Jacob Canfield

running - full growth CPG agency.
media buying + creatives + growth strategy = scale

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

The order of importance for scaling an ecom brand to $10-100 million+ as a @Shopify first brand. (this might be the most comprehensive playbook written on x and is 100% my personal opinion)

Bookmark this for later. **this is not a paid post but I mention a lot of tools and people in this article... and just a note, but none of it was written with AI**

I also turned this into a graphic with all the KPI's you want to monitor for each section.

Unit Economics and assumed CAC payback period (if you're a subscription brand) - I would rank this above all other levers of growth, because everything else is a function of this.

You need to know your contribution margin per order. COGS, shipping, pick and pack, payment processing and returns. You MUST know this for all of your products to have a target CAC you can grow at. Without it, every scaling decision below is a guess. - learned from the goat @jordanmenard.

1.) Product market fit - this is a combination of is the product good (what's your Amazon rating?), does it actually do what you say it does and do the consumption economics match your subscription rate you're recommending. (most common cause of cancellations I've seen is... "I have too much product."

You can scale an 'okay' product with great marketing but you will eventually run into an LTV crisis if re-order rates are too low or churn is too high.

Note on PMF: The brands I've seen grow the fastest have MASSIVE TAM and aren't afraid of saturation. i.e. Weight loss, greens, electrolytes, creatine, etc.

TAM = total addressable market.

Example: A niche focus supplement for gamers will not be able to scale like a menopause support supplement will due to size of the markets.

Lots of ways to find PMF, but two of the easier ones is @kalodata or @H10Software.

Don't just guess. Test and measure before going all in.

2.) Offer Architecture and pricing -
Offer = Product + Price frame + Risk reversal + Urgency

Your CAC, CPM's, conversion rate and AOV can all be heavily influenced by this and I think it's one of the things most brands get wrong or never test.

This is the first thing you need to get right before being able to scale without burning a hole in your credit card. Again... you must know your unit economics to get this right though. I think @jforjacob might be the best at this on x.

3.) Landing pages & CRO (conversion rate optimization) - Offer architecutre is technically part of #3, but other things like social proof, benefit driven copy, authority icons, clinical evidence or statistics to back up your claims, video testimonials, reviews (@judgeme) and strong hero images are important to have structured well.

Beyond that, having landing pages for each stage of awareness. (top of funnel -> advertorial, middle of funnel -> listicle, bottom of funnel -> PDP with strong offers goes without saying.

I've seen @conoritaya completely turn a brand around by just fixing the offer and LP without changing anything else in the brand.

Taking CVR from 1% to 3% took CAC from $140 to sub $80 using the exact same creatives.

Extra tip on LP's: Gruns, IM8 and other high growth brands will also dedicate PDP's to entire angles for higher congruency from ad->pre-lander->product page. (Example: Gruns Gummies ad about GLP-1 -> listicle on 7 reasons why GLP-1 users are consuming Gruns -> PDP offer.)

You need a dev that can adadpt and move quickly to launch pages. I use @pedro_maradea a lot for these kinds of ad specific LP's.

4.) Creatives - Could argue this should be above #3 with the Meta andromeda update... since the creative has become the targeting.

A great creative strategist or creative agency can be worth their weight in gold. The way meta serves up your ads requires you to have a complete funnel architecture hybrid of top of funnel, middle of funnel and bottom of funnel ads at all times.

You should also add how to use the product, common questions, objections in your ad mix as it'll still show to people that will engage but bring them one step closer to buying.

Statics and AI video:
@arshsiidhu at DOJO is one of my favorite creative agencies I've worked with so far and crushes ad accounts. His creative strategists are elite level.

Whitelisted Creators Outreach & Onboarding:
@BngrAgency (mine) and @RefunnelApp are great ways to find new creators for partnership ads to get lower CPM's and more new visitors to your brand.

For finding new ads and inspiration:
@Trendtrack_io and @gethookdai are two of my favorite softwares for finding new ads for my brands.

5.) Media buying strategy - if you want hyper growth, having a strong media buying team that is monitoring the ad account and aggressively scaling / killing ads for cost efficiency is key.

You have to have all the other pieces in place before this becomes a determinant factor though. I've seen @buffalofink be able to spend 10x more money at the same efficiency with his team.

I've seen @JemBourouhDE do the same, but on Google.

Big note on media buying: Having dialed in attribution and knowing which ads are driving new visitors vs converting existing gets overlooked by most junior media buyers.

They look at meta and crank budgets on BOF ads when they won't hold spend at higher scales and don't have a @northbeam or @triplewhale to make the correct decisions.

6.) Retention & Multi Channel Strategy -
Knowing Blended CAC (your aquisition cost across all channels) allows you to know how much you can spend form day to day.

Brands that scale to 9 figures are often not just on meta. They're also using TikTok Shop, Snapchat, @AppLovin and especially Amazon.

Meta still remains king of aquisition... but do not discount the halo effect of having an army of affiliates on TikTok and Meta awill have for word of mouth and Amazon growth.

A Note On Amazon - when you have PMF on meta, you can create your own category on Amazon. Serene Herbs did this with Soursop Bitters and I've seen 2 other brands do this. With scale... you can BECOME a category.

BASIC RETENTION: SMS/EMAIL/CANCEL FLOWS - A very underrated area of optimization in my opinion, but keeping every customer you acquire with strong win back campaigns and cancel flows can create significant lift with your brand. Reducing every % of MoM churn compounds VERY quickly at scale.

ADVANCED RETENTION: Giving more flavors, more products and more form factors of your existing products for customers to choose from. Meaning: if you have an electrolyte and you only have two flavors, give them more to try. Give them a reason to keep coming back and buying new things from you.

If you have a gummy, put it in a capsule or a liquid or a stick pack. Gummy LTV is usually 4-5 months and then it drops off pretty hard. Different people like different ways of consuming your product.

I work with some great manufacturing partners for all these form factors if you need some for your brand. Feel free to DM and I can connect.

I learned a lot from @iamshackelford at @CommerceRound on what makes people want to come back to brands. Highly recommend hearing his talks and following him on x.

7.) Logistics and finance - Having a great 3PL, packaging, inventory forecasting, strong terms with your manufacturer and knowing that your manufacturer can match your scale of growth, CAC:LTV ratio dialed in on 3 month, 6 month and 12 month cohorts with look back tracking.

I've loved @glenwomble and robo3pl for my brands so far.

8.) Customer service - Being responsive, strong support, putting the customer first all keep people coming back and give you stronger reviews.

Brand / Organic - In 2026, I think these have been largely forgotten and are probably the MOST neglected ways to scale. One viral video can change a business overnight and founder ads are still the strongest performing ads that rarely fatigue.

I have a strong theory that the brands with good organic have better CPM's than brands with no organic presence.

One way I've seen this work well is with strong top of funnel celebrity / creators that have a strong story. I think that @ChrisLangSocial and @theisaacmed are two of the best organic marketers in the game.

For new ecom operators, I think that @9operators is one of the best resources for new trends in terms of growth and scaling ecom brands.

NOT INCLUDING RETAIL IN THIS ARTICLE. THAT IS A COMPLETELY SEPEARTE TOPIC... BUT SHOULD BE ADDED IN MULTICHANNEL.

Open to hearing others opinions on what they believe the strongest lever to scale is, but this is what I've seen peeking beneath the hood of 50+ brands at all different stages.

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@Nebraskangooner Might call you about this.

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@StefanGeorgi Curate your algorithm (and your kids) in order to get what you want out of life.

This has never been more important than it is now.

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@notbradyy More MCP sir

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@scalesurfer_ BFCM like

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@RoderickMelvin IRL poker is the only way I’d ever gamble.

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

Decided to hit the hard rock to get some poker in for the first time in years.

Played some 1/2.

Sat down and the very first hand I got was JJ on the button.

Flop was K10J of spades.

Turn was a 10.

Shoved all in on the river.

The guy had flopped a royal flush.

No bad beat either. Just high hand pay outs every 20 mins.

Some nights just aren’t your nights lol.

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

Good article to read at 3:30am.

[APAJI @apaji_x]

BREAKING:
Sleep researchers confirm that when an ADHD partner stays up until 1:30 AM scrolling or playing games even though they have to wake up at 6:30 AM and are exhausted—it’s called "Revenge Bedtime Procrastination," and it is triggered by Daytime Autonomy Starvation.

If you get frustrated watching your partner stay up way too late and wake up grumpy every morning, here is what is actually happening inside their brain: 1/6

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@alexh459 @Seanfrank Say when

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@CryptoParadyme @LSDinmycoffee My buddy that voted blue lol

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

Blue wave in the election

Red wave in my portfolio

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@azaztrader01

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

Social media is a cancer to your mind and it’s funny what happens when you delete it from your life.

I use x occasionally now as a networking tool now but am on nothing else and don’t doom scroll like I used to.

Anxiety - gone
Burn out - gone
Depression - gone
Sleeping better and happier than ever. Dopamine restored.

Replaced it with books, chess, sports and being present with the family.

Now when I’m with chronically online people, it feels like I’m getting yelled at by an algorithm.

I can’t recommend opening your phone right now and deleting every app from it.

Life is great. Don’t let the algorithm convince you otherwise. 🫡

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@raju_GoogleAds I jump on every now and againt to let people know social media sucks and then disappear again. :)

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@StefanGeorgi @iandrewking Having money is most people’s problem haha

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

Product being great with good unit economics - (must have for LTV or nothing else works. Decent product will get maybe 3 repurchases, but not likely. Amazon above 4.0 is the base metric)

Then:
Offer #1 - AOV + subscription take rate
Ads #2
CVR # 3 (reflects #1)
Retention #4
Customer service - #5
Manufacturer / 3PL that can maintain scale - #6 (only after $500k/month)

Media buying - its own category but you must have the above for them to go ham and scale.

[Ben Corkery @ecom_cork]

Guys.

Most of you know this but the DTC media buying matrix is 90% cope for shitty ads and shitty product.

Even the 10 year veteran dudes are tweeting stuff stuff that literally does not matter.

No shade to anyone but it’s literally 90% ads and decent product.

Even offer is secondary imo - but will help to get more scale.

If you’re not spending 500k a month ignore the gurus.

Double down only on creative and get something cooking that you can double down on even more.

This is literally it aside from having a good product that is differentiated and positioned well as a brand.

Tune out ALL the Meta and Ecom takes and just track nc roas which you should get triple whale for but can also just watch Meta in platform and use low frequency (below 2) to monitor TOF ads

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@SarahLevinger Can I get MCP access to your brain?

Please and thanks

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@ShardiB2 @Nebraskangooner Insane. Luckily our house is like 20 feet above the city

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@ShardiB2 @Nebraskangooner Duct tape on the outside of doors works better than sand bags

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

@jforjacob @scalesurfer_ Scale the 🐐

[Jacob Canfield @JacobCanfield]

When @buffalofink takes over an ad account with ‘no budget’

[Freddy🇩🇪 @FreddyLA7]

A buffalo is sprinting across the field😭😭😭

This has to be the craziest college tradition we’ve seen on this entire trip.