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Issue 136
Glad to have you in the club! It’s a pretty cool club if we do say so ourselves 😉
In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇
❣️ Tips for building your content and community: Part 2
🔥 Cost-effective ways to increase your website conversion
🥸 Don’t set and forget your Amazon listings
Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎
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We’re back with Part 2 of building community through content. If you missed the first installment, make sure to check out DTC 134!
Now that you’re all caught up, on to more great tips from Maria West, the Head of Content at House of Wise, Jason Wong, founder of Doe Lashes, and Fred Perotta, co-founder and CEO of Tortuga Backpacks. 👇
1️⃣ Involve your customers in your content
We’re talking about building a community here, right? Well, what better way to do that than get your customers involved in your content.
Take a tip from Maria:
“I love seeing brands who make space for interactive content on social media or incorporate UGC and testimonials into written content in a way that feels natural. One of our main ways to do this is by featuring our brand ambassadors in a weekly newsletter, article, and on social media. Make them feel special and a part of it!”
2️⃣ Learn what channels drive the best ROI, and double down
Just because TikTok is all the rage, doesn’t mean it’s the right platform for your brand. If your audience isn’t using a specific channel, your efforts in building a community there won’t show great results.
Some brands do better with written content, and others with video. Spend time testing each channel and content format to see what drives the best ROI.
“As a brand that prioritizes community, House of Wise has built a strong and engaged following on social media. Our written and graphic content is another tool for our Wise Women and brand cheerleaders to learn, share, and promote products to their circles,” said Maria.
Look at the traffic to your site and where it’s coming from to understand your audience, your conversions per channel, and the engagement rate from content per channel. This will give you a good idea of which channels to prioritize. ✅
3️⃣ Make sure there’s consistency across all channels
When customers watch more than one video, it should feel like a similar experience where the tone, values, and vibe are the same. This should be the same from channel-to-channel too.
Customers will rely on you for entertainment or expertise when you're consistent in your execution.
“By creating complementary content that educates your readers, you’re increasing your importance and authenticity in their lives and establishing yourself as an authority,” said Maria.
This includes live shopping moments, live or pre-recorded Q&As or AMAs, and even sharing video content in email newsletters and themed campaigns. Check out how House of Wise brings in experts for blog features:
“In DTC spaces, it can be easy to create organic content in a vacuum while your digital marketing, advertising, PR, or social efforts are focused on entirely different messaging and goals. They don’t have to all be the same, but brand consistency is oh-so-satisfying,” shared Maria.
4️⃣ Keep creating and keep sharing
Sharing one blog post or one video every three months isn’t going to cut it. If you’re going to invest in content, invest properly.
Create a calendar, and stick to it. If you need time to think of ideas, plan a calendar around events like holidays or sales, and create the content for it ahead of time when you’re in a slow period. That way, you’ll have tons of content ready to go.
According to Maria, “Even if community-building isn’t a main goal for the brand, investing in original content can help your customers understand why your product > everyone else’s.”
5️⃣ Let your brand voice evolve
We mentioned consistency is essential, but that doesn’t mean your voice can’t change as your brand grows. As Maria suggests, your brand voice may evolve—and you should let it.
“Remember that your brand voice may evolve over time, and that’s ok. Leave room in your content strategy for refreshing old content later—your SEO team will thank you!”
As you grow your revenue and audience, you’ll discover new, better ways to engage with your potential customers. Also, technology and society trends are constantly changing, and it’s helpful to adapt with these changes to stay relevant.
Jason shared the same idea, saying to establish yourself as an authority in your niche and keep growing as you learn more about your customers.
“By understanding where your customers spend the most time and how they like to consume content, you can adjust your content strategy to make your brand more approachable and respected,” he said.
Shopify has empowered all kinds of retail brands to flourish with its easy-to-use platform, but with so many choices for consumers, standing out from the crowd is challenging.
👯♂️That’s where partnerships come in.
Affiliate and influencer partners can help Shopify merchants target new customers in a way that is authentic and customer-focused, and you can learn the partnership ropes in this no-nonsense ebook: How affiliate and influencer partnerships help brands scale and succeed on Shopify.
Download a copy to learn:
👉 Get the ebook, and get on your way to Shopify growth!
You may be wondering, how can I increase my website conversion without spending bucket loads of money?
Twitter user Olly, who’s audited 500 SaaS landing pages, has got you covered!
The overarching theme? Re-write the copy on your landing page. Here are the 7 best techniques:
🤫 Agitate your visitor
Make sure your viewer knows the downside of how they’re currently doing things.
Is the system broken? Can your product relieve their pain points? Outlining the frustration is a great way for your visitor to find a solution.
❌ Address doubts and objections
Everyone has doubts when buying a product. Will it work the way I need it to? Will this product solve x,y, and z?
Make sure to address and outline your answers before they move on to something else.
Not sure what your customers' doubts are? Consider an exit survey, reviewing sales questions, and reviewing socials and email inquiries.
😌 Simplify your language
Buzzword lingo is not the way to go for landing pages. It’s too confusing.
Use clear headlines and make sure your landing page is easy to scan.
✅Focus on benefits
Tell your visitors why the features you offer matter. Leave your customer knowing the benefits and what they can achieve with your product.
Remember that there needs to be a logical link between your product and the benefits you’re claiming it has!
🔎 Evidence your claims
If you’re claiming to be the best, the cheapest, the perfect solution… prove it!
Consider using:
✨ Focus on your USP’s
What do you offer that's different from the competition? What features are unique to your brand?
This is your unique selling point and how potential customers will compare you.
Olly suggests using one key USP to hang their messaging on!
🖼 Support with visuals
Nice illustrations are just that, nice.
Your images on your landing page should support your key messages within your copy and support the claims that you’re making.
*avoiding popular/generic illustrations is a great way to stand out!
For examples for each of the 7 steps and a checklist to make sure you’ve hit all your points, check out Olly’s great Twitter thread! 🧵
minisocial works with top DTC brands to scale their micro-influencer campaigns while being laser-focused on creating elevated UGC content that is fully licensed right out of the box.
So why do some of the top DTC brands work with minisocial?🧐
Native has run dozens of campaigns with minsocial and utilizes content from their campaigns everywhere, from email marketing, ad assets, and organic social.
Imperfect Foods has created hundreds of testimonial and unboxing style videos with minisocial that are fully licensed and ready to be plugged into ads, organic social, and beyond.
Spotlight Oral Care has tapped into the virality of UGC on TikTok by leaning into branded content and launching multiple micro-influencer UGC campaigns focused on trends and branded concepts.
👉 Want to learn more? Find a time to connect with their team or check out their case studies here
As a DTC reader, take 15% off your first campaign!
It’s crucial to regularly switch up your titles, bullets, and listing images.
This is especially true for products marketed during holidays (i.e., Mother’s Day, Valentines Day).
Find keywords that are specific to your product.
For example, “Father’s Day gifts for movie lovers” or “Father’s Day gifts for runners.” Don’t just make this a PPC (pay-per-click) campaign around a specific holiday.
The Pilothouse team recommends adding those keywords to your title and bullets to help increase their index.
If you’re running a sale, place a listing image into the second spot and point out the price cut you’ve created for that specific holiday. 🚀
🧢 Win Brands Group raises $40M led by Orangewood Partners and acquires mission-driven outdoor brand Love Your Melon.
🟩 The New York Times buys Wordle.
🎬 Airrack raises $3M for YouTuber film school.
🏆 Grace Beverley raises $5.7M to expand sustainable activewear label Tala.
💸 Meta's crypto project has been officially sold. Silvergate Capital bought Diem's assets for $182 million in stock and cash.
💄 Youthforia's Fiona Co Chan Creates an Organic TikTok to Amazon Pipeline.
💗 Changing the World's Pleasure Baseline with Jen Batchelor CEO and Founder of Kin Euphorics.
🍪 How HighKey Raised Their AOV by 40% with Chief Digital Officer Ryan Rouse.
🍫 Muddy Bites CEO Jarod Steffes on Growing 1000% YOY By Delivering Delight and Mastering Memes.
Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
DTC Newsletter is written by Tina Donati and Rebecca Knight. Edited by Claire Beveridge.
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