Product launch email sequence: the 8-email plan for a course or digital product
A copy-ready product launch email sequence: 8 emails over about 10 days, the subject lines, who to leave out, and a launch price that really ends.
A good launch email sequence for a course or digital product is 6 to 8 emails over about 10 days. Send 2 warm-up emails in the days before the cart opens, 1 email the day it opens, 2 or 3 in the middle that answer doubts and show proof, and 2 on the last day. Give a launch price that ends at a set time, and take people out of the sales emails the moment they buy.
Full disclosure: we make Eden, a creator store with email marketing built in. We show how to run this on Eden at the end, and the plan works with any email tool. Plan facts were checked in October 2026.
This post is about the emails. For the full launch (waitlist, pricing, posting plan), read how to launch a digital product.
The launch sequence at a glance
| # | Day | Phase | Job | Example subject line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 days before | Warm up | Name the problem the product solves | The mistake that cost me a year |
| 2 | 1 day before | Warm up | Say what's coming and when | Tomorrow at 9am |
| 3 | Day 1 | Open cart | It's live, here's the launch price | It's open: [product] |
| 4 | Day 2 | Middle | What's inside, who it's for | What's inside [product] (and who it's not for) |
| 5 | Day 4 | Middle | Proof: a result from a buyer or beta user | How Sam went from 0 to 40 sales |
| 6 | Day 6 | Middle | Answer the top questions | Your questions, answered |
| 7 | Day 7, morning | Last day | The launch price ends tonight | Launch price ends tonight |
| 8 | Day 7, evening | Last day | Final reminder, a few hours left | 3 hours left |
That's 8 emails over about 10 days. If your list is small or you're nervous about emailing a lot, cut email 1 and email 6. That gives you a 6-email launch that still covers the parts that matter.
Why so many? Most people on your list won't open most emails. Each email is another chance for the right person to see the offer on the right day. And in many launches, the last day brings in the most sales, because a real deadline makes people decide.
The warm-up emails
The warm-up gets people ready to buy before you ask. Send these to your whole list, or only to your waitlist if you built one.
Email 1: the problem. Tell a short story about the problem your product solves. Your own mistake works best. Don't pitch. End with one line: "I've been working on something to fix this. More soon."
Email 2: the heads up. Say what's coming, what it is, and the exact time the cart opens. Mention that the launch price only lasts until a set day. People who know a deadline is coming open the next email.
Tip: if you have a waitlist, give them first access. Open the cart for them a few hours early, or give them a slightly better price. It rewards the people who raised their hand.
The open cart emails
Email 3: it's live. Keep this one short and clear:
- What it is, in one sentence.
- Who it's for.
- The launch price and the exact end time ("until Sunday at 11:59pm Eastern").
- One button to the product page.
Email 4: what's inside. Walk through what they get, lesson by lesson or part by part. Then say who it's not for. Saying "this isn't for you if..." builds trust and cuts refunds.
Email 5: proof. Share one real result from a beta user or an early buyer. Short, specific, with their permission. "Sam sold 40 copies of her first template in a week" beats "people love it." If you don't have results yet, share your own and be honest that the product is new. See how to collect testimonials.
Email 6: questions. Answer the 3 to 5 questions you've been getting in DMs and replies. Access length, refunds, time needed, skill level. Each answer is two sentences.
The last day
The last day often brings the most sales, so send two emails.
Email 7, morning. "The launch price ends tonight at 11:59pm." Restate what it is, the price now, and the price after. One button.
Email 8, a few hours before the end. Three or four sentences. "This is the last reminder. The price goes up in 3 hours." That's it.
Then close it for real. Let the price go back up at the time you said. If you extend a deadline, people learn your deadlines don't mean anything, and your next launch is weaker. The same rule applies to holiday sales, covered in our Black Friday plan for creators.
Who to leave out
This is where most launches annoy people.
- Leave out people who already bought. From email 4 on, every sales email should skip anyone who bought the product. Getting "last chance!" the day after you paid feels careless.
- Leave out people who bought the bigger thing. If someone already owns your full course, they don't need the mini version.
- Think about quiet subscribers. People who haven't opened an email in six months are more likely to mark you as spam. Leaving them out protects your inbox placement.
- Never email people who didn't sign up. No bought lists, no scraped emails, no "they followed me so it's fine."
Buyers should go straight into a welcome sequence that helps them start. See how to write a welcome email sequence.
The launch discount
A launch price gives people a reason to buy now instead of "someday."
- Keep it simple. 20% to 30% off, or a bonus for launch buyers.
- Put the end time in every email. Day, time, and time zone.
- Make it end on its own. Use a tool that raises the price at the deadline so you don't forget.
- Don't run a fake countdown. A timer that resets for every visitor is dishonest, and buyers spot it.
How to do it with Eden
On Eden, the emails, the product, and the sale live in one place, so the filters know who bought. See the email marketing feature page.
- 01
Set up the launch price
Open Products → Promotions and click New sale, or click Put on sale on the product. Pick the amount off and when it starts and ends (the Launch week button fills in the dates). Buyers see a countdown, and the price goes back up at the end on its own. See run a sale.
- 02
Write each launch email as a broadcast
Go to Your store → Email marketing → Broadcasts → New broadcast. Write the subject and email.
- 03
Filter who gets it
Under Who gets it, add filters like Signed up on my page (your waitlist), Has a tag, or Bought (to email past buyers of a smaller product). Add Didn't buy with your launch product so buyers are left out.
- 04
Schedule it
Click Send me a test, then under When it goes out, choose Pick a time. Schedule all 8 the day before, and the launch runs on its own.
- 05
Optional: a sequence that sells
On Pro, create a sequence that starts when someone signs up on your page, and set What it sells to the launch product. Anyone who buys it leaves the sequence. You can also add the Abandoned checkout sequence to catch people who start checking out and stop.
Plans: broadcasts are on Starter ($29 a month, 250 contacts and 5,000 sends a month included). Sequences and checkout recovery need Pro ($79 a month). A bigger list uses the list size add-on, from $15 a month for 1,000 contacts. Eden takes no extra fee on email. Selling on Eden costs 5% per sale on every selling plan, paid to your own Stripe.
Good to know for launch day:
- The first big send is staged. The first time you send to a big list, Eden sends to 500 people, then 5,000 about an hour later, then everyone else. Plan your first launch email early in the day.
- Quiet people are skipped unless you tick Include quiet people.
- You see what each email earned: sent, opened, clicked, and money earned.
Where Eden falls short
- Broadcasts open after your first paid month. You can write them before, but if you join Eden the week of your launch, you can't send yet. Use your current email tool for this launch.
- No A/B tests. You can't test two subject lines.
- No visual automation builder. Sequences are a list of timed emails with skip rules.
- Not a full newsletter platform. There's no public web archive of your emails. Eden can sell a paid newsletter, but if your free newsletter lives on Kit, beehiiv, or Substack, you can keep it there and use Eden for sales emails. Eden can still send your buyers and signups to those tools.
- It sends from Eden's address under your store handle, not your own domain.
Frequently asked questions
How many emails should a product launch sequence have?
Six to eight over about ten days: two warm-up emails, one on open day, two or three in the middle, and two on the last day.
How long should the cart be open?
About a week. Shorter feels rushed, and longer loses urgency. Most of the sales come on the first and last days.
Should I email people who already bought during the launch?
No. Take buyers out of every sales email after they buy, and send them a welcome sequence instead.
Is it too much to email every day during a launch?
Not for one week, if each email is useful and short. You'll get some unsubscribes. Those are mostly people who were never going to buy. Leaving out quiet subscribers helps.
What should a launch email subject line say?
Say what's happening in plain words: "It's open," "Launch price ends tonight," "3 hours left." Clear beats clever on launch day.
Ready to run your next launch from one place? Start Eden free, add your product, and schedule your launch emails.