eCommerce Evolution: Recent Episodes

Brett Curry

eCommerce Evolution is hosted by Brett Curry, CEO of OMG Commerce. Tune in for fresh interviews with the merchants, vendors, and experts shaping the eCommerce industry. We take an in-depth look at what's new and what's next in eCommerce.

Think you've maxed out your paid advertising? Think again.

In this episode, Miranda Pettinger (365 Holdings/Cuddle Clones) shares how she scaled AppLovin from zero to $80,000/day in just 7 days during Black Friday—and why it's now their highest-spending channel, even surpassing Meta.

Miranda doesn't just share success metrics—she breaks down the exact strategy, creative approach, and measurement framework that made it possible. This is the blueprint for brands ready to diversify beyond Meta and Google.

If you're spending serious money on Meta and hitting scale ceilings, AppLovin might be your most underrated growth opportunity. Miranda proved it's possible to find incremental customers, better ROAS, and massive scale—all while simplifying your account structure.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

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Chapters:

(00:00) Introducing Miranda and Cuddle Clones

(07:54) The Journey from Zero to $80,000 a day.

(13:27) Targeting, Media Buying and Creative on AppLovin

(17:03) Understanding AppLovin

(19:38) Analyzing Customer Behavior and Incrementality

(22:59) Fermat: Optimize Shopper Experience with AI

(23:53) Limitations on AppLovin and Final Thoughts

(31:15) Crafting Compelling Ads

(37:24) Analyzing Successful Ad Elements

(42:17) Targeting and Audience Engagement

(46:27) Brand Recall and Interactions

(50:25) Utilizing AI for Ad Optimization

(53:35) Creative Diversity and Longevity

(58:41) Final Thoughts

(01:03:08) Save Money and Connect Your Marketing Channels with Channable

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/
Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact

Relevant Links:

Connect with Miranda on X: https://x.com/mirandpettinger
Cuddle Clones: https://cuddleclones.com
AppLovin: https://www.applovin.com/
Sponsor Offer | Fermat (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): fermatcommerce.com
Sponsor Offer | Channable (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://channable.com/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

At the start of Q4, OMG Commerce founder Brett Curry hosts a special Last-Minute Levers masterclass to help brands maximize performance during the busiest shopping season of the year. Joined by Amazon strategist Luba Ilyasova, ad expert Jonathan Steffens, and Connor Crook, CEO of Diamondback Tools, the session dives into what’s changed on Amazon in 2025, how to build a profitable holiday strategy, and which final levers to pull before Black Friday / Cyber Monday hits.

From international expansion and tariff navigation to using Amazon’s newest ad analytics, profit margin tracking, and creative promotion tactics, this masterclass offers a playbook for protecting margins, scaling smartly, and avoiding common Q4 pitfalls. Whether you’re planning coupons, bundles, or last-minute campaigns, these insights will help make this your strongest and most profitable holiday yet.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(04:32) Diamondback Tools & Amazon’s Role in Brand Growth

(06:43) Strategic Fit – How Amazon Complements DTC and Wholesale

(11:54) Key Shifts in 2025 – Tariffs, International Expansion & SKU Updates

(16:07) Major Amazon Changes – Matching Product to Customer Intent

(21:04) Sponsor Acknowledgements & Tool Shoutouts

(22:14) Ad Trends and Competitive Landscape in 2025

(25:26) Making Data Actionable – Customer Journey Analytics & Search Query Insights

(32:40) Last-Minute Levers for Q4 Success

(34:15) Testing New Main Images & Launching Video Ads

(35:51) Building Gift Guides & Creative Holiday Angles

(37:18) Integrating Email and SMS With Amazon Promotions

(39:26) Diamondback’s Promotional Strategy for the Holidays

(45:21) Virtual Bundles – Opportunities and Pitfalls

(50:27) Balancing Aggression and Profitability in Holiday Ads

(52:33) Post-Event Remarketing & Retention Tactics

(56:35) Final Thoughts – Promotions That Actually Work

(58:37) Closing Remarks – Building Profitable Brands This Holiday Season

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/
Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact

Relevant Links:

Connor’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-crook-bb82b110/
Diamondback Website: https://www.diamondback.com/
Boom by Cindy Joseph (Amazon launch case): https://www.amazon.com/stores/BOOMbyCindyJoseph/page/8ACDB09A-AEB9-4CEE-9311-BC3DCA688D8D
Native Deodorant: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Native/page/B87A8989-7690-424A-B775-553034F6E58E
Sponsor Offer | AZM Prep (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://amzprep.com/
Sponsor Offer | KAPOQ (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://kapoq.com/
Sponsor Offer | Seller Candy (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://sellercandy.com/
Sponsor Offer | Threecolts (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://www.threecolts.com/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

Are you spending more on ads but getting less in return? You're not alone. In this eye-opening conversation, Preston Rutherford, co-founder of Chubbies (which achieved a nine-figure exit and continues to see 8 years of consecutive growth), reveals why most modern brands are stuck in what he calls "the performance trap." Preston breaks down the crucial 95-5 rule—the reality that 95% of your audience isn't actively shopping at any given time—and explains why optimizing only for immediate conversions is slowly eroding your brand.

He shares the hard-earned lessons from Chubbies' journey, including their midlife crisis moment when efficiency metrics looked great but the business fundamentals were deteriorating. This isn't about choosing between brand and performance—it's about finding the right balance to build sustainable, profitable growth. If you've ever wondered whether your marketing is building a moat or just buying clicks, this episode is essential listening.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(04:08) The Journey of Chubbies

(08:49) Navigating Early Success and Marketing Performance

(16:10) Identifying Brand Erosion and Its Consequences

(22:00) 1000 Free Postcards with Post Pilot

(22:58) The 95-5 Rule

(28:53) Balancing Demand Capture and Generation

(32:25) Testing and Incrementality in Marketing

(52:30) Understanding The Brand’s Impact on Revenue

(58:47) Insights from Data Analysis

(1:04:18) Running Media Differently for Brand Building

(1:09:37) Identifying ICP for Marathon Data

(1:12:30) Fast Funding the Way You Need It with Wayflyer

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/
Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact

Relevant Links:

Preston’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prestonr
Chubbies Website: https://www.chubbiesshorts.com
Special Offer | PostPilot (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://postpilot.com/
Special Offer | (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://wayflyer.com/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

What happens when a trial attorney who spent his days in courtrooms becomes the CEO of one of the fastest-growing premium tool belt companies online? Connor Crook's journey from practicing law to building Diamondback Tools into an 8-figure business is packed with unconventional strategies that any DTC brand owner can apply. In this episode, Connor reveals how he leveraged Instagram to become "trade-famous," built an Apple-like product ecosystem that keeps customers upgrading, and made the bold decision to slash his cost of goods by 70% while simultaneously improving quality - a move that transformed his entire business model.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(03:47) From Trial Attorney to Toolbelt CEO

(06:45) Building Community and Becoming Insta-Famous

(10:26) Promotional Strategies and Customer Engagement

(14:45) Open Source Product Development

(26:02) Save Money and Connect Your Marketing Channels with Channable

(27:25) Creating a Product Ecosystem

(32:23) Unlocking Repeat Business Through Product Upgrades

(36:14) Reducing Costs and Improving Quality: The Vietnam Shift

(46:54) Cash Flow and Profitability in E-Commerce

(56:21) Transform Your Subscription Business with Loop

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/
Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact

Relevant Links:

Connor’sLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-crook-bb82b110
Diamondback Website: https://toolbelts.com/
Special Offer | Channable (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://www.channable.com/
Special Offer | Loop (Mention Ecommerce Evolution): https://www.loopwork.co/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

Amazon's 2025 Prime Day was a wake-up call for sellers - the four-day format killed urgency, lightning deals lost their punch, and profitability took a hit across the board. In this episode, Brandon Fuhrmann, a 12-year Amazon veteran and co-founder of the Innovate conference, breaks down what went wrong with Prime Day and what it means for your Q4 strategy. As a seven-figure seller in the brutal kitchenware category, Brandon shares the hard-won lessons from navigating Amazon's evolving landscape where fees are multiplying, Chinese sellers are getting smarter, and profit margins are under constant pressure.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(05:07) Insights from Prime Day 2025 and Changes in Dynamics

(11:11) Ad Strategy & Lightning Deals

(13:14) Preparing for Q4 & Prime Day 2026

(19:01) Managing Fees & Profitability

(22:37) Join Us at Grow NYC!

(25:35) Maximizing Profitability Through Cost Management

(30:52) Navigating the Competitive Landscape and AI Optimization

(40:56) Amazon Innovate: A Seller-Centric Conference

(47:42) Fermat: Optimize Shopper Experience with AI

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/
Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact

Relevant Links:

Brandon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonfuhrmann
Amazon Innovate: https://amzsummits.com/events/innovate-2025/
Grow NYC: Joingrow.com
Special Offer | Fermat: fermatcommerce.com

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

When most DTC brands think about scaling, they focus on optimizing Facebook ads or expanding to new digital channels. But Jared Mehr helped build something different at Pura Vida—a wholesale empire that became 25% of their business and played a crucial role in their $135 million exit to Vera Bradley. In this episode, Jared breaks down the counterintuitive truth about wholesale: it's often more profitable than your direct-to-consumer sales, provides incredible diversification, and creates marketing lift that benefits all your channels.

Starting from cold calls and trade show hustle, Jared shares the exact playbook that took Pura Vida from selling friendship bracelets in a San Diego bedroom to building relationships with thousands of retailers nationwide. Whether you're tired of being at the mercy of Zuckerberg's algorithm changes or looking to build a more attractive business for potential acquirers, this episode reveals why wholesale might be your most overlooked growth opportunity.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(04:23) The Importance of Wholesale in Business

(13:42) The Pura Vida Success Story

(16:51) Practical Steps to Launching Wholesale

(21:44) Wayflyer: Fast, Flexible Funding Designed for You

(22:26) Making It Easy for Retailers to Say Yes

(27:21) How to Identify Your Target Retailers

(34:08) Common Mistakes in Wholesale Retail

(37:51) The Role of Sales Reps

(42:05) Understanding Retailer Terms

(45:30) Pricing Strategies for Wholesale

(51:15) Threecolts: Recover Hidden Revenue for Free

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/
Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact

Relevant Links:

Pura Vida Bracelets: https://www.puravidabracelets.com/
Jared’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredmehr
Special Offer | Wayflyer: https://wayflyer.com/en/partners/omgcommerce
Special Offer | Threecolts: https://www.threecolts.com/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

Amazon enforcement has reached unprecedented levels in 2024. Even 8 and 9-figure sellers are getting suspended, and Amazon's "two strikes and you're out" policy means there's virtually no room for error. If you sell on Amazon, this episode could save your business.

Amazon's tolerance for any form of manipulation is at an all-time low. The cost of non-compliance isn't just a warning anymore - it's permanent removal from the platform. Even if you think you're playing by the rules, the rules have changed, and they're being enforced by AI that doesn't give second chances.

We sit down with Chris McCabe, former Amazon employee with 5.5 years inside the company and 11+ years helping sellers navigate suspensions and enforcement. Known for direct, no-nonsense advice that saves businesses from permanent bans.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(01:40) Overview of Amazon Enforcement and Review Manipulation

(06:12) Reporting Abuse: Best Practices

(11:42) Identifying and Avoiding Review Manipulation Tactics

(23:11) Grow Subscription Revenue with Loop Subscriptions

(24:16) Common Mistakes to Avoid and Additional Considerations

(30:44) Understanding AI Takedowns

(33:39) Improper ASIN Mergers

(36:04) Amazon Policy: No Gray Areas

(38:50) Navigating Appeals Effectively

(45:22) Drive More Revenue with Post Pilot

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/
Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact

Relevant Links:

Chris’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-mccabe-2646555
Ecommercechris: https://www.ecommercechris.com/
Amazon’s Anti Manipulation Policy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G8CXDFT9GLRRSV3G
LOOP: http://loopwork.co/
PostPilot: https://postpilot.com/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

If you're selling on Amazon, you're playing defense every single day. Or you should be. Negative reviews can tank your rankings overnight, and dozens of hidden listing issues are quietly sabotaging your sales while you sleep. In this eye-opening episode, Danan Coleman, CEO and founder of Ecom Triage and host of the Ecom Growth Show, reveals the underground world of Amazon review manipulation and the critical monitoring strategies that separate thriving brands from those that struggle. From detecting fraudulent review patterns to catching orphaned ASINs before they cost you thousands, Danan shares the insider knowledge that most sellers never learn until it's too late.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introducting Danan Coleman

(03:40) Understanding the Impact of Negative Reviews

(08:07) Amazon Guidelines and Best Practices for Review Removal

(14:09) Identifying Defamatory Reviews

(19:20) Time Decay to Reviews

(24:47) Navigating Amazon’s Review System

(30:56) Monitoring Product Visibility and Critical Issues

(40:43) Tools for Managing Amazon Listings

(42:26) Exploring Catalog Defender

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Danan’sLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danancoleman
eCom Triage: https://ecomtriage.com/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

TikTok Shop right now is bigger than Amazon or Shopify was from launch. That is what TikTok Shop is right now." Bold statement? Maybe. But Jordan West, founder and CEO of Social Commerce Club, has the data to back it up. With CPMs dropping 26% last year while ad spend increases, and creators with under 10K followers generating $250K in monthly sales, we're witnessing the early stages of what could be the biggest disruption in e-commerce since Amazon itself. In this explosive episode, Jordan breaks down his exact three-phase playbook for scaling from zero to $100K per month on TikTok Shop, reveals why big brands like Estée Lauder are struggling to adapt, and shares the underground strategies that are creating millionaire creators overnight.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introducting Jordan West

(05:18) The Exponential Growth of TikTok Shops

(10:48) Understanding the TikTok Shops Ecosystem

(14:12) The Power of Social Search

(16:16) Understanding Social Commerce

(19:34) Misconceptions about TikTok Shops

(24:33) The 80/20 Rule for Viral Content

(26:16) Best Practices

(31:36) Making It From Zero to Viral

(33:20) The Tiktok Shop Playbook: Phase One

(38:18) The Tiktok Shop Playbook: Phase Two

(42:44) The Tiktok Shop Playbook: Phase Three

(46:21) Exploring YouTube’s Potential in Social Commerce

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Jordan’s LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

What does it take to build a skincare brand that not only survives but thrives for over two decades in one of the most competitive markets? In this powerful episode, Stefan Kalu, CEO and owner of Dr. Brandt Skincare, shares the remarkable journey of how a dermatologist's vision became a $100M+ beauty empire that pioneered the "doctor skincare" category. From surviving the tragic loss of their founder to navigating COVID-19 and a complete brand revamp, Stefan reveals the strategies, mindset, and bold decisions that kept Dr. Brandt at the forefront of innovation while staying true to their core mission: "Take the doctor home with you."

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction to Dr. Brandt Skincare

(03:27) The Unique Aspect of Dr. Brandt Products

(07:10) Notes on Product Positioning

(09:31) Balancing Clinical Authority and Accesibility

(12:21) Longevity and Staying Relevant in the Skincare Market

(16:16) Strategies for Customer Retention and Loyalty Programs

(21:21) Innovative Research and Development Practices

(26:55) Attracting Customers & Storytelling in Marketing

(30:59) Stephane’s Journey to CEO

(36:14) Mental Health Advocacy and The Dr. Brandt Foundation

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Stephane’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanecolleu/
Dr Brandt’s Website: https://www.drbrandtskincare.com/

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

When most brands struggle to break through the noise online, Chris Lang and Fresh Chili Company cracked the code by doing something radically different: they started with story, not sales. In this episode, discover how a small New Mexico chili company became a top 1% Shopify store with explosive 85% year-over-year growth, a 4.96% conversion rate, and 3.74% ROAS—all while building an engaged community that devours their content faster than NBA games get views.

Chris reveals the exact strategies behind their meteoric rise, from leveraging organic social as a testing ground for paid ads to creating "addictive" content that turns customers into brand evangelists. This isn't another generic growth story—it's a masterclass in building authentic connections that drive real business results.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction to Fresh Chile Company

(02:30) History of The Chili Capital of the World

(07:03) Keys to Success: Storytelling & Community

(11:20) Balancing Organic and Paid Strategies

(16:57) Creative Content & Testing Philosophy

(21:47) Building a Brand Story

(24:22) Search Visibility

(27:46) SEO Strategies & Content Plans

(34:20) How Fresh Chile Builds Community

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Chris’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislangsocial/
Fresh Chile Website: https://freshchileco.com/

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Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

Russell Breuer, founder of Spot & Tango, shares the remarkable journey of building a $100+ million pet food company from a New York studio apartment in just seven years. What makes this story even more impressive? They've remained profitable while operating as a subscription-only, direct-to-consumer brand in the competitive pet food space. Russell reveals the strategic decisions that set them apart—from their innovative "Unkibble" fresh-dry process to building their own 70,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. This conversation is packed with actionable insights on vertical integration, subscription model optimization, and performance marketing excellence.

This episode is essential listening for any D2C founder looking to build sustainable, profitable growth while maintaining premium positioning in their market.

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Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introducing Spot & Tango: The Value Proposition of Fresh Pet Food

(06:15) The Importance of Vertical Integration

(11:56) Subscription-Only Model: A Strategic Choice

(15:52) Key Lessons for Increasing Conversion Rates

(19:03) The Role of Education in Customer Engagement & Relationships

(23:09) Understanding Return on Invested Capital

(28:58) Growth Levers & Marketing Strategies

(32:29) The Role of AI in Performance Marketing

(35:05) What’s Next for Spot & Tango

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Russell’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-breuer-0b3b57
Spot & Tango Website: https://spotandtango.com/

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Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

What happens when you build a company specifically to sell it—and then execute that plan?

Liz Saunders went from running registration at Seller Summit to delivering the closing keynote, all while building Fluencer Fruit, the Chrome extension that helps Amazon Influencer creators optimize their content strategy. In this powerful episode, Liz reveals her entire exit playbook, from reading "Exit Preneur" before she even started building to keeping GAAP-compliant books from day one. But this isn't just an acquisition story—it's a masterclass in understanding the Amazon Influencer ecosystem, where creators earn 1-4% commissions and brands are discovering that video converts better than text, and UGC converts better than brand videos.

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Re-Introducing Liz Saunders

(03:30) The Journey of Fluencer Fruit

(07:20) Amazon Influencer Program Insights

(10:09) Shifts in Influencer Marketing

(13:35) Brand Strategies for Influencer Engagement

(19:05) Multi-Channel Selling

(21:31) Building and Selling Fluencer Fruit

(28:03) Insights from the Sales Process

(32:05) Future Endeavors

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Liz’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-saunders
Fluencer Fruit: https://fluencerfruit.com/

_

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

Think SEO is dead in the age of AI? Think again. While ChatGPT referral traffic surged 112% month-over-month across e-commerce sites, Google still commands 99% of search market share and processes 13.6 billion queries daily. Jeff Oxford, SEO expert and founder of 180 Marketing, reveals why smart brands are doubling down on search optimization—and how the strategies that work for Google are also positioning companies to dominate in AI search results. From his data analysis of 152 SEO campaigns showing consistent 75% traffic growth, to the "ranking factor leak" that exposed Google's true algorithm priorities, Jeff breaks down the exact 4-bucket framework that's still generating millions in revenue for e-commerce brands.

Key Topics & Lessons:

The State of Search in 2025 - Why Google's 13.6 billion daily queries represent a 64% increase from 2024, how ChatGPT traffic grew 112% month-over-month (but still represents only 1-3% of total traffic), and why the "Google is dead" narrative is premature despite real AI disruption
The 4-Bucket SEO Framework - Jeff's systematic approach covering Technical SEO (mostly handled by Shopify), Page Optimization (title tags, meta descriptions, headers), Content Strategy (200-300 words on category pages), and Link Building (the 0.3 correlation factor that still dominates rankings)
What Really Moves the Needle - Data from 152 campaigns showing 20% growth at 3 months, 50% at 6 months, and 75% at 12 months, plus insights from Google's leaked ranking documents revealing click-through rate as a massive ranking factor
The Great Blog Apocalypse of 2023 - Why standalone content sites lost 90% of their traffic while e-commerce stores with blogs thrived, how Google's "helpful content" update rewarded real businesses over affiliate spam, and Jeff's theory about Google My Business as a ranking signal
AI SEO Optimization Strategy - How to reverse-engineer ChatGPT sources to identify link targets, why product roundups have a 0.45 correlation with AI citations (higher than traditional backlinks), and the overlap between traditional SEO and AI optimization
The Future of Automated SEO - Jeff's experiment building a fully autonomous AI agency with zero human account managers, AI tools that can screenshot pages and generate optimized title tags, and how Gemini 2.5 Pro is changing the automation game

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) The Relevance of SEO in the Age of AI

(12:38) The 4 Components of SEO

(16:19) What Is the Payoff for SEO?

(20:22) Breaking Down Technical SEO

(23:43) On-Page SEO and Meta Descriptions

(25:58) Content Optimization Strategies

(33:27) Link Building

(38:30) AI and SEO: The Future of Search

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Jeff’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-oxford
180 Marketing: https://www.180marketing.com/

_

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more

I had fellow agency owner JC Hite join me on the pod to discuss some really important topics. Namely, is it possible to scale with stability - which for JC means scaling your business while prioritizing, family, faith and personal relationships.

Here’s a look at what we discussed:

Key Takeaways

The "Video of Awesomeness" Hiring Hack - JC's simple 15-minute interview addition that reveals more about candidates than traditional methods, including real examples of applicants who wrote songs about his company
Overseas Talent Strategy Mistake Most Make - Why the "how cheap can I hire" mindset kills results, and JC's approach to paying international talent competitively to get world-class team members
The 5 Love Languages for Workplace Retention - How applying Gary Chapman's principles in business dramatically improves team satisfaction and reduces turnover (especially crucial for the next generation workforce)
Building a "Bench" Like Sports Teams - JC's systematic approach to always having pre-approved candidates ready, eliminating the panic of unexpected departures and empowering leaders to make tough decisions
Mentorship Through Fear, Not Ego - How JC built relationships with icons like John Maxwell, Damon John, and Dr. Gary Chapman by being honest about his fears and willing to invest in proximity to wisdom

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

In this episode, Brett sits down with Andrew Faris, CEO of AJF Growth and host of the Andrew Faris Podcast, to break down the critical elements of P&L design that separate ecomm brands that are dead on arrival vs. those who thrive. Andrew shares his hard-won insights from holding nearly every seat in the e-commerce ecosystem, including his experience running an aggregator "into the ground" and the valuable lessons learned along the way.

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Join Us in NYC at Our Exclusive YouTube Event!

(01:08) Introducing Andrew Faris & His eCommerce Journey

(07:06) The Current State of eCommerce

(13:16) The Influence of Moneyball by Michael Lewis in Marketing

(19:29) Understanding P&L in eCommerce Success

(23:34) Understanding Your Profit Goals & OMG Commerce’s Case

(29:35) How to Structure Your P&L as an eCommerce Brand

(34:48) Optimizing Operational Expenses

(34:56) CAC and Cost of Delivery

(39:33) Channel Strategy and Product Margin Fit

(42:51) Forecasting and Adjusting Business Strategy

(49:50) Resources & Closing Thoughts

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Andrew’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-faris-980b84108
AJF Growth: https://ajfgrowth.com/
Andrew’s Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ssrhISeeGHgCLpzZgrxuJ
Moneyball by Michael Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/Moneyball-Art-Winning-Unfair-Game/dp/0393324818

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

Our CEO Brett Curry sits with Jim Kennemer in this latest episode. Jim knows his stuff when it comes to tariffs, supply chain management and sourcing anything outside of China. Brett wanted to bring Jim on the pod to break down the opportunities and considerations of sourcing from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Mexico, sharing real examples of how brands like Columbia Sportswear and Converse have legally engineered their products to slash tariff costs. From understanding country of origin rules to leveraging bonded warehouses for cash flow management, this conversation is packed with actionable insights for any brand looking to optimize their supply chain in today's volatile trade environment.

Key Takeaways

The DDP trap that could destroy your business – Why "delivered duty paid" arrangements are legal but dangerous when suppliers falsify invoices (and why you're still liable even if it's their mistake)
Tariff engineering strategies – How adding a simple pocket or felt liner can reclassify your products for lower tariff rates, plus when this optimization makes sense vs. when it backfires
Vietnam vs. other manufacturing hubs – Where Vietnam excels (textiles, wood goods, furniture), what to expect for pricing and quality, and why MOQs are higher than China
De minimis rules and bonded warehouses – How the $800 shipment exemption still works (except for China), and when custom bonded warehouses can turn a 30% tariff hit into manageable cash flow
Country of origin compliance – The "substantial transformation" rule, why trans-shipment will get you caught with 50% more audits happening, and how to properly document manufacturing

Whether you're considering your first move away from China or optimizing an existing diversified supply chain, this episode provides the roadmap to do it right without the costly compliance mistakes that are tripping up other brands.

In this episode of the Ecommerce Evolution Podcast, host Brett Curry welcomes Mickey Winter (CEO) and Carrie Weidenbach (COO) of Aysnd, a digital agency specializing in purpose-driven ecommerce brands. As industry veterans with decades of combined experience, they share invaluable insights on maintaining brand mission during economic uncertainty, particularly amid recent tariff challenges. This conversation delivers practical strategies for navigating market pressures while staying true to your brand's core values and purpose.

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introducing Carrie & Mickey

(02:22) Navigating Tariff Chaos and Supply Chain Diversification

(04:19) Defining Purpose-Driven Brands

(06:29) Pricing & Profitability in Uncertain Times

(12:25) Carrie & Mickey’s Background

(16:50) The Conscious Commerce Maturity Matrix & Level One, Awareness

(22:29) Level Two, Scaling

(27:06) Level Three, Optimizing

(32:38) Level Four, Leading

(36:15) Level Five, Pioneering

(39:38) Staying Mission-Driven in Uncertain Times

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

AYSND: https://www.aysnd.com/
Mickey’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeywinter
Carrie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-weidenbach-a5272aa
BOOM! Beauty: https://boombeauty.com/
Patagonia: https://www.patagonia.com/home/
AB InBev: https://www.ab-inbev.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more

In this episode of the E-commerce Evolution Podcast, host Brett Curry sits down with with award-winning entrepreneur Leah Garcia (https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-garcia-592988/), founder of Nulastin (https://nulastin.com/).

Leah has a remarkable journey building a beauty brand with shocking retention numbers—80% blended returning revenue and 65% subscription-based customers. From her bootstrapped beginnings (going from zero to $17.5M before hiring her first employee!) to developing bio-designed elastin products that deliver real results, Leah unpacks the strategies that have made her company a standout success even in uncertain economic times.

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introducing Leah Garcia

(02:54) Nulastin’s Mission and Core Products

(07:19) How to Achieve High Retention Rates

(12:59) Removing Friction in the Shopping Experience

(19:33) Optimizing Subscription Models

(25:50) Knowing Your Customers & Fostering Connections

(30:50) Improvements to Reduce Churn

(37:08) Direct Response Marketing Insights

(41:42) Navigating Uncertainty in Business

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Nulastin: https://nulastin.com
Leah’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/leah-garcia-592988
Leah’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahgarciatv/
Heart & Soil Beef Organics: https://heartandsoil.co/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more

In this insightful episode of the E-commerce Evolution Podcast, host Brett Curry sits down with Tom Leonard (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasbleonard), a fractional marketing leader who specializes in operationalizing Media Mix Modeling and incrementality testing. They dive deep into the often confusing world of marketing measurement. Tom and Brett will debunk myths about attribution and we reveal what truly drives customer acquisition.

For ecommerce brands struggling to understand where their marketing dollars are actually working, this conversation offers practical insights on how to move beyond misleading platform metrics.

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introducing Tom & Marketing Measurement

(06:30) Understanding Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA)

(12:22) The Case for Incrementality Testing

(22:20) Exploring Media Mix Modeling (MMM)

(27:30) Navigating Budget Cuts and Marketing Spend

(32:17) Understanding Incrementality Vs. Attribution

(35:45) The Importance of Cost Per Incremental

(40:16) How to Get Started with MMM

(44:09) Final Thoughts

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

Relevant Links:

Tom’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasbleonard

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more

In this insightful episode of the E-commerce Evolution Podcast, host Brett Curry sits down with Jhana Li (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhana-li), founder of Spyglass Ops, to tackle one of the biggest challenges holding back growing businesses: operational constraints. While many entrepreneurs excel at product development and marketing, they often hit a ceiling when it comes to building operational systems and processes. Jhana shares her expertise as a transformational operations consultant who has helped hundreds of seven and eight-figure businesses scale by creating systems that allow founders to work on their business rather than in it.

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introducing Jhana & SpyGlass Ops

(04:21) Common Operational Problems Founders Face

(07:52) Developing a Strategic Vision to Break Through Bottlenecks

(14:39) Setting Yourself Apart From Competitors

(17:52) Vision Alignment With Your Team

(20:51) Hiring and Onboarding the Right People

(32:31) Structuring An Effective Hiring Process

(40:28) Coaching a High-Performing Team

(46:04) When To Let Underperformers Go

(50:43) Final Thoughts

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more

In this timely episode, Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry) sits down with Nick Flint (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-flint-b46063b3/), Director of Email Marketing, to tackle the pressing challenge facing e-commerce brands today: how to maintain profitability amid rising tariffs. As import costs surge, they share actionable strategies for protecting your bottom line without sacrificing growth. Whether you’re considering price increases, optimizing marketing spend, or leveraging email to boost customer loyalty, this episode delivers practical solutions you can implement immediately.

—

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

—

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:28) Increasing Profitability in the Current Landscape

(04:30) Strategies for Princing and Bundling

(06:32) Effective Cost-Cutting Measures

(11:51) Maximizing Email Marketing Effectiveness

(15:06) Final Thoughts

—

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more

This is a recent recording from my appearance on Jordan West's podcast. There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the incrementally of YouTube after Haus Analytics revealed a groundbreaking report from 190 incrementally tests involving YouTube (link: https://www.haus.io/blog/do-youtube-ads-perform-lessons-from-190-incrementality-tests).

On this episode I share eye-opening case studies demonstrating how YouTube drives significant incremental growth - even when traditional attribution models fail to capture it. If you've been skeptical about YouTube's effectiveness or struggled to measure its impact, this conversation reveals why it might be the missing piece in your marketing strategy and how to approach it correctly.

Key Takeaways:

-Beyond Last-Click Attribution: Discover why obsessing over ROAS metrics can be misleading, and how YouTube drives significant business impact that often isn't captured in traditional attribution models but shows up dramatically in incrementality testing.

-The Real-World Proof: Brett shares compelling case studies, including a brand that saw Amazon sales cut in half when YouTube ads were paused, and another that achieved a 12-25% lift in Walmart store sales through targeted YouTube campaigns.

-The Anatomy of High-Converting YouTube Ads: Learn the essential elements of effective YouTube ads, including how to craft the perfect hook in the first 5 seconds, the importance of standard and "over-the-top" product demonstrations, and why 45-90 second videos often outperform shorter cuts.

-Production Value Matters: Unlike TikTok, YouTube requires slightly higher production quality (though not Super Bowl commercial level) - Brett explains the right balance and why combining polished footage with authentic UGC can be particularly powerful.

-Testing & Measurement Strategies: Get practical advice on how to properly measure YouTube's impact through geo tests, holdouts, search lift studies, and why tracking your overall MER (Media Efficiency Ratio) might be the simplest yet most effective approach.

Molly Pittman is a bit of a legend in the digital marketing space. Bartender turned marketing intern for Ryan Deiss, turned VP of Marketing for Digital Marketer, turned entrepreneur - Molly's story is an inspiring one. And she flat out knows her stuff!

In this episode, we dig into some real gems. We go pretty deep on what's working now on Facebook, but we also talk about the benefits of building an in-house team vs. the benefits of an agency. We discuss entrepreneurial lessons and what life is like in Amsterdam (where Molly currently lives).

Here's a look at what we cover:

Why being fluid might be the most important entrepreneurial trait...and why it's important for digital marketers
Why curiosity and fascination are crucial in our current marketing landscape
What CBO is and how it's impacting Molly's Facebook ad campaigns and what you should do about it
What the 3 facets of Facebook's new Quality Ranking are and how to optimize your ads
How low quality rankings can dramatically drive up costs or get your ads shut down
Plus more

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, I welcome back Chris Mercer (co-founder of MeasureU) to discuss how e-commerce store owners can transform their approach to data and understanding customer behavior. We dive deep into Microsoft Clarity, a powerful free tool that helps visualize how users interact with your website, and explore how AI can be leveraged strategically to enhance measurement and business operations. This conversation is packed with actionable insights that can help you understand what's really happening on your website and how to make data-driven decisions that boost conversions.

Key Takeaways:

Microsoft Clarity: The Visual Analytics Game-Changer - Discover how this free tool provides heat maps, scroll tracking, and screen recordings that help you see your website through your customers' eyes. Learn how its built-in AI can analyze patterns across numerous user sessions to identify friction points you might otherwise miss.
The Measurement Mindset Shift - Understand why e-commerce measurement is really about "listening" to the customer side of the digital conversation. Mercer explains why you should focus on behavior patterns rather than just conversion metrics, and how to set up proper expectations before analyzing data.
From Data to Action - Learn the three-step framework for effective measurement: 1) Plan what questions you want to answer, 2) Gather the right information, and 3) Decide in advance what actions you'll take based on different potential outcomes.
Strategic AI Implementation - Discover Mercer's revolutionary approach to using AI effectively. Rather than telling AI "how" to do something, learn to focus on communicating the desired result and letting AI determine the optimal path to get there.
UTM Parameters and Traffic Identification - Find out why properly tagging your traffic sources is critical for understanding which marketing efforts are working and how to optimize them for better performance.

In this eye-opening episode, legendary Amazon expert Kevin King reveals game-changing insights about how Amazon's search and ranking systems really work. From the little-known concept of GeoRank to Amazon's powerful AI engine Cosmo, Kevin shares insider knowledge that every Amazon seller needs to understand to stay competitive in 2024 and beyond.

Key topics covered:

The truth about Amazon's GeoRank system and why your products might rank differently across regions – plus actionable strategies to influence your rankings in specific geographic areas.
How Amazon's Cosmo AI analyzes your listings, images, and customer feedback to determine visibility – and why you need to start "selling to the AI," not just optimizing for keywords.
Why the future of Amazon search is shifting from keywords to intent-based shopping, and how tools like Rufus are changing the way customers discover products.
Fascinating insights into Amazon's incredible data collection and how it's shaping the future of personalized shopping experiences.
Advanced marketing strategies combining AI with custom audiences and personalization that are generating "ridiculous conversion rates.’

Whether you're doing $100K or $100M on Amazon, this conversation with one of the most knowledgeable figures in the Amazon space will transform how you think about optimization and marketing on the platform.

In this tactical episode, OMG Commerce's Email Director Nick Flint reveals game-changing strategies to maximize what should be your most profitable customer acquisition and retention channel. With rising costs across advertising, shipping, and operations, Nick shares how leading brands are using email and SMS marketing to protect and grow their margins in 2025. Whether you're doing $2M or $50M in revenue, these practical insights will help you unlock more revenue from your existing customer base.

Key takeaways:

Why getting organized across marketing channels is critical for scale – and the simple tools Nick recommends to coordinate email, SMS, social, and paid media for maximum impact
How to design "bigger A/B tests" that drive real insights (including one test that recently doubled campaign revenue for a client)
The counterintuitive reason why adding friction to your email-to-purchase journey could significantly boost conversions
Why SMS is becoming increasingly crucial as email deliverability tightens, and the exact tactics to build your SMS list without annoying customers

Plus, Nick shares his unconventional "cat keyboard" subject line test that generated unprecedented engagement for a pet brand. Don't miss the bonus segments on advanced segmentation strategies and mobile-first optimization techniques that could unlock hidden revenue in your business.

In this fascinating episode, beauty industry veteran Carey Grange shares invaluable insights from her journey building major brands like Proactiv, Murad, and numerous other successful beauty and wellness companies. From the early days of infomercials to today's digital landscape, Carey reveals how the fundamental principles of effective performance marketing remain unchanged—and how modern brands can leverage these principles to drive growth across multiple channels while building lasting brand value.

Key Topics Covered:

The essential elements of successful performance marketing campaigns, including authentic founder stories, compelling transformation narratives, and the critical role of social proof—and why these elements are more relevant than ever in today's digital landscape.
Why channel strategy matters: How Murad used infomercials to become the #1 clinical skincare brand in Sephora and Ulta, and what this teaches us about modern omnichannel growth.
The truth about value creation: Why discounting isn't necessary and how to build real value propositions that resonate with customers and protect your brand.
The importance of constant testing and innovation: Why successful brands allocate 10-20% of their budget to experimental marketing, and how this "slush fund" approach drives long-term growth.

This episode is packed with actionable insights for any brand looking to scale through performance marketing while building lasting brand value in today's competitive landscape.

Learn the secrets behind securing free press coverage for eCommerce brands. Contrary to popular belief, free PR isn’t reserved only for companies that hire expensive PR agencies. Whether you're launching a new product or looking to boost your brand's visibility, this episode is packed with actionable insights that could make all of your other marketing efforts better.

Key topics covered:

The CPR (Credibility, Point of View, Relevance) method: A foolproof framework for crafting compelling pitches that grab journalists' attention.
How to approach gift guide pitches and maximize your chances of inclusion in coveted holiday roundups.
Strategies for leveraging product launches and press releases to create buzz and secure media coverage.
Tips for building and nurturing relationships with journalists, including how to use email tracking and follow-up techniques.
Cost-effective tools and resources for managing your own PR efforts, even without prior experience or agency support.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how you can take control of your brand's narrative and secure valuable media coverage without breaking the bank. Gloria's practical advice and insider tips will empower you to become your brand's best advocate and unlock the untapped potential of PR for your eCommerce brand.

In this data-packed episode, Brett Curry and the OMG Commerce team break down the most successful strategies from Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2024. From optimal discount levels to timing strategies, the team shares real insights from hundreds of millions in tracked revenue across Amazon, DTC, and email channels. If you're already planning for next year's holiday season (and you should be), this episode delivers actionable insights you won't want to miss.

Key Takeaways:

The "sweet spot" for discounts: Amazon sellers saw the best results at 25%+ off, while DTC brands found their optimal range between 15-25% - unless going big at 50%+ (with surprising data about why the middle ground underperforms).
Why individual product discounts outperformed site-wide sales across multiple channels, with specific insights about how this impacts Google Shopping ads and conversion rates.
The shift to "Cyber 12" - Why the seven days before Black Friday actually outperformed the traditional Cyber 5 period on Amazon, and how to adapt your 2025 strategy accordingly.
Critical timing insights for email marketing - Why the ninth email often outperformed earlier messages, and how follow-up campaigns frequently beat initial launches.

The combination of broad trends and specific tactical insights makes this a valuable episode for any eCommerce brand looking to improve their holiday season performance in 2025!

In this milestone 300th episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, I've distilled the most impactful insights from recent top-performing episodes to help you prepare for eComm success in 2025. From AI marketing innovations to viral content secrets and customer psychology insights, these carefully selected takeaways represent the cutting edge of eCommerce strategy. This special edition delivers concentrated wisdom from industry leaders to help you stay ahead of the competition.

Key Highlights:

Why "out-of-the-box" AI is dead and how to create custom AI marketing hubs that deliver real results for your business.
The truth about UGC in 2025: It's not dead, but the bar has been raised - learn what actually works now.
Surprising insights about customer purchase timing: Why 60% of buyers take longer than a week to make their first purchase, and what this means for your marketing strategy.
How Simple Modern built a half-billion-dollar brand on Amazon, and their replicable formula for category dominance.
The "infomercial math" principle that's changing how successful brands approach omnichannel measurement and attribution.

When the pandemic left Garrett Goslin without his sommelier job, he turned his passion for pickleball into an innovative paddle company. Alongside childhood friend Kyle Goguen, CRBN Pickleball has emerged as a leading premium brand in one of America's fastest-growing sports. Their journey offers valuable lessons for any brand looking to build authentic community and stand out in a competitive market.

Key Takeaways:

Product Innovation & Customer Feedback: Learn how CRBN maintains its competitive edge by leveraging multiple feedback loops - from pro athletes to local ambassadors - and investing heavily in R&D to stay ahead of larger competitors.
Building a Multi-Channel Brand: Discover their strategic approach to building a premium brand across direct-to-consumer, Amazon, and retail channels while maintaining consistent positioning and storytelling.
Community-First Growth: Explore how CRBN built a powerful ambassador program without spending big marketing dollars, and why their grassroots approach helped them compete against established sporting goods brands.
Founder Authenticity: See why sharing the founder's story - even when uncomfortable - has become a key differentiator in their marketing strategy and helped forge deeper connections with customers.

The episode provides a masterclass in building a premium brand through community engagement, product innovation, and authentic storytelling.

No one is better suited to serve as an Amazon Ads evangelist than my friend, Jeff Cohen.

Jeff is a founding member of Seller Labs and has been keynoting, exhibiting, and attending Amazon events for the last decade. If you've been to an Amazon event, you've probably seen him! Now he's serving as the official Amazon Ads Tech Evangelist.

I wanted Jeff to join the podcast to talk about what's new and trending with Amazon Ads. This is important information even if you're not selling on Amazon. Amazon is now the 3rd largest digital ad platform behind Google and Facebook, and it's growing rapidly.

Here's a look at what we cover:

How vertical videos are improving shopping experiences and making ad performance better.
What the new integration with Facebook means for shoppers.
How Sponsored TV ads are democratizing TV advertising and utilizing Amazon's rich buyer signals.
Prime Video Ads and what they could mean for your brand (and when to consider running them).
Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC): what it is, and how and when to use it to unlock new actionable insights about your business and advertising effectiveness.
Plus more!

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, we dive deep into the results of Amazon's Fall Prime Day 2024. Amazon experts Christine Shiloni and Jonathan Finkes unpack valuable insights, compare performance to previous events, and provide a strategic outlook for the upcoming holiday shopping season. Whether you're an established Amazon seller or just getting started, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you maximize your Q4 sales.

Key topics discussed:

Fall Prime Day performance: A 57% average increase in sales compared to last year, with some brands seeing up to 300% growth.
The impact of inflation on consumer behavior and pricing strategies
How to leverage different types of Amazon deals (Lightning Deals, Prime Exclusives and coupons) for maximum visibility and sales.
Strategies for navigating the condensed holiday shopping season, with five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.
Critical dates and preparation tips for inventory management, including considerations for Chinese New Year's impact on supply chains.

In this illuminating episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, I sit down with AI marketing expert Russ Henneberry to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in eCommerce. Russ shares invaluable insights on how we can leverage AI as a powerhouse marketing tool by creating customized AI marketing hubs. This episode is a must-listen for any eCommerce professional looking to stay ahead of the curve and harness AI's capabilities to drive business growth.

Key topics covered:

The concept of "AI marketing hubs" and how to build them using tools like Claude and ChatGPT.
Strategies for fine-tuning AI models with your business data to dramatically improve outputs.
The three key AI roles in marketing: Scribe (content creation), Optimizer (asset evaluation), and Strategist (big picture planning).
Tips for crafting more effective AI prompts using the RTIF (Role, Task, Input, Format) framework.
The future of AI in marketing, including predictions on how major tech companies will shape the landscape.

Tune in to discover how you can take your AI marketing game to the next level and turn generic AI outputs into tailored, high-impact marketing assets for your eCommerce business.

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, Brett Curry is joined by Michael Epstein to discuss the resurgence of direct mail as a powerful tool for eCommerce growth

They explore how direct mail is driving retention, building customer loyalty, and even serving as a successful acquisition strategy when used effectively. Throughout, Michael debunks common misconceptions about direct mail—highlighting its effectiveness when paired with data-driven targeting and other marketing channels.

Here are some key takeaways from the episode:

Direct mail for retention & loyalty: Learn how direct mail can enhance customer retention and build long-term loyalty, especially in today’s crowded digital landscape.
Direct mail as an acquisition channel: Often overlooked, direct mail can be a highly effective cold acquisition strategy—if you target the right audience.
The power of data in direct mail campaigns: By leveraging aggregated data, you can identify high-propensity buyers, refine your targeting, and even create lookalike audiences to improve relevance and engagement.
Standing out in the inbox: Direct mail not only adds legitimacy to your brand but also captures attention in ways digital ads often can't.

If you're looking to scale your brand—whether through retention, loyalty, or acquisition—this episode provides actionable insights into how direct mail could be the missing piece in your marketing puzzle.

In this episode, I sit down with Molly Pittman, CEO of Smart Marketer, to dissect the latest trends in eCommerce marketing. Drawing from her groundbreaking $600 million study in Facebook ad spend, Molly shares invaluable insights on crafting compelling offers, creating high-performing ad creatives, and optimizing landing pages for maximum conversions. This episode is packed with actionable strategies to help eCommerce brands scale in today's competitive landscape.

Key topics discussed:

-The importance of diversifying your offer system to reach different segments of your market and scale beyond traditional eCommerce tactics.

-Surprising findings on the effectiveness of image ads vs. video ads, and how to balance "native" vs. polished ad creatives.

-The critical role of benefit-focused hooks in ad performance, with 88% of top-performing ads featuring clear hooks.

-Strategies for streamlining landing pages and focusing on the most impactful messages to drive conversions.

-How to build a data-driven creative production system that starts with customer insights rather than templates.

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, I sit down with Dean Brennan, CEO of Heart and Soil Supplements, to unpack the meteoric rise of this innovative health brand. From zero to $50 million in just three years, Heart and Soil has disrupted the supplement industry with its focus on nutrient-dense organ meats and regenerative farming practices. Dean shares invaluable insights on building a brand with passionate customers and maintaining profitability during rapid growth.

Key topics discussed:

• The power of organic growth and building an engaged audience before launch.

• How premium packaging and high-quality ingredients can actually protect profit margins.

• Strategies for creating compelling content that inspires and guides customers.

• Structuring your week as a CEO to balance deep work and management responsibilities.

• The importance of psychological barriers in health transformations and plans to build an ecosystem similar to Dave Ramsey's approach to personal finance.

This episode is packed with actionable advice for eCommerce entrepreneurs looking to build a brand with 'staying power' in today's competitive landscape. Whether you're just starting out or scaling rapidly, Dean's journey with Heart and Soil offers valuable lessons for sustainable growth.

In this fast-paced episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, I sit down with Neil Twa, co-founder and CEO of Voltage, to discuss the future of Amazon selling. Neil, a brand owner, investor, and podcaster himself, shares invaluable insights on how to navigate the evolving Amazon landscape in 2024 and beyond. From AI-driven changes to brand-building strategies, this episode is packed with actionable advice for sellers looking to stay ahead of the curve.

Key topics covered:

The impact of AI on Amazon's search algorithm, including the upcoming Cosmo engine and how it will revolutionize product discovery
Amazon SEO strategies for 2024, focusing on optimizing images, titles, and overall listing quality
The importance of building a true brand on Amazon, moving beyond just being a seller
Strategies for profitable growth, including Neil's 20% EBITDA target and minimum $12 net profit per unit rule
The future of Amazon selling, including the potential need for design or utility patents to defend against competition

Whether you're a seasoned Amazon seller or just starting out, this episode provides critical insights to help you thrive in the ever-changing world of e-commerce. Don't miss Neil's expert advice on building a sustainable and profitable Amazon business in 2024 and beyond.

Dive deep into the minds of online shoppers with Jon MacDonald, founder and CEO of The Good, as he unpacks the psychological forces that shape e-commerce behavior. In this episode, Jon and I explore key insights from his new book, Behind the Click, offering actionable strategies for e-commerce brands to enhance their digital customer experience and boost conversions.

Key topics discussed:

Understanding the two types of online shoppers: 'satisficers' vs. 'maximizers,' and how to cater to both
The critical questions customers ask themselves before making a purchase, including 'Does this company understand my problem?' and 'What does buying this product say about me?'
How to create an emotional appeal that makes customers feel like they already own your product
The importance of post-purchase communication and why asking for reviews too early can backfire
Real-world examples of successful e-commerce strategies, including Easton Baseball's 247% increase in online sales through a simple quiz

Whether you're a seasoned e-commerce professional or just starting out, this episode provides invaluable insights into creating a more engaging and conversion-friendly online shopping experience.

The best brands do things differently. Jimmy Kim has taken a unique approach to growing Sendlane from obscurity to becoming one of the fastest-growing ESPs on the market. As both a former brand owner and a current tech leader, Jimmy brings a fresh perspective to DTC. He explores what he refers to as the "retention revolution," the need to rethink email strategies, and the changing landscape of DTC.

Key topics explored:

-The critical distinction between marketing to prospects versus customers, and understanding when to “hammer” and when to “nurture.”

-Why sending more frequent emails can counterintuitively improve deliverability and engagement.

-The growing importance of financial literacy and data-driven decision-making in the DTC space, with examples of brands excelling in this area.

-How to effectively leverage click data as a powerful feedback loop for understanding customer preferences and refining your marketing messages. Most brands think they are utilizing click data, but they aren’t.

-The benefits of an omni-channel approach and why successful brands are expanding beyond pure DTC to include retail and marketplace presence.

In this episode, Ashly Knox from Henson Razors shares the unique story of how an aerospace machinist teamed up with digital marketers to build an 8-figure razor company.

Henson Razors defies typical eCommerce conventions by focusing on a single product, avoiding discounts, and obsessing over cash flow and core financial performance. Ashly discusses the key principles that have fueled Henson's impressive growth.

Key topics and lessons:

-How Henson Razors achieved 8-figure success by selling a single premium product with no discounts, subscriptions, or gimmicks.

-Why focusing relentlessly on making the first purchase profitable is critical for cash flow and sustainable growth.

-How Henson uses creative constraints and the power of saying no to stay laser-focused on what matters most.

-Mastering inventory management and the cash conversion cycle to steadily scale the business.

-Why manually tracking key metrics helps develop invaluable business intuition before automating reports.

-Doubling down on 1-2 acquisition channels that work rather than chasing every new trend

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, Eugenia Chen, founder of PandaLoon and CEO of Huxley Media Group, shares her secrets to creating viral content that can propel your brand to new heights. Discover the science behind crafting videos that captivate audiences, drive engagement, and boost your product's visibility across multiple platforms.

Key Takeaways:

-How PandaLoon drove 30 million organic views in just a week and 160 million organic views in the months that followed.

-Understanding the importance of emotional hooks and how to grab viewers' attention.

-Learning how to keep your audience engaged until the very end.

-Exploring the differences between popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, and how to optimize your content for each.

-Gaining insights into the power of organic content and how it can significantly impact your brand's success on platforms like Amazon.

-Discovering the benefits of appearing on Shark Tank and how to capitalize on the exposure to drive sales and establish credibility.

Tune in to hear Eugenia's incredible journey from math professor to successful entrepreneur, and learn how you can apply her proven strategies to create viral content that will skyrocket your brand's reach and engagement.

https://www.omgcommerce.com/youtube-la-event

You've heard that creative is KING.

In reality, it's probably King, Queen, and more.

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution podcast, I sit down with Dara Denny, a performance creative consultant who has worked with an impressive array of brands like Speedo, Laura Geller, Daily Harvest, and Condé Nast. Dara shares her wealth of knowledge on crafting ad creative that truly converts, diving into the importance of testing, iteration, and taking big swings. If you're looking to level up your ad creative game, this episode is a must-listen.

Key topics and lessons include:

-The power of specificity in ad creative, from calling out exact prices to reflecting customer age demographics

-Why UGC isn't dead, but some of it does suck, and how to garner UGC that works!

-How to strike a balance between data-driven iteration and taking big, bold creative swings

-Dara's creative testing methodology, including how to structure tests and identify winners

-Five ad formats that work, including feature-benefit callouts, "golden nugget" reviews, founder stories, statistics, and educational ads

https://www.omgcommerce.com/youtube-la-event

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, Tomer Hen, CEO and co-founder of Switch Supplements, shares his secrets to leveraging affiliate marketing and influencer relationships to drive explosive growth for your brand. Discover how Tomer took Switch Supplements from zero to $30K in recurring revenue in just eight weeks and how you can apply his strategies to your own business.

Key Takeaways:

-Learn how to identify and build authentic relationships with high-impact influencers in your niche.

-Discover the power of a non-transactional approach to influencer marketing and how it can lead to increased brand awareness, social proof, and sales.

-Understand the Amazon-TikTok flywheel and how to capitalize on the spillover effect to boost your rankings and revenue.

-Gain insights into turning your most passionate customers into a powerful army of affiliates and brand advocates.

-Get practical tips on how to start implementing an affiliate marketing strategy, even if you're starting from scratch.

Tune in to hear Tomer's inspiring story and actionable advice on how to harness the power of affiliate marketing to take your eCommerce brand to new heights.

https://www.omgcommerce.com/youtube-la-event

In this episode of the eCommerce Evolution Podcast, I sit down with Savannah Knight, one of OMG Commerce's top Google Ads specialists, to discuss the often divisive topic of Performance Max. Savannah shares her secrets to success and busts common myths surrounding this powerful campaign type, helping listeners turn their "meh" campaigns into true profit drivers.

Key topics and lessons covered in this episode:

-Understanding the traffic composition of your Performance Max campaigns is crucial for making informed optimization decisions.

-Utilizing best-performing creative assets and proper segmentation can significantly impact the success of your campaigns.

-Savannah shares real-world success stories and the strategies behind them, including how to effectively use Performance Max for new customer acquisition.

-Common mistakes to avoid when setting up and optimizing Performance Max campaigns, such as the "set it and forget it" approach and improper asset matching.

-Exciting upcoming features for Performance Max, like asset-level performance insights and the "Bid for Profits" option, and how they can revolutionize your Google Ads strategy.

Whether you're a Performance Max pro or just getting started, this episode is packed with actionable insights and expert advice to help you take your campaigns to the next level.

Profits are elusive right now for many sellers on Amazon. The game is getting harder, not easier.

That's why I brought on Matt Snyder, CEO and founder of Brands Excel, to discuss two powerful tools for your Amazon seller tool belt:

Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP)
Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)

Matt's diverse background made for a great interview. He spent six years with the Dallas Mavericks (and has a few great Mark Cuban stories). He then transitioned into eCommerce, working with Woot.com and eventually Amazon after they acquired Woot. Later, he joined Veridesk as the VP of online retail, where he helped grow the brand to a mid-eight-figure business on Amazon, primarily using Seller Fulfilled Prime.

In our conversation, we cover:

Understanding Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP): what it is, how it works, and when it's the right choice for your brand.
The benefits of SFP: increased flexibility, control over inventory, and potential cost savings compared to FBA.
Criteria for determining if SFP is a good fit for your products, such as high-value items, seasonal or unpredictable demand, and products with many variations.
The importance of having the right infrastructure and partnerships in place to meet Amazon's strict SFP requirements.
Leveraging Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) to gain deeper insights into advertising performance and customer journeys.
How AMC can help break down data silos and optimize ad spend across various channels, including Amazon DSP.
Real-world case studies showcasing the successful implementation of SFP and AMC strategies.
Lessons learned from working with Mark Cuban during Matt's time with the Dallas Mavericks, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and taking calculated risks.

I love disruptor stories, and Kevin Lavelle, the founder of Mizzen+Main (and now Harbor), has an overlooked but incredibly inspiring one.

Kevin revolutionized the men's dress shirt industry with performance fabrics. Under his leadership, Mizzen+Main grew from a great product idea into a company that has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shirts and is now available in 500-600 stores, including 10 Mizzen+Main stores.

Now, he's tackling a new challenge by creating a more secure and stress-reducing baby monitor solution with Harbor. His journey provides a blueprint for innovative product design and successful company building.

Here are a few key takeaways from the interview:

Kevin Lavelle shares his entrepreneurial journey of founding Mizzen+Main and the inspiration behind launching Harbor, an innovative baby monitor solution.
Discover how Mizzen+Main leveraged influencer marketing, including a highly successful sponsorship on the Tim Ferriss podcast, to scale the business rapidly.
Learn valuable lessons about building and managing teams, giving feedback, and recovering from mistakes as a first-time founder.
Harbor's unique approach to creating a more secure, reliable, and stress-reducing baby monitor system with remote night nanny services.
Understand the importance of building genuine relationships and providing value to your target audience when launching a new venture.

In this episode of the E-commerce Evolution Podcast, Brett Curry sits down with Emmett Kilduff, co-founder and CEO of the Fortia Group, to discuss the current M&A climate for e-commerce brands and how to prepare your business for a successful exit. Emmett shares his insights from 25 years of experience in the M&A space, offering valuable advice for entrepreneurs looking to maximize their brand's value.

Key topics and lessons discussed:

The current M&A climate for e-commerce brands and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on valuations
Understanding the three main types of buyers (strategics, private equity, and aggregators) and tailoring your exit strategy accordingly
The importance of focusing on bottom-line EBITDA margins and subscription-based revenue to increase your brand's attractiveness to potential buyers
Common red flags and discount factors that can negatively impact your brand's valuation, such as poor manufacturing facility scores and supply chain issues
The value of seeking mentorship and advice from experienced professionals who have successfully navigated the M&A process in your industry

Tune in to learn how you can prepare your e-commerce brand for a successful exit and maximize its value in the current M&A market.

We've all dreamed of quitting Amazon. And it's hard to argue with 800% growth in 4 years.

That's why I was so excited to sit down with Sean Reyes, founder of ShockSurplus.com. I wanted to discuss Sean's journey of growing his business by 800% in just four years, his decision to break up with Amazon despite it accounting for 70% of his revenue at the time, and the importance of thinking like a media company.

While most brands should NOT quit Amazon, some should. And his thoughts around margins and building content are valuable for all eComm brands.

Key topics and lessons from the episode:

-Sean's strategies for managing margins and advertising costs in a highly competitive environment with intense margin pressure.

-The value of creating authentic, informative content on YouTube to build trust and authority with customers.

-The decision to move away from Amazon due to high fees, lack of customer interaction, and increased competition on listings.

-The importance of thoroughly understanding sales tax nexus laws to avoid costly mistakes and legal issues.

-Sean's advice for eCommerce store owners looking to diversify their revenue streams and uncover new opportunities for growth.

Quotable moments from the episode:

"We've got to be more like a media company that sells parts rather than a parts company that does media. Because I always felt like once you have the experience of producing valuable content, you could direct it anywhere."

"You need to get behind the product, use it to drive proper recommendations, and create a customer experience that no one else can give."

Are you ready to make this year's Prime Day your biggest and most profitable yet on Amazon?

In this episode, Amazon experts Christine Shiloni and Jonathan Finkes join the podcast to share insider strategies and actionable tips to help you crush your Prime Day sales goals. From deal strategies to advertising tactics and inventory planning to post-Prime Day momentum, this episode covers everything you need to know to come out on top during Amazon's massive annual event.

Key topics and lessons include:

Understanding the different Prime Day deal types (Lightning Deals, Best Deals, Prime Exclusive Discounts, Coupons) and how to select the right ones for your products.
Aligning your discount strategy with your margins and inventory levels to maximize profitability.
Crafting an aggressive but targeted advertising approach for Prime Day, including budget pacing, placement focus, and bid adjustments.
Leveraging increased traffic post-Prime Day to gain new-to-brand customers and drive long-term growth.
Preparing for a successful Q4 by capitalizing on learnings from Prime Day and gearing up for October Prime Day and holiday sales.

I first heard Dave Kline speak at E-commerce Fuel Live in New Orleans a few months ago. It was an awesome event, and Dave's talk was a highlight for me.

Dave is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience working with teams at Bridgewater and Moody's. Dave shares his candid take on how to level up our leadership skills, spot great talent, hire the right managers, and build a team that drives business growth and success.

Key topics and lessons discussed:

-The importance of simplifying processes and avoiding unnecessary hiring by focusing on the most critical problems in your business.

-How do you identify the right roles to hire for and avoid compromising on character when bringing in new talent?

-The benefits and challenges of promoting from within versus hiring external candidates for management positions.

-Strategies for maintaining a flat, collaborative culture while introducing a management structure to support business growth.

-The significance of setting clear incentives and codifying cultural values to encourage desired behaviors and decision-making processes.

-Creating rituals and intentional moments for feedback and idea-sharing to counteract the potential drawbacks of a hierarchical structure.

-Balancing the measurement of managers' performance based on team output and the sustainability of the team they lead.

-Embracing the concept that being a good manager now requires leadership skills, such as being kind, direct, developmental, and coaching team members to reach their full potential.

Here are a few insightful quotes from the podcast:

"Leading is just being kind and direct. Leading is being developmental and coaching. Leading is helping people be better than they, maybe themselves, even believe they can be."

"People will cut a lot of corners for short-term gains, and you end up eroding the long-term sustainability of the team."

You probably know him from the YouTube ad that begins with "YouTube beats Facebook every time…"

‍

In this episode, I interview Aleric Heck, founder and CEO of Ad Outreach and KeywordSearch.com, to discuss how eCommerce businesses can leverage YouTube ads for growth.

‍

Key takeaways include:

Aleric's journey from creating a successful YouTube channel to becoming a YouTube ads expert, focusing on coaching and consulting businesses.
The importance of crafting compelling YouTube ad creatives using a "hook, educate, call-to-action" framework.
Leveraging YouTube's unique audience targeting capabilities, such as custom intent audiences based on search behavior and affinity audiences based on interests and URLs.
The power of Google's vast data in audience targeting and the potential for even more advanced targeting options in the future.
An introduction to Aleric's AI-powered tool, Keyword Search, which streamlines the process of finding the right keywords and creating custom audiences for YouTube ads

‍

Here are a few quotable nuggets from the podcast:

‍

"If you can give people an "aha" moment in the ad and actually provide them genuine value, they are far more likely to take action."

‍

"Google knows everything about everyone, essentially. And so I do think they're holding back on targeting somewhat to protect the user and to protect themselves."

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Jimmy Sansone (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-sansone-aa80b881/) about the founding story of The Normal Brand.

__

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

__

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction and Jimmy’s Background

(11:42) Early Days of The Normal Brand

(15:51) Working with Family

(22:09) Expansion Into Retail Stores

(25:03) Benefits of Having Your Own Stores

(32:25) Mistakes Made Along The Way

(34:46) Culture and Core Values

(39:34) Future Plans & Merchandising Strategy

(42:28) Outro

__

Show Notes:

Jimmy Sansone (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-sansone-aa80b881/

The Normal Brand (Website): https://thenormalbrand.com/

The Normal Brand (Instagram):https://www.instagram.com/thenormalbrand/

Patrick Lencioni (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lencioni-orghealth/

Working Genius: https://www.workinggenius.com/

Hudson Hawk: https://www.hudsonhawk.com/

Ryan Holiday: https://ryanholiday.net/

Supplement Superstore: https://supplementsuperstores.com/

1st Phorm: https://1stphorm.com/

__

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce

Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more.

__

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024
Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better Questions
Episode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford
Episode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube Ads
Episode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Jeremy Horowitz (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhorowitz1/) about the current state of eCommerce.

__

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

__

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(01:58) The State of eCommerce

(12:39) Constructing a Healthy P&L

(22:48) Would We Buy This Business?

(38:38) The Importance of Focusing on Core Customers

(43:29) LVMH: The Ultimate Luxury Company

(48:44) Outro

__

Links:

Jeremy Horowitz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhorowitz1/
Let’s Buy A Biz!: https://www.letsbuyabiz.xyz/

__

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more.

__

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024
Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better Questions
Episode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford
Episode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube Ads
Episode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Jeff Cohen from Amazon (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen/) about amazon ads news and trends.

__

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

__

Show Notes:

(00:00) Introduction

(07:54) Vertical Video for Sponsored Brand Video

(15:43) Amazon’s Facebook Integration

(19:27) Prime Video Ads and Sponsored TV

(31:33) Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)

(39:22) AI’s Role In Amazon Advertising

(42:15) The Importance of Your Feedback

(43:46) Outro

__

Links:

Jeff Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen/

__

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce
Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, Bryan Porter and more.

__

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024
Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better Questions
Episode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford
Episode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube Ads
Episode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Brayn Porter (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbryanporter/) about how to build a brand on Amazon.

__

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

__

Show Notes:

(00:00) Introduction

(04:11) Simple Modern’s Founding Story

(17:42) Demand Capture and Paid Ads

(24:40) Building A Brand On Amazon

(40:40) Transitioning To a 1P Seller on Amazon

(46:23) Outro

__

Links:

Kyle Fraughton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbryanporter/

Simple Modern: https://www.simplemodern.com/

__

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce

Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, and more.

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Other episodes you might enjoy:

Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024

Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better Questions

Episode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford

Episode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube Ads

Episode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks about the parallels between parenting and running a business.

__

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

__

Show Notes:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:12) Lesson 1 - Where All Making It Up As We Go

(06:58) Lesson 2 - You’re Never Really Ready

(09:19) Lesson 3 - Listen and Communicate Clearly In Multiple Ways

(12:17) Lesson 4 - Admit When You’re Wrong

(14:39) Lesson 5 - You Might Want A Coach

(19:39) Lesson 6 - Be All In

(22:52) Outro

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Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce

Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, and more.

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Other episodes you might enjoy:

Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024

Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better Questions

Episode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford

Episode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube Ads

Episode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Kyle Fraughton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylefraughton/) about ambassador programs and the power of UGC.

__

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

__

Show Notes:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:40) Kyle’s Background

(03:53) Authentic - The Word of the Year

(05:55) Is UGC Dead?

(10:51) The Digital Age Version of Word of Mouth

(13:32) Strategies To Facilitate Word of Mouth

(15:26) What Does A Good Ambassador Program Do?

(16:16) Influencer Program vs. Ambassador Program

(26:08) How To Set Up An Ambassador Program

(34:50) Ambassadors and Ads

(38:41) More About Get Roster

(43:06) Outro

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Links:

Kyle Fraughton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylefraughton/

Roster: https://www.getroster.com/

__

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce

Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, and more.

__

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024

Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better Questions

Episode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford

Episode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube Ads

Episode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Sean Frank (http://twitter.com/SeanEcom/) about what it takes to win as a DTC brand in 2024.

__

Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!

__

Show Notes:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:18) The Operators Podcast

(06:30) Ridge’s Background

(09:38) What To Expect For DTC Brands In 2024

(16:08) What Does It Take To Win In 2024

(25:13) What Channels Is Sean Most Excited For In 2024

(30:15) How To Grow Profitably

(38:52) Expanding Your Product Line

(43:44) Outro

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Links:

Sean Frank: http://twitter.com/SeanEcom/

Ridge: https://ridge.com/

The Operators Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/operators/id1684446059

__

Connect With Brett:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce

Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/

__

Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, and more.

__

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024
Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better Questions
Episode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston Rutherford
Episode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube Ads
Episode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

If Google isn’t within your top 2 channels for new customer acquisition - 2024 should be the year you change that.

In this episode, I interview Matt Slaymaker on the latest and greatest from Google.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

What are the best brands doing on Google that others aren’t?
What are the keys to a better, more productive relationship with your agency?
How has PMax evolved, and how can you fully leverage it?
What about Demand Gen - Google’s newest campaign type? Spoiler alert: it’s not great... yet. But we see potential.
How should we think about AI with Google ads?

So much has changed on Amazon since we started helping sellers on the platform in 2016 (I can’t believe we’ve been in the Amazon game for 8 years).

In this episode, I chat with Trenton Bodenbach, OMG Amazon Strategist.

We discuss some new potential game-changers on Amazon for 2024, strategy, and who’s winning and who’s not on the platform.

Here’s a quick look at a few of our topics:

1) Vertical Video for Sponsored Brand Video. Sponsored Brand Video is one of our favorite Amazon ad types. It’s usually in the top 2-3 most effective ad types for the brands we work with. Now, it supports vertical video. Likely, you have more vertical video than anything else. Now, you can use it on Amazon.

2) Shop on Facebook. Amazon controls this for now, but likely there’s more to come. This will allow shoppers on Facebook to buy products directly from Amazon without leaving the Facebook app.

3) Amazon’s continued growth and dominance and what it means.

4) Amazon storefronts, posts, and other tools for branding. We believe that building your BRAND on Amazon is the ultimate key to success. Not just selling stuff. And Amazon has more tools than ever to help you build your brand.

I love this episode.

Not just because my guest, Rabah Rahil, is a super smart dude with an eye for fashion.

I love it because we tackle two of the biggest issues facing brands, agencies, and developers in the DTC space:

How to think about and utilize AI for better results (especially if you’ve resisted it a bit).
How to evolve the customer shopping experience to wow customers and drive better conversion rates.

If you’ve been somewhat bearish on AI or maybe just slow to experiment with it, perhaps you need a better framework.

Rabah lays out his framework by comparing AI to oil companies and how oil companies find land, drill for oil, and refine it for profit-producing products.

It might not be clear right now, but this is a pretty accurate analogy for getting the most from AI.

We also talk about the social dilemmas of using AI in our daily lives.

For example, if I use AI to write my wife a poem, does that count, or is it cheating? If I use AI to help me craft answers for a job interview, is that a sign I shouldn’t be hired or that I know how to utilize tools? Or does it depend?

We also talk about a few of his favorite tools:

Gong(.io): A tool that Fermat now uses to analyze sales performance and run sales meetings. It’s a game changer in taking data from your CRM and delivering actionable insights and talking points.
Riverside: The podcast recording tool that now has AI features that are awesome (and getting better all the time).

Plus, we discuss some AI features masquerading as businesses. These will undoubtedly come crashing back to reality.

On the customer journey side, we talk about how creating a cohesive experience that’s also customized at scale is the future of the DTC industry.

3 things have to be in alignment:

The ad
The post-click experience
The offer

We talk about when and how this goes wrong and what to do.

And we throw in some fun 80s/90s references.

Super fun. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording.

In the DTC space, there are always headwinds.

Supply chain issues. Amazon account shutdowns. Meta or Google ad account issues.

And new headwinds pop up daily.

That's why I love this conversation with Aaron Nosbisch so much. Aaron and my buddy Nick Shackelford run Lucyd - a social ad agency that focuses on CBD and Cannabis products, and now Brez, a very tasty THC drink that's legal in all 50 states.

At Lucyd, Aaron and the team grew from nothing to one of the largest CBD agencies in the world. And the road was anything but easy. The story is a crazy one and even involved Aaron emailing Mark Zuckerberg directly when he was getting nowhere with Facebook support.

At Brez, they're building a THC brand publicly. The wins and losses are right there for everyone to see.

This interview is fun, inspiring, and insightful. Here's a look at what we cover:

Why "hacking" your way to solving difficult problems isn't the answer. Being really, really good at the fundamentals is the answer.
Why building in public is more fun and likely less risky than building in private.
What being "mission-driven" looks like for a CBD/THC brand.
What's working on with X (Twitter) advertising, and what should we expect next year?
The two ways to innovate.
Plus more!

Cody Wittick is the man. College hoops player. Agency owner. Podcast host. And, now, new dad!

Most important for this discussion: Cody knows how to scale DTC brands with influencer marketing.

In this episode, we discuss the right and wrong ways to build an influencer marketing program. We talk about winning creatives and who's smarter: media buyers or the machine. And highlight the parallels between running a business and being a father.

What was my favorite part of the conversation, you ask...?

How to use influencers to build a creative flywheel.

I'm convinced you need enough quantity and quality of creative on a weekly basis to scale on all of your most important platforms.

And in the episode, we talk about how. Enjoy!

This year was an AMAZING year of podcast guests.

Today, I wanted to reflect on and recap 12 of my favorite lessons from this year.

1. Creative Thinking as a Competitive Advantage - Million Dollar Mindset (Ep 231)

This episode was the most shared episode of the year. It ended up in a few forums and got a lot of love.

What helped Will and the team grow Organifi from $18M annually to over $100M? It wasn’t just hard work. It was creative thinking and problem-solving.

Learn the secrets of Moneyball, the Hollywood Black List, and more!

2. You Can 13X Through Creative, Data-Driven Marketing - Brendan Bannister (Ep 221)

In a similar vein to the podcast with Will Hughes, this interview with Brendan Bannister was a banger. Brendan ran paid media for William Painter during their years of meteoric growth. We talk about the power of design and simplicity.

3. What You Don’t Know About Your Customer Is Costing You. The Missing Piece to Your Attribution, CRO, and Marketing Is Customer Insights - Trevor Crump (Ep 250) / Jeremiah Prummer (Ep 262)

I’m completely sold on the idea that when done properly, customer surveys uncover tremendous insights that will shift how you advertise, position, and optimize your products. I cover my 4 favorite questions to ask in post-purchase surveys.

4. Why Your Price Is Likely Wrong and What to Do About It - Byron Myers (Ep 255)

The way you set your initial price is not the way you determine your optimal price. There’s an optimal price for rev maximization and one for profit maximization.

How does demand and conversion rate shift when price increases or decreases? After you get some data, you need to get scientific. Chart out your demand curve and conversion rate to find your ideal price.

This isn’t static, though. You should be testing at least 2 times per year or likely every quarter.

5. Customer Value Optimization Trumps CRO Every Time. And It Informs CRO. - Drew Sanocki (Ep 245)

Not all customers are created equally. You have some whales (your most valuable) and some minnows (your least valuable).

What’s more important than almost anything else you do is identifying whales and attracting more of them.

This is a key part of understanding that there are only 3 ways to grow your business:

Get more new customers
Get each customer to spend more (raise your AOV)
Get customers to buy more often (increase LTV)

6. Organic Growth on YouTube. 3 Types of Content. - Liz Germain (Ep 234)

YouTube is the 2nd most visited site on the planet.

Users spend a TON of time on the platform. If you’re good at creating content, you can build a large following and drive awareness and traffic for your brand.

In this episode, I talk to YouTube pro, Liz Germain, about the 3 types of content you must create to build an organic following.

7. Brand is Everything - Person Rutherford (Ep 260)

Want a huge exit? Want all of your advertising efforts to improve? Want greater retention and higher LTVs? Want to charge a premium? You need to focus on brand building.

The good news is you can do this profitably.

If you want customers to seek you out by name, tell others about you, and feel pride in associating with your products, you need a BRAND.

Preston Rutherford, one of the co-founders of Chubbies who had a 9 figure IPO, knows all about this. Brand building can’t be done overnight. It’s a long play, but it compounds over time.

8. You Can Achieve Exit Velocity on YouTube - Jacques Spitzer (Ep 243)

This was the episode I personally heard the most comments about. It’s PACKED with ideas on how to think about YouTube and how to make it work for your brand. We discussed a bunch of important concepts. One is “People don’t have short attention spans; they have short consideration spans.”

9. Amazon Is Trying to Go Beyond Search for Product Discovery. Maybe They’re Making Modest Strides. - Liz Saunders (Ep 253) / Brandon Young (Ep 251) / Gracey Ryback (Ep 249)

Product discovery is still primarily driven by search. With the Amazon influencer program and initiatives like the Inspire tab on the Amazon Mobile app, Amazon is trying to “inspire” new product discovery. It seems to be going OK, but just how much new product discovery this generates is TBD.

10. Stop Obsessing Over Vanity Metrics. Focus on Core Metrics. - Rabah Rahill (Ep 222) / Preston Rutherford (Ep 260)

What are vanity metrics? How about ROAS and Revenue? Both important to be sure. We look at both metrics all the time. But they aren’t CORE. So, what is the core of your brand? Well, Preston Rutherford lays it out!

11. Retention Marketing Is Your Key to Stability and Profitability. - Nick Flint (Ep 248)

Few things can impact your brand as much as email and SMS. In this episode, we covered 8 email tests to make, plus one of our favorite all-time emails that a client ran.

12. Are you experimenting with AI? - Steve Chou (Ep 233) / Fred Vallaeys (Ep 256)

AI likely isn’t replacing members of your team. It shouldn’t be replacing you. But it should be assisting you.

Writing better email subject lines
Working on better SEO titles and bullet points
Transcribing and summarizing meetings and more

How is your finance stack?

We all love to talk about our tech or marketing stacks, but the financial side gets less attention.

Heck, you might not even know for sure what your finance stack is!

My guest today is an eComm legend, Bill D'Alessandro. Bill is the founder and CEO of Elements Brands. He's built or acquired 8 brands and sold 7.

Before his time in eComm, he spent 5 years in the investment banking and private equity world.

Talking about ad creativity or the latest case studies on scaling with Facebook ads is more of a dopamine hit than talking about finance. BUT, knowing what levers to pull, what to do, and what NOT to do as it relates to your finance stack can instantly add $100s or thousands to your bank account.

Here are the 4 components of your finance stack that Bill and I dive into today. Trust me, this interview is fast-paced, interesting and guaranteed to put more cash in your bank account.

Banking
Credit Cards
Working Capital
Debt

You don't need to be a CFO or a CPA to get value here. You just need the 80/20 of how to optimize your finances. Here's a look at what we cover in this episode:

Why it's not always best to maximize assets and reduce liabilities; for example, accounts receivable are an asset, but they're also NOT cash in your bank.
When it's "OK" to use Debt and when you shouldn't.
What's essential and what's not when it comes to a bank?
How 2 simple shifts in credit card usage can add $10s or $100s of thousands in your pocket…money you will NOT receive a 1099 for.
Why working capital is the blood of your business.
A few simple tips for accounts payable - when you do this right, this is the cheapest form of "debt" you can use
Why Merchant Cash Advances so commonly start a death spiral and what to do if you're in this trap.

What do you do when you grow 25% YoY but realize you’re losing money?

How do you adjust when what has always worked in the past stops working?

What steps do you take when your cost to acquire a new customer is skyrocketing, and nothing is bringing it down?

If you’re like some brand owners, you keep doing the same stuff but try to do it better.

Sometimes, you need a larger shift that starts with asking better questions and understanding what problem you’re trying to solve.

This interview with Anthony Mink, CEO and Co-Founder of Live Bearded, was super fun and energizing to record.

Live Bearded is an 8-figure brand that experienced something pretty dramatic but also not uncommon in eCommerce. Their new customer acquisition ads stopped working across ALL ad platforms.

We know the brand well; we’ve been running Google and YouTube ads for them for years. Seeing their CPA skyrocket across all channels (Facebook, IG, YouTube) and then helping it come down to the lowest it’s ever been was inspiring and insightful. Especially while spending more than ever on top-of-funnel efforts.

Ultimately, they discovered they had a fundamental positioning and messaging problem. Their offer was good (basically a free sample), but the way they positioned their product had taken them as far as possible. They needed to reposition!

In this episode, we uncover that journey, and it’s PACKED with valuable lessons.

Here’s a quick look at some of what we cover:

How you first have to clearly define the problem before you can solve it. (This is a step entrepreneurs usually want to skip.)
How positioning is likely the most powerful lever you can pull in your business.
The power of Stories, States, and Identities in your marketing
The power of Brand and how Nike has it, but Hyatt doesn’t.
The concept of Better Your Best (and NOT Better Your Meh).
The messaging that cut Live Bearded’s CPAs in half.
Plus more!

In some ways, we know everything and nothing about our customers at the same time.

We have mountains of data at our fingertips for every customer interaction.

But we can’t see our customers.

We don’t really know what they love, why they buy, or what they’re into—even insights into why they bought from us or how they first learned about us are muddy.

Even when we think we know, our view is incomplete.

That’s where KNO Commerce comes in.

Sure, you have a few different attribution tools. They can be helpful but also confusing.

And they have biases.

Sure, you know conversion rate optimization best practices, but every brand and every customer is slightly different.

Getting customer insights through post-purchase or abandon cart surveys can provide clarity into what your attribution or CRO data is telling you…or, more importantly, what it’s NOT telling you.

The good news is you don’t have to use KNO to get great customer insights. Any survey tool can work.

In this episode with KNO Founder and CEO Jeremiah Prummer, we discuss the following:

40% of your shoppers buy in less than 1 week of learning about your brand. 60% take longer than 1 week. (This probably contradicts what GA and your attribution tools tell you).
The biases in surveys and how to work around them?
The biases in the attribution model.
How abandoned cart surveys can be a game changer in addition to email flows.
What questions to ask your customers for the most actionable insights
And More!

Download The YouTube Ads Checklist Here

YouTube offers TREMENDOUS scale opportunities.

Just ask Dr. Squatch, Purple Mattress, Organifi, and Manscapped.

But it's NOT the easiest platform to scale with. We're one of the top spenders on YouTube ads. We've spent more than almost any agency our size on the platform and learned what works and what doesn't.

In this episode, I break down the 11 factors that determine YouTube's success.

Here's a sneak peak:

What has to be true about your landing pages before you can fully accelerate on YouTube?
When should you launch a YouTube ad campaign?
How to approach YouTube ad performance measurement.
What creative elements need to be in place?
What role do email, search, and shopping play in your YouTube success?
How to think about remarketing and YouTube.

Plus, much, much more.

Few DTC brands have been as polarizing or as successful as Chubbies.

The Chubbies story is a wild one. It started with humble beginnings, selling shorts one by one in parks around the Stanford campus, leading to an IPO.

Four Stanford college students had 3 things in common:

They were tired of working for the man.
They didn't fit the "Abercrombie" fashion mold of the late 2000s and
They loved shorter shorts - BEFORE the short shorts trend.

And so, Chubbies was born.

This is a deep dive with Co-founder Preston Rutherford on what Chubbies got right, what they got wrong, and how to think about building a brand.

Here's a look at what we cover:

Feedback loops. This started when the co-founders were selling their shorts in person. They could immediately read customers' reactions and hear what they liked, what they didn't like and what needed to be tweaked. As the company grew, this shifted to digital and online feedback loops tied to ad creatives, social posts, and user experience.
Downplaying vanity metrics. We all want to brag about ROAS and revenue. But, these metrics can be misleading. If you maximize ROAS, you sacrifice long-term growth for a sale today. And you get into a trap that squeezes profits and becomes hard to break.
Obsessing over core metrics. We should focus on metrics like contribution margin, total profits and branded search growth (as a sign of a growing, healthy brand).
Building a brand. Want to have a big exit? Want to charge a premium? Want to drive consistent demand? It's all about brand.

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

“The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.”

Not sure where I first heard these quotes, but they definitely apply to this week’s episode.

I firmly believe that to grow like no one else is growing, you must do what no one else is doing.

In this episode, I walk through 5 growth opportunities that you’re likely under-leveraging or completely missing.

This is the recording from a recent talk I gave in Austin, Texas, to a group of 1,200 eager Amazon Sellers and DTC brand owners, where I unpacked these 5 growth opportunities.

While there are a few cases where seeing the video might be more helpful (watch it here), the audio should still be helpful!

I hope you enjoy it.

How can you make the most of the Cyber 5?

It all comes down to strategy, planning and execution.

Ideally, you’re planning all year and working on the perfect strategies to attract new customers and inspire existing customers to buy more.

But planning is only part of the success equation. Making adjustments and tweaks based on what’s working and what’s not is also crucial.

On this episode, I’m bringing on a star-studded cast of OMG experts. We talk about Black Friday and Cyber Monday success from essentially every angle.

We talk about successful email and SMS promotions. We cover do’s and don’ts for maximizing Amazon profits and share insights for getting the most from Google, YouTube and other channels.

My guests:

Bill Cover, Google Strategist
Nick Flint, Email Strategist
Trenton Bodenbach, Amazon Growth Strategist

What we discuss:

Top BFCM mistakes merchants make.
What you need to plan ahead of time and lock in vs. what you can change on the fly during the Cyber 5.
Or favorite Cyber 5 growth strategies.
Protecting margin while still driving purchases from customers who expect deals. Can you make a 10% off deal irresistible?

I believe in the who, not the how, for more business problems and opportunities.

Want to grow faster?

Need to solve a nagging problem?

Rather than thinking about how to solve it, you might want to start with who.

But that only works well if you have strong leadership skills. As your business grows, you’ll be doing less and leading more.

My buddy Peter Awad joins the show today. He’s an eCommerce vet. He launched his first online venture in 2000 and co-founded Mission Meats, an online snack company, in 2015.

Now, Peter’s passion is coaching and building great leaders.

I’m a big believer that culture and leadership will trump strategy any day of the week.

Here are a few of the things we discussed:

What’s it like on the other side of me?
Knowing yourself first.
Radical candor or ruinous empathy.
The nothing to lose, nothing to prove, nothing to hide approach to discussions.
The fact that the life you want, the business you want, is on the other side of a few hard conversations.
How to lead vendors, freelancers, and agencies better.
How to have better meetings.

Are you dabbling with generative AI or using it to gain a competitive advantage?

Are you getting better at using AI or staying the same?

If you're like some professionals I know, maybe you've gotten frustrated with only slight gains using AI, so you've moved on.

I'll admit, I'm still just dabbling compared to my buddy Fred.

Fred Vallaeys is one of the smartest dudes I know. His perspective on AI is inspiring and sure to get your wheels turning.

But first, take a peek at Fred's resume!

One of the first 500 employees at Google
He was on the team that acquired Urchin, the precursor to Google Analytics
He was on the original Quality Score team
He was one of the original 6 people who built the AdWords editor

Now, he's the co-founder and CEO of Optmyzr and the author of 2 amazing books.

Here's a look at the taste AI morsels we chew on in this episode:

Practical ways to use Generative AI that you might be missing.
How to ground the AI so it doesn't "hallucinate."
Understanding the best LLMs and how they impact generative AI.
How generative AI is different from Machine Learning.
Embedding, vectors, and chain prompting

Ready to step up your AI game? I am!

Price. It’s an emotional topic for shoppers and for brands.

As shoppers were more influenced by price than we care to admit.

As brands we’re often afraid to change our prices. And our current prices were probably created a long time ago. It’s almost a certainty that they price for at least some of your products is wrong right now.

Byron Myer’s is a super smart dude. He started Inogen, a med-tech business, while in college and took it public in 2014. Now he runs Glimmer Wish with his wife and daughters. He used price theory and price strategy to add tens of millions in sales at Inogen. He’s also used it to scale Glimmer Wish from 0 to over 7 figures in less than a year.

And this isn’t a “let’s raise prices a bit and see what happens” approach. This is a scientific, mathematical way to find the optimal price to maximize profits.

Why is your pricing wrong:

It’s likely based on flawed strategies like competitor benchmarking or cost plus. Both strategies are ok to start with but do NOT produce your optimal price for total profits.
You’re following old customer psychology that states you should always charge $19.99 instead of $19.97 instead of $20 or $22. Often this is incorrect.
You haven’t changed the price in over a year.
In the current environment if you’re not changing price or running tests quarterly, your pricing is probably off.

This topic will make you Cold. Hard. Cash. Give it a listen!

Why does one hook work and another flops?

Why does one offer get customers clicking and buying and another offer get’s only a shrug?

How can you know BEFORE you spend money on an ad if it’s likely to convert?

Today’s episode is a recording from a recent talk I gave at Ezra Firestone’s Blue Ribbon Mastermind.

I break down 7 ad tests guaranteed to make ANY ad better.

Follow these tests and your ads will have more stopping power, more engagement, and drive more ACTION.

The visuals do help with this one, so watching on YouTube might be a good idea, but the audio sill captures most of the value.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn:

How to tell if your ads differentiate your product ENOUGH from the competition
A test that great standup comedians use that applies to your ads as well
A test that’s best illustrated using a cat, and one that’s best identified using a donkey. Any guesses what these tests might be about?
How to handle lingering objections
How to tell if your ad has the power to motivate your prospects to take action
Plus more!

This presentation was super fun for me. Hopefully you’ll find it entertaining and helpful!

Liz Saunders knows the Amazon game well. She was the Chief of Staff for Jungle Scout as it grew from under 40 employees to a few hundred. And the founder of Fluencer Fruit. Through software, coaching, and services, she helps brands and influencers maximize their results with Amazon’s Influencer program.

The Influencer game is still early at Amazon, but right now, it’s free for brands to participate in and driving some compelling results.

Take This Case Study:

An Amazon product with no change in ads, no improvement in organic rankings, and no change in ratings saw a 45% MoM increase and a 3x YoY increase in sales - ALL From Influencer content.

Do I have your attention now?

Check out what Liz and I discuss in this interview:

How you as a brand can qualify for the Influencer Program (good news - it’s pretty simple).
How to attract and recruit the right influencers for your brand.
Where does influencer content show up, and how do you influence the best placements?
The difference between the Inspire and Discover Feed on Amazon.
How to use Influencer and Amazon Lives.
Plus more!

Amazon DSP is a misunderstood platform. Heck, even the name is confusing!

The Amazon DSP we’re referring to in this episode is the Demand Side Platform. Not to be confused with Amazon’s other DSP - Delivery Service Provider (the independent contractors who deliver your Amazon packages).

Amazon DSP Ads are a way to target shoppers on and off Amazon with highly relevant image and video ads based on Amazon’s behavioral shopping data.

No one has more shopper data than Amazon. But Amazon doesn’t publish that data or allow anyone to use it unless…you advertise using Amazon DSP.

DSP is one of the most powerful advertising platforms I’ve ever encountered. But it’s also commonly misunderstood, and it is advanced. This is not for beginners.

There are a lot of ways to waste money with it. But there are a few ways to accelerate growth.

Here’s a look at what we discuss:

The top mistakes advertisers make when running DSP ads.
The top 3 strategies for accelerating growth with Amazon DSP.
Why running DSP remarketing only and testing too small will likely fail.
What it means to have a DSP “seat” and why they are so rare.
How one seller tripled their DSP spend and accelerated growth by 35%, all while lowering their TACoS.
Understanding DSP attribution and why it’s a hotly debated topic.

Your Amazon listings are probably NOT as optimized as you think. Your products likely aren’t merchandised as well as they could be either. In this episode, Brandon shows you how to find obscure keywords to dramatically grow your sales and rankings. He also shows you how to merchandise your product to fly off the shelf.

We also talk about AI, competitor research, new product development, and what it will take to get ahead and stay ahead on Amazon.

Brandon is in an elite club of 8 figure sellers on Amazon. His brands will sell over $ 30 million this year on Amazon, and he’s targeting over $ 50 million in sales next year.

Here’s a look at what we discuss:

The two main factors that impact ranking on Amazon: 1. Performance and 2. Relevance and how to improve BOTH.
How to find obscure keywords that you can rank for quickly to boost sales.
The 2 biggest mistakes sellers make when it comes to merchandising and how to fix them easily.
How to get feedback faster and easier on product designs so that you don’t waste time or money on products or merchandising that’s likely to fail.
How to use AI to quickly synthesize what your competitors are doing well, what they’re doing poorly, and what you should do about it.
Using AI to get a clear picture of your ideal buyer.
How stacking small changes can allow you to double or triple sales year over year.

Post-purchase surveys can teach you a lot about your customers, and no one knows that better than my most recent guest, Trevor Crump.

Trevor is the co-founder of Bestie, which is one of the fastest-growing post-purchase apps on Shopify.

We talked about the key questions you should ask your customers and how you can turn their answers into extra cash!

Make sure you give this episode a listen to learn key things like...

The 3 questions that need to be on your post-purchase survey.
Where your customers are coming from (because we all know how hard attribution can be).
What Trevor has learned from running one of the most popular post-purchase survey apps on Shopify.
Plus, some of the most surprising things surveys can reveal.

Gracey Ryback, an A-List Amazon Influencer, began her journey on TikTok by talking about products she loved. Soon after, she started hosting Amazon Lives. To date, she has driven seven figures in new sales for various products on Amazon.

I first met Gracey when we both spoke at SellerCon in Austin earlier this summer. Her presentation was amazing, and I immediately knew I had to get her on the show.

If you’re like most of the brands I know, then you’ve likely never tried Amazon Lives, or if you did, you did it as a brand and got little to no traction.

The good news is that your competition likely isn’t using Amazon Lives or Amazon Influencers either... so you have a potential edge.

Here’s what Gracey and I discuss:

Advantages of Amazon Live with an A-List Influencer vs. Live as a brand.
How to show up on the Amazon home page with your Amazon Live.
How to find Amazon Influencers to work with that fit your brand.
TikTok Shop - how it works, how to leverage for growth on and off Amazon.
How to fully leverage influencer content.
What is the influencer marketing mindset, and why is it critical for success in influencer marketing?
How creative control may be killing your results with influencer marketing.

influencermarketing #amazonlives #tiktokshop #digitalmarketing #digitaladvertising

FREE RESOURCE: OMG's Ultimate Email Marketing Testing Checklist

How can you triple your results from Email & SMS? Is crafting a single captivating subject line the key? Does discovering the ultimate promotion hold the answer? Likely not.

Making huge improvements is all about finding dozens of small wins, stacking them on top of each other, and letting the improvements compound.

In this episode, Nick Flint, our Email Strategist at OMG, breaks down 8 Email & SMS tests you need to run right now! We talk about how Email & SMS can improve EVERY other channel. We’re talking Google Ads, YouTube ads, Facebook, Amazon - ALL made better by leveraging Email & SMS.

Here’s a peek at what we cover.

Why opt-in rate is NOT the key metric, you need to measure for your opt-in pop-up. (And why that spinning wheel might be doing more harm than good.)
How making some prospects “work for it” can increase purchases and email engagement.
Should you show your price in emails or make people click to see the price?
How Everyday Cali used a creative “break our site” offer to drive engagement and get solid customer feedback.
Plus, much, much more…

Welcome to the E-commerce Evolution podcast!

In this episode, Brett Curry, CEO of OMG Commerce, is joined by e-commerce expert Tomer Rabinovich, founder of Top Dog.

Tomer Rabinovich is an experienced Amazon seller, renowned consultant, and sought-after speaker in the e-commerce industry. With a wealth of knowledge and expertise, Tomer has helped countless businesses achieve remarkable success on the Amazon platform. His data-driven strategies have empowered sellers to increase visibility, boost sales, and build thriving brands.

They delve into the intricacies of Amazon reviews and how a six-star experience can drastically improve your product rankings. With insights from Tomer's vast experience, including his event 'Top Dog Summit' and his book 'Ride the Amazon Wave', this episode is packed with actionable strategies for e-commerce success.

Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction, 01:01 - Tomer's journey in e-commerce, 03:25 - The power of five-star reviews, 09:10 - Crafting a six-star experience.

Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more e-commerce insights!

What if you could find one strategy that, if properly executed, could:

Triple your revenue
Build a hyper-engaged community around your brand
Get feedback on exactly what products to launch next (and create anticipation around the launch of new products)
Create an ongoing, repeatable marketing vehicle that improves CAC and LTV
Establish a content machine

Sounds too good to be true? That's exactly what creating "Challenges" did for Alicia Reynoso and her fiancé. They went on to build a "60-Day Hydration Challenge" around their brand: Live Infinitely.

They leverage their challenge to grow from a mostly Amazon brand, to 50/50 Amazon and Shopify, to having a successful exit.

In this episode, Alicia and I dive into the why behind "Challenges" and what it takes to make them successful.

eCommerceEvolution #ChallengeBasedMarketing #LiveInfinitely #AliciaReynoso #eCommerceTips #CommunityBuilding #CustomerValue #BusinessGrowth #RevenueBoost #HydrationChallenge

Welcome to another exciting episode of the eCommerce Evolution podcast! 🎧 In this episode, we're joined by Drew Sanocki, a seasoned eCommerce expert and the founder of Nerd Marketing.

Drew Sanocki is a pioneer in the eCommerce industry with over 20 years of experience. He is the founder of Nerd Marketing, a company dedicated to helping eCommerce businesses grow through data-driven marketing strategies. Drew's expertise in customer segmentation and data analysis has helped numerous businesses optimize their marketing efforts and achieve significant growth. 📈 His unique approach to eCommerce has made him a sought-after speaker and consultant in the industry.

Join us as we delve into the importance of customer segmentation in eCommerce and how it can drive your business growth. 🚀 Don't miss out on this insightful conversation!

This episode is a must-listen for anyone in the eCommerce space, whether you're just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level. Tune in to gain insights from one of the industry's leading experts.

Make sure to subscribe to our channel for more insightful episodes and leave a comment below with your thoughts on today's discussion. 💡

Podcast #Ecommerce #DrewSanocki #NerdMarketing #EcommerceStrategies #CustomerRetention #DataDrivenDecisions

Whatever you do, don't mention "Growth Hacking" to Nirav Sheth. Trust me, he's got something even better!

Nirav is the CRO mastermind driving success for some of the fastest-growing and most loved DTC brands like Molekule, Mack Weldon, Athletic Greens, Four Sigmatic, and more.

He has a truly unique and effective way of approaching optimization that defies all traditional CRO norms. It all begins with understanding what we should test and what we shouldn't based on the dollars behind it.

What we cover:

How an eBike company turned the tables on their "add to cart" rate, resulting in a jaw-dropping $12 million impact.
How a shoe company reworked its mobile experience to simplify and improve conversions.
When to run quizzes, when to not, and when to ask more questions instead of less (this will likely surprise you).
How to think about CRO from the customer's perspective in terms of "micro journeys."
Should you go headless? Why Nirav thinks it's usually a bad idea, and when to consider it.

YouTube is a different beast. It has arguably greater reach than Facebook, with more ad inventory available.

But it’s not easier to scale on. And it’s not easier to measure.

For brands that get it right, YouTube can accelerate growth like no other.

Take Dr. Squatch as an example. They scaled from $3 million per year to over $150 million per year, in large part due to the success of their YouTube ads. The same goes for Manscapped, William Painter, Organifi, and DOZENS more.

This episode is unique because Jacques Spitzer and I interview each other! Jacques is the CEO of Raindrop (the creative agency behind Squatch, Manscapped, Shady Rays, and more) and the podcast host Marketing People Love.

OMG and Raindrop have collaborated on several campaigns (including NATIVE), with Raindrop handling the creative side and OMG handling the media and strategy.

In this show, we discuss:

Why most brands get YouTube creatives wrong and how to fix it.
Why measuring YouTube performance is harder than most and why you’re probably not measuring YouTube properly.
How to truly achieve “exit velocity” with YouTube.
Getting the proper view of brand lift, search lift, and halo effect from YouTube ads.
Creative breakthroughs and much, much more.

Over 1 billion shopping experiences take place on Google alone every single day. Millions more occur across popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.

Are your products showing up on the “digital shelf” for eager shoppers?

Feed marketing is the perfect blend of art and science, advertising and merchandising.

Feeds power Google Shopping Ads (PMAX) and Facebook ads. They lay the foundation for eCommerce brands, enhancing all other marketing efforts and driving better results.

Here is a look at what we cover:

Common feed mistakes that keep your products off the digital shelf and unavailable to eager shoppers.
How a sporting apparel company increased clicks by over 200% with better product titles.
Optimizing your efforts as you go (based on results).
Giving shoppers AND platforms (Google, Facebook, etc.) what they want so that you attract more new customers.
What Dynamic Prospecting is, and how optimized feeds can fuel new customer acquisition.

Community and great brands go hand-in-hand. If you want to maximize LTV, build raving fans, stimulate referrals, and create a stable base of customers - COMMUNITY is at the center.

Carlos Alvarez is a legend in the eComm and Amazon seller space. He's been a full-time seller on Amazon for 15 years. He's also in the super-elite club of 9 figure sellers.

He's built the world's largest Amazon seller meetup group. It used to be fully in-person before the pandemic, but is now hybrid, allowing for greater accessibility and participation. And that's not all! He's created a community exclusively for physical product brands as well.

Here's a look at what we cover:

Why focusing on size alone isn't the way to build a large and thriving community.
The secret sauce principle of "if everyone is invited, no one is invited."
The mechanics of building an email list and how to build an engaged community from that list.
How to structure an offer ladder.
Tools for building community.
Plus more!

Josh Hadley is a podcast host and a successful brand builder. His business Hadley Designs, just crossed 8 figures in annual sales.

One key to his success is hiring manager-level talent overseas. His approach to hiring is fantastic. It's definitely one of the better ones I've seen.

But that's not all! Before we dive into our discussion on hiring, we do a rapid-fire exchange of our top 6 takeaways from recent podcast episodes. Super fun and hopefully inspiring.

Here's what we cover:

Bonus Content:

Creative problem-solving as a competitive advantage.
The numbers behind successful infomercials.
The metric YouTube cares about to boost your brand's YouTube channel?

Hiring Content:

How to get clear on WHO you should be hiring.
How to measure the success or failure of a new hire before you hire them.
How to create a compelling job description.
How to find, attract, and retain top-level talent overseas - get Josh's full formula.

What started as a way to boost sales during slow summer months has turned into two of the largest shopping days of the year: Prime Day.

More accurately, the event is 48 hours of lightning deals, promos, coupons, and shopping frenzies.

Prime Day is a great way to attract new customers and gain momentum that can impact your business. But, it’s not without risk or peril. It's not uncommon for things to break or go wrong in the lead-up to Prime Day or during the event itself.

In this episode, two OMG experts are joining me to talk about maximizing Prime Day sales. If you sell on Amazon, this is a MUST-watch episode. The insights are not only applicable to this Prime Day 2023 but will boost your success for future Prime Days, as well as upcoming holidays.

What we cover:

Pricing Strategy - Raising your prices is a no-no in Amazon’s book. Lowering prices is almost always welcomed from Amazon’s perspective but could be detrimental to your business. Here’s how you should think about pricing strategy leading up to Prime Day.
Listing Optimization - While you don’t want to make big changes leading up to the event, you do want to give your listings a boost. Here’s what you should consider changing and what you shouldn’t.
Overall Ad Strategy - Your ad strategy could make or break your Prime Day performance. How should you approach bidding and budgeting, and what factors should shape your ad strategy?
Post-Prime Day Ad Strategies - How can you get new customers who learned about your brand during Prime Day to… 1. Buy again, and 2. Buy other products you sell? By running great ads.
How much caffeine should you consume while watching and managing Prime Day performance?
Plus, extra tips and bonuses like Amazon Live, Amazon Influencers, Amazon Posts, and more that could give you an edge.

This episode of eCommerce Evolution is one-of-a-kind!

Recently, I had the pleasure of joining Matt Edmundson on his show, the eCommerce Podcast, and let me tell you, it was an absolute blast! We had such a great time that I couldn't resist featuring it on eCommerce Evolution as well.

Matt Edmundson is an eCommerce expert and CEO at Auron Media. With over 20 years of experience, he has left a mark on the industry as both a successful business owner and a respected teacher.

His podcast serves as a valuable resource for entrepreneurs looking to level up their stores!

So take advantage of this opportunity to gain insights on what is working now with Google and YouTube Ads.

Here's a sneak peek at what we cover:

Why you should consider running YouTube ads.
How to use YouTube as an advertising channel.
The importance of long-form content on YouTube.
The differences between TikTok and YouTube advertising.
The relationship between Google and YouTube ads.
What Performance Max is, and how it works.
Plus more!

P.S. If you are interested in the topic of “leadership,” I invite you to listen to our discussion on Matt’s other show Push To Be More, a podcast centered around what it takes to make life work!

Andrew Foxwell and I go way back. We recorded our first podcast together over 6 years ago!

Andrew is a seasoned expert in the advertising industry and the driving force behind a remarkable Meta agency that collaborates with renowned brands like Trek.

He also runs an amazing community of brand owners, agency owners and marketing professionals called Foxwell Founders. (Over 400 members strong and collectively spending 250 million plus per month on ads.)

Join us as Andrew shares his invaluable insights on the ever-evolving advertising landscape.

Here's a glimpse of what we cover in this episode:

What creatives are working best right now on Meta and Google, and are TikTok-style ads worth testing on multiple platforms?
How answering questions is essential on more platforms than just Google search.
What strategies are working right now with different Meta campaign types.
Why having great creatives is only valuable with proper creative testing.
How to focus on what's really unique about your product in your ads.
Andrew's approach of "scaling in place" and how it applies to Meta and YouTube.
Operational AI vs. Platform AI.
What Andrew's "not, not excited" about AI means (I tend to share his perspective).

Good ads are just the beginning when it comes to growing your business. The real game-changer lies in your landing pages. They hold the key to turning visitors into loyal customers.

That's why you can't afford to miss our latest podcast episode. We've brought together two absolute legends from OMG Commerce - Matt Slaymaker and Bill Cover - to discuss their favorite landing page tips and share real-life examples.

With over $100 million managed annually in online advertising, we've witnessed firsthand the critical role landing pages play in conversion rates and return on ad spend. They hold the power to either make or break your ad performance, while also impacting your word-of-mouth and organic growth.

Here's a look at what we cover:

How landing page improvements turned a skincare brand's ad campaign from a dud to a success.
What good landing pages and amazing in-store experiences have in common.
The 4 C's of a good lander.
5 tips for dedicated landing pages.
Where to start - homepage, landing, or dedicated lander.
How landing pages and ads work together to create winning (or disappointing) results.
Our favorite landing page examples and a FREE swipe file of our favorites!

Khierstyn Ross has made a name for herself by successfully launching products and brands on Kickstarter. However, the crowdfunding landscape has significantly changed in recent years, particularly on Kickstarter. It is NOT the same world it was in 2019.

While the barrier to entry for launching a successful project has become higher, it's still a good fit for many clients.

In addition to helping brands on Kickstarter, Khierstyn is also a pro at helping companies grow on Amazon. She's mastered the art of launching new products and pre-sells on Amazon.

Here's a look at what we cover:

What products do well on Kickstarter, and what products usually flop?
What kind of $ do you need to invest for a successful Kickstarter launch?
When to launch a new product on Shopify vs. Kickstarter.
How to build a brand on Amazon.
What kind of results should you expect when launching on Kickstarter?

Liz Germain is a YouTube PRO and a repeat guest on the show! We first met when I was speaking at an eCommerce event held at the YouTube LA Offices.

Liz is responsible for well over 200 million organic views on YouTube and has worked and consulted with some of the top influencers online today.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

The three types of content you should create on YouTube and how to approach each.
How search-driven views only account for less than 10% of total watch time on the platform.
The 4 phases of creating a massive following on YouTube.
The metrics YouTube cares about and you should obsess over.
How YouTube ads and YouTube organic do NOT mix, but how you can still leverage both for growth.

Steve is a legend in the eComm space. He is not only the store owner of Bumblebee Linens, but also the host of the highly successful marketing podcast, "My Wife Quit Her Job,” which ranks among the top 25 in its category. He has been successfully running an eComm event for 7 years, and it is one of my favorite events to attend and speak at.

He’s also the author of a brand new book - The Family First Entrepreneur.

His impressive combination of experiences gives him a unique perspective on eCommerce and entrepreneurship.

Here is a look at what we cover:

How to grow using lifecycle marketing when only 12% of your customers buy more than once.
How Steve thinks about customer buckets to grow cross-sells, upsells, and repeat orders.
How Steve and his team use Chat GPT4 to 10x their organic traffic.
What’s the future of AI and white-collar jobs?
How Steve thinks about pricing and why they no longer offer deep discounts.

Aaron Sheehan and I go way back. We first met when Aaron used to work for an agency that OMG supported.

Now, Aaron is the Director of Competitive Strategy at BigCommerce. He brings a fresh perspective on the eCommerce industry, and a unique point of view on eComm platforms and the future of eComm technology.

Coincidentally, his office is only a quarter of a mile from mine. In hindsight, we probably should have recorded this show in person.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

What is Headless, and how does it compare to Composable? Are these just buzzwords or trends that are here to stay?
Aaron’s and my take on the state of eCommerce and why we see a prevailing “cautious optimism.”
The eCommerce trends Aaron is most excited about and what omnichannel means today (vs. what it meant 10 years ago).
When should you consider upgrading your tech stack, and where does the BigCommerce offering fit in the marketplace?

What got you here won’t get you there.

What will it take to reach your next big breakthrough?

Whether or not we want to admit it, we all have limiting thought patterns that create a sort of blindness, preventing us from seeing breakthroughs.

I first met Will when he was the Head of Growth for Organifi. He helped grow the brand from an $18 million per year run rate to a $100 million per year run rate in short order.

In today’s episode, Will Hughes wants to help you think differently. And not just a philosophical kind of thinking, but big, business-altering, breakthrough kind of thinking.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

The remarkable story of the Hollywood Blacklist and how we can find treasure in what others are rejecting.
Using creative thinking as a competitive advantage.
How to avoid being a copycat (while still paying attention to competitors).
What Google vs. Yahoo can teach us as entrepreneurs.
The power of reticular activators.

Online marketers can learn a LOT from direct response TV (DRTV) ads.

The power of an irresistible offer.
The art and science of a problem-solution ad.
The appeal of a “magic product demonstration.”

To name a few!

This episode features Jordan Pine, a seasoned DRTV veteran who has also had success in the online marketing space. I wanted to pick his brain on how to be successful with DRTV. I’m convinced that some of the lessons he knows and that other DRTV pros know can be leveraged by online marketers. Recording this episode was an absolute BLAST! We went a full hour, and I could have easily continued for another couple. It was fun and insightful! Here’s a look at what we cover:

The “Divine 7” for choosing the right product to advertise.
The 10 TNT (Tried-and-True) elements of DRTV.
Why the Ginsu Knife commercial belongs in the DRTV Hall of Fame.
The “problem scale” and how to use it to analyze a product and the strength of a problem/solution opening.
Gluing people to ceilings, running over flashlights with tanks, and other “torture test” product demos.
Lessons from the Godfathers of marketing like Claud Hopkins, Rosser Reeves, Joe Sugarman, and more.

Chris Brewer is an agency veteran, marketing expert, and former golf pro. Not to mention my business partner and OMG Commerce’s co-founder.

Each year, Chris has the privilege of talking with hundreds of DTC brands, both big and small. He hears about their goals, struggles, plans, and more. As a strategist, I also consult with large-scaling eComm brands. Through our perspectives, we’d like to highlight ways in which great brands get in their own way and offer some candid advice when it comes to working with agencies.

We love the brands we talk to and the clients we serve. But, like anyone else, brands can sometimes overlook how they inadvertently hinder their own growth. Here are a few topics we cover that we hope you’ll find helpful:

Having goals that aren’t battle-tested.
Still thinking like it’s 2020 in some areas of your business.
Prioritizing automation and tools over strategy.
Shooting for perfect data and ignoring actionable data.
Stopping short of getting results.
When you shouldn’t hire an agency.
How to get the most from an agency relationship.
Plus more!

Jeremy Horowitz is one of my favorite follows on LinkedIn.

He recently dropped some brilliant (and terrifying) posts about the economy, the impending debt crisis, and what DTC brands should focus on now.

Jeremy and I go way back. In fact, this is our 4th podcast together over the years (he used to host a show too). Jeremy has been in the DTC SaaS space for years, having previously managed marketing for a large DTC brand. Jeremy is now the Sr. Partner Manager at Gorgias, and he and his team run the DTCX events, which have become some of my favorites to speak at and attend.

Here's a look at what we cover. Some of it's heavy, but it also speaks to the amount of opportunity on the horizon:

What keeps Jeremy up at night? A potential consumer debt crisis? More at this link.
64% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Those making over $100k per year are in the same boat.
What you can learn from Liquid Death.
Understanding how and where your customers want to buy.
Avoiding the discount doom loop.
Getting your inventory as close to "just-in-time" as possible.
A different way to look at your marketing budget and performance.

At one time, Charles Tichenor was a top 100 advertiser on Facebook.

On the platform, he frequently manages 7 figure budgets per DAY!

In the early days, he managed FB ads for Apple, New Balance, major automotive brands, and more. Facebook gave him test budgets ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per day to test new features and Betas.

In this episode, Charles and I dig into what’s working now, what mistakes he’s seeing, and a bit of his framework for success.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

How Facebook Advantage Plus ads give you an unfair advantage - and what you should do about it right now.
If you want to win more customers, you have to BE your customer.
How chasing “what’s working now” with Facebook creatives is likely to make you a second-rate advertiser - and what to do instead.
The AI Charles was using before Chat GPT and how you should use it.
Creative ways to use Chat GPT to speed up your marketing process.
How TikTok is different from all the other platforms.
How to win with TikTok organic and paid ads.
How to land on the right creatives for your brand.
Plus MORE!

This episode of the eCommerce Evolution podcast is truly unique.

It's not uncommon for us to talk about branding, storytelling, and entrepreneurship. But in this episode, we also discuss faith, family tragedy, chasing your dreams, and nerd out a bit on basketball legends like Michael Jordan and Steph Curry.

Ashton Owens is living many kids’ dreams…but more importantly, he’s living his own. He works directly with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and other pro athletes. He runs Triple Threat - a creative agency specializing in branding and storytelling for pro athletes.

Ashton and I have a lot in common. We go to church together (how we met), share an affinity for professional basketball, lost a parent when we were teens, and experienced some fun and wild entrepreneurial journeys.

Here’s what we cover:

How growing up in an entrepreneurial family and losing his father as a teenager shaped Ashton’s faith and professional accomplishments.
How inviting Michael Jordan to his birthday party as a child influenced Ashton’s belief that the world is full of possibilities.
The crazy story of Ashton’s first meeting with Steph Curry and Under Armor.
The meaning behind the Steph Curry logo and how it relates to storytelling.
Ashton's belief that most people count themselves out before they start and how to shift their thinking.
Plus more!

According to Chad Rubin, there's a lot of reckless advice from "gurus" when it comes to pricing on Amazon.

Just raising your price because of inflation, might not be your optimal move. In some cases lowering your price, improving sell through, improving BSR can raise your total profits. But lowering your price could have devastating impact to your profits. So should you raise or lower your price? The short answer is - it depends. The key is to test, watch the data, and optimize.

Chad Rubin recently exited Skubana, Prosper Show and his own agency. He’s now the founder of Profasee a dynamic AI repricing tool for Amazon sellers to help you maximize profits without hurting your ranking on Amazon.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Prepping your business to sell and how Chad successfully exited Skubana.
The fallacy of managing your Amazon ad spend to an ACoS goal.
The art & science of Amazon pricing.
How to price on other marketplaces so you maximize sales on amazon and preserve margin.
Product assortment strategies on and off Amazon and where Chad would launch a new eComm brand if he started today.

In this episode, you’ll hear Rick Watson’s unfiltered hot takes on the latest changes coming from the “Big 2” in eCommerce: Shopify and Amazon.

Rick Watson is an eCommerce influencer, former software CEO, and the host of The Watson Weekly podcast. Frequently speaking at large retail events like ShopTalk, NRF, and IRCE, he knows his stuff!

Here’s a look at what we cover:

How Rick grew from 0 to 45,000 followers on LinkedIn in a few years (fun side notes for anyone wanting to grow their social following).
The recent Shopify rate increases - people are complaining, but no one is leaving.
Headless Commerce and Shopify Components - it’s new(ish), it’s sexy, and everyone is talking about it. Is it right for you?
Amazon FBA changes related to IPI - this shows that Amazon is smarter than the rest of us.
Buy with Prime - what is it, when does it make sense vs. when does it not?
Walmart, Target+, and the other marketplaces - should you care?

Bear Handlon is a former Yale football player, Naval Officer, and the Co-Founder and CEO of Born Primitive, one of the hottest brands in the fitness, athleisure, and outdoor apparel space. Bear’s story is truly unique and full of valuable insights.

Bear had a simple idea, $4,000 in the bank, and was about to ship off to officer candidate school, but he decided to launch a company anyway. He parlayed the success of his initial product, custom-made compression shorts, to build a large and diverse brand with a wide array of products.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

When to focus vs. when to expand your product offering.
Born Primitive’s 3 keys to building a growth flywheel.
How to turn mistakes into extreme customer loyalty.
How getting the product right fuels everything else.
Why being face-to-face with customers is the key to product innovation and marketing.
While products can be replicated, a strong and unique “brand identity” cannot.

Rabah Rahil has done it all when it comes to marketing.

Rabah is the CMO for one of the hottest and fastest growing SaaS companies in the DTC world - Triple Whale. Prior to that, he worked on the digital marketing team at Whole Foods, was a part of an agency that managed traffic for Oprah, and owned and operated his own agency.

Triple Whale is a leader (and one of my favorites) in the world of 3rd-Party Attribution tools. Triple Whale helps you make sense of what channels, campaigns, and ads are moving the needle. It also brings all of your important data from Shopify, Amazon, and your ad channel into a single dashboard.

In this episode, we talk about attribution from a high level and what platforms are getting the most ad spend right now.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Why trying to get perfect attribution data is impossible (and why it’s not the point).
A "party" analogy that could shift the way you view your ad channels.
With data from 6,000 Shopify stores, where are most advertisers spending their ad budgets?
Is TikTok where you should focus your time and budget in 2023 (the answer may surprise you)?
Is Facebook slipping?
Where should I prioritize Snapchat?

Brendan Bannister, the CEO of Naturalabs.io, is one smart marketer.

We first met in 2018 when he was the CMO and Creative Director at William Painter. After taking my YouTube/Google course, he scaled ad spend on YouTube from $2k per day to $100k per day!

We decided to start meeting and swapping ideas, war stories, and things we were testing. We soon realized the value of sharing this knowledge with others and decided to record a session and bring it to the world!

In this episode, we dive into CRO, creatives, data-driven marketing, R&D for marketing departments, and the golden years for YouTube and Facebook Ads and how they achieved 13x growth for William Painter.

Here are some highlights:

How the famous da Vinci quote, “Simplicity is Ultimate Sophistication” should be a guiding principle for marketers.
Is media buying dead? If so, what is taking its place?
How good brands are sort of like algorithms.
“Design is hack” and what that means for your marketing efforts.
The role “brand” plays in your ability to scale.
Why Brendan is now living and working full-time in Dubai.
Plus more!

Retention marketing is crucial for any business.

When the economy is thriving, you need retention marketing to cut through the clutter and help you stand out.

When times are tough, as they may be in the near future, retention marketing is essential. During a recession, it’s critical to get the most out of your marketing efforts.

The most effective way to accomplish this is to maximize your Lifetime Value (LTV) through retention and loyalty marketing.

That’s why, at OMG, we launched email and SMS marketing as a service last year. (email growth@omgcommerce.com to find out more).

In this episode, I had the pleasure of hosting Daniel Budai, a retention marketing expert and the founder of Budai Media.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

The mindset shift needed to impact how you approach retention marketing and loyalty.
Why you are likely not emailing your list enough and how emailing LESS has the opposite effect.
How to maximize your results by combining SMS and email marketing.
How to create a user-friendly loyalty program that incentivizes desired actions, such as referrals.
How to use postcards as part of your retention and loyalty efforts.

Chris Mercer - aka “Mercer,” is the man when it comes to measurement and analytics. He’s the guy the pros like Justin Brooke, Mike Rhodes, and OMG turn to when we need help.

If you haven’t heard (and I’d be shocked if you haven’t), Google Analytics 4 or GA4 is coming, and Universal Analytics (the current version) will go away in July of 2023.

GA4 isn’t just an upgrade. It’s an entirely different animal. It has to be! Given how technology, user preferences, and policies around privacy have changed over recent years - Google is forced to abandon UA and build something completely new.

In this episode, we talk about what’s new, what’s different, what we’re excited about, and what you can do to prepare.Here’s a glimpse of what we cover:

A simple way to understand events and how Google measures them in GA4.
Data storage and how to hold onto your data - If nothing is done, your data will be gone in 2-14 months.
What’s going away vs. what’s here to stay?
How to use GA4 to make better decisions.

The most difficult aspect of eCommerce is attracting new customers.

With CPMs and CPAs on the rise, great brands must learn to increase the average order values (AOV) and customer lifetime value (LTV) of their customers.

That’s where building a brand marketplace comes into play.

Yes, you need to be developing new products and expanding your line. However, partnering with other complementary brands can provide immediate value to customers while also increasing AOV and LTV.

But if done poorly, it can actually hurt your brand. Here’s what we dive into in this episode:

How Brooklinen thinks about brand marketplace and gives customers the option to "shop the room.”
How Realtree expands its product line beyond camo to include high-quality rain gear and more products through their brand marketplace.
How to structure a marketplace to strengthen your brand, not erode it.
How a kayak brand used drop shipping competitors products to increase sales, trust, and customer loyalty for their own goods.
How Flxpoint makes it easy!

Cyber 5 2022 is in the books!

In this episode, I’m joined by two OMG Commerce veterans to unpack the juicy tidbits and key takeaways from BFCM.

Bill Cover is a senior Google Strategist with 6 years of experience at OMG and over a decade of experience in eComm. Amber Norell is the Amazon Director at OMG. For 8 years, she has helped large brands with scaling on Amazon in the most competitive niches!

This year’s data was both fascinating and surprising. Some speculated that high inflation and economic concerns could squash the holiday sales rush and turn Cyber 5 into a downer. However, the data tells a VERY different story.

Here’s some of what we covered:

How did Cyber 5 2022 compare to last year?
How did BF compare to CM? When we looked at Amazon sales versus DTC sales, the answer was different.
Did Prime Early Access - Amazon’s sale in October - impact Cyber 5 or holiday sales in general?
What was the level of discounting this year vs. last year?
How did ad costs change during Cyber 5?

Allie Bloyd is a podcast host, consultant, Facebook Ad pro, and marketing juggernaut! In this episode, Allie and I talk about several elements many eCommerce brands overlook or simply under-leverage. To use a golf analogy, many eComm brands are focused on impressive drives when they also need to consider their short game. "You know the sang, "Drive for show, putt for dough." That’s where offers, audience building, and list nurturing come into play. Here’s just a few nuggets you'll learn: * How to completely change the math on your cold traffic by creating irresistible offers that don't cheapen your brand. * How to utilize tripwires and micro offers as an eComm brand. * Audience building and how it can lower ad costs (especially during peak seasons like a holiday). * The best book written on remarketing and loyalty (hint: you’ve probably read it to your kids before).

What you don’t know about YouTube is hurting you.

Justin Sardi is the founder of Tube Sift and Video Ad Vault. He is a true YouTube OG.

He’s been running ads and geeking out on YouTube organic growth since 2012.

He’s built two of the leading YouTube research and spying tools on the web - Tube Sift and Ad Vault. The team here at OMG actually uses both regularly. Justin is a sharp dude with a wealth of YouTube knowledge.

Here’s what we dive into in this episode:

Misconceptions about YouTube holding you back from growth.
How to capture top-performing YouTube ads to learn from - for FREE!
What’s changing on YouTube, including some of our favorite targeting options?
Why Google’s first-party data and AI is second to none.
Some YouTube SEO tips you probably haven’t thought of.
Do you need a 2nd YouTube channel?
Video Discovery ads - what are they and how to make them work for you?
Plus more!

Kurt is a legend in the eComm space and hosts one of the most popular podcasts in our industry.

His show, The Unofficial Shopify Podcast, just crossed the 2 million downloads milestone.

Kurt and his company are all about one thing - helping Shopify store owners make more money. And the best way to do that is by split-testing everything.

An important first step of split testing is questioning your assumptions. (We all know what happens when we assume.)

Here are a few recent tests Kurt and company have run. We discuss the results on the show...yes, that's a teaser. Listen to find out what test won!

Does free shipping always result in better performance (and is it even worth testing)?
Should I put a slider on my home page?
What about hero images and banners on my category pages?
Do add-to-cart buttons on your collections pages help or hurt conversions?
What about stuffy old early 2000s breadcrumbs - are they helpful or not?
Plus, favorite tools, tips, and tricks that Kurt uses often.

John Parkes and I go way back.

In the early days of OMG, we partnered with Russell Brunson on a project called DotComSecrets Local. John helped oversee the project. It was pre-ClickFunnels in 2010 and an excellent time to work as an online entrepreneur. Having an upfront seat watching Russell and his team was inspiring and educational.

Fast forward to today, and John is the Chief Traffic Architect for ClickFunnels. Or CTA for short, which is a nerdy and satisfying job title for a media buyer. John is a great media buyer, strategist, and marketer. He’s wicked smart and fun to talk to!

In this episode, we dive into rethinking Facebook Ads. Plus, we talk about the grandfather of direct response marketing - Dan Kennedy. Interestingly, many people (myself included) thought Dan was dead. He’s not, and now he’s part of the ClickFunnels team.

Here’s a look at what we dive into:

The experience of buying Dan Kennedy’s company and brand. Opening up new markets and introducing the current market to The Godfather of direct response marketing.
D.W.E.L.L. - audience strategy for focusing.
How to build “set it and forget it” remarketing ads.
How Google and Facebook Ads work together - this can really unlock growth when you understand it.
Is TikTok really a game changer from a marketing and business growth perspective?
A sneak peek at ClickFunnels 2.0.

Preparation is the backbone for success during the holiday season.

Today I am talking to a few of our OMG experts on preparing to win the 2022 holidays. Joining us is Amber Norell, OMG’s Amazon Director, Bill Cover, one of OMG’s amazing Google Strategist, and Savannah Knight, one of OMG’s rockstar Google Specialists.

This holiday season should be quite interesting. Inflation, rising ad costs, privacy issues, and new campaign types have this year shaping up to be anything but ordinary.

In this episode we cover how to:

Drive MORE traffic profitably
Go omnichannel
Turn every interaction (even support) into sales opportunities

Preparation is the backbone for success during the holiday season.

Recently we just recorded a holiday webinar featuring Kristina Muntean and Jenna Galardi. Kristina works for Gorgias, an online customer support service who has worked with big brands such as Steve Madden and OLIPOP. Jenna Galardi has over a decade of experience helping businesses grow online. In current role as Senior Omnichannel Growth Manager at BigCommerce, she focuses on helping merchants strengthen their online presence and adopt social commerce, marketplaces, and product feed optimization solutions to scale their growth.

This holiday season should be quite interesting. Inflation, rising ad costs, privacy issues, and new campaign types have this year shaping up to be anything but ordinary.

In this episode we cover how to:

Drive MORE traffic profitably
Go omnichannel
Turn every interaction (even support) into sales opportunities

I love Arrae as a brand and as a group of products.

I also think Nish Samantray is one of the brightest up-and-coming eCommerce founders in the game right now.

Arrae is unique because it’s a supplement brand that combines natural ingredients with amazing packaging and design. Their supplements are designed to work in under an hour. So their bloat pill allows you to eat pizza and not feel terrible afterward. And the jars are a work of art. So are the labels. It’s truly a product you would love to see in your medicine cabinet or sitting on the counter.

Nish and the team are doing a LOT right in creating Arrae’s meteoric growth.

Here are a few things we discuss in today’s episode:

Why asking what customers want next is a terrible question and what to ask instead.
How to think about in-store growth.
When everything gets more challenging, how you get better.
Influencer marketing with events and thinking more like a mom who loves to host neighbor kids.
Nish’s favorite books and resources for growth
Plus more!

Content is King. Regardless of the platform.

Want to scale on TikTok? You’re only as good as your content.

Want to step up your IG game? Content, baby.

Want to finally scale on YouTube? Hire OMG (ha!) and create great content!

Today I’m interviewing Danil Saliukov, CEO and Co-Founder of Insense. I met Danil when we both spoke at Geek Out in San Diego a few months ago.

Insense is a marketplace that connects creators with brands and facilitates the creation of great content.

Creating great content comes down to 3 things:

Find the right creator for your brand
Build authentic content that highlights why your product is great
Create content specifically geared toward the platforms you want to run on

Here’s a look at what we breakdown on the show:

Where brands go wrong when creating content for marketing - Not every creator is an influencer, and not every influencer is a creator.
What separates brands that do really well from the rest?
The key to finding creators that best fit a brand.
How brands can help creators create great content.
How brands should approach TikTok.
Actors vs. content creators vs. real customers for UGC.

Dr. Travis Zigler knows a thing or two about the entrepreneur’s journey. Sometimes the path you end up taking as an entrepreneur is NOT the path you had in mind when you set out. Travis and his wife, Jenna, are both optometrists by trade, but they had an itch to build an eCommerce business. They started with sunglasses, then landed with a dry eye product, but what began as a product-focused company shifted to a customer-focused business. Here’s a look at what we cover: * How to cultivate raving fans. * How Travis and Jenna shifted from selling plastic to serving a person. * How and why they built a YouTube channel. * How they almost sold the business for nothing but then turned things around. * His most important lessons from success and failure.

My guest today is a longtime friend and colleague, Jon MacDonald.

Jon is the CEO and founder of, The Good. He and his team help brands like Nike, Xerox, and The Economist turn more visitors into customers.

He’s one of the best conversion rate optimization specialists I know.

In this interview, we wanted to go beyond the typical hacks and quick tips and look at principle-based optimization or optimization as a way of doing business. This approach will yield far greater results over the long haul than just trying the CRO-hack “flavor of the day.”

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Why best practices are for beginners and how you should think about CRO in general.
What most eComm brand owners forget about the scientific method and why chasing “silver bullets” is killing your results.
New visitors are at your site for two reasons, and it’s not just to hang out or learn all about you.
How Jon’s simple yet effective “Trust Trifecta” will help you earn more conversions.
What Kim Kardashian’s assistant can teach you about "surprise and delight" user experiences.
How discounting isn’t optimization; it’s margin drain. And what you can do instead of discounting.
Plus more!

Long-time fans of the show might remember me saying that SEO was the first online marketing skill I learned and was also the first service OMG offered.

We got out of the SEO game years ago, but I still love it. And I believe it's a massive area of opportunity that most eComm brands are missing.

I first heard my guests speak at Geek Out in San Diego. Their talk was so good I asked them to come on the podcast. Kevin is the CEO of GR0, and Jon is the Chief Growth Officer. Both are wicked smart.

In this episode, we bust SEO myths and misunderstandings and talk about how they've helped eComm brands 10x their organic traffic through consistent SEO practices.

Here's a look at what we cover:

The most common SEO mistakes or misunderstandings from eComm brands.
Where in the funnel does SEO fit?
How SEO is just storytelling in a lot of different ways.
Content must haves when creating content for organic growth.
Favorite SEO tools.
How someone could get started with SEO.

Email marketing is the ultimate money maker for eCommerce companies.

When you have email marketing dialed in, EVERYTHING else gets better. Your product launches improve, you can spend more on top-of-funnel marketing efforts, convert more abandoned carts, and give your customers a better experience. The list goes on and on.

Nick Flint is the lead Email Strategist here at OMG Commerce. He took his knowledge from building his own eCommerce brand while in college and scaled that into successfully running email marketing for brands for the past 6+ years.

Here’s the deal. Even if you think you’re doing pretty well with email marketing, there are at least a few things you can improve on. Grab your pencil if you know you have holes in your email game. You’re about to unlock some serious growth for your brand.

Here’s a look at what I cover with Nick in this episode.

Three simple ways to make any subject line better.
What to do with your winning email tests.
The paradox of sending more emails.
How to properly combine email and SMS marketing for better results (without bugging your customers).
Two super-fast email hacks that you can digest and implement tomorrow.
A simple, no-brainer way to improve your flows.
Plus more!

My guest today is Krik Angacian, the co-founder of Candy Can. Krik’s background is first as an investment banker and then as a founder of a protein popcorn business that he sold a few years ago. Candy Can is a phenomenal product (full disclosure - I am an investor) and somewhat addictive. If you’re like me, you’ve been known to snack on children’s gummy vitamins (it’s actually a pretty common vice, it turns out). The trouble is, that’s not so healthy. Enter Candy Can, the keto-friendly gummy snacks packed with vitamins (but not too many) and free of junk like gelatin and nasty fillers. Candy Can is on a tear of growth right now, but it’s not from the traditional channels like Google and Facebook. It’s from affiliate marketing. Here’s a look at what we covered in the interview: * Where to get started and where to learn affiliate marketing. * Should you hire an affiliate agency or go it alone (most charge $10k per month or more)? * Why landing page is everything and what Krik has learned through testing. * How fraud is a real issue and what to do about it. * Why starting with low-quality traffic and then upgrading could be a good strategy for you (or even a must). * Top affiliate marketing tools. * Understanding the metrics behind affiliate marketing.

What’s the secret behind the runaway success of Dr. Squach, Manscapped, William Painter, Ruggable, Lume, and more? Product design that people love is part of it.They also leveraged FANTASTIC creatives. They didn’t just create ads that converted; they had ads that viewers loved. This allowed for scaling. They entered the rare space of being able to scale profitably to 10 million, 20 million, several hundred million views - profitably. Dr. Squatch rode the wave of incredible creatives from a $3 million annual run rate to hundreds of millions in yearly sales. How did they do it? They tapped into Raindrop’s creative genius and its CEO Jacques Spitzer. Raindrop is one of my favorite creative shops and the creators of the videos for brands listed above, plus Native (also an OMG Client), Worx, Happy Egg, and more. Here’s a look at what we cover in the episode: * Why you shouldn’t start a video project by deciding what YOU want to say. Follow Jacques advice instead. * How you’re likely assuming way more attention than your prospects are giving. * How ads that scale can completely change the game. * What people are really buying when they buy your product. * Do shoppers actually care about your why? * What branded performance creative is and why it makes scale and brand lift so much easier.

What’s the secret behind the runaway success of Dr. Squach, Manscapped, William Painter, Ruggable, Lume, and more? Product design that people love is part of it.They also leveraged FANTASTIC creatives. They didn’t just create ads that converted; they had ads that viewers loved. This allowed for scaling. They entered the rare space of being able to scale profitably to 10 million, 20 million, several hundred million views - profitably. Dr. Squatch rode the wave of incredible creatives from a $3 million annual run rate to hundreds of millions in yearly sales. How did they do it? They tapped into Raindrop’s creative genius and its CEO Jacques Spitzer. Raindrop is one of my favorite creative shops and the creators of the videos for brands listed above, plus Native (also an OMG Client), Worx, Happy Egg, and more. Here’s a look at what we cover in the episode: * Why you shouldn’t start a video project by deciding what YOU want to say. Follow Jacques advice instead. * How you’re likely assuming way more attention than your prospects are giving. * How ads that scale can completely change the game. * What people are really buying when they buy your product. * Do shoppers actually care about your why? * What branded performance creative is and why it makes scale and brand lift so much easier.

What if you could cut your lead costs in half? What if you could shorten your sales cycle from several weeks to just a few hours? What if you could leverage organic and paid traffic for better connections, delightful customer interactions, and more sales? That is what Chatbots can create for you. I heard Natasha Willis speak at Blue Ribbon Miami a few months ago, and I loved her presentation so much that I invited her to be on the show! In this episode, we unpack her $30 million Instagram DM funnel. Here’s a look at what we cover: * How to use IG DMs to run quiz funnels. * How to combine bots and human creativity for outstanding results. * How Natasha helped cut lead costs in half for companies like Foundr. * Top mistakes people make with Chat marketing. * Misconceptions about Chat marketing.

What if you could cut your lead costs in half? What if you could shorten your sales cycle from several weeks to just a few hours? What if you could leverage organic and paid traffic for better connections, delightful customer interactions, and more sales? That is what Chatbots can create for you. I heard Natasha Willis speak at Blue Ribbon Miami a few months ago, and I loved her presentation so much that I invited her to be on the show! In this episode, we unpack her $30 million Instagram DM funnel. Here’s a look at what we cover: * How to use IG DMs to run quiz funnels. * How to combine bots and human creativity for outstanding results. * How Natasha helped cut lead costs in half for companies like Foundr. * Top mistakes people make with Chat marketing. * Misconceptions about Chat marketing.

Should you build a brand from scratch? Or buy an existing brand and apply your genius to scale or improve it? Mike Jackness is one of my favorite eCommerce pros to talk to. He’s a podcast host. He’s built, bought, and sold multiple brands. And he has a heart to teach.He’s currently running a successful eComm brand that I’m an investor in, and it’s in the process of selling. We wanted to hop on the podcast and talk about the process plus the pros and cons of buying vs. selling. Here’s a look at what we cover: * What you’re actually buying when you buy an existing business. * How Mike looks at brands, he wants to buy or invest in. * How to approach due diligence as a buyer or a seller. * Surprises to look for in the due diligence process as a buyer or a seller. * How getting your business ready to sell now will make your business better regardless of if you sell it or not. * The good, the bad, and the ugly of M&A. * Plus more!

I’ve always believed that writing good copy is one of the most profitable skills you can have as a marketer. And even if you don’t want to write copy yourself, understanding the process that your team should go through to create great copy is super important.

Recently I spoke at Nick Shackelford’s Geek out in San Diego and I met Brandon Ham there. Brandon used to work for Agora Publishing, the multi-billion direct marketing behemoth that was built on great copy.

Whether you want to write better email subject lines, create more engaging video ads, craft display ads that drive conversions, or improve your landing page conversion rates, this approach can really help.

Here’s what we cover:

Brandon’s 3-step research process for powerful copy.
How to spy on competitors and see what’s working and what’s not.
The biggest mistakes to avoid when watching competitors.
How to “tell your story better”.
You sell with your ears, not with your mouth and what that means for copy.
How to speak your customer’s language.
Plus more!

Prime Day is now one of the most anticipated shopping events of the year for both shoppers and sellers.

It started in 2015 as a way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Amazon. Mostly it was designed to help boost sales during one of the slowest times of the year (July).

It has since grown dramatically and rivaled some of the largest shopping days of the year.

In this episode, we break down what we saw this year including some surprises, key learnings, and take aways for upcoming big sales events like other Prime events and Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

OMG is large enough now that aggregate data from our clients is informative and meaningful. In this episode we unpack global Amazon trends and data and data from our growing list of OMG clients.

Amber, OMG’s Amazon Director, and Trenton, our Amazon PPC lead, join the podcast to break down what we saw from OMG clients and what we saw globally.

Here’s a look at what we cover.

300 million items were purchased on Prime Day 2022.
60,000 items purchased per minute (wowza).
Most shopping was done from 8p-9p PT on Wednesday 7/13.
What happened to CPCs and conversion rates during Prime Day.
What offers and deals did well, vs. what didn’t do so hot.
What categories really shined and outperformed others (some pretty surprising results here).
Key learnings to apply for Prime Day Early Access and Cyber 5.

The Google ads ecosystem offers opportunities to grow your brand that you really can’t find anywhere else.

Google is the world’s most popular search engine and the number 1 most visited site on the planet.

YouTube is the world's 2nd most popular search engine (even though it’s really a video site) and the world’s 2nd most visited site.

You can leverage both channels for both targeted growth and scale. But how?

We’ll show you in this episode. Matt Slaymaker is a Lead Google & YouTube Ads Specialist at OMG Commerce. Dubbed “Slaymaker the Playmaker” - Matt joins me to talk about top strategies and tactics to achieve Full Funnel Growth on Google Ads in 2022 and beyond.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Where to start with Search and why this is still super important even though it’s the true Google OG.
What has changed with Google Shopping.
What channels we recommend for remarketing and how to structure your audiences.
What the best audiences are for YouTube Ads.
And more!

Misconceptions about GDN are rampant in the eComm world. It’s too hard. It’s too expensive. The targeting isn’t as good as Facebook. It doesn’t work. Justin Brooke knows better.
Justin is an ad veteran who knows just about every ad platform out there. He’s partnered with and trained media buyers for Russell Brunson, Frank Kern, Dan Kennedy and more. He also worked for Agora Publishing. He KNOWS his stuff. And he believes GDN ads are better than Facebook?
Why? * You can still get $.40 and $.80 clicks. * GDN offers targeting that you can’t match on Facebook. * GDN creates the impression that your brand is “everywhere”.

Here are some tips we cover: * His unique approach to GDN for eCommerce. * His landing page must-have elements. * How quality is in the quantity when it comes to GDN headlines and copy. * Testing 3 angles for every idea - toward pleasure, away from pain, and something controversial. * Utilizing the overnight celebrity strategy with testimonial GDN ads. * How deadlines and testimonials work together. * How to work hand-in-hand with the algorithm for amazing results.

Andrew Eckblad is one of the sharpest video minds I know. He started in TV and film and even won a few Emmys. He was Frank Kerns’ “video guy” for over 10 years. Now he runs convertsmart and works with DTC brands making videos that convert on all platforms: Facebook, IG, YouTube, and TikTok.

In this episode, we focus on the 8 biggest mistakes he sees DTC brands making when it comes to video marketing.

Here’s a quick look at what we cover:

How the pattern interrupt really needs to do more than interrupt - it also needs to frame the video.
What the real goal of the first 5-10 seconds should be.
How you need to lean into authenticity and what that looks like.
What the ideal length of a video is after millions of dollars of testing.
A simple yet HUGE recommendation for your CTAs (I’ve been guilty of making this mistake).
How you might be overthinking your video strategy.
Plus more!

As you know, I’m no stranger to YouTube ads. It’s been an obsession of mine since 2016.

But, I love talking shop and swapping ideas with other YouTube ad experts.

My guest today is Brian Moncada. He and his team run YouTube ads for other marketing legends like Frank Kern, John Asaraf, and others. Brian knows his stuff!

Brian has worked mostly with info marketers and influencers. We work almost exclusively with DTC brands. So our combined perspective on YouTube ads is pretty powerful.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Brian’s ad framework.
How to harness intent-based targeting.
How to create urgency and scarcity.
Why most YouTube ads fail.

No one knows more about eCommerce growth than my friend, Ezra Firestone. Arguably, no one is a more interesting interview than Ezra either. This episode does NOT disappoint. Ezra bootstrapped growth for Boom from $0 to $40mill + per year. He also recently bought another high-profile eComm brand (more on that in the show).

This episode is straight fire.

Here’s a look at what we dive into:

How Ezra is approaching email marketing and email list growth in 2022. I’m guessing you’re missing his email strategy - even if you consider yourself an email marketing pro.
How BOOM is approaching front-end offers.
Why you should consider inventing a holiday and how BOOM did just that.
How to grow your SMS list.
Plus MUCH, much more!

I’ve never met anyone quite like Miki Agrawal.

She’s incredibly creative. No really. She once hosted a “funeral for a tree” at an old cathedral in NYC hosted by comedians and actors. It drew a crowd of thousands, generated millions in free press, and helped shed light on the toilet paper waste that her company TUSHY can help solve.

She understands trends in marketing. She knows how to grab attention. So much so that she was banned by the NY transit authority from running subway ads. Which led to a PR fight that she won…and in the end, got more press and attention than if they hadn’t been banned.

She’s also warm and kind and FUN.

She’s created multiple 9-Figure businesses and has garnered some pretty incredible recognition. She was named "Fast Company's Most Creative People", “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum and INC's “Most Impressive Women Entrepreneurs”.

She’s also the author of #1 best selling books Do Cool SH*T and Disrupt-HER.

In this episode we unpack Miki’s wacky, impossible-to-forget and wildly successful marketing strategies and tactics.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

How Miki was banned from advertising on the NYC subway and turned that into a huge PR win for her brand THINX.
How to use Accessible + Relatable language.
How to create ads that are both effective and “fridge worthy”.
How iteration is perfection.
How to start with play to create great ideas.

Today we’re going Old School. We’re not talking email. We’re not talking TikTok, Facebook or even YouTube.

We’re talking Snail. Mail. The gold old USPS. Physical mailboxes.

Why?

Because this is an untapped opportunity for DTC brands.

My guests today are two legends in the eCommerce space - Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein. Drew and Michael most recently ran and successfully exited Auto Anything a multi nine figure eCommerce brand. Now they are helping DTC brands grow through direct mail marketing. And while that might not sound sexy, it’s incredibly effective.

Why postcard and direct mail marketing? 20-50% of your customers don't have a good email address on file. And email open rates are only 20-30% at best. So you’re missing a lot of your current and past buyers if you’re just relying on email and SMS.

Here’s a look at what we cover in this episode:

How should brands use direct mail?
How to build a great postcard
What postcard campaigns to start with
How Ezra Firestone turned $1,400 into $4,000 using a simple postcard
How to make direct mail part of your email and SMS flows

Josh Chin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Chronos Agency, an email marketing agency with a team of 100 strong. Josh has been a featured speaker at top industry events including Geek Out, Affiliate World, Ecommerce World, and others. In this episode we discuss top email and SMS mistakes Ecommerce store owners make, what strategies are working now, and what the future holds for these channels.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

The top 3 automations you need to build right now.
How relying on templates could be dragging down performance.
What to do now that open rate isn’t a thing anymore.
Utilizing push notifications and tap cart - what you need to know.
Top email strategies - what’s changing and what isn’t.
Real World email examples.
Plus more!

Josh Durham has achieved some amazing success online. He’s also a survivor of an eCommerce crash and burn story that’s truly spectacular. He built an amazing brand from $0 to $10 million in just 3 short years and then lost it all in a matter of months. After the dusting off the debris Josh joined my buddy Peter Goodwin as the head of growth for Groove Life and helped add $10million in top line sales (with good margin) in about a year and a half. In this episode we dive into valuable lessons from rapid growth and rapid failure. Here’s a look at what we cover. * Law of Quarters - and how it should help you think about margins, product pricing, and operations. * How failing to introduce successful 2nd, 3rd, and 4th products can spell death to a brand. * How to structure a successful Ambassador program that will become a new content engine for you. * Tips for building a real community around your brand. * Knowing your numbers and your MER (Media Efficiency Ratio). * How to generate an unending supply of amazing User Generated Content. * Plus more!

Kim and Tim Lewis are truly an inspiring success story. They’re happily married with 3 kids. They run a business that just raised $4 Million in crowd-funded equity. They’ve been on Shark Tank and they were featured as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things. They have huge goals for the future. So what is their brand Curl Mix? It’s a line of hair care products formulated for curly hair…and it has a raving fan base.

In this merchant success episode we unpack some key lessons including:

How Curl Mix got started and how doing FB lives from the shower helped their products go viral
How they got on shark tank and tips for doing the same
The definition and explanation crowdfunded equity
3 tips for raising $4.5 million + of crowdfunded equity
How CurlMix plans to become a black-owned P&G
How to increase recurring revenue
Plus more!

Cody is a former college hoop star turned influencer marketing pro. His resume of influencers he’s partnered with is pretty impressive. He’s worked with the likes of Lebron James, Mike Trout, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and more. His passion is helping great eCommerce brands scale with simple, effective influencer marketing. And he believes that most brands approach influencer marketing all wrong.

Here’s a look at what we cover in this episode.

What’s changed in the last year in influencer marketing?
What mistakes are ecomm brands still making?
How do you work with people like Lebron and Mike Trout?
What’s the solution to tracking in a post iOS 14.5 world.
Tips for getting started and executing an effective influencer marketing program.
Plus more!

Supply chain and logistics. When everything is running smoothly, it’s a breeze. When there are problems, inventory issues can cripple an eComm business. Inventory, and supply chain management has been struggle city in 2020 and 2021. Unfortunately, 2022 isn’t looking much better.

In this episode I interview Chelsea Cohen of So Stocked and we unpack some super smart inventory and supply chain strategies. This content is a MUST if you want to remain competitive (and avoid pulling your hair out from supply chain pain).

Here’s a look at what we cover:

The Golden rule of logistics - don’t let anyone have all of your stuff - and how to apply it.
Container optimizations - with the cost of containers rising, container optimization can have a big impact on your overall profitability.
Carton optimizations - This is a next-level tactic that can save you big. Especially when you combine it with container optimization.
4 points that impact your restock limit with Amazon
3 triggers to pull to avoid restock limit crashes during out of stock periods

The market for eCommerce businesses has never been hotter. Now dozens of brand aggregators have war chests of $100s of millions of dollars with one mission - buy and grow eComm brands. We’re now seeing valuations in the 5-6x of EBITA where just a few years ago we were only seeing 3-4x multiples.

Now is a great time to sell an eCommerce brand. And, if done right, it’s still not a bad time to buy a brand.

Chris Yates is co-owner of Centurica a company that offers buy-side due diligence for digital businesses. He’s also the founder of Rhodium Weekend - a vetted community of digital entrepreneurs and investors.

Here’s a look at what we cover.

Mistakes when going through due diligence
Most important steps/tips when going through due diligence
Mistakes when evaluating your own business
As you hit different vacation tiers - types of buyers and buyers wants and needs change
How aggregators are changing the landscape of DTC M&A
What is Rhodium weekend? Mastermind and speakers. Real in the trenches stuff and fun activities

Josh Martin is fearless. At age 24 he’s winning contests, designing new products, building communities and partnering with some real movers and shakers in our industry. In this episode I grill Josh (pun intended) on his success with his BBQ company and his experience in the wine business. There are tons of lessons in this episode whether you’re running an 8 or 9 figure business or just getting started.

How Josh won the Million Dollar Brand Scholarship Award
Influencer marketing mistakes to avoid
Keys to $.25 email list opt-in strategies
How to run good customer surveys and getting useful data
Understanding the “why” behind your product and how that influences marketing and future product launches
Plus more!

The holy grail right now for online advertising is to be both funny and persuasive. To be relevant and engaging. Funny videos that sell are rare. Mostly because most people don’t know how to create them. In this episode Joseph walks us through his 8-step process for creating funny videos that sell without hiring an expert.

Joseph Wilkins has a rich background in creating videos that convert. He launched his career in the infomercial business while working on the launch of Little Giant Ladder. That infomercial went on to sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ladders.

I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Joseph on a mutual client - Tru Earth. Joseph and his team created videos for Tru Earth that have now racked up over 100 million views! More than that, though, they are driving new customer acquisition.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Why having a crystal clear picture of your customer in your head is a must before you do anything else. You wouldn’t write a letter without knowing who you’re writing it to, would you?
How Joseph assembles a team of people to write scripts and why this is more important than fancy editing skills.
How to find talent for videos
Why you should probably forget about going viral
Getting your pace right and testing before you go live with a video
How and when to add humor to your ads
How to think about production quality

Growing your sales on Amazon really comes down to three things: 1. Getting found on Amazon by improving your organic rankings or paying for ads. 2. Getting more people to click on your listings once they see it. 3. Convincing more shoppers that your product is the one for them.

It sounds simple enough right? But most Amazon sellers miss several key tactics that severely limit growth. That’s why I was so excited to talk to Daniela Bolzmann founder of Mindfulgoods.co. She is a PRO at making products on Amazon stand out. She’s so good, in fact, that Amazon created a case study featuring her work. Here’s a look at what we unpack on this episode: * How to maximize your SEO efforts for launching new products on Amazon * How to integrate and tweak existing listings that already rank to get them to rank HIGHER * Leveraging your 6 images for maximum conversions * What to do with A+ content to make your product nearly irresistible * How Yes Bar gets it right with their listing optimization and storefront optimization * Top Amazon listing mistakes sellers make and how to avoid them

If you’re thinking about selling now or anytime in the next 5 years, you need the info in this episode.

In the first half of 2021 alone, $2.5 billion in capital has been raise by brand aggregators all looking to acquire eCommerce brands.

Currently there are over 100 aggregators just in the eCommerce space. A few months ago, I met Dave Bunch at Ezra Firestone’s Blue Ribbon Mastermind in Miami. We were both speaking there and when I heard his story, I knew I wanted him to be on the podcast. Dave is the President of Growve a $250 Million dollar aggregator with close to 25 brands under one roof.

So why the rise of aggregators? What makes that business model so attractive? Why are brands selling to aggregators? Those are all questions I wanted to ask Dave.

Here’s a look at what we talk about:

Why right now might be a good time to take some chips off the table
The benefits of rolling equity vs. full buyouts
Why you should be weary of large offers
When deals go bad - how to better prepare for the issues that always arise when closing deals
What’s the end game for aggregators including going public through SPACs, selling to Private Equity and selling to strategic investors

Deacon helps founders & CEOs create profitable, scalable business growth through coaching and consulting programs at SharpBusinessGrowth.com. He's led teams overseeing $50 Million in marketing campaigns, and delivered revenue growth results recognized by Inc. 5000. If you look at wildly successful DTC brands compared to the rest, you definitely find some differences. But those differences aren’t always what you think. Sometimes really great products fail. Sometimes insanely smart entrepreneurs never reach their full potential. Sometimes great marketing tactics alone just aren’t enough. Deacon Bradley is one of those guys that you feel smarter just from one conversation with him. In this episode we talk about Growth Mulitpliers vs. Growth Inhibitors. Some of these might surprise you. * Missing the connector of brand and strategy that make your team and your agencies to be successful * The story of an awesome DTC product that never fully figured out who they were * The power of Vision and commanders intent * How to be a visionary that integrators love to work with * What “knowing your numbers” really means and really looks like * How to avoid being a “genius with a thousand helpers”

Most of the high growth eComm companies I know are all building to sell. Some want to sell once revenue hits $5 million, some $25 million and some $100+. Regardless of what your target number is or regardless of if you even have a number, this interview with Chad will be super helpful.

Hear how Chad built his pet brand business and sold it for 7-figures in under 3 years.

Here’s a look at what we’ll cover:

Tips and advice for sellers
Maximize EBITA as you prepare to sell
Practical tips to “think profit first.”
Tips for prepping to sell your business
Learning from successes and failures
Understanding how self-imposed limits are holding you back!

KetoBrownie (now rebranded as Sinless Snacks - https://www.sinlesssnacks.com/) started where a lot of great food brands start - in the founder’s kitchen. Nick Raccuia’s story is a great one, full of insights and inspiration, successes and failures. It includes nailing product development on a few products and failure with other products. It covers periods of near burn out followed by the power of partnerships and strategic investors.

Now Nick’s company produces two of my favorite sinless and guilt-free snacks: the original Keto Brownie and the Sinless Snacks cereal bar.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Knowing your customer is the key to product launches. Learn from NIck’s product successes contrasted with a few painful flops.
The benefits of a strategic investor and how to find them
Not launching on Amazon soon enough
Packaging and transit issues
How obsessing over your customers and products leads to wins

While getting free PR for your brand isn’t easy, it’s not impossible. And the rewards can be huge. Great companies and CEOs have always understood this. From Steve Jobs to Walt Disney to Richard Branson and others. Free press can be worth millions to your brand. And you don’t have to be as dynamic as Richard Branson to get free PR.

Ali Karsh is the co-founder of LVPR, a PR company that works exclusively with cool DTC brands like NATIVE, Cloud Paper, Everyday Humans, and many others.

In this episode, we condense Ali’s 15+ years of PR experience into a power-packed interview. We cover the most important topics so you can start getting free PR now for your brand. Here’s what we discuss:

When’s the best time to engage with media?
How to craft a compelling founder story that the media is eager to share?
How the pandemic has made getting PR easier (and harder)
LVPR’s 5 Rules for brands it works with
What is commerce/affiliate PR and how it’s changing the PR game.
Plus more!

Justus Murimi is a guy that once you meet him you’ll likely never forget him. Why? Justus is one of the best askers of questions that I’ve ever been around. I first met Justus at Ryan Daniel Moran’s lake house in Austin Texas. It was a meeting of eCommerce investors. I was part of a group discussion with Justus and he was asking insightful question after insightful question. Then I had a chance to spend some time with him and we immediately hit it off. He has a knack for understanding entrepreneurs and helping them get unstuck. He’s the Community Manager for the One Percent with Ryan Daniel Moran. He’s also the head coach of the Incubator. Every week he’s coaching, teaching, and mentoring eCommerce businesses at every stage of growth.

I LOVE this topic. While we don’t get super tactical, I believe this episode could prove to be one of the most helpful we’ve ever published.

As entrepreneurs, we're all prone to getting stuck. And it’s not just a one-time deal. Depending on the stage or growth your business is in, you could get stuck for a variety of reasons. In this episode, I turn the tables on Justus and fire probing snd insightful questions his way. Here’s a look at what we cover.

How early-stage entrepreneurs are most likely to get stuck.
How to overcome overthinking and gain a new frame on failure
Where growing businesses get stuck and how some entrepreneurs develop a messiah complex.
Where business owners fall short when preparing for an exit.
What role does fear play in getting stuck and getting unstuck

Who doesn’t love eating cookie dough with a spoon? Having a tasty product that customers crave is helpful. That’s part of the reason DoughP (pronounced like dope) has been so successful. But for the real reason behind DoughP’s amazing growth, look no further than the co-CEO team of Kelsey and Is. Not only are they co-CEOs, they’re also married. And they produce some addictively good cookie dough that’s shipped directly to your door

There’s a lot we can learn from DoughP both from a branding and eCommerce growth perspective.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

When you get your branding right, marketing becomes easy
How to detach and make unemotional decisions
How to be fun, relevant and also have a serious mission side to your business
How and when to pivot
How to scale operations from $50k per year online to over $350k per month in one year.

Amazon has always been a jungle for sellers. Battling sabotage from unscrupulous competitors, protecting yourself from listing takedowns, and avoiding account suspensions are all enough to keep you awake at night. So how do you protect your Amazon business from all the forces trying to kill it? My advice is to learn from and get to know former Amazonian Chris McCabe. Chris used to work at Amazon in the policy enforcement team. Now he works daily with sellers to mitigate issues and fight suspensions.

He’s been so effective at helping sellers that he’s been awarded the nickname ECommerce Chris. He’s also the host of the podcast, Seller Listing Solutions, and speaks at leading Amazon events like the Prosper Show. Chris is a guy you need to know.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Top reasons listings get taken down and what’s in your control.
Reasons for listing takedowns that most sellers don’t know about.
What it was like working at Amazon
The leading reasons for account suspensions and how to protect yourself
Top strategies for brand defense and fighting sabotage.
The best strategies for preventing problems and getting listings and accounts reinstated.

Tom Worcester is a tremendous success story. Grit, determination, and the ability to pivot he has in spades. He started his eCommerce business lunchboxpacks.com in 2018 to cater to the festival and event-going crowd. He hustled and used in-person marketing at events to help his theft-proof hydration backpacks (think a camelback, but with security features). The products took off. Then the pandemic hit. No festivals. No in-person events. But Tom knew his customers still craved community. So he continued to build community and he helped build another business - Create with Carousel that helps eComm brands build great video content.

Here’s what we dive into:

How to build community online for an ecomm brand in record time with a unifying topic
How to positively create echo chambers for your brand
What hooks you need to use to build community
Creating incentives to grow your community
3 layers of a product to consider when you craft a video ad…most people only think about the first two layers
How assuming you’re wrong can help you get it right with video ads
When and how to best use CTAs in your video ads

We’re all but guaranteed to see another record holiday season on Amazon this year. But that does not guarantee that you will have a banner holiday season. This year is sure to be challenging for online sellers. More shopping will take place in stores than last year during the height of the pandemic. Ad cost are also on the rise. Combine all of that with increased competition and you see why success this holiday season won't be easy. Getting the most from the Cyber 5 and beyond will really boil down to three things:

Covering the basics. Proper inventory levels. Understanding key selling dates and Amazon’s deadlines. Getting the right badges. Having listings optimized. Without the basics in place, you’ll be seriously behind this holiday season. We’ll help you get ready.
Getting an edge. This year is sure to be uber competitive for Amazon sellers. Do you have your lighting deals and coupon strategies ready? How’s your storefront, A+ content, and Amazon posts? Is your Amazon ad strategy primed and ready? We’ll uncover the tips you need to get an edge.
Going full-funnel and leverage what’s new. This is the year to go full-funnel with your Amazon advertising efforts. It’s also the year to fully leverage new offereinces from Amazon including new sponsored brand video targeting, Amazon’s customer engagement beta, new display options and more. Plus, it’s time to consider a few off-Amazon strategies that only a tiny percentage of sellers are leveraging.

We cover it all in this episode. Check it out and then share this with your team and other sellers you know who might find it helpful.

Are you fully prepared for Holiday 2021? This year is sure to be unique. While eCommerce is still growing, it’s growing at a slower rate than last year. Stores are opening, and, for now at least, shoppers are spending more money on experiences than they were during the height of the pandemic. So how can you maximize your online holiday sales this year?

In this episode, we listen in to the recording of the recent webinar we hosted that covers 7 ways to have a record holiday season including:

How to leverage the latest YouTube ad formats to get more exposure and more conversions at a lower cost.
What you’re likely missing with your current search and shopping ad structure and how to fix it.
Why now is a great time to consider Google Smart Shopping Campaigns
How to deliver the right holiday message at the right time
How to combat rising ad costs
Plus more!

With iOS 14 and privacy updates throwing advertisers for a loop and increased ad costs making reaching your ad goals harder than ever, scale on Facebook may seem illusive.

On today’s episode, I wanted to hear from an up-and-coming Facebook ad manager and co-host of the Rich Ad, Poor Ad podcast Dyland Carpenter. Dylan specializes in eComm media buying and is fanatical about testing, experimenting, and finding ways to scale ad accounts. Here’s a quick look at what we cover in today’s episode:

Common mistakes keeping you from scaling with Facebook ads
Why creative is everything and how to approach creative testing
Finding the winning campaign formula - learn how Dylan uses controls and tests to always be leveling up.
Thoughts on iOS 14
Budgeting for scale and how to be aggressive without breaking the algorithm
Plus more!

Are you ready to crack the YouTube ads code? Ready to learn how to win now and into the future even as privacy issues are causing media buyers to pull their hair out?

Here’s the Audio from a recent, wildly popular webinar I presented at. We had just over 2,000 people attend to hear our Winning Formula for Scale for YouTube ads for eCommerce.

This presentation is fast-paced and full of practical tips and examples. Here are 3 reasons to listen:

Learn how top eComm brands are profitably spending $500k per month on YouTube ads. Many were spending $0 on Google ads just a few months or years ago.
Diversity. In a world of tracking issues, algo updates, and constant uncertainty - you need to diversify your customer acquisition channels.
Understand how creative, campaign, and audience strategies work hand-in-hand to deliver stellar results.

Several of my successful eComm friends are selling all or a portion of their businesses right now. It makes sense. Ecommerce valuations are at an all time high. Also, when you consider that entrepreneurs make 50% or more of all the money they will EVER make from their business when they sell it - you have to be thinking about when and how you want to sell your business.

In this episode I interview my friend and expert M&A advisor, Joe Valley. Joe is a partner at Quietlight Brokerage, one of the leading online-focused M&A advisory firms in the world. Before joining the team in 2012, Joe sold his own business through Quiet Light. Since then, he has helped facilitate nearly a half billion in online exits and now is the author of the bestselling book, The EXITpreneur’s Playbook - How to Sell Your Online Business for Top Dollar.

Here’s a look at what we discuss in this episode:

What is an EXITpreneur and why it pays to think and operate like one
Why you should start “training” for an exit now
What if someone says - I love my business…I don’t want to sell.
Top mistakes to avoid when selling your business
Real life business selling horror stories
Plus more!

I do highly recommend Joe’s book. You can get your copy today at EXITpreneur.io and begin to understand the true value of your business - and how to get maximum value for it whenever and however you decide to exit.

Nearly every day we have eCommerce companies reaching out to us wanting to know how to grow their eCommerce brands using YouTube ads. YouTube ads are both exciting and mysterious to most store owners.

In this episode, I’m bringing you insights from some of the best and brightest minds at OMG Commerce. This is the audio recording from a recent YouTube ads expert panel that I moderated. This was a really fun panel for me because it was made up entirely of my team. I brought in 6 of our top YouTube ad specialists from team OMG to answer your burning YouTube questions. I think you’ll really learn a lot and enjoy this format. Here’s a look at the questions we dive into:

What are the best YouTube audiences to launch with and what are the best audiences to SCALE with?
How are YouTube ads different from Facebook and IG ads and different from ads on other platforms?
How long does it take to start reaching your CPA or CAC goals?
What kind of scale is possible with YouTube ads
When things go wrong on YouTube - what’s usually the cause?
How important is production value to the success of your campaigns
What new YouTube features are you most excited about?

Prime Day 2021 was a year of firsts. It was the first year Prime Day took place in the 2nd quarter. From 2015 to 2019 Prime Day was in July. In 2020, due to the pandemic, Prime Day was moved to October and became the de facto kickoff to holiday shopping.

This year was also the first year that Prime Day experienced year-over-year growth of 10% or less. But when the 2-day event brings in $10-11 billion in sales, any year-over-year growth still represents HUGE growth in real dollars.

For this episode, I brought in OMG’s Amazon Director Chris Tyler to help unpack what we experienced with our clients this year during Prime Day. Here’s a look at what we discuss:

Some surprises we saw in the OMG client sales data
How advertisers may have been more excited than shoppers this Prime Day
Prime Day may not be a great fit for every seller - some categories crushed it during Prime Day, other categories were “meh.”
Why inventory issues for many sellers influenced the prevalence of deep discounts and likely took some of the urgency out of Prime Day shopping.
The strange shopping behavior we saw during day 2 of Prime Day.
How to maximize Prime Day or holiday shopping by thinking Full Funnel with your ad approach
Plus more!

You want low CPMs (like the early days of Facebook)? You want massive engagement from eager shoppers? Are you looking for a little virality to go with that? Then you need to consider TikTok and SnapChat ads. I’ve had more clients and other agency friends ask about TikTok and Snap ads in the last few weeks than I can ever remember before. Both platforms are still in their infancy from an ads standpoint (with SnapChat being more established than TikTok). Both still offer tremendous opportunities for first adopters who are willing to learn the platforms.

Today I’m bringing on two experts, Madison Grover VP of Social from Pouch, and Anders Piiparinen CEO from Wallaroo Media. They’re giving us a crash course on what we need to know about TikTok and Snap ads.

Why you should build TikToks and NOT ads
How creating consistently great content on TikTok can have a compounding or “resurfacing” affect
How to repurpose TikTok content on other platforms
Why you can’t repurpose YouTube or IG content on TikTok
Understanding key TikTok metrics
The basics of a solid Snap ad
How to drive conversions from TikTok and Snap

Every website is leaking sales and conversions somewhere. While I love talking about driving more traffic, sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is improve your conversion rate. In this episode, I interview the founder of Conversion Crimes, Quinn Zeda and we discuss the most common eCommerce conversion crimes she sees. If you fix even a few of these you’ll see a meaningful improvement in your website performance. Here’s a look at what we discuss:

Understanding visual hierarchy and the metaphor of volume knobs
Creating a process of testing and iteration vs. launching a full site overhaul
Using customer intel to create marketing breakthroughs
Keys to better navigation and menu structure
How to not confuse or overwhelm your visitors
Using action colors
Plus more!

Ryan McKenzie is doing what he can to help save the planet. His super-effective laundry detergent strips are keeping millions of plastic laundry jugs out of landfills each year. He also wants to save your brand from bad video advertising.

I invited Ryan on the show again because his approach to video advertising is just awesome. Here at OMG Commerce, we have the privilege of running all of his Google and YouTube ads so we’ve seen firsthand their rocket ship growth. They were Canada’s 2nd fastest growing start-up and have grown from 7 employees to 200 in record time. In this episode, we break down Ryan’s 7-step framework behind his video ads that are fueling $100k/day in ad spend. Here’s a look at what we cover:

What is a powerful pattern interrupt and how to use one.
Why having a villain in your ads is a good thing. Hint: Your villain probably isn’t a person.
How many and how to most effectively use Calls to Action.
Biggest surprises on what works and what doesn’t.
How to use logic and emotion.

If you think the Amazon marketplace is wild right now, you should have seen it in 2003. My guest today is Jason Boyce. Jason is a former Top 200 Seller on Amazon - a spot he held for 10 years before selling his company. Now he’s frequently interviewed and quoted in the media on all things Amazon. He was recently interviewed for a PBS Frontline Documentary called Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos. We discuss some hot takes on broader Amazon topics, plus dive into specific tips for sellers.

Here’s a look at what we discuss:

How big is Amazon really…and why it’s actually BIGGER than you think
Amazon and antitrust and what it means for sellers
How little improvements to CTR and conversion rate create a compounding effect
Owning the digital shelf - what it means and what you should be focusing on
Controlling your brand. How to proactively control and protect your brand
Lessons from Jason’s new book - The Amazon Jungle

The death of email has been boldly proclaimed and then retracted so many times I’ve lost count over the last 10 years. Finally, I think most people agree that email marketing is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

This episode is a double-header in terms of topic but still delivered in the same amount of time as usual. It’s a “two topics for the price of one” special! Itay Paz is an online marketing veteran of 25 years. He’s also the publisher of the Morning Dough newsletter and an SEO expert.

Morning Dough is one of my favorite newsletters. It’s one of the few that I open regularly. In this episode, we talk about how and why eCommerce brands should be using email marketing beyond just transactional emails.

We also talk Web Core Vitals and how Google is going to use certain core performance metrics to score your site. How your site scores in Google’s eyes will have a direct impact on both your SEO and your paid ad performance.

How to land on a newsletter strategy that fits your personality and your brand.
Tips for getting your emails opened and read.
How often you should send emails and how to avoid spam and promotional folders.
What are Web Core Vitals and why you should care.
How to test your site in 60 seconds to see how it performs what Google’s Web Core Vital.

Andrew Morgans is a true OG when it comes to success on Amazon. Andrew is the founder of Marknology (think marketing combined with technology) an Amazon brand accelerator and the host of the Startup Hustle podcast. He’s been helping brands grow on Amazon for 9 years. Needless to say, a LOT has changed on Amazon in 9 years and Andrew has seen a little bit of everything. In this episode, we go deep into what successful brands are doing right now on Amazon and where things are headed on the platform….

Andrew’s philosophy of “if your product can’t sell with your photos and videos alone, you need to go back to the drawing board.”
How your copy and photos should flow
How A+ content, storefronts and copy really come down to just 2 things
Andrew’s favorite tools that he uses daily…but when he doesn’t use them to make decisions.
How to view Amazon ads in light of how the advertising industry is shifting
Going international - Amazon is doubling down on international growth…why now is the time to consider it for your brand

This is a special episode. My very first podcast appearance as a guest was on Austin Brawner’s Ecommerce Influence podcast back in 2015. Austin is one of the sharpest minds in Ecommerce. He’s either friends with or has consulted with some of the biggest names in DTC Ecomm like MVMT Watches, Pura Vida Bracelets, Snack Nation, and many more. On this episode, Austin and I interview each other! We dive into some pretty wide-ranging, but highly relevant topics. Including: * Why Austin is so excited about subscription businesses and who’s running them well * How different business models could be your next growth evolution * How privacy could create a renaissance of sorts when it comes to the value of good ad creatives * How pricey changes will impact audience building and audience targeting * Formulas for creating high-converting content * Shifting your role in business to greater growth

Plus more!

Prime Day is one of the biggest shopping events of the year. We now fully expect Prime Day to land in June of 2021 (at the time of recording this podcast we were still uncertain of whether it would be June or July). OMG’s Amazon Director, Chris Tyler and Amazon Specialist Amber Norell join me for this week’s episode to break down what we’re expecting for this year’s Prime Day and what you need to do to get ready.

If you do nothing as an Amazon seller, you’ll likely see some lift in sales for Prime Day. If you use some of the tactics we discuss in this podcast, you could generate some record sales days for your brand. Here’s a look at what we cover in this episode.

Prime Day discounts and coupons - which is usually better and how to structure your offers.
Amazon Live! - a perfect complement to your Prime Day deals
Lightning Deals
Amazon posts
How to maximize your storefront for Prime Day
Does and don’ts to get your listings ready for Prime Day

Plus more. Listen to the full episode or read our complete Prime Day Blog here.

Matt Clark knows what it takes to scale a business. He’s the CEO of Amazing.com the creator of the most successful information product of all time - Amazing Selling Machines.

He’s also the co-owner of Lifeboost, a company that he and his business partner Charles Livingston have grown from just $17k per month in sales to over $2 million in monthly sales in just a few short years. So that begs the question - How did they do it? That’s what we dive into in this episode. We discuss their keys to scale both from a marketing and a product development standpoint. Here’s a snapshot of what we cover:

How focusing on the hook, headline and offer in their ads allowed them to scale from a few thousand in spend to over $400,000 in monthly Facebook spend.
Their simple approach to testing and optimizing that doesn’t require any fancy software or split testing tools.
How they are building their business to sell to the right investors
How they forecast and measure to make sure they are constantly improving and hitting targets
Mistakes they made while expanding their product line and their new approach to developing products
How to better listen to customers
More!

Myth: marketing texts are annoying.

Truth: bad marketing texts are annoying. Good text messages foster customer loyalty and drive sales.

Ready for the 4 Keys to powerful text marketing right now? While text marketing isn’t overly complex, there is certainly a right way and a wrong way to approach it.

81% of all shoppers have signed up for text messaging from a brand. Customers are clearly open to receiving texts from you. If you approach text marketing strategically, your customers will even welcome your texts. Arri B is here to show you how to effectively do that. Here’s what we cover in this episode.

Choosing the right text platform
No list, no bueno. Learn the most effective ways to build a list fast.
Using your text list to build community
What to text? Learning an effective content strategy for your text campaigns
Optimizing and split testing
Plus, more!

How would you like to generate a whopping $250k in sales on a new product launch without running Facebook ads and without offering deep discounts? Sound impossible? It’s not. It’s the magic of Gated Launches.

So what’s a gated launch? It’s a product launch that’s only available to VIPs or top customers. While it may sound complex, it’s really not. It does take some work to build a VIP community. But, if you do it right, it’s actually pretty easy to maintain. In this episode Jordan West, founder and CMO of Little and Lively, a children’s apparel brand, breaks down how his gated launches have generated as much as $120k in sales in the first two hours after going live.

Here’s a look at what we discuss in this episode:

The psychology behind gated launches and why they are so powerful
How to build a healthy, vibrant VIP group that is low maintenance
How to foster the proper buying mentality in your VIP group
How to harness VIP feedback for new product development
The secret of using personalized 1-to-1 videos
Plus more

If you’re like me, then you're fascinated by the stories of “tech geniuses.” I never get tired of hearing the origin stories of great tech startups and geniuses behind them (The Social Network is still one of my favorite movies). In this episode I interview Shawn Livermore, author of the new book Average Joe: Be the Silicon Valley Tech Genius.

Shawn’s new book uncovers some of the magic behind blockbuster tech products like Gmail, Dropbox, Snapchat, Ring, Bitcoin and more. We bust some long-held myths and underscore how you can learn from the success of tech icons. Here’s a look at what we cover:

How moving slow is the new fast in some key areas
How believing you have to be a genius to succeed in business (even tech) is a myth
How to properly incubate ideas and allow your brain to work the way it works best
The story of Gmail and it’s creator Paul Buchheit
The story of Polaroid and how to innovate

How quickly can you find the following key metrics from your business?

Contribution margin.

Inventory turn ratio.

Return on inventory (the other ROI).

If you struggled a bit finding those answers (or if you just want to go to the next level), you need to listen to this episode with John Canetta. This episode was super fun for me and the content is what separates eComm companies who just get by vs. those who thrive (and end up with big exits). It’s a must-listen for serious store owners.

You HAVE to know your numbers. And your P&L may be lying to you and you don’t even know it.

How his hedgehog concept allows him to consistently hit 80% margins vs. 40-50% like some of his competitors.
His piggybank metaphor and how it shapes his decision making
Marketing is fun, but operations are where your profits are
Understanding your numbers and making it SIMPLE -
How to look at and use Post Aggregate Gross, Contribution Margin, and Return on Inventory to hit his goals
John’s 3 keys to business success

Brennan Agranoff was building spreadsheets at age 13. He learned a little HTML in High School. Growing up playing club basketball in Oregon with Nike HQ in his backyard, Brennan saw the appeal of custom socks as a young teen. So he launched his first eComm brand called HoopSwag at age 13. Brennan is a master of creative growth ideas. He combines that with an intense focus on product and process development and automation. We talked about both growth ideas and process automation at length in this episode.

How creative gifting has opened up his Micro-micro influencer approach
How to go from VA to automation
Always asking “how do I remove myself from this?”
How Brennan shares a similar philosophy to Amazon to automate anything repeatable
The comparison of good code to good process development
The power of good mentors
Plus more

If you sell a great product, then no doubt you’re getting referrals. Referrals are great, but just waiting for them to happen on their own is NOT a formula for rapid growth. Referral programs are a proven, but underutilized strategy for growing eCommerce brands. In this episode, I interview Arlen Robinson, referral marketing specialist, podcast host, and co-founder of Affiliate Software. We dig into some powerful points to help you take your referral marketing and affiliate marketing to the next level. Here’s a look at what we cover:

What’s the difference between referral, affiliate, and influencer marketing and how they each impact your business.
To incentivize or not to incentivize? Understanding the when, why, and how of referral incentives.
Creating a viral loop to get customers into your referral program
Tools and approaches to make it easy
Plus some real-world case studies

This eCommerce power couple is ON FIRE. They are cranking out AMAZING products on Amazon and growing fast. More importantly, they’re having fun in the process.

More surprising and impressive than the growth is that they’re married, work together and, wait for it...still like each other!

We uncover some really powerful lessons in Amazon growth, business growth, and maintaining healthy work relationships. I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoyed recording it!

Here’s a look at what we cover:

How to pivot and grow
How being in the right role to compliment each other is super important (whether you’re married to your business partner or not)
Mistakes in hiring the wrong people and how to get this right
How to know when and how to “let it go” and not get your feelings hurt
How Tenacity and passion create the ultimate 1-2 punch
Learning from your successes - a great tragedy is business is succeeding and not know why you succeeded.
Knowing your super power and using it consistently

Facebook is still a land of opportunity, but it is NOT currently smooth sailing. The most powerful storm right now is, of course, privacy concerns. Namely, the iOS 14 update and how it will impact advertisers' ability to track and optimize campaigns. Facebook’s ability to track users everywhere online as they did in the past is going to be severely limited. Whenever I talk to Facebook advertisers right now, uncertainty is the best way to describe their outlook on the platform.

In this episode, Bob and I tackle some really key issues facing Facebook advertisers right now. How do we continue to scale and maintain CPAs in the face of privacy changes? What kind of video ads are working right now? What data do we focus on and optimize toward when some data is taken away? Bob is the author of a brand new book - The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising (4th edition). And he owns a company that specializes in creating authentic video content called feed stories.

Spend 80% of your time on your offer and on your creative
What is the conversion API and why you need it
The power of interview-based video ads
How you should think about audience targeting right now
How targeting based on engagement metrics such as watch time on a video ad can be just as effective or MORE effective than retargeting landing page visitors.
While Facebook is pushing for shorter videos Bob is finding success with :60 to :90 videos consistently
How changes in online platforms is creating a renaissance of sorts for marketers

Andrew Youderian is a bit of a legend. Podcaster, investor, former eCommerce store operator, and now founder of the premier online community for 7 and 8 figure eCommerce store owners - Ecommerce Fuel. That’s why I’m super pumped to have him on the show this week to talk predictions for the rest of 2021!

In this episode, we put on our Nostradamus hats and try to predict what we might see more of this year. I focus a little more on the ad and marketing space as it relates to eCommerce. Andrew focuses his predictions more on eCommerce as a whole, plus a few macroeconomic predictions.

Hopefully, you find this fun and entertaining, and helpful. Even if we end up being dead wrong about our predictions, I think you’ll find some interesting nuggets here.

How does potty talk on Instagram lead to a thriving eComm brand and a world-class influencer marketing program? Normally it doesn’t, but Adi Arezzini isn’t your typical eCommerce entrepreneur.

Few companies run influencer marketing as successfully as Adi Arezzini. And few people understand what it takes to build a brand and a community like Adi. What started as discussions on Instagram about gut and bowel health transformed into a thoroughly engaged community and a brand that’s growing by leaps and bounds.

Everyone says they want to build a brand. Few know what that means. Even fewer are willing to do what it takes. In this episode Adi and I break down her step-by-step approach to influencer marketing + brand and community building.

Here’s a quick look at what we discuss:

How to find influencers with REAL influence
How influencer marketing help Adi land in UltaHow to use a spreadsheet to build your first influencer lists
The difference between IG and YT influencers
How to leave nothing to chance and help influencers feel like you’re rooting for them and helping them succeed
When to pay fees for influencers vs. when to pay commissions
Tools to tracking and making influencer marketing easy
How spreadsheets can be your secret weapon when getting started with influencer marketing
Plus more!

Once upon a time you could source any old product you wanted from Alibaba, slap your name on it, throw up a listing on Amazon, and presto! Instant sales. I personally know several people who sold 7-figures + per year doing this. Well….those days are over. Everyone I know who ran that kind of business is either 1. Out of business or 2. Had to make a hard pivot.

To succeed on Amazon now you need to build a brand. You need products that delight customers and serve a unique purpose. You need listings that clearly communicate your brand difference and value proposition. And you need to work on driving rankings the right way.

My guest today is Emma Schermer Tamir - Co-founder of Marketing by Emma. We talk about how listing optimization on Amazon has shifted in recent years and how brand building now plays a major role in your success on Amazon. Here’s a look at what we discuss:

From brand registry to making customers happy, to Google traffic - why building a brand makes sense.
Spammy product titles or more pleasing to the eye titles - what works and what doesn’t when crafting the perfect title
Why skimmability should be one of your primary goals when writing bullet points and descriptions
How proper listing optimization on Amazon can possibly lead to more traffic from Google
What great brands can teach us about A+ content, product differentiation, and breaking through the noise on Amazon.

Few eComm and wholesale businesses reach the heights that VHC Brands has reached under the leadership of Ken Kline. You’ve maybe seen their home decor products in big retailers like Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond or online at Wayfair, Amazon and many more.

Also, few eComm businesses have faced the setbacks that Ken and team have faced. From a fire that completely destroyed their inventory in the mid 2000s to COVID wrecking their in-store retail plans in 2020 - they’ve faced some crazy times and come out stronger.

Here’s a look at what we cover.

Why over communicating is the secret to vendor, investor and employee relationships.
How they overcame a warehouse fire that likely would have destroyed most businesses (Plus the story of Ken’s Winston Churchill painting that miraculously survived the fire).
How to relay your road map to your team, make adjustments and celebrate along the way (even when things are bleak).
How to take initiative to help your retail partners in selling more of your stuff.
How to inspire and empower your team when challenging times hit.

Jared Mitchell has a unique perspective on the eCommerce industry. He and his wife, Alana, run two eCommerce sites - skincarebyalana.com and alanamitchell.com. He’s also the lead eCommerce consultant for Neil Patel and he runs an eCommerce training group at beefysites.com. This guy has forgotten more good eCommerce ideas than most will ever learn.

Jared is also a close friend and he’s my surfing mentor. We do take a very brief detour to talk surfing on this episode, but mostly we talk about overlooked growth ideas!

Here’s a look at what we explore on the podcast:

How to NOT be a one-trick pony. And many, many successful eCommerce businesses are far too reliant on just one traffic source or one product.
Why Jared recommends at least 10 sources of sales and what channels make his top 10 list.
Push notifications - how and why they work and why you shouldn’t over-think them
Phone sales - customers who buy over the phone often have twice the average order value of other buyers.
Postcards - how Jared and Alana sold almost $30,000 worth of product on a simple and cheap postcard.
Live video - what to share in a live video, how to broadcast your video, and how to repurpose your video once it’s complete.

Cyber 5 Recap

While holiday shopping is still in full swing at the time of this writing, we do have some preliminary numbers for the Cyber 5 2020 (Thanksgiving Thursday–Cyber Monday) and an early look at how Holiday 2020 as a whole is shaping up. Here are five key observations, so far, for Holiday 2020.

We’re breaking every eCommerce record and it’s not even close. No surprise here, but this year marks a record for online sales for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the entire Thanksgiving weekend. Adobe Analytics was predicting two years’ worth of growth being packed into this Holiday Shopping season. So far, we’re on track.
It’s less about a single day, and more about the weekend. This has been the trend for the last few years where retailers and shoppers alike view the Cyber 5 as one big event rather than just the individual days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is still the largest single day, with Black Friday coming in second place. However, Saturday, now dubbed Small Business Saturday, isn’t far behind. In fact, Black Friday this year was only 8% larger in total sales than Small Business Saturday. Here’s a quick look at how the Cyber 5 performed. A lot of this growth has come at the expense of in-store shopping. CNBC estimates that Black Friday in-store traffic was down 52% year over year, while curbside pickup is up 52%.

| Day | Total Sales | YoY Growth | | Thanksgiving (11/26/20) | $5.1B | 21.5% | | Black Friday (11/27/20) | $9.03B | 21.6% | | Small Business Saturday (11/28/20) | $4.68B | 30.19% | | Cyber Monday (11/30/20) | $10.84B | 15.1% |

Shipaggedon is real. I first heard this term on one of my favorite podcasts—the Jason and Scot Show (Episode 245). Basically, it’s the idea that delivery networks were already strained due to the pandemic-induced boom in online shopping before the holiday rush. Now, with a record-breaking holiday season on top of a strained system, something has to give. It’s no joke, and it will be interesting to see how it impacts the rest of the holiday shopping. Both UPS and FedEx have recently announced they are cutting some retailers off from being able to ship more packages. This will likely mean early cut offs for guaranteed delivery before Christmas. It could also mean a lot of packages just won’t make it in time for Christmas morning.
Costs are up, but performance is up more. As a digital advertising agency working with some up-and-coming eCommerce brands, we get an inside look into both ad spend and performance across Google Ads, YouTube Ads and Amazon Ads. While numbers aren’t finalized yet, we are seeing that costs have indeed gone up from last year, but conversion rates have gone up even more creating really nice year-over-year growth in total sales and total ad performance. Early analysis shows that CPCs are up nearly 20% year-over-year, but conversion rates are up over 50%.

Predictions for the remainder of the holiday shopping season. With more cities across the US seeing surges in new cases of COVID-19, it’s unlikely to see a material shift from online shopping back to in-store shopping. We should see this record breaking pace continue for the rest of the holiday season. The wildcard is shipaggedon. My prediction is that we’ll see a fair number of digital gift cards purchased and printed off, as well as pictures of gifts that are in transit, but won’t be under the Christmas tree. Online shopping likely won’t slow down too much. Fingers crossed that shipaggedon won’t be as bad as we’re expecting.

Colby Bauer has personality. He’s a half-pipe skating, snowboarding, former collegiate athlete who turned a simple idea into a thriving eComm business. He and his wife McKenzie started Thread Wallets with just a single product idea. Simple, functional, minimalist wallets with personality. That initial product took off and Thread quickly grew into a team of 22 that now boasts an expanding product line including lanyards, phone cases, and more.

While there’s a lot to be impressed about with Colby and McKenzie, and their team I really wanted to key in on Thread’s culture and the unique steps they took to grow. I think you’ll find a ton of good lessons here:

How the key to scale might be engaging in activities that DON’T scale
How financial intelligence (or lack thereof) can make or break startups
How to hire for culture first and is the “hire slow, fire fast” mantra really the way to go
How installing a half-pipe at the office lead to a fight amongst the thread founders, but lead to mental health as a focus for the company
A good CEO is a non-busy CEO…what does this mean and how is it the key to effectiveness

Conversational commerce. What is it? Basically, it’s taking the in-person shopping experience of asking questions and talking to retail sales staff and moving it into multiple online channels seamlessly. Today shoppers want to interact with you in a variety of ways and they want near-instant feedback. Messenger. SMS. Chat. Facebook comments. Your customers expect you to be everywhere they are when they need you.

In this interview, Phil and I talk about some of the foundations of conversational commerce - both strategies and tactics. This will help guide all of your conversational commerce efforts. Here’s a quick look at what we discuss.

What components of conversational commerce should you consider?
What impact can conversational commerce have on conversion rates?
How to look at the dashboard and KPIs related to conversational commerce.
How this impacts your paid acquisition efforts.
Lots of real-world examples
Plus more

Very little about 2020 has been normal - including Prime Day. This year’s Prime Day was in October vs. Amazon’s usual July time frame. What did this mean for 2020 Prime Day vs. 2019 Prime Day? Would this year’s Prime Day make the official launch of holiday sales?

In this episode, I bring back OMG Commerce’s Amazon Director Chris Tyler to discuss what we noticed this year during Prime Day with our clients.

Here’s a look at what we discuss:

Total prime day sales grew 70% year-over-year in 2019 vs. 2018, but only grew 45% year-over-year in 2020 compared to 2019 (Statista report).
$3.5 billion of the estimated $10 billion in total sales on Prime Day were from 3rd party sellers, but the most popular item on Prime Day was Amazon’s deeply discounted Echo Dot.
What categories of products we saw perform the best for our OMG clients. 62% of Prime Day purchases this year were for gifts for someone else according to Digital Commerce 360.
Why we didn’t see as dramatic of a list for 2020 Prime Day vs. 2019 Prime Day, but sales immediately after prime day this year have been strong.
The impact of Prime Day on Sponsored Brand Video Ads and overall ad performance
Interesting Amazon DSP trends during Prime Day and since
Plus more!

Khierstyn Ross is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to launching products on Kickstarter. She’s experienced the highs of multiple 6-figure product launches, plus she’s endured the heartache of a launch gone bad. She knows what to do and, just as importantly, what to avoid.

In this podcast, we talk about the keys to building a 6-figure crowd-funded product launch including:

What products work best for a Kickstarter launch
Why audience building is so important, how to do it, and why so many people underestimate it.
What kind of targets to set for your first day of your Kickstarter launch
What to consider when it comes to shipping
Top mistakes to avoid
How storytelling fuels crowd-funding launches

Plus more!

What do six-packs, successful pilots and 2020 have in common? No, it’s not a drinking game. We’re talking data here people! Do you know your data…like really know your data? Do you have a feel for it? Do you look at the right numbers daily?

Let’s talk pilots for just a second. If you’ve ever seen a cockpit, it looks kinda like most eCommerce dashboards - an overwhelming amount of buttons, data, dials, and meters. But pilots actually focus mostly on just a few key instruments. The rest is there to help if there’s trouble. The same should be true for the dashboards you use to run your business.

I absolutely loved this interview with Dan LeBlanc at Daasity. We cover some really important topics to help you really get a handle on managing your business. Here’s a quick rundown:

Is your data accurate? Seems like an easy question. Not always an easy answer.
Do you know what your metrics mean? It’s all in the definition. If you don’t have the right definition, you can’t make good decisions.
How you should look at your Lifetime Value (LTV) and why Cohorts matter
Why contribution margin is super important plus an easy way to calculate it
Knowing your RFM - Recency, frequency, and monetary value. Here’s how to look at this and why it matters.

There are two different types of sponsored YouTube influencer videos:

An integrated sponsored video and
Stand-alone sponsored video.

Stand-alone sponsored influencer videos are what most brands use and what most people think of when they hear “YouTube influencer marketing.” Stand-alone videos are typically an influencer providing a quick review or endorsement about a particular product. So the video is titled “Widget 12 Pro Unboxing and review.”

An integrated sponsored influencer videos is an ad put inside of video on a separate topic. The video might be about fortnite or camping, or whatever, but inside the video is a 30 second ad, read by the creator, for your product. These integrated video ads are Ridge Wallets secret sauce.

Here’s a quick look at what we uncover on the show:

Why integrated sponsored videos are so great and why they scale better than stand alone influencer videos.
How to approach influencers
Why subscribers on YouTube is largely a vanity metric
How to spot a dead channel vs. an active channel
How to measure the impact of your influencer videos
What to pay influencers and how to think about CPMs (cost per thousand)
How to achieve scale in your outreach and deployment of influencer videos
Plus more!

During a pandemic, marketing for a travel company isn’t easy. Kevin Urrutia and team at Chester Travel are getting creative and hustling to drive sales now and set themselves up for success in the future. In this episode, we talk about the perfect combination of short term and long term growth strategies. Using influencer marketing for short term growth and SEO for long term traffic and growth has proved to be a winning combination for Chester Travel and their line of modern luggage.

Here’s a look at what we cover in this episode:

Leveraging returns and unsold inventory for influencer marketing.
Understanding the value of your product in influencer marketing.
Simple outreach for influencer marketing….you’re probably overthinking it. Try this one sentence approach.
How a solid Instagram account is a necessary prerequisite for influencer marketing.
Leveraging your homepage to rank your blog posts
Combining remarketing and SEO to drive sales.

In a word, Chris Lynch is cool. So is his brand Everyday California. It’s not a surprise then, that what started as an adventure tour company also became a super popular apparel line. But Chris and the Everyday Cali team didn’t stop there… The brand has now grown to include flip flops, beer, CBD and even a line of sunscreen. So what separates a solid business move into new products vs. an unhealthy distraction? When should you partner, license, go on your own, or scrap an idea? Here’s what we dive into on this episode:

When to lawyer up and why it’s sooo worth it
Be patient - speed in some instances almost guarantees that you land on your face.
One of the best questions to ask about adding a new product is “does it feel right?”
How Chris and team partnered with a brewery on a California IPA and a CBD company to make a CBD product all while strengthening their core brand offering.
Lessons learned from a few license deals
How and why Everyday Cali is launching a brand new sunscreen - if you’re considering a line extension, you’ll love Chris’ advice.

Mission meats is just a few years old, but it’s gobbling up market share in the red-hot meat snack category. Peter Awad is a long time eCommerce pro. He started selling auto parts on eBay in 2000. Now he and his co-founder Nick have built a meat snack store with a mission. They’re using profits from eCommerce to help fight deforestation, educate children in Africa, and support homeless women and children.

But they don’t just have big hearts, they have some serious marketing chops too.

In this episode, we explore the challenges and opportunities of marketing a product that could literally appeal to anyone. We also explore how to maintain the balancing act of growing your own store AND growing on Amazon.

How to treat Amazon from a merchandising perspective.
Prospecting for new customers - Is this and Amazon first or Shopify first strategy
How to increase repeat purchases in a fun way
How pride or ego can limit growth with any paid ad channel
Crazy CRO tests and the practice of asking “what if the opposite were true?”
Important mindset issues that help fuel successful entrepreneurs

CPAs that suddenly double overnight. Skyrocketing CPMs. Winning ads that suddenly turn into losers. Data changes that impact how ads are being run now. The list of potential issues, potholes, loopholes, and blackholes for online advertising goes on and on. So what’s an eComm store owner or media buyer to do? Call in Molly Pittman and John Grimshaw from Smart Marketer. These are two of my favorite people to interview and today I have them both with me for the same episode. And it’s a doozy. Here’s a look at what we cover: * How to have the right mindset for navigating volatility (this is more important than you think) * What to do when ad performance tanks * Where you should tinker to improve performance and where you shouldn’t * Why this is still the greatest time in history to be a marketer - volatility and all. * 3 Spot checks to make sure you are ready to scale traffic * The impact of the California Consumer Privacy Act and new changes coming to iOS 14….the good, the bad, and the scary.

This year’s online holiday shopping season will be one for the record books. Most people say they’ll shop more online or exclusively online this year. And online shopping will also start earlier this year, indicated by Google study results where 69% of holiday shoppers say they will shop earlier this year to avoid items being out of stock.

To dominate the Cyber 5 this year you need to:

Get the most from your remarketing efforts,
Cover any gaps you have in your search and shopping efforts,
Run compelling offers and ads that compliment your brand, and
Get your Top of Funnel efforts dialed in.

Check out our latest blog outlining these helpful tips and the video replay from our recent webinar with Google, and be on the lookout for the audio version in this week's episode of eCommerce Evolution.

Amazon Advertising has exploded in recent years. In fact, Amazon is now the 3rd largest online advertising platform behind only Facebook and Google. Pretty impressive for a company who’s a retailer first, cloud computing 2nd, and online advertising 3rd.

In this episode, I wanted to bring on the sharpest mind in Amazon Advertising that I know - OMG’s very own Chris Tyler. I brought him on so we could deep dive into the two hottest trends in Amazon Advertising right now - Sponsored Brand Video (formerly Video in Search ads) and Amazon DSP. Here’s a look at what we cover:

What is Amazon DSP and how can sellers use it to reach shoppers on an off Amazon?
How to target people actively shopping for your competitor's products who haven’t purchased yet.
How Sponsored Brand Video (SBV) ads are outperforming ALL other ad types for most of our clients.
5 keys to a great Sponsored Brand Video Ad
How you can test SBV without spending a fortune on video production
Plus more!

Amazon Advertising has exploded in recent years. In fact, Amazon is now the 3rd largest online advertising platform behind only Facebook and Google. Pretty impressive for a company who’s a retailer first, cloud computing 2nd, and online advertising 3rd.

In this episode, I wanted to bring on the sharpest mind in Amazon Advertising that I know - OMG’s very own Chris Tyler. I brought him on so we could deep dive into the two hottest trends in Amazon Advertising right now - Sponsored Brand Video (formerly Video in Search ads) and Amazon DSP. Here’s a look at what we cover:

What is Amazon DSP and how can sellers use it to reach shoppers on an off Amazon?
How to target people actively shopping for your competitor's products who haven’t purchased yet.
How Sponsored Brand Video (SBV) ads are outperforming ALL other ad types for most of our clients.
5 keys to a great Sponsored Brand Video Ad
How you can test SBV without spending a fortune on video production
Plus more!

Is something broken in your business? Not reaching your growth goals like you’d hoped? Then you likely have a systems or delegation problem.

My guest today is Trent Dyrsmid. Trent is the host of the Bright Ideas podcast as well as the founder of an Amazon reseller business that just ranked #254 on the Inc. 5000 list. He is also the co-founder of Flowster.app a premier workflow management tool for eCommerce businesses. He knows a thing or two about systems, delegation, and growth. He’s now fully delegated himself out of his Amazon reseller business as it continues to scale rapidly.

How does he do it? Clear systemization and delegation. On the show, we talk about one of his favorite quotes from the Honorary Chairman of Toyota -

“We get brilliant results from average people managing brilliant processes – while our competitors get average or worse results from brilliant people managing broken processes”

~ Fujio Cho, Honorary Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation

In this episode we cover:

What to systematize first - a 2-pronged test
When you have a systems problem vs. a people problem
What to delegate vs. what to do yourself
Why and when you should delegate something you’re really good at
The difference between process management and project management
How Flowster helps eCommerce companies with process management
Plus more!

Michael Jamin knows a thing or two about telling a good story. He’s written for popular sitcoms like King of the Hill, Rules of Engagement, Tacoma FD, and Beavis & Butthead to name a few. More importantly, for our purposes, he’s also the Co-Founder of Twirly Girl - an eComm brand that features some truly magical storytelling ads. I wanted to have Michael on the show so we could learn some of his secrets….and because I knew it would be a ton of FUN. He delivered. Here’s a quick look at what we cover:

Using setup and punchline to deliver features and benefits in a truly fun, funny and memorable way
If customers focus on price, it’s your fault and how to fix it
How some powerful tweak in FB ads dropped their cost per share from $178 to just $1.16
When Michael combined what he knew about TV script writing and eComm Twirly Girl grew 30.6%
Why people aren’t really buying stuff, but rather relationships and magic
A few powerful “story makeovers”
Plus more

Almost every eCommerce company I talk to is investing heavily into Facebook and Google Ads. Probably less than 30% are actively investing in Affiliate marketing. I first met my guest, Greg Powell, while we were both providing consulting services for another agency. I instantly could tell that he knew his stuff. Now he’s running an extremely successful Affiliate Marketing agency - Tactical Marketing based in Joplin MO.

Fringe benefits of an affiliate marketing program including free PR and new audience discovery and testing.
3 ways to tell if your product is a good fit for Affiliate marketing
Avoiding affiliate horror stories - namely, how to avoid coupon site hell.
How attracting the right affiliates makes all of the difference.
Best affiliate networks for your category
Plus much more!

The online buying journey is a complex process. It rarely looks exactly the same for different shoppers. BUT, there are distinct stages that most shoppers pass through in their unique journey. Video can be your secret weapon along each stage of the journey - compelling customers, educating customers, and delighting customers.

Ben Amos lives in Australia’s Sunshine Coast and is a master at creating video content that shapes buying behavior. In this episode, we talk about how video can impact these 4 distinct stages of the shopping journey:

Awareness - this is where we tell our brand story in a compelling and helpful way…Ben shows us how.
Consideration- this stage is all about information and education. As shoppers evaluate their options, your video should be there to help guide the way.
Conversion event - your video can and should do the job of a salesperson whether on a product detail page or as a remarketing ad.
Advocacy - Your video strategy shouldn’t stop with a happy customer. Use video content to encourage more referrals and repeat purchases.

Everyone knows that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing. The problem? How do you facilitate, encourage, and track it without being weird? Enter Nick Stagge and Wooly. In this episode, we discuss two important topics - building Ambassador Programs and putting digital rails around word of mouth advertising. Nick has worked with some awesome brands including Skull Candy, Purple Mattress, and more. Here’s a quick look at what we cover in this episode:

Salomon shoes got 22.6 million impressions without running a single ad
How to Identify and segment your best customers and how to know when you have a customer make a referral that ends in a purchase
How ambassador programs focus on credibility while some influencer programs focus on reach…and why credibility is often better and more profitable
Word of mouth customers are happier, better educated and often stick around longer - here’s how you get more of it
Driving six figures of incremental referral revenue.
Plus more

Online shopping has shifted dramatically since the start of the pandemic. Some experts believe we’ve seen 5+ years of eCommerce growth condensed into just a few months. Attitudes towards quantities ordered, shipping rates and times, and pricing have ALL shifted from the norm. I wanted to have Jon MacDonald come back on the show (see his first appearance on the podcast for Episode 60 to talk about what’s working right now in terms of Conversion Rate Optimization. We cover some truly fascinating subjects including:

How buying in bulk it a new trend - even if your marketing to non-peppers
How to structure new shopping options for buying in bulk to make the process easier on shoppers and easier on your fulfillment centers
3 ways to use SMS marketing to before, during and after the shopping experience to surprise and delight customers
Where you should start optimizing now including some key data points and quick wins with Google Analytics that you’re likely missing
How to quickly and inexpensively benefit from Heat Maps
Why taking care of your highest value customers is more important now than ever before

Learn how Tru Earth is disrupting the laundry detergent space by selling subscriptions and understanding the power of villains in marketing. My guest in this episode, Ryan McKenzie is a marketing and eComm wiz. He built his first online business in his 20s and after some extreme wins and some humbling losses, he found his eComm game. In this episode, we uncover some of Tru Earth’s keys to success including

3 types of offers that get shoppers to subscribe to auto-replenishment.
How to structure pricing and discounts for subscriptions
Blair Warren’s amazing 4 keys to persuasion (literally one the best marketing quotes I’ve ever heard) and how to leverage it for your business
How finding a “villain” can make your marketing more powerful and help you build a closer community (hint: villains don’t have to be people)
How to approach ad fatigue and new creative development for Facebook
How OMG Commerce is helping Tru Earth leverage Google Shopping and YouTub ads
Plus more!

CrossNet Game began as a crazy idea dreamed up late at night by two brothers and their best friend. But ideas are a dime a dozen. Chris and his brother Greg and co-founder Mike turned their crazy idea into a wildly popular product and a rapidly growing company. So what is CrossNet? It’s 4-way volleyball. Put another way, if volleyball 4 square had a baby, it would be CrossNet. And it’s amazing.

This is a phenomenal story about how to launch a product from total obscurity into a sensation. We talk about how the product came to be, how the founders successfully boot-strapped everything initially, and how a combination of playing volleyball all day on the beaches of Miami plus Facebook Ads fueled their launch. Here’s a look at what we discuss:

How their first “prototype” and first test market let them know they were onto something big
Why they packed their bags and moved from Connecticut to Miami to launch CrossNet
Creating the snowball effect - doing lots of little things well and watching success and momentum grow over time.
Their first brand ambassadors and their first influencer…all by accident (but still duplicatable)
Their most important sales channels
How they view Amazon
How they are using events (pre-pandemic) to grow the brand
Getting their product in 5,000+ schools
Getting into Dicks Sporting Goods, Academy Sports and more
What products are next for CrossNet and how they plan to grow (including running YT ads with OMG Commerce…)

Jeremy Horowitz helped create the marketing engine behind Lumee, the selfie phone cases made famous by the Kardashians. He now helps growing eCommerce brands create 6 figure + product launches. He also builds what he calls “replenishment engines” - a concept that was new to me but that I absolutely love.

Interested in doing $100,000+ in sales in 24 hours on a new product launch? Want to know the secrets of building huge demand, selling out of products, and generating real urgency like Supreme, Jordan and Kylie Cosmetics.

Here’s a quick look at what we cover:

The difference between a product launch that sells out vs. a “meh” launch
How to create a “web” so that your customers are highly engaged and eager to buy
How to build anticipation, excitement, and generate huge sales without discounting
How to utilize messenger marketing and Facebook private groups
Lessons from movie launches
Plus more

You walk to your mailbox. Inside you find a hand-addressed envelope. It looks like it could be a thank you note of a birthday card. What are the odds you open it? 100%.

I love direct mail. Especially now because mailboxes are nearly empty (compared to 15-20 years ago). In this episode I interview David Wachs, CEO of Handwrytten. We discuss creative and affordable ways eCommerce companies can use Direct Mail to build customer loyalty and increase sales. We also discuss how his technology allows for automated handwritten notes...it’s pretty fantastic.

Here’s a look at what we discuss:

How to use handwritten thank you notes to increase referrals
How an online fashion company sent 700 handwritten notes, scored a 16.8% redemption rate and drove an ROI over 300%.
Using direct mail to build your loyalty program
Leveraging direct mail to get more positive reviews and/or mitigate negative reviews
Launching direct mail Win-back campaigns
Abandon cart direct mail sequences
Automating handwritten thank-yous
And more!

In early February before all live events were cancelled I presented at Social Media Marketing World 2020 in San Diego. My talk covered the latest tactics and strategies we’re using right now to scale on YouTube. This is the recording of my presentation at this paid event. Here’s a quick look at what I cover in this talk:

Could YouTube be your next big thing?
2 Proven Ad formulas for cold traffic
Ad formulas for warm traffic
What is progressive audience testing and how to use it
How to leverage YouTube and Google Display Network together
Plus more!

I’m sure you’re aware of chat marketing. But if you’re like most marketers and Amazon sellers, it’s still an area of immense opportunity for you. Maybe it’s even still a bit of a mystery to you. Michelle Barnum Smith is the Queen of chat marketing for Amazon sellers. I had a chance to sit down with her and discuss some super powerful ways to grow your Amazon business with chat marketing that you probably haven’t thought of, including…

The 3 types of messenger campaigns to run consistently
Why product re-ranking campaigns using chatbots should probably be an ongoing strategy for you
The difference between a 2-step URL and a Search, Find, Buy campaign
How many times per month should you message your list on messenger…too many and they’ll hate you. Too few and they’ll forget who you are and be annoyed the next time you message them.
How to build a chat bot list.
Plus more!

Strengthening customer relationships. Building valuable assets. Improving and documenting SOPs. Growing email and remarketing lists. Watching every episode of the Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls Documentary - The Last Dance. That’s just a few of the ways Ezra and Co are surviving and THRIVING in the current climate. Ezra is often the first person eCommerce entrepreneurs turn to when they need advice. This episode delivers some true and timely gems and words of wisdom. eCommerce will likely come out of this crisis stronger than ever. Will your company be ready to thrive in the new normal?

My guest today knows a thing or two about growing DTC eCommerce brands to 8 figures and beyond. His agency, Wavebreak, focuses on email, SMS and loyalty marketing for growing eCommerce brands. On today’s episode we talk about how email marketing has shifted in light of the pandemic and how it will likely continue to shift in the months and weeks ahead.

Here’s a quick look at what we cover:

How to go on offense without being offensive
How to build community and goodwill now
How to stay true to your brand but adjust your message in light of the recent crisis
Top email marketing mistakes to avoid
How email, sms and loyalty programs work together

This is an episode a couple of years in the making. I’m a huge Ryan Daniel Moran fan. We had dinner together after an event for speakers at an event in LA a few years ago. Then we both got busy. Ryan came on the show to discuss some burning topics facing all entrepreneurs right now.

Advice for an eCommerce company who’s struggling right now in the pandemic
Advice for an e-commerce company who’s excelling right nowThe number 1 way to be instantly happier right now (and it leads to better business outcomes)
How Ryan thinks about eComm companies to invest in - it’s way more about the leader and the product than anything else.
Not playing the comparison game
How to instantly be happier where you are right now
The 3 phases of growing to $1 million in 12 Months.

Currently, over 77% of our eCommerce clients are either still UP in sales even during this time of extreme uncertainty or are the same (plus or minus 1-2%). Yes, some are hurting - but for most eCommerce businesses you CAN do something about sluggish sales right now. We’ve learned a lot in recent weeks on what messages resonate with prospects and what falls flat. In this episode (taken from a recent highly-popular webinar) Chris Brewer, Co-Founder of OMG Commerce and I dive into these important topics:

Understanding the different physiological segments of shoppers right now and how to appeal to them
People still want to buy even when stuck at home - how to provide retail therapy to your customers
How to handle paid search on both Amazon and Google right now (search trends are shifting)
Why this could be the perfect time to consider YouTube ads…viewership is up 100%+ on the platform and ad costs are down 20% or more
How you can gain market share and get ahead of the competition right now

Supply chain, lock down, store closures, falling ad costs, rising costs of sanitation…just a few of the areas impacting retail and e-commerce right now. In my interview with Eamon Kelly of Edgewater Research, we talk about the following hot topics to recent data points.

How ad costs are impacted on Amazon, Facebook and Google during the crisis
What categories are seeing spikes vs. dips in sales…there are a few surprising areas here plus some opportunities for companies to pivot.
What major retailers like Dick’s sporting goods are seeing
How retailers like Chewys are experience both growth and interesting shifts in costs and increased margin pressure
How to think about inventory levels with more shopping shifting online

Original Grain has an origin story that’s as cool as it’s products…and as cool as it’s founders. In this interview, we tackle some critically important topics for all DTC brands. We discuss building a product that has an authentic story that resonates. We look at the Original Grain approach to sourcing and designing that next winning product. We hear the Original Grain example of launching successful kickstarter campaigns, and we talk about marketing during a crisis and much more.

Brother’s Ryan and Andrew Beltran grew up playing basketball together and starting businesses together from painting houses to mowing lawns. In 2013 while living in Hong Kong, Ryan had the idea for wood and steel watches. The brothers took that inspiration and started what is now a leader in the watch and accessories space.

Here’s a look at what you’ll learn in this episode:

How a chance meeting at a nearly failed event lead to their most successful watch line to date
How wooing an investor (I love this story - and it embodies the entrepreneur’s spirit) led to some of their most popular collector’s edition watches
How Original Grain is going up-stream while strengthening its core watch offerings
How they plan to market and stay strong during the COVID-19 storm
How to build an authentic voice and truly connect with customers even when being together physically is impossible
What’s ahead for Original Grain

Economic Crisis - time to panic or time to press ahead? While challenging and painful, there are huge opportunities right now. Some of the world’s most successful companies grew leaps and bounds during recessions (Toyota, Kellogs and many others). On this show investor, mentor and brilliant marketer and entrepreneur Roland Frasier and I talk about what you need to do to survive and thrive right now. From getting your head right, to ensuring financial stability to how to market your product - right now. The market has shifted but money is still up for grabs. Here’s what we cover:

Understanding the physiological segments of the market and how to reach customers that are still actively buying now
How your product positioning should pivot during times of extreme uncertainty
How companies like Toyota and Kellogg’s crushed their competitors during a recession
How to secure financing right now
What to measure and how to measure to keep your head above water

Liz Germain is a YouTube Marketing legend. We met when I was speaking at an event for eCommerce brands at the YouTube LA Offices. Between her own fitness channel and her client’s channels, she’s helped rack up over 100 million organic video views on YouTube. Wow. In this interview, we deep dive into how she does it. From the content, she creates to the research that inspires it. We also discuss where you should start and how to take your YouTube channel to the next level.

Here’s what we cover

Liz’s killer YouTube Influencer structure that leverages evergreen content for years of leads
How Liz created a video and blog post for a natural birth control method that is still generating leads and sales 4 years after it was created. Compare that to an Instagram story that has a shelf life of just 24 hours.
The 3 types of YouTube content and where you should start
The fundamentals of building a great YouTube Channel
Plus more!

We’ve all had the following experience. We’re on a quest for a specific product hoping if will fulfill a very specific need. So we visit a product page on Amazon or another eCommerce site hoping that this might be the product we’ve been eagerly searching for….But, to our disappointment the product page doesn’t clearly tell us if the product will meet our need or not. So we don’t buy. Uh-oh.

Pop quiz. What can increase customer engagement, improve conversion rates by 2-10x, and drive substantial organic traffic? Easy - Q&A content. My guest this week is James Arnold, the Co-Founder of Answer Base a SaaS platform that makes it easy to collect and leverage Q&A and FAQ content. In this episode we dive into the following:

Why Q&A content on product details pages is so powerful
Taking a cue from Amazon where and how to use Q&A content on PDPs
How to build a Knowledge Based that answers 80%+ of your shoppers questions
How to structure your Q&A content to rank well on Google….HINT: Google LOVES Q&A Content. And so do shoppers.
How to leverage FAQ pages
Plus more!

Quick - what’s the best, most effective viral video ad you’ve seen? Poo-Pourri? Purple Mattress? Maybe Squatty Potty? Chatbooks? Each of those videos (plus dozens more) were created by my guest today and his team at Harmon Brothers. And not only where these videos viral hits…they SOLD stuff. Funny. Memorable. And persuasive to the tunes of hundreds of millions in sales. That's hard to accomplish.

In this episode, we dig into some of the tips, tactics and secrets behind the Harmon Brother’s unrivaled success. We dive into the following:

3 big mistakes most companies make when it comes to video ads
Why humor is NOT a silver bullet
The inside scoop behind Poo-Pourri and haw it launched the Harmon Brothers to national prominence
How do you land on the right “BIG idea”
How and when to get feedback on your script and initial video edits
How to think and create videos like the Harmon Brothers
Plus more

The thought of going International with your eComm business is both exciting and scary. It also seems like a HUGE undertaking. New tax codes, laws, and confusing acronyms to deal with like VAT and GST. Plus we still have the dated mindset that says we only expand internationally once we’ve maximized what we can get here in the good ole U S of A.

Kevin Sanderson will challenge your thinking and bust some myths to help you go international much sooner than you possibly thought…maybe right now. Here’s what we discuss: * What market you should target first when you go international * What markets should you consider 2nd and 3rd when going International * What are some non-obvious benefits to going international like lower ad costs and lower competition * What about Australia? * What steps to take and when to try your first international market * Plus much more!

Transparency. Sustainability. Social responsibility. More than just buzz words these are now expectations that consumers have of the brands they buy from. In this episode, we dive into what it means to be a mission-driven eCommerce brand. We share lots of powerful examples like Everlane, All Birds and more.
My friend Ezra Firestone’s company Smart Marketer has the perfect slogan - Serve the World Unselfishly and Profit. Now you can do the right thing by fighting hunger, helping orphans, cleaning up the environment or supporting mental health AND build a profitable brand in the process.

In this episode with Stephen we discuss the following:

Who is the conscious consumer and how are they impacting eCommerce?
Do companies have to go “all-in” on a mission or can this be a gradual process?
What is “greenwashing” and why should you avoid it.
Exploring the Mission Driven Marketing Playbook
Plus more!

There are over 150 million Alexa devices in use today. Google has sold upwards of 50 million of its Google Home devices. While most devices are used primarily to listen to music or play games or control appliances like lights and heat and air…voice commerce is on the rise too.

In this episode, I interview Anmol Oberoi the Founder and CEO of Emitrr - a voice-first SaaS Platform. We dive into voice commerce use-cases that are making an impact now. We also talk about where voice commerce is likely heading in the near future. Here’s a quick look at what we discuss:

How games and quizzes through voice can benefit ecommerce companies
What voice skills to develop and launch first and how to use customer feedback to make sure you’ll have high adoption rates
What are the most popular voice skills that customers want right now
How voice can build loyalty and put a “fence” around your top customers keeping competitors away
How smart devices with screens like the Echo Show and Google’ Nest Hub might make the biggest shopping impact right away

Shopify apps are great. Someone else spends hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, developing functionality that you can use for just $30 per month. Apps on Shopify are so easy to install and so seemingly harmless that many store owners install dozens and dozens of apps - many of which they uninstall or never use. This approach can have serious unintended consequences.

In this episode we dive into a smarter approach to apps that can help any Shopify store owner. Here’s a look at what we cover:

How to determine if it’s better to use an app or hire a developer to hard code a desired functionality.
What category of apps are best to consider now for Shopify
What apps are almost always a bad idea
How to tell if you have app conflict
When should you consider apps vs. just switching to Shopify Plus
Plus more!

It’s safe to say that your SEO approach is likely outdated. If you’re looking for the latest hack, trick or SEO loophole - you’re barking up the wrong tree. If you’re obsessing over ranking and traditional keywords then you may be off target.

In this episode we talk about why “intent” is now the most important word in SEO and content marketing. We look at how search behavior is changing. We also consider how Google is indexing different forms of content like podcasts and video transcripts and what that means to us as marketers.

In this episode we dive into:

The BERT Update. What is and how it’s the nail in the coffin for old-school SEO.
Why is intent the most important word for SEO?
How REI tackles intent and what you should learn from their content strategies.
Different content types - articles, podcasts, etc.
How do you figure out what people are searching for and asking at different stages
How to create content and rank that content for shoppers at different stages of the buying journey.
Plus more!

Mike Ugino is the CMO and co-founder of Sellbrite a SaaS platform for marketplace sellers. Sellbrite was recently acquired by GoDaddy. In this episode we breakdown how Mike and his business partner Brian approached building the company with selling it in mind. We also talk about what the acquisition process was like including saying no to GoDaddy initially. In this episode we uncover some golden ideas for scaling and exiting your business including:

How constraints lead to creativity
What building it to sell means and looks like
Hitting plateaus and how to grow again
How to know if a deal is right and saying “no” when it isn’t….even if it means turning down GoDaddy
How to keep your culture when you sell

Who doesn’t love a good story? As humans, we’ve relied on storytelling for entertainment, education, and preservation of culture since the beginning of time. Storytelling is also for marketers. During my first sales job at a local radio station my boss sagely advised me that “facts tell, but stories sell.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson. In this episode, I chat with the charming Jaime Cross the founder of MIG Soap. From her kitchen table to now a multi-million dollar eCommerce business Jaime has grown largely based on great products and solid storytelling. Here’s a taste of what we cover: * What’s the psychology behind storytelling? * How good storytelling can increase the perceived value of a product by 2x or more. * Common storytelling mistakes to avoid. * The process MIG uses to get their overall story right…and then to get the story right for each product. * How to turn customer testimonials into stories * How do you deliver your story across email, product detail pages, and more. * Storytelling resources

Jeremiah Allen has been driving growth for small-to-medium-sized eCommerce companies since 1997 — before the internet was cool — and has helped hundreds of company founders grow. While he still enjoys client work, in 2017, he began acquiring and building his own eCommerce brands.

In this episode, we get super TACTICAL. It’s a deluge of tips and tricks on how to improve your checkout process. There’s so much here you’ll probably want to listen to it a few times. Here’s a sneak peek at what we cover.

Tips:

How to use a cart slide outs after you hit add to cart and why it’s effective.
Simple works - larger fonts, larger buttons, larger thumbnails can all create big wins.
What % of your shoppers should hit checkout and what % should complete checkout? If you’re below these numbers you have some work to do.
How shipping options can increase checkout.
4 ways to drive post-purchase upsells - fast!
What asks and offers should you put on your thank you page.
How an email from the founder can be your secret weapon.
How to handle payment options.
Plus sooooo much more.

   Sayan is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of **InvigorateNOW Health Sciences**, an innovative health supplement brand. He’s also the creator of **Sark Media Direct**, a direct marketing consultancy that specializes in helping entrepreneurs grow to seven figures and beyond in the health and e-commerce industries. Passionate about combining cutting edge online marketing strategies with traditional direct response marketing, Sayan has helped his clients scale to eight figures and beyond. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Martha Stewart, Organifi, Zenith Labs, and more. Sayan has a knack for finding the “low hanging fruit” in his clients’ businesses. Whether it’s newspaper or radio ads, affiliate marketing or direct mail - he quickly finds the needle movers that produce results, in some cases, helping scale companies to beyond $100 Million / year. Through his consulting, he has helped a handful of entrepreneurs scale from zero to six and seven figures in their first year. A savvy investor, Sayan has stakes in three health supplement brands in addition to businesses he started from scratch. Sayan lives in New York City and enjoys spending time with family, friends and his fiancee, Amy               In this episode, we discuss buying unsold inventory in newspapers and on radio plus how to combine traditional media with digital media for profitable growth.

For our 100th episode we wanted to do something different. Rather than one guest, we invited 6 of our most popular guests we’ve ever had on the show. Since we’re wrapping up 2019, we decided to ask these super smart eComm pros what their top predictions were for 2020. They did NOT disappoint. We cover some GREAT predictions including: * How and why some merchants will shift some of their focus away from Amazon (we’re already seeing this with Nike). * How merchants will shift their video strategy in 2020 (will we go short form or long form?) * Why “profitability” may be the focus rather than scale in 2020 * How SEO is shifting away from traditional keywords in 2020 * How automation is working (and how it doesn’t replace everything) * How new privacy laws and policies will make things harder (and easier) for marketers * Plus more!

Molly Pittman is a bit of a legend in the digital marketing space. Bartender turned marketing intern for Ryan Deiss, turned VP of Marketing for Digital Marketer, turned entrepreneur - Molly’s story is an inspiring one. And she flat knows her stuff!

In this episode, we dig into some real gems. We do go pretty deep on what’s working now on Facebook, but we also talk about the benefits of building an in-house team vs. the benefits of an agency. We talk about entrepreneurial lessons and what life is like in Amsterdam (where Molly currently lives).

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Why being fluid might be the most important entrepreneurial trait…and why it’s important for digital marketers
Why curiosity and fascination are crucial in our current marketing landscape
What is CBO and how it’s impacting Molly’s Facebook ad campaign and what you should do about it.
What are the 3 facets of Facebook’s new Quality Ranking and how to optimize your ads
How low quality rankings can dramatically drive up costs or get your ads shut down
Plus more

Charles Livingston knows a thing or two about rapid growth. He turned a supplement offer into a 12 million per year business. And now his Coffee Company - Lifeboost Coffee has grown 1,000% in less than 1 year.

What’s the secret to this kind of growth? Good Marketing and becoming a “yes” company.

Charles is also known for having his picture displayed in every single Ezra Firestone presentation. And this isn’t any old picture. It’s a shirtless pic of Charles all swole up wearing a stethoscope. Yes, there’s a story behind this that we dive into in the podcast.

More importantly, here’s a breakdown of the keys to rapid growth we breakdown on this episode:

Become a “yes” company. How saying yes more has led to a shockingly low 1.5% refund rate for Lifeboost Coffee.
Why clarifying your message is key to scale. ‘
How to find your hook and your hone in on a powerful positioning statement
How to engineer a great customer experience framework
How to charge a premium and make customers gladly pay more
How to encourage subscriptions and improve your “stick rate”
What’s better - building a brand on Amazon or building a brand off Amazon?
Plus more!

I recently saw Rachel speak at an agency event in New York City. I was blown away. Rachel has quite the resume.

Forbes listed Rachel as one of its “30 under 30 Who Are Changing The World”, Fast Company named her one of "The Most Creative People in Business", AdAge named her one of "The Most Creative People of The Year," Entrepreneur named her one of the "50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs," Inc named her to the “Female Founders 100,” and the list goes on and on. After being the Global Director of Digital and Social Media at Gap Rachel traveled the world for 100 days and then founded MikMak, the first native commerce platform for the social video generation.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

Why big companies like Facebook and Google and Amazon are at war for first party data.
Why Rachel believes in the philosophy that if you give up your first party data, you give up your brand.
Rachel believes that today’s funnel starts at the consideration level first and that true brand building and loyalty start after the first purchase.
Lessons from Kylie Jenner and Native Deodorant
Rachel’s thoughts on Twitch and how it might be a glimpse into the future
Social is the world's largest mall and point of end checkout...are you treating it that way?
Plus much more!

Matt Clark is the Chairman and Co-founder of Amazing. Amazing is the company behind the most successful info product/training course of all time - Amazing Selling Machines. He and his partner Jason Katzenback also run SellerCon - one of the leading events for Amazon Sellers.

In this episode we take a quick look into what’s new on Amazon and then we dive deep into a subject I’m quite passionate about - making better decisions. I’m not sure of another skill more valuable than this one. This doesn’t need you need to always be right...you just need to get it right. We share a great Steve Jobs story in the podcast to illustrate this point.

Here’s a look at a few of the topics we cover:

Confirmation Bias - and getting it right vs. being right
Mitigating Risks - with lessons from Sarah Blakely and Richard Branson. Here Matt shares how he wasted $1million in Ad Spend when he could have tested with only $20,000. Also we discuss the the Fire bullets, then cannonballs framework from Jim Collins.
Diderot Effect - This deals with how to handle success and how success can lead to bankruptcy. We also discuss 2nd and 3rd order consequences.
Keep a decision log - Why and how and what this looks like for Matt.
Some of Matt’s favorite books on the subject
Plus more!

If you’re currently running ads to cold audiences - whether that’s on Facebook, YouTube, Google Display Network or anywhere else - you need to consider where you’re sending that cold traffic. Do you send it to your home page? Product detail page? Those options can work, but you need to test sending traffic to pre-sale content.

What is pre-sale content? To explain, I brought in one of the foremost experts on the subject, Lindsay Marder.

Lindsay Marder is a self-proclaimed content marketing nerd. She served as Managing Editor for Digital marketer for 4 years. Now she’s working with brands to spread their missions and engage with customers. She’s also the Co-founder of Digital Strategy Bootcamps with Molly Pittman and John Grimshaw.

Here’s what we cover on the show:

What is pre-sale content?
Why pre-sale engagement content is PERFECT for cold traffic, especially paid cold traffic.
Real-world examples including the legendary 5 make up tips for older women - page used by Ezra Firestone and Boom by Cindy Joseph.
How Third Love used pre-sale content to show women everywhere that they were putting on their bra all wrong.
How do you identify topics using free Google tools and some simple online research?
How to let customers write your ad headlines and content headlines for you.
What can you learn from 5-star and 1-star reviews from your competitor’s products (this is so brilliant).
Dos and Don’ts for the page itself
Plus more!

What’s the ultimate metric you should measure to grow your business? Smart direct response marketers might say Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) or Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). Advanced direct response marketers might say Lifetime Customer Value. But what does John Grimshaw say? Well, you’ll have to tune in, but I’ll give you a hint? It’s CVV.

John Grimshaw is traffic Marketing Director at Smart Marketer. He runs a consulting business called Data Centric Marketing. More importantly than any of that, he’s wicked smart.

I LOVE this episode. Here’s a quick look at what we cover:

What is lifetime customer value (LCV)? Why it’s important and why it’s so tough to calculate.
How should you calculate LCV and why it’s such a head-scratcher for most entrepreneurs.
Why LCV is often a flawed or imperfect metric and why Customer Value Velocity (CVV) is a better metric for scaling your business.
Real world example of how to use CVV to scale?
Why you should ignore the canned Lifetime value metric in Google Analytics (but we got nothin’ but love for GA in general. Just not this metric.).
John’s favorite tools and resources for measuring CVV.
Plus more!