Like all small business owners, an e-commerce store (or two, maybe three) means that the entrepreneur is going to wear several different hats. When you are first getting started, it’s a little challenging because with your eye on growing sales and profitability, you may not be able to outsource or get extra hands on deck to help you out with advertising, marketing, graphic design (product images) and other promotion essentials.
For most of our e-commerce members, the grind starts with the first two stores they open. After that, the revenue generated helps by providing income that can be allocated for that extra help, and strategic advertising budget. So, the real challenge? Scale up your first two stores and get them profitable as soon as possible, so that you can the help you need to keep growing and growing fast.
For the purpose of demonstration (and because our team REALLY likes sport fishing), we’re going to use the example of an e-commerce store that specializes in fishing gear and accessories, to demonstrate effective marketing tactics that will work in any niche.
Blogging for Website Traffic
Did you know that e-commerce websites that blog at least 10-15 times per month, earn 300% more website traffic than websites who stick to the outdated ‘one blog per week’ schedule?
What would our example e-commerce store (fishing) blog about? The trick is to blog articles that are interesting and informative to your prospective customers. Don’t make the focus on the products, but rather how those products add value and solve needs or problems that your customers may have.
Examples:
- Top Lures Colors for Summer Freshwater Fishing
- Review of 5 Quality Fishing Lines
- The Excitement of Top Water Fishing
In every blog post for your e-commerce store, you can mention certain products available in your shop, by hyperlinking the product page. Not only will this suggest that your reader buy the product, but it will also improve your SEO with valuable internal backlinks. And that means, more traffic from Google and Bing!
Organic Domestic Backlinks
We know what you are thinking… do I need to hire an SEO guy on Upwork? That can get a little expensive when you are just starting out. But did you know you can DIY your backlinks and dramatically improve the traffic that search engines refer to your store? Yep you can do it, you just need to know where to start.
- Get interviewed. Many small business websites and your local chamber of commerce interview small business owners, and post the link to the video, podcast or article interview on their website. Ask for a link back to your shop to increase local traffic.
- Write a guest post. Create a lifestyle article or write about e-commerce business perspectives and strategies. Many high-traffic media sites and blogs are looking for free content. It will get your name out there and provide a high-quality backlink to your own blog and website. Easy win.
Want another backlink resource that will make you feel good and benefit your e-commerce store, by boosting traffic? Donate to charities, using your store name. Find charities you wish to support that provide a backlink for businesses who donate.
Social Media
Mobile shopping is THE leading way that consumers find and buy products that they are interested in. Social media promotion of your products is essential but remember to mix your content up a little to interest prospective customers.
Plan your social media content with these strategic mix of resources:
- 40% direct link posts for products in your store
- 30% posts from your blog, that address lifestyle hacks and tips that consumers want to read.
- 30% posts from other media sites and articles, that your target customer will find interesting. This can include (using our example case of a fishing shop) local tournaments, family fishing articles, etc.
Advertising
Where do you start? For e-commerce business owners, a great place to begin is to take a few courses on social media pay per click (PPC) and Google AdWords. The good news is that getting some great training on digital advertising is really affordable, if you use sources like Udemy. Check out some of the courses they offer for less than $20.00, that will provide all the fundamentals you need to start experimenting with online advertising.
Graphic Design
Okay, so you may not be the best at graphic design, but before you go rushing to a certified designer (they can be expensive) can we give you a professional and money saving tip? Check out Fiverr.
Freelancers on Fiverr are AMAZING and affordable, and they can help you design:
- Logos
- Brochures
- Advertising graphics
- Postcards for direct mail campaigns
- Videos
- Audio voice-overs (think about a slide show of products with a professional V/O)
You don’t need to be a member of Fiverr to start benefiting from this great team of freelancers worldwide. Check it out as a quick and affordable way to get more advanced marketing materials you need.
Podcasting
Okay, so you’re not a fan of writing blog posts. Have you thought about starting a podcast about your niche lifestyle products instead? For a small fee, websites like PodBean provide hosting for your podcast.
Here is what you need to do, to publish and utilize podcasting to drive customer traffic to your store:
- Find a podcasting host you like, that has a large community. Why? Because other members of the site (and non-member audiences) will search for podcasts that suit their interests. That means you have the opportunity to tap into new audiences.
- Record your podcast. For best results, get some microphone accessories to scrub background noise and create a quality sound file.
- Upload your podcast to your host (i.e., Podbean).
- Write a brief description of your podcast and don’t forget to link your store to every episode you publish. e., For more resources and tips on fishing, visit my blog at www… and make sure you hyperlink your store for click-traffic.
- Embed your published podcast on your blog, so that you engage visitors to your site.
- Share your podcast as part of your social media content.
Boom! Feeling more confident with some of the essential and proven marketing tactics that other e-commerce business owners are using to generate BIG sales? Good! Dropified is committed to providing resources and training to help our members win at e-commerce.
Did you value the tips and advice in this blog article? We’d love to hear your feedback, so hop on our Slack channel or send us an email. We value your opinion and ideas for future articles.
To learn more about how Dropified can help your dropshipping business thrive over the coming months and years just click the button below and get started with a FREE TRIAL today!
LEARN MORE - Start Your Free Trial
