Nine photography tactics to sell more products and services online

It doesn’t matter what you sell or how smooth and frictionless customers’ experience on your website is. If you’re using poor-quality images to present your products and services, your chances to gain customer trust and entice them to buy are slim.

High-quality photography has consistently proven to increase engagement, establish credibility and, most importantly, boost sales. That’s why it’s critical to display your offering in the best possible light.

In this post, we’ll share nine photography tactics to help you improve the imagery that your business uses to present your products and services to potential customers.

Photography tactics for products

Using high-quality product images on your site can help overcome one of the biggest challenges that ecommerce businesses face: people want to know exactly what they’re buying.

When done right, images can help potential customers get a better feel for the products you offer. The more comfortable they feel about a product they’re seeing, the more likely they are to buy it, and the less likely they’ll be to return it.

So, how can you improve your product images and motivate more shoppers to buy from your website?

1.  Share multiple images of your product from different angles

If you have a large line of products, it might be tempting to just take one or two shots of each product, and consider the job done. But that’s not very helpful to your customers who are trying to see exactly what your product looks like, is it?

So, make sure you take several photos that show each product from varying angles so visitors can see every important detail and aspect of the item they’re interested in.

Here’s a good example from Triwa:

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2. Put your product in context

One thing that’ll get you closer to a sale is helping prospects envision themselves using your product. For example, someone who’s looking to buy a kitchen table for their new home will likely have trouble imagining using a table you’re selling by simply looking at one sitting against a blank background.

But if it’s presented in the context of a home, like in this example from Ikea, the chances a shopper will buy it are much higher.

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3. Provide the option to zoom in on any part of the product

Am image zoom is a powerful feature to have on your product pages. Why? Because it allows visitors to get a very detailed view of the product and ensure it’s exactly what they’re looking for. You’ve probably used this feature many times before while shopping for products so you know how useful it can be.

Keep in mind though that you’ll need to have high-resolution product images for people to be able to zoom in and see details clearly.

Here’s an example from Asos where a zoom-in icon is displayed when hovering over the image so people know they have the option to get a closer look at the product:

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4. Consider providing a 360° viewing option

If you want to take it one step further, consider giving customers a complete virtual view of your products by using 360° product photography. There are many companies that specialise in 360° product photography, so it might be worth considering if your budget allows it.

Take a look at how FitBit use this feature to present their watches:

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5. Pay attention to image optimisation best practices

You’d be surprised how many people start their shopping experience on Google Images. With a simple keyword like “travel backpack”, they browse through product images to find exactly what they’re looking for.

So, if you want prospects to find your offering on Google Images, you need to make your product images search engine friendly. How? Simple. Set a unique title, an ALT text, and a short description for each product image you add on your website so that search engines can understand what that image is about.

Read this article for more tips and advice on how to optimise your product images for search engines.

Photography tactics for services

There are lots of product photography tactics you can experiment with on your website. But what if you sell services? How can you use images to present the services you offer?

Here are a few tactics you can try.

6. Show people the faces behind your brand

Shoppers want to see the faces of the people behind a business so they know they’re dealing with a legit organisation they can trust. So, no matter what services you sell, make sure to add a few images of yourself and your team to help build trust.

7. Provide a closer look at how and where the magic happens

Showing yourself or your team working can be more effective than just showing a posed photo or two. For example, if you provide consulting services, add some photos of yourself working at the office or interacting with clients, whether offline or online.

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8. Take shots from different angles

Like with product photography, you can also take photos from varying angles or perspectives. So, if you provide clothing alteration services, you could share some photos from your workspace as well as close-ups of you stitching up different garments, like in this example:

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9. Share some before and after photos

There are lots of businesses that can take advantage of before and after pictures such as painters, gardeners, interior designers, makeup artists, dentists, and more. So, don’t hesitate to take some before and after photos to show the quality of your work.

Check out this example from a makeup artist:

Wrapping up

Shoppers want to see exactly what they’ll get if they buy from you, and photos are a great way to present your offering. Use the tactics in this article to present your products and services in the best light.

If you need more ideas, you can always take inspiration from the brands you love and admire. So, take a look at other brands’ photography and think about how you can create similar shots with your own products and services.

The post Nine photography tactics to sell more products and services online appeared first on Better business online: Tips, insight and advice.

Our new Linux Shared Website Hosting is here!

Our new Linux Share Website Hosting packages launched earlier in July. But what does this mean for you?

Well, if you opt for one of our new hosting packages you’ll benefit from a range of great features, including an easy-to-use control panel powered by cPanel.

Here are the benefits you’ll get from our new Linux Shared Website Hosting packages:

The ability to get your site up and running easily and at a low price

Our Starter hosting package will allow you to get your first website up and running without having to pay a fortune. It costs from as little as £2.99 a month.

You’ll also get a domain name free for a year on all plans, helping reduce the cost of getting started. (You can get up to three free domain names depending on the package you choose.)

On top of that, you’ll have access to a range of popular apps, including WordPress and Magento, all of which come with one-click installation – making it even easier to get your site up and running.

The space for your website to grow

All our Linux Shared Website Hosting packages come with unlimited bandwidth, so you don’t need to worry about having to pay extra data fees if lots of people visit your site.

And on our Standard packages and above, you’ll also benefit from unlimited storage, meaning you can expand your site without worrying you’re going to run out of space. (Starter plans come with 100GB of storage.)

You’ll also be able to host an unlimited number of websites on the Standard and above plans, and you will have access to an unlimited number of 1 GB MySQL databases on Pro and Ultimate plans.

Free email addresses

Need to set up an email address to go with your website? Our Linux Shared Website Hosting comes with up to five mailboxes included, so you’ll be able to set up email accounts that match your domain name(s).

You’ll also get anti-spam and anti-virus protection.

Support from 123 Reg

No matter which Linux Shared Website Hosting package you opt for, you’ll have access to a wide range of technical support from 123 Reg.

This includes:

  • A 30-day-money-back guarantee
  • 24/7 ticket and email support
  • Freephone and live chat support from 7am to midnight
  • Free setup

Whatever you plan to do with your new website, we’ll be on hand to help you do it.

The power and simplicity of cPanel

Whether you want to use it for quick and easy installation of an app like WordPress or for database management, cPanel makes setting up and maintaining your website easier than ever before.

Its graphical interface allows new users to carry out once-complex tasks without the need for specialised technical knowledge.

And if you do find yourself stumped by anything, our support team will be on hand to help you out.

Access to developer features (if you need them)

If you need SSH access, protected directories, mod_rewrite, cron jobs, the ability to customise php.ini, and/or the ability to edit .htaaccess, then our shared Linux hosting has you covered.

The post Our new Linux Shared Website Hosting is here! appeared first on Better business online: Tips, insight and advice.

Seven ways to find product ideas to sell online

Seven ways to find product ideas to sell online

Want to start an online shop or add new products to your catalogue but have trouble coming up with product ideas to sell? Are you browsing the web and feeling like everything you could possibly sell is already being sold? Or that there’s so much competition for the products you’ve decided to sell that you don’t stand a chance to make a profit?

Sure, finding profitable product ideas is not easy but it’s also not impossible. Think about it – there are so many products being launched all the time that you’re bound to find yours. Read this post for seven ways to find products to sell in your online shop.

1.   Start with what you have

You could go online and spend days searching for inspiration. Or you could start with what you already have. Maybe you’ve written down some product ideas a couple of years ago that you’ve forgotten about. Or maybe you have a folder somewhere on your computer where you saved some notes and ideas to use in the future.

Now’s the time to dig them up. You might realise that they’re actually worth selling or serve as inspiration to help you come up with different product ideas.

2.   Get inspired by your own passions or paint points

There are lots of successful entrepreneurs who have started their businesses because they were passionate or frustrated about something.

So, when trying to come up with product ideas, consider these questions:

  • What are you most passionate about?
  • Is there a particular product, niche or industry that you’re interested in?
  • What pain points do you have in your life?

For example, let’s say you’re passionate about music, and you especially enjoy listening to music on vinyl. You also love talking to people about your favourite bands and the pickup and equipment you use to ensure the best sound quality. You might also enjoy DJ-ing occasionally. Wouldn’t it make sense then to sell music products like vinyl, posters, and equipment?

And if it pains you that there are lots of great unknown local bands that are struggling to reach more people, why not make it your mission to support, promote, and sell more local music in your store?

3.   Get inspired by other people’s hobbies and passions

You can also sell products based on the passions and hobbies of your friends, family, and loved ones or, why not, people across the globe. Did you know that Wikipedia has a huge list of popular hobbies around the world?

So, if you want to sell online and outside of the city or community you live in, this is a great place to start your research. Browse through the lists of hobbies and write down any product ideas you think might work.

4.   Pay closer attention to the needs and wants in your local community

Let’s say you live in a community with lots of pet owners and pet shops. But as you visit the pet shops and listen in on the conversations, you realise some products they’d love to buy are out of stock or just don’t exist.

That’s valuable information coming directly from customers. Why not use it to create a new product, or to sell an existing product that isn’t being sold in your area?

Of course, you can get this feedback online too. Just look at customers’ reviews and comments on a shop’s product page and social media profiles. See if there’s any product that’s always out of stock or on everyone’s “would buy that if it would exist” wishlist.

5.   Browse through popular online marketplaces

You can also gather inspiration from popular marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy or eBay. Simply run a search for a particular product and read through customers’ comments. You’d be surprised how many people share product ideas or suggestions on what they’d improve to a particular product.

Aside from ideas, these marketplaces can also give you valuable information on what’s popular and trending. For example, Amazon have lists for Best Sellers, Most Wished For, and Movers & Shakers for most product categories.

Kickstarter also have categories of products that you could sort by Popularity, Most Funded and Most Backed so you get an idea of what’s trending and in-demand.

Etsy too have lists of products for Most Wanted, Best Selling and Most Popular items.

These well-known marketplaces are fantastic for researching and finding product ideas that might be worth selling on your own online shop.

6.   Create your own digital product or course

There are lots of benefits to selling digital products. Since they’re not tangible products, you’ll never have to worry about manufacturing or shipping costs. You’ll also never have to worry about being out of stock.

Best of all? You get to use your own knowledge, skills, and expertise to create an amazing product that people all over the world find useful. This can also help you stand out from the crowd because turning your experience into a product is a smart way to enter the market with a leg up that isn’t easy for others to duplicate or copy.

So, what can this digital product be? Depending on your skills, it can be anything from a blogging or cooking online course to stock photography, website templates, or an app that helps people get organised, stay fit or accomplish a specific goal.

If creating an online course appeals to you, make sure to check out our beginner’s guide to selling your own online course.

7.   Keep an open mind

It’s easy to miss potential ideas when you’re focused on a specific product, niche or industry. So, keep an open eye and an open mind. You never know when a new idea pops up just as you’re reading an article or scrolling through your social media feed.

Make sure to write down any interesting ideas and keep a list on your smartphone or computer to refer back to later when it’s time to conduct market research for your product idea.

Wrapping up

Finding product ideas to sell online is challenging. It also takes time and research, so make sure you’re patient. When you have your list of ideas with products you’d like to start selling online, validate them to ensure there’s a market demand for each of them. Read this post for some tips and advice on how to test the waters for your new idea without spending lots of money.

The post Seven ways to find product ideas to sell online appeared first on Better business online: Tips, insight and advice.

How to start your ecommerce store on a shoestring budget

You don’t need a huge budget to start an ecommerce website and sell products online. All you need is an idea, some motivation and a good business plan.

Not sure how to get started? Read on as we share a few tips and advice on how to move past your financial restrictions and successfully start an online shop on a budget.

Choose your ecommerce niche

The first step to building an ecommerce business is to choose a niche. Why is this important? Because there are lots of shops that try to sell everything to everyone and fail.

The secret to your future success is specificity. You need to find an ecommerce niche where you can sell products that are as specific as the audience you’re selling them to.

What’s an ecommerce niche and why choosing one is key to your success?

Your ecommerce niche is a specific category into which your products fall. For example, clothing is a broad niche. Hiking clothing or even hiking boots are much narrower.

If you’re afraid that choosing a niche will drive away potential customers and potential revenue, think again. When you’re in a niche market, you have a higher chance to get found in the search engine results and attract people who really want what you sell. Read this post to learn how to choose your ecommerce niche.

Find product ideas to sell in your online shop

Picking the right products to sell is one of the most challenging parts of starting an online business. Even if you’ve chosen an ecommerce niche, how do you find profitable product ideas to sell in your shop?

There are lots of strategies you can use to research and come up with a list of product ideas. You can look at your own passions or paint points, or those around you like family, friends, and people from your local community. You can also browse through popular online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy or eBay and look for popular products that are always out of stock, or product ideas coming directly from customers’ feedback.

Validate your business’ profitability

Once you have your ecommerce niche and product ideas, how do you know if people will buy what you have to sell?

The truth is you can’t be 100% sure until you launch. But you can take a proactive approach and evaluate your product ideas and potential market. There are steps you can take to validate the profitability of your products and make sure that there’s market demand for what you want to sell.

In this post you’ll find some tips and advice on how to test the waters for your new idea without spending lots of time or money.

Create your business and digital marketing plans

If you’re serious about starting an ecommerce business and turning it into a success, you need a plan. Getting started and making it up as you go along won’t work. In fact, that’s one of the main reasons many businesses fail – because they don’t have a plan.

Having a good business plan can save you a lot of hassle. It helps you get a deeper understanding of the market you’re planning to enter, the potential obstacles and risks you might face, and how best to overcome them. It also helps you get a clear picture of how you want your online business to operate and what you want to achieve.

Start by reading these two posts to learn:

Learn some new skills

One way to cut your costs when starting an ecommerce business on a budget is to rely on yourself, your knowledge and expertise as much as you possibly can.

If you’re new to the web and online selling, you might have to pick up a few new skills like design, content writing, search engine optimisation (SEO), digital marketing, and legal and business finance skills.

Here are some skills you’ll need to start a website and an online business:

Though it might sound exhausting, until you’re able to scale your business, doing all the essential work yourself can keep you within your budget. Remember that it’s all temporary and you can always outsource and automate some tasks to lighten the load.

Get a good business name and domain name

First impressions are everything – and your company and domain name are the first impression customers will have of your business.

Coming up with a name might seem simple, but it’s a very important part of launching an online shop, and a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. You’ll brand your whole business around the name you choose for it, so you’ll want to be 100% sure you’ve picked the right one– changing it later down the line can be a pain once you’re established, especially for a small business.

Here’s everything you need to know about choosing a business name and a domain name.

Build and get your shop online

Once you have your domain name, it’s time to start building your online shop. At a minimum, here are the key products you’ll need:

  • A responsive website template, meaning one that works properly for anyone who visits your website from any device, whether it’s a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or a PC.
  • A hosting package to get your website live for everyone to see.
  • An SSL certificate to make your site more secure for your visitors. This encrypts any sort of sensitive information that people share with you via your site, be it names, email addresses, credit card details, and any other personal information, to ensure it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.

Read this article to learn more about these products and how much you can expect to pay for each. You can read about how much an ecommerce website should cost here.

An easy and affordable option would be to get an all-in-one package like the 123 Reg Online Shop that comes with everything you need to build, launch, and manage a successful online store. This includes:  an email account, domain name, web hosting, SSL certificate, web hosting and an email.

With the responsive templates available, you’ll also be able to add a hassle-free mobile checkout and take advantage of the marketing and SEO tools to bring in new customers to your store.

The great thing about this option is that you don’t need any technical skills to create and get your ecommerce website up and running.

Next steps

Ready to launch your new online shop? Fantastic! Just make sure your efforts don’t stop here because there’s lots more to do to promote it so prospects know you exist. Use the digital marketing plan you created to publish great content, market your ecommerce store on Google and on the different social networks where your customers are spending time online.

The post How to start your ecommerce store on a shoestring budget appeared first on Better business online: Tips, insight and advice.

How to earn customer trust when you’re a new ecommerce business

How likely are you to buy a product from a new online store you know nothing about? You’d probably search for reviews from past customers to make sure the business is legitimate and trustworthy, right? 

That’s what all shoppers do, including your prospects. They look for information on the validity and authenticity of your business on your site and elsewhere to ensure that making a purchase is safe.

But if you’re a new ecommerce business with no sales or reviews from past customers, how can you increase the trustworthiness of your online store and the likelihood of a first-time shopper buying from you?

In this post, we’ll share a few tips on how to earn customer trust, quell doubts and help shoppers feel confident about making a purchase from your new online shop.

Provide a great user experience

Are you making a great first impression when first-time shoppers land on your homepage? Is it clear what you’re selling? Is it easy to browse through your shop and navigate to the different categories of products you’re selling?

Your homepage is like a digital welcome mat so make sure you’re doing everything you can to make people feel welcome and provide the guidance they need for where they can head next.

Here are a few things you can do to ensure your homepage feels welcoming and trustworthy:

  • Have a clear navigation. Since this is often one of the first features your visitors will interact with, it’s important to get it right. So, make sure your navigation menu lists your main categories of products so visitors can quickly jump to the one they’re interested in.
  • Cut out all unnecessary clutter. Remove any extra information or design elements that don’t add real value to your homepage.
  • Ensure all your content is easy to read and error-free. Use a tool like Grammarly or Hemingway to check your entire website’s content and correct any grammar issues. You’d be surprised how many shoppers notice these mistakes when evaluating the trustworthiness of a website.

Include detailed product information

You’re more likely to sell a product if it includes a detailed description with information about size, materials, ingredients, weight, and more.

So, try to be as specific as possible so people know exactly what they’ll receive after clicking that “buy” button.

Of course, the best thing you can do is to add high-quality photos and videos to present the product. Images and videos are very effective at helping people to imagine using it. The clearer they can see it, the more likely they are to believe you can deliver what you say you can in your product description.

Here’s a great example from Tortuga:

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Not only do they have a description of the product with detailed specs and features, but they also have a section called “What fits” so customers can get a better idea of how many items they can fit into this backpack.

Here’s another example from Asos:

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For more on creating compelling product pages and descriptions, be sure to check out these two articles:

Address common buying concerns

There’s nothing that raises doubts like hidden or lack of information on shipping costs, returns. Want to build trust and ensure customers feel relaxed to click that “buy” button? Then make sure every aspect of the transaction is easy and transparent.

This means making all this essential information visible to the shopper on the product page, checkout page and dedicated pages on your ecommerce website. So if a customer wants to know the cost of delivery, what payment options are available or how they can get a refund, they should be able to find that information quickly.

Add a FAQ page on your site, and link to it from the product pages. Also, include a link to your refund policy on your product pages and in your navigation menu so it’s easy to find.

Check out this example to see how you can add that information to your product page:

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Need more advice? Read these two articles to learn how to create FAQ and return policy pages, the type of information to include and where to display them to shoppers browsing through your ecommerce website.

Make it easy for customers to reach out to you

Shoppers who are unsure about your online shop or a specific product may want to reach out to you. Make sure that your contact information is visible on all pages, and that you have dedicated Contact and About pages where they can learn more about your business and how to get in touch.

So, what type of contact information should you display on your site? The must-have include email address, phone number, and social media profiles. Your Contact page should also include your physical address and any other legal information that customers might need to know.

Now, for quick support, you might also consider adding a chatbot to your online shop. Not sure if you need it? Read this post to learn more about the benefits of using chatbots for customer support.

Show customers that you take security seriously

Customers are wary about giving anyone their personal information and credit card details. So if you want to reassure them that their security is your priority and that it’s safe to buy from your online store, you need to use a SSL certificate.

A SSL certificate encrypts any data exchange between your site and your users. This helps to make your website more secure when a user shares any sort of sensitive information with you via your site, be it credit card details or any other personal information.

SSL-secured websites usually have a green padlock or message displayed in the URL window that tells people that a site is secure.

So if you want shoppers to trust to buy from you, make sure you get a SSL certificate now. See our available SSL certificates and choose the one that best suits your needs.

Wrapping up

It’s not easy to earn shoppers’ trust when you’re a new ecommerce business with no customer reviews or social proof. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to inspire trust like providing detailed product information, addressing buying concerns and being available to answer any questions and concerns. We hope you’ll find these ideas helpful as you win those first crucial sales.

The post How to earn customer trust when you’re a new ecommerce business appeared first on Better business online: Tips, insight and advice.

Show off your Welsh connection with .wales and .cymru domains

Looking for a way to show the people of Wales your business is the one for them? Or are you looking for a way to show the world you’re proud of your Welsh heritage? Or do you just want to create a website that expresses your love for Wales?

If you find yourself answering yes to any of these questions, then the .cymru and .wales domain extensions could be just what you’re looking for. (And read on to discover how you could snap up a .wales or .cymru domain for as little as 99p.)

Not sure what a domain extension is? It’s the bit that comes at the end of a website’s address, so it’s the “.co.uk” in “123-reg.co.uk”.

And just like the .co.uk. lets people know that 123 Reg is associated with the UK, the .cymru and .wales domains can let people know that you and/or your business are associated with wales.

The .cymru and .wales extensions were launched back in 2015 and they’ve proved a hit, with over 21,000 domain names registered using the extensions so far.

And the extensions have proved popular among some big hitters, with the Football Association of Wales and the Welsh government using the .cymru and .wales extensions respectively.

It just goes to show that if you opt for a .cymru or a .wales domain you’ll be in excellent company.

So how do you go about getting a domain using one of the Welsh extensions?

Well, the process is relatively straightforward – you’ll need to register your chosen domain name with a domain registrar such as 123 Reg.

But first, you’ll need to make sure that the name you want is available, you can do this by conducting a domain name search.

On the 123 Reg domain search page, you can simply enter your chosen name followed by your chosen extension, eg “example.wales”.

You might find that the name you want isn’t available for your chosen domain extension, you can either try searching for a different name or, if you’re absolutely set on a particular name, you can see if that name is available to buy in the domain aftermarket. (Note: Domain names available in the domain aftermarket tend to sell at a significantly higher price than standard registration, so you could end up paying hundreds or thousands of pounds to secure the domain you want. Bear this in mind when choosing your domain.)

You’ll also need to make sure that your chosen domain name isn’t in breach of anyone’s intellectual property (meaning trademarks and such like). You can run a trademark search for the UK here.

Once you’ve found a domain name you like, it’s a simple case of adding it to your basket and checking out. As a bonus, if you buy your .wales or .cymru domain with 123 Reg you’ll get a 30-day free trial of our Website Builder, making it even easier to get a website up and running.

Plus, you can currently register .wales and .cymru domains with 123 Reg for just 99p (+VAT if applicable) for the first year.

The post Show off your Welsh connection with .wales and .cymru domains appeared first on Better business online: Tips, insight and advice.

The benefits of a professional email address

Despite billions of people using several social media platforms, 83% of global consumers still prefer email to communicate with businesses. But it’s not just with businesses that people prefer to communicate via email. It’s also with potential clients, employers, partners, investors and many more.

Let’s face it: email is how just about everyone communicates. That’s why it’s imperative to have a professional email address.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a business owner, a professional taking the first steps to building a brand, or a job-seeker looking for new opportunities. You need an email address that tells the world you’re serious about what you do.

What exactly is a professional email address?

A professional email address is a custom address that uses your domain name after the @ symbol, such as you@example.co.uk.

How do you get one? Easy. With our new Email Starter, you can get access to a custom email address from just 99p a month. This allows you to use a unique and memorable address to send and receive emails on all your devices at any time wherever you are.

The benefits of using a professional email address

There are lots of reasons why using a professional email is vital, but here are the most important ones.

Make a great first impression

Say you’re a freelancer looking to attract your first clients. A potential client wants to reach out to you via email to enquire about a potential collaboration.

Does your email address help to make a great first impression? Does it send the signal that you’re a professional or does it raise doubts and make potential clients reconsider and resume their search for another freelancer?

Your professionalism is reflected in your email address, which is why we’d recommend using a branded email that tells people that you’re serious about what you do.

Brings instant credibility and trust

Would you consider replying to (or even opening) an email that comes from a random address like ralfg.xtension1999@gmail.com? Probably not. You’d likely be afraid to open it and immediately delete it or mark it as spam.

Would you be as suspicious if you were to receive an email from john@webdesigner.co.uk? Probably not. Why? Because it stands out from the crowd, it’s unique and memorable. It also provides a sense of security and reassurance that the sender is legitimate.

So, whether you’re applying for your dream job or building your portfolio online, a professional email helps to bring instant credibility to your name and brand as well as trust by those on the receiving end.

Promotes brand awareness

One of the best benefits of using a custom email address is that every time you send an email, you’re promoting your own brand instead of someone else’s.

So, start small because the truth is you don’t have to be a large company to build your brand. You also don’t need big advertising budgets. All you need to get started is a professional email address that’s unique and memorable.

Keeps you out of spam filters

Another great thing about having your own unique address is that it keeps you out of spam filters.

When you use a free service to send emails, you can get flagged for spam, especially if you have a suspicious address that doesn’t relate to a verified domain name. What’s more, recruiters or potential clients may flag your email for spam just because they don’t recognise your email.

So, to help prevent that from happening, use a custom email address that matches your domain name.

It’s inexpensive… and easy

With 123 Reg Email Starter, you can set up a professional email address with minimal effort. For as little as 99p a month, you get an ad-free, custom address that matches your domain name.

You’ll be able to access it easily via our webmail interface or have your email downloaded onto your phone or mail client like Outlook.

In conclusion

There are lots of benefits to using a custom email address. It’s not just about sending and receiving emails but about building credibility and trust, and promoting your own brand instead of someone else’s. So, when deciding between a free webmail and a custom email, ask yourself what impression you want to promote to the outside world.

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Four key ecommerce metrics to monitor

Do you know what successful ecommerce businesses have in common? It’s not a massive catalogue of products, or how often they offer deals and discounts to their customers. It’s the fact that they track and analyse their shops’ performance and all the important actions that customers take on their sites.

Why is this important? Because you can’t improve your ecommerce website and your customers’ shopping experience if you don’t know what’s happening on your website. And the only way to find that out is to keep a close eye on metrics and data that reveal what you’re doing right (and wrong).

This helps you to understand every step a customer takes on their way to a purchase and make better decisions to grow your sales and revenue.

Don’t know which numbers to look at to measure your online shop’s performance? We’ve got your covered with the four key ecommerce metrics to focus on to help you grow your business.

But first…

What is a metric?

Metrics are what you measure. They’re quantifiable measures used to track and measure the performance of a website. Some examples of ecommerce metrics range from traffic sources (where your shoppers come from) to cart abandonment rate (the percentage of visitors who walk away from their carts instead of clicking to buy).

How do you go about tracking and measuring ecommerce metrics? Just go to your Google Analytics (GA) account to start looking at your data.

If you’re not familiar with GA or don’t already have an account set up, here’s a beginner’s guide to Google Analytics that explains everything from how to set it up on your website to what kind of information you can expect to find on the platform.

Now let’s look at the key ecommerce metrics every shop owner needs to monitor.

1.   Traffic

It’s important to understand your traffic, meaning how many people visit your online shop and also how they found it, meaning where they came from (social media channels, search engine results, or a blog or website).

Why is this important? Because when you have a better understanding of how people find your ecommerce website, you’ll know which channels are working well to drive more prospects to your store. As a result, you’ll know where to invest more time and resources to get better results.

In addition, if you find that your traffic is low or dropping, you’ll know to prioritise attracting more people to your site. Read this post to learn how to promote your ecommerce website and get more people to your online shop.

2.   Conversion rate

Your shop’s conversion rate shows you how many of your visitors are buying from you. It’s calculated as the percentage of people who make a purchase out of the people who visit your online shop.

So, if 100 people visited your website this week and 5 people made a purchase, your conversion rate for the week is 5%.

If you want to boost your conversion rate and entice more visitors to make a purchase, here are a few things you can try:

3.   Average order value

Your average order value refers to the average amount of money that each customer spends when placing an order on your site. You can calculate your average order value by dividing your store’s total revenue by the number of orders taken.

For example, if you have 100 orders on your store and a total revenue of £1,500, this means that your average order value is £15.

This is an important metric to track as it allows you to find missed opportunities and come up with ideas on how to entice people to spend more on every purchase they make.

So, what can you do to improve this metric? Here are a few ideas:

  • Set a minimum purchase amount for free shipping eligibility.
  • Offer discounts or gifts and add a minimum spend that customers need to meet to be eligible for the discount.
  • Provide product recommendations.
  • Upsell or cross-sell complementary products.
  • Offer bundle deals.

Read our post on six tactics to increase your shop’s average order value to learn more about these tactics and get some examples and ideas on how you can implement them on your ecommerce website.

4.   Shopping cart abandonment rate

This metric refers to the percentage of shoppers who add products to their cart but leave your site without finalising their purchase.

Shopping cart abandonment is frustrating but it happens on every ecommerce site out there. In fact, almost 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned.

So, what can you do to bring down your shopping cart abandonment rate?

Wrapping up

The most successful ecommerce websites make business decisions based on metrics, data and numbers. That’s because the only way to improve shoppers’ experience on a shop is to first understand what works and what doesn’t. Make sure to track and analyse these four essential metrics to see how your online shop’s performing and what steps you can take to increase your sales and revenue.

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How to use social proof to boost sales

As an ecommerce business owner, you go above and beyond presenting your products in the best possible light on your website, emails and social media. After all, your business and revenue depend on it. But what’s that worth if few people believe what you say?

Most consumers view website content and product descriptions as corporate messaging and have trouble believing businesses will deliver on their promises. So when you say that your products are top quality and that you use the best ingredients or materials, that’s rarely enough to compel people to buy from you.

But if all that positive talk comes from your customers, it has a bigger impact on potential customers visiting your site. In many cases, it can make the difference between a visitor leaving your site in seconds and one buying a product because of a customer testimonial they just read.

When it comes to promoting an online shop and enticing people to buy, content is still king. But what can make a real difference to your bottom line is having that content written by your real customers.

So, in this post, we’ll share a few tips and advice on how to use social proof to boost your ecommerce sales.

Get customer testimonials and reviews on your site

Your customers can be the best social proof resource in your arsenal. Why? Because people trust other people more than they trust marketers or a business owner looking to sell more products.

A great customer review or testimonial has the power to compel people to buy a product from an unknown brand. It can also entice people to spend more than they’d normally do on a product just because lots of other people are raving about it on Facebook or YouTube.

Take this example from the Bergfreunde online shop:

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This online shop knows that social proof and reviews from customers are more likely to convince people to buy than their own product descriptions, no matter how detailed they are. So, by featuring five-star ratings, and customer comments and recommendations, they’re building trust and easing the mind of potential customers.

Here’s another example from Casper where they have a separate Reviews page with reviews categorised by type of product:

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Bottom line: when customers arrive on your site, they have a pain point that they want alleviated, and they’re looking for proof that someone in a similar situation found relief through your products. That’s why it’s important to have customer reviews, ratings and testimonials everywhere on your site from your homepage to your product pages, and even on your blog, if you have one.

Read this post to learn how to use reviews in your content. And if you’re not sure how to go about collecting customers reviews, this guide includes some effective tips and advice on how to convince customers to give you testimonials.

Entice customers to talk about your products on the web

A popular way to attract more customers is to make your ecommerce website and products easy to find at the top of the search engine results pages. One highly effective way to do that is by enticing customers to review your products on their own sites and blogs, or other channels, forums and groups.

This content that’s published outside your website can help with your search engine optimisation efforts and increase your visibility in the search results. It can also help to enhance your social proof as people are more likely to trust reviews published on third-party websites when researching a specific product or an online shop.

There are lots of sites that specialise in product reviews. These reviews usually link back to your site while also encouraging visitors to leave comments about their experience with your product or online shop.

Here’s an example from MakeupAlley, a beauty product review site:

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There are also sites that specialize in in-depth product reviews and comparison reviews, like Wareable, a site that reviews smartwatches, fitness trackers, running watches, and more.

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Then, there are also the top 10 or roundup articles published on different blogs and sites, like this one:

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Finally, let’s not forget the YouTube videos and demos where customers review the products they bought.

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This kind of social proof that’s outside your website and on a third-party site can lead to more sales because people tend to trust it more than the messaging on your site. In addition to that, it can also lead to better visibility in the search results when prospects are searching for your products.

But how do you get customers talking about your products on their sites, blogs and third-party forums and groups?

There are lots of ways to do that from providing a fantastic customer experience to partnering with influencers and offering customers free samples and products, and encouraging them to write about them.

Read this guide to learn how to build relationships and team up with influencers. You can also check out this post for some great tips on how to get people talking about your ecommerce business and products online.

Document and publish customer success stories

A case study or customer success story covers why a customer started using your product, and how it helped them to alleviate a pain point or achieve a goal. It’s proof that your product works as promised, and a fantastic way to nudge prospects into purchasing from you and becoming a valued customer.

The good news is that customer success stories are not as formal as they used to be. Here’s a great example from FitBit:

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As you can see, a good case study needs to have not just written content but also visual aids like images, infographics and videos to back it all up.

After you create yours, don’t forget to share it on your blog, in your marketing emails to customers, and also on the social media channels that you’re active on.

Show off some statistics

Statistics are always a great way to add social proof to your site and show off the power of your products in an impartial way. So, add some numbers to your site to show how many people are on a product page and looking at a specific product, or how many people have purchased it.

Check out this example from Casper:

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Popularity is a factor that many people take into account when deciding whether a product is worth their time, interest and money, so make sure you use it to your advantage.

Wrapping up

When it comes to turning more visitors into customers and generating more sales, social proof is one of your greatest weapons. It helps to build trust in your products and your ecommerce business as a whole.

So, make sure you entice customers to leave reviews on your site and third-party sites and blogs. Show off some usage statistics and document and publish great customer success stories every chance you get. Do these things and you’ll have a higher chance to boost sales than you ever would with your own content and product descriptions.

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Seven tips to take your offline business online

With an increasing number of consumers turning to the Internet to shop for everything from gifts to groceries and online courses, there’s no better time than now to take your offline business online.

Even if you run a business that involves communicating in-person like therapy or career coaching, you can still benefit from adding an online component to your business. With all the amazing tools and technology available today, you can easily sell your expertise and knowledge in an online course or offer your services via remote video meetings.

If you’ve never had a website or have little knowledge about what it involves to have and maintain an online presence, you may feel nervous. Don’t worry because getting set up online is easier than you think. And if you find yourself procrastinating because it feels like an overwhelming project to take on, here are some tips to help motivate you to get your business online.

Ready to take your offline business online? Fantastic! Here are seven tips to help get you started.

1.   Learn about how websites work

If you’ve never had a website and aren’t familiar with how they work and what you’d need to build and get yours online, take some time to get a basic understanding of the online before you jump in.

Even if you’re planning to get help building your site, either by using a website builder or by hiring a professional to do it for you, it’s still worth learning a few new skills. These skills and knowledge can come in handy in the long-run whenever you communicate with customers or need to make changes to your site and online presence.

Here are some essential skills we believe everyone should have or learn in order to set up and manage a successful business online:

  • Basic web skills about how domains, hosting, and content management systems like WordPress.
  • Aesthetics and design skills to help you make the best design choices for your new website.
  • Content writing skills to ensure every word you write on your website and elsewhere on the web helps to tell your unique story.
  • Search engine optimisation skills so you learn what and how your customers are searching for on Google, and how to properly optimise the content on your site to get found by more customers in the search engine results.
  • Digital marketing skills so you learn about effective ways to promote your new website and attract more customers to your new online place of business.

Now, don’t feel you need to be an expert or know everything about websites to start with yours. You can find plenty of information in these two articles:

2.   Choose the right products to get your business online

So, what products do you need to take your offline business online? And how much will everything cost?

The answers to these two important questions depend on the type of business you have or what you’d like it to look once you move it online.

So think about how you’d like your online business to look and what and how you’d like to sell. At the same time, take into account your technical skills (or your willingness to learn to make design or code changes yourself, if need be) as that can also be a factor when choosing the products you’ll use to set up and manage your website.

At a minimum, to get any website online, you’ll need the following:

  • A domain name.
  • A responsive website template, meaning one that works properly for anyone who visits your website from any device, whether it’s a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop or a PC.
  • A hosting package to get your website live for everyone to see.
  • An SSL certificate to make your site more secure for your visitors. This encrypts any sort of sensitive information that people share with you via your site, be it names, email addresses, credit card details, and any other personal information, to ensure it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.

Read this article to learn more about these products and how much you can expect to pay for each.

An easy alternative is to buy a complete solution like the 123 Reg Website Builder that comes with everything you need to get your website online: domain name, hosting, professional email, SSL and a great selection of templates so you can choose the right look for your online business. The great thing about this option is that you don’t need any technical skills to create and get your website up and running.

3.   Get your legal ducks in a row

As you’re taking your offline business online, you may have to fulfil a few more requirements depending on how you plan to run your operations.

If you’re not an expert, we’d recommend seeking out legal and financial advice before getting started selling products and services online. This ensures that you have your back covered if anything goes wrong.

For more information, read sections 8 and 9 in this beginner’s guide to starting an online business.

4.   Look at your competitors’ sites to get some inspiration

Don’t know how your website should look, what pages and information to include, or what you can do to stand out and offer a great experience to your customers?

The easiest thing you can do is to look at other websites in your industry. Go to Google and enter a keyword or keyword phrase that is relevant to your business. For example, if you sell dog food, enter “dog food” into Google’s search box and go through the results. If you want to be more specific, you can also add the city or country you’re planning to deliver to.

Now, click to visit a few of the top sites in the search results and see what they look like, what and how they’re selling, the words, images and videos (if any) they’re using on the website to present their products or services.

Take notes and use this information to organise your own website.

1.   Sign up for Google Analytics and Google Search Console

One of the great advantages of having an online business is that you get to learn a lot about the people who visit your website – who they are, where they’re from, how they found your site, what they looked at during their visit, how much time they spent on your site, what they bought, and so much more.

This information is very useful as it can help you determine how well your site is performing and what else you can change to make it better.

But to have access to all this information, you need to set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These two free tools are a must-have for any website owner because you’ll not only get to learn about your visitors but also about any issues with your site that need fixing right away.

Check out these two guides to learn how to set up and use Google Analytics and Google Search Console:

2.   Get social

When you’re reading about the internet and getting your offline business online, you’re bound to stumble upon lots of social networks that you’re advised to sign up to as a business.

Here’s the thing: having a presence on social media is critical to your success. In many cases, it’s the first place people go to to look up businesses and learn more about what they do and sell, and how other people feel about the products or services they purchased.

However, that doesn’t mean you should set up an account on every social network out there. It’ll be just a waste of time if your customers aren’t actually there to see your messages. Instead, choose two or three social networks where you know your audience enjoys to spend time online.

Then you can focus on keeping an active presence where you share helpful and engaging content and build a meaningful relationship with your audience.

Read this article for some tips on how to decide which social networks your business should be on.

3.   Announce your move and promote your new website

Moving your offline business online is one thing. Getting people to notice is another. So now comes the challenging part: spreading the word about your online business to ensure the news reaches as many people as possible.

There are lots of things you can try from sharing the news on your social media channels to using online ads to get your online business in front of more customers.

Start by testing the ideas in these articles and see what works for your business:

Wrapping up

Your competitors are online. Can you afford to fall behind? If you’ve decided it’s time to take your offline business online to get more customers and revenue, we’re hoping the tips in this article will help you to make the move less challenging. Good luck!

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