# Soft launch

A soft launch is a limited release of a product to a small, chosen audience, often the first people on its waitlist, before the full public launch. Its purpose is to find problems and gather feedback while the stakes are low, then widen access in rounds.

Canonical page: https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/soft-launch. Updated 2026-10-15.

## What a soft launch involves

Instead of opening to everyone on one day, you let a small group in first. You watch how they use the product, fix what breaks, and then let in the next group. Each round is a little larger, until the last round is everyone.

The people in a soft launch are usually the earliest or most engaged members of your waitlist. They signed up before anyone else, so they are the most forgiving audience you will ever have.

## Soft launch, beta launch and early access

These three are easy to mix up, because one release can be all of them at once. They answer different questions:

| | Soft launch | [Beta launch](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/beta-launch) | [Early access](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/early-access) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Main question | Is it ready for more people? | Does it work, and what is missing? | Who gets in first? |
| Product state | Close to finished | Not finished | Anything from rough to finished |
| Who gets in | A small group, widened in rounds | Testers, invited or open | A chosen group, often as a reward |
| How it ends | The last round is everyone | The beta closes and the product launches | General availability |

## Running a soft launch from a waitlist

1. **Choose the first group.** The earliest signups, the most active referrers, or the people who answered a qualifying question the way you hoped.
2. **Decide what you are watching.** Sign-in problems, the first action people take, where they get stuck, what they ask for.
3. **Let them in with a personal invite.** A code or link per person keeps the group the size you chose, because nobody can pass access around.
4. **Follow up.** Remind people who were invited but haven't got in yet, and ask the ones who have what they think.
5. **Widen in rounds.** Let in the next group when the last one stops turning up new problems.
6. **Keep everyone else in the loop.** The rest of the [pre-launch waitlist](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/pre-launch-waitlist) should hear that the first group is in and their turn is coming.

## Mistakes to avoid

- Letting in too many people in the first round to fix what they find.
- Inviting people and never asking what they thought.
- Going silent with the rest of the list while the first group is in.
- Treating the soft launch as a secret launch day, then having nothing left to announce.

## Soft launches in LaunchList

[Early access invites](https://getlaunchlist.com/features/early-access) let you open the doors one group at a time. Let LaunchList pick the next people in line (subscribed people still waiting, the ones with the most referrals first, then in the order they signed up), invite one person from their record, or select a group on Signups, such as everyone in a [segment](https://getlaunchlist.com/features/audience). Each person gets a personal code, an [invite reminder](https://getlaunchlist.com/features/automations) email follows up with anyone who hasn't joined, and Analytics shows how many people in each batch used their code. To keep the rest of the list informed, post to your public [updates](https://getlaunchlist.com/features/updates) feed.

Further reading: [the SaaS pre-launch marketing playbook](https://getlaunchlist.com/blog/saas-pre-launch-marketing-playbook).

## Frequently asked questions

### What's the difference between a soft launch and a beta launch?

A soft launch is about pacing who gets in: you open to a small group and widen access in rounds. A beta launch is about testing: you put a product that is not finished in front of testers to find bugs and gaps. One release can be both, but the questions you are trying to answer differ.

### How big should a soft launch be?

Small enough that you can talk to the people in it and fix what they find, large enough to show real usage patterns. For many products that is the first few dozen to few hundred people on the waitlist, but the right size is whatever your team can support closely.

### How long does a soft launch last?

Until the problems you find are no longer surprising. Many soft launches run a few weeks, widening the group each round, and end when the product holds up and the next round would simply be everyone.

### Do you announce a soft launch?

Usually not publicly. The point is a quiet start with people who already raised their hand. Tell the rest of your waitlist that the first group is in and that their turn is coming, so the wait stays warm instead of feeling forgotten.

## Related terms

- [Beta launch](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/beta-launch.md)
- [Early access](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/early-access.md)
- [Pre-launch waitlist](https://getlaunchlist.com/glossary/pre-launch-waitlist.md)