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Hunting Ecommerce Site to explode!

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Nik Krohn

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Hey all! I am a first time fastlaner and I am getting ready to launch my new site http://huntingshit.com!

I am a really good social marketer and can build followings into the 100,000 of followers on Facebook. I already have some communities where i have 140,000 followers. I create Huntingshit.com so i could slowly market to them.

I created a volusion site (best rates and cost IMO) and put up the products there. I have also found some products on Alibaba.com that I can purchase and sell to the following. Specifically technology/electronics such as solar cell chargers for mobile devices.

Among my FB pages, I got over 70 responses for product in this space. Here is one of my pages where I got 24 responses where they want to buy product:
Screen Shot 2014-06-27 at 2.37.27 PM.png

This is my first time using Alibaba.com for product. Any tips or recommendations? Shipping is always around $60 even for samples.

Also, should I put these products up on my site now and take pre order and let them know that they will get product in 3 weeks from purchase?

Any way to automate fulfillment (I think I am going to hate it lol)?

I will post updates along the way. My plan is to make this just a stepping stone as I want to develop a software company in the future to make my big exudes!
 
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ChickenHawk

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Welcome to the forum! I love the concept. My husband's a HUGE hunter, btw.

I hate to say this, especially at this stage of your launch, but...Are you SURE you want to go with that URL? Lots of people shop from work. I'm not sure they'd hit any site with "shit" in the title. Plus, knowing my husband -- he tends to be an elitist -- he'd probably bristle at the idea that any of his stuff is "shit". I know that's the way people talk, often me included, but dang, I just don't know...

Are you going to have trouble getting people to link to your site? Are you going to have trouble getting mailing list signups? Will google (or other) ads/search engines link to a site with "shit" in the title? This seems like lots of potential downsides merely to have a clever title.

Full disclaimer. I'm not an internet marketer, so I may be way off base. Good luck whichever route you go!
 

Ashten

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Totally like the idea! Run with it. I would not post anything until it's available for delivery. When people buy something they expect it to be a quick process. If they have to wait to receive the item, the competition is barking at them, the competition won't make them wait.

However Good luck & keep us updated!
 
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1step

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Hey all! I am a first time fastlaner and I am getting ready to launch my new site http://huntingshit.com!
Good progress. Definitely take @ChickenHawk advice and change the URL.

Also, should I put these products up on my site now and take pre order and let them know that they will get product in 3 weeks from purchase?

How fast can you get a small test order? 3 Weeks?

Any way to automate fulfillment (I think I am going to hate it lol)?

There are plenty of fulfillment centers you can partner with including Amazon. Theres also shipwire and some people on the board recommend 2chads. Either way I wouldnt worry about this right now, you need to get past A and B before you can get to C.
 

Nik Krohn

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Thanks all!

ChickenHawk, the reason I went with that URL is because I recently partnered with a FB page that was call "All Man Shit" (https://www.facebook.com/AllManShit) and they have over 500k followers. The owner said it started out as a joke but it turned into much more and people love the brand. So kind of a spin off. So far in the last week we have gotten 2000 likes and only 2 people didnt like the name. We will see how it goes. Worst case scenario It will be an additional brand that I can use to continue to build followings

Alot of the products are not on Amazon (only 1 is...) and in MJs book, he mentions being a better marketer than your competition (no one can touch me in this space lol). Most poeple in the hunting world are 10 years behind the times and dont know how to find these products anyways (even through google search). I can get them to congregate in my following so I think I may be able to deliver their first impression to these cool products.


Totally like the idea! Run with it. I would not post anything until it's available for delivery. When people buy something they expect it to be a quick process. If they have to wait to receive the item, the competition is barking at them, the competition won't make them wait.

Ill take your advice and wait. I should have the samples in 5-10 days. Should be able to make large orders after I see quality
 
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Harley

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Some advice from an area where I have a lot of experience and have helped several companies previously - Images sell! Especially in the digital arena. Hire, or barter with a pro Photographer. Although the images aren't terrible. Quality Photography will defiantly help. People want to feel like they are dealing with true professionals and not some guy who buys stuff in bulk and takes pictures on the floor. Quality images help convey this professionalism. A commercial Photographer will work with you and make recommendations in regards to set design etc.
Good luck!
 

1step

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I recently partnered with a FB page that was call "All Man Shit" (https://www.facebook.com/AllManShit) and they have over 500k followers.

Theres a big difference between creating a FB page that gets likes and creating a company that makes sales. Sure, "all man shit" is a successful FB page but unless you are also creating a FB page this means absolutely nothing.
 
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biophase

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Don't like the URL either. Checked out your FB page. I may be interested in doing some giveaways of my products on your page.
 

Nik Krohn

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Don't like the URL either. Checked out your FB page. I may be interested in doing some giveaways of my products on your page.

Feel free to PM me. Id be more than happy to feature a likeminded fastlaner!
 
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Strive

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I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum regarding the name. I think it fits perfectly with your target market and it'll resonate with them. I'm not a hunter, but when I picture a hunter I typically think a man's man. Someone who's resourceful, a beard on his face, beer in his hand, and can be crude at times. Seems to me "hunting shit" is exactly what he'd be looking for.
 

D11FYY

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Buy a good camera and cheap lighting set and try take photos of your products all in a similar location/white backdrop. Gives a much more professional look and feel on the website.
I agree with the URL it actually puts me off
 

Harley

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I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum regarding the name. I think it fits perfectly with your target market and it'll resonate with them. I'm not a hunter, but when I picture a hunter I typically think a man's man. Someone who's resourceful, a beard on his face, beer in his hand, and can be crude at times. Seems to me "hunting shit" is exactly what he'd be looking for.
I thought this initially too. But, then thought the Hunters I know often receive nothing but hunting associated items as gifts - Bitrthdays, fathers day, xmas etc. and though it may appeal to the manly hunter, the name may alienate some of the potential customers buying gifts.
 
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Harley

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D11FYY

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Could also have a sub brand as Huntings HIT if you wish to keep the name or something..
 

leveragehacker

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Another idea for you:

You clearly have a talent for building large fanbases - this a valuable skill. If you wrote an ebook or created an information product around such a process I would definitely buy it from you. just some food for thought.
 
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Nik Krohn

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I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum regarding the name. I think it fits perfectly with your target market and it'll resonate with them. I'm not a hunter, but when I picture a hunter I typically think a man's man. Someone who's resourceful, a beard on his face, beer in his hand, and can be crude at times. Seems to me "hunting shit" is exactly what he'd be looking for.

Here is some feedback I got:

Screen+Shot+2014-06-29+at+9.11.23+PM.png


Screen+Shot+2014-06-29+at+9.11.35+PM.png


Some like it, some dont even among hunters. I love the idea of controversy tho :p
 

Nik Krohn

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Another idea for you:

You clearly have a talent for building large fanbases - this a valuable skill. If you wrote an ebook or created an information product around such a process I would definitely buy it from you. just some food for thought.

I am not much of a believer of digital products. Have had some bad experiences with them. I do however do occasional consulting (IE a few hours for $125) although that is not my business model or how I like to make money. Also depends on the brands that people want built.
 
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leveragehacker

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I am not much of a believer of digital products. Have had some bad experiences with them. I do however do occasional consulting (IE a few hours for $125) although that is not my business model or how I like to make money. Also depends on the brands that people want built.

Fair enough.
 

Aidan

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Here is some feedback I got:

Screen+Shot+2014-06-29+at+9.11.23+PM.png


Screen+Shot+2014-06-29+at+9.11.35+PM.png


Some like it, some don't even among hunters. I love the idea of controversy tho :p


Exactly. If people are talking about it; They're mindlessly promoting it. Controversy can work in your favor, and attract the crowd you're looking for.
 

JasonR

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I'm going to go against the grain here and say I like the name. It's polarizing, and it stands out.

If I bought something from Hunting Shit, I would tell my friends because I think the name stands out and its humorous.

That being said, it doesn't matter what I or anyone else here thinks, the market will tell you. Listen to them.

So, that being said. As @biophase mentioned, having Facebook likes is much different than sales.

How do I know? Well, I've got north of 50k Facebook likes, and I get very little sales from them, especially since Facebook dropped the whole 1% Organic reach. You'll probably find that you need to start running ads (not like campaigns) to see some sales.

Also, I firmly believe drop-ship ecommerce is dead. What value are you providing that others couldn't (other than a cool name)? What's your USP? What would make me buy from you versus another hunting store?

Yes, being a better marketer is valuable, but building Facebook pages is stupid easy. You want to make sales, not Facebook likes.

Here's the thing. If you can import, and brand your own products, you can definitely do well. Then you actually have something that is hard to take away from you - your OWN products.

Also, do you know what it will cost you to acquire a customer? What will your CPA be? Can you optimize life customer value? What is a customer worth to you?

Figure out the last two things, and you can do really well.

Get to it!
 
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Nik Krohn

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I'm going to go against the grain here and say I like the name. It's polarizing, and it stands out.

If I bought something from Hunting Shit, I would tell my friends because I think the name stands out and its humorous.

That being said, it doesn't matter what I or anyone else here thinks, the market will tell you. Listen to them.

So, that being said. As @biophase mentioned, having Facebook likes is much different than sales.

How do I know? Well, I've got north of 50k Facebook likes, and I get very little sales from them, especially since Facebook dropped the whole 1% Organic reach. You'll probably find that you need to start running ads (not like campaigns) to see some sales.

Also, I firmly believe drop-ship ecommerce is dead. What value are you providing that others couldn't (other than a cool name)? What's your USP? What would make me buy from you versus another hunting store?

Yes, being a better marketer is valuable, but building Facebook pages is stupid easy. You want to make sales, not Facebook likes.

Here's the thing. If you can import, and brand your own products, you can definitely do well. Then you actually have something that is hard to take away from you - your OWN products.

Also, do you know what it will cost you to acquire a customer? What will your CPA be? Can you optimize life customer value? What is a customer worth to you?

Figure out the last two things, and you can do really well.

Get to it!


This is great. Glad you like the name.

This is going to be difficult to convert sales. I am hoping that some products will be easier to sell than others. For example, I can hardly give away FREE tshirts, lol. But I think an electronic consumer good might do some more damage. Filming your own hunts are also becoming extremely popular so I want to branch out that direction as well.

At this point I do not know CPA is. I think I have a lot of trial and error ahead of me but at some point will hit critical mass. Thanks @JasonR for feedback
 

JasonR

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CPA = Cost Per Acquisition. Basically, what does it cost you to acquire a customer.

.You need to FOCUS. Laser focus on one product or a small sub-set of products, preferably you're own, IMO
 

Nik Krohn

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UPDATE:

Generated about $500 in sales in the first week. That was with extremely mediocre product (hats, shirts, decals). We just got our imported products yesterday. Pretty excited about it. We just listed everything on the site and now just got our first $100 today. $600 to date.

I expect now that we have the products we want to sell that we should be able to generate another $1000 this next week. I am hoping to do $3000 by end of the month. Not bad IMO for a first month brand new ecommerce biz.

LESSON LEARNED: There is a LOT of power in giving people what they really want! We noticed that sales were stagnent the first 3 days of last week. I found a partner that was willing to giveaway a $8000 hunt to someone who purchases. Adding this value has nearly doubled our sales. People just want to go hunting (this following anyway). They dont care about a $4 cell phone case. But if buying a $4 cell phone case gets them entered for a $8000 hunt, then they will do it no prob
 
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Nik Krohn

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Update: $1600 sold in 2 weeks only from FB. Hoping to hit $3000 by end of the month.

Now I am going to try to list products on Amazon!
 

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