Nerd Marketing (Nerd Marketing)

In this episode, Drew talks about the five different observations he had while working and growing his business during 7 months of travel with his family, and the people and tools that made it possible. 

The one where Drew interviews Josh Manley of IronFenceShop.com about the factors that led to his early success

Drew and Michael welcome Tim Curtis, CEO of CohereOne, to discuss the often-overlooked advantages of direct mail. Learn how catalogs create a halo effect on other marketing channels, boost online sales, and enhance customer lifetime value. Get practical tips on launching your own catalog campaign and see why direct mail is a game-changer for modern marketing.

Drew chats with Tracey Migliaccio, Sr. Manager of Direct Mail at Humann about. Tracy's been in the eComm game for several years (previously at Wolverine Worldwide, parent company of Sperry, Keds, Wolverine, Saucony, and others), and like Drew, has been doing direct mail way before it was cool. 

Host and ecom guru Drew Sanocki joined Eric Dyck on the DTC podcast to talk about the world of ecommerce success. Known for his obsession with profitability (sorry, growth-obsessed folks) and his love with Marginal CAC, Drew is helping brands unlock a new profitable channel: Direct mail. Yup, good ol' snail mail is making a powerful comeback in the DTC industry.

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The DTC landscape is shifting fast: tariffs are disrupting supply chains, Meta’s ad platform is more unpredictable than ever, and DTC brands are feeling the pressure. Drew and Michael break down the five major ways tariffs are impacting eCommerce, how Meta’s latest changes are frustrating advertisers, and  why brands like Hexclad are scaling smarter—with strategies like direct mail and a Super Bowl commercial.

In this episode, Drew shares his favorite resources and private equity investment contacts.

Join Drew & Michael as they lay out the direct mail playbook that propelled brands like Dr. Squatch, Hexclad to glory. Steal their tactics to add 10% to your top line.

The one where Drew walks through a case study showing how to implement a great, easy retention program that you can use at your own retailer

In this episode, Drew talks about buying AutoAnything, and the lessons he learned from doing the deal.

Shopify has made a huge push into the enterprise market, but why are so many big brands still hesitant to make the switch? Drew and Michael break down key insights from eTail, explore why legacy brands remain stuck on outdated tech stacks, and highlight the massive opportunity Shopify is missing. They also debunk common loyalty program myths and share smarter retention strategies that actually drive results.

The one where Drew walks through some tripwires and email campaigns that he is using at an 8-figure retailer in order to juice revenue 15%

Drew and Michael interview Alisa Pospekhova who does double duty as head of brand marketing for the massive, publicly traded haircare brand Olaplex and founder & CEO of kindroot, an omnichannel herbal supplement brand. Learn how she applies learnings from the mega brand to her startup and vice versa, how brands should think about direct response vs brand marketing, and how newer brands can compete against larger incumbents.

TLDR: Profits, fast. Drew and Mike discuss 15 of Drew's 30 turnaround tips, based on their time together turning around big, busted eComm brands.

In this episode, take a behind-the-scenes look at the catalog process. Joining Drew and Michael is guest Rick Binger, Founder Brand + Creative Director at Binger, who has been working on catalogs for over 30 years. They chat about why a DTC brand would want to create a catalog, how PostPilot's Cardalogs could help your business, and the process behind a successful catalog.

Rick Binger Catalog Process

Drew & Michael interview Mark Ritz, co-founder of Carnivore Snax on the secrets to scaling from 3 to 12 million profitably. Learn his strategies for working with influencers, successfully executing trade show events and why he’s not planning on going into retail.

In this episode, we go deep on how Garret bootstrapped the brand he started with his wife to a big private equity exit. Hear the details of the deal process and his role post-exit. He also shares tips on hiring and building a great remote team.

Drew and Michael sit down with Brad Darooge, CEO of www.baudville.com/. Learn how Baudville went all-in on direct mail: how they did it, why they did it, and gives some actionable tips to incorporate direct mail into your marketing mix.

Klaviyo just launched its first-ever CRM built for B2C brands, and Drew was on the ground at the event. He and Michael break down what this means for eCommerce, Klaviyo’s competitive landscape, and whether this signals a major shift in the industry. Plus, they dive into two major DTC acquisitions and reveal how Four Sigmatic leveraged direct mail to drive retail success.

Introducing Nerd Marketing Live, our new format where Drew and Mike break down key insights and trends in the eComm/retail space and answer audience questions. In this episode, they spotlight how True Religion and Abercrombie achieved remarkable turnarounds and what other businesses can learn from their success. They discuss key trends shaping 2025, including the role of AI, the retail comeback for DTC brands, and the growing importance of efficient marketing strategies. Plus, get insights into benchmarks and key trends that will help brands thrive in the year ahead. 

Ed Han and Laura Ching sit down with hosts Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein. Ed and Laura are the brains behind the $333 million exit success story, TinyPrints. They discuss their early days of brainstorming business ideas with friends, their passion for entrepreneurship, and the role of the internet in their success.

As the big ecom aggregators mostly flame out, is the roll-up model destined to fail? Learn how Mike Maher, founder of online apparel innovator Taylor Stitch, is making it work and creating accretive enterprise value.

Hosts Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein chat with Julianne Hummelberg, a VP at Summit Partners, to share the secrets of dominating the CPG industry. With Julianne's experience in investing in CPG brands, she gets into crucial success factors that entrepreneurs should prioritize.

Every brand wants to be Apple, and they can be—at least when it comes to avoiding discounts. In this episode, PostPilot CEOs Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein discuss discounting alternatives that ecommerce brands can use to juice sales while preserving profit margins.

They're not done sharing secrets. Drew and Mike discuss the next 15 of Drew's 30 turnaround tips, based on their time together turning around big, busted eComm brands.

Brace yourselves for today’s heart-stopping topic: meetings. Yup, we all love to hate them. But here’s the thing: Bad meetings can hold your business back, and effective ones can fuel success. PostPilot co-CEOs Drew and Michael swear by the EOS Level 10 framework. This week, they brought on EOS implementer Derek Anderson to dig into why the system works and how it can help scale your business.

The one where Drew walks you through a quick and dirty implementation of a discount ladder. If you aren't using this method, you could increase your revenue 10% in under one hour.

The one where Drew walks you through a couple great examples of easy-to-implement discount ladders from top retailers. He zeros in on their use in a win-back campaign, but the same approach can be used across abandoned cart campaigns, welcome campaigns -- virtually any form of user activity.

The one where Drew interviews Emmanuel Eleyae, chief marketerbehind SatinLinedCaps.com about how he grew his $1 million dollarretailer. Links: http://www.satinlinedcaps.com/http://www.ecommercestruggles.com/ Bold apps' upsell appfamebit.com reelio

The one where Drew reviews the prevailing means of customer segmentation and shows why that's basically useless online. He then shows you how you should think about segmenting your customers based on behaviour.

The one where Drew shows you why some retailers spend way too much on promotions and others spend too little. Drew then shows you the "discount ladder" method of driving profits.

Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein sit down with Joseph Siegel, Director of Retention at Mr. Beast's Feastables. Joseph gets into what it's like to work for Mr. Beast, why gamifying marketing works and how they've grown their brand within a massive media company.

The one where Drew talks through how conduct basic segmentation using Google Analytics

In this episode, Drew talks in-depth about the tools that made productive work possible during a 7-month long trip across the globe with his family.

Together Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein been through almost 50 Black Fridays. In this episode, they share the big, hard lessons they've learned over the years—not the tactical moves, but principles for winning Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Tune in to learn why brands often lose money on offers, how to avoid bleeding cash on high CPCs, and more.

Jacques Spitzer has generated more than a billion views and $1 billion in sales for brands like Dr. Squatch, Manscaped and Native. He shares why the “green Lamborghini” is key to impactful ads, big mistakes brands make, and how businesses need to change their marketing approach as they grow.

Super Bowl ads are the biggest marketing stage of the year - but are they actually driving new customer acquisition? Drew and Mike break down why most ads focused on brand retention over acquisition and what that means for DTC brands. Plus, they dive into the CFO-CMO dynamic - how alignment between these roles drives real, profitable growth - and why apparel brands like Vuori and Buck Mason are scaling direct mail into a multimillion-dollar acquisition channel.

Drew and Michael break down the Series A process for PostPilot, offering valuable tips and insights for anyone looking to raise capital in the market today.

Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein are joined by the legendary Professor Peter Fader from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. They dive deep into the world of customer centricity and how to run businesses that are all about pleasing the customers.

In this episode, Drew talks about the three highlights of how deals go down in the private equity process.

Join Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein as they sit down with marketing dynamo Erin Chambers to explore BOOM! and oVertone's journey from online success to brick-and-mortar dominance. Gain new insights into game-changing techniques that can skyrocket your store velocity, and grab Erin's tips if you're contemplating a retail venture.

In this episode (part 2), Sina and I finish counting what I consider to be the key success factors.

What's it like to exit for $225 million? Craig Elbert spills. He's the former CMO of Bonobos and now Co-Founder, CEO at Care/of, a company that was sold to Bayer for $225 million.

Craig digs in on how to think about an exit for a CPG brand, emphasizing the importance of tackling specific problems in a consumer-friendly way. He uses the example of Care/of, which focuses on simplifying the confusing vitamins and supplements market by making it easier for consumers to know what to take and build a habit. 

Drew and Michael break down why over-relying on one channel is risky, why ROAS is flawed, and how cutting costs can backfire. Plus, insights on driving high AOV in acquisition, beauty brand demographics, and the Jonathan Adler acquisition.

In this episode, Drew talks with Andrew Youderian on the  eCommerceFuel.com podcast to explain how to leverage post cards in your business, how his companies are gearing up for Black Friday, and more. 

Drew discusses six steps business owners can make to maximizing valuations.

Why do you need to know your tribe? What makes smart investors buy into an ecommerce business? How should founders approach brand-building? Visionary investor Anthony Choe lets Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein pick his very large brain. You don’t want to miss the insights in this episode!

The Turnaround legends, Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein, are joined by Bill D'Alessandro of Natural Dog to talk buying brands, the perils and rewards of retail, eCom-economics + finance, and the earlier days of eCommerce.

Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein chat with Julia Perez, CMO of plant-based protein-shake brand OWYN. She shares her route to the C-suite, why retail is much more than a sales channel, the three keys to becoming a nine-figure brand, and how she ID’s job candidates who are trailblazers.  

The one where Drew interviews Michael Jackness, founder of ColorIt.com about how he grew his $1 million dollar retailer Links: Colorit EcomCrew Klaviyo aftership AdEspresso Gleam.io

In this episode, Drew talks about his own personal experiences in buying and selling companies, and gives a brief intro to private equity, which he'll discuss in the next few episodes.

We often hear brands ask about discounting strategies…When is the right time? What’s the right amount? What are alternatives to coupons? We asked Oren Charnoff, one of the founders of Fondue, a cash back alternative to discounts. Hear lots of actionable advice, plus breaking news on their acquisition by Postscript!

How do you stand out in a crowded market? What propelled Ka’Chava’s growth from startup to nine-figure brand? And how are they strategizing around Black Friday? Katie Hanna, director of retention at Ka’Chava, spills some tea on the rocketship business with hosts Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein.

Drew + Michael nerd out on retention marketing with the rainmaker, Chris Orzechowski. Learn how to convert first-time buyers into believers, crush email campaigns, and build a brand identity to beat the competition. Chris shares insights from his newest book, The Moat, and his experience at brands like Carnivore Snax.

In this episode my business parter, Sina, and I talk about the personal factors that contributed to our success in growing our online retailer to $1million in revenue.

Drew Sanocki and guest host Mike Maher talk with Morgen Newman, co-founder of period-care brand Cora, about why he tries to scare potential hires, how to stay premium on Amazon, and what they did to survive a cash crunch.

WE’RE BACK. Drew Sanocki returns to the Nerd Marketing podcast with a co-host, Michael Epstein. They discuss what they learned running an ecommerce brand in the pandemic, the data marketing principles that apply almost anywhere, and the Nerd Marketing courses that flopped. Also, cowbells.

The one where Drew interviews Sam Gastro, founder of MyGiftCardSupply.com about how he grew his $1 million dollar retailer

The one where Drew explains the three marketing equations that need to hold true for any growing business, and how to use each.

The one where Drew talks about the personal factors that contributed to his success in growing his online retailer to $1m in revenue.

80/20 the heck out of your business and hunt whales. In part one of the episode about whales and minnows, Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein discuss one of Drew's most successful presentations: Whales and Minnows. Listen along as they workshop how to segment and target your best customers with their framework.

For reference from this episode:

Worksheet

Slides

Drew Sanocki talks with Brandon Park, CMO of 100 Thieves and former CEO of Homesick, about creating brands, rolling up ecom companies, and always showing a profit.

In part two of the episode about whales and minnows, Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein discuss how to increase the percentage of "whales" or valuable customers for a business. There are three ways to do this: acquire more whales, retain current whales, or turn "minnows" into whales.

For reference from this episode:

Worksheet

Slides

Data-driven marketing strategies scale the success of mattress sales in the e-commerce space. Eric Hutchinson, the co-founder of Resident Home, an $800 million mattress company, knows a bit about marketing best practices. He discussed the importance of using data to drive sales and experiences that resonate with consumers. Cozy up to this episode with hosts Drew Sanocki and Mike Maher, Drew's buddy, and CEO and founder of Taylor Stitch.

Men’s grooming brand Huron has become a phenomenon with a team of just four. Co-founder and CEO Matt Mullenax joins hosts Drew Sanocki and Michael Epstein to discuss maniacal focus, the importance of brand, and why Huron isn’t rushing to get into retail. CPG founders and marketers won’t want to miss this episode.

The one where Drew introduces you to the concept of tripwire marketing and explains why it is a great way to think about your marketing campaigns.