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Rikke Thomsen
← BACK TO BLOG Jan 16th, 2019
10 Min. Read

Man Crates Marketing: How

to Turn $1,000 into $10+
Million (Case Study)
GROWTH MARKETING

We Have Something for You…

I
think we can all agree that nding and buying gifts for men is
tough.

Another pair of socks, or a new gadget they’ll never use, just doesn’t get them
excited.

Jon Beekman recognized this problem (having got one too many pairs of
socks himself).

That’s why, in 2011, he borrowed $1,000 from his wife and created a site to
help people nd the perfect gift for their loved ones.

Today, that site, Man Crates, is one of the fastest growing companies in
America, with a staggering growth rate of 4900.2%. And what was once a
three-team operation running out of a garage is now a 50-person company
with multiple distribution centers across the U.S.

I’ve had my eye on Man Crates for months now, and they keep surprising me
with new ways to engage their audience and create memorable experiences
for both gift-givers and gift-receivers.

So, I decided to follow in Sam’s footsteps and reverse-engineer Man Crates

marketing strategy to learn exactly what they’re doing to grow their business
(and how you can too).

Let’s get started.

F R E E D O W N LOA DA B L E B O N U S

Download Man Crates’

Marketing Toolkit
I found a LOT of amazing strategies
while writing this post, but I couldn’t
include them all. So, as a bonus, I’ve
compiled a swipe le of Man Crates’
best marketing materials, including 5
bonus strategies and the full video of
Matthew’s unboxing experience.
(Plus, toolkits for other multi-million
dollar brands like Harry’s and
Casper.)

Download All Resources Now →

Table of Contents

Strategy #1. Use Search Intent to Inform Your Landing Page Copy (and
Increase Sales)

Strategy #2. Use Visual Storytelling to Build Anticipation

Strategy #3. Tease the Unboxing Experience to Reduce Cart Abandonment

Strategy #4. Personalize the Buying Experience with Pre-Written Notes

Strategy #5. Create a Share-Worthy Unboxing Experience

Strategy #6. Improve Customer Retention with Personalized Gift Reminders

Strategy #7. Use Gift Guides to Reduce Decision Fatigue

Strategy #8. Use Product-Speci c Reviews to Nudge On-The-Fence Buyers

Strategy #9. Combine Humor and Video to Increase Brand Awareness

Man Crates Marketing: 9 Unique Marketing

Strategies You Need to Know

For many, myself included, giving gifts is just as exciting as receiving them (if
not more).

You want to nd that perfect gift that shows your loved one just how much
you care, but it isn’t always easy.

Beekman and the team at Man Crates has done more than recognize the
above problem and solved it. In fact, they’ve gone one step further and
rede ned what it means to buy the perfect gift for a loved one.

When it comes to gift-giving, Man Crates know that it’s not just about the
buyer’s anticipation for giving the perfect gift. Rather, it’s about their
anticipation for nding it (and in many cases, buying it). So, they’ve built
anticipation into each stage of the buyer’s journey to create a memorable
buying experience. And, as we’ll see through the post, it works like a charm.

Here’s how they do it.

Strategy #1: Use Search Intent to Inform Your Landing Page Copy (and
Increase Sales)

From the moment you enter the front page, Man Crates reassures visitors
that they’re in the right place.

The call-to-action (CTA) is clear:

Find the perfect gift.

If you scroll further down the front page, you’ll nd that there’s little sales
copy anywhere pushing people to buy a product.

Why?

Because, if you scroll further down the page, you’ll notice that much of their
copy emphasizes gift-giving. Further, there’s little, if any, CTAs to buy their
products.

There’s a good reason for this.

If we look at their organic keywords, we can see that Man Crates ranks for
several variations of “gifts for men” and “man crates.”

As you can see, the search intent is not a speci c gift or product, but an idea
about a type of gift.

With that in mind, Man Crates match their users’ search intent as much as
possible. They know that’s what visitors are looking for, so that’s what they
give them when they arrive on their site for the rst time.

And with 64.34% of their traf c coming from organic search, it’s a sound
strategy. (Source.)

It’s important to mention here that we usually exclude branded terms when
going through a site’s organic report because they doesn’t reveal much about
how the site’s acquiring customers.

But with Man Crates, it’s hard to determine whether the term “man crates”
applies to Man Crates the brand, or man crates, as in, crates for men.

For instance, if you Google “man crates” and look at Google’s related terms,
you’ll see searching also looking for best man crates, homemade man crates,
mini man crates and more. Meaning, there are different types of man crates
that aren’t limited to Man Crates product line.

Just take a look at this product line from NetFlorist:

Man Crates don’t assume that people who search for man crates know about
their products and are ready to buy.

That’s why the focus on their front page is on helping visitors nd the perfect
gift, before asking them to make a purchase.

No fuss. No confusion, No salesy “buy now” buttons. Just a low-commitment

CTA to check out their products.

Takeaway. Identify which keywords drive the most traf c to your

site, and the search intent behind these keywords. Are your visitors
looking for how-to guides, gift ideas, or speci c products? Whatever
it is, incorporate this into your site’s front page copy to meet your
visitors where they are in the buyer’s journey.

Strategy #2: Use Visual Storytelling to Build Anticipation

Your product pages are probably the most important pages on your site.

If you don’t position your product right on these pages, your visitors won’t
buy.

Man Crates have added a unique strategy to all their product pages to build
anticipation and convince prospects that they’ve found the perfect gift.

It’s storytelling.

Take the product description for Man Crates’ Slumberjacks product, as an

example:

It’s not your average product description; Man Crates wants you to feel just
as excited about this product as they are.

The story is highly-visual and builds anticipation because prospects can

visualize their chosen man using the product (even though he might not be
chopping wood on a daily basis).

As famous poet and civil rights advocate, Mary Angelou, once said: “I’ve
learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

The story ( ctional or not) isn’t just a fun way to explain the details of the
product. It also helps prospects remember the product. (Source).

Just think about Rosa Parks on the bus. We remember her because of the bus
story and not for all the other activist work she did.

(Plus, it gives you a few pointers to impress your man with when you give the
gift. “Did you know that annel dates back to 17th century Wales?” That
ought to give you a few bonus points.)

Takeaway. Tell stories about your products to make them more

unique and memorable. Have fun with it and make sure your stories
align with your brand’s voice.

Strategy #3: Tease the Unboxing Experience to Reduce Cart Abandonment

If there’s one strategy Man Crates have nailed it’s teasing the unboxing
experience.

Man Crates promote the unboxing experience as a huge part of the gift-
getting experience (more on this later). And they’ve found two clever ways to
build anticipation during checkout.

First, Man Crates have a delivery estimate feature where you enter your zip
code, and they tell you when your package will arrive.

(When you get a date for the arrival of a package, that’s when you start
getting excited, right?)

It’s a great way to personalize the shopping experience and build

anticipation. But it’s also practical for visitors who are shopping for gifts last
minute and need to check if it will arrive in time.

Second, and probably my favorite addition, is the package preview.

I mean, “a sealed wooden crate with a laser-etched crowbar.” How cool is

that?

By showing prospects what the package will look like upon delivery, they
tease the unboxing experience and also reduces the likelihood of cart
abandonment.

The more anticipation you can build through your entire funnel, the easier it
will be to turn visitors into customers.

Takeaway. Think about unique ways you can get prospects excited
about your product. Maybe it’s a preview of the package like Man
Crates. Maybe it’s a short video of a customer using the product. Or
maybe it’s something else. When people are excited about a product,
they want to buy it. It’s that simple.

F R E E D O W N LOA DA B L E B O N U S

Download Man Crates’

Marketing Toolkit
I found a LOT of amazing strategies
while writing this post, but I couldn’t
include them all. So, as a bonus, I’ve
compiled a swipe le of Man Crates’
best marketing materials, including 5
bonus strategies and the full video of
Matthew’s unboxing experience.
(Plus, toolkits for other multi-million
dollar brands like Harry’s and
Casper.)

Download All Resources Now →

Strategy #4: Personalize the Buying Experience with Pre-Written Notes

You probably guessed it…

…I wanted to buy a man crate after looking at their product pages.

Unfortunately, they don’t ship to Denmark (sad face).

So, I decided to get our developer, Matthew, who lives in Minnesota, an extra
Christmas present. (You can see his reaction in Strategy #5).

This is Matthew. (Don’t ask about the glitter beard):

To personalize the shopping experience during checkout, Man Crates gives

you the possibility to include a personal note.

This isn’t new.

What is new is if you’re not a copywriter, or simply don’t know how to

express your feelings on a postcard, Man Crates will do it for you.

With their personal note generator, you can choose who the receiver of the
gift is and generate a pre-written message for them.

This is not just for fun. It’s yet another trick to build anticipation and get
people excited about giving the present. Plus, the pre-written messages is a
great way to reduce friction during checkout.

Here’s the one I chose for Matthew:

Takeaway. Offer customers a chance to add notes to their orders?

Inspire them to choose a pre-written message. This will help create a
memorable shopping experience, making customers more likely to
return to your site in future.

Strategy #5: Create a Share-Worthy Unboxing Experience

When you get a gift, the unboxing is a big part of the gift-getting experience.

Imagine getting a present that’s not wrapped…

…it’s just not as exciting, is it?

Man Crates know the importance of this and have transformed the unboxing
of their products into a memorable, fun, and share-worthy experience for any
man receiving a man crate.

I decided to get Matthew the Slumberjacks and the Saloon Nuts Mini Crate,
and asked him to lm the unboxing experience.

Here’s him unboxing the Slumberjacks…

…and the Saloon Nuts Mini Crate:

Editor’s Note

Get the full unboxing video, plus 5 bonus strategies and other
goodies here.

When you create share-worthy unboxing experiences, you generate a LOT of

brand awareness.

Just like Matthew, many other Man Crates customers lm the unboxing
experience and post it on YouTube. (The videos people share of their
unboxing experience also serve as reviews and social proof which Man
Crates can repurpose on their site.)

Just look at what comes up when you search “Man Crates” on Youtube:

Three out of the top ve results are reviews from customers sharing their
unboxing experience.

Granted, we don’t know if any of these videos are sponsored, but I noticed
something interesting when watching Matthew’s video…

…Man Crates encourages customers to share their experience on social

media by adding a small call-to-action (CTA) to the lid on each gift:

They make the process of sharing your experience look easy, and they tap
into people’s feeling of wanting to “show off.”

In his book Contagious, Jonah Berger discusses how businesses can create
virality around their brand and product. He uses the term social currency,
which means that consumers share content as a way to “buy” the interest of
their peers.

You can capitalize on this by creating content that’s unusual or remarkable to

stimulate a discussion among consumers.

Just look at Man Crates. They create a unique unboxing experience that
drives anticipation and curiosity.

Watching someone open a man crate, makes you want to try it out for
yourself to see if you can evoke that same feeling in the person you’re giving
a gift to.

It’s a good way to build referrals and virality into your marketing.

Takeaway. Consider how you can create a memorable and share-

worthy unboxing experience for your product. The more unique and
interesting it is, the more likely people are to share it. You can also
send free samples to in uencers and celebrities and ask them to
share their unboxing experience.

Strategy #6: Improve Customer Retention with Personalized Gift

Reminders

While researching Man Crates, one question came to mind:

How do Man Crates survive out of gift-giving-seasons?

Surely, their sales spike during Christmas and probably around Father’s Day
as well. But what about the rest of the year?

I decided to look into this, and I found something interesting.

When you buy something online, you normally see a thank you page when
you buy something.

Man Crates is no exception. But this is what their thank you page looks like:

They invite customers to set up reminders for special occasions and use a
10% discount as an incentive.

This is a great way to use reciprocity. Give something, get something.

Also, how often have you forgotten an anniversary or a birthday and had to
rush out to nd a last-minute gift?

I know I have.

Let me just show you what happens when you click through.

First, you choose what man in your life you want to set up a reminder for.

I chose my dad.

Then you enter his name.

My dad’s name is Tommy and look what happens when I move on:

His name is incorporated into the copy making it super personal.

Now, Man Crates have an occasion to send me a personal email: my dad’s

birthday.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Here’s how they ask you to set up another reminder for Father’s Day:

“HECK, YEAH”

Instead of asking customers if they’d like to set up a second reminder for

Father’s Day, they ask a question you most likely won’t say no to. (You
wouldn’t set up a reminder for your dad’s birthday if you didn’t appreciate
him, right?)

This is clever marketing because answering a question like this seems like a
smaller commitment than agreeing to set up another email reminder.

When you click through, you get an overview of your reminders for this
person and you can add more for other occasions.

When you con rm you get a nal overview, and the option to set up
reminders for other men in your life.

By inviting customers to set up reminders, Man Crates collects valuable

permissions to email customers.

Customers who set up these reminders have essentially agreed to Man

Crates reminding them to buy again. By doing so, Man Crates are inserting
themselves into their customers’ lives multiple times throughout the year
and increasing their selling opportunities.

It’s highly scalable which, again, means more sales opportunities.

And the information Man Crates get about their customers can be used to
customize and personalize their email marketing to the individual customer.

Takeaway. Give your customers a reason to return to your store after

they buy from you. Setting up reminders will work well if you sell
gifts, but there are also other opportunities if you sell other types of
products. For example, if you sell hair products, you can offer to send
a noti cation when you estimate they need a re ll.

Strategy #7: Use Gift Guides to Reduce Decision Fatigue

To help visitors nd the perfect gift, Man Crates create dedicated landing
pages for their ads.

Take this recent ad for Father’s Day, for example:

Instead of linking to their home page as many online stores do, Man Crates
link to a dedicated landing page for Father’s Day gifts:

Again, the focus isn’t to get visitors to buy at this point—it’s to help them nd
a gift.

And because Man Crates knows that too many choices will overwhelm
prospects, they narrow down the options on this page.

They make it easy to nd a gift by giving visitors the option to choose a type of
gift before choosing a speci c gift.

And if you’re not sure what type of gift to pick, you can go with a
recommended “Dad-Approved” gift:

Each gift is super speci c to the type of father the prospect is looking to buy
for.

Consumers are more likely to choose a recommended product over any

other product.

By having a dedicated landing page for your ads, you also reassure visitors
who come through ads that they’ve come to the right place because the ad
copy is consistent with the copy on the landing page.

Takeaway. Don’t overwhelm prospects with too many options. Pick a

few recommended products for a speci c event or occasion to
promote in your ads. Then, make sure they’re on a dedicated landing
page. Fewer choices will lead to more sales.

Strategy #8: Use Product-Speci c Reviews to Nudge On-The-Fence Buyers

Seventy-seven percent of consumers read product reviews before making

online purchases.

We’ve all done it.

You nd a product online and then Google “[product name] reviews.”

But instead of sending visitors to third-party sites like Trustpilot, you should
include reviews and social proof directly on your site.

Let’s take another look at Man Crates’ front page:

Two examples of social proof to convince visitors that Man Crates is a

trustworthy site.

When you use media badges or other types of social proof, make sure that it’s
brands your target audience knows, like and trust.

But the place where Man Crates really stands out is how they use customer
reviews to build anticipation (yes, more anticipation).

If you go to any of their product pages, you’ll nd reviews speci c to the

product you’re looking at.

Here’s from the Slumberjacks product page:

And the Exotic Meats Jerky Gram page:

This is a great way to nudge on-the-fence buyers to try the product, and
because the reviews are product-speci c, they convey more relevance and
trustworthiness than if they were generic reviews about the business.

Another thing that adds to their authenticity, is that Man Crates don’t copy-
edit the reviews. You can see that by the lack of punctuation in some of the
comments as well as the lowercase “i”s, and so on.

Takeaway: Use product speci c reviews on your product pages to

increase sales. Don’t be afraid to include reviews that involve you
making a mistake as Man Crates have done in the above example.
Doing so will only make your business seem more transparent and
trustworthy.

Strategy #9: Combine Humor and Video to Increase Brand Awareness

Every day, more than one billion hours of video content is watched on
YouTube.

Remember the last time you watched a YouTube video or any other type of
video?

It wasn’t that long ago, right?

People love to watch videos. There’s no doubt about it.

We process images and videos 60,000 times faster than text which is one of
the reasons videos have become so popular.

More businesses are now using videos in their marketing and Man Crates is
no exception.

They’ve created a YouTube channel to showcase their products in a fun and

digestible way.

But they’re not just publishing regular product videos. Man Crates use
humorous male stereotypes in their videos to promote their products.

This is targeted at women who can relate to a stereotypical behaviour in

men, and thus identify with the men in the videos. The below video is an
example of this and focuses on the stereotype that men don’t speak about
their feelings.

What Men Say...And What They Mean.

Watch later Share

And it works!

Our emotions greatly in uence and, in most cases, determine our decisions.
And that’s one of the reasons using humor is such a good marketing strategy.

In fact, 50% of European and American consumers prefer humor in

marketing over any other messaging theme.

Combining humor with video can be a powerful strategy (when’s the last time
you watched a funny cat video?). But it has to be in line with your brand’s
voice to work.

Takeaway. If your communication and product allows it, try to think

of ways to incorporate humor into your marketing. Not just videos,
but all your marketing efforts. Consider which type of humor your
target audience relates to. Not everyone loves dad-jokes.

F R E E D O W N LOA DA B L E B O N U S

Download Man Crates’

Marketing Toolkit
I found a LOT of amazing strategies
while writing this post, but I couldn’t
include them all. So, as a bonus, I’ve
compiled a swipe le of Man Crates’
best marketing materials, including 5
bonus strategies and the full video of
Matthew’s unboxing experience.
(Plus, toolkits for other multi-million
dollar brands like Harry’s and
Casper.)

Download All Resources Now →

Conclusion

So, there you have it: Man Crates’ marketing strategies in under 4,000 words.

Here’s a refresher of their strategies once more:

• Strategy #1. Use Search Intent to Inform Your Landing Page Copy (and
Increase Sales)

• Strategy #2. Use Visual Storytelling to Build Anticipation

• Strategy #3. Tease the Unboxing Experience to Reduce Cart

Abandonment

• Strategy #4. Personalize the Buying Experience with Pre-Written

Notes

• Strategy #5. Create a Share-Worthy Unboxing Experience

• Strategy #6. Improve Customer Retention with Personalized Gift

Reminders

• Strategy #7. Use Gift Guides to Reduce Decision Fatigue

• Strategy #8. Use Product-Speci c Reviews to Nudge On-The-Fence

Buyers

• Strategy #9. Combine Humor and Video to Increase Brand Awareness

I hope you’re ready to try one or more of these to see what effect it will have
on your business. A piece of advice: choose one, to begin with, invest time
implementing it, and then if possible, make it better.

Which of Man Crates’ strategies will you try rst? Leave a comment below.

Rikke Thomsen

Rikke is Head of Email Marketing here at Sleeknote. Her expertise lies in

copywriting, content marketing, and email marketing. When she’s not
busy wearing down the keys on her keyboard, she loves getting creative in
the kitchen, binging on Net ix series, and skiing in the Alps.

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