Molly Pittman is a bit of a legend in the digital marketing space.  Bartender turned marketing intern for Ryan Deiss, turned VP of Marketing for Digital Marketer, turned entrepreneur - Molly’s story is an inspiring one.  And she flat knows her stuff! In this episode, we dig into some real gems.  We do go pretty deep on what’s working now on Facebook, but we also talk about the benefits of building an in-house team vs. the benefits of an agency.  We talk about entrepreneurial lessons and what life is like in Amsterdam (where Molly currently lives). Here’s a look at what we cover: Why being fluid might be the most important entrepreneurial trait…and why it’s important for digital marketers Why curiosity and fascination are crucial in our current marketing landscape What is CBO and how it’s impacting Molly’s Facebook ad campaign and what you should do about it. What are the 3 facets of Facebook’s new Quality Ranking and how to optimize your ads How low quality rankings can dramatically drive up costs or get your ads shut down Plus more

Charles Livingston knows a thing or two about rapid growth.  He turned a supplement offer into a 12 million per year business. And now his Coffee Company - Lifeboost Coffee has grown 1,000% in less than 1 year.  What’s the secret to this kind of growth?  Good Marketing and becoming a “yes” company.   Charles is also known for having his picture displayed in every single Ezra Firestone presentation.  And this isn’t any old picture. It’s a shirtless pic of Charles all swole up wearing a stethoscope. Yes, there’s a story behind this that we dive into in the podcast.   More importantly, here’s a breakdown of the keys to rapid growth we breakdown on this episode: Become a “yes” company.  How saying yes more has led to a shockingly low 1.5% refund rate for Lifeboost Coffee. Why clarifying your message is key to scale. ‘ How to find your hook and your hone in on a powerful positioning statement How to engineer a great customer experience framework How to charge a premium and make customers gladly pay more How to encourage subscriptions and improve your “stick rate” What’s better - building a brand on Amazon or building a brand off Amazon?   Plus more!

I recently saw Rachel speak at an agency event in New York City.  I was blown away. Rachel has quite the resume. Forbes listed Rachel as one of its “30 under 30 Who Are Changing The World”, Fast Company named her one of "The Most Creative People in Business", AdAge named her one of "The Most Creative People of The Year," Entrepreneur named her one of the "50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs," Inc named her to the “Female Founders 100,” and the list goes on and on.  After being the Global Director of Digital and Social Media at Gap Rachel traveled the world for 100 days and then founded MikMak, the first native commerce platform for the social video generation.  Here’s a look at what we cover: Why big companies like Facebook and Google and Amazon are at war for first party data.  Why Rachel believes in the philosophy that if you give up your first party data, you give up your brand. Rachel believes that today’s funnel starts at the consideration level first and that true brand building and loyalty start after the first purchase.   Lessons from Kylie Jenner and Native Deodorant Rachel’s thoughts on Twitch and how it might be a glimpse into the future  Social is the world's largest mall and point of end checkout...are you treating it that way? Plus much more!

Matt Clark is the Chairman and Co-founder of Amazing.  Amazing is the company behind the most successful info product/training course of all time - Amazing Selling Machines.   He and his partner Jason Katzenback also run SellerCon - one of the leading events for Amazon Sellers.   In this episode we take a quick look into what’s new on Amazon and then we dive deep into a subject I’m quite passionate about - making better decisions.  I’m not sure of another skill more valuable than this one. This doesn’t need you need to always be right...you just need to get it right. We share a great Steve Jobs story in the podcast to illustrate this point.   Here’s a look at a few of the topics we cover: Confirmation Bias - and getting it right vs. being right Mitigating Risks - with lessons from Sarah Blakely and Richard Branson.  Here Matt shares how he wasted $1million in Ad Spend when he could have tested with only $20,000.  Also we discuss the the Fire bullets, then cannonballs framework from Jim Collins.   Diderot Effect - This deals with how to handle success and how success can lead to bankruptcy.  We also discuss 2nd and 3rd order consequences.   Keep a decision log - Why and how and what this looks like for Matt.  Some of Matt’s favorite books on the subject Plus more!

If you’re currently running ads to cold audiences - whether that’s on Facebook, YouTube, Google Display Network or anywhere else - you need to consider where you’re sending that cold traffic.  Do you send it to your home page? Product detail page? Those options can work, but you need to test sending traffic to pre-sale content.   What is pre-sale content?  To explain, I brought in one of the foremost experts on the subject, Lindsay Marder.   Lindsay Marder is a self-proclaimed content marketing nerd.  She served as Managing Editor for Digital marketer for 4 years.  Now she’s working with brands to spread their missions and engage with customers.  She’s also the Co-founder of Digital Strategy Bootcamps with Molly Pittman and John Grimshaw.   Here’s what we cover on the show: What is pre-sale content?   Why pre-sale engagement content is PERFECT for cold traffic, especially paid cold traffic.   Real-world examples including the legendary 5 make up tips for older women - page used by Ezra Firestone and Boom by Cindy Joseph.   How Third Love used pre-sale content to show women everywhere that they were putting on their bra all wrong.   How do you identify topics using free Google tools and some simple online research? How to let customers write your ad headlines and content headlines for you.  What can you learn from 5-star and 1-star reviews from your competitor’s products (this is so brilliant).   Dos and Don’ts for the page itself Plus more!

What’s the ultimate metric you should measure to grow your business?  Smart direct response marketers might say Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) or Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).  Advanced direct response marketers might say Lifetime Customer Value. But what does John Grimshaw say?  Well, you’ll have to tune in, but I’ll give you a hint? It’s CVV. John Grimshaw is traffic Marketing Director at Smart Marketer.  He runs a consulting business called Data Centric Marketing. More importantly than any of that, he’s wicked smart.   I LOVE this episode.  Here’s a quick look at what we cover: What is lifetime customer value (LCV)?  Why it’s important and why it’s so tough to calculate. How should you calculate LCV and why it’s such a head-scratcher for most entrepreneurs.   Why LCV is often a flawed or imperfect metric and why Customer Value Velocity (CVV)  is a better metric for scaling your business.   Real world example of how to use CVV to scale? Why you should ignore the canned Lifetime value metric in Google Analytics (but we got nothin’ but love for GA in general.  Just not this metric.). John’s favorite tools and resources for measuring CVV. Plus more!

Building an irresistible culture.  Creating raving fans. Treating your customers like friends of 10+ years.  These are some of the philosophies that’s taken LiveBearded from a single product lifestyle business to now a leader in the men’s personal care space.  The only thing more impressive than Anthony Mink’s beard is the culture of raving fans he and co-founder Spencer Bryce have built together.  Mink has gone from traveling to 30 countries in 7 years to now having a warehouse, office and an incredible team.   This episode is critically important to any eCommerce company.  Especially as competition heats up and more and more products are becoming commoditized.   Here’s a look at what we cover: Why culture is the most valuable asset you have How adding value should be your objective ...but this doesn’t always mean cash value.   Why every touch point matters and how to create memorable experiences How Live Bearded has created its own mottos and lingo that fans have adopted.   Treat your customers the way you would a friend of 10 years Your main job is to build raving fans Some crazy Live Bearded stories Plus more!

Kiri Masters is the founder & CEO of Bobsled Marketing and marketplace institute and host of ECommerce BrainTrust. Author of Amazon Expansion Plan and new book Amazon for CMOs.  We talk Amazon a lot on this podcast.  I wanted to have Kiri on to discuss her philosophy both in how to expand and how to manage growth.  We discuss some really interesting topics including: What CMOs of big brands know about Amazon that we don’t Who you need on your Amazon team How to assemble your own all-star Amazon team? How to take advantage of the full Amazon stack rather than just focusing on one area. Plus more!

Arri is a whizkid of sorts when it comes to messenger marketing and SMS marketing.  At the ripe old age of 22 he’s leading his team at Conversmart and has worked with some pretty impressive brands including Tuft & Needle, Poo-Pourri and the Beard Club just to name a few.      I know very little about SMS marketing for eCommerce so I was super excited to have Arri on the podcast to learn how he does it.  We both spoke at Ezra Firestone’s event in Seattle a few months ago. I was so impressed by his talk that we immediately scheduled a time to record the podcast.     Here’s a quick look at what we cover on this episode.     Some stats around mobile usage related to text messaging that are important to note? How does SMS marketing compare to email marketing What are some of the top ways eCommerce companies should consider using SMS marketing How to grow SMS subscribers Most common SMS campaigns and tactics with some real examples How to combine SMS + email + messenger for mind-boggling results

To date, this was one of my favorite episodes to record.  Partially because I love Amazon and love hearing behind the scenes stories from people who’ve worked there.  Brad does share a couple of great stories.  Mostly I love this interview because the advice shared is pure gold.  Brad Moss has a unique perspective on business and growth. At Amazon he served as the first business lead over all of Seller Central.  To say he’s had the inside scoop on seller central would be a gross understatement.    I met Brad at an event in Miami.  When I found out he was a former Amazonian I was eager to find out a few things - 1. A good Jeff Bezos story.  2. What is was like to work there. The stories he told when we met and the stories told on this episode did not disappoint!   In this episode we cover some pretty powerful lessons including: How Amazon thinks about and deals with areas of the business that stop growing.  As you might guess, they don’t have warm and fuzzy sentiments here. How Amazon looks at analytics…this is truly brilliant.  Understand how Amazon decides what data to measure, and what to change to get better results.  This is part of the key to Amazon's speed and their ability to scale successfully. Two mindset shifts that Amazon looks for in their employees that will help instantly make you a better entrepreneur. A few funny (and potentially painful stories) about how little Amazon celebrates successes.  These stories underscore the Bezos mantra that “it’s always day one.” Top mistakes Brad sees Amazon sellers making and how to avoid them. Plus more!

Paulina Masson is the founder of Shopkeeper and a longtime Amazon seller.  She has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to pricing products. She understands the competitive forces behind pricing decisions as well as the psychological factors.   Ultimately you want to price in such a way to maximize total profits.  While you should consider profit per transaction, that might not be the ultimate metric to try and maximize.  Here’s what we look at: How to run pricing split test and why it’s so complex. How to price your products at launch including a free margin calculator How to balance competitive price factors with consumer perception and psychology When to end your price in 99, or 97 rather than 00.  And how a premium product or your target market might influence this. 3 Types of Shoppers on Amazon and how to price for each When and how to use coupons - when to do a % off vs. a $ off How price impacts conversion rates Plus more!

Is AI coming for all of our jobs?  As agencies and marketers, are we on the road to irrelevance?  Probably not fully, but our roles and our perspectives better shift and shift quickly.  Frederick Vallaeys is a brilliant marketer and programmer. He was one of Google’s first 500 employees and was on the original AdWords Quality Score team.  In this episode, we discuss how agencies and marketers of the near future should think more like pilots or doctors, or coaches (my metaphor). Pilots increasingly rely on instruments and AI to do their job.  So do doctors. But, deep expertise, strategy, and a human element are still really important. Here’s a hopeful but eyes-wide-open look at the future with Frederick Vallaeys.    How Quality Score was yesterday’s black box and AI is today’s black box. Using Fred’s Two Levels of Automation - Leveraging things like AI and Machine Learning (ML) and then creating a layer of automation to keep the machines in check.   How is AI most impacting marketing now and how will it impact marketing in the next few years. What new changes to Google Ads is Fred most excited about. Some of Fred’s favorite Google Ad Scripts? Automation can be simple. AI and ML are cool but you can achieve a lot with the simple stuff

A few months ago I delivered a talk at Social Media Marketing World 2019 on how to create a full funnel with YouTube ads.  Feedback on the session was great so I wanted to share it here on the podcast.     Why YouTube ads? Watch time for “which product to buy” videos on YouTube doubled this past year. Nearly 70% of shoppers say they are open to learning about products on YouTube directly from brands. In this talk, we’ll explore 3 ways to utilize YouTube ads for growth. We’ll uncover 3 proven YouTube ad formulas to put the right video in front of the right prospect at the right time. We’ll also examine the best bidding strategies and winning campaign structures to implement for success.

Christian Zeron started selling vintage watches online in college.  We started mainly with some free time, a lot of creativity and a serious watch obsession (he’s a self-described watch geek).  He’s since leveraged that into millions of YouTube views, millions in sales and over 1.8 Million monthly page views… without running ads. I’m an ads guy so my experience with organic YouTube is minimal.  I wanted to have Christian on the podcast to walk through his story and to give us practical tips on how to succeed on YouTube with organic content. Here’s a look at what we cover: How Christian uses Gary V’s jab, jab, jab, right hook in his approach to YouTube content.   How he’s learned from and grown from his YouTube failures How he grew from 0 to 68,000 YouTube Subscribers and millions of views How he comes up with ideas for 3 shows a week that generates raving fans. How his new pivot was an epic failure and how he’s retooled to make it a smashing success. What watches are his personal favorite  Why selling a $10,000 watch is easier than selling a $300 watch

Casey Guass started Viral Launch as a broke 24-year-old college drop out.  The rest is history. It’s now one of the most beloved SaaS platforms for Amazon sellers.  Like most great companies it’s gone through some serious product evolutions. But, the core has remained the same - helping Amazon Sellers rank better on Amazon.   In this podcast, we cover a lot…and get pretty nerdy with data.  Here’s a quick look at what we discuss.  3 Amazon ranking factors you might be overlooking including considering your canonical url for better ranking on Google (we explain what this means in the podcast).  How conversion rate factors into organic rankings and what to do about it. Why you’re likely focusing on the wrong keywords and how to shift your approach. Casey’s 6-step road map for ranking a product on Amazon - this is pure gold.   Casey’s advice that he would NOT give to clients, but might try for selling his own products. Why you’re thinking about Amazon PPC is probably off a bit and how you should adjust.  How to use brand analytics data for some “blow your mind” insights.   Plus more!

In just a few short years Bill D transitioned from investment banker to single brand eCommerce store owner, to now owning and leading a portfolio of 10 eComm brands through his company, Elements Brands.    I wanted to pick Bill’s brain - one, because he’s just wicked smart, but, two, because I think all eCommerce store owners could benefit from his perspective. In this power-house episode we uncover:  How Bill went from investment banker to owning a portfolio of growing eCommerce brands.   What Bill looks for when he’s considering buying an eCommerce business (there are lessons here for you, whether you’re looking to sell right now or not). Why diversity of traffic is so important and what to consider here. What’s the metric to rule all metrics? No, it’s not conversion rate, or AOV, or Return on Ad Spend. (Hint: you’re probably ignoring it or not calculating it the way you should.) Why profits are sanity and revenue is vanity. How well document processes build value now and later. Plus much, much more!

I’ve always loved the psychology behind why people buy.  It’s what originally attracted me to sales and marketing when I was in college.  I’ve always loved the study of persuasive headlines and compelling video ads. I’ll admit that I think less about shipping than I probably should. If we want to talk about pure conversion rates and growth, shipping is a huge deal.   That’s why I decided to invite Akhilesh Srivastava, CEO of Fenix Commerce, on to the show to talk about improving shipping, both pre and post-sale. Akhilesh knows a thing or two about this topic. He’s worked for big brands like Walmart, Nike, Petco, Staples, and Microsoft. Prior to starting Fenix Commerce, he was in charge of shipping and returns for eBay. He’s spent the last 10+ years living in the data behind shipping practices both on its impact on sales and the costs behind it for merchants. Here’s a quick look at some of the fascinating points we dive into: How studies of eBay customers consistently revealed that 2 of the top 5 reasons people decide to buy or not buy are related both to shipping costs and shipping time. How the “get it by” feature can improve conversions and reduce abandoned carts by 20% or more. How Men’s Wearhouse is using the “get it by” feature and how it’s now been identified as their largest top-line growth opportunity for 2019….wow! Practical tips to lower shipping costs and improve your speed. How the USPS can “fill in some gaps” for you and help improve your speed of shopping

Michael Jackness is the President & CEO of Terran.com - owner of multiple commerce brands including tactical.com, wildbaby.com, icewraps.com, color it and more.  He’s also the host of the EcomCrew podcast and is a fantastic trainer and speaker.  I got to hang out with Mike recently at an event and I was reminded of why so many people in the eComm space look up to him.  He’s a brilliant marketer and eComm store owner. In this podcast, we dive into some of the most powerful growth levers available to commence merchants today and how to best use them. What are Mike’s tips and advice online extension?  How important is it, and how and when should store owners consider it? Mike’s favorite tips for cross-selling & upselling because “you win or lose by what you do on the backend.”   The most under-leveraged assets Mike sees in his students’ businesses? Favorite growth levers to pull when tasked with growing an eComm biz. Some of your favorite recent marketing wins from Mike’s many eCommerce companies Underutilized growth tips for Amazon.  How important is User Generated Content (UGC) and how to get it.  

My guest today is a man who needs no introduction.  His podcast, Ecommerce Fuel, is one of the most downloaded Ecommerce podcasts on the planet.  And Andrew runs one of the largest most successful private eCommerce forums - EcommerceFuel.com. Each year Andrew sends out a poll to hundreds of successful merchants to get a pulse check on all things eCommerce.  It covers an incredible number of details including growth rates, conversion rates, On-Amazon and Off-Amazon performance, ad performance, profitability trends and much, much more.  I wanted to have Andrew on the podcast to dig into some of the most fascinating insights from the report and to share what we believe these insights mean to our community and to you as a merchant.  Here are a few things we cover: What is the future of drop-shipping as a business model? What surprises came from the on-Amazon growth stats that weren’t maybe as high as expected this year? The stark growth contrast between private label sellers vs. resellers The number #1 traffic source for successful eCommerce merchants The most popular vs. most effective ad channel…spoiler alert - they aren’t the same channel!  The most popular channel according to the survey was nowhere near the most effective. Quite the contrary.  We explore why. We explore Andrew’s spin on KPI - the Kardashian Performance Indicator…this is pretty funny Plus much more actionable data!

As some of you may know, my very first foray into online marketing was in the crazy world of SEO.  That was circa 2004. After creating some wins for an online print shop I was hooked on SEO. In the early days of OMG Commerce SEO was our bread and butter.  Now it’s still an important channel, but as Google has become more of a pay-to-play environment, more companies come to us wanting help with ads. But…ignoring SEO is a mistake.  The best, biggest and enduring eCommerce companies have an SEO strategy and they execute it. My guest on the podcast today is one of the very first OMG Commerce employees, Brandi Johnston.  She runs our SEO department and works with Amazon organic optimization.    In this episode we cover a host of practical tips and insights related to SEO including: How SEO had changed since 2013 and what that means for us today. What are the easiest SEO wins merchants should focus on? What are some SEO wins that take a little more work but still pay off in the long run? What is a rel=canonical tag and a cross-domain rel=canonical tag and could we get any nerdier? What is a zombie page and how doe they impact SEO results? What are the top SEO tools, blogs and extensions to consider? Plus more!

Connor Young is a bit of a health nut - and an exercise enthusiast.  He’s also an entrepreneur.     He’s combined his passions into a powerful and growing commerce business called Ample Foods.  Connor and his team are doing a lot of things right with Ample. What potentially stands above the other wins is that they have achieved two very successful crowdfunding campaigns.  The first was a traditional crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, which set the platform’s record for highest funded project in the food category. The second was an equity crowdfunding campaign that raised just under $800,000 on a $15 million valuation.   If you’re launching a new product or considering a crowdfunding project or equity funding project you need to check out this episode.     Here’s a look at what we cover: 3 elements of any great crowdfunding pitch Why your crowdfunding pitch needs to go viral and how Connor did it for Ample Foods Use crowdfunding both to launch a company or a new product Why Connor would skip hiring a PR firm for his crowdfunding campaign if he had to do it all over again How to use Facebook Ads and Influencers for a successful campaign How “all the work” is in the pre-launch How to set your goal and why it’s important to be strategic about your goal Why momentum especially in the first 2 days is so important. When to consider your campaign a failure Plus more!

The first glowing testimonial I heard about Joana Galvao was from Ezra Firestone.  Next was my buddy, Jared Mitchell of Skincare by Alana. Joana was described as a designer who “Gets it” - who understands how design impacts online experience and sales. She recently spoke at Traffic & Conversion Summit in San Diego and I heard she brought down the house.  So I wanted her to come on the podcast and talk about how design and visuals impact shopping behavior. Here’s a look at what we cover: The branding triad and where most businesses fall short How color can influence experience and results…and a truly mind-blowing laundry detergent user experience that illustrates this beautifully.  How we’re wired to make assumptions at the subconscious level about whether something is expensive or cheap, quality or shoddy…all within in seconds.  You need to incorporate this for your products! How your product packaging should engage all of the senses.   How to make your copy more visually appealing Joana’s 5-Step Process that every brand should go through for better performance.   Plus more!

Austin Brawner is a legend in the eCommerce space, namely because his podcast - Ecommerce Influence - is one of the most popular in the industry.  Austin has worked with, and is friends with, many of the top DTC brands in eCommerce - MVTM Watches, Pura Vida Bracelets, Blenders Eyewear, Four Sigmatic and many others.  In fact, we reminisce on the podcast about a dinner we both attended in San Diego with the founders of those companies all together in a room hanging out and swapping stories. What separates eCommerce brands that scale vs. those that stall and plateau? What separates the Bonobos and Away Luggage companies of the world from an eCommerce company that hits a ceiling at 5 or 10 million per year in sales?  Austin has a unique perspective on this topic, having walked alongside dozens of the biggest eCommerce brands of our generation. In this episode Austin and I break down the following: What you need to know about AOV and LTV and how it directly impacts your ability to scale. How product market fit impacts scale potential - and why combining a hungry market with a product people want to identify with is so important.   Demand Generation vs. Demand Capture…which is better and which lends itself to scale. The road map to building a team and scaling your business Why a CEO’s role is mainly about people and product and what that means. How and when to hire an agency. Why it’s hard to scale single SKU businesses and why line extension is imperative.

My buddy, Johnny Pinto has a unique product, a unique story, and a unique approach to eCommerce growth.  He’s the CEO and Co-Founder of BoomBoom. BoomBoom produces an essential oil based inhaler that refreshes and energizes you.  These types of inhalers are super popular in South East Asia, and BoomBoom is determined to make them popular in the US too. The story of BoomBoom is chock full of fantastic marketing and entrepreneurial lessons. John got his start in business working for an LA start-up that would later become SnackNation which is now a 200 person thriving company.  When John joined he was one of 3 employees. That’s also where he met our mutual friend and host of the Ecommerce Influence podcast - Austin Brawner.   I thoroughly enjoyed this interview and I’m confident you will too.  Here’s a look at what we cover: How John has masterfully used bootstrap marketing and “sampling” to propel his company’s growth - you should too!   How John and his wife Chelsea got on Shark Tank. What he learned from being in the tank and why the ultimately walked away from a deal. How the went viral on Twitter AND ended up on Ellen.   How he’s perfected the art of boot-strap marketing.  Most ecommerce companies overlook this to their detriment.   Their philosophy for building long-form PDP pages that convert! What’s next for BoomBoom!

Ro Bhatia has some serious eCommerce chops.  He started his career at Google, then spent 5 years at Yahoo, then worked for eBay with merchants, then ran the dot com division for Home Depot.  Now he’s the Chief Product and Strategy officer at Limelight Ecommerce. In this episode we dig into growth tactics that you probably either haven’t thought of or aren’t leveraging properly.  Ro has a wealth of experience and he dishes it out in this episode. Here’s a quick look at what we cover: If you’re using chat on your site, you’re probably making one fatal flaw.  Here’s how to fix it quickly, plus Ro’s favorite chat tool. Cross-sells and upsets make up 30% of eCommerce sales! We talk about Ro’s favorite ways to boost cross-sells, upsells and downsells. In the new relationship economy cost of acquisition is high, and bumping AOV is critical.  If you don’t have a high enough AOV your marketing options will be limited. How to properly use data to create buckets of users to show them the right message at the right time (plus an embarrassing eBay story). How to delight your customers like Netflix does…(and how “stale” is a kiss of death) How to build loyalty and beat friendly churn. The best remarketing cohorts to build and how to communicate with them differently.   How to put all of this together to create a compounding growth effect!

I just got back from a trip to the Amazon HQ in Seattle. Chris Tyler, our Director of Amazon Services, and I were there visiting with our Amazon DSP reps (more on DSP in a minute).  We recently found out we were the fastest growing agency in 2018 in terms of DSP spend. We got to preview new audience targeting options, discuss new ad options coming soon to the Amazon ecosystem and more…Blow your mind kinda awesome stuff. If you’re not familiar with it, Amazon DSP (stands for Demand Side Platform) is a way to run display ads on and off Amazon targeting Amazon shoppers.  With DSP you can run retargeting ads targeting people who’ve visited your product listings on Amazon but didn’t purchase. You can also target people who’ve visited your competitors' products on Amazon but haven’t purchased.  And there are a TON more audience targeting options to consider. Here’s a quick look at what we cover on the episode: Highlights from our Amazon trip including dogs, domes, and, of course, great coffee! What about Amazon DSP makes it “blow your mind awesome?” What are the top audiences to target with DSP and where should you start? What kind of return can you expect from DSP? How to use DSP to build loyalty with Recapture, Reorder and/or Cross-sell/Up-sell campaigns. How does Amazon DSP compliment Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands - the core of Amazon advertising? Plus more!

My guest today is John Li, co-founder of Pickfu.  John is a really sharp dude, with a very unique service.  A service that started as a side project and became a standalone business sort of on accident…more on that in the episode.    Pickfu is a consumer feedback tool that allows you to get real customer feedback in minutes.  This has driven insights into product page enhancements, better product imagery, better ads, better Amazon listings and more.   In this episode, we dive into some of the top learnings John and his team have gained from the myriad of tests run on their platform.  Some are quite surprising. I’m confident that you’ll take away a few things you need to test or change to improve your sales on and off Amazon.  Here’s a highlight of what we cover: Surprising learnings from testing images and how your biases might be hurting your results on and off Amazon. 3 keys to better descriptions on your Amazon listings that consistently outperform the norm. How to find out what features and benefits a customer is really buying when they buy your product so you can highlight those features and benefits in your ads.   How there are probably some things that you think are “good enough” that are probably costing you sales.     How to properly run a test and how to ask consumers good questions.  If you ask bad questions, you’ll get bad feedback...the kind that’s unhelpful and not actionable.     Plus more!

Steve Chou is an eCommerce podcast host, eCommerce store owner, and former microprocessor designer.  In fact, the microprocessor running the phone in your hand was likely designed by Steve’s team. All of that to say, Steve is a pretty smart dude. I recently saw Steve in San Diego at Social Media Marketing World where we were both speaking.  We had lunch and talked a little about Chatbots. I was instantly intrigued. Chatbots and Messenger ads have huge potential to create more helpful, more personal experiences with your brand.  All with the goal of increasing sales and building loyalty. Here’s a quick look at what Steve and I discuss... The rules behind using Messenger as a business.  Facebook is very strict here. If you don’t know the rules, you’ll likely get yourself into trouble. How often should you send promotional messages on Messenger? When to run true Messenger Ads vs. when you can run other ad types on Facebook but tie in Messenger in a stealthy way (this will save you some money on ads). How Steve is using Messenger bots to cut down on customer service calls by 70%. How Steve sees using chatbots in the future. Steve’s favorite tools for chatbots.   Plus more!

My guest on this show is a legend in the eCommerce space.  He’s the founder of the Shopify Agency, Ethercycle. He’s the host of the wildly popular Unofficial Shopify Podcast.  And, he’s just an overall really smart dude. When most ecommerce companies consider conversion rate optimization they usually immediately think of split testing, multivariate testing, cart optimization, etc.  BUT, most merchants fail to ask a very important question - “where should I start with my conversion optimization efforts?” And, according to our guest today, the answer to that question is rarely - if ever - split testing. I knew the general direction of this interview before we started to record, but I didn’t know specifics.  I was blown away by the simplicity, but also the power of Kurt’s suggestions. EVERY store owner would benefit from going through the exercises discussed in this episode.  Here’s a quick glimpse at what we covered: The power of surveys for your best customers and how a recent survey totally transformed a brick oven seller. How to ask questions of your best customers including Kurt’s 3 favorite questions to ask. What information to glean from people who visit your site and don’t convert. How to harness the power of heat maps and scroll maps. The little known “coffee shop gift card” test for watching how users interact with your site.   Some of Kurt’s favorite tools for testing Tips for split testing if you chose to go that route.   Plus much more

Video ads on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram continue to rank among the best performing ads right now for ecommerce companies.  The difference between a great video and an OK video is HUGE. To really scale on any of those platforms though, you have to know how to craft a video that converts.    Enter Andrew Eckblad. Andrew Eckblad was killing it with online video before it was the cool thing to do.   Andrew has spent the last 10 years serving as Frank Kern’s video guy. He’s also the Manager of Video Marketing and Production for Kartra.  And he’s the founder of ConvertViews.com a collective of direct response video editors. His videos have directly grossed over $100 million in product sales. Here’s a glimpse of what Andrew and I cover in this interview: Andrew’s simple but profound 2 keys to a video that sells Nuances to consider for videos that work on Facebook vs. Videos that work on YouTube How to apply the “do I care” test to your videos. The importance of pacing, transitions, and on-screen text Using the principles of a good headline to craft the perfect video opener How to use pattern interrupts How Andrew got the job working for Frank Kern The difference between videos for gurus vs. videos that sell ecommerce products. How to get people to take action Plus much more!   This is one of my favorite interviews of late.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did….then go out and create some killer videos!   Brett

There probably isn’t a more consistent rule in business or in life like the 80/20 rule.  Usually, 80% or more of your results and success come from just 20% of your efforts. I’m all about finding the 20% of activities, changes, etc. to focus on to deliver the biggest impact.   In this episode, I bring back my business partner Chris Brewer to outline the 7 key areas you should focus on to grow your business both on Google and on Amazon this year.   These are 7 factors that should provide a big return for you. We’ll cover a variety of topics including: How and why you should invest in YouTube ads What to expect and what to consider with Google’s automation and smart bidding options How the SEO practices that everyone has forgotten may be a secret weapon for you. How Amazon is pouring more money and time into their ad platforms and what that means for growing your business.   Plus more!

Ross Beyeler knows a thing or two about ecommerce sites that convert.  He’s built a few sites that I really love. Charley Hustle (mostly because I’m a huge Chiefs Fan and KU Jayhawks fan), Bottle Keeper,  Johnny Cupcakes, Assoline and more.       We get into several key design, UX and conversion rate optimization topics and examples including:   Home page optimization and how the approach shifts if you have a large vs. small SKU count Storytelling in ecommerce and why successful ecommerce brands are great storytellers Product Detail Page (PDP) “must haves” for a better experience and better conversions Creating better collection and improved navigation 4 conversion killers to avoid like the plague Site search and recommendations for doing this better especially for larger SKU counts How to mine site search data for improvements Plus more!

Tom Wang is a true Amazon success story. He builds a very successful brand on Amazon after a pretty big crash and burn experience. Literally a “burn” experience as his first venture was in hoverboards.   In this episode we breakdown Tom’s success and talk about what is relevant for growth on Amazon in 2019.  We tackle Tom’s advice for some pretty critical Amazon tasks.   How to get reviews now and not violate Amazon’s terms of service. How to diversify traffic and boost organic rankings Product line extension and how to launch your next product on Amazon How to successfully use Amazon Giveaways and lightning deals Plus more!   Don’t miss it!  

Matt Ward built an Amazon business from nothing with a goal of selling it for $1million in 12 months.  His goal once the sale was final was to work on stuff that mattered more to him….He reached his goal of selling his company and now he’s running a podcast and writing books on some pretty interesting topics.  He’s had the privilege of interviewing some pretty stellar people including one of my marketing heroes - Seth Godin.   Matt is a fascinating person and extremely bright.     In this episode we get into some pretty interesting territory, including: How Matt scaled so quickly, What AMZ sellers should consider now and what the future holds What’s next for Amazon What’s Amazon’s goal with Echo devices and owned brands (like Amazon Basics) and who will continue to win as Amazon’s domination grows.   Voice Search and Smart home - and what it means for Amazon and Google and YOU. Facebook Portal and our predictions on it. Why 10x results doesn’t require 10x effort Plus, more...

The Cyber Five (Thanksgiving - Cyber Monday) this year broke all kinds of records and was an interesting departure from years past in several ways.  In this episode I welcome back to the podcast my business partner, Chris Brewer. We look at this holiday shopping season from a few different perspectives.  We talk in general terms about how our clients who are mostly in the $5 to $50 Million per year in sales did during the Cyber 5 and after. We also looked at trends and data from the largest ecomm companies.   By the numbers….a Look at the Industry as a Whole.   Here are just a few of the highlights we look at in this episode. Thanksgiving weekend was up 23% - total spend was $24.2 billion.  Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. Mobile spend was $10 billion of that (approaching half) and that’s up 44% from last year.  So doubling the growth rate of the holiday trend as a whole. Main Drivers of online sales Email at 26% - up 2% YoY Paid Search at 22% - up 6% YoY Social - minimal impact 1.3% of sales….(remember this stat is from the big guys, not mid-sized companies). Surprises from our clients: Black Friday was our clients biggest day by a long shot with Cyber Monday finishing 2nd. Social continues to be a big investment for our clients but getting the same results as last year has been difficult mainly due to rising ad costs. YouTube big as well - one of the top 3 channels for several of our clients. Winning Formula: We talk about what our most successful clients did well so you can properly plan for next year.  We look at several winning tactics including: Email - build, cultivate and prime your email list for Cyber 5.  Multiple email reminders - often 3 per day. Start early - Wednesday even.  We found our most successful clients started sales or at least started promoting sales early. Consumers have finite dollars to spend, get their attention early and you’ll have a better chance to grab your share of wallet. Build your retargeting audiences early - our clients who had the most success had large lists of people who’ve visited their site in the past or viewed a YouTube video who we could then retarget.  

If you’re like me then you’re not overly familiar with affiliate marketing.  It is a bit of a mystery for a lot of us marketers and ecomm entrepreneurs.   However it does have some huge positives: Scalable: Once you attract the right affiliates and have the right offer, you can go from 0 to thousands of orders in no time.   Predictable - As you know, I’m a PPC guy.  I’ll always love PPC, but there are variables there.  With Affiliate marketing you pay the same cost per acquisition every time giving you some predictability.     My guest on this episode is Nate Lind.  Nate is an eCommerce entrepreneur, a marketer and the founder of the Online Seller’s Summit.  He’s also a guy who knows a thing or two about affiliate marketing. Nate’s best single day using affiliate marketing was $4.6 million in sales.  He now has a student doing up to $1million in sales per day from affiliate marketing. Not only has Nate built multiple businesses off the profits from affiliate marketing, he also built a tool to better manage affiliate marketing called Offer Profit.  This tool was so successful - he sold to Limelight.   On the podcast we discuss what it takes to succeed with affiliate marketing: Keys to a good offer Making the math work - how to structure your affiliate offers to both motivate affiliates and maximize your growth. Customer lifetime value and Nate’s favorite marketing mantra The best businesses for affiliate marketing How Nate lives a 4 hour workweek Why getting punched in the mouth is OK Plus more!

Recently I had a chance to catch up with my friend and fellow entrepreneur, Dave Woodward.  Dave is the Chief Business Development Officer at ClickFunnels. He’s a motivator, a marketing mastermind, and an all around awesome guy.   I first met Dave in 2009 or so when my business partner, Chris Brewer, and I were partnering with Russell Brunson (Co-Found of ClickFunnels) on a project.   It’s been amazing watching click funnel scale from just an idea to a $200million + per year software as a service (SaaS) company in just a few years.     So how do you achieve that kind of growth?  That’s what I wanted to hear from Dave. Here’s a look at what we covered.  I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!   Philosophy and mindset that allows for meteoric growth How the founders of Click Funnels got the team side of things right in order to scale How ClickFunnels acquired customers at a profit or breakeven when approximately zero SaaS companies have achieved that mark Marketing channels that are the most important to the growth of ClickFunnels What makes for a great eCommerce funnel What’s next for ClickFunnels Plus more!

Interested in better email campaigns, more persuasive product detail pages and more irresistible videos?  Maybe you need to start incorporating a little humor.     By now we’ve all seen a Harmon Brother’s video (Think Poo Pourri and Squatty Potty) and we’ve seen the magical effect those videos can have when launching a product….Or maybe you recall the simple, Dollar Shave Club video that launched an empire that Unilever bought for $1 Billion.  But...we’ve also seen some funny ads that did zero selling. Sometimes we can’t even remember what product the ad was for after we saw it, but it did make us laugh.   So what’s the difference? How can you use humor to actually sell?   A few months ago I was speaking at a Blue Ribbon Mastermind event run by Ezra Firestone and I heard another speaker and immediately fell in love with her topic - using humor to sell more.   Lianna Patch is the Founder of Punchline Copy.  She has a wealth of experience as a standup comedian, and improv actor, and a copywriter for eCommerce brands.  In this episode we dive into the following:   How to blend humor with persuasion for better conversion rates Where you should use humor first What ecommerce companies properly use humor How a jewelry store leverage humor for double digit improvements in conversion rates How to use humor in emails even if (or especially if) your product category is “boring” or even “B2B”. Plus more   Check it out!

If you want an inside look at Amazon you’d be hard pressed to find a better person to talk to than James Thomson co-founder of Buy Box Experts and the wildly popular Prosper Show.     In this episode we get into the details of what sellers on Amazon should be thinking and doing right now on a variety of important topics including:   Sales Tax! This can be some scary stuff.  We talk about the Wayfair Supreme Court decision, the recent ruling in California and what it all means to you.  Not the sexiest of topics, but one that could kill your business if you’re not taking action now. Brand equity.  There’s never been a better time to build a brand on Amazon.  We’ll talk about what it means to build and try to hold on to brand equity on Amazon.   1p vs. 3p vs. Hybrid - what’s best and why. Most common mistakes sellers are making right now and how to avoid them How Amazon approaches their private label game and when are they coming for your category. Prosper Show 2019 details Plus more!

The best eCommerce companies I know are on a quest to constantly improve conversion rates.  Every lift in conversion rates means more money for product development, or traffic to grow your brand or just more money for your pocket.     On this episode I interview Jon MacDonald, CEO of the Good.  Jon and team have worked on Conversion rate optimization projects for companies like Nike, Xerox, Adobe and the Economist as well as many other ecommerce companies.     Jon’s perspective and approach are unique and I’m confident you’ll pick up several CRO nuggets including: The 4 types of data that should influence your conversion rate optimization What data to ignore vs. what’s critical and actionable Must have elements for UX Product detail page essentials Making the complex simple and bringing products to life on your site Great eCommerce examples for UX to pay attention to Plus more

In recent years SEO has lost its luster as a “hot” traffic source. Panda and Penguin updates have made it all but impossible to “game the system” and trick Google into ranking your site.  That said, organic traffic can still be insanely powerful for your brand.  SEO can help drive relevant traffic at nearly every stage of the shopping funnel - helping your build a following and sell more stuff.   While there are no viable SEO tricks now, there are proven strategies that will help you rank well and rank relatively quickly.     While I’ve been an SEO practitioner since the early 2000s and even though OMG Commerce offers SEO services for eCommerce - I still wanted to have Dale Bertrand on to talk SEO.  Dale is the Owner and Digital Strategist for fireandspark.com and he knows his SEO.   Here’s a look at the SEO topics we cover in this episode.   Link building that works in 2018 and beyond.  Quality backlinks are still one of the most powerful ranking signals in Google’s algorithm.  The catch is that Google is better than ever at sniffing out and ignoring or penalizing spammy backlinks.  In this episode we discuss the right way to approach link building. Building content without being a writer.  My guess is that creating content isn’t your favorite activity.  But good content is CRUCIAL for effective SEO strategies. We discuss how to generate content without the pain of writing.   How to make category and product detail pages rank.  Category and product detail pages are your money makers, but getting them to rank can be a challenge.  We discuss how. The value of “pillar content” and how to create it.  Without “pillar content” your SEO will be at a disadvantage.  We discuss what it is and how to go about creating it. Technical structure for a solid page.  We nerd out a little bit on technical SEO, but not too much. Plus more!

This episode is a treat both in terms of topic and guest.  I have my long-time business partner Chris Brewer on to talk about the most important topic of the year for most eCommerce companies - Holiday Sales.     For most eComm companies the Holiday season will determine whether you have a good year or a not so good year.  For some companies every day of holiday sales is the equivalent of a week or two the rest of the year. Having a great holiday season requires planning, attention to detail and some creativity.     I see things lining up for most eCommerce companies to break sales records this Holiday.  Will you be one of them?   Here’s a look at what we cover: Getting Your Google Ad Campaigns Ready - getting your search, shopping and brand campaigns ready to “make hay” this holiday season.   Getting Your YouTube Ads Ready - Do you have remarketing in place?  Are you capitalizing on your competition? Do you have a unique holiday message?  All of this and more is important to maximize YouTube results. Getting Your Amazon Ads Ready - Amazon is poised to CRUSH IT this holiday season.  Are your ad campaigns ready? Getting Your Email Marketing in Place - Email marketing could be your x-factor this holiday.  Remember to segment and remember the rule of 3! Planning your promotions - Get your promo calendar finished now! Staying on Top of Everything - We talk about ways to stay on top of everything and make sure nothing is missed this holiday season.     Here’s to making Holiday 2018 your best ever...

There are two critical ways Patent Law impacts online merchants: Making sure you protect your unique products and intellectual property (IP) Making sure you don’t infringe on someone else’s patents   My guest for this episode is Patent Attorney, Rich Goldstein.  Rich is a wealth of knowledge on patent law and has carved out a niche in the eCommerce space.  I am NOT a legal expert, to say the least, so I was really excited to dive into this topic and learn more myself.   Here’s a look at what we covered: When should you consider a patent and how much do they cost? What’s the number 1 reason for a patent? What are the 2 factors to see if a product is patentable? Talk about the different enough test? 2 Types of patents and when to consider each type How to protect against knock off and specifically protecting yourself on Amazon. How do you avoid patent infringement? Top resources and guides for patents and IP.    

I’m convinced that the most successful eCommerce companies in the years to come will be those who build a brand.   Building a community, telling a brand story that resonates, building products that people are passionate about, differentiating from the competition - all are part of what it asked to build a successful brand. Companies that just learn a few tricks and tactics to sell more on Amazon or those that rely on just a few google traffic hacks, or those who only sell products that are available from other sellers are in a much weaker position than those who build a brand. That’s why I was super excited to bring on the show a brand building powerhouse like Rick Cesari. Rick has been involved with some pretty stellar brands over the years including the George Foreman Grill, GoPro Cameras, Sonicare Toothbrush, Oxiclean and others. He knows what it takes to position and market a product to make turn it into a massive winner.   Here’s a look at what we cover: Using direct response ads principles and building a brand at the same time. Tips to building a great brand including feedback loops, crafting a USP, getting to the benefit and more.  Learn how Rick helped the Juiceman brand go head-to-head with Krups and Braun and generate $75 million in sales in just 4 years. How to differentiate.  We both love Sally Hogshead’s quote “Different is better than better.” Tips for great videos.  One of our favorite topics and an area that Rick is an expert in.  We talk about what makes for a great video.  Using Ricks brand-building and marketing tips on Amazon. Plus more

Whether you’re planning to sell your eCommerce business in 1 year or 3 years or never, the information in this podcast is pure eCommerce gold. Regardless of your exit plans, it’s important to know how to make your business more valuable now.     My guest for this episode is Joe Valley, Director of Brokerage Services at Quiet Light Brokerage.  Joe is a seasoned eComm expert and a former business owner. As a broker of eCommerce businesses his perspective is unique and insightful.  Here’s a look at what we discuss:   What is my eComm business worth?  Everyone wants to know this. Joe lays out some quick guidelines to keep in mind.   The 4 Pillars of a sellable company.  The beauty of these pillars is that they also will help you run a better business NOW! Biggest mistakes people make when they decide to sell? Biggest success story of someone who sold? Most important financial metrics to determine value? The story of profitability and why cash flow isn’t the whole story Trend analysis and how it impacts value How long does it take to sell an eCommerce business How does a company being on Amazon vs. not being on Amazon impact value? Plus more!

The company with the best data feeds wins.  That’s maybe not the kind of comment you hear too often and it’s not going to be the headline for any motivational posters.  But, there is some truth to it.   On this episode my guest is Brian Roizen, Co-Founder and Chief Architect for Feedonomics, a full-service product feed platform.  While it’s not always true that the company with the best data feed wins, I do believe that your marketing efforts can only be as good as the data that feeds them.     In this episode we get slightly nerdy, but also really practical.  Here’s a look at what we cover.   - Why it’s worth the time to build a good feed.  In a saturated environment you have to differentiate.  A good data feed is one way to help your products stand out.   - How the perfect feed + perfect campaign structure is where you can really gain a competitive edge in Google Shopping and other channels.   - Top feed mistakes to avoid   - Amazon feed tips for world-class Amazon product listings - How to automate Amazon repricing for competitive niches - Benefits of Amazon Brand Registry - Facebook feed tips - How Walmart is growing ecommerce through acquisition and how to profit from their marketplace.   - Google Manufacturer Center why and when you should take control of it - Plus more!

While I’ve spent most of my marketing career focused on driving traffic that converts, I know the importance of a good landing page and sales funnel.  A few months ago I met The Lady Boss. Kaelin Poulin and her husband Brandon when I spoke at an event in Atlanta.   I was struck by how good they’ve been at building funnels, building community, and selling products.  First a little about Brandon, then an overview of our discussion.   Brandon Poulin is CEO and Co-Founder of LadyBoss, the first global weight loss system and support community for women. With the help of his rockstar wife Kaelin and their leadership team, he has helped transform the lives of over 140,000 customers across the world. With its 4 unique product lines having accumulated tens of millions in revenue, Brandon and his team at LadyBoss are disrupting the weight loss industry by simply focusing on helping women lose weight while loving themselves again.   What we cover in this episode: How to approach building a new funnel? Keys to a successful funnel Diagnosing and improving struggling funnels Building a community and a following like a Boss Plus more!

When I first met Charlie Youakim the CEO and co-founder or Sezzle I was surprised by a few things he told me: Millennials prefer to pay with debit cards Only 1 in 3 millennials have credit cards Not having credit cards impacts the way millennials shop online and most don’t like the hassle of applying for a card.   Some regulations put into place after the recession in 2008 like prohibiting credit card companies from marketing on college campuses and raising the legal age to sign up for a credit card to 21 instead of 18 have all played into this.     Sezzle has put together an interesting product that allows both merchants and customers to get what they want.  The interesting thing is that Sezzle didn’t start with their current offering. As a long-time entrepreneur I was fascinated to hear how Sezzle pivoted from their original idea (which just didn’t take off) to its current offering with great success.     How outerwear company 686 raised AOVs by 22% and increased total sales by 5% by offering payment plans How athleisure store Inflow Style raised AOVs by 40% and increased totals sales by 8% by offering payment plans How and when to pivot as an entrepreneur The 3 ways to grow a business and how payment plans can help with all 3. Plus the history of credit cards (call me a nerd, but this was interesting to me)...