Top 3 Secrets for New Shopify Stores

Shopify Store Growth

New e-commerce store owners – learn the vital early steps to increase sales on Shopify!  These tips include effective Shopify advertising tools, as well as a sound (and specific) Shopify advertising strategy.  We’ll also reveal how to advertise beyond Google & Facebook!

Get a website audit

Website audits can check your page loading speed to see if any apps, toolbars, popups, or videos are slowing your site down.  It also provides crucial insight for how to improve your store design (and Shopify advertising strategy) for the best user experience!

Don’t just use Google Ads or Facebook  Ads

Only using the ad networks of large conglomerates – like Google or Facebook ads – can be a problem for new owners, especially if you set a high “daily budget.”  If you don’t know how to collect and analyze your customer data yet, google ads will take your marketing budget before you know how to spend it!

Clear, Written-Down Shopify Marketing Strategy

Here’s the hard truth: most Shopify sites have great products and horrible online marketing.  That is why most end up failing.  

Don’t allow yourself to just say, “Oh yeah, I kind of have the marketing figured out in my head.”  If your advertising strategy for Shopify is that clear, you should be able to write the entire plan down.  Below is a “template” example of what a comprehensive digital marketing “checklist” may look like:

  • Set a $10 daily budget for online ads ($300/month)
    1. Pick (insert favorite site here) to run two “test” ad campaigns on
    2. Create ad banners or auto-generate ads with Ad360
    3. Research competitors and define my “target audience” based on demographics (e.g. – age, location) interests, and previous web behavior
    4. Make sure I have apps ready to analyze my customer data
    5. As my ads are “seen” and “clicked through,” make sure I can interpret data to refine my strategy, pick the more effective ad, and write down key insights while running another “test” campaign with Ad version “A” and Ad version “B”
    6. Don’t change too many elements for each “Ad version” You won’t know what change made the biggest difference!

Alternatively you can download the Ad360 App for Shopify, which will automatically take care of this for you. You won’t need to spend time and effort on this, and can instead focus on your true passion and core business!

Ad360 automatically generates creatives, finds relevant websites and apps to advertise into, focuses budget on outperforming audiences, and gets you the most viewers and buyers possible for your budget. Ad360 gives you the ability to advertise outside Google and Facebook, and tap into new opportunities to grow your business!

Try for yourself the Ad360 App for Shopify with a 14-day Free Trial!

Programmatic Ads: Automate Success

Relying on Google & Facebook Ad Campaigns is Holding You Back

Have you felt your Shopify paid advertising has been restricted by Google and Facebook ads?  I mean, there are literally millions of independent websites and thousands of mobile apps not controlled by either the Google or Facebook network!

So, why do so many businesses end up feeling trapped with these online conglomerates being their only options for running ads and increasing sales on Shopify?

Simple – they have not explored and expanded their advertising strategies for Shopify.  Relying on your manual inputs to Google and Facebook can generate traffic, but this is the 21st century! It’s time to automate!

Programmatic Ads – Software that Automates Advertisements for You

The solution to you feeling “stuck” with Google and Facebook ads is simple – programmatic software. Programmatic ad services, once set up to your store, basically scour the entire web and mobile ecosystem for the best deals to place your ads.  They follow your daily allotted budget, and within those parameters, match your Shopify product advertising to your target audience on the web – wherever they are.

Programmatic ads have their own software powering this automated decision-making process, meaning you no longer have to rely on Google or Facebook ads!  Imagine never having to manually create a Google Ads campaign again, while seeing your ROI and data for each audience segment explode.  The clarity brought with programmatic ads will revolutionize any advertising strategy for Shopify.  Not having to rely on Google or Facebook’s networks is a liberating experience – one that brings your Shopify business more opportunities and hypertargeted results.

Ad360 Provides Programmatic Ads in One Click

The software that powers programmatic advertising is at the heart Ad360’s services.  Within just one click, you can set a daily budget and begin running targeted ad campaigns across all websites and mobile apps.  Try downloading our app today to experience a game-changing Shopify advertising tool – the democratization of programmatic ads!  Automation of ads saves you precious time while enhancing the chance to increase sales on Shopify – give it a try to refresh your promotional strategies 😊

Try for yourself the Ad360 App for Shopify with a 14-day Free Trial!

Ultimate Guide to Facebook Retargeting

Website with Target and characters engaging in social media activities

While Facebook ad retargeting is effective, there are limitations to promoting products solely through social media!  This post explores how to broaden your online store’s visibility, and use “layered retargeting” to reach customers across the entire Internet – not just Facebook 😊

Increase Sales on Shopify by Retargeting Outside of Facebook

Business Owners using Facebook ads may have noticed that, while effective, there are clear limitations to advertising on the Facebook network.  Sure, it gives access to popular platforms like Instagram, but remember there are roughly 5 billion people who use the internet regularly!  While Facebook has ~2 billion regular users, you miss out on 3 billion potential customers by showing ads only on Facebook.

Who knows?  Your niche audience may not be big fans of Mark Zuckerberg 😉 To increase sales on Shopify, business owners need to find ways to look beyond advertising only on social media.  While it’s undoubtedly effective, there are marketing tactics that layer ad retargeting, thereby reaching users in and outside of Facebook.

The Undeniable Effectiveness of Ad Retargeting Campaigns

If you aren’t already making use of Facebook’s ad remarketing features, it is time to hop on board.  A recent survey of 320 companies found that 86.4% used retargeting campaigns, and over half of those businesses increased their revenue through ad retargeting campaigns.  In other words, the metrics speak for themselves.  After creating the right custom audiences and setting a reasonable budget, retargeted Facebook ads can help increase sales on Shopify.

 … But let’s analyze those numbers a little deeper.  While retargeting on Facebook has its merits, 20% of e-commerce businesses in the same survey reported no benefits from their retargeting campaigns. 

So, we decided to dig a little further and ask, “Is there a way to broaden retargeted Facebook ads beyond social media?”  Doing so, and placing ads in different contexts, may be the key to giving these ad campaigns a boost – and increase sales on Shopify in the process.

Facebook retargeting in 2021
source

Limitations of Advertising on Facebook

First, we need to identify the limits of Facebook ads. 

50% of customers online say they like shopping through platforms like Facebook stories… but what about the other 50%?  If you are limited to retargeting only through the Facebook (Meta) network, you are potentially losing out on reaching half of your customer base.  Other users want to see ads in different online contexts – beyond their social media account! 

To increase sales on Shopify, it is best your e-commerce business gets exposure beyond social media.

Why?  Credibility and Brand awareness.

Showing ads to retargeted users – when they are not on Facebook itself – is impossible with Facebook’s softwareThat could mean the impact of your retargeted ads are limited, as customers will be inclined to write your brand off as, “That store that only pops up on Facebook.”

To many, that limitation could hurt your brand and make it look less legitimate in the eyes of potential customers.  Layering on a broader retargeting service will allow you to show ads to those same users not just on Facebook – but across the entire web.  This enhanced brand visibility will make your store appear more viable in the eyes of potential customers, driving more traffic and increasing your sales on Shopify.

Layering “Web” Retargeting on Top of Facebook Retargeting

They key to maximizing the effectiveness of your ad retargeting campaign is to reach beyond social media, and use tools that enable retargeting across the web. 

In that scenario, an online user could see your ad on Facebook first, then have a moment of déjà vu when the same ad pops up while they browse a news app on their phone!  When the ad appears a third time on their favorite independent blog site, the credibility of the brand has been confirmed in the eye of the customer. 

Seeing the store’s promotions in multiple online contexts makes them feel like checking the store out is worth their time, as it engaged them with multiple touches without appearing repetitive.  This is the power of layering web retargeting on top of Facebook retargeting – you reach customers when they are in different states of mind, upping the chance they take note of your online promotion.  The broadened visibility can help increase your sales on Shopify and boost your brand’s reputation.

Conclusion: Use Menadex to Layer Web Retargeting on top of Facebook

Hopefully by now, you see the promotional power of ad retargeting online businesses.  However, very few businesses know how to layer web retargeting on top of their advertising efforts on social media.  Broadened web visibility could be the keystone to increasing sales on Shopify!

If you want to get the best return on your ads spent (ROAS), try a free demo by Ad360 today!  Our Menadex media offering will automatically layer web retargeting on top of your existing ad campaigns, ensuring you get the broadest appeal and best bang for your buck. 

The Power of a Central Ad Dashboard

multi-platforms dashboard

Runnings Ads Across Every Online Platform is Too Complex

There are pros and cons to leveraging multiple online platforms for your ad campaigns.

Web services like Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Google, Tik Tok, Twitter, and Reddit, reach wide audiences – but each platform’s presentation varies in significant ways.  On paper, running ad campaigns across all search engines and social media platforms may seem the best way to boost your brand visibility and increase sales on Shopify!

… It also sounds super complicated.  Imagine having to log into each separate ad interface, and learn the idiosyncrasies of all the different sites.  Even more, you need to find a way to effectively compare each ad channel while analyzing your digital marketing strategy.  Just the thought of lining up sales metrics from these separate ad channels gives us a headache!

That is why Ad360 is here to provide a turnkey solution to managing all your separate channels: a single, streamlined dashboard the brings all your ad campaigns – across every online platform – under one roof.  Ad360’s streamlined ad dashboard makes it simple to run multiple ads at once, helping refine your marketing strategy and increase sales on Shopify 😊 

The Problem with Disparate Ad Campaigns

Without a central ad dashboard, business owners waste energy simply keeping track of each promotion’s progress.  In fact, e-commerce business owners online report that they keep track of their various online ad campaigns through spreadsheets or notes – all manually. 

The time drain and effort wasted organizing and comparing each ad campaign is not only inefficient, but it could make that comparison inaccurate! 

Entering wrong data or forgetting the rationale for running each ad campaign can make your marketing analysis more difficult or even impossible. Manually entering data in notes or spreadsheet offline basically “disembodies” your data, removing it from the context of your various ad channels.  You’re forced to imagine how each ad campaign looks online instead of having them on an interface right in front of you.

It’s a scientific fact that humans only have so much brainpower for decision-making each day.  If you are draining all that energy simply trying to keep each ad campaign in order, you won’t have enough left over to effectively compare them! 

This “scatterbrain” effect disparate ad campaigns cause could lead to poor mental conceptualizations of your ad campaign’s progress.  Instead of being able to simply sit back and think, “How should I allocate my advertising funds from here?” you are bending over backward trying to keep each ad campaign in order.  Think of all the questions that would rush into your mind when comparing the success of different ad campaigns:

  • Was that ad campaign for brand awareness or boosting conversions?
  • Why did I run that ad campaign on Facebook instead of Google again?
  • What was different about these two ad campaigns?  Was it the visual I used, or was it different text descriptions? 
  • Why did I pay-per-click for this ad but paid per 1,000 views on this one? 

A Streamlined Ad Dashboard – The Key to Digital Marketing Success?

Ad360’s streamlined ad dashboard centralizes all your ad channels to one cozy, intuitive interface.  Think of it like consolidating your debt for a lower interest rate – a single central ad dashboard empowers business owners to take their digital marketing to the next level!

Advertising on multiple platform of your choice, and across the entire web – will feel easy.  By broadening your reach and focusing your promotional efforts, a single central ad dashboard gives you the best chance to increase your sales on Shopify.

Instead of having to open multiple tabs to check in on each ad campaign’s progress, manually record them in a spreadsheet, and compare the numbers by hand, Ad360’s central ad dashboard automatically records key marketing metrics for you.  In doing so, business owners can take a “bird’s eye view” of their overall digital marketing efforts, honing in on key areas to improve their brand message.

Experience Ad360’s Central Ad Dashboard for Yourself

Ad360 offers a free demo to e-commerce business owners trying to improve their digital marketing strategy.  Reach out today for a chance to streamline all your ad channels under one roof, along with the ability to create new ad campaigns with a single click.  If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed keeping track of your online promotions, give us a call today!

Part III: The Most Effective Email Lead Strategies

Email Lead Generation

Introduction: Closing the Deal with an Email Marketing Campaign

By the time you are sending out email ad campaigns, you hopefully have already accomplished a few promotional goals to increase sales on Shopify:

  1. Creating retargeting ads on Facebook campaigns for effective Facebook marketing
  2. Utilizing Google adwords retargeting to concentrate on likely customers
  3. Keep track of your Shopify sales funnel – what level of awareness do site visitors have of your product?

Simply put, email marketing proposals are one of the final steps in the “sales funnel.”  Generally speaking, it should not be the first time the customer has heard from you!  Email leads can come from retargeting ads on Facebook or Google adwords retargeting, but the key point is they have already been identified and targeted to up your chances closing the deal and increasing your Shopify sales!

While part I and II of our email marketing series focused on the basic framework of email ad campaigns, as well as how to construct an effective email marketing subject line and template.  Part III closes out the series by providing a more in-depth analysis of why some email marketing proposals help increase sales on Shopify, while others get you labelled as “spam” by potential customers.  There are 6 key strategies we discuss below, along with other helpful tips – enjoy!

Have Decisive Intent with Email Marketing Subject Lines

We mentioned a few generic examples of email marketing subject lines in Part II (link here), and just remember that, at this point, folks know you are trying to sell something.  There’s no need to dress it up as “informational” or “telling a story” – it will get old quick.  Cut the point, and present a high-value proposition in the email marketing subject line with clear intent.

We’ve organized some of the best email marketing and lead generation strategies below:

1. Abandoned cart emails

Customers are so used to browsing and leaving open a gazillion tabs that they may have accidentally left your page before purchasing!  Send a friendly reminder with an email marketing subject line like, “Hey!  You Forgot Something 😊.”  It’s a proven method to help increase sales on Shopify

2. Product follow up email

Send an email following up if a product is viewed or purchased.  It shows a level of engagement that makes the customer feel you are doing your best to cater to their interests.  An email marketing subject line could read, “We saw you viewed one of our products, but we think you’ll like this one even more!”

3. Promotional Offer

For any seasonal specialty, have a promotional offer ready – it’s one of the best ways to remain topical and relevant to your audience.  It’s St. Patrick’s Day?  Promo Code “Lucky10.”  It’s Labor Day?  “DayOff10.”  MLK’s birthday?  You know the drill.  Some companies go so far as to send birthday promo codes, which is truly a unique, one-of-a-kind way to connect with your customer base!

4. “Come Back Emails”

What a great way to bring old customers back in: offer a nice coupon discount after the customer has stopped engaging with your website or products for 3-4 months.

5. “Leave a Review for a Coupon” Email

These offers ask the customer to leave a nice review in exchange for a promo code on your next purchase.  A little “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” type of deal 😉

6. Loyal Customer Appreciation Emails

If your Shopify store data reveals that certain customers have had multiple “purchase” events on your site, and have remained committed to regularly visiting your Shopify site for over a year, consider having a special “Thank you for your loyalty,” promotion for them.  Think about it – with all the options online, they have continued to stick with you!  Reward that the right way, and you will build an audience that feels appreciated and acknowledged for their patronage.  Over time, your Shopify sales will increase dramatically with customer retention marketing strategies like this one.

Segment Your Audience to Who Receives What Email Ads

Don’t blast emails  – segment your audience to the most granular detail.  Some business owners report it took the conversion rate on the email from 11% -> 40% by segmenting the audience.

Ask questions like, “Has this customer purchased before?  How long has it been since they visited the site?  Where did they first hear about us?  When was the lasts time we reached out?”

Make sure customers receive only the most relevant emails to their interests.  How do you surmise where to segment each potential customer?  By reviewing and analyzing previous customer engagement and reported “events” recorded by services like Google Analytics.  You can break down who receives what email based on demographic info, as well.  That way, you can have an email marketing subject line catering specifically to different age brackets or regional locations.’

One more thing – make the email look fun to click on!  Add email gifs and little touches like that, it could help brighten your customers day, and they will thank you for that 😊  Put effort into humanizing the message for each segment of your audience to make the best email ad campaign possible.

Conclusion – Help Managing your Email Ad Campaigns

Analyzing the data to segment your audience – as well as generating creative email marketing subject lines – may seem like a fairly arduous task, but it’s well worth the increased sales on Shopify.  If you feel you could benefit from some online advertising expertise, reach out to try a free demo by Ad360 today!

We are a certified Google partner and can run every facet of your advertising efforts online.  We can balance personalizing your email retargeting ad campaigns while automating the most time-consuming aspects of the process.  Cheers and sell well!

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