How to Give Soft Launch access to Your Mailing Lists

How is announcing the Soft Launch different from personal outreach? One proven tactic in fundraising is a friends and family round where people “in the know” can invest or make reservations ahead of the official launch. This gives your friends first dibs on any early-bird terms. Plus, if your deal is hot, makes it more likely they’ll be able to get in. Everyone who have made a reservation will get an email notifying them once your Form C is filed, giving them the opportunity to confirm their investments quickly and get those Early Bird terms. If you'd like, we can hold off on blasting that email if you’d like to give a few specific investors the opportunity to rollover first (thus securing their Early Bird terms before the rest jump in). While your personal outreach targeted angels one-to-one, your Soft Launch email series should reach your company's existing mailing lists as well as your own. Emphasize that you're giving a select group of people early access as a thank you for their support. Keep in mind though that once you file your Form C, your campaign will be searchable and publicly viewable by everyone. Step 1. Draft a 3-part email series Start sending pre-marketing emails at least 1 week before your Soft Launch to ease into asking for money from your community. Send emails at the cadence of one email per week. Feel free to adapt our templates for your Soft Launch emails, which start with two pre-marketing emails before announcing the Soft Launch. -- If you're in TTW: Grab the first 3 emails from our TTW Email Templates → https://wefunder.com/playbook/templates/testing-the-waters-fundraise-marketing-emails-9-part-series -- If you've already filed your Form C: Grab the first 3 emails from our Post-Form C Email Templates → https://wefunder.com/playbook/templates/post-form-c-fundraise-marketing-emails-9-part-series Step 2. Take note of feedback and adjust along the way One of the benefits of keeping your outreach constrained to your network and customers is that you still have time to act on their feedback about your campaign and your terms. Take advantage of this buffer time to continue refining your pitch, recognize any superfans who might be on board to help you evangelize your round in the coming weeks, and prepare your messaging for a big, splashy Public Launch.