If you think the Amazon marketplace is wild right now, you should have seen it in 2003.  My guest today is Jason Boyce.  Jason is a former Top 200 Seller on Amazon - a spot he held for 10 years before selling his company.  Now he’s frequently interviewed and quoted in the media on all things Amazon.   He was recently interviewed for a PBS Frontline Documentary called Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos.  We discuss some hot takes on broader Amazon topics, plus dive into specific tips for sellers.   Here’s a look at what we discuss: How big is Amazon really…and why it’s actually BIGGER than you think Amazon and antitrust and what it means for sellers How little improvements to CTR and conversion rate create a compounding effect Owning the digital shelf - what it means and what you should be focusing on Controlling your brand.  How to proactively control and protect your brand Lessons from Jason’s new book - The Amazon Jungle

The death of email has been boldly proclaimed and then retracted so many times I’ve lost count over the last 10 years.  Finally, I think most people agree that email marketing is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.   This episode is a double-header in terms of topic but still delivered in the same amount of time as usual.  It’s a “two topics for the price of one” special! Itay Paz is an online marketing veteran of 25 years.  He’s also the publisher of the Morning Dough newsletter and an SEO expert.   Morning Dough is one of my favorite newsletters.  It’s one of the few that I open regularly.  In this episode, we talk about how and why eCommerce brands should be using email marketing beyond just transactional emails. We also talk Web Core Vitals and how Google is going to use certain core performance metrics to score your site.  How your site scores in Google’s eyes will have a direct impact on both your SEO and your paid ad performance. How to land on a newsletter strategy that fits your personality and your brand. Tips for getting your emails opened and read. How often you should send emails and how to avoid spam and promotional folders. What are Web Core Vitals and why you should care. How to test your site in 60 seconds to see how it performs what Google’s Web Core Vital.

Andrew Morgans is a true OG when it comes to success on Amazon.  Andrew is the founder of Marknology (think marketing combined with technology) an Amazon brand accelerator and the host of the Startup Hustle podcast.  He’s been helping brands grow on Amazon for 9 years.  Needless to say, a LOT has changed on Amazon in 9 years and Andrew has seen a little bit of everything.  In this episode, we go deep into what successful brands are doing right now on Amazon and where things are headed on the platform…. Andrew’s philosophy of “if your product can’t sell with your photos and videos alone, you need to go back to the drawing board.” How your copy and photos should flow How A+ content, storefronts and copy really come down to just 2 things Andrew’s favorite tools that he uses daily…but when he doesn’t use them to make decisions. How to view Amazon ads in light of how the advertising industry is shifting Going international - Amazon is doubling down on international growth…why now is the time to consider it for your brand

This is a special episode. My very first podcast appearance as a guest was on Austin Brawner’s Ecommerce Influence podcast back in 2015. Austin is one of the sharpest minds in Ecommerce. He’s either friends with or has consulted with some of the biggest names in DTC Ecomm like MVMT Watches, Pura Vida Bracelets, Snack Nation, and many more. On this episode, Austin and I interview each other! We dive into some pretty wide-ranging, but highly relevant topics. Including: Why Austin is so excited about subscription businesses and who’s running them well How different business models could be your next growth evolution How privacy could create a renaissance of sorts when it comes to the value of good ad creatives How pricey changes will impact audience building and audience targeting Formulas for creating high-converting content Shifting your role in business to greater growth Plus more!

Prime Day is one of the biggest shopping events of the year.  We now fully expect Prime Day to land in June of 2021 (at the time of recording this podcast we were still uncertain of whether it would be June or July).  OMG’s Amazon Director, Chris Tyler and Amazon Specialist Amber Norell join me for this week’s episode to break down what we’re expecting for this year’s Prime Day and what you need to do to get ready.   If you do nothing as an Amazon seller, you’ll likely see some lift in sales for Prime Day.  If you use some of the tactics we discuss in this podcast, you could generate some record sales days for your brand.  Here’s a look at what we cover in this episode.   Prime Day discounts and coupons - which is usually better and how to structure your offers. Amazon Live! - a perfect complement to your Prime Day deals Lightning Deals Amazon posts How to maximize your storefront for Prime Day Does and don’ts to get your listings ready for Prime Day Plus more.  Listen to the full episode or read our complete Prime Day Blog here.

Matt Clark knows what it takes to scale a business.  He’s the CEO of Amazing.com the creator of the most successful information product of all time - Amazing Selling Machines.   He’s also the co-owner of Lifeboost, a company that he and his business partner Charles Livingston have grown from just $17k per month in sales to over $2 million in monthly sales in just a few short years.  So that begs the question - How did they do it?  That’s what we dive into in this episode.  We discuss their keys to scale both from a marketing and a product development standpoint.  Here’s a snapshot of what we cover: - How focusing on the hook, headline and offer in their ads allowed them to scale from a few thousand in spend to over $400,000 in monthly Facebook spend. - Their simple approach to testing and optimizing that doesn’t require any fancy software or split testing tools. - How they are building their business to sell to the right investors - How they forecast and measure to make sure they are constantly improving and hitting targets - Mistakes they made while expanding their product line and their new approach to developing products - How to better listen to customers - More!

Myth: marketing texts are annoying. Truth:  bad marketing texts are annoying.  Good text messages foster customer loyalty and drive sales.   Ready for the 4 Keys to powerful text marketing right now?  While text marketing isn’t overly complex, there is certainly a right way and a wrong way to approach it.  81% of all shoppers have signed up for text messaging from a brand.  Customers are clearly open to receiving texts from you.  If you approach text marketing strategically, your customers will even welcome your texts.  Arri B is here to show you how to effectively do that.  Here’s what we cover in this episode.     Choosing the right text platform No list, no bueno.  Learn the most effective ways to build a list fast. Using your text list to build community What to text?  Learning an effective content strategy for your text campaigns Optimizing and split testing  Plus, more!    

How would you like to generate a whopping $250k in sales on a new product launch without running Facebook ads and without offering deep discounts?  Sound impossible?  It’s not.  It’s the magic of Gated Launches. So what’s a gated launch?  It’s a product launch that’s only available to VIPs or top customers.  While it may sound complex, it’s really not.  It does take some work to build a VIP community. But, if you do it right, it’s actually pretty easy to maintain.  In this episode Jordan West, founder and CMO of Little and Lively, a children’s apparel brand, breaks down how his gated launches have generated as much as $120k in sales in the first two hours after going live.    Here’s a look at what we discuss in this episode: The psychology behind gated launches and why they are so powerful How to build a healthy, vibrant VIP group that is low maintenance How to foster the proper buying mentality in your VIP group How to harness VIP feedback for new product development The secret of using personalized 1-to-1 videos Plus more

If you’re like me, then you're fascinated by the stories of “tech geniuses.”  I never get tired of hearing the origin stories of great tech startups and geniuses behind them (The Social Network is still one of my favorite movies).  In this episode I interview Shawn Livermore, author of the new book Average Joe: Be the Silicon Valley Tech Genius. Shawn’s new book uncovers some of the magic behind blockbuster tech products like Gmail, Dropbox, Snapchat, Ring, Bitcoin and more.  We bust some long-held myths and underscore how you can learn from the success of tech icons.  Here’s a look at what we cover: How moving slow is the new fast in some key areas How believing you have to be a genius to succeed in business (even tech)  is a myth How to properly incubate ideas and allow your brain to work the way it works best The story of Gmail and it’s creator Paul Buchheit  The story of Polaroid and how to innovate

How quickly can you find the following key metrics from your business? Contribution margin.  Inventory turn ratio.   Return on inventory (the other ROI).   If you struggled a bit finding those answers (or if you just want to go to the next level), you need to listen to this episode with John Canetta.  This episode was super fun for me and the content is what separates eComm companies who just get by vs. those who thrive (and end up with big exits).  It’s a must-listen for serious store owners.    You HAVE to know your numbers.  And your P&L may be lying to you and you don’t even know it.   How his hedgehog concept allows him to consistently hit 80% margins vs. 40-50% like some of his competitors. His piggybank metaphor and how it shapes his decision making Marketing is fun, but operations are where your profits are Understanding your numbers and making it SIMPLE -  How to look at and use Post Aggregate Gross, Contribution Margin, and Return on Inventory to hit his goals John’s 3 keys to business success