iblack

Actionable design advice for DTC brands: How to increase your conversion rate.

Consultant to billion-dollar brands and 7+ figure startups.

[iblack @itomblack]

Made a chrome extension that improves the readability of @paulg's blog.

Unintentionally, this act proved his very point his post "The Brand Age."

Brand is opposed to good design.

The site is better to read.

But it no longer stands out among every other article on the web.

[iblack @itomblack]

@matt_elevenlabs Awesome! @matt_elevenlabs

I host a podcast about early-stage startups called Ready For Launch.
I'd love to have you on the show to tell your story - how about it?

(Listen here - https://t.co/XmXKGEo2BS)

[iblack @itomblack]

X has ruined notifications completely.

[Lulu Cheng Meservey @lulumeservey]

GO DIRECT: THE MANIFESTO

I. TRADITIONAL PR IS DEAD.

For too long, founders have yielded control over their narratives to media and middlemen.

Before the internet, it was by necessity. The way to reach large audiences was through the media, and the way to get media coverage was through professional publicists.

Today, most of the planet is directly reachable by social media or email. There’s no longer a need to go through traditional gatekeepers of information and brokers of reputation — especially as their own credibility has plummeted.

The old PR playbook of relying on third parties with misaligned interests is obsolete.

But while the world has changed, comms norms have not. Still encased in amber are the old habits: prioritizing media over social media, fishing for clicks instead of fostering communities, and avoiding risk by recycling worn-out tactics.

“Corporate communications” itself is now an oxymoron, as nothing meaningful can be communicated by a faceless committee. If press releases read like they were written by a baker’s dozen of middle managers, that’s because they were. Their only discernible purpose seems to be to avoid upsetting anyone and jeopardizing the future job prospects of those middle managers.

The resulting stories are bland and generic, with passion reduced to pablum. Traditional comms is an anachronism.

II. COMMUNICATION IS THE FOUNDER’S JOB.

For a decade, we’ve been told that tech founders are cartoon villains, venture-funded startups are grifts, and new technologies will destroy us all.

Maybe there was a time when founders could just focus on building — they were seen by the media establishment as a curiosity, not a threat to the natural hierarchy who needed to be put in their place. But if that time ever existed, it is now long gone.

You may not be interested in The Discourse, but it is interested in you. And if you bow out, you are forfeiting your license to build a movement and thus build a company.

Building a movement is hard, but it must be done, and it must be done by founders. A founder’s passion, vision, and conviction can’t be simulated by others — least of all the press-release-enjoying middle managers already scouting for their next jobs.

The best spokesperson for any endeavor is not the one who has the most polish, the longest tenure, or the “right” credentials. It’s the person who holds the secret knowledge upon which the enterprise is built, the person who can not only describe the idea but, in the face of inevitable opposition, fight for it and win.

Founders need to take their narrative as seriously as they take the rockets or robots. They would never outsource their product — and when it comes to convincing others to support the mission, the story is the product. Outsourcing comms is as bad as outsourcing code.

As evangelists, founders are irreplaceable.

III. GO DIRECT OR GO HOME.

Going direct to the people who matter is how founders retain control over their narratives and preserve their companies’ uniqueness. Those who are stubborn, unorthodox, and disagreeable should never have their edges filed down for fear of offending entrenched interests.

But going direct doesn’t mean going it alone. It doesn’t mean refusing help or spurning others who can amplify your message. And it certainly doesn’t mean just poasting more.

Going direct means crafting and telling your own story, without being dependent on intermediaries.

Just as founders might have more natural talents at product, management, or engineering, some founders will be naturals at communicating while others have a harder time.

The good news is that going direct and building a movement, while not easy, are skills that can be developed with discipline and time. The bad news is that, unlike with engineering or management, communications failures are immediately public and personally humiliating. It’s not surprising that many are loathe to take on this responsibility.

At the same time, founders willing to pick up that gauntlet will find that it gives them a massive edge in recruiting, fundraising, selling, and shaping the information environment needed for their companies to thrive.

IV. IT’S TIME TO REBUILD THE ROSTRA.

At the center of Rome, as it transitioned from a Republic to an Empire, stood a speaker’s platform from which the city’s leaders would address the public directly.

It was called the Rostra, so named because it stood atop the captured battle rams (or rostrums) of enemy warships. From here, speeches were given that would sway opinion, change regimes, and alter history.

That physical structure has been lost to time, but we now have something much more powerful: a free and open internet with which to build a speaker’s platform of limitless scale. All we need is the will to build it.

The conventional way of communicating has its allure. Outsource your message, let some removed third party go through the motions of getting “impressions,” and spare yourself the risks and discomfort that come with putting your own name on the line.

But that way is incompatible with greatness.

Reject convention — build your own platform, build your own audience, and build your own narrative.

Go direct.

[David Senra @FoundersPodcast]

Peter Thiel on the most important lesson to learn from Steve Jobs:

[iblack @itomblack]

Another great example of how user research led to significant growth for a DTC brand

https://t.co/FGR3tGdFV4

#cro #uxdesign #dtc

[iblack @itomblack]

The Double-Edged Sword of Collecting Customer Emails for DTC brands

https://t.co/W0SyDt6gXN

#dtc #conversionrateoptimization #uxdesign

[iblack @itomblack]

I once helped a brand bring in $175,000 per week in new email signups.

To hear the rest of the story, sign up to https://t.co/PblaFZ8dOk.

New article coming soon.

#design #cro #experimentation

[iblack @itomblack]

@moizali @Kenanstweets I’d also second Chamonix! Very English friendly for a French mountain town, and absolutely stunning. Happy to show you around.

[iblack @itomblack]

@paulg Rabbit R1?

[iblack @itomblack]

@thesaraloretta * Not starting with an acryonym I have to read the whole first section to understand.
* Reducing space at bottom of hero section so the 3 headings of the next section are visible.
* Removing giant marquee and image that feel like a footer
* Access to pricing info in hero section

[iblack @itomblack]

After:
✅ 1) Subtle brand marks
✅ 2) Clear action-focussed copy
✅ 3) Centred, easy-to-tap CTAs
✅ 4) Visible legal terms
✅ 5) Links to legal agreements

–––
#Ecommerce #UserExperience #UXUI #ConversionOptimization #CRO #CustomerSatisfaction #UXDesign #UserInterface #DTC

[iblack @itomblack]

DTX UX Pro Tips #102: Make crucial information clear

Before:
🚫 1) Unnecessary oversized branding
🚫 2) Illegible copy over image
🚫 3) Off-centre CTAs
🚫 4) Almost invisible legal terms
🚫 5) No links to legal agreements
🧵👇

[iblack @itomblack]

After:
✅ 1) Imagery that suggests they sell coffee
✅ 2) Clearly visible shop link
✅ 3) Copy speaking to the brand offering

–––
#Ecommerce #DesignPsychology #UserExperience #UXUI #ConversionOptimization #CRO #CustomerSatisfaction #UXDesign #UserInterface #OnlineShopping #DTC

[iblack @itomblack]

DTX UX Pro Tips #104: Showcase your product

Before:
🚫 1) Imagery that suggests they sell beach towels
🚫 2) Nearly invisible shop link
🚫 3) No copy clarifying the brand’s offering
🧵👇

[iblack @itomblack]

DTX UX Pro Tips #103: Guide customers to your product list

Before:
🚫 1) No easy way to enter the shop

After:
✅ 1) Clear link to the shop

–––

#Ecommerce #DesignPsychology #UserExperience #UXUI #ConversionOptimization #CRO #CustomerSatisfaction #UXDesign #UserInterface #DTC

[iblack @itomblack]

6) Post-purchase surveys.
7) Competitor analysis.
8) Customer support teams.
9) Usability testing.
10) Design thinking workshops.

Coming up with valid ideas doesn’t have to be difficult.

How do you find yours?

#Ecommerce #DTC #ABTesting #DesignExperimentation #UXDesign

[iblack @itomblack]

10 sources of inspiration for your ecommerce store AB testing roadmap that will help you increase your revenue without increasing your ad spend:

1) Customer interviews.
2) Analytics platforms.
3) Heat-mapping tools.
4) Third-party research.
5) Social media comments.
🧵👇

[iblack @itomblack]

@trywalnut Is your website currently down for this reason, or something else?

[iblack @itomblack]

Ever since I discovered Derek Siver's blog, I've been vacuuming up his content.

If you've never listened to the Ready For Launch Podcast, I guarantee this one is worth your time.

https://t.co/AE8AG6BFxc

#DerekSivers #podcast #podcasting #entrepreneurship #writing