Ecommerce: Why Your Ads Stop Scaling — And What to Do About It

We are back! New podcast episode. Here's what we covered: Most ecommerce brands copy strategies that were never meant for them — and that’s why they stay stuck.If you’re tired of: Wasting time on “growth hacks” that don’t grow anything Being busy but not profitable Copying strategies that work for others but fail for you …this episode will help you stop guessing and start scaling   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Your Meta and Google ads worked… until they didn’t. In this episode, Mark and Ian Hammersley unpack the real reasons your ads hit a ceiling—and what to change to scale again without burning cash. You’ll learn: How to know if it’s your ads or your website blocking scale, Why ROAS can be misleading (and dangerous), How agencies accidentally sabotage your growth, The right revenue per visitor benchmarks, How to fix campaign structure, frequency, and creative flow, •Includes proven scaling tactics from $10M+ ecommerce brands. •Watch before you increase your ad spend again. Plus, join our free workshop tomorrow for a deeper dive and live Q&A: https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/hb-what-to-fix/   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

In this episode, Mark and Ian Hammersley break down the most dangerous ecommerce metrics that could be quietly destroying your profitability. From inflated conversion rates to misleading ROAS numbers, this is a no-BS look at what matters in scaling a profitable ecommerce business. Learn why agencies may be incentivized to keep you small, how Google and Meta mislead on attribution, and what numbers actually drive sustainable growth. If you’ve ever asked, “Why isn’t my store growing despite great metrics?”, this is the episode for you. 📈 Key topics covered: •Why high conversion rates can signal stagnation, •The truth about blended ROAS and SEO dominance, •Facebook Ads’ 1-day view trap, •How bad bounce rate data can fool you, •Why chasing high ROAS can hurt your bottom line   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Most ecommerce brands fail because the product was never right to begin with. In this episode, Mark and Ian answer two of the most critical questions for any founder launching or pivoting a product: What’s the best way to validate a new product idea? How do you know if it has the potential to scale — before going all-in? You’ll learn the validation shortcuts, early signals, and mindset shifts that can save you thousands (and months of wasted time).   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Can small ecommerce brands really compete with the big players? Should you go wholesale? And what actually drives more profit?   In this Q&A episode, Mark and Ian answer three powerful listener questions that every growing brand will eventually face:   What advantage do we have as small business owners to compete with big-budget brands on ads? What’s the biggest trap when taking on wholesale as a channel? How do you maximise overall profit across the business?   If you’re at the stage where you’re scaling up, exploring new channels, or just trying to stay profitable in a noisy market — this one’s packed with strategy, examples, and hard-earned lessons.   🎯 Bonus: Get the free ecommerce number sheet and training workshop at hammersleybrothers.com   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

In this Q&A episode, we tackle three questions that could make or break your ecommerce growth:   Should you build a brand you're passionate about — or go where the gap is? What should you do if you're bleeding money every day? What are the biggest mistakes founders make when trying to scale?   This one’s about cutting through the noise. No theory — just honest answers from the trenches. 📉 If you’re stuck in the early grind... 🧠 Or unsure what to fix next... This might be the turning point. 🎓 Grab the free numbers sheet and strategy workshop at HammersleyBrothers.com. P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/ 2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786 

In this episode, Mark and Ian answer three real questions from ecommerce founders — no fluff, just clear thinking and practical advice:   1. Why stick to one channel until it’s maxed out?, 2. What should you do when you’ve got too much stock to shift?, 3. How would we build a large email list before launch?, This is one of those episodes where the answers could save you months of wasted time and thousands in ad spend.   🎯 If you're building or scaling a DTC brand, this one’s for you. 🎓 Bonus: Get the free number sheet and training workshop at HammersleyBrothers.com P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/ 2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786 

Scaling your ecommerce brand? Don’t guess. In this listeners questions episode, we answer.   💬 "How much should I spend on ads?" We break down the answer for both beginners and scaling brands — and explain why chasing high ROAS might actually be slowing you down.   💬 "Who should I hire first when I want to scale beyond myself?" Most brands get this wrong. We’ll show you what actually unlocks momentum.   💬 "Should I use a .com or a local domain?" Yes — this one still matters. And no, the answer isn’t what most people think.   If you’re already at $300k+ and gunning for $10M, this episode could save you a year of wasted time and wrong hires.   🔔 Hit play to unlock clarity on your next moves.   P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:   1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/ 2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786 

Profit Velocity. It’s the missing metric in most ecommerce businesses — and the one that unlocks real, scalable growth. In this episode, Mark and Ian unpack: •Why spending more can actually reduce your risk, •The surprising trade-off between ROAS and growth rate, •How to find your optimal spend level based on contribution margin, •Why most brands ignore customer lifetime value decay curves, •How a 5% margin shift or small upsell can double your growth speed, 📈 If you're serious about building a 7- or 8-figure brand, this episode gives you the mental model and tools to grow smarter. 💡 Includes live walkthroughs from their ecommerce number sheet, retention strategies, and practical tweaks you can make today. P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:     1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Most ecommerce brands are getting email wrong — and it’s costing them a fortune. In this episode, Mark and Ian break down: • Why most brands under-capture emails (and how to fix it fast) • The real job of email (hint: it’s not just retention) • How to time your emails around buying mode and conversion peaks • Why eventing matters more than clever copy • How often you should email (and why most brands email far too little) Plus: examples from brands like Bedding Envy, Brooklinen, Healthspan, and more — including how some get 20%+ email capture rates and make it work like a new customer sales engine. 🎯 If your email feels like a background task — watch this episode now. ———​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​—​​​​​​​ 🎁 Bonus for This Week: Free Live Workshop with Ian Ian’s running a free workshop on The 6 Dominoes of an Ecommerce Sale — it’s happening this week. ​​​​​​​ Save your seat here 👉 https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/6-dominoes-free-workshop P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business: 1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleys.co.uk/scheduleuk-ant/   2. Grab a copy of our book - https://book.hammersleybrothers.com/ 3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786