CASE STUDY

Course Creator Hits $400K Launch Using 90-Day Instagram Warmup

Jasmine Okafor, business educator teaching freelancers how to build agency-style service businesses

STARTING POINT

Previous launch generated $85K over 5 days with a cold audience of 8K Instagram followers; she wanted a bigger second launch

END POINT

Second launch generated $412K in 7 days to a pre-warmed audience of 22K followers with 3,400 identified buyers on her waitlist

Timeline: 90-day pre-launch period + launch week

The Challenge

Jasmine's first launch had worked but felt like gambling — relying on organic algorithm reach during launch week. She wanted to build a system that made her second launch predictable. The goal wasn't just bigger audience but a qualified, engaged audience that was pre-sold before cart open.

The Approach

Days 1-30: content + engagement

Posted 4-5 times/week with content specifically designed to attract freelancers considering agency pivot. Used Viari for targeted engagement with freelancer/agency-owner accounts — 80 actions/day. Built a lead magnet (free 'agency starter kit') triggered via DM when users commented 'AGENCY' on her posts.

Days 31-60: waitlist building

Ran the DM-triggered lead magnet at scale. Her posts averaged 200-500 keyword comments, each triggering the Viari auto-reply with the lead magnet link. By day 60 her email list had grown from 1,200 to 4,800 and her 'interested in upcoming course' waitlist hit 2,100.

Days 61-89: pre-sell and workshop

Ran a free 3-day workshop to the warm list on days 65-67. Attendees who showed high engagement got early-bird access to the course at cart open. Day 75-89: daily social content, weekly emails, ongoing Viari DM follow-up to waitlist members who engaged with workshop content but hadn't confirmed interest.

Launch week (days 90-97)

Cart opened day 90 to early-bird list (~400 people). 190 bought in first 24 hours at $997. Public cart opened day 91. Total launch revenue: $412K by day 97. Warm-list purchase rate: 22%. Cold-audience purchase rate: 3%. Warm-list drove 78% of total revenue.

The Numbers

Pre-launch engagement actions: ~7,000
Lead magnet DMs sent: ~9,500
Email list growth: 1,200 → 4,800
Waitlist: 0 → 3,400
Launch revenue: $412K vs prior $85K
Warm-list conversion: 22%

Lessons

  • Pre-launch is where launches are actually won. Launch week is just the cash register ringing.
  • DM-triggered lead magnets are dramatically cheaper than paid lead gen — and they feel more personal, so conversion is higher.
  • A free workshop in the final 30 days isn't optional; it's the warmest touch point before cart open and drives disproportionate sales.
  • Cold-audience launches cap around 3% conversion. Warm-list launches hit 15-25%. The only thing that determines which number is warming time.
Creator identity withheld. Revenue cross-referenced against payment processor exports. Course topic, pricing, and audience size all affect launch outcomes; $412K isn't guaranteed or typical.

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