Honest Ecommerce

Having previously built a 7-figure agency and consulted many 7 and 8-figure DTC brands on their marketing strategy, Nigel knows what it takes to implement complex paid social campaigns at scale.

He is the CEO of Alpha Inbound, a growth marketing agency that helps Shopify brands find higher quality traffic on Meta & TikTok for less by creating, testing and scaling highly engaging UGC content.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:20] How Nigel started with Alpha Inbound
• [02:38] What makes Alpha Inbound different
• [04:00] The partners that Alpha Inbound works with
• [05:40] Alpha Inbound’s “secret sauce”
• [08:06] MER gives a wider perspective
• [09:25] MER makes the attribution problem simpler
• [10:40] Marketing isn’t just direct response advertising
• [11:08] Branding vs direct response advertising
• [12:08] SMBs want to be brands but they don’t know how
• [12:33] Questions to ask before investing into paid ads
• [14:39] An agency that is great asks more questions
• [15:15] Are the “agency horror stories” their own fault?
• [16:40] VC-backed companies are pressured
• [17:02] Why Chase doesn’t to work with funded brands
• [17:29] Brands, trust the agencies’ processes
• [17:54] Economics, resources, expectations
• [19:08] How to grow from a million
• [19:52] What should your LTV and margins be
• [20:22] How Alpha Inbound puts together content
• [21:22] Volume to test, systems to make volume
• [21:59] Looking at ROAS and day 1 attribution
• [23:22] Budgets doesn’t instantly mean success
• [24:48] The platform always wins
• [25:02] Percentage of gross revenue to invest in growth
• [26:14] You really have to pay to play
• [26:37] What if you can’t spend $10k on ads?
• [27:40] Where to find Nigel

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Performance digital marketing agency who empower DTC Brands by sending high-quality traffic into their Ecosystem alphainbound.com
• Connect with Nigel linkedin.com/in/nigelthomas-ai

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Prior to Pureboost, Gillian has 15 years of brand and digital marketing experience in consumer products. 

She takes a data-informed approach to all things marketing, even those that aren't traditionally thought of as "performance marketing tactics." 

All while balancing the art of building a meaningful brand.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:19] What Pureboost has to offer
• [02:16] The genesis of Pureboost
• [04:16] Visualizing your competitors
• [04:53] Why Pureboost needed to be unique
• [05:27] From ideation to having a sample
• [06:13] How Pureboost managed to produce a sample fast
• [07:20] Pureboost’s similarities to The Lean Startup
• [08:23] Launching an Amazon-first brand
• [09:21] The biggest pivot that Pureboost had
• [11:01] Starting on Amazon vs starting on Shopify
• [12:34] Gillian’s advice transitioning from Amazon to D2C
• [15:02] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
• [15:22] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
• [16:10] Sponsor: Wayflyer wayflyer.com/ecomm/honest
• [17:23] Sponsor: Rewind rewind.com/honestecommerce
• [17:53] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
• [18:41] Pureboost’s marketing stack
• [20:33] Why not make more product SKUs?
• [22:55] The challenge in maintaining focus
• [24:12] How Traction helped Chase to focus
• [24:47] Most business books have so much fluff
• [25:10] Where to find Pureboost products

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Scale your business with electriceye.io
• A healthy antioxidant energy drink mix containing no sugar, no sucralose and no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives pureboost.com
• Connect with Gillian linkedin.com/in/gillianmager
• Funding a better way wayflyer.com/ecomm/honest
• Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesa
• Respond to any of Rewind’s welcome emails and mention HONEST ECOMMERCE to get 1 month free rewind.io/honest
• Get started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

HAPPYBOND’s founder, Anja, is a biotech scientist specializing in cartilage tissue engineering. 

What does that mean you say? Basically, she’s incredibly smart and, lucky for us, a super dog lover. 

She used her research in cartilage rebuilding to create the unique formula for HappyAgain that helps rebuild your dog’s collagen and prolong their youth and agility.

 All our HAPPYBOND products are innovated by Anja and dog experts, offering proven results for HappyDogs around the world.

In This Conversation We Discuss: (50 Characters)

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:09] Introducing Anja’s fellow guest
• [01:28] Products that HAPPYBOND offers
• [01:55] Where the idea of HAPPYBOND came from
• [03:18] Transitioning from medical pharma to vet pharma
• [04:45] HAPPYBOND’s go-to-market strategy
• [06:18] Working with a prestigious influencer
• [07:09] The worst that can happen is they say no
• [07:26] Pros and cons of going omnichannel
• [09:08] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
• [09:28] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
• [10:17] Sponsor: Loop loopreturns.com/honest
• [11:10] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
• [11:58] Customer care and considering feedback
• [13:38] Making the DTC UI/UX easier for customers
• [14:40] Don’t change how users know how it usually works
• [16:10] Look at the packaging and think about your dog.
• [16:59] Where to find HAPPYBOND products

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Science backed nutrition to keep your dogs healthy and strengthen that special BOND happybond.com
• Connect with Anja linkedin.com/in/anja-skodda-0a507b2a
• Scale your business with electriceye.io
• Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesa
• Transform your returns into exchanges loopreturns.com/honest
• Get started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Amy Biddle helps Shopify Ecommerce store owners sell more products and grow revenue without risking giving over control to ad agencies. 

She has over 30 years of business experience, and has audited and worked in over 10,000 businesses. She is an author, podcast host, and millionaire-maker, and founder of the eCommerce Traffic Handler Program.

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:13] Why should people listen to Amy
• [02:01] How can lists and offers help Ecom brands?
• [03:09] The types of merchants that Amy works with
• [04:35] Amy’s message is similar to Gary Vee’s book
• [05:31] Jump on people’s email lists to learn
• [08:06] You can get away with recycled content
• [09:07] Using direct mail as marketing
• [09:39] Amy’s Identity Resolution Matching
• [11:22] Strats work in all industries except commodities
• [12:28] Be unique to your customers
• [13:45] Why D2C isn’t applicable to commodity products
• [15:43] Do both Amazon and D2C
• [17:12] The Retailer’s Email Playbook
• [17:49] Longer books just seem repetitive
• [18:04] Amy’s Ad Group System
• [19:15] Where to find Amy

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Make paid ads work again. Mention Honest Ecommerce  to get 3 weeks of free data. amybiddle.me/pages/ads-group-system-make-paid-ads-work
• Program for retailers to successfully use Facebook as your primary paid traffic source amybiddle.me/pages/ecommerce-traffic-handler-newsletter
• Connect with Amy amybiddle.me/pages/contact-amy
• Amy’s Ads Group System explainer video youtube.com/watch?v=AE_Hoi7xeXU

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Since launching in 2020, Mike and his team have built one of the most exciting names in appliances since the 1950s, when window ACs first hit the mass market. The problem? Manufacturers have barely changed a thing in 70+ years. 

Enter Windmill - the first company to bring "sexy" "convenient" and "air conditioner" together in a sentence - reimagining the next generation of ye olde ACs for today's modern customer with covet-worthy designs, smart (energy-efficient) technology, and an exceptional experience. 

In just a few short years, Mike has scaled his business by more than 5,000%, raised $14M in capital from top VCs all over the world, and inked retail partnerships with big box stores like Walmart, Home Depot, and PC Richard & Son (thanks to a long list of relentless cold calls). 

Next week, Mike and his team will launch a first-of-its-kind program to customers that rewards them for smarter energy use during times of peak heat - potentially curtailing tens of thousands of kW of energy this summer to help prevent blackouts, lower energy bills, and stop the use of dirty power plants. 

This visionary approach to combining hardware and software is the breath of fresh air the AC biz has so desperately needed to clean up its act, and it can't come soon enough - as the EPA projects that the number of 90 degree days in NYC alone could triple in the next 30 years, putting the city's energy grid at major risk.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:16] Products that Windmill offers
• [01:35] Having the “entrepreneurial bug” at a young age
• [03:09] Where the idea of Windmill came from
• [05:09] The difficulties of air-conditioning in New York
• [05:38] Looking up to see users of Windmill products
• [06:21] Getting a factory to work with Windmill
• [07:58] How long has Windmill worked on their prototype?
• [08:53] Prototyping wasn’t an easy experience
• [09:39] Windmill’s go-to-market strategy
• [11:19] The “SaaS” approach to products
• [12:20] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
• [12:40] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
• [13:29] Sponsor: Rewind rewind.com/honestecommerce
• [14:00] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
• [14:57] A disaster of a demo
• [15:46] Windmill’s crazy one week pivot
• [16:09] How Windmill got its first customers at launch
• [17:18] Media and PR marketing for Windmill
• [18:03] PR is an overlooked strategy
• [18:54] Reflecting on success and looking to the future
• [20:46] Don't sleep on retail channels
• [21:38] Where to find Windmill ACs

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Scale your business with electriceye.io
• Powerful, quiet, eco-friendly window ACs windmillair.com
• Connect with Mike linkedin.com/in/mikmayer
• Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesa
• Respond to any of Rewind’s welcome emails and mention HONEST ECOMMERCE to get 1 month free rewind.io/honest
• Get started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Danny Charbonnet started All Citizens a few years ago after searching through endless aisles and websites for new boxer briefs.

Charbonnet realized that guys really only have 3 options for underwear; bargain big box retailers, expensive designer labels, or new online brands with designer label prices. 

This led him to ask himself “why can’t I get a whole week’s worth of great underwear for under $100?” This question sparked the idea for him to create a new category in menswear - premium, performance-based apparel at an exceptional value. 

Charbonnet started All Citizens with $3,000 and no design, retail, fashion or ecommerce background, but the outsider’s view enabled me to build a brand that is truly customer first without the baggage of the traditional retail model. 

Although I started with boxer briefs, We’ve expanded to offer everything from performance dress shirts to adventure-ready sunglasses under the singular mission of democratizing comfort. 

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:08] How All Citizens democratize comfort
• [02:00] Danny’s realization with men’s underwear
• [03:34] The question that sparked All Citizens
• [04:04] Addressing men’s underwear pain points
• [05:47] Creating a product with no background
• [06:34] The struggle between price and quality
• [07:25] Danny’s last hope for manufacturing
• [08:14] Negotiating as a smaller brand
• [09:39] The first years of the brand are the easiest
• [10:03] Still working with the factory on the story
• [10:22] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
• [10:42] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
• [11:42] Sponsor: Loop loopreturns.com/honest
• [12:24] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
• [13:28] The reverse go-to-market strategy
• [14:00] Messaging and product over growth
• [15:04] All Citizens’ sudden growth spikes
• [16:45] Virality isn’t a good strategy
• [17:21] Providing the best sets you up for success
• [18:33] Chasing virality is unproductive and unrealistic
• [19:02] Why All Citizens doesn’t sell on Amazon
• [21:07] All Citizens’ current marketing mix
• [23:52] Not capitalizing on the golden age of FB ads
• [24:31] Marketing and ad agencies have high churn rates
• [24:52] Marketing strategy is about balancing channels
• [29:08] Find All Citizens and their other products

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Better apparel, fewer dollars allcitizens.com
• Connect with Danny linkedin.com/in/dfcharbonnet
• Follow All Citizens on Instagram @allcitizens
• Follow All Citizens on TikTok @allcitizens
• Scale your business with electriceye.io
• Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesa
• Transform your returns into exchanges loopreturns.com/honest
• Get started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Brad has specialized in eCommerce and analytics since 2008 when he launched his first SaaS company that was a marketplace matching shoppers and independent local retailers through dynamic personalization. 

He’s helped build analytics and tracking foundations for brands like Rothys, Rebecca Minkoff, and Autodesk. 

In 2017, Brad founded Elevar which automates data collection and server-side conversion tracking for thousands of Shopify brands. 

You can find Brad sharing his knowledge on Youtube, the Elevar blog, and his Conversion Tracking Playbook podcast. 

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:30] What problems does Elevar solve
• [02:35] Brad’s journey towards Elevar
• [06:05] Iterating the product using customer feedback
• [06:38] Not knowing what to do after gathering data
• [07:25] Where brands excel in GA
• [08:17] Why brands think that analytics is inaccurate
• [09:03] Questions you need to ask when tracking data
• [10:03] Go to GA with a mission
• [11:01] Brad’s reaction to Google pushing people to GA4
• [13:05] The privacy shift in other platforms
• [13:29] The point of friction in GA4
• [14:57] Transitioning from UA to GA4
• [17:42] People will get used to GA4 eventually
• [18:13] How the iOS 14 changed marketing
• [21:10] Can server-side tracking mitigate data loss?
• [24:06] There is no right answer yet
• [25:13] Where to learn more about conversion tracking
• [26:10] The heightened focus on CRO
• [27:02] Where to find Elevar

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Know EXACTLY how much ROI you get for each channel, interest, custom audience and ad getelevar.com
• Connect with Brad linkedin.com/in/braddredding
• Listen to tips and tricks on everything analytics, conversion optimization, and tagging for Ecommerce brands getelevar.com/podcasts/conversion-tracking-playbook

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Linda Wang is the Founder and CEO of Karuna Skin and sister brand Avatara, known for being the first to bring Asian sheet masks to the U.S. 

Before starting her company, Linda spent 11 years in fashion merchandising, the training shaped her gusty instincts for spotting trends. 

Her interest in skincare stemmed from an ongoing struggle since childhood with allergies, rashes, and eczema. 

As an adult, her focus sharpened on resolving this deeply personal issue since it affects so many others around the world. 

She launched Karuna in 2009, sensing these revolutionary time-saving masks would be a hit among American beauty aficionados. 

The sharply-packaged retail line has gained the interests of beauty giants like Sephora, Ulta, etc. 

From her years of training as a buyer and knowing how trends work, in 2017, she launched her second brand Avatara, inspired by her teenage nieces by offering fun, quality, clean, and affordable skincare products launched in Target stores nationwide. 

During the last 12 years of building both brands, Linda encountered her share of challenges; increased competition, the explosion of interest in fast beauty, and the rise of more store brands entering the category. 

In 2018, the Karuna brand faced hardship as the sheet mask category became commoditized, and in response, she pivoted and created the Balancing Collection, a daily topical skin care line now available at Whole Foods Market nationwide. 

Sister brand, Avatara has also seen tremendous growth with Target, and anticipating more national doors rollout this year. 

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:13] Types of products that Linda’s brands have
• [01:50] Linda’s first experience with sheet mask
• [03:10] Linda’s brands’ idea came from her childhood
• [04:52] From idea to the first physical product
• [06:09] The initial challenges as a smaller brand
• [06:50] Limiting SKUs for an initial launch
• [07:51] Linda’s go-to-market strategy
• [09:31] Marketing from a pre-social media perspective
• [10:23] New brand vs new product line
• [11:53] CPG brands target multiple specific price points
• [13:58] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
• [14:18] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
• [15:07] Sponsor: Rewind rewind.com/honestecommerce
• [15:37] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
• [16:25] How has D2C changed over the years?
• [18:01] How Maslow’s hierarchy of needs became an asset
• [19:27] Linda’s advice to up and coming entrepreneurs
• [20:46] Founders/CEOs’ to-do lists does not shrink
• [21:33] Take a gamble and start your own business
• [22:01] Where to find Linda’s products

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Skincare inspired by compassion karunaskin.com
• A fun, grab-and-go skincare line for people who love to try new products and trends avataraskin.com
• Connect with Linda linkedin.com/in/linda-wang-049b5b
• Scale your business with electriceye.io
• Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesa
• Respond to any of Rewind’s welcome emails and mention HONEST ECOMMERCE to get 1 month free rewind.io/honest
• Get started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Chris has spent the last 21 years passionately creating high-impact wins for organizations that improve lives across a broad set of industries (Pharma, Biotech, Hospitality, Live Event, Mgmt Consulting, and Consumer Packaged Goods). 

The common threads from his deep experience includes transforming complex problems into tangible plans and deliverables, building effective teams that execute at a high level, and creating products / services that make a difference. 

Chris is fully dedicated to realizing the mission and vision of Monday: Monday Boilerplate. 

Founded in 2019 by six San Diego based entrepreneurs and friends, Monday was created to serve people proper adult beverages without the alcohol. 

Their flagship products are Monday Gin - a London Dry, juniper forward spirit and Monday Whiskey - an American style spirit created by an award winning Bourbon maker. 

Monday’s spirits provide the look, feel, and most importantly - taste - of a top-shelf cocktail minus the alcohol many are increasingly trying to avoid. 

Monday’s spirits are not only alcohol-free, but support a wide variety of healthy lifestyles with its zero-calorie, no carbs, 0 sugar, Vegan, gluten-free, and Big-8 allergen-free profile. 

Monday’s spirits were created with the mindset that products should delight, not displease - made for those who want an adult beverage experience with zero downside. Monday pleases your palate and squashes social stressors, even on a Monday. 

It’s the option to enjoy when you want to take on life how you see fit, with no barriers and no excuses. 

In This Conversation We Discuss: (50 Characters)

• [00:00] Intro
• [01:18] What are Monday’s products
• [03:08] Why Chris went non-alcoholic
• [04:23] The start of founding Monday
• [05:45] Executing on the idea
• [07:32] The adventure of the first 85 phone calls
• [08:57] Forming a “super team of founders”
• [09:50] Formulating and tasting the first batch
• [10:38] Proving the concept through crowdfunding
• [11:43] Launching in the midst of the pandemic
• [13:31] Idea to taste test to final formula
• [14:31] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
• [14:51] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
• [15:40] Sponsor: Loop loopreturns.com/honest
• [16:33] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
• [17:20] Customer acquisition after Kickstarter
• [18:31] Did Monday get labeled as a “vice product”?
• [20:24] The experience of working with 6 co-founders
• [24:16] Ecom is fraught with challenges
• [26:24] Where to find Monday’s products

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• A great foundation to a highly flavorful cocktail alternative drinkmonday.co
• Connect with Chris linkedin.com/in/christopherlboyd
• Scale your business with electriceye.io
• Download Mesa at the Shopify App Store apps.shopify.com/mesa
• Transform your returns into exchanges loopreturns.com/honest
• Get started with a free account at klaviyo.com/honest

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Kasim is the founder and CEO of Solutions 8, one of the world’s top ranked Google Ads agencies. 

He's the Traffic Coach for Digital Marketer.com's ELITE coaching program, was hand-selected by Ryan Deiss to help create Digital Marketer's new Paid Traffic Certification, and is the co-host of Perpetual Traffic (one of the top marketing podcasts in the world). 

Perpetual Traffic now ranks in the top 0.5% of all podcasts worldwide, has been downloaded over 8 million times and has helped tens of thousands of people grow their businesses through online traffic and conversion strategies. 

Recipient of the Arizona Interactive Marketing Association’s 2017 TIM Award for Person of the Year, Kasim was also named one of the Top 50 Digital Marketing Thought Leaders in the United States by The University of Missouri in 2020. 

His book, The 7 Critical Principles of Effective Digital Marketing, was featured as one of the Top 100 Digital Marketing Books of All Time by Book Authority. 

As a professional speaker, Kasim has been a main-stage emcee for the Traffic & Conversion Summit (the largest marketing conference in North America) and speaks regularly at marketing conferences around the globe. 

He and his wife have two sons; they split their time between Scottsdale, Arizona and Seattle, Washington. 

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

• [01:13] What interested Kasim in paid ads
• [02:57] Paid ads determine business success
• [04:35] When should you consider paid traffic?
• [07:51] The perspective shift on profitability
• [08:43] The market shift from SaaS to Ecommerce
• [10:27] Repeat purchases vs high margins
• [12:56] Subjective brands are unpredictable
• [14:56] Fashion brands work better on visual platforms
• [16:06] 2022 is the Wild West of TikTok
• [16:33] Verticals fit for Google/YT advertising
• [16:59] Find an enthusiast niche and build a community
• [19:28] Passion vs profit
• [20:46] A product you can stick even during a recession
• [21:16] The money comes in when it gets hard
• [22:00] Success can sometimes mean just holding on
• [23:46] Solutions 8 being the top ranked Google ads agency
• [24:31] The truth in being a Google Premier Partner
• [25:06] The big dogs are referring to Solutions 8
• [25:40] Where to learn about Google ads for free
• [26:25] Entrepreneurs and SMBs are heroes
• [27:07] SMBs are more fun than enterprises
• [28:06] Where to find more of Kasim

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Watch and learn about Google ads on Solution 8’s YT Channel
• The #1 Google Ads Agency in the US sol8.com
• Connect with Kasim linkedin.com/in/kasimaslam
• Follow Kasim on Twitter @kasimaslam
• Tune in to the #1 digital marketing podcast https://perpetualtraffic.com/

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!