📦 - A Piece of Advice

Craft a Winning Q4 Strategy, Stand Out in a Crowded Inbox, and Scary Good Creatives Friday, October 20, 2023 Inspired by [a recent Tweet/X post]( by Cody Wittick, we want to know: What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self before getting into DTC? Respond to this email and we’ll share some of our favorite responses! In this newsletter, you’ll find: - 📦 Emails that shine in a messy inbox - 📦 A scary good campaign idea Let’s dive in: 👇 Q4 ⏰ Brands: The Longer You Wait, the Less You’ll Make* ⏳ It isn’t too late to find success in Q4… but time is running out. This is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Q4’s ever. Are you confident in your strategy? If you… - Feel like you’re behind the curve and need a partner who’s on the cutting edge of performance marketing to bring you up to speed, - Have ambitious goals that you need to reach this quarter, - Aren't 100% certain your current team or agency have the experience to make the most of this Q4; Then we need to talk. [Pilothouse]( (DTC’s sister company) has a few spots left to join our brand accelerator, Pilot Program. Pilot Program can change the course of your brand forever. One brand partner tripled their ROAS while 10x’ing their spend. Your brand could be the next success story, but only if you take the leap. If you aren’t 100% confident in your Q4 strategy, then [set up a call with the team](. It’s 100% free and there’s no obligation. [Click Here to Connect]( EMAIL 📧 BFCM 2023: 5 Email Trends to Stand Out in a Crowded Inbox — Part Three We’re back with part three of our Black Friday/Cyber Monday series to ensure your sends stand out in your shoppers’ inboxes. Missed part one? [Click here](. Missed part two? [Click here](. Here’s the final installment: 👇 4️⃣ Personalize your offers While mass sitewide sales will still be the norm, we also predict you’ll see more personalized offers this BFCM… Deeper customer insights + sophisticated email segmentation tools = greater ability to offer unique deals for shoppers. But regardless of the tech available, personalized offers are still tricky to execute well and can be a little nerve-wracking for a high-stakes sale like BFCM. Here are a few ways you can offer your customers more personal deals (without sweating bullets): - Segment out your loyal or “VIP shoppers” and offer them something exclusive/extra over BFCM (early bird sale, free gift, extra discount, etc.) - Repeat purchasers? Send them an extra discount on a bundle or subscription offer. - For people on your list who haven’t purchased from you, consider sending them the most attractive deal on your best-selling product – something to get them excited enough to seal the deal. If you offer a service, this could also be a free trial or a few months free to get started. 5️⃣ Being a rebel: Anti-Black Friday messaging There’s no way around it: Black Friday is the epitome of consumerism. Not necessarily a bad thing if you’ve got stuff to sell and bills to pay... But more and more brands are rebelling against the capitalist holiday — whether by donating a portion of sale funds to charity, running sustainability campaigns, or opting out of the sale altogether. We expect to see this trend continue in 2023. If you’re thinking of being a rebel this BFCM… 👇 [You know the drill, click here for the personalization and anti-Black Friday inspo!]( 🎉 HOLIDAYS 🎃 Can Your Brand Really Capitalize on Halloween? Everyone knows the big sales holidays in the DTC space, but are you capitalizing and building holiday-specific creatives for the less-salesy ones? Jack In The Box is. They recently launched a multichannel Halloween campaign, introducing a [horror short titled “Feeding Time](,” celebrating the return of its Monster Tacos and the introduction of a new product. The plot of the campaign revolves around a tale as old as time — Halloween night where teens steal candy from younger kids but are chased by an Angry Monster Tacos truck playing eerie music and having monstrous tentacles. 😉 The climax sees the truck giving back the kids their stolen candy and offering free tacos. One smart move with this campaign? Hidden within the short is a code to promote the brand’s app, with an offer for the first 1,000 members of the Jack Pack loyalty program. There will also be an Angry Monster Truck driving around Los Angeles on October 21. Sure, this may be an unconventional Halloween approach for most brands, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t lean into the relevance and timeliness of the holiday. 🤷 You don’t have to go full experimental campaign (although it surely makes an impact!), add some spookiness, pop culture references, or even just some Halloween colors and see how your ads perform. IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE Can’t view the image? [Click here](. Shopify customer support is top tier. 🫡 SPONSOR DTC 📥 Promote your product to 160,000 digital marketing professionals DTC Newsletter + Podcast reaches a highly qualified audience of Shopify merchants, eCommerce founders, and digital marketers. [Talk to our team to learn more](. ⚡ QUICK HITS 🤯 [Unlock unbeatable shipping rates & boost profits.]( Join 1,000+ businesses trimming 9%-15%+ from UPS & FedEx rates. Shipping Intelligent caters to all sizes, from $250K to $5M+ shipping spend. [Start saving on shipping.](* 👻 [Snapchat is introducing new Creator Collab Campaigns]( to enhance the relationship between brands and creators. Creators can also opt to share key metrics to help advertisers make informed decisions. 📦 [Amazon will let customers ask friends and family for feedback]( on products listed within its marketplace. Contacts who receive a request for feedback can react with emojis or type a reply. 🤖 [A new survey by Soci reveals that of 317 digital marketers](, 70% felt overwhelmed by the advancements in AI technology. Confusion often stems from the rapid introduction of new tools. 📺 [Google adds the ability to tag affiliate products in YouTube videos]( with timestamps. This lets creators bring more attention to the products being featured on screen at the appropriate time. 👀 BANTER “Yeah, no it’s actually totally designed to break… Anyways, here's the link to buy a new one.” 😂 Have you heard our latest podcasts? - 💋 [Form, Function, and Fragrance](: Cosmetic Industry Vet Sherry Jharwar on her Beautiful Journey in DTC - 👀 [AKNF 344](: Is Amazon Anti-Consumer? - 💤 [Pillows, Sleep, and the Journey of a DTC Founder]( - Larissa Hildebrandt and Henrie.com - 🚀 [AKNF Archive](: Rux Rockets to Meta Ads ROAS with the Pilot Test - 🌱 [Moss Amigos & Chia Pet Legacy]( - Jared Olivia on Becoming America's New Favorite Class Pet - 📊 [AKNF 340](: Google Ads Q4 Psyche Up + GA4 Gut Check Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) Got an awesome DTC brand story to tell? Calling all brand-side founders and team leaders! Fancy joining us on the DTC Podcast as a guest? [Tap the link to toss in your application](. DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight](, [Kelsey Hess](, 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! Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content. [Direct To Consumer]( Pilothouse, 1011 Government St., Victoria, BC V8W 1X6, Canada [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](