Episodes
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Everything is going great for a business: your ads are working, scale is happening, and you're seeing huge revenue growth for both new and returning customers.
But you can't figure out why: were the new ads you made THAT much better than the old ones?
Or sometimes it's the opposite: nothing is working, including the ads that were doing great only a few weeks ago. So what's the difference?
More often than you realize, it's seasonality. Today, I explain the point and tell you what to do about it.
EPISODE SPONSORS
MORE STAFFING
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting https://morenow.co/af.BILY
Get enhanced Meta Ads event tracking on your store with 100% server side tracking at the lowest rate in all of ecom with Bily by visiting https://bily.ai.THE BEST DTC TRAINING RESOURCE ON THE INTERNET:
Learn More About ADmission: https://bit.ly/3x99lipFOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.com -
Almost exactly a year ago, Nasrin Jafari recorded my first ever Opening The Books podcast episode. A few months after that, she hired me and my team as her agency.
So how has it gone since that first conversation?
On this episode of The Andrew Faris Podcast, Nasrin is back to talk about the highs, lows, and what she (and I) have learned on the way to doubling her fashion brand's business.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful, but virtual professionals can change your business. Recruit, onboard, and train incredible virtual professionals in the Philippines by visiting https://morenow.co/af.
SPECIAL OFFER ON THE BEST DTC EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY ON THE INTERNET:
Get a free call when you sign up for three months of ADmission from Common Thread Collective: https://www.youradmission.co/andrew-faris-podcastREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
"Opening The Books: Mixed By Nasrin" (All links here). "Opening The Books: Beardbrand" (All links here). "Bill D'Alessandro Is Obsessed With Contribution Margin" (Spotify, Apple) "Briefing A Longform Explainer Ad For Bambu Earth Live (With Dave Rekuc)" (Spotify, Apple)FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.com -
Missing episodes?
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What's your brand's pathway to profitable growth?
Well, that depends: what type of brand do you have?
If you understand the answer to that question, you can focus on the highest leverage areas of your business for creating profitable growth.
Today on the show, I'm breaking down 5 categories of DTC brands and telling you how to approach growth in each.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Register for More Staffing's webinar titled "Managing an International Remote Team in the E-commerce World: The Massive Advantages And The Serious Pitfalls" on Thursday, April 25th at 10 am PST here: https://bit.ly/3QcFjRj
THE BEST DTC TRAINING RESOURCE ON THE INTERNET:
Learn More About ADmission: https://bit.ly/3x99lipAFP EPISODES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:
"Jack Rubin's $50M Playbook? Extreme Focus." (Apple, Spotify) "Jack Rubin's Subscription Behemoth Will Cross $70M While Growing 300%" (Apple, Spotify) "Bryan Porter Didn't Get To $100M On Amazon With Just Tips & Tricks" (Apple, Spotify) "Taylor Holiday Says You MUST Grow Your Business" (Apple, Spotify)FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.com -
If you want your DTC brand to grow profitably, it can't JUST be about steadily improving your ads, emails, etc.
That's great, but there is a more effective way to spike your revenue quickly, profitably, and in a way that's replicable throughout your brand's journey, and it's by leveraging the marketing calendar effectively.
Today on The Andrew Faris Podcast, I'm telling you exactly how to do just that.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Register for More Staffing's webinar titled "Managing an International Remote Team in the E-commerce World: The Massive Advantages And The Serious Pitfalls" on Thursday, April 25th at 10 am PST here: https://bit.ly/3QcFjRj
THE BEST DTC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE ON THE INTERNET:
Learn More About ADmission: https://bit.ly/3x99lipREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:
Taylor Holiday's "4 Peaks Theory"FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.com -
It's a pod colab! Today on the show, The Ecommerce Playbook and The Andrew Faris Podcast join forces for a longer, wider-ranging, in-person conversation with Common Thread Collective's CEO and DTC super-genius Taylor Holiday.
Among the topics covered:
Do you really HAVE to grow your business? The case for negative CAC (i.e. YOU GET PAID to acquire customers) My ongoing defense of the longform explainerAnd much more. Enjoy!
EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful, but virtual professionals can change your business. Recruit, onboard, and train incredible virtual professionals in the Philippines by visiting https://morenow.co/af.
SPECIAL OFFER ON THE BEST DTC EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY ON THE INTERNET:
https://www.youradmission.co/andrew-faris-podcastSUBSCRIBE TO TAYLOR'S VIDEO & PODCAST CONTENT:
CTC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@commonthreadcoREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
With $10M In Revenue And $0 In Ad Spend, Isaac Medeiros Is In A Class Of His Own" (Spotify; Apple) Growing Profitability ft. Alan Doan of Missouri Quilt Co" Ecommerce Playbook Episode (YouTube) NVIDIA CEO Jensen Yang's "I Wish You Suffering" Video Kevin Espiritu On Negative CacFOLLOW UP WITH TAYLOR
Follow Taylor On X: https://twitter.com/taylorholidayFOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
IMPORTANT NOTE
Get every resource mentioned in this episode emailed to you for free by visiting www.ajfgrowth.com/prettyboy
EPISODE SUMMARY
Ben and Kevin are best friends, partners, and the founders of PrettyBoy—a men's personal care brand whose first product is a moisturizer that helped Kevin clear up serious skin issues on his face that started when he was in college, playing football at Ohio State.
They launched with big dreams, but also with ads that were losing them money and an untenable supply chain due to the huge lead time they needed on every order. Classic startup problems.
But in 2023, things started to turn around in the ad account, and they made the leap to profitability.
In this Opening The Books episode, Andrew walks with the guys through the 2023 journey to profitability (with plentiful ad account screensharing so you can see how they did it), then talks them through the next steps as they cross seven figures in 2024 and PrettyBoy goes from side gig to the recipient of their full focus.
Watch this episode if you want to see the effects of great creative, switching to manual bidding, understanding your LTV, and solving your supply chain.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:04:56] Skincare for active males. [00:06:19] Men's skincare brand growth. [00:12:38] Viral single product launch. [00:15:19] Hero Product Strategy. [00:19:41] Business Growth Journey. [00:22:46] UGC Video Success. [00:26:27] Agency financial dynamics. [00:28:41] Marketing and finance intersection. [00:31:54] Creative messaging flexibility. [00:34:53] Cost Controls in Advertising [00:35:25] Advertising Platform Efficacy [00:40:20] UGC Ad Success Story. [00:42:16] Content testing strategy. [00:45:31] Scaling Up Spend Strategy [00:49:24] Cash flow and profitability. [00:55:16] Testing cost caps. [00:57:38] Probabilistic Forecasting Discussion. [01:01:48] The delayed purchase multiplier & attribution [01:15:06] Bid optimization strategy. [01:19:42] LTV and customer growth. [01:30:15] Product improvement feedback. [01:33:10] The importance of better payment terms [01:36:47] Manufacturing Lead Time Reduction [01:38:02] Organic revenue growth. [01:41:14] Product strategyEPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting www.morenow.co/af.
THE BEST MEDIA BUYING/DTC LEARNING COMMUNITY ON THE INTERNET:
• Get a free call ($150/hr value) when you sign up for three months of ADmission From Common Thread Collective: www.youradmission.co/andrew-faris-podcast
WATCH MY PREVIOUS OPENING THE BOOKS EPISODES
"Opening The Books: Mixed By Nasrin": www.ajfgrowth.com/mixed "Opening The Books: Beardbrand": www.ajfgrowth.com/beardbrandFOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
It's not just about sales velocity.
What happens if you've got a product that isn't selling much, but you think has potential? Should you put time and money into running ads against it?
Or what about the opposite? What about if you have a high sales velocity product, but it's lower margin and lower LTV? Then what?
In this episode I'm walking you through a 5-part framework on how to think about the next base products for you to put resources into advertising.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting https://morenow.co/af.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:00:45] Creative effort prioritization. [00:04:24] 1. Gross margin [00:07:22] 2. Lifetime value [00:12:10] 3. Total addressable market [00:20:15] 4. Inventory position [00:25:09] 5. Operational lift [00:28:23] Upcoming contentTHE BEST DTC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE ON THE INTERNET:
Learn More About ADmission: https://bit.ly/3x99lipFOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
Countless ecommerce operators complain about getting taken for a ride by agencies, freelancers, and software companies.
In this episode I explain the most important thing you need to know to avoid the frustration and costs of having that happen to you—and to scale your business profitably in the long term.
The key? Point of view.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting https://morenow.co/af.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:00:45] Developing Clear POV [00:03:23] Business Principle Universality [00:09:10] Team building insights [00:11:17] Auto vs. Manual Bidding [00:13:23] E-commerce creative importance [00:15:41] Ad Strategy Methodology [00:18:59] E-commerce growth insightsREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Learn More About AdMission: https://bit.ly/3x99lipFOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
I've already had Jack Rubin on once before, and that's for a simple reason: he's one of the most impressive DTC operators I've been around, building one of the best DTC businesses I've seen from the inside. So there's lots to share.
In this episode, learn how Jack's relentless focus on his core funnel led him to increase his Meta spend by 500% in the last year while lowering his CAC and growing to a very profitable $50M+ in revenue.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:14] DTC business growth [05:33] Business simplicity and focus [10:16] Improving subscription funnels [11:43] Scaling ad spend growth [15:53] Building massive creative operations [20:22] Lean OpEx as percentage of revenue with More Staffing [23:19] Seasonal Starter Kit offer [27:11] Customer LTV hypotheses [36:32] Brand vs. performance marketing [37:55] Meta targeting efficiencyEPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful, but virtual professionals can change your business. Recruit, onboard, and train incredible virtual professionals in the Philippines by visiting https://morenow.co/af.
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
Jack's Earlier AJFG Episode (Spotify, Apple) Kynship DTC Advertising Agency: www.kynship.co Jack's Starter Kit Landing Page: https://try.purdyandfigg.com/starterkit-offer Taylor Holiday's 4 Peaks TheoryFOLLOW UP WITH JACK
Follow Jack On Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackrubin1FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
"Make Ugly Ads."
It's on his hat. It's on his mic. It's on his wall.
Barry Hott isn't afraid to tell you as many times as you need to be told, and it's for a simple reason: he's right. Ugly ads work.
Barry has a lot of years in the ecommerce/DTC/paid social/growth marketing space, and I brought him on this episode ostensibly to discuss the how and why of ugly ads. But for two guys who just love talking shop it was impossible to keep ourselves from delving into all kinds of growth strategy and media buying specifics.
Strap in: Barry brought the energy and this is a fun one. Enjoy it, then go make some ugly ads.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:00:14] Ugly ads strategy. [00:05:14] Ugly ads effectiveness. [00:07:52-00:08:02] Ugly ads effectiveness. [00:12:54-00:13:04] Socially native stills. [00:16:49-00:16:59] Fake UGC authenticity. [00:20:15-00:20:26] Ad Language Nuance. [00:25:51-00:26:02] Apparel ad strategies. [00:28:47] Personalized ad language. [00:33:27] Insecurity through advertising. [00:36:40] Cost to impact ratio. [00:39:45] Process vs Instincts [00:45:47-00:45:57] Ugly ad considerations. [00:47:42] Authenticity in advertising. [00:50:21] Creative platform expectations.EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful, but virtual professionals can change your business. Recruit, onboard, and train incredible virtual professionals in the Philippines by visiting https://morenow.co/af.
FOLLOW UP WITH BARRY
Get Barry's CreativeOS Ugly Ads Templates: https://www.creativeos.io/experts/barry Follow Barry on X: https://twitter.com/binghott Subscribe To Barry's Newsletter: https://www.haveaclues.com/ Visit Barry's Site: https://www.hottgrowth.com/FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
"Test creative until you have statistically significant results, then scale the winners based on that."
That seems like good advice on first glance. How can you disagree with methodical testing that's attentive to good statistical principles?
Because it's almost impossible to actually do without burning huge amounts of money on Meta, for one, and for two, it's unnecessary anyway, since Meta's machine learning can use better methods of forecasting your creative's performance than frequentist-style stat sig tests.
Yes, this one is getting into the weeds. Hopefully it helps clarify more of why you absolutely positively should not run auto-bid creative testing campaigns on Meta.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:00:55] Creative testing strategies for meta ads. [00:05:10] Frustrations with new creative. [00:07:16] Creative testing campaigns on Meta. [00:11:15] Auto bidding creative tests. [00:14:25] Statistical significance in ad testing. [00:17:48] Ad Performance Analysis. [00:19:56] The pitfalls of ad testing. [00:24:41] Creative performance and optimization. [00:27:17] Meta's machine learning forecasting. [00:30:51] Creative testing in advertising. [00:33:19] Prediction at scaleEPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting www.morenow.co.
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
"My Exact Creative Testing Method For Meta Ads" (Spotify, Apple) My Twitter Conversation With Zach Stuck On This Topic: https://bit.ly/42JsbZ0FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
You probably know Beardbrand and its founder, Eric Bandholz.
Beardbrand rose to prominence in the ecommerce landscape as they built a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers, thereby powering their customer acquisition with basically zero investment in paid marketing channels.
But as the impact of their organic efforts began to fade in 2022 and into 2023, Bandholz and his team decided that they needed to crack the code on Meta Ads. The problem? This channel had never been successful for them before.
So when Bandholz reached out to me to see if I could be any help as they handed the keys to a talented but green (as far as paid social is concerned) team member, Mike Lawson, I suggested he come on the podcast and build a plan from the ground-up, complete with screenshares of their actual Meta Ads account.
In this episode, you'll learn exactly how I'd build an ad account almost from the ground-up centering on a consolidated, broad-targeted, Bid Cap strategy, and you'll even get a follow-up a month after our initial recording to see how their efforts were going.
We referenced a lot of resources in this episode. Want access to all of them for free? Sign up for my email list below and I'll send them your way.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting www.morenow.co.
WATCH MY PREVIOUS OPENING THE BOOKS EPISODE
• "Opening The Books: Mixed By Nasrin": www.ajfgrowth.com/mixed
EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting www.morenow.co.
FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
We're taking a break from the tactical, but this episode is no less practical.
Taking a full day completely off of work every week has been one of the most important practices for keeping my relationship to work in its right place in my life while also providing the rest required to perform at work at as high of a level as possible.
In this episode, I explain how the ancient practice of Sabbath has unique power for people like me who love our jobs, and I give practical recommendations on what has made it work for me.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:01:19] Setting aside one day. [00:04:29] Work-life balance struggle. [00:06:25] Sabbath as a repeatable process. [00:09:13] Setting work boundaries. [00:11:51] Rest and work productivity. [00:14:49] Work-life balance. [00:18:00] The value of work. [00:22:02] The perils of chasing success. [00:24:28] Deeper purpose beyond work. [00:27:47] Diversification strategy for joy.EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting www.morenow.co.
FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
My last episode with Jones Road Beauty CMO & CRO Cody Plofker is the most popular episode in my podcast's history. Which meant it was time to bring him back.
This is a wide-ranging episode in which Cody and I talk about how to think about Contribution Margin as a dollar amount (instead of just efficiency metrics like MER or aMER), how to forecast a DTC brand effectively, and how to use the concept of a "unique mechanism" in your DTC ad messaging.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:52] Cody's switch to bid caps. [03:39] Joining Slack groups for support. [07:12] Removing the pacing mechanism. [08:52] Bidding and budgeting strategies. [11:23] Ratio targets and contribution dollars. [14:23] Tying marketing to financial metrics. [17:20] ASC cost caps and lowest cost. [21:32] Relying on meta for demand. [22:37] Supply chain management in e-commerce. [26:23] Product launches and exclusivity. [29:12] Adjusting bid caps for sales. [31:41] Delayed attribution and Black Friday. [33:23] Making adjustments and comfort levels. [37:12] By-product value of advertising spend. [39:30] Bid multipliers and targeting. [41:19] In-store sales and advertising.EPISODE SPONSOR
Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit www.morenow.co and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months.
AFP EPISODES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
"Cody Plofker Goes DEEP On Meta Media Buying" (Spotify, Apple) "With $10M In Revenue And $0 In Ad Spend, Isaac Medeiros Is In A Class Of His Own" (Spotify, Apple) "Briefing A Longform Explainer Ad For Bambu Earth Live (With Dave Rekuc)" (Spotify, Apple)OTHER RESOURCES REFERENCED
Dave Rekuc's CXL Forecasting Course Ogilvy On Advertising Breakthrough AdvertisingFOLLOW UP WITH CODY
Sign Up For Cody's Newsletter: https://www.codyplofker.com/newsletter Follow Cody on X: https://twitter.com/codyplof Hire Cody On MentorPass: https://www.mentorpass.co/me/codyplofkerFOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
I've always said that the offer is the foremost driver of performance in direct response advertising. But I haven't always aligned my actions with that thought.
But after some recent & massive client wins centering on running the same ads to new offers, I've been reminded of just how crucial it is to get this right.
So in this episode, I'm categorizing defining what I mean by "offer" and categorizing offer type that can move the needle for different kinds of brands.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:00:25] The importance of offers. [00:05:53] Unlocking Account with Offer [00:06:46] Offer testing and optimization. [00:09:12] Email capture strategies. [00:13:59] Good, better, best offer. [00:15:46] Good, Better, Best offers. [00:19:05] Hiring talent from the Philippines. [00:21:44] Cash back and discounts. [00:27:22] Subscription-focused lander. [00:27:43] Strong offers and subscription funnels.EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting www.morenow.co.
FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
A few weeks ago I told you that longform explainer ads are the best performing ads I run in an episode where I went through an overview of the concept and structure of the ads.
But then I thought: "Wait, why don't I just record myself actually writing one of these instead?"
So I got together with my good friend Dave Rekuc, President & COO at Bambu Earth, and we briefed out a longform explainer ad from start to finish to prep for an upcoming shoot of his.
The result is a (long) episode in which we document the entire process of thinking through what makes customers love Bambu Earth and how to communicate that with clarity in an ad.
Important note: we don't know how this ad will perform yet, but once we do, I'll update you. So make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out as we learn how it goes.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit morenow.co and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months.
OTHER AFP EPISODES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
"The Best Performing Meta Ads I Run" (Spotify, Apple) "Dave Rekuc Beat Cancer, Cash Conversion Cycles" (Spotify, Apple) "Let's Fix Your Supply Chain And Save You A Ton Of Money (With Lara Guevara)" (Spotify, Apple)FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on X: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
One of the most common pieces of advice I give ecommerce operators is to hunt for savings in their supply chain so that their unit economics can better. Supply chain savings go straight to the bottom line (or open up more room for you to spend on customer acquisition).
It's good advice, but it often isn't actionable, because there is an obvious follow-up question:
How?
Lara Guevara knows the answer, and on this episode of the show, she tells you. We talked about knowing your suppliers' suppliers, negotiating freight forwarding, and thinking intelligently about exchange rates.
It's all doable, and if you don't know where to start, Lara is ready to help.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:03:11] Efficiency in e-commerce supply chain. [00:07:05] Savings in ocean freight. [00:13:16] Negotiating with local currency. [00:18:13] BlanketPO for cost savings. [00:21:28] Potential savings for brands. [00:25:45] Understanding tier one to tier three. [00:29:33] Negotiating payment terms for products [00:38:18] Slow-moving product report and marketing. [00:42:50] Balancing overstock and understock. [00:45:49] Out of stock and forecasting. [00:47:32] Fractional Supply Chain Services.EPISODE SPONSOR
Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit https://morenow.co and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months.
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
To get a Cohort Forecast Template, sign up for my email list at https://ajfgrowth.com. Lara's incredible supply chain savings thread. 3rd Party Auditor recommendation: V-Trust.FOLLOW UP WITH LARA
Follow Lara on X: @SupplyChainWomnFOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on X: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
What if you could be running ads that pushed your spend up 50% at your target metrics–and they cost you nothing to create? And also, you already made them?
If you're not turning (almost) all of your existing organic content into ads, there's a good chance that's the exact scenario you're in.
Today on the show: a simple but important push to get your organic content into your ad account.
EPISODE SPONSOR
Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting www.morenow.co.
REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:
"Building The Process For Meta Ads Success" (YouTube, Spotify, Apple) "My Exact Creative Testing Method For Meta Ads" (YouTube, Spotify, Apple) "The Best Performing Meta Ads I Run" (YouTube, Spotify, Apple) "With $10M In Revenue And $0 In Ad Spend, Isaac Medeiros Is In A Class Of His Own" (Spotify, Apple)FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
The first place you should spend your ad dollars as a DTC brand is Meta. The second is Google.
Most people would agree with this comment, but they also see the same problem I do: it's incredibly easy to waste money on Google Ads because of the black box that is Performance Max and the 500 other ways Branded Search clicks inflate ROAS and hide bad dollars.
I know enough about this to have helped some clients stop wasting money in these ways. But I haven't known enough to help clients actually MAKE money there.
Which is where Kirk Williams comes in.
Kirk has been running Google Ads for well over a decade and is now the CEO of ZATO Marketing, a Google Ads agency that does great work.
Tune in for an episode where he explains Google's ad-related legal battles, the best strategies for DTC, and how to make Performance Max
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:05:46] Google's antitrust case. [00:08:21] Google manipulating search auctions. [00:09:22] Auction reserve pricing and trust. [00:13:38] Concerns about Google's PMAX. [00:18:03] Advantage Plus shopping campaigns. [00:19:34] Marketing differences between Google and Meta [00:21:39] Complexity of PMAX campaign types. [00:27:18] New customer campaign success. [00:29:33] Efficiency in supply chain. [00:33:01] Google's advertising challenges. [00:36:52] The challenge of competing on Google. [00:45:41] Advertising budget and ROI. [00:46:19] Search advertising strategies. [00:52:06] Agency brand relations.EPISODE SPONSOR
Add supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit https://morenow.co and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months.
FOLLOW UP WITH KIRK
Follow Kirk on X: @PPCKirk Work With ZATO Marketing: https://zatomarketing.com/FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on X: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means -
Fan Bi sees 10 different ecommerce businesses every week and has seen ~1,000 in the last year.That's because Fan's job is to buy DTC brands for The Hedgehog Company, the aggregator where he's the CEO. He's got 4 now and looking to add. The upshot of all that? He has one of the deepest senses of the market for ecommerce brands of anyone I know, and he can tell you very quickly if your business is set up well for an exit.So on this week's episode, Fan and I talked through what makes a good DTC brand and what kind of multiples ecommerce businesses are getting today, all so that you can focus on the right metrics for maximizing the value of yours.EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS• [00:02:28] The meaning of life.• [00:05:11] Valuation of e-commerce businesses.• [00:08:09] Impact of investor preference.• [00:10:37] Early-stage valuation and investment.• [00:14:48] Valuing ROI and Exit Strategies.• [00:15:41] Valuing businesses based on EBITDA.• [00:19:32] Changing deal structures in acquisitions.• [00:22:06] Negative CAGR and business volatility.• [00:28:32] E-commerce business challenges.• [00:29:00] Lean operations in e-commerce.• [00:32:07] Revenue quality and valuation.• [00:35:33] Cash conversion and working capital.• [00:39:14] DTC advantages and scalability.• [00:42:31] Unfair advantages in e-commerce.• [00:45:56] Tough time to be selling.• [00:48:24] Building a business for scale and profit.EPISODE SPONSORAdd supply chain experts to your team at a drastically lower cost than you're expecting by hiring More Fractional Supply Chain, a service of my friends at More Staffing. Visit https://morenow.co and use the code AJF20 to get 20% off your first 3 months.PREVIOUS AFP EPISODES REFERENCED • "Patrick Coddou Sold Supply" (Spotify, Apple)• "Dan McCormick Is Taking 'Build In Public' To A Whole New Level" (Spotify, Apple, YouTube)FOLLOW UP WITH FAN• Follow Fan on X: @LifeOfBi• Learn More About The Hedgehog Company: https://www.thehedgehogcompany.com/FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW
Follow Andrew on X: @andrewjfaris Email Andrew: [email protected] Work with Andrew: www.ajfgrowth.comEPISODE MUSIC
Music Intro: "Tell Me Mama" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "Rusty Little Scissors" by The Devious Means - Show more
