📦 - Doing Numbers

DTC 325 - Iterative design, emotional selling, and CVR [DTC]( Banter Monday, April 24, 2023 Always, and we mean always, celebrate your friends. People succeeding and reaching their goals doesn’t take away from others. ❤️ In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇 📦 Iterative design in YouTube Shorts 📦 How to complete your retention equation with a mobile app 📦 The art of emotional selling 📦 How to get access to DTC C-Suite Las Vegas replays 📦 Quick tips to boost your conversion rates Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎 👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, [subscribe](, so you never miss out. YouTube Iterative design is something we talk about for Meta ads all the time, but are you applying the practice of iterative design to your other accounts? The Pilothouse YouTube team has been testing small changes in YouTube Shorts and surprise, surprise, they can have a massive impact on your metrics there too! Struggling with high costs? Low clicks? Poor engagement? 🤔 Here’s a glimpse into what the team tested: - Different hero clips for the intro. - Swapped in a new b-roll to support the talking points being discussed in the voiceover. - Shortened the runtime by ~30% by omitting one unique selling point (re: dilution effect). - Changed the dialogue at the end of the video to talk about the product's durability instead of general performance. Small changes? Big results. 🤝 [The Pilothouse YouTube team saw]( : - Click-through rate increased by approx. 2x - Engagement rate increased by approx. 2x - Cost-per-view decreased by over 30% Test it out on your Shorts and let us know how it goes! 👉 What design or content tests have you tried and seen success with recently? Reply to this email and let us know! Sponsor Mobile Apps Are A Key Part Of The Retention Strategies For Succesful Brands If your retention equation looks like this - 👇 SMS + Email = Retention You're leaving money on the table. 💸 Increasing the lifetime value of your customers through retention requires your [marketing touchpoints]( to work in tandem. The equation should be - ✅ SMS + Email + Mobile App + Push notifications + Socials = Retention The brands mentioned above 👆 do this and report that mobile apps are their 2nd highest revenue-generating channel. [Real data]( shows that mobile apps. - Bring back customers at 3-4x the frequency of other channels - Unlock 2.5x MORE revenue from your existing customers. - AND have a 95% higher revenue per session How? - Push Notifications Why? - You are meeting your customers directly where they are. Their phones. [Send eye-catching notifications to your customers]( that lead DIRECTLY into your checkout flow. 👉 [Complete your retention equation by adding a mobile app with Tapcart.]( Emotions How DTC Brands Use Emotional Selling to Push More Product Good sales tactics are no longer just about highlighting features and benefits. Consumers demand more than a good product at a fair price—they want to be valued, appreciated, and heard by the brands they buy from. Look at [this video]( from Petsies. It’s doing numbers. Any guesses why? It hits you RIGHT IN THE FEELS. Emotional selling at its finest. Emotional selling is a marketing technique that uses emotional appeals to connect with customers and build relationships that drive sales. As we’ve seen from top DTC companies like Bombas, Chewy, and Curology, this connection can be achieved through content, customer service, or a combination of both. Let's look at a few well-known DTC companies that have run this playbook to the T. 🧦 Bombas Anyone can make socks but few can make an impact. And that’s exactly what sets [Bombas]( apart. For every pair of socks purchased, Bombas donates a pair to those in need. While the Bombas homepage frequently updates the total amount of clothing items donated to date, the brand recently released its first in-depth [“Impact Report”](, highlighting the power of both its customers' and employees’ efforts. The report outlines the entire process from purchase to give-back, including images, testimonials, quantitative figures, and educational resources that emotionally grab both new and existing customers by showing them the gravity of a purchase’s impact. Customers feel good about shopping with Bombas and are more likely to return, knowing that their money goes to a good cause. There’s more where this came from! See you on Wednesday for emotional selling part two! 👋 Sponsor Check Off ‘Growing My Business’ On Your 2023 Bingo Card Missing out on the fun is… Well, no fun. 😢 If you couldn’t be in the room for our DTC C-Suite Las Vegas, don’t stress— [we’re bringing the room to you](! You can now officially access all talks, brand hot seats, and panels for only [$199 USD](. You’ll gain insights from 16 value-packed presentations (over 8 hours of content!) including content from: 👇 - Nick Saltarelli from Mid-Day Squares on Funding and P&L-Focused CPG Scaling - Issac Medeiros from Mini Katana on Scaling Organic Content on YouTube and TikTok - CraftlyAI’s AI Workshop with Iman Bashir - Sean McGinnis on How to Add a 7-Figure Affiliate Program to Your Business - Karly McFarland from Mini Katana on 10 Email & Retention Hacks You Can Use Right Now - And so much more! 👉 [Click here to unlock the vast amount of knowledge shared at DTC’s C-Suite Mastermind Las Vegas](! Conversion Rates The boost you need 🚀 The chase Chasing a high conversion rate is one of the most pursued KPIs for sales and marketing teams. It can’t happen overnight, so don’t be discouraged if your brand needs a little extra practice. To put it simply, a conversion is like a good first date. - You want it to go well - You want to make a good impression - You’ll want to meet them again Before a successful conversion, the prospective consumer needs to feel a sense of give and take – much like any healthy relationship! 🫶 🔍 The macro and micro You’ll need to consider two types of conversions: 👉 The macro conversion is the main attraction on most ecommerce sites. This is usually in the form of a purchase or signing up for a free trial or newsletter. 👉 Micro-conversions forego the macro conversion to move visitors onto a product page or blog post. 🧪 A little magic called science So, how do you improve your conversion rate? It's a blend of science and creativity. The scientific part involves analyzing data, reviewing friction points, and auditing your technical setup. Be visually and narratively persuasive to make your website visitors take a desired action, like making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter. Consider more experimental ideas for locating the most loyal (or even unlikely!) audience and double down on those strategies. That’s how growth is made. The creative part involves generating ideas to improve and refine existing ones to enhance your value proposition. It's like a bartender mixing different flavors to create the perfect drink for their customer. 🪜 Step-by-step Need some data to work with? Here are five ways to gather information about your customer’s experience and some ideas that this data can generate: 1️⃣ Talk to your customers: Just like a therapist, your customers know best. Reach out to them, conduct surveys, and gather feedback. This information can help you identify pain points, understand your customers' needs, and generate ideas for improvement. 2️⃣ Analyze your website data: Data is like a treasure trove, and you need to dig deep to find the gold. Analyze your website traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates to identify patterns and trends. This data can help you understand what's working and what's not, and generate ideas for improvement. 3️⃣ Review your site's friction points: Friction points are like speed bumps on the road to conversion. They slow down your visitors and can be a turn-off. Identify these points, such as long checkout processes or complicated forms, and streamline them to make the process smoother. 4️⃣ Test and enhance your value proposition: Your value proposition is like your unique selling point, and you need to make it shine. Test different versions, highlight your strengths, and address pain points to make your proposition more compelling. 5️⃣ Audit your technical setup: Your technical setup acts as the foundation of your website. If it's weak, everything else will crumble. Conduct regular audits to ensure that your website is secure, fast, and accessible. ♻️ Again and again With these tools at your disposal, you too can build a repeatable process to boost your conversion rates—just like your favorite brands have done several rounds of testing and optimization. It will take time, but starting now will put you on the right track to increased sales and higher engagement across the board. Another tough week but some notable bright spots From our friends at [Northbeam](, the most recent data on whats happening and trending in the world of media buying. 🌎 If you’re a buyer, step right up and get your insights. If you’re not, forward this email to your media buying friends or coworkers! 🧠[Northbeam’s]( insights Another tough week for media buyers - but with some bright spots. Generally, arrows are red this week for media buyers. While Meta CTRs have spiked, and most industry verticals are seeing daily revenue increase, platform metrics are still trending downward though not nearly as badly as the previous week. Notable movements are the continued increase of Meta CPMs (+5.51%) and increased CACs on TikTok (+8.15%). Quick Hits ⛅ [Bluesky]( is now live on Android. The Twitter alternative promises decentralized social networking and customizable algorithms. 🪟 [Microsoft]( no longer advertises Twitter. Microsoft Advertising will no longer support Twitter integrations or marketing tools over concerns about Twitter’s highly-priced API access. 🎵 [TikTok]( will ban all climate-denial content on its platform. The move comes as a part of TikTok’s sustainability awareness initiatives to connect with a younger audience. 📷 [Snap]( introduces new features for its My AI tool. These features include generative AI that can respond to snaps with images and text. 🔐 [SecureAuth]( revealed its 2023 State of Authentication Report. The report highlights the need for businesses and web users to evolve past traditional multi-factor authentication practices to secure their information. SHARE DTC NEWSLETTER Want to level up the marketing skills of your teammates and employees? Just grab your referral link below and you’ll earn points toward cool gear for every new subscriber you bring to the DTC fam. Here’s your unique referral link: [( [Share via facebook]( [Share via twitter]( [Share via whatsapp]( [Share via email](mailto:?subject=Check%20this%20out&body=%F0%9F%94%A5%20Signed%20up%20to%20this%20newsletter%20a%20couple%20of%20weeks%20ago%20and%20it's%20amazing%20for%20DTC%20marketers%20like%20you!+https%3A%2F%2Fsparklp.co%2F47c676d0%2F%3Futm_source%3Demail) [See how many referrals you have!]( Referal program is subject to [DTC Terms & Conditions.]( 🔊 Have you heard our latest podcasts? 🍸 Ben Soffer - [Spritz Society](: Influencer Strategies for Alcohol Brands and Linear Commerce. 🕯️ 9-Year-Old Lily Harper from [Lily Lou's Aromas]( homeschools us all. 🌲 [TAXA Outdoor](, Garrett Finney: Digital meets dealership, NASA Architect goes out of home for real. 🐶 Pet Health Comes Home with [MySimplePetLab's]( Jen Hagness. ☠️ [Liquid Death Mountain Water](: Hamid Saify - Death, Beverages, and the Attention Economy. 💡 Listen to the [Biggest Marketing News]( Stories Today. Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight](, [Randy Ginsburg](, and [Michael Venditti](. Edited by [Claire Beveridge]( and Eric Dyck. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. NEED MORE DTC? 🚀 [Advertise]( in DTC Newsletter. 💰Check out our course on [Facebook and Instagram]( ads! [Fueled by Pilothouse] [Share]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( [Unsubscribe]( Pilothouse, 1011 Government St., V8W 1X6, Victoria, BC V8W 1X6, Canada