Aron Levin

If I was the CMO of a $20 million dollar brand... Here's the updated tech stack that I recommend for Q4 2024 💰 (WARNING - SAAS founders you may get triggered by how price-sensitive and scrappy I'm being here haha) 😆 Shopify (because there is no other platform - but PLEASE DON'T SIGN UP FOR PLUS UNLESS YOU CAN JUSTIFY THE COST THROUGH TRANSACTION FEES - but at 20m it probably works out) 💸 LyveCom for all things video embed on PDPs - live shopping, AI video enablement etc etc (YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS ONE OUT!) Judge.me for product reviews - has basically everything the big guys have for $15/mo 🏆 - or... use the native product reviews from Sendlane - either one is fine for me Because🌈 for website personalization and no-code PDP CRO (I am obsessed) 🔍 Klaviyo or Sendlane for ESP + SMS - Klaviyo has more robust data for now, but Sendlane will be there for you in 10 seconds if you have any issues! ⏱️ InviteJet for launching promos and putting your promo on your email subs calendars! (you need to talk to Paul Davis about this one!) Pagedeck for fast funnels + landing pages built by performance marketers 🚀 I'll also throw in FERMÀT because I love Aaron Orendorff and I think that the product is pretty unreal too! KnoCommerce for post-purchase surveys 📝 Popsixle or Michael at UpStackified for CAPI connection Triple Whale 🐳 for data collection etc etc Prescient AI for MMM - This is a company to watch - THE HALO EFFECT IS REAL Michael True Tapcart for mobile app! (I cannot say enough about having a mobile app at any stage of business) 📱 Lifetimely by AMP or StoreHero for daily profit and lifetime value tracking (this is a must at this stage) 📊 Supermoon for CS (yep... great product with a great price and built AI first!) PostPilot for direct mail (though I would want to see a good ROI at this stage) 📬 Foreplay.co for creative ideas and dev Motion (Creative Analytics) for creative analytics of course! upGrowth Commerce for ads agency + TikTok Shop set-up to scale - we did just hit teh quickest zero-7 figs after all (hahahah had to throw this one in here obvs) Reacher for social commerce (think tiktok shop) Bot and CRM (what these guys are building is INSANE!) Bora Mutluoglu Toki - Loyalty, Memberships, Cashback for loyalty (good value and scrappy) 🎉 Raleon for CLV optimization, gift with purchase, and AI-enabled list pushed to Klaviyo (GAME CHANGER) Inveterate Inc and Dylan Whitman for memberships as well! Refunnel for gathering content and CGC contests and incentivized influencer seeding and gifting CreatorCommerce and Social Snowball ☃️ for influencer management, ownership, and co-branded storefronts! Gotta throw out Disco and my boy Neal Goyal for the post-purchase ad network! You'll see my picks have a couple of things in common - they are priced right and they have small and scrappy teams that wants YOU to win... The problem is I missed a bunch! Who did I miss and why?

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“Brand bidding: the kindergarten of Google Ads”. Here's how we spent $7M on Google Ads and turned cold traffic into new customers @scale for DTC Brands [Not a penny spent on Brand Bidding] Many marketers stick to brand bidding as their safe bet in the realm of DTC and eCommerce. Brand bidding is an amateur's game. We chose to defy the norm—and it paid off big time. For DTC & Ecommerce brands, the true challenge lies in acquiring new customers at scale, not just targeting those already familiar with the brand. This has been our focus for years—converting cold traffic into loyal customers, bypassing the allure of brand bidding for a more ambitious goal of sustainable growth. Over the last 6 months, we’ve profitably spent over $7 million on Google Ads without a single dollar going towards brand bidding, for DTC Brands in the health and wellness industry. Instead, we focused on what truly drives growth: customer acquisition at scale. Our unique funnel transforms cold traffic into loyal customers, turning skeptics into believers. How do we do it? Through relentless optimisation and a deep understanding of consumer behavior. Our proprietary funnel guides potential customers from initial interest to purchase with unparalleled efficiency. The results speak for themselves. We generated staggering revenues for this client, as evidenced by our real Google Ads Manager screenshots. Here’s what makes our funnel unique: 🚀 Huge Conversion Rates: Achieving over 15% conversion rates, significantly higher than industry averages, (On cold traffic!) 💰 Extremely High Average Order Value (AOV): Maximizing revenue from every customer. 🎯 Precision Targeting: Only targeting cold traffic to ensure we’re bringing in new customers, not just re-engaging existing ones. 📈 Scalable Growth: Designed to scale seamlessly, allowing for consistent and sustainable growth. 🔄 Continuous Optimization: Using data-driven insights to refine and improve the funnel constantly. While others pour money into targeting those who are already familiar with their brand, we excel at converting complete strangers into customers. Our approach is bold, innovative, and, most importantly, profitable. And here’s the best part: I am offering our unique funnel for FREE! Yes, you read that right, for FREE. We want to help you move beyond brand bidding and tap into a scalable growth strategy that works. Let’s connect and explore how we can replicate this success for your brand. If you want to have access to our unique DTC customer acquisition funnel for FREE: 1) Like the Post 2) Comment “FUNNEL” 3) Be sure we are connected so that I can send you the Funnel directly by DM Let’s grow together. 🚀 #DTC #ecommerce #GoogleAds #CustomerAcquisition #digitalmarketing

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Why your DTC brand should invest in meta ads: (No matter your niche) Brands like Obvi, AG1, Spacegoods, True Classic, etc. All sell their products on Meta. It's their # 1 revenue channel. But it isn't by accident. It's because they put their $ into what matters: Their creative and their team. The result? Memorable ads. And they sell a sh*t ton of products because of that. So whatever your niche is for your DTC brand, Start running meta ads. Take your brand to the next level. And if you're already doing it and spending $5k+ / month, Hit me up for memorable ads that sell. Gotta run, my dog is running after ducks...

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Snag grew their DTC from $0 - Over $30m+ in 3 years. Here’s how they did it: ➤ Problem-Focused Conception While out shopping, Brie realized her tights were slipping down. Growing frustrated, she asked some friends of hers if they experienced something similar. Turns out every single one of her friends had the same issue. This was natural fuel for her to look into things further. ➤ Data = Unfair Advantage Brie didn't have a background in marketing. Instead, her data-oriented mind gave her an advantage by looking at things a little differently. She ran a Google Survey of 3000 women to find out who else struggled to find a pair of tights that fit. The answer? 90% of 3000 people. Bingo. Opportunity validated. The data also showed how: → The market was commoditized → Men made most of the product purchases (Crazy right?) → Most women accepted poor fitting tights as the norm This inspired her to really look into solving this problem, and her search for suppliers began. ➤ Knew the numbers Before launch, Brie’s focus to really get a grip on her numbers really paid off. Since the sales were through DTC, she knew she needed: → 25% of revenue back into marketing → First-order profit → Small seed round to fund initial stock order Armed with the validation from the survey and some strong number-crunching, Snag launched. They cleared £300k/mo in under a year. The emphasis of being profitable from the first order was key to allow her to scale forward and further invest in marketing. ➤ Applied Zero-Party Data & Customer Service This is where Brie’s data-oriented approach really shone a light on how Snag scaled rapidly. The pandemic caused havoc for many brands, including Snag. Over 60% of the business disappeared overnight, and they went into negative. They had Facebook debt that had to be paid. Fast. Or Snag would die. That’s when Brie turned to her customers for answers. Her customers suggested a brilliant offer: 2 tights for the price of one, but the second pair gets sent in 6 months. The offer worked - Snag survived. And eventually thrived. This was a genius idea to help relate to her customers. ➤  Applied the ‘3-Piece’ DTC Law Finally, Brie understood the fundamental law of DTC. → Commitment to customer service → Great product experience → Solve a big problem Since all 3 were checked, the rest was down to semantics, unit economics, and following marketing fundamentals. ➤  Final Thoughts As a data analyst, Brie’s final words of advice were super impactful and really hit home. Yes, data is important, but it’s even more important that each data point is an actual human being, not just a number on a spreadsheet. Combining the importance of data with the understanding that each data point is a human is a brilliant formula for growth. What else would you add?

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If this metric is lagging in your studio... It can have major ripple effects. What’s the metric? >>Conversion Rate<< Studios often think they have a “marketing problem.” In reality...they have a “conversion problem.” Here’s what I mean… Conversion Rate Impact: → Imagine increasing CR from 15% to 40% → For every (100) intro packs sold → That's (40) new members  → Instead of (15) new members Cost Per Acquisition: → With a higher CR… → Your investment per new members plummets. → Instead of casting a wide net for minimal returns... → You're strategically investing in targeted conversions. → Making your marketing dollars are MORE effective. → (Bringing in more members for less) The Revenue Reality: → This is where the difference is felt → With an average monthly membership of $150 → At a conversion rate of 15% → You’re making $2,250/month With a conversion rate of 40%? You’re making $6,000/month. Annually, that's the difference between… $27,000 and $72,000. Yes, you read that right. So do you have a marketing problem? Or a conversion problem? #boutiquefitness #fitness #fitnessindustry #fitnesstrends #innovation #digitalmarketing

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Sure, your BFCM performance might look great, but are you measuring the right metrics? Too often, brands get caught up in shiny numbers. Conversion rates, average order values, net revenue... Don’t get me wrong…  They’re important. But if you’re not prioritizing ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) as your North Star, you’re missing the bigger picture. Here’s why ARPU is King, especially during BFCM: 1️⃣ It tells a more complete story. ARPU blends conversion rate *and* average order value into one cohesive view of performance. Instead of focusing on who converted and who didn’t, ARPU tells you exactly how much revenue each user is generating. 2️⃣ It uncovers hidden trends across segments. Break it down by traffic source, device, or landing page. For example: - Your paid social campaigns might drive more conversions through one landing page, but another LP might drive higher order value. → ARPU will capture that and help you started to make more informed decisions.     - Meanwhile, email drives insane conversion rate and AOV from repeat buyers who push ARPU sky-high. → Segmenting these users can give you a clearer picture on performance.    Without segmenting ARPU, you’re flying blind. 3️⃣ It skyrockets during BFCM → if you’re doing it right. During Black Friday Cyber Monday, ARPU should absolutely go up. Here’s what we see across top-performing brands: - At least a 30–50% boost in ARPU during these high-intent shopping periods. → Why? Scarcity. Time-sensitive offers. Customers ready to buy now.    So, how do you prioritize the right metrics this BFCM? 👉 Start with ARPU and track it relentlessly across channels. 👉 Segment it to identify which sources drive the most value → not just volume. 👉 Don’t be fooled by vanity metrics. BFCM isn’t just about maximizing conversions. It’s about maximizing the value of every user who lands on your site. Because if you’re not lifting ARPU now, you’ll struggle to increase profitability for the long term. P.S. Ever looked at APPU? Average Profit Per User. This actually isn’t that hard to pull into GA4. Most brands don’t, but this would be a more ideal north star. Especially during BFCM where most brands cut their profitability off at the legs.

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Some of my favorite hooks: (Mostly for short-form videos that sell physical products) “My secret weapon is…” “This is already sold out…” “After I saw this {social media platform}…” “Don't buy this…” “The #1 recommended {product}...”  “This new {product}...” “This is how {famous person} does {interesting thing}...”  “Did you know…” First, sell the value of paying attention to the video. Then, sell the product. That’s how you create high-performing posts and ads. P.S. My UGC marketplace helps you find proven creators and get persuasive content made for affordable prices.  Hit the “visit my website” button to check it out.

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What $100M in affiliate marketing spend taught me about choosing the right deal structure In my career, I’ve managed over $100M in affiliate marketing spend, and one thing is crystal clear: Choosing the right deal structure can make or break your growth. If you pick the wrong one, you risk inefficient marketing spending, longer payback periods, and slower growth. But when you get it, right? You’ll reduce CAC, boost ROI, and accelerate your company’s trajectory. Here’s my breakdown of the best deal structures for each stage of a company’s lifecycle: 👉🏻 1 - You’re a start-up or aggressively expanding. CPA is your go-to here. Paying a fixed amount per customer might seem pricey at first, but it’s great for quickly growing the user base. With iGaming CPA rates ranging from $70 to $150 (outside the US), you can shorten your payback period if your customer LTV is high. 👉🏻 2 - You’re focused on lead generation (CPL). CPL is less risky, as you only pay for leads, not conversions. However, a strong follow-up strategy is needed to convert those leads into paying customers. Fraud is also a big issue. 👉🏻 3 - You’re promoting your mobile app. CPI (Cost Per Install) is perfect for the mobile era. The average CPI for iOS in the US is around $2.07 for iGaming, but post-install engagement is key. Without it, you won’t monetise those installs effectively. 👉🏻 4 - You’re a mature company with a solid customer retention strategy. A revenue share deal works best here. Sharing lifetime customer earnings (usually split 50/50 or 60/40) can ensure a steady income stream. Affiliates are also motivated to drive more traffic, knowing they’ll benefit over the long term. Plus, the initial investment is smaller, and there’s no payback period to worry about. 👉🏻 5 - You’re a mature brand looking for a mixed approach The hybrid model combines the strengths of CPA/CPI, which offer immediate returns, with the longer-term gains of revenue share. This balance is excellent for mature brands that want flexibility. Matching your affiliate deal structure to your company’s stage can optimise your marketing budget, improve payback periods, and fuel sustainable growth. The key is to regularly reevaluate and adjust your approach as your brand evolves. What’s been your most successful deal structure?

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🛒 🚀 SHOPIFY BRANDS: Shot a Loom on the most underrated ads playbook to scale your Ecom fast & profitably 💰💰 7 & 8-fig Shopify brands pay us $10K+/month to build & run this playbook.   It’s the same system we’ve used to stack wins like these:   - Help many Ecoms get to 8-figs, even $50M+ - Acquire millions of profitable paying customers - 3X ad ROAS while 2X’ing spend for 7 & 8-fig Ecoms (in 3 months)   What our customers say: “Our acquisition costs have dropped measurably in a challenging market.” - eCom Founder & CEO “Helped us grow more predictably, repeatedly, & sustainably in 3 months.” - eCom CMO “The single biggest revenue producer at our company.” - Founder “A go-to resource for digital/growth marketing.”  - VC & Managing Partner   Like & comment, and I’ll DM you the vid.

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Bleame has one of the best PDPs I've ever seen... All their ads run to this single page. I have no doubts they: -> Tested all the details on this page -> Tried tons of different messaging angles -> Had incredible growth in their industry because of it That's why I analyzed their main sales page. And covered how they: -> Position their upsells & free gifts for higher AOV -> Drive scarcity & urgency with their offer -> Build trust with well-positioned social proof See the carousel for a full breakdown.

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Stop looking at site-wide Conversion Rates (They're lying to you) Most founders lose sleep over this one metric. It's the wrong approach. Here's what skews your conversion rate: 1. Traffic Sources 📍 ↳ Google Ads converts at 4% ↳ Instagram converts at 1% ↳ Both could be winning 2. Customer Temperature 🌡️ ↳ Email list: High intent ↳ Cold traffic: Low intent ↳ Different sources = different baselines 3. Product Types 🛍️ ↳ $20 items convert at 5% ↳ $500 items convert at 0.5% ↳ Both could be profitable 4. Seasonality 📅 ↳ Holiday spikes ↳ Summer dips ↳ Industry cycles 5. Market Forces 🌍 ↳ Economic shifts ↳ Competitor moves ↳ Consumer trends The truth? There's no such thing as a "good" conversion rate. It's all context. --- Follow me for more e-commerce insights

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Lead gen doesn’t need to be complicated. Here’s a simple and effective process that will serve you well till you hit around $1M/year Create a list of 100 target companies that fit your ICP Find at least one – ideally two – contacts at each company (depending on your revenue requirements this is likely either the Founder or Head of Marketing) Craft a simple 3-4 sentence cold pitch template with a "hole" in the middle for personalization (here’s what I’d include in that) Spend 5-8 minutes finding specific opportunities/issues with their website Copy and paste the template copy into an email and add the customization (this email should be from YOUR actual personal business inbox) Send at least two of these emails each day. That will take you about seven hours in total, and you’ll have about 40 pitches to show for it. At a 5% response rate that's two qualified leads a month. This may not sound very exciting. And it's not the LinkedIn BS you see all the time about “100 booked appointments a week!". Yet the fact is, those services mostly book you crap in high volume that's completely unqualified. Put in the time to treat this more like ABM and it will work. This is hard to scale. Yet to be honest, you don't need offers that scale until you're well past $1M/year. Happy pitching

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If you've been told, "You can't get better than 1:1 ROAS in Meta," you're being lied to. Here's the mistake we see too many DTC brands (or agencies working with brands) make: ➝ Running highest volume awareness campaigns to boost metrics ➝ Not getting efficient conversions and direct business impact ➝ Blaming the "algorithm" and not running enough creative We refuse to make that mistake — you need a fundamentally different process for fundamentally different results. Here's how we operate at Kynship: 1. Using financial forecasting to set benchmarks If you don't know first order profitability (based on unit economics), how can you expect to run profitable ads? This is where most agencies mess up, not digging into your numbers and creating an accurate forecast based on profitable CPA targets. 2. Collect and source as much creative as possible Anything you have in Google Drives, Dropbox folders, ad accounts, etc. is creative leverage. In most cases, we also supplement existing creative with influencer seeding to generate a large volume of native, organic content to be leveraged in ads. 3. Leverage high volume against cost controls Remember our forecasting and profitable CPA targets? We're setting those as benchmarks in your Meta ads, then pushing as much creative as we can to unlock potential winners. By using cost controls, anything Meta spends against will be profitable, meeting your target ROAS (whether it's 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, etc.). Any questions about our performance marketing approach? Let me know 🤝 

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What I love about this post is how Retention.com openly discusses its new phase as a company. They’ve evolved from focusing on a single segment to offering multiple adjacent products serving that segment. Multi-product companies tend to have higher success rates but also face unique challenges like bureaucracy and more meetings. All the best Retention.com

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There's a CLEAR difference between good and bad UGC creators. After scaling multiple DTC brands, I can tell you the secret: Good UGC creators understand: -> Sales psychology -> Customer pain points -> What actually drives conversions Bad UGC creators only know: -> Good lighting -> Camera angles -> How to highlight product features The thing is, the best UGC isn’t about making your product look pretty. It’s about getting inside the mind of your customer and understanding their problems. High-converting videos can often look “worse,” in fact. As I said, most UGC creators are just influencers who bought a ring light. But a few of them are marketers, who learned short form content second. Find these creators and pay them well. It’ll be the best thing you do for your brand. — Ian Sells

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FAQ: What commission level should I set for my TikTok Shop affiliates? Answer: The HIGHEST amount you are able to pay based on margins. The more attractive the commission offer, the more affiliates you'll activate and retain. THE MATH IS SIMPLE👇 If you have 80% margin on $100 product, after seller fees, you'd have the following contribution margin (variable profit) in these commission scenarios: 10% commission: $64 20% commission: $54 30% commission: $44 40% commission: $34 50% commission: $24 Once again, the higher commission you offer, the higher the: - # of affs that'll post - # of affs that'll post again - # of aff impressions - $$ affs will generate organically for your Shop - # of reviews you will generate on your products - # of "winner" creatives to scale w/ paid media - the halo effects on retail, Amazon & DTC channels You need to play with the numbers & see what each bump in commission does to the number of affiliate orders each month, but would you rather have: 100 orders paying out 10% commission = $6,400 CM or 150 orders paying out 20% commission = $8,100 CM Obviously the 150 orders at double the commish! Lets run a less obvious scenario... Would you rather have: 200 orders paying out 10% commission = $12,800 CM or 500 orders paying out 50% commission = $12,000 CM Honestly, I'd rather have 500 orders with $800 less in profit than 200 orders with $800 more in profit. Profit is profit. At least in the relatively early days in a Shop. Simply put: If you're generating 2.5x more orders, you're likely generating 2.5x more "free" impressions, w/ 2.5x more halo effects on your other channels. Aka 2.5x more brand awareness at nearly the same PROFIT. This only helps strengthen your brand and improve marketing efficiency ratio in the later innings. Momentum is everything and it compounds. Affiliate marketing via social commerce is such a beautiful thing b/c you have a fixed % acquisition cost that you set & KNOW will be profitable to you. Run some mini experiments at diff commish levels and track what it does to your new affiliate & existing affiliate activation numbers. Now you're ready to go build your Affiliate Army 🚀

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