Launch Your Box Podcast with Sarah Williams | Start, Launch, and Grow Your Subscription Box

Every year for the last five years I’ve sold a Holiday Gift Box. This year was no different. What was different was that my Holiday Gift Box sold out in only four days! And it brought $20,000 in extra revenue into my business. 

Should you offer a Holiday Gift Box to your audience? Yes! If you already have a subscription box, you should absolutely offer a Holiday Gift Box. And if you have an audience but haven’t launched your subscription box yet, you should also offer a Holiday Gift Box. 

Many members of Launch Your Box have used a Holiday Gift Box for proof of concept before launching. Members like Nicole who launched a one-time holiday box for guinea pig owners. When it was a HUGE hit, she knew she could launch her subscription box with confidence. She now has hundreds and hundreds of monthly subscribers and won a major subscription box industry award earlier this year. 

My process for launching a one-time Holiday Gift Box was simple and it started before I had any idea what I was going to put in the box: 

By the end of day one, I had sold over half the boxes. 

I sold out of all my Holiday Gift Boxes on day four! Oh, and I did all of this without having any product in hand. 

Join me for this episode as I share what a Holiday Gift Box can do for your business and walk you through my simple, four-day Holiday Gift Box launch plan. 

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Launching a one-time holiday box in the 4th quarter is good business. Doing it without running ads isn’t. That’s why I brought my friend and colleague Josh Coffy of The Ecommerce Alley to talk with us. 

Listen to episode 169 for more about why YOU should consider a one-time holiday box. 

You should always be building your audience organically. And you should get your audience excited about your one-time holiday boxes organically. But, if you want to maximize the sale of your one-time holiday boxes, you need to use ads. 

Josh is an expert on Ecommerce marketing and Meta ads. He says that whether it’s now or later, you HAVE to figure out advertising. In order to predictably attract new customers, you have to advertise. 

I shared my favorite ads analogy. Ads aren’t the base of your marketing strategy. Your base is all of the organic audience building you do. Consistently showing up on social media, engaging with your audience… And ads? They are likee lighter fluid. They take what you’ve already built and make it burn hotter and faster. 

In Q4, people are buying like no other time of the year. Take advantage of the momentum Q4 naturally gives you. 

Josh talked about the types of ads you can/should run: 

Josh had even more recommendations including running purchase-based campaigns and keeping it simple. Start slow and increase your ads budget as sales come in. 

Josh walked us through how he would build a campaign for a one-time holiday box no matter what your budget is. He explained “return on ad spend,” what is realistic to expect, and what you need to spend to get to the desired number of box sales. 

Subscription box owners must manage their expectations and remove emotion (which is hard). Josh reminded us that marketing is a mathematical equation, not an emotional decision. Ads require a great deal of mental fortitude. 

Josh also shared that “ad-dy ads” are working right now. Customers are responding to ads that look like ads. 

As E-commerce business owners, our goal every day is to get in front of more people. As subscription box owners who face cancellations each month as a reality of doing business, growth depends on getting in front of more people. 

I asked Josh what advice he had for someone who has never run an ad. He said it might feel like Mt. Everest in front of you. After all, Meta ads can be confusing and expensive. But the only way to get to the top is to start climbing. It’s going to be scary but just do it. Start slow and small… but do it. 

Join me for this episode as Josh and I nerd out on all things Facebook Ads and how you can use them to maximize sales of your one-time holiday box! 

Episode 169 - A One-Time Holiday Box Can Validate Your Subscription Box Idea

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Audience building is the key to a successful subscription box launch. It’s also the key to the growth and sustainability of your subscription box business. In today’s episode, we’re talking about 5 ways to build an audience for each stage of the subscription box journey. 

A reality of a subscription box is that each month will also bring cancellations. They’re simply a part of doing business. And the only way to continue to grow your subscription box business is to continue to grow your audience, to get in front of new people and convert some of those people into subscribers. 

Focusing on these 5 things consistently is going to help you grow your audience – and you need to grow your audience to grow your business. 

If you’re brand new and don’t have an audience yet, you need to spend time building an audience. I say it all the time. You can’t have a successful launch if you’re launching to no one! 

Building social media content - get your social pages going and build content on those pages. Get a minimum of 10 posts up right away. See 10 Post Ideas When Starting Your Business  Get super consistent. Post daily and work up to twice a day. 

Share on your personal profile - share from your business page onto your personal page. People in your personal network are part of the audience you’ve already built. Let them help you expand your reach. 

Set up a page like ad - these ads are simply an introduction to you and what you do. People simply click the thumbs up and then they’re following your business page. This pushes you in front of people you’d never get in front of. Launch Your Box members, find the training inside the “Building Your Audience” module. 

Video - short video and LIVEs - Let your audience get to know you.  Listen to episode 170 to learn how Tracey Phillips built an amazing audience of over 100,000 people by consistently doing LIVE videos. 

Set up your email CRM - part of building your audience is building your email list. Our favorite email CRM is Klaviyo. 

If you are selling products, actively building an audience, or already have a subscription box, these 5 steps are for you. Make these a habit. You should be doing them all year round.

10 Post Ideas When Starting Your Business 

Episode 170 of The Launch Your Box Podcast

Downloadable Email Opt-In Freebie Ideas

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Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join the waitlist today!

Taking action. That’s something my guest today is great at. She joined my Subscription Box Week in June and within 30 days had launched her subscription (to more than 100 subscribers) and started generating recurring revenue.  She’s been inspiring members inside Launch Your Box and I know she’ll inspire you, too! 

Tracey Phillips of Mindless Crafting started her business from a place of service. She’s a paper crafter and card maker who loves sharing her gifts with others. That love of crafts led her to start a YouTube channel where she simply crafted with her audience, teaching them and guiding them to create beautiful paper crafts and handmade cards. 

As Tracey’s audience grew, they started asking her to create her own products. She promised she would if she reached 100,000 YouTube subscribers. And she did! 

Tracey and her oh-so-supportive husband Bill figured out how to produce just one product – a stamp kit. They found a US-based manufacturer and worked with them to produce something they were proud to sell to their audience. 

They quickly and easily sold the 100 stamps they had made. Tracey realized they could have sold many more. They started adding holiday kits to their online shop for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and more. As Tracey chose and designed items for the kit, she stayed true to what she knew worked. If she loved something and was excited about it, her audience would be, too. 

Tracey joined Subscription Box Week and jumped in with both feet. She soaked up all the knowledge.

At first, Tracey thought she wanted to start with a fully curated box. But when I talked about the ease of a one-thing-of-the-month subscription and how they could be a great place to start, Tracey knew that was the answer for her. 

Tracey launched to her community following the launch plan she learned in Launch Your Box.

At the end of the 1st night, Tracey had 50 subscribers – double her goal. And by the end of her launch, she and Bill were celebrating 109 subscribers! 

What was Tracey’s secret? She went LIVE a lot. She understands the power of letting your audience see you and get to know you. It allows people to see your authenticity. To ask questions and get them answered. To catch the replay later and still get the information. 

Tracey has advice for anyone thinking about starting a subscription box. Don’t wait for things to be perfect – she didn’t. Understand that even if the answer to a challenge doesn’t come easily or right away, it will come. 

Most of all, Tracey wants you to connect with your audience, show up as you are, and “do what Sarah says!” 

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“Email marketing needs to be part of your audience building strategy.” - Sarah Williams

You know social media is an important part of audience building. You’re showing up consistently, creating engaging posts and reels, connecting with your followers. But… How often are you sending emails to your email list? 

Just as important as your social media (and maybe even more important) is your email list. You own your email list. Unlike your social media accounts, you can’t get locked out or hacked. Your email list won’t suddenly disappear. 

It’s time to treat your email list like the valuable asset it is and talk to the people on it. They’ve opted in, they’ve told you they want to learn more about you and what you offer. Give them what they want! 

You should be emailing your list at least once a week. But what should you put in those emails? 

Don’t let not knowing what to say in those emails get in the way of connecting with and nurturing your email list. Here are FIVE types of emails all subscription box owners can send to their lists: 

Choose one of these emails to send to your email list each week. I’ve given you five - that means most months, you’ll even have a spare. Put your email list to work for you - connect with your audience and nurture them. 

Join me for this episode where I talk to you about the importance of emailing your list once a week and answer the question every subscription box owner asks, “But what do I put in those weekly emails?” 

Resources from this episode: 

Grab my swipe files of ALL five types of emails HERE! 

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Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join the waitlist today! 

As a subscription box owner, you spend so much time working to gain new subscribers. But how much time and energy do you put into retaining your current subscribers?

Cancellations are a reality of the subscription box industry. No matter how amazing your subscription box is and no matter how much time and effort you put into creating an outstanding subscriber experience, some subscribers will cancel.

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to reduce the number of cancellations and retain more subscribers. Even a small increase in retention rate can make a big difference.

Let’s talk about six things you can do to retain more subscribers.

Track your retention rate every month. If it starts to slip and fall below 80%, you have an issue that needs to be addressed quickly. Put time and effort every day into retaining subscribers.

Join me for this episode for quick tips on boosting subscriber retention. Simple changes can make a big difference—tune in now!

10 Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Subscribers.

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Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join the waitlist today! 

Have you been sitting on the sidelines, listening, watching, and waiting to launch your subscription box?  You have an idea, and you’ve taken some steps toward turning those dreams into reality, but something is holding you back. 

What if you could test your subscription box idea with your target audience without committing to a full-blown launch? Now is the perfect time to validate your subscription box concept with a carefully curated one-time box. 

Retail and e-commerce businesses will see high consumer spending over the next four months. Most will bring in 50% of their total year’s revenue during the next four months. That makes now the best time to test your idea. 

During the holidays people are more likely to spend on items for others. They’re looking for something fun and unique, something special that stands out from all the other gifts under the tree. 

Your one-time holiday box can be the perfect, thoughtful gift.

The ultimate goal is to start, launch, and grow a thriving subscription box business. And a one-time box can be the perfect first step. A one-time box has a lower commitment for customers. It allows you to bring them into your business and then nurture them into being a subscriber. 

Your one-time box should be similar to your subscription box idea, appealing to the same ideal customer. 

Think about whether the recipients will receive the box before the holidays or as a holiday gift. This determines whether it can be holiday-themed or needs to be an everyday theme. 

I do a one-time holiday box every year. My audience loves it, it sells out early every year, and it brings a nice punch of revenue into my business in the 4th quarter. Since it’s intended to be given as a holiday gift (although a lot of my customers buy it as a gift to themselves), the contents of my holiday box do not have a holiday theme. Instead, it contains items similar to those found in my Monogram Box. 

A one-time box is your opportunity to get it right. To put together a curated experience that will wow your ideal customer and give them a feel for what they could expect if they became a subscriber. 

Now that you’ve curated your one-time holiday box, it’s time to sell it. 

This process is great for new subscription box owners since you’ll go through a launch, curate a box, market the box, and fulfill the box. You’ll learn a ton about the launch process just by launching a one-time box and be ready to apply that knowledge to launch your subscription box. 

Many of my students shifted their entire businesses from successful one-time box offers to subscriptions….because they had proof of concept before turning it into a subscription box.

I’ve got a great, free new resource to help you curate a box experience for your subscribers.

Join me for this episode as I talk about validating your subscription box idea with a one-time holiday box. Now is the perfect time to get your subscription box dreams off the ground! 

Kristy’s Interview - Episode 45 - Journey from One-Time Boxes to a Thriving Monthly Subscription 

Nicole’s Interview - Episode 13 - A Passion for Animals Turns into 500 Monthly Subscribers

Curating a Box Experience for Your Subscribers 

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Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join the waitlist today!

Katie did something I didn’t think was possible. She silenced a large group of creative women - subscription box entrepreneurs - with one statement. I posed a question to my SubSummit workshop attendees about ad spend. Katie’s drop the mic response was that she reached 6-figures in subscription box revenue with a $300 marketing budget. 

Katie Sager of Huckleberry Gems is a member of Launch Your Box, Scale Your Box, and my Mastermind. Katie set up shop in the back of her husband’s business. She made cutting boards and hosted paint parties. Katie differentiated herself from other crafters by producing craft kits that don’t require glue. Instead, customers assemble them using adhesive strips. (Genius!) 

Katie loved what she was doing, but knew she needed to grow the business. So she learned all she could about digital marketing. This led to diving deeply into Facebook Ads, learning how they work and how to understand and apply the data. 

Katie also realized she needed to bring recurring revenue into her business. One off sales weren’t enough. A tiered-tray subscription box was the answer. 

You have to spend money - and this includes having a marketing budget - in order to build a business. A business without a marketing budget is a hobby. Katie didn’t want a hobby. She wanted to build a business that would grow. 

So Katie ran her ads, analyzed the data, made changes when needed, and kept going. She launched with more than 40 subscribers and, within 7 months, hit six-figures in revenue. It took only 5 more months to double that number. 

Did all that growth come from Facebook Ads? 

No. Katie knew that building her email list was also important, so she turned her focus to that. She created a lead magnet and ran ads to it. She started a free Facebook Group for crafters and required their email addresses to join. 

Katie is a true entrepreneur and a super smart business owner. She knows there are a lot of puzzle pieces to starting and growing a successful business. She also knows how tempting it is to chase one shiny idea after another. Katie attributes her success to focusing on one puzzle piece at a time. For her, that meant ads first then email. 

Katie’s advice for anyone getting started is to get super focused on one thing to build your business and then, once you’ve mastered it, look to add something else. Build your following and build your list. 

Her focus for Huckleberry Gem going forward is all about community. Katie continues to create a community of women who have lost themselves in the busyness of parenting. Women who love to craft and connect. 

Join me for this episode as Katie and I talk through how she started her business and grew it to six figures in seven months with a marketing budget of only $300 a month. Get ready to be inspired! 

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One of the most important aspects of our subscription box is the products we put inside it. Whether you’re brand new to business or an experienced subscription box owner, finding the right products at the right prices can be challenging. Where do you start?  What about when you begin to grow?  How do you buy in bulk?

Before you start shopping, you will need your sales tax permit and resellers certificate. File for your sales tax permit first and then you’ll be able to get your resellers certificate. 

Where you head next depends on where you are in your business. I found in my own business that buying product for my growing subscription box was different from buying product for my brick-and-mortar shop or the early days of my subscription box. 

So how can you find the products you need?

1 - When you’re brand new to business: 

2 - Once you’ve established yourself and have some orders behind you:

Many of these sources require a reference and/or other proof of business operation. 

Market can be overwhelming - I recommend going with a friend! 

I want you to go to a Market. They opened my mind to brands and vendors I never would have found or considered. I’ve met vendors at Market who have grown along with me and my business. 

3 - You’re growing and it’s time to start making bigger bulk purchases:

When you grow past a certain point, it’s time to buy bulk and consider working with overseas manufacturers. 

My advice for you:

If you are working on a T-Shirt subscription, I’ve got a great FREE resource for you.  Check out my favorite t-shirt brands and styles pdf.  There are SO many choices when it comes to t-shirts - this resource will help you find the best ones for you and your customers!  

Join me for this episode as I walk you through 8 ways to find products for your subscription box. Whether you’re just getting started or need more product options as you grow, get answers to your product sourcing questions! 

Sarah’s Favorite T-Shirt Brands and Styles 

FREE 6 in 60 Workshop

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Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join the waitlist today! 

Three launches in three months to three different audiences. Yep, I did that. As always, there were lessons to be learned from each launch. What surprised me is that three of those lessons were the same for all three launches! 

That’s a lot of “3”s! So let me break it down. 

In late April and early May, I launched The Monogram Box™, my curated subscription box. 

In June, I launched Subscription Box Week, my SLO into my Launch Your Box membership. 

And in July, I launched my Tees 4 Teachers subscription, a monthly subscription of t-shirts designed especially for teachers. 

All three launches were successful (yay!) and I took similar lessons away from all three. Lessons you can apply to your own launches. 

Lesson 1 - People are buying! 

Lesson 2 - You need paid ads! 

Lesson 3 - You’ve got to create exclusivity and scarcity. 

We give ourselves reasons why things aren’t working. But they’re not reasons, they are excuses. 

How will you do things differently in your next launch? 

I learned three lessons while launching three offers in the last three months! Join me for this episode as I break down my biggest takeaways and help you make the most out of your launch. It’s time to get out of your head! 

FREE 6 in 60 Workshop

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Are you ready for Launch Your Box? Our complete training program walks you step by step through how to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. Join the waitlist today!