There are a few things I do as a marketer to avoid doing the opposite. Marketing hills I will die on, if you will. So, let’s play a game. This, NOT that.
: Unscripted UGC, NOT hand-fed.
UGC = User Generated Content. How can a growth team or video editor or creative director tell you, the person filming an ad, how exactly you should speak? WE’RE GOING FOR ORGANIC!
Team never provide more than bullet points for any UGC creative.
Brief value props, give tips, and then accept in dozens of outtakes and little clips that you then mash together. We can’t tell people what to say if we want them to say it like a normal person!
I’m starting here because this is important and comes up a lot. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACT NORMAL!
: LOTS of line-breaks in copy, NOT any paragraph that is over 4 lines.
When writing copy for anything, and to be read by anyone, keep it brief and use negative space.
Bullet points. Line breaks. Iconography. Assets in between blocks of text. People hate reading – so big plump paragraphs are the 1st to go.
When I see 10 lines of copy on a landing page without a paragraph break:
: Crinkle, NOT packing peanuts.
Your physical product packaging says so much about your brand. I need to see you pack your orders with crinkle.
Packing peanuts are an absolute no (except for biodegradable ones, but unless your biodegradable packing peanuts are green your customers think they are terrible for the planet – NEVER WHITE PACKING PEANUTS!)
: All reviews are published, NOT cherrypicked.
I will die on this hill. Reviews = social proof. Filtering reviews and only showing 5 star gushing reviews = dishonest. No brand I work with is allowed to do this.
P.S. I am a die-hard Okendo fan for reviews. Another hill I’ll die on is Okendo > Yotpo.
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: QR codes, NOT packing lists.
Packing lists are tacky and bad for the environment. I take a hard line here. SKIP THIS. Nobody will miss it – and make them scan a QR code and come back to your digital world. So you can retarget them. ♀️
: Free shipping thresholds as the standard , NOT default always charged.
Free shipping is a luxury – so make sure your customers spend a certain amount to unlock that privilege.
However, there is no circumstance that charging for shipping is the only option – meaning if a customer needs to spend $300 to unlock free shipping – fine.
But if a customer is spending $300 and can never unlock free shipping no matter what they buy – not fine for your CAC, ROAS, MER, etc!
: The Growth Team is website lead, NOT the Brand Team.
There’s a balance here, sure. But, the deciding vote is your growth lead. Your conversion rate will thank you. ♀️
: Coming soon, NOT pre-order.
I never sell anything that is not checked in at my 3PL and appearing in active inventory.
If its not in the warehouse, it’s not for sale. Do a Coming Soon with a wait list (I use Back in Stock and just customize the front-end), works better than grabbing at revenue that you can’t guarantee you’ll fulfill on time.
One time I worked for a company that shall not be named that oversold 20,000 units of their most beloved product (I was not there when they did this – I started the next week – joy!). Inventory was en route, only a few days out…
Except shit went to hell and the inventory took 2 months and I can’t tell you how badly that went.
NO PRE-ORDER IF NOT IN WAREHOUSE! IF IT SEEMS LIKE I’M SCREAMING, I AM!
