Insights
Guides for growing an ecommerce brand.
Practical guides, written by Anthony, for founders who want to understand their marketing before spending more on it.
Articles
33 reads from the desk.
How to make a steady supply of customer-style video ads (UGC)
UGC means videos of real customers or creators talking about your product. The 4-part process that keeps new UGC ads coming every week, with an example monthly budget.
Why ecommerce brands get stuck at £2M a year, and how to grow past it
A £28 cost per sale that became £42 as the budget tripled. Why brands stop growing at £2M a year, and the 5 changes that start growth again.
Meta Advantage+: when to let Meta's automation run your ads
Advantage+ lets Meta decide who sees your ads, and the ROAS often looks better. A worked example of what that number leaves out, and how to test it.
Why your ads are not working: 3 places to look
A brand tested 12 new ads and nothing moved, because the problem was in the margin. How to check creative, funnel and economics in 30 minutes, in that order.
Why your Meta ads stop working faster than they used to
Ads that used to work for months now tire in weeks. How to work out how many new ads you need, and why more ads alone will not fix it.
How to split your ecommerce marketing budget across channels
Set your total marketing budget from your profit after the costs of each sale, then split it between Meta, Google, email, creative and tests. A worked example and a calculator.
What is a good ROAS for ecommerce?
A good return on ad spend sits 20 to 30% above your break-even ROAS, so it depends on your costs per order. 2 shops at 3×, one that grows and one that loses money, and how to find your number.
Checkout fixes: how to stop people leaving at checkout
Most shoppers who add to basket do not buy. A worked example of what a better checkout is worth, and the fixes to make first, in order.
Amazon ads for Shopify brands: how to run both without paying twice
Shopify brands lose margin when Amazon ads catch shoppers already heading to their store. A worked example, and how to spend Amazon ads on people who have not heard of you.
The 8 Klaviyo segments every ecommerce brand needs
Most brands send the same emails to everyone on their list. Here are 8 groups of customers to email differently, and how to set each one up in Klaviyo.
How to spend £5k a month on marketing as a UK ecommerce brand
At £5k a month, every pound has to pay its way. Here is which channels to use, which to skip and what order to set them up in.
12 product page changes that get more visitors to buy
Most ecommerce product pages turn 1 to 2% of visitors into buyers. The best manage 4 to 6%. Here are 12 changes that close the gap.
How much should you spend on Facebook ads for ecommerce?
Your Facebook and Instagram ad budget comes from your profit per order: the most you can pay for a customer, times the customers you want. Here is how to work it out, with a calculator.
The £100k mistake ecommerce brands make in year 2
Spending more on ads before you know your profit per order is the most expensive mistake in ecommerce. A worked example, and the 3 checks to run before you scale.
Your landing page may be the problem, not your ads
The same £10,000 of ad spend returns £10,000 or £30,000 depending on the page. Why to fix the page before the ads, and the 5 checks to run first.
Why a separate agency for each channel holds your brand back
3 agency reports that add up to more revenue than the business took. Why one agency per channel costs growing brands money, and the 2 setups that fix it.
The hidden cost of managing five marketing suppliers yourself
Each specialist is right about their own channel. None of them is responsible for whether the business grows. That job falls on the founder, and it is the most expensive cost nobody invoices.
Why your Meta ads look good but your business is shrinking
A healthy dashboard, a bank balance going down. The 2 causes behind strong Meta returns and a shrinking business, and 4 checks that find them.
Why the return your ad platform reports is misleading
The ROAS in Meta and Google Ads is the sales each platform credits to itself. One shopper, one order, 2 claims, and what to track instead.
In-house team or agency: which is right for your ecommerce marketing?
A junior hire, 6 months to get up to speed, and a return to an agency a year later. When to hire your own team, when to use an agency, and when to do both.
Amazon Sponsored Products vs Sponsored Brands: which sells more?
One shopper, one week, 2 Amazon ad types doing different jobs. How to split your budget between Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.
How to find wasted spend in your Google Ads search terms report
One search term, 212 clicks and no sales. How to read the Google Ads search terms report, find the searches that never buy, and block them.
Klaviyo vs Mailchimp for ecommerce: which should you use?
Mailchimp sends your emails for less. Klaviyo costs more, so is it worth it? A worked example on a £150,000-a-month shop, and when staying put is right.
Performance Max vs Standard Shopping: which Google campaign should you use?
Performance Max reports a great ROAS, then you find brand searches are doing much of the work. How each campaign works, what each is for, and how to run both.
The automated emails and texts every ecommerce brand needs
Follow one customer from sign-up to 100 days of silence and see which 5 automated emails and texts pay for themselves. Most brands are missing 3 of them.
Meta Ads vs Google Ads for ecommerce: where to spend first
Google shows your products to people already searching. Meta shows them to people who were not. A worked example, and how to pick which to fund first.
Break-even ROAS: how to work out the return your ads need to make
Break-even ROAS is the lowest return on ad spend at which your ads stop losing money. One order followed from the till, a calculator for your own numbers, and what to aim for.
What is MER (marketing efficiency ratio), and how do you track it?
MER is your total sales divided by your total marketing spend. 3 dashboards, one real answer, how to find the MER your business needs, and a calculator to try your own numbers.
CAC vs LTV: the two numbers every ecommerce founder should know
CAC is what it costs to win a customer. LTV is the profit that customer brings you over time. Here is how to work out both, what the ratio tells you, and a calculator to try your own numbers.
What is blended ROAS, and why it matters more than platform ROAS
Blended ROAS is your total sales divided by your total ad spend across every channel. 3 dashboards, one real answer, and how to check it against your break-even.
Why your marketing emails land in spam, and how to fix it
A 40,000-person list, an open rate that fell from 38% to 22%, and the 3 checks that explain where the emails went.
Why you need brand ads and sales ads, not one or the other
Some marketers think brand building is a luxury. Others think sales ads are short-sighted. The evidence says both are wrong, and splitting them holds back growth.
Why winning new customers keeps getting more expensive
Each extra pound on the same ads reaches people less ready to buy, so the next customer costs more than the last. A worked example, and what to do instead.
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