Building an online business out of scratch is indeed a fantastic feat. However, launching your e-commerce store is just the beginning of your journey. There are so many things you need to do to keep your store sustainable.
Fortunately for you, this list includes some powerful e-commerce tips that are sure to help you out:
Build a Following Early On
The best way to generate sales for your new website is to build your audience base early on. This means marketing your store as soon as you have purchased a domain name.
There are many ways for you to build a cult following. A good example is to collect email addresses in exchange for a newsletter subscription or a free tutorial. From here, you can make an email marketing list where you can send personalized messages for relationship building.
Another option is to post on various social media channels, at least three or four platforms, to be sure. After all, not all people use Facebook. Although most of them do, some prefer Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and other platforms. According to Ecomwarrior reviews, social media provides the best leads for your store.
Social media marketing is as simple as sharing teaser posts or launch discounts for your store. By working on these accounts early on, you get to save on ad costs. That’s because early engagement will make your posts more visible to your followers.
Be Visual
Nobody likes a drab, boring website. You’d want something that will catch the eye of your clients. As such, it’s important to make your website very visual without bogging down its speed.
For your product pages, for example, it’s best if you post images of different angles. As online buyers depend on these, it’s best to give them as many varied images as possible. Remember to compress them with tools such as TinyPNG.
The visual appeal should not be limited to your products, as your home page and blog site will benefit from attractive decors as well. Using banners, GIFs, and videos can make your website more enticing to buyers.
Categorize
Grouping hundreds of items can be quite challenging, but it’s something you ought to do.
Don’t limit the categories to just Men, Women, and Children as you need to be as specific as possible. It can be hard to find a pair of slippers, for example, in a Men’s category of 450 various products.
While grouping won’t do much in SEO, it can help provide a seamless experience for your shoppers. And when they’re happy with your site, you can expect orders to pour out soon.
Be Descriptive
One of the best ways to make more sales is to have a diverse array of products.
Compared to the early days, many programs can help you import hundreds of items with relative ease. However, it would be best not to leave the product descriptions as they are – the bland bulleted points provided by your supplier.
If you want to make more sales and improve your search engine rankings, you should rework the product descriptions. Highlight the benefits of your items instead of the features to give people a reason to buy them.
With a convincing product description, you will be more likely to close a sale.
Be Transparent
Buyers don’t only research the products they want to purchase; they look up the company as well. That said, you can help your customers make a better decision by publishing essential info on your website.
Make sure to provide your customer service details, as well as your store’s shipping and return policies. That way, you get to minimize queries related to these aspects as well.
Don’t Forget to Blog
If you’re managing a new store, it can be quite challenging to rank high, especially with Amazon taking over most of the search results. Although this is the case, it can be done with some blogging.
Apart from improving your SEO, blogging can help you develop client relationships and establish your business as an industry leader.
What’s great about most e-commerce platforms is that they already have a built-in blog feature. With this, you don’t have to open a new account to append with your store.
Be Consistent
Launching new products and new content for your blog should be done regularly.
Consistency is vital, especially when it comes to retaining customers. If you’ve previously committed to a weekly launch, make sure to stick to this schedule. This gives clients something to look forward to when they check your website.
If you fall off your regular schedule, you stand to lose your fan base, which means lesser sales and revenue.
Offer Free Shipping
The struggle for most new business owners is marketing the store. After all, there’s a lot of competition out there.
However, by offering free shipping, you may get to earn some footing in the industry.
Remember, free shipping can help you achieve more sales. That’s because 79% of American buyers are most likely to purchase something from a store that offers free shipping.
If you can’t offer free shipping to orders for each sale, you can try giving such with a minimum purchase. More than just attracting more buyers, this feature can help increase order amount, too.
Reinvest
Say that you have earned your first $1,000. Instead of blowing this off on new shoes, it’s better if you use this for your business.
Your top priority should be ads primarily because of their huge ROI. Take the case of Facebook, where you can invest your first $1,000 in ads and boosted posts. This can help you rake as much as $3,000 in sales.
By reinvesting a part of your revenue in ads, you get to grow your business sooner than later. Doing this consistently will give you enough income to live a pretty comfortable life.
As with every new endeavor, launching a new e-commerce store comes with its unique set of hurdles. Although this is the case, following the tips above can help you scale your business to new heights.
Interesting Related Article: “Tips for Selling Stuff Online: A Step-by-Step Guide to Launching an e-Commerce Store“