Oops! Sorry, not sorry. 🙃
In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇
📦 Unlock hidden info using third-party brands
📦 C-Suite Las Vegas replays are here!
📦 Make the world’s largest search engine work for you
📦 Ready to take your brand international? It’s time to localize
📦 How choosing an ecommerce host can make or break your brand
Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎
👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, subscribe, so you never miss out.
You know that you can spy on competitors and garner heaps of inspiration from the Meta ad library, right? 🔍
You simply type in the name of any big ecommerce brand and find their official ads running from their own brand page… But did you know that you can also find their associated third-party brands? 👀
We searched for the supplement brand Onnit (don’t select their brand page, just type and enter) and found five different pages promoting the product through ads.
Why is this helpful? Finding associated third-party brands allows you to:
1️⃣ See what ecommerce giants are using for brands and third-party ads
2️⃣ Audit the different creative angles
3️⃣ Dig in and see what creatives are (or are assumed to be) crushing. *Hint: use ‘started running’ as an indication of ad success
4️⃣ Take a deep dive into the post-click experience for shoppers. Ex. what page setup is, offer structure, etc.
Here are some post-click experiences from branded and third-party ads:
Shoutout to the Pilothouse Meta team for the tip! Happy searching! 🎉
If you answered yes, it’s time to take the necessary steps to unlock the full potential of your brand.
For just $199 USD, you can now score exclusive access to all talks, brand hot seats, and panels from DTC’s C-Suite Mastermind Las Vegas.
That's over 8 hours of mind-blowing content from 16 industry heavyweights! 🧠
We're talking Nick Saltarelli from Mid-Day Squares spilling the beans on funding and P&L-focused CPG scaling, Isaac Medeiros from Mini Katana dishing out secrets on scaling organic content on YouTube and TikTok, and even CraftlyAI's AI workshop with Iman Bashir!
But wait, there's more! Sean McGinnis will reveal how to add a 7-figure affiliate program to your business, Karly McFarland from Mini Katana will drop 10 email and retention hacks you can start using right away, and so much more!
🔎 Basics and beyond
Google’s search engine has been a staple of the marketing industry for years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. It’s in your best interest to know the ins and outs of Google’s search function to make it work for you. 👍
Most of you know how to search for images and basic “find this place near me” queries. There are excellent resources to brush up on preliminary Googling skills like this one, but what about the more advanced stuff that Google doesn’t explicitly teach you?
For example, did you know you can use Google to find sponsorship opportunities or discover indexing issues on your site? Keep reading to elevate your Google game!
🩺 Operators
Google offers plenty of ways to source information on specific sites, social media platforms, and hashtags. These modifications are called operators. Check out the list of operators below to refine your next search, so you’re not aimlessly scrolling to the eigth page of results before finding what you’re looking for.
Type the bolded text examples into your Google search bar to experiment with different queries. 👇
You can search for content through hashtags e.g., #throwbackthursday
Try “SEO Best Practices in 2023" with the quotations to elevate your SEO strategy.
“Bass -music” returns the best results for fishing enthusiasts 🐟
🤖 Parameters
You can use parameters to refine the sources Google pulls information from. Much like operators, these are typed out within the Google search bar to limit where Google can find information for you.
Google will find information on this topic from the specified website. For example, if you want to find the DTC podcast, type site:directtoconsumer.co podcast.
For results with a specific file type, you can identify that in your search too! If you aren’t sleeping well, try searching for: best pillows filetype:pdf. This is easy access to essential pillow-buying advice as a downloadable PDF document!
Try searching marketing trends @twitter!
💃 Stylin’
If your searches aren’t getting the result you need, a couple of extra characters in the search bar might do the trick.
As an entrepreneur, these hacks help you appreciate how valuable site structure and organization are for search engines. Without a proper site structure and a valid sitemap, it would be nearly impossible for Google to return your site through operators or parameters.
Keep these tips and tricks in mind as you continue to build out your site for the long term. A strong SEO strategy never goes out of style. 😎
Why Europe?
Its history, culture, and art are just a bonus.
It's all about business: Europe harbors 4 of the 10 biggest ecommerce markets in the world! 🌎
With some exceptions (👋UK), countries in Europe have the same currency, VAT and legislation.
However due to vast changes in culture, trends and languages, a localized approach is crucial to reach high levels of success!
With the help of a local expert like Salesupply, you will be able to compete like a local everywhere.
👉 Get in touch with Salesupply to start your World European domination today.
🤗 There’s something for everyone
Picking the perfect ecommerce hosting provider is the most important decision you make when establishing your brand’s online presence.
A host will provide you with the essential tools you need to sell, market, and organize your brand’s products and assets, so this choice can’t be taken lightly.
That means there’s so much to consider after you have the revolutionary new product the world needs to know about. With the dozens of platforms available, how do you know what to look for in a host?
We’re not going to name names, but we’ve got the knowledge to help you make an informed decision when looking through all of those comparison charts. So, sit back, grab a warm drink, and let’s start the online entrepreneurial journey.
Begin with what every business needs to consider in a host:
These items are often compared between hosting providers, so we’ll dive into what each one means for your business before you consider additional features not included here. Let’s get started! 👇
💰 Price
Price will be the first thing you notice about an ecommerce host, and we don’t blame you! Hosting providers can offer dozens upon dozens of features, from simple integrations like email hosting to more advanced options like sub-domains, international marketing capabilities, and advanced analytics. 🤓
At the end of the day, the more data you have, the better, but we need to be realistic about the budget. In the beginning, pay for the data and tools that will directly support your bottom line rather than viewing analytics without a purpose.
If you don’t understand some features you pay for, do some additional research to see why they can benefit your brand. If they don’t, there’s no need to pay for them!
We bet countless businesses are paying for services they don’t use, and that money could be spent elsewhere, like advertising or further R&D.
Keep reading to know what you should look out for with each provider. 🤔
🗒️ Features
Every brand is unique, and hosting services recognize that. Hundreds of features are available across them all, but it’s up to you to understand what exactly these features are and how they serve your brand.
Features will coincide with price, so start small. Look at the basic plans and do everything you can to know what is offered at that tier. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and eat the cost of extra features you won’t use. Here’s what to look out for and what should be included in your plan:
If something catches your eye that’s not on our list, do some research before throwing down your cash!
🚗 Speed
When a consumer clicks on your site, there’s no faster way to lose a conversion than a slow load time. 🥱 Some hosts use a lot of flashy designs and animations in their templates, while others cater to a simple aesthetic. Keep it minimal to decrease load times, boost your SEO positioning, and convert browsers into customers!
👮 Security
Customers will trust you with a lot of information. Even if it’s just an email, you need to make sure that you treat all info with the utmost care. Data breaches and leaks are not something your brand wants to be known for. High levels of security are crucial for any successful brand, so secure payment gateways and customer data with the highest level of protection available.
👷 Support
We all need a little help once in a while. The host might have some downtime or technical issues, or your personal information may need updating. That’s where reliable customer support from the ecommerce host comes in.
You want a team who can support your business when you need them most, so aim to have 24/7 support on your plan in any case.
Some hosts will also advertise minimal downtime, which is ideal because you can’t make sales when your website isn’t available for customers to look at. This is an even bigger issue for brands making sales per minute. When downtime occurs, that could be hundreds of dollars lost in maintenance time! 😮💨
📏 Measure twice, build once
A hosting service can make or break the whole experience for you and your customers. Choosing one is never easy, but once your brand has found its home, a host can grow your brand exponentially and curate a unique experience for your customers.
If you’ve found an essential service for your brand in a host that we missed, let us know in a reply! 📧
🛍️ Shopify reduces its workforce by 20%. The layoffs include many employees working on the Logistics operations that have been sold to Flexport.
📣 Slack introduces new AI features onto its platform. SlackGPT will be built to help users work more efficiently and later leverage EinsteinGPT to open communication with Salesforce.
🎵 TikTok launches its new premium ad option, Pulse Premiere. Advertisers can place their ads ahead of the top 4% of posts everyday through this new initiative.
📷 Instagram is testing a new generative AI feature that helps users build their own custom stickers. Brands can leverage this opportunity to build engagement and brand awareness.
🔍 Google launches blue verified check marks for Gmail accounts. The feature is meant to address authenticity and security concerns.
🍫 Jess Cervallon from Feastables: What CPG Can Learn from SaaS about CX.
🍸 Ben Soffer - Spritz Society: Influencer Strategies for Alcohol Brands and Linear Commerce.
🕯️ 9-Year-Old Lily Harper from Lily Lou's Aromas homeschools us all.
🌲 TAXA Outdoor, Garrett Finney: Digital meets dealership, NASA Architect goes out of home for real.
🐶 Pet Health Comes Home with MySimplePetLab's Jen Hagness.
💡 Listen to the Biggest Marketing News Stories Today.
Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Michael Venditti. Edited by Claire Beveridge and Eric Dyck.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.
NEED MORE DTC?
🚀 Advertise in DTC Newsletter.
💰Check out our course on Facebook and Instagram ads!
DTC 2023. All Rights Reserved.
DTC is fueled by Pilothouse company registered in Victoria, BC, Canada.