Its go time! There is No looking back now! This is one of the most exciting and nerve racking parts of any entrepreneur’ s career – launching something new and putting it out there for the world to see, and even more exciting, now it’ s time to throw a killer launch event and make those dreams reality. As nerve wrecking as it can be there are a few things you want to make sure you pay special attention to and ensure that your impact is not only BIG but creative and deserving of all the hype. A great launch event goes as follows: 1 part Engagement, 1 part Vision, 1 part Creativity, & 2 parts Retention. Let’ s start by saying this flat out – If your launch event isn’ t doing these 5 things, pack it up & go home you’ re wasting your time.

1. Giving your attendees hands on experience using or engaging with your new product

2. Creating a buzz 3. Giving your company a face, image & brand 4. Qualifying leads 5. Creating & developing your fan base

But how exactly do you create an event that does this? It’ s simple ….

Be a Tease – But don’ t play“ hard to get”

Put teasers out far in advance. Start putting teasers and a bug in the ears of your audience months in advance to get them excited for what is soon to come, even if they had no idea what it was.( That’ s almost more intriguing) Make them feel like whatever you have up your sleeve they’ re going to want a piece of it. Start with social media, sprinkle your pages with teaser images, and let your current audience know that something new is coming!

Trick of the Trade:

Branded countdown graphics work awesome. Throw some blurred-out pictures of what’ s to come with an X amount of days’ sign on it. If they even get a glimpse of something they like they’ re hooked! And you can do this countdown twice even, once leading up to the announcement of your product, and another leading up to the event.

Be the BRAND you are THE BRAND.

Never Ever JUST focus on launching a“ business” you are launching a BRAND. Businesses don’ t need launch events, they have openings – not the same thing. Make the look and feel of this event seamlessly cohesive to your brand. This should be taken in consideration from choosing vital details like a location, to the décor you choose and even the food you serve. Take these things into account; where do the people who use your product go? What do they eat? What’ s their style? Then create that environment and integrate your product into it making it a part of the landscape. Also, if they like it,“ put your name on it” – give them as many things to look at or take home that has your brand on it( within the limits of tastefulness of course) Trick of the Trade: Gobos – What are those? Gobos are stencils