Shopify is a software service that provides an online "shop" to sell, ship and manage your products including enabling you to create a website. You don't really need to be a web designer/graphic designer to set it up. The process is pretty straight forward and you can be up and running easily with some basic computer skills.
Why Shopify?
In simple words, Shopify allows you to set up an online shop to sell your products while providing a user-friendly interface to manage everything from payments and shipping to marketing, social media as well as hosting your website. All of this is available at a reasonable subscription and the prices vary depending on the plan you choose - for a startup or small businesses, this is a cost-effective e-commerce platform to begin with!
On platforms like Amazon, Ebay and Etsy, they are already stores. It can be difficult to stand out among a sea of different sellers. on the other hand, Shopify offers a distinct advantage for sellers to stand out. You can write your own unique product descriptions, these will come up when potential customers search for these keywords on Google or any other search engine.
Entrepreneurs who are e-commerce newbies often find platforms like Shopify daunting. The objective of this article is to explain and simplify the set up process.
if you can set up an e-mail account, you already know how to create a store in shopify!
Create your Unique Online Store
Go to Shopify's home page and click on "Get Started" at the top right corner, input a couple of essential information like e-mail address, password, a unique store name for your products to quickly "create your store". Pay a lot of attention to your password as this account will also handle your customer's information when your store is up and running. Additionally, put some thought into your store name; choose a name that stands out yet feels familiar and relate-able.
A valid physical address in mandatory. Sgenerhopify is a trusted platform to its customers as the vendors are held accountable and the idea is to host only real businesses. You have to provide complete information to be considered a reliable online store. Plus, the address is also for billing purposes, you definitely want to get paid, don't you?
Control Room - your Home Page
Take some time to understand the shopify system thoroughly. while there are many online tutorials, nothing beats the actual experience of using it, experimenting with various features and generally, clicking around within your store!
General Navigation Menus
Search Bar: If you are looking for something, parts of your store maybe? key in your words here or type words here.
Settings: Allows you to change how your store works, for example: you can change your shopify store name here.
Your Profile: you can personalize your store by adding a profile picture, logo or change website details. Protect your store with enhanced security measures such as two-step authentication.
Product-specific Navigation Menus
Add Product: you can use this feature to add products and to add product variants.
Sales: you can access total sales, sales breakdown that helps in product analytics.
Pay Attention to Product Descriptions
Do remember that your shopify store is a virtual store with all the products you offer. However, there is noone who is there physically to explain the features, specifications or advantages of the product. Hence, it is very important that you take the time to be descriptive, articulate and "present" your product to the customer suitably.
A detailed description with all specifications filled in, will appeal to your customers on the world wide web. Essential fields like Product Title, Product Description, Images (clear and good quality!), Pricing and Taxes are fields that need attention-to-detail.
Group similar products into Collections
Use tags to organize your products and to be easily accessible to customers
Display quality and aesthetic images of your products. Images from a professional photographer is a good investment in the long run.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an attractive feature available on Shopify to have an idea of how product titles and descriptions appear in search engine results.
Social Media Marketing
Now that you have set up your Shopify store, you are in business! The next step is to get the word out. Everybody is on social media and run successful businesses virtually; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is a great place to market and create visibility for your business.
Be creative and create appealing posts with attractive imagery. If writing is not your forte, delegate the task to content management agencies or professionals ( like us!...did you see how we plugged in). On Instagram, there are influencers who can help you to reach untapped audiences for your product.
Allocate some funds towards target ads on Google, Facebook Ads to boost your products and content.
Shopify Hacks for Success
Start with a short, catchy and unique name for store; stand out.
When you add product and variants, ensure that you generate a SKU ( Stock Keeping Unit). It will faciliate inventory and enough stock when in demand.
Start with a basic payment plan, free themes to scale up and upgrade as your business grows
Create a Shopify Test Order to ensure everything is up and running smoothly
Purchase a custom domain name to display a professional, serious business venture