Tips for Creating an Online Store

Archive for the ‘Marketing Tips’ Category

Upside Down Dogs

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

Upside down dogs is one of the most amazing blogs ever.  Yes, I am being serious.  Simple, fun, and very effective.  They launched yesterday and have already received hundreds of thousands of new visitors.  

This is exactly the type of blog I would want if I was selling anything towards dogs.  Everyone going to that blog obviously loves dogs.  

This blog is powered by Tumblr which is very easy to use and free to use blogging service.  Get your thinking caps on and your creative juices flowing.  The time has come for you to start a blog that will attract people that will love your products.

Generate some Blog Buzz

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

the Flying Cart Bee... bzzzzzz

When we first launched Flying Cart no one really knew about us until we reached out to some blogs and asked them to talk about us.  Luckily they totally did AND it really helped!

Here is how I think you can do the same:

1. Search on Technorati or Google Blog Search with keywords related to your store.

2. Find the bloggers contact information (usually on the contact page or on the sidebar).

3. Email them a really interesting story about your store.

Here are some examples of possible angles you can pitch in that email:

  • How you make all your products from recycled materials
  • Your product is the best in the world because it can never break or be worn out
  • How you are a stay at home mom entrepreneur
  • You are really young – You are really old
  • You have really cheap prices because you have some crazy connection
  • Your girlfriend left you and now you want to get back at her by starting a business and becoming crazy rich!
  • Your products are just soo damn good looking

Be creative and work any angles you think you have.

Here is a compiled list of people that might be interested in featuring you:

We would like to keep this post updated with more blogs.  If you know of any please let us know in the comments.

Do you sell T-Shirts?

Friday, October 3rd, 2008

If you sell t-shirts then check out Please Dress Me.  It is a t-shirt search engine.  You can easily get your t-shirt listed by signing up here.

You need to Try Google Adwords

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Hello Folks!  A good way to get instant traffic is by promoting your products on Google. Imagine a world when anytime someone thinks of your product they see your store.  Well… with Google Adwords you can get really close to that.

With Google Adwords you can advertise your store when specific keywords are being searched for.  It is very cost effective if you start with a small budget and advertise specific keywords.

I wrote up a very easy step by step guide on running your first cost effective Google Adword Campaign:

See it on the Web | Download it as a PDF

How to Create a Google Adword Campaign

Monday, September 29th, 2008

SIGN UP

1. Create a Google Adword account by clicking on the “Start Now” Button (upper right hand corner)

2. Select “Starter Edition”

3. Select the “I have a webpage” option

4. Click “Continue” at the bottom

TARGET

5. Select where your customers will be coming from.  Its a good idea to target to a certain region but it totally depends on your product.

Google Adwords Location Targeting

CREATE YOUR AD

6. Go to your store and pick a specific product you want to advertise.  Copy the entire URL of that page.  (It should look something like this http://YOURSTORE.flyingcart.com/?p=detail&pid=49&cat_id=6)  Make sure you copied the ENTIRE URL.

It is easier to advertise a single product vs. your entire store because you can pin point specific keywords to it.

7. Enter in the URL you just copied

8. Time to write your Ad.

The first line can be your product name.  The other two lines should be describing the product.

Example Ad #1 for Simply Tana’s Pink Notebook Bag

Pink Notebook Laptop Bag

$19.99 and Free Shipping

Stay in Fashion and Protect your Comp

Example Ad #2 for It’s Always a Good Deal’s Pet Carrier

Airline Approved Pet Carrier

Small Argo Aero Carrier

On Sale – $55.00

PICK KEYWORDS

9. Pick your Keywords.  Enter your keywords in the big box, you can also get ideas by entering your keywords. The best keywords are the super specific ones.

Sample #1 Keyword Examples for Immortal Beloved’s Mimi Bot

- MimoBot and Mimo Bot

- USB Toy and USB Toys

- Friends With You Mimobot Malfi 1GB

- Mimobot Malfi

Sample #2 Keyword Examples for Jon’s Import’s Heart Photo Frame Keychain

- Digital Keychain

- Heart Photo Frame Digital Keychain

- Digital 1.1″ LCD Red Heart Photo Frame Picture Keychain

FINISH

10. Choose the currency you wish to pay in

11. Set a budget.  I suggest $25 at first since it is your first Google Adword campaign

12. Click continue and follow the Instructions Google has for you.

Feel free to Download this post as a PDF.

New! Start a Fan Club

Friday, August 8th, 2008

I love Fans.  People that love you for what you do.  They are the best marketing tool you have.  Someone that tells all their friends about your products.  It is priceless!

Now you can invite customers, friends, and family members to join your store fan club.  Each fan can easily create a profile, upload a picture, bookmark products, and invite their friends.

We also added a way for you to stay in touch with all your fans via HTML newsletter to announce sales, events, new product additions, or just to say hi.

Why we launched this feature:

A big part of creating a successful online store is keeping old customers.  If you can create a community around your products, get people excited, and generate repeat customers you no longer have to rely on external factors like search engine rankings.  We have a lot more in store regarding the fan club (we have only launched a very basic version today) so stay tuned and PLEASE let us know if you have any ideas on what to add.

HOW TO START?

You can easily turn your Fan Club on or off at the bottom of your store settings page of your headquarters.  Can’t wait to see how people use this!

Expert in your product? Show it on Squidoo, Google Knol, 5min, and YouTube

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

People will buy from you if they can trust you.  They will purchase from you if they think you are the absolute best person to buy from.  If you are an expert in your product show it!

Here are some great ways to show off how much you know about your field:

1) Create a page on Squidoo.  (For example: Talk about reasons on buying organic cotton)

2) Create a page on Google Knol. (For example: If you sell Hair Loss Lotion, talk about Common Causes of it)

3) Make a video on 5min. (For example: Show a video of you making the painting you are selling)

4) Make a video on YouTube. (For example: Talk about how to detect a replica handbag)

Tell me about what you tried out in the comment section.  Would love to see all the experts we have on Flying Cart.

Fling It Girl Launches

Friday, July 18th, 2008

A new site called Fling It Girl launched this week.  The site allows people to “Fling” products and stories.  The more Flings a product or story gets the more likely it is to get to the top of the page.  Try to get your products Flinged.  This could be a great way to drive more traffic to your store.

Brand Habit – Fashion Fix

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

Check out Brand Habit I think it is a great site for fashion shoppers and enthusiasts to discover new designers and boutiques.  This is a great place to get your store listed if you are in the industry.

Would love to see some of our stores posted in their directory.  Let me know what you folks think.

How to Write Meta Tags

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

I was looking for some tips on writing Meta Tags this morning and I came across a great article on eHow: How to Write Description Meta Tags.  Check it out and spice up your Meta Tags.