Monday, June 3

🗣 Running a B2B and want to reach 40,403 DTC Brands? Start here

Ask Ibrahim: If you need advice for your business, ask our DTC expert here

WHAT’S HOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Taylor is well known in the agency world, and whether you’re building an agency or a DTC brand, we definitely recommend reading this thread.

You can read it here.

SARAL

This Influencer Marketing Program Will NOT Break Your Bank 🤑 

POV: You’re building an e-commerce brand. Paid marketing costs are through the roof, and your ROAS is plummeting. Influencer marketing sounds like the perfect solution, but where do you even start?

Starting influencer marketing on your own is overwhelming. You don’t have the time or the expertise.

🤔 Agencies seem like a good option—they offer expertise, but it doesn’t last and they charge a fortune.

🙋‍♀️ Hiring an in-house manager is another possibility, but if you’ve never done influencer marketing before, it’s a risky and often ineffective choice.

😍 What if you could get the best of both worlds?

That’s where SARAL’s Automate Program comes in. You get the expertise and experience of having worked with over 200 brands, combined with a dedicated influencer manager, all at 1/10th of the cost.

You don’t have to worry about training, onboarding, or managing the process. SARAL will handle it all, allowing you to focus on growing your brand.

Brands like Motiv8, Cooloo, Surreal, FreshPickle, Corvive, and more have found success with SARAL’s Automate Program.

Don’t miss out. See how the Automate Program can work for you

Have questions?

Testing is not just a strategy; It's the Holy Grail for Meta Ads.

In DTC Daily, we’ve spent over $25K+ in the last three months, 60% of which is spent on 1 creative that’s converting like crazy at $2.75 CPA.

The winner ad was an accidental discovery on Twitter.

As a Meta Advertiser, always remember that
"You’re 1 winning creative away from winning with Meta ads."

Instead of creating 1 breakthrough creative in 2 weeks, try to test 5-7 creatives every week to find winning creatives.

Here's a list of things you need to remind yourself constantly.

1. Focus on quantity over quality. Use early killers to kill the non-performers.
2. Never get too attached to your ad. What you think will perform well often tanks and vice versa.
3. Test every ad. You never know which is your next breakthrough ad.

By testing different ads, you're not just gathering data, but also valuable insights into what's working for your account (and what's not), fueling your journey towards effective Meta Ads.

IBRAHIM’S NUGGETS

Happy Monday!

Hope you slept well last night and had a recovery Sunday. I’m personally pumped for the month of June, especially everything that I’ve planned for DTC Daily. Working on a few interesting things to share more value with all of you..stay tuned!

Who are the first 3 people you should hire for your DTC brand?

Starting a DTC brand is a thrilling journey. It’s like crafting a masterpiece from scratch, watching it evolve from an idea into something tangible that resonates with your audience. But as much as we’d love to wear all the hats, the truth is, we can't do it all alone. That’s where building a solid team comes into play.

Now, let’s dive into the big question: Who should be your first three hires? Remember, the right team can make or break your brand, especially in those critical early stages.

1. Head of Marketing / Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

   • First up, you need someone who lives and breathes marketing. A Head of Marketing or CMO is essential to get your brand in front of the right eyes!

   • This person will be your strategy powerhouse, orchestrating everything from brand building to customer acquisition and retention

   • They’ll manage both—organic and paid marketing efforts, ensuring your message cuts through the noise

   • A great marketer will understand your vision and be able to translate it into campaigns that attract and convert

   • They’ll know which channels to tap into and how to stretch your budget for maximum impact. Think of them as the captain of your outreach efforts, guiding your brand to new heights!

   • Regardless if you’re in the DTC business or not, every business requires this person, unless you possess these skills yourself (I know it can sound biased since I’m a Marketer myself, but I hope it makes sense why this is my top #1 pick)

2. E-commerce Manager

   • Next, you need someone to run the engine room—your online store. The E-commerce Manager is your go-to for ensuring everything operates smoothly

   • This role covers everything, from website management and user experience optimization to inventory management and logistics

   • The E-commerce Manager ensures that your site isn’t just functional, but delightful to use

   • They’ll handle the day-to-day operations, troubleshoot issues, and constantly look for ways to enhance the customer journey. In short, they keep the wheels turning so you can focus on growth!

   • This person can also help you set up the Amazon storefront and optimize it, and in some cases, the CMO/Marketing Head can take care of it

3. Content Creator / Manager

   • Content is king, especially in the DTC world. That’s why a dedicated Content Creator or Manager should be one of your top hires!

   • This person will craft engaging content that tells your brand story, builds your presence, and drives organic traffic

   • From blog posts and social media updates to videos and graphics, they’ll create the assets that connect with your audience

   • Great content doesn’t just sell products—it builds a community around your brand

   • Your Content Creator will ensure your voice is heard and your brand stands out

   • This person will also help you schedule all these content on different social media platforms

   • To begin with, you don’t have to be on all different social media channels. I recommend starting with 3-4 channels that makes the most sense for your brand

   • Allow this creator access to a scheduling tool at the very least, so they can focus more on the creative side instead of wasting time manually posting. I love Publer for this!

Managing Finances: When to bring in a CFO

As your brand grows, managing finances becomes increasingly critical. While a CFO might not be in your immediate first three hires, keeping an eye on your financial health should be a priority. In the early stages, you can handle basic financial tasks or outsource them to a reliable accountant. However, once you start scaling, and the financial complexity increases, hiring a CFO should be a priority. A CFO will help you with financial strategy, fundraising, budgeting, projections, and all things finances to ensure sustainable growth.

Note: If you plan on raising pre-seed funding, definitely recommend on-boarding a fractional CFO at the very least!

When to start hiring customer support executives

Customer support is the backbone of a successful DTC brand. Initially, you might handle customer inquiries yourself to save costs and stay close to your customers. This direct interaction can provide invaluable insights into their needs and pain points, and highly recommend you do this, at least for the first couple of months.

However, as your customer base grows, the volume of inquiries will too. It’s time to start building a customer support team when you find yourself spending more time on support than on growth activities. Hiring a Customer Support Lead or executives ensures that your customers receive timely and helpful responses, maintaining high satisfaction levels and fostering loyalty.

The way I looked at customer support entirely changed ever since I read “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh. His company—Zappos, was sold to Amazon for a billion dollars, and you know what the secret sauce was? Spoiler alert: Exceptional customer support! Highly recommend reading this book though.

But wait, what about your skills?

Here’s the twist—some of you might be thinking, “I’m pretty good at marketing,” or “I can handle the website for now.” And that’s totally valid! If you have a strong skill set in one of these areas, you can save money and take on that role yourself, at least in the beginning.

The key is to be honest about your strengths and limitations. If you’re a marketing whiz, you might hold off on hiring a CMO and instead bring in an E-commerce Manager and a Content Creator. Or, if you’re a content guru, focus on hiring a marketer and someone to manage the e-commerce side.

Leverage your skills where you can, but also recognize when it's time to bring in experts to fill the gaps. The goal is to create a well-rounded team that can tackle all aspects of your business efficiently.

Final Thoughts

Building a DTC brand is a team effort. The right first hires can set you up for success, ensuring that your brand grows steadily and sustainably. Whether you’re bringing in top talent or rolling up your sleeves to handle things yourself, focus on creating a balanced team that complements your strengths.

Happy hiring, and here’s to your DTC success!

P.S.: This ended up being lengthier than I expected it to be, but I hope you found it helpful.

Have questions or feedback? You can share here.

MINISOCIAL

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IN THE NEWS

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Have any questions that you need help with?

Ask here - and look out for Fridays Issue where Ibrahim will answer them.