The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

Customer acquisition costs are more expensive than ever, so how can small brands acquire their first customers without spending big on paid traffic? Our guest today has a practical approach to that problem most brands can implement today.

1. How can a brand get customers if they don't have a budget for ads?
2. Why should brands invest in BFCM planning when it's so far off?
3. What are big brands doing that small brands can replicate?

Val Geisler is the Customer Evangelist at Klaviyo. Prior to joining the Klaviyo team, Val was an email marketing consultant for B2B and B2C brands. Because she's obsessed with improving how brands and customers connect, Val loves digging into the best ways to use different channels to make lasting connections. And memes. Val loves a good meme, too.

Show Links

• Episode 223: Getting Customers for Life through Email
• Curie Deodorant
• Val on Twitter: @lovevalgeisler
• House of Wise
• Blum
• Klaviyo

Sponsors

• Free 30-day trial of Zipify OCU - (To get an unadvertised gift, email [email protected] and ask for the "Tech Nasty Bonus".
• Try Bold Product Upsell, free trial
• Save 20% on Turbo, a blazing fast Shopify theme - Use code KURT20 at checkout
• Improve your shop’s search engine ranking with Venntov SEO Meta Manager

Never miss an episode

• Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts
• Join Kurt's newsletter

Help the show

• Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group
• Leave a review
• Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

What's Kurt up to?

• See our recent work at Ethercycle
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
• Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store.

Imagine scaling a business from $3 million to $30 million in a vertical that's as competitive as it gets.

Today's episode is a deep dive into the world of dropshipping automotive parts—a tale of triumph that stretches from the roots of eBay to the heights of a multimillion-dollar business.

Joining us is Sean Reyes of Shock Surplus, to tell us how he propelled his brand from modest beginnings to a dropship titan that cornered the market in 2020.

We'll unpack the journey of a brand that's not only thrived but dominated, dissecting the blend of tech-savviness, market understanding, and the audacious spirit needed to excel.

Sean's story is one of precision growth and the art of capitalizing on market opportunities, from navigating the COVID-19 pandemic to mastering the Facebook ad landscape.

Expect to gather a trove of actionable advice, from leveraging education as a powerful marketing tool to the nitty-gritty of data management with a product catalog that would make a librarian weep.

We'll explore how Shock Surplus has built a robust community by fostering genuine connections with their audience, leading with education, and backing it up with expertise.

Hear how authenticity in content creation and customer education has established Shock Surplus as a trusted authority in a niche market.

Don't miss this behind-the-scenes look at scaling an e-commerce business, a must-listen for any entrepreneur aiming for the stars.

Hit subscribe, and leave a review if you love what you're hearing. It's about growth, not just in sales but in knowledge. Tune in, turn it up, and take your store to the next level.

Show Links

• shocksurplus.com
• Not on Shopify? Start your free trial

Sponsors

• Free 30-day trial of Zipify OCU - To get an unadvertised gift, email [email protected] and ask for the "Tech Nasty Bonus".
• StoreHero - Get a unified view of your sales, marketing & profitability metrics.
• Loop Returns: Ecommerce Returns Management for Shopify - Brands using Loop retain over 50% of their revenue by promoting exchanges over refunds.

Never miss an episode

• Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts
• Join Kurt's newsletter

Help the show

• Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group
• Leave a review
• Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

What's Kurt up to?

• See our recent work at Ethercycle
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
• Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store.

In this episode, we'll pull back the curtain on how coupon extensions work, and reveal new data showing how they really impact key performance metrics like average order value and cart completion.

1. How do coupon extensions like Honey and Capital One Shopping get the discount codes that they share in their apps?
2. When a coupon extension is present in a user's browser, how does that impact attribution?
3. What is the impact that coupon extensions have on average order value and cart completion?
4. If a merchant is doing affiliate marketing, what should they know about coupon extensions and how they affect affiliate fees?

Kathleen is VP of Marketing at clean.io, where she's on a mission to help ecommerce brands grow profits and make smarter marketing decisions by improving the effectiveness of their discount strategies. Prior to joining clean.io, Kathleen spent 11 years as the founder and CEO of a digital marketing agency where she advised hundreds of companies on go-to-market and digital marketing strategies.

Show Links

• cleanCART - 14-day free trial
• clean.io
• Honey
• Capital One Shopping

Sponsors

• Free 30-day trial of Zipify OCU - (To get an unadvertised gift, email [email protected] and ask for the "Tech Nasty Bonus".
• Try Bold Product Upsell, free trial
• Save 20% on Turbo, a blazing fast Shopify theme - Use code KURT20 at checkout
• Improve your shop’s search engine ranking with Venntov SEO Meta Manager

Never miss an episode

• Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts
• Join Kurt's newsletter

Help the show

• Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group
• Leave a review
• Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

What's Kurt up to?

• See our recent work at Ethercycle
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
• Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store.

Creative husband and wife team Matt Snow and Meredith Erin, owners of Boredwalk T-Shirts, take us through their entrepreneurial journey building a cult of customers around their lifestyle apparel brand.

You'll hear:

• Why you should embrace the suck
• The one tactic that helped me them gain early sales
• Why they hate Amazon
• The customer-centric content-first marketing strategy that has grown their business
• Why you should start a podcast now

These artists-turned-ecommerce professionals produce clever original graphic goods, including apparel, accessories, and decor items. Known for their dark humor and sharp wit, Meredith and Matt have created a corner of the internet where fellow misanthropes can laugh at the world and themselves.

Tune in for more details!

Show Links

• BoredWalk
• The Boredwalk Podcast

Never miss an episode

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Join Kurt's newsletter

Help the show

• Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group
• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one.
• Subscribe on iTunes

What's Kurt up to?

• See our recent work at Ethercycle
• Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube
• Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store.

Sponsors

• Try Bold Product Upsell free for 90 days
• Save 20% on Turbo, a blazing fast Shopify theme
• Improve your shop’s search engine ranking with Venntov SEO Meta Manager
• Outsource your Shopify customer service with Simplr

You already know the importance of sharing your brand’s story. I've told you over & over on this show, "People buy from people, not brands." Your story is the ultimate way to create an emotional connection with your customers so that they not only become raving fans, they share your story with their friends.

Unfortunately, no one tells you HOW to write your story. Worse yet, most marketing experts don’t even know what a story is. Our guest today demonstrates this to hilarious effect on yours truly.

Michael Jamin has been a professional sitcom writer since 1996. His many credits include Just Shoot Me, King of the Hill, Beavis & Butthead, Out of Practice, Wilfred, Rules of Engagement, Brickleberry, and Tacoma FD. He’s also served as Co-Showrunner/Executive Producer of Maron, Glenn Martin DDS and Rhett & Link’s Buddy System.

In his spare time, Michael runs marketing for TwirlyGirl, a unique line of girls clothing started by his wife, Cynthia. By applying his sitcom writing and producing skills to their marketing videos, Michael has helped grow TwirlyGirl into a multi-million dollar brand.

We'll find out:

• How Micheal went from Hollywood to Ecommerce
• The branding mistake we all make starting out
• How to tell your story
• What IS and ISNT story?
• Elements of a great brand story
• The importance of details to your story
• How to find your brand’s unique voice.
• How to craft entertaining Product Descriptions
• What to do if you
• Why video quality isn’t nearly as important as writing quality.

Tune in for more details!

Resources

• TwirlyGirl - A unique line of girls clothing started by Michael's wife, Cynthia
• Michael's Guide to eCommerce Branding - For those who want to improve their storytelling skills.
• Cardboard Rocketship - A boutique marketing agency that specializes in creating funny videos that sell.

Share your thoughts

• Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group
• Share this show on Twitter

Never miss an episode

• Subscribe on iTunes
• Join Kurt's newsletter

Help the show

• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one.
• Subscribe on iTunes

What's Kurt up to?

• See our recent work at Ethercycle
• Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube

Grow Your Store in 2018

• Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store.
• Prefer to DIY? Read a free sample chapter of Kurt's book Ecommerce Bootcamp, absolutely free. Tell me where to send your sample at ecommerce-bootcamp.com
• Learn what's Shopify Plus got that regular Shopify doesn’t?”

Special Offers from our Sponsors

• Try Bold Product Upsell free for 90 days
• Improve your shop’s search engine ranking with Venntov SEO Meta Manager
• Save 20% on Turbo, a blazing fast Shopify theme
• Recapture: Shopify's best abandoned cart recovery, over $65,000,000 recovered for stores just like yours.