Buffer

You have no email list to launch to

Build a pre-launch landing page that collects emails

Before you build, validate demand with a landing page that explains the concept and collects emails from interested people.

AcquisitionBeginner

1-2 hours to build page, 2-4 weeks to collect emails

When to use

You're planning a new product or major feature and want to validate demand before building.

Hypothesis template

If we create a [pre-launch page] explaining [product concept], we'll collect [target] emails in [timeframe] to validate demand and have a launch audience.

Method

The problem: You're building a product but have nobody to launch to. When it's ready, you'll start from zero.

How to do it:

Create a simple landing page: headline, 2-3 bullet points of value, email capture
Drive traffic via: social posts, community engagement, paid ads ($50-100)
Set a validation goal: "If 100 people sign up in 2 weeks, we build it"
Send periodic updates to keep the list warm
When you launch, you have an audience waiting

Key insight: The landing page IS the validation. If you can't get 100 people to give their email for a concept, you probably can't get 100 people to use the actual product.

Success metrics

•Email signups
•Signup rate from traffic
•List engagement rate
•Launch day conversion from list

Prerequisites

A landing page builder or simple HTML page
Traffic source (social, ads, communities)
An email collection tool

Common pitfalls

•Building the product before validating demand
•Not driving traffic to the page
•Collecting emails and not communicating
•Setting the validation bar too low

Source: Buffer. Validated demand with a landing page before writing a line of code.

Suggested ICE scores

5Impact

7Confidence

10Ease

acquisitionpre-launchvalidationemail-listlanding-page

Ready to run this experiment?

Method

The problem: You're building a product but have nobody to launch to. When it's ready, you'll start from zero.

How to do it:

Create a simple landing page: headline, 2-3 bullet points of value, email capture
Drive traffic via: social posts, community engagement, paid ads ($50-100)
Set a validation goal: "If 100 people sign up in 2 weeks, we build it"
Send periodic updates to keep the list warm
When you launch, you have an audience waiting

Key insight: The landing page IS the validation. If you can't get 100 people to give their email for a concept, you probably can't get 100 people to use the actual product.