Product launch checklist

Use this for a new product going onto an existing store, whether it is a first line extension or a full seasonal range. A new product has no reviews, no search history and no ad learning behind it, so the page and the warm list have to do the work that data usually does. The list runs from positioning through the page build, demand before launch day, launch week, and the review a month later.

Before the page exists

Write the one sentence that says who this product is for.Why: Every ad, email and page section becomes easier to write once the buyer has been named precisely.How: Name the person, the moment they need it and what they use instead today, and put that sentence at the top of the launch document.
Set the launch price with the discount ladder already decided.Why: Discounting a new product early destroys the reference price before it has been established at all.How: Fix the launch price, decide in advance which promotions it may take and when, and write both into the pricing document.
Confirm the first production run covers the launch window.Why: A launch that sells out in days loses the momentum the marketing spend has just bought.How: Check available units against the forecast for the launch period, and plan a waitlist rather than overselling if the run looks thin.
Photograph the product for every placement before dates are set.Why: Missing assets are the most common reason a launch date has to slip at the last minute.How: Shoot the packshot, a scale reference, an in use scene and vertical video in one session, then export the crops each channel needs.

Building the launch page

Write the page around the question the product answers.Why: A new product has no reviews or search history, so the page has to do all of the persuading alone.How: Open with the problem, then the product, then the proof, and place the specification table and delivery detail below that.
Add the sizing, compatibility or usage detail buyers will ask about first.Why: Unanswered questions on a new product turn into support tickets or an abandoned basket.How: List the questions the team expects, answer them in plain sentences on the page, and keep updating as real questions arrive.
Get the product into the feed and the sitemap on publish day.Why: A product missing from the feed cannot be advertised or listed in any Shopping surface at all.How: Publish the product, force a feed sync, and confirm the item shows as approved before the launch campaign starts spending.
Link the new product from collections that already receive traffic.Why: Internal links from established pages are the fastest route to discovery for a brand new address.How: Add the product to the relevant collections, feature it near the top of the default sort, and mention it in a guide that already ranks.

Demand before launch day

Open a waitlist and say exactly what people will receive.Why: A warm list on launch day produces the first orders and the first reviews at the lowest cost.How: Publish a signup form with the expected date and what early access means, and send a short update whenever the date or detail changes.
Prepare the announcement segments in advance.Why: Sending the announcement to the entire list dilutes it and raises unsubscribes among people it does not suit.How: Build segments for the waitlist, buyers of related products and engaged subscribers, and write a different opening line for each.
Seed the product with a small group who will use it before launch.Why: A page with no reviews converts worse than the same page carrying a handful of honest ones.How: Send units to existing customers of related products, ask for an honest review with no conditions attached, and publish them as they arrive.

Launch week

Email the waitlist before any paid spend starts.Why: The first orders and reviews come most cheaply from people who already asked to be told.How: Send to the waitlist in the morning, watch the conversion rate on that traffic, and use it to judge whether the page is ready for paid visits.
Start paid spend small while the page proves itself.Why: Scaling budget onto a page that does not convert spends the launch budget in a single day.How: Run a small daily budget against the warmest audiences first, read the conversion rate after enough sessions, and only then raise it.
Watch add to cart and checkout rates hourly on the first day.Why: A broken variant or a missing shipping rate is expensive for every hour it is left running.How: Keep the funnel report open, place a test order yourself, and have someone available to change the store while the launch is live.
Log every question the launch generates in one place.Why: The questions asked in the first week are exactly what the page and the ads should answer next.How: Collect support tickets, chat transcripts and ad comments into one list, and rewrite the page sections that repeatedly fail to answer them.

After the first month

Compare the launch page conversion rate with the site average.Why: A new product page converting below the store average points at the copy or the offer, not the traffic.How: Pull sessions and orders for the product page across the month, compare with the site average, and rewrite the weakest section first.
Add the product to the flows that recommend related items.Why: New products are missed by recommendation blocks that were built before the product existed.How: Update post purchase and browse abandonment blocks to include the product where it fits, and check the rendered email preview.
Decide whether the product earns a permanent campaign.Why: Launch campaigns are built for a moment and are rarely the right long term structure for a product.How: Move the product into the standing campaign structure at the margin band it belongs to, then retire the launch campaign.

Questions

Long enough to shoot the assets, build the page and grow a waitlist. Photography and page copy usually take longer than people expect, and both block everything else.

Prefer early access or a bundle over cutting the price. A launch discount sets the reference price low before the product has established what it is worth.

Look at the funnel before blaming the ads. If sessions are healthy and add to cart is low, the page or the offer is the problem rather than the traffic source.

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Product launch checklist

Before the page exists

Building the launch page

Demand before launch day

Launch week

After the first month

Questions

How long before launch should preparation start?

Should a new product launch with a discount?

What if the launch does not sell?

Related

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