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Offering quality products that meet your target audience’s needs is definitely important in eCommerce, but effective marketing is what actually brings in the sales.
Unfortunately, many eCommerce entrepreneurs don’t have the budget to invest in an elaborate marketing plan and run paid ads. The good news is, paid marketing tactics are not the only game in town. There are ways to promote your eCommerce business even if your budget is tight. Here’s how.
1. Try Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a method of raising money on crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter for your eCommerce business in exchange for a reward. The money can be used for manufacturing, product development, supply, or, in your case, marketing.
However, simply being present on the Kickstarter projects page doesn’t guarantee success; you will need to put some effort into your crowdfunding campaign to get results that will make a difference for your business.
The best practice is to fund a specific product. Kickstarter requires your project to create something, so you’ll need to fund the development of a new product. You should also target your campaign for a particular niche in order to generate excitement and gain referrals for your project. Next, you should produce a video and finally, be sure to make the rewards super simple to get so that people don’t have to ask questions.
2. Use Social Media
Social media is an excellent channel for building strong relationships with existing and new customers. You can use it to post daily updates about your brand and products, address customer questions, but also to boost engagement and build trust.
One of the best things about social platforms is that they allow you to show social proof. For example, you can post photos of satisfied shoppers using your products or share screenshots of positive customer responses to encourage new buyers to do business with you.
Finally, you can run contests and giveaways to generate lots of potential leads. Giveaways and contests are great even if your budget is tight because everyone loves free stuff, even if it’s not a luxurious item.
3. Generate Traffic With Blog Posts
The ultimate objective of your marketing effort should always be to increase sales. However, in order to achieve this, you first need to attract an audience. Content marketing is one of the best approaches to generate more leads and clients, and the best thing about it is that it doesn’t require tons of money.
By producing quality content that’s both appealing and helpful, you can help shoppers find your store online more easily and find out more about your company. If you don’t know what to write about, you can find out what topics your audience is interested in by researching keywords. You can use free tools like Google Keyword Planner to find keywords with high volume that are likely to reflect your audience’s interests.
4. Work With Influencers
Partnering up with social media influencers might not always be cheap, but it can pay off in the long run. Free samples are a quick and effective way for small eCommerce businesses to reach out to influencers without breaking the bank.
The key is to find influencers who have the same audience as you. Look for micro- or even nano-influencers. These influencers have a small number of very engaged audiences. In addition, because they are still working on building an audience for themselves, they are focused on creating compelling and high-quality content.
5. Offer Great Promotions
Promotions and special offers always work because when shoppers feel they could get more benefits than the purchase value, they’re encouraged to make the purchase decision. Offers like free shipping, product bundles, and discounts can also be a great way to get rid of slow-selling products and increase the average order value.
However, bear in mind that over-using promotions could have a negative effect. Over time, promotions will ‘train’ consumers to only buy when there is a sale. In addition, you will need to make each new round of discounts deeper than the last in order to attract their attention. Simply put, the overuse of promotions can create negative habits in consumers and damage your brand identity, so be sure to use them with consideration.
Final Thoughts
Marketing your eCommerce store isn’t optional; you need to put it out there if you want your business to grow. Don’t let the fact that your budget is limited stop you. There are many low-cost and free marketing tactics that can help you drive traffic, increase brand awareness, and boost sales.
Of course, you don’t have to apply all of them right away. Instead, begin with one or two, and then add more to diversify your marketing strategy and improve your chances of success.
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