Doing the Capital Launch Mistake

Thord Daniel Hedengren — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:25:31 +0000

I’m doing the capital mistake when launching rethord.com, and I hope you know it. I know all about it, it would be shameful not to, given my track record with blog launches and projects started over the last ten years. And yes, I’ll go into that at another time.

So what is it already?

Always have your site ready before the launch. No under construction signs or stuff like that, it’s not only unprofessional, it’s also tacky (I’ve left them out here though). Don’t launch sites that aren’t done yet!

We all know that rethord.com isn’t done. The beta page tells us that.

What should I have done to launch the blog correctly?

Have more content! Categories returning “nothing’s here” pages isn’t OK. Always have enough content when you launch, a full front page is practically a must.
Be quiet about stuff not ready yet! While telling people that the site is beta might sound like a great way to keep your back clear, it does also give the impression that you didn’t pull yourself together and just finish the job. Which is true of course. The ideal launch always seems fully fledged from the beginning, and when you add the new features you’d planned all along, it looks all the better!
Don’t link it ’til it’s done! I did this as well, mostly out of laziness. This is stupid really, because although I had rethord.com up and running on September 20th, it was in no means ready. I did display the beta page though, which might’ve saved me some disappointed visitors never returning.

A launch is a big thing. You should always make it your best one to date, and always give a great first impression.

First impressions last, you know that and I know that. That’s why it is so stupid to launch something that isn’t presenting itself at its finest.

TDH: Portfolio » mistakes

Doing the Capital Launch Mistake

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