Everyone waits. Product isn’t ready, so why would you spend money on ads? The logic seems bulletproof.
It’s also completely wrong.
The most valuable window for paid acquisition isn’t after launch, it’s before. When there’s nothing to buy. When there’s nothing to click through. When people encounter your message without the distraction of an imperfect UI or a checkout flow that isn’t quite right yet.
Pre-launch ads aren’t about selling. They’re about listening.
You’re not looking for conversions. You’re looking for tells.
Without a product to purchase, every behaviour becomes a signal. Who reads past the first scroll? Who watches your video to the end? Who comes back to your teaser page three days later without being retargeted?
These people are telling you something. They’re raising their hand before you’ve even asked the question.
And here’s what most teams miss: these early engagers almost always convert faster post-launch. Not because you nurtured them into submission, but because they already did the mental work. They’ve been thinking about your problem. They’re waiting.
Demographics are a crutch
“Tech-savvy millennials interested in productivity tools.”
This tells you nothing about motivation. Nothing about pain. Nothing about why someone would actually stop scrolling.
People act when a message connects to something they’re already trying to solve. They’re frustrated. They’re wasting time. They’re stuck using something clunky because nothing better exists.
You don’t attract your audience by describing features. You attract them by naming the tension they already feel.
Early campaigns should be messy on purpose
Pre-launch isn’t about finding the perfect CPA. It’s about mapping territory.
You run five different angles. One frames the problem as a time issue. Another frames it as a money issue. Another goes emotional. Another goes practical.
Then you watch.
Which one makes people slow down? Which one gets rewatched? Which one brings them back to your site unprompted?
The data doesn’t lie. And once you find the angle that resonates, everything downstream gets easier—the landing page, the launch narrative, even the product decisions.
The waitlist is the whole game
A signup form looks like nothing. It’s everything.
When someone gives you their email before your product exists, they’re not “interested.” They’ve made a decision. They’ve committed to staying close.
That tiny action gives you three things:
- A warm audience you can retarget for almost nothing.
- A direct line of communication.
- And the single strongest behavioural signal you can feed back to the algorithm.
Waitlist-based audiences become your cheapest, highest-intent segment the moment you flip the switch to live.
Don’t announce. Sequence.
One big launch post is forgettable. A slow build is magnetic.
First: name the problem. Then: make people feel it. Then: explain why current solutions fail. Then: hint that something better is coming. Then you ask for the signup.
By the time you open the doors, you’re not convincing anyone. You’re letting them in.
The real difference
Teams that skip pre-launch discover the same thing every time: high CAC, confused messaging, slow traction, scrambling to figure out who they’re even talking to.
Teams that invest early launch into momentum. Their audience already understands the problem. They’ve already accepted the idea of trying something new. They convert faster, cost less, and start telling other people before the product is even public.
This isn’t about promoting something unfinished
It’s about reducing uncertainty.
You learn who cares. You learn why they care. You learn the exact words that make them pay attention.
By launch day, your audience isn’t discovering you.
They’re joining you.