From:
Wuyen Hsu
Home Office, TW
Friday, 10:54 a.m.
Mar 10, 2023
Dear Friend,
I see this a lot.
Two entrepreneurs launched their e-Commerce to the same market at about the same time, with a similar budget. The journey started identically…
They both have a great vision.
They both have similar – and excellent – products.
They both have outstanding customer service.
And they both invested heavily in marketing.
3 Years Later
The owner of both brands attended the same e-Commerce conference.
The first owner came to the conference looking for a way out.
On the paper, his accountant told him the business was doing great; however, his bank account remained empty. Money flowed through like a passing wind… leaving nothing to take home.
It felt like all his hard work only made Mark Zuckerberg richer, not himself. Yet…
He was so dependent on Facebook to bring in new customers that he had to do ANYTHING to keep Mark happy (and keep his account alive).
As for his email list…
He was tired of feeling like a sleazy salesperson – screaming “50% OFF, TONIGHT ONLY” every flash sale. But he had no choice because he wouldn’t be able to pay the bill if he didn’t run at least two monthly flash sales.
On top of all that, he lost count of how many family moments he missed – anniversaries, birthdays, date nights – because he was too busy saving another “emergency” in his business.
Thinking of it…
He hasn’t had a long vacation since leaving his previous “full-time” job.
And that’s why he signed up for this conference – burnt out, exhausted, and ready to give up his “baby” (the business he worked so hard building).
What about the second owner?
Well, he was invited to the conference as a keynote speaker.
His business was thriving while he worked 20 hours per week. His company was bringing in good PROFIT, not just revenue on paper. And he had a healthy cash reserve in his bank for unexpected rainy days.
Most importantly, he had total control over his main marketing channel, meaning he wasn’t terrified whenever there was a “change of policy” on FB, Instagram, or YouTube.
Why The Difference?
The difference is in HOW the two owners approach marketing.
Most e-Commerce depends on marketing channels – such as paid advertising, Google search, and Amazon traffic – to grow their business.
This is the right way to “launch” an e-Com because these marketing channels provide an opportunity to instantly “turn on” the faucet to (seemingly) unlimited traffic overnight.
But this opportunity comes with two significant challenges…
- The Cost Is High
It’s tough to profit on the front end with paid ads because you’ll often have to accept negative cash flow to acquire new customers.
To give you an example:
Shopify says the average CPC on FB is ~$1 across all industries. However, according to BigCommerce, the average conversion rate for e-Commerces is only 2.5~3%. This means the advertising cost alone takes ~$33 out of the margin.
- You Do Not Own The Marketing Channel (Nor The List)
When you’re dependent on external channels, you have no control over your marketing.
If the platform changes the algorithm… applies a new AI to approve your ads… or cancels your account without explanation, you’re screwed.
(We’ve all heard of Google Slap and Facebook account-shutting horror stories.)
These two challenges force the business owner onto a marketing hamster wheel – facing a cash flow rollercoaster and chasing after the next “advertising opportunity.”
But the problem with a hamster wheel is…
The faster you run, the harder it is to keep up.
So, What do profitable e-coms do differently?
Instead of chasing after the next shiny advertising channel (it’s TikTok right now), successful owners focus on building a Back-End Profit Engine for their businesses.
This Engine allows them to…
- Be 40x more effective at acquiring customers than Facebook plus Twitter.
- Build a valuable asset that’s 100% under their control (and can be sold for a BIG retirement bonus).
- Capture repeating customers willing to spend 138% more, having more “legroom” to overbid opponents in paid ads.
- Spend little to nothing on any promotion they want to do – maximizing the profit margin with every sale.
- Turn cold, skeptical prospects into raving fans (if they used only paid advertising to do this without any back-end sales, it would have bankrupted their business in a month).
- Make their external marketing strategy – including paid advertising, SEO, etc. – at least ten times more effective, using the LEVERAGE to gain an advantage over competitors.
- Bring in profit, not just revenue, to release the negative cash-flow pressure they face when running paid ads (and allow them to pay themselves first every month).
And more.
The truth is:
Since new competitors are entering the market every day, and advertising cost is fast rising when demand exceeds supply, it’s getting harder to make paid advertising work unless you have (at least) part of the Profit Engine installed.
Okay, enough teasing. what is a back-end profit engine?
In danger of making things sound overly simple…
The Back-End Profit Engine is a 3-Tier System of –
*drumroll*
High-Converting Email Automations.
These automations – including Low Hanging Fruits, Retention Flows, and Holiday Assets – work together to capture your “ready-to-buy” prospects and turn them into repeat customers – on autopilot.
The best part is…
You only have to build these automations once, and they’ll continue to make sales even when you’re asleep.
Next Step…
Look, not all emails are created equal.
So, if you haven’t dipped your toes into email marketing yet… or you’ve tried email marketing before but weren’t happy with the result… here are two routes to take:
PATH #1 – You can join my (irregular) newsletter (“Email Marketing Emergence”), where I share insights, discoveries, and case studies with my subscribers.
PATH #2 – If you’re a busy business owner… and you want to work on your business, not in your business… then a turnkey solution can be a good idea.
Partner with a professional to design, build, test, and optimize everything for you.
It’s kind of like moving into a fully furnished home without designing and building everything yourself.
Interested? Click Here to find out more.