The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

We've made the jump to video podcasts! You can now not only listen, but watch full episodes on the EcomCrew Podcast YouTube channel.

Today, Dave and I are excited to catch-up and talk about our businesses, and how 2021 has been for us so far. In my opinion, it's been the hardest year in ecommerce ever since I started 8 years ago, and that's because of the uncontrollable circumstances that have been plaguing the industry.

But Dave seems to disagree.

We explore Dave's side of the story, why stress is at an all time high, and the progress of my newest acquisition.

Timestamps:

• Why 2021 has been the hardest year in ecommerce, and why Dave disagrees - 1:44
• The difference in business types between Dave and I - 5:55
• Preparing the next business for sale, and why - 6:56
• Our predictions for when valuations start to decline - 9:36
• Timing the market perfectly vs. selling when comfortable - 12:59
• Does the size of my team have anything to do with how difficult ecommerce has been this year? - 18:34
• Comparing the best month to last year's in the new business - 23:39
• Exploring the 19% growth and where it's from - 26:53
• Google Shopping Tips from Dave Bryant - 31:56
• Dave's strategy for the future, and struggling with Facebook Ads - 32:48
• What I learned after spending $1M on Facebook Ads - 34:04
• Female-specific products vs. Male-specific products in Facebook Ads - 37:27
• What's going on with Dave - 39:40

If you enjoyed this video podcast, don't forget to leave us a review over on iTunes and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up-to-date with the latest episodes.

As always, happy selling and we'll talk to you soon!

Ecommerce aggregators have been all the rage this past year. We decided to kick off a podcast series with some of the biggest names in the aggregator space to help sellers understand the acquisition process and get that graceful exit.

Today's guest is Jake Wolpert. He's the Head of Sales at Acquco, a relatively young ecommerce aggregator that's made a name for itself rather quickly.

We'll talk about what Acquco and other aggregators look for when acquiring ecommerce businesses, what kinds of deals you can expect when selling, and the most important things you need to know to exit your business without leaving money on the table.

Timestamps:

• Why the aggregator space has accelerated this quickly - 1:29
• Acquco's biggest selling points - 2:55
• How Jake got into the aggregator space - 12:44
• What Acquco looks for in a business - 15:16
• How Acquco evaluates businesses with the pandemic factor - 20:11
• Basic terms that sellers can expect when working with Acquco - 23:27
• Things you should know when gearing up to exit - 29:50

I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did, and we'll definitely have more informative episodes about ecommerce aggregators down the road. If you want to learn more about Acquco, you can get in touch with Jake through 908-208-9674 or [email protected].

By the way, in case you missed it, we've recently launched the EcomCrew Podcast YouTube channel, where we put up some of the most interesting tidbits from our podcasts episodes. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a beat.

As always, happy selling and we'll talk to you soon!

In ecommerce, there are a few things better than finding a good opportunity in a profitable niche.

Today, we're doing an Under the Hood session with George Mulford, who's seeing a lot of potential and a sizable market in the gaming niche, and wants to take his brand into Amazon.

George is currently at a crossroads and could use some practical advice on how to attack his chosen niche the right way and scale his brand.

The key things we'll be talking about include why you should craft a killer listing even before launching your product (and how to do it) as well as the plethora of ways to drive traffic to your listing.

Timestamps:

• How George got into ecommerce - 2:38
• An overview of George's current ecommerce business - 4:27
• Crafting a killer Amazon listing - 7:58
• Driving traffic to your listing - 15:35
• Is having an affiliate program a good idea? - 20:55
• What to do if things are not quite working out - 25:38
• Other ways to generate traffic - 30:30

It was my pleasure to give George my practical advice and I'm excited to have him back for an update on his business down the road. If you're also seeking advice and want to get featured in a podcast episode, head over to ecomcrew.com/underthehood to sign up.

Resources mentioned:

• EcomCrew Free Resources
• Free Amazon Domination Book

On top of these resources, we've also just launched a fresh, full-length FBA for Beginners course! This 5-module course in glorious HD has everything you need to know about taking an Amazon FBA business from 0 to 100.

So if you're looking to launch an FBA business or want to expand your current business into Amazon, head over to ecomcrew.com/fbaforbeginners to sign up.

As always, leave us a review on iTunes if you liked this episode. Happy selling and we'll talk to you soon!

Things go by really fast in ecommerce, and as early as now, you should already be thinking about your plan of attack come Q4, what with all the issues online sellers have faced this past year.

My guest today is Austin Henggeler. He is the Director of Sales and Account Management at Tophatter, a discovery shopping channel that lets customers participate in live online auctions and get deals on various products from third-party sellers.

Today, we'll be talking about what selling on Tophatter looks like for newcomers and sellers looking to expand their business.

We'll also go over Austin's predictions going into the holiday season as well as some consumer and merchant trends that he's observed over the past year, including how customers have been buying non-products (subscription services, experiences, etc.) way more and even considering those as gifts for the holidays.

We'll also talk about the current shipping crisis and how the pandemic can still play into all this as 2021 slowly draws to a close.

Timestamps:

• A little bit about Austin and Tophatter - 1:32
• Austin's holiday predictions for 2021 - 3:44
• How selling on Tophatter works and what your margins will look like - 13:26
• Consumer and merchant trends going into Q4 2021 - 19:25
• The current shipping and supply chain situation - 24:27

It's been a fun conversation with Austin and I can't help but wish we had more time. If you're interested in selling your products on Tophatter, check out their open marketplace over on tophatter.com.

By the way, if you're not already selling on FBA, we've just released a full-length FBA for Beginners course tailored to helping you launch and take an Amazon FBA business from 0 to 100. Sign up here.

Lastly, don't forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you liked this episode.

Until the next one, happy selling!

We've made the jump to video podcasts! You can now not only listen, but watch full episodes on the EcomCrew Podcast YouTube channel.

That's not the only thing that's fresh this week, though, as we also just launched our new standalone course, From 0 to 100 - Amazon for Absolute Beginners!

By public demand, we developed this course to cater to those who are looking for a deep dive into everything there is to know about the increasingly complex Amazon platform.

This 5-module course is tailored to those who are new to ecommerce altogether, experienced sellers coming from non-Amazon platforms, and even sellers who are looking for the best content to train up their staff and virtual assistants.

For this episode, we'll be giving you a sneak peek of what the course has to offer by talking about the top 5 factors that can help you succeed as an Amazon seller.

Timestamps:

• Success Factor #1: High-quality imagery - 6:49
• Success Factor #2: Great customer reviews - 14:43
• Success Factor #3: Solid PPC and advertising strategies - 24:47
• Success Factor #4: A good launch - 31:41
• Success Factor #5: On- and off-page ranking factors - 37:33

If you're an EcomCrew Premium member, you'll get instant access to this course. If you're not yet in Premium, the course is also available on its own. To learn more, head over to ecomcrew.com/fbacourse. We're excited to have you on board!

If you enjoyed this video podcast, don't forget to leave us a review over on iTunes and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up-to-date with the latest episodes.

As always, happy selling and we'll talk to you soon!

The past year has been nothing less than a perfect storm for ecommerce—between tariff impositions, inventory issues, and of course, the pandemic, it felt like the walls were closing in on ecommerce entrepreneurs.

My guest for today is the host and creator of 7 Figure Seller Summit, Gary Huang. He's talked to a lot of like-minded sellers this year, including myself, and he's here to share some of the most valuable insights he's learned from all those conversations.

We'll talk about how successful sellers have been navigating this perfect storm and we'll jump right into 7 key takeaways from this year's edition of the Seller Summit.

Timestamps:

• Takeaway #1: Successful entrepreneurs are very agile - 5:56
• Takeaway #2: Never put all your eggs in one basket - 15:35
• Takeaway #3: Be very granular with Amazon PPC - 20:40
• Takeaway #4: External traffic is critical to ranking - 25:29
• Takeaway #5: Focus on the bottomline—not the top line - 32:58
• Takeaway #6: What gets measured gets managed - 42:26
• Takeaway #7: Always begin with the end in mind - 45:06

I enjoyed having Gary on the show as much as I've enjoyed being a part of the 7 Figure Seller Summit. To learn more, head over to 7figuresellersummit.com. It launches on August 16-20th, and this year, Gary and his team will be building different tracks tailored to sellers at various stages of the ecommerce journey.

While you're at it, don't forget to check out our fresh full-length FBA For Beginners course, which will teach you how to avoid the common mistakes when launching or expanding your business on Amazon.

It launches very soon, and we're currently offering discounts for early birds who sign up to the waitlist. Just head over to ecomcrew.com/fbawaitlist.

Don't forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you haven't already, and as always, happy selling!

It's been seven full months since we closed the deal on an exciting new ecommerce business. Be sure to check out these episodes to learn how we closed the deal on this new venture:

• Episode 366: Mike's Exciting New Business

• Episode 381: How Mike Is Growing His New Business

Today, I thought I'd give you guys a little sneak peek on how things are going, and why success in ecommerce rarely ever happens overnight.

Joining me for this episode is none other than one of my partners in this venture, Bill D'Alessandro. We'll be talking about how we're maintaining quality across multiple teams, why implementing changes gradually is giving us better results, and what our long-term goals are for this business.

Whether you're looking to sell, buy, or are in the trenches of scaling your online business, I'm sure you'll find a lot of value in this episode.

Timestamps:

• Overview of the deal and Bill's insights as lead investor - 2:57
• How we staffed up the business and delegate workload - 8:42
• Building trust with your team and dripping change out - 22:36
• Our long-term strategy - 30:10
• The pros and cons of getting an SBA loan - 39:15

If you're interested in the general manager spot we'll be offering as part of our goals for this business, shoot me an email over on [email protected].

On the topic of growing an ecommerce business, we've recently developed a full-length Amazon FBA For Beginners course tailored to those who want to avoid fatal rookie mistakes when starting an FBA business.

It launches very soon, but we're offering a discounted early access for those who sign up to our waiting list. Head over to ecomcrew.com/fbawaitlist to register.

As always, leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling, and we'll talk to you soon!

We've finally come to the big 4-0-0!

400 podcast episodes is a lot of podcasting, and it's certainly a huge milestone for us here on EcomCrew.

Joining me for this special episode is none other than Dave.

We'll be taking a quick trip down memory lane and look back at the podcast's early days as well as how we managed the challenges that came our way as we got more listeners and created more content.

Speaking of growth, our main topic for this episode is scaling an ecommerce business and the big throttles that become harder and harder to address the bigger your business gets. These include cash, product development, and finding the right people to grow your business with.

Timestamps:

• Looking back on the podcast's early days - 1:10
• Another big milestone: Getting over a million downloads - 5:57
• Planning out and scaling your business - 9:52
• Throttle #1: Cash - 12:09
• Throttle #2: Product growth - 20:11
• Throttle #3: Employees - 32:15

I wanna thank all our listeners for tuning in to every episode and joining us on our journey. It's been a fun ride so far and I can't wait to put out more great content for you guys down the road.

As always, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review over on iTunes to let us know.

Happy selling and we'll talk to you soon!

When you're selling another person's product, it's hard to find ways to differentiate yourself from other sellers, and you'll be forced to make some hard decisions sooner or later.

How can you prevent others from eating into your revenue, especially when you sell the same products? Should you break free from the mould and create your own product? Is it better to keep the warehouse or to let it go?

Questions like these are not uncommon with ecommerce sellers, but that's what our Under the Hood segment is for.

In today's episode, we're doing an Under the Hood session with Dalit Sorokin who I met way back in Steve Chou's Seller Summit years ago.

We'll be talking about the value of customisation and how it can breathe new life into your products, using paid advertisement for the first time, and struggling with your very first product during development.

I'll also be sharing my strategies for leveraging paid advertisement, how Dalit can use personalised stickers to increase Average Order Value, and to increase leads, plus, I'll be answering some of Dawn's burning questions that you might also be itching to ask yourself.

Timestamps:

• Revisiting how Dalit and I first met - 3:17
• Leveraging the value of customisation in her products through stickers - 9:27
• How to approach paid advertisement for the first time - 20:42
• Using instructional videos for video ads - 33:05
• Possible solutions to moving out of the warehouse model - 34:08
• Offering customisation through Amazon - 39:55
• Struggles with the product development stages in her very first product - 41:45

I had a fun time talking to Dalit and I hope that her business sees a lot of action in the coming months. Check out all her awesome bento boxes over on Cute Kid Stuff.

By the way, Premium won't be open again for a few months, but we still have a ton of free stuff that you'll surely find value in.

As always, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review over on iTunes to let us know. Happy selling, and we'll talk to you soon!

Sketchy competition is one of the most frustrating stress points for entrepreneurs—more so when you're running a brand online.

That's why it's important to know all the things you can do to protect your brand from copycats and sabotagers.

In this episode, Dave and I will talk all about intellectual property infringement and sabotaged listings, particularly our own experiences and how we dealt with them in the past.

We'll go over the things you should do when someone copies your products or tries to sabotage your listings. Then, we'll break down copyrights, trademarks, patents, and all these tools that you can use to build and grow a defensible brand.

Timestamps:

• What actually happens when your product gets copied - 6:09
• The perks of securing design patents - 9:21
• How Amazon deals with infringement cases - 12:11
• Why being sabotaged is tougher to deal with - 15:36
• How I deal with copyright infringement - 25:42
• What a trademark means for your ecommerce brand - 31:48

It's always a fun time having Dave on for the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode as much as I did, there's a lot more Mike-and-Dave content over on EcomCrew Premium, which closes in 24 hours!

Aside from unlimited 1-on-1 support from Dave and myself, Premium also gives you access to monthly Secret Sauce webinars delivered by industry experts, a library of 6 full-length video courses in glorious HD, and our private Facebook group where like-minded entrepreneurs exchange strategies to scale their ecommerce brands.

Head over to ecomcrew.com/premium to sign up.

Lastly, if you enjoyed this episode as much as we did, don't forget to leave us a review over on iTunes. It helps more than you know.

Happy selling and we'll talk to you soon!