The Andrew Faris Podcast

Boost your brand value by running organic content as ads without any additional cost. Repurpose organic Instagram posts as ads in your ad account and optimize ad spend while efficiently scaling ads. Maximize revenue and keep costs low in e-commerce by hiring Filipino employees. Use past posts in ad accounts to test performance and invest in long-form content. Generate revenue without ad spend by using organic social content as ads.

In this podcast, Kirk Williams discusses the importance of Google Ads for DTC brands, Google's antitrust case, concerns about Performance Max, advantage plus shopping campaigns, marketing differences between Google and Meta, new customer campaign success, efficiency in the supply chain, Google's advertising challenges, search advertising strategies, and agency brand relations.

Fan Bi sees 10 different ecommerce businesses every week and has seen ~1,000 in the last year. That's because Fan's job is to buy DTC brands for The Hedgehog Company, the aggregator where he's the CEO. He's got 4 now and looking to add. The upshot of all that? He has one of the deepest senses of the market for ecommerce brands of anyone I know, and he can tell you very quickly if your business is set up well for an exit. So on this week's episode, Fan and I talked through what makes a good DTC brand and what kind of multiples ecommerce businesses are getting today, all so that you can focus on the right metrics for maximizing the value of yours. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS • [00:02:28] The meaning of life. • [00:05:11] Valuation of e-commerce businesses. • [00:08:09] Impact of investor preference. • [00:10:37] Early-stage valuation and investment. • [00:14:48] Valuing ROI and Exit Strategies. • [00:15:41] Valuing businesses based on EBITDA. • [00:19:32] Changing deal structures in acquisitions. • [00:22:06] Negative CAGR and business volatility. • [00:28:32] E-commerce business challenges. • [00:29:00] Lean operations in e-commerce. • [00:32:07] Revenue quality and valuation. • [00:35:33] Cash conversion and working capital. • [00:39:14] DTC advantages and scalability. • [00:42:31] Unfair advantages in e-commerce. • [00:45:56] Tough time to be selling. • [00:48:24] Building a business for scale and profit. EPISODE SPONSOR Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://morenow.co and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months. PREVIOUS AFP EPISODES REFERENCED • "Patrick Coddou Sold Supply" (Spotify, Apple) • "Dan McCormick Is Taking 'Build In Public' To A Whole New Level" (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) FOLLOW UP WITH FAN • ⁠Follow Fan on X: @LifeOfBi • Learn More About The Hedgehog Company: https://www.thehedgehogcompany.com/ FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

I'm a huge believer in creative diversity. I've devoted at least one episode to the idea that brands who truly maximize Meta Ads do so by building out the operational processes required to generate creative across a wide range of formats. And yet: There is one type of ad that I see that most consistently outperforms the rest of the account. That ad type is the "longform explainer," and if there's one creative strategy that's core to the AJF Growth Meta Ads playbook, it's this. Today on the show, I unpack what that ad format is and tell you why I think it works so well. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 00:00:04 - Introduction and Overview 00:01:04 - The Power of the Long-Form Explainer Ad 00:03:45 - The Importance of Clarity in Ad Creative 00:07:12 - The Four Sections of a Long-Form Explainer Ad 00:12:30 - Section 1: The Hook 00:15:20 - Section 2: The Education Section 00:20:45 - Section 3: Validation and Guarantee 00:24:10 - Section 4: Offer and CTA 00:27:45 - Testing Different Hooks and Offers 00:30:15 - The Length of the Ad and Mobile News Feed 00:32:40 - Conclusion and Future Episodes EPISODE SPONSOR Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: "Building The Process For Meta Ads Success" (YouTube, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠) FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

It's one of the biggest, most remarkable exits I'm aware of in ecommerce: in 2022, Hero Cosmetics sold for $630M. So in this episode, I brought Hero's co-founder and former CEO, Ju Rhyu, on to the show to talk about how in the world they accomplished such a big outcome, what she's up to now, and whether or not all that money actually made her happy. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:03] Acne care brand and product. [00:03:18] Launching on Amazon. [00:08:30] What made Hero successful? [00:09:38] Focusing on profitable channels. [00:13:40] Prioritizing retail over DTC. [00:16:29] Acquisition and role transition. [00:19:44] Selling the business and the best day of her life. [00:23:08] Investment opportunities and exclusivity. [00:26:23] Scaling an e-commerce business. [00:30:56] Happiness after a successful exit. [00:34:46] Work and fulfillment in life. [00:35:27] Transitioning after a successful exit. [00:39:02] The value of mistakes. [00:42:04] Amazon-first distribution strategy. EPISODE SPONSOR Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months. OTHERE AFP EPISODES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE "Patrick Coddou Sold Supply" (Spotify, Apple) "Patrick Coddou, One Year After The Exit" (Spotify, Apple) "Bryan Porter Didn't Get To $100M On Amazon With Just Tips & Tricks" (Spotify, Apple) FOLLOW UP WITH JU Follow Ju on X: https://twitter.com/jurhyu Follow Ju on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurhyu FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

Lessons from the biggest week in ecommerce: ad account strategies, maximizing Black Friday customer acquisition, bid caps for Black Friday, delayed attribution multiplier, launching your sale early, managing brand expectations during big moments

When Cody Plofker and I finished recording this episode, I told him, "That was basically Meta Media Buying 401." And that's exactly what I loved about this episode. Cody is the CMO at Jones Road Beauty, a beauty brand quickly approaching nine figures in revenue, all of it DTC including three brick-and-mortar locations of its own. So on this episode, Cody and I didn't hold back. If you're new to media buying, listen to this episode and jot down your questions as you go. If you're more experienced, the goal is for the level of detail to help drive you to more precision in your business. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:52] Cody's switch to bid caps. [03:39] Joining Slack groups for support. [07:12] Removing the pacing mechanism. [08:52] Bidding and budgeting strategies. [11:23] Ratio targets and contribution dollars. [14:23] Tying marketing to financial metrics. [17:20] ASC cost caps and lowest cost. [21:32] Relying on meta for demand. [22:37] Supply chain management in e-commerce. [26:23] Product launches and exclusivity. [29:12] Adjusting bid caps for sales. [31:41] Delayed attribution and Black Friday. [33:23] Making adjustments and comfort levels. [37:12] By-product value of advertising spend. [39:30] Bid multipliers and targeting. [41:19] In-store sales and advertising. EPISODE SPONSOR Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months. FOLLOW UP WITH CODY Sign Up For Cody's Newsletter: https://www.codyplofker.com/newsletter Follow Cody on X: https://twitter.com/codyplof Hire Cody On MentorPass: https://www.mentorpass.co/me/codyplofker FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

Everyone knows that when you launch new creative in your Meta Ads account, you need to launch it into a creative testing campaign to see how it performs, then, if it's a winner and has accumulated some spend and social proof, move it into your scaling campaign to run against your other winners. Right? Not only do I think this is wrong; I think it's downright foolish and expensive for the vast majority of advertisers. So today I'm telling you exactly how I test new creative and scale winners. Hint: it's way simpler than you think. SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE The Andrew Faris Podcast is now available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at www.youtube.com/@andrewfarispodcast. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:15] The best way to test creative. [00:03:09] Creative testing campaign strategy. [00:06:15] Testing creative costs money. [00:09:10] Launching new creative and testing. [00:14:05] Using engagement metrics for creative testing. [00:15:26] Hiring talent in the Philippines. [00:18:30] Meta's spending on ads. [00:22:03] It's a creative problem. EPISODE SPONSOR Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: "Jess Bachman Lights Creative Strategy On Fire" (⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Apple⁠) FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

Topics discussed in this podcast include bid caps account structure, bidding strategies and ad sets, bid caps vs cost caps, testing new creatives with bid controls, optimizing for one day click, fixed budget allocation strategies, and running multiple ad accounts.

Lots of people have strong opinions about how best to price an ad agencies, and I'm one of them. I've seen this from all sides: brand, agency employee, aggregator CEO, and now agency owner. After all that, I'm convinced that charging a percentage of spend is the best model for agency pricing, at least to a certain stage of DTC businesses. In this episode, I make the case for why, then tell you exactly how I price AJF Growth. SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE The Andrew Faris Podcast is now available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at www.youtube.com/@andrewfarispodcast. EPISODE SPONSOR Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months. REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: "Building The Process For Meta Ads Success" (Spotify, Apple) FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means