149: From Waitlist to Launch - Identifying Potential Subscribers & Building Authority

Launch Your Box Podcast with Sarah Williams | Start, Launch, and Grow Your Subscription Box

Finding people who are interested in your subscription box and collecting them on a waitlist is one of the most important things you can do to have a successful launch. But you can’t just collect them. What you do with that list leading up to your launch is just as important. The more work you do between the waitlist and the launch, the higher your conversion rates will be!

Inside Launch Your Box, I teach that there are 5 stages in a beginner Subscription Box Marketing Plan.

• Audience Building - building a following and an email list.
• Identifying Potential Subscribers - building a waitlist.
• Pre-Launch Campaign - building authority & expertise and nurturing your following and list.
• The Launch - actively selling your subscription.
• Post Launch Engagement - it’s a “feeling,” it’s not about the “stuff.”

On this episode, we’re focusing on stages 2 and 3.

A waitlist is an email opt-in form someone fills out to tell you they want to learn more about your subscription box. Filling out this form puts them on an email list that allows them to be the first to know when your subscription box launches, entitles them to early bird launch specials, and ensures they get an opportunity to subscribe before your boxes sell out!

The goal of the waitlist strategy is to build a large list of warm leads who are interested in becoming subscribers. Every time you talk about your subscription box, your CTA is to join the waitlist.

Start building your waitlist 30-90 out from your launch. Any longer, you risk the list becoming cold. Any shorter, you won’t have enough time to build a healthy list.

The time between the waitlist and the launch is crucial. You can’t simply get people onto your waitlist and then 90 days later hit them with the launch. Use this time to get them to buy into who you are and what your box is about.

Send weekly or bi-weekly emails, depending on how far out you are from your launch. Each of these emails should fall into one of three categories:

• Building credibility & your know, like, and trust factor.
• Talking about customer pain points and how your subscription box is a solution to these problems.
• Taking people behind the scenes of your subscription box.

Bring your waitlist along on the process of starting your subscription box. These potential subscribers will feel like they’ve been part of the process all along, resulting in a much higher conversion rate when you do launch.

Examples of 6 emails you can send between the waitlist and the launch:

• Introduce yourself and share your “why.”
• Take them behind the scenes - designing your logo, choosing packaging, etc. Get them involved.
• Talk about pain points and benefits.
• Take them behind the scenes - working on something for your subscription box. Connect you with the box.
• Talk about why they deserve to have your box.
• Build excitement - save the date, watch your email, exciting bonuses to come!

Inside Launch Your Box we have FOUR brand new training lessons all about creating your waitlist, announcing your subscription box launch, driving traffic to your waitlist, and nurturing your waitlist before your launch. I’d love to have you join us. Just head over to joinLYB.com!

Join me for this episode as we talk about what you need to do between building your waitlist and your launch to build your authority, nurture your prospective subscribers, and increase your conversion rate.

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