Launching from zero and with partners
Lesson 23 of 31 in the course “Million Dollar Sales Course”. Free, with animations and a quiz.
Case: no product, no list
Lessons 17–22 assumed you already have a list and a product. What if you have neither? Walker tells the story of Tara Marino. She gave her friends advice on living a bolder, more vivid life and wanted to turn it into a business. But she had no book, no course, no email list, just a few friends on social media. She gathered about 200 people from her inbox and social accounts, ran a short prelaunch, and sold five spots in a live program before she had even made it. That brought in almost $3,000. Each week she prepared a session and ran it live, and the recordings became her first product. After that, per Walker, came launches of about $12,000, then $90,000 and $190,000. Let’s see how it works on the next slides.
A small list is stronger than it looks
Walker calls this the seed launch: a small launch that grows into a product, a list and a business. It relies on two things few people know. First: in percentage terms, a small list responds far better than a big one, because people know you personally. His example: he started charging $100 a year for a service that used to be free, and 297 out of 299 people bought. Walker himself admits this is a rare case, not the norm. Second: every list has its hottest fans, who open everything and buy first. You don’t need thousands. The goal is 100–300 warm people, and useful content on social media helps you gather them. Misha has 150 subscribers on his list from lesson 8, and that’s enough for a seed.
The seed launch, step by step
The mechanics are simple, and you already know most of them. Step 1: the survey from lesson 17, asking what isn’t working for people. Step 2: an email sharing what you learned from the answers, a bit of your story and a mention of the upcoming sessions. Step 3: the offer. No need to sell like a market trader, people know you, but explain the benefit and the change clearly. The goal is about 30 students, and 60 is even better. Why so many? For lively interaction, and some people always drop out. The product is 3–5 live weekly sessions plus a bonus Q&A session. If you have fewer students, Walker suggests inviting a few engaged people for free to keep the group lively. Tara had five, Walker himself had six. Prices range from $50 to $3,000, but the point here isn’t money, it’s the product and experience.
A course the students help build
The seed’s big trick: you build the course together with your first students. Before every session, Walker sends a short survey: “What are your top two questions about the next session’s topic?” He groups the answers by theme, puts them in a logical order and covers them in the session. After the session, another survey: what’s still unclear and what to ask next. Why is this so strong? Experts often forget what it’s like to be a beginner and explain things at too high a level. The surveys prevent that. Walker ran his first seed after a conference talk: out of nearly 300 people, six bought. He invited friends for free, promised five sessions and delivered nine or ten. His main course grew out of those recordings, and a few months later its launch, per Walker, brought in over $600,000 in a week.
The partner launch
In lesson 10 you learned that a partner is someone who already has your people. Walker turns that into a whole launch. Partners email their subscribers about your free prelaunch, people sign up with you, and a special link-tracking system records who came from whom. When sales open, the partner gets a percentage of every purchase. In 2005 Walker paid 50%. Why do partners care? They earn without creating anything. Why do you? You pay only after a sale, not upfront like with ads, and all the new subscribers stay with you. That’s how, per Walker, he started from zero in a new niche: over 15,000 subscribers and about $600,000 in a week with no ads. And in 2008 a partner launch made him a million dollars in 53 minutes.
Your own people first, then others’
Walker warns firmly: never test a raw offer on someone else’s list. A partner risks their main asset: if your videos are dull and the offer doesn’t sell, their subscribers will think less of them, and they won’t mail for you twice. So first run your own launch, even to a small list. That tests your offer, prelaunch and tech, and gives you numbers. Then you take those numbers to partners. Partners look at EPC, the partner’s earnings per click. Walker’s example: 100 clicks earned a partner $450 in commissions, so the EPC is $4.50. The higher it is compared to other offers in the market, the keener partners will be to mail your launch. Misha first runs a seed to his 150 subscribers and only writes to partners once he has results.
Where to find partners
Finding candidates is easy: it’s everyone who already writes for your audience. Walker suggests typing your niche’s main search term into a search engine, going through the top 50 sites and subscribing to everyone with an email list. Then watch: whom they recommend, only their own products or others’ too, how they talk to their people. You need just 3–5 good partners, and in Walker’s experience almost all sales come from a few top ones. But strong partners have a queue of people asking. How do you stand out? Give them value first: buy their product and leave an honest review, recommend them to your audience, give useful feedback. Why does it work? Relationships are built over years, and Walker says it plainly: treat partners like gold. Misha lists channels about phone filming, LUTs and blogging for teens.
Do it yourself: from seed to partners
Count how many warm people you already have: subscribers, contacts, friends in your topic. If it’s under 100, post useful content until you get there. Run a “what isn’t working for you?” survey, write an email with your findings and your story, and offer a live mini-course of 3–5 sessions. Before each session, ask for the top two questions and record everything. Turn the recordings into a course and ask students for reviews. Then run your own launch using lessons 18–20 and write down the numbers: sign-ups, sales, response. Make a list of 50 possible partners, subscribe to them and pick 10 you can help first. Reach out with your numbers and an honest percentage after the sale. Level 4 is done. In level 5 we’ll cover personal brand and working with creators.
Check yourself
- Where should Misha start?
Correct answer: Sell a live mini-course to his 150 and build it with students. That’s Walker’s seed launch: a small warm list responds better than a big one, the money comes before the product exists, and surveys shape the course to fit people. - What should he do?
Correct answer: Run the course and invite a couple of engaged people for free. Walker did exactly that: he sold six spots and invited friends free for a lively group. Eight buyers is already a start, and the course and reviews will grow from the sessions. - What should he tell the creator?
Correct answer: Run his own launch first and come back with numbers. Walker: never test a raw offer on someone else’s list. Your own launch shows whether the offer works and gives you an EPC that makes partners happy to say yes and come back. - What’s the partner’s EPC?
Correct answer: $1.50 per click. EPC is the partner’s commission divided by clicks: $300 ÷ 200 = $1.50. That’s how a partner compares your launch with other offers.