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Newsletter Advertising for Ecommerce Brands
Plus, a Breakdown of Pura Vida's Cx Experience
Brandon Amoroso
29 Sep
In partnership with
The TL;DR:
Let’s Chat D2C: Breaking Down Pura Vida’s CX Experience.
What I’m Thinking about this Week: Newsletter Advertising as an untapped DtC ecommerce ads channel.
The D2Z Podcast: In this week’s episode, I sat down with Sam Chlebowski, Co-Founder of Motion.io, to cover the transition and pathway from a service-based business to launching a successful SaaS product.
App Updates & Highlights: While not an app, I want to highlight a media company we recently onboarded APEX, our 250K subscriber early careers newsletter, to run advertising for brands - The Donut.
Upcoming Events: I’m headed to LA 9/30-10/3 and SF 10/7-10/13 for tech week!
Want to get the most out of ChatGPT?
Revolutionize your workday with the power of ChatGPT! Dive into HubSpot’s guide to discover how AI can elevate your productivity and creativity. Learn to automate tasks, enhance decision-making, and foster innovation, all through the capabilities of ChatGPT.
Let’s Chat D2C - Breaking Down Pura Vida’s CX Experience
I'm joining Zoe Kahn and other CX experts in a new series with Gorgias auditing front-end CX journeys!
The first brand I chose to audit was one of the models for DtC success I used back in 2018 when I first entered the Shopify ecosystem and started Electriq (acq. by DRINKS) -- Pura Vida!
3 of my main takeaways from the audit:
Lead capture optimization opportunities, including testing different types of modals like spin-to-win (yes, I find it super cheesy, but it does work).
Chat as a means to drive conversion: I loved all of the self-service options that were presented to me, but after sitting on the product page for more than 5 minutes, I didn't get any outbound chat messages from support which could have helped convert me into a paying customer.
The cart and checkout pages are best-in-class, with 3 separate gift-with-purchase thresholds to incentivize higher AOVs, cross-sells throughout, a callout to free shipping, and more!
Check out the full audit below!
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What I’m Thinking About This Week - Newsletter Advertising as an Untapped DtC Ecommerce Ads Channel
Newsletters are often considered an underrated but highly effective advertising channel for ecommerce brands, but whether they are truly "untapped" depends on the specific niche and market. Here’s why they can be a hidden gem, yet still underutilized by some…
Direct Access to an Engaged Audience
Highly Targeted: Unlike social media or broad-based display ads, newsletters give brands direct access to subscribers who have voluntarily signed up, indicating a genuine interest in the content. : Ensure the newsletter’s audience aligns with your target market. For example, if you sell eco-friendly products, partner with newsletters focused on sustainability or conscious consumerism. Investigate the newsletter’s subscriber base, including factors like age, income, location, and interests, to confirm it matches your buyer persona.
Less Competition: Many ecommerce brands are focused on social media, Google ads, or SEO, often overlooking the potential of newsletters as a consistent and personal touchpoint. This creates less competition in the inbox than crowded platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
Higher ROI
Cost-Effective: Compared to paid social media and Google ads, advertising in newsletters can be more cost-effective.
Direct Attribution: You can utilize special offers and discount codes to track the attribution of your newsletter advertising efforts directly.
Personalization & Segmentation Opportunities
Customizable Messaging: Newsletters allow for rich personalization through segmentation and dynamic content. Newsletters can leverage customer data to send highly targeted offers and recommendations.
First-Party Data: With third-party cookies being phased out, newsletters provide a direct way to use first-party data for highly relevant advertising without relying on external data sources.
High Engagement Rates
Open Rates: Newsletters tend to have higher open rates than social media impressions or banner ads. Customers are more likely to engage with content they voluntarily signed up for, making them a warmer audience.
Click-Through Rates: Well-crafted emails often achieve much better click-through rates (CTR) compared to social media ads.
Nurturing Relationships Over Time
Building Trust: Regular advertising in a specific newsletter builds trust and loyalty with readers, which, over time, translates into conversions.
For ecommerce brands, leveraging newsletters—whether by building their own or advertising in established ones—represents a growth opportunity. Brands that invest in this channel are often able to:
Reduce Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC): By reaching out to a qualified, engaged audience directly.
Increase Lifetime Value (LTV): By consistently staying top of mind with curated offers and personalized content.
Diversify their marketing mix: Decreasing dependency on paid ads and social media.
In summary, newsletters offer an untapped or at least underutilized channel in ecommerce that can significantly improve engagement and sales if done well. Many brands still overlook or underinvest in newsletters, but those who capitalize on this can see strong, long-term benefits.
Want to get the most out of ChatGPT?
Revolutionize your workday with the power of ChatGPT! Dive into HubSpot’s guide to discover how AI can elevate your productivity and creativity. Learn to automate tasks, enhance decision-making, and foster innovation, all through the capabilities of ChatGPT.
This Week’s The D2Z Podcast
#123 – Turning Services Experience into SaaS Success
🎧 Listen Now 🎧
In this week’s episode, I sat down with Sam Chlebowski, Co-Founder of Motion.io, to cover the transition and pathway from a service-based business to launching a successful SaaS product. Specifically, we explored the following:
💰 The differences in service-based and SaaS-based revenue and exit multiples
📲 Understanding the pain points from a service-based business perspective and building scalable solutions into a SaaS product
😎 The importance of team continuity in scaling a new business quickly
🚀 Leveraging past experiences as a cornerstone for new growth and learning
App Updates & Highlights - The Donut
While not an app, I want to highlight a media company we recently onboarded APEX, our 250K subscriber early careers newsletter, to run advertising for brands.
As mentioned in this newsletter, I see an ample early mover opportunity for DtC brands to invest in alternative acquisition channels that aren’t as oversaturated as traditional ones, like Facebook ads.
The Donut has over 2.6M+ email subscribers, 125K+ SMS subscribers, and 6M+ social followers for a total reach of over 8M that your ecommerce brand can tap into.
If you’re interested in testing out advertising with them, just let them know Brandon sent you!
Upcoming Events
I’m headed to LA 9/30-10/3 and SF 10/7-10/13 for tech week! Let me know if you’re in the area and want to connect.
Want to get the most out of ChatGPT?
Revolutionize your workday with the power of ChatGPT! Dive into HubSpot’s guide to discover how AI can elevate your productivity and creativity. Learn to automate tasks, enhance decision-making, and foster innovation, all through the capabilities of ChatGPT.
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