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

“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 cha...

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 audien...

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 y...

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...

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 fro...

“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...

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 canc...

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 subscript...

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 Bo...

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 cert...

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 Bo...

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 s...

“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 effo...

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 magn...

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...

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...

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 subsc...

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...

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...

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 s...

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 help...

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 wit...

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, in...

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, gai...

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.    I...