The last chance to pre-order email and the ads that run with it are the biggest sales push of a release. Here is how we set it up for Todd Snider, with his store's daily orders.
Of everything we do for a release, I put the last chance to pre-order email and its ad series at the top. It is the most effective thing we ever do. On Todd Snider's last three albums, the last chance push outsold release day every time.
In this post:
- Why release day is a weak sales day, and what to sell instead
- Todd Snider's store orders on three last chance days, from 2023 to 2026
- How a small VIP run and a second color make the main pre-order sell
- Where to list the vinyl so it shows up in Google, the Shop app and Instagram
Why don't records sell on release day?
On release day the album is free. It is on every streaming service, and a fan can hear all of it without paying. Nobody has a reason to buy that morning.
The reason to buy comes before. Order now and the record arrives on release day. Order now and you get the color before it is gone. Both reasons expire, and the last chance email is where you say so.
Here is my contrarian take: stop treating release day as your sales day. Treat it as your listening day, and put the sales push in the days before it.
What does a last chance spike look like?
These are Todd Snider's store orders, day by day, around the last chance email on his last three albums. Before each send, a normal day was a handful of orders.
Crank It, We're Doomed took 112 orders the day the email went out. High, Lonesome and Then Some took 85 on its last chance day. Its release day four days later took 28.
My Second Rodeo went the same way. The last chance email kicked off 128 orders over two days, against 79 on release day.
Email is the channel that makes this work. During the 2024 Hayes & The Heathens pre-order, email brought in a quarter of the store's sales, more than any other channel, and its visits converted far more often than visits from paid social.
What to take from the numbers:
- The last chance push beat release day on all three Todd albums, by three times on one of them.
- A normal day before the send was single digits. The send day was 72 to 112.
- The day after the email still sells. Plan your ads to run through it.
When should you send the last chance email?
Book the pressing while the band is still in the studio, so the records are in hand before you promise release-day delivery. The artwork is usually what holds a pressing up.
Send it two to four days before street date. Our three Todd sends went out one, two and four days ahead. That is close enough that the deadline is real, and early enough that the order ships in time.
"Order today to get it on release day" is the whole pitch. Put it in the subject line, the first sentence, the ads and every post that week. If you ran a sweepstakes, announce the winner in the same email. We did that for Eastside Bulldog in 2016.
Run ads alongside it. Show the same message to people who visited the store, watched the videos or engaged with the page, and exclude everyone who already ordered.
Why open a VIP run before the pre-order?
Before the pre-order opens to everyone, we open a small limited run to the VIP list. Signed, numbered, one color. Keep the number low so it sells out.
That sellout does work for you. When the main pre-order announcement goes out, you can say the VIP run is gone and the record is still available on black vinyl or another color. Always press more than one color. The sold-out one makes the others feel like they won't last either.
Plan enough stock to keep selling. On Hayes & The Heathens I had to stop some very profitable conversion ads around release day because the vinyl sold out. Bundles would have raised the order value and let us scale those ads. I cover bundles in pre-order bundle ideas that ship on time.
Should you show how many copies are left?
Yes, when it is true. On Todd's store we are open about what is in stock. When you are doing any volume and a variant drops under about 20, show the number. Fans who were going to buy eventually decide to buy now.
Never fake it. If the page says five left and there are 500, people notice, and they stop believing your next deadline.
Where else should the vinyl be listed?
Put the record where people already shop. On Shopify, connect the Google & YouTube channel so the vinyl syncs to Google Merchant Center and can show in Google Shopping. Part 3 of our E-commerce Success Series walks through Merchant Center for musicians.
Then set up the Shop channel and the Facebook and Instagram channel. It is the same inventory in front of more people, with no extra work once it is set up.
What order should it all happen in?
- Open a small VIP run to your list first. Let it sell out.
- Open the main pre-order with more than one color, and say the VIP run is gone.
- Show stock counts when a variant gets low.
- Two to four days before street date, send the last chance email and run the ads with it. Exclude buyers.
- Keep the ads on through the next day.
- On release day, switch everything to listen.
For the full calendar this sits inside, read how to roll out an album with singles and a direct pre-order. For the emails themselves, see email marketing for musicians.
Questions musicians ask
How many days before release should the last chance email go out?
Two to four. Our three Todd Snider sends went out one, two and four days before street date, and each one was the biggest or second-biggest order day of its campaign.
Is release day a good day to sell vinyl?
Usually not. The album is free to stream that day. High, Lonesome and Then Some took 28 orders on release day against 85 on the last chance day.
Should the last chance email have ads behind it?
Yes. Run the same message to people who visited the store, watched the videos or engaged with the page, and exclude anyone who already bought.
What should you do this week?
- Release day is for listening. The sale happens before it.
- Send the last chance email two to four days out, with ads that exclude buyers.
- Sell out a small VIP run first, press a second color and show real stock counts.
Put the last chance email on your release calendar before you schedule anything else. It is the day your fans have a reason to buy.
