10 Elements of a Profitable E-commerce Store
A detailed article featuring 10 things that you need to include if you want to grow a profitable e-commerce store. This article has everything you need from which type of CMS companies you should use to the calls to action that should be on your website.
Growing a profitable e-commerce store requires understanding the various elements that come together to make a website that consumers love to buy from. In this guide, you are going to learn the top 10 elements that will make your e-commerce brand a profit engine.
1. Choose an e-commerce provider to build your website
Your website needs to have a CMS that can go the distance to grow the profits for your business. Platforms such as Magento and WordPress are known for their abilities in terms of creating beautiful e-commerce websites that can handle massive bursts of traffic and that load quickly. Your website should look visually appealing – you can achieve this by using CMS platforms that are powered by diverse web design services.
2. Write product descriptions that convert into sales
The product description is the bread and butter of your e-commerce store. You need to write a detailed and rich description that sells your product by showcasing the benefits for the customer. A lot of e-commerce stores make the cardinal mistake of simply listing the features of the product. You need to write the benefits of why someone should part with their cash to buy the product. An excellent example of a product description that converts into sales is from UK fashion juggernaut, Pretty Little Thing. Take a look below on how this product description inspires a shopper to purchase the product by highlighting how it should be worn:
3. Integrate social proof plugins
They are the notifications showing you when someone has purchased or signed up for a product or service on a website. They have been proven to increase profit significantly because people are worried about FOMO also known as the fear of missing out. It is human nature to be curious about something if you see other people or your peers purchasing it.
4. Create an email list with significant open rates
Despite the social media world that we live in, email is proven to work and it provides a generous return on investment if you put the time and energy to learn what converts for e-commerce websites. You should make it easy for people to sign up to your website’s newsletter. As you grow your email list, you can write 2 newsletters per week – one should be promotional and the other should be informative. Some e-commerce websites have reported that their email marketing strategy is responsible to up to 10% of their monthly revenues. Use email to generate the back-end sales for your website by writing attractive subject lines and copy that entices people to buy.
5. Personalise order confirmation emails
This is a unique idea that you can use straight away for your e-commerce business. When a customer purchases a product, simply write a personalised order confirmation email with their first name. Personalisation increases conversion rates because people want to know that you are talking directly to them.
6. Integrate social media feeds onto your homepage
A powerful way to boost sales is to integrate at least one social media platform such as Instagram on your website’s homepage. If visitors to your site see your customers using your product and being reposted on your Instagram feed via your website, this adds context and creates a sense of trust that your business is credible and reputable.
7. Create amazing content to help your customers
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says that the secret of his company’s success has been always putting the customer first. You should put the customer at the heart of everything you do by creating content that changes or transforms their life. It seems counterintuitive however it works. Write blogs, articles, buyer guides, shopping guides and checklists that help your consumers and eventually this will create a funnel for consumers to purchase your products on your website.
8. Have a bestseller list on your homepage
Increasing sales on a website means understanding what people want to buy. If you have a list of bestselling products based on your internal data, create a visually appealing landing page that showcases the best sellers for your e-commerce store. This will make casual visitors more inclined to buy from you because people want to buy products that are popular.
9. Write a detailed FAQ
A visitor might want to purchase but if she or he doesn’t know if you ship to their city, you could lose a potential sale. You solve this issue of losing out on revenue by writing a detailed FAQ section that explains every potential question that your visitors want answers for from delivery times to payment options that you accept.
10. Create unique CTAs
Calls to action (CTA) are critical if you are going to have a profitable e-commerce website. These range from simple ones such as ‘Buy Now’ and ‘Add To Cart’ to CTA that create a sense of urgency to purchase now such as hotel websites like Booking.com showing how many people have booked a room at a hotel you are looking at.
Take a look at the example below:
As you can see from the Booking.com example, there are two calls to action that create this feeling that you need to book a room now or you will miss an opportunity to get the booking for your holiday.
Conclusion
With these 10 elements, you can build and grow an e-commerce website that has a foundation that will go the distance. Ready to be successful in e-commerce? Incorporate our 10 elements today by using this guide as something to keep you focused on the bottom line which is creating a successful e-commerce business.