Ecommerce Evolution

Jared Mitchell has a unique perspective on the eCommerce industry.  He and his wife, Alana, run two eCommerce sites - skincarebyalana.com and alanamitchell.com.  He’s also the lead eCommerce consultant for Neil Patel and he runs an eCommerce training group at beefysites.com.  This guy has forgotten more good eCommerce ideas than most will ever learn.    Jared is also a close friend and he’s my surfing mentor.  We do take a very brief detour to talk surfing on this episode, but mostly we talk about overlooked growth ideas! Here’s a look at what we explore on the podcast: How to NOT be a one-trick pony.  And many, many successful eCommerce businesses are far too reliant on just one traffic source or one product. Why Jared recommends at least 10 sources of sales and what channels make his top 10 list. Push notifications - how and why they work and why you shouldn’t over-think them Phone sales - customers who buy over the phone often have twice the average order value of other buyers.   Postcards - how Jared and

Cyber 5 Recap While holiday shopping is still in full swing at the time of this writing, we do have some preliminary numbers for the Cyber 5 2020 (Thanksgiving Thursday–Cyber Monday) and an early look at how Holiday 2020 as a whole is shaping up.  Here are five key observations, so far, for Holiday 2020.   We’re breaking every eCommerce record and it’s not even close.  No surprise here, but this year marks a record for online sales for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the entire Thanksgiving weekend. Adobe Analytics was predicting two years’ worth of growth being packed into this Holiday Shopping season.  So far, we’re on track.      It’s less about a single day, and more about the weekend.  This has been the trend for the last few years where retailers and shoppers alike view the Cyber 5 as one big event rather than just the individual days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is still the largest single day, with Black Friday coming in second place.  However, Saturday, now dubbed Sma

Colby Bauer has personality.  He’s a half-pipe skating, snowboarding, former collegiate athlete who turned a simple idea into a thriving eComm business.  He and his wife McKenzie started Thread Wallets with just a single product idea.  Simple, functional, minimalist wallets with personality.  That initial product took off and Thread quickly grew into a team of 22 that now boasts an expanding product line including lanyards, phone cases, and more. While there’s a lot to be impressed about with Colby and McKenzie, and their team I really wanted to key in on Thread’s culture and the unique steps they took to grow.  I think you’ll find a ton of good lessons here: How the key to scale might be engaging in activities that DON’T scale How financial intelligence (or lack thereof) can make or break startups How to hire for culture first and is the “hire slow, fire fast” mantra really the way to go How installing a half-pipe at the office lead to a fight amongst the thread founders, but lead to mental health as a focu

Conversational commerce.  What is it?  Basically, it’s taking the in-person shopping experience of asking questions and talking to retail sales staff and moving it into multiple online channels seamlessly.  Today shoppers want to interact with you in a variety of ways and they want near-instant feedback.  Messenger.  SMS.  Chat.  Facebook comments.  Your customers expect you to be everywhere they are when they need you.   In this interview, Phil and I talk about some of the foundations of conversational commerce - both strategies and tactics.  This will help guide all of your conversational commerce efforts. Here’s a quick look at what we discuss.   What components of conversational commerce should you consider? What impact can conversational commerce have on conversion rates? How to look at the dashboard and KPIs related to conversational commerce. How this impacts your paid acquisition efforts. Lots of real-world examples Plus more

Very little about 2020 has been normal - including Prime Day.  This year’s Prime Day was in October vs. Amazon’s usual July time frame.  What did this mean for 2020 Prime Day vs. 2019 Prime Day?  Would this year’s Prime Day make the official launch of holiday sales?    In this episode, I bring back OMG Commerce’s Amazon Director Chris Tyler to discuss what we noticed this year during Prime Day with our clients.  Here’s a look at what we discuss: Total prime day sales grew 70% year-over-year in 2019 vs. 2018, but only grew 45% year-over-year in 2020 compared to 2019 (Statista report).   $3.5 billion of the estimated $10 billion in total sales on Prime Day were from 3rd party sellers, but the most popular item on Prime Day was Amazon’s deeply discounted Echo Dot.   What categories of products we saw perform the best for our OMG clients. 62% of Prime Day purchases this year were for gifts for someone else according to Digital Commerce 360.   Why we didn’t see as dramatic of a list for 2020 Prime Day vs. 2019 P

Khierstyn Ross is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to launching products on Kickstarter.  She’s experienced the highs of multiple 6-figure product launches, plus she’s endured the heartache of a launch gone bad.  She knows what to do and, just as importantly, what to avoid. In this podcast, we talk about the keys to building a 6-figure crowd-funded product launch including: What products work best for a Kickstarter launch Why audience building is so important, how to do it, and why so many people underestimate it. What kind of targets to set for your first day of your Kickstarter launch What to consider when it comes to shipping Top mistakes to avoid How storytelling fuels crowd-funding launches Plus more! 

What do six-packs, successful pilots and 2020 have in common?  No, it’s not a drinking game.  We’re talking data here people! Do you know your data…like really know your data?  Do you have a feel for it?  Do you look at the right numbers daily?   Let’s talk pilots for just a second. If you’ve ever seen a cockpit, it looks kinda like most eCommerce dashboards - an overwhelming amount of buttons, data, dials, and meters.  But pilots actually focus mostly on just a few key instruments.  The rest is there to help if there’s trouble.  The same should be true for the dashboards you use to run your business.   I absolutely loved this interview with Dan LeBlanc at Daasity.  We cover some really important topics to help you really get a handle on managing your business.  Here’s a quick rundown: Is your data accurate?  Seems like an easy question.  Not always an easy answer.   Do you know what your metrics mean?  It’s all in the definition.  If you don’t have the right definition, you can’t make good decisions.   How

There are two different types of sponsored YouTube influencer videos: An integrated sponsored video and  Stand-alone sponsored video. Stand-alone sponsored influencer videos are what most brands use and what most people think of when they hear “YouTube influencer marketing.” Stand-alone videos are typically an influencer providing a quick review or endorsement about a particular product.  So the video is titled “Widget 12 Pro Unboxing and review.” An integrated sponsored influencer videos is an ad put inside of video on a separate topic.  The video might be about fortnite or camping, or whatever, but inside the video is a 30 second ad, read by the creator, for your product. These integrated video ads are Ridge Wallets secret sauce.  Here’s a quick look at what we uncover on the show: Why integrated sponsored videos are so great and why they scale better than stand alone influencer videos.  How to approach influencers Why subscribers on YouTube is largely a vanity metric How to spot a dead channel vs. an ac

During a pandemic, marketing for a travel company isn’t easy.  Kevin Urrutia and team at Chester Travel are getting creative and hustling to drive sales now and set themselves up for success in the future.  In this episode, we talk about the perfect combination of short term and long term growth strategies.  Using influencer marketing for short term growth and SEO for long term traffic and growth has proved to be a winning combination for Chester Travel and their line of modern luggage.   Here’s a look at what we cover in this episode: Leveraging returns and unsold inventory for influencer marketing. Understanding the value of your product in influencer marketing. Simple outreach for influencer marketing….you’re probably overthinking it.  Try this one sentence approach. How a solid Instagram account is a necessary prerequisite for influencer marketing. Leveraging your homepage to rank your blog posts Combining remarketing and SEO to drive sales.

In a word, Chris Lynch is cool.  So is his brand Everyday California.  It’s not a surprise then, that what started as an adventure tour company also became a super popular apparel line.  But Chris and the Everyday Cali team didn’t stop there… The brand has now grown to include flip flops, beer, CBD and even a line of sunscreen.  So what separates a solid business move into new products vs. an unhealthy distraction?  When should you partner, license, go on your own, or scrap an idea?  Here’s what we dive into on this episode:  When to lawyer up and why it’s sooo worth it Be patient - speed in some instances almost guarantees that you land on your face. One of the best questions to ask about adding a new product is “does it feel right?”   How Chris and team partnered with a brewery on a California IPA and a CBD company to make a CBD product all while strengthening their core brand offering. Lessons learned from a few license deals How and why Everyday Cali is launching a brand new sunscreen - if you’re conside

Mission meats is just a few years old, but it’s gobbling up market share in the red-hot meat snack category.  Peter Awad is a long time eCommerce pro.  He started selling auto parts on eBay in 2000.  Now he and his co-founder Nick have built a meat snack store with a mission.  They’re using profits from eCommerce to help fight deforestation, educate children in Africa, and support homeless women and children.   But they don’t just have big hearts, they have some serious marketing chops too.   In this episode, we explore the challenges and opportunities of marketing a product that could literally appeal to anyone.  We also explore how to maintain the balancing act of growing your own store AND growing on Amazon.  How to treat Amazon from a merchandising perspective.  Prospecting for new customers - Is this and Amazon first or Shopify first strategy How to increase repeat purchases in a fun way How pride or ego can limit growth with any paid ad channel Crazy CRO tests and the practice of asking “what if the op

CPAs that suddenly double overnight. Skyrocketing CPMs. Winning ads that suddenly turn into losers. Data changes that impact how ads are being run now. The list of potential issues, potholes, loopholes, and blackholes for online advertising goes on and on. So what’s an eComm store owner or media buyer to do? Call in Molly Pittman and John Grimshaw from Smart Marketer.   These are two of my favorite people to interview and today I have them both with me for the same episode. And it’s a doozy. Here’s a look at what we cover: How to have the right mindset for navigating volatility (this is more important than you think) What to do when ad performance tanks Where you should tinker to improve performance and where you shouldn’t Why this is still the greatest time in history to be a marketer - volatility and all. 3 Spot checks to make sure you are ready to scale traffic The impact of the California Consumer Privacy Act and new changes coming to iOS 14….the good, the bad, and the scary. 

This year’s online holiday shopping season will be one for the record books. Most people say they’ll shop more online or exclusively online this year.  And online shopping will also start earlier this year, indicated by Google study results where 69% of holiday shoppers say they will shop earlier this year to avoid items being out of stock. To dominate the Cyber 5 this year you need to: Get the most from your remarketing efforts, Cover any gaps you have in your search and shopping efforts, Run compelling offers and ads that compliment your brand, and Get your Top of Funnel efforts dialed in. Check out our latest blog outlining these helpful tips and the video replay from our recent webinar with Google, and be on the lookout for the audio version in this week's episode of eCommerce Evolution.

Amazon Advertising has exploded in recent years.  In fact, Amazon is now the 3rd largest online advertising platform behind only Facebook and Google.  Pretty impressive for a company who’s a retailer first, cloud computing 2nd, and online advertising 3rd.   In this episode, I wanted to bring on the sharpest mind in Amazon Advertising that I know - OMG’s very own Chris Tyler.  I brought him on so we could deep dive into the two hottest trends in Amazon Advertising right now - Sponsored Brand Video (formerly Video in Search ads) and Amazon DSP.  Here’s a look at what we cover: What is Amazon DSP and how can sellers use it to reach shoppers on an off Amazon? How to target people actively shopping for your competitor's products who haven’t purchased yet. How Sponsored Brand Video (SBV) ads are outperforming ALL other ad types for most of our clients. 5 keys to a great Sponsored Brand Video Ad How you can test SBV without spending a fortune on video production Plus more!

Is something broken in your business?  Not reaching your growth goals like you’d hoped?  Then you likely have a systems or delegation problem.   My guest today is Trent Dyrsmid.  Trent is the host of the Bright Ideas podcast as well as the founder of an Amazon reseller business that just ranked #254 on the Inc. 5000 list. He is also the co-founder of Flowster.app a premier workflow management tool for eCommerce businesses.  He knows a thing or two about systems, delegation, and growth.  He’s now fully delegated himself out of his Amazon reseller business as it continues to scale rapidly.   How does he do it?  Clear systemization and delegation.  On the show, we talk about one of his favorite quotes from the Honorary Chairman of Toyota - “We get brilliant results from average people managing brilliant processes – while our competitors get average or worse results from brilliant people managing broken processes” ~ Fujio Cho, Honorary Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation In this episode we cover: What to system

Michael Jamin knows a thing or two about telling a good story.  He’s written for popular sitcoms like King of the Hill, Rules of Engagement, Tacoma FD, and Beavis & Butthead to name a few.  More importantly, for our purposes, he’s also the Co-Founder of Twirly Girl - an eComm brand that features some truly magical storytelling ads.  I wanted to have Michael on the show so we could learn some of his secrets….and because I knew it would be a ton of FUN.  He delivered.  Here’s a quick look at what we cover: Using setup and punchline to deliver features and benefits in a truly fun, funny and memorable way If customers focus on price, it’s your fault and how to fix it How some powerful tweak in FB ads dropped their cost per share from $178 to just $1.16 When Michael combined what he knew about TV script writing and eComm Twirly Girl grew 30.6% Why people aren’t really buying stuff, but rather relationships and magic A few powerful “story makeovers” Plus more

Almost every eCommerce company I talk to is investing heavily into Facebook and Google Ads.  Probably less than 30% are actively investing in Affiliate marketing.  I first met my guest, Greg Powell, while we were both providing consulting services for another agency.  I instantly could tell that he knew his stuff.  Now he’s running an extremely successful Affiliate Marketing agency - Tactical Marketing based in Joplin MO.   Fringe benefits of an affiliate marketing program including free PR and new audience discovery and testing. 3 ways to tell if your product is a good fit for Affiliate marketing Avoiding affiliate horror stories - namely, how to avoid coupon site hell. How attracting the right affiliates makes all of the difference. Best affiliate networks for your category Plus much more!

The online buying journey is a complex process.  It rarely looks exactly the same for different shoppers.  BUT, there are distinct stages that most shoppers pass through in their unique journey.  Video can be your secret weapon along each stage of the journey - compelling customers, educating customers, and delighting customers. Ben Amos lives in Australia’s Sunshine Coast and is a master at creating video content that shapes buying behavior.  In this episode, we talk about how video can impact these 4 distinct stages of the shopping journey: Awareness - this is where we tell our brand story in a compelling and helpful way…Ben shows us how.   Consideration- this stage is all about information and education.  As shoppers evaluate their options, your video should be there to help guide the way.   Conversion event - your video can and should do the job of a salesperson whether on a product detail page or as a remarketing ad.   Advocacy - Your video strategy shouldn’t stop with a happy customer.  Use video conte

Everyone knows that word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing.  The problem?  How do you facilitate, encourage, and track it without being weird?  Enter Nick Stagge and Wooly.  In this episode, we discuss two important topics - building Ambassador Programs and putting digital rails around word of mouth advertising.  Nick has worked with some awesome brands including Skull Candy, Purple Mattress, and more.   Here’s a quick look at what we cover in this episode:  Salomon shoes got 22.6 million impressions without running a single ad How to Identify and segment your best customers and how to know when you have a customer make a referral that ends in a  purchase How ambassador programs focus on credibility while some influencer programs focus on reach…and why credibility is often better and more profitable Word of mouth customers are happier, better educated and often stick around longer - here’s how you get more of it Driving six figures of incremental referral revenue. Plus more

Online shopping has shifted dramatically since the start of the pandemic.  Some experts believe we’ve seen 5+ years of eCommerce growth condensed into just a few months.  Attitudes towards quantities ordered, shipping rates and times, and pricing have ALL shifted from the norm.  I wanted to have Jon MacDonald come back on the show (see his first appearance on the podcast for Episode 60 to talk about what’s working right now in terms of Conversion Rate Optimization.  We cover some truly fascinating subjects including: How buying in bulk it a new trend - even if your marketing to non-peppers How to structure new shopping options for buying in bulk to make the process easier on shoppers and easier on your fulfillment centers 3 ways to use SMS marketing to before, during and after the shopping experience to surprise and delight customers Where you should start optimizing now including some key data points and quick wins with Google Analytics that you’re likely missing  How to quickly and inexpensively benefit f