What if You Were Launching in 30 Days?

I am a procrastinator. It turns out that many creative people are, including subscription box owners. If I have too much time to get something done, I’ll wait until nearly the last minute to get started. It always gets done, and it always gets done well, but there’s usually not a lot of breathing room. 

Earlier this year, I launched my new Scale Your Box course for subscription box owners who are ready to take their subscription boxes to the next level. I was launching to a mostly warm audience and have been launching subscription boxes and memberships for years. 

I had scheduled the launch date - March 24th - and knew what needed to happen before the launch. 

One morning in the middle of juggling all the things of a busier than busy first quarter, I realized something. March 24th was suddenly less than 30 days away.

It was time to jump into action and start getting to work on those things that make the difference between a successful launch and one that falls flat. 

The period leading up to a launch is so important. 

Today I’m talking about five things you can focus on right now to make your launch a success. 

Set your launch date.  

If you have not yet set a date for your launch, today is the day. Setting a date is a great way to force yourself to take action. Inside my coaching group Launch Your Box, members who set specific dates for their launches tend to make more progress, faster than those who don’t. 

If you are just getting started and don’t yet have an audience, set a date 90 days from now. You can’t launch to an audience you haven’t built, so spend these 90 days on audience building. Learn more about building an audience in Episode 50 of the Launch Your Box podcast.  

If you have an audience and have been working toward a launch, set a date within the next 30 days. 

Now that you’ve set your date, it’s time to really get to work.

Email your list before your launch.  

Your email list is one of the biggest assets in your business. Why? Because you own that list. If social media disappeared tomorrow - or went down for nearly a full day like Facebook and Instagram did several months ago - you would still be able to stay in contact with your email list. 

You cannot wait to email people until your launch. It negatively impacts open rates and deliverability. If you haven’t been emailing your list and suddenly send a launch sequence, many email service providers (ESPs) will see that as SPAM and your emails will end up in people’s junk folders. 

Email your list once a week, all year long. Send nurture emails, product emails, behind the scenes emails. Share yourself and your business with your audience. Serving them in this way helps you build connections, authority, and your know/like/trust factor. 

Wondering what to put in these weekly emails? Don’t overcomplicate it. Your emails should contain the same type of content you put in your social posts. 

Work smarter not harder. Realize how few people actually see your social posts and don’t be afraid to repurpose content. 

I go into more detail about what to email your list each week in this blog post. 

Increase your video views. 

Did you know Facebook and Instagram allow you to retarget people who view at least three seconds of a video with an ad? These people have shown they are interested in what you are offering. 

Videos help you connect with your audience and build authority as well as know/like/trust. Videos allow your audience to feel like they’re getting to know you in a way that social posts and emails cannot. 

Your goal is to generate more video views. How can you do that? Create engaging video content.

• Short videos for Instagram and Facebook
• Facebook LIVES - these count as video views 
• Live videos 

Take your audience behind the scenes. Show them what packing day looks like. Share an item from one of your boxes with them. Use video to invite your audience into your world.  

These videos do NOT have to be elaborate. Have some fun with video and keep things simple and engaging. 

Learn more about using short video effectively in episode 37 of the Launch Your Box podcast.   

Drive people to your waitlist.    

During these 30 days, talk about your waitlist several times a week. Your call to action (CTA) - your only call to action during this period - is to get on your waitlist. 

When someone does join your waitlist, start emailing them right away. You should have an automated email sequence set up that kicks off as soon as someone joins your waitlist. These emails should include: 

• Sneak peeks
• Behind the scenes
• Get to know you 

When someone joins your waitlist, they are raising their hand and telling you they are interested in your subscription box. They are not yet committing to becoming a subscriber. Use the time between when they join your waitlist and the launch to nurture them, moving them further down the sales funnel. 

Generate more leads with opt-ins.             

Use this pre-launch period to generate more leads and get more people into the top of your sales funnel. 

One of the best ways to do this is with an opt-in. Opt-ins are simply an exchange of something of value for a prospect’s email address or phone number. 

A high converting opt-in will build your list with high-quality leads faster than any other marketing tactic. 

Use opt-ins to serve your audience and build authority. What makes a good opt-in? 

• Discounts 
• Freebies
• Wallpaper or 8x10 prints
• Giveaways
• Bonuses or free gifts
• Sneak peeks
• Tutorials or digital resources 

Once you’ve established some opt-ins, run them all year long, continuously adding to your waitlist. 

Do you want to know a secret? These five things to do when you’re launching in 30 days are things you should be doing all year long. Your goal is to fill the top of your sales funnel consistently. 

I never launch my Monogram Box because I don’t have to. When I have openings, I simply email my waitlist and they scoop them up almost immediately. This is because I do things all year long to continually add people to that waitlist. 

I’m going to give you homework now. A blog post with homework? Yep. It’s just that important. 

Today I want you to set a launch date. Then put together a plan to start nurturing your audience with emails, short videos, and LIVES - and start working that plan. Finally, set up your opt-in and waitlist.  

Planning your launch starts with setting a launch date. By taking steps to nurture your audience and fill your sales funnel all year, you’ll be prepared for a successful launch!