🎓 Grand opening.

Two e-commerce trends marketers should know about, Pinterest revamps its advertising Academy, and more. February 14, 2023 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Tuesday. Mind if we get personal for a sec? Our love languages are: - Chocolate. - Quality time. - Growth charts. Just in case you uh… you know. Ever want to do something nice for us. What are yours? PINTEREST Who wants a Pinterest marketing degree? [article-image] Sharpen your pencils and open your Pin boards… Pinterest just launched a [revamped Pinterest Academy](, and it’s decked out with new resources that could help you become a better Pinterest marketer. Class is in session: Pinterest's ad platform went through several feature changes and improvements since the first Academy iteration more than two years ago. In addition to covering the platform’s basics, the Academy now offers courses on subjects like: - Pinterest ads formats. - Applying Pinterest’s unique data. - How to use the all-important Trends tool. Certified: The platform has over 14 courses with 30 lessons—twice as many as before—with achievement badges as you check each of the courses off. And you can knock out each course in 30 minutes or less. Nice. Why we care: The Academy can help you hone your Pinterest ads skills and boost your results. Or, if you own an agency, you could upskill your entire team and be more confident when offering Pinterest ads as a service to e-commerce clients. Oh, speaking of e-commerce… E-COMMERCE Platforms and creators are making life difficult for retail OK, OK, it’s not that dramatic. But two trends could pose a challenge to online merchants. And they’re coming from the very places brands and customers currently trust the most – marketplaces and influencers. 50/50 split: Six years ago, Amazon was taking 35% of each sale. It’s been increasing that cut every year since. And now [Amazon has raised its cut to 50%]( in a bid to tackle rising costs and slower growth. The fee includes sales, storage, packing, and delivery fees. And it’s cutting into margins and making it difficult for smaller businesses to turn a profit. Don’t buy that: Meanwhile, the harmony of brands and influencers seems to be getting disrupted by the rise of [anti-influencers]( – creators that tell users which products not to buy. Yep, “deinfluencers” are making viral videos about trendy products that aren’t worth the money, recommending products to cut from your traveling budget, etc. If you're selling a non-essential product, you could get deinfluenced. Just like that. Why we care: Between Amazon squeezing out every dollar and creators discouraging sales, it looks like another tough year is in store for online merchants. But don’t panic. If fees are cutting into your margins, you can test alternative markets and channels, or drive traffic to your own store instead of relying on third-party marketplaces. And if you’re worried about getting “deinfluenced,” try aligning your brand with micro-influencers who can help you promote the strengths of your product. The right influencer endorsement can still be powerful—especially if that influencer is trusted for their honesty. SPONSORED BY STACKED MARKETER PRO “Don’t make ads, make TikToks”: strategies, tips and examples to help you master this channel [article-image]( It seems Snap and Meta agree on one thing: the future of social media looks like TikTok. That’s why we collected over 80 pieces of research on short video, TikTok, and social media to deliver the ultimate [TikTok Stacked Marketer Pro Report](. Inside you’ll find: - Data, facts and statistics that explain why you can no longer ignore this platform. - How businesses like yours are making sales on TikTok. - Why people spend more time on TikTok compared to other social media. - Insider reports on what has worked and is likely to work, as well as what worked for us. But that's not all… If you want to spy on TikTok Ads or learn the three steps it takes to win at working with TikTok creators, there's only one thing to do… [Try Stacked Marketer Pro for just $7 for 7 days to read this TikTok report.]( ADVERTISING How to make the most of Meta Ads in the privacy-first landscape [article-image] These days, Meta Ads can feel more frustrating than people who don’t eat pizza crust. But as privacy regulations tighten, Meta continues to respond with advanced machine learning and new avenues like creators’ advertising, among others. So with all that in mind, Madalyn McConnell [recommends a few Facebook and Instagram Ads strategies]( to help you hit the jackpot in this unpredictable year. So let’s make 2023 count… #1 – Go Advantage+. This feature helps you [leverage Meta’s advanced machine learning algorithm](. Advantage+ campaigns allow you to upload a boatload of creative assets, then let Meta find the right audience for each creative. From there you can test, monitor, and optimize. #2 – Use open and broad targeting. Thanks to Meta’s improved algorithm, it’s possible to find “hot” audiences in huge prospecting pools. So Madalyn recommends using both “open” and “broad” targeting to help you scale your campaigns. - Leave your targeting open by not adding targeting options outside of your demographic. - Leave targeting broad by using minimal interests so you keep your audience scale within millions. This allows you to feed the algorithm with as much data as possible and rely on machine learning to optimize and bring you the best audience – and results. #3 – Work with more influencers. User-generated content and influencer marketing are proven strategies, especially because you can attract the creators’ audiences as well. And that’s all we have room for. Madalyn’s piece [includes a few more tips](, so make sure you go through it all if you’re running Meta Ads. But in a nutshell, all you have to do is upload creative assets and optimize based on the results. Doesn’t sound too difficult, right? SPONSORED BY UPFLUENCE Other brands are building creator partnerships to grow their businesses. Does that mean you should, too? [article-image]( Uncomfortable fact #1: traditional media reach is decreasing. With declining organic reach and increasing ad costs, marketers and business owners are turning to influencer marketing for ROI. Upfluence makes that easy. [It’s the all-in-one answer for influencer marketing](, from discovery to campaign management, developing relationships with creators, and analytics. Uncomfortable fact #2: Only 1% of millennials trust an advertisement. It's time to invest in creators your audience knows and trusts. [Start driving revenue from influencer partnerships.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS How to use try-fail cycles to make sales [article-image] There’s a tactic nearly all your favorite stories use. It’s called the Try-Fail cycle. Take Lord of the Rings for example (head’s up—includes spoilers for Lord of the Rings, in case you’re still waiting for the perfect time to read or watch)... Frodo wants to take the ring of power to Mount Doom to destroy it. But the bad guys, known as ringwraiths, start chasing him down, throwing him off course. Frodo goes to meet Gandalf at an inn called The Prancing Pony—but Gandalf’s been imprisoned at Saruman’s tower. Later on Frodo asks a creature named Gollum to lead him to Mount Doom—but Gollum takes him to an inaccessible gate, forcing a change of plans. The Try-Fail cycle works in stories because it makes the journey more satisfying. Success without struggle isn’t nearly as compelling. How to use this in your marketing: When you’re creating ads and writing copy, introduce lots of problems and roadblocks. Remind your potential customers how difficult things are today—how tough it is to achieve the thing they want. This way, your product reveal and pitch will feel more satisfying. This is similar to the PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solution) framework in copywriting, except that when using the Try-Fail cycle, you introduce multiple problems and agitations before finally arriving at the conclusion. That’s all for now. Happy marketing! ROUNDING UP THE STACK [SEO:]( As a B2B marketing leader, you have better things to do than manage day-to-day SEO. dofollow.io helps you start ranking higher with backlinks from the most influential publishers in the world. [Grow your business with DR65+ backlinks now](.* [ADVERTISING:]( Whoa. The four biggest European telecom carriers are creating an opt-in platform where individuals can submit mobile numbers so brands and publishers can “recognize users on their websites or apps on pseudonymous basis.” Sounds like bad news for Meta and Google… [META](: Devs, this one’s for you. In spring 2023, Meta is deprecating its legacy objectives API by consolidating 11 legacy objectives into six new objectives. After that, new campaigns can only be made with Outcome-Driven Ad Experiences. Good to know. [AI MARKETING:]( As you may have guessed, people are building tons of stuff with Open AI’s GPT. And it seems you can find them all gathered in one place – from specialized writing assistants to time tracking tools. Pretty neat. *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven’t got me. What am I? You can find the [answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Putting love on the map [article-image] Ever wondered how people in other cultures say “I love you”? We recently came across this wonderful [little “map” of love across the world](, and how people in different cultures show affection. For example: - Germans say “Ich liebe dich” and give each other ginger cookies and pig-shaped chocolates. Very romantic. - In South Korea, Japan, and other Asian countries, women give men chocolate. - In Nigeria, they bake heart-shaped cakes and say “Mo ni fẹ́ rẹ” to their loved ones. At Stacked Marketer we say things like, “we love our readers like we love our mugs… and our growth charts.” Ah, so many ways to say that one thing. Beautiful, isn’t it? SHARING IS CARING “Too much info in such a small space.”—a reader who unsubscribed Hey, staying up to date with the industry isn’t easy. But smart marketers do. And there’s a chance you know a few of them. Would you take a few seconds to share our newsletter with someone who values getting the latest marketing news and insights? In return, we’ll send you rewards when they subscribe. Share your referral link below to start unlocking exclusive content, merch, and more! 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