With Shopify, merchants can build and customize an online store and sell in multiple places, including web, mobile, in person, brick-and-mortar locations, and pop-up shops and across multiple channels from social media to online marketplaces. It is best known for its ease of use and modern web design feature.
If you’ve always dreamed of creating your own e-commerce store, but never really thought about how to get started. Well, I’m here to help! In this post we’ll go over some basic strategies for getting started with a Shopify store.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a well-known e-commerce platform which small businesses can utilise to create online storefronts and sell goods on their websites or through social media. It is a user-friendly application for online shops and includes a Point of Sale (POS) software for purchasing items in physical locations. The opportunity to design a multi-channel experience that promotes a merchant’s brand is also provided.
Using the comprehensive set of services that Shopify offers, you can establish and manage your virtual store very easily. Due to its ease of use, users can start using it right away without any coding knowledge or hosting services, or even the need to install any software. By using their subscription-based platform, you can build a website and use their shopping cart feature to sell, deliver, and manage your products.
There are no extra transaction costs if you make use of Shopify Payments, and subscriptions range from $29 to $299/month, making it affordable as well.
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How To Make Money With Shopify
Sell Products You Own:
This is a great way to make money with your Shopify store.
When you have products that you own or have sourced, it’s important to know what to sell them for. You may have thought about selling these items on eBay or another site like Amazon or Etsy
If you are selling something that was originally made by yourself (such as t-shirts), then this option makes sense because it allows customers direct access into your product line directly through their browser rather than having to type out an order form on another page before paying for shipping costs associated with doing so.
Sell Products from Other Suppliers:
You can sell products from other suppliers on your Shopify store without owning the products and there are two major ways to do this: (1) Affiliate marketing. (2) Dropshipping.
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Affiliate Marketing:
This is a way of making money through sharing or promoting other people’s products. It’s basically advertising but you earn a commission on each sale that comes from you. You just have to know how to sell and then find relevant products that you can promote for a commission. Examples of products you can affiliate for are; Travel accessories (like backpacks), home decor items (like curtains), fitness gear (like weights), etc.
Here’s how it works:
You reach out to the brand you would like to affiliate for and they generate your unique affiliate link. When someone clicks your link, they’re taken directly to the vendor website where they can purchase whatever it is that caught their eye. As soon as they make their purchase, you’ll be notified via email or text message so that you can start earning commissions.
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Dropshipping:
Starting a dropshipping business is an option if you have no products or services of your own to sell.
Your ability to sell things without really keeping any inventory at all is also made possible by Shopify’s dropshipping feature. Products can be purchased independently from a producer, wholesaler, or other provider and shipped right to your client without even getting to you.
Here’s how it works:
When you want to sell a product, you just place an order with your preferred supplier, then ship the item to your customer and by the time you subtract the cost of the product, your profit is the difference between the price you charged and the amount they charge for the item.
Build an Email List:
Once you have a Shopify store, you can consider building an email list. Email lists are great ways to follow up prospective customers and market to them individually.
There are many ways to build an email list and one of the proven ways is by offering a freebie that would entice people to drop their emails to be added to your list. An important thing is that your freebie must be something people want.
If you’re looking for inspiration, check out some of these examples:
- A free course on how to build an eCommerce store (or anything else) – this is great because it gives people who want more information a chance to get it without having to spend any money themselves. They can end up buying one of your paid products down the line.
- A freebie ebook or other product with lots of value in it (this could be anything from marketing to sales closing, etc) – this will help generate leads while also providing valuable content that helps educate potential customers about a particular subject.
Sell Services and Consulting:
If you have the skills and experience to help others set up their Shopify store, then you can offer a service or consultation. For example, if you’re an expert in e-commerce development and design, then you might be able to provide guidance on how to use Shopify’s tools or services. In addition, if you’re an expert in marketing strategies for online stores (such as SEO), then perhaps your customer could benefit from your advice on setting up a website with good search engine optimization techniques.
Here are some options you can explore when it comes to consulting:
- Offer one-on-one coaching sessions for small businesses who are looking for help getting started with Shopify;
- Work with larger companies that need more advanced services such as custom development workflows; or
- Conduct workshops at events like conferences where attendees learn best practices from other experts in the field.
Launch a Digital Product:
A great way to make money on Shopify is to launch a digital product. A digital product is an item that can be purchased online, such as an eBook or course, on your Shopify store. Here are some specific ways you can make money on Shopify by launching a digital product:
- Write a book about making money with Shopify. Include proven and easy tips on how to earn on Shopify. It’ll be an added advantage if you’re teaching from experience.
- Write a book that teaches you how to use Shopify to sell products online. Include all the steps in the process of building your own brand, from finding inventory suppliers and creating templates for layouts, pricing structures and Google AdWords campaigns.
- You could also write a guide including tips on how to promote your products using Shopify’s tools (such as ads).
- Finally, you can write on any topic in the world.
Final Thoughts
Shopify comes with a set of tools that helps ease your e-commerce efforts. Besides creating additional revenue and accessing more customers for your business through online sales, it also offers a wide range of benefits. By setting up the right strategies and tactics, you’ll be able to not just generate more sales but greatly improve your brand visibility as well.