🔎 Amazon or eBay?

Amazon buys MGM studios, 3 tips for writing better messages, and more. March 18, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Friday. We’re feeling good because a growth marketer named Nick reads 20 newsletters every morning… and [we’re his #1 favorite](. How many newsletters do you read every day? AMAZON Amazon buys MGM [article-image] … [for a cool $8.5B](. That’s big news for Prime Video streaming. It’s big news for marketers, too. Here’s the trailer: Amazon has a [$31B advertising business](. Some of that business comes from charging sellers for sponsored listings, and some of it comes from streaming ads on IMDb TV—yes, even if you’re paying for the free shipping. Start planning your cameo: Now that Amazon owns MGM, their video ad reach will probably expand to an even bigger pool of people… millions of them. That’s great news if you’re running video ads, of course. We marketers love showing our ads to more people, don’t we? BUSINESS Behold, the rise of the experience-based economy People around the world have cabin fever. Having been stuck at home for almost two years, consumers are willing to pay a premium for experiences. 74% of Americans alone say they value experiences over products. Microsoft just [published a helpful analysis]( that sheds more light on the growing experience economy. Here’s the summary: - Travel is king. Luxury Traveler claims [57% of all Americans are saving for travel](, including luxury vacations. Plus, searches for tours and activities are up compared to pre-pandemic times. - Now trending: Warm, coastal climates. Spas and culinary trips are also surging in popularity. And according to the Global Wellness Institute, so is “wellness tourism,” with a projected growth of 20% every year for the next three years. - Moms want in: 20% of mothers say they’re crossing their fingers for a spa day for Mother’s Day. In 2021, spas were the second most clicked Mother’s Day gift. Something to keep in mind if your brand sells experiences, or if your target market includes mothers, couples, or millennials. SPONSORED BY ACTIVECAMPAIGN Plug these email automations into your business to start engaging subscribers and make money right away [article-image]( Welcome Series, After Purchase Follow Up, Abandoned Cart Reminder, Product Interest Tagging. These are the kinds of email flows that make you money while you sleep. But crafting them takes time and creative effort. Even though they are automations that almost every business should have set up, they won’t write themselves, right? Wrong! They will! [ActiveCampaign wants to send you 10 automations]( you can plug into your business to start engaging subscribers and generate sales right off the bat. The automations cover a variety of tasks and touchpoints that encompass every step of your customer’s lifecycle: welcome series, abandoned cart, 7 days drip series, webinar registration flows, and more. All the vital automations you need. You can use them right away, or take inspiration from them! They are all free. And they come with a [14 day free trial for Active Campaign]( as well. [Get your 10 money-making email automation templates for free.]( E-COMMERCE Amazon or eBay: which one’s better for merchants? [article-image] They’re both huge online marketplaces, with one main difference: eBay offers auctions in addition to the classic “buy now.” But let’s look at data provided by Molly Winik [in this Similar Web post.]( Traffic: Amazon takes the trophy. Between January 2021– January 2022, Amazon earned 2 billion visits in the US, while eBay earned 632 million. Age: Amazon attracts slightly more millennials and Gen Zers, while eBay is more popular among those 65+. Traffic channels: - Direct traffic is the main source for both marketplaces. - eBay invested heavily in paid search last year, which ended up driving 7.0% of their traffic. - Amazon relies on paid referrals and traffic from social networks, as well as top news and media websites. Let’s talk about trust: Which one do customers trust more? Well, Amazon is undisputed when it comes to customer satisfaction. They have a fast return process and a flexible refund policy. eBay’s return policy is a bit more complicated. Choose your fighter: Who should you pick? The main things to consider are: - eBay is preferable when you want to sell used goods. - Amazon is trusted more by shoppers. - Amazon has high fees, but on eBay you don’t pay anything until you start selling. - Amazon lets you use their advanced fulfillment centers. - On Amazon, you’ll compete against Amazon-owned labels, whereas eBay only hosts third-party sellers. It’s a tough call… and it mostly depends on what you sell. If you’re still on the fence, reading up on the rest of [data about these two marketplaces may help.]( SPONSORED BY GASMOBI Affiliate marketers: get high-quality traffic and take home fat payouts! [article-image]( If you’re an affiliate marketer looking for white hat loan and refinance offers that sell like turkey before Thanksgiving, [raise your glass with the gals and guys at Gasmobi.]( Emailers and FB media-buyers! They offer direct offers for a range of lucrative verticals, from finance to leadgen, e-commerce, and more. And their customers rate them 4.9 out of 5. [Check out Gasmobi’s lucrative offers now.]( THE CREW'S INSIGHTS 3 tips for writing good messages––to anyone [article-image] Marketing is a collaborative affair. You’re constantly messaging contractors, bosses, clients, customers, drunken haters on Twitter… you get it. But there’s one problem: Most of us aren’t Hemingway. If your writing isn’t exactly top-notch, it’s easy for your messages to be misinterpreted—or worse, to go viral for unflattering reasons. So here’s a quick checklist for making every message you send 3X better: - Each sentence should contain a single point. The most intuitive, clear messages have one point in each sentence. Before you hit send, ask yourself: is there one clear point in each sentence? If the answer is no, then revise. - Read your messages out loud. This tip alone transforms most people’s writing. Before you hit send, read what you just wrote out loud. Not in your head, but actually out loud. This will reveal the sticky spots in your writing. - End with one takeaway, not several. If there are a few things you want somebody to do or hope to convey, break the correspondence into a few messages. Most messages don’t follow the rules above. If yours do, they’ll be a breath of fresh air for the people you work with. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [BUSINESS:]( If Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook agreed on something, it would be this business newsletter. The Daily Upside, written by a former investment banker, is a quality newsletter that delivers insights to make you smarter every day. [Sign up for free today.](* [MICROSOFT:]( Imagine logging onto your Microsoft Surface Pro to start the work day… and seeing an ad appear while you’re browsing the Documents folder. That could be in your future. Microsoft tried to keep Windows ads experiments a secret—and failed. [GOOGLE:]( Enjoy talking about all things Search? Google just announced the date and time for their Search Central Virtual Conference. Registrations open March 30. [TIKTOK:]( The popular platform is making TikTok Stories available to more users. Unlike Instagram, you can like these stories and leave public comments. Hooray. [INSTAGRAM:]( NFT lovers, rejoice! Mark Zuckerberg says NFTs are coming to Instagram and hints at users being able to “mint things within the environment.” No details yet, but it sounds like NFTs could play a role in the metaverse, too. *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER I have six faces and twenty-one eyes, yet I can not see. What am I? You can find the [answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT If you buy Doritos, expect 5 fewer chips [article-image] While the prices of oil and nickel rise, the numbers of Nacho Cheesier chips are falling. Yep, Doritos is [downsizing their chip count because of inflation](. It’s called “shrinkflation,” and the word has its own [Merriam-Webster dictionary entry.]( Does this mean we’ll savor every bite of Doritos more than ever? Or will we move on to snacks with a higher chip count? Hard to say. But do reply to this email and let us know what your snack strategy will be going forward. SHARING IS CARING Know what’s easier than asking your boss for paid time off? 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