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DTC NEWSLETTER
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Saturday, December 18, 2021

Q4 is on its final approach… Keep a good thought for media buyers as they prepare to land with CPMs skyrocketing. 😢😫

In this newsletter you’ll find: 👇

✅ Turning a seasonal shopper into a brand loyalist.

❌ 5 things to avoid when making TikTok creative.

🚀 How to find your top creative angles.

Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎


👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, subscribe so you never miss out. And be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

RETENTION

How can you turn a seasonal shopper into a brand loyalist?

Checkout the six steps below from Matt Mullenax, CEO at Huron.

✅ Extract BF/CM cohort data:

After all those BF/CM sales, the on-site purchase behavior is one you shouldn't skim over.

Extract page visit length, most efficient LPs, etc.

Understand, extract, and create hypotheses around the new data you have access to!

✍️ Tailor your messaging:

Now that you’ve got the data, use it to direct your 30/60/90 day messaging to feel branded and tailored.

Remember that you’re looking for high-LTC customers, not just the buyers looking for a big sale.

💭 Think customer experience:

Take the time to flag/mark/label each and every consistent soundbite from customers.

Use them to determine and make any changes to your site you deem necessary.

🚀 Be interested:

This new cohort is exactly that, NEW. Show them you’re genuinely interested in them, not just the sale you made.

Not every message has to be digging for the next sale. Inquire about their lives, holiday plans, interests, etc.

👋 Change up your email sign-off:

Humanize your brand by switching up your typical "thanks," "regards" sign-off.

Matt suggests using something more personal ("happy holidays") or brand-centric. His favorite Huron go-to is "in good showers." 🛀

Now that’s a sign off!

SCALE SCHOOL

Hey everyone!

This is Eric, co-founder and CEO of DTC Newsletter and Podcast.

In 2022 we grew our team to eight, grew our subscriber base by 300%, and sent over two hundred million emails to you DTC maniacs 🤘

Over the past week we held the first ever DTC Summit in Victoria, BC with our team and put together plans for world domination in 2022.

We also settled on our mission to accelerate the democratization of commerce.

Our goal is for every newsletter and podcast we make to provide a steady drip of advice, inspiration, and motivation for everyone making a living in the world of digital commerce.

To teach the levers of on-platform success, we needed more depth, which is why we launched our first comprehensive media buying course, Scale School: Facebook and Instagram ads.

To keep it accessible to more of you, we’re offering DTC readers the permanent price of $995.

If you or your team members could benefit from the proven system behind $50M in sales in 2021, grab Scale School at your DTC Reader price of only $995.


🎄 Have a great holiday season, and stay tuned for big things in 2022

TIKTOK

Top 5 things to avoid when making TikTok creative

1️⃣ Trying to make landscape footage work in portrait mode.

TikTok videos run on vertical footage. If you’re trying to edit your landscape creative to get the job done… ya might want to steer clear.

TikTok has shown that vertical footage sees a 40% lift in conversion compared to landscape and square creatives!

2️⃣ Slow-paced footage.

Keep your cuts short and don’t go over 30 seconds with your creative (even if this means having to speed up your footage).

3️⃣ Selling your product immediately.

Viewers can detect an ad SUPER fast.

Find a way to ask a question or draw viewers in before you start showing or selling your product to them!

4️⃣ Be aware of the TikTok UI.

If you have subtitles, graphics, or things happening near the bottom of your screen, WATCH OUT!

The caption and your username take up about ¼ to ⅓ of the screen at the bottom.

Consider this when setting up your creative layout so viewers get the full intended experience!

5️⃣ Putting ads on your organic page.

Find your brand voice and join the community in trends and popular songs!

But be aware that you are representing a brand and make content worth watching (not just an ad that most would just swipe past).

You can still show off your product, but make it fit for TikTok.

Looking for a great example? Check out Ryanair’s TikTok page!

🚀 A HUGE thank you to the Pilothouse team for these killer TikTok tips.If you liked this content, reply to this email and let us know!

COPY

Is angle fatigue getting you down?


We’ve all hit it, that creative fatigue that comes after you’ve really squeezed the towel dry on the obvious angles for your product.

Sometimes, it can be tough when you are so close to a product or brand to be able to see it solely through your customers eyes.

Well, there may be some golden nuggets sitting right in front of you. You just need to know where to look.



🎁 Customer Product Reviews:

Do a deep dive into your customer reviews. You might find that people are using your products in ways that you never knew.

For example, if you're a vegan skincare company you may focus heavily on the fact that your products are vegan.

Customers may also point out in your reviews that your product isn't nearly as heavy as your competitors to wear and they find they need less which makes the bottles last way longer.

That’s two new angles.

Make a list of common trends in both the positive and negative reviews.  

On top of finding new angles you can also pull testimonials for some rocking ad copy. When looking through your reviews don’t forget about Amazon.

🧐 Competitors Testimonials:

Head over to your competitors’ websites and Amazon pages and read their reviews.

Look for angles they’re running, and test them on your audience.



💬 Organic Comments On Socials:

Take a deep dive in your organic comments and see what your customers are saying about you.

Check out your Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and even Reddit (which is a GOLD mine for customer listening).

💸 Paid Traffic Ad Comments:

This is a big one for a few reasons.  

You can use this to find new angles based on what your customers are saying in the comments on your ads, AND you can also use this to overcome any objections that you find to write strong ads.

For example, if your comments are saying the price is too high, overcome that objection by discussing the quality of your product in your new ads.

M&A

👟 Nike acquires studio known for digital sneaker drops in latest metaverse bet.

🎬 Vox Media agrees to buy Group Nine Media, creating big digital publisher.

🤑 Food52 triples valuation with new investment from TCG.

🏍 Harley’s electric motorcycle division to go public via $1.7B SPAC deal.


🍪 Criteo's $380M deal for Iponweb adds powerful partner in cookie replacement race.

🔊 HAVE YOU HEARD OUR LATEST PODCASTS?

🐶 Chippin Pet CEO Haley Russell on Crickets, Carp, and Global Warming.

🥜 Crunch Differentiation in CPG with Daily Crunch Snacks Founder Laurel Orley.

❄️ How Josh Elizetxe Would Build Snow Oral Care if He Was Starting Today.

⚡ Real Talk On The Supply Chain Crunch, Word's Best Checkout Experience, and the Future of NFTs with Bolt’s Ian Leslie.

Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

DTC Newsletter is written by Thomas Schreiber, Raven Dixon, and Rebecca Knight.

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