So your eCommerce store is up and running. You’ve listed a wide range of products, but you are wondering how to get the word out. You want to position yourself in the right spot within the crowd to get those sales.
Here are some effective ways to market your eCommerce store:
1. Distribute Content
You can go about this in two ways. The first is to start a blog. Pick some topics that relate to what your store offers. Publish regularly to build your voice. Include some links to your store within these pieces.
As the following for your blog grows, a fraction of the readers will become aware of your store. The second is through guest posting. Here, you pick an already established website that puts out content related to your business.
Go through their work and find some gaps you can fill. Write about interesting subjects that aren’t so common on their site, or write from a different angle. As an authority in their space, the site will have some decent numbers to tap into.
Slot in a mention of your store where it fits naturally. A part of these can end up visiting your site.
2. Put Out Some Ads
Organic growth (basically attention you’re not paying for) has its limit. Once you have told everyone to tell everyone, don’t sit back. Create some presentable materials. These include artwork, videos etc.
Come up with a short message about your store. It may include a few of your product listings or some shopping offers. Get on social media and create an ad targeting the type of people you want to attract.
List some local media houses. Radio and TV stations, newspapers and magazines etc. Pay for some space in those you’re sure to have the attention of your target customer. You can also try pay-per-click advertising like Google AdWords.
3. Personalize Experiences
This is about making your store offerings particular to certain types of shoppers. Those who are in cold seasons in one location can be shown coats and scarfs.
The ones in places where it’s currently hot can be shown the latest offers on bikinis and such. By studying data produced by store visitors, you can tailor the experience to different groups.
4. Send Email Messages
Request for email addresses from shoppers who want product updates. Produce a newsletter regularly with your latest product listings included.
Track the behavior of store visitors. Send them messages related to the products they search for. Remind them about promotions and discounts that your store is running.
Put out messages targeting customers with abandoned carts and wishlists.
5. Refine Your Keywords
This is all about getting your store higher up in search engine results. Find out the most common words shoppers use when searching for products you’ve listed. You can do this using tools like Ahrefs.
Type them into search engines and see where your store ranks.
You want to make sure you’re as high up on the first page as possible. Revisit your site and change how items are named. Do the same for all sections and categories. Conduct more searches until your site is more visible in the results.
Known as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), this method can get you a lot of free eyes on your store. Sometimes it involves getting a better store theme. Go through the various free Shopify themes and find one that gets you higher up.
Here are some tips on how to get your SEO right.
6. Improve The Mobile Experience
Run a performance test for your store on different mobile devices. Measure how fast various pages load.
Resize the features on your store. From “Add to Cart” buttons to search bars, make it so that shoppers don’t have to scroll or zoom in a lot. This helps you carve out space for yourself when it comes to mobile shoppers.
Add Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) to make your store load faster and rank higher in search engine results. Build an app that makes the shopping experience smoother.
7. Get Strong Partners
Look for brands within your industry that have larger followings. These can be reviewers, or even other sites selling products that you would list on your store.
Build relationships with them that involve your brand being visible on their sites or in their stores and ads. In exchange, you can offer them free products to try out.
Another option is to sell their goods giving them a sizable share of the profits. People who go by their opinions or those who buy their products can be pointed to your store.
8. Sell On Multiple Channels
Get your products listed on larger platforms like Amazon and eBay. Products that sell faster will rank higher. Run promotions with Amazon to get your products more visibility.
You can also offer free products to be reviewed by communities like Honest Society. Good reviews will have your products seen by more people on these bigger platforms.
Consider selling on more niche sites like Etsy to tap into smaller particular groups. Being present on bigger platforms is sure to win in Shopify store marketing when done well.
9. Connect With Influencers
Make a list of public figures that talk about the type of products you sell. Select those with large followings, but more importantly, a lot of engagement.
The ones that people tend to discuss with, and also those whose posts are shared widely. Let them know that you want them to spread the word about your store.
Find out what they want in return and zero in on those who fit in your budget.
10. Put Your Store On Social Media
We are not talking about just putting information about your store there. Set up actual business pages to sell products directly to social media users.
Take new special photos with single products and also with collectives. Use Instagram shopping features to tag several items in them. Tap on this tag sends a shopper to a product page with a buy option.
Create buyable pins on Pinterest. With these, shoppers can press the “Buy It” button to purchase directly from that picture.
In conclusion, eCommerce marketing has to be done on multiple fronts. One is drawing people to you naturally through searches. Another main one is to reach out to customers directly.
The third is to tap into the pools that already have large numbers. Try out each in combination and see what works for you. Remember to stay patient, results aren’t usually instant.
Author Bio:- Ricky is the Co-Founder and Head of Marketing at Debutify – free Shopify theme, helping drop shippers build high-converting stores in minutes. He is a passionate entrepreneur running multiple businesses, marketing agencies, and mentoring programs.