Drew Sanocki is one of my favorite people to talk to. He's been a longtime friend and possesses a wealth of wisdom. Drew has successfully built and exited a company, turned around two other nine-figure retailers and is currently overseeing the growth of PostPilot, which recently achieved 8-figures in annual recurring revenue (ARR). What distinguishes Drew in my mind is his unwavering commitment to his family and his well-being. He has a wonderful family and leads an inspirational life. In this episode, we gain valuable insights into his mindset and philosophy on building both a fulfilling life and a successful business. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Why Drew is waking up at 4:30 a.m. and sprinting at 51 years old A transparent look at his daily schedule while managing one of the country's fastest-growing companies. The strategies he uses to maintain connection with his kids and wife while running a startup The details behind his acquisition of PostPilot for $50,000 and its transformation into an 8-figure business. His experience of hiring one person every three days for an entire year. How he has acquired multiple 8 and 9-figure businesses without investing his own capital. The differences between building a SAAS (Software as a Service) and an e-commerce business. Some simple campaigns that you can use with direct mail to grow your business Links:  The PostPilot holiday offer https://www.postpilot.com/holiday-gfo www.PostPilot.com

The return episode is here!  I'm back! After an unexpected 10-month break, this is the long-awaited return episode.  The truth is, letting the podcast go dormant was never my intention. I had been planning to launch a new episode for months. However, even with the best intentions, it never happened. So what happened? A lot of unexpected things changed in my life.  I believe there are times for learning and times for sharing. I have been in a heavy learning phase over the last year. Now is the time for sharing.  All is revealed in this all-new episode.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: What I have been up to for the last 10 months My thoughts on parenting and entrepreneurship Why I have been spending the majority of my time in real estate recently Why I took back over as CEO of Brand Growth Experts How a trip to Japan changed my trajectory  Lessons I've learned from the last year What to expect from this podcast going forward Resources:  Have thoughts! Hit me up on Twitter

The best of 2022 and how to start planning for 2023. Listen to this episode with a notepad or your phone ready to take voice memos. Jot down a few ideas to bring into your 2023 roadmap and plans.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to create exciting and super profitable product launches What the future of eCommerce buying behavior might look like How to use influencers to get content that performs  How to use challenges to build community and lower acquisition costs Resources: @austin_brawn on Twitter @lilyackerly on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

The big wins, what didn’t work, and what to do next. Austin and Lily recap BFCM 2022. As you’re reflecting on your own campaign you can compare how you did and maybe jot down some things to consider for next year too.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Diversifying your offer Buy now, pay later & the state of the American consumer  SMS overload: what happened? What to do with customers gained during the holidays  Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

A couple of months ago Lily started a new role as CMO at an early-stage eComm brand. And it’s been a crazy first 60 days as CMO - she stepped in at the beginning of Q4. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: A strategy to balance long-term growth needs with immediate fire drills  Laying the groundwork for 2023  How to build a customer archetype  Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you’re a marketer who dreads financial planning this episode is for you. Learn how to build a plan that supports your marketing strategies (instead of hindering them) so your business can grow with fewer bumps.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: The tiers of financial planning & what’s important at each level of business growth How to think about debt vs equity financing and when to consider each The financial KPIs to track on your weekly, monthly, and annual metric sheet Inventory planning: and how to structure your finances so you can stay in stock How the current economic state of the U.S and the world may impact eComm and what to be prepared for Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Parenting and being an entrepreneur, Austin share’s what life’s been like in his new role as first-time Dad.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Planning paternity leave as a business owner  Tips for working with a newborn in your life  Life changes & advice for other parenting entrepreneurs Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How to use video to vastly increase conversion with live shopping. Educate customers, build loyalty and have fun!  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to increase your add-to-cart rate with live shopping and shoppable video How to bring the acquisition benefits of the in-store experience online How to replicate a social feel on your own site so you can depend less on platforms like Meta  The different types of live commerce Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Our framework to run your business effortlessly and a sneak peek into the Effortless Growth Operating System we've built to help clients do this. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Why your “superhero syndrome” is hurting your business How to identify what needs to get done and where the opportunities to move the needle are A system to outsource & delegate  How to do more of the things you shine at, and less of the things you’re not an expert on Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

This is a brand that didn’t start with the expectation of selling online. McCullough has a human-first perspective and there’s a lot to learn from him on customer experience and leadership. A conversation about connection and the human experience, two things that are just as important (if not more important) to building and growing your brand as your marketing strategy.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Wins and learnings from manufacturing an innovative product that no one wants to work on What valuing relationships across all areas of your business could do for your success How focus groups could improve your product offering Birth of a product - getting an idea and figuring out if it’s a good one  Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

One of the biggest challenges eCommerce businesses face is low profit to turn this around you need to turn one purchase into two (into three and so forth!)   Today we’re going to talk about how to drive repeat customers so that you can be more profitable and have more cash to fuel back into your business.    What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Why repeat sales so important - and should be top of mind from day 1  How to improve your product by offering more value & keep customers coming back Strategies to automate sales and easily turn one purchase into two The system to roll out new products consistently so that your loyal customers always have something exciting to come back and purchase  Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Build a better brand by staying focused and paying attention to the opportunities, and eliminate shiny object syndrome. The truth is more does not equal better.  Max Rast is the founder of Klar, a data tracking and reporting software. Max built this software after his experience as a CMO at a fast-growing food and beverage DTC.  He was obsessed with spreadsheets and trying to build a clear picture, without getting bogged down in all the tiny details of attribution and the millions of data points available to eComm marketers.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: When international expansion is a good idea for scale How to think about influencers and track the revenue they bring in How to simplify your KPI sheet and metric tracking to build a better brand Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

A framework to get clear on your acquisition strategy and drive predictable revenue so you can grow your business.  Predictable revenue is one of the pillars of the 7 Figure Founder program with Austin. A lot of early-stage eComm owners look to what they see other brands do but the truth is if you double down on just one channel you’ll be able to stabilize your business and hit 7 figures.  This is how we think about this “one channel” strategy and some of the ways we help clients implement this. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to determine the best channel for your business Understand the type of product you’re selling and how potential customers will find it  The 4 key phases of scale  Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How eCommerce brands can provide a customer experience that mimics the best parts of in-store shopping to bridge the gap between retail and DTC. Building relationships is easier in person, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t delight customers with a personalized shopping experience in your online store.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: The power of live product demos & live shopping  How to build an ambassador program that delights participants and makes fans for life  What supporting customers post-purchase should look like  How to use exclusive retail partnerships to increase brand awareness and ultimately convert people online Resources: Live Shopping Tool 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How to build a brand-focused website that will increase conversion with brand first CRO. Brand building and storytelling are hot topics in eComm right now. Between the changes in privacy making it harder to scale by simply running well-targeted ads to consumers expecting more transparency - being able to relate to the people who land on your site is more important than ever.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Why storytelling is a critical piece of building a brand  What brand first CRO is & how to do it How smaller brands can prioritize content and what’s most important to focus on What and where to optimize your site pages Resources: @brandtify on Twitter Oddit 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How do you manage and motivate a team? Today we’re going to share strategies for small teams.  If you have a mix of in-house employees and a few contractors or if you’re going to be making your first hires soon this episode will help you lay the foundation to have success as you grow your team.  If you’ve already built a team and you’re looking for fresh ways to motivate and manage there’s some insight for you here too.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to have meetings that are productive while also connecting with your team  Performance reviews that actually set goals & give feedback  What to do when someone isn’t performing  How to set up a training & onboarding process  How to manage and motivate contract partners vs in-house employees  Resources: Podcast 359: HOW TO DECIDE IF IT’S TIME TO HIRE AN AGENCY Podcast 353: HELP! HIRING, SYSTEMS, AND ACQUISITION CHANNELS, OH MY! A RECAP OF OUR LIVE PROFIT SUMMIT 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How do you grow a DTC brand in today’s climate? Here are some of the customer acquisition strategies being used by a top brand growth manager right now.  Michael Grasewicz started at Taylor Stitch and has played an integral role in the fast growth stage of several DTC brands. This is what he’s learned along the way.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: What to do with your ads in the current state of Facebook Fast Growth strategies for eCommerce and DTC brands Paid vs organic customer acquisition and the place for each  Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

What started with an idea to heal her own health issues became a conversation with other women and turned into a big experiment that lead to a successful business.  This episode is about how Monica Grohne, the founder of Marea, went about scaling a DTC business.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: The journey from idea to start up to building a brand & scaling a DTC business Channels that are working and how to focus with a small team How to be bold in your marketing  Resources: Monica on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonicaGrohne Monica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicagrohne/ Marea on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mareawellness/ Monica on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1GaSFmR654_XwANV0mYSnw 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

In this Greatest Hits episode, Perfect Keto's Co-Founder, Dr. Anthony Gustin, talks about how Perfect Keto started off as a side project and then experienced massive growth -- making $100MM in just 19 months. Dr. Anthony Gustin cofounded Perfect Keto as a side project in November of 2016. He had one goal in mind: making keto easy. Within 4 hours of launching, the company made $20,000 and took off like a rocketship since. Little did he know, the creation of Perfect Keto was at the rise of one of the largest diet crazes of the past 50 years.  Anthony joins us to talk about Perfect Keto's growth, his business beliefs, and why he thinks going into retail is the last resort. We also discuss his experience of burnout and how entrepreneurs can best avoid it.  Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:58 The problem with copying someone else’s formula for success 7:15 Starting a multimillion-dollar company by accident 12:52 What it’s like riding the wave of one of the largest diet crazes 16:02 How to solve nearly all of the problems in your business 20:00 Perfect Keto’s science experiment approach to business 22:03 Anthony’s experience with burnout  28:31 What Anthony wishes he knew before launching Perfect Keto 32:00 Anthony’s new approach to building teams and building a solid business foundation 34:02 The next health problem Anthony is looking to solve  36:42 What business owner’s need to know about entering retail 39:25 Advice for entrepreneurs working long hours and going off the grid 44:41 A mindset shift for entrepreneurs to start enjoying the process 50:17 How you can connect with Anthony Links and Resources: Anthony’s Website Anthony’s Newsletter Anthony on Twitter Perfect Keto Equip Foods Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport Indistractable by Nir Eyal 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

In this Greatest Hits episode, we revisit a conversation about building a large, successful business with close to $40 million in revenue without using any paid social. Our guest, Nate Lipton of GrowersHouse, shows us how it can be done. And, in addition to not using paid ads, he’s been able to get his customer acquisition costs to zero. Nate shares the different approach to marketing that has helped him build several incredibly successful companies in the cannabis and hemp industries. He talks about exactly how you can use YouTube to establish yourself as a trusted brand and drive ad-free sales.  If you’re looking for some refreshing ideas for how you can drive more revenue, this is a great episode to jog your imagination about what’s possible. Episode Highlights:  5:54 Nate’s involvement in the cannabis and hemp industries via multiple different businesses 9:44 Fixing a gap in the cannabis industry: the creation of the Growers Network 12:18 The YouTube channel that lifted the veil on growing operations 16:37 How Nate got started in ecommerce and his number one piece of advice for beginners 20:28 What Nate would do differently if he were building his website today 22:31 The future role of video in ecommerce and common YouTube misconceptions 24:58 Using video to provide clarity around what a product actually does 30:42 One factor that will help you win more customers in the long term 32:37 How connecting with your competitors and being radically transparent can benefit your business in a major way 35:40 Other non-traditional advertising channels that Nate’s using that have resulted in zero customer acquisition costs 41:05 The questions you need to ask yourself to reframe your approach to acquiring customers 45:37 What you can do right now to increase your revenue Links and Resources:  GrowersHouse Growers Network Canna Cribs TruPotency.com [email protected] Instagram: @nate.j.lipton James Schramko Episode 191: How an Artist and Engineer Turned Business Owners Built a “Cult” 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

In this Greatest Hits episode, we're revisiting a conversation Traeger Grillswith's Director of Acquisition who talks about how holistic marketing can unify your brand across all marketing channels and make it stand out from the competition. Jesse Semchuck joins us to share how a holistic growth strategy has contributed to Traeger's success. He outlines the makeup of his marketing team, how internal teams and third-party agencies interact, and how a holistic growth approach can create more synergy across all marketing initiatives and the organization.   Tune in and find out if holistic marketing is something you should use in your business. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:59 Jesse Semchuck’s role at Traeger Grills and what he’s been excited to build over the last year 7:55 The difference between selling mattresses and selling smoker grills 9:18 What’s working well for Traeger Grills right now 11:14 The makeup of Jesse’s marketing team  12:37 Questions Jesse asks when thinking about strategic scaling and how he decides which marketing channels to focus on 17:06 Why low ROAS isn’t always a bad thing and the importance of understanding how different channels impact one another 20:13 When is the right time to invest in a full funnel holistic approach to your marketing 22:42 What most people do wrong when hiring an agency, and a better way to approach it 26:58 How internal team interaction with agencies is structured at Traeger Grills 29:00 Questions to ask a potential agency partner 30:57 When to outsource to an agency versus keeping things in house  32:31 Agency red flags to watch out for Links and Resources: Subscribe to the Brand Growth Experts Newsletter Jesse Semchuck Traeger Grills Purple Mattress @jessesem on Twitter @a_brawn on Twitter 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

In this Greatest Hits episode we're revisiting a conversation with John Warrillow about harvesting the value of your company and building to sell. John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a Top 10 Forbes Ranked Podcast host, and author of Built to Sell, a best-selling book that’s helped over 50,000 businesses build more valuable companies. Throughout his career, he's founded and exited four companies and now dedicates his time to helping entrepreneurs sell their own for higher multiples. Listen now for John’s most valuable advice on the secret to a successful exit, key pillars for being built to sell, how to create more value in your business, and the biggest mistakes he sees entrepreneurs make when trying to do this on their own. Episode Highlights: 6:49 The secret to having a successful exit 12:04 How much you should get for your business 19:26 The number one job you have as a business owner 23:58 Why so few entrepreneurs turn pro 28:49 Tactical ways you can increase the long term value of your business 36:20 The power of taking a pause in entrepreneurship 43:54 The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when selling their business 49:49 What to do if you are forced to take an earnout  Links and Resources: John Warrilow’s Website (Click “Free Gifts” for bonuses from John) Built to Sell Radio Built to Sell The Automatic Customer The Art of Selling Your Business The Membership Economy Podcast 235: A Behind The Scenes Look At Pura Vida’s Multi-Million Dollar Exit Podcast 296: The Keys To A 9-Figure Exit: How Moiz Ali Sold Native For $100MM @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Today we have a secret weapon for you that will help you write copy that converts, reach your best audience, and build brand fans for life. If you’ve googled “better conversion copy” or “how to find my niche” recently this episode is for you. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to collect killer video testimonials Setting up post-purchase surveys and capturing Net Promoter Score Getting product-specific feedback with focus groups Using customer feedback to write copy that converts + where else to share Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to align life and work with the path that you want to be on through regular check-ins and personal reflection.

A family butchery started in 1920’s LA became a beef jerky dynasty when they started selling online. Here’s the story of their journey from brick and mortar to eComm.  Brian Bianchetti’s founder story is unique. He started working with us to help transition his 4th generation family brand to an online DTC store. This is his story of how they found success and grew to hit 7 figures.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to build a brand online Making your first marketing hires and building a team that you can delegate to When to use an agency and when to go in house How to work with your family without going crazy The journey to scale an eComm store from 6 to 7 figures Resources: peopleschoicebeefjerky.com 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Austin and Lily revisit their 2022 eComm wins and learnings and opportunities and share what should remain in focus and what should be top of mind for the second half of the year. 2022 has been been a wild ride thus far for everyone, and BGE is no exception. Austin welcomed his first child, BGE has restructured and added a new program, and there are a ton of moving parts in DTC, the economy, and the world already this year. Austin & Lily revisit their February predictions and share their updated opportunities & challenges for the remainder of 2022. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: The 100 x 30 challenge The current Ecomm environment - Austin’s take TikTok and leveraging influencer audiences The current economy and risk of recession SMS is still a big opportunity What is the 7-Figure Founder program? Crypto and the loss of wealth so far in 2022 Preparing for lead times Has DTC failed overall? BGE Intensive coming up in Q4 Books Austin has enjoyed recently Lily’s summer reads Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: A lesson from the big brands - you grow faster and smarter when you have focused simplicity. Key Takeaways: How to address the needs of the consumer - with focus  Simplicity as a growth strategy Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  7-Figure Founders Program (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

What really is the relationship between site speed and conversion rate? How important is UX when it comes to running a fast eComm site? Learn how to run a fast site and where to focus on optimizing your user experience from a UX expert.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How running a fast eComm site can be challenging (and what to do about it) How your focus on optimization and site speed will evolve as your business grows How to prioritize design vs function What headless eCommerce is and why you should care Resources: SpeedSense 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

The best practices for email to help you prep your email list and collect customer info to drive more sales and make your holiday campaigns easier.  Whether you plan to run holiday campaigns or not this year this episode will help you improve your email marketing with some quick tips and long-term strategies you can start using today.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to make your email list work harder for you (drive more sales)  Best strategies for re-engaging with a cold email list  How to routinely clean your email list  Winning with post-purchase surveys  Using flows and when to A/B test  How to increase your email capture performance Resources: Download our Email Map Validate your email list: Zero Bounce How to remove false opens from your list (Klaviyo) 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: Austin shares the pros and cons of the EOS method outlined in the book Traction and his tips on how to apply this business process to your eCommerce company. Key Takeaways: How to focus on the things that move the needle  How to be strategic in your planning, without getting overwhelmed Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  7-Figure Founders Program (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

An active media buyer shares the nuances of the “new” Facebook platform and some paid social wins right now. If you are struggling with your ad performance right now or if you’re trying to learn more about Facebook advertising and how the platform works you will learn a lot here.  We all know what a nightmare ad performance has been in the last 12 months so this episode is to give insight into how some eComm brands are managing their ads accounts right now and give you some tips and ideas to improve your own performance.   What You’ll Learn From This Episode: Big ideas for acquisition and retention marketing right now If Facebook is still a viable growth channel for brands with smaller marketing budgets What a successful marketing mix might look like for early-stage 6-figure eComm brands Analytics and how to track your KPIs when data is skewed Sustainability and the future of ethical eCommerce Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: customer satisfaction can be a gold mine for marketing. You can build brand virality through word of mouth. Key Takeaways: How to build and use net promoter score  Using customer feedback to build the product they want Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  7-Figure Founders Program (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

It’s time to reflect and refocus. Our tips to make sure you’re on track to have a winning Q3 and Q4 this year. The first half of this episode focuses on how to get organized and reflect on the first half of the year.  The second half of this episode will give you some high level areas to focus on in Q3 and what to look ahead to for Q4.  You’ll leave with a checklist that you can run through in your own business to ensure you’re focused on the things that will scale your business and keep you on track to hit your revenue goals.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to conduct a teamwide 90-day review How to do a quarterly/ half year personal reflection Prep checklist for holiday campaigns Campaign ideas for right now Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win:  how to prioritize email flows that drive the most revenue, and not waste time on one's that won't.  Key Takeaways: How to prioritize your time when working on email marketing The email flows to consider starting with based on the type of business you have How you can increase & improve your flows as your business grows Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  7 Figure Founder (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Understanding human behavior will bring you more customers and increase your conversion rate. It’s the psychology of UX design for eCommerce. Psychologist and expert UX designer Alina Prelicz-Zawadzka gives an insider view into why we do what we do, and how you can use that to improve your website.  What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How humans think and how your site should be designed to support that The best practices for UX design right now Simple things to help you increase your conversion rate Why data is so important to design, and what you can do to not get overwhelmed by it Mobile and video best practices and opportunities Survey questions that get answers Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: Austin Brawner's #1 piece of advice for eComm owners actively trying to scale their business up to 7 figures: get perspective  Key Takeaways: Why a business without process will break when it grows  How to set yourself up with a successful and scalable business Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  7-Figure Founders Program (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Answers to the question every eComm owner asks themselves at some point - should we hire an internal team or hire an agency to do that? This is a question we see over and over from clients and one Austin and Lily have both dealt with personally before too. If you’re trying to figure out what to do - here are some answers What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to think about when to hire an agency so that you can make the best decision for your business based on where you’re at right now.  How to evaluate your goals to see if an agency would be a good fit  Red flags to look out for when working with an agency  Tips on how to manage an agency and develop a successful partnership  Resources: 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: an accountability chart makes it easier to identify the role you need to hire for BEFORE you overwork your team or yourself.  Key Takeaways: How an accountability chart is different from an organization chart  Getting a clear picture of the responsibilities of your team  Figure out what type of skills you need to hire for (instead of what “position” you need to hire for)  Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  7-Figure Founders Program (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Tips on how to grow and market your eCommerce brand and hit that 7-figure goal both from a creative and operational direction. Srdjan (Serge) Popovic is the CMO of Crossrope, a fitness jump rope company. He met the CEO and partnered with Crossrope as an early influencer in the fitness jump rope space. He then left his career in mechanical engineering in 2015 to join the team as employee #3. If you’re interested in content creation and UGC to grow your business, you will get a lot out of this episode. Also, Serge has an awesome hiring theory he shares and he talks explicitly about hiring for marketing roles. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: How to think about the layers of gathering UGC content and where to start looking for content creators Some tips on TikTok and what’s working How to hire for your stage of business What the role & growth trajectory of an early marketing hire could look like in your business Resources: Crossrope Srdjan Popovic on LinkedIn 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: how to build a formula for creative churn that consistently turns out winning content for your eCommerce brand.  Key Takeaways: A formula you can use to create winning content, consistently  Where to look for copy inspiration Using customer content Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  7-Figure Founders Program (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

A case study on Posh Shoppe and their 90 day growth goals to find success on TikTok, hire a Brand Director and deliver 1 million compliments.  Posh Shoppe owner, John Chen, was struggling to continue the growth of his business after the iOS updates killed his acquisition on Facebook. He attended an event with Brand Growth Experts to help him get clear and figure out what to do next.  This episode is his story, why he came to us and the goals he has for the next 90 days.  Episode Highlights: 9:40 How iOS impacted John 11:05 John’s three growth goals for the next 90 days  11:52 The importance of a mission that you can stand behind and that speaks to your customers  13:49 How to know when you need to make a shift in your brand  17:21 Hiring a Brand director & delegating the things your not genius in  21:11 How John found the perfect hire   23:57 Building a TikTok marketing strategy  30:07 The stages of growth an owner has to do as the business grows from 6 to 7 figures  36:27 AI software to show outfits on models without a photoshoot  Resources: Posh Shoppe 7-Figure Founder (Get Austin Brawner's help & scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: how to use subscriptions to raise the floor and increase LTV and improve customer retention. Key Takeaways: Subscriptions can help you get a better valuation when you sell Build a more stable business model that’s not reliant on auction-based marketing platforms Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  Brand Growth Membership (get help from Austin Brawner to grow your business to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Ideas for customer support strategies that are NOT scalable to provide a truly unique and special experience for some of your customers.  This episode is for people who want to go above and beyond for their customers.  Why? Because your customer won’t remember that your site was easy to navigate. The things that make a brand stand out and memorable are the experiences - these are the things that people share with their friends & this is what keeps people coming back. Episode Highlights: 5:11 Send surprise gifts in the mail to delight your customers  8:36 Give behind the scenes access to your product and brand  11:48 Have your customer team perform random acts of kindness 13:38 Record personalized videos to thank customers  15:46 Reward your customers “in the wild” 18:18 Have all your employees spend a day as a customer support rep  19:00 Founders replying to emails or answering the phone  22:52 Add small gifts to your packages  Resources: SocialBlade - tool to find more information about social accounts The Brand Growth Membership (Get Austin Brawner's help to scale to 7 figures) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: building a crystal clear vision to be the single guiding light to drive growth in your business.  Key Takeaways: What the true cause of slow growth in a business often is  How to use visualization: lessons from pro athletes Resources: Grab our Growth Pack for founders  Brand Growth Membership (work with Austin Brawner) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Stop only sending discount emails! Implement these 3 email campaign ideas to drive full-price sales in your business.  Austin and Lily share some email designs they’re digging right now to serve as creative inspiration for you.  Episode Highlights: 5:03 Email example #1: Using aspirational imagery and problem/ solution storytelling  9:49 Email example #2: Clever copywriting to encourage a sale in abandoned cart (and not discounting)  13:25 Email example #3: Using a waitlist to drive urgency, excitement and collect customer data  Resources: Visual: Email Example #1 (Bose) Visual: Email Example #2 (Dote) Visual: Email Example #3 (Everlane) The Brand Growth Membership @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: Tried and tested email flows to drive more revenue without reinventing the wheel.  Grab our Email Map to start driving more revenue with email today  Key Takeaways: Where to start & how to be profitable with smart email flows are Applying email wins to SMS  Resources: Grab our Email Map to start driving more revenue with email today  Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Want to drive more sales, lower your ad costs and make your buyers into loyal customers? Run a community-building challenge for your eCommerce business.  This is a packed episode with tons of tactical ideas to grow your business using a 60-day challenge model.  Alicia Reynoso grew her business to 8-figures before selling using this strategy and she’s sharing everything… How to quickly scale audience growth & business revenue Challenges & how they work in eComm Facebook groups & their value in audience building UGC & how to repurpose content If you want to go deeper and get Alicia’s help building a challenge in your own business check out her training in the members. (Not a member? Join here)  Episode Highlights: 7:03 How to set goals with the intention of selling  10:05 Using challenges to increase LTV by 45%  13:09 Challenges for retention marketing 14:04 Doubling ROAS when using challenges for acquisition 15:53 iOS and Facebook changes: how challenges work to lower ad cost  17:53 How often to run challenges  21:18 Structuring an offer for your challenge  27:39 Getting to know your customer better  29:44 Facebook groups to have conversations with customers  35:01 Tips for going live on Facebook  39:56 Getting UGC from your Facebook group  42:47 Content strategy for cold & warm traffic: how they different Resources: Alicia’s Training: How to Build a Hyper-Engaged Community for your Ecommerce Brand with Challenges ChallengeMakers.com The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to use VA's to fuel the growth of your business & get more time back by having someone to delegate to.  Key Takeaways: How to build a good role for a VA  How to hire a VA and what you should be delegating Resources: Grab our FREE Founders Growth Pack  Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How to get from here to there. Setting goals and systems to scale a profitable business. A re-cap of our Profit Summit event. We wanted to record an episode coming out of the Profit Summit because there were some big themes that came up.  Each attendee was very different in terms of product, team structure and revenue but they all showed up with pretty much the same question - “how do I get from here to there” everyone had a future goal without a clear path on how to get there.  Episode Highlights: 5:33 Hiring: a framework  9:38 Systems: what you need to scale  17:53 Channels: why you should stop trying to “replace” Facebook  23:39 Simplicity: do one thing really well Resources: Book: A World Without Email by Cal Newport  The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to maximize your time and grow your business without giving up all your time. Prioritizing and delegating tasks to get more done.  Key Takeaways: Putting the most important things first  How to compartmentalize  Resources: Grab our FREE Founders Growth Pack  Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Sick of expensive acquisition costs? This is how to grow a brand with organic TikTok (read: no ad spend). This episode features the founder of a hemp cigarette company. And guess what - he can’t advertise on Facebook or Google due to the nature of the product. So, he had to get super creative to figure out how to acquire customers and get in front of people.  After several failed attempts he found massive success with organic TikTok.  He did $500k in revenue in year 1 with no paid ad spend, and no employees while working full time at his agency. All because of their viral TikTok videos.  This is also an interesting vantage point because the brand made its own videos (and he was the one making them). So it’s a little different than the other TikTok success stories with influencer marketing out there right now.   Episode Highlights: 7:33 How to launch a business when your ad account gets shut down  10:07 Marketing and positioning for a novel product  12:01 Do you start with product development or marketing?  13:50 How to identify areas you need to hire for  18:19 Content creation strategy: how to manage it internally  23:52 How to Grow a Brand With Organic TikTok 24:45 Why SEO is important again  27:00 Easy and quick ways to track influencer performance  32:19 Incentivising word of mouth  35:04 Thinking long term customer journey  39:52 Opportunities for growth in eCommerce right now  Resources: The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to respect your time, your team's time & be a more effective and efficient company.  Key Takeaways: How to set expectations  Using impact filters to have more effective meetings  Resources: Grab our FREE Founders Growth Pack  Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

With paid traffic costs continuing to go up PR is a great place to find long-term value in traffic and social proof. Learn how to get press for your eCommerce business.  Nora Wolf is a PR expert and specializes in getting brands tons of press. She takes a modern approach to PR and uses a mix of media strategies including a unique take on influencers as press.  She shares her tips and tools on how to get media for your eCommerce business.  Episode Highlights: 5:16 What’s exciting in PR right now: getting back to live events  7:25 Running PR with a small marketing budget  9:24 Earned media vs affiliate marketing 11:13 How to know when your brand is ready for a PR strategy  12:21 Where to start when building a press list for PR 14:46 Tools to keep track of your PR lists  16:44 Writing content that gets picked up 19:49 The types of content that work well for PR 23:29 Shifting to be a story brand over a discount brand  25:33 Applying design thinking principles to your business  30:34 Avoiding burnout and staying focused  34:07 Influencers as media contacts  39:41 Channels that work well for an influencers using a media strategy 42:38 The biggest mistakes people make in influencer marketing 44:42 Metrics & KPI to track for influencer marketing  47:00 Using PR as social proof  48:50 PR & influencer marketing without having to seed product  50:31 Why you need quality content and good creative  Resources: Nora’s Training: How to Get Press Like a Publicist  Wolf Craft Wolf PR The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: When things are going wrong in your business how can you take radical responsibility, shift perspective and ultimately solve the problem. Key Takeaways: It’s easy to blame, but where does it actually get you? Stop putting bandaids over issues - find solutions that last Resources: FREE Founders Growth Pack  Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How to grow a bootstrapped brand from nothing to 8 figures by thinking outside the box to drive organic traffic with influencers and TikTok acquisition. Jason Wong started his first eCommerce business when he was just 15 years old. Since then he’s become one of the top marketers and entrepreneurs in the space.  He’s built a framework to build bootstrapped brands up to 8 figures using organic TikTok and influencer content.  He was one of the first to see TikTok as an opportunity. As a forward thinker, he has a lot of ideas on what the future of eCommerce looks like and where the opportunities for growth are.  Episode Highlights: 3:33 Jason’s start in eComm (at 15!) 7:00 How Jason manages his competing priorities and many interests  10:06 Hitting $15MM in one year (without outside investing) 13:30 What’s working with influencers on TikTok right now 16:58 How to find influencers and get quality content from them 21:05 The difference between Instagram and TikTok influencers  22:05 Building a content creation system for UGC  27:04 Tools & tips to manage and track influencer partnerships 29:58 Driving acquisition through organic TikTok  31:01 Where to start on TikTok  34:43 Are 10-minute videos on TikTok working? 36:12 Pairing organic TikTok with SEO  39:26 What the next opportunities in acquisition are: content & SEO  43:04 Wins with loyalty & referral  44:57 Personalization & tech opportunities coming to eComm  Resources: @EggrolI on Twitter Jason’s Shopify Course: How to Develop and Manufacture Your Product  The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to get clear on your vision for your business and life.  Key Takeaways: Taking time to get away from the weeds  Using offsites as a way to get clear  Resources: Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

The top questions from eCommerce owners right now - answered. (hint: are Facebook groups dead = no!)  These are questions that have come up either in the Brand Growth Membership forum or in our member's office hours calls recently.  This episode is designed so you can walk away with an answer and an action to take.  If you have questions you want to chat with us about check out the membership. Episode Highlights: 4:54 What’s the state of business - are we optimistic or pessimistic? 9:03 Austin’s thoughts on the impact of Russia/ Ukraine war 13:51 Building a community on Facebook: are Facebook groups dead? 19:49 Raising capital & how to bring in a partner  23:35 Facebook shops opportunities to increase conversion  26:03 Personalization, quizzes & better lead capture  Resources: Training: How to Build a Quiz Funnel  The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to use landing pages to optimize for conversions by testing and creating a better experience.  Key Takeaways: Using landing pages to test site design Landing pages to improve ad performance Resources: Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Tips on running and selling a business from an exit entrepreneur who never planned to sell.  How can you build a business that both you and future you will benefit from? This episode covers the steps to growing a business you can sell. My guest (and friend) Jared Nations shares his lessons, tips, and learnings from recently selling his business. His story is interesting because his plan had been to keep running the business as a cash flow business and never sell. After a cold offer, he changed his plan and pivoted.  This episode gives you an inside view to what selling a business looks like and what you can do to prepare your business (even if you’re not planning to sell).  Episode Highlights: 6:36 COVID impacts on business growth  10:52 Getting a cold offer to buy  13:51 The layers of building a deal to sell  15:03 Why you should position your business as a strategic acquisition when selling  17:34 What makes a deal successful  18:58 Running a business for growth  20:44 Learnings from the selling process  25:57 Not having a single point of failure that the owner is involved in  27:47 Building a business for the future you  30:45 Hiring while in an intense growth period  33:26 Creating culture in a remote team  39:04 How many meetings is too many meetings  42:01 Understanding what the people on your team value  46:17 Business models and mistakes when trying to innovate Resources: @nations_jared on Twitter  The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

When shit hit’s the fan… what do you do?  Almost exactly 2 years past the first COVID lockdowns in the U.S. Austin and Lily team up to share what exactly has been going on and the impacts it’s had on eComm brands.  Learn what’s out and no longer working, get some ideas for where you can focus your energy now and how to win in a post-Facebook world.  Episode Highlights: 0:45 What’s been happening in eComm since COVID hit  3:48 Demand for eComm products right now  7:06 Supply chain issues - what’s next?  10:13 The impact of shipping costs going up 13:35 Facebook isn’t coming back - is it? (how to win in a post-Facebook world) 15:19 How to recession-proof your business  17:49 What’s out and what’s in for eCommerce 19:45 Wartime CEO: how to be one  20:48 Radical focus: how to get narrow and drive results  23:27 Opportunities with organic traffic  23:56 SEO quick tips  24:37 What’s the deal with TikTok  26:44 Referal and loyalty programs that people actually use  27:43 Why you should try direct mail  28:01 YouTube has consistently been getting better  28:39 Sell your story, not your product features  31:26 Get our help  Resources: Claim Your Spot in the Profit Summit (April 3-5 in Austin, TX)  The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $) Radical Focus By Ravi Gupta @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you can’t write, you can’t sell (unless you hire a copywriter). How to increase conversion, LTV & engagement with better copy. In this episode, Austin and Chris Orzechowski discuss a wide range of eComm topics to give you some great food for thought.  Topics include - traffic strategies by channel, how to hire a copywriter, choosing your mindset towards your business, how to write a story hook over a product hook (and sell more), and rounding out with web3 opportunities and curiosities.  Sit back and enjoy the ride on this one.  Episode Highlights: 4:11 Chris’s experiment to find traffic channels that work  5:13 Facebook ads right now  7:05 What Chris is doing on YouTube  11:57 What to look for when hiring an in-house copywriter  14:57 Where to hire a copywriter to increase conversion, LTV & engagement 18:12 Creating a brief and working as a team from idea to output  21:19 Story based hooks vs product based hooks  24:21 How to tell a story around your product (that’s compelling & sells) 29:03 Parenting as an entrepreneur  33:56 A “not participating in recessions” mindset  40:20 The difference between good and great copywriting 43:30 Thoughts on crypto and NFT markets 48:08 The metaverse and optimizing your real life for the online world  Resources: TheEmailCopywriter.com Podcast 317: How to Beat Your Competition with Effective Copywriting and Brand Positioning The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How you can have success with influencers for content creation to drive more engagement, better ad creative, and increase organic traffic. Key Takeaways: TikTok and Instagram platform updates (and opportunities) How to get quality content from influencers  Creating influencer contracts & how to do it right Resources: Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

What opportunities are you leaving on the table with Google Shopping? This is a critical mid-funnel channel that will help you convert more customers.  Eagan Heath is one of the unique people that has experience both owning an eCommerce brand and owning an agency. This episode is about what he's seeing work right now from his access to a lot of different accounts in different industries.  Eagan is an expert in Google Shopping and Google ads and he shares his strategy. (If you’re interested in learning more about Google Shopping Eagan is doing a deep dive on this in the membership on March 16th. You can join the membership here for access.)  Episode Highlights: 5:32 Landing pages & opportunities to optimize ads  12:01 Opportunities to improve your customer retention  15:45 Optimal ad spend ratio for retention and acquisition 21:10 Channels to focus on outside of Facebook 27:24 Using Google’s data to optimize your ad account  29:25 iOS impacts on Google ads  31:04 False beliefs about Google Shopping (and why they’re wrong)  34:26 Potential revenue lifts from Google Shopping  35:53 Products that do best on Google Shopping  38:25 Competing on price or brand  41:27 How to set your pricing  43:44 KPI’s and how to track your performance with loss of data from privacy updates  48:05 The importance of design & having an internal creation funnel  Resources: Price Increase Modeling Calculator  Eagan’s Podcast  Caravan Digital  Podcast 243: How To Improve Your Ecommerce SEO The Brand Growth Membership (Join today to get 7-days for $1) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to build a successful loyalty program to improve customer retention and drive higher value repeat purchases. Key Takeaways: What does a good rewards program look like (tools & strategy) Offering a discount vs a free item: what provides more value  Resources: Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Product launches can be a rocket ship to your sales or a sinking vessel pulling you underwater.  Here are 6 different ways to make your next product launch your best ever. Austin and Lily share strategies, actions, and tips that you can take away from launches that they’ve seen crush it.  Episode Highlights: 2:51 The power of product launches: why you should do them 4:16 Coordinating with influencers to pour fire on your launch  8:50 Waitlisting your audience before a launch  10:38 Testing your product ideas with SMS  12:41 Using a loyalty program to give early access to your VIPs  17:04 Send more emails than you think you should 19:50 Scarcity & planning to sell out  23:07 Critical operational considerations for product launches (that a lot of people miss) 24:56 Bringing your customer support team into your launch marketing plans   Resources: Product Launch Idea Thread (members only) The Brand Growth Membership @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: How to train, optimize and manage a remote team. Plus, tips in building company culture and why it should be an integral part of your onboarding process. Key Takeaways: Optimizing a team for remote work  Building a marketing first company Training in company culture first How to build a training system that will scale with your growth Resources: Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Breathwork is a superpower for dealing with stress, lack of clarity and overwhelm. If you’re overwhelmed learning to work with your breath and meditation is how to stop entrepreneurial burnout.  This episode will put a tool for your toolkit to help you get through the challenges that come from running your business (and life) and help you thrive in fulfilling your dreams and best life.  Carson Finkle is the CEO of Tenth Street Hats, a DTC hat business. He also has a new business called Create Meditation. His deep dive into the meditation space came from his own challenges with overwhelm and burnout in his eComm business.  We do a bit of meditation towards the end, so I highly encourage taking some time for this. Episode Highlights: 4:08 How burnout led Carson to meditation and breathwork 9:02 Meditation as a practice to help entrepreneurs 10:47 A new approach to meditation  15:40 Identifying your north star and getting there  23:28 How Carson balances life with a full plate  26:58 Creating a system to find a flow over a structured schedule  34:39 Meditation practice with Carson  52:25 Breathing exercises you can do on your own Resources: Create Meditation Book your free session with Carson (first 20 to enter Ecommerce Influence in “how you heard of us” will get a free session) Book: Breath by James Nester  Book: Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown Book: Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza The Brand Growth Membership @BrandGrowthX on Twitter

Quick win: a streamlined process that will teach you how to hire your dream team while saving yourself time and headache. Key Takeaways: Why you need a compelling job post  Use your marketing skills to “sell” your company and attract the right person  The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make: wasting time into interviewing unqualified people How to set up a process that filters out people who don’t fit early on Resources: Brand Growth Membership (Join today for $1 for 7-days) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Last year was a wild ride - and one of the hardest years for eCommerce ever.  What do the opportunities and hurdles for eComm businesses look like this year? Austin and Lily share what they’re excited about and where they suggest focusing your efforts right now.  Episode Highlights: 6:18 What Austin is most excited about in eComm right now  8:28 4 big opportunities for eComm this year  8:43 Influencers to create or grow a brand  12:01 TikTok will continue to expand reach  12:37 Privacy - getting ahead of others who refuse to admit it’s impacting them  14:00 Loyalty programs & better retention and LTV  14:54 Success with SMS flash sale  15:45 Hurdles eComm will face this year  20:11 Brands to look at for best practices in eComm right now  27:00 What Austin’s been listening to for inspiration  28:47 Book’s that Austin has recently enjoyed  31:23 Lily’s podcast recommendations  32:07 A good (and short) book to inspire you  33:28 Austin’s 2022 prediction  35:24 Lily’s 2022 prediction  Resources: The Brand Growth Membership @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: how to optimize your email marketing to make it work harder for you (without working harder yourself). Key Takeaways: 3X your email sign up rate with conversational pop-ups Why your transactional emails need personalization  How to conduct customer research  Write insanely good copy by using what your customers say What KPIs to track with changing privacy policies  Resources: Brand Growth Membership (Join today for a 7-day trial) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Make more money, work less, and be prepared for a black swan event when you offset the risk of business by investing smartly.  Taylor Pearson is the founder of Mutiny Fund, where he helps investors maximize the long-term growth of their portfolios.  In this episode, he shares how he thinks about investing and diversifying as a business owner.  We talk about how to think about diversifying your portfolio to offset the risk you've taken by going all-in on a business You’ll learn what talk risk means, how to better preserve wealth and what to think about investing right now when it seems like the whole world is going crazy.  This podcast is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. All opinions expressed by podcast participants are solely their own opinions and listeners are reminded that managed futures and other alternative investments are complex and carry a risk of substantial losses. Visit mutinyfund.com/disclaimer for more information. Episode Highlights: 4:18 Taylor’s tail risk and long volatility hedge fund, Munity Fund  6:50 Why you should be thinking about tail risk  10:28 What exactly tail risk means 13:58 Playing the long game in investing and evaluating your personal risk tolerance  18:18 Are we headed for a major economy altering black swan event? 21:10 Debt super cycles and patterns in financial history 23:58 Should you be preparing your portfolio for a black swan event? 27:41 Being an optimistic & rational prepper  31:36 Thinking about your business as a part of your portfolio and how to balance risk 35:30 Finding a minority stake business owner for your business  38:13 Conservative assets to offset your business with  43:03 Taylor’s thoughts on holding cash right now 47:06 How often you should think about rebalancing  Resources: Munity Fund @TaylorPearsonMe on Twitter Taylorpearson.me The Brand Growth Membership (7-day free trial if you join today) @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Quick win: where to unlock hidden revenue in your email marketing. Key Takeaways: How to determine which emails to focus on (that will drive the most revenue) and when to test. How to optimize your flows (trigger emails) to ensure you’re not leaving money on the table. 3 email mistakes you’re probably making and how to fix them. Resources: The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022) The Brand Growth Membership @BrandGrowthX on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you want to be successful you need to focus on selling your business, not selling your product. (Even if you’re not planning on selling) This is an episode about the system that we use to run our business called the Effortless Growth Operating System (EGOS).  It’s a 6-step system that we share with members of the Brand Growth Membership and help people implement directly in their own business in the Brand Growth Accelerator.  Today - Austin and Lily team up to give you a look into how it works and Austin shares his own experience with poor management and burnout that led to the creation of the Effortless Growth Operating System. What you’ll learn in this episode:  How to create compelling job descriptions & how to hire the right people  How to focus your energy on the areas of your business you love  How to get clear on your vision & truly believe in it  Episode Highlights: 5:08 Austin’s background in eComm, business, and operations 9:22 The Effortless Growth Operating System and how it can improve your business  11:48 What Austin has done to improve his own business and processes  12:33 Why eComm brands who want fast growth need the Effortless Growth Operating System 19:50 Under-discussed issues with hiring right now  22:21 How to get help implementing an operating system in your business  Join the The Brand Growth Accelerator and we will help you scale your business  25:58 Why you should be focused on selling you busines and not your product (even if you’re not planning on selling your business)  27:30 Austin’s tip on what to do RIGHT NOW in your business  29:16 Lily’s tip on what to do RIGHT NOW in your business  Resources: The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022) The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Facebook is smarter than you, and your customers are better marketers. (Learnings from working at a fast-growing brand.)  Today’s guest is our own Brand Growth Experts Marketing Manager, Lily Ackerly.  We’re talking about Lily’s journey being one of the first employees at a fast-growing brand and what she’s learned from really teaching herself the ropes in eCommerce.  Lily also has a lot of experience in customer support - and we’re going to give you some reasons why you should keep your marketing and customer support teams close and engaged with each other.  You’re going to be hearing more from Lily on the podcast so this is your first opportunity to “meet” her and hear some of her ideas.  Episode Highlights: 5:49 Lily’s start in eCommerce at a fast growing brand  7:49 Team set up in the early days of a business  8:45 Wholesale and the word of mouth benefits it gives  9:47 Facebook in 2016 13:31 Learnings from Facebook ad account management  14:57 Keeping advertising (and reporting on it) simple  17:55 Culture first when growing a team  19:03 The importance of customer support & connecting it to marketing  19:58 Advice to get out of the customer support weeds  24:12 Why having a creative design team is more important than ever  28:23 What a successful agency partnership looks like  32:44 The importance of connecting with other eComm people and why it’s better than books If you’re interested in connecting with other eComm owners check out our Brand Growth Accelerator 34:20 Advice from Lily: keep it simple  35:24 Campaign and promotion tips  Resources: The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022) The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How do you sell a product that no one understands until they try it? With smart marketing, positioning, packaging, and a solid mix of DTC to big box sales.  John Pinto founder of BoomBoom Naturals (all-natural nasal sticks) and he's been a friend of mine for over 10 years, we met and got our start together working at our first job out of college.  In this episode, we talk about John’s journey with BoomBoom, what he’s learned in DTC and acquiring over 500,000 customers through Facebook and online marketing, and his recent (and very successful) shift from DTC to big box stores. We also talked about life balance, being an entrepreneur with kids and what that looks like. John's one of the most balanced people that I know and he shares some of his ideas and hacks around how he's been able to keep that going while building a large and fast-growing company. Episode Highlights: 5:47 How John and Austin met  7:05 Johns eCommerce venture  11:52 When Jordan Belfort endorses your product  13:33 Selling a product that’s in a new category  17:25 Shifting from DTC to big box stores and why 21:12 What goes into pursuing a relationship with big box stores  27:09 In-store marketing strategy  33:36 Going deep in one geographic area and then replicating what works elsewhere 34:27 How John prioritizes things that matter outside of work  45:40 Personal growth leading to business success 57:01 What the Shark Tank experience is like  Resources: BoomBoom Naturals  BoomBoom on Shark Tank Book: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks Book: Breath by James Nestor The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022) The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Get out from under never-ending to-do lists, delegate and build a business with happier employees, customers, and profit.  Cameron Herold was the CEO of 1-800-Junk, which he grew from 2 million to well over 100 million. He now has a company called the CEO Alliance where he helps second in command up their game and be more successful.  He's also the author of 5 books, including Vivid Vision, which lays the foundation for building a vivid vision in 3-year segments for your business and life. There’s a ton of insight to gain from Cameron and we discuss getting clear on your priorities, traveling while running a business, having kids and still being an entrepreneur, and strategy for how to delegate, manage, hire and train your team. Episode Highlights: 5:26 Traveling to Antarctica with a group of CEO’s 8:31 Creating a larger vision for life and work and how Cameron came to practice and teach this 11:25 How to have a successful CEO and COO relationship to be successful 13:11 Cameron’s experience in a CEO / COO relationship 14:52 Hiring talent when experiencing rapid growth  17:21 Training & “passing information” from entrepreneur to leadership team  21:53 System lesson’s from franchisors for all business owners  25:41 Filling the model for setting goals  27:24 Why employee happiness should come before customer happiness 29:31 What motivates Cameron & how he stays motivated 30:42 Cameron’s personal vivid vision for the last 3 years  32:42 Building a global lifestyle  40:54 Making decisions for life and career and how it changes over a lifetime  42:35 How to adjust when things don’t go according to your vision  46:45 Being an entrepreneur and having a family  47:42 Delegation strategy and why leaders should be at the bottom of the org chart  Resources: Investinyourleaders.com Cameronherold.com Book: How to Run Away From Home: And Bring Your Family With You by Adam Dailey Book: Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold  Book: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredibly Voyage by Alfred Lansing  The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022) The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

It’s been a wild wave in ecommerce when we look at where the industry started to where the opportunities are today. My guest today reflects on what's he's learned at 15 years in ecommerce and what's coming in ecommerce in 2022. Drew Sanocki was the CEO of the eCommerce brand AutoAnything, the founder of the blog nerdmarketing.com and the owner of the Shopify direct marketing app PostPilot. He has his hands in a lot of key areas in eCommerce and has been in the game for about 15 years.  In this episode, Drew shares his well-rounded journey from buying out, being the CEO, and acquiring a bunch of companies. We talk about what it's like to run a $100 million retailer and what it’s like to run a small brand and scale up to 7-figures.  This episode has a ton of information on what’s been working in eComm, where things have started to shift and we end with where we think this wild ride is going for eCommerce in 2022. Episode Highlights 5:40 Secrets to turning 50 and being in the best shape of life  7:10 Taking over as the CEO of AutoAnything  8:25 Transitioning after exiting to an eCommerce aggregator  9:16 Biggest learnings from taking over a 200+ person organization  10:47 Acquisitions: why some work and some don’t  12:45 Exiting early due to supply chain issues  18:51 Drew’s thoughts on supply chain challenges and issues  22:14 Growing as a leader by running both big and small businesses  23:45 What daily life looks like when being more strategic in the business  25:26 Drew’s role at PostPilot: postcard marketing  26:26 Hiring a CEO  27:36 Tips on structuring deals  30:40 What Drew’s excited about in eCommerce in 2022  33:07 The time is right for direct mail marketing  37:14 Differences between running a SaaS business and an eCommerce business 39:31 Hiring developers  41:10 Advice from Drew’s business experience: iterate quickly 44:08 The last 15 years of eCommerce and what’s next for eCommerce in 2022 Resources: PostPilot How to Increase Sales & Delight Customers with Direct Mail Marketing: Drew’s Training Inside the Brand Growth Membership Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022) Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

“Where did the SEO hide the dead body? On page two of Google.” Yes - SEO in 2022 will still play a huge role in eComm success. With ad costs going up it’s a great time to learn how to drive quality organic traffic with smart SEO tactics.  John Murphy is the CEO of Ebike Generation and an eCommerce SEO expert.  In this episode, we talk about John’s journey, and how he went from being an executive at GE to starting his own eCommerce company. John’s eComm success has largely come from SEO after he was banned from Google Ads and Facebook ads in the early days of his business.  He shares his tips on how he drives $2 million a year from just SEO and what SEO in 2022 will look like (yes - free traffic still exists).  Note: John is offering his course How I Generate $2M+ Per Year in Sales from Organic Traffic in the membership in March. If you’re a member you can register here. Or if you’d like to join to take the course you can find more information here.  Episode Highlights: 5:47 How John started selling online  8:09 Finding the right product  12:03 Getting the first sale  13:58 Supply chain issues & COVID  16:20 Finding the right niche and not being scared to narrow down  22:28 Getting banned from Google and Facebook ads  24:49 Shifting to SEO for a majority of traffic  29:09 SEO in 2022  31:24 How much content do you actually need to be successful in SEO 36:58 External linking & its relevance today  39:46 What’s working now in SEO backlinks  45:27 Getting organic traffic when you’re too reliant on paid traffic  Resources: EcomSEOFormula.com ebikegeneration.com The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

The path to massive success is often through failure. This episode's guest went from Forbes 30 under 30 to bankruptcy in the same year and reflects on lessons learned.  Josh Durham co-founded Weighted Comforts, one of the first weighted blanket brands, with his mom in 2015. They took off like a rocket, hitting 8-figures in 4 years.  But - they hit some snags, the market shifted and at age 24 Josh went from almost $10 million in sales to bankruptcy in a period of less than a year.  In this episode, he goes through what it was like to grow, how they did it, and then what it was like when it all unraveled. Josh is very transparent in his experience of where and how things went wrong in a way you’re not going to hear in many places. There’s a lot to learn here.  Josh has gone on to have success with another brand and now his own agency, Aligned Growth, and he shares a bunch of learnings from having worked with a lot of different brands now.  Episode Highlights: 3:56 How Josh got involved with eCommerce growth marketing  5:44 Josh’s first Shopify store in 2015 and how it came to be 7:53 The downfall of Josh’s business  10:39 Dealing with limited cash and coping with the stress of a business in trouble  11:47 What the strategy and business looked like in the end  14:01 Closing out in an asset sale  16:28 Filing for bankruptcy at 24 years old  18:10 Biggest takeaways from a failing business 21:58 The dangers of scaling a single product business  26:54 Josh’s next venture & hitting 35 million 28:51 Starting marketing at product development 30:24 How to stand out after competitors come it  34:22 Starting an agency  36:16 The importance of creative refresh on brand growth  38:01 Managing creative at an agency  43:09 Current eCommerce requires a higher level of execution on creative  Resources: Aligned Growth  @JoshJDurham on Twitter Book: Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! by Greg Crabtree Book: The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss  The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

“Systems run your business, people run your systems.” Learn how to grow your business and unlock hidden profit using virtual assistants.  Barbara Turley is the founder of The Virtual Hub, an agency that pairs businesses with virtual assistants, and she's an expert at delegation. Barbara has paired over 500 virtual assistants with companies and her team is over 240+ in the Philippines. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on how it's worked for her, and how it might work for you in your own business. This episode is very helpful if you are building a remote company, are thinking about using virtual assistants, or have tried and failed to use VA’s in the past.  Episode Highlights: 8:38 How Barbara started her virtual assistants business  11:38 Roles for VAs that often get overlooked  13:10 Managing teams in different time zones  16:12 Where to start when hiring virtual assistants 19:20 Tools used to manage communication  20:32 The importance of having a process before hiring  22:07 Becoming a good delegator  26:55 Barbara’s team structure  27:19 Is there importance in connecting with a remote team in person? 28:46 Building culture for a remote virtual assistant team 31:40 How to not get burned from a VA experience  34:24 Paying virtual assistants and economic considerations  39:30 Where people get burned when building a company  42:34 Why you need an operating system 44:25 Hiring virtual assistants through word of mouth vs hiring process  Resources: thevirtualhub.com The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

This Is A Special Episode – The Recording Of A Live 'Ask Me Anything' With Joe Valley On How To Sell Your Online Business, Recently Offered Inside The Brand Growth Membership. Joe is the author of The EXITPreneur's Playbook. He's a buyer and seller of many online businesses and the president of Quiet Light Brokerage. He’s an expert on how to sell for max profit.  If you listened to my earlier episode with Joe this AMA session takes those concepts and goes deeper, which is what we do in the Membership. The podcast is just a glimpse into what we cover in the Brand Growth Membership. We’re giving you a sneak peek inside the Brand Growth Membership with access to this Ask Me Anything session because we just launched a brand new version of our membership and it’s KILLER - check it out here.  I hope you enjoy this session and if you want to check out more of the Ask Me Anything sessions and trainings we have in the membership... we’re offering a 21 day trial for just $1.  Go here to sign up. (only available until Dec 12, 2021) Episode Highlights: 3:37 Introduction to Joe Valley  5:19 The valuation formula 8:33 What multiple ranges to expect for valuations 8:49 The different types of add-backs and examples of how they are applied 10:08 The 4 things buyers are looking for (and the surprising 5th) 38:34 Q&A – Is there anything different about a sale of a minority stake? 40:53 Q&A – Should we build a brand that is targeting a different demographic as a separate brand or sub-brand? 45:09 Q&A – What are the differences in this process for Canadian companies? 46:17 Q&A – How long does it take for a deal to close? 48:18 Q&A – Are there any hidden fees to be aware of? 51:01 Q&A – How are multiples different between different types of businesses? 54:47 Q&A – What is the smallest SDE that a private equity firm will look at? 56:39 Q&A – Is there a different approach to building a business for sale to a strategic acquirer vs a typical buyer? 58:16 Q&A – Can agency marketing spend that has been replaced by in-house work be considered an add-back? 59:40 Q&A – What kind of multiples are there for wholesale businesses? 01:07:22 Q&A – What are the options to sell for a Shopify site vs. an FBA? Resources: The Brand Growth Membership Podcast 322: Building To Sell: How To Get The Maximum Value For Your Online Business @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Launching a first-of-its-kind product comes with challenges, but Pela has always been a creative first-mover. They’ve had massive success and fun educating consumers and keeping their mission to combat climate change positive.  This episode’s guest is Pela CEO Matthew Bertulli. Pela makes compostable phone cases and they just launched a new product called Lomi that went viral on Kickstarter.  Matt and his team at Pela are forward thinkers and Matt share’s how that’s led them to success, what it was like to go from bootstrapped to venture-backed, as well as what he’s excited about for the future of eCommerce and environmental products.   This is an excellent episode with somebody who is in the arena building things and very passionate about his work.  Episode Highlights: 3:56 How the Lomi Kickstarter went viral  5:15 What exactly Lomi is  10:17 Educating consumers about environmental products & the problems with Facebook  14:52 Using storytelling to build word of mouth momentum  15:28 What Lomi stands for as a product and way of life  19:36 Is pollution a personal or corporation problem & the mission to combat climate change 22:01 Consumer demand for better companies  25:59 Better packaging options for brands  28:45 The power of education: from $5k to $85k in 3 months 29:40 Raising money and becoming venture-backed  31:16 Early success and first-mover advantage 35:39 The difference between running a bootstrapped brand and a venture-backed brand 38:12 Challenges of running an agency in comparison to a D2C 40:46 The benefits of launching a new product on top of an established company (even if they’re not directly related)  41:57 Competition when you’re a first of its kind product  43:45 Building a product for the future & being a visionary brand with the mission to combat climate change 46:29 Resources that have been helpful to Matt on his journey  48:06 Best in class marketing & messaging tactics  50:30 Identifying what’s wrong with current stories in your niche and changing the narrative for your product  54:30 The intersection of blockchain and climate  58:55 The powerful culture of being a mission-driven company Resources: Pela Lomi @mbertulli on Twitter The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

We’re looking out to the (near) future at some very creative opportunities for eCommerce in NFTs. These ideas could help circumvent some of the margin pressure and economic challenges brands are facing today.  This episode features Taylor Holiday, the founder of Common Thread Collective. Before running an eCommerce agency he had his own D2C brand so he brings a ton of knowledge from being on both the brand and the agency side of eComm business. Taylor is an NFT enthusiast and has some brilliant ideas about NFTs and their place in the changing sphere of eCommerce.  In this fascinating conversation, you’ll learn a ton about NFTs -- what they are and how you might be able to use them to combat margin pressure in your eCommerce brand.  Episode Highlights: 4:37 Taylors large business vision  6:23 The difference between running a brand and running an agency  7:30 Complexities around cash flow management & human relational problems 9:40 The importance of your product to the success of your brand  11:20 What the hell is going on with Facebook  14:33 Quantifying what other brands are seeing in metrics right now 15:19 The primary metric to care about post iOS launch  16:56 aMER (acquisition marketing efficiency rating): why it’s critical  20:07 Diversification is not primarily an advertising strategy  23:39 Where to start if you’re moving out of Facebook  25:05 Why Web3 is so exciting & what it means for current margin pressure  26:31 Margin innovation and opportunities in the metaverse 32:04 Why you shouldn’t blow off investing in cryptocurrency  33:19 Examples of creativity with eCommerce in NFTs used to bring in fast cash 36:16 Why NFTs are a better version of Kickstarter  37:35 Creating built-in affiliates with NFT holders 38:44 The NFT as a community access token as well as an asset 43:13 How to continue to add value associated with holding your NFTs 47:34 Shopify beta opportunity for eCommerce in NFTs sold like a SKU  48:37 Using NFTs for access to special content or promotions  52:28 What’s just interesting and what’s actually important in the future of eCommerce in NFTs 56:51 What % of Shopify stores might invest in NFTs next year?  57:56 Raising funds & engaging a target market with NFTs 1:02:42 The calendar cleanse process that has helped Taylor manage his many priorities  Resources: @TaylorHoliday on Twitter Common Thread Collective. RTFKT The Hundreds, Adam Bomb Squad Mintgate.io Crypto Dads The Brand Growth Membership @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Was Facebook ever really performing as well as we thought - or was our attribution model just wrong? A post-purchase survey will tell you where people are actually hearing about your brand.  If you're spending money on Facebook you know it's incredibly hard to figure out where your customers are coming from. Matt Bahr, CEO of Enquire Labs, has a way to help you better track attribution with a post-purchase survey.  I stumbled across Enquire a couple of years ago and thought they were super interesting because their simple survey really helped us figure out what was effective marketing and what was not. In this episode, we talk all about what they're doing and how they’ve helped brands figure out attribution in the midst of the chaos of iOS changes.  It's an excellent episode and you’ll get a lot of interesting tips for running successful marketing.  Episode Highlights: 3:58 Matt’s timing of building a post-purchase survey app  6:31 How Enquire came to be  10:22 Where brand’s think sales are coming from vs where the sales are actually coming from 12:50 The power of word of mouth  14:51 Thinking about attribution using post-purchase surveys  18:00 A better way to get questions answered by customers  21:10 Comparing quantitative and qualitative data  21:38 What smaller brands can learn from the bigger brands  24:57 Higher AOV: is it harder to track?  Resources: Enquire Labs @mattrbahr on Twitter Enquire Post Purchase Survey App on Shopify  Brand Growth Membership  @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Cryptocurrency is the financial system of the future. Ready or not it’s coming and as an eCommerce founder, there are opportunities you could be taking advantage of now.  This episode is part of a series on cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFI). My guest, Nat Eliason, has been a guest before as an SEO expert but in the last year he’s made a trajectory shift and moved into the space of web3, and specifically DeFi.  Nat talks about why he made the shift, what he’s so excited about and why, as a business owner, you should care. We go into the basics of DeFi and how people are getting hedge fund style returns.  If you know nothing about cryptocurrency, this episode is for you - Nat has some simple ways you can start earning money today.  Episode Highlights: 5:04 Nat’s shift from SEO to DeFi 6:28 What is DeFi and why is it important 9:22 How DeFi levels the playing field and gives individuals with small capital access to high returns 12:34 Examples of high returns  14:49 What a stablecoin is  16:05 The risks with stablecoins 20:14 Metamask and seed phrase: what are they and how do they provide security 25:02 How long you have to “park” your stablecoins to see returns 27:36 The range of interest returns historically seen 29:48 Ways to profit that haven’t traditionally been available to average people 31:48 The difference between a fiat-collateralized coin and a crypto-collateralized coin 34:48 Wrapped Bitcoin: what is it 38:08 Minimum collateralization ratios  40:26 How debt protocols work in DeFi & what happens in a market crash  46:26 Yield farming: what is it  50:26 How network security works  52:24 “Staking your Eth” - how and what that means  55:57 What is impermanent loss and why do you want to avoid it?  1:02:01 Biggest hurdles to DeFi being widely adopted right now  1:05:03 As an eCommerce owner - what should you be thinking about 1:09.50 What Nat’s excited about right now  Resources: Nat’s Course: DeFi Orientation @nateliason on Twitter  Podcast 129: Content Marketing – What You Need To Know With Nat Eliason Podcast 284: How To Build A Business That Runs Itself With Nat Eliason Yearn Oasis Badger.finance Alchemix Convex  Tokamak Klima DAO The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

You might be surprised how lessons learned from over a decade on a SWAT team apply to building a highly successful lifestyle brand.  Todd Lamb, CEO of PureLife Organics, was a police officer for 17 years, as a SWAT team leader and then canine officer. When his wife started having health issues he turned to natural remedies and found an incredibly successful protocol that helped her heal. He wanted to share this protocol with others and thus, Pure Life Organics was born.  Today, the business Todd built from the ground up is well on it’s way to 9-figures. In this episode - Todd shares his wisdom about paid traffic and expertise in creating offers. He talks about how his team systematically worked to make native ads work and how they're testing at a budget of $10k to $15k a week to get results. There are some great nuggets here about native ads, copywriting, and creative strategizing. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:29 Lessons from working as a canine officer  7:31 The idea behind Pure Life Organics  12:47 Todd’s protocol and ingredients  14:40 Looking at growth in the business 16:28 Developing a sales funnel  17:37 Selling the first million dollars of product with native ads and cross-promotions  19:34 Testing with big spend  21:12 Finding success with Native Ads and the difference from Facebook ads 26:09 Long-form copy & writing offers that convert  29:07 Impacts from current eCommerce challenges like iOS 14 & supply chain  34:54 Exploring NFTs with a tree-planting program 37:27 Enhancing the experience and getting people excited  40:20 Prioritizing the routine & how Todd does it all  Resources: Purelifeorganics.com @purelife.organics on Instagram  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Would you quit your day job and move to Miami to sell your new product while playing on the beach? Sounds like a dream and this founder made it a reality, with a lot of hard work, motivation and talent.  This episode’s guest is Chris Meade, the founder of Crossnet, one of the fastest-growing games in the US.  Chris has been on an incredible journey from quitting his job at Uber to moving to Miami to sell his dream game on the beaches. Crossnet has grown incredibly fast due to an organic viral video and word-of-mouth marketing with live events and influencers. In just a few years they’ve gone from selling 2-5 nets a month to an 8-figure business.  Crossnet started as DTC and has expanded into big-box retail and Chris shares some of the opportunities and challenges that came with that shift.  This is a great founder's story and an inspiration if you have a product idea. I hope you enjoy it!  Episode Highlights: 4:21 What exactly is Crossnet 5:09 How the idea of Crossnet was born  7:36 Getting people to care about a brand at the start  10:09 The catalyst & viral video that started the growth 13:02 Being frugal and why Crossnet has been successful  13:50 Initial marketing wins  15:17 Talking to customers and adjusting marketing to speak to them  16:50 The role of founder and changes from 2 sales a day to 8-figures  18:11 Going from eCommerce DTC to big box retail  20:54 iOS 14: its impact and how Crossnet is measuring metrics now  23:43 Tips for success with influencers  25:47 Structuring retainer deals with influencers 27:24 Supply chain issues and manufacturing in China  32:03 Advertising: agencies or in-house? 33:55 Lessons from running a seasonal business  36:21 Chris’s favorite marketing resources  37:47 Content marketing on LinkedIn 39:40 Keeping a team engaged and excited about the product  Resources: Crossnetgame.com @Cjmeade on LinkedIn  @chrismeadej on Twitter  Book: Double Your Profits by Bob Fifer The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

How is your pop-up game? Email capture strategies to increase conversion are one of the single most important things you can do to grow your eCommerce business and if you’re using the same old “discount for email” strategy you’re missing out on potential customers.  This is a tactical episode with how-to steps you can use to improve your email capture strategies to increase conversion right now.  John Ozuysal is the Head of Growth at Optimonk, a platform where you can create unique, interesting pop-ups and overlays to drive more sales and capture more emails. As we all have holiday marketing top of mind, I thought it would be a great time to bring John in to share what they’re seeing success with right now and provide some inspiration as you determine how to integrate pop-ups and overlays into your Q4 strategy.  One of the things that they've been experimenting with is conversational pop-ups and John shares how they tripled signups and boosted revenue by 25% using this method. We also cover customer value optimization and opportunities to learn more about buying behavior with qualitative pop-ups.  If you're interested in quick, easy tweaks to your website that will make you more money… this episode is for you. Episode Highlights: 4:14 Why most eCommerce stores are using pop-ups and overlays the wrong way  5:14 How to 3X your email sign up rate with conversational pop-ups  8:02 What a conversational pop-up is and how to implement email capture strategies to increase conversion 9:40 Optimizing engagement for brands with a lot of product categories  11:27 Collecting emails and phone numbers effectively and without drop off  12:02 Using curiosity and mystery instead of discount to drive sign up  13:35 John’s favorite non-monetary incentives to test  16:52 Best tips on how to increase your cart value and AOV  18:19 Using content to convert  19:30 Strategies from B2B that DTC brands should learn from including qualitative feedback 22:31 The benefits of qualitative feedback when your inventory is low 24:31 How qualitative feedback can decrease abandonment rates 26:05 What is customer value optimization and how you should be using it  28:29 Step by step guide for using conversational pop-ups in your Black Friday marketing  Resources: Optimonk: Free Templates To Use (and get 50% off the first 3 month for any paid plan) Optimonk: Black Friday Webinar  Book: They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you hate what you’re doing - can you stop doing it? How can you stay engaged and keep your business ventures fun? Plus, using video sales letters for viral launches. Andrew Drish is a good friend and we have spent countless hours talking about business, life, and relationships. So - I'm excited to bring him on the show and share one of these conversations with you.  Andrew was behind The Foundation, which was a very successful accelerator for developers building software companies. In this episode he shares the story of how he pulled off its 7-figure launch, completely automated, with a video sales letter that went viral. From there - Andrew shares the story of how he completely burnt out and then came back to entrepreneurship with a whole new approach. Over the years, Andrew has extensively studied top-performing video ads (Purple Mattress, Squatty Potty, etc) and he shares his winning formula that you can apply directly to your own video creative (hint: it’s more about the script than the visuals). This is a great interview - Andrew has a ton of insight on life and business and I’m always inspired after talking to him. I hope you are too. Episode Highlights: 4:34 The impact The Artist’s Way has had on running a business 5:47 Learnings to make life and running a business more fun and playful 8:44 Why heartbreak is the best medicine 10:29 The power of the question “what would I do differently?” 13:11 The wild story of launching The Foundation while at Burning Man 15:26 Why Andy is now dark online and how his entrepreneurial journey has changed after burning out 20:16 The key priciples of Andy’s new venture 21:48 The nature of entrepreneurs and what a good operator is 22:44 How to hire and build a team based on people’s nature 23:35 Going from determining principles to starting a business 26:00 The art and science of compelling video sales letters 31:07 Using humor to get a sale  34:42 Why text should be your priority over imagery when creating a video sales letter 38:08 Working with a team to create viral videos  43:47 Crypto currency and it’s potential impact on societal challenges 48:48 Resources that have helped Andy on his “DeFi” journey  Resources: Andy’s Website TheArtOfLove.com @andydrish on Twitter  Book: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron Book: Nature and the Human Soul by Bill Plotkin Book: Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller  klima.com The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

We’ve all been saying it - the world is crazy right now. So - I’m sharing what’s top of mind for me going into Q4 and 2022 including the very real energy crisis in China, opportunities to make 6+ figures flipping NFTs, and what the heck to do with paid social in Q4.  This episode is a solo cast. I wanted to check in and talk about what's been on my mind as we prepare for Q4 and ultimately start to make our 2022 business plans.  I’m thinking about how to optimize Facebook and Instagram for Q4 (after a crazy year). I’ve been doing daily journaling and it’s given me a great perspective on where I’m at in my business and life. I’m also talking about how the energy crisis in China will likely impact business and why you should be paying attention now. Plus, I’ll share some new exciting things to come on the podcast with an NFT series.  I'd love to hear from you on Twitter. What are you thinking about? What's exciting to you right now? Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the podcast.  I hope you enjoy this solo episode - I always enjoy talking with you.  Episode Highlights: 2:30 Facebook and Instagram training for Q4 3:33 The Artists Way and the profound impact it’s had on me  6:08 My predictions around the current energy crisis in China causing rolling blackouts  8:20 Managing the winter risk in the U.S.  9:18 What I’m doing to prepare  11:17 Flipping NFT’s for over 6 figures 12:10 Opportunities for young people to acquire property from NFT sale profits  Resources: Coal Shortages Force Blackouts Across China: The Diplomat Don’t Rule Out An Energy Crisis - Goldman Sachs: Yahoo  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

What could you do to make your website better, your ads stronger, and ultimately increase sales? Try one of these expert tips from an agency owner who’s interviewed over 150 eCommerce founders and marketers. Chase Clymer is the host of the Honest Ecommerce podcast and also co-founder of the Electric Eye Agency. In this episode, we’re talking about mistakes that eCommerce owners make with their website and advertising and how to make simple improvements to avoid them.  Chase and I also discuss ideas for Black Friday/Cyber Monday marketing, user testing your website, and how to actually run A/B tests.  Lastly, Chase shares his Brand Scaling Framework philosophy and the 3 KPI’s he bases everything on.   This is a great practical episode with expert tips and takeaways to implement today.  Episode Highlights: 3:28 Why Chase started the Honest Ecommerce Podcast  4:53 Expert tips from 168 interviews with founders & marketers  10:02 How Chase went from punk rock band to eCommerce 11:44 The Brand Scaling Framework and how it works 14:27 3 KPIs the Brand Scaling Framework tracks 18:33 Simple, consistent improvements that lead to big improvements over time 19:23 Mistakes you’re probably making on your website and expert tips on how to fix them  23:34 Why you need to be user testing your site  27:54 Reasonable testing windows for eComm brands based on volume  29:13 Exciting things that are working right now 29:52 Best features of Shopify online store 2.0  34:31 How to audit your Shopify apps purpose  37:19 Black Friday/ Cyber Monday expert tips   Resources: Honest Ecommerce Podcast  Electric Eye Agency Riverside Podcast Recording  User Testing Conversion Crimes  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

The pandemic forced many owners to shift from brick and mortar to eCommerce. Some succeeded, and some did not.  Today’s guest was one of the successful -- she doubled her brick and mortar business revenue in 2020 by implementing Shopify, Klaviyo, and a seamless in-store and online rewards program.  Mandy Buterra began her journey as an entrepreneur at age 50 when she started Wren and Wild a brick and mortar business featuring clean beauty and aerial yoga, in Bend, Oregon. Her business evolved and she was building a good customer base, then COVID hit.   Instead of panicking, Mandy taught herself eCommerce and joined our Coalition membership. Listen to this episode to learn how she’s now hitting sales highs and doubled her revenue in the last year by transitioning her brick and mortar to eCommerce.  If you’re in the transition or considering turning your brick and mortar into an online store this episode is filled with good tips about how to integrate the two business models. If you’re already running an eCommerce business Mandy also has tons of tips around how to build a rewards program and smart email marketing to build customer loyalty.  This is a well-rounded conversation and I know you’ll walk away with at least one tip to implement in your business. Episode Highlights: 4:54 How Mandy started as an entrepreneur 8:30 Taking time for clarity before launching a business  9:14 Restarting, again, after losing a lease  11:11 Mandy’s brick and mortar and how COVID impacted it  13:57 How launching a Shopify site doubled business  15:28 Brick and mortar to eCommerce: the differences and advice for people transitioning 17:04 The importance of data and capturing email in store  18:13 Transitioning a rewards program from brick and mortar to eCommerce 19:38 Rewards program recommendations 20:20 What makes a good rewards program 23:04 Things that have moved the needle in Mandy’s business  27:29 SKU management and how to narrow and focus offerings  30:30: Planning for Q4 and holiday  31:41 The importance of a network when you’re growing a business  33:50 What brought Mandy’s site from a 1.9% conversion rate to 3.9% 35:54 Advice for people growing and building a business Resources: Wrenandwild.com @wrenandwild on Instagram  Smile.io Rewards Program  Klaviyo.com Email Marketing  Conversion Crimes Website Testing  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Are you building to sell? You should be. Even if selling isn’t your main priority it will make you a better business owner and it will make the value of your business higher. This episode has the details of how to do it.  Joe Valley is the author of The Exitpreneur’s Playbook and a buyer and seller of many online businesses, both on his own and now as a broker with Quietlight.com.  Joe’s book is designed to help you get maximum value for your online business and in this episode we go deep into his vast knowledge of building to sell. He answers a ton of questions you should be asking when you’re thinking about selling your business, what multiples to look at for eCommerce, plus he shares mistakes you might be making now and how to prevent those BEFORE you’re getting ready to sell.  It's an excellent interview and Joe is truly an expert in building to sell. If you’re ever going to want to sell your business or have thought about buying a business in the future you’re going to get a ton of value in this episode.  Episode Highlights: 4:03 Why Joe wrote his book 6:14 Who an Exitpreneur is and building to sell 7:11 The argument for building and selling a business 10:17 How Joe sets tangible goals with real data 11:41 Where to start when determining the value of your business  17:09 How to find a good bookkeeper  18:47 The multiple you should be looking for in eCommerce 22:13 Why you should separate inventory when looking at the value of a business  24:19 Joe’s take on aggregators and the roll-ups of FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) and Shopify stores 29:50 Things to look out for in deal terms and the “stability payment”  32:19 Do roll-ups blow up or end up incredibly successful? 34:36 When you should start planning if you’re building to sell your business  36:46 How to “exit without exiting”  39:06 Is there a sweet spot for time to sell a business? 42:09 Joe’s first 3 actions to have success with your first acquisition 46:31 How deals are financed on Joe’s site 50:32 What Joe’s excited about right now Resources: Quietlight.com Exitpreneur.io Book: The Exitpreneur’s Playbook by Joe Valley Book: Buy Then Build by Walker Deibel Centurica.com Market Watch  Boopos.fund The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Building a business is filled with amazing highs and big lows. Despite some tough blows in the early days, one eCommerce founder kept his commitment to his personal health and family and found success on the other side. Jay Campbell is the owner of Aseir Custom, and in this episode he shares his wild journey of building a business. We go deep into what he's learned through major manufacturing issues and how he managed customer experience after that. We discuss how he unlocked massive growth working with influencers. We also talk about Jay’s commitments to his family and personal health and how for the last 5 years he has taken a trip with his wife every 8 weeks.  Aseir Custom went from about $16k / month in sales in February 2021 to hitting $250k in August 2021. The journey has been anything but linear and there’s a lot to learn from this story. Jay has a great mindset and he shares the raw truth of his experience going through incredibly challenging times while seeing rapid growth in the business simultaneously.  If you are an operator in the weeds, building a business, or experiencing rapid growth you will get a lot out of this discussion. Episode Highlights 5:16 How Jay and his wife plan their “every eight weeks” travel adventures  8:01 Jay’s transition to eCommerce  11:09 The beginning of Jay’s hair regrowth business  17:07 Managing Black Friday with major manufacturing issues  19:54 How Jay and his business partner recovered their business from almost shutting down 25:47 The realities of running an eCommerce business and trying to scale  28:30 The benefits of getting help in the early stages of building a business  33:53 Learning from the first year and a half of Jay’s business  39:43 How Jay manages work while he’s traveling  Links And Resources Jay’s Website  Aseir Custom @jaycampbell333 on Twitter  Jay’s Podcast  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Is TikTok the new frontier for social advertising? How to get reliable Facebook ad performance data post iOS 14? These are some of the questions The Social Savannah is answering for us today. This episode features Savannah Sanchez a media buyer and owner of The Social Savannah. Savannah started her advertising career at large agencies working on Facebook ad accounts.  In 2019 she left to create her own boutique agency helping eCommerce brands with their paid social advertising.   She is a prolific creator of ads and creative as well as an optimization expert. She has cracked the code of TikTok ads and continues to be a top creator of winning Facebook creative.   In this episode Savannah and I discuss how to get started with TikTok ads, the key metrics to be tracking on Facebook post iOS 14, how creative strategies should vary between social channels, and some of the tools Savannah uses to track metrics across channels. Savannah also shares her vast knowledge working with TikTok influencers and what you can do to see success there.  If you are running a brand or doing digital marketing, you're gonna get a lot out of this episode! Plus: if you’re a member of the Coalition check out Savannah's recent training: Demystifying TikTok. Episode Highlights 4:40 Savannah’s community of media buyers  7:26 How Savannah got started in advertising  12:05 Takeaways from running media budgets of $100k+ 15:03 The biggest difference between Facebook and TikTok ad account strategies  18:04 How to start from zero with TikTok advertising  21:05 Finding TikTok content creators  22:26 Going viral on TikTok  23:22 What a good hit rate is for TikTok  24:37 How KPI’s differ by social channel  28:53 The biggest changes on post iOS 14 Facebook  32:31 MER (marketing efficiency ratio): Savannahs favorite KPI  35:35 How long does it take to set up cross channel reporting for a simple channel strategy  38:26 The technical set up for TikTok  39:14 Using TikTok influencers to run ads 42:06 What Savannah’s daily life looks like  44:03 Savannahs favorite tools 1:01:52 Tips for success when breaking out on your own  Links And Resources Savannah's Website Ad Creatives Only Facebook Group Supermetrics  @social_savannah on Twitter  Savannah Sanchez on YouTube Superhuman for email  Calendly Sunsama Monday  Uber Conference  Book: A World Without Email by Cal Newport  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

In this Greatest Hits episode we're revisiting a conversation about market disruption and big goals. JT Marino shares the story of his dream to build a company that would disrupt the mattress industry. JT Marino was the co-founder of Tuft & Needle, and this is his story of bootstrapping his way from nothing to the largest online mattress retailer in the world. JT, who is now the Chief Strategy Officer for SSB Phoenix, joins us to share his incredible story. We talk about why customer-centricity was one of Tuft & Needle’s core principles from the beginning, and the role it played in their eventual merger with Serta Simmons. JT shares his thoughts on the importance, as a founder, of having an intimate understanding of how every aspect of your business works, and why they decided not to take any outside investments when they first started out. This is one of my favorite founder interviews we’ve done and I hope you enjoy it! Episode Highlights 4:58 Introducing JT Marino 6:47 How the friendship and partnership started between the founders of Turf & Needle, JT and Daehee 11:13 How the Tuft & Needle co-founders maintain a strong friendship while running a business together 12:51 How JT’s prior experience with heavily-funded, but unsuccessful, Silicon Valley start-ups influenced Tuft & Needle’s decision to not take outside investments. 17:21 The importance of identifying “the problem” when you’re building a business, and how this led to the creation of Tuft & Needle 19:28 Some of the other principles the Tuft & Needle founders committed to before starting their business 22:11 How JT and Daehee used a problem-solution approach to determine whether they had a product-market fit for Tuft & Needle 27:59 The benefits of being highly involved with and having an intimate understanding of every aspect of the business, from manufacturing to supply chain to marketing 31:30 How Tuft & Needle moved through the pit of sorrow and started to scale 35:12 How a Hacker News blog post contributed to explosive growth of Tuft & Needle 37:51 The importance of customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth to Tuft & Needle’s success, especially when they had a limited advertising budget 39:40 The various channels that helped grow the business over time 42:45 JT's approach to tracking attribution across a variety of channels 45:55 How Tuft & Needle developed advertising techniques and targeting that span across digital and non-digital 50:34 The unconventional reason Tuft & Needle started selling on Amazon 53:39 The Net Promoter Score target T&F set before making the decision to list on Amazon 56:10 JT’s advice if you’re considering selling on Amazon and the importance of looking at the market picture as you start to grow 59:35 The role customer-centricity played in Tuft & Needle’s decision to merge with Serta 1:06:46 The future of the mattress industry 1:09:48 JT shares his hobbies and what’s in store for him in the next year   Links And Resources Tuft & Needle How to Get Startup Ideas by Paul Graham Blog: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com Meet the Warby Parker of Mattresses JT on Twitter: @johnmarino [email protected] The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

We’re bringing back this Greatest Hit with 6 quick wins you can execute today to grow your business immediately.  I get asked for my growth checklist for eCommerce businesses all the time so I'm bringing back this episode with Andrew Foxwell on how to grow your business with 6 tactical and quick wins you can implement today. We're sharing the tried and true things we know work from Facebook ad set up to email segmentation, and website optimization to customer acquisition. I guarantee these tips will help you generate sales and you'll see results immediately. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 3:59 Quick Win #1: 4-6% Lookalikes based off pixel value. 5:21 Quick Win #2: Identify previous customers who are likely to spend again, but who are no longer on your email list, and hit them with remarketing. 6:57 Quick Win #3: Integrate your Klaviyo audiences with Facebook. 8:08 Quick Win #4: Turn great text reviews into video reviews. 10:48 Quick Win #5: Use bid caps to ensure your Facebook ads are being shown. 12:39 Quick Win #6: Get a fresh perspective on your website. Links And Resources Klaviyo UserTesting Profit Summit The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Positioning your brand correctly is the most powerful thing you can do to attract and retain customers. Effective copywriting is how you do it.  My guest on this episode is none other than The Email Copywriter, Chris Orzechowski, and he’s here to deliver massive value about copywriting, positioning, and marketing strategy.  We talk about how to think about copywriting, ways to improve your emails, and different styles of email campaigns and flows. We go deep into positioning and ways to unlock advertising angles for your brand that are probably already inside your own head if you’re passionate about your business and products.  Chris is a member of the Coalition, our community of 250+ eComm founders, and recently did a training on How to Make Your Emails Irresistible. It’s one of our most popular trainings so definitely check it out. If you’re interested in joining the Coalition to access this training and more like it, sign up here.  Episode Highlights: 4:08 How Chris became The Email Copywriter  4:54 Why Chris chose to focus on eCommerce copywriting 9:01 Where Chris’s advertising inspiration comes from 11:36 Debunking the biggest misconception about email marketing - sending too many emails  15:18 Long form copy - why you should test it  19:28 Writing about your product with dimensionalized benefits  21:07 Levels of market sophistication and how to position yourself in your industry 24:21 Appealing to your market identity  26:26 Chris’s favorite email testing opportunities 28:15 The process Chris uses to test copy  32:08 Copywriting that shifts people’s mindset  33:17 Using your product knowledge to write inspiring copy  39:09 How to talk to your customers to inform your copywriting 40:49 The future of email marketing - what you should be thinking about 46:11 What’s working right now in email marketing - things to test today 52:28 The new marketing copy opportunity - SMS  58:59 How to hire a copywriter  Resources: Chris’s Website  Make Your Marketing Emails Irresistible Training Copychief.com The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

I have worked with hundreds of different companies at various stages of growth, from pre-launch to multi-million dollar acquisitions. In this Greatest Hits episode we're talking about scaling a brand and what it takes.  This is the first episode in our scaling series, where we’ll talk about each stage of growth and the challenges you're going to face as you scale up your business from zero to 8-figures. In this “zero to launch” episode where we’ll address some of the questions you’ll face when you’re determining how to launch and going from an idea for a product to actually getting sales. If you enjoy this episode be sure to go back and check out the other core episodes in our Scaling Series that will give you value whether you're at the beginning, already making 7-figures, or somewhere in the middle. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:04 Why we decided to do a scaling series. 9:12 The most important thing when you’re just starting out? Feedback. 10:29 Knowing what your community looks like is critical for scaling. 13:45 Once you know your community, identify their buying power and your market potential. 15:43 A zero to launch case study. 18:21 Common missteps at this stage. 19:45 Creating a “talk trigger” product. Links And Resources Launch To Traction: The Scaling Series, Part 2 Traction to Scaling: The Scaling Series, Part 3 Growth Mode: The Scaling Series, Part 4 Case Studies: The Scaling Series, Part 5 The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

In this episode we have a handful of quick and easy wins that have been tested and proven to increase revenue. If you’re looking for a win that also saves you time - it’s in here.  Lisa Byrnes is a marketing and business coach. She's also a member of the Coalition, our community of 250+ eCommerce business owners and experts.  After 17 years managing multi-million dollar brands, Lisa left her corporate job and started her own marketing business to support emerging eCommerce business owners (specifically women) build their marketing strategy and fulfill their own dreams.  We’re talking tactical easy wins for emerging brands ($10k - $50k) and this episode is filled with great action items that won’t take much time but could have a big impact on your business.  Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:47 Why Lisa started her coaching business and her focus on female entrepreneurs 7:33 The biggest mistakes emerging brands make 10:10 Strategy: marketing towards a persona instead of a demographic 13:17 Common website mistakes that are easy to fix  16:00 How to tell your authentic brand story & and the marketing power of a founders face 18:50 Brands who successfully showcase the founder as the face of the brand  22:12 Easy things to do to engage with customers  25:26 How to focus and not immediately dive into the next new and exciting marketing idea  29:09 How the Coalition has helped Lisa grow her business  29:57 Voice of customer copywriting technique  31:36 One thing to take away from this episode and implement this week  Resources: Lisa’s Website @lisabyrnemarketing on Instagram The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

There Are 2 Directions Your Ecomm Brand Can Go - You Can Be A Brand That Scales Up, Or You Can Flop. In This Greatest Hits Episode We Share the Secrets We've Seen Behind The Brands That Make it Big.  Some eCommerce brands make it big while others stall out, it’s a fact. But there’s really no big mystery behind why this happens. Today we're revisiting an interview I gave on the Ecommerce Evolution Podcast by my good friend Brett Curry. We break down what separates eCommerce brands that scale up versus those that plateau. Brett and I talk about a variety of things, including average order value and lifetime value, and how that directly impacts your ability to scale up. We talk about demand generation versus demand capture: which is "better" and which lends itself to being able to scale. We talk about the roadmap to building a team and scaling up your business, how your role as a CEO changes as you grow, and much, much more. This is a great conversation with a lot of tips from Brett and me. I hope you enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:54 Why I’m so passionate about dissecting why some brands scale and others don’t. 7:25 The KPIs that separate the businesses that can scale from those that can't. 8:47 Demand capture vs. demand generation and which one will allow you to scale. 12:20 Factors I look for when evaluating a product’s potential for growth. 14:22 How a passionate market can contribute to success. 18:32 Why having competitors in your market is a good thing. 19:13 Average order value and lifetime value: why they’re important and what to look for if you want to scale. 22:17 How to evaluate CPA across different channels and the other metric I recommend examining. 24:59 It’s OK if your business doesn’t scale -- and this is why. 27:57 Growing your business by expanding your product line. 31:49 A true entrepreneur falls in love with their customers, not their product. 33:16 Great founders know when to ask for help. 34:46 Why business founders need to become experts at their marketing channels before handing over the reins. 38:52 How a CEO’s role shifts as the company grows. Links And Resources ECommerce Evolution Podcast Business Lunch Podcast 2PM Episode 189: What’s Actually Working In SEM And On YouTube In 2019 (with Brett Curry) Profit Summit Intensive Workshop The Ecommerce Coalition Training: What's Working With Google Ads Right Now The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Raising capital can go two ways - it can help you reach your goals faster or be disastrous and destroy your business.  Karen Howland is the managing director at Circle Up, an investment platform that uses technology to invest in early-stage businesses (mostly health and wellness CPG companies). She’s been investing in companies for the last eight years, and in this conversation, we go deep into early-stage investing, what entrepreneurs need to know about raising capital, and the mistakes she sees entrepreneurs make along the way. Karen also shares what opportunities are out there right now and what she's most excited about.  If you’re considering raising capital for your business or are interested in investing this episode will give you the tips and tricks to get started.  Episode Highlights 4:12 How Karen first got excited about investing  5:35 The mission of Circle Up and what makes them different from other investment firms 8:32 What’s hot right now in the health and wellness space  12:47 Why it’s so hard for large CPG companies to incubate and develop their own new products  15:21 How Covid may have created the opportunity for CPG companies to innovate right now 17:43 The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when raising capital 24:14 Investing in CPG companies vs. investing in tech companies  28:10 Patterns in companies that have massive success  30:24 How Amazon, retail, and DTC companies can exist together  36:05 What the future of protecting your brand on Amazon will look like 40:44 From raising capital to strategic exit - where entrepreneurs have the most challenges 43:55 Areas that Karen is excited about investing in Resources: Circle Up Website Email Karen: [email protected]  Karen’s LinkedIn  @karenhowland2 on Twitter  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Buffy was one of the first brands to crack paid social. As today's Facebook advertisers scramble to adjust to changes on the platform we revisit this Greatest Hits episode to learn from one of the best.  What started as an idea to disrupt the bedding industry has grown into a multi-million dollar business. This summer we’re re-releasing some of our top episodes of all time, and this week we’re bringing back this incredibly relevant show with Buffy co-founder Shoaib Kabani. We talk about everything from product development, to the importance of testing, how landing pages can improve your funnel, and what performance KPIs you have to be thinking about as you scale on paid social. Whether you’re a business owner or an ecommerce marketer, you’re going to get a lot out of this episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:55 How a desire to change the bedding industry led to the creation of Buffy. 7:27 The training Shoaib got from his start in consulting that’s helped him as an entrepreneur. 8:41Developing the initial idea and concept for Buffy: providing value and values. 10:35 The process of validating the concept online, on social, and in person before going all in. 13:33 How do I make this a no brainer for the consumer? 15:20 What’s worked for Buffy from a creative perspective and changes they’ve made as they’ve scaled. 19:42 Some of the unintended consequences of having a free trial offer. 21:01 Unique KPIs Shoaib looks at on a daily basis. 23:03 A funnel analysis tool that’s been a game changer as Buffy’s scaled up. 24:16 The materials and brand values that make Buffy stand out in the bedding industry. 26:27 How Buffy uses landing pages to enhance its sales funnel. 29:11 Addressing customer lifetime value when you have a limited number of products. 33:15 Shoaib’s approach to launching into new ad channels, specifically with affiliates and podcasts. 37:59 How the Buffy founders set their budget for testing new channels and concepts. 40:13 What you, the ecommerce business owner, need to be thinking about to be successful. 42:48 Exciting insight into what’s next for Buffy. Links And Resources Buffy Heap Shoaib on Instagram: @ShoaibKabani Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Expert Review or subscribe on iTunes

Are you winging it when it comes to processes and systems in your business? Today’s guest will help you stop before you spiral out of control.  Joshua Uebergang is a master of processes and systems. He is the director of Digital Darts, a Shopify agency based in Australia, as well as a certified Shopify Marketing Expert. He is also a member of the Coalition.  In this episode, we get an inside look into an ultra-organized mind. We talk hiring process, the importance of SOPs (and how to write them), iOS 14 mistakes and opportunities, and tools and resources to create your own processes and systems.   Leave this episode with direct actions to get more organized and build a business structure so stable “a fool could run it.”    Episode Highlights: 4:19 What Joshua is most interested in right now post-iOS 14 apocalypse 6:00 How Joshua got into eCommerce and the shift from Magento to Shopify 8:39 Key processes and systems that helped Digital Darts grow over the last 6 years  10:42 Why you need a step-by-step hiring process 12:01 The tools Joshua uses to manage processes  15:00 Defining the “why” in SOPs - not just the how 16:40 Comparing project management tools  17:45 How the Coalition helped Joshua level up in his business 22:17 Thinking about systems not only in business but also in your relationships 24:05 Common mistakes from the front lines of iOS 14  26:57 iOS 15 - how concerned should you really be? 39:18 Books that have helped Joshua on his journey  31:05 Is it easier to run a business with 8 people or 2 people? Links and Resources: Digital Darts @digital_darts on Twitter Digital Darts on Facebook  Joshua Uebergang on LinkedIn Book: Traction by Gino Wickman Book: The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker  Book: Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! by Greg Crabtree Asana Monday  Airtable  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

What Would Pura Vida Do? From Start-Up to Multi-Million Exit We Talk Strategy With One of The Top Ecommerce Brands Today.  When someone asks about eCommerce best practices, we always hear, “well, what’s Pura Vida doing?” and in this episode we’re talking with Pura Vida CEO, Griffin Thall, to get an inside look at their strategies, how the company’s grown over the last several years, the way his role has evolved, and what it’s actually like to prepare your company for a multi-million dollar sale.  Get a behind-the-scenes look at Pura Vida's exit strategy. Interested in the Coalition training with Griffin? You can join the Coalition membership here for access to this and many other great trainings and resources. Episode Highlights: 7:00 What got Griffin and Pura Vida to where they are today. 8:03 How Griffin’s role has changed as the company’s grown. 9:33 Pura Vida’s unique influencer strategy and how it started. 13:23 Relentless innovation and how Pura Vida continues to increase customer lifetime value. 15:53 The moment Griffin realized the brand was going to be a success. 17:09 How Pura Vida’s growth strategy has changed over time. 18:32 The challenges Griffin’s faced over the years as CEO. 20:47 Where Griffin’s seen the most success in hiring. 22:47 How Pura Vida’s ambassador program started, and where it’s at today. 22:56 A day in the life of the Pura Vida CEO, and the value of growing a team. 25:00 Why you’ve got to stop wearing all the hats in your business if you want it to scale up. 28:49 What you should be focusing on as a founder, instead of getting enticed by the newest Shopify app. 30:03 A key approach for brands launching today vs 6 years ago. 32:28 Lessons learned about managing cash while scaling up. 34:22 Pura Vida’s exit - how they ended up making a deal with Vera Bradley, and the process of finding and securing that kind of partnership. 38:42 Griffin’s biggest takeaway from meeting with investors. 40:15 The expansive value Pura Vida’s gained from their partnership with Vera Bradley. 42:14 What Griffin’s excited about right now and some things in store for Pura Vida in 2020. Links and Resources: Pura Vida Attentive Griffin on LinkedIn Griffin on Instagram [email protected] The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

  In a world full of varying attribution models, collecting and using data is critical to understanding your customers and running a successful business. Kevin Hillstrom is President of MineThatData, a consultancy that uses data to help executives better understand the relationship between their customers, advertising, products, brands, and channels. Kevin supports a diverse set of clients, from internet startups, to billion dollar multichannel retailers and previously held various roles at major retailers like Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, and Lands' End. In this episode, we talk about the myths of eCommerce, how using data can help boost repeat purchase rate, when and where to discount and how to deal with the attribution problem of running multi-channel marketing. Kevin’s been the influence for a lot of what I’ve done in my own business, and I know you’ll enjoy the conversation. Episode Highlights: 4:24 How (and why) Kevin consistently publishes daily blog content 6:47 Kevin’s background from working in analytics to starting his own business 9:15 The biggest challenge business owners face around their analytics and using data 12:08 Approaching the attribution problem 17:21 Identifying low-cost and no-cost acquisition channels for your brand 21:04 Using data to retain the new customers you acquired in 2020  27:06 Building a solid foundation that will pay back in conversion dividends over time 31:42 When to start investing in the “welcome program” mentality 35:46 Looking at repeat purchase rate data 41:24 The biggest mistake business owners make when evaluating data 45:14 The discount challenge - when & where is the place for discounts 48:13 Everyone thinks their customers are loyal - why they’re actually not 52:04 Where to go to learn more about Kevin Links and Resources: Kevin Hillstrom’s Blog: MineThatData Book: Total Package @minethatdata on Twitter Intentional Wealth The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Imagine the insights you'd glean if you could get a behind-the-scenes look at five different brands at once. Lucky for you today's guest is pulling back the curtain.  Andrew Faris is the host of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast and CEO of eCommerce holding company, 4x400. After helping grow one brand from $0 to $20MM in less than 2 years, Andrew founded 4x400, where he supports five different eCommerce brands. In this episode, Andrew shares the challenges he's faced and how his mindset has changed while running multiple eCommerce businesses simultaneously. We discuss the shift he anticipates we'll see in how brands reach their audiences in the near future and the channels he's investing in as a result of this.  If you're an eCommerce operator, you won't want to miss this episode. Episode Highlights: 4:13 The meaning of 4x400 and how it relates to business growth. 6:11 Andrew's beginnings in the eCommerce world. 10:20 The challenges of operating multiple eCommerce businesses at once and the depth of learning that comes with it. 15:57 What Andrew's team at 4x400 looks like. 19:03 Metrics Andrew regularly looks at to track brands' success. 21:34 Impacts of the iOS 14 update across five different brands.  24:57 Channels Andrew is investing in as a result of Facebook's volatility. 29:45 The mindset shift entrepreneurs need to make around attribution. 32:37 Why you should take a cautious approach to your 2021 projections, especially if you crushed it in 2020. 33:59 How Andrew measures success and the difference between his free cash flow and EBITA goals.  37:15 Recommended resources for eCommerce entrepreneurs. 40:10 Lessons Andrew's learned as he's grown into a leader in his business. 45:25 Things that are making Andrew's life better right now. Links and Resources: 4x400 Bambu Earth Slick Products 31 Bits Genuine Canine Modern Fuel QALO Agency Partners Kynship CTC Community Resources eCommerce Fuel ADmission  Podcasts Ecommerce Playbook eCommerce Fuel Generous Giving Planet Money Freakonomics Klaviyo Twitter Andrew Faris Taylor Holiday Web Smith Related Episodes 211: From Seminary To Shopify Plus: A Conversation About Brands with Aaron Orendorff 306: What’s Next In Ecommerce: The Future Of Amazon, Facebook Sustainability, And Emerging Channels With Andrew Youderian Intentional Wealth The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Think you need to sacrifice everything to have a successful business? You're wrong. When you get to a certain point in your business' growth, sacrificing your relationships and your health is the worst thing you can do for your ongoing success. We help you scale up without sacrificing everything or feeling overwhelmed. Today, I'm walking through our current programs so you can determine which one is the right fit for you.  Episode Highlights: 3:37 A coaching community with tools to help you scale up 6:41 Building connections with established eCommerce entrepreneurs 10:02 Accelerating your growth without adding more to your plate 12:03 Expanding your network and keeping yourself accountable 14:21 Where to go if you're ready to level up in your business Links and Resources: Coalition Intentional Wealth @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Most people start a business because they dream of freedom. But in reality, they build themselves a prison. Having 7 or 8-figure revenue only does so much good if your entire business is dependent on you. I see so many business owners with more stress and less free time. The good news is, it doesn't have to be this way. In this episode, I'm sharing the 7-step roadmap for how to build a self-managing company that brings you joy and gives you the freedom you've always desired.  If you're ready to get more freedom in your business, without sacrificing your health, personal life, or family, you need to check out Intentional Wealth. It's an 8-week accelerator for eCommerce business owners that kicks off July 7. The enrollment period is open now, and the program is filling up quickly. Get the details here. Episode Highlights: 3:05 Step #1 for building a self-managing company: Change your mindset about what's possible. 5:07 Step #2: Understand what you're really selling. 7:11 Step #3: Start thinking like a general manager, not a coach. 9:37 Step #4 for building a self-managing company: Share your intent, not your outline. 12:21 Step #5: Narrow down your metrics and give your team autonomy. 14:43 Step #6: Embrace delegation as a competitive advantage. 17:01 Step #7 for building a self-managing company: Find your mentors. Links and Resources: Intentional Wealth Strategic Coach Book: The Art of Selling Your Business Book: Traction @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Are you making at least 20% of your revenue from email marketing? If not, today’s guest is here to tell you how. Chase Dimond is a prolific email marketer who is making a lot of noise in the eCommerce arena. In 2018, he launched an email marketing agency called Boundless Labs that supports 6-9 figure eCommerce companies. Since then, he and his team have helped their clients send hundreds of millions of emails resulting in over $50 million in email attributable revenue. Chase joins us on today’s episode to share his knowledge on email marketing for eCommerce. He offers specific and tangible actions you can take to drive more sales and increase your email marketing revenue, talks about what works in email and what doesn’t, how to optimize your opt-ins, and how to find talented copywriters. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:26 The Bernie Singles Case Study 8:10 Common misconceptions about email marketing 10:05 Chase’s early career in email marketing 14:02 How Chase took complete ownership of his marketing funnel 17:54 The easiest ways to increase your eCommerce revenue with email marketing 20:09 How to maximize your email opt-ins  22:31 Does gamification work for opt-ins? 23:36 Chase’s email diagnostic checklist 27:27 What types of products should be invested in email marketing 32:09 The future of SMS marketing and what is overhyped 36:41 How to find talented copywriters and designers 39:53 Resources that helped Chase build Boundless Labs 42:47 What motivates Chase to stay committed to email marketing Links and Resources: Chase Dimond’s Website Chase Dimond on Twitter Boundless Labs Ecommerce Email Marketing Course by Chase Dimond Pura Vida Bracelets Privy Klaviyo PostScript Seth Godin The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Do you want to unlock massive growth or stay small? If you're unsure why your eCommerce business isn't growing, this episode is for you. Over the last five years, I've worked with businesses that have grown from $100K per month to $1MM per month, and I've worked with businesses that have continued to stay small, despite their desire for growth. In this bonus episode, I'm sharing the 9 reasons why your eCommerce business isn't growing, and how you can change that. If you're ready to unlock growth in your business, without sacrificing your health, personal life, or family, you need to check out Intentional Wealth. It's an 8-week accelerator for eCommerce business owners that kicks off July 7. The enrollment period is open now, and the program is filling up quickly. Get the details here. Episode Highlights: 2:51 Reason #1 why your eCommerce business isn't growing: You're scarcity focused 4:12 Reason #2: You aren't keeping up when the game changes 5:24 Reason #3: Superhero Syndrome 7:23 Reason #4 why your eCommerce business isn't growing: You aren't managing your cash 8:35 Reason #5: You're transaction-focused instead of transformation-focused 11:20 Reason #6: You're focused on tactics instead of strategy 12:46: Reason #7: You don't know what you want or what your business is 16:31 Reason #8 why your eCommerce business isn't growing: You think in terms of cost, not investment 18:12 Reason #9: You're trying to do it all alone. Links and Resources: Intentional Wealth @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

After a decade of fast-paced growth, are you wondering what’s next in eCommerce? Today’s guest is here to share his predictions. Three-time returning guest Andrew Youderian is back on today’s show. Andrew is a well-known entrepreneur in the eCommerce space, host of the eCommerce Fuel Podcast and the owner of the eCommerce Fuel forum. In this episode, we do some big picture thinking on what’s next in eCommerce, what we’ve seen coming and going, Facebook trends and the future of Amazon. We also touch on brand building, emerging channels to pay attention to and what we think is on the horizon. Episode Highlights: 5:39 Fast-paced growth and what’s next in eCommerce 8:39 The state of Amazon for eCommerce sellers 13:00 Is Facebook advertising going to be a thing of the future or the past? 18:46 Why Andrew Youderian doesn’t think Facebook is the path to sustainable growth 23:40 Strategies for owning your relationship with your community 28:10 Are you still experiencing asymmetric returns? 32:42 How to take advantage of emerging channels to grow your audience 35:49 Why Andrew closed the eCommerce Fuel job board 40:04 Exciting new tools and the future of Facebook groups 45:47 Why social trust is critical to the success of businesses Links and Resources: eCommerce Fuel eCommerce Fuel Podcast Andrew Youderian on Twitter eCommerce Fuel Podcast with Kevin Stecko: Shrinking a Business to Save It The My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast with Steve Chou Reddit Circle Podcast 106: Building a Business with Andrew Youderian Podcast 006: From The Corporate World To Selling His First ECommerce Store And Much More – Andrew Youderian, ECommerce Fuel The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes  

Writing copy that converts has nothing to do with magically pulling the perfect words out of thin air. It’s about learning how to copy + paste. At least that’s what Val Geisler - email marketing conversion copywriter, strategist for B2C startups and Customer Evangelist at Klaviyo - has to say. Val has been a part of the eCommerce community for a long time and is a master at the art of conducting meaningful customer research that translates into copy that converts. Val joins us today to dive deep into email marketing for eCommerce brands, marketing automation, copywriting, and how you can use words to increase the perceived value of your brand. We also talk about how to improve your email flows, how you should be using SMS, and what it means to build your acquisition flywheel. If you want to learn how to set up email flows and automations, check out our Email Growth Guide and Intensive Course inside the Coalition.  Episode Highlights: 4:18 The easiest way to write copy that converts 8:27 How to conduct meaningful customer research 12:16 Val's new role at Klaviyo 21:40 The emails you absolutely need to do customer research for 26:13 Val’s approach to balancing qualitative and quantitative data 32:06 Klaviyo’s SMS product update  36:54 How do upgrade your flows with SMS 41:31 Ways you can optimize your abandoned cart 47:31 The power of marketing automation 52:00 How to design your customer acquisition flywheel 55:29 Val’s Email Marketing Hall of Fame Links and Resources: Val Geisler’s Website Klaviyo Rev.com Otter.ai Enjoy HQ The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Is your business built to sell? John Warrillow is here to help you harvest the value of your company. John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a Top 10 Forbes Ranked Podcast host, and author of Built to Sell, a best-selling book that’s helped over 50,000 businesses build more valuable companies. Throughout his career, he's founded and exited four companies and now dedicates his time to helping entrepreneurs sell their own for higher multiples. Listen now for John’s most valuable advice on the secret to a successful exit, key pillars for being built to sell, how to create more value in your business, and the biggest mistakes he sees entrepreneurs make when trying to do this on their own. Episode Highlights: 6:49 The secret to having a successful exit 12:04 How much you should get for your business 19:26 The number one job you have as a business owner 23:58 Why so few entrepreneurs turn pro 28:49 Tactical ways you can increase the long term value of your business 36:20 The power of taking a pause in entrepreneurship 43:54 The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when selling their business 49:49 What to do if you are forced to take an earnout  Links and Resources: John Warrilow’s Website (Click “Free Gifts” for bonuses from John) Built to Sell Radio Built to Sell The Automatic Customer The Art of Selling Your Business The Membership Economy Podcast 235: A Behind The Scenes Look At Pura Vida’s Multi-Million Dollar Exit Podcast 296: The Keys To A 9-Figure Exit: How Moiz Ali Sold Native For $100MM @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

From changes in consumer privacy to new business models popping constantly, the Ecommerce landscape is changing and it's changing fast. Here to help you keep up is my good friend Brett Curry. Brett is an entrepreneur, eCommerce strategist, and host of the eCommerce Evolution podcast. He leads an incredibly talented team at OMG Commerce, and today we're diving into what's new in eCommerce. We talk about the future of eCommerce advertising and who should be most concerned about upcoming privacy changes. Brett shares his formula for creating consistently great content, I share what makes lucrative subscription models work, and we touch on how our roles as CEOs and operators have evolved as our businesses have grown. Episode Highlights: 4:44 The future of eCommerce: A return to the renaissance 8:26 Google’s changes to audience targeting and attribution 11:29 Why agencies and freelancers should be weary of privacy changes 19:12 The formula for consistently creating high-converting content 28:02 Why subscription models aren't going away anytime soon 31:13 How to make a subscription model work for your business 35:51 Three types of subscription models to consider 42:31 How to keep up with the speed of change in business 44:32 What being a basketball coach and CEO have in common 48:10 Austin’s perspective shift on his role in business 53:43 Check out the eCommerce Evolution Podcast Links and Resources: OMG Commerce eCommerce Evolution Podcast Brett Curry on Twitter Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath The Automatic Customer by John Warrillow The Art of Selling Your Business by John Warrillow The Membership Economy by John Warrillow Podcast 295: Building A $100MM Brand: The Story Behind Snow Teeth Whitening @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

It's time to stop losing customers and start understanding them. Sean D’Souza, author of The Brain Audit, founder of Psychotactics, and host of The Three Month Vacation Podcast, is a Marketing Strategist and expert on consumer psychology. He’s one of the most articulate and well-spoken people I’ve met in the field of marketing and he’s here to help you figure out why you aren’t selling as much as you should. In this episode, Sean sets the record straight on the number one reason your customers back out of a purchase. We also dive into how to ease your customer’s fears, the importance of having a uniqueness factor, and how to start understanding your customers in a deeper way so you can stop losing customers. Sean is giving a training inside of the Coalition on May 11th called, “Buy Your Life Back: How to Raise Prices and Not Lose Customers”. Apply to join the Coalition today so you don’t miss out. Episode Highlights: 4:23 Why Sean D'Souza created "psychotactics" 6:41 What stops people from taking a 3-month vacation 10:57 The best way to stop losing customers 19:30 Why your business needs to have a uniqueness factor 25:12 How to come up with your uniqueness factor 32:15 Unpacking the misconception around sales 37:07 Tiger Woods' iconic shot and what it has to do with your customers 40:58 How to start understanding your customer in a deeper way 45:04 Learn more about Sean D'Souza 47:08 Sean’s top recommendation for a vacation destination Links and Resources: Sean D’Souza’s Website The Three Month Vacation Podcast The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don't) The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Trying to get valuable time back from your business? Steve Chou and I are here to talk about how automation helps us work smarter. Steve Chou, host of the My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast, has built a large business that only requires the help of one VA. From managing a robust social media calendar to tackling email marketing, Steve has cracked the code on how to do more with less. Steve and I share a joint passion for helping entrepreneurs build businesses that don't consume their entire life. If you've been feeling overworked and bogged down in the weeds of your business, this episode is for you. Tune in to hear how we've freed up our time by automating five key areas of our businesses: hiring, social media, email marketing, our inbox, and project management. Episode Highlights: 4:10 Automation #1: Your hiring process 10:18 Automation #2: Your social media production 15:07 Automation #3: Your inbox 18:17 Automation #4: Your project management 24:15 Automation #5: Your email marketing 29:40 How to combine SMS and email 34:04 What Steve is most excited about 38:14 Check out Steve’s podcast Links and Resources: My Wife Quit Her Job Website My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast Airtable HelpScout Gorgias Planoly Electric SMS @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

The right marketing strategy + the right team members to execute = DTC success.  “A little crazy” is what Ecuadorian artisans called Case Bakker after he requested order after order of handmade blankets to sell to boutiques all over the Ottawa Valley. Rooted in a mission to give back, Pokoloko started off as a wholesale brand dedicated to bringing global inspiration to people's homes and directly supporting artisans all over South America, Turkey, Morocco, and Indonesia. I met Case, Pokoloko’s CEO and co-founder, about a year ago when he reached out with one goal in mind: transition from wholesale to DTC eCommerce. Since then, we’ve worked together inside the Coalition and Intentional Wealth, and his team has made incredible progress. Case joins us today to tell us how. Tune in for a candid talk about how Pokoloko generated their first $100k in sales, what marketing strategies move the needle, the hires that have been essential to their success, and leadership lessons he’s picked up along the way. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:51 How Pokoloko was first created 6:23 How Pokoloko generated their first $100,000 9:19 The biggest difference between running wholesale vs direct to consumer 11:02 Three major initiatives that moved the needle when switching to online sales 13:32 Critical hires when growing a B2C business  15:28 Marketing initiatives with a high ROI 19:01 How transitioning to B2C affects wholesale  20:28 Leaderships lessons Case wishes he knew years ago 24:20 What Case is most excited about Links and Resources: Pokoloko Pokoloko on Instagram Case Bakker on LinkedIn Shoe Dog by Phil Knight The Coalition Intentional Wealth @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Misinformation is spewed left and right about nearly everything in eCommerce and it’s driving Kurt Elster and I insane. We are excited to bring you episode 300 of the Ecommerce Influence podcast and our special guest today is Kurt Elster. Kurt is a CRO expert, host of the Unofficial Shopify Podcast, and runs an eCommerce website design and development agency called Ethercycle. If you’ve been a long-time listener of the podcast, you know that Kurt is a trusted recurring guest and in this episode, we’re hoping to put a nail in the coffin of six costly eCommerce myths.  Tune in as we set the record straight on Google PageSpeed, website design and copywriting, work ethic and so much more. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 5:28 Myth #1: You need to diversify your traffic 8:38 Myth #2: Google PageSpeed is crucial to getting more sales 14:00 Myth #3: You have to be the first to do everything  18:49 Myth #4: If a “big” business is doing it, it must be right 23:10 Myth #5: Hustle and grind is the key to business success 27:57 Myth #6: People don’t read on the internet  35:40 Check out the Unofficial Shopify Podcast Links and Resources: Kurt Elster The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Ethercycle Podcast 193: “Must Know” Elements Of Successful Ecom Design Most Business Forget Podcast 282: 8 Ecommerce All Stars Share Their Best Marketing Advice Intentional Wealth The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Does your business take all of your time or does it give you the freedom to do the things you love? Jeff Vogl, president of Classic Car Stereos, has been intentional about creating that shift over the last couple of years and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him do it. Jeff and I started working together in 2019. Since then, Jeff’s business has grown tremendously and he’s continued to add to his portfolio. From mastering the art of creating packages his customers can’t ignore, boosting his AOV, and spending more time on the golf course than in the weeds of his business, Jeff is a sharp entrepreneur and he’s here to tell you how he made these big wins possible. Tune in to learn how you can creatively increase your AOV, why Jeff believes a Google AdWords strategy is a must, the importance of bidding on your brand, and how a change in leadership style has unlocked the freedom Jeff always wanted. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:03 Learning how to create packages to boost your AOV 6:20 How Classic Car Stereos manages all of the moving parts in their business 8:18 Jeff’s journey from spending time in the weeds of his business to spending time on the golf course 10:55 A mindset shift on inventory management and demand planning 16:19 Entrepreneurial finance 101: The numbers every entrepreneur should know 25:06 Using Google Adwords and why you should always be bidding on your brand 29:12 Evolving your leadership style to empower your team 34:35 The resources Jeff uses to grow Classic Car Stereos Links and Resources: Classic Car Stereos Jeff Vogl on Twitter  [email protected] RingCentral Ahrefs NetSuite Podcast 296: The Keys To A 9-Figure Exit: How Moiz Ali Sold Native For $100MM The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Holistic Habitat self-taught their way to Facebook Ads success. Here's why they doubled their ad budget in 2020. Kristin Holler is the co-creator of Holistic Habitat, an eCommerce home decor company for the socially conscious. I met Kristin in 2019 and have worked with her inside the Coalition, and most recently, as a member of Intentional Wealth. Since we started working together, her business has grown tremendously and email marketing makes up 30% of her monthly sales. However, that’s not the only lever Kristin has learned how to master. With a roll-up-your-sleeves mentality, Kristin has led Holistic Habitat through the ever-changing landscape of Facebook ads, the COVID-19 pandemic, market shifts and so much more. She’s here to share how they grew 500% in 2018, how she became a Facebook ads pro, and the secret behind creating ads that convert. We also dive into the biggest leadership takeaways of 2020 and how to get out of your own way. Episode Highlights: 4:21 How Kristin started as an eCommerce entrepreneur 7:27 The moment Kristin realized Holistic Habitat had potential 9:55 How Holistic Habitat grew 500% in 2018 12:53 Why Kristin doubled her FB ads budget at the beginning of COVID-19 16:53 The biggest leadership takeaways from 2020 19:13 Working in the Coalition: How Kristin increased profits and got out of her own way 23:25 Becoming a Facebook ads pro 26:23 How to run Facebook ads that convert 28:32 Holistic Habitat’s unforgettable marketing mishaps  31:10 Advice for purpose-driven brands trying to build customer loyalty  33:57 The #1 thing Kristin wishes she knew before starting her entrepreneurship journey 35:27 What’s keeping Kristin up at night 37:16 Lessons from COVID-19 that keep moving the needle 38:43 How Holistic Habitat creatively increases their average order value 41:52 Get in touch with Kristin Links and Resources: Holistic Habitat Holistic Habitat on Instagram Holistic Habitat Insiders Facebook group Foxwell Digital The Coalition Intentional Wealth @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Today's guest turned her passion project into a global movement. Chrissie Lam is the founder of Love Is Project, a thriving lifestyle brand that supports thousands of female artisans in developing countries around the world. I’ve known Chrissie for years and have had the pleasure of getting an up-front look into how her business has taken off. Between landing a spot on Shark Tank, multiple press hits, and being featured by Facebook during Women’s History Month, Chrissie has so much insight to share on developing a lifestyle brand with a purpose. In the episode, we talk about what it’s like to launch a business while traveling the world, getting onto Shark Tank and how to leverage the press to grow your business. Chrissie also shares the ups and downs of working with freelancers and agencies, and how she’s been using our Intentional Wealth program to keep her business and life in balance. Episode Highlights 2:57 Chrissie’s passion for travel 5:11 Launching Love Is Project in Bali 9:43 The process of getting onto Shark Tank 12:55 Chrissie’s mindset heading into Shark Tank and how it panned out 14:57 How the power of the press for Love Is Project 17:07 The trial and error of hiring freelancers and agencies 20:10 How Chrissie is able to work anywhere in the world  21:33 What Chrissie wishes she knew before launching Love Is Project 21:53 How Chrissie is leveraging the Intentional Wealth program  24:20 Chrissie’s advice for people building a lifestyle brand 26:20 What Chrissie is most excited about going forward 27:35 Helpful resources for entrepreneurs Links and Resources: Love Is Project Love Is Project on Instagram Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Chrissie Lam How I Built This Podcast Klaviyo Shopify Brand Growth Experts The Coalition Intentional Wealth @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Our most highly requested guest, Moiz Ali, is here to tell you how he made a 9-figure exit in just over 2 years.  Moiz is the Founder of Native, the fastest growing CPG company in the US. Two and a half years after its inception, the company was acquired by Procter & Gamble for $100MM and Moiz is here to tell us how he made that happen. We talk about what made Native so successful early on, how he prepared to sell the company and what life was like at Procter & Gamble after the sale. Moiz also dispels a few eCommerce myths and lets you know what he’d do differently if he could hit the reset button. Episode Highlights 3:30 How Moiz Ali’s family encouraged him to lean into entrepreneurship 5:01 What drove Moiz away from law school 6:13 How life is like at Proctor & Gamble 11:18 A/B testing deodorant: Native vs P&G 16:00 Why Native was successful so quickly 20:53 Navigating eCommerce upsells 23:43 The team members and agencies Native leveraged to grow 28:18 What Moiz would do differently if he could hit the reset button 31:06 Raising money: Should you or shouldn't you? 35:55 Prepping to sell your company 39:45 What Moiz’s schedule was like leading up to the sell 43:22 Moiz’s advice on whether you should go all-in on your business 45:56 eCommerce myths Moiz wants to dispel 48:21 The best eCommerce platform to use 50:09 How Ali Capital chooses which companies to invest in 53:46 What’s exciting Moiz Ali about eCommerce right now 55:40 The three main keys to Native’s early success Links and Resources: Moiz Ali's Website Exit Strategy Podcast Ali Capital Native Moiz on Instagram Moiz on Twitter Email Moiz PostScript (use this link for a 30-day free trial) Gorgias (use this link to get your second month free) Brand Growth Experts The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

There isn't a rulebook for building a $100MM brand. This serial entrepreneur is here to tell you how he did it. Josh Snow taught himself how to build websites at 12 years old. His early venture sparked a full-fledged passion for marketing and branding which led Josh to where he is today, the founder and CEO of Snow - a fast-growing D2C brand and leader in premium oral care. Josh is a true operator and in this episode, we dive deep into how he’s grown Snow to over $100MM in revenue. We talk about the differences between running a $1MM company and a $100MM company, how his leadership has needed to evolve in the process, and his thoughts on hiring the right people. Josh also shares how leveraging influencer marketing was a game-changer and where he plans on taking the company next. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:02 Josh’s pre-teen start to entrepreneurship 8:36 Snow’s defining moment of growth 13:55 Josh’s take on paid acquisition 16:45 How Snow strategically diversified their marketing channels 21:34 The biggest differences between running a $1MM and a $100MM company 27:07 How Josh has learned how to ask for help as a leader 32:20 The difference between “hunting elephants” and “hunting rabbits” 39:26 How Snow leverages influencer marketing and a celebrity’s social capital 45:00 Common misconceptions about running an eCommerce business 52:29 Where Snow is going and the challenges Josh sees on the horizon 56:01 Josh’s words of wisdom for eCommerce entrepreneurs Links and Resources: Snow Josh Snow on Instagram Powerhouse Mastermind Josh Snow’s Interviews on YouTube Brand Growth Experts The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Losing half a million dollars in one year can be a devastating blow. Find out how this company turned things around to become the 20th fastest growing company in the US.  Garret Ackerson is the cofounder of Kindred Bravely - a privately held company that has experienced the highs and lows associated with rocketship growth. Garret did a live training for Coalition members last fall, and I'm sharing it with you now because it’s truly a transparent and sobering look into the ups and downs of a fast-growing company. Garret dives into the importance of knowing your numbers, making KPIs a team event, and why founders should carve out time and space to think. He also shares why he's never scared to invest in learning, how to build a flywheel, and find the right partners for your business. If you're a founder or someone who helps eCommerce businesses grow, this episode is a must-listen. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:02 How Kindred Bravely first started in 2015 7:02 The KPI system Kindred Bravely uses that promotes ownership 14:42 Why you should always schedule time to think 16:53 Why you should never be afraid to pay for learning 19:39 How to debrief and implement your learnings 22:26 The only two functions of your enterprise 27:30 How to start thinking and dominos and why you want should 28:46 Why you need to create a flywheel 34:52 What Garret’s thinking routine looks like and the questions he asks himself 36:19 The first hire that Kindred Bravely made and why 38:37 How to create a flywheel in Shopify 43:17 The most important part of capital management 47:00 Kindred Bravely’s financial reporting rhythm 51:18 The best way to have successful relationships with agencies 53:35 How Garret structures business goals and sprints Links and Resources: Kindred Bravely The 4 Day MBA Vistage Dan Sullivan’s Impact Filter Kolbe Index Brand Growth Experts The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Buying an ecommerce business can be a brilliant move to build wealth, or have costly unintended consequences.  Between finding the right business, knowing what to look for when going through due diligence, and avoiding misinformation - buying an eCommerce business can be a lot to handle. We're giving you a crash course on how to do it. Today’s show is a mashup of three episodes I’ve done with expert eCommerce entrepreneurs in this space - David Newell, Shakil Prasla, and Drew Sanocki. We talk about how to determine if you are the type of person who should buy or build, what a thorough due diligence process looks like, and the things to always investigate within a prospective company. We also breakdown the common pitfalls first-time buyers tend to experience and how to avoid them. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:30 How to determine if you should buy or build an eCommerce site 7:27 Buying a business to cross-sell 9:29 The 6 key tenets to robust due diligence when buying a business 13:12 How to assess the quality of a business’ backlinks 16:23 Financials you should always assess as a buyer 19:23 Problem areas to investigate before buying a business 23:15 Technical and legal checklist items you shouldn’t forget 25:38 The biggest mistakes most first-time buyers make and how to avoid them 27:34 Leveraging SEO and content for growth 30:53 Income and age: Two essential criteria for evaluating a company 32:49 Buying a business on a bank loan 35:48 Five things to always look for when buying 39:04 The advice Shakil would have given himself when he was starting out 41:30 Shakil’s process for reviewing prospecting companies and getting them through due diligence 43:30 What Drew is most excited about when buying 46:15 Merger and acquisition opportunities that can help your brand 50:45 Uncovering your blind spots within the acquisition process 52:26 Boostrapping vs acquisition: Which is right for you and which comes first? Links and Resources: Podcast: 095: 4 Reasons Why You Should Buy An Ecommerce Business & The 6 Key Tenets To Proper Due Diligence Podcast: 195: Austin Ecommerce Investor Reveals His Short-Cut To Scaling Podcast: 241: Evolutions In Lifecycle Marketing & New Approaches To Creating Wealth Websites: FE International, Pro Click Ventures, Nerd Marketing, AutoAnything Social Media: David Newell on Twitter, Drew on Instagram The San Francisco Fallacy: The Ten Fallacies That Make Founders Fail Brand Growth Experts The Coalition Foxwell Digital @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Apple’s recent championing of consumer privacy means your ad data is never going to be the same. If you’re an eCommerce business owner, you’ve likely been swept up in the confusion around iOS 14 and Facebook ads. Andrew Foxwell from Foxwell Digital is back on today’s show to unpack what this means for you and your business. We’ll be diving into the iOS 14 release and the implications it’ll have on Facebook advertising. We’ll also discuss the tools you’ll need in place for this shift and how you can optimize your ads for this new normal. If your business relies heavily on Facebook advertising, you can’t miss this episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:21 The current state of Facebook advertising and what you need to know about iOS 14 7:47 Apple’s new positioning around consumer privacy and how it will affect your advertising 9:56 How Apple will control the floodgates of information 12:52 What we know is changing between iOS 14 and Facebook ads 16:05 The upside to these changes within Facebook  18:24 What the upcoming data delay will mean for you  21:42 8 must-have events to set up to prepare for the new normal 25:40 How to set up and customize your new events 28:58 Don’t get taken advantage of: A word of caution when searching for help 32:05 Who is going to be most affected by these changes  37:57 The tools Facebook and Apple are working on to help you Links and Resources: Foxwell Digital Blog: Facebook’s Conversions API (CAPI) and How to implement it with your Shopify site Foxwell Digital Blog: What's Working (and what's not) in a Post-iOS14 World Foxwell Digital Blog: Facebook Advertising FAQs Podcast 278: Facebook’s New Conversions API & Why You Need To Install It Before The New Year Brand Growth Experts The Coalition Foxwell Digital [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you're trying to stretch your marketing dollars as far as you can there's one piece of low-hanging fruit you shouldn’t ignore. If you cringe when you think about pop-ups, you're missing out on huge wins including more revenue, more email captures, and a higher AOV. Take it from Erik Christiansen, eCommerce CRO expert and the CEO of Justuno. I’ve known Erik for a long time and his company has helped thousands of businesses with conversion rate optimization. He’s joining us today to talk about the future of eCommerce CRO and how you can leverage it in your business. Outside of Erik’s knowledge of eCommerce CRO, what I’ve continued to admire about him over the years is his ability to not only grow a team but retain his team members too. We’ll also cover how he’s built a team of 60+ people, how he thinks about hiring and retention. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:11 How Justuno has evolved over the years 6:52 The business basics Erik has been on top of for the last 10 years 11:44 Stretching your marketing dollars as far as you can 14:20 What Erik has learned about leading a remote team 17:51 The two things Erik tells every single one of his employees 21:35 What Erik is most excited about in Justuno’s future 26:10 How to optimize your landing pages 29:45 What Justuno has on the 2021 roadmap you should know about  32:05 How to get 30 days of free access to the Coalition Links and Resources: Justuno Erik on LinkedIn Podcast: 154: How We Got A 10% Win With Simple “DIY” Conversion Rate Optimization @a_brawn on Twitter @brandgrowthx on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Society Has Brainwashed Entrepreneurs To Believe They Have To Sacrifice Everything To Be Successful.  “Crush it” culture convinces us that sacrificing our health, personal life, and family is a part of the game and if you’re not making those sacrifices, you can only get so far. It’s time to crush this false narrative and make a paradigm shift. In today’s episode, I’m introducing the Brand Acceleration Formula. It’s a five-step process designed to help entrepreneurs grow their business from $500K to $5MM without sacrificing what matters most to them. We dive into the biggest causes for slow business growth, how to stay focused on the metrics that move the needle, and our best advice on bringing your best ideas to life. I’m going to help 20 entrepreneurs apply this formula and have the best 90 days of their business life. Will you be one of them? Get the details here. Episode Highlights 6:28 How society has entrepreneurs brainwashed 8:29 Are you playing a status game or a wealth game? 12:11 The Brand Acceleration Formula 15:03 The biggest cause for slow business growth 17:15 How to avoid shiny object syndrome  20:05 What our most successful clients have in common 22:03 The best way to start bringing your big ideas to reality  24:21 Our new Intentional Wealth Program Links And Resources: Intentional Wealth Podcast 289: How To Grow The Long Term Value Of Your Business, Whether You Want To Sell Or Not @a_brawn on Twitter @brandgrowthx on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you're just focusing on your company's annual income, you're doing it wrong. Today, Ryan Tansom, founder of Arkona, is here to talk about why creating long term value in your business should be your priority. In 2014, Ryan helped turn his family business around and then sold it for 8 figures. Today he's helping entrepreneurs make the shift from thinking about annual income to focusing on long term value creation instead. In this episode, Ryan shares why your goal shouldn’t always be to maximize income, how to think about investing in your business, and the right way to run your business so that people want to buy it.  Whether you have intentions to sell or not, Ryan’s ideas on creating long term value in your business will open up opportunities you’ll have the power and choice to leverage whenever you want. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:49 Why Ryan is passionate about helping entrepreneurs create long term value 8:04 The right time for a business to think about its direction 11:16 Annual income vs long term value: Which is better? 13:51 How investing in your business could be more valuable than cash 18:00 Tracking the value of your company even if you don’t want to sell 19:30 What a “good valuation” really means 22:28 Things professional buyers are looking for when evaluating your company  25:47 Understanding the J curve and the opportunities you may be missing in your business 30:33 When it’s time to find a new CEO 35:37 Why you should focus on long term value even if you don’t plan to sell 41:16 What business owners should know about the exit process 44:21 The things entrepreneurs actually have control over  46:01 What you’ll learn in Ryan’s upcoming Coalition training Links and Resources: Ryan on LinkedIn Arkona.io Intentional Growth Podcast Value Builder System Value Opportunity Profile The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @brandgrowthx on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Implementing Traction at your company? Here’s what you should know before you start.  Many of our clients inside of the Coalition have heard of Traction and have considered trying to implement EOS at their company. If this phrase is new to you, EOS - the Entrepreneurial Operating System - is a set of concepts and tools that can help your team align on a clear vision, make progress towards defined goals, and increase accountability and communication.  Our team dove headfirst into the task of implementing Traction just over a year ago and we’ve learned a lot since. In this episode, I’m sharing how we adopted the EOS methodology, the pros and cons of using it, and who I think has the most to gain from it.  If you’re an eCommerce entrepreneur who thinks there might be a better way to run your business, this episode is for you. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:50 Life before finding Traction 6:53 The best part about using the EOS process and how it changed the game for us 8:05 What “rocks” are and how they address the biggest struggles I see entrepreneurs facing today 10:27 The feedback from my team that I didn’t see coming 11:51 How we work around the biggest con of using EOS  15:07 Who EOS works best for 16:10 Why I think solopreneurs will struggle implementing EOS  18:59 How to get free 30-day access to the Coalition Links and Resources: Traction: Get a Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman Traction Implementation Tools The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @brandgrowthx on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Do you want to know how to hire rockstar talent this year?  Finding high-quality talent is a major key to the growth of any organization. However, it’s often seen as a difficult task and can cost a lot of time and money when done incorrectly. At Brand Growth Experts we just hired our newest Community and Events Manager after sorting through nearly three hundred applications and I’m here to tell you how we did it. You’ll learn our step-by-process on how to hire a great employee every time, ways to simplify and structure your hiring process, and the tools we used to manage hundreds of applications. If you've been wondering how to hire without getting overwhelmed at the task this episode is for you. Episode Highlights 6:36 Creating your accountability chart 9:39 How to attract the right candidates 14:24 Promoting your job with advertising 16:52 The number one mistake I see companies make when hiring  19:22 Mapping out your hiring process  22:20 How to hire using AirTable 24:06 Are you valuing your own opportunity? Links and Resources: Traction Accountability Chart AirTable The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @brandgrowthx on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Is your content strategy worth half a million dollars?  Mark Stallings is the CEO of Casely, an ecommerce tech-accessories retailer that’s gone from zero to eight figures in just four years. After dropping out of college, Mark convinced his sister Emily to cofound the company with him. They’ve been bootstrapping their way through everything from website coding to paid advertising ever since. I’ve gotten to know Mark over the last few years after he became a founding member of The Coalition in 2018. He joins us to share what he and his sister learned over the years, including how they profitably spend half a million dollars on paid advertising every month. We also touch on how they leverage their content strategy for growth, their approach to hiring, and how they maintain a lean team. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:45 How Casely leverages the subscription model  10:33 Why Mark dropped out of college after one year 12:14 Diving into an Instagram rabbit hole to understand your audience 16:08 What the first six months of paid advertising looked like for Casely 18:31 The content strategy that’s taking the business to the next level 22:29 Building and scaling the Casely team 27:22 The two biggest obstacles when using FB ads 29:37 How Mark spends time in the business 31:12 Common misconceptions people have about spending a lot on Facebook 31:45 The top metrics Mark closely monitors  35:01 Mark’s biggest learning experience over 2020 38:51 The hardest part about building Casely 40:05 The secret sauce for hiring and company culture 43:26 What Mark is most curious about today 45:00 Two things every ecommerce company should focus on 47:15 Mark’s resources and strategies for growing your business Links and Resources: Casely The Exit Strategy by Moiz Ali  David Hermann on Twitter Foxwell Digital [email protected]  The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @brandgrowthx on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

2020 Threw Us All For A Loop. Here’s What We Learned From It and How It’s Helping Us Prepare For 2021.  Nobody saw COVID-19 coming and nearly every business had to make pivots while market conditions changed daily.  Not only did I see changes happen in my own business, but I also witnessed them across all of the ecommerce companies I have the opportunity to work with inside of The Coalition. This made my annual end-of-year review that much more interesting so I decided to wrap up my findings in this episode and share it with you. In this episode, I talk about the things that went well for me and the companies we work with, the hard lessons and challenges that were presented, and the top takeaways that every ecommerce business owner needs to know to prepare for 2021. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 3:55 The number one question I’m asking myself about 2020 7:45 How hiring has been a game-changer for our business 10:07 What having a local community has done for me 11:25 The COVID-19 impact on our business  17:09 My biggest takeaways from 2020 18:44 Do you own your marketing channels? 20:09 How having multiple streams of income can help prepare for 2021 22:29 Industries that are going to continue to thrive 23:27 Why awareness might not be your marketing problem Links and Resources: The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @brandgrowthx on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you took a month off from your business would it thrive or struggle to survive?  Nat Eliason is three-time Ecommerce Influence guest who built a business that runs itself and he's here to tell you how he did it. Nat founded an Ecommerce company called Cup and Leaf (now Sencha Tea Bar) which he sold last year. More recently, he built an agency called Growth Machine that continues to flourish without him being in the day-to-day operations. Tune into this episode to learn how to build a system that prevents things from piling onto your plate, the roles you should absolutely hire for in your business, and the advice Nat has followed to allow for this growth. Episode Highlights 4:59 Nat and Austin’s elk hunt 12:08 The biggest thing Nat learned in 2020 15:49 Three reasons Nat is able to consistently put out new content 20:39 How to ship high-quality creative work 27:57 Nat’s system to avoid piling things onto his plate 33:29 Advice Nat received that helped him build a business that runs itself 38:12 The roles Nat hired for to build and scale his agency 43:50 Three types of workstyles you should know about before hiring  48:59 The type of people you need to hire if you want to build a business that runs itself 52:00 The business model the most successful companies follow 56:42 How to get yourself out of the day-to-day aspect of your business 1:02:05 Getting trapped in a company you created 1:11:17 Using resistance as a tool for growth 1:15:25 Is your productivity destroying your health?  1:24:21 What Nat’s most excited about right now Links and Resources: Growth Machine Sacred Hunting Ali Abdaal’s YouTube Channel Ali Abdaal’s Video Editing Skillshare Course David Allen Rich Dad Poor Dad Podcast 129: Content Marketing – What You Need To Know With Nat Eliason Podcast 179: Making A Comeback After The Google Medic Update The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Is your business taking you on a roller coaster ride? If so, being a conscious leader can mean the difference between your business making you happy or running you into the ground. Are the business decisions you’re making leading to more satisfaction in life? Or do you find yourself running in circles and in a constant state of reaction? These are challenges entrepreneurs have historically struggled with and 2020 was no exception. However, there’s a way to start turning things around and it starts with you.  Stay tuned for a crash course in being a conscious leader. We’ll go over the essential things every entrepreneur needs clarity on, how to level up as a leader and how to break through roadblocks we see so many founders struggling with.  If you’re ready to start taking radical responsibility for the state of your business, this episode is for you. Episode Highlights 4:50 What being a more conscious leader means  5:48 The number one thing every leader needs to get clear on 8:31 The biggest challenge holding leaders back 9:48 Breaking a common addiction in entrepreneurship 13:37 Leveraging radical responsibility to grow your business 17:37 Three ways to better respect your time and everyone else’s  21:01 Questions the best leaders are always asking Links and Resources: The Social Dilemma The Impact Filter Podcast 149: The Art of Doing Less But Better with Greg McKeown Part 1 Podcast 150: The Art of Doing Less But Better with Greg McKeown Part 2 Podcast 245: How To Build A Successful Agency (Without Burning Yourself Out) The Coalition Foxwell Digital [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Have you ever wanted marketing advice from some of the best eCommerce marketers in the business? I reached out to seven of my friends in the eCommerce space and asked them: What’s the single best piece of marketing advice you’ve ever been given? From words by Mark Zuckerberg all the way to legendary writer Gary Bencivenga, we’re packing in 8 evergreen pieces of marketing advice that every marketer and entrepreneur needs to have in their arsenal. Episode Guests Steve Chou, founder of My Wife Quit Her Job and cofounder of Sellers Summit Peep Laja, founder of CXL and Wynter Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo Kurt Elster, founder of Ethercycle and host of The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Ezra Firestone, founder of Smart Marketer Chris Orzechowski, Ecommerce Email Marketing Strategist and founder of Orzy Media Andrew Youderian, founder of eCommerceFuel and host of The eCommerceFuel Podcast  Austin Brawner, founder of Brand Growth Experts and host of The Ecommerce Influence Podcast  Episode Highlights 3:56 Steve Chou: Avoiding shiny object syndrome  5:43 Peep Laja: The number 1 thing to look into if you’re not making traction 8:15 Noah Kagan: What to remain focused on at all times 10:58 Kurt Elster: What it takes to be a true expert 14:26 Ezra Firestone: Are you quitting too soon? 17:00 Chris Orzechowski: How to never have a customer retention problem 20:19 Andrew Youderian: Doubling down on what works  23:35 Austin Brawner: Pressure over time Links and Resources: Steve Chou My Wife Quit Her Job Sellers Summit Peep Laja Peep's Website Conversion XL Wynter Noah Kagan Noah's YouTube Channel Noah's Podcast OkDork AppSumo Kurt Elster Kurt's Website The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Ethercycle Ezra Firestone Smart Marketer Boom! By Cindy Joseph Chris Orzechowski The Email Copywriter Make It Rain Monthly Founder of Orzy Media Andrew Youderian Ecommerce Fuel Ecommerce Fuel Podcast Austin Brawner The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Do you think that agencies are a waste of money? Not sure if an independent freelancer can keep up? We’re tackling the freelancer vs agency debate once and for all.  Choosing where to spend your advertising dollars is important, but deciding who to spend it on is the other piece of the puzzle. Once you decide to start pulling the levers of paid search and paid social, the question you’re left with is: Who is going to pull those levers? This is where the freelancer vs agency debate comes in and the decision is crucial. Tune into this episode to learn what conditions make the most sense for a freelancer or an agency, the pros and cons of each, questions you should ask before choosing to make a hire, and the one trap you need to avoid. Episode Highlights 3:48 The freelancer vs agency debate 5:42 Why an agency could be the better option for you 7:06 Understanding the true cost of working with an agency 9:37 The right questions to ask an agency before hiring them 13:56 Why a freelancer might be the best choice for you  15:47 Challenges to look out for when hiring a freelancer  18:10 The benefits of choosing to hire in house 22:52 A dangerous trap to avoid Links and Resources: The Coalition Foxwell Digital [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Are you ready to improve your email marketing and stop leaving money on the table? Today I'll show you how. Last year one of my clients had a brand new Klaviyo account -- zero emails sent. Over two days we set up the account, created a system for capturing leads, and built email flows focused on generating revenue. 7 days later, they generated $10,000 in revenue from email. Inspired by this experience, I hosted a live training in The Coalition on how to improve your email marketing, and today I'm sharing that training with you. We cover common mistakes people make when setting up their Klaviyo account, how to increase your email lead flow, building and optimizing your email templates, the most important emails to send, and what’s working right now to generate more revenue from email. If you want some quick, actionable wins you can implement in your email marketing today -- don't miss this episode. Episode Highlights 8:20 Improving your email marketing and generating $10k in revenue in 7 days 10:11 How to ensure Klaviyo is properly connected to your site 14:02 Creating an on-brand email template  16:22 How to increase your lead flow 18:35 Choosing the right email pop-up provider 21:03 The two biggest revenue-generating email flows to focus on 23:56 How to set up email marketing tests to determine what works 27:16 What’s working with email marketing today 30:26 Our formula to make more money from email marketing 32:55 Why you should start sending more emails (and why you can't send too many Links and Resources: Recharge Justuno Privy Klaviyo AppSumo Stamped.io Judge.me Soapbox The Coalition Brand Growth Experts @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Thinking about starting a software company? This week’s guest is giving you a behind-the-scenes look at exactly what to expect. Michael Facchin is the ultimate bootstrapper. His digital marketing career started in freelance, then he built an agency, Search Scientists, but soon came to a daunting realization: His business wasn’t future proof. With the rise of AI and Facebook Ads becoming more intuitive, he knew manually pulling the levers for his clients’ ad spend wasn’t going to last forever. Thus, Ad Badger - a software tool designed to optimize Amazon PPC - was born.  It’s been over two years since Michael was last on the show and I’m so excited to have him back. Not only is Michael one of my closest friends, but he’s an expert at PPC and in today’s episode he’s sharing the ins and outs of starting a software company, the pros & cons of bootstrapping vs joining an accelerator, having VC funding, and a few key insights he’s learned on his entrepreneurial journey. If you’ve ever considered starting a software company, this episode is for you. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:38 Mike’s journey from biology teacher to ads agency owner 8:03 Growing a business as a result of the rise of AI 12:11 Why Amazon has the best ad platform for direct response marketing 15:12 A bootstrappers mentality vs the accelerator mentality  18:45 How to determine if an accelerator is a good idea for you 21:05 The metrics Michael focuses on most to move his business forward 23:23 Mike’s unique perspective on retirement 26:19 How Michael is evolving his workhorse mentality and detangling himself from entrepreneurship 31:27 The motivation behind diving into entrepreneurship 34:55 The hardest part about starting a software company 41:01 How Michael and his team use the scrum methodology and why they are moving away from Slack 46:27 What Michael wishes he could tell his younger self 48:28 The number 1 thing every entrepreneur should have on their entrepreneurial journey 50:54 Michael's favorite book on entrepreneurship that changed his leadership style for the better 53:14 Is Ad Badger right for you? Links and Resources: Michael Facchin on LinkedIn Ad Badger Search Scientists PPC Den Podcast Ad Badger on YouTube Reboot by Jerry Colonna TechCrunch Crunchbase  Podcast 115: How Retargeting Will Improve Your Business’ Results @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you primarily rely on pixels or cookies for conversion tracking, you need to know about Facebook's new Conversions API, or else you'll be facing some serious data tracking challenges every soon. With the increasing pressure to provide more privacy to consumers, businesses like Apple are making strides to limit consumer information and Google has announced they'll be removing the ability to use 3rd party browser cookies by 2022.  This means that eCommerce business owners who rely on pixels for conversion tracking are going to need to find new ways to stay ahead.   In today's episode, Andrew Foxwell and I talk about Facebook's new Conversions API, why you need to install it on your site, how it's been shown to increase conversion reporting by 30% and what you can do with that new information.  Enjoy! Episode Highlights 3:09 Why you need to install Facebook's Conversions API on your Shopify site 6:23 Common mistakes that prevent pixels from properly tracking 7:32 The impact of tracking all conversion events  10:39 What a 30% increase in conversion reporting can do for your business 13:49 The direction of conversion tracking and customer information 17:15 How to implement Facebook’s Conversion API onto your site Links and Resources: Foxwell Digital Blog: Facebook’s Conversions API (CAPI) and How to implement it with your Shopify site The Social Dilemma  Brand Growth Experts The Coalition Foxwell Digital [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Feeling discouraged by a slow start to your business? Mister Jones Health was in the same boat until they unlocked explosive growth that grew the business by 800% in one year. Jason Daemar spent ten years climbing the corporate ladder only to realize one day that he had enough. Since then, Jason and his wife created Mister Jones Health - an ecommerce brand that has hit an astonishing inflection point over the last year even after having a not-so-glamorous start. In this episode, Jason talks about finding their first 1,000 customers, a few marketing and Facebook advertising secrets you should know about, being a customer-centric business, and building a team. If you’re an ecommerce business owner or work in the marketing space, you are going to get a lot out of this episode. Enjoy!  Episode Highlights 6:08 The idea behind Mister Jones Health 12:32 Experimenting with marketing channels to find their first 1,000 customers 14:28 The #1 overlooked thing by Facebook advertisers  16:29 Mindsets for having a customer-centric business and building empathy 20:28 The insight Jason unlocked to grow Mister Jones Health by 800% in one year 24:49 Two mindset shifts for continued growth and a strong culture 26:27 Why you should spend time learning the language of your industry 30:02 The problem with a founder being in the present 31:22 Jason’s resources for becoming a leader in your organization 33:29 Mister Jones Health is hiring! 37:00 One thing Jason wishes he knew prior to starting his business and his advice to new entrepreneurs Links and Resources: Mister Jones Health Mister Jones Health on Instagram Careers at Mister Jones Health Traction by Gino Wickman The Lean Startup by Eric Ries The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey The E-Myth Revisted by Michael E. Gerber Brand Growth Experts The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

The reality is most entrepreneurs won't reach the singular exit that retires them for life. So why is their strategy to build wealth rooted 100% in their business? It's common for entrepreneurs to feel the urge to go all in and invest 100% in their business. But spoiler alert: Running a business is hard and selling your business for enough to spend your retirement at the Four Seasons with a pina colada in hand is even harder. In today's episode, Andrew Foxwell and I talk about how entrepreneurs can build wealth outside of their business by focusing on three different buckets of investments, why a diversification strategy is something to consider, and how we are preparing for looming financial issues that are on many people's minds.  Episode Highlights 6:27 Establishing what financial freedom looks like for you 9:27 The three buckets of investments 10:38 How Austin and his wife got into real estate investing 16:08 Austin and Andrew's stock market strategy to build wealth 19:18 Protecting yourself from an inflation event 22:09 Views on cryptocurrency and how to create a hedge for yourself 24:12 Austin's business strategy to build wealth 2840 How to build a $100M asset without having a $100M business 30:48 Leveraging the skills you have to create outsized returns 34:04 The importance of having a net worth progress tracking system Links and Resources: Allegra’s Website Factora Wealth Wealthfront I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi Brand Growth Experts The Coalition Foxwell Digital [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Who is truly at the center of your business, your customers or your profits? Tim O'Brien's supplement company, Find Your Healthy Place, is relentless in its pursuit of customer-centricity. After in-store sales started to tank during the onset of COVID-19, Tim knew that making their customer's online experience just as personalized and memorable as the one they had in store would be critical to their survival. Today, Tim's online sales are up from 3% to 26%, and the pivots they continue to make are remarkable.  Tune into this episode to learn why Tim feels a customer first strategy works best for his business, how to create personalized experiences online and the key metrics he focuses on as his business continues to grow. Episode Highlights 5:07 How Tim got started in the wellness industry 10:00 The effects COVID has had on Tim’s brick-and-mortar and Ecommerce sales 14:19 How Tim is applying his customer first strategy online 18:55 Building your competitive advantage into your onboarding process 21:59 Choosing to double down on what works 23:31 The most powerful metric Tim’s team focuses on  25:44 Hard lessons Tim has learned about himself in his entrepreneurial journey 28:47 A perspective on what to do when you make the wrong hire 30:36 Tim’s approach on local and digital advertising 35:31 The email marketing strategy that is generating thousands of dollars in sales every week 38:32 What Tim is most excited about in business right now 40:01 How you can get in touch with Tim Links and Resources: Find Your Healthy Place (Use discount code "influence" for 10% off) Wild Theory (Use discount code "influence" for 10% off) Get Found Madison Podcast 243: How To Improve Your Ecommerce SEO @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Many Ecommerce business owners are wondering how to reclaim their Facebook ad performance to finish on top. Ecommerce entrepreneurs saw some of their best months this spring with consumer’s response to the onset of COVID-19. However, as buying patterns started to shift, summer and fall have been incredibly challenging. In this episode, Andrew Foxwell gives us some insight into what he's learned working with a variety of clients. We dive into how user behavior has changed, what businesses across the globe are experiencing, and leave you with several tactics you can use to increase your Facebook ad performance this year.  Episode Highlights 6:27 How user behavior is impacting the current state of Facebook 10:36 A global overview of Facebook ad performance 13:59 What the Shaq Stack is and how to use it 17:12 Using bid overrides to manage volatile Facebook ad performance 19:35 User-generated content and dynamic creative testing 22:49 The All-In-One Campaign Budget Optimization when nothing else is working 24:48 Finding your unique performance formula 27:36 How long you need to run campaigns to maximize Facebook ad performance 30:30 When to ramp up your Facebook ad budget 33:13 The top 3 things working for US-based advertisers  35:23 Andrew’s Q4 prediction on Facebook ad performance Links and Resources: Podcast 272: 20 Facebook Advertising Strategies You Need To Try Right Now Canva Kapwing Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Ever Feel Like A Million Bucks After A $20 Haircut? Today’s Guest Knew That Feeling, And It Led Him To Create A Product That Hit More Than $1MM In Sales In Just 12 Months.  Calvin Quallis is the Founder of Scotch Porter – a 7-figure New Jersey-based men’s grooming brand now on the shelves of major retailers like Walmart and Target.  The brand’s early beginnings trace back to his mom’s barbershop where Calvin noticed men couldn’t help but walk out with an entirely new pep in their step. Since then, Calvin has been on a mission to help men feel their best. Calvin joins us on this episode to talk about what building Scotch Porter has been like, the struggles and challenges they’ve faced, marketing strategies that have worked for them, and so much more.  If you’re an ecommerce entrepreneur interested in going into retail, this episode is for you. Enjoy!  Episode Highlights 6:34 The power of a $20 haircut: What inspired the Scotch Porter brand 10:19 Creating a mission you can get behind 12:17 Laying the groundwork for Scotch Porter 15:29 The key characteristic you need to solve your startup problems  17:27 What Calvin wishes he knew before signing major retail contracts 21:29 Two things Calvin would approach differently if given another chance 23:15 The lengthy process of landing inside Playboy magazine 25:35 Scotch Porter’s marketing strategies to gain traction 27:55 How Calvin would launch a second brand with what he knows now 30:23 4 invaluable resources Calvin recommends for your entrepreneurial journey 32:26 Why Calvin will hop on a call with any entrepreneur 34:39 The benefits of bootstrapping vs being funded 36:29 How you can get in touch with Calvin and learn more about Scotch Porter Links and Resources: Scotch Porter Website Scotch Porter on Instagram Scotch Porter on Facebook Calvin Quallis on LinkedIn [email protected] The Tim Ferriss Show The BoF Podcast Glossy Podcast Masters of Scale Podcast How I Built This Podcast Brand Growth Experts @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you’re one of the few people who hasn’t been impacted by the recent turmoil around Facebook ads, consider yourself lucky. For everyone else, this episode is for you.  If you're an ecommerce business owner or agency who primarily drives traffic through Facebook advertising, you’re aware of the recent challenges. Between price increases, instability on the platform, and movies like The Social Dilemma that are going to bring even more transparency and scrutiny on advertising through Facebook, it’s a difficult time to grow your business using paid social.  Andrew Foxwell and I recorded two episodes back in February of 2019 where Andrew talks about 20 questions he likes to ask clients that are feeling stuck with their Facebook ads. It's still unbelievably relevant today. If you’re having challenges or are seeing a performance drop, these are the questions and strategies that you can revisit to bring new life to your ads. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 7:29 Integrating user-generated content into your creative 8:43 Leveraging reviews and social proof in ad copy 10:16 Using square video link posts 11:56 Performance differences between lifestyle photos vs product images 13:50 The problem with unanswered comments on your paid social ad 17:50 How to give first-time customers a reason to try your product 19:19 Bringing new life to an old ad set 20:36 Utilizing dynamic pixel actions to introduce new prospecting audiences 22:29 Testing broad match dynamic product ads layered with interests 23:26 Splitting dynamic product ad time windows to give your customers the best treatment 24:24 Analyzing your audience overlap to help scale your ads 27:16 Using value bidding to increase your average order value 30:23 Bid overrides, the bully method and getting exposure in a competitive space 34:58 The importance of advertising to previous customers 37:32 Trying product bundling to bring up your AOV 42:02 Remarketing to engaged users 43:24 Reading your age report breakdown and how to find it 46:22 What your Add to Cart to Purchase ratio can tell you 48:08 How to try campaign budget optimization 49:45 The importance of getting a naming convention installed Links and Resources: Podcast 173: The 5 Step Process to Optimize Your Facebook Ad Account The Social Dilemma Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

Building an offshore business is often thought to be risky, or even illegal. However, it's now becoming a very common, and legal way, to lower your global tax rate -- as much as 42%. “Go where you’re treated best,” is Andrew Henderson’s famous tagline. A US ex-pat and founder of Nomad Capitalist, Andrew has legally lowered his global tax rate from 43% to 1%. Now he helps entrepreneurs keep more of their own money, live freely around the world, and create wealth faster through offshore strategies.   I found Andrew when searching for a way to diversify my citizenship. I quickly discovered that he's a wealth of knowledge on ways to reduce your tax burden and I’m excited for you to listen to the show.  In this episode, we talk about common misconceptions about building an offshore business, what it’s really like living a nomadic lifestyle, and the benefits it can offer to both you and your family. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:47 Andrew’s philosophy of viewing the world as your buffet  6:57 The history behind flag theory 9:48 Why you should be harnessing difficult countries for different benefits 13:02 The biggest misconceptions about offshore business 19:26 A case for investing in international real estate 22:46 Challenges associated with frontier markets 26:05 How families are taking advantage of global citizenship 30:21 The differences between a tax-friendly state and a tax-friendly country 33:51 What it’s like living a nomadic lifestyle 37:35 Andrew’s hypothesis on the future state of taxes 42:02 How to approach getting a second passport 47:42 Questions to ask yourself when deciding if an offshore business is right for you 52:03 Where you can get in touch with Andrew Links and Resources: Andrew’s Website Andrew’s YouTube Channel Nomad Capitalist on Facebook Nomad Capitalist on Instagram Nomad Capitalist on Twitter Nomad Capitalist Book The Golden Visa @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

Perfect Keto started off as a side project and then experienced massive growth -- making $100MM in just 19 months. Dr. Anthony Gustin cofounded Perfect Keto as a side project in November of 2016. He had one goal in mind: making keto easy. Within 4 hours of launching, the company made $20,000 and took off like a rocketship since. Little did he know, the creation of Perfect Keto was at the rise of one of the largest diet crazes of the past 50 years.    Anthony joins us to talk about Perfect Keto's growth, his business beliefs, and why retail is a last resort. We also discuss his experience of burnout and how entrepreneurs can best avoid it. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:58 The problem with copying someone else’s formula for success 7:15 Starting a multimillion-dollar company by accident 12:52 What it’s like riding the wave of one of the largest diet crazes 16:02 How to solve nearly all of the problems in your business 20:00 Perfect Keto’s science experiment approach to business 22:03 Anthony’s experience with burnout 28:31 What Anthony wishes he knew before launching Perfect Keto 32:00 Anthony’s new approach to building teams and building a solid business foundation 34:02 The next health problem Anthony is looking to solve  36:42 What business owner’s need to know about entering retail 39:25 Advice for entrepreneurs working long hours and going off the grid 44:41 A mindset shift for entrepreneurs to start enjoying the process 50:17 How you can connect with Anthony Links and Resources: Anthony’s Website Anthony’s Newsletter Anthony on Twitter Perfect Keto Equip Foods Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport Indistractable by Nir Eyal @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

Do you have a dream of building a 9-figure business? We’ve worked with Ecommerce entrepreneurs who have and here’s what they have in common. Today I’m taking you behind the scenes into the Coalition, my Ecommerce coaching community for Ecommerce entrepreneurs. Every month we have a live training that dives into one aspect of growing your Ecommerce business. In this training, we are talking about the mindset shifts needed to reach 9-figure growth. Drew Sanocki, CEO of AutoAnything and former CMO KarmaLoop,  joins us and shares his experience running multiple 9-figure businesses. If you own or work with an established Ecommerce business and want to reach for that same success, this is for you. Episode Highlights 8:31 The #1 prerequisite for building a 9-figure business 11:37 A key team characteristic at fast-growing companies 15:24 An unexpected truth about reinvention and the willingness to pivot 18:35 How to be laser-focused on your brand  20:10 Changing your philosophy around hiring and how to attract top talent 23:03 What your role as the founder actually evolves into 25:58 This is the #1 way to not get what you want 28:11 A founder’s trade-off between growth and time 30:57 Drew Sanocki’s background in Ecommerce 32:30 The biggest differences between a 7-figure and 9-figure company 34:48 When to introduce middle management to your team 37:27 What Drew spends the most time doing in his business today 44:30 Drew’s philosophy on hiring and the power of networking 46:57 What successful founders have in common 50:52 The difference between being a single founder and having a co-founder 52:59 Putting together a board for your business 54:08 How to build the most wealth as an entrepreneur 59:02 Auditions vs Hiring: How to ensure you’ve found the right fit 1:01:16 Deciding to keep your role as the CEO in a growing company 1:05:43 The difference between running a software company and Ecommerce business 1:13:08 Believing that an exit is possible 1:15:07 Why we are in the Golden Age of Ecommerce Links and Resources: AutoAnything Karmaloop The E-Myth by Michael Gerber EOS Model The Coalition Brand Growth Experts @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

COVID-19 Is Presenting Opportunities For Ecommerce And For This Brand, They've Contributed To 100% Year-Over-Year Growth.  Kevin Chen is the Co-Founder and President of iRestore, a company that sells laser hair growth systems. Kevin is a long time client of the Brand Guild and when I last had him on the podcast, iRestore cracked the code on paid social and turned into an 8-figure business. Since then, Kevin's role has changed dramatically within the business, and it has continued to grow, despite unforeseen COVID-19 challenges.  In this episode, Kevin talks about creating a tight-knit organization that works remotely, increasing productivity, building company culture, team transparency, and the opportunities COVID-19 is presenting for eCommerce. Episode Highlights 6:58 What iRestore’s 100% year-over-year growth has looked like 7:36 The product launch that changed the economics of Kevin’s business 12:33 The only two skills Kevin realized he needs to help the business succeed 15:18 Lessons from COVID-19 on how to future-proof your business 18:53 Creating an optimal work environment and strong company culture  21:38 The impact of working remotely on productivity 24:08 What Kevin’s team looks like today 26:19 Four things to consider when hiring an agency  29:17 How iRestore manages their paid advertising efforts 31:30 The unexpected source of fulfillment for Kevin in his business 33:55 How iRestore is creating a better employee experience 36:28 The most challenging yet critical piece to your business success  38:50 Kevin’s struggle with transparency with his team 41:02 Fortunate opportunities in an unfortunate time: What iRestore is doubling down on 44:10 The freedom COVID-19 has given iRestore 46:09 What Kevin attributes the businesses’ largest inflection points to 48:38 iRestore is hiring! Links and Resources: iRestore [email protected] Kevin on LinkedIn Podcast: Episode 197: The Inside Story Of How iRestore Scaled To 8 Figures The Brand Guild The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

This week we're bringing you throwback that is all about the difference between brands that scale and those that don’t. Kurt Elster interviewed me on the Unofficial Shopify Podcast and after re-listening to the episode, I wanted to share it with you. Kurt asks great questions and I outline my entire philosophy on growth. In this episode, we talk about defining a growth strategy, scaling your advertising, and how to hire the team necessary to get to the next level. I also share what I’ve learned from working with some of the fastest-growing brands in the country. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:30 How Austin has helped many brands scale from $500k to $1MM. 7:00 Why it's so important to do almost every job in your business before turning it over to someone else. 8:27 The big differences between the Shopify brands that scale up and those that don't. 12:00 How to remove tasks from your plate so your business can scale. 14:20 The core KPI's Austin uses to understand his client's scalability. 15:56 Understanding what your net promoter score is and why it is so valuable to ecommerce brands. 23:00 The point at which Austin regularly sees businesses die out and how you can overcome it. 30:17 Everyone wants to scale their business but it does come with a few downsides. 33:45 How PR has helped many ecommerce brands become successful. 39:34 The questions you should be asking yourself to help you define your success. Links and Resources: Unofficial Shopify Podcast Dean Jackson @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

Beardbrand’s approach to content marketing has resulted in 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube. On today’s episode, I am bringing back my good friend Eric Bandholz. I first met Eric in 2014 at an Ecommerce Fuel event and he was one of our early Ecommerce Influence podcast guests. Since then, he’s been continuing to build an incredible business called Beardbrand. In this episode, we talk about being on Shark Tank, what it’s like being the face of your brand as a founder, content marketing that creates superfans and so much more. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:11 The stressful, year-long experience of being on Shark Tank 12:23 The difference between having business partners and owning 100% of your business 14:53 How Eric has created freedom in his life and business over the last 8 years 19:44 The pros and cons of being the face of your brand 22:27 How Beardbrand showcases different facets of their brand through multiple social media channels 25:27 Beardbrand’s approach to dealing with online haters 27:55 What Beardbrand focuses on to stay ahead of their competition 29:48 An approach to content marketing that creates superfans 31:57 The lesson COVID-19 has taught businesses 34:49 What Eric wishes he had known when he first started his business 35:27 The system Eric uses to hire top-notch employees  37:29 Key roles Eric plays in the business today 39:16 Using agencies to grow your business and when to transition to in-house 43:50 Beard Brand’s approach to paid advertising 46:05 What Eric is curious about right now 48:52 The hidden world of infertility and the journey Eric and his wife have been on Links and Resources: Beardbrand.com Eric Bandholz on Twitter Podcast: Episode 15: Building An Incredibly Successful Community Based ECommerce  Eric’s Foundr Course: Blow Up Your Brand Farnam Street Newsletter Fuel Made  Traction by Gino Wickman Rocketfuel by Gino Wickman Ecommerce Fuel  Shark Tank @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

What if you could find the marketing formula that would double your business, and then double it again? This is the kind of growth Oral Essentials is currently experiencing as they’ve dialed in and refined their approach to marketing and paid advertising.  On today’s episode, I’ve invited Justin Madahhi, Co-founder and Head of Online Sales and Marketing at Lumineux Oral Essentials, back on the show. Justin and his team were already experiencing fast-paced growth when we started working together two years ago, and since he was on the show last fall, their growth has continued to skyrocket. In this episode, Justin talks about dialing in your messaging, the marketing formula they’ve created to drive consistent sales, how to drive subscription revenue and how to get your team into alignment during high-growth times. Episode Highlights 7:32 What Justin learned is critical for rapid, successful growth  9:43  A sophisticated approach to Facebook marketing 13:00 Expectation vs Reality: What startling fast growth actually looks like 15:51 Justin’s three main roles in the company today and how his team has grown over the last year 19:34 Shifting focus to a long-term brand vision 21:13 How to get your team into alignment, set realistic expectations and maintain a high work ethic 24:20 The sales channel Justin believes is going to take the company to the next level 26:03 Factors to consider when crafting paid ad content 28:00 The one thing you need to ask yourself before deploying a new marketing strategy 32:22 Why disruption is a double-edged sword and the impact it has on your marketing 35:27 Oral Essential’s approach to email marketing and the changes they made over the eight months that have had drastic results  38:15 Three steps to successfully drive subscription revenue 40:55 Key metrics that will increase the valuation of and stabilize your business 43:43 How failure helped Justin get more perspective and learn to set an example for his team 45:34 Justin’s advice for entrepreneurs trying to build 9-figure businesses 47:47 The most helpful resources Justin has found on his journey, including his recommended Twitter follows 50:37 What freedom means to Justin and how it shows up in his business 52:13 Analyzing the long term effects of COVID-19 on consumer psychology  57:41 Oral Essentials is hiring! Links and Resources: Episode 221: Secrets of a Facebook Superstar: How This 24-Year-Old CMO Doubled His Business In Less Than A Year Episode 264: How to Grow and Sell A 7-Figure Business Lumineux Oral Essentials [email protected] Justin on Twitter David Herman on Twitter Andrew Foxwell on Twitter Digitally Native on Twitter Social Savannah on Twitter Exit Strategy Podcast by Moiz Ali Google Data Studio The Coalition Brand Guild @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

When I met Greg Williams in the Coalition, he told me he wanted to sell his business and be a millionaire by age 40. A year later, he’s done just that. Greg started Autoimmune Institute in 2017 with the intention to sell, and in just three years, he went from $50,000 to $2,000,000 in sales. In this episode of the Ecommerce Influence podcast, Greg shares the levers he pulled to fast-track business growth, what it actually looks like to sell a 7-figure business, and how to maximize your business’ valuation. If you’re interested in building a business with the intention to sell, this episode is a must-listen. Enjoy!

The “crush-it” culture of entrepreneurship almost led to me giving up the business I have today. After two years at a fast-growing startup, I was pushed to the edge mentally and physically. I knew I had to walk away and form a vision for what I wanted my future to look like. It took eight years for me to go from burnout to freedom by building my business into what it is today, and creating that vision involved a lot of trial and error and reinvention. In this episode I talk about some of the lowest points I’ve experienced as an entrepreneur, what it was like to close down a successful marketing agency, the trials of breaking up with a business partner, and the importance of defining success so you know what you’re actually working towards.  Episode Highlights 5:22 The early foundation of Austin’s journey as an entrepreneur 8:17 Invaluable experience gained from startup life and lessons learned from burnout 10:58 Making sales while you sleep: Austin’s introduction to ecommerce and email marketing 12:49 How the Ecommerce Influence podcast was born 14:04 The unexpected rise and intentional fall of Austin’s marketing agency 18:30 The most important thing to consider when forming a business partnership 20:32 Austin’s lowest point in his entrepreneurship journey 22:38 The lightbulb moment at a mastermind that led to the creation of a new business model 24:47 Crush it culture resurfaces: how a second round of burn out changed the direction of Austin’s business 28:50 Hiring a business coach and building a membership site 31:23 The three current revenue-drivers for Austin’s business 32:42 Austin’s huge mindset shift that led to steady and consistent growth 36:07 How to create more freedom in your life as an entrepreneur 40:20 Austin’s definition of success in business and life today 44:22 An unpopular opinion Austin has about business that many other entrepreneurs won’t agree with Links and Resources: The Doing it Different Podcast Make a Difference Asia Conference Traffic and Conversion Summit James Schramko The Coalition Brand Guild Profit Summit @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

Growing a team is challenging for any company. But going from two people to 90 in just 10 years with a non-traditional business model? That’s an almost unbelievable feat.   Connie Matisse, cofounder and CMO of East Fork, joins us today to talk about how she built a successful business with a 90+ person team without following the path of many traditional businesses.  Tune in to learn how East Fork created a memorable marketing engine with a self-described “laughable” budget, what they’ve found to be one of the most critical business functions that’s often ignored, and how they’ve kept their store running through the challenges of COVID-19.  Episode Highlights 4:44 How the 2008 economic recession introduced Connie to the world of craft pottery 7:00 Reinventing pottery to reach the modern household 11:16 Connie’s organic approach to content marketing and building a holistic brand 13:35 The challenge of being the voice of the brand for a fast-growing business 16:41 What East Fork leadership spends 90% of their time on to ensure successful growth 19:23 Moving from WordPress to Shopify and the effect it had on demand 21:27 How East Fork is managing production and customer expectations in a COVID-19 world 23:36 Analyzing profitability and venture capital funding for a capital intensive business  26:21 How East Fork’s leadership style has evolved during COVID-19 27:59 The many hats Connie wears as a cofounder 30:30 Connie’s process for creating honest and authentic brand collaborations 33:05 How to stop following the herd and create space for radical thinking

There are only 130 days until Black Friday. With the global economy in so much flux because of COVID-19, what are your Q4 predictions?  Are you preparing for a massive Q4 or wondering if your business is going to just get by?  In this episode, I go over a few Q4 predictions with cases in favor of and against Q4 being a thriving quarter for ecommerce, factors to consider that are in and out of your control, and most importantly, how you can prepare. Episode Highlights 3:39 Why the ecommerce industry is primed to have a massive Q4 5:59 COVID-19 effects on spending and your consumer’s potential psychological shift during Q4 8:01 How to manage your ecommerce inventory to get a leg up against your competition 9:12 If your target audience includes these people you might have a difficult Q4 10:39 The biggest case against a successful Q4 13:17 Large corporations marketing budgets and how they could impact small business’ ability to compete 14:27 Austin’s Q4 predictions and his 3 step plan for preparing for the type of quarter in store Links and Resources: @a_brawn on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

With Facebook boycotts, changing advertising policies, and channel unpredictability, it’s more important now than ever to invest in what you can control The approach to search engine optimization (SEO) has changed over the last several years, but it still remains an incredibly important component of your marketing strategy. This week’s guest is SEO consultant and expert Dan Shure. Dan’s been working in SEO for more than 12 years, and he joins us to talk about what’s changed over time when it comes to SEO strategy, the two different types of core content to focus on, what’s working in ecommerce SEO in 2020 and the tools you should be using to be successful. This episode has some great actionable tips you can start using today, and I hope you enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:16 How Dan fell into SEO while working as a professional musician 7:50 What is SEO really? Is it a channel, a traffic source, links, or something else? 13:30 The #1 thing business owners need to think about when it comes to ecommerce SEO in 2020 15:49 Informational intent vs. purchase intent content and how you should be using each in your SEO strategy 18:53 Letting the keywords be your guide as you’re thinking about creating content with informational or purchase intent content 22:40 Breaking down seed keywords and how to identify them for your brand 26:04 Why Dan shifted from an agency business model to a consulting and training model 31:35 The technical pieces of SEO you need to watch out for in ecommerce 33:55 Should you have a developer on your team to help you with technical SEO? 35:34 Shopify blog or Wordpress blog: which is better for SEO? 37:20 What’s working right now with content: remember the keywords are king. 42:56 Backlinks: do you need them and how to build them proactively 46:30 Must-have tools for ecommerce SEO in 2020 Links and Resources: Evolving SEO Experts On The Wire Podcast Evolving SEO on Youtube Evolving SEO Interview with PR Expert Dmitry Dragilev Dan's Seven Beliefs About SEO @Dan_Shure on Twitter @EvolvingDan on Linkedin Strengths Finder Google’s Guidelines on SEO Google’s Developer guidelines Brian Dean’s Skyscraper Technique Backlinko.com JournoRequest HARO Dan’s SEO Toolkit Keyword Keg Keywordtool.io Screaming Frog SEO spider SEM Rush Keywords Everywhere plugin SEO Minion Ask.com Google Natural Language 5 Ways To Use Google's Natural Language Tool for SEO (Dan's YouTube Walkthrough) Tf-idf @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Holistic marketing can make your brand more consistent and unified across all your marketing channels so that it stands out from the competition.  Jesse Semchuck, Director of Acquisition for Traeger Grills, joins us to share what he has learned from viewing channels holistically. He shares what the makeup of his marketing team looks like, how internal teams and third party agencies interact, and how a holistic growth approach can create more synergy across all marketing initiatives and the organization.     Tune in and find out if holistic marketing is something you should use in your business.  Episode Highlights:  5:59 Jesse Semchuck’s role at Traeger Grills and what he’s been excited to build over the last year 7:55 The difference between selling mattresses and selling smoker grills 9:18 What’s working well for Traeger Grills right now 11:14 The makeup of Jesse’s marketing team  12:37 Questions Jesse asks when thinking about strategic scaling and how he decides which marketing channels to focus on 17:06 Why low ROAS isn’t always a bad thing and the importance of understanding how different channels impact one another 20:13 When is the right time to invest in a full funnel holistic approach to your marketing 22:42 What most people do wrong when hiring an agency, and a better way to approach it 26:58 How internal team interaction with agencies is structured at Traeger Grills 29:00 Questions to ask a potential agency partner 30:57 When to outsource to an agency versus keeping things in house  32:31 Agency red flags to watch out for Links and Resources:  Subscribe to the Brand Growth Experts Newsletter Subscribe to the Foxwell Digital Newsletter Jesse Semchuck Traeger Grills Purple Mattress @jessesem on Twitter @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

This Week We’re Bringing You A Throwback To One Of Our Most Popular Episodes Of All Time. In May 2018 we interviewed Jake Kassan about what it really takes to build a $100 million business. This episode has been incredibly popular, and it still extremely relevant today. Jake Kassan, founder and CEO of MVMT Watches, was one of my first clients when he was just launching the brand back in 2013. He talks about how things have changed since then, and how MVMT has grown to what it is today. MVMT strives to be a best in class brand and best in class in all-around marketing, and Jake shares the strategic approach to marketing MVMT uses to achieve those goals. He also talks about how having a strong team is essential to scaling your business and shares his experience hiring a CMO and supporting team, and what you need to know to do it. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 9:05 How building relationships with customers through direct sales online helped MVMT scale. 12:04 The best success comes in stages and this is what each stage of growth has looked like for MVMT over the last 5 years. 13:12 Jake’s #1 tip for successfully scaling a business (hint: it’s not email or Facebook ads). 15:07 What MVMT would do differently if they had to do it all over again. 19:05 As an entrepreneur, Jake believes it’s important to always be testing and working through those results to find success. 21:13 The basic math MVMT used to scale in the beginning and how they look at “spending-money-to-make-money” now. 24:18 Where MVMT is testing for acquisition and where they’re seeing success. 28:28 What you need to know when growing your team so you can successfully scale your business. 32:15 How MVMT solidified their appeal with customers through user-generated content. 35:09 What Jake loves most about building a lifestyle brand. 38:11 Every business goes through low times, here’s a few MVMT went through in order to grow. 43:09 Why Jake feels it’s so important to network with and learn from other founders. Links And Resources: MVMT Watches Hims Jake Kassan Instagram.com/JakeKassan Twitter.com/JakeKassan @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Most companies add a second product line when they want to grow. This week’s guest decided to build a second brand instead. Ashley Merrill founded women’s sleepwear line Lunya in 2014 because she was tired of wearing her husband’s clothes around the house. Five years later, she decided to expand into menswear, but just adding a men’s line didn’t sit right with her. Tune in to find out why Ashley decided to start a second brand, how she grew her company from a startup to an established business, and lessons she’s learned about building a team. Episode Highlights:  5:16 How an ambition to solve a problem resulted in launching Lunya 8:00 How business has evolved since its unconventional 2014 launch 10:42 Why having major funding in the beginning isn’t always best, and the spending that eventually moved the needle for Lunya 13:05 The value of identifying your brand muse. 15:28 One company value that’s contributed to Lunya’s success 16:30 Hiring lessons learned growing from a start-up into an established business 21:00 How Lahgo started and why Ashley built a second brand, rather than simply adding the men’s line to Lunya 25:44 The biggest trap entrepreneurs can get stuck in 28:48 The High 5 Test and the lessons Ashley learned from getting her MBA 33:20 How non-traditional methods of getting in front of people help the brand 39:36 Ashley’s key piece of advice for business owners Links and Resources:  Lunya Lahgo Kinfolk Article featuring Ashley The High 5 Test Episode 159: The $100 Million Dollar Blueprint W/Mike Danner of Ancient Nutrition @ashley__merrill on Instagram @lunya on Instagram @lahgo on Instagram @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

One of the most challenging parts of growing a business is acquiring valuable customers who will purchase from you regularly.  Part 3 of our Profit Series gets into the nitty-gritty details of how to increase customer lifetime value. We dive straight into customer-centric versus product-centric businesses and talk about different ways to acquire more high-value customers and share proven tactics that will help you increase customer lifetime value. Episode Highlights:  3:36 The first strategic decision you must make when thinking about customer lifetime value 6:38 The best lever to focus on to increase customer lifetime value 8:03 The revolutionary changes with Facebook advertising that help you reach your best customers 10:05 The importance of product and service offerings that tailor to high-value customers  11:49 Are loyalty programs a good way to increase customer lifetime value? 13:20 The strategy that led Best Buy to boom while their competitors got wiped out 15:15 The value of subscriptions and talking to your best customers 17:58 How to build a solid referral strategy 20:10 Additional tactics to increase customer lifetime value Links and Resources:  Episode 254: Profit Series Part 2: How to Increase Your Average Order Value Episode 252: Profit Series Part 1: A Roadmap to a More Profitable and Fulfilling Company Episode 178: You Are Treating Your Customers Equally and It’s Costing You Money Episode 062: Peter Fader, Wharton School - How to Calculate Customer Lifetime Value & What Customer Centricity Really looks like Book: The Customer Centricity Playbook by Dr. Peter Fader Talkable @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Is it possible to build a large, successful business with close to $40 million in revenue without using any paid social? Our guest, Nate Lipton of GrowersHouse, shows us how it can be done. And, in addition to not using paid ads, he’s been able to get his customer acquisition costs to zero. Nate shares the different approach to marketing that has helped him build several incredibly successful companies in the cannabis and hemp industries. He talks about exactly how you can use YouTube to establish yourself as a trusted brand and drive ad-free sales.  If you're looking for some refreshing ideas for how you can drive more revenue, this is a great episode to jog your imagination about what's possible. Episode Highlights:  5:54 Nate’s involvement in the cannabis and hemp industries via multiple different businesses 9:44 Fixing a gap in the cannabis industry: the creation of the Grower’s Network 12:18 The YouTube channel that lifted the veil on growing operations 16:37 How Nate got started in ecommerce and his number one piece of advice for beginners  20:28 What Nate would do differently if he were building his website today 22:31 The future role of video in ecommerce and common YouTube misconceptions 24:58 Using video to provide clarity around what a product actually does 30:42 One factor that will help you win more customers in the long term 32:37 How connecting with your competitors and being radically transparent can benefit your business in a major way 35:40 Other non-traditional advertising channels that Nate’s using that have resulted in zero customer acquisition costs 41:05 The questions you need to ask yourself to reframe your approach to acquiring customers 45:37 What you can do right now to increase your revenue Links and Resources:  GrowersHouse Growers Network Canna Cribs TruPotency.com [email protected] Instagram: @nate.j.lipton Magento Shopify Boredwalk Tshirts James Schramko @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter The Coalition Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

One of the top ways to accelerate your growth on the path to profitability is to increase average order value. In Part 2 of our Profit Series, we’re diving into successful strategies and tactics you can use to increase your average order value.  From simple changes with pricing to on-site additions to optimizing your Facebook targeting, we share the exact tactics our top clients are using to increase average order value and how these tactics support the big picture strategy toward profitable growth. Episode Highlights:  4:27 The 80/20 Rule and how it should impact your overall business strategy 8:41 The first thing to do if you want to increase average order value 10:30 Successful approaches to bundling products 13:02 How to use dynamic product ads to increase average order value 16:28 A tactic Kettle & Fire is using on their website collections page to boost sales 18:10 Why your best type of customers are the key for increasing average order value  20:34 The difference between upsells and cross-sells and how to determine which is best for your brand 23:57 The value of delivering relevant products at the point of checkout 26:19 How upsells can have a huge impact on average order value and why you don’t have to overcomplicate the offer 29:00 A few additional unique ways to increase average order value Links and Resources:  Episode 252: Profit Series, Part 1 Episode 204: How To Build A Baller Quiz Funnel On A Tiny Budget Book: 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall Messenger Mastermind Podcast Constantly Varied Gear Dr. Axe Bundles Kettle & Fire  Tecovas Boots Carthook OneClickUpsell Facebook and Instagram Pro Ad Buyers Group @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter The Coalition Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

TikTok is all the rage right now. Even with fewer people creating content, there are more people consuming. But what makes this platform so viral? August Noble went from leading acquisition at SnackNation to helping his clients optimize TikTok’s acquisition channel -- influencers. He is now using key learnings from other social media platforms to ramp up influencer marketing strategies to promote brands.  Tune in and find out what TikTok is all about and how it’s generating more buzz in the social media world. Episode Highlights:  3:17 How August Noble shares a similar start with our co-host, Austin 4:10 The successes at SnackNation that led August to paid media consulting 6:47 Lessons learned from Linkedin for B2B and B2C 8:32 How Linkedin helped targeting strategy 10:08 The tweet about TikTok that landed August on our podcast  14:29 What makes TikTok more viral than Instagram or Twitter 17:26 Building relationships with influencers  21:42 The products that do well on the TikTok platform 24:18 What August is prioritizing over tracking 26:44 Where TikTok is headed and what the most effective content is 30:56 Key learnings from scaling on Facebook and Instagram 33:53 What’s the difference between $15K a day and $1k a day ad spend? 35:52 Targeting strategies: Specific versus Broad 42:48 Tools and resources August recommends  Links and Resources: SnackNation TikTok Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins Enquire Labs @augustnoble on Twitter @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Do you know what you should be focusing on to make your business more profitable? We’ve had conversations with many clients during these challenging times. While some businesses are booming, others are taking a hit in sales. But the one thing that seems to be on everyone’s mind is profitability.   In this episode, we set the framework for our entire Profit Series. Whether or not your business is thriving during this time, we share the five-step process of creating the roadmap you can use for profitable growth.  Episode Highlights:  4:52 The decision you have to make about the metrics you keep in focus 6:19 How do you define profit? 9:12 What it means to set a profitability goal and how it differs in different industries 14:53 How to set a capitalization goal 17:55 What is a salary cap? 21:25 How to manage salary caps 25:03 The three levers to drive profitable growth Links and Resources:  Book: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz Boredwalk Tshirts @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

They’ve won the Shopify Build a Bigger Business Competition, hit number 20 on the INC 5000 list, and now they’re on the podcast to talk about turning a personal need into a successful business venture. Garret and Deanne Akerson of Kindred Bravely share how they’ve navigated running a business together as a couple -- from initial startup to hiring over 50 remote employees and all the challenges and milestones in between. Tune in and enjoy! Episode Highlights:  4:59 How Garett and Deanne started Kindred Bravely 9:01 The lessons learned transitioning from Amazon to Shopify  12:07 How the Amazon ecosystem has evolved and how to approach it now 14:47 How to navigate running a business as married entrepreneurs 18:17 What trading flexibility for structure looked like for Garret and Deanne 21:55 The things that make a large, remote company successful 26:36 Milestones and challenges during the hiring process 30:53 How to know when it’s time to hire executive-level positions 36:47 Group Zoom calls during the interview process -- is there an advantage? 42:36 What questions and themes Garett and Deanne like to bring up during interviews Links and Resources:  Kindred Bravely Davy Piper Shopify Build a Bigger Business INC 5000 Slack GetGuru Gorgias Asana Google Suite Zoom Topgrading Cameron Herold Book: Meetings Suck @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you are advertising on Facebook and Instagram, this is an episode you don’t want to miss! As we see an increase in Facebook and Instagram usage due to COVID-19, many of our clients are scaling up their advertising. Today’s episode will cover what’s working right now in paid social and how our clients and partners are scaling up! Episode Highlights 6:37 The specific audiences working right now for top of the funnel advertising 9:57 User-generated content that’s providing additional scale  11:30 What’s working right now to scale up middle of the funnel advertising 12:22 The audience advertisers should be targeting 13:23 Bid strategy - are cost caps working? 15:35 How to acknowledge the challenging times on the website and product 19:14 Optimizing dynamic creative within campaigns 20:58 What optimization is working in low funnel 21:33 How to address shipping concerns 22:44 Other messaging opportunities to address delivery concerns Links And Resources Facebook and Instagram Pro Ad Buyers Group Verb Energy Episode 245: How to Build a Successful Agency (Without Burning Yourself Out) @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

The daily habits you or your team have can either hinder your growth or facilitate it. But what should we focus on to build good habits while breaking the bad ones?   Our guest is James Clear, New York Times bestselling author of Atomic Habits and writer on the James Clear Blog.  James has spent years researching, writing and talking about the topic of habits. He’ll share his insights on what you can do to grow your business, market better, and rethink your habits. If you want to create a better system of habits that will improve yourself and your business, this is an episode you’ll want to tune into! Episode Highlights:  4:58 Why we struggle to develop and maintain the good habits 8:14 The principles of habits are the same in various areas of life and work but applied uniquely. 10:15 Three big ideas Atomic Habits centers around 16:22 What to ask to reinforce your desired identity as an individual or as a company. 18:35 Changing environments can be framed as a positive time to form habits 21:23 The personal changes James has made during the Coronavirus pandemic to foster better habits 25:10 What to focus on first to help your businesses grow 28:56 The transition James made from being a blogger to a business owner and how experimentation made it clear what he was actually trying to build 33:20 Three things that make a product remarkable enough to buy 38:40 Marketing a product to elicit someone’s desire to make the purchase 42:14 The habits James no longer values  44:59 Small town influence on James’ family values and love for exploration and travel Links and Resources:  Atomic Habits James Clear Blog Book: Essentialism Aer Backpacks @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Have you ever felt that in order to grow your business, you just need to work harder? We’re here to tell you that you’re wrong.  In today’s episode, we’re busting the five myths of ecommerce. From diversifying traffic to always doing the next big thing, we’ll share the realities that will actually help you scale profitably, without burning yourself out. If you own an ecommerce business or you're intimately involved with one, this episode's for you. Enjoy! Episode Highlights:  4:54 Myth #1: All I need to do to grow is work harder. 6:06 Reality: Do less, but do it better. 7:45 Myth #2: To grow you need to diversify traffic. 8:03 Reality: Be an expert on one channel, and don’t diversify until you have to. 11:59 Myth #3: You need to always be doing what’s new. 13:12 Reality: Do the right things at the right time (even if it’s just one thing). 17:19 Myth #4: If I follow big brands, I’ll learn what works. 20:58 Reality: Here’s what actually works, no matter your size. 22:15 Myth #5: Top founders have a clear vision and know what they’re doing from the beginning. 23:19 Reality: Find a mentor you can rely on and build your strategy as you grow. Links and Resources:  Episode 149: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 1] Episode 225: From T-Shirt Company To Lifestyle Brand (All While Saving The Turtles) Episode 239: How The Cereal School Grew From Zero To 7-Figures A Month In Just 1 Year Episode 179: Making A Comeback After The Google Medic Update Episode 173: The Five Step Process To Optimize Your Facebook Ad Account  Foxwell Digital Courses Coalition Coalition Members Only Training: The Path to 7-Figures: How To Build, Grow & Scale Your Brand

Being in charge of the global marketing strategy for a 9-figure business is no simple feat. Our guest today is Andrew Rosch, Director of Channel Marketing Strategy for Trek Bicycle. He joins us to talk about what it looks like to manage a global strategy team for a huge global organization, the importance of only focusing on a few key metrics, why email is still his favorite marketing channel, organic content strategies that are working for Trek, and much more. If you’re growing a large business, or you have aspirations to grow into a large business, you won’t want to miss this episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:19 What it means to be the Director of Channel Marketing Strategy. 7:44 Finding harmony between brick and mortar and ecommerce. 9:27 The Trek customer journey both on and offline and how it overlaps. 13:02 How Trek avoids alienating its broad-range of customers with its organic content. 15:22 The first test influencers have to pass before working with Trek. 16:12 How Trek approaches the seasonality of the bike business. 18:49 Andrew’s philosophy on measurement and why Trek’s global digital marketers are only responsible for 5 key KPIs. 21:23 What the Channel Marketing team at Trek looks like. 23:58 How Andrew empowers his global team to share new ideas. 25:27 This Director of Channel Marketing Strategy’s favorite marketing channel. 27:01 Andrew’s email marketing tech stack and team. 29:16 Balancing experimentation and systemization. 31:14 Three things Andrew’s learned in his career that have contributed to his success. 35:05 In ecommerce, what you see is rarely the whole picture. 40:02 The importance of going down the rabbit hole and finding out the larger context of what we see online. 43:17 When you create content, assume that whoever is going to see it has never seen anything from your brand before. 46:23 Having a brand is key when you’re thinking about business longevity. Links And Resources Trek Bicycles Bronto Justuno Litmus 233: Agencies Aren’t Your Enemy: How to Work Together & Build a Better Brand @AndrewRosch on Twitter @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

This is the final part in our Scaling Series and we’re talking about some hugely successful brands. In our previous episodes, we covered zero to launch, launch to traction, traction to scaling, and growth mode, which will take you from the stages of just starting out to making somewhere between $12 and $15 million. In this episode, we’re diving into specific case studies of brands you’ve probably heard of, like MVMT Watches and Native Deodorant, and talking about why we think they were successful and why they were able to grow and scale up. We hope you’ve enjoyed this series, whether you’re just starting out or close to making an exit. Episode Highlights 4:07 What MVMT, Pura Vida, and Blenders did that made them special.  6:23 The huge significance of the first-mover advantage. 9:12 Taking advantage of upselling and cross-selling.  10:28 The overnight success of Native Deodorant. 11:22 Native’s checkout process and what makes it so great. 13:27 The power of subscription at scale. 16:43 How Tuft & Needle scaled to over $100 MM in mattress sales. 18:02 Why being a copycat business really doesn’t pay off. Links And Resources 238: Zero To Launch: The Scaling Series, Part 1 240: Launch To Traction: The Scaling Series, Part 2 242: Traction to Scaling: The Scaling Series, Part 3 244: Growth Mode: The Scaling Series, Part 4 199: How JT Marino Built The Largest Online Mattress Retailer In The World @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Every business has its unique set of growth challenges. Zach Stuck spent several years working for a digital agency before deciding to go out and start an agency of his own, Homestead Studio. Now he’s in the process of building his agency business. He’s on the front lines of trying to help clients grow their ecommerce brands. Today we’re covering a range of topics with Zach. We dive into some specific paid social tactics and what’s working right now for Zach’s clients, and we talk about the onboarding process Zach uses for his clients to ensure both his clients, and his agency, can be successful. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:58 How Zach went from working at an agency to starting his own. 8:07 Changes in Zach’s role from agency employee to agency owner. 9:52 Resources Zach used to help a client grow from zero to a million in their first year. 11:26 Common paid social misconceptions Zach hears from his clients. 14:33 What’s working in paid social right now and how to successfully approach dynamic creative testing. 17:33 Value-based lookalike audiences and how to easily start using them. 19:07 The state of social proof in 2020 - does it really matter? 23:37 If you don’t have a large customer audience to run social proofing to, what can you do? 24:31 A little known fact about 1% lookalike audiences. 27:07 Crucial steps for successfully onboarding new clients and building a strong ongoing relationship. 32:00 What’s keeping Zach up at night. 34:20 You can’t outsource your growth. 37:16 The challenges with growing an agency and how finding clients who are the right fit is key to success. 43:20 How Zach’s avoiding the churn and burn that happens so often to agencies. 44:57 What Zach’s eating, is he working out, and what his daily life looks like. Links And Resources Homestead Studio.co @ZachMStuck on Twitter Book: Essentialism Book: Deep Work Episode 240: Launch To Traction: The Scaling Series, Part 2 Klaviyo Coalition Profit Summit Intensive @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

We're in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis and a time of much uncertainty.   Some of my clients are businesses are experiencing growth, and others are down by 50% or more. Even if this crisis leads to an economic recession, you get to choose whether or not you want to take part in it. Today I'm sharing a special recording of one of my recent members-only webinars where I talk about how to lead your ecommerce business during uncertain times, and how to transform this uncertainty into a time of abundance and opportunity for your business (without exploiting anyone). In this episode we'll talk about: The three things business owners should be focused on right now. How to think about cash management during a crisis and why you must use this as an opportunity to build a rock-solid financial future. Why playing offense is going to become more important than playing defense in the coming months. How to lead (not manage) your way through this crisis and come out stronger on the other side. How to bring your team together during uncertain times and to build a resilient remote culture. How to react if your business HASN’T been impacted by COVID-19 and how you can ethically use this to your advantage. We will get through this together. Links And Resources Coalition Resource: Financing Options for Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19 Resource: How to Optimize Your Team and Increase Productivity Resource: BGE Forecasting Tool Give Local @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

In part 4 of our Scaling Series we’re talking about Growth Mode. You’ve made your first seven figures and now you’re scaling up to eight figures. You’ve figured out something that works and you might be starting to feel overworked and overwhelmed. Now is the time to make those key hires and/or outsource channels you feel like you’ve maximized. It’s time to go from the day-to-day manager of your business and grow into the true role of CEO. In this episode, we’re talking about how to start getting things off your plate, managing inventory issues, and how to determine whether it’s time to focus on a new marketing channel. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:38 One of the biggest issues in Growth Mode: Superhero Syndrome. 7:57 Implement systems to help you get more off your plate. 11:10 Why inventory issues often arise at this stage of growth. 13:20 How to solve your inventory issues. 16:01 Challenges you might face as you’re trying to hire, and what not to do. 18:32 Strategic issues that arise during Growth Mode. 20:54 Things to look at to determine how much more room there is for growth with a specific marketing channel. 22:06 How to successfully onboard an agency or a new in-house hire. 24:33 Businesses that take it to the next level offload successful channels and dive into learning the next one. 26:44 Slow down to grow faster. 28:14 Remember why you started your business in the first place. 29:17 Your transformation from day-to-day business manager to CEO. Links And Resources 238: Zero To Launch: The Scaling Series, Part 1 240: Launch To Traction: The Scaling Series, Part 2 242: Traction to Scaling: The Scaling Series, Part 3 173: The Five Step Process To Optimize Your Facebook Ad Account Brand Guild Profit Summit The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you're struggling to make SEO work for your business, this episode is for you. Our guest today is a dual-threat. He’s building an ecommerce brand while also running a digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO. Not only does he get to see what’s working for his clients, but he’s learning from what’s working in his own business. Eagan Heath is the owner of The Splendid Beast and Founder of Get Found Madison. Today he’s doing a deep dive into ecommerce SEO and talking about how to avoid keyword cannibalization, how to get started with SEO (and if it’s even a good idea for your business), and tips for better tracking attribution. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:11 The dual-threat that is Eagan Heath. 9:20 What it takes to grow your skills as an agency and the currency you should be selling in. 11:21 The different approach to capturing leads as an agency vs as an ecommerce business. 13:16 The complex order process for Splendid Beast and the advantages of a highly custom business. 16:21 The strategy Eagan used to double his business over the last four years. 18:09 How to avoid keyword cannibalization and appear higher in search results. 20:05 When you should start thinking about SEO (and whether you should be thinking about it at all). 23:43 How to get started with a very small budget. 27:34 Why it’s critical to remember that you are not your customer. 32:45 The huge value of having a business coach. 35:14 What gives Splendid Beast longevity as a business and differentiates it from competitors. 38:01 The issue with attribution on Google Analytics and the solution Eagan is using to work around it. Links And Resources Get Found Madison Splendid Beast @thesplendidbeast on Instagram [email protected] How to Create a Keyword to URL Map (part of Eagan’s Digital Marketing Mastery Course. If you’re interested in the course, email Eagan directly) Eagan’s SEO Checklist Ahrefs Klaviyo Enquire Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Profit Summit Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

In part 3 of our Scaling Series, we’re talking about traction to scaling, the period after making your initial $100K to surpassing the million-dollar mark. There are a number of challenges you’ll face at this stage, including becoming overwhelmed with possibilities, losing strategic focus, wearing too many hats within the business, and more. Today we walk you through how to tackle these challenges and the things the most successful businesses do at this stage to continue growing to 8-figures and beyond. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:41 The first problem we see at this stage? Mindset and losing focus. 7:53 Why most business owners lose strategic focus at this stage. 8:53 If you’re overwhelmed and losing focus, it’s time to hire. 10:05 The critical role you have to hire for if you want to continue to grow. 10:42 The second problem business owners run into at this stage? The year-over-year mentality, and why you have to get out of it. 13:40 It’s time to get serious about email marketing. 15:10 Other things you can do to increase average order value and lifetime value. 16:30 The companies growing fastest at this stage all have this in common. 17:38 Why connecting with other successful business owners is critical to your success. 19:51 Challenges with cash flow at this stage, and how you can alleviate cash-related issues. 22:31 More commonalities between companies succeeding at this stage of growth. 25:56 If you’re ready to take it to the next level, it’s time to get some outside help. Links And Resources 238: Zero To Launch: The Scaling Series, Part 1 240: Launch To Traction: The Scaling Series, Part 2 149: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 1] 150: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 2] 202: How I Scaled From $500/Day To $15,000/Day In Ad Spend In 30 Days 227: How Supply Went From Startup To Shark Tank Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! by Greg Crabtree Coalition Training: Where to Start When You're Trying to Grow Your Store + Growth Calculator Profit Summit The Coalition Foxwell Digital Courses @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

There is more than one way to create wealth in ecommerce. While many entrepreneurs follow the path of bootstrapping a business and hoping to one day be acquired, another option is to start on the acquisition side, and grow a portfolio of successful companies. Our guest today has done both. Drew Sanocki is CEO of AutoAnything, owner of PostPilot, and an expert at lifecycle marketing. He joins us to talk about the evolution of lifecycle marketing and the big role direct mail is playing in brand loyalty and repeat purchase rate, as well as how mergers and acquisitions can help your brand, and why M&A are his big focus for the upcoming year. I always learn a lot when we chat with Drew and I hope you enjoy! Episode Highlights 9:05 Why Drew is so excited about direct mail marketing. 12:08 The role of direct mail for Drew's 9-figure dropshipping company. 14:54 Bringing direct mail into traditional lifecycle marketing and how it enhances your brand. 18:55 Exploring brand partnerships in the direct mail space. 19:46 Prospecting with direct mail. 21:56 Syncing direct mail with Klaviyo and segments that are working particularly well. 27:48 The shifting customer journey and how Drew sees it evolving in the near future. 32:49 Why merchandising can be the best kind of marketing. 36:11 What Drew’s excited about in this new decade and what he sees as the quickest way to grow a company. 39:13 Merger and acquisition opportunities that can help your brand. 42:38 Why most business owners have a blind spot to the acquisition process and how Drew would get started building a portfolio. 46:15 Bootstrapping vs acquisition -- does it matter which comes first? Links And Resources Nerd Marketing Drew on Instagram - @drewsanocki AutoAnything PostPilot 234: The 5 Things We’ve Learned In The Last 12 Months 203: Why You Should Stop Selling Yourself Short And Think Like A Billionaire 195: Austin Ecommerce Investor Reveals His Short-Cut To Scaling 116: 4 Profitable Email Strategies You Can Swipe For Your Brand How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp The San Francisco Fallacy by Jonathan Seigel  Nathan Barry: The Ladders of Wealth Creation Klaviyo Share Local Media William Painter Training: How to Increase Sales & Delight Customers with Direct Mail Marketing Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Profit Summit Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

We’re on to part 2 of our scaling series, where we talk about the stage from launch to traction, when you’re on track for, or surpassed, the $100K mark. At this stage in the business, you’re moving from selling something to having consistent sales. Today we’ll talk about some of the common problems people run into during this stage, critical questions to answer before you can start scaling up, and where to seek out support. We’re bringing you our knowledge and experience from working with brands that have successfully scaled up, and seeing others that haven’t. In part three, we're going to be talking about traction to scaling. So enjoy this week and stay tuned! Episode Highlights 4:42 How to know when you’re in the traction stage of your business growth. 7:59 Your goal during this stage of scaling up your business. 8:45 Places you can turn to when you’re looking for guidance. 10:31 Focus on customer acquisition in the early stages of growth. 11:26 Why you have to distinguish between signal vs. noise and listen to a diverse set of sources. 13:06 One question you have to ask yourself before you continue to scale up. 14:48 You must become a channel expert before you outsource. 17:13 The minimum AOV you need if you want to acquire new customers via paid ads. 20:33 Great opportunities for you if you’re in this stage of growth. Links And Resources Zero To Launch: The Scaling Series, Part 1 The Coalition Foxwell Digital Courses @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you want to run your business successfully, you need to have a deep understanding of how everything works. Today we’re talking with Helen Guo, co-founder of The Cereal School about how she took her business from zero to well over 7 figures in just eight months. One of the key components of the business’ success is that Helen and her co-founder, Dylan, started by learning and running every aspect of the business themselves, before hiring agencies to take things over. They also put a lot of initial time into building the brand organically, which made it easier to amplify with paid efforts as they’re scaling up. Helen shares her amazing journey with us, as well as her tips for finding the right agency, and how to build a partnership that will last. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:06 Helen’s entrance into the world of entrepreneurship. 9:06 The Cereal School’s insanely rapid growth. 10:06 Pre-launch efforts to build an audience before the product was ready to officially launch.  13:25 How Helen built a 20,000+ person email list without running paid ads. 15:29 Helen’s philosophical approach to Facebook ads and scaling up. 18:58 Lessons learned from working with different advertising agencies. 23:10 The importance of actually learning how to run your own marketing, and the creative approach that sets the Cereal School apart. 27:57 How Helen successfully onboarded an ad agency to take over for her. 31:33 Questions to ask your agency upfront to build a better relationship. 32:41 Where Helen goes for new ideas and advice. 34:29 How implementing email marketing helped the Cereal School go from 0% to over 25% of revenue from email. 36:56 What Helen’s looking at to the future to stay ahead of the game. 38:49 Apps that Helen is excited about right now. 41:57 The thing about the Cereal School’s business that can’t be easily replicated. Links And Resources The Cereal School [email protected] Asana Dropbox Klaviyo PostScript Enquire Private Intensive @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Profit Summit Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

On today's special BONUS episode we're talking about CBO. That's Campaign Budget Optimization. Andrew sat down with expert digital advertisers Molly Pittman and Depesh Mandalia to talk about what's happening with CBO, how it's working, why it's working the way that it is, and some tips to improve your campaigns. They discuss: Why you can't treat CBO campaigns the same way as you were treating ABO campaigns CBO misconceptions When CBO works best How to think about your budget when setting up CBO CBO and Dynamic Creative CBO best practices Enjoy! Links And Resources Foxwell Digital Course - CBO: All You Need to Know [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Andrew and I have worked with hundreds of different companies at various stages of growth, from pre-launch to multi-million dollar acquisition. Today we’re kicking off our scaling series, where we’ll talk about each stage of growth and the challenges you're going to face as you scale up your business from zero to 8-figures. We’re starting off with a “zero to launch” episode where we’ll address some of the questions you’ll face when you’re determining how to launch and going from an idea for a product to actually getting sales. We’ll be sharing core lessons through each of these episodes that will give you value whether you're at the beginning, already making 7-figures, or somewhere in the middle. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:30 Why we decided to do a scaling series. 9:07 The most important thing when you’re just starting out? Feedback. 10:24 Knowing what your community looks like is critical for scaling. 13:40 Once you know your community, identify their buying power and your market potential. 15:38 A zero to launch case study. 18:16 Common missteps at this stage. 19:40 Creating a “talk trigger” product. Links And Resources The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

One of the keys to successful growth is hiring a team that keeps the business running, whether the founder is there or not. Over the last 14 years, Cory Bower, founder of Aviator Gear, has built a multi-million dollar business with a team of 48 full-time employees. When Cory was in the Air Force, he saw a need, launched a company, and to this day uses some of his military systems and structure to keep things running smoothly. It’s always a pleasure to chat with Cory, and I hope you enjoy our conversation about growth, hiring, and critical tools for success. Episode Highlights 5:55 Introducing Cory Bower and the birth of Aviator Gear. 8:12 The unique custom nature of Cory’s products. 10:20 Cory’s journey to becoming a fighter pilot. 13:53 Transitioning from fighter jets to ecommerce. 16:05 How Cory applies lessons learned in the military to his business. 18:42 The team structure Cory’s built that lets his business run even when he’s not around. 23:55 Engines for Aviator Gear’s growth over the last year and how they communicate about the custom nature of their products through different parts of the funnel. 26:43 The role Cory wishes he would have gotten off his own plate sooner, but why you have to have balance as you grow so the wheels don’t fall off. 29:18 Tools Aviator Gear uses to keep things running smoothly. 35:07 What it looks like to hire and manage a 50-person team. 39:29 Cory’s learning process and how he finds useful information to help his growth. 42:07 Do this simple thing right now to be more productive. Links And Resources Aviator Gear Klaviyo Dropbox OnSite by Shopworks Pipedrive Cory on Twitter - @TrapBower [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Profit Summit Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

We’re getting tactical today and bringing you 6 quick wins you can execute today to grow your business. From Facebook, to email, to website optimization, these quick wins will help you generate sales and get results. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:25 Quick Win #1: 4-6% Lookalikes based off pixel value. 5:47 Quick Win #2: Identify previous customers who are likely to spend again, but who are no longer on your email list, and hit them with remarketing. 7:23 Quick Win #3: Integrate your Klaviyo audiences with Facebook. 8:34 Quick Win #4: Turn great text reviews into video reviews. 11:14 Quick Win #5: Use bid caps to ensure your Facebook ads are being shown. 13:05 Quick Win #6: Get a fresh perspective on your website. Links And Resources Klaviyo UserTesting Profit Summit The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

When someone asks about eCommerce best practices, we always hear, “well, what’s Pura Vida doing?” Today we’re talking with Pura Vida CEO, Griffin Thall, to get an inside look at their current strategies, how the company’s grown over the last several years, the way his role has evolved, and what it's actually like to prepare your company for a multi-million dollar sale. Andrew and I both worked with Pura Vida at the very beginning, and we’re so excited to reconnect and bring this episode to you today. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:25 What got Griffin and Pura Vida to where they are today. 7:28 How Griffin’s role has changed as the company’s grown. 9:02 Pura Vida’s unique influencer strategy and how it started. 12:45 Relentless innovation and how Pura Vida continues to increase customer lifetime value. 15:18 The moment Griffin realized the brand was going to be a success. 16:30 How Pura Vida’s growth strategy has changed over time. 17:57 The challenges Griffin’s faced over the years as CEO. 20:12 Where Griffin’s seen the most success in hiring. 22:12 How Pura Vida’s ambassador program started, and where it’s at today. 22:21 A day in the life of the Pura Vida CEO, and the value of growing a team. 24:25 Why you’ve got to stop wearing all the hats in your business if you want it to scale up. 28:14 What you should be focusing on as a founder, instead of getting enticed by the newest Shopify app. 29:28 A key approach for brands launching today vs 6 years ago. 31:53 Lessons learned about managing cash while scaling up. 33:47 How Pura Vida ended up making a deal with Vera Bradley, and the process of finding and securing that kind of partnership. 38:07 Griffin’s biggest takeaway from meeting with investors. 39:34 The expansive value Pura Vida’s gained from their partnership with Vera Bradley. 41:33 What Griffin’s excited about right now and some things in store for Pura Vida in 2020. Links And Resources Pura Vida Attentive Griffin on LinkedIn Griffin on Instagram [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Every year I grow more personally and professionally, and these weekly episodes are a big part of that. We’ve had discussions about Facebook and email marketing, business processes, how to avoid burnout, and more. Today Andrew and I are sharing the top things we’ve learned in 2019. What were your big learnings over the last year? Episode Highlights 5:15 No one cares where you are as long as the work gets done. 8:33 Be clear about what you want (because you’re going to get it). 11:50 Listen, Help, Learn. 14:21 Focus on generating profits so you can hire good people. 17:52 Dive deeper into discomfort. 21:50 Everything takes longer than you expect. 24:02 Having a business partner with different perspectives than your own is a huge asset. 28: 19 It’s still a great time to build an ecommerce brand. 30:46 Play is important. 31:48 You don’t need to learn everything yourself. 32:40 Track your time. Links And Resources Episode 212: How To Travel 132 Days A Year And Stay Productive Profit Summit The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Digital agencies get a bad rap these days. From providing inflated results to wasting time on dead-end tactics, many businesses have fired their agencies and moved things in-house. However, agencies aren’t the enemy. You just have to understand how to build the right relationship with them, and truly integrate them with your team. Our guest today is Susan Wenograd the CMO of digital agency Aimclear. We talk with Susan about the shift she’s seeing in where brands are directing their paid ad spend, and the issues of attribution that are coming along with it. She talks about how to build a deeper relationship with your agency so they can bring you greater success, and her thoughts around navigating the digital landscape as things continue to change and evolve. This episode is a must-listen whether you're a digital agency or doing digital marketing in-house for a brand. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 8:01 What the role of CMO looks like at a digital agency. 10:06 The changes in where brands are spending their paid media dollars. 14:43 Today’s analytics are not the analytics of the future, and why attribution objectives may continue to get less defined. 18:08 How to spot an agency that’s getting results that are too good to be true. 21:26 If you want your agency to be a better partner, you need to more transparent. 24:58 As an agency, it’s important to have the difficult conversations and be a leader. 30:17 Global perspectives on digital marketing and where the US is falling behind. 34:35 You cannot fix broken strategy by optimizing tactics. 37:02 If you're entire marketing plan only consists of spending $300K/month on Facebook, you do not have a brand (and that’s a problem). 41:06 Why fluidity and flexibility are the keys to long-term success. 42:35 Is it time to hand bidding control over to Facebook? Links And Resources Aimclear Aimclear Blog Susan on Twitter @SusanEDub foxwelldigital.com/courses The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Today we’re bringing you part two of our “How to Get Started” series, and in this episode, we’re talking about email marketing. If you’ve recently launched a business and want to get started with email marketing, this episode is for you. Or, if you’ve had an agency managing your email for some time, and want to make sure everything is running as it should be, there are some helpful tips in here that will deepen your understanding. We talk about best practices for list creation, how to capture leads, which emails to create first, how to determine the number of emails you should be sending, and more. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:15 Choosing an email service provider (ESP), and why Klaviyo is a great option for many businesses. 5:49 Getting your ESP set up correctly: some key things to keep in mind. 8:35 Best practices for list creation and management. 9:35 Checklist for making sure your ESP is set up correctly. 10:15 How to start capturing leads and growing your list. 12:03 The more unique your offer, the better. But ultimately, don’t overcomplicate it. 14:03 Building an email template for your brand. 17:38 Austin’s recommended approach for warming up your audience. 19:51 Campaign emails vs flow emails and which ones to prioritize. 21:59 Automated email flows to start with: Welcome Series (Buy or Die), Abandoned Cart, Browse Abandonment. 25:00 Best practices for sending campaign emails and how to start segmenting your list. 29:22 When it’s right to expand your audience: the ideal open rates to look for. 30:44 How to decide how many emails you should be sending. 31:49 Examples of valuable content that drives revenue. Links And Resources Episode 230: How To Get Started With Facebook Advertising Episode 129: Content Marketing – What You Need To Know With Nat Eliason Klaviyo Sumo Privy Justuno Profit Summit The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Not many ecommerce brands can say they’ve been around for almost 30 years, but Peepers is one of them. Founded in 1993, with a website that went live in 1996, Peepers has been going strong ever since. In the last 10 years alone, they’ve grown by 900%. John Hart joined the team five years ago and is now the Ecommerce and Operations Director. Today he joins us to talk about how Peepers has continued to evolve, the marketing strategies they're using, including why they find major value in Amazon, and how they’ve successfully approached wholesale. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:08 Introducing John and how he ended up at Peepers. 8:27 What Peepers is doing differently that allowed it to grow 900% over the last 10 years. 10:10 Peepers’ approach to growth and the channels they’re currently investing in. 12:36 Prospecting techniques for both online and offline. 13:57 John’s feelings about selling on Amazon and how they make it work in their overall marketing strategy. 17:22 The challenge of selling glasses online, and the fun strategy Peepers is using to overcome it. 20:29 Why Peepers hasn’t ventured into AI on their site yet. 22:36 Lessons learned about website speed and sacrifices that had to be made. 25:01 Coming up with the perfect product price and Peepers’ price-testing process. 28:49 Peepers’ approach to growing the wholesale component of the business and supporting their partners. 31:32 How John’s role has evolved over the last five years and what he’s focusing on now. 33:51 Employee retention at Peepers and what they do to keep people happy. 38:09 A quick win from John will help you improve your business. Links And Resources Peepers.com Peepers Perfect Pair Finder Episode 204: How To Build A Baller Quiz Funnel On A Tiny Budget John on LinkedIn [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

One of the questions we’ve received from several listeners recently is, “Can you guys talk about how to get started with Facebook advertising?” We’ve done quite a few episodes where we talk about scaling up your Facebook ads, but we've never started at the very beginning. Today we’re doing just that. If you’ve never advertised on Facebook before, or you’re just starting out, this episode is for you. We’ll talk through how to set up Facebook Business Manager, how to start building audiences for different parts of the sales funnel, how to approach your initial budget, and what success looks like in your first few months of advertising. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:35 If you’re just getting started with Facebook advertising, here are the first steps. 8:01 Dynamic Product ads: what are they and why you need them. 8:50 Creating customer avatars to inform your interest-based targeting. 10:51 The main hurdles you may come across when setting up Facebook Business Manager. 13:00 How to check whether you’ve set up Business Manager correctly. 14:34 Where people often get stuck with creative and the components of great content. 16:51 The three phases of the sales funnel and how to start building audiences for each phase right out of the gate. 20:13 How to approach the first three months of advertising: crafting your brand message, how much to spend, and what success looks like. 23:23 What is your Cost Per Acquisition goal, and how do you determine it? 26:38 How to understand your initial Facebook advertising metrics. 28:16 Where to go next after you’re getting comfortable with your advertising. 29:35 How to decide which objective to pick for different parts of the funnel. 31:31 Two objectives you shouldn't be using. 34:07 The key component you have to understand when you get started with Facebook advertising and what success often looks like for the first several months. Links And Resources Facebook Business Manager  Facebook Blueprint Facebook Pixel Helper Chrome Extension Book: Breakthrough Advertising Episode 214: How To Crank Up Your Advertising Creative (Aka What’s Working Now) Episode: 198: How To Create Winning Content On Facebook And Instagram Episode 173: The Five Step Process To Optimize Your Facebook Ad Account (RCAB-P) The Coalition [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Who says girls can’t wear dinosaur dresses? Rebecca Melsky was frustrated when the only patterns she could find for her daughter were pink and flowery. Where were the rocket ships and trucks for girls? In 2013 she teamed up with her friend Eva to start Princess Awesome, a stereotype-busting business that creates clothes of all colors, and with all kinds of patterns, for both girls and boys. Today we sit down with Rebecca to talk about their massive crowdfunding success, how they’ve managed the growth of their business while prioritizing their families, and the key Klaviyo strategies helping them drive major revenue from email. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:51 The story of how Princess Awesome was born. 7:39 Princess Awesome’s explosive experience with crowdfunding. 12:25 The major impact Kickstarter had for Rebecca’s business, from more than just a financial perspective. 13:58 Taking the next step in business growth after Kickstarter success. 17:40 Product innovation and the creation of Princess Awesome’s women’s line and brother company. 20:39 The benefits of using Klaviyo for email marketing. 22:34 How to plan your email campaigns, and how segmentation can help drive more sales. 29:20 Things Rebecca’s done over the last year that have had a big impact on her business. 32:05 Why Princess Awesome outsources their fulfillment. 35:41 The company makeup of Princess Awesome and the critical support roles they’ve outsourced. 37:33 Growing a business that serves your lifestyle and how this has been a core part of Rebecca’s business from day one. Links And Resources Princess Awesome [email protected] Klaviyo @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

We've got a special Black Friday/Cyber Monday BONUS episode for you today. Andrew saw down with Alex Afterman of 11:11 Digital, Deirdre Kelly and Terry Whalen of Sum Digital, Kurt Bullock of Product Department and Paul Fairbrother of Hootsuite/AdEspresso to do a post-BFCM 2019 recap. They discuss: Trends they saw over the weekend Bidding strategies that worked Audiences that were successful Creatives we saw working well Reporting and assessing numbers Enjoy! Links And Resources @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Today we’re taking a break from our normal programming to go on a short rant about things we hate in the ecommerce industry. We want to shed light on some of the frustrating things we’ve come across over the years to help you keep your sanity as you’re growing your business. We believe in the importance of truth and transparency, and that every single business is different, and hope our little rant today will help you avoid frustration and see through the B.S. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:32 Thing we hate #1: When people take advantage of business owners by making things seem more complicated than they really are. 9:18 Just because it’s a big, well-recognized company, doesn’t mean it’s actually doing well, so don’t compare yourself. 11:11 Warning signs to watch out for with bogus business information. 11:47 Thing we hate #2: When entrepreneurs are told they have to be running ads on every single possible channel. 15:07 Thing we hate #3: Example sharing without context. 18:11 Thing we hate #4: Not having enough information about why people are building their businesses a certain way and the lifestyles they’re hoping to achieve. 21:19 Why context is so important, and why there’s no simple success blueprint for every business to follow. 23:17 An example of how to think about the bigger thematic approach when you’re trying to decide if a certain tactic is going to work for you. Links And Resources Book: The Brain Audit: Why Customers Buy (and Why They Don't) The Coalition The Facebook and Instagram Pro Ad Buyers Group 227: How Supply Went from Startup to Shark Tank 135: [Case Study] How Messenger Ads Are Driving Real Revenue W/ Mark Arruda @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

While it may only take a great idea to start a business, it takes a heck of a lot of hard work to build a successful one. Five years ago Patrick Coddou was unhappily working at his corporate job when he had an idea, spurred by personal passion and necessity. That idea eventually got off the ground with two successful Kickstarters, and recently landed Patrick and his wife and co-founder, Jessica, on Shark Tank, where they got backing from Robert Herjavec. This idea, which has now grown into a multi-million dollar company, is Supply, a men's shaving and grooming company. Today Patrick joins us to give an inside look at what makes Supply successful today, and the challenges he faces as he continues to grow his business. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:39 Introducing Patrick and how he started Supply. 7:21 The pivotal role of Kickstarter in Supply’s launch and success. 9:19 Where the idea for Supply came from and the challenge of creating good products. 13:53 Why Patrick wants to grow as quickly as possible with as little outside funding as possible, and the metrics he looks at to track his success. 18:59 What Patrick plans to focus on in 2020 as he further diversifies his marketing channels. 22:26 As Supply is starting to expand internationally, here are some of the considerations and challenges Patrick is facing. 25:48 Why Supply is so appealing in the international market, and how Patrick uses customer service to clarify his value proposition and support customers. 29:57 The post-purchase survey questions that help with Supply’s customer retention and satisfaction. 34:39 Things Patrick’s done in the last year that have had the biggest impact on his personal and professional life. 38:48 The truth about entrepreneurial life that Patrick wants everyone to know. Links And Resources Supply Supply on Shark Tank [email protected] Patrick on Twitter: @SoundsLikeCanoe Profit Summit @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Two common questions I get from clients are: How much should I spend on advertising and what is a good return on ad spend? Andrew and I are tackling these questions today by breaking down the calculations you need to do to determine what a good ROAS is for your business. We also discuss how to have an open conversation with your advertising agency and the first question you really need to ask yourself before you can realistically estimate the ROAS you need to be successful. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:15 The inspiration for this episode: one of the most common questions Austin gets in the Coalition. 6:55 What is a good return on ad spend (ROAS)? 9:08 The first question you need to ask yourself to help determine what ROAS is realistic. 11:05 Why you have to know your math before you start telling your advertising partner what ROAS you “need.” 12:15 The first question you should really be asking to figure out a good ROAS for your business. 13:04 Breaking down ROAS calculation and how to discuss it with your agency. 15:49 The importance of making the distinction between warm and cold traffic. 19:27 A further look at how to calculate the ROAS you need for your business. Links And Resources The Coalition @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

As he sat down at his desk on the first day at his first post-college job he thought, “The cubicle life just isn’t for me.” If you’re an entrepreneur, I would venture to bet you’ve had a similar thought at some point along the way. Today we’re joined by Matt Schroeder, the co-founder of Shelly Cove, who started the business in college with his family, and has been off to the races ever since. Matt tells the story of how he taught himself marketing and his journey to eventually leaving his secure job to go all-in on Shelly Cove. He shares the unique ways the brand surprises and delights its customers to keep them coming back for more, and why, as the business has grown, he’s more open to just saying “Yes.” Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:21 How Matt got started in ecommerce and the birth of Shelly Cove. 10:39 The roles in Matt’s family-run business. 13:57 Lessons learned from going to school full-time while also growing a business. 16:55 How Matt became an expert in marketing and business. 18:27 The strategy behind Shelly Cove’s product development and release. 20:34 When Matt realized he wanted to put all his energy into the business. 23:31 How Shelly Cove built a strong brand from day one and the delivery tactic they use to set themselves apart. 25:54 Connecting customers with the company’s charity to build deeper brand loyalty. 28:18 Some things Matt tried that ultimately flopped. 31:36 The turning point from t-shirt company to lifestyle brand. 33:26 Surprising sources Matt uses for his shipping supplies. 34:44 Advice from Matt: don’t run sales too often. 35:20 Looking to make a little extra cash with your business? Check out these sites. 37:38 What’s on Matt’s mind right now as Shelly Cove continues to grow. 39:26 The roles Matt hired for that allowed him to free up his time significantly. 43:53 Matt’s advice for aspiring business owners. Links And Resources Shelly Cove Uprinting Faire Tundra Matt on Instagram Matt on Twitter - @SchroedsBiz @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Due to Facebook’s influence, your website is less and less often the first place potential customers learn about your brand. We don’t see this changing anytime soon. In fact, Facebook’s already moving to on-site checkout, removing the need to visit your website altogether. Today we’re talking about the future of Facebook advertising and how we see it evolving. We discuss what Facebook’s plans are for the platform, as well as for Instagram, and how you can be prepared for what’s to come.  Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:13 Why we’re talking about Facebook’s future and what you’ll learn today. 6:53 What Facebook has planned for future interactive elements. 9:04 How to use Instagram polls to increase engagement. 11:17 The future of augmented reality on Facebook and how it could impact your CPM. 14:22 Interactive games as ads: worth the hype or overrated? 16:05 Andrew’s biggest takeaways about the future of Facebook advertising. Links And Resources 217: How Josh Meyer Built The Fastest Growing Company In Maine 208: The Power Of Paid Social: How Buffy.Co Blew Up @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

You look up at the clock and realize you’ve been working for 14 hours. You’ve still got a dozen more emails to respond to before you can go home, maybe spend a little time with your family, then get 4 hours of sleep and start the cycle again the next day. Sound familiar? This, my friends, is the recipe for burnout. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get addicted to your work and feel like if you’re not spending 16 hours a day trying to grow your business, the person who is will beat you to the top. Burnout isn’t talked about enough in the ecommerce world. But today we’re changing that in our conversation with Mike Jackness, Co-Founder of EcomCrew and someone who has built and sold multiple businesses. Mike shares the story of how he got started in ecommerce, his criteria for buying a business, and what it means to deal with entrepreneurial burnout. This conversation really hit home for us, and we hope you get a lot out of it. Episode Highlights 6:28 Mike’s life on the road for the last several months. 7:52 Who is Mike Jackness and how did he get started in ecommerce? 9:30 From ice wraps to adult coloring books: the variety of businesses Mike’s been involved with over the years. 11:49 Big opportunities in ecommerce right now that will help your brand stand out. 14:27 The criteria Mike’s looking for as he’s thinking about buying another business. 18:53 Strategies for increasing average order value and customer lifetime value. 23:24 If you’re going to launch a new product, make sure it has synergy with the rest of your brand. 26:05 The truth about entrepreneurial burnout and the importance of having connections and support. 30:05 Things to watch out for to help prevent yourself from burning out and the ongoing struggle of running a business. 34:35 How do you create an environment where you don’t have to compete? 36:25 The importance of identifying the time when you’re actually being productive. 39:12 Technical challenges of living on the road. Links And Resources EcomCrew EcomCrew Podcast EcomCrew Roadshow [email protected] [email protected] EcomCrew on Twitter Ice Wraps ColorIt One Click Upsell Klaviyo @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

We’re in the midst of the busiest time of year for eCommerce. Will Q4 craziness get the best of you, or will you come out on the other side with your sanity intact? Today we’re sharing five tips that will help you keep you from losing your mind this holiday season. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:36 Tip #1: Communicate holiday availability expectations early for both your team and your family. 8:55 Tip #2: Plan, plan, and plan again. 10:11 Important components of your marketing plan. 14:13 Tip #3: Evaluate your success based on execution, not outcome. 17:29 Tip #4: Be nice to your service providers. 19:11 Tip #5: Lean into the season. Links And Resources @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

What if you could double your business with Facebook over the next year? That’s exactly what happened for Oral Essentials when they doubled-down on their FB advertising and focused on scaling up. Oral Essentials CMO, Justin Maddahi, joins us today to discuss some of the game-changing tactics that have helped him grow the business with Facebook. He talks about why he’s shifted to nearly all user-generated content, how he approaches creative testing, and why he’s managing all aspects of Facebook in-house. If you’re trying to scale up your advertising, you won’t want to miss this episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:15 The birth of Oral Essentials and what separates them from other oral care brands. 8:11 Justin’s journey from science major to CMO. 9:48 Why Justin decided to expand the business beyond Amazon and start owning his own channels. 11:56 The Facebook tactics that helped Oral Essentials see massive growth, including what Justin says you must start doing right now. 13:00 Why shifting to user-generated content is key to Facebook success. 16:01 How Oral Essentials got into influencer marketing and the main metrics to look at when deciding which influencers are best for your brand. 20:44 Justin’s approach to A/B testing Facebook ads and how much he recommends tweaking an ad before giving up on it. 23:45 Why it’s worthwhile to sacrifice a lookalike audience for the sake of testing. 25:12 The reason Justin hasn’t tried Facebook’s new Dynamic Creative Testing feature yet. 27:24 Don’t get hung up on targeting -- creative is what changes the game. 29:29 From ad agency to in-house: why Justin first outsourced his ads, and then decided to bring then back in. 31:37 Pro tip: engage with your audience when they comment on your ads. 32:47 Oral Essential’s growth strategy: why they’re expanding into retail stores and the impact their increased Facebook budget has had on retail sales. 35:00 The two most important things Justin’s learned while doubling the business over the last 12 months. 38:41 If you truly want to see success with your Facebook ads, get help from an expert. Links And Resources Oral Essentials Upfluence Episode 173: The Five-Step Process To Optimize Your Facebook Ad Account (the RCAB-P Process)  Book: Wizard of Ads [email protected]  Ecommerce Coalition Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

If someone tells you the secret to success is working as much as you possibly can, they’re wrong. Successful, productive people don’t work more, they work on fewer things that have greater impact. Today we’re joined by productivity expert and ex-world champion poker player Chris Sparks, who is also the founder and CEO of The Forcing Function. Chris helps entrepreneurs identify what they truly want in life (step #1 to increasing your productivity) and then works with them to achieve their goals in the most effective way possible. We talk with Chris about how to figure out what you actually want, the importance of leveraging your unique assets, and why reflection is the missing ingredient to progress. Episode Highlights 6:44 Introducing Chris Sparks and how his obsession with productivity began at the poker table. 10:12 Why Chris decided to forego a job opportunity at Ford to become a professional poker player. 14:56 The double-down inspiration for Chris’ new book: Experiment Without Limits. 19:46 What sets Chris’ action-oriented (and free) productivity workbook apart. 22:33 The first question Chris asks when he starts working with a new client. 23:38 The difference between peak performers and those who are not. 25:42 Common myths about what productivity actually looks like. 28:39 Why it’s better to take one small step forward every single day rather than make big changes all at once. 32:12 How to figure out what you actually want. 38:18 What to do when your business has incredible momentum, but it’s costing you the lifestyle freedom you dreamed it would give you. 44:28 The importance of reflection to your productivity and progress. 47:04 The biggest weapon in any entrepreneur’s arsenal. 48:23 Tools Chris uses every day that increase his productivity. Links And Resources The Forcing Function Free Workbook: Experiment Without Limits Performance Assessment Blog: 100+ Resources for Optimizing Your Productivity and Performance Oura Ring Chris Sparks on Facebook @SparksRemarks on Twitter @SparksRemarks on Instagram Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Do you ever get into a rut with your marketing ideas? If you’ve been spinning your wheels looking for a new way to move some inventory and surprise and delight your customers, you don’t want to miss this episode. Meri Geraldine, founder of the sustainable jewelry brand Gardens of the Sun, joins us to share the creative way she moved $25K in product in just a few hours. Meri also talks about building an ethical supply chain, ingraining her personal values into the ethos of her business, and how she grew from a small Etsy shop into a full-blown ecommerce store. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:55 Introducing Meri and how she transitioned from working as a sustainability consultant in Indonesia to creating Gardens of the Sun. 9:18 How Meri’s quest to meet everybody in her supply chain led to the creation of a sustainable gold mining cooperative. 12:15 From an Etsy shop to a full-blown business. 14:49 The unexpected joys and challenges of growing a successful business. 16:38 How Meri incorporates her values into the ethos of her business. 18:53 Benefits of having a Bali-based business. 21:16 Maximizing your VIPs: How Meri sold $10K of inventory live on Instagram in just a few hours. 25:55 Smashing her monthly sales record with a specialty live sale on Facebook. 28:01 How Meri manages invoices and missed payments during live sales. 31:53 The other advertising levers Gardens of the Sun uses. 33:05 Lessons learned as a sustainability consultant that made Meri a better entrepreneur. 34:31 The 3 things Meri is trying to grow in the future: sapphires, creatives sales, and marketing through storytelling. 36:59 Resources Meri recommends to other business owners and marketers. Links And Resources Gardens of the Sun Twitter: @GardensOfTheSun Instagram: @GardensOfTheSun Kurt Elster's Unofficial Shopify Podcast Unofficial Shopify Podcast Insiders FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialShopifyPodcast/ Ecommerce Coalition Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Hey advertisers, Facebook doesn’t care about you. It cares about its users. That’s why it recently launched a new tool called the Customer Feedback Score. Facebook is using this tool to crackdown on drop shippers and other advertisers whose products don’t deliver. Today we’re going to talk about where to find this tool, how to interpret the data it provides, and what you can do to improve your score. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:40 How Facebook is cracking down on drop shippers and shoddy products with its new tool. 8:25 Where to find you Customer Feedback Score in your account. 9:36 What you’ll see when you access your Customer Feedback Score and how to understand your score. 11:40 Reviewing positive feedback: what your customers want more of. 13:46 Identifying opportunities for improvement. 17:30 Don’t let your score drop too low or your ads, and your page, will be banned from Facebook. 18:55 As the big 3 ad platforms work to create better experiences for consumers, you’ve got to plan ahead and shift your approach accordingly. Links And Resources The Facebook Customer Score Facebook and Instagram Pro Ad Buyers Group Episode 215: Practical Tips From A Founder Who Got Slapped By Google…And Recovered Article: Facebook ramps up customer feedback surveys to crack down on misleading e-commerce ads Article: Introducing Checkout on Instagram [email protected] @a_brawn on Twitter @andrewfoxwell on Twitter Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

Sometimes it takes a lot of failures before you make it big. Today’s guest is no stranger to failure -- he once invested $250K in a company that never even launched. But now, Josh Meyer is the CEO and co-founder of Brickell Men's Products, the fastest-growing company in Maine and the fastest-growing skincare company in the world. Josh joins us to talk about the challenges Brickell faced with their rocketship growth, why he’d never raise money for a business again, and his love-hate relationship with Amazon. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:44 Introducing Josh and his path to becoming the CEO and co-founder of the fastest-growing company in Maine. 9:45 How Josh runs a business based in Maine, while living in Florida. 12:23 The moment Josh realized Brickell’s success was real. 14:00 Lessons learned from a $250K business flop. 17:32 Some of the challenges of being a fast-growing company. 20:39 How Josh assesses Brickell’s success and growth potential, and why he doesn’t trust Google Analytics. 24:56 As you spend more money on Facebook, you need to be critically examining the leads you acquire. 27:58 Brickell’s approach to customer loyalty programs and how it’s shifted as they’ve grown. 31:10 Why Brickell is willing to sell their soul to capture email addresses. 33:27 How Josh’s approach to email has evolved as the business has grown. 36:49 Why Josh thinks spending money on social media influencers is total BS. 39:01 When it comes to rolling out new products, if you’re going to fail, fail quickly. 41:14 Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer: how Amazon contributes to Brickell’s continued success. 44:54 Resources that have helped Josh along the way. 48:30 Now Hiring: Brickell is looking for a Marketing Director. 51:18 Three things you can do right now to start growing your business even faster. Links And Resources Brickell Men's Products Eight Saints [email protected] Hiring: Marketing Director for Brickell Men's Products Klaviyo Upwork Asana Monday Noah Kagan: What I Learned Growing an 8-Figure Business Private Intensive Workshop Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

When I ask business owners what’s holding them back from making their next big hire, you know what they tell me? Hiring sucks. I’ve heard this time and time again. Over the last month, I've gone through the process of hiring a marketing apprentice. I used an approach that’s helped me successfully hire many people over the years -- without stress. Today, I’m going to share my entire approach with you, so you can make your next great hire, painlessly. We’ll discuss how to create a job post that will attract great talent, how to conduct the pre-interview evaluation process, how to conduct a really great interview, and more. Episode Highlights 6:59 The first step in the hiring process: figuring out what you’re looking for. 8:05 Don't make this mistake when creating your job listing. 9:01 How to write a job post that will attract great talent. 12:44 Writing your post to attract the right people, repel the wrong ones, and make it easy to disqualify applicants. 15:03 Outlining the skills and responsibilities you’re looking for in your job post that connect with your company ethos. 16:20 Some places to consider posting your job. 18:50 How to filter through your first round of candidates. 20:09 Round two of the application process: the test task. 23:27 How requiring a test task helps you make the right hire and why it’s not too much to ask, especially for remote positions. 25:58 The weeding out process after completion of the test task. 27:14 Round 3: getting to know your top candidates before the interview. 28:19 A lesson we learned at the interview stage and the change we’ll make in the future. 30:07 How to approach the face-to-face interview and some questions to ask. 34:17 Why we always request a Kolbe score before making a hire. 36:09 Extending an offer, onboarding, and beyond. 38:48 During this entire process, stay true to your company’s values. Links And Resources Want access to all of our job post templates and resources? You can find them in the Coalition. We Work Remotely Dynamite Jobs Handshake Craigslist AngelList Indeed Ecommerce Fuel FlexJobs RemoteOK Kolbe Index Episode 205: Becoming A Brand: Instagram Moms And Peruvian Product Misadventures Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

What would you do if your organic traffic dropped by 90% overnight? That’s exactly what happened to today’s guest earlier this year. Mike Colavita, founder of Fat Buddha Glass, joins us today to talk about his experience being on the receiving end of a big Google slap and how he's recovering from an organic search drop. He shares why his site was dinged in the first place and the changes they’ve implemented since then to make nearly a full recovery five months later. What at first seemed like the worst possible situation turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to Mike’s business. I know you're going to enjoy this episode! Episode Highlights 5:00 Introducing Mike Colavita and his entrepreneurial journey.  6:45 The birth of Fat Buddha Glass. 9:20 How to raise brand awareness when you’re banned from practically every channel. 12:10 The turning point from part-time business to full-time endeavor. 15:19 Finding new marketing channels through content partnerships and placements. 16:41 The dire effect of the Google algorithm update on Fat Buddha Glass. 18:55 Why Google dinged Fat Buddha Glass and why Mike says it was actually one of the best things that’s ever happened to his business. 21:09 What mistakes Fat Buddha Glass was making with their SEO strategy and how they’ve fixed them. 24:45 Content is more than just your blog. 25:59 The strategies Fat Buddha Glass implemented to recover from its Google slap. 30:40 Google reveals what they’re looking for when evaluating web content. 32:06 The role blog posts played in improving Fat Buddha Glass’ rankings and why they prioritized product descriptions first. 34:57 Tools Mike recommends that helped him on his road to SEO recovery. 40:36 The value of having a phone number on your website and how it builds trust. Links And Resources Fat Buddha Glass Klaviyo Google's SEO Guidelines Ahrefs Google Docs Wunderlist Google Analytics Google Search Console The Ecommerce Coalition Grasshopper [email protected] @FatBuddhaGlass on Instagram Episode 179: Making A Comeback After The Google Medic Update Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you’ve been wondering how to improve your Facebook ad creative, you’re not alone. Great Facebook ad creative really sets successful brands apart. But, there’s not a lot of information out there about the fundamentals of building a system to generate ongoing creative and how to test whether it’s actually working. So today we’re breaking it down for you. We talk about how to approach creative if you’re spending $5000 a week or $100,000, the questions to ask before you start testing, what’s working right now in terms of creative sizing, and some new tools you must start using. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:48 The amount of Facebook ad creative you need to be testing, and why it’s easier to create content now than ever before. 8:16 Clarifying the correlation between how much you can test and your overall budget. 9:28 A quick and simple way to pull together UGC and create an ad. 13:18 The most common issue businesses run into with putting together new creative. 15:22 A system for new creative development that will scale up, whether you’re spending $5K a month or $50K a month. 17:21 How often you should be putting new content into your funnel. 18:26 The frequency to look for that signals it’s time to update your Facebook ad creative. 20:06 What’s working with ad sizing right now and the new tools you need to know about. 24:54 The first question to ask yourself before you start testing your ads. 27:32 A step-by-step process for testing your creative and what to look for to determine success. 29:35 How much money to put behind your creative testing. 30:28 Which audiences to test your ads on. 31:39 Dynamic Creative Testing and why Andrew believes this is the most efficient way to test your ads. Links And Resources Slack Canva Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you can sell water online, you can sell anything. Today’s guest, who has been managing social strategy in the direct-to-consumer space since he was 15 years old, helped Hint water make a killing when he was their Director of DTC business. Recently featured on Forbes 2019 list of 30 under 30, Nik Sharma is an expert at DTC marketing. We chat with Nik about what he’s invested in now, his thoughts on building a brand, and his insightful tips on how to write scroll-stopping ad copy. The DTC space continues to evolve and Nik is at the forefront. I know you’ll learn a lot during this episode just like we did. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:51 Nik’s fascinating career journey, starting at age 15. 9:07 How Nik successfully managed to sell water online with Hint. 12:14 The role of storytelling and the willingness to test new ideas in Hint’s marketing success. 14:50 The company structure that allowed Nik to accelerate Hint’s growth. 16:55 Changes Nik has seen within the direct-to-consumer space and the three things right now that are driving revenue. 22:06 How to evaluate whether you’re copy is going to be scroll-stopping. 26:34 Haus’ unique offering that made them so appealing for Nik to invest in. 31:07 Components of building a strong community as a brand. 35:33 Where Nik would start if he built his own brand today. 38:28 The important data to evaluate before investing in a company and the tech stack Nik recommends to access it. Links And Resources Haus The Quench VaynerMedia AdEspresso Brooklinen Dirty Lemon Rex by The Infatuation Looker Glue Mixpanel Text Nik: 917-905-2340 @mrsharma on Twitter @a_brawn on Twitter @AndrewFoxwell on Twitter Ecommerce Profit Summit Foxwell Digital Courses (use code FB50 for $50 off)

Many business owners tell me one of the reasons they started their own company is to have the freedom to travel. However, as their business grows, travel becomes stressful and they feel like they have less freedom, not more. Today we’re helping you get that freedom to travel back by sharing our strategies for stress-free and productive traveling. We both have a lot of experience traveling and working, and we want to give you our tips for enjoying yourself, and getting stuff done, while on the road. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:08 The travel mindset and setting expectations. 6:59 The pace of business travel vs. ongoing travel. 7:59 A key thing to do on travel days that will help reduce stress. 10:47 In order to keep the freedom to travel as your team grows, you need to protect each other’s time. 13:42 The travel kit to put together to help you be more productive. 15:24 Andrew’s addition to his travel kit that’s been a game changer for staying calm on the road. 16:02 Tips for making the most out of long flights and drives. 19:05 Andrew’s road trip recipe for success. 21:50 What to do right away when you land in a new city to get grounded and ready to be productive. 25:20 Some travel apps/access hacks. Links And Resources Headspace app Airbnb (if you haven't used Airbnb before, this link will give you $40 off) Work Hard Anywhere app LiquidSpace Breather LoungeBuddy @a_brawn on Twitter @AndrewFoxwell on Twitter Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

The Golden Era of the direct-to-consumer business may very well be over. But there are still ecommerce brands out there who are crushing it and in today’s episode we explore some of the reasons why. Former Shopify Plus blog editor Aaron Orendorff has written a ton about ecommerce and the direct-to-consumer craze. Today we have a thoughtful conversation about what it means to build a ecommerce brand in the current climate, what some fast-growing, successful companies are doing to show up in a more unique way, and how a bigger picture process around customer acquisition is helping them succeed. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 7:00 Introducing Aaron Orendorff and his two distinct professional lives. 10:26 Aaron’s transition from Seminary to Shopify Plus. 16:03 Why the Golden Era of direct-to-consumer is over. 18:26 How do small ecommerce brands with limited products succeed at shifting categories to scale up? 24:18 Engineering AOV from the start to the end of your sales funnel. 28:58 Good loyalty program tactics. 29:59 The three ingredients to a successful loyalty program. 33:37 Some companies who are killing it with their rewards programs. 37:23 Why it’s better to drive paid media to content rather than your product page. 41:52 SEO as part of the long game for the success of your ecommerce brand...is it right for everyone? 44:13 Which brands should invest in content and which ones shouldn't. 48:58 You can’t build a brand around itself, you build it around your community. Links And Resources MarketingProfs How direct-to-consumer brands can avoid startup purgatory (VentureBeat) The State of D2C Marketing in 2019 (Yotpo) GHOST Loyalty Program @AaronOrendorff on Twitter @WilsonGHung on Twitter @a_brawn on Twitter @AndrewFoxwell on Twitter Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

Some Ecommerce Brands Make It Big While Others Stall Out, It’s A Fact. But there’s really no big mystery behind why this happens. A few months ago I was interviewed on a podcast by my good friend Brett Curry on the Ecommerce Evolution Podcast. We break down what separates e-commerce brands that scale up versus those that plateau. After re-listening to the episode, I decided to share it with you. Brett and I talk about a variety of things, including average order value and lifetime value, and how that directly impacts your ability to scale up. We talk about demand generation versus demand capture: which is “better” and which lends itself to being able to scale. We talk about the roadmap to building a team and scaling up your business, how your role as a CEO changes as you grow, and much, much more. I had a great time chatting with Brett, and I hope you enjoy! Episode Highlights 8:25 Why I’m so passionate about dissecting why some brands scale and others don’t. 9:56 The KPIs that separate the businesses that can scale from those that can’t. 11:18 Demand capture vs. demand generation and which one will allow you to scale. 14:51 Factors I look for when evaluating a product’s potential for growth. 16:53 How a passionate market can contribute to success. 21:03 Why having competitors in your market is a good thing. 21:44 Average order value and lifetime value: why they’re important and what to look for if you want to scale. 24:48 How to evaluate CPA across different channels and the other metric I recommend examining. 27:30 It’s OK if your business doesn’t scale — and this is why. 30:28 Growing your business by expanding your product line. 34:20 A true entrepreneur falls in love with their customers, not their product. 35:47 Great founders know when to ask for help. 37:17 Why business founders need to become experts at their marketing channels before handing over the reins. 41:23 How a CEO’s role shifts as the company grows. Links And Resources ECommerce Evolution Podcast Business Lunch Podcast 2PM Episode 189: What’s Actually Working In SEM And On YouTube In 2019 (with Brett Curry) Profit Summit Intensive Workshop The Ecommerce Coalition Training: What’s Working With Google Ads Right Now Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

Email is one of the most trusted ways to drive revenue in ecommerce. But I still see too many people leaving money on the table and missing out on low-hanging fruit. Today I’ll walk you through how to do a two-day email overhaul that will help you increase your revenue. We’ll start by making sure your email service provider and integrations are set up correctly, create a branded email template, ensure you have a great offer that’s capturing tons of leads, and identify the email flows to build that have the biggest financial impact for your business. This is the exact email overhaul process I’ve used with my clients to help them bring in $10K from email in just one week after set-up. Can’t wait to hear your results! Episode Highlights 5:06 How to ensure your email service provider is set up correctly. 6:20 The importance of tracking viewed products. 7:30 Other common mistakes Austin sees with ESP setup and integrations. 10:20 Creating an email template for your brand (without a designer). 13:45 Lead capture: the questions to ask yourself to make sure you’re set up for success. 14:55 How to come up with a good offer. 16:38 Deciding which tool is right for your lead capture. 18:55 The email flows that have the biggest financial impact for your business. 21:25 Simple tests to run that will improve your email performance and a tip for using profile properties to evaluate the success of your email sequences over time. 25:25 Tips for improving your subject line copywriting. 26:55 Using plain text emails to drive clicks. 28:00 Adding animated GIFs to emails with Soapbox. 28:50 Merging your content with commerce. Links And Resources Klaviyo  Omnisend  CartHook ReCharge Justuno  Soapbox Private Intensive Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you’ve been on Facebook in the past week, you’ve probably seen an ad from Buffy. What started as an idea to disrupt the bedding industry has grown into a multi-million dollar business. Today Buffy co-founder Shoaib Kabani joins us to cover a range of topics. We talk about everything from product development, to the importance of testing, how landing pages can improve your funnel, and what performance KPIs you have to be thinking about as you scale. , how he thinks about scaling up their business, what's worked for them. Whether you’re a business owner or an ecommerce marketer, you’re going to get a lot out of this episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights:  4:49 How a desire to change the bedding industry led to the creation of Buffy. 6:21 The training Shoaib got from his start in consulting that’s helped him as an entrepreneur. 7:35 Developing the initial idea and concept for Buffy: providing value and values. 9:31 The process of validating the concept online, on social, and in person before going all in. 12:48 How do I make this a no brainer for the consumer? 14:16 What’s worked for Buffy from a creative perspective and changes they’ve made as they’ve scaled. 18:40 Some of the unintended consequences of having a free trial offer. 19:56 Unique KPIs Shoaib looks at on a daily basis. 22:00 A funnel analysis tool that’s been a game changer as Buffy’s scaled up. 23:10 The materials and brand values that make Buffy stand out in the bedding industry. 25:05 How Buffy uses landing pages to enhance its sales funnel. 28:09 Addressing customer lifetime value when you have a limited number of products. 32:08 Shoaib’s approach to launching into new ad channels, specifically with affiliates and podcasts. 37:14 How the Buffy founders set their budget for testing new channels and concepts. 39:10 What you, the ecommerce business owner, need to be thinking about to be successful. 41:25 Exciting insight into what’s next for Buffy. Links and Resources:  Buffy Heap Shoaib on Instagram: @ShoaibKabani Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts

It’s our goal to help our clients succeed, but even the experts get it wrong sometimes. As we've seen in the first six months of the year, things have changed wildly within Facebook. Today, Andrew shares some of the advice he’s given that hasn’t worked out. And while he’s never intentionally led anyone astray, things don’t always go as planned. Andrew talks about five times his advice has failed on Facebook and the lessons learned from those mistakes. We hope by sharing some of the worst Facebook advice of the year we’ll prevent you from making any of these mistakes yourself. Enjoy! Episode Highlights:  3:02 Why we’re talking about failure. 6:11 Budget advice: what we’ve said before and how we’d correct it. 10:35 Creative is the most important part of the FB ad equation, bottom line. 13:15 The gut check question to ask yourself before you run with your creative content. 14:55 Honesty around product market fit when you have a very specific niche. 18:40 Campaign budget optimization: it’s still the Wild West. 22:00 Not all lookalike audiences are created equal. 23:42 How to determine if your audience is viable for creating a lookalike audience. Links and Resources:  Episode 191: How An Artist And Engineer Turned Business Owners Built A “Cult”  Episode 196: The Ugly Truth About Why Your Business Isn’t Scaling Episode 198: How To Create Winning Content On Facebook And Instagram Episode 202: How I Scaled From $500/Day To $15,000/Day In Ad Spend In 30 Days Andrew on Twitter: @andrewfoxwell Austin on Twitter: @a_brawn Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts

Q3 is officially here. What are you doing to prepare for the second half of the year? For my team, the end of the quarter means it’s time to get out of the day-to-day grind and do some bigger picture planning. Every three months we do a quarterly business offsite, where we take a step back so we can review our goals, and set new ones, that will help us move forward in the right direction. Today we’re talking about the process we follow for our quarterly business offsite and how you can host one of your own. I’ll share the questions we ask to review the previous 90 days, how we capture ideas for improvements, and how we come up with our north star goal for the upcoming quarter. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 2:49 Why Austin’s excited to get off the grid and plan for a new quarter. 4:44 How to start preparing for your quarterly business offsite. 9:35 Questions to ask as you prepare for your offsite that will help your employees take ownership in the business. 12:35 A question that will help narrow in on the vision for the upcoming quarter. 13:29 Bonus question: what is one unique way we could create more monthly recurring revenue for the business? 14:59 The themes we use for each day of our offsite. 15:49 The big question Austin asks himself when reviewing the numbers from the previous quarter. 18:11 Questions to answer during a freewriting session to gain clarity on where you want the business to be one year from now. 19:10 A more structured alternative for creating a vision for the future. 20:59 The freedom and flexibility this kind of planning can give you, both in your work and in your life. 25:20 Reviewing your website and evaluating your funnel with critical eyes. 26:24 Day two of the quarterly business offsite: goal setting for the next 90 days and identifying your “north star.” 30:49 How to successfully wrap up your offsite (don’t forget to celebrate!). Links And Resources Book: The Goal Chris Rudolph: Freedom Business Family UserTesting Episode 203: Why You Should Stop Selling Yourself Short And Think Like A Billionaire Andrew on Twitter Austin on Twitter The Coalition Brand Guild Foxwell Digital Courses Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Join The Coalition If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, I have something really exciting for you. For the last year and a half I’ve been coaching business owners and marketers inside a group called The Coalition. What launched as an experiment became a game changer for our over 150 members.  If you’d like me and my team of expert marketers and ecommerce operators to coach you on your journey to scaling up your ecommerce business, this is your opportunity. We go in-depth on all the topics we talk about on this podcast and provide actionable training every single month. You’ll also get one-on-one coaching from me to help you grow your business.  Head over to JointheCoalition.com to learn more. Can’t wait to see you inside.

It’s not always easy to maintain high-quality standards, especially when you want to sell organic, sustainable, and made-in-the-USA products. Costs get high and sometimes that means concessions have to be made. But sticking to your guns can lead to major payoff, especially when your customers have your back. Today we chat with Jen and Kevin Long of Noble Carriage, who share the amazing story of how they built their dream company selling organic and sustainable baby clothes. They share how they built and nurtured a supportive community, how this community helped them in the creation and launch of their own products, their challenging product sourcing journey, and how they’ve stood by their strict sustainability standards along the way. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:23 A game changer quick win tip on A/B testing. 8:35 How the search for safe and sustainable baby clothes led to the creation of Noble Carriage. 10:26 How Noble Carriage engages with its online community of moms in a way that provides support and establishes trust. 15:05 The importance of slowing down and examining your profit margins when evaluating your business and your ability to scale.  18:39 What Jen and Kevin would have done differently in the growth of their business and why it’s so important not to get stuck living in the grind. 21:26 One of Kevin’s big lessons: If you’re going to fail, fail fast. 23:04 The value of understanding their audience before creating and launching their own products. 26:59 The challenging journey of sourcing organic and sustainable baby clothes. 31:09 The role of Noble Carriage’s community in their successful product development and launch. 33:08 How Noble Carriage marketed their new product across multiple channels.  35:03 What’s working with email for Noble Carriage. 37:17 Jen’s plans for expanding their ambassador program. 40:51 Some exciting new Noble Carriage products coming later this year to Noble Carriage that people must watch out for and when these will be released. Links and Resources: Noble Carriage Noble Carriage on Instagram: @noblecarriage Episode 149: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 1] Episode 150: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 2] Ecommerce Profit Summit (formerly the Brand Growth Experts Intensive) Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Join the Coalition If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, I have something really exciting for you. For the last year and a half I’ve been coaching business owners and marketers inside a group called The Coalition. What launched as an experiment became a game changer for our over 150 members. If you’d like me and my team of expert marketers and ecommerce operators to coach you on your journey to scaling up your ecommerce business, this is your opportunity. We go in-depth on all the topics we talk about on this podcast and provide actionable training every single month. You’ll also get one-on-one coaching from me to help you grow your business. Head over to JointheCoalition.com to learn more. Can’t wait to see you inside.

Quizzes are powerful tools used by some of the most successful companies I work with. They can help you capture more emails, display personalized product recommendations to your customers, and increase your conversion rate. In today's episode, I'll share my tips on what companies can see the biggest gains from a quiz, who is killing it right now with their quiz funnels, and how you can build one for your business today. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 5:46 Why the most successful companies Austin works with use quiz funnels. 6:47 The company or product type that’s a perfect fit for a quiz funnel. 8:13 If you have a lot of organic traffic, here’s an example of how a quiz funnel can turn visitors into subscribers. 10:44 The companies quiz funnels don't necessarily work well for. 12:51 Two examples of companies that are successfully using a quiz funnel. 15:31 What sets successful quizzes apart. 16:17 Figuring out the right questions to ask. 19:10 How to create your first quiz. 21:31 Austin’s recommended quiz building tools. Links and Resources: Typeform Klaviyo Annemarie Gianni Quiz Annmarie Gianni thank you page Beardbrand The Ecommerce Marketing Quiz Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners, and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside.   Sponsor: Klaviyo  If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.   Sponsor: Brex Most online brands will tell you their biggest challenge is cash flow, right? Usually, you’re paying an arm and a leg on interest and fees to finance your inventory and seasonality. Brex is the only corporate credit card built specifically with the needs of ecommerce business in mind, with crazy-good terms: Net 60 float, with no personal guarantee. Your card limit’s based on your monthly sales, not your credit score—and, oh yeah, there’s absolutely no interest and no fees. Whatever you spend on day 1, you have a whole 60 days to pay back. What you spend on day 2, you have another 60 days to pay, or day 61. Brex’s whole goal is to shrink that window between you paying for shipping or inventory and the revenue that’s going to generate, so you can keep growing. Brex is really built for ecommerce—it’s amazing. Right now, Brex is in the US only, so if that’s you, sign up with the code “influence” and a $250 credit will be added to your account and Brex will waive your card fees for life. Got to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/brex to sign up.      

Have you stopped to consider the next step in your entrepreneurial journey? Perhaps you own a six or seven figure business now, but where will you be in 10 years? Will you still be living in the grind? Or are your sights set on acquiring companies and building a portfolio? Today’s guest has done it all. He’s built his own business, was the CMO of Karmaloop, worked as a consultant, and now is the CEO of AutoAnything (just one of the businesses in his current portfolio). Drew Sanocki is back to talk about this journey and his recent entry into the acquisition side of ecommerce. Drew will share his insights on buying businesses, establishing company culture, hiring the right team, and why these days he’s more focused on creating alignment than hustling. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 2:53 A quick win with Facebook’s new cost cap bidding. 9:55 The perspective Drew gained from a trip around the world and how it led him to think like a billionaire by focusing on acquiring assets rather than hustling. 13:14 How Drew made his first acquisition. 16:39 Drew's journey from Chairman of the Board to becoming CEO of AutoAnything. 18:50 What it's like to run a $100 million dropshipping company. 20:09 Comparing life as the CMO of Karmaloop vs. the CEO of AutoAnything. 23:29 The importance of making the right hires if you want to be a successful CEO. 25:28 Drew’s approach to building a strong company culture. 28:58 The impact of a company’s size on its culture. 32:17 How long it took Drew to make cultural changes once he took over as CEO. 34:36 Drew’s ebb and flow between lifestyle businesses and managing a company at a larger scale. 37:59 A lesson in the importance of thinking like a billionaire. 40:01 What you need to know now in order to succeed as an investor in the future, and how to use your current skill set to your advantage. 48:25 How Drew made the decision to make a change in his professional life. 51:05 The importance of rest, setting boundaries, and work-life balance. 53:57 How being starved for resources helps you to prioritize. 54:59 OKRs: What are they and how they’ve helped create alignment and focus within Drew’s business. 58:15 Why Drew is fired up about direct mail in 2019. 1:00:12 How Drew manages to run three companies at once. Links and Resources: Netflix Culture Deck AutoAnything PostPilot GoSimple Nerd Marketing Book: Powerful by Patty McCord Book: Measure What Matters by John Doerr Book: Deep Work by Cal Newport Drew on Instagram: @drewsanocki Episode 183: How To Manage Your Time Strategically While Growing Your Business Episode 116: 4 Profitable Email Strategies You Can Swipe For Your Brand Cost Cap Facebook Bidding Klaviyo Ecommerce Profit Summit (formerly the Brand Growth Experts Intensive) Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Join The Coalition If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, I have something really exciting for you. For the last year and a half I’ve been coaching business owners and marketers inside a group called The Coalition. What launched as an experiment became a game changer for our over 150 members.  If you’d like me and my team of expert marketers and ecommerce operators to coach you on your journey to scaling up your ecommerce business, this is your opportunity. We go in-depth on all the topics we talk about on this podcast and provide actionable training every single month. You’ll also get one-on-one coaching from me to help you grow your business.  Head over to JointheCoalition.com to learn more. Can’t wait to see you inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo  If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Sponsor: Shoelace Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores build brand equity, increase conversions and grow revenue using Customer Journey Retargeting by showing the right ad to the right people at the right time. Shoelace is excited to announce its all-new integration with Klaviyo. This integration lets you seamlessly synchronize your marketing activity across your email and retargeting channels. Boost your email campaigns by automatically retargeting email recipients across multiple channels. Increase campaign engagement by showing ads to recipients who didn’t open or click an individual campaign. Most importantly, drive growth by effortlessly retargeting all of your Klaviyo lists and segments with personalized messaging. To find out more visit ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and supercharge your email campaigns today.

When you talk about scaling up in ecommerce, Facebook ads are often the first thing on most business owners’ lists. Today Andrew shares the exact steps he followed to help a client scale from $500/day to $15,000/day in ad spend in 30 days. He talks about what you need to do before you start scaling and the steps to follow as you grow. If you’re ready to dive deep into the weeds of your Facebook ad account, build new audiences, test new placements, and explore bidding options, this episode is for you. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:22 Words of caution when you hear someone say there’s only one way to do something. 9:20 How to establish your baseline before you start scaling up your Facebook ads. 11:31 Preparing to address the creative gap as you scale. 13:32 What’s worked for Andrew when it comes to images on Facebook and Instagram. 15:50 Building your arsenal of audiences: what to test as your ads scale. 17:45 Andrew's thoughts on how Facebook creates value-based lookalike audiences and potential audience overlap. 20:42 The definition of horizontal scaling. 21:05 The importance of testing different audiences to find the one that works best. 23:55 How to set up an interest CBO with help from Google Analytics. 25:25 Setting up your remarketing audiences as you scale. 28:09 The most valuable thing that worked for Andrew’s client: top of the funnel Instagram stories. 30:15 Andrew's process for setting up your Facebook and Instagram placements. 32:00 How to bid effectively as you scale. 35:10 How to approach ad account monitoring so you don’t kill your own progress. 36:43 Campaigns with CBO vs. other campaigns: when to use it and when you might not want to. 30:07 Austin shares his experience in running a campaign CBO as an experiment. Links and Resources: Episode 198: How To Create Winning Content On Facebook And Instagram Episode 191: How An Artist And Engineer Turned Business Owners Built A “Cult” Episode 146: Why Your Ads Get More Expensive As You Scale (And What To Do About It) Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Sponsor: Shoelace Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores build brand equity, increase conversions and grow revenue using Customer Journey Retargeting by showing the right ad to the right people at the right time. Shoelace is excited to announce its all-new integration with Klaviyo. This integration lets you seamlessly synchronize your marketing activity across your email and retargeting channels. Boost your email campaigns by automatically retargeting email recipients across multiple channels. Increase campaign engagement by showing ads to recipients who didn’t open or click an individual campaign. Most importantly, drive growth by effortlessly retargeting all of your Klaviyo lists and segments with personalized messaging. To find out more visit ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and supercharge your email campaigns today.

Advertising plays a big role in any ecommerce strategy. So what do you do if your brand is banned from advertising on Facebook, Google, and Amazon? That’s the challenge faced by Chad Lio, Director of Marketing for Veritas Farms, a company that sells CBD. While not technically regulated by the FDA, there are still many limitations when it comes to advertising CBD. Today Chad joins us to talk about Veritas Farms’ multifaceted marketing approach, and how they successfully drive sales, despite being banned from some of the top ad platforms. He’ll share what’s working for them with influencer marketing, media buying, SEO, and more, and the critical role research plays across their entire strategy. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:48 Chad’s experience in digital marketing and ecommerce. 6:12 Multifaceted marketing: what it means to be the Director of Marketing for a company that sells both online and in retail brick and mortar. 8:02 Navigating the wild, wild west of selling CBD. 12:10 The detailed process Chad and his team follow to find the right influencers. 15:32 The importance of doing your research, especially when it comes to SEO. 19:15 Content Marketing: deciding what channel you want to go after first. 22:15 Chad’s #1 piece of advice for content marketing in ecommerce. 25:10 How Veritas Farms uses the 80/20 rule in their content marketing strategy and the role media buying plays for them. 27:54 What to look for when seeking publishers for your sponsored content. 29:57 The marketing strategy that's most effective for Veritas Farms. 31:47 Questions to ask before you start focusing on conversion rate optimization. 35:35 The email sequence that’s most successful for Veritas Farms, and a new Klaviyo feature you won’t want to miss. 37:50 Veritas Farms lead generation strategy and the importance of segmenting your email list. 41:35 Why research is a critical component if you want to successfully scale up. Links and Resources: Veritas Farms Episode 129: Content Marketing – What You Need To Know With Nat Eliason Hotjar Visual Website Optimizer Crazy Egg Klaviyo Chad on Instagram: thechadlio Chad on Twitter: @thechadlio Chad on LinkedIn Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Sponsor: Shoelace Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores build brand equity, increase conversions and grow revenue using Customer Journey Retargeting by showing the right ad to the right people at the right time. Shoelace is excited to announce its all-new integration with Klaviyo. This integration lets you seamlessly synchronize your marketing activity across your email and retargeting channels. Boost your email campaigns by automatically retargeting email recipients across multiple channels. Increase campaign engagement by showing ads to recipients who didn’t open or click an individual campaign. Most importantly, drive growth by effortlessly retargeting all of your Klaviyo lists and segments with personalized messaging. To find out more visit ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and supercharge your email campaigns today.

When I’m working with my private coaching clients our conversations inevitably end up focusing on how to become a more effective executive. In today's episode, Andrew and I share four rules to follow that will help you make better decisions as an executive and run your business, team, or agency more effectively. These rules include tracking and understanding your time, focusing on doing more of the right things, setting and reviewing your goals often, and asking yourself what the business needs from you. We'll also share how we've implemented these rules in our own businesses and how they've made us more effective. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:49 Rule #1: Respect and understand your time. 5:04 How to efficiently track your time and what to do when once you understand where you’re spending it. 6:56 How finding his “Zone of Genius” helped Andrew focus his time and better delegate tasks. 9:02 Rule #2: Do more of less. 11:12 The importance of setting aside uninterrupted time for high leverage projects. 12:29 Rule #3: Set the right goals and review them often. 14:14 The metrics you should be tracking to predict success (HINT: Revenue isn’t one of them). 16:06 Rule #4: Ask yourself what you can do to help the business. Links and Resources: Episode 183: How To Manage Your Time Strategically While Growing Your Business Episode 084: (Part 1) The Art & Science Of Doing Twice As Much In Half The Time Using Scrum For Ecommerce Episode 085: (Part 2) The Art & Science Of Doing Twice As Much In Half The Time Using Scrum For Ecommerce Episode 086: (Part 3) The Art & Science Of Doing Twice As Much In Half The Time Using Scrum For Ecommerce Episode 149: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 1] Episode 150: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 2] Toggl Tracking Time Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

JT Marino wanted to build a company that would disrupt an industry. With Tuft & Needle he did just that, bootstrapping his way from nothing to the largest online mattress retailer in the world. JT, co-founder of Tuft & Needle and now the Chief Strategy Officer for SSB Phoenix, joins us today to share his incredible story. We talk about why customer-centricity was one of Tuft & Needle’s core principles from the beginning, and the role it played in their eventual merger with Serta Simmons. JT shares his thoughts on the importance, as a founder, of having an intimate understanding of how every aspect of your business works, and why they decided not to take any outside investments when they first started out. This is one of my favorite founder interviews we’ve done and I hope you enjoy it! Episode Highlights: 3:52 Introducing JT Marino 5:41 How the friendship and partnership started between the founders of Turf & Needle, JT and Daehee 10:07 How the Tuft & Needle co-founders maintain a strong friendship while running a business together 11:45 How JT’s prior experience with heavily-funded, but unsuccessful, Silicon Valley start-ups influenced Tuft & Needle’s decision to not take outside investments. 16:15 The importance of identifying “the problem” when you’re building a business, and how this led to the creation of Tuft & Needle 18:22 Some of the other principles the Tuft & Needle founders committed to before starting their business 20:05 How JT and Daehee used a problem-solution approach to determine whether they had product-market fit for Tuft & Needle 26:53 The benefits of being highly involved with and having an intimate understanding of every aspect of the business, from manufacturing to supply chain to marketing 29:57 How Tuft & Needle moved through the pit of sorrow and started to scale 34:06 How a Hacker News blog post contributed to explosive growth ofTuft & Needle 36:51 The importance of customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth to Tuft & Needle’s success, especially when they had a limited advertising budget 38:34 The various channels that helped grow the business over time 41:39 JT's approach to tracking attribution across a variety of channels 44:49 How Tuft & Needle developed advertising techniques and targeting that span across digital and non-digital 49:28 The unconventional reason Tuft & Needle started selling on Amazon 52:33 The Net Promoter Score target T&F set before making the decision to list on Amazon 55:04 JT’s advice if you’re considering selling on Amazon and the importance of looking at the market picture as you start to grow 58:29 The role customer-centricity played in Tuft & Needle’s decision to merge with Serta 1:05:40 The future of the mattress industry 1:08:42 JT shares his hobbies and what’s in store for him in the next year Links and Resources: Tuft & Needle How to Get Startup Ideas by Paul Graham Blog: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com Meet the Warby Parker of Mattresses JT on Twitter: @johnmarino [email protected] Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Most of the time when our clients get big wins they can be traced back to the quality of their content. Big wins come from winning content, and today Andrew and I are going to discuss how to create that winning content for Facebook and Instagram ads. We’ll share the specific features your content must have if you want to stand out, and our top tips for creating winning imagery, video, and copy. These principles apply not only to Facebook and Instagram, but can be integrated across your entire marketing funnel to help you in all aspects of your business. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 2:40 A tactic that helped one of Andrew’s clients see an 8X return during their spring launches 5:14 What’s working now with Facebook and Instagram advertising and the winning features your contents must have 6:30 The three fundamental things you must get across in your content: trust, previous customer experience, and quality 10:04 How to turn a Facebook ad into its own landing page with all the fundamentals included 12:02 When you’re creating imagery, ask yourself: How can I make this look real and represent what it actually looks like when someone’s using it? 12:57 Why user-generated content can provide you with the best imagery, and a company that’s killing it with their UGC content 14:49 Andrew's take on lifestyle imagery and making sure your product is at least 50% of any image 17:21 What you should consider when it comes to creating  video content, and why you might not want to do it at all 18:08 Types of video content that can work well 21:29 If you have a product that needs an explanation, then video may be a necessity for your advertising. 23:44 What makes good copy, including: ratings, your unique value propositions, a clear CTA, scarcity, and more 28:58 Austin's tips for how to get started with writing your winning content Links and Resources: Book: Influence Grin Episode 184: Use These 20 Questions to Get Unstuck With Your Facebook Ads Part 1 [email protected] Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Sponsor: Katana If you’re in the product making business, we have great news for you. There’s now a Shopify app built and designed for merchants that make their own products. You can manage your sales orders, raw materials, production schedule inventory and material purchasing from one single dashboard. The name of this app is Katana. Katana is designed for makers, crafters and small manufacturers selling on Shopify. Until now, product makers selling in ecommerce had to settle with messy spreadsheets or regular inventory management software, which can be challenging if you make your own products. Katana is built from ground up with the needs of small manufacturers in mind. Production scheduling and inventory management has never been this easy for Shopify merchants. For a free 14-day trial of Katana, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/katana. And, use the code “influence” when signing up to get 30% off from your first 3 months of a paid subscription.

Establishing trust among your customers can be challenging, especially in certain markets. Kevin Chen is Vice President and co-founder of iRestore, a company that sells laser hair growth systems. Despite selling a product with a particularly skeptical audience, iRestore has grown to eight-figures over the last few years. Kevin joins us today to share his story of success. He talks about how he establishes trust and builds social proof with his customers, how he became an expert in Facebook advertising and iRestore’s secret behind their success with video on Facebook. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:51 How Kevin got started in the ecommerce space. 7:24 “Does it really work?” How iRestore gained the trust of a skeptical audience. 9:41 How iRestore keeps their customers engaged during their hair growth journey in order to cultivate social proof once they get results. 11:19 iRestore’s journey from Amazon to Shopify, to Facebook, and when Kevin realized he had a business that worked. 13:14 How hiring an agency helped Kevin became an expert at Facebook advertising. 15:40 The contribution of iRestore's in-house customer service team in collecting user-generated content. 18:19 How the changes to Facebook’s advertising platform have led Kevin to focus more on lead generation. 20:25 Why you don’t have to be so focused on conversion objective as explained by Andrew. 22:10 A conceptual example of why you don’t have to solely focus on conversion and ROAS. 23:56 iRestore’s secret behind their winning Facebook video ads. 27:41 How Kevin sees different paid channels working together to both drive and capture demand. 30:00 The realization Kevin had while the business is growing that he's no longer doing right now 32:26 Shiny Object Syndrome: how Kevin is learning to say no. 34:25 Kevin's input in hiring: what he looks for when hiring and the importance of mindset. 36:16 What Kevin is working on right now that he’s most excited about and his goal for iRestore this year. 38:11 How Kevin is approaching new product development in terms of increasing LTV and AOV. 40:08 How Kevin keeps himself motivated and healthy despite the demanding hours at work. Links and Resources: Restore [email protected] Now Hiring: iRestore LinkedIn Now Hiring: iRestore Indeed Help Scout Animoto Google Data Studio Book: Traction Episode 183: How To Manage Your Time Strategically While Growing Your Business Austin on Twitter: @a_brawn Andrew on Twitter: @Andrewfoxwell Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Sponsor: Katana If you’re in the product making business, we have great news for you. There’s now a Shopify app built and designed for merchants that make their own products. You can manage your sales orders, raw materials, production schedule inventory and material purchasing from one single dashboard. The name of this app is Katana. Katana is designed for makers, crafters and small manufacturers selling on Shopify. Until now, product makers selling in ecommerce had to settle with messy spreadsheets or regular inventory management software, which can be challenging if you make your own products. Katana is built from ground up with the needs of small manufacturers in mind. Production scheduling and inventory management has never been this easy for Shopify merchants. For a free 14-day trial of Katana, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/katana. And, use the code “influence” when signing up to get 30% off from your first 3 months of a paid subscription.  

We know how frustrating it is when your business isn’t growing at the rate you think it should. Andrew and I have gone under the hood of dozens of different companies over the years and now when a company approaches us, it’s easy to spot the ones that will be able to scale up, and the ones that will struggle. Today, we share seven reasons your business might not be scaling and what you can do to fix it. We’ll talk about market size, margins, LTV, and product diversification, and how all of these things impact your ability to scale. This episode will help you identify potential issues and give you solutions for the most common reasons why your business may not be scaling. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:32 Reason #1 that your business might not be scaling: Your market is too small or too cheap. 6:25 What to do if your market is too cheap. 7:50 One solution for scaling up if your market is too small. 8:43 Reason #2 that your business isn’t scaling: Your contribution margin isn’t large enough. 10:29 How to solve your contribution margin issue.. 11:26 Reason #3: Your AOV or LTV is too low to advertise profitably. 13:13 The workaround for increasing LTV if you have a low AOV. 15:02 Reason #4: You don't have any repeat customers. 16:08 How to build a product system that will get you repeat customers. 18:21 Reason #5: You don't have complementary products. 20:20 Reason #6 why you might not be scaling: You're too cheap to hire quality people. 22:25 Reason #7: You have a product that you sell, not a business. 23:48 If you’re just selling a product, here’s what you need to do to build a business. 25:39 You don’t always have to scale to be successful. Links and Resources: Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Running one company can be a challenge. But what about running 12? Our guest today is doing just that. Ecommerce investor Shakil Prasla of Pro Click Ventures joins us to talk about how he built his portfolio of ecommerce businesses. He shares what he looks for when acquiring new companies, how to hire CEOs, and what’s possible on the acquisition side of ecommerce. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:38 Shakil Prasla's background and how he got started in the ecommerce space. 7:54 From website builder to ecommerce investor. 9:57 How Shakil structured his 12 businesses and how they operate together. 12:47 SEO and content: the importance of these when considering acquisition and future growth. 16:39 Income and age of company: Why these two criteria are essential in evaluating a company to see if it’s worth buying. 18:22 How Shakil is able to productively manage 12 businesses at once and the apps that help him to be more efficient. 22:42 Shakil’s experience with buying companies with a bank loan and how to go about financing a loan. 227:35 How Shakil gives his businesses a competitive advantage: through the lens of an investor. 30:02 What Shakil looks for when hiring managers and CEOs. 33:43 The incentive structure for the CEOs of Shakil’s businesses, and what he does if they quit. 36:54 The other factors Shakil looks for when determining whether a company is a good buy. 41:07 The advice Shakil would have given himself when he was just starting out. 42:26 Shakil’s biggest mistake when buying a business. 43:41 Shakil's structure for reviewing prospective companies, and how many actually make it to the due diligence process. 46:12 Why Shakil doesn’t believe you need to focus on one thing at a time to be successful. Links and Resources: Pro Click Ventures [email protected] eCommerceFuel Klipfolio Gantt chart Asana Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It's my online coaching community and it's an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com and you can learn some more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

If you’ve been having issues with Facebook recently, you’re not alone. My Twitter feed has been blowing up with people talking about the problems they're having and screenshots of breakdowns and errors. So in today’s bonus episode, Andrew and I provide some background on how these Facebook issues started, what changes are here to stay, and what you can do to manage your clients' (or your own) expectations. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 2:42 When the Facebook issues started and the problems we’re seeing. 6:07 Andrew’s theories on why this massive disruption is happening on Facebook. 8:50 The 4 things you can do to help your client or team when confronting these Facebook issues. 9:18 #1: Show them the data to prove you’re taking action to stabilize the account. 10:18 #2: Send your client this podcast. 11:01 #3: Let them know it’s not permanent. 12:02 The macro trend that’s going to continue on Facebook even after the current issues are addressed. 12:52 #4: Communicate the importance of quality creative and great UX both on Facebook and your website. 14:08 Other channels to consider for diversification and stability. 15:47 The bigger question you should be examining in relation to your business model as Facebook costs continue to rise. 17:47 Why these issues actually present a great opportunity for you or your clients. 18:41 The Facebook and Instagram Pro Ad Buyers Industry Group. Links and Resources: Post-Facebook Outage, Ad Buyers are Grappling with Out-of-Control Costs Facebook and Instagram Pro Ad Buyers Industry Group Andrew on Twitter: @Andrewfoxwell [email protected] Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

If you’re not yet familiar with Campaign Budget Optimization, now is the time. Facebook recently rolled out this new ad feature and has plans for it to become a requirement for all advertisers later this year. Today, Andrew goes in-depth with everything you need to know about Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO). We discuss what CBO is all about: the framework for setting it up, how to approach your bids, and other killer tips that will make sure you’re set up for success when you start testing it out. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:57 The new feature for your Facebook Ad campaigns: Campaign Budget Optimization. 5:15 What is CBO and how it's different from the traditional model. 8:27 How to set up the ideal CBO campaign. 10:57 Determining your audiences within the CBO. 13:38 Strategies that are staying the same with CBO. 14:36 Recommended bidding for CBO. 15:37 How CBO works within prospecting and remarketing. 17:35 Reasons why CBO scales well. 19:39 What are minimum and maximum spends within CBO and how to manage them. 22:22 Killer tips from Andrew to get the most out of CBO. Links and Resources: Episode 173: The Five-Step Process To Optimize Your Facebook Ad Account The Brand Guild Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, or hiring a team, diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

How often have you added a new element to your website because you thought it “looked cool”? The reality is that a jumble of “cool” widgets and features can slow down your site and actually worsen your customer experience. In today's episode, we bring back Kurt Elster who is a specialist in conversion rate optimization and runs an ecommerce website design and development agency, Ethercycle. Kurt shares his insights on the key components of a successful ecommerce website design. Learn the how-tos and what-nots of what makes a great website, including product page design, the importance of great copywriting, and why design actually shouldn’t be your #1 focus. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:02 “Ruthless Empathy”: the mindset Kurt says you need to have when analyzing your website. 6:44 The core elements of successful ecommerce website design. 8:46 The questions to ask yourself to determine whether you really need all those widgets on your site. 10:41 How to balance simplicity with complexity in your website. 13:22 Why you should approach your website design with a clear decision framework, rather than a design wishlist. 15:36 The interesting things Walmart is doing with its web design that have helped increase its online sales. 20:04 What Austin sees as a standout on Walmart's site that a lot of Shopify stores don't do. 21:29 Which design should come first: mobile or desktop? 24:49 The key elements to include on your homepage. 27:00 Aspects of homepage design that work to direct people to the product page (and why this should be your #1 goal). 30:59 Your product pages: the must-haves, what's usually missing, and the perfect example of a business that's doing it right. 35:08 Why Kurt doesn’t believe you should use artificial scarcity to drive people to buy. 37:20 How to use urgency and scarcity in a legitimate way. 38:54 Why you should be using video on your product page. 41:34 An alternative to artificial scarcity as suggested by Austin. 43:49 The best ways to sell complementary products to people and increase AOV. 49:39 Why Kurt’s excited about the future of personalization. 51:19 Something Kurt believes to be true that most other entrepreneurs don’t agree with. Links And Resources RightMessage The Unofficial Shopify Podcast [email protected] Ethercycle Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Become a Member If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It’s my online coaching community, and it’s an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners, and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

Your customers are worth more than what they purchase from your store today. If you can retain them as a customer over time, you can gain more profits for your business. This week, Andrew and I have a meaty, and sometimes conflicting, conversation on customer lifetime value (LTV). We start by breaking it down with the basic definition and then share higher level strategies for how you can increase customer LTV, as well as some tactics you can implement today. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:02 How to measure customer LTV (and why it’s difficult to do). 5:52 The first question Andrew has his client’s answer when they ask about LTV. 7:39 Calculating retention rate: why you can only do it if you have a subscription business, and what to look for if you don't. 8:37 The 3 metrics to increase in order to improve LTV. 10:17 What Native Deodorant is doing during their checkout process that’s driving increased customer LTV. 13:08 The benefit of a subscription business and why you should consider it, even if you don’t think that model is right for you. 18:01 Andrew's view on how lifetime value can increase by finding out clients motivation points. 19:04 Why Austin cautions against giving using surveys and VIP customer discounts as a way to increase LTV. 20:52 The number one thing Austin now believes is the best option for increasing LTV. 22:21 How utilizing value-based lookalikes and bid optimization on Facebook can increase LTV. 23:24 A Facebook tactic for increasing LTV that most people don't know exists. 24:33 A trend Austin believes is going to be very successful for companies in the future. 25:22 Additional Facebook and email tactics for increasing LTV. 28:25 Why cost of acquisition prices are going up and what you can do about it. 31:41 How to boost LTV on the next re-bill using Recharge. Links and Resources: Wilson Hung’s Blog Post on Customer Lifetime Value Episode 178: You’re Treating Your Customers Equally (And It’s Costing You Money) Native Deodorant tweet Dynamic Product Ad on Facebook ReallyGoodEmails.com ARPU Recharge App on Shopify Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Success in the ecommerce world doesn’t happen overnight. Our guests today are not only big contributors to the ecommerce community, but are also co-founders of a business they built from nothing to one that now has a cult following. I met Matt and Meredith, owners of Boredwalk T-Shirts, at an Intensive I led a couple of years ago. Today they join us to share the story of how they built their “cult” of customers, including customer service best practices and how they overhauled their hiring process to rebuild a team that is excited about the core values of the company. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 6:29 How it all started for Matt and Meredith in the ecommerce space. 8:06 The cheeky birth of  Boredwalk T-Shirts. 11:11 The big team and operational changes Matt and Meredith made in 2018 that allowed them to grow their business. 13:45 How Matt and Meredith's revamped their hiring process to find the best people for their business. 18:41 Things Matt and Meredith tried last year on Facebook and Pinterest that didn't deliver the results they hoped for, even though, hypothetically, they should have. 25:08 The journey from focusing on the marketplace side of the business to focusing on customer retention (i.e., building a “cult”). 30:00 Matt and Meredith’s customer service philosophy: responding promptly, managing expectations, and not negotiating with terrorists. 33:10 Why the Boredwalk founders go against the industry standard when it comes to dealing with bad customer behavior. 35:55 How not to talk to customers: the operational side of Boredwalk’s customer service strategy. 39:30 How Matt and Meredith take extra care of their “whales" and bond with their audience. 40:51 The realities of owning an ecommerce business: why it’s not just a side hustle and what it takes to be successful. 44:49 Mental health of entrepreneurs, and why Matt and Meredith don’t recommend the ecommerce world to all. 47:15 How the Boredwalk founders have changed in the last four years and what’s helped them make it to where they are now. Links and Resources: Boredwalk T-Shirts Ecommercefuel.com Matt and Meredith's blog post on the job advertising process Book: Traction The Boredwalk Podcast interview with Brian Swichkow Episode 116: 4 Profitable Email Strategies You Can Swipe For Your Brand Help Scout Scan Mailboxes eCommerceFuel Podcast: Cultivating Better Mental Health as Entrepreneurs with Sherry Walling Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It's my online coaching community and it's an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business. That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com and you can learn some more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside. Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re looking to grow your business, there’s only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they’ll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that’ll help grow your business and make more money. That’s why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

A topic that’s come up a lot in my recent conversations is how to hire a high-level marketing person. Finding the right candidate can be tough, and when you’re a business owner doing a million other things, it can be even tougher. In this episode, Andrew and I talk through the hiring process, from deciding when to hire, to where to look for the best candidates, and the questions to ask before hiring to make sure you’re getting the best person for the job. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:41 How to know when it’s time to hire a CMO or Director of Marketing and one of the key signs to look for. 6:28 Two main things to understand when you start the hiring process for a high-level marketing candidate. 7:35 The most effective way to find the ideal candidate. 9:23 Tips for working with a recruiter to find your next CMO. 11:14 The two different types of candidates you’ll find when hiring a Director of Marketing. 13:24 What to ask a potential new hire before you bring them in for an interview and the type of answers to look for. 17:32 Once you confirm someone is a good fit, it’s time for the 15-minute phone call. Here are the questions to ask during that call. 19:42 What is a “T-Shaped Marketer” and why you want to hire one. 23:46 The framework for the in-person interview and what to look for. 25:29 The last thing to do before hiring the person you think is the right fit. Links and Resources: The Brand Guild Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo If you're looking to grow your business, there's only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they'll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that'll help grow your business and make more money. That's why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

The customer purchase journey is no longer a linear path. SEM and YouTube advertising have changed not only the way consumers find products, but also how businesses track where purchases come from. Today we’re joined by returning guest and CEO of OMG Commerce, Brett Curry. Brett shares his expert advice on where to get started with search-driven advertising, the resources to better understand attribution from each channel, and how you can use SEM, Google Shopping and YouTube to increase customer lifetime value. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 6:04 Brett’s background in SEO, Google Shopping and direct response marketing. 8:12 Search, Google Shopping, or YouTube: which is best for ecommerce and where you should start. 12:42 The importance of understanding why people are on YouTube in order to successfully reach your audience. 15:02 Why Brett thinks Facebook is ahead when it comes to conversion tracking and the importance of understanding attribution across different channels. 17:44 Recommended resources to help business owners understand attribution models for YouTube, SEM and Google Shopping. 18:40 How search is impacting the customer journey and the entire sales funnel. 22:08 The types of audiences to build on YouTube to successfully reach your potential customers. 26:44 Getting your audio and visuals right on YouTube is directly related to understanding how someone is using the channel. 28:11 The type of team you need to build to successfully support advertising on YouTube. 31:50 What type of budget Brett recommends to get you started on YouTube. 33:42 How to determine your budgets for promotion on YouTube vs. Google Search and Shopping. 35:57 Brett’s thoughts on lifetime value of customers coming from YouTube vs. Facebook. 38:02 YouTube,  Google Shopping, or SEM: which is best for raising lifetime value and how they can work together. 41:48 Why you should absolutely be investing in paid search for your branded keywords. 44:34 How to determine how much of your budget you should be spending on branded keywords. 46:43 Why you should separate out branded from non-branded keywords in terms of reporting. 50:04 Some of the challenges advertisers run into with Google Shopping and how to get around them. Links and Resources: Episode 064: Brett Curry, OMG Commerce – Tips, Tricks & Hacks To Big Returns With Google Shopping, The Premier Advertising Channel For Ecommerce OMG Commerce Smart Marketer: 2-minute Crash Course on YouTube & TrueView Ads, with Brett Curry Think with Google Article: How Search Intent is Influencing the Marketing Funnel 7 Tips for the Perfect YouTube Ad From Brett Curry Ecommerce Evolution Podcast Brett Curry on LinkedIn Brett Curry on Facebook Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo If you're looking to grow your business, there's only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they'll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that'll help grow your business and make more money. That's why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Making the decision to outsource your paid social to an agency can be tough. It’s a big decision to hand over the reigns of your social advertising to someone outside of your business, and one of the questions Andrew and I get a lot is, “when is the right time to hire an agency?” Today we address that question, as well as the specific questions to ask when you’re vetting your agency (and the answers to look for), and what you can do as a client to ensure you have a great relationship with your new partner. Episode Highlights: 4:41 The first thing you need to do before you hire an agency. 7:00 Andrew's calculation for determining whether or not it makes sense to hire an agency to manage your ads. 12:24 If you don’t want to do the math, why you should at least be tracking your time. 16:11 The first question to ask when vetting an agency: Do you manage my ads in my own ad account or in your business manager? 18:29 Question #2: Who is in charge of creating the creative? 21:48 Question #3: What are your best performing look-a-likes or audiences? 22:38 Question #4: How do you normally approach mid-funnel targeting? 24:29 Question #5: What previous experience do you have and can you show me results? 25:46 Question #6: What are the expectations for performance? 27:40 Why you have to be careful as a business owner with over promises from agencies. 31:08 Question #7: What are your best clients doing and what do you expect us to do if we want to perform like your best clients? Links and Resources: Episode 181: The Changing State Of Paid Social: Tips, Strategy, And How To Win Episode 183: How To Manage Your Time Strategically While Growing Your Business Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

Magical things can happen in your business with a strong brand and a loyal customer base. Bryan Anthonys’ founders Amber Reynolds and Ed Glassman built a seven-figure business, in part by creating a brand and products that their customers feel deeply connected with. Today the husband and wife team share the story of how they built their business, the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and the secret to their customer loyalty. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:07 From hustling on Ebay to building their own ecommerce store: the story of how Ed and Amber started Bryan Anthonys. 8:52 What’s working for Ed and Amber’s business right now. 9:35 Tough lessons learned when it comes to expanding your product portfolio. 10:55 The strength of Bryan Anthonys’ brand and how they design products that really connect with people. 14:44 How Ed and Amber's build customer loyalty. 16:44 Why Bryan Anthonys made the bold decision to have all aspects of their business (manufacturing, shipping, distribution) based in the US and the impact it’s had on their vendors. 21:02 Bryan Anthonys approach to customers service and one story that set them as the gold standard for Gracie. 25:48 How Bryan Anthonys uses text message marketing to bring in revenue from cart abandoners. 29:15 The power and value of having a good agency partner and what it’s done for Ed and Amber’s business. 31:37 What to expect with Bryan Anthonys in the upcoming years. Links and Resources: Bryan Anthonys Gorgias Retention Rocket Bryan Anthonys on Instagram Bryan Anthonys on Facebook Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

Too many established ecommerce stores run out of money before they can scale. Over the last several years, I’ve helped 126 ecommerce brands build more profitable businesses. 78 of them scaled into 7-figure businesses. 2 them had $100 million dollar exits. Through this experience, I’ve learned that if you observe certain principles as you scale, you’ll increase your chance of doing it profitably. Today I share my 3-step formula for profitably scaling your ecommerce business. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:10 The two conversations Austin had with clients that inspired this episode. 5:55 Strategy #1 for profitably scaling: Mindset. 6:20 Understanding your business’ DNA to get into the right mindset for growth. 9:40 The tough choices you have to make when you commit to growing profitably. 11:15 Strategy #2 for profitably scaling: Money. 11:32 How to calculate and set a profitability goal for your business. 14:17 Most business owners are paying themselves to little. Here’s how to calculate a fair wage for yourself. 17:31 Figuring out how much money you need to have in your business to be fully capitalized. 19:40 Is now the right time to hire? How to calculate how much you can spend on salaries based on your profitability goals. 24:29 The three financial components on your business to focus on after setting your salary cap. 25:57 Strategy #3 for profitably scaling: Method. 26:54 The biggest levers to focus on to grow a more profitable business. 34:33 Increasing average order value with "priority processing." Links and Resources: Episode 178: You’re Treating Your Customers Equally (And It’s Costing You Money) Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

Earlier this week, Andrew shared the first 10 of 20 questions he asks when auditing clients’ Facebook accounts to see whether they’re managing them to their fullest potential. Today he shares the rest of his tactical questions to help you optimize your Facebook ad account, including questions about audience overlap, value bidding, and your add to cart to purchase ratio. Part two of this episode will give you the full list of questions so you can complete a professional level Facebook audit on your own. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:42 Question #11: Do you have too high of an audience overlap? 4:37 How to know if audience overlap is an issue for your account. 6:31 Question #12: Have you tried or requested value bidding? 9:41 Question #13: If things are feeling stale on your account, have you tried a bid override? 14:16 Question #14: Are you advertising to previous customers? 16:48 Question #15: Have you tried product bundling to bring up the AOV? 21:19 Question #16: Are you remarketing to engaged users? 22:41 Question #17: What does your age report breakdown look like (and where to find it)? 25:39 Question #18: What is your Add to Cart to Purchase ratio? 27:25 Question #19: Have you tried campaign budget optimization? 28:44 Question #20: Do you have consistent naming conventions set up in your account? Links and Resources: Episode 184: Use These 10 Questions to Get Unstuck With Your Facebook Ads Part 1 Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital [email protected] Review or subscribe on iTunes Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.  

A few weeks ago Andrew shared his five-step process for optimizing your Facebook ad account. In part one of this two-part episode, Andrew takes a more tactical approach and shares 10 questions he asks when auditing clients’ Facebook accounts to see whether they’re running things in the best way possible. After auditing more than 200 Facebook accounts last year, Andrew has seen accounts that are killing it and those that have a lot of room for improvement. Whether you’re on one end of the spectrum or the other, these questions will help you identify changes you can make to improve what you’re doing on Facebook. Stay tuned later this week for part two of this episode, where Andrew will share the additional 10 questions to ask when auditing your Facebook account. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 8:06 Question #1: Is user-generated content integrated somewhere in the creative? 9:16 Question #2: Are you utilizing reviews in your copy? 10:53 Question #3: Are you utilizing square video link posts? 12:39  Question #4: Is your product at least 40% to 50% of your ad image? 14:20 Question #5: Are there unanswered comments or questions on your ad?? 18:26 Question #6: Is there a discount integrated at some point in the funnel? 19:56 Question #7: If you have an ad set that you stopped running because it died, have you tried duplicating it and running it at a lower budget to give it new life? 21:13  Question #8: Have you introduced new prospecting audiences based on dynamic pixel actions? 23:07 Question #9: Are you trying broad match dynamic product ads layered with interests? 24:03 Question #10: Have you split you dynamic product ad time windows, separating the adds to cart and the view content? 25:07 How long it typically takes for Andrew to audit an account and the process he goes through. 26:23 The most common mistakes Andrew sees when he’s reviewing Facebook ad accounts Links and Resources: The Five Step Process To Optimize Your Facebook Ad Account Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital [email protected] Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Shoelace This episode is brought to you by Shoelace. Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores tell their brand story, increase conversions, and grow revenue through Customer Journey Retargeting. This personalized approached to retargeting shows the right customers the right ads at the right time based on where they are in the buying journey with your brand. Whether a visitor is discovering your brand for the first time or a loyal repeat-customer is considering a purchase from your latest collection, they'll see tailored ad content that evolves like an engaging story in the days and weeks following their visit. Shoelace's automation platform makes it a breeze to run memorable retargeting experiences. Visit ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and get started on working with Shoelace today. Mention "Ecommerce Influence" to claim a special offer during your free trial! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

Something most of my clients tell me they struggle with is time management and always being busy. There’s so much to do and it feels like there’s never enough time to do it. Often most of their time is spent in their business, leaving little time to spend on the things they enjoy in their personal life. Time is something both Andrew and I are focusing on this year: how we can spend more time doing the things we want to do while continuing to grow our businesses. Today we’ll share some of the strategies and tools we use for effective time management, and the impact they’ve had on our lifestyles. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 7:34 Buffer days versus focus days: Austin’s approach. 9:36 Andrew’s take on buffer days and buffer zones. 13:36 Creating an ideal schedule that works for you. 16:23 The importance of protecting your schedule once you’ve planned it out. 17:19 Building milestones or keystones into your week to keep yourself on track. 19:23 Andrew's approach to setting goals, including a 100-year vision and the “One Thing.” 20:10 Starting with your “One Thing” and building in the other time management frameworks to create change in your life. 22:22 How giving away control of your time is like giving away control of your bank account. 23:21 Learning how to say NO, or at least no-ish. 26:06 What Austin does before making a decision about a requested meeting or opportunity. 28:18 The benefit of estimating time for tasks and tracking how long things actually take. 30:07 Using time tracking to understand time spent vs. revenue and which tasks are actually aligned with your larger financial goals. 32:11 What Andrew is using as an alternative to email in order to spend less time in his inbox. 33:08 Tools Austin uses to effectively manage his time. 35:19 Time management tools Andrew is using. Links And Resources: Book: Essentialism Episode 149: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 1] Episode 150: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 2] Productivity Planner by Intelligent Change Panda Planner Freedom App Be Focused App Freedom Business Family Weekly Planning Sheet Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Shoelace This episode is brought to you by Shoelace. Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores tell their brand story, increase conversions, and grow revenue through Customer Journey Retargeting. This personalized approached to retargeting shows the right customers the right ads at the right time based on where they are in the buying journey with your brand. Whether a visitor is discovering your brand for the first time or a loyal repeat-customer is considering a purchase from your latest collection, they'll see tailored ad content that evolves like an engaging story in the days and weeks following their visit. Shoelace's automation platform makes it a breeze to run memorable retargeting experiences. Visit to ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and get started on working with Shoelace today. Mention "Ecommerce Influence" to claim a special offer during your free trial! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

As the world of digital marketing continues to become more integrated it becomes increasingly difficult to analyze your metrics across various channels. This is particularly true when it comes to attribution. Late last year Facebook launched a new attribution tool that will allow you, for the first time, to easily compare data across all of your paid channels at the same time. If you’re running ads across multiple channels, you won’t want to miss this episode. Andrew talks about the Facebook Attribution tool’s best features, how to set it up, and why you should start using it right away. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 5:48 Facebook’s new Attribution tool: what it is and how it works. 7:53 Some of the common issues people run into with attribution. 11:58 Why you should start using the new Facebook Attribution tool. 15:26 How to set up the Facebook Attribution tool. 18:48 A big benefit of the Facebook Attribution tool? Discovering hidden profits. 19:30 The difference between various attribution models and the questions to ask yourself when you’re setting things up. 24:47 Andrew shares his advice on choosing an attribution window. 29:10 The dashboard you’ll see once you set up Facebook Attribution, and how to use it to start digging into your data. 31:38 The three most valuable things Andrew recommends looking at within the Facebook Attribution dashboard. 37:11 Why it’s absolutely worth your time to set up the Facebook Attribution tool. Links And Resources: Book: Atomic Habits Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital [email protected] iTunes Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Shoelace This episode is brought to you by Shoelace. Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores tell their brand story, increase conversions, and grow revenue through Customer Journey Retargeting. This personalized approached to retargeting shows the right customers the right ads at the right time based on where they are in the buying journey with your brand. Whether a visitor is discovering your brand for the first time or a loyal repeat-customer is considering a purchase from your latest collection, they'll see tailored ad content that evolves like an engaging story in the days and weeks following their visit. Shoelace's automation platform makes it a breeze to run memorable retargeting experiences. Visit ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and get started on working with Shoelace today. Mention "Ecommerce Influence" to claim a special offer during your free trial! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

One of the most exciting (and frustrating) parts of being a marketer today is that platforms are constantly evolving and our strategies have to evolve with them. Today we’re joined by Susan Wenograd, Account Group Director at Aimclear, who brings her insights on the changes that are coming in 2019 and how ecommerce business owners and marketers need to start thinking differently about their paid social strategies. Susan talks about how paid media is moving from a direct response channel to an integrated one, the impact this has as content and budgets are split into increasingly smaller parts, what to do when you start seeing a decreasing ROAS on Facebook, and the role brand awareness plays in all of this. If you’re investing in paid media, you will not want to miss this episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 8:50 How the marketing landscape changed in 2018, especially with paid social, and what ecommerce business owners and marketers need to be aware of moving into 2019. 11:34 As paid media becomes more of an integrated channel rather than direct ROAS, you’re going to have to think differently about your messaging. 12:55 The consequences creating snack-sized content has on your messaging and your ad spend. 15:58 What sets great agencies and practitioners apart, and what to look for if you’re hiring. 17:54 Multi-touch attribution: what it is and how to start measuring it. 21:58 Common multi-touch models and their upsides and downsides. 24:17 The cross-channel trick to increase the click-through-rate of Facebook ads. 26:04 How to adjust your cross-channel SEM tactics depending on your budget. 28:08 Why it’s important to integrate a brand awareness strategy into your funnel and where to do it. 34:24 The types of interactions Susan sees on ads with general brand messaging vs. on ads that are pushing a sale. 36:07 Susan’s tips for managing your marketing spend this year, and your expectations. 40:51 Where content marketing fits for ecommerce businesses. Links And Resources: SusanEDub Atomic Habits Marketing Land Aimclear Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Shoelace This episode is brought to you by Shoelace. Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores tell their brand story, increase conversions, and grow revenue through Customer Journey Retargeting. This personalized approached to retargeting shows the right customers the right ads at the right time based on where they are in the buying journey with your brand. Whether a visitor is discovering your brand for the first time or a loyal repeat-customer is considering a purchase from your latest collection, they'll see tailored ad content that evolves like an engaging story in the days and weeks following their visit. Shoelace's automation platform makes it a breeze to run memorable retargeting experiences. Visit ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and get started on working with Shoelace today. Mention "Ecommerce Influence" to claim a special offer during your free trial! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you're going through this, they're going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

In 2018, I radically changed my approach to setting goals and running my business. As we enter a New Year, I wanted to put together an episode focused on how to set goals that will leave you more fulfilled. Instead of setting massive goals, I ask myself simple questions and make strategic changes to my business and life based on my answers. Those strategic changes led to more profit, less stress, and more personal freedom. In this episode, both Andrew and I share a glimpse into our businesses and our personal plans for 2019.  We also offer you some straightforward questions you can use to help you set more fulfilling goals in 2019. This episode will give you a head start for 2019. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 2:09 How Austin is approaching 2019. 4:16 The reason Austin wants to discuss goal setting and the impact it made last year. 5:24 2 questions Austin is asking himself right now. 8:05 Andrew shares a crazy story about a client who sold his business accidentally. 10:14 Other questions Austin is asking himself for 2019. 12:05 Andrew's most important framework for this year. 12:23 Distinction between growth in the business vs growth in your profit. 13:02 The focus Austin has on working forever. 14:18 Andrew's framework that he wants to do this year. 15:48 What going all-in would mean and examples of it. 17:50 How to go about building a portfolio business. 20:48 How the cash-flow grow strategy work. 23:05 Main focus of a cash flow grow strategy. 23:41 Why Austin used cash flow grow strategy from the previous year. 26:53 Things Austin had seen over the last year that made a big impact on businesses. 28:48 Tips on a better lifestyle free from stress this 2019. Links and Resources: Brand Growth Experts Membership Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

The Google Medic update a few months ago caused a big upset for many people in the ecommerce space. Our guest today, Nat Eliason, is an expert in content marketing and SEO, and he shares his insights into what happened, the outcome, and why he thinks Google is smart for the changes they’ve made, even those some of his own clients were impacted. Nat joins us on the podcast for the second time and you won’t want to miss his discussion about why solid, well-written content is still the best way to drive traffic to your site and his recommendations for the best tools for auditing your site and improving SEO. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:44 Why Nat practices intermittent fasting. 7:36 How Growth Machine has grown over the last year since Nat’s first time on the Ecommerce Influence podcast. 11:10 Why creating awesome content is still the best way to drive traffic to your site. 14:21 Nat explains why it’s better to be paying a bit more for better writers and better content. 15:30 How the 80/20 rule applies differently when it comes to writing a creative article. 18:30 Google Medic update: what it is and its effect on different sites. 21:37 Nat’s hypothesis about why some health sites were hurt by the Medic update more than others. 25:06 Recommendations for those that have been hurt by the Medic update. 26:36 Why creating a second blog might be a good strategy to try to increase your results on Google. 30:08 Why Nat says Google was smart to make the update. 31:17 Nat’s favorite tools for site auditing. 32:51 The main things to look for in your site audit results. 33:46 Other tools Nat recommends. 35:23 “No More Struggle Porn” – how Nat’s article originated, why he took a stance on idolizing the obsession with working hard, and how it reached more than 350,000 views. 42:21 The reality of what it actually looks like to be an entrepreneur. 44:16 Realizing that working harder and struggling can be a false sense of progress in your business. 49:40 The importance of creating space for play within the business lifestyle. 51:42 The books that had the biggest impact on Nat this year. Links And Resource @nateliason NatEliason.com Growth Machine AHREFS SEO PowerSuite Clearscope It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work Elephant in the Brain Discipline and Punish Darwin's Dangerous Idea Gödel, Escher, Bach Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Klaviyo Today’s episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Over 10,000 brands have joined Klaviyo to help them build higher-quality relationships with their customers. Klaviyo does not force you to compromise between speed and powerful functionality, you get both. Interested to see Klaviyo’s impact? Tune into their 12-part docu-series following three brands—Chubbies, SunSki and the Love Is Project. You’ll learn how they prepared for Cyber Weekend 2018, marketing throughout the holidays, and beyond. Along the way, we’ll fill you in on what you should be doing as a business to push your marketing strategy to the next level. Also, as you’re going through this, they’re going to show you how to prepare the business to continue to take it to the next level segment and grow and use it to use Klaviyo to drive more profitable interactions. If you want to go check out this docu-series, go to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/beyond.

Today, we’ve got an excellent interview with Wharton Professor and entrepreneur Peter Fader. He's a two-time guest. We wanted to bring Peter back on the show because he’s an expert in customer lifetime value and customer centricity. How do you predict lifetime value? What models should we use to predict lifetime value? This is what Peter spent his entire career focusing on. In this episode, Peter is going to talk about the difference between contractual businesses and subscription businesses. He's going to talk about share some big name eCommerce businesses that on are track to go out of business because of their product-centric model. It's a deep dive into customer centricity, lifetime value, and it's something I think you guys will enjoy. Episode Highlights 4:37  The work Peter Fader did with Zodiac that made Nike wanted to buy it. 8:45 What is lifetime value and its importance to your business. 9:54  Tips on making more money. 10:27  What really sets Amazon aside that makes their number two better than other companies number one. 14:06  What are lifetime value scores? 15:49  What makes EA sports a good example of a customer-centric company. 20:20 Answer to why big companies scale too quickly and fail when hitting a certain level? 26:55 The concept of quality interaction over quantity interaction 28:10 How responding to customers needs becomes an issue? 29:50 Distinction between contractual versus non-contractual businesses 33:44 Two metrics that non-contractual businesses should demand to see 34:56 CRM: expectation versus reality Links And Resource PeteFader.com ThetaEquity.com The Customer Centricity Playbook Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside!  

If You’ve Been Listening To This Show For The Last Few Months, You’ve Heard Us Make Predictions About How To Approach Q4 Advertising. Many of those predictions worked out well. Others, not as much. There were a TON of Facebook bugs this year that came out of nowhere and really fouled people up. Now that we’re through the busiest part of the season, we’re bringing you an episode on BFCM advertising and what we learned. Andrew brought in four top media buyers to give you a detailed Black Friday/Cyber Monday recap. You’ll learn how it went down, what they learned, so you can adjust and improve your strategies going into the new year. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:13 How value optimization helped one client get a 7X ROAS during Black Friday. 6:55 The amped-up offer and focused traffic-driving strategy that worked for Ryan Kovach. 8:34 Bid caps: how are they working for low spends vs. high spends. 10:06 What exactly is a bid cap? 11:27 The importance of putting in the work before Black Friday/Cyber Monday that led to 5X ROAS. 12:44 The benefit of building your warm audiences in advance. 14:10 Campaign Budget Optimization and how it worked well for a number of different clients. 16:03 Testing campaign budget optimization and minimum ad set budgets. 17:48: Campaign budget optimization and interest targeting. 18:46 Should you split your placements across Instagram and Instagram stories? 20:53 Interests vs. lookalikes – which performed better? 22:53 How to identify what interests you should be going after with your ads. 23:59 Guests share their worst Facebook bug experiences. Links And Resources JPORT Media [email protected] 11:11 Digital [email protected] Red Giant Growth [email protected] Social Outlier Twitter: @kovachr Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become A Member If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Hotjar Today’s episode is brought to you by the always wonderful Hotjar. Hotjar is an incredible tool that allows you to see what’s happening on your site with potential customers with recorded sessions. You get to basically go back and look at what’s happening, what people are doing, where they’re dropping off, why they’re not adding something to cart on mobile, on a desktop, and you can actually understand that. Hotjar allows you to get in-the-moment visual feedback, see how people are using your website, and uncover insights to make the right changes. Hotjar is absolutely one of my favorite tools out there and if you’ve not used it, we definitely recommend checking it out. You can go to EcommerceInfluence.com/hotjar to learn a little bit more.

For over 12 years, Jeana LeClerc has been operating two businesses. She’s owned a local spa in Redding, CA and sold skin care products on ArtofSkinCare.com. Her business has grown and changed over the last decade, but her commitment to her customers has not. In the last year and a half, her business has taken off. She has grown from a two-person team to an eight-person team and completely changed the way she operates. Jeana shut down her local spa and doubled down on her online store. After narrowing her focus her passion for the business has been completely reinvigorated. I love a good founder story and today’s episode delivers. Jeana tells her story and shares a few of the learnings that have allowed her to get to the next level. I hope you enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:53 How Jeana went from being a stay-at-home mom to starting her own business. 8:58 The most helpful thing Jeana learned at her first Intensive with Brand Growth Experts. 10:20 How Google Adwords helped Jeana make a come back after leaving Amazon. 12:14 Why Jeana’s motto is to “Really take care of her customers” and how a personalized customer experience helps her do it. 14:39 How Jeana sets her business apart from other companies. 16:16 How consultations help Jeana build personal relationships and keep customers coming back. 21:02 The email strategies Jeana uses that have led to a 65% open rate and drive repeat purchases. 24:00 How hiring the right people in the right roles helped take Jeana's business to the next level. 28:16 The lessons Jeana learned and how her role has changed as she’s grown her team.  28:58 The importance of recognizing what you are (and are not) good at. 32:42 Changes Jeana is making in 2019 to take her website to the next level and improve customer experience. Links and Resources Art of Skin Care [email protected] Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor Today's episode is brought to you by the always wonderful Hotjar. Hotjar is an incredible tool that allows you to see what's happening on your site with potential customers with recorded sessions. You get to basically go back and look at what's happening, what people are doing, where they're dropping off, why they're not adding something to cart on mobile, on desktop, and you can actually understand that. Hotjar allows you to get in-the-moment visual feedback, see how people are using your website, and uncover insights to make the right changes. Hotjar is absolutely one of my favorite tools out there and if you've not used it, we definitely recommend checking it out. You can go to EcommerceInfluence.com/hotjar to learn a little bit more.

Today’s episode is a little bit different, in a good way. We've had some great questions recently in the Brand Growth Experts Membership. They were so good we decided to answer some of them for you guys who are the listeners. We answer questions including how to attribute Amazon sales, how to weed out inactive email subscribers, what type of an ROI you should expect on your Facebook Ads, and Andrew explains the best way to set up a budget and test Facebook ads. This is a meaty episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights Links and Resources Brand Growth Experts Membership Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Hotjar Today's episode is brought to you by the always wonderful Hotjar. Hotjar is an incredible tool that allows you to see what's happening on your site with potential customers with recorded sessions. You get to basically go back and look at what's happening, what people are doing, where they're dropping off, why they're not adding something to cart on mobile, on desktop, and you can actually understand that. Hotjar allows you to get in-the-moment visual feedback, see how people are using your website, and uncover insights to make the right changes. Hotjar is absolutely one of my favorite tools out there and if you've not used it, we definitely recommend checking it out. You can go to EcommerceInfluence.com/hotjar to learn a little bit more. Sponsor: Klaviyo This episode is also brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

If Someone Looked Under The Hood Of Your Business, What Would They Find? If you hired someone new today, would they be able to easily access the information they need to get the job done? Or would they be sifting through a clutter of files, or, worse yet, is everything they need to know stored only inside your brain? Our guest today is Tiago Forte, founder of Forte Labs, a company that specializes in productivity. Tiago talks about the importance of building and maintaining a solid knowledge management system for your business, otherwise known as a “second brain.” Having a second brain not only makes it easier to onboard new employees as your business scales, but it can also help increase your overall organization and productivity. Andrew and I learned a ton from this episode and we hope you enjoy it! Episode Highlights 5:11 The goal of Forte Labs: Finding transformational paradigm shifts in productivity. 7:10 The impact of an international upbringing on Tiago's work and mindset. 9:17 Tiago's big realization about the best way to help people. 10:54 Defining "design thinking" and why it's fundamental to entrepreneurship 13:47 The difference between productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. 15:53 Being organized as a state of being and the method Tiago created to help people get organized. 19:32 The benefit of micro projects. 23:02 How micro projects help you elevate your perspective. 26:48 The importance of having a knowledge management system as your business scales. 29:37 Building your knowledge management system, i.e., your second brain. 35:33 How to increase your productivity without working faster or working more efficiently. 37:38 Linking your communication apps and your productivity apps. 41:27 One easy thing you can implement right now that will increase your productivity.  Links and Resources Forte Labs Building a Second Brain Book: Design Your Work Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is also brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

One of the most common questions Andrew gets from his clients is: how do I optimize my Facebook ad account? Today he talks about RCAB-P, his five-step process for optimizing and improving Facebook ads. We'll cover the number one thing you need to do before you start optimizing, and walk through each of the five steps in detail to help you successfully optimize your ad account. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 3:41 The first thing you need to do before you start optimizing your Facebook ad account.  5:13 How much you should be spending before you start thinking about optimization. 6:10 Step one in the optimization process: Reporting Metrics. 7:23 The fundamental questions you want to answer with your metrics report. 9:01 Understanding secondary metrics, and a common metric that Andrew doesn't recommend tracking. 11:01 Step two: Optimizing Creative (your most important lever for optimization). 11:33 The new creative ad feature Facebook just rolled out. 12:57 Creative optimization: using different creative at different points in your funnel. 16:23 Step three: Audience Optimization. 17:02 First Time Impression ratio - what it is and why it's important. 18:57 Dynamic vs static custom audiences and how to optimize each of them. 21:31 Step four: Bidding Optimizations 23:50 Using manual bid overrides during Black Friday.  24:53 Step five: Placement - the huge optimization many people are not taking advantage of. 27:46 What to do if you get through the five step optimization process and you're still not getting results.  28:18 Another new Facebook feature to try: campaign budget optimizations. Links and Resources Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is also brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

What if you could make more money in a single day than your business previously made in its entire lifetime? That's what happened for Mark Arruda last August, typically his company's slowest month. Mark, owner and CEO of Constantly Varied Gear, joined us earlier this year to talk about how he uses Facebook Messenger in his business. Today, he's back, and in the eight months since we last had Mark on the show he's continued to ramp up his Messenger marketing and is seeing incredible results. In this episode, Mark shares the Messenger strategy he used that fateful day in August, and the other tactics he's using to grow his list and drive sales. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 7:13 The Facebook Messenger tactic Mark's using to gain Messenger subscribers and how it connects with his on-site lead capture. 9:56 When Mark got started with Messenger bots and how long it's taken him to build his current system. 11:09 How allowing customers to vote on products via Messenger has been incredibly successful for Mark. 14:39 A good thing to do if you're just starting out with Messenger. 17:27 What is a Facebook Messenger sequence? 22:04 How Mark maps out his Messenger marketing plan. 23:48 The first thing you should do before getting started with Messenger marketing. 26:08 The chatbot Mark is using to grow his list and stop potential customers from leaving his site.  28:45 Why Mark is shifting almost all of his prospecting efforts to Click-to-Messenger ads. 31:22 Using Messenger across different business verticals. 33:35 The best copy for Click-to-Messenger ads. 36:18 The Messenger strategy that led Constantly Varied Gear to do more sales in a single day in August than during the entire lifetime of the company. 39:25 The importance of reaching your customers through a variety of different platforms, and how Messenger can tie into all of them. Links and Resources Messenger Mastermind Podcast Constantly Varied Gear ManyChat Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor: Justuno This episode is brought to you by Justuno. Justuno is a visitor conversion suite that offers pop-ups, push notifications, offers, and more. It's highly personalized and customizable and is awesome for capturing leads, recovering abandoned carts, and increasing sales. They recently launched an integration with Facebook Messenger so you can create a seamless experience from offsite to onsite with unified messaging. If you haven't used Justuno yet, we absolutely recommend checking it out. Lots of our clients are using it and it integrates well with Shopify, Klaviyo, and more. Head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/justuno and you'll get a 15 day free trial + 15% off. Sponsor: Klaviyo This episode is also brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Earlier this week Andrew shared his story, and now we’re turning the tables. Today I talk about how I went from pursuing a career in investment banking to realizing I wanted to become an entrepreneur and eventually starting Ecommerce Influence. Digital marketing has evolved so much over the last decade, especially for ecommerce, and my career has evolved along with it. I’ll share how I built a business I'm excited about while also creating a lifestyle that gives me freedom and flexibility. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 3:54 Why Austin started Ecommerce Influence 5:07 Moving away from the typical agency: The birth of Brand Growth Experts 7:09 Austin's early career pursuits begin in China 8:14 When Austin realized he wanted to become an entrepreneur 9:38 Start-up life and learning how to become an entrepreneur 12:02 If you can sell a $100,000 product with triggered emails, you can sell anything with triggered emails 14:25 How working for a start-up provided the best education for growing a business 16:42 Austin starts building his own business 21:19 An evolution in personalized, lifecycle marketing 24:43 The inception of Ecommerce Influence and why Austin decided he didn't want to run a traditional agency 27:31 How Austin's created a business that reflects his core values 31:10 Helping business scale with the Brand Growth Experts Membership 35:23 The project Austin's most excited about right now Links and Resources Brand Growth Experts Brand Growth Experts Membership Brand Guild Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

One of the questions we love asking our guests is: how did you get where you are today? It’s a question our listeners frequently ask Andrew and I too, and in today’s episode, Andrew is going to share his story. Andrew has been working in digital advertising since before the inception of the Facebook News Feed in 2009 and he’s learned a lot along the way. He shares his first experience working in “new media,” tells the story of how Foxwell Digital was born, and talks about what success means to him. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 3:18 How Andrew got started in digital marketing 6:04 A congressional campaign leads Andrew out East and into "New Media" 8:11 Andrew's experience working in Congress during the invention of Facebook Ads 12:45 When Andrew launched his first newsfeed advertisement 14:29 When social proofing meant getting the most Likes 15:46 The birth of Foxwell Digital 18:15 How Andrew and Gracie went from teaching seniors how to use iPhones to getting their first official clients 21:06 How Andrew and Austin connected 22:34 When Andrew official joined the Ecommerce Influence Podcast 26:39 How documenting and synthesizing makes you more creative and a better teacher 28:34 The future of Foxwell Digital 31:24 Why you don't have to make $100 Million to be successful Links and Resources Foxwell Digital Brand Growth Experts Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Happy fall. Happy Q4. Andrew and I love this time of year. It's when so many of the companies we advise make the majority of their revenue. A lot of you that are listening know how high the stakes are. It looks like things are, as we predicted, even more competitive than last year. But so far, things are going good. We're getting ready for the big show here so we decided to bring in the big guns. Today we’ve brought back Justin Marshall from Adhoc Media to talk about how he’s getting his clients ready for the holidays. Justin is a 2x guest. His first episode was one of our all-time most downloaded and this one doesn’t disappoint. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:10 How Justin explains the phases of Q4 to his clients. 7:43 Why you shouldn't just be pushing traffic to your site without a focus on conversions. 10:11 The offers you should be considering through the holiday season. 14:30 Not sure what creative you should be using? Checkout what's working best for Adhoc Media and their clients. 18:36 Why you should be driving your traffic to these landing pages for Q4. 21:00 How to make sure your ads are seen during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday rush. 27:56 How to Optimize your ads for peak performance during Black Friday/Cyber monday. 36:22 When you should be notifying your fans of the holiday deals to get them ready to shop with you. Links and Resources AdHoc Media Justin's First appearance on Ecommerce Influence: Episode 136 Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

When you're just starting your business and running it small and lean, it’s easy to implement new projects right away. Right? If you go to a conference and get a new idea, you can go in and execute it. As your business and team scales up, it's no longer possible to implement your ideas immediately. You need to plan and get your team involved. Many businesses get stuck here and never move forward. They feel momentum but can’t take advantage of it because they can’t effectively manage their marketing at scale. This leads to stress, burnout and missed opportunities. How do you transition from doing everything right away to having to plan it out and delegate it out? This often requires taking a step back before stepping forward. In today’s episode, we’re going to share a 3 step process to help you manage your marketing at scale. Episode Highlights 6:03 What it means to be at scale. 10:29 The questions you should be asking when planning to scale you business. 11:54 How discovering your Kolbe score can unlock your potential to scale your business. 14:00 How documenting tasks can shine a light on what you are really doing in your business. 16:18 How templating projects or tasks can bring about improved creativity. 17:20 The most important thing you should consider if you are listening to this podcast. 18:20 What to look at first before delegating out any documented tasks. 19:32 Your business is not different, you can delegate tasks too. Links and Resources Kolbe Score Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

In today’s episode, we explore how Kettle & Fire went from a couple of guys boiling bones in a pot to closing $8 million dollars in Series A. I first met Jack Meredith in January when I hosted a Private Intensive here in Austin for him and his team. He was the first employee at Kettle & Fire, and they’ve been on a rocket ship of growth - mostly fueled by affiliate marketing. For most companies, affiliate marketing starts out as exciting opportunity but ends in disappointment. Not so with Kettle & Fire. If you are familiar with the paleo world, you’ll quickly notice they’ve got all the top health influencers and affiliates as supporters. Today, Jack shares the process that led to actually getting those people to support and promote Kettle & Fire. He also shares challenges they've faced as they have scaled, how to think about growing a team, and a framework for thinking about new projects. I had a great time recording this episode and I hope you enjoy it! Episode Highlights 10:31 The first step Jack took to setting up measured growth for Kettle & Fire. 12:50 How Kettle & Fire tested the waters of affiliate marketing. 15:00 Why Kettle & Fire has seen such success with their affiliate program. 22:00 How changing up their email flows and layering in segmentation significantly increased the ROI of Kettle & Fire. 24:00 The approach Jack takes to testing new channels and how to tell its time to hire a person to manage it. 28:30 The best teams don't have to be in the same room: How the entire staff of Kettle & Fire works remotely. 33:10 Why raising a funding series can open up opportunities to test and try new avenues of marketing 36:30 A few of the key tools in the Kettle & Fire toolbox that you can use too. Links and Resources Kettle And Fire Careers Jack Meredith Asana Things App Media Rails Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

About two weeks ago, my wife and I moved into a 100 year old bungalow here in Austin Texas. When you decide to move into an older house you expect certain things aren’t going to work. Each day you start adding to a checklist of all the things you’re going to need to fix. That’s the easy part. The hard part is getting the right people out to fix what’s broken. In addition to managing my team here at Brand Growth Experts and producing the Ecommerce Influence podcast, I’ve been coordinating electricians, plumbers, and painters to fix things at our house. Construction workers in Austin are so busy right now that getting people to show up is like herding cats. It’s been a lot of work and inspired today’s episode about managing a team. In this episode, I’m going to walk through the framework I use to accomplish more with my team in much less time. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:10 The Scrum methodology and how it works for Product Management. 8:12 Step 1: The Data Dump: Getting all of your ideas on to paper 9:56 Step 2: Identifying the roles of your organization and their responsibilities related to the project. 13:42 Step 3: weeding through and prioritizing all of the projects you've previously put down on paper. 16:00 Step 4: How to break down the steps needed to complete the project(s) 21:50 Step 5: Preparing for the sprint and defining the size of the tasks to complete the project within the sprint goal. 26:45 Step 6: Daily check-ins and the 3 questions each team member needs to answer during the check-in. 28:20 Step 7: Sprint review, also known as the show & tell of the project sprint. 29:31 Step 8: Reviewing the sprint and deciding if the product/project is done  and what to do if it is not complete. 30:19 The one part of Scrum you should never skip Links and Resources Productivity Sheet (Need Link) Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

About four years ago, Allan Shoemake was Skyping with his daughter and hated how the poor lighting was impacting the video quality. He strapped a couple of LED lights to the side of his phone case and LuMee was born. Two years later, Kim Kardashian West picked LuMee as one of her “selfie secrets” and the company exploded from there. Our guest Jeremy Horowitz is LuMmee’s Ecommerce Manager. He attended my email Intensive last August and then he went on to have a ton of success with email. In today’s episode, he shares what they've been working on, what's been working well, how they think about growth. I think you’ll really enjoy this tactic and results heavy episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 7:03 The email strategies that are currently working for Lumee. 8:50 The pages you should be placing pop-ups to increase your sales. 10:15 Why you should be using heat maps to find the holes in your funnel. 13:46 How Lumee changed their approach once Kim Kardashian West started promoting their cases. 19:50 How surveying your customers at these points in the funnel can lead to improved growth and a better customer profile. 24:11 The KPI's that Lumee focuses on and the book that changed their approach to tracking performance. 27:39 Lumee's plan for Q4 and the 1 holiday secret weapon they plan to use and you can too. 32:00 Why Jeremy is "nerding" out on Chatbots and messenger marketing right now. Links and Resources Lumee Measure What Matters - Book Dot Com Secrets - Book Manychat Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

Today, we’re continuing our theme of “things you should do right now to prepare for Q4”. I’m not going to let you get to the end of October without a plan for the holidays. Not this year. We're going to start early so you can avoid that annual freakout. In this episode, Andrew and I share the key differences between Facebook and Instagram advertising this year and last year. There are a lot of similarities (creating good offers, creative, etc) but we’ve noticed some big changes and in this episode we’ll help you approach Q4 with your Facebook and Instagram ads the right way. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:17 Here are the big differences between this year and last year when it comes to marketing with Facebook & Instagram. 13:11 Why you should be separating out ad placement and setting up ads that only run on Instagram in Q4. 14:35 How to social proof your ads and why this process is so valuable. 17:45 The changes in how Facebook lets you bid in the auction and the approach you should take during Q4. 21:10 Andrew's 3 phases of Q4 and how you should approach your ad objective through each phase. 24:34 Facebook inventory in the Newsfeed will max out during the holidays. Here are a few other placements you should be considering. Links and Resources Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

I have a fascinating episode for you today. This week, Andrew Foxwell sat down with Jason Moser, a senior analyst for the Motley Fool investment research team. You might be wondering why we are interviewing someone who helps people pick stocks for a living. It turns out, Jason's whole job at the Motley Fool is to research and analyze companies in the e-commerce sector and learn how they are innovating. This is a big picture episode and they talk about a whole bunch of things. Andrew and Jason get into talking about Wayfair and Amazon. They also talk about the state of ecommerce, Shopify, Facebook, Instagram, and a bunch of other things. I think you'll really like this episode and I look forward to hearing your feedback on it. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:05 How Ecommerce brands are innovating the marketplace. 9:00 The two trends you should be exploring if you're a growing ecommerce brand. 11:27 How creating your own version of Amazon's "Prime Day" can generate revenues greater than Black Friday. 13:52 What Shopify is doing to help their clients grow their brands. 17:20 The 1 thing Dollar Shave Club has done to grow their business and how you can use it to grow yours too. 22:26 What your customers are really looking for (Hint: it's not a discount). 30:00 The future of ad products on social networks and their perceived value for advertisers. 38:56 The one tip you should always follow if you plan to invest in the market. Links and Resources Motley Fool - Money Podcast Motley Fool - Market Foolery Motley Fool  Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Today’s episode was inspired by a conversation with a colleague about building audiences and stockpiling potential customers for use in Q4. Last year, he said he put $10,000 into audience and list building for Q4. He expected he would be able to use those audiences but he had no idea when or the return on ad spend he would get. He believed if he brought people in, told the brand story and got them in his remarketing and email lists, he'd be able to earn back his investment. Off of that $10,000 investment he made almost $150,000 and basically spent all his Q4 ad spend just retargeting those lists. Didn't do any prospecting. This is important because right now is the time you should be thinking about your Q4 strategy. This is the time when the people who are going to have their most success through the holidays are starting their prep. And that's what this episode is going to be about. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 8:00 How running engagement ads with the intent of being "social" will help you build an audience you can re-target and warm up over time. 11:00 Why lead generation ads are a great way to learn about your customer while building a more qualified audience for Q4. 13:45 How providing value through Messenger ads could lead to a huge with in Q4 this year. 15:17 The importance of using the "view content" objective in a Facebook conversion ad as you ramp up to Q4. 17:00 Why now is the best time to work on dialing in your lead capture and how a quiz funnel may be the way to go. 18:13 The number 1 thing you can do to ensure you have a stellar Q4. 20:40 For those who are managing accounts or reporting results to others, here's how to set the expectation for Q4. 22:16 Not sure where to start for Q4? This is what you should be doing right now. Links and Resources Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.  

Today’s guest has a really cool business. He creates beautiful custom designed maps of National Parks, Mountain Ranges and Hydrology of states. And if you’ve ever been in an REI, you’ve probably seen his work featured in all their stores. In today’s conversation, we were able to catch up with Jared Prince and learn how his business has changed over the last year. We brought him on to talk about the sustainable growth he’s built into his business and how he has done it. He shares feedback from 6 months after attending both Intensives Andrew and I hosted in February. He shares what’s been going well, and how he thinks about growing his business after 5 years. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 9:40 What happens when the PR "buzz" wears off and how to turn it around. 13:33 How building an email list and properly segmenting that list has helped grow business for Muir Way. 14:42 The one thing Jared says Facebook and Instagram ads are great at generating for business. 16:10 Launching a new product? Here's how Muir Way just made a big splash with their new release. 18:22 How Jared's role has changed within Muir Way as the business continues to grow. 20:28 How offering a chance to win the "right" prize for subscribing to an email list has improved Muir Way's subscriber quality vs just a discount on purchase for signing up.   23:51 The two ecomm remarking strategies Muir Way has not implemented and why they were not a fit for the brand. 25:56 How A/B testing of one small copy change led to a 5x difference in ad performance. 28:02 The one thing ecommerce brands should be talking more about when scaling their businesses. Links and Resources Jared at Muir Way dot com Muir Way Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between brands that scale and those who don’t? A couple of months ago, I was asked this question on an interview with Kurt from the Unofficial Shopify Podcast. After re-listening to the episode, I decided to share it with you. Kurt asks great questions and I outline my entire philosophy on growth. It’s especially timely to talk about scaling given the recent sale of MVMT Watches to Movado for $200 million. In this episode, we talk about defining a growth strategy, scaling your advertising, and how to hire the team necessary to get to the next level. I also share what I’ve learned from working with some of the fastest growing brands in the country. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:30 How Austin has helped many brands scale from $500k to $1MM. 7:00 Why it is so important to do almost every job in your business before turning it over to someone else. 8:27 The big differences between the Shopify brands that scale up and those that don't. 12:00 How to remove tasks from your plate so your business can scale. 14:20 These are the core KPI's that Austin uses to understand his client's scalability. 15:56 Understanding what your net promoter score is and why it is so valuable to ecommerce brands.  23:00 The point at which Austin regularly sees businesses die out and how you can overcome it. 30:17 Everyone wants to scale their business but it does come with a few downsides. 33:45 How PR has helped many ecommerce brands become successful before they ever were. 39:34 The questions you should be asking yourself to help you define your success. Links and Resources Dean Jackson Unofficial Shopify Podcast Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside! Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Mike Danner is the VP of Digital Marketing for Ancient Nutrition (formerly Dr. Axe) the largest natural health website in the world with over 20M visits a month. Last year, they landed at #35 on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America list and was the #1 fastest growing company in Tennessee in both 2016 and 2017. To top things off, in March of this year they received a $103M investment for a minority share of their business. To say they are “scaling quickly” is an understatement. I had the pleasure of getting to know Mike last year when I hosted a Private Intensive Workshopat their headquarters in Tennessee. He is razor sharp and very practical, which is on full display during this interview. He’s become an expert on hiring (out of necessity), and shares the inner workings on how they’ve managed to keep the business powering through unprecedented growth. This is an interview I’ve wanted to bring you for a long time. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 7:12  How scaling your business will lead to your role in the business changing over time. 11:36 Why Dr. Axe was able to scale so quickly and overcome their failures quickly. 17:20 Here are the tactics that Mike is thinking of as he looks to 2019 and beyond.  21:10 The two reasons why you should be connecting/staying connected with thought leaders. 26:28 The one quote (of many) that Mike uses as a guide for success. 27:49 Mike's process for hiring incredible talent in places you'd least expect to find it. 30:37 The two hacks Mike uses (and you can too) to hire incredible talent. 37:46 The one question you should asking people in your network to find the right talent for your job opening. 45:40 The one thing you can do now to see results by the end of the week.  Links and Resources Ancient Nutrition Dr. Axe Drive (book) By Daniel Pink Drive (Ted Talk) By Daniel Pink Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside!

This is part two of a two part episode on Youtube Advertising for Ecommerce. If you haven’t listened to the first episode in the series, I would start there. If you have listened to the first episode, I hope you enjoy the 2nd part of my conversation with Tom Breeze of Viewability. We get into the details of who should be using Youtube Ads (and who shouldn’t), the difference between advertising on FB and Youtube, a discussion about creative, and a lot more. I call this a 101 episode because I intend it to help you go from knowing nothing about them to understanding whether or not they would work for your business. Enjoy part two of this very informative episode! Episode Highlights 1:47 Telling your brand story on Youtube and how to get it right. 5:29 What level of quality your video needs to be successful on Youtube. 9:48 How much you should budget for testing Youtube ads and where to find the easy wins. 12:42 How Google will, fairly quickly, start to tell you where to find your converting audiences. 14:13 Want Youtube ad inspiration? Here are the brand's Tom thinks are doing it right with their ads. 16:25 Here is Tom's cascading video strategy & why it converts and also keeps users from getting video fatigue. Links and Resources Viewability Tom Breeze Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside!

For the last few months, I’ve been getting a lot of emails asking about Youtube Advertising. And for good reason. Andrew and I spend a lot of time talking about what’s working on FB and IG and email, but very little time talking about Youtube Ads. It’s not because I’m holding out on you. Frankly, it’s because I don’t know a lot about them. I’ve never run Youtube Ads and have always thought of them as a bit of a black block. To remedy that, I brought a best-in-class guest (Tom Breeze of Viewability) on the show to explain how you can use them to grow your business. We get into the details of who should be using them (and who shouldn’t), the difference between advertising on FB and Youtube, a discussion about creative, and a lot more. This a 101 episode because it will help you go from knowing nothing about them to understanding whether or not they would work for your business. Enjoy part one of this very informative episode! Episode Highlights 5:31 Why you should be paying attention to Youtube ads now. 7:53 Not quite sure of the placements and ad types on Youtube? Here are your best  options. 11:14 The big difference between Facebook & Youtube audiences: why Youtube says their viewers are "leaning In" and looking to buy. 11:52 The 4 reasons people go to Youtube and how you can leverage this to connect with your audience. 15:13 How to tell if Youtube ads will work for you and your business 19:33 How Google develops what they call similar audiences to automatically help you find your audience 26:02 Why Youtube ads can be a great way to remarket to your other social traffic to give an omni present feel to your brand. 28:17 The importance of your brand story and how it is peril to a successful Youtube (or any) ad campaign. Links and Resources Viewability Tom Breeze Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside!

Intro: If your Facebook and Instagram Ads have been struggling recently, you’re not alone. Performance across Facebook and IG has been down for a number of businesses over the last few months. Wallowing in despair can be therapeutic, but it won’t get you anywhere. When things are going poorly, how do you turn it around? In this episode, Andrew will walk you through what many of his coaching clients have been paying him to do recently...which is to help them get back on track. You’re going to learn steps you can take to turn your failing advertising campaigns around. He’ll discuss how to assess what’s working and what is not, share some tools and tactics to help understand delivery metrics, and talk about what is actually working now.  Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 6:28 The questions you should first ask when assessing your failing Facebook Campaigns. 8:25 The metrics Facebook uses as core signals when serving your ads. 9:29 The 4 metrics Andrew regularly reviews and the ideal benchmarks he’s looking for. 11:15 Why your Facebook & Instagram campaign performance is likely getting held up in these two places. 13:12 Why you should be using the Delivery Insights tool and what you should be looking for. 17:52 Why relevance score is sometimes more important than if the ad is converting. 20:15 The placements you should be using and how you can test allocating spend. 22:20 From failing to scaling, here are the next steps to build your ads back up. Links and Resources: Ecommerce Influence Podcast Episode 136 Ecommerce Influence Podcast Episode 146 Delivery Insights Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Become a Member: If you liked this episode, you’re going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside!

Today's guest is no stranger to spending money on advertising. But as you'll learn, nowadays he's more focused on delivering an amazing customer experience than optimizing his ad spend. Babak Azad is the former SVP of Media & Customer Acquisition at Beachbody. During his time there, his team spent over half a billion dollars in media and acquired over 10 million customers through their website, on Amazon, and over the phone. Those are some big-time numbers. In today's episode, we discuss the danger of falling into the "Cost Per Acquisition > Lifetime Value Game" and share a few surprising things most ecommerce businesses are missing in their quest for scale. This is an exceptional episode with an exceptional guy! Episode Highlights 6:15 Chicken or the egg: Babak's thoughts on pushing sales vs brand awareness to build a brand. 8:44 Why customer experience is not just about online UI and UX. 11:31 The one thing you must do to create a great customer experience. 12:00 How being different can increase your sales and improve your customer experience. 13:30 The surprising thing that most ecommerce sites are not focusing on. 16:00 How shout-outs, badges & leaderboards help Peloton dial in their customer experience. 23:30 The 4 buckets Babak uses for breaking up and creating a great customer experience. 25:00 Why you need to understand who you're serving and what they really value.  28:55 How niching down and clearly speaking to your core customer can really help you succeed. 31:47 These are the metrics you should be reviewing to track customer experience Links and Resources Babak's Blog: Crafting Amazing Customer Experiences Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Join the Membership If you liked this episode, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership.  It’s a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. If you want to make sure you’re growing as quickly and sustainably as possible, click here to learn more. Hope to see you on the inside!

I just completed a successful two-day Private Intensive here in ATX with a client. We floated down the Guadalupe River and even played a little Top Golf, but most importantly made some big improvements to their website. In today’s episode, I want to share a big win we got from those two days so you can replicate it at home. Problem:The client had seen a 10% drop in conversion rate over the last month. The last 9 months were rock solid consistent, so it was very strange. A 10% drop in CR cost them around $35K a month! Solution:We installed HotJar and activated the screen recording function. After running a Google Analytics for exit pages and watching screen recordings, we identified a bug preventing users from customizing the product they wanted. It was literally stopping people dead in their tracks! After identifying the bug, the devs fixed it in a few hours. Episode Highlights 2:43 How a drop in conversions may be the result of issues (a bug) on your site. 4:46 Why step one should always be to confirm your inventory and that you are not out of stock on key products 6:27 Once you've used HotJar to record your site user's journey, here's what you want to look for. 7:12 What you should look at first once you've defined your top exit pages. 11:24 How a screen recording coupled with a screen shot can help your dev team quickly correct site issues and get you back to converting. 14:15 Recap: The 3 steps you can take to making sure your site is converting the best it possibly can Links and Resources Hot Jar Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital

Are you an ecommerce business owner using Shopify? Then this episode is a must-listen. Kurt Elster is a master at helping Shopify businesses uncover hidden profits from their stores and increase their conversion rates. The Ethercycle founder joins us today to share his expert tips on where to look for profits you may be missing out on, the design mistakes people consistently make, and the #1 thing that will give you the biggest competitive advantage over Amazon. Plus, he talks about the test you should do today to see how your customers are really engaging with your site. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 7:26 The 30,000-foot-view-quick win when it comes to optimizing your Shopify site. 9:48 The things top brands are getting right with website optimization. 12:37 The maximum number of apps your Shopify site should be running and why they maybe slowing you down, even if you've uninstalled them. 14:13 How simply improving your website's messaging can increase your conversions overnight. 15:01 Don't over complicate the landing page and why a "quickie" product page could end up being your best landing page 18:15 The things you can do to make your cart and checkout page more seamless and more user friendly. 19:46 Why if you're not using "order notes" for something meaningful you should have them turned off 25:45 The post checkout optimizations you should be making to increase your AOV. 29:46 The two misconceptions Kurt regularly sees when it comes to CRO. Links and Resources: KurtElster.com Ethercycle The Unofficial Shopify Podcast The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Key Smart Tactical Baby Gear   Membership   Doors are now open for the Brand Growth Experts Membership, a community of top ecommerce business owners and marketers who I coach one-on-one to help scale up their businesses. Together we’ll create a plan that will help you scale up your business, and then I’ll help you execute it. The Membership is open for a limited time only, and doors close at midnight CST on Tuesday, July 24. If you want to join, make sure you don’t miss your chance. Click here to learn more.   Sponsors:   Klaviyo   This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Sezzle Looking for an easy and effective way to increase your e-commerce site’s conversion rate while also providing your customers a simple and convenient way to pay? Then Sezzle is the payment app you’ve been looking for. Sezzle allows your customers to buy now and pay in monthly installments. Sezzle settles up directly with the merchant through the purchase process and handles all verification and repayments directly with the customer so you never have to worry about dealing with missed payments. On average Sezzle customers saw a 6.5% increase in sales and a 55% growth of their average order value. Learn more at http://www.sezzle.com/influence.

  Here’s the deal with Dynamic Product Ads or “DPAs” as you might know them. Everyone is using them and they work well. But as you’ll learn in today’s episode, the effectiveness of DPAs can create some unique problems for ad buyers. WFor example, you might have a DPA with a high return on ad spend and a low relevance score. Meaning it’s driving sales but people are indicating they don’t want to see it. How confusing is that!? In this episode, you’ll learn how to tweak your DPAs for top performance. We’ll talk about managing frequency, bidding, copywriting, and why you need to be thinking about your prospecting traffic. It’s a bit technical but if you’re running these ads (or want to) you’ll get a ton out of this episode. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 6:10 The biggest error in how most brands are structuring their dynamic product ads (DPAs). 8:05 Why turning up the spend on your successful DPA may actually be killing your audience. 9:25 How to structure your DPA budgets so you're ad frequencies don't skyrocket. 11:06 Why you need to watch your DPAs over time and the key things you should be watching for. 12:12 How changing copy of even top performing DPAs on a weekly basis can increase your results. 14:00 The step by step process you should take to improving your DPAs. Links and Resources Facebook Dynamic Product Ads Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital   Sponsor: Klaviyo If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Sponsor: Sezzle Looking for an easy and effective way to increase your e-commerce site's conversion rate while also providing your customers a simple and convenient way to pay? Then Sezzle is the payment app you've been looking for. Sezzleallows your customers to buy now and pay in monthly installments. Sezzle settles up directly with the merchant through the purchase process and handles all verification and repayments directly with the customer so you never have to worry about dealing with missed payments. On average Sezzle customers saw a 6.5% increase in sales and a 55% growth of their average order value. Learn more at http://www.sezzle.com/influence.

Today, I have a special episode for you. For our American listeners, July 2nd is two days before the 4th of July holiday. From here on out it will also be known as the day Custom Audience terms got updated! This is huge stuff right before the holiday. We’re talking about this because after Cambridge Analytica, Facebook has decided to evaluate their process and in my opinion cover their own ass. If you’re delivering ads to custom audiences (you should be) you’re going to need to accept new terms and start specifying exactly where your list came from. These changes will have a direct impact on how you’ll be able to advertise. In this episode, we’ll share what you need to know and how to stay above board. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 4:15 Why Facebook is changing up their custom audience terms 6:00 What you will be required acknowledge when uploading a new custom audience 7:55 How consumers will now be able to see more info on why they are being served ads 8:58 Why you may just have to validate current audiences vs. uploading them all over again 10:10 Here is what you will have to do if you are sharing custom audiences as an agency/with clients 13:04 The importance of reading the new custom audience terms and conditions Links and Resources Facebook Custom Audience Terms Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Sponsors This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding. Looking for an easy and effective way to help your ecommence site increase it's conversion rate while also providing your customers an easy and convenient way to pay? Then Sezzleis the payment app you've been looking for. Sezzle allows your customers to buy now and pay in monthly installments. Sezzle settles up directly with the merchant through the purchase process and handles all verification and repayments directly with the customer, so you never have to worry about dealing with missed payments. On average Sezzle customers saw a 6.5% increase in sales and a 55% growth of their average order value. Learn more on how Sezzle can help your bottom line today at: http://www.sezzle.com/influence

Earlier this week, we dropped part one of our incredible interview with NYT best-selling author Greg Mckeown. We had a ton of fun chopping it up with Greg about how to improve your life by doing less. If you haven’t listened to that episode, I’d recommend starting there. Greg’s book Essentialism has had a profound impact on both Andrew’s life and my own. If you feel like you’re spending time on trivial tasks and you want to remove the “trivial many” and focus on the essential few, this episode is for you. Enjoy part 2! Episode Highlights 4:15 How the criteria you use to set goals will dictate where you plateau. 6:00 The closet metaphor you should be using to dial in your success. 8:39 When it comes to the essentials have you asked yourself this one question? 10:14 The 4 key questions you should be asking of yourself and your brand. 12:19 The Southwest Airlines moto that can help you find your perfect customer and what happened to Continental Airlines when they tried to copy Southwest. 19:10 How Greg McKeown personally wraps up his week, month, year and retreats 25:37 The 100,000 foot view that Greg uses to help him understand the essential vs. nonessential. 26:41 How Greg thinks every business owner/executive should be making decisions for their business. Links and Resources Greg McKeown - Essentialism Book Twitter.com/Greg McKeown Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

About 2 years ago I purchased and then subsequently devoured the book Essentialism. At the time, I was stretched thin and had too many irons in the fire. The wisdom of Greg Mckeown helped me refocus on what really mattered. Today, I have the tremendous privilege of welcoming Greg on the show. Have you ever felt the urge to declutter your work life? Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized? The remedy is rarely to “get more done” and almost always to “do the right things.” In today’s episode, we explore what stops otherwise outstanding people from breaking through to the next level, and dive into why most people struggle to define what’s important in their life. Enjoy! Episode Highlights 5:22 The meaning of being an essentialist as defined by author Greg Mckeown himself. 8:26 How contribution may be keeping you from getting to the next level. 12:23 Why it's impossible to have multiple priorities and still be successful. 14:08 How to train your brain to focus on the most important thing you should be doing right now. 17:30 How scheduling free thought time can keep you from mimicking others and help you get ahead of the competition. 20:22 The 4 things you should focus on when planning your day and the one thing you may realize as you develop this habit. 25:11 Why you shouldn’t feel guilty saying “no” when the work doesn’t fit with your internal goals. 30:18 The 3 stages of essentialism and how to use them when interacting with colleagues and clients. Links and Resources Greg McKeown - Essentialism Book Twitter.com/Greg Mckeown Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

The number one question I get from ecommerce business owners, whether they’re just starting out or making $4MM a year, is: how do I scale? If you’re asking yourself that question, this episode is for you. In today’s Flash Episode I’ll walk through the big picture strategy that will help guide you on the path to 8 figures. We’ll talk about the three phases of growth, from $0 to $10MM, and what you should be doing at each phase in order to grow your business. I’ll talk about how your role as business owner will evolve as your company scales, and the three levers you should focus on to scale your business. And, I’ll share my #1 piece of advice for what you can do today to kickstart your growth. Episode Highlights 4:03 (Phase 1) The importance of finding a marketing channel that works for you, learning it well and doubling down on it. 5:36 (Phase 2) Now that you’ve mastered the channel, here’s why you need to remove yourself to continue growing. 7:41 Once you've found your replacement, its time to focus on increasing these key metrics. 8:47 How email is still king when it comes to increasing buyer frequency. 11:25 (Phase 3) If 8 figures is in sight, it might be time to step out of the way and develop a team to take over 13:59 How developing a hiring plan can increase your growth to 8 figures 14:55 This is the one thing you should never expect when hiring someone to replace you in a role. Links and Resources EP 131: Productivity Hacks with Sebastian Marshall Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyoand you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Did you know that messenger bots have the highest engagement rates at the lowest cost per lead? Did you know that messenger subscribers can be 5-10 times more valuable than email subscribers? If you’re ready to grow your business with personalized, highly targeted communications, then this episode is for you. Mikael Yang, CEO and Co-Founder of ManyChat, joins us today to talk about messenger bots. Messenger has bypassed social networks to become the number one channel people are using to communicate with each other, and with brands. Yang shares the opportunities ecommerce businesses have with messenger bots to reach their customers in this highly intimate and engaging channel. Only 1% of marketers are using messenger, which is anticipated to become the main communication channel for B2C in the near future, and Yang talks about why now is the time you should start. Episode Highlights:   6:53 Why Messenger is the future of B2C communication. 7:46 The Chinese ecommerce bot strategy that the West may not be ready for. 10:39 The one mistake Mikael sees most ecomm businesses making when it comes to bots. 11:59 How messenger bots may be the final nail in e-mail’s coffin. 12:43 The reason why bots will elevate the level of messaging over what we currently see with email. 15:52 How the structure of email encourages marketers to spam their audience and what Facebook is doing to ensure relevance to its users with bots.   20:39 The ways Mikael sees Facebook controlling costs and rewarding businesses for positive messenger engagement. 22:52 What’s really working for brands using messenger bots right now. 28:02 The 3 actions you should take with messenger bots. 33:40 How to develop a conversation with your audience through messenger bots to understand what they really want from you. 38:28 New to messenger bots and looking for the “quick win”? This is what Mikael suggests. Links and Resources: ManyChat ManyChat Facebook Community Free Messenger Marketing Course (ManyChat)   This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. If you’re running an ecommerce business and sending emails to your customers, you should be using Klaviyo. It will help you find out who your best customers are and target them one-to-one to make more money. I’ve been using Klaviyo since they were just two employees. Now they have a team of 150 and are rolling out new features almost weekly. If you aren’t already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you’ll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Are your CPAs on Facebook or Instagram rising? If so, you’re not alone. As more advertisers pour into the channel the cost of advertising is going up! Today, we’ve got a special “Flash Episode” for you. We share why your acquisition costs always increase as you spend more and we go step-by-step through a process that will help you advertise more effectively and profitably. This is a technical episode and one you might need to listen to a couple of times. But if you’re struggling to scale up your ad spend, it could be the ladder you need to take it to the next level.  Andrew and I go super deep into the FB weeds and talk about audience building, refreshing ads, horizontal scaling, etc. Paid social advertisers...enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:30 The super tool that Facebook has given advertisers and you’re likely not even using it. 6:08 How to find the “First Time Impression Ratio” for your ads to make sure you are reaching new users. 10:23 Red Alert: Your CPA’s are rising: Here are the 5 levers you can pull to see overall improvements 14:23 If you haven’t tried Instagram placement in over a year or even the last 6 months, you should be trying and testing Instagram placements 16:06 How you can correct a failing ad set with just 5 minutes and a pen and some paper. 16:20 The advice Molly Pittman shared with Andrew as it relates to scaling your business on Facebook. 17:24 Austin’s key takeaway from his recent read: Scientific Advertising   Links and Resources: Delivery Insights Scientific Advertising Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital

Are you ready to scale your business and ship internationally, but feel intimidated by the complexities involved? Are you currently shipping abroad, but struggling with all of the different contracts, customs, and taxes? If so, we’ve got a fantastic episode for you today. Shipping outside of the United States can be a huge component of scaling your business, but there are many challenges related to finding the best courier in every country, understanding different regulations, and having proper documentation. EasyShip is a shipping platform that takes care of all of these issues and helps ecommerce businesses ship all over the world. Tommaso Tamburnotti, co-founder of EasyShip, joins us this week to talk about international shipping for ecommerce. We discuss the process of moving from domestic to international shipping, common inventory issues, and how to stop leaving money on the table by not taking advantage of the international market. Episode Highlights:   7:21 Understanding how Easy Ship came to be and how they’ve helped many ecommerce brands go international. 14:21 How to identify international markets and scale your business. 19:25 Why the language barrier shouldn’t keep you from testing international sales. 21:53 The international markets you should be considering. 23:15 The 5 main steps you need to take to start shipping internationally and how Easy Ship simplifies the process. 30:53 How to overcome the customer service nightmare of getting a product stuck in customs. 33:53 Why there is currently a huge opportunity for US brands to start selling internationally. 32:23 The two main problems that Tommaso sees with US brands when they sell internationally.  Links and Resources: Get $20 added to your account when you sign up for Easy Ship with this link.

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with all the information out there about how to grow your business? I know I do, it’s a freaking jungle out there. There is so much noise out there telling you to build this, optimize that, or to invest in some new shiny marketing channel it’s difficult to choose where to direct your attention.. It’s easy to get distracted from the simple fundamentals of how to grow your business. If you’re feeling stuck and are looking for inspiration on how to jumpstart growth, this episode is for you. This week we share the three levers you should focus on in order to grow your business, the simplest and least expensive way. These include: number of customers, average order value and frequency. We talk about how to calculate each of these, and how, as well as how much, you need to increase them by to double your business over the next year. Episode Highlights: 4:42 Lever #1: Reviewing your product pages to identify opportunities for increasing the number of customers. 6:05 How the creation of a “best-sellers” page can ensure you are not leaving money on the table. 7:28 Lever # 2: Increasing your Average Order Value. 10:28 The data is in and this is the minimum AOV you should be targeting for to see success with Facebook and Instagram advertising. 13:37 Lever #3: Increasing your purchase frequency. 17:20 Here is Austin’s formula for figuring out purchase frequency and how to scale it up over the next year.         Links and Resources: Brand Growth Experts Foxwell Digital Cart Hook One Click Upsell

This was one of my favorite episodes to record in the last year. I’ve often struggled with work-life balance and am no stranger to trying things that haven’t worked. This week we bring you a refreshing interview with my friend Victor Delacruz about the ups and downs of entrepreneurial life. Victor Delacruz is the founder and owner of ChristianPlanner.com. Victor shares his journey as an ecommerce entrepreneur - from youth pastor to Air Force Captain to Jazz Piano student at NYU to the business owner he is now. Victor talks about the benefits of having a solid daily routine for optimizing your personal and professional life, and the importance for finding what works best for you. He shares the challenges he has faced within his personal and professional life, and the game-changer tactic he used for growing his email list, gathering customer testimonials, and getting tons of user-generated content that was repurposed for social ads and a successful Kickstarter campaign. Episode Highlights: 5:28 The path to success sometimes starts with a journey towards failure.    13:04 How Victor came to the decision to start again after his many setbacks. 13:26 Step 1: Doing the research and understanding the audience size and opportunity in front of him. 14:30 Why the key to a great ecommerce site starts with a simple name. 16:00 How a single open ended question in the first email of Christian Planner’s email sequence lead to hundreds of responses and the growth of the brand. 17:40 This is how Christian Planner gathered user generated content to create a video that helped them raise money, gain followers, increase email subscribers and new product ideas. 28:18 The one thing that Victor learned in the military that has helped him grow in his business. 32:00 Exploring neurofeedback, floating and other methods to get a mental edge in a distracting online world. 38:15 The daily routine that helps Victor stay on track and the “have-to-dos” that he uses to measures his growth & success Links and Resources: Christianplanner.com 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing Gleam.io Joe Rogan Experience Instagram.com/VictorDelacruz

Do you want to be ahead of the curve when it comes to testing new Facebook advertising strategies? Then this episode is for you. We’re always looking for ways to increase Facebook ad performance and drive more revenue, and today Andrew shares four things he recently learned that are having a big impact for his clients. We cover how to use value bid optimization to target not only the people most likely to convert, but also the people who are most likely to give you highest return on ad spend, the importance of experimenting with your bidding windows within conversion campaigns, how to set up better social proofing tied to your product catalog ads, and how to review your customer lifetime value within Facebook analytics in order to test the effectiveness of your campaigns. Episode Highlights: 3:18 The value of ROAS optimization and why you might just want to give it a chance. 6:20 When you should be adjusting your bidding window to increase scaling opportunities. 8:45 Why tagging a product AND social proofing your ads is a double dose for success. 10:55 Facebook’s Lifetime Value analytics and how this data is a game changer for growing the value of your customers over time. 13:54 The key formula for growing your business in ecommerce.   14:13 How you can test a few of Andrew’s findings on email as well. Links and Resources: Jonloomer.com Klaviyo.com If you’re looking to scale your ecommerce business, visit BrandGrowthExperts.com and see how we can help!

Do you want to know what it really takes to build a $100 million business and brand? Then this episode is for you. Building a successful multi-million dollar business is a marathon, not a sprint. Jake Kassan, founder and CEO of MVMT Watches, was one of my first clients when he was just launching the brand back in 2013. He joins us today to talk about how things have changed since then, and how MVMT has grown to what it is today. MVMT strives to be a best in class brand and best in class in all around marketing, and Jake shares the strategic approach to marketing MVMT uses to achieve those goals. He also talks about how having a strong team is essential to scaling your business and shares his experience hiring a CMO and supporting team, and what you need to know to do it. Episode Highlights: 7:48 How building relationships with customers through direct sales online helped MVMT scale. 10:25 The best success comes in stages and this it what each stage of growth has looked like for MVMT over the last 5 years. 12:15 Jake’s #1 tip for successfully scaling a business (hint: it’s not email or Facebook ads). 13:42 What MVMT would do differently if they had to do it all over again. 18:12 As an entrepreneur, Jake believes it’s important to always be testing and working through those results to find success. 19:25 The basic math MVMT used to scale in the beginning and how they look at “spending-money-to-make-money” now.    21:30 Where MVMT is testing for acquisition and where they’re seeing success. 25:23 What you need to know when growing your team so you can successfully scale your business. 30:10 How MVMT solidified their appeal with customers through user-generated content. 33:40 What Jake loves most about building a lifestyle brand. 36:41 Every business goes through low times, here’s a few MVMT went through in order to grow. 42:20 Why Jake feels it’s so important to network with and learn from other founders.  Links and Resources: MVMT Watches Hims Jake Kassan Instagram.com/JakeKassan Twitter.com/JakeKassan  

Are you frustrated with the increased competition on Facebook’s mobile news feed? Are you struggling with rising advertising costs and want to maximize your spend as effectively as possible? Then this episode is for you. Andrew shares two simple Facebook ad strategies that will get you more bang for your buck and help you compete on the news feed. He also talks about where on Instagram you need to be testing ads, if you’re not already, and the great success he’s seeing with his clients. Episode Highlights: 2:29 Things we’ve noticed recently regarding the newsfeed that are affecting your ads. 3:15 Are you testing your product catalog in a top of funnel ads? Here’s why you should. 5:58 How to visually set up product catalog ads to make them most effective. 9:55 Still haven’t tried Broad Match Ads? Here’s how to set them up for success. 11:50 Why your ad copy is so important for getting the best ROAS possible. 12:30 If you’re not testing Instagram stories you’re likely missing out on a 4x return on ad spend. Links and Resources: [email protected] [email protected]

Have you been wondering about the impact Facebook’s recent data privacy issues will have on digital marketing? Do you want to know what you need to do to get your ads in front of the right audience as social advertising continues to evolve? Then this episode is for you. Master digital marketer Molly Pittman joins us to talk about all things Facebook, Messenger and Instagram. She discusses the three key things you need to launch a successful ad campaign as competition and costs continue to rise, the positive outcome she hopes to see from Facebook following the Zuckerberg hearings, and how to stay relevant as messenger continues to grow as an important advertising platform. Episode Highlights: 4:20 Understanding the current state of advertising on social media. 7:20 The future of digital will include more informed consumers and a more regulated digital space. 10:22 The best way to combat rising ad costs may lie within your offer. 13:30 Why research and this free web tool (hint: you likely use it every day) are so important to the success of your ads. 15:53 Did you pick up on this during Facebook’s Congressional hearings? This is where Facebook is likely headed with advertising. 19:10 We are only at the infancy of marketing as we know it and here’s why. 20:33 Communication with marketers may be the next big step for improving Facebook. 21:49 Why Messenger is the next frontier for Facebook. 25:39 So what about Instagram? Here's how it will likely grow in the digital advertising space. 29:14 Why ManyChat isn’t worried that Facebook will create its own bot. 33:22 What you should be doing to sustain your marketing mix for Q2. 37:30 Molly’s workflow for creating great Facebook ads and which step she spends the most time on. Links and Resources: Digital Strategy Bootcamps Digital Marketer

Today we’re launching our first FLASH episode! These shorter, bite-sized episodes will have actionable tips and takeaways you can easily implement in your business that will start driving immediate results. We love interviewing experts in the ecommerce space, and will still share those interviews every other week, but also want to offer content that will give you some quick wins. In today’s episode we talk about three common mistakes I see almost all of my clients making with their email marketing. You’ll learn: which setting must be turned off in your browse and abandoned cart campaigns to prevent you from missing out on $100s (if not $1000s) in sales, the importance of list segmentation and how to avoid ending up in the spam box, and why opt-in rate isn’t the best metric for measuring the success of your offers, and what you should measure instead. Episode Highlights: 4:45 The importance of making sure the Smart Sending Feature is properly set so you’re not leaving money on the table 7:00 Why it is so important to be segmenting and sending emails to your engaged audiences 8:30 How sending emails to those who are inactive on your email list can get you put in the spam box 9:36 When it comes to measuring your email list, this is the metric you should be using 10:12 Why it is so important to not just review the number of opt-ins you get, but how they opted in and when/how often they converted after that Links and Resources: The Daily Podcast My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast Brandgrowthexperts.com/intensive [email protected]

Running an online business can be a lonely endeavor. It's easy to second guess yourself if you don't have other business owners to connect with. Have you ever wished you could find out how other companies are managing their growth? In today's episode, we get the inside scoop on what’s working (and what’s not) at the fast-growing gifting startup Greetabl. Joe Fischer, the Founder of Greetabl, joins us today to talk about what worked for him as he grew his business from an idea to an industry. Joe talks about which marketing channels have worked best to fuel Greetabl’s growth, how to hire quality talent as you scale (even if you’re in a small town), the reality behind fundraising for your business, and the five key areas ecommerce brands need to focus on to see ongoing, sustained growth in the coming years. Episode Highlights: 9:16 How Greetabl got in front of people to grow their business 11:18 The campaign that Greetabl is excited about launching (Note: print marketing is not dead) 15:45 Thinking about bringing everything in house? Here is how Greetabl is weighing those costs as a positive 18:49 How to hire quality talent even if you are small business just starting to scale 22:24 What ecommerce businesses can be doing to maintain sustained growth through 2018 and into 2019 25:20 Who Greetabl views as their competition and how they address competition as a whole 30:27 How to raise capital for you business and the secret sauce you will need to do it. 33:37 The best ads that are crushing it for Greetabl right now 38:44 Email does it. The Campaigns that are delivering great ROI for Greetabl 43:45 The tools and tactics Joe uses to balance life & work Links and Resources: Asana Both Sides of the Table Blog Effective executive Ecommerce Influence Episode 135 with Sebastian Marshall Getting Things Done ToDoist Joe Fischer: [email protected] Twitter.com/TheJoeFischer

Are you an ecommerce business owner who’s managing your own Facebook ads? Do you want a breakdown of the best tactics to implement right now that’ll help you create and run ads that convert? Then this episode is for you. Dive deep into Facebook Ads with Justin Marshall, from Ad Hoc Media. He talks about specific targeting strategies, optimization tactics for each part of the sales funnel, how to scale and ramp up your ads, and where he’s seeing surprising success (hint: it’s not with the typical CTA button ads). Episode Highlights:   4:35 How Facebook advertising has changed and the ad type that’s out-performing traditional ads. 6:25 The resources that Justin uses to keep up with ongoing Facebook ad changes. 8:13 Automated Rules: What they are and how you can better use them in your Facebook campaigns. 10:45 Why thinking like the algorithm can improve your ads performance. 11:25 How having a higher average order value can improve ad testing and overall success. 14:31 What Justin looks for in a brand before helping them successfully scale with Facebook ads. 18:36 How to properly structure audience overlap, and why you shouldn’t be so concerned about your ads competing with each other. 25:33 The counterintuitive objective structure that is actually working. 29:16 How boosting organic posts has actually helped deliver a 10x return for some clients. 31:39 Have your ads started to flop? Justin’s method for overcoming this and getting ads to correctly scale. 36:38 The difference between Broad Match and general broad audiences and how they are both helping find new customers for brands. 39:34 The most common mistakes you’re likely making with managing your ads.   Links and Resources: Jon Loomer - PHC Facebook Blueprint MuteSix - Spend $10k A Day Podcast Facebook Ads Manager/Power Editor Users (Unofficial) Group Reveal Bot Smartly.io Justin Marshall AdHocMedia.co Justin At Adhocmedia.co Twitter.com/JBenMarshall

Are you currently advertising on Facebook, and unsure what next steps to take to start scaling your business? Do you ever wonder whether other entrepreneurs actually see success after listening to our podcast and attending our Intensives? We know talk is cheap, which is why we invited one of our listeners to join us today to share what he’s learned, and implemented, after working with us. Mark Arruda, owner and CEO of Constantly Varied Gear, is a long-time podcast listener and previous attendee of both the Email and Facebook Intensives. He joins Andrew and Gracie Foxwell to chat about Facebook advertising, including how he’s using Facebook messenger ads to get people into his sales funnel and make conversions, the creative way he’s developing lookalike audiences to expand reach and scale, and his favorite tip from the Facebook Intensive that’s driving major engagement and social proof. Episode Highlights: 3:40 Here’s how to use what Mark calls an interest based lookalike 7:00 This one tip from the intensive is like social proofing on steroids, plus Austin’s power-up move at 9:50 10:45 Why you should be testing the bid optimization to capture the most relevant results 11:30 How segmenting your lookalike audiences may be beneficial to your brand’s success 13:15 If you’re running dynamic product ads, this is why you should also be doing a broad match DPA 16:40 Taking an inside look at what CVG’s chat flow for messenger ads looks like 21:24 How testing with messenger bots doesn’t need to be scary or too expensive 24:25 These are the creative ad types that are working for CVG that you can be testing too Links and Resources: Constantly Varied Gear Facebook Intensive Email Marketing Intensive The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing (Facebook Group)

Have you ever wondered how to get started with Conversion Rate Optimization for your store? Do you sometimes wonder if you’re leaving money on the table by not running A/B tests? If so, you’re not alone. Today, I have the legend Peep Laja of Conversion XL with me to help demystify CRO and share some practical ideas to boost your conversion rate. Peep is an expert in CRO and runs the most successful optimization agency I know of. He was also the first person I started to learn from when I found his very successful blog. I’m going to be at Peep’s event, ConversionXL Live at the end of March. If your business is doing over $10 million a year, I consider it a must attend event. It’s going to be a lot of fun, we’re going to learn a bunch, and you’ll be surrounded by people leading the fastest growing companies in the world.    Peep will even give you 20% off the ticket price when you use the code Ecommerceinfluence to register. Click here to learn more and book your ticket. Episode Highlights: 3:20 Ready to approach conversion optimization on your site? Here’s where to start. 5:00 The amount of time you should spend optimizing your site for conversions might surprise you. 8:20 Follow these steps to make sure your website has an analytics clean bill of health. 11:30 How to tell when your data is ready to begin analyzing and making assumptions. 13:10 Here is the magic number of transactions needed to A/B test and how to get there if you’re not there yet. 16:40 This is the place that most businesses are leaving money on the table when it comes to their site and how you can dial it in. 21:07 These are the tools that Peep keeps in his digital tool box, and when it may be time to hire a pro. 26:00 All about CXL Live: March 28 - 30, 2018 Links and Resources: Hotjar Typeform Google Analytics

It has been a whirlwind month! Andrew and I finished up our first ever back-to-back Email and Facebook Intensive here in Austin TX. Both Intensives were wildly successful and we’ve been spending this week reflecting a bit. As much as these Intensives are focused on sharing what we know, we also learn a ton from each business who attends. In this episode, we share our discoveries from the event with you. We unpack an unusual success story from Facebook Messenger, we discuss how to use the new Visual Flow Builder in Klaviyo, and key in on a powerful use case for the Gleam platform. We also share a few surprises from the Intensives. Successful marketing campaigns come in many different forms and working with almost 40 businesses over a 4-day period reminds you to continually test your assumptions. This episode is chock full of tips and ideas. I hope you enjoy! Episode Highlights:   4:50 The power Messenger & Messenger Bots: how some are seeing open rates as high as 95% 7:55 Klaviyo’s  visual flow builder what it is and how you can accurately split test your email business assumptions   10:55 Worried you don’t have a big enough budget for effective Facebook & Instagram advertising? Here’s what you can do. 11:27 The one ads tactic that Andrew learned during the Intensive that is actually working for attendees 12:51 How two of our attendees in the B2B space instantly started seeing a 7x & 3x ROAS on Facebook almost overnight.   15:24 How this attendee used Gleam.io pro to run a giveaway that generated user testimonials, fans, purchases and marketing materials to later deliver them huge success with their Kickstarter campaign 17:39 Thinking of creating video content? Here is why you may only need your iPhone 18:10 Still not sure how to social proof your Facebook ads? Andrew explains the value and exactly how to do it 20:13 if you’re on a Shopify site here is why you should be running dynamic product ads as a part of your retargeting strategy. 21:22 Email best practices and the one practice that Austin is surprised most ecommerce people are still not doing 23:48 Finding your best customers (whales) through the use of Facebook’s Time On Site custom audience 25:49 Austin & Andrew share their overall highlights of the intensive (hint: it includes axe throwing) 30:00 Thanks to the listeners and what’s coming up on future shows Links and Resources: Gleam.io

Happy 2018! We’re back -- and we’ve got something special for you. Last week Andrew Foxwell and I hosted a Facebook Live where we talked about our email and Facebook marketing predictions for 2018. Email marketing is alive and well, but there is one email opt-in technique that needs to be put to bed once and for all -- are you using it? There’s been a ton of hype around Facebook Messenger, but it has yet to live up to it -- will 2018 be its year? Tune in to hear what we think will change and what will stay the same this year, and what you need to do to keep up with the ever-evolving world of online marketing. Episode Highlights: 2:00 How product integrations will grow and opportunities will increase with broad match Facebook targeting 4:15 As email open rates continue to decrease in 2018, you can stay competitive with segmentation 5:40 The expansion of Facebook Analytics: seeing the journey of a Like to a purchase 7:20 The increased effectiveness of connecting with cart abandoners through Facebook Messenger & Messenger bots 10:00 The continued integration and expansion of Instagram opportunities for advertisers 13:30 Email continues to be a top 3 sales driver (it’s far from dead) 14:30 Spin-to-win: why it’s likely ruining the quality of your email list 16:40 Advertising in Facebook Groups and other sub-communities 17:50 Expansion of bidding optimization - Facebook will help you reach your MVPs 19:07 Chat bots become better at lead capture and finding your best leads 23:30 Set yourself up to make 2018 your most profitable year yet by attending the Facebook or Email Marketing Intensive Links and Resources: Facebook Intensive  Email Intensive 

If something happened to you today, how long could your business run before things started falling apart? How much time are you actually spending on value (i.e. profit) producing work and how much time is wasted on low-level, time sucking tasks? Get ready to save time, get more done, and be happier with the tips we’re sharing this week.   Productivity superstar Sebastian Marshall is the co-founder of Ultraworking, and writes 6000 words per week for Strategic Review. He shares the top the three things to do to set yourself up for consistent productivity and success, and the single most important question to answer before starting any project that will help you stay on track and achieve your goals. Also, find out what you need to start doing right now that will change the way you work forever (you’ll be surprised how simple it is). Episode Highlights: 7:23 Is this your routine? What the not-so-productive cycle really looks like 12:25 The one question you should ask before every project or task 15:44 The time frame of productivity:  now, tomorrow, the week, the month, the year 17:31 How to estimate your time correctly to increase your productivity 21:00 Why having a monthly “theme” will help you become more consistent week to week 23:50 Working into the future: How working ahead just 1x can make you more productive   25:32 Fine tuning the process: why you should be making your weekly work easier 29:30 How the #1 car company (Toyota) categorizes their work output and how you can too 33:25 Why handing off a project actually reduces productivity 36:30 How tracking the time of the work you do on your most important tasks may surprise you and how it can help you refocus 40:00 Here’s how Sebastian defines and then prioritizes his most important tasks 48:30 Asking yourself this one powerful question will help you define what you want to happen and what you need to do to get there 49:30 Describing what a work cycle is and how it can help you if you don’t know where to start your work 55:00 More about Sebastian’s Pentathlon and how you can join in the fun Links and Resources: Ultraworking.com/ecommerce The Strategic Review Ultraworking Pentathlon Peter Drucker - The Effective Executive [email protected]

A mega PR hit can be the gift that keeps on giving -- so why aren’t more ecommerce business owners getting in on it? This week, Peter Friis, CEO and co-founder of ESSIO Shower and CEO and founder of PR Volt, talks about how PR, combined with Facebook advertising, helped grow his business from 0 to $1 million in sales in just two years. Friis shares the key elements of successful PR campaigns, and what your product must have in order to get news editors’ attention. Find out how you can get started with PR for your business today, and the best way to package PR wins into ads that produce results. Episode Highlights: 8:07 The two key elements to use when reaching out to editors for PR opportunities 10:20 How Good Morning America (GMA) helped Essio Shower focus their marketing efforts 12:01 Why using Facebook video ads helped get more conversions 15:30 How hitting a PR “homerun” like GMA can impact your ecommerce business even a year later 17:00 The two most effective ways to turn your PR “wins” into great advertisements 20:14 Videos on Facebook can be hard for converting on top of the funnel, Peter shares the ad objectives that are most most successful 22:30 Does your ecommerce have these key qualities? Then you should be doing PR 24:40 Here is what you should be looking for in a PR agency (hint: it’s not who they know)   27:16 What to expect: the lifetime value of good PR for a brand/product 33:05 3 types of videos that are working on Facebook for Essio Shower that you can create too 36:05 The tools that literally built PR Volt from the ground up Links and Resources: Essio Shower PR Volt HARO Cision Streak CRM Zapier Air Table Moz Diskbot Peter Friis [email protected] Clarity.fm/PerterFriis Twitter.com/spiritfriis  

Have you ever wondered how a few brands crush it with their content marketing, while the vast majority of blogs fall flat? Are you interested in being able to track your blogging efforts? Do you want to know whether you should you be writing your content for shares or SEO? And how much is a realistic minimum investment (in both time and money) to make content marketing successful for you? In this episode, Nat Eliason, former head of Growth at Sumo and the founder of Growth Machine, answers those questions, and more. Join us as Nat talks about what’s working in content creation, how to create a strategy, and whether you should even do it at all. He also drops the truth about the 80/20 strategy related to content creation vs. promotion -- and what he says just might surprise you. Episode Highlights: 8:08 Who should be doing content marketing and what kind of content is successful? 9:20 What’s the minimum investment for quality content marketing? 13:00 The WIKI Strategy and how to use it to plan your content. 19:46 How to approach content marketing if you are a product (not service based). 25:04 Nat’s strategy for paid content -- what he does (and doesn’t do) will surprise you. 27:22 You’ve created the content, here’s when you can expect to see results. 30:00 Setting the record straight on the 80/20 rule of content marketing. 31:10 What Nat does his first two weeks with a new client to set them up for success (and you can do them too). 32:30 The #1 thing most blogs fail to do: Actionability. 37:11 Are you answering people’s questions or are you trying to entertain? Nat talks about what your priority should be. 45:44 What’s in Nat’s daily toolbox that makes his life better. Links and Resources: Google Docs Trello.com Slack.com Zapier.com Edgar.com Quuu.co Wordable.io Ahrefs.com Nat Eliason Twitter.com/NatEliason YourGrowthMachine.com Nat’s Wiki Strategy

You want the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the bee’s knees if you will. We’ve got you. Everyone knows the right idea at the right time can have a huge impact on your business. In this episode, we deliver our favorite and most actionable segments of the last year in a bite-sized format you can put right to work. You’ll discover the best way to start Influencer Marketing with Chase Fisher of Blenders Eyewear. You’ll explore the mysterious concept of Kickstarter “Super Backers” with Jeff Sheldon from Ugmonk. You’ll learn how to work less and make more with Tyler Sullivan of Bombtech. And last but not least, you’ll dive into a segment about “social proofing” your ads with Deidre Kelly. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 6:06 Outlining strategies to grow your brand with influencers…the tools 10:11 How to track influencer marketing 13:29 Discovering "Super Backers" and their value on Kickstarter 16:25 How much time you should commit to your Kickstarter video 20:15 How to set up Social Proof on your Facebook Ads 23:00 Facebook placements and where you should be putting your ads 27:39 How you can improve your business by finding the things you’re not good at 30:00 Grow your Ecommerce business: Eliminate the options Links and Resources: brandgrowthexperts.com/intensive Chase Fisher Blenderseyewear.com 119: [Case Study] The Science of Influence: How To Double Your Business Using Instagram Jeff Sheldon UgMonk/Gather 123: [Case Study] How Gather Raised Over $430K on Kickstarter Deirdre Kelly Sum Digital Search Engine Journal Social Media Examiner 126: The Big Facebook Advertising Episode for Q4: Part 2 Tyler Sullivan Bombtechgolf.com 124: [Case Study] The Effort Illusion: How Working Less Allowed Bombtech Golf to Finally Explode

The holiday season is almost upon us -- do you want to maximize sales while minimizing stress? Are you ready to learn tips and tricks for standing out during this highly competitive time? If so, this is the episode for you. Austin and Andrew share the top five things you must do to prepare for a successful holiday season. Find out the best email marketing schedule for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when to start (hint: it's probably earlier than you might think) and which customers to direct your messages to. And, learn how to make the most of your VIP relationships by giving them something special, and locking in high-quality sales before Black Friday hits. Preparation is key this time of year, so get ready to learn how to make this your best holiday season yet. Episode Highlights: 2:45 - The first thing you want to do to prepare for Black Friday/Cyber Monday 5:19 - How planning multiple offers for Facebook and Instagram might not be so easy 9:49 - Maximize your touch points by synchronizing your email & Facebook messaging 12:04 - Running through a sample Black Friday email campaign and how not to overwhelm potential buyers 15:22 - How to dial in your advertising the two weeks leading up to Black Friday 16:50 - Why prospecting before the holidays is so difficult, costly and not a great idea 18:44 - Austin’s Black Friday Tip #5: Reward your loyal customers 23:28 - How to segment your email list and incentivize your customers   Links and Resources: 2017 Holiday Promotional Calendar Klaviyo.com Foxwelldigital.com Twitter.com/AndrewFoxwell Twitter.com/AustinBrawner

  Do you want to know the secret formula for creating high converting Facebook ads? Are you ready to make video ads work for you? Then get ready for part 2 of our big Facebook advertising episode.   Molly McCarty returns to share her plans for making Q4 a success despite high CPCs and CPMs. Deirdre Kelly joins us to talk about value-based optimization and what you need to know about this offering to ensure you get the most out of it for your clients. Deirdre also shares one of her secrets to creating great lookalike audiences - Klaviyo integration. Klaviyo is one of our favorite tools - if you’re interested in a free trial, you can sign-up via this link. Did you miss Part 1 of our big Facebook advertising episode? Check it out here!    Episode Highlights: 2:50 - Molly sets the record straight on what creative converts the best. 5:42 - What the “gurus” are saying is great right now, but actually isn’t working. 7:38 - What your Facebook video needs to do in :15 or less 8:04 - Why strong creative and this seed audience will be mega important to your Q4 strategy 12:30 - How Broad Match DPAs are helping change the Facebook game 16:30 - Facebook is only getting smarter. Here’s how you can set your Broad Match DPAs up the right way 21:12 - Here is the ad creative that Deirdre Kelly is still most surprised by and why you should still be using it 25:15 - Why consolidation with your ad sets works and how to do it 30:35 - If you’re a summer focused brand, here’s how you can compete in Q4 Links and Resources: Brand Growth Experts Jon Loomer Business Manager Course Klaviyo      Molly McCarty 3Q Digital Twitter/Molly_McCarty Molly At 3Q Digital.com          Deirdre Kelly SumDigital Twitter/DeirdreMMKelly Search Engine Journal Social Media Examiner  

  Are you ready to put a Facebook advertising plan in place for Q4 that's actually going to drive conversions, and not just clicks? Have you implemented Facebook's recommended advertising tactics, but they just aren't giving your brand the results you desire? Well this episode has what you're looking for, and more. David Hermann and Molly McCarty share the truth about what really works and what doesn't when it comes to Facebook's recommended advertising approach. Learn the important first step that's necessary before launching conversion ads, and the best ad layout to help you drive sales. And, get an insider look at Facebook's new feature: household targeting. Enjoy part 1, and stay tuned for part 2 coming soon! Episode Highlights: 6:37 - Do your ads have great social proof? 12:00 - Want to boost your ROAS? Launch DPAs 13:13 - Why it pays to go against Facebook’s recommendations 15:40 - What surprises you most right now with Facebook ads (David’s reply) 20:50 - What is your Q4 strategy? (David’s reply) 24:00 - Why you want this new targeting feature: Household Targeting 29:50 - Why you shouldn’t stop testing seed audiences 30:40 - oCPM bidding: when you should kick it into manual vs auto bidding 33:30 - Just getting started? Here are the seed audiences you should be starting with 35:12 - Surprise, Audience Network is a successful placement? No Way! Links and Resources: Brand Growth Experts Jon Loomer Business Manager Course      David Hermann Social Outlier Twitter/HermannDigital      Molly McCarty 3Q Digital Twitter/Molly_McCarty Molly At 3Q Digital.com

Does the thought of cutting back on hours put fear in your mind? If so, you’re not alone. In this episode you’ll learn why cutting back on hours could be the secret to unlocking growth. About a year and half ago, Tyler “Sully” Sullivan from Bombtech Golf found himself at a familiar entrepreneurial crossroads. Burned out from 80 hour weeks and frustrated by the limited time he had with his newborn, Sully decided to pull the pin on excessive hours. From now on he’d only work 2-3 days a week. That decision led to the fastest growth in Bombtech history. Now he’s working smarter, growth is easier, and spending more time with his family. In this episode, you’ll learn what it takes to unlock growth, why you should do things that don’t scale, and how to start a community. Episode Highlights: 8:56 How you can improve your business by finding the things you’re not good at 10:48 Do you want your business to grow? Eliminate the options 14:03 Why you should be using Facebook Groups to grow your test group 14:47 If you’re posting on social just about you, no-one is going to care.    16:56 How eliminating the “I’m the Owner” mindset with your customers will help you scale your business 17:22 The social media post that lead to Bombtech’s first million in sales 20:22 Never underestimate a hand written thank you note 22:44 Pulling levers: why you should consider adding an ads specialist   23:50 What's the hardest part of delegating? Hiring those who are skilled enough to take over 26:42 How bombtech is focusing on the customer & a new backyard game  30:09 Why you should do podcast ads 34:53 The low bar we’ve all set for customer service Links and Resources: Bombtechgolf.com Facebook.com/BombTechGolf Twitter.com/bombtechgolf Instagram.com/bombtechgolf

Have you ever thought about starting a Kickstarter campaign? Do you wonder how some people seem to have cracked the code on crowdfunding? If so, we’ve got an fantastic episode for you. Jeff Sheldon set a goal to raise $18,000 and ended up with over $430K in pre-orders. In this episode, he unpacks the details of his recent blowout Kickstarter campaign. Jeff shares what it takes to hit a crowdfunding home run and how to avoid some unexpected consequences of Kickstarter success. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: Talking the talk: The Kickstarter Process 5:40 What set Gather apart from others on Kickstarter? 6:27 Building Mass Effect: How to tease your product on Instagram 9:51 Off to the Races: The first day of the Kickstarter campaign 11:30 Discovering Super Backers and their value on Kickstarter 14:06 The Facebook ROAS of Super Backers 15:50 How much time was spent just on your Kickstarter video? 17:04 The Future of UgMonk 19:59   What they don’t tell you: The downsides of running a Kickstarter campaign 22:56 Recovering funds: Where did all the backers go? 24:52 Where is Gather now in the production cycle?: 27:15 Productivity hacks: What Jeff uses to stay on task 29:03   Links and Resources: Dropbox paper Help Scout www.Ugmonk.com Facebook - UgMonk Twitter - UgMonk Instagram - UgMonk Jeff (at) UgMonk.com  

Does it ever seem like there are brands out there who just have it figured out? It's easy to look at other businesses and think "wow, they are crushing it" without realizing the work they put in to get there. Today, we talk about the work. Chris Lynch is a talented entrepreneur out of San Diego who's built a growing lifestyle brand called Everyday California. Life is good. But as he tells us in today's episode, it hasn't always been IPAs and sunny days. He's hustled, he's made mistakes and he's continued to iterate on his original ideas before finally getting to a point where growth is coming easy. In today's episode, we share a real life story of how EveryDay California spread its wings.

Do you struggle to get an ROI on Facebook? You're not alone. In this episode, Jeremy Roberts shares how he's been able to grow his business while operating in the hyper-competitive space of women's clothing. What can you do when all your competitors are venture backed? Jeremy shares what has worked for him. Key Takeaways from the Show The under estimated power of lifecycle marketing How he used direct mail for a massive ROI The mindset shift that let his business grow Links / Resources The Brand Growth Intensive - www.brandgrowthexperts.com/intensive

What's going on with Facebook's new analytics dashboard? Is it time to ditch Google Analytics? We'll tell you that and more in this latest episode. This is your unofficial breakdown on how to use Facebook Analytics to help grow your business. Interview Highlights 1:30 The new Facebook analytics package overview 2:05 Why is this topic important to our listeners? 6:00 How many people have the analytics dashboard and who is using it? 7:14 People vs. pixel-based marketing… 10:05 How to make an impact on your business with FB analytics 15.09 The NEW-NEW stuff – building custom dashboards 17:18 Helpful examples for building dashboards 19:47 How to optimize with “Breakdowns” 22:30 How do the analytic results affect the way you serve ads? 25:31 How does the new FB platform help with event de-bugging? 28:30 Inside the mind of Andrew Foxwell…last minute tips!  

  Have you worked with Influencers to grow your business? Or thought about doing it? This episode spills the beans with a real-life case study on how Blenders Eyewear used "Influencers" to help them grow to mid 7 figures. We cover both the big picture of whether or not you should use influencers, as well as the nitty gritty behind the scenes of how to make it work. Interview Highlights How do you track success? How do you find Influencers? How do you manage the process? How much do Influencers cost? Links / Resources BlendersEyewear.com

In this weeks episode, we share some of the big discoveries we've made on Facebook. As you know, Facebook changes quickly and this episode is designed to give you a flash briefing on what is currently working for our clients. Key Takeaways from the Show The current value of social proof (a Facebook hack) The Facebook Pixel's increasing IQ Large audiences and how they are changing the way you bid Links / Resources Foxwell Digital (Andrew's website)

If you’ve been a listener to the Ecommerce Influence podcast over the last year, you know our release schedule has been inconsistent, to say the least. My wife and I went on an extended working honeymoon through Asia for about 6 months and during that time recording episodes took a back seat. The good news is that we’re back and I have a bunch of solid episodes coming your way. This is our first episode in quite some time. Tune in to hear where we've been, what we have in store for the new show, and get to know my new podcast co-host, Andrew Foxwell. I'm excited to be back in the saddle and to bring you some of our best new training yet. Links / Resources Foxwell Digital (Andrew's website)

Drew Sanocki of Nerd Marketing joins Austin to discuss some advanced email marketing strategies for your ecommerce brand. We go DEEP with some strategies that are working for 8-figure retailers including specific examples you can copy. We also announce a very unique opportunity – [The 2-Day Brand Growth Implementation Intensive](http://www.brandgrowthexperts.com/intensive/) – a live event unlike anything you’ve attended before, hosted by Drew and Austin. Key Takeaways from the Show The big shift that turned Drew’s first big Ecommerce retailer around. The role email marketing has played in Austin’s Ecommerce career. The benefit of fixed costs in email marketing. Typical list management issues that Austin discovers while consulting. Benchmarks for desktop and mobile opt-in rates. Responding to pop-up concerns. Segmentation and targeting: sending the right messaging to the right customer at the right time. “Good dog” and “Bad dog” automated emails. The only thing holding companies back from succeeding with these strategies? They don’t actually implement them. Drew and Austin are hosting an intensive email marketing workshop. Links / Resources 1Apply for a spot in Drew and Austin’s Intensive Email Marketing Workshop. NerdMarketing.com Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below:

  Want more results? Want to know how to get those better results through your Facebook ads, Instagram ads and other unique ways of retargeting to your audience? Get a detailed step by step look at the process you need to go through to start retargeting for your ecommerce business. We'll show you how to use retargeting as an elegant tool to accomplish different goals at each stage of your sales funnel. Michael is an expert in online ads and walks us through the terminology, how to use them, when to use retargeting and what you need to start doing when you're done listening to the show. Key Takeaways from the Show Advanced Retargeting Skills How to Think of your Funnel Differently. What TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU are. The right messaging to use in your funnels. How to better maximize social media ads Split your large list into several smaller lists. What is working right now for ecommerce businesses. Links / Resources Search Scientist's Blog Traction by Gina Wickman OPTYMZER Click Here for the Transcript Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below:

Need help figuring out how to build your team and then lead that team? You’ll learn how to implement content marketing into your process of actively engineering opportunities for your customers to return to your website in this week’s episode. Today, James Schramko of Superfastbusiness.com joins us as we’re breaking down highly effective traffic and conversion strategies to help you grow your ecommerce business from seven to eight figures and above. James shares his experiences with recurring revenue and content marketing, so you can implement these concepts into your ecommerce business. Key Takeaways from the Show Content marketing Recurring Revenue – Netflix, amazon are all doing it. How to increase frequency of opportunities for your consumers to buy. Identify through your consumer base and analytics who is repeat purchasing. Ways to actively engineer future sales. Pay attention to where your website visitors are spending their time. Provide further education to your existing customers Importance of having a team and learning to let go of certain roles. Links / Resources  Superfastbusiness.com Dollar Shave Club  Ezra Firestone’s Episode John O’Conner’s Episode Simplify by Richard Koch and Greg Lockwood Ask – Part 2 by Ryan Levesque Click Here for the Transcript Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available.   

The holiday season marks the height of competition for customer acquisition with the stakes rising as many online retailers rely on this time of year to make up for a lower sales year. In this episode Erik Christiansen, CEO of Just Uno shares critical strategies on how to maximize your sales and prepare you for the holidays. He walks us through why it is important to focus on the concepts you have in place and not stop with one email but walking each customer through your entire sales funnel. It’s important (especially in the holiday season) to shop your own website and go through the shopping cart experience – if you are not already doing it today have an exit offer before the customer leaves. Key Takeaways from the Show Boosting Conversions How to drive more sales over the holidays Take advantage of the new google algorithim Focus on your current strategies Difference between Pop-ups vs interstitials Think of your website no differently than you would a brick and mortar store. Ways to use engage with your customers What you need to know about Google approved “popups” Treat your desktop messages differently than your mobile messages Links/Resources Justuno Shopify Example: Isle Surf Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below:

  If you’re spending any money on Facebook, this episode is for you. Andrew Foxwell goes deep into advanced Facebook advertising strategies that are working right now. Key Takeaways from the Show What’s working right now on Facebook? What worked last year but is no longer working? The future of Instagram and how brands can use it Facebook video funnels and how to use them How much you need to spend to learn on Facebook What Facebook and Instagram will look like in 5 years How to create custom audiences that drive conversions Links / Resources Foxwell Digital AdEspresso Facebook for Business Jon Loomer Jon Loomer Power Hitter’s Club Andrew Foxwell Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below:

What’s holding you back from reaching your goals? Chances are it’s you. John O’Connor know how to help entrepreneurs and executives make major breakthroughs in their life. He shares some of his wisdom with us today.   Key Takeaways from the Show How to ACTUALLY get everything you want Foveal vision vs peripheral vision and how to use them to your advantage How to program your own mind in a way that ensures you’re successful Nootropic coffee Structuring your life for success The difference between Do. Have. Be and Be. Do. Have Why you need a coach How to avoid overwhelm and make decisions from a position of strength Why you should stop habits that are on autopilot Links / Resources Kimera Koffee  

Hear the wisdom corporate escape artist, Buck Rizvi has on growth vs fixed mindset, how to run 25 employees virtually from your own home office and the process of hiring those people. How do you know when to keep moving forward on your current venture or business are you prepared for growth? When is it time to be done? Let go. Sell the business or just walk away? Key Takeaways from the Show Why Buck believes in doing everything to maintain your reputation online How he’s started multiple mulit-million dollar businesses after the age of 40 years old Growth vs. Fixed Mindset How to hire people using something called “the frog-kissing method” When to start another business and when to keep pushing forward When to sell your business? Difference between running a 7 figure and 8 figure business Why he one time FedEx’d a $15,000 check to one of the most legendary copywriter’s of our time How he runs a team of 25 employees completely remote   Links / Resources Mindset by Carole Dweck Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth Ice Age Meals I'm not Your Guru - Tony Robbins Sunbasket Meal Delivery  

    Want to learn how to grow an email list by 40,000-60,000 ever month and convert a percentage into happy paying customers? A simple drip campaign heavy on content with an offer to educate the user online adding value consistently can give you an idea of how much money you will make each month based on the amount of emails acquired. Sound simple enough? Hear the journey how Logan and his co-founding partner of Wine Awesomeness started the journey two years ago being a two-man show to 15 – 20 employees acquiring 40,000 to 60,000 new email addresses every month. “If you are doing everything, you are doing nothing.” Logan Lee Key Takeaways from the Show Using content as your advertisement how it can keep your cost of goods down. How (why) to get your first angel investor Recurring Revenue – the pros of being able to predict your monthly income. Really it all comes back to learning by doing and trying things. – Trust your gut and yourself always verifying with the data while you stay focused. Ways to keep providing your consumers with value Email sales funnels and the potential they have for your company – if done the right way. (Diversifying your system of acquisition) Links / Resources  Wine Awesomeness  The Back Label  Sticher App Podcast Episode with The Chive Seeker Retention Science Dojo Mojo Book – Leaders Eat Last Contact Logan Lee

Ezra Firestone owns several seven-and eight-figure businesses. He shares his secret to dominating multiple markets, how to (instantly) upgrade your customers, and why you should never sacrifice your lifestyle.   Key Takeaways from the Show How to Implement Upselling Difference between Upselling, Down-selling and Cross-selling How you can use the above tactics to boost sales in your business 1 – Click Post Purchase Emails We go over Integrative Social Commerce and how it will change your online e-commerce business. Links / Resources Smart Marketer Overcast App  SaneBox – Get Your Free Trial Evergreen Zipify Boom Bee Friendly Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available.  Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

107: ANALYTICS WITH YEHOSHUA COREN       Google Analytics ninja Yehoshua Coren is a master of both implementation and analysis, and discusses how to develop good Google Analytics habits in order to find actionable insights for your eCommerce business.   Why pay attention to Google Analytics? Yehoshua points out that an eCommerce business owner can’t afford to not pay attention to Google Analytics, as it helps companies to think strategically about their goals, get good data to work with, and then dig into that data to gain insights. In short, you need data to set goals for improvement and then meet those goals by making thoughtful business decisions. What should you be tracking for your business? The conversion funnel: Know where people abandon their shopping carts. Click-through rates on promo boxes. Interactions with the customer support section and FAQ: A well structured customer support section can save money on phone and email support. If you employ one-step check-out, track form abandonment and error messaging to figure out where you need to improve user experience for better engagement. (Note: To track errors, have your developers code directly into the file to send that data to Google Analytics.) Good Google Analytics Habits  If your data looks wrong, it probably is wrong. Don’t assume that the numbers are always correct. Don’t waste time with aimless “data wandering.” Instead, come up with a hypothesis to verify against your analytics. This helps you to find insights. Don’t get stuck in Google Analytics’ standard metrics UI. Instead, pull out the data needed to create more meaningful metrics for your business and analyze it in a tool like Excel. Some key metrics to look at include: transactions per user, conversion rates by product, and revenue/profitability by channel. And on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, he recommends the following: Daily: Make sure nothing is out of whack. Check your Adwords spend and traffic. Look for strong changes in number of transactions or traffic sources. You can set custom alerts for some of these actions. Weekly: Same as daily, and also spend a little more time looking at merchandising performance. Monthly: Take a deep dive into landing page performance and measuring SEO. What is propensity to buy? Propensity to buy amounts to the following: how often are people viewing a product, how often they’re adding it to their cart based on that view, and how often they’re completing the purchase. Yehoshua points out that an even better metric to look at is propensity for profit by product category or brand. He notes that the easiest way to take action on this data is to boost your ad spend accordingly to support those profitable products. He also recommends uploading your cost data (i.e. impressions, clicks and costs) to Google Analytics, and then using their tools to figure out where to invest your money. Google Analytics is a wonderful tool, but it’s still just a tool. In other words, keep in mind that data in itself is worthless – there’s only value in how you use that data. It’s all about strategy and process, so figure out how to ask smart questions and find good answers. Links / Resources @AnalyticsNinja on Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

106: BUILDING A BUSINESS WITH ANDREW YOUDERIAN     How do you go from being a product seller to a true business owner? Andrew Youderian has some insights to share from his own eight-year journey in the eCommerce world.   Andrew is the owner of eCommerce site RightChannelRadios.com and also runs eCommerceFuel.com, a private community for independent store owners. Today we’re talking to Andrew about how to shift your mindset in order to grow a business and how to build a team you can count on, even in your absence. He defines making the transition from product seller to business owner as being able to hire someone to do your job and still have a meaningful profit leftover. To that end, we discuss the following topics related to building out your company’s team. Key Takeaways from the Show How to effectively teach your team to have a business owner’s mindset when it comes to values and customers service, and why it’s important to treat your employees the way you want customers to be treated. Hiring the right team by looking for people who are interested in learning the business, as opposed to just earning a paycheck. Determining which positions should be filled in-house and which ones can be outsourced, and how to make the most efficient use of VAs. Figuring out which tasks the business owner should handle and for how long, and which jobs can be outsourced early on. Determining the best method of communication with each of your contractors, whether it’s by phone, via email or through a project management program like Asana. Links / Resources eCommerceFuel.com RightChannelRadios.com MakersRow.com Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

105: WHAT FAMOUS COPYWRITERS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING COPY   Most high-paid copywriters don’t want you to believe you can write copy that sells. Not Joanna Wiebe.   Joanna is a 2 time guest of the podcast and the co-founder and copywriter at Copyhackers, a company that helps you use copy to to boost your conversions while enhancing your brand, even if you don’t like writing or you’re scared of the blank white page. She’s also currently building a company called Airstory which is a note taking app designed to help you write copy 3x faster. Today you’re going to learn why you are most likely the best person to write your own copy. Key Takeaways from the Show Why it’s important write copy for 20% to 35% of your visitors, not 100% of them. What a “Competitor Content Audit” is and how you can use it to make more sales What a Value Proposition Table is and how you can build one for yourself The two sides of crafting a stellar message, and how to uncover pain points. Links / Resources Our first interview with Joanna Airstory Copy Hackers Website Free E-Book – Stellar Messages Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

HOW $100 MILLION DOLLAR COMPANIES ARE BORN Posted by Austin Brawner on April 10, 2016   TheCHIVE is an international success story, but it wasn’t always that way. Here’s the story of how Leo Resig and his friends grew a celebrity gossip site into a $100 million dollar business. Leo is the CEO at theCHIVE and works behind the scenes or as his brother John calls him, he’s the Oz at theChive. He built the stadium and let’s everyone else perform.   Key Takeaways from the Show What it’s like to sell 50,000 t-shirt shirts in 2 minutes Origins of theCHIVE and Keep Calm and Chive On! What the difference is between having 1 employee and 150+ Business tips for entrepreneurs How to win in a world without internet The future of ecommerce and online business Links / Resources Chivecharities.orgTheCHIVE.com

“Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.” – W. Edwards Deming Today we’re going to be continuing our 3 part series on email marketing for ecommerce. This episode is going to focus on maximizing profit through generating repeat sales.   If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes I’d recommend you start there. The Silent Power of Email Marketing Part 1: Generating Leads The Silent Power of Email Marketing Part 2: Activating Subscribers In this third episode, I’m going to be sharing 5 tips to help you gain more repeat customers. Key Takeaways from the Show Why you shouldn’t send an email until you determine what your ideal outcome is How to structure and build a win-back campaign What a VIP campaign can do for your bottom line How to cross sell your customers with complimentary products The power of an automated birthday campaign Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.  

102: THE SILENT POWER OF EMAIL MARKETING PT. 2 Posted by Austin Brawner on January 9, 2016   Having a large email list is great. You know what’s even better? A large customer list. In this episode I’ll show you how. Today we’re going to be continuing our 3 part series on email marketing for ecommerce. If you haven’t listened to the first episode I’d recommend you start there. The Silent Power of Email Marketing Part 1: Generating Leads   This episode is going to focus on activating subscribers. If you haven’t listened to the first episode, I would rewind it back and start there. In this episode I’m going to give you 5 strategies to help you turn your subscribers into customers. Key Takeaways from the Show Why you should create a welcome sequence that is 100% different than what your customers get. How to set up an escalating sequence of emails to maximize the chance of a purchase. How to maximize sales by setting up trigger emails based on product views to increase propensity to buy. How to segment your abandoned cart program to incentivize first time purchasers. Why you should use evergreen time sensitive offers to drive sales. Links/Resources Klaviyo

We're diving into email marketing this month, a topic that we all know we should focus on but rarely do. You might have seen this but we recently sent out a survey and this was by far what you all wanted to learn more about so we're going to do a short series talking all about this over the next weeks (make sure to join the email list to stay up to date). We'll talk about the 3 buckets of email marketing (prospects, subscribers, and customers) and how you should approach each segment. Can't figure out how to turn a prospect into a subscriber? We'll dive into it around the 8 minute mark. Learn the framework you can use to create an irresistible offer and then how to get that in front of people. One of the best ways is a pop up. We'll dive into the 4 different types of pop ups so you can figure out what is right for you. Key Takeaways from the Show The 3 buckets to focus on in email marketing. Ideas to better engage prospects. How to find your irresistible offer If you should use a pop up or not. 4 Different type of pop ups you can use. Links / Resources JustUno.com Sumo.me is a really good value Optin Monster - By Syed Balkhi Bounce Exchange Optimonk.com ExitIntel.com Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

We can talk about & analyze business all we want on this show, but at the end of the day the force of life is the drive for fulfillment; so start something that matters. This episode is a celebration of our 100th episode together and we thought it was a perfect time to discuss how we were able to find and start something that mattered deeply to us, and how you can, too. In this episode we open up about our process for finding and starting something that matters, the insights we've gained since our beginnings two years ago, and how this episode signifies major changes in the business and some smaller changes to this podcast. It's one of the more authentic episodes we've done and we think it'll be able to help you figure out how to start something that matters...or recalibrate what you're already doing to make it matter more. Thanks for joining us on episode 100! Key Takeaways from the Show The two spiritual needs that humans need satisfied for lifelong fulfillment How to find something that matters before actually starting it How to actually start something that matters Why "finding a need and filling it" is the wrong way to go when you want to start something that matters Why the business you'll start won't be the business you have What we've learned in the process and how you can apply it to your business

Whether you're an experienced ecommerce store owner, or just getting started, knowing how to choose the best ecommerce platform for your business is crucial to your success. When it comes to choosing a platform to build any business on, the best companies, like MVMT Watches, Heist, and Mizzen + Main, choose a platform based on what's best for them 5 years from now, not what's best today. And if you're looking to start, or grow, an ecommerce business then making sure you have the right platform for your growth will be one of the most important business decisions you'll make. Today's guest, Dylan Whitman of BVAccel, has been in the ecommerce space for 10+ years, which is like dinosaur years when it comes to ecommerce. And when you consider his client list of Red Bull, Daymond John from Shark Tank, MVMT Watches, Heist, Mizzen + Main and more, then you know it's smart to heed his advice. His past and present experiences with all types of ecommerce platforms will guide you in making the right decision for your business. Key Takeaways from the Show How to choose the best ecommerce platform for your business. The differences between Magento, Shopify, Shopify Plus, and the other platforms available. How he would design his own ecommerce store based on the tests he's run for his clients. The next level beyond your virtual staffing foundation The biggest mistakes ecommerce store owners make and how to avoid them. Links / Resources BVAccel's Website Dylan's Twitter Dylan's LinkedIn Ecommerce Influence Insider

It's not everyday that you can get advice for growing your ecommece business from someone who has built and sold a $20MM per year store by the age of 22. But in this episode, that's exactly what we get. Mike Zhang is the original founder of Airsoft Megastore, an ecommerce site that was said to be generating $20MM in revenue per year at the time of it's sale in 2012. What started off as a small eBay project for Mike ended up turning into a full-fledged ecommerce business, one that has garnered him numerous entrepreneurial awards including Bloomberg 25 under 25 and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year finalist. He has a wealth of experience in ecommerce, and business in general, at the ripe old age of 25. In this episode he lays out some of his best advice for growing your ecommerce business to where you want it to go. Key Takeaways from the Show What it's like to get started in ecommerce at the age of 13 How he grew Airsoft Megastore to $20MM How to incorporate systems into your business to eliminate wasted time and take your site to the next level What experiences he's taking from Airsoft Meagastore and how he's applying them to his new company, DripClub Mike's best advice to his 20 year old self and how you can use it when growing your ecommerce business Links / Resources Mike Zhang LinkedIn Retail Ops Drip Club Ecommerce Influence Insider

Are you tired of the chasing down one-time transactions? Do you want more predictable revenue? Then a subscription ecommerce model might be what you need. Just because you sell sunglasses or messenger bags or some other kind of apparel doesn't mean a subscription ecommerce model won't work for your business. In fact, it's quite likely that it will work for you...once you make a small mindset shift. This is a special episode for us as it brings us back to our humble beginnings. Both of us planted our entrepreneurial roots and cut our marketing chops at Sean's company HUMAN Healthy Vending. Without this experience, we wouldn't have been able to successfully grow our business in the way that we have. It's amazing how things come full circle now as we chat with Sean about how they've been able to take their healthy snack delivery business and apply the subscription ecommerce model to be able to grow 10x in just 9 months. What's even more incredible is that they've taken an outbound sales team approach that you find in typical b2b/c businesses and applied it to ecommerce, which they credit much of their massive success to. It's a bit counterintuitive when you think about ecommerce in the typical way, but that's why this podcast is awesome. It gave us a chance to learn of new, out of the box ways to grow an ecommerce company.  Key Takeaways from the Show How and why they chose a subscription ecommerce model for their business Why content plays such a big role in their success and the detrimental risks you face not doing it in your business How to use an outbound sales team to grow a subscription ecommrece model business by 15x How to produce massive amounts of quality content without doing all the work yourself Why the "membership economy" is the future of ecommerce

How would it feel to go from working 14 hours per day 6 days a week to working 6 hours per day and not working Fridays? Working with a virtual staff can make that promised-land a reality. If a self-proclaimed "micro-managing, pain in the butt boss" can do it, then so can you. Virtual staffing is no longer considered a new concept thanks to Tim Ferriss's 2007 book "The Four-Hour Workweek", but knowing how to hire, train, and manage a fully functioning and efficient virtual staff seems like a new concept to many. Lucky for us, Chris Ducker, the virtual staffing expert, joins the show to talk about working with a virtual staff, the type of mindset you need to build a virtual team, how to determine what your staff should be doing, how to take your business to the next level with virtual staffing, and much more. Give it a listen and learn how you can go from 14 hour days to 6...and no Fridays. Key Takeaways from the Show   How to execute the "Three Lists to Freedom" exercise The one mindset shift you need to make to start working with a virtual staff successfully How building a virtual team has changed and where it's heading The next level beyond your virtual staffing foundation   Links / Resources Chris Ducker's Website Chris Ducker's Twitter Virtual Freedom Book Ecommerce Influence Insider Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe.   Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

You might not be the right type of person to start an ecommerce business from scratch, so maybe you should buy an ecommerce business instead. The amount of time, energy, money and sacrifice it takes to build a business from the ground up can be exhausting (we know first hand), so why not skip all of that and buy an ecommerce business that is already established? To be honest, we never really considered the benefits of buying an already established business, but after talking with David Newell of FE International we've been convinced that buying an ecommerce business might actually be a better option than starting from scratch. In this episode, David will cover the 4 main reasons why you should buy an ecommerce business, including a few reasons we never thought about and now have us considering it. He'll also cover the 6 areas you need to focus your due diligence process on so that you can make sure you're not getting hosed when negotiating with the seller. Oh, and if you're thinking about selling this would be a great episode to listen to so that you know exactly how a buyer is thinking and the steps they're going to take (with the help of their broker) to make sure you business is legit and worth the investment. Key Takeaways from the Show The 4 reasons why you should buy an ecommerce business instead of starting one from scratch. How to know if you're type of person who should be buying The 6 key tenets to robust due diligence when buying an ecommerce business The biggest mistakes most first-time buyers make and how to avoid them How to find financing when you want to buy an ecommerce business Links / Resources FE International David Newell on Twitter David's Advanced Guide to Buying

It's been about a year and a half since since we started the podcast and countless experts have joined the show to provide us with incredible insights into building a successful ecommerce business. The question is, which ones should you be focusing on? We thought it would be the perfect time take the thousands of ideas, tips, and tricks we've learned and flesh out the top 7 things we've learned about building a successful ecommerce business so that you can focus on the most important things now, while helping you better plan for your business's future. It was tough for us to choose just 7 so know that our recommendations here do not come lightly. [player] Key Takeaways from the Show A breakdown of the top 7 things we've learned about building a successful ecommerce business The main difference between a real business and a job you created for yourself Predicting the end of most ecommerce businesses Why you're not as important to your business as you think (and why you want it that way) The traffic strategy that the biggest and best ecommerce companies use that you might be ignoring Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Today we're talking about risk and decision making. In business and life entrepreneurs and must decide to take risks (or not take risks) and live with the impacts it has. We're talking about an article from Bonobos.com CEO Andy Dunn called The Risk Not Taken and it's had a massive impact on our approach to risk and decision making and wanted to share it with you. Andy talks about everything from the role money has in risk to personal shame and embarrassment. It's something we all feel but rarely talk about in the conversation about entrepreneur-ism and life. Key Takeaways from the Show The role that risk plays in business and life. How to deal with the "Decision Elf" What to do when you feel like a fraud. The need to understand how well off we really are. Links / Resources Andy Dunn

You finally found it… …the answer to your ecommerce store’s growth problem and your video marketing conundrum. At this point you know that video marketing is all the rage as YouTube and other video platforms continue to explode with opportunity to you grow your business. You know you should be capitalizing, but it feels like too big of a task to take on right now. Video marketing requires a lot of effort to outline a video marketing campaign, write the video(s), film the video(s), edit them, upload them, promote them etc. Of course, you can always hire someone to do all that, but that gets expensive…and who knows if it’ll even work and show a positive ROI after all is said and done. But there is a different way to do video marketing that could work very, very well for you. It’s called YouTube Influencer Marketing and today’s guest, Emmanuel Eleyae of Satin-Lined Caps, has experienced the video marketing promised land…to the tune of $80k in revenuer PER month within just the first 9 months of being in business. He was able to do ALL of this with YouTube and without creating a single video himself. In this episode he’s going to teach you exactly how he did it and how you can, too. Key Takeaways from the Show What influencer marketing is and how works on YouTube The 3 stages to successful YouTube influencer marketing What makes YouTube influencer marketing right for your business How to measure YouTube influencer marketing ROI Links / Resources Book on Positioning Emmanuel's Twitter Emmanuel's personal blog that documents his journey Satin-Lined Caps Website Emmanuel's Free Training Guide

If there's any online company that completely embodies the idea of an authentic online brand, it's Ugmonk. Customer loyalty to the brand is second to none and something all ecommerce brands should seek to emulate. Jeff Sheldon, founder & designer, has taken a small side project and turned it into one of the most successful, most authentic online brands we've ever encountered or worked with. His story is truly one of the most remarkable authentic online brand building stories out there today, and he walks us through the steps he took to grow his business from basically nothing to an "online household name" where customers rarely leave. He explains to us how he created a loyal community of customers that rarely leave him, the early mistakes he made and how you can avoid them, how he built his authentic online brand without advertising, and his plans to take his business to the next level. Key Takeaways from the Show How to create the most authentic online brand The early mistakes Ugmonk made and how you can avoid them Their shift in email marketing and the results it has produced How Jeff plans to grow Ugmonk moving forward & how you can use some of his ideas to move your business forward as well The one thing Jeff suggests you must do from the very beginning Links / Resources ugmonk.com 1,000 True Fans from Kevin Kelly Klaviyo Ugmonk twitter Ugmonk Instagram Click Here for the Transcript Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Tommy Walker has written some of our favorite ecommerce content for some of our favorite sites over the past couple of years including ConversionXL and now Shopify Plus. He has a wealth of knowledge about content marketing and shares with us his best strategies for establishing a system to generate a large amount of quality, effective content for ecommerce companies. He shares all in today's episode, take a listen. Not every ecommerce company needs content marketing as a crucial part of their strategy. As Tommy puts it... I don't need an article about how to make my bed if I'm buying sheets online. However, if part of your mission is to build a lifestyle brand surrounding your product then content needs to be a big focus for you as it builds community, loyal customers, and drives a lot of traffic when done right. Tommy shares his personal 'code' (the one he's using for the Shopify blog he's now running) for successfully writing articles and hiring people able to create quality, effective content. The key is to clearly define the audience you are addressing and what your brand stands for. With this in hand, you can hire great talent and give them the information they need to be able to write the content you expect in order to reflect your vision. In this podcast we'll also cover an amazing workflow you can copy in order to manage content and writers just like Tommy does at Shopify. If you can run a system like this, you'll be able to consistently (and efficiently) knock out content that attracts great customers. Key Takeaways from the Show Why content marketing might not be right for your ecommerce company. How to hire writers for your content team. What you need to know about creating great content. Lifestyle brand vs Service oriented product. How to manage content production and independent writers. Links / Resources Tommy on Twitter Shopify Plus Blog conversionxl.com  thrillist.com beardbrand.com Trello Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

We talk about building systems all the time, but how well do they actually hold up when you completely leave your business? It was time for us to "put our money where our mouth is". We recently tested out how well our systems worked by sending by sending Austin to Asia and completely off the grid for 3 weeks. In this episode we talk about the results we experienced, what we learned, and what we failed at so you can make the necessary adjustments in your business and make your systems work for you. Systems are vital because they provide the freedom to step and disconnect so you can live a life outside of your work and really enjoy what you're working on. Ask yourself, what would happened if I left your business today for 4 days and didn't have any connection to internet or phone? What about 3 weeks? If you get a small panic attack just thinking about it, then you need to create more and better systems. A business is only a business when you can step away and still make money while your gone and everything, for the most part, still operates seamlessly. During this test we realized that it success comes down to mastering a few different areas including hiring, systemization, measurement, and shared vision. Of course there's more to it than just that so we'll cover it all in this episode. Key Takeaways from the Show A breakdown of the mistakes we made, the good things we did and how you can use our experience to help you How the SOP's we've been developing over the past 9 months worked out. Why hiring an AMAZING team is crucial to success and some ideas on how to do it. How customization will prevent you from leaving your business and completely disconnecting. The misconceptions you have about your role and why you might not really be needed in your business (hurts, we know), but why you should want it that way Links / Resources Interview with Andrew Foxwell The Amazing PooPourri Video Still using Mailchimp? Email Klaviyo today How to systematize. Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

If you're not driving more ecommerce sales with Facebook advertising then you're missing out on one of the best "demand generation" systems available to your business today. Facebook advertising has been responsible for producing 2x, 3x, 4x even 10x returns on adspend for some of our clients...and if you're not getting that with what you're doing now, here's how you can start. The person responsible for helping some of our clients see those kinds of returns is Facebook advertising expert and friend, Andrew Foxwell. Foxwell (we call him Foxy!) is one of the most revered Facebook marketers today. He has worked with 8 figure+ businesses, a U.S. Congressman, our clients, and even us. This is episode is part two in a 2-part series that will teach you how to drive more ecommerce sales with Facebook. Part one is an overview of Facebook advertising, what's possible, and we lay the foundation to becoming successful. In part two we'll dig in a bit deeper and show you how to sell for results with facebook advertising.  Key Takeaways from the Show How to structure Facebook advertising campaigns for success for your ecommerce store. The targeting power of Facebook and how to best use it to your advantage How to find the highest converting ad campaign in the shortest amount of time. How to a create large, highly-qualified "Lookalike" audience that generates sales on demand. Links / Resources Facebook Advertising for Ecommerce Quick Start Guide Foxwell Digital Andrew on Twitter 

The man who stops advertising to save money is the man who stops the clock to save time. If you're not driving more ecommerce sales with Facebook, you should be. If you are using Facebook to drive sales, you can do it better than what you're doing now. Facebook advertising has been responsible for producing 2x, 3x, 4x even 10x returns on adspend for some of our clients. Most of the credit can go to Facebook advertising expert and friend, Andrew Foxwell. Foxwell (we call him Foxy!) is one of the most revered Facebook marketers today. He has worked with 8 figure+ businesses, a U.S. Congressman, our clients, and even us. This is episode is part one in a 2-part series that will teach you how to drive more ecommerce sales with Facebook. Part one is an overview of Facebook advertising and what's possible. We then lay the foundation to becoming successful. In part two we'll dig in a bit deeper and show you how to sell for results with Facebook advertising. Key Takeaways from the Show Why you need to be using Facebook advertising for ecommerce. The biggest obstacles to Facebook marketing success and how to avoid them. How to get 3x, 4x, 5x and up to 10x return on adspend with Facebook Advertising The first thing you need to do (or optimize) to succeed in driving more ecommerce sales with Facebook. Links / Resources Facebook Advertising for Ecommerce Quick Start Guide Foxwell Digital Andrew on Twitter Mindset by Carol Dweck Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

If you've listened to parts one and two of this three-part series you should have a firm grasp on scrum, the methodology we use to help us do twice as much in half the time. The final episode in this series will cover our personal experiences using the methodology, how we've modified it to fit our business, the things we're improving as we move along, and how we think you should apply it to your ecommerce company. Plus, we also have a special guest joining us, and he goes by the name "Master Splinter." No, he's not a mutant rat. The Scrum Methodology was originally designed for technical projects, but now it's being applied to business and it's been a smashing success for many. Our own experience has been extremely positive. Our team is on the same page, we're doing the right things at the right time, and we're knocking out project after project weekly. This episode is part three in a 3-part series about applying the scrum methodology to innovate with disciplined execution while getting twice as much done in half the time. Tim Francis is the guest on the first two episodes in this series. He is a Scrum "master" so to speak and he taught us the ins and outs of the process. In the first two episodes of this series he outlines what scrum looks like and how you can use it in your business. Part one is an overview of the methodology, part two is how to execute the methodology, and part three is a review of how we implement scrum into our business and how you can apply it to yours. Key Takeaways from the Show How scrum can help anyone do twice as much in half the time Why and how the scrum framework applies to ecommerce A complete breakdown of the 5 essential components of successful scrum implementation The most inefficient way to get projects done Links / Resources “Get Twice As Much Done In Half The Time with Scrum” Process Map & Resource Links BOOK - Mindset the New Psychology of Success Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Getting twice as much done in half the time seems like a fantasy, but it can become a reality if you're using the scrum methodology. If you're looking for the silver bullet to increase productivity, this could be it for you, it has been for us. The Scrum Methodology was originally designed for technical projects, but now it's being applied to business and it's been a smashing success for many. Our own experience has been extremely positive. Our team is on the same page, we're doing the right things at the right time, and we're knocking out project after project weekly. Tim Francis is the guest on the first two episodes in this series. He is a scrum "master" so to speak and he taught us the ins and outs of the process. In this series he's going to outline what scrum looks like and how you can use it in your business. This episode is part two in a 3-part series about applying the scrum methodology to innovate with disciplined execution while getting twice as much done in half the time. Part one is an overview of the methodology, part two covers how to execute the methodology, and part three is a review of how we implemented scrum into our business and how you can apply it to yours. Key Takeaways from the Show How scrum can help anyone do twice as much in half the time Why and how the scrum framework applies to ecommerce A complete breakdown of the 5 essential components of successful scrum implementation The most inefficient way to get projects done Links / Resources “Get Twice As Much Done In Half The Time with Scrum” Process Map & Resource Links Profit Factory Tim Francis Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

It seems like we're all looking for the silver bullet when it comes to getting more done in our business. Look no further. There is a methodology that will help you do twice as much in half the time. Too good to be true? We thought so, too...until we implemented it. Now our team is producing more work, at higher quality, and in much less time. And so can you. The Scrum Methodology was originally designed for technical projects, but now it's being applied to business and it's been a smashing success for many. Our own experience has been extremely positive. Our team is on the same page, we're doing the right things at the right time, and we're knocking out project after project weekly. Tim Francis is the guest on the first two episodes in this series. He is a scrum "master" so to speak and he taught us the ins and outs of the process.In this series he's going to outline what scrum looks like and how you can use it in your business. This episode is part one in a 3-part series about applying the scrum methodology to innovate with disciplined execution while getting twice as much done in half the time. Part one is an overview of the methodology, part two is how to execute the methodology, and part three is a review of how we implement scrum into our business and how you can apply it to yours. Key Takeaways from the Show How scrum can help anyone do twice as much in half the time Why and how the scrum methodology applies to ecommerce The 5 essential components of successful scrum implementation The most inefficient way to get projects done Links / Resources "Get Twice As Much Done In Half The Time with Scrum” Process Map & Resource Links Profit Factory Tim Francis Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Warren Buffett once said that, in business, he looks for "economic castles protected by unbreachable moats." If the Oracle of Omaha was considering buying your ecommerce store, would he see an "unbreachable moat" surrounding your business? Here are the 8 essential elements for an "unbreachable moat" in ecommerce so that you can create one to help you sell your site at maximum price. In the previous two episodes, Jock Purtle of Digital Exits taught us how to value your ecommerce business and then how to sell it for max value. He mentioned various ways to sale-proof your business (the moat), how to raise its real and perceived value, and then how to sell it. In this episode we pull everything all together and help you build your moat based on Jock's recommendations AND from what we see our top 7-8 figure clients doing to build their unbreachable moat. This is episode is part three in a 3-part series about valuing and selling an ecommerce store. Part one is “How To Determine What Your Ecommerce Business Is Worth” and part two is “How To Sell Your Ecommerce Store For Maximum Price”.   Key Takeaways from the Show 8 things you need to do to sell your site at maximum price The risks of playing in the same sandbox as Amazon and how to survive the sand fight The only 2 functions that any business has How your site's potential impacts it's value (you might be surprised) Links / Resources DigitalExits.com Free Ecommerce Email Income Projections Report Work the System Taylor Pearson Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

If you listened to last week's episode about how to value an ecommerce business then you're ready to find out what you need to do to sell your ecommerce store for maximum value. Just like any other large sale there is a right and a wrong way to sell, and you definitely don't want to be leaving money on the table when it comes to selling your business. We've had a few ecommerce companies come to us recently about selling their business. They've come to us with questions about determining value and how to sell it for maximum value, but we didn't' know how to answer their questions. Because of our lack of expertise we brought Jock Purtle of Digital Exits onto to the show. He'll not only explain to us how to determine a store's value but then he'll explain to us how sell it for maximum value. This is episode is part one in a 3-part series about valuing and selling an ecommerce store. Part one is "How To Determine What Your Ecommerce Business Is Worth", part two is "How To Sell Your Ecommerce Store For Maximum Value", and part three is "The 8 Essential Components Needed To Sell Your Site At Maximum Price" Key Takeaways from the Show The sales criteria you need to know to know to sell your ecommerce store for maximum value Learn what a prospectus is and how to create an accurate for your business How to negotiate the best deal for your store How to problem-proof the sales process The best way to find buyers when selling your ecommerce business Links / Resources The Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Ecommerce Business for Maximum Value DigitalExits.com Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Have you ever wondered what your ecommerce business is worth? Do you know the right valuation criteria and process to make sure you don't undervalue your store, or price too high? No worries, everything you need to know is right here in this post and episode. We've had a few ecommerce companies come to us recently about selling their business. They've come to us with questions about determining value and how to sell it for max price, but we didn't' know how to answer their questions. Because of our lack of expertise we brought Jock Purtle of Digital Exits onto to the show.He'll not only explain to us how to determine a store's value but then he'll explain to us how sell it for maximum value. This is episode is part one in a 3-part series about valuing and selling an ecommerce store. Part one is "How To Determine What Your Ecommerce Business Is Worth", part two is "How To Sell Your Ecommerce Store For Maximum Price", and part three is "How To Prepare Your Ecommerce Business To Sell At Maximum Value" Key Takeaways from the Show The most popular valuation methods used for selling an ecommerce business and which one you should use. The criteria for determining what your ecommerce business is worth How to determine the valuation multiple to use when valuing your ecommerce business. The biggest mistakes ecommerce business owners make when determining their store's value. Links / Resources The Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Ecommerce Business for Maximum Value DigitalExits.com Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

The most successful ecommerce business owners understand the characteristics of abundance & scarcity thinking, and they know how to only think in terms of abundance. Our largest and best clients use abundance thinking to lead them to more success, joy and fulfillment, while the others with scarcity thinking tend to have more failure, fear and discontent. We’re talking about this today because it’s something we’ve been purposefully focusing on to help us maintain excitement, energy and joy while we build our business. Plus, research has recently shown us that a person’s success is directly related to his or her mindset. We now know that much of your success hinges on whether you believe that “there is always more where that came from” or “there will never be enough”...and the variations of them, i.e. abilities can be developed vs. fixed. We’re going to discuss the characteristics of each kind of thinking, what we see most often in our top ecommerce clients, and then how you can apply it to yourself as you build your ecommerce business. Key Takeaways from the Show The difference between abundance thinking and scarcity thinking How our largest and best clients use abundance thinking to lead them to more success, joy and fulfillment The top 8 characteristics of abundance thinkers (and a bonus) Links / Resources Episode 55 No One's Gonna Remember You When You're Gone - Scooter Braun Article  Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Overachievers typically work just as much and just as hard as super-achievers but, unfortunately, they usually achieve much less. The question is, do you know the single element that separates you from the other? Last week's guest, Taylor Pearson, is someone we consider a super-achiever and he knows what it takes become one. After reading 188 books on entrepreneurship he was able to identify the one single element that separates the best from the rest, and he's explained what that single element is, why it's mandatory, and the simple two-step process to mastering it. This episode is a reading of his blog post. Key Takeaways from the Show The single element to becoming a super-achiever Understanding and implementing The Buffet Principle How to micro the macro (and what that means, exactly) The simple 2-step process the most effective individuals use to become super-achievers The difference between FOMO and JOMO and which one you should be Links / Resources Episode 55 Taylor's Blog Post Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

It's another in-depth fireside chat where we discuss the mindset you need to adopt about productivity and the how this mindset will help you do more with less. Taylor Pearson, as he says it, is a “systems-obsessed entrepreneur, marketer, and philosopher” who has spent a lot of time helping companies during the growth phase by showing them what they should be focusing and what they should stop doing Taylor says that he was “built to trudge” and he'll share some of his best ideas on how anyone can overcome shiny object syndrome to make sure you’re staying on task and most productive. Key Takeaways from the Show Taylor's new book competition Learn how to stay focused and overcome shiny object syndrome. Why the 80/20 rule applies to this conversation on productivity. How Taylor thinks about SOPs and how it can help you. How “black swans” affect the future of business. Links / Resources Taylor's website Ecommerce Fuel live event Book - EMyth marksdailyapple.com Book - Art of Learning Book - Built to sell Links / Resources Hiring analysis we mentioned last week Book - EMyth Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

It’s time to transition out of your small business mindset and begin to see your business as an organization, segmented by roles and filled by role-specific people. Even though you’re just one person, you’re likely filling multiple roles in your business. Learn how to seperate them, how they all fit together and what to do once you figure it all out. As we’ve been growing we’ve realized some conflict in tasks we were doing and how it impedes day to day workflow. By establishing roles and understanding who fills what role you can see what you need to be doing - and, more importantly, NOT doing. By bringing definition to your business you’ll find the inefficiencies and create a better work environment for yourself and your employees. This episode is really inspired by the book E-myth by Michael Gerber and we share some of the strategies that have been working best for us. Key Takeaways from the Show How to identify the many hats you wear in your business and fitting them to the right role. Specific tips you can take action on that we’ve been implementing. The difference between fitting the role to the talent and fitting the talent to the role and which one is right. How to create an organizational chart that supports your growth and achieves your vision. Links / Resources Hiring analysis we mentioned last week Book - EMyth Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Improving your hiring mindset, knowing what to hire for, and knowing how to hire only 'A' players are the keys to growing your business while gaining freedom at the same time. The first step is to figure out what you're currently doing day to day...and what you shouldn't be doing at all. After that you need to have the right hiring process to help you hire the right people to take over those tasks. From there it's automating, eliminating, and delegating everything that's not critical to the growth of your business. And remember, even some of the things that you think are critical probably aren't. Going through this worksheet will be an eye opener for you, and can help you drastically improve your hiring mindset, hiring process, and especially your business. Key Takeaways from the Show How to have the right hiring mindset. The amazing thing that happens when you become comfortable with others being better or smarter than you at completing your tasks. The exact process we've gone through to hire only 'A' players to grow our business. Links / Resources Let us know how we're doing! Podcast [at] ecommerceinfluence.com Episode with Tim Francis Hiring 'A' Players Book - Top Grading Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

We came to the somewhat-shocking conclusion that nearly 70% of our business comes from referrals...the easiest, cheapest, and most qualified acquisition channel in any business, including ecommerce. When trying to grow your business you have to make some crucial decisions around client acquisition and where to focus. Referral marketing is often an area that is overlooked or taken for granted. And if you're not getting at least 25% of your business from referral marketing then you're leaving a lot of money on the table. It’s amazing what you can miss when you don’t analyze where your clients and your best ROI come from. When you do you can realize you’re missing out on some major wins. In today’s show we’re going to share what happened when we realized that 70% of our business comes referrals, and how you can apply what we learned to your ecommerce store to ensure referrals make up at least 25% of your revenue. Austin runs through an effective and simple referral plan that you can implement and we'll provide access to one of his referral marketing presentations that breaks down the "art & science" of referral marketing even further. Key Takeaways from the Show What we just learned about our client acquisition How you can implement a similar referral model into your ecommerce business. Why gift cards aren’t devaluing your brand. How to start partnering with companies. (and why it makes sense) Links / Resources Episode with Amy Africa Episode with Avinash Kaushik Talkable Klaviyo Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Having a business partner can be the best decision you ever make for your business, or it could be the worst if you don't know how to choose wisely. We have now been formal business partners for over a year and recently we hit a rough patch in our relationship professionally and personally.  But just like any great "real life" marriage that builds it's foundation on the principle of clear, constant, and honest communication we've been able to navigate rough waters and push forward to help our company grow. With the experiences we've had in our partnership in recent weeks we decided it'd be a great time to open up our relationship, tell you why and how we chose to partner with each other, and how we've been able to make our "marriage" last this long and for, what we hope will be, many more years to come. Use our experiences to find the right partner for you or improve the current one you have. Key Takeaways What business was like before and after partnering and why we believe finding a business partner is best for your business growth. The 7 criteria you can use to help you choose the right business partner. 4 must-know tips to maintaining your partnership for the long haul. An on-air, non-scripted, authentic & honest assessment of each other in our partnership. Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

We start a business because we want more freedom...but we often find ourselves with quite the opposite. There are a lot of easier ways to make money than starting a business, but we don't typically start a business for the money. We start them for the freedom a successful business can bring. Yet we often find ourselves just trying to make it through the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the slow times and the overwhelming times, all of which make it feel like we're always in that dreaded "survival mode". In this episode we're going to discuss when we, personally, are stuck in survival mode, what it feels like for us, and how to get out of it, including our best tips, tricks, and habits for maximizing your mindset so you can better handle your business, your family, and other personal obligations. Having the right entrepreneurial mindset is what keeps us going forward, but sometimes it's easier said than done. We can help. If you don't change your mindset...don't expect to see different results. Key Takeaways from the Show Where we’re at with Ecommerce Influence. Why mindset has such a critical role in the entrepreneurial journey. The most important piece of advice that Richard Branson gives and what that means for you. What you should eliminate from your life and why. Links / Resources Article by Taylor Pearson that we mention Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

The "Tim Ferriss Effect" is REAL according to Mizzen+Main's founder Kevin Lavelle. So real in fact, that sponsoring Tim's podcast has been the single greatest decision he's ever made to grow the company. Kevin Lavelle is the founder of Mizzen+Main, which manufactures American made, moisture wicking, wrinkle free dress shirts. Happy customers include pro athletes, successful CEO’s, and notable celebrities such as Tim Ferriss. Mizzen and Main received $1.2 million in funding last August and Kevin says he plans to use the new funding to raise brand awareness and grow sales of Mizzen+Main clothing online, via select retail relationships and creative pop-up shops and trade shows, amongst other things. Kevin’s joined us to tell his story and teach us what he’s learned from his experiences buying ads in Esquire, getting $1.2 million in funding, and sponsoring The Tim Ferriss show. Key Takeaways from the Show What to do if you're considering raising money for your ecommerce company. Why the "Tim Ferriss Effect" is real and how to test the waters of podcast sponsorship to see if it makes sense for you. What he's doing to grow his ecommerce business to $10mil+ Links / Resources Mizzen and Main website Kevin on Twitter Kevin's Articles on Medium Tim Ferriss Podcast Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

The impending death of traditional retail has been predicted numerous times in recent past, but in 20 years of ecommerce in the US only two ecommerce companies of meaningful value have been created: Amazon and Ebay. Ecommerce is no longer about throwing up a quick store and sourcing from Alibaba, hoping to ride the "ecommerce gravy train" to riches. It’s about building a real business, a brand, that is going to last through the turbulence of an ever-changing internet and retail world and takes you into the next ecommerce world we’re heading into. The problem is, "ECommerce Is A Bear"...a big gnarly one. One that can crush you. Today's episode is a reading of an article by one of the smartest, most successful ecommerce brand owners, Andy Dunn of Bonobos. In this episode he talks about four specific strategies to help you build a brand that can "fend off" the grizzly (a few of which we've been talking about a lot lately). It’s really a culmination, a summary, of what we’ve been teaching you over the past 70+ episodes of Ecommerce Influence. "In two decades of e-commerce in the US, we have produced only two standalone e-commerce companies of meaningful enterprise value: Amazon and eBay. One went public in 1997, the other in 1998. We haven’t had an IPO of an e-commerce company that has gotten to a two billion of market cap in fifteen years, let alone double digit billions." Links / Resources Sam Mallikarjunan, Hubspot – Why The Ecommerce “Gravy Train” Is Coming To An End, And How To Keep Riding It With Inbound Marketing The article we read in this show Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

We all understand that hiring great people is critical to your ecommerce success, yet too many businesses have a revolving door of unreliable and subpar freelancers. You can stop that revolving door today because we’re going to teach you how to hire fantastic and reliable freelancers for your ecommerce company in only 4 simple steps. An essential part of any business is the team that you surround yourself with. In the world of online business, specifically ecommerce, we’re seeing too many companies taking shortcuts and not creating a team that will last. We’ve spent years making mistakes when hiring freelancers on Elance and Odesk, but along the way we’ve developed a system that has helped us hire ONLY 'A' players...and it has made all the difference. Key Takeaways from the Show The 4 steps to hiring 'A' players on Elance. The issues that commonly show up when hiring off of Elance. Why this is so important for ecommerce companies. We’ll cover the exact strategy we use to write an effective job description. The results we’re seeing from implementing this system in our business. Links / Resources Top Grading Hiring A Players Article Example Google Survey Elance - The job hiring site we’re focused on. Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Does confidence actually mean you’re reaching a plateau? Is that uncomfortable feeling really the best place to be in your life and in your business? In this conversation we talk about the difference between confidence and courage why you need one over the other to get you where you're trying to go. We've come to a place in our business where we've had to make some tough decisions, decisions that can take us from a place we're very comfortable with to a place of discomfort but has the potential for massive growth. We want to share with you the mindset shifts we've been going through and hopefully you'll come away with some ideas for you, personally, and your business. If you like this new kind of episode make sure to let us know on Twitter or email us at chad [at] ecommerceinfluence.com Key Takeaways from the Show The shift we’re going through in our business and how it applies to yours. What it takes to avoid creating another job for yourself. The issues that lead us to realize we had to change, the same issues you could be going through. The difference between confidence and courage and why one can stall your business and the other won't. The 3 step formula for avoiding setbacks and taking your business to the next level. Links / Resources 10x Talk Podcast - Entrepreneurial Addiction Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Every single day 40 Super Bowls happen on YouTube, yet only 1% of companies know the formula to success with TrueView ads. Video is the closest thing to having a face to face conversation with your potential buyer without being there, and this interaction is your ticket to free traffic, higher conversions, and increased value per conversion...oh, and to stealing customers from your competitors. Jake Larsen’s passion for video-making lead him to TV Advertising in LA, where he worked behind the scenes with FOX Entertainment on TV shows like 24, American Idol and House. It was here that he started to notice a massive change happening in video advertising. People’s eyes and ears weren’t where they used to be, they were shifting from TV to Online Video. Jake started Video Power Marketing, a video production / advertising agency that helps people capture attention, drive traffic and increase sales using YouTube Advertising. He has played with millions of dollars of ad spend figuring out the formula that makes getting an ROI on your ad spend possible, and he's been able to create automated money-making machines where $1 of ad spend goes in, and $7 in sales come out. With all of his success Google asked him to be a YouTube Marketing Ambassador, which is awarded to only 10 companies in the world. Key Takeaways from the Show The 2 types of TrueView ads, their differences, and which one is best How to steal leads from your top competitors The formula for getting free leads using TrueView ads Why ultra competitive niches are where companies find the most success The one question you need to ask when building your first ad Links / Resources VideoPower.org Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Have you ever wanted to take a just a week off from running your business? But you never take the time off because you're worried that you'll come back to a business ablaze with fires that stall your growth. Worry no more. Tim Francis is going to teach you how to develop systems that allow you to leave your business, sometimes completely detached, and come back to a company fully intact...and still growing strong. Tim is an expert at developing systems that actually work. In 2013, he began systemizing his main business, Tim Francis Marketing, and revenue grew by a staggering 50% in just 3 months, AND he cut his workload by about 20 – 25%...starting an incredible journey into mastering the art and science of building systems for businesses. Realizing there was a huge need to help small business owners systemize their businesses, Tim decided to launch ProfitFactory.com in Fall 2014 to help other business owners create systems in their business to help them make more money while doing less. We’ll walk through how to get started and how to decide which tasks to start eliminating, delegating, and automating...and why Tim says “You need to completely give up your email inbox!“ Key Takeaways from the Show How to develop systems that start eliminating, delegating, and automating your business. How to hire the right assistant you can trust. The process to hire and onboard new team members. Common problems with system sheets and process documents. Understanding SRT and SCRUM for small businesses.   Links / Resources profitfactory.com/ timfrancismarketing.com/ Perfect Job Posting The site Tim uses to find assistans http://hiremymom.com/ Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

The newest online "Gold Rush" is happening right now, and it's picking up steam. Pinterest is mysterious to some, to others its marketing potential is still to be determined. When you listen to today's episode you will no longer have any questions about the power of Pinterest marketing to bring more free traffic, generate more sales, and connect better with customers. Anna Bennett is the owner of White Glove Social Media, co-founder of True North Marketing, and is THE Pinterest marketing expert. Just type into Google “pinterest marketing expert” she’s the top one that comes up...and google’s never wrong. Anna is the author of Pinterest Marketing For Business Master Online Course and has been featured in Forbes Magazine. Her goal is to help you create, improve or integrate the power of Pinterest to grow your business bigger and faster and to have some fun along the way! Oh, and Anna dazzled as an international beauty pageant winner a few years back, pretty sweet. Key Takeaways from the Show How and why Pinterest marketing is more effective than any other social media channel for driving traffic and converting more visitors into customers. Why you need to incorporate Pinterest into your email marketing. How Pinterest ads work, and how to make them work for you. The types of brands that should be prioritizing Pinterest Marketing and why Why Pinterest users actually embrace branded content, unlike Facebook and Twitter users, and what that means for your ecommerce brand. How Pinterest earns an additional 30% in paid media for free Links/Resources White Glove Social Media Anna's Twitter Pinterest Marketing for Business (Anna's Master Course) Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Every entrepreneur goes through it. It could be because you're getting too many sales, or it's because you're not getting enough sales. It’s that horrible feeling of being stuck, that you just can’t get through the weeds and everywhere you turn it's another dead end and you're putting out fires. It's the wrath of entrepreneurial chaos. This episode is a story from our past, but it’s a problem we've seen so many companies experience, and it's a story that you can relate to. The best part is, once you understand the problem and realize that there is a way out, you can begin to implement the systems your company needs to emerge from the entrepreneurial chaos. By talking through this story we’ll hit on several of the common problems and solutions that come along with starting, running, and growing an ecommerce business. One of the biggest things we see ecommerce owners missing out on is setting up solid marketing automation from the very beginning. It’s the piece of your business that will help you finally get to the point where you really are “making money while you sleep”. We’re going to run through an example of how we’re doing this for a client of ours. It’s a model that we think you can easily apply to your business no matter what industry you’re in or the type of product you sell. The Story We Told #1 - A Passionate Beginning #2 - An Overwhelming Growth #3 - Staring Into The Eyes Of The Entrepreneurial Beast #4 - Slaying The Beast #5 - The New Normal #6 - How You Can Too Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

If you're looking for qualified customers who are ready to buy, but you're not yet using Google Shopping, then you might be missing out on untapped traffic and the hottest potential buyers on the interwebs. Brett is an online marketer, eCommerce strategist, and speaker. The majority of his time is spent running his agency, Online Marketing Giant, and leading an amazing team of talented marketers at Classy Llama that specialize in search engine marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), web development, marketing strategy, and branding. He has a passion for helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses through creative marketing efforts. As a certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and eCommerce marketing enthusiast Brett is a frequent speaker at business functions across the US. "If your SEO company says they can't tell you what they're doing because it's proprietary stuff - fire them. Proprietary doesn't exist any more." - Brett Curry Key Takeaways from the Show Why SEO is not dead, it’s just evolved Why Google shopping is the premier product advertising channel for merchants Tips, tricks, and hacks to optimizing products for Google Shopping Ads How to make sure your SEO foundation is set up properly When to know if it's time to fire your SEO company How to preserve your SEO during a platform/site migration. Links / Resources Classy Llama Llama Commerce SEMRush Google.com/merchants Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe below. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Despite the fact that ecommerce has grown 20% year over year, the ecommerce "gravy train" will be coming to a halt very soon for many ecommerce companies. If you want to keep riding then it's time to start investing in better experiences that provide value before asking for it. Sam Mallikarjunan is the Head of HubSpot Labs and the author of the book "How To Sell Better Than Amazon". HubSpot is an all-in-one inbound marketing and sales platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers. He is an expert ecommerce marketer and understand customer lifecycle marketing more than most thanks to his experience with inbound marketing at Hubspot. Key Takeaways from the Show The ecommerce gravy train is coming to an end. Why cart abandonment shouldn't be considered a bad thing...if you do it right. What closed loop attribution means and why you need to track it Why customers who abandon carts actually spend more than those who don't. What the greatest threat to marketing is, and why it's actually the greatest asset. How Berretta succeeds at selling firearms online, even though they can't sell firearms online. Links / Resources Hubspot's State of Inbound Report Sam's Personal Site Sam's Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe below. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

We can think of very few things more important for an ecommerce business owner than determining what a customer is worth to an organization over their business lifetime, and there is no one better in the world at calculating customer lifetime value than Peter Fader. Peter Fader is Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Customer Centricity: Focus on the Right Customers for Strategic Advantage. His expertise centers around the analysis of behavioral data to understand and forecast customer shopping/buying activities and calculating customer lifetime value. He works with firms from a wide range of industries, such as consumer packaged goods, interactive media, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. Fader's work has been published in a number of leading journals in marketing, statistics, and the management sciences, and he serves on the editorial boards of many of them. In 2009, Fader was named a "Professor to Watch" by the Financial Times. Key Takeaways from the Show Stop using weak proxies to determine CLTV Finding your growth through your customers Responsiveness is not customer centricity Why Apple is not customer centric, but Harrah's entertainment is What customer lifetime value ISN'T The "Holy Trinity" of customer lifetime value Raising your quantitative literacy Learn the "Buy Till You Die" customer lifetime value model Links / Resources Buy Till You Die Model Peter's Wharton Profile Peter's Book Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously and we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

With costs always on the rise, and the "highs" from marginal success being short-lived, ecommerce companies need to moderate (maybe even eliminate) the pay per click addiction that could sink their business. Tom Schwab is founder and owner of Goodbye Crutches, the largest online distributor of direct to patient Durable Medical Equipment focused on serving those who can’t bear weight and can’t bear crutches. He definitely knows how to build an online business with an Inbound Strategy. Tom led the growth of Goodbye Crutches from a regional player to a national leader in under 3 years. Tom is the leader of the eCommerce Hubspot user group, has been featured in many industry leading publications, and is often a guest expert on podcasts, radio shows, and more. Key Takeaways from the Show Creating content with a purpose How to monopolize the keywords in your industry Using inbound marketing to sell any product Breaking down the bias against inbound marketing Links / Resources Inbound for Ecommerce  Tom's LinkedIn  Goodbye Crutches Inbound Marketing Book  Tom's Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Customer comparison shopping is inevitable online. With the likes of Amazon and other major retailers doing everything they can to steal your customers through pricing-cutting and comparison shopping you need to pull out all the stops to keep them loyal. T. J. Gentle and Andrew Scarbrough are co-founders of PriceWaiter, a tool that allows ecommerce companies to keep more customers by providing simple and private price negotiations for online stores.  Personalization in all aspects of the online buying experience is now one of the most talked about topics in ecommerce, and T.J. and Andrew are going to share how they’ve been able to 5x their sales thanks to their focus on customer personalization using the PriceWaiter tool.   Key Takeaways from the Show Creating the benefits of a brick and mortar sales person online Eliminate price comparison shopping once and for all How to get around the nuances of minimum advertised pricing Selling in a true one to one way online Links / Resources TJ Gentle's Twitter Andrew Scarbrough's Twitter PriceWaiter.com (Get 60 Days of Premium Service Free by Mentioning this Podcast) SmartFurniture's "Furniture Genius" Tool Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

"According to leading neuroscientists, 95 percent of thoughts, emotions, and learning occur before we're ever aware of it. Yet, most marketing efforts forgo the vast subconscious and instead target the rational, conscious mind. If you want to get ahead of your competition stop selling to the 5% of your customers brains...when you understand how your customers' brains work, you can appeal to the powerful subconscious - and get better results for less money." (Brainfluence, 2012) Roger Dooley is a consultant, entrepreneur, and neuromarketing missionary who combines knowledge of emerging phenomena like neuromarketing and social networking with decades of hands-on marketing experience. He helps companies understand the implications of new technologies and techniques, and guides them in the implementation of practical strategies to adapt to them. Clients range from Fortune 500 firms to entrepreneurial ecommerce businesses. He regularly addresses national conferences, and has been quoted frequently in the mainstream press on topics ranging from brain fitness marketing, web communities, and social networks, is a frequent contributor to Forbes magazine, and is the author of Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing   Key Takeaways from the Show Why facts are crucial to helping customers justify the purchase of your product, even though buying is primarily emotional decision. Using the understanding of the brain to do better marketing. Strategies for selling luxury goods versus utilitarian products.   Links / Resources Roger's Personal Website  Roger's Neuromarketing Blog  Brainfluence - Roger's Book  Rober Cialdini's New Book   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!    Follow on Twitter:  Follow @chadvanags  Follow @a_brawn

The reality is, nobody cares about your product. That may sound harsh, but your customers and prospects only care about themselves. In this episode David Meerman Scott teaches us what to do about that and what the Grateful Dead can teach you about marketing so you can reach your buyers directly to drive more revenue. David is an internationally acclaimed strategist whose books and blog are must-reads for professionals seeking to generate attention in ways that grow their business. His 2007 book "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" opened people's eyes to the new realities of marketing and public relations on the Web, and with over a quarter of a million copies sold in more than 25 languages from Bulgarian to Vietnamese, "New Rules" is now a modern business classic. He has written a total of 10 books (3 international bestsellers), his most recent being "The New Rules of Sales and Service; How to Use Agile Selling, Real-time Customer Engagement, Big Data Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business." He delivers keynote speeches at conferences and company meetings all over the world (41 countries / 7 continents) including Google, Ford Motor Company, Century 21, National Geographic, Hubspot and many others. Oh, and fun note here: In Japan's go-go years, he was one of the first twenty-something gaijin (guy-gin) male models in Tokyo to specialize in the young businessman look. Key Takeaways from the Show What the Grateful Dead can teach you about marketing Why people don't care about your product and what to do about it Differentiating yourself by asking the right questions to your customers Links / Resources David's Website  Follow David On Twitter  David's New Book - The New Rules of Sales and Service  The New Rules of Marketing & PR  Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

23 million out of 28 million companies that do less than $25 million in revenue are operating check to check, which means it's very likely that you are one of the the struggling 82%. Fortunately, there is a simple system you can implement to turn your business from a cash-eating monster into a profit-generating machine to ensure you're permanently profitable. Mike Michalowicz (mi-CAL-oh-wits) founded and sold two multi-million dollar companies by the time he turned 35. Confident that he had the formula to success, he became an angel investor... ...and proceeded to lose his entire fortune. Then he started all over again. Driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies, Mike created the “Profit First Formula”, a way for businesses to ensure they're permanently profitable from their very next deposit forward. Mike is now running his third million dollar venture; is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; is the former MSNBC business make-over expert; is a popular keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; and is the author of Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, which BusinessWeek deemed “the entrepreneur’s cult classic.” He is also a guest speaker at Harvard, Princeton, eBay, SBA and other organizations throughout the world and also hosts the Profit First Podcast. In today’s episode we’re breakdown the Profit First Formula, the cash management system that will ensure any business will become permanently profitable regardless of size, industry, or how much debt it carries or how many years it has been operating. Key Takeaways from the Show Reverse engineering your way to profitability Why entrepreneurs never name themselves as top employees and why that's a problem. Why having a large bank account can be bad for business How and why standard accounting principles are flawed Links / Resources Mike's Website Link to Profit First Book   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Quality ecommerce copy and product descriptions can increase ecommerce conversion rates anywhere from 30% to 100%. Writing subpar copy for your website is the equivalent of hiring a subpar, unqualified sales staff for a brick and mortar shop, and sales will suffer. Joanna Wiebe is a co-founder and copywriter at Copyhackers, a company that helps you use copy to boost your conversions while enhancing your brand, even if you don’t like writing or you’re scared of the blank white page. She’s been copywriting since 2004, and her 10 years of experience includes time as an agency and in-house copywriter, including time at companies like Intuit and Conversion Rate Experts. Her work is often featured on some of the absolute best online marketing websites like KISSmetrics, Copyblogger, Unbounce, and ConversionXL. Joanna promises to help you write more persuasive, believable and usable copy… sans pixie dust… so you can boost your website & email conversion rate.   Key Takeaways from the Show How to sell a lot more using better ecommerce copy on your site Swiping copy from your customers to write faster and better copy When you know it's time to deploy or destroy your ecommerce copy The unique value proposition blueprint Finding the best copywriter for your business Links / Resources Copyhackers Website Joanna's Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Abraham Lincoln once said, "If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend 6 hours sharpening my ax," and this episode is all about sharpening your ax for 2015. Join us for this quick 15 minute episode as we review the planning process that made our 2014 so successful, how we're improving it for 2015, and how you can use all or parts of our planning process to make 2015 your best year ever. Key Takeaways from the Show How we build our company's vision What we're doing to improve it for 2015 How you can use this information to create your company vision and crush 2015 The step by step process we went through to create this year's vision Links / Resources: Building Your Company's Vision by Jim Collins Master The Rockefeller Habits (Book) Verne Harnish One-Page Strategic Plan Predictable Revenue   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

The company that is willing to spend the most to acquire a customer will win, and Ryan Deiss teaches you how to win by optimizing your customer acquisition with his 5 step Customer Value Optimization System. Ryan Deiss is the founder of a number of online media/publishing businesses, most notably DigitalMarketer.com. He is considered the “King of Conversion” and is the creator of the funnel models used by 90% of today's “A” list online marketers, like Neil Patel of Quicksprout and Kissmetrics. He's also set up funnels for William Shatner. His companies sell products and services in over a dozen markets to hundreds of thousands of customers on every continent in the world… except Antarctica (which, if you’re ever in Antarctica and you’re willing to buy something let him know so he can say he sold something there…he’ll refund you after the purchase ;)) Over the last 36 months Ryan and his team have: Invested over $15,000,000 on marketing tests… Generated tens of millions of unique visitors… Sent well over a BILLION permission-based emails, and… Run approximately 3,000 split and multi-variant tests… Combined, his companies have generated over $100 MILLION in online sales. Ryan is also a highly sought after speaker and consultant. He leads the annual Traffic and Conversion Summit, the largest conversion conference in North America where you can find out what’s working in digital marketing now. He is also the chairman of War Room, the elite mastermind membership where he leads and consults with the best and brightest in the world when it comes to growing businesses using the latest and greatest digital marketing strategies. Key Takeaways from the Show Why he who spends the most to acquire a customer will win. What Bass Pro Shops and your ecommerce business have in common. How to acquire customers with lower prices without devaluing your brand. The 5 Step Customer Value Optimization System. Links / Resources Ryan's Customer Value Optimization Process Blog Post Digital Marketer's Website Traffic & Conversion Summit Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Implementing truly data driven email marketing in your ecommerce business is no easy task...until now. Ed Hallen helps ecommerce companies easily implement data driven email marketing that actually works through his platform, Klaviyo. He is co-founder of Klaviyo, an ecommerce-focused email service provider that provides you with better email through data-drive personalization and targeting. From powerful A/B testing to automatic analysis of conversions, Klaviyo helps you maximize the impact of your email on key metrics. He received his MBA from MIT, worked at Google, and led product management for Applied Predictive Technologies where he the guided product and technology vision for a team of 15 engineers and consultants. Ed has used those experiences to create one of the most robust email service providers for ecommerce businesses, one that we recommended to all of our clients. In today's episode Ed helps us understand all components in data driven email marketing. Key Takeaways from the Show How you can market like Amazon in a one to one way. Crafting your message to a customer from day 1 to day 365. The 3 pillars of successful ecommerce email marketing. Which email campaigns you should start with and how to do it.       Links / Resources Klayvio.com Ed Hallen on Twitter   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Oli Gardner has seen more landing pages than anyone on the planet. As a result he has identified and mastered the 7 most important principles of conversion centered design to help you convert more visitors into paying customers. He is the co-founder of Unbounce, an industry-leading landing page platform that allows marketers to build, publish and a/b test landing pages without IT. With 17 years working in the field of interactive web design and development his career has taken him from small startup companies to the heights of Creative Director at the online entertainment powerhouse Bodog. His roles ranged from Interaction Designer, to establishing and leading Bodog’s first usability team, to inspiring a team of user centered practitioners as the creative lead responsible for re-defining the vision of a billion dollar organization. Oli is an opinionated writer and international speaker on Conversion Centered Design, and is widely respected, and feared, for gently telling it like it is when it comes to conversion optimization on landing pages. Key Takeaways from the Show 3 questions to help you identify usability problems on your pages 7 principles of conversion centered design The WWWH quick-start exercise to writing landing pages quickly How to maximize your confirmation pages for secondary conversions Links / Resources Oli Gardner on Twitter Page Fights Oli's Unbounce Landing Page Conversion Course Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Dane Golden is Vice President of Marketing and Client Services at Octoly, a YouTube brand management company where his mission is to enhance your web video ecosystem, YouTube channel, network videos. For the last six years he has marketed, distributed, promoted, and produced online videos on platforms across the social video spectrum, creating millions of dollars in advertising and branding revenue. Dane says that competition for your audience's time is simply too great, and says that you need to focus just as much time on audience development as you would spend on creating content. It's not enough to just have cool videos - you need great marketing, distribution and audience engagement. Each week Dane co-hosts the top YouTube marketing advice podcast, "ReelSEO Tube Talk". Key Takeaways from the Show The 3 pillars of a successful YouTube footprint that increases revenue. Why 50-90% of video views of your brand are on videos NOT created by you...so what's being said about you? How to ethically steal customers from you competitors through YouTube. Turning bad video product reviews into a positive while acquiring more customers at the same time.   Links / Resources Free Audit of Your Brand's YouTube Footprint Sigma Beauty eCommerce Case Study Octoly YouTube Brand Report for Automotive Industry   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Google Adwords for ecommerce can be extremely profitable...or extremely wasteful, it just depends on what you're doing. Check out this episode with Mike Rhodes, one of the world's best Adwords experts, and improve your adwords campaigns or save a sinking ship. Mike Rhodes is the founder of WebSavvy the largest independent AdWords-only agency in Australia. They use data, not guesswork, to grow company profits, and if you qualify for an Adwords Account Audit, Websavvy guarantee a profit increase. Their sister company PPCsavvy offers AdWords training, courses & a lively interactive forum for you to learn more if you want to manage accounts for yourself or for clients. Mike is often asked by Google to talk on their behalf at events & has even consulted to them on improving AdWords! He also co-authored The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords with Perry Marshall, now in it’s 4th edition having sold over 80,000 copies! Happy clients include the likes of Forty Winks, Mercedes, Clark Rubber & hundreds more. In this episode he'll dive into the specific ways in which you can get more ROI from Google Adwords for ecommerce and how to eliminate the wasted spend.   Topics Discussed: Creating better customer experiences with Google Adwords for ecommerce Using Adwords to improve your SEO How to use TrueView video ads for bigger returns The 10 questions to ask to help you determine the right adwords partner   Links / Resources: WebSavvy's Site PPCsavvy - WebSavvy's Training Site    Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. C heers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

It's no secret. Financial intelligence in ecommerce is a prerequisite for success. The question, though, is are you a pro or an amateur? And how do you know? This is an episode for both the seasoned pro and the amateur. Joe Knight, Founder and Senior Consultant with the Business Literacy Institute, is a highly regarded finance and business literacy keynote speaker and trainer. He trains managers and leaders at Fortune 500 companies such as GE, Comcast-NBCUniversal, Boeing, CVS Caremark, American Express, and United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Joe’s unique ability to combine content with energy and humor make his keynote addresses resounding successes with diverse audiences including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Construction Industry Institute (CII); National Association of Broadcasters (NAB); The Association of General Contractors; and International Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Joe is co-author of Financial Intelligence, a smart, no-nonsense business finance handbook for managers. The book has been heralded as “the Elements of Style” of finance by CFO.com. Financial Intelligence was featured in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. The Business Literacy Institute is dedicated to transforming all employees into business people. In today’s business environment, all employees must do more than just their job; they must actively contribute to the financial success of the company. That means everyone must understand how businesses measure success and how they themselves make an impact.   Topics Discussed: Why business business and finance pros focus on the balance sheet and amateurs focus on the income statement. Why the best solution for a growing business is slowing down. The differences between finance and accounting and why that matters to your company's future. The dirty secret that financial professionals don't want you to know. The 5 key ratios you need to check daily, weekly, and monthly to determine if your company is healthy, or if you need to jump ship.   Resources: Financial Intelligence - Joe's Best Selling Book Business Literacy Institute   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Jon makes it clear, Facebook's not trying to screw you when it comes to ecommerce Facebook marketing. You might be screwing yourself, though, and he teaches you how to fix it and make it an extremely profitable channel. Jon Loomer runs the most complete online resource of advanced Facebook marketing tips and tutorials, and his site is updated on nearly a daily basis. His site was recognized as one of Social Media Examiner's Top 10 Social Media Blogs of 2013, and in 2014 he was again named to the list but as the #1 social media marketing blog. J on's previous experience includes VP of Strategic Marketing for the American Cancer Society and the Senior Manager of Fantasy Games for the NBA, overseeing the entire life cycle of the fantasy games product. He’s a wizard when it comes to ecommerce Facebook marketing, and today he’s going to teach us how ecommerce companies can use Facebook marketing to help them make the jump from $1 million to $10 million+ in revenue.   Topics Discussed The number one component in successful ecommerce Facebook marketing. The biggest mistakes ecommerce companies are making in their Facebook advertising. Building custom audiences. Understanding "Look-a-like Audiences" and how to do them right. How to identify a great Facebook consultant from a bad one. The ONE thing to start on today...and then a few bonus action items to implement into your ecommerce Facebook marketing system. Topics Discussed JonLoomer.com Jon's Twitter (@jonloomer)   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

While online world has been spending more and more money on pay per click and other means of driving traffic, SEO for ecommerce is still responsible for a significant, if not a bigger, majority of revenue and it can't be ignored. Todd Malicoat has over 10 years of SEO consulting experience, consulting to enterprise companies like PBS.org, Thomas Industrial, and many others. He is a renowned international speaker, speaking at conference like SES, PubCon, and Dreamforce, and more, and he’s SEO faculty chair at Market Motive, the leading curriculum publisher for online marketing training. Todd was been named among the top 50 Most Influential Marketers byInvesp.com, and Top 40 Most Influential in Search Marketing byGSInc.co.uk. He has been cited by Inc. Magazine, The Sydney Herald, Website Magazine, The New York Post, Infoworld, and others on search, reputation management, social media, and other web related issues. On top of all that awesomness, he also runs an offshore charter fishing boat in Miami, FL. In this episode Todd is going to help us de-mystify the ever-mysterious, and ever-changing, world of SEO for ecommerce. Key Takeaways from the Show The most important components of SEO for ecommerce Using PPC to improve your SEO The 3 biggest mistakes business owners make in SEO for ecommerce How to determine which SEO consultant is best for you   Links and Resources Stuntdubl.com (Todd's Site) Follow Todd on Twitter (@stuntdubl) 18 Questions Your CEO Forgot to Ask When Building Your Website  Market Motive Online Marketing Training  Gallant Fish PPC Service  Todd's Charter Fishing Service in Miami    Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

For any online business owner that is hesitating to make their ecommrce email funnel a high priority, this $10,000 dollar per day email funnel case study with Tim Paige should light a fire. Tim is host of the extremely popular online business podcast “ConversionCast, the only podcast that gets to the heart of the metrics”. He is also the conversion educator over at leadpages.net, a dynamic software company that creates simple and beautiful software and web apps that allow businesses to grow large and devoted audiences. Not only has LeadPages helped hundreds of online businesses exponentially increase leads and sales, one case study boasting $98,993 in sales, but they also practice what they preach, going from 0 to 15,000 customers in 12 months and getting a 10% email opt-in rate on their blog, double the average, by using the strategies they teach. Tim talks with many successful online business owners to provide data-backed conversion strategies on his own show, and today he’ll chat with us about how Leadpages gets a 10% opt-in rate on their blog, what it means to the growth of their business, and how you can apply what they've done to your ecommerce email funnel. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Leadpages' stages of growth through email and their opt-in rate history Understanding "Content Upgrades", the little trick Leadpages uses to skyrocket their email opt-in rate Breaking down the $10,000 per day ecommerce email funnel The final answer to the lingering content marketing debate: "Does the ROI justify content marketing in ecommerce?"   Links / Resources LeadPages.net ConversionCast Podcast Tim's Twitter Lead Pages Webinar: Text leadpages to 38470 MarketPlace Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

The attributes of your buyer persona are not why a customer buys, it's the situation they currently find themselves in and need your product to complete a "job." Scrap the buyer persona and apply the jobs to be done framework to your ecommerce store. Chris Spiek is a Partner and Co-Founder at The Re-Wired Group, where he helps companies use the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework to enable people to develop products that consumers love to buy and use. He’s a technology executive with a background in Product Development & Innovation, interactive Marketing Strategy, Disruptive Innovation, Sales & Marketing Strategy, and Web Application Development Chris has been studying, refining, and applying Jobs To Be Done across a variety of industries for over 10 years including software, education, consumer-packaged-goods, healthcare, e-commerce, and more. He has taught Jobs to be done to teams in small startups and huge Fortune 500s, including a few companies you might know, Mailchimp, Basecamp, and Intercom. In this episode Chris teaches you how to apply the jobs to be done framework to your ecommerce store.   Topics Discussed: How the Jobs To Be Done framework contrasts with the "buyer persona" Why there's no such thing as an impulse buy, and what that means to your business People "higher" products for a "situation", not because of who they are Using JTBD to add situational context to your online advertising How to apply the Jobs To Be Done framework to your ecommerce store today, and start seeing results immediately   Links/Resources Connect With Chris On Twitter (@chriscbs) The Re-Wired Group  Jobs To Be Done Website  JTBD Udemy Course  Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

If you own the ecosystem and the ecommerce customer experience, you'll be able to withstand the onslaught of changes on rented land like Google Adwords and Facebook. Ken Johnson founded Manpacks with business partner Andrew Draper in 2009, and he attributes most of their success to a relentless focus on owning the ecommerce customer experience. Manpacks is considered the first American subscription ecommerce service offering men's essentials, shipping men’s basic needs like socks, underwear, razors, and toiletries on a quarterly schedule or on demand. Their primary customers are busy guys who want to cross these things off the to-do list while discovering new, better products to use. Manpacks has been featured in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, NPR, ESPN Radio, NBC, Maxim, The Boston Globe, Inc., and The Tampa Tribune. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Owning the online ecosystem and the ecommerce customer experience. How Manpacks got such amazing PR when they first launched. How paid acquisition is different than the other channels. Why content marketing can be a mistake. Expectations have changed in the market when it comes to email. Assume that your customers want to hear from you.   Links / Resources Ken's Twitter (@kenjonson) Manpacks.com Getting Real by 37 Signals (Book)   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Ecommerce conversion optimization is tough, time-consuming, and confusing, but our conversation with Peep Laja of ConverionXL will make it easier for you. Peep (his unusual name, to most people, is actually pronounced ‘Pep Laya’) currently runs a unique ecommerce conversion optimization marketing agency called Markitekt where they make existing sites better, and build new conversion optimized websites for clients. He’s been featured in numerous popular marketing and online business publications including Smashing Magazine, ProBlogger, KISSmetrics and many others, and also delivers trainings and workshops on ecommerce conversion optimization and internet marketing. Peep runs the world’s most popular ecommerce conversion optimization blog, and he says that his blog that is written for smart people. No cheesy stuff, no “how to add a background to Twitter” nor “10 useless things that waste your time” type of posts, only well-researched highly actionable content. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview The two main levers in successful ecommerce conversion optimization The right "where" and "why" questions to ask when starting out with . The number one A/B split testing mistake Why statistical significance is not validity. Peep's step-by-step consulting process. Links / Resources ConversionXL.com (Peep's Blog) Peep's Twitter (@peeplaja) His most recommended post about the 12 mistakes CEO's make in ecommerce conversion optimization  His post on finding the leaks in your site  Unbounce Copy Hackers  ContentVerve  GetVera    Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Trying to hire the best growth consultant for your company can be an arduous task, but it doesn't have to be according to Graham Hunter. Graham is Head Instructor of Growth at Tradecraft where they train smart people to succeed in traction roles at high-growth companies. He’s been a marketing consultant at Intuit, among other brands, he’s started an agency, he’s worked at larger agencies, and he has been the first employee at a few ecommerce and software startups. Graham has done a whole lot of consulting and he takes us through some interesting topics as we discuss the the most effective way to hire the best growth consultant for your ecommerce brand. We like to think of Graham as our Silicon Valley correspondent, as he’s got his finger squarely on the pulse of what some of Silicon Valley's best companies are doing to grow their business. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Why the terms "Growth" and "Marketing" have been separated by Silicon Valley Who should be your first hire and your second hire The number one marketing mistake growing companies make The qualities you need to look for when looking to hire the best growth consultant How to identify a great growth consultant through the questions they ask Links / Resources Graham Hunter LinkedIn  TradeCraft  Graham's MarketingToolKit.org  Followerwonk Product Hunt  Screaming Frog  Webmaster Tools  Bing Link Explorer Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

In a mostly me-only world, Andrew Davis explains that creating partnerships with other brands is not only important, but necessary and extremely profitable for those who do it right. Andrew got his start in the media business at a young age appearing in television commercials and voicing over radio spots for brands like Chevrolet, Six Flags, and McDonalds, and has also managed workshop production for Muppets From Space, Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House and Elmo in Grouchland. In 2001, Andrew co-founded Tippingpoint Labs and, for more than a decade, Andrew and his team changed the way content creators think, authentic talent is nurtured, and the way companies market their products. He has marketed for tiny startups and Fortune 500 brands, and his novel combinations of old ideas that leverage new technology have been tapped by the Obama administration and Russian media moguls. In 2012 Andrew released a best-selling book called “Brandscaping: Unleashing the Power of Partnerships”, which puts his common sense approach to work for you, uncovering why and how creating partnerships with other brands can dramatically boost your profits. Today, he’s traveling the globe sharing his insight, experience, stories, and optimistic ideals through his wildly fascinating speaking engagements, guest lectures and workshops.   Topics Discussed: Tips for creating partnerships with other brands Treat your content like a product Who has your NEXT customer as their CURRENT customer? Creating a content brand, don't create branded content Don't hire a celebrity to endorse your product, create one. Multiple case studies of very profitable brand partnerships Links & Resources: Andrew Davis' Site  Brandscaping: Unleashing the Power of Partnerships (Site / Book) Andrew Davis Twitter Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

If Steve Jobs' favorite book was written by the thought leader for this way of thinking, then you may want to eliminate your buyer persona and replace it with the jobs to be done framework. In an our efforts to provide more insight into creating buyer personas for ecommerce websites, we stumbled on to an interesting couple of posts that argue that buyer personas may no longer be relevant to your business and that the jobs to be done framework (aka JTBD) might suit you better. According to one of the most prominent "jobs to be done framework" thought leaders, Clay Christensen (author of one of Steve Jobs' top books), the framework is: "a tool for evaluating the circumstances that arise in customers’ lives. Customers rarely make buying decisions around what the “average” customer in their category may do — but they often buy things because they find themselves with a problem they would like to solve. With an understanding of the “job” for which customers find themselves “hiring” a product or service, companies can more accurately develop and market products well-tailored to what customers are already trying to do." More simply put, the jobs-to-be-done framework helps identify customer attitudes and characteristics by framing purchasing decisions as a choice to “hire” a product or service to do a "job" versus making assumptions about customers through buyer personas. One of the most fascinating topics we've come across in a while, and in this episode we try to break it down while also tempting you to eliminate your buyer persona and replace it with the jobs to be done framework.   Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Why buyer personas don't work How stumbling onto this topic might completely change our own business Being able to distinguish between a buyer persona and a JTBD framework Real world examples of JTBD in action Getting started with creating your own framework Links / Resources: The Christensen Institute's Definition of JTBD & Website Jobs To Be Done Framework Article by Christensen in MIT Online Publication  Fill In The Blank Statements To Distinguish Between Persona & JTBD  Innovators Tool Kit Break Down  Medium's Database of JTBD Articles Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Justin Winter grew his company to $20 million in 36 months through a few different ecommerce growth channels, and yet he still has one big regret. He is the Co-founder & CEO at Diamond Candles, a bootstrapped, vertically integrated online home fragrance brand that hit a $12 million run rate in 18 months and is now well on it’s way to $20million in 36 months. Diamond Candles was also recognized by InternetRetailer.com in 2013 as one of the 'Hot 100', which profiles select e-commerce sites that have broken new ground in some way other e-retailers can learn from. Justin is an expert in marketing, business and product development, social media marketing, SEO, and growth hacking. He’s regularly featured in magazines like Inc Magazine, in top business forums like GrowthHacker.tv, and on top podcasts like Mixergy (and this one!). Justin shares how he was able to achieve such massive growth with a modest initial investment and almost no paid advertising, and he’ll give us some strategies on how you can do it, too. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Why you need to be a specialist. Creating exclusivity to generate more sales. Optimizing your systems for $10 million+ growth. The three ecommerce growth channels he used to hit $20 million. His referral marketing campaigns. Direct to consumer offline sales training to generate online sales. His number one piece of advice for getting to $10 million+. Links / Resources Justin Winter Personal Site (iamjustinwinter.com) Justin's Clarity.fm Page Sean Ellis Episode Klaviyo Bounce Exchange Curebit (Now Talkable) Blue Apron Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here: Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

The most successful ecommerce companies know how to retain their most profitable customers, and in this episode we give you the steps to create a best customer retention marketing plan for ecommerce. We touched on this topic briefly in "Why Email Marketing Fails", and we felt that this topic deserved it's own episode because, according to Harvard Business Review, a 5% increase in customer retention or loyalty can boost profits by 25%-85%. And out of the top 4 reasons customers never return to give you repeat business, number two is that they don't feel special, important, or valued. We’re not playing tee ball anymore, so not everyone deserves an equal chance to feel valued and important, and not everyone deserves to receive the same special opportunity provided to others. You need to create a best customer retention marketing plan for your ecommerce store and for your most profitable customers, and in this episode we'll give you the steps you need to take to start implementing today.   Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Some shocking statistics we found in one of our client's customer database The 3 main steps to creating a best customer retention marketing plan for ecommerce How to segment and analyze the customer data Best customer retention marketing ideas to implement now   Links / Resources Episode 024 - Why Email Marketing Fails Customer Segmentation Template   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Alex Ikonn is the founder of Luxy Hair, a 7-figure ecommerce business that was built entirely through YouTube Marketing, making them one of Shopify’s Top 10 eCommerce Stores by Revenue in 2011 and 2012. Luxy Hair is a customer-centric hair extensions ecommerce retailer. The business was born when his wife Mimi was looking for hair extensions for their wedding, but wasn’t able to find what she was looking for. When they realized how hard it was to find good hair extensions, they knew they had stumbled on to a business opportunity. Alex and Mimi put up $20k, mostly on credit, to get their first supply and they haven’t looked back, posting 7-figure PROFITS annually. In addition to Luxy Hair, Alex is the co-founder of Dreamers & Creators, a marketing strategy and execution firm for the entrepreneurial enterprise, and he’s a co-founder at Intelligent Change, where they make cool products that make people happier. In this episode Alex chats with us about his incredibly successful ecommerce YouTube profit formula.  It's a step by step process that really clarifies how to create extremely successful content marketing. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview: The 4 steps in his ecommerce YouTube profit formula How to sell to customers using video...without selling in your videos Finding the balance between bad and over-produced video quality Understanding your limitations in ecommerce and when it's time to bring someone else on to take you to the next level His recommendations for other acquisition channels The number one piece of advice he can give for ecommerce CEOs trying to get to $10mil+ Links / Resources: LuxyHair.com LuxyHair's YouTube Channel Alex Ikonn's Personal Website Alex's Personal Email hello [@] alexikonn.com Back Pocket COO by Cameron Harold Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

If you want to sell more products online, then you'll need to make your ecommerce copywriting sell to your prospects. Ecommerce companies tend to think that because they only have to sit behind a screen, drive traffic, capture leads, and sell cool products they don't have to put in the extra time and effort into writing great, persuasive website copy and product descriptions that actually try to sell the customer. According to KISSmetrics, quality ecommerce copywriting and product descriptions can increase ecommerce conversion rates anywhere from 30-100%. More often than not, though, we see websites and product descriptions that provide only product specifications like size, weight, and inseam. We see descriptions that lack personality and storytelling, and worse yet, they pull the product descriptions straight from the manufacturer's website and use that for their copy. The good news is, you don't have to hire someone to write for you. In this episode we'll cover the 8 techniques you can implement on your own today to make your ecommerce copywriting sell.   Topics Discussed throughout the interview A quick follow up on last week's episode, "The 3 Types of Buyers" When you’ve written the headline you’ve spent 80 cents out of your dollar The 4 "do nots" in ecommerce copywriting The 4 "do's" to to make your ecommerce copywriting sell One of the greatest product descriptions ever created...we promise you'll want to buy a pair without even looking at them.   Links / Resources Amazing Pants Description Last Week's Epi - "The 3 Types of Buyers"   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Statistics show that website visitors are 64% more likely to buy a product on an ecommerce site after watching an online video, and if you don't currently use video to acquire more ecommerce customers then you're going to be left behind. James Wedmore is one of the top video marketing experts in the business and is the founder of Video Traffic Academy: an online YouTube Marketing Training Program that has enrolled over 10,000 business owners and entrepreneurs all over the country. He has been featured on numerous sites such as Entrepreneur.com, Rise to the Top, Mixergy and many more. He has been the Guest Instructor on 3 CreativeLIVE Workshops, and today, he hosts James Wedmore TV, his YouTube Channel that’s been viewed over 2.5 Million times. His mission is simple: show business owners how to create and execute effective video marketing campaigns without spending a lot of time or money. Today he’s going to tell us how to use video to acquire more ecommerce customers for your business. Topics Discussed throughout the interview: Two types of video for ecommerce. 4 key components of a great video for ecommerce. Why you should care about the first 5 seconds more than anything else and what you might be missing at the end of your video. The answer to your biggest question(s) about building a viral video. The easiest ways to get started with video. How to use video to build an ecommerce brand that competes with Amazon.   Links & Resources: James' YouTube Channel Bellroy Wallets Yolanda Sotolopez YouTube Channel (one of James' clients) James' Video Traffic Academy LiveWell360.com   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, subscribe right here on your phone.  Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

In this Strategy Session we'll be talking about buyer psychology, the three types of buyers, and how to sell to them. Here are the three main types of buyers identified by neuroeconomics experts: 15% - Spendthrifts 24% - Tightwads 61% - Average Spenders The psychology behind each type is fascinating, and understanding each one's "buying mindset" will help you get closer to your customers, speak their language, and make more sales. 40% of people fall into wildly “irrational” categories, i.e. the spendthrifts and tightwads, which also means you're potentially missing out on a lot of sales because most ecommerce sites focus on selling to the average buyer. Understanding these three types of buyers and how to sell to them, along with a few tweaks to your site and copy, you'll be able to capitalize on many more sales that might have otherwise been lost. In this episode we break it all down for you so you can begin recapturing those buyers today.   Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Breaking down the three types of buyers and how to sell to them. Why evaluating what buyer you are can help you sell better on your website. When to use negative emotion messaging vs positive. How Dave Munson at Saddleback Leather redesigned his website for analytical buyers and the results he achieved. When should focus 100% on one buyer personality vs generalizing.   Links & Resources 3 Types of Buyers - Neuro Marketing Tightwads and Spendthrifts 10 Ways to Convert More Customers Using Psychology  Episode 19 with Dave Munson   Subscribe & Review To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking here. Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Matt Bailey is an online business strategy consultant with a significant amount of experience, expertise and success when it comes ecommerce site navigation optimization. His knowledge in online business ranges far and wide and he has taught Google employees to understand Google Analytics, consulted with Experian on how to present data and presented online marketing training to both Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, successfully dismantling the complexity of online marketing into practical, understandable concepts for everyone. He has 20 years of online marketing experience and has consulted with companies like Google, Hilton International, Gerber Life, Experian, Disney, American Greetings, Toys R Us, and more many more. Matt also has a passion for education and developing online marketing professionals which he does through his teaching at Market Motive, withLynda.com, as adjunct faculty at Rutgers University, and even through his book Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview Why and how to purposefully plan your ecommerce site navigation structure for most success - it includes Sales Training The thinking that get’s you to 7 figures is not the thinking that gets you to 8 figures. The strategy Matt uses to bring on new hires and get them to think about the job with the right perspective. Mixpanel vs Google vs Kissmetrics breakdown and recommendation - The answer isn't what you'd expect The most profit for dollar, but most underutilized, ecommerce marketing channel Getting B-level customers to become A-level customers A breakdown of the best email marketing strategy Links/Resources: Matt Bailey Site Logic AT Internet Avinash's most important free reports for Google Analtycs   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Finding and implementing the most profitable strategies to reduce abandoned carts is a recurring theme in our daily discussions. We're always talking about it because everyone deals with it and there is a lot of misunderstanding about it. It’s also one of the most profitable places to spend your time working, so here's a quick episode on the 5 most proven (and profitable) tips to help you reduce abandoned carts. Topics Discussed Throughout the Interview: Determining your real abandonment. Your abandoned cart email really isn’t good enough. How to correctly set up your Google analytics for setting goals. Focusing in on the welcome page. Using phone numbers to reduce abandoned carts. Testing the multi-step checkout. Do you really need a "view cart" page? Links & Resources -Reduce Abandoned Carts With Amy Africa   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Craig Dalton grew award-winning iPad case manufacturer DODOcase well past 7 figures very quickly by timing product launches with major events, and he teaches you how you can do the same. DODOcase is a San Francisco-based maker of protective cases for the Apple iPad that have the look and feel of a luxury, hardcover notebook. Their philosophy is simple, make things locally and help keep the art of bookbinding alive by adapting it to a world of tablets and e-readers. Within just a few months of launching they were able to sell over 15,000 cases without a big budget to develop, market, and promote their products and primarily through the timing of product launches with major events. In 2010, they entered Shopify’s “Build a Business” competition and were the grand prize winners of $100,000. With a $680 million dollar market for iPad cases they have huge opportunity to be the number one quality brand for this segment of the carrying case market, and today Craig’s going to chat with us about what they’ve been doing to on their quest to $10million plus in revenue.   Topics Discussed Throughout this Interview How DODOcase came into being and why predicting the trends helped them create a super successful niche. Using Craigslist street teams to help them successfully get the launch they needed. The power of using launches to build organic PR for products. Craig’s thoughts on Shopify and why they’ve stuck with it. What DODOcase does for email marketing that is working so well. Social media marketing, what Craig likes and dislikes when coming up with ideas. Capitalizing on the Google's launch of Google Cardboard (Craig's already sold 13,000 units) and how you can duplicate the process for your business. How Craig suggests doing PR outreach (that actually works).   Links Mentioned DODOcase.com Google Cardboard Product Page Craig's Twitter DODOcase - Twitter craig [at] dodocase.com   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!     Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

The use of native advertising in ecommerce is growing at an exponential rate, and so are the returns. The best part about native advertising is that your competition is most likely not doing it, or doing it completely wrong, giving you the advantage if you take action now. Native advertising in ecommerce is the future of advertising so pay attention to this episode and don't get left behind. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview Some unbelievable native advertising statistics. What exactly is native advertising and where do you find it? What native advertising in ecommerce is NOT. We cover some examples and how it can be effectively utilized. The biggest distinction between traditional ads and native advertising. How to create a successful native advertising campaign. Biggest mistakes when using native advertising in ecommerce. Case Studies on native advertising campaigns we've found that work. How to make native advertising work in ecommerce. Links/Resources GE's Native Advertising Case Study Digital Marketer Native Advertising Case Study Why Apollo Astronauts Were Certified Badasses   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Amy Africa is the CEO of EightByEight Marketing has been in the forefront of web usability studies, web design improvement, and successful e-commerce for over 15 years. She is one of the best web marketers today because she combines incredible direct marketing skills with proven web techniques and some contrarian ecommerce strategies, getting her hired by 92% of fortune 500 companies. Amy has been widely published in industry magazines and e-zines. She’s an engaging, entertaining speaker, and has been featured at web conferences around the globe. Her depth of knowledge, backed by intensive field-testing and web user studies, has earned her the reputation of "a voice to be heard" on Internet topics ranging from site improvement, traffic building and SEO to analytics and email marketing. Amy has pioneered many successful web marketing initiatives in navigation, email marketing, shopping carts and abandoned carts that are making her clients much more profitable. The best part? She chats with us while on her private plane from the east coast to California. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview: Start focusing on adoption to cart NOT cart abandonment. Why you need to stop focusing on selling only online, start incorporating the phone to help online sales. It’s all about finding the easiest ways to create the largest profit. Sell where people want to be sold. Understand why and begin to implement the mobile to desktop shopping cart transfer. The importance of navigation. Why you can't treat mobile and tablets as the same thing when analyzing your business and customers. The "buy or die" abandon cart email strategy. The biggest ecommerce problem to avoid in 2014. Why conversion rate is an overrated metric and what metrics you should be focusing on. The type of emails that are working best for Amy’s clients. The 4 types of triggered email sequences to implement for the best results. How to find the "rat stuck in your snake". Using search on your site to help you sell more - "search is indicative of propensity to buy". Be willing to "sell your soul to the devil" to capture emails. Why you need to email more and ride out the "unsubscribe wave". Work your navigation like crazy. Creating a shopping cart that is user-based, not one-size fits all. Focus on evolutionary, not revolutionary when it comes to your site.   Links/Resources: AmyAfrica.com EightbyEight.com info [at] amyafrica.com   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad! Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

We've all done it at some point so no gets a free pass, but it's time for you, once and for all, to stop copying your competitors! Jeff Bezos once said,"Don't focus on the competition, they'll never give you money." We know that many listeners, including ourselves, have at one point copied some of our competitors website navigation, their design, copy, conversion tactics, and maybe even their business model. In this conversation we're going to provide you with some of the most important reasons, and some very concrete examples, as to why you need to stop copying your competitors...and what you should be copying instead. Give it a listen to the end and you'll know what we mean. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interveiw: Why you need to stop copying your competitors - Even if it's "Nasty Gal" it might not be useful. Examples of copying gone wrong. The importance of data when copying. Should you redesign your website? (Check out the Chris Goward episode) When is it okay to copy. Two solutions to help you stop copying your competitors "Innovation makes the world a better place!" Links/Resources: Chris Goward Episode Nasty Gal Clicktale v CrazyEgg copycat example Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

While Analytics packages tell you what people are doing on your website, Qualaroo can tell you why they are doing it by capturing qualitative and voice of customer data. Or even more important, why they aren't doing something. Sean Ellis’ is the CEO and co-founder of Qualaroo Insights, a qualitative insights solution triggered by onsite user behavior to collect visitor intelligence for driving faster conversion rate optimization. Qualaroo is used by major companies like Shopify, Yahoo, Vimeo, Groupon, and intuit to help them gain better “voice of the customer” (VOC) intelligence that they can’t get from their analytics tool. Additionally, Sean has been a marketing executive for huge companies like Dropbox, Eventbrite, and LogMeIn, he’s currently an advisor to Kissmetrics, and he runs a very popular marketing blog and community for startups called Growth Hackers. In this episode Sean talks to us about how you can use qualitative insights to convert more of your visitors into paying customers, and how one of his experiments resulted in a 300% boost thanks to VOC.   Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview: What qualitative and voice of customer data means to ecommerce companies. Test 10 different ideas for one answer, but can get that answer via voice of customer. What is Growth Hacking and why does it matter? Growth hacking for physical product businesses. Sean’s experience as the first marketing hire at Dropbox (and why they grew so quickly). Effective referral marketing and how to translate it to ecommerce. 300% increase in conversion thanks to voice of customer/qualitative.   Links/Resources: Sean On Twitter Qualaroo Growth Hackers Kissmetrics   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

If you advertise and sell in a newspaper does that make you a "newspaper business"? No. That also means you are not an online business just because you advertise and sell online. In this episode we'll discuss the 3 reasons why you're not an online business, balancing your online acquisition channels AND your online / offline channels and the dangers of not doing so, and how you can start taking your marketing offline to sell more online. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview 3 reasons why you're not an online business The three M's in marketing Balancing your online acquisition channels AND your online / offline acquisitions channels - and the dangers of not balancing between the two. Examples of over-reliance on acquisition channels. Finding your customers where they hang out. Driving online sales with offline promotions Referral programs Email collecting Plus much more   Links/Resources Pura Vida Bracelets Blenders Eyewear Dan Kennedy   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Crowdsourcing in ecommerce isn't exactly a new thing, but Jake Nickell of Threadless is credited with starting the trend, a trend that helped his company hit $30 million plus. Jake co-founded Threadless in 2000, a company based out of Chicago that combines an online community of artists and an eCommerce website. He started Threadless with just $1,000 of his own money and has since seen revenues go from $1.5 million in 2004, $6.5 million in 2006, and the most recent estimate puts revenues as high as $30 million in 2011. Each week, about 1,000 designs are submitted online and are put to a public vote. After further review and some additional scoring and feedback, 10 designs are chosen, printed on clothing and other products, and then sold worldwide through the online store, selling about 120,000 t-shirts per month. Jake made “crowdsourcing” an essential part of the business plan (even though he doesn't use the term any more because of the way it is now perceived), building a thriving community that consists of 2.5 million+ members that have helped him build his business from a $1,000 startup to a $30million dollar behemoth. In this episode he’s going to talk to us today about his online path to $30million+. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview Becoming the "Coolest Dude On Earth"....seriously, Google that phrase. He ranks #1. How the idea of Threadless came about. Using crowdsourcing in ecommerce to hit $30 million+ His focus on partnerships and how it's helping his company. Going 8 years without spending even a penny on advertising. The other ideas that failed while Threadless survived and thrived and what he learned from those experiences. Why Jake is focusing on what Threadless does best and sticking with those. Why he no longer likes or uses the term crowd-sourcing to describe his business model. His take on creating experiences for customers. What Jake would do differently if he started Threadless again today.   Links/Resources: Jake Nickell Threadless   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

There are a lot of reasons why email marketing fails. The question is, which is the reason why yours is failing? Bad copy, uninteresting subject lines, failing to standout, not providing value are just some of the reasons why email marketing fails, and there are 4 kinds of bad online business emailers that only make the problem worse. When done right, though, email marketing can have a huge positive brand and financial impact on your business. We've seen some companies implement great email marketing strategies where a majority of their emails get 10x the open rates and click-thru rates from their email community when compared to their competitors. The financial difference can be just as astounding. In this episode we'll talk about why email marketing fails and what you what you need to do to find success with your email and increase the bottom-line.   Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview The 7-8 main reasons why email marketing fails. The different type of email failure profiles (the hammer, the discounter, the scattershot, the scaredy cat) You don’t want to be one of these. The #1 mistake people are making with email marketing. Here's a hint: Segmentation. How to make more sales by providing relevant offers. The value of defining your best customers. What can you learn from brick and mortar stores? Why you should treat email like a direct mail campaign. Break down of time to purchase data. The number one reason email campaigns fail - Segmentation   Links Mentioned Link to event in Austin   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Chris Goward, the Founder and CEO of Wider Funnel, is one of the world’s leading experts in website and ecommerce conversion rate optimization. His company helps clients like Google, Electronic Arts, Iron Mountain, Magento, BuildDirect.com, and many others lift online results by up to 400% for lead generation, ecommerce, and affiliate companies by using the LIFT Model and the Kaizen Method. Chris has presented on website and ecommerce conversion rate optimization at 100+ events in 30+ cities globally, including conferences like Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing Expo, European Conversion Summit, and much more. He’s also been invited to speak on behalf of companies such as Google, Magento, Citrix, MarketingProfs, Unbounce and Optimizely. In 2013, Chris authored “You Should Test That!“, his Amazon best-selling book that shows how leading companies are using marketing optimization techniques to dramatically lift their website revenue, and it’s recommended by highly-acclaimed thought leaders like Avinash Kaushik (also a guest on this show), Neil Patel, and executives from Microsoft, Dell, and Google. In this episode Chris talks to us about ecommerce conversion rate optimization for companies looking to go from $1 million to $10 million in revenue. Topics Discussed throughout this interview How Chris developed WiderFunnel.com in 2007 before website and ecommerce conversion rate optimization was a common focus. A high-level view of the 6 conversion factors you must pay attention to, a process called the LIFT Model - (we break down these 6 parts in the interview). The strategic framework for approaching ecommerce conversion rate optimization called the Kaizen Method. Radical site redesign vs Evolutionary site redesign. Best ways to collect qualitative data. Why we need to care about mobile and how to think about it from a ecommerce conversion rate optimization mindset. How to decide between a responsive or dedicated mobile site. Every business should have an ecommerce conversion rate optimization plan. If you don't you’re losing money and profits. The one action Chris suggests you take today to turn more visitors into paying customers.   Links Mentioned WiderFunnel.com ChrisGoward.com Connect with Chris Goward on Twitter LIFT Model Kaizen Method Radical site design vs evolutionary site redesign You Should Test That - Book Mobile presentation on Slide Share   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad! Follow on Twitter:   Follow @chadvanags   Follow @a_brawn

Before starting this show make sure to check out part 1 where we talk about the first 2 steps in this 5-step bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel. Funnel’s are extremely exciting to talk about because after you're done building a bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel you can often see 2, 5 or even 10x growth. In this episode we talk about the remaining three pieces of building a bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel and what that will mean to the growth of your business. We'll also walk you through an example of exactly how to set this up for your business. It’s great to hear conceptually but this real life example will give you the steps necessary to implement this funnel for your business. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview Why your core offer might not be the place you make your most profit What McDonalds can teach you about building a bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel You don’t have to live and die on the profits of a core offering How to increase number of transactions per customer A real example of a start to finish bulletproof ecommerce sales funnel   Links Mentioned: First Episode McDonalds Article   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn

Andy Forch and Richard Greiner are the co-founders of Huckberry, an online shop, journal and brand discovery site for guys with taste. Their focus at Huckberry is to inspire their readers to lead more active, adventurous, and thoughtful lives while providing cool gear with inspiring stories and at insiders' prices. They've built a large community of loyal followers where 40% of their visitors return to their site more than 10x per month and their email open and click thru rates are 5-10x the industry average. A big reason for their success is that they're using partnerships as an ecommerce growth channel while building build their community, and in this episode we’re going to get some more insight into how they do this and what it's meant for the growth of their business. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview The “why” behind Andy and Richard's Huckberry community How they’re consistently getting 10x better engagement rates than anyone else in ecommerce How they're using partnerships as an ecommerce growth channel Huckberry's evolution and acquisition layer breakdown Huckberry's best customer acquisition strategies today The #1 mistake you have to avoid in business The incredibly valuable meaning behind "make your first pancake" in online business   Links/Resources: Huckberry.com Avinash’s episode Art of Manliness Huckberry Twitter   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!    

Today we're going to discuss how to build an online community for your ecommerce store, with special guest Andrew Youderian from eCommerceFuel. Andrew has built an incredible community of ecommerce store owners that drives his business, and he discusses with us why it is necessary for the success of your online business and how you can do it, too. We will walk through several examples of companies that are doing this well and take you through some specific action steps on how to build an online community for you ecommerce store starting today. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview Examples of companies building great online communities around their business The importance of personal touch, including personally emailing every new subscriber while you still can Who creates the community and how do you manage that? What can you learn from Red Bull about building a community The basics of getting started with communities for your business (here's a hint, start small) Why all good brands have an enemy How to build an online community using live events   Links Mentioned: eCommerce Fuel FeverBee Andrew's live event in Austin.   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we're very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we'll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!  

Dave Munson is founder and CEO of Saddleback Leather where his number one priority is creating the most authentic brand experience for his site's visitors and customers. Saddleback leather is an ecommerce company that designs and produces the perfect leather bag and other full grain leather goods, products that won't tear, has zippers or buttons wouldn’t break, and products that could withstand a beating or two. The idea for his product and company came to him while he participated in a real Mexican bullfight, and he began to build his company while living in a drab $100 a month Juarez, Mexico apartment. He’s so confident in his products that he provides a 100-year warranty, and guarantees that your family will fight over who gets it long after you’re dead. Today he’s going to tell us his story on how he took his small practical idea and turned into an ecommerce machine through his relentless focus on creating an authentic brand experience (just watch some of his videos!).   Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview: How his participation in a Mexican Bullfight inspired his company His Journey from bootstrapped business to a wildly successful online store Creating a truly authentic brand experience for your site's visitors and customers How David defines his brand and what that means for him and his employees on a daily basis Why his site provides links to his top competitors and what that means for his business The balance between an emotional and logical feel to a website and what it means for his conversions What generosity has done for his company and his life and why you should do it to Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview: How his participation in a Mexican Bullfight inspired his company His Journey from bootstrapped business to a wildly successful online store Creating a truly authentic brand experience for your site's visitors and customers How David defines his brand and what that means for him and his employees on a daily basis Why his site provides links to his top competitors and what that means for his business The balance between an emotional and logical feel to a website and what it means for his conversions What generosity has done for his company and his life and why you should do it to   Links and Resources Mentioned: SaddlebackLeather.com Connect with Dave - dave [at] saddlebackleather.com   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!  

Amazon can crush your business with better customer acquisition, faster shipping, cheaper shipping, easy returns, and many other things that you probably don't even know about. In addition to having a solid brand, you have to be able to acquire customers and be able to take them through a bulletproof eCommerce sales funnel. Whoever is willing and able to spend the most money to acquire customers and successfully converts them, wins in their niche. There are five steps in a bulletproof eCommerce sales funnel, and in this episode we’re going to be talking about the first two, and arguably the most important, steps that companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Amazon use to crush their competition. Why only the first two steps? Well, because they’re the most important steps of a bulletproof eCommerce sales funnel, yet most ecommerce companies aren’t executing these two steps and they’re missing out on the ability to convert more customers cheaper and faster than everybody else, which means they’re also missing out on a ton of potential long-term revenue.   Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview The Five Steps in a Bulletproof eCommerce Sales Funnel Lead Magnet Definition, Importance of, and Highest Converting Examples Definition, Importance, an Examples of the Most Underutilized (But Most Important) Step in a Bulletproof eCommerce Sales Funnel: The Tripwire Why Your Losing Out On Boatloads of Revenue if You're Not Executing These Two Steps   Links and Resources Mentioned Avinash Kaushik Episode - Growing Your eCommerce Business to $10 Million Plus Ryan Deiss Perry Belcher Customer Value Optimization Chart by Ryan Deiss & Perry Belcher Columbia Records Trip Wire Help Creating Your Own Lead Magnet and Lead Capture Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!

Avinash Kaushik is a best selling author of two books on web analytics; Google's digital evangelist; and co-founder of Market Motive, the leading curriculum publisher of online marketing training. He writes regularly on analytics, startups, and business building on his blog Occam's Razor. The way people imagine possibilities in the world is very finite, his job is to work with some of the largest companies on the planet to help them imagine possibilities for commerce, influence, and relationships by leveraging the power of digital and by building new frameworks and ideas for engaging customers. He has won multiple awards for analytics, including Most Influential Industry Contributor from the Web Analytics Association. Avinash speaks at many conferences throughout year including Search Engine Strategies, at major universities like Stanford, and he speaks at huge corporations such as IBM, Toyota, Google, and more. He puts a common sense framework around the often-frenetic world of web analytics and today he's going to help us understand that framework as it pertains to ecommerce. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview The two things you need to focus when growing your ecommerce company to $10 million plus Optimizing your site for the entire journey; what that means and how to do it Getting started with the Digital Marketing and Measurement Model The difference between between a large and small business and when it comes to data analysis Giving your visitors the Fours Seasons Hotel experience at a fraction of the cost Plus a lot more!   Links and Resources Mentioned Occam's Razor (Avinash's Blog) Digital Marketing and Measurement Model Breakdown (Blog Post by Avinash) Digital Design and User Experience Best Practices: Happiness + Profits (Blog Post by Avinash) Best Web Metrics / KPIs for a Small, Medium or Large Business (Blog Post by Avinash) Market Motive (Avinash's Online Marketing Training Company) Web Analytics 2.0 (Avinash's Most Recent Book on Analytics) Web Analytics an Hour a Day (Avinash's First Book on Analytics) Sample Digital Marketing and Measurement Model with Analysis Even More at EcommerceInfluence.com   Follow on Twitter: Follow @chadvanags Follow @a_brawn   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we're very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we'll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!

There has been quite a debate in the past few years when it comes the email opt in practices. In this episode we will cover the pros and cons of both the double and the single opt in as it pertains to ecommerce. We will also comapre a few different email providers, explain why some email providers strongly encourage the double opt in, and we go over a case study that breaks down the numbers when choosing one opt in style over the other. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview Overview of Double, Single, and Confirmed Opt Ins Why email marketing providers encourage double opt in Email provider comparisons Pros and cons of both single opt in and double opt in Statistical breakdown of advantages/disadvantages of double/single opt in Differences between hard and soft bounces What you option you should choose Plus a lot more! Links and Resources Mentioned Case Study - Single vs. Double Opt In Breakdown Email Providers Aweber Mailchimp [Constant Contact](http://constantcontact.com/) Campaign Monitor Companies Using Single Opt In Successfully Modcloth Warby Parker Nasty Gal Alex and Ani Jack Threads One Kings Lane Chubbies Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we are very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we will answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!

Eric Bandholz and his team launch Beardbrand on January 28th, 2013 with only 3 products and no established sales. They have since grown from $1000 in sales per month to now generating over $120,000 per month in sales. Beardbrand a company that provides the tools and strategies men need to take care of their beautiful beards. Their products are of the highest quality and made from all natural ingredients. They are designed for men who find value in quality, service, and experience and they are for men that are passionate about life. Simply put, Beardbrand provides Style for the Urban Beardsmen. Eric attests that Beardbrands success comes from his focus on building a community-based ecommerce site and that you should consider building one, too. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview How he built a community of loyal followers before having a product to sell. His path from $1k per month in sales to $120k per month in less than 18 months. Why content creation is his number priority and why it should be your number one priority as well. What types of content he puts the most focus on. How you can start building a community-based ecommerce site today. Plus a lot more! Links and Resources Mentioned Beardbrand.com UrbanBeardsman.com Shopify Case Study on Eric - Building a $40k per month business in a year Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs (Book) Optimizely Follow Eric on Twitter Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!  

This Candid Conversation is an overview on how you can begin structuring your ecommerce analytics account in a way that will save you from the oncoming flood of data that is produced by your analytics account, and, more importantly, how you can use that data to significantly increase profits and even save you thousands of dollars and hours of time on bad marketing campaigns. We'll take you through the 5 step process of creating structure around your analytics data that covers the most important areas of acquisition, behavior, and outcomes. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview The right way to look at Google Analytics for Ecommerce The most important step in getting started with Google Analytics for Ecommerce Why your data is actually the second most important thing Sample insights of actual client analysis The 3 buckets, or categories, your analysis must cover The 5 steps to creating your first Digital Marketing & Measurement Model Plus a lot more!   Links and Resources Mentioned Example Digital Marketing & Measurement Model with full analysis (DM3) Avinash Kaushik’s Site (Number One Analytics Authority) How to get insights from your Google Analytics that actually impact the bottom (Post on to create a DM3) How to choose the right Key Performance Indicators Part 1 (Post) How to choose the right Key Performance Indicators Part 2 (Post) Get help with your ecommerce analytics   Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!

Ezra Firestone is a partner and head of digital marketing for BOOM! by Cindy Joseph, a cosmetic line designed from women of every generation. Hes also the founder and creative director of Smart Marketer, a site packed to gills with information for do-it-yourself entrepreneurs. Most importantly, hes an ecommerce business owner just like you, running 6-figure drop shipping businesses, seven-figure manufacturing and importing businesses, and he has multiple physical products ecommerce stores. Hes a world-renowned leader in Ecommerce and hes the first person the big boys reach out to when looking for the latest and greatest trends that are happening in ecommerce.

In this episode we talk about a simple little lead capture and email sequence you can use to get your prospects to convert in the first 48 hours, even if they are leaving your website. Here is the 4 step process we use for lots of clients, getting upwards of a 5.7% conversion rate on visitors who were leaving their site and how you can start implementing today. Topics Discussed: Actual results current clients are getting from this simple system Creating an irresistble offer Getting visitors to opt-in to your sequence Setting up the email campaign Segmenting your list Plus a lot more!  

Steve Chou is the founder of Bumblebee Linens, an e-commerce site that sells handkerchiefs and linens for special occasions. Steve and his wife started this store so that his wife could quit her job to stay home with their first child. They were able to take their store from $0 to over $100,000 in profit in just one year. Steve also runs an extremely popular blog, which also makes over $100,000, where he produces insightful and detailed information about his ecommerce success and failures, and "how you can start your own online store today.” He’s been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, ABC, MSNBC, and his small business podcast has been topping the iTunes podcast charts for weeks. Topics Discussed Throughout This Interview His journey from $0 to $100k in profit in under one year How he’s doubled his mobile site conversions A little trick to help you improve your Facebook ads conversions Why your unique value proposition is the first thing you should be testing Plus a lot more! Links and Resources Mentioned BumbleBeeLinens.com MyWifeQuitHerJob.com ProfitableOnlineStore.com Optimizely Google Website Optimizer (Now Google Content Experiments) Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics (Book) Steve’s Post: The Moment I Realized How To Achieve Limitless Productivity Steve’s Podcast Follow Steve On Twitter Thank You For Listening & A Simple Request To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher! Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes. Cheers, Austin & Chad!

You have 8 seconds to make an impression on a site visitor and your unique value proposition is the number one thing that will determine if your store visitors will continue reading about your product, or if they leave your site never to return. Your unique value proposition is the driver of your conversion rate potential, and in this episode of Candid Conversation we discuss how to create one using both good and bad examples we have seen to guide you along the way.

Sam founded Greenvelope back in 2008 in his college dorm room after raising initial funds from pressure washing driveways and delivering pizza, and he put $50,000 towards his dream of disrupting the electronic invitation industry. In this episode, Sam talks to us about how he bootstrapped Greenvelope from his dorm room into a successful ecommerce business and what he's learned along the way, how to have personable, yet automated, customer service that brings in raving reviews, a split test that gave him a 10% sales boost, plus a lot more.

In this Candid Conversation we talk about the cart abandonment epidemic that plagues nearly all ecommerce companies and results in a total industry loss of about $18 BILLION dollars each year. We will show you the basics on how to properly implement a cart abandonment recovery program that can recover 8% to 15% of your sales while building goodwill with your customers.

Andy Fallshaw is CEO of Bellroy Wallets where they design and produce wallets that are elegant, functional, delightful to use, and, they're designed for an active lifestyle. Andy's background includes heading up two major division of global surf-wear empire Rip Curl, starting an investment group, and a few other businesses. He's a seasoned ecommerce exec that loves to travel and knows how to make things happen and he chats with us about some incredible life hacks to be more productive, what you can do to start forming better habits in your business, and why you shouldn’t be looking for your passion.

Andrew Youderian is the owner of eCommerce Fuel and the host of the wildly popular eCommerce Fuel Podcast, where he helps eager entrepreneurs 'start a store, and change their lives'. He owns multiple ecommerce businesses and will be chatting with us today about his journey from the corporate world to selling his first commerce store, a current split test case study, one of his biggest eCommerce failures and how you can avoid the same mistake, his most profitable marketing campaign ever, and much more.

Brad Kam is the VP at Curebit, where they acquire new customers for some of the most well known ecommerce brands, including Diamond Candles, Bonobos, Toms, and Serena and Lily. They are partly responsible for helping Bonobos double their customer base year-after-year, and in 2012 Curebit helped Bonobos drive over 25% of their new customers. Today we’re going to talk about how you can build a strong referral marketing program for your company, and how to avoid the mistakes most business owners make when setting it up.

Austin talks with us today about the Canton Fair. It is the largest trade show in all of Asia where foreign importers go to find products produced in China to be brought to their own market whether it's in the US, Europe, Australia, Africa, etc. It's a chance to see thousands of potential products in a 5-day period. Austin talks with us about what to expect, how to prepare, and how to make it a successful trip.

In this episode Grant is going to provide the information, tools, and resources you need to help you use pay per click advertising to acquire more customers...or as he likes to say, "print leads and print money." If you're new to pay per click or need to sharpen your skills when it comes to pay per click, this is the episode to listen to.

Evan tells us how to prepare your website and your marketing to generate the highest amount of sales for your business from high traffic events. Evan spent two months preparing his website and his marketing for the hit show Shark Tank. His preparation for such a high traffic event led to a 14.97% sales lift and annualize wins of $143,365. In this episode he'll teach you how he did it.

Blake tells us how he attracted 27,000 followers on Instagram and built a rabid following and loyal customer base on little to no marketing budget, and why he thinks Facebook is on the decline when it comes to acquiring customers for ecommerce stores.

It's here! The first episode of The Ecommerce Influence Podcast! In this quick introduction episode we talk about why we created the podcast, our vision for it moving forward, and how it's going to help you convert more of your visitors to paying customers. Our podcast interviews the most successful ecommerce CEO's and online marketing experts that are shaping the trends in ecommerce to help you succeed. You'll be able to hear this episode and all that follow on iTunes, Stitcher, and on our blog. Make sure to subscribe so that you're able to automatically receive all future episodes. Your commerce success awaits!