Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

Growth Mastermind
What if you could get weekly strategy sessions with a senior CTC profit engineer, full Statlas access, and a private cohort of brands at your stage, all for $500/month?That's the Next Level Growth Mastermind.Richard breaks down exactly what's inside, who it's built for, and five real insights that came out of our pilot cohort sessions, including why offer-market fit matters more than CRO, the exact launch sequence for marketing moments, and a Post-It note ad tactic that's outperforming studio creative.What you get with the Growth Mastermind:
Weekly live calls with senior CTC leadership
Small cohorts of 10 brands matched by revenue stage
Full Statlas subscription ($750/mo value included)
All your data ingested for a complete 360 view of your business
Dedicated cohort Slack channel
Full access to CTC's methodology archive (Meta, Google, email, TikTok, AppLovin)
30-day money-back guarantee
Whether you're a 6-figure brand looking for a second opinion, a 7-figure operator who wants to connect with founders in a similar stage, or an 8-figure brand that wants senior strategic guidance on a weekly basis, this is built for you.Show Notes:
Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/ctc to set up your first campaign.
Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine
The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

CTC's AppLovin specialist Connaugh is back four months after our first episode on the platform to break down what's actually working. Discovery campaigns are averaging 284% incrementality, 45-60 second video creative is where the spend goes, and the tactical playbook is starting to take shape.
If you're running an 8-figure ecommerce brand and haven't tested AppLovin yet, this episode makes the case for why you should.
Topics covered:
AppLovin's new Discovery campaign type and how it differs from Prospecting

Incrementality test results: 284% average on Discovery vs. 141-150% on Prospecting

Why 45-60 second video creative gets 44% of total AppLovin spend

The creative set hack for granular reporting

How to drip new creative without tanking performance

Product catalog segmentation by campaign

CTC's $5K spend match partnership with AppLovin

Key stat: Discovery campaigns are driving 85-90% completely new visitor traffic with 190% incrementality (excluding outliers).
Show Notes:
Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

In this episode, Steve Rekuc breaks down the latest DTC Index findings showing 14.5% revenue growth year-over-year, even as brands face margin pressure. We dive into Mother's Day performance data and what it signals for Memorial Day and Father's Day spending patterns.
Topics Covered:
14.5% revenue increase with only 2% AMER decline  

Mother's Day performance and Memorial Day predictions  

Why discounting is down year-over-year  

Amazon cannibalization testing methodology  

TikTok Shops incrementality analysis  

Macro trends affecting consumer confidence  

Oil prices and their impact on DTC margins  

Key Insight: Brands increased ad spend 18% while maintaining near-flat acquisition efficiency - showing significantly improved spending power in the current market.
Show Notes:
Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

We just got back from the 2026 Meta Performance Marketing Summit, and the biggest takeaway wasn't a single feature or tool. It was the realization that the brands growing the fastest right now are operating in two completely different worlds at the same time.
Luke Austin breaks down everything we saw, heard, and learned at this year's summit. From Meta's push to make conversion lift studies the backbone of a broader measurement discipline, to the explosive growth of TikTok shops and the creator-led strategies that are reshaping how brands think about growth entirely.
In this episode:
What Meta revealed about their measurement roadmap at the summit

How the best brands are building a layered measurement practice with MMM, geo-holdouts, and always-on conversion lift studies

Why TikTok shops has already leapfrogged Walmart.com as a sales channel

Meta's upcoming Instagram competitor to TikTok shops

The shift from media spend-first to creator investment-first growth

Why the brands crushing it right now are mastering both measurement discipline and creator chaos

Show Notes:
Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/ctc to set up your first campaign.

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

In this episode, Richard sits down with Ian Jordan, VP of Private Equity Partnerships at CTC, to unveil our brand new Creative Assessment Quiz. This 6-pillar framework helps 7-9 figure brands move from placing bets to making strategic investments in creative production.
Key Topics Covered:
The 6 pillars of creative production assessment

Why volume and velocity create more shots on goal

How Meta's entity ID system impacts creative diversity

Moving from cost center to supply chain mindset

Production system maturity and feedback loops

Expected value vs production cost calculations

Key Insight: Only 3.5% of total ads drive 80% of revenue, but you need volume to find those outliers.
Take the Quiz: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/creative-assessment
Show Notes:
Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have