Podcasts about roas

What Every Time-Starved Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Using ChatGPT to Win at Social Media Marketing in 2026   Master ChatGPT for online entrepreneurship with conversion-focused tactics. In this episode, we reveal the exact AI entrepreneur prompt systems for social media captions, split-testing ad copy, and auditing conversion leaks—strategies busy parents are using to scale side gigs without agency fees. Learn the caption engineering framework, A/B testing methodology, and audit checklists that turn engagement into income in 2026. https://DarkHorseEntrepreneur.com Tracy explains how to use ChatGPT (including GPT-4o and 5o) and other AI models to scale social media marketing by rapidly generating and testing multiple caption hooks to boost first-hour engagement velocity, then extending AI use to full ad campaign architecture across platforms with native-format variations, systematic low-budget testing, and scaling winners while killing losers. It emphasizes that AI is a force multiplier, not a replacement, and warns that poor offers and weak funnels can't be fixed by AI—AI amplifies both good and bad strategy. A parallel "conversion audit" process is recommended, using tools like GA4 data analyzed in ChatGPT to identify high-quality traffic, CPA, and ROAS. The script argues the real competitive advantage is strategy and audience insight, and outlines monetization via productized services, SOPs, automation tools, and digital products, while cautioning against burnout from scaling too many systems instead of focusing on clarity and sustainable execution.   00:00 AI Social Media Promise 01:35 Algorithm Brutal Truth 02:13 Caption Engineering System 04:19 AI Powered Ad Testing 06:45 Avoid Scaling Mediocrity 08:09 Conversion Audit Loop 09:51 Strategy Beats AI 10:48 Clone Systems to Scale 12:23 Clarity Over More Systems 13:54 Final Leverage Takeaway  

In this episode, Josh interviews George Meressa, founder of Clear Ads, about effective Amazon DSP advertising strategies. George explains how to vet DSP agencies, select high-performing products for campaigns, and leverage remarketing, cross-selling, and competitor targeting using Amazon's data analytics. He emphasizes the importance of choosing certified partners, analyzing product conversion rates, and methodically building campaigns. The discussion includes actionable tips for maximizing ROAS and practical advice for supplement brands and other sellers aiming to scale with DSP. The episode concludes with key takeaways for listeners interested in leveraging Amazon DSP for business growth.Chapters:Introduction & Guest Background (00:00:00)George Meressa's experience in digital advertising and focus on Amazon PPC and DSP.Vetting a DSP Agency (00:00:40)Checklist for choosing a DSP agency, importance of official partners, and due diligence questions.Transition to DSP Strategies (00:03:16)Emphasizing the importance of agency selection before starting DSP strategies.Selecting Products for DSP (00:03:41)Criteria for choosing products: retail readiness, sales volume, impressions, and conversion rates.Remarketing as First Strategy (00:03:45)Remarketing setup: targeting product viewers who haven't purchased, and audience segmentation.Product Data & Conversion Rate Analysis (00:04:59)Importance of product data, minimum impressions, and conversion rate benchmarks for DSP success.Audience Segmentation for Retargeting (00:06:27)Creating and excluding specific audiences for more effective retargeting campaigns.Cross-Selling & Market Basket Analysis (00:07:14)Using brand analytics and market basket analysis to build cross-sell campaigns.Advanced Audience Targeting & Overlap Reports (00:08:18)Utilizing overlap reports, refining audience targeting, and future of display ads.Bespoke ASIN Targeting & Subscribe & Save Strategies (00:09:13)Custom ASIN targeting, strategies for subscribe & save products, and using purchase window data.Competitor Targeting for Supplements (00:11:17)Targeting competitor's customers for supplements and the strong DSP fit for supplement brands.Episode Wrap-Up & Actionable Takeaways (00:11:41)Summary of key strategies, actionable steps, and importance of methodical DSP campaign building.DSP Product Fit & Data-Driven Decisions (00:13:37)Discussion on product suitability for DSP, importance of impressions and conversion rates.Layering DSP Strategies Up the Funnel (00:14:37)Methodical approach: start with retargeting, analyze results, and progressively add advanced strategies.Closing & Contact Information (00:15:27)How to contact George Meressa and Clear Ads for DSP services and further advice.Links and Mentions:Amazon Accredited Partners Page: "00:01:48"  Brand Metrics: "00:05:47"  Overlap Reports: "00:08:18"  Prosper Show: "00:08:18"  Nozzle: "00:10:12"  ClearAds: "00:15:53"Transcript:Josh 00:00:00  I am super excited to introduce you all to George Meressa. George has been in digital advertising since 2009, working on a wide range of platforms including Amazon, Google, Bing, LinkedIn and Facebook. Paid advertising. Using these platforms, he has worked with hundreds of advertisers across the world in numerous industries and sectors to maximize their ROAS. His agency, Clear Ads, now focuses purely on Amazon PPC and DSP advertising, helping deliver the best results for his clients. So with that introduction, welcome to the show, George.George 00:00:38  Thank you so much for having me, Josh. It's a pleasure.Josh 00:00:40  What are some of the what's a checklist that you should kind of go through and walk through to vet an agency that you're looking to have, do DSP for you?George 00:00:48  The first thing is don't go with Amazon. Right. But I'm sure they won't mind me saying this. Right. But actually they will. But I'm going to say anyway, Amazon's core strategy is to get you to spend as much money as possible. That's their KPI because that's how they get promoted.George 00:01:02  Right. So the way they treat your account is they go, hey, look at all these amazing impressions that you've got. Isn't that great? And as I said, you're like, hold on one step. Precious isn't really the key thing for us. Like we're trying to get. We're trying to we're trying to grow our business. Not not just increase our reach. So that's the big thing that they go with, especially with the slight uncertainty with attribution at the moment. It could look to to their favor. Right. That's the first thing. Now second, when you do go to an agency, the first step you should take is go onto Amazon's accredited partners page. Right. And check out DSP providers. So Amazon DSP providers just put stuff on Google. Go onto Amazon's page and there's a list of DSP providers. Right. So what you tend to find if you find any company. Right. If they're if they're if they are an official partner with Amazon, they will tend to have a partner badge somewhere which links straight to that page which shows you, hey, their official partner.George 00:01:58  Now, if they're not an official partner, they might be piggybacking off someone else's suit. Right. You don't want to get into that. Because if they're piggybacking off someone else's seat. Right. Let's just say there's some internal issues and they get kicked out of that seat. They no longer have access to your account. Who do you contact? Yeah. Who do? Who do you reach? You don't know. Right. So you want to make sure you've got someone who's got their own first thing. The second thing is, I'm sure every seller that's listening to this, they're savvy. They have a pool. An audience of other savvy sellers. Speak to them, find out who are they using that's doing DSP. That's working really well. Right. Get their first, first, first glance and say, okay, what's your experience been like? and ensure that they're happy with whoever it is. So they're the steps that I would recommend taking when trying to find a DSP agent. I would even go as far as ask them questions about the business.George 00:02:49  What's the purpose of the business? What are you looking to do? How big is it? How long has it been going? Is it? Is it a brand new business that's business. Me starting up for a bit and might not be there tomorrow. Yeah. Is it one that's been there for a while? Is it, you know, you want to you just want to really find out how many DSP, agents you have. How many of them are certified? how many have taken the exams? I would just do your due diligence. Ask those questions before it's too late, and then before you're stuck with someone.Josh 00:03:16  Yeah, I think that is foundation number one for sure. So I hope our listeners follow those best practices because it's true. You make this decision, and it's not like you could just change course after six months or a year. otherwise you're just starting from ground zero all over again. All right. Now let's jump into these strategies. Let's say you have found the right agency to work with.Josh 00:03:41  What's the first strategy you should be implementing with DSP?George 00:03:45  Yeah. So the first strategy is 100% remarketing. You want to you want it. You want to okay. No, n...

Send us Fan MailAre you making marketing decisions too quickly? In this episode of The Unstoppable Marketer®, Mark Goldhart and Trevor Crump explain why many brands are unknowingly sabotaging their growth by obsessing over ROAS, reacting to short-term data, and trying to control every variable in the customer journey. They break down why digital marketing has created an illusion of control, why top-of-funnel investment matters more than ever, and how the biggest brands win by consistently staying in front of customers over time. If you're constantly turning ads on and off, chasing efficiency metrics, or making emotional decisions based on a few bad days, this episode will completely change how you think about scaling a brand.Connect with The Unstoppable Marketer® on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and YouTube @unstoppablemarketerpodcast, and let us know how you're telling your brand story this year!00:00 — Stop Reacting Emotionally03:00 — The Investing Mindset07:00 — The Illusion Of Control12:00 — Why ROAS Is Misleading17:30 — Why Big Brands Win25:00 — Build Long-Term Growth

Michael Kleinmann is the Founder and CEO of Michael Kleinmann Consulting, a bespoke consultancy helping DTC e-commerce and subscription brands grow. He is also the Founder and CEO of Underwear Expert, a men's underwear platform that evolved from a digital media brand into a leading curated subscription service. As a seasoned e-commerce entrepreneur, Michael spent a decade as the President of Freshpair, where he helped build one of the largest online retailers in the underwear category. With over two decades of experience scaling e-commerce and subscription brands, he focuses on brand building, subscriptions, operations, marketing, technology, and customer experience. In this episode… When growth stalls, most brands immediately reach for a new agency, a better campaign, or a larger ad budget. Before pouring more money into an acquisition, leaders have to ask themselves, is the business actually built to scale? The answer is to diagnose the foundation before trying to scale what sits on top of it. E-commerce operations and subscription expert Michael Kleinmann advises brands to validate their data, focus on gross profit over ROAS alone, and audit their systems for issues with sizing, product structure, COGS, and inventory forecasting. He suggests fixing low-hanging operational problems first, not training customers to expect deep discounts, using 3PLs when fulfillment distracts from growth, and ensuring subscription models have the right infrastructure before launching. Sustainable growth comes from strengthening the systems that support marketing, not simply spending more on acquisition. In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, William Harris sits down with Michael Kleinmann, Founder and CEO of Michael Kleinmann Consulting and Underwear Expert, to discuss fixing the hidden cracks that stop DTC brands from scaling. Michael shares lessons from early e-commerce, subscription complexity, AI opportunities, inventory forecasting, 3PLs, discounting mistakes, and operational audits.

Are you truly in control of the demand for your short-term rentals, or have you quietly outsourced it to the OTAs without even realizing it? Relying solely on large platforms means you don't actually own your customer base; the hosts who master true demand generation are the ones who will thrive in the next phase of our industry.In this episode, I sit down with Amber Knight, the founder of Bookings Cloud and a seasoned veteran of vacation rental heavyweights like Vacasa, Rented, Inhabit, and LiveRez. We're unpacking what it really means to build a direct guest acquisition engine for your properties and step into true ownership of your business.We talk about:How public booking platforms control the narrative using your listing content, and why reclaiming that control is vital for long-term business survival.Why a beautiful direct booking website means nothing if it breaks guest trust by kicking them over to an unbranded, clunky PMS engine at the final step.Utilizing true paid social ads, not just boosted posts, to feed rich property data into algorithms that match your stay with the perfect guest.Why clicks on Meta can be pennies compared to dollars on Google, why you should never put pricing in your ads, and how to automate property-level campaigns at scale.Clear guidance on when to focus strictly on guest communication versus when your portfolio size justifies a full website investment.We pull back the curtain on the messy reality of data tracking and attribution in a world of privacy laws and GA4. You'll hear why diversifying your booking sources isn't just a quick fix for the low season, but a long-game retirement strategy that compounds over time and builds a business with real enterprise value.If you are ready to move from hoping bookings show up to intentionally creating your own demand, this conversation will give you the playbook. Get ready to stop letting other platforms dictate your revenue and start engineering your own growth.HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY POINTS:[01:03] A short introduction about our guests Amber Knight, and journey from growing up around vacation rentals to building a career focused on strengthening local hospitality businesses and destination communities[04:12] Amber reflects on how intentionally building a life and business through consistent daily actions creates opportunities that once seemed out of reach[06:10] Amber explains how owning guest demand has become a critical competitive advantage as short-term rental operators can no longer rely solely on OTAs to drive bookings[10:58] Amber emphasizes that successful demand generation starts with building trust and creating a direct-booking experience that converts website visitors into guests[18:24] How demand generation moves beyond simply having a trusted website and focuses on actively driving qualified traffic to it [21:07] Amber breaks down Meta advertising as a layered system—from organic content to fully automated, property-level ads—designed to turn raw property data into targeted demand at scale[28:15] Amber explains when paid social becomes viable for STR operators based on ad spend consistency and unit economics versus OTA commissions[30:40] What are the effective Meta ads for STRs rely on high-intent, property-specific visuals and structured data feeding rather than pricing-driven creatives[33:35] Amber explains that attribution is imperfect and long-term direct booking growth should be measured through influence, pacing, and consistent investment rather than immediate ROAS results[42:16] The lightning round Golden Nuggets:“It's really empowering that we each have the ability to build a business around a life that we love.”“If every day you make another step to get to the life you want, the career you want, in the place that you want, eventually you'll get there.”“A business that is sellable does not require the owner to be in the day to day.”“You can't change what happens to you, you can change how you respond to it.”Let's Connect:Website : www.bookingscloud.com Instagram : https://www.linkedin.com/company/bookingscloud/ Email : aknight@bookingscloud.comProudly sponsored by PriceLabsEnjoyed the show? Subscribe, Rate, Review, Like, and Share!

This month's playable trends are the kind you only catch when you're staring at hundreds of creatives in a row: the dress-up "please your boyfriend's mom" hook quietly flooding match-3 UA, and the Playrix templated-playable machine that turns one build into an entire portfolio.Matej Lančarič and Ondrej Mosberger are joined by Robin Kuyer, who leads Unity PlayWorks (formerly Luna Labs) and has been building playables for five years. They break down the fashion/dress-up template appearing across Crazy Labs, Kinetic, and others (often with identical assets) and why it's really a match-3 onboarding wrapper, the Playrix masterclass of strongly templated playables reused across Township, Gardenscapes, and Homescapes, and the single most underused tactic in the industry: taking one winning playable build and squeezing everything out of it with asset swaps, camera-angle changes, and different cut points. They also dig into long playables (and why 3 minutes can pre-qualify your best payers), the authentic-vs-non-authentic debate (where CTR can double but ROAS stays close), network approval chaos, and where AI playable production is genuinely heading — plus why "make a playable that performs well" will never be a working prompt.The throughline, straight from Robin: production speed means nothing without the foundation. Knowing what a good hook, reward loop, and progression actually look like is the part too many studios skip.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 Game designers on playable team?03:35 The fashion / dress-up playable pattern08:00 Why it's really match-3 in disguise16:14 The Playrix templated-playable masterclass20:35 One build, many ads — asset swaps and camera angles27:00 Long playables and pre-qualifying payers36:46 Authentic vs non-authentic playables40:00 Can AI vibe-code a winning playable?--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.

In dieser Folge des Onlineshop Geflüster Podcasts geht es um eine Zahl, auf die sich viel zu viele Shopbetreiber blind verlassen: den ROAS aus dem Meta Werbeanzeigenmanager. Diese Zahl lügt aus mehreren Gründen. Cookie Banner, iOS Restriktionen und Adblocker sorgen dafür, dass ein Teil der Conversions gar nicht erst ankommt. Gleichzeitig schreibt Meta sich Bestandskunden Käufe gut, die mit der eigentlichen Neukundengewinnung nichts zu tun haben. Das Ergebnis ist ein verzerrtes Bild, auf dessen Basis du Budgetentscheidungen triffst. Du erfährst, warum die einzig belastbaren Zahlen in deiner Gewinn und Verlustrechnung stehen, was es bedeutet einen Neukunden Break Even reinzuholen und warum das oft die smartere Strategie ist, und am konkreten Beispiel einer Kundin, wie ein stagnierender unprofitabler Shop in zwei Monaten auf 100.000 Euro Monatsumsatz gekommen ist, ohne dass sich am Meta ROAS irgendwas verbessert hat. Viel Spaß beim Anhören! Dein Berend. __________ Mache den ersten Schritt und buche dir eine kostenlose SHOPANALYSE: https://www.berend-heins.de/termin __________

Hiten Sonpal is the CEO of RISE Robotics and a robotics industry veteran with over 20 years of experience. He helped generate $2B in revenue and ship 9M units at iRobot, and now leads the company behind the Beltdraulic system, a patented fluid-free alternative to traditional hydraulics that operates at 75% efficiency versus hydraulics' 25%. In this episode, Hiten covers the technology, the commercialization strategy, the defense contracts, and the crowdfunding playbook that made RISE Robotics the #1 Regulation Crowdfunding campaign of 2025 according to KingsCrowd. What We Cover: - How robots deployed at Ground Zero on 9/11 shaped Hiten's entire career - Why hydraulic systems are 75% inefficient and what that costs operators every day - How Beltdraulic enables drive-by-wire control and fully autonomous heavy machinery - Predictive maintenance: how RISE monitors belt health in real time to eliminate unplanned downtime - The MVP framework: desirability, feasibility, and viability for deep tech products - Why mid-market customers beat enterprise for early-stage startups - The Tesla stepping stone strategy: start niche, expand to adjacent markets - RISE's first commercial customer in oil and gas and the Air Force $3M contract extension - How RiISE raised $5M from over 2,500 investors and was named the #1 Reg CF campaign of 2025 by KingsCrowd - The three-channel marketing approach: retargeting, new investor acquisition, and earned media - Why crowdfunding investors are also becoming product customers - What founders need to know before launching a Reg CF campaign Connect with Hiten Sonpal: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiten-sonpal/ RISE Robotics: https://www.riserobotics.com/ Invest: https://invest.riserobotics.com/ Subscribe to Test. Optimize. Scale. for weekly conversations on growth marketing, business strategy, and what is actually working right now. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro 1:30 - How Hiten got into robotics as a kid in India 4:00 - 9/11 and the robots deployed at Ground Zero 7:00 - iRobot: $2B in revenue and 9M units shipped 9:00 - Why robotics companies fail to make it from research to commercialization 11:00 - The MVP framework: desirability, feasibility, and viability 15:00 - Why mid-market beats enterprise for deep tech startups 18:00 - The hydraulics problem: 25% efficiency and unpredictable failures 22:00 - How Beltdraulic works and why it enables machine autonomy 25:30 - Fluid-free: predictive maintenance and the end of unplanned downtime 28:00 - Rise's first commercial customer in oil and gas 31:00 - Scaling strategy: the Tesla stepping stone approach 34:00 - The Air Force $3M contract extension for munitions handling 36:30 - Why Rise chose Reg CF over traditional VC 40:00 - Testing the waters: $800K in interest in Q4 2024 42:00 - The $5M raise: what worked and what surprised them 45:00 - The three marketing channels behind the campaign 49:00 - 20x ROAS and how they think about spend efficiency 52:00 - What founders should do before launching a crowdfunding campaign 55:00 - Where to find Rise Robotics and how to invest

https://youtu.be/xkCGHOYkdC0 Grant McKinstrie, CEO of Digital Position, is passionate about helping eCommerce brands grow by combining customer insights, data-driven marketing, and emerging technology. With more than two decades of experience in digital marketing, Grant has built a team that helps brands increase revenue through SEO, paid media, conversion optimization, and customer-focused growth strategies. We explore Grant’s DP Growth System: Ask AI where consumers congregate, Immerse yourself in their communities, Create content they crave, Engage them on Reddit and Quora, Have influencers create videos, and Turn craved content into ads. Grant explains why understanding customer conversations is more valuable than relying on assumptions, how online communities reveal unmet needs and buying signals, and how businesses can transform those insights into content, influencer partnerships, and advertising campaigns that drive measurable growth. He also shares how AI is changing marketing, the challenges of scaling an agency, and why innovation remains one of the most important drivers of long-term business success. — Build Yourself a Growth System with Grant McKinstrie  Good day. Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast, and today my guest is Grant McKinstrie, the CEO of Digital Position, a full-stack agency that builds a growth system for e-commerce brands. Grant, welcome to the show.  Thank you so much for having me. Good to be here.  Well, it’s great to have you here. And I’d like to start by asking you: What is your personal ‘Why’, and what are you doing to manifest it at Digital Position?  Well, specifically when we think about the eCommerce space, there’s so much crap being sold out there. And also, in terms of what AI has done to the industry, it has allowed a lot of people to start a lot of different businesses, sell a lot of stuff, do a lot of dropshipping, and all these different things. It’s about trying to find the gems. It’s about finding the good people to work with and the businesses that are worth growing at the end of the day. There’s so much good stuff out there that gets pushed down because either they haven’t worked with a good agency or they just don’t know how to market themselves well enough.  And I think the drive behind trying to find those people who are genuinely nice to work with and brands that are absolutely worth promoting and bringing out into the world is awesome and very rewarding. Being able to do that is incredibly fulfilling. That’s not to say that we’re perfect in every way, shape, or form. And it’s not like every single business we work with is perfect either. We do what we can. But all in all, I want to be able to help market products, people, and businesses that are absolutely worth getting out into the world and getting more people to know about.  Yeah. That’s so interesting that you say that because I had a client in this space where you are, and they were a little conflicted because some of the brands they represented, they were not really proud of. And I think it really impacted their culture in turn. They felt that they were not operating with integrity with all of their clients, and that created internal friction. And it kind of held them back to some degree. So that’s fascinating that you talk about this. And I also noted on your website that your average client tenure is over four years, which I think bears testament to this. Yeah. In a large majority of cases, I mean, we’ve had certain clients for six years and, in some cases, even eight years. So when you have tenures like that, they certainly last a long time. And sometimes it just doesn’t work, and we’re also very willing to openly admit that. I don’t want anyone to think, “Oh, if we sign up with you, it’s four years, and then we’re just constantly paying you for, I don’t know, whatever reason it might be.” But genuinely, we’re here to see how we can legitimately grow the business and actually bring you profit dollars that you weren’t seeing otherwise.  Because so many businesses that we come across are just not able to allocate their marketing spend efficiently. And they’re just… I don’t know. Not to get too much into the nitty-gritty of things, but in a general sense, 95% of the businesses we talk to are essentially burning money. And in most cases, they’re being worked through an agency churn-and-burn system. And it hurts to see. Literally, I had a pitch two hours ago before this call where every single platform they were on was just burning money. They were trying to remarket to people who already knew about the brand and spending money on people who already knew about them and were already going to purchase from them.  And the agency was trying to tell them, “Hey, all of our metrics are great.” But the business is suffering because of it. It happens all the time. It generally results in tough conversations for us because agencies have such a bad reputation. And we’re always trying to pick up the pieces and revitalize that relationship. Which has its highs and lows in many ways. But we’re out here doing the best we can. Okay, so that’s a great segue because this podcast is all about frameworks—how to do something that maybe other entrepreneurs are trying to do, don’t know how to do, but you figured out. So do you have some kind of framework? Maybe it’s about getting an eCommerce company up and running on advertising and advertising profitably. Maybe it’s some other area in your business that is easy to explain in three to five steps. Does anything come to mind?  The biggest thing that we have realized lately is what we have deemed community engagement. One, because of AI, you can scrape information so easily across the internet, and you can get fed so much crap that AI is just going to automatically generate for you. But what really matters at the end of the day is: who is your audience, where the heck do they hang out, and what are they talking about?  So we are constantly looking to inject ourselves into Reddit threads, Facebook threads, YouTube comments, Quora—wherever those people possibly are. Get into the subreddits. Get into those Facebook communities. Get into the comments of influencers or whoever is relevant within that space, and talk to them. See what they’re talking about within those threads. Engage with them. Have a conversation so that you can understand what actually makes this person tick. What do they truly care about? What do they call things? What are they talking about on a daily basis?  So that when you start creating content that resonates with those people, you know exactly how to connect with them. Because, as I mentioned earlier, so many people are creating commoditized products and content because of AI, because it’s making it that much easier to do. Nobody is truly trying to connect with the consumer at the end of the day. And therefore, you’re going to have so many people who become numb to anything being thrown in their face unless they actually feel like they’re being spoken to.  So the biggest thing is to get to know the person on the other side of the screen. Go to where they hang out. Go to where they’re engaging. And listen to them. I think a lot of people forget that and want to go straight into data, metrics, spreadsheets, and all this stuff. When there is a human-to-human interaction happening within marketing every single day. And that is what you need to continue to focus on. Okay, so maybe that’s the beginning of the framework. So get to know the person—or the customer—or both.  Yeah. And it sounds really simple. It’s funny, when you put it that way, it’s just: listen to the person you’re trying to sell to. But it’s incredible how infrequently that actually happens. Because a lot of people will talk about, “My product is the best. My product is so good because it does this cool little thing that nobody else does.” But who really cares unless it’s actually solving a problem that somebody has? And unless they’re able to understand exactly how it’s going to make them feel in that moment when that problem is solved or how it connects to their core persona or whatever it might be. It’s a very simple framework. But it is the most important thing that a lot of people tend to neglect.  No, I love it. I love it. So what does the actual framework look like? I understand you go to Reddit, you go to Quora, and you listen. But what is the process? How do you even know which part of Reddit you should go to, what you should listen to, and who the customers are? Give me the rundown. What do you do when a new customer walks through the door and you want to figure out how to make them successful?  Yeah, of course. So I think Reddit is just the easiest example. I think it’s what a lot of people are familiar with, but it also provides value because it’s related to all the LLMs and what they like to cite as sources as well. Funny enough, one of the best ways to start is if you have a brand, a service, or something that you’re looking to build. Feed that into AI—Claude, ChatGPT, whatever works for you—and have it help you understand: “Hey, what subreddits should I be participating in?” If I want to sell vegetable seeds, for example—and that’s an example from a client we’ve worked with—or if I want to get more into gardening, where should I go?  It will point you to gardening, DIY gardening, seasonal gardening, and all these different places that have communities of people who are very specific when it comes to anything you want to know about gardening. Then you jump in there and see people talking about: “When should I start planting my tomatoes?” Or: “When should I do any transplanting?” Or: “How do I need to handle my watering schedule?” And then you have layers and layers of threads, topics, and information that you can gather from. People are giving it to you for free and telling you exactly how they handle those things.  And that turns into content. That turns into ways for you to engage with those people. It turns into ads because if you’re able to understand what their pain point is, then you can make an ad out of that. At the same time, you can pull a lot of that information using AI. But the biggest impact still comes from truly engaging with those people. So you said that when you figure out what those communities are talking about in their Quora or Reddit communities, then you can engage with them. You can create content, you can create ads, and you can engage. And I’m just wondering, are there other forms of engaging with customers other than through content and ads? Good question. So yeah, that’s the main part. You can directly comment within those Reddit threads, or you can start creating your own content within those Reddit communities. If you start to see a trend of multiple people asking, “How do I start planting my tomato seeds?” Or, “Where do I even start with this?” Then you can create an entire guide on your website. Build a blog post around it. Or you can get together with an influencer who’s able to make a video around it and show the entire process through a visual element as well. So you’re not just doing written content, but video too. And then you can even run ads around that.  Because one of the biggest things, for example, with this brand that I’m kind of alluding to, is that every single ad and every single piece of content they were putting out beforehand was very disconnected from the true gardener at the end of the day, or the true DIY gardener. Because everything they showed was a picture of this beautiful, perfect pepper or tomato that nobody ever experiences unless you’re operating a commercialized system with all of the technology they have access to. But somebody in their backyard is not going to have a perfectly round tomato or a perfectly formed pepper. And therefore, no one knows how to get there. So you have to show them the step-by-step process.  What soil do you need to buy? What seeds should you buy? And then you become part of that system because: “Oh, I need to buy seeds. Okay, I’m going to go to this company and buy seeds from them.” And they also helped me throughout this entire process by becoming the subject matter expert on what to do with tomato seeds. It becomes this kind of system that you naturally inject yourself into as you create content that connects with that person. Because the biggest thing was recognizing that all of the content they were putting out beforehand made people think: “Well, my food is never going to look like that if I plant it in my backyard.” Yeah. “But how can I get there so that I feel a lot less stressed about even starting?” And you’re providing this entire guide for me to follow so that I can become a better DIY gardener.  Yeah. I love it. It’s a great approach to basically figure out where to go, talk to the people, and then communicate with them and create helpful guides for them. And the influencer video—that’s also very clever. So that’s how you help drive growth for your clients. But how do you drive growth in your own business?  Yeah, good question. Funny enough, man, it is so much harder to do it for yourself when you are so focused on other people. Reflecting inward is always tough. But what we have recognized lately is that you have to have a good freaking offer. Because so many agencies in this space say the same stuff. I sat on Instagram for two hours one day and rifled through every single ad from marketing agencies in the space.  And everybody says the same thing: “You’re doing your ads wrong.” Or: “You have no idea what’s happening with your attribution.” Or: “Google Ads is making you lose money.” Or: “Meta Ads sucks.” And all these different things. And everyone is saying: “You should let us do a free audit for you.” Or: “Come talk to us and we’ll help show you what’s wrong.” It’s like, okay, there’s a pretty big gap there. I have to spend all this time talking to you just to figure out whether you’re a legitimate business and whether you’re actually going to solve my problem. And you’re not really offering anything other than: “Hey, let’s sit down and talk about it.” When everybody else is doing the exact same thing. So the offer across the industry is generally weak.  There are a few agencies that have well-built offers. What we personally figured out through A/B testing is that we don’t even try to lead with the marketing conversation. Because in some cases, businesses find it difficult to admit: “Hey, our marketing sucks.” Or: “Marketing is our problem.” But a lot of people can identify whether their website sucks. They can look at it and say it’s old or that it’s not converting well. It’s generally easier for people to make that connection than the marketing connection.  So we’ve built an offer around A/B testing. For just about any eCommerce business doing over $1 million in annual revenue, we’d love to do a free A/B test for them. We will build a landing page of their choosing. It could be their homepage. It could be a product page. It could be whatever. We will create a mock-up ourselves and come to the call with it. We’ll show them our version alongside theirs. They can decide whether it seems better or not. And if they want to move forward, we’ll implement it on their site for free. Then we’ll run an A/B test until we reach statistical significance and can determine whether our page or their page performs better.  Either way, there’s no cost to them. We just want to show that we’re capable of providing value. We want to demonstrate that we can create something better than what they currently have. If it works out, awesome. Let’s continue the conversation. If not, no harm, no foul. We weren’t able to improve it for them, and it doesn’t make sense to continue the conversation.  Yeah. That is impressive. So you’re actually building a competing site, and you show them that you could do a better job than they are, essentially. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And it’s… I don’t know. There’s somebody that I interact with who always says, “There are no sacred cows. There’s no ego in all of this.” It’s just, “We genuinely want to show that we can provide value in any way, shape, or form here.” It has garnered a lot of interest because it’s low friction. It’s, “Hey, at the very least, when we come to the call, we are going to show you something, and hopefully you like it.” And 100% of the time we’ve done this, everybody has loved it.  So it’s been a great source of driving more leads, more conversations, and more at-bats for the business. Simply by having an offer that people want to see value from, as opposed to: “Hey, we’re going to do an audit. There’s going to be a long turnaround time. Then we have to figure out the next steps. Then there’s going to be this big price tag,” or whatever it is. Whereas we’re just going to do something for you for free. If it works, great. If not, you didn’t lose any sleep over it.  Yeah. Love it. That’s pretty cool. And I think what’s really cool about it is that you do it without disrupting their existing business. Exactly. So they don’t feel like, “Okay, maybe it’s at no cost to me. Maybe it’s a marketing thing.” But at the same time, if you’re interfering with my customers, that’s actually a negative. Because it can create damage. That’s my reservation about people who offer to drive business for me. Yeah. But then they want to use my LinkedIn profile, and they can spoil my reputation online. And I’m never going to allow it. Because it interferes with my business. So I love that you found a way around that. That’s pretty cool.  Absolutely. Yeah, and we’re hoping that it just continues to grow. Fortunately, AI has allowed us to move a lot faster with this because I think that historically would have been a major holdup. Mocking up a page is not a very easy task. But because we’re able to understand the business and generate something relatively quickly through our experience and understanding of how a page should be structured, it works out really well. Yeah. Love it. So switching gears here, let me ask you this: What is something that you’re actively trying to figure out in your business?  Ooh, boy. Scale. I think the ability to scale something like this is where I’m trying to figure out what is going to break next. Historically, we’ve struggled to figure out things like: “Oh, we need a really good offer to drive cold outbound leads.” We have historically been a referral-only business. And while that’s worked, it certainly isn’t as sustainable long term as building a proper, predictable cold outbound system.  Now that we have something that is starting to work, and we’re seeing more leads come in, the question becomes: How do we scale this without the business breaking if we suddenly see a significant increase in leads? Because realistically, in the past, it’s been rare that we’ve had so many leads in the pipeline that we didn’t know how to handle them. But we’ve also recognized that the type of service we provide is elevated. We consider ourselves a boutique service. We know we’re not the cheapest in the market. But what we do know is that we can absolutely drive additional profit dollars to your business. Because we’re looking at the full marketing picture.  We’re not just focusing on PPC. We’re not just focusing on SEO. We’re not just focusing on organic social. We’re looking at how all of those things work together. And then we’re looking at the business as a whole and trying to drive an actual P&L impact. Not just say: “Oh, ROAS in Google Ads is good, so everything must be great.” No. That’s not always the case. As I mentioned earlier, that can happen while you’re still burning money because you’re simply retargeting people who already know about your business.  So the goal is understanding that we provide an elevated service and finding the right talent to help deliver it. So that as we continue to scale, we’re able to maintain the level of service that we know we’re capable of providing. And making sure that the people leading those client conversations are able to deliver on that promise every single time as well. Hopefully that answers the question, for the most part.  So if you have the deals coming through, the cold outreach is working, and your offer is working, is it just a question of finding the talent, or are there other things that could break?  Yeah. I think it’s hiring and talent for sure. And then the other piece is continuing to maintain the operational speed behind it as well. Because expectations in the industry are changing dramatically. We went from bi-monthly reporting to weekly reporting, and now people want to know how things are moving every single day. AI has sped things up to the point where people’s expectations are changing at a rate that we need to keep up with. And that is certainly one of the more difficult things to navigate.  Especially when there are 30 to 1,000 new AI tools coming out every single day. Then you need to figure out: “What’s the best one that I’m going to be able to utilize long term, instead of just dumping it and moving to a new one next week?” So yeah, the operational piece has been very interesting over the past couple of years. It went from everybody using ChatGPT, to all of these different AI transcription tools. We moved into Notion. Now we’re using Vector, which is popping off right now. Claude has obviously made a lot of strides as well. And it’s about figuring out how we continue to pivot across all of these different tools. And I’m barely scratching the surface with those examples.  We also have to make sure that the entire team is able to adapt to these changes over time. Because for so long, you could stick with a single tech stack and a handful of tools for years, and not much would change. But now, because of AI, things are adapting, changing, and improving incredibly quickly. And the expectations of the client are moving just as fast. So you need to be able to keep up with that. I’ve always wondered about this thing that Steve Jobs said: The two primary functions of a business are marketing and innovation. And you are doing one of the two primary parts of the business. You could even argue that marketing is innovation as well. So the two things converge. How is it possible for an agency to innovate for multiple clients on a continual basis?  Yeah. That just comes down to trusting the team and having the right people in the right place. And that’s why I think hiring is one of the biggest things that we need to focus on. Because AI has raised the floor for so many people. But it has also really shined a light on the people who are able to work alongside it efficiently, speed up their processes, and use their experience to make decisions really fast. It is more powerful than ever to have a creative mindset and the experience of seeing how things impact multiple different clients. And to understand how you can shift strategy at any point in time. It also requires having that childlike curiosity mindset.  Being willing not to accept everything as fact. Being willing to pivot at any point in time. It’s truly about making sure that the people around you are willing to adapt and accept that they are not going to be right all the time. But they’re willing to keep trying, keep learning, and keep figuring out what the next step is. And not fall into complacency. Because if you do, AI has probably already rocked your world at this point. So the biggest thing is having people around you, a support system, procedures, and training that allow that to happen naturally. And trusting that they will be able to follow that and see the vision—or at least try.  That’s fascinating. If there’s a company trying to figure out what to do, how to make sense of all these different platforms, SEO moving to GEO, AI, Reddit, Quora, rising advertising costs, TikTok, and all these other platforms coming online—and their head is spinning—what do you recommend they do? How do they select an agency? Of course, they should go to you. But how should they select an agency? What criteria should they use to select someone, whether that’s you or somebody else?  Yeah. I mean, really, it just comes down to being growth-minded. And maybe I’m not fully understanding the question, but if you have any passion or drive to grow what you’re doing, you need to surround yourself with people who are constantly looking to push the envelope. Whether that be an agency or an in-house team. And in some cases, it might not make sense for you to have an agency. That really depends on your brand guidelines and how closely you hold them to your chest. Because sometimes bringing in an outside agency can be very difficult.  It takes time to get them up to speed. If you’re looking to develop your own internal style of content because you have a lot of protection around the brand, then building that internally is going to make a heck of a lot more sense. Because they’re constantly going to be able to talk in your language. As opposed to an agency that wants to be an arm of your business, but at the end of the day, it’s difficult for that to always be the case. We try to live and breathe that as much as we can, but we also understand there are limitations. So I would say if you are a brand with extremely tight brand guidelines, then you need to train internally and make sure that is built into the culture and into the marketing team.  Otherwise, everything you put out from that point forward is going to be disjointed from what the brand actually means or is trying to stand for. Therefore, you need to have that in-house and you need more control over it. Otherwise, if you understand that other people have great ideas, and you want to leverage that, and you appreciate that they’re looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of brands and seeing how they succeed in the market, then an agency can be a beautiful way to go. And it’s generally more cost-effective in most cases. You’re going to have an agency with maybe three to five people—sometimes even more—overseeing your account.  And in many cases, that’s for the same cost as a single internal employee. So being able to leverage the minds of five different people with five different viewpoints of the world, and five different pairs of eyes looking at your website, versus just one… In my opinion, you’re going to win every time. Assuming you have the right team behind you. Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. So essentially, you’re outsourcing your marketing function to an expert team. This is all they do. And they’re held to a high standard because they work with a lot of companies in a fast-moving environment. It’s similar to having an internal attorney versus using a law firm with high-flying attorneys who operate at the cutting edge. You can never really replicate that cutting-edge environment, which helps nurture those people on the other side. Yeah. Love it. So if you’re listening to this and you want to take your marketing to the next level, and you want an expert team at your service to figure out how to grow your brand across multiple channels—content, advertising, customer engagement, and all that stuff—then reach out to Grant. But where can they find you, Grant?  You can reach out to us through digitalposition.com. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. I’m happy to chat with anybody. I’m more than happy to share anything I’ve learned along the way, whether you’re another agency, a brand, or whatever it might be. I firmly hold the belief that there is a massive sea of people out there to reach. And I’m happy to share any learnings that I’ve had. Because, boy, there’s so much to digest in this world, and I’m happy to share whatever I know. But yeah, digitalposition.com for anyone who would possibly want to work with us or chat. Otherwise, I’m on LinkedIn and happy to connect there as well.  Well, Grant McKinstrie, CEO of Digital Position, a full-stack agency that builds growth systems for eCommerce brands. Thanks for coming and sharing your experience and your view of the world. And if you enjoyed listening, make sure you follow us on YouTube and Apple Podcasts because every week I come with an exciting entrepreneur who is sharing the best of what they know. So thanks for coming, Grant, and thanks for listening.  Thank you so much for having me. Important Links: Grant’s LinkedIn Grant’s website

In this episode, Laura Cantor shares key takeaways from her experience at Vendors in Partnership, including emerging trends in retail, the growing importance of meaningful partnerships, and how brands can cut through the noise in a tech-saturated landscape.  She dives into why people—and the partnerships they build—are still the foundation of innovation and growth, even as AI continues to transform the industry.  Laura also highlights tactical approaches that are driving real results today, including insights on high-impact ecommerce solutions like AfterSell, a platform helping brands maximize revenue through post-purchase optimization.  In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:00] Intro [02:38] Learning the value of brand building [06:20] Sponsor: Migrate [08:19] Prioritizing learning over job titles [12:46] Sponsor: Intelligems [14:46] Overcoming organizational status quo [17:08] Streamlining operations for future tech [21:06] Sponsor: Electric eye [22:14] Optimizing brands for agentic AI search [23:43] Monetizing traffic through retail networks [25:34] Callouts [25:44] Leveraging partnerships for mutual wins [28:00] Emphasizing human strategy alongside AI  Resources: Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube Women's apparel specialty retailer nyandcompany.com/ Follow Laura Cantor linkedin.com/in/lauracantor/ Migrate and grow more klaviyo.com/honest Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Etsy just rolled out one of the biggest changes to Etsy Ads in years, and most sellers are missing what it actually means. In this episode, I break down Etsy's new listing-level ad controls and show you how to use Efficient Spending, Greater Visibility, and Lower Cost Per Click strategically instead of applying a one-size-fits-all approach to your entire ad account. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IZeN9MeJdHU You'll learn: • When to use each Etsy ad optimization setting • Why "Lower Cost Per Click" isn't always the best choice • How to stop one listing from eating your entire ad budget • Ways to push more traffic toward underperforming listings • What your ad account can reveal about the overall health of your Etsy shop • How to identify hidden conversion problems through ad performance • Practical experiments you can run right now to improve ROAS If you're spending more than $25/day on Etsy Ads and want more control over where your advertising dollars go, this episode will give you actionable strategies to test immediately. Whether you're trying to scale a winning product, revive a struggling listing, or simply get more from your ad budget, this update opens up opportunities Etsy sellers haven't had before.

Cem Atik is the co-founder and CMO of Harucon Ventures, a firm that acquires minority and majority equity stakes in e-commerce and SaaS businesses doing between one and ten million in annual revenue. Rather than operating as an agency or consultancy, Cem and his team get in with capital, take operational control of marketing and finance, and work to make the businesses they partner with structurally profitable.Most e-commerce brands that come to Harucon Ventures have the same underlying problem: they are optimizing for the wrong things. Revenue looks healthy. ROAS looks acceptable. But unit economics are broken, overhead is bloated, and the margin structure makes scaling impossible.In this conversation, Cem walks through exactly how his team diagnoses and fixes that. From cutting ad spend by 1.7 million euros in a single month to replacing a fulfillment provider that was silently overcharging a brand shipping 25,000 packages a day, the fixes are rarely glamorous but consistently high-impact. The conversation also covers his four-engine growth framework: acquisition, retention, conversion, and profit-first optimization, and why founders who lead with ROAS are measuring the wrong thing entirely.Cem also breaks down channel mix strategy, including why Pinterest and Bing Ads are consistently underused, why TikTok affiliate is one of the highest-leverage growth levers available right now, and why the real money in e-commerce is almost always made in retention, not acquisition.Founders who are scaling but not compounding, or growing revenue while watching margins compress, will find this episode unusually direct and useful.Website: https://www.vimmi.net Email us: info@vimmi.net Podcast website: https://vimmi.net/commerce-untold/ Eitan Koter's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eitankoter/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VimmiVideoCommerce/featured Guest: Cem Atik, Co-Founder & CMO, Harucon Ventures Cem Atik's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cem-atikHarucon-Ventures: https://harucon-ventures.com/Key Takeaways: • If a founder cannot state their customer acquisition cost in under 15 seconds, the business does not have a real financial foundation yet. • ROAS tells you how much revenue you generated per dollar spent. It tells you nothing about whether that dollar was profitable. Optimizing for profit on ad spend (POAS) gives you actual control. • Gross margin under 65% makes scaling structurally difficult in the US and UK markets. The margin problem cannot be fixed with better ads. • Agencies are typically three times cheaper than hiring in-house at early stages. Outsource acquisition first, learn from the partner, then bring it in-house once systems are proven. • TikTok affiliate is one of the most capital-efficient acquisition channels available: commission-based, creator-generated content, and scalable without a large internal team. • Pinterest is consistently overlooked despite an audience skewing 25 to 45 years old with average household incomes above $100K, and ROAS between four and six even at modest spend levels.Chapters:[00:00] Introduction: Cem Atik and the Harucon Ventures Model[01:27] The Founders Harucon Typically Partners With[03:45] The Post-Acquisition Audit: First 72 Hours[07:45] Cutting 1.7M Euros in Ad Spend: A Case Study[09:16] Why Gross Margin Under 65% Makes Scaling Nearly Impossible[13:51] The KPIs That Actually Matter: CAC, CLV, MER, EBITDA[18:35] The Four Engines: Acquisition, Retention, Conversion, Profit[24:00] Why ROAS Misleads and POAS Gives Real Control[25:41] Channel Mix: TikTok, Pinterest, Bing, and What Gets Overlooked

Ekaterina Gamsriegler, former Head of Growth and Marketing at MyGroove and longtime advisor across music, education, and health apps, joins Apptivate to discuss why sustainable growth depends on systems rather than isolated wins. The conversation explores the nature of modern growth funnels, how creative strategy impacts retention and churn downstream, and why many teams optimize acquisition while misunderstanding activation and long-term value. Ekaterina and Taylor also discuss localization as a full-funnel growth lever, pricing strategy during high-intent seasonal periods, the realities of founder-led and offline growth channels, and how mapping the complete user journey can uncover hidden bottlenecks that data alone often misses. Questions addressed in this episode Why does Ekaterina compare growth systems to a house of cards? How do creative strategies affect retention and subscriber churn? What mistakes do apps make during seasonal growth periods like Q5? How should marketers evaluate long-term value instead of short-term ROAS? Why can localization improve the entire growth funnel? How did MyGroove grow paying subscribers 10x in one year? What role should brand, PR, and offline channels play in app growth? How should teams define activation properly? What should marketers focus on during their first 90 days at a company? How can apps balance credibility with accessibility for beginners? Timestamps 0:12 — Introduction to Ekaterina Gamsriegler and MyGroove 0:52 — MyGroove's global launch and mission 1:41 — Growth as a "house of cards" rather than a puzzle 3:18 — Diagnosing funnels and identifying hidden bottlenecks 4:42 — How creatives shape retention and churn downstream 6:56 — Credibility, UGC, and "fake podcast" creative concepts 7:51 — Why acquisition mistakes appear 60–90 days later 9:43 — Planning for Q5 and evaluating long-term value 11:25 — Pricing strategy, willingness to pay, and cancellations 12:52 — Localization as a full-funnel growth lever 15:23 — Founder-led growth, PR, and offline channels at MyGroove 18:23 — The biggest unlock behind 10x subscriber growth 20:38 — Mapping the user journey and identifying bottlenecks 23:08 — Activation metrics and offline user behavior 25:56 — Personalization and contextual onboarding examples 29:48 — Rapid-fire questions begin 31:08 — Norway, Iceland, and travel recommendations 31:33 — Vienna recommendations and closing remarks Quotes (2:22)  “Growth feels more like a house of cards because just one little change can completely ruin the whole system.” (4:59) “What I see happening sometimes is a mismatch between the product, the user experience and the people who are being targeted with creatives.” (22:38) “Build a user journey by mapping every single step from ad impression to renewal to purchase. This allows you to see where the bottlenecks are in your journey.” Mentioned in this episode MyGroove Ekaterina on Linkedin

Not all rewarded users are the same — and treating them as one audience is exactly why so many rewarded UA campaigns underperform. Recorded live on Day 2 of MAU Vegas, this conversation breaks down how Tyr Ads segments rewarded traffic into three distinct personas and engineers profitability around the mix.Matej Lančarič sits down with Zino, CEO of Tyr Ads (and the Try Rewards consumer product), to unpack the year's changes: a brand-new in-house platform built specifically for rewarded (because third-party tracking simply isn't built for it), AI-driven user labeling that sorts players into reward hunters, casual/social users, and gamblers, and an A/B testing and LiveOps system that targets each segment with different reward funnels. They get into why too many gamblers will actually lose you money, how the day-7-to-day-30 curve drives faster ROI and more aggressive bidding, the new Nordeus exclusive offerwall deal, why Tyr is betting on gaming supply over reward apps, and where rewarded UA is heading — segmentation, recommendation models, and a full shift to ROAS-based campaigns.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 Cold open — the day-7-to-day-30 curve and faster ROI01:30 Tyr Ads intro and what changed this year02:54 The new in-house platform and audience segmentation03:30 The three personas — reward hunter, social, gambler05:40 Why too many gamblers loses you money09:25 How the recommendation models hit day-7 targets15:55 A 50/50 IAP/ads game — where to start21:08 The Nordeus exclusive deal and the gaming-supply bet26:46 Where rewarded UA is heading — ROAS and 2027

Also available on YouTube "It was a mind and body brokenness. I'll just say like depression." By 39, Chris Lang was running 10 businesses and falling apart. He killed most of them and bet everything on Fresh Chile, his bootstrapped Shopify chili brand from Hatch, New Mexico. It cracked the top 1% of Shopify and 8 figures in revenue, but didn't turn a profit until Q1 of year six. Inside: why he started publishing his real ROAS on LinkedIn when the numbers were ugly, the 80% Meta cut that finally flipped him profitable, and how a 250K-follower organic community out-engages Heinz, Tabasco, and Sriracha combined. SPONSORS Swym — Wishlists, back-in-stock alerts, and moregetswym.com/kurt Ecommerce Alley — Is it your ads, or is Meta having a bad day? Check it atecommercealley.com/bad Zipify — Build high-converting sales funnelszipify.com/KURT LINKS Fresh Chile: https://freshchileco.com/ Chris Lang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislangsocial/ Chris Lang on X: https://x.com/chrislangsocial WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

In this talk at AppsFler MAMA SF 2026, Steve P. Young breaks down the latest app monetization strategies that are actually working in 2026, including onboarding paywalls, paid intro offers, reverse trials, hard paywalls, discount pricing psychology, and subscription optimization.Drawing from real app case studies and experiments, Steve shares actionable tactics that have helped apps dramatically increase trial activations, trial-to-paid conversion rates, retention, and overall revenue.If you're building a subscription app, SaaS app, AI app, or mobile startup, this session is packed with practical insights you can implement immediately.You'll Learn:✅ Why your paywall should be inside onboarding✅ The “3 Screen Paywall” strategy is increasing trials by 56%+✅ Paid intro offers vs free trials✅ Reverse trials that boosted conversions 10X✅ Discount pricing psychology that increases revenue✅ Real monetization experiments from top appsWhether you're focused on ASO, user acquisition, subscriptions, retention, or app growth, these monetization insights can help you scale faster.

What if your biggest mattress sale strategy is actually scaring away Gen X buyers with the most money? The data says it's true. Here's why.Are your mattress marketing tactics stuck in the past? In this episode, Mark Kinsley sits down with Nicole Bergen of Elevate—one of the sleep industry's top consumer research experts—to reveal the hidden disconnect between what retailers think works and what actually matters to today's most powerful buyers: Gen X.Nicole shares eye-opening data from thousands of consumer interviews, exposing why relentless discounting and “NASCAR” promos don't work on shoppers aged 45-55. Instead, assurance and trust—like comfort guarantees and real customer reviews—win the sale. You'll learn why most brands overlook Gen X, despite their massive buying power, and how failing to update your playbook means losing sales to online giants.Ever wondered why your brand awareness is high but conversions are low? Nicole decodes the essential marketing funnel—attention, education, offer—and reveals the number one mistake retailers make (and how you can fix it with a simple brand health “timeout”).If you've ever struggled to connect with skeptical, research-driven customers or feared you're wasting ad dollars, this episode gives you the playbook to pivot. Plus: actionable tips for leveraging data, optimizing for generative AI, and turning happy buyers into raving ambassadors.Timestamps:- 01:35 – The hidden problem with mattress marketing: why Gen X tunes out- 04:30 – How relentless promos are killing in-store joy (and trust)- 06:58 – The power of assurance: Why guarantees beat discounts for big-ticket buyers- 09:40 – “Top of funnel” secrets: What attracts attention in 2024- 12:50 – Why your ad recall is broken (and how to fix it)- 17:55 – The market-by-market myth: Why what works in Cincinnati fails in Houston- 21:15 – The “Timeout Playbook” for brand clarity (and avoiding costly mistakes)- 27:40 – Data traps: The ROAS lie and how to spot media waste- 31:20 – Unlocking Gen X: Winning strategies for the new power buyer- 36:45 – Problem-agitate-solution: Messaging that turns skeptics into buyersConnect with The FAM Podcast:

Block Out by Grand Games is scaling to $300K/day — and it doesn't even have an Android version yet. It's about to become Grand Games' biggest title, overtaking Magic Sword, and the whole thing is a masterclass in perfect execution over original innovation.Matej Lančarič, Jakub Remiar, and Felix Braberg break down Block Out, the deterministic sort puzzler that's quietly become one of the most aggressive scalers in mobile. The conversation covers how Block Out's iteration is now out-earning the game it borrowed from (Color Block Jam), the level-design difference that makes it more casual and more approachable, the UA upgrade that Jakub estimates at 500%+ over Grand's earlier games, the iOS-only / US-only / single-AppLovin-campaign soft launch playbook (the same one Pixel Flow used), the blended-ROAS interstitial strategy driving 32-36% ad revenue, and the 1,000+ creatives and 260 playables now powering the scale. Plus the bigger Grand Games story: a $70M raise, $105M+ total funding, and a template machine that takes proven concepts and executes them better than anyone.The thesis, straight from the episode: Grand Games doesn't do giant innovation. They do perfect execution.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 the 500% UA upgrade03:50 The numbers — $300K/day, 140K downloads/day, iOS only06:40 The Grand Games template — perfect execution, not innovation10:25 What a deterministic sort puzzler actually is13:25 Block Out vs Color Block Jam — the level design difference20:50 The soft launch playbook — one AppLovin campaign, US only21:45 The ad question — blended ROAS and 32-36% ad revenue26:30 The UA breakdown — Mintegral, 1,000 creatives, 260 playables--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let's not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-3bckldvr8-8PXvzciMWdheOzED9hq0SA---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultant⁠https://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultant⁠https://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultant⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

Episode 301WTB WoodworkingCheck out WTBwoodworking.com for all your woodworking needs! In store specials, Giveaways, custom wood milling, and more!Huntingdon Valley PA Store now open!Enter the giveaway by going to:https://www.wtbwoodworking.com/giveaway Gorilla GlueA trusted brand with decades of experience! From glue, to woodfiller, to workshop floor kits, they have everything you need for your next project. Check out their new products along with great deals on all your trusted favorites at: www.gorillatough.com/AWP Sign up for Patreon for Early access, and special Patreon-only content:https://www.patreon.com/anotherwoodshoppodcastPATREON GIVEAWAY!Donate to Maker's For St. JudeEvery $5 earns you an extra entry in the Patreon Giveaway (Paid Patrons Only)https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR?px=8679481&fr_id=134326&pg=personal Whats on our bench:

Why do so many ecommerce brands struggle with their ROAS? Neil Twa and Cem Atik dive into the top three mistakes that can tank your return on ad spend and the key metrics you need to track. Cem, founder of Harucon Ventures, shares his insights from scaling brands to eight figures and flipping them like real estate. They discuss why channel diversity is crucial and how a single platform dependency can cripple your business. Cem reveals his strategy for identifying distressed assets and turning them into profitable ventures. Whether you're just starting out or managing a $10M+ brand, this episode offers actionable insights on improving your ROAS and building a sustainable ecommerce business. Ready to audit your AI readiness? Take the free 5-question assessment: voltagedm.com/aiquiz?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=ep289

There are two ways to scale an ecommerce business: logical and exponential. One client went from $4,000 a month to over $100,000 a month in under a year, and he got there by subtracting, not adding. Most founders are doing the opposite and wondering why they feel stuck.In this audio-exclusive episode, Josh breaks down logical versus exponential scale and the simple equation that forces real growth instead of the safe, predictable kind. Here's what he covers:The difference between logical and exponential goals (and why being 85% certain you'll hit your number is a warning sign, not a good one)The equation Josh runs with clients: Exponential Goal × Time Constraint = Ruthless StandardsWhy "scale through subtraction" beats stacking on more ad platforms, more SKUs, and more monthly product launchesParkinson's Law and the deadline trick that finally forced Josh to hand off a role he'd been "quitting" for five years straightHow one client grew to $14 million in sales using only Meta ads and email (no TikTok, no daily posting, no three-platform circus)The quarterly "energy audit" his whole team runs to find the red-light tasks quietly killing their momentumMaintenance tasks vs. compounding tasks, and the one question that tells you which fires are okay to let burnThe towel brand running a 3 ROAS that keeps stalling out (and the cash-flow trap hiding inside its monthly launches)This isn't about working harder or bolting on another channel. It's about getting ruthless enough to grow into a number you can't even picture yet, by doing less than you're doing right now.

Is the relentless pursuit of measurable ROAS fundamentally at odds with building long-term customer trust in a privacy-first world?Agility requires marketers to move beyond legacy attribution models and embrace a more dynamic approach to measurement and monetization. This is especially true in the rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem, where the rules of engagement are constantly being rewritten.Today, we're going to talk about the new playbook for performance marketing in the mobile app ecosystem. We'll explore how to drive growth and measure return on ad spend in an environment defined by signal loss, look at the innovative ad formats that are capturing user attention, and discuss the role of AI in balancing automation with creative effectiveness.To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Phoena Pang, Vice President of Sales and Global Partnerships at Mintegral. About Phoena Pang Phoena Pang is the Vice President of Sales and Global Partnerships at Mintegral, a leading global mobile advertising platform. Based in the US, Phoena brings deep expertise in mobile advertising, strategic partnerships, and business development to drive Mintegral's go-to-market growth and operational excellence across global markets. Phoena has held senior roles at top-tier technology companies including Google, Moloco, Vungle, and Chartboost. At Moloco, she led product go-to-market strategy and partnerships for mobile performance marketing. During her time at Google, she served as Global Product Lead and Strategic Partner Lead, where she spearheaded global gaming ads solutions and scaled high-impact partnerships worldwide. At Mintegral, Phoena focuses on optimizing operational performance and cultivating strong, strategic partnerships with advertisers and publishers, reinforcing Mintegral's leadership in programmatic mobile advertising solutions. Phoena Pang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phpang/ ---------- Resources ---------- Mintegral: https://www.mintegral.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703 We're proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fDon't miss We Make Future - the International Festival of Innovation in AI, Tech, and Digital Marketing, June 24-26 in Bologna. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/c80991afff416bb2The most influential minds in software, AI, and engineering leadership will be at WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America, September 23-25 in San Jose. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1 Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716ba Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Write a Week of Client-Getting Content in 30 Minutes Using AIUsing AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT but still not creating content that attracts, connects, and converts? In this episode, Beverley breaks down how to make AI sound like you, by training it on your own IP, so you can produce a full week of client-getting content in about 30 minutes. She walks through the five levels of AI output, the doctrines and skills that separate real content from AI slop, and the exact prompt to generate a week of attract-nurture-invite content.What You'll Discover:• Why most coaches' AI content sounds generic, and the real reason it's not the prompt• How to tell your brain, the AI's brain, and true co-creation apart• The five levels of AI output, from raw search-bar prompts to full automation• What "doctrines" and "skills" (SOPs) are and how to build them• How to assemble a second brain from your transcripts, frameworks, and lessons• The four numbers every coach should track: cost per lead, earnings per lead, ROAS, and cost per acquisition• The exact prompt for seven days of conversion contentTimestamps00:00 — Are you using AI but still not converting?00:29 — Who is Beverley Simpson01:19 — Why most people prompt AI like a search bar01:50 — What AI slop actually looks like04:46 — Beyond prompting: training your AI model (why Claude)06:18 — Your brain vs. the AI's brain vs. co-creation08:22 — The truth about AI "memory"09:19 — The 5 levels of AI output12:48 — Level 3: building doctrines13:50 — Level 4: skills and SOPs14:41 — Building your second brain22:48 — Level 5: automation23:14 — Automating the daily sales ritual24:16 — The numbers that matter25:25 — Step-by-step: train your AI brain26:26 — The doctrines you'll need28:26 — The conversion framework29:39 — The prompt for 7 days of content30:28 — Connect with Beverley + free toolsResources Mentioned• Claude (Anthropic)• ChatGPT / Perplexity / Gemini• Fathom, Zoom, Google Drive, Slack (knowledge sources)• The Conversion Club (Beverley's program)• Follow Beverley on Instagram: @bsimpsonfitnessReady to go deeper? Join the PT Profit Accelerator and learn to build this for yourself at ptprofitformula.com.Resources & Links MentionedWant more client leads on Instagram™?  Grab lifetime access to 90- Days Done for You that Converts: https://ptprofitformula.com/content

In this episode, Scott Carpenter and Andy “Boy” Miller break down one of the biggest marketing mistakes fitness business owners make: choosing between short-term marketing and long-term brand building instead of using both together.Short-term marketing is direct response — ads, offers, lead forms, consultations, and campaigns designed to get someone to take action now.Long-term marketing is your brand — your reputation, your content, your website, your social media presence, your personal brand, your authority, and the trust you build over time.Scott and Andy explain why direct response can bring in leads now, but can become expensive if your audience is cold and your brand has no foundation. They also explain why brand marketing may not always create immediate sales, but it can dramatically improve your conversions, reduce your acquisition costs, and make people more likely to buy when they are ready.They also cover key marketing numbers every fitness business owner needs to know, including customer acquisition cost, return on ad spend, lifetime customer value, and front-end cash flow.This episode is especially valuable for gym owners, online coaches, chiropractors, and fitness entrepreneurs who want to stop guessing with marketing and start building a strategy that creates both immediate opportunities and long-term growth.Need help building out your marketing plan? Book a 1-on-1 consultation here: https://ptlegends.com/30minadvisorcallKey Takeaways:Direct response marketing gets people to take action now.Brand marketing builds trust, recognition, and long-term demand.Cold traffic is harder to convert when people don't know your brand.Your content, website, and social media help people decide whether they trust you.Personal branding can create more reach than business pages alone.Knowing your CAC, CPA, ROAS, and LTV helps you scale marketing with confidence.Brand marketing and direct response marketing should feed each other.Organic content can create high-ticket opportunities without ad spend.Awareness ads can help grow your audience affordably.The best marketing strategy uses both immediate sales activity and long-term brand building.Like, subscribe, and share this episode with a fitness business owner who needs a better marketing strategy.

Direct response ads are written to take the customer from Attention to Interest to Desire to Action in a single encounter.Direct marketers have a product or a service to sell. They don't have a brand to protect.This is why ROAS is the perfect analytical tool for them.ROAS is the acronym for Return On Ad Spend.In other words, it is the Return On Investment of your ad budget.You can:measure lead generation with ROAS.compare the effectiveness of media with ROAS.track sales attribution with ROAS.But you will never build a brand with ROAS.In fact, the measurement of ROAS will always – without exception – lead to the disintegration of your brand.Here's why:To produce an impressive result in a short period of time, your ad must contain a degree of urgency.Urgency is not sustainable, nor is it scalable.The longer you run urgent ads, the less well they work.ROAS always looks great on paper for about a year, sometimes even 18 months.But then the wheels fall off and you can never put those wheels back on again. Your brand will never be more than a shadow of its former self.Consider this:A successful Going Out of Business sale is simply a massive extraction of the stored value in a brand. This “stored value” is the reputation of the company and the trust of its customers.These are variables that determine the success of every Going Out of Business Sale:Has this company routinely advertised a Sale or offered a discount?How highly do people esteem this brand?How credible is the urgency contained in the ad copy?ROAS always leads to short-term thinking because ROAS rewards ads that extract the largest amount of stored value from the brand.Have you built a brand?Do people feel a connection to your brand?The day that you begin using ROAS to determine which ads work best, you will have launched a Going Out of Business Sale whether you intended to or not.Roy H. WilliamsOne in every five American adults is the customer of a family that you have never heard of. Their company generates more than $32 billion in annual revenue. And the $17 trillion in customer accounts and investment funds it manages exceeds the gross domestic products of Germany, Japan, and India combined. Despite the enormous influence of Fidelity Investments, relatively little is known about the singular family behind the Boston-based multinational financial services giant.Justin Baer, the deputy markets editor at The Wall Street Journal, reveals the dramatic three-generation saga of the fiercely private Johnson family in his new book. He also explains how they helped transform American investing.Listen and be amazed as Baer shares with roving reporter Rotbart the behind-the-scenes story of Fidelity's success. You will also gain insights from Fidelity's rise in leadership, their marketing, their innovation, and their succession planning. The story begins the moment you arrive at MondayMorningRadio.com

This Podcast is sponsored by Team Simmer Go to TeamSimmer and use the coupon code DEVIATE for 10% on individual course purchases. The Technical Marketing Handbook provides a comprehensive journey through technical marketing principles. (Getting an update soon) Sign up to the Simmer Newsletter for the latest news in Technical Marketing. NEW SIMMER COURSE ALERT!  - Data Analysis with R - taught by Arben Kqiku Latest content from Simo Ahava Add IPv6 Support To Your Server-side GTM Load Balancer Latest content from Juliana Jackson Your data will never match 1:1 across platforms, and that's fine. (subscribe to the newsletter for more amazing content) Article is written in collaboration with Stape.io Mentioned in the episode: Stape Jeff Sauer MeasureU Measure Summit Connect with Alina Popa Linkedin Her website This podcast is brought to you by Juliana Jackson and Simo Ahava.

Most D2C brands have tried YouTube ads. Almost none of them are getting credit for what those ads are actually doing. Brett Curry, CEO of OMG Commerce and the guy behind YouTube growth for brands like Native, Arctic, and Dude Wipes, makes the case that in-platform reporting is under-counting YouTube's real impact by roughly 70% — and that the brands leaning in right now are about to widen the gap on everyone still dabbling.This one goes deep: incrementality testing, omnichannel attribution, creative frameworks, and why your Meta winners almost certainly won't survive on YouTube.Inside the episode:Why a 1.0 in-platform ROAS on YouTube is probably a 3.4 in reality — and the 190-test incrementality study behind that numberHow Arctic drove a 25% Walmart sales lift (and 230% branded search lift) by running YouTube in select markets — measured scientifically against matched control marketsThe three creative types that actually work on YouTube: hero/brand films, single-creator UGC, and the specific criteria your Meta winners need to meet before you bother testing themHow to diagnose a broken YouTube ad using just three metrics: view rate, click-through rate, and average watch time per impression — and what each one tells you to fixWhy campaign structure for retail lift looks completely different than for D2C sales — and how to set up for both at once—Sponsored by OMG Commerce - go to https://www.omgcommerce.com/contact and request your FREE strategy session today!—‍Chapters:[0:00] Introduction: Why Most Brands Still Suck at YouTube[1:51] Audience Poll: Who's Actually Winning on YouTube?[3:15] The Core Problem: Bringing a Meta Mindset to YouTube[4:05] YouTube as Trust: Creators, TV, and Time Spent[8:14] Incrementality 101: Measuring the Real Impact of Your Ads[11:22] How Incremental Is YouTube? The 3.4x ROAS Reality[15:28] Going Omnichannel: Using YouTube to Drive Retail and Amazon Sales[19:13] Arctic Case Study: Measuring YouTube's Impact on Walmart Sales[24:09] Creative Diversity: The Essential Elements of a YouTube Ad[27:16] Creative Breakdown: Single Influencer, Hero, and Mashup Ad Examples[38:05] Creative Story Arc: How to Hook Viewers and Drive Action[40:24] Creative Feedback Loops: What Data to Watch and Why[46:09] Campaign Structure: How to Buy Media Based on Your Goals[51:56] Measure, Model, Maximize: The Trifecta of YouTube Measurement—Connect With Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebrettcurry/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmbMwBW8LYDfFAqNqlgTGw Website: https://www.omgcommerce.com/ Request a Free Strategy Session: https://www.omgcommerce.com/contactPast guests on eCommerce Evolution include Ezra Firestone, Steve Chou, Drew Sanocki, Jacques Spitzer, Jeremy Horowitz, Ryan Moran, Sean Frank, Andrew Youderian, Ryan McKenzie, Joseph Wilkins, Cody Wittick, Miki Agrawal, Justin Brooke, Nish Samantray, Kurt Elster, John Parkes, Chris Mercer, Rabah Rahil, Bear Handlon, JC Hite, Frederick Vallaeys, Preston Rutherford, Anthony Mink, Bill D'Allessandro, Stephane Colleu, Jeff Oxford, Bryan Porter and more

A Max Profits Mentorship client followed AI's recommendations on their Meta ads campaign and watched their revenue drop from $268K to $196K in a single month. Ad spend % climbed from 30% to 40%. $72,000 gone.In this audio-exclusive episode, Dylan breaks down exactly what went wrong and the one rule that would've saved this client $72K in revenue. Here's what he covers:The AI-generated report that looked flawless on the surface: charts, CPAs, audience breakdowns, the works (and the one thing nobody thought to double-check)Why the CPA numbers in the report were 25–50% off from what Meta was actually reportingThe single decision that tanked the campaign from a 2.67 ROAS down to 1.8 and $23 CPA to $34The difference between using AI to analyze your ads vs. optimize your ads (and why the second one will burn you)The AI hallucination problem nobody talks about and the context AI will never have about your businessThis isn't an anti-AI episode. We use AI every single day at The Ecommerce Alley. But there's one thing you should never hand the reins to and this $72K mistake is exactly why.---

Every retail media network gives brands another way to reach the consumer. But more opportunity also means more complexity.In this episode, Laura Pattison joins Destaney to talk about what brands need to understand before adding new RMNs into their media mix. They cover targeting differences, creative opportunities, auction models, data access, attribution windows, in-store attribution, and why measuring everything against the same ROAS benchmark can lead brands in the wrong direction.Connect with Laura on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/laurajpattisonConnect with Destaney on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/destaney-wishon

What happens when a mother-daughter duo combines entrepreneurship, authenticity, and community? In this episode, Ashley sits down with Karen Monroe and Erin Pisani of K Marie Boutique to talk about how they built a thriving boutique brand through live selling, intentional customer connection, and creative in-store experiences. From starting in Karen's house during COVID to building a warehouse storefront from the ground up, they share the behind-the-scenes reality of growing a successful boutique while balancing family, motherhood, and business together. You'll learn: How live selling transformed their business Why consistency and authenticity matter more than perfection Hosting viral in-store events like Mahjong and needlepoint nights Using Boutique Hub Black and ads to grow both online and local traffic This episode is packed with practical boutique strategies, marketing insights, and a powerful reminder that the best brands are built through real relationships. Join The Boutique Hub Summer School   Karen Monroe & Erin Pisani with K Marie Boutique Instagram:@shopkmarieboutique Website: shopkmarieboutique.com                                              ____________________________ Ashley Alderson: Instagram     The Boutique Hub: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | TikTok | YouTube

We've all heard the classic business cliché: "You have to spend money to make money." But honestly? I've never really loved that phrase. It leaves out the most crucial part of the equation. What if we rephrased it to: You have to spend money to make money, but you also need to know if the money you're spending is actually working. In this episode, I'm challenging product-based business owners to stop looking at Return on Investment (ROI) purely through the lens of digital ad spend. The truth is, every single dollar that leaves your business is an investment, and every investment deserves a return. From hiring team members to investing in photography, copywriters, and coaching programs, I break down how you might be flying blind with your capital and how to start tracking profit metrics instead of vanity metrics. I also share a simple, three-question audit you can start using today to ensure every dollar has a job and is doing it well. Key Takeaways The ROI Reframe: ROI isn't just a marketing metric. If cash is flowing out of your business in a dozen different directions, you need to measure what is coming back in return for every single one of those streams. The Danger of Raw Ad Metrics: Generating $3,000 in sales from a $1,000 ad spend sounds great on paper (a 3x ROAS). But when you factor in a 50% cost of goods ($1,500), agency fees, fulfillment labor, and shipping, you might actually be paying to run yourself out of business. Measuring the Unmeasurable (Employees): Hiring feels like growth, but without tracking output, it's just added overhead. Employees don't always generate direct revenue, but they must generate a measurable return—whether that's freeing up your time to bring in new accounts or increasing production speed. Learning vs. Implementation: Buying a coaching program, course, or mastermind and only implementing 20% of it means you are losing money. Learning is not a return on investment; implementation is the return. The Secret of Profitable Businesses: The most profitable product-based businesses aren't necessarily the ones with the highest revenue. They are the ones with the fewest dollars going out the door that don't serve a clear purpose. The 3-Question ROI Audit To keep yourself from flying blind, I want you to perform this quick audit this month on any expense—whether it's a software subscription, a new piece of equipment, an employee, or a mastermind: What did it cost me? (Be sure to include your time, not just your money). What specific outcome was I expecting from it? (Name a tangible, concrete result). Did I get that outcome? (Yes, partially, or not at all). My Advice: Once you have your answers, act on them immediately. Double down on what's working, fix or re-engineer what is underperforming, and ruthlessly cut what isn't producing. Work with Me - https://www.ciarastockeland.com/work-with-meVisit the Bookstore - https://www.ciarastockeland.com/bookstoreSign Up for Free Weekly Tips and Trainings - https://www.ciarastockeland.com/subscribe

We've all heard the classic business cliché: "You have to spend money to make money." But honestly? I've never really loved that phrase. It leaves out the most crucial part of the equation. What if we rephrased it to: You have to spend money to make money, but you also need to know if the money you're spending is actually working. In this episode, I'm challenging product-based business owners to stop looking at Return on Investment (ROI) purely through the lens of digital ad spend. The truth is, every single dollar that leaves your business is an investment, and every investment deserves a return. From hiring team members to investing in photography, copywriters, and coaching programs, I break down how you might be flying blind with your capital and how to start tracking profit metrics instead of vanity metrics. I also share a simple, three-question audit you can start using today to ensure every dollar has a job and is doing it well. Key Takeaways The ROI Reframe: ROI isn't just a marketing metric. If cash is flowing out of your business in a dozen different directions, you need to measure what is coming back in return for every single one of those streams. The Danger of Raw Ad Metrics: Generating $3,000 in sales from a $1,000 ad spend sounds great on paper (a 3x ROAS). But when you factor in a 50% cost of goods ($1,500), agency fees, fulfillment labor, and shipping, you might actually be paying to run yourself out of business. Measuring the Unmeasurable (Employees): Hiring feels like growth, but without tracking output, it's just added overhead. Employees don't always generate direct revenue, but they must generate a measurable return—whether that's freeing up your time to bring in new accounts or increasing production speed. Learning vs. Implementation: Buying a coaching program, course, or mastermind and only implementing 20% of it means you are losing money. Learning is not a return on investment; implementation is the return. The Secret of Profitable Businesses: The most profitable product-based businesses aren't necessarily the ones with the highest revenue. They are the ones with the fewest dollars going out the door that don't serve a clear purpose. The 3-Question ROI Audit To keep yourself from flying blind, I want you to perform this quick audit this month on any expense—whether it's a software subscription, a new piece of equipment, an employee, or a mastermind: What did it cost me? (Be sure to include your time, not just your money). What specific outcome was I expecting from it? (Name a tangible, concrete result). Did I get that outcome? (Yes, partially, or not at all). My Advice: Once you have your answers, act on them immediately. Double down on what's working, fix or re-engineer what is underperforming, and ruthlessly cut what isn't producing. Work with Me - https://www.ciarastockeland.com/work-with-meVisit the Bookstore - https://www.ciarastockeland.com/bookstoreSign Up for Free Weekly Tips and Trainings - https://www.ciarastockeland.com/subscribe

Send us Fan MailEddie van Dongen spent years doing what most musicians dream of. Touring Europe, playing 200-show theater runs, recording, performing. And then COVID hit, and overnight there was nothing. No gigs, no income, no plan.That moment forced him to ask a question he'd never had to ask before: what would it look like to actually build a business, not just be a freelancer hoping the phone rings?Eddie is a professional drummer from Rotterdam, endorsed by major brands and featured on Dutch national TV. But what makes his story genuinely interesting is how he got from that COVID wake-up call to running Eddie's Drum Academy, an online platform built around a completely different way of teaching drums. Not fill packs, not lick libraries, but a creative framework that teaches drummers how to think.In this conversation, Eddie and I got into a lot. His burnout at music college and how studying meditation changed not just his playing but his whole approach to business. Why he believes you have to be okay with being ignored if you're building something real. His Meta ads funnel selling a 37-euro ebook with a 2.5 to 3.5 ROAS. How his order bumps are converting around 40%. And what he's working toward next.He's honest, thoughtful, and clearly someone who built this from scratch with no marketing background. I think you'll really enjoy this one.Check out Eddie's work:

In this episode, we dive into the challenge of rising customer acquisition costs and how smart online brands use first-party data to stay competitive. Tiago Costa, CEO of clustie.ai, shares how his platform uses artificial intelligence to predict high-value buyers and automatically improve ad results on Facebook and Meta channels. He is joined by brand owner Raphael Tomé, who explains how he used this tech to cut his ad costs, boost his profits, and quickly scale his e-commerce business. Topics discussed in this episode:  How AI simplifies building and launching online stores today. What metrics to fix before you try to scale ad spend.Why single-product shops are growing quickly in the US.Why traditional marketing agencies fail to scale ad results.How audience intelligence tools lower customer acquisition costs.What problems occur when running too many active ad campaigns.How syncing Shopify data with Meta improves targeting precision.Why human support remains critical alongside AI software tools.What product-audience matching does for specific item sales.How to scale products internationally using predictive data models.Links & ResourcesWebsite: https://clustie.ai/Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/clustie-ai-marketing-segmentsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fullvenueai/Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/56sr2z44I'd love your feedback. Tap the the link to send me a text. ______________________________________________________LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS!Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don't miss out!   Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts   Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/   Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak   Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

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Authenticity in the Algorithmic Age: Maximizing Paid Ad Performance with Jeremy YangIn a recent episode of The Thoughtful Entrepreneur Podcast, host Josh Elledge sat down with Jeremy Yang, the Founder and Tech Lead of Digital Goliath, to break down the seismic shifts currently reshaping the global digital advertising landscape. Operating from Sydney, Australia, Jeremy brings a performance-focused, technical perspective to paid traffic, dismantling the over-automated, "plug-and-play" strategies that cause modern ad spend to bleed cash. This conversation provides an essential strategic overview for established business owners and enterprise leaders who are currently running Google or Meta campaigns but find themselves battling rising acquisition costs, algorithmic fatigue, and the quiet erosion of consumer trust in an AI-saturated market.The Architecture of Conversion: Blending Algorithmic Optimization with Raw Human ConnectionThe rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence has fundamentally disrupted the digital ad ecosystem, precipitating an unprecedented wave of content saturation across search results and social feeds alike. Jeremy Yang explains that while advanced machine learning models excel at routine administrative tasks—such as rapidly spinning up creative iterations, adjusting real-time bidding parameters, and optimizing platform placement—they have simultaneously triggered a massive wave of consumer ad blindness. Audiences have grown exceptionally savvy at identifying synthetic avatars, overly polished deepfakes, and generic AI-scripted copy, which ultimately erodes brand authority and diminishes campaign ROI. True scalable performance is achieved not by replacing the human element with complete automation, but by treating AI strictly as a backend optimization coworker while fiercely keeping a real, authentic face and localized presence at the center of client-facing ad creative.To break through the competitive noise on modern ad networks, brands must pivot heavily toward direct-response, face-to-camera video assets that function as the new high-yield currency of visual search. Rather than exhausting valuable corporate capital on hyper-produced studio commercials or rigid, clinical scripts, founders see far higher engagement by executing raw, unscripted "walk-and-talk" videos or behind-the-scenes operational content recorded directly on a smartphone. This style of marketing functions as an immediate trust builder, creating a visceral human connection that synthetic assets simply cannot replicate. For local and service-based enterprises, leaning into this transparent media delivery is a critical differentiator; it signals immediate credibility to a prospect and establishes a definitive baseline of authority long before they enter the sales pipeline.However, scaling ad spend predictably requires strict alignment with an organization's actual operational readiness and market validation. A common failure point for small-to-medium businesses is deploying heavy capital into paid acquisition channels before securing true product-market fit or establishing a clear, documented value proposition. Jeremy cautions that paid traffic functions exclusively as an amplifier; if an offer suffers from confusing messaging or lacks organic traction, scaling ad spend will merely accelerate capital loss and operational strain. By implementing data-driven diagnostics, such as comprehensive campaign audits and predictive ROI calculators, companies can transition from speculative testing to strict accountability. This ensures that every dollar deployed on Google or Meta is mathematically anchored to drive enterprise value, clear financial margins, and sustainable brand equity.About Jeremy YangJeremy Yang is the Founder and Tech Lead of Digital Goliath and a premier authority in digital ad systems architecture. Drawing from a diverse background in community leadership and youth athletic coaching, Jeremy infuses a people-first, high-accountability philosophy into the data-driven world of paid media. He specializes in helping mid-market companies audit their traffic channels, optimize their conversion funnels, and construct high-performance advertising frameworks across the Google and Meta ecosystems.About Digital GoliathDigital Goliath is a premier, performance-driven digital advertising agency based in Australia, serving an international clientele of established businesses. The firm bypasses generic marketing vanity metrics to focus exclusively on scalable client acquisition, transparent data tracking, and measurable return on ad spend (ROAS). Through rigorous technical audits, fortnightly collaboration with founders, and specialized video ad development pipelines, Digital Goliath enables organizations to eliminate operational waste and predictably scale their digital ad footprints.Links Mentioned in This EpisodeDigital Goliath Official Website: digitalgoliath.com.auJeremy Yang on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeremy-yangKey Episode HighlightsThe AI Saturation Trap: Navigating consumer ad blindness by understanding why generic, machine-generated ad copy diminishes long-term brand authority.The Power of smartphone Video Asset Production: Why raw, unscripted face-to-camera videos consistently out-convert hyper-polished studio ad production.The Traffic Amplification Mandate: Validating core messaging and operational capacity through organic channels before scaling capital deployment on Meta or Google.Shadow Advertising Metrics vs. Real ROAS: Eliminating agency vanity metrics by anchoring campaign evaluation in transparent financial reporting and audits.Visual Search Currency: Capitalizing on Google's evolving AI search overviews by shifting from traditional text layouts to video-heavy digital real estate.ConclusionThe conversation with Jeremy Yang reinforces that long-term mastery over paid digital ad ecosystems requires a balanced synthesis of technical governance and un-copyable human authenticity. By leveraging platform automation for backend data optimization while anchoring customer-facing ad creative in transparent storytelling, brands can build deep consumer trust that commands premium market authority.More from The Thoughtful Entrepreneur

What actually separates brands that grow from brands that slowly disappear, even after spending heavily on digital marketing?In this episode of The Proven Entrepreneur Show, Don Williams sits down with Brooke Shepard, founder of Mason Interactive, for a candid conversation about the reality behind modern business growth, digital advertising, customer acquisition, and performance marketing.Brooke has spent nearly two decades helping brands scale through search, social media advertising, SEO, programmatic campaigns, ecommerce strategy, lead generation, and growth marketing. From startup founders to global consumer brands, he has seen what works when companies are trying to grow under pressure, shrinking budgets, investor expectations, and changing digital platforms.The conversation moves beyond surface-level marketing talk and gets into the mindset behind scaling a company in today's economy. Don Williams and Brooke Shepard discuss why many businesses become obsessed with ROAS, efficiency metrics, and short-term wins while quietly damaging long-term growth potential. They also unpack the difference between cheap leads and profitable customers, the pressure private equity creates inside businesses, and why so many companies continue chasing marketing “growth hacks” that rarely last.Listeners will also hear conversations around AI in marketing, agency leadership, brand trust, company culture, customer loyalty, subscription business models, data-driven advertising, and the balance between automation and human experience.This episode featuring Brooke Shepard and Mason Interactive gives entrepreneurs, CEOs, founders, marketers, agencies, and ecommerce brands an inside look at how real business growth decisions are made behind the scenes.If you are interested in entrepreneurship, digital marketing, business strategy, advertising psychology, scaling brands, or customer acquisition, this is an episode worth adding to your playlist.

In this episode, host Josh interviews entrepreneur Rolando Rosas about his journey from office technology to Amazon selling and founding Circuit Com. Rolando shares his advanced PPC strategy, using a year's worth of sales data and heat maps to optimize Amazon ad scheduling for better ROAS. He offers practical tips for sellers: enhance product images, respond to customer questions with videos, and use data tools like Seller Labs Data Hub to identify peak buying times. Rolando encourages starting small with data-driven ad adjustments to boost efficiency and sales.Chapters:Introduction to Rolando Rosas and His Journey (00:00:00)Josh introduces Rolando, his entrepreneurial background, and the founding of Global Tech Worldwide and Circuit Com.Podcast Sound Effects and Stream Deck Tips (00:01:15)Rolando shares his experience setting up podcast sound effects and encourages using a stream deck.Introduction to Innovative Amazon PPC Strategy (00:01:38)Josh prompts Rolando to share his unique PPC strategy, setting the stage for the main discussion.Data-Driven Ad Scheduling and Heat Maps (00:02:13)Rolando explains using 12 months of order data and Seller Labs Data Hub to create heat maps for ad scheduling.Key Insights from Data: Golden Hours and Days (00:02:59)Discovery of optimal times and days for ads, including patterns like low Friday evening and weekend sales.Challenging Weekend Ad Spend Myths (00:04:12)Rolando debunks the idea that weekends are best for ads, showing most sales occur Monday–Friday.Impact on ROAS and Sales Performance (00:06:03)Discussion of improved ROAS and sales by focusing ad spend on high-performing days and times.Layering Day Parting and Low Bid Strategies (00:07:02)Exploring advanced ad scheduling, including low bid strategies during off-peak hours.Manual vs. Automated Campaign Management (00:08:31)Rolando discusses the manual nature of their current process and the use of portfolio grouping for easier management.Leveraging Seller Labs Data Hub for Insights (00:09:36)How to use Seller Labs Data Hub for actionable business insights, even for non-data experts.The Importance of Data Science and AI for Sellers (00:10:53)Emphasizing the future role of data analytics and AI in Amazon selling success.Three Actionable Takeaways for Amazon Sellers (00:11:56)Josh summarizes three key takeaways: main image optimization, customer Q&A engagement, and data-driven ad scheduling.Encouragement to Start Small and Test Strategies (00:15:20)Advice to implement changes gradually, testing on a few campaigns or SKUs before scaling.Closing Remarks and Appreciation (00:16:18)Josh and Rolando wrap up the episode, express mutual appreciation, and end the conversation.Links and Mentions:Tools and Websites"Global Teck Worldwide": "00:00:00""Seller Labs Data Hub": "00:02:59""Google Sheets": "00:10:08"Strategies and Concepts"Day Parting": "00:02:13""Heat Map": "00:02:59"Actionable Takeaways"Adjust Main Images": "00:11:56""Respond to Customer Questions": "00:12:07"Transcript:Josh 00:00:00  Today I'm super excited to introduce you all to Rolando Rosas. Rolando never could have predicted that a college computer, a printer, and an old school wall phone in his kitchen would lead him down the path of entrepreneurship. But that's exactly how it happened. In 2002, he founded Global Tech Worldwide with the goal of making it easy for businesses to use the right office technologies for better and frictionless customer interactions that help businesses elevate their customer interactions and turn them into rich, meaningful discussions. Fast forward to today, and after spending ten years selling on Amazon, he is on his third startup circuit. Com because he was frustrated with the lack of transparency and outdated methods of buying broadband, wireless and fiber internet for small and medium sized businesses. So with that introduction, welcome to the show, Rolando.Rolando 00:00:53  Woo! Woo woo woo woo. Woo woo. Let me try. Let me try.Josh 00:00:56  Hey, there you go. Hey.Rolando 00:00:57  There we go.Josh 00:00:58  You got the audio work?Rolando 00:00:59  I got it, I got it I got him to work.Josh 00:01:02  Rolando has his own podcast and we recorded an episode last week I was on, I was in the reverse side. I was the guest there. And that I told you, Rolando, I love the sound effects that you have going on in your podcast.Rolando 00:01:15  You know what? I'm here. You know what? Go get a stream deck, go get it and call me, and I'll help you set it up. Because it took me a while. I left it in the box for quite some time before I actually started using it, because I was a little intimidated. I'm not an Avi guy or anything like that, but, you know, I was like, all right, let me add one, two, three. And I was like, ooh. And now I've got a couple of those buttons set up for it.Josh 00:01:38  I love it, I love it. All right, Rolando, there's another really wicked smart strategy that I want you to share with our audience that you shared with me prior to hitting the record button.Josh 00:01:48  And this is your amazing PPC strategy that I have never heard anybody else talk about this other than yourself. everybody's always heard of de parting, right? And that's kind of the new hot PPC term, but this isn't Dave Harding. This is something, I think, even more intelligent than what De parting is. So I've laid out the red carpet for you there, Rolando. Give us the gold nugget.Rolando 00:02:13  Yeah, right. So de parting is just simply ad scheduling. You know, run an ad on a schedule. Nothing new there. But what if. Chad. Chad, I was just talking to Chad. What if Josh. We could map or have ads show up when we have our ideal customers on Amazon? How can we do that? Can we pull it off? And can we save money while we're doing that? That's really what we wanted to find out. Turns out there is a way to do it. Not easy, not clean. But there was. So we went and pulled data from our orders for 12 months, and we used, Seller Labs product that they have or service that's called Data Hub.Rolando 00:02:59  and it pulled in all that data, right? It's our own data. So we didn't have to do all these crazy reports from Amazon. Pulled it all in. Once they pulled that in I said, wait a minute, guys. I'm not a mathematician here. This is just a spreadsheet with a bunch of numbers. Can we do something better? So then we put together something that anybody could easily use in the organization. We put together a heat map so that you can visually see the data. And, you know, dark green means good, red is bad. And guess what? We found golden hours every day of the week. Also golden months also patterns within those months. For example summertime for our products which are mostly office related products. After 4 p.m. on a Friday, we've virtually had no orders on the summer months. So if I'm a betting man, Why would I run PPC after 4 p.m. if we're not getting any orders? Another one was when? on the weekends, you hear people say this all the time.Rolando 00:04:12  And now that I have the data for our stuff, I know it's totally wrong. You got to run ads on Saturday and Sunday because people browse Saturday and Sunday and buy on Monday. The evidence does not hold that up in our case, because in our case, most of our activity, nearly 85 to 90% of the purchases c...

Marketing agencies are one of those things founders know they need, but often end up navigating with little visibility into what's actually working, where money is leaking, or who's truly accountable for growth.In this episode of Uncomplicate It, I sit down with Ivan Janku, CEO of Digital Rocket, to talk about what really happens behind high-performing marketing systems and why so many businesses still struggle with wasted ad spend, weak funnels, poor attribution, and disconnected customer journeys.Ivan shares how he built Digital Rocket after seeing agencies avoid accountability, hide behind vanity metrics, and prioritize retainers over real business outcomes. His philosophy is refreshingly direct: cut the BS, show the math, and focus on what actually drives profitable growth.From Meta ads and email marketing to mobile-first websites, conversion strategy, and AI, this conversation breaks down what modern marketing really requires in 2026 and why most businesses are still skipping the fundamentals.His perspective is clear: scaling isn't about spending more money, it's about fixing the leaks before you pour more traffic into the system.We talk about why most founders misunderstand ROAS, how attribution has become one of the biggest blind spots in marketing, and why agencies that only focus on one channel are often missing the bigger picture entirely.We also get into:Why most businesses scale ads before fixing their foundationsThe biggest mistakes founders make when hiring agenciesWhy transparency and accountability matter more than flashy reportingHow poor websites quietly destroy conversionsWhy mobile-first design is now essentialThe truth about attribution, ROAS, and cross-channel marketingWhy email marketing is still massively underratedThe hidden psychology behind trust and buying behaviorHow AI is improving marketing and where it's making things worseWhy “UGC” is quickly losing authenticityThe importance of customer journey thinking instead of channel obsessionHow businesses can increase profitability without increasing ad spendWhy data matters, but strategy still matters moreTakeaways:Great marketing starts with trust and clarityMost businesses have profit leaks they don't seeScaling traffic into broken systems wastes moneyData is only valuable if you know how to interpret itAI can improve execution, but not replace human strategyThe best agencies act like partners, not vendorsMulti-channel marketing matters more than everCustomer experience drives long-term growthIf you've ever questioned whether your marketing is actually working, felt burned by agencies, or struggled to understand where your growth is breaking down, this conversation will completely change how you think about scaling a business.Connect with Ivan;Linkedin: https:www.linkedin.com/in/ivanjankuWebsite: https://digitalrocketads.com/Follow Us:

In this episode, we explore the common struggle of growing sales without seeing a matching increase in profit. Misha Druzhinin, Co-founder and CEO of Finsi.ai, explains why many brands fail to track their margins and how focusing only on immediate returns can hurt long-term growth. He shares how his AI platform helps business owners simplify complex data to find hidden waste and improve customer value.You will learn how to move away from constant discounting, reduce customer churn, and use smart data to spend more effectively on ads while staying profitable. Topics discussed in this episode:  How failing to own profit margins stalls growth. Why relying on ROAS limits long-term brand success. What warning signs indicate your scaling is failing. How AI identifies high-value customer behavior patterns. What role qualitative data plays in reducing churn. Why "Smart Brevity" in data helps managers focus. How unit-level analysis uncovers hidden product waste. What retention architecture does for repeat purchases. How demographic data shifts modern marketing strategy. Why operational limits often signal a winning flywheel. Links & ResourcesWebsite: https://www.finsi.ai/Shopify App Store: https://www.finsi.ai/integrations/ecommerce/shopifyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdruzhinin/Get access to more free resources by visiting the show notes at https://tinyurl.com/yc3v2d8cI'd love your feedback. Tap the the link to send me a text. ______________________________________________________LOVE THE SHOW? HERE ARE THE NEXT STEPS!Follow the podcast to get every bonus episode. Tap follow now and don't miss out!   Rate & Review: Help others discover the show by rating the show on Apple Podcasts at https://tinyurl.com/ecb-apple-podcasts   Join our Free Newsletter: https://newsletter.ecommercecoffeebreak.com/   Support The Show On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EcommerceCoffeeBreak   Partner with us: https://ecommercecoffeebreak.com/partner-with-us/

This episode is sponsored by Brook Shepard and Mason Interactive.Welcome to another episode of Mojo: The Meaning of Life and Business. Today, Jennifer Glass sits down with Brook Shepard, founder and CEO of Mason Interactive, a leading digital marketing agency renowned for blending data, design, and strategy to drive stellar results. With over a decade of experience, Brook Shepard shares his journey—from his early days in art and an uninspiring stint on Wall Street, through the challenges of building and redefining his role in the agency world, to leading a team that helps businesses stand out in crowded, commoditized markets.In this conversation, you'll hear candid insights about the real drivers behind effective marketing today, why creative strategy matters more than ever, and how understanding the value of new customers can make or break your growth. Jennifer Glass and Brook Shepard also explore how major shifts in technology and AI are reshaping the marketing landscape, what business owners should prioritize to sustain success, and how true differentiation comes from emphasizing value and benefits over price and features.Whether you're just launching a business or looking to scale, this episode is packed with strategic takeaways to help you navigate an ever-changing market and build stability for the long term.About my guest: Brook Shepard is the founder and CEO of Mason Interactive, a premier digital marketing agency known for delivering exceptional results through a blend of data, design, and strategy. With over a decade of experience, Mr. Shepard has established himself as a trusted thought leader, guiding clients in diverse sectors from e-commerce to healthcare. His expertise lies in crafting bespoke marketing strategies that drive sustainable growth and a strong ROI. Connect with Brook on the web at http://masoninteractive.com/Keywords: SWOT analysis, business growth, marketing opportunities, threats in business, digital marketing agency, data-driven marketing, marketing strategy, sustainable growth, return on investment, creative marketing, performance marketing, Google account management, AI in marketing, commoditization of marketing, client acquisition, new customers, return on ad spend (ROAS), customer retention, value-based selling, features vs benefits, video marketing, Google search changes, AI snapshots, top of funnel advertising, bottom of funnel marketing, customer lifetime value, attribution solutions, brand differentiation, budget allocation, blended marketing metrics, small business marketing

Digital ad fraud is one of the biggest hidden costs in modern marketing — and many companies do not realize how much of their advertising budget is being wasted on fake clicks, bot traffic, fraudulent accounts, and misleading campaign data. In this episode of Grownlearn, host Zorina Dimitrova speaks with Rich Kahn, CEO of Anura, a digital ad fraud prevention platform protecting more than 2 million websites. Rich has over 31 years of experience in digital marketing and has built five self-funded multimillion-dollar internet companies. Rich explains how digital advertising fraud works across platforms such as Facebook, Google, partner networks, affiliate traffic, and programmatic advertising. He also shares why certain channels carry higher fraud risk, how AI-driven bots are changing the fraud landscape, and why clean traffic matters for marketing ROI, ROAS, and long-term business growth. We discuss how Anura detects fraudulent traffic in real time by collecting more than 800 data points, why companies often discover fraud only after performance starts to break down, and what founders, marketers, agencies, SaaS companies, eCommerce brands, and investors should understand before scaling paid advertising. Beyond ad fraud prevention, Rich also shares his entrepreneurial journey: building multiple companies without outside funding, scaling through product-driven growth, developing enterprise relationships, and why face-to-face business development through trade shows still works. This episode is especially relevant for founders, marketers, agencies, eCommerce businesses, SaaS companies, investors, and anyone spending money on digital advertising. Guest: Rich Kahn, CEO of Anura Host: Zorina Dimitrova, Strategic Growth & Capital Advisor and host of Grownlearn Listen to more episodes: Grownlearn Podcast: https://grownlearn.onpodium.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1bUIDGbSQl4BlHeNeeJfva Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/grownlearn/id1515759956 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/grownlearn Learn more about Grownlearn: https://grownlearn.org/ Episode Chapters 00:00 – Podcast Intro & Why Digital Ad Fraud Matters 01:15 – Rich Kahn's Entrepreneurial Journey 03:50 – How Digital Ad Fraud Works Across Facebook, Google & Partner Networks 08:17 – What Advertisers Should Ask Agencies About Fraud Detection 10:39 – Inside Anura's Fraud Detection Platform 16:10 – AI Bots, Fake Traffic & the New Era of Ad Fraud 19:49 – Product-Driven Growth & Building Through Relationships 22:49 – Scaling a Self-Funded Company 25:21 – Trade Shows vs Digital Marketing 27:00 – The $160B Fraud Problem & the Future of Clean Traffic

At RBC Capital Markets' Private Tech Conference, Dan Nathan interviews RBC analysts Brad Erickson, Rishi Jaluria, Matt Swanson, and Matt Hedberg on Q1 earnings and AI's impact across internet and software. Erickson says demand is solid, hyperscalers are raising CapEx as cloud ROI improves, and explains why Meta's higher spend hurt the stock versus Google/Amazon's accelerating cloud revenue and margins; he ranks Amazon over Google over Meta and discusses Uber's AV positioning versus Waymo. Jaluria is bullish on Microsoft's broad AI opportunities, notes Copilot's growing paid users, and discusses multimodel strategy, small/medium models, and Oracle's controversial OpenAI-linked data center build and financing. Swanson covers ad/martech, highlighting Adobe's “orchestration” narrative, Trade Desk's holding-company tensions, and AppLovin's ROAS-driven model. Hedberg argues cyber and infrastructure need “more, not less” security post-Anthropic's Mythos, cites capitulation in software sentiment, favors consolidators like CrowdStrike, Palo Alto, Snowflake, Datadog, and ServiceNow, and notes AI-driven efficiency and layoffs as potential catalysts amid continued volatility. —FOLLOW USYouTube: @RiskReversalMediaInstagram: @riskreversalmediaTwitter: @RiskReversalLinkedIn: RiskReversal Media

Brandi Dugal is the Founder and CEO of The Fidget Game, a company that creates curriculum-aligned learning games to make reading and literacy practice effective and fun. The company's resources are used in more than 50,000 schools. A former teacher with classroom experience in multiple countries, Brandi developed The Fidget Game after working with students who were struggling to read. Through the Fidget Forward program, she makes educational tools more accessible to classrooms and families in need. In this episode… Scaling an e-commerce brand often requires a counterintuitive move: letting go of the metrics you once used to measure growth. Yet when growth stalls, how do you know whether to pull back or push harder? Brandi Dugal's answer is to zoom out, measure the whole business, and keep testing until the system reveals what works. As an educator-turned-e-commerce founder, she recommends looking beyond platform-level ROAS and using marketing efficiency ratios (MERs) to assess overall marketing efficiency. Brandi also suggests separating campaigns by product, tagging ad angles carefully, testing high volumes of creative, and staying close to customers through real conversations, feedback loops, and founder-led storytelling. Sustainable growth comes from pairing disciplined measurement with authentic, customer-informed creative. In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, William Harris chats with Brandi Dugal, Founder and CEO of The Fidget Game, about scaling through creative testing and whole-business measurement. Brandi shares how MER changed her Meta strategy, why authentic founder-led ads outperform polished UGC, and how gamified classroom insights shaped her product development.