This week we have a special Shopify Unite edition of the show in which we cover many of the announcements from Unite last week by interviewing the attendees on-site. In early May, Shopify Partners from around the world gathered together in Toronto for the 3rd annual Unite conference: a three-day event to discuss all things Shopify, commerce, and technology. And they announced a ton of stuff. Rather than have me tell you about it, we put together lightning interviews with twenty attendees (including Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke) to find out what's most impactful coming out of Unite. Resources Unite Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Learn Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

Having a celebrity-endorsed brand and a great product must be like easy mode for ecommerce, right? Maybe not. In today's episode, we learn the behind-the-scenes story on how Jay Leno began selling a complete line of car care products. We're joined by Chris Walters, the Director of Marketing at Jay Leno’s Garage. You'll Learn What's it like working for a celebrity brand? What's Jay driving these days? How did they get involved with Jay Leno? Which marketing channels are moving the needle on their business? Tune in for more details! Resources Jay Leno's Garage Jay Leno's Garage on YouTube Shopify Plus Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Learn Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

In this episode, you'll hear about some of the best ways find brand advocates because your affiliate program (or customer referral program) is only as good as its advocates! Arlen Robinson is a seasoned business owner and co-founder of OSI Affiliate Software which gives businesses the opportunity to setup and manage their own affiliate and customer referral programs. He should know, he's been doing it for 20 years. Arlen also hosts the weekly Ecommerce Marketing Podcast in which he interviews marketing experts (such as yours truly) about successful ecommerce marketing strategies. Together, we lay out a strategy for identifying your brand advocates, and reaching out to them. You'll Learn Who are the top brand advocates today? When looking for high profile brand advocates, should they have a minimum number of followers? What are the best ways to reach out to influencers? Tune in for more details! Resources 15-day Free trial of Omnistar Referral Software Ecommerce Marketing Podcast Izea Traackr OpenInfluence Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Learn Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

In this episode, we're talking customer service. Great customer service can make or break your brand, and your sanity. Joining us to discuss it is a self-proclaimed provider of excellent customer service for the past 20 years, fellow podcast host Dave Rodenbaugh. Dave is the founder of Recapture, an email marketing and abandoned cart solution for Shopify and Magento. He's also the co-host of the Rogue Startups podcast chronicling his journey as a single-founder startup. As if that weren't enough, Dave even runs BigSnow TinyConf West, a business mastermind and ski getaway for small web businesses. Passionate about customer service, eCommerce and small business. You'll Learn How is everyone doing support wrong today? Live chat-- is it worth it? What are the worst things we can say to customers when they contact us for support? What's the most important thing we can do to improve customer support? How to deal with toxic customers Tune in for more details! Resources [Recapture]https://recapture.io) - Mention The Unofficial Shopify Podcast for a free 60-day trial Recapture in the Shopify app store Rogue Startups podcast BigSnow TinyConf West Gorgias.io Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Learn Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

In this episode, we're talking sales automation. Specifically, how to use simple email sales funnels to automate the process of converting website visitors into new customers & repeat buyers. Catherine Langman joins us to discuss. She's the Founder and CEO of the Productpreneur Marketing. Her passion is to help entrepreneurs with eCommerce businesses businesses to be more successful and in control, by helping them to attract their ideal customers and sell more products online - on autopilot. Having previously launched, built and sold an award-winning business eCommerce business herself, and combined with a career in branding and digital design agencies, Catherine has extensive professional experience in product development, brand communications and online marketing for product-based businesses. As a marketing consultant, Catherine has helped her clients to achieve massive growth in their own businesses. You'll Learn What is a sales funnel? What do we mean by automation? How to attract new people to your list with unconventional lead magnets How a three email sequence converts new subscribers into customers How a four email post-purchase customer service sequence ensure happys customers Tune in for more details! Resources Steal Catherine's automated email follow-up system to sell more products in your ecommerce store. catherinelangman.com Productpreneur Marketing Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Learn Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

In this episode, you'll learn how to use content marketing to get traffic to your store, specifically, when it works, when it doesn't, and patterns we've noticed in successful content. The warm and knowledgeable Devesh Khanal joins us to discuss it. Devesh runs Grow & Convert, a content marketing agency producing magazine quality, in-depth blog content for companies. He's full of practical advice that anyone can implement to drive more qualified traffic to their store. I asked him... What are the different types of "content marketing" that ecommerce store owners could do? Are there ecommerce stores or brands where you think content marketing isn't a good idea? For blog content, how should you come up with ideas of what to write? Who should you hire to do this for you? Should the owner do it themselves? Tune in for more details! Resources Grow & Convert Rev BuzzSumo SurveyMonkey Hotjar Qualaroo Google Keyword Planner Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Learn Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

Why is copywriting so hard? It took me years to figure it out. The answer is likely mindset. There are a few mental hurdles you need to get over if you're going to write effective web copy that converts. (And you should, optimizing copy can do more for your conversion rate than any other tactic.) To help us break it down, fellow podcaster David Garfinkel joins us. David mentors business owners and professional copywriters to go from good to great! Many of his clients have created websites, sales letters, and ads that have made millions, both for themselves and others. David's the author of the bestselling book "Breakthrough Copywriting," and has written copy himself that has made millions of dollars. His all-time record was a sales letter for a six-person company that generated $40 million in sales. David also hosts the popular Copywriters Podcast. You'll Learn If you’re new to copywriting, what are the key things you need to know to make your copy convert? If you have copy that’s not converting now, what can you do to get it working? If you have copy that’s converting and you’d like it to work better, what can you do to improve conversions? What are some resources (free, as well as lower investment and higher investment) a marketer can use to become better at putting together copy that converts? Tune in for more details! Resources Breakthrough Copywriting: How To Generate Quick Cash With The Written Word Copywriters Podcast High Speed Copywriting (DVD and workbook seminar) Have David critique your copy Garfinkel Coaching Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Learn Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

In this episode, you'll learn how to think about launching lean, staying nimble, and growing fast! Galen King from O.G. Shopify agency Lucid joins us to discuss a practical strategic approach to launching new brands on Shopify. Galen King is the founder and creative director of Lucid, a small digital agency with offices in New Zealand and New York City. One of the first Shopify Partners, he's been dabbling with Shopify since 2006 and have designed and built many stores as well as side-projects—both on Shopify and elsewhere. You'll Learn Why Galen thinks you should probably start with this one free theme The danger of 3rd party themes Where to invest resources How far ahead should you plan? And how should you approach it in a practical way? How does "authentic storytelling" fit into the lean launch plan? How important is design? When launching a new site on Shopify, what should you focus on? Tune in for more details! Resources Lucid Debut Theme Venture Theme Bootstrapify Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

For many merchants, design is the single hardest part of setting up and running a Shopify store. Chris Pointer of Pointer Creative has 16+ years of design experience. His agency works exclusively on Shopify and has produced custom themes for the NY Times, Death Wish Coffee, and others. In this episode, he teaches us how to approach design, communicate what we want to designers, and when & why to go totally custom. You'll Learn Why design matters and what makes it hard How to make talking about design easier Ways to work better with a designer or agency When & why to go custom and what it'll cost Tune in for more details! Resources Pointer Creative Custom Theme Example: Power On, Power Off Commerce Cream Design Gallery Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Whether you're a wholesaler looking to start selling to your customers online, a manufacturer wanting to increase the orders coming through your website, or an online retailer looking to branch out into B2B sales, today's episode will take you through the key considerations to making B2B eCommerce a success for your business. Today's guest, Chloë Thomas, is an eCommerce expert focused on eCommerce strategy and marketing, to help eCommerce people make better decisions as they build their path to success. Author of several books, keynote speaker, advisor, and host of the eCommerce MasterPlan Podcast. Her latest book is an Amazon.com bestseller – B2B eCommerce MasterPlan: How to make Wholesale eCommerce A key part of your business to Business Sales Growth. You'll Learn What is B2B eCommerce, and why should we care? How does B2B vs B2C mindset differ? How does B2B vs B2C website differ? Who is this an opportunity for? How can you be successful in B2B eCommerce? Tune in for more details! Resources First 2 chapters of B2B eCommerce MasterPlan for free: eCommerceMasterPlan.com Ramp T-shirts Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Grow Your Store in 2018 Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

If coming up with a good product idea is hard, then turning it into a successful brand is harder. Nicholas Galekovic, the entrepreneur behind Beard King, joins us to discuss a journey that went from his bathroom, to Shark Tank, to a viral-success product that has resulted in a seven-figure business in less than five years. In today's episode, Nicholas Galekovic walks through his journey bootstrapping for "sink share" with his flagship product, the Beard Bib. You'll Learn The "ah-ha" moment where he found his problem and how a competitor almost stopped him before he started. How he launched his product on Instagram and the 20 million views of viral success that followed. How he got on SharkTank and what they're looking for. Why Beard King is equal parts lifestyle brand and product company. Why Amazon is the wild west of ecommerce The Beard King's advice for aspiring entreprenuers Tune in for more details! Resources Beard King Shark Tank Story Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

"Is dropshipping dead?" That was one of the most common questions I got toward the end of the last year. Here's the thing– I don't know! Is it? Why are you asking me? There are certainly people more suited to answer this than me. To find out, we're talking to Tomas Slimas, Chief Marketing Officer at Oberlo. He should know– Oberlo users have dropshipped more than 100 million products during the last 24 months. In today's episode, you'll learn the answer, as well as what it takes to become a successful dropshipper, and even how dropshipping can scale your existing store. You'll Learn Is dropshipping dead? What successful dropshippers know What advantages does drop shipping have? How do you choose which products to sell? Are there specific risks to dropshipping? How can Oberlo help you build and even scale your store? Tune in for more details! Resources Oberlo Tomas on Twitter Tomas on LinkedIn Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Doing business online without retaining an Internet lawyer is the equivalent of playing Russian Roulette– things tend not to end well. The days of the Internet being the Wild West are long gone. The empire is striking back! You need an experienced Internet attorney to guide you through the ever-growing collection of newly enacted laws and regulations governments are launching to address online legal issues. In this episode, Richard Chapo, a business lawyer with a sense of humor and 25 years of experience, walks us through business entity formation, copyright and trademark registration and enforcement, DMCA compliance, and the one thing you need to know about your Privacy Policy. You'll Learn When starting, choosing between sole proprietorship, S-Corp, or LLC. Why the S-corp and LLC just became more attractive as business models. The importance of a CPA How do you use the DMCA to keep people from stealing your content? What does a lawsuit cost? How to tackle copyright infringement when it goes overseas When infringement can be a positive What you need to know about your Privacy Policy Tune in for more details! Resources SoCalInternetLawyer.com Hiscox Insurance Bench Shopify DMCA Notice & Takedown Procedure Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Ever wonder what it's like to be married to an entrepreneur? Or how a self-employed couple make it work and what the potential pitfalls may be? My wife and I both are business owners who work together, and we make it work, but not without a few key considerations. In this bonus episode, my wife and I discuss our unconventional relationship from our bedroom. You'll learn The one trick to know when to make your side hustle your full-time job How self-employed couples make it work When businesses let accounts receivable ruin them (and what to do about it) Resources JustTellJulie.com @Julie_Elster Kurt & Julie's "wedsite" Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

If you've ever had a brilliant million dollar idea for a product, you've wondered, "How do I get it manufactured?" To do that, you'll need to find a manufacturer who will work with you. And that's where the nightmare starts for many entrepreneurs. That's when you discover that for most people it's a web of miscommunications, middlemen, and missed deadlines. So how do you do it right? How do you avoid the pitfalls that have befallen so many crowdfunded products? Our guest today has brought dozens of products to market, run three ecommerce companies (sold one), and been a part of projects on Kickstarter raising over seven figures. Nathan Resnick joins us today from his new company, Sourcify, a platform that makes manufacturing easy. Having helped hundreds of companies manufacture products around the world, Nathan is going to discuss with us how to find, vet, and build a relationship with a factory so that you can turn your idea into a real product. Learn: How to vet a factory Nathan's approach to dropshipping How to build relationships with factories And why you may be in competition with factories in the near future Tune in for more details! Links Mentioned: Sourcify Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

As you grow your business, you'll soon need to start delegating things. First is usually fulfillment, and soon after is customer support. So how do you get customer support off of your plate while providing an amazing experience for your customers? The answer might be automation. I first met today's guest while speaking at the Day With Shopify tour, and immediately knew that he'd made something special. Romain Lapeyre joins us today to discuss customer support automation. After all, he cofounded a customer support automation platform, raised $1.5 million, and niched down on Shopify in the process. Their product, Gorgias, helps Shopify merchants manage all their support requests in one place, and automatically respond to common questions. You'll Learn Why is customer support important? How can you automate customer service right now? How do you automate it without angering customers? Should merchants try to automate all of their support? Where is the limit? Tune in for more details! Resources Gorgias.io Gorgias in the Shopify App Store Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

The hardest part of building a brand is often attracting an audience. After all, if no one has heard of you, how will you sell to them? That’s why it’s been no surprise to me that over the last two years, I’ve helped quite a few successful Amazon sellers expand onto Shopify. Starting in a marketplace like Amazon customers find you more easily, and rapidly validate your product-market fit. Once validated, you can then leverage Amazon to grow your Shopify store. But it’s not all roses and sunshine. There are some issues too. Today’s guest is a successful Amazon seller, Shopify merchant, and former Amazon FBA consultant. Noah Deligio will tell us, form his personal experience, how best to leverage both Amazon and Shopify for your business. You'll learn: What is Amazon FBA? How can you leverage both platforms? What are the pitfalls of Amazon vs Shopify? Resources How to Sell on Amazon Using Shopify Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

When starting out with your store, most folks struggle to get their first sale. Then, if you do find your product-market fit, and get traction in your niche, you set your sites on growing to your first million dollars in revenue. And if you can get there, you’d feel pretty great. Now what if I told you our guest today got to a million dollars in revenue in a few months on a single new product launch with pre-orders. Pretty wild, right? On today’s episode, we’ll pull back the curtain on this monumental success. Andy Bedell is the head of marketing for KeySmart, one of Shopifys largest e-commerce stores. He is an experienced advertiser and email marketer with over $20 million in revenue under his belt. In addition to KeySmart, Andy has consulted advertising agencies, other eCommerce stores, and several Kickstarter campaigns. Before entering the eCommerce world he ran advertising for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Executive Education department. You'll learn: How they got into a partnership with Tile How Andy approached business development through partnerships How did the crowdfund model helped with their campaign The pros & cons of crowdfunding on your Shopify store vs going with Kickstarter Tune in for more details! Resources KeySmart Pro Product Page Crowdfunder KeySmart FB Video Ads Share your thoughts Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. Never miss an episode Subscribe on iTunes Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

You already know Facebook is the #1 acquisition channel for your online business. We’re seeing clients with 4-6x returns on ad spend using Facebook ads. But Facebook is a rapidly evolving platform. It seems like new features are being added every day. So what should we ad types and features should you be looking to use to grow your Shopify store as we start 2018? Joining us to discuss is Facebook ads guru Mojca Zove. Mojca is a Facebook Ads expert, author, and international speaker. Her work focuses on helping multimillion-dollar businesses generate more leads and increase profits with a carefully developed Facebook Advertising Strategy, so they can devote their time to other aspects of their business. She’s also the author of the Facebook Ads Manual: Everything You Need To Know To Get Started and the creator of The Facebook Ads Academy. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: The essential Facebook Ads Strategy for an ecommerce business Facebook’s most important new features for merchants The best ad types for Shopify stores Links Mentioned: Get Mojca’s free Facebook ads email course Super Spicy Media Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

On Shopify, fashion & apparel is the largest vertical. It’s always one of the most difficult. One threat fashion retailers face is purchasing too much inventory. The solution that many merchants choose to avoid inventory issues is dropshipping. It’s inexpensive, accessible, and easy… depending on the products you want to send. If you’re looking for licensed products like pop culture apparel, it can be challenging to find authentic goods to sell. That’s where Hingeto’s MXED comes in. MXED allows you to quickly and easily sell officially licensed pop culture products within your Shopify store. It’s a game changer. Leandrew Robinson, co-founder of Hingeto, joins us to talk inventory risk, the future of drop shipping, and Marshawn Lynch. Hingeto builds tech solutions to help clothing retailers grow their sales without inventory risk. Early customers included PacSun and Marshawn Lynch's Beastmode. Before Hingeto, Leandrew helped 500 fashion brands make 1/2 a billion in revenue, in his 6 year stint as founder of flash sale site PLNDR.com & Chief Strategy Officer of Karmaloop. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: How running a flash sale site showed him the problem with fashion inventory What to do if you bought too much inventory? How a new app can add real licensed to product to your store in a few clicks. (This is a game changer.) How Leandrew gained Marshawn Lynch’s Beastmode as client Marshawn Lynch’s most admirable quality as an entrepreneuer. How long is too long to hold inventory Links Mentioned: Hingeto MXED App Beast Mode Apparel Drive More Sales with a Same-Day Shipping Countdown Timer Give customers another reason to buy with our simple to use, professional-looking shipping countdown timer. ☞ Start your free 7-day trial

We’ve talked often on this show about the importance of emails. But leveraging emails as a marketing channel requires having a list of customers and prospects to send those emails to. So what do you do? The answer is pop-ups. In this episode, we discuss best practices and benchmarks for pop-ups with the founder of popular pop-up app Privy, Ben Jabbawy. Through Ben’s leadership, he has helped grow Privy to support over 200,000 marketers in 180 countries. His data-driven approach to lead capture and on-site personalization has helped brands like UNIQLO, The Beatles, The Ellen Degeneres Show, and now you. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: The gap in your funnel that’s fixed by pop-ups The difference between advanced pop-ups and a basic pop-up Use cases, offers, and stats for pop-ups How to use pop-ups without angering Google The #1 factor that affects conversion rate The most effective formats and triggers for pop-ups Links Mentioned: Privy Academy Privy for Shopify Drive More Sales with a Same-Day Shipping Countdown Timer Give customers another reason to buy with our simple to use, professional-looking shipping countdown timer. ☞ Start your free 7-day trial

As founder and chief optimizer at GetUplift, Talia Wolf uses emotion, customer-centric research and persuasive design to generate more revenues, leads and sales for businesses. Recently listed as one of the most influential experts in conversion optimization, Talia is a conversion optimization specialist, trainer and keynote speaker. Today she’ll teach us her emotional targeting methodology and why it works so well in increasing conversions. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: The emotional targeting methodology to increase conversions Why best practices suck The trap of copying competitors How to profile customers Why we buy The myths of conversion rate optimization Why color psychology is total rubbish Links Mentioned: GetUplift.co CRO Resources The Complete List of Psychological Triggers DIY Landing Page Optimization Worksheet @taligw Live Training Drive More Sales with a Same-Day Shipping Countdown Timer Give customers another reason to buy with our simple to use, professional-looking shipping countdown timer. ☞ Start your free 7-day trial

As your store grows, you will inevitably have to hire freelancers, consultants, or employees for your tech team. It can be an intimidating process that leaves you struggling to keep projects on track. You don’t have to learn how to be a great manager the hard way. Our guest today wants to help you level up faster. Marcus Blankenship gets paid to coach overwhelmed technical managers. He's managed a variety of teams and is going to talk us through how to hire better. Today’s episode will leave you feeling dramatically more confident and capable in hiring for your Shopify team, and you’ll see better performance from your team. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: The number one mistake store owners make when hiring freelancers What red flags to work for? Why we’re more forgiving at the beginning of the relationship What’s the most important attribute to look for when hiring a freelancers? When to use a “reset conversation” How to set expectations The questions to ask to ensure a project goes well Why questions are a part of any professional doing their job responsibily How can you be sure you won’t get screwed How & why to avoid The Winner’s Curse Links Mentioned: MarcusBlankenship.com Join Marcus' list and learn how to manage with his free newsletter Recommended Reading: Crucial Conversations Recommended Reading: Humble Inquiry 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide Are you putting off creating a holiday email marketing plan because planning emails is a chore? In this no-fluff executive summary, you'll learn every opportunity to send holiday emails, how to write subject lines that get opened, how many emails to send to maximize revenue, and one tip to not annoy customers. ☞ Get the 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide now If you are less than 100% satisfied with your purchase and email me saying so, I will immediately click the Refund button and return 100% of your money, no questions asked.

One of the most successful Shopify businesses I've run across doesn't sell any physical goods at all. They sell digital goods and did $1 million in revenue in their first year. Joining us to share his journey is Gary Martin, the co-founder of RGG EDU, a documentary based production company that specializes in the most comprehensive photography & Photoshop tutorials in the world. After turning down a lucrative job opportunity on Apple's Cupertino software development team, Gary decided to launch his own career in photography and never work for anyone again. Within a few years, he again made the dramatic decision to ditch client services and instead go on a journey to create the world's best and highest quality educational content. Three years after launching their store on Shopify, they are recognized as one of the premier educational resources for photography. We are in 150 countries worldwide, have the best photography podcast on the internet, and get to travel the world and learn from the best photographers in the world. Listen now... — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: How they use conferences and the “Netflix effect” to create content marketing How having a clear position statement helped drive their business Why having a business partnership has worked to grow their business How they marketed their first products successfully on social media The advantages of joint venture products Exactly how they automate product delivery Gary's advice for all Shopify store owners Links Mentioned: RGG EDU The RGG EDU Podcast Calendly Conversio FetchApp SurveyMonkey The Complete Guide To Product Photography & Retouching 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide Are you putting off creating a holiday email marketing plan because planning emails is a chore? In this no-fluff executive summary, you'll learn every opportunity to send holiday emails, how to write subject lines that get opened, how many emails to send to maximize revenue, and one tip to not annoy customers. ☞ Get the 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide now If you are less than 100% satisfied with your purchase and email me saying so, I will immediately click the Refund button and return 100% of your money, no questions asked.

In 2012, Doug Geiger stole his wife’s crockpot, bought $400 worth of lanolin while already in debt, and powered through his own self-doubt and anxiety to start his beard care company. Today, Doug’s products can be found in over 150 stores nationwide. Doug is not only the founder of Can You Handlebar he is the driving force behind the company and its myriad endeavors. Having found success with Can You Handlebar, Doug does what he can when he can to encourage that success in others. In this episode, he walks us through both his journey and his mindset for success. If you’re looking for the secret sauce to building a durable business that supports the life you want, you’ll want to hear what Doug believes is a realistic & sustainable approach to achieve that dream. Listen now. Then join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group and comment with your biggest “Ah-ha” moment or take away from this episode, and you could win $150 in Can You Handlebar products! — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: Doug’s mindset for success How Doug went from idea to product “If you can’t tap into your virtue, then tap into your vices” How Doug powered through anxiety and self-doubt The mistakes Doug made in their first two years (and how you can avoid them.) The first way he created working revenue for the business How he got his products in hundreds of stores nationwide. How to make your success inevitable Links Mentioned: Can You Handlebar Kurt’s Shopify Case Study Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday Shop Can You Handlebar’s products and use KURTSDISCOUNT to get 15% off Win $150 giveaway from Can You Handlebar: Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group and comment with your biggest “Ah-ha” moment or take away from this episode, and you could win $150 in Can You Handlebar products!

Do you feel overwhelmed? In discussions and surveys from Shopify store owners and listeners of this show, we’ve learned one thing: you feel overwhelmed. That’s the number one answer to the question, “What’s the number one problem you’re facing with your Shopify store right now?” In today’s episode, I sat down with an author who was instrumental in the success of my business. You’ve heard me recommend Sean D’Souza’s book, The Brain Audit, has been frequently on this show, and it was my honor to learn Sean’s approach to productivity. Speaking with him, it became clear that he’s as disciplined as he is relaxed. His mindset to overcoming overwhelm is both inventive and actionable. Sean takes three months of vacation every year and yet is one of the most productive people I’ve met. Whether you’re feeling stressed or just plain stuck, Sean’s advice could change the way you’re building your business and even living life. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: Why being busy isn’t a status symbol How rest can improve your productivity Why you need downtime built into your work & life Recognizing the difference between being overwhelmed & distracted Sean’s “Bare Minimum” approach to projects Setting triggers instead of alarms The importance of accountability Why do people fail Links Mentioned chronologically: The Brain Audit: Free Excerpt Sean’s Website, Psycho Tactics Check out Sean’s podcast, The Three-Month Vacation Podcast 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide Are you putting off creating a holiday email marketing plan because planning emails is a chore? In this no-fluff executive summary, you'll learn every opportunity to send holiday emails, how to write subject lines that get opened, how many emails to send to maximize revenue, and one tip to not annoy customers. ☞ Get the 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide now If you are less than 100% satisfied with your purchase and email me saying so, I will immediately click the Refund button and return 100% of your money, no questions asked.il-flow-automation/)

If you listen to this show, you probably doing some email marketing for your Shopify store. One problem: so does everyone else. It's tough to stand out, and it's certainly tough to innovate with new campaign ideas that achieve meaningful results. In today's episode, we'll do some outside the box thinking to build growth into your ecommerce email campaigns. Joining us to discuss it is Shanelle Mullin from Shopify. She’s a content creator who helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses faster. She's a jill-of-all-trades marketer with a 10-year background in content marketing and optimization. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: What are the ecommerce growth multipliers and why do they matter? The formula for increasing with revenue without spending more on traffic How to increase average order value How to increase customer lifetime value A data-driven approach to email marketing Four email campaigns you can start running today Links Mentioned chronologically: 4 Little-Known Ecommerce Email Campaigns You Can Steal to Grow Faster Drew Sanocki’s Need Marketing Bold Apps Product Upsell Bold Brain 9 Google Analytics Custom Reports by the Experts Klaviyo Free Trial @Shanelle_Mullin Shanelle’s Shopify Articles Black Friday is around the corner Are you prepared? Adding email marketing automation to your store can help make this your best holiday season ever: ☞ https://ethercycle.com/pricing/email-flow-automation/ 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide Are you putting off creating a holiday email marketing plan because planning emails is a chore? In this no-fluff executive summary, you'll learn every opportunity to send holiday emails, how to write subject lines that get opened, how many emails to send to maximize revenue, and one tip to not annoy customers. ☞ Get the 2017 Ecommerce Holiday Email Marketing Guide now If you are less than 100% satisfied with your purchase and email me saying so, I will immediately click the Refund button and return 100% of your money, no questions asked.ok")

The archetypal internet startup story is this: two room mates start a website out of their dorm room, and rapidly become so successful, going to college doesn't even make sense anymore. I've yet to meet anyone who fit that mold, until now. Six years ago, Max Zitney and his twin brother, Zach, started selling beef jerky with $1,200 and a website from their Ohio State University apartment as college sophomores. In 2015, JerkyXP was selected as one of 20 Chase Mission Main Street grant recipients (from more than 30,000 applicants) to receive $100,000. Six months ago, they sold their business to focus on a new B2B ecommerce venture. So how did they do it? What happened between then and now? In this episode, Max lays out their journey and the exact strategies they used to the grow (and exit) their business. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: How they bootstrapped an ecommerce business from a college apartment The exact strategy they used to turn Twitter followers into buyers The hidden fees to watch out for when choosing a 3PL Why they switched to Facebook Live for social media promotion When they knew to sell their business Links Mentioned chronologically: JerkyXP @JerkyXP @JackTheCEO Ships-a-Lot Black Friday is around the corner Are you prepared? My done-for-you Facebook Sales Funnels can help make this your best holiday season ever: ☞ https://ethercycle.com/pricing/facebook-sales-funnel/

If you’ve ever worked with me on something, then you know I love automation. All kinds of automation. My house is loaded with home automation gadgets, and my business has been built on marketing automation. Why? Because it saves time, keeps me efficient, and is all-around convenient. Automation never sleeps. Which is why at last year’s Shopify Unite, there was one feature announcement in particular that piqued my interest. We were shown a new feature that would allow you to create automation workflows right in your Shopify admin. It was called Flow, and I was very excited to try it. Adding automation to your business represents a potentially tremendous revenue boost for ecommerce stores. Research shows that business automation leads to more productivity and higher revenues. On September 18th, Flow left beta and was published publicly in the Shopify App Store for any Plus customer to use. But should you use it? What can you do with it? To find out, we’ll talk to two people on both sides of the table about their Flow experience. First, we’ll hear from David Moellenkamp, the Director of Product at Shopify Plus, about how they’ve built Flow to solve the problems of Shopify’s highest volume merchants (and what their vision for Flow is long-term.) Then we’ll hear from Michelle Frey-Tarbox, the backend guru at Shinesty who will tell us about her experience with Flow and how it helped her as she operationally supported Shinesty’s brand growth from launch to $5M in 3 years. If you aren’t exploring automation now, you’re going to be outpaced quickly by competitors. In this episode, we’ll learn how to use Shopify Flow’s automation can make your everyday processes wildly more efficient. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: What is ecommerce automation? What is Shopify Flow? What are some of the benefits of Flow? How is Flow delivering on ecommerce automation? What are some examples of Flow? What are some of the results Shinesty has experienced using Flow? How has Flow impacted Shinesty? Links Mentioned chronologically: What Is Ecommerce Automation? Shopify Flow Kurt’s Plus info Shinesty

If there’s one industry that’s harder than most to market, it’s fashion. Why is it so intrinsically difficult to market a fashion store? And if we know why, what can we do about it? Joining us to break it down is Jacklyn Deans. Jacklyn Deans is the Founder and Principal eCommerce Consultant at Flash + Color. Flash + Color helps Fashion, Beauty, and Lifestyle brands establish and expand their businesses online. With over 15 years of eCommerce and Digital Marketing experience, she advises brands on how to exponentially increase sales, boost engagement, and create loyal customers. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: What are the top mistakes Fashion, Beauty, and Lifestyle eCommerce businesses make? Why & how you NEED to create great buyer personas? Jacklyn’s secret for getting market research for free. Why is it so important to make a Marketing Calendar for your business? What are the elements of a good marketing Calendar? Links Mentioned chronologically: Jacklyn’s Flash & Color IBISWorld Mintel Reports Jacklyn’s Free Buyer Persona Worksheet Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

In the last several years, big data has been a buzzword. But big data is just that: big. It can be overwhelming. Today we’re going to talk about small data: customer research. Customer research is vital to high-impact marketing. Let’s say you’ve found something gone awry in your Google Analytics. A page that underperforms, what do you do about it? That’s where Customer Research and “small data” can be immensely valuable. Josh Frank of TestingTriggers.com joins us today to talk us through it. For years, Josh has been been working with eCommerce companies to optimize their websites for higher revenue using a blend of marketing and technical expertise to improve conversion rates. Josh formerly headed up ecommerce teams and worked to pioneer testing cultures within organizations. Now, he works exclusively on getting eCommerce stores more profit through profitable customer research and a/b testing. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: What is customer research? The simplest approach to start with customer research What to look for (and what to do with) your research What’s holding you back from doing customer research Josh’s favorite tool for customer research Example site polls to run Links Mentioned chronologically: TestTriggers.com Kurt’s Order Confirmation Template Hotjar Josh’s user research templates and scripts Hotjar extended 90-day trial @joshfrank Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

It’s 2017, forget about flying cars, where are our smart clothes? Today’s guest is making smarter clothes Peter Netzel of Kelvin Techstyles joins us today to discuss his journey. He drops a megaton knowledge bomb regarding sourcing and manufacturing products through Alibaba. If you’ve ever considered having a product manufactured, but didn’t know where to start, Peter makes it sound easy. Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: Peter’s advice for “frugal innovation” Why limitations can create innovation The false constraint holding you back Realistic manufacturing options for entreprenuers Why Peter did the opposite of Kickstarter How to source product with a “shotgun approach” Where to be careful when working with manufacturers The different types of manufacturers Optimizing your Amazon ranking Links Mentioned: Kelvin Techstyles Kelvin Techstyles on Amazon Alibaba Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

If this show had a mantra, it might be "People buy from people, not brands." I've certainly said it enough times because I believe firmly in the power of selling H2H, human to human. I've seen solopreneuer stores try so hard to make themselves look bigger than they are, and we see right through it. Hey, I did the same thing when I started my own business eight years ago. But one of the turning points that leveled up our business was when I got out in front of as the face of the brand. It's something I've seen as a common characteristic of successful online brands And today's guest does a great job at it. He was on our show last summer as well after moving his store onto Shopify and experiencing explosive growth after a successful free plus shipping campaign. Now he's back to update us how his business grown in the last year through his personal video content marketing Joining us today is Beav Brodie from Tactical Baby Gear. Beav developed Tactical Baby Gear and brought it to market in 2013 using Instagram as a platform to promote and sell it initially. He came from a 15 year career as a custom car builder and knew some, but very little about e-commerce, and had to learn everything on his own The results have been extraordinary Listen now. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: Beav’s approach to video Why you shouldn’t sell directly How to know what content to provide Why it builds trust & loyalty Why you should build a reputation, not a personal brand What you need to get started How to keep it real (and why it matters) Why you need to get out of your own What gear to use (and why you should buy a mic first) Beav’s answer to the number one question he gets to work/life balance Links Mentioned: Tactical Baby Gear Tactical Baby Gear on Facebook Rode Lapel Mic Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Last week we heard from Kaleigh Moore on ecommerce trends that will optimize your store in preparation for Black Friday One of the suggestions from that episode that got most excited was the idea of a buyer’s guide– specifically having customers segment themselves into new vs returning customers by offering a buyer’s guide on the home page. That’s a simple but powerful example of customer segmentation. Right now, nearly all websites treat all visitors the same. But our customers aren’t the same. If we can segment them based on their interests and actions, then we can personalize their experience, and make our marketing much more relevant to them. To discuss the realities of personalization, is RightMessage founder Brennan Dunn. RightMessage is a software company that helps bring on-site personalization to the masses. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: What is segmentation and why do we care? The Facebook Ads tactic to improve segmentation The Black Friday segmentation strategy Brennan used to 4x his sales with no list growth How to start implementing segmentation in Shopify How segmenting can improve your reports Brennan’s one high-value takeaway for store owners Links Mentioned: RightMessage $100 off The Personalization Masterclass DoubleYourFreelancing Don't Make Me Think Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Full Transcript:

The year is half over, which means the holidays will be upon us before we know it. The summer, right now, is the time to start preparing for the holidays. One way to prepare is to look at what’s working for other ecommerce retailers and cherry pick those ideas for your own brand. Joining us to discuss several actionable example of revenue-boosting trends is Kaleigh Moore. Kaleigh is a freelance writer specializing in eCommerce. Since 2013, she's been working with various eCommerce platforms and publications like Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur to highlight the best practices, new data, and rapid growth associated with online sales. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: Top trends for ecommerce What your product page needs to convert What to do when products go out of stock How to increase Average Order Value The importance of segmentation and buyer’s guides Which trend to start with Kaleigh’s one tip for store owners Links Mentioned: Recycled Firefighter Product Page While Supplies Last Madewell KaleighMoore.com @kaleighf Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Everyone wants better ranking but that’s not really what they want. Stores want more traffic. They want that because it leads to sales. Sales is what really matters. All of SEO is just a marketing channel to get more visitors who turn into customers. The main FIX for SEO is better rankings What if there was a way to get more sales with the existing rankings you already have? How? By convincing more searchers to click on your search listings. More clicks == more traffic == more sales. What we’re talking about today is a search enhancement in Google called Rich Snippets, specifically Product Rich Snippets. They enhance your existing search results with more data and pixels. Eric Davis joins us today to walk us through it in easy to understand terms. Eric is founder of Little Stream Software, which helps Shopify entrepreneurs customize their Shopify stores using public and private Shopify Apps. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: Why we should invest in structured data What structured data does How it affects your appearance in search results When and why Google might rewrite your title and descriptions What Google’s motivations are Which rich snippets are available to help you sell more When you may not want to use semantic markup And how to test for it and use it in your store today How to get in touch with Eric for a free review of your structured data Links Mentioned: Newsletter: Eric’s Daily Shopify Tips Google Structured Data Testing Tool App: JSON-LD for SEO Article: Uncover all of your Shopify store’s rich snippets with this one search Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Full Transcript: Kurt Elster: Recording from Ethercycle Headquarters outside Chicago, this is the unofficial Shopify Podcast and I’m your host Kurt Elster. Today, let’s take a little trip down memory lane. I recall we were doing a lot of just web development, front end development stuff, really exciting, back in say 2012. That feels like a lifetime ago already, maybe 2011. There was a lot of talk about this thing called semantic data or structured HTML or structured data, semantic HTML. Basically, the World Wide Web consortium who makes these standards that we used to development websites came up with whole bunch of fun HTML tags to try and describe the content of a site to robots essentially for Google’s benefit. We would wrap our content in these fancy tags and then ideally Google would understand, “This is what this stuff does,” or what this is about. In theory, we would all go along with it, because by implementing this, by going through the effort of adding in this extra code to describe your page to Google, you would get more relevant results, more relevant search queries, better qualified traffic. There’s a whole host of reasons to do it. It was really exciting. We’re going to have structure data for just about everything you could come up with. It never really went anywhere. For two reasons, there’s a lot of work for people and because Google got much better at figuring out what it was looking at. It did survive in one vertical and that’s ecommerce. They still have this stuff for reviews and for product data. It’s still out there. Where you’ve got these extra HTML tags that are going tell Google when it looks at a product page, “This is what’s on here.” Then it could do all kinds of cool stuff with that data. We’ve got, ideally, this great SEO benefit and opportunity from this fairly straightforward technical thing that we can implement in Shopify themes. Why would we do it and why do we engage in SEO or even talk about this or mess with it? Well, it’s because everybody, every store owner wants better rankings. Isn’t that really what they want? What they want is more traffic to the store? Well, do you really want more traffic? No. You want more sales, sales is what really matters. All of SEO is just a marketing channel to get more visitors who turn into customers. The main fix for SEO is better rankings, but what if we could get more sales with existing rankings you already have, so we don’t have to mess with getting more backlinks or trying to con Google into pushing our rankings up. Well, using this rich snippet data, in theory, we could get more qualified traffic and increase our click-through rate. There’s one issue here, I don’t entirely understand the concept. There’s a lot of nuance in this, so I have brought our friend back who’s been on the show before, Eric Davis. He was here almost exactly a year ago talking about his suite of Shopify apps. He has a new one that does exactly this, that adds this structure data to your Shopify store. Eric is joining us. He is the founder of Little Stream Software, which help Shopify entrepreneurs customize their Shopify store using public and private Shopify apps. The guy is a development guru, but what I like about him is he’s a renaissance man. He’s got development skills and he understands this technical SEO and he definitely understands the importance of marketing. He even produces a wonderful weekly newsletter for Shopify stores that you should subscribe too. I subscribe to it. I’m going to include it in the show notes for you. Eric. Thank you for joining us. Eric Davis: Thanks for having me Kurt. Kurt Elster: My pleasure. All right, a little long on the intro that time for me. I apologize for being a bit long-winded. It’s a technical issue and I wanted to get people engaged and interested as to why we’re talking about this. Tell me, what are we talking about? Eric Davis: I think you covered it pretty well. Structure data, rich snippets, the whole point of that is getting more traffic or more sales to your store. It’s funny, because I actually have customers who will buy one of my apps. They’ll email me like, “Hey, I bought your app, it’s going to give me more sales, but I don’t know what the heck it does, can you check it for me?” There’s knowledge on this topic, but it’s very technical and most stores, even if you’re slightly in a technical bid a little bit like you’ve done some theme work. This is way beyond. I was talking about standards, how web stuff works, how search publish works. Kurt Elster: Right and to be clear. The implementation itself is not that complicated. It’s the concepts around it and making sure it’s actually working. Eric Davis: Exactly, yeah. It’s one of those things where when it works, it’s like, “That’s pretty simple, I understand it,” but getting all the bits to point the right way and not screw up, that’s the hard part. I mean like you said, it’s almost every store owner I talk to; they want more traffic from SEO if they’re using it as a channel. They want more traffic. That almost always is sold to them from SEO consultants as you need better rankings, you need to get these keywords and you do keyword analysis like some jargon, jargon, jargon. Really, the end goals, the store owner just needs more people coming to their store that are qualified and want to buy their products that end up buying their products like its ecommerce 101 stuff. The interesting thing is structure data and what I call search enhancements that Google does like rich snippets. That’s one really good way to get this without like fighting, incline everyone for better rankings in the search results. Kurt Elster: Okay. The pitch here, the idea is you’ve got an existing store. We’re already ranking for something in Google, but we’re not necessarily number one, two or three. If we implement this technology into our Shopify theme, then it’s going to do what? Eric Davis: What happens is, let’s assume you put the data in right, you do the few technical bits. Google reveals your site, analyzes it. It says, “Thumbs up you’re doing the right stuff.” Google will change how your search results appear. Let’s say your result number four in the search results. Instead of looking like everyone else, you can get say like these orange stars. Let’s say like five out of five, so like a 128 people reviewed it. It might show a price or a price range. You have a line of shirts that will show $10 to $30 dollars, it will say if it’s in stock or if it’s out of stock. The big thing from a UX design point of view is this is your same search listing. You just got all these extra data. If you look at the pages, just a bunch of pixels, your search result, even if it’s number four, has more pixels than number one. Especially if you get the review stars in there, which are orange, Google’s page doesn’t have a lot of color other than the logo. Having orange on a page that’s mostly white and blue, it’s like, boom, there’s your call to action. I’ve heard of stories that are ranked like four for seventh, getting more traffic than the first search result. Kurt Elster: Okay, so it sounds really cool. We’ve got the standard search listing is just title and then description. If we’re lucky, we have optimized our meta description and Google chose to do it, chose to show it. It’s because they don’t necessarily do it. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: If found, if you over optimize page title and description, sometimes Google will mess with you and they will rewrite both of those things as they see fit. Eric Davis: Yeah and actually if we write those based on your queries. If you have it prefect and working perfect for a brand query, if it’s more detailed like, “I want to buy something, something,” if Google decides that there’s other data on the page that is more relevant to the actual search term from that one user, they will rewrite what’s your description and title looks like on the fly. I had one customer where he had a screen shot of a search results, the title and what was highlighted in the content weren’t even on his page at all. They weren’t even on his site. Google rerouted and reworded it and he changed the search result on that search. Kurt Elster: Okay. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: I knew it was happening. I didn’t realize to what extent or why. You’re right, it has not occurred to me that it’s based on the search query, because ultimately, all Google wants is, just same as you, they want a good customer experience. For them, it’s, “Hey, the person is asking us a question, let’s get them to the right answer. The best answer as fast as possible.” That’s what they’re looking for. They’re including experience and part of that. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: The structure data is going to help- Eric Davis: They want the best query and they also want you, the searcher to be satisfied with it, because Google will track if someone comes to your site and it comes right back with the “back” button and goes somewhere else. They track that data. They know if you have a great meta description that gives you a great listing, but when they go there and they bounce right away, Google will take that as a factor. They want people to go to a place and be happy and satisfied with the store and basically never come back to Google for that search again. Kurt Elster: Okay. I search for something; Google might rewrite my title and description to match the query. If I’m lucky, the person clicks through. Then if they land in the sight and it didn’t match, it didn’t meet their expectation based on the page title and description or it didn’t answer their original query, they’re going to click “back” in Google, because you’re probably running Google Analytics on your site. Google is certainly running analytics on their own site. They see when that person clicks “back” and ends up back on Google. I was saying, “Your biggest enemy isn’t a competitor, it’s the “back” button.” This is even more reason to believe that’s the case. Then Google knows if it happens a couple of times, they’ll know, all right, this is the wrong result to give for that query. Cool, okay. This is ideally where now, because we’ve described this data to Google, we’ll have more qualified traffic, we also get a much bigger search listing. It’s got more screen real estate. It’s got a different color, so it really pops and stands out. Even if we’re not number one through three, that top box, it’s still very likely that we could possibly beat out one through three if they don’t have the structure data showing or the rich snippet as they say. Then it’s going to help qualify the traffic better. If they were giving them more info upfront, they become that much more likely to click “back” and further hurt our search ranking, correct? Eric Davis: Exactly. Yeah. For example, I’ll put it in the show notes, but one day I just searched for red flannel shirts, because I just wanted some product that everyone knows. I have a screenshot of the actual results I got. The first, we got two hits from Target, Forever 21, Amazon and JCPenney, so the top results. You don’t have to know much about SEO to look at that and say the fourth result from Amazon is the best looking result. The other ones are like category or collection results or there’s no data there, but the Amazon, I can see it’s rated to 3.5 stars, 780 reviews. I see they have different sizes. Rich snippets, especially if your market doesn’t have it, if your competitors don’t have them, can be really, really powerful. Another interesting aspect to them is even if all your competitors have rich snippets and you’re just basically trying to meet them. If you see 10 different listings from 10 different companies for a product and it all shows they’re all out of stock or they have a price of $300 or $400. If your listing is in there with a lower price or better reviews or something else, you might actually let the searcher, your potential customer do a price comparison without even leaving the search results. They would look at it and be like, “This person is a little surprised with the best reviews,” or whatever their criteria is, maybe it’s a product that’s out of stock and want to separate your store. They’re going to come to your store primed to buy and just basically click to your store, click the buy button, checkout and done. We’re talking about 30, 60 seconds on your site have purchased that right there. Kurt Elster: To be clear, this is still organic search. I don’t have to pay anything to Google for this? Eric Davis: Correct. Kurt Elster: Awesome. Eric Davis: Yeah, this is all organic and just because Google screwed up on the name. Honestly, these are called the rich snippets. There’s another thing called rich cards, which they’re not available for products, but you will see them for recipes especially on mobile for like news items. They’re on a carousel up top, but they use the same data, but they’re not for products. Kurt Elster: They’re probably like answering queries. Eric Davis: Yeah. It almost looks like it in the product listing and ads, the actual page Google thing where it looks like it’s product rich cards, but that’s a paid thing. People get it confused, because Google is I think playing with the names and trying to get people to buy ads for products. Rich snippets, well, we’re talking about structure data. This is organic stuff. Google doesn’t give it to everyone, but most stores I’ve seen and worked with get it when you have the data right. These benefits are free. They’re on your site as long as your data is still there, as long as your data is correct too. Kurt Elster: Yeah. Eric Davis: It’s pretty easy. Kurt Elster: Google, they want a good experience for the searcher, so it’s in their best results to show this stuff. They just need you to actually set it up in your theme. Eric Davis: Exactly. Kurt Elster: Is this different from Google Answers? Eric Davis: Yeah, this is completely different. Kurt Elster: All right. Yeah, right. What gets confusing is all the different nomenclature. To recap, if the thing that you’d have to put into the code of your website, into your Shopify theme is called structure data, correct? Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: All right. Eric Davis: Yeah. That data like you said it’s top of the show. That helps identify what parts of the page. This is a page about a product. Here’s the data, the product price, the description. They’re called offers to like variants, what different types of products here. That’s for rich snippets, but Google will also use that for other things like the answers for what’s called sitelink search, what that they call they like their business knowledge [structurally 00:14:04], once you give that data to Google that goes into a bunch of different places too. That and all of that other stuff is very murky in like Google secret sauce. The rich snippets are pretty much pretty good A to B to C almost direct result. Kurt Elster: Okay. Down the road, there’s no reason not to do it. We’re future proofing our site, because there may be new features that Google adds down the road. We seem to be doing more and more of this Google Answer stuff. Eric Davis: That’s right. Kurt Elster: When I say Google Answer as an example, if you type in who is Lady Gaga, the first result is not a result, it’s a box with a quote that they think answers the question. It’s got info from biography.com and Wikipedia where it’s trying to give you a faster result. Eric Davis: Exactly. Kurt Elster: Some of those queries I know they do manually, some of it may be on rich snippet data. It’s cool. The thing it shows in the product listing in my search listing, those features are rich snippets, correct? Eric Davis: Correct. Kurt Elster: All right and then to run through the rich snippets that it can add, the most basic is sitelinks where it’s going to show internal links that links to other pages internally on your site. We’ve seen an example where it shows the reviews and will show that screenshot in the show notes where you could see the reviews on the product, which is cool. The third one, it could show variants like sizes. Eric Davis: Yeah, I see some of those. Kurt Elster: I’ve never seen that, that’s cool. Eric Davis: Yeah, there’s another one I saw. I looked at the data on the page and I think it was like a manual thing, they Google Plus them, because it was like it’s from REI. Kurt Elster: Okay. Eric Davis: Some popular large company. It actually showed product attributes. Price and all that like people can get, but it actually had the listing. Then there’s another probably another two lines-ish of text underneath it. That was like four bullet points and two columns. I think it was jacket, what the material is made out off, the sizing like what extra large, large that sort of thing and a few other things. Actually, I’ve never seen that on any other site, except for like a travel result, which actually use emojis, which was interesting. Yeah, you can get some product details, product attributes coming up too. That might be a new thing. It might be like only higher insights will get that manually, but yeah. Kurt Elster: Okay. I found a good example of one. I searched YETI Cooler, very popular product. I figure that would come up with something. Sure enough, first result is the brand store. Yeah, it’s yeti.com and it has a bunch of the sitelinks under it. Then the second result is REI and it has this rich snippet data in here where bright orange, it’s got five stars. It says rating 4.9, 1,377 reviews, $350 in stock. It’s got reviews, price and availability. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: Super cool. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: I don’t have to say anything for this. Let me ask the devil’s advocate question, is there any reason I wouldn’t want to set up rich snippet data in my store for semantic markups, sorry? Eric Davis: One customer shared a really good point of it. I ended up talking through it in a week. He went ahead and did it, but he didn’t want his prices available publicly. He wanted them. He was doing a wholesale thing. He wanted to have availability and review shown, but not prices just due to the way that the structure data like the more technical aspects work. He couldn’t do that. Prices are required for the products. We were going to try to do something different, whereas just reviews coming through, but we heated up saying, “You know what? I’ll just show the actual retail price and then when people create an account and are approved for membership and all that, that’s when I’ll show the actual price instead of the retail one.” There really isn’t any other reason other than you don’t want SEO or organic traffic as a channel. If you’re getting everything from social or just paid traffic, it might not be worth the few hours it takes to set this up. It’s one of those, if you get any kind of traffic from SEO like it’s just nice to have. Kurt Elster: Okay, I am sold on this. I love it. Tell me what I got to do to get it into my store. All right, I want to do it. What’s the next step? Eric Davis: The good news is you might already have it in the store. I think Shopify has a requirement on their themes that all themes have to have structure data. Now that’s the bar. The problem is that bar is way too low. Without exaggerating, at least a hundred stores, probably 200 or 300. Almost every one of them, their theme has some structure data, but it either has errors. It is missing information like a product description, something kind of important or they flat out don’t have anything or it’s missing the products that might have stuff about this is the website or this is the breadcrumb category navigation. It doesn’t have details of the product. Kurt Elster: Sorry, let me another devil’s advocate question. If set my rich snippet or my semantic, what’s the correct term for this? Eric Davis: Structure data. Kurt Elster: Structure data, okay. Eric Davis: This is like the modern- Kurt Elster: Okay, structure data. This is why it’s confusing. It’s harder. I don’t even know what phrase to use when I’m searching for it. Clients, asked me about it. They’re like, “You know the thing in the search listing?” I’m like, “Yeah, because there’s no good way to describe this.” All right, so semantic data; is there any risks to setting it up and then mostly I screwed up where I’ve got blank fields or something misattributed, is that a risk or would Google just ignore it? Eric Davis: There’s two big risk with it. The first one is the most common one and that’s, you’re missing a key value, like I said, price is required. Price also has to be formatted a certain way. If you’re missing a field and I guess you’re linked to Google’s tool, which will tell you if there’s errors. If you’re missing a field, Google just flat out ignores that data. If you’re missing the price on a product, Google just ignores that product and doesn’t consider that paste you have the product structure data. Kurt Elster: Okay. Eric Davis: Sometimes price is a weird one, because structure data is just spaghetti in general across the entire internet. It’s just bad. Kurt Elster: Spaghetti code being a developer term for interval, messy, ugly code. Eric Davis: Yeah. Almost every site is going to have if they’ve never done anything that’s going to have some problems and issues. Google, they’ll bend the rules a little bit. Price is the big one on themes. It has to be a numeric value. No commas, no currency symbols any of that stuff. If you have the price with a currency symbol, which is technically invalid, Google will flag it as a warning. They’ll say like, “This is wrong, you should fix it. We understand what you’re doing here and we’ll let this work in the rich snippet's system for now, but you should correct it in the future before we kick you out.” Most themes have some of this already. I’ll show you links to check your theme, it’s pretty easy. There’s also different apps you can sell. I have one that focuses on it, but some SEO apps will add structure data. Review apps are also really good at adding some structure data around reviews, which are on their own. They don’t do very much, but when you attach them to products like the product structure data that’s where you get the orange stars. That’s the best goal for ecommerce right there, is getting product with reviews, there’s orange stars, prices, availability and if you can, which I don’t know how it works yet, but those product attributes, that’s the gold standard. Kurt Elster: Yeah, I know the first review app I saw doing this probably was Yappo has that. It’s one of the, I believe it’s a premium feature. Eric Davis: Yeah, it’s on their [higher earn plans 00:22:09], but yeah, they do it. Kurt Elster: Very likely worthwhile to do it. Okay. Eric Davis: Shopify is product reviews app, which is the most common one. It does it too. To put it nicely, it had some difficulties in the past with structure data. It’s like I’ve actually reported bugs with new fixes to help them. My app actually does an integration with them, but even the free apps. Kurt Elster: Cool. Eric Davis: I have an integration with eight of them. Well, six of them are free or have a free plan that I can get you the review structure data. It’s not like you don’t have to pay to get into that. You can get that review database on your app and Shopify is product reviews app, which is free. It’s good starting one. It can get that data out too. Kurt Elster: You said that Shopify’s theme requirements, because we learned in the last episode, there are only about 50, maybe less than 50 themes in the theme store. It’s very restricted and it’s really tough to get a theme in. Even then, they’re not only the likes, some are certainly better than others. You’re saying structure data is a requirement at least for the product information. Eric Davis: Yeah, it’s weird. It’s like a checkbox like you have to have structure data, but I think every Shopify free theme that I’ve looked at like the major popular ones, probably a dozen, they’ve all had a problem out of the box. Kurt Elster: Okay. Eric Davis: Out of the sandbox, one customer has their theme. Their theme actually, if I remember, they were one of the only ones that had good structure data, but I don’t remember, which one it was or that. This stuff changes, one difficulty with structure data especially if you’re using it in your theme, which is called either microformats or microdata, so there’s more jargon for you, so you can use it. Kurt Elster: It just keeps getting worse. Eric Davis: Yeah, but if you have structure data in your theme, the big problem is that it’s like interspaced in HTML. If you edit your theme, install an app, to have someone customize the theme or anything like that. There’s a strong chance that they don’t know how structure data works and is organized. They could break. Kurt Elster: Okay. We’ll say it’s fragile. It’s easy to screw up. Eric Davis: Very fragile. Yeah. Kurt Elster: I’ve downloaded my theme from the Shopify theme store in say the last year. We’re assuming it’s got rich snippet data, because it was a requirement to be in the theme store. We don’t if it actually works or not. There are plenty of reasons it could be broken like an app could have changed the code messing around with the theme could have broken the code. It may not have worked right from the beginning or requirements have changed and it no longer works. Tell me, how do I test for it? How do we know that I’ve got this structure data setup correctly in my Shopify theme? Eric Davis: I got some good news and bad news. The good news is there’s a tool that Google actually created that’s free, anyone can use it. It’s very robust, very powerful. Bad news, is that it’s kind of developer-level tool. You can use it, but don’t get afraid of what it’s doing. I guess one big thing is if you want to try it and you’re confused or you don’t understand the results, you can email me. The best way to be from my app on the app store is just use the contact support. I go through, we’ll say half a dozen, you may even have a couple dozen stores a week of like, “Hey, would this work on my store?” It takes me a couple of minutes to actually go through, but basically what you do is you take your store URL. I use the product URL, because that’s going to be the most important one. Put that in the tool. It will spit out HTML on the right side and your structure data on the right side, HTML on the left side. Ideally what you’ll see is you’ll see you have a product, you have an organization like a website and you can drill on to the data. That’s actually takes the structure data in your HTML and puts it into a better format. For example, that YETI Cooler you just talked about, I threw into this tool and I could see there’s product. Your name is Tundra 45 Cooler, here’s a brand, here’s the reviews, which are called aggregate ratings, there’s 1,377, here’s the offers, here’s the SKUs. It basically represents the data. If you can run that and see product or if so on the product, did you see product and at a minimum organization or it could be like local business or something on like a business-y type of data there and there’s no errors, you're probably good to go. You might want to inspect the actual data. I think I might have an article. It belongs to like the minimum data you’re going to want. If you do that and you don’t see any data on the right side or you see errors or even a warning, your theme probably isn’t like it’s probably not going to be good enough. You probably want to do some tweaks whether manually or through an app or something. Kurt Elster: Okay, you’re right, because we had a store with a perfectly legitimate theme. It was modified heavily. Then when we phase the last test before we launched the store, we went and checked. We use this Google Structured Data Testing Tool. We run the product page in. Sure enough, we had one error and it was price. It was because the theme. I don’t know if this was multiple people worked on this theme. I don’t know if it was like that from the beginning or an app changed or something changed it, but it had the currency. It was calling it currency inside the price. It turns out that’s enough to break it. What you’re saying, I thought that Google could figure that out. That’s not complicated. In the testing tool, did give it as one error. One error, you screwed up the price buddy by adding- Eric Davis: Yeah, that one error prevents you from getting rich snippets for that page completely. Kurt Elster: Yeah. We went and we fixed it. It was an easy fix, but had we not checked it and cared, that one thing would have totally borked this where it wouldn’t show at all. Yeah, no good. Eric Davis: Yeah and I was going to say to like all the reviews that I do with stores, problems with the price field is the number one by far. 80/20 were like 80% of them have price problems. It’s either they’re missing a price or they have a currency in there, because there’s a separate field for currency. Google gets that from a different place. It has a currency in there, where on some products if there’s a comma of like the 1000ths place. They shouldn’t have the comma in the data, so that’s another one. Another common one especially on international stores or multilingual, is that some apps or some tweaks will put in spam tags and stuff around price or currency to just switch the currencies. Well, if that goes into the structure data that’s invalid. You can’t have HTML as your data for that. Price is a big one. Even if Google helps you and says, “This is a warning.” You need to fix that. Google did an update three or four months ago that basically affected most Shopify stores and basically wiped out their rich snippets for a short period of time. Yeah. I even noticed it on my apps, even though it’s not a store, but the apps use the same stuff. I myself when my apps had a 40% drop in organic traffic over that period. Something [inaudible 00:29:28]. No ranking has changed any of that stuff for the app. Yeah, use Google Structured Data Testing Tool, it is kind of geeky, it is developer-level tool. Kurt Elster: It’s very straightforward. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: You copy and paste the URL of your product page. I just tried it right now. Paste it into the structure data testing tool and then it will pull out the structure data; show it to you in a nice little format. Right in the top right, it says, “Errors, warnings,” so you know right away, like a warning. Okay, it means you can get away with it, maybe, but fix it ideally. An error means they’re probably not going to show your stuff. Eric Davis: Yeah and more detailed stuff would be like getting into it and saying like, “Do you have this specific data? Are all your variants showing up? Do you have your reviews linked in there or the review is separate probably not going to get in the data?” That stuff is important too. The first part, like you said, if it says no errors and you have a product data-type listener, you’re pretty good to go on the first part. Kurt Elster: Okay, so if I do it on the store and I can do this myself, I don’t have to be technical. I can run this thing through and get a good idea if it works or not. Let’s say if scenario one, the data is there, but it’s showing errors, what do I do? Eric Davis: We use the price, because that’s an easy one. If the price is there what you can actually do on the right side or showing the data, you can open up and click through things. You can actually click on the price field. That will update the HTML on the left side to show you where it is. Sometimes, if you know a little bit of HTML, you can look at them and be like, “Yeah, I can just remove the currency symbol from the front of that in my theme,” and you’re good to go. Some other times, you might need to get a developer to come in to change how the structure data is. Instead of wrapping the actual price that’s shown in the structure data tags, maybe we’re going to take that out and put it in its own hidden area. You can actually format it and if you did your currency conversions, you can do it outside of the structure data, just to keep the structure data pristine. Kurt Elster: Okay. Eric Davis: If you have and if there’s like a few errors, it’s kind of some basic HTML tweaks. Now there is one thing, my app does it, but there’s other apps that do too. The way structure data works with rich snippets, you can have duplicate data. Unlike normal stuff with Google, duplication or copies is bad. Well, structure data, it doesn’t matter. If you have two copies of your product structure data, it’s the same product, but one has this warning or error and one is pristine and good. Google for the search, well, actually, look at that and be like, “This one is kind of crappy. This one’s good. I’m going to use the good one.” This basically what my app does. You can install a really good high quality version of it. You don’t even have to worry about fixing your theme. You can just kind of let those areas go away. Kurt Elster: Cool, all right. If I run it through and there’s nothing there, now what do I do? I know for a fact, okay, we got no structure data, what should I do if I want to get the structure data in there? Eric Davis: Yes. You’re going to have to add it. You’re going to either have to market up in the theme, which would be the microformat, microdata, which my opinion, as a developer doing this, that’s a pain in the ass, you’re not going to want to do it, it’s really hard. That’s what’s fragile. You can add it using JSON-LD. It’s a technical term for the way the data is setup. That’s easier, but it’s less fragile or like I said, you can install my app or other people’s apps that add that data for you. My app and I’m pretty sure the other ones are the same thing. We get our data from Shopify through Liquid. It’s like super easy to do that and you can write a snippet in your theme itself if you want to do it by hand. You just pull out the product data. Pull the reviews data if you have it. The formatting of that data is the hard part of like you said take out the currency symbol or this thing needs to be quoted or this is just a URL. You do that and as long as you can keep that snippet of code with your theme, if you upgrade your theme or change your theme, you should be good to go. Kurt Elster: Even if I do, I try and get the code in there myself. It’s possible that the structure data requirements change over time and who’s not going to tell me about it. Unless I’m staying on top of this, it’s one more thing to worry about. Eric Davis: Yeah, I think about once like eight months ago or maybe nine months ago. There is a change where the business data, if you’re using a certain type, you would have to add a price range field and I think it was a logo field, because Google wants to use that price range when you’re doing like a map result of like showing how expensive different places are. Kurt Elster: Okay. Eric Davis: That was just a change. They just switched it and it’s required. It was a kind of thing, if you don’t have it, all of a sudden you would get errors in this, the data testing tool and you’ll lose rich snippets, because you’re missing it. Kurt Elster: That’s the advantage to using an app is they’re going to stay on top of the rich snippet data. In theory, an app will merely notify me or they’ll update it, correct? Eric Davis: Correct. Yeah and there’s. Those changes, that changes every now and then. I have seen two or three. They’re like Google Algorithm updates where it can break everything and change stuff, but no one talks about it. I discovered that the last one that want to hit solo Shopify stores. I discovered that one because a customer said, “Hey, some things going on,” I looked into it. It actually wasn’t my app. It was actually a different app that I was integrating with. It basically was like Google just flipped the switch and turned off a bunch of features that people were using and relying on. There’s no public information about it. Actually, I ended up writing an article on it just so that there’s something about, “Hey, this is what happened on this date. Here’s how you change it, here’s how you test it, here’s how you upgrade it.” We’ll say that process would take five minutes per product in your store. Some customers that I have of like five, 10,000 SKUs like that would be a weeks of work just to get upgraded and lose ground of where they were. Kurt Elster: Okay, let’s say I don’t want to mess around. I just want to go. I want use an app. Get this done, so I don’t have to think about it. What’s the name of your app? Eric Davis: Yeah, so I would just say buy my app. It’s JSON-LD for SEO. Unlike other SEO apps like it only focuses on structure data. Kurt Elster: Right. Eric Davis: I’m giving you the greatest structure data possible using Shopify. It’s a one time charge, you pay for it, install it. You get to the snippet. You’ll get updates for as long as the app is going for your store. I have ruled out a couple updates a month. The biggest, the bigger ones I do is I integrate with review apps, like I said I think there’s eight I integrated with. It’s the kind of thing of all of a sudden, you get that integration and it’s pushed out to your store or if there was changes scheme that goes out. I want don’t want to say it’s in beta, but it’s something I’m testing. There’s some also some integration I’m working with Google Shopping or Merchant Center, five listing ads and all that stuff, because Google added features there. Basically, every customer who’s installed in the past year and a half, they’re going to get that update for free just as included in the price. Kurt Elster: What is that price? Eric Davis: Right now, it’s $69. I do adjust the price as I go, being a business. I have another- Kurt Elster: Monthly or one time fee? Eric Davis: One time fee. Kurt Elster: Okay. Eric Davis: If you paid, you’re good. If you paid the $69 today and it goes up to $99 tomorrow. You’re good with the $69 and there’s no concern about that. I do have a higher earn plan, which has more guarantees. I kind of do some manual monitoring and checking of your store. That’s more recent, but I will say, what was the number? I think it was 83% of the stores who bought the higher earn plan, got rich snippets within the first two months. One of them was amazing, the search engine, basically, their store with their products, because like page after page of high quality rich snippets. I was. I’m going to talk to them and try to do a case study, because that shows you how good this stuff can work. Kurt Elster: I just looked at your Shopify app listing for JSON-LD for SEO. It’s got a 102 reviews. It’s five stars. If someone who has an app, that’s a great sign. It is tough to get people to write reviews. Eric Davis: Yeah and I’m really proud of that. I was joking with one guy. He said that my reviewers will write five-paragraph essays, because he loved the service so much. Kurt Elster: Yeah, sure enough. I scrolled down, not only are they positive reviews. The reviews, many of them are very detailed. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: Also, it’s not mentioned there; when you install you also get the standard on boarding. I tend to teach you about rich snippets, show you examples of it. More on the education like here’s the benefits you’re going to get not telling you what you need to do. It’s one of those, you install it and it’s done. It’s a couple of clicks automatically updated. If you change your theme, it will automatically change or reinstall itself. Eric Davis: That’s a clever trick. Kurt Elster: Yeah, it’s really hands off. Eric Davis: I’m going to probably add a couple of features. I might let you customize and tweak some advance features, but it’s pretty much automatic. One thing, you also get. You get those emails, but you also will end up getting my daily email list, if you want it, which is just every day, every work day, there’s a bunch of tips and tricks of Shopify stuff like SEO, traffic, conversion rate optimization, getting a little bit right now into conversion rate optimization for adding to cart. Getting people to get their products in the cart, so they can start checking it out or you could start sending up any cart sequences. There’s a lot of educational components baked into the product too that you get. Kurt Elster: Very good. All right, we’re coming to the end of our time together. Any closing thoughts, anything you’d like to add? Eric Davis: Yeah. I’ll give you some links. Really, whether you have an SEO tool, when you get mine, you want to do it by yourself or you want to have a developer. You need to at least run a search and see how your store is going. I’ve kind of tweaked a lot of Google advance search options here. I have an article that describes how you can do a search to see all the products on your store and actually the rich snippets for them. Recommend, run that, go through, depending on your product, how long, three or four, five pages and see where you’re at. If you have rich snippets for 30 products, you’re probably good. If you don’t see any rich snippets or you see like just price coming through or just some basic data, there’s going to be optimizations you can make for that. Like I said earlier, if you’re concerned about this and you want a better review with it, just go to the apps or page with the contact support, that will come to me and just say, “Hey, Eric, I heard you on Kurt’s show. Can you just do a quick check on my store?” I’ll get back to you basically and give the honest advice. You’re good to go or here are some things you can tweak and also like if my app would actually help me or not. Yeah, see where you’re at. If you feel like you’re not good or you can improve, ask me to do a review for your store if you want and add all the structure data you need. Rich snippets, is like almost a free lunch Google is giving people right now. It takes a couple of weeks for you to get them, but it’s very low effort to do it at first and it’s just better traffic. It’s free. It’s not paid traffic and the conversions are really good. I have one customer who he basically doubled the amount of traffic to his store within a couple of weeks. Do it, check out what your store is doing. I’m there for questions if you have any, but you got to take advantage of this if you can. Kurt Elster: I think that’s, that’s the title of the episode right there is how to get better traffic for you. That is the end outcome of this. That’s what I’m going to use for the title. Perfect. Okay. Eric Davis: Yeah. Kurt Elster: Eric, thank you. I appreciate it. Genuinely, I was familiar with structure data. I’ve had to troubleshoot it, but I didn’t feel entirely confident talking about it, because it’s so technical. Now having walked through this, it’s the ideal outcome. I learned something new. Our listeners learned something new along with me. It’s fantastic. I really appreciate your time. Thank you, Eric. Eric Davis: You’re welcome. Glad to be here. I hope a lot of listeners get some benefit from this, because it is very powerful and useful. Kurt Elster: I’m sure they will. That’s it for us today at the Unofficial Shopify Podcast. I would love to hear your thought son this episode, so please, join our Facebook group, search for the Unofficial Shopify Podcast. You’ll find our insider’s club group on Facebook and talk to us or sign up for my newsletter, kurtelster.com, shoot me an email and I will reply to any thoughtful email. Either way, you’ll be notified and whenever a new episode goes live. Of course, if you like to work with me on your next project, you can apply at ethercycle.com. As always, thanks for listening and we’ll be back next week.

In speaking with Shopify entrepreneurs, there are definite patterns that appear in successful stores A common one is having a product that solves a pain or problem for people Today’s guest sells one product that solves a literal pain and has been tremendously successful doing so If you’ve ever worn high heels, you know there are designed for style over comfort That’s where Vivian Lou comes in. Vivian Lou is a brand that promises to allow women to wear high heels four times longer without pain. Joining me is Vivian Lou’s president, Abby Walker. Abby’s entrepreneurial journey started 3 years ago after she picked up the phone and asked one simple question. She launched her company as a hobby business (while being a full time working mom of two kids.) Since then, her flagship product - an insole for high heels - has been featured in O! Magazine, Real Simple and USA TODAY. It’s also been featured on The View and is sold on HSN. In May 2016, she quit her full-time job to pursue her dream and has covered her lost corporate salary (and then some) since November 2016. In today’s episode, Abby will explain her journey and the mindset shifts that enabled her success. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: How Abby frames selling How she found her product idea Her journey from side hustle to full-time job How she got on HSN (and what that relationship looks like) Why she uses a long-form sales page (and how it converts) Abby’s success tips for new entreprenuers Links Mentioned: Vivian Lou - Use code UNOFFICIAL at checkout to save 20% off (Good through July 2017) HARO Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

If you own a tablet or iPad, you’ve probably shopped for a case for it. And if you bought a case for it, did you ever run across beautiful leather cases that looked like books? If so, you and I have the same taste. Pad & Quill makes those luxurious cases. Our guest today is Brian Holmes, President, and owner of Pad & Quill. He started the business in 2010 with his wife, Kari. It was a desire to create exceptionally crafted luxury accessories (rather than profits) that motivated Holmes when he chose to start the business with a budget of just over $1,000. Pad and Quill is the tale of a shop formed with bookbinders, carpenters, a painter and a working mom coming together to create beautiful handmade iPad/iPhone cases, leather bags, and other dry goods. In this episode, we dive into his seven-year journey in ecommerce and discover what he’s learned along the way. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn: How Pad & Quill got started Their direct approach to launching the brand Why you should embrace your passion The advantage of lifetime warranties How to Brian pitches the press The golden rule that governs Brian’s marketing Why he moved from Magento to Shopify Plus And his advice for entrepreneurs Links Mentioned: PadAndQuill - Use coupon code BHAPPY10 to get 10% off any product Shopify Plus Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Transcript Kurt: Hello, and welcome back to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast. I'm your host, Kurt Elster, recording from Ethercycle headquarters; about 10 minutes from O'Hare Airport, if you're familiar. And today I'm talking to a wonderful, seven year-old eCommerce store owner. Well, the store is seven years old. The owner is not seven years old, I should say, I should be specific. But we've got this app called Crowdfunder, and it's not the easiest thing to install if you're not familiar with HTML. So people ask me, "Hey Kurt, can you install this thing for me?" And I say, "Yes, of course." And in doing that, I always get to check out some interesting stores. And in this case, I said, gee this seems ... I was looking at a store, it was called Pad & Quill, and I thought, this seems awfully familiar. So I went and I searched through my email, and sure enough, I had bought an iPad case from Pad & Quill in 2011. So I reached out, and I acted like, this seemed familiar because it is familiar; I used to have your case on my first gen iPad, and I would love to hear your story. This looks like a fascinating brand, they were in the process of moving to Shopify Plus. So I wanted to hear that story. So joining me today, is Brian Holmes, who is the President/Owner of Pad & Quill. He started in 2010 with his wife, Kari. Prior to running Pad & Quill, he's a Tradesman for over 16 years; we'll find out in what. He and Kari have been married for almost 27 years. Congratulations! It is so much easier to do this with a supportive family, and doing it with family helps. But Brian, thank you for joining us. Brian: Kurt, thank you for having us on. I appreciate it, having me on. My only question is, you've only boughten one case since 2011, Kurt. What's goin on? Kurt: (laughs) Let's see, I had- Brian: (laughs) Kurt: So for the longest time I just had the standard iPad case on there. And then one of my kids dropped it on the kitchen tile floor like two or three years ago, and we have not had an iPad since. Someday. Brian: Ah. Kurt: Someday I'll get around to buying another iPad. Brian: Yes. Well, you're right I'm not seven years old, I'm almost 50, but I've been doing this for seven years. That is correct. Kurt: Very good. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: For our listeners, what is Pad & Quill? Brian: So, Pad & Quill is a, we are a luxury accessory maker. So we design and craft luxury goods for tech and play. That's kinda what we like to say. They're durable goods. They're artisan made. Those four words are very important to us. We don't wanna make anything that is going to fade away within a year and breakdown, et cetera. So all of our products come with longer warranties, and we want them to be very well made, as far as what we call good art. So when we make a product, to us, it should be both beautiful and functional. Cause you can have a lot of products out there that are really nice to look at, but they don't last, or they're really, really functional, but they're just ugly. So what we're trying to do is create these kind of beautiful leather bags, iPad cases, MacBook cases, things like that, that are unique, but also provide a function, provide a utility and are durable. They last a long time. So that's kinda been our focus. We're a typical company, that when we started, we started one place, and ended up somewhere else. That's very common in startup stories, that the products you started with aren't always the products you end up making five years later. Kurt: So somewhere along your line you had to pivot. Going back to the beginning, how did you start Pad & Quill? Brian: Yeah. Kurt: And what was your first product? Brian: Yeah. So we started with $1,200, and I- Kurt: Very good. Brian: I painted my web designer's deck. Kurt: (laughs) Brian: She painted it ... She still works with us, she's still a consultant, Kathy. She made our website. She coded it on ... I can't even remember where it was coded, what platform; think it was WordPress. And we started an original ... She built it all, all I knew is that I had seen a product out in San Francisco by a company called DODOcase. Kurt: DODOcase, another Shopify store. Brian: Yeah, they made a wood and book case, and I saw what they were doing. And I thought, my word, we could do this, but we could more than what they're doing. We could do, like, MacBook cases, and iPhone cases, and all kinds of stuff. So that kinda was the inspiration. So we took the $1,200, I paid a photographer far less than he deserved; he still works with me today. Now he's making money, but he knew we didn't have a lot so he gave me a deal. We built four prototypes, and we put up the site, it was in late June of 2010, and just started reaching out to the press saying, "Hey, we've got these products. They're on pre-order, they'll deliver in six weeks." You know, basically, help us fund this, in many ways. Reached out to everyone you could think of. Some Wired, I was talking to Walt Mossberg at The Wall Street Journal, who turned me down, of course. Kurt: (laughs) Brian: But what happened was, we got picked up by a couple people. So Gadget Lab picked us up at Wired, and then someone at Gizmodo wrote about us; and it started to pick up. Sales started coming in, and what had happened is, it was really born of not an idea that I had been thinking about. It was born out of a passion of a product I already saw, that I liked, which was the iPad and then the book bindery style case. And it just, kinda like, came together one evening. I was just like, "Wait a minute, we could do this. And we could do this better." You know, cause typical entrepreneurs think they can always do it better. So I was thinking, we can do this better, or different. Kurt: So when you saw that original DODOcase- Brian: Yeah. Kurt: You saw an iPad, [inaudible 00:05:50] and you saw ... And at that time, that was very early; I don't know if that was the first gen or second gen iPad at that point. Brian: First gen, first gen. Kurt: First gen, okay. So very early on. When you first held an iPad, it did have kind of a magical quality to it, where it's like, it's just this big, solid glass display that I can poke at. Brian: Right. Kurt: And at that time, apps had really ... Like, a lot of them had these very novel interfaces; it was pretty exciting. Brian: It was. Kurt: Back six years ago, it seems like forever ago, and now we don't think twice about it. But it was exciting. And then you had seen, you're right, DODOcase in San Francisco who was using traditional book ... Really, I mean, they were making cases using just traditional book binding- Brian: Techniques, yeah. Kurt: Techniques. Brian: Yep. Kurt: And you're right, in the typical, the entrepreneurial mindset, you said, "I love both of these. Why can't I do this? Why not me?" Brian: Yeah. Kurt: That's often how businesses start. Why not me? Brian: Yeah, and it didn't have, necessarily, a logic behind it. It had an opportunity, is what was seen. But here's the interesting thing, what happened was, is that as Kari and I started working on these products, all of a sudden there was something that connected for both of us; which was, these devices by Apple are beautifully designed, made of aluminum and glass, steel, gorgeous, gorgeous finishes, but they lacked warmth. Kurt: Yeah, they're ultra modern, which- Brian: Yeah, they're ultra modern Kurt: Can often make them feel cold. Brian: Which is fine, but we love, and that's a huge passion of ours, is that we love traditional materials. So it wasn't just book bindery, and that's why after the first two years of selling I ... I mean, we shipped about 3,000 iPad cases out of my basement window- Kurt: Hmm Brian: In the first nine months of the business. So what we were doing is we were having a bindery in Minneapolis make the books. And we were having a CNC Maker make the wood, and they were putting it together for us. And then we would take it to our basement and do some finishing touches, and ship them. So, we continued our press push. We constantly were reaching out to the press, coming out with new products. So we were in a never-ending cycle of creating new things. So we created a book-style case for a MacBook Air, which was very unique to the market, and that got us a lot of pickup. We just kept working through all these different products. We did stuff for the Kindle, at that time. This again, back in 2010 when the Kindle was pretty popular. Yeah, and then after about 3,000 or 4,000 products, my wife was like, "I want the basement back." Kurt: (laughs) Brian: So that's pretty much what happened. So we found a spot in Northeast Minneapolis, which is kind of an arts community area of Minneapolis, in downtown. We found a little spot there, and that's where we've been since. So, we've been there since I think May of 2011. Kurt: Did you, at all, have a background in business, entrepreneurship, manufacturing? Did you have any unfair advantage or skills that you think played a part in the success? Or at least, did you just have so much hubris you said, "You know, I think I could do this and then figure it out." Brian: Yeah, it's interesting you said unfair, cause that's an interesting term; that it's unfair. I mean, I know what you mean, like did I have something that I could leverage, that other people wouldn't typically have. Here's the thing, I had been a painting contractor. So I had done wall painting, like, house painting. I'd done that for 16 years. We had four kids. I didn't wanna be a painter for the rest of my life. And then the last five years of my trades work, and this was my own company, and I had a couple guys working for me, we were pretty small. In the last five years, I got into more artistic designs. So I was doing a lot of artisan finishes on walls and design work. Kurt: Like French plaster, and that kinda thing. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: Okay. Brian: Exactly. Kurt: Cool. Brian: And Venetian plasters, all that stuff. And what was interesting was, I really enjoyed that part of it. I, then, got my four year degree. In those last five years, I got my four year degree at night, in Psychology, ironically. I had never finished my four year. I went and got it, never used it. Think I decided at the end of my Psychology degree that I couldn't listen to people that long. Kurt: (laughs) Brian: So I ended up not doing anything with that, but I took a job with a small tech startup; cause I wanted to get out of painting. I didn't feel like I was using my skills the way I wanted to. So I took a risk and jumped into a small startup, which failed. It failed in about 18 months. It was a tech startup with a guy here locally, he was an inventor. It went poorly. What happened was, is that, the idea for Pad & Quill, the idea for me ... Like, I didn't have any manufacturing background. But my time, those 18 months in that startup, taught me almost a Master's level about here's how you'd operationalize a product; here's all the things you would need to make a product happen. And so, I think Pad & Quill was kinda like, a culmination of multiple life experience; running a painting company, being part of a small startup. It just kinda all came together, and I thought I could do this, and here's how I'd do it. And as I've moved further away, I'm realizing I love design. You know, I have no background in actual design. I have no background in product design. It was very much self-taught, but it's following ... I'm good at reading what people want to see in the markets, and then kind of taking it and putting my own flavor to it. Kurt: Okay. So early on you started with, it starts with your passion, and it sounds like you have a passion for product design, which is great. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: It's so much easier to run a business when it's exciting to you, versus I'm just going to do this because it will sell. That's such a struggle; and some people have the discipline to do it. I think it just makes life harder. Brian: It does. Kurt: Certainly easier if you enjoy the product. So you created this ... How many products did you launch with, like, within the first 12 months? Brian: Two. Oh, in 12 months, probably- Kurt: So you started with two. Brian: Started with two, and then we added some Kindle, and then some MacBook products. So they- Kurt: And they're all variations on ... They're essentially the same product in different form factors. Brian: Exactly. It was the same product on the same theme. So then, in 2011, the iPad 2 came out, so that was a big lift for us; and we became a competitor to DODOcase. And there was another company, I believe called Portenzo, out there at the time; and Treegloo. There was a few other competitors doing what we were doing. But here's what happened, and this was a huge shift for us, in 2012, so I'm a good two years in, I was noticing that these books were falling apart. So what was happening is, these books were made in traditional book bindery techniques, using really good book material; but they were falling apart. And I was like, they look beautiful, but they don't last. And I was realizing this is a ... You know, people love our product, they love our design, but I don't love that they don't last. And if you're cynical you could say, well that just means people will come back and buy another one. And my comment to that is, no, it means people will be disaffected by your brand. Kurt: I agree. Brian: They'll say your stuff isn't gonna last. Kurt: The brands I've seen where the product is incredibly durable, where they're comfortable in giving, like, really outlandish warranties on it because it's so durable; those are the brands where people, they don't have to worry about it falling apart and someone buying another one because people like it so much, they recommend it and they often will buy multiples. Brian: Right. Kurt: A good example would be, oh there's a Reddit group, I think, called Buy It For Life, where people just recommend products that they think will last a lifetime. Brian: Oh, funny. Kurt: Yeah. Off the top of my head ... And some are leather goods. But often times we see Saddleback Leather's bags mentioned, Beltman leather gun belts, which a gun belt- Brian: Okay. Kurt: Just turns out, it's a very stiff belt. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: I'm wearing one right now; it's a client. Brian: (laughs) Kurt: Yeah, those are great. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: What's the other one? Another good example. Oh, we use Everest bands as an example; they make watch straps for Rolex, but out of this unreal durable rubber. We had a review where someone said that they run it through an autoclave on a weekly basis, and the thing's fine. Brian: Yeah, yeah. Kurt: And it doesn't hurt their sales, people buy multiple products. So, no, I'm with you. Brian: And so what happened is, in 2011, I said that's it. It was late 2011, I said we have gotta shift to leather. We've just gotta shift, cause this is not a sustainable ... We're doing the eCommerce thing well. You know, by the way, we're not buying any ads from Google for the first three years. We are existing purely on reaching out to the press with new products. Any press that'll listen to us, and you know, if you have something kind of sexy, they'll write about it. Kurt: So that's a- Brian: And that would bring in sales. Kurt: Alright, that is an excellent point. But it's so difficult. Brian: Mm-hmm (affirmative) Kurt: Early on, the only marketing you were doing were two things, PR and these continuous launch cycles. Brian: Yep. Kurt: So you're coming out. You end up, kinda trapped in a thing where you're always launching new products; and that could be good, or it can be a struggle. Brian: Yeah, it's a little of both. Kurt: It's a little of both. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: But it gives you a reason to keep reaching out to the press. And once, I think, you've gotten over that initial hurdle where they're interested in you, and you start developing relationships, it helps. Brian: Right. Kurt: But what do you think goes into, like, what makes a good press pitch? Cause this is so difficult. Brian: Yeah. This is a good question. This is a good question. Two things, be real. You know, don't sit there and try to ... Don't talk to a press person like you're not pitching them; you are pitching them. But, with that said, be brief. Okay. Brevity is the soul of wit, is a famous saying. I love that saying; it's very true. Be very brief in your communication. Send a big fat image to the press. Make sure you're taking some photography of your product that looks nice. Pay a photographer friend, if you're just starting out, to maybe give you a hand. Because good imagery goes a long ways in a writer's mind, because in the end, what they're looking for is, are you offering me something my readers would care about? Is this interesting to my readers? Cause if it's interesting, yeah I'll write about it. I'll mention it. I'll tweet about it. So, be brief, be very real, just be open. Say, "Hey we're just starting out. We're a family business." That's what we used to say. Our pitch was, "Hey this is Brian from Pad & Quill. We're a small family business here, in Minneapolis. We've got these beautiful new iPad cases we're just releasing. Here's some images. Thanks for any considerations, if you'd cover us." I still say that same email, what I just said to you just now, today. Kurt: Hmm. Brian: I still email that exact same way, today, when I'm emailing Wired. Kurt: I'm sure it works. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: I am on the receiving end of so many awful pitch emails, and outreach emails. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: That when one comes through where it's like, alright, it's not a giant wall of text. It's concise, it's to the point, it tells me what the advantage to me and my audience is, and it's not trying to trick me, or in any way mislead me. It's saying, hey, this is who I am, this is what I can offer you or your audience, and if you wanna know more information, here's next ups. Brian: Right. Kurt: And it's genuine and real. Brian: It is, and I think that, that has a huge benefit. Again, it's that whole idea of, are you serving people? So I come from the place of serving my customers. I serve my customers, then I'll be able to create an income for myself and my family. If I serve my vendors by creating a customer base, then my vendors will be loyal to me, and continue to make products on time; because they know that I have a loyal customer base. If I'm going to the press, am I operating from a place of service? How am I serving the press person? Not using, serving. There's a huge difference between those two. Because in serving someone, you're saying, how can I help your column to be more interesting? Would this be a way to do it? And the press person may say, "No, this is not of interest to me right now," and that's fine. But it's better to come from that perspective, more of humility, than to come from, "You know, you should cover this. We have a lot of customers. You should cover our products, they last forever." Kurt: (laughs) Brian: That doesn't go very far with the press. It's funny, I wanna finish that pivot because you brought up a company I wanna kinda tie you into. So, in 2012, we wanted to move to leather goods. I wanted to get into more leather cases. I wanted to make an iPhone case. We were making them, at the time, out of traditional book bindery material. They'd last, honestly, about nine months. We were charging, like, $50, and I'm thinking, that's too much money for somethin that falls apart. You know? How do we do this? So I started reaching out to leather manufacturing companies, and I came across a company called Saddleback Leather Company. Kurt: Very good. Brian: And I hit up their PR guy, and I said, "Hey, I wanna do manufacturing." And they said no. And on the third time, I kept coming back, they gave in. So, all of our, the majority, I shouldn't say all, but the majority of our leather goods are made by Saddleback's manufacturing. So, Dave Munson's a good friend of mine, that developed over the last four years from all this. So it's funny you brought up Saddleback, cause I was like, "Yep, that's our people." Kurt: Right. Brian: And that's the thing is that, what I knew I needed, I don't wanna make just a beautiful item, I have to make something that lasts and is durable. And we have been so thrilled to be working with Saddleback's team. They have a plant in Mexico that we use, and it's just phenomenal, they treat their people really well. I've been there, I've seen what they do. It's just a fantastic company to work with. Yeah, so that's who we use for all our leather. So that happened in 2012, and we launched this little leather wallet case with them; and it was partly made here, actually. Some of it was made here, some of it was made in Mexico. It was all brought to St. Paul and assembled, and that took off in 2012. We had a huge, huge sales cycle, our biggest year ever in 2012; at that time. Kurt: This is just a leather wallet? This was your- Brian: Yeah, it was basically, like, a leather wallet case with our wood frame. We had our unique wood frame attached to all leather, so it was really durable. And that started in 2012, it was featured in the New York Times in 2013. We had a big year in 2013 and 14 because of it. Yeah, iPhone cases were real good to us in the first three years. And then, in 2013, 14 is when we started developing our lifestyle line. That's when we started bringing in bags, we started creating ... Our first bag launch was in late 2013. Kurt: I'm admiring your Classic Journeyman leather wallet on your website. I gotta- Brian: Oh yeah. Kurt: Pick up one of these. Oh, and it even comes in different colors. Brian: Oh yeah. Kurt: Oh that chest- Brian: Yeah, if that Chestnut looks familiar, you've seen it at Saddleback Leather. And I have no problem promoting Saddleback, cause honestly, it's a great company. Dave and I are different designer styles, definitely, but he makes great bags. He makes great bags. Kurt: Yeah, I see right on here. It says, "30 day, money back promise, and 10 year leather guarantee." Brian: Yeah. Kurt: So tell me, was it scary to offer this kind of warranty? Brian: Yeah. Yeah, it always is. It was funny cause I had a guy from inc.com, I was doing an interview two years ago, and he asked me, "Why not lifetime warranty? Why 25?" And I thought, it was a good question, and I thought, because lifetime is so cliched; everyone says lifetime. But by putting 25 years, what I'm trying to say is, it's gonna last two and half decades. You're gonna get a lot of use out of it. And by the time they last two and half decades, you're probably gonna want another one anyhow. You know, we'll have new stuff by then. Kurt: Right. Brian: I think we put a year around it because it gives it a definitive, like, wow this is built to really last. Yes, it's built to last. Is it scary? Yeah, it is, because you do have things break. Hardware breaks, stitching fails; it happens from time to time. We repair it and take care of it, but yeah. Put it this way, I don't feel nervous about the quality we're putting out, though. Does that make sense? We got a lot of confidence behind what we're doing. Kurt: Right, if you're confident in it, it shouldn't be scary. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: If you believe in your product, you shouldn't be afraid of it. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: I mean, really, your only fear is will people abuse it? And you're always gonna get someone who does. Brian: Yeah. I mean, we started coming out with ... We found a book bindery material that lasts more than six months. We found one that lasts for years. Now, we put a one year warranty on it, but it'll last. We tell customers, it's a one year warranty, but you'll have it for years. Because we found this really tough buckram, that's really beautiful; it's used in the library of Congress. That's what we wrap our iPad cases in. Kurt: Hmm. Brian: So for us, it's all about the materials. Will they last? So I guess I'm ... No, to answer the question, I'm not too worried because we're trying to use the materials that will last. Kurt: Right. Brian: Yeah. Kurt: So you've got, you're in the process ... Well, probably by the time this airs, maybe, your Shopify store will have launched. Brian: Hard to say. Kurt: Hard to say. Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't. Brian: We actually see a delay coming because of, and you can edit this out if you want, or keep it in, I don't care. We may be unable to switch for at least a month or two because of a new iPad coming out in a few weeks. Kurt: (laughs) Cool. Brian: Because of that, we're gonna have so much lift on the site, we are very hesitant to shift platforms until the sales calm down. Kurt: So what platform are you on now? Brian: Magento. Kurt: And you're switching to Shopify Plus. Tell me- Brian: Thank God. Kurt: (laughs) Alright, so what happened? Why are you doing that? Brian: We were told early on, I had talked to a consulting group, and they said, "Oh, you should be on Magento, it's scalable, you can customize." All true, all true. I call Magento, kinda like, the PC, and Shopify is kinda like a Mac. Kurt: Hmm. Brian: That's how I see the two. I mean, you can do a lot of customization on Shopify, but it's very plug and play friendly. And for the entrepreneur who wants to start a company, the last thing you want, is to be figuring out how many hours you can pay a $150 an hour developer. Because if you have a Magento site, that's what you're doing all the time. You're paying a developer, constantly, for the smallest changes. Kurt: Right. Brian: Whereas, on Shopify, you have app store, you have plugins. We're, of course, with what we're doing, we're paying developers to help us with small projects here and there. But for the most part, it's really a lot easier to assemble a Shopify site. Magento is definitely customizable, but boy, you better have Magento Pro engineers, who are doing all your coding. They have to do all your maintenance, manage all your plugins. If you have conflicts with your plugins, that's up to you to figure it out. Shopify does all that for you. They do that thinking for you. Kurt: Right. Brian: That's something that is a huge benefit to us. We were debating Magento 2.0, last year, or Shopify, and came down on Shopify. Kurt: What was the straw that broke the camel's back, where you said, alright it's time to make the switch? Cause it is not an easy task to change platforms when you've got an existing, running business. Brian: It's not. I think, a couple things. One, we designed this site about three to four years ago, it was starting to feel three to four years old. The current site at padandquill.com if you go there right now, it's three to four years old design. And we're kinda, you know what, we need to make this a little cleaner. We've moved more into a luxury lifestyle brand. We wanna even display more large imagery about our lifestyle and what we do, and what we love. So, that was kinda the impetus to go, okay, what platform do we want it? We were thinking, originally, Magento 2.0, and then we started considering just how much technical work was required; and that's when we reached out to Shopify, and it was a pretty easy sale. Cause we were like, "Sounds good!" I mean, we'd pay a certain fee. We're on Shopify, what's it called? Shopify Plus? Kurt: Shopify Plus. Brian: Yeah, so we're paying a fee, but that's like, I already pay that fee with a developer right now to guarantee 99.9% uptime. Kurt: Right, yeah. Brian: I have to pay someone that right now. Kurt: Yeah. The thing you're trading ... It's interesting to sell, trying to explain the benefits and the value proposition of Shopify Plus to an existing Shopify store owner. They're like, "Alright." You have to figure out, like, what's the problem you're facing, and the Shopify Plus will solve it. Versus when someone is on Magento and they're looking at switching and you go, well you don't worry about, you know, for one flat fee, someone else is gonna manage and you never worry about hosting uptime, updates, security, all of that goes away, and support. Brian: Right. Kurt: And it just becomes a no brainer. Brian: And we've had security issues, just being open with you. We've had some security issues pop up because of outdated plugins. Kurt: Right, and those- Brian: And all kinds of stuff. And it was, like, an outdated plugin in a blog. Kurt: Yeah. Brian: On our Magento site. And someone had gotten in through the back door, and we caught it, fixed it. But it was one of these things where we're like, okay Shopify does all that for us. Kurt: Yeah. I have, literally, never seen a security vulnerability like that happen on Shopify. Whereas, previously we did a lot of WordPress development work, and that was like a constant, constant battle trying to keep those things locked down. Brian: Right. That's the last thing you need to be worrying about. Right? Kurt: Yeah, that's just such an unnecessary- Brian: I mean, that's the last thing. When you're designing products, you're trying to ... Cause what am I? I'm a designer. I'm a salesman. I'm a community developer. Like, we have a family of customers, that's where our focus needs to be. You know? Not on security issues on the site. Cause 98% of our revenue comes from eCommerce, our store. Kurt: Hmm. That's excellent. Brian: Yeah, we are not in wholesale. We're very much like Saddleback; we're eCommerce only. Kurt: So, we're coming to the end of our time together. You have had a long, successful, and wonderful journey over the last seven years. What are some of the things you've learned, that you would go back tell yourself when you were starting out? Brian: Oh, that's a great question. Did I tell you to ask me that question? That's a good one. Kurt: (laughs) No, no. You said what three things have you learned building a brand? Brian: Yeah. I would say this, if you have a product you're making that's starting to sell, and it's selling pretty well and you love making that product, and other products like it ... Whatever the field is, whatever you do, be very careful to not listen to consultants too much. There is wisdom in a host of counselors, there really is. But in the end, your passion has to be from you about what you wanna sell and bring to your customers. So be careful how much you listen to consult ... I did a lot of consultant listening early on, that I wouldn't do now. I would just be who I am. And the more that Kari and I have just been who we are as a couple in this business, the more success we've seen. The more we have followed what other people have told us, "Well, you're getting big now. You really need to think about strategic changes." Those are big disasters. Not disasters, that's a heavy word. Those have not been fruitful. So, be who you are. To the degree that you can do something you love, is a huge blessing, it really is. Not everyone gets that opportunity. Like I said, I was painting for 17 years. I was thankful I was able to bring in an income, but I didn't really enjoy painting. So, where you can match a passion or a desire to income, it's awesome. But it's not ... I don't think it's something you can always do. Does that make sense? Kurt: No, absolutely. Brian: I'm not trying to paint a rosy picture here, because it's pretty hard to do that. Kurt: I think it comes down to having an authentic voice, being true to yourself, being true to your brand. Brian: Yep. Kurt: The hard part is figuring out what that voice and brand are, and then letting that show through. Every time I've been scared to include more of my personality in my marketing and my work, it has always paid off. You know, people like having that authentic voice; and that's what part of the podcast is. Brian: Right. Kurt: I'm myself on the show, and then by the time someone says, "Hey Kurt, could we work together on this?" And we get on the phone, they go, "I feel like I already know you." Yeah, because the whole time, I've been myself, and that's so important. Brian: Right. That is so important. It is so important. Plus, you'll just be happier with yourself, at the end of the day. Cause you've been true to yourself, even if the business doesn't work out. You just don't guarantee that any of these businesses will succeed, right? Kurt: No, absolutely not. It's always a risk. Brian: But in the end of day, if they fail, were you yourself? Were you trying to be yourself? Yeah. Kurt: So, Brian- Brian: A good entrepreneur gets back up and says, "Okay, what can I do next?" Kurt: Yeah, you learn from it, you move on. Brian: Yep. Kurt: And try the next thing. Brian: Yep. Kurt: So Brian, where can people go to learn more about you? Brian: Yeah, so, the best place to learn about us is at www.padandquill.com. So that's our website, click on About Us if you wanna see our story in more detail; that's at the bottom of the page, About Us. You'll see a picture of Kari and I, and there's kind of our story, and kinda what drives us, our passion is very interesting as well. Also, coupon code. We have a coupon code for your listeners. Kurt: Wonderful. Brian: So bhappy. So the letter B, and then happy, H-A-P-P-Y, number 10, just one zero. That's 10% off anything, any product, including bags, leather bags as well. Kurt: And they are beautiful bags. 10%. Brian: Thank you! Thank you. Kurt: Alright, I wrote that down, I will include it in the show notes for folks. Brian: Cool. Kurt: Brian, thank you for everything. I appreciate it. Brian: Yeah, Kurt, thanks so much for having us on, and wish you best with your success on your podcast. Kurt: Thank you. That's all for us today at The Unofficial Shopify Podcast, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode. So please, join our Facebook group, The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Insiders, and let me know. Or sign up for my newsletter, kurtelster.com, shoot me an email. Either way, you'll be notified whenever a new episode goes live. And of course, if you'd like to work with me on your next Shopify project, you can apply at Ethercycle. Com. As always, thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week.

In April during our Unite coverage, I had dinner with Carson McComas, the owner of Shopify Plus agency Fuel Made, and we got to talking about our mutual love of marketing automation, and specifically Klaviyo. Now, if you’re not using Klaviyo, that’s okay. Don’t tune out, hear me out. Carson mentioned to me that they were having great success with Klaviyo to the point where they were pushing the limits of ecommerce email marketing automation. I immediately knew I had to have the rest of the conversation on this show. So I emailed Carson, and here’s what he said: “Would love have Lisa on with you. She's the bomb and knows email marketing and Klaviyo like a pro. She's generated some pretty incredible ROI for our clients like Beardbrand.” Lisa heads the email marketing department at Fuel Made, she specializes in Klaviyo Email Marketing, and she knows it like the back of her hand. She's looked through 100's of Klaviyo accounts, helping clients add tens of thousands of dollars in automated monthly revenue by setting up their triggered marketing. In this episode, LIsa Oberst is going to walk this through the very same Klaviyo email marketing automation campaigns she's used to add huge value to Shopify stores like BeardBrand. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Work with Kurt — Learn how: Why and how to start with email marketing What to do before starting with email marketing The three typical lead magnet formats Lisa uses, and how to brainstorm Lead Magnets that capture emails The safe & polite way to offer your opt-in The 3-step approach to pop-ups The basic segmentations you must have The 4-step email cart abandonment email that converts The uncommon email that converts at 9% for BeardBrand Lisa’s one-tip from Links Mentioned: Get Lisa’s Email Marketing Checklist! Klaviyo - Get your free account FuelMade BeardBrand Leno’s Garage HelloBar InkedGaming Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com Transcript Kurt Elster: Recording from Ethercycle headquarters outside Chicago. This is the unofficial Shopify Podcast and I’m your host Kurt Elster. You heard our wonderful Shopify Unite coverage, which was very exciting. One of our best, our most listened two weeks ever; 7,000 downloads something crazy. We’re going to crack a quarter million downloads. I’m really, really excited. I could not have done it without you guys. It’s amazing. It’s been a wild ride. Anyway continuing on that Unite coverage, I met with a lot of really interesting bright people there and that’s where I have been picking up some wonderful guests, was from networking at Unite. One of the first things I did, was go to a VIP dinner there and the gentleman sitting to my left at this dinner was none other than Carson McComas your Shopify Plus Agency Fuel Made. We got to talking pretty quickly about our mutual love of marketing automation and specifically Klaviyo. Now, if you’re not using Klaviyo, that’s okay, don’t turn out. Here me out here, because a lot of marketing automation principles will work across several different platforms and just that I like and endorse Klaviyo. Carson mentioned to me that they’re having great success with Klaviyo to the point where they are pushing the limits of ecommerce email marketing automation. At which point, I heard the needle scratch in my head and I immediately knew I had to hear the rest of this conversation on the show so that you could benefit from it. Of course, I want to learn too. I do most of my learning through this podcast truthfully. It’s great resource for me. I emailed Carson right away and I said, "Hey, come on the show. You’re a great person, I want to hear this." He replied, and I am quoting. He said, “I’d love to have Lisa on with you. She’s the bomb and those email marketing in Klaviyo like a pro, she’s generated some incredible return on investment for clients like Beardbrand. I could not have wrote a better intro myself. Now I know Lisa has female marketing department at Fuel Made. I’m told she specializes in Klaviyo email marketing and she knows it like the back of her hand. I believe it. She has looked through hundreds of Klaviyo accounts helping clients at tens of thousands of dollars in automated monthly revenue by signing up their triggered marketing, so Lisa, thank you for joining us. Lisa Oberst: Thank you, Kurt, great intro. I appreciate that. Kurt Elster: My pleasure. Tell me, give me briefly, give me your Klaviyo background, how did you get into this? Lisa Oberst: Sure, so about two years ago, a little bit more, I moved to L.A. and joined a three-person team that was building an agency specialized in Klaviyo. That’s really when I started my special connection to Klaviyo and since then I’ve been just needy in Klaviyo, so about a year ago, I joined Fuel Made and I’ve been developing our Klaviyo email marketing at Fuel Made. Kurt Elster: Very good. You’ve worked with some big brands including a well known Shopify rockstar who’s been on the show once before the Beardbrand guys were very cool, tremendous business and probably them evangelizing their experience is really contributed to the explosion of beard oil products, which is crazy to think about. Aside from that, so certainly you have street cred, but let’s dive into it. First, make the case for email marketing in general. I will play devil’s advocate. People go, "Email marketing is dead. It’s all about social media." Help me make the case for email marketing? Lisa Oberst: Sure, that shouldn’t be too hard. A lot of stores that I start a conversation with don’t have any email marketing in place. The most important thing, they don’t even have a need capture in place. They have no way of even starting a conversation with leads who come through their store. I know, Kurt, you know about this. It is so important to capture all of this traffic that you’re spending money on to get to your store and that is not going to convert. About 98% of visitors are not going to convert on a first purchase, because you need to have the opportunity to start up a conversation with these people before they leave your store. Kurt Elster: Yeah, as an example, let’s say I got the most optimized store in the world. I have some clients with really optimized stores. They do 5% conversion rate, that’s amazing. That means for every hundred people that go to that store 95 of them don’t buy anything, they just show up and bounce. Whereas, email marketing lets you turn anonymous visitors are more or less useless to you. Email marketing is going to let you provide value to them. Start building a relationship with them. Stay top of mind and lots of other fun things we will learn about. If you think email marketing is dead compared to social media, well, A; they’re not mutually exclusive. You could do both. You could certainly do both. Think about how many times a day you check your email. Unless you are unbelievably disciplined, you are probably checking it 10 times a day. That’s just the nature of who we are as a culture now. Don’t discount email marketing and love it. All right, now we’ve the case for it. I believe in it. What do you do first? How do we start this conversation? Lisa Oberst: Yeah, it’s all about the conversations. You want to start by thinking of who you’re talking to. As I said already, the first thing you want to do is having need capture in place. Before we even thinking about writing an email and sitting down to write content, you want to take a step back and think of who is your ideal customer. That’s the way we do it and I definitely recommend doing it, is having a picture of your ideal customer in your head to think of what is the offer that is going to get them so excited that they will not even think twice about giving you their email address. That is step one. That’s coming up with a great offer. Kurt Elster: Before we’ve even come up with, we’ve even touched email marketing, really, we’re thinking about the lead magnet. I’d like to think of the lead magnet as like, all right before- Lisa Oberst: Exactly. Kurt Elster: The email marketing at that point, if you think of it is like human to human is dating, by that point you have gotten the digits, you’re now entering the beginning stages of dating here with this customer before even then, you need a good pick up line. That’s your lead magnet. The first thing you think about is your lead magnet, but that something that make sense that is valuable to the customer, right? Lisa Oberst: Right, exactly. It’s going to vary. It’s going to vary a lot from one story to another. You mentioned Beardbrand for example. In Beardbrand’s case we are giving away information. It’s all education-based and it is working extremely well, but we were able to 4x; their lead capture rate by just giving away 10 tips on how to grow a beard. Kurt Elster: Is it like PDF or an email course? Lisa Oberst: It’s an email. It actually just one email. Yeah, it’s one email with 10 tips and then it’s beginning of a Beardbrand bootcamp. Kurt Elster: Okay. Lisa Oberst: Sorry, go ahead. Kurt Elster: No, so I love this idea. This is like the first chapter of my book Ecommerce Bootcamp we talk about … You could get the free sample for free if you guys want it, ecommerce-bootcamp.com. We talk about sales through education or for lack of a better term "saducation". That’s actually what you just described. You’re not giving away a coupon. You’re not giving away free product or sample. You’re just flat out providing people. You’re giving away value by educating them. Lisa Oberst: Exactly. In some cases, giving away a discount, giving away a product is going to be the most relevant offer. In others, it isn’t. It’s all about thinking the person that you’re starting the conversation with. In Beardbrand’s case, we’re talking to customers who are obsessed with their beard; they want to learn everything about it. It makes sense to grab them with this education-based marketing. We do that and then we feed them into a welcome sequence. This welcome sequence is the continuation of the conversation. We’re gradually taking the new visitor through a journey of learning about their beard. We’re telling them everything they’re wondering about their beard already. At the same time, we’re taking this so little opportunity to tell them about Beardbrand products, because, well, how to take good care of your beard, you might want to check this out as well. We’re not making it all about the product. We’re making it about value, about what the customer is interested in, does that make sense? Kurt Elster: No. Absolutely. Yeah. No one wants to be sold too. I don’t want to listen to a sales pitch. I don’t want to hear about your time share. I want value. I want you to give me a better life. As a man with a moderate/mild beard, if you give me some tips on, "What do I do with this thing so it doesn’t like scraggly and gross?" Honest to god, it’s a thing you have to learn. I found it like I did not figure out how to properly shape and shave my beard until this year when I saw a video from another beard Shopify store BEARD KING, sells a different product. Yeah, honest to god, it sounds silly, but when you think about it, now I learned that. Now almost every time I trim my beard I think about that piece of content and I think about BEARD KING. This connection has been made where I can’t help but think about this Shopify store and their product every Sunday when I’m trimming my beard in the mirror. You’re doing the same thing. Lisa Oberst: Exactly. We’re also training customers to expect high value from these emails. They’re going to start loving to open these emails, because they just know that it’s going to be full of exactly what they want to learn about. The beauty about this journey, this welcome sequence bootcamp is that we’re gradually taking them to a point where they’re going to be dying to buy from Beardbrand. Kurt Elster: I like it. Lisa Oberst: If they haven’t bought by the end of … it’s a five-day bootcamp, and they haven’t bought by the end, well, we’re actually telling them, "Here’s a free gift, because you deserve it. You have made it through the bootcamp. Get this gift to become part of the club officially." Yeah, there’s all the psychology that goes into it, but we’re honestly using a elements of scarcity. We’re using customer reviews. Social- Kurt Elster: Social. Lisa Oberst: Exactly, social proof. All of that, packaged in a way that looks like it’s all about the customer. Kurt Elster: Right, so as long as you’re providing them more value than you’re asking for, it no longer feels sleazy. It doesn’t feel like a sales pitch. You could still slide in those elements that act as psychological triggers to sales like scarcity, urgency and social proof. You don’t have to feel guilty about it. Ultimately, if you believe in your product, you shouldn’t feel guilty about trying to sell it to people. I’ve seen that. If you’re confident and if you believe in it, it’s probably your duty to educate people about why they may want your product in their life. Okay, so some knee grade, basic tips here. How do I come up with a lead magnet idea? Implementing a lead magnet, not terribly tough technically, the hardest part is coming up with the idea. Do you have someone like go-to formats, ideas or methods for brainstorming these things? Lisa Oberst: Yes, there are three typical ways to go, either education-based or discount-based or product offered. Before even thinking about that, what I typically do is, again, I take a step back and I think of who I am speaking to. What is going to be the key offer that’s going to get them to take? For example, I have another client where they were offering 10% off. Their audience are gamers. They sell custom gaming accessories. Their offer was 10% off. We switched that over to giving away a card, a token that is worth $1 in the store that probably cost about 10¢ to make, just about 10x to your capture rate. Exactly, much, much higher dollar value with the 10% off, but so much more exciting to think of the token. I like to go as much as possible to think of something tangible. Think of something in your store that’s tangible either education or a product. Imagine, your customer see that and using it. Is that going to be exciting to them? That’s really where I’d like to start when coming up with these offers. Kurt Elster: I like it. Lisa Oberst: The more tangible the better, typically. Again, if I have another client who is medical supply company and in their case 10% off was right on. You have to think of your audience. You have to think of what, where they’re coming from. Kurt Elster: Even if you’re like I really don’t know. Also if you go, "I really don’t know what they want." Just experiment, it is not hard to change these things and switch them up and try them. Lisa Oberst: Exactly. Kurt Elster: Yeah, okay. Offering, probably like the most basic, the go-to. You don’t have to think about it too hard. It’s just, "Hey, here’s a 10% off coupon for signing up, right? That one’s easy. Lisa Oberst: Exactly, yeah. Kurt Elster: You don’t even need marketing automation to do that one. You stick the coupon code in your welcome email or whatever it is regardless of platform. There you go. It’s like these are all tips that work independently with Klaviyo. You can do them on Klaviyo, I wish you would, but you don’t have to. What else? My gosh, I lost my train of thought. Yeah, I’m talking about the different lead magnets that work. Yeah, then from there, you know you could combine that with education. You could follow up with email course. I love email courses just because you’re in their inbox everyday for a week or like in your case the Beardbrand bootcamp, which is a nice alliteration to it. It helps keep you top of mind. It gets you in the earn box every week. I love what you said, "Hey, you train them to expect value." That’s how you keep those open rates up. As long as that first email delivers on the promise of the lead magnet and it better deliver on the promise of that opt-in form and then some. Then people go, “Okay, these are providing me value.” They’re going to see them and they’re going to be willing to keep opening them and that’s what’s going to help keep open rates up naturally with great tip. Then the other one, format we have recently seen work well is a regular giveaway, because like a monthly or weekly giveaway. We did it on Jay Leno’s Store, lenosgarage.com. That one worked pretty well. We haven’t tried anything else. There’s no comparison. All right, so my next question on these lead magnets. We haven’t even got in the marketing automation. Lisa Oberst: I know. Kurt Elster: Mostly, we’re just talking about the opt-in form lead magnet and what you give them. Okay. We’ll move on, one last question, how should I set up the opt-in form? I’ve seen them in the footer, I’ve seen them as exit-intent, as popup. At Leno store, we do it as a promo bar and a landing page. There’s at least five different ways I could format a lead magnet. You can even do Facebook lead ads. What’s the right way or is it all of them. What do I do? Lisa Oberst: Well, the same answer that goes for all of this. There is no one right way. Kurt Elster: Right, it depends, is the right answer. Lisa Oberst: It depends, right. For most cases, we like to go with an exit-intent popup. They’re great because they don’t interrupt the flow of your customer. If someone comes to your store, they intend to buy … you really do not want to be throwing a popup in their face. First of all, it’s disrespectful. They are here. They’re trying to get something done. Second of all, you’re giving away margin. If you’re giving away a discount and someone comes to your store with the intention to buy, you do not need to be sending them this discount code. That’s why, I definitely lean on the side of exit-intent popups. Now in Beardbrand’s case, we don’t do that. Instead, we want to go even less aggressive and have a hello bar-type banner at the top. It depends. Beardbrand has a very specific way of communicating. If they did not want to do a popup, fine, a banner works fine as well. The conversion rates are similar. It’s going to depend on how aggressive you want to go. If you want to go all out, then you could go for a Mat, a type of Sumo Mat. Kurt Elster: I hate those things. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, my problem with those is that they tend to trigger every single time you go to the store. They don’t give you time to breathe. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but it does work wonders in some cases. Kurt Elster: I agree with you. I love the exit-intent. It’s the safe, polite way to do it. Then if someone who’s on the site to shop, you will never going to see your exit-intent popup form. If they’re there, they browsed and then they’re leaving. Okay, as a safety net, we have our last stage. Hey, let me give you something for free, please. All you’re going to do is give me your email address, which is way harder than it sounds. People don’t want to give up their email address, I don’t blame them. You need to be finding something of value. Lisa Oberst: Okay. Exactly. Kurt Elster: Go ahead. Lisa Oberst: What’s crazy with those exit-intent is that they’re capturing customers who are leaving the store. We’re still able with the welcome sequence to convert them at about eight to 10%, so that is huge. Kurt Elster: Yeah, you’re right. In theory, you’re capturing the least engaged segment of the audience and still converting one out of 10 of them which is just awesome. Okay, then my last question on exit-intent popups. The work on desktop, what do you do on mobile? There’s no mouse. The exit-intent popup is just watching for the mouse to go toward the tab, right? Lisa Oberst: Exactly. Kurt Elster: Mobile, their touch devices, there’s no- Lisa Oberst: It doesn’t work. Yeah, so that’s a problem. The way we go around it is we trigger the popup with scrolling. One way of knowing that someone is exiting the page on mobile is that they’re scrolling quickly towards the top and so that’s one way of knowing that they’re leaving. Another alternative is just to turn it into a timed popup. Kurt Elster: Okay. Lisa Oberst: Depending on the audience. Kurt Elster: Yeah, I typically done it as … I use OptiMonk and you can use OptiMonk just you know, whatever to do your popup forms or if you’re fancy and you have a front-end developer, there’s a free open source JavaScript called ouibounce, O-U-I bounce that I like. Lisa Oberst: Yeah. Kurt Elster: Yeah, mobile I was just doing the timer. I did not know about the scrolling trick that’s very clever. I have to explore that more. Lisa Oberst: Yes and we build our own custom popups just so we have all that flexibility. One last tip about popups, this is, again, something that we’re able to do because we build them in-house, but I love building the popup in a three-step manner. This all comes back to value, value, value first. On our popups, we don’t even show you the email field on the first screen. It’s only a question. For example, when we’re giving away those token cards, the first screen that’s going to show up is which one of these two token cards would you like for free? There’s nothing indicating that you’re going to have to do anything. It’s all value. Then once the reader has made that micro-commitment of picking one of the two cards the chances of them going forward with giving away their email address are increased. This is a psychologic triggers that we use in this set up. Kurt Elster: I love it. Lisa Oberst: Another little tip there. Kurt Elster: Yeah, it is rather than ask for, "Hey, buy my stuff, give me your credit card details." That’s a huge ask. You go with a series of micro-commitments that helps you build that relationship and build trust. The simplest one is, “Hey, did you want this free thing?” “Okay, yeah, the answer is yes, I do.” Lisa Oberst: Okay. Kurt Elster: You step them through it. Lisa Oberst: Once they said that, then they’re going to focus all through. Kurt Elster: Can you share with us the store that uses the coin thing, this three-step process? Lisa Oberst: Sure, instagaming. Kurt Elster: Got it. Lisa Oberst: We actually also use that on Beardbrand. Kurt Elster: Okay, cool. I’m going to include all of these in the show notes, so people could check it out. I’m sorry if your opt-in rates go up and your conversion rates go down. Lisa Oberst: Conversions. Kurt Elster: Sorry. Lisa Oberst: At least, we’re aware. Kurt Elster: If you check these out, please go, just by something small so she has something to do with that. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, I was going to say it. These products are amazing. You’re going to love them. Kurt Elster: Yeah. Okay. In this sense, you’ve got into one of the early, one of the nice tenets about email marketing automation. You’re only showing the sequence to a particular kind person. You’re not just blasting the same message to everyone all the time. This is segmentation. Talk to me about segmentation? Lisa Oberst: Yes, the basic segmentation that you must put in place is what we just talked about with welcome sequence. This is someone who comes to your store. If they’re not buying, you put them to through this welcome sequence. Then on top of that, abandon carts, so this is someone who went as far as putting a product in their cart, but didn’t buy, so that’s another sequence. Then on top of that is the post-purchase sequence. Those are really the core foundation of automation; post-purchase, abandon car, welcome sequences. Kurt Elster: All right. Go ahead. Lisa Oberst: Go for it. No, go for it. Kurt Elster: All right, so I love the … the welcome sequence is clever and each segment, each sequence has a goal. The sequence is to take these very fairly cold prospects and turn them into customers through a longer effort in high touch engagement process that’s fully automated, which is very cool. That’s our first one. That’s with our exit-intent popup. Cart abandonment, they added the cart and left the store so now we’re going to follow up with them. I have a format I follow that I like, what is yours? I will share you mine, if you show me yours. Lisa Oberst: Okay, well, mine is typically built with four emails. I like to go with four emails to present about across five, six days, it depends. First, goes out two hours an abandoned cart you want to hit. The idea is not to be creepy and not to be too intrusive, but to still potential hit them with an email before they’ve left their computer. Kurt Elster: Strike while the iron is hot. Lisa Oberst: Exactly. This email is always, always customer support-centered. It’s just being helpful, because most of these customers who place an item in their cart, then abandoned necessarily because they didn’t want to buy. They abandoned maybe because they got distracted and maybe, I don’t know, someone got home and they just forgot that they were in the middle of placing an order. The idea of this first email is just to remind them, also, at the same time, you’re reminding them, but you’re also discovering if they had an issue, if they had a question. You can discover some really interesting information about your cart by just asking the customer if, maybe, they weren’t able to put their order through. That’s signal number one. Kurt Elster: Right. Lisa Oberst: It gets a lot of answers, a lot of customers think that someone sat down and wrote that email specifically for them and they really appreciate it. Kurt Elster: This sounds like the first email will be very plain texted. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, it is, a 100%. Kurt Elster: Okay. It’s interesting that we separately discovered and came about the same approach. What I was doing was after four hours. Pretty similar, then I thought strike while the iron is hot, I would send them an email even if this was just basic Shopify cart abandonment an email or they only send one or it fits in something fancier like Klaviyo or Conversio. I would send them off an email. Its plain texted and says, "Hey, I’m the owner of whatever, and I saw you abandon your cart. I just want to make sure you didn’t have any issues or if you have any questions just hit reply and let me know how I can help." It was just a way to find did they have a customer service issue, can we be proactive, can we find objections? Ultimately, most of the time, they got distracted, they forgot or they just said, "Yeah, not quite comfortable yet." Getting that personal touch email where it’s proactive on customer service that’s very positive. That’s going to help increase trust. Okay, cool. We came up with the same thing separately. I like it. Lisa Oberst: Yeah. One little thing I like to do with that email is it’s plain text, but I like to add a head shot in the signature just to give it even more of an element of real human interaction. Kurt Elster: That’s a good idea. I like it. Next? Lisa Oberst: Number two. Number two, definitely, you want to show the cart content. At that point, a primary goes out about a day later. You want to show the content to get them out and excited about the products they were looking at. Sometimes, you can include a discount already in that second email. I try to keep it for the third, fourth. It depends on the brand. It depends on how much they want to send out discount codes or not, but that’s an option. Kurt Elster: I like it. Okay. Yeah, typically, my second one I just go, "Good things come to those who wait, here’s 10% off your purchase and here’s your cart." Something like that after 24 hours. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, yes. The next one can go out after 48 and then that’s when you want to really start pushing, putting some discount code in. They definitely have an element of scarcity in saying, "Well, wait, we can’t keep these items forever, maybe make it fun." Definitely, for example, in gaining, they have a lot of fun on their store that we can reuse, so we do that, which is make it entertaining. I find that making emails fun, entertaining, definitely have higher return. Kurt Elster: Yeah. Why not make it fun. Everything doesn’t have to be super professional and serious. A great example of this that I always point to, super successful Shopify store Violent Little Machine Shop, violentlittle.com. All of their descriptions are like its all gallows humor. They’re swearing same with their emails. It talks about like writing them drunk. The store does phenomenally well. It’s just such a great business because their audience likes that. It’s authentic and engaging and it’s rough and tumble and it works for them. Be fun, be yourself. I think have an authentic voice. Lisa Oberst: Yeah. Kurt Elster: That helps a lot. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, if you can afford to be fun, maybe you can say someone is going to run off with your cart content or just come up with some entertaining way, excuses for being in their inbox. Kurt Elster: All right, the third segmentation then is the post-purchase sale. We finally, we went through these two. Lisa Oberst: Yes. Kurt Elster: In theory, people who’ve gotten these two email sequences. They’ve got them to purchase, they’ve got a lot of emails, they’re really building a relationship here, but the really successful stores don’t just stop there. Lisa Oberst: Nope. Kurt Elster: At this point, we have optimized the top of our funnel, we validate our business, but how do we extend customer lifetime value both ways and I’m sure you have ideas? Lisa Oberst: Yes, there’s so much that you can do with post-purchase email. One first tip I want to point out, especially for Shopify Plus stores. It’s sending your order confirmation through Klaviyo. This just heads up, it isn’t just the one click setup. It’s a little complicated because you have to deal with Klaviyo’s tags and put the email together. It enables you to include a product feed. The product feed is huge. It’s going to show the specific products that a customer has highest chance of it wanting. I like to do the order confirmation, because order confirmation emails have the highest open rates. They have about 70% open rate on average. If you can show more products in that email, I typically, actually for Beardbrand the order confirmation email is converting at .8%, .9%, that’s sending to every single customer. It’s a little bit counterintuitive, but customers are super excited after making an order and it’s a really good time to be actually showing them more products. Kurt Elster: I have loved this feature in Conversio which was normally called Receiptful. That’s like how they started, was just this one single idea in automation. Just, hey, show them upsell products in the email receipt. I had no idea you could make this work in Klaviyo. I am so excited. Lisa Oberst: I saw them. Yes. No. As I said, it is not a one click setup, but it will figure it out. Kurt Elster: I hope someone from Klaviyo is listening to this. This needs to be added in one of like the defaults of just inflows. My gosh, that’s fantastic. Lisa Oberst: I will send them an email. Kurt Elster: Please do. One of the issues you run into here, when you do this one is there’s no way to turn off the order confirmation email from Shopify itself. You got to replace it with something, what do you stick in there? Lisa Oberst: No, you can with Shopify Plus. Kurt Elster: Okay. Lisa Oberst: You just have to reach out to them. Kurt Elster: Very good. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, it’s a little sneaky. Kurt Elster: Instead of Shopify, what we typically do is make that one just like a personal plain text thank you from the owners. It’s like, "Hey, you placed for an order, thank you for your purchase. Your receipt’s on its way in the second email is the way around it. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, that’s perfect. Kurt Elster: Cool. Lisa Oberst: That’s perfect. After that, definitely, you want to send a thank you email and those, you might be surprised again, but those convert at the same rate about as the order confirmation email. Include another product feed, why not? Kurt Elster: I love the product feed, just tell me what that is in Klaviyo, they’ve got this drag and drop editor, it’s very cool. You could drag product feed in and it gives you latest products, newest products, but most likely to buy. Something of that effect give you a couple of different feeds or you can make different feeds. Lisa Oberst: Make them, yeah. Kurt Elster: Yeah. The one you want is the one that people chose them products they’re most likely to buy because it’s got a JavaScript widget in your theme so it could track what people actually looked at. I always suspected what it’s showing them. The intersection of bestsellers and products they looked at but didn’t buy. Lisa Oberst: The way it works, if you set it up with the waiting. The way it works is it looks like what products the customer bought. If they bought A and B products and another customer ended up, pass about A and B and C, they’re going show them C. Kurt Elster: Okay, so it’s based on historical purchase data from other customers? Lisa Oberst: Exactly. Kurt Elster: Very clever, it’s personalized recommendations. You don’t have to do anything. It does it automatically, dynamically, super cool. Lisa Oberst: That’s a main great feature. Thank you emails, big ones too. Now something that we do for Beardbrand, for example is for every single product in the store, we have a special, we have a particular email that goes out. Let’s say someone buys beard oil. We’re going to send them a post-purchase email that teaches them exactly how to use their beard oil. If they bought a balm, we’re going to send them an email that shows them how to use their balm. That’s taking it to another level. Kurt Elster: What you’re doing, it’s very clever. You’re going to ensure, you’re going to help keep the excited, because I’m assuming they get this between the time they purchased and before they get the product, right? Lisa Oberst: Yes. Kurt Elster: Okay. It shows up. It helps keep that excitement going, but you’re also going to preempt like you already know what customers objections are, issues. It’s going to preempt those things and really radically increase customer satisfaction, because when that product shows up, they already know, "Hey, this is how I apply beard oil." The first time I bought beard oil, it showed up and it occurred to me, “Wait a second, I don’t know how you actually apply this or how much.” Lisa Oberst: What do I do with this? Kurt Elster: I had to go find a video that explained it. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, exactly. If you know that your customers are going to be wondering, "Okay, well, what do I do with this when I receive it?" Send them the email with instructions. Very, very helpful. It helps establish that relationship to another level again, just increasing customer lifetime value, letting them know that you care enough to send them all that information. Kurt Elster: That one, that’s huge. It may not seem obvious as to like, "This is going to sell them something. No, it doesn’t need to; this is an investment in that relationship." You’re going to have happier customers, you’re going to have less customer support request and it’s going to them more likely to buy and recommend your products. Lisa Oberst: Exactly. It’s an excuse just to be in their inbox. Kurt Elster: Right. Lisa Oberst: Again, it’s an excuse. Well, before sending them another sales email, you’re sending them a lot of value. Next time they get an email they’re going to open it again expecting value. Kurt Elster: What do I do? All right, we have now set them up where we know they’re going to open up that next email. What is the next email? Lisa Oberst: That’s when you want to study a bit of your customer lifetime value. You want to know; what is the typical journey of one of your customers, do they buy a second time after one month, after three months, what’s normal? Let’s take Beardbrand as an example; typically, a great customer will buy maybe every month. What we want to do after a month after their first order, we want us to be in their inbox. We want to show them, okay, well, you’re probably running out of the product so here you can click this one click button and add the product again to your cart. That’s one thing that we do. Kurt Elster: Swell. Lisa Oberst: It takes a little bit of coding, but it’s possible to set this up so that you show them their past order. You have a "add to cart" button right next to the product so that all they have to do is click that button and refill. Kurt Elster: Very good. There’s another way to do it, I forgot what it’s called, but you could build a link that when clicked on sends everyone to the checkout process with a particular item or items already in their cart. This is a clever idea you have. In their case, they have a consumable good. We know they use it. It maybe takes 30 days to use it up since it’s a consumable. Then you follow up with them, "Hey, are you running low, don’t run out, order now, order again. Here you go." Just make it so branded easy, remove all the friction for them. It’s clever. What else can we do? Lisa Oberst: What we do in some cases if they didn’t buy after one month? Well, shoot them another email after three months. Maybe that they hadn’t run out yet, maybe they just needed a bit more time before buying again. Send them another different email basically saying that same idea a little bit later. Then if they really haven’t purchased in a while, you want to win them back. To do that, you can get creative, send win-back emails that, I don’t know, a bit of emotion, be clever, be fun and give them a reason to come back. Maybe a discount, maybe a free product, those work pretty well in win-back emails. Kurt Elster: Let’s say after, for most brands, it’s going to be somewhere in between 50 and 80 days or if they don’t make another purchase, we can really think of them as lost customer. They’re a one time purchase, now they’re gone. Maybe they’ll be back, but maybe not. What we could do is send these win-back emails, where we try before they turn out, before they totally forget about us. Great, make another purchase, come back, we love you, that kind of thing. All right. Lisa Oberst: Exactly. Kurt Elster: All of those things. Those are three workflows or three colors for email marketing automation. Really tremendous, you’ve absolutely opened the kimono on this stuff. As someone who lives, eats, breathes Klaviyo, do have any Klaviyo pro-tips for working with the platform? Lisa Oberst: Actually, you’ve mentioned some of them already. Definitely using the product feed, I know you love it. I love it, it’s amazing. Some other tips, so you definitely can setup. It takes a little bit of coding, but there’s a way of setting it up your store, so that a customer who clicks through from your Klaviyo email has his discount code applied automatically to the store. Kurt Elster: I didn’t know that. Lisa Oberst: Again, that does take a little bit of coding, but with Shopify Plus, Shopify also, that’s possible. That really makes for a smooth process. Another thing that’s possible by tweaking the Shopify Plus cart a little bit is trading a discount code that will automatically add the free gift to the cart. Kurt Elster: That one for just Shopify Plus only, right? Lisa Oberst: That is Shopify Plus only, yes. Kurt Elster: Yeah, we did that. Well, there’s an app that will do it called like Secomapp Free Gifts, but it’s not the same. It’s not quite the same as the smooth frictionless version that you can get with a little bit of JavaScript plus Shopify scripts. Lisa Oberst: Yeah, exactly. Actually, big news, Klaviyo just announced that Shopify stores will be able to have custom coupons sent out through Klaviyo as of now, so that’s really exciting. Kurt Elster: Yes. Lisa Oberst: It used to be only for Shopify Plus. Kurt Elster: Yeah, so what it would do is Klaviyo in Shopify Plus only could dynamically generate coupon codes. When you sense somewhat like, you get the abandoned cart email go say, "You get 10% off, order now!" Then the next you go, “It’s going to expire.” Well, really like you were lying essentially, because everyone got the same coupon code. Lisa Oberst: Yeah. Kurt Elster: Even if you limit to them with one email and then those end up on coupon code sites. It was like the good outweigh the bad, but it wasn’t perfect. Versus now, if you are in Shopify Plus, Klaviyo could dynamically generate a one time use coupon code for each individual person, which was very cool. It worked well, I liked it. Now, as of yesterday, well, as of May 16th, we see that that works on all Shopify stores even Klaviyo, very cool. Last question, we’re running- Lisa Oberst: Go for it. Kurt Elster: When you’ve gone long, because this has been tremendously valuable. Last question, what’s your favorite part about what you do? Lisa Oberst: You might have noticed I have a bit of an accent. That’s because I’m French, I’m American, I grew up in Belgium. I’ve traveled a lot. I have a lot of different experiences to pull from whenever I start working for a new client. I love that aspect of the job. I love diving into these new personalities that I have to embody to be able to rewrite the best copy for each client. One thing, I didn’t mention, but every single time I write for one customer, I have someone that I think about. For example, the in gaming sales, game accessories, I’m not a gamer, but I do have friends who are and every time I sit down to write, I start the email, "Hello, Jeremy." I really, really dive into that personality. I think that that’s amazing. I get to learn a ton. I have learned so much about growing a beard. I really wish I could grow a beard right now. Kurt Elster: I love that idea. Yeah, when I was trying to unlearn like the awful academic business pros that have beaten into me in school, I had to unlearn that stuff write natural sounding, authentic sounding emails. One of the early tricks that helped was picturing the one person that you’re answering. Writing to a single individual and that’s going to help you kind of do some code changing, some code switching and writing their email. I love that you’re actually titling it when you right the first draft, of course is like, hey, and that person’s name. That’s going to help you keep you on track as opposed to writing those gross emails that are like, "hello newsletter." You keep in touch one-on-one. Lisa Oberst: Hello world. Exactly. Yeah. Kurt Elster: Very good. Lisa, where can people go to learn more about you? Lisa Oberst: They can go to fuelmade.com and we’ve actually put together a free checklist, email checklist that you can access at fuelmade.com/usp for unofficial Shopify podcast. This checklist, it gives a lot of tips on how to think through every aspect of your emails before sending them out. Lots of best practices and it’s just a great way to make sure that you don’t forget a key element of the email before sending it. Great value, definitely go get it. It’s at fuelmade.com/usp. Kurt Elster: I will include the link to fuelmade.com/usp. Download the checklist; I’m sure it is greatly valuable. You’re talking to a Klaviyo pro here. What was going to say? Lisa, thank you so much for doing this. I greatly appreciate it. Lisa Oberst: Thank you, Kurt. This was great. Kurt Elster: I have learned a lot. To our listeners, thanks for your time and attention, your wonderful reviews on iTunes, your kind words et cetera. However, you found this, find out more about it and get those show notes at unofficialshopifypodcast.com. If you don’t want to miss another episode, you want to be notified, sign up for my newsletter, kurtelster.com. Shoot you an email whenever we post a new episode. Of course, if you like to work with me in your next project, you can apply at ethercycle.com. Thanks everybody and we’ll be back next week.

Your pets are a part of your family, but when the adults go to work, and the kids are at school, your pets are left home alone. So what happens to them if something happens to you? That's what a 21-year-old AJ Montoya wondered. So one day he decided to solve the problem by designing a credit card sized card with his emergency contact info. That way if he were ever in an accident, sick or injured and unable to return home to care for his pet, the card would be seen in his wallet, alerting those around you that your pet needs care. Now AJ sells that same card (and more) on thepetcarecard.com– and business is good. Quit your job good. Hire your family to work for you good. And on The Unofficial Shopify Podcast, he's going to tell us how it happened, and what you should do differently. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Learn how: He looked to his own life to find a pain to solve They validated without having a product They got their initial sales He made the switch from side hustle to full-time Shopify storeowners He used automation to free up his time And the things he wished he could change Links: PetCareCard GraphicRiver AJ’s Facebook Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Part three of our special Shopify Unite edition of the show in which we cover many of the announcements from Unite last week by interviewing the attendees on-site. On April 20th, a thousand Shopify Partners from around the world gathered together in San Francisco for our 2nd annual Unite conference: a two-day event to discuss all things Shopify, commerce, and technology. And they announced a ton of stuff. There was something for everyone announced: new payment options, Shopify Plus features, app APIs, new theme toolkits, and more. Rather than have me tell you about it, we put together lightning interviews with twenty attendees (including Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein) to find out what's most impactful coming out of Unite. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Links: Everything We Announced at Unite 2017 (And What It Means For Merchants) Shopify Unite 2017 Youtube playlist Accelerate Checkout With Shopify Pay Introducing Launchpad: Time Saving Automation for Major Events, Campaigns, and Sales Introducing Wholesale: Your Next High Growth Sales Channel Meet the New Chip & Swipe Reader for Shopify POS Custom Storefronts - Building Commerce Anywhere Introducing: Mobile Store Builder - The Fastest (& Smartest) Way to Build a Native Mobile App Introducing Flow, Payment Scripts & Shopify Pay Building for Developer Success with Shopify's Newest APIs Recent Updates to Shopify's Online Store and Liquid Introducing Slate: A Shopify Theme Scaffold and Command Line Tool Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Part two of our special Shopify Unite edition of the show in which we cover many of the announcements from Unite last week by interviewing the attendees on-site. On April 20th, a thousand Shopify Partners from around the world gathered together in San Francisco for our 2nd annual Unite conference: a two-day event to discuss all things Shopify, commerce, and technology. And they announced a ton of stuff. There was something for everyone announced: new payment options, Shopify Plus features, app APIs, new theme toolkits, and more. Rather than have me tell you about it, we put together lightning interviews with twenty attendees (including Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein) to find out what's most impactful coming out of Unite. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Links: Everything We Announced at Unite 2017 (And What It Means For Merchants) Shopify Unite 2017 Youtube playlist Accelerate Checkout With Shopify Pay Introducing Launchpad: Time Saving Automation for Major Events, Campaigns, and Sales Introducing Wholesale: Your Next High Growth Sales Channel Meet the New Chip & Swipe Reader for Shopify POS Custom Storefronts - Building Commerce Anywhere Introducing: Mobile Store Builder - The Fastest (& Smartest) Way to Build a Native Mobile App Introducing Flow, Payment Scripts & Shopify Pay Building for Developer Success with Shopify's Newest APIs Recent Updates to Shopify's Online Store and Liquid Introducing Slate: A Shopify Theme Scaffold and Command Line Tool Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

This week we have a special Shopify Unite edition of the show in which we cover many of the announcements from Unite last week by interviewing the attendees on-site. On April 20th, a thousand Shopify Partners from around the world gathered together in San Francisco for our 2nd annual Unite conference: a two-day event to discuss all things Shopify, commerce, and technology. And they announced a ton of stuff. There was something for everyone announced: new payment options, Shopify Plus features, app APIs, new theme toolkits, and more. Rather than have me tell you about it, we put together lightning interviews with twenty attendees (including Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein) to find out what's most impactful coming out of Unite. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via Email Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Links: Everything We Announced at Unite 2017 (And What It Means For Merchants) Shopify Unite 2017 Youtube playlist Accelerate Checkout With Shopify Pay Introducing Launchpad: Time Saving Automation for Major Events, Campaigns, and Sales Introducing Wholesale: Your Next High Growth Sales Channel Meet the New Chip & Swipe Reader for Shopify POS Custom Storefronts - Building Commerce Anywhere Introducing: Mobile Store Builder - The Fastest (& Smartest) Way to Build a Native Mobile App Introducing Flow, Payment Scripts & Shopify Pay Building for Developer Success with Shopify's Newest APIs Recent Updates to Shopify's Online Store and Liquid Introducing Slate: A Shopify Theme Scaffold and Command Line Tool Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Many Shopify store owners are bootstrapped solopreneurs, which means you’re handling everything in your business. As your business grows, you may want to delegate tasks, to give yourself free time to do focus on more valuable things, or maybe you just want to work less. The first time you hire is the scariest. Where do you start? How do you train people? How should you hire? To answer these questions and more, we’re joined by Connor Gillivan, author of Free Up Your Business: 50 Secrets to Bootstrap Million Dollar Companies, founder of FreeeUp.com, and a veteran ecommerce entrepreneur who has sold over $20 million on Amazon. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Learn: How Connor went from college dorm room entrepreneur to selling over $20 million on Amazon How he took that experience and leveraged it to build FreeeUp, online hiring marketplace for eCommerce business owners, with over 1,000 customers. How Shopify store owners can utilize remote freelancers to stay focused on what they do best and make their operations more efficient. Connor’s process for how store owners can remove tasks from their plate, surround themselves with experts, and keep pushing the company forward with their expertise. And why it’s okay to take a trial and error approach Links: FreeeUp.com - company Connor's Personal Blog Free Up Your Business: 50 Secrets to Bootstrap Million Dollar Companies Connor's Facebook Connor's Twitter Connor's LinkedIn Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Logan Ketterling is a 20-year-old entrepreneur from Minneapolis who combined his passions for fashion, storytelling, and online marketing to launch a successful jewelry business. Logan's brand Urbain creates unique pieces from places of significance such as historic sites or local hotspots. Since the launch, Logan has worked hard to get awareness about his unique products. Using Facebook Ads, Logan has built profitable funnels to get a customer aware, engaged, and active in his business. Some of these funnels returning 2 to 3 times ROI using unique audiences and tons of research to build an onramp to a new brand in a crowded space. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Learn: The exact steps in his Facebook sales funnel How Logan targets prospective customers His long-term wins with Facebook advertising The mistakes he would have changed in his journey Links: Urbain Message Logan on LinkedIn Logan's 'About' Landing Page Zipify Pages Free Facebook Ads Funnel FREE Consultation with Logan Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Free traffic from Google through SEO can be a pillar of success for your Shopify store. Unfortunately, SEO advice is often general, not actionable, and sometimes wrong. As a result, it's tough to find 'real' experts. Today we're talking with John Doherty about ecommerce-specific tactics to grow your organic search traffic. John is the founder of GetCredo.com, a company that connects great companies with the right marketing expert for their needs. He's also a freelance digital marketing consultant. In the past, he ran growth marketing at Trulia Rentals, marketing for HotPads.com, and worked for SEO agency Distilled in New York City. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Learn: The highest-leverage things ecommerce stores can do for SEO (that many get wrong) How long does SEO take to work? The right way to think about SEO when getting a new project/site off the ground How to compete against the big players like Amazon and Zappos When you should hire out for SEO? Links: Ecommerce Marketing Guide GetCredo.com for Shopify How long does SEO take to work? KeywordTool.io Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Today on The Unofficial Shopify Podcast we’re talking about migrating to Shopify If you already have an ecommerce website or are using a different ecommerce platform for your business, it is important to make sure that your product information and other content make it over to Shopify. Ross Beyeler, a Shopify Plus expert, specializes in migrations, and joins us today to walk us through what a successful migration looks like. Ross is the Founder and CEO of Growth Spark, an agency that provides strategy, design and development services to e-commerce companies. Since its founding in 2008, Growth Spark has completed over 350 projects with brands including Bose, Newbury Comics, Johnny Cupcakes, BottleKeeper and many more. During that time, the firm has also received awards from Interactive Media Awards, Internet Retailer and BusinessWeek. Ross is a proud alum of Babson College where he occasionally guest lectures on topics including e-commerce, design and entrepreneurship. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Learn: Why do people migrate to Shopify? Which platforms are migrating to Shopify? How long does it take and what does it cost? How should you approach your migration project? What are the key components to a successful project that are often overlooked? How do you migrate data and why is it so hard? What can't you import? What are the technical aspects of a migration? What to expect with search engine ranking and optimization? Links: Growth Spark Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com

Pop-Quiz: Which marketing channel is the most effective and costs the least? Answer: Word of mouth. Today, David Fallarme joins us in this actionable episode to discuss the essentials behind successful word of mouth marketing. David currently heads up marketing for ReferralCandy, a Shopify app that gives your store a referral program. David's background includes making viral Facebook games played by millions, and he uses that experience to help ecommerce stores increase their sales with word of mouth. — Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on iTunes Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast on Stitcher Subscribe to The Unofficial Shopify Podcast via RSS Join The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group — Learn: How to get hundreds of people talking about your store when you launch, even if you aren't an influencer The most common beginner mistakes everyone makes when setting up referral program How to refine your positioning to increase likelihood of people talking about you How offering social status to your buyers is a powerful motivator Links: Get $50 towards ReferralCandy Export LinkedIn Connections Streak CRM Free Guide I want to send you a sample chapter of Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com