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Aug 29, 2022

Writing

Nail your product launch email (and what we have learned from launch to 50k waitlist signups)

First-class product launch makes it impossible for your prospects to ignore your product. Whatever stage of the funnel, here's how to craft a smoking hot product launch email.

Blog writer

Lawrie Jones

Writer

Blog writer

Saku Kahkonen

Growth Lead

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Table of contents

Blog image

Your product is ready, and it's time to launch, so you need a product launch email strategy. Product launch emails have got to grab attention, promote the benefits of your new product, and convince someone to make a click – and all within a few seconds.

But how do you start writing one?

Sure, you can learn some lessons from the experts, but we know that you're entrepreneurs and innovators, not followers, so you'll want to do something new. A great new product launch announcement email is packed full of personality, making it almost impossible for your prospects to ignore your product.

Whatever stage of the funnel, here's how to create a fun and functional product launch email that drives results.

Guide to email marketing a product launch 

Product launch emails are an announcement that you've hit a stage in developing your product and want to tell people about it. Your audience could be staff, investors, the press, potential customers, or the public. In many cases, it's all these groups (and more).

Email marketing is a great way to reach a huge (think thousands or even millions) of people in seconds and with almost zero investment. Of course, product launch email marketing must be part of a broader integrated product marketing strategy – but, as we'll see, it plays a critical role.

Before we get started, we'll say that marketing a product launch is a massive project that could make or break your product. This guide will briefly walk you through the basics, but be prepared to invest the time to get it right.

What are the different types of product launch emails?

The product launch process is a long one, with various stages. If you're doing things correctly, you'll find you want to communicate with your customers and others about many stages of the development process, including:

•   Pre-orders

•   Major milestones

•   Product release

•   Updates and patches

•   New features

•   Event invites

•   Sales and special offers

Each email has a specific purpose. But, practically, they're all structured in a way that builds interest, increases engagement, and creates some excitement. Because your product is going to change the world, right?!!

Let's look at the purpose of these email types before we begin writing them.

1. Pre-order or waitlist sign-up email

The pre-order process is all about building hype for your new product launch. You want people to be excited about what's coming up and keen to get a first piece of the action.

Here's a cool example from Threads.com.

Your pre-release emails are a valuable way to validate your product and gauge interest from the market. If you receive a great response, you can be confident that you should continue investing in developing a prototype.

Make sure to use other channels too, like Twitter!

On the other hand, if the response is lukewarm, it's worth reflecting on what you can do to improve your product (or marketing strategy).

Here's our very first product launch landing page we sent out to friends and family, long before 50 000+ waitlist signups:

2. Product launch email

Now you've got a product ready to go, so it's time to go all out. Be bold, not dull, and shout about everything and anything that makes your product great for your desired market. 

Many tech brands offer selected users exclusive access to new products (if you're as old as me, you'll remember how exciting it was to get that first invite to Gmail in 2004!). This can be a great way to build a buzz and make every user feel a valued part of the team.

3. Feature announcement email

Every tech company is always thinking about the next add-on, advancement, or feature that will futureproof their product. A feature announcement is a way to showcase an improvement, but it's also a chance to remind users of your product and get them to use it.

Feature announcements are, like product launches, all about going big on benefits. Tell your readers what's impressive about your product and why it's better than the competition.

Don't be afraid to mention what differentiates you from your competitors (but don't slander them!).

4. Event invitation email

In-person and online events, such as webinars, are effective ways to engage with your audience and promote your product – but only if people know they're happening.

Event invitation emails must grab someone's interest enough that they want to know more. You must explain what value they'll get from giving up their time to attend the event. If it's enough, they'll be sure to sign up.

Product launch email campaign basics

Your new product launch email campaign is a systematic process ensuring that many eyes see your emails. But, more than that, it's about ensuring they act – signing up for more information, downloading for the first time, or updating for new features.

Building an email campaign isn't a simple process. Still, following the steps outlined below, you'll have the basic building blocks.

Here's an outline of a successful product launch email campaign:

1. Use a product launch email sequence to generate hype

Building an audience means going big on the hype. There's no room here for the shy and retiring types; you'll need to supercharge your messaging to stand out.

The best launch email campaigns build anticipation and excitement over time. Companies develop a product launch email sequence strategy that keeps building until the big day – and beyond.

Here's an example email sequence for a product launch:

  • 1 month to launch: Boom, it's time to start building excitement. Start with an introductory teaser email to warm people up. Resist the temptation to give away too much. Instead, focus on the pain points for users and the problems your product solves.
  • 2 weeks to launch: We're still in the teaser phase, but now we can start pushing out some more potent messages. Drop in a quote, use a case study, or focus on social proof to add a human touch to your messaging.
  • 1 week to launch: Countdown begins! You can now tell people when your product is about to drop. Offer exclusive access to make them feel special.
  • Launch Day!: OK, the waiting ends, and it's time to launch the product (or new features or an update). You want downloads, so include CTAs. You want people to share your launch or update, so don't forget those all-important social links.
  • 1 week after launch: The follow-up email is to engage those people who've shown interest but haven't downloaded. Use a mail program to target those who've not downloaded your product or updated it, and add some incentives and exclusivity.

2. Start building your email list before your product launch

You've spent months (or even years) building your product, but the hard work is just starting. Now you need to cut through the noise and create an audience.

But remember that you can build audience hype with social media and a just a simple landing page to collect emails, long before you have even shipped any product.

Pushing people's pain points and making access exclusive are successful strategies. People are often happy to give away their email addresses as long as they feel they'll get some value in return, be it in the distant future.

Once it's time to start your email product launch campaign, you'll already have the basis of an engaged and excited audience. Provide strong social links to amplify your message and accelerate your growth.

Here's a note from the editor (our co-founder and CEO, Aaro):

"When we launched our first demo, and later our MVP, we experimented with a bunch of growth tactics to grow our waitlist signups and generate hype. A referral program made a big difference and lead to 8x increase in weekly singups."

Here's how we did it:

3. Remember to do PR and cold outreach

Is traditional PR dead in the age of social media and direct-to-customer contact? Absolutely not!

A feature, mention, tweet, or like from a respected tech journalist on a recognized website can break your product early. This 'social proof' is critical for any challenged brand or start-up business.

Journalists are paid to find stories. They're also tech evangelists, so if your software or solution solves a problem, they'll want to hear about it and be first. 

Get creative as well as try the conventional "tried and tested" strategies like TechCrunch (we really had to hustle for this one) or Product Hunt.

We've created a series of posts that can help you with your product launch PR. For starters, here's our in-depth analysis on our own Product Hunt launch (with our results and learnings) and guides on media pitching and outreach emails:

How to write an awesome product launch email

OK, we'll level with you that there's no standard Email format for the perfect launch announcement. But, there are some fundamentals you should know about how to write a product launch email and the new product launch email format.

You'll need to create the following pieces of content for every product launch email:

•   Subject line

•   Body copy

•   Sign-off and CTA

If you've read our other guides, you'll see a standard email format for professional emails, but you don't have to follow that. Some of the best emails play around with the structure. That's great if you're confident in what you're doing; if not, it's best to stick to the rules.

1. Product launch email subject lines

Here are ten principles and tips for writing the best new product launch email subject lines from the pros:

1.   Keep them short

2.   Don't use excessive capitalization

3.   Write in the active voice

4.   Don't try to be funny…

5.   …and don't EVER be boring

6.   Push pain points to increase engagement

7.   Ask questions (and provide answers)

8.   Edit like a pro

9.   Test before sending

10. Consider A/B headlines to see what works

We all receive hundreds (if not thousands) of emails every day. You have to nail the subject line to separate from the masses.

So play around when writing email subject lines. Work through various iterations and test combinations with family, friends, and colleagues when you find combinations you like.

Send test emails to various email clients and check out your inbox when assessing what makes a good email subject line for a product launch.

2. Email body for product launch emails

Your product launch emails are about showcasing the benefits of your new product. But don't look inwards, but outwards – and focus on solving users' problems.

Let's say you've hooked them with a great subject line. For example, "Are you spending too much on email marketing?"

Will they want to read 300 words about the technical specs of your new product?

Err, no.

But how about this:

You're spending too much on email marketing. You know that, and so do we – and it's why we created XXX.

It's the world's leading marketing automation software that can save businesses like yours thousands of dollars every year.

We've identified the problem and provided a solution. Will they buy it? Maybe not. Will they read on? Yes.

Focus on the outcome. If it's about generating interest, find ways to get them excited. If it's about clicks, give them a reason to do so.

As for tips on how to write the best body copy, the principles are the same.

3. How to end a product launch email and a CTA 

Every product launch email needs a strong CTA. There are shelves full of books and millions of lines on web pages worldwide on how to write great CTAs.

The principles are pretty simple:

1.   Tell people what they need to do

2.   Explain why they should do it

3.   Use strong and straightforward language

4.   Aim to evoke an emotion

5.   Create some peril (make it exclusive or time-limited, for example)

There's lots more to it than this, but if your CTA fullfils these five fundamental principles, it stands a chance of getting a click.

Compare:

Would you like to download our product? Then click the button below.

With:

Sign up for exclusive access to the world's first marketing automation platform.

Which would you click? A boring example or exclusive access? 

Product launch email samples

Here are three of my personal favorite product launch email examples. For more great samples, check out the awesome collection at Really Good Emails.

1. Cron product launch email

Source: Really Good Emails

2. Clay product launch email

Source: Really Good Emails

3. Chubbies product launch email

Source: Really Good Emails

Conclusion

Getting your product launch email strategy right is critical to your success, so don't leave it to the last minute. The best product launch email campaigns create anticipation and excitement, leading to more clicks and customers.

Follow our guide to product launch emails and learn from the best when building your campaigns. But never forget to introduce your personality to your product launch emails.

At Flowrite, we know what it's like to launch a new product, and we all wish you the best of luck breaking your product, building an audience, and taking over the world!

Our final tip is to try to think of a unique aspect your product has and how you might show it off in a creative way. For Flowrite, emails are a logical channel due to our product being centered around writing emails faster. Here's our example (and shameless plug 😜) you can try:

Supercharge your communication with Flowrite

Write emails and messages faster across Google Chrome.

Explore Flowrite

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