How I Turned a Fun List-Building Idea Into a $2 Million Launch

I gave this talk at Andrew and Pete’s event Atomicon in Newcastle, UK, in June 2024. It is the story of a fun list-building exercise that I turned, almost by accident, into a multiple million dollar launch strategy. Because if it is not fun, what is the point?

My First Webinar Was a Complete Failure

I was so excited about webinars. I saw other people doing them, so I bought a lifetime licence for a new webinar software and planned my first one. 17 people signed up, and I was happy with that. I wanted to figure out the technology first.

On 24 February 2014, Google crashed completely. My webinar was built on Google Hangouts, and the people who signed up were not in my email system. I did not know how to contact them. I was so shocked that I returned my lifetime licence and told myself this was a sign from the universe: webinars are not for me.

Have you ever said anything like this to yourself?

It took me 5 months to get the courage to try again. I did a webinar on Canva, because I saw a lot of people asking questions about it. 67 people signed up, without Facebook ads. It was not as scary as I thought, and that is true for most things we do in life. Two weeks later I did the same webinar again, and again between 60 and 70 people signed up.

Weekly Webinars Grew My Email List

I started weekly webinars. Every week I taught a different tool. I did not know how to sell on a webinar, so I taught 60 minutes of pure content with no pitch. Within 6 months I added over 2,000 people to my email list with a small Facebook ad budget.

After a year I had 60 webinars sitting on Dropbox, collecting digital dust, and a small webinar membership with between 50 and 100 members. I felt I could do more with these webinars.

The Idea: 12 Days of Christmas

I love Christmas. So I decided to open up my webinars again over the 12 days of Christmas, from 25 December to 5 January. I released one webinar a day and gave people 24 hours to watch, so they would actually watch and not wait. I put on a Christmas hat and some ornaments on my landing page.

I also offered longer access. When people cannot watch right away, they are eager to buy, and about 5% bought 12 months of access to all 12 webinars.

The first year, 1,000 people signed up. I did not do a proper launch. I sold some group programs over email afterwards and made $40,000 (about €36K). When you give people more value than they get almost anywhere else, 12 hours of content without a pitch, they actually want to buy from you.

The second year, 2,000 people signed up and I made $100,000 (about €89K). We gave people access for 12 days instead of 24 hours, because my assistant had been getting up at 3 AM every night to switch out the emails. Make it easier for yourself.

Year 3: Turning It Into a Launch

In 2017 I finally had a scalable online course, so I turned the event into a launch. 3,000 people signed up for the 12 days, and after the masterclasses I did a live webinar.

I used a Facebook group, because when you launch, you need people to consume your content. A group gives a feeling of community, and people are more likely to watch.

The live webinar did not go to plan. More people came than I expected, Zoom showed an error and not everyone got in. Then my internet went out. I ran out of my office to tell my husband, and he shouted back: “The oven is on fire.” My stepsons were cooking lasagna for me. I went back on a hotspot, and everyone was still there, because after 12 days they were so warm and excited.

Afterwards I emailed my list a picture of an oven on fire and announced an encore webinar. It was all true. It was one of the best conversions I have ever had in a launch, and it became a $450,000 launch (about €381K).

Years 4 and 5: Chasing the Million

Could I have a million dollar launch? The next year I added a 5-day boot camp after the masterclasses and a new Facebook group, because old groups lose their reach. The launch made $570,000 (about €509K). It is a big amount, but to be honest I was a little bit disappointed.

The fifth year, 8,500 people signed up, and I streamed the masterclasses. In Iceland in December it is dark until 11 AM, so I was in my bed on my phone, chatting with the people who were watching. Again, do whatever you can to make people watch.

Why You Need a Launch Debrief

After every launch my team and I come together for a launch debrief. What worked, what did not work, and what will we improve? I recommend this for anything you do in your business, also a project or an event.

This time we found 2 reasons. We had sold the same program 4 months earlier, and if you do not grow your list a lot between launches, you cannot sell the same thing again and again. And after years of selling the same 12-month program, the message had become watered down. You can sell the same program for years, but it needs to feel new. Revisit your ideal client, rethink your message and be clear on the outcome.

Year 6: My First Million-Dollar Launch

In the sixth year I finally made the strategic change. I put all my ad budget into the 12 days, and I did not care if people also signed up for the boot camp. The more time I have with people, the more likely they are to buy. 10,000 people signed up.

The launch made $1.2 million (about €1M). We made half a million dollars (about €423K) in the first 1 or 2 days. It took me about 4 years from the moment I thought “this is the next thing” until it happened.

When Life Happens in the Middle of a Launch

Towards the end of 2021 my dad landed in intensive care in Tenerife. I flew there and stayed 2 months. He got COVID on top of his pneumonia, my mother landed in hospital too, and I did not work on my business. At the same time my marketing director of 6 and a half years left the company.

A launch like this is maybe two-thirds of the revenue of the whole year. So I told my team to repeat everything we did the year before. Then I did something I was scared of. I contacted other entrepreneurs in my field, basically my competition, told them what happened and asked if they could send one email to their list as a favour. All of them did it.

I would never have asked if I was not out of the business for 2 months. But what if we asked for a little bit of help also when we are not under pressure? We all want to help each other.

10,000 people signed up again, and we got exactly the same result. People on my team who were not so visible before stepped up.

Year 8: Going Live

After Tenerife I had very little energy. I stopped my podcast and stopped creating content. When it was time to choose 12 masterclasses, the topics felt boring to me. We brainstormed new ones, and my assistant blocked time in my calendar so I could record 12 new masterclasses. I moved those blocks again and again until it was December.

I really do not like pre-recording. I love doing things live. So I said: “We will do them live.” My team thought I was crazy, and I thought I was crazy too.

20,000 people signed up that year. And because I was live, I could create each masterclass after the one before and listen to everything the audience was saying. After 5 days, people were ready to buy.

The Insider List and the Secret Call

During the whole event I ask who is interested in working with me. I name the program and invite people to an insider list, so they can be the first to buy. People join it to show their interest while the event is running.

That year I offered a secret call, only for the 2,000 people on the insider list. About 350 showed up and 70 bought. Find out who is most interested in buying from you and focus on them. It became a $2 million launch (about €1.85M).

Make Your Launch Fun

When I was in Tenerife, I bought every headband I could find in the shop. Since then I put on a headband at the end of each masterclass, and people wait for it. If I forget, I am in trouble. People know I will sell a program afterwards, but it is so much fun.

The ninth year I did the masterclasses live again and added an AI masterclass. 30,000 people signed up, and I was dreaming of 3 million. The launch made $1.8 million (about €1.66M) and the conversion was lower. More people came from Facebook ads, and when people are new to you, they need more time. That year I wore a different dress every day, and those posts got more organic reach than anything else I posted.

Have Fun in Your Business

This is what overnight success looks like. My revenue was $74,000 (about €56K) in my first year, $164,000 (about €148K) in my second and $340,000 (about €307K) in my third. Then I joined a mastermind, and the coach asked: “You have no scalable program?” A week later I had one, and that is how I tripled my revenue. After the first million it grew more slowly, and the year after Tenerife my revenue went down. That is okay. I know why, and I only compete with myself.

I want to leave you with a quote from someone I admire very much, Richard Branson: “Fun is one of the most important ingredients in any successful business. If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.”