The Ecommerce Cookbook - Index And Introduction (16)
Introduction
In 2017, the biggest thing in the affiliate world is also one of the oldest - eCommerce.
eCommerce has been around since there's been an Internet. But it's always been tough - warehousing, payment providers, storefronts, it wasn't a turn-key option.
Until now. With the rise of drop-shipping direct from manufacturers, user-friendly shop frontends like
But the conversion process isn't simple. And to get good results takes a lot of knowledge.
That's what the STM Ecommerce Cookbook is here for.
What's The Ecommerce Cookbook?
No two people approach eCommerce exactly the same way. It's like cooking: everyone has their own recipe for success.
Some people fry up the mince first. Others soften the onion. Others just throw everything in the pot.
But at the end of the day the results are all delicious - deliciously profitable.
So with this eCommerce Cookbook, I've not just gone from one person's success. Instead, I've interviewed several massively successful eCommerce store owners - including folk you may know at STM, like Sapven and Pekadis - and grilled them in depth about how they make sure their stores are successful.
I've taken that knowledge, combed out the common points, and combined it with my experience over 20 years of consulting and working on eCommerce stores.
And I've boiled it down to a single recipe which gives you the best chance for dropship + eCommerce success.
That recipe will come out in parts over the upcoming weeks!
Why eCommerce?
But aren't we affiliates? Why are we getting so excited about the boring old world of selling things?
- Control the offer As affiliates, many of our biggest frustrations come from our offers. They go down, they change, they kick us off. With eCommerce, you control your offer from the outset.
- Infinite Niches Affiliate marketing can seem crowded into only a few niches. By contrast, in eCommerce you can sell almost anything.
- Huge Scale Just like AM, eCommerce using a dropshipping method offers massive, rapid scale. If you've got a product that works, you can get it to the world, more or less overnight, and make a lot of cash.
- Whiter-Hat If you would prefer to be working on the white-hat side of things, eCommerce is about as white-hat as it comes. People want a thing, you sell them the thing, they're happy!
- Very Similar Advantages Just like AM, you can run a dropshipping store as a single operator. You can scale to huge profits. You don't need to go into an office, wear a suit, or have an MBA. You can run your store from a beach in Bali or a venue in Vladivostok.
None of this is to say that there's anything wrong with conventional affiliate marketing. It's still going strong and you can still make a lot of money in it. But if you fancy giving this new frontier a go - this guide's for you.
What Do You Need To Begin?
Just like affiliate marketing, dropshipping and eCommerce requires a decent budget to get started. I'd recommend around $3k - $4k to begin. With any luck you'll be profitable well before that, but variance does happen, so that gives you a decent cushion.
Other than that, you won't need much to get going! You can use affiliate tools like trackers, but you don't have to. We'll introduce you to all the other stuff you'll need as the guides go on.
Index
- Part 1: Picking Your Produce. Researching your niche before you set up your store is vital.
- Part 2: Tenderising - Setting Up Your New Store Everything you need to do - and all the newbie traps you need to avoid - in setting up your store.
- Part 3: Running Facebook ad campaigns for your store
- Part 4: Early-Stage Customer Service
- Part 5: Customer Service Recipes For Common Situations
- Part 6: Techniques To Amplify Your Store's Success
- Part 7: Going Beyond Facebook, Part 1: Paid Traffic
- Part 7: Going Beyond Facebook, Part 2: Organic Traffic
Extras: - Advanced Customer Service Techniques
- Google Ads For eCommerce
Let's cook...
Looking forward to this series.
But aren't dropship stores notorious for having crazy shipping times (1-3 weeks)? Is there any way around this?
Originally Posted by littleblackdot
Once you have your customers, you can make a less risky financial investment into better shipping, stocking up, etc. You have much more data so even though it takes the same amount of cash, you have practically proven your product.
Yet another EPIC cookbook from Caurmen!
Been looking forward to this one!
Amy
@littleblackdot - I'll be covering that issue in considerable depth in Parts 2 and 3. The short answer is "yes, but it's less of a problem than you might expect, and there are ways to work around it".
Looks like we are in for another MEGA treat from caurmen!!!
Looking forward to this! Been off and on about getting into ecom for a while now.
Thanks Caurmen! Was looking forward to this.
First campaign I ever run was based on the mobile cookbook....good old times.
I wonder if it makes more sense to send traffic to an Amazon Listing you own instead? Seems like it would convert better than
@ttots90 - I haven't seen any solid numbers that would suggest Amazon converts better. And as you mention, there are fees, and the tracking issue is absolutely huge: no tracking means you can't run Facebook ads and have any real idea what's working.
I WILL cover Amazon in the advanced section of the guide. It's useful for some things and in some places. But as a sole solution for someone intending to use paid traffic to promote - not good.
@caurmen
Hi caurmen,
GREAT GREAT threads... when part 3??
Part 3 will be coming next week, most likely. I'm still testing to determine the optimal approach.
This is so awesome!
As a newbie to the forum and owner of a small Amazon business, this is of tremendous value. I'm sure it will help me get some independence from Amazon.
Thanks caurmen!
Originally Posted by lozano_miguel
Originally Posted by manu_adefy
Anyway, I'm really excited to take on this challenge and I'll keep you updated!
A quick note: this guide is now complete, and all posts are now linked in this index! I'll update in 2018 with the latest info, but other than that, you now have everything you need to go from starting a store to scaling to enormous heights!
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