The Bottom Line on “Product Launch Formula”

Jeff Walker is at it again.  Product Launch Formula 3.0 is being released this week, and it seems that all the Big Name marketers are talking about it.  But is it worth the hype, or is it just another name for a very old marketing strategy used by every corner grocery store?

At first, it sounds like the greatest thing since bread, sliced or otherwise.  And if you’re not paying close attention, you’ll come away from the various promotions thinking that Jeff Walker has somehow intuited the secrets of the marketing universe to come up with something that no one else has ever thought to do.

However, closer inspection reveals that the core of PLF is simple — run a sale, and promote the hell out of it.

Now, I will admit that there’s a bit more to it than that, but here is the core principle behind PLF for all to see.  It’s just the idea of running a sale with some window dressing to get people to focus on the product and not the price.

Other than this, what Jeff Walker’s “Product Launch Formula” has to offer is an extensive grounding in basic marketing principles.  Strategies, tactics, mental triggers — all of these are important, and are covered in a great many marketing courses.  The only thing Jeff has that’s somewhat unique is the idea of “sequences”, however, if you dig a little, you’ll find this in most good books on direct marketing.  (As a reference, you’ll learn a LOT more from a $40 book from Amazon than you will from Jeff Walker’s PLF course.)

I can say this because I purchased PLF myself a couple of years ago, when it was released as PLF 2.1.  I know what’s in there.  From what I see in the current promotion, the major difference is that some of the ideas which were somewhat nebulous in 2.1 have been clarified and put into bullet points.

At this point, you may be asking, “If that’s all that’s in Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula, then how can he sell it for $2000?”

When you understand the answer to this question, you’ll have unlocked the TRUE secrets of marketing.

You see, most folks don’t go looking for marketing wisdom in a $40 book from Amazon.  In fact, many of them believe that such a low-cost resource CANNOT contain such valuable information.   They believe that in order to receive truly valuable information, they need to spend a lot of money for it.  These folks WANT to overspend for their marketing education.

Another reason is that Jeff Walker didn’t write a marketing book, but created a set of videos to teach his material.  Most people have an easier time learning from videos than from books.  This makes the product more valuable to those folks.

Thw hypesters will claim that a major advantage to PLF is the “swipe files” you get with it.  The reasoning is that you can rewrite the material for your own use, and be reasonably sure of getting a good result.  Easier said than done.  The problem here is that until you understand the psychology of sales, any edits you do could ruin the effectiveness of the samples, and when you DO understand the psychology, you’ll have an easier time writing your own from scratch.

It’s a believable pitch, which is why so many fall for it.  And it gives beginners a sense of confidence, so there may be SOME benefit there.

The other major reason why Jeff Walker can sell his “Product Launch Formula” for $2000 is because that’s the only price he sells it for.  Anyone who buys the hype and wants a copy has no other choice but to pony up the cash.  And since it’s only available “for a limited time only”, there’s not a lot of time to think it over and compare it to other options, such as a $40 book from Amazon.

As a former “Product Launch Formula” owner, I can tell you that if you pay attention during Jeff”s pre-launch videos, you’ll catch the majority of the details regarding sequences, arguably, his one true “claim to fame”.  The basic idea is to break up your sales message, and deliver it in pieces over time, rather than as a single sales letter, to be read all at once.

If that’s the only thing you take away from this, and USE IT, you’ll get at least 80% of the results you would get from PLF.

Oh, and study up on sales psychology.  That is also highly valuable, and will increase your results tremendously.  For this, there are many resources available, including that $40 book from Amazon.

Other resources you may find valuable

Treasure Map to Online Riches — A $39 ebook revealing the core secrets to several $2000 marketing courses, such as Jeff Walker’s “Product Launch Formula”, Frank Kern’s “Mass Control”, Mike Filsaime’s “Butterfly Marketing” and more.  Everything you need to determine the best type of business to start, the best market to be in (your most profitable niche), and 4 step-by-step plans to start making money within a week, no website required.

Keys To Power Persuasion — An in-depth encyclopedia of the psychology behind sales and marketing.  Covers the broad-stroke overview of the whole persuasion game, as well as numerous specific techniques of using NLP language patterns and “conversational hypnosis” to get anyone to do anything you want.  Actual word-for-word examples showing you how each technique can be used in everyday conversation.


Full Disclosure: I have absolutely NO FINANCIAL INTEREST in the $40 book from Amazon referred to in this article.  I just simply believe it is one of the best resources from which to learn about the type of marketing we do online, which is “direct marketing”.  There are other good resources I recommend, such as Joe Sugarman’s books on copywriting, and anything you can find by Dan Kennedy, whose books are often available for about $10.

However, the 2 resources listed at the end of this article are products I’ve created myself.

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