Do you think growing your subscription means spending tons of money on ads? It doesn’t need to be that way! There are so many low and even no-cost ways to market and grow your subscription box business.  

The bottom line? You can’t rely on just one marketing channel or strategy. You need to build a multi-channel marketing plan, layering one type of marketing on top of another. Don’t worry - building this plan doesn’t have to be time-consuming or costly. 

I’m sharing seven cost-effective ways to market your subscription box business. But I don’t want you to try to implement all of them at the same time! If you’re just getting started, choose one, get consistent with it and then layer on another. If you’re already doing one or more of these, choose another one to add to your marketing plan. 

1.  Leverage social media. 

1. Influencer or affiliate marketing. 

1. Email marketing. 

1. Content marketing.

• Word of mouth is so powerful! 

1. Customer reviews.

• Where does your ideal customer go? Farmers Markets, expos, shopping events, etc. 

1. In person events. 

1. Build an online community. 

Take one of these ideas and build it into your routine. Get comfortable and consistent with it. Then layer in another strategy. Continue to grow your audience, reach more of the right people, and ultimately gain new subscribers. 

You can’t rely on one marketing channel or strategy. And you don’t need to spend a lot of money on ads to market effectively. Join me for this episode as I take you through seven cost-effective ways to market your subscription box. 

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

 Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

I have a special episode for you today! Cheryl Ham is a long-time member of Launch Your Box, an OG member of Scale Your Box, and the founder of the wildly successful Yarnable subscription box. She’s here today to catch us up on all that’s happened in her business since her last visit to the podcast almost two years ago. 

Cheryl’s business started as more of a hobby. She had a full-time career and a love for all things knitting and yarn, especially hand-dyed yarn. She became an independent yarn dyer with no formal training and no business training. Cheryl launched her subscription in 2019 but struggled to grow. Then she found and joined Launch Your Box. 

When Cheryl launched again, following the teachings inside Launch Your Box, she doubled the size of her business within days. And it just kept growing. It exploded, really. Cheryl’s next launch saw her gain 400 subscribers in only 24 hours. She blew past the 1,000 subscriber mark and ended that launch at 1,100 subscribers!  

Cheryl’s challenge quickly became how to manage the incredible growth of her business. How to scale in a way that was manageable. She needed to hire and she needed space - badly. But it took so much of her time and effort just to keep up with her subscriptions that she couldn’t seem to make the changes that needed to be made. This is right about the time Cheryl joined the beta version of my Scale Your Box course. She knew she needed help - and she knew where to go to get it! 

I’m happy and Cheryl’s happy to share that she did make those necessary changes. Cheryl now has a team of people working with her - and that team makes it possible for her to work only four days a week and to end those days by 2:30 in the afternoon. Oh, and they’re doing all this work in a new space. A space that allows them to be efficient. 

Cheryl shared the challenges and opportunities of 2021 and the very different challenges and opportunities of 2022. She and her family have moved into their dream house and are living their dream life, so much of which is thanks to Cheryl’s subscription box business. 

Cheryl credits Scale Your Box with helping her see which pieces of her business strategy were lacking, how to beef them up, and how all the moving parts need to work together as she scales! Cheryl is joining me again this year for another round of Scale Your Box and I can’t wait to see where she’s going to take her business next! 

Join me for this episode as Cheryl shares her journey, the ups and downs of amazing business growth, and why she’s coming back for another round of Scale Your Box. 

Catch the early parts of Cheryl’s story on episode 16 of the Launch Your Box podcast. 

Find and follow Cheryl: 

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

 Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

“20% of your customer base generates 80% of your revenue.” - Sarah Williams

Identifying your ideal customer is not something you do once. It’s something you need to tweak and get clearer about in your business on a daily basis. In this episode, I’m talking about how to figure out who the 20% of your customers are who are responsible for 80% of your revenue and why you should focus all of your efforts on them. Oh… and one other thing. Stop trying to please everyone!  

When you try to please everyone, you dilute your focus. Instead of spending your time and energy on what you know works for your most loyal customers - the ones who buy from you every day - you spend time, energy, and money trying to satisfy one-off requests from customers who are not your ideal person. 

If you’re just getting started and even if you’ve been in business for a while, you might have an idea of who your ideal customer is, but you’re probably not sure. Start by asking yourself questions about your ideal customer and get as specific as possible with your answers. 

Nail down the basics and then get more specific. Is your ideal customer “a mom” or “a mom of preschoolers who works outside the home and wants to provide quick, easy, and healthy meals to her family?” It is much easier for me to speak to “a mom” when I know who she is and what her pain points are! 

Once you get a good picture of who your ideal customer is, it’s time to talk about how to get them into your world and build the know-like-trust factor that makes them want to buy from you. Get to know your ideal customer and let them get to know you by:

This month inside Launch Your Box, we’re talking all about SEO and how it can help your subscription box business grow. The purpose of SEO is to help the right people find you online. The more we can niche down, the more completely we define who our ideal customer is, the better we can be at messaging, copy, and SEO. 

Join me for this episode as I talk about how and why niching down your ideal customer can improve your visibility and increase your revenue! 

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

 Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

I’ve got some star power for you on this episode of the Launch Your Box podcast! Lauren Jacobs, a.k.a The Cheerful Baker, is a member of Launch Your Box and the creator and curator of a successful cookie decorating subscription box. She’s also one of the stars of a recent episode of The Christmas Cookie Challenge on The Food Network!

There is so much to love about Lauren’s story and how she went from being a mom and art teacher who loved to bake cookies for her children’s classmates and friends to a full-time entrepreneur who designs and produces her own cookie cutters, an online and in-person cookie decorating instructor, and a successful subscription box owner. Oh, and there’s the whole competing on a cookie decorating competition on The Food Network thing, which is of course the holy grail of any cook or baker. 

I talk a lot about the importance of knowing your why, keeping your why in mind as you start, launch, and grow your subscription box business, and sharing your why with your audience. Lauren does all of that. Her why is part of what makes her story special and it will speak to the heart of any parent who has had a child who struggles in school. 

Lauren also shared how she used short videos to build and engage with her audience. She understood early the power video would have in helping her stand out from all the other cookie decorators on Instagram. By maintaining a strong focus on her why and the needs of her audience, Lauren’s subscription box business grew quickly and continues to grow. 

I wanted to know all the things about her Food Network experience. How she got chosen, behind the scenes secrets, and how being on the Food Network affected her business. You’ll be as fascinated as I was by how it all came to be - and you’ll laugh as hard as I did about what Lauren shared during her initial interview. 

Lauren’s plans for 2023 include continuing to grow her subscription - her goal is to double her current number of subscribers and I have no doubt she’ll do that and more! 

Join me for this episode as Lauren shares her inspirational journey from mom and art teacher to successful entrepreneur with a quick stop off at the Food Network!  

Find and follow Lauren: 

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!

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

 Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

Have you launched your subscription box but found yourself struggling to grow? Launching your subscription box is a HUGE milestone. Celebrate that! The next HUGE milestone for so many of my members is reaching 100 subscribers. Some - those with large, engaged audiences - do this during their first launch. Most don’t. I didn’t. 

Growing your subscription box to 100 subscribers and beyond takes time. It’s important to give yourself grace and time to get there while still staying focused and holding yourself accountable.

Inside Launch Your Box, I walk my members through what it takes to get their subscription boxes launched. But the launch is not the end. There is more work to do to keep it going - and growing - each month. Which is why we talk about much more than just launching inside LYB. 

Focusing on these three things should drive your business and create long-term recurring revenue. 

So, what got me to my first 100 subscribers and what should you do to get to yours? 

• Engage. Consistently. 

Everyone can do these simple things to grow their subscriptions. Your launch is only the beginning.

When you’re ready to take your subscription box to the next level, when you’re ready to go deeper… you’re ready for my Scale Your Box course. There’s so much to scaling your box - so many things you can do to grow your business in a manageable, profitable way. 

Join me for this episode where I talk you through what it takes to get you to your first 100 subscribers and beyond!

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

 Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

Did you know the subscription box industry reached 22.7 Billion dollars in revenue at the end of 2021? And it’s expected to more than triple that number by 2027! Why am I telling you this? 

Because there IS room for you and your subscription box. If you’ve had your subscription idea for a while, dreaming but not yet doing, make 2023 the year you get it started. 

It’s time to stop sitting on the sidelines and start taking action. You CAN get your subscription box up and running this year. And in this episode, I give you five reasons you SHOULD start a subscription box in 2023. 

1. You don’t have to constantly sell. 

1. With a subscription box, you can create loyal, raving fans! 

• This relieves the stress and pressure of buying products you may have to mark down later. 

1. The product you’re investing in is already sold. 

1. You get to create a box and subscriber experience you are passionate about. 

• You get consistent revenue in your bank account. 

• Each month, subscriber payments arrive in your bank account whether or not you show up and sell. 

Don’t put your subscription box idea on hold any longer. Learn from Debbie, Launch Your Box member and past guest on the podcast, who let fear hold her back for a long time. When she finally launched her subscription box, magic happened.  

It’s time to stop sitting on the sidelines. Join me for this episode and get ready to take action to get your subscription box up and running this year. 

Listen to Debbie’s story on episode 22 of the Launch Your Box podcast. 

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

 Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Launch Your Box podcast! 

I talk a lot about consistency on this podcast. And inside Launch Your Box. And on my social media accounts. It’s not because I don’t have anything else to talk about. If you’ve been around at all, you know I talk about all the things. But in so many of “the things,” consistency matters. 

I’ve gotten to 100 episodes by showing up every week. That’s right, in 100 episodes - nearly two full years, I’ve never missed a week. And showing up consistently has paid off. We’ve gone from a few hundred downloads a month when we started to tens of thousands of downloads every single month. Consistently getting in front of more people and growing my audience. 

Consistency matters. Be consistent in all that you do to start, launch, and grow your subscription box business. From social media to email marketing to going LIVE, and more. Be consistent. 

To celebrate our 100th episode, I have a special treat for you. I brought on FIVE special guests - all members of my Mastermind - for a little year-end wrap-up. 

We’ve all had highs and lows this year. All of us. I have and each of these ladies has, too. They are all super successful subscription box business owners and they joined me to share their successes and challenges from 2022 and their plans and dreams for 2023. 

You’re going to LOVE learning more about each of these ladies and their businesses. I know I love every opportunity I have to talk with each of them and having them all together was such a treat! 

Join me for this special 100th episode to meet five of my Mastermind ladies and get a peek behind the scenes of their successful subscription box businesses, messy parts and all! 

Find and follow Aimee: 

Find and follow Whitney & Andrea: 

Find and follow Pam: 

Find and follow Tracy: 

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

Have you considered starting with a one-thing of the month subscription? You should. Why do I say that? Well, my one-thing of the month subscription is easier to manage and more profitable than my fully curated subscription box. And my one-thing of the month subscription has almost double the number of subscribers as my larger, more expensive box. 

When people start thinking about starting a subscription box, they think about a fully curated box. They dream about the experience they’ll provide their subscribers with all the little touches and a box filled with items that complement each other. 

But soon, overwhelm sets in. Creating that fully curated experience with all the little touches takes a LOT of work. And all that work and all that overwhelm can turn into not making progress. 

Instead of starting with a fully curated box, think about starting with one thing. There are several benefits to starting a one-thing of the month subscription. A one-thing of the month subscription: 

Brainstorm what your one item could be by asking yourself:  

Your one-thing of the month could be: 

So many Launch Your Box members have wildly successful one-thing of the month subscriptions. Some of the “one things” their happy subscribers receive include: 

Start brainstorming what you can turn into a one-thing of the month subscription and move one step closer to launching your subscription.  

How does a subscription that’s easier to manage and more profitable sound? Join me for this episode to learn more about why you should consider starting a one-thing of the month subscription. 

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order

“Don’t bring that stale inventory into 2023!” - Sarah Williams 

Inventory is one of the biggest challenges product-based businesses face. Too much, not enough… and what happens if it doesn’t sell? Now, during this buying season, is the perfect time to liquidate any old or stale inventory you have sitting on your shelves. 

One of my favorite ways to move product and get old inventory off my shelves is by selling Mystery Boxes. They’re new, fresh, and fun for your customers and a GREAT way to reduce inventory without putting clearance tags all over everything. 

Whether you made a bad buy (been there), overbought for your subscription box (yep, been there, too), or you’ve just had a slower year than last year and need to move some product quickly, Mystery Boxes are a great strategy. 

The goal is to get your money back. Don’t focus on making a large profit or even a profit at all. Focus on getting the cash you spent on the items back in your bank account and getting space back on your shelves. 

The excitement of a Mystery Box is not knowing what’s inside! 

These Mystery Boxes won’t all be the same. If you have 20 of one item and 30 of another, you can still make 50 boxes. Just make sure the items you’re putting in the boxes have a similar size and value. 

Get excited about these Mystery Boxes and start teasing your audience about a week before you’ll start selling them. Go LIVE, let your audience see how excited you are, and show them one of the boxes and how FULL it is! Talk about the value! 

Do you have inventory you need to liquidate? It’s time to let go of old product and start fresh in the new year. Join me for this episode to learn how to create your own Mystery Boxes and start liquidating!

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! 

I’m so excited to have Katie Eney of The Literary Book Club back on the podcast. I invited her back so she could bring us up to date on the big things that have been happening in her subscription box businesses. 

Katie’s quarterly luxury box, The Literary Book Club, focuses on collectible editions of classic books and wrapped page-numbered gifts that accompany the books. She also sells one-time specialty boxes, especially for holidays like Christmas and Halloween. Katie provides a truly incredible experience to her subscribers! 

When we first talked, Katie had around 200 subscribers and had hit a point where she didn’t know if she could grow much more because she was doing it all on her own. I encouraged her to try to hire despite job market challenges in her area. That was seven months ago. 

Recently, Katie popped into the Launch Your Box group to celebrate hitting 500 subscribers! She more than doubled her subscriber numbers in only seven months! This incredible growth wasn’t due to just one thing. Katie is a learner - and she brings that learner’s mentality to all she does. She is an absolute sponge and takes in all the training I put out - inside Launch Your Box, on this podcast, and more - and then puts it to work in her business. 

In order to solve her challenges and grow her business, Katie: 

Katie had a goal of hitting 400 subscribers in 2022. She met her goal - and then passed it, reaching 500 subscribers in October! Katie’s willingness to try a series of different things led to an overall increase in traffic to her business which led to growth not only in her subscription box but in one-time sales as well. 

Join me for this episode as Katie shares the moment she knew she either needed to scale or quit and what she did to grow her business and more than double her subscriber numbers in only seven months. 

Learn more about how Katie’s Literary Book Club got started in episode 64 of the Launch Your Box podcast! 

Find and follow Katie: 

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! 

Get 30 Days FREE when you switch to Subbly: https://join.subbly.co/sarah-williams

Use code LAUNCHWELCOME at https://www.boxup.com/ to get 10% off your first order