5 Ways to Market Your Subscription Program

We’ve rounded up some tips on how our favorite brands are promoting their subscription programs for some inspiration! From dedicating a section on your website showcasing your subscription program to optimizing your PDP for subscription opt-ins, a subscription-led strategy is beneficial for dozens of reasons. See how implementing each of these five strategies helps boost awareness of your subscription program and convert one-time buyers into loyal brand champions.

Dedicate a Section of the Website to Promote Subscriptions

Creating a landing page dedicated to subscriptions on your website allows for a centralized hub of everything customers need to know and makes it clear what your specific subscription program offers. Use this page to show the benefits of the subscription program, such as free shipping for subscription orders, emphasize its flexibility, and display frequently asked questions. 

Neuro is a great example of one of our brands that has a dedicated page for subscriptions to outline the details of their program. They do a beautiful job at making it clear how easy the process of subscribing actually is, emphasizing subscriber-exclusive perks, like free shipping and a 10% discount, as well as the flexibility to match the subscription program to your needs and lifestyle. 

Not to mention, Neuro also includes a frequently asked questions section to ensure that customers are never left in the dark! 

Optimize Your PDP for Subscriptions 

41% of online shoppers say that product detail pages had the biggest influence on their purchase decisions, making it the top online touchpoint at the time of purchase. As a best practice, be sure to fine-tune your PDP to optimize the entire subscription experience. 

Specifically, on the PDP, default the selection to subscriptions with a design that draws your customer’s attention. In addition, highlight how much money subscribers save and emphasize that subscribers receive free shipping–it’s key to show the value of subscribing without needing to click anything. This is also a great opportunity to link back to the webpage dedicated to subscriptions for any questions that may arise. Overall, reduce the number of clicks it takes for the customer to get from the site’s homepage to checkout. Ideally, it should only be 1 to 2 clicks. Read more on PDP best practices on our Tips Page.

One of our brands that has done an exceptional job at optimizing their PDP for turning one-time purchasers into subscribers is Freestyle. Not only do the colors and brand design draw your attention, but they make their subscriber benefits and perks stand out. 

Freestyle is also an incredible example of why it’s important to default to subscriptions. After launching with only subscriptions, Freestyle later added an option for one-time checkouts, but surprisingly saw a decrease in sales because customers felt overwhelmed by the options. In response, they discounted subscriptions to a greater extent and highlighted their subscriber-exclusive perks while increasing the price of one-time purchases, further incentivizing opting into the subscription program. These changes have been very impactful for the brand, as Freestyle has doubled their subscriber base in 4 months and 74% of their revenue comes from subscriptions–powered by Smartrr.

Create a Subscription-Led Membership Program

Another effective strategy that brands using Smartrr have found to be successful in promoting subscriptions is giving customers VIP treatment through a subscription-driven membership program. Within this program, brands are delighting subscribers with special, member-only benefits, such as rewards, referrals, exclusive gifts, special promotions and discounts, and early access to new products as a way to reward member loyalty. This is a great way to set yourself apart from the crowd and elevate your subscription program beyond just subscribing and saving! 

Cheribundi does an excellent job of promoting their membership program, pushing customers to commit to their monthly ritual by becoming a “Pit Crew” member. Going above and beyond just receiving a high discount, members also get exclusive benefits like exclusive gifts and offers, priority shipping, tips from the crew, giftable subscriptions, and more! With these benefits, Cheribundi is establishing a brand community and a sense of exclusivity. 

‍

‍

‍

Promote Exclusivity in Marketing Emails

Email is the perfect channel for spreading awareness to new customers about your subscription program, sharing subscriber-exclusive content, and updating customers on any new features to your membership program. This is also a great opportunity to personalize your communications with customers and make sure they are receiving relevant promotions and product suggestions tailored to their interests.

Many brands include subscription-driven content as part of an email flow for new customers to incentivize them to subscribe. For example, Womaness promotes their subscription program by emphasizing the flexibility of their subscriptions as well as the 10% subscriber-exclusive discount.

Avaline too does a great job of framing their subscription program as the smarter way to order, featuring benefits like 15% off, free shipping, flexibility, first access to new releases, and special gifts– a true VIP treatment for subscribers! 

‍

Add an Extra Marketing Touchpoint With Customized Banners

Continue to promote the details of your subscription program to subscribers themselves through marketing banners directly in your customer account portal. Marketing banners allow you to double down on key messaging and provide another marketing touchpoint in a high-visibility location for loyal customers. These banners are perfect for introducing a new product or announcing upcoming promotions, and can also provide subscription tips to influence higher-value purchases.

This is also a great opportunity to remind subscribers when their order renews to ensure they know when to swap a product or skip a month. Specifically, Honey Bee Meals is taking advantage of marketing banners to remind subscribers when to edit their meal choices for their upcoming subscription orders. 

All things considered, when promoting your subscription program it’s crucial to make it clear to your customers what your specific offerings are and why they benefit from subscribing. Making customers feel like VIPs by giving them relevant, enticing rewards for being loyal to your brand is the perfect way to turn them into brand champions. Ensure that you emphasize this to them throughout your website and marketing communications to give them the best subscription experience possible.