5 Ways to Get Signups Before You Touch a Line of Code

A founder messaged me last week, buzzing with excitement.

“Check out our landing page,” he said, sharing the link like he’d just cracked the bowling code.

I clicked.

The headline hit me: “Boost your bowling average by 20+ pins.”

Not bad, I thought …if your dream is to become the Excel spreadsheet of bowling.

But casual bowlers?

They don’t wake up dreaming of averages.

They want to crush their friends on Friday night.

They want to rub it in Pete’s face.

They want to finally stop being the one who always buys the fries after losing.

This is the classic mistake founders make when building their landing pages.

And so I started my audit.

Let me give you a quick rundown, starting from “Will I throw my money at you” scale all the way to…

How to fix your pre-launch landing page so you get leads.

The Mistake: A Half-Built Page with No Real Persuasion

I’ll rate this page a 4/10 on “Will I Throw My Money At You” Scale.

Why?

1. As I mentioned earlier, I do not want to “BOOST MY AVERAGE.” I want to rub it in Pete’s face. Do not appeal to logic. Appeal to emotion, love, fun, anger, revenge, envy.. appeal to their life. And what happens to their life once they try your app.
   

2. Next mistake — “Advanced Analytics”, “Personalized Tips,” all cool. But what do they look like? What do they mean? Show me.
   

3. “Be the first to know when the app is released” but.. I don't know about you enough to give you my email. Also, what’s in it for me?? 

I understand the app was not fully developed, and this landing page is a market research kinda page

But that does not mean it should be half-baked.

In fact, it should be FULL BLOWN PERSUASIVE so people show interest before you’ve even built the app.

Even market research pages should sell the vision.

Especially if you want real feedback from real users, not just your college roommates clicking your form.

So here’s what to do instead.

5 Fixes for Pre-Launch Pages So It Sells Your App Before It’s Built

1. Don’t Sell the Logic — Sell the Emotion (and the Second-Order Effects)

Here’s the deal: No one gives a crap about bowling averages.

What they care about is what happens because of that average going up.

This is where second-order thinking comes in.

Let’s do it for an example… a Calorie Intake Calculator App

Let’s follow the chain:

You count your calories →

You start being mindful →

You eat healthy →

You lose weight →

People start to notice the weight loss →

You feel good about yourself →

You become the HOT DAD among your kids’ friends

This is what people actually want.

If you’ve read Farnam Street or Naval’s writings, you’ll recognize this as second- and third-order effects thinking …

The ability to sell not just what happens, but what happens because that happens.

2. Preview Your Product — Even If It Doesn’t Exist Yet

Here’s the thing: You don’t need a working app to show what your product will look like.
 You can literally:

• Mock it up in Figma

• Hire a designer on Fiverr

• Talk to lovable and show the features

Visuals make ideas real.

Even if it’s fake. Even if it’s sketchy. That’s fine. You’re selling potential.

3. Give a Reason to Sign Up (No One Cares About “Be the First to Know”)

“Be the first to hear from us” is the most boring CTA on the Milky Way Galaxy.

Instead, bribe them.

Try:

•  A printable “Bowling Scorecard” template they can take next game night

• Get a cheat sheet with 5 things top bowlers do before every game

• Learn how your bowling stats compare to pros — free PDF

Give value now, not “someday when we maybe launch”

1032 websites are asking for their email address, give them a reason to give it to you.

4. Stop Asking Users to Do Your Job (No Surveys)

Asking for feedback before giving value is like asking someone on a first date, “Hey can you fill out this form about what kind of person you want me to become?”

No. No. No.

The MOM TEST by Rob Fitzpatrick teaches this: Never ask people what they want. Watch what they do.

If your page says:

• What would you like to see?

• What features are most important?

• Can you fill this out?

…it’s lazy. Show them what you think is valuable. Let their sign-up (or bounce) be your feedback.

5. Treat Market Research Pages Like Sales Pages

Just because you’re not selling yet doesn’t mean it’s not a pitch.

Think of it this way:

• No persuasion = no one signs up = no signal

• High persuasion = real interest = real validation

So even if your app isn’t launched, your copy should be tight.

Your CTA should give, not ask.

Imagine getting interest before you even built it? The motivation would be crazy.

🛠 Mini Rewrite (Because I love making Founders $$$)

“Always finish last on bowling night?”

Dominate your next game with AI-powered tips built for casual players.

Learn your habits. Track progress. Win big. No nerdy charts, just real results.

👉 Download our printable Bowling Smackdown Sheet (and we’ll keep you posted when we launch!

🔁 TLDR — If You’re Making a Market Research Landing Page:

• Speak to emotion, not logic

• Show what you’re building visually

• Give a reason to sign up (not just “be the first”)

• Don’t beg users to tell you what they want

• Make the damn page persuasive

If you’re doing a SaaS pre-launch and want someone to roast your copy, fix your flow, and turn that dead landing page into a lead magnet…

I’m doing 3 FREE Differential Diagnosis audits like this

Just reply to this email with “INTERESTED”

You shouldn’t have to survive on ramen profits.

You should have STEAK AND LOBSTER profits :P

Looking forward to your reply

Cheers,

Arunima