🌍 Growing fast.

Tricks for making your prices look like a bargain, one rule for improving your ads, and more. October 4, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Good morning. Yesterday we asked if you were starting your day with coffee or tea. Based on the responses, it looks like our readers are split 70/30… for every 70 readers drinking coffee, there are 30 drinking tea. Guess we’ll have to work more tea references into the newsletter, huh? By the way, we have a great mug to send you. Details in the “Sharing Is Caring” section at the bottom of the stack. GOOGLE You can now target in-app users based on engagement [article-image] If you’re running in-app ads, you’ll like this. And if you’re not… you’ll want to. Google launched [tROAS on ad revenue](, an upgraded bidding strategy that allows you to target users based on how they engage with your in-app ads. Well played: It also lets you pay dynamically depending on how likely the targeted users are to engage with your ads. Wild. If you want to set it up, Google says you need to: - Add publisher data such as ad revenue data to your Google Analytics property. - Link your Google Analytics property to Google Ads. - Send your Google Analytics ad_impressions event to Google Analytics. From there you can set up tROAS on ad revenue campaigns by selecting “ad_impressions” as events. There’s more info in the linked article above. Head’s up, financial services: If you’re running ads for financial services or products in France, Germany, Indonesia, and Spain, you’ll need to [pass new verification requirements](. Google will begin enforcing the policy January 23 next year. Why we care: Targeting in-app engagers should help you optimize for specific ROAS targets while serving more effective campaigns. Seems like a solid way to grow revenue. Speaking of growing… TIKTOK Growing fast in the EU Budget cuts and layoffs? Don’t know them. According to Financial Times, [TikTok increased its European turnover to $990M]( for the previous calendar year… six times more than the $172M recorded in 2020. Must be the food: TikTok now averages nearly 4,400 employees per month in Europe—3,000 more people than its averaged in 2020. Advertising accounted for more than $800M of its annual revenue in Europe, which is also a five-fold increase compared to 2020. Most of the money, of course, comes from countries in the EU. Why we care: TikTok’s largest market may be the US, but its massive growth across the pond means EU-based marketers are benefitting, too. If you’re in Europe and you’re looking for a new ad channel, now’s a great time to start using TikTok. SPONSORED BY READY SET Stop customers in their tracks and win clicks with these affordable, live-action video ads [article-image Imagine Hollywood production-level video ads that are performance-oriented… for a price that doesn’t make you sneeze. It’s totally possible with Ready Set. Whether you want to scale your ad spend on Instagram or start advertising on TikTok… Building a portfolio of video assets that engage and convert isn’t a problem anymore. By leveraging the “sharing economy for shoots,” [Ready Set is able to deliver powerful live-action videos that supercharge your ROAS and maintain your brand’s voice](... … And it doesn’t drain your budget. For example, Tailored Pet Nutrition lowered its cost per lead by 64% on all platforms once they started working with Ready Set. SmileDirectClub had one of its most successful Q1s ever. And Brigit turned TikTok into their biggest acquisition channel thanks to Ready Set videos. [Check out the hit ads created for Brigit and Lovepop.]( E-COMMERCE 7 tricks for making your price look and feel like a bargain [article-image] If you’re like most marketers, you’re probably bracing for one of the most challenging holiday seasons yet. Now, many brands will rely on discounts and special offers to steal shoppers away from the competition. But Samantha Leal has [other tricks up her sleeves.]( Instead of slashing prices, she suggests using psychology to make your prices look like a steal. Here’s what she recommends: 1 – Anchoring. This is a technique where you display the product you want to sell next to a similar, but much more expensive product. It helps customers believe they’re getting a great deal by opting for the cheaper, yet similar product. 2 – A smaller time frame. If you’re selling a frequently-used product or service, try to “zoom in” the timeline. Instead of “$1200 per year,” say “only $3.30 per day” or “$23 per week.” 3 – Smaller fonts are better. Believe it or not, big fonts appear expensive and obtrusive. Using a smaller font makes your price seem more affordable. 4 – End with odd numbers. Shoppers perceive odd numbers as smaller than those ending in 0. So it’s much more effective to price your product at $99 or $97 instead of $100. 5 – Use a decoy. Put a third, middle-priced option between a lower and a higher priced product. The middle priced option should offer much less than the higher-priced option for a slightly lower price. This decoy will “nudge” a buyer to a higher-priced product since it’s a better value. 6 – Scrap the dollar. A dollar sign, or even the word “dollar” can make customers feel the pain-of-paying. So try pricing your more deluxe products using plain digits. 7 – Remove the comma. A comma “extends” the price, making it appear bigger. Remove the comma and the price instantly drops… at least in your customer’s eyes. And there you have it… Simple shopper psychology that may help you just in time for the holiday season. We’ll leave you to adjust your pricing now… SPONSORED BY STACKED MARKETER PRO How Apple sold 400 million iPods with a simple pricing model change [article-image]( The iPod wasn’t the first music player on the market. But the reason it changed the industry lies in its pricing model: iTunes allowed people to buy individual songs instead of only albums. Then Spotify changed the industry again with another pricing model innovation. Pricing models can make or break an industry. [Our new Stacked Marketer Pro]( report shows you how to make big profits with pricing model innovation. [Check out the preview here.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Following this one rule can improve the quality of your advertising [article-image] Everyone has an opinion on marketing. Unfortunately, most of those opinions are very, very bad. Why? Well, unlike software engineering or backend web development, lots of marketing is visual. It’s tangible. Everybody sees marketing, and so everyone has an opinion on marketing. As you probably know, this can feel frustrating, especially when a brand or a manager comes back to you with “suggestions” for “improving” your creative work. Here’s how Avis Car Rental handles this: In a document that [frequently makes the rounds on Twitter](, Avis has a 6-rule advertising philosophy. One line from rule #4 stands out to us in particular: “Avis will approve or disapprove, not try to improve, ads which are submitted.” Most brands, agencies, and creatives don’t follow this rule. Instead, brands go back-and-forth with marketers about what they want, their frustrated creatives end up giving into the changes, and the end result is a mediocre ad. The Crew’s insight: - If you run a brand and hire creative agencies or freelancers, try adopting this rule. Let the marketers you hire do what you pay them for. If you don’t like it, ask for something new. Don’t force your own thinking on the experts. - If you do creative work for one or multiple brands and encounter issues, try introducing this rule to them. Remind them why they’re hiring you. Then, do great work. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [GROWTH MARKETING:]( The best way to improve your marketing? Study what top marketers are actually doing. Enter the Growth Newsletter. Each week, we interview experts to get actionable growth tactics. Then we share them with you. [See examples and subscribe here.](* [META:]( Facebook for Android is planning to replace the Android System WebView browser with its own WebView browser—and there’s a chance it could improve Facebook ads landing pages that target mobile users. Fingers crossed. [GOOGLE:]( Seems the pandemic is winding down. Google has removed “Health & safety” attributes from Business Profile, so you will no longer see options like “Appointment required” or “Staff wear masks.” That’s good news, right? [TWITTER:]( So close we can almost touch it. The long-awaited Edit Tweet feature just became available to Twitter Blue members in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Wonder who’ll get it next? [META:]( Running a Facebook group community? You might want to check out Facebook Communities Summit 2022. Group admins and moderators will share tricks of the trade, and you’ll also get to see upcoming group tools and features. Sounds interesting… *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER What two things can you never eat for breakfast? You can find the [answer here.]( [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT The most expensive book on the internet? [article-image] A biology book about flies [was recently listed on Amazon for a measly $23M.]( So now you’re probably wondering, “What’s so special about it? Is it a rare antique? Are its pages made of gold?” Not quite. It’s out of print, yes, and there were only 17 copies for sale at the time. What happened was, one seller listed the book about flies for a predictable price. Another, far more popular seller then listed the same book for a percentage higher, presumably thinking shoppers would prefer them because they had more reviews than the first seller. But of course the first seller didn’t want to get outbid, so using algorithmic pricing, they set their bid to automatically increase above their counterpart. The pricing war took off, and soon this humble book on flies was going for more than $23M… until “someone noticed,” and prices came back down. Now imagine what would happen if bots start managing the stock and crypto market… SHARING IS CARING Our newsletter is better with a beverage. And we’d love to send you a mug to go with your coffee, tea, or… whatever you drink in the mornings. All you have to do is share our newsletter with other smart marketers. Once you get to 30 referrals, we’ll send you a free mug. Plus, you’ll unlock other prizes along the way, like: - The Crew’s Top 10 Insights (2 referrals) - Access to the growing library of The Crew’s Insights (4 referrals) … And more. Sip. Mmm, not bad. Share the referral link below to get started. [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [SM PRO]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. Or you can unsubscribe from all daily updates by clicking [here.]( Our postal address: Spectrum IT Solutions GmbH, Canettistrasse 1/Top 0107, 1100 Wien, Austria