If you’re crushing Amazon, DTC should be next (and vice versa)

Hey, it’s Arik.

I’ve been talking to a lot of founders lately, and this topic keeps coming up in conversation:

“We’re doing well on Amazon, but DTC’s pretty slow.”
“We’ve got a strong Shopify store, but we’re hesitant to jump into Amazon.”

Here’s where I land on this:

If your brand is doing well on Amazon, you should absolutely have a DTC site.
And if you’re already crushing DTC, you probably need to get on Amazon.

Not because one is better than the other, but because they each do something the other can’t.


Amazon gives you volume:
- You get discovery, conversion, and logistics all built-in.
- It’s plug-and-play traffic, fast shipping, and way easier to scale once you have product-market fit.

But you don’t own the customer, and what Amazon gives in traffic, it takes in data, branding, and margins.


DTC gives you control:
- You own the relationship, you control the customer journey, and you tell the story.
- Margins are better, and you can build long-term value through retention, not just transactions.

But it’s harder to scale. You need to drive your own traffic, the logistics aren’t handled for you, and the trust isn’t instant.


Now here’s where it gets interesting:
The smartest brands I’m seeing are building a flywheel between both.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

∙ Test on DTC, scale on Amazon.
You soft launch a new product to your list. Collect feedback. Optimize.
Then roll it out on Amazon once it’s proven.

∙ Acquire on Amazon, retain on DTC.
Use inserts, QR codes, or packaging copy to pull customers into your DTC ecosystem where you can nurture them with content, education, and better offers.

∙ Use DTC to build LTV. Let Amazon capture casuals.
DTC is for your community. The loyalists. The ones who buy the bundles, read your emails, and follow you on socials. Amazon is for the convenience shoppers who just want a restock fast.

∙ Operationally, Amazon is stability. DTC is leverage.
Amazon’s consistent. DTC gives you optionality. It’s where you launch, test, experiment, and build margin.

If you're only running one channel right now it’s probably working.

But the minute something shifts (CAC goes up, shipping delays, category saturation), you’ll wish you built the other.

Not because it’ll replace what you have, but because it'll give you leverage when you need it.

Bite-Size Action Steps (if you're thinking through this right now):

1. Don’t treat Amazon and DTC like competing channels. Use them to feed each other, and let each channel play to its strengths. Stop trying to force one to carry the whole business.

Amazon = scale and reach.
DTC = margin and lifetime value.

Your DTC site should be building the brand. Amazon should be moving the product.

2. Use DTC to test products, pricing, and positioning, and Amazon to scale once it works.

3. Pull Amazon customers into your DTC funnel using inserts, QR codes, packaging, or bounceback offers.


See you next Thursday,
Arik