The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

We discuss our experience with shipping and importing product for inventory today. Most people make the assumption that importing from overseas like China is the best solution. But we are going to explore all the options of shipping both foreign and domestic. Everybody normally begins by stocking their inventory with a local vendor. There is nothing wrong with this approach and it does have some advantages, but hopefully we will inform you enough to make the right decision for your business. Just as domestic supplying has its ups and downs, so too does getting your supply from China or some other part of the world. Some of the points we discussed today are: When to ask for white labeling or private labeling. Pallet pricing vs. truck load pricing. How to handle losing a shipment. Why you should maximize your order. Why you should always order in bulk. The pros and cons of air shipping. How to be ready for the hidden fees and costs. This episode is going to be a 2 part series. We have tons more to cover and we will do that in a future video. Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode: Cuttingboard.com Icewraps.com Unishippers Clear Lane 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 use today’s episode as a chance to thank all the listeners and reviewers who have left their feedback for us. We appreciate the comments and questions you guys leave for us. Speaking of questions we answer a 3 part question from one of our listeners, Colin. Colin left a 3 part question that we have dedicated today’s episode too. He asked us “what we could recommend for promotional material in a product’s packaging?” “what do we think about seasonable products?” and “how do you plan for holiday inventory?” We answer all three of these questions and share our thoughts on the subject. Some of the things we covered today are: When to pay the fee for non branded Amazon boxes How to promote your site without violating Amazon’s agreement The pros and cons of seasonal items The challenges of inventory during the holiday season Resources Mentioned Today: Amazon Cuttingboard.com Colorit.com Icewraps.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 we complete the series How to Supercharge Your Email. This is part 3 of 3. If you haven’t heard the first part of this series you can hear parts 1 and 2 here and here. We have been talking about the success of the Colorit contests. We have talked about the email flows that contestants receive in their inboxes. These flows have really helped us get more sales. Colorit has 7 to 8 flows on Klaviyo that have a sequence of 10 emails each. Today we’re going to talk about the campaigns we do in Klaviyo. A campaign is just a single email that announces product information. We talk about 3 of these campaigns during the episode. We had a testimonial request, a new book announcement, and an Affiliate program announcement. Some of the topics we bring up today are: How you can win a free hour of consulting with us. When to cull your email list. Klaviyo compared to Mailchimp. Colorit’s current high ranking on Amazon. The Pros and Cons of using Amazon. Colorit’s acceptance into Google Trusted stores. As you can see we have some big things happening with Colorit and we can thank email for part of that. Resources Mentioned on Today’s Episode: Colorit.com Klaviyo Amazon Mailchimp Icewraps.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 part 2 to our email marketing series. Mike explains the email flow he uses for his Colorit.com contests. This episode will focus on the promotional material that is sent out over the course of the month. We discuss why we have the flow structured the way we do and Grant does some brainstorming to think outside the box. We toss ideas around and we talk about how successful Mike has been with this campaign. Our conversation today includes: The benefits of using Klaviyo. How facebook is helping us build an email list. The actual email schedule we use with new sign-ups. General ideas to draw in new customers.   This is part 2 in a 3 part series. If you missed part 1 you can listen to it here. To take a look at the landing page we designed for the Colorit contest click here. We have had wild success with this marketing approach and are still trying to find the edge of the limits to it. Join us next time for part 3 of this series How to Supercharge Your Email. Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode: Colorit.com Klaviyo Colorit 4 Free Drawings Offer Typeform 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 we want to talk about the benefits of email marketing in your business. In the past we didn’t embrace email marketing, but all that changed with Colorit. We will walk you through our email flow during the Colorit Contest. The numbers are beyond encouraging and we will definitely be using these techniques on other products like cuttingboard.com. Grant admits that he doesn’t have a lot of experience with this marketing style, but there is something to it. If you didn’t get around to hearing the episode we did on the Colorit contest you can listen to it here. Here’s what we discussed today: Our background in email list marketing How to make a clickable subject line Why you should subscribe to companies that do great email marketing The email sequence we send out after a contestant enters the Colorit Contest This episode is just part one on this subject, so come back next time for part two! Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode: Nerd Marketing -- Drew Sanocki Facebook Drip Klaviyo Aweber IceWraps.com Cuttingboard.com Colorit.com Choppingblocks.com Treadmill.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 about going from running your business out of your home to a warehouse. We have our own growing pains stories on this topic, so we hope we can help those of you ready to move. The key factor to maintaining a warehouse is efficiency. A lot of things go into making sure your operation is efficient. You need to make sure the items are safely packed for shipping (which is harder than you expect) and that your inventory can keep up with demand. We’re going to share with you some of our fixes for these problems. As well as what has worked for us, and what hasn’t. Topics we discuss in this episode: Grant’s trial and error experience with packing his cutting boards. The importance of keeping shipping damage low Mike’s decision to move into FBA through Amazon Working with Amazon Finding a good fulfillment software At the end of the day it comes down to what you need to make your business work. Some of our suggestions are pretty pricey for a start-up, but for middle tier outfits it might be a solution. Efficiency is the keyword today and hopeful we have given you some great resources. Resources Mentioned During Today’s Episode: Colorit.com Treadmill.com Cuttingboard.com Icewraps.com Amazon ShipStation Stitch Labs The Definitive Ecommerce Inventory Management Comparison Skubana Bigcommerce Shopify Linnworks 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 Grant’s going to step out of the podcast. I'm Mike Jackness and I’m going to talk about my experience with running a contest for my site colorit.com. On December 5, 2015 we launched colorit.com. We had tried our product out on Amazon and decided to make the move to our own site to build the brand. Our first contest was January 1st. We offered a set of colored pencils every day for 30 days. At first I wasn't sure if this approach was going to work, but I have to say I have been very surprised and pleased with the results. During today’s podcast I’ll share these key points with you. The number of entries, sales, and overall social media hits this contest has gotten us. The email campaign we developed to keep our brand in the forefront of people's minds. The discount deal we offer non-winning contestants. How we’re providing value to our customers. How desktop vs. mobile interaction during this contest. Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Glen.io Klaviyo Facebook 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 thought we’d talk about life as an entrepreneur. Being your own boss has a lot of glamour to it. At least to those looking in from the outside. The truth is, it’s hard work. We share our own feelings on entrepreneurship and lend some perspective for those wanting to leave their 9 to 5 job for entrepreneurship. Not everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship and there is nothing wrong with that. But so many people are getting caught in the pitfalls of owning a business. Many people think their business will be a clockwork process that will be ran by others eventually. This is a lie, a properly run business will require most if not all of your attention to get off the ground. We are going to share some tips today so you can maintain your life and business balance effectively. Why it’s important to get out of “the office.” The benefits and downsides of fear. The importance of “option 2.” Mike’s top 4 tips for entrepreneurs. Grant’s top 4 tips for entrepreneurs. Mentioned in today’s episode: Cuttingboard.com Icewraps.com eCommerceFuel Forum BB (Business Breakthrough) Live IRCE (Internet Retailer Conference and Expo) 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!

Well Bigcommerce has announced they will be raising their prices. Today we will discuss what this price increase means for our personal businesses and the platform in general. It’s really easy to create a mob mentality against Bigcommerce during all  this, but hopefully today we give you a broader picture of this change. We have differing  views on Bigcommerce's decision, but that might help you decide what is best for your own business. Since Bigcommerce has announced this price increase there has been a lot of talk of migrating to Shopify. Both are strong platforms, but today’s episode is a balanced and intelligent conversation about the two. Here are some of the points of our conversation: Bigcommerce’s reasoning for the price increase. Services and features affected by the price increase. Bigcommerce vs. Shopify. The benefits of both platforms. Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Color It Icewraps.com Klaviyo Stitch Labs Cuttingboards.com Google  Trends Shopify Plus 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 finish out our 3 part series on brand building. If you haven’t listened to parts 1 and 2 we really encourage you to go back and give those a listen. We have covered what kind of products work well on an e-platform and how to bootstrap your brand with sites like Amazon. We’ve also covered trademarking and registering a brand. Today we’re going to discuss the why of having your own brand. Having your own brand is all about control. If you hold  the reigns on a product you can better serve your customer in terms of quality, customer service, and overall business decisions. We discuss this with these points: Owning your brand puts more money in your pocket, not a third party. Creating a brand can lead to your own personal platform. You are able to make a personal connection with your audience. Public interactions like contests are easier. Resellers have to consider the market more frequently. That completes our series on building your own brand. We hope you got some great information from it and are inspired to rethink your own business strategy. Remember ecommerce is a rapid changing industry and we want to see you succeed! And if you missed parts 1 and 2 go back a couple episodes on our site or iTunes. Mentioned  During Today’s Episode: Amazon Color It Icewraps.com LeadPages Klaviyo Wal-Mart Yotpo 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!