Limited Supply - S13 E7: Why Your Website Isn’t Converting (and How to Fix It)
Host: Nik Sharma
Date: August 20, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Nik Sharma dives deep into the most common reasons why direct-to-consumer (DTC) websites underperform in conversion and how brands can make simple, tactical fixes to unlock better results. Dispelling industry hype, Nik brings candid, actionable advice for founders and marketers looking to optimize acquisition, website design, retention flows, and offer structure. The episode is rich with hands-on recommendations, specific examples, and a focus on maximizing existing traffic before scaling spend.

Key Discussion Points & Takeaways

1. First Impressions: Design & Customer Empathy

Timestamp: 03:00 – 05:30

• Lack of Good Design:
  Most underperforming websites rely on default or purchased themes without customization. Without strong design, a brand can't signal trust to first-time visitors.

  • “If you lack good design, you are immediately not able to signal that there’s a high level of trust. Good design today immediately signals, all right, my credit card’s not gonna get stolen and this brand must be legit because they have a beautiful website.”
    — Nik Sharma (04:22)

• Customer Empathy Missing:
  Websites often forget the visitor is likely unfamiliar with the brand. There’s no clear starting point or highlighted bestsellers to guide the user.

  • “Have empathy for that person, make it easy on them. These people...got a million things they could be doing, and if you are not helping accelerate them getting back to whatever they were doing…you’re going to lose them as a site visitor.”
    — Nik Sharma (05:17)

2. Entry Offers, Guarantees & Sampling

Timestamp: 05:30 – 07:10

• Brands often lack a clear, enticing offer for new customers, especially when entry price is high (e.g., supplements or protein powder).
• Intro offers and sampler bundles lower the risk for uncertain customers and encourage trial.

3. Asset Quality: Photography & Visuals

Timestamp: 07:10 – 09:25

• High-quality, bright, and “bougie” assets elevate every aspect of the conversion funnel: site, ads, and emails.
• Investing even light effort in photography (not necessarily expensive shoots) can dramatically change brand perception.
• Standout Example:
  “One brand that I think does this really well is Cadence…the travel capsules. They use a combination of renders and really beautiful photography and it makes the website feel like you’re on the Apple equivalent.”
  — Nik Sharma (08:43)

4. Cross-sells, Upsells & Customization

Timestamp: 09:25 – 10:40

• Many sites use default buy sections for product selection and upsells. Nik urges customizing this area to the brand, making variant and subscription selection easy, and ensuring cross/upsell options are obvious.

5. Data & Pixel Integrity

Timestamp: 10:40 – 11:35

• Sites frequently have incomplete or faulty tracking setups, missing conversion events or double-counting purchases, undermining marketing analytics and optimization.
• “Properly testing all of that is huge...integrations are properly working, they’re tested...apps that need to talk to one another are...”
  — Nik Sharma (11:18)

6. Email & SMS Capture Rates

Timestamp: 11:35 – 13:05

• Goal: Capture at least 10–15% of site visitors’ emails and ~5–7% for phone numbers.
• Trade fatigue for value: Use pop-ups, but make sure collection tools are modern and leverage AI where possible.
• “Your welcome flow...anybody who’s entered your Klaviyo list but has not made a purchase is a huge opportunity to generate revenue.”
  — Nik Sharma (12:06)
• Use email as an acquisition tool, not just for retention.

7. Website Content Beyond Homepage & PDP

Timestamp: 13:05 – 15:45

• Most brands only beautify their homepage and product pages, neglecting crucial support pages. Build out subscription, origin story, and ingredient pages.
• Pepper snippets from deeper pages (sourcing, story, benefits) into PDPs for rich content and stronger landing experiences.
• “That’s like having two sections out of a retail store really nicely done...other sections just look rundown...it’s kind of weird.”
  — Nik Sharma (13:52)

8. Listicles as a Conversion Tactic

Timestamp: 15:45 – 16:55

• Listicles (“5 Reasons Why…”) on PDPs and in ads help simplify the pitch and pre-qualify customers:
  • Example: Flaus’s “7 Reasons Why” side-scroll listicle.
• They increase engagement, add-to-cart rates, and can also augment lead capture.
• “You should actually figure out...a ‘5 reasons why somebody likes this product’ type of listicle…bring that into a PDP.”
  — Nik Sharma (15:53)

9. One-Time Fixes: Quick Wins That Compound

Timestamp: 16:55 – 18:12

• Improving collection rates, building content sections, upgrading assets/design: Most are one-time investments with lasting impact.
• “Why would you drive traffic to a website that’s not properly set up right?...Why be okay with a lower conversion rate if there’s easy things you can do to increase it?”
  — Nik Sharma (17:34)

10. Paid Media: Creative, Landing Pages & Offers

Timestamp: 18:12 – 23:18

• The platforms (Meta, Google) handle increasing channel management automation; human focus must shift to:
  • Audience targeting and positioning
  • Compelling creative and copy
  • Landing page/offer alignment
  • Fast and diligent follow-ups (especially email flows)

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Paid Tips:

• Test more creative variations and angles instead of relying heavily on a small set of creatives — minimize risk of overexposure.
• Use tools like Canva or Figma to quickly crank out 20+ creative variations with different copy and angles.

Google Paid Tips:

• Audit search terms: Cut spend on expensive, low-ROI keywords and amplify budgets on high-converting ones.

Examples:

• “Listicle, you know, call it ‘5 reasons why Crossfitters can’t stop drinking Celsius’ or ‘5 reasons why moms love Caraway home cookware’…those tend to work really well…”
  — Nik Sharma (20:16)

11. The Power of the New Customer Offer

Timestamp: 23:18 – 26:30

• Acquisition offers shouldn’t just be discounts; they should provide genuinely useful value, like curated variety packs or bundles, tailored to the target customer/audience.
• At Hint, Nik curated 3-case bundles as a “$1 per bottle” offer for new customers. “You can change that messaging to be...less than $2 a day” (supplements), or “less than the price of a premium latte” (sleep tech).
• Include bonuses (e.g., free gifts, discounted bundles) and sample multiple SKUs for the whole household or target audience.
• “The idea is to basically create a curated bundle based on the audience you’re going after. It gives them an incentive because they’re getting a discount or a gift with purchase...and they get to try more than just one sku...”
  — Nik Sharma (25:18)
• Strong acquisition offers boost conversion and build a better pipeline for retention tactics.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On design and trust:
  “If you lack good design, you are immediately not able to signal that there’s a high level of trust.” — Nik Sharma (04:22)
• On customer empathy:
  “Have empathy for that person, make it easy on them...if you are not helping accelerate them...you’re going to lose them.” — Nik Sharma (05:17)
• On maximizing traffic:
  “Why would you drive traffic to a website that’s not properly set up right?...Why be okay with a lower conversion rate if there’s easy things you can do to increase it?” — Nik Sharma (17:34)
• On email as acquisition:
  “Think about email as an aggressive acquisition channel.” — Nik Sharma (12:26)
• On acquisition offers:
  “You can change that messaging to be...less than $2 a day” — Nik Sharma (24:53)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 01:35 | Episode setup & goals | | 03:00 | Importance of design & empathy | | 05:30 | Entry offers and onboarding | | 07:10 | The power of visual assets | | 09:25 | Optimizing product selection areas | | 10:40 | Fixing tracking and integrations | | 11:35 | Mastering email/SMS list capture | | 13:05 | Content beyond home & PDP | | 15:45 | Listicles as a conversion tactic | | 16:55 | One-time fixes: high-leverage website improvements | | 18:12 | Paid media, creative, and channel-specific insights | | 23:18 | How to build new customer offers that convert |

Episode Tone

Nik brings a no-nonsense, practical energy—candid, occasionally irreverent, and expert. He melds tactical details with big-picture frameworks, using vivid analogies (“best possible at bat”) and real-world brand stories, making the episode as engaging as it is informative.

Recommended Next Steps for Listeners

• Audit your site for first-impression trust signals and design upgrades.
• Ensure every new visitor can find a clear, compelling entry offer.
• Invest immediately in asset upgrades, even via DIY methods.
• Build out supporting content beyond the core sales pages.
• Schedule a regular check-in on all tracking integrations.
• Rethink your email flows as both acquisition and retention channels.
• Experiment with listicle-style landing pages and paid ad creatives.
• Test curated bundles or new customer offers for acquisition.

For anyone building, running, or optimizing a DTC brand, this episode delivers a comprehensive, practical checklist of low-hanging fruit and expert opinions—from website audits, content expansion, and creative testing to the art of the new customer offer. Nik Sharma cuts through conventional wisdom for solutions that drive real conversion.