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Guilty as charged đĽ˛
If youâre new to DTC, welcome! Youâre in good company with fellow newcomers from Shampora, PLANTMADE, Malvados, Hey Bud Skincare, Lucy in the Sky, Lounge Underwear, and TĂĄche. đĽ
In this newsletter, youâll find: đ
đŹ 9 easy wins to improve your email deliverability - Part 2
đś 40% repeat purchase rate (without email) and the true meaning of product-market fit with James Petrellis from Mighty Munch
đĄ Why you should be dark posting your UGC
Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. đ
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In case you missed Part 1 of improving your email deliverability, make sure to check it out in DTC 142!
If youâre still working on improving deliverability on those pesky emails, tune in for part 2 đ
5ď¸âŁ Test variations in your âFromâ line
If you arenât doing it already, use your brand name in your âFromâ line. This helps reduce Spam complaints and improve open rates, which will help deliverability.
You could also test sending emails from a company individual to give messages a more personal feel.
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Others, like Chase Dimond, have experienced better open rates by using their email domain in the âFromâ line.
The options are endlessâjust remember to test and see whatâs working!
6ď¸âŁ Consider simpler emails
Image-heavy emails with very little copy can be hallmarks of Spammers, so providers tend to be wary of them. Additionally, some ISPs donât display images by default, which means they may not even show up for some users. Images are also slower to load, which impacts UX and engagement.
This is why many brands are experimenting with simpler, text-based emails to improve load time and deliverability.
Of course, this is all highly brand relevant. If your emails are extravagantly designed, full of GIFs and crazy animationsâbut you have killer engagementâkeep fighting the good fight! đ
(And if you use images, make sure theyâre properly compressed and include alt text.)
7ď¸âŁ Clear Unsubscribe button
This should be a no-brainer, but the sad truth is we all experience the âwhere the F is the Unsubscribeâ moment on a much-too-regular basis. đ¤Ś
It doesnât have to be in screaming red letters. Just make sure your Unsubscribe button is easy to findâŚ
Because if users canât see it, theyâre more likely to hit Spam/Complaint, a killer for deliverability. Â
Good example of subtle yet clear:
8ď¸âŁ Practice good list hygiene
Ahhhh hygiene. A world weâve all come to know and love/hate the past 22+ months. đˇ
Just like your hands, regularly cleaning your list is an excellent idea. Unopened emails, unengaged subscribers, and bounce rates can all affect your sender reputation and overall deliverability.
A few tips for good list hygiene:
9ď¸âŁUse Spam checkers
And finally, the sure-fire way to know if your emails are making it to Primary or Promos⌠is to test them!
Free email spam checker tools like Litmus, Email on Acid, and GlockApps are extremely helpful. Add them to your email workflow if you want to maximize deliverability. đ¨
Did you find these tips helpful? Did we miss any? Hit reply and let us know! (See what we did there? đ)
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Every DTC brand that works with influencers wants to get the most out of their campaigns. đ
That's why serious DTC brands turn to impact.com's partnership management platform to help them boost and scale influencer programs and maximize partnerships. đŻ
impact.com helps you to:
What to learn more?
đ Book a quick demo with one of impact.com's partnership experts and see how easy it is to manage, automate, track, and grow your influencer program.
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đ§ This week on the pod, we were joined by James Petrellis, a 10-year performance marketing entrepreneur and founder of natural pet brand Mighty Munch , which creates premium supplements for your furry friends.
In this episode, James fills us in on how the brand is on track to do 8-figuresâwithout email marketing or Amazon. đŽ
If you like controversial takes, grab a bowl of popcorn and a comfy seat because youâre gonna love this pod.
âThe Takeaways đ
đĽ Why âcreative burnoutâ is a myth
Hereâs a mind-blower for ya: Mighty Munch has been successfully running ads using some of the same creative for over a year.
âEveryone says âcreative burns out.â Thatâs bullsh*t. No, it doesnât⌠The issue isnât creative burnout. The issue is bad media buying and bad campaign management.â
After all, if there are millions of people out there to test your creative on, how could it possibly burn out in two weeks? đ¤ˇ
Change the way youâre buying media, so you arenât narrowing yourself to a tiny audienceânamely by running ads âbroadâ and letting Facebook do your retargeting.
âIf youâre spending six hours per day in Facebook Ads Manager, youâre doing it wrong.â
đ§ What happened when they stopped doing email marketing
Ready for mind-blower number two? Mighty Munch has a 40% repeat customer rate with practically zero email marketing. đ¤Ż
How is that possible, you say?
According to James, it all comes down to selling a product that solves a problem.
âWhen they buy [your product] if it does solve their problem, thereâs a good chance theyâre gonna come back and keep buying. If it doesnât, theyâre not.
Donât worry. James isnât totally bagging on email. He just thinks itâs a little overhyped by the industry.
âHow do you get the best repeat customer rate? The first step isnât email. The first step is to get your product right, so it solves a problemâŚthatâs the biggest thing you can do.â
đ° What James would do with an extra $50K
The barrier to entry to TV is seemingly so high, but James believes itâs possible to D-I-Y TV ads using methods from digital marketingâlike UGC video footage.
âWeâre gonna produce our own ad, itâs gonna be a problem-solution, proper direct-response DTC branded ad that we know worksâŚand weâre just gonna see what happens.â
đ Listen to the full convo with James here !
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Navigating the ever-changing world of Facebook ads is a headache for even the most seasoned DTC marketer. Â đ
Wouldnât it be great to find a way to boost ROAS and make your performance less reliant on a single platform?
Leveraging your first-party data gives you that choice. đ
And it doesn't have to be complicated. Black Crow AI has compiled must-read tips from leading DTC marketers on getting the most out of your first-party data, including:
It's time to take control of your marketing with first-party data from Black Crow. đ¤
đ Get the guide and level up your first-party data.
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Itâs been widely reported that UGC ads receive 4x CTR, and CPCâs cost 50% less than non-UGC ads. đĽ
Why? Because we know theyâre more trusted and more engaging.
So how can we optimize UGC beyond that? Dark Posting.
What is dark posting? đ¤
A dark post is a targeted ad that appears in the news feeds of only a selected set of users and nowhere else (aka the post doesnât show when you visit the creators page).
Content is run through a creatorâs handle as if theyâd posted it themselves, but the post does not live on their feeds or profiles.
Dark posting allows you to capitalize on the social proof the creatorâs handle and profile offers, run multiple ad iterations, and test different audiences with different copy, etc.
The Pilothouse UGC team has found that with less spend, dark posted content performs just as well (or better!) than the top branded ads in the account.
Check out the stats! đ
Dark Posted
Top Branded
The proof is in the pudding. Dark posted UGC holds up to the best of the best.
Thanks to Debbie on the Pilothouse UGC team for the insights. đ
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đś 40% Repeat Purchase Rate (Without Email) and True Meaning of Product-Market Fit with James Petrellis from Mighty Munch.
𼣠Mascots in the Metaverse: How to Make NFTs Work for Your DTC Brand with OffLimits CEO Emily Elyse Miller.
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đ Youthforia's Fiona Co Chan Creates an Organic TikTok to Amazon Pipeline.
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DTC Newsletter is written by Kelsey Hess and Rebecca Knight. Edited by Claire Beveridge.
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