This month, Cratejoy’s shared the success stories of our 2016 Prelaunch Pilot and we’re excited to close it out with one of our most successful partners, Jamillah of Call Number.
Call Number is a library-inspired book subscription box celebrating contemporary Black literature and authors. Each month, subscribers receive a newly released book and 4-5 carefully selected bookish and library-related items tied to themes within the book.
Why We Chose Jamillah: Unmatched Curation and Unique Offering
Cratejoy hosts dozens of quality book subscriptions, so when we came across Jamillah’s application video, we were blown away by the unique offering she was able to bring to the table in such a competitive market.
Not only is Call Number library-inspired, it’s librarian-curated. Jamillah is a librarian at Purdue University’s Black Cultural Center and perfectly positioned to curate a black lit and library book box. We knew that if we chose Jamillah, her subscribers would always receive products that had truly been vetted by an expert in their field.
And based on this subscriber review, we think we were right:
“Take it from this cataloger: Jamillah knows her stuff! I just changed my subscription from month-to-month to 6 months prepaid because I have faith that this will continue to be an excellent monthly infusion of great literature in my life. I highly recommend this subscription!” – Carol
Prelaunch by the Numbers
| Prelaunch Metrics | AGSC Results |
|---|---|
| Number of Email Signups | 1,258 Sign Ups |
| Number of Days to reach 100 subscribers | 15 Days |
| Listing Page Views (All time – from Nov ’16) | 14.5k Page Views |
| Number of PR Features in 30 days | 6 |
Call Number saw some of the highest numbers across the board when it came to our prelaunch success metrics. She secured over 1,250 emails, reached the 100-subscriber mark faster than 90% of sellers, drew unmatched traffic to her listing page, and garnered the most attention from media outlets.
Marketing for Call Number
Like All Girl Shave Club and STEM Reads Book Club, Call Number received the same mix of custom photography, social media, box reviews, and email marketing from Cratejoy’s in-house team. And though our efforts drove a considerable amount of signups to Call Number’s prelaunch page, Jamillah struck gold with a series of unexpected press placements.
In the span of 30 days, she was featured in online publications like Bustle and the Huffington Post that were captivated by her background and soon-to-be-released subscription box. These major news outlets used Cratejoy’s photos and video to encourage potential subscribers to join Call Number’s email list – and the results were staggering.
With more than 1,250 people on her email list and a limited number of boxes to ship in her first month, Jamillah sold out overnight. And though we can’t tie a full conversion rate to Call Number’s email list due to the limited supply, we consider that a pretty great problem to have. A mix of high demand and exclusivity would go on to help Call Number grow even more in the coming months.
So What Did Jamillah Think of the Prelaunch Program ?
How did the Prelaunch Program affect your launch with Call Number?
“It helped get the word out about the box to a demographic that might have otherwise overlooked it.”
What was the most valuable aspect of the Prelaunch Program?
“Exposure, through the efforts of Cratejoy’s marketing team.”
Why do you think the Prelaunch Program is valuable to new subscription box sellers?
“Being able to get some one-on-one help and advice from Cratejoy is a great benefit of the program.”
Interested in applying for Prelaunch 2.0?
Fill out our application before Sunday, May 21, 2017.
