Yes, it can be scary. But if you’re not excited about your new project, no one else will be either.

I’ve seen it before, and I’ll see it again: a company gets ready to launch something new (a newsletter, podcast, or video series), pours time and resources into creating it…

…and then puts zero resources into launching it. No build-up. No clear positioning. No plan to rally an audience. Just: “Here it is.” And then silence. As a result, the audience doesn’t care. Because it seems like the company itself doesn’t even care enough to make a big splash. I understand why this happens. People are nervous about their new project: What if it’s bad? What if no one watches or reads it? It’s potentially embarrassing to go all out with a big launch, then to hear crickets from the audience. And they don’t want to upset important internal stakeholders, who are excited about an idea, and just want to launch it (Now!!!!).

The solve:

𝟭. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗯𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. At one media company I previously worked for, editors required writers to create several editions of a prospective newsletter, that would never see the light of day. Why: They wanted to see, edit, and iterate on the versions, PLUS guarantee the writer would have enough enthusiasm to actually stick with the project.

𝟮. 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵. Make sure others within your organization are also excited about the project, understand what it is, and are invested in its success. Solicit their feedback ahead of time (especially if they are experts in that subject area.) They will be much more willing to be ambassadors for the project, and hopefully post about it on social media, bringing their own networks along for the ride.

𝟯. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵. Yes, it can be scary. But if you’re not excited about your new project, no one else will be either. There are various ways to do this (a fun event, a pop-up, organic or paid social media), and you have to find the one that’s right for you. But do SOMETHING.

𝟰. 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀. Don’t just promote each new episode or edition individually. Every content series should feel native to the platform it is on, leading to loyal, consistent subscribers. Make your call to action “Subscribe,” acknowledge those who do so in some way, and continue to make excellent content that is worth their while.

(This content is written by Maria in a personal capacity and is not associated with Andreessen Horowitz. See https://lnkd.in/ewqBVXeJ for more information.)