My First Monday Send :)

Happy Monday,

So today's send is all about the three incredible days I spent in Austin for Triple Whale's Whalie event last week. If you're not in ecommerce or unaware of Triple Whale, they are simply a dope software that marketers use for attribution to better judge their profitability & marketing. If you're still not on the platform hit me up and I can probably hook it up with some good monthly savings.

Now that you got the backstory! They hosted a sick two-day rager filled with over 250 incredible humans. From world-class brands, industry leaders, agencies, and amazing tech brands the room was filled with high energy and untouchable vibes.?

If you’re looking for a playbook on community, take a look at what they've done:

• Solved a problem that bugged the fuck out of a lot of operators (not knowing what ads & channels were driving profitable or unprofitable spend)
• Solved that problem for the loudest ecommerce founders & brands
• Offered a sweet sign up bonus, discounts, or a chance to invest in their vision
• Continuously listen to their audiences problems and build the solution
• Look into the future of issues down the line and build for it - Creative Cockpit anyone??

The only thing cooler than meeting internet friends in real life, was meeting dozens of you who read this newsletter each week. You have no idea how much it inspires me and how good it feels meeting people who read this newsletter & actually improve their business from it.?

So I just spent the past 72 hours bonding with 250 equally as nerdy ecommerce & entrepreneurial folks. What the hell did I learn? Well, let me break it down for you.?

1) Stop comparing yourself to others. There is always going to be somebody further ahead, with more money, more success. The most important thing you can do is build the best version of yourself.?

2) There are so many big companies out there that you've never heard of. WTF is a Portland Leathers? They are doing like $150M a year. Gives me hope that CROSSNET hasn’t even scratched 1% of our potential customers.

3) Spend more time thinking about consumer psychology when creating ads. Less about product features and more about what your product does for your customer! Yes, we have the world’s first four-way volleyball game, but more importantly, we are disconnecting people from their technology and giving them a chance to reconnect with friends & family while making memories.

4)?Retention.com is a massive cheat code and I'm mad I only started using it like six months ago.

5)?Stop paying for software & apps that are not ROI positive. Go through your tech stack and ask yourself does this make me back what I make per month? If not, delete it or reach out and negotiate the hell out of the rates. They don’t want to lose you. I promise you that. Sorry tech vendors.?

6) There are fewer & fewer emerging product brands.?Where did all the brands go?! The gap between the brands doing even just a couple million and starting to get their first dozen online sales is growing wider and wider. The brands that launched a few years ago, found success, and managed their cash flow wisely are still alive. Coming up as a new brand is hard as hell unless you dominate organic.?

7) Organic content is the way of the future. The Mini Katana dudes doing like $10M+ selling samurai swords. That is crazy to me. But you know what? They bust their ass. Make incredible content that even I want to watch and then drop badass, high-quality products. I saw some of the swords in person this week and they’d be incredible in my office or as a gift. They keep dropping badass products and their cult-like customers are down to keep purchasing.?

8) Community building is hard as hell, but?when you unlock it will be worth it. Sadly I’ve built a better community as Chris Meade LLC with this newsletter & founders' dinners than I have with my own company. If I could go back in time, I’d start by building a dedicated place for all my customers to get funneled into, but most importantly give them a reason to post and engage. I was BLOWN AWAY when the Portland Leather folks said they have 50k people on a Facebook group, with 200 posts a day about their leather bags. Or Mini Katana with 20,000 people on a discord. Word of advice build where your customers are hanging out. If you’re selling to parents, but are my age - you may spend time on reddit & discord, but the parents might not be. Go to them. Make your job easier.?

9) Put yourself out there! I know it’s hard making conversation some times. Put yourself out there. I promise the networking thing gets easier over time. You won’t get along with everyone and that’s completely fine. Some people probably think I’m an asshole and some people may absolutely love me. That’s life. The sooner you realize that, the more comfortable you will be.?

10) STOP FLEXING YOUR MONEY AND BUSINESS!?There will always be somebody more successful & with more money. Nothing is more cringy than hearing about how somebody is killing it and making so much money 60 seconds into a conversation.?

Finally, I have two buddies who are looking to take on one or two new clients for the month of February or March. One is a badass graphic designer & another runs a boutique email agency that CROSSNET actually uses. Let me know by responding back in the comments if you'd like a personal introduction. Incredibly affordable & A+ talent.?

Have a great rest of the week!

Talk soon,

Chris?