Jonathan Long — July 19, 2017 There are several reasons why launching an e-commerce website is such an attractive option for those wanting to start an online business. From the ability to build an inventory-free business that uses a dropshipping model, to having unlimited scaling potential, an e-commerce business can be extremely lucrative.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs see the potential, and launch an online store, only to fail miserably. With so many e-commerce stores launching daily, you need to be aggressive and creative if you want a piece of the pie.
There are several ways to attract new customers and convert more of the traffic that is hitting your website. For those that are just starting an e-commerce website, use these four simple tips to help you generate more sales. Increasing your store’s revenue gives you the financial ability to scale your growth quickly, and establish your brand as a major player in your niche.
1. Understand you have to spend money to make money.
It’s very rare that customers are going to find your website without any paid promotion. The easiest way to quickly push targeted traffic to your website is through paid ads. It allows you to generate revenue one day one, and gives you the ability to scale successful campaigns.
Facebook ads are hands-down, in my opinion, the best option. You are able to laser-target your potential customers, and when you properly optimize your ads it can deliver results that no other ad platform can match. Understand that Facebook ads has a learning curve. Far too many e-commerce store owners will run a campaign with a small budget and immediately claim it’s ineffective. Be prepared to spend money on split-testing and leaning how Facebook ads work. If you are new to Facebook advertising, check out this tutorial.
2. Leverage the power of affiliates.
If you are selling a product with high margins and can afford to pay out an attractive commission per sale, you should strongly consider starting an affiliate program. Affiliate marketing is a way to get experienced online marketers to send traffic to your offer, and you only compensate them every time a sale is generated.
You will need to make sure your website is properly optimized to convert traffic and your affiliate commission must be attractive enough to get top affiliates interested in running the offer. You can start your own program, but then you have to find the affiliates. An easier option is to join a successful and established affiliate network. They already have the infrastructure in place, as well as the affiliates.
3. Introduce up-sell offers.
One of the easiest ways to increase your revenue is by selling more products to the people that are already buying form you. What if one in every four buyers purchased additional products without having to increase your advertising and marketing budget? Would that have a positive impact on your revenue? Of course it would.
An up-sell offer involves offering an irresistible offer while the customer in currently checking out or has already completed the transaction. You can place an offer in front of them as they are about to pay, or utilize an app or plugin that allows them to claim an offer with one-click after making their initial purchase. If they are presented with an offer that says, “Thank you for your order! If you would like to buy a second widget for 75% off click here” do you think the majority of your customers will jump all over it? The one-click up-sell is a very effective way to significantly increase your revenue-per-customer.
4. Reduce your abandoned shopping cart rate.
A lot of people hear the word “popup” and get scared, but it’s very possible to do e-commerce popups right. You don’t have to place them on every page, or have them pop as a visitor is searching your website. But, when it comes to people abandoning your shopping cart, a popup can be responsible for saving sales and generating a lot of revenue for your business.
Between 60% to 80% of the visitors that make it to your shopping cart will leave. The majority of them will also never return to your website. So, rather than just let them leave, set up a popup offer to hit as soon as they attempt to leave without completing their purchase. A discount code or an offer for free shipping can be the difference between an abandonment and a sale. Don’t be afraid of annoying your visitors that are trying to leave before completing their purchase, because if you let them leave there is a good chance they will never return anyway.
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