The 2026 eCom Trends Report
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Podcast | Episode 575
Substack, Japanese Manufacturing, and Personal Brand Transitions
Are you feeling burnt out by social media but still trying to grow your brand? In this episode, I chat with Sonia Roselli, founder of Sonia Roselli Beauty, about navigating the ever-changing world of digital marketing, branding, and eCommerce. Sonia shares her journey building a successful beauty brand, the challenges of personal branding, and why she’s rebranding her business while stepping back from social media’s exhausting demands.
Listen in as we dive into the power of platforms like Substack and Bluesky, why traditional social media feels like a losing game, and how Sonia is shifting her marketing to focus on deeper connections with customers. We also talk about working with Japanese suppliers, building a team, and the realities of running a beauty brand in today’s digital landscape.
You’ll learn:
- The advantages of personal branding in today’s marketing landscape. (4:00)
- Sonia’s approach to marketing. (7:48)
- Why she’s no longer holding back online. (10:19)
- What she loves about Substack. (15:11)
- Her thoughts on Bluesky. (26:34)
- Why Sonia is done with social media and big tech. (33:14)
- The challenges of marketing a skincare brand. (37:18)
- Sonia’s experience working with Japanese suppliers. (40:22)
- What she has learned about building a great non-domestic team. (48:09)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
(With your host Andrew Youderian of eCommerceFuel.com and Sonia Roselli of Sonia Roselli Beauty)
What Was Mentioned
Ideas Worth Sharing:
"People don’t buy products, they buy from people a lot of times." – Sonia Roselli Tweet this "I’m tired of making Mark Zuckerberg billions of dollars while I might get crumbs or be blackmailed into paying more for ads." – Sonia Roselli Tweet this "You can have all the best products in the world, but if you don't market it or talk to people, you're just not going to sell it." – Sonia Roselli Tweet this
Post by Andrew Youderian
Founder and Chief Instigator, eComFuel
Andrew quit an early finance job to sell CB radios online — an admittedly unorthodox career path. It set him on a course to found and sell multiple businesses, host a decade-running podcast, lecture at Harvard Business School and create eComFuel, the leading community for 7- and 8-figure online business owners. Andrew is fascinated with branding, AI, building community, investing and growing meaningful businesses that don't require sacrificing what truly matters.
