I wanted to (do something)

A very polite way to explain why you're doing something is "I wanted to ___". For example:

Hi Jen. I wanted to see if you'd like to come out with Emma and I and some friends of ours to a show next week.

Yes, I just wanted to verify that my payment has been received?

Some phrases that can be used after "wanted" include:

I wanted to ask...

I wanted to tell you...

I wanted to check to see if...

I wanted to remind you that...

I wanted to let you know that...

I wanted to find out whether...

Note that this is in past tense: you say "I wanted to ___" instead of "I want to ___". There's no grammatical reason for making it past tense; it just makes your sentence sound more polite. When you say it this way, it sounds like an explanation for why you're calling, why you're visiting, etc. 

(an) upcoming (event)

Something that's going to happen soon is "upcoming":

He went on a talk show to discuss his upcoming album release.

The candidates are already starting to campaign for the upcoming election.

"Upcoming" things are planned in advance, so you probably wouldn't use it to talk about something like the weather.

a product launch

When a company starts to sell a new product, they often do a "product launch". That means that they try to let customers know about the new product and get them excited about it. "Product launches" can involve things like:

• sending emails to customers
• getting writers to write about the new product
• throwing a party to celebrate the new product's release

You can use "launch" either as a verb or as a noun:

We're launching it next week.

The launch is scheduled for mid-July.