Create a waitlist campaign

Last reviewed: 2026-06-01Reviewed by KickoffLabs SupportApplies to: Campaign setup, waitlists, referrals, and rewardsPlan: All plans

Strategy guide: Want the bigger campaign playbook behind this setup? Read Building a Waitlist.

A waitlist campaign helps you build anticipation before launch. People join the list, share their unique referral link, and can move up the waitlist as they refer friends or earn points.

How waitlist ranking works

A new lead starts at the end of the line based on join date. If 100 people already joined, the next person starts at position 101.

When that lead earns points or referrals, they can move ahead of people with lower scores. Leads with higher scores stay ahead unless you remove them or change scoring rules.

You can use waitlist rank by itself or combine it with reward levels. For example, leads can move up the list and also unlock guaranteed perks as they hit referral milestones.

Create the waitlist campaign

1. From KickoffLabs, create a new campaign.
2. Choose a waitlist campaign type. Pick the option that best matches your launch, such as a product prelaunch, app waitlist, crowdfunding prelaunch, or beta access list.

3. Optionally use the AI builder to generate draft copy, email text, share copy, and legal terms. Add a short description of your company or product, or skip this step and write the copy manually.

4. Choose how people will sign up and share. For a simple waitlist, a single-page KickoffLabs landing + status page is a good starting point.

5. Choose a theme. You can edit the design and copy later.

6. Review your setup. If anything looks wrong, go back and adjust it before creating the campaign.

By default, waitlist campaigns use scoring based on actions and referrals. You can change this later in Scoring and Actions.

Review the campaign dashboard

After onboarding, KickoffLabs opens the campaign dashboard. This is where you manage pages, leads, reports, setup, scoring, emails, and rewards.

Key areas:

• Leads: View people who joined the campaign.
• Reports: Review page, form, popup, and referral performance.
• Setup: Manage campaign-wide settings, tracking scripts, social share text, fraud detection, and integrations.
• Common Settings: Configure scoring, actions, emails, and rewards.

Configure scoring, emails, and rewards

Open Set Scoring to adjust how leads earn points and how referrals affect waitlist rank.

Open Messaging to customize auto-replies, reward emails, verification emails, SMS messages, broadcast mails, templates, and default sender settings.

Edit and test the page

Use Edit Page to customize the landing page. Use View Live Page to test the signup and referral flow.

Before launch, test:

• A new signup.
• The confirmation or thank-you/status page.
• The referral link in a private/incognito browser.
• Waitlist rank movement after a referral.
• Reward emails or auto-reply emails.
• Any integrations connected to the campaign.

Related docs:

• Campaign dashboard overview
• Set up reward levels
• Scoring and actions
• How waitlist mechanics work

Need help? Email support@kickofflabs.com. Include your campaign URL, test lead email, referral link, and what waitlist rank or score you expected to see.