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

Leveraging Email Marketing to Make the Most out of Q4 Oct 30, 2024

“More emails equals more sales!” - Sarah Williams

We’re more than halfway through the 4th quarter. For product sellers, it’s the busiest time of the year. It’s also our best chance to make some serious revenue. You’re probably feeling tired and maybe even overwhelmed. I’m tired, too. Rest when you can and then get to work. There are some things you can do now that will give your 4th quarter sales a major boost.

We create different types of email content during the first three quarters of the year. Email opt-ins with welcome sequences, weekly newsletters, and emails to share blog posts or podcast episodes. We’re serving our audience by providing value.

The 4th quarter is different. During the 4th quarter, we SERVE our audiences by SELLING. We help them shop. Your customers want to shop — it’s your job to get your products in front of them.

How can you leverage that email list you’ve spent all year building?

Increase the frequency of your emails.
If you’ve been emailing once a week, send two or three each week. If once a month, send at least one email a week.
Bestseller of the week
Top three gifts for teens, moms, dog lovers, etc.
New items of the week
Restock alerts
Facebook LIVE recaps (where you’ve promoted a product)
Make sure all of your emails are product focused. Serve your customers by solving their “what to get” problem by sharing:
Eliminate decision fatigue.
Make it easy for them to buy.
Don’t give your customers too many options.
Who is this product for?
Take an everyday item and make it giftable
Show an image of it folded neatly with a bow around it
Show an image of the product peeking out of a box with a gift tag
Create gift sets or bundles
Focus each email on its giftability.

The key to success is not to overthink it. These emails should be short on copy and get right to the point. Include great images and a clear call to action. Follow up your email with social media posts to match and send a text to your text list!

Join me for this episode as I share four simple ways you can leverage email marketing to bring more revenue into your business during the 4th quarter. More emails equals more sales. It’s time to get to work!

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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!

Maximize Your 4th Quarter Sales Oct 23, 2024

The 4th Quarter is here! It’s the busiest shopping season of the year and a can’t-miss opportunity to bring more revenue into your subscription box business. If you haven’t started preparing for your 4th quarter promotions, it’s time to start.

This episode is all about maximizing your 4th quarter sales by tapping into your existing audience and subscriber base.

I’m sharing five promotions you can run this season. You’ll serve your audience by making gift-giving easy and bring more revenue into your business.

1 - The Holiday Gift Box

The holiday gift box is not one of your regular subscription boxes. Instead, it’s a one-time box that your audience can buy for someone on their gift list… or even for themselves (we encourage this!)

A holiday box is a great way to increase your subscriber base. Make it easy for a holiday box recipient to become a subscriber.

Presale these boxes in October or early November to allow for as many sales as possible and to give you time to get inventory in, pack, and ship well before holiday shipping deadlines.

I pre-sell holiday gift boxes every year. My audience knows to expect them and they sell out every year!

2 - New Subscriber Launch – Special Promotion

Plan this launch in October or early November. Grab people’s attention before they get too far into the noise of holiday shopping for others – when they’re still shopping for themselves.

Use this launch to generate FOMO about your upcoming boxes! Add a free bonus gift to get your audience excited and help you gain subscribers before the end of the year.

3 - Gift Subscriptions

This is one of the easiest promotions you can run. I run a gift subscription promotion once a year – around Black Friday.

I add excitement and fun by offering a free month for a 6-month subscription or 2 free months for a 12-month subscription! Gift subscriptions bring revenue in upfront and fulfillment doesn’t start until after the first of the year when the holiday craziness is over!

4 - Curated Boxes

Having excess inventory is the nature of the beast when you’re a subscription box owner. Put that inventory to use by curating new one-time boxes. These boxes are perfect for gift-giving. Remember, this is your opportunity to serve your audience by making gift-giving easy!

Give these boxes new names and get creative! Remember, you’re not ordering new items for these boxes, you’re simply curating a new experience using items you already have.

5 - Mystery Boxes

Mystery boxes are a great way to get rid of excess inventory! Don’t worry about careful curation, these boxes are about packing them full of value and making it fun for your customers. They’re also about earning extra revenue and clearing out inventory that’s taking up extra space so you don’t carry it into the new year.

If you haven’t run multiple 4th quarter promotions in the past, don’t try to do all five! Instead, choose 2-3 and start planning now. These promotions are a great way to maximize sales during this most important time of the year.

Join me for this episode as I walk you through five promotions subscription box owners can run to maximize 4th quarter sales.

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173: Is It Time for a Commercial Space? Oct 16, 2024

“If it doesn’t scare you, you’re not dreaming big enough.” - Sarah Williams

Most of us launch our subscription box businesses from a spare bedroom, the garage, or even the kitchen table. But when do you make the decision to move out of the house and into your own commercial space?

In this episode, we’re talking with Cheryl Ham of Hypnotic Yarn. She’s been on the show in the past talking about challenges she faced at different stages of growth in her subscription box business.

While still managing a full-time career in high-pressure sales, Cheryl started selling hand-dyed wool via an e-commerce store. She added a subscription box, Yarnable, and grew that side of her business slowly and steadily until she reached 300 subscribers.

Launching the Launch Your Box Way & Hitting 700 Subscribers

Cheryl discovered Launch Your Box, joined, and jumped right in. When she launched again – following the launch plan I teach inside the group – something amazing happened. Cheryl more than doubled her subscribers, gaining 400 in less than 24 hours!

Moving Her Subscription Box Out of Her Home

By this point, Cheryl’s subscription box had taken over her house. She moved into a new commercial space and hired some team members. Her subscription box business continued to grow, reaching 1600 subscribers through increased retention and quarterly launches.

In less than two years, Cheryl had outgrown that commercial space. Again, she needed more space. The problem? Cheryl couldn’t find a commercial space to meet her needs.

Bigger Space Leads to New Challenges

Cheryl finally found a new space. A space so big it scared her. She knew she needed a lot more space, but 8,000 square feet? She found herself terrified to make that jump until she had a realization. Scary doesn’t always mean bad.

Cheryl talked about how every move has meant learning new processes. Inventory management and fulfillment look different in the new, bigger space than in the smaller commercial space or in her home.

Hiring has also been a challenge this year. Cheryl lost 3 team members this past spring and struggled to backfill those positions until after summer. Once she sought out new avenues for hiring, she was able to hire 2 new team members.

Continued Growth and Focus on Creating Experiences

What’s next for Hypnotic Yarn, Yarnable, and Cheryl? They’re focused on growing the non-subscription side of the business using lessons learned from Yarnable. Cheryl knows the importance of creating an experience for her subscribers and uses that knowledge to create experiences for customers who purchase one-off kits.

Focusing on non-subscription sales allows Cheryl to maximize off-hours and weeks when she and her team are not as busy with subscriptions. It is also a great way to convert non-subscribers!

Episode 16 - Afraid of Having 700 Subscribers?

Episode 105 - Scaling Your Subscription Box Business

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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!

How I Generated $20k in Extra Revenue with a Holiday Gift Box Oct 09, 2024

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:

I set up a waitlist page in September.
I set up a waitlist in my text app in September.
I built up excitement that my Holiday Gift Box was coming and drove people to the waitlist.
One day before the launch I sent one email to the waitlist and one text to the text waitlist offering them first dibs.
Launch day started with a LIVE during which I generated feelings of:
I started running ads on launch day.
I sent one email to my entire email list.
I sent one text to my entire text list.
I posted twice on social media about the box.
I changed my Facebook header.

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

On day two, I resent the email to non openers and posted about the boxes on social media twice.
By day three, I only had 100 boxes left. I sent a last chance email to any non openers who hadn’t purchased and posted on social media once.
On day four - the last day of the launch - I mentioned the Holiday Gift Box on a LIVE and posted about it once.

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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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!

172: Promoting Your Holiday Box Using Facebook Ads with Josh Coffy Oct 02, 2024

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.

Do you need to run Facebook Ads?

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.

Why run Facebook Ads in the 4th Quarter?

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:

Facebook Ads Explained

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.

Getting in Front of More People

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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171: 5 Ways to Build Your Audience Consistently Sep 25, 2024

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.

5 Audience Building Steps for New Subscription Box Businesses

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.

5 Audience Building Steps for Established Subscription Box Businesses

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.

Run a subscription giveaway - do one at least once a year. Launch Your Box members, find the training inside the “Building Your Audience” module.
Create a lead magnet for your ideal customer - build your email list with a lead magnet! This is typically a digital item you give away for free in exchange for someone’s email. Every business needs a lead magnet and should be running one year-round. Get ideas for email opt-in freebies.
Run ads - run three types of ads year-round: lead magnet ads, page like ads, product ads. Every legit business needs a marketing budget. You need to run ads. Ads are the best way to get in front of cold audiences.
Go LIVE and connect with your audience regularly - get consistent and put it on your calendar so your audience knows when to find you and you are held accountable.
Create a consistent social media plan - create a template for posts, a plan for video, and a schedule for switching out ads.

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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170: From Subscription Box Week to Subscription Box Owner in 30 Days with Tracey Phillips Sep 18, 2024

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!

Serving Before Selling

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 joins Subscription Box Week

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 Launches her Subscription Box

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!

Tracey’s “Secret” to Subscription Box Launch Success

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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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!

5 Emails Subscription Box Owners Can Send Every Month Sep 11, 2024

“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:

Monthly Unboxing - connect with subscribers, create excitement for them and FOMO for non-subscribers!
Subscriber Shares - create excitement and FOMO when you share pictures, messages, and comments from subscribers telling you how much they loved this month’s box.
5 Ways to Use Your Box - encourage subscribers to consume the contents of the box. So important!
Sneak Peek - get your subscribers excited about the next box and let non-subscribers see what they’re missing out on - more FOMO!
Behind the Scenes - your audience LOVES getting a peek behind the scenes of your business! Take them along as you design or make products or even pack boxes.

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!

6 Ways to Keep a Subscriber Sep 04, 2024

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.

Keep Things Trendy or Seasonal
How often do you change up the lineup of items in your box? I’m always researching new trends and thinking ahead to what holidays or seasons are coming up. Keep things fresh and fun to keep subscribers excited about what’s coming next month!
Ask Your Subscribers What They Want
Simply including your audience in the decision-making process can make a huge difference. Send out questionnaires and surveys or poll them on social media. Getting their input creates buy-in and a greater feeling of community.
Engage With Your Subscribers
During your monthly LIVE unboxing, engage directly with subscribers. Are you using SMS messaging? Text subscribers, asking what their favorite item was and asking for pics of them using or wearing something from the box. With their permission, use those pictures for social proof and to make subscribers feel even more a part of your community. People love to feel included!
Create Added Value
Your subscribers are the VIPs of your business. Make sure they feel that way. Send subscriber-only emails or surprise them with a coupon in their box good toward something in your shop. Need more ideas? Grab my resource - 10 Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Subscribers.
Offer a Lower-Priced Tier in Your Subscription Box
The number one reason people cancel their subscriptions is financial. Offering a lower-priced tier at the point of cancellation is one way to retain them. Some subscribers will love this option and may even move back up to the higher tier when their budget allows.
Billing and Follow Up
It’s not fun or exciting, but keeping track of billing issues and missed payments can make a huge difference in managing subscriber turnover. Payments are missed because of card changes or changes in addresses and sometimes subscribers forget to update their info. Reminders and personal follow-up can eliminate so much of that.

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!

169: How a One Time Holiday Box Can Validate Your Subscription Box Idea Aug 28, 2024

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.

Continue the audience building you’ve already been working on.
Engage your audience in the process and get their buy-in with polls, behind-the-scenes, and other interactive content.
Plan a launch following the Launch Strategy with socials, lives, emails, and ads.
Go all in. To be successful, you need to market your one-time box with a launch.
Create urgency, scarcity, and exclusivity by selling one-time boxes as pre-orders.
Analyze what’s working and what isn’t and adapt.

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!

168: 0 to 6 Figures with a $300 Marketing Budget with Huckleberry Gems Aug 21, 2024

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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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!

167: 8 Ways to Find Products For Your Subscription Box Aug 14, 2024

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:

Local Shops/Brands
Facebook Wholesale Groups

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.

Online Marketplaces such as Faire - You can shop thousands of vendors on one platform with low required minimum order quantities.
Direct vendor wholesale site - Go directly to the websites and look for a wholesale link. See if you can apply for a wholesale account with them.
Markets or Trade shows -These are scheduled events that happen across the country where hundreds or thousands of vendors come to connect with buyers. You can walk through all their booths, see their products in person, meet with vendors, and place orders.
NY Now
Dallas Market Center
Las Vegas Market
America's Mart

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.

Global Marketplace - Alibaba, AliExpress, and IndiaMart are a great way to lower costs for items. I purchased small items first to get comfortable with product quality and shipping time. However, since the items are coming from overseas, you’ll need to give them more lead time when ordering.
White Label from an Existing Vendor - Vendors allow you to custom-make products under their supply chain and manufacturing process and put your label on it.
Sourcing Services - You can work with a sourcing agent who works with manufacturers on your behalf, getting products for you at really great prices. This sourcing agent handles all the communication and organization.

My advice for you:

Use several different vendors - don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Build relationships - get representatives and keep in touch with them. Relationships are so important in our business.
Prices are negotiable - don’t be afraid to ask. Always ask for bulk pricing or discounts or free shipping or products. The bigger your business gets, the more buying power you have.

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

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166: Lessons Learned From My Last 3 Launches Aug 07, 2024

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!

Yes, the economy is rough and yes, prices are high, but people are still buying.
People buy what they are connected to from people and brands they feel connected to.
Don’t use the economy as an excuse - people are buying.

Lesson 2 - You need paid ads!

When I started my business 11 years ago, organic growth was so much easier.
Now, I need an ads budget… and so do you.
Need proof? My three launches…
Monogram Box™ - 82% of traffic came directly from ads.
Subscription Box Week - 75% of traffic came directly from ads.
Tees 4 Teachers - 90% of traffic came directly from ads.
And yes, that traffic converted!
If you’ve never run ads, start small. I started with $10 a day. When I saw results, I increased my budget.
You need paid ads now to build your audience and make connections - use page like ads and ads for lead magnets & opt-ins.

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

We’ve gotten into a bad habit of making everything available all the time. Offering too many options results in decision fatigue.
Create exclusivity and scarcity around being a subscriber.
I did this in my own business. The result? 421 new monthly Monogram Box™ subscribers!
If you sell out, don’t buy more. Let it sell out - use that to create urgency for your next launch.
Between launches, drive people to the waitlist.
Don’t be afraid to close your cart. I decided to close Launch Your Box for the first time in a couple of years. What happened? I had the highest converting launch EVER for Launch Your Box!

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!

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5 Ways to Do a Monthly Unboxing - Every Month Jul 31, 2024

How many different ways do you do an unboxing for your subscription box every month? Would it surprise you to learn there are FIVE different ways you can do an unboxing… every month?

My box opening checklist makes it easy!

Building connections. Creating excitement and FOMO. Growing your waitlist. Gaining new subscribers. There are so many reasons you need to make a monthly unboxing part of your subscription box marketing strategy.

You know the why, let’s talk about the how. How can you do a monthly unboxing FIVE different ways every month? Simply follow this checklist.

Live Unboxing - this is a MUST. Turn on the camera, invite your followers and subscribers, and take them through the box. Don’t overcomplicate it:
Set the date
Set the stage
State your hook
Encourage engagement early
Tell the story of the box (your curation process)
Show each piece and how it ties to the next
Give the audience a call to action (subscribe, join the waitlist, grab one of the extra pieces)

Email Unboxing - using the same content you just created for the LIVE.

Blog Unboxing - turn the email unboxing into a blog post.

Short Video Unboxing - while taking pictures for social media, the blog, and the email, shoot a boxing or unboxing video
Use on Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, etc.

Story Slide Unboxing - create three-five slides to use in picture stories.

If you’re not currently doing a monthly unboxing, don’t try to start doing all five. Instead, start with one or two - but the LIVE is a must do! If you are already doing a monthly LIVE unboxing, start layering in a couple more unboxings until you work your way up to doing all five. It’s not about being overwhelmed, it’s about making progress.

And when you do these monthly unboxings, I have three tips for you to keep in mind:

Always invite your subscribers - specifically to your LIVE unboxings.
It’s a connection point.
They provide instant social proof.
They’ll love to show up with you and share their excitement!

Always give a sneak peek of the next month’s box.
Create excitement and anticipation.
Give subscribers a reason to show up to the LIVE.

Always have a call to action.
Join now.
Get on the waitlist.

Join me for this episode as I walk you through five ways you can do a monthly unboxing - and connect with your audience - every month.

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Niching Down Your Ideal Customer Can Improve Your Visibility Jul 24, 2024

“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.

Who is your ideal customer? Start with the basics.
Where does your ideal customer live?
What are your ideal customer’s interests?
What are your ideal customer’s challenges or pain points?

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:

Hanging out in common Facebook groups offering advice and engaging in conversations.
Speak their language in your posts, videos, and emails.
Target their interests in your social media advertising.
Serve before you sell. This is SO important. Provide value without asking for money.

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!

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Building a Lead Magnet Funnel Jul 17, 2024

In this episode, I’m going deeper into lead magnets and showing you how to build a lead magnet funnel.

Top of the funnel -this is the largest part of the funnel. Your goal is to collect as many leads as possible. Start with a free offer, giving your audience something of value.

Freebie or low-dollar lead magnet.
Ads to targeted interests going to cold and warm audiences.
Make sure your lead magnet is niched down so you don’t waste time and money on unqualified leads.
The goal is to capture leads and get them on your email list.

Opt-in -the lead has given you their email and now they move to the middle of the funnel.

When someone submits their email address, they are sent to a thank you page. Include an upsell offer along with the link to get their freebie.
This upsell should be an inexpensive offer that gives them even more value than the freebie.
The goal at this stage in the funnel is to get them to make a purchase.

Once someone has reached the middle of your funnel, they’ve received value from you, they’ve made a small purchase, and now the goal shifts to getting them to purchase your main offer. For subscription box owners, this means our recurring revenue product, our subscription boxes.

Now it’s time to put email marketing to work for you. Set up an email automation that is kicked off when someone opts in. Keep it simple or more detailed - the choice is yours.

Simple sequence - everyone gets the same sequence with all roads leading to becoming a subscriber.
Detailed sequence - create two sequences - one for those who purchased the upsell and one for those who did not.

Let’s walk through a simple email sequence.

Email #1 - deliver the freebie and introduce your subscription box.
Email #2 - remind them to download the freebie and share the “why” behind your box with them.
Email #3 - is all about the box. Share social proof and pictures of past boxes.

You can extend this sequence to five emails by including an email that offers a low dollar offer and adding an email with an additional offer to join at the end.

If someone subscribes at any point during this email flow, the sequence stops and they’ll continue to get nurtured in your weekly email campaigns.

You need to do FIVE things to create an effective lead magnet funnel.

Create the lead magnet.
Create images for social media and ads.
Create two landing pages - one for the opt-in and one for the thank you/upsell page.
Create an embed form for the opt-in.
Write your emails and set up the sequences.

Join me for this episode as I talk about the importance of having lead magnets continuously bringing leads into your business and the steps you need to take to build out a lead magnet funnel.

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165: Quit Being Extreme & Start Being Consistent with Cotton Chaos Jul 10, 2024

Two busy moms with six kids between them became best friends, bought a Cricut machine to start making custom t-shirts, and now have more than 800 monthly subscribers to their T-Shirt Club. Of course, there’s a little more to the story than that! If you’re feeling stuck in your subscription box journey, this episode will inspire you.

Andrea and Whitney became friends in 2018, decided they needed a hobby and bought that Cricut machine, and in 2019, Cotton Chaos was born. The business was a side hustle as both women were still working full-time jobs and doing all the things moms of three busy kids do. There were a LOT of late nights.

Whitney and Andrea saw an opportunity to take things to the next level when a local screen printing company became available. They bought the company and started selling to local and online customers.

Before long, they decided to start a subscription box, launching in January of 2021. Their goal for the launch was 30 subscribers and they actually got 50! This launch was before they found me and Launch Your Box and, in their words, they “did it all wrong.”

When Andrea and Whitney joined Launch Your Box, they also joined Scale Your Box, my higher-level membership for subscription box owners who want to scale. Their goal was to get to 100 subscribers.

By following what they learned inside Scale Your Box, they quickly reached 100 subscribers. Their next milestone was 300 subscribers which they reached during their next launch. The next year brought another goal and another launch - 500 subscribers.

How did they do it? How did they grow so quickly?

They followed the plan.
They implemented what they learned as they went.
They stayed consistent.

This rapid growth did come with challenges. Namely cash flow. When you grow really quickly and need to buy more and more product, there can come a point where you need to slow down to let your profit catch up.

Andrea and Whitney decided to take this time to focus on their current subscribers. I call it “loving on them.” They deepened connections with their subscribers, turning them into loyal, raving fans. They found that those current subscribers started buying more one-off products - every week! So even though they weren’t launching to gain more subscribers, they were seeing growth in non-subscription sales from that same group!

They also implemented even more of what they learned in Scale Your Box. They focused on using lead magnets to build their email list and running ads consistently.

This past spring, Andrea and Whitney were ready to launch again. And all their audience-building efforts meant they had new people to launch to! They followed the 5-day launch plan I teach inside Launch Your Box and they brought in new affiliates.

So how did the launch go? It was their biggest one yet, bringing them over the 800 subscriber mark! And they know that by following the launch plan the way they did, they have everything they need to rinse and repeat for the next launch!

You don’t need to know what your business will look like in 5 years. Just concentrate on what’s the next thing and what’s one step you can take to make it happen. That’s what Andrea and Whitney have done and continue to do. And it’s how you’ll make progress toward reaching - and surpassing - your subscription box goals.

Join me for this episode and learn how this duo went from 50 to more than 800 subscribers by being themselves, creating a plan, and never giving up… even when things got hard. Get ready to be inspired!

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164: Baking Their Way to a Subscription Box Business Jul 03, 2024

Last week I hosted our annual Subscription Box Week and it was so so good! Part of the week features interviews with subscription box owners who have various types and sizes of businesses. This year, I interviewed 4 subscription box owners at once - all of whom have some type of bakery box. Each serves a different niche and each followed a different journey. All are SO inspiring!

Lauren is the “celebrity” of the group! You might have seen her on Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge. Lauren went from being a mom and art teacher who loved to bake cookies 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.

Lauren’s family is her why. She wanted to grow her business to help put her two sons through college. She was proud to tell us they will both be able to graduate debt-free, thanks in large part to Lauren’s subscription box business!

Jonica owns a bakery and a successful subscription box business, and coaches people who want to open bakeries. In addition to serving lunch and baked goods to her local community, Jonica makes the MOST delicious treats and sends them across the country every month.

Jonica has taken all the lessons she learned through her business journey - opening and closing two other bakeries - and poured them into doing things the right way. The way that serves both her customers and Jonica and her family.

After leaving a successful bakery in North Carolina to move “back home” to Iowa after her husband’s military retirement, Kimberly started selling her baked goods again. She was inspired by how much her former customers missed her baked goods and got creative.

Jenny is not a baker, but she is a passionate advocate for the gluten-free community and served them for many years through her blog, Good For You Gluten Free. When changes in the Google algorithm had a severely negative impact on her traffic - and her income - Jenny pivoted. She turned her love for finding new gluten-free products and vendors into a subscription box.

Jenny launched earlier this year and she sold out the 125 slots she had available in hours. Jenny is growing as fast as she can manage, selling out every month, and looks forward to even more growth once she moves her business out of the basement and into a space of its own.

These four amazing businesswomen shared advice with people who are thinking about starting a subscription box. Their message? Just start. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Serve your audience - give them what they need and what they want.

Join me for this episode and get inspired by four women who turned their passion for food and serving others into successful subscription box businesses.

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Creating a One-Thing of the Month Subscription Jun 26, 2024

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:

Has the lowest barrier to getting started.
Fewer vendors to work with.
Lower start-up funds.
Packaging that is simple and the same each month!
Is easier to fulfill and ship.
Has the potential for higher profit margins.

Brainstorm what your one item could be by asking yourself:

What is your best-selling item?
What do people repeatedly buy?
What do people constantly ask you for more of?

Your one-thing of the month could be:

Something fun - a no-frills way for subscribers to treat themselves.
Something consumable - subscribers never run out!

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:

T-shirts
Candles
Pizzelles
Nail polish
Earrings
Door hangers
Washi tape

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.

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Building an Audience in 90 Days and Selling out on Her First Launch with The AwayDay Box Jun 19, 2024

When you’re just getting started on your subscription box journey, it can be hard to imagine yourself successfully managing a thriving subscription. That’s when you need to seek inspiration from someone just a few steps ahead of you. Kathy Strahs from The Awayday Box is just that person.

Kathy was inspired to provide moms like her - burnt out and depleted from all the past few years have thrown at them - with a truly special, self-care experience. She had no subscription box experience and no audience. What she did have was passion, determination, and - thanks to Launch Your Box - a roadmap to follow to get her where she wanted to be.

Kathy dug into the training inside Launch Your Box and implemented what she learned. And when she ran into something that threatened to stop her progress - hello, tech - she got the help she needed and kept moving forward.

After 90 days of building her audience and getting all the things ready behind the scenes, Kathy was ready to launch. She sold out on day one of her launch with 46 subscribers - an amazing result considering she truly started from scratch!

Kathy didn’t have subscription box experience, but like all of us, she had a lot of other work and life experience. And as she started working toward launching her subscription box, she found out just how valuable all of that experience was. Kathy had:

Retail experience - high school job at a Hallmark store.
Business knowledge and experience - MBA from Stanford.
Marketing - work in affiliate and partnership marketing.
Social media and content creation - experience as a blogger and early adopter of social media platforms.
Publishing - author of four cookbooks.

Kathy drew from all of her work and life experiences to bring her subscription box to her subscribers. From a part-time high school job to business school to publishing cookbooks - it all applied. And Kathy is her own ideal customer - so everything about her life applied!

What experiences do you have that you can bring to your subscription box business? Past jobs, educational experiences, life experiences… look for what you’ve learned that you can bring to your subscription box business. And get ready to be surprised by how much you already know!

Join me for this episode as Kathy takes us through her journey from absolute subscription box newbie to selling out on day one of her launch!

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163: Why a Subscription Box is a No-Brainer for Your Product-Based Business Jun 12, 2024

What if you could level out your revenue, create consistency, and put an end to the feast-and-famine cycle of one-time product sales? What if you could add stability to your business that allowed you to cover payroll and overhead expenses? What if you knew the inventory you were buying was already sold?

Let’s talk about the life of a product-based business owner. Before I started my subscription box, this was my life, too.

Spending a LOT of money ordering and manufacturing products.
Waiting for products to come in.
Creating content, going LIVE, sending emails.
Hoping the products sell…

Every day. One day you might make 20 sales. Another day, crickets. The uncertainty affects everything… your mood, energy, finances, and stress levels.

But what if things could be different? Picture this…

Spending a lot of money ordering or manufacturing product for your subscription box.
Waiting for the product to come in.
Payments hitting your back account automatically.
Packing and shipping your subscription boxes.
Creating content, going LIVE, sending emails.
Gaining new subscribers each month.
Rinsing and repeating.

What’s missing? Uncertainty and stress!

Adding a subscription box to your product-based business can reduce the stress of your business.

A great way to go deeper with this and flesh out your ideas is to take my FREE 6 in 60 workshop. In it, I guide you through planning 6 months of boxes based on your ideal customer. Once you can visualize this for yourself, you’ll be ready to start taking action.

What would your business look like a year from now if you had 100 subscribers, 500 subscribers, or even 1000 subscribers? Join me for this episode and learn why adding a subscription box to your product-based business could change everything!

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162: What is Subscription Box Week? Jun 05, 2024

Once a year, thousands of people join me for a one-of-a-kind subscription box coaching experience. Subscription Box Week is coming soon… and I can’t wait!

Several years ago, I had started my coaching membership Launch Your Box and it was growing. Slowly. I wanted to put some gas on it and grow more rapidly. A conversation with my mentor, Stu McLaren, led to the realization that letting people spend a week with me as a teacher and coach was the best way to show them what I offer and why it’s right for them.

Subscription Box Coaching Week came out of that casual conversation. I launched it for the first time in the fall of 2020. Thousands of people signed up - which blew me away and kind of freaked me out. 🙂 The first night I went LIVE I had more than 1,000 people with me!

That week was incredible. I showed up, served (overserved, actually), and engaged. At the end of that week, 43% of the people who joined me for Subscription Box Coaching Week signed up for Launch Your Box. 43%!

I’ve been doing it ever since. Every year, thousands of people join me for Subscription Box Week (formerly called Coaching Week). It’s the best way to showcase who I am as a coach, the knowledge I have, and what it’s like inside my incredible Launch Your Box community.

It’s happening again - in just a couple of weeks! And it’s FULL of so much great content, including:

The Post-It Note Challenge - where you’ll plan six months of boxes.
Brand New Training - How to Curate an Experience for Your Subscribers - because it’s not about the “stuff,” it’s about how you make your subscribers feel.
Member Box Openings - where I open members’ subscription boxes for the first time and offer feedback.
Special LIVE Q&A - where you can get ALL your questions answered.
A chance to be part of the subscription box community:
Get to know my members who are at all stages and sizes of business.
Get to know my team as they work around the clock to answer questions and provide resources.
Interact with me LIVE every day.
Understand what’s possible when I interview my students - get ready to be inspired!

My team and I have packed a month’s worth of content into one week for this special event!

For only $15, get this jam-packed week that’s all about subscription boxes!

Are you brand new and thinking about starting a subscription box - this week is for you.
Are you already selling products and ready to build recurring revenue into your business - this week is for you.
Do you already have a subscription box but feel like you don’t know what you don’t know to grow your business - this week is for you.

I do this every day - manage a multi-million dollar subscription box business. And I share it all with you during Subscription Box Week.

If you’ve been thinking about starting a subscription box, but you’ve been putting it off or feeling stuck, this is your special invitation to join me at SubscriptionBoxWeek.com starting June 23rd for one amazing week!

What if one week could change everything? Join me for this episode and learn all about Subscription Week. It’s one week filled with endless possibilities.

SubscriptionBoxWeek.com

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161: The Costs of Starting a Subscription Box May 29, 2024

Do you get excited thinking about starting a subscription box but worry about what it will cost to get started? A subscription box is an eCommerce business which means there are start-up costs involved just like with any other online business. These costs can vary depending on what you want to do.

You can be profitable from month one, but you have to understand your costs. Understanding them helps you:

Price your subscription box
Market your subscription box
Stay on budget
Stay profitable from

What are these costs?

There are five categories of costs you need to consider.

1 - Product Costs - Product cost is the actual expense of goods for each item you will put in your subscription box each month. Whether you make the items yourself, buy them wholesale, or source them from overseas, these costs will make up the highest percentage of your box costs.

When calculating product costs, make sure to include the shipping costs to you. This can have a big impact on your overall product cost and needs to be tracked and planned for.

2 - Packaging Costs - There are so many variables when it comes to packaging costs. You can ship your subscription box in a basic box, custom box, or go without a box and use a poly mailer.

Packaging isn’t just about the outside of the box. You also need to consider the cost of stickers, shreds, tissue paper, inserts, tape, etc. - anything you use to get your boxes ready to ship.

3 - Fulfillment Costs - Your fulfillment costs are made up of packing and shipping costs. Both can be difficult to figure out when you’re first starting out. Packing costs include the labor it takes to package each subscription box. Third-party fulfillment companies pack and ship your boxes for you.

Shipping makes up the other part of your fulfillment costs. Shipping can be VERY expensive and shipping costs vary widely depending on the destination.

4 - Tech Costs - A subscription box is an eCommerce business. In other words, you need tech in order to run your business. Before you can even get your subscription box up and running, there are several tech pieces you need to have in place.

Website
Payment Processor
Shipping Software
Email CRM

5 - Advertising Costs - I always want you to focus on generating organic traffic, but there comes a time when you’ll want to add paid advertising to your marketing plan. Advertising costs range from printed flyers to online ads. These costs need to be factored into your initial and ongoing costs for your subscription box business.

Start simple. Scale gradually. Manage your costs. You can start a subscription box and stay profitable… from the beginning.

Wondering about the costs of starting a subscription box? Join me for this episode to learn about the 5 main categories so you can confidently price your box and be profitable in month one.

Episode 61 - What Can a Fulfillment Center Do for My Subscription Box Business?

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160: 5 Reasons Why You Should Start a Subscription Box Right Now May 22, 2024

You can turn on the news and see what’s happening with our economy. Big box retailers are closing, small businesses are shutting their doors. Yet I’m here to tell you NOW is the right time to start a subscription box. Why?

The answer is simple.

People are buying. I see it every day in my own business. I saw it during my recent very successful launch. And I have the honor of working every day with subscription box owners who are launching and growing their subscription box businesses.

Adding a recurring revenue stream to your business adds a layer of stability, predictability, and security that most businesses don’t have.

The subscription box industry reached $22.7 billion by the end of 2021 and is expected to more than triple that number by 2027! Inside those numbers, the most popular types of subscriptions were replenishment subscriptions (think dog food or shaving supplies) and curation subscriptions (like my Monogram Box™).

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, I read that 25% of online shoppers have subscribed to one or more subscription services to receive products on a recurring basis. 25% of shoppers! The article cited niche markets as one of the biggest areas of opportunity and emphasized the importance of providing high-quality experiences to retain subscribers.

To recap, this article showed me:

The subscription box market is still growing - rapidly. It’s time to get in!
¼ of all online shippers have had a subscription - they understand this model.
It’s all about convenience and the experience - it’s not about the stuff.
The riches are in the niches. (I know you’ve heard me say that before!)

So, why should you start a subscription right now?

You don’t have to constantly sell.
If you have a physical shop and don’t open, you don’t make any income.
You’re able to create raving fans.
Your subscribers will be your biggest fans, buying almost anything you sell.
The product you are investing in is already sold.
Relieve the stress and pressure of buying products you might have to mark down later.
You get to create a box and experience you are passionate about.
Being passionate about your business helps you show up.
You get to love what you do and treat people to a carefully curated experience.
You get consistent revenue hitting your bank account.

It’s not too late to get in the game. Not by a long shot. Have you listened to episode 158 yet? In it, Launch Your Box member Bev of Bless-ed Be Boutique talks about how she retired, got bored, then six months later started her subscription box, selling out her first launch. Or episode 147 where you’ll meet Megan. She thought about starting a box for a long time. It wasn’t until she bought my book, One Box at a Time, and read it cover to cover in just a couple of days that she took action. Megan launched her subscription box three weeks later - and sold out!

Your time is now. Stop waiting, stop wishing, and start building a business you can make an income from.

Have you been sitting on your subscription box idea for too long? Join me for this episode for 5 reasons to get it started right now. It’s time to stop sitting on the sidelines and start taking action.

Episode 158 - It’s NEVER Too Late to Start

Episode 147 - From Idea to Sold-Out Launch in 3 Weeks

One Box at a Time

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159: 5 Simple Steps to Adding a Subscription to Your Product-Based Business May 15, 2024

Do you have a product-based business? Are you selling products via an Etsy store, in a pop-up shop or a retail store? Are you selling one-off products online? Adding a subscription box to your existing business is a no-brainer and can offer you so many benefits!

Adding a subscription box provides:

A stable, predictable revenue stream - recurring payments benefit your business in so many ways, including stabilizing your cash flow.
Customer loyalty - subscribers have committed to regularly purchasing products from you.
Increased lifetime value (LTV) - do you know the LTV of your customers? My subscribers stay for an average of 18 months, generating thousands of dollars of revenue each.
Opportunities for cross-selling and upselling - pair your box items with additional one-off items from your shop.
Scalability - packing and shipping 500 of the same thing is much more efficient than 500 different orders.

Have I convinced you to add a subscription box to your business? I have 5 simple steps to follow to make it happen.

Identify your best customers:
Who are they?
How often do they shop with you?
Take a look at your top 20 customers and dial into who they are.
Identify your best-sellers:
What categories are your best sellers?
What do people buy from you repeatedly?
What are people asking for more of?
Set your pricing structure:
What is your average order value (AOV)?
What is the AOV of your top 100 customers?
Price your subscription box in that range.
Create exclusivity and scarcity:
What are the benefits of being a subscriber?
Make items only available in the box.
Make them only available by subscription.
Create FOMO with your customer base - make them want to be part of something exclusive.
Create a great user experience:
Are your website and the checkout process clear and easy to follow?
Make it easy for people to update or cancel their subscriptions.
Provide a higher level of customer service - remember your subscribers are the VIPs of your business.

A bonus piece of advice, which is really the best piece of advice, is to talk about your subscription box a LOT. If you want to create a business that is 75% recurring revenue instead of depending on one-off sales, you’ve got to make it the main thing in your business. And that means talking about it… a lot!

Join me for this episode to learn how having a subscription box can change the game for your business. Predictable inventory, better cash flow, monthly recurring revenue, and more. Follow 5 simple steps to get started today!

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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 today!

It’s Time to Start Your Box! May 08, 2024

Let’s start this year with a better plan, a plan to help you move forward because… It’s Time to Start Your Subscription Box!

Now is the time to get started the right way.

See, it’s hard to take steps forward with starting your subscription box if you can’t visualize who that box is for - your ideal customer. And if you already have a subscription box and you’re struggling with marketing, gaining subscribers, or retaining the subscribers you do have, take a closer look at your ideal customer.

I want you to describe your ideal customer in 3-5 words.

Are they a man or a woman?
Are they an adult or a child?
How old are they?
Where do they live?
Do they belong to a certain profession or faith group?
Do they have a specific hobby or love for something?

Answering these questions allows you to visualize that person. My ideal customer for my monogram box is a “Southern Busy Mom.” Can you picture her? I can! I curate subscription boxes for her every month.

Ask yourself what your ideal customer is thinking, feeling, and doing each month of the year. It’s this knowledge that will help you plan themes for your boxes before you ever start looking for products.

Once you’re able to visualize your ideal customer, it’s time to decide what kind of box to create. You have choices:

Monthly
Quarterly
Bimonthly
One Thing of the Month

There are pros and cons to each type of box. Monthly boxes are easier to market and bring in regular, recurring revenue. They are also a LOT more work. Quarterly boxes can make marketing challenging but give you time to catch your breath between boxes and may allow you to curate a more expensive, luxurious box.

A “One Thing of the Month” box is a great place to start! You’re simply providing one item each month. I have members inside Launch Your Box who have been very successful with their “one things.” T-shirts, candles, beef jerky, washi tape, door hangers, and more.

Once you’ve decided who your ideal customer is and the type of box you’re going to offer, it’s time to curate some boxes! Join me for my FREE 6 in 60 Workshop where we’ll plan six months’ worth of subscription boxes in only an hour!

Join me for this episode as I talk about how now IS the time to start your subscription box and go over the first TWO steps forward, helping you discover who your box is for and what kind of subscription box is the best choice for your business.

Important Links:

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!

I Want to Start a Subscription Box Business - Where Do I Start? May 01, 2024

When you don’t know where to start, it’s easy to start in the wrong place.

You have an idea. A dream. You want to start a subscription box. But you don’t know how. So you do what everyone does. You google. It. And you find out there are all kinds of people wanting to sell you all kinds of things to help you run your subscription box business. Software, packaging, marketing tools, and more.

In the beginning, before you even get started, you don’t need any of those things. What you need is to Start The Right Way!

If you’re just starting your subscription box journey, this episode is for you! Avoid the overwhelm and start where you need to start… the beginning.

I call this first stage The Hopeful Entrepreneur because you’re full of hopes and dreams… and so many questions. There are things you need to do during this stage to start your subscription box journey off right.

Complete the 6 in 60 Workshop (Post-It Note Challenge) - identify your ideal customer and plan out your first six boxes.
Contact your local Small Business Adminstration Office - fulfill local requirements to legally set up your business.
Establish social media pages for your business - focus audience building efforts on one platform to start.
Secure a domain for your website - this will be your url.
Explore options for your website - we recommend Shopify or WordPress/WooCommerce.

Getting your subscription box business off the ground takes a lot of work. Following a step-by-step process helps you stay on track.

Join me for this episode as I walk you through this first stage of your subscription box journey, sharing tips, strategies, and resources to help you get a strong start. Don’t miss my tips about naming your business - and your subscription box. It matters!

Important Links:

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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!

158: It's NEVER Too Late to Start, from Retirement to Subscription Box Owner Apr 24, 2024

Do you think you’re too old to start a business? Do you worry it’s too late to pivot and do something you’re truly passionate about? Something that could make a huge difference in the lives of you and your family?

It’s not too late. It’s never too late. I say it often, but sometimes it takes hearing it from somebody else before it really sinks in.

Get ready to be inspired as I introduce you to Bev Schweigert, owner of Blessed Be Boutique and member of Launch Your Box.

Bev “retired” more than six years ago and spent six months wondering what to do next. Her Christian faith is central to her life and part of living that for Bev was going on a mission trip to Peru. Bev needed to raise some money to fund that trip and ended up selling Christian jewelry to do so. Soon after, the pandemic hit and Bev’s online jewelry sales skyrocketed. But, once life started to get back to normal, sales started to slow way down.

Bev knew that if she wanted to keep growing her business, she needed to find ways to bring more of her target customers into her world - that meant attracting more Christian women. Bev had been journaling and started a Facebook group for women to reflect on scripture and journal along with her. She went Live in the group 5 days a week and just spent time serving her audience. Soon they started asking her to sell the products she was using - her journal and journaling supplies.

Bev did even more. She developed a creative devotional that includes crafts, poetry, songs to listen to, and more. She turned the idea of a devotional or journal into a true experience for Christian women. And it was a hit!

Soon, Bev started creating one-time devotional boxes - the first was inspired by her memories of summer camp. It included crafts to go along with the devotionals and all the supplies her customers needed to complete them. These boxes sold very well, inspiring Bev to create additional one-time boxes for holidays.

Before long, Bev started thinking about starting a subscription box. A friend and fellow business owner happened to be a member of Launch Your Box and encouraged Bev to join.

The results? Bev sold out her first launch with 80 subscribers! And when she opened back up in time for the next box, she sold out again, adding 45 more subscribers for a total of 130. That’s right - Bev passed the 100 subscriber mark on only her second box! She’ll open back up for box number three very soon and hopes to add 45 more subscribers.

There is so much about Bev’s story that inspired me and will inspire you. And part of that is her age. See, Bev is 61. She started her business when she was 55. A lot of people think they’re “too old” to start a subscription box business or any type of small business. If that sounds like you, Bev has a message for you. “It’s never too late to get started!”

Bev has big goals for 2024. She wants to double what she did last year in sales, and she’s already off to a strong start. Bev is having so much fun with her business - including her subscription box - that she can’t imagine not working. Which is a good thing, since her husband hopes to retire soon thanks to the success of Blessed Be!

It doesn’t matter if you are in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond….it’s never too late to start your subscription box business. This episode is going to inspire the heck out of you.

Find and follow Bev:

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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 today!

157: Can Anyone Start a Subscription Box Business? Apr 17, 2024

Can anyone start a subscription box business? Yes. I truly believe this.

I say it all of the time - I’m not special. And no, that doesn’t mean I don’t think I’m great or suffer from a lack of confidence. It just means I don’t have anything you don’t have.

I’m an ordinary person who doesn’t give up. And it’s that “not giving up” piece that matters. That’s the thing you need to have if you’re going to not just start a subscription box, but launch and grow one into a successful, sustainable business.

And we all have the ability to not give up.

It’s about being consistent - in anything. You don’t have to be the best… you just have to be consistent. That’s what I’ve done, that’s what so many of my students have done, and - if a subscription box business is what you want - that’s what you need to do, too.

My beginning looked like a lot of you:

I was a solopreneur - and a mom - working from my kitchen table while my kids slept.
I schlepped my products to craft shows and pop-up shops all over Texas (and Texas is BIG, y’all!)
I found the courage to rent a tiny, 600-square-foot space and called it my first retail location.

I dreamed of starting a subscription box for years. I didn’t know how I would do it, but I had a fire burning inside of me that meant I had to try.

I want you to know it takes just one action. Just one that leads to another and another. Before you know it? You’re running a legit business that gives you a paycheck and freedom you’ve never felt.

So, the answer to, “Can anyone do this? Can anyone start a subscription box?” is yes!

Anyone can start a subscription box.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never sold products before. In episode 3 of this podcast, I talked with Anne Stuccio. Anne is a practicing dentist who had only ever purchased supplies for her office. It didn’t matter because Anne was also passionate about providing a subscription box experience for female dentists. So she figured it out. She took one action and then the next and the next.

It doesn’t matter how old you are. Next week on the podcast, I’m talking with Bev Schweigert. Bev started her business when she was 55 after being retired for six months. And last year? She brought in a quarter of a million dollars in sales!

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got kids at home. Stop waiting. In episode 29 of the podcast, I chat with Amy Green, mother of three including a son with special needs. This is her time to do something for herself and she’s thriving with her subscription box business - the business she built around her life and her son’s needs.

I want you to understand that whatever reason you think you can’t doesn’t matter. We can all do this.

I’ve been doing this for a long time and most days, I’m winging it. Today, during a LIVE, I tripped over my mannequin and my entire backdrop fell down!

I’m not special. But I know anyone can rinse and repeat my success. So many of my students have done just that!

The first step is to lay it out and visualize what this could look like for you. I have a free workshop that helps you do exactly that. It’s called the 6 in 60 workshop and you can find it at 6in60workshop.com. Grab a pen and some post-it notes and let’s lay it out together. Once you can see it, you’ll know it is possible for you.

Join me for this episode and discover why I believe anyone can start a subscription box and how you can take the first steps toward making your subscription box dreams come true.

Growing Your Community! with Sarah Williams & Tony Durso

Episode 3 - How one LYB Member Hit $10K Monthly with Her Subscription Box Business

Episode 129 - Getting Out of Your Own Way and Gaining 100 Subscribers

6 in 60 Workshop

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156: Is Your Business Too Vulnerable? Apr 10, 2024

On March 5th at about 10:00 in the morning, Facebook went down. Instagram went down, too. The outage didn’t last long, but it had an impact on so many business owners, especially those who rely heavily on social media. That day, Meta was only down for a short while, but what if it was down for the day? The week? The month? What if it went away for good?

Do you have systems in place to reach your audience outside of social media?

Be ready for the next social media outage - and it’s a near certainty there will be one - by making sure you have three things in place.

Diversified platforms
Are you only on Meta? Do you only engage with your audience on Facebook and Instagram?
You need to have a presence somewhere else - TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
Actively engage and build your followings there.
Email list
Email doesn’t depend on social media. You own your email list!
It is SO EASY to send an email when you’ve been building your list all year.
Are you working to build your email list?
Listen to episode 109 for 10 ways to build your email list.
Add a pop-up on your website.
Create an opt-in on your website with a way to serve your audience.
Run a giveaway.
Post a lead magnet on social media and run ads to it.
Add an email opt-in at checkout.
Create a fun quiz that requires an email address to get results.
Offer a discount or free gift.
Host an event or workshop.
Tease sneak peeks or exclusive behind-the-scenes content with opt-ins.
Get in front of new audiences.
Text/SMS
Are you actively building your text list every month? When Meta went down, I was able to reach my students immediately!
Klaviyo allows you to build your SMS list right alongside your email list.

Things like Meta going down open our eyes to weaknesses in our businesses. It’s important to build your business to weather whatever storms that come our way!

Join me for this episode and learn how to create strong, healthy marketing channels that sustain your business… no matter what.

Episode 109 - 10 Ways to Build Your List - Every Month

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Public Facing Content vs. Private Group Content: How to Share Content Publicly Without Giving Away Paid Content Apr 03, 2024

Today’s episode was inspired by a question from a member of Launch Your Box - and a former guest on the podcast. Betsy Goodman shared her sold-out launch story in episode 93. Betsy is a maker and a teacher - she teaches lettering and wax seal techniques. Her work is beautiful and her question is a common one among subscription box owners who make or teach as part of their subscription.

Betsy’s question? How to balance what she gives away for free and what she reserves for her paid subscribers. If your subscription box includes any type of teaching component, you probably struggle with that same push and pull. You want to share enough content to create interest and excitement but don’t want to give away the valuable content your paying subscribers receive.

The goal is to have balance. Give your audience a taste of what it’s like to be a subscriber, but provide value and exclusivity to your subscribers.

These strategies can help you keep your public content engaging while still protecting your paid content.

Share the what - not the how.
Publicly share the box opening and what your subscribers are receiving. This is also a great time to show what can be made from supplies in the box, but not how to do it.
Potential subscribers can see the value.
They still need to join the subscription to learn how.
Do this in a LIVE unboxing or an unboxing post, posts of finished products with supplies laying next to them.
Give them “incomplete” information - they need/want to know more.
Share small sections of the how, but don’t put it all together for them.
Use sped-up videos so people can see the process but not the exact techniques and how-tos.
Share smaller projects that can be made with the same supplies - acts as a bonus for subscribers, too!
Connect, don’t teach.
Go LIVE and use items from the box to create the projects. But… instead of teaching, simply talk to and connect with your audience as you create.
As questions come up, explain what you’re doing and that subscribers have access to the instructional video that takes them through the project step-by-step.
Your audience will see the value of your products, connect with you on a personal level, and see just how much they will get by subscribing.

Find a balance. If you hide all your content behind closed doors, nobody other than your subscribers sees what you’re giving. You lose the opportunity to nurture your audience and show them what it’s like to be a subscriber.

Doing more public-facing content creates more engagement from your subscribers - and drives more interest from those people who aren’t yet subscribers.

Join me for this episode as I talk about why it’s so important to share content publicly and how to balance public-facing and subscriber-only content.

Important Links:

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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 Launch Your Box today!

155: Building Another Recurring Revenue Stream with Stu McLaren Mar 27, 2024

One of the biggest benefits of a subscription box business is recurring revenue. You can build ANOTHER recurring revenue stream in your business by adding a membership to your subscription box business.

In episode 145 of this podcast, I interviewed three of my Mastermind students, all of whom hit $1 million in revenue last year! They have different businesses and followed different paths to where they are now, but one thing they have in common - they all have both a physical subscription and a digital membership.

When I knew I wanted to talk to you about memberships, there was one person who had to be part of the conversation - my long-time mentor and membership guru, Stu McLaren.

Stu and I talked about 4 categories of memberships:

Product-based memberships
Ie., a subscription box
Service-based memberships
I.e., a massage therapist, blow-out bar, car wash
Knowledge or information-based membership
Solving an ongoing problem - i.e., dog training, relationship coach
Learning a skill - i.e., Launch Your Box
Convenience - i.e., teacher lesson plans, templates, social media scripts, checklists
Community-based memberships
A gathering place for people with shared interests
Can be a standalone or an add-on

There are so many examples inside Launch Your Box of members who added memberships to fill a need their audience has.

Ask yourself how you can use your expertise to create a membership.

What questions are people asking you?
What problems can you solve for your audience?

Stu and I talked about membership ideas for some popular industries:

Pet industry
Training
Dog spa business owner coaching
Equestrian riding
Fashion and beauty
Styling tips & tricks
Crafting
Lettering, sewing, crafting, etc.

If you worry that your business doesn’t lend itself to a membership, Stu shares a story that might convince you otherwise. One of his students has a membership of thousands of people - all there to learn how to make balloon animals! Yes, you can create a membership!

So… how can YOU use your expertise to serve your ideal customer with a membership?

Stu is hosting a FREE 3-part workshop in April.

Learn more about Stu McLaren’s FREE workshop HERE!

Join me and Stu McLaren, my long-time mentor and membership expert, as we talk about why you should consider building a membership alongside your subscription box business.

Find and follow Stu:

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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 today!

154: Four Simple Steps To Gain Your First 1000 Facebook Followers Mar 20, 2024

Starting a Facebook business page from scratch is hard. Even growing an existing page can feel hard. But it’s a critical part of audience building. You create great content your ideal customer will love. And you want your ideal customer - lots of your ideal customers - to see it. That means gaining more followers.

When I started my page, How to Start a Subscription Box, in early 2020. I knew who my ideal customer was. What I didn’t know was how I was going to get them to like my page. I spent six months spinning my wheels and not gaining a ton of followers. At the end of those six months, I took a step back and took a close look at what I was doing. And what I wasn’t doing. Then I came up with an action plan to get to 1000 followers before the end of the year.

Getting to 1000 followers is possible. In this episode, I’m sharing four things you can do to reach - and pass - that 1000 follower mark.

I called these “4 Simple Steps to Gain Your First 1000 Facebook Followers.” Nothing I’ve recommended is complicated or difficult. Following these 4 steps helped me reach 1000 followers on my business Facebook page. Continuing to follow them led to reaching - and passing - 10,000 followers in less than two years. Let Facebook work for you!

Join me for this episode where I share a simple, 4-part action plan for gaining your first 1,000 Facebook followers.

Starting an audience from scratch can feel intimidating. It doesn't need to! I created an amazing resource to help you build an audience filled with your ideal customers. Grab it HERE for only $10!

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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 today!

153: Stop Worrying About Sales and Start Thinking About Profitability with Ciara Stockeland Mar 13, 2024

Does it feel like you are making good sales, but nothing is left in your bank account at the end of each month? Are you bringing in enough revenue to cover your overhead and pay your employees but can’t pay yourself? I’ve been there. If you’re a small business owner, you’ve been there, too.

It’s time to change how we think about sales and profitability. And I’ve brought the perfect person to the podcast to help us do just that. In this episode, Ciara Stockeland, fractional CFO and inventory genius, joins me as we get to the simple truth about inventory, margins, and profitability.

Ciara is a 3rd generation entrepreneur from North Dakota. She opened her first retail store in 2006 and built it into a franchise before selling it. She also started a subscription box for retailers, grew it, and sold that, too. It was Ciara’s love for all things numbers that led her to her current role where she works with business owners to identify and fix their inventory, cash flow, and profitability issues.

Ciara has met so many inventory-based business owners who all ask the same questions:

Where is all my money going?
What do I do with all this debt?
How much inventory should I really own?

Ciara responded to a need and built her Inventory Genius course where she teaches business owners how to focus on the right things in order to create more profit and keep more cash.

Set profit goals using Ciara’s framework - the same framework she uses regardless of the size of the business.

I want you to understand that subscription box businesses can be profitable from month one - but you have to be disciplined about operating expenses.

If you don’t fix a problem with operating expenses, gaining more subscribers won’t solve the problem. The cost will grow right along with the subscriber numbers.

When you get diligent about knowing your numbers, it gets easier.

Get Ciara’s book Inventory Genius for an explanation of the numbers in your business.

What is profit and loss?
What is a balance sheet?
How does inventory play into what’s happening with my cash?

Problems with inventory, cash flow, and profitability will not solve themselves. But they ARE solvable! It starts with understanding the numbers in your business.

Knowledge is power. The more you know, the better decision you can make. We want you to love your business and to make decisions from a place of certainty, not panic.

Don’t forget to grab Ciara’s FREE eBook HERE!

Join me and Ciara Stockeland, inventory genius, as we get to the simple truth about inventory, margins, and profitability. Grab your earbuds and notebooks, and join us!

Find and follow Ciara:

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!

152: Streamline Your Subscription Box with a Fulfillment Center Mar 06, 2024

What if you never had to pack and ship your subscription boxes again? How would that change your business… and your life?

Ryan Culver of Lessgistics joined me for this episode to talk all things subscription box fulfillment center. Not only does Ryan have more than 20 years of experience in supply chain, he’s also a former health & wellness subscription box owner and the current owner of a charcuterie subscription box. He joined me to talk about how fulfillment centers can help subscription box businesses, especially as you grow and scale.

Ryan started Lessgistics in 2020 to help other subscription box owners. Inside their 60,000-square-foot facility, Ryan and his team support subscription box owners with businesses ranging from 250 subscription boxes to over 5,000 subscription boxes. They also fulfill special projects and one-time boxes.

Lessgistics especially enjoys partnering with start-up subscription box businesses that are starting to show growth and have 250-300 subscribers. Other fulfillment centers require subscription box businesses to have 1,000 or more subscribers.

Ryan talked about how important it is that you have time and experience fulfilling your subscription boxes yourself before outsourcing to a fulfillment center like Lessgistics. This allows you to understand your needs, your process, and what you’ll require of a fulfillment center.

There are many benefits to working with a fulfillment center, including:

Taking advantage of the economies of scale a fulfillment center brings.
Getting your business out of your house.
Getting access to better shipping rates - subscription box owners benefit from Lessgistics’s buying power with shipping companies.

The volume discounts Lessgistics can get for its subscription box partners usually pay for the cost of the fulfillment center, making it a no brainer!

Ryan recognizes that it can be difficult to let go of control and trust someone else to fulfill your subscription boxes. He understands and is dedicated to creating an experience that’s very subscription box owner-focused. As a subscription box owner himself, he understands the importance of providing an outstanding subscriber experience.

Lessgistics can handle variations - size, color, quantities - with ease. They handle customer service issues promptly and stay in close contact with their subscription box owner partners.

Ryan and I talked about one of my Mastermind students, Stacey Collins, and how Lessgistics has been such an important part of her latest subscription box’s success.

If you’re in the hundreds of subscribers range, you need to be focused on growing and scaling - not on packing and shipping. It’s time to really think about what a 3rd party fulfillment center like Lessgistics could do for you.

Contact Ryan to schedule a 30-minute call - he’ll talk with you about your subscription box and your needs and provide you with a same-day quote.

Join me and Ryan from Lessgistics for this episode to learn what a 3rd party fulfillment center can do for your subscription box business and how the money you’ll save on shipping costs can just about pay for the fulfillment services!

Find and follow Lessgistics:

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!

Free Shipping vs Charging for Shipping Feb 28, 2024

You’ve curated a beautiful subscription box. Your website is nearly ready. But there’s one decision holding you back from actually launching. And it’s all about shipping. Should you offer free shipping or charge for shipping?

Of course, “free shipping” isn’t free. If you offer free shipping to your customers, you will adjust the prices of the items you sell to absorb those shipping costs and protect your profit margins.

In this episode, I go deep on all things shipping. The truth is, there’s no easy answer to the free shipping or charging for shipping question. There is no one-size fits all strategy when it comes to shipping charges. There may even be more than one answer for your business.

Think about your own buying behavior. What matters more to you when you’re shopping online? What matters to your customers?

Shippo, a shipping software company, conducted a survey where they found:
49% of customers prefer to pay a lower price for items and pay for shipping.
40% of customers want free shipping.
11% of customers want their items fast and are willing to pay expedited shipping charges.
Another report showed:
People prefer paying for low-cost shipping when purchasing lower-priced items.
93% of shoppers will add to their carts to reach a certain threshold to receive free shipping if it’s offered.

For one-off online sales, offering free shipping once a customer reaches a purchase threshold is smart for a few reasons.

It can increase your average order value.
It incentivizes customers to order more items at once instead of placing multiple one-item orders, reducing your overall shipping charges.
It allows for lower pricing of items because you don’t have to account for as much of the cost of shipping in the price of each item.

Answering this question for your subscription box is more difficult. Do you only ship or do you offer local pickup as well? Does the perceived value of your subscription box allow you to include shipping in the cost of the box or would that make the price “too high?” Don’t be afraid to test options with your audience to help you make this decision.

Join me for this episode as I talk about what you need to consider when deciding whether to charge for shipping or offer free shipping to your customers and why you may end up choosing one strategy for your one-off sales and the other for 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!

151: 3 Website Platforms for Your Subscription Box Business Feb 21, 2024

Is tech holding you back from launching your subscription box? There are so many decisions to make. One of the first is choosing the right platform for you and your business. There are hundreds to choose from. But not all of them are right for subscription box businesses.

So many people get stuck here, overthinking and over-researching. Decision paralysis sets in and they fail to make any progress at all. But it doesn’t have to be that way - I’m here to help.

In this episode, I break things down for you to make it as simple as possible. I talk you through my top three website platforms and the pros and cons of each. The truth is, no one platform is perfect for every subscription box business. But there is one that’s right for you!

Option 1 - WordPress/Woocommerce

WordPress is the platform and Woocommerce is the plug-in needed to sell products. Woocommerce Subscriptions is the plug-in needed to sell recurring products like a subscription box.

Option 2 - Shopify

Shopify is an eCommerce platform that allows you to create an online store and sell products. It offers a wide range of tools and features specifically for product-based businesses.

Find more in-depth information about all of these platforms and a deep dive into the Subscription Apps on Shopify inside the Launch Your Box Training Library. Not a member yet? Joinlyb.com!

Option 3 - Subbly

Subbly is an all-in-one subscription box platform that provides tools for managing and launching a subscription-based business.

My tips for choosing a website platform:

Don’t get overwhelmed by your options - go with one of these three.
If you already have one of these sites, don’t change it. Build your subscription on it.
Decide which features as most important to YOUR business.
Evaluate the costs.
Just. Get. Started. Don’t let tech stop you from moving forward.

Join me for this episode where I share my top three website platforms for subscription box businesses and the pros and cons of each. Don’t let tech stop you from moving forward.

Join me and our AMAZING community inside Launch Your 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 today!

Maximize the Value of Your Small Audience Feb 14, 2024

Building an audience of people who are interested in your subscription box is crucial. You can’t have a successful launch - and a successful business - without an audience. But you don’t need a huge following with tens of thousands of followers if you have a small audience filled with the RIGHT people.

I’ve built two multi-million dollar businesses and neither one has a huge number of followers. I don’t need hundreds of thousands of followers because the followers I do have are the right people for each of my businesses. They’re engaged, they’re interested in me and what I offer, and most of them buy from me.

The secret to finding subscription box success with a smaller audience is to maximize the value of your audience, no matter the size.

Subscription box success - or success in any online business - doesn’t come from having a large number of followers who don’t engage with you and your business and don’t buy anything. Instead, success comes from having an engaged audience filled with your ideal customers.

Finding and building an audience filled with your right people starts with remembering your why. What drove you to start a subscription box in the first place? Those people who you wanted to serve with your subscription box? Those are the people you need to attract. Those are the people who will engage with you and your business.

I have some practical ways you can attract and engage an audience filled with your right people:

Be known for something. What are you the expert at? What makes you happy?
Show up. Get in front of your audience and go LIVE consistently.
Serve before you sell. What value are you providing to your audience?
You don’t have to be everywhere, but you do need to be consistent. Don’t try to do all the things! Pick a few that you are good at and can be consistent with.
Love on your people! Help your audience feel seen and heard, and they’ll keep coming back.

Join me for this episode as we talk about why a large following isn’t necessary for subscription box success and how you can maximize the value of your small audience.

Join me and our AMAZING community inside Launch Your 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 today!

150: Are You Giving Your Business Enough Consistency? Feb 07, 2024

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” - Dwayne Johnson

One of the healthiest habits we can build into our businesses is consistency. Consistency trumps everything else. You don’t have to be the best, you just have to be consistent.

I talk about consistency a LOT because it’s just that important. You can be an expert, you can be the best at what you do, but without consistency, you won’t succeed. Someone with less expertise who is consistent will succeed because consistency trumps expertise.

A lot of business owners struggle when they try to do “all the things” and end up doing them inconsistently. Instead, do a few things and do them consistently.

Look at your business and ask yourself if you’re being consistent enough in 5 key areas:

1- Planning your boxes consistently

2- Go LIVE consistently

3- Email your list consistently

4- Post on social media consistently

5- Talk about your subscription box constantly

Talking about your subscription box creates buzz and generates excitement!

How consistent are you? Can you improve?

If you’re not consistent in any of these 5 areas, choose one to start with. Get consistent with that one and then add in another.

Join me for this episode as we talk about why it’s so important to be consistent in your business and the five areas you need to be consistent in to build a successful subscription box business.

Resources:

YouTube video - Weekly Emails for Your Subscription Box Business

FREE 6 in 60 Workshop - Curate 6 Subscription Boxes in 60 Minutes

Join me and our AMAZING community inside Launch Your 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 today!

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

149: From Waitlist to Launch - Identifying Potential Subscribers & Building Authority Jan 31, 2024

Finding people who are interested in your subscription box and collecting them on a waitlist is one of the most important things you can do to have a successful launch. But you can’t just collect them. What you do with that list leading up to your launch is just as important. The more work you do between the waitlist and the launch, the higher your conversion rates will be!

Inside Launch Your Box, I teach that there are 5 stages in a beginner Subscription Box Marketing Plan.

Audience Building - building a following and an email list.
Identifying Potential Subscribers - building a waitlist.
Pre-Launch Campaign - building authority & expertise and nurturing your following and list.
The Launch - actively selling your subscription.
Post Launch Engagement - it’s a “feeling,” it’s not about the “stuff.”

On this episode, we’re focusing on stages 2 and 3.

A waitlist is an email opt-in form someone fills out to tell you they want to learn more about your subscription box. Filling out this form puts them on an email list that allows them to be the first to know when your subscription box launches, entitles them to early bird launch specials, and ensures they get an opportunity to subscribe before your boxes sell out!

The goal of the waitlist strategy is to build a large list of warm leads who are interested in becoming subscribers. Every time you talk about your subscription box, your CTA is to join the waitlist.

Start building your waitlist 30-90 out from your launch. Any longer, you risk the list becoming cold. Any shorter, you won’t have enough time to build a healthy list.

The time between the waitlist and the launch is crucial. You can’t simply get people onto your waitlist and then 90 days later hit them with the launch. Use this time to get them to buy into who you are and what your box is about.

Send weekly or bi-weekly emails, depending on how far out you are from your launch. Each of these emails should fall into one of three categories:

Building credibility & your know, like, and trust factor.
Talking about customer pain points and how your subscription box is a solution to these problems.
Taking people behind the scenes of your subscription box.

Bring your waitlist along on the process of starting your subscription box. These potential subscribers will feel like they’ve been part of the process all along, resulting in a much higher conversion rate when you do launch.

Examples of 6 emails you can send between the waitlist and the launch:

Introduce yourself and share your “why.”
Take them behind the scenes - designing your logo, choosing packaging, etc. Get them involved.
Talk about pain points and benefits.
Take them behind the scenes - working on something for your subscription box. Connect you with the box.
Talk about why they deserve to have your box.
Build excitement - save the date, watch your email, exciting bonuses to come!

Inside Launch Your Box we have FOUR brand new training lessons all about creating your waitlist, announcing your subscription box launch, driving traffic to your waitlist, and nurturing your waitlist before your launch. I’d love to have you join us. Just head over to joinLYB.com!

Join me for this episode as we talk about what you need to do between building your waitlist and your launch to build your authority, nurture your prospective subscribers, and increase your conversion rate.

Join me and our AMAZING community inside Launch Your 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 today!

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

148: From 15 to 200 Subscribers in a Year with the Maven Box Jan 24, 2024

Growing your subscription box business with paid traffic is great… Until it isn’t.

One great way to choose a subscription box niche is to identify a gap in the market and fill it. An even better way is to identify a gap in a market you are passionate about. Launch Your Box member Bridget Young of Lunar Maven did both. And it paid off. She saw her subscription box grow from an initial launch of 15 subscribers to 200 subscribers in a little more than a year!

The only problem was that growth was largely due to paid ads. And when the cost of paid ads continued to go up and subscriber numbers started to slip, Bridget needed a new strategy.

Bridget’s Lunar Maven box is a monthly subscription box based on a subscriber’s zodiac sign. Bridget sent me a box to open during our Launch Your Box member box openings. It was customized for a Pisces - my sign. The care and attention that went into it was apparent in every detail - and my horoscope-loving heart LOVED it!

Bridget’s subscription box journey started when she couldn’t find a subscription box that met her expectations of content and quality. Bridget has a passion for all things astrological and crystal.

She also has a great deal of knowledge. She planned and curated a subscription box that is thoughtful, personalized, and filled with high-quality items. Items chosen based on what each sign will be experiencing during that month.

Bridget focused on customer acquisition as her growth strategy, using paid Facebook Ads to get in front of the right people. The strategy worked well for the first year and Bridget’s subscription grew 5-15% per month, outpacing her monthly churn rates.

Bridget was strategic with her ads. She spent time engaging in the comments, answering questions and adding value.

In 2023, ads stopped performing as well for Bridget, and customer acquisition costs went way up. She had no choice but to scale back on her ad spend which had an immediate negative impact on her growth.

Bridget needs a strategy to move forward and start gaining new subscribers again. I talked to her about the importance of a balanced strategy - one that counts on both paid and organic traffic.

I recommended Bridget start running ads to a freebie opt-in. She has SO MUCH knowledge - creating a freebie for someone who wants to learn about crystals, zodiac signs, and more would be easy for her and valuable for her audience. Running ads to that freebie opt-in will get it in front of her ideal customer AND help her build her email list. And as you may have heard me say recently, your email is your ATM.

When Bridget restarts her ads, I recommend she do things a little differently. I want her to build a nurturing email flow and nurture those people on her list, knowing they are likely to buy from her eventually.

Bridget shared her goals for 2024. She wants to get to 500 subscribers. This isn’t an arbitrary number - getting to 500 subscribers would allow her to move her business out of her basement and into a separate space. It would also mean being able to hire. Both would make a big difference in balancing work and family life!

With her new plan to grow using a combination of paid and organic traffic and her commitment to start consistently going LIVE on social media, I am confident Bridget will reach that goal!

Join me for this episode to learn how Bridget grew her subscription box from 15 to 200 subscribers in a year and what changes she needs to make to continue to grow despite rising ad costs.

Find and follow Bridget:

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!

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

147: From Idea to a Sold-Out Launch in 3 Weeks Jan 17, 2024

“Take that one next step.” - Megan Hoiosen

Have you ever read an entire book in one day? Has a book ever given you exactly what you needed exactly when you needed it? When Megan Hoiosen of Sweet Tea Living got her hands on my book, One Box at a Time, she took the day off and read it straight through. And three weeks later, she had a sold-out launch of her brand-new subscription box.

A former teacher, Megan turned her love for home decor and vintage into a brick-and-mortar shop in Idaho called Sweet Tea Living. The name of Megan’s shop has almost nothing to do with tea (although she does sell it) and everything to do with creating a feeling of Southern hospitality.

Megan thought about starting a subscription box for a long time. She even joined Launch Your Box a few months ago. And although she found all of the trainings - and the amazing community - a great source of knowledge, she struggled to find time to consume the information while working long days in her shop.

When my book, One Box at a Time, came out late last year, Megan ordered a copy. And when it arrived, she had a feeling it might be just what she needed. She took the day off from work, sat down with a notebook, and read the book straight through.

Three weeks later, Megan launched her subscription box. Oh, and she sold out!

My goal when I wrote One Box at a Time was not only to tell my subscription box story but to provide readers with the knowledge and tactical action steps they need to actually launch their boxes.

Megan launched and quickly hit 50 subscribers. Then 75 subscribers. And they just kept coming. She had her web designer shut things down when she hit 87 subscribers. She had sold out!

Megan intended to follow the launch plan to a T but found herself overwhelmed. And that’s okay.

I lay out a comprehensive launch plan inside my membership and in the chapters of One Box at a Time. That doesn’t mean you have to do all of the things every time.

When you launch for the first time, take what you can and do what you can. Then the next time you launch, layer in more. Realize you can reuse the assets you built for that first launch - simply rinse and repeat.

If you never start, you have nothing to build on. I give you the tools, it’s up to you to implement them.

Megan has great advice for anyone dreaming about starting a subscription box inspired by the title of my book. She wants you to send the email, do the post, go LIVE, and they’ll come… One Box at a Time.

When I asked Megan her goals for 2024, she said she was inspired by Episode 145 where I interviewed 3 of my Mastermind students who hit $1 million in revenue in 2023. Something tells me I’ll be doing a similar interview with Megan in the not-to-distant future.

Join me for this episode to learn what can happen when you “take that one next step.” Spoiler alert - you just might end up with a sold-out subscription launch!

One Box at a Time

Find and follow Megan:

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!

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

Protecting Your Energy Jan 10, 2024

Being an entrepreneur is hard. It takes a lot of physical, mental, and emotional energy to start a business. It takes even more energy to continue to grow a successful business. And it seems every day brings challenges, obstacles, and issues that threaten to deplete that energy. Energy we need to keep moving forward.

In this episode, we’re talking about things in your business that threaten your energy. As a subscription box owner, you’re going to deal with cancellations. Every subscription box owner does. You may even deal with negative feedback.

As entrepreneurs, our businesses are personal. We put our own blood, sweat, and tears into them. Managing these customer service issues can affect us. They can make us doubt ourselves and our businesses, draining us of the mental and emotional energy we need to run our businesses well.

Protect your energy by puting these tips and strategies in place:

Give customer service issues to someone else. If you have a VA you can delegate responses to, do so. Putting a buffer between yourself and customer service issues keeps it impersonal but still professional.
Reset yourself. Take a walk, run a bath, or do something that helps you disconnect from the stress of work.
Remember it’s not about you, it’s about them. You never know what a person is dealing with, especially in these situations. Cancellations happen for any number of reasons, most of which have nothing to do with the box itself. Use that perspective to try not to take these issues personally.
Keep reminders of positive feedback visible. Keep positive comments and reviews where you can see them to help remind you what’s important: delivering a VIP experience to your subscribers.

Cancellations and negative feedback are a fact of life as a business owner, but they don’t need to be something that robs you of precious time and energy. The longer you’re in business, the more you’ll see that if you are professional in your responses and positive in your outlook, there is a good chance many of those subscribers will come back!

Join me for this episode to learn why protecting your energy is so important, especially for entrepreneurs. I’ll share strategies and tips to help you protect the energy you have and gain more!

Get my Retention Rate Calculator HERE.

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!

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

146: The Fall of Jane.com - The Danger of Using an Online Marketplace Jan 03, 2024

An online marketplace that connects buyers with sellers with a HUGE reach and the potential to sell a lot of products without having to spend time or money building your own audience? Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn’t it? And for thousands of sellers on Jane.com it ended up being exactly that. The collapse of Jane.com highlights important lessons all small business owners need to learn.

How did Jane.com work and why was it so attractive to so many sellers? To sell on Jane.com, small businesses had to submit an application and meet certain requirements.

Sellers set their own shipping prices and were expected to pack and deliver items to customers within six days of purchase. Jane.com collected payment from the customer, kept 20-25% of sales and distributed the remaining funds to the seller.

Jane.com had tens of thousands of sellers. There was always a good variety of products available to customers. A big part of what made Jane.com so attractive to buyers was their flash sales. Every three days, they ran 72 hour flash sales. Jane.com promoted these sales through multiple channels including email. Sellers would sell hundreds to thousands of products in only 72 hours.

Small business owners who sold their products on Jane.com didn’t have to build an audience - they used Jane.com’s audience. All they needed to do was provide product at a great price and deliver it quickly. This feels like a huge win to small business owners who know how hard it is to build an audience.

So what happened?

Had there been signs of trouble?

The fall of Jane.com and what it means to these sellers shines a bright light on three things all small business owners MUST do to ensure something like this doesn’t happen to them.

Can you benefit from a platform with a built-in audience? Absolutely. But, realize you cannot take shortcuts in business. You cannot skip the work of building your audience yourself. You have control of your business. For much more about what is working now to build your business, listen to episode 144.

Join me for this episode to find out what led to the fall of Jane.com, what it means for tens of thousands of small business owners, and what you can do to ensure something like this won’t happen to your business.

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!

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

145: Hitting $1 Million in Revenue This Year with 3 of My Mastermind Students Dec 27, 2023

Can you imagine bringing in over $1 Million in revenue in one year? What if I told you anyone can do it? Anyone who is willing to work hard, to never give up. Anyone who is willing to get up every day, hustle, and implement.

In this episode, I’m joined by three members of my Elevate Mastermind. All three have wildly successful businesses. And all three hit $1 Million in revenue this year! All three are past guests on this podcast, so you might be familiar with their stories. Tamara Bennett, Tracey Pounds, and Cindy Manly are here to share some of the “secrets” to their success and to inspire you to pursue your subscription box dreams.

These successful business owners have several things in common.

They’re all in the arts & crafts space.
They all have memberships and subscription boxes - multiple streams of income.
They all have both physical and digital offerings.

Learn from Tamara. Start with one thing, get super clear about it, and work out the kinks. Give it six or eight months or even a year. Don’t be in a rush to add something else.

Learn from Tracy. Stay focused, be consistent, and pour into serving your audience.

Learn from Cindy. Give your audience more of what they want. Use an SLO to fund Facebook Ads that bring new people into your world, people who will become customers of various offers. Cindy put strategies into play that resulted in a $300,000 month in October!

Dreaming big is easy. Doing what it takes to make those big dreams come true takes work. It takes a willingness to expand.

Expand your thinking
Expand audience building
Expand ad spend

Wondering how much of these ladies’ total revenue is recurring revenue? The kind of recurring revenue that means not hustling to make sales every day. The kind of recurring revenue that brings stability to your business.

Tracey - 57%
Tamara - 75% (this is my number, too)
Cindy - 70%

One thing each of these ladies does so well is staying in their lane. They each have a niche - a sweet spot. Instead of trying to appeal to a wide range of people, they stay true to their perfect person. Their incredible growth has come from filling all the little gaps over the years, serving their perfect person’s needs, and creating multiple revenue streams. The riches truly are in the niches.

I asked each of these million-dollar business owners to give listeners one piece of advice. Their advice - and mine - is to:

Show up.
Be consistent.
Surround yourself with people who lift you up and support you.
Give it time. It doesn’t happen overnight.

Join me and three of my Mastermind students to find out how they hit $1 Million in sales this year, what they contributed their success to, and how you can take what they did and apply it to your own business.

Find and follow Tracey

Find and follow Tamara

Find and follow Cindy

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!

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

144: What’s Working Now in E-Commerce Dec 20, 2023

2023 has been a rollercoaster year for e-commerce businesses. Yes, there have been ups, but wow, have there ever been downs, too. And there were certainly times this year that left all of us scratching our heads and wondering, “What’s working now?”

In this episode, I’m going to do my best to answer that question along with one of my biz besties, Susan Bradley of the E-Commerce Roadmap podcast. We each share the top 3 things working right now in e-Commerce. The best news? You can implement any one of them in your business starting right now.

It’s important to understand you have way more control over your results than you think you do. Even if this year has been more downs than ups, there is always a way to come back and get what you want.

My year had big jumps and dips. I took my eye off my business for personal and professional reasons and it showed. But there were three things I did to get sales back on track. And they all had to do with getting back to basics.

I doubled up on LIVE selling.
I sent 2-3 additional emails each week.
I realized my email list wasn’t growing and changed my opt-in.

Go back to the basics, but be innovative within those basics. I started running page-like ads in the spring - remember, audience building never ends - after I realized my Facebook and Instagram audiences had grown stale. The result? Almost 7K new followers!

What’s working for Susan now?

Susan recommends doubling down on what’s working. Three things that have been working for her and her members:

Building audiences using a brand video strategy.
Susan Bradley’s Brand Video Bootcamp
Lead generation
Email automations

All the time you spend on these tried and true strategies allows you to maximize what you have. This pays off so much more than going off and finding new ways to accomplish the same goal.

Take one or two of these ideas and implement them now. Then add more - get to where you’ve implemented all of them. They’re working for a LOT of people right now!

Join me and my biz bestie Susan Bradley for this episode to learn what’s working in e-commerce now and how you can start implementing these strategies in your business today.

The Social Sales Girls Brand Video Bootcamp

Find and follow Susan:

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!

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

Sarah's Framework for a Live Unboxing Video Dec 13, 2023

Every month I do a LIVE unboxing video for my audience. It’s one of my favorite things to do and one of the best ways to engage with my audience, subscribers and non-subscribers. I teach members of Launch Your Box to do a LIVE unboxing every month as part of their marketing plan. It is SUCH a great way to connect with your subscribers and build community. It’s also an opportunity to create FOMO - showing potential subscribers what they’re missing out on and why they should join.

In this episode, I walk you through my step-by-step LIVE unboxing process. Follow this process to take the stress and uncertainty out of doing your LIVE unboxing… every month.

Doing the prep work makes your LIVE stress-free and more likely to reach a lot of people in your audience.

1. Set a date for your Subscription Box Unboxing

Setting a firm time for your live session lets your audience know when to expect the event and allows you to set reminders to help build interest.

2. Set the stage, starting with an active background and good lighting.

3. Create a hook to pique your audience’s interest and stop the scroll.

Tell your audience what the video is about and what to expect in the first 15 seconds.

During your LIVE unboxing video:

1. Encourage engagement with your audience.

As soon as you hit that live button and deliver your hook, start interacting with your audience (even if there’s nobody in your chat).
Realize most of your views will come from the replay. Ask questions then come back and engage.

2. Tell the story of your box.

Share the inspiration behind your subscription box and how you curated it. Help them see how it all fits together.
Get your audience invested in the box before they see it.

3. Show off your highest-level subscription (if you have tiers).

Sharing your top-level box allows you to show off what you’re capable of and gets subscribers who might have gotten a lower-level box interested.

4. Include a Call to Action (subscribe, get on the waitlist, etc).

5. Thank your audience for being there and review the items in your box as you repack it.

Your LIVE unboxing video should be at least 20 to 30 minutes long, but don’t be afraid to go a little longer if you have good engagement.

You’re not finished when the LIVE ends. Put that video into an email and send it to your mailing list. You’ll snag some of your audience that didn’t watch the LIVE session and get some more views and more people to follow your CTA.

Don’t miss this chance to engage with your subscribers and show off the box you’ve put so much time into.

Join me for this episode as I walk you through the process of one of your most important marketing tools - a monthly LIVE unboxing video.

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!

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

Sarah’s Strategies to 100 Subscribers and Beyond Dec 06, 2023

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.

It’s constant curation. Keeping up with trends and what your subscribers want.
It’s constant marketing. Getting yourself out there and in front of new people consistently.
It’s constant retention. So many subscription box owners make the mistake of focusing only on the acquisition of new subscribers, losing sight of the subscribers they already have.

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?

Don’t stop talking about your subscription box.
You think everyone has seen it. They haven’t.
You think you’re talking about it enough. You’re not.
Inside the Launch Your Box Training Library - in the Marketing Module - you’ll find a Subscription Box Social Media resource with posting ideas for EVERY day of the month!
Not an LYB member yet? Text LAUNCH to 940-204-0023 for a link to join!

Engage. Consistently.
Be social before and after the sale.
Retention is a HUGE part of growth - make sure you’re engaging with your subscribers, letting them know how much you appreciate them.
Your excitement is contagious.
Create FOMO for those not signed up!
Create connections with and for your subscribers.
I don’t recommend private Facebook groups for our subscriptions - you lose a valuable opportunity to create FOMO.
Create value - it’s not always about the stuff.
What makes you different and unique?
Why should someone buy from you and not a big box store?
Curate the experience your subscribers are looking for - the experience they can’t get from big box stores or even big box subscriptions.

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

Never Stop Audience Building Nov 29, 2023

“You can’t just put it out there and expect it to work.” - Pam Rogers

This is a special episode. It’s a replay of our 50th episode! Thank you to all of you who’ve listened and shared - and special thanks for all your 5 Star Reviews! It means so much to me!

I compiled the top ten episodes for the year and found something interesting. All ten of them had a common theme - audience building.

Each of the top ten episodes - and so many others - shows us just how important audience building is. You can’t start your subscription box without an audience. And you can’t grow your subscription box business without continually growing your audience.

On today’s episode, I revisit these top ten episodes and review 5 ways my guests built their audiences.

Episode 3 - The Riches are in the Niches: Anne went specific when she created a subscription box for women dentists. She knew her ideal customer because she was her ideal customer.
Episode 14 - 4 Ways to Build Your Audience: Tiffany ran a giveaway, posted on social media consistently, made connections, and partnered with an influencer to build her audience.
Episode 31 - From an Audience of Zero to 100 Subscribers in 60 Days: Claudia posted consistently on Facebook and Instagram, created IG reels and stories, and added an early bird bonus.
Episode 33 - Small Audience, No Problem! How Amanda Built 100+ Subscribers from an Audience of 600: Amanda went very specific and served her audience before she sold.
Episode 38 - From Nurse Practitioner to Subscription Box Owner: Pam set up social media accounts, followed colleagues, and did some very creative in-person marketing when she attended a conference.

Join me for this special episode as I revisit these top ten episodes and these wonderful subscription box owners. Each of these women shared her inspiring subscription box journey with us. Each of them also shared actionable tips and strategies - things they did to grow their audiences which in turn helped them grow their businesses.

Important Links:

Links to Top-Ten episodes:

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

143: Selling Out in 24 Hours Using the Waitlist Plan with Luxury Loops Nov 22, 2023

“When you listen to your mentor, things will work.” - Cathy Schwartz

Collecting people, finding your hottest leads, building a foundation for your subscription box launch… It’s all part of the Waitlist Plan I teach inside Launch Your Box. And by following that Waitlist Plan, Cathy Schwartz of Decorator Crafts sold out the launch of her Luxury Loops subscription box in only 24 hours.

Cathy’s subscription box journey started when she learned to make wreaths and work with ribbon as a way to deal with a stressful corporate job. She fell in love with ribbon, particularly high-end, designer ribbon. She soon realized she wasn’t alone in her love for luxury ribbon - there were a LOT of people who wanted to learn how to decorate with high-end ribbon. Soon, Cathy decided to take the passion and knowledge and launch a monthly subscription box. She also started a private Facebook Group where subscribers go to learn how to decorate with their ribbons and build community.

Cathy is a member of Launch Your Box and Scale Your Box. She is a dream student who soaks up the training and implements it in her business. This includes the Waitlist Plan.

The Waitlist Plan is all about consistently driving traffic to your subscription box waitlist. It’s a list of people who have said “Yes, I’m interested in what you’re selling.” They are your warmest leads. A waitlist is not only for your first launch. You need to consistently build your waitlist between launches as well. Just like Cathy does.

Due to the quantities Cathy’s exclusive ribbons are available in, she adds new subscribers in groups of 48. When she recently launched to new subscribers, she of course started with her waitlist. Just like I teach inside Launch Your Box. But, unlike most subscription box owners, Cathy never had to move on to the next phase of her launch. She sold out her launch to her waitlist in only 24 hours!

Cathy had a waitlist of 300 people when it was time to launch. 300 very warm leads. She grew that waitlist - and continues to grow it consistently.

Recently, Cathy posted a video of a Christmas Urn project. The response was beyond anything she could have imagined. She gained 6,000 Facebook followers in 72 hours and the video has more than 150,000 views on TikTok. Cathy realized she needed to capture all these people’s emails to bring them into her world. She quickly put together an opt-in for the project and has been busy driving people to her waitlist.

Cathy serves her audience. She teaches them, she engages with them, and she builds excitement and FOMO with the help of her subscribers. She’s doing all the right things, especially when it comes to following the Waitlist Plan.

I’m so proud of all Cathy has accomplished in her business. She now has over 500 subscribers and I know that number will continue to grow.

Join me for this episode and be inspired as Cathy tells us what can happen when you get consistent, follow the plan, and curate an exclusive experience for your subscribers.

Find and follow Cathy:

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!

 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

142: 5 Ways to Reduce Small Business Overwhelm Nov 15, 2023

If you’re a small business owner, you are probably experiencing some degree of overwhelm in your business or personal life. Probably both. Because when you’re a small business owner, business and personal overlap and intertwine. A lot.

Overwhelm can become a major obstacle to success. It can affect your business growth and your personal growth. Personal overwhelm affects your business and business overwhelm affects your personal life. How many times have you been impatient or snippy or overreacted to something because of stress in another part of your life?

So many business owners operate in a constant state of overwhelm. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this episode, I’m walking you through five things you can do to help reduce your overwhelm so you can thrive instead of just surviving.

1. Time Management - There will never be enough hours in the day to get everything done. How we manage our time is crucial to reducing overwhelm. Get more done by:

Identifying high-priority tasks.
Time blocking those tasks.
Removing distractions.
Using a timer to stay focused.

2. Hiring, Outsourcing, Delegating - you can’t keep doing business alone. This means knowing when it’s time to:

Hire
Outsource
Delegate

3. Setting Realistic Goals and Timelines - entrepreneurs are guilty of always thinking we can get more done in a set amount of time than we actually can.

Be honest with yourself.
Plan only ONE big rock per quarter. (detailed in my Strategic Yearly Planning Workshop - linked below)

4. Getting Support - feeling supported makes a huge difference to the amount of overwhelm you feel.

How can your team support you?
How can your spouse support you?
How can your children support you?
How can your friends and family support you?
Seek out other support - housekeeper, grocery deliveries, etc.

5. Self-care - you need to take time for yourself. Don’t feel guilty about it.

Plan self-care time - put it on your calendar.
Make time to spend with friends and family.

Start with one of these items and build it into your routine. Then layer in another. And another. Stop operating in fight or flight mode. Your health and the health of your business depend on it!

Join me for this episode and learn five things you can do to tackle overwhelm in your subscription box business.

Take my Strategic Yearly Planning Workshop.

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!

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

141: Over 500 Subscribers with a Super Simple Subscription Model with the Polka Dot Poodle Nov 08, 2023

Have you gotten stuck trying to decide what to include in your subscription box? You want to give your subscribers everything they could possibly want - but you know it’s not possible to do that and stay profitable. It is so easy for new subscription box owners to overthink everything and end up overwhelmed. One subscription box owner decided to keep things simple - really simple - and now has more than 500 monthly subscribers!

Meet Launch Your Box member Emily Vincent of The Polka Dot Poodle. Emily is creative and fun and loves to give gifts. She doesn’t just “give” gifts, though - she presents them in a way that makes them seem personal and extra special. Emily is passionate about gift-giving and adding the special touches that take a gift and turn it into an experience for the recipient.

When Emily first started her business, she was creating all the things. She and I share a love for monograms and she was creating and monogramming products for her many customers. But she quickly found that creating the same item over and over again didn’t bring her joy. When she examined what she loved about her business, she realized what she really loved was designing gift tags for people to give the items she made as gifts.

So Emily decided to focus on just that. Gift tags. She started a digital subscription where subscribers receive a digital file with that month’s designs and print them themselves. How easy is that?! No printing, no packing, no shipping. Emily’s workload is the same whether she has 10 subscribers or hundreds.

Emily soon realized that some of her subscribers wanted to receive the gift tags already printed and ready to go. They wanted her to make things even easier and more convenient for them. She was happy to oblige and started another version of her subscription. For these subscribers, Emilly prints the physical gift tags and ships them - just the tags - to her subscribers. Still simple and easy to fulfill.

Because Emily likes to serve her audience, she recently added another subscription. This one is more custom, more personalized, and more labor-intensive. And yes, it involves monograms. But Emily loves it and so do her subscribers. And she is careful not to take on more subscribers than she can comfortably handle.

When Emily started her first subscription, she had 37 subscribers. That number has grown to more than 500 subscribers. 500 people who receive gift tags designed by Emily every month.

Gift tags. How simple is that?

Emily’s advice to anyone thinking about starting a subscription box? Just start. Develop your idea, create a landing page, grow your email list and social media followers, and just start. She promises it will be worth it.

Join me for this episode and learn how Emily found subscription box success by focusing on what she loves to do and keeping things simple.

Find and follow Emily:

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!

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

140: Scrub Your Email List and Improve Your Deliverability Nov 01, 2023

You spend time writing engaging, value-packed emails to send to your list. Emails that - when people read them - help you connect with your audience and generate sales are incredibly valuable to your subscription box business. But are your emails ending up in spam folders? How and why does this happen and how can you keep it from happening?

One way to maintain a healthy email list is by scrubbing it. Email list scrubbing is the process of regularly cleaning your email list - removing inactive, invalid, or unengaged email addresses. With a scrubbed list, you’re sending your emails to a receptive audience which improves your email marketing performance.

When you scrub your list, you’re getting rid of people who are weighing it down, costing you money, and bringing you no value.

A clean list results in:

Improved deliverability
Higher open rates
Increased engagement
Improved ROI

Not scrubbing your list can result in “list decay,” the gradual decline in the quality of your email list over time. List decay can be caused by:

Email bounces - occur when the recipient’s email address is invalid, no longer exists, or their mailbox is full.
Inactive subscribers - people who subscribed to your list but have not engaged with your content or opened emails for an extended period of time.
Spam traps - emails set up to identify senders with poor list hygiene practices.
Unsubscribed contacts - continuing to send emails to people who have opted out or unsubscribed. Can also result in legal violations.

The effects of list decay include reduced deliverability, lower engagement rates, and damage to your reputation as a sender.

Scrubbing your list to increase its health is obviously beneficial. But… before you scrub your list, I want you to set up a Re-engagement Campaign.

Reengaging your list is a LOT more cost-effective than growing your list, so make sure you’ve done all you can before removing them.

Create a set of 2-3 emails that provide value and remind them why they should open and engage with your emails. The hook is VERY important here. Think about what makes you open an email from someone.

Text me the words SUBJECT LINES to 940-204-0023 and I’ll send you 10 super-engaging subject lines!

The goal of a re-engagement campaign is simple. Get them to OPEN the email and CLICK over to your website. This will re-engage them on your list.

After your re-engagement campaign is complete, it’s time to scrub your list. I’m taking you through the steps in Klaviyo, the email CRM we teach inside Launch Your Box.

First, set up a segment - “Unengaged Segment.” Set the parameters around this segment. Your time frame depends on how frequently you send emails. You can choose 90 days, 120 days, 180 days. I choose 90 days.

How do you know if your email list is healthy? Measure your performance. After you’ve scrubbed your list, look at open rates, click rates, and purchase conversions. The higher these stats are, the healthier your email list is.

Join me for this episode and learn why the health of your email list matters and how scrubbing your email list regularly can improve your email health and deliverability.

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!

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

139: The Missing Piece to Starting Your Subscription Box with Tabitha Yount Oct 25, 2023

“Sarah was my missing piece.” - Tabitha Yount

Do you have a degree in being an entrepreneur? Neither do I! There is SO MUCH to learn when it comes to starting and running your own online business and starting, launching, and growing a subscription box business. Tabitha of Elegant Homes & Interiors discovered she was missing a piece when it came to making her subscription box a success. That piece turned out to be me!

Tabitha started her professional life as a nurse. She started her marriage as a young bride whose elegant taste in homes and home furnishings was at odds with her budget. Tabitha and her husband’s creative solution was to buy a fixer-upper and turn it into a dream home together. This turned into a series of fixer-uppers - one every year - they bought, renovated, and redecorated then sold them for a profit.

After doing this for many years and adding three daughters to the mix, Tabitha and her husband decided to make home reno and decorating a full-time career. At the same time, Tabitha started sharing their renovating and decorating journeys on social media. She quickly grew a following of more than 46,000 devoted fans, hungry for inspiration. Tabitha showed them the what but wasn’t yet showing them the how.

Realizing her audience was ready for more, Tabitha started a paid community where she provided instruction to her audience - teaching them how to achieve the looks she was known for. Soon after, Tabitha was had a conversation with a friend within the online decor community who happens to be a member of Launch Your Box, Scale Your Box, and my Elevate Mastermind.

This friend encouraged her to take her business a bit more seriously and go all in with a subscription. So Tabitha put the idea out there and was thrilled - and surprised - when 50 people subscribed to her quarterly home decor subscription box. The only problem? Tabitha didn’t know the ins and outs of running a subscription box, especially tech! Her lack of systems and processes quickly caused her to realize things needed to change. Tabitha received some bad advice from someone working for her and shut down her subscription box.

Right about the time Tabitha realized she didn’t know what she didn’t know and that not knowing it would continue to prevent her from being successful with a subscription box she found me and Launch Your Box. After digging into the training with purpose, Tabitha quickly realized that I was - in her words - the missing piece!

Tabitha consumed the training inside Launch Your Box - learning and implementing and then learning and implementing some more. She had so many a-ha moments and later relaunched with her systems and processes in place.

How did that launch go? Well, Tabitha sold out all available spots in her subscription and is looking forward to continuing to learn and grow.

Join me for this episode and learn how Tabitha nurtured and grew an audience of raving fans and how identifying the missing piece finally put her on the road to subscription box success.

Find and follow Tabitha:

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!

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

138: Building $10K in Monthly Recurring Revenue with a Digital Subscription with Tamara Bennett Oct 18, 2023

Have you ever thought about starting a digital subscription? Can you imagine what $10,000 in monthly passive income could do for your business? One subscription box owner has done just that with her Template Club.

I’m interviewing one of my biz besties on this episode. I’m so excited to have Tamara back on the podcast to share another way she has brought a LOT of revenue into her business by staying focused on serving her customers where they are.

Tamara has a very successful home decor business, specializing in door hangers. She teaches thousands of women all over the country how to paint door hangers. She also creates custom door hanger designs and cuts those designs out of wood. Not so long ago, Tamara decided (with more than a little bit of urging from me) to start a subscription box. The Big Box of Blanks - her quarterly subscription - was born and quickly became a huge success.

For today’s episode, I wanted to focus on another of Tamara’s offerings - her digital subscription, The Template Club. Tamara releases 5 new door hanger template designs every week. She noticed she had a LOT of customers who returned each week to purchase all of the new designs. In order to serve them better, she created a digital subscription - The Template Club. Members of The Template Club get all of the new designs each month for one low monthly cost. This is a win-win. Tamara’s customers save money and she benefits from recurring monthly revenue coming into her business.

At its peak, The Template Club had over 600 members. Currently, there are 350 subscribers. The reason for the decrease in subscribers is simple - The Template Club hasn’t been the main thing. It hasn’t consistently gotten enough visibility among Tamara’s other offerings. Her goal is to put more focus on The Template Club and build it back up over the next year.

One of the best things about Tamara’s digital subscription - and any digital subscription - is she creates the product one time and then sells as many as possible. Once the design has been created and released, the only thing left to do is automatically fulfill those orders. No packing, no shipping, no managing inventory. Digital subscriptions have a LOT of upsides.

Tamara’s biggest challenge is producing a large number of original designs every month. She solves this challenge by planning ahead and working with a team of designers. She has also worked through tech fulfillment challenges that necessitated a change in platform.

Tamara developed the door hanger template as a product in response to a problem her customers were having. Her desire to serve her customers and her willingness to create a solution to a problem led to a thriving product in her business creating and selling door-hanger templates.

Join me for this episode and learn how Tamara brings more than $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue to her business by focusing on serving her customers’ needs.

Find and follow Tamara:

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!

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

137: Give Q4 a Boost by Staying Focused on Revenue Generating Activities Oct 11, 2023

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.

Building Your Q4 Sales Strategy
Inventory
Have it
Manage it
Create demand for it
Holiday Promotions
Gift Guides
Marketing & Advertising
Email Marketing - the money is in your list!
A consistent plan is crucial.
Segment your list and send targeted emails.
Have abandoned cart flows and browse abandonment flows set up!
Social Media Schedule - consistency is king!
Paid Ads - target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Prepping for Peak Sales Days
Customer Service
Make this a priority!
Schedule time for it!
You’ll have a lot of first-time customers - make their experience a good one!
Social Media Response Time
Answer questions & respond to comments promptly.
Clearly Communicate Urgency & Deadlines
Banners on home page
Flash sales
Promotional codes
Free shipping thresholds
Christmas shipping deadlines
Managing Logistics & Fulfillment
Clearly outline shipping and processing timelines.
Make sure you have enough staff to handle the influx of orders.
Hire temporary staff for the holidays.
Have current staff work extended days/hours.
Conduct a supply inventory NOW!
Bags
Boxes
Tape
Shipping labels
Etc.
Holiday Packaging
How will you uplevel your customers’ experience this season?

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!

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

136: Pros & Cons of a Quarterly Subscription Box Oct 04, 2023

“Is it better to have a monthly or quarterly subscription box?”

This question comes up a lot inside Launch Your Box and on the How to Start a Subscription Box public Facebook page. The truth is, there is no one answer to this question. No right or wrong when it comes to choosing a monthly or quarterly box. There’s only the answer that’s right for you.

Your answer to whether a monthly or quarterly box is right for you and your business depends on your goals for your business and what is most important to you as a business owner.

Each model has its benefits and its drawbacks. It’s important to understand both before making a decision about the frequency of your subscription box.

The pros and cons of a quarterly subscription box:

1. Revenue

Con - a quarterly subscription model can cause financial strain during the “off” months.
Pro - you can typically charge more for a quarterly box, allowing for greater profit and more revenue.

2. Curation/Products

Pro - you only have to curate a box four times a year!
Pro - your subscriber only gets four boxes a year to consume. This can lead to greater subscriber satisfaction and less churn. 3

3. Frequency/Recency

Con - lack of engagement. The time between each box can cause a sense of disengagement for subscribers. They’re not getting the constant reminders of something new coming like they do with monthly boxes.
Con - not having enough content. It can be very challenging to stretch out the content from one box to last for three months until the next box comes out. Content can get stale.

4. Time

Pro - the monthly grind of curation/fulfillment/customer service is a full-time commitment. A quarterly box allows you the space and freedom to do other things.

Top cons of a quarterly subscription box:

No monthly recurring revenue.
Lack of engagement in your community.
Lack of content to market and promote your box and brand consistently.

Top pros of a quarterly subscription box:

Ability to charge more for a quarterly box, increasing the amount of revenue per box.
Only have to curate four boxes a year instead of 12.
Subscribers are less likely to cancel due to inability to consume the box.
You get a break from the curation/fulfillment/customer service cycle.

We’ve talked about monthly and quarterly boxes and the pros and cons of each. But, there is one other option and it seems to be gaining in popularity: bi-monthly subscription boxes. Bi-monthly boxes are curated and fulfilled every other month. Some subscription box owners and subscribers find this to be just the right balance between a monthly box and a quarterly box.

Join me for this episode as I talk about why there’s not an easy answer to the question, “Is it better to have a monthly or quarterly subscription box?” and walk you through the pros and cons of each.

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!

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

135: 750 Pillow Subscriptions Sold in 5 Days with Wilshire Collections Sep 27, 2023

Generating excitement and creating FOMO are great ways to market your offer. Spending three months hyping up a new offer led to this subscription box owner’s dream of selling her own pillow designs coming true. And… It resulted in selling 750 pillow subscriptions in only five days. The best part? She doesn’t have to pack or ship a thing.

I’m so excited to welcome Stacey Collins to the podcast again as my first-ever three-time guest! Stacey is also a member of Launch Your Box, Scale Your Box, and my Elevate Mastermind! She truly invests in herself and her business.

Stacey’s subscription journey has some twists and turns - and a lot of successes. She started with a quarterly home decor box, which was a big hit. But when the demands of fulfilling a highly curated box started to outweigh the benefits, she changed gears. Stacey shut down that physical description but soon turned to a different type of description - a monthly digital subscription. Today, Stacey has more than 2,000 digital subscribers!

Earlier this year, Stacey and I were talking about her business and she shared her long-held dream of selling her own decorative pillows. Stacey LOVES pillows. Her audience knows she loves pillows and so many of them do, too. What Stacey doesn’t love is packing and shipping large numbers of products. There was an easy solution to Stacey’s problem. Using a fulfillment company. I connected her with a fulfillment center I interviewed on episode 61 of this podcast.

The fulfillment center was the perfect solution. Stacey designs the pillow covers and works closely with the manufacturer to make sure the design and quality of the pillow covers are exactly what she wants. Then the pillow covers are shipped directly to the fulfillment center where they are packed and shipped, again to Stacey’s specifications.

Stacey initially set a launch goal of 500 subscriptions. I challenged her to increase that goal because I knew what a large, engaged audience she had. And I knew she was going to follow my 5-day launch plan to a tee. And she did.

Stacey’s biggest challenge? Launching without having anything to show her audience. The pillow covers needed to be a surprise. She had a few sneak peeks to share but relied on the trust she’d built with her audience to convince them to take this leap with her. Stacey spent THREE MONTHS creating excitement around her big announcement. She got her already highly engaged audience excited, built anticipation, and created FOMO.

And when Stacey did launch? She sold 750 pillow subscriptions in only 5 days!

Join me for this episode and learn what drives Stacey to continue to find new ways to serve her audience and grow her subscription business, and find out how close she is to hitting her goal of 1000 pillow subscriptions.

Find and follow Stacey:

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!

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

134: Never Give Up - Break Through the Plateau with the Crafty Lady Boutique Sep 20, 2023

“Don’t give up. Just keep moving forward.” - Alexia Haubert

After making it to the top 1% of all Etsy sellers in the wedding category - the top 1%! - Lexie was on top of her game. Then came a global pandemic that shut down the wedding industry and Lexie’s business.

Lexie had to pivot and struggled to grow her business for a long time before recently reaching a big milestone. In this episode, Lexie’s story will inspire you to keep going as you work toward your business goals.

When the wedding industry slowly started coming back, Lexie introduced The Monogrammed Bride subscription box and started building her audience from scratch. She stayed consistent and continued to show up even though she saw very little in the way of results for a long time.

When Lexie and I first talked, after a disappointing launch, I was surprised to see she had done everything I teach. She was doing all the things and she was doing them well. But she wasn’t seeing results. We brainstormed and strategized, and Lexie continued working hard.

And just recently - after seeing consistently steady growth for the last six months - Lexie hit her long-standing goal of 100 subscribers! So what did she do differently these past six months?

She built a community - giving her subscribers something to feel they were a part of.
She posted stories on Instagram - consistently.
She created engaging posts featuring pictures of subscribers and their boxes.
She started going LIVE much more consistently and, when she did, started building an audience who showed up for her and engaged with her during the LIVEs.
She followed her subscribers back and engaged with their posts.
She did tons of short video, finding cracks of time while sitting in her car waiting to pick her kids up from practices.
She sent boxes to a small number of influencers from TikTok and Instagram - people with 1000-2000 followers who want to grow as influencers.
She ran Facebook Ads - and has gotten really dialed in which drives the cost per engagement way down. Lexie analyzes her Ads every week and makes changes as needed.

While we were talking, Lexie got subscriber #112! This growth in her business - this regular, recurring revenue - has lessened the financial stress Lexie has felt for the past couple of years. She is able to breathe and plan for even more subscribers as her business continues to grow.

Lexie’s message for anyone who feels overwhelmed or discouraged by the challenges they’re facing in building their business? Don’t give up. Just keep moving forward.

Join me for this episode and get inspired by Lexie’s determination to just keep going and never give up on her dream on her way to reaching and passing her goal of 100 subscribers.

Find and follow Lexie:

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!

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

133: Why You Should Start A T-Shirt Subscription Sep 13, 2023

I have a t-shirt subscription. Actually, I have two successful (and very profitable) t-shirt subscriptions: my T-Shirt Club and Tees 4 Teachers. And I’m not the only one growing thriving t-shirt subscriptions. LOTS of members of Launch Your Box are finding huge success with their own t-shirt subscriptions. With all this t-shirt subscription talk, you might be wondering if starting a t-shirt subscription is right for you.

In this episode, I’m sharing six reasons why you should consider starting a t-shirt subscription.

1. A T-shirt subscription has low start-up costs compared to other products.

T-shirts range from $2-$7.
Printing can be done in-house or outsourced.
There is no need for expensive boxes - t-shirts can be shipped in poly mailers.

2. T-shirts are a wardrobe staple.

Everyone wears t-shirts.
T-shirts are consumable - they are used (worn) for a while and then replaced.
T-shirts can be dressed up or worn casually.

3. T-shirt subscriptions can be seasonal/holiday/theme-based.

Any niche can have a t-shirt subscription. Launch Your Box member t-shirt subscriptions include:
Career-focused tees
Inspirational/self-care tees
Tees for artists/crafters
Snarky tees
Animal/pet-themed tees

4. T-shirt subscriptions provide recurring revenue and recurring brand exposure.

A t-shirt subscription is a consistent source of recurring revenue.
A t-shirt subscription can provide opportunities for recurring brand exposure.
Add your label or brand to every design.
Build customer loyalty and commitment by consistently delivering quality t-shirts and designs.

5. T-shirt subscriptions foster a sense of community which can result in:

Increased loyalty
Higher engagement
Higher lifetime value (LTV) and retention rates

6. T-shirt subscriptions are more affordable and accessible than many other subscriptions.

A t-shirt subscription can be a successful, standalone subscription. It can also be a complement to your existing subscription box. Mine started as a complement to my Monogram Box when my subscribers asked for more t-shirts!

I’ve seen great success with my own t-shirt subscriptions and have helped SO MANY members of Launch Your Box build thriving t-shirt subscriptions.

I’m well-known for my extensive knowledge of all things t-shirt. So much so that my students and peers have been asking for a standalone t-shirt subscription course for quite a while. My team and I have spent the last several months working on this course. How to Start a T-Shirt Subscription covers everything you need to know in 12 video lessons full of actionable steps, worksheets, and special bonuses. It’s the perfect way to get all your t-shirt subscription questions answered and get your t-shirt subscription started NOW!

Learn more about How to Start a T-Shirt Subscription.

Join me for this episode as I share my own t-shirt subscription experience and all the reasons you should start a t-shirt 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 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

Taking Your Side Hustle to a Full-time Gig Sep 06, 2023

Have you thought about taking your subscription box business from a side hustle to a full-time gig?

It’s absolutely possible. I did it and so have many members of Launch Your Box.

But…

Before you quit your full-time job or make any major changes to your business, you need to ask - and answer - some questions. And you need to get really comfortable with your financial details, business and personal.

Take your time and get real about what your goals are. Are you currently working 40/50/60 hours a week and want to work less? Do you want to make more income than you have been?

The truth is, you can get there. But you’ll need to make a plan and work that plan. Start by asking yourself these four questions:

What is the income you need to replace?
What is the survival income you need to cover your bare-bones expenses every month?
What portion of that survival income can be covered by someone else (spouse, parents, roommates)?
What is the initial investment you’ll need for your business (products, supplies, packaging, tech)?

Understand that your business will need to be profitable before you can pay yourself. That takes time. It took me 9 months before I was able to pay myself a regular paycheck. 8 ½ years later, I pay myself a very nice salary and also pay the salaries of more than 20 employees.

Join me for this episode as I take you on my journey from tiny side hustle making $200 a month to where I am now, running two multi seven-figure businesses, answering those questions, knowing my numbers, and making careful decisions every step of the way.

Important Links:

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

5 Ways to Scale Your Subscription Box Business Aug 30, 2023

You’ve launched your subscription box. Since that time, you’ve grown alongside your subscription box business. You’ve developed systems and processes and have built a firm foundation on which your business can continue to grow. But now you want to do more than just continue to grow slowly - now you want to scale your subscription box business.

In this episode, I’m sharing 5 things you need to do to take your subscription box business to the next level - to scale your box.

Develop a multi-channel marketing plan.

In order to keep growing, you need to get in front of more people.
Expand to additional social media channels - meet your people where they are.

Optimize your inventory.

Work on a plan to get the most out of your inventory - make it work for you, not against you.
Leverage your buying power and negotiate the best deals with your vendors, including things like payment terms and shipping discounts.

Streamline fulfillment.

Consider whether a fulfillment center is right for your business.
Design a process - and space to support that process - that allows you to be as efficient as possible on packing days.

Improve retention strategies.

Don’t get so concerned about gaining new subscribers that you neglect the ones you already have!
Identify one team member to focus on customer service and retention.
Know your numbers - aim for a retention rate of at least 90%.

Create raving fans!

Word of mouth is an important part of growing your business!
Engage with your subscribers in post comments and during LIVES.
Surprise and delight your subscribers. Text “SURPRISE” to me at 940-204-0023 to get my FREE resource “10 Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Customers.”

Prepare for the next step in your subscription box journey by planning for growth and putting strategies and processes into place that will allow you to scale!

Join me for this episode as I share five things you can do to scale your subscription box business and take it to the next level.

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!

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

132: 10 Truth Bombs to Understand About Your Subscription Box Business Aug 23, 2023

Have you been struggling with your business this year? Maybe you’re not reaching your revenue goals or you haven’t launched that new idea, product, or subscription box yet. Many times, our businesses need one little tweak - a change in process, strategy, or just mindset - to change everything.

In this episode, I’m sharing 10 truth bombs that will have you looking at your business differently. Take the time to sit with and think about each of these to see how they might apply to you and your business.

20% of your customer base generates 80% of your revenue!
Protect your peace and energy at all costs.
Fad marketing strategies are like fad diets. They will not last.
Companies that have heavily relied on paid traffic only will shift to more organic traffic.
Systems and processes will serve you.
Revenue does not mean profit.
Cheap is not creating value.
It’s more profitable to retain your subscribers than to constantly acquire new ones.
What gets you started may not get you to scale.
If you don’t challenge yourself, you won’t change yourself.

We focused all of the training this year inside Launch Your Box on these 10 things. I’m here to help you understand these 10 things and make progress with each of them.

Remember, you are on a subscription box journey. This journey never ends. It’s always a work in progress. Just keep making progress!

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!

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

131: How My Lazy Launch Doubled My Subscribers Aug 16, 2023

Are your subscriber numbers dwindling? Do you need to do something to keep your numbers up but don’t have the capacity to do a full-blown launch?

I found myself in this exact situation. My subscriber numbers for my “baby” subscription, Tees 4 Teachers, had been decreasing since the beginning of the year. I knew I needed to do something, but when I looked at my year, this is what I saw:

April - Monogram Box Launch
May - SubSummit
June - Big Coaching Week Launch for Launch Your Box
August - Launching a New Course
September - Launching a New Membership

That left July. July is right before back to school, making it the perfect time to launch Tees 4 Teachers. I knew I did not have the bandwidth to show up in a launch the way I’d need to. But I didn’t want to not launch.

What could I do? Was there a way I could launch and make it EASY and less taxing on me?

I knew I could drive a lot of traffic and sales through paid ads. (Listen to episode 130 to hear about how paid ads helped me have my biggest launch ever earlier this year). If I could use ads effectively to sell my teacher tee subscription, that would eliminate the need to do a lot of LIVEs, send a ton of emails, and do all my usual launch activities.

So, what exactly would this “lazy launch” look like? I needed a plan.

Instead of an intense launch, I decided to run a two-week lazy launch.
I created an Early Bird Bonus/Launch Bonus but made it good for the entire two weeks.
Week One
Started ads and made an announcement post
Posted once a day.
Week Two
Did 1 LIVE
Sent 2 emails
Posted for the last 4 days

My results? I closed cart with 201 subscribers. I doubled my subscription with minimal effort!

What did it take to double my subscriber count?

Launch Bonus
New, Cute T-Shirt Design
Ad Spend - $2000

When I looked at the data - and you should ALWAYS look at the data, I discovered some interesting things:

92% of the traffic I sent to the sales page came from Facebook Ads.
78% of all my new subscribers came directly from Facebook Ads.
For 82% of my subscribers, this was their first purchase from me.

The biggest eye-opener for me? On average, I get 200-300 views on my Tees 4 Teachers sales page. When I ran paid ads for this “lazy launch,” I 10X’d those views and my conversion rate was the same - 3%.

3% of 300 views is 9 new members.
3% of 3000 views is 90 new members.

My advice for you, especially if you’re facing a subscription with dwindling numbers?

When you NEED to launch, launch!
Figure out what you have the capacity for and make it work.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you do need to take action.
Don’t just wing it - create a plan and work that plan!

Join me for this episode as I walk you through how I doubled my dwindling subscription with a lazy launch!

Want to learn more about paid ads? There is so much more inside Launch Your Box. We’ve got several different trainings, including a brand new training this month on how to set up a Page Like Ad so you can start growing your following. Look for it in the Training Library under Building Your Audience. I also cover my subscription box ads strategy in a brand new bonus lesson inside the Launch Your Box training library. You’ll go behind the scenes of my launch and see what I did, what I spent, and the actual ads I was running for that launch. Of course, I break down all my results in detail.

Are you ready to join Launch Your Box? Text me the word LAUNCH to 940-204-0023 and I’ll send you a special invitation!

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!

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

130: Are Paid Ads Worth It? Aug 09, 2023

“If you don’t have an ads budget, you still have a hobby business.” - Sarah Williams

Are paid ads part of your subscription box marketing strategy? If not, why not? You might be wondering if paid ads are worth it. Or you might be where I was in the early days of my business, worried about where you’re spending money and not understanding the value of running paid ads.

Subscription box owners - especially new subscription box owners - hesitate to use paid ads for many reasons.

They don’t understand the ROI from paid ads. Successful ads don’t always result in sales.
They lack the knowledge to set up and run an ad campaign.
They’re focusing only on organic growth strategies like SEO, content, and word of mouth.
They fear failure - they may be uncertain of their goals or not know how to measure results.

I first used paid ads when I realized I needed to do something else to grow outside of my local area. Organic traffic wasn’t enough. I had a great local business and my subscription box had grown - to a point. But almost all of my business came from local customers. In order to grow, I needed to run ads. Within just six months, the 3,000 followers it had taken me 4-5 years to gain had grown to 7,000 and I was getting subscribers from all over the country.

Paid ads are such an important part of launching and growing a subscription box business. If you want to grow, you need to continue to drive traffic - new traffic - to your content.

I’m challenging you to consider running paid ads. And I’m sharing actual data from my three recent launches and paid ads strategy to help you understand why you need to run paid ads.

It’s time to take action.

1. Determine your budget.

No matter how small, you have to start somewhere!
If you’re currently selling products or services, use the 8-10% rule.
If you’re not selling products and are on a limited budget, start with $150/month ($5/day) and increase it as you start selling products.

2. Create an Ads Strategy

Drive traffic to your site? Convert to subscribers? Build your list? Build your following?
You should have a solid ad strategy for the different stages and seasons of business you are in.

3. Test and Try

Join me for this episode as we talk all about paid ads. Are they worth it? Do they really make a difference? I answer those questions and share my paid ads results from my recent launches. There’s a lot to talk about in this episode. Grab your earbuds and come join me!

Want to learn more about paid ads? There is so much more inside Launch Your Box. We’ve got several different trainings, including a brand new training this month on how to set up a Page Like Ad so you can start growing your following. And I cover my subscription box ads strategy in a brand new bonus lesson inside the Launch Your Box training library. You’ll go behind the scenes of my launch and see what I did, what I spent, and the actual ads I was running for that launch. Of course, I break down all my results in detail.

Are you ready to join Launch Your Box? Text me the word LAUNCH to 940-204-0023 and I’ll send you a special invitation!

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!

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

129: Getting Out of Your Own Way and Gaining 100 Subscribers with Amy and Art Design Aug 02, 2023

“You have to have one subscriber before you can have ten.” - Amy Green

I’m excited to bring you this interview with a member of my Mastermind, Amy Green of Amy and Art. Amy’s journey to subscription box success has many twists and turns, wins and losses, and lessons learned. By never giving up, being open to trying new things, and finding the right coach and community to support her, Amy found the courage to do it her way.

Amy Green is many things, among them a wife and special needs mom, a former teacher, and a lifelong entrepreneur. Amy’s past businesses included a seriously successful food blog with 190,000 social media followers and a dog-walking business with more than 400 clients! She also partnered with her husband to start a construction business. Amy knows how to get things done.

Her oldest son’s special needs meant Amy needed to build a business that worked for her family. She turned to her love of art for the answer. Armed with a new laser cutter and an idea, Amy started a business creating wood cut-outs and tier tray decor. She sold them on Etsy until she realized Etsy didn’t let her do one very important thing - build her own email list. Amy had a large following from her days as a blogger. The problem? They weren’t the right followers for her new business. So, Amy moved her business over to Shopify and got serious about list building.

When Amy decided to add a subscription box to her business, she found Launch Your Box and then also joined my Mastermind. She soaked in all the trainings and knew exactly how I teach my students to launch. There was only one problem… Amy simply didn’t have the capacity to do a launch exactly the way I teach it. Her family life didn’t allow for it.

After we talked it through, Amy decided to launch anyway - to do what she could. What matters is getting it out there. Don’t wait for things to be perfect. Be willing to launch messy and then clean it up as you go. That’s what Amy did. That first launch she focused on sending emails and posting on social media. She wasn’t sure she could fit in going LIVE - but she did. Those LIVEs were short and sweet because that’s what she could do, but they allowed her to connect with her audience.

That first launch - the one where Amy hoped for 10 subscribers - ended with 32 subscribers. The next time she launched, a few months later, Amy was able to put more of the launch pieces in place. That launch ended with 100 subscribers!

Not only does Amy provide her subscribers with a curated DIY tier-tray box every month, she also provides them with a community to belong to. Amy’s community of subscribers allows them to feel seen, heard, and valued. It surprised Amy how much that means to them - and how much it has come to mean to her.

Amy got out of her own way, launched her subscription box, and continues to grow. She did this by:

Taking actionable, measurable steps
Finding support and accountability inside Launch Your Box & my Mastermind
Focusing on list-building and audience-building efforts
Collaborating with other subscription box owners

Join me for this episode and let Amy’s story of doing things her way and building a true community of 100 subscribers inspire you to get out of your own way and take the next big step in your subscription box business journey.

Find and follow Amy:

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!

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

128: Affiliate Marketing for Your Subscription Box Business Jul 26, 2023

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:

Identify what makes a good affiliate for your brand
Clearly define your ideal customer and niche and use affiliates who have the same person in their audience.
Make sure any potential affiliate aligns with your beliefs and morals.
Finding potential affiliates
Start with your subscribers - do any of them already have a following?
Look at influencers who have the same ideal customer - bloggers, YouTubers, TikTokers, other content creators.
Follow them, like and comment on their content, start building a relationship before approaching them about being an affiliate.
Build an affiliate program that is a win/win for both parties
Define your commission structure. Options include:
Recurring revenue share - what % of your profit?
One time payment upon sign up.
Set up affiliate software - I use Affiliately - and set up a payment schedule.
Create assets for affiliates - make it easy for them to promote!
Email swipe files
Graphics with different formats
Social media captions
Schedules and timelines
Send links regularly

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!

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

127: From 0 to 500 Subscribers on the First Launch with Art Shattered Jul 19, 2023

I’m excited to bring you this interview with my good friend Cindy Manly of Art Shattered. Cindy has a successful membership with over 1200 members and has been selling one-time art supply kits for the past few years. If you’ve been selling one-time boxes and are wondering if a subscription is for you, you’re going to want to hear Cindy’s story!

Cindy is an artist who specializes in glass and resin art. She makes beautiful, unique pieces of 3-D art that her followers LOVE. She also teaches her followers how to create their own art through her online membership. Cindy started her membership in 2018 and now has over 1200 members.

When some of Cindy’s members started asking where to get the supplies they needed to create the pieces she was teaching - and others mentioned they were having a hard time finding the right supplies - she started selling one-off kits. Every time she offered up a kit for sale, she sold out. When she offered kits during her membership pre-launch, she sold 800 full kits and 500 partial kits.

Cindy and I have been friends for several years and I’ve been telling her almost that long that she needed to start a subscription box. She resisted the idea for a long time. But after selling 1300 kits during her pre-launch, she was convinced.

Armed with the launch plan she learned inside Launch Your Box and as a member of my Mastermind and backed by her audience of raving fans, Cindy launched her subscription box in June.

The result? She sold out of all 500 available spots in her quarterly subscription! And she used four strategies to do it.

Urgency - Cindy opened the subscription only to her online membership for 48 hours.
Waitlist - Cindy then opened up to members of the waitlist she’d been growing for three weeks leading up to the launch.
Early Bird Bonus
Engaging her audience - on her last LIVE, Cindy added names on post-it notes to her wall of subscribers.

Cindy originally wanted to only plan for 200 boxes, but I convinced her she could absolutely do more. And she did! She’s also an absolute genius who packed her subscription boxes ahead of time and had them ready to ship BEFORE she launched! That meant when she was exhausted from her launch - and if you do it right, you will be exhausted - Cindy headed straight to the beach!

500 subscribers means additional financial security for Cindy, the satisfaction of knowing she is serving her loyal audience in yet another way, and steady employment for her team. I can’t wait to watch Cindy’s subscription box continue to grow.

Join me for this episode as Cindy walks us through her journey of moving from offering one-time boxes to launching a subscription box and welcoming 500 new subscribers.

Find and follow Cindy:

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!

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

126: Getting a Book Deal & Writing My Book Jul 12, 2023

Today’s episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a subscription box owner from Launch Your Box or sharing tactics and strategies to help you make progress in your own subscription box business, I’m sharing a different kind of journey. The journey of becoming an author.

I never dreamed of writing a book. It wasn’t something that was on my bucket list. It really wasn’t something I’d ever given any thought to. So imagine my surprise when I found myself in the middle of a conversation with high-level people in the online entrepreneur space and best-selling authors telling me I should write a book. And then being offered a book deal by the CEO of a major publishing company.

I often tell my coaching students how important it is to put yourself in the room. To quiet self-doubt and believe they are worthy of opportunities. I still have to tell myself this. I did before walking into that room full of people more successful than I am. And I sure did have to tell myself this - over and over again - during the process of writing this book.

Writing a book isn’t easy. It’s actually really, really hard. Starting with putting together a solid book proposal all the way through working with the publisher’s art department to design a book cover I loved. All of it was hard.

This book isn’t about me. Not really. Instead, it’s a book about my business and my students. Because a book about starting a subscription box business wouldn’t be complete without the stories of my amazing students.

Each chapter focuses on a certain aspect of starting, launching, or growing a subscription box business. And each chapter has three parts:

My story
An action you need to take
One of my student’s stories

I didn’t write this book alone. I had a team supporting me and guiding me through this totally new world. Writers, editors, artists. We all worked together to produce a book I am SO proud of.

One Box at a Time is about building a business you can be proud of. And it’s scheduled to be published on November 14th. I can’t wait to share it with you soon.

Join me for this episode as I walk you through all that went into writing my first book and why I’m so excited to share it with all of 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!

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

125: 5 Ways to Do a Monthly Unboxing - Every Month Jul 05, 2023

How many different ways do you do an unboxing for your subscription box every month? Would it surprise you to learn there are FIVE different ways you can do an unboxing… every month? My box opening checklist makes it easy!

Building connections. Creating excitement and FOMO. Growing your waitlist. Gaining new subscribers. There are so many reasons you need to make a monthly unboxing part of your subscription box marketing strategy.

You know the why, let’s talk about the how. How can you do a monthly unboxing FIVE different ways every month? Simply follow this checklist.

Live Unboxing - this is a MUST. Turn on the camera, invite your followers and subscribers, and take them through the box. Don’t overcomplicate it:

Set the date
Set the stage
State your hook
Encourage engagement early
Tell the story of the box (your curation process)
Show each piece and how it ties to the next
Give the audience a call to action (subscribe, join the waitlist, grab one of the extra pieces)

Email Unboxing - using the same content you just created for the LIVE.
Blog Unboxing - turn the email unboxing into a blog post.
Short Video Unboxing - while taking pictures for social media, the blog, and the email, shoot a boxing or unboxing video

Use on Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest, etc.

Story Slide Unboxing - create three-five slides to use in picture stories.

If you’re not currently doing a monthly unboxing, don’t try to start doing all five. Instead, start with one or two - but the LIVE is a must do! If you are already doing a monthly LIVE unboxing, start layering in a couple more unboxings until you work your way up to doing all five. It’s not about being overwhelmed, it’s about making progress.

And when you do these monthly unboxings, I have three tips for you to keep in mind:

Always invite your subscribers - specifically to your LIVE unboxings.

It’s a connection point.
They provide instant social proof.
They’ll love to show up with you and share their excitement!

Always give a sneak peek of the next month’s box.

Create excitement and anticipation.
Give subscribers a reason to show up to the LIVE.

Always have a call to action.

Join now.
Get on the waitlist.

Join me for this episode as I walk you through five ways you can do a monthly unboxing - and connect with your audience - 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 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

124: Turning Your Lifelong Career Into a Subscription Box with The Interpreter Box Jun 28, 2023

During this special episode, you’ll meet and be inspired by Launch Your Box member Michon Shaw. It’s not only her journey to starting and launching a subscription box that inspires, but her positive outlook and joy-filled dedication to her community.

Michon has built a successful career around her passion for American Sign Language (ASL). She is an ASL interpreter herself as well as a professor who teaches ASL students to become interpreters. In addition to working a full-time corporate job, Michon also started a company dedicated to providing interpreting services and celebrating ASL interpreters: Interpret Educate Serve (IES).

Michon has a special passion for increasing the number of underrepresented interpreters and celebrating Black and Brown ASL interpreters. This passion led to her designing her first t-shirt, which she brought to the National Black Deaf Advocates Conference. She sold out her stock in just five minutes.

This experience opened Michon’s eyes to the fact that this niche was not being served. And that she could serve them by supporting and celebrating them. She added apparel and merchandise as the second part of her business.

It was during Coaching Week of 2021 that Michon first saw the possibility of adding a subscription box to her business. She wanted to provide a special experience for ASL interpreters with items for them to use and wear to increase awareness of and celebrate their profession.

Michon joined Launch Your Box, dug into the training, took what she learned, and implemented it. She launched with 12 subscribers and has slowly and steadily built her subscriber base. She added the TerpTee-shirt club and also offers a box specifically for interpreting students.

Michon’s biggest challenge to growing her subscription box business is TIME. She is a seriously busy woman! But her passion for the community she serves means she makes the time.

Join me for this episode to meet Michon and be inspired by her energy, passion, and positivity. Learn how she took her passion and turned it into a business and how you can, too.

Find and follow Michon:

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!

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

123: From 300 to over 25,000 Subscribers with Beachly Brands Jun 21, 2023

I’m excited to bring you this interview with Kevin Tighe, co-founder and CEO of Beachly Brands recorded LIVE at SubSummit. Beachly Brands currently has three successful subscriptions, but I asked Kevin to take us back to the beginning of his subscription box journey.

The first lesson Kevin wanted to share with you is that we all have failures. He did, I have, and you will. After Kevin experienced a failure, he spent some time in Hawaii reconnecting with what he loves - the beach and surfing.

This love for the beach and outdoor life sparked what turned into an idea for a subscription box. Kevin’s first box was for men. The box went through some iterations as they refined their audience and the contents of the box. Over time, it grew into a successful subscription box.

Then Kevin and his team decided to add another box, a beach apparel and accessories box for women. Kevin asked his friends to model the items and took the photos himself. It wasn’t perfect, but it was more than good enough. Kevin did what needed to be done to get that women’s box launched. The result? 1,000 subscribers in the first week! And today they have 25,000 subscribers!

The third box came from a desire to add a lower-priced box that would not compete with the women’s box. A beauty product box featuring natural, cruelty-free products was the answer.

Kevin and his team have learned a LOT through their subscription box journey. You don’t get to 25,000 subscribers without gaining knowledge, solving problems, and learning from failures.

I asked Kevin to share some advice for subscription box owners, especially those in the early stages of business. His tips included:

Understand the core functions of your business. You may hire team members to take over certain tasks, but you need to have that knowledge.
Be strategic - look at where your time is best spent today. If you’re spending all of your time answering customer service emails or packing boxes, you don’t have the time to do the things that will make your business grow.
Understand your numbers. When it comes to your business, you need to be a numbers person.

Join me for this episode as Kevin and I talk about his journey from 300 to 25,000 subscribers, what’s next for Beachly Brands, and his advice for new subscription box owners.

Find and follow Kevin:

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!

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

4 Focus Areas to Start Your Subscription Box Jun 14, 2023

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right.” - Henry Ford.

You’ve dreamed about starting a subscription box and now you’re ready to take action and start making those dreams come true. So where should you start?

It’s easy to get caught up in the fun parts - products and packaging. And you absolutely need those in place, but spending too much time designing custom boxes or sourcing products for future boxes takes time away from what you need to be doing right now.

If you’re just getting started, make sure to go through my FREE 6 in 60 Workshop where you’ll curate six months' worth of boxes for your ideal customer. This workshop guides you through getting clear about who your ideal customer is and the type of experience you want to provide for them.

Then it’s time to move on to the four areas where you need to focus your time and energy now.

Audience building - soooo important.

Start yesterday!
Serve before selling - Listen to episodes 33 and 45!!
Not easy, but necessary!
Create awareness of who you are and what you sell.
Emails, texts, posts, stories, short videos, LIVES, paid Ads

Marketing

Website
Payment processor
Shipping software
CRM - email platform

Tech - you need four things in place.

We tell ourselves we can’t do something more often than we tell ourselves we can.
Believe in abundance.
Embrace your imperfections.
Operate with a glass-half-full mentality.

Mindset - the MOST important!

Are you ready to get started on turning your subscription box dreams into reality? In today’s episode, I talk about the four areas you need to focus your time and energy FIRST. Now is the time to “think you can!” Come listen!

Important Links:

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

Give Yourself a Raise with a Subscription Box Side Hustle Jun 07, 2023

What would an extra $1000 every month mean to you and your family?

Inflation. Waiting for a raise that might not happen. So many people are looking for ways to earn extra income right now. Today I’m talking about how a subscription box side hustle could bring an extra $1000 a month to your family - with only 50 subscribers.

A subscription box business can be a full-time business. But it doesn’t have to be. Many members of Launch Your Box have full-time, 9-5 style jobs and successful subscription box side hustles. They are nurse practitioners, teachers, certified registered nurse anesthetists, hair stylists, realtors, dentists, and more. They’re also subscription box owners who bring in additional income with their side hustles.

You can, too! Let’s do the math. If you have 50 subscribers and make $20 of profit per box, that’s an extra $1000 going into your bank account every month.

Of course, it’s going to take time and effort to get there. But following these six steps will have you well on your way to a successful subscription box side hustle.

Identify what you like or have an interest in.

Make sure it’s something you’re good at or have expertise in.
You have to be passionate about the subject matter or it won’t last!
Don’t try to be like anyone else - YOU will set your subscription box apart.

Ask yourself if there are other people around you with the same interest.

That’s the audience you need to build!
Where can you find more of those people?
Where do they hang out online?

Start a social media account(s) on the platforms where your people hang out.

Start sharing videos, posts, etc.
Ask your friends to like your page and share it with their friends.
Make sure you’re speaking the language of the person you are trying to attract. Messaging matters!

Run a giveaway.

Use Kingsumo (it’s FREE!)
The prize needs to be a box just like what you want to sell.
Capture emails for those who enter your giveaway and start building your email list.

Introduce the idea for the box to your audience.

Get their feedback and have them help you make decisions.
You want their buy-in to validate your concept.
Niche down if needed.

Set a launch date and a goal.

Create excitement and generate buzz.
Get your new audience excited about the upcoming box!

Engaging your audience is key at every stage of your subscription box journey, whether it’s your full-time gig or a side hustle. Continue to ask for feedback as you grow. Maintain an ongoing focus on audience building and keep serving your audience!

Join me for this episode as I talk about why a subscription box side hustle might be right for you and the six steps you need to take in order to make yours a success. The kind of success that means significant additional income - every month!

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop - Sarah’s Method for Curating 6 Subscription Boxes in 60 Minutes

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

122: From Bakery to Food Truck to Subscription Box Owner with The Frosted Cakery May 31, 2023

Launching a subscription box is only one piece of the puzzle. After you’ve launched, your focus shifts to growth. But what happens if months go by and you’re just not growing?

That’s what happened to Kimberly of the Frosted Cakery. After growing up learning to bake from her grandmother, the OG Cake Lady, this Iowa farmgirl and military spouse started a home-based baking business that became famous within the military community. Kimberly tells stories of getting orders before she’d even had a chance to finish unpacking in a new city.

Kimberly had a brick-and-mortar bakery for a time, but when it was forced to close due to COVID, she brought her baking back home. When her husband retired from the military, Kimberly thought about taking a break from baking, but the demand was still there. She started baking for her brother’s cafe as well as filling orders from home. Instead of a permanent location, Kimberly also fulfilled her dream of a small-scale food truck. She and her husband renovated the cutest vintage 10-foot camper. Kimberly takes it to local farmer’s markets - there are a LOT of farmer’s markets in Iowa - selling her delicious cupcakes.

Kimberly realized time stood in the way of her being able to truly scale. There are only so many cupcakes, cakes, cookies, and bars one person can bake. She didn’t want to hire a team and she thought she didn’t want to do a subscription box either. Until she found me!

Kimberly started listening to this very podcast and following me on social media. She quickly saw the possibilities of a subscription box for her business and decided a biscotti box was the way to go.

Kimberly launched in the fall of 2022 and, despite last-minute packaging challenges, had a successful launch that resulted in 14 subscribers. She left her subscription open and continued to work to grow that number. But growth was very slow.

When she learned about my 30 Days to Launch Masterclass, Kimberly saw an opportunity to re-launch her subscription and she jumped right in. Kimberly LOVED having a very specific plan to follow that included:

What to post on social media
What emails to send
When to run a giveaway

After putting the 30 Days to Launch plan into practice, Kimberly doubled her number of subscribers! Kimberly was able to accomplish in 30 days what she hadn’t been able to in 4 months - growth!

What’s next for Kimberly? She is now operating under a closed cart model while she gets a true sense of just how many subscribers she can handle. When she’s ready to launch again, she’ll follow the same process.

Between now and her next launch, Kimberly needs to drive traffic to her waitlist. She’ll use it to fill any cancellations and build a list of people who will be ready and waiting to get in on the Biscotti Box!

Join me for this episode as Kimberly and I talk about her journey from bakery to food truck to subscription box owner. Her story will inspire you - and probably make you hungry!

Find and follow Kimberly:

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!

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

121: Adding An Upsell to Your Subscription Box Checkout May 24, 2023

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!

Last month, 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:

Build the product listing - I recommend making it a “surprise box.”
Build a simple landing page to act as your thank you page.

It’s important that the upsell offer appears AFTER they sign up for your subscription box.

Connect this landing page/thank you page to trigger upon checkout.
Set up an email automation in your email CRM to capture those who signed up for your subscription but did not purchase the upsell.

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!

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

Are You Talking About Your Subscription Box Enough? May 17, 2023

Every month, I go LIVE inside my coaching membership, Launch Your Box, to open members’ subscription boxes and provide feedback. Last month, I opened some incredible boxes. I was so impressed with the creativity and care these members put into curating an experience for their subscribers, just like I taught them. What I wasn’t impressed with was how low their subscriber numbers were. With boxes that good, their numbers should have been much higher.

It was time to dig into what was holding them back. So I asked a question. And it got my members squirming. It wasn’t a difficult question, but it was an important one.

I asked them to look back at the past month and count how many times they’d talked about their subscription boxes on social media. Then, I gave them a grade based on their responses. The bad news? Many of them failed!

I know you may feel like you’re talking about your subscription box all the time, but I’m willing to bet you’re not talking about it enough. I want you to talk about it at least 2-3 times a week – 4-5 times a week is even better.

Does that sound like too much? It’s not. Trust me. Does this mean you’re posting the same post or sharing the same picture or saying the same thing 4-5 times a week? Of course not!

Here are five different posts you can create to generate excitement about your box:

Sneak Peek
Picture of the box with all the items inside
Individual picture of each item by itself (3-5 pics)
Individual picture of each item in a lifestyle image (used in its natural setting, i.e. desk, kitchen, closet, etc)
Benefits of your product, what problem does it solve

And we’re just getting started. I want to see you posting style guides, reviews & testimonials, behind the scenes (your audience will love the chance to see what goes into getting a subscription box out the door), and past boxes (hello, FOMO!).

Then there’s video – short videos and going LIVE. It all needs to be part of your monthly marketing plan to get the word out about your subscription.

Are you talking about your subscription box enough? Odds are you aren’t. But how much is enough? In today’s episode, I walk you through how much you should be posting about your box and give you lots of examples to get you started. Come listen!

Important Links:

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

Going Live on Social Media - Build an Audience for Your Subscription Box May 10, 2023

Do you go LIVE on social media to talk about your subscription box consistently? Or does the very idea of going LIVE fill you with dread? Almost every subscription box owner understands how important making regular, live connections with their audience is. But so many avoid connecting with their followers this way. Why?

For a lot of people, going LIVE on social media brings up major feelings of anxiety. I get it. I used to feel exactly the same way. But here’s the thing. People need to know you to like you and trust you. And people need to know, like, and trust you in order to buy from you. There is no better way to connect with your audience than by going LIVE.

There aren’t any secrets to feeling comfortable and confident when you go LIVE. But there are strategies that will help you feel prepared and let you make the most of those opportunities to connect and engage with your audience.

Do something for yourself to help boost your confidence. Get new clothes, style your hair, or strike a power pose - whatever helps you feel ready!
Have some friends join your LIVE to ask you some questions and get the conversation going.
Write out a list of talking points. This will help you stay on task and make sure you don’t forget to talk to your audience about something important.
Engage with your audience. Whether you’re LIVE with one person or one hundred people, get excited to talk with them. Ask questions and respond to their answers in the comments. Take that time to make a personal connection.
Set a time and a date for your LIVE sessions and let your audience know when you’ll be LIVE. This will help you stick with it. Choose a time and place that is comfortable and convenient for you.

Before long, going LIVE will become routine. Your audience will expect it and look forward to that time with you. And - just like it did with me - it will end up being one of your favorite ways to connect with them.

Join me for this episode as I talk about why going LIVE on social media is an essential part of your subscription box marketing strategy and five things you can do to feel more prepared and confident when you do.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

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 Launch Your Box 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

120: Adding Value and Increasing LTV with Paul Chambers May 03, 2023

What are you doing to add value to your subscription box and increase the lifetime value of your subscribers? By thinking creatively and strategically - in other words, thinking outside of the box - you can uplevel your subscribers’ experience and bring more revenue and higher profit margins into your business.

In this episode, I catch up with Paul Chamber, co-founder of the Gentleman’s Box, on ways they added value and increased LTV with their subscription box. Paul is also the co-founder of Subsummit and one of my favorite people to talk with about all things subscription box.

Paul took us through the journey of The Gentleman’s Box and the decisions they made along the way - good and bad - that helped them increase the value of their subscribers by layering in more value. He also talks about the importance of choosing the right price and how a price that’s too low had a negative impact on one of their subscription options.

We also talked about using price as a retention tactic. This is something I do with my subscriptions. When it’s time for a price increase, I grandfather in all current subscribers at the current price for the lifetime of their subscription. If they cancel and later want to come back, they’ll come back at the new, higher price. This is a very effective retention strategy.

Other ways to add value and increase LTV:

Including a gift with purchase - i.e., Early Bird Bonus
Offering an “add-on” option to subscriptions.
Layering in additional subscriptions.
Adding a gift at the time when most cancellations happen.
Offering additional products that go with items in the box.
Including a membership with or separate from your subscription.
Giving subscribers the opportunity to choose which items come in their box.

Paul and I also talked about SubSummit and what attendees can expect this year. SubSummit launched in 2016 with the goal of bringing subscription box owners together to learn from and connect with one another. I’ve partnered with them for the past few years and can’t wait to see so many of my Launch Your Box members at SubSummit again this year.

Launch Your Box members - check inside the group for a special LYB-only SubSummit link.

Join me for this episode as Paul and I talk through ways you can add value to your subscription box and increase the lifetime value of your subscribers. We cover a LOT of topics during this interview. Come join us for a really fun episode!

Find and follow Paul:

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!

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

119: Facebook Group Yay or Nay? Apr 26, 2023

This episode answers two questions I get asked a LOT. Should your subscription box be on a separate page from the rest of your business? Should you create a private Facebook Group for your subscribers? The answer to both questions is, “It depends.”

Whether you need a separate page for your subscription box is determined by your answer to the question, “Is your subscription box for the same ideal customer as your regular business page?”

If yes, there’s no need for a separate page. When you make your subscription box part of your main business page, you:

Avoid doing double work.
Don’t have to build an audience from scratch.
Are able to sell multiple things to your audience - it’s not one thing or the other, it can be both.

However, if your subscription box is for a completely different audience, you will need a separate page.

The next question you might be asking yourself is whether or not to have a private Facebook Group for your subscribers. In order to determine this for your business, you need to answer two questions:

Are you delivering content outside of the products in your box?
Teaching
Tutorials
Book clubs
Accountability groups
Etc.
Do you need a private community in order for your subscribers to feel comfortable sharing? This is particularly important for topic-focused subscriptions like:
Health issues
Relationship issues
Marriage and/or kids
Other sensitive or highly personal topics

If you answer yes to either of these questions, you may need to have a private Facebook Group. It is important to understand the pros and cons of managing a private Facebook Group.

Pros:

It allows you to create a sense of community and engagement that takes the experience beyond just the box. Subscribers feel more connected to you and each other.
Private groups are great for research and development. Get subscriber buy-in, get their help with processes, etc.
It creates a sense of exclusivity. Subscribers feel special knowing they’re part of a select group.

Cons:

It’s time consuming. You will need to dedicate resources to moderating the group, creating engagement, responding to questions, and addressing any issues that come up.
There is the potential for negative feedback.
You may end up doing too much behind closed doors and not enough front facing. Front facing is necessary for audience building and you always need to be building your audience!

Join me for this episode as I talk about how to decide whether a private Facebook Group is right for your subscription box business.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

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 Launch Your Box 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

118: Public Facing Content vs. Private Group Content: How to Share Content Publicly Without Giving Away Paid Content Apr 19, 2023

Today’s episode was inspired by a question from a member of Launch Your Box - and a former guest on the podcast. Betsy Goodman shared her sold-out launch story in episode 93. Betsy is a maker and a teacher - she teaches lettering and wax seal techniques. Her work is beautiful and her question is a common one among subscription box owners who make or teach as part of their subscription.

Betsy’s question? How to balance what she gives away for free and what she reserves for her paid subscribers. If your subscription box includes any type of teaching component, you probably struggle with that same push and pull. You want to share enough content to create interest and excitement but don’t want to give away the valuable content your paying subscribers receive.

The goal is to have balance. Give your audience a taste of what it’s like to be a subscriber, but provide value and exclusivity to your subscribers.

These strategies can help you keep your public content engaging while still protecting your paid content.

Share the what - not the how.

Publicly share the box opening and what your subscribers are receiving. This is also a great time to show what can be made from supplies in the box, but not how to do it.
Potential subscribers can see the value.
They still need to join the subscription to learn how.
Do this in a LIVE unboxing or an unboxing post, posts of finished products with supplies laying next to them.

Give them “incomplete” information - they need/want to know more.

Share small sections of the how, but don’t put it all together for them.
Use sped-up videos so people can see the process but not the exact techniques and how-tos.
Share smaller projects that can be made with the same supplies - acts as a bonus for subscribers, too!

Connect, don’t teach.

Go LIVE and use items from the box to create the projects. But… instead of teaching, simply talk to and connect with your audience as you create.
As questions come up, explain what you’re doing and that subscribers have access to the instructional video that takes them through the project step-by-step.
Your audience will see the value of your products, connect with you on a personal level, and see just how much they will get by subscribing.

Find a balance. If you hide all your content behind closed doors, nobody other than your subscribers sees what you’re giving. You lose the opportunity to nurture your audience and show them what it’s like to be a subscriber.

Doing more public-facing content creates more engagement from your subscribers - and drives more interest from those people who aren’t yet subscribers.

Join me for this episode as I talk about why it’s so important to share content publicly and how to balance public-facing and subscriber-only content.

Important Links:

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 Launch Your Box 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

117: Bounced Payments & Personal Follow-Up Apr 12, 2023

Are you relying solely on automations to recover failed payments? If so, you are losing money and experiencing unnecessary churn in your subscription box business. Business is personal. Recovering failed payments needs more than just automation - it needs a personal touch. Your personal touch.

Think about how much time, energy, and money you spend getting new subscribers. How much time and energy are you willing to spend to keep them? In my subscription business, we use a combination of automations and personal outreach to follow up on failed payments. The result? Each month we recoup 98% of our bounced payments.

Keep in mind, most failed payments are not due to subscribers wanting to cancel or intentionally not paying. Credit cards expire and need to be updated. Other things happen that unintentionally cause payments to fail. Assume subscribers want to stay with you and just need help updating their info.

Every subscription box business should have a failed payment automation set up. You can do this directly in your subscription platform or CRM. The goal is to recover as many payments as possible through automation, reducing the time spent manually recouping payments via personal outreach.

The automation process we use in my subscription box business is set up like this:

Payment Run #1 - failed payment
Email #1 sent - something like “There was an error processing your payment for XXX subscription. If you need to update your card, please do so at this link. Your payment will run again in 12 hours.”
We aren’t accusing them of anything. We blame the error on ourselves and direct them to update the payment if they need to.
We create urgency by letting them know the payment will run again in 12 hours.
Payment Run #2 - failed payment
Email #2 is very similar to Email #1 - they may not have seen the first email yet.
Payment will retry in 24 hours.
Payment #3 - failed payment
Email #3 - 36 hours after initial payment has run. They’ve likely seen one of the first two emails.
The first two emails are text only, this email includes an image.
“Hi Subscriber. We are busy personalizing and packing all our subscriptions and want to make sure you get yours on time. If you need to update your card, please do so at this link. If you need help with that or have an issue, please hit reply and let us know how we can help.”
This email includes a picture of the team packing a box.
Payment runs again in 48 hours - they have time to reach out to customer service before the payment runs again.

At this point, we start working through the list of remaining failed payments with personal touch points.

Personal email
Personal text

Now we’re ready to run one last automation.

Email #4 - on day five of failed payment
Last chance email “Boxes are shipping and we want to make sure you get a Monogram Box this month. Please let me know how I can help.”

We follow this plan every month. And every month, we recoup 98% of our failed payments.

Business is personal. Don’t forget the importance of a personal connection point when working to retain your customers. Business is also business. Don’t leave money on the table. Following up on bounced payments reduces involuntary churn and retains more recurring revenue.

Join me for this episode as I talk you through the automations combined with personal touches process I use to recoup 98% of bounced payments every month.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

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 Launch Your Box 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

116: 5 Ways to Increase Perceived Value in Your Subscription Box without Blowing Your Budget Apr 05, 2023

Is your subscription box missing something that would increase its value in the eyes of your subscribers? Maybe things are feeling a little monotonous or routine. Or maybe some months you feel like you need “a little something extra” to make your subscription box feel like the complete experience you want it to be. But, how can you add value without blowing your budget? Remember, you need to stay profitable to stay in business.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about increasing the perceived value of your box. Perceived value is simply a subscriber’s perception of the merit or desirability of a product. There are five things you can do to increase the perceived value of your subscription box for little or no cost.

Customization

Style - i.e, home decor - farmhouse or modern.
Size - i.e., clothing or wearables.
Type - i.e., breed of dog.
Teachers - i.e., grade level or type of school.

YOU - Your Personal Connection

Remember, being “ME” is free marketing.
Include a handwritten note.
Put a birthday card in their box the month of their birthday.

Surprise & Delight - include a gift in the box periodically (not every month)

Coupon to your store or “bonus bucks.”
The “Golden Ticket” - a special gift included in only select boxes.
Anniversary gifts - on the anniversary of them becoming a subscriber.
Early bird bonuses during launches.

Exclusive Content or Collectibles

First access.
Digital bonuses.
Tutorial or training access.
Exclusive meet-ups.
Zoom parties.

Bundle Items

One thing by itself can seem too small, but bundle two or three of an item and tie a ribbon around it or put it in an organza bag to make it look special.
Hair clips
Chapstick
Sticker sheets
Dog treats

Join me for this episode as I talk about five ways you can increase the perceived value of your subscription box and stay within your budget.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

Join me in all the places:

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

115: Building an Audience in 90 Days and Selling out on Her First Launch with The AwayDay Box Mar 29, 2023

When you’re just getting started on your subscription box journey, it can be hard to imagine yourself successfully managing a thriving subscription. That’s when you need to seek inspiration from someone just a few steps ahead of you. Kathy Strahs from The Awayday Box is just that person.

Kathy was inspired to provide moms like her - burnt out and depleted from all the past few years have thrown at them - with a truly special, self-care experience. She had no subscription box experience and no audience. What she did have was passion, determination, and - thanks to Launch Your Box - a roadmap to follow to get her where she wanted to be.

Kathy dug into the training inside Launch Your Box and implemented what she learned. And when she ran into something that threatened to stop her progress - hello, tech - she got the help she needed and kept moving forward.

After 90 days of building her audience and getting all the things ready behind the scenes, Kathy was ready to launch. She sold out on day one of her launch with 46 subscribers - an amazing result considering she truly started from scratch!

Kathy didn’t have subscription box experience, but like all of us, she had a lot of other work and life experience. And as she started working toward launching her subscription box, she found out just how valuable all of that experience was. Kathy had:

Retail experience - high school job at a Hallmark store.
Business knowledge and experience - MBA from Stanford.
Marketing - work in affiliate and partnership marketing.
Social media and content creation - experience as a blogger and early adopter of social media platforms.
Publishing - author of four cookbooks.

Kathy drew from all of her work and life experiences to bring her subscription box to her subscribers. From a part-time high school job to business school to publishing cookbooks - it all applied. And Kathy is her own ideal customer - so everything about her life applied!

What experiences do you have that you can bring to your subscription box business? Past jobs, educational experiences, life experiences… look for what you’ve learned that you can bring to your subscription box business. And get ready to be surprised by how much you already know!

Join me for this episode as Kathy takes us through her journey from absolute subscription box newbie to selling out on day one of her launch!

Find and follow Kathy:

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!

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

114: Building a Lead Magnet Funnel Mar 22, 2023

In this episode, I’m going deeper into lead magnets and showing you how to build a lead magnet funnel.

Top of the funnel -this is the largest part of the funnel. Your goal is to collect as many leads as possible. Start with a free offer, giving your audience something of value.

Freebie or low-dollar lead magnet.
Ads to targeted interests going to cold and warm audiences.
Make sure your lead magnet is niched down so you don’t waste time and money on unqualified leads.
The goal is to capture leads and get them on your email list.

Opt-in -the lead has given you their email and now they move to the middle of the funnel.

When someone submits their email address, they are sent to a thank you page. Include an upsell offer along with the link to get their freebie.
This upsell should be an inexpensive offer that gives them even more value than the freebie.
The goal at this stage in the funnel is to get them to make a purchase.

Once someone has reached the middle of your funnel, they’ve received value from you, they’ve made a small purchase, and now the goal shifts to getting them to purchase your main offer. For subscription box owners, this means our recurring revenue product, our subscription boxes.

Now it’s time to put email marketing to work for you. Set up an email automation that is kicked off when someone opts in. Keep it simple or more detailed - the choice is yours.

Simple sequence - everyone gets the same sequence with all roads leading to becoming a subscriber.
Detailed sequence - create two sequences - one for those who purchased the upsell and one for those who did not.

Let’s walk through a simple email sequence.

Email #1 - deliver the freebie and introduce your subscription box.
Email #2 - remind them to download the freebie and share the “why” behind your box with them.
Email #3 - is all about the box. Share social proof and pictures of past boxes.

You can extend this sequence to five emails by including an email that offers a low dollar offer and adding an email with an additional offer to join at the end.

If someone subscribes at any point during this email flow, the sequence stops and they’ll continue to get nurtured in your weekly email campaigns.

You need to do FIVE things to create an effective lead magnet funnel.

Create the lead magnet.
Create images for social media and ads.
Create two landing pages - one for the opt-in and one for the thank you/upsell page.
Create an embed form for the opt-in.
Write your emails and set up the sequences.

Join me for this episode as I talk about the importance of having lead magnets continuously bringing leads into your business and the steps you need to take to build out a lead magnet funnel.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

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 Launch Your Box 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

113: How Cotton Chaos 5X Their Subscribers with a Strategic Launch Plan Mar 15, 2023

Have you ever set a really big goal for your business? A goal that made you feel a little dizzy at the thought of trying to reach it, but you got brave and made it anyway? That’s what Whitney and Andrea, the dynamic duo behind Cotton Chaos did at the beginning of 2022.

Cotton Chaos is a graphic t-shirt business that sells retail and wholesale tees. They also have a t-shirt subscription that launched in January 2021 with 35 subscribers. After that initial launch, they found Launch Your Box and launched again in what they call “Sarah’s Way,” and grew to 100 subscribers. But they weren’t done yet.

That big goal? Whitney and Andrea decided that in 2022 they were going to reach the 500 subscriber mark. Yep, they made a goal to increase their subscriber count by 500%!

Part of their plan to reach that goal included joining me inside my signature course, Scale Your Box. They were dream students, soaking up all the knowledge and implementing what they learned.

By the end of 2022, they had done it. Their T-Shirt Club had hit 500 subscribers! So how did they do it?

They ran a promotion for a free shirt for new subscribers (current members got one, too).
They brought on affiliates for the club - people who sold other things but whose audiences contained Whitney and Andrea’s ideal customers.
After the first 2022 launch, they went to a closed cart model to create FOMO.
Every month, they ran a 48-hour promo email series to their waitlist.
They ran a “get in before the price increase” promo at the end of the year.

Whitney and Andrea launched again in February of this year. They ran a four-day launch and gained 155 new subscribers!

The ladies of Cotton Chaos reached their BIG goal and I couldn’t be more proud! They’re back in Scale Your Box again and this time focusing on adding expansion revenue into their business as they continue to grow.

Join me for this episode as Whitney and Andrea take us through their journey from 100 to 500 subscribers in just one year and all the lessons they put into practice to help get them there!

Find and follow Cotton Chaos:

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!

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

112: How I Built My 2nd Business From Scratch to Over $100K MRR in One Year Mar 08, 2023

Are you struggling to build your audience or find the right people for your offer? Do you have a plan in place to get some traction and start making progress toward starting and growing a successful, sustainable subscription box business?

Inside Launch Your Box, I work with thousands of subscription box owners. Many of them are starting their businesses from scratch. And so many of them come to me not knowing where or how to start.

I know exactly how they feel. When I started my second business - Launch Your Box - I was starting from scratch. Sure, I had a successful product-based business, but this was a brand-new offer to a brand-new audience in a totally different industry.

In the fall of 2019, I had a plan. I knew what the offer looked like, what I would deliver, what I would charge, all the things. What I didn’t have was customers or a following. I was starting from scratch. So I got to work.

I DM-ed people who had reached out to me to ask questions about my subscription box business. 19 of those people became my beta group.
I worked with my beta members for 2 months, seeing what worked and what could be improved to meet their needs better.
I started my social media accounts and consistently produced content that created value. And yes, it grew very slowly.
I created an eBook as my first lead magnet which became my first self-liquidating offer (SLO). Sales from that eBook funded paid ads designed to attract my ideal person.
I added a freebie lead magnet.
3-months later I opened cart again and tried out another paid lead magnet - Subscription Box Coaching Week.

I had 1900 members when I didn’t even have 1900 followers on social media. What I did have was almost 15,000 people on my email list - and they’d gotten there because of 3 lead magnet funnels I created in the first year.

How did I go from zero followers to 1900 members so quickly?

I leveraged social media to build my email list to then build my monthly recurring revenue.
I created lead magnets and offers that were niched down to attract exactly the right person for my offer.
I knew it took money to make money and invested in paid ads.
I placed the offer in front of my audience 30-45 days before my launch to keep it fresh in their minds.
I nurtured my leads with content that served.
I focused on what was working and went all in.

What have you done to build your list before you launch?

Are you relying on social media to convert followers to subscribers?
Are you growing your email list year-round?
Are you tracking how many leads you get each month?
How are you getting in front of new people?

What lead magnets do you have in your business?

Are they the right lead magnets?
Are they attracting the right people?
What would make someone give you their email? What would help them?

It’s time to stop waiting for people to find YOU. Go out and find them!

Join me for this episode as I share exactly how I started my second business from scratch and how you can put the lessons I learned to work for you as you start your subscription box business.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

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 Launch Your Box 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

111: Raising Prices and Achieving Long-Term Sustainability Mar 01, 2023

“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:

My average order value increased by 38% - from $48 to $65.
Last month saw a 74% increase in sales year over year.
Not only are my customers still buying, they’re buying MORE to meet the free shipping threshold.

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

Raise the price across the board for everyone.

Understand and accept that you may have some attrition - but fewer subscribers at a higher price will make you more profitable in the long run.
Run a full marketing campaign notifying subscribers the price is going up and when the increase is effective.
Be transparent about the reasons for the increase. Your subscribers know the price of everything is going up. Make it clear that you want to be around to continue giving them great products in their subscription boxes.

Grandfather in your existing subscribers at their current price and increase for any new subscriber.

This makes for a GREAT launch campaign. “Get in now before prices go up.”
Older subscribers at the lower rate will go away over time.

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!

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

110: It's Not Too Late to Pivot Your Offer with Rustic Glitter Feb 22, 2023

Have you ever felt the pull to change what you’re offering? Sometimes, pivoting and offering something different to your audience results in success in the form of a growing, thriving subscription box. That’s exactly what happened with Launch Your Box member Joanne Jurica of Rustic Glitter.

There are so many things I love about Joanne’s story. A former lash stylist, Joanne was forced to close her salon during the pandemic and lean on her hobby, Rustic Glitter, to bring in some income. Joanne had been personalizing items and making old things new again since 2017. Rustic Glitter helped her deal with the stress and challenges of a chronic illness as well as the pandemic.

One day, Joanne was inspired to create DIY craft kits to sell. When she sold them all quickly just within her own neighborhood, Joanne realized this could be something - she started dreaming about a subscription box. Along the way, Joanne found me and joined Launch Your Box. She dove into the training and learned all she needed to know to launch her DIY Home Decor Box in September of 2020.

After two years of The DIY Home Decor Box, Joanne started thinking about how she could offer a different, simpler subscription box. Something easier for her to produce and manage and something at a lower price point. She leaned into her love for tiered trays which are very much on trend. Joanne’s decision to pivot paid off. In only one year she has already surpassed the number of subscribers it took her two years to gain with her original box. And the new box is so much easier to fulfill.

During this pivot, Joanne discovered something important. Something so many of my DIY and craft box subscription owners discover. You don’t have to give subscribers all the things. It’s okay - and in fact better - to keep things simple. Simple for you and simple for your subscribers.

Joanne’s decision to pivot was based on personal life challenges and a feeling that she could do more and grow faster by going in a different direction. She shows up consistently on social media - including some super entertaining and engaging videos on TikTok - to connect with her audience and attract new followers.

Join me for this episode as Joanne shares her subscription box journey, including a decision to pivot that has turned out better than she imagined.

Find and follow Joanne:

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

109: 10 Ways to Build Your List - Every Month Feb 15, 2023

What one thing can you do in your business every single day that would help you be the most successful? Work to build and grow your email list!

If you’re not replenishing the pool of people you’re selling to, you won’t be able to grow your business the way you want to. Growing your email list gets new, fresh eyes on your stuff. It allows you to present your offer to new people. And that allows you to grow.

One of my main goals for my business in 2023 is to double the size of my email list. I challenged the ladies in my Elevate Mastermind to make growing their lists one of their goals for 2023 and now I’m challenging you to do the same thing.

List-building activities need to be at work in your business every day. I’m sharing ten different ways you can build your email list. And no, you don’t need to do all of them at once.

Add a pop-up on your website - have a pop-up at work on your site at all times capturing email addresses.
Create an opt-in on your website with a way to serve your audience - give them more information about something (box opening with a freebie or additional information like a style guide, a free printable to go with your home decor box, a checklist to go with a beach themed box, tips about caring for your pet for a pet box, etc.) Think about the industry you’re in and what you can provide to serve your audience.
Run a giveaway - a great way to build your list when you’re new and as a quarterly list-building strategy for seasoned box owners.
Post a lead magnet on social media and run ads to it - pulling people in and onto your list. (ebooks, checklists, gift with purchase, etc.)
Add an email opt-in at checkout - capture people who buy from you but may not be on your list.
Create a fun quiz that requires an email address to get results - make it something your audience will want to share!
Offer a discount or free gift - use this carefully to prevent training people to only shop with you when there is a sale or a discount.
Host an event or workshop - free or low-dollar offer. Works great for DIYers or crafters.
Tease sneak peeks or exclusive behind the scenes content with opt-ins - early access gives feelings of fun and exclusivity.
Get in front of new audiences - collaborate with other brands, businesses, and influences who have the same customer but sell different items for a joint giveaway or a way to serve each other’s audiences.

Note: Make it clear to people that they will be receiving emails from you when they provide their email addresses.

Pick one thing to work on right now. Get that going and then add in another strategy. The more of these you do, the more people you’ll reach and the more people you’ll add to your email list.

Join me for this episode where I challenge you to grow your business by growing your email list this year and give you 10 simple ways to do 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!

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

108: 5 Emails Subscription Box Owners Can Send Every Month Feb 08, 2023

“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:

Monthly Unboxing - connect with subscribers, create excitement for them and FOMO for non-subscribers!
Subscriber Shares - create excitement and FOMO when you share pictures, messages, and comments from subscribers telling you how much they loved this month’s box.

5 Ways to Use Your Box - encourage subscribers to consume the contents of the box. So important!
Sneak Peek - get your subscribers excited about the next box and let non-subscribers see what they’re missing out on - more FOMO!

Behind the Scenes - your audience LOVES getting a peek behind the scenes of your business! Take them along as you design or make products or even pack boxes.

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!

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

107: Creating SEO Friendly Content for Your Subscription Box Business Feb 01, 2023

“SEO doesn’t have any fuel without content.” - Sarah Williams

How do you get your stuff in front of people right when they’re looking for it? The answer, in part, is SEO. I brought a special guest to the podcast to talk about how and why to create SEO content for our subscription box businesses.

Crystal Waddell is an e-commerce seller and content creator. She’s also one of the hosts of The Smart and Simple SEO Show, a podcast that does its best to make SEO easy for online entrepreneurs to understand and implement.

We discussed the importance of not just creating content, but creating good, relevant content. Content that serves your audience.

Get clear on your answer to the question, “What do I want to be known for?” and then create content that allows you to be your own best advocate. Your goal is to create content for your ideal customer before they need you so that when they’re ready to buy, you’re the obvious choice.

So what kind of content do you need to create in order to optimize SEO on your website? Blogs are a great way to establish your authority and serve your customer. But they’re not the only way. Other types of SEO friendly content include:

YouTube Videos
How to Guides or Tutorials
Checklists
Customer Testimonials or Reviews
Product Descriptions
Image File Names

Remember, when it comes to SEO, every word counts. Make sure you’re using words that make it clear who you are, what you sell, and who you’re for!

The smartest place to put your content is on your own website - after all, that’s where you want your audience to end up - followed by evergreen platforms like Pinterest. Did you know that Pinterest is my #2 source of traffic for my retail business?

Join me for this episode where Crystal and I talk about how you can use content to drive SEO traffic to your website and she reveals which keyword planner is her favorite.

Tools and Resources Crystal Mentioned:

Surfer SEO

Find and follow Crystal:

The Simple and Smart SEO 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

106: 7 Ways to Market Your Subscription Box Cost Effectively Jan 25, 2023

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.

Leverage social media.

These accounts are FREE.
Figure out where your ideal customer is and start there.
Have FUN with it. Get social - serve and engage with your audience.
Partner with micro-influencers in your space.
Offering affiliate commissions is super cost-effective - you don’t pay them unless they sell something for you.

Influencer or affiliate marketing.

Very inexpensive.
Still a very effective way to reach your audience.
How will you get people onto your email list?
How will you market to them once they’re on your list?

Email marketing.

Create valuable content to attract your ideal person.
Blogs, videos, eBooks, etc.

Content marketing.

Word of mouth is so powerful!

Customer reviews.

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

In person events.

It’s not about the stuff - it’s about the people.
A strong community creates raving fans - the kind that market your subscription for you!

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

105: Scaling Your Subscription Box Business with Cheryl Ham Jan 18, 2023

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

104: Niching Down Your Ideal Customer Can Improve Your Visibility Jan 11, 2023

“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.

Who is your ideal customer? Start with the basics.
Where does your ideal customer live?
What are your ideal customer’s interests?
What are your ideal customer’s challenges or pain points?

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:

Hanging out in common Facebook groups offering advice and engaging in conversations.
Speak their language in your posts, videos, and emails.
Target their interests in your social media advertising.
Serve before you sell. This is SO important. Provide value without asking for money.

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

103: From the Food Network to Starting a Subscription Box with The Cheerful Baker Jan 04, 2023

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

102: Sarah’s Strategies to 100 Subscribers and Beyond Dec 28, 2022

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.

It’s constant curation. Keeping up with trends and what your subscribers want.
It’s constant marketing. Getting yourself out there and in front of new people consistently.
It’s constant retention. So many subscription box owners make the mistake of focusing only on the acquisition of new subscribers, losing sight of the subscribers they already have.

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?

Don’t stop talking about your subscription box.
You think everyone has seen it. They haven’t.
You think you’re talking about it enough. You’re not.
Inside the Launch Your Box Training Library - in the Marketing Module - you’ll find a Subscription Box Social Media resource with posting ideas for EVERY day of the month!
Not an LYB member yet? Text LAUNCH to 940-204-0023 for a link to join!

Engage. Consistently.

Be social before and after the sale.
Retention is a HUGE part of growth - make sure you’re engaging with your subscribers, letting them know how much you appreciate them.
Your excitement is contagious.
Create FOMO for those not signed up!
Create connections with and for your subscribers.
I don’t recommend private Facebook groups for our subscriptions - you lose a valuable opportunity to create FOMO.
Create value - it’s not always about the stuff.
What makes you different and unique?
Why should someone buy from you and not a big box store?
Curate the experience your subscribers are looking for - the experience they can’t get from big box stores or even big box subscriptions.

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

101: 5 Reasons Why You Should Start a Subscription Box in 2023 Dec 21, 2022

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.

You don’t have to constantly sell.

When I had a physical store, I didn't make any income if I didn’t open my shop and sell things.
With a subscription, you sell to a subscriber one time and receive payment from them every month.
Your subscribers will become your biggest fans and will buy most anything you sell.

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.

The product you’re investing in is already sold.

You get to LOVE what you do. You aren’t just selling stuff, you’re treating people to a carefully curated experience.
Being passionate about your business helps you continue to show up.

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

100: Year End Review with My Mastermind Ladies Dec 14, 2022

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

099: Creating a One-Thing of the Month Subscription Dec 07, 2022

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:

Has the lowest barrier to getting started.
Fewer vendors to work with.
Lower start-up funds.
Packaging that is simple and the same each month!
Is easier to fulfill and ship.
Has the potential for higher profit margins.

Brainstorm what your one item could be by asking yourself:

What is your best-selling item?
What do people repeatedly buy?
What do people constantly ask you for more of?

Your one-thing of the month could be:

Something fun - a no-frills way for subscribers to treat themselves.
Something consumable - subscribers never run out!

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:

T-shirts
Candles
Pizzelles
Nail polish
Earrings
Door hangers
Washi tape

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

098: Using Mystery Boxes to Reduce Inventory Before Year End Nov 30, 2022

“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!

Mix items from past subscription boxes with items never in boxes.
Make subscribers aware they might receive something they already have.
These are not curated experiences like your subscription box. They are filled with items at a great value.
Create different price points. Choose different size boxes, fill them up, and price them.

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!

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

097: Busting Through Challenges and Doubling Her Subscription in the Last Six Months with The Literary Book Club Nov 23, 2022

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:

Hired two team members.
Signed a lease on a space, getting her business out of her house.
Focused on social media and generating more content.
Used influencers to help with word of mouth marketing.
Offered a one-time, summer box.

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

096: Changing Direction and Niching Down Generates 400 New Subscribers Nov 16, 2022

I’m so excited to have Launch Your Box member Julie Harkin of the Pilot Wives Club on the podcast! Julie is an experienced, successful subscription box owner who decided to find out if something I say all the time is true, “The riches are in the niches.”

Pilot Wives Club wasn’t Julie’s first subscription box. She had a tea towel subscription and 100 subscribers. The subscription was successful - her subscribers loved their towels (they are adorable!) and it was generating recurring revenue. But, it wasn’t growing. It seemed stuck at that 100-subscriber mark. Julie kept thinking about what I often say inside Launch Your Box. The riches are in the niches. Julie realized that as a pilot's wife, she was part of a specific niche. She wondered if that niche might be the answer.

Julie had started a Facebook Group for pilot wives nine years ago. The purpose of the group was simply to offer support and friendship. Over the years, she has served this group and built a community of more than 6,000 members. It was this group Julie decided to curate a subscription box for. She surveyed them and found the interest was there!

Julie launched and sold out her initial 100 spots very quickly. She grew organically for several months before deciding to do a “real launch,” following the process I teach inside Launch Your Box. The result? 140 new subscribers in less than 5 days, bringing her to just under 400 total subscribers!

By niching down and serving people whose needs and wants she understands, Julie has been able to quadruple the subscriber count of her tea towel subscription - in only nine months!

Julie did so many things right in order to get to this level of success so quickly!

She niched down, choosing a niche she deeply understood and was passionate about serving.
She surveyed her ICA before she started planning her box.
After initial success and organic, controlled growth, she planned a “real” launch, showed up, and followed the plan.

Join me for this episode as Julie shares more about what happened when she decided to find out if the riches really are in the niches.

Find and follow Julie:

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

095: Leveraging Email Marketing to Make the Most out of Q4 Nov 09, 2022

“More emails equals more sales!” - Sarah Williams

We’re more than halfway through the 4th quarter. For product sellers, it’s the busiest time of the year. It’s also our best chance to make some serious revenue. You’re probably feeling tired and maybe even overwhelmed. I’m tired, too. Rest when you can and then get to work. There are some things you can do now that will give your 4th quarter sales a major boost.

We create different types of email content during the first three quarters of the year. Email opt-ins with welcome sequences, weekly newsletters, and emails to share blog posts or podcast episodes. We’re serving our audience by providing value.

The 4th quarter is different. During the 4th quarter, we SERVE our audiences by SELLING. We help them shop. Your customers want to shop — it’s your job to get your products in front of them.

How can you leverage that email list you’ve spent all year building?

Increase the frequency of your emails.
If you’ve been emailing once a week, send two or three each week. If once a month, send at least one email a week.
Bestseller of the week
Top three gifts for teens, moms, dog lovers, etc.
New items of the week
Restock alerts
Facebook LIVE recaps (where you’ve promoted a product)
Make sure all of your emails are product focused. Serve your customers by solving their “what to get” problem by sharing:
Eliminate decision fatigue.
Make it easy for them to buy.
Don’t give your customers too many options.
Who is this product for?
Take an everyday item and make it giftable
Show an image of it folded neatly with a bow around it
Show an image of the product peeking out of a box with a gift tag
Create gift sets or bundles
Focus each email on its giftability.

The key to success is not to overthink it. These emails should be short on copy and get right to the point. Include great images and a clear call to action. Follow up your email with social media posts to match and send a text to your text list!

Join me for this episode as I share four simple ways you can leverage email marketing to bring more revenue into your business during the 4th quarter. More emails equals more sales. It’s time to get to work!

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!

094: How I Generated $20k in Extra Revenue with a Holiday Gift Box Nov 02, 2022

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:

I set up a waitlist page in September.
I set up a waitlist in my text app in September.
I built up excitement that my Holiday Gift Box was coming and drove people to the waitlist.
LIVES
Social posts
One day before the launch I sent one email to the waitlist and one text to the text waitlist offering them first dibs.
Launch day started with a LIVE during which I generated feelings of:
Scarcity
Exclusivity
Urgency
I started running ads on launch day.
I sent one email to my entire email list.
I sent one text to my entire text list.
I posted twice on social media about the box.
I changed my Facebook header.

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

On day two, I resent the email to non openers and posted about the boxes on social media twice.
By day three, I only had 100 boxes left. I sent a last chance email to any non openers who hadn’t purchased and posted on social media once.
On day four - the last day of the launch - I mentioned the Holiday Gift Box on a LIVE and posted about it once.

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.

Join me in all the places:

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

093: Crushing It on Instagram with One Simple Strategy with B Goods Lettering Oct 26, 2022

“Record everything!” - Betsy Goodman

I’m so excited to have Launch Your Box member Betsy Goodman of B Goods Lettering back on the podcast! Betsy was here just about a year ago when she was in the middle of launching her subscription box. A lot has changed since then and Betsy is here today to teach all of us - including me - about one simple thing she did to crush it on Instagram.

Betsy started lettering in 2017. After attending a workshop and having her eyes opened to the possibilities of lettering, Betsy was hooked! She fell in love with all things lettering and started teaching in person and online lettering classes.

Betsy loved the practical applications of lettering and decided to start teaching with an end product in mind instead of just practicing for the sake of practicing. She took this practical approach and turned it into a quarterly subscription box that teaches subscribers lettering while they create something they can use or gift. She launched The Lettering Box in the fall of 2021 with 18 subscribers. A year later, her subscription box has grown to 118 subscribers!

I keep up with my students and check in on their social media from time to time. I did this with Betsy a while ago and was intrigued by what I saw. In a time where everyone is struggling with engagement and growing audiences on social media, Betsy was crushing it on Instagram. Her secret? Her content is exclusively videos. No static posts. None.

Betsy’s videos are beautiful. The majority are very short. Many are simply snippets of her lettering or creating wax seals. Betsy’s face does not appear in her videos - instead, they are focused on what she is creating. Some of these videos get attention in the form of thousands of views and likes. Betsy has even had videos go viral.

Don’t think all your videos need to be carefully curated. Betsy’s best advice is to record everything, even if you think it’s boring. Record yourself packing your boxes or making something. People LOVE getting a peek behind the scenes.

After Betsy gave ME some tips to use in making videos for my own business, we talked about what’s next for her. We brainstormed and came up with some great ways to increase her revenue based on what her audience is asking for.

Join me for this episode as Betsy shares how her video-exclusive strategy has allowed her to be so successful on Instagram and how you can apply her strategy to your own business.

If you missed Betsy’s first time on the podcast, listen to episode 39.

Find and follow Betsy:

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

092: One Change Doubled Their Subscription Income with Jane's Agenda Oct 19, 2022

I’m so excited to have Launch Your Box member Jane Wild of Jane’s Agenda join me to share her subscription box journey and to talk about what she did to bust through when she hit a plateau with her subscription.

Jane wasn’t always a subscription box owner or even an entrepreneur. In 2013, she found herself busier than ever with a demanding corporate job and a new baby. As Jane struggled to organize the different facets of her life, she was unable to find a planner that met her needs. She decided to create her own and Jane’s Agenda was born!

For several years, Jane ran her business via an Etsy shop. The gorgeous - and highly functional - planner pages and planner accessories she designed sold very well. There were challenges - planners by their nature have a high sales season and low sales seasons. And then there was the pandemic.

When 2020 hit, people suddenly had nothing to plan. They were at home and all the “busy” that had filled their lives was canceled. Jane found herself needing to get creative about using planners in order to keep her business afloat. That’s when she decided to launch a subscription box. It was all about helping her customers love planning again. The items were beautiful and functional. They were things planners could use even without events and appointments to plan.

Jane and her team had a goal of 50 subscribers for that first launch. Well, in an hour they hit 100 subscribers and quickly hit 250 total subscribers! They were amazed and quickly made the necessary changes to staff and processes to meet the demand. As Jane shares, the launch was NOT fancy - they launched simply and just got the thing out there.

When Jane realized they were hitting a plateau with the subscription box, she and her team got creative. After listening to me talk about offering a lower-tier subscription, Jane decided to do just that. And what a difference it made! Making that ONE change resulted in doubling their monthly subscription income! And… Jane recently celebrated crossing the 500 subscriber mark!

Join me for this episode as Jane takes us through her journey from selling planner pages on Etsy to managing a thriving online store and 500+ member subscription box business.

Find and follow Jane:

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

091: 50% Subscription Growth with One Live Launch w/ The Floral Project Oct 12, 2022

I’m so excited to have Launch Your Box member Nicola Bird of The Floral Project join me all the way from the UK for today’s episode to share her subscription box journey and the story of her recent, wildly successful live launch.

An entrepreneur for more than 20 years and a lifelong lover of flowers, Nicola started The Floral Project in order to bring cheer and connection during the pandemic to people who were alone and lonely. Her big vision for The Floral Project is a million posies of flowers given every year to people in local communities who need a smile. These are people who don't have regular visitors and may feel isolated or lonely. People who are unable to grow their own flowers or afford them.

I can’t wait for you to hear how Nicola jumped into Launch Your Box with both feet and smashed her live launch. Nicola almost didn’t join Launch Your Box because she had already launched her subscription box business. Once she realized I also teach people how to grow their existing subscription box businesses, Nicola joined and started consuming the content quickly.

When it was time for her launch, Nicola followed the launch training inside Launch Your Box to a tee. And she was smart about every step of the process. Nicola not only produced all the social media and email content I recommend, she wrote and scheduled it ahead of time before she was in the midst of the stress and excitement of her launch. She went LIVE, she talked about the benefits of the subscription, and she spoke to her people in their language.

The result? In ONE live launch, Nicola gained 232 subscribers, smashing her goal of 130 new subscribers. Nicola described herself as “gobsmacked” by the results. The truth? She did everything right. She did the work and did all the things. And now Nicola is excited to turn her energy toward nurturing her more than 700 members, loving on them and continuing to teach them how to impact the lives of others with the gorgeous flowers they’ll grow and give away!

Join me for this episode as Nicola walks us through each day of her live launch and what she did in the days leading up to her launch that led to growing her subscription by 50% in just five days!

Find and follow Nicola:

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

090: Free Shipping vs Charging for Shipping Oct 05, 2022

You’ve curated a beautiful subscription box. Your website is nearly ready. But there’s one decision holding you back from actually launching. And it’s all about shipping. Should you offer free shipping or charge for shipping?

Of course, “free shipping” isn’t free. If you offer free shipping to your customers, you will adjust the prices of the items you sell to absorb those shipping costs and protect your profit margins.

In this episode, I go deep on all things shipping. The truth is, there’s no easy answer to the free shipping or charging for shipping question. There is no one-size fits all strategy when it comes to shipping charges. There may even be more than one answer for your business.

Think about your own buying behavior. What matters more to you when you’re shopping online? What matters to your customers?

Shippo, a shipping software company, conducted a survey where they found:
49% of customers prefer to pay a lower price for items and pay for shipping.
40% of customers want free shipping.
11% of customers want their items fast and are willing to pay expedited shipping charges.
Another report showed:
People prefer paying for low-cost shipping when purchasing lower-priced items.
93% of shoppers will add to their carts to reach a certain threshold to receive free shipping if it’s offered.

For one-off online sales, offering free shipping once a customer reaches a purchase threshold is smart for a few reasons.

It can increase your average order value.
It incentivizes customers to order more items at once instead of placing multiple one-item orders, reducing your overall shipping charges.
It allows for lower pricing of items because you don’t have to account for as much of the cost of shipping in the price of each item.

Answering this question for your subscription box is more difficult. Do you only ship or do you offer local pickup as well? Does the perceived value of your subscription box allow you to include shipping in the cost of the box or would that make the price “too high?” Don’t be afraid to test options with your audience to help you make this decision.

Join me for this episode as I talk about what you need to consider when deciding whether to charge for shipping or offer free shipping to your customers and why you may end up choosing one strategy for your one-off sales and the other for 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

089: Managing Content Creation and Showing Up On Video with Dana Bowling Sep 28, 2022

I’m so excited to have Dana Bowling of Show Up on Video join me today to talk about practical strategies to create content in a way that is doable and effective as well as ways to conquer feelings around showing up on video.

Dana brings her background as a casting director and acting coach to her current business where she helps ambitious entrepreneurs learn how to own being the face of their businesses. Dana is a speaker, a coach, and a podcast host. Her podcast, Show Up on Video, helps motivate business owners to create valuable content and share it with their audiences. As she likes to say, “It’s all content.”

Content creation is all about showing up and serving your audience. Don’t be afraid of giving too much away. Serving your audience by sharing valuable content with them builds your authority and your know/like/trust factor. In other words, when they’re ready to buy, you’ve made yourself the obvious choice.

Dana took me through her content creation framework which could work for any subscription box owner. This framework starts with brainstorming content ideas and puts you where you belong - at the center.

Identify four content pillars. For example, if I used this framework, my pillars might be:

Subscription boxes
Crazy, busy mom life
Monograms
Behind the scenes
Instead of focusing on the outcome, focus on the process

Identify three content ideas for each pillar.

Face to camera
Time-lapse
Trending sound

For each idea, come up with 1-2 ways you can talk about it.

Yes, one of those ways to talk about your content is face to camera. Dana knows just like I know that this causes anxiety in so many of you. So she has three great tips to make being on camera easier.

Get more comfortable talking on camera when the purpose is not to create content.

Send video messages to friends or customers.
Create social media stories - they only last for 24 hours!
Hop on video chats with friends.

Record without the intention to post. This takes the pressure off and sometimes you’ll surprise yourself by coming up with something good!

Good lighting, hair, makeup, clothes you feel good in, even using a subtle filter.

Do whatever makes you feel better about being on camera.

Think about who you serve and how your content can help them have a better day.

Remember that your audience is much more interested in and worried about themselves than about you!

Join me for this episode as Dana shares valuable strategies for creating content and feeling more comfortable showing up on video. Don’t miss this chance to learn how to serve your audience and your business with your content.

Find and follow Dana:

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

088: What a Mastermind Can Do for You and Your Business Sep 21, 2022

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit around a table, geeking out about your business with other people who just “get it?” Have you dreamed of digging in and talking about the parts of being an entrepreneur that are hard? And the parts that are amazing? And all the in-between parts, too? It is incredibly valuable to spend time with like-minded people in person and get real - get personal even - about what it takes to keep growing as a business and as a business owner.

In this episode, I’m sharing what a Mastermind is and what it can do for you and your business. I wouldn’t be where I am today without being challenged, nurtured, and held accountable… and that’s what a Mastermind is all about.

Masterminds can seem mysterious - like they’re an exclusive group of people getting together and having top secret conversations. But that’s not what they’re meant to be, and it’s certainly not what any Mastermind I’ve been involved with has been. Good Masterminds are about connection, accountability, implementation, scaling, and creating the life you want. All with like minded people and a facilitator you align with.

I’ve been a part of Masterminds for five years. I’ve gotten so much from those experiences - and given so much to them as well. It’s important to realize that being an active participant in a Mastermind means you’re giving just as much as you’re getting. That’s where the connections and relationships are formed. Through sharing, encouraging, supporting, and challenging each other in a safe, supportive space.

After being a part of Masterminds and guest teaching in Masterminds, it finally struck me that it was time for me to have my own Mastermind for my community.

I started with a weekend. And it was incredible. We went to the beach (my official happy place) and spent two days going deep with 16 incredible subscription box owners. The weekend changed each of them and their businesses and it changed me, too. I went from wondering if a Mastermind was something I wanted to offer to deciding I was 100% in on creating a year-long Mastermind of my own - the Elevate Mastermind.

This Mastermind is for people in my community - people who have subscription boxes, memberships, or product based businesses. A Mastermind is not for someone just getting started. It might be for you if you’re ready to scale your business and dig into how to make that happen.

Join me for this episode as I share my Mastermind experiences, my vision for my Elevate Mastermind, and how to know when you’re ready for a Mastermind.

Email me if you're interested in applying for or learning more about my Elevate Mastermind at sarah@framedbysarah.com. Spots are going fast!

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

087: From Registered Nurse to Subscription Box Owner with Tiffany Hill Sep 14, 2022

“Hire the help.” - Tiffany Hill

I’m so excited to have Launch Your Box member Tiffany Hill of Queen of My Castle Designs join me for today’s episode to share her journey from Registered Nurse to successful subscription box owner.

A dedicated RN, Tiffany started painting door hangers as a hobby more than a decade ago. What started as something to satisfy her crafty side grew into a business that allowed her to work less hours as a nurse and spend more time at home with her husband and their three sons. Earlier this year, Tiffany made the decision to retire from nursing altogether and focus solely on her family and her business. Tiffany has two digital teaching subscriptions and an Etsy shop where she sells one-off products, but it was her monthly door hanger subscription that gave her the confidence and peace of mind to “retire” from nursing, and never look back.

Handmade subscription boxes like Tiffany’s come with their own set of challenges. Planning for her launch, Tiffany decided to limit the number of subscribers to 30 because she wanted to make sure she didn’t outsell what she was capable of making. When those spots sold out in mere hours, Tiffany had not only launched strong, she had also created scarcity, exclusivity, and urgency. There were a lot more than 30 members of her audience who wanted to join her door hanger of the month subscription.

Tiffany knew the only way she could grow and scale her business was by hiring help. She hired carefully and well, slowly building a small team who is as dedicated to producing quality products as she is. With careful planning and the help of her amazing team, Tiffany’s monthly subscription has grown steadily to where it is now at 175 subscribers.

Join me for this episode as Tiffany shares what she learned as she grew her Door Hanger of the Month subscription and why growing and scaling a handmade business is not possible without building a team.

Find and follow Tiffany:

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

086: One Year Later - An Update from a Past Guest One Year After Her Subscription Box Launch with Amanda Stucky Sep 07, 2022

Launch Your Box member Amanda Stucky of Mandy Lynn Plans joined me for today’s episode to catch us up on what’s been happening since her last visit almost exactly one year ago. You might remember Amanda from episode 33 where we talked about audience building and the incredible response she had to her launch despite having a small audience of only 600 people. Amanda has gone from strength to strength over this past year and continues to grow.

Amanda’s early success was due in no small part to her dedication to serving her audience. She went deep into the planner niche, producing stickers and planner accessories for the specific planner she loves using, the Hobonichi. She found an audience of people just like her, connected with them, and sold them one-off products. Soon, they were begging her for a subscription box. That’s right, they asked her to add a subscription box to her business. Amanda continues to focus on the needs and wants of her audience, expanding her product lines and adding a one-thing-of-the-month box to her offerings.

Another exciting development came when Amanda’s husband was able to quit his full-time job to work full-time in Mandy Lynn Plans. He brings tech skills that allow Amanda to produce more designs and a larger variety of designs quickly. This arrangement also means more family time with their young children.

As a subscription box business grows, at some point every subscription box owner needs to hire. This can be a big hurdle, worrying about who to hire and what to have them do. Amanda was no different. When she did hire, she started with one part-time employee and slowly added to her team as needed. She learned lessons along the way that all subscription box owners can learn from:

Start with one job/responsibility and let your team member (and you) get comfortable with that before adding more.
Don’t worry about keeping them busy - you’ll find more than enough tasks they can help with.
Hiring takes things off your plate that hinder your creativity. Adding team members allows for time and space to create which results in a better product.
The first hire more than doubles what you can produce.

Hiring team members, bringing her husband home to work in the business, maintaining her connection to her audience, and focusing on serving them have led to a year of significant growth in subscription numbers and one-time sales. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings!

Join me for this episode as Amanda shares what happens in the year after the launch of a subscription box. She talks about serving her audience, giving them what they want, and how hiring team members has helped her business - and her creativity - grow.

Important Links:

Launch Your Box Podcast Episode 33 - Small Audience, No Problem! How Amanda Built 100+ Subscribers from an Audience of 600

Find and follow Amanda:

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

085: Build an Audience with a Niche Specific Podcast Aug 31, 2022

“If you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast, now is the perfect time.” - Sarah Heeter.

My podcast editor, Sarah Heeter, joined me for today’s episode to talk about all things podcast. We talked about the benefits of podcasting and why starting a niche-specific podcast could be a valuable part of your audience-building strategy. Sarah knows a LOT about podcasts. After all, she helped me start this podcast and grow it to more than 200,000 downloads in 18 months and a ranking in the top 1.5% of podcasts globally. She’s also a member of Launch Your Box.

If you’re wondering if podcasts can be a valuable part of an audience-building strategy for subscription box owners, the answer is yes! I mentioned I have more than 200,000 episode downloads in only 18 months. Compare that to my social media audience. It has taken me years to grow my Facebook and IG followers to a combined 20,000. And if you’re wondering if there’s room for another podcast - for your podcast - the answer is also yes. Studies show more than half of people over 12 listen to podcasts and, on average, each listens to 7 podcasts!

There are several benefits to podcasts when it comes to connecting with your audience.

Podcasts meet people where they are. They lend themselves to being interrupted - it’s easy to stop a podcast when needed and get right back to where you left off.
Podcasts allow listeners to multitask. They listen while driving, cleaning, exercising, and more.
A podcast mimics the intimacy of a phone call - you’re talking to your audience for 25-40 minutes per week.
Unlike social media posts, reels, and videos, podcast episodes live forever!

It can be daunting to think about what you would talk to your audience about each week. Many people worry they’ll run out of things to say. If you’re serving your niche, and know your audience well, that shouldn’t be a problem. Sarah suggests brainstorming a list of possible topics by asking yourself:

What keeps my ideal customer up at night?
What answers are they searching for on Google?
What is their support system like?
What is their value system?
What are their highest priorities?

Use what you learned about your ideal customer in my FREE 6 in 60 Workshop to help you get started.

Join me for this episode as Sarah shares so much knowledge about why subscription box owners should consider starting a podcast, how to decide what to talk about, and why it’s very possible to DIY your podcast.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

Find and follow Sarah Heeter:

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

084: The Journey to 3200 Subscribers with Damon Oates of DecoExchange Aug 24, 2022

“Listen to your people.” - Damon Oates

Damon Oates of DecoExchange joined me for today’s episode. Damon serves people who make and sell decorative wreaths, so his customers are themselves businesspeople. Damon started a subscription box several years ago and hated it. He found it to be incredibly stressful and had difficulty planning the boxes and getting the needed supplies each month. That was before he met me! LOL

Damon’s first subscription had as many as 900 subscribers, but he had let it dwindle down to just over 300 when he came into my world. After we talked about what he didn’t like about his subscription box, a few things became clear, the biggest of which was Damon and his business partner needed to learn how to plan. After joining Launch Your Box and gaining that knowledge and more, they decided to launch another subscription box with some changes.

During the pre-launch period, Damon leaned into what he does best - building and engaging with his audience. He asked them what they wanted, which it turns out wasn’t what he thought they wanted or what he wanted to give them. But he listened. He also spent that time building a waitlist. By consistently posting, texting, and going LIVE with a CTA to join the waitlist, Damon grew a list of more than 3,000 people in less than two months. That waitlist currently has 14,000 people on it!

The launch of the new subscription box resulted in 350 subscribers. That number continued to grow each month for the next 1 ½ years at which point there were 3,200 subscribers. They decided to hold steady at 3,200 for now and the only way to become a subscriber is to get on the waitlist and hope for someone to cancel. Damon has generated major FOMO by employing three things I teach every subscription box owner to create - scarcity, urgency, and exclusivity.

Damon shared his advice for other subscription box owners whether you’re new to the game or looking to grow.

Listen to your people and give them what they want.
Start with 10-20 boxes or even a one-time box to try it out and see what works.
Pick one social media platform, be consistent, and show up. (You’ll find Damon on Facebook!)
Pick your niche and go deep.
Serve before you sell.

Join me for this episode as Damon shares how he went from hoping his subscription box business would die off to nurturing an excited, vibrant community of more than 3,200 monthly subscribers with thousands more waiting to get in.

Important Links:

Find and follow Damon:

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

083: Supersizing Your Audience with Video Views Ads Aug 17, 2022

“Social media is a place to find our people, gather them up, and then focus only on them.” - Susan Bradley.

My biz bestie Susan Bradley of The Social Sales Girls joined me for today’s episode to talk all things video view ads. Susan shared how using video and supplementing the organic reach you get with video with some ad dollars is the fastest, most effective way to grow a great big, warm audience of people without spending a lot of money.

Facebook and Instagram ads don’t work like they used to. Costs have gone up and the ROI has changed. The way you use Facebook and Instagram ads needs to change, too. Instead of running ads to directly sell, you need to run ads to collect people to retarget and nurture them. Then you’ll sell to them.

Videos, especially short videos, are how we reach “non-followers,” those people who would be interested in what we offer but who aren’t yet part of our world. With video ads, you’re taking what’s already working for you on Instagram and Facebook and amplifying it by putting a few dollars a day of ad spend behind it.

Join me for this episode as Susan shares so much valuable information about why and how to use video view ads to grow a warm audience and the two things you need to measure to determine if those ads are working. There has never been a better opportunity to find our people and Susan is here to show us how.

Susan’s Ads Made Easy Coaching Week starts August 21st! Sign up HERE.

Important Links:

Find and follow Susan:

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

082: Generating Over $20K a Month with a Digital Subscription Aug 10, 2022

“Lean into what your people are loving and asking for. And if there’s a digital option, go for it!” - Stacey Collins

Subscriptions aren’t always physical items showing up on your doorstep. Think Netflix, Disney +, or an online newspaper. After today’s episode, you’ll also think about Stacey Collins and her Printable Club.

Stacey is a member of Launch Your Box and a self-proclaimed lover of all things decorating, crafting, and shopping. She has spent years building a wildly loyal audience through her blog and social media. Stacey is creative, energetic, and FUN! She’s also a very smart businesswoman.

Stacey serves her audience. She served them for a long time before selling to them. When 2020 hit and we were all stuck at home, looking for things to do and people to connect with, Stacey went online and served her audience by crafting with them a LOT. She was coming up with new ideas for crafts to meet the demand and got the idea to craft using her custom-designed printables. Her audience LOVED it and asked for more. And more. And more.

Stacey’s Printable Club was born. The first launch brought in 800 subscribers! And it has continued to grow. Now, two years in, Stacey has more than 2,000 monthly subscribers. And the best part - other than more than $20,000 in monthly recurring revenue - is this subscription requires no packing or shipping. It’s 100% digital. She’s not sending anything physical. Instead, her subscribers use digital items to create something physical.

Stacey’s subscription came out of a desire to serve her audience by offering them what they wanted in a way that saved them money.

Join me for this episode as we dive into digital subscriptions. We’ll talk about the ways they’re different from physical subscriptions and the ways they’re the same. You might even discover a digital subscription would work for your business!

Important Links:

Find and follow Stacey:

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

081: Running a Giveaway to Build Your List Aug 03, 2022

Audience building should always be on your to-do list. Whether you already have a subscription box or you’re just getting started, consistently work to reach and engage new people.

One audience building strategy I teach inside Launch Your Box is to run a giveaway on social media. I use a free, easy-to-use software called Kingsumo to run my giveaways a couple of times a year. My last giveaway added 1500 people to my email list!

When you run a giveaway, follow four simple steps

Determine your goal - why are you running a giveaway?

To grow your following.
To build your email or text list.
To gauge interest in your potential box.
All of the above!

Determine your prize.

Your prize needs to be “worth it” - what would make you enter a contest?
Consider offering a box or a 3-6 month subscription.

Create your timeline.

Your giveaway should run for 7-14 days.

Share, share, share!

Send an email to your list - remember, some of them may not follow you on social media yet.
Social posts - videos, stories, etc.
Keep talking about it throughout the 7-14 days to keep the excitement going.

There are rules for running giveaways on social media. You need to be aware of these rules and follow them.

The contest must be free to enter - it cannot be combined with a purchase.
The winner must be chosen randomly.
The winner must be announced publicly.
You must state clearly (in posts and your contest rules) that your giveaway has no affiliation with the platform.

Every week inside Launch Your Box, members are setting up and running giveaways. It’s one of the best things you can do to jump-start your audience building no matter where you are in your subscription box journey.

Join me for this episode as I talk about why you should run a giveaway as part of your audience building strategy, the steps to follow to make it a success, and the important rules you need to follow!

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop - Sarah’s Method for Curating 6 Subscription Boxes in 60 Minutes
Kingsumo

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

080: 30 Days to Launch Jul 27, 2022

What if you were launching your subscription box in 30 days?

Maybe you’re launching for the first time or you could be operating under a closed model and you’re launching to new subscribers. In order to be ready to launch - and for your audience to be ready for you to launch - there are five things you need to be doing or start doing right now.

Before I go through those five things, I do want to say I’m recommending you launch in 30 days only if you’ve already spent time building an audience and you’ve got your tech figured out and in place. If not, you’ll need longer than 30 days. But if you’ve been audience building and you’ve got your tech ready to go, I want you to plan to launch in the next 30 days.

Will it be perfect? No. Will it seem messy? Yes. Will putting it off make your launch more perfect or less messy when it finally does happen? No. Putting it off will simply delay you from taking the next step toward subscription box success.

Back to those five things I want you to start doing right now:

Set the date - be specific.
Email your list more frequently.

Unboxings
Subscriber shares
Different ways to use items in your box
Sneak peeks for your upcoming launch
Behind the scenes
Talk about your why

Increase video views.
Drive people to your waitlist and start emailing them right away.
Generate leads with opt-ins.

The truth is you should be doing all of these things all year long in order to continuously feed the top of your funnel. So even if you’re not launching in 30 days, start focusing on these five areas now. That way, the next time you plan a launch - whether it’s your first or your fifth - you’ll be ready!

Join me for this episode as I talk about why you should consider launching in the next 30 days and the five things you need to start doing right now to help make your launch a success.

Important Links:

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

079: Give Yourself a Raise with a Subscription Box Side Hustle Jul 20, 2022

What would an extra $1000 every month mean to you and your family?

Inflation. Waiting for a raise that might not happen. So many people are looking for ways to earn extra income right now. Today I’m talking about how a subscription box side hustle could bring an extra $1000 a month to your family - with only 50 subscribers.

A subscription box business can be a full-time business. But it doesn’t have to be. Many members of Launch Your Box have full-time, 9-5 style jobs and successful subscription box side hustles. They are nurse practitioners, teachers, certified registered nurse anesthetists, hair stylists, realtors, dentists, and more. They’re also subscription box owners who bring in additional income with their side hustles.

You can, too! Let’s do the math. If you have 50 subscribers and make $20 of profit per box, that’s an extra $1000 going into your bank account every month.

Of course, it’s going to take time and effort to get there. But following these six steps will have you well on your way to a successful subscription box side hustle.

Identify what you like or have an interest in.

Make sure it’s something you’re good at or have expertise in.
You have to be passionate about the subject matter or it won’t last!
Don’t try to be like anyone else - YOU will set your subscription box apart.

Ask yourself if there are other people around you with the same interest.

That’s the audience you need to build!
Where can you find more of those people?
Where do they hang out online?

Start a social media account(s) on the platforms where your people hang out.

Start sharing videos, posts, etc.
Ask your friends to like your page and share it with their friends.
Make sure you’re speaking the language of the person you are trying to attract. Messaging matters!

Run a giveaway.

Use Kingsumo (it’s FREE!)
The prize needs to be a box just like what you want to sell.
Capture emails for those who enter your giveaway and start building your email list.

Introduce the idea for the box to your audience.

Get their feedback and have them help you make decisions.
You want their buy-in to validate your concept.
Niche down if needed.

Set a launch date and a goal.

Create excitement and generate buzz.
Get your new audience excited about the upcoming box!

Engaging your audience is key at every stage of your subscription box journey, whether it’s your full-time gig or a side hustle. Continue to ask for feedback as you grow. Maintain an ongoing focus on audience building and keep serving your audience!

Join me for this episode as I talk about why a subscription box side hustle might be right for you and the six steps you need to take in order to make yours a success. The kind of success that means significant additional income - every month!

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop - Sarah’s Method for Curating 6 Subscription Boxes in 60 Minutes

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

078: Is Your Business Recession Ready? Jul 13, 2022

In today’s episode, I’m talking about things you can do to make your subscription box business recession ready.

While it’s not possible to “recession-proof” your business, it is possible to be recession ready. Now is not a time to panic. If we made it through a pandemic, we can make it through economic uncertainty. There are practical, actionable steps you can take to make managing this time less stressful. I walk you through seven of them in today’s episode.

Get control of your inventory. It’s time to change your buying habits away from the panic buying we all practiced during the pandemic. I shifted my own buying behavior away from buying deep (fewer products in greater quantities) to buying wide (more products in lower quantities).
Understand your cash flow. In order to build a long-term, sustainable business, you have to know and understand your numbers. Decreasing your inventory will increase your cash flow, but you still need to have products to sell. Understanding your rate of revenue vs. your rate of expenses allows you to make adjustments where necessary.

Overhead
Software
Packaging & shipping
Opportunities to buy in bulk

Trim your expenses. Dig into your P&L to identify your biggest expenses and any you don’t realize you’re even paying for. Look for areas where you can trim costs.

Try a new platform.
Use email and SMS marketing to get in their text messages and inboxes.
Experiment with your posts/videos to make things new, fresh, and fun!

Get in front of new people. Now is not the time to pull back on your marketing efforts. How are you serving your audience? Focus on organic, free ways to attract new people.
Create additional revenue streams. If you don’t yet have a subscription box as part of your product-based business, start one. If you have a subscription box, consider what complementary products you can offer your customers? Don’t forget to consider digital products!
Offer customization and convenience for a premium price. What can you offer those customers who want the ultimate experience and are willing to pay for it?

Wow your customers. There is so much you can do that won’t cost you much at all. Make exceptional customer service the standard. Say thank you and show appreciation to your customers. Look for ways to surprise and delight your subscribers.

Get my resource “10 Ways to Surprise & Delight Your Subscribers” by texting SURPRISE to 940-204-0023.

Don’t be afraid to serve and to sell during these uncertain economic times. Realize people want to buy what you have to offer. Now is the time to gain a deeper understanding of the financials of your business and make educated decisions.

Join me for this episode as I talk about seven things you can start doing now to get your business recession ready. This is an episode to listen to with your notebook close by. You’re going to want to take a lot of notes!

Important Links:

10 Ways to Surprise & Delight Your Subscribers - Text SURPRISE to 940-204-0023

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

077: Lean Into Your Best Selling Products and Create a One Thing of the Month Subscription Jul 06, 2022

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Launch Your Box member and dog mom times eight, Rhonda Conces.

Yes, I said eight! A true, dedicated lover of all things dog, Rhonda has eight pups of her own who help inspire her subscription box every month.

Rhonda is the CEO and Founder of Monogramme No. 29. Her business was not initially focused on dogs. In fact, her first career was as a labor and delivery nurse. When an injury sidelined Rhonda, she turned to her love of crafting and soon found herself selling monogrammed items. Monogrammed pajamas became her best seller, especially with brides and bridal parties.

When 2020 hit and the bridal industry shut down, Rhonda needed to pivot. She decided to focus on another customer favorite - personalized dog bandanas. Rhonda loved making them, her customers loved buying them, and their dogs looked too cute for words in them. Soon, Rhonda decided to offer her bandanas as a monthly subscription and Posh Puppies was born.

Rhonda found and joined Launch Your Box a couple months after she launched her subscription and quickly soaked in as much knowledge as possible. She is a fantastic student and makes sure she does all the things in order to grow her business.

Rhonda launched with 40 members in February of 2021 and now has 330 monthly subscribers! The recurring revenue her subscription brings into her business has changed her business and her life. So much is possible for Rhonda now, all because she leaned into one thing.

Join me for this episode as Rhonda and I talk about why you should consider leaning into what your customers love and the many benefits of offering a one thing of the month subscription.

Important Links:

Find and follow Tamara:

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

076: From 0 to 200 Subscribers in 8 Days Jun 29, 2022

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Tamara Bennett, one of my biz besties who also happens to be a member of Launch Your Box!

Tamara is the founder and CEO of Southern A-Door-nments Decor where she teaches women how to paint door hangers. Her business has grown over the years thanks in no small part to Tamara’s dedication to creating connections with her audience.

Tamara and I met at Stu McLaren’s Mastermind more than four years ago and hit it off right away. We talk all the time about all the things, including business. We had many discussions about her adding a subscription box to her business. So, when Tamara said she was joining Launch Your Box, I asked her why. She knew she could call me anytime to get answers to any questions she had.

In true Tamara fashion, she had a ready answer. Because she knew me and my business so well, Tamara knew how much training was inside my membership. She also knew how amazing the Launch Your Box community is. Her reason for joining was simple - she didn’t want to miss out!

Tamara is an excellent student who followed my instructions for having a successful launch to the letter. And it paid off. She launched her Big Box of Blanks and sold out all 200 spots in only 8 days! And she has plans to grow.

Join me for this episode as Tamara and I talk about the importance of audience building and connecting with that audience, why Tamara was a very early adopter of Facebook Lives, and what she did to go from 0-200 subscribers in only eight days!

Important Links:

Find and follow Tamara:

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

075: Serving a Niched-Down Audience Reaps Over 1000 Subscribers in 2 Months Jun 22, 2022

“When people are part of the process, they buy in.” - Britney Brown

I’m so excited to introduce you to Britney Brown, Launch Your Box member and founder, CEO, and all the things of Imperfect Inspiration. Britney’s story and the incredible growth she’s seen in her company and her subscription box are actually perfectly inspirational!

In 2020, Britney was a full-time photographer and mom of five. When the pandemic hit, the photography industry shut down. Britney turned to Tik Tok to document her life during this time and also to document her new ADHD diagnosis. During this time, by sharing her experience, she built a large following on Tik Tok. Over 700,000 followers large!

Britney’s online business started with a planner she designed to meet the needs of ADHD humans like her. The planner was a HUGE success and led to additional products. That then led to a subscription box. As Britney put it, “It turns out people were into it.”

“Into it” is a bit of an understatement. Britney launched and sold out 150 boxes almost immediately. She quickly figured out just how many boxes she could get products for and reopened for three days. Her first box shipped to 466 subscribers! The following month she opened to new subscribers again and closed with 1,111! She plans to open again to new subscribers in July and already has 8,000 people on her waitlist.

What is the secret to Britney’s astonishing success? She listens to her audience. She built a community before she built her products. Britney believes in the absolute power of people feeling seen and heard. She carefully and intentionally built a community to let people know they are not the only one. Britney knows and truly understands that when people feel part of the process, they buy in.

Join me for this episode as Britney and I talk about what it means to truly serve your audience and how you just might succeed beyond your wildest dreams by building a community first, one that feels seen and heard.

Important Links:

Find and follow Britney:

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

074: From 0 to 400 Subscribers: Turning One-Time Sales into Recurring Revenue Jun 15, 2022

“Start with what you have and build up to what you want.”

Welcome to my first on-location podcast episode! Launch Your Box member Rachel Duguay joined me live onstage at SubSummit, the first and only conference exclusively for the subscription box industry.

Rachel and I met at last year’s SubSummit and she quickly became a member of Launch Your Box. At that time, Rachel and her husband’s business, MicroPuzzles, sold miniature puzzles as one-time purchases.

In business since 2018, MicroPuzzles took off in 2020 when the entire world turned to puzzles as a way to pass the time together. MicroPuzzles are 4”x6” when complete and are adorably packaged in test tubes. Demand for their puzzles went through the roof and customers clamored for more designs.

Rachel decided adding a subscription box to the business was the answer to giving her customers what they wanted. They launched what Rachel calls the 1.0 version and continued to improve and grow. A year later, they have 425 monthly subscribers and both she and her husband have turned a part-time side hustle into a full-time career.

Rachel doesn’t just put MicroPuzzles in her own subscription boxes, she partners with other subscription box owners, too. Many members of Launch Your Box have featured Rachel’s tiny puzzles in their own subscription boxes, customized to their themes and their audiences!

Part of Rachel’s success is due to her creative marketing, including an emphasis on product seeding. You’ll rarely find her without a stash of tiny puzzles on hand to use as “business cards.” She also does a fantastic job of building genuine connections with her audience which has contributed to her success.

Join me for this episode as Rachel and I talk about the importance of doing something before it’s perfect, the rapid growth of her subscription box, and what led to a cross-country move that included getting the keys to a 3,000-square-foot warehouse. Find out, too, what makes Brian in shipping their most talked about employee.

Important Links:

Find and follow Rachel:

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

073: Ask Sarah: How to Retain Subscribers in a World Where Costs are Rising with Beth Eaton of the Ruffled Daisy Jun 08, 2022

Welcome to the last episode in my eight-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I’ve answered a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week Beth Eaton of The Ruffled Daisy is here to talk about something we’re all facing right now. How to retain subscribers in a world where costs are rising.

Beth started her business 10 years ago selling completed home decor pieces. Soon, people wanted to learn how to make these pieces themselves and they wanted Beth to teach them. Beth started selling kits and building a community of crafters. She tried launching a subscription box a few years ago and it just didn’t stick with her community. When COVID struck and we all found ourselves at home, Beth tried again. This time her community was ready! She started with 23 subscribers and two years later has 330 monthly subscribers.

Beth came to me with a question that a lot of my members have right now. With the challenges the world is facing right now and the increasing cost of absolutely everything, Beth wanted to know what she can do to retain her subscribers when her box isn’t seen as a need.

The first question I asked Beth was about her retention rate. While she didn’t know the exact number (she was going to figure it out as soon as our interview ended), she did have valuable information. Beth knew the point in the life of their subscription at which many of her subscribers canceled.

Knowing when you start to lose subscribers allows you to put some things in place to keep them on track. Beth and I talked about what she can do to recapture the sense of togetherness inside her community and help subscribers consume the contents of her box.

We also talked about six important facets of the subscriber experience and identified some things Beth can do to make improvements.

Reducing the length of time between payment and box in hand.
Consistently communicating with subscribers.
Having a cancellation survey in place and paying attention to the results.
Getting personal - don’t just rely on automations.
Focusing on customer service response time.
Making customer reviews visible.

Join me for this episode as Beth and I talk about the challenges subscription box owners face right now and the practical, actionable things she can do to improve her subscriber experience, retain more subscribers and continue to grow.

Important Links:

Find and follow 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!

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

072: Ask Sarah: How Do I Handle a Price Increase and Closing the Cart for My Subscriptions with Light of the Lamb Jun 01, 2022

Welcome to episode seven of my eight-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I answer a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week Alivia Key of Light of the Lamb is here to talk about how to handle increasing the price of her subscription and whether it’s time to move from an open to a closed cart model.

Alivia has been a member of Launch Your Box for two years. During that time she has launched and grown two subscriptions - a monthly t-shirt subscription and a quarterly subscription box.

Like all business owners right now, Alivia has seen her cost of goods sold increase significantly this year which means her subscriptions aren’t as profitable as they were.

That increase in costs and decrease in profits led to Alivia bringing two related questions to me. The first is how to handle a price increase with her audience and the second is whether to move from an open to a closed subscription model.

Alivia and I talked through the reasons for the price increase. I reminded her that in order to continue to serve her subscribers, her business needs to stay strong. And that means staying profitable.

Moving to a closed cart is a perfect time to announce an upcoming price increase.

It gives people a reason to BUY NOW!
The upcoming price increase drives marketing for the closed cart - people need to get in now to be locked in at the current price.
It creates urgency, scarcity, and FOMO!

The next question is when and how to move to a closed cart. I recommended Alivia identify a two-week period when she can go all-in on the closed cart launch. Her social posts, LIVES, and emails need to stay focused on the launch. In her content, she needs to:

Be transparent. Explain to her audience why she’s raising prices and closing her cart.
Bring members onto her LIVES. Host “Girl Talk” and talk about why her subscription is more than just a t-shirt to them.
Have fun with ads. Shake things up and get creative.
Send emails with links to her LIVES and explain the what and why behind the changes.
During LIVES, show off past designs.
Create a variety of ads and posts - some silly, some serious, some inspirational.

I recommended Alivia go into full launch mode for two weeks instead of the usual 4-5 days. This is because she’s making a big change and needs to give her audience time to see what she’s posting and react to it.

Join me for this episode as Alivia and I talk about making necessary changes to keep our businesses healthy and profitable. If you’re wondering how to handle a price increase or move to a closed cart subscription model, don’t miss this episode!

Important Links:

Find and follow Alivia:

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

071: Ask Sarah: How Do I Introduce My Subscription Box to My Audience? with Holden Keepsakes May 25, 2022

Welcome to episode six of my eight-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I answer a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week BreeAnna Holden of Holden Keepsakes is here to talk about how to introduce her subscription box to the audience she has built for her online product-based business.

BreeAnna is an OG member of Launch Your Box. That means she has been inside my coaching membership for almost two years. But, she hasn’t launched her subscription box yet. She’s stuck.

When she started her glitter tumbler business three years ago (and you HAVE to see the gorgeous tumblers she makes), BreeAnna was looking for a way to keep busy while her husband worked nights and to make a little extra income for her family. BreeAnna has dreamed of adding a subscription box for two years. She knows it will provide consistent, recurring revenue and allow her to plan her workload more effectively, allowing for more family time.

So what’s standing in BreeAnna’s way? She has a great product that her customers love. As an OG member of Launch Your Box, she has learned all the things. She has seen so many others start, launch, and grow their own subscription boxes. So why hasn’t BreeAnna taken action on her subscription box dreams? Self-doubt, indecision, and social media.

BreeAnna, like SO MANY women I talk to inside and outside my membership, struggles with self-doubt. She doubts herself and her ability to make this subscription box dream a reality. It’s important to realize that nearly everyone feels like this sometimes. I know I did.

BreeAnna is also stuck, unable to decide what kind of box to offer her audience. She keeps going back and forth between a one item of the month box and a curated box.

Social media engagement is a challenge for BreeAnna. She struggles to be consistent on social media and isn’t getting the engagement she needs. Without an actual box to share, she’s unsure how she should introduce the idea of a subscription box to her audience.

BreeAnna and I talked through the things that have been holding her back. After talking through her mindset issues, I got practical and gave BreeAnna practical solutions to:

Re-engage her audience.
Plan six months' worth of boxes.
Choose a launch date and create a pre-launch plan.

Once we talked through everything and BreeAnna had a plan for moving forward, I could hear the lightness in her voice. She committed to a launch date of July 14th and has a plan to get there with an engaged, excited audience.

Join me for this episode as BreeAnna and I talk about what holds so many of us back from taking action - self-doubt. I know you’ll relate to BreeAnna’s story and take away inspiration and practical advice to help you take action toward achieving your own subscription box dreams.

Important Links:

Find and follow BreeAnna:

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

070: Ask Sarah: How Do You Handle Variations and Personalization for Your Subscription Box? with Sunflower & Scout May 18, 2022

Welcome to episode five of my eight-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I answer a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week Maria Riebe of Sunflower & Scout is here to talk about how to handle variations and personalization for her subscription box.

Like so many entrepreneurs, the pandemic forced Maria to pivot. A true antique-lover, she had been producing an outdoor vintage market, Rustapalooza. She had experienced a great deal of success and national recognition for this show. Covid caused the cancellation of the show and, after a time, Maria’s heart started pointing her in a new direction.

Maria is a member of an impassioned group of leather bag lovers - and they all love straps! So she decided to start an online shop focused specifically on bag straps and accessories. While setting up her online shop, Maria discovered Launch Your Box. She loved the idea of curating a monthly box for her customers that included a bag strap, as well as some kind of accessory, tee, or multiple items.

Maria wants to include some type of personalized item in her subscription box but is stumped by the tech it would involve. With a launch date of August 1st, it’s time to figure out these details!

Maria knows my team handles all kinds of variations and personalization - from six different sizes in my t-shirt subscriptions to the monogrammed items that go in the Monogram Box every month.

We talked through the challenges involved and I told Maria what she needs to do in order to successfully manage variations and personalization.

Be prepared to scale. Realize that what can be done with 50 subscribers will need to be done with 500 subscribers.
Outsource personalization as you grow or hire in-house help.
Put systems and processes in place to manage subscriber details.

Now that we talked through what Maria needs to get in place to feel comfortable offering variations and personalization to her future subscribers, she is moving toward that August 1st launch date with confidence.

Join me for this episode as Maria and I talk about the systems and processes every subscription box owner needs to have in place, and why they are so important when your box includes variations and personalization.

Important Links:

Find and follow Maria:

Sunflower & Scout Website

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

069: Ask Sarah: How to Grow Your Subscription Past the Plateau - with Print Cut Craft May 11, 2022

Welcome to episode four of my eight-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I’ll be answering a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week Traci Gibson of Print Cut Craft and I tackled the question of how to grow a subscription past a plateau.

Traci started her business ten years ago, selling printables and teaching classes at scrapbooking conferences. When she (and her family) got tired of all the weekend travel, Traci took her scrapbook kits online. She pivoted and her business evolved as she listened to what her customers wanted and served their needs. In 2020, Traci started teaching LIVE workshops online and selling craft kits to go with them. This has been a huge boost to her business and led to a membership where members craft with Traci each month using their Cricut machines and her svg files.

Traci thought about starting a subscription box for a while. She joined Launch Your Box and watched and learned. When she decided to take action and launched her box, her membership was the perfect audience for her subscription, and it grew quickly. For a while. Then came the plateau. Traci’s growth slowed and then stopped. She has hit a plateau and reached out for my help to get past it.

We talked through some possible reasons Traci’s subscription box growth has slowed and recommended some steps for Traci to take to jumpstart her growth. She needs to:

Shake things up - make it new and fresh for her audience.
Reduce churn by increasing retention and decreasing involuntary churn.
Up the exclusivity factor of her subscription.
Get in front of new audiences.

With a clear plan and specific action steps to take, Traci feels confident her subscription will start to grow again. I can’t wait to hear about the growth she sees as a result of making these changes.

Join me for this episode as Traci and I talk about something nearly every subscription owner experiences - hitting a plateau. A plateau is a reminder that we need to constantly be learning and growing as subscription box owners. And that sometimes we need to change what we’re doing in order to continue to grow.

Important Links:

Find and follow Traci:

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

068: Ask Sarah: How to Get People to Engage on Social Media - with the Crafty Lady Boutique May 04, 2022

Welcome to the third installment of my eight-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I’ll be answering a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week Lexie Haubert of The Crafty Lady Boutique and I tackled the question of how to get people to engage with her content on social media.

Lexie’s online business came about when she was unable to find bridal party gifts she liked while planning her own wedding and instead created her own. When she received incredibly positive feedback about her creations, she decided to take them online. The result? Her Etsy store ranks in the top 1% of all bridal sellers in the world! In addition to one-time boxes and individual gifts, Lexie offers a monthly subscription box for brides who are planning a wedding.

Like all wedding-related businesses, The Crafty Lady Boutique was greatly impacted by the pandemic. Things are on a definite upswing and Lexie is focusing her efforts on regaining and further growing her business. But the lack of social media engagement is holding her back.

When someone is struggling to get engagement on social media, I am usually able to identify the cause easily. The problem might be:

Lack of followers
Lack of consistency
An issue with the quality of photos or videos
An issue with the product itself

In Lexie’s case, NONE of these is the problem. She has a good number of followers. She has been posting consistently for the past several months. Her images and videos are GREAT. And her products? Well, let’s just say there’s a reason she’s in the top 1% of her category!

So what is the issue? Why aren’t Lexie’s followers engaging with her content?

No one is seeing her stuff. She’s not getting in front of the RIGHT people - brides. When people don’t engage with your content, it hurts the algorithm and even fewer people see it. Lexie needs to find more of the right people. She needs to find more brides.

I asked more questions and came up with an action plan for Lexie that includes:

Picking a day and time to go LIVE each week.
Teasing something that’s coming up on the LIVE in a post and an email.
Getting her friends to show up to her LIVES to ask questions that generate conversations.
Boosting one post per week.
Finding more brides by holding quarterly giveaways and getting active inside bridal groups.
Serving her audience by creating content that establishes her as a wedding authority.

With this new plan in place, Lexie knows what she needs to do to find new brides and attract more of the right people. And once they discover the great products she’s offering, the rest will take care of itself!

Join me for this episode as Lexie and I dig deep into what really drives engagement on social media. It’s more than having pretty pictures of great products. Discover easy-to-implement strategies to attract the right followers and increase your engagement, too.

Important Links:

Find and follow Lexie:

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

067: Ask Sarah: What's Holding Me Back from Starting My Subscription Box? Apr 27, 2022

“Messy Action is better than no action.” - Sarah Williams

Welcome to the second in my new eight-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I’ll be answering a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week’s question came from Gina Rich of Serendipity Lane. Gina’s question was simple. “Why am I stuck?”

Gina had a brick-and-mortar scrapbooking and card-making business for 15 years. She still runs occasional classes and scrapbooking retreats out of the space, but moved the majority of her business online due to the pandemic. Gina offered one-time “Happy Boxes” as products and also had a small, very casual card “subscription” with about 20 subscribers.

Gina found Launch Your Box and realized a card subscription box was what she wanted to do. She has a proven concept. She knows just what she wants to include and the experience she wants to provide her subscriber. But… she hasn’t launched. She’s not even close to launching yet. Why? What’s holding her back?

Gina’s first issue is shared by SO MANY people who want to start subscription boxes. She wants everything to be perfect before she starts.

The hard truth? Nothing will ever be perfect. And messy action is always better than no action. It’s time for Gina to give herself permission to not be perfect and commit to taking messy action. Every day.

Gina is also stuck because she can’t decide how to price her box. She wants to provide value to her subscribers but finds it takes a lot of her time to fulfill the box she wants to offer. I took Gina through the research I did on similar boxes that are already on the market. We discussed whether the price she had in mind was a good one and brainstormed ideas to add value that won’t require more of her time.

The last thing that has Gina stuck is social media. She’s not getting engagement because she’s not consistent. Gina needs to be consistent in order to build an audience to launch to! I gave her homework to complete and will be checking in 30 days from now.

Join me for this episode as Gina and I talk through what’s holding her back and how she can get unstuck and start making progress toward launching her box. I know you’ll learn as much as she did from this interview.

Important Links:

Find and follow Gina:

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

066: Ask Sarah: How Do You Balance Everything? Apr 20, 2022

“How do you balance everything?”

I’m kicking off a new six-part series on the podcast called, “Ask Sarah.” Each week, I’ll be answering a question from inside my Launch Your Box coaching membership.

This week’s question came from Mar. And when Mar told me all about her business and the many different roles she plays in her life, I understood exactly where the question came from.

Mar and her family run Windborne Farms where they raise bees, along with other animals and crops. Mar’s love for the bees turned into a side business when she discovered a passion for beeswax candles. And that passion grew further into a subscription box, the Bee Still Box.

In addition to being a business owner, Mar is a beekeeper, farmer, partner, and homeschooling mom of young children. Her question to me was, “How do you balance everything?”

The short answer - I don’t. None of us can. The idea that it’s possible for anyone, especially a woman, to keep the various parts of her life in balance is kind of ridiculous. But… there are things I’ve learned during my nine years as a business owner and five years as a subscription box owner that help me keep my life in better balance. Those are the things I shared with Mar - and with you.

When it comes to the actual logistics of juggling the kid stuff and the house stuff and the business stuff and the self stuff, I learned that I need systems and I need help. Some of my strategies included:

Hiring help - and recognizing it’s okay.
Asking my family members for help and delegating some tasks.
Scheduling time with friends and family.
Taking breaks when I need them.
Creating structure in my days, weeks, and months.
Removing distractions.

Join me for this episode as Mar shares her fascinating subscription box journey and we talk mom to mom and business owner to business owner about finding balance and juggling all the things.

Important Links:

Find and follow Mar:

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

065: My 5-Year Journey as a Subscription Box Owner Apr 13, 2022

5 years. 60 boxes. Countless lessons learned.

Earlier this year, I celebrated the five-year anniversary of the subscription box side of my business. That’s 60 boxes! 60 boxes I poured my heart into to create amazing experiences for my subscribers.

The journey my business and I have been on over these five years has come with lots of failures (I like to call them lessons learned), wins, and personal growth. My business grew from five figures to six figures to where we are now - a multi-million dollar subscription box business with thousands of subscribers.

As my team and I get ready to ship out our 61st curated box, I’m reflecting on what it took to get here. Year one was all about excitement and uncertainty as I decided to start something new. I was nervous and wondered if it would actually work. There were ups in the form of a successful launch and growth beyond what I’d hoped for several months in a row. There were downs, like when my growth stopped. It stayed static for a few months and when my numbers started moving again, they were going in the wrong direction.

These years have been filled with learning and implementing that learning - over and over again. That learning and that implementation helped me discover what changes I needed to make to start growing again. And I did - I grew and grew to where I am now - 3000 subscribers strong.

It can be easy to look at someone who is already succeeding at what you are trying to do and not see all that came before. But all that came before matters - it’s what leads to growth and success.

Join me for this episode as I take you through the first five years of my subscription box business and the lessons I learned along the way. Lessons you can learn from and apply to your own subscription box business. I hope you’ll be inspired and encouraged by my journey!

Important Links:

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

064: It’s more than just a box - creating a curated experience with The Literary Book Club Apr 06, 2022

A subscription box is so much more than just “stuff in a box.”

I teach this inside Launch Your Box every day. I’ve talked about it on this very podcast. And I LOVE watching subscription box owners take what they’ve learned and turn it into amazing experiences for their subscribers.

I invited Katie onto the podcast to talk about her subscription box journey and what inspired her to curate a truly incredible experience for the book-loving subscribers of her Literary Book Club Box.

The Literary Book Club Box is not Katie’s first subscription box. She came to Launch Your Box to learn how to launch a monthly box related to her eCommerce stationery and sticker business. Katie soaked up all the training, launched, and grew that subscription box to 100 subscribers. In other words, it was a success!

But it wasn’t her passion. Books - classic books specifically - are Katie’s passion. Because she was curious and because she’s a self-proclaimed “book nerd,” Katie started ordering book subscription boxes. And every time one arrived, she was disappointed. Inside she would find a book and some “cheap junk” that kind of related to the book. Nothing about those boxes was special.

Katie knew she could do it better. A LOT better. And it turns out… Katie was right. She niched down to classic books - because like I always say, the riches are in the niches. Katie carefully selects the books for her boxes - beautifully bound, collectible-quality editions of classic books.

But Katie doesn’t just send her subscribers a beautiful book. The book is just the beginning. Katie’s subscription box guides her subscribers through the actual reading of the book. She curates special “gifts” for her subscribers to open at certain points in the book. These gifts are beautifully packaged and make the reading of the book a true experience.

Katie’s subscribers LOVE what she’s doing and her subscription box continues to grow. She currently has more than 230 subscribers anxiously waiting for their next box!

Join me for this episode as Katie takes us through her subscription box journey, talking about turning a passion project into a successful business and why creating an incredible experience for your subscribers matters.

Important Links:

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

063: 4 Focus Areas to Start Your Subscription Box Mar 30, 2022

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right.” - Henry Ford.

You’ve dreamed about starting a subscription box and now you’re ready to take action and start making those dreams come true. So where should you start?

It’s easy to get caught up in the fun parts - products and packaging. And you absolutely need those in place, but spending too much time designing custom boxes or sourcing products for future boxes takes time away from what you need to be doing right now.

If you’re just getting started, make sure to go through my FREE 6 in 60 Workshop where you’ll curate six months' worth of boxes for your ideal customer. This workshop guides you through getting clear about who your ideal customer is and the type of experience you want to provide for them.

Then it’s time to move on to the four areas where you need to focus your time and energy now.

Audience building - soooo important.

Start yesterday!
Serve before selling - Listen to episodes 33 and 45!!
Not easy, but necessary!
Create awareness of who you are and what you sell.
Emails, texts, posts, stories, short videos, LIVES, paid Ads

Marketing

Website
Payment processor
Shipping software
CRM - email platform

Tech - you need four things in place.

We tell ourselves we can’t do something more often than we tell ourselves we can.
Believe in abundance.
Embrace your imperfections.
Operate with a glass-half-full mentality.

Mindset - the MOST important!

Are you ready to get started on turning your subscription box dreams into reality? In today’s episode, I talk about the four areas you need to focus your time and energy FIRST. Now is the time to “think you can!” Come listen!

Important Links:

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

062: Facebook Ads Won't Grow Your Subscription Box For You Mar 23, 2022

Your subscription box business isn’t growing like you want it to. You’re not gaining subscribers at the rate you’d planned for and hoped for and you’re not sure what to do.

If you start looking around for advice, you’re likely to find people telling you the answer to your problem is Facebook Ads. I have a different opinion.

Facebook Ads will NOT grow your subscription box for you. Yep, I said it. I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but it’s one I feel very strongly about. Let’s dig in and talk about why.

It is rare in life that throwing money at a problem solves it. And it turns out, a subscription box business is a lot like life.

Facebook Ads are ONE tool in your multi-channel marketing plan. They aren’t the main tool and shouldn’t be weighted more heavily than the rest of your tools.

You have to have so many things dialed in with your business and your ideal customer BEFORE you start paying for Facebook Ads. If you don’t, you may bring people in by spending a lot of money on Facebook Ads, but they won’t stay. If you haven’t spent the time and effort building connections with your subscribers, building that incredibly important know/like/trust factor, they will not stay. They are not invested in you or in your business.

Facebook Ads can be incredibly effective as PART of an overall marketing strategy – not as a standalone strategy.

So, if it’s not Facebook Ads, what will make the biggest difference when it comes to growing your subscriber base?

Clearly defining your niche: consider whether you can niche down further.
Making sure your copy – all of it – is clear and conversational.
Making sure you have an effective way to capture people once they get to your website: do you have a high converting pop-up or opt-in?

I also want you to think about other organic ways to drive traffic and get new subscribers. This is traffic you do not have to pay for!

Pinterest – start using this FREE search engine/social media platform that is my #2 source of traffic!
Blog on your website – write posts regularly (monthly, biweekly, weekly).
YouTube
TikTok

Are you counting on Facebook Ads alone to grow your subscriber base? In today’s episode, I talk about the negative sides of putting all your eggs in the Facebook Ads basket and what you need to do instead. Want to grow your subscription box? Come listen!

Important Links:

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

061: What Can a Fulfillment Center Do for My Subscription Box Business? with Lessgistics Mar 16, 2022

Imagine what you could do with the time you saved if someone else handled the fulfillment of your subscription box.

As your subscription box business grows, you find yourself spending more and more time actually fulfilling those subscriptions. Packing and shipping the boxes takes time. Time you could be spending ON your business. Is there another option?

Ryan Culver of Lessgistics joined me for today’s episode to answer that question. Ryan is a wealth of information and did an amazing job explaining what a fulfillment center is, the costs involved, and whether a fulfillment center could be the right choice for your subscription box business.

Benefits of using a fulfillment center include:

Getting time back - allowing you to work on your business instead of in your business.
Not being responsible for managing a team - the people packing your boxes are managed by the fulfillment center.
Not having to be there when shipments arrive - the fulfillment center receives shipments from your vendors.
Taking advantage of the fulfillment center’s access to deeply discounted shipping charges - the money you’ll save on shipping offsets the cost of fulfillment.
Someone else does the actual packing!

At Lessgistics, Ryan and his team work with subscription box owners as partners. A subscription box owner himself, Ryan understands the importance of providing your subscribers with a well-thought-out experience. He is dedicated to partnering and communicating closely with his subscription box owner clients. As he says, “You want someone you know and trust to touch your baby.”

Ryan and I talked about the costs of renting your own warehouse space vs. using a fulfillment center and the pros and cons of each. He walked me through the costs involved and what factors you should consider when deciding if a fulfillment center is right for your subscription box business.

Join me for this episode as Ryan guides us through the process of working with a fulfillment center and the surprising ways you can save money while letting someone else handle the packing and shipping each month!

Important Links:

Find and follow Lessgistics:

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

060: Building an Audience: One Rhinestone at a Time with Stephanie Russell Mar 09, 2022

It’s important to know yourself. To know what you love, what lights you up inside, what sets you apart. Ask Launch Your Box member Stephanie Russell of Bling Owl Creations what sets her apart and she’ll tell you… she’s extra!

See, Stephanie was a pageant mom. She’s also a baseball mom. You may think those two roles don’t have much in common. You’d be wrong. Because Stephanie isn’t your average baseball mom. She’s extra. She brings the bling she LOVES so much to the ballfield… every practice and every game.

It’s that love for bling AND baseball that led Stephanie to start a subscription box for baseball moms. Moms like her who want to show their love for their children and the sport they play with some seriously blinged-out baseball wear!

Stephanie joined me for today’s episode to talk about her journey to launching and growing her subscription box.

When I first met Stephanie inside my Coaching Week, her idea for a subscription box was broad. She knew her box would be for women and that it would be all about the bling. But she was hesitant to get more specific with her ideal customer.

We talked through that hesitation. I asked Stephanie the same three questions I ask so many new subscription box owners.

What are you known for?
What are you experienced with?
What do you love?

The answers to those questions led Stephanie to realize that combining her loves for bling and being a baseball mom was the answer. That was her niche. And like I always say, the riches are in the niches. The fact that Stephanie realized success she didn’t even know was possible in the first year of having her subscription box proves just how true that is.

Stephanie and I talked about some things she can do to continue to grow her business. We talked about Facebook Ads - narrowing down her targets and running a different kind of ad, and how writing a blog can provide nearly endless opportunities for generating content and organic traffic.

Join me for this episode as Stephanie takes us through her subscription box journey. Get ready to find out what it takes to go from idea to launch to two successful, growing subscription boxes. And how much more fun everything can be when you add bling!

Important Links:

Find and follow Stephanie:

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

059: Packed with Love: Turning a Bakery into a Subscription Box with Jonica's Bakery Box Mar 02, 2022

Imagine a box of incredibly delicious baked goods arriving on your doorstep every month. Baked goods that are the stuff of dreams…

That’s the experience Jonica Thompson provides to her subscribers. Carefully curated, impeccably packed and shipped, and OMG so, so good baked goods! Jonica sent me one of her boxes for a recent Box Opening inside Launch Your Box and let’s just say my Warehouse team and I were in heaven.

I invited Jonica to join me on the podcast to do more than just talk about mouthwatering baked goods. Rather, I wanted her to share her story and to be a source not only of inspiration but of information to you. We get a LOT of questions inside Launch Your Box about shipping perishable goods.

Our interview ended up being even more fantastic than I thought it would be. Jonica shared the story of her bakery. Her current bakery is not her first attempt at starting a bakery business. And it’s not her second attempt. No, Jonica faced adversity, life challenges, and self-doubt.

Jonica didn’t let setbacks put an end to her dreams. Instead, she kept baking and waited until the time was right. She has a thriving bakery business and now also has a growing subscription box.

When it was time to add a subscription box to her business, Jonica knew she could provide an outstanding product and an outstanding experience. The one thing she didn’t know was how to pack and ship her products so they would arrive fresh and undamaged.

Jonica did research. A LOT of research. And she conducted tests. The kind of tests where she shipped boxes around the country using various types of packing materials.

The result?

A subscription box that arrives on the doorsteps of her subscribers filled with fresh, undamaged, absolutely scrumptious baked goods.

If you’ve ever thought about including perishable items in your subscription box or if you’ve found yourself needing to start over, this is a can’t-miss episode.

Join me for this episode as Jonica takes us through her journey from self-doubt to thriving bakery and subscription box owner. Get ready to find out the answers to more questions than you’ve ever thought to ask about shipping perishable goods, and learn the value of research and testing, testing, testing when trying something new!

Important Links:

Find and follow Jonica:

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

058: How a Blog Can Help My Subscription Box Business Feb 23, 2022

If you could create one piece of content that you could use at least six different ways, would you?

This question came up inside my high-level membership, Scale Your Box. We had a mini-mastermind and dug into all the things subscription box owners face when scaling their subscription box businesses. Many members admitted to struggling with “what to say” when it came to creating content.

My copywriter and I sat down with the group and talked about email marketing and the importance of nurturing your audience before and after they become subscribers.

Then, the conversation turned to blogs.

At first, my members were not excited about the idea of adding a blog to their websites or blogging regularly. But, when we started talking about how they could put one blog to work for them, they started listening. Pretty soon, heads were nodding and questions started coming quickly.

A blog can act as what we call your “hero piece of content.” That means it’s the main piece. Once you have that written, it’s all about repurposing and pulling pieces out to be used in all kinds of different ways inside your marketing strategy.

Here are six different pieces of content you can create from one hero piece of content:

Emails
LIVES
Social media posts
Pinterest pins
Podcast episodes
IG reels/TikTok videos

I challenged my members, and I challenge you, to start blogging if you haven’t. Start with one blog post a month. Once that’s going well, add a second.

Did you know a blog can help your subscription box business? In today’s episode, I walk you through creating a piece of hero content you can then repurpose in many different ways. Work smarter not harder at content creation and learn how to put your blog to work for you. Come listen!

Important Links:

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

057: Building a Subscription Box on Shopify with Nicole Jenney Feb 16, 2022

“Don’t let the tech stop you like it stopped me for a long time.” - Sarah

I knew I wanted to start a subscription box. I dreamed about it every night. I planned out all the boxes, knowing exactly what I’d give my subscribers. And exactly how much they’d love it. Yet, it took me 18 months before I launched my subscription box. What held me back? The tech.

Tech holds SO MANY of us back. It’s the number one stumbling block for members inside Launch Your Box. And I get it. But I want to help you get past that roadblock. The best way to do that? Knowledge!

I brought Nicole onto the podcast today to talk to us about what you need from a tech standpoint to start your subscription box. Nicole is one of our tech gurus inside Launch Your Box. She does SUCH a great job breaking things down and making them simple. Today, Nicole is talking to us about Shopify.

Shopify is an e-commerce platform specifically created for selling products online. Shopify is Nicole’s number one choice for new subscription box owners for three reasons.

It allows you to have your own platform - this means it will work for you NOW, when you’re new, and LATER when you’ve grown and are ready to scale.
Shopify is built for e-commerce. You don’t have to patch things together or design workarounds. Shopify is already set up to do what you need it to do.
Shopify integrates with subscription boxes with easy-to-use apps.

You will need to add an app to Shopify in order to run recurring payments. Nicole recommends Paywhirl. She raved about their customer service and new features that make it even easier to use.

Shopify is a budget-friendly option at only $29/month and is truly user-friendly. Many members of Launch Your Box have successfully created their subscription box websites using Shopify.

Because she believes in Shopify so strongly and is so dedicated to the members of Launch Your Box, Nicole developed a training course specifically for us called Shopify Simplified. This self-paced course guides you through everything you need to get the tech side of your subscription box up and running in only eight weeks. Note: you can - and people do - work through it faster!

Nicole and I also talked briefly about two other pieces of tech to have in place. You need a CRM or customer relationship management system. We recommend Klaviyo - it is the BEST for managing email lists and maintaining connections with your audience. Klaviyo also now offers SMS which allows you to take full advantage of all the benefits of text marketing. And for shipping? It’s Shipstation all the way. They make it sooo easy. My shipping process is streamlined and efficient. With one push of a button, all my shipping labels print out.

Join me for this episode as Nicole takes the fear and mystery out of tech. This is a part of your business that is too important not to pay attention to. And your subscription box dreams are too important to let tech slow you down or stop you from moving ahead. Nicole is here to help. Grab a notebook and get ready to learn!

Important Links:

Find and follow Nicole:

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

056: Are You Talking About Your Subscription Box Enough? Feb 09, 2022

Every month, I go LIVE inside my coaching membership, Launch Your Box, to open members’ subscription boxes and provide feedback. Last month, I opened some incredible boxes. I was so impressed with the creativity and care these members put into curating an experience for their subscribers, just like I taught them. What I wasn’t impressed with was how low their subscriber numbers were. With boxes that good, their numbers should have been much higher.

It was time to dig into what was holding them back. So I asked a question. And it got my members squirming. It wasn’t a difficult question, but it was an important one.

I asked them to look back at the past month and count how many times they’d talked about their subscription boxes on social media. Then, I gave them a grade based on their responses. The bad news? Many of them failed!

I know you may feel like you’re talking about your subscription box all the time, but I’m willing to bet you’re not talking about it enough. I want you to talk about it at least 2-3 times a week – 4-5 times a week is even better.

Does that sound like too much? It’s not. Trust me. Does this mean you’re posting the same post or sharing the same picture or saying the same thing 4-5 times a week? Of course not!

Here are five different posts you can create to generate excitement about your box:

Sneak Peek
Picture of the box with all the items inside
Individual picture of each item by itself (3-5 pics)
Individual picture of each item in a lifestyle image (used in its natural setting, i.e. desk, kitchen, closet, etc)
Benefits of your product, what problem does it solve

And we’re just getting started. I want to see you posting style guides, reviews & testimonials, behind the scenes (your audience will love the chance to see what goes into getting a subscription box out the door), and past boxes (hello, FOMO!).

Then there’s video – short videos and going LIVE. It all needs to be part of your monthly marketing plan to get the word out about your subscription.

Are you talking about your subscription box enough? Odds are you aren’t. But how much is enough? In today’s episode, I walk you through how much you should be posting about your box and give you lots of examples to get you started. Come listen!

Important Links:

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

055: Building a Profitable, Sustainable Business with Susan Bradley Feb 02, 2022

“Part-time work will get you part-time results.”

There’s nothing quite like sitting and talking business with someone who just “gets it.” And just gets you.

For this episode, I sat down with one of my biz besties, Susan Bradley. Susan is the founder of The Social Sales Girls as well as the past and current owner of successful online retail businesses.

Susan and I are at different stages in our businesses right now and we talked about the issues, challenges, and feelings that come with each of those stages. My business is established after years of working in it and on it full-time. Susan is in the early stages of her newest business and is only able to devote part-time hours to its growth.

We went deep. We got real. And we talked about five things we want all new entrepreneurs to know. Things you need to understand and get comfortable with in order to succeed.

Manage your expectations.
It takes time to build a profitable, sustainable business. You have to give it time.
Part-time work will give you part-time results.
The hockey stick effect - there is a point where you’ll pass the curve to catch up. (Susan is Canadian - there had to be a hockey reference in there somewhere).
Find a friend who understands. Trust us on this one.

I always learn from my conversations with Susan. And I always laugh during them. I know you’ll learn from listening to us talk and I have a feeling you’ll get a laugh or two when we share our recent misadventures in California.

This episode is for any entrepreneur, including subscription box owners, who is starting, launching, or growing a business.

Find and follow Susan:

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

054: Sourcing Tips on Alibaba with Marissa Sayers Jan 26, 2022

“Stand tall and own your buying power.”

Is this going to be the year you find new sources for products? Have you been curious about how to order products from overseas manufacturers? Are you wondering what Alibaba is and why so many subscription box owners use it to order products at great prices?

If any of those sound like you, this episode is for you. Marissa Sayers joined me to take us through the process of ordering products through Alibaba.

Marissa has a lot of experience sourcing products overseas and actually handles sourcing for my business. She does an incredible job because she is very detail-oriented and knows this process backward and forward.

Marissa gave us a detailed outline of the steps of sourcing products directly from a manufacturer.

Search Alibab.com for products
Narrow your search
Further filter your search based on delivery options (find out why you should ONLY accept DDP shipping)
Talk to several manufacturer representatives
Order samples (they cost more than you think they should)
Place order
Receive shipment

Realize this process takes time. Plan for 90-120 days to work through it from start to finish. In other words - Alibaba is not for panic buying!

It’s important to remember that at the same time you’re vetting a manufacturer, they are vetting you. Coming to them from a place of knowledge will give you confidence.

Marissa also talked about how you can work with her if you need help sourcing products. She has limited spots available to work with her and gives priority to my people. Make sure you let her know if you’re a podcast listener or member of Launch Your Box.

As a subscription box owner, you order large quantities of products every month. When you decide to step into this world of overseas sourcing, stand tall and own your buying power!

Join me for this episode as Marissa takes us through her process of sourcing products through Alibaba, step by step. You’ll learn what to look for, what to ask for, and what to never, ever compromise on. If you’re ready to source products from overseas, this is a can’t-miss episode. Grab a notebook and pen - you’re going to take a LOT of notes.

Learn how to bypass the middlemen and wholesalers by sourcing on Alibaba!

Sourcing Courses 101 & 201 - https://marissa-sayers.mykajabi.com/a/2147542513/F2huURQN

Important Links:

Find and follow Marissa:

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

053: It’s More Than Just a Box - Building a Thriving Community of Subscribers Jan 19, 2022

“This subscription has turned into so much more than a subscription to me.” - Jenny Hines

Jenny Hines designs gorgeous floral arrangements. Seriously beautiful bouquets anyone would love to give or receive.

It turns out Jenny’s talent for creating supportive communities just might be even greater than her talent for creating eye-popping bouquets.

Jenny took over the family floral business from her parents in 2018 and from the start, a subscription was something she wanted to do. She jumped right in and started the Celebration Subscription, where men chose three dates throughout the year to send flowers to their ladies and Jenny sent them on those dates. She describes that first experience in two words. Night Mare. Well, one word actually, but Jenny gives it enough weight to make it two!

Jenny put the idea of a subscription on the back burner for a while. And then COVID hit and she found herself needing to pivot. Jenny jumped in with both feet, figuring out how to run a subscription business and managing the complexities of shipping flowers.

A few months into her subscription business, Jenny found Launch Your Box and learned the way to greater growth was to move from an open to a closed subscription.

Jenny now has 86 subscribers - busy moms who forget to do something special for themselves to celebrate the small wins and beauty in their everyday lives.

But Jenny has so much more than a subscription. She has created a community of women who encourage each other, pray for each other, and walk through life together - the highs and the lows. It’s that community that is Jenny’s favorite part of her subscription box business.

Join me for this episode as Jenny takes us through the ups and downs of her subscription box journey, the time the color purple almost caused her to throw in the towel, and how building a truly special community led to a $10,000 flower order AND a family vacation when one of her members couldn’t imagine having anyone else do the flowers for her wedding.

Important Links:

Find and follow Jenny:

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

052: It’s Time to Start Your Box! Jan 12, 2022

Let’s start this year with a better plan, a plan to help you move forward because… It’s Time to Start Your Subscription Box!

Now is the time to get started the right way.

See, it’s hard to take steps forward with starting your subscription box if you can’t visualize who that box is for - your ideal customer. And if you already have a subscription box and you’re struggling with marketing, gaining subscribers, or retaining the subscribers you do have, take a closer look at your ideal customer.

I want you to describe your ideal customer in 3-5 words.

Are they a man or a woman?
Are they an adult or a child?
How old are they?
Where do they live?
Do they belong to a certain profession or faith group?
Do they have a specific hobby or love for something?

Answering these questions allows you to visualize that person. My ideal customer for my monogram box is a “Southern Busy Mom.” Can you picture her? I can! I curate subscription boxes for her every month.

Ask yourself what your ideal customer is thinking, feeling, and doing each month of the year. It’s this knowledge that will help you plan themes for your boxes before you ever start looking for products.

Once you’re able to visualize your ideal customer, it’s time to decide what kind of box to create. You have choices:

Monthly
Quarterly
Bimonthly
One Thing of the Month

There are pros and cons to each type of box. Monthly boxes are easier to market and bring in regular, recurring revenue. They are also a LOT more work. Quarterly boxes can make marketing challenging but give you time to catch your breath between boxes and may allow you to curate a more expensive, luxurious box.

A “One Thing of the Month” box is a great place to start! You’re simply providing one item each month. I have members inside Launch Your Box who have been very successful with their “one things.” T-shirts, candles, beef jerky, washi tape, door hangers, and more.

Once you’ve decided who your ideal customer is and the type of box you’re going to offer, it’s time to curate some boxes! Join me for my FREE 6 in 60 Workshop where we’ll plan six months’ worth of subscription boxes in only an hour!

Join me for this episode as I talk about how now IS the time to start your subscription box and go over the first TWO steps forward, helping you discover who your box is for and what kind of subscription box is the best choice for your business.

Important Links:

6 in 60 Workshop

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!

051: 5 Ways to Reinvest In Your Business in the New Year Jan 05, 2022

I heard a twist on the old saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” and thought it was perfect for subscription box business owners. It goes like this:

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then sell the lemonade. With the profits, buy more lemons and make more lemonade. Sell that, too. Then buy a bigger lemonade stand!

Why am I talking about lemons and lemonade on today’s podcast episode?

I’m not, actually. The point is, as a business owner, you need to reinvest in your business. This doesn’t have to mean spending thousands of dollars. It does mean making smart purchases that will allow you to grow your business.

Reinvest some of your holiday profits in one (or more) of these four areas:

Marketing - Consider paid ads, an affiliate program, or paying an influencer or blogger to review or promote your subscription box.
Technology - Is it time to upgrade your website? An improved customer experience will deliver a big ROI!
People - Hire your first VA or in-person help. Get someone to help with social media posts or give a deserved raise to a current employee.
Equipment - My Rollo printer saves me SO MUCH time and money! From an industrial printer to a t-shirt folder, any equipment purchase that helps you gain efficiency and save time delivers major ROI.

Remember, we’re talking about reinvesting profits. After you’ve paid all your expenses AND paid yourself, take what’s left and invest it back into your business. A bonus? Any asset you buy also reduces the amount of tax you’ll pay!

Join me for this episode as I talk about how reinvesting in your subscription box business makes the GROW stage in Start, Launch, and Grow your Subscription Box possible - and how using “subscription box math” helps you figure out how much to invest.

Important Links:

Links to Subscription Box Equipment:

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

050: Never Stop Audience Building - Special 50th Episode Dec 29, 2021

“You can’t just put it out there and expect it to work.” - Pam Rogers

This is a special episode. It’s our 50th episode and we’re celebrating reaching and passing 80,000 downloads! Thank you to all of you who’ve listened and shared - and special thanks for all your 5 Star Reviews! It means so much to me!

I compiled the top ten episodes for the year and found something interesting. All ten of them had a common theme - audience building.

Each of the top ten episodes - and so many others - shows us just how important audience building is. You can’t start your subscription box without an audience. And you can’t grow your subscription box business without continually growing your audience.

On today’s episode, I revisit these top ten episodes and review 5 ways my guests built their audiences.

Episode 3 - The Riches are in the Niches: Anne went specific when she created a subscription box for women dentists. She knew her ideal customer because she was her ideal customer.
Episode 14 - 4 Ways to Build Your Audience: Tiffany ran a giveaway, posted on social media consistently, made connections, and partnered with an influencer to build her audience.
Episode 31 - From an Audience of Zero to 100 Subscribers in 60 Days: Claudia posted consistently on Facebook and Instagram, created IG reels and stories, and added an early bird bonus.
Episode 33 - Small Audience, No Problem! How Amanda Built 100+ Subscribers from an Audience of 600: Amanda went very specific and served her audience before she sold.
Episode 38 - From Nurse Practitioner to Subscription Box Owner: Pam set up social media accounts, followed colleagues, and did some very creative in-person marketing when she attended a conference.

Join me for this special episode as I revisit these top ten episodes and these wonderful subscription box owners. Each of these women shared her inspiring subscription box journey with us. Each of them also shared actionable tips and strategies - things they did to grow their audiences which in turn helped them grow their businesses.

Important Links:

Links to Top-Ten episodes:

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

049: Subscription Box Predictions with Paul Chambers Dec 22, 2021

I LOVE talking about all things subscription box. It’s what I do here on the podcast every week and all day every day inside my Launch Your Box membership. But today… today is special.

Today I got to sit down and talk to my friend Paul Chambers, the co-founder and CEO of SUBTA, the Subscription Trade Association. Not only does Paul bring 20+ years of subscription box knowledge and experience with him, he’s also a super nice guy who just happens to be a big fan of Launch Your Box.

I invited him to the podcast to share his predictions about what we can expect in the subscription box industry in 2022 as well as some subscription box best practices.

Paul’s subscription box journey started when he became a partner in Gentlemen's Box, a monthly subscription that provided accessories for well-dressed, professional men who lacked the time to shop for themselves. Paul learned valuable lessons along the way, grew the subscription into an extremely successful business, and then sold it.

It was during this time that Paul and his partners were seeking out knowledge and community within the subscription industry. To their surprise, they found there were no conferences or other large networking and learning opportunities. This led to the founding of the Subscription Trade Association (SUBTA) in 2017.

Paul shared his predictions for 2022. He expects to see continued growth in subscriptions as the need that drove incredible growth in 2020 settles into new habits driven by consumers’ ongoing desire for convenience and accessibility. He also wants us to keep our eyes on new trends in tech. Rather than being intimidated by technology, Paul encourages small business owners to consider the possibilities and look for opportunities to expand subscribers’ experiences.

For 2022 - and beyond - Paul encourages subscription box owners to:

Add opt-in text messages as part of the customer journey.
Take advantage of Tik Tok’s popularity to market your subscription.
Use new technology for churn, upselling, data, and more.
Establish strategic partnerships.
Use first-party data to better understand your consumers’ behavior.
Optimize your content creation.
Use your data to personalize your subscription offering.
Give more power to your consumers when it comes to managing their subscriptions.
Focus on retaining your current subscribers.

We also talked expansion revenue and strategies to capitalize on current subscribers as a source of additional revenue. Your engaged audience has an appetite for more from you. Give it to them!

Consider:

Creating limited edition or one-time boxes.
Add an option to add complimentary pieces to a current subscription.
Curate Mystery Boxes.

In June of 2022, Sub Summit - the incredible conference put on by Paul and the rest of the SUBTA team - is coming to Disneyworld! I’ll be there along with so many of my Launch Your Box members. I’d love to see you there! Learn more and register HERE.

There is so much to learn in this episode. Hear what works and what to expect from a true leader in the world of subscriptions. Grab a notebook and a pen and get ready to soak up what happens when two people who LOVE talking subscriptions share inside knowledge and tips that will help you continue to grow your own subscription box business.

Important Links:

Find and follow Paul:

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

048: I Want to Start a Subscription Box Business - Where Do I Start? Dec 15, 2021

When you don’t know where to start, it’s easy to start in the wrong place.

You have an idea. A dream. You want to start a subscription box. But you don’t know how. So you do what everyone does. You google. It. And you find out there are all kinds of people wanting to sell you all kinds of things to help you run your subscription box business. Software, packaging, marketing tools, and more.

In the beginning, before you even get started, you don’t need any of those things. What you need is to Start The Right Way!

If you’re just starting your subscription box journey, this episode is for you! Avoid the overwhelm and start where you need to start… the beginning.

I call this first stage The Hopeful Entrepreneur because you’re full of hopes and dreams… and so many questions. There are things you need to do during this stage to start your subscription box journey off right.

Complete the 6 in 60 Workshop (Post-It Note Challenge) - identify your ideal customer and plan out your first six boxes.
Contact your local Small Business Adminstration Office - fulfill local requirements to legally set up your business.
Establish social media pages for your business - focus audience building efforts on one platform to start.
Secure a domain for your website - this will be your url.
Explore options for your website - we recommend Shopify or WordPress/WooCommerce.

Getting your subscription box business off the ground takes a lot of work. Following a step-by-step process helps you stay on track.

Join me for this episode as I walk you through this first stage of your subscription box journey, sharing tips, strategies, and resources to help you get a strong start. Don’t miss my tips about naming your business - and your subscription box. It matters!

Important Links:

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

047: Too Many Offers Can Stop Your Growth - Lessons Learned from Becca from Isle Candle Co. Dec 08, 2021

“When you try selling everything to everyone, you sell to no one.”

Today I’m excited to introduce you to Becca Slye, Launch Your Box member and co-owner of Isle Candle Co. I hope Becca’s story inspires you to keep going even when things get hard and to see mistakes and challenges as opportunities for growth.

Isle Candle Co. is a family business started by Becca’s parents. They sell specialized soy candles that transform into incredibly nourishing lotions as they burn. How cool, right? Becca’s parents operate a brick and mortar shop in a beach town in South Carolina, capitalizing on tourist traffic.

Becca and her husband got involved in the family business and decided to develop an online presence as well as open a second brick and mortar in Virginia. As Becca noticed how many repeat customers they had, the idea for a subscription box was born.

Becca’s subscription launched big. As in 135 subscribers big! For a first-time launch, that is an amazing number of subscribers! You’re probably thinking that, with a launch like that, they continued to grow their subscriber base quickly, right?

That’s not what happened.

In this episode, Becca and I get real about why, 15 months in, they’ve only added another 35 subscribers. Not exactly the growth they hoped for.

There are reasons Isle Candle Co.’s subscription box hasn’t grown like they hoped it would. Reasons like too many offers, trying to be all things to all people, and going wider instead of deeper with their audience.

We ALL make mistakes and face challenges in business. And what you’ll hear from Becca is clarity about what went wrong and determination to move forward. She got creative about selling inventory that didn’t fit with their goals moving forward and got really clear about their offer. Becca also talks about the importance of hiring help - staying in your zone of genius and letting others handle the rest.

There is so much to learn from and be inspired by in this episode. Some business owners see mistakes and challenges as reasons to shut down or not move forward. Not Becca. She’s determined to find solutions to problems and continue to move forward and grow. I have no doubt that’s exactly what is going to happen!

Important Links:

Find and follow Becca:

Facebook
Instagram
Isle Candle Co. Website

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

046: 3 Email Automations Every Subscription Box Owner Needs Dec 01, 2021

What if I told you writing six simple emails once could bring ongoing revenue into your subscription box business?

There are three email automations (also called flows or sequences)every subscription box owner needs to have in place. Write these once and they’ll work for you for a long time.

If you’ve listened to my podcast, seen me on social media, or read my blog, you know I like to keep things simple but effective. That’s why I recommend that each automation needs to be only two emails.

The three types of email automations you need are:

Waitlist flow.
New subscriber flow.
Abandoned cart flow.

Each email has a purpose. Each email contains a call to action. Each email needs to connect with your audience, engage them, and encourage them to take action.

These email automations - plus the bonus automation I tell you more about in this episode - account for a full 5% of my monthly revenue. 5%! That’s a lot of revenue coming into my business that requires no work from me. I wrote the emails once and they keep working for me… month after month.

Join me for this episode as I share more details about each of the three types of email automations you need to put in place right now. Learn what to put in each email and how to write subject lines that get noticed.

Important Links:

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

045: Journey from One Time Boxes to a Thriving Monthly Subscription Nov 24, 2021

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you served your audience first?

Today I’m excited to introduce you to Kristy Bottle, Scale Your Box member and owner of Kristy’s Craft Room. I hope Kristy’s story inspires you to get creative, serve your audience with a generous heart, and have the courage to take chances.

Kristy is a dedicated crafter who decided to take the crafting parties she hosted in her home and move them online. The Kristy’s Craft Room page on Facebook was born and Kristy started crafting live a few times each week. Her audience grew quickly as she shared cute crafts, answered questions, and interacted with her audience.

Kristy spent time getting to know her audience and serving them by sharing her love of crafts and giving them a place to connect. Soon they started asking her to sell kits containing the supplies for the projects she was working on. They wanted Kristy to sell to them. So she did.

Kristy started with one-time boxes that her audience could purchase. Once she noticed the same people were buying multiple kits, the idea for a subscription was born. Despite not knowing how to do all the things, Kristy jumped in and had the courage to do it messy. She didn’t shy away from unfamiliar technology and used text message marketing to increase sales.

The subscription grew quickly, selling out each time more slots were added. Kristy wanted to see how far this could go and knew she needed help to continue to grow. It was right about then that we met and Kristy became one of the first members of my Scale Your Box group, where subscription box owners who already have successful subscriptions learn how to take them to the next level.

The Kristy’s Craft Box subscription has grown from just over 300 subscribers to more than 600 subscribers in the last four months! What she originally hoped would be a business that allowed her to quit her full-time job and spend more time with her family has grown into a business that supports her entire family. Kristy’s husband recently left his career to join the team full-time!

There is so much to learn from and be inspired by in this episode. We talk about what can happen when you serve your audience first. Kristy also shares how important the connections made inside her community are to her members - and to her. The rapid growth of Kristy’s subscription business has been exciting to see - I know you’ll be inspired when you hear her tell her story.

Important Links:

Find and follow Kristy:

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

044: How to Handle Supply Chain and Shipping Issues Nov 17, 2021

Do you think current supply chain issues only affect big corporations?

They don’t. All business owners are dealing with supply chain issues right now. And that includes subscription box owners.

I’ve heard some subscription box owners going down the road of doom and gloom. Wondering if it’s time to just give up and throw in the towel. Um, no. It’s absolutely NOT time to give up.

It is time to problem solve, to pivot, and to plan.

If you are a subscription box owner, you WILL run into product supply problems at some point. And if you have a large subscriber base (300 or more), you still need to work with overseas manufacturers.

When you run into an issue and something you’re planning to put into a future box simply isn’t going to get to you on time, it’s time to put your problem solving hat on and get to work.

Let’s talk about five things you can do to gain control over product and shipping delays.

Work further out on buying and sourcing goods.
Fill your immediate needs with “Ready to Ship” items. Overseas manufacturers often have US warehouses full of goods available for purchase.
Connect with makers and other small businesses who can supply you with what you need.
Don’t wait too long! Problem solve shipping delays before they happen. Have backup plans for your backup plans and get in front of problems whenever possible.
If subscription boxes are late, surprise and delight your subscribers. Thank them for their patience and understanding.

The truth is, we don’t know when things are going to get better. As subscription box owners, we need to continue to get better at planning, pivoting, and problem solving.

Join me for this episode as I share practical tips and strategies you need to put in place NOW to deal with shipping and product delays. I also take you through some of my recent shipping challenges and how I solved them.

Important Links:

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

043: Taking Your Side Hustle to a Full-time Gig Nov 10, 2021

Have you thought about taking your subscription box business from a side hustle to a full-time gig?

It’s absolutely possible. I did it and so have many members of Launch Your Box.

But…

Before you quit your full-time job or make any major changes to your business, you need to ask - and answer - some questions. And you need to get really comfortable with your financial details, business and personal.

Take your time and get real about what your goals are. Are you currently working 40/50/60 hours a week and want to work less? Do you want to make more income than you have been?

The truth is, you can get there. But you’ll need to make a plan and work that plan. Start by asking yourself these four questions:

What is the income you need to replace?
What is the survival income you need to cover your bare bones expenses every month?
What portion of that survival income can be covered by someone else (spouse, parents, roommates)?
What is the initial investment you’ll need for your business (products, supplies, packaging, tech)?

Understand that your business will need to be profitable before you can pay yourself. That takes time. It took me 9 months before I was able to pay myself a regular paycheck. 8 ½ years later, I pay myself a very nice salary and also pay the salaries of more than 20 employees.

Join me for this episode as I take you on my journey from tiny side hustle making $200 a month to where I am now, running two multi seven-figure businesses, answering those questions, knowing my numbers, and making careful decisions every step of the way.

Important Links:

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

042: Consistency Pays Off with Jamie Shahan of CRNA Swag Nov 03, 2021

“Come up with a simple plan and work it!”

I am so excited to bring you my interview with Jamie Shahan, Launch Your Box member and owner of CRNA Swag. Jamie’s subscription box journey shows us what is possible when a plan, consistent engagement, and the willingness to “just do it” come together.

In addition to being a subscription box owner, Jamie is a wife, mother, proud grandmother, and a certified nurse practitioner anesthetist. In other words, she’s a busy woman!

Jamie started thinking about what she would do when she retired a few years down the road. Her mind turned to crafts and she learned how to make wreaths. The plan? To sell these wreaths. Jamie’s plan hit a snag when it took seven months to earn her first sale.

Unafraid of hard work, Jamie sought out coaches, masterminds, and all the things to figure out how to make her wreath business a success.

Then she came to my Subscription Box Coaching Week this past March. Jamie came in wanting to learn how to turn her wreath dreams into a subscription box business. But during Coaching Week, Jamie was inspired by Anne Stuccio, another Launch Your Box member. Anne is a dentist whose subscribers are female dentists. Don’t miss Anne’s interview on the podcast (listen to her episode here).

A lightbulb went off for Jamie. She realized her ideal customer for a subscription box was a female CRNA - just like her! Jamie joined Launch Your Box and was excited about starting a subscription box for hard-working female CRNAs who don’t take time for themselves.

The only problem? The only audience Jamie had was for her wreath business, and those were not female CRNAs. So, Jamie started building an audience from scratch.

She figured out where to find her ideal customer and started hanging out there with them and adding value. She slowly but steadily built connections and engagement. Jamie went through the Launch Your Box trainings, came up with a plan that fit into the time she had available, and followed that plan.

Jamie launched her box in late September. At that time she had 131 followers. Her goal was to sell out her inventory of 50 boxes. 50 boxes with only 131 followers sounds impossible. It wasn’t. Jamie planned for a three-day launch, but was sold out by the afternoon of day one! She’s now hard at work planning her next quarterly box - and this time she plans to add another 50 subscribers.

Jamie’s advice to anyone who wants to start a subscription box business is to come up with a plan, work that plan, and not be afraid to launch messy.

There is so much to learn from and be inspired by in this episode. We talk about the benefits of identifying a niche and where to find your ideal customer. We also talk about what to do once you’ve found them and the importance of being consistent AND being willing to just do it.

I know you’ll love hearing Jamie’s story!

Important Links:

Find and follow Jamie:

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

041: From 50 to 580 subscribers with Cassandra Ross of ThreadCrate Oct 27, 2021

“If you are waiting for the day you have everything perfect, you’ll never launch.”

I am so excited to bring you my interview with Cassandra Ross, Launch Your Box member and owner of Thread Crate. Cassandra’s story is full of inspiration with a side of “just do it.”

Cassandra always sewed as a hobby, getting most of her fabric and supplies from local fabric stores. When the pandemic hit and her local fabric stores had to close, Cassandra turned to online shopping. She got supplies from different vendors and quickly found herself with colors that didn’t quite match and trim pieces that didn’t quite fit.

As Cassandra thought about how to solve her own sewing challenges, she realized she could solve the same problems for many people just like her. And Thread Crate was born. Cassandra’s subscription box provides sewers with everything they need to sew a garment each month, from pattern to fabric to thread and trim. All in one box. All specially selected to go together perfectly.

It’s important to know that Cassandra started her subscription box business from scratch. As is, she didn’t have a business. She didn’t have a website. She didn’t have a social media presence or an existing audience of any kind.

What she did have was an idea and the desire to make this work. Cassandra did something I tell anyone who wants to start a subscription box business to do - she saw a need and she filled it!

Cassandra built her own website, created Facebook and Instagram accounts for her business, and got to work. She gathered email addresses via a pop-up on her website and started engaging with her audience as much as possible.

When Cassandra launched, a handful of people subscribed very quickly. Then... crickets. Her launch continued, but she wasn’t getting more subscribers. So she looked at how she was communicating with them and realized she was missing something important. Something I talk about inside Launch Your Box all the time.

Serve before you sell.

You need to provide value to your audience. Allow them to get to know you and trust you. Show them you understand their problem and have a solution. Talk about the benefits of your box and how it will change their lives.

Cassandra made some changes to her messages and ended her launch with 50 subscribers. Let’s be clear. Cassandra launched to a tiny audience. Tiny. And she ended up with 50 subscribers. That is HUGE.

But she didn’t stop there. Cassandra’s business has grown and grown over the past year. She now has 580 subscribers!

There is so much to learn from and be inspired by in this episode. We talk about getting brave and being willing to launch messy. We talk about learning from mistakes, listening to your customers, tweaking and pivoting in order to grow. Cassandra shares some challenges she’s faced along the way and we talk about continuing to scale her business and bringing in some help.

I know you’ll love hearing Cassandra’s story!

Important Links:

Find and follow Cassandra:

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

040: A Week with Sarah Oct 20, 2021

Have you ever wondered what a typical week looks like for me?

I get that question a lot and truly, there is no such thing as typical. Every week brings its own set of challenges and surprises, but I have developed a schedule to help me meet one major goal.

Leaving work by 3 PM.

I have two teenagers. And in addition to driving them to all the places for all the things, I want to be home for them. They’re getting older and my years with them at home are growing short. So… I set up my weeks to give me the best chance at leaving every day by 3:00.

Here’s a quick peek inside this week.

Monday:

Caught up from the weekend
Responded to emails
Answered questions in groups
Warehouse team meeting - planned for the week
Planned Launch Your Box schedule
Reviewed content schedule

Tuesday (Got a lot done - yay!):

Teacher subscription box went out
Box prep for monogram subscription
Started planning gift box launch
Answered questions in groups
Worked on blog content
Ordered product

Wednesday (half day):

Worked alone - creative time
Designed new teacher tee
Designed November tee
Self-care – got nails done!

Thursday:

Continued monogramming t-shirts
Looked at subscription timelines – adjusted work schedules
Started organizing sizes and bagging t-shirt for subscriptions

Friday:

LIVES! – got my hair done
Continued preparing to launch Coaching Week
Looked at hiring needs

Join me for this episode and walk with me through a week inside my subscription box business. You’ll come away with ideas about batching work, discovering your best time for deep work, and working with a team!

Important Links:

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. The membership is open for a short time - Join 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

039: Launch Tips with The Lettering Box Oct 13, 2021

Guest: Betsy Goodman - The Lettering Box

Have you ever wanted to sit in on a one-on-one subscription box coaching session?

Well, you’re in luck. Today’s episode is an interview with Besty Goodman of B Goods Lettering - a Launch Your Box member who was in the middle of launching her subscription box when we talked.

Betsy has an existing stationery and wax seal shop and also teaches hand lettering online and through local workshops. She got the idea for a subscription box last year, when she realized the ongoing practice her hand lettering students needed would be more fun if they had actual projects to complete instead of just the standard practice sheets. She tried a one-time Valentine box and it was a success.

Betsy decided to start a subscription box, joined Launch Your Box, and made it happen. Three days into her launch, Betsy posted a question inside our private Launch Your Box Facebook group. She’d had 10 people subscribe so far and wanted to know how to keep the momentum going. I could have just answered her question inside the group. Instead, I invited her onto the podcast for an impromptu coaching session!

Betsy was already doing a number of things right - she’d built up a waitlist that she continued to drive people to and had done a giveaway. She posted regularly on Instagram - driving people to her waitlist with posts teasing about her box.

There was more Betsy could do, however. And that’s what I talked to her about.

1 - Be visible.

If you’re a subscription box owner, include the link to your business in your personal profile. Let the people in your life know about your business. They already know, like, and trust you. Chances are, some of them are your ideal customers, or have friends who are.

2 - Ramp up how often you go LIVE.

Betsy had done one Facebook Live. That’s not enough. I know it can be tough to go Live - it was for me at first. But it’s so important!

3 - Share your story.

Tell your audience why you started your business. Then share your customers’ stories - what your box means to them.

4 - Show the product - make it personal.

For Betsy, I suggested demonstrating her lettering skill during a Live. She can make it personal by lettering the names of the people who show up for the Live. This creates a feeling of inclusivity and FOMO for those catching the replay later.

5 - Offer a sign-up bonus.

Successful launches need to create three feelings in buyers: urgency, scarcity, and exclusivity. Offering a sign-up bonus with an expiration gives people a reason to sign up NOW!

There is so much goodness in this episode. You're going to want to take notes as you listen - the things I coach Betsy on apply to any subscription box launch.

I can’t wait to hear the results of Betsy’s launch and to watch her audience - and her subscribers - grow!

Important Links:

Find and follow Betsy:

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

038: From Nurse Practitioner to Subscription Box Owner Oct 06, 2021

“You can’t just put it out there and it works.” - Pam Rodgers

Today’s episode is packed with so many golden nuggets!

I’m super excited to introduce you to a member of Launch Your Box!

Pam Rodgers is a Nurse Practitioner, which means her full-time job is absolutely nuts right now. Pam decided her career in medicine wasn’t keeping her busy enough and turned a love for nail polish into a home-based business.

As a child and again as a nursing student, Pam took her stress out on her fingernails. She found that by keeping her nails painted, she didn’t bite or pick at them. When Pam couldn’t find the unique colors she wanted, she started creating custom nail polish in her basement “lab.” Stella Chroma - her artisan nail lacquer and hand care company - was born.

Pam introduced a nail polish subscription - the Monthly Mystery Subscription. Subscribers received an exclusive nail polish color each month. She started with 14 subscribers and realized she needed to do something in order to grow.

Pam happened to learn about Launch Your Box right before we kicked off Coaching Week in March. She jumped into Coaching Week with both feet and joined Launch Your Box.

Pam quickly grew her Monthly Mystery Subscription to 85 subscribers! But that’s not all. During Coaching Week, Pam was inspired to create another subscription. One that had nothing to do with nail polish.

As a hard-working NP, Pam realized there were no subscription boxes just for her and her colleagues. There were boxes for nurses and boxes for doctors. But nothing for Nurse Practitioners.

The idea for The Nurse Practitioner Subscription Box was born. There was only one problem. Pam had no audience. Yet. She quickly created a presence on all the channels and got to work.

And when it came time to launch - Pam sold out her subscription in TWO HOURS!

You are going to want to hear the creative ways Pam built her audience, connecting with people just like her.

Important Links:

JOIN COACHING WEEK - starts October 17th

Find and follow Pam:

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

037: Using Short Video to Build Your Audience Sep 29, 2021

I talk a lot about the importance of audience building for subscription box owners. You have to build your audience in order to build your subscription box business.

One of the best ways to build your audience is through the use of short videos you record and use on Instagram stories and reels or on Tik Tok. These videos can also be turned into Facebook video ads. All of which help you build your audience.

Today, I’m thrilled to have one of my biz besties - and someone who does short videos better than just about anyone - on to share her knowledge with us. Tamara Bennett of Southern Adornments Decor is here!

A lifelong crafter, Tamara turned in-home paint parties she hosted while her Marine husband was deployed into an incredible business where she teaches more than 1,000 women every month to paint online.

Tamara started recording Instagram stories more than four years ago. She continues to share stories with her followers but also uses Instagram reels and Tik Tok to grow her audience and make new connections.

Tamara explained the role each video types has in your audience building strategy:

Use stories to engage with your current followers. You want to go deeper with these people who have already said, “Yes, I want to know more about you.”
Take them behind the scenes.
Show them the making of your product.
Share details of your daily life with them.
Use reels to gather new customers. Your goal is to reach out and build a bigger community. Put out content that will attract your ideal customer.
Keep reels relatable - funny works!
Build a connection - give the viewer a “that’s just like my life” moment.
Invite the viewer into your world.

Tamara LOVES Tik Tok. And she’s really good at it. Tik Tok is a great way to get people to consume more of your video content quickly. Once a viewer likes one of your videos, they’re likely to consume more. The result? You’re able to build your Know-Like-Trust factor quickly. Tik Tok is great for:

Behind the scenes
Packing a box
Product reveal
Answering audience questions on camera
Getting in on Tik Tok trends

You don’t need special video or audio equipment to do short video well. Tamara uses her phone - that’s it. She shares hints and tips about how to record videos as well as how easy it is to edit videos inside Instagram and Tik Tok.

Being on camera and going live can be intimidating. Short video is the perfect way to put yourself out there in a small way.

Tamara reminds us that we are here to serve. These videos aren’t about us. They’re about the people they will help!

Important Links:

Find and follow Tamara:

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

036: 6 Ways to Keep a Subscriber Sep 22, 2021

We’re subscription box entrepreneurs, which means when we’re not creating a unique box experience for our audience, we’re building that audience of subscribers for our box! We spend so much time getting in front of our audience and gaining those subscribers, it kind of hurts every time we lose one of those subscribers for whatever reason.

But let me ask you a question: are you also putting as much time and effort into keeping those subscribers that are in danger of leaving? This week I’m going over six ways that I’ve used to retain those subscribers who need just a little more TLC to stay satisfied customers.

Keep Things Trendy or Seasonal: How often are you changing up your lineup of items offered in your box? For me, I’m always researching new trends and thinking ahead to what holidays or seasons are coming up to keep things fresh and exciting, and that excitement is going to keep your subscribers happy.

Ask you Subscribers what they want: Simply including your audience in the decision making process can make a huge difference. Sending out questionnaires, survey’s, or however you can directly get their input can create buy-in to the whole experience that they’ll want to see through to execution.

Engage with your Subscribers: Show them that they’re a part of something larger than themselves. If you have a private group for them or do like I do and have everyone on text, ask them for pictures of them enjoying your box that you can then put up in your public group. People love to feel included, so give them a truly great experience!

Create Added Value: We always want our subscribers to feel like the VIPs of our business. Create an environment of added value that will make them feel special. You can send out subscriber only emails or add personal coupons to their box for items in your store. I find that a personal touch reaching out to my customers goes a long way.

Offer a Lower-Priced tier in your Subscription Box: The number one reason people cancel their subscriptions is because of financial reasons. Offering a lower priced tier at the point of cancellation is one way you can try to address that pressure on your subscribers to try and retain them. Sometimes they’re happy just to have the option, and that way you can try to get them back to a full subscription when their situation changes for the better.

Billing and Follow Up: It’s not the sexiest or most fun thing to do, but you’d be surprised at how keeping track of any billing issues or missed payments can make a huge difference in managing subscriber turnover. Sometimes payments are missed because of card changes, or changes in addresses, or whatever the case may be, and sometimes your subscribers get so caught up in the day-to-day that they forget to fix those issues. Reminders and follow-up can eliminate so much of that.

Make sure to always keep an eye on your retention rate. If it starts to slip and fall below 80%, that’s an issue you need to address quickly before things get out of hand. There’s no better time to start repairing things than right away!

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

035: We All Start from Scratch – How Donna Ended her First Launch with 65 Subscribers! Sep 15, 2021

Everyone starts somewhere in this subscription box business. Sometimes you start with an audience ready and waiting for your box (if you’re already online), and sometimes you must build your business and audience from nothing. That’s where Donna Prudhomme started with her Plan, Lead, Educate box, but with a little Launch-Your-Box knowhow and some hard work, she was able to build her launch base to 65 subscribers! This week she joins me to tell the story of her first launch and how she put aside her fears and worked toward her success.

The Top can be Lonely

Donna works in education, but not at the teacher level but at the leadership level. She saw all the different boxes that were geared toward teachers and realized that there wasn’t as much of a support system for those women in leadership positions. She found her ‘why:’ an area for opportunity and a community that needed some good old-fashioned TLC.

“I (tried) to find something for leaders and public-school education. I really want to hone in on public school education because we face different challenges. And I didn't really find anything. So, I said, well, I need to create something. I don't know what I'm going to create. I just need to create something.” – Donna

Get Out of Your Own Way and Do It

Building an audience and getting to launch is one of the least-sexy things that we do but I can’t stress how crucial doing the work is to have a successful launch. Donna realized this and put in the work necessary to get her to where she wanted to be with subscribers. We’ve talked about doing a giveaway to build up your email list, being active on multiple social media platforms, and most important, going live and getting in front of your audience.

“I said, I have to do this, let me just jump on Facebook Live. (I told myself) I just have to do it because I tried to stay away from it. But I felt like if I actually showed myself in front of my brand, that people will relate. And so, once I jump(ed) on Facebook Live, putting myself out there, I received so much positive feedback from other educators like, ‘Yes, thank you for doing this, oh, we need this.’ That actually drove my momentum.” – Donna

One last thought from Donna that I thought everyone needs to hear:

“Your box will not be for everyone, but it will be for someone so give yourself grace.”

You can find Donna and her Plan, Lead, Educate box at: https://planleadeducate.com/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

034: Maximize Your 4th Quarter Sales Sep 08, 2021

The Fourth Quarter is coming, and you know what that means: the busiest shopping days of the year. If you haven’t started preparing, now is a great time to start. This week’s podcast is all about maximizing your selling potential for the holiday and really using the audience and subscriber base that you’ve already built to do it. I’m going to give you five ways to use the resources that you have to give more gift options for your subscription box.

The Holiday Gift Box

This is not one of your regular subscription boxes, but a one-time box that your subscribers can buy either for someone else. A holiday box can be a great way to expand your subscription base by including ways for the person it was gifted to sign up to your regular service. These should be presold beginning in October or early November to pull in as many sales as you can as well as give you time to pull in as much inventory as need to get these shipped out.

New Subscriber Launch – Special Promotion

This is another promotion that you’re going to want to do early in the October to November timeframe to pull in people who are still shopping for themselves before the end of the year. You want to start promoting this before the noise of the holidays drowns you out. This is meant to get your audience excited about your upcoming boxes and gives you a chance to offer some free gifts for subscription to snag some good subscriptions before the end of the year.

Gift Subscriptions

This is one of the easiest things that you can do, and it’s one of my favorite things because it’s so easy! Gift subscriptions are a promotion I usually run around Black Friday and it’s the only time of year I offer either six month or 12-month subscription starting in January - you read that right! You can sell some subscriptions (with a free month for a 6-month subscription, or two for 12-months) and have the money up front as well as not having to move on it until the first of the year. This is great to have some piece of mind for the slow months after the holidays without having to move on them right away.

Curated Boxes

Having excess inventory is the nature of the beast when you’re a subscription box owner. Time to put that inventory to use! You can mix and match those left-over items into new boxes for gift items for people looking for that extra gift set. Give these boxes new names and don’t be afraid to get creative but remember that you’re not building a brand-new box, but a specialized one from items that have come before.

Mystery Boxes

What about the inventory from Christmas that was left over? Selling mystery boxes made up of that inventory is a great way to move it out to your audience. This isn’t about re-selling old boxes but using pieces from various boxes to create something new and exciting as a gift. It’s a great way to offer a clearance type item and send out whatever’s left after Christmas!

I don’t recommend doing all of these at once but putting together 2-3 options for the holidays can be a great way to really be efficient with your sales and generate that positive interest with your audience!

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

033: Small Audience, No Problem! How Amanda Built 100+ Subscribers from an Audience of 600 Sep 01, 2021

One of my favorite things that I’ve learned since starting the Launch Your Box group is how many unique kinds of subscription boxes are out there. This week I’m talking to Amanda Stucky, founder of the Mandy Lynn Plans Box, and her box is all about stickers made specially for Hobonichi Planners. What are Hobonichi Planners, you ask? That’s the same question I had coming into this week’s podcast, and Amanda was more than gracious enough to share with me what her niche was and how she started out the gate with 100 subscribers!

Riches are In the Niches

If you’re not in the know yet, Hobonichi Planners are a specific kind of planner from Japan that can be specialized by their owners in tons of different ways. Amanda is part of a community of creators who customize their planners and got her start on Youtube showing off her works. The seed of her subscripton box was born when she started modifying stickers to fit in her planner:

“I found this hobo Nietzsche, and I was watching all these planner videos of people using their stickers, but I couldn't find anybody using stickers and a Hobonichi cousin (planner). So, what I would do is I would take the stickers made for the Erin Condren (planner) and I would put them on my planner, and I would use an exacto-knife and a ruler and slice off the piece that I didn't like so it fit perfectly.”

This is exactly what I mean by “riches in the niches.” Amanda was able to build an audience of 600 followers, 100 of which have been subscribers to her M.L.P box from launch, just off of creating stickers for a certain kind of life planner! She has been so successful that her husband quit his job as an engineer to help her out!

“My husband has a lot of the behind-the-scenes work, and it means, first, that he won't have to work as many nights and weekends. He's been very involved with the business from the very beginning. And so, we're going to get our family time back. And that means a lot.”

Amanda and her family were able to change their lives over stickers! If that isn’t inspiration to get out there and start your own subscription box, well then I’ll just keep on bringing you more stories and tips and tricks every week anyway!

You can find Amanda and the Mandy Lynn Plans box at her Youtube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDi2GP6S-SjtJa4Kih9hxIw or https://mandylynnplans.com/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

032: How to Find Products for Your Subscription Box? Aug 25, 2021

You have an idea for a subscription box and you’re excited to start building it for your audience. But where are you going to get all the items you need for a price that doesn’t break the bank? Or maybe you’re already sending your box out, but you’ve increased your subscriber base to the point that you need to start thinking about ordering in bulk. That’s the subject of this week’s episode, where I’m going to show you that there’s more than one way to fill a box.

Where to Source

Deciding what supplier to go with is really what kind of scale you’re looking for as well as your need to diversify your supply chain. When you start to scale up, having more options is going to be better for your schedule as well as your piece of mind to make sure you’re getting what you need for each shipment. Here is a list of sources you can use to help keep you stocked and ready to ship:

Local Shops – The ability to support business owners in your own area is invaluable, especially when you’re starting out small.

Facebook Wholesale Groups – There’s likely going to be a Facebook Wholesale group for whatever you’re looking for. It’s a good idea to look around and see what you can find, and it’s easy to join when you do find a group that might work.

General Wholesale and Vendor Sites – These are sites that cater to buyers in need of wholesale and often carry many different brands. There is a need to prove that you are a business in need of wholesale, so take care to see what kind of requirements are needed to become a member of the site.

Markets or Trade Shows – These are scheduled events that happen across the country where hundreds of vendors come to connect with buyers. These are great to get hands on with companies looking to supply all kinds of businesses and are a great place to network with other businesses as well. Here are some resources for details on shows:

https://nynow.com/

https://dallasmarketcenter.com/

https://www.lasvegasmarket.com/

https://www.americasmart.com/

http://www.greatrep.com/TradeShows.aspx

White Label with a Private Lender – Partnering with a vendor to create custom products can be a huge way of getting unique products without having to do all of the sourcing and shipping yourself. Markets/Trade Shows are a great way to connect with vendors to partner with and start a white label line.

Global Marketplace – Sites like Alibaba or Indiamart are a great way to lower costs for items. However, since the items are coming from overseas, you’ll need to give them more lead time when ordering, and it can be affected by global bottlenecks, but they are a great place for sourcing.

Sourcing Services – Companies that specialize in sourcing supply for companies. These services can be great when you need a large volume of items as they can leverage their relationships with suppliers to get you what you need when you need it.

There are so many resources available to subscription box owners to get your products at scale for a price to keep you in business. Don’t be afraid to diversify, because you’ll find that once you have many sources for the items you need, it’s going to be much easier to keep you piece of mind and your business in the positive.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

031: From an Audience of Zero to 100 Subscribers in 60 Days Aug 18, 2021

This week I’m speaking with Claudia Ramos, founder of Shabbyboxes.com, about her unique story: how she went from having a box, to shutting it down, to launching a brand-new box and building to 100 subscribers in 60 days. How’s that for an attention getting headline! We talked about what she did to achieve this and how engaging with your audience is so important to building your subscriber base.

From Zero to Subscription Hero

Claudia had initially started off with another box related to her work as an independent designer with a crafting company. By the time she was informed by corporate that she wasn’t allowed to have a box associated with the company, she had already gotten a taste of the recurring revenue that a subscription box is known for.

“It was two months of ‘Wow, this money hit my bank on the first of the month.’ And I know that this can be something great. So, I had to pivot, and I had to do it quickly because I didn't want to lose that momentum.”

Claudia acted quickly. She already had an idea for a new box, one geared toward teachers, and since it was June she was on a timeline to build an audience for the box and release it at the start of the school year.

So, I started with brand new social media, Facebook, Instagram. I'm not very Instagram savvy, my primary social media platform is Facebook, and I'm very comfortable with it. I'm going to start from zero and I'm going to start posting. I listened to your podcast and your training about reels, and I started doing them, and I felt silly. I felt like, this isn't gonna work. But what they did, you know, one of my reels got over 10,000 views.”

She trusted in herself and her brand enough to know that the audience would come to her if she was active with it. She stepped out of her comfort zone and worked hard to build her audience in time for her launch and was able to end up with over 100 subscribers by the time school started. It’s all about getting in front of your audience and really showing them you and what you’re an expert in and building those enthusiastic fans that’s going to push you towards wild success.

You can find Claudia and her Tee(Cher) Box on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/teecherbox/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

030: A Journey from Self Doubt to 1000 Subscribers Aug 11, 2021

There is so much that can get in the way of our journey to success, but nothing stops us more than the doubt we put on ourselves. We all have pitfalls in our past and struggles in our present that threaten to make us think less of ourselves, especially when we’re trying to create something and share it with the world.

The truth is that all the parts of our past, the good and the bad, are just parts of the story that makes us unique and helps us to be successful, not only as entrepreneurs but also at living our lives to the fullest. That’s what Lo Hixson realized when she created her Passion & Growth box and she’s my guest this week to tell her story from self-doubt to success!

Living Our Stories

Lo’s story begins right at her birth when she was born with a tumor on the right side of her face. She came from a place where from the very start, the world seemed like it was ready to box her in with doubts about herself and who she was. “So, from a very young age, I felt like that was my story. My story was written, I felt like before I could even talk like I was this baby who had this tumor who had surgery and had a deformity from a very young age.”

It took her a long time and many procedures to finally come to grip with this side of herself, and when she finally was ready to move on she threw herself into it. “That was kind of a line in the sand that I drew that I was like, enough is enough. I've personally been through a lot with this, I am ready to start accepting that, this is okay. It's a part of me, and I've been through a lot. And there's a new journey that has to start here.”

She became a nurse, to help others through the same thing she had struggled with but continued and came up with the idea for a subscription box based on empowerment and self-love to share what she had learned from her own story. “I said, I’m made for more. I don't know what that looks like yet, but I know that I'm put here to do more than what I've been doing. I have struggled with so much and all of us have our struggles and our trauma, and the things that are holding us back.”

Lo’s story is about overcoming the obstacles life can set in the way for us and rising above them to accomplish great things. Your story is what makes you unique and that’s why you’re the perfect person to bring something new into the world, to create your own business that shows off what beautiful thing that makes you one of a kind.

You can find Lo and her Passion & Growth box at: https://passionandgrowth.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/passionandgrowth/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

029: Maximize the Value of Your Small Audience Aug 04, 2021

When you’re just starting out your business, one of the things you dream about is getting followers and growing your audience. We get so stuck on the idea that only way to be successful is to have a huge following, that we’re not maximizing the following that we already have. Success doesn’t come from having a bunch of followers that just look at your posts and don’t buy anything, it comes from having an engaged audience and from having the right audience and not just any audience.

When We are For Anyone, We’re for No One

I want to do all the things all the time. It comes from being a creative person, and I’m sure if you’re reading this you sometimes feel the same way! But this is a trap we can fall into that spreads us too thin to really make the impact that we want. We need to concentrate on what makes us unique and experts at what we do. Think about what drove you to start your subscription box in the first place, what it’s all about. That’s what people are showing up for, and the more engaged you can make the audience that you have, the more that audience will be worth to your business.

Develop your Audience into the Right Audience

Be Known for Something: What are you the expert at? What makes you happy?
Show Up: Get in front of your audience with training and Live sessions.
Serve Before You Sell: What value are you providing to your audience? Know what that is first.
You Don’t Have to be Extreme; you Just Need to be Consistent: Don’t try to do all the things! Pick a few that you are good at and can be consistent with.
Love on Your People! Help your audience feel seen and heard, and they’ll keep coming back.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

028: How My Subscription Boxes Got Ran Over – And I’m Not Mad About It! Jul 28, 2021

No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we think about and plan for every possibility, something is going to go wrong. Don’t worry! It happens to all of us at one point or another. Being a business owner means that you need to be ready for when the worst happens, because how you deal with that situation can mean the difference between really stretching those problem-solving skills and becoming completely derailed.

Don’t Let it Break You, Let it Make You

The truth is that things are going to happen that are out of your control. My story this week about my boxes being scattered all across the road is definitely one of those situations. Murphy’s law has a way of striking when you’re least expecting, so we as business owners need to be ready to pick up the pieces and move forward. The important thing to remember is that this is your business. You built it from the ground up, and nothing is going to keep you from being successful. But you’re not in this alone!

One thing I love about the group we have, all of us subscription box owners, is to be able to fall back on each other to help us through those times when the problems seem overwhelming. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Take that time to breathe in and calm your nerves, because we all need that sometimes, but use it to right yourself and clear your head for the task in front of you. Don’t let the unexpected break you, let it make you and show you what you really are capable of.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box group at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

027: Inventor, Patent Holder, and Subscription Box Owner Jul 21, 2021

Subscription Box owners come in all shapes and sizes, with all kinds of different products imaginable. The Creative Soul Box is no exception, with its owner Julianna “Jewel” Avelar not only curating a box with different jewel projects every month, but also creating and patenting the loom used to create the jewelry. She joined me this week to talk a little about her journey from working alongside creative people to developing her own creative business.

“The Mother of Invention”

Jewel herself learned how to use bead looms and worked in the crafting industry for years before coming up with the idea for the Jewel Loom. She went through the process of design, cataloging, and worked through the paperwork to properly copyright it, and was able to get it into crafting stores across the nation.

“I had all my ducks in a row, though. I had the CAD drawing that went to the patent attorney, and I knew I had to have a good patent attorney. So, I hired an attorney, and we went through all of his investigating, and he then said this is how I think we should approach this.”

Jewel started her journey thinking of a new way to do things that was more efficient. We talk frequently about being the expert in your field, someone who knows your product or craft inside and out. Coming up with a new way to do things is a surefire way of getting that credibility!

Expanding Her Line and Starting a Subscription Box

Jewel would go on to come up with further loom ideas, but also found that she could further engage with her audience by starting a subscription box. With the Creative Soul Box, she connects directly with her customer base and gives them new ideas on how to use her products. She’s also finding that the audience feedback has been so positive, and it’s that added boost that we as creative entrepreneurs can really affect the world around us and keep us positive through those highs and lows that life might throw at us.

“It's a blessing, and I'm so grateful. Every morning I wake up and see what people are creating on the Jewel Loom and I just flip out. It's super amazing to know that people take your product and express themselves with it, and I think that's just a huge gift. I don't take it for granted at all.”

You can find Julianna and her Creative Soul Box at: https://www.juliannaavelar.com/jewelloom

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

026: 5 Ways to Scale Your Subscription Box Business Jul 14, 2021

This episode: you’ve done it! You’ve come a long way since your first launch, and you’ve built the foundation of your business but now it feels like you’ve hit a plateau in growth. Well, let me first say Congratulations! Your business is a success, but now it’s time to smooth out the ragged edges of your business and scale up to the next level. Here are 5 things I’ve learned on how to scale your business and smooth things out.

Develop a Multi-Channel Marketing Plan

First things first: you have to keep growing your customer base, and the best way to do that is build a multi-channel marketing plan. You may have found success on one social media platform, but now it’s time to expand to all the others. Having a plan to expand your online presence platforms will help you reach new people who may not have heard of you if you were only advertising on Facebook or Instagram. You need to keep the top of your customer funnel full so you can keep working toward them becoming a subscriber.

Optimize your Inventory

Streamlining your inventory is so important. When you’re first starting out, you’re desperate to get your hands on enough inventory to send out. Now that you have established yourself, you need to work on a plan to get the most out of your inventory so it’s working for you and not against you. Leverage your buying power and work out the best deals with your vendors, things like net terms, or pay upon shipping. Take the time to work out the best plan for your particular situation.

Streamline Fulfillment

Depending on the complexity of your box, you may want to consider using a fulfillment center to handle your packing and shipping needs. I considered using fulfillment with my box, but ultimately decided that there was too much customization involved in my Monogram box and that I needed more control in my own space. So building that space so it’s efficient for what I need is so important to getting those boxes out to my subscribers.

Improve Retention Strategies

We are so concerned with getting new subscribers that sometimes we forget to keep the ones we already have. You’ve already invested so much to get them to be a subscriber, it’s only right to take care of that investment! Having someone on your team dedicated to retention can go a long way to improving your churn. Information is power in this regard, so knowing your retention rate is crucial to keeping it as high as possible. Click here to use my retention rate calculator.

Create Raving Fans!

One of the best ways to grow is by word of mouth. Having fans that are totally invested in you and your business will go out and advocate for you to their friends and family, and so on and so on. They are your cheerleaders, and they love being part of your community. Make sure you’re still engaging with them by doing your live sessions, growing those affiliates, and getting in front of your audience and connecting with them.

Growth is not something to be afraid of as long as we’re prepared for the next step! Making your business run efficiently will help you to keep loving what you’re doing and become an even greater success with your own business.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review and drop me a line letting me know what your favorite episode is! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

025: How Sarah Revived a Dwindling Subscription Jul 07, 2021

One of the hardest lessons that we as business owners have had to learn from 2020, it’s that business can change drastically in no time at all. A product that may have seen steady sales before can suddenly turn into dwindling subscriptions. That’s the situation that Sarah, founder of the Redheaded Camel, found herself in with one of her subscriptions, and it left her thinking that maybe it was the end of that part of her business. But that doesn’t need to be the end of the story! We’re going to talk about some ways to bring back those former customers and have a successful (re)launch of your shrinking line.

(Re)Generate Interest

The sad fact is that cancellations can happen for a number of reasons, ranging from the customer no longer finds value in your product to the possibility that they see their subscription as something they can cut when money is tight. In that case, there is still opportunity to win back their business, but it’s going to take some work on your end to get them excited for your product again. In that case, it’s time to go all in again and put your energy into generating interest to get those big results.

Cancellations are warm leads. They’ve already seen the value of your product, so to get them back you need to remind them of why they subscribed in the first place. A great way to start is with a concentrated email campaign to your list. That’s what Sarah did when she saw her sales decline, and pushed those customers to her waitlist:

“If people cancel their membership, they might still be on our email list so they might still see something. We had been growing the email list for about two years and then about four weeks before we opened the clubs to the public, we decided to really start to push that waitlist again…I can tell you that our conversion rate for the waitlist was significantly higher than usual. I think part of that was because of the excitement that we were generating.”

Always remember to leave off with a call to action. My favorite is the early bird special to keep your product at top of mind and create that urgency to get on the waitlist early to get a good deal. Be creative!

Affiliate (where you can!)

Work your network if you can! If you know of another influencer who has an audience that likes similar products to yours, you can reach out and see if you can send over some product and possible affiliate with them. Sarah was able to pick up a significant amount of new subscribers this way:

“I contacted a couple of people who I knew their followers and their people on their social media, loved graphic tees, they were already in that market. So, I contacted them and said, can I send you a free shirt? And maybe you share it, I'll give you a code where you get a certain percentage of every single sale for the life of that subscription. I figured I'll ask and the worst they could do is say no. And they said yes!”

Don’t be afraid to try something new, but don’t try to do all the things at once. Email, early bird specials, affiliates, all of these are things you can keep trying to generate interest and keep those sales going!

You can find Sarah and her T-shirt club and Door hangers at https://www.theredheadedcamel.com/ and on social media at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRedheadedCamel

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theredheadedcamel/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

024: What Can a Virtual Assistant do for my Subscription Box Business? Jun 30, 2021

We’re subscription box entrepreneurs, which means we’re motivated by success and ready to take on new challenges as they arise. But we don’t need to take on these challenges alone! Behind the scenes we can have a support system to help us stay on track and even expand without getting overwhelmed. This week we’re talking about how Virtual Assistants can help take on some of those tasks and next level your business.

Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants are independent contractors who work flex schedules and have a negotiated set of hours they would commit to working on tasks that you would need from them. Being independent contractors means that while you are hiring them to help you with your business, you’re only taking them on for a set number of hours or specific tasks rather than hiring a full-time employee which can be more flexible to your budget and specialized for what your business needs are.

3 Task Buckets: Admin, Creative, and Tech

VA’s are best used when you have certain tasks in mind for them, and some VAs specialize in certain tasks over others. I like to break what a VA can do for you into three task buckets: admin, creative, and tech. With Admin, you can find VAs to help you with customer service work such as answering service emails, especially cancellations like we spoke about in a previous podcast. They can also help with billing issues and bookkeeping, or really any of the nuts and bolts of running a successful business.

On the Creative side, this can entail the designing of those customer facing marketing materials. Graphic design VAs can help build graphics for social media, custom emails, newsletters, worksheets, or e-books and make them look good to reflect how you feel about your business to your customers. They can help you brainstorm to figure out those ideas that you might have a blind spot to and having a professional for the creative side of business can go a long way.

Tech focus tasks are a huge help getting you up to date on the latest and greatest tools available to entrepreneurs. Maintaining the back end of your website, integrating waitlists to email lists, optimizing website-plugins and making sure they’re working properly... these can be hair pulling to learn if you’re not tech savvy, so why not get help with it?

Where to find a VA

Finding the right VA for your needs takes a little bit of footwork but pays off huge. Finding Facebook groups for what tasks you might need are a good place to start as VAs are in those groups soliciting for work. As with hiring anyone, make sure you interview with the person to see if your values match up and be ready to take that leap if things work out. You can also try to find a VA through Emily Reagan’s portal on her website, which we spoke about on the episode. Good Luck!

Hiring a VA through Emily Reagan: https://emilyreaganpr.com/virtual-assistant/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

023: We All Need a Reset - How Alissa Started a Subscription Box While Working Full-Time Jun 23, 2021

We all have our reasons for starting our own businesses. Maybe we want a steady source of income, or a creative outlet and connections with a like-minded audience or breaking away from the corporate lifestyle. But I think the thing that connects us all is a want to do something meaningful with our lives and make true those dreams we’ve had about the independence of running a business for ourselves.

“I made a vow that I would not walk out of 2020 the same way I walked into it.” - Alyssa

My guest this week is Alyssa Scuderi, founder of the WANTA Reset box for women, to talk about how owning her own business has been a dream of hers since she was a little girl. “I remember my brother and I being young in mom and dad's kitchen, and we're squeezing orange juice and talking about how we can turn it into a business. So, we were coming up with business names and strategizing our business, as much as young kids can strategize.”

Fast forward to 2020: a year that changed everything for everyone. Like many of us, Alyssa found herself working from home and with her kids full time. Without her work commute and a ‘rushed life’, she ended up with extra time on her hands that she wanted to use to its full potential. “I made a vow that I would not walk out of 2020 the same way I walked into it.” With support from her friends and family, she decided to start her own business and see where it took her!

As entrepreneurs, we have a drive to make a difference in our community and the world around us through our ingenuity and know-how. The year 2020 was hard on us all and shook up the status quo. Alyssa saw this as an opportunity to reset and re-calibrate not only herself but her community, to change things for the better and seize the opportunity to realize the dream she’s had since she was little of owning her own business and being her own boss. So now I challenge you: what’s holding you back from realizing your dreams and how can you come out of this year different than you came into it?

You can find Alyssa and the WANTA Reset Box at:

https://thewantabox.com/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

022: Is FEAR Holding You Back? Jun 16, 2021

This week my guest is LYB OG Debbie Poole, founder of the Create Happy Box, and we’re talking about fear. Starting your own subscription box business is a risk and taking on risk means having to deal with fear. Fear is that thing deep inside all of us that all entrepreneurs will need to be able to deal with, because that fear follows you through your whole business. We need to be able to identify that fear and to know it for what it is so that we can deal with it and move forward.

Know Your Fears

When it comes to starting your new business, launching a subscription box, or moving on to the next step, we’re going to have our doubts dancing around our heads trying to stop us from progressing. It’s not only at the beginning of our launch, but all through the process:

-Fear of Failing

-Fear of Not being good enough

-Fear of Disappointing others

-Fear of Cancellations

-Fear of Being Successful and Growing

As you can see, fear can follow you all the way through your business cycle, and even make you afraid to succeed too much! But if we know what fears we may encounter, we can be ready for them.

The first and best way to overcome and beat this fear is to do the steps. Build your audience, do the live videos and become an expert in the skill your box is going to be about. Once you have your audience, make sure you’re listening to what they want. Debbie asked her audience what they wanted in a box, and they were ready to tell her. “I began asking my ride or die customers what they wanted, questions like what kind of projects, paints or no paints…all the questions.”

Remember, don’t try to be all the things! Your audience will tell you what they want and if you listen, you can build a box that will fly off the shelves. But you need to also remember that you’re not going to please everybody all the time. There will be cancellations, but if you keep developing your business, there will be growth to replace those cancellations.

It can be easy to let fear stop your progress, but it can also help you keep your focus if you know it for what it is. Follow the steps and do the work to build your audience, listen to them when they tell you what they want, and be ready for the future of your business and remember, don’t let anything hold you back!

You can find Debbie and the Create Happy Box at:

https://www.paintandwood.com/pages/the-diy-tiered-tray-create-happy-box-waitlist

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

021: Sarah’s Framework for a Live Unboxing Jun 09, 2021

One of my favorite things that I get to do with my subscription box each month is a live unboxing video. It’s a super fun way to engage with your audience and show not only your subscribers but also potential subscribers what kind of products are coming in your box and why you personally selected them. It can be a great community event that everyone can be involved in through comments and questions.

If you’ve never done one before, hosting a live event can seem a little scary especially if you don’t know where to even begin. In today's episode, I’m going to share with you a step-by-step process on how to create an unboxing live event and take out the uncertainty so you can focus on having fun!

Prep Work:

Set a Date
Setting the Stage
Create a Hook

During the Video:

Encourage Engagement with your Audience
Tell the Story of Your Box
Show off Your Ultimate Box with all the things!
Call to Action
Conclude and Follow Up with Everyone

Follow these steps and remember to have fun with it! Remember, this is your chance to show off the box you’ve put so much time into and engage with your subscribers. This is what having a subscription box is all about, and the closer you are to your audience the better business you’ll have.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

020: Create Ads that Stop the Scroll Jun 02, 2021

A huge part of running a successful subscription box business is marketing yourself through effective online ads. Many of us turn to Facebook to run ads, but it can be frustrating to try and read through the data to see if those ads you paid for are actually working for you. On this week’s podcast joining me is my biz bestie Susan Bradley, owner of the Social Sales Girls, to help us figure out what works with ads and teach us that a successful ad doesn’t always equal a sale.

“You Need 3000 Web Visitors a Month to Get One Sale” - Susan

The whole point of running Facebook ads is not “run an ad, get a sale.” It’s to keep your brand and your business at the top of people’s minds and drive them to your store page. A successful ad is one that gets people to stop scrolling and read the copy that accompanies it and attracts them to click through and go to your store site.

There are three types of Ads that are the most important for product sellers, and each have a different role to play in attracting people to your product.

Engagement Ads: These ads are successful when they build your audience and extend your reach with a cold audience. These ads help spread the word of your brand with those audiences that will potentially like or share the ad because it has piqued their interest.

Conversion Ads: When you’re ready for people to take action on your product, like when your cart is open and you’re in the middle of building a sale, conversion ads should help drive those engaged customers to your site over and over and start looking at signing up for your list or start thinking hard about buying your product.

Lead Ads: This is when your customers are at their warmest, they know about you, they’ve seen the product, and they’ve signed up for your email list. You want to be sending them content that will engage them with your product and your site, and really help them make that last leap and make them part of your audience that’s ready to subscribe.

It’s important to remember that not all ads are created equally, and success is more than an ad for a sale! They each have a purpose in getting potential customers to your website and warming them up to becoming a return subscriber. Having a strategy behind your ad buys is going to give you that peace of mind you need about the future of your business, and keep your audience growing and your sales increasing.

Traffic Bootcamp Live with Susan Bradley

Get your ideal audience excited & clicking on a budget that won’t break the bank.

Live Event Starts June 13th

Sign up at:https://classroom.thesocialsalesgirls.com/a/2147488425/zgW6HoFL

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

019: 250 Subscribers in 2 Months with an “Ugly” Box May 26, 2021

This week I’m joined by Amy Baughman, founder of the Power Serging Subscription Box, who was so kind to talk with me about her box and realizing that things don’t need to be perfect to launch. Sometimes we get into our own heads about when is the perfect time to launch, or that the box isn’t ready, or whatever reason you might come up with. With these things rolling around in our heads making us crazy, it might just be time to launch “ugly,” or to put yourself and your box out there and keep moving forward.

The Riches are In the Niches

Amy has been in business for 30 years and has been an expert in her industry for a long time. She saw a need in her community for Serger Machine education and materials and created her Power Serging box to help fill that need. “I did a little bit of research. There are tons of quilt quilting boxes out there or fabric boxes out there; even on the embroidery side, there's some powerful embroidery people out there that have a great online business that are now sending kits. And I thought, well, let's go where nobody else has gone.”

Amy identified a need and built a box around that need. She built an audience out of that and was able to leverage that into a waitlist that was eager to get started with her box. That’s an incredible amount of progress, but with that progress can come doubt on whether you’re really ready, or if there really is the demand out there that you think there is.

Perfection can be the Enemy of Progress

The need to have everything be perfect can almost be like a stop sign to the progress we’ve already made. It’s that drive for perfection that makes us the successful entrepreneurs we are, but the key is not to let it slow you down. Amy put herself out there not knowing how things might go and jumped from 150 subscribers in her first month to 250 in her second month. “I thought, well, let's just stick a landing page out there and see who wants to sign up. I thought it would just be my local people, but they posted to their Facebook groups, and all of a sudden, there was like 100 people, 120 people, 150 people.”

Remember, if you’ve done the legwork and built the audience, they’ll tell you what they’re interested in if you’re willing to listen. Even an “ugly” launch can be successful, so get moving on your own idea!

You can find Amy and the Power Serging Box at:

https://www.amybaughman.com/ and https://amysews.com/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

018: Protecting Your Energy May 19, 2021

When running your own business, it’s a guarantee that you’re going to get cancellations and negative feedback. Unfortunately, you can’t please all of the people all of the time, and some of those people are only more than willing to let you know how much they didn’t like your product, your service, or whatever might be on their mind at that moment. Managing these kinds of customer service issues can get inside your brain and make you doubt yourself and your business, sapping away the mental energy that you need to run your business successfully.

Looking for my Retention Rate Calculator? Access it here: https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/blog/6-tips-to-navigate-cancellations-in-a-subscription-box-business

Managing Cancellations and Negative Feedback

As Business owners, it’s up to us to deal with things like cancellations and negative feedback professionally as well as take care of ourselves and our mental well-being. Here are some tips to managing negative feedback and protecting your energy to keep you positive:

Give it to Someone Else. If you’re at the point in your business where you have a VA or assistant you can delegate responses to, do so. Putting a buffer between yourself and those kinds of customer service issues can help keep it impersonal but professional.

Reset Yourself. If you feel that negativity getting to you mentally, step away from it physically. Take a walk, run a bath, do something that helps you disconnect from the stress of work. Sometimes we just need a moment away for our brain to reset and get us back to our best self.

Remember: It’s Not about You, It’s about Them. You never know what a person is dealing with, especially in these situations. They might feel they need to cancel because of any number of reasons, and for those negative comments that get sent your way, you might just be an easy target for them to vent frustration that they otherwise feel they can’t express. Use that perspective to try not to take these issues personally.

Keep Reminders of Positive Feedback Visible. Remember, for every negative review there are multiple satisfied customers who are excited to see what’s next. Keep those positive reviews where you can see them to help remind you about what’s important: delivering a VIP experience your subscribers appreciate.

Cancellations and negative feedback are a fact of life as a business owner, but they don’t need to be something that you dread getting. They always feel like there are more than there actually are, so keep focused on your growth, because that’s what’s going to make you successful. The reality is that if you are professional in your responses and positive in your outlook, there might be a good chance that those people might be return customers in the end.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

017: Progress over Perfection – Creative Indulgence Box May 12, 2021

Joining me on the podcast this week is Alexis with her Creative Indulgence Box to talk about the idea of progress over perfection. Have you heard the saying “you are your own worst critic?” When you’re building your first subscription box for launch, we want everything to be perfect. Part of the drive to create a box in the first place is to give your subscribers that VIP experience they’ve come to expect, and we want to make that experience as perfect as possible. But you shouldn’t let that drive for perfection stop you from launching in the first place!

Always Remember to Listen to Your Audience

One of the most important steps in starting a subscription box is generating interest and creating a subscriber base. You can’t send out a box if nobody knows about it! But once you’ve done this, you’ve curated an audience and are connecting with them and generating that interest, at that point it’s only a matter of letting them know that a box is on the way.

When Alexis was thinking about all the things she needed to do before she could launch her box, she was already engaging with her audience but still had doubts about how much interest there was for her box.

“I mentioned the subscription box here and there when I was live and in my membership group and just kind of like building the buzz, but not like any kind of commitment. I was nervous about the whole process.”

She knew she needed an extra push to get over that fear that not everything was perfect, so she put up the question to her audience: were they ready for her box? The response was overwhelmingly positive.

She created a text list to be informed of when the box would be available and told herself 30 responses would be an accomplishment. “We launched (the list) on April 8th and closed on April 12th at 142 members. I was blown away!”

Remember, there are always going to be challenges to getting your box out that make us doubt ourselves. The important thing to remember is to keep charging forward, problem solve those issues, keep the faith and focus on progress over perfection!

You can find Alexis and the Creative Indulgence box at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purposefulindulgence

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purposefulindulgence/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

016: Afraid of Having 700 Subscribers? May 05, 2021

When you’re first starting out with your subscription box, you might feel like you’ll take all the subscribers you can get. But that feeling changes when you hit your first hundred and keeps growing. What might have worked for your business at 50 subscribers might not work at 250, let alone 700! Such tremendous and scary growth happened to Cheryl Ham, founder of yARnaBLE subscription box, who is my guest this week to talk about how to approach sudden growth and how to avoid getting overwhelmed by success.

Be Ready to be Caught Off Guard

Having rapid success may seem like a problem you would like to have but believe me when I say that even if you are happy when it happens, it can seem so overwhelming that you might want to try and stop the orders from coming in. That’s how Cheryl felt when more orders came in than she had prepared for, because she was afraid that she couldn’t maintain the type of service she wanted for her subscribers. “What I was really afraid of was letting my subscribers down. I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to figure it out.”

When running your business, you’re going to run into situations like this from time to time. It could be a huge jump in subscribers, or it could be an item not being ready for a launch, or really any number of things! In these situations, it’s first important to stay calm and don’t stress yourself out. In her situation, Cheryl reached out to the Launch Your Box community and even chatted with me about what was happening. Seek out support where you can because we’re all ready to help!

Second, you’re going to have to stretch out those problem-solver muscles we’ve been talking about. The truth is that with success comes challenges, and the thing about challenges is that they’re only waiting for a creative solution. Be flexible with your operations, be ready to change things that aren’t working, and reach out to your community if you need that added support. And remember, communication with your subscribers is always a must!

“When things go wrong, and spoiler alert, that's probably a lot of the time! You know, it's never perfect, it's always a little bit messy, especially at the beginning. So, if you find people that want to go on the journey with you, it's the best thing you can do.” – Cheryl

You can find Cheryl and her yARNaBLE Box at https://www.instagram.com/hypnoticyarn/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

015: 3 Ways to Help Reduce Product Issues Apr 28, 2021

One of the main concerns for us in the subscription box business is product supply. Who we’re getting it from and on what kind of timeline can create a huge amount of stress when things don’t go according to plan. Things have only gotten crazier with the global pandemic showing us how fragile our product pipeline really is.

Let’s face it: we’re a product driven business with very little wiggle room for shortages. More than likely, even if you do have your shipping schedule figured out you’ll be working with tight deadlines to keep. With everything that’s going on, how can we as subscription box founders have more control over our product supply to avoid those shortages? Here are 3 ways I’ve learned to help manage those product headaches.

Use Multiple Vendors

I want you to ask yourself: can I use multiple vendors for the products in my box so that you’re not relying on one company for your success? It may sound like extra work to seek out and build multiple relationships with vendors to create your box, but it’s more than worth it to avoid the heartache when one of those vendors can’t come through for you. I can almost guarantee that there will be a time when you’ve carefully curated a box but one of those unique items is either late or won’t be able to come in the quantities that you need. You’ll have to go into problem solving mode to reorganize that box, but sometimes that can lead to an even better outcome as long as you have the flexibility of not having to rely on just one vendor to complete your order.

Work on Multiple Boxes at a Time

One of the benefits of having a schedule and having regular subscribers to your box is that you know you’ll have orders coming in months down the line. This gives you the freedom to be proactive and build multiple boxes ahead of time, and having multiple boxes gives you more flexibility when a product is held up. Being able to switch boxes if you need to will give you much more freedom and peace of mind if and when a product that just can’t be replaced is held up for whatever reason.

Make Your Deadline Earlier Than You Actually Need

Finally, you won’t want to be creating your box right before it’s time to ship out. You should always have a deadline on when your boxes are built well in advance on the shipping date. There are a number of reasons why you would want to do this, but primarily because it will save you on having to delay a shipment because of a lack of product. For me, with the global pandemic slowing everything down, I try to have the deadline for all my product in on a box at least 30 days before I even think about shipping them. This saves me so much stress and gives me the breathing room to adapt to any problems that might happen.

Remember, it’s not if a problem is going to happen, it’s when, but when it does happen doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world! If you do have problems, remember to always be transparent with your subscribers. But having the right mindset will help you have the preparation needed to solve any problems that pop up. Multiple vendors, working on multiple boxes, and having early deadlines will help keep you on schedule and get those boxes out to your eager subscribers.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

014: 4 Ways to Build Your Audience with Tiffany from Good Habit Box Co. Apr 21, 2021

You have the subscription box idea, now it’s time to build the audience who will actually subscribe to your box. Building an audience from the ground up can seem a little overwhelming. This week I’m speaking with Tiffany LeBaron Ray, founder of the Good Habit Box Co. with her good habits and practices she used to build her subscription audience from 6 at launch to 70 in a short amount of time!

When Tiffany decided to start the Good Habit Box, she was already having success with her other Etsy brands. But she realized that the audience that she had built for Etsy were not necessarily compatible with her new idea. This gave her the opportunity to try some new ways to build her audience, and she found 4 ways that helped her get to where she wanted to be quickly.

Have a Giveaway

After creating a Facebook and Instagram page, she decided to pay for some ads to promote her box and drive people to her pages. “The very first thing I did was I made a mockup of my box: this is what my box would look like.” With her mockup she advertised a giveaway contest for people who liked her social media pages. Giveaways like this can build upon themselves and help generate interest in places you might not be able to reach through your personal or friends and family reshares. The way Tiffany did it does have a price tag attached to it, so make sure if you’re going to go this route to look for the results that you want before spending more money.

Consistent Posting

It’s so important that when you start your new pages and start getting an audience you consistently post to your page’s multiple times per day. “I would post things that would help my target customers: someone that's motivated, that's inspired. I want to help someone that makes big goals and small goals; someone that cares about those things.” Tiffany posted at least 3 times a day to keep her engagement up and attract anyone who might want to like her pages and would reply to any comments that came her way.

Make Connections

Chances are there are lots of other people out there with products you can either use in the future or who have similar ideas or values to yours. Making connections with those people can pay off when you feature their products on your page, or they feature yours on their pages. “When I would post a picture of my box and all the pretty things in it, I would take the time and tag all of those shops, I tag them I give them a shout out. And what that's done is some of those small shops even some of the bigger companies have in turn reached out to me and given me a shout out on their page.”

Partner with an Influencer

A great way to reach an engaged audience is to partner with an Influencer for an unboxing. Finding an influencer who shares your values and caters to the same type of audience that you’re looking to build requires a little research and due diligence, but it can pay off in great ways. “I found this influencer on YouTube, and what caught my eye was that she would do these massive unboxings of boxes that she's never seen before. She also caught my eye because she was so friendly and had almost 100,000 followers on YouTube.” Tiffany sent her a box and a little while later she had people emailing her asking if she still had the box that she had sent to the influencer. She gained quite a few followers from that one box she sent out!

You can find Tiffany and her Good Habit Box at https://www.instagram.com/goodhabitbox/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

013: A Passion for Animals Turns into 500 Monthly Subscribers Apr 14, 2021

I love the whole community of Launch Your Box for many reasons, but one of the things that makes it so special is how unique some of the subscription boxes can be. This week I’m speaking with Nicole Jenney, founder of the GPig Box, a subscription box for guinea pigs and their owners. Her story on how she came to create a box for Guinea Pigs is so fun and such a great example of how the opportunity to create a box to fill a need can really be found anywhere.

— Find Your Passion and Build the Audience —

When Nicole first had the idea for a box, she did her due diligence researching what was already out there and saw that there was an opening for gifts for both guinea pigs and their owners. But even after she started, she listened to her audience when they told her that they wanted more from the box than she initially started with.

“We got all this feedback that people want to double the stuff and they wanted more. So, we created a whole other box and another line for them, and that's been just as successful.” – Nicole

Remember, your audience will tell you what they want and what they’re willing to pay for. As long as you’re listening, you can find areas to expand into and really create that exclusive experience for them.

— Managing Growth —

The GPig box has seen amazing growth from just one box when they launched to 500 subscriptions in four months! Nichole has learned quite a bit from that growth in being able to fulfill each subscription in a timely manner. At the beginning, her focus was on having no waste product, which is a good habit to have. But it did create some scheduling problems for her when scheduling out when to send boxes to her members.

“We call this growing pain of small business, but it's a good problem to have. And I think we wouldn't do it any other way. But now to be able to adapt and change is most important and have an open mind of ‘maybe this isn't working anymore.’ But we have to stay proactive and stay ahead of it.” – Nicole

Growth is a good thing to have, but it can present new challenges that can get out of hand if they’re not managed. Figuring out what works for you and what’s manageable for your business is key to being able to maintain the high level of customer service that’s going to make you stand out.

You can find Nicole and the GPig Box at: https://gpigbox.com/

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

012: How Do I Compete with Big Box Companies? | Launch Your Subscription Box with Sarah Williams Apr 08, 2021

Hey everybody! This week I’m going over a question that gets asked every time people start to think about launching their own subscription box: how do I compete against the big box companies? I asked myself this same question when I started my box and thinking through it is what pushed me to finally start my box. Let’s dive in!

— Quality over Quantity —

Comparing yourself to a big box company is like staring into a black hole. They have the money and the people to handle thousands of orders from thousands of people. But think back to our previous episodes: that’s not what your box was about in the first place! We’re in the business of creating an exclusive VIP experience for our audience. That’s what we’re good at, and that’s what makes us stand out.

Think about McDonalds food compared to your favorite local restaurant: chances are there’s no comparison in quality of food and experience in dining. Comparing yourself to a big company is a losing game, so stop doing it. If you need to, unfollow those accounts that make you feel less than because we’re in the business of building real-life connections that they don’t have. Comparison is the thief of dreams, so don’t give it that power.

— Get in the Right Mindset —

Stop Comparing Yourself. Opportunity is out there for your specialty box. Don’t let those other accounts stifle your spirit; if you need to, unfollow/hide/block those accounts that make you feel less than
Create an Experience for Your Audience. Your personal connection with your audience is your greatest asset. Remember, they’ll tell you what they want so you can give them that VIP experience.
Create Goals for yourself to remind you why you started. Crunch the numbers and figure out how many boxes you would need to send out to even out your expenses. Let your personal goals for your business remind you why you started in the first place.

Beginnings can be messy, but that’s ok! Every great thing has to start somewhere. The right time to start is right now. Get your mindset right and you’re on your way, one box at a time.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

011: Over 1000 Subscribers in Less Than a Year with Miss Tracy Creates Mar 31, 2021

Coaching week just ended and I’m not trying to brag, but I think it went fantastic! For those of you who weren’t able to take part, we did so many interviews with current and former students that really showed how many different ways you can go about doing a subscription box and become successful. For this week’s podcast, I wanted to share with everyone one of my favorite interviews with one of my Launch Your Box members, Tracy from Miss Tracy Creates, whose box is a perfect example of finding “riches in the niches.”

— All for One, or One for All? —

When considering what to make your box about, you might want to put as many things as you can into it but as we’ve talked about before, this can sometimes water down what your box is actually about. Miss Tracy really nailed that with her box, The Napkin Club. Miss Tracy and her members use paper napkins to create all kinds of different crafts and decorations, and her box helps supply her members with those curated napkins.

Instead of her members going out and buying packs of specialized paper napkins that they might only want to use a few of, they trust Miss Tracy to send them the few they need for crafting as well as belonging to a group that helps them create different projects every month. She identified a need in her crafting community that she could fill, and now she’s approaching 1000 members for her specialized business.

Miss Tracy and the Napkin Club are such a great example of how any idea can be turned into a business. There’s no limit of idea that I’ve found that, if thought about correctly, can’t be something that has tremendous opportunity. Think about how you can become the expert in your niche idea, and don’t be afraid to get creative, because the riches really are in the niches!

You can find Miss Tracy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/misstracycreates

And on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/misstracycreates/

And as always, remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

010:From One-Time Boxes to Quarterly Subscriptions with Stacey Collins of Wilshire Collections Mar 24, 2021

This week I’m joined by Stacey Collins, owner of Wilshire Collections and founder of the Décor at your Door Seasonal Subscription box to talk about what release schedule works best for your box? Deciding how many boxes and how frequently you want to release them not only can help you manage your growth but can also fit into the VIP experience you want to create with your members.

— What Subscription Fits Your Box Idea? —

While we mostly talk about starting off on a monthly subscription schedule, it might not always be the best fit for your idea. Stacey started out sending the Décor at your Door box in one off sales per season to fit with what she was most well-known for: seasonal decoration. “So, I thought, let's try a Spring box, a Summer box, a Fall box, and a Christmas box. And I was selling those just as a one off not as a true subscription at that time.”

Keeping the same seasonal schedule when she did transition to a subscription allowed Stacey to maintain the same experience her members appreciated about her business. When considering what would be best for your idea, consider not only what you can reasonably take on, but also what might fit with the aesthetic of your business.

— Curate Demand to Create a Unique Experience —

The great thing about subscription boxes is how every part of them can be tailored to make a more exclusive experience for your members. Everything from the box, the packing, the wrapping, and everything inside can make for that VIP experience, and when the box arrives is no different. Remember to listen to what your customers love about your box, and don’t be afraid to try something new to make their experience memorable.

“I knew that my ladies wanted this. If you know that you have a good idea, that your customers want this, don't overthink it. Do it and you're going to figure out the rest.” - Stacey

You can find Stacey and her Décor at your Door box at https://www.wilshirecollections.com/.

Also, on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wilshirecollections

And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wilshire_collections/

And as always, remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! You can also get on my waitlist for my subscription box course at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

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

009: Why am I Scared to Show Up Live? | Build an Audience for Your Subscription Box with Sarah Williams Mar 17, 2021

Does the idea of pressing the button to go Live on social media make you sick to your stomach? Does the thought of being an influencer for your own business sound confusing and strange? This week’s podcast is all about how to overcome those feelings and use Live sessions to grow your subscription base.

People Need to Know You to Trust You

Social media allows us to reach people in a way never thought of before, and especially in the last year it’s become more and more important to people to be a part of something that they can be personal with. When you’re building your audience and signing up those subscribers to your box, you might find your numbers coming in waves until eventually it plateaus. That’s what I found when I tried to grow my subscriber base; people were following me but not signing up for the subscription commitment.

Going Live was the answer to getting more engagement with my page and my products. For most you, the idea of hosting a Live session on Facebook or Instagram may seem like something you’d much rather avoid because it’s embarrassing or because you don’t think you’re interesting enough. But the truth is in the numbers: without going Live and thereby creating a personal relationship with your audience, you’ll find growing your subscription base to be nearly impossible.

The Creating Connections Challenge

To help boost those engagement numbers, I want to pose a challenge to you: go to your Facebook Insights page and note your Post Reach and Engagements for the last 28 days. We’re going to use those numbers as a starting point. Next, schedule one Live session each week for the next 4 weeks. If you’re already doing Live sessions, I want you to do two.

Here are 5 strategies to help you get the most out of those Live sessions:

Do something for yourself to help boost your confidence. Get new clothes, style your hair, anything that will help you get in front of the camera.
Have some friends join you live session to help ask some important questions to get the conversation going, and to give you support while you’re Live.
Write out some talking points that you want to get across to your audience. Having an outline on what you want to talk about can keep you on task and keep you from floundering.
Engage with your audience. Whether it’s one person or a hundred, they’re there to be more personal with you because they like what you’re about.
Set a time and a date for your live sessions and send it out so you’ll stick with it. Make it at a time and place when you are the most comfortable.

Before too long, going Live will be just another part of your business and who knows, it could end up being one of your favorite things to do with your audience. Have fun and keep with it!

Wondering if the subscription box is right for you? Join my $10 coaching week from March 21st through the 26th. I'm going to show you how to develop your idea into a plan. Sign up today at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

And as always, remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review!

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

008: Building an Audience and Recurring Revenue | Subscription Box Basics with Sarah Williams Mar 15, 2021

Build your audience and they will come…

My guest this week is my friend Brooke Riley from the Re-Fabbed Boutique to talk about how building a solid online presence can give your subscription box the momentum it needs to keep having success month after month.

Brooke started Re-Fabbed Boutique from a blog she’s been running for six years now and has turned it into a place where her community could find more of the style items she showcased on her blog. She first had the idea of her subscription box, the Re-Fabulous Box, when we met at a mastermind a year ago. “I love a good thrifty find, but nobody could replicate what I had because it wasn’t available to them. So, the more questions I kept getting, the more I realized that there was a need in my community I could feel.”

Manage Demand with a Waitlist

Brooke took the ideas we talked about and started floating the idea of a monthly Re-Fabbed Box in her online community. From there, she was able to build interest and created a waitlist people could sign up for to build her launch off of. A Waitlist is a great way to see what kind of interest is among the community you’ve built as well as a way to set the number of boxes you launch with to an amount your comfortable with. It can also create demand for your box as an exclusive experience right from the outset.

Most importantly, having a waitlist that you can build off of can also offset retention losses. No matter how much we want it, we’re not going to be able to keep every customer month after month, and that’s just a fact of running a business. Having a waitlist can help you to replace those losses with a warmer customer while still providing a way for those lost customers to come back.

Remember, a huge benefit of starting a subscription box is that recurring revenue, money that is coming month to month that you can depend on. A waitlist is a great way of managing your demand to keep you in the positive without ups and downs in your sales numbers.

You can find Brooke and the Re-Fabulous Box at https://www.re-fabbedboutique.com/ and also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/refabbedboutique

Wondering if the subscription box is right for you? Join my $10 coaching week from March 21st through the 26th. I'm going to show you how to develop your idea into a plan. Sign up today at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

And as always, remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review!

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

007: Get Started Right Away with Fast and Messy Action | Launch your subscription box with Sarah Williams Mar 10, 2021

Have you been wondering when the best time is to finally start your subscription box? This week I’m joined by Molly Young, founder of the Blue Lotus Intentions box to talk about how she followed her heart and launched as soon as it was possible.

When working up to launching your box, you need to have the essentials down. You can’t launch without having an idea, curated items for your box, and most of all, subscribers to send your box to. But after that, when is the right time to launch? You might be asking how many subscribers you should hold out for, or if launching on a holiday would have the most impact.

From a One-Time idea to a Full Subscription

Molly had an idea for a box, but at first envisioned it as a one-time thing. It wasn’t until she signed up for my $10 Coaching Week that she was able to see that not only was a subscription box a better fit for her idea, but that it was possible at all. It turned out that $10 commitment was just the boost that she needed. She started reaching out to suppliers and ordering in bulk, ready to boost her own estimates for how many boxes she would start out with.

By the end of Coaching Week, she had her first orders on the way, built her website and already had a waitlist of members to send boxes to. For her first launch, she decided on a one-time shipment to get her box out before Christmas and when all was said and done, she sent out 50 boxes with a further 18 subscribed for a January box as well! As we speak, going into March she’s been steadily increasing her numbers to 40 subscribers for her Blue Lotus Intentions box.

Molly story shows that there’s more than one way to start your subscription box. Once she had the basics taken care of, she shipped it out and started prepping for the next one. She had the confidence to get started once she was ready, and the willingness to build on that first launch to start her business.

“I think these things that are in our hearts, sometimes fear gets in the way of that. Just jump in and go for it, before your mind realizes this may or may not be possible, the wheels are already in motion.” – Molly

If you have an idea you feel passionate about, the perfect time to get started is right now. Take that idea and run with it, and just keep telling yourself it’s go time!

You can connect with Molly and Blue Lotus Holistic Wellness at: https://www.bluelotusholisticwellness.com/

and also on Instagram and Facebook at:

https://www.instagram.com/bluelotusholisticwellness/

https://www.facebook.com/BlueLotusHolisticWellnessLLC

Wondering if the subscription box is right for you? Join my $10 Coaching Week from March 21st through March 26th. I'm going to show you how to develop your idea into a plan. Sign up today at https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/.

And as always, remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review

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

006: Packaging is My Favorite | Subscription Box Tips with Sarah Williams Mar 08, 2021

You have an idea for a subscription box, you have the items that are going in it, but what is the box going to look like? When your members get your box in the mail, how the box looks is going to make just as much as an impression as the items you’ve curated inside of it. Your box is your message carried across the country, almost like a travelling billboard. Let’s explore a few ways you can make the most impression with your box right out the gate.

Custom Decorated Box vs Basic Box (with a twist)

If we had all the money we needed to get started, we could create a custom branded box on the first launch. But if you’re like me, the money that would be needed to create a custom box was better spent on what came inside the box for my members. I started with a plain brown craft box that I would stamp my logo on. A custom stamp can be very cost effective and is something that can be used over and over again with just a little bit of ink. Another idea is using custom tape to seal your box, something that you’re going to be doing anyway to send it out, so why not make it work for you!

Use those custom stamps, tapes, and stickers to dress up your box and make it unique to you. I do want you to remember, don’t go too overboard or else you could end up spending the same you would on a custom box, and if that’s the case you might as well spend the money on that. But with moderation, a little bit can go a long way.

Things to consider: Box Sizes and Quantities

The higher the quantity of box that you can order at a time, the better the price is going to be. Keep in mind too that from month to month, you’ll have different items going out, so different size boxes make more sense than one size. One size does not fit all: it’s very important to make your boxes feel full for your members, and if your items don’t fill up the box the more packing, you’ll have to use. There are also shipping costs that come into play if you’re sending a box that has open space inside, so smaller boxes not only work better for your product but can also save you money.

Maybe a box doesn’t make sense for what you’re sending out? Don’t be afraid to use poly mailers as well, which you can also dress up with stamps and tape. At the beginning, being cost effective is going to help with your success as much as anything else.

Up-level as you grow

Remember, we’re building a business and we’re in it for the long haul. At the beginning, you’ll do what you need to do to get off the ground and at the beginning a basic box makes the most sense. But commit yourself to up leveling your packaging as you grow. Set goals for yourself in number of subscriptions or revenue when you can start working on a custom box that can help you send your message across the country!

I can’t wait to see your custom packaging! Remember leave a comment and to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review!

You can also check out the show website for some helpful freebies at: https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/

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

005: How to Find Your Perfect Subscriber | Subscription Box Strategies with Damon Oates & Sarah Williams Mar 03, 2021

This week I’m joined by Damon Oates, founder of Deco Exchange and the Maker’s University to help us answer a very important question: where do we find subscribers for our box, and how do we make sure they’re the perfect fit?

So you have a great idea for a box. Your head is swimming with all the possibilities you could dream up for your members, and then it hits you: who will be subscribing to your box? If you haven’t given it a lot of thought, you might fall into a common trap that Damon says people often think themselves into: “People always feel like they’re selling to someone just like themselves. They think, I would never buy that because I could just make it myself.” But the reality is that your ideal customer might not be anything like you other than sharing a common interest.

Think about the box that you want to build. What kind of person would want to buy your box? The more specific you are, the better you’ll be able to target your ideal subscriber. No matter who you come up with, chances are there’s already a wealth of data about that particular demographic that’s been collected. A great place to start is with trade magazines and their Buyers Demographic Data that’s sometimes available online. Another great place to find info about potential customers is at https://www.facebook.com/ads/audience-insights which can be very helpful to narrow down your perfect customer.

Build a Social Media Presence

Once you have your ideal customer down, it’s time to build a social media presence. What this means is that you’ll need to start creating content online regularly to build your audience. This is going to take some time! Start with a platform you love being on already and focus on that. It will be much easier to create content when you’re comfortable posting.

“You’re there to create a relationship with your audience, no matter if it’s one person or a thousand. Chat with them, make sure you see them and just give it all you can.” – Damon

Finally, remember to listen to your audience. They’ll tell you exactly what they’ll buy from you so that when you’re finally ready to launch your box, you’ll have a truly memorable VIP experience that will keep them coming back for more!

Damon’s 5 Things to Consider

Why do you want to do this?
What is the purpose of it?
What is the problem you want to serve?
Who can you serve it to? Who needs it, who’s asking for it?
Which platform do you love to play on?

You can find Damon’s mini-course Who is My Perfect Person Challenge link at:

https://members.themakersuniversity.com/~access/a5c5326f/

You can also find more of Damon at Deco Exchange on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/decoexchange

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review! Let me know which episode is your favorite so far.

You can also check out the show website for some helpful freebies at: https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/

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

004: How One Artist Added a Subscription Box to Her Online Membership with Kasey Hope about her Subscription Box Business Mar 01, 2021

Today I’m joined by my friend Kasey Hope with P’zazz Art Studio. Kasey started with Whatever Letter Lettering membership, where she taught courses on how to hand letter, but had the idea to upgrade that service with a subscription box. In her box, she sends art supplies, traceable hand lettering, and different materials that can be used with her membership. We spoke about what got her started, what she learned from her first launch and how her box has grown since she started.

Her box took her membership to the next level

Kasey already had her membership going with online classes when she noticed that some people would buy the membership and not use it. Instead of letting that ride, she thought of ways that she could increase engagement among her members. “We wanted to create a kind of experience around the membership, and the box was a tangible little something they could open.”

By creating a box to go along with her membership, she could give her regulars a VIP experience with items related to her classes. The convenience of getting catered supplies that they didn’t have to go out and buy created more of a community for her membership.

Kasey had never shipped before, but that didn’t stop her!

When she launched, Kasey had 167 members and she was thrilled. They put together the boxes (which ironically were large envelopes), gathered them up, and took them right into their local Post Office. “We had a local art studio; we did not ship products. So, we were like, I guess we take them to the post office!”

For hours, one by one, they labeled and shipped them out. This was a learning experience with a little bit of embarrassment involved, but the point is that it got done and sent out. “It was hard and crazy and embarrassing, but we got the packages out. We had to start somewhere.”

Her success has built upon itself

Today, Kasey is shipping thousands of boxes out to her members and her numbers keep on growing. When Covid hit, her brick-and-mortar studio took a huge hit but because of the success of her subscription box and recurring revenue that comes with it, they were able to whether the changes and thrive.

“If you’re thinking about it and you’re worried you don’t have all the pieces, just start! It can be sloppy; it can be small. You’re going to learn the lessons.” – Kasey Hope

You can find Kasey and the Whatever Letter Box at: https://www.pzazzonline.com/whatever-letter

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review!

You can also check out the show website for some helpful freebies at: https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/

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

003: The Riches are in the Niches - How Anne Stuccio Hit $10K Months with Her Subscription Box Business Feb 24, 2021

On today’s podcast I’m joined by my friend and Launch Your Box member Anne Stuccio, creator of the Brighter Life for Dentists subscription box! We had a great conversation about what inspired her to start a box with zero e-commerce experience, and how her experience relates to some of the things we’ve discussed in our previous podcasts.

Riches in the Niches

Anne has been a practicing dentist for the last 20 years. In that time, she’s noticed that in her community of women dentists, after a certain point they’d start to feel burned out from putting others before themselves and weren’t enjoying being dentists like they had when they started out. Anne saw the opportunity to develop gift ideas to help reignite their passion and remind them what they loved about their profession in the first place. By targeting this specific niche, Anne could bring the most impact she could with her product and service.

“You have to have faith in yourself, and you have to have faith that you know your client, then deliver, deliver, deliver.” – Anne

Anne is able to build her list of clients by being able to relate to them personally. She combines that with some planning and information gathering and builds a product specially curated for her customers. As such, she was able to charge a premium price starting off! “It comes down to knowing your customers; I knew that if I put a higher price point and sourced products that were higher-end they would be well received and appreciated.”

Anne came up with an idea, a specific market that was being underserved, and created something special. She is a successful dentist and still had her doubts about trying something new! But with planning and the right strategy, she’s been able to grow her box business into something that has a bright and lucrative future!

You can follow Anne at: https://www.facebook.com/thebrighterlifefordentists

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review!

You can also check out the show website for some helpful freebies at: https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/

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

002: Why Should I Start a Subscription Box? Feb 24, 2021

Why should I start a subscription box? This might be a question that you’ve been asking yourself and today I’m going to give you a few reasons why you should!

On the last episode, I talked about my journey to starting my subscription box, which was mainly for two reasons. Number one, I wanted to create a VIP experience for my regular customers and number two, I wanted to create financial stability in this roller-coaster world we call the e-commerce industry.

Those were my reasons, but what about you? What are some upsides and benefits that you might not have considered when thinking about if starting a box is for you? Well, here are my top 5 reasons why you should start a subscription box.

Subscription Boxes are Convenient, Trendy, and Fun

Research shows that households on average subscribe to at least three monthly or quarterly subscriptions. They do this so they can keep up with the latest trends and because it’s convenient to have them delivered instead of having to run out to the store.

Riches are in the Niches

Find your area of expertise and run with it. Having a targeted niche that you can excel in can make you the go-to expert in that area and help you develop a following that builds upon itself.

No investor? No problem!

You don’t need a lot of money to get started. If you’ve spent time developing your idea and building on pre-sales, you can use that to get your first launch out. The value you build is going to be in yourself and your idea, not in fancy boxes or rushed launches.

Two words: Recurring Revenue

Y’all, there is no better revenue than recurring revenue. A business built off of subscription means having steady revenue coming in every month. Having the peace of mind that steady revenue can build is invaluable.

The Product is already Sold!

With subscription boxes, there is no need to keep more inventory than you need. There’s no need to stress about what’s going to sell when buying inventory. The items you’ve chosen already have homes you’re sending them to!

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review!

You can also check out my website for some helpful freebies at: https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/

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

001: Sarah's Subscription Box Journey - How I Launched a Subscription Box, Built a Thriving Business, and Changed My Life Feb 24, 2021

Launch Your Box Podcast Episode 1 Show Notes

Welcome to the first episode of the Launch Your Box Podcast! My name is Sarah Williams, founder of the Framed Monogram Box and new host of this podcast! I’m so excited to start sharing some of the things I’ve learned over the years and to help you learn some tips, tricks and strategies to help you get started on your own subscription box!

“The process doesn’t always start with a grand scale.”

All entrepreneurs have different stories of how they began their journey. When I started out, I left a corporate retail job to start my own retail space where I could have more freedom and opportunity to make success on my own. The one thing that is common, the thing that holds everyone back is fear: I was terrified of giving up my regular paycheck. I think that’s something we all fear!

“My mantra is: I’m not afraid of failing, I’m afraid of not trying.”

Ask yourself: what happens if I succeed? I set out to have a brick-and-mortar space that I could work out of. I didn’t even have an online store! Where I found my passion was with my regular customers and an idea of how I could create a VIP experience for them. Today, I ship thousands of subscription boxes to my customers across the country.

Being open to what it means to succeed can be just as important as taking that first step. What success means for you may not be what success means for everyone else. It takes putting yourself out there, doing it, and just keep getting better at it.

I can’t wait to share my story with all of you and ideas to help you get started on your own subscription box idea! Remember to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast provider, as well as leave a 5-star rating and a review!

You can also check out the show website for some helpful freebies at: https://www.launchyourboxwithsarah.com/

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 Launch Your Box Podcast with Sarah Williams Feb 09, 2021

5 years ago I had a dream to start a Subscription Box service full of goodies for women to treat themselves and nurture the importance of self care. It took me a full 18 months to make it happen! I was paralyzed by ‘all the things’ I had to figure out with no one to turn to for guidance.

That is why I created Launch Your Box!

Maybe you need some direction on how to begin, or you are ready to grow your subscriber base. Either way, it all starts with an idea that can turn into a constant reoccurring revenue, a raving fan base, and a business to love.

I will help you...

Take your first steps and know where to start. Figuring out the logistics: packing, shipping, boxes, oh my! Learn how to launch, from idea to sales. Scale that box to the next level, go big or go home!

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