The Productpreneur Success Podcast: Recent Episodes
Catherine Langman
What’s the next step that will take your ecommerce business to the next profitable level? When you are deep in the day to day tasks of keeping your product-based business afloat it’s hard to know exactly where you should focus your efforts for future growth to achieve your business goals. Catherine Langman shares her knowledge and experience for creating a scalable product-based ecommerce business without the ongoing hustle. From sales automation to nailing your new product launch, irresistible Facebook advertising to creating a slick website that converts, each week Cath will share bite-sized morsels of practical information that can be easily implemented to increase profitability and get you well on your way to growing your personal empire.
Have you ever looked at your sales and thought, "Why is this STILL not working?"
Maybe you’re stuck in a cycle of posting non-stop on socials, throwing out the odd discount, tinkering with your website — and still not seeing the traction you were hoping for?
Perhaps your marketing plan looks like this: “Post 3 reels this week. Do another giveaway. Drop 30% off sitewide. Oh, and light a candle and hope someone buys.”
I call it the “Instagram Stories and a Prayer” method, and I see a lot of innovative brand founders getting stuck there!
If your brand isn’t like everyone else’s, a cookie-cutter approach won’t help you scale a high-converting, high-integrity brand that customers love to buy from — at full price, without needing constant promos.
So in this episode, we’re going to discuss the six biggest growth blockers that hold back eCommerce brands from growing, AND importantly, how to diagnose what’s happening in your own business — so that you can fix it and get yourself back on track to achieving your goals!
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
We need to talk about AI. More specifically, what AI is doing to the way we market and connect in eCommerce—and why so many brands are getting it wrong.
Not in a “robots are taking over” doomsday kind of way, but in a very real, “my sales are slowing down and I don’t know why” kind of way.
It used to be that if you could get your ad in front of the right person, or stuff your page with keywords, you’d drive traffic. Clicks equaled conversions. But now? We’re entering the era of generative search.
So if you’re still relying on click-based tactics—whether it’s old-school SEO or basic Meta ads—without optimizing for this new era of conversational discovery, you’re gonna be left behind.
And this brings us to today’s real question: How do we create marketing that still works in an AI-driven world? That’s what this episode is all about.
www.catherinelangman.com/avatar
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
If you’ve been feeling like your Meta ads are a bit hit and miss lately—or you’ve just noticed things aren’t working like they used to—you’re not imagining it.
There has been a major shift.
Meta has officially rolled out its biggest update since the infamous Apple iOS 14 privacy change that turned digital advertising on its head. This new update is called… Andromeda. (Dramatic, I know!)
And today, I’m going to break down exactly what it is, what it means for your ads, what you need to be doing differently right now—and how you can get some free expert help to make sure you’re on the right track.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-267
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Work With Me: www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Ecommerce Quick Wins Strategy Session: www.catherinelangman.com/quickwins
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on how I took my newly acquired skincare brand, Indagare Natural Beauty, and grew it by 200% in just six months.
The past year hasn’t been an easy time in eCommerce, given how rapidly everything has been changing thanks to all the massive technological advancements in AI, on top of a pretty dampened economy.
So I know that a lot of businesses have felt discouraged and wondering if it’s actually possible to succeed right now.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that overcoming all of that uncertainty and all those challenges isn’t difficult – of course it is – but all that means is that, when you do succeed, it’s even sweeter.
Whether you’re struggling with slow sales or feeling stuck in your business, you’ll walk away from this episode with real, actionable insights to spark serious growth in your store.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-266-2
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Work With Me: www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Live workshop: www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Youtube
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
As International Women’s Day 2025 approaches, the theme, ‘Accelerate Action for Gender Equality’, resonates deeply with me. Having spent over a decade working predominantly with female founders, I’ve seen (and experienced) firsthand the challenges women face in achieving career and entrepreneurial success, particularly while balancing family responsibilities but also an enjoyable life outside of work.
I firmly believe that one of the greatest barriers to gender equality is financial disparity. I don’t think Women will ever achieve true gender equality until they reach financial parity with men. But achieving financial parity is going to require more than just paying women more— it demands a complete rethinking of how the workforce supports women to maintain and advance their careers.
In this episode, I want to share with you what we’ve done successfully here in our organisation to build a thriving business staffed by a team of women working remotely and flexibly. We’re not all mothers, but we do all appreciate the flexibility of the way we work and how we work to live rather than live to work.
If you want a bit more of that for yourself, you might find some tips and inspiration in today’s episode.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-265
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Work With Me: www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
If you’ve been feeling the pinch this month, you’re not alone. February is historically the slowest month for eCommerce sales.
For starters, it’s the shortest month of the year, and most consumers have just spent up big on Christmas, summer holidays, and back-to-school expenses. They’re back to work, back into routine, and often tightening their belts after a financially heavy start to the year.
So, if you’re experiencing a sales slump, take a deep breath. It’s normal. But that doesn’t mean you should just ride it out and hope for the best.
Today, I’m going to walk you through the most effective strategies to get through this period, build momentum, and set your store up for a strong Q2.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-264
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free workshop: www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
Work With Me: www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Do you remember back in the COVID boom years when eCommerce felt like an endless money machine? Customers were stuck at home and governments were handing out cash.
So customers had lots of free time and more spare money so what did they do? They shopped online. eCommerce sales skyrocketed with almost zero effort.
Paid ads were cheap, traffic was easy to get, and brands were scaling like crazy—even without a solid marketing strategy. If you had a business during that time, you probably thought, ‘Wow, this is incredible!’
But fast forward to today, and the game has changed entirely. If your cash flow is feeling the squeeze, you’re not alone. Let’s talk about why this is happening and, more importantly, how to fix it.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-263/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free Strategy Session: www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Live workshop, “3 Quick Wins to Rapidly Grow an Audience that Converts”
www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
When it comes to launching and growing your e-commerce brand, other than your cost of goods, the two biggest expenses of operating your business will be fulfillment and marketing.
Now, we all know very well that no courier or postal service will ship our orders out for free. So we’re well trained to expect to pay for that service!
But on the marketing side, the options (and fees involved) for marketing and advertising exist on a very wide spectrum, from crowdsourcing advice in free Facebook groups to expensive external agencies.
I know a lot of business owners have lost money, either due to getting poor results from their efforts or being burned by dodgy service providers. And it’s because they simply don’t have the knowledge or skills to know what they SHOULD be doing.
And they don’t have that knowledge because, like me in my early days as an entrepreneur, they felt intimidated by things, believing they couldn’t do it, fearful of stuffing things up and losing money, and therefore defer to an expert.
In this episode, I share a rather embarrassing story about the time I made a REALLY bad choice with outsourcing that ultimately cost me more than $15,000! But also turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons I’ve had in business.
If you’ve had a bad experience or not gotten the result you want with an agency or program, OR you are just starting out – you probably need to learn how to do some stuff that’s a bit tricky and hard.
And by listening to this episode, this is your opportunity to learn from my hard-won experience and avoid making the same kind of costly error yourself!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-262/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free 2025 Ecommerce Marketing Playbook: www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Free Strategy Session: www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Shopping online is a very different experience to shopping in physical stores in one very key way: When you go to the shops, you often wander into stores and that’s how you discover new products.
Whereas, when it comes to shopping online, typically you have to be actively searching for that thing.
eCommerce is unlike having a brick and mortar store, where you can somewhat rely on foot traffic going past your shop front and being enticed into your shop as the point of discovery.
In eCommerce, we need to proactively communicate with our audience to get them over to our website. And your email marketing tool can make all the difference between a highly profitable Shopify store vs one with underwhelming results.
But, there are literally hundreds of email marketing applications on the market. So, how do you choose the best email marketing app for an eCommerce business? One that drives those people to your online store AND generates you a great ROI?
The reason I want to talk about this today is because Klaviyo – the email marketing app that I recommend for eCommerce – has recently changed their pricing structure and it’s causing all kinds of stress and anxiety. I’m seeing a lot of brand owners make very hasty decisions to shift away to other platforms that appear to be cheaper, but in most cases are very poor matches for their needs.
I see a lot of people making mistakes with this choice, either from poor advice or ignorance about what difference it makes, or thinking that all platforms do the same thing and choosing the cheapest one is a prudent decision.
Your email database is THE biggest asset you own in an ecommerce business. It’s the audience that you own and is the vehicle through which you communicate to your customers and prospects.
Choosing well will enable you to grow your business efficiently and effectively, whereas choosing poorly will be a handbrake on your growth and will impact your profitability.
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free 2025 Ecommerce Marketing Playbook: www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Free Strategy Session: www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-176/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-236/
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Recently, we started working with a brand who came to us with a really common problem that I see many eCommerce brands struggle with.
The business in question was guaranteed a specific – and very high – ROAS (return on ad spend) by an agency pitching to win their digital advertising account. However, the results they’ve actually experience have been pretty disappointing to say the least.
Now, a high ROAS result is a common enticement many agencies use to win business and it’s designed to make the brand owner believe that they will grow faster and more profitably than any other alternative.
Which of course would have been true 5 years ago when digital advertising worked very differently: 5, 10 or even higher ROAS results off cold traffic were the norm back then.
However, not in 2024 and certainly not in 2025, when we now operate in a world with vastly restricted data tracking, much more intense competition for each website click as well as for each consumer dollar, and much lower consumer trust of any branded digital content.
And the end result is that the brand owner feels like they’ve been taken advantage of, or even burned by said agency.
Suffice to say, promising a ROAS result is not only foolish, but also flawed. For starters, with tracking and on-platform reporting so inaccurate now, you just can’t trust the accuracy of those reported ROAS figures.
Secondly, any really high ROAS figures I am seeing right now are pretty much always on campaigns going for the low hanging fruits – branded search terms and existing engaged audiences or repeat customers. Or campaigns offering really huge discount incentives. None of which you should be spending top dollar on with your advertising!
And thirdly, there is a massive assumption that achieving a specific ROAS automatically means that you must be making a profit on sales from those campaigns, after ad spend, product costs and other overheads.
But 99% of the time that is just not true.
In this episode, I detail this trap, and share the truth of what’s really happening, plus the solution. By the end of this episode, you will have a much better idea of WHY every eCommerce brand needs to have the Profitable Productpreneur growth system in place in their business.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-260/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free 2025 Ecommerce Marketing Playbook: www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Free Strategy Session: www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
To succeed in growing an eCommerce business, we need to get enough people visiting our websites, adding products to their shopping cart and checking out. And we need to do that without over-spending on advertising.
However, getting traffic to our websites is harder and more expensive in 2025 than even just a year ago.
This is partly due to technology advances in AI: for example, thanks to generative AI, most Google searches now offer up content within the search results themselves, resulting in far fewer clicks outside of Google.
But getting website traffic at a profitable price is also being impacted by changes such as Meta’s latest announcement where they are removing fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, amongst other policy changes.
All of which leaves many consumers wondering, what content is real and what is artificially generated? What is legitimate and what is a scam?
It is harder than ever now for all of us to trust content that we see online - especially in ads.
Which can severely impact conversion rates, driving traffic costs up even further.
So today on the show, I’m going to share three practically free strategies that I’m using right now in my businesses, to quickly gain the attention and trust of the right people, that are generating huge spikes in website traffic and sales.
Anyone can use these strategies, whether you're at an early stage in your business growth trajectory, or you’re already at scale.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-259/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free 2025 Ecommerce Marketing Playbook: www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Free Strategy Session: www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
It's the start of the new year, and I know many of you are in planning mode, setting ambitious goals for 2025. It’s a time of excitement but also some uncertainty.
As I record this episode, Mark Zuckerberg has just announced that Meta will be removing fact-checking and a whole lot of policies on their platforms – they say that it’s to streamline things, but in all honesty it’s going to make these platforms even less trustworthy for consumers.
I think it’s absolutely imperative that small business owners take control of their own destiny and do not rely on these platforms as your only method of communicating with your audience.
And there is no way to take control of your destiny if you intend on winging it with your business or marketing this year.
So, today, we’re diving into how to use data when setting your goals and building out your growth plans for the year.
If you’ve ever felt stuck or wondered how to achieve consistent sales—even during slower periods—this episode is for you!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-258/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free Product Launch & Promotion Guide: https://www.catherinelangman.com/launch/
Live Planning Workshop with Babiators: https://www.catherinelangman.com/workshop/
Free Strategy Session: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Over the last year, I’ve seen a lot of businesses come up for sale, in fact I’ve been approached a number of times by brand owners wanting me to buy their business from them, and I did actually buy two of them within the last 6-7 months.
That’s super exciting, but it’s also been a really eye opening experience about how vastly different many eCommerce brands are set up and run and the difference in viability and attractiveness they present to a potential buyer like myself.
I would actually say that most of the eCommerce businesses I’ve seen up for sale in the last year or two are being sold off very cheaply because the business owner has just run out of puff. They’re super burnt out and just over it.
Now I’m not going to sit here and try to unpack the psychology of why so many entrepreneurs don’t progress their business in a way that enables them to grow with a team and systems to operate without themselves needing to do all the work.
Instead, today’s episode is going to be about what you really need to have in place in your business in order to scale and grow sustainably – and by sustainably I mean both in terms of financially viable and profitable, but also in terms of your own physical exertion so that you don’t burn out or drive yourself into the ground.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-257/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
2025 Ecommerce Marketing Playbook: www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Book a free strategy session: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
My favourite podcast episode to record this year was episode 227, titled “How to calculate your ROI on learning to grow your business”. At the time, I was inspired to record it based on some experiences with my clients and with my kids, but in truth it’s also because I realised something about myself:
If I’m not learning something new, I get bored quickly and start to feel as though I’m not progressing. I feel pretty certain that, when we don’t learn new things, we do end up going backwards: because the world around us is constantly changing, so we need to change how we operate just to keep pace, let alone move forwards!
This year, I’ve invested in learning from two different coaches for myself, I also invested in education and upskilling for my team.
And, of course, I read lots of books.
So, given this is my post-Christmas podcast episode, my final episode for this year and the one where I usually share my holiday reading inspo list with you, I thought I’d share the key learnings I took from my top 5 business-related books that I read this year.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-256/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Podcast 227: How To Calculate Your ROI On Learning To Grow Your Business
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-227/
Ecommerce Mastery Program:
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/ecommerce-success-business-mentor/
Book a free strategy session:
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
For my last pre-Christmas podcast episode, I thought I’d share a few insights with you about what’s worked well for me this year, some things I’ve tried that have not worked so well, what I’m focusing on doing better and what I want to take with me into 2025.
I love doing this exercise at the end of the year, especially before heading into my big annual planning session, and I always like to do this before Christmas so that I can actually relax and enjoy my holiday without the constant thoughts about business looping around in my brain!
I reckon this year has been a really tough year for probably everyone in business. With a dampened economy as well as an accelerating pace of technological change both compounding to create a whole lot of new challenges and hurdles, it’s been a year of constant pivots and needing to try new things in order to survive and thrive. And I’ll let you know up front, not everything I tried this year worked out, so if you’re in the same boat I want you to know this is normal for all entrepreneurs!
On the personal side this year has been pretty full on for me as well, which is no doubt also a common experience for all of you. So in addition to sharing my takeaways about business with you, I’ll also share some things I’ve done to help maintain my energy levels and motivation throughout the year.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-255/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Today – as I’m recording this episode – we have precisely 15 days left till Christmas. And obviously less than that for any orders that need to be delivered before then.
Which means that the holiday countdown is officially on! And despite the fact that we’re all feeling exhausted post-Black Friday madness, we gotta dig deep and keep going for a few more days. Now’s the time to make sure your brand is ready to spread some festive cheer and capture those last-minute shoppers.
My two sons who are competitive swimmers have also just started what they call “hell week” – double training sessions a day plus gym – and it’s hard and intense, but the rewards in terms of improved performance make it all worthwhile!
So today, let’s keep it super practical again. One of the quickest needle-movers in an eCommerce business is always your paid traffic. So I’m going to share with you 10 things that are working literally right now in terms of Meta and Google ads, and hopefully this will help you to maximise your traffic and sales results over the next week and a half…
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-254/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk-2 https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk-2
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Black Friday promos are finally over, and as we make the final push through to Christmas and the end of the calendar year, I wanted to share some insights and statistics around what worked and what didn’t during this peak promo period.
I’m going to share some of the data that’s been released already from major Australian retailers as well as key eCommerce platforms.
As well as the inside scoop on the marketing performance across our businesses and clients’ businesses.
Plus the trends around new vs. returning customer revenue and what all this means for eCommerce brands as we head into 2025.
So, grab yourself a pen and paper and a cup of tea, and let’s dive into what’s just happened!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-253/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
www.catherinelangman.com/christmas
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk-2
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Right now, I hope you are all frantically packing orders as your Black Friday promotional campaigns are underway.
So far, I’m seeing some phenomenal results for our clients’ campaigns, but there’s always more you can do to squeeze every ounce of opportunity from your promotion!
Today I want to share a shorty episode with you that is super practical, with a few quick and simple-to-execute tactics you can implement on the fly throughout your campaign. Because the opportunity to make money is here right now, consumers are spending and you want to capitalise on that opportunity!
Spending a few minutes each day to add these steps into the mix will absolutely help you to maximise your revenue results, and minimise the chances you’ll leave any potential sales on the table.
So let’s dive right in and I’ll keep it short and sweet so you can get right to it…
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-252/
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
I’m sure we’ve all done it: ordered a meal deal at a fast food restaurant because it was just simpler to order, or better value.
We've put more items in our shopping cart than we really needed because there was a “buy two, get one free” promotion, or because there was a free gift with purchase if you spend over a certain amount…
Using upsells and product bundling is a smart way for businesses to increase sales revenue, because customers spend more money per transaction, plus it’s a great way to ensure your customers have the best possible experience shopping with you, which helps increase your conversion rate, AND improves their experience using the products they’ve bought.
Here’s what we all need to know about business - there are really only 3 ways to grow: 1. Increase the number of customers who buy from you 2. Increase the amount of money customers spend per transaction 3. Increase the frequency of times each customer buys from you
With the right bundle strategy, you can actually improve all 3 of those methods of growth, and during today’s podcast episode I’ll walk you through how and why this works.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-251/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
www.catherinelangman.com/christmas
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk-2
Subscribe & Review in iTunesAre you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favourite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
The holiday season is peak sales time for most eCommerce retailers. So, have you started thinking about how your social media advertising is going to lead you through this peak season?
I’ve literally just been sitting here going through the campaign strategy and detailed budget planning for our clients. Literally working out down to the dollar, how much revenue should come from paid vs organic channels, how much from new vs returning customers, and how much each client can afford to spend on ads to get each purchase conversion, based on their average order value and cost of goods.
All those numbers will mean diddly squat, though, without nailing the creative strategy and the offer. Because these are the two elements that actually stop the scroll and help get the click in the first place!
So, if you’re not already running paid social ads right now, OR you are but you’re spending too much and not making a profit, then this episode is for you.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-250/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Replay: www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
www.catherinelangman.com/christmas
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk-2
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode: Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Last weekend here we had our Christmas pageant in the city. Which means the most magical time of the year is upon us, to take over our minds and our to do lists. And that means it is time to start planning if you want to run a successful eCommerce Christmas promotion.
As a brand owner or as a retailer, hopefully you are already thinking about your Christmas marketing, but if not, you really do need to work on this now if you want to close out the year with a successful holiday sales season.
Because demand increases so much at this time of year, it can almost be like fishing in a barrel – it really is the time of year that you, as the business owner, get to generate the bulk of your revenue and profits.
In this episode, I share some insights about online shopping behaviour that are relevant right now. And then we're going to dive into some tips for your marketing to make sure that you have a super successful Christmas and holiday sales season and have a fabulous final quarter of the year.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-249/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Christmas Campaign Planning workshop - www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
This year has seen some major shifts and changes in terms of eCommerce and digital marketing, making it harder than ever to drive traffic to your website and generate consistent, predictable sales.
So, as we hurtle towards the end of 2024, and with the biggest peak sales moments still yet to come…
I wanted to spend a bit of time sharing what’s currently working in eCommerce marketing – so that you can focus on the right strategies to capitalise on the increased consumer demand about to come your way.
Today on the show, I’m joined by my team member, eCommerce strategist Narelle Spencer. We discuss the underlying factors that are impacting traffic and sales right now, and share what is working and what isn’t when it comes to marketing and advertising.
If you want to close out the year on a high, this conversation is a must-listen!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-248/
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Have you ever noticed that some customers will buy very quickly after clicking on an ad or discovering you on social media.
And then some customers will visit your website multiple times over several weeks, and maybe hang around on your email list for months, before they finally decide to buy during a major sale event.
On the one hand, this is why we do things like retargeting ads and use email popup forms to invite website visitors to subscribe, so that you can follow up with them after they leave your website.
But still…what gives?
The other day, I had the most interesting conversation with someone about this exact scenario, and I discovered that there is, in fact, a whole lot of data about these two very distinct buyer types.
So, whilst the current economic environment is making many consumers rethink and pull back on their spending, this isn’t necessarily true for all consumers. Bucking the trends of frugality and motivated by a desire for quality brands, these top spending consumers are driving discretionary spending and creating a fast lane in what has really become a two speed economy.
I think it goes without saying that all of us want more of those top spending customers, who make quick purchase decisions when they discover the right brand for them, and less of the ones who dilly dally and hang around for weeks or months until they get a big enough discount!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-247/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
https://www.catherinelangman.com/christmas
https://www.catherinelangman.com/free-coaching-session/
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts
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Youtube
What do you do when you’ve just given birth to your first baby, it’s the middle of Covid lockdowns and you’re struggling with mastitis and can’t feed your baby?
Well, if you’re my guest today, you invent a new product that takes the market by storm!
Today on the show, I’m joined by Elysia, founder of Meke Baby, an incredibly innovative portable breastmilk warmer.
Elysia essentially created an entirely new product category in the market. In our conversation today, she described everything from the moment of inspiration, through the design, prototyping and testing phase, her launch to market and how she’s scaled her business.
In just 18 months, she’s grown rapidly, now with a substantial team, launching new products and expanding internationally!
I know you’ll enjoy this story, so without further ado, let’s welcome Elysia to the show.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-246/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
https://mekebaby.com/
https://www.instagram.com/mekebaby.au/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/mekebaby.au/
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/scale-my-ecommerce-store/id1496911739
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLRaZh2ReX0Iy7met8HK6
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scalemyecomstore
Recently I was chatting with one of my past Mastery clients who I now count as a good friend and she was telling me about one of her stockists, an ecommerce retail store in a very specific niche.
This online store had been given some bad advice about scaling her business, particularly about Facebook ads.
It was such damaging advice and nearly sent the poor woman bankrupt!
The conversation got me to thinking a lot about two things:
-
What are we all optimising for in our business? Growth? Profitability? Time? These are opposing forces and you can't maximise them all at the same time. And
-
A lot of business owners just don’t figure out a way to pay themselves. Sometimes this is a lack of knowledge around managing cash flow and generating profit. Sometimes it’s a conscious decision to delay the payday to some potential future date when a big vision is realised and, perhaps, the business sold, and to keep reinvesting every possible dollar in the business towards that end goal.
Building a business with predictable, profitable growth can feel obvious in theory... but is often overwhelming in execution.
Getting caught up in that ‘growth at all costs’ mentality often results in an entrepreneur constantly chasing shiny objects. Jumping from one expert or program making big promises to another, without actually taking the time to learn the fundamentals of business.
Or without realising that the fastest way to growing a successful business is a lot like getting fit – it takes dedicated practice and repetition with constant improvements over time.
What is actually required in business is a simple daily framework for planning and executing profitable growth, that you practise every day.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-245/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/getmoresales
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Youtube
When you first launch a business, everything feels new and shiny and exciting. But also slightly terrifying and overwhelming because you don’t know anything about growing a business yet.
But when you learn the right skills to drive growth, and you start to see the results of your efforts and feel more in control of the outcome, that’s when confidence comes.
I love sharing these stories of growth and transformation, and today I have an impressive one to share with you!
Shayna Stalker is the founder of The Waste-Free Home, a New Zealand based eCommerce store selling really beautiful, high quality, eco-friendly products for the home.
In the last 6 months, Shayna has grown her business by more than double, plus she’s been able to work on designing and producing an exciting new range of her own products.
On top of that rapid growth, Shayna has also mastered a bunch of new skills and has a new, much deeper understanding of what drives her business growth, which is incredibly empowering.
Tune in to hear Shayna’s story >>
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-244/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
https://thewastefreehome.co.nz/
https://www.instagram.com/thewastefreehome/
https://www.facebook.com/thewastefreehome/
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favourite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Youtube
There are a tonne of things you can do to help grow your customer base in your eCommerce business.
Strategies that increase credibility and trust, like social proof, media coverage, awards or being stocked in well-known retail stores. Or risk-reversal strategies like money back guarantees, free shipping and the like.
But, what about running a giveaway or a competition?
This strategy actually fulfils a couple of purposes: it helps you to grow your audiences of potential customers, AND it can help increase the number of customers who try your product and ultimately buy from you.
So in this episode, I’m going to share a few different ways to approach this strategy so that you can maximise the positive impact on selling more product and growing your business.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-243/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
https://www.catherinelangman.com/launch/
What if I told you that you’re just one email away from boosting your revenue by thousands! The moment you shift your focus towards growing and nurturing your email list instead of chasing social media followers, or that fleeting dopamine hit you get when a piece of social media content gets a flurry of likes, is the moment when your business will truly take off.
I know, I know – I sound like a broken record, but your email list is really THAT important! You might feel like it takes too long, you've tried everything, or you would rather focus on your social media. Well if that rings true to you, I'm here today to challenge that mindset and help you recognize the incredible value of email marketing.
In this episode, I share all the reasons why your email list should take centre stage over your social media followers. While social media is great for organic marketing, having a large following doesn't always translate into revenue. Whereas, your email list is your direct line to your audience of buyers where you get to make a bigger impact on the market all while scaling your unstoppable eCommerce business! Honestly – what more could you ask for?!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-242/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Youtube
I’m sure we can all agree that building a business is hard work. As my Gran used to say, if it was easy, everyone would do it.
But, when things get hard, or when we try things that don’t work out how we want them to, it IS hard to persist towards achieving your big goals and vision.
My guest on the show today is Lisa Munro, founder of Happy Tummies. Lisa’s business started with the goal of making life easy for families with kids that have allergies. In that endeavour, she’s tried many different strategies to grow so that she can help more and more kids with allergies, but a lot of the time things don’t work out or are just a plain hard slog with little reward.
But Lisa remains the most persistent, determined and motivated entrepreneur I know. And testament to her approach is the success she has achieved.
Now, Lisa owns a warehouse with a commercial kitchen, has a team working for her – including a French chocolatier, has developed her own brand range of allergy-free foods that now make up 25% of her turnover, and she keeps growing at a fast clip year on year!
Tune in to hear Lisa’s story!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-241/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together. Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Website: https://happytummies.com.au/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happytummiesptyltd/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happytummiesptyltd/ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happytummiesptyltd
Other Ways To Enjoy This Episode:
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Youtube
The other day, I read the report a business buddy received from their ad agency. It said “this traffic ad isn’t converting but the traffic is good because it’s feeding your retargeting campaign.”
Only, there was no retargeting campaign!!
And frustratingly, my friend just had no idea, because she hadn’t taken it upon herself to learn anything about how those ads should work.
This scenario happens all too often, and is precisely why I am such a huge advocate for education.
Even more frustrating, is the fact that what’s working with ads now is not what worked even 6 months ago, and keeps changing rapidly.
So today on the show, I’m going to share ONE Meta ad strategy that ALL eCom businesses should be utilising right now, no matter if they are a start-up or a 20-year-old multi-million-dollar brand.
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Workshop: https://www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
There’s an old saying that necessity is the mother of all invention, and in my experience, some of the coolest, most innovative products have been invented to solve specific problems and needs.
I love the process of innovation, where you try and create a new solution that doesn’t exist yet. The creative thinking, problem solving, and brainstorming different solutions is super fun.
But it’s a whole next level when it comes to making that thing a commercially viable product that you can profitably launch to market.
Being able to manufacture something at a price point that customers will pay. The logistics of being able to ship your products and fulfil orders. What standards, if any, do you need to test for and comply with.
My guest today is Regan Merka, inventor and founder of Burleigh Wagon, which is honestly one of the coolest products ever. The Burleigh Wagon is a wagon, it's a stroller, it's an esky cooler and it’s making family outings better than ever!
Regan joins me on the show to share her journey of innovation and growth, from the seed of an idea to a brand that won a deal on Shark Tank and is now available both here in Australia and in the US! It’s a wild ride – you’re gonna love it.
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-239/
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
https://burleighwagon.com.au/products/wagon
https://www.instagram.com/burleighwagon/
https://www.facebook.com/BurleighWagon/
https://www.tiktok.com/@burleighwagon
Many eCommerce brands make almost as much money in the 4th quarter of the year – October to December – than they do the rest of the year. And by results, I mean – this is the time of year that many brands make most of their profits for the year.
Why?
Two reasons:
- These brands have excelled at their marketing all year around, so they’ve built brand awareness, built the size of their warm audiences, and acquired new customers all year around.
- Consumers are preparing to spend more during Q4. So, given the market demand is there at that time of year, you need to make sure your marketing is spot on so that you can be the go-to brand for your customers to spend with!
To really maximise your results in Q4, though, you need to do more than just throw up a Black Friday sale.
The fact is, you need to be marketing consistently to attract and warm up your audiences, so they’re absolutely champing at the bit to get their hands on your stuff when it goes on sale, and then monetising as many peak buying times as possible.
Today on the show, we’re going to dive specifically into the Black Friday promo strategy, because this is where you stand to generate the biggest boost to your revenue and profit.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-238/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Email Template: catherinelangman.com/email-template
Many of you would know and love the baby and kids brand Snuggle Hunny. It’s such a beautiful brand, aesthetically, in the quality of the products, as well as the brand’s values, which are very much about sustainability and community.
Well, today I have a real treat for you as I’m joined on the show by Julie Mathers, CEO of Snuggle Hunny!
Some of you may remember Julie as the founder of Flora and Fauna, an online retailer of all things eco. Since selling that business 2.5 years ago and then acquiring Snuggle Hunny, Julie has accomplished a LOT, from a brand and website refresh, new product development, becoming GOTs certified, expanding overseas, and so much more!
Nothing is ever smooth sailing – it’s been a wild ride for Julie over the last few years as an entrepreneur – but she very generously shares the details about all those ups and downs and what’s working to help grow the brand.
I know you’re going to love this conversation! So without further ado, let’s welcome Julie to the show.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-237/
Did you know – if you offer a 10% discount, you literally need to sell 25% MORE to make the SAME profit?
Right now, I’m seeing a LOT of brands sending out constant discounts.
Some who are sending big discounts on brand new products they haven't even launched yet! And up to 80% off for end of season sales!
These brands are NOT making money.
And by continuing to discount constantly like that, they are only digging themselves deeper and deeper into that hole.
The reality is, consumers are more concerned about VALUE rather than DISCOUNTS.
So in part 2 of this series, I want to share my insights and most effective strategies for doing just that, so that you can generate the best, most profitable results from your email marketing efforts.
Show Notes: 🎙️ https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-236-pt-2/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/email-template
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
The other day I saw the funniest thing on TikTok. This young woman entrepreneur was super excited to share this amazing hot new tip for growing your online store.
Guess what it was? Email marketing! I almost scalded my nostrils by snorting my tea when I saw that!
Maybe email marketing is like vintage fashion – it’s so old that it’s now new and cool again…
In all seriousness, though, I do get why email marketing may have fallen out of favour for a while there.
But the thing is, email marketing – done right – still really, really works. Even now, in 2024, it generates an average ROI of 3,800% and can account for somewhere between 20 and 35% of your revenue!
So, in this episode, I’m diving into what NOT to do as well as some of my top secrets to crafting highly persuasive emails that make you money on tap.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-236/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Years and years ago when my son Hamish was 1 year old and just starting out with swimming lessons. He really, really didn’t want to get into the water in the lesson pool.
So, I did what all smart parents do…and I bribed him. I promised him one of the smiley face cookies from the cafe if he did the lesson.
He thought about it for a minute and then turned to me and said, ‘two biscuits’. And then promptly got into the water and did his lesson.
The irony of course is, this kid is now a national swimmer who competes at the Australian championships. So, the “return on investment” of those two biscuits paid off handsomely!
It’s the same in business: you need to consider what outcome you are optimising for.
Are you optimising for return on ad spend? Or for long-term profitable growth?
They don’t actually mean the same thing. You may think that a high ROAS, by definition, equals profitable revenue, but that’s actually false.
This is critically important to understand if you want to grow, so let’s unpack the issue and I’ll explain what you should be doing instead.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-235/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Workshop: https://www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
Have you been feeling lately as though it’s getting harder to get traffic to your website?
If you’ve noticed this trend, you’re not alone. It’s happening to everyone.
And as tempting as it might be to lay the blame for this on a tough economy or an upcoming election, that’s actually not what’s going on here.
In fact, what’s really going on has the potential to have a lasting and very negative impact on your website traffic and sales unless you educate yourself and implement the right strategies to combat it.
And there are two very specific forces at play here that have nothing to do with your customers’ spending power and everything to do with changes in technology.
For those of us who want to continue to thrive in an online business like eCommerce, we must do our best to understand how these changing technologies are affecting our ability to attract and convert customers.
Which I realise that sometimes feels like an impossible task given how fast things keep changing all the time, but that’s why I’m sharing what we know, learn and discover here on this podcast!
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-234/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Workshop: https://www.catherinelangman.com/workshop
Get More Sales: https://www.catherinelangman.com/getmoresales
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
In a world where we, as consumers, are exposed to hundreds of marketing and advertising messages daily, it’s incredibly difficult for a brand to cut through that noise and get noticed.
Every now and then I notice a new brand doing a particularly good job of getting noticed, though, and today’s guest is one of those.
About a month ago, I was reading an article on the Mamamia blog about the best mascara brands, and came across one I’d never heard of before – Okkiyo – a new Australian brand of mascara designed for people with sensitive eyes.
Now, if you’ve ever watched my podcast videos you’ve probably caught me dabbing at my eyes from time to time. Nose too probably. I struggle with allergies daily, and a lot of skincare and makeup brands exacerbate them.
So obviously the very specific niche that Okkiyo is going for with their brand spoke to me, but on top of that, their branding is super vibrant and really stands out and they have a really unique brand story.
Today on the show I’m excited to share an interview with Okkiyo’s founder, Dr Jaqueline Beltz. She’s not even 12 months in since launching the brand late last year, but she’s already surpassed 5,000 customers and shows no signs of slowing down!
If you love hearing other entrepreneurs share their stories, you’ll enjoy this immensely! So without further ado, let’s welcome Jacqui to the show…
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-233/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Get More Sales: https://www.catherinelangman.com/getmoresales
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
https://www.okkiyo.com/
Instagram: @okkiyoeyes https://www.instagram.com/okkiyoeyes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OKKIYOEyes/
I’m not going to pull out any memes featuring Will Ferrell as a Christmas Elf here, it feels bonkers enough to know we’re into July now, let alone try to contemplate how many weeks we have left till the Holiday season kicks off!
Instead, I want to focus more on some planning so that you can maximise your growth and profits for the remainder of this year.
What should you be focusing on right now to get more traffic? To get more sales? To spend more profitably on ads? To increase conversions? To increase profits?
The reality is, when you’re running an eCommerce business, time always seems to speed up in the second half of the calendar year.
It might be tempting to think you’ve got all the time in the world, but if you want to increase revenue and profits now as well as enjoy a bumper 4th quarter, you need to be planning and implementing the right strategies and tactics now.
So in this episode, I’ll share the 8 high impact business drivers that influence profitable growth, as well as my 4 step process to get started.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-232/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Get More Sales: https://www.catherinelangman.com/getmoresales
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
So today on the show, we’re gonna talk about website design – specifically, how does a well designed website actually improve conversions?
Whether you’re new to eCommerce and setting up your first website, or you’ve been running for a while and need to improve your conversion rate, your website design is a critical consideration.
Because it's no secret that, over the last couple of years, it’s become increasingly more difficult and expensive to convert new customers.
So, you want every advantage you can, right? Especially if you’re spending money on advertising to get traffic to your store.
It’s all well and good to assume that, once you’ve launched your website, all you need to do is get traffic to it and you’ll make money, but it’s just not as simple as that.
Getting your eCommerce website to convert at a profitable rate is part art, part science.
So today on the show, I’m going to share my design principles for a high-converting eCommerce website.
Bottom line is, by improving your conversion rate, you can very easily make a lot more money without needing more traffic.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-231/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Get More Sales: https://www.catherinelangman.com/getmoresales
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
The past few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of an exciting time, because I’ve bought a new eCommerce brand! A skincare and beauty brand called Indagare Natural Beauty.
I could perhaps record an entire episode on the process of negotiating a business purchase or sale, going through the due diligence process, and then finalising the settlement.
But I felt like it could be a bit more helpful for you all to hear about what we’re doing now to rapidly grow the business.
Because the bottlenecks and opportunities within this business are very similar to those experienced by probably 99% of clients and potential clients who speak to us about their business.
So, today on the show, I will walk you through the growth strategy I’m implementing that will take Indagare from a $10k per month brand into a million dollar a year business within the next year, and to multi-million dollars a year within 3 years.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-230/ Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Indagare Natural Beauty: https://www.indagarebeauty.com/ Free Coaching Call: https://www.catherinelangman.com/free-coaching-session/
Free Growth Strategy: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
There’s a dilemma that a lot of entrepreneurs find themselves in as they try to launch and grow their business.
Entrepreneur wants to grow their business but they don’t know how. They buy a course and spend hours upon hours trying to learn everything and implement it all in their business themselves.
Entrepreneur gets very busy and does see some growth and improvement, but then those results plateau.
Entrepreneur then thinks those strategies didn’t work, so they go looking for some other silver bullet strategy. So they spend more hours learning and implementing.
Meanwhile, their business growth remains sluggish. Now, they don’t know if their business sucks or if they are just incompetent.
They go hunting again…
But the real problem is that, at any one time, they only have half of the sales growth equation in play.
The equation is: speed of execution + tactical precision = sales growth.
Moving too fast without a well thought-out strategy will lead your business somewhere, but not necessarily where you want it to go.
Whereas precise strategic planning alone without speed of execution is like a handbrake on your growth, because you prolong the time it takes to actually realise the results.
So today on the show, we’re going to talk about how to have both speed and precision so that you can produce the best results possible for your business.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-229/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Free eCommerce Coaching Session:
https://www.catherinelangman.com/free-coaching-session/
Free Magic Metrics Calculator: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/website-audit/
Book Your eCommerce Strategy Session: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-shopify-expert/
My guest today is Sarah Henney, founder of Outback Linen Co, which is what I would call a women’s fashion label with heart.
Sarah only launched her label less than two years ago, but it’s almost exploded in the time since. At the rate she’s going, she’ll be a 7-figure a year business before the year is out.
How on earth has she managed to launch her business with such a bang, and grow it so rapidly? And do it whilst raising two very young children and whilst living in rural Queensland?
There are two things in particular that I want you to listen to in this interview.
Firstly, the way Sarah has really built this brand around a very strong purpose and uses storytelling to connect with her audience.
And secondly, her marketing strategy, and the way she creates and shares her marketing content combined with having the right campaign structures and budgets to hit her revenue targets.
So she’s not simply relying on having a great product, she’s created a really compelling sales strategy that connects with her audience and compels them to buy.
The outcome of her approach means that her revenue is scaling up rapidly at a time when many eCommerce brands are struggling.
Episode’s Show Notes: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-228/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Website: https://www.outbacklinen.co/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outbacklinenco/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/outbacklinenco/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-shopify-expert/
Just recently, I started working with a brand owner who I first spoke to about 3 years ago. Back then, she wasn’t keen to invest in learning, instead deciding to try and grow her revenue a bit more first before taking the leap.
Fast forward to two months ago and her revenue had not grown at all. She was still stuck at the same level as 3 years ago!
Since working with us two months ago, she’s learned a lot, gained knowledge and developed new skills.
And her revenue has exploded 70% year on year. She has literally paid for an entire year’s worth of coaching with us in the space of two months thanks to the revenue growth she’s already achieved!
What this comes down to is the difference in ROI on learning:
Identifying exactly what knowledge and skills she needs to acquire that’ll have the biggest and fastest impact on her growth, investing in those, taking fast action to implement them, and then having a method of calculating her return on investment.
Let’s break it down in this episode so that you can enjoy a similar transformation as well.
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-227/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-shopify-expert/
Free coaching session: https://www.catherinelangman.com/free-coaching-session/
Ecommerce Mastery: https://productpreneurmarketing.com/ecommerce-mastery-business-coach/
Get ready to dive into the moment you've eagerly anticipated!
Welcome to Part 2 of our exclusive two-part mini-series, "‘What to do & avoid doing to boost your eCommerce sales in 2024’. is finally here!
If you haven’t listened to last week's episode, definitely get onto that first and then come back to this one, as the content is designed to step you through in the right order.
If you have listened to last week’s, I hope you’ve done your homework!
This week, I’m diving into three specific business and marketing strategies you should be implementing right now if your sales revenues have plateaued or declined this year.
Again, there will be some actionable advice in this episode that you’ll be able to take advantage of and implement into your own business.
So, let’s dig into part 2 of ‘what to do and avoid doing to boost your ecommerce sales in 2024’.
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-226-part2/
Part 1: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-226/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Do you remember how it felt at the start of your business journey? You’re excited, motivated, energised, ambitious, optimistic. Like you can conquer the world!
And here’s how it often feels when you get going: WTF was I thinking? I can’t do this! I’m utterly exhausted, have NFI what to do next & I cannot possibly work any harder than this.
We start to despair that we can ever achieve our goals. We lose faith that things will ever change for the better. We start to believe our current reality is our forever reality…
If you’re getting traffic to your website, but not generating enough sales…
Or you’re stuck at the same revenue and can’t seem to break through to the next level…
This episode is for you! In fact, I’ve got a 2-part-series coming up for you of two mini-trainings that work together.
If your sales are languishing, or just not growing to achieve your sales targets, then you definitely need to stop doing some things that aren’t working the same way they used to, and start doing some things differently so that you can match your customers where they are right now.
In this episode, we share some of the current trends in eCommerce as well as some of the common mistakes eCom brands are making a lot right now, and how these things might be impacting your business. Along with some tips and strategies to overcome them.
Next week, we’ll pick things up again and go through some of the specific business and marketing strategies you can and should be doing to overcome these challenges and get your business back to growth. Even in today’s tough economy.
Let’s dive into part 1…
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-226/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-shopify-expert/
Episode 214, “Simple Website Navigation Fixes That Boost Your Conversion Rate”
www.catherinelangman.com/episode-214
Blog post, “How To Win At Digital Marketing For Your eCommerce Store” www.catherinelangman.com/how-to-win-at-digital-marketing-for-your-ecommerce-store/
Episode 165, “How To Become A Cashflow Queen” https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-165/
Episode 189, “How To Bust Past Fears To Build A Thriving Online Superstore”
www.catherinelangman.com/episode-189/
In the last couple of months, it seems as though every single digital marketing platform we need to use for our Ecommerce businesses have all been rolling out major updates.
And Klaviyo is no exception. And whilst new functionality is designed to deepen the integration with your online store and help you make more money, the changes do tend to disrupt performance in the short term.
The automated flows in most, if not all, Klaviyo accounts I’ve reviewed in recent weeks have taken a downward turn.
Flows like your New Subscriber Welcome flow and your Abandoned Cart flow – usually the biggest money spinners – have declined.
And that is not a situation you want to allow to continue!
So in this episode, we will discuss 4 steps you can take to make more money from your automated flows in Klaviyo.
And if you haven’t taken a look at your Klaviyo flows in recent months (or years in the case of many accounts I audit), then use this episode as your kick up the bum to get in there today.
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-225/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/klaviyo-audit/
If I had a dollar for every time during the last couple of months that I heard an entrepreneur say something like, ‘I haven’t changed anything but sales have dropped off a cliff’, I’d probably make it onto the Rich List.
Well, maybe not that, but in all seriousness, it does feel a bit like the Digital Marketing Sky is Falling In.
Not to be too Chicken Little about it!
Right now, there is no denying the seismic shifts that are going on, between the inflationary economy and the massive changes happening across all digital marketing platforms.
Both these factors are wreaking havoc with all businesses. Everyone is feeling the impact, and it’s not exactly comfortable is it?
When that happens, we need to shift and change how we show up in our business and with our marketing. What strategy we deploy, what we focus on or don’t focus on.
And that’s what I’ll be sharing in this episode: the 6 golden rules of marketing that will equip you to survive and thrive in this 2024 economy.
Episode: 🎙️ https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-224/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/klaviyo-audit/ https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-shopify-expert/
Acquiring new customers at a profit, and keeping them coming back again and again, is essential if you want to grow your business.
Without it, you won’t have the cashflow or the profitability to sustain your business, because those two things – cash flow and profits – are like blood and oxygen to your business.
However, the way you go about acquiring and retaining customers will be different depending on what kind of product or service you sell. And most likely, it’ll change over time as the world we operate in changes.
From time to time, I’ve found a really valuable exercise is to analyse what some of the most successful brands and companies are doing, and to compare and contrast them with others and with my own businesses.
When you do this kind of exercise, not only can you come away with some fantastic new ideas to try out in your own business.
But you’ll also notice that even the most successful businesses in the world don’t experience a straight upwards growth curve from start-up to success.
So today on the show, we’re going to dissect the Netflix business model and we’re going to tease out 6 specific components that contribute to their success that you might be able to emulate.
We’ll also compare these to other brands as well, to identify the type of business or product that best suits each strategy.
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-223/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-shopify-expert/
Using Facebook Ads has been a tried-and-true method of increasing traffic and sales for eCommerce businesses over many years now. But, it’s never without issues along the way…
I’m sure we all know the frustration when you invest the time, energy, and money into ads that either don’t produce the expected results, OR that suddenly take a nosedive for no apparent reason.
The truth is, many business owners run into the problem of their Facebook ads not converting.
Lately, Facebook has been rolling out a lot of new updates to the Ads platform, many of which have caused issues with campaigns that were otherwise performing well.
And whilst there is no playbook that Meta hands out – Meta are notoriously silent when it comes to sharing any kind of information about what they’re doing and how it impacts the way we use the platforms – so there’s no foolproof guide for troubleshooting issues when they happen.
However, long experience tells me there are several steps you can take to bring your ad performance back where you need it to be.
So in this episode, I’ll share 10 fixes you can implement when your Facebook ads are broken or stop converting.
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-222/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-shopify-expert/
In the increasingly busy digital landscape we operate in as brand owners and eCommerce businesses, it’s harder and harder to capture the attention of your customers.
Think of the last time you spent time on social media. How many pieces of content did you notice? Did you scroll past most of it? What was it that actually stopped you scrolling?
One of the most effective ways to cut through the clutter is through brand design.
I don’t mean just your logo. A logo is only one small part of your branding.
Think about the brands whose marketing you really notice and engage with. They all have a distinct personality.
Their visual, written and experiential elements all consistently convey the brand personality and brand value.
And they manage to produce marketing content that is engaging, memorable and inspires action – purchase.
In this episode, I’m joined by brand designer Janelle and we dissect the branding of 4 successful brands, teasing out what it is that helps them connect with their customers.
At the end, we have a fun, free exercise you can do to help identify your own brand’s personality and style, so that you can also elevate your marketing to the next, more impactful level.
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-221/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.apple.com/au/
https://au.whogivesacrap.org/
https://gotoskincare.com/
https://styleware.com.au/
Did your eCommerce revenue drop in March? Or maybe February?
When results decline, the common knee-jerk reaction is to assume you’ve stuffed up in some way. That you did something to cause the downturn.
Or, to blame poor sales on the state of the economy.
Either way, you’re liable to end up in the same place: not investing time or money in marketing to drive your business forwards.
First of all, just because your sales might decline sometimes, does not mean your business is a failure.
Nor does it mean that consumer demand for your products has all but dried up and your business is doomed.
However, if you are experiencing a sales slump, not taking any action to rectify that situation WILL lead to that dismal ending! And I don’t want that for you.
So today on the show, I want to help you to identify what the real issue is, and what is the right action you need to take to fix it.
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-220/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-marketing-specialist/
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/conversion-rate-optimisation/
Is your business amazing yet? What do you need to do to get to Amazing?
This past month has felt a bit chaotic and unpredictable, with things like Afterpay Day promo being a massive high, and then a bunch of changes on the Meta Ads platform destabilising ads.
And I know a few of you have been feeling anxious as a result, wondering if it’s something you’ve done to stuff things up.
Trust me, it’s not you, it’s across the board. However, you don’t want to let it stay like that!
As we draw to the end of the first quarter of 2024, it’s time to do your quarterly review to assess what’s happened, what worked, what didn’t, and figure out what you need to do next.
Don’t stress – I’m here to help! In this episode, I share 5 short, fun exercises you can do to take stock and plan your next steps.
Remember, success is not an accident!
Episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-219/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me-marketing-specialist/
Do you feel like you’re working your butt off but getting nowhere fast? Like, you’re so busy all the time you could not possibly work any harder or longer hours than you already are.
I want to talk about the concept of Return On Effort. Not Return On Investment, but Effort.
How can you get a bit more leverage into your days so that the results and outcomes you can produce are bigger and better compared to the efforts or inputs you put in.
Often, people don’t figure out if their efforts are actually generating a return. I see far too many business owners working for peanuts over a very long period of time, and they don’t even realise it.
In this episode, I’ll be sharing how you can plan ahead while considering your return on effort as well as investment.
Then we’ll discuss how you should measure your actual return on effort to make sure the actions you took produced the level of results you wanted.
And most importantly of all, we’ll discuss how you can improve your return on effort AND get there faster than ever before.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-218/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Time Sucking Monster quiz: https://quiz.catherinelangman.com/sf/ca2386a4
90 Day Planning Process podcast: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-158/
Hire a VA: https://www.catherinelangman.com/ecommerce-virtual-assistant/
It’s often the case that entrepreneurs launch their brands feeling as though they’ve done the hard work by actually getting their product to launch.
But while designing and manufacturing a product and getting it to market is no small feat, the real hard work of growing a business is yet to happen.
Building an audience. Gaining brand awareness. Getting customers to actually buy your product – not just once, but over and over again to produce consistent and growing revenues.
None of that stuff is easy. Often it’s a bit boring. There are frequent problems and disappointments and issues that require solving.
There are certain ingredients we must have in order to sustain motivation and productivity over the long-haul, which is necessary if we want to experience lasting success.And certain strategies we need to employ consistently if we want to build brand awareness, create demand for our products and convert paying customers.
Your eCommerce business and the success and profitability of your digital marketing, requires all of these ingredients, which is the topic of today’s episode.
Today on the show I’m joined by Raph McGowan, founder of innovative Aussie brand Bakslap.
Since launching only a few years ago, Bakslap has experienced some rapid growth and is now primed to take some major international markets by storm.
There are four key takeaways I want you to take away from this conversation, that could really help ignite massive brand visibility and fuel faster growth in your own business.
Starting with passion and purpose, the two ingredients that fuel Raph’s motivation through all the ups and downs, as well as forming the basis of the stories and content that capture and engage his audience’s attention.
And then the two key strategies – public, grass-roots events and partnerships – take those stories to the masses, giving Raph and Bakslap the kind of brand awareness that a successful eCommerce business needs to leverage in order to scale and grow.
Aside from creating this incredibly successful venture, Raph is also humble and clearly enjoys what he does every day. His positivity is quite infectious!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-217/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together. https://bakslap.com/ https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Photo Credit: Couriermail Australia
One of the hardest things when it comes to planning for growth, is estimating your future revenue and setting goals around how much you’ll grow month on month and year on year.
Business owners and leaders crave predictable, profitable growth.
But, most people who have been in business for even a short while, know from experience that there are a lot of variables outside your control, which makes it extremely difficult to plan ahead with confidence.
It also makes it extremely difficult for many entrepreneurs to spend money with confidence on things like advertising or other strategies to generate that growth.
What then happens, is business owners proceed with a high degree of caution and are very conservative with their marketing investments – not wanting to risk too much money until they have proof that their ads or other activities are getting good results, and assuming that they’ll then be able to scale up in time to achieve their goals.
Unfortunately, this rarely produces the results that they’re after, which then dents the business owner's level of confidence and their motivation to keep at it.
For starters, they often don’t go out with the right mix of channels required to get the best results.
There’s also a commonly-held misconception that you can never guarantee any kind of specific result when it comes to your digital marketing.
However, as the business owner, or if you work with a marketing specialist that does work across all of those channels to implement whole-of-business growth strategies, then there are ways to be able to predict your revenue and profit growth with a high level of accuracy.
And in 2024, with the state of our economy right now, net profit growth is probably far more important than top line revenue growth. So if you don’t master this, you will definitely struggle more…
So today on the show, I’m going to walk you through the revenue growth modelling method I’ve developed that leads to much more accurate growth predictions and overall better results, both in terms of revenue and profits.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-216/
With all this hype and media coverage around Taylor Swift's Downunder Tour, and with all the records this tour has smashed in terms of ticket sales and revenue, it got us thinking about the marketing for such mania. Did you know that the average Swiftie fan wasn't just attending a concert, but embarking on a full-blown adventure?
With an estimated spending of $1300 on tickets, travel, accommodation, and merchandise, it's clear that attending a Taylor Swift concert was more than just a show—it was a pilgrimage for fans.
So for this episode, grab your sparkly outfits and get ready to uncover the marketing strategies and business lessons that makes the Eras Tour an unforgettable journey for fans and a lucrative venture for Taylor Swift, and how you can effectively apply these mega strategies to your own business marketing.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-215/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
One of the most critical elements of a high converting eCommerce website is the navigation.
We know, statistically, that providing customers with a great website user experience is hugely impactful on conversions.
With an intuitive navigation, your customers can quickly find what they’re looking for.
Additionally, with more than 70% of website visitors now on mobile devices, the navigation becomes even more critical. We have such a small amount of real estate on a mobile device screen, so the way we design our navigation plays an even bigger role.
Plus, if you include all the right design and interactive elements you’ll give them nice little hits of dopamine as they successfully navigate on your site, and you’ll find your conversion rate will go up significantly.
In this episode, we go through the most common mistakes we see eCommerce businesses make all the time with their navigation, as well as her top tips for getting this critical component of your website right. So by the end of the episode, you will have several steps you can take and implement immediately on your own website.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-214/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Most eCommerce brands that are struggling to grow right now are stuck because they’re making this one critical error:
They don’t have the right, over-arching growth strategy in place.
It’s not that these brands aren’t implementing some marketing strategies… They’re usually implementing a bunch of tactics like email marketing, posting content on socials, maybe spending money on advertising. Sometimes even SEO.
But if you’re doing all that and finding it’s still not working, and if you’ve ever said to me (or to yourself or to anyone else) that you’ve tried every marketing tactic and it’s not working…
Then you’re probably missing this too.
At the end of the day, all of those marketing and advertising channels are just that: communication channels. In and of themselves, they’re not strategies.
For example, over the last few weeks I’ve been personally designing growth strategies for my newest Mastery clients, but let me tell you about one in particular.
She’s got a gorgeous brand and has grown it well over a few years, but over the last 12 months she’s plateaued with no growth on the year before.
She initially said to me before we started working together that she has tried everything but it’s not working. Her knee-jerk reaction was that the state of the economy was to blame.
Of course, there are definitely ways in which the cost of living and the economy impacts business.
But 9 times out of 10, that’s not the cause of these brands’ struggle.
So in this episode, I want to share with you how I personally go about designing growth strategies that make millions of dollars. Even in today’s market.
To accompany this episode, I’ve recorded a short tutorial video about how I calculate eCommerce revenue growth projections accurately. If you’d like to access this for free, head to catherinelangman.com/dashboard
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-213/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
https://catherinelangman.com/dashboard
While the ultimate aim of an eCommerce business is to generate revenue, the name of the game is TRAFFIC.
Without traffic first, without getting eyeballs onto your website, nothing else matters and your business will remain the world’s best kept secret.
But, not all traffic is equal and getting quality traffic at a profit is harder than it used to be.
To scale and grow a profitable online store, you need a mix of three kinds of traffic: owned – from your own database, such as Klaviyo; paid – which is advertising; and earned – earning organic search traffic being the main strategy there.
You want to aim for 40% of your traffic and sales coming from organic traffic, and when you do a great job of this you’ll generally find that your conversion rate from this traffic is higher than most other channels, probably with the exception of your email marketing.
To get more organic traffic, though, requires working on SEO. And unfortunately, this activity is something you need to work on regularly and consistently.
It’s also the kind of digital marketing that evolves over time, as new technologies and platforms come into play and as consumer behaviour changes.
So today on the show, I’ve invited Karen from my team onto the show. Karen is what I like to call an SEO queen, and she’s going to share details around the top 5 SEO trends for eCommerce businesses in 2024, and how you can incorporate them into your marketing.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-212/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
https://linkby.com/
On average, eCommerce websites convert at 2-3%, whilst average revenue per website visitor varies from brand to brand.
Lately, I’ve been auditing a number of eCommerce businesses who are desperately trying to grow their revenue and profits, to make and keep more money in their business.
But they not only don’t know these metrics, or any of the other performance metrics that drive growth.
They also don’t know how to improve them so that they can actually achieve their growth goals.
Many times I hear comments like “I feel like I’ve tried everything and it hasn’t worked”.
Unfortunately, behind that statement is frequently someone who has chased shiny objects in a misguided attempt to discover the magic silver bullet that grants them overnight million-dollar success.
Or, someone who has implemented a whole bunch of tactics that they’ve had recommended to them, but without any kind of overarching strategy to tie it all together.
In the end, they’re going about it the wrong way, and in the process they end up giving their brains a whole lotta evidence that this doesn’t work.
But with a better process and a strategy tailored to your specific business, anything is possible.
For example, what if there was a strategy that could 3x the average revenue per visitor AND 4x the conversion rate?
And what if it did that WITHOUT paying more money on ads?
I'm pretty sure you'd want it....
Well guess what – that strategy actually exists!
And even better – this is all automated!
So let’s dive in shall we? Listen in to discover how to double the number of customers who buy from you – on autopilot. And don’t miss the #1 critical error that far too many eCom brands make that prevents them from getting results like this, which I’ll share towards the end. You don’t want to be making this in your own business, trust me!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-211/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Without fail, every business has areas where they’re struggling and that impact their ability to grow.
If your marketing is inefficient or ineffective, it will also be unprofitable. So not only will you not be growing your business as quickly as you’d like, but you’ll also be heading towards a cash flow crunch that could kill your business entirely.
Similarly, if your operations and fulfilment are inefficient or ineffective, that can act as a handbrake on the marketing so that you also slow down your growth.
This situation is so common and can happen to businesses at any stage, from early stage to mature businesses that have been around for a long time.
The issue is this: brands miscalculating how much they can and should spend in advertising in order to acquire a new customer.
Brands mis-calculate this in two ways, or rather they don’t actually calculate it at all and make one of the following two errors as a result:
Either they over-spend on advertising in an effort to scale and grow really rapidly.
Or they under-spend on advertising out of the fear of running out of money.
Either way, they end up in a cash-flow crunch.
Spending too little means you don’t grow revenue quickly enough to actually make a profit over and above your fixed expenses.
Spend too much and you end up converting new customers at a price too expensive to be profitable.
In this episode, I go into detail about the critical scaling error brands make that absolutely kills profits, and what you should do about it!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-210/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Don’t miss my FREE 2024 eCommerce Marketing Playbook
Discover my most important insights about what’s working right now AND steal my top secret marketing strategies that generated over $6million in revenue in 2023!
Download your free copy now (available for a limited time) https://www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
One of the biggest frustrations a lot of eCommerce brands struggle with is the constant need to produce creative content.
Typically, photography, graphic design and copywriting is not a core skill set, and so it becomes a time-consuming chore frequently procrastinated over.
But if you find yourself always on the back foot, trying to produce some content for social media, or for a major promotion, you’ll know the stress this causes!
Unfortunately, this kind of scenario leads to content that’s just “thrown up for the sake of having something there”, rather than content that’s strategically planned and intentional.
And this leads to sub-standard results from ad campaigns, email campaigns, and any other marketing efforts.
With the way digital platforms now work, we all need to be producing and sharing new creative content on a much more regular basis.
The way algorithms work requires fresh creative content in order to engage viewers and produce the best results.
Meaning, in order to convert sales at the highest, most profitable rate possible, we all need to be producing more new content, more frequently.
And this requires a systematic approach to content creation in order to achieve your growth goals.
In this podcast episode, I explain how I approach this and give you a step-by-step guide to building a content creation system in your own business, designed to help you achieve your revenue targets. (Preferably without as much hustle and overwhelm!)
Let’s dive in…
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-209/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Don’t miss my FREE 2024 eCommerce Marketing Playbook
Discover my most important insights about what’s working right now AND steal my top secret marketing strategies that generated over $6million in revenue in 2023!
Download your free copy now (available for a limited time)
https://www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
The other day, I read a news article about a 13 year old kid from Oklahoma who became the first person ever to win the video game Tetris.
Long believed to be an impossible myth, the player – Willis Gibson – reached level 157 and a score of 999,999, launching the never-seen-before “kill screen” where the game crashes and there’s nothing left to play.
The video game of Tetris was first launched in 1985, so it’s taken humans nearly 4 decades to master every possible level of the game.
Thankfully, it doesn’t need to take that long to achieve each level of growing a business!
Though understanding what each level of scale is and how to master it will be a necessary starting point if you do want to master the game of scaling a business.
I’ve spent most of my career helping business owners scale their companies through mastering their marketing to acquire more customers.
Customer acquisition was THE key to scale…or at least I thought so.
But over time, I began to realise we were just scratching the surface as it relates to “scaling a company…”
Because scale is about so much more than just revenue growth and customer acquisition.
There are 5 distinct levels, or phases, you must pass through in order to successfully scale a profitable business.
And, if you aren’t growing nearly as fast as you want, chances are you’re stuck in one of them.
So in this episode, I’m going to share what the five levels of scale are and what you need to do and achieve at each level before you can move on to the next.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-208/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Don’t miss my FREE 2024 eCommerce Marketing Playbook
Discover my most important insights about what’s working right now AND steal my top secret marketing strategies that generated over $6million in revenue in 2023!
Download your free copy now (available for a limited time) https://www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Most business owners I know are ambitious. They’re aiming to create something significant with their business.
But many struggle with goal setting. Either because they don’t know how to do that (without playing ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ with their revenue targets!)
Or, because they’ve set goals in the past and missed them by a big margin, and then felt miserable.
There are two problems here: first, they’ve missed the crucial first step in the process.
In doing so, they’ve set themselves up to feel like they never measure up. Which is pretty demoralising…
And secondly, they underestimate what they can achieve in 10 years and overestimate (often by a LOT) what they can achieve in one year.
So again, they set themselves up to fail.
Rather than let you start the new year like that, I want to help you to start off strong.
Tune in to this first episode of 2024 to hear me explain my ‘new’ way of setting goals that truly is the key to your growth and success in 2024!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-207/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Don’t miss my FREE 2024 eCommerce Marketing Playbook
Discover my most important insights about what’s working right now AND steal my top secret marketing strategies that generated over $6million in revenue in 2023!
Download your free copy now (available for a limited time) https://www.catherinelangman.com/playbook
Ever wondered why some people seem to have a Midas touch in building their business?
It’s not just luck; it’s about filling the right buckets – knowledge, skills, network, resources, and reputation – in a specific order. This systematic approach can unlock your potential and set you on the path to success and fulfilment.
At the very outset, the most critical bucket to fill is knowledge. Think of it as the foundation of a skyscraper. The stronger the foundation, the higher you can build.
For me, my go-to for gaining new knowledge and ideas is books.
Of course I do other things to help me build my business: working with mentors, growing my team and networking with peers, to name a few.
But without the knowledge and ideas first, nothing new or different will ever happen.
In this episode, I share the insights I gleaned from my top 6 favourite books this year. Hopefully one or two will inspire you!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-206/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Books:
- The Diary Of A CEO
- The Art Of The Impossible - Steven Kotler
- $100m Leads: How To Get Strangers To Want To Buy Your Stuff - Alex Hormozi
- Be Your Future Self Now - Dr Benjamin Hardy
- The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance - Josh Waitzkin
- 10x Is Easier Than 2x - Dan Sullivan & Dr Benjamin Hardy
If you’re like so many business owners that I’ve observed, I really want to share a bit of knowledge and a couple of secrets of mine that helped me to get off the hamster wheel and past the state of sheer exhaustion.
You know what I mean. So many entrepreneurs work day, night and all weekend. They work from their phone whilst watching TV at night, or from the sidelines of their kids' sport.
There's never any downtime...
Ultimately, I’m going to prove to you that it’s actually more productive to take some time to psychologically detach from work. So I’ll be putting a strong argument to you today that it’s time to down tools, forget about work for a bit – even just for a couple of days if that’s all the time you can take out right now – and fully allow your brain and your mind to relax and enjoy other parts of your life.
Science tells us, that sometimes the most productive thing you can do, that will actually HELP you produce better results, is to take a break!
So, if you're feeling like you have hustled day in, day out, all year long.... And right now you are the absolute definition of EXHAUSTED...
Tune in to this episode—I recorded it just for you!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-205/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Over the last year or so, it’s gotten harder and harder to generate profitable results from paid advertising.
Increased competition from the rapid growth in businesses shifting online and vying for limited ad inventory has driven ad costs up.
And the way the ad algorithm has changed means that campaigns require a certain number of conversion events in order to optimise.
Without the data from those conversion events, the campaigns don’t exit the learning phase.
And results suffer as a result.
The trouble is – as eCommerce businesses, we still need to use paid ads to drive traffic to our store.
Without it, our store dwindles into obscurity. Or at the very least, suffers from very unpredictable traffic and sales.
& I don’t think anyone wants to turn themselves into a dancing monkey just to get some kind of traction with organic social media. (Even then, the return on effort is often pretty dismal and inconsistent…)
The good news is that there IS something you can do that has a profound impact on your results from paid advertising.
Both in terms of number of purchases as well as your return on ad spend.
And that’s what I share in this episode! Let’s dive in…
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-204/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
I think the word that best describes this year is bruising…
For newer and more established businesses alike, this year has presented several challenges that have made it more difficult to operate (let alone profit!)
From the drop in demand for online ordering when lock-downs ended.
To the increased costs (of production, operations, distribution, even ad costs have skyrocketed!)
To say it’s become a lot harder to convert and profit with that change of consumer behaviour would be an understatement!
The good thing is, I’ve been able to combat this market reality and produce some major wins for clients, some of whom posted their biggest months in November.
It does require you to approach your marketing a little differently, but we’re not completely reinventing the wheel here.
In this episode, I share more details around what’s really going on in the market to lead to a drop in results.
And, I share the two key strategies you will need to master in order to profit and thrive in 2024.
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2024 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
If you’ve ever wondered, “What incentives should I offer for my Black Friday promotion?”
Or, “What kind of offers are working the best right now to generate sales?”
Or even, “How can I get more people buying from me right now?”
If you’ve been puzzling over those questions lately, then chances are you’re one of the 95% of eCommerce business owners who haven't quite mastered the most important step in your marketing…
What is that magical step, you might be wondering?
It’s not magic. It’s a deliberate and intentional review process.
Ugh. Boring I hear the crowd say…
Trust me, I will make it interesting for you ;-)
The exercise I walk you through in this episode is probably one of the most powerful things you can learn to do in terms of influencing your business’ growth.
In the episode, I refer to a couple of past podcasts and other resources – you’ll find links for those below.
By the end of this episode, I promise you will be itching to sit down with pen and paper and document your insights from your latest promotion!
Enjoy!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-202/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Podcast episode 174, “Make Millions With Magic Metrics” https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-174/
Blog, “How To Run Meta Ads That Convert Like Crazy”
https://www.catherinelangman.com/christmas-meta-ads-that-convert-like-crazy/
E-commerce Planner Book:
https://www.catherinelangman.com/planner-book/
Free strategy session:
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
It’s no secret that this has been a pretty tough year for many, both as business owners and personally.
I think sometimes when we experience challenging times, especially as a small business owner, it can sometimes feel pretty isolating like you’re not cut out for this because you’re finding it so hard.
In times like that it can be comforting to hear that others around you who you maybe look up to or view as being maybe more successful, also find the same or similar things challenging as you.
It’s especially comforting to know that others have solved similar problems or dealt with similar issues and been able to go on to achieve success.
One thing that we do in our business is to collect a lot of data.
We’re always conducting market research about our audience - eCommerce brands - and we do this so that we’re able to create relevant free content and resources, like this podcast and like some of the free training materials we produce and share - and also so that we can provide the right mix of services to our clients that will actually help them where they’re at right now.
And because we collect this data, we’re able to draw insights from it and work out what are the common themes or common struggles that eCommerce businesses are experiencing right now.
So today on the show I really wanted to share with you what those common themes and struggles are, how some of our clients are dealing with them and thriving, and share some details about what they’re doing to get there.
To help me unpack this topic I’m joined by our super smart and strategic Brand Growth Advisor, Chelsea Papadopoulos.
My hope is that you’ll find this content might be both comforting and inspiring and hopefully give you some confidence through to the end of this year as well as into the new year as you think about or start planning for 2024.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-201/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Anyone else’s email inbox overflowing with a bazillion promos right now?
It’s the time of year where the digital landscape gets extra cluttered, with a big increase in marketing messages coming at us left, right and centre.
And that includes YOUR audience…
So the big question is…How are YOU going to stand out from your competition and be able to capture the attention and engagement of your customers?
If you want to have a successful Christmas and Holiday sales season it’s essential to find ways to stand out from your competition and be able to capture the attention and engagement of your customers.
If you just keep doing the same old thing right now, you’ll fail to cut through the clutter and even get noticed by your customers, which will absolutely impact your sales results in a negative way.
I know you’re juggling a million balls right now, hustling hard to take advantage of increased consumer demand right now to maximise our revenue results.
And whilst it can be a lot of fun coming up with and executing a bunch of creative marketing and promotional ideas at this time of year, it can also feel pretty stressful getting all the pieces of marketing content created and implemented for your promos!
It can kinda dull the shine of the festive season just a little…
So whilst the most magical time of the year has taken over our minds and to-do lists, and you’re busy planning and implementing your Christmas and Holiday marketing campaigns…
Whether this is your busiest time of year, or you need to engineer a boost in sales to prevent a big drop in income…
Let me share a few ideas to help you make your marketing a bit more exciting, fun, engaging and really just generally make an impression that stands out from the crowd this Christmas period.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-200/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-159/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-162/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-176/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/11-creative-ideas-to-boost-your-festive-marketing/
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Hands up if you’re finding it challenging trying to get consistent traffic and sales in your online store right now?
Or finding it overwhelming trying to figure out how to get your digital marketing dialled in and really converting consistently?
I’ve been speaking to a lot of eCommerce business owners recently – recent start-ups as well as seasoned veterans – who are experiencing these things right now.
And they all ask me the same question: is it just them, or are customers still buying? Is it actually possible to get good revenue results right now?
The answer to that question is definitely yes. We’ve got clients who are growing and posting record months in terms of revenue.
But that doesn’t happen for people who are still doing things the way they were even at the start of this year, let alone the same as last year.
The pace of change in the digital landscape has certainly accelerated this year, which is what’s so very frustrating for so many and leads to feelings of overwhelm and fear and lack of confidence!
Trust me, I totally get it. I still struggle with those feelings too from time to time, but fortunately now I have some strategies to pull me out of that kind of downward emotional spiral much faster.
Today on the show, I really want to share with you the approach to digital marketing that we’re finding is necessary to get great results right now, and that’s what is called an Omnichannel approach.
By the end of this episode, you’ll hopefully have a really solid understanding of what this means and how you would approach it in your own business, as well as some better clarity and confidence around your own performance metrics and how you can influence them as well.
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/beauty-brand-growth-case-study
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/bell-art-case-study
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Are you a brand that sells both direct to consumer on their eCommerce store, as well as wholesale to retail stockists?
One of the most common questions my clients are asking me is, how to wholesale?
How do you actually do it?
Sound familiar?
Having that duality of selling via eCommerce as well as wholesale is actually one of my favourite business models.
And If you do a great job of your branding and marketing, you end up selling better via both channels without the need for discounting.
And if you do a great job of your branding and marketing online, you do actually grow the sales volume and revenue for both your own business as well as your wholesale stockists.
It is a win-win if you do it well.
But there’s still a mystery around things like what you actually need to have in place in order to wholesale, from pricing to presentation. How to approach stockists and how to help them successfully sell your products.
So, even if you’re a retailer, I reckon you’ll get loads of value from this conversation as well as you brand owners out there.
So to help me unpack this mystery for you today, I’m joined by Melinda Farley, founder of Kollektive, which is a wholesale distributor for many international as well as local brands.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-198/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://kollektive.com.au/
https://www.instagram.com/kollektive.au/
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Of course, we all want to jump on new trends.
It’s literally human nature.
When we see something new that’s working particularly effectively for others, we want to roll it out in our own businesses. That’s normal, right? And for a while, it’ll work.
But when something new and trendy reaches peak, mass adoption, it stops getting the cut through and stops getting noticed by people, and therefore becomes less effective.
Which – in the context of your marketing efforts to try and generate traffic and sales in your online store – basically means you don’t get the cut through.
So today on the show, I’m actually going to talk about one really fun way to actually create marketing that gets cut through and engagement with your audience.
We actually utilise various forms of this strategy with many of our clients in our agency.
So what is this strategy?
It’s gamification.
We love playing games because they fulfil our natural needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
The built-in reward systems combined with compelling storytelling are what makes games so engrossing. They intrigue us. And in recent years, marketers have realised the power of using gaming-related elements in creating brand awareness and engagement.
So in this episode, I’m going to explain what gamification is and the psychology behind how gamified experience designs motivate users to specific actions, as well as examples of gamified marketing, from simple and easy to get up and running, to the more elaborate.
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
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Wouldn’t it be great if being a business owner came with a roadmap?
Something you could follow so you could avoid any of those difficulties and enjoy constant uninterrupted progress?
You wish! (Well, we all hoped that would be the case)
But sorry to break it to you…
Building a business is never straightforward or simple and we all face challenges or problems we have to figure out along the way.
When we first start our business, a lot of entrepreneurs start out with a lot of enthusiasm and motivation. They’re inspired and motivated by this and so they will often have some momentum as a result.
Sadly I don’t have a magic wand that can remove all obstacles for you, but I do have maybe the next best thing.
And that’s today’s guest who has successfully built a multi-million dollar business over the last 8 years.
Diana Swadling from Milkbar Breastpumps.
Something I want you to know about Diana’s approach before you listen to her story, is that she was always keen to learn the next growth systems and strategies herself so she could understand what needed to be done and how it should be done, and then she would grow her team and delegate.
And this is so important to master as you grow, because you can’t keep adding things to your plate without ever taking anything off it…
So sit down and get comfortable while we chat to Diana about the challenges and the strategies she’s used to help her grow and level up over the last few years, to the point now where she’s ranged in hundreds of retailers and has a thriving eCommerce business as well.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-196/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
https://milkbarbreastpumps.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/milkbarbreastpumps/ https://www.facebook.com/milkbarbreastpumps https://www.tiktok.com/@milkbarbreastpumps
What’s the SINGLE most important thing in ANY eCommerce business?
One word: TRAFFIC.
As we all know, without traffic – literally nothing else happens.
Now of COURSE it’s not just about generating ANY traffic. It’s about generating the RIGHT traffic. Traffic that is HIGH QUALITY & PROFITABLE…
And the go-to place over the past few years to generate that traffic for an eCommerce business has been Facebook and Instagram.
Yet it’s never been more challenging to generate high-quality & profitable traffic on Facebook and Instagram.
So…if you’re running ads and not getting the results you want…
Then this episode is gonna be a must-listen.
Don't get us wrong, Facebook and Instagram are STILL the go-to traffic platforms, and it’s definitely a big part of OUR strategy.
But despite ad costs skyrocketing by 300% compared to a year ago…
We’ve actually been able to cut our cost per purchase by more than 25% and improved ROAS by 35% on Meta ad traffic within just 30 days…
Which means we’re able to make MORE revenue while spending less on ads and generating a much bigger return on ad spend.
Sound exciting?
Well today is your lucky day. In this episode, I’ll give you a step by step breakdown of EXACTLY which levers we pulled inside of Meta to get such incredible results.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-194/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Recently, a friend of mine who owns a Shopify retail store was telling me about their experience of being in a group coaching program alongside a number of her suppliers.
And the mentor was advising her stockist brands to run big discount promotions direct to their own customers online, literally undercutting their stockists who were also in this group hearing this advice.
I reckon if you’re a business owner on either side of that brand / retailer divide, you probably don’t want to have that kind of experience.
But, as much as retailers might think it is, the answer to this situation is actually not for the brand to stop marketing or selling direct to consumers.
A brand who does a great job with marketing online actually LIFTS the retail sales for both themselves and for their retail stockists.
They just won’t achieve that by running big discount promotions.
Today on the show I’m joined by one of our fabulous clients, Amanda from Bell Art, which is a stunning Australian giftware brand.
Bell Art has been around for many years, starting off as a wholesale-only business model.
And for a long time, Amanda feared that adding a direct-to-consumer eCommerce sales channel into her business would hurt her relationship with her stockists and cannibalise her wholesale sales revenues.
But in actual fact, the opposite has happened. Her revenue across both eCommerce DTC and wholesale channels has all grown exponentially this year. It’s been a very successful growth strategy for her.
So I’m really excited to welcome Amanda onto the show to share her success story of running direct-to-consumer alongside her successful wholesale channels.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-194/
Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/ecommerce-case-study-bell-art/
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
If ever there was a trendy bandwagon that everyone and their mother’s uncle’s dog is jumping on to try and make money from you, it is ChatGPT
Unfortunately, with all the hype surrounding ChatGPT and other AI tools right now, there are people who think this is a magic tool that will completely transform their business and make them truckloads more money without the need for actually growing a team.
Obviously, the internet completely transformed our lives. It’s changed the way we live and work. It’s made old industries obsolete and helped bring new industries to life.
So if AI has the potential to create similar change, then we’d all better buckle up because it could be a wild ride.
The key for me is learning how to actually use these incredibly powerful tools to help in a positive way, without losing the authenticity of your brand or the real human connection with your audience.
How can we use these tools to help us be more innovative and efficient?
How can we use them to get a better result for ourselves in our business as well as for our customers?
How can we make sure that we don’t just tie ourselves to the notion that these tools are about fitting more busy work into our day?
Sure, we all want to be as efficient and as productive as possible, but I don’t think any of us can innovate or come up with new ideas that might actually transform the way we do business,
If we are literally busy all day every day, that leaves absolutely no time for creative thinking.
So with that said, I do believe there are ways you can use these tools really well to your advantage.
As well as things you should probably avoid if you want to leverage AI to create long-term positive impact in your business.
So strap in as I go through my top 3 suggestions for how you should use ChatGPT in your marketing, and 1 thing to avoid!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-193/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/blackfriday/
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
This year's Black Friday Cyber Monday promotional event will likely be unlike any other.
It'll be a record one – if you do it right that is! BUT... getting organised early is absolutely key.
Here are some statistics from 2022 results to give you some idea of the scope of this event:
In 2022, Australian retailers saw an 11% increase in revenue on Black Friday alone compared to 2021, and a whopping 239% increase compared to the average for just the previous month.
And last year, e-commerce stores processed well over $65.3 billion in sales just during on Black Friday alone, not counting revenue throughout the remainder of the traditional 4 day Black Friday Cyber Monday promo long weekend. It is enormous.
The Black Friday promo event continues to grow here in Australia as well as globally year on year. And it now represents the start of our typically busy Christmas and holiday sales period.
Aside from the revenue spike, which I’m sure everyone would be pretty keen to experience in your business, there are some good reasons to run a promo like this:
- You can encourage more new customers to try your stuff for the first time, AKA acquire new customers who might otherwise not purchase from you,
- You can encourage existing customers to come back to buy again. As you should know by now, increasing your customer lifetime value and increasing the number of times your customers have bought from you, is the most effective way to increase your profits, and
- It can help you to sell through old season or slow moving stock. Although word of warning here, don’t ONLY use old or slow moving stock in your promo or you won’t enjoy the first benefit of acquiring new customers. New customers will only become repeat customers if they really love your stuff, which they’re less likely to do if they only try your less popular stuff.
If you want to make the most of this year's biggest shopping event, it is critical that you start planning and implementing as early as possible...like now.
That’s where this episode can help!
Think of this episode as part-checklist and part-inspiration to help you plan and execute an absolutely killer Black Friday promo this year!
And don’t miss the free checklist download as well – go here to get yours today: www.catherinelangman.com/blackfriday
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-192/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/blackfriday/
https://productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk/
Firstly, let’s call out the elephant in the room here.
So far this has been a crazy year for businesses huh?!
We’re living through some of the highest levels of inflation since the 80’s right now, and with interest rates only finally stopping their upward spiral, it’s no secret that a lot of families have been tightening their spending habits this year.
And I can sense that there’s a number of you who are just a teensy bit nervous that maybe customers won’t come out to spend much over the next few months.
Maybe Black Friday promos, Christmas promos, and the peak sales season that usually happens in the 4th quarter of the year might not happen in the same way.
So this coming holiday season, Does the economy look different? Yes.
Does this mean people have all completely stopped spending? No.
I’m seeing a lot of you are holding back on trying things or implementing new marketing or investing in any advertising for fear that it won’t work.
Looking for some kind of confirmation or guarantee in advance that whatever you do will work.
And I get that, I totally understand the fears and anxieties around these things.
Thankfully we have a lot of data that’s telling us how and where and when customers are buying, what’s motivating them to buy, and all that good stuff.
Ultimately, you do need to commit first though. Confidence follows commitment and action, it doesn’t come before it.
So I want you to use the information you hear in this episode and then commit to taking action.
So today on the show, I’m going to share some of that data, share details around consumer spending habits right now, and share some of the psychology of how different consumers buy.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-191/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
This year, I’ve observed so many businesses that started during the Covid eCommerce boom time
They’re experiencing a decline in sales, or finding that trying to get the same results as they easily got during Covid is now taking them a lot more time, effort and investment.
Let’s be honest, the life we all experienced during the first two years of Covid produced about 10 years’ worth of eCommerce sales growth in that very short period of time.
Then all of a sudden, our online shopping habits changed again with the result being that innate demand for eCommerce was no longer there.
The simple fact that it was now harder to get the same results has left a lot of business owners feeling like there’s something wrong with them or their business.
This is absolutely not the case, it just comes down to the changes in consumer behaviour.
Today on the show, I’m joined by a friend of mine who is also a former client, who is one of the best humans I know.
Welcome the wonderful Lou Duggan from Cake 2 The Rescue
She’s been in business for more than 12 years and in our conversation today, we talk all about before, during and after Covid.
What the impacts have been on her business, how she’s navigating things in her business right now as we’re all - as consumers - experiencing the cost pressures of inflation and interest rate rises.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-190/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
Many of us have a fear of success and failure.
Whether that’s conscious or unconscious.
I'm sure we’ve all experienced this roller coaster of emotions on our entrepreneurial journey,
I know that I certainly have,
And I really want to talk about this fear that I think a lot of us have.
Here’s what’s on the other side of those fears however.
Financial independence with autonomy & Rock solid confidence.
Is it all sunshine and rainbows? Nope.
I ain’t gonna lie to you about that. But that’s not real life anyway.
However, what IS possible is to be less fatalistic about the hard times and more accepting and confident that they’ll pass and they’re just a blip on your way to achieving your next goal.
And today on this episode, I'm actually going to re-share a bit about the story of my own business journey that really speaks to some of the fears and anxieties that are pretty common, and what I’ve personally done to get past them.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-189/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
www.productpreneuracademy.com/accelerator
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
The idea of starting a business after having a baby and going on maternity leave is such a familiar story
It’s my own story
It’s the experience of so many of you listeners,
And it’s also been the experience of today’s guest, Katie Eslick, founder of Little Windmill Clothing Co.
What’s a bit different about Katie’s journey to building her popular label, is the fact that she lives in a remote region, in outback Queensland, Australia, on a cattle station.
Aside from things like post and courier services being hard to access, there’s no phone service and she even struggles to internet access, sometimes having to climb up a hill near a phone tower just to get some bandwidth!
Kind of a big problem when you run an online business!
But the cool thing about Katie is that she was forced to develop some creative problem-solving skills to be able to work around the constraints caused by operating from a remote location.
And that’s actually enabled and facilitated her to grow quite fast.
She now runs a successful brand with a warehouse and a team and distributes her products all over the world!
So get comfy and listen up while we talk about Building a Global Brand from an Outback Cattle Station!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-188/
Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/workshop/
https://littlewindmillclothingco.com/
*https://www.instagram.com/littlewindmillclothingco/*
**https://www.facebook.com/littlewindmillclothingco****
Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you’re running from one task to the next?
Right from the minute you open your eyes in the morning, you’re go go go.
Yeah me too.
Trying to respond to customer enquiries, create and post stuff to socials, pick and pack orders, figure out what should go in your next email newsletter.
Just trying to chip away at some other big project…
I mean the list goes on right?
How good would it feel to be able to share some of that load, and still know that everything would be done to the same high standard that you have?
Well today’s your lucky day because in today’s episode I’m joined by a guest, Michelle who is the owner of VA agency Outsourcing Crew.
It hasn’t always been easy in the past finding a VA, or virtual assistant, who is good at what they do.
Someone that knows their way around the kinds of tasks and apps and platforms that you need to do and use in an eCommerce business.
But this is a sector that is growing rapidly, and for good reason. You can’t hope to scale and grow your business if you keep doing everything yourself - I promise you’ll burnout if you do that!
So I’m excited to share this conversation with you, where we’ll tackle topics like how to figure out what tasks you should delegate, how to actually make sure your assistant does things to your standards and meets your expectations, and more.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-187/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/planning
https://www.outsourcingcrew.com/
https://www.instagram.com/outsourcingcrew/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/bootcamp
I remember when I launched my first business, I was absolutely shitting myself! I was almost too scared to tell any of my family and friends I’d started a business, or invite them to look at my website.
Why? Because of an almost-overwhelming fear of failure. I had set myself a really big goal, and standing on the starting blocks, that goal looked totally unachievable!
And I was especially fearful of investing my personal hard earned savings into things like advertising when there was no guarantee that I’d make it back.
BUT, I also knew if you want to progress, you gotta beat that fear of failure.
So if you’re feeling stuck in a fear of over-spending on ads or losing out on whatever you invest in ads…this episode is for you!
Today on the show, I’ll share exactly how to calculate what you should spend on your advertising.
Plus, how to work out if you’re spending in that ‘sweet spot’ AND how to maximise your return on investment.
So – if you know you want to use paid traffic to scale your online store, but need a bit of help having the confidence to invest in that…
Tune in and I’ll divulge it all for you!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-186/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-80/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-165/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-173/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-174/
www.catherinelangman.com/content-planner
www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
What would you say is the dirtiest problem in eCommerce?
And no, that’s not a trick question!
The answer, of course, is waste.
The glamorous topic of waste in eCommerce is an important one, as it’s a huge by-product of any eCommerce business or brand manufacturing physical products.
From the packaging that products go into when they come off the production line or the packaging, you use to wrap, pack and send orders out to your customers.
Unfortunately, we can’t avoid the need for packaging, as hard as we may try to reduce it!
This is something I grappled with in my own eCommerce business. At the time, it was almost impossible to get away from the non-eco-friendly shipping satchels.
This is why I’m really excited to welcome my guest to the show today – Kate Bezar, co-founder of Better Packaging Co.
She talks to us about the inspiration for their products and the clever strategies that helped them to go viral, as well as some of the more challenging experiences along the way.
Tune in to listen to this inspiring conversation with Kate, and hear how simple it is to make a difference to the environment as well as your social impact in the world – simply because of your choice in the package.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-185/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.au.betterpackaging.com/
https://www.nz.betterpackaging.com/pages/
https://www.facebook.com/betterpackagingco
https://www.instagram.com/betterpackagingco/
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
Let’s face it, no one’s business is always sunshine and roses. We all go through downs as well as ups along our entrepreneurial journey.
And if we know that’s normal and common for all entrepreneurs then the experience feels a lot less isolating!
Like so many of us, today’s guest Ann had an a-ha lightbulb moment when she experienced a problem personally and couldn’t find a product or solution readily available to buy.
And that gave her the product idea for her business.
She’s since gone on to build a multi-million dollar business in just a few short years.
In the beginning, she worked very long hours, doing everything herself, sacrificing time with family and friends.
Exhausting herself to the point of burnout.
But now Ann operates out of her own warehouse and with the help of a team so she can continue to grow in a more sustainable way.
In this episode, Ann gives us an insight into the marketing strategies she used to launch and grow her business initially, compared to what’s working for her now with her marketing.
And she shares how she found her way through the tough times, to now being in a much better place in terms of her business growth as well as her personal energy and mindset.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-184/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/planning
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-173
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-174
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-171
https://amaialashes.com.au/
https://www.instagram.com/amaia_lashes/
https://www.instagram.com/ann_thai
Do you want to leverage as many different FREE marketing strategies as you can?
Of course you do!
If you’ve listened to this show for long enough, or read much of my content, you’ll know I’m a huge advocate for having a marketing system in place that incorporates a few different channels and strategies.
Particularly in the economic climate we currently operate in, we all need to find ways to get visibility for our brand and generate website traffic and sales in the most cost-effective way possible.
But what’s the best way to go about this?
I’ve definitely seen plenty of brands go all-in on one strategy or channel, which might work well for a while…
But it’s a bit like playing the share market – if you invested all your money in Crypto you might have been a millionaire for a short period of time but now you’re probably feeling like an idiot for putting all your eggs in one basket.
When trying to grow your revenue to get the best, most consistent and sustainable results, you need to deploy a multi-channel marketing strategy.
One that incorporates owned, earned and paid traffic channels.
Not only to make sure you can get the best overall results but also so you can scale in the most sustainable, risk-free manner.
In this episode, I share a whole bunch of owned and earned (AKA “free”) marketing strategies you can employ right now to increase your revenue and boost the overall profitability of your marketing.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-183/
Links mentioned in this episode: https://quiz.catherinelangman.com/sf/c5c21c65
https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-productpreneur-success-podcast/id1496911739
Do you ever feel a bit deflated when you log into your social media platforms and see hardly any likes, comments or shares?
Pretty dang frustrating isn’t it?
Moral of the story?
Not everyone is going to be obsessed with you.
And the sooner you accept this, the better.
To counteract that, your brand needs a personality that’s distinctive and authentic – meaning you can’t publish a bunch of crap that you really don’t believe in or that doesn’t resonate with you at all.
The starting point to be able to achieve that is actually knowing who your peeps are in the first place!
So, I want to talk to you today about how you can use your customer avatar or buyer profile to simply and easily create better marketing and advertising content.
It’s pretty simple – don’t create content that does not appeal to or attract your ideal customers. (Though I see this happen plenty, believe me!)
Easy right?
Not when you don’t know your customer, like really really know them!
It all starts by understanding what turns you on, in a business sense…and then actively seeking out those kinds of people.
Doing this – keeping your peeps top of mind – helps you to create content and product offers that are appealing to them (and not to anyone else).
The end result? All your customers will learn to know, like and trust you. And when you’re selling online, that is pure gold.
So buckle up because in this week's episode we are going to learn How To Create A Customer Avatar & Use It To Get Better Results!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-182/
Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
https://bit.ly/ecomquestionnaire https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-180
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-productpreneur-success-podcast/id1496911739
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
Not to be dramatic, but the internet is plagued with distractions and illegitimate experts.
So let me tell you, If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that the number of Instagram followers you have has nothing to do with the systemization and automation of your sales growth.
Let’s be honest, you’re probably thinking “What does that have to do with anything about what to focus on next”
Trust me, this statement will make sense by the end!
So the other day, I was speaking with an online store owner, and I asked her what her goal was for the next year.
“Increase sales by 20%” came the response.
So my next question was, “How will you achieve that? What will you do?”
And her first response was that she aims to grow her Instagram followers.
Obviously, she’d made the assumption that more followers equals more sales, even though she had no evidence that that strategy was working for her so far...
As Einstein so eloquently said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.
And I would add to that to say, ESPECIALLY in a year when things have changed so drastically in terms of how consumers are behaving and how we do business.
Yet so many of us continue to do the same things in our business and wonder why we’re not getting the results we desire!
We live and work in an environment where the only guaranteed constant is change.
So we need to have a method to figure out what is and is not working, so that we can then pivot and implement new strategies.
So, in today’s podcast episode, I want to walk you through 5 tips to figure out WHAT to focus on in your business.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-181/
Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me/
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-productpreneur-success-podcast/id1496911739
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
Hands up if you’ve ever heard the phrase “Content is King” when it comes to marketing your brand? Or “Queen” in my books!
Now, obviously having great content is what makes or breaks your brand’s marketing and advertising.
But if you’re anything like me and many of my clients – figuring out what that should be is the hard part.
So it gets put into the ‘too hard’ basket.
If that’s you, then no doubt you’re probably feeling like content creation has become like the beast that needs constant feeding.
Whether we like it or not, your content – either paid or organic and across various platforms – is going to be the main way that potential customers discover your brand for the first time.
The simplest way for us to communicate clearly with our audience is to make sure our content tells a compelling story, both in words and images.
And we’re here to tell you that last-minute ‘throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks’ method of content creation just does not work.
It’s stressful, overwhelming, and very rarely leads to stellar results.
Whereas, if you put a little thought and planning into what you’re sharing, and get a bit of a process in place so you know what steps to take, you’ll likely start seeing your content driving between 10 to 30% of your website traffic and sales.
So let’s dive in and go through my 10 steps to nailing your content plan.
By the end of this episode, you will be a well-oiled content marketing machine that will take the stress and overwhelm out of the job and help you generate consistent results in terms of traffic and sales.
And to help you with this, make sure you download my free content planning guide and template. You can get instant access to this tool by heading to https://www.catherinelangman.com/content-planner
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-180/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-159/
www.catherinelangman.com/content-planner
www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
Subscribe & Review in iTunes
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!
Now if you’re feeling extra loving, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!
Do you know what the single most important thing in any online store is?
One word. TRAFFIC
As we all know, without traffic - nothing else happens…
No visitors to your website = No sales in your shopping cart…
It literally all starts with TRAFFIC.
Now of COURSE it’s not just about generating ANY traffic…
It’s about generating the RIGHT traffic
Traffic that is PROFITABLE!
It’s not news that the go-to places over the past few years to generate that traffic have been Facebook, Instagram and Google.
Now, these 3 platforms are still likely to play a crucial part of your traffic and sales strategy.
We know them and feel more comfortable advertising on these platforms – at least most of the time anyway.
Yet it’s never been more challenging to generate HIGH QUALITY… PROFITABLE traffic on these platforms.
With all the changes and updates on these platforms over recent years, it’s also a fairly risky strategy to only advertise on one platform.
Which is why, today, we’re going to talk about spreading your efforts across multiple social media platforms, including TikTok, Pinterest and more.
Taking a multi-channel approach to advertising gets you better, more profitable end results plus it de-risks your advertising as well, so your results end up being more stable and consistent over time.
But…How do you choose which additional channels to add to your mix?
So if you want to take the next step in new and different social media advertising channels, I want to invite Demi Mitchell, my paid social expert from my agency team, onto the show.
Where she discusses which new platforms you should consider advertising on for your business and how is the best way for you to get started.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-179/ Links mentioned in this episode: If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
www.catherinelangman.com/content-planner
www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
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No-one is motivated to receive more newsletters!
Okay, maybe we started off a bit harsh there…
But when you’re growing your SMS & Email list, this is a hard fact you NEED to know.
So again, for the people in the back!
A newsletter is not the most effective way to convert new subscribers into buyers.
And for the people who thought they were spared….
No, a discount is also not the only way of offering value to your target market.
Yes, it’s a nice enticement for someone who is ready to buy right now, but it’s not the only way to grow your email list.
You have to think of your online store, like a physical store where most people will come to visit but they’re probably not gonna buy right away. So you have to prepare to keep them engaged throughout their entire buyer journey.
This is why it is imperative that you entice as many of these website visitors to subscribe to your list as possible.
When it comes to actually enticing people to subscribe, there are a multitude of different ways you can grow your list.
Most brands aren’t doing a very good job of this though.
Of course, the bigger your list is, the more you can amplify and grow your results.
And once you have them on your list, you can then use the power of Klaviyo to convert more of those browsers and subscribers into actual buyers. On autopilot.
So, If you choose to skip the chance to nurture your customer when they trust you with their email address, you are missing an incredibly valuable opportunity to gain a customer for life.
Time to strap in while I touch on 5 awesome benefits you’ll enjoy if you master email and SMS marketing.
And, 3 effective ways (besides discounts & newsletters) you can use to grow your email list!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-178/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
www.catherinelangman.com/content-planner
www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Want to squeeze as much juice (revenue) as possible out of the last few weeks of this financial year?
You may be considering running a clearance or mid-year sale (affectionately known as an EOFYS).
As you know, it’s not my preference to run sales and discounts all the time, but there definitely are times of the year when it can be a good idea to do so, and this is it!
There are many benefits to running an EOFYS:
- You can sell off end-of-season or last season’s stock.
- Clear slow-selling lines or odd or less popular sizes.
- Encourage new customers to trial your products for the first time by retargeting people who have visited specific product pages in your online store.
- Or you can reward existing loyal customers or re-engage lapsed customers who haven’t bought from you in a while.
But to benefit from the enormous potential of this strategy, you need to follow the right steps.
Otherwise, your efforts will fall short and you’ll still be stuck counting a bunch of slow-moving old stock for the tax man…
So, want to find out how you can have the biggest impact and pocket as much cashola as possible?
Let’s dive in!
I’m gonna share 5 steps to really boost your revenue and profits right now. WITHOUT wasting a fortune on expensive ads!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-177/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
www.catherinelangman.com/episode-172
www.catherinelangman.com/content-planner
www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
Is your email list dead in the water?
Chances are you killed it yourself…
Harsh, I know. But hear me out.
I’m aware that some of you think email marketing is dead, or that it’s just not where the real money is.
The evidence says otherwise.
But let’s be honest.
There’s no easy way to admit if your email list is dead & you often don’t realise it immediately.
It can take several emails to realise it. You see only a few opens, no clicks, and no action. Then you realise: it’s dead.
You wonder what went wrong. You go through the five stages of grief (how much longer can I drag out the death puns here?)
For some of you, there may be a bit of repair work to be done inside your email account if you ever hope to make some good money from your email list.
Revitalising your list isn’t an overnight process. It will take a bit of work.
But, with the right actions you can breathe new life into your list and start to generate those healthy revenues again.
So if you’re in denial (or just don’t realise yet) listen up!
So without further ado, let’s enter with an open mind, & get into the nitty-gritty of dead lists and 5 steps to help revive them! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-176/
Are you finding it difficult to navigate the complex web of finding a manufacturer that meets your business needs? One that can start small and grow with you?
Because I know I did when I first started out!
I remember when I was working on launching my first brand, back in 2007.
Back then, it was so incredibly difficult to find a manufacturer – ANY manufacturer! Let alone one who was happy to start with us when we were small, but who could also scale with us as we grew.
Boy was that learning curve extremely steep…
I had to learn each step of the process – from design, to prototyping, to production, to quality control, to shipping and customs… Each had their own challenges.
And I reckon I probably made every mistake in the book!
If only I had today's guest Angela Halkiotis from Garment and Product Solutions to guide me through this process.
Angela offers an end-to-end custom manufacturing solution, looking after clients who are just starting out all the way to bigger brands manufacturing at scale.
So get comfy and listen in, while we cover the ins and outs of the whole process as well as the main mistakes you really want to try and avoid making when designing and producing your products.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-175/ Links mentioned in this episode:
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
- angela@garmentsolutions.com.au
- www.garmentandproductsolutions.com
- www.catherinelangman.com/launch
- www.catherinelangman.com/work-with-me
Next, be sure to head to our Rockstar Productpreneur community to ask your #askcatherine questions! I can’t wait to hear them.
It seems everywhere I turn lately, I see small business owners struggling with a drop in sales, both online and offline.
Is it interest rate rises? Is it inflation? Is it because of end of financial year?
Clearly businesses are hurting. The stress and anxiety is almost tangible.
And trust me when I tell you, I totally know how this feels because I’ve been there too, many times.
But if you focus on those things, I guarantee you’ll struggle.
So where do we go from here?
If you’re feeling stressed and anxious over low, slow (or no) sales growth…
Or completely overwhelmed by all the options available and the decisions you need to make…
You’re in the right place, my friend. This episode is for you!
In today's episode Make Millions With Magic Metrics, we discuss the importance of understanding those ‘Magic Metrics’ of yours.
To put it bluntly, your marketing metrics are critically important to the success of your business. No doubt about it.
So If you don’t know these numbers intimately – or how you can optimise or improve them – then it’s time to make it your business to learn this stuff.
So pull up a pew and tune in as I share the 5 critical metrics you absolutely need to know AND how to improve them in order to grow and achieve your sales goals!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-174/
Does the thought of running social media ads have you feeling like Mr Zuck is opening your wallet, fleecing all your money and then some, and then closing it without even so much as a ‘here’s a customer for you’?
If so…then this episode is for you!
Something we should all do regularly is review how profitable your marketing and advertising currently is.
I recently did a bit of an expenses audit – part of which was reviewing which expenses to keep and what to cut.
But – more importantly – it was also about identifying where the ROI was coming from, where I could spend more to make more, AND where the ROI could be improved with a bit of effort.
I highly encourage you to do this exercise too, particularly if you spend money on marketing and advertising related platforms like Klaviyo and social media advertising.
Because chances are you are sometimes tempted to cut those things, when in fact you should treat them like an investment with the view to trying to maximise your returns as much as possible.
To that end, I want to share a bit of a case study about a recent client of ours, who has a brand in the Mum and Baby space, and was struggling with her ads.
She was already a multi-6-figure brand, but her revenue growth had plateaued and her ads were not very profitable.
It was costing her a lot more than it should to generate the revenue she was making – but with the right efforts we were quickly able to turn that around.
Let’s dive in! I’ll share 5 things you can look at to help you improve the profitability of your social media advertising.
Do you want to enjoy 66x ROI From Your Klaviyo Account? No, that's not a trick question!
We’re into May now, and as crazy as this sounds, now is the time to be planning and preparing for a bumper 4th quarter.
And if you want customers to be spending with you - then as well as now - you do need to plan and execute the right kind of activities so that you can thrive throughout the rest of the year.
Now, the average return on investment on email marketing across the board is 38x.
But today I want to share how you can increase your ROI from Klaviyo to 66x and generate an 8.9% lift in revenue generated by your emails.
Fair warning - you won’t get this improvement overnight... However, it is actually very simple to do!
Listen now and I'll share some simple steps you can take to make more money from Klaviyo.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-172/
Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.klaviyo.com/partner/signup?utm_source=0010V00002OgF8C&utm_medium=partner
www.productpreneurmarketing.com/lets-talk
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Conquering Imposter Syndrome: Building Unshakable Self-Belief for Success
Are you struggling with self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy despite your achievements?
Entrepreneurs often start their businesses because they have a vision or a goal that they’re really excited and passionate about.
But then when challenges come their way, whether external or internal, it’s really common to start feeling as though you’re not cut out for business or can’t be successful because it’s hard. And in those moments, it always seems as though other people have found success easily.
So how do we get past these fears that are holding us back?
In today's episode, we talk about Conquering Imposter Syndrome & Building Unshakable Self-Belief for Success. To help unpack this and to offer us some practical tips and strategies, I’ve invited my high-performance mindset coach, Ben Elliott, back onto the show.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-171/
Links mentioned in this episode: Visit Ben Elliot at: Website: https://www.benelliott.com.au/ Instagram:@getunlockedwithbenelliot
Navigating a downturn in business is one of the most daunting experiences a business owner can go through.
Lately, I’ve seen a few of you struggling with a downturn right now and I know from experience that when that happens there’s always the fear at the back of your mind that this is it, it’s as good as it’s gonna get and things might not get better again.
So when we experience a downturn in business, what do we do?
First of all, if you are experiencing a downturn right now, you need to try not to panic or let the situation get the better of you in terms of your confidence or your emotions. It can feel incredibly discouraging at times when sales drop or results from whatever marketing efforts you’re doing just aren’t what you expected.
I see time and time again, business owners who are operating from a position of fear or panic, end up making knee-jerk decisions about their marketing activities. They start to go down the discount route, sending promo after incentive after the sale to their email list and on socials, without much other content going out.
So what actions should they take?
- Don’t panic.
- Look for the wins before the areas that need improving.
- Avoid audience burnout by bombarding with sales & discounts.
- Evaluate whether the cause of your downturn is within your control or not.
- Approach your business like most elite sports people do - as a process of continuous improvement on your journey to achieving your goals.
Watch today's episodes to learn in detail, more practical actions you can take right now to help you through any sales slump & get back to growth when your revenue is stagnating.
Have you ever heard that old saying that Necessity is the Mother of all Invention?
That was truly the case with my guest today, Michelle from PaperSaver who, alongside her husband, turned an office waste problem into a new, popular invention!
I think it’s a similar genesis story for many of you actually - as it was for me too. Struggling with a specific problem, not finding a solution to it already available on the market, so taking on the challenge of making something new that would do the job.
Of course, then there are a whole bunch of common challenging experiences that we all go through, from finding good quality manufacturers, figuring out the business model so you can actually make money, and of course getting your brand in front of people so you can build awareness and demand for your stuff.
Michelle had the additional challenge that comes from the fact that their products are completely new and different. They basically created a whole new category in the market.
🎙 So let’s welcome Michelle onto the show and hear her share her story about the journey of PaperSaver and How an office waste problem led to an eco product invention!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-169/
Visit Paper Saver at:
Website: https://papersaver.com.au/ Instagram: @papersaernotebook
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
If you’re a Mum or a Teacher, you might already know this brand, but if you don’t then you’ll want to, I promise!
The Grow Journal started their journey by having an idea for journals designed for kids and teens in mind, packed full of content to help kids and teens to develop resilience, to have positive mindsets, have higher self-esteem and just generally higher levels of emotional well-being!
They’ve gone from strength to strength and have massively grown their business in the last couple of years. Of course, not without challenges and problems, and also of course they still have bigger goals and dreams to pursue.
I love this conversation because these wonderful women share some practical strategies for developing a positive mindset and problem-solving capabilities - necessary skills for entrepreneurs! They embody the concepts they teach in their journals, and it’s absolutely clear that they really love what they do. Their joy is infectious!
Tune in to hear our delightful conversation where we talk about the exciting journey and success behind Grow Journal.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-168/
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together. Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
Are you finding customers aren't buying from you? It can be incredibly disheartening right?!
You invest a huge amount of time and money setting up your online store, sourcing your products, building your brand and trying to grow a business and after all that hard work, you’re just not seeing that conversion.
Did you know that low traffic volume itself is a major reason why some online stores aren’t getting any orders through the till? If you’re getting under 100 visitors a day, then your primary focus should be driving more traffic.
Listen to the podcast where we learn 5 Reasons Why Customers Aren't Buying From You, & some simple things you can do to give yourself the best chance of converting more visitors into paying customers.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-167/
FREE WORKSHOP WITH CATHERINE LANGMAN I’m SUPER excited to tell you about my BRAND NEW, LIVE & FREE interactive workshop, “My Profitable Ecommerce Formula”!
It’s all about HOW to implement my approach to Ecommerce in 2023. In it, you’ll learn how to set up your marketing correctly to grow a profitable business this year & beyond (even when economic pressures are increasing).
Here’s what we’ll be covering during the Workshop:
- The 3 biggest mistakes eCommerce brands are making right now with their online store that keep their business small, poor and struggling
- The 3 essential steps to setting up your eCommerce marketing correctly to generate consistent and profitable traffic and sales
- The EXACT strategies I'm using RIGHT NOW to 2X their revenue in 2023 And much, much more…
I’m excited to share this with you because it’s an opportunity for you to get ahead of your competition, with the right marketing structures and strategies in place, and put your business in the best position possible to grow this year!
And you’ll find out exactly HOW it works (and how you can do this yourself) during the workshop.
Be there on Thursday 30th March at 11am Midday Sydney time. REGISTER NOW https://www.catherinelangman.com/workshop/
Today’s interview is with someone I’ve wanted to invite on the show for a while, not just because I love her and her brand, but also because I’ve had several of you listeners request to hear her story!
Ashlee Nagle from French Soda HAS achieved an enormous amount in her 5 years in business. Generating fantastic year-on-year growth via both wholesale and eCommerce, effectively implemented multi-channel marketing strategies & not to mention, found ways to overcome the difficulties she’s faced along the way.
Listen to the podcast as Ashlee shares her incredible journey from Teaching to growing a successful eCommerce business in just 5 years.
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-166/
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
Let’s begin with the cold, hard facts. Did you know that one in five eCommerce businesses fails within one year? This rises to 30% in the second year, 39% in the third year, and over 40% in the fourth year.
That’s pretty sobering right?! The reality is, poor cashflow management, running out of cash & other cost issues contribute to the failures of so many businesses. But it doesn’t have to happen to you!
In today's episode we’re going to talk about 5 big reasons why eCommerce businesses fail, and then discuss 3 simple, but practical cashflow management strategies (so you can become a true cashflow queen.) that’ll help get you back on track to grow your business!
Listen today and get ready to effectively manage your eCommerce cash flow.
For the full show notes visit
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-165/
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is ‘Cracking the code: innovation for a gender equal future’.
Growing up, I was taught to believe that girls and women had an equal right to education and opportunities in the work place. However soon after university and at the start of my career I realised that the reality was not even close to women having equal opportunities.
Let’s look at the stats for 2022:
- We still have an over 13% gender pay gap. Meaning, for every $1 a bloke earns, women earn just 87c.
- Women comprise 51% of the Australian workforce, but represent only:
- 34.5% of key management positions
- 32.5% of directors
- 19.4% of CEOs, only 7% of which are in publicly listed companies
- 18% of board chairs
- Two thirds of businesses were started by women over the last 10 years, but men are 3.5x more likely to reach the million dollars a year revenue mark.
Not exactly equal right?
Today’s interview isn’t just about tech and code or even about e-commerce. But it is about highlighting the injustices that are still in our everyday lives, as women, even in 2023. And to inspire all of us to remember that as entrepreneurs we can make a difference. And the importance of women supporting women and ensuring we have strong female role models.
Today’s guest not only talks the talk but she walks the walk. Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk, founder of start up HerTech Path, joins me on the podcast today to talk about the challenges faced within the tech industry and women in general and how her start-up, HerTech is turning that around.
Celebrate International Women’s Day with us and be inspired by the future with Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-164/
Discover Eva and HerTechPath at:
Website www.hertechpath.org
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/hertechpath/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hertechpath/
This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is ‘Cracking the code: innovation for a gender equal future’.
Growing up, I was taught to believe that girls and women had an equal right to education and opportunities in the work place. However soon after university and at the start of my career I realised that the reality was not even close to women having equal opportunities.
Let’s look at the stats for 2022:
- We still have an over 13% gender pay gap. Meaning, for every $1 a bloke earns, women earn just 87c.
- Women comprise 51% of the Australian workforce, but represent only:
- 34.5% of key management positions
- 32.5% of directors
- 19.4% of CEOs, only 7% of which are in publicly listed companies
- 18% of board chairs
- Two thirds of businesses were started by women over the last 10 years, but men are 3.5x more likely to reach the million dollars a year revenue mark.
Not exactly equal right?
Today’s interview isn’t just about tech and code or even about e-commerce. But it is about highlighting the injustices that are still in our everyday lives, as women, even in 2023. And to inspire all of us to remember that as entrepreneurs we can make a difference. And the importance of women supporting women and ensuring we have strong female role models.
Today’s guest not only talks the talk but she walks the walk. Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk, founder of start up HerTech Path, joins me on the podcast today to talk about the challenges faced within the tech industry and women in general and how her start-up, HerTech is turning that around.
Celebrate International Women’s Day with us and be inspired by the future with Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-164/
Discover Eva and HerTechPath at:
Website www.hertechpath.org
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/hertechpath/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hertechpath/
This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is ‘Cracking the code: innovation for a gender equal future’.
Growing up, I was taught to believe that girls and women had an equal right to education and opportunities in the work place. However soon after university and at the start of my career I realised that the reality was not even close to women having equal opportunities.
Let’s look at the stats for 2022:
- We still have an over 13% gender pay gap. Meaning, for every $1 a bloke earns, women earn just 87c.
- Women comprise 51% of the Australian workforce, but represent only:
- 34.5% of key management positions
- 32.5% of directors
- 19.4% of CEOs, only 7% of which are in publicly listed companies
- 18% of board chairs
- Two thirds of businesses were started by women over the last 10 years, but men are 3.5x more likely to reach the million dollars a year revenue mark.
Not exactly equal right?
Today’s interview isn’t just about tech and code or even about e-commerce. But it is about highlighting the injustices that are still in our everyday lives, as women, even in 2023. And to inspire all of us to remember that as entrepreneurs we can make a difference. And the importance of women supporting women and ensuring we have strong female role models.
Today’s guest not only talks the talk but she walks the walk. Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk, founder of start up HerTech Path, joins me on the podcast today to talk about the challenges faced within the tech industry and women in general and how her start-up, HerTech is turning that around.
Celebrate International Women’s Day with us and be inspired by the future with Dr Eva Balun-Vnuk. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-164/
Discover Eva and HerTechPath at:
Website www.hertechpath.org
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/hertechpath/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hertechpath/
Today I want to talk to you about risk. I know, I know! Risk isn’t the most fun topic for business owners BUT how often have you heard of a business going along swimmingly and then suddenly losing everything?
I know we like to think it won’t happen to us, and we just want to get to the point where we find the right strategies that work for us and have them working perfectly and then continue as is into the sunset of success.
But… what happens when your one channel on social media shuts your account down?
What happens if your one supplier suddenly goes belly up?
What happens if you only have one method for selling your product and it suddenly gets taken away from you?
Scary right? But it’s definitely not something new and if anything, I’m hearing it become more and more common for eCommerce brands. We’ve certainly become resilient from pandemic-related lockdowns and supply issues over the past few years however we certainly haven’t seen the end of changes that we have absolutely zero control over!
So today on the show, I’m going to share 3 areas of your business where putting all your eggs in one basket is really risky and what you should do instead to improve your odds of success.
Listen today to find out how you can mitigate risk in your business and not put all your eggs in one basket! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-163/
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
Recently, I heard someone advise a business owner to just focus on selling, because that’s the number one thing.
Which is all good and well if you have an audience to sell to… and not just any audience but an audience that actually needs and DESIRES your brand or product!
But how do you get that audience who needs and desires you in the first place?
Today I have my superstar social media buyer Sally Bingham on the show to explain the purpose of engagement ads on social media.
We’re going to go deep and share the top 3 engagement ads that we’re using with our clients right now with amazing success, for both start ups and established brands looking to scale.
If you do these 3 things, I guarantee you will enjoy better, more profitable results with your overall advertising, AND you’ll scale and grow your business much faster as well.
So let’s dig in and get started to build our brand visibility using 3 super effective social media strategies! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-162/
It’s Brand Visibility Month! Check out episode 159 How To Increase Brand Visibility Using Organic Social Media as part of this series.
We’re giving away 10 FREE Facebook ad audits to review your strategies in 2023. Book your audit in today!
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
Love the music featured in our podcast? The original soundtrack is by https://www.facebook.com/fuselageband
How are you spending your time in your business at the moment?
If you’re in the first year or two of your business you’re probably wearing ALL the biz hats - which is very normal when you’re in start up mode and learning all the ropes and saving your biggest resource, money.
However, when it comes to growing your business there comes a time when you’re most essential resource becomes your own time and expertise. In order for you to scale, you need to be spending your time on action items that will move your business forward.
And here is where many brand owners get stuck… How do you know what those action items are?
To help me unpack this topic, I’m welcoming one of my colleagues Narelle Spencer back onto the show. Narelle is a really talented eCommerce growth strategist and helps a number of our clients scale their business, and she’s also been a business owner herself for many years. And with those two perspectives, she can bring a lot of experience and wisdom to this conversation.
Today we talk about:
- The difference between outsourcing and delegating
- What you need to do to prepare for best success with your new outsourcing team or delegate
- How to find the tasks in your business that need to be done but don’t need to be done by YOU.
- What to focus on once you HAVE outsourced, and what NOT to focus on!
Listen today and discover how to focus on what needs doing by you to scale your brand! Episodes mentioned include:
Episode 18 - How To Systemise To Supercharge Your Online Store
Episode 73 - The 3 Essential Pillars That Created A 7 Figure Brand
Episode 126 - 3 Critical Requirements to Scale Or Sell Your Brand
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Liked the music featured in our podcast? The original soundtrack is by Fuselage
As we approach trade show season here in Australia, many brands are gearing up to show off their wares and to increase their wholesale clients or sales via a trade show or expo.
And it’s easy to understand why, exhibiting at an trade show for retailers or at a expo selling directly to customers can be a great way to increase your brand visibility and sales.
But attending a show for the first time can be extremely overwhelming and requires some serious pre-planning to make the most of this big investment.
So today, I’m going to share my 6 phases of a successful expo or tradeshow, and I promise you, that if you follow this process you will make more money.
In the past, clients I’ve worked with have made tens of thousands of dollars just from one 3-day show, thanks to this 6-phase show strategy.
So let’s dig in and get ready to line up your 6 phases to create trade show and expo success! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-160/
It’s Brand Visibility Month! Check out episode 159 How To Increase Brand Visibility Using Organic Social Media as part of this series.
If you’d like help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
This month I’m dedicating to the theme of building brand visibility and growing your engaged audience.
February can kinda be a trickly month as it’s in between seasons. We’ve finished Christmas and Back To School and there’s a little lull until Autumn or Easter promos start to kick off.
So what to do? This is the perfect month to be working on your brand visibility!
Because what you work on now will help you enjoy greater results when the sales cycle swings around again.
And the bigger the size of your engaged audience, the more you’ll make, right?
Like I always say - if people don’t know your brand exists, they ain’t gonna buy from you!
To kick off this month’s theme, I’m going to talk about 5 social media strategies you can use to build brand awareness, build visibility and attract new people into your audience, WITHOUT spending any money on advertising.
ALL of these strategies will also help you to enjoy better results when you DO run paid ads alongside them.
Listen today and get ready to build your brand awareness using organic social media. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-159/
And if you’d like even more help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
If you’ve listened to my podcast episodes so far this month, January 2023, you most likely are really excited about your 3 year vivid vision and what you hope to achieve in the next 12 months.
But.. if you’re anything like most people, you might also be stumbling a little with how to put this into practice in a way you can stick to it.
And you’re not alone.
The two most common stumbling blocks when it comes to actioning your plans are:
I don’t know what to do TODAY to achieve the big vision goals, and
Never sticking with one thing. You get overwhelmed and distracted and end up completely abandoning the plan.
Which is why I’m so excited to talk you through WHY a 90 Day Action Plan is the growth accelerator in your business and why you should be getting your plan in place today.
It really is the secret behind making your plans become a reality. Listen today to get started on your 90 Day Action Plan to accelerate your growth!
For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-158/
Accelerate your business growth with my Productpreneur Success Planner, a 12 month planner designed specifically for for product based businesses
And if you’d like even more help to achieve your goals in 2023 I invite you to have a chat to find out how we can make that happen together.
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
So far this month I’ve been sharing some of my planning methods for those of you who are trying to work out your goals for the year and work out what sort of marketing strategies you might employ to help you grow your business this year.
Hopefully that content I’ve shared over the last two weeks has been helpful - but sometimes theory isn’t enough. We need to hear stories from people who can help bring it to life for us.
So today on the show, I’m joined by my friend and former client Lisa Munro from Happy Tummies.
Lisa would have to be one of the most organised and efficient people I know, and she’s going to share some of her practical strategies with you about how she goes about planning her goals, her big promotions and her regular marketing content.
If you want some simple ideas to make planning and implementing as easy and efficient as you can, then I invite you to listen in!
Listen today to discover some tools and tips on how to make simplify and organise your planning in 2023. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-157/
Find Lisa at Happy Tummies, Facebook and Instagram
Listen to Lisa’s earlier episode 18 How To Systemise To Supercharge Your Online Store
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK https://www.catherinelangman.com/ecom-playbook/
Do you know what I think the hardest part of business is?
Whether you’re a start up or ready to scale, the struggle is always the same.
It’s not knowing what to do next!
We can get so caught up in our day to day business that we lose sense of the big picture and struggle with trying to work out what we should be focusing on, or what the right strategies to be working on right now, to help move things forward. Particularly towards a big goal that you want to achieve.
So today, I get to talk about one of my favourite topics!
We’re going to talk about growing your business during any stage of a business including:
Getting started and launching your business
Strategies for when you have a few customers (but still a long way to go)
How to cope during the growth phase (tip: don’t be the bottle neck!)
Scaling your business and how to be selective with your strategies
Prioritising for profit!
Plus, I’ll walk you through my one page business plan to get your vision broken down into a snapshot of the year ahead.
Listen today to get your strategies in place to take your business to the next level. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-156/
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
Get ready for 2023 with my Productpreneur Success Planner.
The Productpreneur Success Planner is a stylish hard-cover planner designed for eCommerce Business Owners. PLUS, you receive free shipping and my eCommerce Growth Pack as my gift to you (save$207!)
We’re here! We made it to 2023!
And in this first episode of the new year I want to help you create a vision for your business , to be crystal clear on what you hope to achieve, and most importantly, WHY you want to achieve it.
But I hear you say “Cath, how I can plan for anything any more? The last 3 years just threw constant curve balls!”. And didn’t it what!
But you know what, curve balls or no curve balls, it’s up to you as to whether you are able to steer your business through 2023 towards something you deeply know that you want and why OR you automatically fall back on habit and do what’s familiar.
Which means you end up passively doing what you did in the past. Not only will this lead - at best - to the same results you had last year, it also kinda sets you up for struggle. Because you end up ill equipped to navigate any curve balls ahead.
So this - the Vivid Vision - is where we start.
Listen today to get started on your Vivid Vision and start off 2023 knowing what you want, and why. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-155/
Want To Steal My Top Secret eCommerce Marketing Strategies? From a team who generated over $5m in client revenue in 2022 alone! Download my FREE 2023 ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
Need help with your marketing? Discover if Productpreneur Marketing can help you achieve your goals.
You probably already know that I’m an avid reader (or listener, thank you Audible!) and this year has been an epic year for the number of books I’ve dug into
And in 2022, seeking inspiration from others through books and podcasts has been my way of getting through the year. We’ve all experienced a challenging year and both myself and my business has certainly been no exception.
So I’ve been digging into a number of books to help me through these challenges - both for operational and leadership tips but also for mindset inspiration.
And in this episode, not only do I share the hardships that my business and I have experienced but I also share the books that turned things around for me. And not did things turn around but I actually experienced amazing growth within myself, my business and in turn, our clients.
I hope you find these books as transformative as I did!
Listen today to discover the books that transformed my 2022! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-154/
This won’t be a long episode - I know at this time of year, you’re all pretty busy and also looking forward to putting tools down and enjoying a bit of a break. So this is a shorty episode for you, but one I really want you to take action on.
At this time of the year, I really love to take a few minutes to take stock, to review what’s happened over the year.
I think it’s so important to incorporate reviews like this into the way you work, but especially at the end of the year.
If you don’t do that now, how can you really set new visions or goals or even new years resolutions?
I think if you always look ahead at what you’re yet to achieve, without first looking back at the progress you’ve made, you’re just setting yourself to feel miserable.
And I want the opposite for you. I want you to go into your holiday period feeling good about what you’ve accomplished as well as excited about the year to come.
So today I have two exercises for you that are very very simple but also very powerful.
Listen today to start your powerful end of year ritual to close off 2022 and prepare for an amazing 2023. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-153/
In this episode, I’m going to talk through some of the results that our clients enjoyed over the Black Friday promotional period, or more importantly to share our insights into those results.
Specifically, what worked really well, what didn’t work so well, and what kind of results did our clients achieve as a result of the specific strategies used.
Overall, I can say that it was a huge success, which was welcome news for everyone after the year that’s been. In fact, this promo was so good that some of our clients surpassed 2021’s sales and many of our clients were still packing BF orders for a week after the event ended…
So how did we do that? What I’m going to do in this episode is first share some insights about the overall strategy and what the results were, and then I’ll go through platform-specific insights and results.
Listen today to discover the strategies that were super successful in the 2022 Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotions. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-152/
I see you Productpreneur.
I see you limping towards the end of 2022, with a tired mind and a tired body.
You know you desperately need a break but you also feel that you need to put in that big last burst of effort and see out 2022 with a bang. But with little left in the tank it’s impossible to figure out what to do, let alone how to do it.
Having been there and done that for many Decembers and guiding our clients and students through the same exhaustion, I’ve come up with a strategy for you to consider. To have a much needed break for yourself and your loved ones AND to round out 2022 with a profitable campaign.
Today I’m going to share with you:
- The importance of taking a break over the holiday period
- How your creativity can and will return
- Why you should consider a Boxing Day campaign
- And how to make that happen while you’re on that all important break!
2023 is going to need us to be refreshed, creative and energetic. So find out how to take that much needed break and be ready for the year ahead.
Listen today to discover the strategy that will allow you to see 2022 out with a bang AND take a holiday! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-151/
I see you Productpreneur.
I see you limping towards the end of 2022, with a tired mind and a tired body.
You know you desperately need a break but you also feel that you need to put in that big last burst of effort and see out 2022 with a bang. But with little left in the tank it’s impossible to figure out what to do, let alone how to do it.
Having been there and done that for many Decembers and guiding our clients and students through the same exhaustion, I’ve come up with a strategy for you to consider. To have a much needed break for yourself and your loved ones AND to round out 2022 with a profitable campaign.
Today I’m going to share with you:
- The importance of taking a break over the holiday period
- How your creativity can and will return
- Why you should consider a Boxing Day campaign
- And how to make that happen while you’re on that all important break!
2023 is going to need us to be refreshed, creative and energetic. So find out how to take that much needed break and be ready for the year ahead.
Listen today to discover the strategy that will allow you to see 2022 out with a bang AND take a holiday! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-151/
Today, on my 150th episode of The Productpreneur Success Podcast, I’m going to be talking about one of the most important key behaviour traits for success:
- What it is,
- How to develop it (because it is something that you can learn and become good at and it won’t cost you a dime), and
- Why so many people suck at it.
Do you remember a time in your life, perhaps as a kid or a teenager, when you learned a big new skill? Something like mastering a musical instrument, or learning a sport like swimming or tennis or whatever you might have played, or learning how to drive.
Or if you’re a parent, do you remember watching your kids learn big new skills like walking or talking or reading or writing or learning how to count numbers?
There is one common element to all of those things. One behavioural trait that is the most important ingredient to the successful attainment of all of those very different skills.
And yet, it’s the hardest skill for Entrepreneurs to actually develop and is the reason so many business owners get stuck.
What to find out what the most important key behaviour trait for success is?
Discover the number one important key trait that you need to develop for your success! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-150/
Today, on my 150th episode of The Productpreneur Success Podcast, I’m going to be talking about one of the most important key behaviour traits for success:
- What it is,
- How to develop it (because it is something that you can learn and become good at and it won’t cost you a dime), and
- Why so many people suck at it.
Do you remember a time in your life, perhaps as a kid or a teenager, when you learned a big new skill? Something like mastering a musical instrument, or learning a sport like swimming or tennis or whatever you might have played, or learning how to drive.
Or if you’re a parent, do you remember watching your kids learn big new skills like walking or talking or reading or writing or learning how to count numbers?
There is one common element to all of those things. One behavioural trait that is the most important ingredient to the successful attainment of all of those very different skills.
And yet, it’s the hardest skill for Entrepreneurs to actually develop and is the reason so many business owners get stuck.
What to find out what the most important key behaviour trait for success is?
Discover the number one important key trait that you need to develop for your success! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-150/
Today’s podcast episode is going to be a little bit different to my usual. There’s not going to be any strategy or step-by-step training. There’s no inspiring guest. I don’t want to give you more information today, I want this to be more about offering support and encouragement.
Because I don't know about you, but there seems to be this collective exhaustion hanging in the air at the moment.
So I just want to check in - who of you is feeling a little deflated and exhausted at the moment?
I mean, it's fine to have perpetual optimism and enthusiasm for our businesses, but it’s pretty rare for all of us to operate like energizer bunnies all of the time.
Particularly given it has been such a big few years for most if not everyone I know, personally, professionally and globally.
I don’t want to distract you from your implementation right now. I’m just here today to share some pearls of wisdom that I’ve been gifted during my years as a business owner that have helped me to thrive and that I might be able to pass on to you too
Listen today and see if the 3 critical skills that I’ve learned to be a better business owner might help you too! For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-149/
To all our eCommerce brands out there in the middle of crazy holiday season - I see you!
You’ve just come out of Click Frenzy, are about to launch or are already in the middle of your Black Friday/Cyber Monday campaigns and then there’s still the traditional Christmas marketing period ahead.
It’s enough to make any sane business owner want to crawl up into a little ball under the Christmas Tree with the bottle of champagne you were meant to give your 11 year old’s school teacher and just wait it out until January!
BUT! For all the craziness of itl, it’s also the most profitable time for most product businesses so it’s essential that you feel prepared.
So this episode is for all those who have got this far and might not have their final Christmas push ready to go.
I suggest popping this on in the background as you pack all those Black Friday orders, or you manage to get out for a walk and just listen. Take a breath, listen, then take simple action steps on any of these 7 last-minute tips and you’ll be crashing your final campaign of the year (let’s not talk about Boxing Day just yet - although, these tips also apply!).
Listen today to discover 7 last-minute tips to crush your Christmas Campaign! For the full show notes and link to the video visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-148/
Are you feeling uninspired and frustrated with creating content for your brand?
Are you overwhelmed about what you should be creating, and how often and where to publish it?
Waiting until you have the perfect idea and then how to implement that idea perfectly?
You’re certainly not alone! Creating engaging content for your brand to share on social media, your website, email and digital marketing is super important for your business but it can be incredibly overwhelming.
Which is why I’ve brought back one of my previous guests, Sharon Hunter. Sharon sold her successful product business and discovered just how much she loved that creating role and started a new service based business creating images and videos for product brands.
And today she has some great tips for all of us including:
- Ideas on where to find inspiration with your own content,
- Simple tips on how to get started including where and when,
- The importance of consistency,
- How to get over the inferiority complex and to stop comparing yourself to others,
- And so much more!
For the full show notes and links mentioned in this episode visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-147
Today I get to talk about one of my favourite subjects, email marketing!
But it’s really a double hit combo of favourite subjects as I’m going to be talking about email marketing AND data… and for all those who may have been following my content for awhile you know that these two topics gets me more excited then my coffee machine!
In previous episodes I’ve talked about how email marketing helps you reach your audience and grow your brand but it can also significantly increase your profitability, specifically when you’re running paid ads.
Which sounds absolutely wonderful and amazing, and it really is.
But what about just on its own: how profitable can your Klaviyo account be and how do you influence that and measure that?
We’re going to need to look at the data!
Let’s dig in and discover how to calculate your ROI in Klaviyo and increase your email marketing performance. Find the show notes and links mentioned in this episode at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-146/
Imagine building up a business from scratch to 7 figures over 12 years and then, in one day, to watch it all go under water - literally!
Today’s episode is the story of Kristy Rigby, owner of Boutique Brands and popular brand Babiators Australia.
Kristy has been on the podcast before, talking about the amazing journey of her business over the last 12 years and the incredible success that she has experienced.
But today, Kristy is going to share her experiences of 2022 and the immense stress and pressure she has had to endure, both in business and in her personal life following the floods of February 2022.
Kristy shares her inspiring story and insights into how she’s moving forward, despite the major set backs.
This is the episode to listen to today to discover:
- The mindset behind building a 7 figure business
- What to focus on when you experience major set backs
- What becomes important during recovery and what to prioritise (hint… you!)
- How to make strategic decisions within your business when under pressure
- And so much more!
Listen today as Kristy shares her experience of moving her business and herself through setbacks and finding opportunities amongst chaos.
Hell no! But you need to read this...
Recently, I heard a number of eCommerce brand owners discussing the topic of giving up Facebook ads because they’d heard how hard it is to get a profitable ROI.
And you know what my answer to that is?
It depends! what!?
If you’re spending money on paid advertising but your website is not ready for traffic or optimised for selling then yes, your paid ads will be a waste of money.
If you’re using the wrong strategy with your Facebook ads and just using one campaign to try to reach as many people as possible with no clear message, then yes, your paid ads will be a waste of money.
But if you understand and have mastered a Facebook ad strategy specifically for your business and goals, if your website is primed and ready to convert traffic to sales and are complimenting your ads with other means of reaching out to your customers (emails!)… then Facebook advertising is going to be a prime source of traffic and sales for your business.
Facebook advertising is how many of my clients brands are seeing massive growth in their eCommerce websites from a handful of orders making pocket change each month, to very consistent, profitable monthly sales.
And today I’m going to share with you the exact strategies we’re using right now to create profitable sales each and every month… with Facebook ads!
Listen today and discover the Facebook Ad strategy that will completely blow your sales out of the ballpark!
For the full shownotes and links visit: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-144/
Today’s interview is with friend and client, Malou founder of Baby Loves Sleep. And like myself and so many of you, Malou was inspired to create her first product, a baby sleeping bag, because of a problem she experienced in her own life.
Her son was kinda the opposite of Malou’s brand name, because that baby did not like to sleep!
But rather than continue to exist like a sleepless zombie, Malou decided to do something about it and created a sleep suit that was like a miracle cure.
And whilst giving parents and babies the gift of a good night’s sleep does sound like the kind of miracle cure that would become an instant hit, and whilst she has gone on to create a thriving business both here in Australia and internationally, it’s not like it was all smooth sailing along the way!
So today I welcome her to the show and we’re going to talk about the successes she’s enjoyed as well as some of the incredibly difficult hurdles she’s had to overcome on her journey.
Listen to the podcast as Malou shares her incredible journey from sleepless nights to building an international online business. She’s grown from a sleepless mumma to a brand sold around the world and I know you’ll be as inspired as I was.
Check out the full show notes and links at catherinelangman.com/episode-143
Today’s interview is with friend and client, Malou founder of Baby Loves Sleep. And like myself and so many of you, Malou was inspired to create her first product, a baby sleeping bag, because of a problem she experienced in her own life.
Her son was kinda the opposite of Malou’s brand name, because that baby did not like to sleep!
But rather than continue to exist like a sleepless zombie, Malou decided to do something about it and created a sleep suit that was like a miracle cure.
And whilst giving parents and babies the gift of a good night’s sleep does sound like the kind of miracle cure that would become an instant hit, and whilst she has gone on to create a thriving business both here in Australia and internationally, it’s not like it was all smooth sailing along the way!
So today I welcome her to the show and we’re going to talk about the successes she’s enjoyed as well as some of the incredibly difficult hurdles she’s had to overcome on her journey.
Listen to the podcast as Malou shares her incredible journey from sleepless nights to building an international online business. She’s grown from a sleepless mumma to a brand sold around the world and I know you’ll be as inspired as I was.
Check out the full show notes and links at catherinelangman.com/episode-143
When was the last time you reviewed your product pages?
Like many business owners you most likely set up your theme and formatted the product page template, loaded up your products and voila! All your product pages were set up and ready to go and waiting for customers to add to cart.
You now spend most of your time creating and implementing strategies to get people to visit your website but are not noticing if people are actually buying from your product pages. And sales are literally slipping through your fingertips!
The product page is the most important page on your website and yes, you may have one product page or thousands, but each and every page is your number one salesperson and they need to be ready to actually convert your customers into sales!
In today’s episode I’m going to talk you through the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page, and show you examples as we go.
So grab your pen and paper and let’s get you ready for a successful holiday season with product pages that sell.
Listen today and discover the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page to get more sales! Check out the full show notes including the translation and screenshots at catherinelangman.com/episode-142
When was the last time you reviewed your product pages?
Like many business owners you most likely set up your theme and formatted the product page template, loaded up your products and voila! All your product pages were set up and ready to go and waiting for customers to add to cart.
You now spend most of your time creating and implementing strategies to get people to visit your website but are not noticing if people are actually buying from your product pages. And sales are literally slipping through your fingertips!
The product page is the most important page on your website and yes, you may have one product page or thousands, but each and every page is your number one salesperson and they need to be ready to actually convert your customers into sales!
In today’s episode I’m going to talk you through the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page, and show you examples as we go.
So grab your pen and paper and let’s get you ready for a successful holiday season with product pages that sell.
Listen today and discover the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page to get more sales! Check out the full show notes including the translation and screenshots at catherinelangman.com/episode-142
When was the last time you reviewed your product pages?
Like many business owners you most likely set up your theme and formatted the product page template, loaded up your products and voila! All your product pages were set up and ready to go and waiting for customers to add to cart.
You now spend most of your time creating and implementing strategies to get people to visit your website but are not noticing if people are actually buying from your product pages. And sales are literally slipping through your fingertips!
The product page is the most important page on your website and yes, you may have one product page or thousands, but each and every page is your number one salesperson and they need to be ready to actually convert your customers into sales!
In today’s episode I’m going to talk you through the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page, and show you examples as we go.
So grab your pen and paper and let’s get you ready for a successful holiday season with product pages that sell.
Listen today and discover the 9 essential elements of a high converting product page to get more sales! Check out the full show notes including the translation and screenshots at catherinelangman.com/episode-142
As with most things in life we all have a choice to focus on the negative or the positive in any situation.
Yes, we could focus on the negatives of rising inflation and reduced consumer spending right now OR we could focus on the positives of ecommerce growth and take actions to ensure we’re part of that upwards trend and getting those sales.
Growth? What growth Cath, I hear you ask!
Let’s talk facts. Despite the gloomy talk of sales right now the actual fact of the matter is that Australia’s online shopping industry is now worth over $47 billion dollars.
That’s a growth of 8.9% in 2022.
And that’s a lot of dollars being spent online that I reckon your business should be getting a cut of!
So in today’s episode, let’s look at some of the strategies that big brands are using right now to get their slice of the $47 billion ecommerce pie. And which you can use too!
So no matter what the sales environment feels like right now, let’s get inspired and take action to be one of the online stores bucking the trend right now.
Listen today and discover the 9 ways big brands are getting you to spend more money, so you can use them too! Visit the full show notes and links at catherinelangman.com/episode-141
Today on the show I’m joined by Tanya Boots from Inspirational Tea Co, a brand with purpose, designed to uplift and inspire and share love and kindness in the world.
But whilst building her business, Tanya has also been on a journey of finding balance and sustainability in the way she runs her business, so she can stay the course over the long term.
In our conversation today, she shares some of the challenges she’s faced and the lessons she’s learned the hard way that have ultimately helped her become more focused on what is most important in her business and her life.
With such a clear vision of what she wants from life and business, the overwhelm drops away as she is able to take action on only what will support that lifestyle and her values.
And in turn, she now operates a much more sustainable business - both financially and in the way she works personally so she can maintain her energy and passion for her personal life and her business.
And who wouldn’t want to operate like that?
Listen today as Tanya shares her journey of creating a brand that supports her vision for the lifestyle she desires. https://catherinelangman.com/episode-140
Let me ask you a question.
Have you ever experienced a situation where your ads are just not attracting or engaging your audience and you’ve watched your cost per click and conversions go through the roof but despair at the free falling results?
And the same with your marketing emails - are they not getting great open rates or generating much in the way of revenue?
If so, you’re not alone!
It’s a very common scenario and one of the biggest frustrations we see among brand owners. But more often than not, it occurs when the marketing strategies do not reflect their customer’s needs.
So how do we fix this?
I’m sure you’ve all had it drilled into you that you must know and understand your customer avatar. But on today’s episode I’m going to go past your ideal customer and show you how to dig deep into your customers buyer journey.
Understanding the buyer journey allows you to engage with your customer on a whole different level and the brands who maximise these strategies are the ones winning right now
So let’s get you on that journey!
Listen today and find out how to understand your customers buyer journey and increase engagement and sales. The full show notes can be found at catherinelangman.com/episode-139
Hands up if you’ve ever heard the phrase “Content is King” when it comes to marketing your brand?
Now, obviously having great content is what makes or breaks your brand’s marketing and advertising.
But if you’re anything like me and many of my clients - you’re probably feeling like content creation has become like the beast that needs constant feeding.
We are all operating a content machine these days - and it can be super tempting to just whack up some images and captions ‘because you have to’ but without putting a whole lot of thought or planning into what you’re sharing.
So today on the show I’m going to help make this a little bit easier for you. I’m joined by a guest Lauren Schwartz whose entire business is about creating content for ecommerce brands that is engaging and persuasive and helps to sell your products, but without necessarily being super salesy or pushy.
She’ll also be talking through the latest trends and how to think differently when creating for TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Listen today as Lauren shares her tips on how to stay on top of the ever hungry Content Machine! View the video and full show notes over at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-138
Hands up if you’ve ever heard the phrase “Content is King” when it comes to marketing your brand?
Now, obviously having great content is what makes or breaks your brand’s marketing and advertising.
But if you’re anything like me and many of my clients - you’re probably feeling like content creation has become like the beast that needs constant feeding.
We are all operating a content machine these days - and it can be super tempting to just whack up some images and captions ‘because you have to’ but without putting a whole lot of thought or planning into what you’re sharing.
So today on the show I’m going to help make this a little bit easier for you. I’m joined by a guest Lauren Schwartz whose entire business is about creating content for ecommerce brands that is engaging and persuasive and helps to sell your products, but without necessarily being super salesy or pushy.
She’ll also be talking through the latest trends and how to think differently when creating for TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Listen today as Lauren shares her tips on how to stay on top of the ever hungry Content Machine! View the video and full show notes over at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-138
Remember the days when marketing your eCommerce business meant finding out where your audience hung out online and then putting up some Facebook ads to target those very specific audiences?
Or being able to follow your customer around the internet and place ads in front of them wherever they go?
Kinda creepy for the customer but a very easy and cost-effective marketing strategy for brand owners.
But now with over 83% of Apple users no longer allowing their internet behaviour to be tracked (yes, over 83%!) that strategy is just going to drain your cash.
And with each platform fighting to contribute the sale to THEIR metrics, how do we even know which marketing strategy is even working anymore?
“A single touch point brand does not exist anymore”
Personally, I think these changes are a great step forward for both the consumer and the brand owner. But it means we need to change how we think about online marketing and be on top of what is now really important - content and multichannel marketing.
In today’s episode I’m going to be talking through what is and isn’t working right now when it comes to marketing in a cookieless world including:
- Why single channel marketing no longer works
- What metrics you should be collecting and how to measure it
- What marketing strategies are working right now and
- The importance of collecting zero-party data
Listen and find out how to build your eCommerce brand in the new online world. View the full show notes and links at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-137/
Lately we’ve been talking about what brand owners need to be doing now to prepare themselves for the bumper holiday season that is fast approaching.
And one of the priorities that I encourage everyone to be focusing on is to make sure their website is fresh and user friendly and really ready for traffic and conversions.
Now, if you’re on Shopify you would have seen all the fuss about their upgrade to Shopify 2.0 which happened around 12 months ago.
In this episode I’ve got my Narelle, super star Shopify developer on board, to talk us through the details around this significant upgrade but also why you should be upgrading your website to 2.0 NOW and not just before the holiday season.
We’ll also talk about what you’ll need to be aware of when upgrading your site and what to be looking at when refreshing your website.
Listen today and let’s get your Shopify website in tip top shape to make the most of this years holiday season! Discover the full show notes and links at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-136
The last few years have seen some significant changes in how brands operate their business and one change that I personally welcome with open arms is seeing the increase in brands that are driven by a strong purpose.
Whether that’s aligning themselves with solving world hunger, fighting against pollution and climate change or improving their local community, brands are embracing their own values and building a business around making a difference.
"The brands that will thrive in the coming years are the ones that have a purpose beyond profit." Richard Branson
And it makes sense.
Consumers themselves are seeking out brands that align with their social, political, moral and environmental values. They’re moving away from pure consumerism and using their purchases to make a vote for the change they want to see in the world.
And brands are stepping into that. They’re bringing those same values to the forefront of their messaging and connecting with their customers in a way that’s more than just making a profit. Which in turn… increases brand awareness, customer traffic and sales.
So what IS a Business With Purpose and how can you align your brand with not only what is important to you but also to your customers, in a way that actually makes a difference?
Listen today to discover the power of a purpose driven brand and how you can make a profit and make a change at the same time. Visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-135 for the full show notes, links and video.
The journey of being a business owner AND a mum is a very special and unique experience.
Adding the many challenges of being a mother to the constant day to day challenges of owning a business and you’ve got the perfect mix of overwhelm and frustration. And more often than not, it can be a very lonely journey.
I know I certainly discovered this to be true when I started my first business during maternity leave with two babies. But thankfully, 12 years ago I became involved with the AusMumpreneur community which opened up a vast network of other mum business owners, all experiencing the exact same issues.
Committed to providing a network of mum business owners, the Ausmumpreneur Conference and Awards were delivered to acknowledge the challenges we face and to allow for connection for sharing knowledge, collaborations, support and lifelong friendships.
Today I get to interview my friend Peace Mitchell, one of the founders of AusMumpreneur and we talk about:
- The importance of a network and community for mums running a business
- The unique challenges that mums do face when running a business and often not being taken seriously enough
- The value of celebrating achievements within our community and why women tend to avoid putting their hands up for recognition
- What the benefits are for business owners in entering for awards and how to maximise the experience.
- How to make the most of attending a conference
- Why like minded conferences can transform your mindset from ‘at home mum business’ to a multi-million dollar business owner
Listen today as Peace and I discuss the importance of having a community to support your business journey. Discover the full shownotes and links at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-134/
Hands up who of you feel like they’re not progressing when it comes to growing your business or generating sales in your online store?
Or maybe this year some of you have seen month-to-month that sales plateau or even go backwards at times?
To be honest, that’s very normal - we all have ups and downs in our sales cycle, and there are also always going to be external factors that we can’t control that also influence our results.
If you’re not experiencing the results you want, should you just accept it?
No! And dwelling on ‘when are the sales going to come’ without any real action can really play on your mindset which can contribute even more to these downturns.
I personally like to use these sort of ‘stale’ periods to get creative. Not only in terms of ideas for marketing but also to use low cost strategies that will have a great return on my effort.
So today I’m going to share 7 low cost marketing strategies that you can implement today to not only get you out of a ‘what to do’ rut but also…bring in more sales!
Listen now and discover my top 7 low cost marketing strategies to boost your online sales! View all the links mentioned and the full show notes over at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-133/
Want to be making the most of holiday season sales this year? Then you need to get started now!
This year, in 2022, eCommerce retail sales globally are predicted to hit over $5.5 trillion, with some businesses looking to make up to 75% of their sales in the 4th quarter of the year.
It’s also interesting to note that the majority of shoppers - 42% - are now both researching and buying online during the holiday season as opposed to in-store, versus about 20% of shoppers buying online on average over the whole year.
So to say that the holiday season is prime time for all of us to boost sales is a major understatement.
But it would also be a mistake to think that you can start planning your holiday marketing around September or October. Or even later than that if you’re like many businesses I’ve observed over the years!
To really make the most of your marketing in Q4 this year, and enjoy the best revenue growth results possible, you need to be planning now. In July.
In this episode I share 10 things you need to be thinking about NOW to maximise your holiday sales in 2022, plus an awesome deal to help you get your plans rolling.
Listen now and let’s get your business holiday season ready now! Show notes available at: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-132/
Have you ever felt that you just need that one piece of information or one skill that once mastered, will be the one thing that will transform your business into success?
Or by having that one thing, that your business journey will no longer be a struggle and all future challenges be a breeze?
Well today, I think we’ve found that one thing! And it’s probably not what you would expect!
Dee Stearman from Roar Success joins me on the podcast today and having faced many challenges over the years throughout her multiple businesses, Dee shares her one major business lesson.
Learn to love the journey. Yes, even through the really big major failures. Even through the most stressful and challenging times. Because that is where the learning and growth comes from. And where business can be recreated and reimagined to create something amazing.
Master this and you’ll be resilient enough to keep going where others might stop, and to even enjoy the process along the way!
In today’s episode Dee and I cover:
- The importance of never ‘being done’ and how to learn to love reinventing the wheel
- Why failures in business are so important
- How to not feel so isolated and alone in business and why it’s essential to be part of a like minded network
- Dee’s advice for getting out there and attending expos and trade fairs
- How to be confident throughout your business journey.
We also cover the exciting Roar Awards that are happening this year - applications close 31 July 2022!
Listen to Dee’s journey through the business ups and downs and discover how to love the process along the way. See the full show notes and links at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-131/
Today’s interview is a must listen.
Julie Mathers created Flora & Fauna, an online retail store selling all natural products, back in 2014 and along with her husband and team, grew it into a $15 million B-Corp certified business and a household name before selling it in 2021.
Julie very generously shares not only her personal drivers of what it takes to even dream up something this big, but she also shares some of the key factors that drove the success of this remarkable business.
“I was prepared to be different and to take a risk” Julie Mathers What I love about this interview is the experience that Julie shares about what it really means to have a business with purpose and how to implement and communicate your key values in everything your brand does. And how this can be your brand’s biggest asset.
Listen now for inspiration from Julie Mathers to align your values with your business and create a powerful and purposeful brand. For the full show notes visit https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-130
This week we’re looking into the strategies of a super successful big eCommerce brand, True Protein.
If you found your EOFY promotion not quite as successful as you hoped or you’re starting to plan for the next 6 months then I think you’re going to pick up some great ideas to implement from this episode.
I’m going to be sharing my screen and reviewing their overall business strategy, what they implemented on their website, their emails and their advertising and talk you through why these work and how you can make them happen in your next promo.
There is nothing that these big brands are doing that you can’t adopt in your business!
Listen now to discover 5 Strategies of a Super Successful Promotion and get them happening in your business today.
See the full show notes including the transcript and screenshots at catherinelangman.com/episode-129
In today’s interview we’re talking to Clare Spelta from Bon Maxie who very generously shares her amazing business journey.
There are not many businesses that can manage to scale a multi-million dollar business from one handmade product which is why I’m so super impressed with the journey that Clare has taken in her business.
With every business, I really believe it is the mindset of the business owner that determines how big a brand can go and Bon Maxie is certainly an example of this.
“Sometimes you have to go through the motions until the right opportunity presents itself” Clare Spelta Today Clare shares some amazing insights into her own journey that I believe many of my listeners can adapt to scale their business:
- The origin story of Bon Maxie and the clear defining mission she has for her brand
- How she overcome the challenges of going from one customised and handmade product to manufacturing for growth
- What strategies she’s employed to scale her business and where she priorities her time and skills
- The importance of the customer community for the Bon Maxie brand
- How she and her husband manage running a business and a family together.
Listen as Clare shares the amazing growth of much-loved brand, Bon Maxie. For the full show notes visit our podcast page at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-128/
When it comes to paid advertising we are all aware of social media advertising on Facebook and Instagram. However, no business owner wants to put all their dollars into one platform basket so it’s always a good idea to cover a range of bases.
Enter… Google Advertising!
Google Advertising is certainly not new by any means however I find it severely underutilised by brands, particularly when it can become such a powerful tool in your marketing tool box.
So this week I’ve asked Haley, my super talented Google ad expert from our agency team, to join us and we’re going to dive into the ins and outs of how to succeed with paid Google advertising.
Listen today to discover how to take the overwhelm out of Google Advertising and improve your paid traffic to your website. Visit the full show notes at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-127/
If you’re an eCommerce brand owner looking to either sell your business one day or want to scale so that you can spend less time in your business, then today’s episode is for you.
For so many brand owners, the prospect of either selling or scaling seems completely out of reach. You find yourself spending each and every day doing absolutely everything within your business that it just doesn’t seem plausible that one day you could step away.
“...the business owner doing all the hustle is not an attractive prospect at all” Catherine Langman So today I’m going to share with you what 3 strategies you need to have in place NOW in your business in order to scale and grow sustainably. Both financially viable and profitable but also in terms of your own physical exertion so you don’t burn yourself out.
Plus it’ll set your business up for a nice sale price as well!
Listen now to start preparing for your brand for growth, investors or to sell. See the full show nots and links at https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-126/
If you’ve ever struggled with trying to push through when step you take is not working, or that you feel like you keep hitting a brick wall, then this episode is for you.
Today I have a hilarious conversation with Emma Lovell from CoziGo, an innovative plane bassinet and stroller cover, about how she managed to keep going not only through those early difficult years (hello manufacturing demons!) but also through her most challenging period, when travel dramatically stopped.
Despite losing her market overnight, Emma has pulled through and relaunched and is now growing again at a rapid rate.
“... It’s not what goes wrong, it’s how you fix it.” Emma Lovell Having the tenacity and the energy and the confidence to keep going through all this is a truly remarkable story that I can’t wait to share with you.
Listen as Emma shares her journey of creating and growing CoziGo and how she thrives in an ever changing world. https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-125/
As we rapidly approach the end of the financial year, you may be considering running a clearance or flash sale (the good old EOFYS!).
EOFYS can be a great tool to reduce stock (especially before the dreaded stocktake) and to increase sales.
This year, with the increased cost of living and the increased cost of advertising during a peak period it may have you tossing up whether to go ahead with a sale or not.
However, with consumers pulling their belts in a bit on spending, I think our customers will actually be waiting for the sales this year, to get increased value and more bang for their buck.
So if you’ve been weathering a period of low sales revenue, I would encourage you to run a sale at this time of year.
But, it needs to be done strategically, and aligned with your brand and own goals. No slapping together a random fire sale over here thank you!
In todays’ episode I’ll talk you through the pros and cons of running a End of Financial Year Sale plus my top 4 tips on how to make it your most successful yet!
Listen now to start planning your End of Financial Year Sale and get it ready for killer results! See the full show notes and links, including a transcript of this episode here.
Recently I’ve been speaking with a few eCommerce brand owners about how tough they’re finding it to generate traffic and sales consistently right now.
Between the drop in consumer confidence during the lead up to the federal election we’ve finally just had, the increase in our cost of living, a school holidays with two long weekends in a row, seeing sales lower than usual has been a bit of a common experience.
But what is also happening is - business owners adopting the mindset that customers just aren’t spending at all and that the only way to get through is to deep discount and cut all spending to ride things out as lean as possible.
So what to do instead?
Remember what it was like before the Covid-induced boom of 2020-21? We typically had to be creative and strategic with our marketing. To engage and communicate with our customers so that when it comes to making a purchase, we’re the brand that is top of mind.
And that’s the mindset we need to get back into!
Doing the kind of marketing that really gives customers a reason to buy.
So if you’re ready to readjust and create the type of marketing that will propel your business forward while other businesses continue to panic then this episode is for you.
Listen now to start planning your promotional calender to help crush your goals for the rest of 2022! https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-123/
Do you ever feel that you’re marketing out into a big black void?
Sending out social media posts and emails but not knowing what to say and certainly not knowing if your customers are even resonating with what you’re saying?
Feeling like you really just want to know what your customer ACTUALLY needs and wants?
Well today I’m going to dig into one thing you CAN do, one strategy you can employ this week, to help you to gain the insights you need.
Plus we’ll talk about how you can then create strategies around that information to not only increase traffic but also repeat customers and sales. Which means more profit!
Listen now to get started on finding out how to really know what your customer wants.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, there’s no secret right now that Australia is heading into a more challenging economic climate than we’ve experienced in some time.
And we’re all probably feeling it one way or another, sales don’t seem to be as easy as they were during the ecommerce boom of the past two years.
And with all of this happening, and with all of your business and personal costs increasing, I know there is a lot of fear around what might happen next. Many of you are fearful of how you’ll manage to survive in business in this sort of climate.
You might be tempted to think there isn’t much you CAN do to changed your circumstances in the conditions we’re in right now. But even though there are many things you can’t control there are many things you do have control over. Starting with how you choose to respond to this situation. And remember, some of the most iconic brands today started during the last recession!
“...a recession can actually be a great time to start or grow your own business!”
So I wanted to create an episode for you to give you some strategies and ideas to manage your business and hopefully thrive even as the economy may struggle in the coming months.
Let’s go over 8 Tips To Growing Your Store In A Recession (When You Want To Thrive, Not Just Survive…)
If you’re looking for a data-driven strategy to engage deeply with your customers while increasing conversion rates and average order values - then this episode is for you!
Today on the podcast I am talking to Gen Furukawa, founder of Prehook, a quiz tool designed specifically for Shopify.
With all the changes over the last two years - both with increased competition and changes to how data is tracked and used by our advertising platforms - it’s more important than ever to find ways to engage with our customers and discover what they truly need while also standing out from our competition.
Gen talks us through these challenges and shares with us:
- The importance of zero party data - the information that our customers are willing to share with us and how we can use it to provide personalised messaging that our customers will love
- Case studies of how we can use quizzes to provide product recommendations
- Why quizzes can drive sales, even after our customers have left our website
- And so much more!
Shopify, quizzes and Klaviyo are my favourite ecommerce subjects so I can’t wait for you to dive into this episode!
So let’s dig in and find out how to boost your Shopify store with online quizzes!
Today on the show we’re going to try and answer a question we see being asked ALL the time:
And that is - should you add Buy Now Pay Later payment options to your online store?
Are the high transactional fees worth it?
Will adding Afterpay or Buy Now Pay Later options increase my sales?
I’m going to dig in and talk about the pros and cons of adding Buy Now Pay Later and strategies you can use to make the most of these services.
So listen in and find out if adding Buy Now Pay Later services can help your online business sales!
Today on the show we’re going to talk about what’s working right now with Facebook ads - specifically when it comes to advertising your brand or eCommerce store.
If there’s one constant we know about advertising our stores, it’s that there is always change.
Change to the platforms, changes to the algorithms, changes to how our stores connect to the platforms, and on and on and on. It can be pretty overwhelming right?
But I’ve discovered, that with each advertising change, rather than lie on the floor crying “WHY?!”... we must ask, “How?”.
- How are ads changing and what on earth works NOW?
- How does this impact my business specifically and what should I do next?
- How will I adapt?
And as literally everyone advertising on the platform has been impacted by all these changes, I know many of you are keen to rediscover how to run ads successfully again in this new environment.
Which is why I’ve got 5 strategies for you to use in your advertising campaigns that are working right now (and keep an eye out for a sneaky number 6).
So let’s dig in and find out what’s been working in Facebook advertising this month so you can take action right now.
How are you feeling right now?
If you’re, like me, a Mum and a business owner, then I have a good idea of how you’re feeling…
On top of the last two years of a pandemic I’m seeing people struggling with business operations such as supply chain issues, fulfillment delays, price increases across the board… And that’s on top of wearing ALL the hats in our business and as the boss, wearing the stress of ‘will this work’.
I’ll bet you often feel stressed out. Totally overwhelmed by your to-do list and the million different demands on your time. “Make time for yourself,” they say. Pfft. As if!
And “tired” doesn’t even begin to poke a stick at how exhausted you are. All. The. Time.
But as a business owner for over 15 years, this is certainly not the first time I’ve felt this way. In fact, I’ve come to a point in my business life where I’ve learned a thing or two on how to manage the feelings of overwhelm and how to focus my mind on what is really important.
“Business is a marathon, not a sprint” In this episode I will share with you the number one reason I see time and again for the cause of stress and fatigue being experienced right now.
I will also share my personal top 5 tips to minimise the feeling of overwhelm and stress and to find a way to a more calm, more productive and more accepting life as a business owner.
Listen today to find out how you can minimise stress and fatigue in your life and business.
Discounts and incentives. Some businesses love them - we all know the brands that seem to be constantly on sale (looking at you ‘closing down’ rug store!).
And some businesses hate discounts and will rarely offer them for the fear of training their audience to expect constant sales or lowering the perceived value of their business.
But this is where I want to talk to you today to dispel some of the myths around discounting and to show you how you can offer your customers real value while building your brand awareness at the same time. And of course, increase your sales!
In this episode I will share with you:
- Why it’s important to incorporate offers into your marketing campaigns
- How to differentiate your offers from ‘discounts’ and provide real value
- When to offer incentives and the importance of targeted offers
- The different types of incentives you can use in your business
- My top tips for success for any incentive campaign
Listen now to find out how you can use the power of incentives to drive traffic, sales and brand awareness.
I’m super excited to bring you today’s episode, which is essentially all about what you can be doing in your business right now so that you can not just survive, but thrive, no matter what crazy things are going on in the world right now.
Spending money on marketing and investing in growth for your business is pretty easy when times are good and we’re riding the economic gravy train.
But what happens when it feels like the world is closing in and people are looking at how to cut costs or are focused on other devastating events?
Today I’ll share with you what I’m seeing business owners doing right now and how you can be smart when reviewing your goals and knowing what to do so your business can thrive and not shrink during these difficult times.
We’ll discuss:
The two distinct trends we’re noticing with businesses right now when it comes to marketing and spending
Three actions NOT to do during these times
How to consider what business tactics will work best for your brand
What strategies you can implement right now to boost sales and keep your brand relevant and front of mind.
Listen now to find out what marketing strategies you can implement during any difficult time and feel confident at the same time.
Today on the show, I’m joined by Michelle Smith, founder of Curated with Conscience, which is a beautiful gift hamper business that exists to have a positive impact on the environment and sustainability.
Michelle’s business has grown quite rapidly over the last couple of years in particular, and whilst it’s easy to think that more revenue fixes all problems, that’s not the case at all. Fast growth brings with it a whole set of challenges, and what I love about this conversation with Michelle is that she doesn’t shy away from sharing those challenges and how she’s moving past them.
I also love how Michelle has grown this business while still sticking to her values and keeping her social impact goal front and centre.
Consumers and corporations are much more intentional about how and where they spend their money and want to spend in a way that drives positive change in the world and on the environment.
So as small business owners, we definitely do not need to compromise on those beliefs in order to grow a significant or profitable business.
I’m really excited for Michelle to share her story and to impart some of her experience and wisdom learned through her experience to date, and I think you’re gonna love this conversation!
Listen now to hear Michelle’s inspiring story about staying true to her values and managing a fast growing business!
A couple of weeks ago, we shared the first in a two-episode series on SEO - search engine optimisation, and I was joined by Karen who is one of the experts from my team.
In that episode, we talked through the initial foundational steps we should be taking when it comes to optimising our websites for Google.
And all of those tweaks and changes to your website can be very effective to start increasing the volume of free organic search traffic you receive.
But, there is more that you can do on an ongoing basis. And in fact, to get the best long-term results for your business, you do want to have an ongoing strategy for SEO.
Google loves to see old content refreshed as well as new content published. But we want to approach this in a strategic way so that (A) you can manage your time and not feel overwhelmed by the task, and (B), get the best return on effort.
So on today’s episode, Karen joins me again for part 2 on SEO for eCommerce and today we’re going to focus on what business owners need to be looking at when creating their SEO strategy this year and planning your SEO content for 2022.
Listen today and start creating your 12 month plan to increase your organic traffic with strategic SEO - and grab your free SEO template!
https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-113/
Today on the show, we’re going to be talking about branding and why it is so important for the success of your business to get this piece of the puzzle right.
It doesn’t matter whether you are an e-commerce retailer or selling in physical stores, your brand is going to be the first impression a potential customer forms when they interact with you for the first time and every time thereafter.
I am joined by branding experts from The Luxe Co, Tina and Britta and they have a great example of how customers react to brands.
You either want to be your shoppers' good reliable friend, someone they know and can rely on for being consistent… or you’re going to be the friend who they want to get away from as soon as they can because you’re someone different every day!
Branding is the personality of your business and it’s so important to get right from the start. And to use that personality to build strong, valuable relationships with your audience. To be the memorable brand people go to time and time again.
Listen as we discuss the importance of branding in your business and the process from initially developing your brand strategy, and how to execute through your brand visuals, your copy and marketing, and everything else in between.
Let’s dig in and find out how you can create a memorable brand to stand out from the crowd, listen now!
Have you ever been stuck at a party talking to the most boring person in the room?
And by boring I mean they either don’t talk at all OR all they do is talk about themselves! Equally bad right?
But what if it’s a business that is boring?
And trust me, there are plenty! If you came across a business whose messaging was either super bland or talking only about themselves… I’m pretty sure you’d be doing the equivalent of looking for the nearest exit AKA searching for the X close button!
In today’s episode I’m going to talk you through strategies on how NOT to be boring and to instead thrill your customers so that they actually want to STAY and talk with (buy from) you!
Don’t want to build a boring business? Listen today to find out how to stand out from the crowd!
Getting website traffic and sales in your online store can be tough.
I remember when I launched my first business years ago, trying to work out how to crack the mystery that was Google. And initially having that knee jerk reaction of ‘oh this search engine optimisation thing is too techy and difficult and I’ll never understand it so I’m gonna pay someone else to do it’.
And unfortunately having a pretty bad experience with someone sending a bunch of junk traffic to my site. Which is not ideal at all!
So how do you get your website to the top of the organic search ranks and win all the clicks?
That’s what we’re going to talk about today, and to help me with this discussion I’m welcoming one of my fabulous team members onto the show. Karen’s job is to help clients of our agency to start ranking for their top keyword search terms, and increasing the volume of free organic search traffic coming to their website.
So if you want to pick up some easy-to-implement SEO tactics and steps specific for eCommerce so you can improve your search rankings AND your website traffic and sales, then you’ll want to listen to this episode.
Listen today to discover how to take the overwhelm out of SEO and start to improve your organic traffic to your website.
In today’s episode I’m talking about the marketing we’re seeing big brands do really well - outside of paid advertising or social media.
And I really wanted to highlight these strategies for you because they are things you can replicate in any size business.
And to be clear - I mean the kinds of things that are worth doing because they seriously shift the needle.
Something I see very often with start-up and earlier stage eCommerce brands is a focus on organic social media as almost the only marketing strategy, to the exclusion of almost everything else, and to the detriment of the business. But as we all know, relying on an external algorithm can cause havoc when things change or go wrong.
In these three big brand case studies (with a bonus 4th strategy!) I’ll highlight the marketing ideas that are working outside of social media and discuss why they work and how you can implement them in your ecommerce business
Listen today to discover these exciting strategies that Big Brands are using and how you can replicate them. https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-109/
Today we’re going to be talking about how to make more money using one of my most favourite eCommerce tools, Klaviyo.
Klaviyo is the leading email marketing software for online brands, but I know for many business owners that getting behind the driving wheel of Klaviyo can be overwhelming. So many options! What should I be doing?
So I sat down with Narelle Spencer, one of my top Account Managers, to talk through the questions we see all the time when it comes to setting up Klaviyo.
Questions like:
How many lists should I be creating?
Which of the many automated email options are going to work for my business?
What type of content should I be sharing in my emails?
How long should I keep people on my list? How can I re-engage with my email list?
I’m moving over to Klaviyo, how do I warm up my audience to prevent ending up in spam?
We dive into all these questions and so much more!
Listen today to start getting the most out of Klaviyo and making more money in our business. https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-108
I’m super excited to bring you today’s episode, which is essentially all about how you can give yourself the best chance at succeeding this year, no matter what challenges arise this year.
I was inspired to create this episode after reflecting on and comparing the results from last year between our most and least successful clients, to try and draw out some conclusions about why some fared better than others.
Today I’m going to drill down on the data from 2021 and look at what has happened in the eCommerce industry but also what has changed from a buying customer point of view.
And through all that data I’ll share with you my recommendations for creating a strategy that will see eCommerce businesses thrive - no matter what challenges lay ahead.
Let’s dig in and talk about future-proofing your eCommerce store in 2022. Listen now! https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-107/
Today on the show, we are going to be diving into all the dos and don'ts when it comes to testing your social media advertising campaigns.
We all know how effective a well-run Facebook and Instagram ad campaign can be in regards to driving business growth, traffic, and sales growth for your online store.
But getting to the point of having a successful campaign can be stressful and frustrating at times. Nerve-racking, as you may wonder if the money you're spending will actually pay off.
So how do you create an ad campaign that works? The answer:
Testing and Optimising In this episode Rich and I discuss:
- The difference between testing and optimising your ads; and
- Why you need to do both!
- What you should be testing and for how long;
- The importance of audience-driven testing;
- Why a strategy for one brand works but not for another;
- How to determine what’s working and what isn’t;
- When should you test (and when to stop);
- What NOT to do when testing or optimising your ads;
- And so many other great tips to consider on your advertising journey.
Listen as we share why it’s so important to test your advertising campaigns and how to capitalise on the process - with less stress and faster results! https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-106/
If you’ve been a listener of mine for any period of time you would know how much I value email marketing!
Building your email list and interacting with your customers through engaging and relevant content is one of the major steps in scaling up an ecommerce business. Plus it’s the one platform where you OWN your customer list and you don’t have to rely on corporations or algorithms to get your message to the right people.
But so many business owners are not using this powerful marketing tool properly!
Recently I had the pleasure of digging into my client’s email marketing dashboards (oh yes, I completely nerd out on email flows!) and discovered some key details that are often missed - that when fixed can mean some significant (and easy!) sales coming in.
Whether you are new to building an email marketing campaign or if you’ve historically achieved major sales through email but feel that they’re starting to stagnate then you’ll definitely want to listen to today’s episode.
In this episode I discuss:
- Why email marketing is so important to ecommerce
- How to use email marketing in your campaigns
- The process I go through when auditing clients email platforms
- The holes to look out for in your marketing and how to fix them
- How to maximise your email automations and campaigns
- What to actually include in your emails to bring in sales!
Listen as I walk you through the process I use to audit my clients email marketing and fixes that I recommend to maximise sales with your email list!
A goal without a plan is just a wish - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Today’s episode is all about setting your intention for your business in 2022 and creating an action plan to achieve it.
I hear you ask “But Catherine, how can one even plan for another year in the pandemic?”. I hear ya!
But if we don’t go into 2022 with a vision for our business we’ll be starting the year off floundering and spending the next 12 months reacting to events based on overwhelm and fear. And that just sounds like a recipe for burnout and failure.
Instead, I want you to create a vision with a plan that aligns with your values and dream for your life so that when events occur (and we know they will - we just don’t know what or when!) you can pivot and respond in a way that is true to your values and your goal.
Adjusting the method of how to get to your goal is so much easier than having to start over each and every week as you react to external events.
But first - we need to figure out what you want your goal for 2022 to be!
Let’s dig in and take action as I share my strategy for discovering your goal for 2022 and creating a business plan to get you there.
When my 15-year-old son came to me with an idea for a new product that he wanted to turn into a business… well it got me excited! AND it got me thinking. With people turning to self-employment more than ever due to the past two years of upheaval and searching to find more fulfilment in their lives, I’ve seen so many exciting new products come to the market. But I’ve also seen a lot of products that never really made the mark or get anywhere in terms of sales. It’s either a case of a great product idea with very little or the wrong type of marketing in place OR a poor product idea that requires an enormous amount of marketing but still, no one buys. So when my son Hamish came to me with his new product idea I automatically started to run it through my evaluation process: Is there a need for this product and will people buy it? Is it scaleable? How can the product be promoted? Oh, I was in my element! So I thought it would be a great process to share with you, how I evaluated Hamish’s new product idea and applied it against my criteria to determine if it was worth pursuing. And then look at how to market a new product and business in 2022. Listen as I evaluate a new product idea to discover its potential and share how I would apply marketing techniques in 2022.
“The more you read the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr Seuss It’s the lull in between Christmas and New Years so I thought I’d share something light but inspiring for you to listen to today.
I hope everyone is enjoying some down time and if you’re like me and looking for a new read during the holidays I’ve rounded up some of my favourite books which you might find enjoyable and useful.
These 7 books that I share have either inspired me to move forward or try something new, not just in business but also in my personal life. Some of the books I share include stories from other business owners who have faced huge challenges in their lives and how they’ve been able to move forward - all of which are so applicable right now as we move on from 2021.
They’re all quite varied and different so I hope there’s something in there to inspire you too!
I would love to hear your favourite book recommendations as well, let me know!
Listen as I share 7 of my top reads to get inspired and ready for 2022!
Today on the show, I welcome back my friend and High Performance Mindset Coach - Ben Elliott - to have another chat about managing our mindset through challenging times.
Because - frankly - 2021 hasn't been an easy year for most. I think it's fair to say, it's challenged all of us in many and varied ways.
And I've been noticing and hearing from so many of you, that you're feeling utterly exhausted and over it, on the verge of burnout - if not actually experiencing burnout - and now also questioning how on earth you could possibly plan ahead for 2022. Even mustering the energy to think about a plan for next year has many people running and hiding right now.
So are there ways to move through these feelings? To get our mojo back a bit and feel less overwhelmed by the situations we find ourselves in?
Ben always has practical advice about this stuff, which is why I really wanted to get his take on it and be able to share this with you all.
This is the episode to share with all your business friends, to everyone who’s just waiting to get to the end of the year, who’s struggling with exhaustion and burnout.
Listen as Mindset Coach Ben Elliott talks us through how to reframe the year that was and to plan our best year in 2022, no matter what is thrown at us!
Join us for a very special episode as we celebrate 100 episodes of The Productpreneur Success Podcast!
Thank you so much for being part of this incredible journey. We’ve talked to a huge range of inspiring business owners over these last two years, who have so generously shared their journeys.
We’ve shared expert knowledge that myself and my team use to grow successful ecommerce businesses.
We’ve talked to so many of you and discovered what challenges you’ve been facing.
And we hope that over the past 100 episodes you’ve picked up some really useful information to use in your biz journey as well!
To celebrate, we put the call out to our listeners to discover the most pressing issues they had in growing their business. And in today’s episode I called up a team of experts - my very own Productpreneur Marketing Team, who sit down with me to answer these great questions.
And I know that these questions and answers will help so many other listeners as we dig into topics such as:
- How do I increase store traffic when I’m already running ads, doing email marketing and social media?
- How can I make an impact with product launches?
- How often should I update my email sequences?
- How do I plan for 2022 when 2021 was anything but a normal year!
- How can I scale my business in 2022?
So much good advice came out of these questions! Come and join us as we celebrate 100 episodes of The Productpreneur Success Podcast.
Listen as my team and I share our advice on all things to grow your Ecommerce business in 2022.
Hands up - who is feeling really ready to put 2021 to bed?
I know I'm not the only one who is feeling really tired and kinda over it right now. I'm seeing it and hearing it from all over the place.
This year has been incredibly challenging on so many fronts and I know we're all a bit over it right now and ready to take a break. "A bit over it" is probably an understatement. I'd say many of you are actually on the verge of burnout right now.
It’s now more important than ever for business owners to schedule some ‘away’ time from their business. Whether that’s physically getting away or have a ‘staycation’ it’s really important that we take a break and allow our bodies, our brains and our hearts to recover.
But, how do you take a break when you're the main person in your business?
This episode is actually one of the earlier episodes I recorded and I've decided to re-release it now because it's so relevant to where so many of you are at right now.
Here’s what I cover in this episode: * How to take a vacation from your business as a solo operator, without closing your online store * What to do when your business has grown and you have a team of staff or contractors * How to make sure your sales don’t drop and your team still get things done the way you want them to!
Have you worked with a marketing agency before and it ended up as an extremely costly and frustrating failure? Or perhaps you’re looking to hire an agency for the first time but you’ve heard so many horror stories and you don’t know what to expect - what if you invest all that money with no results?
Hiring a marketing agency to take your business to the next level is an exciting stage for the growth of your brand. But it can also be overwhelming and nerve-racking, especially if it’s your first time.
If you’ve never worked with an agency before you might be wondering:
- What CAN I outsource to a marketing agency?
- How do I know which agency to hire?
- How fast will I see results?
- Am I ready for an agency?
In today’s episode I sit down and talk about what it’s really like to work with a digital marketing agency and what the expectations are from both sides.
Hopefully the information I share will give you an understanding of the process, what to look out for but most importantly, get you excited about the potential of being able to really scale with the help of experts!
Listen as I walk you through what to expect when hiring or working with an agency to scale you’re ecommerce business.
In today’s episode I’m excited to share a masterclass with two of the top copywriters on my Productpreneur Marketing Team, Sally Bingham and Nova Thomson.
Between the three of us we’ve seen our fair share of the good and the not so good of copywriting in eCommerce, experiences that we now use to craft powerful messages for our clients.
We all know how important it is for a product business to have impactful images, however did you know that your written work is just as powerful when it comes to helping your customer understand your product and envisage your product in their lives?
From your social media captions to your website and product descriptions, and especially to your paid ads and email campaigns, understanding how to communicate to your audience is key. And it must be consistent.
But how do you find that consistency and how do you know if your copy is actually engaging with your audience?
Listen as Sally, Nova and I share our experiences and show you how you can improve your communication through powerful and persuasive copywriting!
Today’s interview with founder of eco-friendly outdoor wear brand, Team Timbuktu, is one that you’re going to want to come back to time and time again.
Rhianna very generously shares her insights on building a business based on values such as sustainability and inclusiveness but she also provides valuable tips on how to manage your mindset and capabilities as a business owner.
Having a career in fashion but a love of outdoor activities, Rhianna saw a gaping hole in the market for a sustainable outdoor fashion brand. When starting out, having to think about whether or not to ‘be sustainable’ was never even a question that had to be asked.
“ ...the way that I choose to operate the business, is just common sense to me... my personal values are an extension into the business. Yet a lot of people are like, "Oh, well, how come you chose sustainable fabric? Or how come you're planting trees? Or how come you're doing all of these things?" And I'm like, "It makes sense."” In today’s episode Rhianna and I talk about:
- Her journey from designing snow pants to creating Team Timbuktu
- How her passions of outdoors, adventure, fashion and sustainability aligned;
- The values important to Rhianna that are the foundations of Team Timbuktu from manufacturing to hiring;
- How she identifies what her own skill sets are and what she knows she needs to outsource;
- How a business can start incorporating more sustainability and inclusivity into their own operations;
- And so much more!
Listen as Rhianna shares her journey of how she created a brand built on values of sustainability and inclusivity and discovering how to be an inspiring business owner.
It’s an exciting time for eCommerce and marketing right now.
More than ever we have the potential to reach our customers on so many channels, whether it be via our website, a Facebook Live, an Instagram Reel, paid advertising, Google searches, an Email newsletter or an SMS or a messenger bot…
Exciting, but overwhelming right!?
How do we possibly keep up with creating content for our customers on every potential outlet? And how do we implement it all with the little time we already have?
And do we even need to everywhere? “Why can’t I just reach my customers on Instagram?”
In this Masterclass episode, I am going to walk you through why only focusing your attention and effort on one point of marketing no longer works and why you need to be seen by your customers in a number of ways to earn their trust and money.
I also share how you can increase your brand awareness and share your message seamlessly across all channels - without the overwhelm!
Listen as I share this masterclass on how to be where your customers are, without the overwhelm!
Imagine being back at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and cleanliness was on top of everyone’s mind.
You own a cleaning product business and demand for your gorgeous home cleaning products is going through the roof. You’re excited about scaling up and growing your business despite the challenges the world is facing.
But then… one of the key components of your product, the plastic bottles and packaging for your product is no longer available.
You now have a business with no products to sell.
What do you do?
Now, many product-based business will have their fair share of disaster manufacturing stories. And many businesses succumb to the pressure and stress of having to keep moving forward.
But in Pearl Chan’s case, she ran with the challenge used it as motivation to pivot and completely reinvented her her business model and products. In the process she not only moved closer to her goals of being more eco-friendly, she also ained more customers and more brand awareness and was able to really grow her business as a result
Today’s interview with Pearl is inspiring and a great example of how resilience and creativity and staying true to your values during difficult times can bring amazing outcomes on the other side.
If you’re facing an overwhelming problem right now or are fearful about the future, this episode is for you.
Listen as Pearl shares her story of Resparkle and how staying true to her values and mission reinvented her brand to achieve amazing results.
Social proof is one of the most impactful ways of increasing your brand awareness and removing purchasing barriers with your customers.
And there’s no bigger social impact than having the right celebrity rave about your products!
But how do you get your products into the hands of celebrities?
And what is the difference between celebrity endorsements and paid influencer shoutouts?
Today’s guest is serial entrepreneur Sarah Shaw who built a multi-million dollar handbag business by becoming a pro at getting her handbags into the hands of not only celebrities but also movies such as Legally Blonde and major magazine publications.
“... think about whether your ideal customer would buy something if they saw that person with it. That's the big linchpin really is would that make them get their wallet out?” In addition to sharing her practical tips on how to increase brand awareness for your products Sarah also very generously shares her business journey with us. From costume designer to CEO, to selling her business after facing challenges with investors and losing the trademark for her own name, there is so much to take away in this episode.
In this episode Sarah shares:
- Her Productpreneur journey and how she built her handbag business with features from celebrities, movies and magazines
- How working with celebrities can increase brand awareness and increase sales
- How to identify celebrities to reach out to
- The difference between reaching out to celebrities and working with paid influencers
- How to maximise the opportunity once your product IS featured
- The importance of consistently working on your brand awareness and how it can open doors to exciting opportunities
Listen as Sarah shares her experience of working with celebrities to increase brand awareness and skyrocket sales for your business!
Launching a new product is an exciting time for any e-commerce business.
And in a global world, your products are most likely made offshore.
You’ve put in months of work with your supplier to have your products finally ready for sale and now you just need them delivered from overseas… to your door. Simple right?
Sadly, no!
Importing products from overseas is a complex process that if not done correctly can end up costing you thousands of dollars in unexpected costs. And it’s often the piece of the product puzzle that is completely overlooked until it is too late.
Today I talk with Carolina Montanez from Plane 2 Sea to walk through what you need to know, even before negotiating prices with your suppliers, to get your products from your suppliers warehouse to Australia with the least amount of hassles and unexpected costs.
In this episode we talk about:
- Why communication with suppliers and freight companies is key
- Why having an understanding of the process and shipping terms is vital even during the price negotiation with your suppliers
- Disaster stories to avoid (including my own!)
- Key terms to know and costs involved when shipping products to Australia
- How a freight forwarding company can help you navigate the pitfalls of importing
Don’t know your FOBs from your AWBs? You’re not the only one!
Listen as Carolina shares her expert knowledge to understand the complex world of product importing - from overseas warehouse to your front door.
The last 18 months has been the time for online buying. Customer behaviour has certainly changed during Covid-19 and many new brands have jumped online to capitalise on the exciting opportunity ecommerce offers.
Starting online to sell your products direct to your customers certainly sounds appealing. The number one comment I always hear is: “I want to retail my products on my own website because the profit margin is higher.”
And yes, it’s true that you can charge more when you sell direct to consumers.
But it’s not the only option out there. Especially as a start-up trying to build your brand.
As Australia starts to open up, and our shoppers start craving that experience that only brick and mortar stores can offer, should wholesale be part of your sales strategy?
What’s the best strategy for your brand? Wholesale vs Retail? Or both?
Listen as I walk you through options to consider when looking to sell via retail or wholesale. Or both!
Have you ever struggled to understand where the money is going in your business?
Asked yourself “I’ve made all this money this month but there’s nothing left in my bank account and I still have to pay taxes. Where has all my money gone?”.
“Am I actually ever going to be able to pay myself in my business?”
If so, you certainly aren’t alone!
“...we have an awesome sales weekend, we feel amazing and we could do this forever, and then next week nobody shops and we feel like this is horrible and we need to quit, right? And so we live on this roller coaster.” - Ciara Stockeland One of the biggest challenges a product based business faces is managing cashflow; with buying inventory and having a long lead time between expenses and sales, finding the cash to pay yourself or even make a profit may seem like a far-fetched reality.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Today’s guest Ciara Stockeland, has owned and sold several product-based business and is a Profit First Professional. Ciara is going to share her super simple strategies on how to manage your cashflow, and even your workflow, to create a profitable business.
Listen as Ciara shares her top strategies for improving cashflow and creating profitability in your business today.
In a sea of competing brands and products, online stores and advertising wherever you go, how can you put your brand out there, to stand apart from the competition?
That’s the question today that I’ll be answering “How can I stand out in a competitive market when other stores are selling similar products and brands? How can I be different?”
Such a good question! And such an essential part of your business to consider.
As consumers we are faced with choices on which brand to choose nearly every single minute of the day.
Do we shop at Woolworths or Coles or do we shop at the local independent grocery store?
Do we brush our teeth with Colgate or Oral B or do we use an all-natural brand discovered through a friend?
In every single category of products or industries, brands are giving consumers choices on how to spend their money and it’s not all based on the price of their product. They know that they need to give their customers something else to care about so they don’t have to compete with the ‘big names'.
But the question is - how do you do that with your business?
And so in this episode I’m going to dig in with examples of brands and industries who have done just that and have done so very successfully.
I’ll walk you through a step by step process on how to identify the areas that make you unique and can help your brand stand out from the crowd.
Listen today to find out how you can make your brand stand out from your competitors!
If you’ve been listening to my podcast over the last year you will know email marketing is my absolute favourite (and most profitable!) way of reaching out to your customers.
If you are a store owner and you’re regularly sending out emails and have a series of automated emails providing valuable information and offers out to your customers but you’re kind of scratching your head saying “This is great Cath, but it’s just not quite working”, then I have three great suggestions for you to implement today.
Even if you are the email queen with everything flowing smoothly but haven’t reviewed your emails in some time then these tips will be invaluable for you too. As our brands grow and develop we need to make sure we review our processes to ensure we’re maximising all our efforts!
So this episode is for you if you are looking to:
- Increase the number of people opening your emails
- Increase the number of sales from your emails
- And generate more profits from your emails
Listen to discover how 3 simple email tweaks can improve sales and profitability in your online store today.
Today’s interview is with the fabulous Steph Pryor, founder of MontiiCo and Lunch Punch and this is one you are really going to want to sit down and listen to.
Steph has created amazing growth in her brands in only 5 years and I know her success is what a lot of our listeners aspire to. What I found inspiring about our chat was how honest Steph was about the journey and while she admits she’s no overnight success, she details the challenges and sacrifices she’s made to achieve where is she is today.
“We've basically doubled our revenue every year. We're at 110% growth average for the last five years... And just trying to keep up with that growth was hard, particularly in the early years where banks and whoever just don't even want to talk to you when you're only just starting out.” In today’s episode Steph shares with us:
Her journey from IT nerd to drink bottle queen
The progression of her business from the garage to owning her own warehouse (and hiring next door!)
The sacrifices and challenges required during startup and growing the business
Her first ‘outsourced’ role and how she grew to manage a team of 21 staff
Why having multiple channels of selling has accelerated the growth of her brands and reduces risk
Steph’s top tips for fellow Productpreneurs.
And so much more! Like seriously, SO much more!
Steph is so down to earth and an entrepreneur to watch out for, and I think many of you will be truly inspired by today’s interview.
Listen as Steph shares her journey of the ups and downs of growing FAST with MontiiCo.
What to do when customers want to try things on before buying…
Sometimes it’s hard for customers to buy online. Not because of the website itself, but because the product is difficult to choose without seeing it or trying it on.
You may find this if you sell items like clothes, underwear, swimwear, shoes, make-up, or fashion accessories. Any product really where a customer usually likes to touch or try a product before buying it.
So how can you overcome this roadblock in your customers mind and give them the confidence in choosing the right product for them and being happy with their purchase?
In this episode I share:
- Examples of roadblocks that customers might come up against on your online store that you might not realise
- Strategies to use in your store to remove the perceived risks for purchasing
- Cool tools that you can implement to educate and guide your customer to the right choice
- How reducing roadblocks increases profitability by improving conversion rates and reducing returns and exchanges
Find out how to remove pesky roadblocks from your online store and increase profitability!
As the saying goes “A picture is worth a thousand words” and if you own an online business, particularly a product business, your images are your brand, your story, your conversation with your audience.
Visual storytelling is the process of capturing an emotion or experience that you want your audience to feel when viewing your product. It captures their attention and imagination and takes them to the next level of desiring your product. Even before they buy your product they are imagining themselves with it, experiencing the solution you are providing them.
"Bring your customer into the world of your brand and products by evoking their emotions and imagination."
But how do we do create that experience through photography?
Well, to help answer that question I’ve brought in our Productpreneur Marketing designer and photographer Janelle Changuion to walk us through what we need to consider when creating persuasive product photography and how and where to use it in our business.
In today’s episode we share:
Why it’s so important to have make persuasive product images
The different types of product photography you may need for your brand and where to use them
The importance of telling a story through visual imagery
Tips on how to create a brief for your photographer to get powerful images
How often you should update your imagery
Listen as Janelle and I discuss how to create persuasive product photography through visual storytelling.
Yep. I said it. Time to start planning for Christmas 2021!
And for very good reasons. Traditionally we would be looking to start our Christmas Campaign with Black Friday with campaigns and sales then peaking in December.
But in 2021 we’re seeing delayed local delivery times, difficulties with stock availability and customers changing their buying patterns after last year - which means the big holiday spending period is going to be flipped on its head and majority of sales completed by Black Friday.
It’s all about ‘Buy Now, Wrap Later’.
This means we need to get planning now to be ready for an early but big finish in 2021.
In this episode I share:
- Why you need to plan differently for 2021 and when you should be planning your campaigns
- Inspiration and ideas on what to include in your marketing plan this year
- Actionable tips for a successful eCommerce Christmas promotion
Listen now to learn exactly how to get started on your 2021 Christmas Plan.
When you’re in the start-up phase of your business the last thing on your mind is the thought of selling your business. But for Antonette Golikidis, founder of Little Innoscents, this is exactly what she had in mind when she started her skincare brand over 15 years ago.
Knowing that one day her products would grow into something bigger than what she could offer she set out to grow a legacy brand that could continue to make a difference in peoples lives without her.
In this inspiring episode, Antonette shares with us her journey from kitchen start-up to selling her business to an ASX listed company and the strategies she used along the way.
We talk about:
- What inspired Antonette to start Little Innoscents over 15 years ago and why she knew that she would one day sell her business
- How Little Innoscents started and manufacturing process including staying in Australia
- What business owners should focus on themselves and what they should outsource
- The process of growing her brand through big-name stores like Chemist Warehouse and Priceline
- What Little Innoscents and the team looked like prior to selling
- The hardest decision she ever had to make
- What it felt like when she wasn’t the final decision maker anymore
“It was always, always at the back of my mind that I would build Little Innoscents into its own little empire and I would sell it or it would grow to bigger and better things.“ - Antonette Golikidis Listen as Antonette shares her journey of building a business and creating a legacy.
Creating content may feel like a never ending item on your to-do list. But there IS a reason why it’s so important and why it needs to be your priority as a business owner.
Content marketing is important because it answers your audience's questions.
When done right, your content will help you distance your brand from the competition. It will engage potential customers and provide the information they need to make their decision.
It will present you in the best light possible.
But, as I’m sure you’ve all experienced, creating quality content can take up a fair amount of time — social media has made it like a 24 hour news cycle. It can feel a bit like the beast that needs feeding all the time!
So in this episode, I’m here to help simplify this content creation process for you, so that you can get way more return on your effort.
I’m going to walk you through a step-by-step method for creating one piece of content and repurposing it into multiple different channels.
Listen as I teach you how you can generate content for TEN different channels with one, hero piece of content!
If you’ve ever considered creating your own innovative product from scratch then this is the episode for you.
Julia Christie from Nail Snail joins us on the Podcast today to share the joys and challenges of product development, from finding out who to work with, to understanding the priorities on what to focus on, to prototyping and testing and colours and materials and… the list goes on!
Julia is so forthcoming about her experience and generously shares her top tips to anyone who is considering the path of product development as well as how she has taken her business idea from sketch to being stocked not just Australia wide but branching out globally as well.
Listen as Julia shares her journey of how she created an award winning product and her experiences with product development and manufacturing.
A marketing budget is a balancing act: spend too much and you'll break the bank, but spend too little and no one will know that your business or your products even exist.
Most of the literature out there on the topic of setting marketing budgets for your business focuses on two different methods of calculation:
- Percentage of Income, and
- Fixed budget.
But none of this really accounts for how you should budget for marketing depending on the stage of business you’re in.
And frankly, treating these decisions the same for a start-up and a mature business is just silly.
Listen as talk about the differences in what you should focus on AND budget for during the 5 different growth stages of your business.
I’m so excited to share today’s episode with you! This week we sat down with Amy McGlade from The Breastmilk Queen to talk about her journey from working as a midwife to building a successful business that empowers breastfeeding mums.
Amy has a massive goal and it’s driven 100% by the impact she wants to make in the world - and that’s to reach over a million breastfeeding mums and to give them the tools and resources to reach their own breastfeeding goals. And she’s well on the way to do that!
But what I love about this episode is how Amy talks about how the impact goal came first, and only after knowing her community so intimately, knickers and all, that ultimately led to the development of her products. Which of course, because they were customer driven, they were instantly a success on her online store!
“I realised, only a couple years ago, that I could really make an impact. And I could reach large numbers of women. I really could. I could be inside their homes. Social media has been pivotal my business. I learned a really long time ago that I didn't need to be perfect...” - Amy McGlade In today’s episode Amy shares with us:
- What inspired Amy to go from midwifery to starting her own breastmilk jewellery business
- The impact that Amy wants to make in the world and how it drives everything she does
- Amy’s entrepreneurial drive that saw her go from a breastmilk jewellery business to teaching and course making to empowering breastfeeding mums to creating super foods
- Why knowing your customer is absolutely key in knowing how you can serve them, even down to their knickers!
- The process of developing new food products for The Breastmilk Queen and the strong value driven purpose behind them
- Why putting yourself out there and engaging directly with her community is so important
- How Amy manages her resources when it comes to engaging on social media and how she uses ‘content buckets’ to achieve different goals on social media
Listen as Amy share's her incredibly inspiring story, along with tangible tips that you can implement into your own business!
Setbacks happen in business. It’s impossible to avoid dealing with failure on some level when running your own business.
Sometimes you make a mistake. Sometimes, someone else makes one that impacts you
in your business. And sometimes, things change in the industry or market forces conspire against you.
Now I feel sure we all know that business is never a straight line from the start line to achieving your goal.
Do you know that cartoon of the two gold miners? One of them hits gold in his tunnel, while the other one is about to break through to a big pile of riches but gives up and futilely heads down the first miner’s tunnel thinking it’s the way to go, but there is no more gold at the end of it.
Realistically - how you deal with business mistakes and failures will be the making of you.
It’s never comfortable dealing with the challenges I know, and I’m not perfect at it either, but here’s what I’ve learnt about successfully overcoming the difficult times and ultimately thriving.
Listen to discover my best strategies for resolving problems and going on to thrive and succeed.
If you’ve ever wondered how you can incorporate your dream of being an entrepreneur with making a difference in the world then this episode is for you.
Today I talk with Monica Meldrum who shares the inspiring story of Whole Kids - from how Monica created her business from scratch but with big dreams and values to becoming a household name with nationwide stockists and becoming a B-Corp Business.
“...I think Whole Kids has always been about so much more than just a product. And it's been important to us that we just... We're about creating a healthy world for future generations. “ - Monica Meldrum In today’s episode Monica shares with us:
- What inspired Monica to give up her corporate job to become an entrepreneur
- How Whole Kids started and the leap that kicked it all off
- The values that drive Monica and Whole Kids
- How Whole Kids used crowdfunding to scale to the next phase of their business
- The process of becoming the first Australian food company to be a Certified B Corporation
- How Covid-19 brought their staff even closer together
- Monica’s thoughts on being a leader in her business and the importance of creating the right team and processes
Monica is a truly inspirational leader and business owner and I can’t wait for you to listen to this episode and to see what is possible for every product-based business owner.
Listen as Monica shares her journey of how she aligned her vision for change in the world to create a business driven by purpose.
Have you ever found yourself looking at your goals for your business, whether it’s to get it to 7 figures in sales or to be stocked globally, or even simply to be working on your business 3 days a week, and wondered - how am I possibly going to achieve those goals?
You know you want to get to the next level in business but how do you know what to focus on when you are overwhelmed every single day with doing ALL things in your business and every cent in equals two cents out? Are you wondering what it takes for a business to make that leap and grow?
Trust me, you’re definitely not alone! In today’s episode, I’m going to walk you through the 6 key strategies that businesses need to have in place before they are able to scale. I’ve looked at my own process in scaling an online business and the strategies used by our clients and podcast guests to go from startup to household names.
I’ll talk you through:
- The difference between optimising your business and scaling your business and why you need to plan for both stages
- Why scaling too early in your business can be your biggest mistake
- Why having a strategy in place is essential BEFORE scaling
- The 6 key strategies you’ll want to put into place to scale your online business
Listen today as I walk you through the essential 6 key strategies to put into place to scale your online business!
I’m so excited to share today’s podcast episode and introduce you to Sharon Hunter, founder of much-loved kids brand Emondo Kids.
Sharon’s story is a must listen case study for product brand owners as she originally started out building her business on social media and attending trade shows and expos. But then of course… 2020 happened!
So what happens when one of your main sources of sales, in-person events, suddenly disappears?
And while a large and engaged social media presence is fantastic for product brands, how can you turn that sort of exposure into regular online sales?
Sharon knew that she needed to refocus her attention to online marketing and find new ways to engage with her customers. But like so many business owners she was overwhelmed with the how and the what to focus on.
Thankfully Sharon discovered our Productpreneur Website Formula and has been actively engaged in changing her mindset from overwhelmed to empowered and is kicking some major goals in her online business.
Discover how Sharon has taken control of the future of Emondo Kids into her own hands. In today’s episode we talk about:
- How Sharon realised she needed to transition from in-person events to eCommerce
- The importance of building your audience and engagement for any business owner
- How Emondo Kids has battled ongoing copycats and copyright issues
- How upskilling yourself can benefit your business in so many ways
- The moment when Sharon abandoned her fears about writing and became a master at email marketing, even with the help of a whisky or two!
Join Sharon and I as we walk through her journey from wholesale to eCommerce success!
In a world where it feels like there are new online businesses popping up every single day, it’s more important than ever to stand out from the crowd. But how do you do that when it feels like it’s all been done before?
And then what happens if you get noticed and you have to be ready for all those orders!
It can be a lot to think about but today's guest Laura Furiosi, founder of Rashoodz, has been there done that! In our conversation, Laura shares how she time and time again thought outside the box to either find new sale opportunities or to garner national recognition from what was initially just a crazy idea.
What I loved most about talking to Laura was her thought process when it came to looking at opportunities or risks. Whether it was scaling her business or putting herself out there she never just took the safest route, she took the route that was important to her and her business. Even if it was scary or uncomfortable.
“If I was on my death bed, am I going to look back and regret not giving it a go?” - Laura Furiosi, Bossy Mummy In today’s episode Laura shares with us her Rashoodz journey including:
- Why you shouldn’t assume you know where you’re sales will come from
- How thinking out of the box can create an unexpected viral response
- The struggles Laura experienced while scaling and how she overcame them
- Why it’s so important to get past the fears that are holding you back and to put yourself out there
Listen as Laura share’s her ups and downs in creating a viral brand and the lessons she’s learnt scaling a global brand.
As an entrepreneur are you constantly looking for the secret silver bullet strategy that will finally take your business from struggling to flourishing?
Are you easily distracted by shiny objects and jumping from one online course to another hoping it will have that one thing that will change everything?
If so, you’re certainly not alone! I think it’s built into the entrepreneurs DNA to always be looking for the next big thing.
Today’s guest, Kristy Rigby, a multiple brand entrepreneur, knows this story all too well!
But in this episode, Kristy is going to share with us how she discovered the 3 essential strategies that she applied to the business that saw it grow from start-up to 7 figures and finally enabled her to focus on growing her business instead of looking at what everyone else was doing.
I know, as an entrepreneur, I'm always looking for, "Oh, has someone found a new silver bullet for getting more sales?" I'm always looking for that. I love the shiny things; they intrigue me because I'm an entrepreneur and that's how we're designed. But the reality is, there is no silver marketing bullet. - Kristy Rigby
Kristy shares with us not only the 3 essential strategies that grew her business but also the mindset changes she as a business owner needed to make in order for her business to grow. This really is an episode you’re going to want to go back to listen to over and over again!
"Sometimes it takes the business-owner growing to grow a business." - Kristy Rigby
Listen today to discover the 3 essential pillars to build a sustainable million-dollar brand!
Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a brand from your kitchen bench to being stocked around the globe?
Are you overwhelmed about the challenges you might have to face for such a journey or even how to start learning the skills that you think you’ll need to succeed?
Well, today Cinzia from The Original Smoothie Bombs is with us to share her journey on what it took to go from discovering a solution to her own problem to becoming a solution for many families around the world.
Cinzia openly shares that it wasn’t that she knew everything from the start - far from it! Testing, learning, leaning into it, jumping at opportunities and understanding her own strengths are all part of the Smoothie Bomb journey.
I know so many of you will identify with the origin story of Smoothie Bombs and I hope you finish today’s podcast feeling inspired and understand that you’re never really going to know all there is to know about growing your business - you’ve just got to go for it!
"If someone had told me at the beginning, "Oh, this is what you've got to do." You'd just be going, "What? That's too much." But in actual fact, it does grow with you." - Cinzia Cozzolino In today’s interview Cinzia shares with us:
- How being an entrepreneur requires a certain test and grow mindset
- Why wholesale might not always be the best solution for your brand
- Discovering your own strengths and weaknesses and learning to delegate
- The power of eCommerce and talking directly to your customers
- How producing personal content specifically for your audience is so important
- How creating a VIP group gives powerful insight into new products and what your customers really want
Listen today to hear Cinzia share the Smoothie Bomb journey from the kitchen bench to a global brand! See the full show notes and links at: https://www.catherinelangman.com/episode-72/
Today I am talking to a true pioneer in the world of eCommerce, the founder of Uberkate, Kate Sutton.
I’m so excited to bring you this interview as Kate truly opens up about her journey of creating an award-winning personalised and gemstone jewellery brand over 18 years.
There are so many important lessons that Kate shares but what resonated most with me was her experience in creating a long term successful business is not about having quick wins or finding the one thing that works. It’s about resilience and always trying new things, taking on what works and learning the lessons from what doesn’t. It’s about falling in love with the everyday of your business, the good and the bad.
After 18 years in the online space (before internet shopping was even a thing!) Kate knows a thing or two about marketing her business and in this episode, she shares what has made the most impact with her brand: Storytelling and Connection.
"Storytelling is definitely part of being human, and I think it's probably the most important and powerful platform that we can use as marketers." In today’s episode Kate shares:
- How self-doubt as a business owner is completely natural
- How she’s transitioned her brand and business over the years
- Turning failures into lessons
- Taking advantage of exporting to a global market but keeping it simple
- The importance of outsourcing and not holding back your business by doing everything yourself
- The power of storytelling and connection and why you need to be putting yourself out and sharing your brand story
Listen as Kate shares her journey of how she learnt to love the ups and downs of business and build Uberkate into a long term, sustainable success.
How does growing your online sales by 30% sound?
And better yet, how about if that increase in sales was mostly generated by a systemised process?
Sounds pretty good right?
But what’s even more exciting is that these sales are coming from a database of customers YOU own!
That’s right, today I am going to talk about the power of email and how you can create a strategy of receiving regular sales that’s not dependent on circumstances outside of your control (looking at you iOS14!).
In this weeks episode I walk you through all the ins and outs of increasing online sales via email:
- Why I use and recommend Klaviyo
- The importance of creating your own database of customers
- How automated emails can be the power blaster in your marketing strategy when combined with paid advertising
- What sort of emails you can and should automate
- How to ensure the right emails are being received by the right people
- Subject lines, customer buyer journeys, product launches and so much more!
Listen now to discover how you can start implementing an email strategy to increase your online sales today!
It’s nothing new to Ecommerce business owners: advertising via social media can be absolute gold for driving sales in your online store.
Once you take the leap and nail the ad formula that works for your target customer, you can really hone in and talk directly with potential new customers.
You can convince them to buy your products and transforming them into raving fans that spread the good word about your biz far and wide.
That’s the aim, right?
But there is a big difference between creating an ad and creating a winning ad strategy that’s profitable.
It’s one thing to know how to set up an ad, but a whole different thing to be able to make money from them!
Today I share with you:
- Stories of campaigns that wasted thousands of dollars because. they didn’t do this one thing and what you need to look for instead.
- What should a profitable ad campaign look like.
- Why it’s essential for your profit line to understand your metrics.
- Why you shouldn’t expect to make all your profit of a customers first purchase.
- Where and how to find the information you need to determine if your ad strategy is working.
Listen today to discover the the most important step in your Facebook Ad Campaigns and set yourself up for profitably now!
I am so excited to introduce you to today’s podcast guest! Sally Bingham is my Senior Facebook Manager here at Productpreneur Marketing and together we’ve worked behind the scenes behind many eCommerce brands with their marketing strategies.
Today I get to talk to Sally about one of her areas of expertise and that is the aspect of storytelling and using creative and visual content in paid ads. And trust me when I say she’s seen it all! And today we get to hear from her on what has worked with campaigns she’s worked on but she also shares her expert opinion on what she sees when scrolling Facebook and a brand catches her eye.
We’ve all heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” and it couldn’t be more true right now to grab our audiences attention when it comes to them scrolling on social media. It’s no longer enough to simply pop up a product image on a white background. You need to be able to create a story that will draw your audience in and invite them to engage with your brand. Using visual content to do that should be high on your priority list, and not as a last-minute thought when it comes to your ad campaigns.
Today Sally and I discuss the dos and don’ts of using creatives in your advertising including:
- What ARE creatives in advertising?
- The importance of using creatives as a part of your brands story
- Why we need a series of ads to reach our audience at different stages
- Why your creatives should be different at each stage
- Why and when you should update your content
- In-depth analysis of creatives in our own campaigns that have and haven’t worked
Listen today to discover the importance of creatives in your advertising campaigns.
This episode is a MUST LISTEN for every brand owner who has an online presence. Whether you are a seasoned pro on social media, starting out or simply frustrated about constantly creating content on social media this episode with Kate vanderVoort is going to change the game for you and how you view social media as part of your business strategy.
Community and creating content for your audience are topics I’m big on right now but I know so many are you feel overwhelmed about the thought of being on social media 24/7 and having to constantly create all that content.
But today’s guest Kate vanderVoort will give you a whole new perspective on the community aspect of being where your customers need you to be, and why it’s vital to the overall conversation you want to be having with your audience.
“The digital marketing industry has taken some interesting twists and turns ... but it's always come back to relationship and to community and that if you don't have that underpinning everything else that you do, it diminishes the results that you can get.” In today’s episode Kate shares with us:
- Why community building and being engaged with your audience is so important
- Some very clever strategies to find out what your audience wants to know
- Why knowing who your audience is is key (and discover Kate's FREE Avatar tool)
- Tools and tricks on managing your time and resources when it comes to content building on social media
- How organic social media supports your overall marketing strategy
Listen now to discover how you can put community first in your social media strategy!
If you’ve been feeling the pressure of how to keep up with the changes being rolled out by social media platforms right now, and asking yourself if it’s even worth continuing with paid advertising for your brand, then I’ve got an episode for you!
With Social Media platforms rolling out their algorithm changes in response to the Apple iOS14 update many brand owners are throwing up their hands and saying ‘why bother’. But as with all changes there are also opportunities and I see the current changes, while frustrating at first and something we’ll have to adapt to, as a huge potential for brands to get it right. To go back to content and customer driven marketing and to really engage and connect with your audience
Don’t forget, no matter what changes are made now or in the future, at the end of the day your main goal is to always connect with real people and to give them something that they need or want. And real people are always going to be attracted to real connection. And that is where your marketing strategy should start from. Which is why today I’m giving you these 3 key components of a profitable eCommerce ad that will connect with your audience regardless of the algorithm.
“We have this opportunity to think a lot more strategically about the marketing messages that will be most engaging and meaningful to our customers, rather than just relying on Facebook's algorithm to put that image of your products in front of your buyers.” Today I want to talk through the changes and share with you:
- Why you shouldn’t be worried about the current situation and what you should be focusing on instead.
- I answer the big question - Is it still worth advertising on social media?
- When does social media advertising NOT work?
- The 3 KEY components of a successful advertising campaign, regardless of current or future changes.
Have you been at that point in your business where you seem to be making a lot of sales and are constantly packing orders but you just can’t understand why you’re not actually making a profit? Lots of sales means lots of profit right?
I see this all the time and while there can be various reasons for this scenario the first thing I ask our students and clients to look at is their first time customer sales vs repeat customer sales.
Did you know that an increase of even 5% in customer loyalty or repeat purchases can potentially result in up to 95% growth in your profits? That’s a pretty big statement, right!?
Time and time again I watch business profits skyrocket when the focus is turned to increasing customer loyalty and seeing repeat orders from raving shoppers!
While we should always be looking at ways to find new customers and creating those first-time sales the mistake we make is not seeing that first time purchase as a long term investment.
Have a think about this little scenario:
You receive five $100 orders from five totally new customers, hoorah!
Your acquisition costs for each of those orders is $35 based on your total advertising spend.
Now, what if one of those customers went on to make another four $100 orders from you over the next 12 months…
Those orders came from your retargeted advertising campaign (much lower cost per conversion) or better yet, your emails (free!).
Which means those following four orders are much more profitable and much less resource intensive than your initial 5 first time purchases.
Now imagine the scenario of having hundreds of those profitable repeat orders throughout the year! What difference would that make in YOUR business?
Today I’m going to share with you:
- Why you shouldn’t expect to break even on first-time shoppers
- How your business profits can sky-rocket with repeat purchases
- Examples of businesses who have mastered this strategy for major growth
- My top tips for converting first-time shoppers into loyal and repeat customers
- Why it’s so important to know who your Most Profitable Customer is (hint, go back to Episode 19 - How to Identify Your Most Profitable Customers!)
Listen today to discover how you can boost your business profit with your loyal and raving customers!
Starting an online product business is very exciting indeed. And one of the most exciting steps for any new business owner is launching your shiny new website!
So much work goes into launching any website, no matter if you have one product or 500. There’s the branding and the copy and photography, and don’t forget all the techy things like accepting payments or setting up shipping.
But once you launch, how often do you go back to your website and review how it is performing?
How often do you take action on your own website as if you were one of your customers?
Unfortunately, many store owners launch and then simply never go back to see if their website is still current or performing as it should.
Which is why today I’ve asked my Head Website Designer and Conversion Expert, Narelle Spencer, onto the Podcast to discuss why it is SO important to review your website on a regular basis but also to find out what 5 common mistakes to keep an eye out for.
People are online more than ever right now and spending BIG with eCommerce stores. But we’re also more savvy about buying online and with so many stores to buy from it can only take ONE of these mistakes for a shopper to abandon your store and buy from someone else. You can not afford to be making simple website mistakes.
“ ...a lot of small businesses...they set up their business and they make their websites and they make it pretty beautiful. And then they start to advertise and bring in that traffic and they're not going back and actually analysing what's going on when people are coming to their website. And also they're looking at their website through their own eyes and not usually through the customer's eyes. And that's where the biggest downfall comes.” From inconsistent messaging to not being responsive on mobile, we’ve seen it all! In today’s episode, Narelle and I discuss 5 really common marketing mistakes we see eCommerce stores make all the time, and what you should do instead.
Listen today to discover the 5 website mistakes you don’t want to make!
Today’s interview is with Louise from Louise M Shoes and I think so many of you are going to really see yourself in Louise’s journey. Whether you are thinking about starting your own business or you’ve been through similar challenges with manufacturing and finding your values, there’s something here for everyone!
Louise Matson founded her very own luxury shoe brand for flight attendants and corporate women after experiencing a lack of luxury and comfortable shoes for her job as a flight attendant. Louise knew how empowering it can be by putting on an amazing pair of shoes, and she wanted others to feel the same. But with no shoe on the market that ticked all the boxes, she created her own!
And so began her journey of travelling around the world to study the art of shoemaking, meeting with luxury leather brands in Italy and meeting with customers everywhere to give them a custom experience that is now synonymous with the Louise M brand.
“ It really is a highlight for me that I am changing the way women can go about their day and empowering them.” In today’s episode Louise discusses:
Her journey from flight runways to the fashion runways of Milan;
How her passions of travel, luxury and women empowerment aligned;
The values important to Louise that are the foundations of Louise M Shoes;
How she navigated the overseas manufacturing process and what she learned;
The challenge of not being able to travel or meet with others during Covid;
How Louise crafts the customer experience to empower her audience and instils the Louise M brand at every single touchpoint;
And so much more!
Listen as Louise shares her journey of how she aligned her passions of travel, luxury and female empowerment to create a luxury shoe brand.
If you’re in the business of selling online, then most likely you’re always on the lookout for new ways to grow your sales. To convert more website visitors into paying customers.
You have all your marketing in place and a well designed website with great products and descriptions, but what if your customers are STILL not buying!
Sometimes we can be just too close to our own business, too focused on the big picture, to see the red flags that are stopping our customers from buying. It can be hard for us to see the obvious mistakes and it’s not until we put our own customer hat on that we can see what’s going wrong.
In fact, it wasn’t until I had my own personal horror shopping experiences on two different websites that made me realise that it’s often the things we take for granted that can be a big red stop sign for our customers.
So what do you need to look out for to make sure there’s nothing stopping YOUR customers from buying?
Find out in this episode as I discuss:
- The six typical reasons why customers aren’t buying from you
- Two surprising disasters that had me refusing to buy from these shops ever again
- Four ways to gain customer trust in eCommerce
Listen in to find out why your customers may not be buying from you and what to do about it!
I love sitting with my guests and listening to how not only they got started in their business but how they’ve found the way that best suits them to grow and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way.
And today’s interview with Tracey, the founder of Adventure Snacks is a MUST listen!
Tracey shares with us her experiences from starting her own brand of healthy baking mixes to creating a super successful lunch box eCommerce store with thousands of followers and customers.
What is truly inspiring though is how Tracey discovered the importance of community and how to engage with her audience. It’s never been more important to be creating content for your brand, and today Tracey shares her 3 top tips on how to prioritise and think about creating content and the importance of engaging with her community.
“I would say the biggest thing in creating that community is showing up as yourself, putting your face behind the brand... It just creates that rapport with people, that old saying, "People buy from people," it's totally true.” Listen as Tracey shares her experience of how she built up a community of raving fans and her top 3 tips on how to create content for her brand. There is so much to takeaway from this episode with Tracey, so be sure to get ready to take lots of notes!
Having been in business for over 15 years I can well and truly say that I’ve had my fair share of fears and challenges while growing
And I know that you, as an experienced or new business owner, do too.
I’m here today to tell you that fears around what you are capable of and what may go wrong are completely natural - but they don’t have to hold you back.
Today, I share my raw and honest experiences in business. From the fears relating to leaving behind a secure paycheck to scaling then selling a million dollar business and to starting all over again when fears do end up coming true.
“It's very easy I think for all of us operating in the online world to want to stick to the highlight reel, all of the glossy highlights and the positives from our journey, and not speak to any of the difficulties along the way and to keep those fears and anxieties a little bit more private.” Listen to today's episode as I share my journey and how I overcame my doubts and fears.
I’m so excited to bring you this case study - it’s for any online business owner who is sick of constantly being worried about where the next sale will come from and instead, focus on the parts of their business they actually enjoy!
Let me introduce you to Helen from Healthy Dog & Co and how she took her online store from surviving to thriving!
Originally focused on selling her dog treat and accessories through wholesale to brick and mortar stores, Helen experienced that gut wrenching feeling of ‘How will I survive?” when her whole country went into severe lockdown and there WERE no brick and mortar stores open. It was time to get online!
“We already had a website up and running, but we weren't really pushing it out there, or working hard on social media like you're supposed to be, and we were doing all the wrong things.” Helen Trigg Thankfully Helen discovered our Productpreneur Website Formula course through friends and enrolled straight away. What we saw from there was a complete turn around for Healthy Dog & Co. Where previously Helen would be wondering when the next sale might come from, she started seeing sales coming through every single day.
Discover how Helen took control of her online business and take it to the next level by:
- Digging deep into finding out who her customer was and what they actually cared about;
- How to craft a website and email messaging to speak directly to her customer;
- What to focus on to actually drive traffic to her website instead of constantly second guessing herself.
“I would say we are now thriving, instead of just surviving. So before, we were just trying to put out fires in the business, and scramble to hold on and get the odd sale here and there. Now, I don't have a day go by that have we haven't got a sale.” Join Helen and I as we walk through her journey to thriving with Healthy Dog & Co!
Case Study with Becc Warr from The Mummary Have you ever gotten to a point in your business where you’re feeling lost and frustrated and don’t know what next step to take?
You might be wondering why all that time you spent on curating the perfect Instagram feed is not creating the traffic and sales you were sure it would bring in.
Or perhaps you feel like you’ve lost touch with what you wanted to achieve in the first place or no longer felt engaged with your customers.
If you’ve been in any of the above stages of your business you are certainly not alone! I know I experienced all of these many times throughout my business, or at least until I discovered how to super laser my focus on what actually would drive my business forward. And with that discovery came more motivation and energy to spend my time on tasks I enjoyed AND brought the success I thought was being all too elusive.
And this is exactly what our podcast guest today Becc Warr discovered during the last round of our Productpreneur Website Formula!
“Before, I had no certainty. My priorities were not right. I didn't have a direction, no execution of ideas. I was literally running on the edge of my seat kind of thing. I wasn't planning. There was no purpose.” Becc Warr - The Mummary Sound familiar?
Becc was a recent graduate of our Productpreneur Website Formula and amazed us all with her turnaround from lost to supercharged focus AND launching a brand new product, the MUMoments Journal.
Join Becc and I as she shares her journey with and discover how she found a whole process for launching and building an audience and growing her business.
Have you ever felt guilty about being ambitious in your business? So much so that you’ve actually down-graded your goals because you told yourself that it wasn’t achievable or something that you really shouldn’t go after? Because it’s not ‘okay’ to want more than you have or being successful means that you have to give up on being a ‘good person/mother/wife’?
And then on the other hand, if you’re not working hard enough you mustn’t really deserve success? Because it’s all about the hustle and being seen to sacrifice, never mind the guilt of not spending time with your family. And we tell ourselves that it HAS to be hard. That that’s part of building our business.
And that’s just not okay. Working with female entrepreneurs I see this ALL THE TIME and I personally am on a mission to change that sort of mindset with my clients, students and group members. Which is why this week I’ve called in the big guns. Today I am joined by Money Mindset Queen Denise Duffield-Thomas who you may know from her books such as Chillpreneur or her Money Bootcamp.
“I advocate for a more easeful path of giving yourself permission to do the things that feel good, that feels easy for you, even if other people don't agree.” Denise Duffield-Thomas In this episode we talk about:
- How we form money beliefs that can hold us back and how to change them
- Why changing our money mindset can open up new opportunities
- Why being a purpose-driven business means you can still value money and be paid
- Removing the guilt around being a business owner and owning your position as a job creator and supporting other people and businesses
- Operating a business with ease and grace vs hard work and suffering
Listen as Denise shares her experiences and strategies on how to step into a money mindset that supports you and your business.
In a world where we live in a constant scroll of news and images and videos and ads it’s becoming harder than ever to actually get someone to stop and pay attention. To actually SEE your instagram post or Facebook ad or even your creative email in a sea of visual overload.
But it can be done! Have a think about some of your favourite brands that not only makes you stop scrolling but you also start to anticipate hearing from them. Maybe a humourous brand like Who Gives A Crap, or storytelling platform Humans of New York. Consider the consistent visual branding of Go-To Skincare or messaging by Seed & Sprout Co that helps you become more sustainable at home.
What do all these brands have in common? A strong non-verbal brand identity.
Where every single touch point, whether it be on their Instagram or in their emails or in an ad that pops up in Facebook, you instantly connect and anticipate what they have to say. You already know how they are going to make you feel and you want more of it!
But how can you bring that same level of anticipation to your brand without actually jumping up and down and saying Look at Me!
“People are looking for communication and connection.” - Janelle Changuion, Green + Bare Today I speak with experienced brand designer turned Productpreneur Janelle Changuion to talk about how having a scroll stopping brand is so much more than creating a logo.
We discuss:
- Why it’s so important to create a brand based on values and how to communicate that to your audience
- Why not having a visual brand identity leaves you struggling to attract and engage with your ideal with ideal customers
- How to establish trust with your audience and why consistency is key.
- Why designing a brand has nothing to do with your logo
No matter what product you sell, even in a flooded market, you CAN make your branding and photography stand out from the crowd. Janelle and I share our experiences with the good and the not so good branding that we’ve seen and explain how important it is to showcase your brands values and personality. Having this deep connection on every single touchpoint to create a brand that not only stops the scroll but also becomes memorable and loved by your audience.
Listen as Janelle and I share how to design a brand that will stop the scroll!
You may have heard me say this just a few times (okay, maybe lots more than a few times!) while talking about the Facebook and Apple iOS14 updates.
It’s more important now than ever to be the one in the drivers seat when it comes to your audience. We’ve seen it countless times over the years where businesses have lost their relationship with engaged shoppers due to Instagram, Google, and Facebook business changes and and this certainly won’t be the last.
So where is the number one place you can connect with engaged shoppers and be able to own all your own content and data? Yep, that’s right, your email list.
Building a lucrative email list must be a key part of your marketing strategy in 2021. It’s not a quick strategy, it’s a strategy that will help you create and build a relationship with your audience and will put you in a very good position come holiday season 2021. Because all the businesses that we see flourish every peak buying season are the ones who’ve been working consistently throughout the year to grow their email list. And it’s returned BIT TIME for them.
And don’t forget, even if you rely on other forms of marketing, they perform even BETTER when combined with an engaged email list, that knows your brand and are ready to buy.
This is a topic I’m passionate about for eCommerce businesses and I can’t wait for you to get started on creating your very own strategy on how to build a lucrative email list.
Ah Shipping. The final piece of the puzzle that keeps your eCommerce business humming!
But, packing and shipping of your products, which you’ve just spent months getting online and marketing, is one of the most vital pieces of the puzzle and if it goes wrong it can disappoint your customers and even worse, ruin your brand reputation.
Not to mention the countless hours of your valuable time spent wrapping and packing, working out box dimensions, evaluating Australia Post and courier prices, figuring out how to get labels printed…. Argh! It never ends! And then what happens if a customer says they haven’t received their parcel? 🤯
You’ve managed to control every aspect of your business up to this point and now you just hand over your valuable product to complete strangers and you have NO control over what happens next?? Now, I haven’t met an eCommerce business owner yet who doesn’t have some level of control issues so this is basically nightmare stuff, right!
The customer's experience of your brand is not over once they submit their payment details. Having an easy and quick shipping process is vital for your business. Whether you are starting up and looking at options or you're an established business trying to decide if a 3PL is worth it, no online shop can escape fulfillment and shipping. And with the busiest year on record for eCommerce and shipping logistics, it’s really important to get your processes streamlined so that you can free up your valuable time and money and also be able to ensure your customers get their order or know what to do if it doesn’t show up. But it can be really difficult to know what all your options are and how to decide what works best for your business.
So we called up an expert! Kristy Rigby is not only the owner of a super successful online store, Babiators but she and her husband also own and operate a Third Party Logistics company, Boutique Brands, that takes care of fulfillment for boutique eCommerce brands. They know a thing or two about how to get an order from the cha-ching on your website through to arriving on your customer's doorstep.
Here are just some of the frequently asked questions we cover:
- How do I set up stock in a warehouse for easy picking and how to have an efficient process?
- How do I choose the right couriers? Cost vs reliability vs speed?
- How much should I spend on shipping costs?
- How can I automate order processing on my website?
- How to manage pre-orders?
- I spend all my time answering emails from customers about their parcel? How can I streamline this?
- When is it time to hire or outsource for fulfillment?
- How to choose/evaluate a Third Party Logistics provider
I’m really excited about this episode because it answers SO many questions that come up with my clients and students.
So without further ado, let me welcome Kristy to the show, and let’s get to answering the BIG questions on how to efficiently get your parcels to your customers!
Listen as Kristy and I answer your questions about shipping and fulfillment.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you have probably heard something about the new Apple iOS14 update. You’ve likely either chosen to ignore it completely as it’s just too hard to get your head around or you’ve gone into panic mode about what this could mean for your paid Facebook advertising that you’ve put so much effort into.
It’s a lot to take in and it really is a big change to how we have thought about paid Facebook advertising. And that’s why I’ve brought Rich Watson, our senior Facebook media buyer, in to have a chat about all that he has uncovered and where we go from here.
Don’t fear the changes. The updates will bring opportunity and a greater focus on community. It’s actually quite exciting! What we’re seeing is a return to a focus on knowing who your audience is, creating your own content and increasing the engagement with your audience.
Ever since I started my business in 2007 I have seen change after change of the platforms that we rely on. Whether it be Google’s search algorithm or Facebook or Instagram, all changes have proven one fail safe method to not being chained to Zuckerberg or Silicone Valley.
It’s been true for years and never been truer then right now. You must build your own engaged audience. Listen as Rich and I share the changes to come out of Apple iOS14 update and what actionable steps you need to take right now.
As you would know, if you've been listening to the last couple of episodes, I've dedicated this month to all things planning.
It's January. Now is the time of the year where you want to be putting in a system that will step you through not only WHAT you want to achieve in 2021 but also HOW you’re going to achieve it.
But so many people get excited at the start of the year and plan up big things without figuring out how they’re going to achieve it, or even worse, they put it on the shelf to gather dust and they never look at it again! They end up getting to the end of the year thinking, "Oh, what was I supposed to do this year?" and finding that it's completely different to what actually happened. We don't want to set ourselves up for failure in that way.
There has to be a better way!
The answer is about REALLY figuring out the kind of business that you want to be growing and being very intentional about it. And it’s so much more than just setting a revenue goal.
So if you've ever felt a little bit like you're flying by the seat of your pants, like just about everyone, head straight over to listen to today's podcast so you can create the vision and plan for your successful business in 2021.
Listen as I share my 5 steps to creating your Marketing Plan for 2021!
It’s January now. Phew - we made it! Happy new year and all that…
So it’s that time of year where we really ought to be figuring out what the heck we’re gonna be doing this year!
For my first episode of the year, I decided to share what I’d do myself if I started my business over again in 2021.
Because I know for a fact that there has been MASSIVE growth in eCommerce businesses over the last 10 months. People have been flocking to this business model in droves, because it really is the way we have had to shop since the advent of COVID-19.
And whilst I think it’s incredibly exciting to see so many people starting up online stores, I also see a lot of them fail - and it’s not because they don’t have a great idea for their product and it’s not because of a lack of opportunity.
On the flip side, there is even more opportunity to succeed in eCommerce now than even a year ago, but you do need to get a few crucial pieces of the puzzle in place.
Tune in as I share a bunch of essential do’s and don'ts that we’ve seen make or break a business. The advice I share in this episode is based on the hundreds of clients we’ve worked directly with over the last year.
So, what would I do now, if I had my time over?
It's that time of year when we think about setting new year's resolutions and make our plans for the year ahead.
I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions. I think setting really specific resolutions can set us up for failure, especially if we choose common ones based on what our family and friends are choosing for themselves, like fitness or weight loss ones...
Choosing resolutions that we aren’t really emotionally attached to or invested in often results in giving up when things get difficult or a better activity or opportunity comes our way.
And then we feel like a failure and negative mindsets kick in.
Of course, if setting resolutions works for you, absolutely go for it, but I think I’ve found a better way…
Theme Your Year With A “Word Of The Year” The idea of choosing a word of the year was introduced to me several years ago. It’s about deciding on a theme for your year first before you start to set any specific goals, either personally or in your business.
And I loved the idea because it felt like it would lead to setting goals that would help me grow my business and create the lifestyle that I really wanted.
I felt like I could be more intentional about what I was trying to create for myself, rather than being led by things like revenue goals.
The problem with starting with a revenue goal is that you can end up taking your business in a direction that you ultimately hate. And then you end up feeling miserable.
Of course, there will ALWAYS be tough times where you feel like throwing in the towel and giving up because business can be HARD!
And this is why it’s important to have something that’s really meaningful to you personally, that you are emotionally attached to, so that you stay motivated through those tough times.
Listen as I share my 5 steps to choosing your Word of the Year. Plus I share loads of examples of words to consider, AND how you can use your Word of the Year on a daily basis to help create the life you want this year!
We’re nearing the end of the year now and the holidays are upon us. Hopefully, you’re getting ready to enjoy a bit of time away from your biz!
I think we all need a little bit of downtime to re-energize and recharge ready for 2021.
This episode isn’t my normal mini-training episode or guest interview. I don’t think you need to learn more strategies at this time of year...
Instead, I want to share with you some of my favourite books that I read this year. I’m an avid reader - for fun and for personal and business development.
So I’ve hand-picked a selection of my favourite books that I’ve read over the past year - books that I found particularly useful or insightful or inspiring.
I found a couple of the books I’m about to share with you totally transformational! So much so that, despite all the difficulties that 2020 threw at us, I’m finishing this year feeling better in myself than I have in my entire adult life!
Whether you’re a reader or you prefer listening on Audible, I hope you’ll find something from my list that gives you enjoyment, that gives you a little bit of food for thought, or that you can pick up some ideas about new ways to live and work.
As we draw towards the close of this crazy year that we have been living through in 2020, let’s take a moment to reflect on the year that's been.
I know that there's so much that's been written about and said about this year, and a lot of it is pretty negative. I don’t dismiss the difficulties many have experienced this year at all, but I also don't want to add to that kind of content.
I really wanted to create an episode that's a little bit uplifting, and a little bit inspiring. An episode to light on some of the amazing things that some very clever people have managed to achieve this year.
I love the concept that “what you put your focus on flourishes”, and so we really want to put our focus on the good stuff, right?
My intent with this episode is to provide you with some inspiration, some food for thought and some ideas for yourself moving forward, and also just a little bit of motivation.
Take inspiration from what others have managed to do, and use it as fuel for what you can potentially achieve as well.
At the end, I invite you to pause and reflect on your own year as well, to put your focus on the things you’re proud of, big or small.
The biggest, hugest, fattest mistake I see eCommerce store owners make with their promotions is that they discount constantly! This is the fastest way to train your customers NOT to buy at full price.
But, used sparingly, a sale event can give your business a nice injection of sales revenue AND clear out slow-moving inventory.
It can ALSO help convert new customers by enticing them to stop sitting on the fence and try out your products for the first time...
I recommend only doing two to three big clearance sales a year: end of financial year, Black Friday, and end of calendar year (or Boxing Day).
A successful sale comes down to two things: URGENCY and EXCLUSIVITY.
Why is this such a big deal? Because the whole point of running a sale is to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity in your customers. You can’t achieve this if you discount constantly.
Urgency and Exclusivity SELL.
And the only way you’re going to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity is to run sales sparingly, keeping people on their toes.
You want to make them think, “DANG, I better buy this NOW or I’m going to miss out on this great deal!”
A fear of missing out is always going to be the most successful motivator for action (AKA purchase!).
The “Now or Never” mentality creates urgency, and urgency sells a lot faster than “we’ll be waiting for you whenever you may or may not feel like it”, or “I know they’ll run another sale next week so I’ll wait till then”.
Listen as I share our biggest takeaways from Black Friday that you can apply to your Boxing Day sale event. PLUS I share some actionable tips to help you get the best results possible from your Boxing Day promotion.
….EVEN IF you desperately need to take a holiday yourself!
We're coming to the end of the year. It's been a really difficult year for a lot of people. And I'm pretty sure many of you are probably feeling pretty exhausted and burnt out.
Maybe you’re also feeling a little bit gun shy…. Like, “how can I possibly plan for next year when things can change on a dime?”
It can be very difficult to approach this time of year, when we should be turning our attention towards planning for the year ahead with confidence in your own abilities.
Yet, like anything in life, we can't achieve new things if we do things the way we've always done them. And we certainly won’t achieve any great progress if all we focus on is the negatives or the results we haven’t yet had…
So I thought now would be a really fantastic time to introduce you to my high performance mindset coach, Ben Elliott.
In this episode, Ben and I chat about some of the common pitfalls that many of us fall into that affect our mindset and how that then affects the results that we experience in our business as well.
And he also shares with us some really practical strategies and activities and tasks that you can easily incorporate into your day to help improve your confidence and your mindset and help maintain your motivation and momentum.
Even when things feel bloody hopeless or they're just not working...
Listen as Ben shares practical strategies to upgrade your mindset you can easily implement today.
Whether you’re new to eCommerce and needing to set up your first website, or you’ve been running for a while and might be considering making some changes or improvements, it’s worth stopping to think about what difference it potentially makes when it comes to your site design.
People ask me all the time, “What is the best Shopify (or Wordpress) theme?”
And, “I want to grow my sales - how do I get more traffic?”
Yet when I dig a little deeper, I discover that the website is running on a free Shopify theme, or the website is poorly designed, and the conversion rate is pretty dismal.
I think in this last situation it can be pretty common for businesses to build their first website and tick that job off their to-do list and move on, thinking it’s done and they don’t need to pay it any more attention.
In reality, the design and functionality of your website is absolutely critical. Just think about it. Maybe compare it to a brick and mortar retail store. If you had a beautiful looking shop in a great location, the windows nicely styled and a space that was really inviting for customers to come in, you’re likely to do a lot better than having a dingy, dark space in an out-of-the-way location with ugly window displays and a generally uninviting look to it.
Your website is your shop front and it’s impossible to do well in business if it’s not designed to be inviting to your ideal customers, or have the functionality to operate in the way that it needs to to facilitate your customers buying and receiving what they want.
Listen as I share exactly how the design of your website is so important if you want to succeed in eCommerce.
These days, we’re all bombarded by hundreds of emails and thousands of marketing messages a day.
So it’s way harder as a business owner to cut through all that noise and really connect with your customers.
The thing is, email works really really well if you do it right.
Even now, in 2020, email marketing still generates the highest ROI of 3800% - much higher than pretty much any other marketing strategy.
And email marketing is even more useful at a time when other platforms like Facebook and Google have both been rolling out updates and changes to their algorithms, causing havoc for many advertisers.
So in this episode, I’m going to share some email marketing tweaks that made a $30,000 difference in my bottom line.
This happened at a time of year in my first business (a modern cloth nappy, or diaper, brand) that was traditionally a sales trough. Christmas time when you don’t sell gift products can be tough!
At the time, I knew there were aspects of my email marketing strategy that at the time needed a bit of a facelift.
- I wanted more people to open my emails,
- I wanted more people to take action from my emails - to click through to the website,
- And I absolutely wanted to generate more revenue from my email marketing.
Whenever you want to reach a new goal, you know some parts of your marketing strategy are going to have to change.
Listen as I share tips on how to persuade more people to open your emails, click to your website and buy.
It goes without saying that businesses need to be profitable to survive.
But more and more, they must also embrace public sentiment in order to attract and engage with their audience.
Customers are much more likely to spend according to their personal values. That much has become blatantly obvious this year!
Which means - social change has real business value.
Today on the show, I’m excited to welcome one of our clients onto the show as my guest. Wendy is the founder of Up On The Rooftop, a business that provides traditional and sustainable gardening solutions for the small-space urban dweller, so whether you have a balcony, rooftop, verandah or just a front step we have the solutions to not only establish a thriving garden but to make it resilient to even the black thumbs of the world!
I really wanted to share Wendy’s story about developing, launching and growing her business, and I think many of you will resonate with much of what she shares.
She has a really clear vision and it's not necessarily about selling product, it's about helping to transform the way we live so that our environmental impact is lighter and kinder.
The way she has used that vision to inform her social media content, and her marketing in general, has made it REALLY successful. She’s been able to attract and build a large audience with high levels of engagement.
And off the back of that, she’s been able to build an incredible business.
So without further ado, let me welcome Wendy to the show, and let’s hear her story.
Listen as Wendy and I chat about building a business around her big vision.
I’m sure we’ve all done it: ordered a meal deal at a fast food restaurant because it was just simpler to order, or better value. Or we’ve put more items in our shopping cart than we really needed because there was a “buy two, get one free” promotion.
Product bundling is a smart way for businesses to increase sales revenue, because customers spend more money per transaction, plus it’s a great way to ensure your customers have the best possible experience shopping with you, which helps increase your conversion rate, AND improves their experience using the products they’ve bought.
I want to highlight that last point: I think most people assume that product bundles are just designed to increase your sales because the customer is spending more per transaction.
But they can also help in two additional and extremely important ways:
- Make it much easier for customers to make a purchase decision, thereby increasing your conversion rate, and
- Help ensure your customers have a successful or enjoyable experience using your products.
Listen as I step you through a high converting bundle strategy to boost your bottom line.
eCommerce stores that have a great selection of products and a solid Christmas marketing strategy have always seen a surge in revenue throughout the holidays, and 2020 will be no different.
In fact, with customers around the world turning to online shopping right now for all their gift-giving needs, the 2020 holiday season is set to be the most lucrative yet for eCommerce.
But don’t rejoice just yet, because the competition for customers will be fierce.
Just listing some Christmassy products on your store is not enough. We can’t just expect people to turn up on our virtual doorstep, wallets in hand…
We need to plan our Christmas marketing to help bring people to our stores and give them a reason to buy. This week on the show, I’m joined by a guest Felicia Rusher, owner of eCommerce boutique I Still Call Australia Home.
During the episode, we take a deep dive into her 2020 Christmas campaign, which she actually launched in July this year and is still rolling out.
Oftentimes, people think of marketing as being just Facebook ads or Emails or social media content, and they treat them all completely separately.
Whereas what you want to do is think about the creative concept or idea for your campaign first and then think about how you can communicate that concept to your audience through those different channels.
Felicia has been able to do such a brilliant job with this campaign and I really want you to listen to how she’s gone about it so that you can learn from her and take the ideas into your own business.
And let me tell you, this approach to your marketing campaigns really, really works!
Despite the fact that Felicia lost a big portion of her market with Covid, thanks to tourism and international business travel effectively grinding to a halt, her sales are still up by 50% compared to last year!
And she’s still got the busiest time of her Christmas sales still to come.
As I record this episode in mid October 2020, a lot of people are talking about their ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram are suddenly not converting the way they normally do.
Some brands have had long-standing campaigns that have always converted really well and really profitably, have suddenly tanked. They’re not converting as well as they used to.
People are noticing and complaining about big drops in Return On Ad Spend (ROAS).
So what is going on???
In any year - Q4 can be a bumpy ride if you’re not prepared…
Q4 is generally the most expensive quarter for ad costs. We’re in the lead up to Black Friday and Christmas, lots more advertisers are on the platform bidding on a finite amount of ad space, so that level of competition will always drive costs up a bit.
This year, we don’t just have Black Friday and Christmas enticing businesses to spend money on ads on the platform. There are also major elections happening in the USA and elsewhere around the world. Political parties are spending a TONNE of cash on ads right now. Apparently the Trump campaign is spending a million dollars a day on Facebook ads, and Biden’s campaign is spending many times more than that. So that extra competition for ad space also pushes costs up for the rest of us.
But there’s a LOT more to it than that…
Listen as I share the 5 reasons your Facebook Ads aren’t working AND what you can do about it!
Learning how to build a lucrative, profitable business without the need for constant discounting is the holy grail of business I reckon!
And it’s not something that comes easily or naturally to many.
I see SO many online stores and brands reaching for discounts and incentives on a constant basis. Because it’s the only way they know how to generate a hit of sales.
Then when the promotion ends, the sales drop right back down. And that feels scary, like no-one will buy from you without that incentive in place.
But it doesn’t need to be like that!
As Kristy shares, learning exactly who her ideal customers are, what customers value and how to communicate that to them, is absolutely key.
Listen as Kristy shares exactly how to build a premium brand, without the need for constant discounting. We also discuss things like:
- What do you do when things stop working? How do you get past that and keep growing?
- Numerous examples of strategies that have worked really well to help Kristy grow her 7-figure business.
- And much much more...
I recommend grabbing a pen and notepad for this episode! Kristy shares so many nuggets of gold - I know you will want to take notes :-)
The most magical time of the year has taken over our minds and to-do lists.
It’s the time of year where all eCommerce businesses are planning their Christmas and Holiday marketing campaigns.
Whether this is your busiest time of year, or you need to engineer a boost in sales to prevent a big drop in income, if you want to have a successful Christmas sales season it’s essential to plan in advance.
ESPECIALLY this year - 2020 - where the Covid pandemic has pushed shoppers online instead of in-store. We MUST be proactive and organised in order to enjoy a successful sales season up to Christmas and the end of the year!
In this episode, I share:
- Key insights into online shopping behaviour that you should take into consideration for your Christmas and Holiday marketing campaigns, and
- My top 10 tips for a successful eCommerce Christmas promotion.
Listen now to learn exactly how to plan your Christmas campaign. Listen now.
NOTE - you’ll probably want a pen and paper handy to take notes during this episode!
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Black Friday Cyber Monday sales have become an American eCommerce tradition, beginning 2005. Last year, eCommerce stores processed over $700 billion in sales just during this 4 day sale event.
Australia played its part too. Here, Black Friday hasn’t historically been a ‘thing’, but Aussie retailers are catching on fast. Last year, it grew by over 50% and it now represents the start of the busy Christmas sales period.
Typically, eCommerce sales can increase by over 30% just on Black Friday alone. And with the right strategy, this event can lead into a bumper Christmas promotional period!
My vote is definitely to run a Black Friday promotion, and use it to kick start your Christmas sales promotions.
Now, with that said, this year’s Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) promotional event will be unlike any other.
Fears around COVID-19 and subsequent retail store closures have shifted consumer spending online and away from brick-and-mortar. My opinion is that this new consumer behaviour is pretty well entrenched now, so it's a shift I believe will continue well into the holiday season and beyond.
As more shoppers rush online to make their BFCM purchases, inventory and shipping constraints will present challenges for retailers of all sizes, but especially for small business.
With all this in mind, if you want to make the most of this year’s biggest shopping event, it’s critical that you start planning as early as possible. Despite the different climate we're now operating in, BFCM is still a tremendous opportunity for your business to end the year strong, whatever that looks like for you.
With an unsettled economic climate, supply chain shortages, and shifting consumer behaviour, navigating Black Friday Cyber Monday may feel particularly stressful this year.
Here’s my recommended checklist for generating the best sales results possible for your online store this Black Friday
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working with clients on their marketing planning to see out the rest of 2020 and then into 2021.
And when it comes to planning, I like to start with a ‘vivid vision’ exercise: What would you like to achieve in your business in 3-5 years time?
It’s a useful exercise to repeat every year too. It’s easy to get bogged down into our day-to-day work, trying to get stuff done and tick things off our to-do list.
And I guess we always have a vague idea in our mind of where we’re heading, so our head immediately turns to strategy and that never-ending to-do list…
But not being super clear on your vision means you could accidentally grow your business into something you don’t really like or want.
The fact is - not everyone wants global domination or a billion dollar business.
Some people would really love to have a profitable, flexible lifestyle business.
A business that fits in around their family, or that doesn’t lock them into a corporate job they don’t love.
Some people want to have a side hustle that generates extra income for the family.
And others want a business that gives them the location-freedom to travel.
If that’s you, then tune in to this episode where I’m joined by my guest Chelsea Papdopoulos from shoe boutique Tiptoe and Co.
Listen as Chelsea shares her business journey, from start-up to now running her profitable, flexible, lifestyle business.
As this episode airs, we’re getting close to the ‘Business’ end of the year. Quarter 4 is just around the corner, and in terms of eCommerce retail, this is typically THE biggest sales season!
Now - 2020 hasn’t exactly been a normal year. It’s challenged all of us in ways we could never have imagined and I reckon many of us probably never thought we could cope with.
Yet at the same time, it’s also presented this insane growth opportunity for eCommerce stores. Online retail is absolutely booming, with online sales growing at hyper-speed!
Which begs the question - what could 2021 possibly be like?
My opinion is that, by and large, consumer behaviour has changed. Consumers are now trained to shop online in volumes they never did before, and I think much of that behaviour will continue.
That thought is equal parts exciting and scary though, right?
I know I’ve seen many online store owners scrambling to keep up right now, so the thought that things will only get busier can make you think ‘ARGH how will I cope? I’m too busy to handle what I’m doing now!’
And then I see many other online store owners, start-ups and small businesses, not quite experiencing that big influx of sales growth yet...
So how do you win customers and influence sales - on autopilot? Listen as I share the biggest mistakes eCommerce retailers make ALL the time that significantly impact their sales.
And then, I detail the 3 essential components of a successful eCommerce business AND how you can automate your website traffic and sales!
I admire people who take the plunge to turn their creativity into a business. To back themselves and start making their products for others to buy, not just for themselves.
Today on the podcast I’m joined by Jodi, owner of Swik Home Body.
Like many of you, her business started as a side hustle. First, she was making candles for herself. And when her family and friends saw them, they loved them and wanted to buy them.
So Jodi grabbed that opportunity and ran with it! First starting out at markets, then graduating to pop-up Shops within major shopping centres.
Despite the shops being incredibly lucrative, they were HARD WORK! Physically, the time and effort involved in setting up and running these shops began to take their toll, so Jodi wanted to find a way to scale her business up using an eCommerce model.
Listen to the podcast as she shares her incredible journey over the past 12 months. She’s grown from a small-time brand into one that is incredibly lucrative, both online and in-store.
This year in 2020, we’ve seen incredible growth in eCommerce transactions. Thanks to COVID-19, more and more shoppers have shifted their spending from in-store to online.
But, exciting as that is, it doesn’t mean that you can just throw up a website and expect to make a million bucks.
Sadly - running an online store requires a bit more than that…
Getting your online store converting sales and offering your customers a great experience is essential if you want to see sales growth.
Yet, so often I see eCommerce stores making these 10 common mistakes. And it’s costing them $$ in lost revenue! Don’t stress - I’ll walk you through each of them step by step, and help you to avoid them. (Or overcome them if you’ve inadvertently made one of them…)
Creating a new product can be a little bit like going through an out-of-body pregnancy and birth. You put everything you have into creating and nurturing this new little beast.
Designing, developing, prototypes, liaising, manufacturing, packaging, photography and more… So it’s only natural that you want to see it go gangbusters when it finally hits your store!
The last thing you want when you finally get it into your store is crickets.
By the time your product is finally ready to go you are probably just about over it, with very little left in the tank for talking it up.
However, this is the CRUCIAL time when excitement needs to be created within your customer base.
You want to encourage them at first to be curious and interested, and then make them WANT it!
So today, we’re going to do a little analysis and unpack a mega-successful launch.
Specifically, let’s look at how my student Colleen from Ride Proud Clothing absolutely NAILED their product launch, achieving more than 200% MORE than her sales target! Building anticipation to epic proportions so that by the time the products hit the website fans are falling over each other to get what they want.
In fact - Colleen did such an amazing job with this launch, that she’d hit her sales target the day her promotion opened for sale on her website!
Ever feel like you don’t get enough love from social media?
When you take the time to write ads or posts for Facebook or Instagram, and find the perfect images, that you just KNOW your audience would love!
Sometimes you put your content out there and it feels like you’re getting nothing in return. Barely a measly little Like. Let alone a click or a purchase.
So you wonder – what’s the point? Is it even worth it to create this content for social media?
The answer is – yes it is, and I’ve seen cold hard evidence (website traffic and sales!) to support that.
Don’t fall into this common trap... I understand. YOUR goal as an eCommerce business or brand owner, is to get people to click from social media over to your website. Preferably to shop.
I get that there’s a strong temptation to use your social media content and paid ads as one big advertisement for your products.
Bottom line is this: What looks like the fastest route to getting a purchase is, in fact, a direct line to losing the attention and interest of the people you want to reach.
You simply won’t get the clicks.
So how else do you do it?
How do you create compelling content and ads that attract and engage with the right audience?
Listen as I explain how to write Facebook ads and posts that’ll leave your audience clamouring for more...
Increasingly, as consumers, we choose to buy from businesses and brands whose ideals and values align with our own.
Who Gives A Crap has a clear purpose around improving the environment and protecting our plants.
Birdsnest champions women of all sizes, shapes and ethnicity, with a message around embracing positive body image attitudes rather than confirming to any one ideal.
Warby Parker eyewear is committed to donating a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair purchased.
Thankyou donates all profits to help end global poverty.
Not that we all need to have such enormous and lofty goals!
However, having a purpose that is bigger than just dollars in the bank IS an incredibly effective way to build your brand. Think about it. By working towards a bigger vision that is designed to have a positive impact on the world in some way, shape, or form - this is such an incredible way to connect and engage with your audience.
And your audience IS more discerning now. They want to choose where to spend their dollars so that THEY can have a positive impact on the world around them.
On the podcast this week I interviewed Natalia Michael. She’s the founder of No Nasties Kids and No Nasties Home.
Listen as we discuss her journey to building her purpose-driven brand. Natalia has grown her business from the dining room table into a brand stocked in retailers nationally and distributed internationally.
She had an incredibly inspiring story to share, along with many tangible tips that you can implement into your own business.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years helping hundreds of eCommerce brands to systemize and automate their sales growth, it’s this…
... The number of Instagram followers you have has nothing to do with it.
The other day, I was speaking with an online store owner, and I asked her what her goal was for the next year.
“Increase sales by 20%” came the response.
So my next question was, “How will you achieve that? What will you do?”
And she answered that she aims to grow her Instagram followers.
I was confused. I was talking to someone who had been in business for a couple of years, but they were making less than $1000 a week…
...And they were worrying about how many followers they have?
Ultimately, this sort of thing is all too common. Instead, they continue working on the same kinds of activities as they did last year, but hoping for different results.
Things like: posting on Instagram, participating in ‘Insta loops’, running giveaways, maybe doing some Facebook ads or boosting posts.
And when those activities fail to deliver the desired effects on growth, they then run a discount or sale promotion to bring some dollars in the door.
Sound familiar?
As Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.
Yet so many of us continue to do the same things in our business and wonder why we’re not getting the results we desire!
Listen as I share 5 ways to figure out WHAT to focus on in YOUR business.
I love to hear other entrepreneurs’ tell their stories about how they started their business, and how they got from there to where they are now.
This week I’m excited to interview my guest, Laura Klein from Snotty Noses.
Laura began her business as a side hustle when her kids were little and she was on maternity leave from her job as a teacher.
I don’t think Laura could ever have fathomed back then that she would go on to build a multi-7-figure business!
What began as a direct-selling opportunity, promoting a clever gadget she’d been using herself and recommending to friends, grew into a lucrative international eCommerce brand.
She now manufactures her own line of products as well as retailing other brands, and sells all around the world.
Tune in to listen to Laura’s story - from side hustle to 7-figure empire! She shares so many nuggets of gold in this episode too. Ideas you can easily apply in your own business, as well as stories and analogies that will inspire you.
Two of the toughest things in a product-based business would have to be growing sales and managing cash-flow.
Two of the best, most reliable ways to bring in sales fast are running a product launch or a promotional campaign.
But there are a number of essential ingredients that produce a successful product launch or campaign result.
Make no mistake – “winging it” will never give you as good results!
(As they say – if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!)
So, would you like to hear about a successful product launch strategy that addresses both of these issues at once?
Here’s what I cover in this episode: * The 7 essential components of a successful product launch or promotional campaign, and * A step-by-step ‘Pre-order’ launch strategy that has helped many of my clients to fund their production, shipping and customs bills by selling stock in advance.
Be prepared to take notes with this episode - it’s a meaty “how to” that you’ll want to execute in your own business!
We all need to take a break every now and then, but us entrepreneurs often don’t.
We don’t take time off because we love what we do, right? We’re happy to hustle and we’re ambitious, so seeing the results is a bit addictive and makes us want to work even harder…
But the consequences of not taking time off, especially if you’re working long hours with high stress levels and not getting enough sleep, can lead to burnout. Which I can also speak about from experience, and it’s not fun!
How do you take time off without business grinding to a halt? If you’re a solo-operator, it can be tempting to simply shut your online store. But I don’t recommend this. You’ll definitely lose traction with traffic and sales, which would be disappointing if you’ve been working hard on your marketing to generate that growth!
Luckily there are things you can do, whether you’re still running the show yourself, or you’re further down the road
Here’s what I cover in this episode: * How to take a vacation from your business as a solo operator, without closing your online store * What to do when your business has grown and you have a team of staff or contractors * How to make sure your sales don’t drop and your team still get things done the way you want them to!
Today I want to talk through a topic that is really fundamental to eCommerce: choosing the best website platform to build your online store on.
I see these questions being asked in Facebook groups ALL the time!
“What’s the best website platform?”
“Which platform is better? Shopify or Wordpress / Squarespace / Wix / Something else”
And then, there’s the myths that exist. Like, “I’m too big for Shopify”, or “Shopify is terrible for SEO.”
So what IS the best choice (for you)? I see a lot of people making mistakes with this choice, either from poor advice or ignorance about what difference it makes, or thinking that all platforms do the same thing and choosing the cheapest one is a prudent decision.
Your website is the vehicle through which you do business.
Choosing well will enable you to grow your business efficiently and effectively. While choosing poorly is not necessarily the end of the world - it’s entirely possible to shift to another platform, people do this all the time, but this isn’t the easiest, fastest or cheapest exercise.
Listen as I share exactly how to figure out the best platform for your business. I’ll share my experiences as an eCommerce brand owner, as well as my experience producing websites during my career in digital agencies.
From the core objectives of your eCommerce website, to the different types of platforms you can consider, to the specific functionality you need, we’ll cover all the factors you should consider before making your choice.
Listen now.
There’s not a lot of information available that explains how to become a retail stockist or reseller of other brands.
How do you go about approaching brands?
What do they look for in a retail stockist?
How do you do a good job of being a stockist?
Often, if you’re new in your eCommerce business, you’ll start approaching your favourite brands that you want to stock and receive a lot of knock-backs.
It’s not uncommon to be told things like, ‘we only take brick and mortar stores’, or ‘we aren’t taking on anymore online stores’.
Sometimes that’s a genuine situation, as brands want to take care of their existing retail stockists and if your online store looks very similar to another one then they might perceive it to be a conflict of interest. Or, they might simply not have manufactured enough stock to be able to supply a new retailer just yet.
And sometimes it might be something they say to let you down gently if they don’t think you’re a good fit for their brand.
And if that’s the case, then listen in as we discuss some strategies for winning them over and approving you as a new stockist.
Here’s what I cover in this episode: * The bare bones basics you need to have in place before approaching brands you want to stock; * How to identify your business’ unique point of difference, and why that’s important; * How to decide which brands to approach; * What brands will look for in a retail stockist; * And much, much more...
Want to learn the fastest way to attract your ideal customer’s attention?
Well, I’m sure you’re all familiar with that old saying, “A picture tells a thousand words”. I mean, we all know that right?
Visual communication is as old as time. Our cavemen ancestors would communicate by drawing pictures on the walls. Even now, as babies we see and understand well before we can speak, let alone read or write.
The same goes for selling products online. Effective non-verbal communication is absolutely essential if you want to sell more products.
In fact - your images really do the heavy lifting when it comes to selling products online Our brains process images many times faster than text.
Images quickly affect our emotions, and...
We make most of our purchase decisions based on emotion!
Today on the Podcast I’m joined with professional photographer, Prue Aja.
We discuss things like:
- What is a styled brand photoshoot?
- Why do you need one?
- How do you brief a photographer so you get the images you want?
- The difference between images created by a professional photographer and a brand rep.
- The different image formats you might need and where you’d use them.
- How to avoid disaster or disappointment with your photoshoot.
- Whether you need to be personally present at your photoshoot.
Listen now as we cover 10 practical photography tips that’ll boost your eCommerce sales.
So. The average Ecommerce website converts at only 2%. That means, 2% of your website visitors will buy from you.
Yet, we have several clients whose websites regularly convert at between 3-7%!
Part of that comes down to having a well-designed website and a great product.
BUT there are several things that you can easily implement on your website today that will help you to improve your own website conversion rate.
For example…
Have you ever wondered what colour your "add to cart" button should be?
Or whether you should spend time putting an abandoned cart strategy in place?
Or tried to work out if it's worthwhile getting Afterpay (and all the fees it entails)?
All your questions and more are answered today!
Listen as I share 9 easy (and mostly free!) tweaks you can make to your website to win more sales.
As we approach the end of financial year, you may be considering running a clearance or flash sale (affectionately known as an EOFYS).
There’s the temptation to reduce how much you need to count during your stock-take.
Or to get a few quick sales over the line before having to pay the tax man.
There are many benefits to running an EOFYS: * You can sell off end of season or last season’s stock. * Clear slow-selling lines or odd or less popular sizes. * Encourage new customers to trial your products for the first time by retargeting people who have visited specific product pages in your online store. * Or you can reward existing loyal customers or re-engage lapsed customers who haven’t bought from you in a while.
But to benefit from the enormous potential of this strategy, you need to avoid the common pitfalls and mistakes.
Otherwise you could end up digging yourself into a bigger hole with poor revenue and profit now and into the future!
Listen to this bonus podcast episode as I share the common pitfalls and mistakes, as well as best practices for running a successful EOFYS.
Paid advertising can be absolute gold for driving traffic and sales in your online store. Once you nail the Facebook Ad Campaign that works for your target customer, you can almost have traffic and sales on tap!
You can convert new and repeat customers and transform them into raving fans that spread the good word about your biz far and wide.
That’s the aim, right?
But there is a big difference between creating an ad and creating a winning ad campaign that sells.
These are the questions I hear people asking all the time: * How do I know if it is working? * When should I increase the budget? * Are those numbers good?
If you too are asking these questions, then you need to get to know your metrics – intimately!
Listen to this podcast as I share exactly how to make sense of your Facebook ad results.
How would you like to add, potentially, another 20% to your revenue? And how would you like to do that at a potential 3800% ROI?
This, my friends, is entirely possible using Email Marketing.
In fact, as an eCommerce store, one of the highest-impact marketing strategies you can have in your toolkit is email marketing.
Yes, even now in mid-2020, this is still the case!
And believe me, when you master the art and science of using email to generate sales on your website, you will always be able to make money.
I know, I know… Most Ecommerce store owners just don’t know what to put in their emails!
Well, if that’s you - this episode’s for you!
Listen as I share my Ultimate Guide to all things eCommerce Email Marketing. From how to design and format your emails…
To how to get people onto your list…
And what content you should put IN your emails…
So that you can generate consistent new and repeat sales in your online store.
So tell me, do you treat all your customers equally?
This is not the time to be like a parent who loves all their children equally… You SHOULD love some customers more than others.
Let me explain. And in the process, I’ll give you some insight into your customers, and explain how to build your business around your best buyers.
Why you should play favourites with your customers Those of you who know me know that caffeine practically runs in my veins. I’ve been a coffee lover for as long as I can remember. (Starting out with decaf iced coffees that I made as a little kid!)
13 years ago I bought my beloved Italian-made espresso machine. I called her my 3rd child, until I actually had a 3rd child…
Since then, I’ve bought a lot of coffee products: coffee grinders, brushes, tampers, beautiful coffee cups and jars – the list goes on. I even bought a professional coffee-making course!
But I didn’t buy all this at once. It happened over time.
The place I initially bought all my products from educated me about coffee using engaging content – I would read their emails, watch their videos, sometimes I would visit them in-store, and I would buy. And buy. And buy.
Clearly, selling coffee products to me is easy, and I’m a profitable customer
I became what’s called a hyper-consumer. And these are the people who drive your sales forwards. They are the backbone of your business.
But I don’t see that many eCommerce brands working as hard as they should to identify their own hyper-consumers.
Listen as I share my process for identifying your most profitable customers
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures have seen a worldwide acceleration in growth of eCommerce retail.
We have entered a period of hyper-evolution, where consumer behaviour and the technology that supports buying online has changed forever.
Now, the equivalent of 5 years of “gradual shift” into ecommerce will be compressed into two quarters.
eCommerce platform Shopify is already handling Black Friday level traffic daily!
How do you manage such rapid growth? As tempting as growth in hyper-speed is, it’s incredibly difficult to manage.
Keeping on top of your supply chain as well as managing the human resources to fulfil such rapidly increasing order volumes is HARD! & mistakes are easy to make.
How do you keep up without derailing your business completely?
Well buckle in - here’s what you need to do RIGHT NOW to facilitate your growth!
Systemise to Supercharge Growth This week my guest on the podcast, Lisa Munro from Happy Tummies, shares her step-by-step process for documenting systems and procedures.
Yes, I realise this sounds like an incredibly boring topic, but the potential upside from doing this yourself is absolutely MASSIVE!
Lisa was prompted to do this after a bout of illness left her totally incapacitated and she realised that no-one else knew how the business operated. No-one could help with ordering or pick-and-pack or marketing. It was a complete disaster!
But now, despite basically tripling her revenue basically overnight with COVID-19, her systems have made it easy for her to expand quickly and with the confidence that everything will be done exactly the way she wants it.
So if you’ve ever felt like, “it’ll take too long to teach someone so it’s easier if I just do it myself”, or “I can’t outsource this because no-one knows how to do it just like me”, then this episode is for you!
Have you ever run a social media competition? Or wanted to?
If so — did you do it to gain more followers or page likes?
Or did you do it to sell more product in your online store?
In my opinion — as an eCommerce store, you shouldn’t run a giveaway purely to gain followers.
Because more followers rarely equates to an increase in sales...
Are you making this big mistake? There is a common mistake I see brands make ALL the time when it comes to running competitions and giveaways.
And that is — the assumption that gaining followers will automatically result in an increase in website traffic and sales in your online store.
Unfortunately, this is rarely the case!
Here’s what to do instead…
Listen as I share my step-by-step training on running a giveaway that achieves 3 key objectives: 1. How to attract and warm up an audience of people who really want your stuff 2. How to build your email list, and 3. How to sell more product
What are some of the challenges you’re facing in business now? Or that you’ve had to deal with along your entrepreneurial journey?
A lot of the time, people come to me because they’re stuck with how to grow their business. They need help with the sales and marketing, to get more traffic and sales consistently in their online store.
But I know from personal experience that there are many more hurdles on the way to starting and growing your business.
In the beginning, validating your concept, making sure there’s demand for your stuff, and figuring out what makes you different or better than the competition.
Getting finance to start and grow, especially if you’re footing production bills.
Learning the tech side of Ecommerce.
The list goes on of course.
I think starting a business in a regional town has added complexities to it, especially on the logistics side.
Corrina from Bird on the Hill Designs, a furniture painting and decorating company, joins us on this week’s podcast to share her experiences about running a business from a regional town.
I love that Corrina created her business around a creative activity she was passionate about - upscaling old furniture.
In fact, her hobby also happens to be part of a massive trend, as thousands of others have also gotten into it as well.
Corrina’s business has grown relatively quickly, especially in the last few months, and she has some fantastic insights to share.
From building an audience, to using Pinterest to drive website traffic, to moving her business into its own premises and hiring a team.
But EVEN IF you don’t operate in a regional location, I really want you to listen to this episode and hear Corrina describe the fantastic “Challenge Promotion” she’s recently run.
One of the hardest things for many product businesses is to get a customer over the line to try your product for the first time.
If that’s the case, then you’ll LOVE hearing all about Corrina’s Challenge promo!
Every now and then I come across a brand that has such an infectiously fun personality that I fall instantly in love with it. And then I want to find out who is behind the brand!
Who Gives A Crap, Vinomofo and Birdsnest are prime examples of really great fun brands.
And Cake 2 The Rescue is another, so I’m absolutely pumped to have founder Lou Duggan on this week’s show.
Cake 2 the Rescue is an Ecommerce brand based on a huge range of really fun and creative cake designs for childrens birthdays and other special events. Basically, you get the whole kit to make the cake and decorate it, and they’re all really do-able for non-bakers.
Getting your Product / Customer Fit just right... Lou’s been in business for 8 years now and something she’s been incredibly successful at is building a really engaged audience of customers and raving fans.
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that every business needs an audience if they want to sell something. No audience = no customers.
In fact, if you’re just getting started in your business, you may find that getting people to notice you and visit your site - it’s actually really, really difficult!
Learning exactly who your customer is and what they really need and want - A.K.A getting the ‘product / customer fit’ just right - is essential.
Tune in to listen to Lou’s wise words as she shares some of her biggest mistakes as well as successes, on her way to building her amazing brand.
I love Wholesale as a strategy to scale a brand - it’s a highly leveraged strategy that can enable you to sell large volumes of product to a small number of customers.
However, right now, it’s tough to make money from wholesale, when so many retailers are having to close their stores due to COVID-19 pandemic lock-down measures.
Whereas, Ecommerce retail is going completely bonkers!
Just because shops are shut and customers are largely house-bound, doesn’t mean we’re not still spending money on essentials as well as retail therapy.
Today on the podcast I’m joined by Claire Behrmann, owner of the incredibly successful brand Jellystone Designs, which in the past has predominantly been a wholesale and export brand.
Right now, of course, she’s having to focus more on Ecommerce sales and marketing, to sell direct to consumers.
But taking these actions now does not need to be the death of wholesale.
Listen as Claire speaks about the relationships she’s developed with her stockists.
She also speaks about connecting with her customers directly and how that has helped improve product design and development as well as brand awareness and demand.
Something I’ve always loved to do, is to find out how other successful people have achieved what I want to do myself.
I love to hear their stories and learn about their journey, including the mistakes as well as their achievements.
It’s a powerful way to learn.
And so this week, I’m really excited to share another interview with a friend and client, who actually also used to be a competitor of mine about 6 or 7 years ago.
Vicki Simpson founded Bubblebubs modern cloth nappy brand about 15 years ago.
She designs and manufactures a huge range of reusable nappies and other eco-friendly products for babies and new Mums.
She sells both Ecommerce as well as wholesale, and these days is a hugely successful brand.
It definitely has not been a straight line from the start-line to success, though, and she’s extremely candid about some of the massive difficulties she’s had along the way.
She also shares an incredible social media marketing strategy that is totally free and you can all use in your business RIGHT NOW.
Normally, trade shows and expos are one of Vicki’s major marketing strategies. In a year, she would usually do at least 9 shows!
Clearly, those have all been cancelled for the immediate future, as the COVID-19 pandemic has closed down all major events around the world.
So, Vicki did a quick pivot and rolled out a really cool social media strategy instead, that you should definitely listen to and implement yourself.
Vicki shares so many nuggets of gold in this episode though, so do yourself a big favour and set aside the next 45 minutes to listen to what she has to say.
This week’s episode was recorded as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has continued to heighten. State and national borders have been closed, shops are shut and we’re all bunkering down at home.
Yet my eCommerce clients are experiencing their best ever weeks in sales revenue!
Why is this?
Well here’s the silver lining...
#1, just because the shops have closed, doesn’t mean that consumers have stopped shopping for essentials (or retail therapy).
#2, customers are spending far more time online, especially on social media.
#3 - my clients have absolutely nailed their Facebook ad strategy!
Today on the podcast, I’m joined by Diana Swadling, founder of Milkbar Breastpumps.
Listen as she shares some details about the marketing that’s working right now to drive traffic and sales in her online store.
In fact, she describes how Facebook advertising is THE most profitable traffic source in her business!
I know it can feel risky to spend money on marketing right now.
But if you were able to spend $1 and get $8 or $10 back in sales revenue, you’d probably go for it, right?
Because that’s what’s happening in eCommerce right now!
Right now, as I record this episode, it feels like every minute there is a new piece of news or a new announcement or a new rule or shutdown in relation to Covid-19.
It feels like at least a month ago that I recorded my episode about how to survive in business during a recession, yet it was only two weeks.
We’re living through unprecedented times now. Beyond the fact that there hasn’t been a pandemic of this size and scope in living memory, the efforts to contain it are wreaking havoc on our economy.
As tempting as it might be to panic, the best thing to do now is plan for the crisis and keep moving forward, because it’s not as impossible as it seems, and the alternative is giving up.
But how do you plan when nobody even knows what tomorrow will look like? You may well ask.
Well, that turns out to be something we do have some experience with. If you were running a business during 9/11, or the 2008 financial crisis, as I was, you know how rapidly situations can change: head-spinningly so.
You’ll also know for a fact that: this too will pass.
We will need to be proactive in order to survive, which is what we’re going to talk about in today’s Podcast episode.
So let’s draw from the lessons we learned during those past calamities. And I want to focus on four main areas: stay calm, cut costs, keep marketing and innovate.
Listen now as I share some strategies you can implement right now, to survive this Coron-economy, and put yourself in the best position to thrive later!
Not getting enough sales through your eCommerce store? Whether this is a sudden thing or a long term issue, you may be keen to boost your eCommerce sales – FAST!
Unfortunately, all businesses go through periods of time when their sales slow down or decline.
I remember that feeling.
Sometimes it was just a crap time of year for sales. Like, February and school holidays were always horrible for me in terms of sales in my online store.
Sometimes sales would dip because I’d run out of stock, or sold out of most popular products.
And of course, sometimes it was because times were just tough. Like I said in my last podcast episode, I managed to grow my business through the 2008 GFC, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t sometimes really tough.
The journey from here to success is never a smooth, upward line! If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it, right?
So if you feel like you’re the guy wearing the sandwich board standing outside the empty café spruiking a meal deal while the joint across the road is absolutely pumping – this is for you.
Here are my 12 best ways to boost eCommerce sales FAST!