eCommerce Scale Collective with Jodie Minto

I’m officially back in the world of eCommerce brand ownership.

After selling my fashion brand in 2023, I honestly wasn’t sure I’d ever own another eCommerce business. But I’ve recently purchased Max & Blu, an Australian dog accessories brand, and this time I’m approaching things very differently.

A lot has changed since I was last running an eCommerce brand. AI has completely changed what’s possible, and I’ve spent the past few years coaching established eCommerce founders and getting an inside look at a lot of different businesses.

I’m also very clear on what I don’t want to recreate.

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of how I plan to build and grow Max & Blu differently this time, from keeping the business incredibly lean to using AI in ways that simply weren’t possible when I was building my previous brand.

I’m also sharing how my definition of a successful eCommerce business has changed, and why the way I build Max & Blu needs to support the life I want to live, not take it over.

And this is just the beginning. I’ll be sharing what I test, what works, what doesn’t and what I change my mind about as I put everything I teach back into practice in my own business.

In this episode:

• Why I’ve decided to own an eCommerce brand again
• What I plan to do differently this time around
• How AI is changing the way I think about building a team and running the business
• Why I want to build and test faster
• How my definition of a successful eCommerce business has changed

Follow the Max & Blu journey

I’ll be sharing plenty more behind the scenes as I grow Max & Blu and put my own strategies back into practice.

If you run an eCommerce brand yourself, make sure you follow the podcast so you can come along for the ride.

Links

🐶 Meet Max & Blu
https://maxandblu.com/

🌸 Work with me inside the eCommerce Scale Collective
https://www.jodieminto.com/ecommerce-scale-collective

🎧 Listen to more episodes of the eCommerce Scale Collective podcast
https://www.jodieminto.com/podcast

If you want to build a million-dollar eCommerce business, there are three parts of your business that need to work together, and only one of them is marketing.

It’s easy to assume the answer to growth is more Meta ads, more content, more emails or another promotion. But sometimes the thing holding your business back has very little to do with your marketing.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the three pillars of my Lean Million Dollar Method, the framework I use with my clients and inside the eCommerce Scale Collective.

I’ll share what I believe you need to have in place across your business if you want to scale profitably, without simply creating a bigger, more complicated business that requires more and more of you.

I also share why my definition of a successful million-dollar business looks very different today than it did when I built my first seven-figure brand, and why I’m about to put this exact framework back into practice myself with Max & Blu.

• The three pillars of my Lean Million Dollar Method
• Why more marketing isn’t always the answer to growth
• How to identify what’s actually constraining your business
• Why scaling successfully requires more than increasing revenue
• What a lean million-dollar eCommerce business looks like to me today

Inside the eCommerce Scale Collective, we look at your whole business, not just one piece of your marketing.

We start with a 90-minute 1:1 Deep Dive into your business, followed by your personalised 12-month Scale Roadmap and first 90-day priorities.

The founding beta round kicks off on 5 October, with beta pricing available until 4 October 2026. This pricing won’t be offered again.

If you’re already doing around $10K a month or more and you’re ready to work towards your next stage of growth, you can find all the details below.

🌸 Work with me inside the eCommerce Scale Collective
https://www.jodieminto.com/ecommerce-scale-collective

🐶 Meet Max & Blu
https://maxandblu.com/

🎧 Listen to more episodes of the eCommerce Scale Collective podcast
https://www.jodieminto.com/podcast

A very big personal + business update

There’s been A LOT happening behind the scenes lately, so this episode is a bit of a personal catch-up on where I’ve been, what’s changing and what I’m doing next.

After nine years, I’m closing my mastermind.

I’ve been guest lecturing at a private fashion college here in Sydney.

I applied for seven full-time jobs 😅

I’m launching eCommerce Scale Collective.

Oh, and I’m also in the process of buying an e-commerce business. 👀

If that sounds like a lot... it has been.

The truth is, this year has had some pretty rough patches. I’ve questioned my business, the way I coach, what I want my work to look like and, at times, whether I even wanted to keep doing it.

But somewhere in amongst all of that, a few unexpected opportunities started appearing.

And I finally feel really excited about what I’m building again.

In this episode, I’m sharing what’s been going on behind the scenes, why I decided to close my mastermind after nine years, how guest lecturing ended up becoming something I absolutely loved, and why I’m getting back into running an e-commerce business after selling my fashion brand in 2023.

I also talk about why I’m changing the way I coach established e-commerce founders, what I’m building with eCommerce Scale Collective, and why the podcast has a brand new name.

Plus, I share why I’m VERY excited to get back into e-commerce in an AI world and start testing what’s possible with a much leaner way of running a business.

This isn’t one of my usual how-to episodes.

It’s more of a “here’s what the heck has been going on” chat.

And if you’ve been questioning what’s next for you or your business lately, hopefully hearing what the last few months have looked like for me reminds you that sometimes you don’t need to have the whole next chapter figured out yet.

Sometimes you just need to give yourself enough room to see what turns up. 🌸

🌸 Learn more about eCommerce Scale Collective

🎧 Listen to the eCommerce Scale Collective podcast

📱 Follow eCommerce Scale Collective on Instagram

📱 Follow Jodie on Instagram

🌐 Visit JodieMinto.com

How to find the real growth opportunities in your e-commerce business

When sales slow down or feel unpredictable, it is easy to assume you need better ads, a new website, more products or an entirely new strategy.

But before changing everything, you need to understand what your numbers are actually telling you.

In this episode, I’m walking you through how I review an e-commerce business and identify the priorities most likely to improve sales, profitability and growth over the next 90 days.

In this episode, I cover:

The first Shopify metrics I review and what they reveal

How to tell whether your website, traffic or marketing is limiting conversions

What your returning customer rate says about your acquisition and retention strategy

Why a low conversion rate does not always mean your website is the problem

How to identify your strongest products and slow-moving inventory

When to focus on Meta ads, email marketing or your customer journey

How to narrow everything down to the few priorities that matter most

If you have been trying different strategies without seeing enough movement, this episode will help you take a more focused look at what is happening inside your business.

Listen now to learn how to identify the numbers, gaps and opportunities that should shape your next 90 days.

If you would like me to review your Shopify data, website, marketing, products and current priorities with you, I have opened three private 90-Day Growth Sessions for August.

During our 90-minute session, we will work through your business together and identify the clearest opportunities for growth. After the call, I will create your personalised 90-day plan, including your priorities, KPIs, benchmarks and next steps.

Book your 90-Day Growth Session here

If you’ve been telling yourself you’ll start running Facebook and Instagram ads once your website is perfect, your product range is bigger, your content is stronger or your budget feels more comfortable, this episode is for you.

Because while waiting can feel safe, it can also quietly cost your business sales, traffic, data and momentum.

In this episode, I’m unpacking why delaying your Meta Ads journey can keep your e-commerce brand stuck for longer than necessary, and why starting small, learning the numbers and building confidence now can put you in a much stronger position later.

This isn’t about throwing money at ads before you’re ready.

It’s about understanding that Meta Ads are a skill, a traffic source and a growth lever. And the sooner you begin learning how they work in your business, the sooner you can make smarter decisions about what to test, improve and scale.

Why waiting until everything feels “ready” can hold your business back

The hidden cost of missing out on traffic, sales and customer data

Why Meta Ads become easier to improve once you have real numbers to work with

How starting small helps you build confidence without overspending

Why ads are not just about instant sales, but also learning what your customers respond to

The danger of relying only on organic marketing while your competitors are investing in paid traffic

Why your first ads don’t need to be perfect, they just need to give you useful data

How learning Meta Ads now can help you make better decisions as your business grows

The biggest takeaway?

You don’t need to wait until you have a huge budget or the perfect campaign.

You need a clear strategy, a willingness to test and the confidence to understand what your numbers are telling you.

If you’re ready to stop putting it off and finally learn how to run Meta Ads with support, eComm Ads Academy is now open for enrolment.

When you enrol, you’ll get instant access to the curriculum so you can start learning and implementing straight away. The live coaching round begins on 27 July, with weekly group calls, live ad account reviews and small-group support to help you build, manage and improve your ads with confidence.

Learn more and enrol here:

https://www.jodieminto.com/eaa

Handing your Meta Ads over to an agency, freelancer or VA can sound like the dream.

Someone else takes care of the strategy, writes the copy, builds the campaigns, manages the spend and magically sends you sales.

Except, for many e-commerce founders, that’s not how it plays out.

In this episode, I’m unpacking why outsourcing your ads too early can cost you far more than the monthly management fee, especially if you don’t yet understand your own ad strategy, numbers or customer messaging.

This isn’t about saying you should never outsource. It’s about knowing when outsourcing makes sense, and why learning to manage or at least understand your ads first can put you in a much stronger position as the CEO of your brand.

Why outsourcing ads too early can create a false sense of security

What often happens when your account is handed to a junior agency team member

Why paying agency fees can leave you with less budget to actually spend on ads

The risks of handing Meta Ads to a VA or team member before you understand them yourself

How outsourcing can slow down campaign launches, testing and decision-making

Why delays in turning poor-performing ads off can quietly waste your budget

Why Meta Ads are too important to completely hand over without understanding the strategy

How learning your numbers helps you make better decisions, even if you outsource later

The biggest shift?

You don’t need to become a full-time ads manager.

But if Meta Ads are driving a large percentage of your monthly sales, you do need to understand how they work, how to read the numbers, and how to make confident decisions about what to test, scale, pause or change.

If you’re ready to take back control of your ads and stop relying on someone else to tell you what’s working, eComm Ads Academy is now open for early enrolment.

When you enrol early, you’ll get instant access to the curriculum, plus the live coaching round begins on 27 July. Inside, you’ll learn how to build, manage, read and improve your own Meta Ads with expert support, weekly coaching calls, live ad account reviews and a small-group community.

Learn more and enrol here: https://www.jodieminto.com/eaa

There’s a lot of noise right now about Facebook ads being broken, too expensive or no longer worth running.

But is that actually true?

In this episode, I’m unpacking what’s really happening with Meta Ads right now, including the recent Andromeda conversation, why your results may look different inside Ads Manager, and why ads still play such a powerful role in driving traffic and sales for e-commerce brands.

If you’ve been wondering whether Facebook and Instagram ads are still worth the investment, this episode will help you look at the bigger picture and understand where your focus needs to be now.

Why the “Facebook ads are dead” narrative needs more context

How Meta’s attribution window changes have impacted the results you see inside Ads Manager

Why your ads may look worse on paper, even if your overall sales haven’t dropped

What Andromeda really means for e-commerce brands

Why your ad creative now does more of the targeting than your audience settings

The importance of testing hooks, angles, formats and messaging

Why better ads and stronger landing pages need to work together

The role Meta Ads can still play in driving 60 to 90 percent of monthly sales for many e-commerce brands

The bottom line?

Facebook ads are not dead. But the way we run them has changed.

Instead of spending hours building complicated interest-based audiences, the real work now happens at the ad level, with stronger creative, sharper copy, better messaging and a clearer understanding of your customer.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and finally feel confident managing your own Meta Ads, eComm Ads Academy is now open for early enrolment.

When you enrol before 30 June, you’ll get instant access to the curriculum, plus a bonus 60 minute 1:1 coaching call with me, valued at AUD $990.

Learn more and enrol here: https://www.jodieminto.com/eaa

Meta Ads are more competitive than ever, and for many e-commerce brands, top-of-funnel purchase campaigns are not converting as easily or as quickly as they once did.

This is especially true if you sell higher-ticket products, considered purchases, or non-essential items, where customers may need more time before they are ready to buy.

In this episode, I’m breaking down a Meta Ads strategy I’ve been testing inside my mastermind called a funnel feeder campaign. It’s a low-cost, top-of-funnel campaign designed to introduce new people to your brand, build engagement and create a warmer audience before asking for the sale.

This is not a replacement for your purchase campaigns. It sits above them, helping feed your funnel with new prospects, stronger engagement signals and more social proof.

In this episode, I cover:

What a funnel feeder campaign is and where it sits in your Meta Ads strategy

Why top-of-funnel purchase campaigns can be harder to convert right now

How to use engagement or video view campaigns to bring new people into your world

Why exclusions matter if you’re trying to reach genuinely new audiences

How this strategy can help build social proof on your existing ad posts

When to test a funnel feeder campaign, especially if your account is new, low volume or struggling with top of funnel sales

When not to bother with this strategy and where to put your budget instead

The key metric I’d add to your Ads Manager dashboard when testing this campaign

If your ads are feeling a little flat, this is a practical strategy worth testing. It gives Meta more signals, helps grow your warm audiences and can support the purchase campaigns already running in your account.

If this episode has you thinking about your own ad account and what you could be testing next, eComm Ads Academy is now open for early enrolment.

It’s my 8-week small-group coaching program for e-commerce founders who want to understand their Meta Ads properly, make smarter decisions and stop relying on guesswork.

You’ll get instant access to the full learning hub when you join, plus live coaching, ad account reviews and support once the live round begins.

Early enrolment is now open, and the first 10 people who enrol before 30 June also receive a bonus 1:1 call with me.

Learn more and join here:
https://www.jodieminto.com/eaa

SEO can feel overwhelming at the best of times. Add AI into the mix, and a lot of online store owners are wondering if SEO even matters anymore.

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Flick from Hotel SEO to break it all down in a way that actually makes sense for product-based business owners.

We talk about what SEO really is, how it’s changing with AI search, and the simple things online store owners can do to improve their visibility, attract more organic traffic, and make their product pages more helpful for both humans and search engines.

This is a really practical conversation, especially if SEO has always felt confusing, technical, or like something you keep putting in the “I’ll deal with it later” basket.

What SEO actually means for e-commerce brands

How AI search is changing the way customers find products

Why your product pages need to answer real customer questions

How FAQs can help Google, AI tools, and shoppers understand your products

Why natural language matters more than corporate-style wording

The role of blogging and helpful content in your SEO strategy

Simple ways to improve your visibility without becoming an SEO expert

As mentioned in the episode, Flick shared a simple example of FAQs you could add to a Shopify product page.

Example product: pink fluffy dog jumper

1. What size pink fluffy dog jumper should I get for my dog?

Measure your dog's chest at the widest point and along the back from the base of the neck to the base of the tail. A jumper should sit snug around the chest without restricting movement, and end just before the tail. If your dog is between sizes, go up rather than down. Fluffy knits have less stretch than cotton, so a tight fit will pull and pill faster.

2. Are pink fluffy dog jumpers warm enough for winter?

Yes, fluffy knit jumpers are designed for cold weather and suit most small to medium breeds through a Melbourne or Sydney winter. They work best on short-haired dogs like greyhounds, whippets, and chihuahuas, who feel the cold more than double-coated breeds. For sub-zero conditions or wet weather, layer a waterproof coat over the top.

3. Can I machine wash a fluffy dog jumper?

Machine wash cold on a gentle cycle, inside a mesh laundry bag, with a wool-safe detergent. Don't tumble dry. Lay flat to dry to keep the shape and stop the fluff from matting. Washing after every two or three wears is plenty unless your dog has rolled in something.

4. Will the pink dye run or fade?

No, the jumpers are colourfast and won't bleed in the wash when you follow cold wash instructions. Fading happens with hot water, direct sun drying, or harsh detergents, so avoid all three. The pink will hold its tone through dozens of washes with normal care.

5. Do fluffy jumpers irritate dogs with sensitive skin?

The inner lining is smooth against the skin, so dogs with allergies or sensitive coats generally tolerate them well. If your dog has a known wool allergy, check the fibre composition before buying. Most fluffy jumpers use a polyester or acrylic blend rather than wool, which suits sensitive dogs better.

The key takeaway here is that the questions are phrased the way someone would actually type or ask them, rather than using stiff wording like “What are the sizing recommendations?”

Each answer also gives a clear direct response upfront, then adds detail. That makes it much easier for shoppers, Google, and AI search tools to understand and use the information.

Here are the resources and tools we mentioned:
Heat mapping: clarity.microsoft.com 
Semrush free trial: semrush.com
Schema markup helper: google.com/webmasters
Google Search Console: search.google.com/search-console
Google Analytics: developers.google.com/analytics

Website: hotelseo.au
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @hotelseohi

If you’ve ever wondered whether SEO is still worth focusing on in 2026, this episode is a great place to start.

Listen to the full episode here: jodieminto.com/podcast

Meta ads have been doing some strange things lately, especially when it comes to finding fresh top-of-funnel audiences.

In some accounts, purchase campaigns are leaning heavily towards warm audiences, while retargeting is suddenly performing better than it has in a long time.

So in this episode, I’m sharing a small but mighty Instagram strategy that can help bring new people into your world, grow your following, and support the rest of your Meta ads ecosystem.

This is an updated version of a strategy I first shared back in episode 104, and it’s especially useful right now if your top-of-funnel purchase campaigns have felt a little unpredictable.

In this episode, I cover:

If your purchase campaigns are struggling to find fresh people, or your Instagram reach feels painfully low, this episode will give you a simple, low-cost strategy to test alongside your existing Meta ads.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here:

Want more support with your e-commerce growth strategy?

You can explore my current programs, courses and coaching options here:
Work with me

You can also listen back to episode 104, where I first shared the original version of this boosted post strategy:
Listen to episode 104