The Ecommerce Influence Podcast (general)

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
Direct download: The_Ecommerce_Influence_Podcast_edit_v2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:51am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_387_Greatest_Hits.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_386_LilyAustin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_385_lily__Austin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_384_Faheem.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_383_lily__Austin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:03pm CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_382_Max_Drut.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_381_lily__Austin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_380_McCullough.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_379_lily__Austin_Mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_378_MaxRast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_377_lily__Austin_.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00pm CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_377_Mike_Krantz.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_376_Shaun_Brandt.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_377_Hiring_and_culture_fit.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_374_MichaelGrasewicz.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_372_Monica_Grohne.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_371__Replay_Episode_270.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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: 

Direct download: EI_370_Replay_255_Nate.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_369_replay_259.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_368_Replay_303_John_Warrilow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_367_Lily__Austin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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

Direct download: QW_23_Long_Hours.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_366_Brian_Biancheti.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_365_Lily_Austin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:32am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_364_Shawn_Oneil.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_363_lily_and_Austin_Emails.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:21am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_21.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_362_Jessie_Healy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_20.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_361_Lily_Austin_Q4_Midroll.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_19_Email_Effeciency.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:34am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_360_Alina_Prelicz.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_18_Simplify_Growth.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_359_Lily_Austin_Hiring.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_17_Hiring.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_358_Serge_Final.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_16_Creative_Churn.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_357_JohnChen.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_15_-_Subscriptions.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_357_LilyAndAustin_Final.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_14_CrystalClearVision.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_355_Email_Were_Digging.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_13_Emails.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:26am CDT

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:

Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_12_Free_Up_Time_with_VAs.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_353_Profit_Summit_Recap.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_11_Prioritizing_and_Delegating.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_352_AshKrishnaswamy_Final.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_10_Dont_Waste_Peoples_Time.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_351_Nora_Wolf.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_9_Conscious_Leader_Pt2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: 350_Jason_Wong.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_8_Conscious_Leader_Pt1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_349_Lily__Austin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_7_Landing_Pages.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_348_Jared_Nations.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: Bonus_Profit_Summit.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_347_-_Chris_Orzechowski.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_6_Influencers.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_347_Eagan_Heath.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_5_Loyalty_Discounts_and_Retention.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_345_V3_ProfitSummitMidroll.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_4_Team_Management_And_Culture.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

@BrandGrowthX on Twitter

Direct download: EI_344_Carson_Finkle.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_3_Hiring.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_343_Shane_Cixeros_conflicted_copy_2022-02-03.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_2_Email_Marketing_P2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_342_TaylorPearson.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: QW_1_Mixdown_1_V2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_341_-_Effortless_Growth.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_340_Austin_And_Lilly.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_339_JohnPinto.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_338_CameronHerold_Midroll.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_33720-20Drew20Sanocki_Updated.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

“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:

Direct download: 33620-20John20Murphy_Updated20Midroll.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_33520-20Josh20Durham.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

“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:

Direct download: EI_334_Barbara20Truley.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:49am CDT

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:

Direct download: Bonus_JoeValley.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI20333_UpdatedMidRoll.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI2033320Taylor20H.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI20331_Matt20Bahr.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: 330.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI20329.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI20328.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI20327.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI20326.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_325_Solo.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_324_Chase20Clymer.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI20323.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_320_Joe20Valley.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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

Direct download: EI20321.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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

Direct download: EI_320_SavannahSanchez.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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

Direct download: EI_320_JT_Morino20Replay_v2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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

Direct download: EI_318_620quick20hits20replay.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_317_Chris0_v2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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

Direct download: EI_316_Scaling20Episode20120Replay.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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:

Direct download: EI_315_LisaByrne_V2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT

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

Direct download: EI_314_Why20Some20Brans20Scale20Replay.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am CDT