I'm starting this thread as an e-commerce log.
Purpose: For those who have experience with or are interested in online business -- take this as a meeting point to share ideas. Will document my progress and let's learn & grow together.
I've read Chris' amazing blueprint multiple times since it was posted 2.5 months ago (www.gll-getalife.com/get-paid/20-things-...-in-e-commerce-sales) and I think his secret to E-Commerce success can be summarized into:
Step 1: Have a great product
Step 2: Tell people about it
Now, we all know that Chris already had a loyal following (via GLL) when Happy Hippo was launched. What about those who are starting E-Commerce BEFORE having an audience? Basically my question is, although the 2 steps sound simple enough, HOW exactly do you spread the word?
Do chip in with all your ideas and share tips in this thread.
Here's my log (aka what I've done so far). BTW -- my business is selling men's accessories/jewelry.
1) AFFILIATE MARKETING
Cold approached "famous" people on Instragram as well as people with relevant websites. Sent tons of emails.
I've had two people on Instagram promoting my products (both are from my country, one of which is a personal friend). They have five-figure following between them.
Result: 0 sales from them so far.
Will be having 1 more Instagram girl on board soon. BTW - most of the famous personalities I approach are females (even though my target audience is men) because I figured that they will tons of male followers.
Will potentially have 2 websites/blogs on board. I shipped them free samples and they are in the process of reviewing my products. The 2 guys run men style-related sites, though they are not really huge.
I've learned that the REALLY BIG players tend to ask for payment up-front (aka payment for advertisement). The smaller players (with relatively smaller followings) would be more open to affiliate programs (only paying them if they refer sales to you).
2) CONTENT MARKETING + SOCIAL MEDIA
Only have one blog post up so far. This is a long-term strategy so I wasn't expecting any sales from content marketing. I guess we need months of consistent blog posts before Google will rank your site anywhere and give you organic search traffic.
The blog post I wrote about was "5 Twitter Accounts Every Modern Man Needs To Follow" and I gave them a shout-out on Twitter to let them know I blogged about them. Only 1 of them re-tweeted me to his 28,000 followers. Nothing out of it, in fact not even additional likes/follows on my social media accounts.
IN THE PIPELINE: Facebook Ads (and other forms of paid ads) will come in the near future -- anyone with experience experimenting with those, feel free to chip in. But I want to explore all free marketing/advertising ideas before diving into paid ads.
Purpose: For those who have experience with or are interested in online business -- take this as a meeting point to share ideas. Will document my progress and let's learn & grow together.
I've read Chris' amazing blueprint multiple times since it was posted 2.5 months ago (www.gll-getalife.com/get-paid/20-things-...-in-e-commerce-sales) and I think his secret to E-Commerce success can be summarized into:
Step 1: Have a great product
Step 2: Tell people about it
Now, we all know that Chris already had a loyal following (via GLL) when Happy Hippo was launched. What about those who are starting E-Commerce BEFORE having an audience? Basically my question is, although the 2 steps sound simple enough, HOW exactly do you spread the word?
Do chip in with all your ideas and share tips in this thread.
Here's my log (aka what I've done so far). BTW -- my business is selling men's accessories/jewelry.
1) AFFILIATE MARKETING
Cold approached "famous" people on Instragram as well as people with relevant websites. Sent tons of emails.
I've had two people on Instagram promoting my products (both are from my country, one of which is a personal friend). They have five-figure following between them.
Result: 0 sales from them so far.
Will be having 1 more Instagram girl on board soon. BTW - most of the famous personalities I approach are females (even though my target audience is men) because I figured that they will tons of male followers.
Will potentially have 2 websites/blogs on board. I shipped them free samples and they are in the process of reviewing my products. The 2 guys run men style-related sites, though they are not really huge.
I've learned that the REALLY BIG players tend to ask for payment up-front (aka payment for advertisement). The smaller players (with relatively smaller followings) would be more open to affiliate programs (only paying them if they refer sales to you).
2) CONTENT MARKETING + SOCIAL MEDIA
Only have one blog post up so far. This is a long-term strategy so I wasn't expecting any sales from content marketing. I guess we need months of consistent blog posts before Google will rank your site anywhere and give you organic search traffic.
The blog post I wrote about was "5 Twitter Accounts Every Modern Man Needs To Follow" and I gave them a shout-out on Twitter to let them know I blogged about them. Only 1 of them re-tweeted me to his 28,000 followers. Nothing out of it, in fact not even additional likes/follows on my social media accounts.
IN THE PIPELINE: Facebook Ads (and other forms of paid ads) will come in the near future -- anyone with experience experimenting with those, feel free to chip in. But I want to explore all free marketing/advertising ideas before diving into paid ads.