5 Tips for Pre-Launch Landing Pages

Embarking on the development of an online website, app, or digital product necessitates preliminary groundwork. A crucial step involves establi

Embarking on the development of an online website, app, or digital product necessitates preliminary groundwork. A crucial step involves establishing a pre-launch landing page, which serves as a platform to educate the audience about your upcoming offering and enables them to subscribe for updates.Imagine you have a groundbreaking product concept. You are so convinced by its potential that you are eager to bring it to life.With fervor, you plunge into the creation of wireframes, mockups, UI design, and coding. You invest months in relentless effort, dedicating long hours to refine the product’s core value proposition and prepare for its launch. The day of the launch finally arrives.You go live, activate your payment system, and possibly reach out to friends and bloggers, share on social media, and more. You wait with bated breath, hoping that all your hard work will translate into the success you envision. But…*Silence*. A few sales here, a few account sign-ups there, but certainly not the blockbuster launch you were aiming for, the kind you often see featured on Hacker News or TechCrunch. Assuming the product is not flawed in design or functionality, the issue likely stems from a lack of pre-launch anticipation and excitement.I have certainly made this oversight in past product launches, and I am now eager to share the insights I’ve gained.First and foremost: Creating your pre-launch landing page should be a top priority. Initiate this process even before writing a single line of code! The sooner you establish your pre-launch page, the better.Utilize your pre-launch landing page to initiate conversations with potential customers and to start gathering feedback. It will also facilitate the growth of your mailing list and social media network. For instance, when I decided to author and release my book, I designed and launched the landing page before I had even written the first chapter!My pre-launch page served as a platform for promoting the book, building my mailing list, and generating buzz. More significantly, it allowed me to formulate my “sales pitch” — the value proposition of my book. It helped me hone my ideas and identify ways to better resonate with my target audience.Upon drafting the initial content for the pre-launch landing page and receiving feedback from interested individuals, I was better equipped to outline and write the book. I crafted this landing page from the ground up and integrated it with MailChimp for email sign-ups: Quickly Setting Up Your Pre-launch PageIt’s essential not to detract too much time from product development. A straightforward approach often yields the best results.There are numerous pre-launch tools available to assist in developing your launch strategy. Here are some options: LaunchRock offers a comprehensive launching platform: Launch Effect Lite is a free WordPress theme for pre-launch events; the premium version includes additional features and tech support: LaunchGator aids in creating a free “coming soon” page: KickoffLabs assists in crafting landing pages to boost lead generation: Unbounce is a web app designed for online marketers to create optimized landing pages: Many pre-launch landing pages for startups consist merely of a logo, a single sentence, and an email opt-in form to “get notified when the product launches.” What exactly are subscribers getting notified about? Simple, vague landing pages might generate sign-ups, but they fail to qualify potential users since they lack information about the product or its benefits. They might only be signing up to find out what the product is, which should have been addressed in the pre-launch landing page.A more effective approach is to provide comprehensive information about your upcoming product. It’s acceptable that the product is not yet in existence. Be transparent about this.However, clearly articulate the problem you aim to solve and the solution you propose, along with the benefits your customers will derive. Clearly communicate your value proposition. Express your vision and plans.Individuals who delve into these details and subscribe to your mailing list are much more likely to convert into customers later on because they understand what you are offering. Here’s an example of a well-crafted pre-launch landing page for the beta version of Updately: It effectively communicates the app’s benefits using a blend of visuals and compelling copy, concluding with a call to action to subscribe to their mailing list.Your landing page should not solely focus on selling.It can also serve as an educational tool for your audience, offering them something to ponder and care about. Go beyond just the problem and your solution. Educate them about a key concept that underpins everything you do.For example, if you’re planning to release a help desk app, you might include statistics on customer satisfaction related to companies with help desk systems versus those without. Any valuable information that can build trust in your product can help.This approach can encourage pre-launch page visitors to enter their email addresses, and potentially become customers later. Nathan Barry excels in educating his visitors on his product landing pages. His sales page for Authority, a book about writing books, not only provides detailed information about the content but also delves into the first lesson (establishing a strict writing schedule to complete your book). The book is already on sale, so this would be considered a “post-launch” landing page, but the pre-launch version shared similar conceptual elements. It was packed with information, detail, and lessons — all delivering value before any transaction was made.As a potential email list subscriber, I need to receive value that I can engage with if I am ever compelled to sign up. For instance, if you’re launching a premium icon set, you might offer a subset of it for free to those who sign up to your mailing list.Should you be writing an ebook, you could email your mailing list subscribers the first two chapters to give them a glimpse of what’s to come. Invest real thought and research into these resources, and keep them centered on the topics that your target customers genuinely care about. If it’s something that matters to them, they’ll be eager to access it.I come across a pre-launch landing page for a product, and it’s impressive!It’s perfect. Exactly what I’m looking for. It seems like something I’d be willing to pay for.So I enter my email address to be notified when it’s released. Four, six, eight months pass, and I hear nothing. Finally, nine months later, I receive an email from an unrecognized name, with the subject line, “We’ve launched!” There’s no way I remember who this company or person is, or what this product was about.By this point, I don’t recall ever signing up for this list. It must be spam. Delete. If that company had maintained communication with me throughout the pre-launch period, with weekly or monthly updates on their product’s progress, the outcome would have been significantly better.By launch day, I would have recognized the name of the person contacting me, I would have known what this launch was all about (since I had been anticipating it), and I would be much more inclined to purchase the product if I remained an email subscriber. And if I don’t end up buying it, at the very least, I would probably be more inclined to share the launch on social media because I had been following it for nine months.The pre-launch period is all about building anticipation, priming your audience, and staying top-of-mind so that when the launch day arrives, they’re ready to buy and help you generate buzz for your product. I hope you find these tips helpful as you prepare to launch your next remarkable product!Share your insights and ask your questions in the comments.