Recently rebranded as Kit, ConvertKit is the best email marketing platform for creators looking to monetise their list. It’s also pretty popular among service-based businesses. Is that you, too?
Then, instead of just promoting a new offer or announcement to your subscribers, use ConvertKit to build a waitlist, creating hype, momentum, and urgency first.
Its landing pages are pretty basic, though. They also wouldn’t allow you to segment your list properly to really get to know your audience, validate your idea, and personalise your marketing.
So, for the best results, pair it up with ScoreApp to build a full waitlist funnel:
- Use ScoreApp to promote your waitlist, collect your audience’s contact details, and get the data you need by asking them a few quick questions, dividing them into groups based on their answers
- Use ConvertKit to manage your waitlist subscribers, automating and personalising your emails accordingly until it’s time for that big announcement
We’ll show you how to build a waitlist using ConvertKit and ScoreApp, step by step!
What is a ConvertKit waitlist?
A ConvertKit waitlist is a list of people who are interested in your upcoming product, service, or offer, managed on that email marketing platform (now called Kit).
To get the most out of it, though, you can’t just share a basic “coming soon” page and only reappear when you’re ready to launch. You must plan the right strategy and nurture your subscribers to build momentum.
That’s where a ScoreApp and ConvertKit waitlist funnel comes into play!
Benefits of building a waitlist funnel
Your waitlist funnel can focus on different things depending on your goals, but it’s particularly useful to:
- Gauge demand – Whether it’s a course, another digital product, or a way to work with you 1:1… Don’t build and drop that new offer out of the blue! Find out if your audience is interested (and if so, how many?)
- Validate your initial concept – When you attach a quick ScoreApp quiz to your waitlist landing page, you uncover what your audience likes and dislikes about your idea. And guess what? You can improve it accordingly (instead of wasting months and thousands of pounds building something that may or may not sell)
- Conduct market research – Those waitlist questions will also allow you to understand your audience’s problems, goals, needs, and preferences (no more guesswork!)
- Capture leads – Even if you’re fully booked or your product isn’t ready yet, retain those visitors so that you can contact them directly
- Pre-qualify your leads – Stop jumping on calls with wrong-fit prospects. Ask questions to understand who would be a good fit (such as “What’s your budget for [type of service]?”). Then, when you have availability for more clients, ONLY get in touch with your dream prospects
- Become in demand – A waitlist is basically a pipeline full of qualified leads waiting to work with YOU!
- Personalise your marketing – Your post-landing page quiz will segment your subscribers depending on their answers. This will allow you to send them tailored email sequences, making your marketing much more effective
- Nurture your subscribers and create momentum – By setting up a strategic waitlist email sequence, you’ll stay top of mind and create hype around your upcoming offer
- Establish premium positioning and FOMO – A waitlist makes you look exclusive, both as a service provider and when selling a limited product
- Sell more easily – Once you’re ready to launch your product or take on more clients? Announce it to that list of people who expressed an interest in it and who have already been nurtured. That’s a recipe for success! And when you’re so in demand, you can raise your prices confidently too, becoming the Rolex in your industry
How to create a ConvertKit waitlist with ScoreApp in 5 steps
Now that you’re clear on the benefits of a full funnel (as opposed to a generic “coming soon” page), let’s see how you can implement it using ScoreApp and ConvertKit as waitlist builders and managers.
Step 1: Set up your waitlist with ScoreApp
Your initial lead capture can make or break your waitlist funnel. That’s why, instead of sticking to a basic ConvertKit landing page, we recommend building it on ScoreApp.
First, get clear on your waitlist goals and angle (for example, do you wish to gauge demand and get feedback on a new online course idea before developing it? Aiming to fill your pipeline with pre-qualified prospects?). Then:
- Create your waitlist landing page – Lead with how your new offer will benefit your customers and solve their problem, and highlight its exclusiveness (for example, what makes it “limited”? Why should someone feel compelled to sign up for your waitlist so as not to miss out?). Complement your copy with high-quality photos, videos, and social proof, such as reviews and user-generated content. With ScoreApp, you can either create it from scratch using our drag-and-drop builder or customise a template
- Plan your waitlist questions – Start from your main goal, and work your way backwards: what insights do you need from your audience to make that happen? For example, if you want to validate your new course idea, you could ask “Which of these problems would you want to get rid of first?” or “How much money would you pay for this course?” With ScoreApp, you can ask these questions right after someone has signed up for your waitlist
Step 2: Integrate ScoreApp with ConvertKit
Whenever someone signs up for your waitlist on ScoreApp, they must be added to your ConvertKit list so that you can email them directly.
For that to happen, you need to connect the two tools. Guess what?
Thanks to ScoreApp’s direct ConvertKit integration, it couldn’t be easier!
- Go to your Integrate section on ScoreApp, and select ConvertKit
- Enter your ConvertKit API Key, which you can find on ConvertKit by clicking your profile icon, Settings, Advanced, and then API
Done!
Step 3: Map your fields
Now, your two tools are connected and talking to each other. Whenever a lead signs up for your waitlist and completes your ScoreApp questions, they’ll be added (or updated) as a ConvertKit contact.
ScoreApp will also automatically share their First Name, Last Name, and Email with ConvertKit.
That’s a great start! But to get the most out of your waitlist, you should nurture those subscribers in a more personalised way. To do that, you must get ScoreApp to send additional data to ConvertKit.
This is called mapping your fields, and you can do it in the same Integrations section.
How you do this will really depend on what you need to focus on and how you want to segment your subscribers, but to give you an idea:
- Map leads form fields – What other fields do you wish to include? For example, this could be someone’s phone number, website, or a specific answer they selected in a drop-down form on your landing page
- Map result fields – This will be based on your subscribers’ quiz answers after they’ve signed up for your waitlist. You can choose to add new ConvertKit tags depending on their overall score, a specific answer, and so on (for example, if one of your questions is “Which of these webinars would you be more interested in?”, you can tag your new subscribers differently based on their answers, and then send them the most relevant email sequence)
Step 4: Set up automated and personalised emails to nurture your ConvertKit waitlist subscribers
Time to nurture your subscribers with strategic and personalised emails until you’re ready for your launch or announcement (and luckily, one of the things that ConvertKit does really well is automation).
Remember the fields and tags we just mapped out? You can use them to:
- Automate different email sequences for each segment
- Tailor certain elements (like your wording, links, or calls to action) to make them more relevant to each subscriber
As for your waitlist sequence, its aim is to create momentum and FOMO. So, of course, its content will depend on your goals, audience, business, and what you’re launching. But some popular and effective emails involve:
- Welcoming your audience, setting the right expectations, and making them feel like VIPs for being on this list
- Talking about their biggest problem and how your upcoming offer can solve it
- Educating them (for example, with additional resources, by answering their pressing questions, or by tackling their misconceptions) so that you don’t have to do that on a 1:1 basis. Phew!
- Sharing stories, anecdotes, and behind-the-scenes updates that humanise your brand and create a connection
- Building trust with case studies, reviews, and user-generated content
- Creating a sense of urgency by reminding them of why this offer is exclusive and limited
Then, once you’re ready to share your offer or announcement, you’ll get to send it to a list of people who have already been nurtured and were actively looking out for that email.
So, your ScoreApp and ConvertKit waitlist funnel is basically a launchpad for a successful offer that will sell out!
Step 5: Test, review, and optimise your ScoreApp and ConvertKit waitlist
By now, your ScoreApp and ConvertKit waitlist is pretty much ready (whoop, whoop!). But to guarantee the best user experience and avoid unpleasant surprises, make sure you also:
- Test everything before launching your waitlist – Check every element, from the links on your landing page to your quiz questions and your emails. For example, are they all connected? Do your automations work? Is the entire funnel mobile-friendly?
- Run some A/B testing – Consider showing different versions of your landing page and emails to some leads. Which one brought you the most engagement? Focus on that from now on!
- Monitor your analytics – Check how your audience is engaging with your waitlist funnel by reviewing your analytics on ScoreApp (for example, do they drop off after a specific question?) and ConvertKit (which emails do they open the most and least?). Then, optimise it accordingly
Build momentum, and sell out with a ScoreApp and ConvertKit sales funnel
The best way to sell new digital products or services is to attract your potential customers, validate your idea, and build momentum before launching.
Now, you know exactly how to do this successfully with a ScoreApp and ConvertKit waitlist funnel.
So, the first step? Create your waitlist landing page and questions with ScoreApp today and for FREE.
