BIG MISTAKE when starting ecommerce business....

[WebshopMechanic]

Morning All,

I just wanted to post a bit of advice that may help save some of you some time, money and pain.

I'm an Ecommerce Consultant by day (Boo, Burn Him!!!) and I've been helping out in a number of Facebook groups recently. There seems to be a trend where people are starting businesses because they've seen somebody on 'the Youtube' with lots of followers saying they can earn 6 and 7-figures overnight (or in a short space of time.)

This is utter bull$hit!

Most of these businesses are run using a drop-ship strategy from AliExpress using Shopify and an app called Oberlo. Now, I'm certainly not saying any of those platforms are bad or anything like that but newbies are buying courses or paying for webinars off these people and jumping in two-footed thinking they will succeed overnight. So far, I've never heard of a successful case, apart from the ones that advertise it on Youtube and then get you to sign up for a webinar.

See what they're doing there?

I'm not saying that model can't work but the fundamental mindset that people have is completely wrong. Let me explain....

The Problem

• All of these YouTube videos are focused around 'Get Rich Quick'. As us, wiser ones know, this simply doesn't exist.
• Going into business just to make money will nearly ALWAYS end in tears.
• They have identified no target customer, no problem and no need for a product (no market research or customer understanding)
• People are creating businesses around novelty products like Game of Thrones mugs, Watches with lighters in them and iPhone cases. These serve nobody and fix no problem so it's unsustainable for a business. There is NO DEMAND.
• They are throwing money at Facebook ads and getting nothing in return. One guy I spoke to, did $300 in a day and had no sales.
• Everything is based around getting an immediate sale (probably due to these click funnel guys). There is no education about capturing an email address (a lead), adding value, proving you are useful to the potential customer and then selling to them when they are warmed to you.
• Their websites add no value to the customer. They are just shops which means people will be there for just seconds instead of hanging around or coming back in the future.
• They just follow the steps shown by the 'snake oil guys' in the videos when there is a 5hit ton of other stuff that is missed.

Running an online business (or any business for that matter) is no easy and will not be an overnight success. It takes hard work, lots of learning and requires fundamentals in place so you can make the most of your hard work.

My advice to anyone starting an ecommerce business (for what it's worth)

• Find products or services that solve a problem or take a pain away - There must be A NEED!
• Identify a target customer - Niche it down. Go too broad and you'll fail to make an impact.
• Create an online store (drop ship, affiliate or direct) and create content that adds value.
• Focus 100% on your customer. Be useful to them and give them a reason to come back.
• Don't chase the buck!
• Collect email addresses as a priority - Give them an incentive to sign up (not just for bloody updates or a newsletter. Nobody needs more newsletters. Make it engaging and useful!)
• Set up an email welcome series to warm your leads (attract, interest, educate, engage, sell, nurture.)
• Connect with micro-influencers (2000-3000k followers) to grow your reach - Use Refersion or similar affiliate app to incentivise them. Don't pay them. Make them work for it.
• Continue to grow your list and put them through your welcome series (your marketing funnel)
• Trial ads on a small budget - Test, Tweak and Test. See what works before you scale anything.

That's it. There's a ton more but I just wanted to offer a bit of advice so nobody falls into the trap of starting a business without knowing what they are getting into.

I know what it's like when you first start out. You'll pay money to cut corners and you just can't do it. You just need to work smarter.

You find it much easier to sell products if you are solving a problem or taking someone's pain away!

Matt

 

[Mr D]

(Starts building the bonfire for the burning)
Thanks, good points.

 

[AllUpHere]

There is certainly a culture building which seems intent on persuading anyone who'll listen that you don't have to work for money any more.

Books like '4 hour work week' are an obvious example. Tim does mention that he had to work hard to get to the position he's in now, but only in passing. 95 % of the book is just about selling a lifestyle; one in which you travel around the world doing whatever you like, whilst the money rolls in 24 hours a day whilst you just check emails when it suits.

I'm in a position in which I can do pretty much whatever I want now, but I'm 40 years old and have slogged my guts out for the last 20 years. It's been a long hard 20 years too, but people don't want to know what I've done to get to this position, they are just fascinated with what I do now, and think 'yeah, I could do that'.

 

[fisicx]

It's like the numerous thread here and elsewhere started by someone who can install the avada theme on wordpress and thinks that's enough to start a business.

Or the threads started when the marketing consists of posting on FB and Instagram and they complain they aren't getting new leads.

There is no quick fix. I'm many case you have to work harder than you would if your had a store.

But maybe if I posted videos of me modelling my lingerie collection I'd get lots of followers....

 

[AllUpHere]

But maybe if I posted videos of me modelling my lingerie collection I'd get lots of followers....

It's time to face it, no-one wants to see you in your underwear.

 

[RSR Fulfillment (FR & DE)]

I've watched one of those seminars and then got about 20 other ads on youtube about other seminars...how did that idea gain traction?

It has a kind of scam vibe about it.

I would try it, though, were it not shipping from China...that is the big deal-breaker in setting that stuff up. I hate dealing with 'where's my item' emails already and we ship our own stock or other people's on a small scale into France and Germany. It is still local courier stuff, as I am on the border between the 2 countries. But I still hate it when their stuff arrives late. And it only happens once or twice a week on around 100 shipped items.

But imagine how many stroppy emails you are going to have to deal with, noting that dropshipping from China can take a month. I would find the working day depressing. And then all the refunds because it didn't make it to the address.

 

[Alan]

Hi @WebshopMechanic Matt

Good article, in fact I wish I knew some of those things when I had a genuine ( non drop shipping ) e-commerce business that I gave up on as I couldn't get it to grow beyond a hobby. Also too true get rich schemes are generally to be avoided.

As my plugin business shares some ( many ) characteristics to an e-commerce business I thought it would be good to download your free download - so I can develop my strategy over the holiday period - but I signed up with one of my emails and nothing has come through. Is it deliberate you don't send out the download (manual intervention?) or have you got a technical issue?

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Hey Alan,

Thanks for requesting the download. I'll double check what's going on there.

I run Thrive themes with Active Campaign so there may be a slight delay but it should come through shortly. If not, ping me an email via my site and I'll email it directly.

I also have some videos on my Facebook page that may help you too. I'm trying to shoot one a day around questions that I get asked or common mistakes I see people make.

I'm around here too if you need any further help.

Cheers

Matt

 

[Alan]

No problem, emails have arrived, they got autofiled under promotions tab in gmail's infinite wisdom.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Phew. I thought I was going to look like an amateur for a minute...... ;-P

 

[Alexander Sadlier]

That's a good point about building a database of emails. This is definitely something I think we will start doing. Thank you

 

[WebshopMechanic]

It's probably the most important thing you can possibly do Alex. You don't have to pay to contact people, you can reach them whenever you like and, if nurtured in the right way, will help you to grow your sales.

No email address = No contact unless you pay for ads.