Seven days of healthy eating. Fourteen days of taking and editing photographs. Thirty days of daily yoga practice. Ninety days of getting your finances in order.
Do these sound familiar? They’re all common challenges you may have seen hosted on social media by influencers, businesses, or entrepreneurs. Live Challenge Launches are great marketing techniques, but they can also help you reach a very specific goal: pitching a current offer you have for a product or service.
Because we’re all about helping you sell the digital products you’ve created, we want to show you why you should consider hosting a live challenge launch for your next offer or online course. (But if you already know you want to host a challenge and need help getting started we have a 5 Day Challenge Workbook Template that's free for our members, you can check it out here.)
Live Challenge Launches boost brand engagement
Let’s talk about those other online challenges for a second: the Cinnamon Challenge, the Ice Bucket Challenge, the Mannequin Challenge… and so on and so on. Some of these viral challenges were silly, some were for a good cause, and some were downright dangerous when taken too far. But they all had one thing in common: they definitely got eyes on their cause (and their brand).
That’s the power you can harness with your challenge. By creating a live challenge launch that people can get excited about and engage in, you increase the odds that more people will join in. Your followers are already using social media, which is one of the best ways for them to spread the challenge’s reach and get people looking at what you’ve got.
Best of all, there’s a low barrier to entry. You can host a challenge on social media, where your ideal audience is already hanging out. You’re just bringing those people together by encouraging them to join your challenge. From there, they’ll be hooked!
You can grow your email list
One of the biggest benefits to hosting a live challenge launch is growing your email list. To join your challenge, your followers will need to sign up with their email address. Then, you can send them regular emails that will give them practical tips for the challenge, share progress from other participants, or simply motivate them to keep going.
For example, if you’re hosting a photography challenge, you might send your participants tips on taking beautiful wildlife photos, share your favorite participant photo of the day, or remind them that they’ve made it to the halfway point of your challenge. These kinds of emails keep your participants motivated, and builds trust and a sense of loyalty to your brand.
But the real benefit comes with access to their inbox in the future. Even if they don’t purchase your offer when it launches, challenge participants will likely remain on your email list, which means you can grab their attention in the future with another email.
You can create a sense of urgency
When you launch with a live challenge, you can create a sense of urgency and excitement for whatever “transformation” you’re offering. 30 days to a new body, 5 days to a new budget, only 1 day to find out how to create your own marketing campaign. Let them know that there’s a timeline, and NOW is the time to commit to what you’re offering.
This leads in nicely to when you launch your course or other offer, where you can let them now that NOW is the time to take that commitment further. Creating urgency with the timeline of your challenge, as well as your cart open and close, can help your followers get off the fence and into your challenge and checkout.
You can give your followers a quick win
Your challenge doesn’t just benefit your brand. It gives your participants a quick win, too. How? Even if you don’t award a prize at the end of the challenge or they decide to not bite on your launch, your followers will see results from their participation instantaneously.
Completing just one day of a healthy eating challenge, for example, means your followers have stuck to good eating habits thanks to you. Three days of taking photographs with their new camera means they’re building skills as a photographer. Seven days of practicing yoga means they’re taking care of their body. And thirty days of sticking to a budget means they’re working towards their financial goals.
Even if your followers don’t make it to the very end of your challenge or hit “Buy” when you launch your upsell offer, participating in it with others helps hold people accountable and builds camaraderie. This is the ultimate brand builder: you’re connecting the lifestyle your audience wants with the content and support you provide.
Create your challenge with Styled Stock Society
Hosting a simple, fun, and exciting live challenge launch gives your followers an incentive to engage with your brand. It grows your email list and it also gives your participants a goal to accomplish with others, creating a strong online community. When done right, challenges are a win-win for you and your followers.
Of course, your challenge won’t be a success unless you promote it properly so people can join!
And you’ll need eye-catching graphics to do that. Not to worry, we've got your back there! If you're ready to create your challenge you'll want to check out our 5 Day Challenge Canva Workbook Template. We're sharing a sneak peak of it below!
This template is free for Styled Stock Society members. So checkout the 5 Day Challenge Workbook Template and become a member today!
