Have you ever seen footage of Mission Control when NASA launches a capsule into space?

It’s incredibly compelling. There are so many things that need to go right to launch the rocket into orbit. All of the math needs to be checked, rechecked, and then re-rechecked again because if there’s even one missing decimal place, the mission could be in peril.

But when everything goes off without a hitch and the room bursts into celebration, ahhhhh! It’s an amazing moment!

While a product launch isn’t as intensely complicated as launching a space capsule, the stakes can be almost as high for your business. A successful launch can boost you to success, while a failed product launch can leave you with a service or product that sits on the shelf. And the last thing you need is that kind of wasted investment of time, money, effort, and resources.

It’s so uber stressful to launch a new service or product! There are dozens of moving parts, from coming up with a strategy, the implementation of that strategy, ads, copywriting, graphic design, the launch debrief… No one can handle all of that on their own without pulling their hair out. There are so many balls in the air that you’re bound to drop one (or several) or make a mediocre go of it rather than the colossal impact you’re hoping for.

So, why solo-it when you can hire a Launch Virtual Assistant to make sure that everything will go as smoothly as possible?

What Kind of a VA Should You Hire?

Maybe you’ve considered hiring a VA but you weren’t sure how to go about it. There’s a lot to consider because not all VAs are created equal. Your needs are unique and so are VAs.

Even Launch VAs can vary in scope.

Some Launch VAs might focus solely on Support while others handle Strategy as well.

You may even find some who advertise themselves as a “one-stop-shop,” offering everything from graphic design to e-commerce website integration and even Facebook Ads management. My advice is to avoid these VAs unless they have a team of specialists behind them.

At the very least, a great Launch VA should be able to help implement your launch strategy and support you throughout the process.

A stellar launch VA can plan your launch, taking your ideas and fitting them into a comprehensive launch strategy. This could include:

• Timeline & critical path
• Bonus development and marketing strategy
• Tagging strategy
• Sales funnel design
• Email marketing management
• Sales & Thank you page management

By the way, that last one is something that people often miss when coming up with a launch strategy. After someone buys your product, don’t forget to thank them by automatically sending them to a pleasant thank you page. This is the kind of thing that your Launch VA should be aware of. They should be able to tell you all of these little details that you will need for your launch to be successful.

Putting It Together

Once you have a strategy in place, it’s time to start creating the content that will support it. Like I mentioned, I would hire specialists to do this kind of creative design work, not a multi-purpose VA. But a Launch VA is the missing link to help assemble all of these pieces of content into a successful, full-fledged launch marketing campaign.

Launches have so many moving pieces that it can be difficult to see how they all work together. That’s the reason you’re hiring a VA. Not only do they make sure that all of the pieces are functioning correctly by checking links and making sure there are no dead pages, they can also be your go-to person for troubleshooting. If something breaks or isn’t going well and you need to pivot, they should already be there with a well-thought-out plan B.

A Launch VA in Action

Let’s take a closer look at how a launch VA can come in handy when you’re launching a product. One of my favourite examples is the launch of a webinar (which is often a mini-launch inside a bigger launch meant to help boost sales).

When you’re preparing to launch a webinar, you can hire a VA to be your tech support, taking care of everything behind the scenes so that you can focus on the presentation you’ll make to your audience.

Their first job is to set everything up and stress test it to make sure the user experience will run smoothly.

Alongside the technical testing, they can configure reminder emails, which should be loaded up and ready to be sent out on a predetermined schedule to participants so that no one will miss the webinar. They can also help you with the registration process.

During the webinar itself, their help can be invaluable; they can respond to your audience in the chat box and handle direct messages while you’re speaking. Especially about anything that comes in related to technical support. Basically, they should be available to “stage manage” the entire webinar experience.

That’s one of the best things about engaging a VA for a launch. They can relieve you of the stressful “in-the-moment” things that pop up so you can instead focus on your content.

In the webinar example, they freed you up to focus on your presentation, but the same goes for any kind of launch. You’re the content expert and that’s where your focus should be, not on the technical and administrative tasks.

Just make sure that your VA has all of the skills to handle these critical jobs without difficulty!

Something Every Launch VA Should Do

One thing every Launch VA should do—but often don’t, so pay attention—is offer a debrief after your service or product has been successfully launched.

In a debrief, your launch VA should break down what worked and what didn’t. They should walk you through all of the numbers, making it crystal clear how much you invested in the launch and how much you made from it. A detailed look at your ROI is not something to skip! Finally, they should compile all of this information into a report, so you’ll know what needs to change for the next time you launch a product.

Try Not To Stress

If you’ve run your first launch and it didn’t go quite as well as you’d hoped, don’t worry. There’s a first time for everything and it’s a big learning process. That was the first time you took that kind of huge step, and it’s an incredible accomplishment. The lessons you take away from that product launch, good and bad, will ensure that your next one will go flawlessly, since now you’ll know what to watch out for!

Have you pulled off a successful launch? Did you have the help of a VA? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below!