Sniper Blade Works
Great product, hard category, one big launch.
- Business
- Hand-built knives, sold online and through 100+ dealers
- Our role
- Shopify storefront, Klaviyo email, Kickstarter go-to-market, partners and press
- Platforms
- Shopify · Klaviyo · Kickstarter
A Sniper costs more than most knives. A first-time visitor has to understand why, fast.
Our audit found the store split across a Squarespace front end and a Shopify checkout, converting at 0.67%, with no reviews on display, gaps in attribution, and a Klaviyo list of about 2,300 with little automation.
Paid social is largely off the table for knife brands, so the website and email have to do the selling. Then came the biggest moment in the brand’s history: a Mossy Oak collaboration launching on Kickstarter.
A storefront that sells, and loads fast.
We rebuilt sniperbladeworks.com on Shopify around one idea: a first-time visitor should understand why a Sniper costs what it does within one scroll. The site leads with proof (Blade Show award, Discovery Channel, Blade Magazine cover), puts all seven models side by side with steel, weight, and price, and tells Lance’s SWAT-to-garage story in his own words.
- Launch gatewayDuring the launch, the Mossy Oak collection and a note from Lance lead the site. One click to back the Kickstarter, one click to keep shopping.
- List captureA signup prompt catches every visitor who isn’t ready yet, and stays out of the way for anyone already on the list.
- Built for dealers tooA dealer locator and dealer signup in the main nav, so the site sells for 100+ retailers as well.
- Conversion rate
- +359%
- Total sales
- +743%
- Sessions
- +118%
- Orders
- +1K%
Email people actually open.
With paid social off the table, email is the brand’s most reliable channel. We run the Klaviyo program end to end: strategy, copy, design, and send.
For the launch, we built the list on purpose: a site-wide signup gate, a Camo MAMU giveaway to bring in new subscribers before launch day, and early-bird messaging timed to the 72-hour window.
The Kickstarter go-to-market.
We led the full launch strategy, from the first planning call to launch day.
- A plan with ownersFive lanes (paid, dealer affiliates, creators, earned media, Mossy Oak), each with an owner and a weekly number on the CEO’s Monday scoreboard.
- A model, not a guessA five-tab budget and funnel workbook tying list size, conversion rates, and spend to a backer target.
- An offer built to move earlyA 72-hour early-bird window, every tier anchored to 2027 retail pricing, pledge-over-time for the Collector’s Set, and flat shipping.
- One source of truthA master task document and compliance framework the whole team worked from.
Partners, creators, and press.
We co-ran the outside lanes that put the launch in front of hunters and collectors: the Mossy Oak co-marketing ask (newsletter, social, podcast, and holiday gift guide), creator partnerships, and earned media.
- KNIFE Magazineprint + digital
- Blade Magazine
- The Shooting Wire
Results so far.
Eight days in, the campaign is past halfway to goal, and the email program is outperforming nine out of ten Klaviyo senders.
| Proof point | Result | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Kickstarter: time to 50% funded | 5 days | 30-day campaign |
| Kickstarter: average pledge | $391 per backer | |
| Email click rate (Jun–Aug 2026) | 3.94% | 0.74% peer median (96th percentile) |
| Email open rate (Jun–Aug 2026) | 68.2% | 47.96% peer median (92nd percentile) |
| Website: conversion rate, first 7 days | +359% | Previous period |
| Website: total sales, first 7 days | +743% | Previous period |
| Press | KNIFE Magazine (print + digital), Blade Magazine, The Shooting Wire | |
Great product, hard category, one big launch.
That’s the job we like best. If it sounds like yours, let’s talk.