The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

Today Mike and Grant are going to give some guidelines on when to invest in your growing business. In any business there are aspects that are necessary to invest in and things that can be added as the business grows. This episode offers sound advice on when to recognize that need to grow and when your business has reached a peak.

Other bits of advice are:

• Keep your costs as low as possible or your “burn rate.”

• Know what items you need to spend money on how they will save you time.

• Check out the work of Chris Ducker and the concept of “Superhero Syndrome.”

Mike and Grant want to give you a realistic portrait of how a business grows and why investing in that business will fuel growth. Their advice is meant for longevity and will give up and coming business owners great food for thought.

Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.

I’m casting solo today because Grant just had a baby! Congratulations! He’ll be back next week, but in the meantime, I’m going to talk about one of the best experiences I’ve had since becoming an online entrepreneur.

I recently joined a forum called eCommerceFuel, a private online community for business owners that’s secure enough for candid business discussion and social enough to connect you with some new and exciting people. I’ve been attending their live events since I joined a few months ago, and this past conference I just attended blew my mind. Beyond the free food and open bar, the conference hosted networking events, group sessions, and keynote speakers discussing everything from personal business anecdotes, economic philosophies, to tips for using Facebook advertisements.

Now, I’m not the kind of guy that likes to speak in front of crowds, but the breakout sessions and mastermind groups at this conference pushed me out of my comfort zone – in the best way! I’ve since joined two mastermind groups, and communicating with these amazing business owners through the forum is a great way to keep in touch and grow your business at the same time. Tune in now to find out how you can join the forum and hear about:

• eCommerceFuel and their amazing live events
• Mike’s first-hand experience with eCommerceFuel
• Mike’s favorite speakers and breakout sessions from eCommerceFuel
• Travel tips so you can get the most out of your e-commerce events
• What mastermind groups are and how valuable they can be

You can apply for the eCommerceFuel forum online at www.ecommercefuel.com. You don’t have to be a member to hear their podcast, so tune in and test them out to see if they work for you.

Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.

On our podcast today we play host to James Peacock, president of the Arizona branch of inXpress, the international shipping guru that has saved both Grant and myself tons of money shipping overseas. What makes his website great is the fact that it requires no extra fees. You only pay when you ship, and the discounts you receive from inXpress can be combined with your existing discounts from USPS and UPS.

James offers up some insightful tidbits of business information that can help you conquer the biggest challenge of e-commerce: Shipping! “People use our account as a barometer to see what kind of deals you’ll be getting,” James says as he explains the price of goods both domestically and abroad. “Every small to mid-size company are all receiving a discount…the problem is that, because international is the smallest amount of their shipping volume, the discount equals the volume. So if you have low volume, you have low discounts. We’re saving people over 40% [internationally] on top of their discounts from USPS.”

Beyond telling you how to save money, James also shares his opinion on:

• The cost benefits of air shipping over sea shipping and vice-versa
• The pros and cons of purchasing from overseas vendors, including China, Canada, and Europe
• The meaning of “all-in pricing” when it comes to security, fees, and taxes involved with importing and exporting abroad
• How you can save money on your logistics by shopping for smart shippers

To learn more about James and his work with inXpress, tune in today and visit his website at www.intlshippingrates.com. You can also reach him directly by phone at 480-405-6390 or online at [email protected].

Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!

On our podcast today we play host to James Peacock, president of the Arizona branch of inXpress, the international shipping guru that has saved both Grant and myself tons of money shipping overseas. What makes his website great is the fact that it requires no extra fees. You only pay when you ship, and the discounts you receive from inXpress can be combined with your existing discounts from USPS and UPS. James offers up some insightful tidbits of business information that can help you conquer the biggest challenge of e-commerce: Shipping! “People use our account as a barometer to see what kind of deals you’ll be getting,” James says as he explains the price of goods both domestically and abroad. “Every small to mid-size company are all receiving a discount…the problem is that, because international is the smallest amount of their shipping volume, the discount equals the volume. So if you have low volume, you have low discounts. We’re saving people over 40% [internationally] on top of their discounts from USPS.” Beyond telling you how to save money, James also shares his opinion on: The cost benefits of air shipping over sea shipping and vice-versa The pros and cons of […]

In today’s episode we’ll be talking about how to modify your conversion for your e-commerce store for your checkout page and cart page to increase your checkout rate.

These are methods we’ve used that have worked on our websites, have been documented, and are essentially fool-proof. We’ll also be uncovering the most common problems made on e-commerce sites, and telling you how to fix them. Here are some other topics we go over:

• Why conversions are great and why you should focus on them
• Why you should reconsider how you’re using PayPal at checkout
• Why it’s important to test your payment methods
• How to baby-proof your checkout to get your conversions up
• How to eliminate distractions on your website

If you’ve ever wondered how your customers interact with your website, we’ll be talking about the different kinds of software and tools you can use to gain information that will help you improve your traffic. We also go in depth on each method we’ve used to gain much higher percentage of both traffic and conversions. Some other things you’ll be learning today include:

• How to reassure your customers that your checkout page is safe
• How to do a split test with our favorite tool
• How to use up-sales to boost revenue
• How to capture users so they don’t leave your site quite so soon
• How to analyze your traffic data to improve your website’s experience

Links and software discussed:

• Icewraps
• Cuttingboard
• Mouseflo
• Yotpo
• Optimizely
• Visual website optimizer
• Inspeclet
• Hot Jar

In the next few weeks we’ll be starting a brand-new segment where you could win a free one hour analysis of your website (that we usually charge hundreds of dollars for as consultants). What we´ll do is look through a bunch of requests, pick an interesting website, talk about it on the podcast, interview the person and give them our expert analysis. Besides that we will be sure to promote it as well in an effort to increase the person’s e-com conversions and business in the weeks to come. This is a great opportunity, so if you want to be considered, head over to www.ecomcrew.com and fill out our contact form.

Make sure to check back next Tuesday for another great episode, where we’ll be bringing back our segment “Websites to Evaluate and Buy.” You can also stay tuned through our blog posts.

Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!

In today’s episode we’ll be talking about how to modify your conversion for your e-commerce store for your checkout page and cart page to increase your checkout rate. These are methods we’ve used that have worked on our websites, have been documented, and are essentially fool-proof. We’ll also be uncovering the most common problems made on e-commerce sites, and telling you how to fix them. Here are some other topics we go over: Why conversions are great and why you should focus on them Why you should reconsider how you’re using PayPal at checkout Why it’s important to test your payment methods How to baby-proof your checkout to get your conversions up How to eliminate distractions on your website If you’ve ever wondered how your customers interact with your website, we’ll be talking about the different kinds of software and tools you can use to gain information that will help you improve your traffic. We also go in depth on each method we’ve used to gain much higher percentage of both traffic and conversions. Some other things you’ll be learning today include: How to reassure your customers that your checkout page is safe How to do a split test with […]

On today’s podcast we talk about SHIPPING! It’s the first thing we look at when we are seeking out online businesses to buy and own. E-commerce operates on a whole other level that involves storage and shipping since you may not always have a brick-and-mortar storefront to hold your goods. You need to know the size and weight of the items you plan on selling so that you can organize your shipping logistics accordingly and affordably. Shipping is very important, and knowing the weight, the size, and the fragility of each of your items will save you a lot of stress when it comes to finding the right shipping team. Logistics is a tricky realm to balance, and many people overlook it and focus more on other elements of businesses ownership, like marketing, sales, and conversion. That’s why, on today’s cast, we cover the most important aspects of logistics, including: Stocking items that can utilize the USPS flat-rate boxes (pro-tip: USPS is much, much cheaper than UPS) Researching and investing in products that won’t become obsolete after 6 months Paying attention to your margin and be sure your shipping doesn’t cut into your profit Recognizing that the industry is always […]

Welcome to the first ever episode of the E-Commerce Crew Podcast! Since this is the first episode, introductions are in order:

We are your hosts, Grant Yuan and Mike Jackness. Both of us have been involved with business for most of our professional lives, and we have a similar background in online marketing and the affiliate industry. Grant started working with affiliates in 2003, focusing on online gaming and a lot of poker sites. Mike is a lifelong entrepreneur who started running his own businesses at 18 with nothing but a pack of business cards and a pager. He worked with online marketing for many years before he turned himself on to buying and selling host names for websites, and that’s how he got involved with buying, owning, and selling his own e-commerce businesses.

Our podcast is our opportunity to share all we’ve learned with the rest of you out there struggling and succeed to run your own e-commerce businesses. Each episode will focus on the tips we’ve learned, the ones that didn’t work so well, the progression we’ve made over the years, and where we think we’re going to be heading into the future. There will be guests on air to share their insights, and we will be covering a range of topics, including:

Where trends are going and how you can stay on top of them

How to buy smart with keystone pricing

How to negotiate shipping prices for your specific business focus (pro tip: the best items to ship are socks)

Pros and cons of paying cash or credit for your wholesale supply

How to avoid leaving money on the table

Over the next few weeks, this podcast will evolve to become one of the most important tools you use to become and stay successful at running your online business.

Stay tuned for episodes on buying and selling online businesses and domains, selling your products on Amazon, building your brand, and how to prepare your own exit strategy so you can continue to expand your interests and develop new businesses.

Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.

Full Audio Transcript

Intro:                        Welcome to the EcomCrew Podcast, with your hosts Mike Jackness and Grant Yuan.

Here you will learn the lessons, tips and tricks that these ecommerce pros have learned over their years running and growing their very own seven figure ecommerce businesses. Each week we dig into the ins and outs of ecommerce, the truth about affiliate marketing, how to build your own brand and sell on Amazon. And how we have stumbled and then quickly rose to success. The world of ecommerce is changing rapidly and here you will find the trusted resources you need to take your business to the next level. Alright enough of the fluff, let’s get over to your hosts Mike Jackness and Grant Yuan.

Mike:                        Hi, my name is Mike Jackness and I am your co-host along with my other co-host Grant Yuan. Welcome to the Ecommerce Crew Podcast Episode number one.

                                    Grant and I figured since this is episode number one; the best thing for us to do is to probably introduce ourselves first and to give you a little background, so with that I am going to turn over to Grant and allow him to go first and give you a little background on himself.

Grant:                       Hey everybody, this is grant and I am happy to meet all of you guys. I know we can’t see each other and you are just listening to us but we are happy nonetheless.

                                    So my background is in online marketing and I have been doing it for over a decade and I started getting my feet wet in the affiliate industry around back in 2003, and back then I was in the online gaming industry and we had quite a wild ride in that industry for a few years. Anyhow,

On today’s podcast we talk about SHIPPING! It’s the first thing we look at when we are seeking out online businesses to buy and own. E-commerce operates on a whole other level that involves storage and shipping since you may not always have a brick-and-mortar storefront to hold your goods. You need to know the size and weight of the items you plan on selling so that you can organize your shipping logistics accordingly and affordably.

Shipping is very important, and knowing the weight, the size, and the fragility of each of your items will save you a lot of stress when it comes to finding the right shipping team. Logistics is a tricky realm to balance, and many people overlook it and focus more on other elements of businesses ownership, like marketing, sales, and conversion.

That’s why, on today’s cast, we cover the most important aspects of logistics, including:

• Stocking items that can utilize the USPS flat-rate boxes (pro-tip: USPS is much, much cheaper than UPS)
• Researching and investing in products that won’t become obsolete after 6 months
• Paying attention to your margin and be sure your shipping doesn’t cut into your profit
• Recognizing that the industry is always in flux and you will have to change your model numbers

Realizing early on how important shipping is will save you the headache later. It will influence which online businesses you choose to invest in, and it will help you maintain your success as a business owner. Shipping your products the right way proves to your clients and your manufacturers that you care about each and every item you are selling. Because if you don’t care, why should they?

And because shipping plays such a huge role in buying and selling domains and e-commerce websites, we offer up even more tips and tricks in this episode so you know what to look out for as you start shopping around, including:

• Evaluation: How much are you willing to pay?
• Risk Management: What do you have to lose?
• Staff and Salary: Who is taking care of the backend of your site?
• Customer Service: What are your customers asking you?

Tune in today and find out how you can ship affordably and invest wisely in your next online business venture!

Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!

Welcome to the first ever episode of the E-Commerce Crew Podcast! Since this is the first episode, introductions are in order:

We are your hosts, Grant Yuan and Mike Jackness. Both of us have been involved with business for most of our professional lives, and we have a similar background in online marketing and the affiliate industry. Grant started working with affiliates in 2003, focusing on online gaming and a lot of poker sites. Mike is a lifelong entrepreneur who started running his own businesses at 18 with nothing but a pack of business cards and a pager. He worked with online marketing for many years before he turned himself on to buying and selling host names for websites, and that’s how he got involved with buying, owning, and selling his own e-commerce businesses.

Our podcast is our opportunity to share all we’ve learned with the rest of you out there struggling and succeed to run your own e-commerce businesses. Each episode will focus on the tips we’ve learned, the ones that didn’t work so well, the progression we’ve made over the years, and where we think we’re going to be heading into the future. There will be guests on air to share their insights, and we will be covering a range of topics, including:

• Where trends are going and how you can stay on top of them
• How to buy smart with keystone pricing
• How to negotiate shipping prices for your specific business focus (pro tip: the best items to ship are socks)
• Pros and cons of paying cash or credit for your wholesale supply
• How to avoid leaving money on the table

Over the next few weeks, this podcast will evolve to become one of the most important tools you use to become and stay successful at running your online business.

Stay tuned for episodes on buying and selling online businesses and domains, selling your products on Amazon, building your brand, and how to prepare your own exit strategy so you can continue to expand your interests and develop new businesses.

Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.