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:
Resources Mentioned Today:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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
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:
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:
The Definitive Ecommerce Inventory Management Comparison
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.
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
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.
Mentioned in today’s episode:
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:
Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
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:
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:
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!
Welcome to Part 2 of our How to Build a Brand series. Last time we went over a few things to get you thinking about your brand, but on today’s episode Grant and I are getting into the nitty gritty and talking about the tools you’re going to need to build your brand successfully.
Remember, branding is always easier if you can inspire an emotional reaction or attachment with your product. But finding that product is easier said than done. Both of us have our hands in several niche businesses, and we have some pointers to get you thinking about what kind of product you want to invest your brand in and where you can find it. Sometimes you have to wait around for inspiration to hit, but in the meantime you can develop your domain, establish an SEO engine, and find a way to make social media work for you. Grant and I explain exactly how to do this with a little insight into:
Whatever you are choosing to brand, the tips we share in this second part of our How to Build a Brand series will help you advertise better, sell better, and maintain long-lasting and reciprocal relationships with your customers.
And stay tuned for our third and final installment of How to Build a Brand!
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.
This episode is part one of what will be a two or three part series on brand building. You hear a lot about selling your products to make thousands on Amazon, but the way that we look at it is that those things are just get-rich-quick schemes. You’re not building a long term presence or brand, which is what we’re here to talk about today: how to build your brand.
Personally, we have our own brands that have all individually reached success. We discuss the strategy we’re using of researching a market in depth and looking at other products in the same niche that are similar to what we want to do that we can do better. We see their rankings and figure out how to improve the product and build a brand around those improvements.
We’re here to talk to you about how to do that, and so much more like:
Before you really commit to your brand, be sure to test it out first. It comes down to reducing the damage of your bad decisions and asking yourself: “Are we still gonna sell enough every day to make it worth our while?”
It’s really necessary to get the confidence under your feet to be able to pull the trigger on larger purchases, as well. Having an idea of how much money you can put into your brand for most people will be the predominant factor in deciding what kind of brand you can even launch. If you’re just trying to get an idea of the market, we tell you about a quick test you can do with $500 or less.
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.
Today’s podcast focuses on niching down your audience, but first a listener question. Tyler asks, “If you can share experience with MAP pricing?” If you would like to ask Ecom Crew a question head over to our contact form or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.
Grant says MAP pricing was used on Treadmill.com. MAP pricing is the minimum advertised price, and it is an agreement between vendors and sellers stipulating the lowest price the item can be advertised at. Some even argue whether MAP pricing is legal or not. Our experience was that we abided by it. The decision to use MAP really comes down to the vendor and seller relationship. If you aren’t making any money, you may want to reconsider your strategy. Mike says that MAP pricing can make things really tough if you are selling on MAP, but others aren’t. There are some ways to work around it such as free shipping or coupons, but we prefer not to have to deal with MAP pricing if we don’t have to.
Niching down ad campaigns is a topic that came up in Mike’s mastermind group. Ecom Crew has really been ramping up our advertising campaigns. Mike was sharing advertising campaigns with the group, and the advice is to niche down to a smaller audience. Campaigns can be targeted by state, sex, age, and income this really focuses on who the customer is. Likewise, Grant feels that finding a profitable sector in any paid advertising is the way to go. It’s common for people to shop in the mornings between 8 am and 10 am. Monday is a good shopping day as opposed to Friday. People from states with higher incomes often buy higher priced items. It pays to modify the spending budget to focus on profitable sectors and lower the budget on unprofitable sectors. Negative keyword lists are a great way to avoid wasting money and not paying for tire-kickers.
Next week we’ll be talking about how to build your own brand. This should be a multi-part series that can help avoid issues like MAP pricing.
Mentioned on this podcast:
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.
Welcome to our last podcast of 2015! We love all the feedback we’ve received since we launched our podcast, and we can’t wait to hear what you guys have to say next year. That’s why on today’s episode we’re answering a listener’s questions!
On our forum, David recently asked how we managed the logistics of owning and maintaining multiple brands under one business. Many of you out there may have quite a few small businesses under your belt, and managing the paperwork, the inventory, and the accounting of each of these different gigs can be really frustrating, especially when it comes down to multiple platforms, different social media accounts, and advertising for each and every one of your new products.
Grant has even done very thorough research trying to find the best software to help us manage all of our different brands. He discusses this research on today’s podcast, and we cover a few points we’ve had hands-on experience with, including:
Resources Mentioned:
Mike’s 2015 Year in Review Blog Post
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.
Today we are giving you the Grant and Mike fireside chat as we take a look at how things have been going for us for the past 30 days and talk about some of our goals for 2016. For both of us
sales have been going really well and we have some exciting things to look forward to as we head into the new year.
Grant explains that sales have exploded over the holiday buying period at CuttingBoard.com. Things are also going well at sister site ChoppingBlocks.com. He talks about other Amazon projects he has going on too. Grant notes that container pricing has dropped and talks about the impact of decreased shipping costs. His long-term goal is not to have to package anything himself ever again.
Mike has seen substantial growth in sales as well. He has taken a major step in his business by eliminating dealing with third-party items from Amazon. Mike has replaced those third-party items with items that have his brand name. He has also hired his second full time employee and moved operations to a larger space which allows for a better office environment. Mike’s long-term goal is to not have to ever move again. He explains his plans to use third-party fulfillment going forward.
We also take the wraps off some new things we’ve been working on:
We also talk a bit about logistics, which we will get into greater detail on the next Ecom Crew podcast episode.
Mentioned on this podcast:
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.
Today I’m flying solo again, but I have a great email to share with you. Jay from New Jersey sent me some questions about my recent trip to China. For those who didn’t know I have covered this extensively in our blog and the last episode. But today I’m going to answer Jay’s questions and hopefully encourage other listeners to send in more feedback.
We went to China to check out both the Canton Fair and the Hong Kong Mega Show. It was a great experience and even though I was a little disappointed in one of my niche market searches I still found some great deals for some of our other brands.
Jay asked some awesome questions. Here are some of the topics I covered in today’s episode:
These questioned opened the door to some deeper discussion and I tried to answer them to the fullest I could and still be comfortable, These are some of the tips I have:
If you are still curious about my trip to China, you can read more on our blog at ecomcrew.com. Also check us out on iTunes and leave an honest review of the show. We want to know if our content helps you and your honesty is the only way to know. Next time Grant should be back to discuss the inspection process with me. Until then, special thanks to Jay from New Jersey for today’s questions!
I just got back from China and I am exhausted. My wife and I spent over three weeks visiting and mingling at the Hong Kong and Canton trade fairs. It was a great trip, but unfortunately Grant was unable to join us. New babies make international travel a tad bit difficult, but it was still one of the best trips I’ve ever taken for my career and my business.
I like to call this trip my Leap Frog Event. Going to these trade shows gives me the opportunity to see my manufacturing and buying process first-hand, and it’s much easier to break through the language barrier when you can talk face-to-face. Seeking out the higher quality manufacturers can be tricky because these trade shows are huge, bigger than any I’ve ever been to in the States. Working these events, I walked a minimum of 5 miles every day – surpassing 12 miles one day! So in today’s episode not only am I going to discuss all I saw and who I worked with, but I’m also going to offer up my own traveler’s advice. Tune in and hear all about:
Check out our blog at www.ecomcrew.com for photos from my trip and more about my favorite manufacturers and tips for navigating Mainland China without an internet connection. And if you’ve been to China (or are thinking of going) leave us a review on iTunes and let us know about your own experiences!
Today Mike and Grant are going to give some guidelines on when to invest in your growing business. In any business there are aspects that are necessary to invest in and things that can be added as the business grows. This episode offers sound advice on when to recognize that need to grow and when your business has reached a peak.
Other bits of advice are:
Mike and Grant want to give you a realistic portrait of how a business grows and why investing in that business will fuel growth. Their advice is meant for longevity and will give up and coming business owners great food for thought.
Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.
I’m casting solo today because Grant just had a baby! Congratulations! He’ll be back next week, but in the meantime, I’m going to talk about one of the best experiences I’ve had since becoming an online entrepreneur.
I recently joined a forum called eCommerceFuel, a private online community for business owners that’s secure enough for candid business discussion and social enough to connect you with some new and exciting people. I’ve been attending their live events since I joined a few months ago, and this past conference I just attended blew my mind. Beyond the free food and open bar, the conference hosted networking events, group sessions, and keynote speakers discussing everything from personal business anecdotes, economic philosophies, to tips for using Facebook advertisements.
Now, I’m not the kind of guy that likes to speak in front of crowds, but the breakout sessions and mastermind groups at this conference pushed me out of my comfort zone – in the best way! I’ve since joined two mastermind groups, and communicating with these amazing business owners through the forum is a great way to keep in touch and grow your business at the same time. Tune in now to find out how you can join the forum and hear about:
You can apply for the eCommerceFuel forum online at www.ecommercefuel.com. You don’t have to be a member to hear their podcast, so tune in and test them out to see if they work for you.
Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.
On our podcast today we play host to James Peacock, president of the Arizona branch of inXpress, the international shipping guru that has saved both Grant and myself tons of money shipping overseas. What makes his website great is the fact that it requires no extra fees. You only pay when you ship, and the discounts you receive from inXpress can be combined with your existing discounts from USPS and UPS.
James offers up some insightful tidbits of business information that can help you conquer the biggest challenge of e-commerce: Shipping! “People use our account as a barometer to see what kind of deals you’ll be getting,” James says as he explains the price of goods both domestically and abroad. “Every small to mid-size company are all receiving a discount…the problem is that, because international is the smallest amount of their shipping volume, the discount equals the volume. So if you have low volume, you have low discounts. We’re saving people over 40% [internationally] on top of their discounts from USPS.”
Beyond telling you how to save money, James also shares his opinion on:
To learn more about James and his work with inXpress, tune in today and visit his website at www.intlshippingrates.com. You can also reach him directly by phone at 480-405-6390 or online at james.peacock@inxpress.com.
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!
In today’s episode we’ll be talking about how to modify your conversion for your e-commerce store for your checkout page and cart page to increase your checkout rate.
These are methods we’ve used that have worked on our websites, have been documented, and are essentially fool-proof. We’ll also be uncovering the most common problems made on e-commerce sites, and telling you how to fix them. Here are some other topics we go over:
If you’ve ever wondered how your customers interact with your website, we’ll be talking about the different kinds of software and tools you can use to gain information that will help you improve your traffic. We also go in depth on each method we’ve used to gain much higher percentage of both traffic and conversions. Some other things you’ll be learning today include:
Links and software discussed:
In the next few weeks we’ll be starting a brand-new segment where you could win a free one hour analysis of your website (that we usually charge hundreds of dollars for as consultants). What we´ll do is look through a bunch of requests, pick an interesting website, talk about it on the podcast, interview the person and give them our expert analysis. Besides that we will be sure to promote it as well in an effort to increase the person’s e-com conversions and business in the weeks to come. This is a great opportunity, so if you want to be considered, head over to www.ecomcrew.com and fill out our contact form.
Make sure to check back next Tuesday for another great episode, where we’ll be bringing back our segment “Websites to Evaluate and Buy.” You can also stay tuned through our blog posts.
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!
On today’s podcast we talk about SHIPPING! It’s the first thing we look at when we are seeking out online businesses to buy and own. E-commerce operates on a whole other level that involves storage and shipping since you may not always have a brick-and-mortar storefront to hold your goods. You need to know the size and weight of the items you plan on selling so that you can organize your shipping logistics accordingly and affordably.
Shipping is very important, and knowing the weight, the size, and the fragility of each of your items will save you a lot of stress when it comes to finding the right shipping team. Logistics is a tricky realm to balance, and many people overlook it and focus more on other elements of businesses ownership, like marketing, sales, and conversion.
That’s why, on today’s cast, we cover the most important aspects of logistics, including:
Realizing early on how important shipping is will save you the headache later. It will influence which online businesses you choose to invest in, and it will help you maintain your success as a business owner. Shipping your products the right way proves to your clients and your manufacturers that you care about each and every item you are selling. Because if you don’t care, why should they?
And because shipping plays such a huge role in buying and selling domains and e-commerce websites, we offer up even more tips and tricks in this episode so you know what to look out for as you start shopping around, including:
Tune in today and find out how you can ship affordably and invest wisely in your next online business venture!
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!
Welcome to the first ever episode of the E-Commerce Crew Podcast! Since this is the first episode, introductions are in order:
We are your hosts, Grant Yuan and Mike Jackness. Both of us have been involved with business for most of our professional lives, and we have a similar background in online marketing and the affiliate industry. Grant started working with affiliates in 2003, focusing on online gaming and a lot of poker sites. Mike is a lifelong entrepreneur who started running his own businesses at 18 with nothing but a pack of business cards and a pager. He worked with online marketing for many years before he turned himself on to buying and selling host names for websites, and that’s how he got involved with buying, owning, and selling his own e-commerce businesses.
Our podcast is our opportunity to share all we’ve learned with the rest of you out there struggling and succeed to run your own e-commerce businesses. Each episode will focus on the tips we’ve learned, the ones that didn’t work so well, the progression we’ve made over the years, and where we think we’re going to be heading into the future. There will be guests on air to share their insights, and we will be covering a range of topics, including:
Over the next few weeks, this podcast will evolve to become one of the most important tools you use to become and stay successful at running your online business.
Stay tuned for episodes on buying and selling online businesses and domains, selling your products on Amazon, building your brand, and how to prepare your own exit strategy so you can continue to expand your interests and develop new businesses.
Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.