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Google and Yahoo Have New Requirements for Email Senders

Christian Bodine on January 15, 2024

Are you ready for an email apocalypse?! 

Okay, we’re just being dramatic for effect. But there are some MAJOR changes coming for any business that sends emails to contacts with Google or Yahoo email addresses that could land your message in the Junk folder. 

New Sender Requirements from Google and Yahoo

Beginning Feb. 1, 2024, any organization that sends emails to Google and Yahoo inboxes will be required to comply with some new sender requirements. Again, these requirements will affect ALL organizations that send emails, including transactional (order confirmation, shipping confirmation, etc.)  and marketing emails. Yes, that means you. And, if you send a large volume of emails (more than 5,000) there are a few more specific requirements for bulk senders.

Why Are These New Sender Requirements Important

If you get emails, you get Spam. Even worse, you’ve probably noticed an alarming number of emails with misleading sender information, outrageously spammy content, or outright scams. While technology tools have allowed these email platforms to efficiently filter most of these emails into your Spam box, the volume and misleading tactics are getting a bit out of hand. So, in order to declutter your inbox and offer some added protection, they’re asking senders to do some of the legwork.

What are Google and Yahoo’s New Sender Requirements?

Each platform has subtle differences in what they require and who they require it from, but the lists are more alike than different. You may have some of these requirements already in place, and some of them may be implemented by the platform you use to send emails, but we’ve included a checklist below for the new requirements so you can be sure:

  • Ensure you’re using a branded sending domain for all transactional emails and marketing emails
  • Set up SPF and DKIM email authentication for your domain
  • Ensure that sending domains or IPs have valid forward and reverse DNS records, also referred to as PTR records.
  • Set up DMARC email authentication for your sending domain. Your DMARC enforcement policy can be set to none. Learn more
  • Ensure the domain in your friendly “From:” header (what subscribers see in their inbox) aligns with either the SPF domain or the DKIM domain. This is required to pass DMARC alignment.
  • Ensure your marketing and subscribed messages include a method to unsubscribe in just one step. This requirement may already be implemented automatically via your email platform.
  • Ensure your marketing and subscribed messages include a clearly visible unsubscribe link in the message body (typically found in the footer). This link does not have to one step to unsubscribe.
  • Ensure messages are formatted according to the Internet Message Format standard (RFC 5322). This requirement may already be implemented via your email platform.
  • Keep spam rates below 0.10% and avoid ever reaching a spam rate of 0.30% or higher. 
  • If you regularly forward email, including using mailing lists or inbound gateways, add ARC headers to outgoing email. ARC headers indicate the message was forwarded and identify you as the forwarder. Mailing list senders should also add a List-id: header, which specifies the mailing list, to outgoing messages.

Note: We highly recommend exploring both Google and Yahoo’s new requirements for yourself, and checking in with your email platform provider to see what help they’re offering. For example, if you’re a (Classy Llama partner and email marketing superstar) Klaviyo user, they’re ahead of the game and offering great guidance on how to stay in compliance with these guidelines. 

If you’ve got questions about how to implement these new guidelines, our team would love to help you keep your messages in the Primary Inbox.  Just drop us a note and someone will be in touch.

What ROAS Really Means

Christian Bodine on November 20, 2023

What Does ROAS Really Mean?

ROAS – a common marketing acronym for Return on Ad Spend – is a key metric that can help businesses evaluate whether their paid media campaigns are successful. While it’s a simple calculation designed to tell you how much revenue you earned for each dollar spent, there’s more to this number than meets the eye. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Return on Ad Spend.  

Understanding ROAS

Return on Ad Spend is a direct give-or-take measurement for one specific campaign, platform, or channel. It’s most commonly used in the context of Pay-Per-Click advertising, where you pay the platform to show your ads to customers. Those platforms keep track of how much you spend. If you have the right tracking and measurement tools installed on your eCommerce site, those platforms can also track how much revenue is generated by customers who click on your ads. 

It’s common for companies (or marketing agencies) to look at ROAS numbers in a few ways:

  • By campaign to determine which messages are reaching interested audiences and earning conversions;
  • By platform (like Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, etc.) to determine whether or not your target customer is active and engaged there;
  • And by channel (social media ads, paid search, display ads, etc.) to see which presents the best opportunity for sales, and which just isn’t hitting the mark.

How ROAS differs from ROI

ROAS and ROI (Return on Investment) are often confused. While they are related, there are key differences between the two.

ROI measures the profit generated from an investment, considering all costs associated with the investment, including expenses like product cost margins, labor, and equipment. ROAS, on the other hand, only considers the direct cost of advertising placements returning a simple earned/spent figure

Both metrics are important for measuring your marketing success, and both should be included in your marketing measurement and reporting process, but they serve different purposes. ROI is useful for evaluating the profitability of an investment, while ROAS is useful for evaluating the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

ROAS formula and calculation

Calculating ROAS is simple – even if you’re bad at math. Just take the total revenue earned and divide that by the total advertising spend. 

ROAS = Revenue/Spend

For example, if you spend $1,000 on advertising and generate $5,000 in revenue, then your ROAS is 5 ($5,000 / $1,000).

ROAS is often expressed as a percentage, with a higher percentage indicating better performance. In the above example, the ROAS would be 500%. You may also see it expressed as a ratio (5:1) or Nx (5x).

Still a little intimidated? Try our ROAS calculator tool! 

ROAS Benchmarks 

Once you’ve calculated your ROAS, how can you tell if your results are where they should be?  That’s where benchmarks come in. Benchmarks are ranges you can use to compare your performance in a given area with either your own previous performance or with others in your industry. These benchmarks can be used to identify where your ROAS is strong (and where it is weak), allowing you to make adjustments and improve overall performance. 

Factors that affect ROAS

It’s important to establish historic performance standards for your advertising efforts, against which you can measure the results of future campaigns. 

Average ROAS benchmarks by industry

Once you understand your company’s baseline, it’s a good idea to understand how your performance compares to others in your industry – especially if you need to improve performance. Below are some ROAS ranges for common industries. Keep in mind: these ranges represent companies of all sizes that sell products and services at a variety of price points. And, in many cases, these industries may overlap (for example, you may have an eCommerce business that sells auto parts, like many Classy Llama clients do). Use these ranges as a guide, but take the time to conduct more in-depth research into your specific vertical.

ROAS benchmarks by industry:

• E-commerce: 4:1 to 8:1

• Retail: 3:1 to 5:1

• Travel: 10:1 to 12:1

• Automotive: 2:1 to 4:1

Healthcare: 2:1 to 4:1

ROAS Benchmark by industry: E-commerce: 4:1 to 8:1 Retail: 3:1 to 5:1 Travel: 10:1 to 12:1 Automotive: 2:1 to 4:1 Healthcare: 2:1 to 4:1

ROAS Metrics

ROAS can be analyzed alongside several different metrics, including Click-through rate (CTR),Conversion rate (CR),Cost per click (CPC), and Customer lifetime value (CLV). By looking at the performance of each metric, businesses can determine which channels are the most effective for their campaigns.  For example, you may have a campaign with high ROAS, but the lifetime value of each customer is low. It may be more optimal to replicate campaigns with slightly lower return on ad spend initially, if those customers will earn you more revenue in the long run.

You can also use ROAS to assess the performance of different ad formats and targeting methods. Seeing which ad formats, locations, demographics, and devices are performing most effectively allows you to optimize your campaigns by replicating the formats that offer the best returns. 

Advantages of using ROAS

It’s vital to keep your finger on the pulse of your business, and monitoring  a metric like ROAS helps you do just that:

1. Because ROAS measures the return on investment (ROI) for each dollar spent on advertising, it can be a simple way to measure the success of a campaign.

3. ROAS can also help you see a more granular view of your campaigns successes (and failures). Calculating the Return on Ad Spend for each ad placement provides more detailed insights into each ad’s performance helping you make more informed decisions on where to allocate your budgets.

4. ROAS is also a helpful tool for optimizing ad campaigns. By tracking ROAS, you can quickly identify which ad placements are performing well and which are not, and make adjustments to your strategies accordingly.

5. Finally, Return on Ad Spend can give you a good indication of the value of your ad campaigns. By comparing the ROAS of different campaigns, marketers can make informed decisions about which campaigns are worth investing in and which they should discontinue.

How ROAS helps in decision-making

By providing a clear understanding of the revenue generated from advertising spend, ROAS helps you optimize your advertising budget and maximize your return on investment. Here are some of the ways ROAS assist in decision-making:

  • ROAS helps businesses to identify and measure the effectiveness of their marketing strategies by providing an accurate return on their advertising spend. 
  • ROAS helps in understanding which marketing channels and products offer the highest return on investment (ROI). 
  • ROAS helps businesses to decide which marketing channels to focus on and allocate their budget to for the highest ROI. 
  • ROAS helps businesses to compare the performance of their marketing campaigns and make better informed decisions. 
  • ROAS allows businesses to track their performance over time and analyze the impact of changes in their marketing strategies. 
  • ROAS helps businesses to identify new opportunities and measure the potential return on investment of these opportunities.

ROAS Strategies

ROAS strategies are used to identify which aspects of a campaign are most effective and which need improvement in order to maximize the return on investment. These strategies involve analyzing data from previous campaigns in order to identify trends, as well as tracking and testing new strategies in order to find the most effective approach. But before you can start implementing specific strategies based on ROAS, you have to lay a solid foundation. 

Identify your target audience: 

The first step in optimizing your ROAS is to identify your target audience. This includes researching who your ideal customer is and understanding their needs, interests, and behaviors.

Choose the right platforms: 

After you have identified your target audience, it’s important to choose the right platforms to advertise on. Different platforms have different audiences and targeting capabilities, so it’s important to choose the ones that make the most sense for your business and your ideal customer.

Utilize segmentation: 

Segmentation allows you to deliver your ads to more specific audiences within the larger group you’re targeting. This can be done through age, gender, location, special interests, product preference and more. Again, each platform has its own segmentation and targeting tools.

Experiment with different ad formats: 

Different ad formats can help you reach different audiences. Video ads, for example, are great for reaching younger audiences, while text-based ads work better for more mature audiences. Experimenting with different ad formats can help you find the one that works best for you.

Use eye-catching visuals: 

Visuals are often the first thing that catches someone’s attention when they see your ad, so make sure they’re eye-catching and relevant to your message. 

Keep the text and CTA concise: 

Make sure your ad copy is clear, concise, and to the point. Focus on the main message and use no more than a few sentences. Include a call to action that tells the viewer what to do next such as “click here” or “sign up now”. 

A/B test: 

A/B testing is a great way to optimize your ads for ROAS. Create two versions of your ad creative and test them against each other (with the same audience, budget, and placements) to see which one gives you a better return.

Track and analyze results: 

Once your ads are running, it’s important to track their performance and analyze the results. This will give you insight into which ads are performing well and which ones need to be improved. This is a great opportunity to start tracking that ROAS!

Using retargeting

Retargeting is a form of online targeted advertising that allows you to serve ads to consumers based on their previous actions. It uses anonymized data collected from a customer’s browser to advertise directly to that customer wherever they go online. Retargeting often involves displaying ads to people who have visited a website, encouraging them to come back and complete a desired action. Retargeting ads often have a higher ROAS because the audience they reach is already familiar with your business. 

ROAS Tools

ROAS tools are software solutions that help businesses measure the effectiveness of their online advertising campaigns. These tools track data such as click-through rates, impressions, conversions, and cost-per-click to provide insights into how well the campaigns are performing. They can also be used to monitor competitor activities and compare performance across different channels. 

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful tool for measuring the ROAS of an online marketing campaign. It allows marketers to track key performance indicators such as page views, time on site, and conversion rates, as well as calculate ROAS.

Meta Ads Manager

Meta (aka Facebook) Ads Manager is a powerful tool for optimizing campaigns for Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). It allows advertisers to track and optimize campaigns for maximum ROAS by setting a target ROAS for each campaign. Once the target is set, the Ads Manager will automatically adjust bids, budgets, and targeting to meet the ROAS goal. 

Other tools for tracking and measuring ROAS

While optimizing and targeting are essential strategies for achieving a high return on advertising spend (ROAS), it’s also important to have the right tools in place to track and measure performance. Some additional tools that advertisers can use to monitor and optimize their ROAS include:

  • Conversion tracking
  • Attribution models
  • ROI reporting
  • Bid management tools

Our ROAS Calculator 

The Classy Llama ROAS calculator is a tool designed to help calculate your return on advertising spend (ROAS). It works by taking into account the amount of money spent on advertising and the revenue generated from that advertising and then calculates the ROAS as a percentage.

Still concerned about your ROAS performance? Talk to a Llama! We’d love to help you measure your marketing performance and grow your eCommerce business. 

FAQs:

What is a good ROAS?

Good Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS) is achieved when the revenue generated from advertising is higher than the associated advertising costs – this is different for each business.

Can ROAS be negative?

Yes, ROAS can be negative if the cost of a campaign exceeds the total revenue generated by it.

How do I calculate ROAS in Google Ads?

To calculate ROAS in Google Ads, use the ‘Conversions’ and ‘Cost’ columns in the ‘Campaigns’ tab of the Google Ads interface.

What is a good ROAS for Facebook ads?

A good ROAS for Facebook Ads is typically considered to be 2:1 or higher.

How can I improve my ROAS?

Increase your ad spend and/or optimize your campaigns to drive higher conversions at a lower cost.

How can Classy Llama help with your ROAS?

If you are a curious llama and would like to see what your ROAS is, try our very classy ROAS calculator.

Having an agency like Classy Llama manage your digital advertising can help you maximize your ROAS. Our team has deep expertise across a variety of platforms, and understands how to optimize campaigns to meet your business’ goals. We utilize a variety of tools and strategies to ensure that your campaigns are targeted, effective, and optimized for maximum ROAS going forward. Additionally, we provide valuable analytics, monthly reports, and check-ins to track your company’s progress, so that you stay informed at every step of the journey of the process.

If you’d like to reach out to a Llama so we can help you improve your ROAS, please get in touch!

Classy Llama Earns 2 New Workplace Awards from Comparably.com

Christian Bodine on March 8, 2023

SPRINGFIELD, MO, Dec. 17, 2021 — This week, Classy Llama, Springfield’s only full-service eCommerce agency, has earned places on two of Comparably.com’s top 50 lists: Best Companies for Women and Best CEO.

Best Companies for Women

This quarter, feedback from female employees to Comparably (a workplace ratings website) scored Classy Llama the #26 spot on the Best Company for Women (Small and Midsize Companies) list.

“I’ve been with Classy Llama almost six years now and it’s very different from just about anywhere I’ve worked. I’ve been in male-dominated industries my entire career and there has always been a level of disrespect toward me as a woman. But then I came to Classy Llama and I was allowed a seat at the table and my opinion mattered. To have that level of respect and care from your co-workers is huge, including other women. At Classy, you don’t feel unnecessary competitiveness with other women. Instead, we empower each other,” Ashlee Colliver, senior eCommerce strategist, said. 

Other employees at Classy Llama shared similar feelings about what it’s like to work for the company:

“I started as an Office Administrator and, five months later, here I am, promoted to a Project Manager position. I’ve had so many people pouring into me and fostering my growth. As someone who’s never done Project Management before, this was an awesome opportunity for me to grow into something new and I have had an amazing support system from both men and women here,” Leianna Pavon said. 

Best CEO

Classy Llama CEO Kurt Theobald also placed #35 on the Best CEO (Small and Midsize Companies) list. 

When asked how he felt about the accolade, Theobald redirected the focus to the employees who provided feedback: “I don’t care about accolades. I care about the hearts behind those accolades. If this award means I’m providing effective leadership to my employees, that’s what matters the most to me.”

An Award-Winning Company

These two most recent achievements bring Classy Llama’s workplace award total for 2021 to five wins, also including:

Comparably Awards are based on feedback provided by current employees who anonymously rated their employers on Comparably.com during a 12-month look-back period. Employees have the opportunity to answer up to 100 questions spanning nearly 20 different workplace topics. Each answer is given a numerical score and compared to companies of similar size. The final data set was compiled from 15 million ratings across 70,000 companies.

About Classy Llama

Classy Llama is a full-service digital commerce agency filled with eCommerce industry veterans passionate about leveraging technology to help online merchants  grow and build their business sustainably. For more information, please contact Greg Johnson by phone at (417) 866-8887 or by email at [email protected].

Five Things You Should Know About eCommerce Fraud

Christian Bodine on August 30, 2022

 “Retailers declined $16 billion in legitimate orders for fear of fraud during a recent 12-month period.”

— 451 Research

As eCommerce has become a bigger portion of retail revenue in general, the importance of maximizing every site visit and removing any barriers to conversion has grown exponentially.

COVID-19 accelerated the steady shift from brick-and-mortar to online purchases, including omnichannel shopping, which in turn accelerated the need for sophisticated commerce protection platforms that could sort legitimate from fraudulent orders quickly and accurately. 

“Digital transformation” has become more than a buzzword — it’s now a business imperative. 

“A surge in online commerce has accelerated merchants’ plans to transform their businesses digitally. However, a digital commerce strategy is bound to fail if not supported by next-generation fraud prevention implementations.” (“Frost Radar eCommerce Fraud Prevention” report, Frost & Sullivan)

The world of eCommerce has changed. We can all agree on that. But what should merchants be doing to address those changes and stay a step ahead at a time when the transformation seems to gain momentum by the day?

As a start, we encourage you to begin thinking more deeply about eCommerce fraud than you have before. Dig into how you manage risk in your business, and compare that to how the best in the business are tackling the challenge. You should also learn more about the risks your business faces and how you can work to protect against them.

To help you build a foundation of knowledge, here’s a list of five things you should know about eCommerce fraud compiled by Signifyd — the industry leader in eCommerce fraud protection:

1. Fraud management is a delicate balance.

Of course, fraudulent orders are a problem and a drag on profits. But you know what’s worse than approving some fraudulent orders? Approving no fraudulent orders. If you’re not seeing any fraudulent transactions in your data, chances are your fraud-review systems — whether manual, static, rules-based, scoring, or some combination — are too conservative.

If you’re turning away every single fraudulent order, you’re no doubt also turning away a significant number of legitimate orders. There are plenty of reasons that legitimate orders arrive with red flags — red flags that result in a decline based on static rules. The goal of future-focused fraud protection should be to minimize the friction you put between your customers and their purchases. In other words, you want to maximize approvals and, as a result, revenue. 

The balance between fearless eCommerce and protecting your business is best achieved with sophisticated machine-learning fraud solutions that digest vast transaction intelligence. That rich diet of intelligence allows modern fraud protection solutions to build an understanding of the identity and intent behind every order, allowing you to focus on maximizing your revenue while they help minimize risk.

2. Fraud prevention is a customer experience initiative.

Once you accept that the mission of future-focused fraud protection is to optimize revenue, it’s clear that getting fraud protection right is a customer experience issue. Think about those false declines delivered by legacy fraud protection systems. In the short term, it means an unnecessarily lost sale. In the long run, it also means a serious hit to customer lifetime value and brand reputation. 

When Signifyd asked consumers what would cause them to stop shopping with a particular retailer, 57.6% said, “having a retailer decline an order when there was no problem with it.” So, add to the loss of the immediate purchase all the revenue from all the future purchases that customers would have made over the years. 

And brands should also consider that we live in the social media era when nothing is quite as delicious as sharing the latest #fail with a few thousand (or more) followers. Customer recommendations can be a rich source of organic marketing, but the opposite can also be true. You can bet that having an order turned away for no apparent reason is rich Twitter fodder for a customer and bad news for you. 

3. Risk management should be seen as a revenue engine, not a cost center.

If fraud protection can have that sort of effect on profit and loss when things go wrong, can it also positively influence the top line? Well, yes. 

The most effective fraud teams see themselves in the risk intelligence business. They no longer operate from a defensive crouch, worried they’ll take the blame for fraudulent orders or be scolded for holding back approval rates. Instead, they strategize and innovate. They provide commerce-protection support for new sales channels. They open up new spigots of sales. 

The pandemic led to a curbside shopping and in-store pickup boom. When pandemic lockdowns began, only 7% of the 500 biggest retailers offered curbside pickup, according to Digital Commerce 360. At last count, 51% now allow customers to get their goods at the curb. 

A rollout like that doesn’t happen without a carefully conceived fraud protection plan. For example, curbside orders arrive without a delivery address — a key bit of information that provides a host of identity signals. Plus, verifying identity at pickup can be spotty. Having a system in place that can vet the order for fraud at the time it’s placed is a major advantage, but for that system to work in this context, it needs to understand the identity and intent behind every order. If it can do that, the likelihood of a fraudulent order is minuscule.

4. eCommerce protection is one of the most impactful revenue levers you control.

Retailers are being squeezed from both ends. Digital advertising on Facebook, Google, Amazon, and elsewhere continues its steady march to higher pricing, making customer acquisition an increasingly expensive venture. Fulfillment costs are rising too. Some increases are temporary, with labor shortages and fuel price spikes. But some increases are systemic.

The increasing pressure for faster and more convenient delivery is also relentless. We’ve talked about in-store and curbside pickup. Now add ship from store, same-day delivery, one-hour delivery, 15-minute delivery — yes, 15 minutes. 

Retailers can’t control those costs. But there is a rich opportunity to regain some profit simply by accepting payments. Research 451 found that retailers declined $16 billion in legitimate orders for fear of fraud during a recent 12-month period. Signifyd’s analysis of its top 600 customers found that by turning to a future-focused commerce protection platform, they typically saw order approval rates increase by 5% to 9% in 2021.

So, when you think about increasing your sales by as much as 9% and factor in the additional revenue that will come from customers who have a great experience, suddenly, the profit-building power of commerce protection comes into clearer focus. 

5. Automation is the future of fraud prevention — and the future is now.

To get back to Frost & Sullivan’s point, many of these fraud-protection improvements are not possible without an A.I.-driven fraud protection solution — and all of them can be helped by one. After advising that digital commerce strategies that don’t embrace next-generation fraud prevention are doomed to fail, they point out that merchants that haven’t invested in future-focused eCommerce protection stand to lose as much as 20% annually. The losses come from fraud, manual review costs, chargebacks, false declines, lower customer trust, and higher payment processing costs. 

Taken as a list of new requirements, eCommerce fraud protection sounds daunting. But actually, a long list is a good thing. There are so many challenges to attack and so many places to increase revenue. And maybe the best news of all: Innovators have done the work and come up with reasonable and reliable solutions. All you have to do is get onboard!

Learn more about Signifyd here.

4 Ingredients for Creating Product Descriptions that Sell

Christian Bodine on May 3, 2022

Creating effective product descriptions is essential for your eCommerce business. Given that when shopping online the image and the product description are the only sales pitch your customers will get for your products, properly describing and persuading your shoppers through description is crucial to success. Not only that, online shoppers are more savvy than ever, closely reading product information and reviews before making a purchase. Returning products bought online can be a huge pain so online shoppers want to be certain they want the product they’re buying.

Good descriptions can be the difference between a sale and no sale, so don’t take them lightly. Check out these four ingredients for writing killer product descriptions your customers will light up over:

1. Use language that evokes emotion.

When writing your product descriptions, don’t focus just on being informative about your product. Specs and details are important and should be listed with your items, but don’t stop there. Think narratively about how your customer will use the product in their daily lives and use language that evokes emotion in your customers.

This will help them to visualize using the product and how it will make them feel. For example, if you’re selling a pair of shoes, describe how they will make the customer feel: “These shoes are perfect for a night out on the town. They’ll make you feel confident and gorgeous.”

2. Use descriptive adjectives.

Customers need to understand the positive attributes of your products. Without details and descriptive language, they’ll be left interpreting nebulous details like how many inches wide something is or wondering if the type of material listed in the description is soft or rough. Don’t leave blanks for your customers to fill in, paint the picture for them with language.

Try to include words that help your customers picture themselves using the product or tell them a benefit they’ll get from using the product. For example, if you’re selling a baseball cap, describe it as “comfy,” “cool,” or “stylish.” This will help to persuade your customers to buy the product.

3. Use concrete, specific details.

Like we said above, online shoppers are savvy shoppers these days. They’re not interested in guessing about what they’re ordering, they want to know for sure what they’re buying. What’s more, if what shows up in there order seems different than what they saw or read online, they’re not going to be happy. Save yourself a customer service headache and make sure you use concrete, specific details when describing your products. Not only will you help your shoppers feel certain of what they’re buying (which can build brand loyalty), specific descriptions will help your customers picture themselves using the product. For example, if you’re selling arts and crafts supplies, describe the supply, the uses for it, and even include some examples of the product in use.

4. Write in a style that is easy to read.

In Journalism school, reporters are taught to write at an 8th grade reading level so they can be sure anyone who picks up a newspaper can understand the content. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of writing and get too flowery, or even over-explain your product with big words. A good rule of thumb: write how you talk. One trick for this is to pretend you’re writing a letter about your product to a friend of yours who you think would really love to have it. How would you tell them what was great about the product?

Be sure to write in the same simple, straightforward style you would use talking to a friend and that any average person can easily read. This will help your customers understand what you’re saying, understand the value of your items, and can make them more likely to buy your products.

When you use the language and details your customers are looking for to make their purchase decision, they’ll be more likely to buy from you!

You can take this kind of product description strategy even further and write descriptions that are even more likely to convert when you beef up your descriptions with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). That means that you make sure your product titles and descriptions are laden with the kind of terminology someone who wants to buy your product is likely to type into Google during an online shopping session. If you have the same phrase they search in your description, you’ll be more likely to show up in their search and they’ll be more likely to click on your site and boom: instant site traffic.

If you wanna learn more about SEO and driving traffic to your site through the content on it, check out our free SEO How-To Guide here.

You can also learn more about our SEO services here. We’re experts in human behavior who want to partner with you on a successful digital marketing strategy.

Which of these principles have you already applied? Tell us in the comments!

Satisfying a Niche: The Ins and Outs of Unique Markets

Christian Bodine on April 19, 2022

As online shopping becomes more and more ubiquitous, the range of products and services available to consumers continues to expand. This is great news for buyers, who now have access to a wider variety of items than ever before. It’s also good news for sellers, who can reach more and more specific, targeted audiences online who are highly engaged and looking to spend money on their niche.

However, selling to a niche market can be difficult given that they’re often much smaller than the general population, so they may not be as lucrative. In addition, it can be harder to reach niche audiences than general audiences. However, there are a ton of benefits when you’re selling to a niche market, including greater customer loyalty and higher profits. Check out our guide to niche markets and discover some of the benefits and challenges, as well as some tips for breaking into a niche.

1. Intro to Niche Markets

A niche market is a small market that is interested in a specific type of product or service. One benefit of targeting niche markets is that niche shoppers are often incredibly loyal to their favorite niche brands and are persistently seeking out products that fulfill their niche. That means creating repeat customers in a niche market is less of an uphill battle than in the general market. In addition, niche markets are often more profitable than larger markets because the competition is less fierce. Niche markets are also more profitable because the customer base is more focused and therefore easier to target, meaning less time, money, and other resources will go into targeting efforts.

Of course, that also means that niche markets are easier to reach than general audiences. This is because people who are interested in a specific type of product or service are more likely to visit websites and forums that focus on that topic. That simplifies the process of locating your audience in order to target them. In most niches, marketing and advertising opportunities are plentiful through things like websites, podcasts, newsletters, and even events that are particularly popular among that niche audience. Identifying a niche with the most opportunities for easy audience targeting can put you ahead of the marketing game before you even start.

So … how do you find a niche and start to satisfy it?

2. How to identify a niche market

Sellers can identify niche markets by looking for groups of people who are passionate about a specific topic or activity and then identifying what product or service that niche audience is looking for. This can be done by looking for online forums and websites that focus on your product or service. You could also look for groups of people who share a common interest in your product or service on social media. Another option is to look at your own behaviors and hobbies and identify which niche markets you’re a part of.

Once you’ve identified a group of people who are interested in what you’re selling, it’s time to start targeting them specifically. One way to target niche markets is by creating products or services that are specifically designed for them. This can be done by doing research on what interests the niche market and designing products or services that cater to those interests. If you can create a product or service that is unique to the niche market, they will be much more likely to buy from you.

In addition, make sure that your website and other marketing materials are tailored to the niche market. Use language and images that resonate with the niche audience and make sure your site is easy to navigate. You can also reach out to the niche market directly by participating in their forums and other online communities. When you’re actively engaged with the people in your niche, they’ll be more likely to trust you and buy from you.

Once you have identified a few potential targets, you can use Google AdWords to determine how many people are searching for your product or service online. This will give you an idea of how big the niche market is and whether it’s worth your time to target them.

3. How do you reach a niche market

Reaching a niche market can be difficult, but there are a few things you can do to make it easier. After you identify your market and have your product or service, you then need to create a website or storefront that is specifically designed for the niche market. You can either do this by yourself through an eCommerce platform like BigCommerce or Magento, or your can partner with an agency to help you. (Check out the benefits of working with an agency partner here.)

Finally, you need to promote your products to the niche market through targeted marketing campaigns (something else an agency can help you with). This could include things like Pay-Per-Click advertising campaigns to your niche audience, or SEO optimization of your website so that people searching for the product or service you sell will be more likely to see you in their search results.

Email marketing is another huge opportunity with a relatively low overhead. As you develop your brand, you’ll also have a chance to start building your own niche market by inviting people to sign up for your emails and creating a solid list of people who are always eager to hear about your product or service.

Need help with your niche? Check this out. (Link to DMK services page)

4. The benefits of selling to a niche market

When you sell to a niche market, you can enjoy a few key benefits:

1. Increased profits: Selling to a niche market can be more profitable than selling to a more general audience. This is because people in niche markets are usually more passionate about the product or service you offer and are more likely to buy it.

2. Loyal customers: When you sell to a niche market, you’ll likely develop a group of loyal customers who are interested in what you have to offer and who will continue to buy from you.

3. Easier marketing: Reaching a niche market is much easier than reaching the entire population, so you’ll be able to spend less on marketing and see better results.

4. Increased brand recognition: When you sell to a niche market, you’ll have a better chance of getting your brand recognized by that group. This can help you build more trust with potential customers and encourage them to buy from you in the future.

5. Easier to stand out: In a world where most businesses are selling the same thing, it can be difficult to stand out from the competition. Selling to a niche market can make this easier, as people in those markets are usually less likely to be bombarded with marketing messages

5. The challenges of selling to a niche market

The challenges of selling to a niche market can be significant, but there are ways to overcome them. One of the main challenges is that it can be difficult to create products that appeal to a niche market. However, by doing your research and understanding what the niche market wants, you can create products that they will love.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that not all niches are created equal. There are smaller niches and there are bigger niches, so it’s important to find the right one for your business. If you try to target a niche that is too small, you won’t have enough customers to make it worth your while. However, if you target a niche that is too big, you may find it difficult to appeal to all of those people.

When selling to a niche market, it’s also important to remember that you need to cater to their specific needs. This means creating a website or storefront that is designed for them, as well as marketing campaigns that are specifically targeted at them. Additionally, it’s important to build relationships with these customers and keep them updated on your products and services, all of which can be a challenge if you’re already juggling a lot of different aspects of your business and life. One way to meet these challenges is by partnering with a full-service eCommerce agency that can provide support for your website, your marketing, and other niche market needs.

6. How do you create products for a niche market?

Don’t already have a product or service? If you’re starting at square one, you’re in luck. Instead of trying to figure out what niche is interested in your brand or how to find the audience, you can work backward: identify the niche and then create the product or service just for them!

One great way to identify a niche market is to look at your own interests and passions. What are you interested in that other people might not be? What can you talk about for hours on end without getting bored?

Once you’ve identified the niche, it’s time to start creating products or services that appeal to them. This can include anything from a new type of product to a unique angle on an existing one. You can also look at what other businesses in the niche are doing and try to do it better or differently. Another tip: ask yourself what kind of service do you wish you had for your niche? What pains do you yourself feel around your niche? You can bet there are other people in that niche feeling the same pains and your product or service could be exactly what they’re wishing for.

Conclusion

When selling to a niche market, it’s important to remember that you need to cater to their specific needs. This means creating a website or storefront that is designed for them, as well as marketing campaigns that are specifically targeted at them. Additionally, it’s important to build relationships with these customers and keep them updated on your products and services. One way to meet these challenges is by partnering with a full-service eCommerce agency that can provide support for your website, your marketing, and other niche market needs.

Whether you have a product and are trying to find its niche audience or are trying to create a product to fit a niche, you’ve got some challenges to overcome. Once you do, however, the benefits of a niche market can make all the challenges worth it.

Full-service eCommerce Support for Ammunition Depot

Christian Bodine on April 12, 2022

Like many eCommerce brands with big growth goals, Ammunition Depot realized they weren’t on a platform that could scale along with their business.

As they expanded their product lines and found themselves needing to add more categories and SKUs, they realized they needed to make a move. They had limited eCommerce development support for their current PrestaShop platform, along with big dreams to become the Amazon of ammunition, so they turned to Classy Llama for help.

ON A MISSION TO PROTECT

Ammunition Depot was founded by freedom-loving Americans who believed two things: (1) it is every American’s right and responsibility to defend themselves, their family, and their country; and (2) without ammunition, none of that is possible. 

With seven children between them, the owners of Ammunition Depot felt very strongly about the responsibility of keeping families safe.

Therefore, from their founding, it’s been their goal and mission to provide the American public access to high-quality ammunition at the lowest possible price with the best customer service they have ever experienced. Ammo Depot isn’t interested in simply providing the best service in their industry—they’re goal is to provide the best service anywhere. Ever. Period. 

As Ammunition Depot has grown over the years, they’ve also had the chance to pursue other passions through their brand’s success, like creating numerous jobs for their hard-working community in Florida, as well as supporting many charities and foundations for veterans, law enforcement, and the shooting sports. 

In 2018, when the Ammo Depot team knew it was time to push their growth goals forward so they could continue to create jobs, support their community, provide superb customer service, and the lowest prices possible, they knew it was time to say goodbye to their limited eCommerce platform.

PRESTASHOP: NO ROOM FOR AMMO DEPOT TO GROW

Ammunition Depot‘s eCommerce platform, PrestaShop, was limiting their growth potential. They were running into problems with scalability and weren’t able to add new categories or SKUs without significant development support. Even worse, they couldn’t find the development support for PrestaShop they needed

This made the Ammo Depot team feel frustrated and limited in their ability to grow and serve their customers with the high quality customer service they desired. They knew they needed to move platforms, but were unsure what the next steps should be—only that whatever the solution was, it had to have as little effect on the customer’s experience as possible during the move. That’s when they came to Classy Llama.

AMMO DEPOT’S eCOMMERCE ROADMAP

The team at Classy Llama’s first step when creating strategic roadmaps for any eCommerce business is being absolutely sure we understand the brand’s vision, goals, and motivations. That way every recommendation we provide is assured to be in complete alignment with a client’s objectives.

When Ammo Depot came to us unsure of how to proceed, that’s exactly where we started: sitting down with Ammo Depot to discuss their passions and their needs, the biggest of which was a solid site on a platform that could allow their business to scale along with the ability to easily add new business channels.

From there, our team conducted an eCommerce assessment of the Ammunition Depot website and determined the best way for them to achieve their eCommerce goals was with a new website build on the Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) platform.

In an effort to streamline the build of key user experience elements on Ammo Depot’s site, we also included access to a group of Classy Llama developed extensions for Adobe Commerce (Magento) in their build. This package provided core UX components developed by our team over multiple years working on the Magento platform and was able to create excellent UX functionality, while also accelerating the UX portion of the build. 

In order to maintain continuity of service and customer support that’s so important to Ammo Depot, the Classy Llama team began building a custom responsive Magento theme with a similar customer experience to their PrestaShop site. The custom theme is also designed to provide the Ammunition Depot team with a scalable and easy to maintain architecture.

Through Ammo Depot’s Magento 2 build, the Classy Llama team was also able to build in several features and integrations that further addressed the brand’s needs: 

Restrictions Engine & Fraud Solution

As part of a future-proof scalability plan, the Classy Llama team built a configurable, rules-based engine inside of Magento that allows the Ammo Depot team to create rules that are capable of triggering actions based on a combination of product attributes, customer attributes, zip codes, and states. This engine is able to both affect the checkout experience both by messaging to a customer that they can’t proceed with their order, restricting shipping methods, and by placing orders in specific statuses for counter-fraud review. This engine is able to accommodate new products (such as firearms) easily meaning the Ammo Depot team doesn’t have to worry about product additions becoming an obstacle to their growth goals.

Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) Dealer Selector 

This store locator experience allows shoppers to ship their order to a local FFL holder and allows the Ammunition Depot team and customers to enter new potential markets. 

Address Verification 

This custom business logic built for Ammo Depot is designed to flag shipping addresses for verification, eliminate that verification after a certain period of time, and alert the appropriate employee. 

PARTNERING TOGETHER NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE

The biggest joy for llamas is to serve our clients through a project so well, they want to trust us with more work for their brand. 

After the initial Ammo Depot site was rescued and launched on the Adobe Commerce (Magento) platform, their team signed on to an ongoing maintenance retainer with our team. Through that retainer, we’ve been able to provide even more services for Ammo Depot that run the gamut of our full-service offerings. 

SEO and Core Web Vitals Audits

Last year, while under retainer with Classy Llama, the Ammo Depot team noticed that their site traffic had suddenly declined across the board and they had no idea why. They contacted the company that did their SEO work at the time and they couldn’t account for the cause of the issue either. 

Turning to Classy Llama for help, our team recommended they start with our free Core Web Vitals Report, which is designed to give a high level overview of the problems on a website related to search rankings. 

The results of that report were overwhelmingly negative, meaning their site scored low on the Core Web Vitals metrics, which accounted for the loss in organic web traffic and led the Ammo Depot team to ask Classy Llama to provide a full remediation audit for search ranking issues on their site. Once completed, the report delivered to the Ammo Depot team included recommendations for the following: 

–SEO 

-Internal Site Health 

-Core Website Vitals 

-SERP Features 

-Backlinks 

-Google Analytics 

-Google Search Console

-Keywords

-Competitor reports

The ultimate goal of this audit was to determine recommendations for a plan that can ensure organic traffic increases, but more importantly, that organic revenue continues to increase year-over-year. Now, the Classy Llama Development team is working on the needed Core Web Vitals remediations, while the Digital Marketing Team focuses on implementing the rest of the search marketing recommendations from the audit, setting the Ammo Depot team up for success and growth. 

AMMO DEPOT: ROOM TO GROW

Ammo Depot’s journey with Classy Llama is the kind of client relationship that makes llamas happy!

Not only were we able to provide site rescue support and get their initial launch off the ground, but since then, our ongoing relationship with Ammo Depot has given us the opportunity to truly partner with their brand and provide value to every aspect of their business. 

In fact, our Account Executive team was able to connect with the Ammo Depot team at the end of 2021 and create a full 2022 roadmap of initiatives that our teams are now delivering on. That’s what we mean by “full-service eCommerce agency”—we’ve got your back on everything from platforms to payment solutions

As a result of our relationship with Ammo Depot, their team has what they need to keep their promise of efficient customer service and the best ammo prices around—giving them even more room to grow.

How a Full-Service eCommerce Agency Makes Your Life easier

Christian Bodine on April 5, 2022

Do you have an eCommerce business? Are you tired of dealing with multiple vendors, tech integrations, software services and more, all while trying to piece together a cohesive online selling strategy?

If so, then you need to consider hiring a full-service eCommerce agency. Check out the ways partnering with a Full-Service eCommerce Agency can serve your needs:

Cohesive Strategy, Not Siloed Efforts

When you work with an eCommerce agency that offers a full suite of services, all the strategy and efforts will be consolidated into one place. This makes it easier to create and follow through on your sales goals. One company is responsible for your website design, user experience, digital marketing, and even your conversions. This creates a cohesive eCommerce strategy that is more likely to increase revenue and conversions than a disconnected strategy.

Time and Energy Savings

By hiring one company to manage all of your online needs, you are freeing up time and energy that can be put into other important areas of the business. Instead of spending the extra time it takes to explain your sales goals and brand values to several different company’s teams, you can share the information once and rest assured each piece of your strategy is in alignment with your objectives. Plus, you’ll never have to worry that one of your vendors or partners efforts are negating another’s. 

More Efficient Decision Making

When you have one company managing all of your eCommerce needs, it is easier to make decisions about the next steps for your business. For example, if a new feature on the website or an updated user experience flow will impact email marketing and PPC campaigns, you can discuss those changes with only one team. This not only saves headaches of repeating yourself, it can save you money and has the potential to increase revenue.

One Agency Means One Budget

When your website, digital marketing and other online eCommerce efforts are all managed by one company, your budget will be simpler to manage. Instead of having separate budgets for each vendor or partner you work with in order to sell online effectively, you can work out a budget with only one company.  This can save you money in the long run.

Higher Quality Work

Working with a full-service eCommerce agency usually means you will be working with a team of highly skilled professionals. These are people who have years of experience in website design, user experience, digital marketing and more. They also know how to work together as a team to create the best results for your business. When you work with a boutique eCommerce agency, the team is usually smaller and may not have as much experience in all areas of online sales.

Easier Scalability

As your business grows, you will need to make changes to your online strategy. This can include expanding your team, adding new features to the website or increasing your digital marketing efforts. With a full-service eCommerce agency, these changes are easier to implement and manage. You don’t have to worry about finding new vendors or working with multiple teams. Instead, you can work with one company to scale your online efforts and grow your business, and you can do it faster than ever before.

Increased Efficiency

In order to sell online successfully, you will need a website with an easy user experience and seamless eCommerce functionality. A full-service agency can help ensure your website is efficient for both customers and employees. For example, if one team member working on the UX notices that a new feature or design may negatively impact email marketing efforts, they can communicate this to the digital marketing team. This type of communication and collaboration is crucial for an efficient eCommerce business, and a full-service agency makes it happen.

Classy Llama — a Rock Solid eCommerce Partner

If you’re looking for a full-service eCommerce agency, look no further than Classy Llama. We offer web development, user experience, conversion rate optimization, digital marketing, consultation services and more, to help businesses of all sizes increase their online sales. Thanks to our team of eCommerce veterans, we can handle everything for you in one place, no matter how complex or how custom, which saves time and energy and frees you up to do what you love: run your eCommerce business.

Click here, fill out our contact form, and get started with a free roadmap preview call today.

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