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Launch Checklist
Everything to test and line up in the final stretch before launch, from promo codes and user testing to your first four weeks of promotion.
In short: the last stretch before launch is about two things: making sure every code, link and email works, and lining up the promotion that brings your first advocates in. Work through the four stages below, ticking each item off as you go.
📑 On this page
🧩 Before you start: this checklist picks up where setup ends. If you haven't yet, work through the Dashboard Setup, Technical and Graphics checklists first.
🗺️ Launch at a glance
| Stage | What you're checking | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Test your codes | Reward and referral codes apply the right discount, work once only and are tracked in Duel. | Promo Code Testing |
| 2. Test the advocate journey | Colleagues sign up, complete challenges and redeem rewards, while you test referral orders, affiliate links and the product catalogue. | Programme User Testing |
| 3. Get ready to go live | Your sign-up flow, moderation plan and welcome email are ready for a rush of applications. | Application Moderation |
| 4. Launch and promote | A promotion plan for the first four weeks, across your landing page, emails, social and website. | Launch & Promotion |
🎟️ 1. Test your codes
Duel doesn't create or control your promo codes, so each one needs testing on your store before advocates receive it.
- ☐ Reward codes apply the right reward in every store or region they're valid in, including bundles and orders that come to zero.
- ☐ Each reward code works once only. A second order with the same code should fail, from the same account or a different one.
- ☐ Referral codes give the advertised discount and the test order shows up in your Duel dashboard.
- ☐ Referral codes work in every region where Duel tracking is on. Advocates can refer friends anywhere, even if your programme runs in one country.
👉 Full steps: Promo Code Testing
🧪 2. Test the advocate journey
Ask colleagues from different teams to go through the programme as a new advocate would, from discovering it to redeeming their first reward. It's a great way to catch issues early, and to get people across the business excited about the launch.
- ☐ Set up a shared feedback doc with clear instructions for your testers.
- ☐ Test on mobile. Most advocates will sign up and use the portal on their phone.
- ☐ Walk the whole journey: landing page, application, verification email, acceptance, welcome email, onboarding challenges and the first reward.
- ☐ Run the technical tests: reward redemption, referral codes, affiliate links and the product catalogue, across every checkout and payment method you offer.
💡 Testing an affiliate link? Open it in a private browser window, and remove any referral code that's added to the basket automatically. A referral code takes priority over an affiliate link, so it would change the result of your test.
👉 Full steps and an example script for testers: Programme User Testing
🚦 3. Get ready to go live
A launch campaign can bring in hundreds of applications in a couple of days. Make sure everything is ready before they arrive.
- ☐ Click your own sign-up link end to end and send a test application.
- ☐ Decide how applications will be moderated, and check any automatic rules, Smart Moderation or Moderation Intelligence settings. See Application Moderation.
- ☐ Check your advocate emails, especially the welcome email, point to your live portal. See Advocate Emails: Quick-Start Checklist.
- ☐ Make sure the first challenges are visible as soon as someone is accepted, so new advocates have something to do straight away.
⚠️ A broken sign-up flow behind a launch campaign spends your budget and gets you nothing. Test it the day you launch, not just the week before.
📣 4. Launch and promote
Set a target for how many advocates you want, then plan your promotion for the first four weeks after launch. Every message should answer three questions: what is it, who are you looking for and what's in it for them.
- ☐ A programme landing page that answers those three questions and links to sign-up. Landing Page guide
- ☐ A series of launch emails to your existing customers. Launch Emails examples
- ☐ Social posts, stories and reels, with paid social behind them if you can. Organic & Paid Social guide
- ☐ A permanent, one-click link on your website, ideally in your main navigation. Website placement guide
- ☐ Invitations switched on, so your first advocates can invite their friends and followers. Invitations
Want to go further? Banners in your newsletters, outreach to creators who fit your brand, in-store QR codes and partnerships with other brands all help. See Launch & Promotion for the full list.
📅 Four weeks in: review how the launch went with your Brand Partner, and adjust your promotion plan if you need to.