Earlier in the 12 Days of Blogging series, I gave you 8 Affiliates Selling – and while it is awesome to make money promoting products that your readers can use, it’s even better to promote your own products! Most bloggers start by launching some kind of informational product, like an ebook or video course, but you could also sell tangible products or even work with publisher to launch a print book.

So, today, I’m going to talk about launching. Or, more correctly, a bunch of really brilliant bloggers are going to talk about launching and I’m going to give up a little commentary while letting them shine.

Remember, if you’ve written a post about launching a product (or launching a website), leave a comment with your link!

1. 7 Things You MUST Do To Make Your Product Launch Easier by Dave Navarro at The Launch Coach

When it comes to launching Dave Navarro is pretty much a one-stop shop for all the information you need to know about launching a product. along with a ton of posts worth reading, he has four free workbooks available for download, as well as a paid ebook called How to Launch the **** Out of Your Ebook, which has gotten glowing reviews from Darren Rowse of Problogger, Michael Martine of Remarkablogger, and more. I chose this post to highlight because it’s a good place to start. From the post:

Sure, launching can lead to a pretty sweet spike in sales, but it isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. Ask anyone who’s run a successful launch, and they’ll be sure to tell you “Damn, I’m glad that’s over.”  Again, the money is good, but it’s like running a marathon – you don’t come out the other end without being drenched in sweat.

But, just like a marathon, it isn’t impossible – as long as you put your “training time” in up front.

This post goes on to list the lessons he’s learned as a launcher. You can read more at The Launch Coach and follow Dave on Twitter @RockYourDay.

UPDATE: Since writing this post, there have been reports of people being unhappy with Dave’s business and personal choices, so do your research before hiring or working with him. I have personally never worked with Dave, nor do I know him personally, so I cannot speak about these matters.

2. How to Suck at Launching a Product by Adam Baker at Man Vs. Debt

I love this post because it makes me feel like my own failures are not so stupid. Launching a product is hard. Hard. Adam Baker’s post teaches readers about the mistakes he made – as well as some of the things he did right. It’s a post with a lot of meat, and totally worth reading if you intend to launch a product. From the post:

I’ve failed.

I set a big, perfectly attainable goal for my business.  I worked hard, but not smart.  And I failed.  I fell short.  I came up way short, actually.

Most of you know that two weeks ago I launched my second premium product, Sell Your Crap. I’ve talked a lot about it recently, so I won’t be going into specific details regarding the product again here.

What most of you don’t know (unless you are in my inner circle) was my goal for the launch. My goal was to sell 200 copies in the first two weeks.  I wanted to break $10,000 gross in that time frame. For some of you that may seem really high.  Others may think thats low.  That’s cool, but I will let you know that those number are completely reasonable.  Meaning not impossible, not automatic.  Reasonable.

Well, I failed.

To read more, head to Man Vs. Debt, and follow Baker on Twitter @ManVsDebt.

3. How to Launch When You’re Not Really Here by Elizabeth Potts Weinstein at Live Your Truth

Earlier this year, Elizabeth’s family went through a difficult time when her daughter had some serious medical problems. Since she didn’t have time to do a huge launch, but still wanted to make some money, EPW did a smaller launch – and this post gives her best tips on making such a launch successful. From the post:

Yesterday I finally got through 2 months of email. I’ve been contacting coaching clients to set up their calls. Delivering more content to Build Your Tribe. Writing new blog posts and making videos. Finishing up an ebook & putting it on sale.

And finally, next week (Aug 31 – Sept 2) I’m launching something – Live Your Truth on Video. (Because dude, this isn’t a non-profit.)

But since I don’t have the time or capacity to do the big huge launch, I’m having to be a bit more strategic about this one.

I highly recommend checking out the rest of Live Your Truth and connecting with Elizabeth on Twitter @ElizabethPW.

4. How I Write Sales Pages by Catherine Caine at Be Awesome Online

During BlogWorld 2010, I had the pleasure of meeting Catherine Caine from Be Awesome Online and her relatively new site Cash and Joy. In this post, she talks about something that super important to any product launch you do – writing the sales page. Everyone has their own special formula for sales pages, so after checking out Catherine’s post, check out a few other sales letters out there and then mash it all together to come up with your own perfect version. From Catherine’s post:

There are two layers to a sales page. Underneath is the structure, which is important – and dull.

On top is your voice, which is where things get awesome.

The structure matters in the sales page, and when you’re getting that to flow your writing will likely be dull.You’re ticking all the boxes.

Read more and show Catherine some love at Be Awesome Online and follow her on Twitter @CatherineCaine.

5. Etsy Success: Launching a Product Line by Danielle on Etsy’s The Storque

Like I mentioned before, not every product launch if an informational product like an ebook. This post focuses more on physical items, and although it is specific to selling on Etsy, it has some good advice for anyone interested in launching a product line. From the post:

I’ve seen many now very successful sellers launch a creative, cohesive product line and a full-time business all in the same go; it’s a great place to start. Composing a balanced line of work can get you thinking about target markets, your brand aesthetic, packaging and making a plan to get the press you deserve. I asked Etsy sellers for their top tips on creating a product line; let’s see what they came up with…

Check out more from the Etsy blog and follow the company on Twitter @etsy. You can also check out Danielle’s Etsy shop to support the author!

6. 7 Things You Should Know Before Starting a Business by Maren Kate at Escaping the 9 to 5

Maren was another person I got to meet at BlogWorld 2010, and my initial reaction upon checking out her site when I got home was, “Holy crap. How did I not know this existed?!?!” Maren writes about using virtual assistants, owning your own business, staying motivated to ditch the 9 to 5, and more – and I wanted to end today’s list with this post because it’s something every would-be blogger out there needs to read. If you’re going to start a blog with the hope of making money from it, your blog is a business. And starting a business is hard. Writes Maren:

Today Virtual Zeta is live! After months of hard work & determination my baby was finally born into the world wide web and I couldn’t be more excited, or scared!So today’s post is not just to announce Virtual Zeta, a site that will connect you with the perfect virtual assistant to fit your needs (guaranteed!), but also to help anyone out who wants to start a business by outlining the 7 things you should know beforehand that will save you a lot of headache & hopefully make your business a lot more profitable!

Head to Escaping the 9 to 5 for more career and business advice, and make sure to check out Maren on Twitter @MarenKate.

A huge thank you to all the bloggers who’ve written such great posts about launching! Remember, if you’ve covered this topic, leave your link in the comments section so we can all learn from you – and don’t forget to hit the like/retweet button to pass on the love for all of these awesome bloggers!

Check out the rest of the 12 Days of Blogging:

12 Writers Writing
11 Tweeters Tweeting
10 Guests a-Posting
9 SEOers Optimizing
8 Affiliates Selling
7 Facebook Users Updating
6 Launchers Launching
5 Golden Rules
4 Podcasting Hosts
3 Ebook Tips
2 Ethics Debates
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree (ebook coming soon!)