[MEGA THREAD] How To Build A Successful E-commerce Brand During A Global Pandemic. Step By Step Guide...

[Sanj Modha]

Hey FLF!

I'm going to build a brand new e-commerce brand. I have zero sales, no list, no newsletter or customers to start with either. This will be built from the ground up with a new category/product, new store, new social media profiles, and so on.

Note - I won't share the website URL or social pages but I will explain in DETAIL how I'm doing every step. You'll also see revenue from inside the store too.

Here's the plan of action...

- Shopify: the theme is currently a work in progress and should be done this week.
- Niche: dogs because it's a global audience and dog lovers are super passionate. Plus, we have a product that's easy to brand, and its already selling on Amazon, eBay etc.
- Traffic: Facebook, Instagram, Google, Youtube, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok ads.
- VAs will post content on the social pages.
- We have a photo/video team developing the ad creatives. I'll show you how to find services like these and for cheap.
- Klaviyo for all of our email marketing.

If you're sitting on the fence about e-commerce: follow this mega thread and get to work. You don't want to miss this once in a century opportunity because mom and pop businesses are crashing, employees are losing their jobs and most of your competition won't be able to make payroll for months. Now is the time to dominate with your next online business!

Make sure you follow this thread because I will be posting regular updates and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Super pumped!

Sanj.

 

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[Sanj Modha]

I GUARANTEE that none of the e-commerce gurus will cover what I will in this thread.

And, it's all free content too. No credit cards necessary

 

[Sanj Modha]

Update #1 - Still waiting on the theme to be built. We're about 50% done and I'm waiting on the product photoshoot. C0VlD-19 is delaying things.

The product image is your shop window. Don't cut corners and grab shitty pics off Aliexpress. Take the time to do it properly and build that bulletproof brand (your competition won't be able to touch you).

Order a sample piece and send it to a photographer. You can find photography services on Upwork, Freelancer, or Fiverr.

If you're really stuck - use Craigslist. We use Craigslist because broke-a$$ college kids never turn down the money and they do a great job.

Tip: If your supplier is in Denver - find a photographer in Denver. The product will get shipped much faster.

Ask the photographer to take 2 types of photos: 'lifestyle' and lightbox. Lifestyle photos are aspirational - you're not selling a watch. You're selling who that person becomes by wearing your watch.

 

[Sanj Modha]

Step #1 - How To Find Product Ideas — Watch Video

 

[Walter Hay]

I have been watching this interesting thread and have noticed a common factor that always seems to appear when eCommerce business is being discussed.

That factor has two parts: 1. Some confusion about the difference between Alibaba and Aliexpress. Sanj Modha obviously knows the difference, but in this thread and others it is clear that many do not. 2. General lack of understanding about how to safely use Alibaba as a product source.

With this in mind I have commented on posts quoted below. I don't want to hijack this excellent thread, but it saddens me to see people blunder into sourcing without knowing how to do it safely.

Aliexpress suppliers seem to offer limited options to putting logos on items and the boxes but maybe I've just not looked hard enough for someone that would.

My supplier from Alibaba was more accommodating with my logo preferences even though I have to pay a fee.

You are lucky to find any supplier on Aliexpress willing to put your logo on their products. Aliexpress is a retail site, where genuine manufacturers are rarely found.

I don't talk to Aliexpress merchants or sellers. I go straight to the factories and cut out the middlemen.

Absolutely right. Middlemen buy from manufacturers, add their margin and sell to people who don't know any better. Delays are common also, due to the fact that most often they get your order first then try to find a manufacturer to supply their small order.

Find the product on Alibaba.com (wholesaler), not in Aliexpress (retail -middlemen-). Better price sand direct contact with the manufacturer (if you find the right seller instead of a trading company).

How do you find the manufacturer? Most people believe what they see on Alibaba and if the listing states that the supplier is a manufacturer they believe it, but in most cases they are not.

I use Alibaba to talk to factories directly.

Remember, there will be minimum order quantities (MOQs) should you go down this route.

Yes you must deal direct if you want the best service and the best prices. Unfortunately most who are new to importing have no idea how to tell for sure if they are dealing with genuine factories.

Newbies are bluffed by suppliers demanding MOQs, not knowing how to negotiate smaller orders.

I suggest that all new importers should read through my AMA
GOLD! Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

If you don't find enough help there, and you are not sure if the supplier you want to use is a manufacturer, you can send me a PM with the supplier's name and I will check them out for you. I have done this for many Fastlane members and your confidentiality is assured.

If anyone has a question that is not confidential, they can post it in my AMA.

Meanwhile I recommend everyone should continue reading @Sanj Modha's excellent thread.

Walter

 

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[biophase]

Update #1 - Still waiting on the theme to be built. We're about 50% done and I'm waiting on the product photoshoot. C0VlD-19 is delaying things.

The product image is your shop window. Don't cut corners and grab shitty pics off Aliexpress. Take the time to do it properly and build that bulletproof brand (your competition won't be able to touch you).

Order a sample piece and send it to a photographer. You can find photography services on Upwork, Freelancer, or Fiverr.

If you're really stuck - use Craigslist. We use Craigslist because broke-a$$ college kids never turn down the money and they do a great job.

Tip: If your supplier is in Denver - find a photographer in Denver. The product will get shipped much faster.

Ask the photographer to take 2 types of photos: 'lifestyle' and lightbox. Lifestyle photos are aspirational - you're not selling a watch. You're selling who that person becomes by wearing your watch.

This is kind of ironic and I won't hijack your thread. But I also started a new business during this time and it is also in the dog niche. Mine is dog collars (I think it's broad enough that I can give mine away). But I am going the exact opposite of you. I am going the 100% amazon route and no branding play. I just began my website, a one page html template. I plan on going the China factory shipped straight into Amazon's warehouse.

I also tried to find an existing website to purchase but there was nothing with any type of sales or traffic.

 

[Sanj Modha]

Update #2 - The theme is completed and it's super mobile optimized (very important for 2020).

The FB, IG, Google, Pinterest, and Snapchat pixels are installed and building up traffic.

Tip - Install ALL the pixels from the beginning even if you never plan to run ads on these platforms. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't.

Phase #1 - We'll launch FB and IG first because I know the dog niche converts like fire here. Once we get momentum (conversions), we'll launch the Google and YouTube followed by Pinterest and Snap ads.

We're waiting for the product images and videos. That's another 5-7 days and then we are ready to pull the trigger with the ads.

Exciting!

 

[biophase]

You can test ideas on Amazon by using FBM (ship it yourself) since I think FBA (Amazon's warehouse) is very risky.

If it sells - my advice is to move over to your own store before Bezos launches his brand of dog collars. Remember, he's got your customer data which you'll never have access to.

Amazon already has their own brand. It's just a dog collar, no branding. I'll be going directly against Amazon's brand. That was the whole point of this business.

 

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[Sanj Modha]

@Sanj Modha

Hey man, excited to see this new thread and your progress!

I was wondering how do you deal with shipping times and profit margins at this time with this new brand? The shipping is ridiculously expensive nowadays.

I am in the same niche and use 3PL as well to sell a branded product that I have. I sell it for about 17 bucks. After COGS - I am left with about 10 bucks to spend on ads, so the profit is almost non-existent.

So, what would be your advice for beginners in terms of the product price and desired margin? What price range would you suggest to choose for beginners when selecting a product to sell?

Obviously, right now the only way to combat slow shipping times - is to get stock and use 3PL, so that should also come into consideration. It wouldn't be wise for beginner to spend thousands of dollars on stock and fail at selling the product. It worked out for me, since it was only 0.80 cents per unit, and I make sales.

We have a deal in place with the supplier.

In this thread, I'll post videos and negotiation tactics that show you how to handle every aspect of owning and operating an e-commerce brand.

We knew our COGS inc delivery before even considering to launch this site because margin is everything.

 

[Sanj Modha]

@AgainstAllOdds

Awesome thread! Excited for you.

Hoping you kill it with the new business and this doesn't turn into selling a course.


View attachment 33292


Skeptical myself, but hey who am I to judge right? Maybe I should sign up for these 8 figure months... How much do you charge @Sanj Modha ??? I have an E-Commerce store that sells Canadian made products, I wouldn't mind adding a few Ferraris & Lamborghinis to the stable (I don't even have a car!) A private jet would be nice aswell with a standby Pilot, I mean 8 figures a months I could surely afford it right?!?!?

I apologize if you are legitimate, but your video of sourcing crap from China is so overplayed. But hey if your making money good for you that's awesome.

I find it interesting your not willing to show these social media pages (your marketing company has a whopping 245 likes) But are willing to showcase revenue which can be easily photo shopped??? Considering you are the Chief Awesome Officer that has spent over $50,000,000++ dollars on ads as claimed on your website I'll need to shut up and start learning from one of the greats.

Maybe I'll learn something here???? Anyways carry on...


@MJ DeMarco

This is hilarious.

Not even sure how to respond but carry on with your rant. Some people need a good laugh.

And, if you had bothered to pay attention to my sourcing video - I CLEARLY stated that I don't fulfil orders from Aliexpress/China. I said use it as a guide to see what's selling/trending etc.

I also talk about finding product ideas from Amazon and eBay because...

Wait for it...

Most of the products you see on sale are made in China. OMG...who knew?

I couldn't care less if you believe me or you don't. Unlike you, I'm not hiding behind a fake profile.

 

[Sanj Modha]

Any products/niches, you would absolutely avoid even though its selling well with a good margin?

This is how I identify any potential niche:

1 - Is it evergreen? Do people buy stuff 365 days/year?
2 - Do people spend a lot of money in this niche?
3 - Are other people selling volume in this niche?
4 - Can you source the same or similar products?

Based on this list, you can launch a business for dog owners, bikers, preppers/survivalists, fishing enthusiasts etc BUT pick an industry you know extremely well. I wouldn't launch a biker store because I'm not a biker and I don't own a motorbike. I don't know anything about them.

 

[Sanj Modha]

Step #3 - How To Use Audience Insights To Target ANY Niche On Facebook & Instagram — Watch Video

 

[Sanj Modha]

Update #8 - Our biggest sales day and profit!

Things are really starting to pick up now. ROAS is getting better and were selling more units + upsells.





FB spend = $198.00
FB revenue = $390.95 (total revenue is $507.94. That's coming from abandoned cart follow ups with email and SMS apps)
ROAS = 2.12
Units sold since June 16th = 57

Next steps - scaling winning adsets (the highest ROAS) with CBO campaigns. This will be covered on the next Loom video.

 

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[Sanj Modha]

Update #3 - the site is launched!

Our new pandemic proof dog store is now live with FB and IG ads running. We had to take a shortcut and launch with images only since the photographer has been delayed with shooting the videos (his city is still on a lockdown).

We're also waiting for more creatives for the smaller dog breeds (images & videos). We should have this content by the end of the week.

TO RECAP...

We found a niche

We sourced a dog product

We found a supplier. We're using 3PL but you can start with a local dropshipper in the country you sell to

We found a photographer/videographer on Upwork to take our professional product shots

You can find 'how to' videos for all of the above in this thread.

The next video will dive into FB/IG ads: how to target users, segment demographics, find killer interests that most people overlook, and my favourite - how to target 'passion'.

Will keep you updated on the ads progress over the next few days.

 

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[AppMan]

Step #1 - How To Find Product Ideas — Watch Video

Maybe it was useful to others but for me it look have no value and here are the reasons.
1- You are looking for the most popular products and while it is logically right thing to do , however as former eCommerce owner I can bet any popular product there is already on e-bay and amazon and on very low price.
2- On your search you almost doesnt have any criteria such as price range ,category , you are just randomly looking into million of products.
3- The main thing in searching product is the possibility of making profit , I dont see you doing any calculation to see if you can profit from the product or not .
4 - no search for competitors which are the main reason other e-commerce owners go out of business.

 

[Sanj Modha]

This is kind of ironic and I won't hijack your thread. But I also started a new business during this time and it is also in the dog niche. Mine is dog collars (I think it's broad enough that I can give mine away). But I am going the exact opposite of you. I am going the 100% amazon route and no branding play. I just began my website, a one page html template. I plan on going the China factory shipped straight into Amazon's warehouse.

I also tried to find an existing website to purchase but there was nothing with any type of sales or traffic.

You can test ideas on Amazon by using FBM (ship it yourself) since I think FBA (Amazon's warehouse) is very risky.

If it sells - my advice is to move over to your own store before Bezos launches his brand of dog collars. Remember, he's got your customer data which you'll never have access to.

 

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[Sanj Modha]

How are you going to market the site? Facebook ads?

FB, IG, Google, YouTube, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok ads but not all at the same time.

We'll launch FB/IG and Google ads first and I'll show you how to do it.

 

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[juresesko]

Thanks for guys like you that simplify the process.
It's amazing how fast can you start overthinking everything and not do anything.

 

[Sanj Modha]

Step #3 - How To Find Dropshippers To Fulfil Your Orders In Any Country — Watch Video

 

[Sanj Modha]

Update #10 - The first 30 days...

Ad spend - $5,374.72
Revenue - $4,959.40
ROAS - 0.92
Shopify revenue = $5,441.14 (includes upsells, welcome email and abandoned cart follow up sales).

We've sold 183 units and the next 30 days focus is on getting more data so we can optimize the ads further and increase ROAS so its profitable.

We're at 655 add to carts (ATC) and 1000 add to carts is the next big milestone because that's the point when we start to optimize for ATCs and the needle really starts moving (the audience is hungrier for our product).

In the next video, I'll show you how to setup a winning campaign with FB/IG ads. Not to be missed!

 

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[Sanj Modha]

Awesome thread! Excited for you.

Hoping you kill it with the new business and this doesn't turn into selling a course.

Out of curiosity, why did you choose to start a new brand? With your skill set it seems like the EV would be a lot higher for you to buy an underperforming site and optimize it.

Or do you rather control the whole product from start to finish?

Best of luck @Sanj Modha !

Good question.

I want to prove a point (and make a lot more money in the process) that C0VlD-19 presents the biggest opportunity for e-commerce entrepreneurs if they TAKE action.

I did consider buying an existing site off the Shopify Exchange but most are dropshipping stores that have clearly died. I think it's better to start from the ground up so I can control the entire process.

We're not dropshipping - we're going to source products that sell and brand them. All shipping will be done from a 3PL.

Stay tuned!

 

[Sanj Modha]

It's always amusing when you see Shopify stores having a slick a$$ theme and logo then as you say, the generic aliexpress stock photos start to appear. Off-putting to say the least.

Nearly all the ecom bros run dropshipping stores. They can't do what I'm going to show you because they're lazy mofos.

 

[Sanj Modha]

I am looking forward to following along. Thank you for documenting the process. I watched the video you did on finding products. You mention that you are still waiting on the theme to be built. Is your theme custom made? Could we go with Shopify's theme catalog and choose a free one or one of their paid versions? Does the theme have a lot to do with conversions?

Your theme is your shop floor: the easier it is to checkout, the better your business will do.

We are using a custom theme since we're pros but you can start with Retina or Parallax. They're not bad and they're free.

 

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[Sanj Modha]

Thank you for this resource. I will check it out today. At quick glance looks like a great converting theme and robust. I will definitely watch some tutorials.

Be careful - Shoptimized has been spammed to death by all the dropship bros.

Plus, fake timers and stock levels violate several laws.

 

[Sanj Modha]

Step #2 - How To Find A Photographer To Take Product Shots On Upwork — Watch Video

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Awesome thread! Excited for you.

Hoping you kill it with the new business and this doesn't turn into selling a course.

Out of curiosity, why did you choose to start a new brand? With your skill set it seems like the EV would be a lot higher for you to buy an underperforming site and optimize it.

Or do you rather control the whole product from start to finish?

Best of luck @Sanj Modha !

 

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[Nick.YoungTX]

I am looking forward to following along. Thank you for documenting the process. I watched the video you did on finding products. You mention that you are still waiting on the theme to be built. Is your theme custom made? Could we go with Shopify's theme catalog and choose a free one or one of their paid versions? Does the theme have a lot to do with conversions?

We’ve had great success with our Shopify store using the Shoptimized theme. It’s dialed in to convert, although, I wouldn’t recommend turning on all the goodies it offers. Pick and choose what your audience would find helpful, while not being obnoxious. LOL (ex: deal of the day pop ups, cart expiring soon prompts, free shipping threshold pop-ups, count down timers, etc. ). I hope this helps someone!

 

[Sanj Modha]

We’ve had great success with our Shopify store using the Shoptimized theme. It’s dialed in to convert, although, I wouldn’t recommend turning on all the goodies it offers. Pick and choose what your audience would find helpful, while not being obnoxious. LOL (ex: deal of the day pop ups, cart expiring soon prompts, free shipping threshold pop-ups, count down timers, etc. ). I hope this helps someone!

I do use Shoptimized but I don't like the spammy/dropship element to it like the fake timer, stock levels etc so we took all that out. I like it for the page speed only.

 

[Sanj Modha]

I looked at doing GPS dog collars for awhile, and had kind of a crazy idea for customizing them. Love the pooch segment. Good luck!

I looked into this but after selling consumer electronics on Amazon for 2.5 years - I decided against it.

Anything with batteries is a ball ache.

 

[amp0193]

Storage and shipping is a nightmare and I believe the US changed their Lithium-Ion battery laws recently.

Nice barrier to entry for those who can figure out battery quality and logistics.

Batteries have been a pain in my a$$, but we've got it figured out now.