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 systematize first - a 2-pronged test When you have a systems problem vs. a people problem What to delegate vs. what to do yourself Why and when you should delegate something you’re really good at The difference between process management and project management How Flowster helps eCommerce companies with process management Plus more!

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 content to encourage more referrals and repeat purchases. 

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 from Heat Maps Why taking care of your highest value customers is more important now than ever before

Learn how Tru Earth is disrupting the laundry detergent space by selling subscriptions and understanding the power of villains in marketing.  My guest in this episode, Ryan McKenzie is a marketing and eComm wiz.  He built his first online business in his 20s and after some extreme wins and some humbling losses, he found his eComm game.  In this episode, we uncover some of Tru Earth’s keys to success including  3 types of offers that get shoppers to subscribe to auto-replenishment.  How to structure pricing and discounts for subscriptions Blair Warren’s amazing 4 keys to persuasion (literally one the best marketing quotes I’ve ever heard) and how to leverage it for your business How finding a “villain” can make your marketing more powerful and help you build a closer community (hint: villains don’t have to be people) How to approach ad fatigue and new creative development for Facebook How OMG Commerce is helping Tru Earth leverage Google Shopping and YouTub ads Plus more!

CrossNet Game began as a crazy idea dreamed up late at night by two brothers and their best friend.  But ideas are a dime a dozen.  Chris and his brother Greg and co-founder Mike turned their crazy idea into a wildly popular product and a rapidly growing company.  So what is CrossNet?  It’s 4-way volleyball.  Put another way, if volleyball 4 square had a baby, it would be CrossNet.  And it’s amazing. This is a phenomenal story about how to launch a product from total obscurity into a sensation.  We talk about how the product came to be, how the founders successfully boot-strapped everything initially,  and how a combination of playing volleyball all day on the beaches of Miami plus Facebook Ads fueled their launch.   Here’s a look at what we discuss: How their first “prototype” and first test market let them know they were onto something big Why they packed their bags and moved from Connecticut to Miami to launch CrossNet Creating the snowball effect - doing lots of little things well and watching success and momentum grow over time. Their first brand ambassadors and their first influencer…all by accident (but still duplicatable)  Their most important sales channels How they view Amazon How they are using events (pre-pandemic) to grow the brand Getting their product in 5,000+ schools Getting into Dicks Sporting Goods, Academy Sports and more What products are next for CrossNet and how they plan to grow (including running YT ads with OMG Commerce…)