Product Launch Email Sequence: What Actually Works

Your product launches next week. You've spent months building it. You write one email, hit send to your whole list, and wait.

Twenty-two percent of them open it. Half of those read it. A handful buy.

Then you're on Reddit asking why your product launch flopped when you "have an email list."

A product launch email sequence isn't just "send an email when the thing goes live." It's a coordinated build across 10-14 days that turns passive subscribers into buyers before they've even seen a price tag. Here's how to actually run one.

Why One Launch Email Never Works

Most people send a single email on launch day. They call it a launch campaign. It's not.

Here's what actually happens: your list has 5,000 subscribers. On any given day, maybe 20-25% open your emails. That's 1,000 to 1,250 people who saw it. The other 3,500+ completely missed the biggest email you sent all quarter.

And of those 1,000 who opened it? They got hit cold. No context. No anticipation. No reason to care right now.

A sequence solves this. Not by spamming people, but by doing three things a single email can't:

1. Building context before launch day so your offer lands with meaning
2. Segmenting interest so you know who to target harder
3. Recovering non-openers without resending the exact same email

The brands that consistently win product launches don't have bigger lists. They work the same list better. Email list segmentation is how they do it.

Hot take: if you launch with one email, you're not doing email marketing. You're just hoping.

The 5-Part Product Launch Email Sequence

Here's the structure that works. Not a template you copy-paste, but a framework you adapt.

Each email has one job. Don't try to do two jobs in the same email.

Email 1: The Teaser (7-10 Days Before)

Your first email doesn't announce the product. It announces that something is coming.

The goal isn't to sell. The goal is to find out who cares.

You're looking for clicks. Subscribers who click your "stay tuned" button or reply to your "what's your biggest problem with X" question are self-selecting as interested. Tag them. They get different treatment for the rest of the sequence.

A good teaser email does three things:

• Hints at the problem it solves (not what it is)
• Creates a reason to click (survey, early access waitlist, exclusive sneak peek)
• Stays short. Under 150 words is fine. Mystery requires white space.

What kills teaser emails: over-explaining. If you tell them everything in email 1, there's nothing to look forward to.

Subject line angles that work here: "Something we've been working on," "A question for my best subscribers," or the vague-but-specific "This ships [date]." Curiosity beats clarity at this stage.

Email 2: The Story (4-6 Days Before)

This is where you earn the right to sell.

Nobody buys from people they don't understand. Email 2 is the "why we built this" email. Not a features list. The actual story.

Talk about the problem you kept running into. The client situation that made you think "there has to be a better way." The embarrassing failure that led to the solution.

If your email marketing automation strategy is solid, send this only to subscribers who engaged with email 1, plus your most active segment. Your less-engaged subscribers can still get it, but your warmest people should get a slightly more personalized version.

Keep it personal. First-person. One clear point.

This email plants the seed. People will make their decision to buy before they see the sales page. You're shaping that decision here.

Email 3: Early Access (1-2 Days Before)

This one only goes to your engaged segment: anyone who clicked in emails 1 or 2, plus your VIP customers.

They get access before anyone else. Even if "early access" just means they hear about it 24 hours ahead, that distinction matters. It makes them feel like insiders. It is not fake scarcity, it is real segmentation.

Early access emails work because they remove the "I'll check it out later" problem. There's no later when it opens tonight at midnight.

Three things this email needs:

• Specific time and date (not "soon," give them the exact launch window)
• Something exclusive, even if it's just first-to-know status
• Low friction: one button, one CTA, no wall of text

Open rates on early access emails across client accounts run 35-55% consistently. They outperform launch day emails every single time. Because the people reading them already decided they're interested.

Email 4: Launch Day

The money email.

Send it in the morning. Tuesday through Thursday. Between 9am and 11am in your subscribers' local timezone if your ESP supports send-time optimization. If not, 10am Eastern is a safe default for US audiences.

This email is not long. The sales page does the selling. The email's only job is to get the click.

What it needs:

• Subject line that communicates what's new and why now (not "It's finally here!" which tells them nothing)
• Three sentences of context max before the CTA
• One CTA. Not three. One.
• A reply option. "Hit reply if you have questions" reduces purchase friction more than most people realize.

Six hours after the initial send, pull your open data. Everyone who didn't open gets a resend with a different subject line. Don't change the body. Just the subject. You'll typically recover 20-30% of your original open count from that second send.

Internal link: email subject lines best practices covers this in depth if you want the breakdown on what subject line formats actually move the needle.

Email 5: Last Call (24-48 Hours After Close)

Most people skip this email. Most people also leave 15-20% of their launch revenue on the table.

The last call email is not "just following up." That phrasing is your first sign you've given up on the copy. Instead, think about why someone read emails 1 through 4 and still didn't buy.

They probably have one of three objections:

1. Timing ("I want it but not right now")
2. Uncertainty ("I'm not sure if it's right for me")
3. Price friction ("I can't justify it without more justification")

Address all three in your last call email. Not with discounts. With clarity.

Answer the question: "What does this change for someone who actually buys it?"

And put a real deadline on it. "This closes tonight at midnight" beats "offer ends soon" every time. Specificity is urgency. Vagueness is excuses.

Product Launch Subject Lines That Don't Suck

Most launch subject lines are terrible because they're generic. "Introducing [Product Name]" tells nobody anything. "You're going to love this" sounds like a 2014 Groupon email.

Here's what actually gets opened at each stage:

Teaser email:

• "A question about your [problem area]"
• "Something drops [date], wanted you to know first"
• "We've been heads-down on something"

Story email:

• "The problem that made us build this"
• "Why we kept running into this (and what we did about it)"
• "Honest story about why this exists"

Early access:

• "Early access: opens for you tonight"
• "Before we announce this publicly: [benefit]"
• "You're in. Here's what to expect."

Launch day:

• "[Product] is live. Here's why it's different."
• "It's open. [One specific thing that makes it worth clicking]"
• "[Number] people already in. Your turn."

Last call:

• "Closes tonight at midnight"
• "Last day, still a fit for you?"
• "One thing before this closes"

Notice the pattern: specificity over excitement. Your subscribers don't need you to be excited. They need reasons.

How to Segment Your List for a Launch

Blasting all 10,000 subscribers with all 5 emails is how you train your list to tune you out.

Segment into three buckets before you start:

Warm (highly engaged): Opened 3+ of your last 10 emails, or purchased before. These get all 5 emails, plus any bonus communication you want to add. They're your likely buyers.

Lukewarm (semi-engaged): Opened some recent emails. They get emails 1, 2, 4, and 5. Skip email 3 (early access) unless they engage with emails 1 or 2.

Cold (disengaged): Haven't opened in 90+ days. Send only email 4. One touch. If they ignore it, they're not your buyers for this launch. Protect your deliverability.

This approach keeps email sender reputation intact. When your list is healthy and segmented, launch emails go to inbox instead of promotions. That single factor can double your revenue from the same list size.

FAQ

How many emails should a product launch email sequence have?

Five is the standard framework, but the number that works is the number that maps to your launch window. A 3-day launch can run a tight 3-email sequence. A two-week launch has room for 6-7. Don't pad for padding's sake.

When should you start the product launch email sequence?

Start the teaser 7-10 days before launch for most products. SaaS products with longer consideration cycles can start 14 days out. Physical products or time-sensitive launches work well at 7 days. More than two weeks and you lose momentum.

What's a good open rate for a product launch email?

Your teaser and early access emails should hit 30-50% if your list is warm and properly segmented. Launch day emails land around 25-35%. If you're seeing lower numbers, the issue is usually list health, not copy. Start with email list hygiene before diagnosing the sequence.

Should you offer a discount on launch day?

Only if discounting fits your brand positioning. A launch discount works if you frame it as a genuine thank-you for early adopters. It backfires if subscribers start waiting for launch discounts before buying your other products. Once you train a list to wait for deals, you've made a list that waits for deals.

What if my email list is small? Does the sequence still work?

Yes, and often better. Smaller lists tend to be warmer. A 500-person list that genuinely cares about what you do will out-convert a 50,000-person list full of freebie-seekers. The sequence is the same. The only difference is you can afford to be more personal.