Launching a new offer can be incredibly exciting.
If you want to make sure you’re having the biggest impact possible during your next launch, though, the last thing you want to do is just let the world know it’s available and then hope for the best.
Instead, you’ll want to start letting people know early on into the process so you can start building momentum, hype, and buzz, and give yourself the best chances of having a successful launch.
By following the tips in this guide on creating a landing page for a product launch, you can ensure that when you do go live you have an eager list of hungry prospects ready and waiting for your offer.
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What is a Product Launch Landing Page?
A product launch landing page is a page in your marketing funnel or on your website that’s designed to help you promote or sell a product — one that hasn’t been launched yet.
Visitors will come across your landing page after they click on an ad, see a post on social media, click a link from an email you’ve sent, or get referred by someone they know.
Your product launch landing page is built to help you generate buzz around an offer you’re going to be releasing in the near future and includes, at the very basic, an elevator pitch about why people should be interested & paying attention to your launch.
Product Launch Landing Page Best Practices
Before we get into the tips and examples of proven pre-launch strategies, there are a few “best practices” that we’re going to cover.
Keep each of these in mind while you’re building your landing page to make sure you have the strongest foundation possible.
Problem/Solution-Focused Headline & Subheadline
Your headline is going to be the first thing people notice when they land on the page.
If it’s too vague or doesn’t line up with what your readers want, you can expect them to bounce off the page — costing you the opportunity to grow your list.
To help keep that from happening you can follow a simple, proven formula: callout, problem-focused headline, solution-focused subheadline.
The main goal, here, is to let them know what’s in it for them in the quickest way possible.
High Quality Images and Videos
Once your headline and subheadline have shown them what’s in it for them, your next goal is to keep the attention you’ve already gotten.
To do that, you want to make sure you’re using high-quality images that help draw out the emotional response you’re looking for.
Since you’re still in pre-launch mode, your visitors can’t actually see or feel your product, so the next best thing is to use a combination of images and videos to help set the stage for them.
This doesn’t have to be super complicated, either. We’ll show you some examples of how simple it really can be.
Features, Benefits, and USPs
Then, it’s up to your body copy to help drive home the message you want your visitors to take from landing on your pre-launch page.
That’s where your body copy comes into focus.
Rather than put a heavy emphasis on the features of your offer, though, you want to put more attention on the benefits, your unique selling proposition, and what visitors can expect to happen as a result of taking you up on your offer when you go live.
Keeping your focus on the benefits and USPs helps your audience understand “what’s in it for me?” since that’s always going to be the question at the forefront of their mind.
Social Proof, Reviews, Testimonials
Many times, when we’re on the fence about making a purchase, we can be enticed to move forward with the help from random strangers letting us know how the offer has helped them.
Even if you’re in pre-launch mode, you can still collect social proof, too.
If you give early access or a free preview/sneak peek of your offer to friends, colleagues, or even potential customers in exchange for feedback, you can use that feedback on your landing page.
Strong Call to Action
The call to action isn’t just a way for people to buy something.
Once you’ve done the hard work of getting people interested and hyped for your offer, you want to make sure it’s as easy as possible for them to get on your pre-launch list.
Every good pre-launch page is going to have a strong call to action that outlines the benefits of getting onto your early bird email list.
For more ideas, check out this guide by John Parkes on the 3 types of landing pages, which to use and why, and what makes them so effective.
Product Launch Landing Page Templates
If you’re struggling to build something that resembles a pre-launch page, check out some of the templates from ClickFunnels.
With these, you can immediately begin adding your own copy, images, social proof, and call to action to save a ton of time and let you get back to making sure your launch is a success.
11 Tips for Creating a Landing Page for a Product Launch
After you’ve established a strong foundation using the best practices above, you can dive a bit deeper and refine your approach to make your pre-launch even more exciting & effective.
Each of the tips below will help you build on the foundation you’ve already created.
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#1 – Value Proposition
Before you start your pre-launch you want to map out your customer journey.
Where are they at right now? Where do they want to end up?
What are you doing to bridge the gap between information and transformation?
By laying out your value proposition before you go live, you can get people anticipating receiving the offer once you do launch it. A big part of that is making sure they understand the value proposition you’re making to them.
It’s worth spending some time understanding why your audience wants the thing you’re offering before you start laying it out and moving forward with your pre-launch.
The Copywriting Secrets landing page is a perfect example of knowing your customer and your own value proposition. Jim lays out exactly what the visitors to this page are looking for.
#2 – Keep Your CTAs Crystal Clear
Your CTA, or call to action, is your chance to entice readers to do exactly as the name implies… call on them to take action.
It’s their cue to know what to do next and how to move forward with your offer.
It’s a short phrase that’s tied to the benefits your offer brings to the table and tells people what’s in it for them if they take the action you want them to take.
Look at this call to action from the High Ticket Secrets landing page. It tells people exactly what they’re going to get and what to expect when they opt in.
It tells the reader exactly what to do and what to expect when they do it.
It also contrasts with the area around it so the CTA stands out and grabs attention.
#3 – Bring Your Benefits Front & Center
You’ll also want to make sure that the benefits of your offer are taking the main stage.
Because there’s a big difference between your features and your benefits.
As a general rule of thumb, features describe things like deliverables, while your benefits refer to why those deliverables should matter to your audience.
To give you an example, a feature would be an eBook download, while the benefit would be the transformation that reading the eBook can deliver.
Features tell your readers what they’re getting and benefits tell them why they should care and why those features matter.
By keeping the benefits front and center you’re spelling out exactly why they should want your offer in the first place.
Here’s a good example of features vs benefits:
The feature in this screenshot is a free physical copy of The 3 Core Funnels.
The benefits are knowing which 3 funnels perform the best for beginners, how to start with no list and no sales, how to grow and scale, and (ultimately) attract more leads and make more sales.
Keep that in mind while you’re putting together the copy for your pre-launch.
#4 – Give An In-Depth Description Of Your Offer
When you’re setting up for a live launch you want people feeling confident about what you’re offering to them.
While giving an in-depth description of your offer sounds eerily similar to focusing on the benefits, there’s actually a difference.
As you’re describing the offer that you’re making to people, the benefits are crucial, but you also want to make sure you’re helping people understand your product, how it works, how they’ll be able to use it, and what to expect after they sign up during the pre-launch phase.
Here’s a great example from Perfect Webinar Secrets where Russell goes in-depth into the offer without overdoing it.
#5 – But Keep it Simple. Less is More.
The last thing you want to do is overwhelm your reader.
When you’re writing copy you can always follow the rule of “less is more” by keeping your copy as simple and concise as possible.
You have to remember that people have really, really short attention spans.
Each word and sentence in your copy is designed to keep people reading to the next word or sentence — until they get to your CTA.
To help with this, there’s a test you can run your copy through called the “so what?” test.
As you’re reading your finished copy, ask yourself after each sentence… so what?
What does that sentence add to the conversion or does it add anything, at all? If it keeps the conversation moving forward, it’s probably worth keeping.
But if it doesn’t actually matter in the grand scheme of things, it may be worth taking out to keep your copy as simple as possible and avoid overwhelming your reader.
You can see a good example of keeping it simple on the Copy Quickstart Secrets funnel.
#6 – Engage Your Audience With Visuals
A good way to keep your reader’s attention is to use visuals inside of your copy.
Your goal should be to give your visitors the ability to understand what your offer is about at a quick glance. Visuals not only work to grab attention but they also work to keep attention by keeping readers from staring at a big wall of text-based copy.
Think about how you shop on, say, Amazon.
Do you only read the text?
Or do you glance through the images, as well?
Your readers are no different.
Take a look at the example from Funnel Images.
The images used help add to the copy surrounding them and give the audience a break from just reading the copy, alone.
You can use similar images in your own pre-launch landing pages to help push home the value of what you’re going to offer them when you go live.
#7 – Make it Shareable
Organic social media traffic is one of the strongest traffic sources you can use today.
And if what you’re offering can truly help solve problems and have an impact on people’s lives, you want to make sure they’re able to share it with other people.
Using social sharing buttons on your landing pages is a great way to get more traffic onto your landing pages.
Think of it like free lead generation — which, when your main goal is to grow your email list so you have a bigger audience to live launch in front of, makes this strategy a no-brainer.
For this to work, though, you need to ensure that your offer is good enough to share.
#8 – Include a Countdown
If you have a date for your live launch, another incredibly effective strategy you can use is a countdown timer.
Countdown timers not only help people understand when they can get their hands on your offer but it also helps add a bit of scarcity.
Timers make people more inclined to opt in for your offer because they’re afraid they’re going to miss out on something if they don’t get in while they have the opportunity.
Fear of missing out (or FOMO) can increase your conversion rates which means more leads on your email list for you to follow up with when you go live.
Place your countdown timer near your call to action to make it even more effective.
Check out this countdown timer from Your First Funnel Challenge to see how it’s done.
#9 – Only Ask for the Basics
When you’re in pre-launch mode, you aren’t going to need a ton of information from your audience. Instead of asking for everything from their first and last name, to their address, phone number, and email, keep it focused on the basics.
While having all of that information is good in the long run, all you really need to do during your pre-launch is focus on growing your email list.
Instead of trying to get as much information as possible, save that for later when it’s time to buy your product. During your pre-launch, keep your landing page simple and focused on what you actually need from them: their email, and possibly their first name.
That’s all you need to nurture the relationship leading up to your live launch.
Check out how it’s being done on the 10X Documentary funnel.
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#10 – Use Video, if it Makes Sense
Adding videos onto your landing page is another strategy you can use to make sure your visitors are staying engaged and seeing your product in the best way possible.
This is especially true for social proof and testimonials.
If you’ve given people early access to the offer, using their testimonials in video form can dramatically increase your conversion rates before you go live.
There’s a caveat here, though.
Even though videos can be incredibly effective, you don’t want to force them onto the page.
You only want to use them when they make sense and will help move the conversation forward and help you build momentum around your pre-launch.
Take a look at the Copywriting Secrets order form. Jim is using a video from Funnel Hacking LIVE to help showcase his authority and position the book as a solution to a major problem.
You can see how effective video can be when it’s used in the right way.
Bonus: Give Them Something Now
To help push people over the edge and get them to subscribe to your list before you go live, give them something now that helps you build hype.
A good, old-fashioned lead magnet is a great way to do it.
Giving your people something they can sink their teeth into right now could be the difference between people bouncing off the page and making sure they don’t leave without subscribing.
Take, for example, an eBook that you’re planning to launch. You could offer up the first two chapters of the eBook for anyone that subscribes to help give them a taste of what’s to come.
For physical products, you could offer a one-time discount code that only applies to people who have subscribed to your early bird pre-launch list.
You’re really only limited by your creativity on this but the one thing you want to make sure you don’t do is just dump some bonuses onto the page that don’t really apply to the offer you’re going live with or help move the conversation forward.
Here’s a great guide that breaks down 9 great examples of lead magnets you can use.
Final Thoughts
Your main goals with a pre-launch landing page are to build anticipation, get your audience ready for your launch, stay on top of their minds, and ultimately, grow your email list.
Then, when the launch day comes, they’re ready to jump in and take you up on your offer.
If you follow the tips and best practices inside this guide, you’ll have an easier time accomplishing each of those main goals. And your live launch will be that much better!
And don’t forget to stay in regular touch with your pre-launch email list so you can keep up the momentum and hype you worked so hard to build in the first place!