My Launch Day Playbook: How I Used Ethical Urgency to Sell 50% of My Course in 6 Hours

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Spoiler: I hit 50% sold out in the first 6 hours—and I had school drop-off, a birthday, and tech chaos happening in the background.

✨ Real Launches Happen in Real Life

Launching doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

Sometimes you’re writing emails while packing school lunches. Other times, you’re fielding last-minute questions while updating sales page links in between birthday cake and cart opens. That’s real entrepreneurship—and it’s exactly what I walked through during the live launch of my program, The Messaging Edit.

In this post, I’m taking you behind the curtain on how I:

• Grew a 450+ person waitlist in two weeks

• Woke up to two sales before 6am

• Hit 50% capacity by noon on day one

• Kept momentum while life did not slow down

If you’re gearing up for your own launch—or want to confidently open cart without panicking—this is for you.

💡 Chapter 1: Why a Hot Waitlist Will Make (or Break) Your Launch

✅ What Is a Waitlist (and Why It’s Essential)?

A waitlist is your early hype crew. It’s not just a list—it’s proof of concept. If only 9 people sign up? That’s not a green light. But if hundreds raise their hand saying “I want this”? You’re on to something.

I treat my waitlist like the VIP lounge of my business:

• Exclusive early access

• Hefty bonuses

• $500 off just for being early

I made it very worth their while. And they showed up for me.

📈 Chapter 2: How I Grew My Waitlist by 450 People in 14 Days

🚀 The 4 Places I Promoted Daily

In the 2 weeks leading up to cart open, I talked about the program:

1. In my Instagram stories

2. In my carousels + captions

3. In my email newsletter

4. On this very podcast

✅ TIP: Talk about your program before it exists. Let people grow with the idea.

I used a simple Flodesk form (linked below) to gather names + emails. Once someone joined the waitlist, they received:

• A confirmation email

• A clear outline of their perks (discounts + early access)

• Updates on when the doors would open

📧 Email Warmups That Actually Work

Instead of bombarding inboxes, I sent value-packed emails that reminded people:

• Who the program was for

• What it would help them do

• When they needed to be ready

No pressure. Just energy. And clarity.

✅ Get 50% off Flodesk before they retire their unlimited pricing. This tool makes form-building so simple.

💌 Chapter 3: Launch Emails That Sell Without Feeling Sleazy

You’ve probably heard that only 1-2% of your list converts.

Here’s my take: 4–5% is my usual baseline if I do a great job warming them up. I aimed to get ~18 buyers from my 450-person waitlist alone. And by noon on day one? I already had 10.

🧠 My Pre-Launch Email Game Plan:

• Sent 2 warm-up emails to my entire list

• Sent 4 nurture emails to the waitlist only

• Only pre-wrote two sales emails

🧠 PRO TIP: Don’t waste energy writing 10 emails if you only need 3. Stay flexible and adapt based on what your audience is asking.

⏰ Chapter 4: Launch Day with a Full Life in the Background

My launch day checklist looked like this:

• Opened cart at 6:00 AM

• Got the kids ready for their first day of school

• Celebrated my husband’s 44th birthday

• Reacted to a major Flodesk announcement

• Switched out sales page links, DMs, and automations (with alarms to remind me!)

🛠 Managing the Tech

Even with systems in place, I manually:

• Swapped out “Join the Waitlist” for “Buy Now”

• Updated my Stan Store

• Switched ManyChat keywords and flows

• Prepped SOPs to not miss a step (even while multitasking)

✅ Want to DIY your SOPs? Listen to Episode 33: How I Built and Launched My Online Program Using ChatGPT (Plus My Exact Waitlist Strategy)

🎁 Chapter 5: Creating Urgency Without Fake Scarcity

Let’s be honest: You can’t always technically gatekeep a program only for waitlisters. But you can prioritize them with early access and exclusive perks.

🎁 My Exact Offer Structure:

• First 20 spots only

• $500 off for waitlisters

• Bonus #1: Stories That Sell Masterclass Replay

• Bonus #2: Course Creation Camp (with Hilary Krueger)

The bonuses added real value. They weren’t filler. They were programs I’d already created and knew delivered results.

📊 Chapter 6: What I Tracked (and What I Didn’t)

No 40-column spreadsheets here. But I did track the essentials:

MetricWhy It MattersEmail subject linesHelps optimize future open ratesList segmentationKnow what worked: waitlist vs generalClick ratesShows what CTAs hit homeConversions per dayTracks momentum (and when it dips)Source of conversionsHelps future targeting (stories, emails, DMs)

✅ TIP: If you’re using Flodesk Checkout, enable abandoned cart emails for automatic follow-ups.

⚠️ Chapter 7: 3 Mistakes You Should Avoid on Launch Day

1. Don’t blast your whole list immediately.

Warm up your VIPs first. Focus on conversions from the hottest leads—your waitlist.

2. Don’t overplan every email.

Pre-write your first one. Then see how things unfold. Adjust in real-time based on responses and conversions.

3. Don’t freak out if it’s slow at first.

Launches are emotional rollercoasters. One hour it feels like it’s going to flop, the next you’re halfway sold out.

💬 Remember: Your launch is a week, not a moment.

🧪 Chapter 8: The Real Launch Energy: Make People Feel Something

People buy when they feel like they’re in on something. When they feel like they’ll miss out if they wait.

I had:

• Subscribers setting alarms at 5:00 AM

• DMs from people with FOMO asking to opt out of emails because they couldn’t handle the temptation

That’s the vibe you want. Not fear-based, but energy-based.

🧠 CTA: What feeling are you creating around your next launch? Curiosity? Clarity? Excitement? Tap into it early.

🔄 Chapter 9: Launching Doesn’t Mean Perfection

Things I Did Right:

• Built an aligned, hype-worthy waitlist

• Created urgency without pressure

• Kept my launch emails flexible

• Focused on what actually moves the needle

Things I’d Refine:

• I might give myself one more day buffer before launch day

• Streamline tech triggers more tightly

Remember, each launch builds your muscle. No one launches perfectly—and you don’t need to.

🎉 TL;DR: Launch Blueprint Recap

Here’s the simple roadmap that made this launch work:

1. Warm up early (2 weeks minimum!)

2. Create a clear offer with bonuses

3. Build a hot waitlist + treat them like gold

4. Write flexible, value-forward emails

5. Track what matters — and ignore what doesn’t

6. Let people feel like they’re part of something special

7. Don’t panic if sales dip mid-launch

8. Show up like a human—not a robot

🔗 Resources You Should Link in This Blog

Here are the key resources mentioned in your episode:

Helpful Links & Resources:

🔗 Episode 33: How I Built and Launched My Online Program Using ChatGPT (Plus My Exact Waitlist Strategy)
🔗 50% off your first year of Flodesk before unlimited pricing disappears!
🔗 Insta Stories that Sell Masterclass
🔗 Hop on the waitlist for the next round of The Messaging Edit
🔗 Hilary Krueger's Instagram Page (Who I ran Course Creation Camp with)

💬 Final Words: You're the Brand They’re Buying

The truth? People don’t just buy your program.

They buy your confidence, your clarity, and your consistency. That’s why your energy and systems need to feel strong before cart open day.

🧠 Before you sell your offer, you need to sell them on YOU.

Your content should connect before you ever pitch. That’s what I teach inside everything I do—from my membership to The Messaging Edit to this blog.

And if you want a head start, grab a seat inside The Content Coven Membership, where I help you stop ghosting your audience and start showing up in a way that gets results.

Ready to launch with less stress and more strategy? Save this post, share it with a biz bestie, and bookmark it for your next launch prep.

Let’s make your next launch one people can’t wait to wake up early for. 🔥