Ecommerce: The Hammersley Brothers Ecommerce Podcast

Episode 3 of our 5-part series on why your ads aren’t scaling.

 

Most people think scaling means new creatives, new targeting, new hacks. But the real issue is usually this: your ads don’t support the platform’s model, so the platform restricts your reach and quietly pushes you into the same tired audience over and over again.

 

In this episode, we break down:

 

Why Google and Meta are the two gorillas, and you cannot “make them” do what you want

The number one thing both platforms care about before they care about your ROAS

Why boring Meta ads get shown to warm audiences only and never escape to true prospecting

How catalog-style ads and offer-only ads can trap you in bottom-feeding

The real meaning of cost per reach and why it reveals when Meta is limiting you

Why do some ads look profitable but are just being shown to people who would buy anyway

How to think about splitting spend between prospecting and retargeting so you can actually grow

The simple mindset shift: stop trying to sail into the wind and build ads that the platform wants to distribute

 

If you are stuck, scaling feels impossible, and your Meta spend just seems to hit the same people, this will explain why.

 

Next episode: your follow-up game is limp.

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.hammersleybrothers.com/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

Part 2 of our 5-part series on the question everyone asks: why your ads aren’t working.

Most people blame Meta, Google, or their agency. But if your landing page doesn’t do the job, your ads never had a chance.

In this episode, we break down:

Why do we always start with landing pages, not a full site rebuild?

The fastest way to find what’s actually broken is to use the top landing pages.

Why product pages on mobile are usually the real battleground

The Busy Restaurant Test and why it decides whether people bounce in seconds

How to reduce bounce rate and make it feel easy to buy

Why pop-ups can wreck first impressions if you block the product

How big brands choreograph the entire first visit on purpose

The conversion rate and AOV tradeoff that unlocks scale

Why Shopify gimmicks often lower conversion instead of raising it

If your ROAS is sliding, and you keep tweaking ads, this is your reset. Fix what happens after the click, and the ads suddenly look “better” without changing them.

Next episode: your ads are boring.

 

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.hammersleybrothers.com/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

This is part 1 of our 5-part series on the real reasons most ad accounts hit a ceiling. And no — it’s almost never because Meta or Google “doesn’t work anymore”.

 

In this episode, Mark and Ian break down:

Why around 80% of “ad problems” have nothing to do with ads

How your margin, AOV, and LTV quietly set the ceiling for Meta and Google

What actually happened when we spent $190k and turned it into $1m

Why scaling ads starts with fixing the business model, not the creative

The story of a brand that went from £1m to £30m by changing one product decision

How simplifying your offer can double AOV and suddenly make scale possible

Why Meta doesn’t owe you results — and what it actually wants from you

If you’ve been blaming your agency, chasing new creatives, or tweaking buttons, hoping scale will magically appear, this episode is the reset.

 

 

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.hammersleybrothers.com/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

This podcast is the second half of our fastest, most repeatable path to $10 million in revenue.

 

Not theory. Not trends. The actual mechanics that separate brands that compound from brands that stall.

 

Mark and Ian break down what really moves the needle once traffic is flowing:

Why email isn’t “retention”, it’s the engine that lets you outbid competitors

The three levers that determine revenue per visitor (and why most brands pull the wrong ones)

 Why average order value is the easiest win in e-commerce, if you know where to look

How most brands completely misuse email capture and quietly cap their own growth

 Why margin, LTV, and stock, not ads, set your real growth ceiling

The difference between chasing a bestseller and building a scalable range

Why the $10m version of your business looks nothing like the $1m version

This episode is built from real decisions, real numbers, and examples from our own businesses, including the mistakes that hurt and the moves that unlocked the next level.

If you’re scaling hard, or wondering why your current effort isn’t translating into growth, this is the playbook.

Email. Model. Margin.
That’s where the leverage is.

 

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.hammersleybrothers.com/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 today's podcast Ian and I set ourselves the task of using the Hammersley Brothers model to get to 10 million a year as fast as possible.  What we would do and why.  How to scale using the model, how we think about growth and how this applies to 2026.

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.hammersleybrothers.com/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