Best Year Ever Course Marketing Strategy [LNIMV018]

One of the best ways to improve your own marketing is to study how the professionals do it. In this video, Mark Mason breaks down the course marketing strategy behind Michael Hyatt's Best Year Ever product launch, explaining the Product Launch Formula principles at work and what you can learn from them for your own business.

Video: Best Year Ever Course Marketing Strategy

See it on YouTube here.

The Product Launch Formula in Action

Michael Hyatt launches his Best Year Ever course every December and January using a marketing approach rooted in Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula. The typical pattern: release free content in phases (usually three videos followed by a sales video), open the cart for a limited time, then close it. Hyatt's implementation follows this framework precisely.

Three Marketing Lessons from the Launch

1. Demonstrate Value Before Asking for Payment

Each piece of Hyatt's free content stands on its own. The PDF, the Excel assessment tool, and the pre-launch videos all deliver genuine, actionable value. This is the Costco sample table approach to marketing: let people taste what you offer so they understand what they are buying. It builds trust that the paid product will deliver even more.

2. Create Real Urgency and Scarcity

The pre-launch videos are available for a limited time and then disappear. The course itself is only available for purchase during a specific window in January. After that, the cart closes until the following December. In Hyatt's case, the scarcity is legitimate and natural: this is a course about planning your year, and January is when that planning happens. The deadline is real, not manufactured.

3. Build a List, Then Serve It

The entire launch builds an email list of people who have consumed free content and demonstrated interest. When the sales window opens, Hyatt is reaching people who already know, trust, and have benefited from his work. The sales message is essentially: “You know me, my stuff is great, here is something else I have that you can pay for if you would like.”

What Has Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this in December 2015.

The Product Launch Formula remains widely used but has evolved. Jeff Walker's PLF methodology is still the foundation for most online course launches, but audiences have become more sophisticated. In 2026, successful launches tend to emphasize community building, live interaction, and social proof alongside the traditional video sequence. Webinar funnels, challenge funnels, and cohort-based courses have joined the PLF playbook.

Michael Hyatt sold his company. Hyatt eventually sold his Full Focus brand and the Full Focus Planner became a significant physical product business. The Best Year Ever course and its successors demonstrated the long-term value of the launch model he perfected.

Course fatigue is real. The sheer volume of online courses launched using PLF-style marketing has created skepticism among buyers. Successful course creators in 2026 differentiate through ongoing community access, live coaching, and measurable results guarantees rather than relying solely on pre-launch video sequences.

Key Takeaways

• Study how professionals market their products to improve your own marketing skills
• Free content that delivers genuine value builds trust and demonstrates the quality of paid offerings
• Legitimate scarcity and urgency drive purchasing decisions without manipulating customers
• Build an email list of people who have already experienced your value before asking for a sale

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/.