The Waitlist Strategy: How to Create Buzz Before You Even Launch
The Waitlist Strategy: How to Create Buzz Before You Even Launch
How to do it without burning out.
Hot Takes:
What is a launch?
Why it matters
Fitting it into your launch plan
We talk a lot about launching inside Secret Artist Business.
How to do it without burning out.
How to build excitement before you start selling.
And most importantly, how to stop launching to crickets.
In our recent In the House session, we were joined by Kelsey McCormick from Coming Up Roses, who walked us through her signature waitlist strategy and why it’s something every creative should be using.
Because a waitlist isn’t just a sign up form.
It’s a way to warm people up before you open the doors.
And it’s one of the easiest ways to bring more money into your next launch.
So what actually is a launch?
Kelsey broke it down to us like this.. launching is just a fancy word for running a marketing campaign around an offer.
It’s giving something you’re selling a proper moment.
Not just chucking it on your website and hoping for the best.
It’s a system. A spotlight. A way to move your offer from “nice idea” to “actual sales.”
And the waitlist?
That’s the bit that comes before the sales.
It helps you gather interest, create buzz, and walk into launch week with people already in line ready to buy.
Why a waitlist matters (and why most people skip it)
Here’s what Kelsey taught us..
Waitlists build anticipation.
They’re not passive. They’re proactive. You’re inviting people into something before it’s even open. That builds curiosity, exclusivity, and excitement.They help you predict results.
You can gauge how warm your audience is before you launch. If you get 100 people on the list, and 10% usually convert? That’s 10 sales before you’ve even opened the cart.They segment your best buyers.
Not everyone on your list is ready to buy. But your waitlist is your warmest group. Your most interested. Your highest converting.
They give you confidence.
If you’ve ever felt like you were spiralling mid-launch, knowing people are already waiting can be so helpful. You’re no longer wondering. You’ve got the data to help you make informed decisions and keep going.
How it fits into your launch plan
Kelsey shared the four phases of a launch:
Plan – Set your goals and map out the timeline.
Warm-Up – This is where your waitlist lives. You’re building trust, teasing the offer, and gathering names.
Launch – Cart open. Offer live. Time to sell.
Post-Launch – Learn what worked, keep the momentum, or transition to evergreen.
The waitlist happens in the warm-up.
It’s your bridge between building awareness and making sales.
And it’s the part most people skip, which is why they end up scrambling once the cart opens.
The big takeaways
Your current sales reflect your past marketing habits.
This one hit hard. If you’re not happy with your sales now, it’s not a failure - it’s just feedback. A sign that your marketing habits need to shift. Start now, and your future launches will look different.
Warm audiences convert better.
If your audience feels cold - if engagement is low, or people aren’t quite “getting it” - don’t panic. It just means you need more time in the warm-up phase. Use content, email, stories, sneak peeks. Warm them up first.
Repetition is key.
Worried about being annoying? Kelsey says.. be more obvious. Be more repetitive. The people who are meant to buy from you want to hear about it.
Share while you're building.
You don’t need to wait until everything is perfect. Work in public. Share your process. Show what you’re creating and why you care about it. It makes people care too.
So… what now?
Start the waitlist.
Even if you’re not launching next week.
Even if you’re not sure exactly what the offer looks like yet.
Even if your audience feels small.
Pick a date. Build a short landing page. Share what you’re working on.
And most importantly - keep talking about it.
Emails. Stories. DMs. Behind the scenes. People are interested when you show you are too.
If you want to go deeper into this, check out Kelsey’s program Launch Your Own Way. It’s designed for creatives and artists who want to sell without selling out - and it gives you the exact tools to launch in a way that feels like you.
Also recommend her podcast The Warm-Up—it's full of juicy marketing gems and proof that yes, people do care about what you're building.
