If I were launching a new offer in six weeks, here's exactly how I'd market it.
You've created something brilliant. Now let's make sure the right people know about it, understand why they need it and actually buy it.
Creating a brilliant offer and knowing how to market it are two completely different things.
You might have spent months developing a course, putting together a new programme or creating a service you're genuinely excited about. You know what's included, how much you're charging and exactly how much work has gone into creating it.
But then comes the slightly more complicated part. How do you actually get people to buy it?
And this is where I think a lot of business owners go wrong. They spend so much time developing the offer itself that the marketing becomes an afterthought. Then, when everything is finally ready, they announce it on Instagram, send a couple of emails and hope people sign up.
But an announcement isn't a launch strategy. And your lovely new offer deserves a little more thought than that.
So, if I had a new offer ready to go and six weeks to launch it, here's exactly what I'd do from a marketing perspective. This is based on 20+ years of working in marketing, but adapted for the realities of running a small business where you probably don't have a huge team, endless time or thousands to spend on advertising.
We're going to keep it simple, practical and focused on the things that will actually help you attract the right people and turn their interest into sales.
One thing before we start: I'm assuming you've already created your offer, know who it's for and have decided what you're charging. We're focusing on how to market it, rather than how to develop it.
Right, let's get into it.
Week 1: Get ridiculously clear on your messaging
Your goal: Make sure people understand why they need your offer before you start trying to sell it.
Before I designed a single Instagram post, wrote a sales page or started telling everyone that something exciting was coming, I'd spend some time getting really clear on how I was going to communicate the value of my offer.
And I'd start by thinking about the person buying it.
What are they struggling with right now? What are they frustrated by? What have they already tried? What do they wish was easier? And perhaps most importantly, what would life or business look like if that problem was no longer taking up so much of their time, energy or headspace?
Because that's what we need to be talking about.
I'd then identify three main benefits of the offer. Not three features, modules or deliverables. Three things it's genuinely going to help someone achieve.
Let's use one of our own offers, Back on the Grid, as an example. It's designed to help service-based business owners get their Instagram presence working harder for their business.
Now, we could tell people they're getting 12 Instagram posts, content themes, messaging guidance and a load of other useful things. And yes, those deliverables matter. People absolutely need to know what they're buying.
But they're not necessarily what makes someone want to buy.
What our clients are really looking for is:
Clarity: Knowing exactly what to post, what to talk about and how to communicate the value of their business.
Confidence: Feeling good about how they show up online, without constantly second-guessing themselves or comparing their content to everyone else's.
Consistency: Having a clear direction and manageable approach so Instagram stops being that thing permanently sitting on their to-do list.
See the difference? We're selling the same service, but we're talking about what it actually means for the person buying it.
Once I'd established those three benefits, I'd use them as the foundation for everything else. My content, emails, sales page and even the conversations I'm having with potential customers would all reinforce those same messages.
I'd also make a list of the questions and objections people might have. Is it worth the investment? Will it work for their business? Do they have enough time? Have they tried something similar before?
Don't worry about answering everything just yet. We'll use those questions later.
Your Week 1 to-do list
By the end of the week: You should be able to explain exactly who your offer is for, why they need it and what changes for them when they buy it.
Week 2: Create a free offer that leads into your paid offer
Your goal: Start attracting people who are interested in the exact problem your paid offer solves.
This is one of the most important parts of the whole plan, and it's something I don't think enough people consider when they're preparing to launch.
I'd create a free resource that was directly connected to what I was selling.
And when I say connected, I mean really connected.
It could be the first module of your programme, a worksheet you use with paying clients, a template that's included in your course, a short training or a quiz that helps someone identify what's holding them back.
The format doesn't really matter. What matters is that your free offer helps someone take the first step towards the result your paid offer promises.
For example, if I were launching Back on the Grid, I might create a free guide showing someone the nine Instagram posts I'd recommend every service-based business has on their grid.
That would give them something genuinely useful. They could look at their current Instagram presence, identify what was missing and start improving it themselves.
But it would also create a really natural connection to Back on the Grid, where we take things further by developing their messaging, content strategy and actual posts.
And that's the point.
We're not creating a random freebie just to collect email addresses. We're attracting people who have the exact problem our paid offer is designed to solve.
I'd then create a simple landing page where people could sign up to receive the free resource, connect it to my email marketing platform and set up a short automated follow-up sequence.
I'd start with three emails:
Email 1 — Immediately: Here's your free resource. Deliver what they've signed up for, explain how to use it and help them get a quick win.
Email 2 — Two days later: Let's take this a little further. Expand on the problem, share another useful piece of advice and address a common mistake people make.
Email 3 — Four days later: Here's what comes next. Explain the bigger picture, introduce your approach and, if appropriate, invite them to join the waitlist for your paid offer.
You don't need anything complicated. You just need a simple way to capture interest and continue the conversation with people who have chosen to hear from you.
Make sure you're collecting the appropriate marketing consent rather than assuming everyone who downloads something wants every future promotional email.
And please, make the free resource genuinely valuable. There's no need to deliberately hold back all the useful information to make someone buy. Your paid offer should provide more depth, implementation, access or support.
Your Week 2 to-do list
By the end of the week: You should have a working system that attracts interested people, gives them something useful and starts introducing them to your paid offer.
Week 3: Start attracting the right people
Your goal: Get your message in front of people who have the problem you're solving.
Now we've got somewhere useful to send people, it's time to start creating content.
And here's where I'd be quite intentional about what I was posting.
I'd focus on the problem before spending too much time talking about the product.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when launching is that they immediately start talking about what's included in their offer, how many modules there are and how much it costs.
But if someone doesn't understand why they need it yet, those details aren't going to mean very much.
I'd spend this week creating content that helps my ideal client recognise what they're struggling with, understand why it's happening and see that there's another way to approach things.
Some of that content would educate.
Some would challenge assumptions.
Some would share personal experiences, and some would introduce the possibility of doing things differently.
And importantly, I'd be directing people towards the free resource we created in Week 2.
I'd also start conversations wherever my ideal clients spend time. That might mean Instagram Stories, LinkedIn, relevant communities or simply reaching out to people already in my network.
I'd ask questions, pay attention to the language people were using and take note of the things they seemed to be struggling with most.
Because if someone reads your content and thinks, Oh my God, that's exactly how I feel, you're doing something right.
And here's another thing: I wouldn't rely on organic social media alone. I'd look into FB ads, or for relevant collaborations, opportunities to share my expertise and ways to introduce my free resource to people outside my existing audience.
Not by spamming links everywhere, obviously. Nobody likes that person.
The idea is to start building awareness and attracting people who genuinely have a reason to be interested in what you're launching.
Your Week 3 to-do list
By the end of the week: You should be attracting interested people into your email list and starting to understand which messages resonate with them.
Week 4: Introduce your offer and build anticipation
Your goal: Help people connect the problem you've been talking about with the solution you've created.
We've spent the first three weeks getting clear on our messaging, creating something valuable and starting to attract the right audience.
Now it's time to talk much more openly about the paid offer.
And no, I wouldn't suddenly post a mysterious graphic saying Something exciting is coming.
I'd actually explain what I'd been working on and why.
I'd talk about the problem I'd noticed, what had led me to create the offer and why I believed it could make a difference to the people I wanted to help.
I'd start showing how the offer works, what the process looks like and how the different elements connect to those three benefits we identified in Week 1.
This is also when I'd start introducing proof.
If you've delivered similar work before, share relevant testimonials, case studies or examples of what you've helped clients achieve.
If it's a completely new offer, you might not have specific testimonials yet, and that's okay. You can draw on your wider experience, demonstrate your expertise or share examples of the thinking behind your approach.
What you don't need to do is invent incredible results or make promises you can't substantiate.
I'd also send an email to my subscribers introducing the upcoming offer and inviting people to register their interest. If I've built a waitlist, I'd make sure those people know when they'll hear more.
And behind the scenes, I'd be getting everything ready for launch week.
That means finishing the sales page, checking the pricing and purchase process, making sure my emails are written and testing every link, form and confirmation message.
Because the last thing I want is to spend launch day frantically fixing things that should already be working.
Your Week 4 to-do list
By the end of the week: People should know what's coming, why it might be relevant to them and what they need to do when the offer becomes available.
Week 5: Launch (and actually sell the thing)
Your goal: Turn the interest you've built into paying customers.
Right. It's launch week!
And because we've spent the last four weeks preparing, we shouldn't be starting from scratch, wondering what to post or trying to explain our offer to an audience that's never heard of it.
I'd choose a clear launch window, perhaps five days, and plan my content and emails around it.
Here's exactly how I'd approach those five days.
Monday: Open the doors
I'd send an email to my waitlist and subscribers announcing that the offer was officially available.
I'd make it really clear who it was for, what it would help them achieve, what was included, how much it cost and how to buy.
I'd also publish a launch post on my main social channels and share the link through Stories.
No vague messaging. No making people guess what I'm selling.
Tuesday: Focus on the transformation
I'd create content around the three main benefits we identified in Week 1.
What does life or business look like for someone before they work with you, and what could be different afterwards?
I'd use specific, relatable examples rather than generic promises about taking things to the next level. Because what does that actually mean?
Wednesday: Show proof
I'd share a client story, testimonial, relevant case study or example of my work.
Something that helps people understand why they can trust me to deliver what I'm promising.
And I'd connect that proof directly to the benefits I've been talking about throughout the campaign.
Thursday: Answer the objections
By this point, I'd be paying attention to the questions coming in.
Is the offer suitable for someone just starting out? How much time will it require? What happens after someone purchases? What if they've already tried something similar?
I'd create content answering those questions and send an email addressing the most common concerns.
Sometimes people aren't saying no. They just don't have enough information to say yes.
Friday: Make the final invitation
If the offer has a genuine enrolment deadline, I'd send a final reminder.
I'd recap the main benefits, make the next step clear and explain when enrolment closes.
If it's an evergreen offer that remains available, I wouldn't invent a deadline just to create urgency. You can still run a focused launch campaign without pretending something is disappearing.
And I'd be absolutely fine with selling.
Because I think this is something a lot of business owners struggle with. They're happy to share useful advice, create content and give people loads of value, but when it comes to asking someone to buy, suddenly everything feels a bit uncomfortable.
You don't have to pressure anyone or post the same sales graphic 15 times a day.
But you do need to confidently communicate the value of what you've created and give people clear opportunities to buy it.
Your Week 5 to-do list
By the end of the week: You'll have run an actual marketing campaign, rather than simply announcing that you've got something new to sell.
Week 6: Follow up, measure and learn
Your goal: Understand what worked, what didn't and what you can improve next time.
This is probably the week you'll be tempted to skip.
You'll have spent weeks creating content, writing emails, answering questions and thinking about your offer. You'll probably be ready to close your laptop and never mention the thing again.
But I'd encourage you not to disappear just yet.
Because there is so much valuable information to be gained from what just happened, whether you've sold out your programme or things haven't quite gone to plan.
I'd start by looking at the entire customer journey.
How many people visited the free resource landing page? How many signed up? How many opened the emails? How many clicked through to the sales page? And, most importantly, how many actually bought?
I'd also look at which pieces of content generated genuine interest, rather than just obsessing over likes and views.
A post with 40 likes that generates three qualified enquiries might be doing a much better job than one with 4,000 views and no meaningful action.
I'd follow up with people who'd shown interest, where appropriate, and take note of the questions or concerns that kept coming up throughout the launch.
Did people understand the offer? Was the pricing clear? Were they unsure about what was included? Did certain messages seem to resonate more than others?
And if sales weren't what you'd hoped for, I wouldn't immediately assume the offer was wrong.
Maybe your audience needed more time. Maybe your messaging wasn't quite landing. Maybe people were interested but couldn't see why the offer was right for them.
Or perhaps you simply weren't getting in front of enough of the right people.
I'd use what I'd learned to make improvements, rather than throwing everything away and starting again.
And if I was selling an evergreen offer, I'd look at how I could turn the work I'd done over the past six weeks into an ongoing marketing system.
The free resource can continue attracting leads. The email sequence can continue nurturing them. The strongest content can be repurposed, and the sales page can continue converting interested people into customers.
Which means the marketing you've created doesn't suddenly stop working when launch week ends.
Your Week 6 to-do list
By the end of the week: You should have a much clearer understanding of what drove interest and sales, and what your marketing needs to do next.
Your six-week launch plan at a glance
| Week | Focus | What you'll have completed |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Messaging | Three benefits, ideal client problems and core messages |
| Week 2 | Lead generation | Free offer, landing page and email sequence |
| Week 3 | Audience building | Educational content and free resource promotion |
| Week 4 | Pre-launch | Waitlist, sales page, proof and launch content |
| Week 5 | Launch | Five-day marketing and sales campaign |
| Week 6 | Optimisation | Results, follow-ups and ongoing marketing plan |
A couple of tools I'd recommend
You don't need a complicated tech stack to launch a new offer, but there are a couple of tools I'd recommend to make the marketing side a whole lot easier. The best part is you can try both of these tools for free to see if they’re right for you.
Flodesk — Best for email marketing
I'm a big fan of Flodesk for creating beautiful, professional emails without spending hours trying to make everything look right. You can build sign-up forms, create automated email sequences and nurture your audience from the moment they download your free resource through to your launch. It's particularly good for small business owners who want something straightforward and easy to use.
Try flodesk and GET 25% OFF paid plan
Interact — Best for quiz lead magnets
If you're thinking about using a quiz as your free offer, Interact is worth exploring. You can create interactive quizzes that help your audience identify a problem, understand what they need and receive personalised results. It's a clever way to attract relevant leads, learn more about your audience and introduce your paid offer as a natural next step.
Try Interact and GET 25% OFF paid plans
A few things I'd want you to remember
Firstly, six weeks isn't a magic number. If you've already got a highly engaged audience and a strong email list, you might be able to move faster. If you're starting from scratch or launching a more expensive programme that requires a bigger buying decision, you might need longer.
Secondly, you don't have to be everywhere. I'd much rather see someone execute a really good launch using Instagram and email than try to manage six different platforms and end up doing none of them particularly well.
And finally, please don't feel like you need some incredibly complicated marketing funnel to make this work.
A lot of the most effective marketing is actually quite simple. You understand the people you're trying to reach, communicate something that's genuinely relevant to them, give them a reason to trust you and make it easy for them to take the next step.
But simple doesn't mean thoughtless. And it certainly doesn't mean just posting whenever you remember.
What we're really doing here is creating a journey. From someone discovering your business, to recognising that you understand their problem, to seeing how your offer could help and eventually feeling confident enough to buy.
Every part of your marketing should support that journey.
And that's the difference between creating launch content and having a launch strategy.
Because creating a brilliant offer is one thing. Building the marketing that helps people understand its value and actually buy it is another.
You've already done the hard work of creating something valuable. Now let's make sure your marketing does it justice.
Got something new you're getting ready to launch?
At Eighth Era, we help service-based business owners get clear on their positioning, messaging and marketing, then build the content and systems that bring everything together.
Whether you're preparing to launch something new or trying to get more traction with an existing offer, we'd love to hear what you're working on.
Explore how we can work together
Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means Eighth Era may earn a commission if you make a purchase through them, at no additional cost to you.
