How We Made Over $250,000 In one Day Using The "Gated Launch" Strategy

Sep 10

The Psychology Of Black Friday

Imagine that it’s the eve of Black Friday. You’ve got your shopping list ready, but you know it’s practically just a prop. Because the moment store doors are opened and websites are refreshed, that list will go flying out of your hand as you add item after item to your cart.

The Psychology Of Gated Launches

On Black Friday, any deal is a good deal, and this mentality comes from a combination of anticipation, adrenaline, and delayed gratification. You’ve probably already heard of the marshmallow test. In a study conducted by a Stanford University professor, children were given a choice between eating a treat placed on the table right in front of them or waiting it out and then receiving twice as much the reward. This, in a nutshell, is the psychology of gated launches.

Withholding Makes Them Want It More

“Withholding something makes somebody want it that much more,” says Sean Lang of upGrowth Commerce say on their podcast “Secrets To Scaling Your E-commerce Brand”.

“While waiting, people don't know what they're going to buy because they can't window shop or plan. All they know is that when the door opens, they're going to grab everything that looks like something that they want or that is a good deal, and they're gonna buy it.” There lies the strategy for increasing your sales through gated launches.

How To Run A Gated Launch

“Now, how would that look like for my eCommerce site”, you wonder? Jordan West of upGrowth Commerce (himself the owner of homegrown children’s clothing company Little & Lively) recommends password protecting your site for at least two hours and allowing customers who either belong to your VIP group and / or your SMS list to get early exclusive access to fresh drops. “Make sure you have a link so that people can actually access the site if they jump through the hoops,” he shares. “You want to make sure that they actually have to jump through the hoops to enter the website.”

The Results Of A Gated Launch

As far as results go, in Jordan’s own experience, a gated launch can yield about a 50% sales difference versus a regular all-out launch. “You create this effect that rather than somebody planning to buy one thing, they go in and they probably get caught up and they buy 2, 3, 4, 5 things--it’s an incredible effect,” Sean explains.

Should I Really Password Protect My Site?

This alone should be a nice nudge for those who may be wary about locking down their site for a period of time, thinking that this could lead to losses in sales. Jordan explains, however, that customers who come across the locked site either come back at a later time or figure out what has to be done to get access. Either way, it’s a win-win.

Use Your SMS List!

Bold yet simple, the gated launch is a strategy that not only generates huge sales but also helps you convert leads from SMS lists and VIP groups.

For their last Little & Lively sale, Jordan shares how they launched without running a single ad, but still went on to do six figures for that sale. These and all things considered, the residual effects can potentially be as incredible as the immediate.

In the long run, investing in this strategy can (and should) eventually lead you to the tipping point wherein you can launch without ads, spending less on acquiring customers and more on scaling your business even further through innovative marketing initiatives.