Hellooooooo! No one is looking for you!

Unless you have a large audience and are well known no one knows who you are.

So what you have to do is tell people that you exist and you can do that by following simple strategies to get you noticed.

In this post I am going to share with you four proven ways to increase traffic to your online store. If you have any type of online business, you will see that these strategies can also work if you want to attract customers to your business.

The key to being successful with any business online, is to have a lot of traffic every day.

You always need to have those eyeballs on your offer.

If you do not then your business is dead. Try and not promote your business and you will see what I mean.

So once the hard work of setting up your online store is over, there is more hard work to do. Sorry to burst your bubble kiddo.

You’re not quite at the end just yet.

But stick with me, because by the end of this post you will learn some completely new ways of driving traffic to your online store. So pull up your chair and let’s get right to it.

How To Increase Traffic To Your Online Store

1. Social Media

Ahhh! The good ole social media.

It is the best place to start because these days that is where everyone hangs out.

There are many platforms on social media that you can use to increase traffic to your online store. You want to pay particular attention to the ones that are more visual.

Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook are ideal since they are all visual based social media outlets. They are incredible assets if you want to up your visual content marketing strategy.

To attract more customers be prepared to create some amazing, beautiful images that will literally cause your audience to have eyegasms!! *gasps* LOL!

Some great online design tools that I use for my images include:

• Canva
• PicMonkey
• beFunky
• Snappa

You can use these tools and go in a million directions as to what you can create. They’re really awesome.

Pictures – check!

Let’s talk social media.

Pinterest

Pinterest was never a thought when I launched my online store last year but the benefits of using it to drive traffic to your store is huge.

To put things in perspective, there are over 170 million active users on Pinterest which means that you can potentially target over 170 million customers.

According to Pinterest 87% of people bought something because of what they saw on Pinterest. 93% of people use Pinterest to plan purchases.

Therefore it makes sense to get your brand in front of this audience.

To get started with Pinterest:

• Make sure and start by creating a business account. This is where you will have access to analytics, so you know what is working and what is not.
  
• You then will create boards which are relevant to your niche. Ensure that your boards are SEO friendly by using keywords for those boards. You want to name your board a keyword or phrase that people will look for. Create several different boards with different combinations of names that you think people will look for so that your boards can be found. As Pinterest is all about aesthetic, the images on your board should be of a high quality and ones that grab the most attention. Therefore focus on bright colourful images. Vertical images also work best. I use PicMonkey to design my board images and found images from Shutterstock and Unsplash.
  
• Once you have created your own boards, join a few group boards related to your niche that you can pin your images to. Group boards comprise other Pinterest marketers and help to increase exposure to your business. To identify group boards look out for the group symbol.

To continue increasing traffic to your online store, pin on a regular basis to each group board that you use. You can even automate your pinning using the Tailwind pin scheduler which helps you to pin tons of pins everyday automatically.  

I never thought about Pinterest as a traffic source but because it is a visual search engine and people use it to find ideas for the things they want, it’s a great way to get more people to your eCommerce store.

There is a lot more to understand how to get traffic to your eCommerce store using Pinterest and I am grateful to it everyday as it helps drive traffic to this blog. Here is a look at my progress so far using Pinterest. What if all those daily viewers were going to your own store?

If you are serious about using Pinterest to increase your online store sales then I would strongly recommend the Pinterest Traffic Avalanche course by Alex Nerney and Lauren MacManus.

It was through this course that I was able to grow my traffic steadily and I am certain it can do the same for your online store.

Instagram

Instagram is a slightly different kettle of fish.

There are no groups to join and you get found by using hashtags.

Check out the hashtags that your competitors are using. Do not use the exact hashtags but seek them as inspiration and come up with you own. Five to ten relevant hashtags should be sufficient as anything more will come across as spammy.

If you are selling wall art then some of the hashtags you might consider are:

#artoftheday

#homedecor

#streetart

#artwork

#artdesign

#paintingonthewall

Always use hashtags in every post you make.

To avoid coming across as salesy and attract more people to your brand you can create images that focus on story telling. Instead of posting merely product images, you can tell a story by sharing customer’s images that feature your products.

A great example of this is from a company called Natursutten. An image with only the bag would not be as engaging as an image with a cute baby in a bag. Do you see what I mean?

Check out as well Alice + Ames and how they captivated little girls dresses in another customer photo of a mother with her two beautiful girls.

By being a little bit more relatable, posting images in this way helps you to connect with your audience.

When you are connected with your audience people are more inspired to take action resulting in increased traffic to your online store.

Facebook

An online store and Facebook ads go perfectly.

This is exactly how I was able to generate over $7k in sales in one month with my Shopify store.

I used the power of Facebook to sell and once you know how to use this platform properly, it is a gold mine.

What I love about Facebook Ads is the specific targeting that you can include in your ad criteria.

If you are selling Athletic wear you can specifically target women who are in a certain age bracket and who follow a particular interest.

You can also target fans of your competitors.

Just like Instagram it is a good idea to tell a story, firstly to assist with brand awareness. Do not be too hasty to create a sales ad campaign.

Yes we all want sales, but if someone does not know your brand, you want to warm them up to who you are first.

A good way to warm them up is by telling a story using sequenced ads.

So in week one you may introduce your audience to your brand by talking about how you got started or how the product you are selling was made.

Video marketing would be best for this strategy at this point.

In week two, you can use any data that you captured from week one and retarget people who watched the video and then ask for the sale.

Fabletics UK does a good job at this.

Notice how in their first ad they use only video and there is no sales call to action.

However in the follow up post they have introduced a call to action “Shop the latest Fabletics collection”.

There are many strategies that you can use to drive traffic to your eCommerce store using Facebook Ads.

The strategies outlined here are only a handful but make sure and check out the Social Traffic Blueprint free webinar and course which gives you a low down on other ways that you can use Facebook to increase traffic to your online store.

2. Blogging

Most people want sales quickly and that’s all well and good.

But… hold on a minute. Think outside of the box! Don’t you want to dominate your niche and stand out?!

This is why you need to use methods that not everyone will think about. It might take some time to get going but the results can be worth it. So let’s talk about blogging shall we?!

Blogging is all about content marketing.

To ensure that your online store gets visibility in the marketplace, it is important that you write content that will help your audience solve a problem.

For example, if you are selling survival equipment I made a search of the Google Keywords Planner tool and searched “outdoor equipment”.

Google provided some keyword ideas and I noticed that one of them was “basic camping checklist”  with 1k to 10k average monthly searches and “camping essentials checklist” with 100 to 1k average monthly searches. Both were low competition keywords.

I would therefore write a blog post using these two keywords and my article may be titled like this “The Ultimate Camping Essentials Checklist “.

I would also include a review of some of the top products in my online store and provide a link to where the reader can purchase the product if they want to.

Keep in mind that when using blogging to increase traffic to your online store, it will take some time for Google to index your pages and SEO to kick in.

The best way to succeed with blogging and eCommerce is to ensure that you are consistent and write articles that help your audience solve their problems. How-To and List articles have great buyer intent.

Doing so will ensure that your efforts pay off in a big way after a few months. If you haven’t started a blog yet, well now is a good time.

3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Following on from blogging, if you want to increase organic traffic to your online store then optimising your website for SEO is your best bet.

For many people, SEO might be a confusing topic but it is actually easier than you think.

If you are using Woocommerce for WordPress then the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin, makes optimising your store for SEO simple.

If not, here are a few guidelines that you can follow to help your site rank in Google:

• Use descriptive product titles. These are the titles that show up in Google search. So if you are selling cat socks you can describe the item as “Black Cat Socks”
• Use meta descriptions and include important keywords in them. The meta description appears below the product title in Google search and tells your audience what your website is about.
• When uploading your product images, ensure that they use the title of your product. So instead of saying 1.jpg, rename the image as black_cat_socks.jpg
• When using heading titles (H1) in your description use the keyword Black Cat Socks
• Any URL to the product should include the keyword in it.

These tips will help Google understand what your page is about and make it more likely to appear in the search results.

When it appears in the search results, especially if it ranks on page 1 of Google, be prepared for an insane amount of traffic to your online store.

4. Influencer Marketing

You can leverage the power of influence someone has over their audience by asking them to review your product.

I have always seen this in action on YouTube and Instagram where eCommerce owners, send samples to YouTubers or Instagrammers with a high following and engagement and ask them to mention or review their product.

So let’s say you have just launched a hair line product. You can reach out to popular Youtube and Instagram accounts and ask if they would mention or review the product you intend to sell.

This will create brand awareness for you and your product and potentially drive traffic to your online store.

How do you find these influencers?

You can start by using a niche keyword in the search field of Instagram or YouTube.

In this example we searched for “hair care” and YouTube suggested “hair care routine 2017”. There were over 7 million search results.

Although you will get many videos where people have a high following you want to pay attention to those YouTubers who have their contact details in their portfolio or description box.

This tells me that they are open to accepting sponsorships or requests for reviews.

Once you have their contact details it is time to send out an email to find out if they will consider mentioning your product.

You may use the following template as an example,

Hi [name of influencer],

My name is [your name]. You may be interested to know about the launch of my new online store which has products which I think you may like.

I am wondering whether you will accept a free sample of the product and if you like it, just as much as we do you might consider mentioning it to your audience.

I wait to hear from you.

Cheers!
[your name]

Final Thoughts

The launch of an online store is an exciting time but no one will know about it unless you take action and promote it as best as you can.

Whilst there are other ways that you can get the word out about your online store such as with Google Ads or Bing Ads, these are current and effective ways that will help you establish your brand in the marketplace quickly.

Before we part, if you are brand new to eCommerce or are looking for some additional help in getting started with eCommerce, getting your online store set up and getting your first online store sale then I would highly recommend The Four Percent Ecom Entrepreneur course by Vick Strizheus and Shubham Singh.

You will learn all of this and more in a free step by step video series to help you master eCommerce in any niche that you choose. Some of the students have been getting awesome results in one month or less and it was how I grew my Shopify store to $7k in sales in less than a month.

Check out the Ecom Entrepreneur course here and look out for my free bonus wholesaler’s checklist when you join the course :-). (check your junk mail just in case) 

The post 4 Proven Ways To Increase Traffic To Your Online Store appeared first on I Am Dawn-Marie.

I wanted simplicity and the only way to find that simplicity was through an online store builder.

An online store builder is a platform that allows you to host your own store. All designs are completed for you.

All you have to do is create a theme, upload your products and connect a payment account.

At the time I wanted to start an online clothing store but I did not realise it could be that easy.

I am so glad it took away all the complexity from running my online business.

I created my online store with Shopify and in this post I want to show you how simple it is to start an online clothing store (or whatever product you may decide to sell).

How to Start An Online Clothing Store In 7 Easy Steps

1. Create A Shopify Account

To get started you must create a Shopify account.

Shopify gives you a 14-day free trial so you can test out its usability and decide whether it is something that you would like to continue to use.

Once the 14-day trial is over, you may choose your price plan that suits your budget.

|Basic Plan

Shopify’s plans start from $29 per month which is their basic plan.

With their basic plan you get the absolute minimum that you need to run your store. This includes 24/7 support, fraud analysis to ensure that you only receive genuine payments, free SSL certificate, website and blog, etc.

As a basic member you can assign two assistants to manage your store if you want to.

So if you wish to start an online clothing store, you may hire an assistant to add all the products for you or you may have an advertiser helping you promote your store. Instead of giving them your username and password, you can assign admin rights to the advertiser, so they can create their own admin account under your store.

Shopify does have its own transaction fees and for the basic plan it is 2.9% + 0.30c.

|Shopify Plan (recommended)

There is also the Shopify plan which is highly recommend as it gives you everything you need to grow your eCommerce business.

This includes everything from the basic plan plus the ability to create professional reports, gift cards for your customers and their amazing abandoned cart recovery feature.

I chose the Shopify plan because of their abandoned cart recovery feature.

If a customer adds an item to their cart but does not purchase immediately, Shopify will record this and send the customer an email automatically inviting them to complete their purchase.

I have been able to recover many abandoned carts from this feature so it is a valuable tool to have in your store.

If you want assistance with your store you can assign five users.

The Shopify plan is $79 per month and transaction fees are 2.6% + 0.30c.

|Advanced Plan

Then there is their advanced plan which, in addition to everything you get with their Shopify plan, you also have an advanced report builder and third party calculated shipping rates included within its interface.

You can assign 15 assistants to your store.

The advanced plan is $299.00 per month and transaction fees are 2.4% + 0.30c.

2. Choose A Store Name

At the time of creating your account you must decide on your store name.

Every store is given the domain “.myshopify.com” so whatever store name you choose, your final URL will be storename.myshopify.com

If you prefer to substitute Shopify’s subdomain for your own unique domain name, you can visit Namecheap and purchase your own custom domain name.

I prefer to use Namecheap over Godaddy or any other domain provider, since Namecheap offers very inexpensive domain names with a number of creative domain extensions like .live, .shop, .online or even .posh.

Shopify will then allow you to redirect your custom domain to their domain and all you will need to do is give your custom domain name to your audience.

I would recommend that you take some time to think about what you want your store name to be.

Once you have created the name, you are unable to change it.

3. Choose A Theme And Customise

What I love about Shopify is how simple their themes are. I use the Brooklyn Theme.

It makes your store look professional, crisp and clean.

You can easily make basic changes to the colour schemes, the fonts or the layout of your store.

The features are also drag and drop.

If you know HTML and CSS you can edit the codes within the Shopify platform to customise your store exactly how you want it to be.

Do not worry if you do not know HTML or CSS.

As a Basic Shopify plan member or higher, you will get one hour of complimentary design time. With this complimentary design time you can ask the Shopify designer to add any type of feature you want.

If however your requirements are more extensive, then you can hire a Shopify expert instead.

To find the best theme for you, spend some time browsing the Shopify theme store.

Themes are free and paid.

If you have built your store but you have changed your mind about the theme you have used, then you can easily change the theme without worrying about whether the layout will be affected.

Shopify makes changing the theme of your store effortless and ensures that any product you have already added to the store is transported from your old theme to your new theme without interrupting the appearance of the store.

4. Add Your Products

Adding products to your store is very simple.

Before you add your product you must first create Categories or Collections as Shopify refers to them.

When you start an online clothing store your Collections can be Tops, Pants, Dresses, Skirts or Shoes.

To create a Collection within your Shopify admin Dashboard, click on the Products tab image, then Collections, then the blue button Create Collection.

Add all the collections that you would like to use here.

Next add your product by going back to the Products tab image, then Products and All Products.

Complete the fields with as much information as possible to help your visitor understand the product. This will include a description of the item, the size of the item, the price, etc. Include an image of the item too.

These are the basic things that you should include however a good rule of thumb is to keep it simple.

Some experts say that it is better to write detailed product descriptions as they help with conversions, but I have tested this and for me, my store converts better with short and simple product descriptions.

You can test to see which one works best for your store.

5. Set Up Your Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is how you will receive your payments from your customers.

Shopify offers many different payment gateway options so you need to select the right one for you.

When I started with Shopify I used Stripe and PayPal.

However as I continued to use PayPal and got a sudden influx of orders, PayPal placed a limit on my account.

This meant I was unable to withdraw the funds from my PayPal account immediately.

Be careful when using PayPal. You will want to ensure that this is the best platform for you, if you decide to use it.

Aside from Stripe and PayPal there are other payment gateways you can use depending on your country.

When choosing the payment gateways here are a few things to consider:

|Transaction fees

Transaction fees are applied by the payment processor. Each payment platform such as Stripe or PayPal have their own transaction fees for each purchase that is made by the customer.

As the owner of the store, you will pay that transaction fee which is deducted from the amount that you receive from the customer.

The transaction fee is usually a small percentage of the sale price and can be as low as 2.9% + .30c (Stripe & PayPal).

Be sure to check out each payment gateway’s transaction fees and factor this into your product retail price to ensure that you make a good return on investment.

|Card Types

It is important to know what type of payment cards are accepted by the payment gateways.

For example some gateways may accept Visa or Mastercard but not American Express.

If you have chosen a payment gateway, Shopify also allows you to offer PayPal as a payment option to your customers.

Some people have found that by including PayPal as a payment option, it increases conversions.

Because of the issues that I had with PayPal I disabled this as an option.

I really did not notice a decrease in my sales conversions after doing so.

|Offsite Checkout

Some payment gateways take your customer away from your store so they can make the purchase on the payment gateway’s own website.

Once the payment is confirmed, the customer is then redirected back to your website.

Whilst you may have control over the look and feel of the checkout page with the offsite checkout option, be careful.

Customers tend to get suspicious when they are not familiar with a payment gateway and have to leave a site to complete their purchase.

|Taxes

If you have a clothing store it is likely you will need to charge taxes on the product.

You can indicate to Shopify whether you would like to automatically apply the taxes to the product or whether your price already includes the tax.

When you are in the Product section of your store, edit the product that you want to charge tax on.

Scroll down to the section titled Inventory & Variants.

Click on Product Variant which will open in a new dialog window.

Ensure that the checkbox next to Charge Taxes and Requires Shipping is marked. This tells Shopify that you intend to charge the customer both shipping and taxes and they will apply your rates once you have configured this.

To configure the taxes go to the gear icon on your dashboard where you will enter the Settings page. Click on Taxes and then enter the relevant tax rates for your store.

You can add tax rates based on the country the customer is in.

To configure the shipping rates, use the Shipping page and enter the relevant shipping rates that you want to apply.

6. Test Your Store

Before you go live this is a crucial step that you must take to ensure that the customer journey is easy and that you get paid!

It is the worst thing when you go live, that your payment gateways do not work or your buttons on your shop do not link to the correct products.

Simply do a test purchase or click through a few buttons on the site to ensure that the functionality of the store is how you want it to be.

Sometimes excitement gets the better of us and we forget this important step.

You do not want to do that.

Shopify allows you to test purchases on your store before going live.

To do so:

• From your admin dashboard, click Settings then Payments.
• If your payment gateway is already activated, deactivate it.
• In the Shopify Payments section, click Edit
• Check the box Use Test Mode
• Click Save.
• Make a test purchase as a customer would.

Once you have satisfactorily tested the payment, make sure to revert to the appropriate payment gateway that you do actually want to use.

7. Go Live

Now that everything is set up you are ready to take your first order.

Make sure that you download the Shopify app.

It immediately creates a cha-ching ring when you receive an order. The sound of that cha-ching really excites me. LOL

Shopify will also give you all your customer’s details so you may ship the order to them.

Where To Advertise Your Store

How do you get traffic to your store?

If no one knows your store is live then there is no way for you to make sales.

This is why it is so important to advertise your store so that you can tell the world that you are in business.

In my article How To Get Traffic To Your Online Store I break down four ways that you can get traffic to your store to help your brand succeed.

Be sure to check it out.

• Related Article: Social Media Case Study: How I Generated Over $19,000 With Ecommerce

Final Words

With many online platforms being boxed and packaged, anyone can start an online clothing store right from their desktop.

The power of technology and the internet is super amazing.

The Shopify platform is one of the easiest to set up and use. Plus it allows you to focus more on marketing your website instead of maintaining your site.

Hey, if you are brand new to eCommerce or are looking for some additional help in getting started with eCommerce, getting your online store set up and getting your first online store sale then I would highly recommend that you check out my blog post where I uncover the 8 best eCommerce courses you can use to help you learn how to market your online store, how to get traffic to your online store and how to generate sales with your online store.

In this blog post, I break down the pros and cons of each course, what you actually get and if it is worth the investment.

Also if you want some inspiration to get started, check out my blog post How I Made Over $7k In Less Than One Month using Shopify.

Have you started your online clothing store yet? Tell me in the comments how it went.

Cheers,

The post How To Start An Online Clothing Store appeared first on I Am Dawn-Marie.