The Ecommerce Influence Podcast

However, as their business grows, travel becomes stressful and they feel like they have less freedom, not more.

Today we're helping you get that freedom to travel back by sharing our strategies for stress-free and productive traveling. We both have a lot of experience traveling and working, and we want to give you our tips for enjoying yourself, and getting stuff done, while on the road.

Enjoy!

• 5:08 The travel mindset and setting expectations.
• 6:59 The pace of business travel vs. ongoing travel.
• 7:59 A key thing to do on travel days that will help reduce stress.
• 10:47 In order to keep the freedom to travel as your team grows, you need to protect each other's time.
• 13:42 The travel kit to put together to help you be more productive.
• 15:24 Andrew's addition to his travel kit that's been a game changer for staying calm on the road.
• 16:02 Tips for making the most out of long flights and drives.
• 19:05 Andrew's road trip recipe for success.
• 21:50 What to do right away when you land in a new city to get grounded and ready to be productive.
• 25:20 Some travel apps/access hacks.

• Headspace app
• Airbnb (if you haven't used Airbnb before, this link will give you $40 off)
• Work Hard Anywhere app
• LiquidSpace
• Breather
• LoungeBuddy
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• @AndrewFoxwell on Twitter
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

But there are still ecommerce brands out there who are crushing it and in today's episode we explore some of the reasons why.

Former Shopify Plus blog editor Aaron Orendorff has written a ton about ecommerce and the direct-to-consumer craze.

Today we have a thoughtful conversation about what it means to build a ecommerce brand in the current climate, what some fast-growing, successful companies are doing to show up in a more unique way, and how a bigger picture process around customer acquisition is helping them succeed.

Enjoy!

• 7:00 Introducing Aaron Orendorff and his two distinct professional lives.
• 10:26 Aaron's transition from Seminary to Shopify Plus.
• 16:03 Why the Golden Era of direct-to-consumer is over.
• 18:26 How do small ecommerce brands with limited products succeed at shifting categories to scale up?
• 24:18 Engineering AOV from the start to the end of your sales funnel.
• 28:58 Good loyalty program tactics.
• 29:59 The three ingredients to a successful loyalty program.
• 33:37 Some companies who are killing it with their rewards programs.
• 37:23 Why it's better to drive paid media to content rather than your product page.
• 41:52 SEO as part of the long game for the success of your ecommerce brand...is it right for everyone?
• 44:13 Which brands should invest in content and which ones shouldn't.
• 48:58 You can't build a brand around itself, you build it around your community.

• MarketingProfs
• How direct-to-consumer brands can avoid startup purgatory (VentureBeat)
• The State of D2C Marketing in 2019 (Yotpo)
• GHOST Loyalty Program
• @AaronOrendorff on Twitter
• @WilsonGHung on Twitter
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• @AndrewFoxwell on Twitter
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

But there's really no big mystery behind why this happens.

A few months ago I was interviewed on a podcast by my good friend Brett Curry on the Ecommerce Evolution Podcast. We break down what separates e-commerce brands that scale up versus those that plateau.

After re-listening to the episode, I decided to share it with you. Brett and I talk about a variety of things, including average order value and lifetime value, and how that directly impacts your ability to scale up. We talk about demand generation versus demand capture: which is "better" and which lends itself to being able to scale. We talk about the roadmap to building a team and scaling up your business, how your role as a CEO changes as you grow, and much, much more.

I had a great time chatting with Brett, and I hope you enjoy!

• 8:25 Why I'm so passionate about dissecting why some brands scale and others don't.
• 9:56 The KPIs that separate the businesses that can scale from those that can't.
• 11:18 Demand capture vs. demand generation and which one will allow you to scale.
• 14:51 Factors I look for when evaluating a product's potential for growth.
• 16:53 How a passionate market can contribute to success.
• 21:03 Why having competitors in your market is a good thing.
• 21:44 Average order value and lifetime value: why they're important and what to look for if you want to scale.
• 24:48 How to evaluate CPA across different channels and the other metric I recommend examining.
• 27:30 It's OK if your business doesn't scale — and this is why.
• 30:28 Growing your business by expanding your product line.
• 34:20 A true entrepreneur falls in love with their customers, not their product.
• 35:47 Great founders know when to ask for help.
• 37:17 Why business founders need to become experts at their marketing channels before handing over the reins.
• 41:23 How a CEO's role shifts as the company grows.

• ECommerce Evolution Podcast
• Business Lunch Podcast
• 2PM
• Episode 189: What's Actually Working In SEM And On YouTube In 2019 (with Brett Curry)
• Profit Summit Intensive Workshop
• The Ecommerce Coalition
• Training: What's Working With Google Ads Right Now
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

But I still see too many people leaving money on the table and missing out on low-hanging fruit.

Today I'll walk you through how to do a two-day email overhaul that will help you increase your revenue.

We'll start by making sure your email service provider and integrations are set up correctly, create a branded email template, ensure you have a great offer that's capturing tons of leads, and identify the email flows to build that have the biggest financial impact for your business.

This is the exact email overhaul process I've used with my clients to help them bring in $10K from email in just one week after set-up.

Can't wait to hear your results!

• 5:06 How to ensure your email service provider is set up correctly.
• 6:20 The importance of tracking viewed products.
• 7:30 Other common mistakes Austin sees with ESP setup and integrations.
• 10:20 Creating an email template for your brand (without a designer).
• 13:45 Lead capture: the questions to ask yourself to make sure you're set up for success.
• 14:55 How to come up with a good offer.
• 16:38 Deciding which tool is right for your lead capture.
• 18:55 The email flows that have the biggest financial impact for your business.
• 21:25 Simple tests to run that will improve your email performance and a tip for using profile properties to evaluate the success of your email sequences over time.
• 25:25 Tips for improving your subject line copywriting.
• 26:55 Using plain text emails to drive clicks.
• 28:00 Adding animated GIFs to emails with Soapbox.
• 28:50 Merging your content with commerce.

• Klaviyo
• Omnisend
• CartHook
• ReCharge
• Justuno
• Soapbox
• Private Intensive
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you've been on Facebook in the past week, you've probably seen an ad from Buffy.

What started as an idea to disrupt the bedding industry has grown into a multi-million dollar business.

Today Buffy co-founder Shoaib Kabani joins us to cover a range of topics.

We talk about everything from product development, to the importance of testing, how landing pages can improve your funnel, and what performance KPIs you have to be thinking about as you scale. , how he thinks about scaling up their business, what's worked for them.

Whether you're a business owner or an ecommerce marketer, you're going to get a lot out of this episode.

Enjoy!

• 4:49 How a desire to change the bedding industry led to the creation of Buffy.
• 6:21 The training Shoaib got from his start in consulting that's helped him as an entrepreneur.
• 7:35 Developing the initial idea and concept for Buffy: providing value and values.
• 9:31 The process of validating the concept online, on social, and in person before going all in.
• 12:48 How do I make this a no brainer for the consumer?
• 14:16 What's worked for Buffy from a creative perspective and changes they've made as they've scaled.
• 18:40 Some of the unintended consequences of having a free trial offer.
• 19:56 Unique KPIs Shoaib looks at on a daily basis.
• 22:00 A funnel analysis tool that's been a game changer as Buffy's scaled up.
• 23:10 The materials and brand values that make Buffy stand out in the bedding industry.
• 25:05 How Buffy uses landing pages to enhance its sales funnel.
• 28:09 Addressing customer lifetime value when you have a limited number of products.
• 32:08 Shoaib's approach to launching into new ad channels, specifically with affiliates and podcasts.
• 37:14 How the Buffy founders set their budget for testing new channels and concepts.
• 39:10 What you, the ecommerce business owner, need to be thinking about to be successful.
• 41:25 Exciting insight into what's next for Buffy.

• Buffy
• Heap
• Shoaib on Instagram: @ShoaibKabani
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts

It's our goal to help our clients succeed, but even the experts get it wrong sometimes.

As we've seen in the first six months of the year, things have changed wildly within Facebook. Today, Andrew shares some of the advice he's given that hasn't worked out. And while he's never intentionally led anyone astray, things don't always go as planned. Andrew talks about five times his advice has failed on Facebook and the lessons learned from those mistakes.

We hope by sharing some of the worst Facebook advice of the year we'll prevent you from making any of these mistakes yourself.

Enjoy!

• 3:02 Why we're talking about failure.
• 6:11 Budget advice: what we've said before and how we'd correct it.
• 10:35 Creative is the most important part of the FB ad equation, bottom line.
• 13:15 The gut check question to ask yourself before you run with your creative content.
• 14:55 Honesty around product market fit when you have a very specific niche.
• 18:40 Campaign budget optimization: it's still the Wild West.
• 22:00 Not all lookalike audiences are created equal.
• 23:42 How to determine if your audience is viable for creating a lookalike audience.

• Episode 191: How An Artist And Engineer Turned Business Owners Built A "Cult"
• Episode 196: The Ugly Truth About Why Your Business Isn't Scaling
• Episode 198: How To Create Winning Content On Facebook And Instagram
• Episode 202: How I Scaled From $500/Day To $15,000/Day In Ad Spend In 30 Days
• Andrew on Twitter: @andrewfoxwell
• Austin on Twitter: @a_brawn
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts

For my team, the end of the quarter means it's time to get out of the day-to-day grind and do some bigger picture planning.

Every three months we do a quarterly business offsite, where we take a step back so we can review our goals, and set new ones, that will help us move forward in the right direction.

Today we're talking about the process we follow for our quarterly business offsite and how you can host one of your own. I'll share the questions we ask to review the previous 90 days, how we capture ideas for improvements, and how we come up with our north star goal for the upcoming quarter.

Enjoy!

• 2:49 Why Austin's excited to get off the grid and plan for a new quarter.
• 4:44 How to start preparing for your quarterly business offsite.
• 9:35 Questions to ask as you prepare for your offsite that will help your employees take ownership in the business.
• 12:35 A question that will help narrow in on the vision for the upcoming quarter.
• 13:29 Bonus question: what is one unique way we could create more monthly recurring revenue for the business?
• 14:59 The themes we use for each day of our offsite.
• 15:49 The big question Austin asks himself when reviewing the numbers from the previous quarter.
• 18:11 Questions to answer during a freewriting session to gain clarity on where you want the business to be one year from now.
• 19:10 A more structured alternative for creating a vision for the future.
• 20:59 The freedom and flexibility this kind of planning can give you, both in your work and in your life.
• 25:20 Reviewing your website and evaluating your funnel with critical eyes.
• 26:24 Day two of the quarterly business offsite: goal setting for the next 90 days and identifying your "north star."
• 30:49 How to successfully wrap up your offsite (don't forget to celebrate!).

• Book: The Goal
• Chris Rudolph: Freedom Business Family
• UserTesting
• Episode 203: Why You Should Stop Selling Yourself Short And Think Like A Billionaire
• Andrew on Twitter
• Austin on Twitter
• The Coalition
• Brand Guild
• Foxwell Digital Courses
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you've enjoyed this podcast, I have something really exciting for you. For the last year and a half I've been coaching business owners and marketers inside a group called The Coalition. What launched as an experiment became a game changer for our over 150 members.

If you'd like me and my team of expert marketers and ecommerce operators to coach you on your journey to scaling up your ecommerce business, this is your opportunity. We go in-depth on all the topics we talk about on this podcast and provide actionable training every single month. You'll also get one-on-one coaching from me to help you grow your business.

Head over to JointheCoalition.com to learn more. Can't wait to see you inside.

It's not always easy to maintain high-quality standards, especially when you want to sell organic, sustainable, and made-in-the-USA products. Costs get high and sometimes that means concessions have to be made. But sticking to your guns can lead to major payoff, especially when your customers have your back. Today we chat with Jen and Kevin Long of Noble Carriage, who share the amazing story of how they built their dream company selling organic and sustainable baby clothes. They share how they built and nurtured a supportive community, how this community helped them in the creation and launch of their own products, their challenging product sourcing journey, and how they've stood by their strict sustainability standards along the way. Enjoy!

• 3:23 A game changer quick win tip on A/B testing.
• 8:35 How the search for safe and sustainable baby clothes led to the creation of Noble Carriage.
• 10:26 How Noble Carriage engages with its online community of moms in a way that provides support and establishes trust.
• 15:05 The importance of slowing down and examining your profit margins when evaluating your business and your ability to scale.
• 18:39 What Jen and Kevin would have done differently in the growth of their business and why it's so important not to get stuck living in the grind.
• 21:26 One of Kevin's big lessons: If you're going to fail, fail fast.
• 23:04 The value of understanding their audience before creating and launching their own products.
• 26:59 The challenging journey of sourcing organic and sustainable baby clothes.
• 31:09 The role of Noble Carriage's community in their successful product development and launch.
• 33:08 How Noble Carriage marketed their new product across multiple channels.
• 35:03 What's working with email for Noble Carriage.
• 37:17 Jen's plans for expanding their ambassador program.
• 40:51 Some exciting new Noble Carriage products coming later this year to Noble Carriage that people must watch out for and when these will be released.

• Noble Carriage
• Noble Carriage on Instagram: @noblecarriage
• Episode 149: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 1]
• Episode 150: The Art Of Doing Less But Better W/ Greg McKeown [Part 2]
• Ecommerce Profit Summit (formerly the Brand Growth Experts Intensive)
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts

If you've enjoyed this podcast, I have something really exciting for you. For the last year and a half I've been coaching business owners and marketers inside a group called The Coalition. What launched as an experiment became a game changer for our over 150 members.

If you'd like me and my team of expert marketers and ecommerce operators to coach you on your journey to scaling up your ecommerce business, this is your opportunity. We go in-depth on all the topics we talk about on this podcast and provide actionable training every single month. You'll also get one-on-one coaching from me to help you grow your business.

Head over to JointheCoalition.com to learn more. Can't wait to see you inside.

They can help you capture more emails, display personalized product recommendations to your customers, and increase your conversion rate. In today's episode, I'll share my tips on what companies can see the biggest gains from a quiz, who is killing it right now with their quiz funnels, and how you can build one for your business today.

Enjoy!

• 5:46 Why the most successful companies Austin works with use quiz funnels.
• 6:47 The company or product type that's a perfect fit for a quiz funnel.
• 8:13 If you have a lot of organic traffic, here's an example of how a quiz funnel can turn visitors into subscribers.
• 10:44 The companies quiz funnels don't necessarily work well for.
• 12:51 Two examples of companies that are successfully using a quiz funnel.
• 15:31 What sets successful quizzes apart.
• 16:17 Figuring out the right questions to ask.
• 19:10 How to create your first quiz.
• 21:31 Austin's recommended quiz building tools.

• Typeform
• Klaviyo
• Annemarie Gianni Quiz
• Annmarie Gianni thank you page
• Beardbrand
• The Ecommerce Marketing Quiz
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you've been a podcast listener for a while and you've yet to join the Brand Growth Experts Membership, now is the time to do it. It's my online coaching community, and it's an incredible resource for you. We've got about 120 members, all ecommerce business owners, and marketers. And in that community, I work with you one on one to help scale up your business.

That could be scaling up advertising, hiring a team, or diving into marketing strategy. We go really in depth every single month on topics that we also talk about on the podcast. So, if you've enjoyed the podcast, you're going to love the Brand Growth Experts Membership. Head over to brandgrowthexperts.com for more information. Can't wait to see you guys on the inside.

If you're looking to grow your business, there's only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they'll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that'll help grow your business and make more money. That's why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo.

If you aren't already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you'll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Most online brands will tell you their biggest challenge is cash flow, right? Usually, you're paying an arm and a leg on interest and fees to finance your inventory and seasonality.

Brex is the only corporate credit card built specifically with the needs of ecommerce business in mind, with crazy-good terms: Net 60 float, with no personal guarantee. Your card limit's based on your monthly sales, not your credit score—and, oh yeah, there's absolutely no interest and no fees. Whatever you spend on day 1, you have a whole 60 days to pay back. What you spend on day 2, you have another 60 days to pay, or day 61. Brex's whole goal is to shrink that window between you paying for shipping or inventory and the revenue that's going to generate, so you can keep growing. Brex is really built for ecommerce—it's amazing. Right now, Brex is in the US only, so if that's you, sign up with the code "influence" and a $250 credit will be added to your account and Brex will waive your card fees for life.

Got to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/brex to sign up.

Have you stopped to consider the next step in your entrepreneurial journey?

Perhaps you own a six or seven figure business now, but where will you be in 10 years? Will you still be living in the grind? Or are your sights set on acquiring companies and building a portfolio?

Today's guest has done it all. He's built his own business, was the CMO of Karmaloop, worked as a consultant, and now is the CEO of AutoAnything (just one of the businesses in his current portfolio). Drew Sanocki is back to talk about this journey and his recent entry into the acquisition side of ecommerce.

Drew will share his insights on buying businesses, establishing company culture, hiring the right team, and why these days he's more focused on creating alignment than hustling.

Enjoy!

• 2:53 A quick win with Facebook's new cost cap bidding.
• 9:55 The perspective Drew gained from a trip around the world and how it led him to think like a billionaire by focusing on acquiring assets rather than hustling.
• 13:14 How Drew made his first acquisition.
• 16:39 Drew's journey from Chairman of the Board to becoming CEO of AutoAnything.
• 18:50 What it's like to run a $100 million dropshipping company.
• 20:09 Comparing life as the CMO of Karmaloop vs. the CEO of AutoAnything.
• 23:29 The importance of making the right hires if you want to be a successful CEO.
• 25:28 Drew's approach to building a strong company culture.
• 28:58 The impact of a company's size on its culture.
• 32:17 How long it took Drew to make cultural changes once he took over as CEO.
• 34:36 Drew's ebb and flow between lifestyle businesses and managing a company at a larger scale.
• 37:59 A lesson in the importance of thinking like a billionaire.
• 40:01 What you need to know now in order to succeed as an investor in the future, and how to use your current skill set to your advantage.
• 48:25 How Drew made the decision to make a change in his professional life.
• 51:05 The importance of rest, setting boundaries, and work-life balance.
• 53:57 How being starved for resources helps you to prioritize.
• 54:59 OKRs: What are they and how they've helped create alignment and focus within Drew's business.
• 58:15 Why Drew is fired up about direct mail in 2019.
• 1:00:12 How Drew manages to run three companies at once.

• Netflix Culture Deck
• AutoAnything
• PostPilot
• GoSimple
• Nerd Marketing
• Book: Powerful by Patty McCord
• Book: Measure What Matters by John Doerr
• Book: Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Drew on Instagram: @drewsanocki
• Episode 183: How To Manage Your Time Strategically While Growing Your Business
• Episode 116: 4 Profitable Email Strategies You Can Swipe For Your Brand
• Cost Cap Facebook Bidding
• Klaviyo
• Ecommerce Profit Summit (formerly the Brand Growth Experts Intensive)
• Foxwell Digital
• Brand Growth Experts
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

If you've enjoyed this podcast, I have something really exciting for you. For the last year and a half I've been coaching business owners and marketers inside a group called The Coalition. What launched as an experiment became a game changer for our over 150 members.

If you'd like me and my team of expert marketers and ecommerce operators to coach you on your journey to scaling up your ecommerce business, this is your opportunity. We go in-depth on all the topics we talk about on this podcast and provide actionable training every single month. You'll also get one-on-one coaching from me to help you grow your business.

Head over to JointheCoalition.com to learn more. Can't wait to see you inside.

If you're looking to grow your business, there's only one way. By building real, quality customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim that they do this, but they'll never deliver on those promises. Klaviyo, though, is different. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening to and understanding cues from your customers, which allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages that'll help grow your business and make more money. That's why over 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo.

If you aren't already a customer, head over to www.ecommerceinfluence.com/klaviyo and you'll get a free trial + priority on-boarding.

Shoelace helps fast-growing ecommerce stores build brand equity, increase conversions and grow revenue using Customer Journey Retargeting by showing the right ad to the right people at the right time.

Shoelace is excited to announce its all-new integration with Klaviyo. This integration lets you seamlessly synchronize your marketing activity across your email and retargeting channels. Boost your email campaigns by automatically retargeting email recipients across multiple channels. Increase campaign engagement by showing ads to recipients who didn't open or click an individual campaign. Most importantly, drive growth by effortlessly retargeting all of your Klaviyo lists and segments with personalized messaging.

To find out more visit ecommerceinfluence.com/shoelace and supercharge your email campaigns today.