The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

Things go by really fast in ecommerce, and as early as now, you should already be thinking about your plan of attack come Q4, what with all the issues online sellers have faced this past year.   My guest today is Austin Henggeler. He is the Director of Sales and Account Management at Tophatter, a discovery shopping channel that lets customers participate in live online auctions and get deals on various products from third-party sellers.    Today, we’ll be talking about what selling on Tophatter looks like for newcomers and sellers looking to expand their business.    We’ll also go over Austin’s predictions going into the holiday season as well as some consumer and merchant trends that he’s observed over the past year, including how customers have been buying non-products (subscription services, experiences, etc.) way more and even considering those as gifts for the holidays.   We’ll also talk about the current shipping crisis and how the pandemic can still play into all this as 2021 slowly draws to a close.   Timestamps:  A little bit about Austin and Tophatter - 1:32  Austin’s holiday predictions for 2021 - 3:44 How selling on Tophatter works and what your margins will look like - 13:26 Consumer and merchant trends going into Q4 2021 - 19:25 The current shipping and supply chain situation - 24:27   It’s been a fun conversation with Austin and I can’t help but wish we had more time. If you’re interested in selling your products on Tophatter, check out their open marketplace over on tophatter.com.   By the way, if you’re not already selling on FBA, we’ve just released a full-length FBA for Beginners course tailored to helping you launch and take an Amazon FBA business from 0 to 100. Sign up here.   Lastly, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you liked this episode.   Until the next one, happy selling! 

We’ve made the jump to video podcasts! You can now not only listen, but watch full episodes on the EcomCrew Podcast YouTube channel.   That’s not the only thing that’s fresh this week, though, as we also just launched our new standalone course, From 0 to 100 - Amazon for Absolute Beginners!   By public demand, we developed this course to cater to those who are looking for a deep dive into everything there is to know about the increasingly complex Amazon platform.   This 5-module course is tailored to those who are new to ecommerce altogether, experienced sellers coming from non-Amazon platforms, and even sellers who are looking for the best content to train up their staff and virtual assistants.   For this episode, we’ll be giving you a sneak peek of what the course has to offer by talking about the top 5 factors that can help you succeed as an Amazon seller.   Timestamps: Success Factor #1: High-quality imagery - 6:49 Success Factor #2: Great customer reviews - 14:43 Success Factor #3: Solid PPC and advertising strategies - 24:47 Success Factor #4: A good launch - 31:41 Success Factor #5: On- and off-page ranking factors - 37:33   If you’re an EcomCrew Premium member, you’ll get instant access to this course. If you’re not yet in Premium, the course is also available on its own. To learn more, head over to ecomcrew.com/fbacourse. We’re excited to have you on board!   If you enjoyed this video podcast, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up-to-date with the latest episodes.   As always, happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon! 

The past year has been nothing less than a perfect storm for ecommerce—between tariff impositions, inventory issues, and of course, the pandemic, it felt like the walls were closing in on ecommerce entrepreneurs.   My guest for today is the host and creator of 7 Figure Seller Summit, Gary Huang. He’s talked to a lot of like-minded sellers this year, including myself, and he’s here to share some of the most valuable insights he’s learned from all those conversations.    We’ll talk about how successful sellers have been navigating this perfect storm and we’ll jump right into 7 key takeaways from this year’s edition of the Seller Summit.   Timestamps: Takeaway #1: Successful entrepreneurs are very agile - 5:56 Takeaway #2: Never put all your eggs in one basket - 15:35 Takeaway #3: Be very granular with Amazon PPC - 20:40 Takeaway #4: External traffic is critical to ranking - 25:29  Takeaway #5: Focus on the bottomline—not the top line - 32:58 Takeaway #6: What gets measured gets managed - 42:26 Takeaway #7: Always begin with the end in mind - 45:06   I enjoyed having Gary on the show as much as I’ve enjoyed being a part of the 7 Figure Seller Summit. To learn more, head over to 7figuresellersummit.com. It launches on August 16-20th, and this year, Gary and his team will be building different tracks tailored to sellers at various stages of the ecommerce journey.   While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out our fresh full-length FBA For Beginners course, which will teach you how to avoid the common mistakes when launching or expanding your business on Amazon.    It launches very soon, and we’re currently offering discounts for early birds who sign up to the waitlist. Just head over to ecomcrew.com/fbawaitlist.   Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you haven’t already, and as always, happy selling!

It’s been seven full months since we closed the deal on an exciting new ecommerce business. Be sure to check out these episodes to learn how we closed the deal on this new venture:     Episode 366: Mike’s Exciting New Business Episode 381: How Mike Is Growing His New Business     Today, I thought I’d give you guys a little sneak peek on how things are going, and why success in ecommerce rarely ever happens overnight.    Joining me for this episode is none other than one of my partners in this venture, Bill D’Alessandro. We’ll be talking about how we’re maintaining quality across multiple teams, why implementing changes gradually is giving us better results, and what our long-term goals are for this business.   Whether you’re looking to sell, buy, or are in the trenches of scaling your online business, I’m sure you’ll find a lot of value in this episode.    Timestamps:  Overview of the deal and Bill’s insights as lead investor - 2:57 How we staffed up the business and delegate workload - 8:42 Building trust with your team and dripping change out - 22:36 Our long-term strategy - 30:10 The pros and cons of getting an SBA loan - 39:15   If you’re interested in the general manager spot we’ll be offering as part of our goals for this business, shoot me an email over on support@ecomcrew.com.    On the topic of growing an ecommerce business, we’ve recently developed a full-length Amazon FBA For Beginners course tailored to those who want to avoid fatal rookie mistakes when starting an FBA business.    It launches very soon, but we’re offering a discounted early access for those who sign up to our waiting list. Head over to ecomcrew.com/fbawaitlist to register.  As always, leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling, and we’ll talk to you soon!

We’ve finally come to the big 4-0-0!   400 podcast episodes is a lot of podcasting, and it’s certainly a huge milestone for us here on EcomCrew.   Joining me for this special episode is none other than Dave.    We’ll be taking a quick trip down memory lane and look back at the podcast’s early days as well as how we managed the challenges that came our way as we got more listeners and created more content.   Speaking of growth, our main topic for this episode is scaling an ecommerce business and the big throttles that become harder and harder to address the bigger your business gets. These include cash, product development, and finding the right people to grow your business with.   Timestamps: Looking back on the podcast’s early days - 1:10  Another big milestone: Getting over a million downloads - 5:57 Planning out and scaling your business - 9:52  Throttle #1: Cash - 12:09 Throttle #2: Product growth - 20:11 Throttle #3: Employees - 32:15         I wanna thank all our listeners for tuning in to every episode and joining us on our journey. It’s been a fun ride so far and I can’t wait to put out more great content for you guys down the road.   As always, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review over on iTunes to let us know.   Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!

When you’re selling another person's product, it's hard to find ways to differentiate yourself from other sellers, and you’ll be forced to make some hard decisions sooner or later.    How can you prevent others from eating into your revenue, especially when you sell the same products? Should you break free from the mould and create your own product? Is it better to keep the warehouse or to let it go?     Questions like these are not uncommon with ecommerce sellers, but that’s what our Under the Hood segment is for.    In today’s episode, we’re doing an Under the Hood session with Dalit Sorokin who I met way back in Steve Chou's Seller Summit years ago.   We’ll be talking about the value of customisation and how it can breathe new life into your products, using paid advertisement for the first time, and struggling with your very first product during development.    I’ll also be sharing my strategies for leveraging paid advertisement, how Dalit can use personalised stickers to increase Average Order Value, and to increase leads, plus, I’ll be answering some of Dawn’s burning questions that you might also be itching to ask yourself.    Timestamps: Revisiting how Dalit and I first met - 3:17 Leveraging the value of customisation in her products through stickers - 9:27 How to approach paid advertisement for the first time - 20:42 Using instructional videos for video ads - 33:05 Possible solutions to moving out of the warehouse model - 34:08 Offering customisation through Amazon - 39:55 Struggles with the product development stages in her very first product - 41:45   I had a fun time talking to Dalit and I hope that her business sees a lot of action in the coming months. Check out all her awesome bento boxes over on Cute Kid Stuff.    By the way, Premium won’t be open again for a few months, but we still have a ton of free stuff that you’ll surely find value in.    As always, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review over on iTunes to let us know. Happy selling, and we’ll talk to you soon!

Sketchy competition is one of the most frustrating stress points for entrepreneurs—more so when you’re running a brand online.   That’s why it’s important to know all the things you can do to protect your brand from copycats and sabotagers.    In this episode, Dave and I will talk all about intellectual property infringement and sabotaged listings, particularly our own experiences and how we dealt with them in the past.    We’ll go over the things you should do when someone copies your products or tries to sabotage your listings. Then, we’ll break down copyrights, trademarks, patents, and all these tools that you can use to build and grow a defensible brand.    Timestamps:  What actually happens when your product gets copied - 6:09 The perks of securing design patents - 9:21 How Amazon deals with infringement cases - 12:11 Why being sabotaged is tougher to deal with - 15:36 How I deal with copyright infringement - 25:42 What a trademark means for your ecommerce brand - 31:48   It’s always a fun time having Dave on for the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode as much as I did, there’s a lot more Mike-and-Dave content over on EcomCrew Premium, which closes in 24 hours!    Aside from unlimited 1-on-1 support from Dave and myself, Premium also gives you access to monthly Secret Sauce webinars delivered by industry experts, a library of 6 full-length video courses in glorious HD, and our private Facebook group where like-minded entrepreneurs exchange strategies to scale their ecommerce brands.    Head over to ecomcrew.com/premium to sign up.   Lastly, if you enjoyed this episode as much as we did, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes. It helps more than you know.   Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!

Being an ecommerce seller, it’s always nice to hear success stories from fellow entrepreneurs. But sometimes, the stories can feel quite distant and unrelatable, and while it’s nice hearing about the good stuff, it’s also important to listen to stories about losses and failures.    Our guest today is my good friend, Tal Moore. Tal is well-known in our community as a successful ecommerce entrepreneur who is comfortable sharing all the bad things that he’s overcome in his journey.    In this episode, we’ll be talking about how he got into ecommerce with his first brands, the ups and downs of running a business, and which factors to consider when you’re torn between turning a failing business around or selling it altogether.    Talking Points: Tal’s ecommerce journey from Gumballs.com to Guardline - 9:32  The ugly side of being on top as an online entrepreneur - 24:32  Dealing with a beaten-up business and sketchy competition - 27:58 How Tal overcame his lowest point and turned his business around - 37:57 The problem of having your identity tied to your business - 51:27   I want to thank Tal for doing this podcast with me, and I’m sure our listeners got a lot of value from his insights.    Speaking of insights, we’re going live with a free public webinar this July 22 at 10AM (PST) about Amazon A9 Secrets. We’ll be sharing our exact strategies to beating Amazon’s ranking algorithm and ranking our products even among higher-volume sellers.    Also, in case you missed it, EcomCrew Premium is open this week only! If you’re someone looking to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurs, be sure to check out ecomcrew.com/premium today.    As always, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review over on iTunes.    Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!

Today on the show, we have CEO and Co-Founder of Manychat, Mike Yan. He has some exciting news to share about some new features that Instagram is rolling out, and why you should take advantage of them as an ecommerce seller.   Now, if you’re new to the show and are just starting off, you might not know it but ManyChat is one of the biggest SaaS (software as a service) in the industry. Before I sold ColorIt back in 2019, I used ManyChat to grow the brand, and it turned out extremely successful for me.   ManyChat is a chart marketing service that helps you automate conversations on messaging platforms to generate leads and boost conversions.   Be sure to check out our previous episode with Mike to learn more about the value that ManyChat and messenger marketing can add to your business:   E386: Why Messenger Marketing is the Future   For this episode, Mike and I will be talking about the power of Instagram marketing. Instagram is opening up their API and is now allowing DM automation, which is a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect with your customers on a deeper level.   Timestamps: What ManyChat is all about - 2:06 Key changes in Messenger marketing over the past year - 4:10 Why Instagram will become the most important social network in 2 years - 10:37 Step-by-step guide to setting up automated DM flows on Instagram - 24:49 Learn more about Instagram Marketing through the virtual IG Summit - 29:24   I’d like to thank Mike for taking the time to do this episode with me. I can’t wait for him to come back with more interesting stuff down the road. To learn more about Instagram marketing, check out ManyChat’s free course over on their website.  There’s definitely some great strategies discussed in this episode to help you grow your brand. But if you’re struggling to rank your products on Amazon, come join our free public webinar this July 22 at 10 AM (PST) about Amazon A9 Secrets. We’ll teach you how to master Amazon’s ranking algorithm to rank even among high-volume sellers. Reserve your seat here.   Until the next one, happy Selling!

Going from 0 to $1M is no small feat, but Dave has done exactly that, and then some.    For this episode, he’ll be talking about all his wins, losses, and future outlook four years after he started a new ecommerce brand from scratch after selling his previous business for top dollar.    If you haven’t already, be sure to check out all the previous updates from years 1 through 3:   Million Dollar Update - 12 Month Update E278: Dave’s Year 2 Update on His Off-Roading Gear Business E325: Rebuilding a 1M Brand - Dave’s 3 Year Update   Dave will start out with a real-numbers breakdown of how his brand of offroading gear is doing, and he will talk about how COVID has factored into his metrics and strategy.    He will also be sharing what his future goals are in light of all the FBA rollups walking into town—you’ll want to stick around to hear his insights about when it’s worth it to sell to an FBA aggregator.    Timestamps:  Real numbers breakdown (as of June 2021) - 1:00 Some of Dave’s biggest wins throughout the past year - 4:34 Dave’s big losses and missteps - 15:47 What Dave’s goals are for 2022 - 24:19 Dave’s insights about FBA aggregators and potentially selling his business - 27:26   There will definitely be a lot more to unpack after another year of Dave’s journey. For now, you can check out all the other good stuff we have on the EcomCrew Podcast, YouTube channel, and Blog.    Speaking of good stuff, a huge part of Dave’s success is mastering Amazon’s A9 ranking algorithm and nailing down a solid SEO strategy. This July 22 at 10 AM (PST), he’ll be sharing all that in a free public webinar on Amazon A9 Secrets. Save yourself a slot here.   If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes. Until the next one, happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!