Getting Started on Your Subscription Box Journey

Embark on your subscription box journey! Discover the essential steps, from marketing strategies to audience building, mindset, and navigating tech. Get expert advice and actionable tips to launch your subscription box business with confidence.

Starting a new exercise program is easier when you have a trainer telling you and showing you what to do. And learning a new hobby? That goes a LOT more smoothly when someone who’s already REALLY good at the thing is teaching you. The same is true with starting a subscription box business. 

If starting a subscription box is on your list of goals this year, you’re in the right place! 

I spend my days - and a lot of my nights - talking about and teaching about subscription boxes. And I don’t just teach people how to start, launch, and grow their subscription box businesses. I still run my own 7-figure subscription box business. There’s a LOT of value in learning from someone who is still doing it… every day. 

This blog, my podcast, and my membership group - Launch Your Box - are all dedicated to helping people just like you start, launch, and grow their subscription box businesses.

You’ll hear me say - more than once - there are no shortcuts. 

The truth is, starting a subscription box business is hard work. It’s incredibly rewarding and the recurring revenue it brings can be business and even life-changing. 

But you have to do the hard work. You have to take the steps to get set up and give yourself and your subscription box the best chance at success. 

Starting a subscription box is about more than just packaging and products. 

Today, I’m talking about four areas you need to focus on when you’re getting started. Each is important. And each will help you start - and continue - strong. 

For more about starting a subscription box, don’t miss episode 48 of the Launch Your Box podcast: I Want to Start a Subscription Box - Where Do I Start?

Subscription Box Marketing

If no one knows about your subscription box, how many subscribers can you expect? 

No, that’s not a trick question. The answer is obvious. Zero. 

The goal of subscription box marketing is to create awareness of your offer. You accomplish this by producing content that informs, educates, and entertains. 

Show your audience why they should care about your subscription box and what subscribing would mean in their lives. Share your story and make your box personal. 

I use text marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing to interact with my audience. Different channels for different purposes. I also use paid ads - again for a different purpose.

When you’re getting started, the first thing you need to do is attract people. That means gaining followers or getting them to visit your website or join your waitlist. 

Email marketing is an essential part of your subscription box marketing plan. Your email list is a valuable business asset. Unlike your social media accounts, you own your email list. 

Growing your email list needs to be a constant goal. And don’t just build that list, nurture the people on that list by emailing them each week. Discover 10 ways to build your email list every month when you listen to Episode 109 of the Launch Your Box Podcast.

Audience Building

Audience building is hard work. It takes time. It takes consistency. It takes showing up for your people - and then showing up again and again. Audience building is crucial when you’re working up to a launch and between launches. 

Audience building never stops.

Find those people your box is right for and invite them into your world. Then engage them, provide them with value, and build connections with them. It is so important to serve before selling!

People buy from people, not from brands. Audience building means letting them get to know you - building that all-important know, like, and trust factor. 

Plan to start your audience-building efforts 90 days before you want to launch. It takes time. 

When I look at my most listened-to podcast episodes, I’m not surprised that so many are about audience building. It’s that important. Listen to Episode 50: The Hottest Topic of the Year - Never Stop Audience Building.

Mindset Matters

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

To me, this means if you believe something is possible, you take action. If you don’t, you’ll continue sabotaging yourself and remain stuck.

I see the effects of mindset every day inside Launch Your Box. Mindset stops some members from moving forward and is the certain something that allows others to push past obstacles.

Your mindset is so important to the success of your subscription box. There will be challenges and obstacles along the way. Things will go wrong. 

Mindset means believing in abundance. There is enough business for all of us. There are enough subscribers for all of us. 

Mindset means embracing your imperfections. Listen, I get it. This can take a minute. But the truth is, people don’t want to buy from perfect people. They want to buy from people they can relate to! 

Mindset means seeing your glass as half full. See the positive. Recognize and celebrate the small wins. This will help motivate you to continue to move forward. 

I talk more about the top 5 mindset beliefs for subscription box success in this blog post.

Tech Solutions for Subscription Box Businesses

Ah, tech. It holds so many people back from taking that next step on their subscription box journey. 

Choosing products and designing packaging is fun. Researching and getting to know your ideal customer is fun, too. But to those non-tech entrepreneurs looking to start a subscription box, figuring out the tech they need to make it all work? Not fun. 

I get it. I let my tech fears hold me back for over a year. I had the idea. I knew what I wanted to put in a box and who the box was for. I knew how I would deliver not just a subscription box, but a truly special experience. But… the tech. 

Don’t let tech be a four-letter word. 

You’ll need four tech solutions in your subscription box business: 

• Website 
• Payment processing
• Shipping software
• Customer relationship management (CRM) system 

Realize you don’t have to do all of this yourself. Hire it out! Don’t let “fear of tech” be the reason you don’t launch your subscription box. 

This blog post talks more about the four tech solutions you need to start a subscription box business.  

Want to know more about starting a subscription box? My coaching membership, Launch Your Box, is a complete training program that walks you step by step through starting, launching, and growing your subscription box business. And then there’s the community - where you’ll find AMAZING support, encouragement, and friendship. 

Now is the perfect time to get started on your subscription box journey.