art of the handraiser

Yesterday, I sent out an email to gauge interest in a new coaching offer.

So far, I’ve gotten over 20 replies:

That’s a win in my books.

And gives me confidence to move forward with launching the offer.

This exercise is something I recommend doing anytime you’re thinking about creating a new product, service, or offer…

But especially with anything DWY (done with you) or DFY (done for you).

Here’s why:

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1) You can gauge baseline interest in the offer

2) Replying to the email raises people’s level of intent

3) It starts a 1:1 conversation you can use to sell the offer directly

4) You can also use the total # of replies as social proof

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These types of emails are called “handraisers.”

Because what you’re doing is asking people to “raise their hand” via a reply.

This is how you can validate your ideas in advance.

Best case, it confirms your thesis so you can move forward with the offer.

Worst case, you save yourself the headache of creating something nobody wants.

Either way, you win.

Here’s a few tips on how to write a good handraiser:

• Be direct. Use the name of the offer as the subject line and make it clear from the start you’re gauging interest for a new offer.
  

• Describe the offer in broad strokes (deliverables, timeline, price point, etc) so your audience can make a semi-informed decision about whether they’re interested.
  

• Ask them to reply with a simple keyword (like “Yes” or “Details” or “Interested”) to reduce friction.

That’s it.

One last thing…

Don’t take each reply as a firm commitment or guaranteed sale.

You still need to seal the deal with follow-up emails and a Google doc or sales page.

Jim Hamilton

P.S:

I’ll be officially launching the new Unlimited Laser Coaching offer next week.

More on that to come :)