🏳 Amazon reforms.

Amazon agrees to make changes to avoid massive fines, the real extent of TikTok’s influence, and more. December 21, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Good morning. Aaand… that’s a wrap! We’re taking a break until January 4, 2023, and will be back in your inbox January 5. Thank you for spending 2022 with us. You truly are the greatest. Enjoy today’s read, and we’ll see you in the New Year. Cheers! AMAZON Cheers to fair competition [article-image] It’s been a long, contentious saga, but in the end… Amazon decided to play fair. The tech behemoth [agreed to implement a series of changes to its “anti-competitive business practices”]( to avoid hefty fines from the European Commision. Good call, Amazon: The EU first threatened to sanction Amazon for using non-public user data to gain competitive advantage for its own retail business. Later on, it opened a second investigation, claiming Amazon was pushing its own “buy box” and “Prime” logistics service over third-party carriers. How big of a fine are we talking? About 10% of the platform’s entire annual revenue. So yeah, a lot. What’s changing: Amazon agreed to two major amends… - To no longer use non-public seller data to benefit its own business. - To establish non-discriminatory conditions and criteria for its logistic services, and to allow Prime sellers the freedom to choose any carrier. Why we care: This is a big win for Amazon retailers. They’ll finally be able to play on a more level field while having more freedom of choice when it comes to fulfillment. That’s the kind of news you want to hear at the end of the year! TIKTOK What kind of influence does TikTok have, really? Scroll, scroll, scroll… TikTok’s tailored feed algorithm is definitely captivating. But does it actually influence users' decisions? And if so, to what extent? A recent survey offers a glimpse at [how users spend time—and money—after they see TikTok content.]( Very stimulating: Out of 1,368 users, most people (44%) will go and listen to a new song they’ve discovered, or prepare a food or beverage recipe (35%). And when it comes to business and marketing-related activities: - 28% followed a new brand after seeing it on TikTok. - 27% purchased a product. - 17% started wearing specific apparel. - 12% traveled to another city or country. With creators recommending things all over TikTok, just imagine how brands, merchants, and even local businesses could benefit… Why do people use TikTok? 43% claim they’re looking for—you’ve guessed it—mindless entertainment. But 23% use it for product discovery, and 20% want to keep up with brands. Why we care: While getting users to listen to a new song might not seem like a big deal, there is massive behavioral power in TikTok’s feed. So if you’re using the platform and not running influencer campaigns, you might be missing out on some big wins. Oh, speaking of influencers… SPONSORED BY CREATOR ECONOMY LIVE Brands: Want a free pass to take your influencer marketing to the next level? [article-image]( How would you like to meet the smartest brands, creators, agencies, and tech companies driving the influencer industry forward? Or to find out what’s hot, what’s working, and how to deliver influencer ROI at the only influencer marketing event dedicated to brands? … All while having real, transparent conversations with the best brands in influencer partnerships, including Amazon, TikTok, and Meta? It’s all possible at Creator Economy Live. [Best of all, the first 500 brands may be able to attend this event for free.]( And if you’re one of the first 100 brands to register, you can even qualify for $750 in hotel and travel reimbursement! And you can’t miss Dara Treseder, the keynote speaker recently voted Forbes #1 CMO in the world. Not for you? [Refer a friend or colleague who should be at Creator Economy Live](. You’ll still get perks like a free VIP ticket to the biggest affiliate marketing event in the US, merch, or your favorite Starbucks coffee! [Apply for a free pass to Creator Economy Live.]( MARKETING How to engineer word of mouth [article-image] Picture this: you see a nice advertisement for a product, and you consider buying it. But then your friend recommends a different, yet similar product they had a positive experience with. Which one are you more inclined to buy? If you’re like most people, you’re going to buy the product your friend recommended. As Darko Gjorgjievski points out, [word-of-mouth marketing allows us to create a growth loop.]( Each user brings more users, helping you rely less on traditional marketing cycles. And believe it or not… … There are a couple of ways to architect your word-of-mouth strategy… #1 – Refer a friend. It’s something email newsletters like to do and yes… If you’re reading this, there's a 15% chance that a friend or a colleague referred Stacked Marketer to you. It’s a simple method. When a user subscribes, you ask them to refer a friend in exchange for a gift, a discount, access to the product, and so on. If you get 10 users to refer 3 more users, you save 30% on acquisition costs. Nice! #2 – Target audiences that have exposure. The best social proof comes from people that are already speaking to a large audience. For instance, Cameo—a popular on-demand service for personalized celebrity videos—had celebrities post Cameo videos to their social media feeds. Doordash recruited restaurants who told customers they could take delivery from Doordash, which caused them to sign up to the service. #3 – “I want to become like you” approach. Leading by example? How about acquiring by example? This approach turns your audience into brand ambassadors… and even partners! Think of Airbnb. You enter their website as a traveler, but then the website nudges you with a little “Become a host” button at the top of the page. You remember your empty flat… And suddenly, you start renting and promoting that property. Super effective, right? #4 – Give yourself credit in the output your users create. For example, a live chat widget can have a little “Powered by [brand]” at the bottom of the chatbox. LiveChat did this and it increased new leads by 50%. All from the “powered by” link! Substack does this by hosting newsletters on their platform—you can’t miss it in the domain name. So ask yourself: how can you take more credit from the output your users create? Need a real life example? Scroll to the bottom of this email and see how we do it! SPONSORED BY EVADAV The antidote to high CPCs [article-image]( Advertisers swear by the In-Page ad format (banners that appear in front of users while they’re browsing). Why? Because In-Page ads aren’t subject to browser regulations, and they increase traffic and ROI. [EvaDav recently put this ad format on steroids]( with custom styles and minimal-involvement scalability. Custom styles make the banners blend in more, which leads to higher CTR and conversion rates. [Check out the results for yourself.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS You might be wasting your time with ChatGPT [article-image] Let’s not kid ourselves: ChatGPT may be an AI, but it’s definitely not the next Hemingway. ChatGPT is a generative text AI. You input text, like “give me birthday present ideas for my kid,” or “write me an essay on Genghis Khan,” and ChatGPT produces a response. Most people are wrong about ChatGPT, though. They think it’s a good writer. It’s not. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company that built ChatGPT, [basically agrees.]( ChatGPT gets heaps of facts wrong, repeats itself constantly, is painfully verbose, and doesn’t have a good grasp on style. In other words, it’s bad at generating original content. But it’s excellent at condensing existing content and helping you come up with ideas. This is the better way to use ChatGPT: as a tool to improve your ideas, not your writing. Here’s an example of what we mean. We typed this sentence into ChatGPT: “Most people think ChatGPT is a good writer. It isn’t.” Then we told ChatGPT, “Rewrite the following to be wittier. Provide three significantly different variants.” Here’s what ChatGPT gave us: - “Everyone thinks ChatGPT is a literary genius, but let’s be real: it’s about as talented as a brick.” - “While some may view ChatGPT as a skilled wordsmith, it’s actually about as adept at writing as a pineapple is at tapdancing.” - “Let’s not kid ourselves: ChatGPT may be an AI, but it’s definitely not the next Hemingway.” …recognize this one? The bottom line? ChatGPT isn’t a replacement for good writing. But, when used effectively, it can help enhance your own creativity: whether in advertising, cold email, content, or otherwise. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [CUSTOMER PSYCHOLOGY:]( Effective marketing doesn’t get easier than this. Get one psychological effect, two real-world examples, and three actionable tactics for applying it in your work—all in less than five minutes, every Thursday. [Join 17,118 marketers for $0 here.](* [META:]( Hooray, automated advertising. Facebook claims its artificial intelligence-powered Advantage+ shopping campaigns improved cost-per-acquisition (CPA) by 17%, and return on ad spend (ROAS) by 32% compared to regular campaigns during the holidays. Nice. [ADVERTISING:]( Is this… a recession signal? The US ad market fell by 6.7% in November, continuing the declining trend for a sixth consecutive month. It’s not all bad, though. Digital advertising keeps growing compared to traditional, shining a light in an otherwise gloomy report. [SEO:]( Helpful content, product review updates, core updates, E-E-A-T… Phew, it’s been an eventful year for SEOs. So what’s coming in 2023? SEO experts from major publications like ESPN, Athletic, and USA Today share their views… And no, the answer isn't “it depends.” [GOOGLE:]( Looks like you won’t have to guess how your products perform on local search. Google is adding a “top products” section to your Google Business Profile reports, allowing you to check which products are attracting the clicks. Very cool. [INFLUENCER MARKETING:]( Now that’s a blast from the past! Tumblr, a once popular microblogging social platform, announced a creator live streaming feature, Tumblr Live. It’s currently available in the US, and will allow creators to monetize live streams—and hopefully bring an influx of advertising money. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER When it is alive we sing, when it is dead we clap our hands. What is it? You can find the [answer here.]( [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT This present smells like… meat? [article-image] Your Christmas gifts are missing flavor. Literally. At least that’s what Arby seemed to think. The fast food chain literally [introduced wrapping paper that smells like roast beef.]( Whoa, whoa, whoa… hold up? Meat-scented wrapping paper?! Yes. There must be some carnivore in your life you could surprise with a wrap that isn’t food, right? Or… is this just the worst idea ever? Guess we’ll have to sample this wrapping paper on our own and find out. SHARING IS CARING How about getting holiday marketing tips worth $99 for $0? It’s easy. All you have to do is get four people to subscribe to our newsletter. That’s literally it. Just share the link below with other smart marketers, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, and you’ll earn access to The Ultimate Holiday Marketing Deep Dive. Takes 30 seconds! [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