The Elms & King store, created by Arlington Milne co-founders Rebecca Elms and Louise King have a great selection of handbags, clutches, totes and wallets made from high quality PU.
I love the Manhattan Shopper in red, it adds a bright, happy splash of colour to Winter’s dark outfits and it’s roomy enough to carry all my stuff!
Check out their other goodies at http://www.elmsandking.com
Your product descriptions, along with their essential partner-in-crime – killer images, are the heart and soul of your online store. Unique and compelling descriptions can help you sell more goodies, whilst dull and badly written ones can have potential customers heading for the hills (or rather a competitor!).
A product description fulfills two essential requirements for your online business:
To achieve the first objective, you need to include the keyword phrases that people use when searching online for products like yours. These could be very specific, like “red patent leather high heeled shoes size 8”, or the less focused “Christmas party shoes”. (Tip: the more detailed the search phrase they use, the closer they are to making that purchase). Use keywords in the product page title and the image title, and weave related words through your copy too.
Enticing a visitor to buy requires a more engaging approach. You need to create vibrant and “chatty” copy that relies more on creative writing. Don’t be lazy and just paste in the manufacturer’s description – there are likely to be other places your visitor can buy this item, and this is your only chance to convince them to buy from you!
In addition to the specific descriptors, like sizes, colours and materials, try to explain the value of buying this product, how it works, how you can use it and the problem it solves. You might want to try suggesting other products you sell that would go with it as part of the product description.
Sound daunting? Try this. Imagine how would you encourage someone to buy this item if you were talking to them face-to-face. Picture them as you write, and explain to them why they should buy this wonderful thing.
It’s also worth checking out how your competitors are writing product descriptions on their sites. Shoppers are constantly checking different websites for the best deals and you need to stand out.
When you’re done, read it over again and again for flow and any spelling or grammar errors before you launch it online – you don’t want to appear unprofessional. Try and get someone else to read through it too.
When you are selling to such a huge, distracted and time-pressed market, you have to grab attention quickly and create the feeling “yes, that’s what I’m looking for!”. Focusing some of your precious time on creating beautiful photos and enticing descriptions is hugely important to the success of your online store.
I’ll write another post about creating your own great product images soon. Stay tuned!
The Bushcraft Oz store is filled with products which have been hand made by local Australian craftsmen. Many of them are regular and well known members of the popular BushcraftOz forum.
They don’t just sell gear that looks pretty (although much of it is) and they’re not interested in selling products that they wouldn’t use themselves. Their products are tested under Australian conditions, and many of the items on sale are the result of extensive research drawing on the generous experience and knowledge of others in the Australian bushcraft community. If it’s on sale there then it works, and works well!
Check out their Spiffy Store at http://www.bushcraftozstore.com.au
What are you selling through your online store? Stationery? Clothing? Art?
Think again. In your customers’ eyes, you’re providing a solution to fill a need, and to feed an emotion.
You’re not selling sweaters, you’re providing warmth and comfort, style, and protection from the cold.
You’re not selling quality wallpaper, you’re bringing beauty to a boring wall, allowing someone to express themselves and helping them create a home.
The key to creating compelling and engaging copy is to understand the problems your product solves and to tap into the emotional connections to it.
When you develop your brand and write content for your online store, don’t think in terms of selling goods. Think about solutions to problems, that’s what you’re really selling.
Want to learn more? My next post is all about nailing those fiddly product descriptions.
The whole concept for Styled Sealed Delivered is based on the concept of a one-stop shop where thry provide a style sheet to guide you, as well as all the elements for the table, so that you can “style” it yourself.
Their collections are combinations of beautiful and bespoke pieces all designed so that they have many applications and can be re-used, built upon and styled by you.
Have you just set up an online store? Or do you have some great news about your business that just begs for a wider audience? Then how about sending out a press release!
Press releases were originally written for journalists, to get them to write about your news in the popular press. But since the advent of easy online PR distribution channels, the humble press release now has a wider audience and can drive traffic to your retail website.
It’s not difficult to write a press release, but they do have a specific layout, tone and written content, so here’s how to
go about it…
Don’t you just LOVE hot chocolate! Whenever I go to a cafe, while my friends are ordering strange sounding fancy schmancy coffee varieties… I’m ordering hot chocolate!
At Hot Choccy, they’ve sourced the best tasting, healthiest ingredients to make their range of lush drinking chocolate. They have milk and dark chocolate varieties for the traditionalists… and they’re amazing by the way… but they also have some incredible flavours – caramel, orange, strawberry, cappuccino and lemon!
Take a look around their store… choose a 250g or 70g bag, or a 100g jar, and enjoy their delicious flavoured Hot Choccy range!
Check out their Spiffy Store at http://www.hotchoccy.com.au/
If you’ve signed up to an email marketing service like MailChimp, Campaign Monitor or Mad Mimi to help you promote your online store – nice work! You’re on your way to creating a relationship with your customers and subscribers.
But as you flick through all the email templates and designs available to you, you’re probably wondering which to use and how to do a good job. For example, did you know that email design is being influenced by the massive uptake in mobile devices? Around 35% of your emails may be opened on the move, so a mobile-friendly email is essential.
Here are my tips for creating good emails…
Running a successful e-commerce business requires more than fresh web traffic and a groovy online store. You need to start a relationship with your web visitors and customers so they will come back again!
Used properly, email marketing is a key tool in your marketing arsenal. Use it to keep connected to your audience and drive sales by occasionally sending them interesting information and special offers. Be mindful of the SPAM Act before you start though, and read about the requirements here.
There are five important elements to good email marketing:
At suzy hausfrau they’re passionate about the handmade movement and being creative in the home. They believe that by sourcing quality products they’ll act as a source of inspiration and enable you to undertake your own creative journey. We hope that you take up the challenge to create something for yourself… because it is not just the end result that is important, it’s the journey!