Ecommerce Evolution

Today I’m excited to welcome back my business partner and the co-founder of OMG Commerce - Chris Brewer.  Chris Brewer is a seasoned entrepreneur who’s successfully started and sold multiple businesses in the advertising and marketing space.  In 2010 he and I started OMG Commerce. Since then we’ve consulted with, partnered with and provided agency services for HUNDREDS of eCommerce stores.  We’ve seen nearly everything - the good, the bad, and the ugly of eCommerce.  In this episode, we break down the biggest X Factors of success from our perspective as we’ve observed a lot of winners and a lot of, um….not so much winners.  Hopefully, you have as much fun listening as we did recording this...  Here’s a quick look at what we cover:  The importance of Lifetime Value of a Customer (LTV) and how to    measure it and cultivate it. Why businesses that are too “romantic” about their own ideas are destined to struggle. How the best eCommerce stores think about and leverage Amazon Pop Quiz - Chris lays out his top eC

Amazon truly is a jungle.  Legitimate competitors are chomping at your heels vying for your rankings and clicks.  Unscrupulous and even fraudulent competitors are wreaking havoc and forcing a “race to the bottom” with product prices.     In this episode I interview John Bullard Sr.  John has a unique perspective on Amazon.  First off, he’s a successful seller with a $3 million per year private label Amazon business.  He also has 30 years of experience as a retail wholesaler.  On top of that, he owns and operates a fulfillment center.  Finally, he’s the host of Pro Seller Talk a paid community bringing insights and training to Amazon sellers.     Here’s a quick look at what we cover as John and I get “in the trenches”... Top Amazon Trends for 2018  - including the end of retail arbitrage Brand registry and brand gating - what you need to know How to diversify using Walmart marketplace - plus a couple of little known functionality on Walmart you have to know about to be successful.   The need for multiple stre

Logan Christopher doesn’t do anything halfway.  He’s one entrepreneur you likely wouldn’t want to challenge in a test of strength.  Logan is thin but deceptively strong.  He’s deadlifted 505 lbs, rack pulled 1,000 lbs.  In his spare time, he juggles flaming kettlebells and pulls fire trucks with his hair.  Not making this up.  Check out the details at legendarystrength.com or visit his YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/LegendaryStrength).     While this is impressive and interesting, this is not why I had Logan on the show.  He’s also a  successful eCommerce store owner.  Like most successful store owners, Logan is doing a lot of things right. I think you’ll find this talk inspirational and educational.     Here’s a quick look at what we cover:   - How info marketing style content can drive traffic and sales - How daily emailing can still work in 2018 - Conversion improvements by lining up with charity - Affiliate marketing for rapid growth - How long form sales pages can work for eCommerce - Bene

Today we take a deep dive into Amazon from two unique perspectives - from that of a very successful seller and that of an Amazon Ad Specialist.     As we close out 2017 we do so with two record sales days under our belts.  Black Friday and Cyber Monday both set online sales records.  Amazon was a big driver of that online growth.  All signs point to continued growth into 2018.  In this episode, we'll outline how you can get the most from Amazon in the coming months.     First a little about our guests…   Brandon Andrews is a successful Amazon seller and now the co-founder of Freedom Shark, providing training to up-and-coming Amazon sellers.  Chris Tyler is an SEO Specialist turned Amazon Ad expert.  Currently, he manages successful Amazon Ad campaigns for large and smaller sellers alike and is part of our team here at OMG Commerce     Here are a few things we cover in this episode: - Takeaways from Black Friday and Cyber Monday and how to prepare for next year's holiday sales - The 1-2 things likely holding y

Few people know Facebook advertising like Ralph Burns and his team at Dominate Web Media.  In this interview we take a look at the latest features, strategies and tactics working for eCommerce merchants on Facebook.   This episode is rich in content and contains some real Facebook gold.  Here’s a look at what we cover:   - Top misconceptions regarding Facebook ads that are holding you back - Top targeting methods you should be using - Ralph’s 3-Step video marketing formula - Understanding the Facebook algorithm and how it impacts your ad performance - Competitive Remarketing - now you can target people on Facebook who have purchased similar product to what you sell. - Changes likely on the horizon for Facebook ads

In 2009 Chegg was one of the leaders in the online college textbook market.  They offered college students the ability to rent textbooks online for a fraction of what they could pay at the campus bookstore.  Word of mouth from delighted students and strong online marketing efforts fueled rapid growth…Then they had an unwelcome competitor enter the ring - AMAZON.     Most companies would shrink in terror, get angry, cry about the world being unfair and potentially leave the space altogether.  Chegg had been anticipating this move by Amazon and had been working feverishly for months to try and prepare.  In this podcast, I interview John Fillmore, Chief Business Officer for Chegg.com.  We dive deep into how they responded initially to Amazon and how they continue to innovate and stay relevant.     Chegg’s best move (and they’ve had a LOT of great moves) was understanding that their best asset was not an offer on cheap textbooks.  It wasn’t their website.  It wasn’t even their SEO value (that was immense at that

  Few people have mastered social media marketing like Michael Stelzner.  Michael is the founder of Social Media Examiner, one of the most visited social media marketing websites on the planet.  He’s also the host of the Social Media Marketing podcast.  He started the podcast in 2012 and has since racked up over 12 million downloads.     Michael and team also run the Social Media Marketing World - featuring some of the top social media marketers sharing their best stuff.  I’m super excited about the 2018 event - mainly because I’ll be sharing a stage with Michael - talking YouTube Remarking.  Want to join me?  Learn More.     In this episode, I wanted to pick Michael’s brain on how he and his team approach content.  I want you to be able to capitalize and learn from Michael’s success.     Here's a glimpse of what we cover:   - Keys to success with Facebook Live & Video marketing in general - How his new behind-the-scenes shows called the “Journey” are racking up 10’s of thousands of views on Facebook and

This is part of the "how I did it" series where we interview successful eCommerce entrepreneurs and dig into the tactics and strategies that propelled them ahead of the pack.  This interview with Jared Mitchell, Co-Founder of Skincare by Alana, is a great example of building a community, testing everything, and diversifying traffic.     Jared and Alana's story is pretty awesome. Jared went from a bass player with a record deal that fell through to self-employed deck builder to helping his wife launch an online skincare company.  Jared took some SEO knowledge and combined it with Alana’s passion and as an esthetician to build a budding eCommerce skincare store.   We dig into some really interesting stuff in this episode including:   - Jared’s top 4 Conversion hacks over the last 12 months - A shipping offer test with surprising results - Using Quizzes & Surveys for better conversions (this was an eye-opener for me) - How to grow a new brand piggybacking on existing brands - Jared’s top traffic sources - Us

This is Jeff Bezos’ world…we’re just living in it.  Or at least, that’s how it feels for an eCommerce merchant.  It’s hard to overstate the continued growth, innovation, and reach of Amazon.  With 214 distribution centers and growing.  Sales growing at 20-30% per year.  Forays into apparel, electronics (Kindle and the Echo family of products), batteries, and several other categories.  It’s hard not to look at Amazon with awe and wonder.  So, what's a merchant to do in light of Amazon's dominance?  Is Amazon friend or foe, or somewhere in between?   Andrew Youderian knows the world of independent eCommerce store owners better than arguably anyone on the planet.  He started the eCommerce Fuel podcast in 2014 and the eCommerce Fuel private forum shortly thereafter.  He’s bought, grown and sold several eCommerce businesses and he interacts regularly with top independent merchants on a monthly basis.  When it comes to eCommerce Andrew has done and seen it all.   In this episode, we look at how you as a merchant ca

Going fast is fun.  Just ask Ricky Bobby.  "Hair on fire" type of growth in business can be a real rush.  It can also be painful.  In this episode, I interview JD Crouse the co-founder and Queso Grande (Big Cheese) of BolderBand.com - a trendy manufacturer and retailer of activewear headbands.     Bolder Band grew from the kitchen table and dusty sewing machine of JD's wife Amy to do over $3.5 million in revenue their first year.  To call that rapid growth is an extreme understatement.  Amy and JD won the 2014 Build a Business Contest from Shopify and in the process got to spend time with Gary Vaynerchuck, Tim Ferriss, Daymond John and many others.     Growth can also be painful…we'll explore both the good and the bad and the lessons in both.  This is a truly inspiring interview.  Here's a quick look at what we cover:   - How to build a community FAST on Facebook and Instagram - Knowing when to stick with it during disappointment - Handling ruthless competitors - The good and bad of hiring friends and family

If you want to up your eComm game then you have to be paying attention to leading eComm brands and eComm marketers.    I just got back from speaking at the 2017 Content & Commerce Summit put on by Digital Marketer.  I had the privilege of "sharing the stage" with top brands like Casper.com, Chegg.com, Racked.com, Fossil Watches and more!     I got so much from the event that I wanted to share some of the most impactful takeaways with you.  So I invited my friend, and the director of content at Digital Marketer, Russ Henneberry on the show for us to each share our top 5 takeaways from the event….   Here's a quick look at what we cover: - How Chegg.com not only survived, but thrived after Amazon came after them directly.  Most experts considered it was game over, but not Chegg.   - The actual business that Casper considers themselves in and how you can learn from their content marketing. - How you can beat Amazon at Customer-centricity. - The BOTS are coming!  How BOTS are impacting advertisers on both Goog

Shopify just reached the milestone of powering over 500,000 online stores.  Today on the show I interview David Moellenkamp a self-proclaimed automation geek, former long-time employee of BlackBerry and now the Director of Product at Shopify Plus.     One of the goals I have for the podcast is to interview and uncover what’s new and what’s next for the major eCommerce Platforms.  If we want to truly understand where eCommerce is headed, we need to get a better picture of what the companies who build our most used carts are doing.     We are platform agnostic here at OMG Commerce.  We create full funnel marketing plans for clients regardless of platform.  That said, I love how Shopify is democratizing eCommerce.  They’re taking features that were once only available to the IR 500 and making them available to all merchants.  They’re also building features that allow merchants to create customer experiences that are only limited by their imagination.     We take a deep dive into what’s new and what’s next at Sho

While it's not a platform I'm intimately familiar with, Woo Commerce is gaining market share fast. By some estimates, it's approaching 30-40% of online shopping carts.  Largely because Wordpress powers approximately 26% of the web.     In this episode, we dive into Woo Commerce and some general conversion boosters for any site owner.  Cody Landefeld is the founder of Mode Effect and a Woo Commerce and conversion expert.   Here's a look at what Cody and I dive into: - Why Woo is exploding. - New Woo developments and what merchants are a good fit for Woo. - 3 Conversion tips every site owner needs to consider?   - 4 eCommerce design trends to amplify sales. - How to add the human element to your shopping experience. - How to build a sales funnel for eCommerce. - More!   Want to learn more about Mode Effect?  Check out their 5 Key Considerations for Optimization and Redesign.  

Dubbed the "eCommerce Renegade" Chad Rubin is the author of the book Cheaper, Easier, Direct and is one of the top 250 Amazon Sellers in the world.     With over 2 million sellers on Amazon worldwide, cracking the top 250 is no small task.  But that's not Chad's only day job.  He's also the CEO of Skubana, a multi-channel inventory management, and ERP software.  Chad brings a wealth of knowledge on what it takes to build a brand and succeed on Amazon and other marketplaces. You'll love his story and we dive into some very practical and helpful stuff including: - How to build a brand selling on marketplaces - How to become a top 250 seller on Amazon - Should you work with Amazon as a Marketplace Seller (3p) or Selling direct to Amazon (1p) or both? - How to drive traffic and increase conversions on Amazon - and is enhance brand content worth the effort.   - How  Echo devices and voice search will impact Amazon sales   - Biggest mistakes you see sellers making on Amazon - Plus more!

The story behind Xero Shoes is a crazy one.  World-class sprinter over the age of 50 gets hurt, takes advice to start running barefoot and immediately sees improvements.  Then goes on to design a prototype for a barefoot running sandal that would soon land him a spot on ABC's hit show Shark Tank.     This episode is a ton of fun and is chock full of insights and stories from a really unique online merchant.  Steven Sashen is a competitive sprinter, a TV and film veteran, an SEO, and an entrepreneur through and through.  This interview is part of our "How I Did It" series and outlines some of the elements driving the growth of Xero Shoes.  Here's a glimpse of what we cover:    - Some of the factors that lead to the huge success of Xero Shoes (Steven's answer might surprise you). - Steven's favorite sources of traffic - Conversion tips that have grown Xero Shoes to what it is today - How Steven and team approach product design and how that's helped them succeed in the wildly competitive footwear space - Lessons

As you know, we are huge fans of YouTube ads.  At OMG Commerce we run a lot of Shoppable TrueView campaigns - the joining of YouTube and Google Shopping (for more info on Shoppable TrueView check out Episode 10).     Tom is the CEO of Viewability and a master of YouTube ads.  He's built very profitable campaigns for marketing gurus like Neil Patel, Frank Kern, Amy Porterfield, and Brendan Burchard.  Frank even mentioned that his YouTube campaigns are working better than Facebook right now.   I specifically wanted to dig in and ask Tom about his unique approach to YouTube.  Here's a glimpse of what we cover in this episode: - How to key in on the right targeting for your YouTube ads. - What makes for great ads that convert (it's not as complex as you think) - How performance psychology impacts public speaking and YouTube ads - Finding moments where prospects are most open to your message - How to measure for success - Plus more!

B2B eCommerce is poised to explode in the coming months.  In fact, Forrester predicts that B2b eCommerce will be twice the size of B2C eCommerce by 2020.   If you are a B2B company or if you're a service provider working with B2B companies, or if you just want to see how B2B will shape eCommerce - this episode is important to you.     In this episode I'm honored to welcome two veterans of eCommerce - Darren Sepanek and Carrie Weidenbach.  Darren joined the Magento team in 2010 and helped launch and run the worldwide Magento Partner Network.  Carrie has been in the eCommerce industry for 12 years and has served in both COO and Director of Project management roles launching over 20 large eCommerce site builds annually.     They are both now at E7 Solutions and work with the OROCommerce Platform (Co-founded by Yoav Kutner the co-founder of Magento) to build custom B2B eCommerce solutions.     In this episode, we cover some really important B2B eCommerce Topics including:   - What is OROCommerce, who's behind i

Facebook ad spend has skyrocketed in recent years to the point that Mark Zuckerberg announced recently that this year they may "run out" or ad space causing rates to go up (techcrunch article).  For online merchants, it's often the number 2 or even number 1 traffic source with Google usually taking the other spot.    Molly Pittman, VP of Marketing for Digital Marketer, is a legitimate Facebook ad expert and seasoned practitioner.  Today on the podcast we dive into Molly's 5-Step checklist for making sure that her Facebook ad campaigns are a success.  We dive into some real tactical and strategic info here.  Here's a glimpse of what we cover:   - Why your approach to targeting might be all wrong, and what you should be testing right now. Molly always looks to build ad sets around audiences of a certain size.… - How to make your audience "squirm" so that it's hard for them to say "no" to your offer.   - Video marketing tips including long form vs. short form videos….Molly's answer here might surprise you especi

It’s very possible that your data sucks.  Or if your data is accurate, it's likely that you're fixating on the wrong metrics.     I LOVE this interview.  While I can’t pick favorites, it would be hard to find an episode that was more important to your business than this one.     Charles Farina and the team at Analytics Pros craft data and analytics solutions for large companies like Yelp, Starbucks, TOMS, Asics and more.     This episode is highly actionable….and fun, in a nerdy way.   Here’s a look at what we tackle:   - Top, little-known Analytics “hacks” for better, more actionable data. - Why asking “what attribution model is best for me” is the wrong question to ask. - 3 Worthless Metrics you should either stop measuring or understand what they are really telling you (if anything). - What will Google’s new attribution model look like and when should we expect it? - Real case studies for making better decisions with proper data analysis - Top Analytics mistakes to avoid   Plus, more!  

Product discovery on Amazon is almost exclusively driven by search.  So if you want to drive more sales on Amazon you have to get better at search - both the organic side (SEO) and the paid ad side.  In this week’s episode, I interview a man who knows Amazon search inside and out - George Lawrence.     He started Merchant Words in 2013 and has grown it into one of the most popular Amazon research tools on the market.  In my chat with George, we dive into all things Amazon search including…   - Common Amazon SEO mistakes to avoid - Finding hidden sales opportunities through keyword research (brace yourself we use a pretty off the wall and potentially controversial example).   - How Amazon search has changed in recent years and what that means to you. - When analyzing search data, what metrics matter and what metrics don’t - Preparing for more product searches on Alexa and “Amazon Choice” - Current trends on Walmart & Jet.com    Plus more!  Check it out.