Don't let Meta frustrate you in Q4 | UPS and Fedex holiday surcharges go live

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Happy Monday to 9,214 Shopify sellers crushing Q4 prep!
Ada here, with another edition to get your store 1% closer to Black Friday success.

Here’s what’s inside today’s newsletter:

• UPS surcharges: what they mean for your Q4 logistics plan

• Meta’s “Andromeda” update and how to future-proof your ads

• Challenge: Fix your SEO in under 60 minutes

• Trend: Hall Effect joysticks (gaming niche)

Industry: UPS Adds Holiday Surcharges

If you’ll be shipping to international customers in Q4, listen up! UPS added surcharges on U.S. imports and exports, effective from yesterday, September 28th. This comes after FedEx did the same.

In summary, you’ll be getting:

• Extra per-pound fees on goods from Europe, Canada, and India

• Higher export costs worldwide

• Fees stacking on top of peak season surcharges from Sept. 28

With only 60 days to Black Friday, this is not the time to get squeezed on margins.

✅ What to do now:

• Explore Amazon Supply Chain (FBA + Multi-Channel Fulfillment) as a way to offset costs. Amazon’s network is growing, and its customs AI tools can save time + fees.

• Lock in rates with freight forwarders before October.

• Diversify carriers… don’t let UPS or FedEx bottleneck your season.

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Growth Hack: Meta’s Andromeda Update

Meta’s new Andromeda update has changed the ad game, just in case you hadn’t noticed.

The old way: the algorithm picked one “winning” ad and shoved all your budget into it.
The new way: Andromeda plays matchmaker, pairing different ads with different micro-audiences.

Translation: small tweaks aren’t enough anymore. You need fundamentally different creative angles, aka creative diversification.

In order not get frustrated by Meta, you need to either:

a.) play them at their game create and 8–15 different ad concepts per campaign, using the P.D.A. Framework:

• Persona → Who are you targeting? (new mom vs. gamer vs. busy exec)

• Desire → What do they want? (energy vs. confidence vs. better performance)

• Awareness → Where are they in the funnel? (unaware vs. problem-aware vs. solution-aware)

or b.) start building traffic streams outside Facebook

Here’s where to diversify:

• Fix your SEO. Fix once, enjoy free traffic forever.

• TikTok Ads → CPMs are still lower, and TikTok drives impulse buys.

• Google Shopping + Search → Great for catching high-intent buyers who are literally typing “best deal [your product] Black Friday.”

• Email + SMS → Your cheapest, most reliable channel when ad costs surge (see last week’s newsletter for a workable strategy).

Weekly Challenge: Fix Your SEO

Pick the lowest hanging fruit. With ~60 days left to Black Friday, there are still some SEO moves you can take to move the needle, if you’re smart about it.

Here’s your 60-minute action plan:

1. Run your store through Plug In AI and get instant SEO recommendations.

2. Identify 10 product pages with impressions but no sales.

3. Update titles, meta descriptions, and product descriptions in one click, not weeks.

Done right, this can lift your traffic before Black Friday shoppers start searching.

Trend: Hall Effect Joysticks

Hall Effect Joysticks are gaming accessories which use magnets for ultra-precise, contactless control.

Why this matters:

• The gaming peripherals market = $6.2B and growing 11% annually.

• GameSir’s Xbox controller with Hall joysticks is already pulling in ~$630K/month on Amazon.

How you can cash in:

1. Sell gaming gear: controllers, OLED monitors, cooling sleeves.

2. Bundle accessories: joysticks + gaming sleeves as “performance kits.”

3. Leverage influencers: streamers are always looking for hardware upgrades to show off.

If you’re looking to test quickly without messing around with Meta ads, why not use Levanta to test with Amazon influencers?

Get Featured by Publishers Driving Holiday Amazon Sales

This holiday season, top publishers are hand-selecting a limited number of Amazon brands to feature across high-impact channels like gift guides and newsletters to reviews and listicles — reaching millions of ready-to-buy shoppers.

Here’s why it matters:

• Only a select number of 7–9 figure brands will be chosen

• Publisher placements put your products in front of shoppers already primed to purchase

Levanta is partnering directly with these publishers to connect them with brands positioned for holiday success.

If your brand qualifies, you could secure premium placements that drive measurable growth with predictable CAC.

Check if your brand qualifies

That’s all folks!

Ada