Are Waitlists Even Worth It? | Bathroom Break #63 🚽

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Are Waitlists Even Worth It? | Bathroom Break #63 🚽"

Released on July 7, 2025, "Are Waitlists Even Worth It? | Bathroom Break #63 🚽" is a collaborative episode of The Marketing Millennials, hosted by Daniel Murray, and Jay Schwedelson from the "Do This, Not That" podcast and Subjectline.com. In this engaging discussion, Murray and Schwedelson delve into the strategic use of waitlists in modern marketing, exploring their effectiveness, applications, and best practices.

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Introduction to the Bathroom Break Series

At [00:02], Daniel Murray introduces the session as part of a special series titled "Bathroom Break," a concise 10-minute segment packed with actionable marketing tips. The concept humorously likens the episode to a quick pit stop for marketers to gain insights while taking a bathroom break.

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Understanding Waitlists in Marketing

Jay Schwedelson opens the conversation by posing a fundamental question: "Is it worth doing waitlists in your marketing, should this be a part of your arsenal or is this a bad tactic?" ([02:29]). This sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of waitlists' roles in both business and consumer contexts.

The Importance of Building Email Lists

Daniel Murray emphasizes the critical role of waitlists in building robust email lists:

"Building lists are really important marketing. Like you need to collect emails. So if you do not have any emails, like building a wait list or building a list of people is so important because algorithms, you can't like email is algorithm proved as you know, you're the email guy." ([03:05])

He highlights that email lists provide a direct line to the audience, independent of shifting social media algorithms. This direct access allows marketers to assess the effectiveness of their landing pages, copy, and offers.

Situations Ideal for Waitlists

Murray suggests that waitlists are particularly beneficial during significant product launches or major events:

"I think most, in most cases a wait list is good for like a product launch or a big launch, like collecting emails." ([03:36])

He acknowledges that while there are scenarios where waitlists might not be suitable, their strategic use can yield substantial benefits in anticipation-building and audience engagement.

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Strategic Implementation of Waitlists

Jay Schwedelson shares practical insights from his experience organizing free virtual events. He explains how incentivizing waitlist signups can overcome the perception of unnecessary waiting:

"The first 500 people that join the wait list for our free virtual event will be entered into to win this wild 50 different VIP swag boxes that we're giving out." ([04:13])

This strategy serves multiple purposes:

1. Building Hype: Creating excitement around the event.
2. Data Collection: Gauging interest levels and understanding the target audience.
3. Pre-Launch Feedback: Identifying potential issues or adjusting marketing strategies based on signup data.

Daniel Murray expands on this by advocating for diversified marketing moments rather than relying solely on one big launch. He introduces the concept of a "Rolling Thunder launch," where incremental releases maintain sustained interest and engagement:

"If you're going to do a big launch for example and you don't know how social media is going to act on that day, you don't know how email is going to act on that day, you don't know how paid's going to act on that day. So having something like a Rolling Thunder launch where you're dropping little like nuggets on the way..." ([05:05])

He stresses the importance of offering incentives for waitlist signups, such as entry into giveaways, VIP statuses, or limited-time offers, to enhance the attractiveness of joining the waitlist.

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Maximizing the Effectiveness of Waitlists

Jay Schwedelson discusses the psychological impact of limited availability and social proof in marketing:

"The biggest hack right now in direct to consumer marketing is everybody's saying their stuff is sold out but they sold four of them. But it's great for social proof." ([06:00])

This tactic leverages scarcity to drive demand and perceived value, encouraging more signups and active participation.

For business models like SaaS platforms, waitlists can be instrumental in managing beta access and identifying super fans:

"If you're a SaaS platform and you give people beta access to a new release, a new whatever, and it's super valuable to build that wait list or be the first to try." ([06:22])

This approach not only builds anticipation but also creates a community of engaged early adopters who can provide valuable feedback.

Daniel Murray adds that offering limited quantities during launches can test market interest and manage demand effectively:

"Another test is like only launching 100. You know you might have more in inventory but only launching a hundred products on this drop." ([05:45])

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Incentivizing Waitlist Signups

Both hosts agree on the necessity of providing incentives to encourage waitlist participation. Murray outlines several methods:

• Giveaways: Offering prizes or exclusive items.
• VIP Status: Granting early access or special privileges.
• Limited Quantities: Creating urgency through scarcity.

Jay Schwedelson reinforces this by stating:

"Promising something or giving something away or giving status like VIP is a great way to do a wait list." ([05:30])

These strategies not only boost signups but also enhance user engagement and loyalty.

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Potential Challenges and Considerations

Despite the advantages, Daniel Murray acknowledges potential pitfalls in deploying waitlists:

"...they collect emails for wait list from a list that they already built and then it's like filling out 15 different spots where like they're not pre-registering for like an event or stuff. And then now you have to get three different conversions which is so much harder." ([05:20])

This highlights the importance of streamlining the signup process to avoid user fatigue and drop-offs.

Moreover, Jay Schwedelson touches on the skepticism some users might have towards waitlists for non-traditional products or services:

"Why would anybody want to get on a wait list for a free virtual event? That just sounds stupid." ([03:00])

Overcoming this requires creative incentives and clear communication of the benefits associated with joining the waitlist.

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Real-World Applications and Examples

The hosts provide tangible examples to illustrate effective waitlist strategies:

• Influencer Product Drops: Utilizing celebrity endorsements to create hype and drive signups.
• Exclusive Access: Offering early or limited access to new features or products to select members.
• Event Hosting: Managing attendance for virtual or in-person events by controlling access through waitlists.

These examples demonstrate the versatility of waitlists across various marketing scenarios and business models.

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Concluding Insights

As the episode wraps up, Daniel Murray reiterates the value of waitlists as a multifaceted marketing tool:

"We'll talk about it. Just give us a shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear." ([09:03])

He encourages listeners to leverage waitlists thoughtfully, ensuring they provide genuine value and incentives to their audience.

Jay Schwedelson concludes by promoting both podcasts and emphasizing the collaborative spirit of sharing marketing insights:

"Peace out. Later." ([09:24])

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Key Takeaways

1. Waitlists are Powerful for Building Email Lists: Essential for direct marketing and maintaining control over audience engagement.
2. Incentivize Signups: Use giveaways, VIP statuses, and limited-time offers to encourage participation.
3. Adapt to Your Audience: Tailor waitlist strategies to fit different business models, whether D2C, SaaS, or event-based.
4. Leverage Scarcity and Social Proof: Create urgency and perceived value to drive demand and signups.
5. Streamline the Signup Process: Avoid overwhelming users with excessive requirements to prevent drop-offs.
6. Use Waitlists for Data Gathering: Gain insights into audience interest and preferences to refine marketing strategies.

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Final Thoughts

In "Are Waitlists Even Worth It? | Bathroom Break #63 🚽," Daniel Murray and Jay Schwedelson provide a comprehensive analysis of waitlists in marketing. They offer practical advice, share real-world examples, and highlight both the benefits and challenges of implementing waitlists. Whether you're planning a product launch, organizing an event, or managing a SaaS platform, this episode equips you with the knowledge to effectively utilize waitlists as a strategic marketing tool.

For more insights and actionable tips, follow The Marketing Millennials on LinkedIn and Instagram, and subscribe to their newsletter. Don't forget to check out Jay Schwedelson's Do This, Not That podcast for additional marketing strategies.

Transcript

[Daniel Murray]

Welcome to a new special series called the Bathroom break. That extra 10 minutes you either have to listen to marking tips or use the bathroom or both. But I don't recommend both. But that's your choice.

[Jay Schwedelson]

This collab is going to be super fun. We have Daniel Murray from the Marketing Millennials and me, Jay Schwedelson from the do this, not that podcast and subjectline.com each episode in the series, we are going to go over quick tips about different marketing topics. And if you want to be in the bathroom, fine, just don't tell us about it. Thanks for checking it out. We are back again for another bathroom break and today we're crushing the power of wait lists. On the business and consumer side. I'm here with Daniel Murray, who is the marketing Millennial. I'm Jay Schwedelson from Do this, not that. So, Daniel, before we get into this, I'm curious about something. When you go to the supermarket, all right, are you like a self checkout guy and you crush self checkout or do you just go down the regular aisle because to have that random person come over because you have a problem with your self checkout and you don't know how to scan it or is this not a problem for you? Because oddly, I don't think I've ever done a self checkout without needing somebody's help.

[Daniel Murray]

It depends on items. Like if I need, if I'm trying to go fast, I'm self checkout. But if I have like a whole card of groceries and stuff, and it depends, like, yeah, I, I think it's definitely comes down to items for me. I like the ability to self check out. But if I, I hate the people who have a whole card of like 400 things in there and self checkout and I'm like, you could have just gone over here, please. You're just like holding out the self.

[Jay Schwedelson]

I just don't know how, like if I go somewhere and I get like, you know, maybe they have a prepared food section and I get it and then there's like all these buttons you press, you weigh it or I, I'm not able to use the technology to self self checkout. And the other thing I read is that 15% of people steal when they do self checkout.

[Daniel Murray]

Oh yeah, that's a big problem.

[Jay Schwedelson]

That's crazy.

[Daniel Murray]

That's a big problem. That's, that's why a lot of companies are anti self checkout. Like when people go and do you steal?

[Jay Schwedelson]

I've never imagine you admitted that right now.

[Daniel Murray]

I still Every time I've known like people in like high school and stuff.

[Jay Schwedelson]

That terrible people, so stupid, so bad. All right, well, we're not going to be bad today. We're going to be talking about the power of weightless. So what are we even talking about? Is it worth doing weightless in your marketing, should this be a part of your arsenal or is this a bad tactic?

[Daniel Murray]

I think, number one, I would say I'll be general. It depends. But I, I do think that like building lists are really important marketing. Like you need to collect emails. So if you do not have any emails, like building a wait list or building a list of people is so important because algorithms, you can't like email is algorithm proved as you know, you're the email guy. So building a list also it lets you know like gauges like is my landing page copy or the, the offer I'm having? Is it, is it serving the people I thought was serving or not serving? So but it's always important to collect an email. I think there's way reasons not to do waitlist and we could talk about that and reasons not to call it a wait list. And those are the two things I would stray away. But I think most, in most cases a wait list is good for like a product launch or a big launch, like collecting emails.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah. And I think that people get confused about wait lists and they think, okay, I'm not a direct to consumer product that's going to drop a new color of a fitness outfit. And, and so I can't do a wait list. And so for example, with my events, we put on these big free virtual events. Why would anybody want to get on a wait list for a free virtual event? That just sounds stupid. And it would be stupid if we say get on a wait list for that. So what we do is, and the reason we do it, we will say things like, okay, the first 500 people that join the wait list for our free virtual event will be entered in to win this wild 50 different VIP swag boxes that we're giving out. And the reason that we do that is number one, we want to build up hype. Number two, we dig into the data because let's say nobody registers gets on the waitlist, like, oh, we have a clunker here. This thing's going to stink. Nobody wants in. Or we get a boatload of people that do sign up. We then look at the data and say, okay, cool, this is in our, you know, target audience. This is what we're going after. Or we have to tweak. Our marketing or tweak this. It gives you a little peek behind the curtain before you go too far with your product, event or service.

[Daniel Murray]

I would add on to that. I would say that it's always better to not rely on one big moment in marketing. Especially that because if you're going to do a big launch for example and you don't know how social media is going to act on that day, you don't know how email is going to act on that day, you don't know how paid's going to act on that day. So having something like a Rolling Thunder launch where you're. You're dropping little like nuggets on the way where you could do with wait list you could do first come first serve. You could say like get in our VIP circle to know when something happens. But I think the key here is also just like collecting. But I, I do think you have to if you're going to do a wait list it has there has to be an incentive of someone getting on the wait list and and depends what type of company you are. So it either it has to be like they enter to win something, they get a status like vip, they have to have some sort of in because I see where I see people go wrong with this is that they collect emails for wait list from a list that they already built and then it's like filling out 15 different spots where like they're not pre registering for them for like an event or stuff. And then now you have to get three different conversions which is so much harder. So promising something or giving something away or giving status like VIP is a great way to do a wait list or like for E commerce. I've seen it a lot where like an influencer drops a product and people get on the wait list because you know that this hype and if you don't get on the wait list then you the product's going to be sell out. So like a good way also do this is limited quantity. Like when you launch something like I we're only going to launch 100 something like say it ahead of time. That's a good test too is like only launching 100. You know you might have more in inventory but only launching a hundred products on this drop.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah and totally and first of all that's like the biggest hack right now in direct to consumer marketing is everybody's saying their stuff is sold out but they sold four of them. But it's great for social proof. And on the business side if you're like a SaaS platform. And, you know, you give people beta access to a new release, a new whatever, and it's super valuable to build that wait list or be the first to try. Be the first to have access. So if you're not doing this, it is a really great way to figure out who your super fans are, to figure out if you're hitting your target audience, and to Daniel's point, to build up a new list of people. Sorry, before we wrap up this one, you know, back. Back to the supermarket. So now you're checking out. Are you. Do you grab stuff? Are you grabbing, like, write a check. Oh, I need the Tic Tacs. I gotta get this drink over here. We. Or you laser focus and you're locked in and once you have your cart. This is the most random question ever. No, do you. Do you get any extras at the end?

[Daniel Murray]

I'll add one thing because I. I'm a marketer in this. This is the OG up, the OG upsell, cross sell of like this, like having. Going through a line and seeing the magazines, chocolates and stuff, I think, yeah, if I need gum or if I need a water, I probably. I probably fall for the trap sometimes. You know the ones where there's like, along. Sephora does this where like the. As I go long zigzag and there's like a thousand products there. I bet so many people, oh, Lululemon.

[Jay Schwedelson]

I've bought so many hats at Lululemon, which is so long. I'm like, oh, another random one color, really weird hat that won't fit me properly. I'm definitely buying that. And I go home with a hat I never wear again. It's amazing.

[Daniel Murray]

I know. I've never seen you in a hat.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Oh, my God. In the weekend, you don't see me without a hat. Oh, wow. Yeah, I'm a hat guy. You're a hat guy.

[Daniel Murray]

I am a very big hat. I've never seen you.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah, no, it's very exciting. What's not exciting is what we're talking about. So listen, you all are awesome. Go and hook up the market Millennials. Follow their show. Follow. Do this, not that. Follow some other random podcasts. That is awesome. Whatever that is for you. And we'll see you at the next. Daniel. Come on, man. I gotta get back to work. Get out of there. All right, While he's still in there. This is Jay. Check out my podcast, do this, not that for marketers. Each week we share really quick tips on stuff that can improve your marketing and hope you give it a try. Oh, here's Daniel. He's finally out.

[Daniel Murray]

Back from my bathroom break. This is Daniel. Go follow the Mark and Melanie podcast, but also tune into this series. It's once a week, the Bathroom Break. We talk about marketing tips that we just spew out. And it could be anything from email subject line to any marketing tips in the world. We'll talk about it. Just give us a. A shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Peace out. Later.