A snapshot of how creative business owners are feeling about launch emails right now (and what’s getting in the way of more successful launches).

Created by Nicole Cloutier of Copy Poetics, the conversion copy studio

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Listen to Nicole talk through the survey results as you scroll:

The State of Launching Audio Overview.wav

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Survey Snapshot

In total, this survey received 37 responses from Feb 24, 2026 → Mar 10, 2026.

It’s important to note that this poll was set up to measure emotions. Seeing this data has also made me very curious to see more numbers. For example: when people say they are “not at all happy” with their launch results, does that mean they sold nothing? Or are they being extra hard on themselves?

That kind of interpretation will have to come in a future report. 🙂

The first few graphs you see below will share the breakdown of each question I asked in the survey. The graphs at the bottom show relation data as well as some of my thoughts and highlights. For example: how did AI use effect how someone feels about their launch?

You can play with these graphs using the filter icon on the right. If you find anything else that interests you please do let me know!

At the bottom is a table with the data listed out. I’ve removed comments to keep all respondents anonymous.

Dig in and enjoy!

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If you’re reading this because you want your launches to sell more (without being pushy):

The next thing I’m running is The Launch Line: a live writing practicum where we turn your launch into a story-driven email experience that sells (and still feels super generous).

Learn more & join the waitlist here.

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Answer breakdowns

Heads up: The interactive graphs will look best on desktop

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← this is what the filter icon looks like! You can use it to change what you see in the graphs below.

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How clear do you feel about what to send in your launch emails?

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How happy are you with your most recent launch results?

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How much do you use AI in your email copywriting currently?

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How many emails do you send during a typical “launch”?

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Which statement feels most true to you when it comes to launching?

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Questions I was attempting to answer:

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What role does AI play in how well people feel their launches are doing?

If I were doing this survey again, I would quantify this more. I feel like there’s a wide range of usage in the people who chose “a little.” As far as results we’re seeing here, though, it does seem like people who are relying most heavily on AI are overall less likely to feel happy with their launch results. My hypothesis is that when you’re outsourcing a lot of your thinking / writing to AI, you’re also outsourcing your creativity. This makes launching feel more like a task than something you can enjoy the process of.

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Notable survey quotes:

“I do not and will not ever use generative AI for anything in my business :)”

“I use that more as a starting point and rewrite from there — it's easier than starting with a blank page”

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