a 1K strategy 💰

If I handed you $1,000 and I said: go do something today to help promote your business, what would you do?

Letter from Liz - Edition 1

If I handed you $1,000 and I said: go do something today to help promote your business, what would you do?

Would you throw it at Facebook ads?

Sponsor some UGC content?

Put on an event with some customers?

Upgrade your website images?

Or maybe hire that freelancer to improve your packaging?

Let me implore you NOT to do one thing: Don’t throw 1K more at Facebook and Instagram right now.

Listen, I’ve been accused of occasionally veering towards the supernatural. Even maybe playing with a tarot card or two and wondering aloud… if I really am a witch. But whether spiritually or algorithmically, it is NOT a good time for brands to be investing in the channels that have been dominating the ecommerce acquisition game for the last 10 years.

And believe it or not, it’s not necessarily the new school of TikTok and Discord where I think our growth answers are found. Like young TikTokers looking for fashion inspiration, we all need to think back to the early aughts when strategizing our next chapter of user obsession. It’s not about a temporary transaction. It’s about building a dedicated fandom.

If I gave you $1,000, the thing I would WANT you to do is double down on your current customers. That’s right, I’d want you to inspire and excite them in a way that feels reminiscent of their boy band crushes. Here’s the crux of that strategy: It’s often not what the brand itself is doing that generates momentum - it’s what their most rabid followers do that creates waves of awareness.

So what could you do to engage your most loyal people? Some of the brands I love the most have the craziest strategies and I remember and buy endlessly because of it – here’s a few that all cost less than $1K:

• Sending me a sticker sheet of the month to spice up my laptop
• Gifting me and a friend a $10 Starbucks gift card to get coffee and catch up on their dime
• Inviting me to a free wine tasting at a local spot to connect with other customers
• Allowing me to send back a used garment I no longer wanted so they could donate it and giving me $20 off my next order
• Wishing my dog a Happy Birthday with a card and a treat

In case you missed it Add to Cart Ep. 3 dropped last week. I love when people solve ungodly hard problems. That’s why for this episode I sat down with Maxwell Bonnie of Saltbox - to chat about how they took the painful work of warehousing and logistics and rethought the entire experience for small ecommerce stores. Tune in to the full 15 minute episode here.

Speaking of Saltbox. They are an important soona partner that I want to shine a spotlight on this month. We recently opened a studio in their Seattle location and can vouch for their ability to make everything about logistics frictionless and worry-free, so you can focus on growing and scaling your business. Check them out.

This is the first edition of my new monthly newsletter. Would love to hear what you think. Head over to my Twitter to let me know and share how you would spend $1k. The best idea will get $1k worth of content from soona to make it happen! @lizgiorgi

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