The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

On today's podcast, I'm pleased to welcome one of the people I've helped out through KickFurther, Kyle Bergman. Kyle started out in the tough retail industry, working as a merchandiser for Bloomingdale's, the Macy's Crown Jewel until he came up with the great product of his own, Swoveralls -- a mix between an overall and sweatpants. However, getting to this point in business didn't come easily. Tune in to find out how Kyle started in ecommerce, how he used his experience to succeed in the world of retail, and how he came up with his own product.   

If you’re in the ecommerce circle you probably know--or at least heard of--Drew Sanocki. Drew is a veteran in the field, having started, led, and invested in several ecommerce businesses over the years. He is currently the CEO of AutoAnything, a 9-figure online retailer of auto accessories. He also recently became the owner of a postcard marketing app for Shopify called PostPilot. He blogs (and used to run a podcast) about online marketing and running a business on Nerd Marketing. I first met him in Nashville during the first ECF Live I ever attended. He talked about the “Whales and Minnows” theory which has stuck with me until today, and is still completely applicable in today’s ecommerce setting. The theory is basically about focusing on whales (your most important customers) vs minnows (low-value customers who just order once). Below are some conversation points that explains the theory more, plus some other topics we talked about: The differences between a “whale” and a “minnow” and the importance of focusing on one vs the other How to attract more high-value customers The difficulties of running AutoAnything How things are at Nerd Marketing Why postcard marketing brings in more loyal customers and more money to the business Drew was kind enough to give EcomCrew listeners a discount for his postcard marketing app PostPilot. Just use the code CREW15 and get 15% off your subscription. Hope you enjoyed listening to this episode! Until the next one, happy selling.

Today's podcast is a special edition of the podcast because we have an accompanying video that comes along with today's episode. So if you'd like to join in and watch me interview my good friend Greg, hop on! If you're on the road or would rather listen to this episode, we'll have the normal audio-only version like usual just for you guys. During the filming of the Five Minute Pitch, I got the chance to really get to know some of the other judges that I shared the table with and one of those judges was Greg Mercer. If you've been listening to the podcast since day one, you'll know that I've visited him a number of times over the year, and this time, I got the chance to finally do a 1-on-1 podcast with him where we dive deep into the creation of JungleScout, what were the circumstances that lead him to grow JungleScout to the amazing tool that it is today, and the amazing team that's he's managed to put together over the years.  If this is the first time you've ever heard of Greg Mercer and JungleScout, this will be a great opportunity to get to know him and the amazing tool that helps thousands of Amazon sellers around the world find their product. Here's a list of questions that I asked Greg during the interview, for your benefit:  What came first, selling on Amazon or the JungleScout plugin? (7:11)  When did you first start selling on Amazon? (8:13) How did you find out about selling on Amazon? (8:38) What were your initial products? (10:03) Where did you get the capital to start selling on Amazon? (11:46) What was the plan after seeing the benefits on selling on Amazon?  (14:26) How did JungleScout come to be after that? (17:07) At what point did you start selling JungleScout? (18:46) How did JungleScout evolve from there? (20:47) How much were you doing on Amazon when you decided to sell JungleScout? (23:45) When did you realise that you had to focus more on JungleScout rather than Amazon? (24:25) How did you manage to put together such a great team? (31:08) What are some of the books that have personally helped you learn more about your business? (33:05)  What's the 8 new features that JungleScout released over the past few weeks? (34:17) What's next for JungleScout? (39:13)  If you're interested to get the JungleScout plugin, you can visit us here to learn more.  This is the last chance for you to join Ecomcrew Premium for 2019. As a Premium member, you get access to online webinars, our full-length courses, and participate in in-person events! Get valuable information from other 7-figure sellers or if you have questions, you’ll have the opportunity to get answers personally from Dave and I. Sign up here and use the code “CYBER“ for a 50% discount today, we don't discount Ecomcrew Premium any time else during the year, so register as soon as you can! Curious about Premium? Find out how it can help you add more products to your catalog or leverage Facebook for marketing. Send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com for more information.  Happy Selling! 

As the end of the year approaches, and the crazy holiday rush starts to build up, Dave and I wanted to take the opportunity to address the questions that come up quite often from our Premium members, and share it with everyone on the podcast. So on today's podcast, we talk about a variety of topics, from things like how I built an amazing team in the Philippines, to the best way to improve your Amazon listings. Below is the list of questions and topics that we go through today:  How to Improve Your Amazon Listings (6:52) Answering the Age Old Question: "Why are My Sales Tanking?" (9:35)  Reviving Sales for a Dead Product (11:18) Our Opinion on Variations and How to Handle Them on Amazon (17:08) What to Do When Your Amazon Account Gets Suspended (23:43)  The Benefits of Sourcing Agents (27:40) Hiring in the Philippines (31:09) Ecomcrew Premium is open for the last time this year. As a Premium member, you get access to online webinars, our full-length courses, and participate in in-person events! Get valuable information from other 7-figure sellers or if you have questions, you’ll have the opportunity to get answers personally from Dave and I.  Register now here and use the code "CYBER" for a 50% discount today.  Want to get more value out of Premium? Find out how it can help you add more products to your catalog or leverage Facebook for marketing. Send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com.  This December, I'll be part of an amazing event called Smart Traffic Live which is an event put together by the enthusiastic Ezra Firestone and the Smart Marketer Team. Join me and other big names in the industry like Mikael Yang, the CEO of ManyChat, Mary Kathryn Johnson, the founder of Messenger Funnels, and more. Sign up now, and use the code "MIKEJACKNESS" for $100 off on your early bird tickets!  Related Posts E101: Tips on Finding Profitable Products in a Saturated Amazon Market Know about the benefits and disadvantages of products with high volume sales vs. products not on Amazon yet.  The Ultimate Guide to Amazon Variations Learn about how Variations work on Amazon.  How to Find and Train the Best Filipino Virtual Assistants in 2019 As your business continues to grow, there just isn't enough time in the world for you to continuously focus on menial tasks while focusing on the big picture. In this article, we go over outsourcing and how we find the best VAs that helps us with our business daily. 

After selling ColorIt back in April, it’s left me with an itch that I just can’t scratch with the other brands that I have. I’m looking for something that I can sink my teeth into and improve their revenues drastically using the strategies and lessons I’ve learned through the school of hard knocks over the past 6 years since I started Treadmill.com.  In today’s podcast, I go over the criteria of the next business I’m looking to buy. These criteria come from a long list of lessons I’ve learned since I started Treadmill.com, and I can’t wait to get started on this.  I want a business that can be a legitimate brand. (12:19) A business that has a direct audience in Facebook or a product that can respond well to a large group. (14:18) A business with good profit margins, at a target of 5x ROI. (16:09) Something that we can create a lot of content around. (17:46) A product that can be shipped via FedEx, USPS, and that's not over 70 pounds. (19:39) Items that are not a passing fad. (21:08) Something that I’m personally passionate about, and would be a customer for. (21:16) A product that has a good lifetime value of, and that there’s repeat purchases for. (24:39) A business where I can add a lot of value. (25:52) A business that will make great content for Ecomcrew. (27:34)  This episode of the Ecomcrew podcast is brought to you by Brex. Brex is a corporate credit card specifically built for the Ecommerce Seller in mind — no personal guarantee needed, net 60 terms and if you use our code “Ecomcrew”, you get 50,000 bonus Brex Points that you can use for cash back on any transaction, or business travel via Brex Travel. Next week, Ecomcrew Premium opens once again next week on the 26th of November for the last time this year. Get access to online webinars, our full-length courses, and participate in in-person events! Get valuable information from other 7-figure sellers or if you have questions, you'll have the opportunity to get answers personally from Dave and I.  Visit us on Facebook, or sign up for our waiting list here to stay up to date on when Premium opens.  Want to get more value out of Premium? Find out how it can help you add more products to your catalog or leverage Facebook for marketing. Send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. Happy selling and we'll talk to you soon! 

The desire to be successful is a commonality that all ecommerce entrepreneurs share. However, people’s definition of success varies.  Personally, I don’t define success as amassing more money. But money is a way to keep score. I’m a competitive person with an ‘all in’ approach to business. It’s this potent combination that has led me to suffer recurring episodes of burnout. Steve Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job is a good friend of mine and while discussing the effects of burnout, he introduced me to the 4 Burners Theory. The 4 burners represent the four life quadrants - work, health, family, and friends. If you want to run a successful business you have to turn off one of these four burners. In order to run a REALLY successful business, you have to turn two off.  In this episode, I relate this theory with my own personal experience and which “burners” I had unknowingly turned off to be able to grow my business to the scale it is today. Today's episode is brought to you by Brex. Brex is a corporate credit card built specifically with the needs of ecommerce business in mind. Net 60 float, with no personal guarantee. Your card limit's based on your monthly sales, not your credit score. Sign up today and use the code ecomcrew to get 50,000 signup bonus points. Available to listeners in the USA only. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes. And use the comment section on the bottom of the page to ask us a question.    Till next time, happy selling!

  November’s a busy month for many ecommerce sellers, myself included. But between selling ColorIt and putting our remaining brands into their own LLCs, everything somehow feels more serene...more organized. Putting in the work all those months ago has certainly paid off as I now find myself in a great position business-wise and in my personal life. There were definitely a handful of struggles along the way but it has so far been worth it.  If there’s anything you can take away from this episode, its to strive for balance. The pull of entrepreneurship might be strong but you also need to practice self-care and be with people you value the most.  And so here’s an update on my 19 goals for 2019; where I’ve traveled to, where I’m speaking next and the other things going on in my life. Sell a brand. (3:39) Position another brand for sale in late 2020. (5:30) Getting back to location independence. (6:24) Reducing debt to zero dollars. (8:44) Hike the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. (10:29) Take at least 10 weeks of personal travel. (11:24)  Record 6 or more episodes of the Roadshow. (11:47) Invest in at least 1 ecommerce business. (12:53)  Lose 10 more pounds. (14:22) Visit the Philippines office in 2019. (15:45) Start selling our services for EcomCrew. (16:41) Significantly improve the quality of the podcast. (18:33) Film season 2 of the 5 Minute Pitch. (19:52) Break each of our brands out into different companies. (21:19) Start hosting personal events for EcomCrew. (22:00)  Speak at 6 industry events. (22:58) Shift to doing things that only bring me immense personal fulfillment. (23:58) Do intermittent fasting for all of 2019 and eat less meat. (26:33) Not to drink the rest of 2019. (29:36)  Learn about our tried-and-tested strategy for launching new products on Amazon. Order your copy now!  Want to be part of the second season of 5 Minute Pitch? Send us an application! Previous goals episodes: E227: 19 Goals for 2019 E243: 2019 Goals – Q1 Recap E279: 2019 Goals – Month 8 Update EcomCrew Roadshow episodes: E282: The EcomCrew Roadshow – Focusing on Your Why E288: Getting a High-Touch Business Back on the Growth Train I hope you enjoyed this latest installment of the podcast. As always, feel free to leave a comment below. If you think this episode has been useful to you, please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes.

When you’ve achieved success as an online entrepreneur, it can be tempting to sit back and take your foot off the pedal.  In an industry as dynamic as ecommerce, that isn’t really an option. You need to constantly think of ways for your brand to grow and evolve. But what to do when you slip up and lose that top 1 first-page ranking on Google?  My friend JP is facing the conundrum of getting a high-touch business out of coasting mode and back into full-on growth mode. He owns and runs Pro Teeth Guard, a 7-figure business that creates custom-fitted professional-quality dental mouth guards for people who have bruxism (teeth grinding). Before going into actual problem-solving mode, here’s how JP started with the business (3:58) and how those mouth guards are actually made (5:28). He also shed light on what led to the business’s downward curve (9:09) and what his goal is for the business moving forward (11:51). In this episode, we identify key areas he can explore and work on to achieve the goals he has for Pro Teeth Guard. Diversifying into Amazon (13:41) Working on that SEO (17:58) Getting a brand expert onboard (24:12) Leveraging longevity through email (26:13) Increasing average order value (34:02) Retargeting Facebook ads (37:23)   Other Resources Mentioned: E159: 3 Key Email Marketing Sequences for Your Ecommerce Business Order a copy of our Amazon book today!  Thanks for listening to this episode of the EcomCrew Podcast. I hope you’ve gleaned insights that you could implement on your own business.  If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes. And use the comment section on the bottom of the page to ask us a question.  Till next time, happy selling!

I’ve been a closet domain collector for over a decade and some of my “purchases” have turned into ecommerce properties - treadmill.com.,colorit.com, survivalfood.com, and tactical.com. In this episode, my co-captain Dave Bryant joins me in this discussion that centers around domain flipping. Today we’re going over strategies, thought processes, as well as the dos and don’ts of shopping for domains.  In this episode, we specifically cover the following: Mike and his impressive portfolio of domain names Why investing in domain names can help you become successful in ecommerce Appraising the value of a domain name Finding domain names A word of caution of using GoDaddy The negotiation process Domain value predictions We hope this episode has inspired you to try your hand at purchasing domain names. If you have any questions, leave us a comment and we’ll get right back to you. Want a physical copy of our tried-and-tested Amazon launch strategy complete with examples and screenshots?  Get your free book here. Get advice from Mike and have your business featured on the podcast.  Sign up for the EcomCrew Roadshow today!  Finally, if you enjoyed listening and think this episode has been useful to you, please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Happy selling!

In the ecommerce realm, opinions on starting a dropshipping business really differ. Some people say it's dead, others insist that its the only way to go. Well, dropshipping is still very much around. But as Amazon moved into a position of dominance, its appeal has waned. The fact that some so-called “gurus” who sell dropshipping as an “easy” way to earn millions hasn’t helped either. However, there are those who own sustainable dropshipping businesses.  Dave Couillard, our resident design expert, is one of them. I’ve asked Dave to join me in this podcast episode to talk in detail about his website, HardCases.ca. This will also serve as his formal introduction as a business partner on EcomCrew. Here are some highlights from our discussion: Dave’s ecommerce journey: from web design to dropshipping (12:59) What a typical day for him is like (19:13) Sourcing products and finding suppliers (23:10) Running a dropshipping store (44:40) Pros & cons of dropshipping (59:37) I hope our discussion didn’t only prove informative but encouraged you to look at dropshipping businesses in a different, albeit more positive light. As always, drop any questions you may have in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on iTunes.   Get a copy of our Amazon domination book and just pay for shipping. Order it here. Until next time, happy selling!