Mike and longtime China-based seller Cameron talk about the reality of the pandemic situation in China and how ecommerce sellers can plan their trips back to the factory of the world this year.

Whether you’re only just starting out or are running an established ecommerce brand, there’s a good chance that your business is tied to China one way or another. I myself visit Hong Kong and China to attend trade shows, speak at seller conferences, and get some facetime with my factories every year—at least before the pandemic hit. 

Fast-forward a couple of years and ecommerce sellers are now itching to go back to China to optimize their supply chains and scale their businesses. That’s why in this episode, we’ll be talking all about the current COVID situation in Hong Kong and China and everything sellers need to know before visiting in 2023. 

Joining me for this episode is Cameron. He is a returning guest on the podcast and a longtime ecommerce seller who is currently based in China. If you’re planning a trip down south this year, you’ll definitely get a lot out of this episode.

Timestamps: 

• Cameron’s life in China – 2:03
• The reality of the COVID situation in China – 6:11
• How safe is it to travel to and from China today? – 20:13
• What the current protocols are for visiting China in 2023 – 23:45
• Are old business Visas to China still valid? – 28:27
• Which big trade shows will be returning this year? – 31:50
• The ideal time of year to visit China – 38:23
• Do you see foreigners in China right now? – 40:01

I wanna thank Cameron for taking the time to do this episode with me. I’m excited to have him back on the podcast down the road and hopefully talk about something other than the pandemic. 

As always, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!

Mike and Dave reveal the winners of EcomCrew’s annual software poll, along with some juicy insights, trends analysis, and predictions for the future of SaaS.

It’s that time of the year again!

In this episode, Dave and I will be revealing the winners (a couple of which you might not have expected) of last year’s survey to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories:

• Product and Keyword Research
• PPC Management
• Reimbursement Services
• Repricing Tool
• Product Launches and Giveaways

On top of that, we’ll be talking about the value of creating original content in light of recent industry trends, the significant shifts in software usage among sellers, and the future of the SaaS ecosystem. Let’s get right into it:

Timestamps: 

• How the EcomCrew Software Poll got started – 1:54
• AI and other trends in content generation – 4:45
• The best product and keyword research tool – 9:15
• Why more sellers don’t use product and keyword research tools anymore – 12:53
• The best PPC software – 15:56
• The best reimbursement service for sellers – 25:01
• The best repricing tool – 31:54
• The best tool for product launches and giveaways – 36:46
• Why it’s important to create a long-term business model – 37:34

To check out the full breakdown of our results, head over to our blog post of the Best Amazon Software of 2022. 

Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy content like this. Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!

Mike and AccrueMe founder Don Henig take a walk down memory lane to talk about the biggest struggles that all entrepreneurs face and how to overcome them. 

Entrepreneurship is a challenging endeavor. Getting your business off the ground, growing your company, and building relationships takes a lot of time and effort—not to mention the plethora of uncertainties you will face along the way. 

In this episode, Don Henig joins me in dissecting the biggest struggles of entrepreneurs based on our own personal experiences. We’ll be sharing some valuable lessons we learned throughout the years about business, people, and money, as well as how we faced our biggest setbacks head on.

If you’re stuck in a rut or are in need of a little bit of inspiration, there’s a lot of value in this episode for you.

Timestamps: 

• Don’s entrepreneurial journey – 2:18
• How to handle serious business losses – 13:52
• The hardest part of being an entrepreneur – 20:52
• Moving on from business partnerships and valuable employees leaving – 24:00
• Why AccrueMe is the only financing that’s accretive for sellers – 38:47

I wanna thank Don for coming back to the podcast and making this episode very insightful. If you’re interested in what AccrueMe has to offer, check out Episode 384 where Don talks about why AccrueMe is a fresh way to get some funding for online sellers. Also be sure to check out our In-depth Review of AccrueMe so you can make an informed decision before diving in. 

If you’re ready to get some funding, head over to AccrueMe website using this link to get a sweet deal as an EcomCrew listener! 

Happy selling and I’ll talk to you soon!

Mike and Omnisend Co-Founder Rytis Lauris discuss the most popular marketing channels for ecommerce businesses and how you can optimize your marketing campaigns.

Marketing is part and parcel of running an ecommerce business, but the industry is constantly changing and sellers who are constantly looking out for the most effective marketing methods are often the ones who are ahead of the curve. 

Joining me for this episode is Rytis Lauris, Co-Founder and CEO of Omnisend, which is a very useful all-in-one suite for running marketing campaigns, from email, SMS, to Push notifications. 

Some of the good stuff we talk about in this episode include the most effective marketing methods right now, what people get wrong about online marketing, and how you can give customers that great first purchase experience. Since we’ve had Rytis on the podcast before, we’ll also do a bit of catching up about the latest developments in marketing to help you optimize your own marketing campaigns. 

Timestamps: 

• Intro – 00:35
• Email is not dead – 1:02
• Where people go wrong with email marketing – 8:15
• Why SMS marketing has taken off – 18:50
• What happened to Push Notifications? – 26:07
• Connect your marketing efforts with your support structure – 32:55

I’m definitely excited to have Rytis back on the podcast down the road to talk about all the big changes in the marketing landscape in a couple of years. If you’re interested to know more about Omnisend and all its cool features, head over to their website or hit Rytis up on LinkedIn. 

Also, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you haven’t already. Happy selling and I’ll catch you on the next one!

Happy New Year! We've been a little bit late with publishing this episode due to the holidays but we're back with the weekly releases. 

Today, we're back with our monthly report for the month of November - we’re going to stop with the monthly report blog posts but we do plan on keeping this tradition alive for the podcast, so stay tuned for more Brand Report episodes. Do let us know how you feel by sending an email over to support@ecomcrew.com. 

Since it's the beginning of winter, we've reached an all time low in terms of revenue across all our brands, mainly because most of them reach their seasonal peak in the summer months. We've seen this trend before with all of our previous years of data, so we're not too worried about it. 

We're actually a little more excited than usual because WildBaby was able to survive a lot of the Black Friday rush, and we didn't run out of inventory like we usually did in our previous years. But how much inventory is too much? With interest rates also going back up, our bottom line is starting to look a little dicey for 2023. 

However, despite these challenges, we’ve had a lot of wins in many of our brands. We’ve recently been in talks with our suppliers to get better payment terms, and been working with an agency to up our branding. 

• 1:13 – An update to our Brand Report Segment  
• 4:05 – November Revenue numbers
• 5:11 – Predictions for December numbers
• 6:06 – Sneak Peek: Not running out of inventory for December 
• 6:32 – How much inventory will Mike be left with? 
• 8:00 – Loss: Having too much inventory
• 9:06 – Loss: Interest Rates going up 
• 16:37 – Is the risk of supply chain disruptions going down? 
• 18:59 – Supply Chain Uncertainties: Predictions for 2023
  • 20:11 – COVID and Chinese New Year
• 23:19 – Wins for November
  • 23:25 – Better Payment Terms for Suppliers 
• 27:20 – Will Inflation go down the same way everything has? 
• 34:30 – Win: Incorporating UGC into our Brands 

Check out the Brand Report that complements this episode for more additional details on our wins, challenges and action plans. Secret Sauce and EcomCrew Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly Income Report, which contains a more detailed breakdown of our numbers and strategies.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. We’d love to hear about what topics you want us to discuss next.