From Affiliate Marketing To Importing And Ecommerce

[LleixG]

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!

You are reading it wrong. I'm pretty sure it is 180$ revenue - 40$ product cost - 50$ ads = 90$ profit

 

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[hughjasle]

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

to test i didn't buy domains. I bought them after a successful test.

did you take any minimal Shopify courses

Nope. Can't hurt tho if that's what you want to do.

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.

I don't know how to do a popup, but you can always just email them and say sorry in a personalized email for each customer that purchased and give a code that way.

any downside you see to this?

I didn't really follow what you were trying to do. Clarify and I can answer

 

[hughjasle]

Do they get more traffic from google searches?

Hey Danny, sorry but I know nothing about ranking on google. I do know FB likes shopify. Don't know if you get any preferential treatment just for using it though.

 

[hughjasle]

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.

Honestly you can run them at the same time and then cut the one that isn't doing as well. Sometimes the Website Conversions will start out strong (even with no previous data) and hold it, sometimes the Clicks to Websites will win. There is no statistical number where switching over is ever good anyhow. When you find a winner campaign, let it run. Don't fiddle with it.

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

This. BUT make sure you have the knowns down. Make sure you page is working proper. Make sure your links are up, your payment processor, your fulfillment center, etc. Once everything else you can control is controlled, crank that advertising.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Finally running facebook ads to my first product... one PPE, one clicks to website at $10/day.

Is it normal for data/traffic to start coming in very slowly? I have it set on auto bid.

What are your thoughts on selling apparel/clothes with this method (e.g., dress niche, fitness niche, etc.)?

 

[Danny M]

Anybody in the UK have some advice on shipping? Currently running this all from home as it is my first product. The product once boxed is only 10cm x 17cm x 3cm. Say i was to sell around 30 a day, what is the best way to distribute these? Getting a courier to collect each day seems expensive from what I have looked at. Almost £6 per box was the cheapest i found on a comparison website.

 

[GSF]

Anybody in the UK have some advice on shipping? Currently running this all from home as it is my first product. The product once boxed is only 10cm x 17cm x 3cm. Say i was to sell around 30 a day, what is the best way to distribute these? Getting a courier to collect each day seems expensive from what I have looked at. Almost £6 per box was the cheapest i found on a comparison website.[/

Anybody in the UK have some advice on shipping? Currently running this all from home as it is my first product. The product once boxed is only 10cm x 17cm x 3cm. Say i was to sell around 30 a day, what is the best way to distribute these? Getting a courier to collect each day seems expensive from what I have looked at. Almost £6 per box was the cheapest i found on a comparison website.

how much does it weigh?

 

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[hughjasle]

Is it normal for data/traffic to start coming in very slowly? I have it set on auto bid.

I'm going to assume you mean that your ads aren't spending very quickly, and not that you aren't gaining enough data ($10 is a very small amount of data), but you gotta work within your means so I get it. As for the question, you have to best understand how FB works.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY (FB ad account time zone), FB's algo will check to see various data points about your ad and compared to the market to make sure it can spend your full budget, or as close to it as possible based on your selections. Without going too much into that, key take aways for your situation are that you should start your just after midnight your ad account time, and your $10 will be spread as evenly as possible throughout the 24 hour period. So a budget of $10 will have less than $.50 running per hour. That's pretty small and if your cpc is .25c+ it'll be hard for FB to properly spend it and get you JUST 1-2 clicks an hour. But it should be spending the $10 daily no problem. LMK if that's not the case.

What are your thoughts on selling apparel/clothes with this method (e.g., dress niche, fitness niche, etc.)?

Sure. I'm looking at a few of those types of products myself. I'm not a fashionable person myself so it's kinda tricky for me. That and I haven't really found a way around the multiple SKU's for sizing yet that pleases me.

 

[Paul Thomas]

I'm going to assume you mean that your ads aren't spending very quickly, and not that you aren't gaining enough data ($10 is a very small amount of data), but you gotta work within your means so I get it. As for the question, you have to best understand how FB works.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY (FB ad account time zone), FB's algo will check to see various data points about your ad and compared to the market to make sure it can spend your full budget, or as close to it as possible based on your selections. Without going too much into that, key take aways for your situation are that you should start your just after midnight your ad account time, and your $10 will be spread as evenly as possible throughout the 24 hour period. So a budget of $10 will have less than $.50 running per hour. That's pretty small and if your cpc is .25c+ it'll be hard for FB to properly spend it and get you JUST 1-2 clicks an hour. But it should be spending the $10 daily no problem. LMK if that's not the case.


Sure. I'm looking at a few of those types of products myself. I'm not a fashionable person myself so it's kinda tricky for me. That and I haven't really found a way around the multiple SKU's for sizing yet that pleases me.

Awesome thank you - this is the first full day of running but will let you know. As for starting right after midnight, if I started yesterday at 9pm for example, will FB reset itself at midnight or is it best practice to stop the ad where it is right now, and start again at 12:01am for example?

 

[hughjasle]

if I started yesterday at 9pm for example, will FB reset itself at midnight

Yes FB resets each day at midnight. Additionally, because you started 3/4 of the day late, FB will typically be charging you 3/4 higher prices to make up the difference.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Yes FB resets each day at midnight. Additionally, because you started 3/4 of the day late, FB will typically be charging you 3/4 higher prices to make up the difference.

Ah got it. And you are always bidding on a CPM basis?

 

[hughjasle]

And you are always bidding on a CPM basis?

Not always. I like to believe that the closer to bidding per cpm the better. But I often bid for conversion of CPC as well. Especially when just starting something. I like to do manual bidding and make my bids unreasonably high. This helps me to get prime spots on the newsfeeds and not at the bottom after the user has just been scrolling for 10 minutes. Costs more to start but is worth it. Higher CTRs etc. So FB will start giving preferential treatment to your ads over other because you have a higher CTR.

 

[Paul Thomas]

Not always. I like to believe that the closer to bidding per cpm the better. But I often bid for conversion of CPC as well. Especially when just starting something. I like to do manual bidding and make my bids unreasonably high. This helps me to get prime spots on the newsfeeds and not at the bottom after the user has just been scrolling for 10 minutes. Costs more to start but is worth it. Higher CTRs etc. So FB will start giving preferential treatment to your ads over other because you have a higher CTR.

Thank you, so much to learn... On my first FB ads ever I'm running a broad audience on a automatic CPM basis at $10/day each... now not sure If that's not the best thing to do.

 

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[Danny M]

how much does it weigh?

Only about 300g

 

[GSF]

Only about 300g

I've used MyHermes, they collect and deliver under 1kg parcel for £3.10 without signature on delivery or £4.10 with signature, they also have bulk discounts for businesses

 

[Dazed]

Only about 300g

To start off with a small parcel with Royal Mail is only £2.85.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

I don't know how to do a popup, but you can always just email them and say sorry in a personalized email for each customer that purchased and give a code that way.

The personalized email is a great idea and what I'm going to do. Did you check in Shopify "allow customers to purchase this item out of stock". And then when you did, just refund the customer and send the email with a code?

Thanks again

 

[hughjasle]

Honestly don't remember. I must have. That or I had it set so shopify doesn't even keep track of my inventory.

All you need is to get the sale. How you refund them or get them the product is up to you.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[MitchC]

Is there any software you use to track which ads are responsible for which sales? Or just Facebook pixel data?

And apps or design layouts you recommend for shopify to increase conversions?

Heres a couple I tried:
I added a variant for 2 for $40 and hid the quantity bar
Added the featured product code to the cart page as a kind of up sell
PoWR countdown timer

 

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[hughjasle]

Is there any software you use to track which ads are responsible for which sales?

Outside of the FB pixel (which I prefer)
I only use Google Analyitics as it's pretty spot on.

But there are trackers like cake, voluum, has offers, thrive, etc.

as fro Shopify themes, I don't have one no, sorry.

 

[Paul Thomas]

First this thread, and hugh in person inspired me to take action and stop playing around. I think the first two products I tested were awful and not set to any audience that would work for my budget. So now I've learned a few small things, and think my next product will sell but want to lay out my process to see if anyone whose done this thinks its correct and help newbies with a basic framework for just running one product

So I've gotten started since my rambling questions earlier in this thread... I've made about 3 stores so far, 2 of which just failed and I realized the most likely reason why --> Picking a product I personally thought would sell without identifying a specific audience for it, considering how many other of the same exact thing are out, and that this is not an impulse buy product because people see it everyday in every store window.... got no sales whatsoever

Anyway, I changed my approach and chose a specific audience (still pretty broad ~650K reach on audience insights), and a specific product that I thought fit that niche. I'm going to lay out my short process here to see if this is the "right' way to do things and so that others reading this thread can see the process/any feedback from experts on what to do

1) Picked audience to target and validated that the market was big enough via Facebook insights - ~650K reach
2) Picked a product that I thought fits that audience and that could stimulate an emotional impulse purchase
3) Created shopify store with simple (basic) product photo - bare bones
4) Created a newsfeed ad literally of just a picture of the product with the headline being "Save $20+ when you order today" and the text above the ad reading something like "Do xyz and get xyz with this *adjective* xyz!!" VERY SIMPLE TEXT LOGO on bottom right corner of picture
4) Created a page on Facebook and posted a few things for content
5) Created campaign bidding AUTO CPM at $10/day optimizing for link clicks on a click to website ad type
6) Products price tag is around $50 and cost is between $6-$15 depending on volume and manufacturer - i'm not sure if i priced this too high and its hurting me, but i don't think its too too high...$10-$25 more than amazon, close to same as some ebay type auctions, and similar to the 2-3 FB competitors but still more than them
7) Been running for almost 2 days now and only have spend $17 with only 5 clicks, so $3.42 CPC, and the reach on this was 1,876 people and 2,184 impressions DOES THIS SOUND RIGHT, OR JUST AWFUL AND I SHOULD CHANGE SOMETHING OR WAIT LONGER?
8) No purchases or add to carts yet and i'm trying to decide if i wait more days for optimization, continue picking more products and throwing at the same audience on the same shopify website with ads linked to each separate product page ....

BTW - I'm not holding any inventory - planning to let the customer order, i'll refudn them and send a personalized email with a significant discount code since they went through the trouble of putting their info in to pay even if i'm breaking even/losing money on a test sale

Any insight into this process would be so much appreciated, or even just a nod of yeah that sounds right!

 

[hughjasle]

650K

650k isn't broad. I typically don't like them unless they have 1-2M MINIMUM. But that's just me.

3) Created shopify store with simple (basic) product photo - bare bones
4) Created a newsfeed ad literally of just a picture of the product with the headline being "Save $20+ when you order today" and the text above the ad reading something like "Do xyz and get xyz with this *adjective* xyz!!" VERY SIMPLE TEXT LOGO on bottom right corner of picture

If this works that'll be awesome and prbly means your product is gonna be hott. But you get out what you put in. LOTS of room to improve your ad and pages it sounds like.

$10/day optimizing for link clicks on a click to website ad type
6) Products price tag is around $50 and cost is between $6-$15 depending on volume and manufacturer

spending too little. gonna take a while to get good data. Expect to spend $150 bare bones testing this. But those margins sound great to me. Without knowing your product, I'd be looking at $7-8 for the product and cost of shipping it to you. + $4 shipping to ur customer. +$10CPA (complete Guess) = $22. That leaves a healthy profit margin for higher CPA costs/other expenses and a nice profit.

similar to the 2-3 FB competitors but still more than them

Are you providing a different value than those other two? Most guys doing FB just do dropshipping. IF so GREAT! Then you have much higher margins than them to outspend them, plus you control the shipping and customer service. I love competing with and destroying dropshippers. They prove the market and that the product can sell on their margins, means I can come in, do it all right from the beginning and crush them.

spend $17 with only 5 clicks, so $3.42 CPC

This is terrible. Do a better ad 100%. Make sure your page is working properly. Get ppl to stay on ur page longer, add a video of the product that ppl watch so your bounce rate is lower. FB takes all that into consideration.

 

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[Evil_Jester]

I read the whole thread in one sitting. Your thread can change so many lives. Thank you!

 

[LPPC]

Without knowing your product, I'd be looking at $7-8 for the product and cost of shipping it to you. + $4 shipping to ur customer. +$10CPA (complete Guess) = $22. That leaves a healthy profit margin for higher CPA costs/other expenses and a nice profit.

I also have a product I am about to run an ad for, but right during planning the ad I stumbled upon a blockage. I am a beginning entrepreneur so I had never before thought about taxes. I am planning to sell it for 47, since my competitor is selling it for 60 dollars and mine is the same product but the style is only different. So it only looks different.

So I was calculating my costs.
8$ for product + shipping
6$ for Amazon FBA
2% payment processor costs, lets say 1 dollars
If an average conversion rate is 2% and CPC is 0.30$, then CPA would be 15 dollars.
---------------
My profit before tax would be aproximately 17 dollars. In the Netherlands taxes would be something like 40%. Net profit would be 10.2 $

Isn't this margin too small? Especially since it is an (very simple) electronic product and warranty costs would also have to be taken into account. The manufacturer on alibaba says it has 6 months warranty, but I don't know if they really give this warranty.

Do you recommend me to look for another product with higher margins? Any advice?

Thank you very much!

 

[hughjasle]

Isn't this margin too small?

I'd run it. Taxes are gonna hit you on any product. Just focus on making it profitable. Once you are profitable and scaling, then spend some time talking to pro's who work with taxes for a living. But your margin is fine.

FYI I'd suggested testing higher pricing than your competitors BTW. Worst case, it doesn't sell well and you have to drop the price point you are at now.

 

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[LPPC]

I'd run it. Taxes are gonna hit you on any product. Just focus on making it profitable. Once you are profitable and scaling, then spend some time talking to pro's who work with taxes for a living. But your margin is fine.

FYI I'd suggested testing higher pricing than your competitors BTW. Worst case, it doesn't sell well and you have to drop the price point you are at now.

That was a super quick reply, much love!

 

[Insaint]

In the Netherlands taxes would be something like 40%.

That really depends on your current income. Up to €20k/year you pay ~10%. If you spend 1225+ hours/year on your business you can get a big deductible (and even more if you're a starting entrepeneur) that basically means you pay below 5% until you make €27k+/year. Usually you will need to make 100k+/year before you pay 40% in taxes. (Quick calculator: https://www.berekenhet.nl/ondernemen/netto-inkomen-zzp-er.html)

Anyway, like hughjasle said. Focus on getting a profitable product first. Just be sure to educate yourself a bit and most importantly set aside some money for taxes once your income starts growing.

 

[Evil_Jester]

I'm going to take up the challenge right now.
Found an impulse buy product that I see on Alibaba. $3-4 unit price with high volume. I'm comfortable marking the price at $60. It's generic, so I could brand it. Small size. I would buy it myself if I saw it in store. My audience would be for women 20-40 age.
That's the main idea for product selection right?

 

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[hughjasle]

Found an impulse buy product that I see on Alibaba. $3-4 unit price with high volume. I'm comfortable marking the price at $60. It's generic, so I could brand it. Small size. I would buy it myself if I saw it in store. My audience would be for women 20-40 age.
That's the main idea for product selection right?

Wow that sounds awesome. I don't put super huge emphasis myself on "impulse buy". I don't know how to explain this well, but I just kinda know the types of things that will sell. For me I guess it's more:

Is this a good product? (Good to high quality, does what it says it does) Yes or no

If no, move on. If yes:

Can I come up with a sales pitch/angle that if pitched to me would get me to want to know more. If Yes then go ahead. If not, move on.

 

[LPPC]

That really depends on your current income. Up to €20k/year you pay ~10%. If you spend 1225+ hours/year on your business you can get a big deductible (and even more if you're a starting entrepeneur) that basically means you pay below 5% until you make €27k+/year. Usually you will need to make 100k+/year before you pay 40% in taxes. (Quick calculator: https://www.berekenhet.nl/ondernemen/netto-inkomen-zzp-er.html)

Anyway, like hughjasle said. Focus on getting a profitable product first. Just be sure to educate yourself a bit and most importantly set aside some money for taxes once your income starts growing.

Thank you, I knew some of the information but that link you gave me is really useful. I was thinking more longterm, but you guys are right: I should get profitable first.

I think you are Dutch, are you a member of the Dutch fastlane facebook group? PM me please.