There’s nothing better than the New Year to feel like a fresh start in your business.

And if you’re anything like me, the upcoming New Year gets your creative juices flowing!

You start to thinking of all the programs you want to launch, the new services you want to create and you start getting the itch to make something brand new.

Or is that just me?

That’s why today I want to help you take three simple steps to help you get your launch started, even if you’re just in the idea phase!

1. Validate your course/product idea in the market.

Before you spend tons of time and energy on it, make sure it’s something that people want and that people will buy. And there’s tons of easy ways to do that:

• ♦ Search “how to X” search in Google to find other experts already selling similar courses or services
• ♦ Search in Amazon to see if anyone’s written a book about your course topic
• ♦ Search Teachable and Lynda for similar courses or topics that already exist

But don’t get discouraged if it seems like A LOT of people are talking about your same topic – that’s actually a good thing!

Just because you’re not first doesn’t mean you can’t be the best, so don’t be afraid to launch a course or program or service that someone is already doing.

If you do these searches and can’t find any proof that your idea is already selling in the market, reach out to some ideal clients or past clients to get personal feedback on your idea, and if they would purchase it.

2. Buy the domain and stake your claim.

This next step to your first launch is a cheap, affordable way to kind of make a stamp in the ground without having to go through a whole trademark process.

If you think of something amazing in terms of a course name or something catchy go ahead and buy the domain. I purchase domains almost like candy from iPage! And I can usually get a sale for two years of ownership for just $12.

3. Create a waitlist and start collecting leads.

As soon as you’ve got the idea of what you want to launch, put up a wait list or an interest page.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a two-sentence, super simple landing page that will start collecting leads who are specifically interested in what you want to be selling as a service or a program or a product.

By the time you are ready to launch, you could have 10-100 targeted leads to tap for a beta test or your first mini-launch.

Wondering how you can sell to your waitlist leads once you’re ready to launch?

Download your FREE guide below and find out the 5 emails you can automate to turn email subscribers into instant customers.

I promise that if you follow these three tips before your first launch, you’ll be set  up for success if you follow through with launching that idea.

So, are you planning your first launch in 2017? Leave a comment below with any additional questions.

Or, if you’ve launched before but are looking to launch something new, let me know what you think of these tips for your new offer.