1 email, 2 days, 270+ waitlist signups

(Try this before your next launch)

Quick trivia question:

What's the biggest mistake creators make when launching new courses and digital products?

*Drumroll, please*

They don't build a waitlist first.

I see it all the time.

Creators jump straight into launch mode without building any anticipation.

And as a result, they leave thousands of dollars on the table.

And trust me, I’ve overseen & helped execute DOZENS of course & digital product launches over the past 4 years(many of which went on to generate 6 or even multiple 6 figures!)…

And I can stress this enough.

Without a waitlist, you have no way to gauge real interest before launching.

You also miss out on all the pre-launch momentum.

And worst of all?

You lose the chance to leverage one of the biggest psychological triggers that you can use in a launch:

FOMO.

Because here’s the thing:

No matter how good your product is, if people don't know it's coming (or aren't excited about it ahead of time) you're setting yourself up for a slow start.

Luckily, you can fix this with one simple move…

The solution?

A few weeks before launching, send a Waitlist Announcement Email to everyone on your list so you can:

• Build buzz

• Create anticipation

• And identify high-intent prospects

Before you even open the cart & actually launch.

It’s crazy - but this one email can often be the difference between an awesome and a “meh” launch.

And yes, this works for ANY type of offer:

• Courses

• Services

• Coaching

• Memberships

You name it.

Now, the next question is…

How do you write one that actually converts?

Don’t worry, I’m about to walk you through my exact framework.

But first, quick story…

Earlier this year, a friend and I decided to launch a cohort-based course together.

But before we spent tens of hours building it, we wanted to get a better sense of how much demand there was for a program like this.

So we spent a few hours clarifying the offer & then each of us wrote a simple email announcing the cohort to our email lists - and inviting people to join a waitlist for early access.

72 hours later?

We had almost 300 waitlist sign-ups between the 2 of us.

(And mind you, neither of us had a big email list. At the time, I had around 5,400 email subscribers & my friend had around 3,500.)

Now, in case you’re curious, here’re the stats of the email I sent (for context, though, I ran an AB test in this email, which is why there’s 2 “sends” in the image below):

So after we saw how this initial email performed, we decided to actually sprint on building the course - and in parallel, we continued driving traffic to the waitlist.

And by the time we were ready to launch a few weeks later, we had over 800+ people on the waitlist, eager to hear more about the program.

Ultimately, we were able to completely sell out this initial cohort (we offered a total of 30 spots at $499), generating $15,000+ in revenue in less than 72 hours:

Not bad!

So, that’s the power of building an engaged waitlist before launching your product.

Now, let me walk you through the framework we used to write our Waitlist Announcement Emails (which I’ve also used to drive thousands of waitlist sign-ups for my clients).

My Waitlist Announcement Email Formula (steal it!)

Here’s the big POV to keep in mind here:

You want to think of your Waitlist Announcement Email as a mini landing page.

In other words, you want to give your readers enough context about the offer so they can confidently raise their hand and show interest (by joining the waitlist)…

Without overwhelming them with every single detail.

So with that in mind, here’s the 10-part formula I use to write engaging Waitlist Announcement Emails:

1. Attention-Grabbing Opening. Hook them with something they care about (tease the transformation).

2. Story Setup/Context. Add some interesting context to the announcement.

3. The Big Announcement. Share what you're launching (with excitement!).

4. The Value Proposition. Explain the exact problem you solve.

5. Concrete Details. Share the specifics of the offer (format, duration, logistics).

6. Outcome Promise. Paint the "after" picture clearly.

7. Content Preview. Share a sneak peek (without revealing everything).

8. Clear Qualification Criteria. Define who should join (creates self-selection).

9. Simple, Direct CTA. Make the next step crystal clear (“Join the waitlist!”).

10. Friendly Sign-off. No need to overcomplicate this.

If you want to see this in action, ​here’s a copy of the exact email I sent to my list back when we first announced our Inbound Sales Ninja cohort back in February​.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking...

"Daniel, this sounds great but how can I use AI to write this bad boy faster???”

Glad you asked!

How To Write An Engaging Waitlist Announcement Email In Minutes (Using AI)

This week's AI prompt will help you write your own Waitlist Announcement Emails (using the framework I just walked you through) in a fraction of the time.

All you have to do:

• Grab the prompt

• Iill in the placeholders with your offer’s information

• And let AI do the heavy lifting for ya!

So without any further ado, here’s the prompt: