“There are two components to going viral, either the product itself is viral or the creator or the person who uses it as viral.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“I did most of my funding because I was sending out to eighty thousand people that I had nurtured and gotten to know personally. That is the power of generating a strong list and educating your customers.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“Building a community was a really personal touch from the beginning where you need to nurture it as it grows.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“You can make a product and put it out in a short amount of time if you're willing to learn and research. It’s about three things: making it, sourcing it and putting it out to get it validated.” @conorblewis #DTCPOD“Use all the free resources at your disposal to make that happen. For me, it was podcasts, books, a ton of online research.” @conorblewis #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:55] About Conor and FORT[02:25] FORT’s product development timeline[04:45] How FORT raised over $2 million on Kickstarter[10:55] Gamifying FORT’s marketing strategy[09:55] Creating virality with a product[12:00] Expanding reach while limiting advertising costs[19:40] FORT’s Kickstarter timeline[16:35] Building FORT’s online community[20:20] Using sustainable materials in your product[23:35] Advice for other founders[27:50] What’s next for FORTStrong research and product development lead to successful products. Conor Lewis, CEO and founder of FORT, joins the POD to talk about FORT’s successful crowdfunding campaign and strong Facebook community.His company FORT, sells magnetic pillow fort for children. Conor lost his job in April 2020 and started FORT soon after. The idea was one of many startup ideas on Conor's phone. FORT was developed in only a couple of months due to Conor’s push to develop a product fast. FORT already had a strong email list and community before deciding to crowdfund on Kickstarter. Building an online community and how to leverage it into a successful crowdfunding campaign. FORT gamified the sharing of their product, allowing them to expand their reach using their strong online community. Using a private Facebook group, Conor was able to build personal connections with his audience.He used the Facebook group as a way to get feedback on the idea of his product and answer questions personally to his audience. Because of the nurturing of this community, FORT’s Kickstarter campaign was able to raise over 2 million dollars in less than a day. Stay tuned as Conor shares his experience launching FORT on Kickstarter thanks to a strong online community.  If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Follow Conor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conorblewisFollow Conor on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorblewis/FORT’s website: https://getthefort.com/FORT’s Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/conorblewis/fort-magnetic-pillow-fortFORT on Twitter: https://twitter.com/getthefort

 “I love the idea of crowdfunding. I'm a huge community builder, super connector, and I love the idea of building an army of people who are fighting for us to succeed.” @cbm #DTCPOD“Our products can create a lot more intimacy and conversation. And I think it's a beautiful thing in a world that's increasingly digital to be in the physical product space.” @cbm #DTCPOD“And I think building interesting networks and online communities allow you to move a bit faster, even if the industry does not move at that pace.” @cbm #DTCPOD“There's an initial boom when you launch and then waves of booms with periods to mellow out. That’s how we've done a pretty good job at keeping that momentum going.” @cbm #DTCPOD“We post every day on Instagram. We're commenting on other people's posts. And I think that engagement is really important.” @cbm #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:20] About Courtney and AKUA[03:20] AKUA’s history in crowdfunding[07:15] Developing the initial Kelp Jerky product[10:55] The sustainability of using kelp[13:45] Courtney’s transition from tech to food[15:35] Building a community with your brand[19:40] Richard Branson’s testimony for AKUA[23:50] Advice for other founders[25:45] What’s next for AKUAProduct lines can be both sustainable and successful. Courtney Boyd Myers, CEO and co-founder of AKUA, joins the POD to talk about AKUA’s dedication to sustainable meat alternatives in the form of ocean-farmed Kelp. Courtney first learned about kelp through a friend, who runs a nonprofit dedicated to growing kelp farms, which started her interest in kelp. AKUA utilized crowdfunding to expose their product and build an online community surrounding their brand. Kelp is both a sustainable source of food, but it is extremely high in nutritional value. The Kelp Jerky was their first product, trying to start with a dried, shelf stable product for their customers and later expand into other meat alternatives. Building an online community is important in developing your brand. The transition from the tech industry to the food industry for Courtney. One of the biggest challenges was the differences in pace between tech and food, but building a community was essential to Courtney’s success. Creating a product was difficult for Courtney and she underestimated the product development timeline. She created a facebook group to foster growth and build the community for her brand. Timing is important and maintaining momentum with content is important to keeping the community engaged and invested in your product. Stay tuned as Courtney shares her experience launching her sustainable meat alternative using kelp as well as building a community through crowdfunding and creating meaningful content. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Follow Courtney on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbm/AKUA’s website: https://akua.co/AKUA’s Republic Page: https://republic.co/akuaFollow AKUA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeakua/Follow AKUA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifeakua

“Make sure you tailor your offer to something that's personal to a customer or shopper.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“DTC brands are starting to look the same. We're going to start to see a shift in brand palettes this year.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Live streaming has really taken off in the past couple of years and will continue to take off.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“The biggest thing that you can do is really understand how you can create demand - the messaging that you can do, the positioning, and the story that you can tell.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Don't limit yourself to only domestic sales if possible. Do some research on selling internationally. The international markets are a great way to grow.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:55] Offering a personalized experience[01:55] Trends in brand aesthetics[02:35] The growth of live streaming[04:50] DTC brands globalizing[07:00] The growth of social commerce[07:50] Payment via textBeing unique is one of the biggest trends for DTC brands in 2021.We’re covering some of the up-and-coming trends to look out for in DTC brands for the year. Tailoring your offer to something that's personal to a customer or someone that's interested in your product is key. Many DTC brands are beginning to look the same. We're going to see a little bit of that changing.That doesn't mean that you should just jump right into a rebrand. Making sure your product and your brand is unique in terms of messaging and positioning is one of the most important things to do in order to stand out.  The use of technology has expanded the horizons for marketing in DTC brands, especially because of the pandemic. Expanding product markets internationally is another trend that has grown within the past year and might be a good way to grow. Social commerce has become really popular through apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, and there's been a lot of moves towards that. More and more companies are enabling payment via text. Text communication enables the possibility of offering new things for your customers while selling your product. With the pandemic, eCommerce has grown tremendously, and so has technology in terms of marketing DTC brands. Stay tuned as Jay shares the trends in the DTC world to look out for in 2021. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:More on DTC trends for 2021: https://marketerhire.com/blog/dtc-trends

 “I would definitely recommend starting small with your product line. You can always add but you can’t always take away.” @jazyfent #DTCPOD“You don't need 30 different products. It's so much more than that. You only need a few that customers use very consistently.” @jazyfent #DTCPOD“The main thing is just listening to our customers, who already love your products and asking them what they want to see next.” @jazyfent #DTCPOD“As long as you're communicating your rebranding process, your customers are going to continue to buy from you.” @jazyfent #DTCPOD“if you are looking to rebrand or change a name, make sure that your logistics and business is still running well throughout the process.” @jazyfent #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:50] About Jaz and Yellow Beauty[02:00] Yellow Beauty’s product line[07:50] Getting market insight[10:55] Investing in marketing for Yellow Beauty[11:55] Jaz’s experience launching her product line and initial problems[18:00] Yellow Beauty’s rebranding[21:00] Lessons learned from being a founder[23:35] Pivoting your brand[26:55] What’s next for Yellow BeautyProduct lines don’t have to be large to be successful. Jaz Fenton, CEO and co-founder of Yellow Beauty, joins the POD to talk about the curation of meaningful products and her experiences with rebranding. Yellow Beauty has been in business for almost five years with only four products, but they are strong and successful with customers. Making sure that a product would hit and resonate with customers was crucial due to Yellow Beauty’s lack of access to capital. They don’t do multiple versions of the same product with small variations because of the added saturation. Listening to customers has been important in Yellow Beauty’s success in expanding their product line and improving their existing products. Rebranding your company is not something to be afraid of.Yellow Beauty decided to rebrand to broaden its horizons beyond turmeric. One of the biggest challenges of being a founder is the drastic ups and downs while working on your company and product.There are so many people and other founders willing to help and offer advice to new businesses.It is tough and scary to change the name and messaging of your business, but communicating that process to customers is essential to rebranding successfully. Staying on top of logistics and business operations throughout the rebranding process is also essential. Stay tuned as Jaz shares her experience launching a small, but strong skincare product line based on turmeric as well as her rebranding story to expand her company’s horizons. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Follow Jaz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jazyfentYellow Beauty’s website: https://yellowbeauty.com/Yellow Beauty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yellowbeauty

We’re changing things up this week with an introduction to the DTC POD’s new DTCers community - an invite-only community for DTC and eCommerce founders, marketers, and more.Most of the Trend team (the operators of the DTC POD) is based out of Austin. Last week’s snowstorm in Texas left most of the team without power (so no podcasts).So we figured this would be the perfect time to jump back into the podcast fresh and make two big announcements.First, our DTCers community is officially live! You can apply to join at trend.io/podcast.We’re talking marketing, product, growth, DTC news, fireside chats with founders, and more! You can even ask for help or promote your brand.That leads us to our second big announcement, a whole page dedicated to the DTC POD. Check it out at trend.io.You can listen to past episodes, apply to join our Discord community, and even apply to be a guest on the DTC POD.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Apply to join the DTCers community: https://airtable.com/shrH1QfmUSvjEFYHRDTC POD on Trend.io: https://trend.io/podcast

“Design is so core to telling your story, and that's really what building a great brand is all about.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“There's no longer going to be a single channel business. Everyone is multi-channel, everything is multi-channel, and increasingly everything is more experimental.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“As it becomes easier and easier to create products or offer classes or sell content, the relationship that you build with your customer is going to be the biggest key.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“If you can tell a great story through a website, Tiktok, or an Instagram post, you're going to get someone's attention.” @LukasThoms #DTCPOD“The more ways that you leverage your brand, the stronger your relationships are and the depth of the relationships that you build.” @LukasThoms #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:10] About Lukas and Squarespace[03:45] Squarespace’s emphasis on design for brand building[06:25] Breaking down the pandemic’s impact on eCommerce for today and tomorrow[11:55] Squarespace’s role in empowering SMBs[14:35] The importance of storytelling in business[15:45] Utilizing new platforms to help monetize your audience[17:20] Lukas’ view on the future of commerce[21:35] What the best entrepreneurs do to grow[23:35] Three non-negotiables for eCommerceTelling a story is core to creating a brand and developing strong relationships with consumers. Lukas Thoms, a Group Product Manager at Squarespace, joins the POD to talk about the importance of design in eCommerce and how Squarespace helps enable and empower that. Lukas has been in eCommerce for almost a decade, now focusing on building tools for small businesses for selling online. Design is at the center of everything Squarespace does and it's their biggest differentiator. Design is core to storytelling. For eCommerce, telling the story of your business and product is the most important thing you can do.With the pandemic, eCommerce has grown tremendously. This has forced businesses to experiment with different channels of selling.  Creating a strong customer relationship is important to building a strong brand. Small businesses that create relationships with their customers can use those relationships to fuel multi-modal growth.Where does Squarespace come in?Well they help brands showcase their strong, compelling story and unique product to customers. Once you’ve created your audience, you can also work to sell on other channels. This is a great way to create multi-channel growth.The more ways you can leverage your brand, the stronger relationships you can build with customers.Stay tuned as Lukas shares how to tell your brand story better, how to leverage your customer’s attention, and the future of eCommerce in response to the pandemic and social media. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Squarespace’s website: https://www.squarespace.com/Squarespace on Twitter: https://twitter.com/squarespaceSquarespace on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squarespace/Follow Lukas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lukasthoms  

This isn’t your ordinary chicken nuggetWe’re covering one of the hottest brands in DTC - NUGGS, a plant-based chicken brand. NUGGS was founded by Ben Pasternak, who started as a young, but successful iPhone app creator before starting NUGGS. NUGGS is targeting millennials and Gen Z people, using irreverent, witty, unapologetically tech-forward branding. NUGGS are continuously being updated, like software, by food scientists and engineers. NUGGS uniquely describe themselves as the “Tesla of Chicken,” creating a brand identity that has never been seen before. Their website furthers this unique identity, having only 3 options of nuggets to purchase: $34.99, $44.99, and $10,000. NUGGS also has a beta testing, monthly subscription-based system, offering more unique ways to purchase their product. Be like NUGGS - focus on creating strong messaging towards your specific target marketNUGGS tries to treat their customers as actual people, rather than data points. They understand their specific market is trendy vegans/vegetarians and rich suburban moms and focuses on them.They definitely don’t market towards everyone and it helps create strong brand loyalty.NUGGS is big on multiple social media platforms which helps them spread their message to their specific target.Stay tuned as Jay breaks down NUGGS’ positioning, go to market strategy, unique audience approach.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:NUGGS website: https://eatnuggs.com/Simulate website: https://simulate.com/NUGGS on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nuggs/Medium Article: https://medium.com/the-anatomy-of-marketing/what-a-vegan-chicken-nugget-brand-can-teach-marketers-e75aa72d226Marketing Teardown Powerpoint: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JK8dJQ4bz-X4WjLZ5o2vTG7hFUrSO_UlCitMbgg0txs/edit#slide=id.g8d807f2199_0_437GFI Article: https://www.gfi.org/wenger-manufacturing-brian-plattnerGravity Junction Article: https://gravityjunction.com/marketing-golden-nuggets/

“My aha moment was when there was a middleman who was not really providing value. So we thought if we could find a way to go directly to the consumer, then we have a business.” @OscarAdelman #DTCPOD“I think we have the idea that if we're doing well now, we're really going to be able to crush it on the other side of this.” @OscarAdelman #DTCPOD“What sets you apart is the relationship that you build with the customer. And while we can't have the customer here in our office like the dentist does, we have to still find a way to build a relationship with them.” @OscarAdelman #DTCPODThat type of attention and type of care, it costs more, but the return on investment is high. ” @OscarAdelman #DTCPOD“One of my classes at NYU really focused on making us talk to customers. In that class, we had to go out and talk to strangers in Washington Sqaure Park to collect feedback. It wasn’t easy but it trained me well.” @OscarAdelman #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:47] About Oscar and what led to starting Remi[03:35] Introduction to Remi Nightguard [05:23] Oscar’s launch strategy during pandemic[08:19] Validating your product and getting it to customers[10:49] How Oscar settled on the pricing structure for product[13:54] Remi’s messaging vs drugstores[17:19] Oscar’s outlook on customer experience[19:25] Creating value with subscription service pricing[26:18] Oscar’s use of testing to improve the business[27:50] Oscar’s strategy in scaling the business to create high retention[31:01] What’s next for RemiTo launch a brand in the middle of a pandemic, you have to execute strongly. Oscar Adelman, Founder and CEO of Remi, joins the POD to talk about how he successfully launched a business during the pandemic, focusing on customer experience. Oscar started Remi, a custom night guard, after being a teeth grinder for years, spending thousands of dollars on night guards from dentists. He wanted to find a middle ground between the expensive night guards from the dentist and cheap drug store alternatives. Just when he was ready to launch everything, the pandemic happened.Oscar actually sees launching during the pandemic with a positive spin. He says that successfully launching during the pandemic means that they should be able to succeed outside of it. Part of that success is driven by making a strong effort to get outside and talk to customers. Creating a strong customer experience and relationship is important to building a strong brand. Building the best customer experience was an important task for Oscar and his business. Having the right message to position your product against competitors is an important part of building a successful brand. Establishing a strong relationship with the customer creates a strong return on investment through their loyalty. Stay tuned as Oscar shares how important it is to develop relationships, how to create repeat customers, and how to successfully grow your business (even in a pandemic). If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Remi’s website: https://shopremi.com/Oscar’s website: http://www.oscaradelman.com/Follow Oscar on Twitter: https://twitter.com/oscaradelmanRemi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Remi_TribeRemi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RemiTribe/

“Paid advertising should be complementary to organic efforts instead of being the main driver.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“If you’re able to acquire customers for  50% less, you can put that money back into your brand to grow your product line, do more research, or use it to support your community.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“You should work on decreasing customer acquisition cost and increasing AOV.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“Feedback that you get for your product is so critical that if you're acquiring customers that aren’t going to use your product, you could be harming future growth” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“Great storytelling can lead to recommendations even from people who aren’t users of your product.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:00] The switch from paid acquisition to organic[01:35] How creators are building brands with their audiences[02:35] Who is performance marketing for?[03:15] Thinking about CAC differently[04:05] What can do you outside of dropping CAC to maximize organic growth[05:10] Understanding your acquisition[06:05] How organic growth fuels AOV[06:30] How to acquire customers organically[08:00] Building in public and its relation to organic growth[09:35] Effective storytelling and audience growth[12:05] Tips for finding more of your audience[13:00] Building your audience in the best way for your brand and yourselfOrganic acquisition is the best way to create sustainable growthJay and Ramon discuss organic acquisition on this episode of the DTC POD.Traditionally, brands have used paid marketing (or performance marketing) to acquire customers. With performance marketing, the brand’s goal is to acquire as many customers as possible at the lowest cost possible.Now we’re starting to see brands shift to creating their own tribe and working harder to create organic growth.Organic growth has great benefits for eCommerce brands. Organic customers generally have higher AOV over time, are more likely to repurchase, and are more likely to refer your brand.To build an organic channel for growth, you’re going to have to be an effective storyteller and work on building your brand.Stay tuned as we discuss strategies to acquire customers organically, how to think about customer acquisition, and how to tell an effective storyIf you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Zillion Beers podcast: https://trend.io/blog/podcast-zillion-beers-mike-bloomberg

“When I think about go-to-market strategy, there are two ways of doing it. Top-down where you get as many eyeballs on your brand as possible or bottoms up where you try to turn early adopters into loyalists.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“I believe in brand marketing where you create a community first that understands you and is a part of your brand.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“I like thinking about my influencer strategy with the micro-influencers mostly, and then plugging in a few strategic macros that we create a longer-term relationship with.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“One trend that I am really, really interested in right now is the fact that some of these major creators are now becoming investors and getting into the investor game.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“As a founder of an early-stage company you have to remember that you’re on day one when comparing yourself to competitors that might already be doing this for a few years.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:00] About Amanda and her experience[03:15] Why Amanda started House of Wise[05:20] Amanda’s thoughts on go-to-market strategies[06:35] The importance of brand marketing when building[10:15] How Amanda thinks about influencer marketing for SMBs[13:45] Is influencer marketing still effective for growing brands?[16:25] Fitting influencer marketing into your marketing mix for SMBs[19:25] Amanda’s strategy for influencer marketing for early-stage brands[24:10] How Amanda approaches influencer pitches[27:50] What matters to Amanda when selecting influencers[31:15] Pitfalls to avoid for early-stage brands doing influencer marketing Influencer marketing for early-stage brands works. Here’s the playbookAmanda Goetz, CMO of Teal and Founder of House of Wise, joins the POD to talk about how SMBs can successfully do influencer marketing.Customer acquisition today is more about building an audience than just running paid advertising campaigns.That’s where influencer marketing comes. Working with the right influencers can help you build your audience and keep your brand top of mind which is key in the early stages.When you’re building your brand, you want to turn early adopters into brand loyalists.Doing this means talking to early adopters and creating strong relationships that keeps them loyal to your brand.The way you turn early adopters into loyalists is the same approach you should take with influencersStrong relationships shouldn’t only be with customers. They should be with influencers too.To get the most out of influencer marketing, you also need to create strong relationships with creators.That means getting them excited about your brand and getting them to buy into your mission, vision, and most importantly, the product itself.Stay tuned as Amanda shares how SMBs can correctly use influencer marketing to grow, how to select creators, and some of the pitfalls you should avoid in influencer marketing.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:House of Wise’s website:https://houseofwise.co/Follow Amanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaMGoetzHouse of Wise on Twitter: https://twitter.com/house__of__wiseHouse of Wise on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/house__of__wise/