Turning Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula Into a Reality

A technical step-by-step guide to setting up the tools that make PLF a reality, not just a formula.

*As with all articles, this post may contain affiliate links.*

This article will be a step-by-step guide of the tools I use/recommend in order for you to take your product launch playbook and build

#1 – Website / Landing Page Builder

#2 – Email Marketing Tools

#3 – Email Collection Tools

#4 – Payment Collection and Product Delivery

A deep dive into each of these tools should get you pretty darn close to everything you need to actually build your product launch formula. If for any reason this doesn’t cover what you’re needing, please comment below with your specific situation and I’ll work to improve this article over time.

Just so we’re all clear, I want to be up front about some assumptions I’m making. I’m assuming you’re not a large company with a lot of technical resources and I’m assuming you don’t have a highly technical background. That being said, what I’m recommending will have a bias towards simplicity and a quality user interface. I’m also going to recommend tools that have a lower monthly cost or some type of free option.

Choosing a Website / Landing Page Builder

If you’re planning on selling products or services using Jeff Walker’s product launch formula, you will need some way to have a website and also a simple way to spin up new landing pages so you can easily manage the pre-launch content, during launch content, and post-launch content.

If you already have a website, you can skip this section.

For simplicity, I’m going to put people into two different buckets as you think about building your website. I’m leaving out the group of people who have the resources available to hire developer or have developers who work for them. Instead, I’m going to focus on two options for people who want to build it themselves.

First are the people who are tech-savvy and don’t mind putting in effort to get exactly what they want. Second are people looking for a simpler, and more ‘out-of-the-box’ option.

If you want to build your own website…

I recommend using WordPress and building it on the Divi theme and builder. It is what I use for this website and all of my other projects. I bought the lifetime membership and it’s paid for itself hundreds of times over. 

If you want a hassle-free solution for your website…

There are two trains of thought.

First are the ‘basic’ website builders like Shopify, Squarespace, or Strikingly. Any of those tools will suffice, but you may find yourself frustrated at some point if you’re trying to build video courses or other digital products. If you don’t need to manage courses or digital products, these could be a good option for you.

Second are the “video course” platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, and LearnWorlds. I have an exhaustive comparison of these (and other tools) on this post about choosing the right tool to sell your video courses online. (Pssst… I recommend Thinkific for most situations.)  

Next is the ‘all-in-one’ selling platform like Selz and Podia are a bit more expensive, but give you the flexibility to not only create a website, but also allow you to collect payments for video courses, ebooks, audio files, subscriptions, and more. I use Podia in addition to my website for an English training website I help manage and I have used Selz in the past, so I recommend them both.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the pros and cons of both… 

FIRST, LET’S LOOK AT SELZ…

NOW LET’S LOOK AT PODIA…

Choosing an Email Marketing Tool

A huge assumption behind Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula is that you will be able to notify people about the launch. Although this can happen on social media and other platforms, the most effective channel is email.

So, this section and the section following it will break down some of your options when choosing an email marketing tool and the best possible ways to grow your audience. 

When I look for an email marketing platform, I’m evaluating them based upon a few key factors.

1) Ease of Use

This is a tool you will be using a lot of if you’re following the product launch formula. That being said, you want a tool that makes it easy on you to select audiences, manage your content, schedule emails, make creative changes, and build reporting. 

2) Integrations

I’ve moved email platforms dozens of times for companies large and small. There is nothing worse then wanting to move onto a new platform only to realize that they don’t play nice with the website or your e-commerce solution. Most of the major tools have a ton of integrations, but it’s always worth paying attention to.

3) Price

Email platforms are almost commoditized, but the price difference can still vary greatly. It gets especially tricky when you they withhold features from the lower price point and the price doubles just because you want some simple automations. 

4) Automation

This usually gets overlooked, but can be a game changer to help you scale your operations. Building out automated touchpoints can drive massive revenue and can also help you manage your customer acquisition costs if you’re running paid programs.

5) Bonus features

The main goal is to efficiently send emails and drive engagement with your website or products, but sometimes it’s the little bonus features that make the difference.

Instead of giving you the long list of 50 email platforms that I’ve used over the years, I’m going to provide recommendations based upon your type of business.  

If you’re a solo-preneur or blogger…

I’ve written an article on this very topic, which highlights my top 5 email marketing tools for serious bloggers. It may apply to your situation, and if you don’t want to read it, here’s a quick summary. 

If you want an easy to use tool that is made for creators like you, I love ConvertKit. They do have a free option to get started, but it’s limited and it won’t be long before you upgrade to a paid version.

If you need a free tool to get started, I like Mailerlite and it’s what I use for a different website I manage. It’s simple and scales with you inexpensively. Also, they have automation out of the box.

If you need a lot of automation, I like Mailerlite or ActiveCampaign. Ironically, I use ActiveCampaign for this website, but I don’t have anything automated at the time I’m writing this because I don’t have products and don’t plan to make products anytime soon. If I had to go back in time, I would go with Mailerlite.  

If you’re a small business with big ambitions…

I know I am painting with broad strokes on this one, but hear me out. I’ve been involved in growing and scaling multiple startups, most notably Smile Direct Club. The one mistake that is common is launching with a tool that isn’t going to cut it long term.

So, for this I like a few options depending on your needs.

If you have a big budget, I like Hubspot. They’re a robust tool with a ton of long term upside. Their tool is easy to use and developers seem to like using them as well. It’s not cheap and they offering can be confusing if you don’t know exactly what you need, but their support has been great.

If you’re super customer service oriented, I like SendInblue. They’re super customer focused and can help you deliver the support you need across multiple channels. Specifically, you can provide onsite chat and SMS in addition to email. 

Lastly, if you want to easily spin up landing pages too, I like Sendinblue again, or GetResponse. These two platforms can help make the execution of Product Launch Formula less of a hassle.   

If you’re a large enterprise…

You probably already have a fully functioning email platform, but if you’re looking for another option, I like Listrak for retailers and Sendinblue for anyone else. 

I love talking about this stuff, so if you’re in need of some advice, you can always schedule a call with me. 

Choosing an Email Collection Tool

There are a lot of ways to collect email addresses, which is why I put the email tool selection before this one. Once you have a website and an email tool, it should be really simple to start collecting email addresses with popups, lead magnets and more.

If you chose Selz or Podia, they have email collection tools built into their platforms. 

If you ‘re using WordPress, I would check the plugin listing for an official plugin of the email tool you’re using. These are generally free and will work nicely to collect email addresses.

If you want to get more sophisticated, here are three different email collection tools you should consider if you’re on WordPress.

Hello Bar

Hello Bar is one of the best choices for email collection in WordPress for a few different reasons. First, it’s free to get started! Secondly, they are integrated with almost every email tool. (Note that some integrations require a premium membership) Lastly, is the variety of signups you have to choose from. You can have a Hello Bar at the top, page takeovers, modals, sliders and more!

Optin Monster

Optin Monster has been around for a long time and has Lightbox Popups, Floating Bars, Scroll Boxes, Spin-a-Wheel Signups, Page Level Targeting, Exit Intent Detection, Geolocation Targeting, and 100+ Pre-designed Templates. Pricing starts around $14/mo. 

Bloom

If you are using the Divi WordPress theme (which I absolutely LOVE and use on several websites), you should also have access to their Bloom email collection tool. If you don’t use Divi or another Elegant Themes WordPress theme, I wouldn’t go out of your way to get Bloom, but if you’re already using Divi or looking to build your WordPress site, I’d check it out. 

Payment Collection and Product Delivery

Payment Collection

Hopefully at this point, you’ve realized that Selz or Podia are your all-in-one solutions that will make your life much easier than piecing tools together. They handle the payment and product delivery for almost every situation you’re going to come across. Plus, Podia can help you build, manage, and pay your own affiliate network. 

If you need to hack other tools together, you’ll likely end up needing to integrate whatever tool you’re using with Stripe or Paypal. 

Product Delivery

Selz and Podia are great for most situations. However, it’s worth pointing out that if you are only trying to build and sell educational courses, Thinkific is a more robust learning platform, plus they have free options to get started.

MY RECOMMENDATION

Almost everyone reading this could benefit from using Podia, with the following exceptions. If you’re selling physical goods and digital goods, I recommend using Selz. If you only plan to build educational courses and you need a free option to get starts, I’d use Thinkific. Aside from that, you get the most for your money out of Podia.

Comment below and tell me what tool you’re using and what you’re selling!