The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

In today’s episode we’ll be talking about how to modify your conversion for your e-commerce store for your checkout page and cart page to increase your checkout rate. These are methods we’ve used that have worked on our websites, have been documented, and are essentially fool-proof. We’ll also be uncovering the most common problems made on e-commerce sites, and telling you how to fix them. Here are some other topics we go over: Why conversions are great and why you should focus on them Why you should reconsider how you’re using PayPal at checkout Why it’s important to test your payment methods How to baby-proof your checkout to get your conversions up How to eliminate distractions on your website If you’ve ever wondered how your customers interact with your website, we’ll be talking about the different kinds of software and tools you can use to gain information that will help you improve your traffic. We also go in depth on each method we’ve used to gain much higher percentage of both traffic and conversions. Some other things you’ll be learning today include: How to reassure your customers that your checkout page is safe How to do a split test with our favorite tool How to use up-sales to boost revenue How to capture users so they don’t leave your site quite so soon   How to analyze your traffic data to improve your website’s experience Links and software discussed: Icewraps Cuttingboard Mouseflo Yotpo Optimizely Visual website optimizer Inspeclet Hot Jar In the next few weeks we’ll be starting a brand-new segment where you could win a free one hour analysis of your website (that we usually charge hundreds of dollars for as consultants). What we´ll do is look through a bunch of requests, pick an interesting website, talk about it on the podcast, interview the person and give them our expert analysis. Besides that we will be sure to promote it as well in an effort to increase the person’s e-com conversions and business in the weeks to come. This is a great opportunity, so if you want to be considered, head over to www.ecomcrew.com and fill out our contact form. Make sure to check back next Tuesday for another great episode, where we’ll be bringing back our segment “Websites to Evaluate and Buy.” You can also stay tuned through our blog posts. Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!

On today’s podcast we talk about SHIPPING! It’s the first thing we look at when we are seeking out online businesses to buy and own. E-commerce operates on a whole other level that involves storage and shipping since you may not always have a brick-and-mortar storefront to hold your goods. You need to know the size and weight of the items you plan on selling so that you can organize your shipping logistics accordingly and affordably.   Shipping is very important, and knowing the weight, the size, and the fragility of each of your items will save you a lot of stress when it comes to finding the right shipping team. Logistics is a tricky realm to balance, and many people overlook it and focus more on other elements of businesses ownership, like marketing, sales, and conversion. That’s why, on today’s cast, we cover the most important aspects of logistics, including: Stocking items that can utilize the USPS flat-rate boxes (pro-tip: USPS is much, much cheaper than UPS) Researching and investing in products that won’t become obsolete after 6 months Paying attention to your margin and be sure your shipping doesn’t cut into your profit Recognizing that the industry is always in flux and you will have to change your model numbers Realizing early on how important shipping is will save you the headache later. It will influence which online businesses you choose to invest in, and it will help you maintain your success as a business owner. Shipping your products the right way proves to your clients and your manufacturers that you care about each and every item you are selling. Because if you don’t care, why should they? And because shipping plays such a huge role in buying and selling domains and e-commerce websites, we offer up even more tips and tricks in this episode so you know what to look out for as you start shopping around, including: Evaluation: How much are you willing to pay? Risk Management: What do you have to lose? Staff and Salary: Who is taking care of the backend of your site? Customer Service: What are your customers asking you? Tune in today and find out how you can ship affordably and invest wisely in your next online business venture! Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes and sign up for our newsletter at www.ecomcrew.com if you haven’t already. Enjoy the show!  

Welcome to the first ever episode of the E-Commerce Crew Podcast! Since this is the first episode, introductions are in order: We are your hosts, Grant Yuan and Mike Jackness. Both of us have been involved with business for most of our professional lives, and we have a similar background in online marketing and the affiliate industry. Grant started working with affiliates in 2003, focusing on online gaming and a lot of poker sites. Mike is a lifelong entrepreneur who started running his own businesses at 18 with nothing but a pack of business cards and a pager. He worked with online marketing for many years before he turned himself on to buying and selling host names for websites, and that’s how he got involved with buying, owning, and selling his own e-commerce businesses. Our podcast is our opportunity to share all we’ve learned with the rest of you out there struggling and succeed to run your own e-commerce businesses. Each episode will focus on the tips we’ve learned, the ones that didn’t work so well, the progression we’ve made over the years, and where we think we’re going to be heading into the future. There will be guests on air to share their insights, and we will be covering a range of topics, including: Where trends are going and how you can stay on top of them How to buy smart with keystone pricing How to negotiate shipping prices for your specific business focus (pro tip: the best items to ship are socks) Pros and cons of paying cash or credit for your wholesale supply How to avoid leaving money on the table Over the next few weeks, this podcast will evolve to become one of the most important tools you use to become and stay successful at running your online business. Stay tuned for episodes on buying and selling online businesses and domains, selling your products on Amazon, building your brand, and how to prepare your own exit strategy so you can continue to expand your interests and develop new businesses. Leave us a review iTunes and head over to our site www.ecomcrew.com for more news and updates on what’s working for e-commerce today.