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For solopreneurs, especially those of us who are more introverted, highly sensitive, neurodivergent, or living with a chronic illness, it can be challenging to manage the high energy and momentum of a big launch without the burnout and overwhelm that inevitably come with it.

Often, it just comes down to misguided strategies we’ve learned from people whose strengths and energy work differently than ours. The results can vary from flopping altogether to creating a business that you don’t really like. Maybe you’ve been trying to do those big, epic once-a-year launches and wondering why you don’t get the six or seven-figure results “everyone else” is celebrating.

It can make you feel like there’s something wrong with you or that success isn’t in the cards for you. Today, you’re in luck! I’m going to share my gentle launch approach that will help you stop panicking when you think about launching, create a launch plan that suits you, and finally fall in love with inviting people into your offers without feeling salesy or completely depleted afterward.

I’ll cover what gentle launching for solopreneurs is, how it works, and how you can get started. Keep reading for more details.

What is Gentle Launching For Solopreneurs?

Gentle launching aims to get your offer in front of people, invite them to sign up to work with you or join your program, and do so without the exhausting and overwhelming fanfare we’ve come to associate with launching. 

The most important thing about the gentle launch approach is that it’s not meant to look a certain way. It’s designed to work with your strengths, needs, and capacity—above all else.

Gentle launching is perfect for more introverted, highly sensitive, neurodivergent solopreneurs, or those living with a chronic illness. But it’s really going to suit anyone who has found the more traditional style of launching doesn’t work for them.

Download now: The Gentle Launch Checklist

Why Is Gentle Launching Important?

Research conducted by Virgin Money a couple of years ago had self-proclaimed introverted entrepreneurs outnumbering their extroverted counterparts by more than two to one. Yet, the majority of advice for running a “successful” online business plays to the strengths of extroverted people.

As a result, many of us adopt advice and strategies that don’t support our needs and energy. Often, they don’t work, or—if they do—can end up creating exhaustion and overwhelm. No wonder launching has such a bad name among many of us!

Most people have spent their whole lives trying to adapt to somebody else’s methodology, even if it doesn’t work for them, and then continue this pattern in their own businesses. By implementing a gentle launch, you’ll be able to share your offers and invite new clients or customers into your business in a way that is energizing for you. 

You’ll create a launch plan that you can tweak, evolve, and reuse time and time again. Gentle launching also allows you to expand your comfort zone and visibility at a slower pace and gives you permission to move at your own pace without the pressure of a huge launch and massive visibility.

That means you won’t have to burn yourself out working 15-hour days and then somehow show up and deliver the program you’ve just launched.

Gentle Launching Examples

If the idea of gentle launching sounds confusing,  I get it.

I think of gentle launching as a low key way to get in front of your people, making deep and meaningful connections, and then invite those who are ready to work with you further.

I’ve put together the examples below to break it down for you so you can easily get started with your own gentle launch plan.

Example #1 – The 90 Day Launch

This is a slow and steady wins the race approach, especially good if you really want or need to grow your audience and bring them on a journey, build credibility and rapport with them, and provide some amazing value before they are ready to take the next steps with you.

Although this may seem like it will take too long and you need money yesterday, it’s actually the most effective way to grow and nurture your audience and create a runway up to your offer so that, by the time you launch, you have people ready and waiting to work with you. Plus, it gives you time and space to build out each part and share behind-the-scenes sneak peeks with them as you go.

This allows you to bring your people on a journey with you, answer their questions, involve them in the process, and show them all the amazing things you’ve thought of in your program or offer.

That means you move at a slower pace, as I talk about in my signature Seasons of Visibility program, but you can launch less and create a longer runway up to your launch so your people are more prepared and ready to join.

Example #2 – The Lazy Launch

Everyone loves the idea of a lazy launch, but it requires something that nobody really talks about: long-term commitment. The more you can grow and nurture your community throughout the year as a consistent effort—such as sending regular weekly (or more) emails and having new people join your list every week—the easier it will be to get into gentle launch mode. That’s where the lazy launch comes in.

A lazy launch is a marketing strategy to introduce your offer or product in a low-effort, low-stress way and generally includes:

• • • • Minimal planning and preparation
      • Simplified marketing efforts
      • Low-cost execution
      • Soft introduction
      • Flexibility and adaptability

For example, if you’re committed to an ongoing plan to consistently grow your email community and connect with them regularly through, say, Facebook lead ads, a welcome sequence, and regular emails, your people are going to be much more ready for your offer. In fact, they’re almost waiting for you to take the next step because you’re building relationships with them and providing regular valuable free content. 

This might look like opening the doors to your usually closed membership or program for a very short amount of time and giving people the opportunity to join outside of your regular launch windows. The lazy launch approach is great when you have a special reason why you are inviting people into your offer and include special pricing or bonuses for people who join this week.

Most commonly, a lazy launch is a series of emails and a few social media posts without all the fanfare of a usual live launch. The best part about this is that you can write your emails once and then tweak and refine them each time you wish to open the doors, but you want to make sure that you’re growing and nurturing your audience all year round for this to be the most effective.

Example #2 – The Beta Launch

A beta launch is low-key and gentle because you’re inviting your most inner-circle audience to get special early access to your offer before making it available to the general public. This allows you to co-create with your people, gather feedback, identify gaps in your offer, and make any improvements or add anything else that will help people on a wider basis.

These people are close to you and get a special introductory price and/or extra access to you with the knowledge that you are implementing and making changes as you go. This is a great way to get testimonials, case studies, and feedback for future improvements and to promote future launches of the offer to show that people get amazing results with you.

For example, I decided to create a self-study launch offer for people who don’t even know where to start planning a launch, let alone how to do it in a way that actually works for them. Instead of working away for months behind the scenes to create it, I decided to launch it as a beta offer 5-week program.

I will run 5 workshops, create a pop-up group for extra support and feedback, and add a few other bonuses for my people at a special beta price. After the live event ends, people will be able to access the program at its final price with any additional trainings, resources, templates, or features that I create during the live event when I know where people are getting stuck or if I’m missing anything from my plan.

I created a quick PDF instead of a full launch plan and have set it as a live event with specific dates and times (plus access to the replays). This is a scrappy start that will end up with a proper sales page, but the point is to make it simple and gentle, without all the pressure because it’s the first time I’ve done it like this.

You can check it out via this document to see how easy it is to get your offer up and running quickly.

Tips for Gentle Launch Success

Here are a few tips to help you maximise your results and create your own gentle launch plan:

First, commit to growing and nurturing your community.

To achieve the best gentle launch results, you want to have an ongoing strategy to grow and nurture your community. 

When you focus on list building, in particular, you effectively bring together a group of people who are interested in your work and the transformation you provide. 

This means that when you have an offer ready to go, want to launch something, or invite people to take the next step with you, there are people there ready for what you’ve got.

For example:

Because of my ongoing commitment to building and nurturing my community on a regular basis, every time I have a new offer available, there are people ready to check it out. When I have availability for new clients, I can put a call out to the community. And when I am thinking of creating something new, I can run it past my people and gauge if they’re ready for it before committing to fully creating anything.

For better results, make sure you create a strategic freebie that is connected with your main offer to invite people to sign up. For example, if you’re running a membership, a mini free course with a few modules on the main topics of your membership, or a list of 100 resources related to the core topics you cover in the membership will be a great way to introduce new people to the membership and invite them to join on an ongoing basis.

Related Post: What is a cozy community and why is it important for success?

Next, plan your gentle launch based on your needs and goals

When you know what you’re working towards, it’s so much easier to create a plan than to follow someone else’s. Why? Because most of the time their needs, strengths, and goals are not the same as yours.

In other words, you know how you work best and you create a launch strategy that aligns with you. It’s always better to start from this place, so that you can make decisions that support you, instead of the latest trend or tactic everyone is shouting about on social media.

To get started:

• Decide the offer you’re launching (or relaunching) and who it’s for
• Map out your launch goals
• Reverse engineer all your launch dates based on your goals

Finally, think about what you need to feel supported during your launch

Nobody talks about the most important part of your launch: you. It’s crucial to create a plan that accommodates your needs, schedules rest, and ensures you have the support and systems in place to feel amazing as you launch your work.

For a sustainable and repeatable launch that delivers results without burnout, you can’t overlook this step. Launching is about energy, activity, and mindset. If you expect it to be exhausting and overwhelming, it likely will be. But if you build a plan that plays to your strengths and empowers you, not only will you get better results, you might even learn to love launching.

And if the idea of launching still makes you feel anxious, consider this: 

It’s your business and you get to share your work and launch your offers in a way that feels good for you.

Imagine how your business could look in a year or two if you create a gentle launch plan that supports you, fall in love with launching and learning, and elevate what you’re already doing with more ease and flow?

One thing you can do is join the Gentle Launch Lab. We start July 15th and you get special access and a super introductory price if you join us live. Not only that, you’ll get to connect with me and other cozy business owners in a pop up community, get live feedback and support from me as you map out your plan, and get access to all the future updates and upgrades as the program evolves.

What do you say? Check it out here.

And, in the meantime, grab my free Gentle Launch Checklist here.

Start Your Gentle Launch Plan Today

Gentle launching allows you to share your offers and invite new clients or customers into your business in a way that is energising and empowering. The more you can tailor your launch plan to suit your strengths, needs, and capacity, the more effective and enjoyable the process will be.

By implementing these gentle launch strategies, you can create a launch plan that not only supports your business growth but also nurtures your well-being and creativity. Remember, launching doesn’t have to be a high-pressure, high-stress event. With a gentle approach, you can achieve your goals while staying true to yourself and your unique way of doing business.