Waitlist with Email Broadcasts (2026): Keep Your List Warm

A waitlist that can only collect emails is half a tool. The other half is email broadcasts — the ability to actually send to your list before launch. Here is what broadcasts are, why they matter, and how GetWaitly does it.

The short answer

An email waiting list is only useful if you actually email it — broadcast emails (or email broadcasts) let you send one message to everyone on your waitlist — updates, progress notes, and your launch announcement — without a separate email platform. GetWaitly includes broadcasts with open and click tracking from $5/mo (Starter). Many waitlist tools either lack broadcasts entirely or gate them behind a much higher tier.

What is an email broadcast?

A broadcast is a single email you write once and send to your whole list at that moment. It is different from an automated email, which fires in response to an action:

Type	When it sends	Example
Automated	On a trigger	Welcome email on signup; "you moved up" on a referral
Broadcast	When you press send	"We're launching next week"

You need both. Automation handles the moment-to-moment; broadcasts keep the list warm over the weeks before launch.

Why broadcasts matter for a pre-launch waitlist

• A list you never contact goes cold. Enthusiasm depreciates. Silence for weeks turns subscribers into strangers.
• Momentum before launch. Progress updates keep people interested and make launch day feel like an event.
• You own the channel. Unlike social, the list is yours — email reaches people who asked to hear from you.
• One tool, not two. Without broadcasts, you bolt on a separate email platform ($12–39/mo) and export your list into it.

What to look for in email broadcasts

• Built into the waitlist — no separate ESP, no CSV export.
• Open and click tracking — so you know what lands.
• Merge tags — personalize with the subscriber's name, position, referral link, or your list size (full list below).
• Deliverability basics — double opt-in and a clean list keep you out of spam.
• Reasonable sending limits — enough for a pre-launch list (1,000+/mo).

How GetWaitly does email broadcasts

• Broadcasts are built in — write once in the dashboard, send to your whole list.
• Open and click tracking on every send.
• Welcome emails with merge tags so new subscribers get a personalized first message.
• Double opt-in to protect deliverability.
• Included from $5/mo (Starter, 1,000 emails/mo; Pro adds 3,000/mo; Business 10,000/mo).
• Use your logo in emails so every send matches your brand.

That means the full pre-launch loop — collect signups, reward referrals, and email your list — lives in one tool.

Merge tags you can use

These work in the subject line and the body, and resolve per subscriber at send time:

Tag	What it inserts
{{subscriber.first_name}}	Their first name
{{subscriber.full_name}}	Their full name
{{subscriber.last_name}}	Their last name, on its own
{{subscriber.email}}	Their email address
{{subscriber.position}}	Their place in the queue
{{subscriber.referral_link}}	Their unique share link
{{subscriber.referral_count}}	How many people they have referred
{{subscriber.points}}	Their referral points
{{waitlist.name}}	Your waitlist's name
{{waitlist.total_subscribers}}	Your current list size

A useful pattern: put {{subscriber.position}} and {{subscriber.referral_link}} in every update. It reminds each person that they are in a queue with something to move up, and gives them the one link that makes sharing easy.

Broadcasts vs an email marketing platform

GetWaitly sends broadcast updates to your waitlist. It is not a newsletter platform or CRM — no drip sequences, no segmentation engine, no automation builder. If email marketing is your core business, use a dedicated platform. If you need to email a pre-launch waitlist, broadcasts built into your waitlist tool are simpler and cheaper. (Where GetWaitly stops.)

Frequently asked questions

What is an email broadcast?

A one-off email you send to your entire waitlist at once — an update, a progress note, or your launch announcement.

Does GetWaitly have email broadcasts?

Yes. Broadcasts with open and click tracking are included from the $5/mo Starter plan, with sending limits that scale up to 10,000/mo.

Do I need a separate email tool?

No — if your waitlist tool includes broadcasts, you skip the separate ESP and the export step.

What emails should I send before launch?

A welcome email on signup, then occasional updates and a launch announcement. See the waitlist email sequence guide.

Are open and click rates tracked?

Yes. Every GetWaitly broadcast reports opens and clicks so you can see what your list responds to.

Related guides

• Waitlist with Referral Tracking — the other half of the pre-launch loop
• The Waitlist Email Sequence Guide — what to write in each email
• Waitlist Email Template Examples — ready-to-adapt templates
• How Long Does It Take to Grow a Waitlist? — the timelines behind the numbers
• Who GetWaitly Is Not For — where broadcasts end and an ESP begins

The simple waitlist tool for founders launching a product. Broadcasts included from $5/mo — free to start, no credit card required. Try GetWaitly free →