TODAY, DEC 24

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you’ve probably heard the famous poem that begins…

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse

Well, below is my version. The only belief it applies to is just fucking ship. And it’s based on a true story.

Read and enjoy! Happy Holidays!


Twas the night before launchmas, and all through my brain
Expectations were growing, and popping champagne
The buttons all hung from the sales page with care
In hopes that cha-chinging would soon fill the air
Yes my copy was written, waiting just to be read
All needed saying had already been said
With an email queued up, and visits to track
All settled for launch day, and no going back

The next morning dawned – Yes! Now was the time!
I pressed send on my email, and harked for the chime
Load faster, load faster! I clicked in a flash
Hurry up, now, fill my inbox with cash!
But I waited and waited — oh horrors, oh no
My inbox stayed empty… how wrong could things go?
And then when I knew sales couldn’t get any flatter
I checked up on my plan to learn what was the matter:
The launch date! The product! The promise! The call
To action! To pricing! The pitch, proof and all!
From the top of my page, to the bottom, The End
“Kick ass today, pay cash today, buy it, my friend”
Yes, I had all the parts, so I really was pissed…
I’d hit every point… except maybe… my list?

I wrote them this morning, that email I sent
Why’d it fail so to move them, their money unspent?
“Am I get lost in your inbox?” I begged with a cry
“Did you know it was launch day? To show up and buy?”
No, it turns out — my stats were abysmal
Few opens, fewer clicks, of course sales were dismal
Perhaps one little memo’s too weak and too few
For people to do what you want them to do
They didn’t know launch was coming, much less today
They weren’t excited or drooling, not ready to pay

So I rolled up my sleeves, and I set a new date
(No one had noticed, so it wasn’t too late)
With a one-time promotion I designed to expire
(Cuz there’s naught like a deadline to light ’em on fire)
“Don’t miss out on it this time!”, again and again
I re-opened the doors, — sales began to roll in!
Cash money! From strangers! Yes, people were buying!
The ringing, cha-changing, just… electrifying

Just think: I almost gave up, I almost caved in
I’d have made zero sales if I’d lacked discipline
Thank science I weathered my FAIL with panache
…I laughed as I dove into my mattress of cash

Please learn from my launchmas and never forget:
When things fail you the first time, don’t get upset
Give your work an firm eyeball, release your chagrin
Just try again, SMARTER — persist til you win
Cuz fear’s just a feeling, and hope’s just a dream
To succeed must risk failure —
So just ship the damn thing!

. . .

🎉 From me and Alex: Wishing you an excellent launchmas and a shippy New Year!

There's more where that came from

We email every Wednesday with the latest insights from our business, our students, and our research. Drop your email in the box below and we'll send new stuff straight to your inbox!

Absolutely no spam, ever. We respect your email privacy. Unsubscribe anytime. Huzzah!