🚀 DTC Pod: How 8 & 9 Figure Brands Leverage Affiliate Strategies + Latest in DTC News!

28TH SEPTEMBER 2023

Hey DTC Pod enthusiasts! We’re rolling out another insightful episode for you! This week, we’re joined by Mustafa Saeed, Co-Founder of Paul Street, who will be sharing his wealth of knowledge on optimizing affiliate marketing strategies and ensuring optimal traffic and affiliate performance. 🚀

We delve into:

• Monitoring and compliance of affiliates.

• The significance of historical partnerships.

• Strategies for transparency and value addition with affiliates.

• and much more!

Plus, the week's top DTC News and a must-attend event. Dive in, share your thoughts, and reach out anytime.

This Week’s DTC Pod Guest

#292- How the Best Brands Run Affiliate

In this episode, Mustafa Saeed, Co-Founder of Paul Street, delves into optimizing affiliate marketing strategies, sharing how his team ensures optimal traffic and affiliate performance. He emphasizes the significance of collaborating with high-quality traffic affiliates and offers tips on personalized outreach and leveraging networks.

Mustafa has notably generated over $180 Million in revenues for brands like HelloFresh and Noom through various strategic expansions and optimizations and deployed $40 Million+ in growth capital to assist 80+ eCommerce brands, including Lime Crime and BOXRAW.

NEWS

👉🏻 Shopify invests in wholesale platform Faire

E-commerce giant Shopify is investing in wholesale marketplace Faire.

The deal makes Faire the recommended platform for Shopify's merchants. Faire has seen fast growth in Europe since launching there last year. The investment comes as brands switch to wholesale models amid rising costs. Wholesale helps them curb expenses while reaching more shoppers. Get the scoop here

👉🏻 The 5 most eye-opening lines in the Amazon lawsuit

The FTC's lawsuit claims Amazon unlawfully monopolized online retail.

It alleges Amazon punished sellers offering lower prices elsewhere. And used teams to ensure it had the lowest prices. The suit says Amazon wanted to end a Prime program helping sellers use outside fulfillment. Without competition, Amazon has hiked fees to near 50% of seller revenue. Read the 5 toughest claims here

👉🏻 Fly By Jing expands to 1,200 Target stores

Asian food brand Fly By Jing has rapidly expanded its retail presence to 1,200 Target locations.

Fly By Jing first launched at Target in 2021 in just 400 stores. The growth comes after Fly By Jing raised $12 million to grow its wholesale business. The brand has ridden a wave of popularity for Asian flavors in the U.S. All details here

Listen to Fly By Jing’s founder Jing Gao share their early story on our pod here.

Other News + Resources

👉🏻 Why EBITDA has such a strong hold on retail (10 minute read)
The controversial financial metric retailers can't quit. Supporters claim it demonstrates a company's profit potential. But critics say it obscures real expenses. Find out for yourself - does EBITDA reveal or conceal a business's true earnings? (link)

👉🏻 Peloton co-founder to step down (3 minute read)
Peloton co-founder and Chief Product Officer Tom Cortese is stepping down after 12 years. He will move to an advisory role. Peloton has appointed a new CPO, Nick Caldwell. (link)

👉🏻 Meati Foods reduces staff by 10% (3 minute read) 
Plant-based meat maker Meati Foods laid off 10% of staff. The company said this was to focus on profitability amid challenges in the space. Meati continues expanding with a new online shop after quickly selling out a small 2022 DTC launch. (link)

👉🏻 How to optimize your e-commerce ad spend and budget for the best ROI (15 minute read)
Struggling to get the most from your e-commerce ad budget? Read the breakdown of 8 proven tips to optimize your spend for maximum ROI. Learn how to balance automation with control, boost awareness, target creatives, and more. (link)

X of The Week

Guide to Building All-Star Marketing Teams at DTC Brands

Arjun Shukla (@growwitharjun) shares valuable insights on building great marketing teams at DTC brands. His X on hiring and training full-stack marketers who can do it all from digital ads to SEO offers actionable tips for finding unicorn talent.

Tool of The Week

Meet Finaloop, your real-time finance sidekick.

This AI-powered platform provides e-commerce and DTC brands with accurate books, optimized taxes, and actionable insights 24/7. Over 300 brands use Finaloop to make data-driven decisions.

DTC Event

Creator & Commerce | Thu Oct 5th 6pm | L.A

In LA next week? Blaine, Ramon & the DTC Pod Crew team up with TryNow to host a local hangout. Come for food, drinks, and hangout with several of our favorite guests from the pod.

Want to advertise with us? Check out our rates