Ecommerce Pulse

In today's episode, you'll be listening in on a coaching session with Donnie Lawson. Donnie is in the planning stages of setting up his ecommerce business, and you'll hear us talk about the criteria he used to choose his niche, how he's finding suppliers, some tips for how to build credibility when approaching wholesalers as a new business, and tons of other great discussion. To hear the episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: Out of the Sandbox Shopify Themes (my favorite themes) The Product Listing Ads Guide The Google Shopping Shopify App Other resources mentioned: The $100 Startup, by Chris Guillebeau Quote of the week: "When I’m old and dying, I plan to look back on my life and say 'wow, that was an adventure,' not 'wow, I sure felt safe.'" ~ Tom Preston-Werner Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

Today I'm joined by Shabbir Nooruddin of BootstrappingEcommerce.com for a discussion of Andy Dunn's article, "E-Commerce is a Bear." The basic idea behind the article is this: Big ecommerce companies like Amazon are like grizzly bears--they are the apex predators who annihilate or consume anything in their path. How can smaller ecommerce companies even begin to compete against Amazon's ferocious price competition and scale? Andy discusses 4 strategies for competing against Amazon, so Shabbir and I decided to give a summary of those strategies while also sharing our own own thoughts, as well as giving a few real-world examples of ecommerce companies who are using these strategies. Our goal in sharing these tips and examples is to help other small, bootstrapped ecommerce ventures like ours and yours better position ourselves to compete in this tough playing field. To hear the episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: BootstrappingEcommerce.com - Shabbir's blog FishFinderSource.com - Shabbir's ecommerce store SurvivalKnifeExperts.com - My ecommerce store E-Commerce is a Bear, by Andy Dunn Andrew Youderian's blog post about selling one of his ecommerce stores, TrollingMotors.net Woot.com - A site with a "flash sale" model I mentioned a discussion between Terry Lin and Andrew Youderian about "ambiguously priced products." In our discussion, I mistakenly said that Terry Lin mentioned this on his own podcast, Build My Online Store, but he actually said this on a recent episode of Andrew Youderian's eCommerceFuel podcast. Here is a link to that episode (conversation about product value/pricing starts at about 14:30). AccessoryConcierge.com - A company that started off doing flash sales on Facebook, build a following of thousands of people, then used that momentum to launch an ecommerce store with a more traditional model. ManCrates.com ManPacks.com RightChannelRadios.com - Another one of Andrew Youderian's ecommerce stores that provides an example of the second strategy discussed on the show (proprietary selection). JustFab, Shoedazzle, and TrunkClub.com - Ecommerce businesses that use the third strategy we discuss on the show (proprietary experience). Quote of the week:

Today we'll be discussing the challenges and psychological obstacles that face entrepreneurs like you and me. Lately I've learned a few strategies that have helped me overcome some of these challenges--here's a preview of a few of the topics covered in today's episode: How to trick your brain into lowering your stress level and feeling more productive How to start waking up earlier and boosting your morning productivity The basic ideas behind meditation, and how it can help you focus, be more confident, and be more productive 2 tools you can use to block out distractions like social media sites To hear the episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: Tools Inbox Pause - Put your Gmail inbox on pause to avoid distractions while you work Anti-Social - Temporarily block distracting sites to remove the temptation to binge on Facebook and Pinterest ;) Blog articles referenced 10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It Meditation for Beginners: 20 Practical Tips for Quieting the Mind Other resources Mindfulness (Wikipedia) Mindfulness-based stress reduction (Wikipedia) How to do mindfulness meditation Meditation: The Most Fundamental Habit Quote of the week: If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late. ~ Reid Hoffman Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

If you're a bootstrapper, you're not going to spend thousands of dollars on professional web designers and marketers--you're going to be figuring all of that out on your own. In this episode, we'll be talking about some basic design principles and easy steps to setting up your own ecommerce store when you're not a designer. To hear the episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: Design tools SubtlePatterns.com - Get free tiled background textures for your site Lipsum.com - Generate lorem ipsum (dummy text) to use as a placeholder on your site ColorSchemeDesigner.com - Use a color wheel tool to generate ideas for color palettes Design-Seeds.com - View color palettes based on photos LogoPond.com - Get inspiration for your logo design Pixlr.com - A free online photo editor (like a basic version of Photoshop) Where to get themes for your website Shopify Theme Store Mobilia Shopify theme by Out of the Sandbox - My favorite Shopify theme to work with Hiring tools Fiverr.com - Get services (like a cheap logo design) done for $5 oDesk - Hire a freelancer Elance - Hire a freelancer 99Designs - Crowdsourced design Crowdspring - More crowdsourced design Helpful Resources How to take gorgeous product photos - Practical tips for taking your own product photos A typography tip mentioned during the show: Use 2 fonts: one serif and one sans-serif. Using too many fonts will make your design start to look cluttered and messy. Quote of the week: If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late. ~ Reid Hoffman Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

I've been busy working on Survival Knife Experts, and in this episode you'll hear everything that's been going on with SEO, advertising, and what I've been learning. To hear the episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: Zite.com - An app that learns your interests and delivers articles you'll enjoy reading Survival Knife Experts - My ecommerce site that I've been working on marketing The Backlinking Strategy That Works - with Pat Flynn PR Powershot - The tool I use to find expired domains with high PR (normally costs $27, but you can get it for free at this link) Source-Wave.com - Alex Becker teaches his SEO strategy of buying high-PR domains Open Site Explorer - The tool I use to see the backlinks of my competitors and sites that I'm considering purchasing advertising on Bartastico - A Shopify app that places a pop-down bar on your site. Can be used to ask for email addresses and integrated with MailChimp. Quote of the week: "I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying." - Jeff Bezos Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

After losing his job, David Corner dove headfirst into ecommerce, buying a business off of Flippa that was already generating income and then turning it into a profitable, location-independent, automated business. In this episode, David and I discuss the criteria that he used to choose a business, how he went about doing the due diligence and buying the site, and how he immediately increased the business's value by automating processes and delegating whatever could not be automated. In this episode, you'll hear the following: David Corner's story about losing his job, buying an ecommerce business on Flippa, and transforming it into an automated, location-independent business that now supports him full-time. The criteria that David used to evaluate his options when choosing a business to buy. To hear the episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: Flippa.com - The place to buy and sell businesses online. Zoho CRM David's 2 ecommerce sites: QiHerbs.com and QuiltedClassics.com Email David at info (at) davidcorner (dot) com. Download David's free tool for evaluating business opportunities David has put together a spreadsheet that allows you to plug in in the different critera you want to consider, assign each criterion a value, and then calculate a "score" for each opportunity. This is a powerful way to objectively evaluate several businesses you are considering purchasing. Download the file now (Excel spreadsheet) Quote of the week: “Fail often so you can succeed sooner.” ~ Tom Kelley Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

There's a monster lurking in the shadows, waiting to eat up your precious time and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. This monster takes small bites out of each day that you live, reducing the time you have left to build your business. What's this bad boy's name? Routine Tasks. And he's not alone--his bro Unfamiliar Tasks is waiting around the corner to pounce on any of your free time that's left over when Routine Tasks finishes chowing down on your schedule. So what's the best strategy to beat these hungry guys? Get rid of them by hiring a virtual assistant to ward them off. Routine tasks are anything that you can write a document or record a screencast about how to do, and then get someone else to do for you. Unfamiliar tasks are anything that would take you hours of Google research, trial and error, or a college course in order to figure out how to do yourself. Your and my time is precious, and it's important to learn how to delegate anything that someone else could do to a VA, so that we can focus on things that only we can do. There are certain aspects of your business that only you can do, so learning how to focus on those things is one of the most powerful ways to grow your business. In this episode, you'll hear the following: Why you should hire a VA Objections you might have to hiring a VA What skills and character qualities to look for in a VA Pros and cons of a domestic vs. an international VA A step-by-step process of how to post a job description, interview applicants, and hire a VA Tips and tools to help you successfully manage a VA (or several) To hear the episode, click play above or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: oDesk.com - My favorite place to hire VAs Effective Outsourcing Strategies with Katrina McKinnon - an episode of the eCommerceFuel podcast with some great tips for hiring VAs Quote of the week: "'Unreasonable,' 'unrealistic,' and 'impractical' are all words used to marginalize a person or idea that fails to conform with conventionally expected standards. My response is that the world needs more people who fail to conform and refuse to settle. Without the determined efforts of unreasonable people, most of the rest of us (including the 'reasonable' people) would be much worse off. Martin Luther King Jr. was quite unreasonable to suggest that all free men and women in America should be treated equally. Gandhi was quite unreasonable to suggest that India should shake off the chains of colonialism from Britain. Innovation comes from entrepreneurs and others who are willing to accept risk and try new things. Improvements in social justice come from those who question authority. Being unreasonable or impractical, in other words, doesn't sound that bad to me. That's why I propose an alternative for those you're dissatisfied. Leave the 'real world' to those who are happy with it, and come join the living world. The weather's great over here." ~ Chris Gillebeau Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

In this episode, we talk about business lessons that we can learn from Breaking Bad. Walter White was an entrepreneur from whom we could learn a thing or two, wouldn't you say? Our discussion today is inspired by a blog post by Renée Warren titled "5 startup lessons from Breaking Bad." Renée draws some striking analogies from this hit TV show that teach some valuable business concepts we can apply to our ecommerce businesses. In addition to the 5 lessons that Renée has written about, I share one additional lesson for a total of 6 lessons. I also make sure to discuss some specific examples of practical ways to apply these lessons to an ecommerce business. This episode mentions a ton of links to interesting articles and tools, so check them out below. To hear the episode, click play above or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: Screencast-O-Matic.com - Create screencasts and instantly upload them to Google Drive or Dropbox 5 Startup Lessons from Breaking Bad Onboardly.com - PR and content marketing for startups 5 ways to test demand for a product Breaking Bad (IMDB) FeedbackArmy.com - Cheap usability testing (pay $20 to get 10 people to give you feedback on your website) The Science of Virality - The facts behind why things go viral (and how to increase your chances of going viral) Dollar Shave Club Hyman's Seafood - This restaurant does a great job of using "virality" to promote their business. Their owners and managers are incredibly personable and appreciative (plus their food is great!) Diamond Candles - A business who "breaks the rules" to market their products Break the Rules - An article from Lifehack.org on breaking the rules in business and in life Using virality to promote your ecommerce business - with Dollar Shave Club This video has over 11.7 million views on YouTube. It's a great example of an ecommerce business using humor to promote themselves virally. Quote of the week: “You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” ~ Sir Richard Branson Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

In this episode, I have a conversation with Shabbir Nooruddin of BootstrappingEcommerce.com about how to build backlinks to your online store. If you're not familiar with what backlinking is all about or how to go about doing it for your ecommerce website, Shabbir does a great a job of breaking it down to the basics and giving some practical advice. To hear the episode, click play above or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: BootstrappingEcommerce.com - Shabbir's blog 50 Actionable Ways to Build Links to Your eCommerce Store - the blog post that Shabbir and I discuss during the show Rapportive.com - Free browser plugin to view detailed profiles of people who email you right in your Gmail inbox Fiverr.com - Get a variety of tasks done for $5 Shabbir's designer on Fiverr who does infographics Additional resources How to Get Backlinks with Guestographics The Backlinking Strategy That Works - by Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income Another resource I wanted to share with you is the video interview below between Pat Flynn and Alex Becker about how to effectively use backlinking in 2013. Alex provides some free link-building resources as well that you can download by clicking the links below the video. Alex's Medium Competition Strategy (PDF) Alex's Tough Competition Strategy (PDF) Quote of the week: "An MBA has become a two-part time machine. First, the students are taught everything they need to know to manage a company from 1990, and second, they are taken out of the real world for two years while the rest of us race as fast as we possibly can. I get away with this heresy since I, in fact, have my own fancy MBA from Stanford. The fact is, though, that unless you want to be a consultant or an i-banker (where a top MBA is nothing but a screen for admission) it's hard for me to understand why this is a better use of time and money than actual experience combined with a dedicated reading of 30 or 40 books. If this is an extension of a liberal arts education, with learning for learning's sake, I'm all for it. If, on the other hand, it's a cost-effective vocational program, I don't get it." ~ Seth Godin Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

One of the most common questions I get from listeners and readers is how to choose a niche. If you're anything like me, then the prospect of choosing a niche for the business that will dominate every spare moment and thought you have for the next few months (or years) is just a tad intimidating, isn't it? What makes one product a better prospect for an ecommerce business over another? What are the different factors you should consider? Are there any pitfalls to watch out for? Never fear--in this episode, I talk about 8 criteria to consider when choosing a product to sell online. However, there are many other factors you should also consider, so these 8 points are just a starting point to help you begin the process of analyzing your various and sundry niche prospects. The main points I cover are based on a blog post about How to Find the Perfect Product to Sell, written by Richard Lazazzera and published on the Shopify blog. I highly recommend that you read the full article after listening to this episode. To hear the episode, click play above or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: WorldWideBrands.com ABetterLemonadeStand.com - Richard Lazazzera's blog about ecommerce How to Find the Perfect Product to Sell - the full blog post by Richard that was discussed in this episode Google Keyword Planner - You'll need a Google Adwords account to use the planner (although you won't need to actually buy any ads) ManPacks.com Ecommerce Entrepreneur's Toolkit (free PDF download) Quote of the week: “If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.” ~ Robert Fritz (author of Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

I know from personal experience that writing product descriptions for your ecommerce business is a daunting task. It can be overwhelming to look at all of your products and realize that each one needs its own well-written paragraph of sales copy. This is especially intimidating if you're not really comfortable writing, or just don't think you're the best writer in the world (hey, we all have our strengths ;)). My goal in this episode is to give you some practical strategies and tools to help you write effective product copy. In addition to the 8 strategies I discuss in the episode, I've also put together a free worksheet that you can download to help you begin crafting your own product descriptions. The worksheet breaks up the complicated tasks of brainstorming product features and benefits, telling a story, and engaging the reader into small, easy-to-tackle steps. Download the worksheet below. Here's a preview of what we discuss in this episode: Why you shouldn't use the descriptions provided by your product manufacturer An update on the progress of my own ecommerce business (SurvivalKnifeExperts.com) 8 tips for writing ecommerce product descriptions that engage the reader and result in sales (even if you're not a writer) To hear this episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: The Ecommerce Entrepreneur’s Toolkit (free PDF download) The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World FREE worksheet download I put together this worksheet to walk you through the process of writing an effective and well-written product description. Even if you're not a great writer, this worksheet will give you some easy steps to walk through to craft product copy that sells. Download Product Description Worksheet as a PDF Download Product Description Worksheet as a Microsoft Word document Blog posts and resources used to research this episode (that you just might benefit from reading) 9 Simple Ways to Write Product Descriptions that Sell - by Henneke Duistermaat of EnchantingMarketing.com How to Write eCommerce Product Descriptions that Sell Like Hotcakes - VisualWebsiteOptimizer.com How to Avoid the Destructive Power of Adjectives in Your Marketing Copy - KissMetrics.com Quote of the week: “Most remarkable people are not remarkable by nature. Instead, they made a few key choices along the way that helped them overcome their fears.” ~ Chris Gillebeau Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

In this episode, I go into detail about how to craft your very own Unique Selling Proposition (USP). A USP is essentially what makes you different from your competitors--it's the reason why people buy from you rather than someone else. It's important to carefully plan your ecommerce business's USP and then communicate that to your potential customers. But how can you figure out what your USP should be? Sit back, relax, and listen to find out! Here's a preview of what we discuss in this episode: The 3 main types of Unique Selling Propositions for you to choose from 2 real-world examples of awesome USPs 4 questions to ask yourself to figure out your USP To hear this episode, click play above or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: The Ecommerce Entrepreneur’s Toolkit (free PDF download) ManCrates.com Toms.com SurvivalKnifeExperts.com Blog posts and resources used to research this episode (that you just might benefit from reading) The Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Unique Selling Proposition (ThinkTraffic.net) 6 Ways to Define Your Unique Selling Proposition and Differentiate Yourself (InboundPro.net) What a Unique Selling Proposition Really Means & Why Your Business MUST Have One (KissMetrics.com) 10 Examples of Killer Unique Selling Propositions on the Web (ThinkTraffic.net) How to Stand Out When You're Drowning in a Sea of Competition (HelpScout.net) 5 Unique Selling Proposition Examples We Can All Learn From (InboundPro.net) Quote of the week: "An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how to chew it." ~  Roy Ash Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

In this episode, I interview Travis Phipps, who started an ecommerce business in 2009 and built it to do almost a million dollars in revenue in just 4 years marketing it primarily with PPC. Travis explains exactly how he grew his business using PPC advertising, and how he runs the business from home. Like any entrepreneur, he faced challenges and difficulties along the way, and in our conversation he shares the lessons he learned through overcoming those challenges. To hear this episode, click play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: CherryLoop.com - Travis's ecommerce website, which sells figure skating apparel. The 4-Hour Workweek - The book that inspired Travis to start his own business Google Adwords for Dummies - Travis's recommended resource for newbies to learn how to grow your business using PPC Quote of the week: “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." ~ Bruce Lee Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

In this episode, I interview Bill D'Alessandro, a guy who developed his own consumer product to sell while working a job in investment banking. Bill started selling the product out of his garage, and then built an automated system that ran the business on autopilot--a true 4-Hour Work Week-style business. Since his first success, Bill has launched and bought several other brands, integrating them with his automation platform. In Bill's words, his goal is "to build a company that’s one part Proctor & Gamble, one part Berkshire Hathaway, and one part 4HWW." If you're interested in a behind-the-scenes look at how Bill runs his business on a daily basis, how he handles fulfilling orders for his multiple brands, and some big lessons he's learned along the way, hit play below or download in iTunes. Links referenced during the show: Appixia.com - Create a mobile app version of your ecommerce site that users can download in iTunes and the Google Apps Marketplace Zendesk.com - Customer service software Trada.com - Crowdsourced PPC management RebelCEO.com - Bill D'Alessandro's blog Quote of the week: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!

In this episode, I interview Billy Murphy of ForeverJobless.com. Billy is a highly successful ecommerce entrepreneur and blogger, and I'm very excited to share his experience with you. Specifically, we'll talk about how Billy buys ecommerce sites on Flippa and then outsources the management of them. We'll also hear Billy's take on how to create an ecommerce authority site for a particular niche. Here's a rundown of this episode: 2:05 - Free giveaway announcement: I'm giving away a free, 2-hour consulting, design, and development session with me. Listen to hear how you can win this 2-hour session.  4:08 - Quick Tip: Boomerang 7:30 - Interview: Billy Murphy Links referenced during the show: Leave a review for Ecommerce Pulse in the iTunes store Boomerang - Have your emails come back to you later Flippa.com - Buy and sell websites EcomLab.com - Billy's new video training site for all things ecommerce Quote of the week: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar Subscribe to Ecommerce Pulse in iTunes!