If you’re thinking of starting your online store, you’re in good company. There are a lot of people who start off by blogging, but expand on their venture by selling products that appeal to their followers.
But as you’re in such good company, you could find that it’s harder to get noticed than you realise. With a lot of competition out there, you need a strong strategy to promote your shop and get people interested in your products.
Ready to watch the sales pile in? Here are six ways to promote your online store.
1. Get your website right
To help make your online store as appealing as possible, you need to get the look right. Having a good website makes your store look professional, and should reflect the type of products you’re selling. Clean, minimal websites are popular right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put your own little spin on things.
Make sure your website is easy to navigate and that people can find what they’re looking for – anything too clunky and you might find that people are landing on your website, but aren’t making the sales like you want them too.
2. Work on your SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is very important for getting your online store seen. When people Google your products, you want your website to be top of the search results. The right SEO can help make your website more visible, but it can also make sure you reach your target audience. If you want to appeal to shoppers all over the world, you should explore what an international SEO strategy for ecommerce sites looks like to help you target your websites to all kinds of visitors. Getting your head around SEO can be tricky at first, but it begins to make sense once you get the hang of it.
3. Promote your products to your existing followers
Your existing followers can make the perfect customer base, especially when you first launch your site. You’ve got a great opportunity to promote your products, and can even give them some exclusive access before you go public. Promote your online store on your blog and social channels – if your products have been designed with your followers in mind, they’ll be sure to lap it up!
4. Build up a great mailing list
Mailing lists are fantastic for promoting your store and your new products. They can be a good way to circulate offers and discounts, as well as new product launches. If you’re starting from scratch, start a campaign to get more email sign-ups. Growing your database and making your emails interesting and eye-catching will help you drive traffic to your store and hopefully lead to some sales.
5. Use social media for affordable, effective advertising
Social media advertising is an affordable and effective way of promoting your business. Advertising on Instagram or Facebook can help you appeal to a wide audience, without having to spend a lot of money – you can run adverts for £10 if that’s all the budget you have! Social media adverts can be very targeted, so if you’re looking to target people of a certain age or location, or want to tap into some of their existing interests, these are effective platforms for getting the message to the people you want to connect with. To boost your online store promotion, think about hosting exciting contests or giveaways. Using easy-to-use competition templates, you can engage potential customers, create excitement, and drive more traffic and sales to your online store.
If social media advertising proves successful for you, you can increase your budget and add additional targets to spread the word to even more people!
6. Work with influencers to spread the word
Working with influencers is another great way to spread the word about our business. There are a lot of different types of influencers out there, including those with a large following, or others known as micro-influencers, who might have a smaller dedicated following for a specific niche or location. Some influencers will accept payment in the form of free or discounted products, so don’t be too concerned if you haven’t got a large budget to cover partnership costs.
Promoting your online store means finding ways of driving traffic to your website. It can be a struggle at first, but that doesn’t mean you should be put off. Try different approaches and don’t be afraid to take some risks – it will soon pay off if you persevere. From using your existing online presence to finding new ways of reaching potential customers, there are a lot of ways you can spread the word about your new online store to help make your new venture a success.
