Author: Dailyusastory

Barry Hott is a longtime Facebook advertising consultant. He says first reactions to an ad largely determine its performance. He advises merchants to create ugly ads, those that people won’t skip over. “I’m the Ugly Ads Guy,” he told me. In our recent conversation, Hott addressed key Facebook ad metrics, budgeting, testing, and, yes, ugly creative. The entire audio of that discussion is embedded below. The transcript is edited for clarity and length. Eric Brandholz: Who are you? Barry Hott: I’m a part owner of a performance marketing agency called Adcrate, where we do high-performance ad creative. I also do…

NATO has released a revised AI strategy to promote the responsible use of AI in defense applications and to combat threats from AI-enabled adversaries. NATO’s updated strategy is an indication of how quickly AI in defense is moving from novelty to broad adoption. NATO’s original AI strategy was set out in 2021 where it endorsed six Principles of Responsible Use (PRUs) for AI in defense, namely: Responsibility and Accountability, Explainability and Traceability, Reliability, Governability and Bias Mitigation. 2021 was only 3 years ago but it’s several generations behind the commercially available tech we have today. NATO says that as new…

Whether you’re launching a brand new business or you’ve been running a successful online shop for years, retaining customers is part of the gig.Without loyal customers, brands will fail to thrive and survive online. Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to entice customers into becoming loyal brand ambassadors, one of them is fairly straightforward — loyalty programs.Learn how to design a loyalty program that works for your business and keeps customers coming back for more.Importance of Loyalty ProgramsCurious about the benefits of loyalty and rewards programs? You’re in the right place! But first, let’s break down exactly what a loyalty program is.At its core, a loyalty program is implemented by a business to entice customers to continue shopping with them. Simply put, it’s a program that rewards customers for their loyalty.Loyalty programs offer customers…

Cashless transactions have become more than a convenience for retailers—they’re a necessity. As consumers increasingly lean toward online shopping, they expect a seamless, secure, and quick payment process.  This digital pivot enhances customer experience and opens up new avenues for revenue generation. Your business is no longer confined by geographical constraints or operating hours—but without cash, you’ll need a way to collect and process payments.  The right online payment gateway can offer valuable analytics, reduce shopping cart abandonment rates, and provide layers of security to protect your customers and business. Here are nine of the best to choose from.  What…

Anyone with a personal checking account understands the challenge of keeping track of the money available to pay the bills. The point of watching a checkbook is to ensure the money coming in exceeds the money going out. The movement of money in and out of a checking account represents cash flow. Businesses are like households in that respect. They must keep a close eye on their checkbook to maintain a positive cash flow, or to anticipate a possible negative cash balance by sourcing (or raising) money from other sources. Ahead, learn more about the different types of cash flow.…

Thinking about starting a business? One of the first big decisions you’ll face is figuring out what to sell. It’s a crucial choice that can shape your future as an entrepreneur. In this article, you’ll find a list of the top 20 trending products sold by US Shopify merchants, which we update every year. These aren’t random picks—they’re product ideas that are proven to be popular with consumers. Plus, discover the latest information on breakout product trends, and tips for how to spot growing interest in a product category. Top trending products to sell online in 2024 Here are the…

Welcome to our weekly roundup of human-assembled AI news.  This week AI got into writing jokes and spotting fibs. A Chinese real-time model beat GPT-4o. And OpenAI opened up when it should have closed. Let’s dig in. OpenAI hacked OpenAI has been criticized for being very much closed, despite its name. This week we learned the company’s servers were wide open for all the wrong reasons. OpenAI suffered a data breach as a hacker breached its defenses. As the global race for AI hots up we’re likely to see more attempts like this. Microsoft is OpenAI’s biggest investor but this…

Episode SummaryIn this episode of the 7 Figures and Beyond podcast, Greg Shuey interviews Jonathan Johnson, the former chairman and CEO of Overstock.com. They delve into the importance and strategy behind building partnerships and alliances to accelerate direct-to-consumer (D2C) growth, especially in a challenging economic landscape. Johnson shares insights from his extensive experience at Overstock, emphasizing mutually beneficial partnerships that enhance brand awareness, strength, and customer trust. He provides real-life examples from Overstock’s history and offers guidance on identifying potential partners, pitching partnership proposals, and measuring the success of such collaborations.Key TakeawaysMutually Beneficial Partnerships: Any successful partnership must be win-win,…

Estimated read time: 15 minutes, 45 seconds Many companies that expand globally reach a point where they can’t properly support their international customers with their current payment platform. They’ll start noticing issues like low conversion rates, low authorization rates, more chargebacks, and an overall plateau in global growth, so they start looking at other solutions such as international payment gateways.  Even the best international payment gateways can help with some of these issues, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle. To accept payments internationally, you also need to offer local payment methods, collect and remit VAT and sales taxes,…

As ecommerce goes global, shoppers are purchasing products from stores outside their home countries. ePacket is a shipping service for packages sent from China and Hong Kong to more than 40 countries. It’s designed to reduce delivery times and costs. If you run an online store, an AliExpress dropshipping business, or are a customer looking to buy a product from a Chinese retailer, you can use ePacket to receive products quickly. Read on to learn how ePacket shipping and tracking works, and find answers to common questions about ePacket delivery. What is ePacket? ePacket is an affordable international ecommerce shipping…