Daniel Priestley’s 7-11-4 Rule for eCommerce Brands

Someone sees your product in an ad. Thinks “that’s interesting”…

Then their kid screams, Slack pings, they remember they forgot to order dog food, and your product disappears into the void.

You retarget them, finally get them back on site a few days later, and expect them to buy this time.

In your mind you thinking, cme on I’ve paid twice to get you here surely its time to buy…

But in their mind, they’ve barely met.

This is where Daniel Priestley’s 7-11-4 rule makes sense to me.

Because if you're honest with yourself, it’s pretty much how we all act when we buy something from someone else.

The 7-11-4 rule

1. 7 hours of time with your brand (watching, reading, learning)

1. 11 interactions with you (touchpoints)

1. across 4 different places (channels)

Small caveat: the 7-hour rule can be an overkill for brands selling lower-ticket products. The higher your price point, the longer it takes to convert.

So what do you do with this as an eCommerce brand?

Step 1: Pick your 4 places

• Your website

• Email

• SMS

• Packaging and inserts

• Customer support (live chat, help centre, tracking)

• Your own community (FB group, Discord, Skool)

• Events you run (pop-ups, webinars, meetups)

• Paid social ads

• Paid search and shopping (Google Search/Shopping)

• Influencer paid placements

• Affiliate placements

• Organic social

• YouTube long-form

• SEO and content discovery (blogs, guides, comparison pages)

• PR and media

• Review platforms (Trustpilot, ProductReview, Google reviews)

• Marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc.)

• Retail and retail media (stockists, retailer emails/ads)

• Comparison and discovery sites (roundups, review sites)

• Word of mouth spaces (Reddit, FB groups you don’t run, group chats)

• And loads more…

Step 2: Engineer the 11 interactions

Here’s an example:

1. Social: Sees a UGC ad doing a quick demo.

1. Social: Scrolls comments to see if people are calling it rubbish.

1. Social: Later that night, sees an organic post from a creator mentioning the same product.

1. Search + reviews: Google’s your brand name plus “reviews” (or searches it on TikTok).

1. Search + reviews: Clicks a review site, reads 2-3 reviews, looks for the bad ones first.

1. Website: Lands on product page, watches the short “how it works” clip.

1. Website: Checks delivery and returns (because nobody trusts “easy returns” unless you spell it out).

1. Website: Adds to cart, then leaves because life happens.

1. Email/SMS: Gets a browse or cart reminder that leads with reassurance (delivery, returns, guarantees), not “10% off”.

1. Website: Comes back via that email, compares options (size, bundles, subscription), and re-reads reviews.

Step 3: Build the interation time (it’s surprising how quickly this adds up)

Here are few examples:

• Short UGC demos that show the product being used

• Creator reviews that feel honest, not scripted

• Comment threads where people ask questions, and you answer them

• One simple “how it works” video that removes confusion

• Before and after proof people can scroll through

• A comparison piece against the obvious alternative

• Reviews on Google and third-party sites that people already trust

• A welcome email that tells the story, shows proof, and handles objections

• A follow-up email that shows results and common mistakes to avoid

• A post-purchase setup message that helps them get the best outcome.

So instead of trying to “close the sale” on visit two, build the relationship.

Give them a few more useful touchpoints in a few more places, and suddenly that third visit is not a hard sell.

It’s just them finally trusting you.

Chat soon,

Peter