Open an online store: 10 steps to a successful e-commerce launch
Things get exciting. You have thoroughly evaluated your product idea and finally found a product to sell online . After searching everywhere, you found your supplier , ordered samples, and even realized that the product exceeded your expectations for quality. Finally, you have placed your first order to acquire your original stock, and you are waiting for the delivery of the goods. What are you going to do now?
You still have work on the board because you are still in the pre-launch phase. This is a moment of great importance for every e-merchant, as this step will shape the direction in which your e-commerce activity will evolve. Get ready to roll up your sleeves.
Launching an online store without planning is a risky procedure, and that’s why we’ve put together a list of 10 steps to complete before introducing your online store to the world.
There are many things to cover, so let’s start.
10. Prepare your social network accounts
For many brands, social networks have become a reliable source of traffic and customer acquisition.
There are certain points of importance that all new e-merchants must keep in mind when preparing for the launch of their social channels.
Book the name of your brand
As a general rule and regardless of your field of activity, you should focus first on the three most important social platforms of the moment, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And even if you do not plan to use them for the moment, you should reserve your brand name on these 3 networks for better management and protection against identity theft.
When it comes to presence on social networks, there is nothing worse than having different account names on each platform. Use a service like NameFlix.com to check the availability of the names you want on hundreds of social networks before making your final choice.
Note : On Facebook, you must accumulate a few dozen subscribers on your page before you can customize its URL. You can easily meet this requirement by inviting your friends and family members to like your page.
Warning : even if it is now possible to buy fake subscribers on certain platforms, we strongly advise the initiative. Facebook only shows your publications at a very small percentage of the subscribers who make up your audience; between 5% and 10%. As a result, if you buy hundreds or thousands of followers, you may never be able to communicate with your real audience. The purchase of fans is also contrary to the terms of use of Facebook, so be careful.
Choose wisely your social platforms
Aside from the most popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter, you should also consider joining other strategic platforms. Some social platforms will be better suited to your business than others. It is over time that you discover what can best highlight your brand.
If you sell particularly eye- catching products or have a lifestyle brand, visual platforms that focus on photo sharing like Instagram and Pinterest may be better for you. If you’re producing video content , you need to make sure you make a name for yourself on YouTube .
Remember, however, that a significant investment in time and effort is required to establish an effective social media presence. Give priority to networks that you can manage comfortably.
Set up your profiles and create your cover photos
You will then need to configure your profiles and create your cover photos, then share some first publications. New fans and followers must have something to see and feel they are privileged to be among the first subscribers.
To create cover photos and illustrations for different social networks without wasting time looking for the exact dimensions to respect , Canva will be your best choice .
Build your audience and start engaging your fans
We must now tackle the most difficult stage of the launch on social networks: building an audience. The first 100 fans / legitimate subscribers will be the most difficult to learn , and it is for this that you will need to spend time every day engaging your first fans to attract new followers .
To discover strategies that will help you build your social audience, check out our e-commerce marketing blog .
9. Prepare your email marketing
Now that your social accounts are ready, you will need to focus on what will be your most important communication channel: email marketing. Indeed, it has been shown time and time again that email is the most profitable marketing channel that exists.
Shopify offers you many e-mail marketing solutions that are even able to track the sales generated by your emails to assess the associated ROI.
Choose your marketing solution by e-mail
There are many e-mail marketing solutions on the market. However, you must make sure you choose the one that best meets the needs of your business. A good starting point is to consider the e-commerce solution you are interested in, then review the e-mail marketing services that integrate with your platform before making your final choice.
Here are some e-mail marketing services to review:
Setting up your message templates and your launch campaign
Once you’ve chosen your e-mail marketing service, you’ll need to spend a few hours familiarizing yourself with its interface. Since e-mail marketing can become your channel the most cost-effective promotional campaign , you should plan your initiatives in advance : setting up e-mail templates, creating a welcome e-mail, preparing promotional e-mailing campaigns , configuring e-mails from abandoned basket raise , among others .
8. Launch your landing page
Your next step is to design your landing page. The landing page is essential for several reasons. It temporarily welcomes your brand pending the final launch of your website. Your landing page will begin to highlight your brand and will give your first visitors a taste of what awaits them. More importantly, it’s a great environment to start building your email list by collecting the addresses of visitors who are interested in what you have to say and who want to know more about your launch.
There are some user-friendly and inexpensive tools that you could use to design your landing page. Here is one of them:
7. Install Google Analytics
It is vital to collect analytical data from the first day of the launch. These are the data that will allow you to track the behavior of your visitors and customers. In the physical store, it is possible to see customers and discuss with them in person. But online, without analytical data, you literally become blind.
Here are four steps to setting up Google Analytics for your domain name:
- Create your Google Analytics account
- Link your GA account to your landing page / online store
- Enable e-commerce tracking
- Set up funnels and sales goals
6. Conduct your search for keywords
Before opening your new online store , it is important that you perform a keyword search. Keyword research is an important aspect of SEO. By choosing relevant keywords, you help Google and other search engines understand what your e-commerce site is about and better understand the products you sell. This in turn improves your reach and SEO by increasing the likelihood that your website will be listed in organic results when potential customers search for queries related to the products you sell.
5. Finalize the design of your online store
Now that you’ve covered the essentials, you’re finally ready to plan the final launch of your online store. This is an important step; so be sure to take all the time you need.
U can set up your online store in minutes without any technical skills with Godaddy Store Builder.
4. Define your key performance indicators
Before your e-commerce launch, you will need to define some key performance indicators (KPIs) to continually monitor. By defining the indicators on which your e-commerce success depends, you will be able to keep your objectives in focus and optimize the effectiveness of your initiatives.
There are some key performance indicators that all e-merchants should follow to evaluate the profitability of their online sales activity. Here they are :
Key performance indicators related to sales
- Monthly sales
- Average shopping cart
- Average margin
- Conversion rate
- Basket abandonment rate
Key performance indicators related to marketing
- Website traffic
- Unique visitors and repeat visitors
- On-site time
- Pageviews per session
- Traffic sources and referring sources
- Subscribers to the newsletter
- Subscribers or fans on social networks
3. Define your shipping strategy
Your shipping strategy is an integral part of your e-commerce business. It can be difficult to ship profitably when there is still much to learn, and that’s why you have to try to get a head start.
There are several important factors to consider, including:
- Materials and packaging options.
- The different transport companies to choose from.
- Deadlines and shipping costs.
2. Finalize your promotional strategy and launch strategy
Finally, as you get ready to kick off, you need to consider your launch strategy. How do you plan to launch your new e-commerce store? Are you going to open your online sales site by offering a 10% or 20% discount on the whole shop, offering free shipping, or maybe organizing a quiz ?
Through which channels of communication will you announce to your audiences the opening of your shop?
The task should not be too complicated if you have managed to build a small audience on social networks, since you will already have a qualified audience with whom to share your big news. You should also consider contacting the media to negotiate online media coverage for your launch.
1. Realize your e-commerce launch
Now that you have completed all the steps of this countdown, it’s time to launch your online store and let consumers discover what you have to offer. If you’ve followed all the steps we’ve covered, you should be able to build up social media fans and build a list of email subscribers who are eager to explore and buy in your new site. online shop.
Remember, a lot of effort is needed to successfully start a successful online business, and the investment must be made in the long run. Fortunately, thanks to this guide, you can get started in e-commerce by carefully planning your initiatives from the beginning of the adventure.
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