Sell digital products as preorders

Selling a book, course, or album before it is finished lets you fund the work and build an audience. Filemonk holds the files back until your launch date, then emails your preorder buyers that their download is ready.

Before you begin

• Set the launch date and time in your own timezone. Filemonk uses that.
• The files can be added later, but the product needs its preorder configured before you start selling.
• Buyers pay at checkout as normal. This controls delivery, not payment terms.

Set it up

1. Click Filemonk in the left menu of your Shopify admin.

2. Click Digital products in the app’s menu and open the product.

3. Under Content by variant, find the card for the variant you want and click the More actions (⋯) button next to Edit files.

4. Click Set up preorder, or Edit preorder if one exists. The Preorder Settings window opens.

5. Tick Enable preorder for this product. The rest of the window is hidden until you do.

6. Under Launch date, set Date and Time. Date is required, and both are read in your store’s timezone.

7. Under Email content, write the Subject, Heading and Description for the release email. It uses the same template as your normal download email. Click available variables beside Description for the list: order name, order ID, store name and customer name.

8. Under Download blocking message, write the Custom message shown to customers who try to download before launch. This one is required, and supports HTML.

9. Click Save.

   

The product then shows that files are withheld until the launch date, and when they unlock.

What customers will see

Buying works normally. Before launch, their download page shows your blocking message instead of files, so they know it is coming rather than broken. On the launch date they get the release email and their files unlock.

Filemonk does not change your product page or add a preorder button at checkout. If you want the storefront to say Preorder instead of Add to cart, that is a separate app.

Check your setup

Place a test order and confirm the download page shows your blocking message rather than files. To watch a release, set the launch date to just over two hours ahead and come back to it: Filemonk will not accept a date less than two hours away, so you cannot bring it forward to a minute from now. See Create a test order.

Troubleshooting

Customers downloaded before the launch date

Preorder was not enabled on the variant they bought. Note that turning preorder on applies to everyone who has already bought that variant as well, so switching it on for a product that is already selling blocks your existing customers until the launch date.

The launch date passed and nothing was sent

Confirm the date and time, remembering it is in your timezone, and that the product actually has files linked. A preorder with no files has nothing to release.

Customers think their order is broken

Your blocking message is missing or too vague. Write one that names the launch date, so the page explains itself.

A mixed order is only partly available

Orders containing both preorder and ready items show as mixed. The ready files are available immediately and the preorder ones follow at launch, which is expected.

I need to move the launch date

Edit the preorder and change it. Moving it later means customers who were expecting the original date should hear from you directly.

FAQ

Can I add the files after taking preorders?

Yes, and it is the normal way to work. Link the files any time before launch.

Do preorder customers get a normal download email too?

They get the release email at launch. Before that there is nothing to send them.

Can I release early?

Not by moving the date. Filemonk rejects any launch date less than two hours away, so you cannot bring it forward to now. To unlock the files immediately, turn Enable preorder off. That releases the downloads straight away but sends no release email, so tell your buyers yourself.

Does this show a Preorder button on my product page?

No. Filemonk controls delivery after checkout. A storefront preorder button is a separate app’s job.

What if I cancel the product entirely?

Refund the orders in Shopify. If you have automatic disabling on, access is cut off with the refund. See Disable access for refunded or cancelled orders.

Related guides

• Create a digital product, the setup this builds on.
• Customize the download page, where the blocking message appears.
• Send new download links after updating a product, for updates after launch.