Monday, September 25

#1 - 💸 How to optimize your ad spend

📰 TL;DR - This article goes over eight areas where you can focus your ad spending to improve ROI, especially ahead of the holidays. These tips come from Seach Engine Land and the goal is to maximize your PPC budget. First, they recommend investing in top-of-funnel tactics instead of just focusing on that final click. Also, diversify! Google is always rolling out new campaign types — give them a try. Other tips include leaning into automation, considering data-driven attribution, and getting specific with your creative.

💡 Insight - These are all solid tips and important read heading into the holidays. Everyone will be competing for eyeballs starting in October and that means you can’t afford to make mistakes with your campaigns. I’ll also second the tip to channel some energy into the top of your funnel. The common wisdom is that it takes 7 to 9 touchpoints with a brand to actually make a purchase, so start building those now.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#2 - 🤖 How to create product backdrops with AI

📰 TL;DR - Here’s a fun Twitter thread about how to use MidJourney to create AI-generated backdrops for product images. These tips come from @salmaaboukarr, who creates images for brands. This thread is specifically looking at what inputs to give to get the right results for dynamic backdrops you can lay your product over. She goes over a few styles, using Olipop cans as an example.

💡 Insight - Backdrops are an excellent use case for AI image generation, but dialing in the right prompts to get something nice can be tricky. This should help! You may notice the prompts used here are very specific and perhaps longer than what you’d think. Also, note that she still does a little editing after to make them perfect.

➡️ You can read the tweets here...

📣 If you want to reach our audience of 10,000+ DTC store owners, tap here 

#3 - 💬 WhatsApp adds in-app shopping

📰 TL;DR - WhatsApp — owned by Meta — has introduced in-app shopping features. It works for merchants on the WhatsApp Business platform and allows users to directly make purchases in the app. It comes along with other new business features, like customizable forms and menus. Called “Flows,” the features were announced at the company’s global Conversations event in India and are expected to be rolled out globally.

💡 Insight - It’s very clear that every app now wants to be an e-commerce app. We’ve all seen the amazing success of apps in Asia that have added e-commerce features, and everyone wants a piece. Whether these WhatsApp features interest you may come down to regional preferences, but in any case we’re starting to see a world where any social media app will have e-commerce capabilities. The question will be which platforms are worth your time and how to manage juggling multiple platforms.

➡️ You can read the article here...

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

😎 INFLUENCERS - Build an in-house influencer program without lifting a finger, here's how. They're accepting 3 new brands for September, book a meeting.

💿 SAAS - More on the e-commerce SAAS side, here’s an interview with Sendlane’s founder.

👩🏼‍⚖️ AMAZON - Amazon is expected to be slapped with an antitrust lawsuit next week. Read more here.

📲 SMS - Not using SMS marketing? Maybe it’s time to rethink that and read this.

😄 INFLUENCERS, AGAIN - Read this guide to learn how to evaluate influencer media kits.

#5 - 📧 The case for email opt-outs

📰 TL;DR - General wisdom says that with email marketing, you want to get as many emails as possible and keep feeding that list. But sometimes, it’s kinder to let people opt out. This piece looks at examples of when it’s a good idea to give the option to customers to opt out of emails, such as around Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. These can be difficult holidays for many people, and it shows a little empathy to offer an out.

💡 Insight - The main brand examples here are Mother’s and Father’s Day but other potential occasions to offer this include Valentine’s Day or any religious holidays. I think doing this would actually go a long way to build trust with customers that you’re using their email responsibility — and that could be a lot more valuable than another email blast that goes unread.

➡️ You can read the article here...