Currently doing 200+ sales a day ($8000ish) with shopify and FB - questions?

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Hey guys,

A LOOONNGGG time ago I did a post on affiliate stuff I was doing and answered questions...people seemed to like it

anyways...I thought i'd share and help out if anyone has questions...ill get a specific as i can

I'm using FB ads running traffic to my own site (shopify) and doing 7-10k a day in sales this month (a bit less last month) - i dont handle any of the shipping myself but i'm not 'dropshipping' its my inventory - using a fulfilment house

ive learnt a lot so far (still lots to learn) but im willing to help out and share - so if you're into ecommerce now or want to....i have no issues helping a bit on here with systems, services questions and so on!

Ask away!
#ecommerce sites, wholesaling & drop shipping #$8ish #200 #day #questions #sales #shopify
  • Okay.. I'm curious ... how many products do you have and why are you using shopify?
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    • Hey! I've tested probably around 20-30 products and some are still live but don't sell much. I have 4-6 that sell good amounts so I focused on them for now as I get more products created.

      I found shopify super easy to use...its very intuitive and the support is amazing. They do lack some features for direct response marketing but it;s workable enough to make it happen.

      Thanks!
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    • Banned
      [DELETED]
  • Have you been to the canton fair?
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    • No I haven't!!!! I want to though, or at least go over their and meet my suppliers now that volume is increasing. I also have a friend that teaches over there so hoping to make a trip.

      Have you been?
  • I'm also curious?

    What's you general niche?

    $7-10K a day in sales? Had you said $7-10K per month you would've been more believable.
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    • there you go:

      1- how many different products do you sell?

      2- does all of these are private/white label products? if so, how many brands do you have?

      3- are you also selling through FBA?

      4- which fulfillment platform/Company are you partnering with?

      5- does your Shopify store has a Blog with daily/weekly updates and followers?

      Thanks!
      • [1] reply
    • Hey Violet - it's jewellery and other gifts like that. They have high margins which is VERY needed.
      7-10k is pretty good but that is sales not profit. There is no limit though, I'm trying to map out and figure out how to keep this steady and continue to expand either through new marketing channels or new products! Cheers!
  • Hi Joel,

    Would this be your wine club business?

    When I had a look it looked like there wasn't a bottle or pack under about $90 with most being over $126.

    When you look at your average of 200 plus sales per day in your OP for $8K that is like under $40 per sale.

    ...or are you talking here about a different business or product line?
    • [1] reply
    • Hey! No this isn't the wine business! Wine sales have been doing well in the launches though, we're almost done a launch right now and looks like we'll do about 250-300 sales @$164 each...(we only get a % of course) thanks for the questions



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  • How do you deal with customers that want a refund or never receive their item? Is this handled by the fulfilment house?

    What is a fulfilment house?

    How much are you spending on FB ads?

    What is your best advice for FB ads?
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    • Love the user photo haha

      How do you deal with customers that want a refund or never receive their item? Is this handled by the fulfilment house?

      Answer: I use zendesk and had my sister doing support part time (she moved into product design and samples) and I got super lucky hiring a local lady that is AMAZING at support. She bring things to my attention in ways to improve the overall biz (she hears from the customers). She works from home her own hours. It's amazing.

      What is a fulfilment house?

      Answer: You can PM if you want this (not going to put it public I want to ask the founders first (they only take people when they are ready to grow)

      How much are you spending on FB ads?

      Answer: The revenues I was talking about is USD but I spend about 3000-3500 Canadian a day (about 30% less compared to USD)

      What is your best advice for FB ads?

      Answer: Read the direct response classic book (olgilvy, sugarman, john caples, claude hopkins) - all these principles still apply. Follow them. Keep it simple. And test the BIG things (DT vs Mobile, ages, KW's, images, and headlines) - SCALE what works.

      Hope this helps!



  • Thanks for answering all these questions.
  • Thanks Joel,

    When you were considering this business and I'm sure you have tried several different ideas...

    Were you building with the intention of utilising social media as the primary traffic source?

    A bit of a chicken and egg question...

    Did you start building your Facebook presence before, during or after you found some winning products?

    What sort of testing did you do to validate your choice of products before scaling up?

    Best regards,

    Ozi
    • [1] reply
    • Hey!

      Yah, I based it off FB and FB ads as that is what I'm best at. With this, I had a small presence to start and then it's grown from there. But that is not needed. Find winning products and generate traffic, sales, profit, customers....your other assets like FB page, email list and so on will grow WITH that...

      For me...(lets say the product is $20) - I'd test around 100-150 in ads and then see if there are any winning ages or placements. If it's b/e or close I let it keep running after 3 days to help collect more data.

      If it's a grand slam with great ROI I'll clone that ad and start scaling (do not raise budget on current ad)

      If it's a total fail (like 0 sales and CPC is really high) I sometimes end at day 2






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  • Hi Joel, do you sell on Amazon also or just on your own site?
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    • So far only my site - I'm researching Amazon and getting ready to test that (it takes some set up time) but I'm very hopeful for it. I'd rather keep scaling FB right now - but want to get Amazon going in the next 30 days! I'd love any advice on that form someone who has done decent sales volume!


  • Great Post Joel, I am just getting started and posts like yours give us hope...,Thank You
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    • I'm also in shopify, my question is what apps do you use with your store?
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  • Hi Joel

    Great info...I too am curious to know who you use for fulfillment? I am preparing to launch a store but need to outsource the fulfillment if I decide to source wholesale products (due to logistics). Also looking at Amazon and dropshipping. Pm me. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
  • Can you help me with FB ADS, i have started my store as well, but am struggling and can only get 0.50 cpc on FB Ads, with low CTR and relevance score.

    can you suggest some sources which are good for learning FB ads.
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    • I'm only getting $1.00 CPC but it brings in $1.75-2.50 so it doesn't matter. Don't worry so much about getting cost down as finding the right audience. The low CTR and relevancy score are telling you your ad either doesn't interest them and annoys them...is it the ad or who is seeing it? How many ads have you tested? How many offers?

      That said, I've had relevancy scores of 5 that do great ROI.


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  • Wow Joel! So what is your average profit % or ROI? I'm doing a course using the Shopify platform and the mentor says they run ave at 40% profit also doing Facebook Ads.

    What I was trying to find out when I came across your thread:
    Is there a way to link Shopify with WordPress? I have a program to do SEO if something runs on WP.
    I found this:

    Link: How to Create WordPress eCommerce Store With Shopify

    I'm not sure if it will do the trick. A bit complex for me to know if is properly running on WP or have WP pages attached to use for SEO articles using their instructions. SEO works if you have massive quality relevant articles of high user value that Google loves.
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    • it ranges, some days it was over 100% ROI some days it's lower (even these last few days with CPM's going up with everyone advertising more for Black Friday and the holidays) it's been lower like 50-60% ROI!

      Why would you need them to link? I know there is an app on shopify that lets you make a buy button and place it on any site.....that might work for you!

      What course are you taking?

      Cheers


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  • What fulfilment centre do you use? And any tips around that?

    Thanks
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    • Hey, yah it's important. I did the first 50 orders or so myself (what a pain in the ass)

      I shopped around but decided on shipfusion - they called me right away, its a smaller team of guys, they had USA and Canada warehouses. I liked the personal touch / aspect of it.

      We've had a few small issues but they are quick to fix them. I like being able to email o call occasionally and get good support (didn't think I;d get that with some of the bigger guys out there)




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  • Joel,

    Thank you for the great "inside". I have some questions: 1. Do you you Instagram for advertising your goods? 2. What kind of jewelry do you sell: fashion low-mid cost, expensive (Swarovski?) or niche jewelry (biker's, movies etc.) 3.What do you feel is the toughest thing selling jewelry?

    Thanks and god luck in sales!
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    • This is awesome.

      Can you elaborate.

      For me...(lets say the product is $20) - I'd test around 100-150 in ads and then see if there are any winning ages or placements. If it's b/e or close I let it keep running after 3 days to help collect more data.

      If it's a grand slam with great ROI I'll clone that ad and start scaling (do not raise budget on current ad)

      If it's a total fail (like 0 sales and CPC is really high) I sometimes end at day 2
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    • Hey!

      1) I've tested IG a little, been breakeven or less on each test so far
      2) It's mostly low to mid, although I'm having better luck with mid (25-50) right now - it's more expensive to buy but worth it as customers are happy
      3) toughest.....hmmm knowing how much to order and keeping inventory full....some stuff takes 20 days to produce and then 10-12 days to ship so that's a long time

      Cheers!


  • hi
    1. may i know what platform u use ?ebay ,Amazon or?
    2. what kinds of items u sell?
    3. 7-10k a day in sales this month? is it $ or RMB
    • [1] reply
    • 1) Shopify + FB ads
      2) Jewellery + other gifts and items
      3) Not sure what you mean? RMB?

      Cheers


  • Hey Joel
    Had lost hope ..but your thread is promising and motivating
  • Hi Joel,
    Thank you for this great thread.
    I am having a great success with FB Ads + Amazon affiliate program and soon in 2016, i will switch to my own eCoomerce site.
    With FB , we have to choose some particular niches in order to sell on FB. not all the niches are good on FB..

    with Jewelry, Do you use Free item + shipping to increase your sales and then upsale them something ???

    Thank you
    Simo
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    • Hi Joel,

      I have the same question - have you done this or tested it?
    • Hey, that's great man - if you can learn what works and doesn't as an affilaite with paid ads....your own store will be a breeze! WAY higher margins, just a few extra hurdles to go over like support and returns and so on.

      I see lots of people doing FREE + shipping of like 9.99 or something + upsell....it's not how I started....I like setting my price and then doing lower cost shipping.

      I find this way the experience is better for the customer, they expect to see $5+ s/h and it's only $3? That's awesome!

      FREE + 9.99 seems like a gimmick to me...it does convert BUT are those the customers you want to build your business around? Freebie finders? They complain more and buy less.

      I have tested it with decent results but have paused for now. It devalues my brand to much.

      Cheers!



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  • Wow, very interesting post, thanks a lot joelraitt I'll read it again and again and maybe contact you in private if you are ok.

    Amazing success story anyway, congrats !
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  • How long did it take you to make it up to these numbers?
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    • Well it's funny. I've done numbers like these in other areas (affiliate marketing) several times. I started my store about 8 months ago and it hovered around $6-10k profit a month. I thought it 'wasn't scalable' which was TOTALY wrong...(I never even tried it was a mental block I had that was false based on past experience)

      I finally got off my ass and tested a few more things...a few hit and I took it more serious and scaled (it takes time to learn inventory, support and so on) - it's tough to know how much to buy....the lead time in production and so on.....what if you buy 5000 necklaces and then the ads slow down or stop working?

      Once I hit a few new it went something like 80k (sales) in october then nov I just did the reporting and did just under 200k in sales. I'm hoping to keep these numbers going and growing! Again...not sure what to expect after Christmas? Got to watch those inventory levels!


    • Hello,

      I made a shopify store 4 months ago it makes £1000 a month, and I use FB for my advertising.

      Facebook has now decided I can not send my page link in a messgae or post in a group, forcing me to pay them for advertising, which it works anyway

      BUT I am from the UK and always looking to make more money, are we able to get something set up? PM me, serious player here
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  • Congrats on your success and thank you for sharing.

    What metrics do you use to decide if a product is worth testing?

    What sites do you use to look for products to test?

    Are there any tips you don't mind sharing that may help as it relates to deciding what products to test?
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    • Absolutely amazing info here! Joel, thank you very much
    • Hey Joel, thanks for doing this!

      Can you please elaborate on your process...Are your facebook ads based on promotinos like rebates/coupons directed to your product page? Do you send traffic to your main page or specific product page?

      Thanks again.
      • [1] reply
    • Good questions!

      1) Almost all products are worth testing IMO, Ive tested a few I thought would suck and it turned out to be my best piece. You need to test lots at first. Then think about why this one worked and this one didn't. Make theories and test them. In this business the product is the ad.

      2) I look on amazon, alibaba, and many other places for ideas. We also have our own custom pieces designed (gives us a competitive edge)

      3) Lots of variables...but remember you need BIG margins - always count ads or CPA as part of your costs and make sure yu have a decent about to spend to acquire that customer!

      Example: Coffee mug cost $2 to get, shipping is $5 = $7 You figured you can sell it for $14+$3 shipping = $17 giving you $10 to spend on ads....in this case that's a little low IMO but if you have a good upsell it could work....I hope this helps somehow...

      Cheers!

  • RMB maybe Renminbi - official currency of China. Joel thanks for your post. Very interesting to read!
  • Joe,

    Interested to know how this works. Do you have a coaching program?
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    • Thanks Joel for your really valuable info. I am starting new and was just curious which ad platform was more successful for you, FB ads or Google adwords if you have used it and why.

      Looking into starting real small since my budget is very limited too. I was really thinking of starting at just $5 per day budget, is that reasonable or very small? I have been searching for low cpc keywords of maximum $0.30 but the clicks were low. I know I am asking too many questions, but if you would even recommend a good book I would appreciate that. I just want to learn slowly because I am on a limited budget and cannot afford to lose my limited capital too. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

      Thanks
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  • How do you select the products?
    How do you test the market?
    What is your average markup for a product?
    What % of the markup goes in ads?

    Nice post! Ty for sharing!
    • [1] reply
    • Hey, some of these have been answered in other posts but here's a quick one:

      1) I tested a bunch a the start and learned what works and doesn't work over time (still do this) This is my basic process now:

      a) post an image to get feedback and thoughts (this helps a lot)
      b) order a sample yo check quality and make sure the suppliers legit
      c) order 100 and ship to fulfilment house
      d) test organic sales on FB page
      e) test ads CPA (is it profitable or close?)
      f) guess how many more I need to order (usually 500 to start) and so on if it continues to scale (have got to 5000 orders)

      2) 8-12X markup is best, sometimes a lower markup % is OK if the cost and price are higher. It's all about being able to pay that CPA and making money.

      3) My average numbers are as follows (give or take as I tried to make the numbers easy):

      Products Cost = $4
      Shipping cost = $5
      CPA cost $18
      Total = $27

      Average cart value = $39

      Profit = $12 a sale
      ROI on Ads = almost 70%

      Some of my items run at lower ROI and some at closer to 100% ROI

      Cheers



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  • Hey joel
    Nice helpful thread.
    I am planning to get into a niche with this.. still undecided ..between shopify or go wordpress and woo commerce. I plan to source some health food products from local supplier.

    Thinking latter though to avoid the monthly shopify costs. Initially.

    You think i would be a good idea ?
    Cheers
    Gabbarsingh
    • [2] replies
    • Hey Joel,

      I've been looking for a comprehensive detailed source to learn this stuff, but no luck yet. I would love to reach those daily sales you've been getting. do you offer any training program? I really need to figure this out but most programs I feel are "holding out" so to speak and only give the bare basics of the business.

      Thanks so much man,


      -Jeremy
      • [1] reply
    • Impossible for me to know man! I think keeping your costs low to start (saving you more money for ads) is a good idea...keep it lean and mean and focus on SALES. Nothing else matters at the start.



  • Woow, great team Facebook. I tell you very many guys are earning a good income through this social media platform. I always believe that facebook has all round persons whom when well nurtured can be a very resourceful traffic. I have seen several shopify websites that are selling like crazy and I do suspect that yours is also doing the same. I am so much encourage and motivated that you are loving this whole experience. team hardwork will always smile all the way to the bank after a job is well done.
  • This method should work like any other drop-shipping business if you know what you're doing. PPC marketing still is a trial and error.

    Definitely not for everyone, spending $3000 a day on advertising is close to impossible for nearly 99.9% of the users of this forum.
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    • Well you don;t start spending $3000 a day - I test with 100-200 and go from there. You can use CC or other ways to get capital if you have something working and need to scale!


  • Hi Joel,

    Great post & well done.

    That's impressive.

    What advice could you give to someone new wanting to start in this field?

    How much start up capital would you recommend?

    What is the best "course" to learn your method from?

    Many Thanks
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    • Hey hey!

      1) For advice starting out....try becoming an affiliate first, test ads and results, learn what sells and think about why. If you can make it as an affiliate when you start your 'own' business you have higher margins! Selling is everything.

      2) For becoming an affiliate...$2500 would be best (this keeps some pressure off) and gives room to lose and learn till you win. About the same for starting your own business (but allocated differently).

      3) It's not a method - it's find products, test products, scale the winners. No tricks. Just sales. Read the classic direct response books (i have them listed in this thread somewhere) - those old books are gold and some are only .99 on kindle.\\

      Good luck




  • Do you first test with dropshipping from China and then if it works, order in bulk?
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    • Hey, no I don't....I guess a few people are teaching that method as it always comes up. It leads to high returns and refunds. The product shows up weeks later with Mandarin all over it and looks like crap. The person knows it came right from China and feels ripped.

      I usually order 100 of the item I want to test...if it goes well I quickly order 500-1000 more and if that goes well I order 2500-5000 and so on...depending on the success of the product.

      If the product bombs....I usually still sell a few so I'm left with say 50-70 items...I leave them on the store and they slowly get sold (I don't make ads specifically for them anymore) - low risk IMO

      Cheers


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  • Salutations from Ontario lol, thanks for all the info I feel motivated to try something like this. I have a question please check your pm. Thanks!
    • [1] reply
  • hey there thanks for the valuable tips !!

    how often do you publish on your Facebook page ? do you write content also and link into it, publish pictures and engage with the public too ? could you tell a bit more about fb please ? we owe you one man !!
  • Hello Joel I've been following your Shopify thread and It has really helped. Can you answer a quick question.

    What do you suggest PPE or Website conversion?

    I have some ads with 9-10 relevance.

    ALso how do you scale up. WHen you have a sucessful ad. I;ve that you duplicate it. But does this duplication have a incrased budget? or added interest. Or do you keep the same?

    I made this in 7 days. But spent ALMOST as much in FB ADS
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    • Awesome stuff man...

      I've tested both and have more luck optimizing to conversions....especially when you get more data it gets better and better.

      I'd look at your ads breakdown of placement, age, gender....and see your CPA (cost per acquisition) which is a sale.

      When scaling, you're still testing in a sense...but change less. Once it's proven to sell (the image and copy) I usually don't change to much and test targeting to scale. So lets say I spent $100 on an add and I saw opportunity...

      Id find the best targeting in that add and try $100 per day on it (or a couple that look good) then I'd try a couple slightly different things at $100 a day.....all tracking conversions...

      You know it converts decent so you wont lose your shirt, you'll get most of your money back worst case...or maybe you'll hit a huge winner. When you hit a big winner with low CPA cost and high ROI....depending on your audience size SCALE (with new campaign)

      So lets say you test 5 new ads at $100 each close to your successful ad......$500 a day....they could all work now your spending 500 a day making 250-750 a day profit....or you pause the loosers, keep the winners and try another 5....eventually you low risk your way to 1000,2000,3000,5000,10000 a day!

      I hope this helps.




  • Hi Joel Great Thread thanks for sharing.

    Just starting a shopify store.

    I am in Canada too. Is your shopify site shopify.ca or shopify.com or does it matter?

    I know the shipping rates are high here in Canada, I was wondering do you ship items yourself here in Canada or do you get the fulfilment company to ship it for you and if so is going through a fulfilment company here in Canada cheaper with the shipping costs?

    I am selling jewelry as well so the items are smaller but I don't see anyway around the cost of shipping in Canada.

    thanks!
    • [2] replies
    • Hey, nice!

      I haven't sold in Canada yet but plan to test it in the NY. I have a fulfilment house in the USA that I use. They also have a CND one so I'll use that when the time comes.


      Good luck!



    • Hello Angrikitti,
      So have you decided for ca or com.
      Same confusion I have.Shipping costs are enormous in Canada.
      I am planning to Set up a Shopify store on shofify.com using USA virtual address and phone mumber.
      Still searching for a good and low cost fullfillment house.Do you have any success so far.
      I live in Hamilton,Ontario
      • [1] reply
  • Amazing suggestions Joel.

    I have an ecommerce store where I sell ladies handbags only. I am running "clicks to website" ads but the conversion is really low.

    Although, when I create a photo album on my FB page and boost that photo album on mobile, the conversions are better and CPC is way lower.

    I want to make sales from my website because then I can up-sell and do many things.

    What would you suggest me, Joel?

    Thank you
    • [1] reply
    • Hmmm well if you're having luck with the photo album have you tired the carousel ads? Make sure you're collecting who's been to the site for remarketing and creating LAL audiences.

      I'm not sure what images you are using (I find 'natural' images are much better then profesional), but test different types + other headlines and targeting. FB you can now target interest COMBINED with other interests...

      So you could do 'hand bags AND vintage' as a combo to narrow it down (or whatever makes sense for your bags)

      I hope this helps!




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  • Hi dear,
    Would you tell me why are you using shopify, what is the difference from another.
    -Tanvirul
    • [1] reply
    • It's easy to set up. Good up time. Good support. Lots of apps (and more always being made). Not bad processing fees. Mobile ready. No dealing with hosting or anything. Lets you focus on SALES.

      Cheers!


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  • Which payment methods r u using ?
  • Joel,

    Do you use PPE [Page post engagement] objective?

    From what I have seen, if the ad receives good engagement, the CPC goes down and you also get some bonus orders directly from FB inbox.

    What do you think about them?

    Thank you.
    • [1] reply
    • Hey Glad Warrior,

      I used to use PPE and still do in one business. For the specific post / business I optimize for conversions.

      It's worth testing for sure, page post engagements can be good. I see so many types of ads....links....photos with the link in the text...it's about finding a combo that works for you!

      Cheers


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  • Which companies are you working with?
    • [1] reply
    • Sorry man, not sure what you mean?

  • Hi Joel!

    Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Do you have a rule of thumb for how much you want to be able to spend on advertising before you even consider the product? Let's say I sell a product through Amazon FBA and it sells for $9.99 and my net profit is $4. Is it too little to even consider using Facebook ads?
    • [2] replies
    • Hi Joel,

      You said that you would see how things were after Christmas. Are sales and profit still stable or growing? Thanks
      • [1] reply
    • Get thread Joel! You are an inspiration for sure!

      As for drop shipping, why do you feel it is a short term business model?

      Thanks,

      Nate
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  • Hey!

    Good question....hmm it all depends...haha crappy answer I know...I'd have a few questions for your product...like....

    How many do you sell on average per order?
    Do you have an upsell? How much and average take?
    I'm assuming that's $4 after FBA and other fees?
    Are you planning on running ads to Amazon?
    Have you thought about other so upsells are easier?

    With mine...I aim for a 8-12X mark up on the product...I use shopify now Amazon but testing it. Just make sure you have enough room to spend on ads...I spend $10-$20 to acquire a new customer and my average cart is up to $38-$39.
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    • - 1.05 units per order
      - No upsells, no email lists (the big drawbacks of selling on Amazon)
      - Yes, $4 is take home profit after fees and everything
      - Well, I thought about sending people straight to the Amazon listing but I realise it would probably not be profitable. Although I wouldn't mind making only very little profit with the Facebook ads. This product gets very very few returns. And making more sales would boost the ranking on Amazon organic search and also lead to more reviews which would again boost ranking and improve conversion rate.

      A squeeze page would probably work quite well when doing a launch and giving away free or deeply discounted review copies. I think I will try that next time when I have a new product, instead of paying for a service like snagshout or amztracker. It shouldn't cost much more (maybe even less) and I would get a small email list as a bonus.
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    • Hey Joel, what a great thread! I'd have a few questions myself.

      Do you still keep your list around 20 items? Any specific reason to do so, from client perspective/keeping your inventory under control etc? Are you focusing on single category only? If the product doesn't sell as expected, do you remove it from the site? Thinking about necklaces here... what an ideal product from possible return and complaint standpoint

      About competition. I understood you are also testing/sourcing (design) from China, which means the same items are being sold on Ebay/Amazon/Aliexpress etc? One of the keys here is obviously fast shipping/your own brand, but does keeping ~100-500 item inventory gives you that much freedom to have a competitive offer over drop shippers, and worse, straight Aliexpress buyers?
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  • Hello I am also launching shopify store . Looking for some one to guide me for FB ads . How to create and bring Conversion . Looking for desperate help . Please can you do that kindly .
    • [1] reply
    • Hey, if you go to my blog (link in Bio) there is a good read on how to get a mentor and help...

  • joelraitt, What tools did you use to test your Facebook ads?
    • [1] reply
    • I don't use any, just FB conversion pixel!

  • Ok, thanks for the reply. I thought perhaps you had heard of Qwaya or used some other tools.
    • [1] reply
    • Ohh I see what you mean - I know a few people that use adespresso.com and like it. I'm going to test it in the next week or so!



  • Hi!
    is it better to us shopify for my ecommerce website or plugin in wordpress like woocommerce?

    thanks
    • [1] reply
    • I like shopify. I'm no an expert on woocommerce thought. Either test them out for what you want or just choose one. It will not make or break the success of your site.


  • New to ecommerce. Haven't set up my website yet or anything. Just wondering- would I be able to start without much money? I can use $29 for shopify, but then initially I only want to invest $50 for everything else. Is this something that could work?
    • [1] reply
    • Honestly....no. That is not enough capital to test ads, build sites, learn. You should save that money. Either start a service that helps people.....writing? Links? ANYTHING....or find a new or another job and save up $2000-$5000 to be safe.

      Cheers


  • Been a while since I read every post of a 3-page thread! Nice job and congrats on your success. Here's my question for you:

    You spend $90,000 Canadian per month, roughly $65K per month US dollars. Can you give a bit of advice to readers (and me) how you play the "credit card float" with that much monthly spend? Obviously, you must have several credit cards on account. Do they ever shut you down (or suspend your accounts) because you're so close to limit every month or because you're continuously spending and paying?

    This is what happened to me a few years ago so I stopped putting tens of thousands of dollars into cpc. I felt more like a guy in a casino bank moving money around all day than a marketer focusing on "selling." I have no idea how the guys manage spending $100,000 per month or more.
    • [1] reply
    • Hey! great questions...I do have the funds to float it at this level, but as I grow I may need to find more funds...

      I have had my CC max out faster then I thought, which pauses the ads. This is a huge pain. My CC only has 20,000 limit but I pay it off continually throughout the month. You're right it is a but of a 'moving money around' game but it's part of business.

      Before I had the cash to fund I had an affiliate campaign doing 30k+ a day with 10-15k spend a day. I had all my CC's maxed out. My bank account was EMPTY. I borrowed 5,000 from my parents. I then borrowed 30,000 from an industry friend. I had the affiliate network pay me ever 2X a week (I told them if they didn't the traffic would stop)

      My days were money management. it was risky but opportunities like that don't always come up. I paid everyone back. And once I had enough cash to fund myself it was a lot easier.

      I hope this helps...it's a good problem to have in my mind!


      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I know this thread is older but good Lord, I want to be you when I grow up.
  • I've been experimenting with fb ads and haven't figured them out yet. Do you advertise 1 product and send the customer to that product page? Or do you advertise your site or a product type, what?
    • [1] reply
    • Hey, good questions - I do 1 product in an add to 1 product page...less options and clear direction is important. We do see some people click an ad for SKU A but then buy SKU B but not huge.
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  • How big is your fb ads audience ? What is your conversion rate ?
    How many fan you have ?
    How many email you have ? You send them emails how often?
  • Hey,
    Thanks so much for being available to answer!!

    Could I ask what's you price range?
    Are most of your sales from cold traffic? first or second time to see you ads, then clicks and buys?
    What's your strategy in your fb marketing?
    What are the main messagese in you ads? just showcase the item picture and price? something else?

    How many people do you reach a day?
    How many of them click?
    How many of them buy the same day?
    Do you work with those not buying as well? (fb pixel? email capture? something else?)

    boy, would I like to get into you head for a day or two

    Thanks so much in advance!
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  • Which advice will give me about Aliexpress late delivery? Have been combating with that?
    • [1] reply
    • We ship to a warehouse in the USA and ship to consumers from there. I dont dropship, I think it's a short term business.
  • Do you recommend starting a store that is very, very niche specific ... like frog charms and necklaces (terrible example) or is a general store a better idea? In this case, animal themed jewelry. Not really burning a niche by using that example. Everyone and their mother is starting a Shopify store around animal trinkets.

    Do you get your samples from Aliexpress for the lower MOQ or go straight to Alibaba? Have you tried HKTDC or Global Sources?

    Thanks for any feedback.

    Ed
    • [1] reply
    • Hey! good questions - I like the ideas of a larger brand with 'more niche' items inside. I see a lot of people starting these kind of sites but think most will fade away.

      I got samples from a lot of people and places - mostly aliexpress and alibaba - but not i have 4 great suppliers we've build relationships with. Which is huge. Cheers
  • Have you tested adespresso yet?
    • [1] reply
  • Amazon generate $1,000,000 revenue per employee per year, they have buying power and complete automation, anyone doing more than low to mid $100,000s as one person is lying or cheating or both, has access to technology only the largest multi-nationals in the world have, or works in the financial sector.
    • [1] reply
    • hahaha not sure what you're saying - but we do have 4 part time employees all work from home and their own ours... and we do well over your mid 100,000 a month. and of course we use tools and technology....that's the whole point...leveraging them.

      cheers!
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  • Hey Joel! I will appreciate any insights.

    I have made some research and found few products that sells and added them to my website (using Shopify)
    I have picked one of them and started to create few ads - it went pretty bad. I have tried to play with the targets a bit but the results are the same - I have ended up investing about $100 which generated me some decent clicks, but only 10 people got to the checkout page, none of them bought anything.

    I also have to say that I don't have CC option in my website - only Paypal is available. Do you think it have influence?

    I will be very happy to get some Facebook ADS tips from you, because this will get me started.
    Thanks!
    • [2] replies
    • Even though I'm not him I can tell you that generating direct leads/sales from Paid Social Media advertising is quite hard. 100$ is not much, taking into consideration that a usual ad needs a lot of splittesting and enhancing overtime to become successful. Last but not least, your site needs to be converting as well of course. I know many shop owners getting like 10 checkouts a day but only 1 sale.

      Only using PayPal is also a big loss. Sure, PayPal its important, but a lot of customers pay with CC, so you will definetly lose some customers there.

      My tips for FB Ads are that you give it a higher budget and test different thing, call to actions, ad images, descriptions and target groups. Always test one factor at a time and see what works. Once you find a promising combination, go with it. At the same time your shop has to go along with your ad. Example: if your ad says "luxury premium quality glasses" but your customer lands on a colorful, sketchy website, he will immediately get confused or leave due to distrust.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • Depending on how many clicks you got for $100 - 10 to the check out isnt to bad - do you have high shipping rates? what would be stopping them from finishing?

      We get about 60% using credit card and 40% use paypal.

      My tips - depending on your budget and costs and price of unit - test lots of images, headlines, targeting!!!! we make hundreds of ads a week at least!



  • I have a question about shopify: is selling adult products an issue on Shopify? i would use amazon FBA to fulfill orders, but what would you recommend for advertising? FB ads for adult products? I have been selling successfully on amazon for a while but adult products are not eligible for amz sponsored ads. Considering moving over to Shopify and would love to hear your take on it.
    • [2] replies
    • Shopify will be okay with it, but payment gateways may not be. I don't think Stripe will allow it. You'll have to shop around for a payment gateway that allows it.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • id ask shopify - i know FB doesn't allow it though - good luck
  • Have you tried Bing along with Shopify or is it that it just doesn't work?
    • [2] replies
    • Hi - thanks for the response. Actually I am just trying to figure out where to start. I am in the process of setting up my shopify store now. So you would recommend Bing? are they more lenient on adult product ads?
      • [3] replies
    • I have not but it's on my list of things to try - ive stuck with my success but im starting to try other platforms as well. chhers!
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    hey.. great .. congrats on your success ..
    I am on close to start my own shopify store .. Everything is sought out , means the product research , fulfillment etcetc ..The main concern of mine is that i have very limited budget . So what what u recommend a newbie, either i go for free traffic generation ( have a method) or go for fb traffic .. And do u recommend any good learning source .. ( if any )..
    Looking forward for answer ..
    Thanks
  • 7-10K a day is great...you should may be look into putting your sales model as an ebook or training for newbies. Even you can sell the program since it makes so much income, I am sure there will be a market who wants to learn...Not sure about shopify though...
    • [1] reply
    • hey - yah its really not the complicated! set up site, test ads, repeat and scale haha - im not looking to be a guru or get into the guru game there are a few good ones to learn from out there now though!


  • I agree with other posters. This may be one of the few threads that I have read every post on 4 pages. I get the whole concept pretty good. It seems the concept and process is the science. The art seems to be product selection and Ad testing.
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks! You summed it up very nicely between the sciene and art. dont over think it and just do it.
  • Do your product ads advertise direct to high ticket items or do you use more of a lower end to attract attention?
    • [1] reply
    • we're lower price points from 15-45USD good luck!
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    • I'm sorry I have no idea what you're talking about.

  • 1. I want to sell watches and my profit will be $25-$35 per sale. Do you think that spending on FB ads will bring enough customers to earn me profit?
    2. Do you use AliExpress?
    • [1] reply
    • So you have 25-35 to spend on ads and break even? You need to get a sale for $20 or less to earn $5-$15?

      Might be tough on those numbers once you ad refunds and others costs! I used to use aliexpress but don't now!
      • [1] reply
  • Hello can you please recommend how can i find someone to run my facebook ads?

    I have all the knowledge about prodcut sourcing , just lack of knowledge in facebook marketing
    please let me know
  • Hey Joel, I have a store that has been operating for about 6 months. I am getting low traffic, but a very low bounce rate. I am having some conversion issues though. My product is sharp and competitively priced. I am having success in wholesale but need to get my conversion rate up online. Did you have any challenges with conversion in the beginning?
    • [1] reply
    • Read books on direct response marketing to increase conversions! The old school guys like olgilvy, sugarmen and the best.
  • Hi Joel,

    thanks for this thread

    I have a variety of experience with IM, but have never done ecommerce.

    I am currently building a WordPress site where I will have lots of affiliate products, such as posters. Looking at the seller's site, it's possible to search by artist, by color, by price-range, by topic etc. I would like my site to be able to do that.

    I considered using Tags for searchable items, but I don't think that will work because I don't think it makes sense to have a different Post for each product . . . for posters what seems to make sense is to have fairly small images, lots to a page.

    So, using the ecommerce approach, is there any way to do this? I guess I want to add Tags to each product (not to a Post or Page), and show multiple products per page (as most similar sites would do). Is that possible? If that can be done, can it integrate well with WordPress?

    Thanks in advance for any info on how it might be possible to do this.

    Chris
    • [1] reply
    • I think the affiliates should have the ability to add it and tag each product. I don't know much about this side of things unfortunately! I also find less products is better!

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • What do you think about Shopify and here is such a theme https://themeforest.net/item/yoursto...theme/15812829
    i like it very well
  • Seems like you're using a POD? Ive been manufacturing and selling physical products and using a model like this, im clearing about 12k ish a month profit. Have you used anything else aside from FB ads?

    Im beginning to consider Pinterest but mainly for women
    • [1] reply
    • hey, not even sure what POD stands for? We have been testing pinterest of late - nothing groundbreaking yet but there is hope!
  • Hello everyone,

    I would like to have your advice on my new dropshipping site Wood Stuffs – You've never wooded this good

    It's specialized in wooden jewelry and accessories. I ran some adwords and fb ads along with instagram ads. I get a few visits (around 200 a day) but so far I've only made 3 sales in 2 weeks.

    Could you please take a look and tell me how I can improve it ?

    Thanks a lot,
  • If you don't have your own products and want to sell ready made products what prevents people from just going to amazon instead for usually you get a ridiculously low price over there.

    Also, if you don't want to buy products yourself and keep inventory but have it all automated. What are the options?

    Tim.
    • [1] reply
    • Getting a job sounds like a good option! It's all don't won't and can't - option is to change that.
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  • 1. How did you choose which products to sell?
    2. International shipping?
    3. Can you elaborate on what fulfillment houses actually do for you? Is it like a warehouse that stores and ships all your items for you?
    4. When you package your products, do you place your own company logo on it and repackage?
    5. Do you do email marketing as well?

    Many thanks! I am looking to create a new online shop, but I do not have the details ironed out yet...
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • 1) We tested a lot. In our niche we have over 250 SKUs now. Some work most don't! We design them all in house.

      2) Yah

      3) They store the goods, pack the goods, print the label and ship the goods to the customer! You need this when you get big enough.

      4) It comes with branded packaging yes

      5) yup, bi-weekly emails releasing new products and flash sales - does well

      cheers
  • Great earnings!

    My question - Do you create your own physical products? like tshirts and mugs? if yes, where you get design & make them?

    For a starter like me, do you recommend to start with AliExpress and not start out creating my own shirts & mugs?

    Cheers
    • [1] reply
    • We do all our own design internally. Aliexpress is an ok place to test a concept but after that IMO you need to warehouse and ship from the USA.
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  • Hi Joel thank you for this valuable information
    Are you using eBay or AliExpress for dropshipping?

    Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Neither. I don't believe that is a long-term business.
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  • Hello,

    I want to ask if there are people out there that use dropshippers outside their home country for 3rd party selling?

    I am based in Srilanka, but I want to resell US products from aliexpress. Its unable to alccess paypal from my country so I registered with 2checkout (srilankan account).

    I bet there are many people outside USA who do this legally without issues, any feedback is welcome.

    Thanks
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  • Hey Joel,

    Congrats on your success. Really great job man! You are a huge inspiration for me.

    I'm starting my own store and I've got a few questions for you:
    1. What's your traffic split by sources? As I understand you do a lot of FB ads. Do you use any other sources of paid traffic?
    2. Are you selling International? If yes, how much does it cost you to acquire a customer on FB in those countries? How does that compare to US customers? How much cheaper are your ads when you advertise internationally?
    3. If you sell International, how do you do fulfillment? Do you recommend to go International if I'm just starting my store or I should first establish presence in the US?
    4. How much of your sales %-wise come from emails you send?
    5. Do you mind sharing fulfillment center that you use and fulfillment/storage rates that you pay?

    I am just starting an online shop and looking for a good fulfillment center. I checked Rakuten and Shipwire but their pricing seems to be too high and I've heard so many negative reviews about them.

    Cheers!
    • [1] reply
    • OK here you go, good questions below:

      1) FB, email, retargeting via display, google, pinterest

      2) yes, its not a lot cheaper but we focus mostly on other english / higher cost countries

      3) tough call - i think international has a lot of potencial but the USA is a massive market

      4) 10% or so id say

      5) send me a private message - it's a friends company but they have specific minimums!

      cheers and good luck!

      • [1] reply
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  • Hi,

    I am in Canada, and currently doing dropshipping from AliExpress. I have some winning products that I would like to scale and deliver faster to customers. i was thinking about importing them from China to a US warehouse and have the warehouse sending the items to customers. However, I am really lost on the logistics to import the products (shipping, freights, insurance, clearing customs, send it to a warehouse, fulfilment from the warehouse, etc.

    I wonder if you can guide me on how to do this? Are you working with any door to door service or fulfilment service, etc. Any help/guidance on this would be much appreciated.

    Thank you!
    • [1] reply
    • Don't try to learn the shipping rules and regulations. I have taught hundreds sufficient basic understanding to enable them to safely handle sourcing from China and have them sold on Amazon USA.

      Without that basic understanding you could be in for some rude and costly shocks. See my thread Ask Me Anything About Product Sourcing And Importing For Profit. ― Veteran Importer Here. where you can have all your sourcing and importing questions answered. I don't pretend that you will learn there everything you need to know, because I can't publish all 133 pages of my book, but at least it will give you some understanding of what is involved.

      Walter Hay
      Provenchinasourcing.com
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
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  • I had started with bonanza.com and etsy.com. I think this is best platform without investing money but shopify not work without money. Thanks..
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  • Joel, what is the percentage of repeat customers that you have? as the quantity of different products that you sell is quite low (about 120 different items, as you said)
    • [1] reply
    • Hey, so we're up to 300+ SKUs now, so that helps! With more coming in! We're expanding product lines with other exclusive items

      I just looked at this data the last couple months (they have been growth months so the % is lower than normal) but about 15% of our sales were from repeat buyers.

      Again, this is during a time we are acquiring a lot of new customers so it throws the % off as most don't but more than once with-in a month!

      I'd like to get that % from past customers higher - but at the same time if we continue aggressive growth that's tougher! It's better to look at LTV vs % of new vs old.

      Cheers
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Hi Joel, thank you for so much information. It is really good stuff! One question I have is about finding new products? Do you have a process you go through to determine if a product is worthy of being offered? I'd like to get a sense of your mindset as to how you view potential new offerings. Thank you!
    • [1] reply
    • We have a niche and we know that niche. We still only get the odd big winner - about 7-8% of the time. It's so hard to know so instead of focusing on that we focus on trying lots while keeping the cost to do so down.


  • Joel,

    From your experience, what brings best CPC, CTR, ROI?
    DT feed? DT right column? mobile? audience network? Insta?

    Also, if you can please share what is your average CTR?

    thanks!!
    • [1] reply
    • Sure:

      Each is different - we even find different SKU'S are better for different placements. We test the main 3 each time in a split test. IG doesn't work for us.

      Our CTR is around .9% average - CPC average of .90 to $1.20

      Good luck


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    • Some good thoughts from 'leader'

      I have found wit our site the #1variable BY FAR is the product. You can come up with the most amazing headline, ad copy, scarcity, social proof, reciprocity, urgency and more....but if the product is not something that people are emotional about and really REALLY want it won't matter much.

      TLDR: Test more products with basic copy till you find one that hits that emotional factor.




      • [ 1 ] Thanks
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  • Hi Joel, great info, thanks!

    From what I understand you are located in Canada running your business "located" in the US and getting its stuff from china or wherever the manufacturers are, right?

    Do you need a US adress?

    Thanks ! =)
  • Hey Joel, thanks for the amazing insight btw!

    Are your FB ads still running as well as they did six months ago?

    Reason I ask is bc I'm noticing a lot of the successful people in this industry are turning more to Google/Yahoo/Bing for their marketing, thought maybe FB is cutting it anymore.
    • [1] reply
    • It's been up and down for sure, but we've kept it going!
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  • hi joelraitt, i like your thread..i have a question about facebook ads website conversion. I use website conversion to promote my items, and at day 1 - day 2, its have 140 reach but still no click (its already spend $7), do i need to continue my ads or still keep it running? i have read about web conversion before, facebook need some days to collect the data to send the ads to the right person... but i dont know, how many days i need to hold my ads, if no click after 140 reach do i need to keep it running or not, how many click / reach If ads are considered good at day 1,2,3 ?... so need help about this problem... thank you
    • [1] reply
  • What kind of ROI can one achieve via FB+Shopify?

    Is 200-300% ROI achieveable?
    • [1] reply
    • We don't hit that but I'm very confident that people do.
  • Sir, what are the benefits of using shopify over other technology? In terms of cost, maintenance and quality.
    • [1] reply
    • It never really goes down, fast support, good CRM, always improving.
  • how do you get your first sale? I've also used FB ads but not getting anything.
    • [1] reply
    • Via a facebook post to one of my niche pages, then grew with ads. The first 100 sales are the hardest!
  • Hey Joel! Before I embark on my journey I need to clarify something first.

    Whats Ad Types, Website Conversion or PPE?

    Do i do view content, add to cart then optimize for purchase as the campaign goes on?

    Or start off with PPE @ $2 a dayt (run for 2-3 days) if social engagment is good. scale to $7 wait a day or two then convert to website conversion?

    Or do i got it all wrong? I'm having trouble finding a definitive answer.
  • What kind of items are you selling? Can you post a link to your website store?
  • Hey,

    "Whats Ad Types, Website Conversion or PPE?" start with earlier funnel (clicks or add to cart) until you have enough data for conversions.

    "Do i do view content, add to cart then optimize for purchase as the campaign goes on?" = i would

    "Or start off with PPE @ $2 a dayt (run for 2-3 days) if social engagment is good. scale to $7 wait a day or two then convert to website conversion?" = not sure on this big

    Good luck!
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  • Are you working with any Shopify facebook pixel app in your ad campaigns? I am thinking to buy Trackify.
  • Hey Joel, thanks for this thread. I've been selling on Amazon, but I'm going to be switching to something different where I can sell at the price I want, have upsells, collect emails, and sell on the back end.

    Learned a lot from this thread, I hope your biz is still kicking butt.
    • [1] reply
    • I would not abandon Amazon, but I would open my own eCommerce store. Why not get a kick start to your own eCommerce business by taking advantage of the big traffic on Amazon?

      There is a way to get at least some of your Amazon customers to buy direct after buying through Amazon, and it can be done without breaking Amazon's TOS.

      Brand or label your products and be sure to include the URL of your eCommerce store in the label. Not everyone will visit your site after they receive your delivery and see the URL, but enough will to make it worth your while.

      If you make your store attractive enough, people will browse it. If you make it worth their while to stay long enough to buy something - maybe with a special deal - you will have gained their email address.

      While you are going to the trouble of labeling, you should consider making it outstanding so that your brand will become memorable.

      I have taught a lot of people how to do that. It's a great way to scale your business.

      Walter Hay
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • What is your single most criteria to select a product for testing the market? Thanks
  • What key metrics do you sir track?
  • Really great

    Making 7k-10k sales in a day is really greate.
  • this still works today?
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • The things have changed since 2015 but I think Shopify has improved by the time. Hope you are still getting those numbers and may be higher than that. Do you use any FB automation tools to automate your campaigns?
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