Beyond the Launch

Hi Reader, How do you build excitement without being annoying? A great question. A popular question. My easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy answer is don't make it about you; make it about the message. Example: ❌ Come buy this book I wrote! ✅ I wrote a book about X problem to help Y people. If this resonates, I think you'll get a lot of value from it! ❌ I started this online community! Come check it out. ✅ I started a community after noticing X challenge for Y type of group. 90% of our members say it's...

Hi Reader, If you've got an idea and decide it put it out into the world -- a course, community, toolkit, roundtable -- there's often a disconnect between how you see it in your head and...what actually happens. 😬 No one shows up No one pays No one engages You get discouraged My personal approach to avoid this is to look at these four core launch elements that I've summarized as P.A.N.N: P - Proven method, framework, approach, or strategy A - Authority to speak on it N - Niche interest N -...

Hi Reader, Been thinking a lot about newsletters. Between you and me, I've never had a great relationship with them for a number of reasons, including (but not limited to): They're expensive to maintain...like gym memberships Believe it or not, I sometimes don't have a new thought to share every week (or every other week for that matter) I'm a very busy person and sometimes I just get lazy But that's no excuse. I mean really. Because when you look at the statistics, they speak for themselves:...

How do you know when you're ready to start an online community? As someone who's helped build out a six-figure online community, these are the four things worth getting clear on: Do you have an engaged audience or network? Do you know what people appreciate about you? Do you have anything of value or urgency to offer? Do you know if people even want it? Then ask yourself: HOW DO YOU KNOW? Communities are education hubs for people to get their hands dirty with other like-minded individuals...

Hey Reader, A big insecurity of mine has been my age. In the past, I've often felt like I've had to work extra hard just to be acknowledged as an equal to those older and more experienced than me. To my younger subscribers: you ever felt like that before? I've been told more than once by family and colleagues not to worry about it, to not give others any reason to believe I'm not competent in my abilities with the work I do. But what do you do when people mistake a young face for inexperience...

Hey Reader, How do you know what "works"? This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately—how do you get to a place with your brand/business that feels like it actually works? Figuring out what your "thing" is like dressing up as Cinderella and trying on ten thousand pairs of shoes until you find the one(s) that fit. And how long will that take? I don't know. 🤷🏼♀️ How many shoes will you have to try on to find the one that fits? I don't know. 🤷🏼♀️ Honestly, it's different for everyone...

Hey Reader, Five years ago, in 2020, I was teaching sixth grade in the middle of COVID at a low-income school. I was living in my parents' basement and experiencing so much daily anxiety I once had a full-blown panic attack in the school parking lot at 7am. That's me in the middle with the jean jacket. I had no social life, my diet was a mess, and I was making roughly $35,000 a year (not to mention all the extra cash that went into funding my classroom). All I knew was that this lifestyle...

Hey Reader, I recently came across a really interesting video with a guy named Justin Welsh (know the name?), who created a multi-million dollar business totally on his own as a solopreneur. At first I was like: 🤯 And then I was like: 🤔 I mean like, naturally I'm intrigued, right? I thought success was being able to say you had a team behind you or you recently hired someone. So this really scratched my borderline-hyper-independent brain. The 23-minute mark was my favorite part because the...

Hey Reader, Recently, I did a little homework on myself and took a super deep dive into who I've been attracting (business-wise) for the past year or so. What I discovered were three recurring my top clients and prospects had: Strong reputations Word-of-mouth demand Viewed marketing as an investment (not an expense) With these findings, I dug deeper into their pain points and realized they didn't necessarily want more demand for what they did but a structure to sustain it. Think about it: if...

A Note from Lauren Hey Reader, Thank you for sticking around for the Launch Series we recently did, introducing the newly-revamped Onwardbound newsletter! Marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and I’m here to make it more approachable, strategic, and even fun. Whether you're growing your audience, refining your message, or scaling your business, you can expect to receive bi-weekly newsletters packed with: ✅ Quick, actionable marketing tips to keep things simple and effective. ✅...