PROGRESS UPDATE: My online art business
Hi everyone,
Instead of sucking all your knowledge and running off into the sunset I thought I would share with the knowledgeable folk on Warrior forum about the 15 month journey that our website has taken. We had no prior eCommerce or any technical experience.
Here's our story:
We purchased the website on Flippa. http://tinyurl.com/ce7wm3l
We saw that the previous owner had put a lot of effort and money in building a site and community but after a few years they gave up. Having a mild interest in art we could see the potential, the website was also good because it also didn't hold any stock. We wanted to get into the eCommerce space.
When we bought it the website was run down and was receiving less than 75 unique visitors a day. Apparently the previous owner had done some 'SEO work' on it but it turns out that the work that was done was insignificant.
We started off by making a few small tweaks to the site. In the whole scheme of this they didn't too much so best not to talk about them.
We asked for feedback from our Artists to see what they thought needed improving.
In the end we decided that the website whole website would need a major overhaul.
Here is what we did
1. We implemented a number of improvements to optimise our site for search
Headings, image tags, url structure, we increased the artists profile section to include more text and information.
2. We began offering Credit Card and Amex (previously only PayPal)
The PayPal checkout system previously was a 4 step process that was hugely clunky. We reduce checkout to 2 pages and begun offering credit card and amex. I think this factor alone has contributed hugely to increased sales.
3. We abolished the previous commission structure and simplified everything with a 30% flat commission
4. We offered an all-inclusive price on our website which include shipping
Previously people would abandon checkout once they go the shipping cost, we wanted to put a stop to that.
5. PPC on Google / Facebook
We recently begun PPC on Google, the jury is still out if this is contributing to our site. I know we are not doing this right.
6. Include a telephone number on our site
When people spend thousands of dollars on an item they just want someone to speak to. I think this is an often overlooked factor for some online businesses.
7. Google Analytics
Understanding how people are getting to our site, what makes them stay and getting an idea on shopping cart abandonment is invaluable
Here are our plans for generating traffic.
1. Hire a PR agent for offline marketing
2. Develop a social media strategy and manage it on a daily basis (outsource)
3. Create some videos about the site and our artists
4. Write more content for out blog
5. Offer free content to other related sites
6. Offer an affiliate program
Happy to answer any questions people may have.
I would love to hear suggestions about driving traffic and any other comments about the site.
Any warrior forum service recommendations would also be appreciated.
Any advice on increasing conversions would also be helpful.
Instead of sucking all your knowledge and running off into the sunset I thought I would share with the knowledgeable folk on Warrior forum about the 15 month journey that our website has taken. We had no prior eCommerce or any technical experience.
Here's our story:
We purchased the website on Flippa. http://tinyurl.com/ce7wm3l
We saw that the previous owner had put a lot of effort and money in building a site and community but after a few years they gave up. Having a mild interest in art we could see the potential, the website was also good because it also didn't hold any stock. We wanted to get into the eCommerce space.
When we bought it the website was run down and was receiving less than 75 unique visitors a day. Apparently the previous owner had done some 'SEO work' on it but it turns out that the work that was done was insignificant.
We started off by making a few small tweaks to the site. In the whole scheme of this they didn't too much so best not to talk about them.
We asked for feedback from our Artists to see what they thought needed improving.
In the end we decided that the website whole website would need a major overhaul.
Here is what we did
1. We implemented a number of improvements to optimise our site for search
Headings, image tags, url structure, we increased the artists profile section to include more text and information.
2. We began offering Credit Card and Amex (previously only PayPal)
The PayPal checkout system previously was a 4 step process that was hugely clunky. We reduce checkout to 2 pages and begun offering credit card and amex. I think this factor alone has contributed hugely to increased sales.
3. We abolished the previous commission structure and simplified everything with a 30% flat commission
4. We offered an all-inclusive price on our website which include shipping
Previously people would abandon checkout once they go the shipping cost, we wanted to put a stop to that.
5. PPC on Google / Facebook
We recently begun PPC on Google, the jury is still out if this is contributing to our site. I know we are not doing this right.
6. Include a telephone number on our site
When people spend thousands of dollars on an item they just want someone to speak to. I think this is an often overlooked factor for some online businesses.
7. Google Analytics
Understanding how people are getting to our site, what makes them stay and getting an idea on shopping cart abandonment is invaluable
Here are our plans for generating traffic.
1. Hire a PR agent for offline marketing
2. Develop a social media strategy and manage it on a daily basis (outsource)
3. Create some videos about the site and our artists
4. Write more content for out blog
5. Offer free content to other related sites
6. Offer an affiliate program
Happy to answer any questions people may have.
I would love to hear suggestions about driving traffic and any other comments about the site.
Any warrior forum service recommendations would also be appreciated.
Any advice on increasing conversions would also be helpful.