You’ve found a product to sell, you’ve set up your dropshipping store, you’re running
ads and… still no sales.
Now what?
In this video I’m going to share my strategies for reviewing a dropshipping store to find
out what needs to be fixed.
When you’re a beginner dropshipper, it can be frustrating to do all that work without
any sales.
But, failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of it!
After helping hundreds of dropshippers, I’ve noticed the same mistakes over and over again.
Today, I’ll tell you what to look for to optimize your store for more sales!
By the end of this video, you’ll know:
A simple store template to increase sales What apps you need to boost conversions
How to use analytics to optimize your store for sales
Ready to get started?
Watch on.
Hey everyone it’s Jessica from Oberlo.
Today I’m going to show you how I review dropshipping stores that aren’t seeing any
sales.
Dropshipping, by the way, is one of the easiest ways to start an online business.
Instead of buying tons of inventory for your online store, you only order products when
you get sales.
Your supplier ships your orders for you, so you can sell all over the world!
But being a successful dropshipper requires constant learning.
Make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss our weekly tutorials, dropshipper interviews,
and product recommendations.
To be a successful dropshipper you need to embrace challenges.
Succeeding in ecommerce is all about figuring out what’s not working, and how to change
it.
If you’re not seeing any sales you might start wondering if dropshipping even works.
You’ve read success stories, and yet you can’t seem to understand what’s so different
about your store.
After reviewing hundreds of dropshipping stores, I can tell you exactly what sets high-profit
stores apart from flailing stores.
Today I’ll tell you how to implement the same strategies that high-profit stores use
to your store.
Now, I’m going to assume that you’re already driving traffic to your store.
If you aren’t, check out our free Facebook Ads course.
It will show you step-by-step how to find an audience and start driving traffic to your
store!
Alright, let’s dive into store review strategies!
We’ll start on the store homepage.
Throughout this video, we’ll look at a beginner dropshipping store that sells leggings and
a professional ecommerce store that sells popcorn.
Optimize the Banner Image
Let’s begin reviewing your store by starting with the banner image.
Throughout this store review, it’s important to put yourself in your customer’s shoes.
Customers have low attention spans.
It’s up to you to grab their attention and make it easy for them to shop.
Usually one of the first things customers notice is the banner image, right here.
Your banner image should be a high-quality photo of a product, or a photo that is relevant
to your niche.
If you use low-quality images, you could turn off customers.
But don’t worry; you don’t need to be a photographer to get high-quality images
for your banner.
These images are from Unsplash, a free stock photo website.
You can also check out Burst by Shopify for product-specific stock photos.
I’ll leave links to both of those sites below.
As I said, however, your photos don’t need to be of the product your selling.
You can also use photos that relate to your branding.
For example, a photo of someone lounging in a pool or on the beach would work great if
you’re selling sunglasses.
As you continue reviewing your store, consider your store’s menus.
2.
Organize Store Menus
Store menus appear near the top, or sometimes on the side of, your store homepage.
Menus link to other pages of your online store.
Menus should make it easier for customers to find your product, learn about your brand,
and get in touch with you.
There are four standard menu options that I recommend for online stores.
These are: Returns, Shipping, About and Contact information.
Each of these menu options can link to a separate page in your Shopify store.
You can also combine Returns and Shipping information, or include them in an FAQ.
You might be wondering whether all of these pages are necessary.
But again, think about your customer’s experience.
If your customer is shopping for a gift for a friend’s birthday, they will want to know
about shipping times.
After all, they wouldn’t want to receive a product after their friend’s birthday
has come and gone.
But if that customer can’t find any information about shipping times, and if they can’t
find any way to contact you and ask about shipping times, you’ll lose that sale!
As you can see on Pipcorn, there is an About, Contact, and FAQ page that has all relevant
information.
If you click on the FAQ, you even see information about shipping outside the United States.
The leggings dropshipping store nests an About us, FAQ and Contact Page under the “About”
menu option.
This makes it just a little hard to find.
If I were reviewing this store, I would suggest the store owner make those page a bit more
obvious.
One thing I do like here is the Size Guide.
If you’re selling a product that comes in different sizes, is difficult to use, or is
only compatible with certain devices, make a separate page with that information.
Then include the page in your header menu so customers can find it easily.
You may have noticed that both the leggings store and Pipcorn have a banner advertising
free shipping.
While it may seem like a small detail, advertising free shipping can have a huge impact on your
sales.
Studies show that only 35% of shoppers are willing to pay for shipping.
If the other 65% are browsing your store and don’t see free shipping, they may leave.
As you’re setting up your store menu, don’t spend hours working on your About Us page.
Check out our video afterwards that outlines exactly how to create an effective About Us
page.
Uploading High-quality images and creating a helpful store menu are the first steps to
creating a trustworthy store that get sales.
My next strategy might seem obvious, but I’ve seen many dropshippers skip it.
3.
Highlight Products on the Homepage
You must highlight one, or a few products spotlighted on your store’s homepage.
Even if you are selling hundreds of products, it’s important to draw your customer’s
attention to your most eye-catching ones.
If your customer has to click through a collection to see a product, you might lose them!
I suggest highlighting a product at the very top of your homepage or just below the banner
image.
This way your customer sees it right away.
I love the way Pipcorn does this.
Right after the banner image, Pipcorn highlights its best selling products.
Pipcorn offers more than 3 products, but this formatting drives customers to high-converting
product pages right away.
When selecting products to highlight on your home page, choose products that have eye-catching
photos and well-written product descriptions.
Remember, this may be the last thing your customer will read before pressing the add
to cart button.
If you’re looking for help writing high-converting product descriptions, check out our video
here.
I’ll also link to it in the description below!
Once you have your homepage squared away, you can start to look at other tools to help
you boost conversions.
By tools, I means apps!
The Shopify App store has a wide variety of apps that you can use to help increase your
sales.
Although there are many to choose from, I suggest two to start.
4.
Create a Sense of Urgency
The first is an app that creates urgency.
As a dropshipper, your ideal customers are impulse buyers.
Impulse buyers make purchases because they see something they want and they feel like
they need it now!
Urgency apps help to reinforce that feeling.
If your customers don’t feel a sense of urgency, they may decide to save their money
or go comparison shopping.
Countdown timers are a great way to create a sense of urgency.
The Shopify App store has a wide selection of countdown timers that you can load onto
your product pages.
When customers see that they only have so much time to take advantage of a sale, they
will be more inclined to buy.
While impulse buyers are great, you’ll get lots of store visitors who are interested
in your product but don’t buy right away.
But just because they don’t buy right away doesn’t mean they never will!
5.
Collect Emails
That’s why I suggest you install an app that collects emails.
There are many email marketing apps in the Shopify App store.
You can use almost all of these apps to email potential customers about sales and special
offers.
The average customer needs to see a product 3-7 times before they make a purchase--so
keep those emails coming!
It’s a good idea to offer an incentive to store visitors so they give you their email.
Pipcorn does this well: they offer a 15% discount code in exchange for an email address.
The leggings store does this too.
Store visitors have a chance to win a free pair of leggings if they enter their email.
Every month, the dropshipping merchant picks one new email signup and gives them an individual
coupon good for one pair of leggings.
There are many more apps that can help increase stores conversions.
However, these are the two that are most popular with dropshippers.
It’s time for the last strategy for optimizing your store for sales.
6.
Understand Your Analytics
You’ve got to understand your analytics.
Whether you’re running online ads, focusing on SEO, or simply trying to drive traffic
through your store’s social media, it’s important to track store visitor behavior.
Remember, I’m assuming that you’re already driving some traffic to your store.
If you’re not yet, I suggest watching our Facebook Ads Course or Free Traffic video
to get started.
I’ll link to them in the description down below.
Every Shopify plan comes with an Analytics section that you can access from your admin.
Here, you can find information to help you understand why you’re not getting sales.
Your Analytics dashboard has a wealth of information.
While it’s all helpful, I’ll highlight a few of the most important sections to look
at.
The first dashboard section to look at is Online store sessions by location.
This shows you a breakdown of what countries your store visitors are coming from.
You can use this information to advertise to the countries that are already sending
you the most visitors.
For example, this leggings store gets the most traffic from the U.S., Germany, and the
UK.
The store owner would do well to advertise to these countries rather than, say, Ireland,
Australia, or New Zealand.
You can also use this information to decide whether you want to translate your store or
use a converter.
For example, this leggings store gets enough visitors from the EU and the UK that a currency
converter app might be helpful.
That would allow visitors to see stores prices in Euros and Pounds respectively.
Remember, your customers will be charged in your main currency at checkout.
This would be another great piece of information to include in your store’s FAQ!
The Second dashboard section I suggest reviewing is Online store sessions by device type.
If you are seeing a lot of your traffic coming from mobile, then it’s important to test
your storefront and product pages on your mobile device.
You can do this on your own phone: just pull up your store on your mobile device and try
going through checkout.
Ask yourself: is the text legible?
Are the buttons easy to use?
Is it easy to navigate the menus?
You can also see what your store looks like on mobile within Shopify.
Just go to Online Store > Customize.
At the very top, click the mobile icon.
Now you can adjust your store design so that it looks great on smaller screens.
Let’s go back to the Dashboard.
The last section I suggest looking at is the Top Landing Pages by Session.
This will show you a breakdown of exactly how many people visit your store, look at
the products, and even reach the checkout.
You can use this information to optimize your store.
If your traffic is only visiting your storefront and not clicking on products, then you might
need to work on your homepage.
Are the images crisp and compelling?
Do you highlight at least one product?
Is it easy for visitors to browse your catalogue?
If your traffic is visiting your product pages but not checking out, then you might need
to work on your product pages.
Use high-resolution images and write your own product descriptions.
Let me repeat that: write your own product descriptions!
Don’t rely on Aliexpress for that one.
Now I’d love to hear from you.
When reviewing a store, Is there anything you look for that I didn’t mention here?
Let me know in the comments below!
I’ll chime in with my thoughts.
Thanks for watching.
Until next time, learn often, market better, and sell more.