Rand Fishkin

How did we help nearly triple installs for a Shopify app client in 1 year? First you have to have the proper foundation for growth. When we started in early 23'; our focus was on brand and defining our acquisition strategy. These are time consuming processes & don't always = immediate growth. We also realized that we were missing some depth in the way of onboarding flows to help with TTV (time to value); so we got setup with ActiveCampaign & built out the API to sync with a variety of feature / time based actions that timed with emails. This is also built out by plan type (we have 3). Once we had some of these elements in place; we looked at acquisition strategies. - SEO for Shopify apps is $$ as you the app listing page is where the transactions occur; so even though driving traffic to webpage is important; conversion rate can be less than ideal; so we employed a tactic of reaching to blogs / publications that were doing lists & aggregating info on our sector; and building relationships with them to list our site via affiliate program / backlink to our app store. So instead of spending $$$ on SEO we focused on relationships & being where the searches were already occurring. - Dialing in our paid strategy. We initially started with Google, Shopify App Store, Meta, LinkedIn & Reddit for paid channels. We were spending about 45% of our budget in App Store; with rest spread b/t other channels. LinkedIn was honestly a bust; just too expensive for a <$100 a month SaaS tool & many of our ICP (ecomm biz owners) did not seem to be as active on the platform as we hoped. After spending 2 quarters analyzing CAC, CAC payback period, & trial to conversion rate; we realized that Google wasn't as attractive as a channel as it looked on paper. It also took finding a 3rd party tool App Store Analytics to help tease this out as we weren't initially able to follow source data all the way through install given Shopify App store guardrails. With Google; were getting a lot of installs / clicks; but those customers weren't sticking around & many weren't even converting to paid. So we dialed back our Google spend & reinvested that in hiring a more focused Shopify ad expert (Omer Linhard) & really focusing our efforts on that area. We were able to reduce our CPI (cost per install) by 40-50% & slowly scale spend up to closer to 75% of our ad budget. We ran cold layers on Reddit & Meta; but attribution wasn't ideal; so we paused Meta & left Reddit on as a retargeting layer. - We started a partner program. This now basically runs itself on <$250 a month. We have an outbound campaign setup, a link on our website & we have a Slack channel. We net b/t 10-15 new clients per month through this channel at essentially a $0 CAC. We pay the affiliates 20% of the contract value for 1st 12 months; & we're finding that the affiliates are sharing it amongst themselves; so we're adding b/t 5-10 new affiliates each month. Currently this is generating almost 3K in MRR.

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42% of people say they'd choose to work with someone they found on YouTube over someone who hasn't. Cohort playlists are a great way to surround a common ICP with education and TLC. Solve problems for prospects as a herd to prosper as a herd. What YouTube will do for you: 👉 Solves your sales and marketing problem 👉 Accelerates the know, like, and trust factor 👉 Delivers relaxed sales meetings with pre-sold contacts #YouTubeMarketing #CohortPlaylists #MasterClass #ProspectEngagement #BuildRapport #ICPEducation #TLCMarketing #ProblemSolving #BusinessGrowth #CustomerSuccess #SalesStrategy #ContentMarketing #CommunityLearning #SalesFunnels #VideoMarketing

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AdAttributionKit: Unpacking Apple’s new ad attribution framework AAK unifies Apple’s various advertising attribution frameworks under a single umbrella product name and extends SKAdNetwork in meaningful ways, including with support for re-engagement and alternative app marketplaces. These are substantive improvements. But impediments to adoption remain: IP-based attribution is still widely viewed as a suitable alternative to Apple’s native iOS attribution framework, meaning that platform tools like Conversion APIs will take adoption priority.

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How do you do messaging for multiple ICPs? What do you do when one of these scenarios applies? · Expanding from one ICP to two (or more) · Needing to talk to several ICPs at once · Messaging when you're a multi-product company · Writing home page copy for multiple audiences Anthony Pierri 🎸and I are gonna talk about it for 60mis, and discuss what makes sense when. We'll share our overall thinking about the matter, but will mostly focus on audience Q&A. Come join us next Wed (June 12) to discuss this topic. Bring your questions. Free event. Registration link in the comments.

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Here’s how we built more pipeline from Saastr and Dreamforce with a GA ticket (or sometimes even no ticket) vs. some companies that paid $50k+ for booths. Rule #1: The rule of thirds I used to approach conferences with the sole goal of building pipeline. I was stressed and in the wrong mindset, which led to transactional conversations. People want to have authentic conversations without a premeditated agenda. I now believe conversations should roughly split into the following buckets: 1) Business problems and whether Bluebirds might be helpful. This is what leads to pipeline in the near-term. 2) Talking about where the market is going (e.g. AI and sales). This is usually with C-Suite (it’s often why they’re attending the conference) and on-the-ground employees like AEs or BDRs. 3) Swapping notes on company building. This is primarily with other founders, and it’s a fantastic way to meet and learn from experienced builders. The important thing is to let go of every conversation being about pipeline. I usually don’t bring up Bluebirds unless asked. Don’t be that person who hyper-analyzes name-tags to corner decision makers. Focus on learning and great conversations, and pipeline will follow. Rule #2: 80% of the game is in the side events This one is counter-intuitive — the actual event is usually the least interesting part of a conference. Most reputable conferences have a cottage-industry of happy hours, brunches, dinners, etc. hosted by companies in the space. They’re free to attend and you just need to track down lists of these events (they always exist) and sign up. Side events have more focused groups of people (e.g. a brunch for CMOs), so it’s easier to meet people and have high quality conversations. Rule #3: It’s all in the follow up Last year, I struggled to stay organized with conversations and track follow up. When you’re meeting 20 people a day, it’s tough to remember what was discussed with each person. Now, after a great conversation I always ask to connect on LinkedIn. Have them connect with you (not the other way around) so you can accept their connection request one day later and immediately follow up via LinkedIn DMs. If I felt like they’re leaning into Bluebirds and we can be helpful, I’ll ask to pull up calendars and schedule time for a follow up right there, or exchange phone numbers. If your follow up takes more than 24 hours after meeting, or you’re unable to get ahold of someone, your process is broken and you should re-think your approach to staying in touch. These 3 changes made a huge impact to my experience at conferences, how much fun I have, and building pipeline. Anyone else at Saastr / Dreamforce have advice or tips they’ve learned? Sriharsha Guduguntla Atul Raghunathan Oliver Johnson Albert Wang Zaid Khan Max Clang Avishek Roy

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Back in 1997, The New York Times highlighted a “Roundtable in Multimedia” attended by senior media executives. They lamented that apart from a few exceptions like pornography websites and Amazon, no one had cracked the code for a viable 'interactive' media business model. Fast forward to 2024, and Fable has launched Showrunner, a revolutionary platform known as the “Netflix of AI" , which allows users to create their own TV shows with just a few prompts. 📺✨ The way we create and consume content has evolved dramatically. But what does "interactive media" really mean today? We break it down, exploring how it intersects with massive shifts in technology, culture, and new media. And how with a growing "Swipe before Type" generation, there is now an ingrained expectation of interactivity in all digital experiences. We dive into the future of interactive media and gaming and see where we're headed next! Link in comments. #InteractiveMedia #Gaming #AI #TechRevolution #ContentCreation #NewMedia

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3 years of pricing lessons at Equals condensed into one blog post. Since starting the company, we've tinkered a lot with pricing and packaging. It's one of the single most impactful levers early stage companies can pull. I think folks *don't* experiment with pricing enough, or take big enough bets when they do. We've tried free. We've tried completely sales led. We've tried not listing pricing on the site. Matt Hodges details all the plans we've had, why, and what we've learned in our latest installment on Wrap Text. https://lnkd.in/ecckEDba

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New World of DaaS drop! 🎙️ Attention economy, freedom of the press, and the future of media with Chris Best, Substack CEO We dive into content monetization, AI creative tools, and why subscriptions are underrated.

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Google has unplugged the Open Web’s life support. Ads in AI Overviews — which Google stated plainly were imminent at I/O back in May — change the incentive structure of both Google Search and web publishing more generally. As I wrote when AI Overviews were introduced: “Google doesn’t need all publishers to survive to preserve value with Search, just those willing to sell their data for the purposes of AI training. If the fortunes of Google’s Network business are structurally challenged — for whatever reason — then Google has no incentive to preserve the publishers that are dependent on it.” Once publishers begin selling their data to Google to train Gemini en masse, as Reddit and many others have done, then it’s a race to do so as advertising revenue declines with “organic” Google traffic. In just the last two weeks, both CNN and The Verge have either introduced or hinted at introducing paywalls. If Google becomes not just the nexus of content discovery but also of content consumption, the business model of the Open Web for many content categories simply breaks.

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Google's delay on banning third-party cookies might seem like a reprieve, but is it a missed opportunity for brands to rethink their data strategies? Google has postponed its plan to phase out third-party cookies, offering a temporary relief for brands. However, experts argue that this delay shouldn't derail companies from exploring more reliable data collection methods. With browsers like Safari and Firefox already limiting cookies and consumer expectations rising, the focus should shift to enhancing zero- and first-party data practices. Investing in these methods can lead to better personalization and compliance with increasing privacy regulations. Read More Here: https://lnkd.in/e3-M3cKM CX Dive Bryan Wassel Hospitality Hangout Podcast Branded Hospitality Ventures #Google #marketing #Data #hospitality Jane Kim Hong Rob Yayac Lena Katib Zahlan Jennifer Langholz Oren Lefkowitz Lior Noy Christopher "CTM" Thomas-Moore Haley Moskow Natalia Bergamaschi

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There’s a lot of talk about lead magnets and offers these days. I’m most bullish on lightweight / free SaaS tools as the starting point of a broader SaaS acquisition funnel. Here’s an example - a free a simple SERP output, from a much more sophisticated SEO tool provider: https://lnkd.in/e6-zARtr The ultimate is giving away something that is already personalized for a respective lead, which is a lot trickier… Anyone have fav examples of this tactic in action?

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Customer Results Alert: Cozy Earth 🛏️ Cozy Earth recovered $61,286 in 30 days - 123.3x ROI 💥 Stop coupon extensions from leaking and auto-injecting codes at your checkout (in 5mins) with Veeper. Have coupon code leaks and over-paying commissions been a problem? Let's chat! #eCommerce #Shopify #Veeper #dtc #stopcouponleaks

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We see websites and social media posts from startup founders and it all looks so cool and glamorous 😎 Alina Vandenberghe shares what it took to bootstrap Chili Piper, in her podcast with Adam Robinson Spoiler alert - it involves selling her house 🏠 😅 #Founder #Stories

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Woah - Massive Google Algorithm Leak! 14,000+ Ranking Features I had another post I had written last night ready to go out today until I started seeing this news this morning. Crazy timing of this with SGE coming out, makes you wonder why that is. Here are a few of the highlights so far: - Content & User Interactions: These are major factors in rankings. - Domain Authority: Google uses a "siteAuthority" metric, contrary to public claims. - Click Data: It is a part of ranking, via NavBoost. - Sandboxing: New sites are sandboxed before ranking. - Chrome Data: User data from Chrome influences rankings. This info is a game-changer for SEO, with a large focus on user engagement. Feel free to check out more here from the sources I found on this: - Barry Schwartz https://lnkd.in/eDsqBUpk - Rand Fishkin https://lnkd.in/ezMTBc3E - Michael King https://lnkd.in/e3qbd486 #SEO #Google #GoogleAlgorithm #DigitalMarketing #SEOTrends #marketingtips #marketingstrategy

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Despite tightening marketing budgets, in-person events continue to be a core marketing channel for B2B SaaS companies. According to Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC, in person trade shows and events are the leading area of marketing spend for 2024, with 38% percent of respondents saying that exhibiting or sponsoring in-person conferences will be a tactic they employ. It’s clear marketers understand the value but with budget pressures and a move towards efficient and sustainable growth, 41% say the pressure to prove the value of their marketing efforts is high. For events in particular, justifying the spend and proving the ROI is more important than ever. In our latest blog post, we look at the different ways to sponsor events, why events remain a core B2B SaaS marketing channel, and run through three ways to measure the ROI of your event marketing efforts. Blog post first in comments section. How are you measuring ROI for Events? #Events #conferences #ROI #marketing #saas #B2B #saastock2024

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Huge News...today, Contractor Commerce launched AI within the platform. That's right. We've been working behind the scenes for months to harness the power of AI to help contractors get EVEN MORE value from their online stores. Today we rolled out the first of several major AI enhancements with 5 awesome customers who wanted to pioneer this new layer of technology alongside us. Ecommerce for contractors is already working - turning website visitors into $$. But we're never satisfied. We wake up every day, listen to our customers, and invest in our platform to help contractors make more money and build thriving companies. We won't stop until every contractor has an online store....now powered by AI. If you want to learn more or supercharge your company website with AI-powered ecommerce, message me. https://lnkd.in/g2YzpAuc #AI #HVAC #ecommerce #contractors

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Don't let your CRO strategies fall short! If your CRO efforts aren't delivering results, you might be overlooking a critical element: qualitative research. Quantitative data shows you what users are doing, but qualitative insights: ✅ Uncover user motivations & pain points ✅ Identifies root causes of behavior ✅ Guides impactful optimizations Start combining qualitative research techniques (user interviews + usability testing) with your analytics data. It allows you to deeply understand your audience, prioritize high-impact changes, and create user-centric, conversion-driving experiences. How will you implement qualitative research to drive real results?

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Restrictive, outdated platforms are leaving potential revenue on the table.  If this strikes a cord, what’s preventing you from making a move? While re-platforms are often thought of as daunting, complicated, and slowwww projects... times have changed. Today, huge and complex re-platforms can happen a lot more seamlessly than you might realize. Last fall, my team at Anatta launched a $1.5B enterprise retailer on a new platform, at 100% DTC capabilities… in just 90 days(!). If you feel stalled or stuck, exploring a more modern, well-optimized platform is likely just what you need. And the benefits of doing so are numerous, including: > Better scalability > Increased speed to market > Effective future-proofing You don’t want to fall behind or get phased out of eCommerce because your platform isn’t as fast, flexible, and scalable as the one your competitors are leveraging.  Not when you have other options at the ready, and technology partners, like our team at Anatta, who can help you move faster.  Not sure when you should move platforms? Not sure what platforms could meet your needs? Shoot me a DM here on LinkedIn. I’m happy to support.  #ecommerceplatform

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