In this video, I will be showing you how to take your Amazon to the next level and increase sales. Currently, I am lucky that I have one product (Performance Nut Butter) that gives me about $50,000 per month in sales. However, it took a long time to get to that point. I struggled a lot for the first few years in Ecommerce. While I am happy with my current sales, I admit that have been kind of lazy and have not done anything to grow my sales. This time, I will be trying different methods to do this. I met up with my friend, James, and we went over everything.

Below are some important ways on how you can grow your sales:

Add a Coupon Code
One of the things that is good about this is that it makes your product stand out. People are going to be attracted to your listing with the presence of the coupon code.

To add a coupon code, go to Advertising and then Coupons. Click Create Your First Coupon. To proceed, you need to add products. You can do this by going to Manage Inventory. After adding, click Next Step. Add how much discount you would like to give and the coupon budget. Please note that every time your coupon is redeemed, there is a $0.60 charge. However, you can just see it as an advertising fee as it is a very powerful way to get people to see your listing.

After this, add Coupon Title, Target Customers and Start and End Dates. Last step is to submit coupon. It may take hours before it goes live.

Add a Video
This is another way to increase conversion rate. One of the things to keep in mind when creating your own video is to be as visual as possible. While there is (more…)

 

 

In this video, I will be introducing you to different web hosting sites and their advantages and disadvantages. This will help you determine which one is the best for your website.

 

SiteGround

Pros – It is recommended by WordPress and easy to set up. They provide fast and reliable service. Most importantly, they provide a free SSL Certificate.

Cons – It is not the cheapest option out there. Their data plan also comes with a limit when it comes to how much you can upload on the server.

 

Bluehost

Pros – It is also recommended by WordPress. They are one of the most popular hosting sites because they pay a high affiliate commission.

Cons – It is a bit overpriced.

 

GoDaddy

Cons – They are overpriced and there are no improvements in their product. It is fine for buying domain names only.

 

A2 Hosting

Pros – They have one of the fastest server times. Their price is also pretty decent.

Cons – They are not the most reliable among all these companies.

 

HostGator

Pros – This is a very popular hosting company. This is owned by the same parent company that owns Bluehost and they have similar features.

Cons – Unlike Bluehost, it is not recommended by WordPress.

 

WP Engine

Pros – They are one of the fastest and most reliable hosting sites. They also provide the best customer support.

Cons –  It is 10x more expensive than the other companies.

 

InMotion

Cons – Their Uptime and Seed is mediocre. They are also expensive.

 

Hostinger

Pros – One of the cheapest hosting sites out there. It is a great option for those with tight budgets.

Cons – You get what you pay for.

 

DreamHost

Pros – It is also recommended by WordPress like SiteGround and Bluehost.

Cons – It is more expensive than SiteGround and Bluehost with no added features.

 

 

This video will be showing you the different steps in creating your first ad in Google AdWords. I will be walking you through the below five processes:

1.Keyword Research (8:09)
2. Setup a Campaign (10:39)
3. Setup an Adgroup (11:33)
4. Setup Adwords (13:53)
5. Advance Features (17:07)

First and foremost, you need to have a Gmail account. Sign up for one if you don’t have it yet. Once your account is set up, you can proceed to adwords.com then click “Start Now.”

 

Keyword Research

This step involves figuring out what someone would type in Google to find your product and try to find keywords related to it. You can do this with the Google Keyword Planner, a free tool that Google gives you. In order to get access to this, you need to create your first ad.

 

Once done, go to Tools and then click Keyword Planner. If you already have a list of keywords and you just want to find the search volume and forecast of how many clicks, click on “Get search volume and forecast.” However, I recommend for beginners to find new keywords. Type in words that you think will be used in searching for your product in the search area and you will be shown the keywords. Repeat this process and find as many keywords as possible.

 

Setup a Campaign

Go to “All Campaigns”, click on the Plus (+) sign, then “New Campaign.” Click on “Search” for Search Ads. These are ads that come up when one searches on Google.  Click on “Website Traffic” and at the bottom part , type in the URL of the website you want to send the traffic to. Type in the campaign name.

 

In setting up your campaign, below are some ways on how you can save some money:

• Uncheck “Include Google search partners”
• Uncheck “Include Google Display Network”

(more…)

Amazon, Youtube, product building and funnels are the subjects of today’s podcast interview with Bill Stenzel.

In this video, I will be taking you through mine and Ariana’s audition for Shark Tank. I will be auditioning for Performance Nut Butter while she will be auditioning for VinoCards. We will be sharing with you every step of the audition as well as some tips on how you can get to Shark Tank.

Here are some of the basic steps in getting into Shark Tank:
Auditioning – There is a lot of different auditions. It doesn’t have to be Miami. They do tryouts all over the country. One is in LA this coming March 14th. You can also submit an email. When you go to the audition, make sure you have the printed paperwork that you are going to submit.
1-Minute Pitch – During the audition, you should have a 1-minute pitch prepared. They will also be throwing in questions and initiate conversation on why you would be a good fit for Shark Tank.
Audition Result – If accepted, they will give you a call in two weeks to inform that you’ve made it passed the 1st round.
Submit Intro Video – This is for the 2nd round of the audition. You will need to submit a video on why you would be a good fit for Shark Tank. After this, there are other several rounds that you will need to go through.

On our first day in Miami, it was basically taking in the sites and filling out Shark Tank applications. On the application itself, it asked all the questions that you would expect. Here are some examples;
Describe your product in detail..
What is the valuation? How much are you willing to give up for what percentage of your company?
What the money would go towards?
How much you made in the last year?
How much you are planning to make for the upcoming year? How much for (more…)

Jacob Alexander’s Website:
https://www.casualecommerce.com/

Jacob Alexander’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/jake_alexander111/?hl=en

Jacob Alexander’s Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8w05MpPAcR0wNVcuadBBow

Amazon, Dropshipping, and Marketing Secrets are the subject of today’s podcast interview with Jacob Alexander from Casual Ecommerce

 

In this video, I will give you a step-by-step guide you on how you can hire your own virtual assistant (VA). I will be walking you through a weeklong process of doing this.

 

I will be using Onlinejobs.ph, a personal favorite, in hiring a VA. From there, I was able to hire two VAs who are currently with me. They really did revolutionize the game and made managing my business easier. I am on my way to hiring my 3rd one and I will show you how exactly I went through the process.

 

There are about four steps to get started on this:

1. Post your job – There are other websites for this function but it is in Onlinejobs.ph where I have the most success.
2. Message the applicants – Send out a message to those candidates who are qualified for the job. Give them a sample project that they can complete.
3. Interview them – From those candidates that were able to complete the sample project, set up an interview with them.
4. Hire them – Hire the most qualified person and get them up and running with your business.

 

Here is how a week of hiring a VA would go:

Monday – As mentioned, the first thing that you need to do is post your job. You can start with this by following the steps below:

1. Signup to Onlinejobs.ph – First step to posting your product is to create an account. There are paid Pro and Premium accounts. I have a Premium account because I post a lot, but having a Pro account is fine as well.
2. Post a job – Go to the main part of your account and click post a job. Enter the Job Title followed by the Job Description. In the description, you can talk about the task that the VA will (more…)

In today’s Effective Ecommerce Podcast We will talk about Social Media Marketing Secrets. Our Guest is Jordan Steen. He is an Entrepreneur with a specialty of social media marketing.

Wix: https://www.effectiveecommerce.com/wix

Volusion: https://www.effectiveecommerce.com/vo…

Site Ground for Woocommerce: https://www.effectiveecommerce.com/si…

Shopify: https://www.effectiveecommerce.com/sh…

Bigcommerce: https://www.effectiveecommerce.com/bi…

 

In this video, I will share with you the different advantages and disadvantages of the top 12 ecommerce platforms to guide you which one would best fit your business.

Shopify– This is the most popular platform for successful ecommerce entrepreneurs. This was built from the ground up with ecommerce in mind, unlike others where ecommerce is added as an afterthought.
Other Pros: It has a 14-day free trial. There are also many useful apps and plugins available.
Cons: It is more expensive compared to other platforms. It is around $29/month.

Bigcommerce – This is similar to Shopify but with lesser features and integrations.
Pros: It has built-in features that Shopify may not have.
Cons: It is also expensive. Price is more or less the same with Shopify.

Big Cartel – This is a good option for those with few products like artists, craftsmen, and other creative people.
Other Pros: Free plan is available if you have 5 products or less. It is also easy to create a simple store.
Cons: There is not enough features and integrations for serious ecommerce entrepreneurs. Not ideal for those who would like to make ecommerce as the main livelihood.

Volusion – This is the ecommerce platform that I used for my first company, BDancewear. It has a lot of good built-in features which you have to pay for in Shopify.
Other Pros: It supports multiple SKUs and color swatches.
Cons: I’ve experienced some dubious practices with this platform like jacking up our prices without us knowing. We’ve had some issues with the “Add To Cart” button as well.

Squarespace– One of the ecommerce platforms that has recently been getting a lot of hype.
Pros: This is made for people who want a beautiful website. It is also easy to use.
Cons: This is not ideal for ecommerce. It is good for those (more…)

In this video, I will show you the steps you need to take to start an online store and share a lot of valuable tips that I learned from my years of experience selling online.

1. Get a domain name – This is the first thing you need to do if you want to start an online store. GoDaddy and Namecheap are two of my favorite websites to buy a domain from. Here are some tips to get a good domain name:
a. It needs to be short.
b. It needs to be easy to spell.
c. Easy to remember.
Bonus Tip: Include keywords
2. Pick your shopping cart – Choosing the correct platform to build your store on makes everything easier. There are a lot of shopping cart platforms out there but I only recommend two: Shopify and Woo Commerce. I use both of these for different scenarios.

Shopify starts at around $30/month. It’s easy to use and it just works even if you don’t have any technical knowledge and one of the best features of it is all the Apps.

With Woocommerce, all you have to do is pay for hosting which may cost you $4 a month. This is a cheaper option but I only recommend using Woocommerce if you have technical knowledge of HTML, CSS, javascript and/or you’re willing to learn. The only issue with WooCommerce is that it breaks easily and there’s not really any support to help you out.

3. Set up your Store – Here are some big mistakes that beginners make:
a. Fundamental knowledge of SEO – One you have the knowledge SEO and keyword research it will help you create a website that Google would want to run higher which will give you free traffic.
b. Confusing Website – There’s a great book called “Don’t make me think” and the whole premise of (more…)