The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

Our episode today is going to be a general update and resources episode. Mike has been doing tons of traveling and he would like to discuss some of the places and conferences he will be attending. Grant is dealing with some shipping issues, and has some insights on networking and attending events, like conferences. The topics we covered today are: Mike’s business update. Grant’s business update. Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Sellers Summit Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Ecommerce All Stars Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Digital Marketing Guys Upcoming Ecommerce Event: Ecommercefuel Live Next week’s special guest. Learning from the school of hard knocks. The benefits of attending events. The value of networking at these events. We have a special offer for the upcoming Sellers Summit on July 15th. Click here for information. Resources Mentioned this Episode: Seller Summit eCommerceFuel Skubana eCommerce All Stars Digital Marketing Guys EcommerceFuel Live San Diego Mastermind Ecom Crew If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Today we just give you an update episode on how our businesses are doing. Mike is dealing with quality issues with his Chinese manufacturers. Grant is working on sourcing for Cuttingboard.com. Along with these issues we also share some of the bright spots of the businesses. We discuss our plans for growing the businesses and what’s in the pipeline for both of us.  There are a few challenges facing each of our businesses today, but with the holiday season right around the corner for online stores, it’s time to get everything in order for the biggest time of the year. The topics we covered today: Hiring the right virtual assistance. Dealing with customer service problems. Mike’s upcoming promotion for Color-It. Grant’s Chopping Blocks progress. Mike’s new website purchase. Icewraps’ move to Shopify. Grant and Mike’s friendly competition. An exclusive deal with Amazon. Resources from today’s episode: Cuttingboard.com Chopping Blocks The Digital Marketing Guys Shopify Hotjar McAfee Icewraps.com Better Business Bureau Colorit If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!  

Our guest today is Greg Mercer, the founder of JungleScout. Jungle Scout is an application that pairs with a seller’s Amazon account. The software offers a suite of tools for Amazon sellers to help them optimize their product and the product reputation.  Greg also has his hand in other software tools such as Fetcher, Spitly, and Review Kick. On today’s episode, Greg tells us about how Jungle Scout got its start and how their products complies with Amazon’s new system changes. The topics we covered today are: Greg’s digital nomadic lifestyle Jungle Scout’s product database Jungle Scout’s uses to Amazon sellers Greg’s rules of thumb Why Jungle Scout was created The development of Spitly and its uses Beta testing with Fetcher Using Review Kick Greg’s opinion of where Amazon will be in 3 years Resources Mentioned Today: JungleScout.com Spitly.com Fetcher.com Review Kick Amazon If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

We have a special guest today. Jeff Cohen from Seller Labs is on the podcast to tell us about the recent change Amazon has made to their review system. For those who don’t know, Amazon is starting to crack down on sellers who use review padding. Seller Labs is a former book seller that moved into the SaaS realm as a developer of e-commerce software. They are the developers of Feedback Genius and Snag Shout. Jeff tells us his opinion on the Amazon algorithm and how the recent changes have affected Seller Labs’ approach to getting their customers the organic reviews they want. Jeff explains how the changes to the system will fight against fake or paid reviews. He also takes the time to answer some questions we have about the new system. Here are the points of today’s conversation: Jeff’s background in ecommerce The beginnings of Feedback Genius Why sellers should focus on optimization How competition is a hangup The growth of Snag Shout Recency vs. Relevance Unverified reviews vs. Verified reviews What’s really important to Amazon The want/need continuum What are Amazon’s definitions of “excessive” and “manipulative” Resources Mentioned Today: Seller Labs Amazon Feedback Genius SnagShout If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Hello everyone and welcome to the third and final part of our SEO Series! Mike is still away and on today’s episode I’m going to talk about how SEO creates a better relationship between you and your customer and the different strategies you can use to enhance this relationship. We talk first about creative ways to transform your online transactions. The best way you can stand out from the crowd is to tell a story about your product. This means creating a narrative, developing descriptions, and using keywords to generate trust between yourself and the consumer. But this is more than keyword spamming. You can’t use SEO like and be successful. The heart of SEO is in how natural and intuitive you make it for your customers. The topics we cover today: Enhancing your own SEO strategy How is Google influencing SEO? Using SEO to tell the story about your product Page Speed and customer experience What happens if your site isn’t mobile friendly? I breakdown why keyword spamming doesn’t work In this final installment, I share why your first impression with SEO is the most important. The more natural you make it and the more normal it seems, the longer it will last and the more successful it will be. If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

While Mike is absent today, I continue our discussion of Google and SEO. In terms of that, I talk about ways to apply SEO to your work and how it can help encourage traffic to your site and your business. The most important aspect all e-commerce business owners have to understand is the Google trust rank and how it applies to sites and SEO. Once you understand how this works, you will be able to create quality content that is also optimized for the Google search engine. Today’s Topics: Arbitrage The history of SEO Google trust rankings Authorship profiles Keywords Human content review vs. algorithm Machine Learning Tactics and strategy for SEO Getting your SEO off the ground Creating unique content If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Hi this is Grant Chen, on today’s episode I’m going to talk about a topic we’ve been asked to do for a while now. SEO, for those who don’t know SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. I have a long history with SEO and I think this will be a 2 or 3 part series. So bear with me if you are really well versed in the history and use of SEO, but I want to start at the beginning for those who are totally new to this subject. Now back in the day Yahoo was king of the search engines, but slowly as the concept of search engines became more refined Google came in and changed the whole thing. SEO is the cornerstone of getting your business, service, or just name out there. It is a multi-layered thing that is much more complicated than a lot of people would let you believe. Hopefully today you will get a good foundation for SEO and we’ll work up to where it is going in the future eventually. The topics we cover today are: The history of Search Engine Optimization My education in informatics and my experience with SEO What is “page rank” Why you can’t pay for your ranking A true link vs. a spam link The 2 waves of linking farming The beginning of “Trustrank” This is part 1 of a 2 to 3 part series. So as we go deeper into this subject we’ll see where SEO started, move to where it is at the moment, and finally talk about where it will end up in the future. Resources: Yahoo Google   If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

We have recently been overseas to attend the Canton Fair and the Hong Kong Gift Show. So on today’s episode we share our itinerary from the trip and what kind of experience we had over there. We attended both fairs and we both toured factories of companies who were potential business partners. It was an interesting cultural exchange and we have definitely learned a lot about Asian business practices through our various experiences. We hope our discussion and tips help all of you decide if these fairs are a good business move for you. The topics we discussed today are: Our impressions of the Canton Fair. What it is like doing business in Japan. Our daily itinerary over the long stay. Unusual placement and hard to find vendors. The questions to ask vendors. Our impressions of Hong Kong. Resources we mention today: Icewraps.com Hong Kong Gift Show Canton Fair Colorit.com Cuttingboard.com If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Today’s episode is the third and final instalment of our series on domestic and international supplying. We have talked about shipping in both the United States and from overseas. We have also talked about the politics involved in overseas suppliers. Today we finish this series with how to find a supplier you can work with and make money. There are tons of online suppliers that offer cheap products for newcomers. These sites are helpful, but the ideal situation is to explore the market and find your product through trial and error. On today’s episode we share our experience with finding our products and offer practical advice on how to be smart about it. The main points from today’s show are: Why you should consider the long term when looking at a supplier Places to find product and the power of word of mouth How order amount is good indicator of a profitable product The reasons to consider domestic suppliers The math equation for smart product ordering What is bank management We could try to explore what makes a great product and how to find the best seller, but there is no formula for what works and what doesn’t. This will conclude our series on this subject, but we hope we gave some useful information on how to approach building and managing your inventory. Resources from Today’s Episode: Cuttingboard.com ColorIt Shopify Amazon ThomasNet Alibaba Global Sources Made in China If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

This is the second part to our importing and shipping series.  Last episode we discussed the benefits of going with domestic manufacturer and all the challenges that comes with that. Today we discuss the process of ordering and shipping from overseas. When you get your shipment from overseas like from China you have two options you can go FOB (Free on Board) or CWX shipping. Free on Board is delivered to the airport or port and is loaded based on priority. CWX is loaded up by the manufacturer and available for pick up. We tend to go with FOB because it’s often included in the overall price. Deciding which type of shipping is just the beginning. We talk about the whole process and how to approach business overseas. The topics we cover today are: How to avoid unexpected charges. The importance of inspections. How to haggle for the best price. Mike and Grant’s missteps in the shipping process. We have decided to make this a 3 part series. So next time we will discuss how to choose the right manufacturer. If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!