From Affiliate Marketing To Importing And Ecommerce

[Paul Thomas]

Well, really there are two testing periods. First period is just to see if you can get sales or not. Second part is when you know you can sell it, you try and establish a base CPA to know that you can at least break even on the product. You know that if you can get a CPA that is close to workable (since the CPA is the last piece of the expense puzzle as all the other expense already known) you can adjust the funnel/optimize the targeting/etc to really make it profitable after you have the product and can steam roll with the social proof.

This makes sense. Thanks! Let me see if I understand - do both of the below happen BEFORE ordering any product? Or does #2 happen after you order seeing that #1 worked?

1. You pick a product based on what you think an audience might want, create an ad > Shopify landing page with *broad targeting* of your audience to see if people add to cart -> checkout and get the out of stock message. Before doing this you place a pixel on your page to gather data on whose buying.
2. Once you see if people are doing this, you use pixel data (optimize targeting) test new ads, tweak shopify page (optimize funnel), to lower CPA

Or do you typically do both of these before you order any product - ie. once you know your selling price, cost/unit, shipping costs/unit, and conservative potential CPA - you can calc a margin range and see if it will be worth your time to make an order.

Thanks!!!!!!!

 

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[hughjasle]

do both of the below happen BEFORE ordering any product?

Don't put too much thought into this. There isn't a right or wrong way to do this.

But I would do #2 both before and after order the product.

I do it just a little before the product gets in as I want to find a base CPA to know if I can actually make money before dropping $10k and 1-3 months in getting inventory.

Then once the product is in I really start digging into it and base all my decisions off the data. Which change products better results. And I keep doing it for the life of that product. Always try and better it.

 

[Paul Thomas]

Don't put too much thought into this. There isn't a right or wrong way to do this.

But I would do #2 both before and after order the product.

I do it just a little before the product gets in as I want to find a base CPA to know if I can actually make money before dropping $10k and 1-3 months in getting inventory.

Then once the product is in I really start digging into it and base all my decisions off the data. Which change products better results. And I keep doing it for the life of that product. Always try and better it.

Thank you! And I think a final question - what photos/videos did you use on tester ads when you don't own the product? You could always use competitors but might have legal issues.

Sorry if this answered before.

 

[hughjasle]

How are your Photoshop skills? Get the images from the manufacturer and place your logo on it if needed. Otherwise you can also get someone of fiverr to digitally make you an image. Lots of ways to skin this cat. Pick one and go.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

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[Dazed]

Hi Hugh, love this thread - it's really inspirational.

My question is regarding Facebook video adverts. Do you have any tips for high converting adverts or any resources you can recommend?

 

[LPPC]

I've created a facebook ad video and a good looking shopify site. I'm going to test this product by letting the costumers order the product and then refund the money because I am out of inventory (like you said @hughjasle ).

I've read this entire thread again, but I couldn't find the answer to the following question. To make the ad appear on the Facebook news feed, you have to create a facebook page for it. @hughjasle Do you create facebook page content for this phase of the testing? Because I am afraid that when people click on the facebook page link instead of the shopify link , they will see an empty page with 0 likes and that will turn them off because there is no social proof. How much page building should I do at this stage?

Is there a way to prevent the costumers from visiting the facebook page?

Or am I overthinking this and I should just create a facebook page and leave it empty?

Thanks again!

 

[hughjasle]

Hi Hugh, love this thread - it's really inspirational.

My question is regarding Facebook video adverts. Do you have any tips for high converting adverts or any resources you can recommend?

Get customers to send in videos and use those. Works great for me.

 

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[hughjasle]

I've created a facebook ad video and a good looking shopify site. I'm going to test this product by letting the costumers order the product and then refund the money because I am out of inventory (like you said @hughjasle ).

I've read this entire thread again, but I couldn't find the answer to the following question. To make the ad appear on the Facebook news feed, you have to create a facebook page for it. @hughjasle Do you create facebook page content for this phase of the testing? Because I am afraid that when people click on the facebook page link instead of the shopify link , they will see an empty page with 0 likes and that will turn them off because there is no social proof. How much page building should I do at this stage?

Is there a way to prevent the costumers from visiting the facebook page?

Or am I overthinking this and I should just create a facebook page and leave it empty?

Thanks again!

Definitely put some content on the FB page. And continually use the FB page to post. Content is king.

But dont worry about ppl clicking your ad and going to your page. Very small number of ppl with do this.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[LPPC]

Definitely put some content on the FB page. And continually use the FB page to post. Content is king.

But dont worry about ppl clicking your ad and going to your page. Very small number of ppl with do this.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

So if I understand it correctly, for testing whether there is demand for this product you don't need content and you can leave the page empty. But once you have bought inventory and are really selling the items, then content is very important. Is that correct?

Thanks man!

Edit: it's also really hard to post content related to this product, because I don't have the product yet. Only thing I can do is copy the competitor's content with their branded products in the videos/content...

 

[hughjasle]

So if I understand it correctly, for testing whether there is demand for this product you don't need content and you can leave the page empty. But once you have bought inventory and are really selling the items, then content is very important. Is that correct?

Thanks man!

Wrong, reverse that.

Put up some content on the FB page right from the start. It only takes 10 minutes to do so why not.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

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[LPPC]

Wrong, reverse that.

Put up some content on the FB page right from the start. It only takes 10 minutes to do so why not.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Got it! Thanks a bunch, rep transferred

 

[Paul Thomas]

In this type of facebook advertising testing is there need to worry about being ban/account deleted without cloak, etc like AM? This would be a significant reason to do this over AM

 

[hughjasle]

In this type of facebook advertising testing is there need to worry about being ban/account deleted

Always need to worry about losing your account. BUT in theory (depending on what you are promoting and how you are doing it) you SHOULD be following FB's rules and thus the risk is much less.

But don't look at that as a reason to follow the rules. Facebook's system is freaking amazing and is continually improving and adding to it. Mastering how to advertise on a platform is like mastering any other high paid profession and it will pay off dearly. Or better for all the younger ones here, it's like really mastering a video game. No cheat codes used. Which is more valuable, genuinely being good and dominating punks on Call of Duty, or putting in some god mode code to win? Each get you the win, but one is clearly better.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Thanks again for the responses to my rapid questions - I've reread your thread one more time before jumping in and have some other questions whenever you have a chance:

1. Do you create a new FB account for each product / use your personal account (if not, would this be fine) / create a new account to umbrella all products, but separate from personal? Sorry to continue asking on this, I've done AM on mobile sources which are far more "aggressive" and know affiliates that do FB, and there is so much around accounts that i know zero about.

2. From the first couple of pages of this post: "I originally spent $80 just testing the ad itself looking to see how many clicks I got and what kind of CPM I could get. Once I saw that was good is when I set up the Shopify page and all that and made a legit ad going to that page. I spent $100 on that test that yielded the 13 sales that I had to refund." What is the process for the just testing of the ad itself? Do you still think its necessary? Is this where you set up a PPE ad?

3. Kind of related to #2, when you say you put content on your page. You are creating a page for the product's brand and just putting relevant content/photos/industry related knowledge? Is this for the ad test part before running ads to Shopify?

4. Finally, from one of the first pages again relating to people researching products when they see your ad: "
I'm sure many people do. "That's what I'd do myself - most of the time. However if there was a product I liked (like mine) and I saw a massive sale was going on and I know it was ending soon, I'd do it. This just comes down to marketing. Show people the current solution to their problem and how it's wrong, then show them your solution and how much better it is. Make the price seem like a no brainer and to get it at that price they have to act now as it's gonna sell out fast (which it did)." Do you have any examples (not yours of course) of great facebook ads that do this? Would be extremely helpful to see a template. Do you always use newsfeed placements to do this or the sidebar placements as well?

5. For videos, do you create your own or use a stock vid that manufacturer has?

Please let me know if you have any clarifications!

Thanks!

 

[hughjasle]

Please let me know if you have any clarifications!

Wow dude. question overload 100%. You even got me confused. For the sake of everyone else who follows this thread I will go through what you wrote and try to lay it out nice and neat for everyone to clearly understand.

However now is not that time. I'm a bit worn out. I'm in NYC for the week and just finished up 8 hours of in-depth FB discussion with a handful of other FB marketers.

All I can tell from what I read is that you are are way to hung up on the tiny details that don't even matter. You should be more worried about why you haven't spent $1 in ads yet and not how I created my first ads or what type of ads I first ran.

90% of all the mystery will be solved when one start running ads themselves.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Wow dude. question overload 100%. You even got me confused. For the sake of everyone else who follows this thread I will go through what you wrote and try to lay it out nice and neat for everyone to clearly understand.

However now is not that time. I'm a bit worn out. I'm in NYC for the week and just finished up 8 hours of in-depth FB discussion with a handful of other FB marketers.

All I can tell from what I read is that you are are way to hung up on the tiny details that don't even matter. You should be more worried about why you haven't spent $1 in ads yet and not how I created my first ads or what type of ads I first ran.

90% of all the mystery will be solved when one start running ads themselves.

but...but...but...

I want exact steps and don't leave anything out.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Wow dude. question overload 100%. You even got me confused. For the sake of everyone else who follows this thread I will go through what you wrote and try to lay it out nice and neat for everyone to clearly understand.

However now is not that time. I'm a bit worn out. I'm in NYC for the week and just finished up 8 hours of in-depth FB discussion with a handful of other FB marketers.

All I can tell from what I read is that you are are way to hung up on the tiny details that don't even matter. You should be more worried about why you haven't spent $1 in ads yet and not how I created my first ads or what type of ads I first ran.

90% of all the mystery will be solved when one start running ads themselves.

Youre absolutely right and maybe we can meet.

 

[Paul Thomas]

but...but...but...

I want exact steps and don't leave anything out.

Just asking for specifics on process to eliminate potential mistakes, but editing the post to note that yes - too much analysis paralysis.

 

[hughjasle]

@Paul Thomas responded to the PM. In short we can meet before 10am near the locations I sent you. Otherwise will have to be another time.

 

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[MitchC]

Just wanted to post here and say I got my first sale! Now to make a profitable one. I've learned a lot already just reading this thread, and I'm halfway through Biophases, and I joined a lot of Facebook ads and Shopify groups on Facebook. But most of all just doing it has been the most important step. Passionate audience is the key! The order came from someone with the email avid"nicher"@.. Now to find a better product for that niche or another niche or better converting product page. I'm still getting people scrolling and scrolling then clicking off like they want to know something else, I have a box that says "Want to know anything else?" and I have Facebook chat on the page, but no replies to it, they just click off. Very frustrating.

 

[LPPC]

Youre absolutely right and maybe we can meet.

Wow , you've got the opportunity to talk to a very knowledgeable guy. Make sure to put it to good use Good luck!

 

[hughjasle]

Alright at the airport now and have some time. Even though we met earlier today and went over these, I want to repost my answers here for others in case they had the same questions.

1. Do you create a new FB account for each product / use your personal account?

yes. A new ad account within business manager for each product and brand.

2. What is the process for the just testing of the ad itself? Do you still think its necessary? Is this where you set up a PPE ad?

Well, nothing is "necessary". I am constantly evolving as I go. BUT, in testing the ad, the purpose was just to get an idea of what it was like running a product ad. I was just wanting to see if for that niche was I going to be paying outrageous CPM's or low CPMs. I had no idea. So no definitely not necessary. Really, a waste of money now thinking about it. The ad objective (ppe, conversion, click to website, video view) doesn't matter to much. Any of those work to start. I prefer PPE, Click to Website and Conversions personally.

3. When you say you put content on your page are You are creating a page for the product's brand and just putting relevant content/photos/industry related knowledge? Is this for the ad test part before running ads to Shopify?

Yes. I make the FB page and put up content(posts and pictures) of both my product/brand and anything relevant that I think my customers would like to see that relates to what my brand is/does/offers. And yes you need a FB page in order to run ads on FB (with the exception of RHS ads) so make the page and make it right from the start.

4.Do you have any examples (not yours of course) of great facebook ads that do this? Would be extremely helpful to see a template. Do you always use newsfeed placements to do this or the sidebar placements as well?

An ad I came across recently that was done well and is a FANTASTIC example on how to interact with your audience is a ad by the company MONQ. They do some type of e-cig thing i think. I just remember checking out hte comments and noticing that they responded to EVERY COMMENT. They are doing a great job there.

5. For videos, do you create your own or use a stock vid that manufacturer has?

Both. However, you will want to make your own as soon as you have your own product with your brand and just use those.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Got some products picked out, FB pages created, and newsfeed ads created although that's prob cart before the horse.

For Shopify now, did you buy real domains for each (does it matter?) product or just use myshopfiy.xyz.com Lastly, did you take any minimal Shopify courses to learn how to setup/create a good looking site and get going or just wing it? I bought the domain and am winging it, but just wondering if it matters to u.

Also wondering how to add the code to have a popup happen for out of stock items for customers to enter their email for a discount code.

EDIT: think i'll be testing multiple products, but thought I have is to create a shopify site and brand names for each vertical (e.g., gardening, soccer, travel, etc.) and test different products within each... any downside you see to this? Should cut down costs and make it easier to test faster.

Thanks again

 

[MitchC]

I just want to share this it's something I will no doubt never see again. They ordered. 1 impression, 1 click, 1 sale, what are the chances? Let's hope this scales, this could be my first winner looking at how my other ad sets for it are doing. Thanks Hugh, you haven't made me rich yet but I guess I'm closer than ever.

 

[Danny M]

I have experience with graphic design and can make a nice looking website with wordpress. I have done this for a product I am launching soon (my first ever product, I'm completely new to this).

I don't think i'm ever going to rank for google in my niche, but I will run FB adverts etc to get traffic. Is it worth buying a shopify store too? Do they get more traffic from google searches?

 

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[Paul Thomas]

I just want to share this it's something I will no doubt never see again. They ordered. 1 impression, 1 click, 1 sale, what are the chances? Let's hope this scales, this could be my first winner looking at how my other ad sets for it are doing. Thanks Hugh, you haven't made me rich yet but I guess I'm closer than ever.

Nice! Was this a test with an out of stock product or a true "full" sale?

 

[LPPC]

For Shopify now, did you buy real domains for each (does it matter?) product or just use myshopfiy.xyz.com Lastly,

↑

Some days ago I PMed Hughjasle asking the same question. I thought I would save his time and post it here. This was his answer:

my question:Hello Hugh!

I hope the following isn't a stupid question. When testing a facebook ad with a shopify store and you don't know yet whether you will sell this produt yet, do you register a domain name for it? That way it will look more professional and you will maybe get better results when testing.

Thank you!

His answer :Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Really doesn't matter

 

[MitchC]

Just so you guys know I have no custom domain and no logo, the text doesn't even look proper because my name is 2 words and it's joined them into one with not even a capitol for the second word. Honestly, I don't think conversions would increase if I changed this but I'm yet to try. So far the test is $50 spent, $180 revenue, 10 sales, about $30-40 product cost. I'm thinking of increasing the price as I don't think sales would slow down, but I want to have more data first and I also hope to do some upsells. Theme is the standard theme with a couple very basic changes, I don't know any html. I said to allow 20 days for shipping so I will dropship international orders and get a bulk order for local ones which should get there in time if any supplier will ever email back!

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Just so you guys know I have no custom domain and no logo, the text doesn't even look proper because my name is 2 words and it's joined them into one with not even a capitol for the second word. Honestly, I don't think conversions would increase if I changed this but I'm yet to try. So far the test is $50 spent, $180 revenue, 10 sales, about $30-40 product cost. I'm thinking of increasing the price as I don't think sales would slow down, but I want to have more data first and I also hope to do some upsells. Theme is the standard theme with a couple very basic changes, I don't know any html. I said to allow 20 days for shipping so I will dropship international orders and get a bulk order for local ones which should get there in time if any supplier will ever email back!

Great context about how the menial details may not matter!

If I'm reading your numbers right are you unprofitable but still considering moving forward? Or is that a total $40 product cost. Also - are you giving out of stock messages or refudning right now? Good luck!

 

[LPPC]

Great context about how the menial details may not matter!

If I'm reading your numbers right are you unprofitable but still considering moving forward? Or is that a total $40 product cost. Also - are you giving out of stock messages or refudning right now? Good luck!

180$ reveneu in 10 sales = 18$ selling price.

I doubt he sells his products lower than product cost. Or am I thinking the wrong way?

On another note, does anyone know a good facebook ads course that deals with the statistical side of things? I have questions like how much data a facebook pixel needs before it is wise to convert from "clicks to website" type of ads to "optimized for conversions" ad type. Or for example you have a budget of 80 dollars to test an ad, over how many days should you spread this budget?

Or is it all just a matter of testing and I should dive into the unknown?

Thanks!