🎬 Action.

Did you know that for every action a visitor takes on your website, there’s a reaction that can make you money? October 29, 2021 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Friday! Finally. Are you ready for the weekend? Well, before you go driving off into the sunset, here’s some fresh marketing news handpicked by a few of your favorite people…us! If this was forwarded to you by a friend, here’s how you can subscribe [for free](. E-COMMERCE Shopify, eBay, and Amazon report quarterly earnings [article-image] [Amazon](, [Shopify](, and [eBay]( all released their quarterly earnings reports yesterday. Who had the highest GMV (Gross merchandise volume)? Shopify’s gross merchandise volume for the third quarter was $41.8 billion, a 35% increase year on year. eBay’s GMV was $19.5 billion. Amazon hasn't disclosed its current GMV, but we can safely assume [it's at least four to five times]( that of Shopify. Here are some more interesting facts from the reports: - During the third quarter, Shopify added 48,000 merchant customers. - eBay now has 154 million active buyers (yup, it’s still a massive marketplace, so don’t ignore it). - Amazon remains the big daddy. According to their report, in the 12 month period that ended on August 31, U.S. sellers sold 3.8 billion products in Amazon’s store. That equates to approximately 7,400 products per minute. Growing slower than expected: Despite these huge numbers, all 3 platforms grew slower than expected due to the increase in in-person shopping. E-commerce thrived during the pandemic, but now it appears that people simply want to go outside and shop. TWITTER Twitter announces a few interesting features Twitter is alive, kicking, [and growing](. And they’ve just announced a bunch of new interesting features: - [Twitter wants to bribe you to buy Blue](, their premium subscription feature by providing you with early access to new features such as pinned conversations on iOS or longer video uploads on desktop. - Twitter’s live audio feature, Spaces, [will get more exposure]( on the platform. Twitter plans to integrate Spaces in the Explore/Trending tab on iOS. - [Hosts on Spaces]( will be able to record and share recordings in a tweet. For now, this feature is only available to select creators. It will roll out to everyone over the coming weeks. The Crew’s take: Blue is the feature we find most interesting for one reason... Attention. With getting early access to new features you can stand out more easily (both in organic and paid posts). As for Spaces, it’s still too early to tell. Almost all major social networks are actively promoting live audio on their platforms. If we had to bet a hundred bucks on who would get widespread use first, Twitter would be our first bet. Only time will tell, but let us know with a reply if you take the bet ;). SPONSORED BY DRIP For every action a visitor takes on your website, there’s a reaction that can make you money [article-image]( And Drip knows exactly which reaction it is. [Drip]( is a multi-channel marketing platform that leverages your data to create personalized marketing campaigns. Whether it’s an email sequence, an SMS text, or a social ad, [Drip knows what can generate sales at any specific moment.]( Sophisticated personalization, but made easy: every time a customer takes an action on your store, Drip triggers an automation that has a high chance to convert them into a buyer. Want to target customers who checked out face creams? Or bought that ferocious hot sauce last month? No problem! Drip allows you to easily create and target the right audience for your offerings with pre-built and custom segments that update in real-time. There are 30,000 marketers that use Drip to create laser-focused campaigns. [And there’s no guesswork required.]( You don’t even have to pay a dime to test if Drip can deliver the goods. Seriously, what else could you ask for? Sophisticated personalization, across all key channels, automated, and in real time. [Try the power of Drip for free.]( MARKETING How to get your brand on more than 100 podcasts without spending a penny [article-image] Lately, podcasts’ popularity exploded almost as much as the Bitcoin price. And what followed through is podcast advertising. Although, you can leverage the trend without spending any money. How? Podcast tours. You secure an interview with a show that your audience is likely listening to. Benefits: It’s maximum exposure with zero advertising cost. And you can talk for 30 minutes to an hour on a podcast, rather than just for a quick 30 seconds. Tom Griffin, founder of the Levels startup, [shared a playbook]( that he used to get on over a hundred podcasts in less than 6 months. Quite the exposure, huh? This is how he did it: 1) Leverage your network to source shows: Find out which shows somebody in your network has appeared in before. Reach out to them for an introduction. 2) Use other founders’ benchmarks: Look for podcasts that hosted founders or spokespersons of companies similar to yours. After that, try to reach the host through someone in your network or with a personalized pitch. 3) Don’t pitch your product: Your goal should be to improve their lives, educate them on a problem, and/or entertain them. 4) Track everything and stay organized: This has benefits that extend beyond tracking metrics. For instance, Tom Griffin points out that people were impressed by how his startup was managing their activity, so they were more inclined to introduce them to podcast hosts. 5) Practice and look for feedback: Start with smaller shows to practice your interview skills. Understand what people like and get comfortable. 6) Maintain the relationship with the host, even after the show: Send them a gift to show your gratitude. Not only do people appreciate these gestures, but content creators can give you access to other platforms you can tap into. Then, go back to step one and repeat. SPONSORED BY THE DAILY UPSIDE Level up your business and investing IQ with this free newsletter [article-image]( If you love Stacked Marketer (which we'll assume you do), you must value getting crisp analysis and insights you can actually use. [The Daily Upside](, founded by a team of Wall Street veterans, is Stacked Marketer but for business news. Wondering if you should really panic buy gasoline, or if inflation will hurt your portfolio? The Daily Upside, founded and written by a former investment banker, has the answers. [Sign up for free]( THE CREW'S INSIGHTS Bad first drafts = better final drafts [article-image] One of the biggest misconceptions about writing is that good writers can knock out great work on their first try. That’s not true: - Neil Gaiman says nobody should read your first drafts. - Ernest Hemingway thought the first draft of anything was crap. - Stephen King thinks you should simply write your first draft as quickly as possible. The truth: We’re not designed to come up with great ideas on our first try. So to produce great writing, we first need to get something, anything, written as quickly as possible. Julian Shapiro calls this the [Creativity Faucet](. The idea is that to come up with good ideas, you first need to let the bad ideas flow out. And that through this process, you’ll be able to identify what’s making the bad ideas bad. Which, of course, leads to better ideas. So here’s a quick process you can use: 1. Sit down and write your first draft as quickly as you can. You’re just telling yourself the story here. Find the good ideas that you’ll re-work later. 2. Take a break for at least 24 hours before coming back to your work. This helps you forget the minute details of what you’ve written. 3. Come back to your writing, identify the best ideas, and expand on them. 4. Work this into a coherent, final draft. If you found this helpful and liked what you read, show some love and like [this thread on Twitter](. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [VIDEO ADS:]( Step up your video creation! Learn how to create videos that get over 90% view rate, and more importantly, that win customers. The secret? Humor and personalization. You can get your personalized video creation offer here. [Take the quiz now.](* [GOOGLE:]( Add unique product identifiers or you'll get limited. That appears to be the message Google is sending with their upcoming enforcement. [E-COMMERCE:]( What’s different about luxury shoppers? (Hint: it’s not just their money.) Microsoft has some answers. [ADVERTISING:]( Here’s why Apple’s privacy changes hurt Facebook and Snapchat but not Google, according to the Wall Street Journal. [APPLE:]( Events aren't just happening offline anymore. Apple now has in-app events in its App Store. [FACEBOOK:]( If you've ever wanted to make cool Instagram filters, here's your chance. Facebook has just released Polar, a user-friendly mobile app for creating AR filters. *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER Samuel was out for a walk when it started to rain. He did not have an umbrella and he wasn't wearing a hat. His clothes were soaked, yet not a single hair on his head got wet. How could this happen? You can find the [solution here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Facebook changes its name to Meta. Memes soon follow [article-image] After [Facebook announced its new name](, the internet quickly reacted with...memes (and jokes). Here are a few of our favorites (many of them are from our favorite social media commentator [Matt Navarra](). - Coming soon to the WSJ: “The Meta Files.” - Facebook/Meta to re-create SecondLife and claim it as their own. - After Facebook renamed itself, what will we call profiles that spread fake news and repost memes? Metabots. - Facebook announced its new name will be Hooli (you need to be a Silicon Valley geek to get this one). Teens predict that the ultimate meme will be when their parents open their phones somewhere in the future and ask, "Where did my Facebook app go?" We’ll see, we’ll see. SHARING IS CARING Share this email with your friends and get cool rewards! 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