Plan a Creative Launch | Creative Collective

How to plan a successful creative launch

Launching is an ongoing part of sustaining a successful creative career and is the link that enables you to share what it is you do as an Artist/ Creator in a professional context whilst expanding the impact of your work in the world.

Not only is a launch a great way to honour the creative body of work that you’ve developed, it’s also an opportunity to build your brand and influence, connect with your community, build new networks, followers and fans and generate revenue from your creative practice.

Whether you’re launching a new product, program, performance, album, book or exhibition, launching a new project or venture can be a stressful and overwhelming process that requires a lot of time and energy. There’s so many different aspects involved in pulling off a successful creative launch, so it’s important to have a solid strategy and plan in place that allows you to take the pressure off and enjoy the process.

We’ve put together

5 Top Tips

to help you plan a

successful creative launch;

1. SET CLEAR GOALS

What does a ‘successful launch’ actually look like to you?

Begin with the end in mind by establishing some clear goals of what you’d like to achieve and work backwards by reverse engineering your launch from there. Start by asking yourself, ‘what are the best possible outcomes you’d like to achieve through your campaign?’

Think about what kind of tangible actions you’d like people to take by engaging with your launch. Are you wanting them to attend an event? Follow you on social media? Buy your merchandise? Listen to your music or purchase your work online?

What are the metrics? How many would you like to sell? How many people would you like to attend? Try to be as clear as possible from the beginning about what you’re aiming for.

2. allow time & be consistent

We suggest allocating at least 6-8 weeks to get the most out of your campaign but trust me, you’re going to need a lot more time than you think when planning your launch. Things always take a little longer than expected so make sure you allocate more than enough time to roll out your launch. Allow a little extra space to anticipate both production and communication delays, especially if you’re dealing with online distributors or third party contractors. If you’re pitching or promoting your launch event through the media, you’ll want to give them plenty of notice to schedule interviews in advance too.

It’s also important that you show up consistently throughout this entire period. Remember that statistically, people need to see your marketing campaign at least 7 times before they’re likely to buy or take action. So keep showing up, sharing your content consistently and try to build as much anticipation and hype toward your event as you can during this window.

3. CREATE COMMUNITY

Think bigger than just releasing this one body of work or planning one event. Use your launch campaign as a broader opportunity to build community and develop networks and connections with peers and professionals in your industry and reach potential fans that are already interested in similar content.

Can you amplify the core themes/ message/ concepts within your work and link it into any existing movements? Try reaching out to organisations, influencers and media professionals who are already speaking about these topics/ issues and use your launch to team up and create mutually beneficial opportunities with those who are already in alignment with this cause and build community around your event.

4. MAKE IT SPECIAL

There are soooo many different ways that you can approach

your launch and so many different ways that you can engage

people in your offering. There is no fixed, right or wrong way

to launch your creative campaign, it’s YOUR special event

and you get to do whatever feels good for you so don’t be

afraid to think outside the box and innovate new ways of

doing things.

How could you make your event (and even your marketing)

feel even more special?

If you’re sending out press releases and invitations, don’t

hesitate to make them personalised and unique. Don't

spam people with a copy/ paste message when contacting them. Do your research so you know exactly who you’re talking to and allow people to feel like you’re personally inviting them to experience something exclusive and momentous.

5. SUSTAINABILITY & WELL-BEING

Launching can be a stressful and overwhelming process so it’s super important to prioritise your well-being and up-level your self-care throughout your launch period to avoid burnout. (Check out our FREE e-book ‘Vibrate Higher’ if you’d like help managing your self -care.)

Art plays such a big role within our emotional and spiritual identity so it’s no wonder that launching our work into the world and being visible can feel vulnerable and bring ‘stuff’ up to the surface for us. Make sure you take breaks, look after your mental health and allow yourself to receive some emotional support from a Therapist or Coach along the way. You can also take a load off your to-do list and alleviate some of the pressure by recruiting our ‘Virtual Artist Support Service’ team to support you with some of the more practical aspects of the launch process.

Mental health and wellbeing is an essential part of sustaining a long-term creative career. It also allows you to stay present throughout the launch and celebrate the occasion. At the end of the day, remember that you’ve chosen to do this launch because it’s your passion and you LOVE it, so don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the journey!

If you would like some help launching your new creative project, check out our ‘Snack Sized Masterclass’ on ‘Planning a Successful Creative Launch’ below. It comes with a downloadable template and a step by step checklist that guides you through the entire launch process from start to finish.

What's included?

Short video training session with Kattimoni & Tamwah
Downloadable template to help you plan your creative launch
Step by Step Checklist to launch your creative campaign
Top Tips to help you plan a successful launch event

Reach out to the New Earth Arising Virtual Artist Support Services team HERE if you’d like some personalised 1:1 support with your creative launch.