In this episode, Scott and Nathan break down the real question behind every shiny new ad platform. Is your next best dollar better spent on Meta and Google, or are you just chasing something new?

With OpenAI announcing ads inside ChatGPT, and more brands asking about TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, and YouTube, we unpack how to think about third and fourth channels without blowing up profitability.

We cover:
• Why “our customers are on TikTok” is not a strategy
• The skill gap that gets blamed on platform performance
• Why measurement gets harder as you add more channels
• How tiny budgets on Pinterest create fake confidence
• When TikTok actually makes sense as a third platform
• Why YouTube often needs serious budget to work
• Why declining Meta performance is usually a creative or structural issue
• How to think about incrementality instead of attribution
• Why most 7 and 8 figure brands should still focus 80 to 100 percent of spend on Meta and Google
• Why ChatGPT ads are the ultimate shiny object right now

The core takeaway is simple.

Before adding a new platform, ask one question.

If we had an extra 10,000 dollars next month, would it produce a higher ROI on Meta, Google, or this new channel?

For most brands, the honest answer is still Meta or Google.

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Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: ‪@bluesensedigital‬

⸻

Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

⸻

If you’re an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:
Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

#googleads #facebookads #digitalmarketing #ecommercetips #shopify

In this episode, Scott and Nathan break down one of the most misunderstood ideas in eCommerce growth. That paid media should be used to drive retention.

They explain why most brands overspend on existing customers, why retention ROAS is often misleading, and how to think about repeat revenue through the structure of the business instead of the ad account.

In this conversation they cover:
• Why paid media is rarely incremental for returning customers
• How attribution inflates retention ROAS
• The difference between retention in CPG, fashion, and single SKU brands
• When spending on existing customers actually makes sense
• Why most subscription strategies fail
• What really drives repeat purchases outside of ads

This episode is essential listening for brands trying to scale profitably without masking deeper issues behind retention spend.

⸻

Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: ‪youtube.com/@bluesensedigital

⸻

Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

⸻

If you’re an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:
Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

#googleads #facebookads #digitalmarketing #ecommercetips #shopify

In this episode, Scott and Nathan break down why profitable eCommerce brands still run out of cash. The conversation focuses on the gap between what looks good on a P&L and what actually keeps a business alive.

They unpack why brands can be profitable on paper and still go broke, especially in inventory heavy categories like fashion.

Key topics covered:

• Cash flow vs profit and why they are not the same thing

• How inventory can quietly kill otherwise healthy businesses

• Why cutting ad spend is often the worst move during cash stress

• When it makes sense to intentionally lower efficiency to save the business

• How agencies and CFOs often talk past each other

• The role of inventory visibility in paid media decision making

• Why growth is usually limited by cash conversion cycles, not marketing skill

Nathan walks through real scenarios where brands needed to trade short term efficiency for long term survival, and how media strategy should change when cash is the real constraint.

The episode also covers how conservative brands should think about scaling more aggressively without blowing up their balance sheet, and why transparency between founders, agencies, and finance teams matters more than ever.

Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: ‪@bluesensedigital‬

Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

If you’re an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:

Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

In this episode, Scott, Nathan, Gaby, and Ibra dive deep into how to build a smarter marketing calendar for 2026. We tackle why so many brands default to discounting—and how to break that habit with better planning and more creative inputs.

Highlights from the conversation:

• Why early calendars failed: too many sales, no commercial KPIs

• Offers aren’t just discounts—they’re friction reducers

• Creative quality often drives the need for discounts

• How to map financial targets to calendar moments

• The ideal number of revenue peaks (hint: it’s not one)

• How to find underutilised moments and category white space

• Why brand birthdays, bundles, and overstock clearances can outperform

We also explore how to layer brand, seasonal, and cultural events into your planning without relying solely on paid media. If you’re relying on Q4 to hit your numbers, this one’s for you.

Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: ‪@bluesensedigital‬

Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

If you’re an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:

Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

#googleads #facebookads #digitalmarketing #ecommercetips #shopify

Scott and Nathan sit down with Angus from MKTG to make clear predictions for eCommerce in 2026.

Key themes discussed:
• Why organic content will be more important than paid in 2026
• The real role of influencers versus in house creators
• Why AI lowers the floor but does not raise the ceiling
• What happens to agencies as media buying gets commoditised
• When in house teams make sense and when they do not
• Why finance led marketing is still rare and still a moat
• Which brands will win and which will struggle next year
• Why retail, community, and real world experiences are coming back

We also dig into hiring mistakes, ego driven decisions, why most founders struggle to recruit great talent, and how the best brands blend agencies, in house teams, and external perspective rather than picking sides.

If you're scaling a 7, 8, or 9 figure brand and thinking about where to focus in 2026, this episode lays out the reality without the hype.

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Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: ‪@bluesensedigital‬

⸻

Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

⸻

If you’re an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:
Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

Find Angus here:
Website: https://www.mktgemails.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anguscowan/
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/mktg-emails/

#googleads #facebookads #digitalmarketing #ecommercetips #shopify

In this episode, Scott and Nathan unpack why Q1 feels so difficult and how brands can create momentum instead of blaming seasonality.

We cover:

• Why demand drops and returns spike after Black Friday

• Messaging and offers that work when customers feel wallet fatigue

• How to use Q1 as the highest-signal creative testing window

• Media buying shifts that rebuild the funnel for Feb and March

• How simple product launches or campaigns can create artificial revenue peaks

A fast overview of how to plan Q1 with stronger creative, better forecasting and a marketing calendar that doesn’t rely on constant discounting.

Links:

Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

In this episode Scott, Gaby, and Ibra unpack what actually drove a record-breaking Black Friday across the Blue Sense portfolio. We break down why 26 brands hit all-time highs, how evergreen ads outperformed expectations, and why scalable structures built across Q1–Q3 made the biggest difference in November.

Over the weekend our portfolio saw:

• Multiple brands hit their first million-dollar months

• One brand hit its first $2M month

• 26 accounts reach record Black Friday performance

We walk through how the team:

• Used strong evergreen structures to scale faster than new Black Friday campaigns

• Applied intraday scaling with clear hourly pacing benchmarks

• Built validated offers across Q1–Q3 that could be pushed profitably in November

• Leveraged winning creatives with heavy social proof inside manual bidding setups

We also cover the biggest surprises of the weekend, including:

• Why simple, clear Black Friday creative outperformed complex production

• Why hype campaigns underdelivered without a clear incentive

• How stock-based discounting tiers protected margin

• Why discount codes struggled versus strike-through pricing

The conversation wraps with what we’re shifting focus to for Q1:

• Growing new-customer lists early in the year

• Testing new offers and funnels while CPMs are low

• Preparing creative velocity and account structure for next year’s Q4 well in advance

Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: youtube.com/‪@bluesensedigital‬

Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

If you’re an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:

Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

In this episode, Scott and Nathan break down how to stay calm when BFCM isn’t pacing to plan. We walk through the key decisions operators should make when revenue, efficiency, or creative performance begins to fall behind target.

You’ll hear us cover:
• How to tell if the issue is forecasting or execution
• Why pacing by hour matters more than reacting in real time
• How to use clean decision checkpoints throughout the day
• Why discount codes hurt conversion rates and how to fix them
• When to scale Meta budgets and when to hold
• How EDM timing swings MER and reading it correctly
• How to think about poor BFCM cohort quality
• Why Google over-attributes heavily during sales
• Why you shouldn’t pivot your offer mid-weekend
• How your annual marketing calendar reduces BFCM risk

Resources from the episode:
• Melbourne Q1 Planning Event (Dec 12): https://luma.com/r0wvz8r0
• Ibra’s breakdown on fixing a BFCM sale quickly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIGpBXFCsQE&t=39s
• Gaby on fast BFCM creative production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm7mHLaq1GE

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Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: ‪@bluesensedigital‬

--------------------------------------------------

Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

--------------------------------------------------

If you're an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ Find us here ⬇️️:
Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

#googleads #facebookads #digitalmarketing #ecommercetips #shopify