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

Q4 is when your audience is most ready to buy. It’s also when you have the least amount of time, and content is the first thing to slip.

I’m in my 13th Q4 season, and in this episode I’m sharing the simple content calendar that keeps your social media and emails moving through the holidays without adding more to your plate.

In This Episode

Why Holiday Content Plans Fall Apart

It usually happens one of three ways. There’s no plan, so every morning starts with “What should I post today?” Selling feels awkward, so the sales posts get skipped. Or everything turns into “let’s just run some ads” because there was no time to post.

Every post needs a job. Every job needs a day on the calendar.

The Attract, Nurture, Sell Calendar

People are shopping for gifts right now, and they expect to see offers. Selling content should be at least 50% of your mix in Q4. Not 100%. When every post is a sales post, engagement drops.

30 Content Ideas and a Batching Plan

I walk through 10 ideas for each bucket, from relatable reels and myth busting posts to order packing videos and community wins. For selling, we talk about gifts for a specific person, stocking stuffer add ons, bundles, bestseller of the week, and spots left countdowns.

Then I show you how to batch your content in 10 to 14 day sessions and turn your social posts into emails in the same sitting. Grab a notebook before you press play.

This month inside Launch Your Box, I taught how to use Claude to create a 30 day social media plan. It’s in the group now.

Join me for this episode as I share the attract, nurture, sell plan, 30 post ideas, and the batching rhythm that keeps your content going through the holidays without burning out.

Join me in all the places:

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 us at joinLYB.com today!

Do you have extra subscription box product laying around? Product that you’d like to get rid of because it’s taking up space on your shelves and tying up your cash flow? Then this episode is for you! 

I was talking with my Mastermind Group on our Voxer channel. One of the many perks of my Mastermind is the members have daily access to me and to each other via this walkie-talkie-style app. We have SUCH great conversations - a ton of knowledge is shared and some seriously valuable relationships have been built. 

One of the Mastermind members, Lo Hixon of Passion & Growth, shared her solution to this too much past box product problem so many of us have. She put a one-click upsell at checkout into place during a recent launch. And… more than 40% of the people who signed up for her subscription also bought a leftover box. More than 40%!! 

My mind was blown. With this one, simple addition to her checkout page, Lo increased her average order value (AOV) and reduced her inventory. Oh… and she sold these boxes at full price. These boxes were NOT discounted. 

Since I was planning my first launch in 3 ½ years when Lo shared this idea, I quickly got my team on board. We set the one-click upsell option up for both my Monogram Box™ subscription and my T-Shirt Club. 

The result? We sold 77 boxes! That’s 77 boxes that were laying around on our shelves. Selling them meant cash back in the bank and new subscribers who were super happy to receive a box so quickly! 

Setting up a one-click upsell option is simple: 

Why does this work so well? People are signing up NOW. They’re excited - they want something NOW. Give them the chance to get one of your amazing past boxes while they wait for the next month’s box. 

Join me for this episode as I share a simple upsell strategy that will reduce inventory, put cash in your bank account, and make new subscribers happy! 

Join me in all the places: 

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 ⁠today! 

“It takes money to grow.” - Sarah Williams

Is it time to raise your prices? After all, costs are up on absolutely everything. Your costs are up - on products, packaging, shipping, and more. Your costs going up means your profit margins are going down. 

If you don’t raise your prices, you’ll keep chipping away at your profit margin - and your business won’t be sustainable long term. It takes money to grow your business. A lower profit margin means less money to invest back into your business which means less growth. 

I recently had to do something about increased shipping costs in my business. My “free” shipping was costing me more and more of my profit on every order. I had to make a change. I went from free shipping on everything to a flat rate of $6.99 or free shipping on orders over $100. 

I worried about what would happen. Would my customers not buy without free shipping? Would my revenues go down? No. Instead: 

When you decide it’s the right time to increase the price of your subscription, you have two options: 

You have to raise your prices as your costs rise. You can not sustain your business long term without raising your prices.

Join me for this episode as we talk about profit margins, what the increased cost of absolutely everything means for your business, and the right way to increase the price of your subscription box. 

What’s the profit margin on your subscription box? 

Text “budget” to 940-204-0023 and I’ll send you my box budget calculator. 

Join me in all the places: 

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! 

Ready or not, the 4th quarter is here. It’s time to sell! The 4th quarter is crucial for any small business. It can make or break your year and generate the momentum you need going into the next year. The 4th quarter matters. I’ve been through nine 4th quarters in my business and I’ve learned a LOT along the way. 

In this episode, we’re talking about four areas you need to focus on during this important time of the year in order to maximize your revenue before year-end.

That sounds like a lot of extra work to do, doesn’t it? And it is. But it is all SO important. So it’s time to ask yourself, “What can I eliminate from my day-to-day so I can focus on these revenue-generating activities?” 

Now is not the time to start a blog or podcast. It’s not time to create a new ebook or opt-in. It’s not time to build a new website or plan for 2024. 

Now is the time to focus on SALES and the activities that generate those sales. 

The 4th quarter is here! Join me for this episode as I walk you through 4 areas of focus you need to jump into right now to make the most of your 4th quarter. 

Join me in all the places: 

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 ⁠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 

Join me in all the places: 

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!

It’s not too late to launch your subscription box this year.

Q4 can be a great time to launch. People are already spending money on themselves and buying gifts for others. They understand deadlines, order-by dates, and limited-time offers because those things are already part of this season.

You don’t have to create that urgency. It’s already there.

Launching later in the year can work. I’ve had a member launch in December with the plan for subscribers to receive their first box in early January. She worked with the calendar instead of letting the calendar stop her.

The thing holding most people back isn’t really the calendar. It’s that they don’t feel ready.

You Don’t Have to Feel Ready to Launch

You might be telling yourself you need a bigger audience first. Or a better website, professional packaging, a more polished brand.

But none of those things are requirements for launching your first subscription box.

The first version of your subscription box does not need to be the forever version. You’ll learn and make changes every time you launch.

But you have to start.

What Do You Really Need to Launch?

You need:

That’s it.

Your goal is to launch, not to create a flawless first version.

Why Subscription Box Week Is Your Moment

One of the hardest parts of launching something on your own is that it’s easy to keep moving the date. Next week becomes next month. Next month becomes next year.

Subscription Box Week gives you a real date on the calendar.

You’ll also be doing this alongside a community of other sellers who are sharing that energy and momentum with you.

Instead of your subscription box being something you’re going to launch “someday,” there’s a specific week when you’re going to make it real.

If you’ve been thinking you missed your chance to launch this year, you haven’t. You have time. You have a plan. And you do not have to wait until you feel completely ready.

Don’t put it off until next year.

Subscription Box Week

Join me in all the places:    

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! 

Q4 is coming, but preparing for it isn't about having a perfect plan. It's about creating the habits and rhythms in your business now, before the busy season hits.

If you don't have these habits in place yet, you're not behind. August, September, and even early October are still the right time to start.

In this episode, I'm sharing six habits to start building now to help you prepare for Q4 plus one bonus tip I learned the hard way during my first few busy holiday seasons.

Don't Forget January and February

I've learned this one the hard way.

For two years, I was so focused on getting products and promotions ready for Q4 that I failed to plan my January and February subscription boxes.

When December arrived, I had to scramble to find products that were still available and pay extra for expedited shipping.

As you're planning for Q4, don't forget that the calendar keeps moving. Make sure you have your January and February boxes planned and products on the way so you're not scrambling at the end of December.

Start with One Habit

If you're looking at these six habits and realizing you're not doing any of them consistently, don't try to start all six at once.

Pick one.

If you're not consistent with your content, start there. Spend the first couple of weeks building that rhythm. Once it feels comfortable, start adding consistent video. Then keep working your way down the list.

Habits take time to build, and trying to change everything at once creates overwhelm. I've built my own business one habit at a time. I got consistent with my podcast before adding YouTube, and even with the podcast, it took time before I was able to start batch recording episodes a month ahead.

You don't have to be perfect or have everything figured out at once. Choose one habit, get consistent with it, and then build from there.

And if email is one of the habits you need to work on, I've got a resource to help. Grab my 5 Emails for Subscription Box Owners swipe files at the link below to help you start showing up consistently in your subscribers' inboxes.

Five Emails Subscription Box Owners Can Send Every Month

Join me in all the places:    

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 thought about adding affiliate marketing to your subscription box business but you’re not sure where to start? Are you wondering where to find good affiliates and how to manage them on the back end? This episode is for you! 

Today we’re diving into all things affiliate marketing for your subscription box business. I’ll explain how affiliate marketing can significantly boost your revenue, expand your customer base, and strengthen your subscription box brand. 

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where brands reward individuals (affiliates) for marketing or driving traffic and sales to their services or products, including subscription boxes. This type of marketing is a win/win for both the brand and the affiliate. 

Wondering how affiliate marketing works? 

A subscription box owner creates an incentive (one-time or recurring) and generates specific links or codes for each affiliate to allow for accurate tracking. Each affiliate promotes that subscription box owner’s box on their own platforms to their own audiences. For every action taken (i.e., subscribing) the affiliate is paid the incentive. 

To get started: 

Affiliate marketing is an important part of my subscription box marketing strategy. In fact, in my recent launch (which happens to be my biggest launch ever), 22% of all sales came from my 5 affiliates! 

Join me for this episode as I walk you through how to use affiliate marketing in your subscription box business. Whether you’re a new subscription box entrepreneur or a seasoned pro, I have actionable takeaways for you! 

Join me in all the places: 

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 today!

What happens when you take the same launch plan you’ve used year after year and just keep getting better at it?

A few weeks ago, I launched Tees 4 Teachers, one of my three subscriptions. I started the launch with 203 subscribers. Three and a half days later, I had 500 and we were completely sold out almost two days earlier than planned.

This was the biggest Tees 4 Teachers has ever been since I started it in 2020.

And the best part? I didn’t create some brand-new launch strategy to make it happen.

I followed the same launch plan I’ve been following for years. The same one I teach inside Launch Your Box.

Join me for this episode as I take you behind the scenes of the Tees for Teachers launch that added nearly 300 subscribers in just three and a half days. I’m breaking down exactly what I did, from the emails and ads to the LIVEs and the simple creative that drove most of the sales. And I’ll share the biggest lessons I’m taking into my next launch so you can use them in yours, too. 

I started Tees 4 Teachers in January 2020 after realizing how many teachers were already part of my audience. They loved my other subscriptions and kept asking for shirts specifically for teachers, so I created something just for them.

Over the years, Tees 4 Teachers became what I called my “baby subscription.” I loved it, but because I had other, larger offers, it didn’t always get much of my attention.

Eventually, I settled into launching it every July. I went into this year's launch hoping to add another 200 subscribers.

I ordered 300 bonus bracelet stacks just in case we did a little better than expected.

It turned out I needed every one of them.

One thing I do consistently is start building momentum the night before the official launch.

I turned my ads on around 5 or 6 p.m. so they could start warming up in the algorithm overnight. I also sent the first email letting people know we were opening to the public the next day and giving them a chance to jump in early and grab the bonus.

That email brought in 17 subscribers before the public launch even started.

Then we were off.

I had planned a six-day launch, but I moved my next LIVE up because I knew we weren't going to make it that long.

The six-day launch was over in three and a half days.

I spent more on ads during this launch because I knew I had a very short window. I was spending roughly $1,200–$1,300 per day and running nine different creatives across four audiences.

Two ads stood out and the biggest winner was incredibly simple. If there's one thing I want you to take from those ads, it's this: show people behind the scenes. They want to see what you're doing.

The biggest lift from email came from the announcement email.

And that email wasn't complicated.

It clearly told people what the offer was, what they would get, the timeline, and how to join.

That's it.

I sent that first announcement email to my entire list, even though I knew everyone on my list wasn't a teacher. After that, I narrowed the audience.

The remaining launch emails went specifically to the teacher segment I'd built over time from previous subscribers, teacher giveaways, teacher-specific opt-ins, and other ways people had identified themselves as teachers.

That allowed me to keep talking about the offer without burning out the rest of my list.

There are a few things I want you to think about when it comes to your own launches.

Here's the part I really want you to hear: none of this was built from scratch for this launch.

That's what makes a repeatable launch so powerful.

Every time you do it, you have more information. You know more about your audience. You know what worked last time and what you want to change.

Inside Launch Your Box, the launch module gives you the same plan I use. The email templates, social media plan, live schedule, and everything you need to put your own launch together.

I've used this process over and over again, and thousands of Launch Your Box members have used it, too.

So whether you have an offer you launch annually, twice a year, or quarterly, stop thinking you need to create something new every time.

Build a process you can repeat. Then keep getting better at it.

Join me in all the places:    

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! 

One of my favorite parts of coaching subscription box owners is getting to see what happens after they put a plan into action.

Earlier this year, I sat down with Launch Your Box member Beth from Small Home Comforts Book Box for a special “Ask Sarah” episode of this podcast. At the time, she was navigating one of the biggest challenges quarterly subscription box owners face - growing her business while managing cash flow.

Eight months later, Beth is back to share what's happened since our first conversation. And there's a lot to celebrate.

The Two Goals Beth Set at the Beginning of the Year

When Beth first joined me on the podcast, she had 48 subscribers and two clear goals:

Like many subscription box owners, Beth knew growth was a good problem to have, but it also created cash flow challenges. Every new subscriber meant ordering more inventory, leaving little room to take a paycheck.

So we talked through a few strategies that could help.

Adding New Revenue Between Quarterly Boxes

One of the ideas Beth decided to implement was creating additional offers between her quarterly subscription boxes.

Rather than changing her subscription model, she added seasonal, limited-time offers throughout the year. She also continues to offer a year-round "Settle In With a Story" purchase in her shop.

These smaller launches give her customers something exciting between subscription shipments while creating additional revenue throughout the year without competing with her core subscription.

The results?

Her Valentine's collection sold out in just a few days, and her Summer Reading collection nearly doubled in size, with only two boxes left by the end of the launch.

The Waitlist Strategy That Changed Everything

Instead of trying to sell subscriptions all year long, she consistently directed interested customers to her waitlist and built excitement leading up to each launch.

When launch time arrived, she followed the Launch Your Box launch plan, including opening the waitlist the night before launch.

Her initial inventory sold out in just 18 hours.

She reordered. That inventory sold out too.

Then, after a YouTube creator featured her box, she reordered again and sold through another round of inventory.

Reaching Her Goals Ahead of Schedule

Beth's original goal was to reach 100 subscribers by the end of the third quarter.

Instead, she hit that milestone during the first week of April.

Six months ahead of schedule.

Today, her subscription sits at around 117 subscribers and she's intentionally slowing her growth rather than continuing to add subscribers as quickly as possible.

Even better?

She reached her second goal, too.

By the two-year anniversary of her business, Beth was able to start paying herself while continuing to grow in a sustainable way.

Now that she's reached both of her goals, Beth isn't focused on growing as quickly as possible.

Instead, she's intentionally maintaining around 100–120 subscribers, filling any openings from her waitlist, and continuing to supplement her subscription revenue with seasonal offers throughout the year.

It's a great reminder that you don't have to grow at someone else's pace.

You get to decide what growth looks like for your business.

For Beth, success isn't about growing as fast as possible.

It's about building a business that supports the life she wants to live.

Join me for this episode as Beth shares exactly what happened after our first interview - from reaching 100 subscribers six months ahead of schedule to creating better cash flow, paying herself, and growing her business on her own terms. 

Where to find Beth: 

Join me in all the places:    

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!