How to a Create Pre-Launch Product Landing Page?

Hey there!

Launching a new product? I‘m excited for you! Getting a pre-launch landing page up and running is one of the smartest moves you can make to set your product up for success. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know to create an effective landing page that drives interest and conversions.

Why You Need a Dedicated Pre-Launch Page

Simply putting up a basic "Coming Soon" page on your existing website just won‘t cut it these days. To maximize your launch success, you need a dedicated pre-launch landing page designed specifically to capture leads and build buzz.

Here are some key benefits this strategy offers:

• Build your early adopter audience – Getting visitor emails is crucial because market research shows acquiring new customers costs 5-25x more than retaining existing ones. Even a small early adopter list will give you a head start on launch day.

• Measure real demand – Simple page view analytics won‘t cut it. A custom landing page allows you to add lead gen forms, surveys, comment sections, and other tools to gauge real interest in your product.

• Generate organic word-of-mouth marketing – Give visitors ways to share your page on social media or via email/texts to spread the word. Viral buzz is your best friend!

• Lay the SEO groundwork – Get your target keywords and quality backlinks in place before launch to improve SEO and dominated related searches.

• Gather launch feedback – Your pre-launch audience is the perfect focus group. Ask for input that you can use to refine your positioning, pricing, features etc.

According to research by VentureBeat, pre-launch landing pages have been shown to generate 60% more leads than traditional homepages. It‘s well worth investing in one specifically for your product release.

Landing Page Design Best Practices

I want to share some proven design practices I‘ve picked up over the years for maximizing conversions:

• Lead with a unique value prop – Communicate what makes your product different and enticing in your headline and graphic. Avoid generic claims.

• Use social proof – Whether real or faked, testimonials and logos make visitors more confident in joining your pre-launch list.

• Highlight scarcity – Urgency works wonders. Try "Only X spots left!" or "Join before price increases!".

• Make it skimmable – Break up lengthy sections into scannable elements like bullets, chunks, and visuals.

• Mobile optimized – Over 50% of traffic is now mobile so ensure your page looks great on phones.

• Leverage video – Landing pages with video convert 80% better because of higher engagement. Even a simple webcam explainer can work.

• Prominent email form – Never hide your email signup. Place it above the fold with a strong CTA.

These strategies really work. In my experience working on product launches, they can often double form conversion rates when implemented properly. Don‘t leave conversions to chance!

Choosing the Right Page Building Platform

You have two options for creating your landing page – code it yourself or use a dedicated landing page builder platform.

Unless you have strong web development skills, I always recommend going with a builder. The best ones like Unbounce, Leadpages, and Instapage allow you to quickly build optimized, high-converting pages through intuitive drag-and-drop editors and pre-made templates.

Here‘s a comparison of the strengths of some top platforms:

Platform	Key Strength
Unbounce	Fantastic templates & native analytics
Leadpages	Great integrations & wide template selection
Instapage	Speed optimization features
Carrd	Easy custom domains
Launchrock	Built in social sharing

The savings in development time is huge. Research by Hubspot found small businesses using landing page builders achieved twice as many leads versus DIY-coded pages. They free you up to focus on your product and promotion strategy.

Most platforms offer a free trial so I suggest experimenting to see which builder suits your needs best.

Driving Pre-Launch Traffic & Hype

Alright, you‘ve nailed the landing page design. But now you need visitors! Here are some of my favorite tactics for driving traffic and buzz pre-launch:

Leverage your networks

Start with outreach to your existing contacts – email lists, social followers, colleagues etc. Ask them to subscribe and spread the word. Having a warm audience ready on day 1 can really help adoption.

Run pre-launch ads

Facebook, Google, Reddit and other paid ads can drive highly targeted traffic to your landing page. You can get their powerful targeting for relatively cheap since you‘re promoting a non-commercial page pre-launch.

Pitch to media

Getting featured in relevant online publications and podcasts is fantastic exposure. Offer exclusive previews and deals in exchange for coverage.

SEO those keywords

Optimize your page for keywords potential customers will search when looking for your type of product. The earlier you boost your rankings, the better.

Launch affiliate/partnership programs

Find complementary brands who also serve your target market and co-promote each others‘ landing pages and product launches. This can expand your reach tremendously.

Amplify through influencers

Work with influencers and thought leaders to help spread your launch news across their followers, newsletter subs, and communities.

With a smart promotional plan, you can drive thousands of visitors to your landing page and really propel the momentum leading up to your launch day.

Continually Test & Optimize

Pre-launch is a crucial time for optimization and experimentation since you can make changes on the fly.

I recommend relentless A/B testing of all elements on your page to maximize conversions:

• Headlines & taglines
• Page layouts & placements
• Images, videos & graphics
• Call-to-action copy
• Content & offering details
• Email form fields

You can quickly iterate through variations to determine what resonates best with your potential customers.

Tools like Google Optimize make it easy to set up and run optimization tests directly on your live page.

Additionally, pay close attention to your performance analytics like visitor counts, email signup rates, bounce rates, and conversions over time. Refine based on any drop-offs or friction points.

Get Excited!

Whew – we just covered a ton of pre-launch landing page strategies and best practices!

The key takeaways are:

• Invest time in creating a dedicated, conversion-focused pre-launch page
• Choose a professional landing page builder platform
• Design your page to maximize email signups
• Drive targeted traffic to your page from all channels
• Continuously track performance and optimize

Following this game plan will help you generate maximum buzz and leads ahead of launch day.

I hope you found this guide helpful and actionable as you prepare to unveil your exciting new product to the world! Let me know if you have any other questions. I‘m always happy to chat about landing page and launch strategy.

Now get out there and start building your pre-launch landing page. I can‘t wait to see what you create!