The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast Mike Jackness and Dave Bryant | eCommerce, Shopify, and Amazon FBA Experts

Mike talks to Seller Universe Ecommerce Group CEO Martin Zerrudo about Amazon DSP and how brands can successfully leverage ads with it.
 
A relatively new system, Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP) analyzes consumer data and finds the right customers to target ads with. 
 
Unlike Facebook or Google ads, DSP gives you access to a wider network of third-party sites and reach people both on and off Amazon, albeit a pricier option.
 
A fair warning: doing ads with DSP can get very granular and specific, which can be intimidating to those unfamiliar with it. However, it can be highly effective when executed correctly.
 
I tried out DSP ads last year with IceWraps and although we didn’t get the results we wanted, I still think it’s a great system.
 
We have Martin with us today to give us better insight into how the system works and what makes it a formidable tool for ecommerce brands.
 
Martin, thank you for coming on the podcast and for sharing that message from August. It means a lot to Dave and I.
 
If any of you listening to this episode is interested in trying out DSP ads, go to the Seller Universe website and fill out the contact form.
 
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!

Dave goes through the top third-party sellers on Amazon, what products they sell, how much they make in revenue annually, and what their business models are.
 
At the start of the year, we began working behind the scenes on producing regular reports on top third-party sellers on Amazon.
 
Since Amazon doesn’t release reports on third-party sellers, we had to develop a way to harness this data ourselves. 
 
After months of research, we’ve managed to come up with a methodology that produces more or less accurate results.
 
Analyzing the sellers’ profiles, you see how vastly different their business models are. Some on this list are straight resellers, others are private label brands.
 
The product categories run the gamut too, from beddings and houseware to pharmaceuticals and electronics.
 
As we continue this series, we look forward to featuring new third-party sellers on the list and gain some insight into their business models.
 
That wraps up this episode of the podcast. Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our content. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!
 
Join EcomCrew Premium In other (exciting) news, registration for EcomCrew Premium will be open starting May 17 midnight! Join the Premium ‘Crew and get access to cool perks such as exclusive webinars and unlimited email support from Mike and I.
 
Registration will be open for only a week and slots are limited so make sure to sign up as soon as you can! For more information about EcomCrew Premium, visit www.ecomcrew.com/premium.

In this episode, Mike delves into subscription boxes and why it’s an effective business model, featuring special guests Paul Chambers and Chris George of SUBTA.
 
From food items to lifestyle products, subscription boxes have become quite the trend in ecommerce the past few years. 
 
Chris George and Paul Chambers got their start in ecommerce with Gentleman’s Box, a subscription service for men’s lifestyle products that they started in 2014.
 
In 2020, they exited the business and co-founded Subscription Trade Association or SUBTA, with a third partner, John Haji. 
 
SUBTA aims to foster a sense of community among entrepreneurs in the subscription industry and promote healthy competition in this space.
 
From their humble beginnings with Gentleman’s Box to the founding of SUBTA, here are the highlights from our conversation:
 
Timestamps: 
Intro - 0:25 History of Gentleman’s Box - 3:50 Dynamics of creating subscription boxes - 7:50 Production cycle of these boxes - 10:33 Factors to consider if you want to get into subscription boxes - 15:00 Finding your audience - 19:15 Exiting Gentleman’s Box - 22:23 Recent news in the subscription box space - 28:20 About SubSummit - 29:055  
Chris and Paul, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the podcast and sharing your story with us. 
 
For anyone interested in going into subscription, SUBTA will be having its annual SubSummit on June 1-3, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Head on over to the SubSummit website for more details.
 
If you want to learn more about the subscription industry, SUBTA has free and premium plans where you can get access to educational resources. Click here to learn more.
 
As per usual, feel free to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!

In this episode, Mike is joined by Spencer Jan of Solo Stove to talk about the evolution of ecommerce through the years and how innovation drives it forward.
 
After hearing him speak at eCommerceFuel Live last March, I invited Spencer Jan to be on the podcast to expound on a particular point in his presentation that struck me the most: innovation.
 
Spencer is the co-founder of Solo Stove, a company he started way back in 2010 in a garage. After exiting the business, he is now focused on helping other entrepreneurs build their own brands through informative content.
 
During our quick conversation, Spencer and I were able to cover a bit more ground about his journey and thoughts on the future of ecommerce. Here are the highlights from the episode:
 
Timestamps: 
Intro - 0:00 Spencer’s early years in ecommerce - 3:36 Choosing to focus on Solo Stove - 7:50 The ‘dopamine hit’ of starting something new - 11:40 Keeping up with the times - 13:53 Innovation as a force in ecommerce - 15:31 How ecommerce has evolved since he started - 20:08 Differentiating yourself from the competition - 26:13  
Thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Spencer. I hope to see you at Sellers Summit. If you guys want ecommerce-related videos, make sure to check out Spencer’s YouTube channel.
 
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!

For this episode of Under The Hood, Mike gives advice to Lisa Guenst–dental hygienist and owner of ToothShower, an innovative dental water flosser–on how to boost sales and get a business ready for selling.
 
Over two decades of working as a dental hygienist, Lisa Guenst noticed how a lot of patients she encountered hated using string floss. 
 
However, part of her profession is advocating for oral health, so as an alternative to help prevent gum disease, she always suggested using a water flosser instead.
 
While she did see significant improvement in her patients, they did complain that most water flossers were cumbersome and quite messy to use.
 
This was the impetus behind Lisa creating ToothShower, a water flosser that is powered by your own shower – no need for batteries or for plugging into an outlet.
 
After launching a Kickstarter campaign in 2017, the company and its flagship product (now with an impressive range of accessories) have become quite the lucrative business.
 
Pre-Covid, ToothShower had been selling exclusively on its website. It wasn't until the pandemic that ToothShower transitioned to being an Amazon business. 
 
Thus, Lisa sought our help on how to navigate the unique challenges that come with being an FBA business, especially for a product that’s as disruptive as ToothShower.
 
From refining your Amazon listing to optimizing SEO, I guide Lisa in increasing her sales and getting her business ready for selling when she decides to exit down the line.
 
That’s it for this week’s podcast. If you want to be featured in our next Under The Hood episode and get advice from us firsthand, fill out this form and we’ll check it out.
 
Also, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!

Welcome to the podcast edition of Brand Report! In this series, we share with you our revenue across all our brands every month, so you can see what we did wrong and what we did right.   
In February, we raked in a total of  $621,816, compared to March's revenue numbers, where we broke past the $700,000 barrier. IceWraps continues the upward trend in sales, but one thing remains to be a source of difficulty: logistics.
 
All in all, several factors played into this outcome, but the increase in freight rates continues to be a headache.
 
That’s it for our Brand Report for March 2022. While we’re certainly hoping for better days, March was definitely the best so far.
 
If you want to see a more detailed and comprehensive breakdown of our revenue numbers for the past few months, check out the blog post up on our website.
 
Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoy our podcast. Tune in next month for our April Brand Report. Till then, happy selling and we’ll see you in the next one!