Better yet, don't launch until you've actually launched. On the list of startup behaviors that drive me crazy, right after the two in my post, comes "Sign up to be notified of when (hah, IF!) we actually do something" pages. To paraphrase Yoda: Launch or launch not, there is no sign up to be notified.
I couldn't disagree more. Pre-launch signups give you a way to measure interest, a group to communicate with about features, betas and the like, and a crowd to talk to when you do launch. otherwise, you are developing in a black hole.
Then it is important that the emails that are collected are then used for doing that. I have yet to receive anything more than a "verify your address" email based on submitting mine to any of these pre-launch email collection sites. Nobody has communicated with me about features, or tried to use my interest to help develop their brand. Perhaps if that were the case, I'd look upon these pages more favorably. But my thought in general still stands: If you don't have anything to share, you possibly should reconsider collecting emails until you do.
I agree, pre-launch sign-ups are important but there needs to be engagement with the emails collected until the product is ready. Fab did a great job with this by creating a mood board that allowed folks to post stuff they like before their actual service launched.
And what does it do for the user? "I am going to build a space ship for less than $1000, give me your email address and I will let you know when I am ready." What did that just do for you that it would not when it is actually done?
Lots of information about who and how many might buy your spaceship, helpful in decisions thought the design and manufacturing process, a group to announce product and beta launch to, leveraging months or years of long tail attention rather than just launch day, ...
Pre-release sign ups are critical for anyone competing in an app store. You need to get a lot of downloads in the first few days to break into the Top 10 list, so you gather email addresses pre-release and notify them all at once on launch day.
Lots of smart people disagree with this. You should start marketing when you start coding. Find out who is interested, what they want, etc. When you launch, you don't want to do it to crickets.
If you have something people will search for, you can start your SEO and start adwords. 6 months down the road you are actually getting some search traffic, and your adwords have over time built up a mailing list.
I understand that as an user/early adopter you dislike it, but the launch page with a signup form is an invaluable tool to gather information about interest for your app for cheap, even before you invest time in the development.
