Thomas Schreiber

I’ve never really told you all what I actually do for a living, so here you go Pisgah Peaks Ventures builds & manages fractional marketing team for SMBs that are doing under 10-15 M ARR. The teams could be anywhere from 2 to 20+ individuals. Hiring for PT marketing roles can be a big drain on small businesses. They're unsure of who to hire, how to train, and they def don't want to manage them. This keeps costs in check (no office space here!) + avoids costly benefits / W2 wages. Perfect clients for us? B2B companies with 1-2 internal marketing team members Dispensaries with 2-5 locations. Soloprenuers who are scaling from 6 > 7 figures. A few years ago we started investing into other small businesses & at this point have equity in a handful of other SMBs. The goal? By 45; be able to live off the proceeds of our portfolio and golf 4X a week. To my network.... Tell us What do you do? Why do you do it? Post in the comments!

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Don’t let Leafly and Weedmaps STEAL your non-branded traffic. The majority of the traffic for these marketplaces comes from non-branded searches like: • Dispensary near me • THC gummies • Best strains for anxiety • Dispensary deals With non-branded traffic, consumers are searching for products and information, not the marketplaces themselves. 89% of Leafly’s traffic came from non-branded searches last year. 73% of Weedmaps’ traffic came from non-branded searches last year. (source: Dispense (acquired by AIQ) State of Cannabis SEO report by the OG Jeremy Johnson) That’s why Weedmaps and Leafly invest heavily in SEO to dominate non-branded searches. They know that whoever owns these searches owns the consumer journey. What your dispensary needs to win this battle is a strong SEO strategy that creates high-quality content around non-brand keywords. This will drive traffic to your website and stop Leafly and Weedmps from dominating these searches. You can beat these marketplaces at their own game. We do it for our partners every day. We can do it for you. If you need help, shoot a DM.

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Check out our recent case study for a Shopify website We teamed up with Pinkergreen (who assisted w/ UX & design) Outcomes from work? Conversion rate up ⬆️ 60% Avg order value ⬆️ 7% Upsell value (within 45 days) $8100 SEO up ⬆️ Bounce rate ⬇️ Check out the full case study below with more info on process & outcomes

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We've helped ecom brands generate 14.02x ROAS because of this one thing: ✨ Effective Storyboarding ✨ Brands may have the perfect faces of their brand but the real question is... Can they create the best ads for your campaigns? Often, the skill of great storyboarding is what's missing. At Gumamela Studios, we specialize in Creative Strategy services to take your e-commerce campaigns to the next level through effective storyboarding. We'll dive deep into: 🌺 Brand research → to deeply understand your brand's essence 🌺 Competitor analysis → To identify unique positioning. 🌺 Market research → To grasp audience personas and preferences. All these equip your creators with briefs that pack a punch. Remember, great ads start with great storyboarding. PS. Whether you need a brand refresh or an entirely new creative direction, our team will set your e-commerce brand up for sustainable success. Message me "Storyboarding" ---- I’m Marie, the ambitious island voyager. Follow me Marie Tuason 🌺and ring that bell 🔔 for more Social Strategy, Wellness and Digital Nomad tips 🌱

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We increased this DTC brand’s ad spend 635% while decreasing CAC 25% in just 3 months. Here's how Supergut stepped up their performance marketing with Kynship: (Quick background: Supergut is a gut health brand, selling prebiotic bars, shakes, and fiber mix) Supergut had two key challenges: 1. Growing acquisition costs 2. The need for growth without losing profitability Meta hadn't been a thriving channel for them, producing inconsistent results and spend. The reason? Highest volume campaigns (prioritizing spend over performance), leading to huge spikes and dips in CPA — no matter which spending strategy they used, CAC wasn't improving. This is where Kynship stepped in with a new approach: ➝ High creative volume and diversity (UGC, branded creatives, etc.) ➝ Cost controls instead of highest volume campaigns ➝ Meta ASC, with profitable CPA targets set based per SKU How did we source new creatives? Influencer seeding — with a 34.5% opt-in rate, leading to 141 influencers sharing 231 pieces of media at a 41% post rate (avg. 30%). The results? Combined with Supergut's brand creative and a broader targeting strategy with the efficiency of cost controls, we substantially boosted new customer revenue (799%+) and ad spend (635%+), all while increasing profitability (-25% CPA). Supergut's Head of Marketing Farzad Sharif said this about the partnership: "After hitting a performance plateau with her previous agency, over two quarters with Kynship, we've been able to substantially cut and stabilize our Meta CPA, while concurrently increasing our ad budget many times over — driving unprecedented levels of revenue." If you're an 8-9 figure eCommerce brand and want to see results like this, let's talk about what the Kynship process can do for you

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Quick reminder: more of your cannabis/hemp brand's website visitors will become email signups than customers right away. That means you need to be extremely cognizant that: 1. You have a welcome email sequence/flow 2. It's doing a good job of engaging new people on your list In SEO, we know that: → Some people will be ready to buy right away → Some people want to learn more about your products first → Some people want to learn more about your company first That's why we prioritize building transactional and informational pages that educate people deeply about your specific products and cannabis/hemp in general, while also ensuring your about page is easily accessible. Your welcome email flow should give people similar context; it needs to finish the job your website started. The exact order will vary, but generally, this means some mix of: → Product promotions → Review showcases → Social media showcases → Company story emails Include something for everyone in your welcome flow, because everyone's gonna get it. Don't just think about how to get more people on your site. Think about what happens to them after they become part of your brand's ecosystem.

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What does Pisgah Peaks Ventures do? We build fractional marketing teams, but there is more to it than that. I've waffled on positioning for a while I landed on the tagline "We build fractional teams for the price for 1-2 FTEs" But I knew my website needed an update (been a couple years since one) I don't like to use the word agency. Too many biz owners have been burned . Agencies deliver projects. They don't necessarily "join your team" For more developed companies; sometimes this works just fine. We also custom quote things vs put companies in packages. We save smaller companies from: - W2 wages - Benefits - Training - Equity Nothing wrong with FTEs; but when you're trying to scale a marketing program; you can only hire so many generalists. I've been working on a website revamp & I wanted a short / concise video that conveyed our value prop to visitors. I knew David Pascaru & his firm Purely Imagined from LinkedIn from several years. (This is a great example of why staying active on LinkedIn has value; as I wasn't in market for years; but as soon as I was; he was first person I thought of & closed a deal without much in the way of "sales") He & his team helped me take my vision & create a sleek & easy to understand explainer video that will live on my new home page. Check out the video below & excited to share my updated site later in the quarter.

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Do you own a B2B consulting firm? Here's what you need for your business: - Clear & concise website - Messaging that speaks to pain points - Technically sound SEO for website - Clear value prop Check out some of our most recent work where we helped a Charlotte based Fractional CTO firm revamp their site & messaging & dial in their technical SEO. Hit us up if you're curious about elevating your digital footprint!

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Cannabis operators: get your priorities straight. DON'T invest in SEO until you've: - Put retention marketing systems in place (especially email) - Implemented rewards and referral programs - Honed in ultra-closely on your value prop and target audience - Optimized AOV with product bundles and free shipping - Optimized LTV with subscriptions Do these things and THEN we'll talk about acquiring more customers with SEO. Doing SEO before you've focused on optimizing revenue from your existing customers is like inviting people in, then deciding to clean your house. "But Wells, you literally run an SEO agency" Yeah, but I want to see both of us win. Growth is about doing the right things at the right time, and no sooner. ✌🏻 #CannabisMarketing #SEO

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FOMO is something every brand needs to master in different parts of the customer journey. We've gone from 0 to $80M in the last 5 years. This is what we've learned in the 3 easiest ways to induce FOMO. ✔ Push UGC Not in the standard influencer usage of UGC. Encourage your buyers to share stories, reviews, and photos featuring your products. Here’s the plug-and-play setup: 1)  Create a page on your website dedicated to customer stories.  2)  Social Media Campaigns (make a hashtag)  3)  Contest and Giveaways - Host a contest where users share photos or videos of them using your product for a chance to win a prize. ✔ Leverage Social Proof Include it in your copy. People love reading about the success stories of others, especially first-time buyers. Garners trust for the brand + makes them feel confident that if it worked for others, it’ll work for them too. Do it through email, SMS, ads, or any other content that you push out to your audience. ✔ Create REAL Urgency There’s a few ways you can do this, 1) If you say there are only ten pieces left in stock – once the ten pieces are sold out, you MUST say SOLD OUT. 2) Limited-Edition Products Change up the packaging, sell it only in-store, or the countless other ways to run a limited-edition item. 3) The Countdown Timer Stick a live countdown timer on the page where you’re running a limited-time offer. The reason this method is so effective is because it’s something about actually visualizing time running out that makes buyers start running around like headless chickens. Alright so urgency, social proof, UGC What am I missing?

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Most DTC brands struggle in October. 3 hacks to ensure you grow this month: 1. 𝐏𝐚𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐫-𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 Paid channels are getting hit with higher CPAs ahead of the election and BFCM. To control CAC, we’re incentivizing our TikTok Shop affiliates to post. We're offering increased commission rates and exclusive TTS discounts. 2. 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 One of our brands had 190 TikToks created from affiliates last month. Content that performs organically usually crushes on paid channels. Secure those content rights and repurpose that content. 3. 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 It boggles my mind how many brands miss out on this. It’s spooky season, folks. You can and SHOULD tie your messaging to consumer shopping behavior. It's an easy win - Any growth tips I'm missing?

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DTC Ecommerce brands have been shifting their marketing budget outside of Paid Social for better ROI… But the question is where? Here are a couple of ways to reallocate budget and/or save money on marketing in general that could potentially get better results: 1. Creator/Influencer Seeding - Outreaching to a TON of Creators/Influencers to send products to. However, here’s what you should also note: Not very many will do it for free. If you are trying to find a way to do product for post, it’ll be a numbers game–outreaching to as many creators/influencers as possible and crossing your fingers. 2. Affiliate Systems - This piggybacks off #1. You can offer a commission-based structure to creators who can make content, post, and generate sales. Look at the TikTok Shop Affiliate network and set it up so creators are posting to generate revenue so they can get commission. It’s a ton of work and outreach, but not a bad option. If you need help organizing everything along with aggregating data/communication with these creators, look into something like Social Snowball ☃️. It’ll make your life easier. 3. Giveaways - You can either do collaboration-based giveaways or purchase-based giveaways. Each have their own pros and cons, but if you’re unsure, you can go with a purchase-based giveaway. Utilize tools like Gleam or ViralSweep (there are a ton of others that we’re exploring as well) to streamline this. But what we’ve seen works, is having an insanely big giveaway prize for great results. The incentive is to give extra entries based on the $ amount that someone spends on your brand. 4. BFCM/Holiday Bundles - Create some deal packages for your customers so they can save a big by buying more. I don’t mean cross-selling and adding on “frequently bought together” items, but creating an actual SKU of a bigger bundle. There’s a lot more that goes into this, but you will definitely have to sit down with your team to discuss merchandising and how to display it on your website. These are a couple of ways to try to generate more revenue without having to rely solely on paid acquisition. What are some things that you’re seeing other brands do? Would love to share insights!

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Many DTC brands will make a huge SMS mistake this holiday season. Give me 30 seconds to warn you: SMS is awesome. Unfortunately, not all DTC brands leverage it. In fact, there are far more brands leveraging email exclusively than SMS exclusively. In preparation for BFCM, many of these brands decide to incorporate SMS into their strategy. The problem is they start too late. We’re 4 months away from BF/CM. You might be wondering...why address this issue so soon? I mean…couldn’t you just take customer data and port it over to SMS? Not quite – having the phone numbers of customers isn’t the same as having an SMS list. You must have their consent to abide by compliance and regulations. Don’t risk your brand's reputation by cutting corners. Building an SMS list ethically takes a few months. You should start now, earn their trust, and warm them up with exclusive offers. When the holiday season rolls around, you’ll have a money-printing machine. Do you need help preparing for BF/CM? I created a free workshop on how to prepare. Send me a connection request so I’m able to share it.

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Creators and Brands want to work with each other, but there are a ton of obstacles to go through... For the past few months, we've had the privilege of understanding the Creator Economy and DTC world... All of the pain points: - Data Analysis - Communication - Tracking and Attribution - Etc. One main issue is that creators and brands alike don't have a centralized dashboard to view everything, especially if they're using Facebook/Instagram and TikTok Shop With the new integrations of TikTok Shop and Social Snowball ☃️, things have gotten easier for both parties. This addition allows brands to have a better entry point to tap into TikTok Shop. - Access to the affiliate network - Aggregates all data points into one dashboard - Communication/Messages in one place - Streamlines onboarding process - Saves a ton of time If you're a brand that's looking to tap into TikTok Shop and haven't yet... This would be a perfect opportunity for Q4 👀 Thank you Zohaib Rattu ☃️ and Noah Tucker ☃️ for putting this out!

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There are certain agencies I consistently hear terrible things about. There are certain agencies I consistently help brands move away from. Still -- I don't think those agencies are 'bad' agencies. They are bad for those clients though. Better for others, presumably. And, even "the best agency in the world" to some of their clients, too. I don't want to work with them. And I wouldn't recommend them. But, the point is this. Finding an agency is easy. Finding the right agency is hard. Agencies should be more selective in who they take on. Agencies should be more graceful when they lose clients. Agencies should stay in their proverbial lane. Brands should communicate their needs better. Brands should be more transparent with their agencies. Brands should invest more into their agencies. *not necessarily $$. Good agencies exist. Bad agencies exist. Great agencies exist. Good to you, may be bad to another. Great is the goal. Ya just gotta find them. ..ya may have to kiss a few frogs first, too.

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DTC brands are about to waste $1,000,000+ this BFCM. And on one channel: SMS. Here’s the common mistake I see brands making every year: “It’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday, so let’s send messages to EVERY SMS subscriber!” They think this maximizes revenue, right? Not quite. Take a closer look at your SMS engagement data: A large percentage have never clicked on a message. Many signed up months ago but have never made a purchase. The truth is, adding everyone to your BFCM SMS sends won’t give you the lift you’re hoping for. In reality, you’re more likely just adding to your SMS costs without a meaningful ROI boost. Be smart with your segmentation this season: → Target those who’ve recently engaged. → Focus on customers who’ve shown buying interest. → Leave out the ones who haven’t clicked in months. Don’t let SMS become an overpriced BFCM expense. A little segmentation goes a long way—and it’ll save you a lot of cash in the process.

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Last week, a founder asked me why their Meta ads weren't converting despite "good enough" creative. After testing thousands of video ads at Obvi and working with brands across DTC, I've noticed a pattern… Most brands confuse "good enough" creative with actually effective creative. Here are 3 game-changing video editing techniques we use at Obvi to drive real results... 1. The Green Screen Effect But not how you think. We use it to create instant context by filming over actual product pages and demos. Result? 32% higher watch time and significantly better conversion rates. 2. Strategic B-Roll Implementation We shoot every product from at least 5 angles: - Top-down for detail - Wide for context - Close-up for texture - Usage shots - Lifestyle integration This variety keeps viewers engaged through the entire message. 3. The Double-Person Effect This is our secret weapon for hooks. By filming the same person in two positions within one frame, we create natural dialogue that stops the scroll. The results? - 2X higher engagement - 47% lower CPMs - Significantly better ROAS Here's the truth: In 2024, basic product videos won't cut it anymore. These are the cuts (get it?) that have been working for us 👆, but you should be testing and analyzing everything to find what works for you. The brands winning on Meta are the ones treating their ad creative like a science, not an afterthought 🔬

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Can SEO meaningfully contribute to the growth of your cannabis brand? Yes, but not until you've: - Put retention marketing systems in place (especially email) - Implemented rewards and referral programs - Honed in ultra-closely on your value prop and target audience - Optimized AOV with product bundles and free shipping - Optimized LTV with subscriptions Prioritize. ✌🏻 #CannabisMarketing

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Announcement: at Aperture we've making a pivot to focus solely on e-commerce SEO for hemp-derived cannabinoid brands and ancillary cannabis businesses. E-commerce SEO, rather than local SEO, is our core competency. We can do both, but we're better at e-commerce. Refining our focus to e-commerce SEO will improve the quality of our services and allow us to deliver better results, faster. There's still a big gap in the e-commerce SEO services available to brands in this space, and it's one we're uniquely positioned to fill. This necessarily means that we'll only be helping brands looking to grow their online revenue. While this rules out working with many dispensaries, we'll ultimately have more of an impact if we narrow our focus. If you've ever interacted with me or my content, thanks, it's really helped a lot. The content I'll post from now on will be a little different. I hope it helps you, but I understand if it doesn't. I'm genuinely looking forward to this.

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