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Monday, December 5, 2022
Group hug. 🤗
Thanks for supporting the DTC podcast. Here are some other stats we achieved thanks to you:
Want to help us grow the podcast in 2023? Submit yourself (or a DTC/retail brand founder) as a guest here!
P.S. Our first referral tier has changed! Read till the end to figure out how 1 referral gets you into our new DTC LinkedIn group! 👀
In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇
📦 How small changes can lead to big impacts
📦 Finding hidden efficiencies in your business with Black Crow AI
📦 Should you be using YouTube Shorts for your business?
📦 How to partner your brand with micro-influencers who create and share fully-licensed, scroll-stopping content
📦 8 tips from DTC copywriters to level up your copy
Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎
👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, subscribe, so you never miss out.
Is The Image On Your Product Pages Really That Important?
The answer? A resounding yes. 🎉
The Pilothouse Meta team recently split tested the first image on a client’s main product page (PDP). The image with the white background was the clear winner.
By removing the background and adjusting the layout in the second image, the team saw:
If you’re wondering if it’s too small of a variable to test, the Pilothouse Meta team thinks not. These small tests can have a massive impact on your CVR and are always worth trying.
What small tests have you done that has led to big impacts? Reply to this email and let us know!
🤑 The Path to Profit: Hidden Marketing Tactics for 2023
For 2023, eCommerce brands must market more efficiently than ever before. Don't fall for the ‘Growth at all costs' strategy. It doesn't work, and many brands are struggling.
As a marketer, you have enough obstacles to deal with:
🤔 How are some DTC brands still growing?
🤯 They find hidden efficiencies in their business. Leveraging tactics like advanced CRO and email marketing strategies to increase overall revenue per customer visit.
📸 Black Crow AI is hosting a virtual event, moderated by Nik Sharma, to bring leading DTC marketing gurus together, and reveal how to make these profitable tactics work for you.
👉 Sign up today so you don't miss this incredible virtual event on December 15th, 2022.
⚡Lightning fast advertising
People seem to just absorb content at speeds we’ve never seen before. This is, in no small part, due to the exponential growth of TikTok.
As brands adapt to TikTok-like content, they’ve developed a portfolio of highly visual and targeted content waiting to be put to good use. Now is the time to review your ad portfolio and designate some of that content for shopping through YouTube Shorts.
Brands can incentivize viewers to purchase products directly from Shorts in Youtube’s latest push into ecommerce.
This initiative follows competitors TikTok and Meta, each with their own push into the ecommerce landscape. As short-form content is one of the top priorities within each of these platforms, it could be possible to generate highly transferable content woven throughout your social media channels.
💪 It’s a win-win
Creators can also opt to provide referral links through short content to earn a commission. This is a great incentive for creators to partner with brands and puts their best foot forward.
🐝 Cross pollination
In addition to creating and allocating content for YouTube Shorts, keep your most engaged creators in mind. A commission-based revenue through a referral link offers an amazing opportunity for your brand and the creator to make worthwhile content for your viewers.
⚖️ Less is more
The new program is currently available to US creators with eligible customers in Canada, the US, India, Brazil, and Australia. Luckily there are plans to expand this program to more countries in the future.
Are you planning to take advantage of this new feature? Would you approach the new program with a completely different ad style or cater existing ads to fit a shorter format? The one thing we all know for sure is that less obstacles = more conversions.
With so many different ways to showcase your brand, there is never really one tried and true formula that can apply to everyone, but generally, the easier you can make the checkout process, the better!
The key is to be where your audience is. The new checkout feature for Shorts can be the best way for narratively-driven marketing teams to speak to their audience directly through YouTube.
🎁 The best gift is 25% off, and it's scroll-stopping content!
🎄 It's almost time for the holidays! Give yourself the gift of high-performing content.
What kind of content is that, you ask? It’s UGC, where real customers, and in this case, micro-influencers, brag about your products.
minisocial is the leading user-generated content platform, they partner your brand with micro-influencers who create and share fully-licensed, scroll-stopping content.
The best DTC brands already use minisocial:
👉 Get started with minisocial now for our deepest discount of the year - 25% off!
Crafting Creative and Clever Copy
Words are powerful. 💪
When you think of critical moments in history, phrases define those moments:
Words stand the test of time. They can motivate political, social, and cultural change. And in a business context, words elicit emotion, engage audiences, and influence purchases.
But just like not every poem is a Shakespearian sonnet, not all words thrown onto a website or placed into a newsletter can be considered copywriting—let alone good copywriting. 🤷♀️
There’s an art and a science to getting copywriting right.
So we’re here to help you:
With some killer tips from the DTC industry’s best copywriters.
Tip #1: “Don’t bury the lead” - Michaela Mendes
“Putting the most important information at the top of a page and beginning of a paragraph is the golden rule of journalism. And this rule carries over to copywriting.
When reviewing your copy, look at the top of your page. Does it tell your audience exactly what you do? If not, go back to the drawing board.”
Tip #2: “Clear and concise for the win.” - Dennis Geelen
“As a copywriter, it’s tempting to opt for cute and clever over clear and concise. But consumers aren’t reading your copy to get their daily dose of literary prose.
Focus on making your message as clear as possible. (But if you can make it clear and clever, you get bonus points.)”
Tip #3: “Is there a way I can shorten this?” - Priscilla Barolo
“There are a lot of words and phrases we use in our daily vernacular that don’t translate well in copywriting.
For example, we say “very,” “just,” “actually,” “perhaps,” “in order to,” and “like” all the time. In copywriting, these are mostly throw-away words that clutter up the page. If you can cut it, do.”
Tip #4: “Switch from I/me/we language to you/your. - Daniel Kenitz
“I cannot tell you how many websites I see where the copy focuses on how great the company is, rather than the problems the company solves for the customer.
Copywriting is all about persuading consumers you’re the right fit to solve their problem. Frame all your copy around the consumer—not around yourself, you braggity-brag face.”
Tip #5: “Mirror patterns of speech customers use in reviews.” - Kaleigh Moore
“Want to know how to speak to your customers in a way that will resonate with them? Do a little research.
Dig into customer reviews, client testimonials, and comments to see what language customers use. Then, let their tone and vernacular guide your copywriting.”
Tip #6: “Self-edit for structure first, sentence-level second.” - Masooma Memon
“How you structure your content is as important as what you write. Online buyers aren’t sitting down to read a novel. They’re in a hurry.
Structure your content so it’s easy on the eyes and scannable. Use short sentences, break up blocks of text, number lists, and use bullet points.”
Tip #7: “Research product & bundle names.” - Maria West
When you’re naming products or bundles, Maria West suggests doing a Google search for the same products and bundle names.
“Make sure the names aren’t too similar and tweak them if they are—especially if your competitor's names are better than yours. This strategy will help you create better names and stand out.”
Remember how we said copywriting was an art AND a science? Testing is the science part of creating stellar copy.
You may think you’ve written an award-winning landing page only to find out it had high bounce rates and didn’t convert. Mwah-mwah. Make it a habit of writing a few versions of your copy and multivariate testing it to see what customers love.
There you have it! Employ these copywriting tips now and you’re well on your way to becoming the next David Ogilvy.
🏔️ The data landscape in ecommerce is changing. Thankfully, Littledata, a leader in first-party tracking for DTC brands, released a comprehensive white paper on how the eCommerce sector is evolving. *
🐥 Twitter feud with Apple now ‘resolved’?
🔳 Alberta couple squares off against Square.
🚨 Want to spice up your Meta ads, Amazon store, or Shopify site? Claim your free content today from the newly launched Pilothouse Studios!*
⚖️ 5 methods for leveraging digital advertising during a downturn.
📱 Snapchat launches AR experience.
🆚 LinkedIn upgrades Pages with a new competitor analysis feature.
*Sponsored
😴 Plufl, Yuki Kinoshita: Seven Figures TikToking Dog Beds For Humans.
💰 Wealthsimple, Harry Hothi - Marketing Wealth-Tech in a Downturn.
🐶 Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream: Jason Kutasi - Performance Marketing Children’s Books (To 8 Figures).
🪄 MagicLinks, Aleks Chojnacka: Influencer Marketing State of the Union (Plus the future of Live Shopping)
👻 Every Man Jack, Troy Petrunoff - Spooky Retention, Segmenting Gift Buyers, and BOOGO Gamified Sales.
💡 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, Ashley R. Cummings, and Michael Venditti. Edited by Claire Beveridge and Eric Dyck.
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