Dose #119: Engagement Over Discounts: The Key to Long-Term Subscription Success

Matt here with your weekly Subscription Prescription 💊

This week we review insights from Sarah Williams, the founder of Launch Your Box with Sarah. We start with learning a bit more about her journey to subscription success, the power of niching down, content, and engagement with her community to grow revenue.

This week’s dose is a must-listen interview with Sarah Williams:

Encourage Engagement Without the Subscription Portal

How do you keep subscribers engaged? How can you boost AOV and LTV with communications that don’t also increase churn?

Sending subscribers to the portal can work at times, but you risk them hitting the cancellation button.

Imagine embedding all of the subscription portal's positive aspects (like upsells and frequency changes) inside an email. With Zaymo, subscribers can take action without logging in and avoid the pesky cancel button.

Gains in Bulk used Zaymo to lift upsells by 37% and simultaneously decrease subscriber churn by 22%. How?

By keeping subscribers engaged in an email—no portal. Click below to read the case study to see how they did it, and check out the free 30-day trial available for anyone wanting to improve their subscription experience with Zamyo.

Sarah Williams and the Art of Niching Down

This week’s dose is inspired by the Queen of Subscription boxes, Sarah Williams.

Sarah's journey is a masterclass in how to start, scale, and sustain a successful subscription box business. From her humble beginnings with a monogram gift shop to launching a wildly successful subscription box, Sarah's story is both inspiring and instructive.

Sarah’s Story: From Local Shop to Subscription Box Empire

Sarah's journey began in her brick-and-mortar gift shop, where she specialized in personalized items like monogrammed apparel and accessories. Despite the success of her physical store, Sarah had the itch to create something more scalable. Inspired by another subscription box, she saw an opportunity to offer a higher-quality, more personalized experience with her own twist.

Her first subscription box, the Monogram Box, was born out of her understanding of her customers’ needs. By focusing on her top-selling items and creating an exclusive feel for her local customers, Sarah turned her small-town shop into a subscription box business with national reach.

Niche Down to Scale Up

One of the key takeaways from Sarah’s journey is the power of niching down. Sarah didn't try to appeal to everyone; she focused on busy Southern moms who love personalized items. This laser focus on a specific demographic allowed her to create a product that resonated deeply with her target audience, leading to high retention and low churn.

Sarah's advice to anyone starting a subscription box business? Start with what you know and who you know. Identify your ideal customer, and then narrow it down to a specific niche. By doing this, you create a product that feels tailor-made for your audience, which leads to stronger connections and longer customer lifetimes.

Building an Audience Before You Launch

Sarah also emphasizes the importance of building an audience before you even think about launching. Whether you have a physical store, an e-commerce site, or are starting from scratch, understanding and engaging with your ideal customer is crucial. Sarah built her audience through live videos, social media, and a simple, targeted eBook that has now reached over 50,000 people. This audience became the foundation for her subscription box success.

Retention: The Key to Longevity in Subscription Businesses

One of the biggest challenges subscription businesses face is retention. Sarah’s approach to retention is all about engagement. Rather than relying on discounts—which she actively avoids—Sarah focuses on creating a deeper connection with her subscribers.

Engage to Retain

Sarah keeps her subscribers engaged by involving them in the process. Whether it’s through live video reveals, surveys, or behind-the-scenes content, she makes sure her subscribers feel like they are part of something special. This sense of belonging not only keeps subscribers happy but also reduces churn and increases the lifetime value of each customer.

Retention Over Acquisition

It's important to remember that while acquiring new subscribers is vital, retaining them is even more crucial for the long-term success of your subscription business. Regularly engaging with your audience, reminding them of the value they’re receiving, and involving them in the process are all strategies that will help you keep your subscribers longer.

Wrapping Up

Knowing Sarah for several years, I am constantly reminded by the power of marketing fundamentals. She creates content, engages with subscribers, takes them through a funnel, and works to deliver great value.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be successful in subscription. Focus on your target customers and make products and content that they love.

That’s the science - making great art.

That’s it for this week’s dose! Don’t forget to keep an eye on those numbers at all times. See you next Tuesday with dose #120!

 - Matt Holman 🩺

The Subscription Doc