Remember last week? You were nervously reaching out to communities, asking strangers to test your rough prototype. "Would you mind trying this thing I built? I think it might be useful but need real people to see if I'm heading in the right direction."

You felt like you were asking for favours.

Today you're going back to those same communities with something completely different. A polished landing page. Real testimonials. Proof that it works. You're not asking for favours anymore - you're offering early access to something valuable.

We’ve come a long way in a week! It's the returning hero moment, but without the boastfulness. You followed through. You listened to feedback. You improved. You delivered.

This isn't about showing off - it's about completing the circle with the communities that helped you get here. And pushing to our wait list with real “strangers”.

Let’s get started:

Why We're Using a Waitlist

We’re going to first put in place a waitlist. This waitlist isn't just about collecting emails. It's about validation before we start charging money. We love validation! It makes us feel…well, validated!

We're moving towards payment next week but first we need to test whether people actually want what we've built.

The waitlist response tells us everything we need to know:

Zero interest? That tells us something important. Maybe the messaging is off. Maybe the problem isn't as urgent as we thought. Maybe we need to pivot or significantly adjust our approach before we start trying to charge money. If we struggle to get interest in the form of an email we’ll definitely struggle to get paid.

Huge interest? Here we go. Roll straight into next week and start getting paid. People want what you've built and are ready to buy. Jackpot.

Some interest? This is the most likely scenario. Keep going. We don't need this to hit 1000 signups immediately. We're moving towards your first ever online revenue, and even 10-20 interested people is enough to start generating income.

Setting Up Your Waitlist: Two Options

Before you launch to communities, you need the waitlist to actually work. You have two options - choose based on your comfort level and time available.

Option 1: Full Lovable Integration (Recommended)

Head back to Lovable with this prompt:

I need to add a waitlist system to my existing landing page. Place this in my current Call to Action section.
Please create:

1. FRONTEND - Email Collection Form:
   - Simple email input field with clear label "Enter your email for early access"
   - Optional first name field
   - "Join Waitlist" button that stands out visually
   - Form validation (proper email format required)
   - Success message after signup: "Thanks! You're on the waitlist. We'll email you when it's ready."

2. BACKEND - Database Setup:
   - Create a waitlist table/collection to store signups
   - Fields needed: email, first_name (optional), signup_date, timestamp
   - Basic data validation and error handling

3. ADMIN PAGE - Password Protected Dashboard for me to access:
   - Simple admin page at /admin (or similar URL)
   - Password protection (I'll set the password)
   - Display all waitlist signups in a simple table
   - Show: email, name, signup date
   - Basic stats: total signups, signups per day
   - Export functionality (CSV download of all emails)


Keep everything simple and functional. This is a basic waitlist system, not a complex CRM. Make sure the admin dashboard is easy to use and the signup process is smooth.

This will get Lovable to build a basic waitlist system for you. It’ll add a form and button to your landing page for the visitors. And then in the backend (for your eyes only) it’ll create a simple “Admin” page where you can see who has signed up for the waitlist.

Option 2: Super Simple Google Forms Approach

If this is too complex or you want to launch faster, use this dead simple approach:

1. Create a Google Form:
   • Go to forms.google.com
   • New form titled "Early Access Waitlist"
   • Add email field (required)
   • Add first name field (optional)
   • Set to automatically save to Google Sheets

2. Update Your Landing Page:
   • Set your "Join Waitlist" to link to your Google Form (ask Lovable to do this for you)
   • Add text like "Get early access - join our waitlist"

3. Test the Flow:
   • Fill out your own form on your live page to test
   • Check that responses appear in your Google Sheet

This option is literally 10 minutes to set up and pretty bulletproof. No coding, no complex setup, just works. It’s less pretty and slick looking but it gets the job done.

Remember to test whichever option you choose before launching to communities!

Community Launch Strategy

You're going back to the places where you found your beta testers, but the approach is completely different now. Week 5 was about asking for help. Today is about saying thank you and offering value.

The communities that helped you during beta testing deserve to see what came of their support. Reddit communities where people answered your questions. LinkedIn groups where professionals gave you insights. Facebook groups where you found testers.

Your message to these communities should acknowledge their previous help and offer early access as a thank you. This isn't just good manners - it's smart business. Importantly we are showing them that you follow through. You are dependable and do what you say. That’s important.

If there are particular champions that you can call out in these groups then do so. Make them look good!

Launch Message Templates

Your community messages should feel grateful rather than promotional. And we' aren’t selling anything yet - just saying you have a waitlist. You're completing a conversation that started weeks ago, not starting a new sales pitch.

I need to create launch messages for communities that helped me during beta testing. Help me create messages that feel grateful rather than promotional.

My product: [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]
My waitlist page: [LANDING PAGE URL]
Communities I'm targeting: [LIST THE SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES/PLATFORMS FROM WEEK 5]

Create launch messages for each platform.

For each message:
- Keep it genuine and appreciative
- Reference specific previous interactions when possible
- Make it about thanking them, not promoting yourself
- Include clear next step (visit landing page and sign up for waitlist if interested)

The key is making it feel like completion of a story they were already part of, not a random promotional post. Which is made a lot easier because we aren’t directly selling anything. We’re just bringing people to a waitlist. (But next week we’ll sell to those on our waitlist! We just don’t mention this part yet).

Your Deliverable Today

Execute your community launch:

1. Add working waitlist functionality to your landing page using the Lovable prompt or the basic Google Form

2. Test the signup flow to ensure everything works properly

3. Use the AI prompt to create grateful, community-specific launch messages

4. Post to the communities that helped you during Week 5 beta testing

And then over the weekend see how your waitlist goes! Don’t keep refreshing it - it’s tempting but give it some time!

Build in Public Content

Share your launch milestone:

"Day 30 of AI Summer Camp: Launch day.

Six weeks ago I started with just market research. Today I'm launching my waitlist to the communities that helped me build and test.

From idea to working product to landing page to early access launch. In just 6 weeks?”

What's Next?

Week 6 complete! You've gone from scattered feedback to polished marketing assets to live waitlist with real signups.

Week 7 shifts to Basic Revenue Systems. Now that we have potential customers on the hook we’re going to set up payment processing, create pricing strategies, and turn your waitlist into paying customers.

But here's the key: the waitlist response determines how confident you should feel going into Week 7. Strong signup numbers mean you're ready to start charging. Weak response means you might need to revisit your messaging or approach before setting up payments.

Either way, you'll know where you stand. That's the power of validation before monetisation. We enter each stage knowing exactly what’s what rather than blindly.