eCommerce Evolution

Almost every eCommerce company I talk to is investing heavily into Facebook and Google Ads.  Probably less than 30% are actively investing in Affiliate marketing.  I first met my guest, Greg Powell, while we were both providing consulting services for another agency.  I instantly could tell that he knew his stuff.  Now he’s running an extremely successful Affiliate Marketing agency - Tactical Marketing based in Joplin MO.  

• Fringe benefits of an affiliate marketing program including free PR and new audience discovery and testing.
• 3 ways to tell if your product is a good fit for Affiliate marketing
• Avoiding affiliate horror stories - namely, how to avoid coupon site hell.
• How attracting the right affiliates makes all of the difference.
• Best affiliate networks for your category
• Plus much more!

The online buying journey is a complex process.  It rarely looks exactly the same for different shoppers.  BUT, there are distinct stages that most shoppers pass through in their unique journey.  Video can be your secret weapon along each stage of the journey - compelling customers, educating customers, and delighting customers.

Ben Amos lives in Australia’s Sunshine Coast and is a master at creating video content that shapes buying behavior.  In this episode, we talk about how video can impact these 4 distinct stages of the shopping journey:

1. Awareness - this is where we tell our brand story in a compelling and helpful way…Ben shows us how.  
2. Consideration- this stage is all about information and education.  As shoppers evaluate their options, your video should be there to help guide the way.  
3. Conversion event - your video can and should do the job of a salesperson whether on a product detail page or as a remarketing ad.  
4. Advocacy - Your video strategy shouldn’t stop with a happy customer.  Use video content to encourage more referrals and repeat purchases. 

Everyone knows that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing.  The problem?  How do you facilitate, encourage, and track it without being weird?  Enter Nick Stagge and Wooly.  In this episode, we discuss two important topics - building Ambassador Programs and putting digital rails around word of mouth advertising.  Nick has worked with some awesome brands including Skull Candy, Purple Mattress, and more.   Here’s a quick look at what we cover in this episode: 

• Salomon shoes got 22.6 million impressions without running a single ad
• How to Identify and segment your best customers and how to know when you have a customer make a referral that ends in a  purchase
• How ambassador programs focus on credibility while some influencer programs focus on reach…and why credibility is often better and more profitable
• Word of mouth customers are happier, better educated and often stick around longer - here’s how you get more of it
• Driving six figures of incremental referral revenue.
• Plus more

Online shopping has shifted dramatically since the start of the pandemic.  Some experts believe we’ve seen 5+ years of eCommerce growth condensed into just a few months.  Attitudes towards quantities ordered, shipping rates and times, and pricing have ALL shifted from the norm.  I wanted to have Jon MacDonald come back on the show (see his first appearance on the podcast for Episode 60 to talk about what’s working right now in terms of Conversion Rate Optimization.  We cover some truly fascinating subjects including:

• How buying in bulk it a new trend - even if your marketing to non-peppers
• How to structure new shopping options for buying in bulk to make the process easier on shoppers and easier on your fulfillment centers
• 3 ways to use SMS marketing to before, during and after the shopping experience to surprise and delight customers
• Where you should start optimizing now including some key data points and quick wins with Google Analytics that you’re likely missing 
• How to quickly and inexpensively benefit from Heat Maps
• Why taking care of your highest value customers is more important now than ever before

Learn how Tru Earth is disrupting the laundry detergent space by selling subscriptions and understanding the power of villains in marketing.  My guest in this episode, Ryan McKenzie is a marketing and eComm wiz.  He built his first online business in his 20s and after some extreme wins and some humbling losses, he found his eComm game.  In this episode, we uncover some of Tru Earth’s keys to success including 

• 3 types of offers that get shoppers to subscribe to auto-replenishment. 
• How to structure pricing and discounts for subscriptions
• Blair Warren’s amazing 4 keys to persuasion (literally one the best marketing quotes I’ve ever heard) and how to leverage it for your business
• How finding a “villain” can make your marketing more powerful and help you build a closer community (hint: villains don’t have to be people)
• How to approach ad fatigue and new creative development for Facebook
• How OMG Commerce is helping Tru Earth leverage Google Shopping and YouTub ads
• Plus more!

CrossNet Game began as a crazy idea dreamed up late at night by two brothers and their best friend.  But ideas are a dime a dozen.  Chris and his brother Greg and co-founder Mike turned their crazy idea into a wildly popular product and a rapidly growing company.  So what is CrossNet?  It’s 4-way volleyball.  Put another way, if volleyball 4 square had a baby, it would be CrossNet.  And it’s amazing.

This is a phenomenal story about how to launch a product from total obscurity into a sensation.  We talk about how the product came to be, how the founders successfully boot-strapped everything initially,  and how a combination of playing volleyball all day on the beaches of Miami plus Facebook Ads fueled their launch.   Here’s a look at what we discuss:

• How their first “prototype” and first test market let them know they were onto something big
• Why they packed their bags and moved from Connecticut to Miami to launch CrossNet
• Creating the snowball effect - doing lots of little things well and watching success and momentum grow over time.
• Their first brand ambassadors and their first influencer…all by accident (but still duplicatable) 
• Their most important sales channels
• How they view Amazon
• How they are using events (pre-pandemic) to grow the brand
• Getting their product in 5,000+ schools
• Getting into Dicks Sporting Goods, Academy Sports and more
• What products are next for CrossNet and how they plan to grow (including running YT ads with OMG Commerce…)

Jeremy Horowitz helped create the marketing engine behind Lumee, the selfie phone cases made famous by the Kardashians.  He now helps growing eCommerce brands create 6 figure + product launches.  He also builds what he calls “replenishment engines” - a concept that was new to me but that I absolutely love.  

Interested in doing $100,000+ in sales in 24 hours on a new product launch? Want to know the secrets of building huge demand, selling out of products, and generating real urgency like Supreme, Jordan and Kylie Cosmetics.

Here’s a quick look at what we cover:

• The difference between a product launch that sells out vs. a “meh” launch
• How to create a “web” so that your customers are highly engaged and eager to buy
• How to build anticipation, excitement, and generate huge sales without discounting
• How to utilize messenger marketing and Facebook private groups
• Lessons from movie launches
• Plus more

You walk to your mailbox.  Inside you find a hand-addressed envelope.  It looks like it could be a thank you note of a birthday card.  What are the odds you open it?  100%.  

I love direct mail.  Especially now because mailboxes are nearly empty (compared to 15-20 years ago).  In this episode I interview David Wachs, CEO of Handwrytten.  We discuss creative and affordable ways eCommerce companies can use Direct Mail to build customer loyalty and increase sales.  We also discuss how his technology allows for automated handwritten notes...it’s pretty fantastic.  

Here’s a look at what we discuss:

• How to use handwritten thank you notes to increase referrals 
• How an online fashion company sent 700 handwritten notes, scored a 16.8% redemption rate and drove an ROI over 300%.  
• Using direct mail to build your loyalty program
• Leveraging direct mail to get more positive reviews and/or mitigate negative reviews
• Launching direct mail Win-back campaigns
• Abandon cart direct mail sequences
• Automating handwritten thank-yous 
• And more!

In early February before all live events were cancelled I presented at Social Media Marketing World 2020 in San Diego.  My talk covered the latest tactics and strategies we’re using right now to scale on YouTube.  This is the recording of my presentation at this paid event.  Here’s a quick look at what I cover in this talk:

• Could YouTube be your next big thing?
• 2 Proven Ad formulas for cold traffic
• Ad formulas for warm traffic
• What is progressive audience testing and how to use it
• How to leverage YouTube and Google Display Network together
• Plus more!

I’m sure you’re aware of chat marketing.  But if you’re like most marketers and Amazon sellers, it’s still an area of immense opportunity for you. Maybe it’s even still a bit of a mystery to you. Michelle Barnum Smith is the Queen of chat marketing for Amazon sellers.  I had a chance to sit down with her and discuss some super powerful ways to grow your Amazon business with chat marketing that you probably haven’t thought of, including…

• The 3 types of messenger campaigns to run consistently
• Why product re-ranking campaigns using chatbots should probably be an ongoing strategy for you
• The difference between a 2-step URL and a Search, Find, Buy campaign
• How many times per month should you message your list on messenger…too many and they’ll hate you.  Too few and they’ll forget who you are and be annoyed the next time you message them.
• How to build a chat bot list.
• Plus more!