Marketing For E-commerce Brands

An ecommerce company recently approached my team to do an email audit as they were facing challenges with low open and click-through rates. After analyzing their email account, here are our main recommendations to revive their email marketing channel: 1. Strategic Email Segmentation: Currently, your emails lack personal relevance due to a one-size-fits-all approach. This is a crucial area to address. Action Plan: Implement segmentation based on purchase history, engagement levels, browsing behavior, and demographic information. 2. Personalized Content Creation: Generic content won't cut it. Your audience needs to feel that each email is crafted for them. Action Plan: Develop emails specifically tailored to the different segments. This includes curated product recommendations, personalized offers, and content that aligns with their interests. 3. Subject Line A/B Testing: Your current subject lines aren't doing their job. You need to be implementing ongoing A/B subject line tests, as this is low-hanging fruit to improve your open rates. Action Plan: Regularly test different subject line styles and formats to identify what resonates best with each segment. Keep track of the metrics to inform future campaigns. 4. Mobile Optimization: A significant portion of your audience reads emails on mobile devices. Neglecting this is causing a decrease in your email engagement rates. Action Plan: Ensure all emails are responsive and visually appealing on various screen sizes. Test your emails on multiple devices before sending them out. Additional Campaign Strategies We Recommend: - Launch a Monthly Newsletter: This should include new arrivals, style guides, and user-generated content. It’s an excellent way to keep your brand in the minds of your customers. - Seasonal Campaign Integration: Tailor your campaigns to align with holidays and seasons. This approach can significantly boost engagement and sales during key periods. - Re-Engagement Campaigns: Specifically target subscribers who haven't interacted with your brand recently. Offer them unique incentives to rekindle their interest. Next steps: 1. If you found this helpful, please leave a comment and let me know. 2. If you own/run/work at an Ecommerce company doing at least $1 million in annual revenue, message me so my team can audit your email channel to see if there's a good fit for working together.

Become an Expert: How to Use Google Ads to Capture Seasonal Demand 1. Targeted Advertising: Google Ads allows businesses to target their ads to specific audiences based on a variety of factors, such as demographics, location, interests, and search queries. This means that businesses can tailor their ads to reach consumers who are most likely to be interested in their products or services during specific seasons. 2. Increased Visibility: By using Google Ads, businesses can increase their visibility on search engine results pages and reach potential customers who are actively searching for products or services related to seasonal events or holidays. This can help businesses stand out from the competition and attract more traffic to their website. 3. Flexible Budgeting: Google Ads offers businesses the flexibility to set their own budget and maximum bids for their ads, allowing them to control their advertising costs and optimize their return on investment. This is especially important during seasonal peaks, when demand and competition may be higher. 4. Real-time Insights: Google Ads provides businesses with real-time data and insights on the performance of their ads, allowing them to track key metrics such as click-through rates, conversions, and return on ad spend. This data can help businesses make informed decisions and adjust their advertising strategies to maximize results during peak seasons.  Follow these key steps: 1. Plan Ahead: Research and identify key seasonal trends and events that are relevant to your business, and create a seasonal advertising calendar to plan your campaigns in advance. 2. Create Seasonal Ad Campaigns: Develop targeted ad campaigns that align with seasonal themes, promotions, and messaging to attract and engage your target audience. 3. Use Seasonal Keywords: Incorporate seasonal keywords and phrases into your ad copy and landing pages to optimize your campaigns for search engine visibility and relevance. 4. Monitor and Optimize: Continuously monitor the performance of your seasonal ad campaigns, test different strategies, and make adjustments to optimize your ads for maximum impact. Summary:  Google Ads is a powerful tool for businesses looking to capture seasonal demand and drive targeted traffic to their websites. By leveraging the benefits of targeted advertising, increased visibility, flexible budgeting, and real-time insights, businesses can effectively reach and engage consumers during peak seasons. #GoogleAds, #SeasonalMarketing, #PPC, #MarketingStrategy, #OnlineAdvertising, #DigitalMarketing, #AdWords, #Advertising, #SEM, #MarketingTips, #SeasonalCampaigns, #DemandGeneration, #ConversionRateOptimization

We thought Amazon would add fuel to the fire…  instead we spent months putting the fire out. Our mistake: we launched Amazon with the same exact flavors and same formats we sell in retail and on DTC. It worked at first, but as our wholesale channel began to scale… things went downhill overnight: // Other sellers (buying through our distributors) listed our products on Amazon at lower prices. // They won the sale… but shipped slower, packaged worse, and sometimes sent expired product. //Bad experiences from those orders led to bad reviews, which hurt brand trust far beyond Amazon. // Margins were already slimmer than DTC and wholesale, so price matching would have meant losing money on every purchase. // Our ad spend was driving sales for resellers instead of us. We had to shut it off entirely. The channel went from growing rapidly to basically zero overnight. We made a LOT of mistakes and have since been rebuilding with more success. These are insights I would have paid to have months ago: 1️⃣ Different SKUs = survival. Sell something different from what you sell to your distributors: different flavor, format, or in our case, a different pack size. 2️⃣ Treat Amazon as its own channel. Duh, but actually, make sure you have the bandwidth and resources to support it as a channel because it is definitely not set-and-forget-it. 3️⃣ Reviews make or break you. On Amazon, reviews directly drive scale. AND they also travel: people will look at your Amazon reviews while standing in the aisle at the grocery store or when deciding whether to invest in your brand. Nail product, price, and CX from day one. We are definitely still figuring it all out in real time.. But we’re finally playing offense again instead of just defense.

Last week, I delivered training for a professional services firm… One key takeaway? If you don’t write your story, someone else will. We discussed how your digital presence is your first impression. Your LinkedIn profile, content, and engagement don’t just represent you - they define how clients, partners, and future employees perceive you. But it’s not just about individual profiles. 💡 Your company brand is only as strong as the personal brands of the people within it. Every interaction, every post, every comment from your team shapes how your business is perceived. When leaders and team members actively shape their digital presence, they don’t just build credibility for themselves they elevate the entire organisation. Yet too many professionals assume their work will speak for itself. The reality? If you don’t tell your story, someone else will and it may not be the story you want. How to Take Control of Your Professional Brand: ✅ Who is your audience? Speak directly to them. What do they care about? What challenges are they facing? Shape your content to address their needs. ✅ Make your people the stars. The best company brands are powered by strong professional brands. Encourage your team to share insights, celebrate wins, and engage in conversations. When your people show up, your brand becomes more human and relatable. ✅ 1 post, 1 purpose. Every piece of content should be intentional. Is it educating, inspiring, or starting a conversation? Keep it clear, valuable, and focused. Key Takeaways 🔹 Start where you are. Comment on posts, share insights, and support others. 🔹 Be consistent. One post won’t build a professional brand but showing up regularly will. 🔹 Empower your team. Equip them with the confidence and strategy to represent your brand online, it’s one of your most valuable marketing assets. 🔹 Think long-term. Your digital presence isn’t just about today it’s shaping the opportunities you’ll have tomorrow. If you don’t write your story, someone else will. And if you’re a leader, take this to the next level by ensuring your team is equipped to do the same. #digitalfirst #marketing #linkedin

Reviews, referrals, and WOM: The new “El Dorado” for your brand. +92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other form of advertising. In an era dominated by digital ads and influencer partnerships, word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing remains one of the most effective and authentic tools for beauty brands. >>KEY Elements<< 1.-Trust and authenticity drive conversions. Unlike paid endorsements, testimonials from real users are perceived as genuine and relatable. This resonates particularly with Gen Z and millennial consumers, who are increasingly skeptical of traditional advertising. In fact, 84% of millennials say they don’t trust traditional ads, preferring instead to hear from peers. 2.-LOYALTY and advocacy. Loyal customers are not only repeat buyers but also active promoters. When customers refer others, they are 39% more likely to remain loyal to the brand themselves, according to a Texas Tech University study. These brand advocates form a self-sustaining loop of acquisition and retention. 3.-REFERRAL programs that scale. Beauty brands leveraging structured referral programs see measurable returns. +16% higher lifetime value than non-referred ones. Sephora's "Beauty Insider" program is a prime example of using incentives to transform happy customers into vocal brand ambassadors. 4.-SOCIAL media as a WOM amplifier. Brands that share customer-generated testimonials, transformation photos, and unboxing videos reach a wider audience while keeping content grounded in real experiences. +71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals. 5.-USER-generated content (UGC) as a strategic asset. Campaigns that encourage customers to post before-and-after images or skincare routines not only boost engagement but also supply a continuous stream of authentic content. +79% of people say UGC highly influences their purchasing decisions, compared to only 13% influenced by branded content. >>Statistics WOM by the numbers<< +25% profits on companies with heavy word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing. +18% lower churn rates. +16% higher customer lifetime value (CLV) is achieved via WOM marketing +4x shoppers acquired via referrals are more likely to refer others. +20–30% of new customer acquisition on average In the beauty industry. Conclusion. In a beauty landscape brimming with options, word-of-mouth marketing provides an invaluable edge. By fostering genuine relationships and amplifying real experiences, beauty brands not only gain new customers but also build enduring loyalty. Find my curated search of examples and get inspired for success. Featured brands: Abela Bodyhealth Bread Crown Glowery Hello Clean Hismile Onekind PH in Pink Lemonade Prose Revair Sennok #beautyprofessionals #beautybusiness #luxuryprofessonals #luxurybusiness

I led social at LinkedIn. I led growth for a seed-stage startup. And I also recently led social for a16z crypto. Here are 7 tips for building a company social account: 1/ Focus on the top 1-2 social platforms Ideally, this is where your target audience (customers, partners, users) is spending the most time/energy. Don’t try to be on 6 platforms at once just because you see other companies doing it. It’s really tough to do and requires an entire social team to do it right. Hire 1-2 platform experts (or niche down your expertise to focus on 1 platform you can dominate). 2/ Build out a unique voice and tone This should be inspired by your founders, customers, and ideal partners in your niche. Should be differentiated — don’t just try to copy what everyone else is doing. Everyone tries to be funny or do what Wendy's is doing and it never works out. 3/ Post content worth sharing This is how you grow a brand account. Don’t make every post about you, your product, or an announcement. Instead, be the resource for your industry. Bring people together in your replies. Make content worth commenting on and stuff that helps your ideal customer achieve their goals. 4/ Win in the replies This is a lot more than just sharing one-word responses. If you see people asking questions, thoughtfully respond. Share resources. Direct people to where they can learn more. Part of social marketing is doing customer service at scale. When you think of it this way, it changes how you interact with people on the timeline. Yes, it's exhausting and is usually the grunt work of the job, but it has to get done. 5/ Partner with other brands and creators This seems obvious, but still isn’t done right most of the time. Try partnering with others in your niche via podcasts, events, threads, AMAs, reports, livestreams, etc. — then turn that into highly shareable social content. You get access to their audience and they get access to yours. Win-win. 6/ Include your community in your content strategy If you’re getting questions from your community, turn the responses into long-form social posts and give a shoutout to the person who asked. If your power users are sharing how much they love the product, repost their post, have the founder reply, and share with the entire company to show them some love. If you encourage engagement from your top advocates, then others will catch on and follow suit. 7/ Bootstrap your engagement At the start, you’ll be posting into the void. No likes, no replies, barely any impressions. This is super frustrating and usually results in people giving up or having no momentum for months. The alternative is to bootstrap your engagement. When you post, share with the company and force everyone to like/reply/bookmark. Share your best posts with friends, partners, investors, advisors, and ask them to amplify. Every engagement matters — especially at the start. This is how you’ll start to reach 2nd and 3rd degree networks.

If you looked at last week’s performance and thought, “Wow, we were down…” dig deeper. It wasn’t just you. Amazon Prime Day shifted buyer behaviour across the board. Many brands felt the impact, lower traffic, slower conversions, and customers holding off for bigger deals elsewhere. Amazon is only growing its share of wallet and burying your head in the sand won’t fix it. So what can you do? 1. Re-evaluate your channel mix You don’t have to sell on Amazon (or maybe you should?) but you do need a strategy for how to compete with it. That might mean exploring marketplaces, refining your owned channels, or even testing Amazon as a top-of-funnel discovery tool (many brands use it for visibility, not margin). 2. Get proactive around retail events Map out key retail moments like Prime Day, Black Friday, and EOFY now. Run your own promos early, lean into loyalty campaigns, or promote “non-discount” value (bundles, GWP, exclusives) to avoid being drowned out. What about free express shipping? 3. Focus on lifetime value A one-week dip isn’t the problem, failing to build long-term customer relationships is. Invest in post-purchase journeys, community engagement, and email/SMS retention flows that outlive Amazon’s flash sales. 4. Strengthen your brand moat Amazon sells products. You sell a brand experience. Use it. Whether it’s through storytelling, content, or service, your brand equity should be doing the heavy lifting, especially when price isn’t your edge. 5. Don’t panic — plan Performance blips are part of the game. But if they keep catching you off guard, it’s time to shift from reactive to resilient. Understand the macro forces at play, and build a commercial calendar that supports consistency, not chaos.

Amazon rewards people who can see what's coming around the corner. Social commerce is what's next. And it's coming fast. Amazon just introduced a partnership with TikTok that shows they KNOW it's future of e-commerce. And they've had the Creator Connections program for a while now. It's time for brands to really focus on it. The screenshot is a campaign we just ran with Creator Connections. 5X return on investment! Plus, this content can be used across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Amazon Live. Brands MUST embrace collaborating with creators to drive traffic to Amazon if they want to be successful. I predict that in the future, creators' content will be licensed for use in Amazon ads. You'll be able to use UGC in video ads on Amazon just by paying a licensing fee. If you remember, only vendors used to have videos on their listings. I advised sellers around 2015-2016 to start creating videos for their brands, predicting that they would eventually be able to use them in listings and ads. Those who took that advice had a significant advantage when the capabilities were finally available. That's where we are now for Creator Connections. Brands that start leveraging this and TikTok today will be ahead of the curve. They'll have the content ready to license, run ads with, and vet for effectiveness.

✋🛑 Listing your full assortment with Amazon is the #1 reason your Vendor Manager chases you for cost support and guaranteed margin agreements. For years, brands were told that broader assortment meant better visibility, stronger partnerships, and long-term growth. In 2026, this strategy no longer works. Behind the scenes, many 1P brands are doing the opposite. They are deliberately reducing their Amazon portfolio. That means fewer SKUs. And yes, less consumer choice. 🤫 Nobody likes to say this out loud. But in an environment where Amazon is relentlessly focused on profitability, protecting your own margins requires hard trade-offs. Here’s why leading brands are cutting back their assortment on Amazon this year: ✅ It restores negotiation leverage. ✅ Portfolio management becomes simpler and cheaper. ✅ Demand is concentrated on mutually profitable SKUs. ✅ Unprofitable long-tail SKUs stop dragging down contribution margin. ✅ Supply chain efficiency improves through higher utilisation across VFlex, Direct Fulfilment and Direct Import. --- Are you still listing your full assortment with Amazon? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments! #amazonvendor #amazonstrategy

AOV isn’t just a price metric. It’s a monetization lever. But most teams treat it like a passive outcome. We’ve put together a full strategic breakdown, so you can actively grow Average Order Value, not just track it. Here’s what’s inside the guide: + Checklist – how to review the current AOV + Driver Tree – visual breakdown of what influences AOV + Algorithm – a flowchart to zoom in on weak spots + Hypotheses – what to test depending on your numbers + Common Mistakes – like sacrificing margin + Graphs to Track – real examples to monitor AOV drivers + Segmentation ideas – from discount-hunters to multi-basket buyers You don’t have to guess why your AOV is stuck. You just need the right structure of analysis. Save this guide and keep it as a reference. For high-res PDF leave a comment "AOV"