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

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: 

Frosted Cakery on Instagram


Frosted Cakery on Facebook 

Frosted Cakery Website

Join me in all the places: 

Facebook

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Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


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

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: 

Facebook

Instagram


Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


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

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: 

Facebook

Instagram


Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 

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

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: 

Facebook

Instagram


Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


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

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: 

SubSummit on Instagram


SubSummit on Facebook 

SubSummit Website

Join me in all the places: 

Facebook

Instagram


Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


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

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: 

Facebook

Instagram


Launch Your Box with Sarah Website 


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