Waitlists are more than just hype builders — they're one of the best ways to test real demand for your community, product, or experience.

At Heartbeat, we strongly recommend charging for your waitlist. Here’s why:

🚀 Why Paid Waitlists Work

Paid waitlists do two important things:

1. Build Launch Momentum

You can create urgency, buzz, and excitement before opening the doors to your community — especially with clear launch dates and limited spots.

2. Test Willingness to Pay

It’s one thing for someone to say they’re interested…
It’s another thing entirely for them to pull out a credit card and pay.

That single action is your best signal that:

• You’re pricing correctly

• You’re targeting the right audience

• You’re delivering real value

💳 How to Set Up Payment Options for Your Waitlist

When creating your waitlist in Heartbeat, you have 3 pricing options:

✅ Option 1: Charge Upfront (Recommended)

• Members pay first month’s rent upfront

• That amount is credited to their subscription at launch

• Helps you test willingness to pay before opening access

Example:

Subscription is $25/month → members pay $25 now → credited to their first month when launched.

🤝 Option 2: Partial Payment Now, Partial at Launch

• You set your membership price at $100/month

• Members pay a portion now (e.g. $50)

• Pay the remaining portion at launch (e.g. $50 more)

• Useful for higher-ticket memberships or to reduce upfront friction

⚠️ Option 3: Pay at Launch Only

• No upfront payment — users join the waitlist for free with a credit card

• Payment is only collected on launch day

Not recommended unless you already have strong brand trust or product-market fit.
Why? Because it doesn’t test true buying intent — and could result in low conversion at launch.

💡 Pro Tip: De-Risk Your Launch

Especially if you're launching:

• Your first paid product

• A brand-new community

• A new membership tier or offering

Then charging upfront gives you clearer data and lowers risk — before you spend time onboarding members, creating content, or building features they may not value.

✅ What Happens to Upfront Payments?

When someone pays to join your waitlist:

• That payment is automatically credited to their subscription

• Heartbeat will not charge them again on launch day

Still Have Questions?

Reach out to our team anytime at support@heartbeat.chat — we’re happy to help you structure your waitlist, test pricing, or build a winning launch strategy.