Brett Dashevsky

What’s the future of influencer marketing? 🤔 In the latest episode of eCom Pulse, I sat down with Ryan Schram, President and COO of IZEA, to explore the exciting landscape of the creator economy. Ryan shares IZEA’s journey from the early days of the industry to becoming a global leader in influencer marketing, offering practical advice on: 🔹 Implementing integrated marketing strategies 🔹 Building and leveraging community-driven and advocate marketing 🔹 Differentiating between influencers, ambassadors, UGC, and CGC 🔹 Staying agile and using technology effectively in marketing Don’t miss this conversation with Ryan Schram - https://lnkd.in/ek-bxcxQ #eComPulse #InfluencerMarketing #CreatorEconomy #MarketingStrategies #IZEA

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🚀 Building a D2C Brand in the Trenches: 5 Unfiltered Lessons from the Founders of AWARE Hair 🚀 The other week LyveCom and Callista Media hosted a Q4 kick-off with some amazing CPG/DTC founders in LA. If you’re in #DTC, you know it’s a battlefield out there. Between rising CACs, competing with retail giants, and celebrity brands flooding the market, it’s hard to stand out. But in our recent Founder Trenches interview, AWARE Hair’s founders, Jade Wong and David, shared what it takes to push through — and it’s packed with insights every DTC founder should hear. 💥 Here are the 5 biggest takeaways: 🚀 Mission-Driven Brands Win the Long Game AWARE Hair is relentless in its mission: clean, professional-grade haircare tackling real scalp issues like dandruff and hair loss. They didn’t just launch with a product — they launched with a purpose. Brands that are clear about why they exist outlast those focused solely on what they sell. Ditch the Discounts — Build Trust Instead Instead of deep Black Friday discounts or signup codes, Aware Hair keeps prices fair year-round. Their reasoning? Quality ingredients speak louder than discounts. For DTC brands, the lesson is clear: Don’t race to the bottom on pricing. Build trust with your audience instead. ✅ Go Where the Giants Aren’t The haircare space is a “red ocean” with celebrities and conglomerates everywhere. Aware Hair found a way to swim against the current by partnering with salons — an untapped channel where they can give small business owners a top-tier product for their clients. Don’t be afraid to explore lesser-known paths to reach your ideal customer. ✅ Stand for Transparency When they say “100% natural fragrance,” they mean it. While most brands hide behind thousands of “fragrance” chemicals, Aware Hair’s transparency sets them apart. Today’s consumers value transparency, so keep it real about what goes into your products. ✅ Invest in Self-Belief (It’s Harder Than You Think!) Jade and David came from corporate backgrounds, battled imposter syndrome, and built their brand anyway. They believe that success starts with an unshakeable belief in what you’re doing. As founders, it’s easy to doubt, but this belief fuels your journey and keeps you going through the toughest times. 👇👇 What’s been your biggest challenge in the DTC world? Let’s get real in the comments! 📢 Check out AWARE Hair at AwareHair.com — they’re leading the charge on redefining natural, effective haircare. #DTC #FounderLessons #Ecommerce #BrandBuilding #AwareHair

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ICYMI: Our VRNation (formerly NWVRP) panel covered pressing issues like where to invest marketing dollars and how to work with marketing agencies to get the best results. But most importantly we talked about investing in your brand to build equity that shows a return in repeat guests, five star reviews, and referrals to get new properties in your program. This is the handout we shared during our session. Posting it here in case it's helpful for anyone else - and thanks to those who attended! It was a great discussion! Shaina Anderegg Tera Lorimer

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"they will manage inbound sponsorship requests but don’t see the value of putting in the effort in proactive outreach..." If your agency/agent isn't pounding the pavement for you, tell them to kick rocks. Simply negotiating contracts is the bare minimum and the modern talent agency should be: - Actively prospecting into brands/agencies to source brand deals - Providing resources to scale content creation - Collaborating with their clients to build media kits - Guiding their clients on personal brand development - And providing media and brand safety training If they're not, they're leaving serious $$$ on the table. #influencermarketing #sportsmarkeing #talentmanagement

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Creator-led brands are leading the next wave of $1B+ consumer brands like Feastables and Skims. Want to learn how? Come join us tomorrow (Thursday) at VidCon at 10:45a. I'll be joined by an amazing panel -- Jacquelyn Kalić, Saurabh Shah, Jon Leland, and Lauren Schnipper as we dive into these trends (and how to get started!) Whether you want to sell hot sauces, candies, apparel, digital subscriptions, or more, we're here to discuss how to grow your brand from $0-$10M, $10-$100M, and eventually $100M-$1B. And how creators-led brands are at the forefront of driving this success.

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Great insights from Guy Marion, Chargebee's CMO, in a recent article for Forbes on how changing consumer behaviors are fueling a significant shift in the subscription economy. As consumers constantly reevaluate their subscriptions, businesses must adapt by prioritizing high-quality products, personalized experiences, and ongoing improvement to meet changing customer needs. Check out the full article here: https://okt.to/KTdonV

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👀 If you're in a fundraising round, BrightPulse Marketing put together a blog post to help you secure that funding, including actual pitch decks from brands like Yammer and Peloton. ✅ Check out How to Use Marketing Concepts in Your Fundraising Pitch: bit.ly/4ha0W0A #StartupMarketing #Entrepreneurs #BrightPulse #Startup #Solopreneur #Fundraising #Preseed #Seriesa #Funding

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I can’t stop thinking about the 100M+  podcast deals that made headlines last week: Alex Copper signed with SiriusXM for $125M & New Heights signed with Wondery for $100M. After a slowdown last year, when Spotify & others started to tighten their budgets, networks are re-opening their wallets in big ways.  But how will these companies recoup these massive guaranteed costs? If they raise CPMs to cover expenses, will advertisers receive proportional value? - I’ve heard rumors that CPMs for these big shows are up in the $60-$90 range vs. the average $25-$35. Are these deals more about capturing audiences, with companies accepting short-term financial losses for long-term gains? It’s great to see the value of creator-led content rising and top creators thriving. But what does this mean for the rest of the industry? One positive shift is the move away from exclusive distribution. Shows are now available across all podcast apps, reflecting a common understanding that more distribution is better for all. It will be interesting to see how everything else plays out. What do you think?

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Excited to host a panel of experts at Affiliate Summit East (July 29-30, NYC) as we dive deep into uniting Sales and Marketing teams 🚀 We'll be uncovering: ✅ Sales and marketing alignment strategies ✅ Metrics to keep your teams on the same page ✅ Tactics to boost collaboration ✅ Actionable playbook strategies Hope to see you there! #ASE23 #PerformanceMarketing #AffiliateMarketing #ROI

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With 82% of consumers making purchasing decisions from video, brands that haven’t optimized for video marketing miss out on massive opportunities. In my latest Forbes article, I unpack the importance of video marketing for maximizing ROI. Video marketing helps with social engagement, improves SEO, and builds brand loyalty at every stage of the buyer's journey.  #VideoMarketing #DigitalStrategy #MarketingROI Read my full article on Forbes. https://lnkd.in/ejiieh28

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The immediacy of social media changed the game for marketers. We can no longer spend months crafting the perfect campaign – we need to adopt an agile approach, tapping into current trends quickly with fun and engaging content. Music plays a crucial role on all platforms, but particularly TikTok - 88% of users say that sound is essential to the TikTok experience. It’s particularly effective for conveying brand identity and driving purchase decisions (every marketer’s ultimate goal). 🎵 We're thrilled to continue our partnership with TikTok to bring its Commercial Music Library into Adobe Express through the Symphony Assistant add-on. This partnership empowers marketers and advertisers to quickly create and publish professional, on-trend TikTok content at the speed of social. With a library spanning all styles, genres, and regions, the TikTok Commercial Music Library offers businesses access to over a million songs and sounds. This streamlines the process of licensing music, making it easier and more affordable, while enabling brands to be more agile and responsive in the dynamic world of social media. #TikTok #CreativityForAll #AdobeExpress 

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🔥 CASE STUDY ALERT: Wonder how G FUEL Generated Over $200K in 30 minutes? Faced with the challenge of converting high social engagement into actual sales during their Chucky and Warner Bros. Entertainment launch event, GFuel knew they needed more than just traditional marketing tactics. They initially tried leveraging influencers and exclusive offers, but still needed that extra 'oomph' to drive conversions. Enter LyveCom. 🌟 Our bespoke streaming platform empowered GFuel’s influencers to host a pre-launch exclusive livestream driving FOMO and collecting a bunch of zero-party data. Not only did we host the stream on GFuels Shopify site, but we maximized reach by broadcasting out to X Twitch Meta YouTube. The result? A staggering $200K+ in attributed revenue and a 9.46% conversion rate. 📈 Read their full success story 👇👇👇

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Large followings do not equate to strong engagement. With our Engagement Score, brands will know how well creators' posts perform. Spots are filling fast in our brand launch program. Don't miss out! It's completely free with no strings attached! Email [email protected] or reach out to me directly for more info #brands #influencermarketing #content #marketing #innovation #future

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As a podcaster, scaling up is about more than just reaching a larger audience—it’s about enhancing your podcast’s quality, consistency, and impact. If you’re starting to notice these signs, you might be ready to level up your podcast with the help of a professional post-production team: 🎧 Your Content is Consistent, But It’s Getting Harder to Keep Up You’ve been uploading episodes regularly, but the editing and production are starting to eat up more time than you can spare. A post-production team can help streamline this process, ensuring your episodes are polished and released on schedule without burning out. 📈 Engagement is Increasing, But You Want to Take It to the Next Level Your listeners are interacting with your content more than ever, but you want to make sure your podcast stands out. A post-production team can add the right touches—dynamic sound design, optimized intros/outros, and professional editing—to boost engagement even further. ✨ You Have a Clear Vision, But the Technical Side is Holding You Back Your podcast has a solid concept, and you’re clear on the value you want to deliver to your audience. However, you’re finding that the technical aspects of podcast production (like audio quality, mastering, or video content) are slowing you down. This is where a post-production team comes in, bringing technical expertise that aligns with your vision. 🎙️ You’re Considering Collaborations and Sponsorships, But You Need a Polished Product When you start thinking about working with guests, sponsors, or cross-promoting with other podcasts, you’ll need to make sure your content is polished and professional. A post-production team can ensure that each episode sounds crisp and is aligned with your brand’s tone, making it appealing to potential partners. 💡 You Want to Expand Beyond Audio (But Don’t Have the Time or Skills) If you’re considering adding video content, promoting on social media, or monetizing your podcast, you’ll need a team that can handle the extra work. A post-production team can help with video editing, creating engaging thumbnails, and optimizing your content for social platforms, giving you the time to focus on what you do best—creating great episodes. If you’re seeing any of these signs, it’s a clear indication that it might be time to bring in a post-production team to help you scale your podcast successfully. Ready to up your podcasting game? Let’s connect! 🎧✨ #PodcastGrowth #PodcastProduction #ScalingYourPodcast #PodcastingSuccess #ContentCreation #AudioEditing #PostProduction #PodcastStrategy #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketing

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I think more DTC brands should be taking notes on Death Wish Coffee. There are a few things that stand out to me (that most DTC brands aren't doing): 1. Obsession with the product and the "look." 2. A truly stacked subscription offer. 3. Site copy that makes you look twice. Here, I break down why these three tactics from Death Wish Coffee Company should be on every DTC brand's radar:

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At most networking events… Business owners shake hands, exchange business cards, and go home. HumanX has a different approach. You’ll be paired together in 1:1 conversations with investors & AI startups. You’re not just adding people to your rolodex. Deals will be made.

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