004: How One Artist Added a Subscription Box to Her Online Membership with Kasey Hope about her S...

Artists are teaching online more than ever. In today's episode, we're talking about how a subscription box transformed a hand lettering membership. It helps students complete the projects and made them feel more connected to the membership. Plus, Casey is sharing her shipping woes, and we can laugh about it now. Come listen.

Welcome to the Launch Your Box podcast with weekly tips, tricks, and strategies to start, launch, and grow your subscription box. Now here's your host, Sarah Williams.

Hey everybody, I'm here with my friend Casey Hope with Pizzazz Art Studio. She has an awesome lettering membership called Whatever Letter, and today we're going to talk about how she took her art, her lettering, turned it into a membership, added a subscription box to that, and has just really exploded. Casey, welcome to my podcast. Why don't you tell everybody a little bit about what you do and then tell them about Whatever Letter?

Yeah, so I teach kids and adults. We've done that in our brick-and-mortar art studio for about 13 years, and then a few years ago we started our Whatever Letter lettering subscription, and that is a membership. It's online where we teach ladies how to hand letter. We mix in some art in there and just really kind of help ladies experience peace and play in their everyday through art. Now, in addition to teaching online, we also, with this membership, send them a fun little box that we call Happy Mail. And in that box, it includes some traceables for their hand lettering, some scripture cards, and then some, just some different materials that they can use on the monthly project that we're going to do. So that's kind of what our subscription is.

So you're teaching them in an online format, and then you're also sending them a box of supplies to go with your teachings every month, right? Okay, so let's talk a little bit about how this started and why you decided to put this box component with the membership, because you could have very easily just showed up, made some videos, taught people how to hand letter, told them where to go get supplies. But why did you choose to add a box to your membership?

Yeah, so I had actually tried to do a little bit of online classes before we started this membership, and one thing that I saw time and time again was it seemed like people would buy a class, or the— or we could kind of would have a membership, but it wasn't one that they were like, forget about it. They were not, I could see they weren't logging in, they weren't doing the lessons and they would just forget about it. So I was trying to think of how can we make this not just an online membership that they're going to forget about, but how can we do something that can be a tangible experience, something that gets delivered to their door, they can touch it, they can open it, they can get excited about the lessons. And we just wanted to create kind of an experience experience around the membership. And so that box was a tangible little something that they could open. So that's, we just, we really wanted that component, that touchpoint into our membership.

There's something about having the physical product in your hands. Like you have this great online stuff, but having that new pin show up or having that blank canvas or whatever media that you choose for every month show up and you think, oh, I need to log in and see what we're making with this. How, how has that connected your members?

Well, it could be a barrier to entry, but if they don't have the supplies, so by giving them something that, okay, I don't have to go get this. Like we don't send everything they need. They're going to still need a few basic supplies, but by giving them that little bit to start with, they are more comfortable to jump in and to do the lessons. And then when they're doing the things, they're sharing their posts and the, and then you see them to start experience wins because they're, You know, they're creating and doing the stuff. So just the simple act of getting something that gives them a jumping off point, getting that one supply that they don't have to go buy, you know, that they can sit down, do the video. And then they're just a lot more involved in the community of the, of the membership because they've got what they need, right?

There's not this extra step that they have to go find what you're doing or getting frustrated because they can't find it. You've created a way for them. We talk about consuming the contents of the box all the time in Launch Your Box and how we've We gotta go out of our way to help them consume what we're sending them. And you're helping them consume their membership by sending this box.

Exactly.

I think about, you know, we have a lot of artists and crafters and different things, you know, in our audience. And there's so many ways that every kind of artist can do this. Mm-hmm.

Right?

Like we see art kits a lot. We see craft boxes, we see kids art. There's just a lot of ways to bring what you're teaching in a digital space really into a physical box, right?

And I don't think you— I think sometimes it can be overwhelming because if we look, and if I was providing everything they need, we couldn't— it wouldn't make sense financially. We cannot afford to do that. But I'm providing the harder-to-find supplies. Like, do you see— like, you've got a paintbrush and some paint. Well, I'm going to provide this custom-made wood cutout thing for you, you know. So I'm not— we're not providing everything. So, um, I think that's important to remember too as artists. Like, don't think that you've got to send every single thing. Just let them know what to expect, and you send the, the rare, hard-to-find something something, you know, that you create, right? Uh-huh.

I see a lot of the art box and the craft boxes inside our membership that we, when we do the unboxings, they send the paint and the glue, and then, and you don't have to set all that up. It adds up, costs a lot, it's very time-consuming to separate all those things. But if you just send the, the really the heart of the project, right there, Show them where they can get the, the little supplies. And you're right, really any crafter, any artist, absolutely, we're just hoarders, right? All that stuff, like we probably have drawers and drawers of paint and glue and any of the little things. We just want to send them the bulk of the project and then they can add the rest. So I love that. Let's talk a little bit about where you started and then how you've grown. And you've just had like massive growth this year, so I want to kind of break that down, your little, your journey for them a little bit. And then we're going to talk about about some of the challenges that you faced.

Okay. Yeah. So we started with the lettering club. We launched it and our first launch was 167 members and we were thrilled with that. Like that blew our expectations. And so we, we, you know, we were excited with that, but we've continued to grow. I feel like we kind of were slow. It didn't feel slow at the time, but looking back, it kind of seemed a little bit slow because when I look at my numbers, we were maybe a year and a half in, in January of this, of 2020, we were at around 400. So that's not a whole lot more than the 167, um, that we started in 2018. But then now in January 2021, we're over 1,000. So it's been a big jump in growth, um, this year. And we've been very thankful.

Well, I know with a lot of growth very quickly comes challenges. And we were laughing before we jumped onto the podcast. About some of the early challenges for you. And there's a lot of people listening that are just starting the subscription box. And so they might be experiencing some of the challenges that you did. So let's just talk about your shipping challenge.

Yes. Okay. So, um, the very first month, you know, I said we had 167 and, um, that month they were not actually in boxes, they were in envelopes, but, uh, we didn't know anything other than take them to the post office because you've never shipped anything, right?

You had a local art studio where you taught classes. Classes, and this was a whole new world, right?

We did not ship product, nothing. So we're like, well, we guess we take them to the post office. So we, uh, we labeled all of these 167 packages, and we just walked into the post office with boxes and boxes and boxes of these things that had no shipping labels. So, you know, they take them and they scan it, and they have to type in the zip code, and they print out a sticker, and then they put it on one And then they do that to the next one. Scan it, type in the computer, and then do the next one. And we, I, we were there for so long. I could feel the line behind me just getting longer and longer and people being mad because I'm not moving. And like, and they see all the boxes of packages, so it's like they know it's just, I'm gonna be a while. And oh, I was, I would talk to the lady, the, um, the postal worker. I'm like, I'm not looking behind me.

I'm not gonna look.

I could feel you like standing there sweating and And then I was there so long, I mean, I feel like it was, it was close to an hour. And so, um, and I had to call another employee just to come stand in line. I was like, I've got places to be. And so after that, the— she told us, the sweet lady at the post office was like, you know, there's other ways to do this. I was like, no, ma'am, I don't. Can you please tell me? And then I think I talked to you and you told me ShipStation and different things. Um, so I got some advice there. But, but hey, you know, like, it was It was hard and it was crazy and embarrassing, but we got those packages out. Like, you have to start somewhere.

We don't know.

We don't know. Right. Right.

We just think if we're gonna mail something, we take it to the post office.

Right. We don't know.

Right. Um, what are some other, you know, challenges as Evie has experienced this, you know, massive growth this year? I know that with growth comes more challenges.

Mm-hmm.

And what are some of those for you as you've gotten into the over 1,000 mark?

Yeah, we've had a couple. So, um, one of the challenges has been just, um, the supply, you know, It's not as easy to find 1,000 of the same thing as it was to find 200 of the same thing to put into boxes. And another challenge has been just the logistics of packing day. So with going back to the challenges of finding, you know, the bigger quantity, I've had to really work different relationships and call different vendors and talk to them and be a lot more prepared and say, hey, we're looking at this 3 months down the road, or, you know, or what, what is in stock that you've got this much? You have to have really had to um, just form those relationships and talk to people so that— talk to the vendors, um, so that I'm not— you can't— when you have the higher numbers, you can't just the month before figure out what you're doing. Yeah, you know, you really gotta plan out, right? You gotta plan it and know it and find out where you are getting your stuff from and do they have the quantity and can they ship it to you on time.

And it's about building those relationships, right? It's like, as you use vendors that really come through for you and really have a good supply, how can you then build a relationship with them so that you can use them frequently?

Yeah, we had— so we've had some vendors that are so awesome, like they know we're on a time crunch and they know that their product was a little bit late, and they're like, we'll come down and help you pack. Thank you, but it's okay, we got it.

That's a great lead-in to packing day. I know that it's like this big event. It is for me, it's really kind of a fun day, and it is for you. And I know that our listeners would love to just kind of hear what a packing day looks like for 1,000 boxes.

Yeah, so it's definitely not a day. It takes a little bit longer than a day. We, it's kind of very similar to what you do. We prep beforehand. So if it's boxes, we are, I have a lot of high school girls that work with us. So after school, they are there at the studio anyway, and they are just over to the side if they have some free time folding those boxes. And there's a lot of pre-stuff that gets done with the folding the boxes. We have a lot of paper material, you know, the schedule, the cards, the traceables. So we will usually, like, after we have prepped either the boxes or the envelopes, we've got one day where we are just in there and just, you know, it's just an assembly line of putting the paper stuff together, putting it through in a clear packet, and we get all of our papery stuff together. And then we have now kind of had to figure out a system because we are working out of a brick-and-mortar studio that's also an art studio. We have had to be like, okay, we can't pack while we have kids in here, you know, or adults. We can't even pack when we know tomorrow is going to be a party day. So we've had to actually shut everything else down for about 3 days. Um, say, okay, we're not booking any parties, we're not having any classes, blocking out that, blocking it out. And, um, and for those 3 days, it is just, you know, we use all those tables to line up the boxes and have the assembly line. Um, and what's great is, you know, I know a lot of the listeners might not have a huge team, but sometimes, a lot of times We are calling people just, you know, from our youth group. They're not in, you know, they're not on staff with us, but they love coming in and just doing it for a little bit. Um, we, you know, there's a lot of teenagers that are happy just to come in and have fun. We make it fun. We turn on music, we make it a competition. We say, okay, who's gonna, you know, who can get this? Well, we're labeling. How many labels can you do in 10 minutes? Go. You know, we just make it, we make it fun. And it's not people that are, you know, on our regular staff.

And I love that because I see as some of our members are starting to grow, they don't have teams. But when you're packing 100 or 200 or 300 boxes even, that is very laborious for one person to do. Or, you know, for me in the beginning, I'm bribing my kids with like anything that they, you know, wanted to come help me. And it was like pulling teeth to get them to really do something for me. And so having just a core group of friends or family or, you know, your, your teenager and their friends to come help you pack, then you don't have to put a bunch of employees on staff, and it's really beneficial for you.

And you really— I mean, I— we have heard it time and time again, like, people, they just tell us it's fun. So we're like, okay, so that makes me want to make it even more fun. So there will be sometimes where it's been an extra hard pack and it's been, you know, everybody's really tired, and I will just call up, you know, the girl that gives us massages. I'm like, can you come down here and give us— bring 10 gift certificates? And we just surprised them, like, guess what everybody's getting? Massages all around. So we, we try try to make it fun for everybody who's there, you know, and reward. You can buy them pizza, you can do whatever. You can make, you can make packing day a lot of fun.

Yeah. I love that. You know, one of the things that I always ask people, because I know from my own business and my own life that having this subscription box, having that recurring revenue just show up in my business has really changed my business. It's changed my life. And I would love to hear a little bit about how it's changed your business. I know we've gone through some really big challenges in 2020. You know, both of us have a brick and mortar store, and so that's really affected us. But how has this changed your business and your life?

It has, uh, flipped our business. Uh, there was, you know, the studio, um, teaching was what we started with, and that is, was 100% of our income for a long time, or 100% of our business. And, you know, when we started this, it was kind of on the side, and our studio was still 80% of our business. Well, then COVID hit and we had to shut down our business completely, or not our whole business, our brick and mortar portion. And there was just a lot of, you know, fear and scared and oh my gosh, what were we going to do? And in the same moments of feeling the fear and the scare, like I was then reminded, like, we've got this subscription, you know, we've got this online membership, recurring revenue that is not dependent on this building. And even though this building got shut down, like, we— it just gave me so much just peace, you know. I mean, there was still a lot of scariness happening around the shutdown, but it was just like, okay, I can breathe. I can, you know, I can still pay my employees. We can still have food on our table. But, and I think just the security of that, the reassurance.

Yes, that you had money coming in every month. Yes, you didn't have to show up and sell stuff during the pandemic when everything was shutting down. You didn't have to worry about income coming in. And I think that's the same for me. It's really what changed changed my outlook. And it really just makes you feel secure and stable.

And not even just secure, we could grow it. You know, we couldn't— I mean, the studio was completely shut down. We couldn't grow anything there. We were safe, secure, and we could grow that business even with everything shut down. Like, that was huge. And so now when I say that it's completely flipped our business, I mean, our studio is like 20% of our business now, and there's 80% that are our online membership. Subscription boxes.

I love it. It's so good. Casey, we are going to wrap up our conversation today and that with one piece of advice that you would give, because there's a lot of people listening that maybe haven't started their subscription box, they've barely started their subscription box. What advice would you give for anyone new to the subscription box industry?

If you were just kind of thinking about it and you're, you're worried that you don't have all the pieces, I would say just start. Like, just start. It can be sloppy, it can be small. Like, you're gonna learn the lessons, you're gonna stand at the post office like— I hope you don't, hope you learn from me. But you, you know, I— and that wasn't— there was a lot more mistakes along the way. There was, you know, times where we printed out labels and forgot to have them on sticky paper, so then we had to tape them on every single packet. You know, there was a lot of those little mistakes. And, you know, this, you know, starting small is— there is no shame in that. That is where you learn how to create the systems that you need so that As you grow, you've got, you've got them, you've got your processes down.

It's easier if you have 50 mistakes than 500 mistakes. And so really just finding your groove. I think it's a rhythm. It's a process that you have to put in place and everyone's looks just a little different. And so I love how you said, just start small, build on top of that and don't be afraid.

Right. Right. Yep.

Awesome. Well, Casey, I've loved having you on my podcast today. Where can they find you? Where can they follow you and see what you're doing?

We, um, pizzazzonline.com is our website. P-Z-A-Z-Z is how you spell pizzazz. On Facebook, you just be sure to put the apostrophe in pizzazz. P apostrophe Z-A-Z-Z. Pizzazz Art Studio.

All right, thank you so much, Casey. I appreciate you.

All right, see ya.

If the idea of creating a subscription box is swirling around in your head, I encourage you to head over to Launch Your Box launchyourboxwithsarah.com, get on our waitlist, and grab some of our free downloads to help you get started. That's launchyourboxwithsarah.com.