Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

On this episode of the podcast, Taylor and Richard talk to Common Thread Collective COO Orchid Bertelsen about breaking through the pre-Holiday doldrums, how to build a revenue peak that works for your brand unique needs, and why even us aging millennials should be on TikTok.

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On this episode of the podcast, Taylor is joined by his brother, QALO co-founder KC Holiday, and producer Cory Hamilton, the OG CTC employee, to reflect on the early days of CTC, how ecommerce has changed over the years, and how to grow an ecommerce business from the ground up. 

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The theme of our 2023 Holiday strategy: Your Black Friday/Cyber Monday outcome depends on the foundation you set in August. 

In this episode, Taylor and Richard break down the decisions you need to make right now to set yourself up for holiday success, from inventory planning to creative volume to revenue forecasting.

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Q4 success starts in Q3. And the most successful brands on Black Friday have one thing in common: They plan their entire marketing effort around four distinct revenue “mini-peaks” within the holiday season.

On this episode, Richard talks with CTC Director of Growth Strategy Luke Austin and Senior Ecommerce Data Analyst Steve Rekuc, breaking down our comprehensive four-part plan to tackle BFCM for our clients in 2023. 

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Leadership is a combination of two major skills: Knowing when the organization is heading in the wrong direction, and knowing which direction to go instead.

On this episode, Taylor reflects on a recent 180 we’ve made as a business and why he thinks it’s the right time to make that change. Then, Taylor and Richard discuss the incredible power of saying “no” and how it forms the basis of strategic decision making.

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For ecommerce entrepreneurs and agency owners alike, creative continues to be the most important variable — and the trickiest to operationalize.

On this episode, Taylor and Richard talk about a recent breakthrough at CTC: A new framework, courtesy of CTC Director of Creative Strategy Aileen McKenna, that reliably generates good creative ideas — quickly. 

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What makes a great brand? What businesses are most likely to grow quickly? Why not ask the leader of the brand with the highest Growth Quotient score we’ve ever seen?

In this episode, Taylor and Richard chat with Heart & Soil CEO Dean Brennan about the brand strategy that’s led to massive first-order profitability, dirt-cheap CAC, and 200%+ 1-year LTV growth. 

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Once you have your ecommerce tactics down and you’re successfully turning a profit, you’re confronted with a deceptively complicated question: what do I do with all this money?

In this episode, Taylor talks to Dave Rekuc, president of Bambu Earth, and Mike Beckham, co-founder and CEO of Simple Modern, about the smart way to put money back into your business.

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The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have about the world of ecomm

In many ways, $1M to $20M is the most exciting growth stage for any ecommerce business — you know you have a business that works, but you’re small enough that you have the freedom to innovate without being held back by bureaucracy.

On this episode, Richard talks with ecommerce growth expert (and former Ecommerce Playbook host!) Andrew Faris about the keys to success for brands at this crucial growth stage.

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Over the past several weeks, CTC Growth Strategist Luke Austin’s been conducting an experiment across a number of our clients to answer a simple question: are third-party attribution tools like Rockerbox and Triple Whale actually more accurate than native platforms like Facebook and Google?  

On this episode, Taylor and Richard talk with Luke about the results of the experiment, why CTC is skeptical about third party attribution tools, and the steps you should take to test your own attribution tools.

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