One thing we’ve learned while powering subscriptions for over 20,000 brands is that there are a lot of ways to build a subscription program. And no one knows your business better than you do, so rather than try to build every possible setup under the sun, we decided to give you the power to do that.
Automate enables you to create custom, sophisticated subscription models in our visual workflow editor, all without writing a single line of code.
What can you do with Automate? Honestly…a whole lot. It’s as flexible and freeform as you need it to be.
To get you started (and maybe spark some ideas), Automate comes equipped with some plug-and-play templates for our most popular workflows:
- Welcome offer
- Kit unpacking
- Starter pack to refill swap
- Ongoing & fixed sequences
- Trial to subscription
Let’s take a look.
Welcome offer
Just like it sounds, the welcome offer template gives one-time incentives to new subscribers, in addition to any ongoing subscribe-and-save deals you offer.
Say your brand launches top-tier vitamins at a premium price point. You offer a 10% discount on subscription orders to sweeten the deal, but that’s not driving the orders you’d hoped for. Deepening your subscription discount could help, but it would eat into your margins indefinitely.
With a custom welcome offer, though, you could present a one-time discount of, say, 50% on the first order—a tantalizing reason to open a subscription. This template will even automatically flip subscribers over to your standard 10% subscription discount after the first order, with no manual management required.
Excited? It’s easy to get started.
Kit unpacking
One of the best parts of subscriptions: being able to get essentials like dish soap, laundry detergent, and cleaning spray together in one big kit, shipped right to your doorstep.
One of the downsides: running out of those products at completely different times and wondering how to juggle them.
The solution: the kit unpacking template. It allows customers to subscribe to a whole kit of products for their first order, then transition to an independent subscription to each product for easier replenishment. Your customers will love the flexibility, and you’ll love the recurring orders.
Starter pack to refill swap
Some starter packs combine permanent and replenishable items. Think of a razor and blade bundle, where only the blades need to be refilled after the first order.
Sure, you could configure that set as some unwieldy combination of one-time purchases and subscriptions. Or you could go easy on yourself and use the starter pack to refill swap template, which automatically transitions customers to a blade subscription after they buy the bundle. You won’t even have to think about it, and neither will your customers.
Ongoing sequence
Any beer lover will tell you they like different beers at different times of year (except for that one friend who only drinks IPAs). A rotating monthly beer lineup would be just the thing for them, and it’s a simple offering in concept—but configuring it can be tricky in practice.
That is, unless you use the ongoing sequence template. It makes looping through a year-long lineup of rotating product presets as easy as popping a can open: crisp wheat beers and lagers in the warmer months, stouts and porters for the cold, then back to the lighter options when things warm up again. All while still providing flexibility for product swaps or updates.
Fixed sequence
The ongoing sequence is great if you plan to rotate through a product lineup indefinitely. But what if instead of a loop, you want a progression with a beginning and an end?
Maybe your brand offers baby toys aimed at different age groups or developmental stages—some for newborns, some for months 3-6, and so on all the way up to 36 months.
The fixed sequence template is your answer. It progresses subscribers through a set sequence of products until they reach the end and complete their subscription—no product swapping required.
Trial to subscription
A common dilemma: You know your products are great, but some customers seem to need a little convincing. Surely a quick hands-on trial would change their minds, but how do you get them a sample and remove the friction of coming back to place another order?
The trial to subscription template is how. It sets the first order in a subscription to a trial version, like a 15-ounce sample of protein powder, before flipping over to the full 30-ounce tub.
So not only does the trial to subscription template boost conversion with a trial offer, it even increases retention with an automatic subscription. Sounds like a win-win to us.
Start automating today
Can’t wait to get started? All of these templates are available as part of our Pro plan. Check out our Help Center to get started.
And if you offer a really unique experience that your subscribers love, let us know—it just might become the next Automate template.
