Strap yourselves in cause my product launch checklist covers everything you need before, during and after launch: from writing your copy and defining your audience to building pre-launch hype, nailing your timing and following up after the big day.
Skip any of these stages and your launch will underperform — no matter how good the product is.
Yeah, you might be excited, but if excitement sold stuff, we’d all be rich.
Sadly, it doesn’t, but d’you know what does?
Prep.
And thanks to this ultimate product launch checklist for toy brands, alcohol brands, bog roll brands, feminine hygiene brands, manscaping brands… actually, any brand that sells products, I’m gonna help you do just that.
Why product launches fail
Loads of launches fail every year, not because the product is bad, but because not enough prep is done beforehand:
- No pre-launch buzz: Without teasing and building anticipation weeks or even months before, launch day arrives with the brand shouting “BUY THIS NOW!” to a completely cold audience. No build-up means nobody cares.
- Weak copy: The product is great, but the words describing it are bland, vague or feature-heavy with no benefits. A kids’ clothing brand shouldn’t say ‘made from 100% organic cotton‘. They should say, ‘so soft on sensitive skin, your little one will never want to take it off.’
- Targeting the wrong audience: Even the best product won’t sell if it’s being shown to the wrong people (yes, this happens!)
- Poor timing: Launching a kids’ toy in February misses Christmas. Launching an outdoor barbecue in October misses the summer. Timing matters.
- No post-launch plan: Sales spike on day one, then fall off a cliff because nothing was done to sustain the momentum.
Know which of these you’re at risk of, then use this guide to fix them.
What to do before the product launch
To give yourself the best chance of making sales on day one and beyond, make sure all these are in place:
One. Make sure the copy comes first
This is the one most brands get back to front.
They design the packaging, brief the PR agency, plan the social content and then write the copy last.
Copy should never be an afterthought.
Everything — your product descriptions, product page, ads, emails and social posts — are built on it. If the copy is weak, all of it is weak.
Before launch, make sure you’ve got copy nailed for:
- Your product page: benefit-led, skimmable, emotionally engaging, SEO-strong
- Your launch email or email sequence: teaser, launch day and follow-up
- Your social captions: written, approved and scheduled in advance
- Any ads: headlines and body copy ready to go
- Packaging and point-of-sale: if relevant
Oh, and don’t write any of the above until you’ve answered this question clearly: why should someone buy this product over anything else?
If you can’t answer that in one or two punchy sentences, your copy won’t convert.
Two. Define your audience properly
“It’s for everyone” means it’s for no one and it weakens your marketing.
Be specific.
A family games brand launching a new board game might have multiple audiences:
- Parents buying for family game nights
- Grandparents buying gifts
- Teachers looking for classroom activities
- Teenagers who love board games
Each of those audiences needs different messaging, even if the product is the same.
So, for each audience, ask:
- What do they actually care about? (Fun? Safety? Educational value? Value for money?)
- What would stop them from buying? (Price? Trust in a new brand? Unsure if it’s right for their age group?)
- Where do they spend their time? (Instagram? TikTok? Pinterest? In-store?)
- What language do they use? (Your copy should sound like them, not like a product manual)
The more clearly you define this, the more targeted and effective your launch messaging will be.
Three. Start hyping your product at least 4–6 weeks before it launches
Think about how film studios market movies.
You don’t walk into a cinema and discover a new blockbuster is out that day. You’ve seen trailers and posters months in advance. Heard the cast on podcasts and seen them on the telly.
By the time it’s released, the audience is already warmed up and ready.
Here’s a handful of ideas that work well:
- Teaser content: Show glimpses of the product without revealing everything. Close-up shots, cryptic captions, partial reveals, etc. These generate curiosity and engagement. A kids’ brand might post a close-up of the packaging or a single product detail with a “something’s coming…” type caption.
- Behind-the-scenes content: Show the process, such as design stages, production, and testing. People love seeing how things are made. It builds emotional investment in the product before it’s even out.
- Countdown content: Simple “7 days until…” posts keep your audience engaged and reminded.
- Email list building: Drive sign-ups with a “be the first to know” list in the weeks leading up to launch. These are your most motivated buyers cause they’ve actively said they want to hear from you.
- Influencer and press outreach: Seed products with relevant influencers or send press releases to journalists 4–6 weeks before launch. Their coverage on or around launch day is far more valuable than coverage a week later, when the buzz has died down.
- Retailer and stockist prep: If you’re selling through third parties, make sure they have everything they need, like imagery, copy, and point-of-sale materials, well in advance.
Four. Write a product page that actually sells
Your product page isn’t just a description; it’s a sales tool, so treat it like one.
The page needs:
- A benefit-led opening: Lead with the transformation, not the technical spec. Remember the cotton example earlier: Don’t say “made from 100% organic cotton.” Say “so soft on sensitive skin, your little one will never want to take it off.” The feature is the cotton. The benefit is the comfort and peace of mind for a parent.
- Sensory and emotional language: Words like satisfying, nostalgic, irresistible, cosy, exciting make people feel something. Feelings drive sales waaaay more than facts do. A sweet brand that describes its product as ‘bursting with flavour that’ll take you right back to the school tuck shop’ is doing more work than a list of ingredients ever will.
- Social proof: Reviews, star ratings, press mentions and awards. Anything that shows real people love your products, slam it down on the page. New brands especially need this to build trust with a cold audience.
- Make it skimmable: Short paragraphs, bullet points for key features, bold text for the most important bits, shoppers skim before they read, so make sure the skim tells them enough to make a decision.
- A clear call to action: Don’t assume shoppers know what to do next. Tell them to “Add to basket“, “Grab yours now“, “Pick your size and check out“. Simple, but often missed.
Five. Get your timing right
Even brilliant products flop if they’re launched at the wrong time.
Do your research and think in seasons.
If you’re launching a product tied to gifting, the run-up to Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are great windows.
Start your pre-launch build-up early enough to capture that gift-buying intent and think about your audience’s calendar too. A product aimed at parents of school-age children will get more traction in September (back-to-school), July (end of term), and in the run-up to Christmas.
In the middle of the summer holidays, not so much, cause most people are lying on a beach.
And think about your own capacity.
Don’t launch during a period when you can’t respond to orders quickly, engage with customers or handle press enquiries.
Six. Prepare your customer service and fulfilment
This one gets skipped constantly and it’s a launch killer!
If your launch goes well, you’ll get orders. Possibly an absolute bucketload — woohoo!
So, make sure your:
- Stock levels are realistic for the demand you’re generating
- Website can handle a spike in traffic
- Fulfilment process is in place and tested
- Customer service team (even if that’s just you) knows the product inside out, so they can respond to queries fast
A slow response to a customer question on launch day or worse, an out-of-stock message, is the fastest way to kill the excitement you’ve spent weeks building.
Gah!
What to do on launch day
Doing all the pre-launch prep, then just hoping it flies upon launch won’t do. So, make sure you’re doing all this stuff the day it launches:
Seven. Show up and engage with your customers
Yeah, I know, it’s an obvious one, but you’ve got to be visible on launch day
Respond to every comment, reply to every message, and engage with every share. There’s nothing worse than a brand that ignores you and there’s nothing more satisfying to a customer than a brand that actually talks to them.
Schedule your content in advance so you’re not writing posts in a panic, then spend launch day drinking tea, chomping on biscuits and showing up. One reply can bag a sale from someone who might otherwise have been on the fence.
Eight. Send your launch email
If you’ve been building an email list during the pre-launch phase, now’s when it pays off.
An excited launch email to people who specifically asked to hear from you will almost always perform well.
Don’t babble on, keep it focused solely on the product:
- Here it is
- Here’s why it’s brilliant
- Here’s how to get it
And plonk a big, clear call-to-action button at the end to make it dead easy for them to click and buy.
That’s it.
Done.
Nine. Go Live!
Go live on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn on launch day!
You could run a competition or give everyone watching a 10% discount code.
You can really whip up excitement on a live video and launch day is the perfect time to do it.
Things to do after you’ve launched your product
We’re near the end of our product launch checklist, but this part is just as important. You’ve built the hype, been everywhere you need to on launch day, so now it’s done, don’t let that momentum drop off a cliff:
Ten. Keep your content going for at least 4 weeks
The week after launch isn’t the time to go quiet, nor is the second, third or fourth.
Keep posting content that shows the product in context:
- Customer photos and unboxing videos
- Don’t forget “In case you missed it” posts for people who didn’t see the launch
- Content that answers common questions about the product
- Testimonial posts from customers already loving your product (video testimonials are even better, so ask for them!)
- Behind the scenes of orders going out
This keeps your product in front of people who weren’t ready to buy on day one. And there are always more of those than you think.
Oh, and don’t worry about irritating people; they aren’t your customers anyway.
Talking about your product will reach people at different times.
You’ve launched a new product and you’ve got every right to bang on about it for weeks and weeks!
Eleven. Follow up with people who didn’t buy on the day
Not everyone who showed interest during your pre-launch phase converted into a buyer on launch day.
Don’t be shy, chase them!
Create an email sequence like this:
launch day → two days later → one week later
It’s proven to get you sales from people who are dilly-dallying.
Your follow-up email doesn’t need to be pushy; a simple “in case you missed it” or “a few people have asked us about X, so here’s the answer” message reminds them to buy without you saying, “Oi, you said you wanted it, pal. Buy it!”
Erm… that might not work so well, Haha!
Yes, you’ll also land in the inbox of those who’ve bought, but most people are used to ‘Just in case‘ follow-ups.
Twelve. Ask for and use reviews immediately
Yes, I covered this briefly in point ten, but it deserves its own section.
You need product reviews, and they’re at their most powerful when they’re fresh!
Actively ask your first customers for feedback via email, social media and your product page. A product with 20 reviews is dramatically more trustworthy to a new visitor than one with none, even if the product is good.
Use the best quotes in your marketing and ask for unboxing and video testimonials too.
And if you can get an influencer to do this, that’s an absolute gold mine of untapped sales.
Thirteen. Check what worked and what didn’t
Two to three weeks after launch, sit down and look at:
- Which channels drove the most traffic?
- Which content got the most engagement?
- Where did people drop off on the product page?
- What questions did customers ask most often? (These are gaps in your copy)
- What was your conversion rate and how does it compare to industry benchmarks?
Don’t beat yourself up if things didn’t go completely to plan; even well-oiled machines don’t always work. Knowing what was missed or didn’t work means you will be better prepared next time.
Fourteen. Plan your second wave
No, this isn’t about rewatching Point Break (Keanu and Swayze, what a team!)
If your launch went well, don’t just move on. A second wave of activity, 3–4 weeks later, can give you a bump in sales — woop!
This might be a:
- Limited run
- Bundle offer
- Press push to a new outlet
Or just a blitz on all the amazing feedback you’ve had since it came out.
Products don’t always peak on launch day; it happens much later because the brand believes in their product, that there’s a market for it and doesn’t stop talking about it within a couple of days of launch.
The complete product launch checklist for your brand
So, now you’ve read all that, run along!
Not really, here’s an easy-to-follow product launch checklist that you can follow:
Before launch:
- Copy written for product page, emails, social and ads
- Audience clearly defined with tailored messaging
- Pre-launch hype campaign started 4–6 weeks out
- Influencer and press outreach completed
- Email sign-up list built
- Launch day content written and scheduled
- Fulfilment and customer service prepared
- Timing checked against seasonal calendar
Launch day:
- Launch email sent
- All content live and scheduled
- Actively engaging with comments and messages
- Consider doing a live stream on Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn
After launch:
- Content kept going for 4+ weeks post-launch
- Follow-up email sequence sent
- Reviews actively collected and used
- Performance data reviewed
- Second wave activity planned
Need help with the copy side of your launch?
Following every step of my product launch checklist is all well and good, but if the copy doesn’t grab people’s attention, no amount of ad spend or influencer outreach will fix it.
Having worked on product launches for ToyMonster’s Jurassic World: Rebirth franchise, Kuma Paw Bears and Pour Palz lines. Plus, event launches, including the LEGO Insiders Clubhouse and The Big Bahooey for Historic Royal Palaces, you know you’re working with someone who knows what they’re doing and has experience in product and event launches.
So, if the checklist is a bit too much, let’s have a chat about how I can help.
Until next time,
Matt
PS. For more product-related articles, check out How to write product descriptions that sell your products.
