Find out how to harness and maximize the power of waitlists before your next launch.
Waitlists are all the rage in the online business world right now, and for good reason. They can make or break a launch, which can make or break the cashflow in your business, and — when used correctly — they can help make your sales process easier, more fun and less stressful.
I know this to be true from experience. Because I understand how to properly create and implement waitlists, they have helped me earn $200,000 in a week and more than $1 million in a single launch (without using ads).
In this article, I’m telling you exactly how you can use waitlists to create your own successful launches. This advice can change the trajectory of your business, so use it wisely.
Why Use a Waitlist?
Using a waitlist is a way to ensure people are ready to buy whatever you’re selling when you launch.
In other words, waitlists help reduce the instances of no one caring (or purchasing) when you finally unveil the course or program you’ve been working so hard to create behind the scenes. That’s because — if you’re smart with how you communicate to your audience — waitlists can help build anticipation and excitement with your ideal clients and warm them up to your offer, which increases their likelihood of becoming a paying customer.
Waitlists can also help you gauge interest in your offer before you launch. If interest is low, chances are your launch won’t be very successful — once you know this, you can make changes to improve your messaging and offer.
It’s important to note that, because waitlists have become so popular, you must establish yourself as an authority in your field before you ask people to sign up. If no one knows who you are or what you offer, they’re probably not going to give you their information.
Give People a Reason to Sign Up
In addition to positioning yourself as an expert before introducing your waitlist, you should ensure you’re providing a solid incentive to entice people to sign up and provide their names and email addresses.
You could offer a discount or early access to your program, or you could let your audience know that you only have a limited number of spots available — so if they want first dibs, they'd better get on the waitlist.
I’m doing this right now with my Business Freedom Elevator™ program. Everyone on the waitlist has the opportunity to get a €500 discount on early enrollment; however, only 100 people total will get the discount, so once they get the notification that pre-order enrollment is open, they’ll be more likely to sign up quickly to try to secure the discount.
Not only am I providing value, but I’m also creating a sense of urgency and fear of missing out — this is a winning combination when it comes to waitlists (and sales).
What Exactly Is a Waitlist?
Waitlists are simply a way for you to contact people about something you’re offering that they are interested in.
I use an email service provider to create mine (I’m currently using ConvertKit; click fastforwardamy.com/convertkit to get a free trial), but there are several to choose from. Whichever you go with, you want to make sure you’re giving people the autonomy to sign up on their own — consent is important.
As I mentioned before, waitlists are also great ways to warm up your audience and help ensure you have a hot pool of leads once you’re ready to launch. You can send hype-up emails, value-added emails and more — all designed to get your audience excited for your offer.
Even though it’s not realistic to think everyone on your waitlist will purchase your offer (they won’t), it is realistic to imagine some of them will — for me, I can expect about 16% of my waitlist to buy shortly after I launch. By being smart and strategic with how I build and communicate with my waitlist, I’m able to get my hottest leads through the door right away, and that’s a huge win.
Why You Should Set Targets for Your Waitlist
Waitlist targets can help you hit your sales targets. How? You start by working backwards.
For example, if I want a minimum 500 people to enroll in my Business Freedom Elevator™, I need to review the phases of my launch before I can set waitlist targets. Here’s how I do the math when it comes to enrollment:
- 100 spots available to those who get the pre-order €500 discount on enrollment = 20%
- early-bird phase of enrollment = 40% (200 people)
- close-cart phase of enrollment = 40% (200 people)
Because I know that my previous waitlists have converted about 16% of people, I need this Business Freedom Elevator™ waitlist to have a minimum of 625 people.
If you don’t have previous launches to base your numbers off of, start by setting a sales or revenue goal and work backward from there. I recommend choosing a high target and a low target, then mapping out what it would look like to hit both.
Once you have your first launch under your belt, you’ll be far more prepared for your next one — and have a much better idea of the number to set for your waitlist target.
When Do You Launch a Waitlist?
There’s no hard and fast answer to this question — it depends.
Before you launch your waitlist, you need to prime your audience, and a big part of doing that is pointing out the pain they’re feeling that your program, course or service can remedy.
This is important because many people struggle with something for so long that they don’t even realize they’re struggling anymore — they’re just used to it. People need to feel the pain of what’s not working so that when they are presented with something that can help them solve the problem, they’re ready to pounce.
Once you’re in the phase of proving your offer’s value to your larger audience later in your launch, you don’t have to worry about the waitlist anymore. That’s because your waitlist is an “internal” launch that’s best used for a pre-order or “bonus” situation. Once your offer is live and available to the masses, it’s time to turn your focus to the “external” launch.
If you're looking for more support in your next launch, download my FREE Launch List! Follow the link to get my 10 best tips for successful launches in a printable guide that’s available in both English and Dutch. You’ll get the information you need to attract the right potential buyers, avoid missing critical steps, and help ensure your launch is as profitable as possible!
Listen to this episode via Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and search for episode 145 of The FastForwardAmy Show.
PS: If you want to work with me but aren’t sure where to begin, head to: fastforwardamy.com/findyourfit and answer the questions — we’ll point you in the right direction!
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