Cratejoy is the world’s premier subscription box marketplace. With over 4 million monthly visitors, it’s important that subscription box owners optimize their Cratejoy Marketplace listing with conversion rate in mind! That means tight copy, stellar photos, and clear expectations for subscribers.
Whether you have had a subscription box business for 10 years or you just started yesterday: Listing Quality affects you and your business!
Time spent creating high-quality listings (or improving existing listings!) will yield more engagement and more sales.
Check out our webinar information page to register for upcoming webinars or watch recordings of past webinars.
Watch the Cratejoy team discuss how to set up a high-quality listing during our Listing Quality Webinar & Town Hall!
Complete, high-quality listings will help convert page views into sales and first-time subscribers into long-term subscribers. These listings will also have more chances to be pulled into special Cratejoy promotions, sales, and PR opportunities.
Read more about how Cratejoy assigns scores to each section of your listing in our Listing Completion Score Guide and about how Cratejoy evaluates quality in our Listing Quality Guide.
In this article we’ll cover how to get the most out of each section in your listing. Check out the links throughout the article for more in-depth information on each section.
A clear, thoughtful listing inspires confidence in your potential subscribers. They will know what they are getting, when they are getting it, and why they want to subscribe.
Brief Description:
Your Brief Description is the first thing that most potential buyers will see. It’s the one sentence that needs to stand out on the search page. It should clearly describe the contents of the box or the experience the box will deliver.
You know that you have a great subscription box and we know that people are looking for exactly what you offer. Your Brief Description should shout, “Stop your scroll! I’m right here!”
Click here to learn more in our support article: Cratejoy Listing Brief Description.
Detailed Description:
A buyer reads the Brief Description on the search page and clicks the link to your listing. Hooray! Now, let’s keep the buyer on your page by providing lots of information about your subscription box.
Underneath your clear, high-quality photos (more on that later!) is your Detailed Description. This is where you can fully describe your box. Tell your subscriber about the kinds of products you select for your subscription boxes. If your products change monthly: describe the theme of your box and give examples of possible products.
Click here to learn more in our support article: Cratejoy Listing: Detailed Description.
Categories & Sub-Categories
Why is proper categorization important?
Make sure your box is listed in the correct category & subcategory and sets buyer expectations. It can be tempting to choose a category that you feel may reach more people. However, this can hurt your sales if your box is not a match to that category.
Improper categorization also results in fewer opportunities for the Cratejoy team to feature and merchandise your box.
What is the purpose of categorizing my subscription box?
Selecting relevant categories for your subscription box will help customers discover your listing when they are browsing or searching for products related to your box.
What is the difference between a “category” and a “sub-category”?
A category page is the broadest level of grouping similar types of subscription boxes and a sub-category groups similar subscription boxes more specifically. For example, a children’s book subscription box is broadly categorized under “Books” but is more specifically a “Children’s Book” box.
How do I know what category and sub-category to choose for my subscription box?
We try to organize the categories and sub-categories by what items or products are included in a subscription box rather than what or who the products are for.
For example, if you have a subscription box with bath and soap products that are geared towards women, you should choose “Bath and Soap” as the primary category.
If your subscription box has multiple types of products, try to narrow down to one type of product that makes up the majority content of your box.
Read more about categories and sub-categories in our guide: How to pick the best Cratejoy marketplace category for your store’s marketplace listing..
SEO
When setting up your listings you can enter key search terms so that customers can find your box using the search function on cratejoy.com.
SEO, much like Categories, helps potential customers find your box more easily. Our general advice is to keep terms simple, for example if you have a “Spa” box, use the term “spa.”
A great exercise to determine what simple search terms to use is:
- Imagine YOU are searching for the product you sell
- Ask yourself: what would you put in the search field?
- Use those words or phrases for your SEO section!
Just like with Categories, we advise using search terms that are relevant to your products. Using a general search term that many people search for may seem like a good idea, however this can hurt your sales if the search term is not a match to your products.
The words or phrases you enter on the SEO tab of your listing will appear at the very bottom of the page on your Cratejoy Marketplace Listing.
List of Features:
Below the Detailed Description is the List of Features. This list can contain up to five bulleted points. We suggest using all of them to communicate short, high-value points about your box. These points should be exciting statements that nudge your buyer closer to the Subscribe Now button.
You can use the bulleted points to suggest uses for your products, give specifics about curation, highlight the retail value of the box, and so much more!
Learn what to include in our support article: Cratejoy Listing: List of Features.
Providing a high-clarity description of your subscription box is essential to a high-quality listing. It is one of many ways to attract buyers and get more sales.
Images:
Potential customers can’t walk into your store and pick up the products you’re offering. They’re relying on the Images of your product to tell them everything they need to know before purchasing. Make their decision even easier with photos that showcase your subscription box contents!
We recommend at least 8-10 total images, 1200×800 for dimensions and 300ppi, showcasing high-quality, high-resolution photos of your box and the contents.
Poor photo quality is often a dealbreaker for prospective customers online. We strongly recommend that you invest in this area of your listing!
For a list of the types of photos your listing should have and information on how to take great photos: visit our support article: Cratejoy Listing: Images.
Shipping Information:
Providing clear Shipping Information saves you time and makes you money. Potential customers are more likely to subscribe when they see clear shipping information. Those same customers are less likely to contact you with questions about when their order will ship.
To set up your shipping information: go to the Product Listings tab in your Seller Portal and fill out the form pictured below.
Learn more about shipping in our support article: Cratejoy Listing: Shipping..
Make evaluating and improving your listings a priority. More sales and growth opportunities are worth it!
Coupons:
You know you have great products and that there are customers searching online for exactly what you offer. Encourage shoppers to buy by offering a coupon. Cratejoy offers many different coupon options. A few examples:
- Discount coupon for a new customer’s first box in a prepay subscription (most popular)
- One-time coupon code to celebrate a holiday
- Free shipping
Learn more about creating and adding Coupons to your listings in our support article: Cratejoy Listing: Coupon.
Box Showcase:
Showcasing a past or current box (ideally, both!) on your listing helps to set the expectations for new subscribers. Each box showcase added is confirmation that your subscription box will delight and impress.
Customers viewing your listings are already interested in your products. Create additional appeal and get those sales by providing past and current box showcases!
Your Current Box showcase (or Sneak Peek) will be displayed just below the video section of your listing. The sneak peek includes a call to action for your customers to order by a certain date.
The Past Box showcase will be displayed just below the review section of your listing. You can add as many as 12 past box showcases.
Learn more about creating and adding Box Showcases in our support article Cratejoy Listing: Box Showcase.
Videos:
A video is worth a thousand pictures. Customers can’t interact first hand with your products. Watching someone interact with the products is very important to help them understand the value of the box and introduce them to your brand. A short, high-quality video that is engaging and showcases your products will help you get more subscribers!
You will need to upload your video to YouTube first and then you can add your video to your listing via the Photos & Videos tab on the Marketplace Listing page.
Remember these three simple tips when creating a video:
- Make sure the video is bright and well-lit
- Display and discuss the box contents
- Keep it brief, informative, and engaging
Learn more about creating and adding Videos to your listings in our support article: Cratejoy Listing: Videos..
Engage and retain your customers through communication & excellent customer service.
Questions & Answers:
Your business is growing and you have more customers than ever! That’s amazing!
One of the challenges a growing business faces is spending more time answering individual inquiries about your products and how your subscription works.
Preempt some of those questions and get back some of your valuable time by thoroughly answering all customer questions in your Question & Answer section on your listings.*
Prompt responses to customer questions will instill confidence in your products and service. A prospective buyer can be swayed by a Q&A section where every question has a response.
Often prospective customers will have questions about your subscription box and may look in the Q&A section for answers. Customers may or may not reach out to you if the information they need isn’t there. If it’s already there:
- You won’t have to spend time responding to their message
- The customer is more likely to subscribe
Win-win!
For more information on how your Q&A Section works, visit our support article: Q&A Feature FAQ & Guidelines..
*(You’ll still get questions that are asked & answered in your Q&A section, but you’ll get less!)
Reviews:
Reviews are a great way for you to engage with your customers and demonstrate the value of your subscription box!
When your business receives a new review a notification will be sent to your Cratejoy email address. That notification will include the review text, star rating, and the reviewer’s contact information. Learn more about how reviews work in our support article: Cratejoy Marketplace Reviews.
You have the option to respond to any review that your box receives. We recommend responding publicly to a majority of the reviews, but you do not need to respond to each one. By responding to reviews: you are communicating that you are an engaged seller that values the experiences of your customers.
Learn more about responding to reviews in our support article: Responding to Marketplace Reviews.
All businesses receive negative feedback and it can be quite stressful for a small business owner. Make the choice to respond professionally and calmly when you receive a negative review.
Best practices for responding to negative feedback:
- Reach out directly to the reviewer. Offer an apology, thanks for the feedback, and a resolution to their problem.
- Respond to the review so that other customers can see your commitment to customer service. Keep it brief, friendly, and customer-focused.
After you’ve responded to the negative feedback: move forward. Don’t dwell on why the customer may or may not have been right. Try to absorb any valuable feedback and work on areas that need improvement. Learn more about responding to negative reviews and how to move forward in our support article: Managing Negative Marketplace Reviews..
Dedicating time and energy to improving your listings will help your business grow and result in more sales. High-quality listings also get featured by Cratejoy in promotions, sales, and various PR opportunities!
Don’t forget: you can watch a recording of our Listing Quality Webinar & Town Hall for a step-by-step walk through on how to set up a high-quality listing.
