Stephen Racano’s Post

One thing a lot of us struggle with in ecom is focus. For me, selling Balloon 🎈 DTC has not been an instant success. It’s really tempting to jump to Amazon or retail or food service because who knows, maybe those will be quicker growth channels? Same thing with social media; I’ve been flirting with the idea of diving into TikTok, but the truth is I’ve never used it before - and I’m barely scratching the surface of Instagram as it is. Or LinkedIn for that matter ;). It’s really hard not to get impatient with how slow the beginning of building a brand feels. Ultimately, I suspect it’s going to take a while to gain traction no matter what path I choose. I doubt there are shortcuts. And abandoning what I’ve slowly been building is not going to do me any favors in the momentum department. Luckily, I have a FT job plus two small children to keep me from getting *too* distracted by shiny objects. Talking with other founders (like Vino Jeyapalan ❤️) helps me narrow my scope to what the most important next step is, too. What keeps you focused? Or, what distracts you?

Trying to go from idea to 8-figures? Great. Do these 23 things. 1/ Get the Product Right. If Not, Nothing Matters. 2/ Launch on the Back of Your Flagship Product / Use Case 3/ Solve a Real Problem 4/ Focus on a Specific Persona 5/ Get the Business Model Right 6/ Create a Movement 7/ Create (and Own) Your Category 8/ Pick a Fight with the Status Quo 9/ Build a Community Early 10/ A Cool Product Isn't Enough. Test Activation Tactics. 11/ Turn Your Customers into Marketers 12/ Invest Early in Organic Traffic 13/ Retention is the New CAC 14/ Customer Service as Marketing 15/ Invest in CRO to Unlock Growth 16/ Get Top of Funnel Traffic with Meta & Instagram Ads 17/ Get High Intent Traffic with Google Ads 18/ Don’t Reinvent the Wheel with Your Tech Stack 19/ Know Your Unit Economics, Then Scale 20/ Your Launch Strategy Gives You an Unfair Advantage 21/ Do NOT Make a Growth Plan. Make a Growth Calendar. 22/ Build Your Growth Strategy Around Seasonal Dips & Spikes 23/ Build Your Growth Machine Want the long version? Check out the write up I did in the comments.

Unveiling Your Category's Top Performers: Leverage Amazon Posts! Looking to gain insights into what's resonating with your audience in your Amazon product category? Look no further than Amazon Posts! Here's a secret weapon to discover what your competitors are posting about: 1. Find Your Category Code: Each Amazon category has a unique code. The smaller the category, the longer the code. 2. Build the URL: Take the following URL and add your category code at the end: https://lnkd.in/d4288Asx 3. See What's Trending! Hit enter, and voila! You'll have a treasure trove of content from brands within your category. Analyze their posts to see what kind of content resonates with your audience. Leverage these insights to: Craft engaging content: See what types of posts (images, videos, etc.) perform well. Identify trending topics: Discover what customers are interested in within your niche. Refine your strategy: Learn from successful competitor posts and tailor your approach. ! Credit: RZ EO

A few weeks ago, I was on the buyer's side in a meeting with a Meta agency that was struggling to deliver performance Their analysis concluded that their ads weren’t good enough They went on to say, "We need stronger messaging—really strong messaging. Here are our new ads...." Unfortunately, they failed to improve the messaging, and it’s clear why from the quote above: They never defined what 'stronger messaging' meant The ads weren’t supported by any data, insights, or hypotheses Level 1 in creative strategy is to understand why you want to run a specific ad Start with something: consumer research, product insights, competitors, past performance, format variations… That way, you will be intentional and start to produce learnings, and not waste your testing budget If you want to discuss growth marketing for your brand, slide into my DMs 🚀

Title: 🚀 SkyRocket Your Amazon Brand with Competitive Intelligence 🕵️♂️ 1. Understand Your Competition: Identify your Amazon rivals. Use tools like Helium 10 for insights. 📊 2. Analyze Competitor Listings: Study their product listings and keywords. Learn from their presentation. 🔍 3. Monitor Pricing Strategies: Keep an eye on competitors’ prices with spying tools. Stay competitive without undercutting. 💸 4. Track Customer Reviews: Use feedback to spot opportunities for improvement. Turn insights into action. 📝 5. Spy on Advertising Tactics: Analyze ad strategies with AdSpy. Guide your PPC campaigns. 📢 6. Leverage Social Proof: Build brand trust through user-generated content and influencer collaborations. 🌟 7. Innovate and Differentiate: Use insights to offer something unique. Stand out in the crowd. 💡 Conclusion: Use spying ethically to adapt and thrive on Amazon. Learn, innovate, and elevate your brand! 🏆

There is a saying “Little hinges swing big doors”. If you want to create a shortest path to success, apply the “principle of leveraging”. Trends will come and go, tactics may change but this is one of the timeless principles that you can’t go wrong with. If you apply that in any area of life (business, finance, mindset, expertise), you’ll be able to create a shortest path to success. This memory popped up in my feed. I had discovered this was totally an accident. This is my story of how I’m able to use “principle of leveraging” where Amazon is ranking me among some of the elites such as Bernard Marr (recognized by LinkedIn as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers) and Philip Kotler (known as Father of Marketing). I am tiny and insignificant in front of these Giants (and I didn't author my book to get famous) but using the principle of leveraging, I am able to latch on to Amazon’s algorithm and am able to elevate my credibility and stature. Next time, you’re trying to achieve any goals or complete tasks, try to think are there any (legitimate) leveraging opportunities for you to create shortest path to success. #successtips #leveraging

Let's talk about the doubts and fears of a Marketer! At the inception of that idea, we wonder if it will work 🤔 Before the launch of that campaign, we wonder how it will turn out! At the start of a campaign, we have doubts! During a campaign, we check metrics, hoping something changes... When it seems unresponsive, we use A/B Testing to evoke a change.... When we see results, we want to leverage on that method for replication, but we are scared it might not last... When a launch is successful, we are thinking of ways to keep the products(tech) in the eyes of our audience 🤔 We daily work towards reaching the RR goals! Everyday is a DOUBT-DAY in the life of a Marketer, but..... Mastering how to TAKE ACTION and ACHIEVE RESULTS despite doubt is the goal! By the way, this is HOW a Growth Marketing Strategist does! Always Testing, Experimenting and Leveraging! Sending love and hugs to my colleagues ❤️ 🫂 Hug a Marketing Strategist today! 🤗 💙 ☺️

𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧  𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭: 5 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥? 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 5 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐤𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: 1. 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬: 😯 Images that POP: Show off your product's magic with eye-catching visuals. Keywords that SELL: Research & sprinkle relevant keywords throughout your listing. Title that SCREAMS: Highlight unique selling points in a catchy title. Reviews that CONVINCE: Encourage satisfied customers to share their love. 2. 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭: 💥 Paid Ads that HIT: Target the right audience with powerful Amazon Ads. Track & Tweak: Monitor performance & adjust bids for maximum impact. Brand Awareness: Partner with influencers & pitch your story to media. 3. 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲: 📦 Data-Driven Decisions: Analyze sales data & optimize inventory accordingly. Expand & Diversify: Offer variations & complementary products to attract more buyers. FBA for Peace: Consider Fulfillment by Amazon for streamline fulfillment. 4. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 💲 Test & Learn: Run A/B tests to identify the best listing variations. Stay Ahead of the Curve: Adapt your strategy to match Amazon's algorithm updates. Seek Expert Advice: Learn from experienced Amazon consultants. 5. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭: 🔓 Prioritize Customer Experience: Offer excellent service & respond promptly to inquiries. Positive Reviews Fuel Success: Remember, happy customers lead to repeat business 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩!

There’s a supply/demand problem with growth marketers right now. Growth marketers as defined by people who use data to understand and optimize user acquisition and retention. There’s not enough good ones out there relative to the demand. There’s not enough good ones out there, period. Partly because it’s still a relatively new field. It didn’t become a true specialty until the advent of digital. Partly because during the early years of it becoming a specialty, FB ads were new and cheap. Therefore, most folks who say they are growth marketers are actually just paid acquisition marketers. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, but is part of the reason why there are less good growth marketers out there than the market needs. Sum it all up and I think the future is bright for truly good, full stack growth marketers.

Your old solutions for growing your brand are useless, New circumstances require: • new skills & tools, • innovative solutions • superior team members I'm talking to brands every day that face this changing DTC landscape with 1.. maybe 2 of those above 3 things. Usually they are trying to develop the skills and tooling on the fly... namely: • high volume creative editing • combination of human & machine editors • system that "closes the loop" on creative feedback • Attribution that clarifies incremental profit and contribution margin That's all "table stakes" for competitive DTC categories  If founders can wrap their heads around the need for all that 👆 there is no way they can recruit that talent. The ONE caveat is founders who know how to find strategic partners. Don't believe me? Listen to Ben Yahalom of True Classic talk about his view of partnerships and how they allowed him to scale to to over 100M in 2 years profitably with a "very lean team" Google "Profit Pro Talks - Conversation with True Classic, Ben Yahalom, about Profit Analytics" Start at 14:03... --- What are new solutions for DTC growth?