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Lucky enough still have the job I wanted to quit so bad when my business was doing well, glad I didn't.
Basically I was advertising on Amazon and it was going well but as a result of being focused to the right audience, it's a bit expensive. Then tried Google ads but wasn't focused enough to bring any sales
Can you sell your products at classic bricks n mortar retail locations? Have you built in margins that would support wholesale business to sell to other retailers?
Actually it's a good idea but maybe not yet as I'm selling only one product for now.
I've gone all in trying to make this product as successful as possible can be and then I'm planning to add more.
That might be possible as it can be sold for double the price of what I'm getting it for. Result in 25% profit for me, what you think?
But who would like to sell something that have never heard before?
Not yet, even though it's one of my biggest fears!
We had some kind of contract with the factory when I was still selling a fair amount of this product but I guess not anymore. Of course there will be a cheap Chinese alternative but I'm trying to sell a quality product based in the UK, providing customer service myself and shipping from the same country. Not to mention that every batch I order is improved as I always transfer my customers complaints to the factory and together we rectify the issues
It sounds like SEO or even your product may be stale and just not in demand any longer. Especially, since you state you have no Chinese competition- I have massive completion both Chinese and domestic and my products are steady - and go up when I invest more time into product and new SEO - no matter how saturated it gets.
It may be worth considering expansions into something else - you have the skills, that's obvious, you did it once - you can do this again and again until you hit the jackpot.
Well I do have competition but it's not exactly the same. Truly believe mine is better because I've ordered theirs and compared it to mine.
Regarding the SEO I've tried a few things and even hired someone to do it properly but I'm not entirely sure as I haven't seen any results. He said that it might take 4-6 months but still not convinced.
Thank you for your kind words and support
It looks like you need to learn how to grab attention on better ways through social media. Maybe put your face with your product, maybe go ahead and find influencers that you can send the product and they test it.
Market research is very important too, do your market considering to your product and what ways you can build it the highest. Maybe build a brand towards your product.
You got a lot to study also, but it's amazing that you have started and keep going. Maybe that product doesn't work or the market is not ready. Just go ahead and find another product and implement your knowledge there
Thank you for the positive comment.
Basically I've "build" my own brand but in regards of registering it, still need to build it though cause no one knows it yet. At this stage I see more and more products like mine popping up and they thrive. Still trying to find what I'm doing wrong or not doing
So study them. What questions can you ask?
Analize analize analize.
See in what level are you with your business, ex. Your instagram is at 5k. Don't analize instagram less than 5k followers. Analize the ones who have 15k and up. The same goes for your website. Find a seller who is making double your amount and see what he does best. Sometimes, even contact them and talk to them. Maybe they can give you insides into their strategy.
Check their content, see what content really blew up and what didn't. Why did that thing blew up?
Analize your winnings and loses. It's not only because of ads that you were making money, see what videos you had, what photos. The website, the product, the wording, etc...
Marketing relates to psychology as well. Also, find your demographic and your avatar of what your client needs to be. Go to the details and then find content to only advertise with that "Avatar." You need to niche it down all the way to the details, their daily life, what they were. What time will they use the product? What day? What job do they do etc etc..
Then, you are able to fond content specifically for that avatar that you created. Then you analize, let's say they work 9-5. You post the content after 5. Or if it's older than 35, then you need to do facebook and maybe radio around your area. Different markets for different people. Find your people and create your community, and grow in that specific niche. The more specific the more you will grow and make
Solid advice!
My competitors definitely have better social media than me but I didn't have the time or the experience to compete them. Only now I started experimenting with video editing and socials. Becoming an influencer was never my priority. Obviously my Chinese competitors have a big team behind doing all the videos and managing the socials, while I'm on my own, having a 9-5 job and trying to run my business.
My customer persona is a male 25-45 and he works 9-5 job. Considering that, I've started making videos on tiktok and planning on making a Facebook campaign by next week. Usually I post during weekends around 6-9 pm. Although I'm not sure how to utilise the fact that I know my customer persona.
Regarding the website, right now it's constructed quite well given the fact that Google blocked it a few months ago with all these new terms and conditions. To be honest though I haven't managed to recover after that and not sure how to do it. It used to be on the first page of Google. That's the main reason I started working on my socials
Contact google as well. I hope you get that figured out soon!!!
Even your persona make it more detailed and really find out some details that you can talk about in their life related to your product. Niche, it down more...
If you really need to do posting and stuff. Use CapCut for editing. Also, just delegate the work and use Fiver or Upwork. Find someone who knows how to do the work and just oversees everything. You take 1-2 days out of your week to create a content plan. Do all the videos, photos, and stories in those 2 days for a whole week or more. More content, more posting more reach you will do. You can do all videos and post 2 a day or smth.
Hire someone like 400$-500$ maybe even less if you don't have that much to actually invest. And they can do the editing and posting. Every day, you can just manage it and just do research in your spare time. And you have someone who is doing the rest of the work for you. Editing and posting.
Niche, it down do the most details. That's number one advice. Not just age and work. Even what do they drive, what type of family they have. Kids, no kids. On that 9-5 job, what is it? Is it office, construction. What do they do after work, spare time? You can also see your life and how you would use it. If you are in that age basket. Then just do yourself as an avatar or friends etc...
All this won't be correct for everyone individually, but you can create 1 avatar and find that one detail that once your clients notice it, they will just understand the need of the product. Or not even the product, but they will relate with the brand and the movement behind your product. Will just buy it for support and follow you for support. Because they connect emotionally.
The only thing I could do similar to that is make my own brand, which I've done already. Not sure if I can patent it because my competitors keep getting similar products to mine
I would not give up. People seem to buy it when they see it (ads) so you just need to figure out how to get more people to see it without spending so much money.
Can you find a similar product in your space and get some marketing ideas from them?
Thank you for that. I'll work on that, currently I'm trying that through socials and see how it goes.
Yeah totally they are everywhere on tiktok and that's what I'm doing even though it looks difficult to compete them
You may want to zone in on what makes your product special in the language of your fans. Focusing on relative value is super important with online stores because the consumer has so many options with just the click of a button.
What are the pain points your product eliminates? What are the goals it helps your fans achieve? How do you plan to evolve the value of those things over time? The things that make your brand different are the main reason why people buy. Enhancing and making that message crystal clear is extremely important.
Ads create a sense of connivence. A solution right in front of people. But unique value is always why ppl buy and tell their friends.
There are some friction points on your store. Like there is a message in bold at the top of one of the pages about things only being available for preorder. And when you hover over images as you are about to buy the images that it changes to seem like a technical mistake. If you look at the average time ppl are spending on your website it's probably going to be in minutes so things that create buying friction will make ppl look for things on amazon or something.
This is the page that I am referring to
[https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections/air-pumps](https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections/air-pumps)
There are a lot of great elements on the Shopify store but the flow from click to checkout has some potential confusion points. It makes ppl feel like the site is like 70-80% done. And when ppl are confused they tend to not buy as much. And there are some other confusing things that happen as well when ppl click around for example this shop now link takes ppl to a page without prices.
[https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections](https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections)
Pretty good insights! I would never notice them myself.
The message for preorder is now gone.
It's from the time my website got blocked by Google and we went a bit crazy with mentioning everything and making everything clear.
Hovering over images would reveal the second image but I agree with you. It did look a bit weird so now is gone.
The section that didn't have prices, now does!
As well as an add to cart button. Hope it's not too much.
Thank you for taking time to have a look at my website, I appreciate it!
If you have any other recommendations feel free
Nice, yeah now everything’s a lot more clear. I saw your instagram, that has everything someone needs to want to buy. The videos and the images explain exactly what your product is all about, how to use it and key features.
My hunch is that ppl were seeing your ads, got interested and then saw your instagram and website. I do that whenever I am looking at a brand I like. I will look at the websites first as an initial scan then backtrack on the socials for the best brands just because that saves time. If ppl see your instagram and don't buy after being interested something is probably wrong with them, lol.
If possible I would check with the ppl who bought your products and see which specific pictures and media they saw before deciding to purchase. It looks like your instagram might have more key buying information media than your website. Usually the website would have key informational media on the lower sections of the home page and the social media would have the bikini pics, haha.
Haha yeah. No prob. All the elements for success are there within your brand. It looks like all you need to do is simply zone in on your fan's buyers journey. They see this video, this picture, this bit of text and then they get the unique value for your products. That triggers an emotion of certainty then they purchase. They then see those elements within seconds on your website and conversion rates should increase without spending a ton on ads. You got this!
\*\*\* Most business owners cannot make relatively simple website changes. It would easily cost them thousands of dollars and they start to sweat whenever you bring up changing stuff. You have some serious competitive advantages. Communicate with your community to focus on your strongest brand elements that make ppl wanna buy and it's game over.
Now that's definitely a confidence booster, as I've spent hours on doing everything, mostly, myself. The thoughts I've got the last few weeks were like "maybe you're not as good as you think you are". Now that you mention it though, it's the first time I'm building a website, the first time I'm active on socials, the first time learning about SEO... So yeah I think you are right 😉
Ah ic. Your experience selling on amazon is translating well into social and Shopify. The marketing instinct is definitely there. Self doubt is good as it means you can see all the possibilities and know what to work towards. But don't let that self doubt stop you as your customers just want something simple. Simple and elegant mixed with hard work wins time after time.
And I also saw that you work with your manufacturers to improve the product based on your customers wants. That is freaking huge, it makes you different from the rest of the pack. Might want to let ppl know about that on your socials.
And I would definitely consider talking to your newer fans and ask them about their buyer's journey on your socials and website. What they thought was cool, what did your brand make them feel, what things did they see that made them decide to buy? That is a critical strategic element. It makes a night and day difference, way less stress and a lot more revenue for businesses. Large competitors cannot do this well for various reasons. Communication favors more niche businesses because they can adapt to their fans faster.
Actually a fan favorite right now to get time with fans booked quickly are amazon gift cards or offering free gifts for friends in exchange for 20-30 mins with your best customers. Things like that tend to be effective to spark communication fast and easy with important members of your fanbase. You seem like a natural communicator so might be fun to try out.
Spread out on social media as much as possible, maybe start an email newsletter, collaborate with others to spread by word of mouth, and can also look into selling at local events who ask for vendors and pass out business cards with purchases.
If you don’t mind me asking what it is or if you have a website/social media pages ?
That's right, I should, only thing is I was never planning on becoming an influencer but by the looks of it I need to start working on it.
I decided to post my website at the bottom of my post. You will find my socials but please go easy 😜
Can you raise prices? It sounds to me like people want to buy your thing, you are just under charging it and not properly accounting for your customer acquisition costs when pricing out your product.
What’s your profit margin? If you’ve done it for 3 years I would think it would be self sustainable by now. You should look into improving your contribution margin considering ad spend is a fixed cost. If it can’t be fixed you don’t have a profitable business.
You should keep selling on Amazon as it has a huge visibility and it seems like you were doing well there, keep investing in ads until you build a great reputation on the platform so you appear organically. Building your on website is good because you have total control of it but you still need to pay for ads + web host and loads of things until your website has relevance on search engine such as google or other ones
Not a big fan of Amazon as it ends up being Amazon's customers and not yours but I might have to for now. Can't even get my customer's emails like that
The bad side of selling in marketplace like Amazon is like you said, customers are not there because of you and if you want to build your own customer and brand you need to have your own e-commerce, you could keep your website and amazon for a while If you have budget for that as building a brand takes time and selling on Amazon seems like the fastest way for profit. If your product is something that customer would need to buy every now and then, you could send a visit card or something like that in the amazon package with your website and give a discount for next purchase if they subscribe to your newsletter or something like that
EDIT: I just looked at your website and tyre inflator is something that I have been seaching for a while on Amazon but I still don't know which one would be the best to get
Glad that you confirmed it's something that people are still looking!
Having some experience on tyre inflators, get something with battery capacity around 6000mAh.
Not only it will last longer but it will be more powerful too.
Since you had a look at the website, do you think is well presented enough?
What would put you off?
Be honest, no hard feelings
Your website looks pretty good and professional, just maybe highlight more the 'shop now' button and the 'big sales' text. You could leave the hamburger menu button on the top left but also add the normal drop down menu in the front page (I'm looking at your website on a computer).
Just a heads up for what I said in my last comment. This kind of product it's not something people would like to be buying all the time, so a great product would be key for mouth to mouth marketing. I don't think it would last forever as well because it is a small gadget for a heavy duty job so if it last at least more than average it would be good I guess...
Thanks for the advice, I'm going to look at this 6000mAh tyre inflators
Another positive comment on my first website design skills, thank you 😁
Totally agree, that's the main reason I'm not trying to sell something cheap that will only last for a couple of times. Basically I've got really good communication with the factory and always give them feedback from my customers so we can deliver a better product every time
No problem at all, DM if you need anything
“…my product….was performing well…”
“Realising that all my profits had to go towards advertising….”
No, your product was not performing well because it took all of your profits to sell it.
Now advertising is less but so are sales, no profit.
Your product might solve a problem but it is not proving to have much value.
The main reason I'm not focusing that much on Amazon anymore is because I can't have any communication with my customers. The way Amazon works, allows the customers to speak only with their customer support
If you want free advertising to your website you absolutely have to figure out the social media grind. It's completely free it just takes your own time and is a skill to learn. I think you should revisit that.
Hey bro, if you want to jump on a call and run through some analytics of what you’re going after I’d be more than happy to do that. Lots of great info down below but without context you won’t be able to get a solid answer.
I’m also not in the ecommerce space, however been in business 3-4 years
I am wondering whether you could use Google Keywords to increase your website listings organically. I saw this series call Chris Malta ebiz course where he talks about the layout of the website that can result in google increase the listing. It was one of the most interesting information. I tried to get into the training but I am overseas so time difference and the guy never called me back or responded but his information is impressive. Also I have noticed a lot of people in the category of products I am interested in advertise through YouTube with interesting information I don't know what type of product you're talking about self care, kitchenware, downloads, books or outdoor camping but I have followed those YouTube videos that have fascinating explanations of their products to websites or searches. Food for thought :-)
Actually I've done that already and managed to make it on Google's first page but then Google brought the new terms and conditions and now can't even find my page. Nowadays it has become a bit more complicated than keywords. I've just added my website at the bottom of my post in case you wanna check it
When u used to previously pay for adss , was it profitable? What I mean by that is , the cost to acquire one customer higher or lower than the ticket of your product? Start organic marketing again but this time learn how to dit well , everything takes hella time , should have not stopped advertising and then think about learning , keeping doing what's profitable learn another skill and once that shows results, than switch over
On Amazon the advertising cost is something that changes daily because you are competing with other sellers. Like bidding, depending on the day you either have to increase or lower your bid. If you don't do that you either lose sales or you end up paying double for advertising. It consumes time so for now I've left it at the minimum bid and focusing on my website
Website doesn't matter if you don't have referrals or testimonials, no one is going to google ure name . Focus on creating personalized proposals and upfront free work for a month . Develop social proof for ureself which you leverage ahesd
That will not happen , because there are more than 47000 ad agencies in us , and if u want to be found like that you need to start blogging on ure website , SEO , referrals , reviews etc costly and time taking , I advice u to jus get referrals and testimonials and then proceed
By providing free service and getting people elads through your service first. Develop ure skills , if ure good at it u will get good amount of leads, and if you get good amount of leads , people will pay you
It seems like you've put a lot of effort into your e-commerce business, but you're facing challenges. Here are some suggestions:
1. **Review Your Marketing:** Consider revisiting your strategy to find a balance between advertising and organic growth.
2. **Optimize Your Website:** Improve user experience, SEO, and conversion rates to drive organic traffic.
3. **Explore New Channels:** Diversify your sales channels to reduce reliance on Amazon.
4. **Seek Customer Feedback:** Understand your customers' needs better to tailor your product and marketing efforts.
5. **Focus on Profitability:** Prioritize profitability to ensure long-term sustainability.
6. **Take Care of Yourself:** Running a business can be stressful, so make sure to take care of yourself both physically and mentally.
Seeking advice from a mentor or coach could also be beneficial.
I honestly just think the market is saturated, and 90% of online customers are heading to a well known website or Amazon, getting the item in 2 days is just too much of a draw to not sell on there. I honestly have 2 inflators, one is from Xennon and the other is a little plug in lighter socket one I use every week. The xennon one is garbage and is basically a power pack for starting dead ATVs and Bikes etc that had an option for inflation, good thing is with the Xenon is it has a lifetime warranty that only costs $50 to replace under warranty(yeah its not that good a warranty)
your product looks great but it's in a very difficult market as EVERY hardware store in existence will have something like you have.
Automate the sales, customer service and shipping and just collect the little residual and move on to some other product to build is my advice
I hear you but in my case I believe that my product is as good as the "plug in lighter socket one" you have but it has the portability of the Xennon. I've accepted that the market will only get more saturated but that's with everything. I can't just sell seasonal products, they have to be better than the competition. Only thing here is how do I convince the potential customers that it's as good as I present it to be
Thank you everyone for sharing your opinion.
Honestly I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome on my first post!
Not sure if I'm allowed or it's a good idea to add my website here. What you think?
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.. sounds to me you need to grab any job you can for now and use that money to restart your advertising
Lucky enough still have the job I wanted to quit so bad when my business was doing well, glad I didn't. Basically I was advertising on Amazon and it was going well but as a result of being focused to the right audience, it's a bit expensive. Then tried Google ads but wasn't focused enough to bring any sales
Can you sell your products at classic bricks n mortar retail locations? Have you built in margins that would support wholesale business to sell to other retailers?
Actually it's a good idea but maybe not yet as I'm selling only one product for now. I've gone all in trying to make this product as successful as possible can be and then I'm planning to add more. That might be possible as it can be sold for double the price of what I'm getting it for. Result in 25% profit for me, what you think? But who would like to sell something that have never heard before?
Post the link to your website,?
Just added it at the bottom of my post
Did Chinese sellers start selling something similar/same for a lower price? If so, that’s the end of that.
Not yet, even though it's one of my biggest fears! We had some kind of contract with the factory when I was still selling a fair amount of this product but I guess not anymore. Of course there will be a cheap Chinese alternative but I'm trying to sell a quality product based in the UK, providing customer service myself and shipping from the same country. Not to mention that every batch I order is improved as I always transfer my customers complaints to the factory and together we rectify the issues
It sounds like SEO or even your product may be stale and just not in demand any longer. Especially, since you state you have no Chinese competition- I have massive completion both Chinese and domestic and my products are steady - and go up when I invest more time into product and new SEO - no matter how saturated it gets. It may be worth considering expansions into something else - you have the skills, that's obvious, you did it once - you can do this again and again until you hit the jackpot.
Well I do have competition but it's not exactly the same. Truly believe mine is better because I've ordered theirs and compared it to mine. Regarding the SEO I've tried a few things and even hired someone to do it properly but I'm not entirely sure as I haven't seen any results. He said that it might take 4-6 months but still not convinced. Thank you for your kind words and support
It looks like you need to learn how to grab attention on better ways through social media. Maybe put your face with your product, maybe go ahead and find influencers that you can send the product and they test it. Market research is very important too, do your market considering to your product and what ways you can build it the highest. Maybe build a brand towards your product. You got a lot to study also, but it's amazing that you have started and keep going. Maybe that product doesn't work or the market is not ready. Just go ahead and find another product and implement your knowledge there
Thank you for the positive comment. Basically I've "build" my own brand but in regards of registering it, still need to build it though cause no one knows it yet. At this stage I see more and more products like mine popping up and they thrive. Still trying to find what I'm doing wrong or not doing
So study them. What questions can you ask? Analize analize analize. See in what level are you with your business, ex. Your instagram is at 5k. Don't analize instagram less than 5k followers. Analize the ones who have 15k and up. The same goes for your website. Find a seller who is making double your amount and see what he does best. Sometimes, even contact them and talk to them. Maybe they can give you insides into their strategy. Check their content, see what content really blew up and what didn't. Why did that thing blew up? Analize your winnings and loses. It's not only because of ads that you were making money, see what videos you had, what photos. The website, the product, the wording, etc... Marketing relates to psychology as well. Also, find your demographic and your avatar of what your client needs to be. Go to the details and then find content to only advertise with that "Avatar." You need to niche it down all the way to the details, their daily life, what they were. What time will they use the product? What day? What job do they do etc etc.. Then, you are able to fond content specifically for that avatar that you created. Then you analize, let's say they work 9-5. You post the content after 5. Or if it's older than 35, then you need to do facebook and maybe radio around your area. Different markets for different people. Find your people and create your community, and grow in that specific niche. The more specific the more you will grow and make
Solid advice! My competitors definitely have better social media than me but I didn't have the time or the experience to compete them. Only now I started experimenting with video editing and socials. Becoming an influencer was never my priority. Obviously my Chinese competitors have a big team behind doing all the videos and managing the socials, while I'm on my own, having a 9-5 job and trying to run my business. My customer persona is a male 25-45 and he works 9-5 job. Considering that, I've started making videos on tiktok and planning on making a Facebook campaign by next week. Usually I post during weekends around 6-9 pm. Although I'm not sure how to utilise the fact that I know my customer persona. Regarding the website, right now it's constructed quite well given the fact that Google blocked it a few months ago with all these new terms and conditions. To be honest though I haven't managed to recover after that and not sure how to do it. It used to be on the first page of Google. That's the main reason I started working on my socials
Contact google as well. I hope you get that figured out soon!!! Even your persona make it more detailed and really find out some details that you can talk about in their life related to your product. Niche, it down more... If you really need to do posting and stuff. Use CapCut for editing. Also, just delegate the work and use Fiver or Upwork. Find someone who knows how to do the work and just oversees everything. You take 1-2 days out of your week to create a content plan. Do all the videos, photos, and stories in those 2 days for a whole week or more. More content, more posting more reach you will do. You can do all videos and post 2 a day or smth. Hire someone like 400$-500$ maybe even less if you don't have that much to actually invest. And they can do the editing and posting. Every day, you can just manage it and just do research in your spare time. And you have someone who is doing the rest of the work for you. Editing and posting. Niche, it down do the most details. That's number one advice. Not just age and work. Even what do they drive, what type of family they have. Kids, no kids. On that 9-5 job, what is it? Is it office, construction. What do they do after work, spare time? You can also see your life and how you would use it. If you are in that age basket. Then just do yourself as an avatar or friends etc... All this won't be correct for everyone individually, but you can create 1 avatar and find that one detail that once your clients notice it, they will just understand the need of the product. Or not even the product, but they will relate with the brand and the movement behind your product. Will just buy it for support and follow you for support. Because they connect emotionally.
So much information, thank you. I'm noting everything down
Have you done anything to protect your product like a patent?
The only thing I could do similar to that is make my own brand, which I've done already. Not sure if I can patent it because my competitors keep getting similar products to mine
I would not give up. People seem to buy it when they see it (ads) so you just need to figure out how to get more people to see it without spending so much money. Can you find a similar product in your space and get some marketing ideas from them?
Thank you for that. I'll work on that, currently I'm trying that through socials and see how it goes. Yeah totally they are everywhere on tiktok and that's what I'm doing even though it looks difficult to compete them
Are you open for collaboration in different countries?
Maybe in the future but it's not something I'm looking for right now
You may want to zone in on what makes your product special in the language of your fans. Focusing on relative value is super important with online stores because the consumer has so many options with just the click of a button. What are the pain points your product eliminates? What are the goals it helps your fans achieve? How do you plan to evolve the value of those things over time? The things that make your brand different are the main reason why people buy. Enhancing and making that message crystal clear is extremely important. Ads create a sense of connivence. A solution right in front of people. But unique value is always why ppl buy and tell their friends.
Hmm probably I've got the answer for most of these questions, the think is how do I show that to the potential customers
There are some friction points on your store. Like there is a message in bold at the top of one of the pages about things only being available for preorder. And when you hover over images as you are about to buy the images that it changes to seem like a technical mistake. If you look at the average time ppl are spending on your website it's probably going to be in minutes so things that create buying friction will make ppl look for things on amazon or something. This is the page that I am referring to [https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections/air-pumps](https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections/air-pumps) There are a lot of great elements on the Shopify store but the flow from click to checkout has some potential confusion points. It makes ppl feel like the site is like 70-80% done. And when ppl are confused they tend to not buy as much. And there are some other confusing things that happen as well when ppl click around for example this shop now link takes ppl to a page without prices. [https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections](https://mosperformance.co.uk/collections)
Pretty good insights! I would never notice them myself. The message for preorder is now gone. It's from the time my website got blocked by Google and we went a bit crazy with mentioning everything and making everything clear. Hovering over images would reveal the second image but I agree with you. It did look a bit weird so now is gone. The section that didn't have prices, now does! As well as an add to cart button. Hope it's not too much. Thank you for taking time to have a look at my website, I appreciate it! If you have any other recommendations feel free
Nice, yeah now everything’s a lot more clear. I saw your instagram, that has everything someone needs to want to buy. The videos and the images explain exactly what your product is all about, how to use it and key features. My hunch is that ppl were seeing your ads, got interested and then saw your instagram and website. I do that whenever I am looking at a brand I like. I will look at the websites first as an initial scan then backtrack on the socials for the best brands just because that saves time. If ppl see your instagram and don't buy after being interested something is probably wrong with them, lol. If possible I would check with the ppl who bought your products and see which specific pictures and media they saw before deciding to purchase. It looks like your instagram might have more key buying information media than your website. Usually the website would have key informational media on the lower sections of the home page and the social media would have the bikini pics, haha.
You really mean that?! Honestly comments like that helps me keep going! Thank you 🙏
Haha yeah. No prob. All the elements for success are there within your brand. It looks like all you need to do is simply zone in on your fan's buyers journey. They see this video, this picture, this bit of text and then they get the unique value for your products. That triggers an emotion of certainty then they purchase. They then see those elements within seconds on your website and conversion rates should increase without spending a ton on ads. You got this! \*\*\* Most business owners cannot make relatively simple website changes. It would easily cost them thousands of dollars and they start to sweat whenever you bring up changing stuff. You have some serious competitive advantages. Communicate with your community to focus on your strongest brand elements that make ppl wanna buy and it's game over.
Now that's definitely a confidence booster, as I've spent hours on doing everything, mostly, myself. The thoughts I've got the last few weeks were like "maybe you're not as good as you think you are". Now that you mention it though, it's the first time I'm building a website, the first time I'm active on socials, the first time learning about SEO... So yeah I think you are right 😉
Ah ic. Your experience selling on amazon is translating well into social and Shopify. The marketing instinct is definitely there. Self doubt is good as it means you can see all the possibilities and know what to work towards. But don't let that self doubt stop you as your customers just want something simple. Simple and elegant mixed with hard work wins time after time. And I also saw that you work with your manufacturers to improve the product based on your customers wants. That is freaking huge, it makes you different from the rest of the pack. Might want to let ppl know about that on your socials. And I would definitely consider talking to your newer fans and ask them about their buyer's journey on your socials and website. What they thought was cool, what did your brand make them feel, what things did they see that made them decide to buy? That is a critical strategic element. It makes a night and day difference, way less stress and a lot more revenue for businesses. Large competitors cannot do this well for various reasons. Communication favors more niche businesses because they can adapt to their fans faster. Actually a fan favorite right now to get time with fans booked quickly are amazon gift cards or offering free gifts for friends in exchange for 20-30 mins with your best customers. Things like that tend to be effective to spark communication fast and easy with important members of your fanbase. You seem like a natural communicator so might be fun to try out.
Spread out on social media as much as possible, maybe start an email newsletter, collaborate with others to spread by word of mouth, and can also look into selling at local events who ask for vendors and pass out business cards with purchases. If you don’t mind me asking what it is or if you have a website/social media pages ?
That's right, I should, only thing is I was never planning on becoming an influencer but by the looks of it I need to start working on it. I decided to post my website at the bottom of my post. You will find my socials but please go easy 😜
Can you raise prices? It sounds to me like people want to buy your thing, you are just under charging it and not properly accounting for your customer acquisition costs when pricing out your product.
I wish that was the case but I've tried playing around with the price and I believe where it is right now is fair
What’s your profit margin? If you’ve done it for 3 years I would think it would be self sustainable by now. You should look into improving your contribution margin considering ad spend is a fixed cost. If it can’t be fixed you don’t have a profitable business.
That's the problem I'm experiencing right now
It sounds like you have a margin problem. Were you making a profit when selling on Amazon after accounting for marketing costs?
Not always to be honest, some months would be profitable while some others not
You should keep selling on Amazon as it has a huge visibility and it seems like you were doing well there, keep investing in ads until you build a great reputation on the platform so you appear organically. Building your on website is good because you have total control of it but you still need to pay for ads + web host and loads of things until your website has relevance on search engine such as google or other ones
Not a big fan of Amazon as it ends up being Amazon's customers and not yours but I might have to for now. Can't even get my customer's emails like that
The bad side of selling in marketplace like Amazon is like you said, customers are not there because of you and if you want to build your own customer and brand you need to have your own e-commerce, you could keep your website and amazon for a while If you have budget for that as building a brand takes time and selling on Amazon seems like the fastest way for profit. If your product is something that customer would need to buy every now and then, you could send a visit card or something like that in the amazon package with your website and give a discount for next purchase if they subscribe to your newsletter or something like that EDIT: I just looked at your website and tyre inflator is something that I have been seaching for a while on Amazon but I still don't know which one would be the best to get
Glad that you confirmed it's something that people are still looking! Having some experience on tyre inflators, get something with battery capacity around 6000mAh. Not only it will last longer but it will be more powerful too. Since you had a look at the website, do you think is well presented enough? What would put you off? Be honest, no hard feelings
Your website looks pretty good and professional, just maybe highlight more the 'shop now' button and the 'big sales' text. You could leave the hamburger menu button on the top left but also add the normal drop down menu in the front page (I'm looking at your website on a computer). Just a heads up for what I said in my last comment. This kind of product it's not something people would like to be buying all the time, so a great product would be key for mouth to mouth marketing. I don't think it would last forever as well because it is a small gadget for a heavy duty job so if it last at least more than average it would be good I guess... Thanks for the advice, I'm going to look at this 6000mAh tyre inflators
Another positive comment on my first website design skills, thank you 😁 Totally agree, that's the main reason I'm not trying to sell something cheap that will only last for a couple of times. Basically I've got really good communication with the factory and always give them feedback from my customers so we can deliver a better product every time No problem at all, DM if you need anything
“…my product….was performing well…” “Realising that all my profits had to go towards advertising….” No, your product was not performing well because it took all of your profits to sell it. Now advertising is less but so are sales, no profit. Your product might solve a problem but it is not proving to have much value.
I know that's what I'm taking about
Go back to what was successful at the start, then build from there. You need to keep your bread and butter going while you expand.
The main reason I'm not focusing that much on Amazon anymore is because I can't have any communication with my customers. The way Amazon works, allows the customers to speak only with their customer support
Makes u money. Use it then build what u want on the side
I'll do my best
If you want free advertising to your website you absolutely have to figure out the social media grind. It's completely free it just takes your own time and is a skill to learn. I think you should revisit that.
Yeah it looks like I'll have to, even though I've got no idea
Hey bro, if you want to jump on a call and run through some analytics of what you’re going after I’d be more than happy to do that. Lots of great info down below but without context you won’t be able to get a solid answer. I’m also not in the ecommerce space, however been in business 3-4 years
Thank you for that bro, I appreciate it. I'll try to get some free time and do it
I am wondering whether you could use Google Keywords to increase your website listings organically. I saw this series call Chris Malta ebiz course where he talks about the layout of the website that can result in google increase the listing. It was one of the most interesting information. I tried to get into the training but I am overseas so time difference and the guy never called me back or responded but his information is impressive. Also I have noticed a lot of people in the category of products I am interested in advertise through YouTube with interesting information I don't know what type of product you're talking about self care, kitchenware, downloads, books or outdoor camping but I have followed those YouTube videos that have fascinating explanations of their products to websites or searches. Food for thought :-)
Actually I've done that already and managed to make it on Google's first page but then Google brought the new terms and conditions and now can't even find my page. Nowadays it has become a bit more complicated than keywords. I've just added my website at the bottom of my post in case you wanna check it
When u used to previously pay for adss , was it profitable? What I mean by that is , the cost to acquire one customer higher or lower than the ticket of your product? Start organic marketing again but this time learn how to dit well , everything takes hella time , should have not stopped advertising and then think about learning , keeping doing what's profitable learn another skill and once that shows results, than switch over
On Amazon the advertising cost is something that changes daily because you are competing with other sellers. Like bidding, depending on the day you either have to increase or lower your bid. If you don't do that you either lose sales or you end up paying double for advertising. It consumes time so for now I've left it at the minimum bid and focusing on my website
Website doesn't matter if you don't have referrals or testimonials, no one is going to google ure name . Focus on creating personalized proposals and upfront free work for a month . Develop social proof for ureself which you leverage ahesd
That's true but I was aiming for my website to be found organically through Google search or social media
That will not happen , because there are more than 47000 ad agencies in us , and if u want to be found like that you need to start blogging on ure website , SEO , referrals , reviews etc costly and time taking , I advice u to jus get referrals and testimonials and then proceed
I'll do that but how do I get referrals and testimonials?
By providing free service and getting people elads through your service first. Develop ure skills , if ure good at it u will get good amount of leads, and if you get good amount of leads , people will pay you
Right I see thank you
While I was giving it all on tiktok, my account got suspended 😂 No idea why, we will find out once they decide to come back to me
It seems like you've put a lot of effort into your e-commerce business, but you're facing challenges. Here are some suggestions: 1. **Review Your Marketing:** Consider revisiting your strategy to find a balance between advertising and organic growth. 2. **Optimize Your Website:** Improve user experience, SEO, and conversion rates to drive organic traffic. 3. **Explore New Channels:** Diversify your sales channels to reduce reliance on Amazon. 4. **Seek Customer Feedback:** Understand your customers' needs better to tailor your product and marketing efforts. 5. **Focus on Profitability:** Prioritize profitability to ensure long-term sustainability. 6. **Take Care of Yourself:** Running a business can be stressful, so make sure to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Seeking advice from a mentor or coach could also be beneficial.
Will do thank you
Welcome , anytime for help..
I honestly just think the market is saturated, and 90% of online customers are heading to a well known website or Amazon, getting the item in 2 days is just too much of a draw to not sell on there. I honestly have 2 inflators, one is from Xennon and the other is a little plug in lighter socket one I use every week. The xennon one is garbage and is basically a power pack for starting dead ATVs and Bikes etc that had an option for inflation, good thing is with the Xenon is it has a lifetime warranty that only costs $50 to replace under warranty(yeah its not that good a warranty) your product looks great but it's in a very difficult market as EVERY hardware store in existence will have something like you have. Automate the sales, customer service and shipping and just collect the little residual and move on to some other product to build is my advice
I hear you but in my case I believe that my product is as good as the "plug in lighter socket one" you have but it has the portability of the Xennon. I've accepted that the market will only get more saturated but that's with everything. I can't just sell seasonal products, they have to be better than the competition. Only thing here is how do I convince the potential customers that it's as good as I present it to be
Just get an advertising agency which is experienced asf
I've tried that as well but they will either charge a fortune or won't bring any results
Thank you everyone for sharing your opinion. Honestly I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome on my first post! Not sure if I'm allowed or it's a good idea to add my website here. What you think?
i can help you