How to Drive Traffic to Your Online Store
Are you ready to learn how to get traffic to your online store? Well good! Because that is what we’re talking about today. Oh—and as a reminder, this is Part 2 of a five-part series about how to launch your product or brand online. If you missed it, check out Part 1. Seriously, it’s got some good stuff in there.
Okay, now on to how to drive traffic to your online store.
So…there’s kind of this thought out there that you can just essentially add some products to your online store, take it live, and POOF!
Customers appear.
That would be the best thing ever.
But you know what? Selling online really isn’t one of those “build it and they will come” kind of things. You gotta put in some effort.
Otherwise…it’s pretty much just your mom and your Aunt Martha who come and check out your site.
So I want you to think about driving traffic to your online store just like you would about throwing a truly great party. You’re going to have the perfect location and the ideal décor, coordinating everything, and the most perfect little gifts for your guests ever.
But if you don’t send out invitations, nobody’s going to show up. I know this from firsthand experience…and yeah, talk about it all in the video.
So we’re going to have ourselves a little chit-chat about what it means to “invite” somebody to your online store (aka your party.)
Buddy Up
In my experience, one of the best things you can do when you’re first getting started is to find a business buddy. I’m not talking about like a legal partnership—I’m talking about finding another business that offers products that are complementary to yours. Promote each other, do a giveaway together or do a shared Facebook Live. Maybe she gets a new follower from you, maybe you get one from his or her group…and you keep growing from there. You never know where it might lead or how much traffic it can ultimately generate.
Shout it Out
If you’ve followed my blog for more than about 10 minutes, you know that I love influencers. That includes influencers who are just getting started out (sound familiar?) A lot of times these fellow newbies are willing to give your brand or online store a shout-out on their social feed in exchange for a product or two. True story: I got so many dang free t-shirts when I first started! And I was psyched! Even getting a small spiff gave me the chance to practice interacting with my followers online. No joke: small influencers can deliver BIG results.
And the Winner Is…
Yeah, I’m not shy about giving stuff away when it comes to inviting people to my party. And make it a product from YOUR online store—not Amazon gift cards or stuff like that. The other day I gave away a blanket, and you’d have thought it was an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii! People love to get free things, and as you reward them for coming to your store, they’ll develop brand loyalty. (P.S. And nope—it doesn’t have to be expensive!)
You’ve Got Mail
Okay, the time has come. We’re going to talk email lists. An email list is worth a fortune in terms of how it allows you to communicate with your customers (or customers-to-be) and let them know all about the party you’re throwing. I shared some good info in Part 1 of this series so again, go check it out.
Freebies Galore
Hello again! Yep—we’re still on email lists, but this time I’m going to tell you one of the things that can help build a powerful one: freebies. I don’t mean a t-shirt or a blanket or earrings or anything like that. If your online store is all about bakery products, give people your 5 best cupcake recipes for free when they sign up for your email list. It doesn’t cost you anything more than the time to create it. Does your online store carry kids' products? Let them download a bombdiggity seasonal coloring page or a slime recipe (okay—not slime. I hate that stuff.) But you get my meaning. Make the freebie fun, interesting and/or useful, and people will share their email address with you.
All right! Now you have some super sweet ideas for driving traffic to your online store keep them coming back. And of course, you can have a handy-dandy download of these ideas simply by clicking the link above and having it delivered right to your Messenger inbox.
Want to learn some more? Look for Part 3 in this series, when I’m going to be going over how to increase the amount of each of your sales. You won’t want to miss it!
