User Tips from Successful Shopify Stores - Part 4 of 4

We interviewed a handful of successful Shopify users to find out what it takes to do well on the platform. We also asked these successful eCommerce business owners to share some insights into growing their business -

Franklin Art Studio - https://www.franklinartstudio.com.au/

'eCommerce is not “build it and they will come”. It’s like any business website, and it’s the nurturing that you do that will grow it.'

1. What is your business and how long have you been using Shopify?
    I am a fulltime artist, and sell original paintings thru my Shopify website. I have been using Shopify for just over a year. It is easy to run, and was easy to setup. I did 95% of the website myself, and just enlisted a “pro” (found on Upwork.com) for some coding that I wasn't cluey enough to create. Prior to that I had a different brand of website backend that I personally found difficult to use.
   
2. Has using Shopify helped grow your business?
   I wouldn't say that just by using Shopify my business has grown. eCommerce is not “build it and they will come”. It’s like any business website, and it’s the nurturing that you do that will grow it. I haven't found the additional sales channels available as beneficial at this time. I prefer to funnel my clients to my website for the full experience. So a direct answer to that is “no”. However, having an attractive and professional website has certainly made for a better experience for my clients and fans. I do believe having a professional website does evoke trust with a visitor. Having a simple, easy to use eCommerce website has saved me a lot of time.
3. What challenges have your faced using Shopify?
   The lack of a “real” blog is counter intuitive according to almost all developers, and is something that I would love to have as part of my website. Aside from that, there has been little that I haven’t been able to achieve with the Shopify platform. I have even been able to develop and install an interactive “design your own” feature within my site. This allows visitors to “tag” paintings that they like as they go thru my website and it saves them to a page “board”. They can then upload a photo of their room, and place the painting on their wall to scale to see how it would look. I also have additional “Insitu” rooms and colored backgrounds that can be used instead.
4. Do you have any tips for other eCommerce business owners running a online store?
   Having an eCommerce website is very similar to in store retail, in that “Retail is Detail”. Make sure that your website is always up to date, and that things are where they should be, and easily accessible to your potential client. Ensure that your language is friendly, and that everything flows well. Shopify have made this a much easier task with a fantastic choice of templates. I view all Social Media channels and AdWords as a funnel, and my website as the bucket, with the most valuable prize being the ever increasingly elusive email address capture for occasional mail outs. I have everything working towards getting people from Twitter or Instagram and over to my Facebook page or directly to my website.
   
5. Do you have any social media tips for eCommerce business owners?
   Do some research, but mostly make your own decisions about the how what’s where and when, and do this by testing at first, and then once you have something of a strategy, just monitor and occasionally mix things up to see if there has been a change in the landscape.  At first I was somewhat overwhelmed with the array of information available on social media and what works “best”. They are all completely different as far as demographic goes, and you could spend all your time, or burn a hole in your pocket trying to keep up with all of them. After a lot of looking at who uses what, I decided upon Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. A lot of information out there will provide best times to “post” and how many times a DAY!!! I have found that all to be baloney. I post a couple of times a week to each and it makes No difference when I post to a posts success. I generally try and make sure each post is different on each site, as I am aware many of my followers have two of these channels, some probably all three. I focus on quality rather than quantity, and by this I mean a quality experience for my followers. Anyone can get “likes” and even followers (don’t buy them!!!), but engagement by way of comments or sharing is not so easy, and this is TRULY the only form of social media that is important to a business. I reply to every single comment that someone makes. I believe if someone can go to the effort of commenting, the very least Franklin Art Studio can do is engage with that person. I also occasionally go thru and “thank” sharers, directly on their “share”. It is not as transparent and take more effort, but once again I have found if to be an effective way to encourage people to share again. But don’t do it all the time, as that would be creepy! The simple act of building social media channels evokes a sense of “trust” in the market today, and the persons that share and comment each become an ambassador for your brand. Treat them well! Whether or not they ever purchase something isn’t important. As someone that knows they may well do so.
   

Electric Confetti - http://electricconfetti.com/

"pick a social platform that matches your product."

1. What is your business and how long have you been using Shopify?
   We design LED neon lights. A lot of it is custom work – so for weddings and events, as well as business signage. We have fun off the shelf designs too such as ice-creams, popsicles and Pacman.
2. Has using Shopify helped grow your business?
   Absolutely has assisted with growth! I find the backend very user friendly and it enables me to make quick easy changes, which lets me focus on other areas.
3. Do you have any tips for other eCommerce business owners running a online store?
   I use apps a bit. Every sites needs are so diverse, but luckily there's as many apps out there that you can add onto your site to help you with a specific requirement. For example, I have looked into shipping and wholesale apps as a way to streamline processes. I also use freelancers to do more complex things that I don't have time for.
4. Do you have any social media tips for eCommerce business owners?
   The main platform I use is Instagram. I have such a visual product that works really well with that platform, and I love the feed that appears on my Shopify site too. My Advice is pick a social platform that matches your product.

Bub Bling Boutique - https://bubblingboutique.com.au/

'Don’t limit yourself to your country only, about 70% of our sales are exports. '

1. What is your business and how long have you been using Shopify?
   Established in December 2014, Bub Bling Boutique is an online baby boutique specializing in the online sales of 1^st birthday, cake smash and baby photo props outfit.  These outfits are designed and custom made on demand, no stock is held on site.  Currently our turnover time is 3-10 business days depending on the style and size of the order, i.e. one or more outfits.  We were essentially only using Etsy a sales platform, but in January 2016 we decided not to keep our eggs in one basket and established a Shopify website.
2. Has using Shopify helped grow your business?
   Year on year, my business sales has grown by 270% (Dec - Sept 2015 compared to Dec -Sept 2016).
3. Do you have any tips for other eCommerce business owners running a online store?The most important tip I can give other e commerce business owners is stay friendly and helpful to your customers. Reply to every single email and query you get and provide helpful answers. Almost all our customers’ queries result in a sale.  They have taken the trouble to look at your site and query a product, and you should always take the trouble to thank them.
   Don’t be afraid to expand your horizons regarding international sales.  Don’t limit yourself to your country only, about 70% of our sales are exports.  Give your clients alternative shipping options, even if it’s more expensive to send by courier, if they want it badly enough they will be willing to pay for it.
4. Do you have any social media tips for eCommerce business owners?
   Don’t be afraid of social media, Bub Bling is on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.  Make yourself present, if people don’t know you are out there they may not know where to find you to start with.
   The important thing that you have to do is have faith in yourself and your business.  If you try to make everything as perfect as you can its really going to show in your end product.

What are your thoughts?  Feel free to leave a comment or question below and if you have any further questions for our guest Shopify businesses, we'll endeavour to answer them here.