Good morning,
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:
💰 Customer Lifecycles and Revenue
The connection between these two metrics.
🎉 April Fools' Pranks and Brand Engagement
Boosting visibility and sparking conversation.
⏱️ Feel Like There’s Never Enough Time?
Searches for this relatable term hit an all-time high.
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Rimports, Young Spirits, and Thornton Metals. 👋
👀 Looking for New Audiences? This Platform Is Full Of Engaged Users You’ve Been Missing
If it feels like your current audiences are tapped out, it might be time to diversify.
Can you guess the platform? 🧑🏫👇
It’s Snapchat—and it’s full of incremental growth potential through new, untapped, engaged audiences.
If your paid ads strategy could use a boost, it might be time to put Snap on your roadmap. 🗺️
Whether you’re running ads yourself or managing a team, take a look and see what’s possible.
💰 Tariff and De Minimis Updates
New tariffs were announced yesterday by President Trump, affecting U.S. imports.
The de minimis exemption (which allowed goods valued under $800 to enter tariff-free) will end for China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025. After that, packages that previously qualified will be subject to a duty of 30% or $25 per item (rising to $50 on June 1, 2025).
Additionally, new reciprocal tariffs have been placed on 180+ countries, including 34% on China, 46% on Vietnam, and 20% on the EU plus a 10% baseline tariff on all trading partners. These updates are in addition to existing tariffs.
This creates a turbulent environment for ecommerce brands, with higher product costs, supply chain disruptions, increased operational complexity, and margin pressures.
Note: These tariff details are current as of writing, but could change before this reaches your inbox.
💡 Are You Losing Loyal Customers?
Is this person a first-time buyer?
A repeat buyer?
Or a stale buyer who’s long gone?
Jordan Gordon, host of TWBERP and Head of Email Retention at Pilothouse, explains that understanding your customer lifecycle is key to unlocking long-term growth.
Here’s how to find answers in your email program:
1. Identify Your 'Base'
2. Why Repeat Customers Matter
3. A Shrinking Base = A Red Flag
👉 A big ad push may temporarily shrink your base, but it should rebound post-campaign.
Next week, we’ll dive into the category lifecycle—stay tuned!
🍎 Discover How Plant People Dominated The Wellness Space With A Multi-Channel Approach
Marketing has never been easier... (as long as you partner with the right experts).
👉 Plant People leans on minisocial for community growth, UGC for socials, and micro-influencers who move the needle.
Their marketing director said it best: “We’ll always work with them, minisocial is very reasonably priced, saves us so much time and energy, and the team is incredibly responsive and just fantastic.” ✨
Since 2018, minisocial has partnered with over 1,000 brands to scale both content and community.
🌟 The best part? Minisocial lets you work 1:1 with their experts the entire duration of a project, from briefing with a pro to sharing their unique strategies for your specific content.
DTC readers get 15% off your first campaign. 💵
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🤪 Gotcha Marketing: The Best (and Weirdest) April Fools' Campaigns of 2025
You either love them or hate them…
But we have to admit, when a clever April Fools' post comes across our feed, we can’t help but laugh.
Here are a few the DTC team spotted this year: 👇
🥩 IKEA’s Meatball-Inspired Chapstick
Chapstick is a daily essential, and IKEA meatballs are a fan favorite. So, when you combine the two for April Fools'? 🤷 It’s a surprising, yet effective prank.
Something we actually want to carry around? Probably not. But as far as April Fools' pranks go, it’s genius. You can almost taste it just from the concept alone.
🍗 🍬 Nerds' Fried Chicken Clusters
Nerds Gummy Clusters have taken off, but what if the inside was less chewy candy and more... fried chicken? 🥲
Yeah, we cringed too. The DTC team had a visceral reaction to this one—and that’s exactly why it works. It’s unexpected, a little horrifying, and just believable enough to make you do a double take.
Hats off, Nerds. You officially earned the title of nightmare fuel in our Slack channel with this one. 👏
🥤 It’s Ranch… With Bubbles
Olipop and Hidden Valley Ranch teamed up to create… Jalapeño Ranch, Hot Honey Ranch, Garlic Ranch, and classic Ranch—all in soda form.
Would we crack one open after a long day? Not a chance. But the audacity alone makes it a genius April Fools' move—we can’t stop thinking about it (unfortunately).
🪥 Good Luck Making It To Two Minutes of Brushing…
We’ve seen Hismile come out with some pretty bold toothpaste flavors, but not one this Finger Lickin’ Good… 🐔
Nothing says fresh breath in the morning like KFC fried chicken flavored toothpaste. We honestly can’t decide if it would be better or worse at night. 🤣
So, what’s the deal with April Fools' pranks?
April Fools' pranks can be a great way for brands to engage with their audience in a fun, memorable way.
They break the usual marketing mold, showing off a brand’s personality and sense of humor. Done right, they can spark conversation, increase social sharing, and even generate buzz for days after the joke is revealed.
When it’s all in good fun, customers will appreciate the creativity and think of your brand next time they’re shopping.
Check out our video on what makes a good April Fools' Day prank and more brand examples we spotted this year!
Did we miss any good ones? Hit reply to this email and send them our way!
📈 SEARCH SURGE
Searches for time management reached an all-time high this year. AI time management was a top-related search.
📰 NEWS
📥 Got a B2B Biz?
Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k+ brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.
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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
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