Why a Subscription Box is a no-brainer for your E-Commerce Business

Discover why adding a subscription box to your e-commerce business is a game-changer! Create consistent revenue, delight your customers, and simplify your operations

Do you want to level out your revenue, create consistency, and put an end to the feast and famine cycle of product sales? Do you want to add stability to your business that allows you to cover payroll and overhead expenses? Do you want to relax knowing the inventory you’re buying is already sold? 

If all of that sounds too good to be true, keep reading! 

Adding a subscription box means bringing recurring revenue into your business every month. 

That recurring revenue goes a long way toward evening out the peaks and valleys that come with product sales.

When I added a subscription box to my product-based business, that monthly subscriber revenue covered all my overhead costs and paid for my one employee. 

I didn’t have to worry about showing up and selling every day just to cover the bills. The subscription covered them for me. 

Let’s talk about how a subscription box will benefit your eCommerce business and how you’ve already crossed the hardest thing off your how to start a subscription box to-do list.

Audience building is the hardest part. You’ve already done that! 

When starting a subscription box business, the first step is to build an audience. You can find me teaching subscription box owners and hopefuls about audience building inside Launch Your Box,  on my How to Start a Subscription Box Facebook Page, and on the Launch Your Box Podcast. 

Why do I spend so much time talking about audience building? It’s simple. When it comes to launching a subscription box, if you don’t have an audience, you’ll have no one to launch to. 

Audience building takes a lot of work. It’s slow and it can be difficult to see that you’re making progress. I often say building an audience is like watching grass grow!

I have good news for eCommerce business owners. 

You’ve already done the hard work.

As an established e-commerce business, you already have an established niche and area of expertise. Your customers know you and like you and they know and like your products, too. 

It’s time to bring a recurring, consistent, reliable revenue stream into your business with a subscription box!

What should you put in your subscription box?  

If you’re starting to think adding a subscription box to your eCommerce business is a good idea (and I hope you are), you probably have one big question…

What should I put in the box? 

Again, you’ve already done the hard work. 

When I work with brand new business owners who want to start a subscription box, we start by identifying their ideal customer. We talk about who they are and what they’re thinking, doing, and feeling. We get deep. 

Then we talk about their ideal customers’ pain points and how their subscription box could be the solution. 

The good news for you? 

You already know your ideal customer because they buy from you every day. 

You already know their pain points and how your products solve their problems. 

Now it’s time to decide what types of products your customers would want to see in a subscription box. Start by asking yourself three questions: 

1. What are your best-selling products? 
2. What do your customers buy repeatedly? 
3. What do your customers consume and want more of? 

Answering these questions is a great way to kickstart your thinking. Use these answers when you start brainstorming. 

I use the same process to brainstorm ideas for my subscription box - with the goal of curating six months of boxes in about an hour. 

I start with what I know about my ideal customer and ask myself what they are thinking, feeling, and doing for each of the months. That helps me identify a theme. From there, I brainstorm a “hero item” - the main item in the box. Then I think about what would go with that main item. Not just any items, but things that would complement the main item and help create an experience. 

That’s the goal. To create a special experience for your subscriber. Carefully curated boxes and special touches make a subscription box so much more than just a “box full of stuff.” 

It’s SO easy to get carried away during the curation process. You just want to give your subscribers all the things. I understand. Trust me. But remember, you’re adding a subscription box to your eCommerce business to bring MORE profit into your business, so plan your boxes with profit in mind from the very beginning. 

Does your box have to be a box?  

Does the idea of curating a subscription box each month that provides subscribers with a well-thought-out experience sound overwhelming?

Adding a subscription box to your business doesn’t have to be overwhelming. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a box. You can have a wildly successful subscription with only one thing.

A “one thing of the month” box (or poly mailer) is an easier way to add a subscription to your business that still brings in the recurring revenue you want. So many members of Launch Your Box are crushing it with one thing of the month subscriptions - everything from candles to tea to nail polish to t-shirts and so much more! 

Check out this blog post to learn more about the benefits of a one thing of the month subscription and the huge impact it has had on one Launch Your Box member’s business.

Adding a subscription box to your product-based business serves your customers and brings recurring revenue into your business. It’s a win-win! Whether it’s a curated box or a one thing of the month, the time to add a subscription box to your business is now!