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Newsletter #11: The Ads Frustration edition


The weekly newsletter that helped Tom Hardy win his BJJ gold medal (Try to name any actor that is more legit?.....You can't..... OK, maybe Keanu....it's close)

This week is about some frustrating issues around TikTok ads ๐คฌ and some important news.
In this edition:
Does TikTok know our household income?.... We put them to the test
TikTok ads are as reliable as Amazon Support ๐คฌ .... Why this benefits you and scares off competitors
Why followers mean sh*t.... It's just vanity
This newsletter is changing.... will you get left behind?

Does TikTok know our household income?
We put them to the test
TikTok released a new feature in their ad platform:

That's right.... TikTok Ads now allow you to target households based on their income.
But is it legit?
So we decided to test it out:
Run 2 ad groups: Interests targeting and hashtag targeting (as the baseline) for a $40 product on Amazon
Combine those ad groups and overlay it with the household income (ie. use the hashtag and interest targeting, but only target the particular income)

The results.....
Household income was pretty useless ๐คฌ
But....
Important things to keep in mind:
This is a new feature and likelt to improve in the future
When we added the income interest.... it shrunk the audience size.... the smaller the audience, the more expensive the ads become

How to use this:
Household Income as an audience is pretty new
It will get better and more accurate
But for now..... stick to interests targeting..... of all the ads we run, it always has the best results ๐

TikTok ads are as reliable as Amazon Support ๐คฌ
Why this benefits you and scares off competitors
So let's set the mood.....
You spend over $2,000 creating content (dozens of hours of research....hiring content creators... shipping products.... creating scripts..... it's a lot of work ๐คฌ )
You launch 6 ads using the content under one campaign... You expect awesome results..... 'cos you spent over a month working on this campaign
And what happens?
Cost-per-click goes through the roof ๐คฌ.... you consider giving up TikTok Ads and become an Amazon PPC expert.... 'cos there are not many of those ๐คจ
But then you wait a few hours and relaunch the ad campaign.....
The results:

TikTok Ads are glitchy..... you can literally launch 2 identical ad campaigns and obtain different results.
Moral of the story:
When launching ad campaigns....
Try a few versions
Publish them at different times
The difference between an experienced ad expert and a newbie.....
Experts simply test more.... 'cos the truth is.....no one really knows what works
So test everything ๐

Why followers mean sh*t....
It's just vanity
So I see this a lot....
TikTok influencers and creators bragging about their followers..... and yeah, that's a legit flex.... if you are NOT referencing TikTok.
'Cos the more followers you have... the lower your engagement rate.
An influencer that has over 100K followers has an engagement rate that is half that of a nano influencer (<10K followers).
AND....
Influencers are slaves to their followers
Let me explain:
Let's assume you create a TikTok profile and create content around 'cow tipping' ๐

Over the next few months... you grow your followers to 100,000
EVERY post is about cows.... after a few months.... you get bored of it and become lactose intolerant...
You stop posting about cows....
You now post about the dangers of dairy and become a vegan ('cos vegans know more than everyone else)
Your views and engagement drop and your profile is now less popular than an R. Kelly concert (too soon?).
What does this mean?
TikTok's algorithm main metric is ENGAGEMENT
If your followers do not engage with your content..... you are dead to them (that's how TikTok views it).
Trying to change the direction of an established profile is like trying to negotiate with Amazon support.... you have lost already ๐คฌ
So what do you do?
When contacting influencers:
Focus on nano influencers (<10k followers)
They are cheaper and easier to work with (they need content to grow their channel... so they need you.... large influencers have an ego the size of my wife's credit card bill (it was my kid's birthday yesterday... couldn't see her over the boxes ๐คฌ )
Use the TikTok Creator Marketplace to get their engagement metrics (no other platform gives you this data.... engagement % is always hidden and influencers don't like discussing it)


This newsletter is changing....
Will you get left behind?
I won't lie....
When it comes to Amazon.... it's been 10 years and I am jaded... I feel like Scar from the Lion King.....

I want to help as many Amazon sellers as possible... without becoming a guru flexing their abs on a beach....(I am hoping to get a 6 pack for Christmas... come on Santa)
So things are changing:
We are offering a paid version of this newsletter:
Your own Amazon TikTok Wiki: Everything we have learn about using TikTok for your Amazon business
TikTok Ads
TikTok Organic growth
Influencer & Creator outreach
How to create Amazon strategies on TikTok
Tons more
Our Rolodex: We push out 10-20 campaigns per week.... the exact platforms and services we use to scale
Your Cheat Code: Bi-weekly breakdowns of what TikTok content is working for Amazon brands.... how to copy and improve on it
Influencer and Creator Database: We are building our own platform that will have of all the influencers and creators we use and you get FULL access... only available to subscribers ๐
TikTok Shop: TikTok's own marketplace... how we are using it to replace Amazon (but you could keep both marketplaces ๐).... the brands we are working with are having higher sales on TikTok Shop than Amazon and retail.... let that sink in for a bit
Tons more in the pipeline... guest interviews.... discounts on any services we offer.....group calls...
Here is the kicker:
I kinda don't want to share the strategies with the masses.... 'cos the more that are used, the less effective they become.
So with every 50 signups we are increasing the price.... that way we keep the riff-raff (AKA your competitors) out with the price increase.
Eventually the membership will become so expensive, no new members can join.
Think of this as Bitcoin in 2013... would you have bought back then if you had known the rise of BTC? I bet you would have (let's just ignore the current crypto prices....)
AND....
The price has already increased!!!!
I am not going for the hard sell.... not my style ๐
If you are interested.... sign up here (2 min)
You get full access on Friday 16th September ๐
That's it for this week ๐
But I need to ask a favour...
What did you think of today's newsletter?'Cos I spend more time on this than I do with my kids.... now you feel bad for not voting previously... |
Thanks for reading.
- Paul
PS..... If you REALLY enjoyed this.... share the love.... the aim of this newsletter is to give you an ego boost ๐... 'cos you now know more than 99% of other Amazon sellers...share this newsletter purely to say "I found it first!" If you get the most shares then you and I will have a 1:1 strategy call ๐
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