Happy Saturday! We hope this email finds you:
If not specifically this, we hope we find you in your relaxation mode of choice. You deserve it.
Especially all the dad’s reading. Happy (early) Father’s Day!
📸 The details behind Instagram’s new affiliate program.
🔢 The data you need to find customers post pandemic.
💩 Our convo with Goodwipe’s Sam Nebel on tackling the taboo and standing out in a sea of same.
🌏 How sustainability initiatives can boost your cart conversions.
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Instagram is competing with TikTok and their creator marketplace by launching an affiliate program.
They’re testing the program in their shops and allowing creators to discover new products, share them with followers and earn a commission for the purchases they drive.
When users come across an affiliate post from a creator, they’ll see a new "eligible for commission" notifier at the top of the post, so it’s clear that purchases help support that creator.
Instagram is testing it with a small group of US-based creators and businesses, including Benefit, Kopari, MAC, Pat McGrath Labs and Sephora.
The program makes it easier for users to shop directly from their favorite creators while giving brands a new way to partner with and reward creators.
Right now brands won't have any direct say in who endorses their products.
This is problematic since brands will have a more challenging time controlling their brand image.
Instagram might roll out an approval process but it’s still unclear.
The Pilothouse UGC team will keep us updated, but for now read more about the platform from here!
The pandemic helped many DTC brands win new customers – and the good news is that a large percentage of Americans remain committed to online shopping as we enter recovery.
Attest has the answers. And luckily, they’re willing to share.
The D2C Digest is a comprehensive review packed with the latest data, insights, case studies, interviews and expert advice breaking down which audiences are primed for DTC shopping and how you can access them.
Attest has the customer research you need to thrive in the DTC space. It’s an essential read for DTC marketers, founders and brand leaders.
👉 Read Attest’s full D2C Digest.
Try a headline that features the "was/now" price.
Pair it with strong creative that clearly communicates the product or sale.
For example. 👇
This week on the pod we have Sam Nebel, Co-founder of Goodwipes.
Goodwipes is an eco-friendly hygiene brand creating plant-based, 100% biodegradable, hypoallergenic wipes – they’re taking on big toilet paper brands!
Ok… but how do you get an influencer to talk about wiping their butt?
Influencer campaigns and organic sampling have been a major growth lever for Goodwipes.
When onboarding new retailers they activate hyper local geo-targeted campaigns with relatable influencers.
Goodwipes organically seeds the influencer with product, and encourages them to authentically discuss how and when they use Goodwipes.
The brand replicates this model with every new retail partnership.
Toilet paper is "the mother of all commodities," – when you walk up to a toilet paper aisle it is a sea of sameness.
Big TP brands have made it a pain in the ass (😅) to shop for the product.
Differentiation from incumbents and customer connection is the heart of Goodwipes.
Part of this authentic relationship involves sourcing insights directly from customers.
"We had over 250 responses to a survey last week about how people wipe their butt, between toilet paper or wipes"
A great reminder to make sure you’re constantly talking with customers.
Hopefully the survey results weren’t messy. 😬
Goodwipes was rigorous in defining the characteristics of their brand, and finding a voice that strikes a cord with customers.
The brand voice is authentic and talks to customers like they’re talking to a friend. It’s not easy to talk about butt wipes without an ick factor – but they’re acing it!
Sam broke down the acronym that guides their brand voice – "HAPEE"
H - honest
A - approachable
P - playful
E - empathetic
E - edgy
And test Goodwipes yourself, using DTC15 at check out for a discount.
Expanding your business’s sustainability efforts is the right thing to do for the planet and your business. It literally pays to be an eco-friendly brand.
🌱 92% of customers want to support brands that are taking positive climate action.
Shoppers feel good when they can do a little extra to offset their environmental impact, and they’re proud to shop with brands that give them this option.
Since adding an eco-friendly ordering option with EcoCart to their Shopify store in mid-2020, plant-based supplement and nutrition brand Nuzest saw a 22% lift in cart conversion and 15% of all shoppers opting for carbon neutral orders.
EcoCart’s free eCommerce plugin offers a carbon neutral order option to your customers right at checkout, making your brand more environmentally conscious to capture sustainability-minded consumers.
When you are upfront with your commitment to the planet and sustainability, your customers take notice and are more likely to check out and spend more with your brand.
👉 Click here to learn how Nuzest uses EcoCart to boost conversions and help the planet.
Grove Collaborative is a marketplace for household green cleaning products.
They’re the first (and only) plastic-neutral retailer who provides healthy, sustainable home essentials, delivered to your doorstep. 🌱📦
Featured brands: Meyer’s, Method, Seventh Generation, Burt’s Bees, Calrea and more.
Grove has created their own cleaning products as well.
They deliver a glass bottle filled with cleaning concentrate. Just add water for ready to use, sustainable, safe, cleaner.
If you need ad inspiration, check out their FB ads library. They’re running 250+ ads currently. 🤯
🧴 Unilever to acquire DTC skincare brand Paula's Choice.
🛒 Shopify brings on team from augmented reality home design app Primer.
👍 Facebook acquired BigBox VR, the makers of Population: One.
🧢 Aritzia signs deal to buy athletic wear company Reigning Champ.
🛒 Shopify reportedly invested in FinTech startup Stripe, bringing total stake to over $350M.
💰 FinTech giant Klarna raises $639M at a $45.6B valuation amid ‘massive momentum’ in the U.S.
💁♀️ Gen-Z-founded lifestyle and wig brand Waeve raises $2M seed funding round.
🤳 TikTok owner ByteDance’s revenue surged 111% in 2020, records 1.9 billion users.
🚽 Goodwipes Co-Founder Sam Nebel Chats Influencer Strategies
😅 How iOS 14.5 Will Affect Google and Facebook Ads
🛒 Olipop's Eli Weiss Goes Deep on Customer Experience.
DTC Newsletter is written by Thomas Schreiber, Eric Dyck, and Sadie Evans.
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