So, you have found or created a product you want to sell! Before setting up your website for sales, you must first understand your revenue-generating framework. What I mean by this is looking at the average retail price of one unit and determining the number of orders you need to hit your end goal. For example, if your average online sale is $20, you would need 5,000 customers in order to reach your goal of $100K. If you are starting your first online business, look at these three marketing tips for making your first $100K online:
Paid Advertising
When focusing on paid advertising, you are really looking at your Return on Advertising Spent (ROAS). This can often be tricky as you might hit big right in the beginning but sales diminish over time. Think about which traffic sources you will use, whether you use many or just one, and how many people your online ad needs to reach.
As ROAS grows, your budget for paid advertising will shrink. Starting off, you should plan on spending about $120 per customer. ROAS often comes back with a rate of 3:1. If you spend $1, you bring back $3. So, if you want to make $100K, you should plan on spending about $30K in digital advertising.
Community Building
Instead of paying for advertising, online retailers often look towards marketing to an active community in order to turn the community into customers. The average online community conversion rate is 1-3%, so think about the size of the community you need to build in order to reach your end goal. Working backward in this way will allow you to continue marketing your online community until your goal is reached, though the more people you reach will always be helpful! Because of this conversion rate, if you are trying to make $100K online, you should reach about 70,000 followers, which can take a lot of time to achieve. Continue sharing consistently and diligently in order to reach this community number.
Right Product at the Right Time
Depending on your product or product line, strategic pitching with the help of PR can sometimes be the best help. For example, as the COVID-19 pandemic began, PPE companies skyrocketed as people were looking to be as safe as possible. This is easier to do with products like this that are situational, but other products can also work with this tip as well. Oftentimes, you might not even know that the right time is upon you until you have pitched your idea and it is wanted by many.
Keeping an eye out for the right timing is key. Some products are seasonal or cyclical, so watching out for trends in your market will always help. Stay on top of news, culture, politics, and other important social factors in order to know which tines are prime for pitching your market’s point of view during the time frames.
While each tip can help you bring in your first $100K online, try them together too! There is no rule that says you can’t build an online community via social media while also purchasing paid advertisements. And if your online goods can be created in a variety of colors or shapes, you can pander to seasonal holidays or cyclical social events that occur regularly.
At Scaling Retail, we’ve helped launch and scale fashion retail businesses all over the world. Questions about building, launching, or growing your fashion business? Send an email to hello@scalingretail.com for a complimentary consultation.