Michael Wannop

Why does measuring in-app ROAS suck, and why do so many marketing agencies not freaking get it? They measure the wrong thing to make THEMSELVES look good so they don’t lose the client...but they do it at the expense of YOUR business. *Full disclosure: we were guilty of it too… because we didn’t know any better* No more. In the past year, we have completely transformed - painfully turning away millions in revenue (that ain’t a ‘humble brag’ bro marketers) - to make this monumental shift towards true Client Centricity. One of the first steps in this transformation was adding John Moran, the world's best Traffic Strategist, to the Tier 11 team. Then, adding Lauren Schwartz and her amazing team at The Loft 325 the premier creative agency on the planet, was next. Our #1 mission is to transform this broken industry while help purpose-driven businesses achieve their vision - with 100% transparency. Yeah, I can hear the chorus of naysayers: b@##$!%, hyperbole, whatever…I don't care. What I DO care about is helping our clients achieve their vision. And we are doing it through Metrics That Matter & Growth That Scales. Here’s just a hint of what it’s all about here: https://lnkd.in/eTgTVyHk More to come... #MetricsThatMatter #DigitalMarketing #SocialMedia #Marketing

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CRO practitioners rant regularly about avoiding channel-based thoughts. It’s not just about stakeholder expectations and a longer process that takes time to fully establish. It’s that the impact you see at the surface level on website performance does not tell the full story. Testing will increase conversion rates and revenue, and it’s easy to measure. That’s not all though. Because your website converts users better, it means the ROAS for your ads will be higher. Think about it for a second, it’s a pretty big deal. Users click an ad and do not magically buy. They need to browse a landing page, consider their buying decision and complete a purchase. Same goes for filling a demo request! If if ROAS increases, then it either means that you can acquire more users for the same budget, or that your ad spend becomes more efficient and you can reallocate. Many orgs can eventually pay off their entire testing program costs by this nature. So is website testing a channel? Not really, it’s just part of the customer journey. When we start thinking holistically, then this function of the business will have positive rewards for every channel. Yes, it’s a cost to approach web development and website strategy methodically. Thinking about it with a channel mindset is opting into a limited view of what it can do for the org. Revenue and ROI are great, but when you can make every other online initiative win as well, then even though not easy to measure, surely that must accelerate business growth.

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DTC brands, Here’s why your email flows aren't performing (and how to fix it). I’ve audited over 10 email accounts in the last month, each plagued with low flow engagement and disappointing flow conversion rates. Yet they’re still focused on pretty looking emails, thinking it will move the needle. If your email flows aren't driving engagement, conversions and revenue, here's what to do instead: → Implement detailed data collection: Gather data from all touchpoints, like website interactions, opt-in forms (we love Formtoro), social media, email, and customer service… then compare this data with what you have in your flows to ensure everything is congruent. → Focus on the entire lifecycle: Most brands have an incomplete customer journey. Build flows for each stage of the customer journey, from awareness to conversion, to post-purchase engagement and loyalty to ensure there’s no gaps. → Break down silos: Encourage teamwork between departments/agencies to create a unified view of the customer journey so everything is congruent, from ads, to social to email. → Adopt an omnichannel approach: Use systems that track and combine interactions across all channels for a seamless experience. For example: Email, SMS, direct mail, Messenger. → Conduct regular research: Use surveys, interviews, and behavior analysis to understand audience needs, preferences, and pain points and then use that information to personalize your flows better. → Split test: Make sure you are split test each email in your flows, with a heavy emphasis on underperforming emails. → Map emotional touchpoints: Consider how interactions make people feel at each stage. Create engaging content and experiences using the data you are collecting to do this. → Continuously update and refine: Regularly review and update your customer journey map to match changing customer behaviors and market conditions, the goal is to keep getting better and ensure your flow revenue keeps growing. → Personalize the journey: Use collected data to create personalized experiences for individual customer needs and preferences instead of ‘one size fits all’ flows. Personalized emails work much better. Are you a 7 or 8-figure DTC brand? Email marketing matters, but it doesn’t make sense to work with email marketing agencies whose primary function is just to design ‘pretty’ emails with no strategy behind it. That’s a dinosaur agency. Start working with growth specialists who really understand how to make you money.

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Many DTC brands fail at email marketing before ever sending their first email. Here’s why 👇 Most brands fail because they don’t understand this simple fact: The offer displayed on your popup isn’t just for building your email list. It's for filtering out unqualified prospects. How? Certain offers attract freeloaders, while others attract people with buying intent. Think about it – if your popup offer is a discount for joining your email list, only prospects with buying intent will find value in that offer. That means you’ll fill your email list with subscribers willing to purchase your products under the right circumstances. On the other hand, if your popup offer involves a raffle or a free lead magnet, you’re attracting freebie seekers who don’t necessarily want to purchase. This will have a ripple effect across all your email marketing metrics. Particularly click rates and sales conversion rates. You’re dooming your chances of success before your welcome flow even lands in their inbox. Don’t fall for the dopamine trap of mindlessly accumulating subscribers to your email list in exchange for free stuff. Particularly with BF/CM just around the corner, you want your list packed with people with buying intent. Send me a connection request if you’d like help with your popups. I’ll look at your current popups and show you how to at least 2x their conversion.

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7 Traits of a great SEO: ‌ → Doesn’t refresh rankings every day → Loves links → Open minded → Collaborates with paid team → Networks with SEO’s → Loves failed tests → Analytical What have I missed?

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Outbound campaign attribution in HubSpot just got a whole lot easier. You name it—from meetings and converted leads to closed won deals. This new capability is part of our “packages” feature, which uses Supered⚡ to deploy fully built lists, workflows, and dashboards straight into your HubSpot portal. It all starts with Smartlead campaign data which is synced with OutboundSync. Here's what's possible... - Funnel Reporting: Track conversion rates at each stage. Whether you’re using a strict vertical funnel or a more flexible horizontal view, you’ll see exactly how many outbound emails convert to closed deals. - Campaign & Rep Performance: View email sending volume, positive reply rates, and track results by individual sales rep. See which campaigns are driving results. - Sales Enablement Insights: Monitor follow-up activity. Are reps calling? Sending LinkedIn messages? Using direct mail? The dashboard captures all follow-up actions thanks to the power of syncing outbound data with HubSpot. - Multi-Touch Attribution: Get a complete view of how outbound efforts impact deals, even if multiple touchpoints are involved. Track pipeline value, deal size, and closed revenue attributed to outbound campaigns. Last month, one user realized they'd exceeded their monthly meeting goal by two. (They booked 52 meetings.) And they'd closed won nearly $19K in September alone. All using this data. I can't wait to share more stories as we roll this out across our user base. What'd I get wrong? What report would you add or remove? PLEASE TELL ME. Because I can't wait to ship v3 of this thing. Stay tuned for how we’re using this setup for lists, workflows, and more.

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Slow page loads kill conversion rates. If something slows your site, it better boost conversions massively. Speed is a crucial factor in user experience. Optimize for speed relentlessly.

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Predictable Revenue Playbook* gives you ∼0.3%** (!) chance to win a deal. Here's the ugly math behind: *Predictable revenue playbook: 1. find in-market leads (intent signals/data) 2. get their contact info 3. spam with outbound & ads **Math behind ∼0.3%: ☑ Only 5% of B2B buyers are ready to buy (Ehrenberg-Bass) ☑ 80-90% of them already have a narrow consideration set (Bain & Co) ☑ 90% of them eventually buy from one of the brands from that list (Bain & Co) ☑ 40% of B2B buying ends in no-decision (Gartner) This complete ignorance of how B2B buying happens is why we're witnessing the great downfall of the predictable revenue playbook. If most buyers buy from a brand that influenced them, the solution is simple = make more long-term, brand building investments and enter your buyer's narrow consideration set. Influence them while they're in No Man's Land, before they get into the buying mode, because at that point, it's too late. Start with this simple playbook: 1. NARRATIVE To increase your share of voice and generate mass awareness in your TAM, you'll need a story to rally around. Hegel left us a formula: - thesis ('marketing is a long-term investment') - antithesis ('most martech is built for short-term motions') - synthesis ('our solution helps create and measure long-term marketing initiatives') Market the problem, not just your solution. 2. POSITIONING & MESSAGING Niching down is the best way to find early traction. Niche down until you can provide objectively 10x more value for [1 ICP] for [1-3 JTBD]. Find a segment that has been let down by Salesforces and Mailchimps of the world. Then, make sure your messaging isn't fluffy & vague, and achieves the following: - Say what it is, for whom, for what - Show your product - Focus on a few core use cases 3. FOUNDER BRAND (ORGANIC SOCIAL) You'll grow your reach & following by talking about the puzzle (industry), not your little puzzle piece (product). Center your content around: - Strong POV, narrative - Customer conversations - Fight against the villain - Trends / news commentary If you want a detailed guide, let me know in the comments and I'll send it to you. 4. PAID DISTRIBUTION Amplify your organic effort with paid. Look for arbitrage opportunities like: - LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads (take your organic winners and amplify them) - YouTube Ads (relatively cheap, great targeting options) - Google Ads for ICP-dense events (zero-click, narrative-heavy ads for minimal cost) 5. CO-CREATE CONTENT WITH ICP (ABM 101) Invite your ICP to an interview style podcast and co-create content with them 2x month. The goal is to build relationships, get customer insights & distribute your narrative. - Start with your best customers (get case studies too) - Then leads in your pipeline (improve win rates) - Finally, your dream account list (build relationships) This a great ABM + content play. ------- Brand is your last true competitive advantage. Time to invest more into it in 2025.

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ATTN Agencies Focused on Lead Gen: Greg Sterling shared that Google crushed it in Q1 and here are some key metrics: CTR: up 5.1% (more clicks are taking place than before) CPC: up 10.4% (each click is costing more than before) Conversions: down 1.1% (less conversions are taking place than before) CPL: up 24.6% (leads are costing more than before) Don't lose your client's budget and your margin to increase in Google costs, especially while conversions are going down. Close the gap on conversions. Make it easy for your clients to gather leads from all channels (GBP, FB, Insta, email, text, live chat, chatbot, etc) not just paid search. Birdeye can help. Make it easy for your clients to influence over 50% of the top 10 ranking and conversion factors. Birdeye can help. Once you lose your budget to Google's paid search game, it may be too late to get it back again...

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Quickest way to give your paid media a performance boost: Give your landing pages a good Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) analysis and pair that with a corresponding Quality Score effort in your paid search channels. Instant ROI.

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This is the secret sauce: How we've grown Thanks .io to some pretty sweet ARR over the past 7 years. 🤑 Traffic Sources: 👉 Affiliates 👉 Facebook Lead Form Ads 👉 Google ppc ads (with dki like i posted about yesterday) and... (as shown in screenshot) ... ... By auto-triggering our own Follow Up Postcards, Letters, and Notecards with Trackable QR Scans that lead back to our calendly (and other) links for re-engagement. If you're paying for a few bucks for a click on the front end, a $.70 postcard is the perfect back end insurance policy on that initial investment :) [especially if you sell higher ticket stuff]

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Testing a new product/service: $300 comprehensive SEO audit & demand generation action plan. What you’ll get: 1. Tailored Demand Generation Roadmap - A campaign guide specifically designed for your business. 2. Detailed SEO Audit Report - Covering technical, on-page, and off-page SEO best practices. 3. Opportunity Discovery - Identifying key growth areas for both short and long-term conversion-oriented objectives. 4. People-first Content Strategy & Opportunity Modeling - Planning and guidance for creating and optimizing content through clustering, intent matching, and UX. 5. Link Building & Digital PR Strategy - Includes outreach templates, prospect lists, and angles for acquisition and amplification. Best for: 1. Startups and small/medium-sized businesses looking for direction in developing internal processes for organic digital campaigns but don’t know where to start. Or perhaps, business owners who are still on the fence about investing in organic channels (ie: SEO, content marketing, digital PR). 2. Large organizations with in-house teams looking for fresh eyes to look for potential gaps and opps they might have overlooked. FAQs: 1. How is this audit different from your standard service included in full-scale SEO campaigns? Mainly the time spent on research, analysis, and documentation. This one will mostly be done in just a few sessions. While it is quicker, it maintains the same focus on identifying key areas of optimization that will have the most impact on the site’s business objectives (ie: driving more ideal customers to the site, leveraging assets for brand building and conversions). 2. Why charge $300, when you did this for free a while ago? Investing in the audit ensures skin in the game. Clients who pay for the service are more likely to implement the strategies, benefiting both parties - as I can also use the results as a reference for future case studies. Note: some providers charge between $2K - $8K for this type of auditing service. 3. Will the pricing change in the future? Yes. Testing this now to fine tune the overall audit process before officially launching the product’s landing page. And honestly, to get more documentation done where I can re-use specific sections/modules of the reports for future campaigns that might be dealing with the same issues. Plus, we also get to build a robust portfolio of successful case studies and testimonials along the process. 4. When can I get the reports? Within 15 days. 5. What support is available after I receive the audit report? You can email me or book a call to discuss any inquiries you may have regarding the audit’s findings. Please note that implementation support is not included in this service. Know someone interested in trying this out? Feel free to send a message or email me at [email protected].

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Create your funnels like you create your ads. Go deeper than just a landing page by customizing and experimenting across the full funnel: landing pages, PDPs, offers, and in cart upsells. The best part? You're building it all outside of the main site. No existing app conflicts, no approvals, no dev queues. With FERMÀT's latest product releases your growth marketers can own the outcome from ad to checkout. 🔗 to the full release notes in the comments.

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3 steps to increasing revenue for your DTC brand: Step 1: Drive traffic Step 2: Convert traffic Step 3: Retain customers But....there’s a catch. Don’t neglect step 3. If done well, step 3 pays the cycle all over again. For free.

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Super insightful summary of the Google documentation leak around features used in its ranking algorithm. Thanks Michael King for the great deep dive. I continue to be an advocate for observing what actually has effects for your page in SEO over what Google sais and claims. This leak is another confirmation that blindly trusting Googles statements, e.g they are not using click data, is likely not the best idea. For all SEOs, PMs or entrepreneurs responsible for the organic rankings and traffic of their product this is a really worthwhile deep dive. As always in SEO: it doesn’t get as precise to tell you what exactly you need to do. But it’s important to know the variables and features that are important. But in the end one thing that has been true in SEO for years: It always boils down to build a great and engaging product with valuable and engaging content and promote yourself well enough so that you earn qualitative links to your page and content.

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