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[@jackneel] Marketing Expert: How I Built the Internet’s Fastest Growing Brand (Interview)

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@jackneel - "Marketing Expert: How I Built the Internet’s Fastest Growing Brand (Interview)"

Link: https://youtu.be/Bg1MNt7nI9E

Short Summary​

Here's the requested information based on the provided transcript:

Number One Action Item/Takeaway:

Stop paying influencers upfront for content creation; instead, use a commission-based model where content creators are incentivized by performance.

Executive Summary:

Hudson Leo Grande, who made $100 million with Snapchat stories and now runs a $500 million fashion brand on TikTok (Comfort), emphasizes the importance of a performance-based influencer strategy, arguing that upfront payments are outdated and ineffective. He advocates for building relationships with micro-influencers, compensating them with commissions, and providing extensive support and training to foster a strong community and drive sales. He built success with oral care brand (Purely White) and clothing brand (Comfort).

Key Quotes​

Here are five insightful quotes from the YouTube transcript:

  1. "Paying for content is done forever. ... Pay commission. Everybody on Tik Tok shops is commission. That's it." This represents a strong opinion about the evolution of influencer marketing and a specific business model.

  2. "I'm the best. I don't give a [] what you think. I'm the best. I don't care what anyone else says. I believe I am the best. No one else is better than me. I'm the best in the world at this [] If you don't believe it, cool. I don't care." This displays a strong view on how to think and be confident.

  3. "Most people don't need time to make a decision. They need information." A succinct and valuable insight into consumer behavior and effective marketing.

  4. "Comfort is the fastest growing ecom brand of all time. That's a true fact." A bold statement about the growth of his company.

  5. "Stop [__] paying influencers. It doesn't work. It's irrelevant. It's outdated." It represents his strong opinion that this form of marketing should stop happening.

Detailed Summary​

Here's a detailed summary of the YouTube video transcript, focusing on key topics, arguments, and information, excluding sponsor announcements:

Key Topics & Arguments:

  • The Shift Away From Paying Influencers: Paying for content is outdated. The future is commission-based partnerships and focusing on relatable micro-influencers.

  • Importance of Quality Creatives and Community: Brands need a combination of quality marketing, unmatched product quality, and an incredible community for customer retention and long-term success.

  • Bootstrap E-commerce Strategies: Pre-order systems and dynamic pricing (adjusting prices based on stock availability) are essential for bootstrapped e-commerce companies.

  • The Value of Relationships with Creators: Building strong relationships with content creators is crucial for fostering loyalty, driving consistent quality content, and mitigating risks.

  • Marketing and TAM (Total Addressable Market): Launching or finding a product that solves big problems and has a big TAM (Total Addressable Market) and great marketing has more chances to click

  • The Power of Relatability: Authenticity and relatability are key in connecting with consumers. Use content that aligns with your consumer.

  • Multi-Million Dollar E-commerce Brands: Hudson Grande owns Comfort (clothing, $500 million projected revenue) and Purely White Deluxe (oral care, $80 million projected revenue). And is launching Nude a filtered shower head brand.

  • Importance of Data-Driven Decision Making: A data-driven approach to understanding key performance indicators (KPIs) is necessary for optimal ad campaign management and overall business decisions.

Detailed Summary:

  • Hudson's Background:

    • High school dropout.
    • Sold cars before entering e-commerce.
    • First company, Purely White Deluxe, took 4.5 years to gain traction.
    • Launched Comfort (clothing brand) which became the top fashion company on TikTok.

  • Snapchat Story Success:

    • Made over $150 million using Snapchat stories in the early years of Purely White.
    • Used a strategy of cold traffic links in creator stories driving traffic to product pages.
    • Initially, was the only brand utilizing Snapchat stories.
    • Algorithm changes reduced the effectiveness, leading to a pivot to TikTok.

  • Creator Outreach Strategy:

    • Started by sending hundreds of Instagram messages daily to reach creators.
    • Leveraged word-of-mouth and paid creators to recruit others, breaking through the clutter.
    • Uses multiple messages from verified accounts to reach a single creator.
    • Current strategy: Five messages from big influencers to each target, personalizing the outreach.

  • Community Building:

    • Hosts brand trips and events to connect top content creators.
    • Emphasizes quality over quantity in creator partnerships.
    • Weekly Zoom calls with creators to provide feedback and build relationships.

  • Content Creation for TikTok:

    • Creators produce 3-5 pieces of content daily to increase the likelihood of algorithm success.
    • Internal creators are trained on best practices for hooks, watch time, and call to actions.
    • Data scientists analyze content performance and provide insights to creators.

  • Comfort Clothing Brand:

    • Projected to generate $500 million in revenue in its third year.
    • "Most purchased hoodie in America" and the number one brand on TikTok Shop.
    • Weighted hoodies address sensory issues and provide a "human hug" feel.
    • Strong brand pillars: unbelievable marketing, unmatched quality, incredible community.
    • High customer retention rate (40%).

  • Purely White Deluxe Brand:

    • Projected to generate $80 million in revenue, primarily through TikTok Shop and Amazon.
    • Expanding into Target stores.
    • Oral care brand that initially focused on teeth whitening kits, now pivoting to teeth whitening powders

  • Startup Lessons and Considerations:

    • Necessity of a large total addressable market (TAM).
    • Address a real problem with a great marketing strategy.
    • Importance of addressing problems that no one talks about
    • Importance of customer retention. Repeat purchases are key.

  • Bootstrapped E-commerce Scalability:

    • Uses a "pre-order" system to defer inventory and generate upfront capital to buy inventory.
    • Offers pre-orders at a reduced price to incentivize waiting.
    • Transparent communication with customers about estimated ship dates to avoid chargebacks.
    • Transparent messaging on ship dates to consumers ordering through pre-order

  • Brand Deals vs. Commission-Based Partnerships:

    • Discourages paying for upfront content.
    • Favors commission-based models.
    • Benefits to influencers with commission based strategy.

  • Tap water trends:

    • Launching "Nude" brand for filtered showerheads and tap filters.
    • Seeing filtered tap filters for showering as the next big product
    • Noting that water filtration companies are the "pioneers"
    • The subscription for filter refills is key to the business model.

  • The Importance of Distribution:

    • If partnering with a well known influencer make sure they are operationally sound.
    • Importance of exiting within three years.

  • Amazon, Walmart and Target insights:

    • Target instore makes more than Amazon. Amazon is "lightyears ahead" and Walmart is similar to target.
    • Drive traffic to Target to be ranked #1 on Target
    • Used Amazon "search find by" tactics to rank product.

  • Finding a Niche product:

    • Find a product and make it better (supplements or filtered shower heads).
    • Differentiate yourself.

  • e-commerce level skills:

    • Learn marketing from 0-1 million in revenue.
    • Have a great product and market even better from 1 million-10 million.
    • Hire Chief revenue and growth officers to get to 50 million.
    • Hire Head of product to CTO to scale 50 to 250.

  • Scaling E-commerce ads:

    • Surf scale and add the best-performing product on $75 a day and scale up.
    • Learn from a media buyer, because if you are "not knowledgable", the company can be ruined.
    • Incremental growth and look in a granular fashion in Northbeam.

  • Affiliate Strategy:

    • Automated way to "product seed" using Yuka AI to collaborate on Tik Tok.

  • Tips for scaling international:

    • Tedious to understand marketing, having a 3PL for fulfillment
    • Run broad marketing on Facebook and see what sticks the most.
    • Can just see what the UK is doing and model.

  • Law of Attraction and Mindset:

    • Emphasizes the power of positive thinking and belief in achieving goals.
    • Stresses the importance of defining personal goals and staying committed to them.

  • The number one skill:

    • One skill is listening and not speaking out of insecurity.