💡 Cash flow.

New Google Ads and organic features, what marketers can learn from horror movies, and more. July 7, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Good morning. Ever taken the Myers-Briggs personality assessment? There’s another assessment that assigns an [animal symbol]( to your personality type. For example, our managing editor’s symbol is the octopus. And our daily writer’s symbol is the Asian elephant. What’s your animal symbol? GOOGLE Google Analytics 4 is becoming a little less beta [article-image] Hooray for “small tweaks”... The search giant has two new updates for us, a feature and an integration. Getting a troubleshooter: If your Google Ads campaigns aren’t working as well as you’d like, [diagnostic insights]( is a new feature that should help you identify performance issues. Google says the feature automatically identifies budget, tracking, billing, and other potential problems. It also offers customized recommendations under the progress bar, which sounds useful. Better together: Finally… Google Search Console Insights [now supports Google Analytics 4 (GA4)](. GA4 is still pretty much in beta and missing a lot of integrations, but at least that’s one more integration we can check off the list. And speaking of updates… MICROSOFT Several new automated features dropped Look mom, no hands. [Microsoft’s new features]( require no setup on your part, which is good because there are several of them… Two for the crawlers: Microsoft has been fine-tuning their Shopping campaign automation to create a better experience for marketers. Here’s what that looks like so far: - Automatic item update: This feature enables crawlers to search your website for updated product information and sync it with items in your Merchant Center, which means less chance of price mismatch, accurate product availability, and more. - Automated Merchant Promotions: Similar to the previous feature, crawlers will scrape new promotions from your website to create special offers and coupons. Remarketing Lists: Now you can automatically generate lists of recent web visitors, customers who converted in the last 180 days, and Microsoft’s version of lookalike audiences to quickly create remarketing campaigns. You’ll find them in your Microsoft Audience Network, and you can use all three lists together or separately. … And customer match is expanding to more markets: The feature that allows you to target customers using first-party data just hit several new locations, including South Africa, Turkey, Serbia, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other European countries. Why we care: If Microsoft Advertising is part of your stack, this batch of July updates gives you lots of new tools to work with. They seem like opportunities to do more advertising, more smoothly… always a good thing. SPONSORED BY BLACK CROW AI DTC Marketers: Increase your ROAS in 30 days [article-image]( If you're a DTC advertiser, you're likely sitting on a gold mine of first-party data that you can use to find your highest value prospects and launch campaigns that convert like it's 2017 again. That’s precisely what 150+ DTC brands are doing with [Black Crow AI](. Black Crow AI creates unique machine learning models that uses your first party data to build highly targeted marketing audiences for you to use across all platforms. That usually results in a 25% increase in their ROAS, along with revenue and profit increases: - Bearaby increased their ROAS by 120%. - Cotopaxi increased their revenue from Facebook by 80% - Liquid I.V. boosted their net profits by 178%. [And you could get similar results.]( Regain your targeting and pre-iOS 14.5 performance with Black Crow AI’s predictive audiences. See what you can achieve and learn about the 30 day trial. [Learn more about Black Crow AI.]( E-COMMERCE 6 underrated tips for increasing cash flow for your DTC business [article-image] How do you maintain stable cash flow for your direct to consumer (DTC) business—especially in an uncertain economy? Eric Carlson offers six tips in his [insightful Facebook post]( that can keep the life blood of your company flowing. So grab that notepad and a pen… 1. Renegotiate with your existing vendors: Don’t be scared to ask your suppliers for more favorable terms. Remember, they depend on you, too. As long as they’re reasonable, you may be able to strike a deal. 2. Renegotiate with the payment processor: Similar to your vendors, payment processors depend on you for business. If you’re making $1+ million a year, they may evaluate your chargeback rate and lower their commission. 3. Get payment terms on ad spend: With Facebook, for example, you can request invoicing or use a credit card to get net 30 at the end of the month. Hey, an extra 30 days of wiggle room is nothing to scoff at. 4. Increase your debt facilities: Factoring companies, media financing, payment processor financing, credit cards, inventory financing… Leveraging these things can also help you maintain a steady cash flow. 5. Refinance debt: Maybe you have high-interest debt, or you took out a quick payback loan which is now congesting your cash flow. Try looking for companies that provide debt refinancing to help you extend your loan on better terms and free some cash. 6. Turn monthly recurring revenue (MRR) into annual recurring revenue (ARR): Imagine a bunch of your monthly paying customers suddenly paying a slightly discounted annual subscription upfront… Some companies will do just that! You can transform your MRR into capital for better cash flow, for a little commission. Find them and use them. These aren’t the only ways to free up some cash flow, of course. But they’re good places to start! SPONSORED BY YOTPO Add a subscription model to your e-commerce business with none of the hassle [article-image]( According to Gartner, by 2023, 70% of DTC businesses will have tried adding a subscription model… and 80% of them will fail. While subscriptions offer your business steady cash flow and customer loyalty… They’re hard to implement successfully. Don’t be among the 80% of businesses that fail. [This guide shows you how to build a subscription model]( and skyrocket your sales—easily. [Download the guide for free.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Want to get better at marketing? Watch more horror movies [article-image] Want an excuse to ditch work early, pour a glass of whisky, and put on some vintage Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Keep reading. There’s a good reason why horror movies can help you level up your marketing… It has to do with a common tactic in movies called the “cold open.” In horror movies, it’s the scene five or ten minutes into the movie, where the bad guy does something bad to an innocent group of people that we never see again. The cold open exists for a reason: It tells you what you should be afraid of. Once the tone has been set, an otherwise-happy scene of a group of friends fills you with apprehension—because you know what might happen. Here’s why that matters in marketing: Just like in horror movies, the cold open works like magic in marketing. It goes something like this: - Introduce a scary problem to your potential customers. - Hold that tension while you run through your standard messaging. - Wrap up the pitch with your solution—the solution that solves the scary problem. Marketers often fall into the trap of talking a lot about their own product, while neglecting to connect with their customers’ fears on any level. That actually does disservice to your customers, who want you to relate to their fears and worries. Note: Don’t create fears that don’t exist or use cheap scare tactics. But also, don’t be afraid to scare your customers a little. You’ll prove you understand them—and you might sell a lot of stuff. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [BUSINESS:]( What’s a deal with a Kardashian worth to a company’s share price? Who profits from your morning cup of coffee? Chartr subscribers know! Join 230,000+ others who love snackable charts and easy-to-remember data insights. [Sign up for free today.](* [META:]( Scrap the scrapers! Meta isn’t messing around anymore. They’ve taken legal action against one company and one individual for scraping hundreds of thousands of user data from Facebook and Instagram. Ouch. [BUSINESS:]( Apparently, how businesses feel about the global recession depends on where they are. 45% of US companies are worried about recession, compared to Germany’s 11%. Might be time to start targeting those “fearless” markets. [ADVERTISING:]( Meanwhile, advertisers are trimming budgets across the globe, and experts are forecasting another challenging quarter. At least we’re all in this together, huh? *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER When is a door no longer a door? You can find the [answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT You smell like my new friend [article-image] Ever wondered why you were able to “click” so easily with someone? Many people say it’s due to vague things like chemistry, charm, aura, or similar “wavelengths.” But based on a [recent study](, it may have to do with a much more primal instinct… Smell. Yep, there’s a chance we sniff out our best buddies. Imagine if job interviews were conducted by sniffing your applicants. Sure would save a ton of time… would make things a bit weird, though. SHARING IS CARING Know what’s easier than asking the C-suite for a budget increase? Sharing today’s newsletter with other people. Not only that, it makes you look insanely well-informed in front of other marketers… and probably your C-suite, too. Plus, you earn great rewards. Every time you share your custom link—and your friends and coworkers subscribe—you earn points toward exclusive content, merch, and more. Get started by hitting the link below! 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