https://www.ecomcrew.com An eCommerce podcast for store owners, hosted by 7-figure store owners Mike Jackness and Dave Bryant. We cover everything in eCommerce from Shopify, to Amazon FBA. From email marketing, to Facebook Ads. Never before has there been a podcast with store owners who are so candid. Subscribe to the EcomCrew podcast today! Wed, 15 May 2024 20:13:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://www.ecomcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/favicon-36x36.png https://www.ecomcrew.com 32 32 An eCommerce podcast for store owners, hosted by 7-figure store owners Mike Jackness and Dave Bryant. We cover everything in eCommerce from Shopify, to Amazon FBA. From email marketing, to Facebook Ads. Never before has there been a podcast with store owners who are so candid. Subscribe to the EcomCrew podcast today! Mike Jackness clean Mike Jackness jackness@mac.com jackness@mac.com (Mike Jackness) 2019 EcomCrew The EcomCrew Ecommerce Podcast http://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/e/d/b/9/edb97b89fcf18835/ecomcrewpodcastmikedavepic.jpg https://www.ecomcrew.com support@ecomcrew.com San Diego, CA Twice Weekly 226445030 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e550-kevin-williams/ Mon, 13 May 2024 12:25:30 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57998 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e550-kevin-williams/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e550-kevin-williams/feed/ 0 <p>Kevin Williams is on the podcast today to talk about his entrepreneurial journey. From founding brands like Brush Hero to appearing on Shark Tank and finally, to diving deep into AI, we cover the lessons that he's learned through each brand and venture.  Kevin Williams is the founder of MadBrains AI, a company that specializes …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e550-kevin-williams/">E550: How This Shark Tank Almuna Went From E-Commerce to AI</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Kevin Williams is on the podcast today to talk about his entrepreneurial journey. From founding brands like Brush Hero to appearing on Shark Tank and finally, to diving deep into AI, we cover the lessons that he's learned through each brand and venture... Kevin Williams is the founder of MadBrains AI, a company that specializes in AI literacy and training. With an extensive background in ecommerce, Kevin consistently provides practical tips to digital marketers on how to leverage AI for their brands.
Kevin and I met quite a while back in 2015, where Kevin held a presentation on the importance of product validation before marketing, and that's when I had an epiphany — if no one is interested in your product before you go to sell, it's not worth it.  
After years of friendship, I've decided to get him on to catch up with him and get a background of his experience as an entrepreneur. Here's some timestamps: 
Timestamps: 

* Podcast Start – 0:00
* Mike's Reason for Getting Friends on the Podcast – 0:30 
* Kevin's Product Validation Presentation and Business Model – 1:30 
* Traffic is 4x more expensive now – 2:44 
* Kevin's Patent Concept – 4:17 
* The Origins of Brush Hero – 6:28 
* Importance of Storytelling – 7:26 
* How Counterfeits Destroyed Brush Hero – 8:41
* Being CEO of Balls.co – 11:48
* “What happened to Balls.co?” – 13:59
* Diving into AI – 20:14
* “What's one thing that I should have asked?” – 28:26

The Big Takeaways
If you're in a hurry, I've listed a few of the big takeaways I personally found to be the most impactful:  

* Traffic is so way more expensive now. In 2015, it would cost 25c – 50c to buy traffic on Facebook Ads. Currently, it costs $3-$4 to buy traffic. If you want to start buying ads, it might be more cost-efficient to use a cheaper social networks like TikTok. 
* Being granted a patent is a bucket list item for most tinkerers and engineers. However, a lot of people don't go beyond that point. Partnering with a patent holder can be a good way to find products to sell on Amazon. 
* Storytelling boils down to three main points: 

*  Man – your brand or product 
*  Mountain – the big problem 
*  Getting Over Mountain – how your product solves your problem


* Online reviews have a big impact on offline sales. If your product is available in a brick and mortar store, shoppers will normally try to price-match by checking your product on Amazon and they'll run into your negative reviews. 
* Running a business that's based overseas while having staff that's based in a separate country can be very physically and mentally taxing. 
* Getting shadowbanned on your advertising account is more common than you think. It's a term that describes getting really poor performance on your advertising account, without explicit notice from the platform. 
* Balls.co suffered from their success in the influencer marketing. After receiving a lot of traffic from their influencer marketing, they were starting to be seen as an entertainment company instead of a product company. This meant that they werent getting much sales from their marketing efforts.
* All of the Fortune 10,000 companies are concerned about the implications of AI, but only 5% of them have training in place. 
* You should be leveraging AI to automate customer service. There is no reason for you to be doing first-contact customer service anymore as a business owner and AI can make this a lot easier for you. 
* Taking the previous point a step further, you can use AI to sift through previous chatlogs,]]> Mike Jackness clean 32:46 57998 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e549-getting-started-seo/ Mon, 06 May 2024 14:52:59 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57869 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e549-getting-started-seo/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e549-getting-started-seo/feed/ 0 <p>Jeff Oxford joins us on the podcast today to talk about the most recent Google Update, who the winners were, and how search is going to look like with AI in the horizon.</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e549-getting-started-seo/">E549: How To Get Started in Building Your SEO in 2024</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Jeff Oxford joins us on the podcast today to talk about the most recent Google Update, who the winners were, and how search is going to look like with AI in the horizon. Jeff Oxford is the Founder and SEO Director of 180 Marketing, a marketing agency that specialises in SEO strategies which cover everything from keyword research to webpage optimization.
Today, he's on the podcast to talk about the most recent Google update that happened in March. Specifically, we'll dive into the criteria that Google uses to rank websites, the winners of the most recent update, and why brand metrics plays an important role in search. 
The big takeaway here is that no matter what, keep playing the long game. When it comes to content, it's only a matter of time until your content starts making its way through the algorithm and to the audience that you're targeting. 
It really is just a matter of time. It might be an overnight viral success, or it might be a crawl towards the goal, but it's a matter of when it happens instead. 
Timestamps: 

* Podcast Start – 0:00
* Catching up with Jeff – 0:31
* Google's March Core Update – 2:14 
* Why Mike was excited for this update – 4:30 
* Playing the long term game – 6:03
* Google's update patterns – 7:40
* Mike Jackness History Lesson – 9:31 
* How Google finds cheaters – 12:23 
* Why Reddit and Quora won the last update – 14:43 
* Why Brand Metrics matter for SEO – 15:58
* How do you get started in building your SEO? – 18:13 
* Stick with it! – 20:31 
* What is Search going to look like moving forward? – 22:38
* How will Google incentivise making good content with AI in the future? – 28:11
* Learn more about Jeff Oxford – 30:39

Jeff, thanks for coming on the podcast! It was nice seeing you again, although through a virtual screen instead of in person but we'll take what we can get! 
If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com. 
Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well! We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 34:05 57869 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e548-dropshipping-pat-haggerty/ Mon, 29 Apr 2024 16:15:13 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57701 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e548-dropshipping-pat-haggerty/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e548-dropshipping-pat-haggerty/feed/ 0 <p>Pat Haggerty of Right Channel Radios joins the podcast to talk about dropshipping, the pros and cons, and how to succeed if you choose to start out with dropshipping. </p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e548-dropshipping-pat-haggerty/">E548: Making Dropshipping Work in 2024 with Pat Haggerty</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Pat Haggerty of Right Channel Radios joins the podcast to talk about dropshipping, the pros and cons, and how to succeed if you choose to start out with dropshipping. Well, dropshipping is still very much around. But as Amazon moved into a position of dominance, its appeal has waned. The fact that some so-called “gurus” who sell the same old 2004 dropshipping course as an “easy” way to earn millions hasn’t helped either.
However, there are those who own sustainable dropshipping businesses. 
Pat Haggerty, owner of Right Channel Radios, is one of them.
I’ve asked Pat to join me in this podcast episode to talk in detail about his business, Right Channel Radios. 
I hope our discussion didn’t only prove informative but encouraged you to look at dropshipping businesses in a different, albeit more positive light.
Pat, thank you for accepting the invite to record a podcast together. I really appreciate it, and I look forward to seeing you again in the next events. 
If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com. 
Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well! We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 33:55 57701 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e547-fulfilment-in-retirement/ Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:40:49 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57567 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e547-fulfilment-in-retirement/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e547-fulfilment-in-retirement/feed/ 0 <p>Dana Jaunzemis joins the EcomCrew podcast today to talk about how she evaluated businesses before purchasing them, why she chose to sell her businesses, and ultimately chose to retire.  Dana Jaunzemis and I met for the first time years ago during my eCommerce speaking circuit and has since become a great friend of mine. She's …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e547-fulfilment-in-retirement/">E547: Finding Fulfilment in Retirement with Dana Jaunzemis</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Dana Jaunzemis joins the EcomCrew podcast today to talk about how she evaluated businesses before purchasing them, why she chose to sell her businesses, and ultimately chose to retire.  Dana Jaunzemis and I met for the first time years ago during my eC... Dana Jaunzemis and I met for the first time years ago during my eCommerce speaking circuit and has since become a great friend of mine. She's the killer combination of having a really interesting background, while also being incredibly intellectual business-wise and philosophically too. 
She's been a good friend that's always been helpful when I've run into troubles of my own, especially those regarding burnout, identity and the end goal as an entrepreneur. 
Today, I wanted to pick her brains on the podcast about what it's like to have been recently retired from eCommerce, how she still finds a sense of fulfilment and the factors she considers before buying a business, which may or may not have been on my mind lately.
“E-commerce, while easy, is the highest risk type of business in my opinion.”
– Dana Jaunzemis
Timestamps: 

* 0:00 – Podcast Start
* 0:31 – Introduction
* 2:49 – Dana's Career Timeline
* 4:54 – The Appeal of E-Commerce for Introverts
* 6:28 – Is E-Commerce Difficult? 
* 9:19 – The Difference Between Successful and Failing Businesses
* 11:44 – How lessons in life can apply to your future
* 15:40 – Factors to Consider When Buying A Business
* 16:31 – Factor #1: Profitability
* 16:46 – Factor #2: Where Your Skillset Fits In
* 24:24 – Why Dana chose to sell her business
* 30:01 – Risks of e-commerce
* 31:41 – Factor #3: Inventory Costs 
* 34:19 – Finding Fulfilment in Retirement
* 38:14 – Knowing when ‘enough' is enough
* 41:53 – Moving Goalposts 
* 46:30 – What was it like buying a business with friends? 

Dana, thank you for accepting the invite to record a podcast together. I really appreciate it, and I look forward to seeing you again in the next events. 
If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com. 
Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well! We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 53:26 57567 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e546-common-lawsuit-claims/ Mon, 15 Apr 2024 16:29:39 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57497 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e546-common-lawsuit-claims/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e546-common-lawsuit-claims/feed/ 0 <p>John Di Giacomo joins us on the podcast today to talk about the most common lawsuit claims that he's personally seen in the past few years in the ecommerce industry, and how you can avoid them.  John Di Giacomo is the founding partner of Revision Legal, a law firm with expertise in Internet law, copyright …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e546-common-lawsuit-claims/">E546: The Most Common Lawsuit Claims in Ecommerce and How to Avoid Them</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> John Di Giacomo joins us on the podcast today to talk about the most common lawsuit claims that he's personally seen in the past few years in the ecommerce industry, and how you can avoid them.  John Di Giacomo is the founding partner of Revision Legal... John Di Giacomo is the founding partner of Revision Legal, a law firm with expertise in Internet law, copyright & trademark law, and related areas. 
Today, he's on the podcast to talk about the most common cases that have been on the rise recently. Specifically, we'll be talking about ADA Cases and CIPA claims, and how ecommerce sellers can protect themselves from these claims. 
The big takeaway here is to make sure that you're protected from these false claims. 
Because it's not a matter of if it happens, but a matter of when it happens. The best way to protect yourselves is to take preventive action before these claims ultimately kill your business, because it can definitely happen. 
John, thanks for coming on the podcast! It was nice having you back on after several years since your last episode and I hope to hear good news from you in the future. 
If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com. 
Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well! We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 29:52 57497 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e545-amazon-delays-new-fees/ Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:11:55 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57386 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e545-amazon-delays-new-fees/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e545-amazon-delays-new-fees/feed/ 0 <p>Dave and I discuss the delays to the New "Low Inventory" fees, how you can be exempted from those fees, and the impending FTC Investigation into Amazon.</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e545-amazon-delays-new-fees/">E545: Amazon Announces Delays to New Low Inventory Fees</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Dave and I discuss the delays to the New "Low Inventory" fees, how you can be exempted from those fees, and the impending FTC Investigation into Amazon. After months of complaints over the new fees, it seems like Amazon's heard (or read, in this case) the message that people aren't happy about being charged for having too little in FBA Warehouses. To gain some brownie points, they've decided to delay the effectivity date of these new fees. But what does this mean in the big picture? 
We all know that Amazon's being investigated by the FTC for their monopolistic practices. With that being said, why would Amazon choose to apply new fees that effectively erodes profit margin from third party sellers? 
We discuss that, and more in today's episode. Here's some timestamps below to get you started: 

* Intro – 0:00 
* Going to China and experiencing sandstorms – 0:31 
* The Great Wall of China – 1:53
* Big Amazon News & Official Announcement – 2:46 
* Exceptions for AWD Users – 5:46 
* “There are nuances to every business…” – 6:55 
* Amazon's Monopoly – 8:59 
* Investigating Overseas Sellers on Amazon – 10:52 
* FTC's Investigation into Amazon – 13:03 
* Why would Amazon announce new fees while being investigated by the FTC? – 16:32 
* The FANG Companies vs. TikTok – 22:02
* Making sure you're still profitable – 26:04

The big takeaway here is to make sure that you're still profitable. 
Go into your Amazon account, check out how much you are going to be charged in April for these fees, and adjust your pricing accordingly to make sure that you're still having a healthy and profitable business. 
If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com. 
Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well! We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 33:44 57386 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e544-successful-on-amazon-2024/ Mon, 01 Apr 2024 15:56:36 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57273 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e544-successful-on-amazon-2024/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e544-successful-on-amazon-2024/feed/ 0 <p>Neil Twa from High Voltage Business Builders joins us on the podcast to drop some massive value bombs. He breaks down how you can increase brand awareness on Amazon, his approaches to Product Development, and how you can restart the Honeymoon Period on Amazon. Listen in for some great lessons from Neil!  Amazon's only getting …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e544-successful-on-amazon-2024/">E544: What You Need to Do to Be Successful on Amazon in 2024</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Neil Twa from High Voltage Business Builders joins us on the podcast to drop some massive value bombs. He breaks down how you can increase brand awareness on Amazon, his approaches to Product Development, and how you can restart the Honeymoon Period on... Amazon's only getting tougher and tougher. 
It seems like the laundry list of things that you need to do to ensure success keeps getting longer and longer after each year, but what exactly are the things to do? 
I've asked Neil Twa to join me on the podcast today to talk about this very topic. Neil has actually given me a lot of high value thoughts during this recording that I think you should probably listen to on repeat over and over, as there are some things that just come off as surprising. 
Here are just a few: 
Lesson #1: Below the $50 retail price point, you'll be competing against a lot of brands. There isn't as much increase in competition in the price point of $50 – $150 retail. 
Lesson #2: Get more than 1 manufacturer just so you don't have all your eggs in one basket. 
Lesson #3: Never get started with electronics. 
If you want to skip to certain parts of today's episode, here are some timestamps!

* 0:00 – Intro
* 0:32 – Neil's Podcast 
* 1:20 – What you need to do to be successful on Amazon 
* 2:06 – Con #1: Platform Risk  
* 2:56 – Con #2: Increased competition 
* 4:38 – How to Increase Brand Awareness on Amazon
* 8:43 – How to approach Product Development 
* 12:46 – Why oversized products have to be priced correctly
* 14:54 – Never start with electronics
* 15:45 – Neil's product rules 
* 16:38 – How to increase your product's perceived value 
* 24:03 – How to restart the Honeymoon Period 
* 24:49 – Google Cosmo 
* 29:15 – How would you start an ecommerce business today?

Neil, I can't thank you enough for coming on the podcast. It was great having you on and these lessons are surely going to be valuable for a ton of listeners. 
If you guys want to hear more from Neil, check out the High Voltage Business Builders podcast! 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 32:28 57273 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e543-lessons-from-ecommercefuel-live/ Mon, 25 Mar 2024 11:25:44 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57161 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e543-lessons-from-ecommercefuel-live/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e543-lessons-from-ecommercefuel-live/feed/ 0 <p>Steve Chou makes an appearance on today's episode to discuss some key takeaways he and Mike learned while attending EcommerceFuel Live 2024.  It's conference season for eCommerce!  I just got back from ECF Live 2024, which was a great experience where I got to meet old friends and discuss a few of the issues that's …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e543-lessons-from-ecommercefuel-live/">E543: 4 Lessons from EcommerceFuel Live 2024</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Steve Chou makes an appearance on today's episode to discuss some key takeaways he and Mike learned while attending EcommerceFuel Live 2024.  It's conference season for eCommerce!  I just got back from ECF Live 2024, It's conference season for eCommerce! 
I just got back from ECF Live 2024, which was a great experience where I got to meet old friends and discuss a few of the issues that's been going on in the industry like Amazon's new fees, the recent Google update, and the ever-eroding margins. 
As always, I like to get someone who was at the conference with me to discuss some of the things that we've learned, and who else better than Steve Chou! Steve is a good friend of mine for several years now who runs My Wife Quit Her Job and is also hosting this year's Seller Summit, so we're live today to talk about the things we've learned. 
We talk about the 4 key takeaways that we came away with, and how we can apply it to our businesses. Here's some timestamps to get you guys going: 

* Intro – 0:00 
* Catching up with Steve – 0:30 
* Mike's favorite time of the year – 1:15
* Mike and Steve's ECF Live experience – 2:42 
* Steve's first takeaway #1: Google Update – 3:54
* The future of Search and AI – 4:29 
* How fast things change – 9:25 
* Second takeaway #2: Tiktok Shop – 10:37 
* Third takeaway #3: Higher profit margins are the key to success – 15:11
* Fourth takeaway #4: Amazon's New Fees – 18:01 
* What's happening in Seller Summit this year? – 23:06 
* Seller Summit's Mastermind Day – 23:45 
* Sign up for Seller's Summit – 27:07
* Why Mike hates flying – 30:03

Steve, it was great recording with you as always! I really appreciate you coming on and doing this podcast with me. If you guys would like to learn more about Steve, check out MyWifeQuitHerJob to learn more about him! 
Seller Summit is on May 13th and 14th this year, so get your tickets here and you can put in a special request to get Mike as your Mastermind Leader. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 31:56 57161 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e542-amazon-new-inventory-fees/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 16:33:33 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=57081 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e542-amazon-new-inventory-fees/#comments https://www.ecomcrew.com/e542-amazon-new-inventory-fees/feed/ 4 <p>With Amazon's most complex fee increase ever going live, Mike and Dave talk about what this means for sellers, the pros and cons for each change, and how you can avoid the most detrimental fees to your bottom line.  Amazon today announced its biggest fee increase ever, and more aggravatingly, the most complex fee increase ever.  …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e542-amazon-new-inventory-fees/">E542: How to Avoid Amazon’s Newest Inventory Fees</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> With Amazon's most complex fee increase ever going live, Mike and Dave talk about what this means for sellers, the pros and cons for each change, and how you can avoid the most detrimental fees to your bottom line. Amazon today announced its biggest fee increase ever, and more aggravatingly, the most complex fee increase ever. 
If you'd like to read more about it, check out our article here. We also recommend to check out Amazon's fee calculator to find out exactly how much additional fees will affect you. 
Dave and I will try to walk you through exactly what fees are changing and how it affects you. Warning—it's complex (probably deliberately by Amazon) and there's a lot to absorb.
Here are some timestamps: 

* Introduction – 0:00 
* Amazon Fee Change Intro – 0:31
* When the Fees Start – 2:03
* The Good News: Lower FBA Fees – 3:31 
* The Good News #2: Lower Storage Fees – 5:26 
* The Bad News: Inventory Placement Fees – 8:23
* The Worse News: Low Inventory Storage Fees – 22:08
* The Short Term and Long Term Impact – 35:17 

Here's some key takeaways and how you can avoid these new fees:
Amazon is lowering FBA Fees on April 15th, working out to 19c decrease for standard size items and 12c decrease on average for oversized. 
Amazon is lowering Storage Fees for standard size during non-peak times (Q1 – Q3) of the year from 87c to 78c per cubic foot. This will make it to around ~$50 per pallet for Standard Size. 
Inventory Placement Fees range from 21c – 68c depending on the size category. If you're using Amazon AWD, you don't pay any inbound placement fees at all.
If you use Amazon Global Logistics, you'll have to pay a placement fee to send the container to one place. Amazon may/may not adjust standard size container fees. Placement Fees don't apply if you sell oversized items with Amazon Global Logistics as well. 
Amazon will now charge you if you have too little in stock. To not pay this Low Inventory Storage Fee, you have three options. 

* Use AWD 
* Have more than 30days of inventory
* Have more than 90 days of inventory

The ideal situation here is to have between 29-181 days of inventory in stock to avoid paying aged inventory and low inventory storage fees. However, the problem with this fee structure, is that it doesn't take into account sudden changes to how much inventory is sold between each month. 
If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com. 
Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well!
Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 40:28 57081 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e541-losing-money-on-amazon/ Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:12:04 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=56988 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e541-losing-money-on-amazon/#respond https://www.ecomcrew.com/e541-losing-money-on-amazon/feed/ 0 <p>In today's episode, Dave and I discuss why there are so many sellers on Amazon losing money on each product? Because the lower prices do not make any sense at all.  Today's topic is something that I've been thinking about for awhile: how many people are losing money selling on Amazon?  You're probably thinking that …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e541-losing-money-on-amazon/">E541: How Many People are Losing Money Selling on Amazon?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> In today's episode, Dave and I discuss why there are so many sellers on Amazon losing money on each product? Because the lower prices do not make any sense at all.  Today's topic is something that I've been thinking about for awhile: how many people ar... Today's topic is something that I've been thinking about for awhile: how many people are losing money selling on Amazon? 
You're probably thinking that this question sounds ridiculous, but if you think about the increasing amount of competition and the higher platform fees, there does seem to be some basis for the question. 
Which begs the question: how many people are losing money selling on Amazon? Are they selling old inventory that isn't profitable anymore? Is the competition everywhere at this point? 
I thought this would be a topic that my partner Dave could chime in on from his perspective as a Canadian Seller, and also as someone who frequently visits China. 
Timestamps: 

* Intro – 0:00 
* Catching up with Dave – 0:30 
* How Many People are Losing Money Selling on Amazon? – 1:55
* The Types of Sellers Losing Money & Competition on Amazon – 3:57
* Sacrificing Margins for Brand Equity – 6:04 
* Fishy Practices to Avoid Paying Duties – 8:00 
* The Chinese Government is Providing Subsidies for Exporters?? – 8:51
* The Numbers Don't Make Sense – 11:02 
* Every Seller Has an Unprofitable SKU – 16:26
* The Problem with Product Research Tools – 19:53
* Bad Business People – 20:52 
* What Amazon's Q4 Earnings Report Tells Us – 23:09 
* Legacy Sellers Who've Suffered Through Events – 26:01
* Shortened Product Life Cycles – 30:47 
* What should happen to old products? – 32:27
* Prices are 20% lower than they should be – 33:37 

If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com. 
Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well!
Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 37:07 56988 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e540-goals-2024/ Mon, 04 Mar 2024 13:15:47 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=56783 <p>In this episode, Dave and I go through our list of business goals for 2024 for Ecomcrew, our personal business brands, and more!  Its been awhile since we've done an episode like this, but Dave and I thought of bringing it now since it was one of our more popular episodes from 2019. Some of …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e540-goals-2024/">E540: Our Business Goals for 2024</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> In this episode, Dave and I go through our list of business goals for 2024 for Ecomcrew, our personal business brands, and more!  Its been awhile since we've done an episode like this, but Dave and I thought of bringing it now since it was one of our m... Its been awhile since we've done an episode like this, but Dave and I thought of bringing it now since it was one of our more popular episodes from 2019.
Some of these goals were aimed for ourselves personally and for the company. In this episode, we'll go through each goal and our plan for achieving each one. 
If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 37:17 56783 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e539-leslie-pierson/ Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:04:50 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=56607 <p>Shark Tank is one of the biggest reality TV shows that almost every business owner knows about. It's not everyday that we get to interview a winner on the podcast.  But Leslie Pierson isn't just a typical business owner: she's an Ecomcrew Premium member.  In this episode, we get to talk about the multiple things …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e539-leslie-pierson/">E539: How Leslie Pierson Built A Shark Tank Winning Business</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Shark Tank is one of the biggest reality TV shows that almost every business owner knows about. It's not everyday that we get to interview a winner on the podcast.  But Leslie Pierson isn't just a typical business owner: she's an Ecomcrew Premium membe... But Leslie Pierson isn't just a typical business owner: she's an Ecomcrew Premium member. 
In this episode, we get to talk about the multiple things that led to how she built a Shark Tank Winning Business. From starting with selling laptop skins, to building a business out of a 7 year old's idea, Leslie covers her ecommerce journey from start to present. 
Leslie, thank you for the absolutely delightful conversation, it's been my favourite episode to record out of all 500 or so episodes. I hope to see you more in person, and I wish you and your family all the best with Tacos vs. Burritos. 
If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
 
Thanks for listening!
 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 43:40 56607 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e538-start-all-over-again/ Mon, 19 Feb 2024 10:36:31 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=56195 <p>Its hard enough trying to start an ecommerce business. Being a solopreneur means you'll have to be on top of your inventory levels, your PPC Campaigns, while also writing blog articles, making Youtube videos about your product and not to mention getting UGC from influencers.  But what does a 100+ person company look like? Better …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e538-start-all-over-again/">E538: If You Were to Start All Over Again, What Would You Do Differently?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Its hard enough trying to start an ecommerce business. Being a solopreneur means you'll have to be on top of your inventory levels, your PPC Campaigns, while also writing blog articles, making Youtube videos about your product and not to mention gettin... Being a solopreneur means you'll have to be on top of your inventory levels, your PPC Campaigns, while also writing blog articles, making Youtube videos about your product and not to mention getting UGC from influencers. 
But what does a 100+ person company look like? Better yet, what did it take to get to be able to sustain that level of overhead? 
We've invited Mike Bekham, the co-founder of Simple Modern and 9 Figure Business Owner, to the podcast to ask him the golden question. If he had to do it all over again, what would he do differently? 
We talk about how being part of a community and choosing the right niche can open up more growth opportunities than you realize, and how building a brand starts internally. 
Here's some timestamps to help you along: 

* 0:00 – Introduction 
* 0:31 – Podcast Start 
* 1:39 – Being a Part of an Amazon Community 
* 6:55 – “What Would You Do Differently?”
* 7:44 – Playing to your strengths 
* 8:34 – Choosing a product niche 
* 14:53 – Product Differentiation
* 17:07 – Differentiation without millions in capital 
* 24:13 – How Mike makes sure everyone's winning 
* 30:42 – What Mike's learned over the years 

Mike, thank you for coming on the podcast and sharing all of the things you'd consider heavily when starting over. I hope that everyone who listens enjoyed the episode as much as I had recording it with you, and wish you well for the rest of the year.  
 If you want to get in touch with Mike, you can find him at Linkedin or you can check out his Twitter. 
If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 34:44 56195 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e537-retail/ Mon, 12 Feb 2024 15:14:16 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=55997 <p>Today's episode is one that left me absolutely speechless during recording.  It's a hard topic to talk about when listing down a bunch of mistakes, but it's infinitely more difficult to talk about when the list of mistakes eventually lead to the death of your business.  Nevertheless, I commend John for coming on today to …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e537-retail/">E537: How Going Into Retail Killed John Terry’s Business</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Today's episode is one that left me absolutely speechless during recording.  It's a hard topic to talk about when listing down a bunch of mistakes, but it's infinitely more difficult to talk about when the list of mistakes eventually lead to the death ... It's a hard topic to talk about when listing down a bunch of mistakes, but it's infinitely more difficult to talk about when the list of mistakes eventually lead to the death of your business. 
Nevertheless, I commend John for coming on today to talk about how his business ended up this way, the “trap” of going into retail, and advice for those looking to expand into selling in any big box retailer. 
Here's some timestamps to help you along: 

* 0:00 – Introduction 
* 2:47 – Podcast Start 
* 3:03 – Under the Hood Overview
* 4:31 – Meeting with Walmart
* 7:16 – The Second Mistake 
* 7:48 – Kroger Reaching Out 
* 9:13 – Ordering Inventory for Retail 
* 11:34 – Kroger Privacy Around Logistics
* 12:35 – Kroger's Costs 
* 13:41 – Backing out from Kroger
* 14:42 – First Warning 
* 15:10 – Skyrocketing costs
* 18:27 – Poor performance in Walmart
* 20:24 – The goal moving forward
* 21:36 – Buying back inventory from Walmart 
* 22:25 – Why the product failed in retail
* 25:39 – Where to go from here
* 28:00 – Mike's advice
* 32:02 – John's advice to entrepreneurs 
* 37:21 – John's public adjusting business 

John, I can't thank you enough for coming on the podcast and sharing all of the painful things you went through. I hope that someone listens to the episode and knows not to get into retail for the prestige of it. 
We hope today’s episode was useful to you. If you want to get in touch with John, you can find him at Linkedin or you can check out his company, Crossroads Insurance Recovery. If you want to check out John's previous episode, click here.
If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 41:43 55997 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e536-add-backs/ Mon, 05 Feb 2024 13:54:58 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=55691 <p>When selling an ecommerce business, its important for owners to be compensated for the stressful one-time events that was experienced in the last 12 months when going to sell.  These are called “Add Backs”, but what are they exactly?  I've invited Chris Duty, an advisor from Quiet Light Brokerage, to talk about the various types …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e536-add-backs/">E536: The 10 Types of Add Backs You Need To Know When Selling Your Ecommerce Business</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> When selling an ecommerce business, its important for owners to be compensated for the stressful one-time events that was experienced in the last 12 months when going to sell.  These are called “Add Backs”, but what are they exactly? These are called “Add Backs”, but what are they exactly? 
I've invited Chris Duty, an advisor from Quiet Light Brokerage, to talk about the various types of Add Backs that you need to know about, why they matter, and how it can significantly impact the valuation of a business to potential buyers. 
Here's some timestamps for your convenience: 

* 0:00 – Introduction 
* 0:31 – Ad Spot 
* 2:46 – Background of Today's Subject
* 4:50 – What is an Add Back? 
* 7:16 – Accrual Accounting
* 11:04 – Owner Salaries 
* 13:20 – Value of Working Less 
* 16:13 – Payroll Taxes / Income Taxes 
* 17:53 – Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents and Other Legal Fees
* 19:44 – Change in Service Provider Costs 
* 20:26 – Employee Removal Costs  
* 22:21 – How Mike Views Add Backs 
* 27:33 – Cash Back / Points Credit Cards 
* 30:26 – What if you use a regular credit card?
* 31:51 – Masterminds & Ecommerce Courses 
* 32:27 – Lowered COGS 
* 37:46 – Negative Add Backs 
* 39:51 – Price Changes 
* 43:33 – Conclusion 

We hope today’s episode was useful to you. If you want to get in touch with Chris you can find him at Linkedin or you can check out the company at QuietLight.com. If you want to check out Chris' previous episode, click here.
If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 49:33 55691 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e535-ecommerce-difficulty/ Mon, 29 Jan 2024 16:13:35 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=55443 <p>Mike discusses some hard hitting points of e-commerce with long-time friend John Canetta, including whether e-commerce will ever get easier, the hidden stresses of running an ecommerce business, and how John was able to recover from losing 80% of his business during quarantine.  With a new year coming around, it looks like the ecommerce landscape …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e535-ecommerce-difficulty/">E535: Will E-commerce Ever Get Easier?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike discusses some hard hitting points of e-commerce with long-time friend John Canetta, including whether e-commerce will ever get easier, the hidden stresses of running an ecommerce business, and how John was able to recover from losing 80% of his b... With a new year coming around, it looks like the ecommerce landscape only gets more and more difficult. Amazon introduces more changes to storage fees, the number of competitors increase day by day, along with all the other stresses of a growing e-commerce business. In fact, the last time I've experienced an “easy” ecommerce year was back in 2019. 
That's why I've invited John over to the podcast to discuss today's topic. John is a 7-figure business owner, with almost as much (if not more) years in experience selling on Amazon and Google than I do.  
Here's some timestamps to help you skip to your favorite parts:

* 0:00 – Introduction
* 0:30 – Ad Spot
* 2:46 – Podcast Starts 
* 4:49 – Background on John
* 6:22 – The Hidden Stresses of an E-Commerce Business
* 9:15 – Difficulty of E-commerce
* 11:43 – Why Cash is King
* 13:10 – Ecommerce Struggles 
* 14:36 – Evaluating the Financial Model 
* 16:09 – The EOS Model 
* 17:33 – Tracking Return on Working Capital 
* 19:04 – 1 SKU Brand vs 100 SKU Brand 
* 22:51 – Machinery Manufacturing Issues 

As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Until next time, happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 31:13 55443 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e534-software-poll-2023/ Mon, 22 Jan 2024 14:28:29 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=55092 <p>It’s that time of the year again! In this episode, Dave and I will be revealing the winners (a couple of which you might not have expected) of last year’s survey to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories: Product and Keyword Research PPC Management Reimbursement Services Repricing Tool Listing Launch and …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e534-software-poll-2023/">E534: The Best Amazon Software of 2023</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> It’s that time of the year again! In this episode, Dave and I will be revealing the winners (a couple of which you might not have expected) of last year’s survey to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories: Product and Keyword Re... In this episode, Dave and I will be revealing the winners (a couple of which you might not have expected) of last year’s survey to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories:

* Product and Keyword Research
* PPC Management
* Reimbursement Services
* Repricing Tool
* Listing Launch and Promotion

On top of that, we’ll be talking about the software that we use in our day to day basis, and whether it's something Dave and I can't live without, the significant shifts in software usage among sellers, and the future of the SaaS ecosystem. 
To check out the full breakdown of our results, head over to our blog post of the Best Amazon Software of 2023. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy content like this. Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 41:14 55092 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e533-wins-fails-2023/ Mon, 15 Jan 2024 15:39:13 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=54591 <p>Mike and Dave review their biggest accomplishments and their deepest pitfalls in the past year.  In this episode, Mike and Dave are back to discuss the year in review, and the eventful things that happened in the past year, like traveling to China again after 3 years, visiting Hong Kong and India and the stark …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e533-wins-fails-2023/">E533: Mike’s Wins and Fails of 2023</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike and Dave review their biggest accomplishments and their deepest pitfalls in the past year.  In this episode, Mike and Dave are back to discuss the year in review, and the eventful things that happened in the past year, Mike and Dave review their biggest accomplishments and their deepest pitfalls in the past year. 
In this episode, Mike and Dave are back to discuss the year in review, and the eventful things that happened in the past year, like traveling to China again after 3 years, visiting Hong Kong and India and the stark differences between the two, and how Mike's experiences of loss and burnout affected him. 
I want to thank everyone for supporting the EcomCrew Podcast. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or are just tuning in, I appreciate your time and feedback. I’m sure 2024 will be another year of insightful podcast episodes, and I can’t wait to unpack which ones top the charts next time around.
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 37:39 E533: Mike's Wins and Fails of 2023 nonadult 54591 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e532-wins-and-fails-2023/ Mon, 08 Jan 2024 12:52:00 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=54057 <p>Mike and Dave reflect on 2023 and discuss the various wins and fails that Dave experienced this year, including traveling to China, Hong Kong, and India, the impact of COVID on business growth 3 years in, and how Dave lobbied to change policies around government taxation on digital advertising. The Ecomcrew Podcast is back after …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e532-wins-and-fails-2023/">E532: The Ecomcrew Podcast is Back! | Dave’s Wins and Fails of 2023</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike and Dave reflect on 2023 and discuss the various wins and fails that Dave experienced this year, including traveling to China, Hong Kong, and India, the impact of COVID on business growth 3 years in, and how Dave lobbied to change policies around ... Mike and Dave reflect on 2023 and discuss the various wins and fails that Dave experienced this year, including traveling to China, Hong Kong, and India, the impact of COVID on business growth 3 years in, and how Dave lobbied to change policies around government taxation on digital advertising.
The Ecomcrew Podcast is back after the holidays!
In this episode, Mike and Dave are back to discuss the year in review, and the eventful things that happened in the past year, like traveling to China again after 3 years, visiting Hong Kong and India and the stark differences between the two, and how the Government has knocked on Dave's door for the money that was given during COVID.
Here's some chapters to get you to the most interesting parts:
0:00 – Introduction and Reflection on COVID

2:01 – Traveling to China and Hong Kong

7:13 – Government Financing and Repayment

11:28 – Impact of COVID on Business Growth

18:28 – Government Taxation on Digital Advertising

37:27 – Impact of Sales Tax Laws on Small Businesses

39:28 – The Slow Progress of Bureaucratic Institutions

40:02 – Go and vote!

41:28 – Year in Review and Rating

42:14 – Adapting to Change in Ecommerce

45:12 – The Changing Dynamics of Business
I want to thank everyone for supporting the EcomCrew Podcast. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or are just tuning in, I appreciate your time and feedback. I’m sure 2024 will be another year of insightful podcast episodes, and I can’t wait to unpack which ones top the charts next time around.
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can.
Happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 42:47 E532: The Ecomcrew Podcast is Back! | Dave's Wins and Fails of 2023 nonadult 54057 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e531-top-10-2023/ Mon, 18 Dec 2023 13:39:59 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=53498 <p>  Today I'm joined with Ecomcrew's brand manager, Ben Iballa, as we review the episodes that made the top 10 list of the year and share our thoughts on each one.  2023 was a wild ride. I let go of most of my brands, while costs on Amazon increased by a LOT.  Here's a roundup …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e531-top-10-2023/">E531: The Top 10 EcomCrew Podcast Episodes of 2023</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>   Today I'm joined with Ecomcrew's brand manager, Ben Iballa, as we review the episodes that made the top 10 list of the year and share our thoughts on each one.  2023 was a wild ride. I let go of most of my brands,  
Today I'm joined with Ecomcrew's brand manager, Ben Iballa, as we review the episodes that made the top 10 list of the year and share our thoughts on each one. 
2023 was a wild ride. I let go of most of my brands, while costs on Amazon increased by a LOT. 
Here's a roundup of the top 10 episodes of the year. As a sneak peek, some of the best podcast episodes of 2023 includes when I sold most of my e-commerce businesses, the rising costs of selling on Amazon, and my perspective on retiring. 
Here's some timestamps to help you along: 

* 0:00 – Introduction
* 0:43 – Top 10 Episodes of 2023
* 3:25 – Year in Review
* 4:02 – Episode 10
* 7:08 – Episode 9
* 8:30 – Episode 8
* 9:43 – Episode 7
* 11:39 – Episode 6
* 13:25 – Episode 5
* 15:27 – Episode 4
* 17:25 – Episode 3
* 20:57 – Episode 2
* 23:14 – Episode 1

I want to thank everyone for supporting the EcomCrew Podcast. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or are just tuning in, I appreciate your time and feedback. I’m sure 2024 will be another year of insightful podcast episodes, and I can’t wait to unpack which ones top the charts next time around. 
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Happy selling! 
Full Audio Transcript 
Mike Jackness (00:05.588)

Hey Ben, welcome back to the show my friend.
Ben (00:09.822)

Nice to be here. Yeah, I think I've only done this twice or four times in total.
Mike Jackness (00:16.148)

No, I think we've done it at least four or five times. I think you're selling yourself short. What'll be interesting is, is if one of your episodes is on this list this year, I don't remember if you're on the list or not.
Ben (00:29.382)

We'll have to see.
Mike Jackness 

So I just took a brief look at it before recording. I love doing this episode. So we're doing the top 10 episodes of 2023. A couple of rules here. This year we did a November through November.
Mike Jackness (00:43.788)

because we always seem to record this in late November, early December. And so it just seems like it makes sense to do the trailing 12 months. And we always end up cutting out episodes from the end of the year when we're recording this. We've learned some lessons over the years. I think that doing like basically trailing 12 months of when we're recording makes a lot of sense. So that's the stats that we're using. We also have been working on growing our YouTube channel and all these episodes get posted to YouTube. And
we're doing a brief list of those episodes as well. And the thing that I find really interesting right off the bat, because I did briefly take a look at it, is that there's zero crossover between the two platforms, meaning that the number one episode on the podcast is not the number one episode on YouTube. In fact, neither of the top five episodes from one platform crossover to the other platform. In fact, I was only looking at the top five episodes on YouTube.
And none of those five episodes are in the top 10 for the podcast. So it's interesting. You know, I don't know if it's, I thought that people that were like podcast listeners were coming over and s...]]> Mike Jackness clean 37:43 E531: The Top 10 Podcast Episodes of 2023 nonadult 53498 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e530-software-poll/ Mon, 11 Dec 2023 15:37:29 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=53269 <p>In this episode, Mike and Dave talk about our upcoming Software Poll, and the evolution of software tools in the ecommerce space. They highlight the changes that they've personally seen in the Amazon software space over the past 4 years, including big valuations and the increase in competition. They also show how projects like these …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e530-software-poll/">E530: The Ecomcrew Software Poll is OPEN!</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> In this episode, Mike and Dave talk about our upcoming Software Poll, and the evolution of software tools in the ecommerce space. They highlight the changes that they've personally seen in the Amazon software space over the past 4 years, In this episode, Mike and Dave talk about our upcoming Software Poll, and the evolution of software tools in the ecommerce space.
They highlight the changes that they've personally seen in the Amazon software space over the past 4 years, including big valuations and the increase in competition. They also show how projects like these can give credibility to you and your niche and improve SEO rankings.
They discuss the categories of software tools, such as keyword and product research, PPC management, and reimbursement services. If you want to participate, go ahead to ecomcrew.com/softwarepoll 
Key Takeaways: 

* Software tools provide a ton of value for running an Amazon business, especially for solo entrepreneurs.
* The Amazon software space has seen significant changes, including big exits and increased competition.
* Software polls can help create credibility and improve search engine rankings for businesses.

Timestamps: 

* 00:00 Introduction
* 00:30 Annual Software Episode
* 02:01 Importance of Software in Business
* 02:52 Changes in Amazon Software
* 04:09 Reliance on Software Tools
* 05:38 Big Exits in the Software Space
* 06:24 Impact of Big Money in the Industry
* 07:05 Enterprise Offerings and Chinese Market
* 08:28 Creating Credibility with Software Polls
* 10:24 Changes in Messaging and Product Launch Services
* 12:11 Messaging Features in Seller Central
* 13:18 Historical Data and Trend Lines
* 14:14 SEO Strategy and Content Creation
* 17:29 Applying the Strategy to Other Industries
* 18:42 Trend Lines and Historical Data
* 19:10 Categories of Software Tools
* 20:24 Repricing Tools for Private Label Sellers 

Vote for your seller software here!
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Full Audio Transcript 
Mike Jackness (00:01.418)

Hey Dave, welcome back to the eComCrew podcast.
DJ (00:05.631)

Thank you. How are you?
Mike Jackness (00:07.678)

I'm good, I'm good. I keep on mentioning this in the beginning of all these episodes, because it feels like this project that isn't stopping, but we're having this big project on our backyard, and there's like sawing and hammering and all kinds of loud noises that I'm hoping aren't coming through the microphone. But for the last couple episodes, it sounds like it's been okay, and they're on the tail end of the project now. We're on the home stretch.
DJ (00:30.071)

Nice, nice. And so you have projects going on in your backyard. How about in your business? And on that note, what software tools are you using for the projects on your Amazon business?
Mike Jackness (00:35.874)

Hmm. Nice. Good segue. It is time for the annual software episode that we've been doing now for four years. It's pretty crazy actually that it's been that long. Interestingly, we just did the top episodes of 2023. And this episode along with the results episode were like one in three, which I think is crazy that people…
want to sit here and listen to this episode talking about the fact that...]]> Mike Jackness clean 25:17 E530: The Annual Ecomcrew Software Poll is Open! nonadult 53269 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e529-next-business/ Mon, 04 Dec 2023 10:51:05 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=52871 <p>After dropping a few hints here and there, Dave finally asks Mike the big question: what are you looking for in your next business? After getting into the mindset of selling all of my brands and getting back to the part of Amazon FBA that I really enjoy, I realized that it's not as fun …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e529-next-business/">E529: What Is Mike Looking For In His Next Business?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> After dropping a few hints here and there, Dave finally asks Mike the big question: what are you looking for in your next business? After getting into the mindset of selling all of my brands and getting back to the part of Amazon FBA that I really enjo... After dropping a few hints here and there, Dave finally asks Mike the big question: what are you looking for in your next business?
After getting into the mindset of selling all of my brands and getting back to the part of Amazon FBA that I really enjoy, I realized that it's not as fun as it used to be with my current business. I am trying to build it for the eventual sale, and after start a new business that's still within e-commerce. 
As most of you have probably noticed, I've dropped a few hints here and there about starting a new brand, and what better way to do so than discuss it with Dave on today's podcast! 
In this episode, we'll discuss a few criteria on what I would want my next venture to be, and whether Dave thinks they're unrealistic, or downright wishful thinking. 
Here's some timestamps to get you started:  

* Introduction – 0:00 
* How was BFCM for you, Mike? – 0:25
* The next project for Mike – 3:48
* Struggles that Mike's trying to avoid in the future – 5:22
* Mike's checklist for his next business – 13:05
* Priorities with higher margins – 13:46
* Increasing repeat business – 19:48
* Products that work multi-platform – 27:05
* A defensible moat around the business – 33:32
* Making complexity an opportunity – 37:47
* When is the new business getting started? – 39:55 

Audio Timestamps: 

* Introduction – 0:00 
* How was BFCM for you, Mike? – 0:53
* The next project for Mike – 3:56
* Struggles that Mike's trying to avoid in the future – 5:24
* Mike's checklist for his next business – 12:17
* Priorities with higher margins – 12:56
* Increasing repeat business – 18:27
* Products that work multi-platform – 24:47
* A defensible moat around the business – 30:31
* Making complexity an opportunity – 34:30
* When is the new business getting started? – 36:39 

I hope this is super helpful for those out there who are thinking of expanding their brand portfolio or starting a new business. If you are, leave a comment below on what you think your next business would ideally look like! 
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness:

This is Mike and welcome to this edition of the Ecom Crew podcast. How's it going, Dave? Doing good. We're doing some recordings here after American Thanksgiving. So I feel I feel full and thankful, I guess. And yeah, we're doing some podcasts today.
DJ:

This is Dave.
DJ: 

I'm doing well, how about you?
DJ:

How was your Amazon balance though? Is that full and thankful after Black Friday?
Mike Jackness (00:28.134)

Not really. It was not a real great Black Friday, Summer Monday for us, but it never really is with the brand that I kept. I didn't really expect to have a huge Black Friday, Summer Monday. In fact, I didn't even open up my app over the weekend because I was like, I don't want to see it. Just because we didn't run any Black Friday deals. I mean, we talked a little bit about this on the podcast over this year.
And so, I mean,]]> Mike Jackness clean 40:36 E529: What Is Mike Looking For In His Next Business? nonadult 52871 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e528-ecommerce-from-india/ Mon, 27 Nov 2023 10:26:20 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=52320 <p>Mike catches up with Aaron Hughes from Ecommerce Wala after the visit to India to talk about Aaron's background, how he got started in Ecommerce, and the differences between working with a team vs. online.  Today, we're joined by Aaron Hughes from Ecommerce Wala.  Aaron and I met during the India Sourcing Trip, and he …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e528-ecommerce-from-india/">E528: Running an Ecommerce Business from India</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike catches up with Aaron Hughes from Ecommerce Wala after the visit to India to talk about Aaron's background, how he got started in Ecommerce, and the differences between working with a team vs. online.  Today, Mike catches up with Aaron Hughes from Ecommerce Wala after the visit to India to talk about Aaron's background, how he got started in Ecommerce, and the differences between working with a team vs. online. 
Today, we're joined by Aaron Hughes from Ecommerce Wala. 
Aaron and I met during the India Sourcing Trip, and he was by far, one of the most different while still being from the US.  
I wanted to invite Aaron over to the podcast today to talk about how his ecommerce journey ended up in India, the cultural and ecommerce differences between the US and India and his company Ecommerce Wala. 
Audio Timestamps: 

* Introduction – 0:00 
* How Aaron Hughes' life lead to India – 2:47
* Getting over the differences between US & other countries – 5:32
* Aaron Hughes' Ecommerce Background – 9:12 
* Going all-in on Ecommerce – 11:32
* Working in-person vs online – 16:52
* Upcoming technology worries – 19:52
* How Aaron and his wife met – 22:46
* Adopting in India – 24:12 
* Growing a team to 60+ people – 25:35
* Ecommerce Wala and what they do from India – 27:15

Video Timestamps: 

* Introduction – 0:00 
* How Aaron Hughes' life lead to India – 2:34
* Getting over the differences between US & other countries – 5:41
* Aaron Hughes' Ecommerce Background – 9:41
* Going all-in on Ecommerce – 12:22
* Working in-person vs online – 18:04
* Upcoming technology worries – 21:25 
* How Aaron and his wife met – 24:39
* Adopting in India – 26:17
* Growing a team to 60+ people – 27:50 
* Ecommerce Wala and what they do from India – 29:43

Aaron, thank you again for coming on the podcast. We'll definitely meet up when you're in Las Vegas for a holiday. 
If you're interested in hiring from India, or hearing more from Aaron Hughes, you can check out his LinkedIn profile here. 
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling! 
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness (00:01.782)

Hey Aaron, welcome to the Ecom Crew Podcast.
Aaron Hughes (00:05.773)

Hey Mike, thanks for having me. Excited to be here.
Mike Jackness (00:07.434)

Yeah, great to have you, man. Super excited. Just seeing your face here brings me right back to a couple of months ago when we were in India and hanging out. So it's fun to touch base again.
Aaron Hughes (00:21.121)

Yeah, if only we would have sang that duet, you know, this would have been, I think, more meaningful, but we never got the chance.
Mike Jackness (00:26.802)

I tried, I asked you first, so it was on you.
Aaron Hughes (00:32.834)

Yeah, it's my lack of music knowledge.
Mike Jackness (00:36.643)

Music knowledge is not a problem for me, music ability on the other hand is a little bit of a problem.
Aaron Hughes (00:44.442)

I think you did pretty well out there on the stage.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 33:49 E528: Running an Ecommerce Business from India nonadult 52320 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e527-pros-and-cons-building-a-community/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:11:54 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=52127 <p>Ecomcrew Premium is finally opening in the next few days! Join the waitlist to get a discount for Black Friday, and get access to a community of like-minded e-commerce sellers.  With Ecomcrew being open, Dave and I thought it'd be a good time to reflect and compare the differences between a content site and product …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e527-pros-and-cons-building-a-community/">E527: The Pros and Cons of Building A Community and Content Site</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Ecomcrew Premium is finally opening in the next few days! Join the waitlist to get a discount for Black Friday, and get access to a community of like-minded e-commerce sellers.  With Ecomcrew being open, Dave and I thought it'd be a good time to reflec... Ecomcrew Premium is finally opening in the next few days! Join the waitlist to get a discount for Black Friday, and get access to a community of like-minded e-commerce sellers. 
With Ecomcrew being open, Dave and I thought it'd be a good time to reflect and compare the differences between a content site and product site. 
We talk about the pros and cons of building a community, the various platform risks in digital businesses that are unavoidable and our personal experiences with getting hit with a Google Update that ultimately led to less visitors.
Here are some timestamps to help you along: 
Video Timestamps:

* Introduction – 0:00 
* Migrating out of South California for Ecommerce – 1:02 
* The Good, Bad and Ugly with Running a Content Site – 6:12 
* Running a Digital Platform on Your Own Platform – 8:14
* Platform Risks – 9:14 
* Amazon is EASIER to Appeal to? [shorts] – 11:35 
* Getting Shut Down by Google [shorts] – 13:14
* Google Penalties – 15:00 
* Running a Content Business vs Product Business – 15:55
* Amazon Only Rewards Marketing > Quality [shorts] – 16:24 
* Difference Between Amazon and Google – 20:06
* Being Labelled as “Gurus” – 23:39
* Difference Between Ecomcrew vs. Gurus – 30:22
* Pros of Building a Community – 31:46
* Cons of Building a Community – 34:29
* The Full Customer Funnel of Ecomcrew Premium – 35:40
* Networking with Ecomcrew – 39:07
* New Ecomcrew Premium Features – 40:35 

Audio Timestamps:

* Introduction – 0:00 
* Migrating out of South California for Ecommerce – 1:30
* The Good, Bad and Ugly with Running a Content Site – 6:11
* Running a Digital Platform on Your Own Platform – 8:00
* Platform Risks – 8:52  
* Amazon is EASIER to Appeal to? [shorts] – 11:00 
* Getting Shut Down by Google [shorts] – 12:31
* Google Penalties – 14:05 
* Running a Content Business vs Product Business – 14:53
* Amazon Only Rewards Marketing > Quality [shorts] – 15:19 
* Difference Between Amazon and Google – 18:34
* Being Labelled as “Gurus” – 22:06
* Difference Between Ecomcrew vs. Gurus – 27:58
* Pros of Building a Community – 29:17
* Cons of Building a Community – 31:40
* The Full Customer Funnel of Ecomcrew Premium – 32:46
* Networking with Ecomcrew – 35:52
* New Ecomcrew Premium Features – 37:11 

As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Full Audio Transcript
Michael Jackness (00:59.798)

This is Mike and welcome to this edition of the EECOM Crew Podcast. How's it going, Dave?
DJ (01:00.923)

This is Dave.
DJ (01:07.059)

Going swell and how are you over in San Diego back in your stomping grounds?
Michael Jackness (01:10.002)

I'm doing good. Back in my old stomping grounds. Yeah. It's, uh, it's funny. Like I,]]> Mike Jackness clean 42:49 E527: The Pros and Cons of Building A Community and Content Site nonadult 52127 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e526-amazon-ppc-2024/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 12:32:11 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=51947 <p>Over the past 6 months, I've been diving back into the weeds of the business. So far, one of the biggest “weeds” would be optimizing my PPC spend and overhauling it to be as efficient as possible, without costing me a fortune.  And so, the research started. One of the biggest resources that I've learned …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e526-amazon-ppc-2024/">E526: Amazon PPC – Everything You Need To Do for in 2024</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Over the past 6 months, I've been diving back into the weeds of the business. So far, one of the biggest “weeds” would be optimizing my PPC spend and overhauling it to be as efficient as possible, without costing me a fortune.  And so, Over the past 6 months, I've been diving back into the weeds of the business. So far, one of the biggest “weeds” would be optimizing my PPC spend and overhauling it to be as efficient as possible, without costing me a fortune. 
And so, the research started. One of the biggest resources that I've learned from is Nomadz, and their Youtube Channel. To pay it forward, I've asked Lucas Kwiatkowski to come on the podcast and talk about everything you need to do for Amazon PPC in 2024 and beyond. 
If you'd like to skip ahead to the juicy parts, here's some video timestamps: 

* Introduction – 0:00
* How Nomadz Got Started – 1:40
* Improving Your Account – 3:35
* “How long until you see results from your ad campaigns?” – 6:47
* Best Keyword Quantity – 9:44
* Adjusting for Top of Search in Q4 – 10:05
* How to Use the Peel, Stick and Block Strategy – 16:46
* Dealing with Too Many Keywords – 18:45
* Where to Get Long Tail Keywords – 24:25
* Organic vs. PPC – 26:45
* Video Ads – 29:23
* PPC Training with Nomadz – 31:50

Lucas, thank you again for coming on the podcast to talk about all things PPC. We've definitely given the audience more than enough tips to learn about how to optimize their PPC strategies. 
If you're interested in Lucas and Nomadz, check out Nomadz. 
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Until next time, happy selling!
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness (00:01.657)

Hey Lucas, welcome to the EcomCrew podcast.
Lucas Kwiatkowski (00:05.422)

Hey Mike, thanks a lot for having me.
Mike Jackness (00:06.977)

Yeah, it's good having you. We wanted to invite you on, because as a lot of people probably know that I've been listening, I've been doing a ton of stuff with PPC, just kind of revamping everything from the ground up on Amazon. I just felt like it was time to get back into the game.
I had set up these SOPs that our team was following, shoot, back in probably 2016 or 17, and things have changed so much since then. And since getting rid of a bunch of people on our team it was kind of like it was a perfect time was like okay I need to get back in there and go learn everything I can and part of that was just consuming stuff on YouTube I mean I feel like everything can be found on YouTube whether it's Amazon PPC or the other day I was trying to figure out how to fix our garage door because they had an error code and everything everything's over there.
Lucas Kwiatkowski (00:53.518)

Hehehe
Mike Jackness (00:57.433)

But what I found is that most of the YouTube content, quite frankly, is pretty crap. Like you just sit there, you feel like you've wasted your time, and it was getting pretty frustrating. But I found myself going back to your guys' videos over and over again. So I thought this would be a cool way to kind of repay you guys for all the stuff that I was able to consume there. I'll let you mention your YouTube channel and stuff here in just a second. But yeah, thanks for putting out some great content. And…
Yeah, be cool to chat maybe for 30 minutes here about Amazon PPC.]]> Mike Jackness clean 38:57 E526: Everything You Need To Do for Amazon PPC in 2024 - Tips / Tricks from an Amazon PPC Manager nonadult 51947 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e525-employees-vs-no-employees/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 12:38:49 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=51613 <p>4 months after Mike scaled down his team, Dave checks in with him and how it feels like to get back in the weeds of his ecommerce business. Growing a team is second nature when revenue grows.  It's a natural by-product of success, to help the business grow even more in the next year.  But …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e525-employees-vs-no-employees/">E525: Employees vs. No Employees – Pros and Cons</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> 4 months after Mike scaled down his team, Dave checks in with him and how it feels like to get back in the weeds of his ecommerce business. Growing a team is second nature when revenue grows.  It's a natural by-product of success,
4 months after Mike scaled down his team, Dave checks in with him and how it feels like to get back in the weeds of his ecommerce business.
Growing a team is second nature when revenue grows. 
It's a natural by-product of success, to help the business grow even more in the next year. 
But what is it like to maintain a $5M ecommerce business when you only have 1-2 employees? Dave is on the podcast today to check in on Mike 4 months after scaling down from a 20+ person team, to 1-2 employees for his ecommerce businesses. 
They'll be discussing the differences of employees vs. no employees, contractors, and how being nice can do more bad than good. 
If you've been thinking about scaling up your team, this episode is definitely for you. 
Here are some timestamps to skip to your favorite parts: 

* 0:00 – Introduction
* 1:13 – Current Team Status
* 2:41 – Does everyone hit a stage where they don't want to manage?
* 3:32 – Employee Loyalty
* 7:27 – Generational Differences with Employment
* 11:28 – Pros and Cons of Contractors
* 13:11 – The Problem with Being Too Nice
* 13:54 – Feeling Bad About Assigning Mundane Tasks
* 22:28 – Pros of Being A Solopreneur
* 32:55 – Cons of Being A Solopreneur
* 35:49 – Losing Out On Growing As A Leader
* 38:51 – ROI on Employees
* 41:50 – Going to the Vegas Sphere 

As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Happy listening, and until next time, happy selling! 
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness:

This is Mike, and welcome to this edition of the eCom Crew Podcast. How's it going, Dave?
DJ (00:02.757)

This is Dave. Good, how about you?
Mike Jackness (00:09.982)

I'm still on the tail end of this jet lag crap. It's way better than it was a couple of days ago, but man, I tell you what, it is really tough for me when I come back. I know that after this weekend I'll probably be fine, but it was a very tough week for me. Did not get a lot done. Was not productive. Feeling just kind of blue because I'm not sleeping properly.
It's just affecting my well-being. So I'm looking forward to getting past that. I'm gonna be thinking seriously about any international trips moving forward because it's just like every time I come back, this is what happens and it's less and less fun.
DJ (00:44.233)

Yeah, yeah, well, I was fortunate not to get hit by that. I got hit by every other sickness on the planet in those three weeks, but I did not get hit with the jet lag sickness. So I'm all good on that end.
Mike Jackness (00:48.586)

Oh yeah.
Mike Jackness (00:54.066)

Yeah, luckily like I had no tummy issues of any kind, no sickness of any kind. I do feel like I'm getting a little sick right now just as I'm just so run down, but I think it's just fatigue. But yeah, I mean, traveling's fun, but it's not for the faint of heart.
DJ (01:09.257)

No, it isn't. What also is not for the faint of heart is running a business with no team members, which I guess is the topic of today's conversation.
Mike Jackness (01:19.462)

or significantly fewer team members at least,]]> Mike Jackness clean 42:22 E525: Employees vs. No Employees - Pros and Cons nonadult 51613 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e524-trade-shows/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:59:26 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=51431 <p>The India Sourcing Trip finally took place earlier this October! Dave and I, along with a few friends and loved ones, went to India for the first time to check out the India Ecomm Summit, visit a Manufacturing Factory and see the Taj Mahal.  It's only natural that we recap our experiences, while highlighting the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e524-trade-shows/">E524: Differences Between India Trade Shows vs. Chinese Trade Shows</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> The India Sourcing Trip finally took place earlier this October! Dave and I, along with a few friends and loved ones, went to India for the first time to check out the India Ecomm Summit, visit a Manufacturing Factory and see the Taj Mahal. The India Sourcing Trip finally took place earlier this October!
Dave and I, along with a few friends and loved ones, went to India for the first time to check out the India Ecomm Summit, visit a Manufacturing Factory and see the Taj Mahal. 
It's only natural that we recap our experiences, while highlighting the key differences between Chinese and Indian Trade Shows, and some things to expect once you visit either the Canton Fair or the India Ecomm Summit. 
Here's a few chapter markers you can easily refer to, either audio or video:

* 0:00 – Introduction
* 0:44 – Jet Lag
* 2:37 – Key Differences Between Chinese and Indian Trade Shows
* 3:37 – Product Differences
* 9:09 – Lack of Variety
* 13:49 – Product Quality
* 16:32 – Questions You Should Ask In Trade Shows
* 22:20 – Lack of Pressure
* 29:15 – Communication Differences
* 32:21 – Country Differences: Traffic Culture
* 37:14 – Country Differences: Sightseeing Diversity
* 38:50 – Visiting a Manufacturing Factory in India
* 42:43 – India Sourcing Trip 

Shoutout again to Meghla, for making everything possible for Dave and I and setting us up with this eye opening trip. 
If you're interested in possibly joining the India Sourcing Trip next year, check out India Sourcing Trip which is managed by our friend, Meghla Bhardwaj. If you'd like to learn more about Meghla Bhardwaj, check her out on her LinkedIn page.
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling! 
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness (00:27.106)

This is Mike and welcome to this edition of the eComCure Podcast. How's it going, Dave? I am unbelievably tired right now. This is the most tired I've ever been recording a podcast, but we have to record a podcast today to get it out for Monday because we want to do an India trip recap.
DJ (00:28.384)

This is Dave.
DJ (00:33.748)

Going well, how about you?
DJ (00:49.284)

Yeah, absolutely. And I guess you've been back in the US for two days now. I've been back for about a week after our three slash four week jaunt over in India, Hong Kong, for me, a couple other countries in between. But yeah, I guess this is kind of the recap show.
Mike Jackness (01:04.01)

It's the recap show. So this is a We'll start with the thing that's always on repeat, which is whenever I come back from Asia, I have just the worst jet lag like ever. I mean, to the point where every time I come back, I'm like, I'm never going there again, because it just it's so brutal. I don't know what
what it is, but when I get back, I just can't properly sleep. On the way there, it's really not that bad. I really, I mean, you were with me, I mean, really the worst of it is that I just gotta go to bed at nine or 10 o'clock at night, and I'm just a light switch, it's just like all of a sudden, I'm super tired, I gotta go to bed, and that's really the worst of it, but which isn't that bad, because I wake up at four a.m.,]]> Mike Jackness clean 41:59 E524: Differences Between India Trade Shows vs. Chinese Trade Shows nonadult 51431 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e523-regain-campaign-targeting/ Mon, 23 Oct 2023 12:18:26 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=51061 <p>Check out our sponsor, Portless, today!  Today we're joined by fellow creative and entrepreneur, Nicole Barnes from Marrow. Nicole Barnes is a 3 time ecommerce founder with awards from Shopify as Fastest Growing Company, along with international distribution of her product and partnerships with major brands.  Nicole now takes what she's learnt to help serve …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e523-regain-campaign-targeting/">E523: How To Regain Campaign Targeting Power for 2024</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Check out our sponsor, Portless, today!  Today we're joined by fellow creative and entrepreneur, Nicole Barnes from Marrow. Nicole Barnes is a 3 time ecommerce founder with awards from Shopify as Fastest Growing Company,
Check out our sponsor, Portless, today! 
Today we're joined by fellow creative and entrepreneur, Nicole Barnes from Marrow.
Nicole Barnes is a 3 time ecommerce founder with awards from Shopify as Fastest Growing Company, along with international distribution of her product and partnerships with major brands. 
Nicole now takes what she's learnt to help serve other founders through her creative strategy agency, Marrow, where she helps D2C brands thrive on paid socials and teaches founders how to regain campaign targeting power after the infamous iOS 14 update. 
We've spoken to other guests and made several articles about iOS' Privacy Changes before when they were freshly announced, but this will be the first look back after 3 years. Read about them here: 

* E439: Outlook Into the Future of Advertising
* Amazon Has 1.28GB of Personal Info on Me – Here’s What’s In It
* What iOS 15 Means for Email Marketing

Video Timestamps: 

* 0:00 – Introduction
* 0:31 – Looking Back at iOS 14's Effect on Ecommerce
* 1:56 – Nicole Barnes' Background
* 8:55 – How Nicole Built a Million Dollar Bike Empire from $1,000 
* 13:01 – How iOS 14's Update Changed Ecommerce After 3 years
* 22:25 – How To Regain Campaign Targeting Power for 2024 and Beyond 
* 25:01 – What Should Struggling Brands Do? 
* 27:09 – How Do You Lower Ad Costs? 
* 33:21 – Best Practices for Creative Strategy 
* 36:22 – Find Out More About Nicole Barnes and Marrow Marketing! 

Audio Timestamps: 

* 0:00 – Introduction
* 0:59 – Looking Back at iOS 14's Effect on Ecommerce
* 2:20 – Nicole Barnes' Background 
* 9:03 – How Nicole Built a Million Dollar Bike Empire from $1,000
* 13:06 – How iOS 14's Update Changed Ecommerce After 3 years 
* 22:00 – How To Regain Campaign Targeting Power for 2024 and Beyond 
* 24:32 – What Should Struggling Brands Do? 
* 26:35 – How Do You Lower Ad Costs?
* 32:21 – Best Practices for Creative Strategy 
* 35:00 – Find Out More About Nicole Barnes and Marrow Marketing! 

Nicole, thank you again for coming on the podcast and giving listeners an idea on how they can up their creative strategies in advertising. 
If you'd like to learn more about Nicole Barnes and Marrow Marketing, check her out on her LinkedIn page, and Marrow's Website. 
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling! 
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness (00:01.]]> Mike Jackness clean 36:41 E523: How To Regain Campaign Targeting Power for 2024 nonadult 51061 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e522-unravel-hidden-data/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 13:34:23 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=50634 <p> Check out our sponsor, Portless, today!  In this episode, Mike's joined by Greg Mercer to talk about how Amazon will change in the face of AI, JungleScout's new AI features and how these apply to sellers on the daily. Greg Mercer, the CEO of JungleScout, is back on the podcast to talk about AI …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e522-unravel-hidden-data/">E522: Amazon’s Hiding a LOT of Useful Data from Sellers. Here’s How You Can Unravel Them.</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Check out our sponsor, Portless, today!  In this episode, Mike's joined by Greg Mercer to talk about how Amazon will change in the face of AI, JungleScout's new AI features and how these apply to sellers on the daily. Greg Mercer,

Check out our sponsor, Portless, today! 
In this episode, Mike's joined by Greg Mercer to talk about how Amazon will change in the face of AI, JungleScout's new AI features and how these apply to sellers on the daily.
Greg Mercer, the CEO of JungleScout, is back on the podcast to talk about AI and how sellers can use JS' new AI features to fix the leaks, so to speak. We also talk about how AI can level the playing field, and how Amazon hides a lot of useful data that AI can unravel.
If you're curious about the latest developments in the software space, or for practical advice for beating the competition, this episode is for you!
Video Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
00:40 – AI in Ecommerce and Junglescout 
03:12 – Leveling the Playing Field on Copywriting and Data Analysis 
05:30 – Junglescout's New AI Features 
11:24 – Real-Life Applications for Junglescout's AI Features 
14:21 – Amazon's Hiding A Lot of Useful Data
17:33 – Tools are The New Way to Obtain The Competitive Advantage 
22:59 – “What should I be working on in my ecommerce business?”
27:23 – JungleScout's Roadmap for the Future 
32:06 – How will things change for customers on Amazon?

Audio Timestamps: 

00:00 – Introduction
01:09 – AI in Ecommerce and Junglescout 
03:27 – Leveling the Playing Field on Copywriting and Data Analysis 
05:32 – Junglescout's New AI Features 
11:00 – Real-Life Applications for Junglescout's AI Features 
14:11 – Amazon's Hiding A Lot of Useful Data
16:40 – Tools are The New Way to Obtain The Competitive Advantage 
21:58 – “What should I be working on in my ecommerce business?”
26:07 – JungleScout's Roadmap for the Future 
30:34 – How will things change for customers on Amazon?

Thank you again to Greg Mercer for coming on the show. It's always a blast to have him on.
If you're interested in signing up for JungleScout, I highly recommend you do so by checking them out here [affiliate link].
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Until next time, happy selling! 
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness (00:12.107)

Greg Mercer, welcome back to the Econ Crew Podcast.
Greg Mercer (00:33.686)

Mike, I'm excited to be here. It's been a long time since I've been on and I'm looking forward to it. This'll be awesome.
Mike Jackness (00:36.544)

It has.
Definitely, I was joking that you had your media team reach out to me, you have some intermediary now. I don't even get direct contact with Greg Mercer anymore. I know, I know. I figured, as soon as I saw the email, I know, it's just like they're going through the list of all the podcasts trying to get Greg on. And they're like, that was the easiest sell ever. The guy just replied back like, yeah, no problem. And that was that.
Greg Mercer (00:47.]]> Mike Jackness clean 9:39 E522: Amazon’s Hiding a LOT of Useful Data from Sellers. Here’s How You Can Unravel Them. nonadult 50634 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e521-price-optimization/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:50:33 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=50341 <p> Check out our sponsor, Portless, today! Chad Rubin is back on the podcast! He's an Amazon Seller of over 20 years, the ex-CEO of SKUBANA before it was acquired in 2021, one of the original founders of the Prosper Show conference.  Chad is back on the show to talk about Profasee, one of his …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e521-price-optimization/">E521: Why Increasing Prices on Amazon Is NOT AS BAD As You Think!</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Check out our sponsor, Portless, today! Chad Rubin is back on the podcast! He's an Amazon Seller of over 20 years, the ex-CEO of SKUBANA before it was acquired in 2021, one of the original founders of the Prosper Show conference.

Check out our sponsor, Portless, today!
Chad Rubin is back on the podcast! He's an Amazon Seller of over 20 years, the ex-CEO of SKUBANA before it was acquired in 2021, one of the original founders of the Prosper Show conference. 
Chad is back on the show to talk about Profasee, one of his latest ventures into the software space, that aims to reclaim profit margins without affecting your Amazon BSR, or your product ranking. 
Video Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
02:46 – Chad Rubin's ecommerce background
05:51 – Why Increasing Prices on Amazon Can Be A Great Option
11:32 – How Mike Tried to Increase Prices
13:36 – How Profasee Works
17:47 – What data does Profasee prioritise for success?
20:16 – Real life examples of Profasee's results
32:18 – Affiliate Offer for Profasee

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
03:03 – Chad Rubin's ecommerce background
05:55 – Why Increasing Prices on Amazon Can Be A Great Option
10:57 – How Mike Tried to Increase Prices
12:53 – How Profasee Works
16:40 – What data does Profasee prioritise for success?
19:01 – Real life examples of Profasee's results
30:12 – Affiliate Offer for Profasee

Chad, thank you again for coming on again to the podcast and dropping value bombs as always. 
If you're interested in Profasee, I highly recommend you do so by checking out this link. If you want to hear more of Chad's value bombs, follow him on his LinkedIn.
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling! 
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness (00:01.46):

Chad Rubin, man, welcome to the EcomCrew Podcast.
Chad Rubin (00:05.45):

Thank you, grateful to be here. Thanks for having me.
Mike Jackness (00:07.688):

Yeah, I'm super excited about this talk more excited than I usually am because this is something that I have like been personally super passionate about over the last, let's say 12 to 14 months, maybe 16. It's hard to everything's a blur these days. But as a lot of people who listen to us know, we recently just sold a business. It was a big deal for us. It happened on June 2.
And people also know that was kind of a long road, but if people have been listening, kind of part of our journey, I did some episodes way back, went about things we were doing to position that business to sell for more, you know, just increase enterprise value. And there was a lot of things that we worked on over the years, we switched our, our sourcing to China from, from domestic to save on margin, we improved logistics over time. We did a bunch of SEO work listing optimization. But one of those things that we did.
was to just start focusing on price and start raising price.]]> Mike Jackness clean 35:44 E521: Why Increasing Prices on Amazon Is NOT AS BAD As You Think! nonadult 50341 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e520-mina-elias/ Mon, 02 Oct 2023 14:11:50 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=50119 <p> Check out Portless today! Today we're joined by friend and fellow speaker, Mina Elias of Trivium Group.  Mina and I met doing the usual speaking rounds at several events and I've always felt like Mina knew how to walk the walk.  Mina is back on the podcast to drop some Value Bombs. From deconstructing …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e520-mina-elias/">E520: Breaking Down the Amazon Funnel with Mina Elias</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Check out Portless today! Today we're joined by friend and fellow speaker, Mina Elias of Trivium Group.  Mina and I met doing the usual speaking rounds at several events and I've always felt like Mina knew how to walk the walk. Check out Portless today!
Today we're joined by friend and fellow speaker, Mina Elias of Trivium Group. 
Mina and I met doing the usual speaking rounds at several events and I've always felt like Mina knew how to walk the walk. 
Mina is back on the podcast to drop some Value Bombs. From deconstructing the Amazon Funnel, to finding profit leaks in your business, Mina's advice is definitely not one to miss. 
Timestamps: 

* 0:00 – Introduction 
* 1:30 – Background on Mina Elias 
* 4:46 – Value Bomb #1 – Breaking Down the Amazon Funnel 
* 7:00 – Squeezing out Click-Through Rate 
* 12:37 – Meetup at Hong Kong 
* 13:40 – Value Bomb #2 – Raising Conversion Rates
* 15:09 – Optimizing Your Main Image to Increase Click-Through Rate
* 18:00 – Sneak Peek Into Next Week's Episode – Profasee with Chad Rubin 
* 24:50 – Finding Missed Opportunities 
* 28:18 – “How Do You Find Out What To Change First?” 
* 35:20 – Mike's Experience with Tinkering with Prices 

If you're interested in partnering with Mina for your business, I highly recommend you do so by checking out this link. If you want to hear more of Mina's value bombs, follow him on his LinkedIn or Instagram pages. 
As always, if you have any questions or anything that you need help with, reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling! 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 38:03 E520: Breaking Down the Amazon Funnel with Mina Elias nonadult 50119 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e519-growth-in-recession/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 13:10:17 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=49790 <p>Mike speaks with Avishai Sam Bitton, VP of Marketing and Growth at 8fig about the biggest challenges in ecommerce that everyone's been feeling lately, and how you can leverage AI to solve these issues at a low cost.  In this episode, we dive into the challenging landscape of e-commerce, workforce, and technology with Avishai Bitton, …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e519-growth-in-recession/">E519: Sustaining Ecommerce Growth During a Recession</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike speaks with Avishai Sam Bitton, VP of Marketing and Growth at 8fig about the biggest challenges in ecommerce that everyone's been feeling lately, and how you can leverage AI to solve these issues at a low cost.  In this episode, Mike speaks with Avishai Sam Bitton, VP of Marketing and Growth at 8fig about the biggest challenges in ecommerce that everyone's been feeling lately, and how you can leverage AI to solve these issues at a low cost. 
In this episode, we dive into the challenging landscape of e-commerce, workforce, and technology with Avishai Bitton, a distinguished expert in the field. Avishai, hailing from 8fig.co, specializes in using AI and data to tackle the challenges of cash flow management, supply chain optimization, and sustaining growth, especially during uncertain times. 
Join us as we explore how AI and generative technologies can help fill the holes in your businesses, especially as a small-sized business. 
Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
03:51 – Avishai's Introduction and Background 
09:50 – Discussion on the Impact of COVID-19 and Supply Chain Challenges
13:30 – Challenges of Inventory Management and Cash Flow
20:33 – The Impact of Generative AI on E-commerce 
24:00 – Workforce and Unemployment 
25:09 – Finding a Balance in the Labor Market 
28:07 – Opportunities for Business and Entrepreneurship 

I hope you had some key takeaways from this episode. To explore the tools and resources mentioned in this episode, visit 8fig.co for more information. If you want to contact Avishai directly, you can connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn for more insights. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 38:11 49790 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e518-amazon-reimbursements/ Mon, 18 Sep 2023 12:10:21 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=49588 <p> Check out GETIDA with our affiliate link! According to last year's Software Poll, a whopping 37% of sellers are NOT using a reimbursement service of any kind. As Yoni mentions in today's episode, that is not only a significant loss in cost, but also a loss in potential profit margins that you could have gained.  …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e518-amazon-reimbursements/">E518: How To Get Amazon To Reimburse You For Losing Inventory</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Check out GETIDA with our affiliate link! According to last year's Software Poll, a whopping 37% of sellers are NOT using a reimbursement service of any kind. As Yoni mentions in today's episode, that is not only a significant loss in cost, Check out GETIDA with our affiliate link!
According to last year's Software Poll, a whopping 37% of sellers are NOT using a reimbursement service of any kind. As Yoni mentions in today's episode, that is not only a significant loss in cost, but also a loss in potential profit margins that you could have gained. 
Yoni Mazor is today's guest, and the CGO of GETIDA, one of the biggest companies out there specializing in Auditing and Reimbursements for Amazon Sellers. We talk about the common mistakes that Amazon makes, how you can claim reimbursements from Amazon for free, and the amount of inventory lost in Amazon FBA on today's episode. 
If you've ever been reclassified into a different FBA size tier, (which is extremely common) then this episode is definitely for you. Here are some chapter markers: 

* 0:00 – Introduction 
* 1:02 – Amazon Is Stealing Money From You
* 2:57 – Why Amazon Is Better Than Other Marketplaces with Reimbursements 
* 4:13 – “What is Amazon infamous for, and what can you do about it?”
* 5:50 – “What Percentage of Shipments Are Lost?”
* 9:07 – How To Claim Reimbursements From Amazon and Make Money
* 11:55 – GETIDA: Pricing, ROI and Return of Frustration
* 18:12 – Mike's Latest Inventory Issue
* 20:16 – “What Else Can You Get Reimbursed For?”
* 25:08 – Why Reimbursement Services Are Worth It
* 26:31 – Where did GETIDA's name come from?

If anything, I'd like for you to walk away with the fact that having a reimbursement service is no longer optional and that you're leaving money on the table if not. If you’re interested in GETIDA, check out our affiliate link here! 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 29:38 E518: How To Get Amazon To Reimburse You For Losing Inventory nonadult 49588 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e517-squeezing-profitability/ Mon, 11 Sep 2023 13:43:10 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=49414 <p>Back in July, I announced on the podcast recently where my headspace has been at and the events that lead to the possible reasons why.  At the start of August, the wheels were set in motion and I ended up selling 2 more ecommerce brands. Dave and I ended on a cliffhanger on that episode, and this …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e517-squeezing-profitability/">E517: How Mike Is Squeezing Out As Much Profitability As Possible Before Selling</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Back in July, I announced on the podcast recently where my headspace has been at and the events that lead to the possible reasons why.  At the start of August, the wheels were set in motion and I ended up selling 2 more ecommerce brands.

Back in July, I announced on the podcast recently where my headspace has been at and the events that lead to the possible reasons why. 
At the start of August, the wheels were set in motion and I ended up selling 2 more ecommerce brands.
Dave and I ended on a cliffhanger on that episode, and this is the official Part 2 where Dave and I talk about what I've been up to and how I've been squeezing out as much profitability as possible before selling – from Avoiding Amazon's HUGE Inventory Costs, to using Freelancers to make up for manpower and more, you won't want to miss this one.   
Here's a few chapter markers that you can easily refer to: 
Audio Timestamps: 

* Introduction – 0:00 
* A Quick Recap – 1:13
* Creating New Reports to Make Things Efficient – 2:43
* How Dave Automates Forecast Reports – 7:45
* How Mike Avoids Amazon's New Storage Costs – 10:06
* How Dave Deals With Inventory – 18:13
* Shifting to One Employee: What Roles Are Essential? – 25:11
* Essential Roles Dave Hires For – 29:05
* The Real Costs of Employees – 32:55
* A Short Discussion About PPC – 36:14
* Pricing and Coupons – 37:08 
* Hidden Gem: Bulk Packs – 41:38
* The Challenge of Accurate Bookkeeping – 43:31 
* The Last Tip: 2% Cashback Rewards – 50:22

Video Timestamps: 

* Introduction – 0:00 
* A Quick Recap – 0:44
* Creating New Reports to Make Things Efficient – 2:22
* How Dave Automates Forecast Reports – 7:48 
* How Mike Avoids Amazon's New Storage Costs – 10:17
* How Dave Deals With Inventory – 19:01
* Shifting to One Employee: What Roles Are Essential? – 26:23
* Essential Roles Dave Hires For – 30:33
* The Real Costs of Employees – 34:44
* A Short Discussion About PPC – 38:24
* Pricing and Coupons – 39:24
* Hidden Gem: Bulk Packs – 44:10
* The Challenge of Accurate Bookkeeping – 46:10 
* The Last Tip: 2% Cashback Rewards – 53:29

Stay tuned as we continue to update on our future plans, and for our special PPC episode we're planning for!
I hope you took away some valuable profit-saving insights from this episode. Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to support@ecomcrew.com.
Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 39:21 E517: How Mike Is Squeezing Out As Much Profitability As Possible Before Selling nonadult 49414 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e516-6-year-update/ Mon, 04 Sep 2023 15:17:26 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=48959 <p>Every year since 2017, I've chronicled rebuilding a 7-figure brand from scratch after the sale of my previous company.  For this episode, I’ll be giving my 6th annual update while also having this exact brand now be listed for sale in QuietLight Brokerage. As usual, I'll detail the wins, losses, why I've decided to put …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e516-6-year-update/">E516: Rebuilding (and Selling!) A $1M Brand – Dave’s Year 6 Update</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Every year since 2017, I've chronicled rebuilding a 7-figure brand from scratch after the sale of my previous company.  For this episode, I’ll be giving my 6th annual update while also having this exact brand now be listed for sale in QuietLight Broker... Every year since 2017, I've chronicled rebuilding a 7-figure brand from scratch after the sale of my previous company. 
For this episode, I’ll be giving my 6th annual update while also having this exact brand now be listed for sale in QuietLight Brokerage. As usual, I'll detail the wins, losses, why I've decided to put the brand up for sale, and what my brand might actually be worth!  
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the blog article here, along with all the previous updates:

* Rebuilding a Million-Dollar Brand: 6 Year Update 
* Rebuilding a Million-Dollar Brand: 5 Year Update
* Rebuilding a Million-Dollar Brand: 4 Year Update

First, I'll answer the question that's on everyone's mind: Why?, and then I'll touch on why this brand might be a good fit for you, or why it might not. 
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00 
Today's Episode Is Going To Be A Unique One – 00:53
Why I'm Choosing to Sell My Business – 2:02
A Sneak Peek Into The Numbers Of This Brand – 7:59
Dave’s Biggest Wins – 10:06
Why This Brand Might Be Great For You – 12:52
Why It Might Not Be A Good Fit – 17:02
Closing Thoughts – 21:47

There will definitely be a lot more to unpack once all is said and done. For now, you can check out all the other good stuff we have on the EcomCrew Podcast, YouTube channel, and Blog. 
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes. Until the next one, happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 25:30 48959 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e515-portless-gamechanger/ Mon, 28 Aug 2023 11:55:47 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=48601 <p>No matter how rich you are, you'll always be running into issues with cash flow the longer you're running an ecommerce business.  Money gets tied up for weeks and up to months at a time while waiting for your inventory to reach local warehouses, but it doesn't have to be with Portless. Izzy Rozensweig, the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e515-portless-gamechanger/">E515: Can You Ship Direct to Customers from China for Cheap?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> No matter how rich you are, you'll always be running into issues with cash flow the longer you're running an ecommerce business.  Money gets tied up for weeks and up to months at a time while waiting for your inventory to reach local warehouses,
No matter how rich you are, you'll always be running into issues with cash flow the longer you're running an ecommerce business. 
Money gets tied up for weeks and up to months at a time while waiting for your inventory to reach local warehouses, but it doesn't have to be with Portless.
Izzy Rozensweig, the CEO of Portless, joins me in today's podcast to talk about how Portless was founded, how it operates, and how his game changer can be leveraged to improve your cash flow by multiples – not just by a few percent. 
Timestamps: 

* 0:00 – Introduction 
* 1:10 – Izzy's background in e-commerce 
* 6:21 – How Portless was founded 
* 10:50 – What does it cost for a typical small package?
* 14:12 – How Portless handles next-day shipping  
* 17:25 – Is Portless appropriate for large, bulky products? 
* 18:55 – Improving cash flow by magnitudes with DTC shipping  
* 26:33 – Quick Fire Question #1: Does this work for any region in China? 
* 27:00 – Quick Fire Question #2: What's the threshold for the size of business? 
* 27:35 – Quick Fire Question #3: Where can they find more about Izzy and Portless? 
* 28:54 – Risks associated with shipping DTC 
* 30:06 – Other countries that DTC shipping applies to 
* 30:36 – Does Portless provide services for FBA? 

If you're interested in partnering with Portless, I highly recommend you do so by checking out this link. If you'd like to speak to Izzy directly, contact him on his LinkedIn or Twitter pages. 
We'd also love to have you on in a future episode to talk about your experiences with Portless if you do decide to partner with them! Reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com if you're interested. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling! 
 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 34:05 E515: Can You Ship Direct to Customers from China for Cheap? nonadult 48601 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e514-amazon-influencer-program/ Mon, 21 Aug 2023 07:26:17 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=48366 <p>Want to start a new side hustle? Check out Fluencer Fruit now!  As an Amazon seller, getting traffic to your listing is always a high-value priority.  One way to do this is through influencer marketing, where you pay influencers to promote and direct their audience to your storefront.  Is this what the Amazon Influencer program helps …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e514-amazon-influencer-program/">E514: The Most Useful Amazon Program You’re Missing Out On</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Want to start a new side hustle? Check out Fluencer Fruit now!  As an Amazon seller, getting traffic to your listing is always a high-value priority.  One way to do this is through influencer marketing, where you pay influencers to promote and direct t... Want to start a new side hustle? Check out Fluencer Fruit now! 
As an Amazon seller, getting traffic to your listing is always a high-value priority.  One way to do this is through influencer marketing, where you pay influencers to promote and direct their audience to your storefront. 
Is this what the Amazon Influencer program helps with? What's the difference between this and the Amazon Associates program? We tackle all that today with our guest, Liz Saunders. 
Liz Saunders is a first-time guest on the podcast, and an Amazon Seller since 2016. She spoke this year at Steve Chou's Seller Summit for the first time, and her topic on the program amazed me so much that I had to invite her on today's podcast to discuss more about it.  
Audio Timestamps: 

* 0:00 – Introduction 
* 2:11 – Liz Saunders' background 
* 3:38 – What is the Amazon Influencer Program? 
* 10:58 – Case Study on the Impact of Influencer Content 
* 13:27 – Statistics on Copy vs Video, UGC vs brand content
* 14:12 – How to get more influencers to work with you 
* 19:52 – Early Results on the Case Study 
* 21:48 – “Do you own the content that Influencers make?” 
* 22:17 – Amazon Inspire
* 28:15 – Helping Influencers Make Money 
* 34:12 – Reach out to Liz Saunders
* 34:52 – The requirements to join the Amazon Influencer Program 

I hope you took away some valuable insights from this episode. If you’re interested in Fluencer Fruit, get the Chrome Extension with code ECOMCREW and get 50% off for life.  
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening!
Until next time, happy selling! 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 38:02 48366 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e513-selling-on-amazon-expensive/ Mon, 14 Aug 2023 13:50:24 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=47723 <p>Joining me today is the ever-insightful Bernie Thompson. Since his last appearance on the podcast in 2018, Bernie and I have met again recently at a few conferences which were put on pause because of COVID.  I first met Bernie at The Global Sources Summit in Asia quite a number of years ago as a …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e513-selling-on-amazon-expensive/">E513: How Did Selling on Amazon Become So Expensive in 2023? </a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Joining me today is the ever-insightful Bernie Thompson. Since his last appearance on the podcast in 2018, Bernie and I have met again recently at a few conferences which were put on pause because of COVID. Joining me today is the ever-insightful Bernie Thompson. Since his last appearance on the podcast in 2018, Bernie and I have met again recently at a few conferences which were put on pause because of COVID. 
I first met Bernie at The Global Sources Summit in Asia quite a number of years ago as a fellow guest speaker, and he’s been a good friend ever since. He’s one of the co-founders of PPC Ninja, and is also selling on Amazon.
In today’s episode, Bernie and I talk about how Amazon’s changed in terms of organic vs. sponsored products, how Amazon has become an advertising wall of products, and why we feel like black hat tactics don’t get punished enough. 
Audio Timestamps:  

* 0:00 – Introduction
* 1:33 – What do you see as The Big Picture these days in Ecommerce / Amazon? 
* 6:38 – Why it’s impossible to source from the US 
* 9:50 – How Amazon Advertising has changed 
* 16:16 – Black hat tactics don’t get punished enough 
* 22:00 – PPC Ninja

Video Timestamps:

* 00:00 – Introduction
* 01:13 – What do you see as The Big Picture these days in Ecommerce / Amazon? 
* 06:55 – Why it’s impossible to source from the US 
* 10:37 – How Amazon Advertising has changed 
* 18:05 – The Controversial World of Black Hat Tactics
* 24:38 – PPC Ninja

I hope you took away some valuable insights from this episode. If you’re interested in PPC Ninja, use code ECOMCREW and get an extended trial for free. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to help you in any way we can. 
Thanks for listening! Until next time, happy selling! 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 29:44 E513: How Did Selling on Amazon Become So Expensive in 2023? nonadult 47723 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e512-selling-more-brands/ Mon, 07 Aug 2023 11:02:46 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=47219 <p> Back in July, I announced on the podcast recently where my headspace has been at and the events that lead to the possible reasons why.  The future however, had other plans. Things have progressed faster than I've come to expect, and that's what Dave and I discuss on today's episode.  Dave and I recount what's been …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e512-selling-more-brands/">E512: Life Update – Selling 2 More Ecommerce Brands</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Back in July, I announced on the podcast recently where my headspace has been at and the events that lead to the possible reasons why.  The future however, had other plans. Things have progressed faster than I've come to expect,
Back in July, I announced on the podcast recently where my headspace has been at and the events that lead to the possible reasons why. 
The future however, had other plans. Things have progressed faster than I've come to expect, and that's what Dave and I discuss on today's episode. 
Dave and I recount what's been happening in the past few weeks, which include multiple business sales, the value of content websites with AI looming over the horizon, and the ever delicate balance of expanding vs. streamlining my portfolio. 
Video Time Stamps:

* 00:00 – Introduction
* 01:43 – Mike’s Garage Sale Madness
* 03:23 – The Unexpected Sale of Another Business
* 05:21 – Expanding vs. Streamlining
* 14:55 – The Future of Content Sites with AI 
* 20:35 – Selling WildBaby
* 31:28 – Retirement and Future Plans 
* 35:42 – Becoming an Investor and Reinventing Oneself
* 40:51 – The Importance of Setting and Not Moving Goalposts

Audio Timestamps: 

00:00 – Introduction 
02:03 – Mike’s Garage Sale Madness 
03:34 – The Unexpected Sale of Another Business
05:23 – Expanding vs. Streamlining 
14:09 – The Future of Content Sites with AI 
19:15 – Letting Go of the Third Business  
29:05 – Retirement and Future Plans 
32:55 – Reinventing Himself
37:30 – The Importance of Not Moving Goalposts

So stay tuned, as we continue to update on my plans for the future and what I've been doing in the weeds of ecommerce!
I hope you took away some valuable insights from this episode. Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to support@ecomcrew.com.
Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 45:19 E512: Life Update – Selling 2 More Ecommerce Brands nonadult 47219 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e511-is-ai-killing-copywriters/ Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:09:47 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=46743 <p>Today, we're joined by Lianna Patch of Punchline Copy. I first met Lianna as one of the speakers during ECF Live 3-4 years ago, and I absolutely loved her presentation. Since then, I’ve had her on the show back in Episode 307 to talk about improving conversions through copy and now she makes her appearance …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e511-is-ai-killing-copywriters/">E511: Is AI Killing Copywriters?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Today, we're joined by Lianna Patch of Punchline Copy. I first met Lianna as one of the speakers during ECF Live 3-4 years ago, and I absolutely loved her presentation. Since then, I’ve had her on the show back in Episode 307 to talk about improving co...
Today, we're joined by Lianna Patch of Punchline Copy. I first met Lianna as one of the speakers during ECF Live 3-4 years ago, and I absolutely loved her presentation. Since then, I’ve had her on the show back in Episode 307 to talk about improving conversions through copy and now she makes her appearance again! 
Lianna Patch is back on the podcast to delve into AI's influence on copywriting and what it means for the industry. As AI technology continues to advance, the knee jerk reaction always seems to revolve around how AI will be replacing people and their skills, so I knew I had to get Lianna’s opinion as an expert copywriter.
Timestamps:

* 00:00 – Introduction
* 01:30 – Lianna’s Background
* 02:20 – How does Lianna See the World Changing with AI? 
* 07:33 – Why Copywriters Will Become More Valuable   
* 09:21 – Why Copywriters Should Embrace AI 
* 11:29 – How Liana Uses AI in Her Business Today
* 17:11 – The Future of AI 
* 22:03 – AI & The Writer’s Strike 
* 23:59 – How to Use AI to Be A Better Copywriter
* 25:51 – Embracing / Rejecting AI 
* 32:00 – Contact Lianna 

Lianna, thank you for joining me on today’s episode. If you’d like to contact Lianna for any business inquiries, reach out to her on twitter or on her website, PunchlineCopy.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes. 
Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 33:17 E511: Is AI Killing Copywriters? nonadult 46743 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e510-consumer-behaviour-survey-2023/ Mon, 24 Jul 2023 05:15:28 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=46031 <p>The numbers are out! In this episode, Mike and Dave unpack the recently concluded 2023 version of our Amazon Consumer Behaviour survey, and compare the results against last year. Dave and I are thrilled to present our second annual consumer research report. We explore intriguing insights into consumer preferences, buying behavior, and the growing significance …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e510-consumer-behaviour-survey-2023/">E510: Highlights From Ecomcrew’s 2023 Amazon Consumer Survey</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> The numbers are out! In this episode, Mike and Dave unpack the recently concluded 2023 version of our Amazon Consumer Behaviour survey, and compare the results against last year. Dave and I are thrilled to present our second annual consumer research re... Dave and I are thrilled to present our second annual consumer research report. We explore intriguing insights into consumer preferences, buying behavior, and the growing significance of product authenticity. 
We discussed Prime Day's influence on consumer behavior, identified the most “evil” tech company, and analyzed shopping trends during Black Friday. The reported increase in sales on walmart.com surprised us and sparked speculations about its impact on Amazon's market share. 
Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
01:18 – Prime Day Insights 
08:58 – Who's the Most “Evil” Tech Company?
11:36 – Analyzing Consumer Behavior on Black Friday and Prime Day 
15:18 – The Dark Side of Big Tech
19:07 – Minimum Wage and Social Impact
19:42 – Counterfeit Products on Amazon
30:28 – The Value of Buying Directly from Vendors vs. Marketplace Sellers
32:43 – Product Returns on Amazon and Its Impact on Parents
40:21 – Amazon as a Product Search Engine

We hope you enjoyed our engaging exploration of the dynamic landscape of online shopping. Until next time, happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 47:56 46031 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e509-life-update/ Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:00:02 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=45447 <p>Today, Dave and I are diving into some events this year that have led to me ultimately choosing to let go of all my brands. We discussed a little bit on the last podcast episode, but Dave and I also discuss the rest of my plans for the future and moving towards embodying The One …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e509-life-update/">E509: Life Update – Mike Jackness’ Plans for the Next Year</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Today, Dave and I are diving into some events this year that have led to me ultimately choosing to let go of all my brands. We discussed a little bit on the last podcast episode, but Dave and I also discuss the rest of my plans for the future and movin... Today, Dave and I are diving into some events this year that have led to me ultimately choosing to let go of all my brands.
We discussed a little bit on the last podcast episode, but Dave and I also discuss the rest of my plans for the future and moving towards embodying The One Thing. 
Here’s a few specific questions that Dave tossed out: 


Were your other businesses being negatively impacted while you were a CEO for this previous project?


What’s the maximum amount of businesses should a person have while giving a reasonable amount of attention to? 


What’s the next business for Mike? 


Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
01:35 – Reflecting on the recent sale of our business
03:09 – Lessons learned and evaluating decisions
09:21 – Balancing multiple projects and finding focus
20:54 – The Benefits and Challenges of Multiple E-commerce Brands
22:19 – Focusing on a Single E-commerce Brand
25:44 – The Decision to Sell Off Brands and Find the One Thing to Focus On
27:24 – Vision for the Future and Buying a Business
33:04 – Reflecting on the Frustration of Selling the Previous Business
36:44 – Changing Business Landscape
39:11 – Excitement for a New Business Venture

So stay tuned, as we continue to explore this ever-evolving industry together!
I hope you took away some valuable insights from this episode that you can use to sort out your business goals for this year. Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. 
Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 45:30 45447 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e508-selling-my-business/ Mon, 10 Jul 2023 08:46:12 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=45089 <p>After 3 years, I’m glad to announce that I’ve sold one of my businesses.  Joining me today is the broker that helped me with the transition, Chris Duty from Quiet Light Brokerage. Chris and I explore the process of selling a business that I, alongside investors from ECF Capital, acquired in late 2020, and what …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e508-selling-my-business/">E508: Selling My E-commerce Business After 3 Years</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> After 3 years, I’m glad to announce that I’ve sold one of my businesses.  Joining me today is the broker that helped me with the transition, Chris Duty from Quiet Light Brokerage. Chris and I explore the process of selling a business that I, After 3 years, I’m glad to announce that I’ve sold one of my businesses. 
Joining me today is the broker that helped me with the transition, Chris Duty from Quiet Light Brokerage. Chris and I explore the process of selling a business that I, alongside investors from ECF Capital, acquired in late 2020, and what transpired along the way (which includes some unfortunate events). 
One of the key takeaways from this episode is that the process isn’t over until it’s over. 
Some roadblocks might pop up along the way, but it’s always important to move onto the next step until the whole process is complete. If you’re considering on selling your business, or if you want to hear the fun (or unlucky) details of my journey in trying to sell this business, today’s episode is definitely one to save. 
Here’s today’s main points: 
Timestamps:

* 00:00 – Introduction
* 01:50 – Ground rules of today’s discussion
* 03:04 – The backstory of our sale 
* 08:39 – Today’s main takeaway: It’s not done until it’s done. 
* 14:41 – How Chris approaches a business sale  
* 16:28 – Building trust and credibility with buyers
* 24:18 – Tax returns and SBA pre-qualification
* 31:05 -The impact of having your priorities in order
* 33:43 – Finding the right buyer who recognizes the long-term value of the business
* 42:38 – The importance of early preparation for selling your business

We hope today’s episode was useful to you. If you want to get in touch with Chris you can find him at Linkedin or you can check out the company at QuietLight.com. If you want to check out how Mike planned to grow this ecommerce business back in 2021, you can check it out here. 
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes. 
Thanks for listening!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 46:46 E508: Selling My E-commerce Business After 3 Years nonadult 45089 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e507-ai-ecommerce-seo/ Mon, 03 Jul 2023 08:20:10 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=44221 <p>Welcome to today's episode where we delve into the transformative power of AI in the realms of e-commerce and search engine optimization (SEO). With the ever-increasing integration of AI technologies, businesses and content creators must understand the implications and opportunities that lie ahead. Join Jeff and I as we unravel the impact of AI on …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e507-ai-ecommerce-seo/">E507: The Future of AI in E-commerce and SEO</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Welcome to today's episode where we delve into the transformative power of AI in the realms of e-commerce and search engine optimization (SEO). With the ever-increasing integration of AI technologies, businesses and content creators must understand the... With the ever-increasing integration of AI technologies, businesses and content creators must understand the implications and opportunities that lie ahead.
Join Jeff and I as we unravel the impact of AI on the customer journey, the future of search queries and content creation, and the role of large language models like Chat GPT. The world of e-commerce is evolving, and it's time to explore the possibilities that AI brings to the table.
Timestamps:

* 0:00 – Introduction
02:13 – The Changing Customer Journey and the Rise of AI
05:15 – The Future of Search and Content Creation
08:42 – Middle and Bottom of the Funnel Keywords
17:29 – The Challenge of Shaky Search Results
18:50 – The Role of AI in Content Generation
21:00 – The Future of Video Content
30:14 – The Mind-Blowing Capabilities of AI
30:45 – The Adoption Curve of AI
31:06 – Seizing the Opportunities with AI

As we wrap up today's discussion on the influence of AI on e-commerce and SEO, we find ourselves at the precipice of an exciting yet uncertain future. The rapid progress of AI technologies presents both challenges and opportunities for businesses and content creators. Adapting to this changing landscape requires a proactive approach and a willingness to embrace new AI tools and strategies.
While the future may bring uncertainties, we believe in the enduring value of SEO and the importance of staying informed and open-minded. By harnessing the power of AI as our ally, businesses can thrive in the evolving digital world.
We encourage our listeners to remain curious, keep exploring, and seize the potential that AI offers in reshaping e-commerce and SEO. Thank you for joining us, and until next time, stay curious and embrace the power of AI.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 43:02 44221 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e506-prime-day-2023/ Mon, 26 Jun 2023 16:02:41 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=44239 <p>Prime Day is fast approaching and Jake Zaristian from JungleScout is back on the podcast to talk about it. Together, we'll be talking about the strategies that you should be doing before, during and after the biggest shopping holiday of the year. With the biggest Amazon shopping holiday quickly approaching, Jake is back on the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e506-prime-day-2023/">E506: Preparing for Prime Day 2023 with JungleScout</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Prime Day is fast approaching and Jake Zaristian from JungleScout is back on the podcast to talk about it. Together, we'll be talking about the strategies that you should be doing before, during and after the biggest shopping holiday of the year. Prime Day is fast approaching and Jake Zaristian from JungleScout is back on the podcast to talk about it. Together, we'll be talking about the strategies that you should be doing before, during and after Prime Day. Mike Jackness clean 30:55 44239 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e505-sales-tax-taxvalet/ Mon, 19 Jun 2023 06:28:39 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=43489 <p>Our guest, Alex Oxford from TaxValet, shares his expertise in Sales Tax, exploring its complexities and implications for entrepreneurs, offering valuable insights and strategies to help you go through the challenging world of sales tax compliance. While it may not be the most thrilling subject, understanding your obligations and options is crucial for your business's …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e505-sales-tax-taxvalet/">E505: Everything You Need to Know About Sales Tax with TaxValet</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Our guest, Alex Oxford from TaxValet, shares his expertise in Sales Tax, exploring its complexities and implications for entrepreneurs, offering valuable insights and strategies to help you go through the challenging world of sales tax compliance. Our guest, Alex Oxford from TaxValet, shares his expertise in Sales Tax, exploring its complexities and implications for entrepreneurs, offering valuable insights and strategies to help you go through the challenging world of sales tax compliance.
While it may not be the most thrilling subject, understanding your obligations and options is crucial for your business's success.
Related Reading: Amazon Sales Tax for All Sellers in 2023.
Timestamps:

* 00:00 – Introduction
* 03:09 – The Complexities of Sales Tax Compliance
* 06:46 – The Louisiana Sales Tax System
* 09:19 – The Case of Colorado and Home Rule Jurisdictions
* 13:31 – Setting up sales tax obligations for clients
* 14:33 – Determining the next state to register for sales tax
* 17:34 – Amazon's role and its impact on sales tax risk
* 25:04 – Sales Tax Nexus
* 27:54 – State Enforcement and Audits
* 28:50 – States to Watch Out For

The podcast emphasizes the need for fair and accountable sales tax regulations, particularly in the context of Amazon and its marketplace practices. Government intervention and realistic thresholds are necessary to level the playing field and protect e-commerce sellers.
It is crucial for businesses to understand their sales tax obligations, make informed decisions, and seek professional assistance, such as that provided by Tax Valet. By engaging with lawmakers, sharing experiences, and advocating for change, we can work towards a more manageable and equitable sales tax system.
Join us next time for more valuable insights on growing your profitable e-commerce brand!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 35:28 E505: Everything You Need to Know About Sales Tax with TaxValet nonadult 43489 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e504-postpilot/ Mon, 12 Jun 2023 08:07:46 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=43152 <p>In this episode of the EcomCrew podcast, I’m joined by Michael Epstein, one of the co-founders of PostPilot, a company that helps e-commerce businesses by using direct mail marketing to create memorable customer experiences to increase sales. We also discuss how PostPilot started and the idea behind going back to physical postcards to advertise products, …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e504-postpilot/">E504: How To Reacquire Customers Who Churned with Postpilot</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> In this episode of the EcomCrew podcast, I’m joined by Michael Epstein, one of the co-founders of PostPilot, a company that helps e-commerce businesses by using direct mail marketing to create memorable customer experiences to increase sales.
In this episode of the EcomCrew podcast, I’m joined by Michael Epstein, one of the co-founders of PostPilot, a company that helps e-commerce businesses by using direct mail marketing to create memorable customer experiences to increase sales.
We also discuss how PostPilot started and the idea behind going back to physical postcards to advertise products, discounts, and services. We also talk about how companies have been faring after subscribing to their services.
Timestamps:

2:07 — Introduction 
6:37 — Inspiration behind PostPilot 
8:40  — How to reacquire customers who churned
10:16 — New features PostPilot’s been working on 
14:24 — Internal benchmarks to measure for future campaigns
17:48 — Tactics/incentives to reacquire old customers
24:15 — How to use lookalike audience attributes to refine ROAS
27:17 — Abandon cart win-back campaigns
29:15 — Minimum threshold for companies before hitting a benchmark
30:38 — PostPilot’s exclusive offering to EcomCrew members

Thank you so much to Michael for doing this week’s podcast episode with me after I had his co-founder Drew on the podcast a few years ago and learned so much about the growth of their business and their plans for the future.
He was also so kind for giving EcomCrew members freebies in their first few months when they sign up on PostPilot.
If you want to learn more about their business, you can check them out on PostPilot.com.
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode.
Until the next one, happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 35:43 E504: How To Reacquire Customers Who Churned with Postpilot nonadult 43152 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e503-under-the-hood-toothshower/ Mon, 05 Jun 2023 12:10:12 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=42682 <p>The first Under The Hood episode of the year is finally here! Today I'm joined by Gary Guenst, one-half of the founders of ToothShower, a water flosser powered by your own shower.  If the brand sounds familiar, you might’ve heard it from one of my previous Under The Hood episodes where I chatted with Gary’s …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e503-under-the-hood-toothshower/">E503: Are There More Businesses Leaving Amazon? Under the Hood Part 2 with ToothShower</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> The first Under The Hood episode of the year is finally here! Today I'm joined by Gary Guenst, one-half of the founders of ToothShower, a water flosser powered by your own shower.  If the brand sounds familiar, If the brand sounds familiar, you might’ve heard it from one of my previous Under The Hood episodes where I chatted with Gary’s wife Lisa. 
Here are some of the questions me and Gary went back and forth with from this episode:

Does the MFN inventory automatically back up FBA inventory if current FBAs run out? – 5:14
Is there a general rule of thumb for running coupons? – 9:25 
What's a realistic ROS on Amazon? – 14:10: 
Are there more businesses leaving Amazon? – 19:48 
What kind of businesses should list their products on Walmart? – 21:41
What are the best platforms to find keywords? – 24:18 
What companies benefit most from using Helium 10 and Jungle Scout? – 26:26
What is the best way to leverage selling eBooks on Amazon? – 29:29 
Which generates higher conversions? Driving customers through listings or to a brand store? – 32:27 
How frequently should businesses update backend keywords, brand content story, listings, and a+ content? – 34:37 
How do you set a budget for the performance of Amazon ads? – 36:27 
Why should a business care about B2B customers in transaction downloads when Amazon sends updates on the number of B2B customers? – 39:39 
Is 14 days enough time to generate reasonable data on Amazon ads? – 42:03 
How often should a business post on Amazon? – 42:15 
Are there any updates on Amazon's liquidation program? – 43:46 
Do you have any tips for businesses in the process of launching a downsized product? – 45:27 

Gary and I also went over how ToothShower has done since last appearing on the show and their plans to scale their business in the future by using ads and automated tools, on top of their main goal of downsizing some of their products 
As mentioned in the episode, here’s a link to one of the best tools to find keywords on Amazon.  
If you want a free hour of coaching to help you navigate all the hiccups you’ve been experiencing in ecommerce, we’d love to have you on our next Under The Hood Episode.
If you liked this week’s episode, we would appreciate it if you leave us a review on iTunes. As always, happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 50:36 42682 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e502-conversion-rate-optimization/ Mon, 29 May 2023 08:47:51 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=42110 <p>Nirav Sheth and Mike Jackness dive into Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategies. Our guest, Nirav Sheth who is the founder and CEO of Anatta, sheds light on the significance of CRO and its optimal timing for business enhancement.  We focus on often overlooked aspects of e-commerce management, highlighting the importance of a user-friendly checkout experience, …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e502-conversion-rate-optimization/">E502: The Power of Conversion Rate Optimization with Nirav Sheth</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Nirav Sheth and Mike Jackness dive into Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategies. Our guest, Nirav Sheth who is the founder and CEO of Anatta, sheds light on the significance of CRO and its optimal timing for business enhancement. Nirav Sheth who is the founder and CEO of Anatta, sheds light on the significance of CRO and its optimal timing for business enhancement. 
We focus on often overlooked aspects of e-commerce management, highlighting the importance of a user-friendly checkout experience, the influence of distractions on mobile users, and the role of data-driven decision-making in e-commerce.  
Additionally, the episode uncovers the power of influencer-led channels, effective landing page optimization, and the psychology behind podcast advertising. 
Nirav provides his expert take on traditional CRO and why more impactful, focused testing could yield better results than a high volume of minor ones.
Timestamps:
00:25 – Introduction

01:41 – Embracing Best Practices for CRO

07:50 – Ensuring a User-friendly Checkout System

09:56 – Comprehending Mobile User Behavior

11:22 – The Role of Usability Testing

14:47 – Understanding E-commerce Benchmarks

19:18 – Exploring Conversion Rates in E-commerce

20:31 – Harnessing the Potential of Influencer-led Channels

27:41 – The Limitations of Traditional CRO

31:49 – The Impact of AI and Personalization on CRO
I wanna thank Nirav for the value-packed conversation today, and we’ll definitely employ the tactics learned in our own businesses. 
If any of the things we've talked about today have interested you, you can contact or reach out to him here. 
If you want to get featured on an Under the Hood segment, be sure to head over to ecomcrew.com/underthehood to sign up. We’re excited to hear about your ecommerce journey! 
Speaking of ecommerce journey, Dave and I would not have gotten this far without all the help from the amazing people we met along the way. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Until the next one, happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 35:33 42110 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e501-fba-aggregators/ Mon, 22 May 2023 09:20:20 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=41560 <p>Today, my guest is Kelcey Lehrich, a prolific entrepreneur running a thriving portfolio of ecommerce enterprises. We dissect the opportunities and hurdles in operating multiple ecommerce ventures, extending hands-on counsel and strategic guidance to listeners.  We delve into the key attributes of a successful business, the significance of revenue quality, and the untapped potential within …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e501-fba-aggregators/">E501: Navigating the World of FBA Aggregators</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Today, my guest is Kelcey Lehrich, a prolific entrepreneur running a thriving portfolio of ecommerce enterprises. We dissect the opportunities and hurdles in operating multiple ecommerce ventures, extending hands-on counsel and strategic guidance to li... We delve into the key attributes of a successful business, the significance of revenue quality, and the untapped potential within distressed assets. 
This episode reveals essential facets about business expansion, creating competitive edges, and strategizing future objectives, providing a comprehensive overview of the e-commerce landscape. We also talk about the start of Holdco Conference, an annual gathering aimed specifically at multi-business operators.
Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
00:38 – Personal Experiences as an FBA Aggregator
01:47 – Deep Dive into Kelcey's Strategy
03:11 – Journey and Growth of Kelcey's Holding Company
04:42 – Striking a Balance between Aspirations and Capitalization
07:05 – Guidelines for Business Expansion
08:01 – Identifying High Quality eCommerce Businesses
10:34 – Tactical Approaches for Business Growth and Exit Strategy
12:59 – Valuable Lessons Learnt from Running eCommerce Businesses
26:45 – Holdco Conference: A Premier Event for Multi-Business Owners

Kelcey shares a few nuggets of wisdom about managing multiple e-commerce businesses. His experiences provide a unique perspective for those keen on owning multiple business, underscoring the balance between aspirations and resources, the maturation of a holding company, and the prerequisites for business scaling. 
Although owning multiple businesses presents its unique challenges, the payoff and rewards at the end of the road can be life-changing.
Kelcey stresses how important it is to learn from acquiring businesses that have survived the early startup phase. Learning specifically about optimizing business structures, managing costs, and leveraging existing vendor relationships for building a lucrative eCommerce venture can be the most useful lessons to learn.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 29:38 41560 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e500-power-of-time/ Mon, 15 May 2023 06:29:16 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=41251 <p>Welcome to this special milestone episode of the EcomCrew Podcast as we celebrate our 500th airing. Today, I’m putting on my philosophical hat to look back on the podcast and to guide you through my podcasting journey since the show started back in November 2015.  In this solo episode, I delve into the profound power …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e500-power-of-time/">E500: The Power of Time</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Welcome to this special milestone episode of the EcomCrew Podcast as we celebrate our 500th airing. Today, I’m putting on my philosophical hat to look back on the podcast and to guide you through my podcasting journey since the show started back in Nov... In this solo episode, I delve into the profound power of time, which can be both a potent tool for positive change and a formidable obstacle. It can be short, or it can be longer than you think, but in the end, we’ll never know how long our time on Earth will be. However, it’s important to maximize the time we have as much as possible. It’s incredibly important never to rush, especially in investment, business, and personal growth. 
I'll share my own personal experiences with how it’s been the backbone of my stock and real estate investments, my businesses and content creation, showing the significance of long-term commitment and consistency. I'll also explore some of my favorite books that have shaped my thinking and business approach.
Timestamps:

* 00:00 – Introduction
* 00:33 – Postscript 
* 03:17 – Exploring the power and challenge of time.
* 05:20 – Importance of investing early and the magic of compounding interest.
* 07:10 – Experience on navigating competition in the e-commerce podcast realm.
* 09:13 – Persistence and consistency: Keys to long-term success.
* 14:10 – Sticking with one venture for long-term success
* 17:07 – Time as a finite resource: Why proper management is critical.

Drawing from my journey with the EcomCrew podcast, there were times where I wanted to quit but consistency was key. Success is never an overnight event, but a product of relentless efforts invested over time.
I can’t help but stress the importance of consistency, long-term dedication, and effective time management. It’s important for listeners to foster a long-term perspective in their business goals, steering clear of the “shiny thing” syndrome. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy content like this. 
Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 22:57 41251 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e499-ecommerce-legal-aspects/ Mon, 08 May 2023 10:04:34 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=40663 <p>I wanted to get Steven on today to help listeners learn how to avoid potential issues that can negatively impact the value of their businesses and delay the sale process. Topics covered include intellectual property, privacy policies, product packaging, and governance, as well as the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and the value of having a …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e499-ecommerce-legal-aspects/">E499: Navigating the Legal Aspects of Ecommerce</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> I wanted to get Steven on today to help listeners learn how to avoid potential issues that can negatively impact the value of their businesses and delay the sale process. Topics covered include intellectual property, privacy policies, I wanted to get Steven on today to help listeners learn how to avoid potential issues that can negatively impact the value of their businesses and delay the sale process.
Topics covered include intellectual property, privacy policies, product packaging, and governance, as well as the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and the value of having a skilled lawyer by your side. 
Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction
00:25 – Steven's background in law and entrepreneurship, and the role of lawyers in e-commerce businesses
01:58 – Legal aspects and the importance of a clean legal strategy for e-commerce businesses
03:48 – Legal pitfalls to avoid and the significance of trademarks
07:23 – Key elements for developing a legal strategy, such as intellectual property and privacy policies
13:12 – Understanding different business stages and appropriate legal operations
14:19 – Importance of building a strong relationship with an attorney
16:24 – Clearing your brand name to avoid future costly issues
19:15 – Navigating business divorces and the need for proper governance
20:53 – Legal protection and good processes for e-commerce businesses in larger deals
25:47 – Mitigating risks and challenges in e-commerce through a good lawyer and a strong network
28:20 – Preparing for inevitable legal issues in business
29:51 – Steven Weigler's law firm, Emerge Console, and resources on LinkedIn



This podcast episode features valuable legal advice and strategies provided by Steven Weigler to help e-commerce businesses succeed and avoid costly legal problems. 
By engaging a lawyer early on, maintaining a clean legal strategy, and being proactive in legal matters, entrepreneurs can better position their companies for potential exit events or acquisitions. 
Furthermore, understanding the legal aspects and due diligence processes required to protect their business value can enable business owners to implement a strategic approach to intellectual property, privacy policies, product packaging, and governance, minimizing potential issues and maximizing their value during the sale process.
This episode serves as a valuable resource for e-commerce entrepreneurs seeking to strengthen their legal foundation and safeguard their businesses.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 32:13 40663 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e498-level-playing-field/ Mon, 01 May 2023 09:40:36 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=40310 <p>The rise of e-commerce has brought about a new wave of challenges for businesses and consumers alike, particularly in the form of unfair trade practices. In this episode of the EcomCrew Podcast, the focus is on the challenges faced by Amazon sellers, particularly from Chinese companies and sellers who engage in these practices.  Karl from …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e498-level-playing-field/">E498: Advocating for a Level Playing Field in E-Commerce</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> The rise of e-commerce has brought about a new wave of challenges for businesses and consumers alike, particularly in the form of unfair trade practices. In this episode of the EcomCrew Podcast, the focus is on the challenges faced by Amazon sellers, Karl from Stonington Global joins the discussion to shed light on the lobbying efforts to educate lawmakers about these issues and advocate for a fairer e-commerce environment. 
This episode highlights the importance of creating a level playing field for all e-commerce sellers and the impact of unfair trade practices on consumers.
Timestamps:

* 00:00 – Introduction
* 02:36 – Unfair trade practices on Amazon
* 03:00 – Lobbying efforts by tech giants
* 06:21 – Amazon's public relations efforts and challenges for small businesses
* 08:59 – Consumer impact and importance of domestic manufacturing
* 12:25 – Vulnerabilities of global supply chains
* 14:07 – Government crackdown on Amazon and challenges for US businesses
* 15:44 – Draft legislation and the proposed FTC study
* 18:54 – Karl's personal story on dealing with Amazon
* 21:16 – Encouragement to share stories and put pressure on Amazon
* 23:48 – Support for Karl's cause and spreading the message

As the e-commerce industry continues to grow, the need for a level playing field becomes increasingly important. Unfair trade practices, particularly those perpetrated by Chinese companies and sellers, present a significant challenge for Amazon sellers and have a wider impact on consumers. 
However, by advocating for change and educating lawmakers, we can work towards creating a more equitable e-commerce environment. This episode encourages listeners to engage with the topic, support Karl's cause, and work together to create a better future for all e-commerce sellers and consumers. 
Visit EcomCrew for more content and e-commerce courses, and until the next episode, happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 25:43 40310 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e497-email-marketing/ Mon, 24 Apr 2023 08:51:01 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=39927 <p>In this EcomCrew Podcast episode, Daniel and I delve deep into the world of email marketing and retention marketing in the e-commerce industry. We share our experiences and insights on why email marketing remains an essential tool for businesses, despite predictions of its decline. We also touch on the importance of building community and trust …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e497-email-marketing/">E497: Building Trust, Community, and Loyalty for Revenue Growth Through Email Marketing</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> In this EcomCrew Podcast episode, Daniel and I delve deep into the world of email marketing and retention marketing in the e-commerce industry. We share our experiences and insights on why email marketing remains an essential tool for businesses, We also touch on the importance of building community and trust with customers, and show successful examples of companies using email and SMS marketing effectively, as well as the potential of loyalty programs to drive business growth.
Timestamps:

* Intro – 00:00
* Daniel's e-commerce and email marketing journey – 01:14
* Email's continued effectiveness despite claims of its decline – 04:05
* The rise and fall of Messenger chatbots – 06:06
* Differences between consumer and business owner email inboxes – 07:26
* Decreasing open rates in MailChimp's report – 08:35
* Generating revenue through trust and community-building content emails – 10:19
* Engaging customers with community photos, tips, and tricks – 11:11
* Good email marketing's impact on small businesses – 14:36
* A lack of good e-commerce email marketing examples – 16:16
* Measuring time between first, second, and third orders – 20:37
* The potential of SMS marketing – 22:41
* Generating additional revenue through loyalty programs – 26:29
* Learning from big brands with effective loyalty programs – 33:55

 
Email marketing has proven to be a powerful tool in the ever-evolving landscape of e-commerce.
It is crucial for businesses to create engaging content and focus on building trust, community, and lasting relationships with their customers. With that being said, companies should also concentrate on customer retention and repeat purchases by leveraging effective email and SMS marketing strategies and implementing well-designed loyalty programs. 
Successful loyalty programs not only boost customer engagement and sales but can also significantly raise the company's valuation. Businesses should look to learn from the successes of established brands with effective loyalty programs and adapt their strategies accordingly.
I want to thank Daniel for taking time out of his busy schedule to discuss the landscape and future of email marketing. 
If you want to know more about Daniel and his business, check out the links on his site and his podcast below. 

Budai Media 
The Ecom Show Podcast

Lastly, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode.
Until the next one, happy selling! 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 35:39 39927 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e496-amazon-seller-report/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 07:32:48 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=39731 <p>In today's episode, Jake is back to discuss the findings from their annual State of the Amazon Seller Report; on topics like Amazon Seller Profitability, the effect of tariffs and freight costs on sourcing decisions, the changing landscape of Amazon advertising, and the importance of diversifying your online presence. This comprehensive report surveys more than …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e496-amazon-seller-report/">E496: Navigating the Amazon Marketplace – Insights from Jungle Scout’s State of the Amazon Seller Report</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> In today's episode, Jake is back to discuss the findings from their annual State of the Amazon Seller Report; on topics like Amazon Seller Profitability, the effect of tariffs and freight costs on sourcing decisions, In today's episode, Jake is back to discuss the findings from their annual State of the Amazon Seller Report; on topics like Amazon Seller Profitability, the effect of tariffs and freight costs on sourcing decisions, the changing landscape of Amazon advertising, and the importance of diversifying your online presence.
This comprehensive report surveys more than 2,000 Amazon sellers, providing critical insights into the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the industry. 
Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction and overview of the State of the Amazon Seller Report
01:25 – Importance of the report and how it helps sellers benchmark their performance
03:35 – Discussion on the trend of sourcing from China vs. the United States
07:32 – The impact of tariffs, COVID, and logistics on sourcing decisions
09:37 – Challenges in finding US-based suppliers and potential business opportunities
11:32 – Strong profit margins reported by Amazon sellers
12:37 – Comparing the profit margins of Amazon sellers to small businesses in the US
13:25 – The challenges of running an Amazon-only business vs. an off-Amazon brand
15:39 – The benefits of selling on Amazon, including ease of customer acquisition
17:30 – The learning curve associated with starting an Amazon business
18:38 – Interest in tracking the trend of net profit for Amazon sellers
19:33 – Increase in profitability for surveyed sellers
20:18 – The challenges and additional costs of running an e-commerce business
23:43 – Challenges with Amazon fees and the need to pivot
24:18 – Shifts in advertising spend across platforms
25:17 – Using influencers for advertising and video creation
27:24 – Trends in Amazon advertising and FBA fees
29:05 – Exploring Google ads for more cost-effective advertising
30:42 – Benefits of off-Amazon advertising and organic search rankings
32:47 – Top product categories and market trends
35:40 – Discussing changing product categories in the report
37:20 – Top challenges for Amazon sellers
38:14 – Issues with optimizing product listings
38:49 – Introducing AI Assist for Jungle Scout
40:23 – Productivity benefits of using AI Assist
42:42 – Main topic: Top concerns for Amazon sellers
43:17 – Increasing cost of goods and its impact on sellers

I want to thank Jake for joining me for this very insightful episode.
If you want to dig deeper, check out the full 2023 State of the Amazon Seller Report here. 
Lastly, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Until the next one, happy selling! 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 45:37 39731 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e495-masterminds-changes-lives/ Mon, 10 Apr 2023 10:29:33 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=39488 <p>Masterminds are one of my favorite segments of a live event. Whether it be EcommerceFuel, Seller Summit, or whatever event that takes place, Masterminds give everyone an opportunity to voice out their problems and get actionable advice from a like-minded group of people.  Steve and I first met during Andrew Youderian's event, at a Mastermind …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e495-masterminds-changes-lives/">E495: How Masterminds Have Changed Mike Jackness’ and Steve Chou’s Lives</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Masterminds are one of my favorite segments of a live event. Whether it be EcommerceFuel, Seller Summit, or whatever event that takes place, Masterminds give everyone an opportunity to voice out their problems and get actionable advice from a like-mind... Steve and I first met during Andrew Youderian's event, at a Mastermind where Steve asked the table for a critique of his website, and we've been friends ever since then. 
This episode is more of a fun recap rather than an actionable advisory, but there's a few takeaways to learn from this episode. You'll learn about

* The costs of cranking up, and keeping your work burner as high as possible. 
* How opening up and trusting like-minded individuals can be more valuable than you think. 
* Why it's good to have a group of friends that can't relate to your entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Timestamps: 

* Intro – 00:00  
* An overview of what Seller Summit is, and how it's different – 2:42 
* How Mike and Steve Chou met for the first time – 5:06 
* TAKEAWAY #1: Masterminds give you the advice you need to hear, without the fluff – 7:33
* How Steve Chou got into selling on Amazon – 9:58 
* How Steve Chou got marital advice at a Mastermind – 12:22 
* How Steve Chou saved Mike's marriage – 14:08
* How Steve Chou made $60k in 90 minutes – 18:03
* How Mike deals with old friends who aren't in eCommerce – 20:51
* Why venture backed businesses are a different gamble – 23:40 
* Steve and Mike's experience investing on an eCommerce business together – 25:15 
* Why it's important to surround yourselves around those who trust you – 27:55
* How events during the pandemic weren't the same – 33:55
* Seller Summit 2023 details – 36:08

Lots of thanks to Steve for doing this episode with me. If you're thinking about going to Seller Summit, here's a link with a special discount code for Ecomcrew listeners. You can check out all of Steve's other awesome stuff over on mywifequitherjob.com. 
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes. Until the next one. Happy selling!
Full Audio Transcript
Mike Jackness [00:00:34]:
Steve Chou. Welcome back to the EcomCrew podcast.
Steve Chou [00:00:37]:
Glad to be back. And I am broadcasting from an awesome place called Jackness Live.
Mike Jackness [00:00:41]:
I was going to say Steve Chou's in the house. He's like, literally in the house. So we have a little guest house on property and you're in town. And what a great way to be able to use our own microphones and have no echo in the background but still be in the same place recording a podcast together.
Steve Chou [00:01:00]:
Yeah, it's a funny story. I'm actually here for a Mastermind, but I could not get any sleep at the Mastermind house. So I begged Mike to crash at his place, and thankfully he said yes.
Mike Jackness [00:01:10]:
Yeah, let's face it, the real Masterminding happens when I'm around.
Steve Chou [00:01:14]:
Yes. We'll be Masterminding on the GoKart track shortly.
Mike Jackness [00:01:17]:
That's right. I gotta make excuses to my team of why I can't have pre-planned meetings as you made me come do GoKart racing. One of the guys that does the editing for this podcast is the one that I'm having to cancel with so sorry, Ben.
I apologize,]]> Mike Jackness clean 39:54 39488 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e494-china-post-covid/ Mon, 03 Apr 2023 11:30:12 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=39076 <p>  China, the factory of the world, has once again opened its doors to foreigners after several years of lockdowns and COVID restrictions. Fortunately for EcomCrew listeners, Dave just came back from his first trip to China post-COVID, and he’ll be sharing some of the biggest changes you want to take note of when planning …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e494-china-post-covid/">E494: Heading Back to China Post-COVID—What has Changed?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>   China, the factory of the world, has once again opened its doors to foreigners after several years of lockdowns and COVID restrictions. Fortunately for EcomCrew listeners, Dave just came back from his first trip to China post-COVID, China, the factory of the world, has once again opened its doors to foreigners after several years of lockdowns and COVID restrictions.
Fortunately for EcomCrew listeners, Dave just came back from his first trip to China post-COVID, and he’ll be sharing some of the biggest changes you want to take note of when planning your own trip down south soon. 
This episode will cover things like China’s current rules regarding old and new visas, practical tips for navigating customs and other travel requirements, and a few changes you might notice when in China. 
Timestamps: 

00:00 – Intro
01:23 – China has started honoring old visas; How to secure new visas
04:09 – Flights to China are extremely expensive
05:57 – You need an online customs declaration when entering/exiting China
08:37 – Need-to-knows about COVID tests, vaccinations, and masking
11:15 – Should you head over to China for trade shows in the Spring?
13:26 – Big changes for foreigners traveling to China over the past three years
20:04 – Odd and fun things you’ll notice when heading back to China this year
22:02 – Overall attitudes towards the west and Xi Jinping
24:40 – Final thoughts on going back to China



Resources mentioned: 

China Customs Website
Trip.com

We hope this episode helps you strategically prepare and make the most out of your upcoming trip to China. Please do leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy this kind of content.
Happy selling, and we’ll see you in the next one!
Full Audio Transcript
Dave Bryant [00:00:00]:
Hey, guys, it's Dave Bryant coming at you today with a solo podcast. I just got back from China two or three days ago from the time of the recording of this podcast and in today's episode, I want to share with you some of the things that I learned and discovered about going to China for the first time in well over three years since COVID first started.
So I know a lot of you guys are now looking at going back to China now that China has, kind of, officially dropped the COVID Wall and is opening itself to both business travellers and tourists. So Canton Fair is going on in a couple of weeks here. Some of you are thinking about going over to China for the Canton Fair in the middle of April. Some of you are thinking about going a little bit later in the year. And if you are one of those people, I think you're going to find this episode really valuable and really informative. So without further ado, let's hop into it.
Intro [00:00:51]:
Ready to start and grow your own profitable ecommerce brand? This is the EcomCrew Podcast, the web's most transparent podcast, where we don't hide our brands, our products, or our failures. From creating stellar products to selling both on Amazon and off Amazon. Keep listening for authentic stories, practical advice, and tactical tips for starting and running your own ecommerce business.
Dave Bryant [00:01:24]:
Okay, first things first. Let's talk about visas. So when I first bought our plane tickets to go over to China, China was basically not honoring any of the old visas that people had and I had a current visa that was good up until 2026. One of those ten-year visas that China used to issue out very easily. However, they weren't honoring those visas when I booked our tickets and by the time that we actually took off for China.
However, they changed those rules basically the day after I arrived in China, and China is now honoring all of those old visas. So unfortunately for me,]]> Mike Jackness clean 27:05 39076 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e493-amazon-japan/ Mon, 27 Mar 2023 13:19:20 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=38972 <p>Choosing the right marketplace is just as important as choosing which product to sell on Amazon. But there’s one huge marketplace that US- and EU-based sellers may be sleeping on: Amazon Japan.  Amazon.co.jp is one of the biggest marketplaces no one is talking about, with its over 600 million monthly visitors, domestic FBA services, and …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e493-amazon-japan/">E493: 7 Simple Steps to Start Selling on Amazon Japan with Gary Huang</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Choosing the right marketplace is just as important as choosing which product to sell on Amazon. But there’s one huge marketplace that US- and EU-based sellers may be sleeping on: Amazon Japan.  Amazon.co.jp is one of the biggest marketplaces no one is... Amazon.co.jp is one of the biggest marketplaces no one is talking about, with its over 600 million monthly visitors, domestic FBA services, and fewer competitors. 
Joining me for this episode is Gary Huang, who’s one of our favorite guests on the podcast and is currently dominating the Amazon Japan marketplace as we speak. He’ll give some valuable insights about the dos and don’ts of expanding to Japan as an established ecommerce seller, some actionable steps you can take to get started, and a lot of tips and tricks in between. 
If you’re on the lookout for a profitable Amazon marketplace to expand into, definitely listen in.
Timestamps: 

1:05 – Are Amazon sellers sleeping on Japan?
3:44 – Japan’s ecommerce market makeup—why it’s a great opportunity for sellers
5:55 – The perks of selling on Amazon in Japan 
8:37 – The right way to translate your listings to Japanese
9:25 – Why I’m pessimistic about continuing on the Amazon treadmill
11:37 – Differences between Amazon US and Amazon Japan
14:40 – How your costs are lower when selling on Amazon Japan
16:13 – Debunking some myths about selling on Amazon Japan
18:45 – Steps to get started selling on Amazon Japan

18:56 – Step 1: Product-Market fit analysis and the right way to do it
21:35 – Step 2: Checking Japan product regulations
24:12 – Step 3: Being aware of compliance and licensing
26:32 – Step 4: Transferring your Brand Registry to Japan
27:19 – Step 5: Get your translations done; Offer japanese language customer support
28:15 – Step 6: Localization
29:18 – Step 7: Getting ready to sell


30:11 – How to price your products on Amazon Japan and other marketplaces
31:54 – The first ever Amazon seller summit in Japan 

I wanna thank Gary for giving us yet another value-packed episode. If you’re thinking about selling on Amazon Japan in the near future, be sure to check out the first-ever 7 Figure Seller Japan Mastermind in Tokyo this April 4-5 to listen in to some deep dives on Japan ecommerce from Amazon insiders, expert importers, and more. 
Use coupon code ECOMCREW for $300 off the ticket price! 
That’s it for this episode. Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy all our content. Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 40:23 38972 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e492-dealing-with-loss/ Mon, 20 Mar 2023 14:06:20 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=38815 <p>“Every man has two lives, and the second starts when he realizes he has just one”— Confucius. In this episode, I’ll be talking about the recent passing of my cousin and longtime business partner Jay, and the valuable lessons I learned from taking care of him during his final days.  Dealing with the aftermath of …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e492-dealing-with-loss/">E492: Beyond Ecommerce—Dealing With Loss and Our Own Mortality</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> “Every man has two lives, and the second starts when he realizes he has just one”— Confucius. In this episode, I’ll be talking about the recent passing of my cousin and longtime business partner Jay, and the valuable lessons I learned from taking care ... “Every man has two lives, and the second starts when he realizes he has just one”— Confucius.
In this episode, I’ll be talking about the recent passing of my cousin and longtime business partner Jay, and the valuable lessons I learned from taking care of him during his final days. 
Dealing with the aftermath of a loss and the thought of one’s own mortality can be difficult—even morbid—topics, but I’ve come to realize the infinite value of taking control of our lives, planning for the aftermath of our own passing, and getting our affairs in order for the sake of those we leave behind. 
Timestamps: 


00:00 – Intro


05:10 – Becoming caretakers for our loved ones


06:55 – Schedule your annual checkup ASAP


11:36 – Getting your affairs in order


16:11 – Dealing with the trauma of loss


19:12 – The value of coming to terms with your own mortality


 I want to thank Jay for all the memories and everything we shared together. 
 Please make sure to get that checkup and let me know if you can. It would mean the world if even only one person takes action because of this episode. Entrepreneur or not, always remember to prioritize your health and advocate for being prepared for the worst case scenario in this unpredictable life. 
Happy selling, and I’ll see you in the next one.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 21:55 38815 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e491-goal-setting-2023/ Mon, 13 Mar 2023 09:08:41 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=38406 <p>Setting a trajectory and an overarching vision for your ecommerce business is not as simple as it sounds. There are myriad factors that can influence how and why you set your goals and, more importantly, whether they are realistic and achievable for your company.  In this episode, Dave and I will not only be talking …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e491-goal-setting-2023/">E491: Strategic Goal-Setting for Your Ecommerce Business</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Setting a trajectory and an overarching vision for your ecommerce business is not as simple as it sounds. There are myriad factors that can influence how and why you set your goals and, more importantly, whether they are realistic and achievable for yo... In this episode, Dave and I will not only be talking about what our goals are, but we’ll be talking in-depth about the thought process behind those goals and the various nuances of effective goal-setting for an ecommerce brand—from the quality of your employees, to your team structure, to which aspects of your finances play key roles in your company’s growth prospects. 
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00 
The driving force behind Mike's diligence when it comes to 2023 planning – 1:56
How involved should you be when it comes to setting goals? – 2:56 
Goal #1 – Dave’s first goal of the year and the dilemma about goal-setting – 4:08
Mike's accomplishments in 2022 – 5:32
Our goal for EcomCrew in 2023 – 6:37
Why goals-setting depends on what type of team you have – 7:35
Dave's big mistake when setting goals – 8:18
How to draw the line between leading and doing – 10:42
Should you have a CEO/COO? – 12:52
Goal #2 – Focusing on defensible products – 17:58
The strategy of launching products monthly – 19:32
Big ecommerce opportunities in 2023 – 23:12
What qualifies as a ‘moat’ around your products? – 26:16
How long can that moat around your products last? – 32:12
Goal #3 – Being more hawkish on costs – 38:11
Should you turn off all auto-campaigns on Amazon? – 39:56
Is the Peel, Stick and Block method still as relevant as before? – 42:00
Dave's thinking of a brand sale – 46:11
Are FBA Aggregators looking to go public this year? – 50:00
Is investing in Amazon Businesses better than Treasury Bills? – 51:19

I hope you took away some valuable insights from this episode that you can use to sort out your business goals for this year. Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. 
Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 1:01:18 38406 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e490-amplify-time/ Mon, 06 Mar 2023 09:52:57 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=38287 <p>Mike and Kevin talk about the value of your time and setting priorities as an ecommerce influencer, the reward of being able to help other people out, and what the endgame is for recognized personalities in this space.  Being a recognized personality in ecommerce takes a toll, whether it be on your time, your energy, …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e490-amplify-time/">E490: How to Amplify Your Time as an Ecommerce Influencer with Kevin King</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike and Kevin talk about the value of your time and setting priorities as an ecommerce influencer, the reward of being able to help other people out, and what the endgame is for recognized personalities in this space. Being a recognized personality in ecommerce takes a toll, whether it be on your time, your energy, or even just struggling to manage your relationships with people. In this episode, we’ll talk all about the value of amplifying your time as an ecommerce influencer, why we do what we do, and where this niche industry is heading—joining me for this one is a legend in the space, Kevin King. 
Kevin is a highly regarded figure in the ecommerce ecosystem who’s built a solid following for things like the Freedom Ticket Course and the Billion Dollar Seller Summit. He is also now the host of the AM/PM Podcast, which is among the best listens I can recommend to ecommerce sellers of all stripes. 
Timestamps:

The value of multiplying your time as an ecommerce influencer – 1:20
How I handle ecommerce consulting requests and other gigs – 5:23
Some perks and struggles of being recognized by people – 6:35
The rewards of helping ecommerce sellers and making a difference – 10:06
Kevin’s experiences as a well-known figure in ecommerce – 12:18
What’s the ideal endgame for ecommerce influencers? – 14:07
How Amazon and the ecommerce industry in general is shifting – 18:47
Why government intervention is good for Amazon sellers – 22:49
What made Mike decide to move to Vegas – 25:43 
What the Billion Dollar Seller Summit is all about – 27:39
How to get a hold of a replay package from the Summit – 36:19 
Growing a podcast in the ecommerce space – 37:39

I want to thank Kevin for taking the time to do this episode with me and giving some invaluable insights all of us can reflect on. Check out some of the awesome stuff he’s doing below:

The Freedom Ticket
Billion Dollar Seller Summit
AM/PM Podcast

That’s it for this episode. Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon! 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 43:42 38287 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e489-wins-and-fails-2022/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 14:33:30 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=38037 <p>Mike and Dave reflect on 2022 as ecommerce entrepreneurs, including their biggest wins, failures, and general outlook moving forward. 2022 was a year of successes and challenges for ecommerce sellers—the industry is literally shifting right beneath our feet! In this episode, Dave and I will take a closer look at how 2022 has been for …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e489-wins-and-fails-2022/">E489: Wins and Fails – Mike and Dave Reflect on 2022</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike and Dave reflect on 2022 as ecommerce entrepreneurs, including their biggest wins, failures, and general outlook moving forward. 2022 was a year of successes and challenges for ecommerce sellers—the industry is literally shifting right beneath our... Mike and Dave reflect on 2022 as ecommerce entrepreneurs, including their biggest wins, failures, and general outlook moving forward.
2022 was a year of successes and challenges for ecommerce sellers—the industry is literally shifting right beneath our feet!
In this episode, Dave and I will take a closer look at how 2022 has been for us as ecommerce sellers, what with all that’s going on between the market coming out of the pandemic, changing administrations, and Amazon’s constantly changing policies.
We’ll be breaking down some of our biggest wins, including raising our traffic on all properties, as well as our biggest challenges, such as nightmares on the logistics front. We’ll also touch on the biggest complexities that we faced as entrepreneurs to give you an idea how to sort them out for your own business. 
Timestamps:


Why we think our annual review episodes do so well – 0:55


What grade would we give our 2022? – 3:15


Why 2022 was the year of margin compression for Amazon and third-party sellers – 9:00


The biggest complexities in business that we dealt with last year – 15:12


Should you rent or buy your own warehouse? – 17:31


How we raised SEO traffic for all properties – 23:22


The value of a healthy work-life balance for entrepreneurs – 34:35


Why 2022 has been a real hiring nightmare for ecommerce sellers – 39:36


It’s been a rollercoaster of a year indeed, but we’re always grateful to you guys for sharing your time with us and supporting this podcast. Here’s to a lot more reasons to celebrate this 2023. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 54:42 38037 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e488-the-top-10-2022/ Mon, 20 Feb 2023 12:08:55 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=37688 <p>Last year was another one filled with insightful conversations with people from within (and some outside of) the ecommerce ecosystem. In this episode, our podcast editor Ben will join me for a rundown of EcomCrew’s Best Podcast Episodes of 2022 where we’ll explore which episodes really resonated with our listeners this past year.  Timestamps: How …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e488-the-top-10-2022/">E488: The Top 10 EcomCrew Podcast Episodes of 2022</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Last year was another one filled with insightful conversations with people from within (and some outside of) the ecommerce ecosystem. In this episode, our podcast editor Ben will join me for a rundown of EcomCrew’s Best Podcast Episodes of 2022 where w... Timestamps:



How we find out our top podcast episodes every year – 2:50
#10 E438: Trekking Through Product Development with Hasan Hasmani – 5:10
#9 E440: Our First (and Only) Episode on Cryptocurrency – 8:05
#8 E427: The Top 10 EcomCrew Podcast Episodes of 2021 – 10:58
#7 E431: Struggles of Running an E-Commerce Business Amid A Pandemic – 11:49
#6 E437: Making Sure Your Price is Right with Drew Marconi – 13:52
#5 E432: Mike and Dave’s Business Review 2021 – 15:35
#4 E445: Everything You Need to Scale Your FBA Business [Under the Hood] – 17:42
#3 E425: The 5 Best Amazon Seller Software in 2021 – 21:15
#2 E424: How to Sell Your Brand for 8 Figures with Josh Dittrich – 23:29
#1 E426: Applying the 4-Burner Theory for Ecommerce Sellers with Greg Howlett – 26:38



I want to thank everyone for supporting the EcomCrew Podcast. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or are just tuning in, I appreciate your time and feedback. I’m sure 2023 will be another year of insightful podcast episodes, and I can’t wait to unpack which ones top the charts next time around. 
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling, and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 34:09 37688 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e487-amazon-terms-of-service/ Mon, 06 Feb 2023 10:37:50 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=37327 <p> Being an Amazon seller is tough, and the fact that Amazon rarely ever gives categorical answers to sellers’ questions does not make it easier. Matter of fact, Amazon’s Terms of Service for sellers are almost always either vague, elusive, or downright contradictory.  This is why we crafted EcomCrew’s Unofficial Guide to Amazon ToS, where …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e487-amazon-terms-of-service/">E487: Back to Basics – Navigating Amazon’s Terms of Service</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Being an Amazon seller is tough, and the fact that Amazon rarely ever gives categorical answers to sellers’ questions does not make it easier. Matter of fact, Amazon’s Terms of Service for sellers are almost always either vague, elusive, Being an Amazon seller is tough, and the fact that Amazon rarely ever gives categorical answers to sellers’ questions does not make it easier. Matter of fact, Amazon’s Terms of Service for sellers are almost always either vague, elusive, or downright contradictory. 
This is why we crafted EcomCrew’s Unofficial Guide to Amazon ToS, where you can find the answers to all your burning questions as a seller all in one place. 
In this Back to Basics session, Ben and I will go through the handbook to give you a clear idea of what you can and cannot do on Amazon.
Timestamps:

Intro – 00:00
EcomCrew’s Unofficial Amazon ToS Handbook – 1:50
The big problem with Amazon’s terms of service – 3:10
Can I put my URL on the product packaging? – 5:35
Can I add HTML links to my Amazon product description? – 12:40
Why is my product tagged as an adult item when it’s not? – 14:04
Is there a limit to how expensive I can sell my product? – 19:03
Can my friends and family write customer reviews for my products? – 21:40
Can I pay for product reviews? – 25:45
Is encouraging customers to leave positive reviews allowed? – 32:59
Can I give away my products? – 35:30
Are using two-step URLs still a thing? – 37:00

I wanna thank Ben for coming on and doing this very insightful episode with me. Check out some of our other Back to Basics episodes below: 

E456: Back to Basics – Costs and Profitability Q&A
E465: Back to Basics – Increasing Profitability Q&A

Please don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 42:19 37327 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e486-visiting-china-2023/ Mon, 30 Jan 2023 13:30:05 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=36882 <p>Whether you’re only just starting out or are running an established ecommerce brand, there’s a good chance that your business is tied to China one way or another. I myself visit Hong Kong and China to attend trade shows, speak at seller conferences, and get some facetime with my factories every year—at least before the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e486-visiting-china-2023/">E486: How Ecommerce Sellers Can Visit China Post-COVID</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Whether you’re only just starting out or are running an established ecommerce brand, there’s a good chance that your business is tied to China one way or another. I myself visit Hong Kong and China to attend trade shows, speak at seller conferences, Whether you’re only just starting out or are running an established ecommerce brand, there’s a good chance that your business is tied to China one way or another. I myself visit Hong Kong and China to attend trade shows, speak at seller conferences, and get some facetime with my factories every year—at least before the pandemic hit. 
Fast-forward a couple of years and ecommerce sellers are now itching to go back to China to optimize their supply chains and scale their businesses. That’s why in this episode, we’ll be talking all about the current COVID situation in Hong Kong and China and everything sellers need to know before visiting in 2023. 
Joining me for this episode is Cameron Walker. He is a returning guest on the podcast and a longtime ecommerce seller who is currently based in China. If you’re planning a trip down south this year, you’ll definitely get a lot out of this episode.
Timestamps: 

Cameron’s life in China – 2:03
The reality of the COVID situation in China – 6:11
How safe is it to travel to and from China today? – 20:13
What the current protocols are for visiting China in 2023 – 23:45
Are old business Visas to China still valid? – 28:27
Which big trade shows will be returning this year? – 31:50
The ideal time of year to visit China – 38:23
Do you see foreigners in China right now? – 40:01

I wanna thank Cameron for taking the time to do this episode with me. I’m excited to have him back on the podcast down the road and hopefully talk about something other than the pandemic. 
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!
 
]]> Mike Jackness clean 36882 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e485-software-poll-2022/ Mon, 23 Jan 2023 12:36:04 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=36649 <p> It’s that time of the year again! In this episode, Dave and I will be revealing the winners (a couple of which you might not have expected) of last year’s survey to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories: Product and Keyword Research PPC Management Reimbursement Services Repricing Tool Product Launches …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e485-software-poll-2022/">E485: The Winners of EcomCrew’s 2022 Software Poll</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  It’s that time of the year again! In this episode, Dave and I will be revealing the winners (a couple of which you might not have expected) of last year’s survey to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories: Product and Keyword ... It’s that time of the year again!
In this episode, Dave and I will be revealing the winners (a couple of which you might not have expected) of last year’s survey to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories:

* Product and Keyword Research
* PPC Management
* Reimbursement Services
* Repricing Tool
* Product Launches and Giveaways

On top of that, we’ll be talking about the value of creating original content in light of recent industry trends, the significant shifts in software usage among sellers, and the future of the SaaS ecosystem. Let’s get right into it:
Timestamps: 

How the EcomCrew Software Poll got started – 1:54
AI and other trends in content generation – 4:45
The best product and keyword research tool – 9:15
Why more sellers don’t use product and keyword research tools anymore – 12:53
The best PPC software – 15:56
The best reimbursement service for sellers – 25:01
The best repricing tool – 31:54
The best tool for product launches and giveaways – 36:46
Why it’s important to create a long-term business model – 37:34

To check out the full breakdown of our results, head over to our blog post of the Best Amazon Software of 2022. 
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy content like this. Happy selling and we’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 45:39 36649 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e484-struggles-of-entrepreneurship/ Mon, 16 Jan 2023 11:50:55 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=36307 <p>Entrepreneurship is a challenging endeavor. Getting your business off the ground, growing your company, and building relationships takes a lot of time and effort—not to mention the plethora of uncertainties you will face along the way.  In this episode, Don Henig joins me in dissecting the biggest struggles of entrepreneurs based on our own personal …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e484-struggles-of-entrepreneurship/">E484: The Biggest Struggles of Entrepreneurship</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Entrepreneurship is a challenging endeavor. Getting your business off the ground, growing your company, and building relationships takes a lot of time and effort—not to mention the plethora of uncertainties you will face along the way. Entrepreneurship is a challenging endeavor. Getting your business off the ground, growing your company, and building relationships takes a lot of time and effort—not to mention the plethora of uncertainties you will face along the way. 
In this episode, Don Henig joins me in dissecting the biggest struggles of entrepreneurs based on our own personal experiences. We’ll be sharing some valuable lessons we learned throughout the years about business, people, and money, as well as how we faced our biggest setbacks head on.
If you’re stuck in a rut or are in need of a little bit of inspiration, there’s a lot of value in this episode for you.
Timestamps: 

Don’s entrepreneurial journey – 2:18
How to handle serious business losses – 13:52
The hardest part of being an entrepreneur – 20:52
Moving on from business partnerships and valuable employees leaving – 24:00
Why AccrueMe is the only financing that’s accretive for sellers – 38:47

I wanna thank Don for coming back to the podcast and making this episode very insightful. If you’re interested in what AccrueMe has to offer, check out Episode 384 where Don talks about why AccrueMe is a fresh way to get some funding for online sellers. Also be sure to check out our In-depth Review of AccrueMe so you can make an informed decision before diving in. 
If you’re ready to get some funding, head over to AccrueMe website using this link to get a sweet deal as an EcomCrew listener! 
Happy selling and I’ll talk to you soon!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 45:33 36307 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e483-marketing-omnisend/ Mon, 09 Jan 2023 12:10:23 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=35945 <p>Marketing is part and parcel of running an ecommerce business, but the industry is constantly changing and sellers who are constantly looking out for the most effective marketing methods are often the ones who are ahead of the curve.  Joining me for this episode is Rytis Lauris, Co-Founder and CEO of Omnisend, which is a …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e483-marketing-omnisend/">E483: All About SMS and Email Marketing</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Marketing is part and parcel of running an ecommerce business, but the industry is constantly changing and sellers who are constantly looking out for the most effective marketing methods are often the ones who are ahead of the curve. Marketing is part and parcel of running an ecommerce business, but the industry is constantly changing and sellers who are constantly looking out for the most effective marketing methods are often the ones who are ahead of the curve. 
Joining me for this episode is Rytis Lauris, Co-Founder and CEO of Omnisend, which is a very useful all-in-one suite for running marketing campaigns, from email, SMS, to Push notifications. 
Some of the good stuff we talk about in this episode include the most effective marketing methods right now, what people get wrong about online marketing, and how you can give customers that great first purchase experience. Since we’ve had Rytis on the podcast before, we’ll also do a bit of catching up about the latest developments in marketing to help you optimize your own marketing campaigns. 
Timestamps: 

Intro – 00:35
Email is not dead – 1:02
Where people go wrong with email marketing – 8:15
Why SMS marketing has taken off – 18:50
What happened to Push Notifications? – 26:07
Connect your marketing efforts with your support structure – 32:55

I’m definitely excited to have Rytis back on the podcast down the road to talk about all the big changes in the marketing landscape in a couple of years. If you’re interested to know more about Omnisend and all its cool features, head over to their website or hit Rytis up on LinkedIn. 
Also, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you haven’t already. Happy selling and I’ll catch you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 41:27 35945 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e482-november-2022-brand-report/ Mon, 02 Jan 2023 08:37:20 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=35789 <p>Happy New Year! We've been a little bit late with publishing this episode due to the holidays but we're back with the weekly releases.  Today, we're back with our monthly report for the month of November – we’re going to stop with the monthly report blog posts but we do plan on keeping this tradition …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e482-november-2022-brand-report/">E482: November 2022 Brand Report (Handling Excess Inventory)</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Happy New Year! We've been a little bit late with publishing this episode due to the holidays but we're back with the weekly releases.  Today, we're back with our monthly report for the month of November – we’re going to stop with the monthly report bl... Happy New Year! We've been a little bit late with publishing this episode due to the holidays but we're back with the weekly releases. 
Today, we're back with our monthly report for the month of November – we’re going to stop with the monthly report blog posts but we do plan on keeping this tradition alive for the podcast, so stay tuned for more Brand Report episodes. Do let us know how you feel by sending an email over to support@ecomcrew.com. 
Since it's the beginning of winter, we've reached an all time low in terms of revenue across all our brands, mainly because most of them reach their seasonal peak in the summer months. We've seen this trend before with all of our previous years of data, so we're not too worried about it. 
We're actually a little more excited than usual because WildBaby was able to survive a lot of the Black Friday rush, and we didn't run out of inventory like we usually did in our previous years. But how much inventory is too much? With interest rates also going back up, our bottom line is starting to look a little dicey for 2023. 
However, despite these challenges, we’ve had a lot of wins in many of our brands. We’ve recently been in talks with our suppliers to get better payment terms, and been working with an agency to up our branding. 

* 1:13 – An update to our Brand Report Segment  
* 4:05 – November Revenue numbers
* 5:11 – Predictions for December numbers
* 6:06 – Sneak Peek: Not running out of inventory for December 
* 6:32 – How much inventory will Mike be left with? 
* 8:00 – Loss: Having too much inventory
* 9:06 – Loss: Interest Rates going up 
* 16:37 – Is the risk of supply chain disruptions going down? 
* 18:59 – Supply Chain Uncertainties: Predictions for 2023

* 20:11 – COVID and Chinese New Year


* 23:19 – Wins for November

* 23:25 – Better Payment Terms for Suppliers 


* 27:20 – Will Inflation go down the same way everything has? 
* 34:30 – Win: Incorporating UGC into our Brands 

Check out the Brand Report that complements this episode for more additional details on our wins, challenges and action plans. Secret Sauce and EcomCrew Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly Income Report, which contains a more detailed breakdown of our numbers and strategies.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. We’d love to hear about what topics you want us to discuss next.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 38:31 E482: The Problems With Having Too Much Inventory – November 2022 Brand Report nonadult 35789 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e481-software-poll/ Mon, 05 Dec 2022 12:54:48 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=34528 <p> 2022 has been a year of changes and innovations in the software space, and EcomCrew is once again polling sellers to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories: Keyword and Product Research PPC Management Reimbursement Services Repricing Tools Product Launches By simply telling us what you think and completing the survey, …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e481-software-poll/">E481: What’s the Best Amazon Seller Software in 2022?</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  2022 has been a year of changes and innovations in the software space, and EcomCrew is once again polling sellers to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories: Keyword and Product Research PPC Management Reimbursement Services R... 
2022 has been a year of changes and innovations in the software space, and EcomCrew is once again polling sellers to find out the Best Amazon Seller Software across five categories:

* Keyword and Product Research
* PPC Management
* Reimbursement Services
* Repricing Tools
* Product Launches

By simply telling us what you think and completing the survey, you’ll get a chance to win a free Annual EcomCrew Premium Membership valued at $2000. Head over to ecomcrew.com/softwarepoll to cast your vote!
For this episode, Dave and I will talk about all the new and popular tools (including ones that Amazon launched just this year) at a high level to give you a rough idea about where the whole seller software ecosystem is headed in the coming years. In a few weeks, we’ll be doing a follow-up episode to talk about the poll results and why sellers think the winning software are the most important for an ecommerce business.
Timestamps:

* Intro and catching up — 00:00
* What EcomCrew’s’ annual software poll is all about — 3:14
* Significant innovations in terms of Amazon software — 7:58
* Areas of improvement for “AI” software — 10:20
* Have Google and Facebook tried to resist these new tools? — 13:00
* Has the average budget for seller software gone down significantly? — 17:58
* Why Amazon is rolling out its own seller tools — 20:34
* How to vote on EcomCrew’s Software Pool — 23:02

Don’t forget to cast your vote over on ecomcrew.com/softwarepoll and get a chance to win an annual EcomCrew Premium membership free for your troubles. 
Also, don’t forget to follow and leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy all our content. It helps more than you know.
Until the next one, happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 25:53 E481: What’s the Best Amazon Seller Software in 2022? nonadult 34528 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e480-4-step-plan/ Mon, 28 Nov 2022 13:39:45 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=34441 <p>About 18 months ago, Jodie Cook sold her business and wrote a book about the ten-year journey that led her there. She has determined the four main steps that help entrepreneurs achieve financial freedom without sacrificing personal time. Timestamps: Jodie’s e-commerce background – 2:40 The framework of The Ten Year Career – 4:39 How ego …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e480-4-step-plan/">E480: The 4-Step Plan to Retire in 10 Years</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> About 18 months ago, Jodie Cook sold her business and wrote a book about the ten-year journey that led her there. She has determined the four main steps that help entrepreneurs achieve financial freedom without sacrificing personal time.
About 18 months ago, Jodie Cook sold her business and wrote a book about the ten-year journey that led her there. She has determined the four main steps that help entrepreneurs achieve financial freedom without sacrificing personal time.
Timestamps:

Jodie’s e-commerce background – 2:40
The framework of The Ten Year Career – 4:39
How ego keeps your business from growing – 7:18
How to get from Execute to Systemize – 7:56
The upside of delegating – 11:29 
How to know when you’re on the Scrutinize step – 13:45 
How to prepare for the best possible exit – 15:22 
What pushed Jodie to sell her business – 21:44
The wrong reasons to exit your business – 24:40

You can check out Jodie’s book, The Ten Year Career: Reimagine Business, Design Your Life, Fast Track Your Freedom on Amazon. It’s a great addition to any online business owner’s bookshelf. You can also find out where you are in your career by taking the quiz on the book’s companion site.
By the way, EcomCrew Premium is still at 50% off until midnight. This is your last chance to register during our biggest sale of the year, so don’t miss out! Visit our website to secure your slot.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 27:51 E480: The 4-Step Plan to Retire in 10 Years nonadult 34441 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e479-5-valuable-lessons/ Thu, 24 Nov 2022 16:38:39 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=34411 <p> Starting an Amazon business today is a completely different ball game compared to starting to sell in 2015. These days, you'll need more than just good-looking listings and great copy to hit that highly 7 or 8-figure revenue milestone. I've invited fellow MDS member and 8-figure seller Talor Zamir to tell us exactly how …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e479-5-valuable-lessons/">E479: 5 Valuable Lessons From 8-Figure Seller Talor Zamir</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Starting an Amazon business today is a completely different ball game compared to starting to sell in 2015. These days, you'll need more than just good-looking listings and great copy to hit that highly 7 or 8-figure revenue milestone. 
Starting an Amazon business today is a completely different ball game compared to starting to sell in 2015. These days, you'll need more than just good-looking listings and great copy to hit that highly 7 or 8-figure revenue milestone.
I've invited fellow MDS member and 8-figure seller Talor Zamir to tell us exactly how he's built multiple businesses up to the 8-figure mark, how he got started in the ecommerce industry and the valuable lessons he's learnt along the way. He's also got some tips in store for those of you who are thinking of starting something new for 2023. 
Don't have the time to listen through the whole episode? We've got you covered. Here's some of the highlights from the episode: 

* Introduction to Talor Zamir – 1:22 
* How Talor differentiated products in his first business – 9:45 
* What Talor's best performing businesses had in common – 15:53
* Talor's Differentiation Strategy #2 – Earning your customers trust – 18:52 
* Why Mike started the Ecomcrew Podcast – 25:13 
* Talor's Differentiation Strategy #3 – 27:23 
* How much time Talor spent between selling and starting businesses – 29:25 
* What Talor's working on currently – 34:00 

The lessons here are definitely something everyone should take into consideration before starting your business. No matter how attractive it might seem to sell any product with a high search volume, the riches are in the niches and the best niches are the ones where you can see yourself as the ideal customer. 
This advice may seem obvious to the experienced seller, so I'll echo out a piece of advice for those with mid-sized businesses: do a lot of thinking time. Spend some time outside of the daily work to-do list to think about what you can do to take your brand to the next level. 
I won't spoil anymore for the episode, but hopefully this convinces you to listen through the whole thing. However, if you're more interested in what Talor has to say after hearing his story, check out the Peak Performance Life Podcast where he speaks with physical and mental health experts on how you can start prioritizing your health better. 
Lastly, big things are happening this week with EcomCrew Premium. We’re going to be launching for the last time in 2022, and this is going to be our biggest sale ever! On top of the heavily discounted rate, we’re giving an additional 20% off to those who register for our waitlist.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 40:13 E479: Important Lessons to Incorporate Before Starting a Business nonadult 34411 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e478-october-brand-update/ Mon, 21 Nov 2022 12:53:58 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=34122 <p>October was a busy month for both me and Dave as we work on preparing for Black Friday and making more improvements on all our brands. On top of that, we’re also getting ready for 2023, so it’s no surprise that we’ve run into some challenges along the way. In particular, we’ve been dealing with …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e478-october-brand-update/">E478: How to Deal with Amazon’s Storage Limits (October 2022 Brand Update)</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> October was a busy month for both me and Dave as we work on preparing for Black Friday and making more improvements on all our brands. On top of that, we’re also getting ready for 2023, so it’s no surprise that we’ve run into some challenges along the ... October was a busy month for both me and Dave as we work on preparing for Black Friday and making more improvements on all our brands. On top of that, we’re also getting ready for 2023, so it’s no surprise that we’ve run into some challenges along the way.
In particular, we’ve been dealing with Amazon’s new inventory storage limits that affected most of our brands. In this episode, we talk about how we’re dealing with that and a few things we’ve been implementing to increase our sales and conversion. For more information, check out our October 2022 Brand Report.
Here are the episode’s highlights:

* Amazon Inventory Storage Limits and the percentage of sellers affected – 3:20
* Our theory on why Amazon imposed inventory limits despite the abundance of warehouse space – 7:10
* How our inventory levels are doing with the new limits – 11:20 
* EcomCrew Premium Black Friday Launch – 14:35 
* Using Join Brands to increase conversions – 19:50 
* Justifying ad costs and small improvements for your brand – 22:40 
* How our site traffic improved by using AI – 28:10 

We’re going to be discussing more about how we significantly improved our sites’ traffic using AI in our public webinar tomorrow, November 22 at 10 AM (PST). We’re doing a roundup of all the most effective and advanced strategies we’ve used during the year and show you how you can apply them to your own brands. Make sure to register to save your seats.
Lastly, big things are happening this week with EcomCrew Premium. We’re going to be launching for the last time in 2022, and this is going to be our biggest sale ever! On top of the heavily discounted rate, we’re giving an additional 20% off to those who register for our waitlist.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 37:02 E478: Navigating Amazon’s Inventory Issues - October Brand Report 2022 nonadult 34122 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e477-augmented-reality/ Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:10:28 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=34048 <p>Mike talks to the co-founder of Avataar, Gaurav Baid, about the future of ecommerce through the lens of Augmented Reality and how you can enhance the customer experience through AR. Gaurav is the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Avataar, a company that aims to bridge the gap between retailers and their customers to create …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e477-augmented-reality/">E477: Enhancing the Customer Experience through Augmented Reality</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Mike talks to the co-founder of Avataar, Gaurav Baid, about the future of ecommerce through the lens of Augmented Reality and how you can enhance the customer experience through AR. Gaurav is the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Avataar, Mike talks to the co-founder of Avataar, Gaurav Baid, about the future of ecommerce through the lens of Augmented Reality and how you can enhance the customer experience through AR.
Gaurav is the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Avataar, a company that aims to bridge the gap between retailers and their customers to create a unique interactive shopping experiences for customers through Augmented Reality. 
In this episode, our discussion mainly revolved around these 4 points: 

* The questions that AR can provide to improve Customer Experience
* The unlimited future possibilities of AR and contextual reality
* How creating content with AI is a struggle
* Being the first to adapt will give you a generational advantage
* The statistics of AR's effect on Ecommerce
* The evolution of advertisements through Augmented Reality 
* The costs of AR and today's capabilities 

After everything you've heard today, you might be interested in checking out Avataar. Check out Avataar if you're interested in helping customers visualize your products in their personal spaces. 
On another news, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be opening EcomCrew Premium on Black Friday for the last time this year. And of course, we’re saving the best for last by giving you our biggest discount yet. For an even more special offer, sign up for our waitlist today. It’s open only once a quarter, and there’s no better time to register.
Do you have any thoughts about our podcast? Leave us a review on iTunes.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 36:36 34048 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e476-black-friday-prep/ Mon, 14 Nov 2022 12:38:15 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=33936 <p>The biggest online sales event of the year is coming, and we’re here to help you prepare your brand to make the most out of it. I’m joined by Will Haire of Bellavix to talk about the most important aspects of your business you should be looking at. Here are the episode’s highlights: Will’s e-commerce …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e476-black-friday-prep/">E476: Preparing Your Business for Black Friday</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> The biggest online sales event of the year is coming, and we’re here to help you prepare your brand to make the most out of it. I’m joined by Will Haire of Bellavix to talk about the most important aspects of your business you should be looking at. The biggest online sales event of the year is coming, and we’re here to help you prepare your brand to make the most out of it. I’m joined by Will Haire of Bellavix to talk about the most important aspects of your business you should be looking at.
Here are the episode’s highlights:

* Will’s e-commerce background – 3:21
* What businesses should be preparing for during BFCM – 4:28
* Preparing your site and product listings – 9:46
* The importance of going for longtail keywords – 14:38
* How to encourage user-generated content without violating Amazon’s TOS – 15:12
* Will’s main image horror story – 18:20
* Black Friday EcomCrew Premium opening – 23:05
* How to prepare enough inventory for Black Friday – 25:25
* Some hard truths about selling on Amazon – 29:00
* Are labor issues affecting Amazon’s warehousing problems? – 32:10
* Will’s advertising advice – 33:35

Will is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bellavix, a full-service management agency. Check out Bellavix if you need assistance in managing and growing your business on Amazon or Walmart. They specialize on category domination and cater not only to third-party but also to first-party sellers.
On another news, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be opening EcomCrew Premium on Black Friday for the last time this year. And of course, we’re saving the best for last by giving you our biggest discount yet. For an even more special offer, sign up for our waitlist today. It’s open only once a quarter, and there’s no better time to register.
Do you have any thoughts about our podcast? Leave us a review on iTunes.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 37:44 33936 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e475-jamie-graham/ Mon, 07 Nov 2022 13:04:56 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=33817 <p> Jamie Graham is a Premium member that I was able to meet in an MDS event back in 2018. He and his wife Kayleigh own a beauty brand that’s grown up to 6 million pounds in revenue, with a profit margin of 10%. In this episode, the majority of the discussion was focused on …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e475-jamie-graham/">E475: Restructuring an Ecommerce Company to Focus On What You Enjoy the Most [Under the Hood Part 2 with Jamie Graham]</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Jamie Graham is a Premium member that I was able to meet in an MDS event back in 2018. He and his wife Kayleigh own a beauty brand that’s grown up to 6 million pounds in revenue, with a profit margin of 10%. In this episode, Jamie Graham is a Premium member that I was able to meet in an MDS event back in 2018. He and his wife Kayleigh own a beauty brand that’s grown up to 6 million pounds in revenue, with a profit margin of 10%.
In this episode, the majority of the discussion was focused on these four points:

Restructuring to focus on what you enjoy the most
Restructuring an ecommerce department: by marketplace or by discipline? 
Creating a 3-year business plan and how to incentivize employees to stay on track
Focusing on growing the off-Amazon channel of the business

Jamie and I also went over how close he is to making a life-changing amount of money as he approaches the endgame with almost 5 years in the business and 7 million pounds of revenue every year. 
If you’re interested, you can check out the previous Under the Hood episode here. I’m looking forward to hearing back from Jamie over the next couple of months. With Q4 coming into full swing in just a few weeks, he’ll definitely be having his hands full.
Under the Hood is a segment where we do an hour-long coaching call with one of our listeners. We take a look at their businesses, provide honest feedback, offer our best business advice, and answer whatever questions they have. In exchange for the free coaching, we will turn the call into a podcast episode so that our community can benefit as well. It’s a win-win!
Get more information about Million Dollar Sellers on EcomCrew.com/MDS.
Finally, if you enjoyed listening and think this episode has been useful to you, please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 42:37 33817 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e474-brand-report-sept/ Mon, 31 Oct 2022 08:16:41 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=33524 <p> We’ve had a lot of challenges in September, particularly those related to importing and developing products. This is not unusual for e-commerce sellers dealing with suppliers on the other side of the world. However, despite these challenges, we’ve had a lot of wins in terms of content in many of our brands. We’ve recently …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e474-brand-report-sept/">E474: September 2022 Brand Report—Using AI to Improve Content</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  We’ve had a lot of challenges in September, particularly those related to importing and developing products. This is not unusual for e-commerce sellers dealing with suppliers on the other side of the world. However, despite these challenges, We’ve had a lot of challenges in September, particularly those related to importing and developing products. This is not unusual for e-commerce sellers dealing with suppliers on the other side of the world.
However, despite these challenges, we’ve had a lot of wins in terms of content in many of our brands. We’ve recently been playing around with some new tools to improve SEO, including an on-page AI tool that boosted our traffic significantly.

* 1:58 – Why our overall revenue dipped in September
* 2:47 – YoY updates of the brands
* 8:43 – Is just-in-time inventory better?
* 10:17 – The difficulties of designing and launching new products
* 15:40 – Brand wins for October
* 17:38 – How we use an on-page AI tool to beef up our content
* 23:49 – Failing to add country of origin labels

Check out the Brand Report that complements this episode. Secret Sauce and EcomCrew Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly Income Report, which contains a more detailed breakdown of our numbers and strategies.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. We’d love to hear about what topics you want us to discuss next.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 33:31 33524 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e473-the-6-star-experience-formula/ Mon, 24 Oct 2022 09:59:17 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=33305 <p> Our guest, Tomer Rabinovich, is a magician-turned-entrepreneur. Without any formal training in sales, he was able to launch and scale multiple e-commerce brands. But aside from running his own business, Tomer is passionate about helping other sellers through mastermind classes and his live lectures. This time, he’s gone a step further and wrote a …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e473-the-6-star-experience-formula/">E473: The 6-Star Experience Formula to Get Great Reviews</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Our guest, Tomer Rabinovich, is a magician-turned-entrepreneur. Without any formal training in sales, he was able to launch and scale multiple e-commerce brands. But aside from running his own business, Tomer is passionate about helping other sellers... Our guest, Tomer Rabinovich, is a magician-turned-entrepreneur. Without any formal training in sales, he was able to launch and scale multiple e-commerce brands. But aside from running his own business, Tomer is passionate about helping other sellers through mastermind classes and his live lectures. This time, he’s gone a step further and wrote a book for beginner sellers called Ride the Amazon Wave.
In this episode, we talk about the book, how Tomer got started with e-commerce, and the lessons he learned along the way.
Timestamps:

How it all started for Tomer – 2:31 
Failures in e-commerce – 5:28
Difference between Amazon and Shopify and why it’s okay to focus on one platform – 11:00
Why it’s hard to build brand loyalty on Amazon – 13:03
Applying the 6-star experience to land 5-star reviews – 15:05
Not going after the shiny new objects – 21:33 
How to scale and systemize your business – 23:16

Tomer's book, Ride the Amazon Wave, is a great read for Amazon third-party sellers of all levels. You can purchase the book through Amazon, and if you want to reach out to our guest, go to jointopdog.com.
Check out other episodes from the podcast on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a review.
]]> Mike Jackness clean 27:43 33305 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e472-mastermind/ Tue, 18 Oct 2022 09:23:46 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=33213 <p> Today’s episode is a short one—I wanted to give a short life update on what’s been going on during the past few weeks. I’ve been a little absent for work in the past few weeks to attend a wedding, go on an anniversary cruise with my wife, and also to speak at the Sell …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e472-mastermind/">E472: The Importance of a Mastermind and A Mini Life Update</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Today’s episode is a short one—I wanted to give a short life update on what’s been going on during the past few weeks. I’ve been a little absent for work in the past few weeks to attend a wedding, go on an anniversary cruise with my wife, Today’s episode is a short one—I wanted to give a short life update on what’s been going on during the past few weeks. I’ve been a little absent for work in the past few weeks to attend a wedding, go on an anniversary cruise with my wife, and also to speak at the Sell + Scale Summit and getting COVID thereafter, which has really pushed me back on work that I need to catch up on.
Anyway, I wanted to talk about the real meat and potatoes of this episode—Masterminds. If you're new to the podcast, Masterminds are basically moderated groups of ecommerce entrepreneurs who keep each other accountable for their yearly, quarterly and monthly goals for their business and personal lives.
In my recent weekend with my Mastermind group, I’ve learned that everyone has something that they’re going through, whether in business or in their personal lives, despite how much money they have or how successful they seem to be on the outside. After 6 to 8 years of getting to know these people, it's quite fulfilling to have a group of people to share all your troubles with. 
Hence this episode. Joining a mastermind group has probably been one the best decisions I’ve made for my business, and I really hope that you'll see how advantageous it is to be part of one.
Timestamps: 

* Managing my work-life balance over the past couple of months – 1:34
* The value of being part of a mastermind – 5:39
* My big takeaway from the mastermind – 10:00
* How you can find your own mastermind group – 13:01

Again, I can't encourage you enough join a mastermind, you can shoot us an email at support@ecomcrew.com for more help on potentially finding your tribe. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes.
Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 16:11 33213 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e471-ecommercefuel-2022/ Mon, 10 Oct 2022 13:42:50 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=32924 <p>eCommerceFuel’s eCommerce Trends Report is an annual survey of 7-8 figure store owners that provides a unique and detailed look into which trends are shaping the ecommerce landscape year over year. Joining me for this episode is none other than eCommerceFuel founder Andrew Youderian. We’ll be breaking down the four biggest takeaways from the 2022 …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e471-ecommercefuel-2022/">E471: Breaking Down eCommerceFuel’s 2022 eCommerce Trends Report</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> eCommerceFuel’s eCommerce Trends Report is an annual survey of 7-8 figure store owners that provides a unique and detailed look into which trends are shaping the ecommerce landscape year over year. Joining me for this episode is none other than eCommer...

eCommerceFuel’s eCommerce Trends Report is an annual survey of 7-8 figure store owners that provides a unique and detailed look into which trends are shaping the ecommerce landscape year over year.
Joining me for this episode is none other than eCommerceFuel founder Andrew Youderian. We’ll be breaking down the four biggest takeaways from the 2022 edition of the eCommerce Trends Report to paint you a clear picture of the ecommerce ecosystem and how you can take advantage of these insights to grow your business. 
Some of the awesome things we talk about include why ROAS is no longer a good success indicator, why raising prices is not as scary as you might think, and what the best ecommerce business model is today. 
Timestamps:

Introduction to the 2022 eCommerce Trends Report – 1:08
Takeaway #1: ROAS Is Wildly Overrated for Success – 4:06
Takeaway #2: We’ve Hit Peak Amazon – 8:28
Takeaway #3: You Need to Raise Your Prices (Again) – 13:13
Sidebar: What seller can learn from artists who constantly reinvent themselves – 22:29
Takeaway #4: Manufacturing + Storytelling Crushes All Other Models – 24:53
What the eCommerceFuel community is all about – 32:00

If you want to get into the nitty gritty details of the survey, be sure to check out the full report here. As always, I enjoyed having Andrew on the podcast, and I’m excited to have him back for more episodes soon. You can check out the eCommerceFuel community on their website or hit him up on LinkedIn.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes. Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!


]]> Mike Jackness clean 35:30 32924 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e470-brutal-truth-about-entrepreneurship/ Mon, 03 Oct 2022 14:11:07 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=32648 <p>Hey, it’s Mike and Steve here coming at you with a podcast before we go on stage at the Sell + Scale Summit.  In this episode, we give you a sneak peek into our topic of discussion at the event—brutal truths about success in business. We chose this topic not only to deviate from the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e470-brutal-truth-about-entrepreneurship/">E470: The Brutal Truth About Success In Business with Steve Chou</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Hey, it’s Mike and Steve here coming at you with a podcast before we go on stage at the Sell + Scale Summit.  In this episode, we give you a sneak peek into our topic of discussion at the event—brutal truths about success in business. Hey, it’s Mike and Steve here coming at you with a podcast before we go on stage at the Sell + Scale Summit. 
In this episode, we give you a sneak peek into our topic of discussion at the event—brutal truths about success in business. We chose this topic not only to deviate from the usual seller conference topics, but also to bring to fore some equally important aspects about running a business that people don’t really talk about during these events. 
This episode is filled with insights about the truth behind happiness vis-a-vis money and luxury, the 4-burner theory that helped us scale our business while maintaining healthy relationships, and how we personally dealt with the common struggles that entrepreneurs have. 
Timestamps: 

How we chose our topic for the Sell + Scale Summit – 0:42
What is The 4-Burner Theory? – 6:00
Common misconceptions about success stories in ecommerce – 11:53
The value of having friends with the same values as you – 27:27
What makes the ‘four burners’ concept so profound and effective – 29:43
Why busy is the new stupid – 37:15

Lots of thanks to Steve for doing this episode with me. You can check out all his awesome stuff over on mywifequitherjob.com. I’m looking forward to having him back for more podcasts episodes down the road. 
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes. Until the next one. Happy selling!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 46:04 32648 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e469-august-brand-report/ Mon, 26 Sep 2022 12:44:36 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=32496 <p> It’s Dave here, and I’m excited to jump on this quick solo podcast to talk about our biggest wins and fails in this August 2022 Brand Report.  For those who are new to the podcast, our Brand Report is a monthly Blog and Podcast update where we give you a sneak peek into our …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e469-august-brand-report/">E469: August 2022 Brand Report — Why It’s One of Our Best Months Ever</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  It’s Dave here, and I’m excited to jump on this quick solo podcast to talk about our biggest wins and fails in this August 2022 Brand Report.  For those who are new to the podcast, our Brand Report is a monthly Blog and Podcast update where we give y... It’s Dave here, and I’m excited to jump on this quick solo podcast to talk about our biggest wins and fails in this August 2022 Brand Report. 
For those who are new to the podcast, our Brand Report is a monthly Blog and Podcast update where we give you a sneak peek into our numbers and figures in real time, talk about what’s working (and what’s not), and which marketplace trends factored into our bottomline over the past month. 
In this update, I’ll go over why August 2022 turned out to be an awesome month revenue-wise for us, despite historically being slow because of the seasonal products in our portfolio. I also share how we produce videos, rebrand a business, and hire offshore employees, among other good stuff. Let’s get right into it!
Timestamps: 

Our revenue numbers for August 2022 – 1:29
How we produce videos for new brand – 4:47
Rebranding one of our existing brands – 7:58
Our biggest wins for this month – 9:59
A couple of fails this month – 13:22
Wrapping up our brand update – 18:22

If you want to dive deeper into our numbers for August 2022, head over to ecomcrew.com/august-brand-report, and don’t forget to share how your August went as well! 
As always, leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling and we’ll catch you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 17:14 32496 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e468-running-multiple-brands/ Mon, 19 Sep 2022 11:34:52 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=32363 <p>   As I’ve mentioned dozens of times in this podcast, I was into poker and affiliate marketing before ultimately starting my first ecommerce brand. While some people may find this to be a strange transition, there’s actually quite a few of us who went the same route. Joining me for this episode is Cole …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e468-running-multiple-brands/">E468: The Perks and Challenges of Running Multiple Ecommerce Brands</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>    As I’ve mentioned dozens of times in this podcast, I was into poker and affiliate marketing before ultimately starting my first ecommerce brand. While some people may find this to be a strange transition,  
As I’ve mentioned dozens of times in this podcast, I was into poker and affiliate marketing before ultimately starting my first ecommerce brand. While some people may find this to be a strange transition, there’s actually quite a few of us who went the same route.
Joining me for this episode is Cole South, a longtime friend from way back in my poker days who’s also currently running multiple ecommerce brands himself. 
Some of the good stuff we talk about in this entry include why poker pros seem to make great ecommerce entrepreneurs, what makes running multiple ecommerce brands hard (and why sellers still do it anyway), and Cole’s awesome new software tailored to streamlining your ecommerce business.
Timestamps: 

Why many poker pros get into ecommerce – 1:06
How Cole found out about ecommerce – 3:01
The challenges and benefits of running many ecommerce brands – 5:21
Cole’s current ecommerce brands and niches – 9:40
The future of ecommerce and why it’s become harder – 15:18
An awesome new tool for ecommerce sellers – 20:13
Where to check out all of Synchronize’s features – 26:20

I wanna thank Cole for coming on the show, we’d be thrilled to have him back anytime! If you want to learn more about his new software, Synchronize, they’re currently offering a sweet deal exclusively to EcomCrew Podcast listeners. Head over to synchronize.com/ecomcrew. You can also hit Cole up directly on his Twitter.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Happy selling and we’ll see you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 28:31 32363 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e467-amazon-seller-report-2022/ Tue, 13 Sep 2022 02:30:03 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=31983 <p>The State of the Amazon Seller is an awesome annual report by Jungle Scout that gives valuable insights about Amazon sellers every year. In this episode, Jungle Scout’s very own Jake Zaristian joins me in breaking down the most interesting data points and tidbits from the 2022 edition of this report.  We go over topics …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e467-amazon-seller-report-2022/">E467: Jungle Scout’s 2022 State of the Amazon Seller Report with Jake Zaristian</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> The State of the Amazon Seller is an awesome annual report by Jungle Scout that gives valuable insights about Amazon sellers every year. In this episode, Jungle Scout’s very own Jake Zaristian joins me in breaking down the most interesting data points ... The State of the Amazon Seller is an awesome annual report by Jungle Scout that gives valuable insights about Amazon sellers every year.
In this episode, Jungle Scout’s very own Jake Zaristian joins me in breaking down the most interesting data points and tidbits from the 2022 edition of this report. 
We go over topics like the impact of supply chain disruptions to Amazon businesses, the ongoing storage issues plaguing Amazon sellers, rising costs to sell on Amazon, and much more. So, whether you’re new to selling on Amazon or an experienced seller who wants to know what your competitors are doing, this is an episode you can’t miss!
Timestamps: 

EcomCrew’s limited-time Master Class Mini Bundle offer – 2:01
Introduction to Jake from Jungle Scout – 4:12
Why most sellers stayed profitable despite supply chain issues (and why some didn’t) – 7:20
The ongoing inventory challenges for sellers in 2022 – 11:26
How supply chain disruptions affected a quarter of Amazon sellers – 12:05
How sellers are using FBM and AGL to minimize storage and fulfillment issues – 13:59
The rising costs of selling on Amazon- 20:21
Other big challenges for Amazon sellers in 2022 – 23:08
Why Amazon is still a great business to get into – 25:10
The biggest alternatives to Amazon, according to sellers – 27:50
Amazon corporate’s huge disconnect with its third-party sellers – 30:53

I want to thank Jake for joining me for this very insightful episode. If you want to dig deeper, check out the full 2022 State of the Amazon Seller Report here. Plus, don’t forget to check out EcomCrew’s 2022 Consumer Behavior Report to get into the mind of Amazon shoppers as well. 
Before we go, don’t forget to check out our best bundle offer yet, featuring 12 expert-led Secret Sauce classes PLUS a full-length FBA For Absolute Beginners Course over on ecomcrew.com/classbundle.
Lastly, don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Until the next one, happy selling! 


]]> Mike Jackness clean 39:23 31983 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e466-society-brands/ Mon, 05 Sep 2022 12:44:45 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=31518 <p> Being the sentimental guy that I am, I’ve always found it a little disheartening how swift it is for entrepreneurs to sell and turn over their businesses to aggregators. However, Society Brands strategy is more of a collaborative effort than a one-and-done business transaction. It’s a concept I can definitely get behind. Unlike many …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e466-society-brands/">E466: Society Brands’ “Founder to President” Approach in Aggregating Ecommerce Businesses</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  Being the sentimental guy that I am, I’ve always found it a little disheartening how swift it is for entrepreneurs to sell and turn over their businesses to aggregators. However, Society Brands strategy is more of a collaborative effort than a one-a... Being the sentimental guy that I am, I’ve always found it a little disheartening how swift it is for entrepreneurs to sell and turn over their businesses to aggregators.
However, Society Brands strategy is more of a collaborative effort than a one-and-done business transaction. It’s a concept I can definitely get behind.
Unlike many roll-ups where the seller relinquishes full control of the company after a certain period, Society Brands encourages founders to stay on and help steer the ship.
Michael (Sirpilla, not Jackness), who is the co-founder of Society Brands, describes the company as “if an aggregator and an FBA mastermind had a baby” and his brain child. 
This strategy offers a win-win scenario for the seller, giving them an opportunity to take an offer, continue to manage the business as it grows, and then fully exit at a higher level down the line.
Check out the highlights from this episode:
Timestamps:

Intro to Michael and what Society Brands is all about – 3:29
Why it helps to keep founders onboard – 7:33
Society Brands’ valuation multiples -10:52
The “founder to president” transition – 13:17
How long the transition process takes – 16:29
Society Brands’ criteria for acquiring businesses – 19:49
What’s happening in the aggregator space? – 21:34
Areas where aggregators could succeed or fail –  25:23
How to contact Society Brands – 27:53

Michael, thank you for your time. I look forward to doing a followup on this conversation a year or two from now and see how the aggregating space would look then.
If you have a business for sale and want to find out if Society Brands is a good match, head over to their website and schedule a call. You can also reach out to Michael on LinkedIn.
If you enjoy our podcast, feel free to leave us a review on iTunes. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 31:34 31518 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e465-increasing-profitability/ Mon, 29 Aug 2022 14:19:32 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=31437 <p>After recording this episode, Ben's back to ask about the various strategies that I've been incorporating into our brands to revive our profit margins.  In this new episode, Ben will be asking me a bunch of questions on how I've managed to increase profitability back to 15% from almost losing money in the beginning of the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e465-increasing-profitability/">E465: Back to Basics – Increasing Profitability Q&A</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> After recording this episode, Ben's back to ask about the various strategies that I've been incorporating into our brands to revive our profit margins.  In this new episode, Ben will be asking me a bunch of questions on how I've managed to increase pro... this episode, Ben's back to ask about the various strategies that I've been incorporating into our brands to revive our profit margins. 
In this new episode, Ben will be asking me a bunch of questions on how I've managed to increase profitability back to 15% from almost losing money in the beginning of the year. We've covered a few of these strategies in the past, but I thought it'd be nice to have it all in one episode for the audience to take and use for their own brands.
This episode is all about increasing profitability. With COVID-related challenges to consider and inflation in full swing, we thought this was a highly important subject to talk about, especially with Q4 in the horizon.
Episode highlights: 

* What our Back to Basics podcast series is all about – 3:10
* The four levers to lowering your costs and improving profitability – 4:12
* How to deal with rising shipping costs and supply chain disruptions – 7:10
* How resizing your packaging lowers costs – 10:40
* Raising profitability by raising your prices – 13:05
* Keeping your TACOS under control – 20:15
* Ancillary costs that you can cut back on – 22:30
* How to get manufacturers to hold inventory for you – 28:34 

If you listened all the way to the end, then you know we have some exciting topics to discuss in upcoming episodes of this series, so make sure to tune in to the podcast.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 31:42 31437 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e464-amazon-live/ Mon, 22 Aug 2022 08:31:49 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=31302 <p>Earlier this year, we got fellow podcaster Carlos Alvarez to share his personal and ecommerce journey with us – you can listen to that episode here. Now, he’s back on the podcast to talk about a topic I wish we could’ve unpacked sooner: Amazon Live! Launched in 2019, this feature isn’t totally new but not …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e464-amazon-live/">E464: Optimize Your Brand Visibility with Amazon Live</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Earlier this year, we got fellow podcaster Carlos Alvarez to share his personal and ecommerce journey with us – you can listen to that episode here. Now, he’s back on the podcast to talk about a topic I wish we could’ve unpacked sooner: Amazon Live! Earlier this year, we got fellow podcaster Carlos Alvarez to share his personal and ecommerce journey with us – you can listen to that episode here.
Now, he’s back on the podcast to talk about a topic I wish we could’ve unpacked sooner: Amazon Live!
Launched in 2019, this feature isn’t totally new but not all Amazon businesses use it, myself included. This conversation might just be the push I need.
Carlos is here to walk us through the process of getting started on this and why brands should hop on the livestreaming bandwagon.
Check out the highlights from this episode:

Intro – 0:00
An overview of Amazon Live – 3:22 
The impact of Amazon influencers – 6:25
Improving your livestream with hardware – 8:51
Requisites to use Amazon Live – 10:17
A boost in exposure – 11:52
Setting expectations as a new user – 14:09
Understanding the demographic – 17:17
Carlos’ personal experience with Amazon Live – 19:02
Tips on how to create a great livestream – 21:22
Get in touch with Carlos – 26:52
Putting in the work – 30:08

Carlos, thank you for coming again on the podcast and sharing your time with us. Our discussion got me excited to try out Amazon Live for my own brands.
For those who have any questions for Carlos, feel free to send him a DM on Instagram @wizardsofecom. If you’ve already listened to the episode, you’d know that Carlos has generously given out his phone number as well. But serious queries only, please!
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 32:13 31302 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e463-july-brand-report/ Mon, 15 Aug 2022 13:28:55 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=31064 <p>July was an interesting month. For me, my top line number went down, but my bottom line number went up – thanks to reduced PPC costs, raised product prices, and AGL. Dave, on the other hand, rants about the ridiculous sales tax being imposed on businesses based in British Columbia. We also discuss our takes …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e463-july-brand-report/">E463: Our Longest Tenured Employee is Leaving – July Brand Report 2022</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> July was an interesting month. For me, my top line number went down, but my bottom line number went up – thanks to reduced PPC costs, raised product prices, and AGL. Dave, on the other hand, rants about the ridiculous sales tax being imposed on busines... July was an interesting month. For me, my top line number went down, but my bottom line number went up – thanks to reduced PPC costs, raised product prices, and AGL.
Dave, on the other hand, rants about the ridiculous sales tax being imposed on businesses based in British Columbia.
We also discuss our takes on 3PL, which Dave and I are approaching very differently: I’m slowly weaning off of it, while Dave is heavily reliant on it (for an inevitable yet valid reason).
In more devastating news: Abby, EcomCrew’s employee #1 and brand manager is leaving us. This was bound to happen eventually, but it still feels very sad that it's actually happening.
That concludes our July Brand Report. It’s definitely going to be challenging without Abby and we’ll miss her for sure, but that’s life. We wish her all the best in her journey.
We never have enough time on the podcast to cover everything in our Brand Report, so if you want to see the full-length report, check out the blogpost here.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 31:09 31064 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e462-understanding-fba-aggregator/ Mon, 08 Aug 2022 11:00:06 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=30789 <p>If you’re well versed in the wider ecommerce landscape, you’d know that the FBA aggregator or acquisition industry have become a lucrative business in recent years. RJ is the founder of 101 Commerce, which is considered the first FBA aggregator with institutional backing. Before names like Thrasio went big, there was 101 Commerce. RJ's been …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e462-understanding-fba-aggregator/">E462: Understanding the Enormous FBA Aggregator Space with Richard Jalichandra</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> If you’re well versed in the wider ecommerce landscape, you’d know that the FBA aggregator or acquisition industry have become a lucrative business in recent years. RJ is the founder of 101 Commerce, which is considered the first FBA aggregator with in... RJ is the founder of 101 Commerce, which is considered the first FBA aggregator with institutional backing. Before names like Thrasio went big, there was 101 Commerce.
RJ's been on the podcast before, when 101 Commerce was just getting started, and so I thought RJ would be a great resource person to talk about the ins and outs of being an FBA aggregator, how the business works and the current environment of the industry.
If you want to listen to our first episode together, you can find it here.
Learn about the FBA Aggregator Space in these highlights:

Intro – 0:00
The genesis of 101 Commerce – 5:16 
What kind of businesses do aggregators look for? – 12:17
Challenges of being an aggregator – 14:20 
RJ’s retiring and unretiring – 16:00
Getting back into ecommerce – 15:27
The aggregator business model and its challenges – 19:41 
The learning curve – 23:28
The future of the aggregator space – 26:05 
What’s next for RJ? – 31:19 
Connect with RJ – 33:16

Thank you so much for your time, RJ. It was nice to catch up and chat a bit about the inner workings of the aggregating business.
If you need advice on how to sell your brand, you can message RJ on LinkedIn. You can also check out Incline Capital’s website for more information on their services.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 36:13 30789 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e461-annual-brand-update/ Mon, 01 Aug 2022 11:17:56 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=30540 <p> I did the first one of these annual brand updates on July 17, 2017. It’s kind of surreal how fast time flies. I’ve always enjoyed these because it makes me take an objective look at my brand. We have an article about this subject on the blog. If you’d like to go through the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e461-annual-brand-update/">E461: Reaching The Five-Year Mark (Annual Brand Update by Dave Bryant)</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  I did the first one of these annual brand updates on July 17, 2017. It’s kind of surreal how fast time flies. I’ve always enjoyed these because it makes me take an objective look at my brand. We have an article about this subject on the blog. I did the first one of these annual brand updates on July 17, 2017. It’s kind of surreal how fast time flies. I’ve always enjoyed these because it makes me take an objective look at my brand.
We have an article about this subject on the blog. If you’d like to go through the full details, you can find the article by clicking here.
In this article, I will give a five-year update (I can’t believe it has been that long!) which will detail revenues, wins, losses, and goals for the next year.
Businesses in certain niches certainly benefited from the lockdown, us included. With people choosing to do more outdoor activities then, we saw a spike in our sales the first two years into the pandemic.
However, as the world slowly opened up again and travel resumed, our revenue went down. I’m sure other businesses in this niche are experiencing this as well.
The past year wasn’t all that bad though. We had our losses, but we had awesome wins too. I’ve also set some goals for the company that I hope will come to fruition in the coming months.
Check out the highlights from this episode:

Intro – 0:00
June 2022 revenue – 2:52
The Covid bump – 3:31
Increased competition – 6:17
Decline in TACoS – 8:56
Our massive hit product – 12:29
Finding a good fulfillment system in Canada – 15:30
New hires from the Philippines – 16:30
Developing a custom inventory software – 17:40
Our losses the past year – 19:20
My goals for the next 12 months – 21:25

That’s it for my year-in-review podcast episode. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you were able to take away a thing or two from this brief discussion.
I also did a blogpost where I elaborate more on these points in detail over at ecomcrew.com. Go check it out and leave a comment. I’d love to know what you guys think.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 26:48 30540 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e460-june-brand-report/ Mon, 25 Jul 2022 13:50:24 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=30328 <p>As we’ve mentioned in our previous episodes, Dave and I spent a good chunk of June in the Philippines spending time with our employees there. We also made good headway on the content website we are launching this month–yes, this month! After several setbacks, I can finally see the light at the end of the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e460-june-brand-report/">E460: June Brand Report 2022 – Improving Margins During An Economic Downturn</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> As we’ve mentioned in our previous episodes, Dave and I spent a good chunk of June in the Philippines spending time with our employees there. We also made good headway on the content website we are launching this month–yes, this month! We also made good headway on the content website we are launching this month–yes, this month! After several setbacks, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
For me, I worked on improving my margins, which included taking out an Amazon loan and fully transitioning to AGL. It’s definitely a tedious process, but worth it.
If you listened to our May Brand Report podcast, you’ll recall that one of Dave’s brands had an IPI score teetering below the required threshold. He’s got an update on that one.
Let’s get into our latest Brand Report, shall we? Check out the highlights from this episode: 

Intro – 0:00
Our revenue for June – 2:32
Average margins in ecommerce – 4:59
The impact of the declining economy – 6:18
Gearing up for the worst – 10:14
What we worked on in June – 12:44
The reason behind our new content website’s delay – 15:08
Our game plan for the launch – 17:30
Transitioning exclusively to AGL – 20:19
Dripping in LCL inventory via AGL – 25:07
Amazon’s new growth program – 30:25
An update on Dave’s IPI score – 32:37

That’s it for our June Brand Report. After several delays, I’m so happy to say we’re almost at the finish line. We can’t wait to finally show you our new content website in the next few days!
In the meantime, you can check out the blog counterpart of the Brand Report here if you want a more detailed account of what we did last month.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 34:46 30328 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e459-redefining-success/ Mon, 18 Jul 2022 12:42:17 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=30171 <p>Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I am very much aware of how unstable and unpredictable life in the business can be. The journey is never linear. Fellow Vegasite Jonathan Jesper, who has never had a job, has been an entrepreneur his whole life – he’s no stranger to failure. He lived in a van …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e459-redefining-success/">E459: Bouncing Back From Failure and Redefining Success with Jonathan Jesper</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I am very much aware of how unstable and unpredictable life in the business can be. The journey is never linear. Fellow Vegasite Jonathan Jesper, who has never had a job, Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, I am very much aware of how unstable and unpredictable life in the business can be. The journey is never linear.
Fellow Vegasite Jonathan Jesper, who has never had a job, has been an entrepreneur his whole life – he’s no stranger to failure.
He lived in a van straight out of high school; went to college and then dropped out; and eventually, as he described, “failed into ecommerce.”
Jonathan’s life as an entrepreneur is quite the story. From selling flowers at high school graduations to running his own Amazon business, he certainly knows the hustle.
Check out the highlights from this episode:
Timestamps:

Intro – 0:00
Background on Jonathan – 2:16
Jonathan’s early years as an entrepreneur – 3:20
Benefits of traveling – 6:19
Being “stuck” in our beliefs – 7:32 
Transitioning to ecommerce – 9:46 
Inventing a market – 13:04 
Dealing with failure – 16:01
The relativity of success – 20:42 
The blueprint of life – 23:16
Connecting the dots – 30:36
Helpful resources – 34:14

That was a great and insightful conversation, Jonathan. Thank you for coming on the podcast. This episode is a reminder that it’s important to reevaluate what success means to us. 
Speaking of success, if you want some tips on how to build a successful Amazon business, EcomCrew Premium is open to new members until Friday. Sign up now to get all the cool perks.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 37:09 30171 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e458-amazon-consumer-report/ Mon, 11 Jul 2022 15:36:56 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=30039 <p>Over the past few months, we’ve been working on a survey to pick the brain of today’s Amazon consumer a little bit – to better understand their purchasing habits. What pushes a consumer to check out an item? Which matters more: star rating or number of reviews? With the findings, we hope sellers can leverage …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e458-amazon-consumer-report/">E458: Analyzing Our 2022 Amazon Consumer Behavior Survey</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Over the past few months, we’ve been working on a survey to pick the brain of today’s Amazon consumer a little bit – to better understand their purchasing habits. What pushes a consumer to check out an item? What pushes a consumer to check out an item? Which matters more: star rating or number of reviews? With the findings, we hope sellers can leverage them to improve their strategies.
We also found out something that we’ve somewhat always suspected. You’ll want to stick around till the end. It’s quite the bombshell. But don’t skip!
These are the highlights from this episode:
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00
The most important buying holiday – 3:45
The deciding factor to make a purchase – 7:50
Good star rating vs number of reviews – 10:12
The impact of reviews – 13:40
Do badges matter? – 18:20
Sponsored products – 22:45
The real reason why buyers return products – 27:05
The impact of returns on ranking – 34:38
Shoutout to the team – 36:10

We hope you learned a thing or two from our survey. Of course, I can’t end this without recognizing the hard work of our team. This would not have been possible without them.
Mind you, we only covered a small portion of the survey, so if you want to see the full report, you can check out www.ecomcrew.com/amazonreport.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 34:47 30039 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e457-amazon-advertising-report/ Thu, 07 Jul 2022 11:52:26 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=29929 <p>Personally, I’ve been using Jungle Scout for several years and I’ve found it to be a great tool for any ecommerce business. We’re also grateful to have worked with them as affiliates for a while now. We’ve even had their CEO on the podcast. For this episode, we have their Director of Product, Jake Corkin. …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e457-amazon-advertising-report/">E457: Looking Into JungleScout’s Amazon Advertising Report with Jake Corkin</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Personally, I’ve been using Jungle Scout for several years and I’ve found it to be a great tool for any ecommerce business. We’re also grateful to have worked with them as affiliates for a while now. We’ve even had their CEO on the podcast. Personally, I’ve been using Jungle Scout for several years and I’ve found it to be a great tool for any ecommerce business.
We’re also grateful to have worked with them as affiliates for a while now. We’ve even had their CEO on the podcast.
For this episode, we have their Director of Product, Jake Corkin. Aside from his full-time position at Jungle Scout, he also sells on Amazon as a side business.
Just recently, Jungle Scout released an Amazon Advertising Report for 2022 and I thought it would be great to dive into this with Jake.
Here are the highlights from this episode.
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:30
A brief background on Jake – 1:00
Jungle Scout’s new capabilities – 2:30
Dissecting the Amazon Advertising Report – 8:00
The difficulty of launching a new product these days – 12:17
Consumers’ preferred ad type – 13:44
ROAS changes – 17:05
The value for sellers in this report – 18:43
Most and least competitive categories – 20:14
Predictions and strategies – 22:16
The equalization of ad spending – 24:22
Where you can view the report – 29:26

You can read Jungle Scout’s Amazon Advertising Report in full detail over on their website. Jake, thank you for coming on the podcast and sharing your insights with us.
If you want to give Jungle Scout a try, you can sign up through our affiliate link and get a sweet deal on a subscription of your choice.
You know the drill, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 30:44 29929 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e456-costs-and-profitability/ Mon, 04 Jul 2022 15:11:38 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=29810 <p> After recording this episode, I thought it would be nice to have Ben be in front of the camera more often and be a regular on the podcast. In this new Q&A series, Ben will be asking me a bunch of questions on how to run a successful ecommerce business and I will do …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e456-costs-and-profitability/">E456: Back to Basics – Costs and Profitability Q&A</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p>  After recording this episode, I thought it would be nice to have Ben be in front of the camera more often and be a regular on the podcast. In this new Q&A series, Ben will be asking me a bunch of questions on how to run a successful ecommerce busines... After recording this episode, I thought it would be nice to have Ben be in front of the camera more often and be a regular on the podcast.
In this new Q&A series, Ben will be asking me a bunch of questions on how to run a successful ecommerce business and I will do my best to answer them as exhaustively as I can.
This episode is all about costs and profitability. With Covid-related challenges to consider and inflation in full swing, we thought this was a highly important subject to kick things off. 
Here are the highlights of this episode.
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00
Getting to know Ben – 2:13
What are the several costs that eat into a ecommerce business' monthly net profit? – 3:58


How Amazon fees affect profit margins – 6:46


The struggle of maintaining profit in ecommerce – 11:00
Will Amazon fees stop increasing eventually? – 14:23
Raising prices to keep up with inflation – 16:04 
Helpful tools to gauge costs and profitability – 18:43
Finding opportunities in ecommerce – 23:10
Which one should you consider first, product or profit margin? – 24:08
Affiliate marketing vs ecommerce from Mike’s POV – 26:14
What to expect in the next Q&A episodes – 31:32

If you listened all the way to the end, then you know we have some exciting topics to discuss in upcoming episodes of this series, so make sure to tune in to the podcast.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 35:07 29810 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e455-may-brand-report/ Mon, 27 Jun 2022 15:41:20 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=29553 <p>Aside from our recent trip to the Philippines (which you can know more about here and here), May was quite an eventful month. Revenue-wise, there was a slight increase from April by almost $70,000. If we’re talking about individual brand progress, there was a fair share of wins and losses. IceWraps saw a big gain, …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e455-may-brand-report/">E455: How Seasonality Affects Revenue – May Brand Report 2022</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> Aside from our recent trip to the Philippines (which you can know more about here and here), May was quite an eventful month. Revenue-wise, there was a slight increase from April by almost $70,000. If we’re talking about individual brand progress, Aside from our recent trip to the Philippines (which you can know more about here and here), May was quite an eventful month.
Revenue-wise, there was a slight increase from April by almost $70,000. If we’re talking about individual brand progress, there was a fair share of wins and losses.
IceWraps saw a big gain, while Offroading Gear and BTG Gear were down roughly 10% compared to May last year.
In May, we worked with our developer on the finishing touches for our new content website. Slight hiccup though, the launch is delayed by a week at least. But we’re still eyeing a July date!
For Dave, he recently rolled out a ‘cockroach’ product that sold out in a couple of days. If you’re curious to know what this is, you’ll have to sign up for Secret Sauce.
On the other hand, the IPI score of one of his brands dropped below the required threshold, which could result in inventory restrictions. But Dave’s not too worried about it.
Listen to the podcast to know more about what went down in May. Check out the highlights from this episode:
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00
How was May overall? – 2:45
The ups and downs of being an entrepreneur – 5:08
The seasonality of products – 7:49
Raising prices – 10:49
Computing COGS – 13:09
A quick runthrough of our wins – 19:22
Dave hiring new people for his brand – 25:07
Dave’s new cockroach product – 27:40
The cockroach method and why it works – 29:15
How Dave dealt with his brand’s IPI score dropping – 32:03
Amazon’s excess space issue – 33:59

That’s it for our May Brand Report. It’s been a busy couple of months. I expect it’s going to be even busier as we near the launch of our new content website. Wish us luck!
If you want a more detailed breakdown of what we discussed in this episode, you can check out the blog post of the report here.
As always, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 36:23 29553 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e454-lessons-from-the-philippines/ Mon, 20 Jun 2022 15:23:26 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=29066 <p>It finally happened–we made it to Cebu! Dave and I aligned our travel dates so that we’d have a few days to spend with the EcomCrew team while we were there. It’s been three years since I last saw some of them (most I haven’t met in person at all), and it was Dave’s first …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e454-lessons-from-the-philippines/">E454: What We Learned from Visiting Our Team in the Philippines</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> It finally happened–we made it to Cebu! Dave and I aligned our travel dates so that we’d have a few days to spend with the EcomCrew team while we were there. It’s been three years since I last saw some of them (most I haven’t met in person at all), It finally happened–we made it to Cebu! Dave and I aligned our travel dates so that we’d have a few days to spend with the EcomCrew team while we were there.
It’s been three years since I last saw some of them (most I haven’t met in person at all), and it was Dave’s first time in Cebu, so we were pretty excited to say the least.
While it was definitely great to finally be back, this visit was also bittersweet because we recently lost a dear member of our Terran family.
If you’re curious to know more about what we did while we were in the bustling metro of Cebu, tune in to the podcast. Here are the highlights of this episode:
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00
First impressions of Cebu – 1:06
Transiting through Manila – 3:06
Our jeepney adventure with the team – 5:06
How Mike spent his time in Cebu – 8:28
Dave on getting things done – 11:36
The shift in the country’s employment landscape – 13:49
Figuring out what else we can offer our employees – 19:50
Pros and cons of frequent meetings – 23:14
Problems we overlooked and uncovered – 27:06
Musings on life – 30:21
What we have planned for EcomCrew – 35:53

Although I wish this trip happened under better circumstances, I’m still very grateful that Dave and I finally got to see our PH team again. We’ll definitely do our best to make this an annual thing.
We’ve got some exciting plans for EcomCrew and the podcast but we can’t reveal them just yet. For now, make sure to tune in to our upcoming episodes for updates!
As usual, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 38:03 29066 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e453-visiting-philippines/ Mon, 13 Jun 2022 17:10:36 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=22484 <p>I’m in Cebu for a couple of weeks! Over this short but fun period, I saw old friends again after the pandemic and got to meet new ones whom I've only ever spoken to on Zoom. I had a genuinely fun time being back to the Philippines after several years. Joining me for this episode …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e453-visiting-philippines/">E453: Looking Back on Mike’s Trip to the Philippines with EcomCrew</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> I’m in Cebu for a couple of weeks! Over this short but fun period, I saw old friends again after the pandemic and got to meet new ones whom I've only ever spoken to on Zoom. I had a genuinely fun time being back to the Philippines after several years. I’m in Cebu for a couple of weeks!
Over this short but fun period, I saw old friends again after the pandemic and got to meet new ones whom I've only ever spoken to on Zoom. I had a genuinely fun time being back to the Philippines after several years.
Joining me for this episode is our very own podcast producer, Ben. Ben has been with us for over three years and has done amazing work taking the EcomCrew Podcast to the level it’s at now. 
Today, we’ll be talking all about how much the pandemic affected our work environment, our big plans to give you more awesome content over the coming years, and why we bully Steve Chou a lot :)
If you’ve ever thought of building or growing your own Philippine team, this episode should be doubly insightful for you.
I wanna thank Ben for doing this episode with me. I really enjoyed my short stay here in Cebu and we can’t wait for you guys to see everything EcomCrew has in store in the coming years. 
If you haven’t already, please leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Happy selling and I’ll see you on the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 29:00 22484 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e452-ecommerce-agency-in-ukraine/ Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:19:26 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=22431 <p>What’s happening in Ukraine is heartbreaking. Who would’ve thought that an invasion could happen even in the 21st century? I figured the least we can do is provide a platform to shed some light on the situation there from a local’s perspective, which is why we have Paul Okhrem on the podcast.  Paul is the …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e452-ecommerce-agency-in-ukraine/">E452: Running an Ecommerce Agency in Ukraine Amid The Invasion</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> What’s happening in Ukraine is heartbreaking. Who would’ve thought that an invasion could happen even in the 21st century? I figured the least we can do is provide a platform to shed some light on the situation there from a local’s perspective, What’s happening in Ukraine is heartbreaking. Who would’ve thought that an invasion could happen even in the 21st century?
I figured the least we can do is provide a platform to shed some light on the situation there from a local’s perspective, which is why we have Paul Okhrem on the podcast. 
Paul is the COO and co-founder of Elogic Commerce, a consultancy company with offices in Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe.
In our conversation, Paul shares his firsthand account on the situation in Ukraine, Elogic’s emergency response, and how the invasion affected the ecommerce industry there.
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00
Elogic’s response when news of the invasion broke – 1:51
The resilience of the Ukrainians – 8:28
How Elogic’s clients reacted – 9:53
The IT talent in Eastern Europe – 10:48
Ukraine’s progress over Russia – 11:53
How the invasion affected Rozetka, Amazon’s Ukrainian counterpart – 13:41
The importance of having a contingency plan – 15:46
Elogic’s services – 19:47
Elogic’s clients – 20:05
Ukraine’s ecommerce industry – 20:48
How to reach out to Elogic – 22:51
Standing with Ukraine – 23:57

Paul, thank you for taking the time to be on the podcast and sharing your experience with us. We hope to hear good news soon. Stay safe and keep in touch. 
For more information about Elogic’s services, you can visit their website. If you just want to learn more about ecommerce, you can check out their blog.
As usual, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 26:09 22431 https://www.ecomcrew.com/e451-april-brand-report/ Mon, 30 May 2022 11:00:35 +0000 https://www.ecomcrew.com/?p=22396 <p>It’s time for another Brand Report! Compared to March, there’s a slight decline in last month’s revenue numbers. But that’s not to say April was all bad. April was a hectic month for me. After over six months of working with several developers, we finally got to launch Tactical.com’s new look, which I am very …</p> <p><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com/e451-april-brand-report/">E451: It’s Crunch Time For Our New Brand – April Brand Report 2022</a> first appeared on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ecomcrew.com">EcomCrew</a>.</p></p> It’s time for another Brand Report! Compared to March, there’s a slight decline in last month’s revenue numbers. But that’s not to say April was all bad. April was a hectic month for me. After over six months of working with several developers, It’s time for another Brand Report! Compared to March, there’s a slight decline in last month’s revenue numbers. But that’s not to say April was all bad.
April was a hectic month for me. After over six months of working with several developers, we finally got to launch Tactical.com’s new look, which I am very happy about.
Dave also shares about a recent oopsie doopsie he had with one of his product listings and accidentally changing the price from $199.99 to $19.99. Yikes.
An exciting update on Knitting.com: Hannah (our first new hire) flew in to record some videos with us. I don’t know how we did it, but we managed to script and record around 20 videos.
We’re also eyeing to produce at least 10 products. While I’m not confident we can make it this year, Dave is willing to air freight everything just so we can make it in time for the holidays.
Here are the highlights from this episode, including the launch date for the Knitting.com content website!
Timestamps: 

Intro – 0:00
Reconnecting in person, and meeting the team – 1:11
April’s revenue numbers – 3:14
A deeper dive into Dave’s revenue numbers – 4:25
Tactical.com redesign – 9:53
Challenges of website development – 12:42
Recording videos for Knitting (and the launch date) – 15:48
The content plan for Knitting – 16:04
Dave’s pricing oopsies – 20:48
An attempt to lower insurance costs for Dave’s products – 23:21
Product development for Knitting.com – 27:34
Wrapping up – 31:42

That’s it for our April Brand Report. Revenue is a little flat, but it was a productive month nonetheless. Here’s to hoping May will be better.
When this episode is out, I’ll probably be in Cebu by then. While I’m there with the team, we’ll be recording a few episodes for the podcast so stay tuned for that.
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
]]> Mike Jackness clean 34:31 22396