In the online marketing world, launches are still the most popular way to sell your signature course or program. 

Most of the time, these launches are centered around an event, like a webinar, a challenge, or a video series. The purpose of this event is to help you create buzz around your launch. That means you need a plan to get people to sign up for the event and a plan to get them to show up for the event.

In this post, we’ll cover what you need to know to create a compelling invite and show-up sequence.

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The Invite Sequence

An invite sequence is an email sequence that you use to invite the people on your email list to your launch event. But because you’re selling them on the benefit of the event, you’ll need to use conversion copy.

In your email, you’ll be focusing on things like what they’ll get from the event. Basically, you want them to understand what’s in it for them.

One way to do this is by including a list of bullet points that details

• What they’ll discover or learn from the event
• Freebies they’ll get for registering
• Hints at bonuses you’re offering

You’ll also want to address potential objections that people might have about your event. You can do things like

• Tell people this won’t be fluff but instead will be value packed
• Reassure people this won’t be boring
• Help people realize that they can take action and be successful

There’s not a standard set of objections you need to bust in this sequence. Instead, you’ll have to answer the objections that your specific audience has.

Structuring Your Invite Sequence

As you start writing your invite sequence, you should plan on writing four unique emails to go out starting a week before your event.

This first email should announce the event and talk about the benefits. The second and third emails will continue to focus on the benefits and deal with objections. The fourth email is the “last call” email that uses urgency language to get people to take action and reminds them of the benefits of the event.

As far as timing, you’ll generally send the emails out two days apart and resend the emails to non-opens on alternating days. When people register, make sure your system is set up to stop sending them the invite email and add them to the show-up sequence.

The Show-Up Sequence

Getting people to sign up for your event is one thing, but getting them to actually show up live is more challenging. 

Since people who show up live are more likely to buy, you want as many people as possible to be there. That’s why it’s important to use a show-up sequence.

Similar to the invite sequence, the purpose of the show-up sequence is to sell the benefits of the event. You want people to recognize the value of being there live. That’s why you’ll want to highlight the benefits that are available only to people who attend live.

Just like your invite sequence, you’ll be using conversion copy and formatting. Bullet points make it easy to showcase the benefits:

• Live Q & A time for those who attend live
• Show-up bonuses for those who attend live
• Fast-action bonuses for those who buy at the event

Show-Up Sequence Structure

For a standard launch, you should generally plan on creating 5 emails for your show-up sequence. 

Email 1: Confirmation

The first email will go out as soon as someone registers and will congratulate them on taking the step of registering. 

In this email, you’ll also want to remind them that registering is a huge step, but it is only the first step, and they need to take the next step, which is to show up live.

Emails 2 and 3: Indoctrination

These two emails will go out 24-48 hours before the event. Their purpose is to get people excited about the event. You’ll use future-pacing copy to highlight the possibilities and address objections.

Your copy should focus on the benefits they’ll get from showing up to the event live and remind them what’s in it for them.

Emails 4 and 5: Reminders

These last two emails go out one hour and fifteen minutes before the event and are last-minute reminders that include a link to join. 

These emails should be short and to the point. You’re not still trying to sell them on the benefits of attending live but just reminding them the event is about to start and they don’t want to miss it.

Almost There

Now that you’ve got a plan for your invite and show-up sequences, it’s time to do the freaking work and write them. You can find more information about the specifics of how to do this in my FREE email marketing course inside BADA$$ Online Marketing University.