No Sales? Running an E-commerce Store (Dropshipping)!

There are many reasons why your store is receiving no sales.

These are 5 things I've ran into and have learned overtime, while running my store.
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Before we get started, let me get this out of the way...

No, I'm not an expert. Again, these are things I've ran into and have learned overtime, while running my store.
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No, I'll not be selling you a course at the end of this. 

And no, I’m not a writer. There will be grammatical errors, punctuation errors...but I promise you, you’ll understand everything in this article. I'm here to provide you with the value you need to start getting sales, not to teach you how to write the perfect LinkedIn article.

Your Store Design Sucks!​ ​

You DO NOT have to be a designer to know if your store design sucks. 
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Your store should have a maximum of 2-3 colors. You should not have 10 different colors. What do I mean by this? You shouldn't have each button as a different color, every other sentence as a different color... Look at Adidas, Nike, any big branded company, do they have 30 different colors representing their brand? Probably not. 

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel!

I've seen stores trying to put their product photos on the right side and their text on the left side or trying to center everything. JUST STOP! You’re not making it easier for anyone. Remember we read left to right not right to left.

Do you really need the countdown timer/stock counter?
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If no one is buying with the countdown timer on, take it off! Countdown timers are very spammy when used wrong or designed wrong (Tip: Not using a countdown timer will speed up your page’s loading time).

“Let me change my checkout page to make it look better.”

Stop right there! Leave your checkout page how it is. There is no need to change it. Make sure everything works and leave it how it is. (Tip: If you’re using Shopify, there’s a way you can test your checkout process without having to use your personal credit/debit card) (Tip: You can add your logo to the checkout page to build more trust in your company)

Shopify Test Mode (Checkout Process)

Your product page matters more than anything when it comes to store design. This is the page you should be redirecting your visitors to, when marketing/advertising.

You want to have high-quality photos and you want to make sure you always compress your photos (Tip: Use the Shopify app, ‘CrushPics,' to compress your high-quality photos).

You want to have a good description.

DO NOT write long paragraphs, this is a mistake (This is NOT Amazon)! Your goal here is to keep them interested! No one wants to read a book. Make it simple with photos, GIFs, or videos between every sentence or so (Look at blendjet.com product page).

(Tip: DO NOT copy the description from AliExpress, this is a BIG MISTAKE!)

You have too many trust badges!
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Yes, you can have too many trust badges. I've seen stores with three different designed trust badges on a single product page. Keep your trust badges simple like the one below.

​​(Tip: You're able to find trust badges like the one above on Google)

​Your Product Sucks!

No one wants your “Fake Apple Airpods” anymore!
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Yes, it was a trending product, but now it’s saturated. If you’re able to advertise the “Fake Apple Airpods” from a new marketing angle, you might be able to sell more, but what's the point? You’ll have a hard time scaling in the future and you’ll be left with a ‘dead’ product. DO NOT waste your time and money on products like this! It’s not worth it.

Your product doesn’t have a WOW factor!

Your product doesn’t have to be mind blowing for it to have a WOW factor. A WOW factor can be your product having a cute component to it. Ask yourself, what is so different about your product, when compared to others? If you're unable to answer the question, move on and find a new product.
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You didn’t do enough product research!

​Stop thinking like this is some easy business model. Figure out your competitors, your product price, your profit, your marketing angles, your targeted customers...These are things you need to know to succeed in any business (Tip: If you do your research now, advertising the product will be easier).

Your FacEbook AD, Instagram AD, Google AD... Sucks! ​

It doesn’t matter what platform you're using to advertise your product, if you can’t get sales, your ad sucks! 

Many people think it’s their headline, their ad copy, their ad creative, their product price... Yes, you may be right, but have you tried targeting a different interest first? There are over 80-100 different interests you can target if your product is in a big enough niche. 
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Why change your interests first, instead of your ad copy, ad creative, and headline? 

​Targeting the wrong audience = ZERO SALES (Note: Even with an amazing ad copy, ad creative, and headline, you'll still receive zero sales. You are targeting the wrong audience!)
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Targeting the right audience (Note: Even with a not so great ad copy, ad creative, and headline) = SALES

For your first ad, think outside of the box! Target magazines, branded companies…As you keep testing new interests, you’ll find a couple of the best performing interests for your product. ​

​Pay attention to CTR (Click-Through-Rate), CPM (Cost-Per-Impressions), and CPC (Cost-Per-Click). These three KPIs (Key-Performance-Indicator) will help you gage the best performing interests.

You think it’s your HEADLINE, AD COPY, or AD CREATIVE? 

You have three chances to catch your audience’s attention! You have the headline, the ad copy, and the ad creative. 
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The HEADLINE should be short, simple, and if possible catchy (Tip: Use less than 6 words). This here is not a headline, “50% OFF + FREE SHIPPING!” This does not work, unless you’re a known brand. 

Try testing different headlines. You want to target 3-5 DIFFERENT marketing angles (Tip: Sometimes, using your product name as your headline can be the best headline). ​

​Like your product description, no one wants to read a long AD COPY. They would rather watch the video to learn about your product. Here’s how I structure my ad copy:
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• First Line: You want your audience to envision themselves using the product. This can be with a catchy hook or a couple of questions. (Tip: Find the best one by testing 3-5 different hooks or questions)
• Next 4-5 lines: Include the benefits (NOT FEATURES) of your product. The product lasting 4 hours is not a benefit! That's a feature. 
• Next line: Add your discount offer. If possible, make the discount percentage bigger than the product price. For example, “LIMITED TIME ONLY Save 65%...+ FREE SHIPPING.” If the discount percentage can’t be bigger than the price, try using the amount saved. For example, “LIMITED TIME ONLY Save $30…+ FREE SHIPPING.” If you can do both, make each one a separate line. (Getting sales is ALL about psychology)
• Last line: Add your CTA (call-to-action) and your product price. For example, “Add this to your collection today for $19.99.”

​Now, here’s the last chance to catch your audience's attention! Your AD CREATIVE! You DO NOT have to know how to edit like a pro to create your own ad creative! It can be as simple as fade in and fade out. Here is how I structure my ad creative:

• First 3 seconds are fast and simple cuts of the product, you can add text if you would like (Tip: Find the best one by testing 3-5 different clips or text). This is the most important part of your ad creative!
• For the next however many seconds will be video clips of the product being used and its benefits (Tip: Keep each clip 2-3 seconds long). Add text to each clip if needed. If the video can speak for itself, you do not have to add text.
• At the end, include CTA (Call-to-Action) and your OFFER. 

You DO NOT need to order the product, if you can find high-quality video footage of your product being used (Tip: DO NOT TAKE VIDEOS FROM BIG BRANDED COMPANIES!) 

Note: This is how I create my headlines, ad copies, and ad creatives. I’m not saying if you use my way, you'll become “rich” and I'm not saying if you use someone else’s way, you will fail. There are many ways to run ads and everyone has their own strategy.

Yes, you’ll have to test different headlines, ad copies, and ad creatives to find out which one performs the best. 

And yes, you’ll have to spend money first, before you’ll start making profit. 
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That's business!

Your Shipping Times Are TOO LONG! ​

Is it over 15 days? No one wants to wait over 16, 20, 30 days for their package.

How to get better shipping times? 
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First Way: Find a US Supplier on AliExpress (Note: Not ALL products have US suppliers).

Second Way: Contact suppliers on AliExpress & Alibaba for better shipping times.
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Bonus Tip: Always have FREE SHIPPING! No one wants to pay for expensive shipping especially if the product is taking 15 days to reach their home.

Too Many Shopify Apps = SLOW LOADING TIME! ​

Your page’s loading time matters! If a site took 10 seconds to load, would you stay on the site? 
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You DO NOT need 20 installed apps to get sales! If your page’s loading time is around 5-6 seconds long, you have too many apps installed (Tip: Use GTmetrix.com to find out your page’s loading time). Keep your loading time around 2-4 seconds long (If possible, under 2 seconds).

If your page is slow after uninstalling the unneeded apps, you must go into your theme’s code and delete the codes created from the app (Note: Either create backups of your theme’s code before deleting or hire someone to help you delete the unneeded codes)

Conclusion

Please remember, I'm not an expert. These are just things I've learned, while running my store and what I've done to start receiving sales.
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I hope you found this article helpful!