6 Ways to Create Brand Awareness Before You Launch Your Site

If you're just getting started designing that e-commerce store or attracting online customers for your brick and mortar business, you might feel a little behind. The good news is, you're entering a time when being an online store is not only accepted but preferred by more consumers.

Plus, the tools are better, and web designs are easier for customers to use on all screen sizes.

However, before you get started, you need a launch plan because if you don't let people know you're out there, they simply aren't going to find you.

To jump-start your launch, you should create brand awareness. Now, you might be thinking, but if I don't have a website up, how am I supposed to promote it? And why would I want to?

Well, you want to promote it to ensure you have traffic when you do go live, and these first few visitors are essential to rankings and making sure your site is functioning like the best website platform you purchased. Plus, when you have a launch party, you get people excited, and you want to create that buzz.

Here are a few ways to get create brand awareness before you launch so that you start out on the right foot.

#1: Social media

This may seem like a no-brainer, but you want to go ahead and build that following on social media before your website is up and running. You want all potential customers to recognize your brand, and when you do launch, they'll already have a higher amount of trust because they've seen you around.

#2: Email

Building an email list before a website goes live isn’t a new concept. Plus, as you gather emails you can send out updates on your launch and give people a deal. For example, let your email list know that the first one hundred visitors to your website gets a free gift with their purchase.

This will encourage them to convert to get the free gift, and they’ll want to get to the launch party early.

#3: Guest posts

Before you go live, try to get in front of industry leaders and blogs that are within your website's niche. Guest posting will help you raise brand awareness as well as grow your email list.

Be sure that you publish your very best content whether it’s infographics, images, or text. You not only want to attract potential customers to visit during your launch date, but you want to respect the format of the website that you’re guest posting on.

Remember that word – guest. It’s not your house, so keep your shoes off the coffee table, use a coaster, and bring your best manners!

#4: Press release

You’ll be surprised how many publications, both locally and nationally, are interested in online start-ups. Don’t wait for them to come to you!

Reach out to as many of these publications as you can to let them know when you’ll be live and what you’re bringing to the online world that’s unique.

And once again, bring your best work because you want people to read it and retain it, so they show up and convert for your launch.

#5: Online forums

Sign up for online communities within your niche and get in on the chatter. You’ll be surprised how many influential people hang out on forums, and you can subtly get the word out through real conversations with future customers.

#6: Test your site with a soft launch

As you grow your brand awareness, don’t forget to test your website before the launch of your car website. Many new businesses do this to ensure that everything is working properly before the big party.

Restaurants have soft rollouts to make sure that their servers and bartenders, kitchen staff, equipment, seating, and all those other elements that give the customers the best experience have been tested and run smoothly.

They invite around fifty of their best friends, get real feedback, and then take a week to correct any flaws before they are officially open.

You can do a soft launch by making your site live for twenty-four hours and get a select group of people to read your content, sign up for your newsletter, purchase a product, and more to ensure that everything is seamless and people are happy .