The Launch Email Checklist Service Providers Are Missing (& Swipes!)
APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE
I've been writing launch emails for over seven years and across more than a hundred launches. And the question I get most often from my Copy On Demand clients is some version of: "What emails do I actually need to send for this launch?"
What they mean is: what are the sales emails, specifically? The open cart, close cart, urgency emails. And I get it, those are the ones that feel highest stakes.
But there’s a gap in this thinking. If we all show up to our launches only having written a the open cart sequence, then we end up sending it to a list that's cold, and then wonder why the launch isn’t a huge success.
We’re thinking about sales emails wrong. The sales emails aren't the whole launch, they’re just the core of it.
Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all seven categories of launch emails that go into a launch. It includes the core sales emails, but also alllll the other emails I tell my clients to write (or write for them!).
Category 1: Core Launch Emails (Your Open Cart Sequence)
This is the part people think of when they say "launch emails." For a five-day open cart, here's the cadence I recommend:
Day 1: Focus on fast-action urgency
Morning: Open cart announcement. Lead with what's included (features) and flag any fast action bonuses.
Midday: Dig into the benefits. What outcomes does this offer create?
Afternoon/evening: Urgency reminder – last chance to grab the fast action bonus before it expires.
Day 2: Focus on benefits
Morning: Tell a story about the first win buyers get. Not "here's step one of the process.", but the first transformation.Not sure how to find the transformation? Read this!
Afternoon: Education-forward email on what the offer looks like long-term.
Day 3: Handle objections
Morning: Objection-handling email. Pull from real FAQs if you've sold this before.
Afternoon: Spotlight the additional features of your offer and their benefits, not just the main thing.
Day 4: Tell stories and get emotional
Morning: Social proof email. Client wins, screenshots, video testimonials.
Afternoon: Emotional urgency. The "if not now, when?" email. This one should feel like a gentle knife twist.
Day 5: A final push with urgency
Morning: Full recap of what's included and why it matters.
Midday: Answer lingering questions or invite people to a call (for offers over $2K).
Afternoon: Cart closing reminder with time zones in mind.
Evening: Final call, 4ish hours before close.
One note on cadence: This works for audiences who live in their inboxes. If you're selling to people who check email once a day (or less), dial it back. Three emails a day to someone who checks email twice a week is going to feel bombarded.
Psst! You can grab a full Google Doc checklist with EVERY email your launch needs to be successful.
It includes 40+ launch emails that most service providers forget!
Category 2: Pre-Launch Emails
These are the emails that prime your list before you open your cart. Sending them for one to four weeks before launch, the goal is to get people excited about the topic of your offer and to establish your authority so they're ready to buy when the cart opens.
This is also where your launch event lives. A launch event (webinar, masterclass, challenge) solves the first problem your offer solves, so by the end of it, the natural next step is to buy. Challenges are making a real comeback right now, and webinars have always worked.
The key to a launch event is delivering enough value that people leave thinking "yeah, she knows what she's talking about."
For pre-launch emails, I recommend:
3 to 5 invites to your launch event in the one to two weeks leading up
Don't stress about low registration numbers early! In my last launch, over 40% of my live webinar attendees registered within 24 hours of the event
Show-up sequence (for registered attendees):
I recommend having an ‘add to your calendar’ button in all of these emails!
Confirmation email: include a one-click "add to calendar" button
Five days before: remind them why showing up live is worth it; offer a show-up bonus if you have one
Two days before: similar, but more people will get this since registrations spike close to the date
Day before
One to two hours before: this is the moment they decide whether to show up live or wait for the replay. Make showing up live sound worth it.
"We're starting now" email: just a link and a reminder
Need Prelaunch help? Grab Brenna McGowan’s prelaunch resources here!
PRO TIP: If you want to increase your deliverability and open rate during your launch while decreasing the cost of sending emails (if that’s important with your Email Service Provider), scrub your list of unengaged subscribers about a month before your launch.
Category 3: Affiliate Emails
If you're using affiliates to extend your reach, you're actually running two launches at once. Here's what that looks like:
Emails you send to your affiliates:
Invite to become an affiliate (include the link to become an affiliate, don't make them ask for it)
Welcome to the affiliate program with instructions on how to grab their link
Pre-launch updates about what's coming, so they can talk about it naturally with their audience (typically 3-5 emails)
During-launch emails with commission info, links to swipe files, and key dates
Swipe files (emails your affiliates send to their list):
One email sharing your free launch event
One email sharing your paid offer (with clear dates so they don't accidentally send it before or after cart open)
Make it as easy as possible for your affiliates to sing your praises. In every email, include key launch dates, links, and when possible, swipe copy. The less they have to create or dig for on their end, the more likely they are to send an email that converts on your behalf!
PRO TIP: Grab these swipe files to write all of your affiliate emails in less than an hour!
Category 4: Waitlist Emails
If someone opted into your wait list, they were excited enough about your offer to raise their hand. Keep them warm.
During the wait period, send nurture emails every week or two. These can be behind-the-scenes updates, sneak peeks at what you're building, invites to wait list-only events, or even early access to your other offers.
In the week before cart open, send two to three emails specifically to your wait list. Tell them what their wait list opportunity actually is: early access, a discount, a secret bonus. Make it worth having waited.
When you open the cart, consider opening it earlier for your wait list than for your general list. Make sure you edit your open cart email to reflect that this is a special moment for them – that air of exclusivity is a huge sales opportunity!
Depending on how long the wait list has been open, you're looking at anywhere from five to twenty emails (on the very long, high end!) here. The nurture emails are something you can weave into your regular content schedule and don't have to be a separate project.
Remember: If you want this checklist all in one easy-to-edit document
Use code ‘PODCAST’ to get it for $1
Category 5: Abandoned Cart Emails
There are only one or two of these, but they're worth setting up. In fact, Abandoned Cart emails are some of the highest-opened emails (averaging over 65%!).
These go to people who visited your checkout page multiple times, clicked through your emails repeatedly, or started the checkout process and didn't finish.
Sometimes people get distracted. A simple "hey, you left something behind" email reminding them what the offer is, why it's worth buying, and what happens next is enough to bring them back. You can also include a bonus or discount here, but it's not required.
Hire me for a VIP Day to get your abandoned cart email mapped out and drafted alongside the rest of your launch copy. See options atnomadcopyagency.com/contact →
Category 6: Post-Sale Emails (Onboarding Sequence)
People remember how they felt right after they bought… and if they’re still seeing you email potential clients but not sending really great onboarding emails, it can be offputting!
At minimum, send a welcome email with everything they need to get started. But I'd push you to build a full two-week onboarding sequence that:
Welcomes them and gives them a clear list of first steps
Includes a "how to use this" email (a Loom video works great here)
Sends a "remember to use this" reminder a few days later
Walks them through any bonuses, scheduling, or access they have
PRO TIP: Make sure that once someone buys, they're removed from your launch sequence and moved into the onboarding sequence. Getting sold to while being ignored as a new client is annoying at best.
Category 7: Post-Launch Emails
The launch is over. The cart is closed. You just blasted your list with sales emails for a week straight. Now what?
Don't go silent. The people who didn't buy are still on your list. They still have problems you solve. They just need a different entry point, a different timing, or a different offer.
Some ideas for your post-launch emails:
Upsell sequence — for new buyers, invite them to upgrade or add on
Downsell sequence — for non-buyers, offer something lower commitment
Self-segmentation email — ask where they're at in the process so you can send them more relevant content (this also just makes people feel seen)
Reintroduction email — you probably added a bunch of new people to your list during the launch; they don't know everything you do. Tell them.
Flash sale — offer a discount on a different product as a thank-you for sticking around during the launch
I made this mistake after my last Copy On Demand launch. I grew my list by about a thousand new people and basically went straight back into nurture content about copy coaching.
A few months later, people were reaching out asking me for a copywriter recommendation. I am a copywriter. They just didn't know it, because I never told them.
Don't leave your new audience guessing what else you do.
The Full Count
So yes. A launch is forty-plus emails across seven categories:
Core launch emails (open cart sequence)
Pre-launch emails
Affiliate emails
Wait list emails
Abandoned cart emails
Post-sale onboarding emails
Post-launch emails
You don't have to write all of them from scratch in one sitting. Some (like nurture and post-launch) fold into your regular content calendar. But knowing they exist & having a plan for them is the difference between a launch that feels chaotic and one that feels like a system.
If you want the full checklist organized exactly the way I use it for my own launches
And if you'd rather hand this whole thing off: a VIP Day is $2,500, projects for your core launch emails run $3K–$4K (I also write sales pages!), and the full suite is typically $8K–$12K depending on scope. You can get on my calendar at nomadcopyagency.com/contact.
Helpful Resources:
Connect with me here:
Watch episodes with subtitles on my YouTube
See my services → sales pages, emails, websites, and more.
Get on my calendar → if you’d like me to write your sales copy for you!
Opt-In Copy Bot → Write high-converting opt-in pages in minutes
Watch episodes with subtitles on my YouTube
Nomad Copy Agency writes copy that CONVERTS for service-based businesses.
