Today, we look back on an informative episode of the Blitz Growth Podcast, featuring Mitchell Cohen, Director of Influencer Partnerships at AppSumo. 

A marketing maestro who has built vibrant online communities around edtech businesses, Mitch is also renowned for successfully leveraging influential figures and partnerships for business growth.

This blog post will delve into the lessons shared by Mitch and consider how these tactics can be applied to the realm of e-commerce for robust growth.

Key Lessons from the Episode

• The power of personal connections and networking
• Utilizing platforms like YouTube effectively for business growth
• The strength of influencer marketing and long-term partnerships

Let’s dive into each point and explore how this knowledge can be applied to the e-commerce sector.

Leveraging Personal Connections and Networking

Networking isn’t limited to industry conferences or formal meetups—it can start from a simple online interaction. 

Mitch attributes much of his success to making genuine connections with people on the internet. Whether it’s by responding to an email, writing thoughtful posts, or simply initiating a conversation, building relationships has been a powerful tool in his toolkit.

Translate this approach into e-commerce by encouraging dialogue with your customers. 

Actively engage with them not just on your store’s website or social media, but also on platforms where they gather to discuss products or brands. 

Be responsive to queries, requests, and comments. This can lead to creating loyal customers, and even brand advocates, who can help to fuel word-of-mouth marketing for your online store.

And you have many other approaches at your disposal. 

One such approach is leveraging the ubiquity of cell phones to reach customers directly through SMS text messaging. 

These messages, when kept conversational and informal, have a higher open rate compared to emails.

The digital landscape also offers the convenience of web chats and digital seminars, which are becoming increasingly popular. 

These tools provide the same level of service as in-person meetings but are more accessible for the customer.

Web chat, often used for customer service, is an underutilized tool in the sales process. 

A proactive sales chat can significantly increase the likelihood of a purchase, especially when a real person is available to address complex inquiries.

Lastly, effective communication involves listening to your customers post-purchase. Tracking brand mentions on social media and online review sites can help brands respond quickly to comments and complaints, demonstrating dedication to their customers.

Utilizing YouTube for Business Growth

Mitch elucidates how dedicating time and focus to YouTube has catalyzed growth. 

The tactics he shares — fine-tuning video titles and thumbnails to optimize click-through rates (CTR) and average view duration — can be leveraged by e-commerce businesses to enhance their product videos or customer testimonials.

At this point, there are so many great strategies to leverage YouTube for e-commerce, they could fill a book. And, while most are outside the scope of this article, we’ll just go over some surface-level details here.

Give your products the limelight they deserve with engaging presentation videos hosted on YouTube. 

Besides providing detailed information that static images don’t capture, videos also offer a holistic storytelling opportunity. 

In fact, a well-made video can effectively convey the value proposition and potential utility of a product to prospective customers.

Here’s how Tushy does it, for example:

The Strength of Influencer Marketing and Partnerships

Mitch’s core role at AppSumo revolves around building and nurturing relationships with influencers and partners. As he astutely points out, partnerships should ideally be long-term, collaborative, and mutually beneficial. It’s about more than just transactional deals—it’s about genuine relationships.

E-commerce businesses can harness this strategy by identifying and collaborating with key influencers in their industry. 

Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool to bridge the gap between your brand and potential customers, providing a personal and trusted touchpoint. 

Aligning your products with trusted voices can lead to increased brand visibility and revenue growth.

We’re huge believers in influencer marketing and it’s one of the primary strategies we use to grow e-commerce brands. Every one of the brands we’ve helped that you can find on this site has directly or indirectly benefitted from influencer marketing strategies.

As you embark on this journey, remember that building genuine, long-lasting relationships with influencers can be more fruitful than one-off promotional deals.

Sometimes, you’ll have to be picky about who to work with because you just don’t see any potential for a long-term relationship.

Alternate Strategies to Explore

• Investing in ads: YouTube ads, while long considered secondary to Facebook and Google ads, can offer wide-reaching effects in building brand awareness.
• Focusing on Audience Relationships: Cultivating a strong relationship with your audience, irrespective of the platform, can help your brand navigate and adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape effectively.
• Converting Organic Reach into Sales: While gaining followers and subscribers is crucial, the ultimate goal should be to convert this audience into paying customers.

In the vast, competitive landscape of e-commerce, strategies that focus on genuine connections — whether they are with influencers, partners, or customers — are fundamentally important.

Mitchell Cohen’s experiences offer valuable lessons for online store owners, illustrating the power of leveraging personal connections, effective platform utilization, and influencer marketing for sustained growth.

In Conclusion

By adopting these strategies, e-commerce businesses can foster a dynamic and loyal customer base, increase brand visibility, and drive robust online growth. 

Dive into the potential of networking, perfect the YouTube game, and leverage the influence of trusted voices—these could be your stepping stones to e-commerce success.