Guess what? You can now use Shopify to conduct ecommerce for virtually no investment, and potentially change the world with your cool product(s). Now that’s something to get excited about.
Shopify has teamed up with the Oberlo application to enable dropshipping to your new online store for little to no cost. They’re currently offering a 14-day free trial. This is an opportunity for you to finally get your online business up and running without investing a small fortune.
Together, these sites can help you launch a set of products that could finally enable you to hit the big time—or, just give you a low-cost environment to let what you thought was a good idea fizzle without breaking the bank.
Did we mention it’s free to get started? (Yes, there’s a catch.)
Ecommerce for Everyone
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If you’re ready to take the plunge into e-commerce, we recommend you snag the 14-day freebie. The Shopify site is perfect for small businesses ready to diversify sales, or the fledgling entrepreneur ready to fly their first ecommerce site.
But with a number of ecommerce choices on the market today, why should you choose Shopify? According to Business Insider, the volume of sales on Shopify grew 106 percent, to $3.4 billion last year. They’re also adding more tools (including Apple Pay) and the spiffy little deal we’re discussing in this article today.
According to their website, Shopify started in a coffee shop a decade ago. That entrepreneurial spirit has carried over. The site offers various non-pretentious but very effective tools for people getting their ecommerce sites up and running. You don’t have to be a DevOps geek to use this site. Plus, now they’re giving you a trial offer that costs absolutely nothing. What’s there to lose?
Today there has been more than $34 billion worth of sales since they kicked things off. Why shouldn’t your business take them up another billion or so?
How Do I know if I’m selling the Right Stuff?
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Well, the truth is, you’re not going to have the answer to this question right off the bat. If you’re an established business with a track record of moving that particular product in another retail venue, then you may already have a sense of the market niche you’re trying to hit. New products are trickier. That’s why this 14-day free trial is generally a good thing; it caters to both those with an established product and entrepreneurs who are just taking those first wobbly baby steps.
One of the big questions we hear right up front is, what should I sell?
We highly recommend reading How to Find a Product to Sell Online: The Definitive Guide from ecommerce incubator A Better Lemonade Stand. It’s another excellent, free resource that’s helpful during this part of your ecommerce journey. The e-book emphasizes several key things to think about when selecting your product(s):
- Are you choosing products that you are genuinely interested in and passionate about?
- What trends do you see coming that you might capitalize on?
- (Tip: Check out TrendHunter for ideas.)
- Have you tied your products to specific keywords to help improve your visibility?
- Are there any “pain points” that your products can solve?
- Look at traditional brick and mortar businesses. Are they selling products that might be more convenient to purchase online?
You can also check out this article for more inspiration on the kinds of things you can sell.
Steps to Setting Up Your Shopify Store
Source – https://websitesetup.org/build-online-store-shopify/
If you’re ready to do a big cannonball into the ecommerce ocean, we can help you get started. Here are the top eight steps to undertake once you’ve registered for your free 14-day trial:
Figure our your online store name. Shopify even has a free business name generator that cleverly tells you if the .com is available.
Go here to register for your free account. Add your store name and “Create your store.” Isn’t this exciting?
Next, pick your custom theme and click “start with this theme.”
If you want to play with your theme a little, you can go to the online store section and select Themes > Customize. A new window will open and you’ll see the sections of your store theme, including the header, body, footer, and so on. You can open each section and mess around with the site vibe. It’s pretty intuitive, with some drag and drop functionality.
Add your logo. If you don’t have one, you can go to the free Shopify logo maker and do-it-yourself.
Next, start adding content. Some of the basic page categories that we’ve seen include: About; Terms & Conditions: Returns; Shipping & Delivery; and, Contact Us. It’s easy to add pages to your site. Go to the Online Store tab and select Pages > Add Page. Boom!
Then comes the most important part—GETTING PAID! Go here to set up your customer payment options.
One thing to consider is how much you will charge for shipping. Free shipping is all the rage these days. Of course, you’ll adjust your product price accordingly to accommodate shipping fees. Here’s a good video on how to set up shipping options on your new Shopify account.
Here’s your last step. Before you launch, you’ll have to enter your credit card billing info, but you won’t be charged until after your free trial is up.
Tips and Tricks
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Shopify may have thought of everything. But in case you didn’t, they have a kind of tips and tricks page with a checklist of things you probably forgot. Here are some examples of what you’ll find there:
- How to optimize your pictures so they load faster.
- How to add analytics so you can start to define your target audience.
- How to edit the automated emails that are triggered when someone buys something. Shopify suggests you offer a coupon when someone makes a purchase, to keep them coming back for more.
These are just a few of the checkpoints to consider.
Dropshipping
Source – https://www.shopify.com/oberlo
Mapping out a fulfillment process is easy with Oberlo, one of the application partners with Shopify. Oberlo helps simplify dropshipping. You can import AliExpress products (Tip: Make use of the Chrome extension) by simply clicking on what you want to sell. The app monitors supply so you don’t run the risk of selling something out of stock.
You can set your product margins with the app, which watches for pricing changes from the supplier. When customers buy the product from your site, Ali Express handles fulfillment and shipping and Obelo monitors the process. When the product ships, it triggers an email confirmation to the customer.
It really is that simple.
Final Steps: Marketing
Now you’re ready to start marketing your site. It’s best to develop a solid and thorough ecommerce marketing strategy to help you keep track of and achieve your goals. In addition to other marketing practices, be sure to leverage the power of social media. Here are a few of our favorite social media resources to get the word out:
- Facebook Groups
- Instagram Influencers
- Tumblr Blog
- Wanelo
Shopify has given you some great free tools—now it’s up to you to make the shopping happen. If setting up an ecommerce site is something you’ve always considered, you now have the resources at your fingers to change the way you do business. So, what are you waiting for?
Andy Beohar is the Chief Inbound Marketing Strategist at SevenAtoms Inc, a San Francisco Inbound Marketing and PPC Agency. At SevenAtoms, he manages and develops inbound marketing and Google AdWords strategies for companies with the goal to substantially increase their online visibility, grow their brand and bring in more leads and conversions.