Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks about the parallels between parenting and running a business. __Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!__Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction (03:12) Lesson 1 - Where All Making It Up As We Go(06:58) Lesson 2 - You’re Never Really Ready(09:19) Lesson 3 - Listen and Communicate Clearly In Multiple Ways(12:17) Lesson 4 - Admit When You’re Wrong(14:39) Lesson 5 - You Might Want A Coach(19:39) Lesson 6 - Be All In(22:52) Outro __Connect With Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/ __Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, and more. __Other episodes you might enjoy: Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better QuestionsEpisode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston RutherfordEpisode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube AdsEpisode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Kyle Fraughton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylefraughton/) about ambassador programs and the power of UGC.  __Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!__Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction (02:40) Kyle’s Background (03:53) Authentic - The Word of the Year(05:55) Is UGC Dead? (10:51) The Digital Age Version of Word of Mouth(13:32) Strategies To Facilitate Word of Mouth(15:26) What Does A Good Ambassador Program Do?(16:16) Influencer Program vs. Ambassador Program(26:08) How To Set Up An Ambassador Program(34:50) Ambassadors and Ads(38:41) More About Get Roster(43:06) Outro__Links: Kyle Fraughton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylefraughton/ Roster: https://www.getroster.com/__Connect With Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/ __Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, and more. __Other episodes you might enjoy: Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better QuestionsEpisode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston RutherfordEpisode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube AdsEpisode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

Brett Curry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/) talks to Sean Frank (http://twitter.com/SeanEcom/) about what it takes to win as a DTC brand in 2024. __Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to (https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact) and request your FREE strategy session today!__Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction (01:18) The Operators Podcast (06:30) Ridge’s Background(09:38) What To Expect For DTC Brands In 2024(16:08) What Does It Take To Win In 2024(25:13) What Channels Is Sean Most Excited For In 2024(30:15) How To Grow Profitably (38:52) Expanding Your Product Line(43:44) Outro__Links: Sean Frank: http://twitter.com/SeanEcom/ Ridge: https://ridge.com/ The Operators Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/operators/id1684446059__Connect With Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@omgcommerce Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/ __Past guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, Trevor Crump, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D’Allessandro, and more. __Other episodes you might enjoy: Episode 266 with Cody Wittick - Influencer Marketing and How To Create a Creative Flywheel in 2024Episode 263 with Anthony Mink - Cut Your CPA in Half by Asking Better QuestionsEpisode 260 with Preston Rutherford - Lessons From Chubbies with Co-Founder Preston RutherfordEpisode 243 with Jacques Spitzer - Achieving Exit Velocity with YouTube AdsEpisode 228 with Jeremy Horowitz - The State of eCommerce, The Economy, and What To Do Next

If Google isn’t within your top 2 channels for new customer acquisition - 2024 should be the year you change that.In this episode, I interview Matt Slaymaker on the latest and greatest from Google.Here’s a look at what we cover:What are the best brands doing on Google that others aren’t?What are the keys to a better, more productive relationship with your agency?How has PMax evolved, and how can you fully leverage it?What about Demand Gen - Google’s newest campaign type? Spoiler alert: it’s not great... yet. But we see potential. How should we think about AI with Google ads?

So much has changed on Amazon since we started helping sellers on the platform in 2016 (I can’t believe we’ve been in the Amazon game for 8 years).In this episode, I chat with Trenton Bodenbach, OMG Amazon Strategist. We discuss some new potential game-changers on Amazon for 2024, strategy, and who’s winning and who’s not on the platform.Here’s a quick look at a few of our topics:1) Vertical Video for Sponsored Brand Video. Sponsored Brand Video is one of our favorite Amazon ad types. It’s usually in the top 2-3 most effective ad types for the brands we work with. Now, it supports vertical video. Likely, you have more vertical video than anything else. Now, you can use it on Amazon. 2) Shop on Facebook. Amazon controls this for now, but likely there’s more to come. This will allow shoppers on Facebook to buy products directly from Amazon without leaving the Facebook app. 3) Amazon’s continued growth and dominance and what it means.4) Amazon storefronts, posts, and other tools for branding. We believe that building your BRAND on Amazon is the ultimate key to success. Not just selling stuff. And Amazon has more tools than ever to help you build your brand. 

I love this episode. Not just because my guest, Rabah Rahil, is a super smart dude with an eye for fashion.I love it because we tackle two of the biggest issues facing brands, agencies, and developers in the DTC space:How to think about and utilize AI for better results (especially if you’ve resisted it a bit).How to evolve the customer shopping experience to wow customers and drive better conversion rates.If you’ve been somewhat bearish on AI or maybe just slow to experiment with it, perhaps you need a better framework.Rabah lays out his framework by comparing AI to oil companies and how oil companies find land, drill for oil, and refine it for profit-producing products. It might not be clear right now, but this is a pretty accurate analogy for getting the most from AI.We also talk about the social dilemmas of using AI in our daily lives. For example, if I use AI to write my wife a poem, does that count, or is it cheating? If I use AI to help me craft answers for a job interview, is that a sign I shouldn’t be hired or that I know how to utilize tools? Or does it depend? We also talk about a few of his favorite tools:Gong(.io): A tool that Fermat now uses to analyze sales performance and run sales meetings. It’s a game changer in taking data from your CRM and delivering actionable insights and talking points. Riverside: The podcast recording tool that now has AI features that are awesome (and getting better all the time). Plus, we discuss some AI features masquerading as businesses. These will undoubtedly come crashing back to reality. On the customer journey side, we talk about how creating a cohesive experience that’s also customized at scale is the future of the DTC industry.3 things have to be in alignment:The adThe post-click experienceThe offerWe talk about when and how this goes wrong and what to do.And we throw in some fun 80s/90s references. Super fun. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording.

In the DTC space, there are always headwinds.Supply chain issues. Amazon account shutdowns. Meta or Google ad account issues. And new headwinds pop up daily.That's why I love this conversation with Aaron Nosbisch so much. Aaron and my buddy Nick Shackelford run Lucyd - a social ad agency that focuses on CBD and Cannabis products, and now Brez, a very tasty THC drink that's legal in all 50 states.At Lucyd, Aaron and the team grew from nothing to one of the largest CBD agencies in the world. And the road was anything but easy. The story is a crazy one and even involved Aaron emailing Mark Zuckerberg directly when he was getting nowhere with Facebook support.At Brez, they're building a THC brand publicly. The wins and losses are right there for everyone to see. This interview is fun, inspiring, and insightful. Here's a look at what we cover:Why "hacking" your way to solving difficult problems isn't the answer. Being really, really good at the fundamentals is the answer.Why building in public is more fun and likely less risky than building in private. What being "mission-driven" looks like for a CBD/THC brand.What's working on with X (Twitter) advertising, and what should we expect next year?The two ways to innovate. Plus more!

Cody Wittick is the man. College hoops player. Agency owner. Podcast host. And, now, new dad!Most important for this discussion: Cody knows how to scale DTC brands with influencer marketing. In this episode, we discuss the right and wrong ways to build an influencer marketing program. We talk about winning creatives and who's smarter: media buyers or the machine. And highlight the parallels between running a business and being a father. What was my favorite part of the conversation, you ask...? How to use influencers to build a creative flywheel.I'm convinced you need enough quantity and quality of creative on a weekly basis to scale on all of your most important platforms. And in the episode, we talk about how. Enjoy!

This year was an AMAZING year of podcast guests.Today, I wanted to reflect on and recap 12 of my favorite lessons from this year.1. Creative Thinking as a Competitive Advantage - Million Dollar Mindset (Ep 231)This episode was the most shared episode of the year. It ended up in a few forums and got a lot of love. What helped Will and the team grow Organifi from $18M annually to over $100M? It wasn’t just hard work. It was creative thinking and problem-solving.Learn the secrets of Moneyball, the Hollywood Black List, and more!2. You Can 13X Through Creative, Data-Driven Marketing - Brendan Bannister (Ep 221)In a similar vein to the podcast with Will Hughes, this interview with Brendan Bannister was a banger. Brendan ran paid media for William Painter during their years of meteoric growth. We talk about the power of design and simplicity. 3. What You Don’t Know About Your Customer Is Costing You. The Missing Piece to Your Attribution, CRO, and Marketing Is Customer Insights - Trevor Crump (Ep 250) / Jeremiah Prummer (Ep 262) I’m completely sold on the idea that when done properly, customer surveys uncover tremendous insights that will shift how you advertise, position, and optimize your products. I cover my 4 favorite questions to ask in post-purchase surveys. 4. Why Your Price Is Likely Wrong and What to Do About It - Byron Myers (Ep 255)The way you set your initial price is not the way you determine your optimal price. There’s an optimal price for rev maximization and one for profit maximization. How does demand and conversion rate shift when price increases or decreases? After you get some data, you need to get scientific. Chart out your demand curve and conversion rate to find your ideal price. This isn’t static, though. You should be testing at least 2 times per year or likely every quarter. 5. Customer Value Optimization Trumps CRO Every Time. And It Informs CRO. - Drew Sanocki (Ep 245)Not all customers are created equally. You have some whales (your most valuable) and some minnows (your least valuable). What’s more important than almost anything else you do is identifying whales and attracting more of them. This is a key part of understanding that there are only 3 ways to grow your business:Get more new customersGet each customer to spend more (raise your AOV) Get customers to buy more often (increase LTV) 6. Organic Growth on YouTube. 3 Types of Content. - Liz Germain (Ep 234)YouTube is the 2nd most visited site on the planet. Users spend a TON of time on the platform. If you’re good at creating content, you can build a large following and drive awareness and traffic for your brand. In this episode, I talk to YouTube pro, Liz Germain, about the 3 types of content you must create to build an organic following.7. Brand is Everything - Person Rutherford (Ep 260)Want a huge exit? Want all of your advertising efforts to improve? Want greater retention and higher LTVs? Want to charge a premium? You need to focus on brand building.The good news is you can do this profitably.If you want customers to seek you out by name, tell others about you, and feel pride in associating with your products, you need a BRAND. Preston Rutherford, one of the co-founders of Chubbies who had a 9 figure IPO, knows all about this. Brand building can’t be done overnight. It’s a long play, but it compounds over time. 8. You Can Achieve Exit Velocity on YouTube - Jacques Spitzer (Ep 243)This was the episode I personally heard the most comments about. It’s PACKED with ideas on how to think about YouTube and how to make it work for your brand. We discussed a bunch of important concepts. One is “People don’t have short attention spans; they have short consideration spans.”9. Amazon Is Trying to Go Beyond Search for Product Discovery. Maybe They’re Making Modest Strides. - Liz Saunders (Ep 253) / Brandon Young (Ep 251) / Gracey Ryback (Ep 249) Product discovery is still primarily driven by search. With the Amazon influencer program and initiatives like the Inspire tab on the Amazon Mobile app, Amazon is trying to “inspire” new product discovery. It seems to be going OK, but just how much new product discovery this generates is TBD. 10. Stop Obsessing Over Vanity Metrics. Focus on Core Metrics. - Rabah Rahill (Ep 222) / Preston Rutherford (Ep 260)What are vanity metrics? How about ROAS and Revenue? Both important to be sure. We look at both metrics all the time. But they aren’t CORE. So, what is the core of your brand? Well, Preston Rutherford lays it out! 11. Retention Marketing Is Your Key to Stability and Profitability. - Nick Flint (Ep 248)Few things can impact your brand as much as email and SMS. In this episode, we covered 8 email tests to make, plus one of our favorite all-time emails that a client ran. 12. Are you experimenting with AI? - Steve Chou (Ep 233) / Fred Vallaeys (Ep 256) AI likely isn’t replacing members of your team. It shouldn’t be replacing you. But it should be assisting you. Writing better email subject linesWorking on better SEO titles and bullet pointsTranscribing and summarizing meetings and more

How is your finance stack?We all love to talk about our tech or marketing stacks, but the financial side gets less attention.Heck, you might not even know for sure what your finance stack is! My guest today is an eComm legend, Bill D'Alessandro. Bill is the founder and CEO of Elements Brands. He's built or acquired 8 brands and sold 7. Before his time in eComm, he spent 5 years in the investment banking and private equity world. Talking about ad creativity or the latest case studies on scaling with Facebook ads is more of a dopamine hit than talking about finance. BUT, knowing what levers to pull, what to do, and what NOT to do as it relates to your finance stack can instantly add $100s or thousands to your bank account. Here are the 4 components of your finance stack that Bill and I dive into today. Trust me, this interview is fast-paced, interesting and guaranteed to put more cash in your bank account.BankingCredit CardsWorking CapitalDebtYou don't need to be a CFO or a CPA to get value here. You just need the 80/20 of how to optimize your finances. Here's a look at what we cover in this episode:Why it's not always best to maximize assets and reduce liabilities; for example, accounts receivable are an asset, but they're also NOT cash in your bank.When it's "OK" to use Debt and when you shouldn't.What's essential and what's not when it comes to a bank?How 2 simple shifts in credit card usage can add $10s or $100s of thousands in your pocket…money you will NOT receive a 1099 for.Why working capital is the blood of your business. A few simple tips for accounts payable - when you do this right, this is the cheapest form of "debt" you can useWhy Merchant Cash Advances so commonly start a death spiral and what to do if you're in this trap.