• Running a Giveaway to Build Your List
    Mar 19 2025
    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: 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!
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    21 m
  • 184: Hiring a Digital Marketing Assistant for Your Subscription Box Business
    Mar 12 2025
    As subscription box business owners, we wear all the hats—marketing, customer service, tech, fulfillment—you name it, we do it. But trying to do everything can hold you back from growing your business. That’s where hiring help–a Virtual Assistant (VA) or a Digital Marketing Assistant–comes in. If you've been thinking about hiring help but aren’t sure where to start, this episode is for you! I sat down with Emily Reagan, who specializes in training smart women to provide digital marketing services to online business owners. Inside her Digital Marketing Assistant School, Emily teaches the core marketing skills businesses need, from SEO and blogging to email marketing and funnels and so much more. She also runs the Digital Marketers Workgroup, where experienced freelancers continue honing their skills. Emily brings online business owners’ needs to her experienced freelance digital marketing assistants, often resulting in a match made in online business marketing heaven! I turned to Emily to hire my first VA who is still on my team many years later and has grown far beyond her original VA title and role. What is a Digital Marketing Assistant? You’ve probably heard the term Virtual Assistant (VA) before—it’s a general term for anyone working remotely to help a business. A Digital Marketing Assistant is a specialized VA who focuses specifically on marketing tasks that drive growth for online businesses. A Digital Marketing Assistant can help with: Email marketing Social media management Blogging & SEO Funnels & automation Affiliate marketing Tech setup In short, they help you get more done in less time—so you can focus on growing your subscription box. If you’re thinking: I’m not ready to hire someone yet, the truth is that by the time you feel ready, it’s already too late. You don’t have to hire a full-time employee. Start small! My first VA worked just 10 hours a week, and she got SO much done in that time. These team members often work faster and take things off your plate—especially those tasks you keep putting off. (I’m looking at you, tech stuff!) Instead of feeling overwhelmed and unproductive, focus on the things you love to do and those things that will move your business forward. And delegate the rest. Where do you even find a digital marketing assistant for your subscription box business? Emily makes it easy—just head to hireaunicorn.com and post a job. Up to 10 digital marketing assistants will reach out, and you can get on Zoom or Google Meets and have a conversation with the ones who seem to be the best fit. Sarah’s tip: Personality matters. You want someone who’s not only skilled but also a great fit for you and your business. Setting Your Digital Team Member Up for Success Hiring a digital marketing assistant is just the first step—making it work is just as important. Give both of you the best chance of success by: : Being clear about expectations Providing feedback Vetting before hiring Onboarding properly Emily said it best: “No one successful does it alone.” And something I say inside Launch Your Box and Scale Your Box: Hire before you feel ready. Because if you wait until you finally feel ready, you’ll already be drowning in tasks that could have been delegated months ago. Find and follow Emily: Emily Reagan on Facebook Emily Reagan on Instagram Emily Reagan’s Website Emily Reagan’s Podcast Hire from Emly’s Digital Workgroup 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!
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    37 m
  • Bounced Payments & Personal Follow-Up
    Mar 5 2025
    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: 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!
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    18 m
  • 183: Stu McLaren Reveals the Messaging Shift That Will Transform Your Sales
    Feb 26 2025
    When I first started my subscription box, I thought I was selling cute products. I didn’t realize my audience wasn’t just buying things—they were buying transformation. They wanted to feel confident, stylish, and put-together, but my messaging wasn’t reflecting that. Making that shift—from selling products to selling a feeling—was one of the biggest game-changers in my business. And it can be the biggest game changer in your business, too. The person who helped me understand the need for this shift in messaging was my very special guest on this episode, my mentor Stu McLaren. Stu McLaren is the go-to expert when it comes to creating and scaling profitable memberships. For the past 17 years, he’s helped business owners build recurring revenue models that provide stability, growth, and freedom–hello, recurring revenue! And now, he’s packed his best insights into a brand-new book, Predictable Profits. Before I took Stu’s course in 2018, I had about 300 subscribers in my subscription box business. I had hit a plateau and didn’t know how to break through it. Stu’s course showed me the biggest reason for my plateau. I was focusing on selling instead of serving. People don’t subscribe to a box because of what’s inside. They buy it because of how it makes them feel. My audience wanted to feel stylish, confident, and put together without spending hours shopping or second-guessing their outfits. Once I shifted my messaging to reflect that transformation, my business took off. How to Shift Your Messaging to Serve Instead of Sell Want to make this shift in your own business? Here are three key takeaways from my conversation with Stu: 1. Understand Your Customer’s Journey Instead of just thinking about what’s inside your subscription box, think about how it impacts your customer’s life. Ask yourself: What problem are you solving? What feeling are you creating? 2. Speak to Their “Before and After” Stu shared a simple but powerful exercise. I did it with him and want you to do it, too. Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On one side, write down all the frustrations and struggles your customers feel before they purchase. On the other side, write down how they feel after they’ve experienced your subscription box. Your messaging needs to focus on bridging that gap. 3. Focus on Transformation, Not Just Features My customers don’t just want earrings, bags, or t-shirts—they want confidence, ease, and style. What does your audience want? Your messaging should highlight the outcome, not just the product itself. I went from 300 subscribers to 750 in my next launch. And over time, I’ve built a seven-figure subscription business that gives me the stability and confidence to scale even further. With predictable, stable income coming in each month, you can make smarter business decisions, invest in growth, and stop feeling like you’re constantly chasing sales. Recurring revenue is business and life-changing! And that’s why Stu’s book Predictable Profits is such an amazing resource—it walks you through exactly how to build and scale a business that runs with you, not just because of you. If you’re ready to learn more from Stu, go grab your copy of Predictable Profits by Stu McLaren. You can find it at all major retailers, or head to Stu.me/book for links to order. I’d love to hear your biggest takeaway from this episode! Screenshot it, share it on Instagram, and tag me @launchyourbox. And if you’re loving the podcast, hit subscribe and leave a review—it helps more subscription box business owners find us. Find and follow Stu: Stu McLaren on Facebook Stu McLaren on Instagram Stu McLaren 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 the waitlist today!
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    35 m
  • 5 Ways to Increase Perceived Value in Your Subscription Box without Blowing Your Budget
    Feb 19 2025
    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: Facebook Instagram Launch Your Box with Sarah Website
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    33 m
  • 182: From 118 to 1800 Subscribers: 2-Year Update From B. Goods Lettering
    Feb 12 2025
    Betsy Goodman of B Goods Lettering is back on the podcast, and wow—what a difference two years makes! When I last interviewed Betsy in October 2022 on episode 93, she had 118 subscribers to her Lettering Box and was using Instagram brilliantly to grow her audience. Fast forward to today, and she’s running two thriving physical subscription boxes, a digital membership, and has grown her subscriber base to 1800! In this episode, Betsy shares the incredible journey of scaling her business, the lessons she learned along the way, and the strategies that helped her reach her goal of quitting her full-time job. Finding a niche that thrives Betsy serves a very specific audience: people passionate about hand lettering and wax seals. By focusing on what they love, she’s created products they can’t wait to subscribe to. The power of audience polling Betsy didn’t just guess what her audience wanted next; she asked them! That’s how she discovered her followers were eager for a Wax Seal subscription. Launching a second subscription successfully Betsy took what she learned inside Launch Your Box and started The Wax Seal Club with 50 subscribers. Today, it has 1,200 subscribers! Balancing physical & digital offers Inspired by an episode of The Launch Your Box Podcast featuring my Mastermind members who hit $1M in annual revenue, Betsy realized she needed monthly recurring revenue to stabilize her income. That led to the launch of her digital membership, The Script & Seal Society, where Betsy teaches exclusive hand lettering and wax seal projects LIVE three times a month. Overcoming the challenges of growth From fulfilling boxes out of her basement to hiring help and managing product delays, Betsy shares what it’s really like to scale a subscription business. Hitting major milestones Betsy recently quit her full-time job and is now focusing on growing her business even further—with a goal to move out of her basement and into a dedicated space in 2025! Betsy’s Best Advice for Subscription Box Owners: Think about your customer first. What else would help them? What else do they need? Ask your audience! They’ll tell you exactly what they want—if you’re willing to listen. Be willing to try something new. Don’t be afraid to try and don’t give up! Betsy’s story is proof that when you take action, listen to your audience, and stay consistent, serious growth is possible. If you’re thinking about adding another revenue stream to your business—whether it’s a second subscription, a digital membership, or something else entirely—you won’t want to miss this episode! Find and follow Betsy: B. Goods Lettering on Facebook B. Goods Lettering on Instagram B. Goods Lettering 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 the waitlist today!
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    35 m
  • 181: Scaling Your Subscription Box: The Path to True Growth
    Feb 5 2025
    Scaling your subscription box business isn’t just about making more money—it’s about building a business that works for you, instead of you working for it. Are you stuck in the day-to-day grind, feeling like growth is just out of reach, or afraid that scaling will be overwhelming (or expensive!)? Then this episode is for you. When I first launched my subscription box, my goal was 100 subscribers. That felt HUGE. I never imagined I’d be where I am today—packing thousands of boxes every month. But if you don’t plan for growth, you’ll eventually hit a ceiling. I learned this the hard way. At one point, I was packing boxes 10 hours a day, running two embroidery machines nonstop, and trying to juggle everything myself. That wasn’t sustainable. The business had grown, but I hadn’t scaled—yet. Scaling is about more than just more subscribers and more revenue. It’s creating systems and processes that allow you to grow without burning out. Growth is not the same thing as scaling. Growth is adding resources (time, money, or effort) to increase revenue. Scaling focuses on increasing revenue significantly without a proportional increase in resources. Without scaling, it’s easy to reach a point in growth where your costs exceed your revenue. The benefits of scaling your subscription box Achieving financial freedom: scaling allows you to unlock higher profit margins. Serving a larger audience: you’re able to reach more people who love what you do. Building a legacy: scaling can make your business more profitable and even potentially sellable in the future. The risks of not scaling your subscription box Burnout: trying to “do it all” can lead to burnout…fast! Plateauing: without scaling, your growth will reach a ceiling, limiting your income and your ability to reinvest in your business. The mindset shift needed to scale Fear holds us back. In order to scale, you need to shift your mindset away from, “What if I fail?” or “What if I can’t handle the growth?” Instead, your mindset needs to be, “Scaling is not about perfection. It’s about progress.” Investing in tools, people, or systems can feel risky. But those risks pay off. There will be challenges. There will be setbacks. Look at these as opportunities to learn and continue moving forward. Not everyone is ready to scale. But how can you know if you are ready? If you’re ready to scale, you have: Proof of concept: you’re selling regularly or have a steady subscriber base. Clear audience understanding: You know and understand what your customers love and are willing to pay for. Solid processes: You’ve systemized parts of your business (payments, packing, customer service, etc). If you’re not sure you’re ready to scale, take some time to reflect and ask yourself: Do you have a vision for where you want your business to go? Are you ready to let go of some control in order to gain freedom? Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform and leave a 5-star rating and a review! 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!
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    33 m
  • 7 Ways to Market Your Subscription Box Cost Effectively
    Jan 29 2025
    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: 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!
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    18 m