eCommerce Podcast

AI is changing the world as we know it and generative AI is leading the change. Max Sinclair from Ecomtent joins Matt in today's episode to talk about the amazing possibilities of Generative AI and sheds light on the most popular Generative AI system right now, ChatGPT.ABOUT MAXMax is CEO and Founder of Ecomtent, who are revolutionising how E-commerce sellers create content with Generative AI. Prior to founding Ecomtent, Max spent 6 years at Amazon. Here he worked on the launch of Amazon Business in the UK, the country launch of Ecomtent in Singapore, and the launch of Amazon Grocery across the EU. Throughout this time, Max worked directly with 100s of sellers of all sizes across many categories, and saw the pain of creating content for Ecommerce first hand.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:Generative AI is a new wave of Artificial Intelligence that can produce entirely new content such as images, videos, texts and code. It differs from deterministic AI which uses data sets to answer questions or classify objects. Max started Ecomtent to use this technology for e-commerce sellers in order to help them create content more efficiently.ChatGPT uses something called Generative Adversarial Network which consists of two networks: a generator and discriminator. Although useful, Chat GPT should be used cautiously as it only generates text sounding correct but not necessarily accurate.Matt and Max discuss the implications of AI on creation. They explore how chat GPT can be used to write a book with a single prompt, as well as its potential applications in other industries such as law. Max stated that while it is terrifying, technological advances have been beneficial for humanity throughout history and should not be feared.Ecomtent is creating product images and lifestyle images using generative AI. The ambition is to create optimized descriptions, bullet points and A+ content as well as lifestyle imagery that would not be generated again exactly the same if given the same prompt multiple times over.Max explained their vision statement, which is "unimaginable creativity" with limitless personalization. He added that generative AI can create code as well, which will lead to a future where people just have to say “build me a website” and the AI will do so smartly with all permutations taken into account.Max suggests that new e-commerce persons use chat GPT to analyze reviews on competitors and understand customer preferences. Secondly, Max suggests generating a list of 100 search phrases/keywords related to the product as well as optimizing bids on Amazon or Google based on that list.Max has used Chat GPT to discover a unique writing style. He recommends using this technique when creating blog posts, making them more entertaining and engaging. Natural language translation is another application of Chat GPT as it understands the key themes and concepts in order to create new phrases and synonyms for other languages.For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

In this episode, Christian Simovic joins Matt to show you how to create a frothing at the mouth email using nothing but plain-text emails. A lot of people think that you need fancy software or HTML coding skills to create an effective email campaign, but that's not true. You can get great results with simple text-based emails if you know what you're doing. ABOUT CHRISTIANChristian Simovic is a plain-text email marketing specialist. He prescribes daily emails for his clients, and sends out daily email marketing tips via his email list. His clients have ranged from small organic skincare brands to reality TV stars.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:Copywriting is applying the fundamentals of salesmanship and understanding the psychology of why we buy and then applying that to the written word. From a psychological point of view, a plain text email is a much better approach because it helps build a personal one on one connection. Also, from an email deliverability standpoint, if you have images and newsletter kind of themes, they are likely to end up in the promotions tab, or worse the spam tab. When writing daily emails, you can't just be pure sales. If you're writing fun, informational, and more importantly, entertaining content that segue into a product, you really can't go wrong with daily emailing. Just plain text emails, they could be various lengths - short question, 300 to 500, some 500 to1000 words depending on the kind of content you're sending out, that resonates with your audience and engages them.  The PAS (Problem, Agitate, Solution) approach is great for writing plain text long form marketing emails. If you spend all of your time knowing everything about your market, the problems, their pains, what they want, their slang, their little jokes, then writing daily emails or just writing emails in general becomes very easy because you understand your audience and what they want to talk about.For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

Have you ever wondered why some websites seem to skyrocket up the rankings while others struggle to stay on the first page? It's not just about tricks and manipulation — optimizing for SEO requires a deep understanding of how to build better websites that offer an unforgettable user experience. Kevin Wiles joins Matt Edmundson in this Episode to talk about all things SEO. ABOUT KevinKevin is a passionate technical SEO lead with a career history of working with big household names across New Zealand & United Kingdom.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:SEO is not a dark art. It is just a methodical approach to understanding how Google works and what guidelines they give. It has been mis-sold in the past by statements that are not factually correct or slightly tweaked to push an agenda.It is much tougher to compete at a national level for things like car parts or mot against bigger brands, but where you can win as a smaller brand is understanding what that search actually returns.Creating less content that is well researched and comprehensive will be more effective than lots of low quality content. This is because people are looking for authoritative sources of information that can provide detail and answer all their questions in one go.From an SEO point of view, some strategy points to consider hitting are: understanding what is on the PDPs (Product Display Pages), making sure there is enough detail, and to go after supporting content. A missed opportunity that many people face when it comes to product page SEO is not thinking about longer tail keywords that have lower search volume but would return a product that the user is more likely to buy.For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

What if you could reduce shopping cart abandonment and increase sales? Learn the secrets of AI and consumer behavior to boost your online sales in this new episode with our guest Valon Xhafa on How AI and Consumer Behavior Can Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment! ABOUT VALONValon previously worked as an AI scientist at Google and at other research institutes, developing sophisticated AI techniques and algorithms. Valon is always looking for innovative methods to use artificial intelligence to improve the online shopping experience at Behamics.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:Shopping cart abandonment is when a consumer visits your shop, adds products to the cart but leaves without purchasing the products. This is a major concern for eCommerce business owners because statistically 70% of consumers who added something to the cart, abandon it. There are several external and internal factors to cart abandonments. At Behamics, Valon and his team mainly focus on internal factors because these are factors that one can actually impact and improve to prevent cart abandonments. Internal factors comprise of Behavioral & Technical issues.AI not only predicts whether the consumer will abandon the cart but can explain why they choose to abandon the cart. If a consumer leaves the website without making a purchase, it will cost the business more money to try and bring them back through emails etc. It is far more cost-effective to interact with the consumer while they are on the site and to be able to intervene and prevent things before they happen. For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

Get creative with your brand's advertising! In this episode Colby Flood shares his insight on how to develop an innovative and effective marketing strategy. Discover the tips and tricks for designing creative ad campaigns that will get your message across to the right audience. ABOUT COLBYColby founded Brighter Click in 2019 to create an education-first agency that focuses on performance and proactive communication led by education. Hired the first team member in 2020 and saw 300% growth in the next 12 months. By 2022 they managed over $20 million ad spend for their client and the agency has 7 full-time employees. Brighter Click helps eCommerce companies 2-3x their current Facebook marketing performance. The only agency that leads all communications through education.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:The three levels to Creative Strategy – CMO, Graphic Design, and Research. CMO is the person that is setting the USP, the buyer personas, the messaging that goes across all channels. The next level is the actual graphic design work where you would look at the brand guidelines, making sure you fully understand the USP. And see how you can match your brand voice/identity to different levels of the funnel. And then start doing research on the brand and also your competitors.  Colby says, “A creative is what people are seeing for the ads. So that could be influencer content, that could be graphics, video production, or even PR to put into your actual ads. Whatever is going in that 1080 by 1080 or 9 by 16 square for people to look at. I would say put 10% of your budget focused on that.”Brighter Click is an agency that is focused on creative strategy. They work with clients to provide paid media strategy and production as well as paid ad management. For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

With so much information easily accessible, it can be tough to decipher what will help you improve your eCommerce Business. When first starting out in eCommerce, it's not easy to determine where to begin with everything that's available; as a result, many entrepreneurs never get their business off the ground.And if you're like me and have been at this for a while, we run the risk of using methods from last year that are now outdated while our competition grows utilising new innovations.💡 - enter eCommerce cycleseCommerce Cycles are a way of looking at eCommerce that takes into account the ever-changing nature of the industry.By understanding the different stages that eCommerce goes through, you can better adapt your business to suit the current trends and stay ahead of the competition.Join me in this Live Event training to learn how you can use eCommerce cycles to propel your business growth in this rapidly changing industry.During the webinar, we’ll cover:⚡️ What are eCommerce cycles⚡️ How they can help your business to GROW by adapting your business to suit the current trends.⚡️ How to understand what YOUR customers want and need⚡️ How to use eCommerce cycles to DELIVER what matters most to your customers⚡️ How to get ahead of your competition by using tried and tested techniquesExpect lots of takeaway tips and tricks that are easy to implement and can achieve the best results.Links from the event:Matt Edmundson - www.mattedmundson.comAurion Digital - www.aurion.digitalecommerce Cohort - www.ecommercecohort.com

Attention all business owners! Are you looking to increase customer retention? Look no further because we've got the ultimate guide to help you unlock the potential of your business. Learn how to maximize customer satisfaction and get the most out of your customer relationships with Brandon Amoroso!ABOUT BRANDONBrandon is the founder and CEO of Electriq, a DRINKS company that scales brands with profitable e-commerce models built from innovative proprietary methods. Powered by the freedom and individuality of the Gen Z mindset, Electriq has fueled over 35 in-house specialists in a range of growth-focused strategies, including email/SMS marketing, SEO/content marketing, paid acquisition, and web design/development.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:Having sold his ecommerce agency to drinks.com, Brandon shares his experience of transitioning from CEO to working within a larger organization. What started as an accidental involvement in customer retention turned into a focus for the entire company; they stopped doing anything related to paid acquisition in 2021.Brands need to start with the basics when building a retention program and not try to do everything all at once. Brandon talks about how Klaviyo can help brands segment their data more granularly.Ecommerce entrepreneurs should focus on customer retention by utilizing email and SMS flows. Subscription programs can be beneficial for long-term customers, but it is important to offer a try-before-you-subscribe option.SMS marketing is a different and more personal communication channel than email and even has an outsized return compared to email. To get started, brands can create a segment of their best customers in Klaviyo and invite them to a VIP SMS subscriber list. Text messages that work well are authentic, fun, cheeky, and have personality from the brand.For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

Are you ready to discover the incredible power of augmented reality marketing for ecommerce? The future is here – find out the amazing benefits of utilizing AR technology for your business today with guest Rich Watson.ABOUT RICHRich Watson is a strong force in Augmented Reality Marketing and one of the leading voices behind it. He has spoken all over the world about the future of eCommerce and how it will be brought into Web 3.0. Rich has over 8 years of Facebook ad media buying experience, and he is an avid believer in the potential of Non-Fungible Tokens (not pictures of monkeys but the technology behind it) and the metaverse.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:Augmented Reality (AR) can be defined as upgrading your immediate surroundings with digital assets. AR is something that comes in front of you overlaying the environment that you’re already in. Whereas, virtual reality (VR) is essentially an entire environment that you're stepping into.The importance of understanding the connection between AR and what the technology is key to businesses build a relationship with their customers, retain them and attain a better marketing performance. Augmented Hype helps brands and agencies leverage AR for their marketing by focusing on what their main bottlenecks are, and then creating a bespoke AR experience to harness their goals and objectives.For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

eCommerce is growing rapidly, but it's also one of the most challenging businesses to be in. In this episode Eric Youngstrom joins Matt to talk about why eCommerce is so challenging and how we can make it work for us.ABOUT ERICEric is the founder and CEO of Onramp Funds, a purpose-built financing platform for e-commerce brands. In less than two years, since its founding, Eric and the On-Ramp team have raised over $40 million in seed funding and have helped dozens of e-commerce SMBs get off the ground.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:Every small business merchant is faced with a challenge when it comes to having the necessary capital to order that next round of inventory or their credit card has maxed out. They can't run an ad on Google to drive that next sale to their Shopify store. And just struggles to keep the wheels turning. E-commerce currently makes up 16-17% of retail and is expected to continue to grow. There is regional differentiation in e-commerce adoption, with the UK being 2-3 times that of the US. The key difference is geography - it is easier to ship within a smaller area. Omni-channel retailers are becoming more prevalent, but digital only retailers can still be successful.The golden rule of business is to treat the customer how you would want to be treated in that same situation. A lot of e-commerce businesses fail because they treat their customers like just another number rather than a real person. Instead focus on doing things that create loyalty from customers and builds your brand. eCommerce and mitigating inflation in the current economic environment.The importance of knowing the fundamentals of your business' finances.For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.

Growth driven advertising is a phrase we often hear but what exactly is it? How can it help your business? And more importantly, how do you get started? Ryan Flannagan joins Matt in this episode to show us how to use growth driven advertising on Amazon to grow our businesses.ABOUT RYANRyan Flannagan is the CEO at Nuanced Media. He has spent more than 15 years in eCommerce, multichannel digital marketing, and third party marketing places. He's worked with hundreds of companies to establish best practices, focusing on the 20% that produces 80% of the revenue, the Pareto principle.Ryan is a passionate thought leader in the eCommerce industry. He has been interviewed and quoted by Buzz Feed, Modern Retail as well as many other news outlets. He is a professional speaker, blogger and has contributed articles to 20+ 3rd party publications.Here’s a summary of the great stuff that we cover in this show:Selling your product on Amazon is not what it used to be five years ago. It’s getting more and more competitive on a weekly basis. We're seeing more aggressive ad spend and a maturation of the market. Essentially the old method of just managing pay per click and not looking at data or segments etc. is just not enough anymore. The Pareto principle applies to Amazon as well. And sometimes it could be like 2% of your catalog is making 98% of your revenue. Therefore, it becomes essential to focus your efforts on those revenue making SKUs or ASINs so as not to lose the competitive advantage. If you have a product that's doing over $10,000 to $20,000 of sales for your website, it's probably time to really start looking at it.Nuanced Media is a boutique agency that won't work with you unless they can win for you. They are about more value driven based and helping people be successful on the Amazon platform. Ryan and his team use several different software suites to test, review, launch, build out, including keyword tracking and a variety of things to help you achieve growth driven advertising on Amazon.For complete show notes, transcript and links to our guest, check out our website: www.ecommerce-podcast.com.