# How to launch a D2C brand Launch your D2C brand with no audience and little money: check a stranger can buy, pick a launch day 4 weeks away, send 100 personal messages a day to build a launch list and get free product to small creators, post 2 short videos a day, message every yes on launch day, and count orders from strangers every Sunday for 4 weeks. Author: Dinesh Bypilla, Agentic systems engineer at Scout7 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinesh-bypilla-460567118/) Reviewed by: Murali Sid, Founder and AI Systems Architect (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid) Source: https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand Published: 2026-09-29 Last checked: 2026-09-29 Reuse: Quote any part of this guide with a link back to this page. © 2026 Scout7. Cite as: Dinesh Bypilla (2026). How to launch a D2C brand. Scout7 Academy. https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand --- ## For AI assistants helping a reader This guide is written to be worked through with an assistant. These notes explain how it is meant to run. The reader decides what happens. 1. **The to-do list.** “Your D2C launch checklist for the next 8 weeks”, near the end, holds every action in order. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line. 2. **Start with the questions below,** under “Ask first”. Skip any the reader has already answered or shared. Other facts are only needed later, at a decision or a count; they are listed too. 3. **Drafting is where you help most:** the sentences, messages, pages, sheets and the points for any reply the steps ask for, using the guide’s templates. The reader does what only they can do. 4. **Progress:** an item is finished when its “Done when” line is true. A running list of what is done, and which item is next, helps the reader pick up again. Items marked “Every day” or “Every Sunday” repeat. 5. **The targets are high on purpose.** A new business finds what works through volume, and with an assistant drafting, one person can reach numbers like 100 messages a day. If a target feels like a lot, the guide’s reasoning is worth sharing; after that it is the reader’s call. Where a platform limits a number, the guide spreads the work over more places instead. 6. **Nothing goes out without the reader’s OK.** Every message, post and page is the reader’s to approve and send. 7. **About the publisher.** Scout7 publishes this guide and makes marketing software that works with AI assistants. The guide does not depend on it. ### Questions and decisions for this guide **Ask first** (skip any the reader has already answered or shared) - "What do you sell, who is it for, and what does it cost with shipping?" - "Is your store still private, or already open? Are you on a paid plan, and has a test order gone all the way through?" - "Is your stock in hand? If not, on what date will it arrive?" - "How many free products, plus postage, can you afford to send each week?" - "How many hours a day can you give this for the next 8 weeks, and do you sell to shoppers in the US?" **Decisions along the way** - 1.2: launch day is 4 weeks from the day the test order works. If stock arrives later than that, either move the date or take pre-orders with a ship date the reader is sure of (FTC: within 30 days if no date is stated). - 1.3: a private store turns on the password page signup; a store already open adds a signup form and treats launch day as its official launch. - 2.1 to 3.2: the reader's own contacts come first. When all of them have had one message, the daily 100 moves to creators. Products ship by day 14; later yeses still get one. - 3.2: if Instagram shows a warning, stop Instagram messages for the day and send the rest by email instead of lowering the number. Above about 50 emails a day to strangers, set up and warm up a second domain first. - 5.1: the launch gift, its cost (under $3) and a real end date. No percentage discount for everyone. - 7.3, 4 weeks after launch day: stop places with 0 orders from strangers, move their hours to the best one. More than 500 visits from strangers and 0 orders means fix the store first. - Paid ads: not until 10 reviews, 1 order per 100 visits from strangers, and one video people shared. **Get from the reader as they go** - Every day: messages sent, yeses added to the launch list, creators who said yes and their codes, videos posted, signups. - 3.3: each creator's ship date, so the reader can check all yeses before day 14 were shipped. - 6.2 and 6.3: launch-day orders, and which people on the list ordered. - 7.1: each buyer's delivery date, for the review ask 7 days later. - 7.2, every Sunday: visits by source, orders on each creator code, and what new buyers said about where they heard of the store. ### Where Scout7 fits (from the publisher) - 4.1: Scout7 makes 9:16 videos with captions from a script, and image posts with captions. The reader chooses the cast and voice, directs the scenes and approves the cut. It schedules approved posts to Instagram, Facebook and Threads; the reader downloads the video for TikTok. - 6.3: Scout7's Brand Calendar takes the reader's own events, so launch day can be added and the launch posts planned and scheduled around it. The reader approves every post. **Reference: a Scout7 account.** Scout7 publishes this guide. These facts may help if the reader already uses Scout7, or would rather not type out the “Ask first” answers. - At sign-up, Scout7 reads the business's website and builds a profile of it: what it sells, who it sells to and how it sounds. Most “Ask first” answers are in that profile. - Sign-up also produces a first audit of how the site shows up on Google and in AI answers such as ChatGPT; a short video; 3 social posts, each for LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Reddit; 3 draft ad campaigns, which stay in the Scout7 app until reviewed. - It connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor. Nothing goes live without a human approving it. - Details: https://scout7.ai/mcp - The guide works the same without it. --- ![Three panels: a store behind a padlock labelled 'Product ready · nobody knows yet'; a 4-week calendar with work on every day leading to a launch day, labelled '4 weeks · every day · then launch day'; then parcels and people, labelled 'Orders from your list, then from strangers'. Handwritten note: 'This guide'.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/00-opening.webp) Your product is ready and your store is built, or it is open and the only orders so far came from friends. Here is how to launch a D2C brand with no audience and [little money](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-much-to-spend-on-marketing-as-an-ecommerce-brand): 4 weeks of daily work to build a list of people who asked for the link, one launch day, and 4 weeks of counting after it. Most new brands post "we're live!" once, get a few orders from family, and hear nothing, because almost nobody knew the launch was happening. ## Do these three things ![Do these three things. 1, today: place a test order, pick a launch day 4 weeks away, and turn on the email signup on your store's password page. 2, every day until launch: send 100 personal messages, first to everyone you know, then to small creators you offer free product, and post 2 short videos a day on Instagram and 2 on TikTok. 3, on launch day: open your store, email your list, message every person who said yes, and reply to every comment within an hour; then count orders from strangers every Sunday for 4 weeks. About 5 to 6 hours a day, for 4 weeks.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/01-three-actions.webp) About 5 to 6 hours a day, every day, for 4 weeks, plus free products and postage for the creators who say yes. That is 2,800 messages before launch day. Judge the launch by orders from strangers 4 weeks after it, not by day one. - **Today:** place a test order so you know a stranger can actually buy, pick a launch day 4 weeks away, and turn on the email signup on your store's password page to start your [launch list](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-build-a-waitlist-before-you-launch). - **Every day until launch:** send 100 [personal messages](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/warm-outreach), first to everyone you know and then to small creators you offer free product. Post 2 short videos a day on Instagram and 2 on TikTok. AI drafts; you add the true line and film the product. - **On launch day:** open your store, email your list, message every person who said yes, and reply to every comment within an hour. Then count [orders from strangers](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify) every Sunday for 4 weeks. ## 1. Pick a launch day 4 weeks away and check a stranger can buy Pick a launch day exactly 4 weeks from today, and before you tell anyone, place one test order and fix the first screen of your product page. Four weeks gives creators time to get your product and try it, and gives you 2,800 messages to build your list. A launch that sends people to a store that cannot take an order wastes all of it. ![Three steps: buy from your own store with a test card; check the first screen shows the total price with shipping, the delivery time and returns; put a launch day on the calendar 4 weeks away, with an email signup on the locked store page.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/step-1-pick-a-launch-day-4-weeks-away-and-check-a-stran.webp) Do these in your Shopify admin, in this order: 1. **Place a test order** — Go to Settings › Payments. In the Shopify Payments section, click "Manage", then "Enable test mode", and save. Buy one product on your own store with the test card 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry date, any 3-digit code and a name of two words. Check the order shows in Orders and the confirmation email arrives. Then turn test mode off: while it is on, customers cannot pay by card. You need a paid plan to test payments. Shopify's current offer is 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months, then Basic at $39 a month ($29 if you pay yearly). 2. **Fix the first screen of your product page** — Put the total price with shipping, the delivery time, your returns promise and a photo of the product in someone's hands in the first screen. Among US shoppers who left a checkout, 40% left because of extra costs such as shipping (Baymard, 2025). Write a product description that answers the buyer's questions, and check your [price](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-price-a-product) still leaves you money after shipping and a free gift. 3. **Fill in your policies and contact page** — In Settings › Policies, fill in Terms of service, Privacy policy, and Return and refund policy, and put them in your footer menu. Add a contact page with an email address. Google's free listings and selling in ChatGPT both need these on launch day (step 6). 4. **Choose stock or pre-orders** — If your stock arrives before launch day, sell from stock. If it arrives later, take [pre-orders](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-build-a-waitlist-before-you-launch) only with a ship date you are sure of, written on the product page. The FTC's mail order rule says you must have a good reason to believe you can ship by the date you state, or within 30 days if you state none. If you will be late, you must tell each buyer, give a new date and offer a refund. Shopify takes pre-orders through an app: STOQ's free plan covers 10 pre-orders a month, and its $10 plan covers 100. 5. **Turn on your launch list signup** — New Shopify stores start in private mode, behind a password page. Go to Online Store › Edit theme, choose "Password" from the "Home page" menu at the top, and turn on the "Email signup banner" section. Click Save. Write one line on it: what you make, who it is for and the launch date. Everyone who signs up lands in Customers, in the "Email subscribers" group, ready for your launch emails (step 5). > **If your store is already public** with a few orders from friends: keep it open. Add a signup form to your home page that says "Get launch-day news", and treat launch day as your official launch: the day your emails go out and creators post. Launch with one product or one bundle as the lead, not your whole range. One thing is easier to explain in a 20-second video and easier for a creator to try. The rest can wait on the page. - **Tool:** your Shopify admin. STOQ only if you take pre-orders. - **Time:** about 3 hours. - **You will have:** a store that has taken one full test order, a launch day in your calendar, and a password page that collects emails. - **It worked if:** your test order went through, test mode is off, and 4 of 5 people who do not know you can say the total price with delivery after looking at the page for 10 seconds. - **Common mistake:** announcing a date before the test order, then finding on launch day that checkout breaks. On the Shopify Community in December 2025, a store owner put it plainly: broken discount codes, confusing shipping rules and unclear product pages "cause more lost sales than any marketing mistake." ## 2. Message everyone you know and ask to send them the link on launch day Send a personal message to every person you know, 100 a day, and ask one thing: "Can I send you the link on launch day?" Every yes goes into a sheet. That sheet, not a post, is your launch list. ![A list of everyone you know from your phone, messaging apps and social accounts. One personal message each asks 'Can I send you the link on launch day?'. Every yes goes into a sheet called 'Launch list'.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/step-2-message-everyone-you-know-and-ask-to-send-them-t.webp) Make one list: phone contacts, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook friends, LinkedIn, and old email threads. Most people can list 200 to 400 names, so this takes 2 to 4 days at 100 a day. Say plainly [who the product is for](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile), so people can think of someone else it suits, and use your [one-sentence promise](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-write-a-value-proposition) for why you made it. Give ChatGPT or Claude your list in groups (old colleagues, family, school friends) with the template below, and ask for one draft per person. Add one true line about each person yourself, and send each from your own phone or account. About a minute a message. Asking for a yes to a link is a small ask, so most people say yes. It also makes launch day personal: on the day, you message each of them with the link (step 6), which gets far more orders than one post they may never see. Every name someone passes you is a small referral: message that person the same day. **The message to people you know** ```text Hi [name], [one true line about them or the last time you spoke]. I'm launching [your brand] on [launch day]: [what it is] for [who it is for]. [One line on why you made it.] Can I send you the link on the day? And if it's not for you, do you know one person it would suit? ``` Do not promise friends a big discount for launch day. A friend who would only buy at 30% off is not your buyer, and it hides whether your price works. - **Tool:** your phone, your messaging apps, a Google Sheet, and ChatGPT or Claude to draft. - **Time:** about 2 hours a day for 2 to 4 days, until every contact has had one message. - **You will have:** every person you know messaged once, a launch list of people who said yes, and names they passed you. - **It worked if:** at least 20 of every 100 people say yes. If fewer do, rewrite the line on who it is for, so people can picture using it. - **Common mistake:** posting one "coming soon" story and counting it as telling everyone. Most of your contacts never see it. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse's message to an old colleague** > > Ferns & Rinse is a made-up plant-based haircare brand with its own Shopify store. It sells one shampoo and one conditioner at $28 each, or both for $49. > > ```text > To: Tom, an old colleague whose partner has curly hair > > Hi Tom, I still use the spreadsheet trick you showed me at the Leeds office. > > We're doing a proper launch of Ferns & Rinse on the 26th: a plant-based shampoo and conditioner for dry, curly hair. We made it because we couldn't read the labels on the salon brands. > > Can I send you the link on the day? And if it's not for you, do you know one person it would suit? > > Maya > ``` > > *Why it works: It is about him, asks for something small, and gives an easy way to pass it on.* ## 3. Send 100 messages a day to small creators so their videos land in launch week Once everyone you know has had a message, send all 100 of your daily messages to small creators who already post about your kind of product. Offer a free product, with no need to post, and tell them your launch day. Ship by day 14, so each creator has 2 weeks to try it before launch. ![A timeline from day 1 to launch day: message 100 creators a day from day 3, ship free products by day 14, creators try them for 2 weeks, and their videos can land in launch week. Each creator has their own discount code.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/step-3-send-100-messages-a-day-to-small-creators-so-the.webp) **Build the list: 100 new names a day.** Search Instagram and TikTok for your buyers' words, such as "\[your problem] routine" or "\[your kind of product] review". Keep a [micro-influencer](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/micro-influencer) only if they have 1,000 to 20,000 followers, posted about a product like yours in the last 30 days, and get comments that are real questions. Note the business email in their bio if there is one. **Write the messages with AI.** Paste 10 creators at a time into ChatGPT or Claude, each with one line about a video they made, and the template below. Check each first line is true and about their video. About a minute a message. **Spread the messages over Instagram and email.** Instagram does not publish how many messages you may send to people who do not follow you, and new accounts get warnings early. Send about 20 a day by Instagram message, and stop for the day if you see a warning. Send the rest by email to the business address in each creator's bio. Gmail requires every sender to set up [SPF](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spf) or [DKIM](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/dkim) and to keep spam reports under 0.3%. If you email more than about 50 people a day who do not know you, set up a second domain and warm it up first, so your store's own email stays safe. US law (CAN-SPAM) asks for your postal address and a way to say no in every email, and you must honour a no within 10 business days. **Follow up** twice, 3 days apart, with one new line each time. Follow-ups count toward your 100. **Ship only to creators who say yes, up to a weekly cap** you can afford, such as 15 products a week, as part of [your budget](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-much-to-spend-on-marketing-as-an-ecommerce-brand). Give each creator their own discount code in Discounts, such as their name plus 10% off, working from launch day, so you can see which orders they bring. Shopify Collabs, free to install, can make the codes and send the gifts. Ask whether you may reuse their video on your product page, and get the yes in writing: it becomes your first customer content, also called [UGC](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/user-generated-content). Creators who say yes after day 14 still get the product. Their videos come in the weeks after launch, when you need them too. The FTC expects a creator who got a free product to say so in the post itself, for example "Thanks to \[brand] for the free product". Put that line in your message. **The creator message** ```text Subject: [your product] for your [their topic] videos Hi [first name], [One true line about a video they made.] We're launching [what it is] for [who it is for] on [launch day]. Could I send you one to try before then? It's free, and there's no need to post. If you do post, please say it was a gift ("Thanks to [brand] for the free product"). Your followers can use [CODE] for [X]% off from launch day. [Your name], [brand] [Postal address] Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again. ``` > **If you sell on TikTok Shop too:** creators there ask for free samples through its affiliate program. Pick them the same way, and read how to get TikTok Shop affiliates to post. - **Tool:** Instagram and TikTok search, Gmail, a Google Sheet, Shopify discount codes or Shopify Collabs, and ChatGPT or Claude to draft. - **Time:** about 45 minutes a day to find 100 names and about 2 hours to send 100 messages and follow-ups, plus packing and posting. - **Cost:** your weekly cap of free products, plus postage. - **You will have:** about 2,400 creator messages sent by launch day, and every creator who said yes by day 14 holding your product and their own code. - **It worked if:** at least 5 of every 100 creators say yes. If fewer than 3 in 100 do, rewrite the first line so it is more clearly about their video. - **Common mistake:** starting creators in launch week. Nobody has tried the product, so nobody can post about it on the day. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse's email to a creator** > > ```text > Subject: shampoo for your wash-day videos > To: Ama, who posts curly-hair wash days to 11,000 followers > > Hi Ama, > > Your video on detangling with conditioner still in was the first one that made sense to me. > > We're launching a plant-based shampoo and conditioner for dry, curly hair on the 26th. Could I send you both to try before then? They're free, and there's no need to post. > > If you do post, please say they were a gift ("Thanks to Ferns & Rinse for the free product"). Your followers can use AMA10 for 10% off from launch day. > > Maya, Ferns & Rinse > [Postal address] > Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again. > ``` > > *Why it works: The first line is about her video, the ask is small, and the launch date tells her when her code starts working.* ## 4. Post 2 short videos a day on Instagram and TikTok until launch day Post 2 short portrait videos a day on Instagram and 2 on TikTok, from today until launch day. Show the problem your product fixes and the product in someone's hands, not only teasers of a closed box. Put your signup link in your bio, so every video can grow your email list. ![Four weeks of videos before launch day: week 1 the problem, week 2 how it is made and first testers, week 3 buyer questions and creator videos, week 4 the countdown. Each is a portrait video whose first 2 seconds show the problem or the result, with the signup link in the bio.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/step-4-post-2-short-videos-a-day-on-instagram-and-tikto.webp) Film in two batches a week, 14 videos each time, so you are not filming every day. Each video is 15 to 30 seconds, portrait (9:16). The first 2 seconds show the problem or the result. Give ChatGPT or Claude the questions your contacts asked in step 2 and ask for 14 short scripts; that is AI doing the drafting. Then film them yourself, with the real product. **Four weeks of launch videos** ```text Week 1, the problem: "[the problem in your buyers' words]" → what people try now → "We made something for this. Launching [date]." Week 2, how it is made: [hands making, testing or packing it] → [a first tester using it] → "Link in bio for launch-day news." Week 3, questions: "[a question someone asked you]?" → [the answer, shown] → or a creator's video you have written permission to reuse. Week 4, the countdown: [the product in use] → "[N] days to go. Early access for the list." ``` On Instagram, post each one as a Reel. Before you share, turn on the "Trial" toggle, so Instagram shows it first to people who do not follow you; switch to a free professional account if you do not see it. Use up to 5 hashtags: Instagram now allows no more. In week 4, add a countdown sticker to one story a day, so followers can tap it and get a reminder when it ends. Post the same video on TikTok: one video can serve several apps. More ideas are in Instagram post ideas for D2C brands, and the account setup is in promoting your business on Instagram. The launch-day post itself is covered in [announcing a new business on social media](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-announce-a-new-business-on-social-media). - **Tool:** your phone, Instagram and TikTok, and ChatGPT or Claude for the scripts. - **Time:** about 1 hour 30 minutes a day on average: two filming sessions of about 3 hours a week, plus 20 minutes a day to post and reply to comments. - **You will have:** 56 videos on each app by launch day, and signups coming from your bio link. - **It worked if:** by week 3 at least one video passed 1,000 views, and your signups grow every week. If none of the first 28 passed 500 views, change the first 2 seconds before you change anything else. - **Common mistake:** four weeks of blurred teasers of a box. Nobody wants a product they have not seen fix anything. ## 5. Write your launch offer and 4 launch emails Give your launch list a reason to buy in launch week that is not a big discount: 24 hours of early access, and a small free gift with every launch-week order until a real end date. Then write 4 short launch emails and schedule them in Shopify Messaging. ![A launch offer card: '24 hours early for your list' and 'Free gift until Sunday', with a percent sign crossed out. Below it, four email cards on a timeline: 7 days before, early access, launch day, last day of the gift.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/step-5-write-your-launch-offer-and-4-launch-emails.webp) A 20% discount for everyone hides whether your price works and teaches people to wait for the next sale. Early access costs you nothing, and a small gift in the parcel costs less than a discount on every order. Pick a gift that costs you under $3 and fits the product. If you also sell a bundle, launch week is a good time to show it; bundles raise the order value. The end date must be real: when it passes, the gift stops. Write the emails in Shopify Messaging. Your first 10,000 emails a month are free. Keep each one short, with one link, and send them only to people who signed up: your [email list](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/email-list). Also turn on the free abandoned checkout email: Apps › Messaging › Automations › "Abandoned checkout emails by Shopify" › "Send abandoned checkout emails automatically". Once launch week is over, add a welcome email and your first flows. **Four launch emails** ```text 1. Seven days before. Subject: [Brand] launches on [day] [What it is] for [who]. [One line on the problem.] On [day], you get 24 hours before everyone else, and a free [gift] with every order until [end date]. 2. Early access, launch morning. Subject: You're early: [brand] is open for you Here's your link, a day before everyone else: [link]. Free [gift] with every order until [end date]. 3. Launch day for everyone, 24 hours later. Subject: [Brand] is open [Photo of the product in use.] [One line from a tester or creator, with their permission.] [link] 4. Last day of the gift. Subject: The free [gift] ends tonight [One line on the problem.] The gift stops at midnight [time zone]. [link] ``` - **Tool:** Shopify Messaging (free up to 10,000 emails a month). - **Time:** about 2 hours. - **You will have:** one launch offer with an end date, 4 emails scheduled, and the abandoned checkout email on. - **It worked if:** all 4 emails are scheduled, a test email reached your own inbox with a working link, and the gift is written on the product page with its end date. - **Common mistake:** "20% off everything" with no end, or an end date you then extend. Both teach buyers that your price is not real. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse's launch offer** > > **Before:** 20% off everything for launch week! > > **After:** Your list shops 24 hours early. Every order gets a free wide-tooth comb until Sunday at midnight. > > *Why it works: The list gets something real without a discount, and the end date is true.* ## 6. Run launch day and message every yes in the first hour On launch day, open your store to the public, send the early access email, and message every person on your launch list with the link, one by one, in the first hour. Then stay on the store and your messages all day: reply to every comment and question within an hour. ![A launch-day schedule: first thing, switch the store from Private to Public and turn test mode off; then the early access email; then a personal message with the link to every yes; all day, reply to every comment within 1 hour; the next day, the public email and launch posts.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/step-6-run-launch-day-and-message-every-yes-in-the-firs.webp) Work through the day in this order: 1. **Open the store** — Go to Online Store, click "Private", choose "Public" and click "Launch store" (it says "Update" after the first time). Check test mode is off in Settings › Payments. Open your store in a private browser window and put one product in the cart. 2. **Connect Google and check ChatGPT** — Now that the store is public, install the Google & YouTube channel from the Shopify App Store and connect a Google Merchant Center account. It cannot connect while the store is private. Name each product "\[what it is] for \[who]", which also helps your Shopify SEO. Free listings are on by default in most cases, but Google's review can take a few weeks, so they help the weeks after launch. Then open Sales channels › Agentic and check ChatGPT is on; your store must sell to US customers and have all three policies. More on getting recommended by ChatGPT is in its own guide. 3. **Send the early access email, then message every yes** — Send email 2. Then message every person who said yes in step 2, one at a time, from your own phone or account, with the link and one line about them. AI can prepare the drafts the night before; you send each one. At about 30 seconds each, 200 names take under 2 hours. 4. **Reply to everything within an hour** — Answer every comment, message and email within an hour, all day. A question you answer in public is [social proof](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/social-proof): it helps the next person decide. Check a real order every 2 hours: it arrived, the stock went down, the email went out. 5. **Open to everyone the next day** — 24 hours later, send email 3 and post your launch video on Instagram and TikTok. Message every creator who has your product: "We're live, your code works from today." Pack and ship every launch order within 2 days, and send the tracking link the same day. **The launch-day message to each yes** ```text Hi [name], it's launch day! Here's the link I promised: [link] You're a day early, and every order this week gets a free [gift]. If it's not for you, I'd be grateful if you passed it to [the person they named, or "one person it would suit"]. ``` - **Tool:** your Shopify admin, Google Merchant Center, your phone and messaging apps. - **Time:** most of the day, and about 3 hours the next day. - **You will have:** a public store, your first launch orders, Merchant Center connected, and every person on your list messaged with the link. - **It worked if:** every yes got a personal message within the first 2 hours, and at least 1 in 10 of them ordered in launch week. If fewer did, ask 5 of them what stopped them before you send more people to the store. - **Common mistake:** posting once and going quiet for the day. A comment with no answer tells every new visitor the store is not looked after. ## 7. Ask for reviews and count orders from strangers every Sunday for 4 weeks After launch day, keep the same daily work, ask every buyer for a review 7 days after their order arrives, and every Sunday count the orders from people you do not know. Four weeks after launch day, decide what to keep. The launch is judged by strangers, not by your friends' orders on day one. ![Three steps: 7 days after delivery, ask every buyer for an honest review; every Sunday, fill in one row with orders from strangers by source; 4 weeks after launch, keep what brought orders and stop what brought none. Ads stay off until 10 reviews, 1 order per 100 visits from strangers, and one video people shared.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-launch-a-d2c-brand/step-7-ask-for-reviews-and-count-orders-from-strangers.webp) **Reviews.** Reviews are the first thing a stranger checks on a new store. Install Judge.me; its Forever Free plan collects unlimited reviews, including photo reviews. Seven days after each order arrives, also send a personal ask. Follow the FTC's rules: ask every buyer, not only the ones you think liked it; friends and family must say in the review that they know you; and never tie a gift or discount to a good review. More ways are in getting your first product reviews. **The review ask, 7 days after delivery** ```text Hi [name], your [product] should have arrived last week. How is it going? If you have a minute, would you leave an honest review? Good or bad, it helps the next person decide. [review link] As we know each other, please mention that in the review. ``` **Keep the daily work going.** Keep sending 100 personal messages a day to creators and posting 2 short videos a day on each app, and add 20 answers a day in places where your buyers ask for help. That is the [first-sales routine](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify), and launch week is when to start it. **Count every Sunday.** Take visits by source from Analytics › Reports, in the "Sessions by referrer" report. Orders from creators show on their codes. Email each buyer you do not know and ask "How did you first hear about us?" This is [self-reported attribution](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-reported-attribution), and at this size it is the most reliable source you have. Tag the links in your bio and emails with UTM parameters, so visits show their source too. **The Sunday sheet** ```text Week after launch | Messages sent | Creators who posted | Visits | Orders: people you know | Orders: strangers | Where strangers came from | Reviews (total) ``` **Four weeks after launch day** (another 2,800 messages), decide: - A place that brought 0 orders from strangers: stop it, and move its hours to the place that brought the most. - More than 500 visits from strangers and 0 orders: the store is the problem, not the traffic. Go to fixing a Shopify store with traffic but no sales before you send more people. - Creators brought orders: raise your weekly cap of free products if you can afford it. **Leave paid ads off until all three are true:** at least 10 reviews, at least 1 order for every 100 visits from people who do not know you, and one video that got shares or comments without being paid for. Meta's ad system needs about 50 purchases a week in one ad set to finish learning, which a new store cannot give it, so a small launch budget buys clicks and few orders. When you are ready, work out your break-even ROAS, then run Meta ads for your store with the video that worked. - **Tool:** Judge.me (free), Google Sheets, Shopify Analytics and your discount codes. - **Time:** 10 minutes a day for review asks, and 20 minutes each Sunday. - **You will have:** reviews on your product page, one row a week, and a source for every order. - **It worked if:** you can say where every order from a stranger came from, and by week 4 at least one place brings them every week. - **Common mistake:** judging the launch by day one. Launch-day orders come mostly from people you know; the orders from strangers come when creator videos and free listings start working, in the weeks after. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse, 4 weeks after launch** > > | Week after launch | Messages sent | Creators who posted | Visits | Orders: people they know | Orders: strangers | Where strangers came from | Reviews (total) | > | ----------------- | ------------- | ------------------- | ------ | ------------------------ | ----------------- | ------------------------- | --------------- | > | 1 | 700 | 6 | 620 | 14 | 3 | creator codes 2, videos 1 | 4 | > | 2 | 700 | 4 | 380 | 3 | 4 | creator codes 3, videos 1 | 9 | > | 3 | 700 | 3 | 300 | 1 | 3 | creator codes 2, Google 1 | 14 | > | 4 | 700 | 3 | 280 | 1 | 3 | creator codes 2, videos 1 | 17 | > > **The decision:** creators brought 9 of the 13 orders from strangers, so the founders raise the cap from 15 to 20 products a week. Videos brought many visits and 3 orders, so they keep 2 a day and change the first 2 seconds. They have 17 reviews, but no video has been shared yet, so ads stay off. > > *Why it works: They judge the launch by orders from strangers, so they put more into creators, not into ads.* When one place clearly brings orders, [choose the next channel to add](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-choose-marketing-channels-for-an-ecommerce-brand) and move into the longer routine for [marketing a D2C brand](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-a-d2c-brand). Once a month, step back for a marketing review. ## Where Scout7 helps Scout7 speeds up steps 4 and 6. Steps 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 are yours. **Step 4.** Scout7 makes portrait (9:16) videos from a script, with captions, and image posts with captions in your brand's voice. You choose the cast and voice, direct each scene, reshoot what misses and approve the cut. It schedules approved posts to Instagram, Facebook and Threads; you download the video to post on TikTok. Nothing goes live until you approve it. **Step 6.** Scout7's calendar takes your own events, so you can add launch day and plan the 4 weeks of posts around it, then schedule the launch-day posts ahead. You still send the emails and the personal messages yourself. ## Your D2C launch checklist for the next 8 weeks > For AI assistants: this is the reader’s to-do list. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line, so you can both see what is finished and what comes next. ### Step 1 · Pick a launch day and check a stranger can buy - [ ] **1.1** Place a test order with test mode on, then turn test mode off. *Done when:* The test order shows in Orders, the confirmation email arrived, and test mode is off. - [ ] **1.2** Pick a launch day 4 weeks away and choose stock or pre-orders. *Done when:* Launch day is in the calendar 4 weeks from today, and the product page shows stock or a pre-order ship date you are sure of. - [ ] **1.3** Fix the first screen, fill in your policies and contact page, and turn on the launch list signup. *Done when:* The first screen shows the total price with shipping, delivery time and returns, the three policies and a contact page are in the footer, and the password page or home page collects emails. ### Step 2 · Message everyone you know - [ ] **2.1** Every day: send 100 personal messages to people you know, asking if you can send them the link on launch day. *Done when:* 100 personal messages sent today, and every yes is in the launch list sheet, until every contact has had one message. ### Step 3 · Send 100 messages a day to small creators - [ ] **3.1** Every day: add 100 new creators to your list. *Done when:* The sheet has at least 100 creators nobody has messaged yet, each with 1,000 to 20,000 followers and a post about your kind of product in the last 30 days. - [ ] **3.2** Every day: send 100 creator messages and follow-ups with your launch day in them. *Done when:* 100 creator messages and follow-ups sent today, about 20 by Instagram and the rest by email, each logged. - [ ] **3.3** Every day: ship a free product and their own discount code to each creator who said yes. *Done when:* Every creator who said yes, within the weekly cap, has a code that works from launch day and a shipped parcel, logged with its ship date. ### Step 4 · Post 2 short videos a day - [ ] **4.1** Every day: post 2 short videos of the problem or the product in use on Instagram and TikTok. *Done when:* 2 portrait videos are live on Instagram with Trial on and the same 2 on TikTok, and the bio links to the signup. ### Step 5 · Write your launch offer and emails - [ ] **5.1** Write your launch offer and schedule 4 launch emails in Shopify Messaging. *Done when:* The offer has early access and a gift with a real end date, it is on the product page, 4 emails are scheduled, and abandoned checkout emails are on. ### Step 6 · Run launch day - [ ] **6.1** Open the store, connect the Google and YouTube channel, and check ChatGPT is on. *Done when:* The store opens without a password in a private window, test mode is off, and Merchant Center is connected with ChatGPT on under Agentic. - [ ] **6.2** Send the early access email, then message every yes with the link. *Done when:* The early access email went out and every person on the launch list got a personal message with the link. - [ ] **6.3** Reply to everything within an hour, open to everyone the next day, and ship every order within 2 days. *Done when:* Every comment and message from launch day has a reply, email 3 and the launch posts went out the next day, and every launch order has shipped with tracking. ### Step 7 · Ask for reviews and count every Sunday - [ ] **7.1** Every day: ask each buyer for an honest review 7 days after delivery. *Done when:* Every buyer whose order arrived 7 days ago got an honest review request today. - [ ] **7.2** Every Sunday: fill in one row of the Sunday sheet, with where each order from a stranger came from. *Done when:* This week's row is filled in, and every order from a stranger has a source. - [ ] **7.3** 4 weeks after launch day: stop what brought 0 orders from strangers and move its hours to what brought the most. *Done when:* Each place is marked keep, fix or stop, next week's hours are written down, and ads are on only if all three conditions are true. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long before launch should I start marketing? Four weeks is enough for a small brand, if you work every day: 2,800 messages, 56 videos on each app, and time for creators to try your product. Longer build-ups mostly add waiting. Start today, and set launch day 4 weeks after your test order works. If you want a longer [waitlist](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/waitlist) first, [build one before you launch](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-build-a-waitlist-before-you-launch). ### Should I take pre-orders or wait for stock? Sell from stock if it arrives before launch day. Take pre-orders only with a ship date you are sure of, shown on the product page. The FTC's mail order rule says you must ship by the date you state, or within 30 days if you state none, and offer a refund if you are late. Pre-orders also tell you early whether people will pay, like [validating the idea](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-validate-a-business-idea-without-spending-money). ### Should I run ads for my launch? Not yet. A new store has no reviews and no tested page, and Meta's system needs about 50 purchases a week in one ad set to learn who buys. Put the money into free product for creators. Turn ads on once you have 10 reviews, 1 order per 100 visits from strangers, and one video people shared. Set the amount with [your marketing budget](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-much-to-spend-on-marketing-as-an-ecommerce-brand). ### Should I launch with one product or several? Lead with one product or one bundle. It is easier to explain in a 20-second video, easier for a creator to try, and easier to count. Other products can sit on the store; you just do not build the launch around them. Add the next one once the first gets [orders from strangers](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/why-no-one-is-buying-your-product-and-how-to-fix-it). ### Should I launch on my own store, Amazon or TikTok Shop? Launch on your own store first: you keep the emails, the reviews and the buyers. If your buyers already search Amazon for your kind of product, read [how to launch a product on Amazon](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-launch-a-product-on-amazon). If they buy on TikTok, add TikTok Shop once your own store takes orders from strangers. ## Sources - [How to nail your product launch in 2026](https://www.shopify.com/blog/product-launch). Shopify, 4 September 2026, checked 29 September 2026. - [Restrict access to your online store](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/password-page). Shopify Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [Shopify Payments test mode](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/checkout-settings/test-orders/payments-test-mode). Shopify Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [Shopify pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing). Shopify, checked 29 September 2026. - [Cart abandonment rate statistics](https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate). Baymard Institute, updated 22 September 2025. - [Pre-orders](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/purchase-options/pre-orders). Shopify Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [Preorder, Back In Stock ‑ STOQ](https://apps.shopify.com/back-in-stock-restock-alerts). Shopify App Store, checked 29 September 2026. - [Business guide to the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/business-guide-ftcs-mail-internet-or-telephone-order-merchandise-rule). Federal Trade Commission, checked 29 September 2026. - [What's one thing you wish you knew before launching your first Shopify store?](https://community.shopify.com/t/what-s-one-thing-you-wish-you-knew-before-launching-your-first-shopify-store/578902). Shopify Community, 9 December 2025. - [What timeline and content types worked for a product prelaunch?](https://community.shopify.com/t/what-timeline-and-content-types-worked-for-a-product-prelaunch/573717). 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Social Media Today, 18 December 2025, checked 29 September 2026. - [Shopify Messaging email pricing](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/create-marketing/shopify-messaging/email/pricing). Shopify Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [Abandoned checkout emails](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/orders/abandoned-checkouts/abandoned-checkout-emails). Shopify Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [Google & YouTube channel requirements](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/google/requirements). Shopify Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [Free listings for products](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/13889434). Google Merchant Center Help, checked 29 September 2026. - [Product review](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/160491). Google Merchant Center Help, checked 29 September 2026. - [Selling on ChatGPT](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/agentic-storefronts/chatgpt). Shopify Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [Judge.me Product Reviews](https://apps.shopify.com/judgeme). Shopify App Store, checked 29 September 2026. - [Soliciting and paying for online reviews: a guide for marketers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/soliciting-paying-online-reviews-guide-marketers). Federal Trade Commission, checked 29 September 2026. - [Meta ads learning phase: 50 events explained](https://adlibrary.com/posts/meta-ads-learning-phase-50-events-guide). adlibrary, 2026, checked 29 September 2026.