitely…

Leave a comment below and let’s get this conversation started.

I’m curious why you might do one or the other and if you’ve done one or both of these options.

image credit: bmills