Shopify apps are great.  Someone else spends hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, developing functionality that you can use for just $30 per month.   Apps on Shopify are so easy to install and so seemingly harmless that many store owners install dozens and dozens of apps - many of which they uninstall or never use.  This approach can have serious unintended consequences.

In this episode we dive into a smarter approach to apps that can help any Shopify store owner.  Here’s a look at what we cover:

• How to determine if it’s better to use an app or hire a developer to hard code a desired functionality. 
• What category of apps are best to consider now for Shopify
• What apps are almost always a bad idea
• How to tell if you have app conflict
• When should you consider apps vs. just switching to Shopify Plus
• Plus more!

It’s safe to say that your SEO approach is likely outdated.  If you’re looking for the latest hack, trick or SEO loophole - you’re barking up the wrong tree.  If you’re obsessing over ranking and traditional keywords then you may be off target.

In this episode we talk about why “intent” is now the most important word in SEO and content marketing.  We look at how search behavior is changing. We also consider how Google is indexing different forms of content like podcasts and video transcripts and what that means to us as marketers.  

In this episode we dive into: 

• The BERT Update.  What is and how it’s the nail in the coffin for old-school SEO.  
• Why is intent the most important word for SEO?
• How REI tackles intent and what you should learn from their content strategies.
• Different content types - articles, podcasts, etc.
• How do you figure out what people are searching for and asking at different stages
• How to create content and rank that content for shoppers at different stages of the buying journey.
• Plus more!

Mike Ugino is the CMO and co-founder of Sellbrite a SaaS platform for marketplace sellers.  Sellbrite was recently acquired by GoDaddy. In this episode we breakdown how Mike and his business partner Brian approached building the company with selling it in mind.  We also talk about what the acquisition process was like including saying no to GoDaddy initially. In this episode we uncover some golden ideas for scaling and exiting your business including:

• How constraints lead to creativity
• What building it to sell means and looks like
• Hitting plateaus and how to grow again
• How to know if a deal is right and saying “no” when it isn’t….even if it means turning down GoDaddy
• How to keep your culture when you sell

Who doesn’t love a good story? As humans, we’ve relied on storytelling for entertainment, education, and preservation of culture since the beginning of time. Storytelling is also for marketers.   During my first sales job at a local radio station my boss sagely advised me that “facts tell, but stories sell.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson. In this episode, I chat with the charming Jaime Cross the founder of MIG Soap. From her kitchen table to now a multi-million dollar eCommerce business Jaime has grown largely based on great products and solid storytelling.  Here’s a taste of what we cover:

• What’s the psychology behind storytelling?
• How good storytelling can increase the perceived value of a product by 2x or more.  
• Common storytelling mistakes to avoid. 
• The process MIG uses to get their overall story right…and then to get the story right for each product.  
• How to turn customer testimonials into stories
• How do you deliver your story across email, product detail pages, and more.  
• Storytelling resources

Jeremiah Allen has been driving growth for small-to-medium-sized eCommerce companies since 1997 — before the internet was cool — and has helped hundreds of company founders grow. While he still enjoys client work, in 2017, he began acquiring and building his own eCommerce brands.

In this episode, we get super TACTICAL. It’s a deluge of tips and tricks on how to improve your checkout process. There’s so much here you’ll probably want to listen to it a few times. Here’s a sneak peek at what we cover.

Tips:

• How to use a cart slide outs after you hit add to cart and why it’s effective.
•  Simple works - larger fonts, larger buttons, larger thumbnails can all create big wins.
• What % of your shoppers should hit checkout and what % should complete checkout? If you’re below these numbers you have some work to do.
• How shipping options can increase checkout.
• 4 ways to drive post-purchase upsells - fast!
• What asks and offers should you put on your thank you page.
• How an email from the founder can be your secret weapon.
• How to handle payment options.
• Plus sooooo much more.

Sayan is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of InvigorateNOW Health Sciences, an innovative health supplement brand. He’s also the creator of Sark Media Direct, a direct marketing consultancy that specializes in helping entrepreneurs grow to seven figures and beyond in the health and e-commerce industries. Passionate about combining cutting edge online marketing strategies with traditional direct response marketing, Sayan has helped his clients scale to eight figures and beyond. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Martha Stewart, Organifi, Zenith Labs, and more. Sayan has a knack for finding the “low hanging fruit” in his clients’ businesses. Whether it’s newspaper or radio ads, affiliate marketing or direct mail - he quickly finds the needle movers that produce results, in some cases, helping scale companies to beyond $100 Million / year. Through his consulting, he has helped a handful of entrepreneurs scale from zero to six and seven figures in their first year. A savvy investor, Sayan has stakes in three health supplement brands in addition to businesses he started from scratch. Sayan lives in New York City and enjoys spending time with family, friends and his fiancee, Amy   In this episode, we discuss buying unsold inventory in newspapers and on radio plus how to combine traditional media with digital media for profitable growth.

For our 100th episode we wanted to do something different. Rather than one guest, we invited 6 of our most popular guests we’ve ever had on the show. Since we’re wrapping up 2019, we decided to ask these super smart eComm pros what their top predictions were for 2020. They did NOT disappoint. We cover some GREAT predictions including:

• How and why some merchants will shift some of their focus away from Amazon (we’re already seeing this with Nike).
• How merchants will shift their video strategy in 2020 (will we go short form or long form?)
• Why “profitability” may be the focus rather than scale in 2020
• How SEO is shifting away from traditional keywords in 2020
• How automation is working (and how it doesn’t replace everything)
• How new privacy laws and policies will make things harder (and easier) for marketers
• Plus more!

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

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

Here’s a look at what we cover:

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

Charles Livingston knows a thing or two about rapid growth.  He turned a supplement offer into a 12 million per year business. And now his Coffee Company - Lifeboost Coffee has grown 1,000% in less than 1 year. 

What’s the secret to this kind of growth?  Good Marketing and becoming a “yes” company.  

Charles is also known for having his picture displayed in every single Ezra Firestone presentation.  And this isn’t any old picture. It’s a shirtless pic of Charles all swole up wearing a stethoscope. Yes, there’s a story behind this that we dive into in the podcast.  

More importantly, here’s a breakdown of the keys to rapid growth we breakdown on this episode:

• Become a “yes” company.  How saying yes more has led to a shockingly low 1.5% refund rate for Lifeboost Coffee.
• Why clarifying your message is key to scale. ‘
• How to find your hook and your hone in on a powerful positioning statement
• How to engineer a great customer experience framework
• How to charge a premium and make customers gladly pay more
• How to encourage subscriptions and improve your “stick rate”
• What’s better - building a brand on Amazon or building a brand off Amazon?  
• Plus more!

I recently saw Rachel speak at an agency event in New York City.  I was blown away. Rachel has quite the resume.

Forbes listed Rachel as one of its “30 under 30 Who Are Changing The World”, Fast Company named her one of "The Most Creative People in Business", AdAge named her one of "The Most Creative People of The Year," Entrepreneur named her one of the "50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs," Inc named her to the “Female Founders 100,” and the list goes on and on.  After being the Global Director of Digital and Social Media at Gap Rachel traveled the world for 100 days and then founded MikMak, the first native commerce platform for the social video generation. 

Here’s a look at what we cover:

• Why big companies like Facebook and Google and Amazon are at war for first party data. 
• Why Rachel believes in the philosophy that if you give up your first party data, you give up your brand.
• Rachel believes that today’s funnel starts at the consideration level first and that true brand building and loyalty start after the first purchase.  
• Lessons from Kylie Jenner and Native Deodorant
• Rachel’s thoughts on Twitch and how it might be a glimpse into the future 
• Social is the world's largest mall and point of end checkout...are you treating it that way?
• Plus much more!