Have you heard of The Pit and the Pendulum?
It’s a short story, written by Edgar Allan Poe, that features a narrator’s experience of being locked in a dungeon during the Spanish Inquisition. It was (and maybe still is) a significant part of my High School’s literature curriculum.
Cliff’s Notes got me through the majority of my literature lessons, but something about this story has always stuck with me.
Now that I’m older and more interested in authors from the past who’ve shaped the written word, I decided to give this story another read through. And let me tell you, this story has so many lessons that we can all benefit from.
In life. In love. In launching.
That’s right, Edgar Allan Poe brought up some really great lessons that we should all keep in mind whenever we’re launching something new.
Here they are…
ONE. Never underestimate the amount of work that goes into a launch.
At the beginning of the story, our narrator friend (I’ll use the pronoun “he” to represent this person) discovers they’re in a dungeon. It’s dark (like all dungeons are) and impossible to tell how big the space is from where he sits. So, he decides to use a piece of his robe to mark his steps as he paces around the room. Counting each step.
Unfortunately, he finds out later that he miscalculated and the room is actually smaller than he thought. And after getting tripped up on his journey across the room, he discovers that there’s a giant pit in the middle.
I see this underestimation happen to so many business owners as they launch their courses, programs, what have you…
…they take so much time to create their offer and never give themselves enough time to work on their promotions. Two weeks out from cart open day and they’re scrambling to write their launch emails and get their sales page dialed in.
Launches take time. To plan. To organize. To prep. To execute.
Even as a launch copywriter, it can still take weeks/months to complete a launch project for my clients. And if you’re someone who isn’t that familiar with copywriting techniques or course launches, it could take you just as long to get your promotions written and published – maybe even longer.
Give yourself plenty of time to work on your launch.
TWO. Don’t let the fear of the unknown drive you mad.
Alright, back to The Pit and the Pendulum.
Once the narrator realizes there’s a pit in the middle of the room, he starts to freak out a little bit. His mind races with possible ideas about the pit and its purpose in the room.
The next morning, he wakes up to find that he’s been strapped to a plank of wood and a giant pendulum with a sharp blade is swinging above him. Each back-and-forth motion brings the pendulum closer and closer to his chest. Now, our narrator starts to wonder if he’ll be sliced in half or thrown into the pit by the force of the swinging pendulum.
His brain won’t stop thinking of all the “what if” scenarios that could possibly happen while he’s in this dungeon.
And that’s exactly how the brain of a launcher is too.
It will not stop thinking of all the things that could go wrong.
It worries that people who buy your course or program won’t like the content once they get in there.
It worries that no one will buy the offer after you’ve spent weeks marketing and promoting it.
So many people let these fears about the “what ifs” totally derail their plans to launch. It’s why so many people push their cart open day back or give up on launching altogether.
Are there times when launches end with terrible results? Sure. But you’ll never know what kind of results your launch can bring if you don’t try.
The more times you launch, the better your results will be.
THREE. Keep an eye out for ways to make improvements during your launch.
As the narrator watches the pendulum inching closer and closer to his chest, he notices the rats that are in the dungeon with him. (I forgot to mention that his captors have been leaving food in the dungeon each morning.) The rats have made a habit of eating the food – sometimes before the narrator can.
Noticing the rats, he has the bright idea to rub some of the food oils on the rope that’s securing him to the plank of wood. As he does, the rats swarm the ropes and start chewing away. Eventually snapping the rope so the narrator can escape.
Yay!
Things can go wrong at any time during a launch.
Emails that aren’t being read. Links that aren’t being clicked. Students who can’t access the content. Audience members who blow up your support line with questions before buying.
It’s a good idea to track what’s happening during your launch so you can make adjustments and improve your end results in real time. Now, this doesn’t mean checking your phone 24-7 for Swipe notifications and Instagram DM’s…
…you can do your checks once in the morning and once in the afternoon to make sure things are running smoothly.
FOUR. Good things come to those who stick it out.
You know how I said the narrator escaped the swinging pendulum?! Well, that didn’t last long. Within minutes of his escape, the walls of the dungeon became middle-of-the-earth hot and started moving inward – pushing him closer and closer to the pit.
The walls kept pushing inward until he had less than an inch of flooring to stand on. Just as he lost his footing and began to fall into the pit, he felt someone grab his arm and pull him backwards. Lights came on. The walls cooled down and moved away. He was safe…for real this time!
There’s so much mindset junk you’ll have to work through when you launch a course.
Self doubt. Imposter syndrome. Fear. Worry.
But where there are clouds and rain…eventually you’ll find a rainbow.
You’ll get eyes on your sales page. People will respond to your emails saying they can’t wait to join your course. Your enrollment will skyrocket. Your bank account will burst.
And you’ll know that all your hard work was worth it!