Every entrepreneur’s worst nightmare is to spend months working on a product and then not sell a single one.

To avoid this, it is essential to plan and prepare your launch meticulously.

Much like the premiere of a Hollywood movie, a successful launch is advertised so heavily beforehand that people are drooling for it months in advance.

Before starting your launch campaign, you should hustle and self-promote like crazy to build up an audience of prospects and customers.

Engage them in good time before the launch; build up their anticipation by proactively telling them about the project you’re working on, why it will be valuable to them and how the launch will unfold.

Keep reminding them of the details to keep them on their toes.

Finally, when the big day arrives, make it as easy as possible for them to make a purchase; the decision to buy has hopefully already been made earlier.

For entrepreneurs, this is a nail-bitingly exciting time, and the sense of relief when the first sale comes in is incredible.

Plan the launch so that customers have a limited time to get the product at a particular low price, and remind them of this fact as the deadline approaches.

That little extra nudge often turns hesitation into action. Once the window of opportunity is over, refuse to sell the product at that price anymore.

When the author launched his online business course, the Empire Building Kit, he was on board an Amtrak train called the Empire Builder, chugging from Chicago to Portland.

The deadline for customers to seize the launch offer was when the train arrived in Portland after a 24-hour trip.

The story of the train-ride launch was so compelling, it proved a hit with customers and brought in over $100,000 in 24 hours.

Successful launches rely on thorough preparation and instilling a sense of urgency.