What it is for

A product launch sequence is the set of emails you send to your existing audience when a new product, feature, or plan goes live. One announcement is rarely enough. People miss it, or see it and do not yet understand why it matters to them. This template spreads the story across six emails over about two weeks, so each email has one job.

The order matters. Announce first. Then explain the problem, show the product, give proof, make a last call, and follow up with the people who did not act. Each email should make sense on its own, because many readers will only open one of them.

When to use it

You are releasing a new product, a major feature, or a new plan to your existing email audience.
You are opening early access, a beta, or a waitlist to customers and subscribers.
You are changing pricing or packaging and want people to understand why before they see the new page.
You have a time-limited launch offer, such as early pricing or a founding-customer tier.

The template

Square brackets mark what you fill in. Timings are starting points.

Email 1

Subject: [Product name] is live

Send: Launch day

Hi [first name], today we are releasing [product name]. In one sentence: it helps [type of team] [the one outcome they care about] without [the thing that used to make it painful].

Here is what it does: [three short bullets or sentences, each one a plain capability, no adjectives].

It is available now at [link]. [If there is a launch offer: Until [date], [the offer, in plain terms].]

Over the next two weeks I will send a few more emails about why we built it and how teams use it. If you already know you want it, skip ahead: [link].

[Your name], [role] at [company]

Short and direct. The announcement answers what, who, and where. Save the story for later emails.

Email 2

Subject: The problem we kept hearing about

Send: Day 2

Hi [first name], before [product name] existed, here is what we kept hearing from [type of team]: [the problem, in the customer's own words, e.g. "We spend every Monday rebuilding the same report by hand."].

The usual workarounds are [workaround 1] and [workaround 2]. Both work for a while, then [what breaks, specifically].

That is the problem [product name] is built for. Tomorrow I will show you exactly how it works, step by step.

[Your name]

Make the reader recognise their own situation. Do not describe features here.

Email 3

Subject: How [product name] works, in [number] steps

Send: Day 4

Hi [first name], here is [product name] in practice. [Step 1: what the user does and what happens]. [Step 2]. [Step 3].

The part people notice first is [one specific detail that sets it apart, described plainly]. [A short screenshot, GIF, or 90-second video link helps here.]

It works with [the tools or systems they already use], so there is no migration or rebuild.

Try it here: [link]. [If relevant: the setup takes about [time].]

[Your name]

Show, do not list. One walkthrough beats ten feature bullets.

Email 4

Subject: What [customer name or type of team] did with it

Send: Day 7

Hi [first name], [customer name or "one of our early users, a [type of team]"] has been using [product name] for [period]. Here is what changed for them, in their words: [a quote or a specific, permissioned detail about what they did and what it replaced].

What they did first: [the first thing they set up]. What they stopped doing: [the manual task or workaround it removed].

If you would rather see it than read about it, join the live demo on [date and time]: [link]. Or watch the recorded walkthrough: [link].

[Your name]

Proof must be real and permissioned. If you have none yet, run a live demo instead and say the product is new.

Email 5

Subject: [Launch offer] ends [day]

Send: Day 12, two days before the offer ends

Hi [first name], a quick reminder: [the launch offer, e.g. founding pricing or early access] ends on [date]. After that, [what changes, in plain terms].

The short version: [product name] helps [type of team] [outcome]. It works with [their tools]. Setup takes about [time].

Get started here: [link]. If you have a question that is stopping you, reply to this email and I will answer it today.

[Your name]

Only send this if the deadline is real. A fake deadline costs you trust with everyone who notices.

Email 6

Subject: Did [product name] miss the mark?

Send: Day 16, to people who did not click or sign up

Hi [first name], you have seen a few emails about [product name] and have not had a look yet. That is fine, and this is the last one.

I would like to know why, if you are willing to say. Was it [reason 1, e.g. not the right time], [reason 2, e.g. not your problem], or [reason 3, e.g. the price]? Reply with a number or a sentence. It shapes what we build next.

If it was timing, the product is not going anywhere: [link]. Regular emails about [newsletter topic] continue as usual.

[Your name]

Send this only to the people who did not act. Replies here are as valuable as signups.

How to adapt it

For a small feature rather than a full product, cut to three emails: announce, show, follow up.
If there is no launch offer, drop Email 5 or turn it into a second proof email with a different customer example.
If you have no customer proof yet, replace Email 4 with a live demo invitation and say openly that the product is new.
For long buying cycles, add a week between each email and give Email 6 a "forward this to the person who owns [area]" line.
Send Emails 5 and 6 only to people who have not signed up. Nobody wants a last-call email for something they bought.

The thinking behind this template: How many emails should a product launch sequence have?.

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This is one of Sawa's illustrative frameworks, not a copy of client work. It claims no result. Last updated 2026-10-08.