This quick guide will walk you through on setting up a pre-launch campaign on your Cratejoy website.

The goal of your pre-launch campaign is to gather as many email addresses as possible. Email lists have the best conversion rates and will always be your most valuable asset.

To collect email addresses that you'll use later you'll need to use the MailChimp app in the cratejoy App Store. The article here will walk you through on how to set up MailChimp in your merchant portal.

1. Install the Pre-Launch Basic Theme

After you've set up your MailChimp app and created your pre-launch email list, you will want to go to the Design Store here from within your merchant portal.

Once there, locate the Pre-Launch Basic theme and click "Install this design".

Once you've installed it, it should be the published theme on your Cratejoy storefront. However, if you already have another theme published, then you will have to publish the pre-launch basic theme.


2. Customize the Pre-Launch Basic Theme

Using the designer, customize the pre-launch basic theme to match your store's branding. You can add a background image, change the font style, and add social media icons.

Click save and your changes are set.

3. Upgrade/Launch Your Store

Once you've made your changes and edited your pre-launch page you will need to launch your store in order to start collecting emails.

Not sure how to upgrade/launch your store? Follow the instructions here.

4. Build Customer Experience

After someone signs up to your pre-launch list, the most important thing for you to do is to create a post-sign-up customer experience. This includes the email a customer gets after they sign up as well as messages from you over the course of your pre-launch period in order to keep the lead hot.

Here's an example:

1. A potential customer signs up.
2. The customer receives an automated sign-up email that includes the incentive offered on the pre-launch page.
3. You send a customer an email letting them know about progress.
4. Sending an email out to encourage the potential customer to engage with you on your social media channels or other communities.
5. Reminder email about the upcoming launch.
6. Launch email goes live.

This is a powerful way to encourage your sign-ups to eventually convert, and much of this can be automated to an extent in Mailchimp (see the Bonus Item regarding setting up your MailChimp account).

Helpful Resources:

If you'd like to run a pre-sales/pre-order campaign instead of a pre-launch campaign, read the help document called Running a pre-sales/pre-order campaign.