How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan If you have a promising idea for an online ecommerce business, it’s important to create an ecommerce business plan to ensure your vision has enough stock to be profitable. Having a business plan for your online store will help you define your target market, establish your monthly and quarterly sales goals, and increase the likelihood of long-term ecommerce success. In this post, we’ll go over what an online store business plan is and how you can create one for your ecommerce startup. Let’s get started. Whether a company operates as a startup or has years of operations and growth under its belt, an ecommerce business plan is essential for evaluating a business and determining areas of improvement. An ecommerce business plan is especially important, with an increasing number of shoppers conducting business online. It's estimated this number has reached over 2 billion. Having an ecommerce business plan keeps you organized and is useful when seeking investors who need to understand your company. So, let’s dive into some examples of ecommerce business plans and what goes into writing one using our free template. Ecommerce Business Plan Template Download Your Free Template Here HubSpot's template provides clear steps to structuring one for your ecommerce business. Throughout this section, I’ll use the example of a photography company specializing in online photo editing. 1. Give an executive summary. An executive summary is a one-to-two page overview of your business. The purpose of...

How to Start an Ecommerce Business in 2022 In June 2021, over 440,000 businesses were launched, making it a record high since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Many are focusing on ecommerce businesses, as they offer an easier point of entry. There's no physical space to scope out, rent to pay, or permits to obtain. However, that doesn't mean starting an online business is a piece of cake. Learn what it takes to start an ecommerce business and the steps to start one today. Tips for Starting an Online Business 1. Design your website with intention. Your website is your storefront – you don't want potential customers arriving, looking around, and walking right out. Think of your website title and meta description as your window display. You want the description to be enticing enough to beat out the competition and get users to click on your website. Your homepage is the first thing visitors see when they land (or walk in). What will you present to make them keep scrolling? Maybe it's your latest offer or a striking image from your latest campaign, or perhaps it's a simple but compelling CTA that will invite curiosity. Users should be able to navigate your site seamlessly with little friction. That requires a lot of planning, designing, and iterating. Just as you would take time to curate every section of your store, be sure to give that same care with your website. Every section should have a...

9 Ways You Can Improve Your Ecommerce Website Design The other day I was shopping online for a Nintendo Switch, a popular handheld gaming console. The popularity of the console has made it extremely difficult to find one — stores like Best Buy and Target were out of stock. This meant that I had to reach outside of my comfort zone when browsing. I scoured Google to find an ecommerce option that carried the Switch. Even though I was desperate to reach my goal, I was very selective about where to shop. As a consumer, website design is one of the biggest factors I take into consideration when choosing where to spend my money. If the website design isn't committed to user experience, I immediately deem the company as unprofessional. I'm not alone, either. In fact, 48% of people use website design as a deciding factor when determining the credibility of a business. If you're wondering about the usability of your ecommerce website, this post is here to help. We'll go over some ways you can improve the design of your website, as well awesome examples that put these tips into practice. Before you upload your next product page, take a look at these pointers below to help. 1. Make the website user-friendly. When it comes to ecommerce websites, user-friendliness is a must. Customers have to be able to easily navigate through your website to make purchases. Take the Daily Harvest website, for example. The homepage clearly states the...

How to Get the Most out of Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy What do a Hand Forged 1060 High Carbon Black Steel Blade Full Tang Samurai Katana Sword and a 7,541-Piece Lego Millennium Falcon™ Replica have in common? Well, first and foremost, they're both awesome. Second, if you have kids under the age of three, you probably don't want them playing with either — one is a choking hazard and one is a katana. And third, you can buy both through the magic of something called ecommerce — the sale of products or services online. Ecommerce is becoming a staple of companies' sales and marketing operations across virtually every industry. Here, we'll examine some ecommerce marketing strategies your business can employ to land and retain as many customers as possible. Ecommerce Marketing Plan Your ecommerce marketing plan is essentially the sum of the ecommerce strategies and tactics you choose to employ. The most effective plans aren't randomly cobbled together — they're designed with intention. They're often guided by a general marketing philosophy or underlying structure. For instance, the inbound methodology can be applied to an overarching ecommerce marketing plan. In this case, you would tailor your ecommerce marketing efforts to attract visitors, convert those visitors into leads, close deals and turn them into customers, and delight them once they've purchased your products or services to turn them into promoters. There are a number of different strategies to consider when constructing your plan. Here are some of the most effective...

How to Open an Online Business I can't count how many times I've come up with an idea and immediately said to my friends, "I should start a business!" I never do, but if I did, I know it would be online. Why? Well, in 2018, online businesses generated over $2 billion in revenue. If shopping online wasn't as popular a couple of years ago, it definitely is now. Plus, online shopping makes the experience easier for the customer since they don't have to leave their homes to make a purchase. Another reason I would open an online store is because it would be easier for me. I could use online management systems to execute business functions and set up an ecommerce website to take the place of a brick-and-mortar shop. Aside from physical inventory, almost everything I would need could happen from a computer. I haven't yet landed on the online business idea that will catapult me into success, but you most likely have, and are itching to get going. There's only one problem: where to start. Starting a business is a hefty and challenging endeavor. Here, we're going to focus on how to start one that operates online. If you're interested in starting an online business, we've got you covered with these six steps. There are some fun aspects of building a business — like picking out a name, creating your branding material, and connecting with leads. On the other hand, there are some aspects that...

8 Strategies for Writing Product Descriptions That'll Generate Revenue I'll admit it -- I love online shopping. Recently, I've been shopping online more than ever. And I'm not the only one. In fact, last year annual online sales were over $3 billion. In 2020, online sales are projected to reach $4.2 billion. That's why product descriptions are more important than ever. As a marketer, it might be time to rewrite your product descriptions to increase online sales. Below, let's review what a product description is and how to write one. Then, to help guide your own writing process, we'll look at some examples and templates to get you started. Usually, a product description will include product details. Additionally, it should tell a story about how the product can solve the target audience's pain points. If a visitor can't imagine themselves benefiting from a product, they won't purchase it. 1. Consider your buyer persona. With any copy you write, you need to keep your buyer persona in mind. It's important that your product description is catered to your target audience. For example, your product description should specifically address pain points and goals of your buyer persona. Online visitors need to be able to visualize themselves using a product before they'll purchase it. Additionally, you should use the same language that potential customers use. Doing your keyword research will help you do this (more on that below). For instance, does your product description use the same humor of your target audience?...

Everything You Need to Know About Ecommerce Marketing With nearly every marketing operation now taking place online, it can be tough to distinguish between the various types of digital marketing people use today. For example, take ecommerce marketing — what is it and how does it compare to practices like social media, content, search engine, and email marketing? Ecommerce marketing and digital marketing are not mutually exclusive. Ecommerce websites can use all of the above digital channels to promote a product and grow their business. This ecommerce marketing guide will explore all of the digital media available today. Ecommerce marketers can use social media, digital content, search engines, and email campaigns to attract visitors and facilitate purchases online. Before we dive into more detail about what ecommerce marketing is and how to implement a strategy of your own, let's review the definition of ecommerce advertising and advertising's parity with marketing for an ecommerce business. Ecommerce Advertising In similar fashion to the way advertising falls beneath the umbrella of marketing, ecommerce advertising falls beneath ecommerce marketing — and when used in tandem, you have the ability to more effectively reach your audience members to boost conversions and improve brand awareness. As mentioned in our definition above, ecommerce marketing is about driving awareness and action towards your product or service. Meanwhile, ecommerce advertising includes the methods through which you actually promote your product. In terms of online or ecommerce marketing and selling, these ads may come in the form...

How to Choose the Right Marketing Automation Platform for Your Ecommerce Business So you've decided you're ready to take your marketing to the next level by investing in a marketing automation tool — congrats! But as you start your research, you soon discover there are 7,000+ marketing automation solutions available as of 2019. How will you know which is the right platform for your ecommerce business? Like with every tricky business question, the answer is: it depends. In this post, I'll cover seven factors to consider when comparing different marketing automation platforms. These factors will ultimately help you make a more confident and informed decision about the future of your tech stack. But first, let's discuss why ecommerce businesses should always use some kind of marketing automation platform. Why Use Marketing Automation for Ecommerce? Marketing automation uses online software to automatically execute your marketing tasks, like sending emails, growing your database, and collecting data to help drive your strategy. Although it's commonly known for making the lives of digital marketers easier (which I can completely attest to), it also helps your ecommerce business scale. At Campaign Creators, we help ecommerce brands leverage the power of marketing automation. Here's a list of some of the immediate benefits we've seen our clients reap after implementation: Reduced customer acquisition costs Increased average order value (AOV) of customers Conversion of one-time buyers into repeat, loyal customers Increased frequency of purchases Improved conversion rates with automated emails (i.e. abandoned...