Money still to be made on a new ecommerce site?

12 years ago

Originally Posted by KRobertson

Long story short... I attempted to make money online through affiliate marketing and by having my own product on my site and through trying to build a list and do email marketing. Everything was set up and I tried to market my site mainly through forum marketing (having my link in my sig on various sites in my niche) and unfortunately I had no such luck. I already had a pretty high post count, and about 2 week after continuously posting with my link in my sig, helping others, providing great content, I didn't get ANY sign ups! Needless to say I felt very discouraged and am pretty sure I'm at my "giving up" point.

SO... I still want to make money online and now I think I want to change directions and try ecommerce with drop shipping. My only fear is that... there are a million little ecommerce stores out there. How would I create one from scratch (not having any previous ecommerce experience) and be successful at it?

I thought selling info products was going to be the way to go, but after seriously attempting this route and not having ANY success... I just don't think I'm cut out for it. I finally stopped the shiny object syndrome and seriously committed to my site and marketing it, but I'm still at zero sign ups. So I'm thinking ecommerce might be fun.

Has anyone had any such luck with ecommerce? Have any advice or tips you could give a beginner? I already asked in another thread about WSOs I can buy or any books that can help me. I'm willing to put in the time and effort to learn this stuff, I just don't know where to begin, and I don't really know if I actually have a shot at being successful. Thanks

could take days to explain this as your picking broad far reaching topics.

1. Drop shipping go here: Building eCommerce Sites - Wholesale, Drop Shipping

2. Ecommerce - multiple platforms to choose. Free: Wordpress, Opencart. Paid: BigCommerce, Shopify. You must first establish if you want to be a producer or a reseller. That will put you on different paths. If you decide to be a reseller...see #1. If you want to produce something...it would take must more discussion than can be covered in single. post.

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Bellerine 12 years ago

To summarize first, yes, money can still be made from an ecommerce site.

I know that beginning can be overwhelming and I applaud the fact that you took action. Great first steps. That said, two weeks of posting on a single forum with your site in your signature does not really qualify as giving it everything.

Include a blog on your site, with relevant, unique and quality content. Find related blogs to guest post on. Syndicate some related articles. Incorporate social media marketing. Answer questions on other forums as well, and on Yahoo, Ask, etc. These are all free.

Consider spending some money on paid advertising as well, like adwords or with Bing. Watch the analytic results to find out what is working. Increase those that work and nix those that do not. Fiverr gigs can also produce some bang for your buck.

Check out your competition. Do a search to see where their links are, especially anything resulting in positive feedback. Steal what you like/think is working for them and offer your products for 10% less.

Basically, use every method available to you rather than just one forum. Give it some time. Though two weeks can seem like a lot when you are anxious and working hard, it really isn't enough time to decide if something is worth pursuing or not.

Good luck!
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Marketing Fool

12 years ago

Just because no one clicked you signature link on your forum posts doesn't mean you should give up and switch to an entirely different industry (ecommerce). It just means you need to tweak your sig file...or focus on different ways to drive traffic to your site.

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KRobertson

12 years ago

thanks for your replies...

I think another reason I got discouraged with my current site is because it is in a niche other than "making money online". A friend of mine who actually owns a web marketing company told be that it's basically impossible to make money online UNLESS your either

a) Are in the MMO niche, selling products to other people teaching them how to MMO
or
b) Have what he called a "Disneyland" site. I think he basically meant an authority site... with LOADS of valuable info and tons of links coming in and out.

But he said a simple site like mine isn't going to make me much, if anything. So after that I still thought I could get sign ups by way of social media marketing and forum marketing, (the only two that I've REALLY tried hard at) and like I said, zero sign ups. I do have a blog and although I have less than 10 posts, they are all unique with valuable content. I guess it's just hard to "keep on going" with zero results thus far.

Thanks

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Bellerine

12 years ago

Though I'm sure your friend is well-intentioned, he's plain wrong. There are tons of opportunities to make money outside of those two examples. Also, there is no reason your e-commerce site cannot be a "Disneyland" source of information, or you could create an informational site that establishes your authority and works as a sales funnel. Ten posts is a good start, keep going. If there are other such sites that are focused on information rather than e-commerce, establish a relationship with their owners and offer them great, relevant content (with a link to your site in the author box or in the body of course.)

Have you considered creating an opt-in with a giveaway to build a list related to your niche?

If you have a budget, consider getting some affiliates. Maybe register with Clickbank.

Building a successful e-commerce site is going to take work and time. There's really no way around that.

Don't let two weeks discourage you. You have an e-commerce site up and running. Don't throw away the work that took. I don't mean to be harsh but if you're willing to throw in the towel when you don't immediately see success, you're in for a rough ride.

Instead, commit. Once you've decided, truly, that you WILL make it work you will have the mindset to do what it takes. There are a bunch of suggestions in this thread and all over this forum. Read them, understand them, and IMPLEMENT them. When you're determined, you will succeed.

Thanks
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Joe Crosbie 12 years ago

If you only put two weeks of effort it, you're not going to be cut out for anything.

Just saying.

Try changing tactics, analyse your plan.

It could just be that the wrong people are finding your site, change plans, don't give up after two weeks.

Joe Crosbie
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I recently hit the "RESTART" button on my life, read my personal blog to find out how I did it :)
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- mrkitty 12 years ago
  
  Whoah, 2 whole weeks? You should have made enough to retire in that much time.
  
  Thanks
  
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KRobertson

12 years ago

Thanks for the snarky comments... shows u guys clearly can't read. I'm not looking for huge success in 2 weeks... I'm simply saying how I'm shocked and disapointed that after 2 weeks of forum marketing I haven't received a single sign up. It's not like I want to give up just based on that... but that was something that I wasn't expecting. I have several reasons for thinking about giving up that's just a small reason because I thought forum marketing was going to be a huge traffic source for me and it's turning out not to be the case.

Thanks
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Bellerine

12 years ago

Originally Posted by KRobertson

Thanks for the snarky comments... shows u guys clearly can't read. I'm not looking for huge success in 2 weeks... I'm simply saying how I'm shocked and disapointed that after 2 weeks of forum marketing I haven't received a single sign up. It's not like I want to give up just based on that... but that was something that I wasn't expecting. I have several reasons for thinking about giving up that's just a small reason because I thought forum marketing was going to be a huge traffic source for me and it's turning out not to be the case.

Try not be defensive and lash out. You asked for feedback on an open forum, not everybody is going to be nice. It doesn't mean nobody is saying anything valid. Part of this business is a thick skin. I learned that the hard way, too.

I've offered the information I could, without seeing your site or knowing your niche. Other people have given suggestions as well. This forum is chock FULL of good information. That you thought you'd get all the traffic you need from posting with a signature link in one forum proves you can't read, not us.

Still, we did offer what help we could. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, sister. I'm still willing to help. I'd be happy to check out your site if you want to share the link and elaborate on anything I know that you'd like to.

Thanks

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KRobertson

12 years ago

And yes I have a freebie to give away for opt-ins but I still haven't been able to make one sign up :/

Thanks

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Chris Silvey

12 years ago

Originally Posted by KRobertson

Long story short... I attempted to make money online through affiliate marketing and by having my own product on my site and through trying to build a list and do email marketing. Everything was set up and I tried to market my site mainly through forum marketing (having my link in my sig on various sites in my niche) and unfortunately I had no such luck. I already had a pretty high post count, and about 2 week after continuously posting with my link in my sig, helping others, providing great content, I didn't get ANY sign ups! Needless to say I felt very discouraged and am pretty sure I'm at my "giving up" point.

SO... I still want to make money online and now I think I want to change directions and try ecommerce with drop shipping. My only fear is that... there are a million little ecommerce stores out there. How would I create one from scratch (not having any previous ecommerce experience) and be successful at it?

I thought selling info products was going to be the way to go, but after seriously attempting this route and not having ANY success... I just don't think I'm cut out for it. I finally stopped the shiny object syndrome and seriously committed to my site and marketing it, but I'm still at zero sign ups. So I'm thinking ecommerce might be fun.

Has anyone had any such luck with ecommerce? Have any advice or tips you could give a beginner? I already asked in another thread about WSOs I can buy or any books that can help me. I'm willing to put in the time and effort to learn this stuff, I just don't know where to begin, and I don't really know if I actually have a shot at being successful. Thanks

Years ago I tried to go up against NewEgg.com and I have learned a ton from a 3 year battle and failure.

Step 1 - Make sure your Distributor/Drop shippers wholesale rates give you leverage to compete against your retail competition. Do this first before spending a dime.

Step 2 - Research and find a suitable ecommerce platform that is SEO friendly.

Step 3 - Find a reliable Host

Step 4 - Build your Catalog. Several distributors and manufacturers provide product information from SKU, Images, long and short Descriptions.

When you get this information. Rewrite/Spin Everything from Title, descriptions, image alt tags and so on. This will give you a boost in SERPs. A lot of pages from ecommerce sites do not get indexed because of duplicate content. Some I have even seen marked as spam on Google reports.

Thanks

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Money still to be made on a new ecommerce site?

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