It's no secret that you want to get more traffic to your shop, right?
How do other people do it?
And most importantly, how can you do it too?
When you get more targeted traffic to your shop, it's a given that your sales will go up, up, up!
In this post, I'll uncover the top 4 ways to get insane traffic to your shop, so you can start implementing them in your marketing!
1. Build your community on social media
Social media like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter can be super effective at sending traffic to your shop.
It's one of the top ways that I get traffic to my own handmade jewelry business.
And it's exactly why so many people are on the social media bandwagon.
Like everything else, social media can only work for you if you do it right! Click To TweetYou don't need a presence in all social media.
Instead, focus completely on one or two for three to six months.
Most people fail to understand this: Your social media business profile is not for you, it's for your audience.
The sad truth is that your products alone are not enough to draw people in.
Your fans and followers need more of a reason to like, know and trust you.
So you'll need to provide them with content that strikes a chord with them, even if it isn't about your product.
Make it about your fans first, and soon they'll be clamoring to buy everything in your shop!
Facebook is my number one social media sales generator. You can learn how to get more Facebook fans and make more sales here.
2. Get featured on popular blogs
Bloggers are always on the look out for cool products like yours to feature.
The fastest, easiest and most affordable way to get traffic to your shop is by getting featured on popular blogs.
But most business owners never think to ask a blogger to feature their products!
This gives you the competitive edge because few people are doing this.
If it's a good fit and your shop is featured in front of thousands of people, the sales will follow.
This is the one tried and true way that I've used to build my own business to six figures in a year.
You can definitely do this yourself once you get past the learning curve.
Or hire a professional agency to do it for you for thousands of dollars a month. That's how effective this strategy can be!
If you need a hand figuring out exactly how to get on popular blogs, head on over to In The Limelight where I show you everything you need to know!
3. Grow your email list
An email list is a collection of people's email addresses.
These people must give you permission first before you add them to your list.
This is great because you know that they are interested in your shop!
By giving you permission, they're saying they want to hear about sales, updates, announcements and more.
These are people who are already interested in your product and can't wait to buy from you!
A mailing list is like a money making faucet I can turn on when I need to.
When I'm having a slow month, I set up a sale in my shop and tell my mailing list subscribers about it.
My traffic goes up and a good sale can bring me over $1,000 in a few short days!
If you haven't yet, start building your own mailing list today using some of these free or low cost services:
4. Make word of mouth easy for your customers
Do you remember that time when your friend told you about the amazing new Thai restaurant in town?
Or maybe they recommended their reliable tax guy to you.
How likely is it that you'll use their recommendations and visit the Thai place and call up the tax specialist?
Probably pretty likely – and at least more likely than that other restaurant that you've NEVER heard of before.
Your customers telling their friends and family about your shop is one of the best ways to drive traffic!
Friends who have been introduced to your business are going straight to Google to search for your business name so they can start shopping from you!
This is my number one stream of traffic to my shop. It always comes from Google search!
Make it easy for your existing customers to tell their friends about you.
- Give them an amazing shopping experience – starting from your website, the checkout process, receiving their package and the product itself
- Provide excellent customer service – answer your emails promptly in a professional, friendly and personable manner
- Include a couple of extra business cards
- Under promise and over deliver to pleasantly surprise your customers!
What did I miss?
What are some of the ways that drive traffic for you?
Got any questions for me? Leave a comment below and I'll get back to you!
I’m thinking about taking the plunge and starting a mailing list for my handmade clutch bag and tote bag shop…and sending out a “newsletter” – you talked about how beneficial it is in your article. I’m having trouble thinking of topics to share with customers and understanding how often I should be sending out emails to the people on my list. Can you give me some more insight on this please? Thank you!
Hey Rebecca!
You can start sending one newsletter per month and scale it up to 2x/month and 4x/month. Start slow and easy so it’s manageable and doable for you.
As for what to send, it’s similar to writing a blog or posting stuff on social media! Just pick one topic to email about! You don’t want to be talking about sales or “buy my stuff” all the time, so talking about your progress/behind the scenes is always fun. Or link people to articles or videos that you know they’ll love, even if it’s not directing them to your website/shop.
It can be as simple as showing them a photo of your messy desk and a small description about what’s going on with you and your shop lately. Don’t overthink it! :-) I think sometimes we can feel pressure of making it perfect because it can be so impactful.
Good luck!
Mei,
Thank you so much! I really appreciate all of your tips and advice – I especially appreciate how prompt you are when providing feedback! I am super thankful I found your blog/instagram/facebook, etc. Thanks again!
I’m glad you find all of this helpful Rebecca! :-)
Great advice! I’ve been trying to concentrate my efforts in the areas that fit best with my business – Instagram and Facebook are those platforms for the most part, because they’re visual and give me the opportunity to show my jewelry work. I also vary the content between the 2 sites- I use Instagram for in-process, behind the scenes posts and FB for other things – articles, new listings etc. That way there is very little duplication and a reason to follow both, as opposed to just one SM site.
A mailing list is next on my list, but, I’m not sure when…! Time is always a struggle for a small business.
Hey Sarah!
You might find that most typical consumers are a user of one social media site. While you’ll definitely have overlap and have a few fans who are following you on both, for the most part they are exclusive. People have favorite hang out spots – some people love Instagram but hate Facebook and vice versa. It would save you a lot of time to share content between the two more frequently!