Today I have Aaron Zakowski with me, a facebook marketing expert who runs Zammo Digital Marketing. Today we’re going to talk about Facebook ads, what’s going on in the marketplace now, what’s new, and how to take advantage of Facebook advertising and retargeting. Facebook ads have grown exponentially in the last few years. The opportunities with retargeting and the advanced new facebook pixel that’s been rolled out are tremendous. There are ways to build relationships with visitor and customers with lookalike audiences, and more. On today’s podcast we’ll cover: The new Facebook Pixel, what the updates are and how they can help your business Different types of audiences on Facebook that you can prospect and how to identify the right audiences for your business, “Lookalike Audiences” and “Custom Audiences” Aaron’s “Evergreen Sequence to Retargeting Funnel” retargeting strategies Creating, testing and using an ad mix We hope you found this podcast informative. To learn more about Facebook ads, check out Aaron’s website at http://aaronzakowski.com. To contact Aaron, you can email him at [email protected] or send him a message on Twitter to @aaronzakowski. You can find this episode and all the others at Carthook.com/podcast.

Jordan’s guest today is Thomas Smale, co-founder of FE International. FE International is a brokerage firm that specializes in online business sales. Thomas will share his experience in ecommerce and walk the listener through the general process of buying or selling an e-business.   Thomas says the most popular deal his clients are looking for are FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) model. FE International has handled 360 deals since starting in 2010. Building a business should be approached as if a franchise will be built from the brand. This way when it sells there is no access training or further attachments for the seller. Documentation should exist for everything. Then hire out for the menial administrative tasks. Finally make sure the business produces a consistent product or service. Thomas advises sellers and buyers to use brokers.   He notes the following steps to his process:   Look at the site’s traffic and audience. Consider the financial possibilities and look at the past financial history. Research the buyer’s background. Review the operations of the business. Encourage due diligence. To learn more about Thomas Smale and FE International visit feinternational.com. You can also check them out on Facebook. If you want to contact Thomas directly send an email to [email protected].

Today’s episode is an email love fest. I mean, writing email is how most of us spend our days, right?  So I brought Kate Barret on the show. She’s the email marketing guru who founded Shine a Light Media. Shine a Light is an email marketing consultant firm that helps retailers develop, design, and improve their online marketing campaigns by getting the most out of email.   If your clients are already signed up for your emails, then you already know they’re interested in your services or your product. But what’s the next step? How you can you optimize the clients you already have? Comprehensive objectives, fresh campaigns, and uniquely segmented email lists are all part of Kate’s amazing marketing plan. She’s helped big business like Nissan and Marks & Spencer revitalized their campaign, and she’s on air today to give you the same tips she gave them.   TOPICS DISCUSSED Using email marketing the right way for your business Adding exciting new campaigns to your marketing strategies How to analyze your business and design specific, successful marketing objectives Katie’s unique technique for segmenting your email campaigns Writing tips for the content of your emails RESOURCES Katie is everywhere! Find her online on her website www.shinealightmedia.com where you can get free email marketing mini sessions and planning kits.   Keep up with the latest and follow her on twitter @katebarret   As always, you can find this podcast and all of our other episodes at www.carthook.com/podcast. And don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes!  

If you’ve been listening to this podcast, then you already know I’m a huge fan of paid advertising. It’s my go-to, I recommend it to everyone, and I like to bring on guests who can keep me and my listeners up-to-date when it comes to developing new and engaging advertising strategies. Especially now that we’re approaching 2016, learning the most you can about digital marketing and social advertising will only help your business grow.   Victor Ramirez, owner of An Abstract Agency in NYC is my guest today. His agency specializes in social advertising and paid promotions, and he’s discussing how you can take a more holistic, user-generated approach to your online marketing plan. He’s here to tell us what’s working right now, today, for online retailers on Facebook and Twitter and how they can use this user generated content in their own marketing campaigns.   TOPICS What online retailers need to focus on when it comes to advertising in 2015-2016 Using forums and social media to build your marketing strategy Using tools like Mention to build your online presence How to bring experience and storytelling to your advertisements How to get and use User Generated Content (UGC) in your next marketing campaign RESOURCES Follow Victor on Twitter @anabstractny Visit anabstractagency.com to stay up with the latest from Victor, including marketing classes and networking events. Victor will be hosting a live-stream event to teach online retailers how to use Google Local this Thursday! http://anabstractagency.com/get-ready-for-holiday-google-local/   And remember you can find this episode and all previous episodes of the Cart Hook Show at carthook.com/podcast.

We all collectively agree that online reviews are important, right? But how many of you have integrated automated review processes into your e-commerce business? Automated reviews not only make it easier for your customers and clients to give you feedback, it’s also key to bringing people back to your site. My guest today – Geordie Wardman – is calling all the way from Switzerland to talk about repeat customers, building your lifetime value, and how reviews can help rocket your e-commerce business to the next level.   As the chief conversion officer at his own business Wave Review, Geordie uses his software company to help online businesses like yours and mine manage our reputations online through reviews. He runs a few different businesses online, but what they all have in common is their reliance on automated review systems. Using reviews (like those you see or read on Amazon) can establish your brand, bring your product center stage, and help you generate a conversation between your business and your clients that will only work to establish your brand as a trustworthy and dependable business.   TOPICS How important integrations are when working with e-commerce platforms Our personal methodology for checking reviews and reputations online How to get more reviews on your site and for your products Geordie’s personal theme-based selling technique The product page optimization techniques we both use to increase sales Perks of private label selling vs. selling for other vendors RESOURCES Check out the Russell Brunson video Geordie and I talked about on today’s episode here  https://www.youtube.com/user/RussellBrunson Visit Geordie’s site at geordiewardman.com for access to his free video seminar: The Mindset of Pre-Selling Your Product, and checkout the WaveReview blog for more insight and tips for selling online.   Geordie has his own podcast too! Tune in to stay up with the latest from his team. If you have any questions after this podcast or want to get in touch for more information, email Geordie at [email protected] or connect with him on Facebook at Facebook.com/Geordie.wardman

I know a lot of us are stuck in our business. No matter what we specialize in – from online retailers to personal trainers – we’ve all reached that spot we just can’t seem to get a leg over. If you’re working to move up, then it’s time to revolutionize your marketing funnels. My guest today changes the rules. Instead of focusing on your products, we talking about what I like to call ‘Customer-Centric Marketing’.   Harneet Bhalla is a digital marketing genius who uses his insightful eye for business to help out entrepreneurs like us scale and grow our online businesses. In today’s interview he shares his personal advice on revamping your marketing campaign to focus on the experiences that really matter – the experiences your customers are having. And building on these experiences will not only grow your sales, it will also establish your brand as one of the most trustworthy and relatable brands on the market today.   TOPICS DISCUSSED How to create marketing campaigns organically and save money Establishing new marketing funnels with different techniques How to scale and grow your business with customer-centric marketing Becoming more than a business owner by using your own products Harneet shares tons of useful insights on customer centric marketing at harneetbahlla.com – where you can contact him with questions, reviews, or even hire him as your consultant.

Heard anything about sales funneling lately? We’ve seen the technique work for online info-marketers and e-commerce focused on items like e-books and manuals, but the question now is how we can translate the philosophy of a sales funnel into something the retail world can use. I’ve done a little research over the past couple of weeks trying to figure out a way I can engineer this stuff into my own business, and I reached out to a few funnel gurus for a little help. Richard Patey is just one entrepreneur who’s found a way to make it work for him. He shares a lot of his insight on his website www.funnelengine.com, but he goes into some pretty cutting-edge strategies with me on today’s podcast.   Richard created his consultant firm Funnel Engine to help other retail and e-commerce business owners cash in on sales funnels. He specializes in e-commerce and Shopify stores in particular, so his advice today is especially focused on those of us who are struggling to raise conversion rates. We all want everyone to stay on our sites as long as possible, but that takes more than just a sleek and modern buy page. You have to prove yourself as a reliable source of not only product but also of information. You can capture more emails and build a strong client base by creating something more interesting for your customers to engage in. Opt-in forms are all good and well, but informative blogs, helpful newsletters, and regular emails that focus on lessons, webinars, checklists, and the like are more likely to capture a customer’s attention. “You can kind of consider the marketing funnel as a sales funnel,” Richard says, “because you can actually see the revenue.” As each customer offers up their email to receive more useful webinars, the more likely they are to visit your site, engage with content, and purchase supplemental product in order to enrich their experience.   Listen to the newest podcast to find more insider funneling techniques as Richard shares the different marketing plans he designed and how each affected his bottom line, for the better AND the worse! He’s done all of the beta testing on his own techniques, meaning you are guaranteed to learn the most successful techniques, including: How to apply the marketing techniques of info-marketers to your retail business Investing in long-term marketing plans that produce long-term sales relationships Tips for capturing as many emails as you can How to build your website around successful funneling techniques Insider marketing strategies for 2016 e-commerce business trends   If you’re new to sales funneling, both Richard and I recommend the free webinar over at www.clickfunnels.com. It’s a truly eye-opening look at how you can use sales funnels to better your e-commerce business’ bottom line. Richard is also available for questions at [email protected].  

“Branding” isn’t just for livestock. And in today’s business world, many small entrepreneurs mistakenly think that branding is only a worry for the bigger companies. Nothing could be farther from the truth. With online shopping quickly becoming the only way people purchase their goods, every business owner (even the smallest ones!) needs to know how to create their brand in such a way that it sticks fast in their customers’ minds. But how do you do that? Where do you even start? Before you get overwhelmed about branding your business, I brought in an expert.   Vicky Nichols stayed up very late tonight – she’s all the way in Hong Kong! – in order to be on today’s podcast. She’s been a brand expert for the fashion industry for over a decade with her own website and business www.createafashionbrand.com/. When I asked her to break down branding for the small e-commerce business owner, she said, “Marketing is how you get your brand out there, but the brand itself, the identity that you have, the value that you have, that’s what’s going to sell your product.” And it’s your brand that people focus on. In the wide, wide world of the internet, it will be your brand that makes you stand out among the competition.   Building your brand successfully will take a lot of trial and error. Catering to your customer profile, targeting and re-targeting your clients, and learning how to apply the criticism and comments you receive from your customers are all key ways you can create a recognizable brand. Vicky goes over a few techniques of her own, and her tips include: What branding tricks to look out for in 2016 Listening to feedback from loyal customers How to create the image of your ideal customer with customer profile research How customer service and customer relationships all fit into your brand   If you still feel overwhelmed by all the different ins-and-outs of branding, check out Vicky’s free Branding Guidebook on her websites www.createafashionbrand.com.  

On today’s podcast, our actionable insights come from John McIntyre, the email marketing expert and genius behind ReEngager.com. John created his website to help e-commerce and online businesses take advantage of one of the most lucrative media outlets today – email. “Almost everyone underestimates the power of email,” he says, and it’s true. Real money is made on the lifetime value of your clients, and email is the surefire way to reach out to them and stay in touch in order to build that lifetime relationship.   We all know email exists – we all use it too – but a lot of people don’t know how to use email marketing in the right way. Email is HUGE, and you can reach out to a lot of people all at once in a myriad of ways. John talks about the more valuable techniques you can use to establish relationships with your customers today without being overwhelmed by everything else. His main focus is building awareness and nurturing customers through email, and the tips he offers up on this podcast include: Strategies for helping customers through the ‘5 Stages of Customer Awareness’ until they are committed to your brand How to nurture and bring value to your customers so you can create that lifetime relationship His own 12 ways to successfully use email, including how-tos, promotions, and anecdotal blogs   ReEngager.com is up and running, so check it out if you need some extra help with your email campaign. Got a question? Email john directly at [email protected] or send him a tweet @reengager  

We all know how I think about software. I’m always saying that the more you focus on the software the less you focus on the customer, but my guest today brings some interesting points to the table that might change my mind – at least when it comes to re-targeting. Taking advantage of software like Perfect Audience or Facebook Re-Targeting Software can really bring about some positive growth. Scott Nixon, web-developer turned entrepreneur, has had success with many different small e-commerce businesses over the years, including Happy Herbivore and Meal Mentors. On today’s podcast he talks about how he made a few simple re-targeting changes to the way he sells his product.   Re-targeting your customers goes beyond regular advertising. Posting ads across social media and your web page will work for a certain percentage of customers, but when you have the repeat lookers who never buy, you need to find a way to re-target your brand that better suits their needs. They aren’t going to click on your ad when they already know it isn’t want they’re looking for. So how do you catch their attention? When I asked Scott about his re-targeting plans, he said, “I learned so much about branding and so much about behavior… that conversions happening without the click are more important than the click.” So you need to find a way to re-target your products and remind your customers that you have exactly what they’re looking for.   Scott says the best thing you can do to re-target your sales is to get started right away! Start small, focus on a few key products, and then move forward in such a way that lets you set it and forget it. Because re-targeting doesn’t cost a lot of energy, nor will it blow your business out of the water, but when combined with your existing advertising and marketing plans, it can round out your sales percentages by bringing back all those customers that have trouble committing to a purchase. Listen in today to find out: How to find the best deals and techniques for re-targeting software How to integrate re-targeting with your existing marketing plan How to get your ads to follow customers across the web How to find what works for you so you can create the right re-targeting strategy   Scott offers up more points in his book Return, which is available for purchase at LINK or you can talk with him directly on Twitter @citedalgrad or online at www.citadelgrad.co