The Startup Ideas Podcast

The best businesses are built at the intersection of emerging technology, community, and real human needs.

Back to Playbooks

Generate waitlist signups through subtle product promotion in valuable content

SaaS founders who can create content and want to build demand before launch

2-3 months before product launch

What Success Looks Like

Viral content posts that drive hundreds of waitlist signups without appearing overly promotional

Steps to Execute

Create content that leads with value your target audience wants

Subtly mention your product as one bullet point, not the main focus

Put call-to-action in comments rather than main post to avoid suppression

Use credibility signals (famous people, spicy takes) to increase engagement

Test both immediate links and delayed editing approaches

Checklist

Post provides genuine value independent of product mention

Product mention feels natural, not forced

CTA is subtle and non-pushy

Content includes engagement drivers (controversy, celebrity, etc.)

Tracking mechanism in place for conversion attribution

Inputs Needed

Deep understanding of target audience pain points
Content creation skills for chosen platform
Product that solves a real problem mentioned in content
Analytics tracking for conversion measurement

Outputs

Waitlist signups from content consumers
Increased brand awareness in target market
Validation of product-market fit through signup rates
Content that can be repurposed across platforms

Example

“A LinkedIn post about '5 ways to make content go viral' that subtly mentions an AI tool in bullet point 3, gets 50,000 views and drives 500 waitlist signups through a comment link”