How to Build a Valuable Email List Before Launch?
Fletcher Rippon
28 replies
I have seen a lot of people saying to create an email list before you have made a SaaS product.
I'm not sure how to go about getting a solid email list that could convert people into paying customers and where I can find these people.
Replies
Artem@martynovartemiy
hey man! I think you are focusing on the wrong thing - the email list per se is not that important. what IS important is that you have an audience of pre-qualified people to support your PH launch when it happens. "pre-qualified" means that they are not necessarily your friends but people who are interested in the product you are launching and therefore they (1) pre-validate that the product can actually be useful to someone, (2) boost the product when it launches on PH.
now, about the "how to build it". there are different ways, but the approach is the same:
1. you don't want to spend money on paid advertising right away because the targeting is not defined yet. so you do so-called organic outreach
2. you need a place where your audience hangs out. if it's an app for yoga people - it can be the comment section of a yoga influencer's Instagram account or a yoga group on Facebook. you get the idea
3. you reach out to them and share your idea. do that consistently every day for several months; voila, you've got the audience.
back to my initial comment - you don't have to store their contacts in an email list. they can be Instagram subscribers, members of a Facebook group that you've created, or your LinkedIn followers. they can be your WhatsApp contacts even.
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@martynovartemiy thanks for your reply very interesting I'm new to PH and would like to know more about how PH can help my launch.
@fletcher_rippon I'd say, it should not be the first stage of your launch. First, you launch on your own, get the first clients, and create a small community (aim for at least a few hundred people) - then you'll have the money and the following it takes to be noticed on PH. If you look at the top products here, most of them have a team and a lot of resources behind their launch.
In VC terms, it's not for your seed stage. You are ready for PH when you are approaching your series-A. As a reference: usually, series-A means at least a few hundred thousand $ a year in revenue
Basically what you require is a sales/marketing funnel where you can qualify people based on their interest and likelihood to buy a product. you can simply google marketing funnel or even use chat gpt or bard to get started
@aaric_evans thanks for sharing do u have any recommendations on tracking the sales/marketing funnels you create?
@fletcher_rippon you can do that by using google analytics. by tracking the clicks and views on your particular page in the funnel
I followed a plan like that -Create a landing page with description of your product and sign up form to capture email addresses
- Offer a valuable lead magnet, such as a ebook, whitepaper, any small piece of product in exchange for their email address .
- Reach out influencers in your industry and ask them to promote your landing or run Google paid ads
@new_user__15120237ec3ef11b50ce8fd Thanks for sharing! How do you find/reach out to influencers? How much would it cost to get an influencer to promote my product? and how do I know what influencers will yield the best results?
Build an audience first, and that usually happens in the form of an email list. Then launch!
1. collect emails | landing page with a brief survey
2. pitches to other groups/teams/individuals who might be interested (if you have existing users from another project, even better), think LinkedIn, Discord, Appollo/PH/Hunter/ for cold emailing
3. guys - remember, if you can't reach a good size of ppl who one way or another signs up for your product launch, the chances are after you launch, very few people will use it or know about it...(sad but true)
@fletcher_rippon good question - cold pitches/event groups/giving talks/finding a partner who is "established" in that field, either you are attracting or you are approaching.
Let me know if there is a concrete project maybe I can brainstorm a bit better.
Get a waitlist function in place. Start launching cold email sequences to your ICPs, join Reddit, Slack communities and be active on LinkedIn and Twitter to build a following.
Get a waitlist of 100+ users at least.
After 2 months, we have 200+ users on the waitlist here at Salesforge
@fletcher_rippon depends on your niche & product, so punting back to you on that.
But either way go to thehiveindex.com
Keeping a check on the comment section here, how do you start building an email list for a B2B product?
To build a valuable email list before launching a casino like yyy كازينو, you can implement strategies such as creating enticing lead magnets, offering exclusive promotions, and utilizing social media and content marketing to drive traffic and capture email addresses.
@tom_snikke what kind of exclusive promotions do you recommend running? I have heard people swear by lifetime one-time payments for SaaS which usually is a monthly subscription and have also heard people say that you should never offer a lifetime exclusive promotion.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator has been a great help to me to narrow down my potential leads list. Though I am a couple of days away from the launch. I am hopeful that the list will generate a great response.
Here are some methods you may use to develop a useful email list prior to your launch:
Make a compelling lead magnet by providing a unique resource, e-book, or other useful information in return for email addresses. Ensure that the lead magnet speaks to your intended audience.
Improve the lead generation capabilities of your website: Put conspicuous opt-in forms, such as pop-ups, slide-ins, or sidebar forms, on your website. To entice visitors to subscribe, present a clear value proposition and engaging call-to-action.
Use social media to your advantage by promoting your lead magnet and requesting email sign-ups through specialized social media campaigns.
Be an active contributor in communities.
Invite your own network to join your pre-launch community.
Incentivise and align community members to connect 1-1.
Build a funny or relatable campaign to back your launch.
Fish where the big fish are. Dont try to grab users everywhere, you need to have a vertical community that you know what your potential users are. If you can’t then you need to do that before you do any more product development. Product market requires the right product to the right market audience with the right channels. So there are three pieces of puzzle you need to connect. A pitch deck’s first page is mostly about the problem, same logic for a this question, you should always begin with finding a problem that you can solve but not carrying a tech and in search of a market solution. Keep it up and good luck!
1. curate serendipity: create content that resonates with your target audience and shares your journey. your narrative, when authentic and compelling, can attract a tribe.
2. provide before you ask: offer valuable resources, tools, or insights. generosity seeds trust, and trust can transform visitors into subscribers.
3. engage beyond the inbox: connect on social platforms, communities, forums where your audience gathers. meaningful interactions lead to memorable relationships.
4. surprise and delight: make each touchpoint an experience that exceeds expectations. delight kindles desire, making conversion a joyful inevitability.
in essence, seek to serve, not sell. relationships precede revenue.