096: Changing Direction and Niching Down Generates 400 New Subscribers

Have you started your subscription only to stall out and wonder if this is good as it gets? My guest today decided it was time to niche down and lean into an audience that was close to her heart. And when she did, she had 400 new subscribers in only 9 months. Come join us.

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.

Welcome back to the Launch Your Box podcast. I'm excited today, and I'm even more excited because the stats are even better than I thought they were when we were talking about this podcast. But I've got Launch Your Box member Julie Harkin here of the Pilot Wives Club, and she launched her subscription just 9 months ago, and we're so close to hitting the 400 subscriber mark, and it's amazing. And once you hear her story on how she built her audience— she had an audience that that she tapped into that she didn't even know was going to reap the benefits that she's received. Now we're going to talk about her story, what happened, how she's had these amazing results. We're also going to break down her most recent launch and talk about how she added over 140 new subscribers to her subscription in just the last month. So Julie, I would love for you to say hi. Why don't you just introduce yourself and tell them a little bit about the Pilot Wives Club?

Hi Sarah, this is, I'm Julie Harkin and I'm the owner of the Pilot Wives Club. And it's a bimonthly subscription box just for wives of pilots. And in it we have kind of a variety of just like accessories and just fun things. I call it kind of a classy aviation theme, just a little bit, not nothing blaring Pilot Wives, but a little bit.

It's for this group of people that are all pilot wives basically. And it's fun things for them that connect them to to being a Pilot Wife, right?

That's right.

Okay, so we're gonna go way back here because we have to understand where this all started for us to be able to know where we're going here. So I know Julie because she joined Launch Your Box quite a while ago, but it was for something completely different. So I want to start our story there. Um, why don't you tell them about your first subscription? Let's talk about the journey of that first subscription, and then we're going to go back to the Pilot Wives Club.

Okay, sure. So, so yeah, so I joined Launch Your Box, I think 2 years ago maybe, and it was for this home decor kind of side hustle that I have. And, and I have that with a friend of mine. So it's a joint business and we started a tea towel of the month club and that's been running for 2 years and it's been doing fine. Not quite the same level as what I've experienced here recently, but they are the cute, they are the cutest tea towels.

They are the cutest things. And I think that you got to a point. Was it about 100 subscribers? Was that where the point where it kind of just plateaued a little bit?

Yes.

And you were finding it was hard to grow. Mm-hmm. And are you still at that point? Have you grown past that? Like, where are we at with it?

Yeah, we're still at that point. And it's just, you know, kind of, yeah, just kind of level. Yeah.

Okay. And so let's then talk about how this idea came about for the new subscription.

Yeah. Yeah. So I listen to every one of your podcasts and all of the training. And so I always hear about these niche subscription boxes and how successful they are. And, and I kept thinking, what niches am I in, in my life? And there's many, but this particular one, being a pilot wife, felt like that was the one that was right for my next step, I guess.

So you've been really consuming the content we talk about with the riches are in the niches. And we say that because when we can niche down to one specific topic or for some one specific person, we can actually go deeper with our messaging. We can find those people easier versus when we go broad. Like when we think about tea towels, it's such a broad audience. Like a lot of people use tea towels. They can go, they can be for older women, younger women, moms, grandmas, you know, they can be for a lot of people. So you really have a broad audience. And in our mind, we think if we have a broad audience, we're gonna be able to find more people. But what happens is our messaging gets so washed over because we're trying to talk to too many different people when we go broad like that. So the idea of going niche, niching down is that you're talking to literally one person and you can be found easier. You become known for something. And so you have these ideas going in your head like, okay, Maybe I do need to, to niche down and go a little bit more specific. I can't really do that with my tea towels. So what else in my life is going on that I'm passionate about? Because that's the other thing that I teach is that you really gotta love what you're selling because you're gonna have to talk about it a lot. So you really need to be passionate about it. And so for you, it was this Pilot Wives Club. And tell me a little bit about this Facebook group that you started forever ago.

Yeah, right. Yeah. I had no idea what it would end up becoming 9 years ago. When I started it, but I think I was sitting in my car in the parking lot while one of my kids were at a lesson. And I met somebody on Facebook, you know, just kind of realized they were a pilot wife. And I'm like, man, I'm hustling these kids around. My husband's gone half the time I'm working. It's just like crazy life. And somebody like, I didn't know anybody else in that situation, but like, surely there's others out there. And so I just like started it. I just created the group on Facebook. And just did it. And then I invited that one person and it just kind of went from there.

And is your Facebook group called the Pilot Wives Club?

Yeah, it is.

And so that started 9 years ago, almost a decade ago. How did, how did it grow over the years? Like, do you have like, how many people are in this group?

Yeah. So now, so today there's about 6,500 people in the group and it just started, you know, a few people invited a few people and then it kind of went from there. I think today people find it, there's, they search. Maybe for a group like that, and they find us that way.

Yeah, I think more and more people these days know that it's out there, and so they're searching for it. You know, probably when you started it, it wasn't the biggest thing to be a part of a Facebook group of just women that talk to each other about the same topic or have the same similarities. But now people are looking for those connections, so they're searching it and finding it. So we've had this Facebook group, you've been chatting it up with all these pilot wives, you've been making friends and nurturing that group and really creating a safe space for them to talk about their daily lives and their struggles and their wins and things like that. And so you think, I, I think I'm gonna do a box for these pilot wives that I have grown this little audience for and I've been nurturing it. Tell me how that came about and what, what were your next steps when you— that realization was like, okay, I'm gonna do this.

Yeah. Yep. So then the first thing I did was I created a kind of a survey for pilot wives. And it happened to be that I did that, I think, in the month— in, in November. And it was kind of that time frame when the groups were letting businesses post, because like other— there's other Facebook groups for pilot wives, and I could post about that in, in those other groups as well as my own. And, and so I had a lot of ladies take the survey, and it was like, you know, how often would you like to receive a box, and what would you like to see in it, and you know, all kinds of information there. So that was step number 1 to see if there was interest.

And did you get a lot of feedback from that survey?

I did. I got so many, so many people filled it out. I think there were like 1,500 people filled it out. Wow. Yeah.

That's amazing.

It was crazy. It was crazy. And then I think about half of them gave me their email address.

So you already like instantly knew this could be a thing because you had so much interest and you had Like 750 emails, right? Like, you're like, okay, now I have—

yeah, that's right.

Getting excited. Okay, that was exciting.

Yeah, it was really exciting. I was really excited, like kind of nervous at the same time, of course, you know, because you're like, oh, I hope I can meet their expectations. And, and I really debating on what number to start out with for the very first launch.

Okay, so let's talk about the first launch then. So this is November of 2021. And you've gotten this survey and you're like, holy cow, there's a lot of information here because I would imagine 1,500 surveys is a lot to go through.

Right.

So what were your next steps after you did that survey?

Right. Right. So the next thing I did was I buckled down and got like the website set up and the, you know, all the technology in place. And I had already done this once before, so I, I knew what I was doing, but it still took a lot of work to get everything in place and emails, you know, get the email flows set up and all of that. So that was kind of next. And then of course, figuring out what I was going to put into that first box. Since I wasn't sure, you know, how many I was going to have, I tried to pick things I could kind of get easily for that first, first round.

So you set a launch date for February of the next year. So you got through the holidays, you got your tech together, you got game plan, you figured out what you were going to put in the boxes. You had a beautiful box designed and printed. And So now it's February. I bet you're like nervous. You've done a lot of work up until this point and you launched the thing and what happened?

Yeah, so I launched the thing and it, you know, I, I kind of put 100 as my max. That's— I had, you know, that was the max, but you know, I could, could adjust from there. But I sold out within a couple of days.

Wow, you sold out 100 subscribers on your very first launch.

Yeah.

And it really comes from this Facebook group that you started building, not even thinking about selling to them. You started it to serve them and to be a part of something bigger than yourself. And I think that's where most great audiences are built from. When we have the idea to serve or to be helpful or to communicate or to connect people, that is the best place to build an audience. And then later we sell to them after we've built a relationship with them. We've connected with them. And that is exactly what you do. I don't want people doing that and taking 9 years to do that. I'm just saying it was very great that you spent so much time nurturing this audience. And we can all do that. We can do it in a, in a more rapid period of time. But that's how you show up and kill your launch by having an audience that you've served and nurtured for a period of time. So you sold out within a few days, your 100 boxes. Are you freaking out at this point?

I was really excited. I was just like, you know, just felt really redeemed, I guess. Like, yes, this is something. Yeah.

Like this is legit. I did this on my own and, and this is proof that this could be successful for me. This in one launch is outperforming the towel, the tea towel.

Yeah, that's right.

So for you it was like validation that this was the way to go and that you needed to lean into this and grow this, right? Right.

That's right. Yes.

Okay. So then we get through the launch, we're getting our first boxes out. I'm sure the feedback was amazing on the first box. And so what happens over the next several months?

Yeah. So you're right, they got that first box and everyone was posting in the group, oh, I got it, it's here. And I was like, oh my, you know, because your stomach is just in knots after you send that first box. Well, even every box, I'm just, oh, are they gonna like it? And, and that feedback started coming in and everyone was just so gracious and thanking me, thanking me 'Thank you for actually doing this,' you know. So that was really— felt good. And so then each, you know, it's a bi-monthly box, so every other month I would just kind of open up a few more, or if I had extras, I would offer them— if you could sign up now and get this month's box kind of thing. So I just kind of gradually grew, um, you know, to about 250 or so, um, that way.

Gradually? I just— well, I mean, more than doubled my subscription. I casually—

I just— I didn't do a full-blown I guess. Yeah.

So you increased your numbers, you invited people to join you with each of those other months because it is bimonthly. So you were increasing your numbers, you were planning for growth. And then you, you said that you did your first real launch.

Yeah.

Okay. So I wanna talk about that. And that was in October, right? Like just—

That's right. Yes, that's right.

So let's talk about your first real launch because you just opened the doors. You had, Got people that wanted in, you let them in, you increased. But now we're going to do a first real launch. What does that mean to you?

Yeah. Yeah. So that meant that, you know, I made it through all of my emails that I had scheduled and, and posts and did the lives just about every night and that type of thing. So I kind of did the full-blown, you know, according to the way you teach us and just followed your plan on how to do that.

So you did a structured launch. And when Julie says that, it's not like she just let the door open and just Invited some people to come sign up if they wanted to. She showed up and did a launch the way we teach inside Launch Your Box. And that's a concentrated period of time that you're going to show up and sell and go live and do all the marketing things that I teach you to do and not just kind of throw it out there and hope somebody signs up, right? So you're scheduling lives, you're scheduling the email sequences or the email campaigns every day according to the launch plan that I build out for you. You're scheduling an open cart, closed cart. Did you do the early bird bonus?

I did. Yes, I did.

She did the early bird bonus. So she basically took all the components of the launch plan that I build out for you. And she said, okay, this is my first real launch. Like I'm doing the plan. And isn't it amazing to have a plan so that you, you know what to do and you can just kind of check the things off and keep moving forward and not like swim around in your head about Should I be doing something else? What should I be doing today? What should I do tomorrow? Is it, have I sent too many emails? Like, what am I doing? Right.

Yeah, absolutely. And all of that I was able to schedule ahead of time. And even having done that, it was still a crazy week, just answering questions and, and doing the lives. Yeah.

And that's why you wanna schedule some of that out because in the actual launch, it's a lot to show up. Like when we show up on live video, even if it's 20 minutes, it takes a lot of energy to be on, you know what I mean? And so that exudes a lot of your energy. And then there's a lot of email and customer service follow-up. And I'm sure you don't have like this huge team of people that just answers all of that behind the scenes. Like, I'm— you can't see Julie, but she's sitting in her bedroom or a bedroom in her house and there are boxes stacked behind her. So I know that she's doing this outside of her— I mean, in her home, but also she works a full-time job. So it's not that she was just sitting around waiting for someone to email her and ask her a question. She's full-blown launch mode. People are joining every hour. You're handling the customer service, you're handling the questions, going live, making sure the emails are in, the posts are scheduled and out on time. It's a lot to do. And that's why we do it in a short concentrated time, because if we can go all in in that timeframe versus dragging it out for weeks and weeks, we're able to put all of our energy into that short timeframe. We give people a reason to buy right right then. And then we don't feel like we're selling all the time, which is a lot of times not what we want to do. We don't want to sell all the time. We just want to do the— we want to make the cute stuff and send the cute boxes, right?

Like, that's right.

Yeah. So you did a full-blown launch. You added in an extra 140 subscribers.

Yeah.

In what, 4 or 5 days?

Yes, that's right.

Yeah, 4 or 5 days. And it put you almost to the 400 mark. Yeah, right.

Yeah.

And how does that feel? Like, in 9 months we went from nothing to almost 400 subscribers.

Yeah.

How does that feel?

It feels fantastic and scary. You know, how am I going to do all this? But it kind of feels almost like, I don't know, next level, or it's what I've, you know, dreamed of and forecast and just, you know, envisioned. And it's so— it's really exciting to see that it actually is happening.

Are you still managing all of it from home too?

Yes, I am. Yeah.

Okay. And so what, when you, when you lay down at night and you dream the entrepreneurial dreams, like we all do, we all just lay down thinking about what's the next thing or where is this going to go? Or what do I hope for this? Like, what is the hope for the Pilot Wives Club for you?

You know, I don't know that I have like a limit. Like I want to get to so many subscribers. That 500 has always kind of been like, okay, I'm almost there, almost there. That's my next kind of, you know, benchmark. But, but yeah, so I'm pretty happy just kind of growing this. I have other ideas of, you know, with that quantity, I'm, I'm sourcing and manufacturing the items for it. And, and maybe like, maybe that could be something, you know, taking that to be a line of products or something, you know, where I can use that energy and effort I'm putting into finding them in the first place to kind of get a little more bang for my buck on, on time with figuring that out.

Yeah, absolutely. So when you, as you think back on the, in the last 9 months, what do you feel like was the most challenging for you?

I think for me it's always time, figuring out how I'm going to have the time to set things up, to answer questions, to pack the boxes, all of that. And so I'm a, a project manager by day, so I'm really used to being organized and creating lists and, and figuring that stuff out. But it required, you know, I, I spent a lot of early mornings getting things set up. I'd get up earlier than I normally would so I could get everything going. And so it took some sacrifice and hard work, you know, to get there.

Obviously, like, you're, you're not just throwing things together at the last minute. Like, you're planning this out, you're being intentional, you're setting goals, you're setting numbers, and you're working towards them. And you're not just spaghetti testing stuff. Like, you're really thinking through what this is and where it can go. And I love how intentional you are with this. You know, one thing about your story that I love, that I think is important for everyone listening is the way that you've leveraged this Facebook group. And, you know, I don't have a Facebook group for my subscribers, but I wanna talk about that a little bit. So now originally the group was just to connect and be friends with other pilot wives. And so how has that changed over this last year with your Facebook group?

Yeah, it's really interesting because I wasn't sure how that would play out because I'd never sold something to them before. And, and they have just been so supportive. I mean, I feel like I tell them all the time, like, you are like the wind in my sails. Like you just keep me wanting to move forward and do better because they've just like shown up for me. They, they really have. And, and each time they get a box, they are sharing it and posting and And when I had this last launch, one of them came on and did a live with me and I had made a post, you know, we're launching and, and hey, current members, tell everyone what you like about it. And I mean, it was just full of comments. And so it just, you know, it's been very gratifying. Sometimes that group over the last 9 years hasn't been the most fun, you know, to, to manage a free group just because. And, and so this has kind of made it fun again. And I've found that like the ladies in it, like they kind of come together and are more supportive of each other.

And if you had to do it all over again, would you do it again?

Oh yeah. Yeah, definitely.

And what advice would you give for someone that has been maybe thinking about starting a free group to collect people with the same interest in hopes of starting a subscription box? Like what advice would you give to someone thinking that way?

Yeah. I mean, I think that finding your people is is a big deal. And, and for me that worked out really well. It just was very organic and natural for me to find them. And so I'm definitely a believer that you need to have your box before somebody.

And so I guess another kind of technical question is how often do you post in this group? Do you have like a plan? Is it, is it pretty spontaneous or what's, what do you do for the group?

Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, prior to the launch, I rarely posted or prior to the box, I rarely posted. I was more moderating and making sure people were just like, nice conversations.

Yeah, making sure everyone was having conversations and it wasn't getting out of control.

That's right. Yeah, absolutely. And so now it is kind of sporadic. You know, I try to post every day on my Facebook business page, but then like if there's something that I think applies to them, I'll put it in the group too. So I try not to— I try to be careful that I don't overdo it in the group or that it, you know, I share things that are maybe something funny or, you know, not necessarily salesy.

Yeah, you don't want to just show up and sell all the time. You want to continue to build and nurture that group the same way you started it, right?

Yes.

Turn into just a sales platform, right?

Yeah, definitely. And we're planning a meetup, a getaway in February. And so that's amazing. Yeah, it'll be fun. And, you know, I said this isn't really— I know I have a business, but this is just for fun. Like, this isn't—

tell me about this because I'm so curious.

Yeah. So, you know, I don't get free flight benefits, but a lot of pilot wives do and take advantage of traveling a lot. There's different meetups that people have, like there's city groups of pilot wives. It's kind of a whole, a whole thing you don't know is going on in the world, I guess. But, and so we just, I decided let's do a meetup in Florida somewhere people can easily fly into and, and we're going to do a long weekend.

They're just going to like stay at the same hotel and hang out. That's going to be so great.

Yeah. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Well, Julie, it's been so great catching up with you on the podcast today. I think there's a lot of great tangible information for our listeners, whether they've started a subscription box and maybe have stalled out a little bit like you did with your tea towels and are looking to kind of refresh, going a little bit deeper into a new niche. This is a great inspirational story, or someone that's launched and growing and wondering how a Facebook group could support their, their niche and their subscription box. I think there's a lot of great actionable things here. I I would love for you to wrap this podcast up with what advice would you give for someone listening that's maybe stalled out a little bit. Mm-hmm. They're thinking, is this as good as it's gonna get for me with my subscription? What advice would you give for them? Yeah.

Yeah. Kind of like I said before, like finding your person, finding your people. And, and I think it was important. It's important that you are part of that group. You know, I think that was a big deal for me to say, this is for us. Not this is just for you. So finding your people that you can really be a part of and, and pretty authentically, you know, build.

I love that. All right. If we've got pilot wives that are listening, where can they find you?

Yeah. So it's the Pilot Wives Club kind of everywhere on online. Uh, that's my website, Facebook, and you can join our Facebook group.

Yeah. Awesome. Okay. Thanks, Julie. We'll be back for another great episode next week. If the idea of creating a subscription box is swirling around in your head, I encourage you to head over to launchyourboxwithsarah.com, get on our waitlist, and grab some of our free downloads to help you get started. That's launchyourboxwithsarah.com.