The Oh, Hello Box is six months old! Putting together the box every month is one of my favorite things about my job. Sure there are a few boring parts like budgets to deal with, but it’s mostly just a whole lot of fun.
When planning what goes into each of the boxes, I first look at current trends and any particular seasonal factors for each month. The summer is usually filled with grilling, travel, and lots of sun, so it makes sense to create boxes around those ideas rather than cuddling up with a nice book. I keep a running list of theme ideas in a notebook whenever something pops up in my head. So I look through that and decide on a theme before doing anything else.
Next is deciding on the budget and number of boxes for that month. We have a set budget for each box to guarantee we’re making good enough margins for the box to be sustainable. Plus we want to make sure we have enough boxes for growing demand.
Now comes the fun part. Once I have the box theme in mind (say…travel) I get to run with it. I’ll flip through countless promotional item catalogs my husband Alex keeps for his business. Of course there are a ton of items that would fall under the travel category, but I like thinking out of the box and seeing if I can incorporate items that don’t necessarily fall into the category on their own. That’s where designing comes in. I’m always on the lookout for practical items people will actually use rather than having stuff that’ll just take up space. The great thing about the box is how shareable it is. If there happens to be something you just aren’t crazy about, you can easily pass it along to a friend or wrap it up for a gift.
After my list of products has been roughly outlined, I start figuring out what I want on them. This is the point where the box really starts to take shape. A “meh” item can be turned into the most popular thing in the box if it has a really awesome quote or great design on it. I need to know what the items are before I start designing to make sure the designs make sense with each item and can work cohesively to the theme.
Honestly having a husband in the promotional products business makes assembling the box every month a complete breeze. I’m fortunate to have someone who is constantly up on the most popular items and coolest gadgets that we can share with all of you.
If you have any questions about what it’s like to put a subscription box together every month, drop them in the comments!
