In this episode of the Launch Your Box podcast, host Sarah Williams demystifies Facebook advertising for subscription‑box entrepreneurs. She shares her personal journey of learning ads and presents a three‑step framework that any box owner can implement, regardless of budget or experience. The first ad type is a page‑like ad, a low‑cost campaign aimed at growing page likes and organic reach. Sarah explains creative elements (friendly photo, light copy), targeting via Meta Advantage+ Audience, and a daily spend of $5‑$10. The second ad type is an opt‑in or list‑building ad, designed to capture email addresses by offering a niche‑specific freebie. She outlines the need for a simple landing page, a compelling freebie, clear messaging, and timing the campaign a month or two before a launch. The third ad type is a sales ad, used once an audience and email list are in place to drive subscriptions or one‑time purchases. She advises on creative formats (product photos, unboxing videos), budgeting ($10‑$60 per day), run length (7‑10 days), and ongoing optimization. Throughout, Sarah emphasizes a mindset of starting with one goal, testing, and using tools like Canva for graphics, Meta Advantage+ for targeting, and ChatGPT for copy. She encourages listeners to pick one ad type, set a modest budget, and iterate, reinforcing that consistent, strategic effort leads to effective Facebook advertising for subscription boxes.
Think Facebook ads are too confusing, too expensive, or just not worth it? I thought the same thing, but 18 months ago I taught myself how to run ads, and I've been teaching my members how to do the same. In this episode, I'm giving you 3 simple types of ads that every subscription box owner should be running, even if you're starting from scratch. Grab your earbuds and 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.
Let's be real, Facebook ads can feel very overwhelming. The platform changes every single time I open it. Everyone's different Facebook ads manager says something completely different than mine does. Like every— you could put 3 people together and their ads manager would look different. And honestly, because of those reasons, for a long time I just avoided it. But about 18 months ago, I decided to dig in and learn how to run ads for myself. I no longer wanted to rely on someone else. I wanted to understand what worked, what didn't, and how I could actually use this tool to grow my subscription box business. And what I learned is this. You don't need to be an expert to run Facebook ads. You don't need to have a giant budget. You just need a simple system and a willingness to test and learn because Facebook ads are always changing. That's just how it works. So instead of waiting until you feel like you know everything, I want you to start with one ad with one goal. That's what I did. And today I'm going to walk you through 3 different types of ads that every subscription box owner should be running, no matter what stage you're in. So the first one is a page like ad. This is the easiest one to start. It has a low cost and it's super helpful if you're trying to build your audience and build your visibility. The goal here is simple. You want more people to like your Facebook page. Why? Because the more people that like your page, the more people see your lives, the more people can connect with you in the comments, and eventually they buy from you. That's why I always have a page like ad running in the background 365 days a year. You will always, you will always see me have a page like ad running. And so here's what I want you to include in a page like ad. It's just a friendly photo of you and your product. The best ad that I have for my page like is always me and my product. So intentionally, because I have the Monogram Box, I'm usually wearing something monogrammed that's in my photo that catches people's attention if they like monograms. And I might be holding a box that says the Monogram Box. I might be holding a tray of earrings, but I have that monogram on because it ties me to that product. There's simple copy that connects you and your style and your product to the perfect person, but there's no pitches and there's no selling. I want you to keep it light and visual. You can use Meta's Advantage+ Audience. This helps you find people who are already similar to your current followers. I want you to run this at $5 to $10 a day. That's like $150 to $300 a month. and you'll be surprised at how fast your page grows. All right. Ad number 2, an opt-in ad. So let's talk about list building because that's an important part of your business. If you're not building your email list yet, now's the time to do it. And an opt-in ad is the perfect way to do this. The goal here is to get people to say yes to a freebie. And in exchange they're going to give you their email or phone number before your next launch. Emails always work best in a launch and you've got to have someone to email. So an example, when I'm prepping for my teacher subscription box launch, not box, my teacher, my Teacher Teas launch last month, I created a free downloadable wallpaper just for teachers. It was cute, it was branded, it was super shareable, and it worked. I had hundreds and thousands of teachers sign up like crazy. And so that helped me going into that launch because I had new people that I could email, that I could send all those launch emails to. So what do you need to make this happen? You need a simple landing page. This is where people are going to opt in. All right. So they're going to go to this page on your website. They're going to give you your email address and you're going to give them the freebie. That's the next thing you need. You need a freebie that fits your niche. Okay, that could be a checklist, that could be a printable, that could be a free download. Make it easy. And then you just need a clear message. Sign up and grab your free gift today. Give me your email, I'll give you this. You're giving value before you ever ask for the sale, and that's how people connect with you. And, and a bonus to all this is that these leads are warm. Then when launch week comes, they already know who you are. So I do this a month or two out from the launch. It warms up, it brings new people. I'm warming them up with some email campaigns during that time period. And now when they're hit with my launch emails, they know who I am, they know what I do, and hopefully they want to subscribe. Now, ad number 3 is a sales ad. Now you're ready to sell. This one is for you. Sales ads are where you introduce your product to new people or warm people in your audience and invite them to subscribe or purchase. These work best once you've built up some audience in an email list. Okay, so I want you to do— I don't want you to just jump into type number 3. I don't want you to jump into sales ads first. You've got to help the algorithm know who your customer is by getting the page follows, getting those page likes, and then getting those opt-ins. So here's what you can promote. You could, you could promote like a one-time box. That would be a great sales ad to do. You could promote a special bundle of product, and then ultimately you want to promote your subscription box. And what's been working really well right now have been behind the scenes, just images and videos of packing and prepping. Unboxings have been working really great, whether that's static images or videos showing what to do with a product, like a short video of how to style something, how to use it, how to use the products in your box, or just simple, clean product photos with great headlines on them. And I would start a sales ad no less than $10 a day. I would really want you to get to $30 a day or $60 a day if you can. Sales ads cost more, so you have to spend more. And this is just another reason to run the other two ads in conjunction with sales ads, okay? Because they're going to come in cheaper, but they're not necessarily converting right up front. I want you to run sales ads for a minimum of 7 to 10 days. I want you to optimize your ad set after a few days. I want you to watch the results. And then make small changes to those ad campaigns. So here's some quick tips. No matter which ad that you decide you wanna run, these can apply to all 3 of these ad types. Use Canva for easy branded graphics. We love Canva and it makes creating ad graphics really easy. Keep your captions short with one call to action. Okay. Don't overthink the targeting. If you don't have custom audiences or anything like that built inside your ads manager, just use the Advantage+ audience. It works really, really great. Okay. And don't panic if your ad doesn't explode on day one. This is what I see people the most. They just kind of give up too early. Give it 3 to 4 days to run before tweaking anything. And if you get stuck with your ad copy, you know I'm asking ChattyGPT to help me write headlines, hooks, and captions. So use the tools that make it easier. And we have a custom ChatGPT inside LauncherBox that would be perfect for this. So I want you to choose one of these ad types this week and I want you to run it. If you've never done a page-like ad, it's your easiest road to go. I'm teaching you how to do that right inside LauncherBox. Step by step. So want more visibility? Run a page like ad. Want a bigger email list? Run an opt-in ad. Ready to sell and get subscribers? Run a sales ad. Pick one, set a budget, test it and tweak it. You don't need a big plan to get started. You just need to start smart. Because when you show up consistently, you test strategically, and you learn as you go, that's when your ads start working.
