The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

Addressing large drop-offs at checkout Best navigation style for large catalogs Pagination vs infinite scroll a "back to basics" checklist for a $1M/y merchant What's the best way to advertise for conversion please? What to do when PPC traffic doesn't convert Tips and tricks with Turbo. Structuring your homepage in a new store Managing burnout when you can't take a vacation Setting up wholesalers...

Vivian Kaye describes herself as "Oprah + Gary Vee" and that's a pretty good description. Her presence and genuine desire to continuously learn and grow while keeping it REAL quickly made her a personality who transcended the title of Founder and CEO. In this episode, she tells us how she started a premium textured hair extension brand for Black women, and then grew it to a million dollars without...

In this episode, you'll hear How Kettle & Fire scaled their affiliate and partnerships programs to 7-figures in revenue. We'll talk through best practices + actionable tactics. The tools to identify influencers How to get big influencers' attention The difference between affiliate and ambassador programs What are you paying for? Defining influencer deliverables and typical costs Creating a VIP exp...

Everyone wants a better PageSpeed score. So when a client came to us with unusually good PageSpeed scores in a theme we set up last year, we wanted to know how they achieved it so we could replicate the results. Had a random developer seemingly cracked the code for theme performance optimization for Shopify? Finding out took days of research, and what we found shocked us. Show Links PageSpeed Insi...

Head Mutha Fluffa Therese Dozier, founder of LUV SPUN, turned her events based cotton candy business around in 2020 by moving her Artisanal Candy Floss to Shopify. LUVSPUN provides a unique flavor experience beyond the pink or blue cotton candy you’re used to. Their branding is fun, edgy, and their 200 flavors are unique and fantastic. LUVSPUN is more than just candy floss. It was founded to teach...

Misinformation is spewed left and right about nearly everything in eCommerce and it’s driving us insane. In this joint episode, fellow ecom coach and podcast host Austin Brawner joins the show to dispel the top six ecommerce myths we encounter with merchants every day. If you’ve been a long-time listener of the podcast, you know that Austin is a trusted recurring guest and in this episode, we’re h...

In this episode, we break down influencer marketing for ecommerce with a Shopify merchant that used influencer marketing to launch their weighted blanket in 2017 with influencers including Kourtney Kardashian. Guest Corey Turner is candidly breaks down: The positives & negatives of influencer marketing for a DTC brand How to spot fake influencers What metrics to look for when picking an influencer...

In this episode, we answer questions from Shopify merchants in our Facebook group. We discuss... Analyzing Heatmaps When to outsource your marketing Inventory forecasting Top Klaviyo Flows Collections as SEO honeypots Mobile Collections: Is one or two columns best? ...And more! Like Paul's pizza dough recipe. Links Mentioned ebikegeneration.com Matsuda.com Sponsors Free 30-day trial of Zipify OCU...

In this episode: What are the most common mistakes that Shopify store owners make with their product pages? What steps can store owners take to figure out if their product page needs help? What things are you seeing on stores that makes you filled with rage? (note from josh: I'm only halfway kidding with this. I've seen such an uptick in terrible user experience on stores. Between a cookie popup,...

We talk to SharkTank alum Chrissie Lam about her Love Is Project journey. How Chrissie created the original love bracelet in Kenya, transformed a personal photo project to a viral social media campaign and then launched it as e-com brand. Show Links Love Is Project Sponsors Free 30-day trial of Zipify OCU - (To get an unadvertised gift, email help@zipify.com and ask for the "Tech Nasty Bonus". Try...

Juliana Jackson, AKA The CLV Lady, Juliana is one of the principal architects of the Customer Value Optimization Category, a ground-breaking innovation framework for ecommerce companies that identifies the most important customers segments thanks to the RFM model, understanding behavioral patterns that need to be addressed in order to prioritize what matters to improve profitability and customer l...

Apple says they're "standing up for users." Facebook says an upcoming prompt in Apple's iOS 14 is bad for small businesses. Regardless of which side you think if self-serving here, if you advertise on Facebook, you need to understand what's happening because you have some homework to do to prepare. Show Links ProduceDept Zuckerberg wants to “inflict pain” on Apple Sponsors Free 30-day trial of Zip...

Casey Bard had a decent side hustle on Shopify and a full-time job... until he got a call from his boss letting him know that he no longer he had a job because the company leadership may be going to jail. That was the turning point where Casey knew his Shopify side hustle had to become his full-time income. This is the story of how Tacticalories Seasoning Company came to be. Takeaways: How asking...

Today we're doing a follow-up to our popular AMA from our Facebook group, Unofficial Shopify Podcast Insider's. We answer your questions, such as: Developing your positioning (without confusing customers) Finding newsletter content that works for you Why Paul always wears minor league t-shirts The #1 mistake Paul sees merchants make What to do when you’re just straight up uninspired Adding dynamic...

In June 2019, Cesar Torres joined us to share the unusual story of how he turned a merch store for his sci-fi book series into a fitness leggings brand with a big impact on LGBTQ+ fans of the brand. Then, the pandemic hit and he experienced what we all did: the crushing desperation of not knowing what's going to happen. He understandably became increasingly demoralized... until he found his voice...

Today we're doing an AMA from our Facebook group, Unofficial Shopify Podcast Insider's. We answer your questions, such as: Tips for growing Shopify store from six to seven figures. Benchmarks for gross margin for successful e-commerce stores What should you look for in a web developer for redoing websites? ...and more. Always more. Such as, "How much did Kurt lose on GameStonk?" Sponsors Free 30-d...

After leaving his 20-year engineering career to become a local marketing consultant, Dustin Riechman discovered a jerky so good that he decided to pitch a relative stranger on a business partnership that resulted in $1mm in sales in two years. The mindset that gave him the confidence to quit his job Keys to building realtionships with potential business partners How they launched with grassroots m...

Colby Kane, owner and founder of Aviator, discusses how the 2008 recession shaped his business, how he's survived the current pandemic, and what he expects will happen in 2021. Colby is a designer and art director who started out in the fast-paced world of NY Fashion as an art director at Macy’s. He moved to LA in order to build something different, find a balance between work and family, and give...

Julie Elster (as in Mrs. Elster) joins us again for a candid update on how 2020 impacted her travel business, hosted on Shopify. Show Links DoubleYourWDW.com Past Episode: My Wife Started a Shopify Store! Past Episode: How Julie Elster Generates 10,000 Organic Visitors Sponsors Free 30-day trial of Zipify OCU - (To get an unadvertised gift, email help@zipify.com and ask for the "Tech Nasty Bonus"....

Returning for his fourth appearance is Nick Disabato, ecommerce conversion rate optimization wunderkind. On today's episode: an airing of grievances around merchant's approach to conversion rate optimization. We talk through the common mistakes in methodology & management, and your top missed opportunities. Show Links Draft Baymard Sponsors Free 30-day trial of Zipify OCU - (To get an unadvertised...

Now through January we’ll see an influx of new listeners. (Welcome!) We asked our new listeners, "what’s your number one question as you grow your Shopify store?" And to our established merchants, we asked, "what do you wish you knew when just starting out?" Today, we’ll talk through the top comments and turn those into actionable New Year's business resolutions. Sponsors Free 30-day trial of Zip...

Worried mobile messaging will annoy your customers? Not if you do it right. We ask SMS marketing consultant Arri Bagah listener submitted questions like... What do people really want when they sign up for SMS? Should we get into SMS if we’re not based in North America? How often to mass broadcast? Arri Bagah became an expert in the mobile messaging space and is invited to speak at large conference...

When I bought our first electric vehicle earlier this year, I did what a lot of new car buyers do and went accessory shopping. It was not long before I started seeing ads for aftermarket accessory vendor Abstract Ocean, and reading about them on forums. Our guest today is Peter White, co-founder of Abstract Ocean. In 2013, Peter and his wife picked up their first Tesla. Aside from being the spark...

In this episode, we discuss Shipageddon Season and the Cyber Monday that broke shipping. Then a Nuggs teardown– They're "the Tesla of chicken." Show Links ShipBob's Shipping Carrier Data NUGGS Sponsors Get powerful marketing automation with Klaviyo's revenue-driving email platform Try Bold Product Upsell, free trial Save 20% on Turbo, a blazing fast Shopify theme - Use code KURT20 at checkout Impr...

As ecommerce professionals, what did we learn from 2020? And what happens in 2021? Those are the questions I posed to a number of a clever ecommerce industry folks. Entreprenuers like: Harley Finkelstein, Shopify Eric Bandholz, Beardbrand Marnie Consky, Thigh Society Ezra Firestone, Smart Marketer Ilana Davis, Shopify Expert & Website Rescuer Steve Chou, My Wife Quit Her Job Nick DiSabato, Draft A...