An advertising win from Ryanair 😂
If you’re new to DTC, welcome! You’re in good company with fellow newcomers from Omsom, Nooma, Sigma Sports, The Aussie Man, and Save the Duck. 🦆
In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇
📦 How to 5x your revenue with Facebook, new creatives, and an app with Ash Melwani from Obvi Collagen
📦 Sailthru’s sweet secrets to growing your audience and sales with a thoughtful approach to email
📦 Three elements you NEED to consider on your next ad test
📦 Grow your business with elevated UGC and Minisocial
Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎
👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, subscribe, so you never miss out.
🎧 On this episode of the DTC pod, we chatted with Ash Melwani, co-founder of Obvi.
Obvi makes supplements cool for younger generations, stops your scroll on Instagram, catches your eye in the grocery store, and creates products that taste like your favorite cereal on Saturday mornings. 😎
Tune in to learn about the value of Facebook groups, how to gamify your cart experience to increase AOV, why (and how) they’re testing 40 new ad creatives every week, and much more.
The Takeaways 👇
🎮 Community cheat code:
Obvi’s Facebook Group has over 50,000 members (and growing), and it’s one of their major focuses as a brand.
“I think one of the biggest things we pride ourselves on is creating a community, which not a lot of brands are taking seriously, and I really do think they need to… The community is a cheat code.”
Ash’s tips for creating a community or your own FB group:
🛍️ Swag > discounts
Here’s a universal truth: people ❤️ swag.
Obvi knows this, and that’s why they’ve created a gamified cart with free gifts as upsell incentives.
For example, they’ll offer tiered swag to give shoppers an incentive to make a larger purchase:
“Our flagship product is $40, but our AOV is $70…people are buying multiple things, so it’s definitely working.”
💰 What Ash would do with an extra $50K:
TikTok influencer seeding and creative for ads. 🤳
“I think there are so many creators on there doing a great job…[they’re] so good at creating TikToks, sometimes you don’t even realize it’s an ad…”
👉 Listen to the full episode with Ash here!
What do Sex in the City, SNL, and world-famous banana pudding have in common?
NYC’s Magnolia Bakery. 🧁
The beloved bakery has been a retail landmark in the Big Apple for years, but when they expanded from a local shop to eCommerce, email became the major focus for growing nationwide.
Check out Magnolia’s case study to learn how they’ve been able to:
Whether you’re a retail business looking to expand to DTC or simply want to get more out of your email marketing…
Facebook is a powerful beast. The platform allows you to get your message out there to a broad audience and has successfully fuelled brand growth for a decade.
The Pilothouse Team frequently takes the time to think of fresh ways to spice up their creative using data and learnings to look for the next big thing.
Check out these tips for elements to pay extra attention to when you’re launching your next ad campaign: 👇
1️⃣ To meme or not to meme, that is the question.
One of Pilothouse’s clients saw a 55% reduction in link cost-per-click (CPC) by creating “conversion-oriented meme creative.”
The idea here is to balance humor and product benefit in a way that resonates with your brand.
A format the team has seen success with over time has been “what I ordered vs. what I got”—a fun play on what a competitor might offer (underwhelming expectation) vs. the delivery of something much better.
Using a meme format will show how your product can solve a challenge through humor. A top performer for the Pilothouse team has been for a product with a USP around size with the tagline “big enough to share, even when they’re mad at you.”
2️⃣ Unique mechanism in copy
The unique mechanism is all about showing prospects how your product will get results or deliver on its promises.
It’s about connecting the “oomph” in your marketing message with the work that’s gone into creating the perfect product for them.
One Pilothouse client saw a lift from focusing on how the product was the “ONLY” product with certain features designed to provide certain end benefits.
Another successful test included the hook “what feels good” about using the product to better your lives and how the features would enable you to do so.
List out what about your product will get them results, and think of punchy hooks to open up with–you’ll find your next winner with this.
3️⃣ Why consumers want to allocate budget to your product
Gas and food prices have us riding bikes and buying discounted produce, and consumers are being put in a position where they have to make more budgeting decisions.
Think about how you can use your message to reduce the barrier to entry
Try split-testing these statements in your ad headlines (for Facebook) or the opening hook of your ad copy (for Instagram).
If you’re looking for new angles for your creative and new ways to show your audience why they NEED to be using your product, reach out to the Pilothouse Facebook team. 🔥
Need Elevated User Generated Content?
Try minisocial 👋
minisocial works with top DTC brands like Imperfect Foods, Olipop, Care/Of, and Native to produce high-quality UGC while activating dozens of micro-influencer posts on TikTok or Instagram.
Why do brands love working with minisocial?
👉 “I want to grow my business with elevated UGC”
🎥 TikTok: Supercharge your video entertainment strategy.
☀️ Americans will soon be able to buy home solar panels from IKEA.
👀 A new TikTok feature can tell you who's viewing your profile — here's how to turn it on.
🌎 Instagram launches initial test of NFT display options, which are also coming to Facebook soon.
🗺 Google unveils new maps advances, shopping tools, and search insights at I/O 2022.
📈 5x Your Revenue with a Facebook Group, 40 New Creatives a Week, and an App with Ash Melwani from Obvi Collagen.
💬 SMS is No Longer Optional with Sophie Baer, Win Brand Group’s Retention Director (and Automation Overlord).
🧀 Perry Belcher on Ecom Tripwires, Premiums, and Making Sure the Cheese is Worth the Squeeze.
🎯 Ecommerce SEO in Three Simple Steps with Kevin Miller from Gr0.
Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight, Kelsey Hess, and Jordan Gillis. Edited by Claire Beveridge and Eric Dyck.
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📥 Work for The DTC Newsletter: Send an email to Rebecca, rebecca@directtoconsumer.co, if you’re interested in writing for us!
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