You have a brilliant new website idea that’s not quite ready to launch. But you still want to build hype and let people know the awesomeness that’s coming. The solution: a coming soon page.
A coming soon page, also called a pre-launch page, is a type of landing page that explains the concept, offers a way to get in touch, and encourages people to spread the word. It can be a catalyst for a successful launch of a new brand, product, or product line.
In this article, we’ll dissect the anatomy of an effective coming soon page and how you can use it to build buzz for your upcoming site. We’ll also share a few examples that you can use as landing page templates for your own pre-launch page.
What is a coming soon page?
A coming soon page gives people an overview of your upcoming product or service. It’s meant to pique interest and help you build a customer base before launching. A well-designed coming soon page incites excitement, attracts visitors to your email list, and amplifies your reach via word of mouth.
A coming soon page isn’t a permanent page like your About Us, Contact, and FAQ landing pages. Instead, it’s a temporary placeholder that gives you the ability to:
- Get early feedback. Convey your idea to potential customers, gauge their interest, and use their feedback to refine your product strategy.
- Build an email list to launch to. With a coming soon page, you can build a social media following and email list you can promote to before, during, and after your launch.
- Jumpstart your marketing. Because it’s a single page and not an entire website, you can go to market with your coming soon page fairly quickly. It also gives you a head-start on SEO if you use the right keywords.
How to use a coming soon page for marketing
Your coming soon page can be a quick “By the way!” or it can be more detailed, acting as a sales page to help you start achieving your business goals ASAP.
The good news is that there’s no single right way to make an effective coming soon page. But you’ll want to follow a few general guidelines to make sure you’re getting the job done. Let’s take a look.
1. Explain what is coming soon
The coming soon landing page is one of your first tools for gauging an audience’s reaction to your offering. So you’ll want to make it very clear what your brand and products are and when they’ll be available to the public.
If you take the time to listen in on how people respond to your coming soon page, you might find some valuable information that can help you tweak your concept or marketing ideas to get ahead of the game.
You might even want to generate an extra sense of urgency by using tools like a countdown timer to let customers know exactly when you’ll make your debut.
2. Allow prospective customers to get in touch
So how exactly do you get feedback from potential customers and early followers? Put a call to action (CTA) on your coming soon page. A CTA gives customers a direct lifeline for connecting with you.
You can do this in a few ways:
- Encourage visitors to follow you online, with a link to all of your available platforms and social media accounts.
- Offer a place for them to sign up for your newsletter to receive updates on the company’s development and launch.
- Offer special pre-orders or a way to be added to a promotions list (email will do).
- Use a live chat functionality to speak with them directly.
3. Build your pre-launch email list
If you want the most effective coming soon page, it will be an email generating machine (and maybe also a pre-sale generating machine!).
You’ll likely generate leads just by asking people to sign up. But if you really want to gain traction and grow your list, try offering an incentive to future buyers. Incentives can include things like:
- A contest raffle where every email is an entry
- Free items
- Early-bird discounts
- Exclusive member-only content, like behind-the-scenes peeks
- Early access after launch
4. Encourage people to spread the word
You can also try to create a coveted “viral loop”—a cycle where everyone is offered an incentive to not only sign up, but also to tell all their friends. To get people to spread the word, you can offer additional incentives like extra entries into your raffle.
Here’s an example viral loop plan:
- Signing up for your email list is 10 entries.
- Re-sharing a promotional tweet with your branded hashtag and landing page URL is 10 additional entries.
- Creating a unique Instagram post is 20 additional entries.
- Referring another signup is 25 additional entries.
Consider using an app like Viral Loops to create your own campaign.
Coming soon page examples
Want some inspiration to get your juices flowing? Here are a few page examples from brands that took their coming soon page to the next level.
Crowdfunding for pre-orders: Popov Leather
It’s one thing to offer pre-orders, but it’s a bonus to use this as a way to see if people are truly interested in buying your product. Popov Leather had the brilliant idea of crowdfunding for pre-orders.
Here’s how it worked: if the campaign generated at least $3,000 in pre-sales, it would manufacture the wallet. If not, it would nix the idea. It used a coming soon page to create buzz and accept orders.
The result? There was a huge demand for Popov’s product, which guaranteed that it would do well in the market.
Building a viral loop: Harry’s
Perhaps you’ve heard about the men’s personal care brand Harry’s. It’s made quite a splash in the ecommerce world with its ingenious marketing strategies and viral impacts.
Its pre-launch page was no exception. Harry’s encouraged visitors to refer as many signups as possible, promising more rewards for more referrals. For example, five referrals earned free shave cream, 25 earned a Winston shave set, and 50 earned a year’s supply of free blades.
This campaign earned more than 100,000 emails before the company even launched!
Showcasing your products: Fashion Nova
The brand Fashion Nova took its coming soon landing page up a notch by not only explaining what was coming, but showcasing its collections for visitors to start shopping early.
The site was essentially the full ecommerce experience, but without the ability to build a shopping cart or checkout. Instead, the visitor could enter their email to be notified when the product was ready to purchase.
As you can see in the example below, the product pages were exactly the same as a normal store, but with a Notify Me button instead of a checkout button.
How to create coming soon page on Shopify
There are two ways you can go about building your own coming soon page on Shopify:
- Use the password page as your coming soon page.
- Publish a coming soon version of your Shopify theme.
Both approaches allow you to build your store in the background at your preferred pace and go live in just a few clicks when you’re ready. Below is a detailed breakdown of what’s required to create a pre-launch page with each method.
1. Turn your Shopify password page into a coming soon page
Shopify’s password page has all the basic functions of a coming soon page (social sharing buttons, email signup form, etc.). You can use it as a placeholder page to explain your store and invite people to your email list.
To activate your Shopify store’s password page, open your Preferences and select Enable password. While you’re there, you can customize your main message for visitors and explain what you plan to launch. Once done, open the theme editor and use the drag-and-drop website builder to customize the password page to your liking. You’ll be able to include a newsletter signup field and add more copy to frame your signup form.
In just a few minutes, you’ll have a coming soon page ready to collect emails while you build in the background. It’s a great option for new store owners without a concrete pre-launch plan to gain a lot of traffic.
2. Create a coming soon version of your theme
You can also create a coming soon version of your theme that serves as the center of your pre-launch marketing activities.
This can be a single page where you add product images, CTA buttons, background image, social proof, and more. Use the different features and added length of your theme to fulfill other pre-launch objectives you might have, such as directing visitors specifically to follow your TikTok business profile.
Note: Shopify also has a variety of apps that you can use to add more pre-launch elements to your coming soon page.
How to delete a coming soon page
Once you’ve launched your product, you can delete your coming soon page by taking the following steps:
- In your Shopify admin, open Online Store > Pages.
- Check the box of the coming soon page you want to delete.
- Click the “More actions” tab and then click “Delete pages.”
Generate buzz with a coming soon landing page
When you approach it with a creative, strategic eye, your coming soon page can be much more than a poster for your brand.
It can be a way to generate emails for your future marketing campaigns, start building a group of engaged and loyal followers, and cut out your slice of market share—all before you open your e-doors.
There are tons of great apps that can help you achieve whatever goals you’re looking to accomplish. All that’s left is to start dreaming and start building.
Coming soon page FAQ
Do I really need a coming soon page?
Not every business requires a coming soon page. For example, those with a t-shirt store or dropshipping business can “soft launch” their venture and make improvements as they go.
For others, however, a coming soon page can be a crucial tool for building and promoting in parallel. When things like building your brand and raising money cause you to push your launch date ahead by several weeks, you can use a coming soon landing page to garner an audience and ensure there’ll be demand when you launch.
What do you write on a coming soon page?
You write a brand synopsis by following the steps in this blog post:
- Explain what’s coming soon.
- Give people a way to get in touch with your brand.
- Include a call to action for your email marketing list.
- Encourage people to share on social networks.
How do I make a free coming soon page?
You can make a free coming soon page when you register for Shopify’s trial. The trial offers full access to Shopify’s marketing tools, drag-and-drop page builder, and tutorials to help you create your page.
How long should a coming soon page be?
A coming soon page should be no longer than one page. It’s only a preview of your upcoming items and promotions.