a single source, nothing corroborates it · contested
Keep selling to the people who did not buy
Only about a tenth of a waiting list converts while the launch is open, and the rest were mostly not refusing: they were unconvinced, badly timed or short of money that week, which is why free material after the launch converts more of them. The opposite reading is in this play too: one builder measured brand-new signups converting around twenty times better than the people already sitting on his list.
Where this splits
One author works the unconverted pre-launch list for months after launch, while another measured people who joined during the sale converting far better than existing subscribers.
3 claims against 1
Nathan Barry
Keep working the list that did not buy
- 01Most of your pre-launch waiting list will not buy on launch day, so keep sending them exclusive free content afterwards to convert the rest.
- 02Expect a pre-launch list to convert at roughly a tenth at launch, and keep selling to the rest: most did not refuse, they were unconvinced, mistimed, or short of money
New signups convert far better than old subscribers
People who first sign up during a sale convert far better than people already sitting in your list, which argues for targeting offers at brand-new signups rather than at the old cohort.
- 03Assume most of your list has no idea your older products exist, even when you feel you have over-promoted them.
What it returned
- 130
Only 130 of the 700 people on the Authority pre-launch list purchased, leaving 570 to work on
- 10%
About 10% of a typical book pre-launch list buys during the launch
- 0.8%
Across the seven-day Pegasus sale, email outreach to existing signups converted at 0.8% for 7 sales while people who signed up during the sale converted at 16% for 14 sales, close to a 20x difference.
When soliciting case studies for Authority he got a stream of replies asking what Authority was
Sources
- The complete guide to making a full-time salary from one bookNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · New content and small launches · 2014-08-06
- Should you launch more than once? I’ve got $58,332 as evidence.Nathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · What if I launched each product once per year? · 2014-02-28
- Self-doubt and launch statsNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · What now? · 2013-05-28
- Lessons from Running a Sale that Earned 3 Month's Profit in a WeekCory Zue · coryzue.com · Cashing in · 2020-12-09 · dissenting
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
More in email
- Move the audience you rent onto a list you own7 unconnected
- Hold the schedule you promised to hold5 unconnected
- Decide whether cold email is worth what it signals5 unconnected · contested
- Settle who the publication is for before growing it5 unconnected
- Open the list before the product is real4 unconnected
- Send each subscriber the thing they told you they want4 unconnected