➡️ Where adult goes, e-commerce follows

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➡️ What takes off in e-commerce often starts in the adult industry

E-commerce and the modern internet owe much of their development to pioneering moves in the adult industry.

VHS tapes (the precursor to DVDs and video on demand for the young ones reading) took off because of the adult industry. “Be kind - rewind!”

Technologies like streaming video, affiliate marketing, online credit card processing, content delivery networks, digital rights management, pop-ups, virtual reality and augmented reality all initially found traction in the adult space.

Where adult goes, e-commerce follows.

While the adult industry might not invent these technologies, they certainly champion early usage, paving the way for mainstream refinement and consumer adoption.

Facebook, for instance, drew inspiration from Myspace, which was influenced by the adult site Friendster. HD TV's initial foray began in the soft adult domain. Mark Cuban's HD.net, the inaugural HD channel in the early 2000s, prominently showcased shows of bikini-wearing models during its infancy.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales cut his teeth with a site called Bomis, which was an online user-generated encyclopedia of beautiful women. Its "Bomis Babes" was devoted to erotic images and was its primary revenue generator.

Twenty-five years ago, I used to speak regularly with Jimmy and his Bomis partner Tim Shell. They, along with the Howard Stern radio show (before he went to Sirius/XM) would drive massive traffic to one of my early daily newsletter websites in the late 90s and early 2000’s that had 250,000 email subscribers.

Fast forward to today. AI is revolutionizing the adult industry by generating ultra-realistic models based on individual preferences. AI software can create hyper-realistic models of men and women based on a user’s personal preference.

With these sophisticated solutions, users can create an AI fantasy girl or man based on a few inputs like ethnicity, body shape, and physical attributes.

Machine learning algorithms are learning what turns folks on and delivering more of it. AI will be doing this soon for e-commerce too.

Amazon Web Services Senior Advisor Deepam Mishra says AI will radically alter product development for the companies that sell on Amazon.

Yesterday at Amazon’s Accelerate event in Seattle they showed a preview of how Amazon is incorporating generative AI into product listing creation - pretty impressive stuff.

Sellers only need to provide a photo and a brief description of the product in a few words or sentences, and Amazon will generate high-quality content. Sellers can then refine the listing, if they want to, or they can directly submit the automatically generated content to the Amazon catalog.

Alibaba, at their Co-Create conference in Las Vegas last week, announced a new AI product development tool coming soon within their platform.

You’ll be able to create the product you want on the Alibaba platform, drawing from your imagination and photos on the site. CAD designs and technical product and material specs will then be sent directly to factories to bid on.

The digital and e-commerce landscape is starting to undergo a rapid transformation. Ignoring the AI-driven paradigm shift in e-commerce is a surefire recipe for obsolescence.

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_{AI’s IMPACT ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT}

Deepam Mishra, Amazon Web Services Senior Advisor, believes AI will transform the product development process.

Product-market fit is a significant challenge for businesses, and predicting the right product to sell can be costly and time-consuming.

Mishra sat for a lengthy interview recently with Hubspot where he explained how to prepare for the massive changes he says are coming.

His key insights for small and mid-sized (SMB) businesses:

• Improved Product-Market Fit Predictions:

  • 35% of SMBs/startups fail due to no market need.

  • AI helps understand both quantitative and qualitative data for better product-market fit. It reveals actual customer needs that may be overlooked.

• Enhanced Speed of Product Development:

  • AI shortens product prototyping time.

  • Rapid content creation with high accuracy is a significant advantage of AI.

• Revolutionizing Customer Feedback Collection:

  • Post-prototype, products need continuous iteration based on feedback.

  • Traditional analytics have limitations; AI can transform unstructured data (emails, social media) into actionable insights.

  • AI helps prioritize customer-preferred features.

• Changing Engineer and Product Manager Interaction:

  • AI can train new employees and assist junior programmers.

  • Chatbots can guide complex prototyping and design.

  • Chatbots could generate design examples upon request.

  • AI supports and enhances human creativity in product development.

• Redefining Customer Experience:

  • AI integration can redefine how customers experience products.

  • Future products may focus on AI as their core, e.g., mood-based content generation.

• Mishra's Advice:

  • Start Experimenting: Use AI to analyze customer feedback and enterprise search.

  • Use Pre-existing AI Tools: Consider tools like Amazon’s Bedrock.

  • Identify AI's Potential: Determine high-value AI use cases.

  • Secure Stakeholder Buy-in: Ensure alignment and address leadership concerns.

  • Address Concerns: Highlight AI's role as a support and address potential risks.

  • Positioning of AI: Emphasize AI as a supporting tool, not the primary decision-maker.

Mishra underscores the importance of embracing AI at this pivotal moment to keep up with rapid advancements in product development and innovation.

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In this presentation, they unveil a comprehensive approach to excel in Amazon product launches. They break down what to do in the first 30 days of a new product launch with exact step-by-step instructions.

The video delves into network effects, indexing, and the selection of relevant keywords, emphasizing a methodical approach to achieve organic ranking.

1. Focus on Exceptional Product Images: Invest in high-quality product images to visually appeal to customers and convey the essence of your product effectively.

2. Strategically Target Competitors: Leverage exact match, auto, loose match, and complement match campaigns to strategically target competitors and keywords with rank potential.

3. Regularly Monitor and Optimize: Continuously analyze search term reports, pause non-converting keywords, and fine-tune your advertising campaigns to improve performance and organic ranking.

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Create up to 13 modules in Brand Stories

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I learned this tip from 8-figure seller Antonio Bindi. He spends a boatload on PPC on Amazon, and says he has not paid for a flight or flown coach in a long time using the points he earns from PPC spend on his AMEX cards.

Put all of your PPC on the Amex Business Gold card and make 4x points (must be the business gold card, not the personal one).

Each card has an annual earnings limit of $150,000 (600,000 points), so the solution is to get multiple cards in your name (capped at 10 per SSN - adding users won't work) and rotating them as your PPC preferred charge method.

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Seller account shut down or locked?

For better luck, try using this direct email address to escalate your appeal:
[email protected]

🧳 TO TRAVEL IS TO LIVE → here’s looking at you kid

My “why” has led me to visit 94 countries and all 7 continents. I create my life and work around my why. Not my why around my business.

I hope to inspire you in your journey of business and life.

The birthplace of human civilization

Egypt often lands pretty high on most people’s bucket list.

It’s the birthplace of civilization 5,100 years ago, and stories foundational to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have roots in ancient Egyptian beliefs.

Modern Egypt is predominantly centered around the Nile River, contrasting lush greenery with stark deserts. Cairo, a bustling metro area of 22 million is full of a unique mix of vehicles, animals, and non-stop honking.

Egypt is about 70% Muslim so you’ll hear the call to prayer ring out five times daily. Women may feel uncomfortable at times due to Egypt’s male-oriented society.

Unfinished homes are common, signaling the potential for future family expansion and to avoid paying taxes on a finished home.

Egypt’s world wonder attractions are fascinating.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is spectacular, showcasing an incredible collection including King Tut's 11kg gold mask and remarkably preserved mummies.

My recommended top five must-see sites are:

1) Egyptian Museum
2) Tombs at Valley of the Kings
3) Pyramids/Sphinx in Giza
4) Abu Simbel
5) Karnak

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See you on Monday!