If I was starting a brand tomorrow, this is exactly what I’d do….

Jan 26

You’ve finally done it. You’ve launched.

Your site goes live, the orders start rolling in, your phone lights up with messages from friends and family. You feel on top of the world, this is what you’ve been working towards. And for a moment, it feels like you’ve made it.

But then… the dust settles. The launch-day buzz fades. Site traffic drops. Sales slow. That rush of excitement turns into a knot in your stomach as you realise, now the real work begins.

I’ve seen this happen to so many founders, and I’ve lived it alongside plenty of them. That’s why I’m sharing the exact playbook I’d use if I was starting a brand tomorrow. Not just the ‘launch hype’ bits, but what actually builds a business beyond those first 48 hours.

Whether you’re launching from scratch or a few years in and ready to regroup, this is the stuff that works. No fluff. No wishful thinking. Just the practical steps that help you grow a brand that lasts.

The optional pre-launch test

If you’ve got the time (and a bit of budget), a pre-launch test is one of the smartest moves you can make. It gives you a read on whether your idea actually lands with customers, before you start sinking money into stock, design, or marketing.

It’s simple.

Build a landing page that sells the idea, push the benefits, outcomes, and why a customer should care.
Run some paid traffic to it, I’d use Meta Ads.
Have a conversion goal. That could be an “Order Now” button (yes, even taking payments) or just an email sign-up.

If it’s for sales, you want around 30% of visitors to check out.
If it’s email sign-ups, you want more like 60%+ to feel confident there’s demand.

If you do take payments, refund them and tell people the product’s coming soon.

What this gives you is validation. Proof that there’s interest before you commit. If it bombs? You’ve saved yourself a lot of time and cash.

I’d recommend setting aside £5k–£10k for this kind of test if you’re going for it properly.

Launch day doesn’t make or break your brand

I hate to say it, but your launch day means very little in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it’s exciting. You should absolutely make the most of the buzz while it lasts. But the truth is, what really matters is what happens after, day 2, week 2, month 2. That’s when you find out if you’ve built something that lasts.

The clock starts ticking the minute you launch. Stock costs money to hold. Overheads don’t stop because you had a good first day. So you need a proper plan, not just a big launch, but a strategy that keeps your brand growing, acquiring customers, and moving product.

Here’s what you’ll need before you even think about the big “go live” moment:

A landing page you can tweak, update, and change as you learn.
A Meta ads template you can easily edit, I’d build this in Figma.
£15k–£20k ad budget you’re prepared to risk.
A video editor who can help you create and refine content (if budget’s tight, look overseas).
A small pool of 4 to 7 content creators you trust to tell your brand story, and who won’t break the bank.

That’s your toolkit. Now let’s get into how you actually use it.

Your landing page and offer

First things first, you need a landing page. One that’s clear, direct, and sells the product in a way your customer actually cares about. Good angles, strong positioning, a clear offer, simple copy, decent product shots, and a way to buy. That’s it.

But, and it’s a big but, your product, full price, with a “shop now” button isn’t likely to convert unless you’ve got insane product-market fit. So, you need an offer that works for you and feels like a win for your customer. Four solid options to start with are:

10% off your order (or up to 20–30% if it’s a product people’ll buy often)
Gift with purchase, something high-margin, high-perceived value, and on-brand
Spend £X, get £Y off
Buy X, get 1 free

Simple, effective, and you can tweak them as you go. If you’re running subscriptions, offer incentives for the second or third order instead of just upfront discounts.

Now, about that landing page, forget making it look like it came from a top agency. What matters is this, your customer should land on it knowing nothing and leave knowing:

What the product is
Why the brand exists
Why this product will make their life better
Why this company’s the best choice
How fast they’ll get it
Why they can trust you

Founders forget this all the time because you’re too close to the product. Those six questions, answer them clearly, over and over again, on your page (and wherever you’re selling).

And when those first sales come in? Go all out on the customer experience. These are your early adopters, treat them like VIPs. A personal thank-you email goes a long way. If you’re stuck on what to say, try this prompt in ChatGPT:

“I need to write a thank-you email for a new e-commerce brand. We sell [your product]. It should be plain text, friendly, and signed off by [name]. Give me 10 options.”

Tweak the one you like best, add a call to action that encourages a reply, and get it set up post-purchase.

Why push for replies? Because replies tell the email gods you’re legit, and that means better deliverability down the line.

Collecting reviews

With influencers, ads, and media feeling more staged than ever, real customer reviews are one of the most powerful levers you’ve got. Nothing beats genuine social proof from actual buyers.

So, when someone gets their order, make sure you’re following up. A plain-text email, a few days after delivery, asking them to leave a review. Keep it simple, honest, and personal. Don’t be afraid to tell them you’re a small business and their feedback genuinely matters, because it does.

And here’s my view. Until you’re pushing 100 orders a day, don’t automate this. Send it manually, from a real inbox. You’ll get better open rates, better replies, and it’ll actually land in their primary inbox, not spam.

When you get a review (especially one with a photo), say thank you properly. You can offer a £10 store credit or do something small but personal, like sending them £5 for a coffee or a snack. It’s up to you. The key is showing them they’re appreciated.

Your organic content strategy

Telling your friends, family, and everyone you know about your launch? 100% the right move. But you can’t stop there, if you want real traction, you’ll need content that reaches beyond your immediate circle.

Before you start pumping budget into ads, organic social is your testing ground. Thanks to how feeds work now, literally any post has a shot at blowing up. One video can put your brand in front of millions.

That’s why having a small pool of content creators on standby is key. They give you the freedom to test different angles, formats, and ideas across TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and even Twitter.

When something hits? Double down. Repurpose it. Run it as an ad. Until then, keep posting, keep testing, and don’t overthink it. The goal is simple: find what works, then do more of it.

Paid ads strategy

Once your landing page is live, and tested with some organic traffic, you’re ready to get rolling with paid ads. Here’s how I’d approach it:

List your angles
Ask yourself, why should someone buy this? Write down every answer that comes to mind. Keep them short and simple. If you’re stuck, use ChatGPT, but be specific about your product, your customer, and why you exist. Otherwise, you’ll get bland fluff.
Group and refine
Look for overlaps. Merge similar ideas. You’re aiming for a tight list of distinct angles that actually make sense.
Turn them into creatives
Use those angles to brief your content creators and video editors. You can also make static ads yourself in Figma, and yes, statics are worth testing because CPMs are often a third of what you’ll pay for video.
Set a budget and start testing
Start with £500/day on Meta. Don’t just go broad, I know you’ll hear people say it works, but that’s when accounts have data. When you’re starting cold, you need to guide Meta by setting clear customer targets. Think of the algorithm like a person, it won’t know who to find if you don’t tell it.
Watch what people do on your site
Use a heatmap tool (like Hotjar or Clarity) to see how people behave on your page. Where are they clicking? What’s working? What are they skipping? If you don’t spot things to fix, you’re not looking hard enough. Your first version won’t be perfect, it just needs to improve over time.

Then? Keep looping back to steps 3 and 4.

You want to see these numbers moving in the right direction:

CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions). Tells you if Meta likes your content. High = bad. Low = you’re on the right track.
CPA (cost per acquisition). What it costs to get a customer. This is your key number.
CTR (click-through rate). How good is your ad at making people click? High CTR with low conversions? Your site needs work. Low CTR? Your ad’s the issue.
CPC (cost per click): Good to monitor. It’s a mix of CTR and CPM. If it’s dropping, you’re improving.
CVR (conversion rate). How many people buy after seeing your ad (or landing on your site).

Why does all this matter beyond making sales? Because paid ads give you the fastest feedback loop possible. You’re building your own live focus group, testing messaging, creative, offers, even product ideas. And if you pay attention, you’ll learn what really works.

Double down

Once you start finding things that work, whether it’s a creative style, an angle, a hook, or a bit of messaging, your job isn’t done. Far from it. The biggest mistake I see? People run ads once, lose a few grand, and give up before they’ve properly tested and tweaked. That’s not how this works. You’ve got to keep learning, adjusting, and building on what’s working.

And once you’ve got customers coming in, don’t miss the obvious wins:

Use the social proof you get in your ads
Duplicate your landing pages and test new angles
Keep testing email subject lines to bump up open rates
Set up SMS collection and flows, especially abandoned cart and checkout
Keep tweaking your email pop-up until you get that opt-in rate up (I like Alia for this)
Send surveys asking customers what they love, what they don’t, and what they want next

This is the stuff that compounds. Don’t stop once something clicks, double down, test harder, and squeeze every bit of learning out of it.

Upsells, cross-sells, product expansion and channels

Let’s go back to that gift with purchase idea for a second, because it’s not just a launch gimmick. You should be thinking right from the start about how to build your product lineup with natural upsells, cross-sells, and add-ons baked in.

What’s your tier 1 product, the hero item you want most people to buy?
What are your tier 2 products, the logical next step or higher-ticket items?
And what are your add-ons, things that work as gifts, bundle extras, or easy upsells?

For example:

You sell a product for £29. Fine.
But on the product page, you offer a second one at a slight discount or suggest a subscription.
In the cart, you pitch a relevant add-on.
After purchase, you offer a bundle or a second product at a discount.

Now you’ve got a customer who’s spent 2 to 4x more than they planned, and you might actually make money on that first order.

As for channels, stick with Meta until you’ve maxed out what it can do for you. Then test Google and TikTok. Don’t rush into TV, podcasts, or big splashy brand plays. They can wait.

At this stage, if you’re somewhere between £5k and £100k a month, the highest-leverage thing you can do is get other people talking about your brand. Creators, influencers, editors… real earned media that builds credibility and reach.

There are dozens of other growth levers you can pull down the line, retail, wholesale, partnerships, SMS, AI tools, events, podcasts… the list goes on.

But if I was starting a brand tomorrow, this five-step playbook is exactly where I’d begin. It’s the foundation, and still only the beginning of what it takes to build a serious brand.

Hope this gives you a clear, realistic blueprint to follow. Starting and scaling a brand is hard, but honestly? It’s one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do.

What it really comes down to

If you take one thing from this, let it be this. Launching a brand isn’t about hype, or luck, or waiting for a “big break.” It’s about building the right foundations, testing relentlessly, and staying close to your customer every step of the way.

The steps I’ve shared aren’t magic bullets. They’re the things that actually work, and the things most people skip because they’re chasing shortcuts. This isn’t glamorous, but it’s what builds brands that last.

So whether you’re starting tomorrow or regrouping after a few years in, this is your reminder.