The Unofficial TikTok Shop Podcast with Jordan West

Send us a text

Your consumers do not know the ins and outs of how things work in your business. By taking them on this journey with you, you can build dedicated and loyal customers.

In this episode, Melodie Reynolds of Elate Beauty talks about her brand and how it grew from 2014 to now.  She also discusses her sales team, the balance between direct-to-consumer and wholesale, and about the importance of transparency.

Listen and learn in this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• People like it when you take them on a journey and it is important to recognize that we are all consumers.
• Too much transparency is not a bad thing as long as there is context. People that you are speaking to are not in your industry, they don't know who you are, and they don't know the ins and outs of how things work.
• When you try to show people who you are, you can't just open up your coat, you have to educate them on why you are telling them.
• It is important to understand what transparency means and how we take responsibility within that transparency.
• The key thing for Elate Beauty to continue growing is support.
• The secret to scaling any business is investing in your people.

Recommended Tool:  Asana
https://www.Asana.com 

Recommended Podcast: The Prof G Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-prof-g-pod-with-scott-galloway/id1498802610 

Today’s Guest:

Melodie Reynolds is the founder and CEO of Elate Beauty.

Elate Beauty is a brand of ethically-made and sustainable cosmetics.

Connect and learn more about Melodie and Elate Beauty here:

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/melodieelated
https://www.instagram.com/elatecosmetics 

Website:
https://www.elatebeauty.com 

This month's sponsor is Triple Whale.  Triple Whale's powerful analytics platform clarifies your ad performance across channels, keeping you instantly in the know. Hit https://www.triplewhale.com/upgrowth and use promo code Upgrowth for 15% off today.

***

PROMO CODE

Upgrowth

We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a text

Most independent brands can’t afford to test too many advertising opportunities due to budget constraints, but brand partnerships offer a great means of low-cost growth. 

In this episode, Lynn Power of Masami talks about the way she’s building a collective doing pop-ups around the country, what strategies work, and the ins and outs that go into making it successful.

Listen and learn in this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• When you are bootstrapped, you have to find your opportunities because you can't pay to play with the big boys. 
• Brand partnerships could work well to leverage followings and grow businesses.
• Go into a space that's going to attract the right customer base.
• Some brands will be heavily engaged and some will be very transactional and will only care about the sales.
• Staffing is a critical piece in managing logistics.
• When a founder is in a store, the sales go up threefold.
• A community is a foundation that you need to scale.

Recommended App: Canva
https://www.canva.com/ 

Recommended Podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience
https://open.spotify.com/show/4rOoJ6Egrf8K2IrywzwOMk 

Today’s Guest:

Lynn Power is a co-founder and the CEO of Masami.

Masami is a brand of clean premium hair care.

Connect and learn more about Lynn and Masami here: 

Website: https://www.lovemasami.com/
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynn-power-02b8904
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnpowered/ 

This month's sponsor is Triple Whale.  Triple Whale's powerful analytics platform clarifies your ad performance across channels, keeping you instantly in the know. Hit https://www.triplewhale.com/upgrowth and use promo code Upgrowth for 15% off today.

***

PROMO CODE

Upgrowth

We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other eCommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a text

Machine learning is going to be everywhere soon. It can potentially solve your hardest business problems and help you scale even faster.

In this episode, Evan Dolgow of Jarvis ML talks about machine learning and warehouse logistics. He discusses what to look out for in machine learning solutions since not all of them are created equal.

Listen and learn in this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• Machine learning is in the background of things. It's what spoon feeds us what we want to see when we go on Amazon or social media.
• Visit the facility that you are going to contract.
• Look at the facility and what's within the 12-hour drive of where your core customers are.
• Machine learning is a sector of AI. It takes infinite amounts of data that a human can't possibly process, puts it all in one place, draws connections, and takes actions.
• Not all machine learning is created equally. The best way to discover the quality of a machine learning solution is to check their company on LinkedIn and see whether their team is 80% sales or 80% machine learning engineers.
• Jarvis is here to democratize machine learning for smaller businesses.
• Machine learning can potentially solve any business hurdle that you are experiencing specifically regarding scaling.
• The lowest hanging fruit in the world of machine learning is for every business to drive more customers to their website. 
• The more people you drive to the website, the faster the machine can build models, and you can start essentially converting people faster.        
• The secret to scaling is to leverage growth.
• Data is an asset that should be invested in.

Recommended Tool:  Sales QL
https://www.salesql.com 

Recommended Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear
https://www.jamesclear.com/atomic-habits 

The Rise of Super Man by Steven Kotler
https://www.stevenkotler.com/book-pages/the-rise-of-super-man 

Today’s Guest:

Evan Dolgow is a machine learning expert at Jarvis ML

Jarvis ML is a prediction engine that’s always learning. Its mission is to be the most accessible and easy-to-use end-to-end machine learning platform.

Connect and learn more about Evan Dolgow here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evandolgow 

This month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.

We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a text

Things are getting tougher these days but as brand owners, it’s our job to always figure out the things that we can do to get sales to go back up. Sometimes, the solution needed is to go back to what we do best and focus on our connection with customers.

In this episode, Jordan interviews the founder of Wax Buffalo, Alicia Reisinger. She talks all about her brand story, the rise and fall of organic Instagram, and what’s working for her company now.

Listen and learn in this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• When the numbers are down, you just have to go back to what you do best.
• Everything has a story to it and those stories are what connect us.
• As you are growing your brand, you have to find different ways to connect to your audiences.
• E-mail newsletters and SMS marketing now perform better than organic Instagram marketing when it comes to connecting more to your audience.
• Always know your margins well.
• You are way more effective when you take time for yourself.

Recommended App:  Shopify
https://www.shopify.com 

Recommended Book: Amish Murder books

Today’s Guest:

Alicia Reisinger is the founder and Artistic Director of Wax Buffalo.

Wax Buffalo produces hand-poured pure soy wax candles for modern homes.

Connect and learn more about Alicia and Wax Buffalo here: 

Website:  https://www.waxbuffalo.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waxbuffalo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliciareisinger 

This month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.





We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a text

It is important to always remember that you are selling to people and not to robots. People want to see all the different ways that your products can make their day better. This is what makes your conversion rate higher.

In this episode, Jordan talks about a conversion rate optimization case study that he and his team did to their brands. He walks us through why and how they were able to up their conversion rate by 79% month over month, and how you can apply these learnings to test in your brands.

Listen and enjoy this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• You can hire expensive agencies to do CRO for you, but it’s only recommended to do that if you are above the $5M mark.
• Conversion rate optimization is not just simply changing the color of a button.

Big levers that you can pull to up your conversion rate on your website:

1. Best practice is to have between 4 and 6 photos per product. The more, the better.

• In the fashion/apparel world, make sure that people see your items in everyday use with lifestyle images. 
• The more that you can do to explain your products, the better. 

2. Make all of your product descriptions better.

• Search through every single descriptor of your product and put it in there.
• Give people a reason to purchase.
• Use triggers to sell products.

3. Having a sale

• During sale seasons, your conversion rate is higher because your prices are lower.

4. Feature your best-sellers on every brand page.

• Tell people what other people buy and why they should love your brand.

Connect with Jordan here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer/

This month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.





We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a text

It is important to always keep in mind that you are not selling just your products but also your brand. Sharing your unique brand story and keeping your brand’s quality are the things that bring up your sales.

In this episode, Ata Sari of Mama Luma talks about their brand’s growth and the massive moves they had to make moving from California to Istanbul Turkey. He also shares what is working and not working for their brand in 2022.

Listen and learn in this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• At the end of the day, there is no secret but hard work.
• Brand identity brings the sales. Product quality and brand story are parts of the brand identity.
• There comes a time when you have to stop working with an agency.
• Build a team to organize everything and have a healthy distribution channel to make better operational costs and bring up sales.
• The D2C operations also have a big impact on B2B for a brand. Every single transaction is an added value to the brand equity.
• You need to work harder, learn, and never be comfortable where you are. 

Recommended Tool: Klaviyo
https://www.klaviyo.com

Recommended Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205 

Today’s Guest:

Ata Sari is a co-founder and the CEO of Mama Luma.

Mama Luma is a designer kids’ clothing brand based in Sta. Barbara, California.

Connect and learn more about Ata and Mama Luma here:
Website: https://www.mamaluma.com 
E-mail Address: [email protected]

This month's sponsor is Rep AI. Rep is the world’s first-ever AI-powered sales associate for e-commerce websites. It’s a sales-focused chatbot that uses AI to automatically identify and approach disengaged customers with a contextual and personalized conversation to upgrade customer experiences and increase sales. Just like in brick-and-mortar, it recommends products, answers product-related questions, and even upsells. So hit https://hellorep.ai/upgrowth and get a 2-week free trial + 50% off for your first 12 months.



We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast 

Send us a text

You’ve probably heard a lot about the amazing results Performance Max can deliver, but who would be the best people in your team to run PMax campaigns?

In this episode, Jordan talks about why your Google department may not be the best choice to run your Performance Max campaigns and explains other strategies to run highly profitable Performance Max campaigns.

Listen and enjoy this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• Performance Max is made for Facebook marketers. 
• It's similar to the kinds of campaigns that you set up for years on Facebook but you leave it untouched for a longer period of time to let the robot learn
• Pmax is essentially a Facebook CBO campaign
• Facebook marketers are used to testing campaigns exactly like this.
• They can target specific intent audiences, or go broad.

Connect with Jordan here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer/

This month’s sponsor is Parker, the first card built exclusively for eCommerce. Free up cash flow and grow your business with Parker by getting net-60 terms on every transaction. 

Parker is currently offering a $1000 sign-up bonus for Upgrowth listeners. Go to getparker.com to chat with the team today - and make sure you mention where you came from! 

We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast

Send us a text

Getting into partnerships is a middle ground between success and failure. You have to ensure you are partnering with people who align with your goals and vision. 

Sampling is your brand’s personal touch on your customer’s journey. It can be far cheaper than paid ads.

In this episode, Tyler Kupper of Weatherman® Umbrella talks about their brand story and corporate programs, how they got the right partners, and the power of sampling. 

Listen and learn in this episode.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• Partnerships have to be mutually beneficial.
• You have to align with partners that make sense.
• Everything in the promotional premium industry is brand-based.
• It doesn't matter if you have a lot or a little money, you need to get your product out there. Give out samples to the right people.
• There are many opportunities to get your products noticed that are way cheaper than paid ads.
• You have one chance to make it right.
• Your customers’ journey and experience are always important.

Recommended Tool: Monday
https://www.monday.com 

Recommended Book: Never Split the Difference by Christopher Voss with Tahl Raz
https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/0062407805 

Today’s Guest:

Tyler Kupper is the Chief Revenue Officer at Weatherman® Umbrella.

Weatherman® Umbrella is a unique premium brand umbrella offering a lifetime guarantee.

Connect and learn more about Weatherman® Umbrella here:

Website: https://www.weathermanumbrella.com 

This month’s sponsor is Parker, the first card built exclusively for eCommerce. Free up cash flow and grow your business with Parker by getting net-60 terms on every transaction. 

Parker is currently offering a $1000 sign-up bonus for Upgrowth listeners. Go to www.getparker.com to chat with the team today - and make sure you mention where you came from! 

We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast

Send us a text

A lot of founders and leaders tend to blame everyone except themselves. Time and energy are being misdirected as we try to have control over the things that we cannot control. How much can taking a radical ownership approach change your life?

In this episode, Jordan talks about what proactivity means and how to be proactive as a leader, a boss, or a founder of an organization.

Listen and enjoy this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• Between stimuli and response, there is always a gap and you get to choose a reaction. 
• With stress comes a lot of different reactions. A lot of founders blame everybody else but themselves.
• The only thing that we have control over is ourselves.
• Many of us have a lot smaller circles of influence than we have circles of concern.
• Our circle of influence grows as we become more mature and trustworthy.
• We cannot influence everything around us so we have to choose which things we're going to let in. 
• The whole idea of radical proactivity is knowing what you can change and what you cannot and spending all your time on the things that you can influence and change. It will change your life.

Connect with Jordan here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer/

This month’s sponsor is Parker, the first card built exclusively for eCommerce. Free up cash flow and grow your business with Parker by getting net-60 terms on every transaction. 

Parker is currently offering a $1000 sign-up bonus for Upgrowth listeners. Go to getparker.com to chat with the team today - and make sure you mention where you came from! 

We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Join our community and connect with other ecommerce brand owners and marketers!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretstoscalingpodcast

To make a financial recovery from a period of poor performance, it’s important to identify and acknowledge the problems, consider changes, and implement new strategies for your company. This turnaround will bring stability and growth in the long run.

In this episode, Ivy Tran of Fathead talks about how she turned around a legacy brand, and the steps necessary to get it done.

Listen and learn in this episode!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

• Homegrown systems are systems that have to be maintained by developers. It's not as dynamic as you want it to be. 
• You have to have clean data, clear records, and correctly labeled product data.  
• Constantly monitor. Make sure that usage is done accurately.
• Usability is important. Customers get frustrated easily, if they can't check out, they're gone.
• Cut costs where you can. See the data and track where your sales are coming from.
• Old-school marketing is very powerful when it comes to retention, but in 2022 it’s necessary to get better at digital marketing.

Recommended Tools:  Builder.io
https://www.builder.io/ 

Recommended Book: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
https://www.amazon.com/Born-Crime-Stories-African-Childhood/dp/1531865046 

Today’s Guest:

Ivy Tran is the Chief Operating Officer of Fathead.

Fathead provides individually crafted vinyl wall decals for home decorating.

Connect and learn more about Ivy and Fathead here:
Website: www.fathead.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivy-tran-08237267
Email Address: [email protected] 

This month’s sponsor is Parker, the first card built exclusively for eCommerce. Free up cash flow and grow your business with Parker by getting net-60 terms on every transaction. 

Parker is currently offering a $1000 sign-up bonus for Upgrowth listeners. Go to getparker.com to chat with the team today - and make sure you mention where you came from! 

We love our podcast community and listeners so much that we have decided to offer a free eCommerce Growth Plan for your brand! To learn more and how we can help, click here:

upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

If you've been paying attention and your brand is ready to GROW, apply now to be the one new brand we take on this month!

https://upgrowthcommerce.com/apply