The last chance to pre-order email and the ads that run with it are the biggest sales push of a release. Then release day turns to listening. Here is how we set it up for Todd Snider.
Of everything we do for a release, the last chance to pre-order email and its ad series are the most effective. They are a must. I've been running these campaigns for more than a decade, and I wouldn't plan an album pre-order without that final push. On Todd Snider's last three albums, the final push outsold release day every time. Then, on release day, the focus changes to listening.
In this post:
- Why release day should lead with listening, and where the sales push goes instead
- Todd Snider's store orders around three final pre-order pushes, 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 should release day focus on listening?
Before release day, give fans a reason to order now: a real shipping cutoff, a limited edition or a pre-order offer that is ending. 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.
On release day the whole album is on every streaming service, so get the music to people. Make it easy to listen and give them time to connect with it. Keep the record available to buy, but let listening lead the message. People who love what they hear can come back for the vinyl, a shirt or a bundle in the weeks that follow.
What does a last chance spike look like?
These are Todd Snider's store orders, day by day, around the final pre-order push on his last three albums. They show store activity during coordinated campaigns of email, ads and posts, not orders credited to the email alone.
Crank It, We're Doomed took 112 orders the day the email went out, the day before release. Release day took 97. High, Lonesome and Then Some took 85 on its email day and 41 the next day. Its release day took 28.
For My Second Rodeo, the store took 72 orders on the email day and another 56 the next day, before taking 79 on release day. On all three records, the final push outsold release day. Then the message turned to listening. The day after the email still sells, so plan the ads to run through it.
Cut.
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. Scott Orr of Other Record Labels calls the artwork the biggest hang-up at the plant.
Schedule the email and matching ads around the actual pre-order cutoff. Our Todd campaigns used sends one, two and four days before release. Confirm any arrival promise with whoever fulfills the orders before putting it in the email.
"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. Make it special, like an autographed record with extras, and 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 do more than one color. That's effective. The sold-out VIP run gives you something to post about, and the record is still there on black vinyl or another color.
Plan enough stock to keep selling. Have your bundles ready when the pre-order opens. I cover the options 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. I think that creates some urgency to shop.
Never fake it. Cut. Keep "Never fake it." on its own.
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.
- Before the real cutoff for release-day delivery, send the last chance email and run the ads with it. Exclude buyers.
- Keep the ads on through the next day.
- On release day, make listening the main message. Keep the store links available and continue selling to fans who are ready to buy.
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?
Time it to the real cutoff for release-day delivery, and confirm that cutoff with whoever ships the orders. 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?
Keep the store open and the links up, because fans still buy. But lead with listening that day. High, Lonesome and Then Some took 28 orders on release day, after 126 over the two days of its final push.
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?
- The final pre-order email and its ads are a must. Release day leads with listening while the store stays open.
- Time the last chance email to the real shipping cutoff, with ads that exclude buyers.
- Sell out a small VIP run first, add a second color when demand supports it 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.
