Welcome to this issue of The DTC Insider newsletter. 👋

We strive to deliver the latest growth marketing news and trends in the DTC space straight to your inbox every Wednesday.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, thank you! It'd mean the world to me if you could leave a review here.

Let's dive in!

Topics we'll cover today:
💠 Brands That Win in 2025 Will Do This
💠 TikTok's Future in the US
💠 How BRĒZ is Disrupting the Beverage Industry

Most brands rely only on ads and social media.

But that's a risky game.

The best brands?

They build owned communities.

Take this message from the founder of Frost Buddy (8-figure brand).

Btw, their community now has over 52k members.

Why is it important?

Brock made it clear in the above image already.

Here's what Obvi's founder has recently said about their community (100k+ members):

This is a real game-changer for brands.

If you're wondering:

→ How can I get started?
→ Is it too time-consuming?
→ Where should I host our community?

This is just one of the 10 things successful brands are doing in 2025.

I'll break them all down in my webinar TOMORROW (3/19) at 1pm EST.

👉 RSVP here

See you there!

--
Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.

Many brands enter the new year with big goals, only to fall short in Q1.

Without the right strategy, it’s easy to end up in the same cycle, missing targets and leaving revenue on the table.

We’ve helped hundreds of brands break this cycle since 2013, including one that turned their 2nd worst month of 2023 into their BEST post-BFCM in 2024.

Don’t let another quarter slip by. Let’s chat.

Big news on the TikTok front.

According to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, a deal to keep TikTok running in the U.S. is likely before the April 4th deadline.

The Backstory:

⤷ In January, a new law required TikTok to be sold to a U.S.-owned company.
⤷ If not? A full ban.
⤷ TikTok didn’t sell, but President Trump gave them 75 more days to figure it out.
⤷ That deadline is April 4th.

Where Things Stand:

Vance says a deal is coming.

In an NBC interview, he shared:

⤷ A high-level agreement is almost certain.
⤷ The deal will address national security concerns.
⤷ It will create a distinct U.S. TikTok entity.

The Players Involved:

Trump has hinted at four strong offers.

Reports say Oracle is the government’s top pick.

Why?

⤷ Oracle’s CEO, Larry Ellison, is close to Trump.
⤷ Oracle already works with TikTok on Project Texas (U.S. data security).
⤷ Back in 2020, Trump tried to sell TikTok to Oracle.

What’s Next?

It looks like TikTok won’t disappear from the U.S. market.

But there are still questions:

⤷ How much control will ByteDance keep?
⤷ Will China approve the deal?

For now, TikTok users can breathe easy. The U.S. government says progress is being made.

Let's see what happens.

--
Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.

Want BTS access to THE FASTEST-growing brand in the beverage industry?

He shares:

⤷ How they went from $0 to $30M in less than 2 years
⤷ How they structure their team for success
⤷ Which channels actually drive growth
⤷ And more...

I sat down with Aaron Nosbisch, founder of BRĒZ, on The DTC Insider podcast to break it all down.

If you’re in DTC, you won’t want to miss this.

Tune in 👇

We discussed:

👉 Introduction to BRĒZ and Its Growth
👉 The Product Development Journey
👉 Building in Public: The Philosophy Behind Transparency
👉 Competition vs. Collaboration in the Cannabis Space
👉 Key Lessons Learned in Business Growth
👉 Team Dynamics and Hiring A-Players
👉 Retail Growth and D2C Strategy
👉 Key Metrics for Business Success
👉 Channel Diversification in Advertising
👉 Personal Insights and Recommendations

Tune in:

📺 YouTube
🎧 Apple
🎙️ Spotify
🌐 Website

More episodes our listeners love:

💎 Bootstrapping a $100M E-Commerce Empire with Bear Handlon
💎 Unlocking New Revenue Streams in 2025 with Neal Goyal
💎 The Secret Sauce Behind BattlBox's Success with John Roman
💎 IQBAR’s Journey to 10,000 Locations And $50 Million with Will Nitze
💎 Supplement Brand Bootstrapped $10,000 and Built It Into Sales of $30 Million in Three Years with Ronak Shah

📰 Data Shows That Longer Clips Are Gaining Traction on TikTok
📰 Tariffs and uncertainty to pull down ad spend, analyst predicts
📰 Google Updates BrandConnect To Facilitate Creator Content Partnerships

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