These the steps we follow to insure a smooth launch of our new CD/DVD products. Starts with product creation, all the way through product marketing.

My wife and I both completed new CD / DVD products this month, and we both had to go through all the steps to get those products completed and duplicated, then create the sales pages and launch the product marketing.

Because Sonya finished her product a few days before I did, I helped her get her's ready, then repeated the process a few days later with my own product.

Since all the steps are fresh on my mind, I thought it would be a good time to produce a list of the steps.

So here they are.

Steps to successfully launching a new CD/DVD product

1. Create the product.

   This means recording the content, editing it, and assembling a user interface (CD or DVD menu). For DVDs we use Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9. To create CDs, we use Camtasia Studio and use my Camtasia CD User Interface Generator
   
   

2. Burn the CD or DVD.

   To burn DVDs, we use DVD Architect which is included with Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9. To burn CDs, we use Nero 9.
   
   

3. Test the product on different devices.

   For a CD, we test on at least three different computers. For a DVD, we test on two computers and two DVD players. We check to make sure the DVD/CD starts, and all the menu options work, and all other features work.

   On CDs, we use a free HTML validator for FireFox to check the user interface for errors. If errors are found, they are corrected, and the CD is burned and tested again.
   
   

4. Create the disk and box artwork for the CD/DVD.

   To create disk and box artwork, we use DVD Design Pack for Photoshop Elements, which includes easily customized DVD Case, Disk and Insert templates, sized for Kunaki and other disk duplicators.
   
   

5. Print the artwork on a color printer.

   Before uploading the artwork to our disk duplicator, we always print it first on a color printer to proof read, check for alignment, and make sure everything looks good.
   
   

6. Start the Kunaki CD/DVD publishing process.

   After we are certain the disc and artwork are the way we want it, we start the Kunaki CD /DVD publishing process, using the free software downloaded from Kunaki, and fill out the forms, upload the disk artwork, and prepare to upload the disk.

   When choosing the options, we always choose 'add UPC bar code', because we will need that bar code to sell at Amazon. Kunaki does not charge to create or add the bar code.
   
   

7. Upload the disk files to Kunaki. After reviewing the items in the Kunaki disk publisher for our project, we click 'publish' to upload the disc package to Kunaki.

   Depending on the speed of our internet upload connection, this can take anywhere from an hour to a day. (On our Verizon Fios connection, it takes about two hours to upload a full DVD).
   
   

8. Order a free sample from Kunaki.

   As soon as the Kunaki upload is completed, we log into the Kunaki website and order the free copy for each DVD/CD package we upload. This will take about 4 days to arrive.

   When the free sample arrives, we check it to make sure all is correct.
   
   

9. Enable the Kunaki Sales Page for our product.

   After you upload your product to Kunaki, you can activate the Kunaki Sales page for the product, and use Kunaki to take orders and process credit card or paypal for your products.

   This is a free service provided by Kunaki, and gives you a way to accept credit card orders if you don't have your own merchant account or shopping cart. See example of this kind of sales page at http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00ZTU4YV
   
   

10. Create box shot images of the product.

    The first step to marketing the CD/DVD is to create 3D box shot images to use on the sales pages we created.

    To create these 3D box shots, we use Quick 3D Covers. Find our review and examples of this product at Create 3D box shots for books and DVD cases quickly and easily.

    To create the box shots, we start with the templates we created using DVD Design Pack for Photoshop Elements, and save the front cover and the spine of the DVD case as .jpg images. We also save the disc cover as a .jpg image.

    We import those images into Quick 3D covers, and create boxshots with white backgrounds, saving at 600X600 pixels, 300X300 pixels, 200X200 pixels, and 175X175 pixels. These are the sizes we need for product shots on our web pages, our ads, and for Amazon.
    
    

11. Create the product sales page in shopping cart.

    To create the sales page, we start with the product headline, a subhead which quickly tells what the product is, and then write bullet lists which lists the benefits of using the product.

    We include product box shots, pricing and shipping info, and reasons why the customer will want the product.

    Then we re-read and usually re-write everything until it flows smoothly, and creates a compelling reason to purchase the product.

    We upload the description and images to our product shopping cart. Example: DVD Design Pack for Photoshop Elements
    
    

12. Create the Paypal 'buy it now' buttons.

    To include PayPal payment options, we go to our PayPal account, select the 'merchant services' tab, and create a 'buy it now' button for the product. We then take the code PayPal creates, and add it to ouproduct pages. (See Screencast: Creating buy-it-now buttons with PayPal
    
    

13. Test the shopping cart order process and Paypal button.

    After adding the item to the shopping cart, we test to make sure the order process goes smoothly. This means placing an order, checking that the price and order messages are correct at both the shopping cart and throgh PayPal.
    
    

14. Add the product to Amazon.

    After adding the product to our own shopping cart, we then add the product to Amazon via the Amazon Advantage program. See details on how to do this at Getting your DVD listed on Amazon. Note that we use the UPC code generated for our product at Kunaki.
    
    

15. Upload the 3D boxshop image to Amazon.

    After the product has been uploaded and approved by Amazon, we go back and upload the 3D boxshot image, and make any needed enhancements or corrections to the Amazon sales page for our product.

    To upload the image to Amazon, you must save the image as either .tif or .jpeg, and the image file name must be the upc code of the product followed by the file extension - ie 0237425673458.tif.
    
    

16. Create YouTube videos for the product.

    After making sure the shopping cart and Amazon product pages are active, we create a short video related to the product, and include product information and link to the order page in the video. To do this, we often include a short segment from the video, with ordering info at the end.
    
    

17. Create an Adwords ad campaign for the product.

    For most products, we'll create a google adwords ad campaign so that when people search google for words related to the product, they'll see an ad for our product. Having learn our lesson from past experiences, we set a daily limit on the amount we are willing to spend for ad clicks. We use the selling price of the product as a guide to how much we will spend on ads each month.

    For more on this see Seven tips to getting the most from your Google Ad Word investment
    
    

18. Write articles mentioning the product.

    To increase search engine ranking and customer awareness, we usually write articles about our new products and post on our own web sites, as well as provide ways for others to post on their web sites.
    
    

19. Add the product to our affiliate program.

    To give others a reason to mention our products on their web sites and email newsletters, we include the product in our affiliate program and make it easy for affiliates to find links to these products.

If the above sounds like a lot of work, it is. But having a list of steps to follow makes it a lot easier, and reduces the chances of missing an important step.

To make the above a lot easier, start with the right tools. These include my free Camtasia CD User Interface Generator, Photoshop Elements, the DVD Design Pack for Photoshop Elements, Quick 3DCover generator and Kunaki.