#295 - Building a $7m Online Empire With Kevin Espiritu
Oct 10, 2022
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Gael is joined by Kevin Espiritu, founder of epicgardening.com, who shares his fluff-free methodology for building a $7m online empire. They discuss expanding from a blog to hydroponics, growing a podcast through various platforms, entertaining the audience, selling products directly, challenges of paying talent, running a brand, and online business success stories.
The shift from ads and sponsorships to e-commerce allowed Epic Gardening to have more control over their audience and sell products directly to them.
The COVID-19 pandemic created a surge in gardening interest, which Epic Gardening capitalized on due to their strong presence in the niche.
Building parasocial relationships with the audience through authentic and entertaining content facilitated the transition to e-commerce and increased engagement, trust, and loyalty.
Epic Gardening's e-commerce business continues to thrive, utilizing strategies such as social media promotion, community engagement, and effective inventory management to achieve sustained success.
Deep dives
Transitioning to e-commerce
In 2019, the decision was made to move beyond the monetization models of ads, Amazon affiliates, and sponsorships and venture into e-commerce. This shift was motivated by the desire to have more control and alignment with the audience by selling products directly to them. The first product introduced was a raised garden bed from an Australian brand named Birdies. This was done through a series of pre-orders, and the demand for the product was exceptional. The success of this initial venture led to the realization that e-commerce could be a robust and lucrative business model for Epic Gardening.
Navigating Challenges and Taking Advantage of Opportunities
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the gardening industry, resulting in a surge in interest and demand. Epic Gardening was well-positioned to capitalize on this trend due to its existing strong presence and authority in the gardening niche. The increased traffic, followers, and revenue allowed for the expansion of content creation, with three videos being produced per week. Product availability became a challenge, as the overwhelming demand led to quick sellouts and the need for efficient inventory management and shipping logistics. Despite the difficulties, the pandemic years have been highly successful for Epic Gardening, and it continues to experience significant growth.
Leveraging the Parasocial Relationship
The success of Epic Gardening has been attributed in part to the development of parasocial relationships with the audience. By creating content across various platforms and demonstrating authenticity and entertainment value, the audience feels connected to the content creator and develops a sense of rapport. This has resulted in increased engagement, trust, and loyalty, driving traffic, and facilitating the successful transition to e-commerce. The strategy of making the audience the customer rather than the product of brand advertising has proven effective and aligned with building a strong brand.
Continued Success and Growth
Epic Gardening's e-commerce business continues to thrive, experiencing significant year-on-year growth. Despite concerns that the gardening trend fueled by the pandemic might wane, the brand has maintained its momentum and achieved a 100% increase in revenue. Various strategies, including social media promotion, community engagement, and effective inventory management, have contributed to sustained success. By staying true to the mission of teaching the world to grow, Epic Gardening has established itself as a leading authority in the gardening industry.
Opportunities in Paid Advertising and Organic Traffic
The podcast discusses the benefits of using a blended model of paid advertising and organic traffic to grow a business. The speaker highlights the advantage of leveraging organic traffic to build retargeting audiences and reduce the cost of paid ads. They provide examples of how this approach has resulted in high return on ad spend and increased customer retention.
Expanding Content and Product Offerings
The podcast explores the power of combining content creation with product offerings. The speaker emphasizes the importance of building a brand through content and leveraging that brand loyalty to drive product sales. They give examples of successful brands that have expanded by acquiring other niche websites or collaborating with creators to create sub-brands focused on specific topics. The podcast also highlights the need for finding the right balance between content and product expansion.
Starting a Business Today
The podcast provides advice for individuals starting a business today. They recommend starting with short-form video platforms like TikTok as a fast way to gain visibility. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of creating real-life content to establish authority with platforms like Google. The speaker encourages a multi-platform approach, finding synergies between different mediums, and adapting to the evolving landscape of online business. They also highlight the opportunity for individual creators to build their brand and avoid the limitations of talent-dependent models.
And to celebrate, Gael is joined by one of our most successful students to date, Kevin Espiritu, founder of epicgardening.com.
From appearances on Good Morning America to being the face of a national advertising campaign with Timerbland, Kevin shares his fluff-free methodology behind growing his 7 figure empire.
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