Market Like a Pro with These Essential Shopify Tips from Shopify Website Experts

Marketing your Shopify store is no easy feat—especially if you don't know what you're doing. Lucky for you, our Shopify store experts have years of experience dealing with common mistakes Shopify store owners make. And today, we're sharing our resources with you to help you maximize your ROI on your marketing efforts.

Getting Our Shopify Experts To Share Their Best Shopify Tips (Marketing Mistakes to Avoid)

When I asked the team to share their best Shopify tips with you, they all agreed that they wanted to start off with some common mistakes Shopify store owners make when doing their marketing. Those can help you avoid some pitfalls on your own. 

Not Maximizing Your Site's Full Potential

The first common mistake they listed was not using your site to its full potential. They said that a lot of Shopify store owners don't really realize the full potential of their site, and end up focusing all of their efforts on social media instead.

You see, a lot of store owners will spend a lot of time building up an Instagram or Facebook page for their store, but then don't bother to point traffic there with strong calls-to-action (CTAs). They'll just post some generic photos, or include links to their social media pages, without any urgency or instructions on how to actually use those platforms.

However, these platforms are not just for social media—they're perfect tools for building links and boosting traffic.

They can even help you build up your email list and improve the performance of your site's content. So when you're leaving all of your marketing efforts at home, consider expanding those channels, and using them to build more leverage in your store's capacity to deliver results.

Mistaking Email Lists For A Campaign

The second common mistake they reported was the idea that using email is not worth it. They said the majority of online entrepreneurs don't really know what email marketing is, and they don't recognize its true value.

For most people, focusing on their email is a huge mistake. It's one of the biggest reasons why someone ends up losing their Shopify store.

But, there's another reason why people have so much trouble making that email marketing transition—not a lot of Shopify store owners are even aware of the amazing results it can bring.

Having built up a decent email list over the years, some of our website experts have seen incredible results from their email campaigns. For example, some Shopify store owners have seen their orders double just by sending emails to their customers.

When you start sending emails, you know their customers are already interested in your product or service. And then you can use that to your advantage.

For example, let's say your store is selling t-shirts with funny sayings on them. When someone buys a t-shirt, they don't even need to check in their email inbox to see what else you've created (because they already know).

So, you want to send them a funny tee of their own to make sure that they get your message, and then offer them another one or two just to be safe.

One time, our experts tested out sending funny sayings as the subject lines for their emails. The results were crazy—their sales increased by 672%, after only having sent out 2 campaigns with no new items in each.

Don't underestimate the importance of testing out your content and your marketing efforts.

Not Optimizing The Order Process

The third mistake they mentioned was not using a Shopify app to boost the performance of their order process. Each online store owner knows that managing orders is vital for the company's success, but most don't know what tools their store needs to use—or how to use them.

If you're a Shopify store owner that doesn't have an app for placing orders or getting customer feedback, you need one fast. It can be the difference between your business doing well and going out of business.

As a Shopify store owner, you can still use the default Shopify order process, but you're going to be at a disadvantage compared to others that have moved onto apps that are more effective.

Before you sign up for any apps, make sure that you're getting them from someone who has experience in helping Shopify store owners optimize their sales process—that way you'll know if it's even worth installing and using it.

Not Getting The Most From Your Customers

The last common mistake they reported was getting the short end of the stick when it comes to their customer experience. They said that a lot of store owners struggle to scale themselves, and don't know how to kick-start their customer service process.

Ideally, you want to get your Shopify store up and running, and then use that as an opportunity to start building up your customer support team. You can even consider teaming up with a Shopify website experts agency to maximize what you can do on the platform.

But, to make sure you don't leave all of your marketing efforts at home, you need to start getting a bit of a foothold in your customer service process as soon as possible.

By focusing on customer satisfaction and accommodating those that need assistance, you can significantly increase the performance of your site. And, it's one thing that will increase the engagement of your customers—which will ultimately lead to better conversion rates on their purchases.

So, if you're a Shopify store owner that wants to get the most out of your customers, you're going to want to start upselling and offering better customer service. After all, that's one of the things that really sets you apart from the rest.

Not Maximizing the Power of SEO

The last challenge that they mentioned was the idea that SEO is a lot more complicated than it seems. They said that with all of the changes to Google's algorithm in today's world, SEO is one of the most complex marketing efforts to successfully complete.

When people are trying to optimize their content for search engines, they often don't do enough research to understand what kind of content actually works well on these platforms.

As a result, a lot of store owners find themselves just spinning their wheels and not getting any results.

But, that doesn't mean you're doing SEO wrong—you just need to take some time to learn the ins and outs of the process before you start getting into it.

For example, if you want to rank your store high on Google searches, a lot of people think that all they need to do is start using some keywords. But not everyone realizes that they also need to be relevant with their content as well.

So, let's say you have a site about dogs. If you're using the keyword "dog" a dozen times, but your content is about some dog-themed cartoons you saw on TV, that's not going to work.

Not Recognizing That It's Time to Team Up with The Right People

So, what are you waiting for? If there's something that you can change about your store to help it grow, then there's no reason why you shouldn't try it out.

At this point, you should be motivated to make some changes and start turning things around. So, it's time to get started with that!

To do so, reach out to someone on our team. We can talk about what you need to succeed on Shopify, and we can help you build out your store with all of the tools and resources you need.

We've helped thousands of store owners build out successful stores. And if you want to be one of them, we're here for you.

That way you can turn your store around, and make sure that it's ready to take advantage of whatever opportunities come its way.

Top Shopify Marketing Tips

If you know the previous things are common mistakes for shopify store owners, now it's time to make changes and see what happens.

Here we have some top Shopify marketing tips that you should follow to improve your Shopify store.

Don't Waste Money on Paid Ads

We're not telling you not to use paid ads. What we want to say is that you shouldn't be too desperate when it comes to getting results.

The truth is that Shopify is a crowded platform, and you're probably not the only one launching a new business there.

If you use paid ads to promote your store and products, you might notice an increase in sales. But what will happen when those ads stop bringing you new clients?

And if you're spending thousands on the ads, then you'll notice the growth in sales drop down again. So, it's not a good idea to put so much money into something that has no long term benefits.

But really, most paid ad efforts fail because of a lack of appropriate planning and strategizing. It's not enough to create a graphic, promote it, and hope for the best.

As the saying goes, you have to first decide what you want from your marketing efforts. You need to set up a plan, and then work toward achieving those goals.

The problem is that people don't do that. They just create content and send traffic to their website. But what happens when their traffic dries up?

That's why we're saying that you need to make sure that the content you create is being seen by your target audience. You can't use keywords for nothing. You need to make sure that they're being used in the right way and in the right context.

By using proper keywords, you can help your store get found by the right people. That way, when you do start using paid ads, they'll be much more likely to lead to a sale.

Don't Confuse Your Target Audience with Your Competition's

There's a lot of talk these days about how your competition is sitting on a gold mine. It was only a year ago when everyone was talking about how Facebook and Google were looking at your business, while they were also making money off it.

And while it might seem like you're fighting against Goliath here, the truth is that you're not. That's because you can learn a lot from your competition.

Many people will feel like the best way to get their store up and running is to copy those that are already established in the space.

But what they fail to realize is that, even if they do make a few sales, they're not really learning anything.

It might seem like you're using your competition's strategy to get ahead of them in the market, but in reality, you're just wasting your time.

You should focus on trying to learn from the people who are already successful. If you can find out what their customers want and how you can deliver that value better than anyone else out there, then you'll be off to a great start.

Be Careful About Google Analytics

One of the biggest sources of frustration for many store owners is that they just don't know how to get the most out of their analytics.

They're confused by all of the reports and metrics that they have, and they end up losing time trying to figure everything out.

What's more surprising is that even when they do know what they need to be looking at, it's still hard for them to actually see those numbers.

But here's the thing: you probably don't need to be focusing on that so much.

If you're looking at the numbers and trying to work out whether your store is working or not, then you're really missing the point.

What you should be doing instead is looking at customer behavior and engagement. For example, if you can see that users aren't clicking around or spending a lot of time on your store, then it's time for a change.

You should be tracking those numbers and seeing what's going on. If you can see that your store has room for improvement, then it's time to make some changes.

Use Your Branding to Your Advantage

When people go online, they're often searching for brands. They want to know what the product is like and what the customer reviews are like.

They want to see if it's something that they'll enjoy, or if it's just another scam that nobody has been satisfied with for years.

And when you think about how important your brand is in your business, then you might realize that it can be really easy to forget about it.

But the truth is that you should never shy away from it.

When you do focus on your brand, you can use it to your advantage and influence more people. Customers want to buy from brands they like and trust, so if you can start building that kind of reputation for yourself, then more people will come.

One thing you should be aware of is that a lot of people will be judging your brand before they even look at your store. People might not realize that your company is different from the competition, so you need to make sure that you're setting yourself apart.

If you do use your store to promote yourself and build up a good reputation, then it's going to be easier for you to turn your store into a business.

Don't Forget About Social Media

If you're still using social media to network and market your business, then you might be getting a bit behind the times. There's a bunch of other ways that people are finding out about businesses these days.

But if you want to use social media in the right way, then it's important to be aware of how exactly it can benefit your business.

For example, customers want to know what you're like. They want to see the kind of personality you have so that they can get a sense of who you are. You need to be careful that it doesn't come off as being too harsh or self-centered.

But if you're using social media in the right way, then it'll help your store become more visible and people will be more likely to contact you.

Of course, social media poses its own set of challenges. But if you can get it right and use it to your advantage, then you'll be able to see the results even without focusing on paid ads.

Don't Forget About Email

There are a lot of people who still don't take email marketing seriously today. They might think of it as being old-fashioned or outdated. But that couldn't be further from the truth.

Email marketing is still incredibly useful and it gives you a lot of opportunities. For example, you can be pretty sure that people will actually see your messages.

That's because they're being sent straight to their inboxes. You can't ignore them like you would with a social media post or an ad on Facebook.

But if you want to use email marketing in the right way, then there are certain things you need to remember. For example, make sure that you're not just sending out messages about your store all the time.

One of the great things about email marketing is that it can keep you motivated and set your store apart. It's not like social media where people are checking out your profile every few hours, so don't forget to keep it relevant and interesting.

Don't Focus on a Single Product

If you're too tight with one product in particular, then you'll never know when to switch things up.

While you might want to launch a new product to make sure that you're keeping ahead of the competition, that can create issues in itself.

If you're not careful, you might end up getting too attached to something that's no longer doing well or you might have to take it off the shelves.

So it's better to keep some space in your store for other products. Make sure you've got a few things that are selling and then you can use that space to showcase other products that nobody else is selling.

That way, you can make sure that you're getting more people in and keeping everybody happy. For example, if you've got a product that's not doing well, it might be time to switch it up.

If you have something else in your store that's doing well, then use that to showcase the product and promote it.

Word of Mouth Marketing is Your Best Bet

When it comes to advertising, there's no better way to do it than through word of mouth.

Everyone loves talking about other people's products and services, so if you're able to get their word out there and make sure they do a good job at promoting yours, then you'll be on to a winner.

Things like social media and email marketing can be effective tools in getting things done, but nothing will get the job done better than word of mouth.

If you're not getting the results you want, make sure that you're asking people who are most likely to be persuaded.

The point is that word of mouth marketing is something that you should never forget about. You need to keep it top of mind and always be using it as a tool in your marketing.

Some ways you can encourage word of mouth marketing is by creating a campaign for existing customers to share your products on other platforms. Of course, this also heavily relies on your customer experience. This involves making sure your website design is high-quality and the product is amazing.

Your website should be easy to use and it offers a great user experience. If you're not getting your site right, then people will not spend too long on your site. This can hurt your SEO rankings, which in turn affects your online sales.

A great way to encourage word of mouth marketing is to get your ads in front of the right people. For example, you can use AdWords PPC or Facebook Ads.

It's also a good idea to consider buying ads on sites like Reddit and Pinterest. It's important that you make sure that people are getting what they're looking for and not clicking through just because they're seeing an ad.

Word of mouth marketing is one of the best ways to advertise your business. Sending emails and posting on social media can be effective, but they're not going to have the same effect that word of mouth will.

If you want more people coming into your store, then make sure that you're doing everything you can to encourage that.

Make Sure That You Keep Up With Trends

One major problem that a lot of people run into when they start up their own businesses is thinking that things will stay exactly the same way as they are now.

But things can and will change.

For example, what worked in 2013 might not work at all in 2019 because of changes that have been made to social media platforms or the world.

So you need to make sure that you think of everything that could impact your business and your marketing. Some trends to consider are social media, mobile shopping, eCommerce, and email marketing.

When you implement new things as they come out, then you'll be able to keep ahead of the pack.

Ultimately, you should be implementing new techniques regularly in order to stay up to date. When it comes to your marketing techniques, that's never more true than when it comes to social media. It can change on a day-to-day basis and what's popular today might not be tomorrow. So if you're not careful, then you could end up with some serious problems on your hands.

For example, at one point, it was a great idea to let your followers know that you were on Instagram. But now there's not really anything you can do with that information.

If that's the case, then you might want to consider taking it down and moving on to something new. After all, Instagram is just as important as Facebook or Twitter.

This is where social media management comes in. It's important that you have a social media manager because then you'll be able to keep up with the changes and even use them to your advantage.

You might have been doing something perfectly for years, but then one day it completely changes. Or you might have been using an older platform that just doesn't have what it takes now.

Social media is constantly changing, so if you haven't figured out the newest ways to approach it, then this might be coming up sooner than you think.

For example, the days of Facebook being your only social media platform are long gone. A lot of businesses are now using Instagram and Pinterest to get their word out.

If you're not using those platforms, then you'll be left behind in the competition.

So if you're not getting the results that you want, then it might be time to start thinking about new ways of doing things.

Make Sure You're Open To New Opportunities

This is something that a lot of business owners neglect, but it's something that can help you set yourself apart from other businesses.

Because if you're willing to go out there and take a risk on something new, then this will make a big difference in your business.

When you have an open mind when it comes to new techniques and thinking, then this can help you create new ways to get your message out there without having to come up with some sort of innovative idea. By looking at other people's methods, you can take some of the guesswork out of it.

You could also use new platforms to your advantage because they may not be as congested as other more traditional ones. So if you're willing to look at things from a different perspective, then this could be what you need to make your business grow faster than ever before.

Make sure that you're looking at what's new in the world of marketing and promotional techniques and aren't afraid to try something new.

This is especially important when it comes to social media because, as we've mentioned before, it can change daily. So if you're not using the latest techniques to stay ahead of the competition, then you could actually be missing out on some great opportunities for your business.

Another reason why this is important is that it gives you more time to concentrate on other aspects of your business.

For example, you could be spending time on a website that doesn't do as well as you'd like it to. Or maybe you've been outsourcing your SEO and social media management, but that's not working out the way you'd like.

But if you're constantly looking for ways to improve your marketing, then you can use this time to do more things with your business.

By doing this, then you'll know that the work is being done to help improve your business and not just be an expense for it.

Wrapping Up

By using the advice in the article, you can get your business to the next level.

There are a lot of things from small steps that you can take to big marketing projects that you can do.

But overall, it's important that you approach your marketing with a holistic mindset. You need to be looking at how your business can grow and how changes in technology and trends are going to impact it.

Ready to boost your ROI? Get in touch with our Shopify website experts now for a free consultation!