Good morning,
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:
⚡ Huckberry’s Community First Pop-Up
Would it be stronger with an incentive?
🫵 Highland on Building Credibility
Why they resisted scaling too fast.
🕜 The TikTok Deal
Everything we know so far.
🖼️ Small Tweak to Boost Conversions
Add this to your product gallery.
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Lark Music, Barstool Sports, and Bob’s Red Mill. 👋
🤔 What Do 115% Profit Growth and 57% Higher Conversion Rates Have in Common?
Profitable scaling. Data-driven growth. A partnership that feels like part of your team.
Pilothouse, the sister company to DTC, helps established brands do exactly that:
And there’s many more stories just like these. 👆
It’s not copy and paste; get strategies tailored to your brand and goals.
Ready to see what Pilothouse can do for you? Meet the team behind the scale.
💰 Huckberry’s Community Focused Email Sign-up
Huckberry’s email sign-up is very different from other pop-ups we've looked at previously.
They lean heavily into brand, community, and content value over transactional incentives, which makes sense for their positioning as an adventure and lifestyle retailer.
Here's what works well:
✅ Strong tagline: The message ‘Get Inspired. Get Equipped’ is outdoorsy, aspirational, and very on-brand. The black and white collage of photos also reinforces their lifestyle authority.
✅ Social proof: The line ‘Join 1 million Huckberry Members’ makes this feel like more than a newsletter, but joining an exclusive club.
✅ Value-driven language: They position the newsletter as ‘award-winning,’ ‘free,’ and ‘awesome’ so it doesn’t feel like another sales channel.
✅ Reduce friction: The line ‘No spam, ever’ is straightforward and impactful. This is a big selling point for visitors who are sick of brands clogging up their inbox with unnecessary messages and builds trust.
✅ Dynamic element: Huckberry also shows a sneak peek of what’s inside their newsletter. In the mobile phone visual, it scrolls through a sample newsletter to build expectation and pique interest.
✅ Multiple sign-up options: Subscribers have the option to submit an email address or join through Facebook or Google. This lowers the barrier to entry especially for mobile users.
If your pop-up already checks these boxes, here are a few tests worth trying: 👇
🧪 Test whether having a password field (like Huckberry) adds friction: Asking for a password at sign-up can feel like more work and a larger commitment.
Consider streamlining the sign-up process and removing any friction that can impact conversions.
🧪 Test adding an immediate incentive: Adding an incentive like a discount or a gift with purchase can help encourage first-time visitors to subscribe.
For brands that don’t want to add a discount to protect margins, other solid options could be free shipping on the first order or early access to upcoming collabs.
Adding a light incentive has the potential to dramatically boost conversion rates going into Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
🧪 Test sprinkling in some urgency: There’s an opportunity here to create FOMO for Q4.
Adding messages like “Product drops sell out in a few hours. Members get first dibs.” can motivate more browsers to subscribe.
👉 Huckberry’s approach is brand and community first. Great for LTV and loyalty, but potentially leaving short-term leads on the table.
Want us to analyze your email pop-up? Reply to the newsletter with a link to your site!
✅ BFCM Pulse Check: Take The Survey Now!
This is your chance to add your voice before we lock results and publish the benchmarks operators will be studying ahead of peak season.
In just 5 minutes, you’ll share how you’re approaching channels, offers, and creative velocity.
In return, you’ll get full access to insights like:
👉 Where spend is flowing
👉 How aggressive discounts are getting
👉 What tactics top operators are betting on
Plus: complete the survey and you could win a $1,000 Amazon gift card.*
Note: Survey results may be used in DTC editorial and advertorial content. Personal info won’t be shared.
* One entrant will be randomly selected to win a $1,000 Amazon Gift Card. No purchase necessary to enter. Survey must be completed by Sunday, October 5th, 2025 to be eligible. Winner will be notified via email by Friday, October 10th, 2025. This giveaway is open to legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 years or older. Void where prohibited.
🎧 How Highland Hit $10M+ in 3 Years: Lean Team, 2 SKUs, and Obsession With Unit Economics and CAC Payback
In this episode of the DTC Podcast, Boone and Ben from Highland Style Co. share how they took a clean men’s grooming brand from kitchen-stove experiments to eight figures in just three years.
They break down:
They explain how Highland resisted the temptation to scale too fast, instead building credibility with barbershops and salons, investing in storytelling, and treating retention as the real growth lever.
In this episode, we dive into:
From Kitchen to $10M+: How Boone’s homemade pomade experiments became a professional-grade product trusted in salons and barbershops.
“The very best the industry had to offer was plastic crap… the deeper you go into the ingredient list, the more harmful it looked.”
Unit Economics as Strategy: Why Highland set an 80% margin target and tracked payback period to make sure acquisition and growth were sustainable.
“We were always confident in the product, but we knew the numbers had to work if we wanted to scale.”
Content That Converts: The three-pillar content strategy (founder storytelling, expert validation, and UGC) that powered their growth across Meta and beyond.
Retention Over Acquisition: How packaging, unboxing, education, and post-purchase flows became the brand’s secret weapon for repeat purchases.
“Every touchpoint after the sale matters.”
👉 Listen to the full episode with Boone and Ben here.
🕝 ICYMI, Here’s Everything We Know About The TikTok Deal So Far
Keep in mind: These details are current as of writing but could change before this reaches your inbox.
CRO expert Dave Diederen shares how adding thumbnail images under your product gallery is one of the simplest UX wins you can make.
In a recent test, thumbnails lifted conversion rate (+6.06%), revenue per visitor (+7.34%), and profit per visitor (+7.56%).
Why? Thumbnails remove uncertainty (“What does it look like from all angles?”), reduce bounces from mismatched expectations, increase perceived value, and drive micro-engagement that nudges shoppers to buy.
But they only work if photos are high quality, varied, and load fast.
For ecommerce brands, this is a low-effort, high-return optimization.
Discover the freshest and most innovative brands that caught our eye! We spotlight new and exciting companies redefining their industries.
😌 Realm: Non-toxic air sprays and deodorizers formulated without phthalates, formaldehyde, and benzene.
🌱 Tendril: Self watering planter founded by growers and designed by scientists.
👶 Millie Moon: A luxury non-toxic diaper brand with upscale aesthetic designs.
📥 Got a B2B Biz?
Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.
Have you heard our latest podcasts?
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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.
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