Category Archives: eCommerce

Successful Influencer Brands on WhatsMode

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As YouTubers continue to transform into the new celebrities and assert their influence over consumers and followers, some of the top names on the platform have now created their own brands. From jewelry and accessories to clothing, these YouTubers have designed their own products as a way of connecting with their audience in a new way.

Some of the names include Zoella Beauty by Zoe Sugg, TRIXIN by Shay Carl Butler and Marzia by Marzia Bisognin. They teamed up with designers, vendors, and manufacturers to create and sell their custom designs.

WhatsMode is one of the platforms that has helped various influencers to create and sell their product lines to a wide range of audiences. WhatsMode works with different kinds of influencers from various platforms to connect them to their audience. Because WhatsMode is a social platform as much as it is an e-commerce platform, the company is creating a community of influencers, and ecosystem much like YouTube or Instagram. While the company currently hosts some 200 influencer stores, it is adding more and more stores every month.

WhatsMode has had success with their influencer brands and has sold many pieces from their product lines in an eco-friendly way. Out of all their brands we are mentioning the three most prominent ones that belong to YouTubers.

1.     GLO by Chloe Couture

Cloe Feldman started as a YouTuber in 2014 as a lifestyle vlogger and since has gained over 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 1 million followers on Instagram. Her love for fashion and design led her audience to request custom merchandise that she designed. Currently, Cloe sells her product line, GLO by Chloe Couture, on WhatsMode including apparel, clothing patches, jewelry, and more.

2.     BLUE by Adelaine Morin

Adelaine Morin began her career as a YouTuber in 2012 as a fashion and beauty vlogger and has created a community of more than 2.4 million subscribers on YouTube and approximately 823 thousand followers on Instagram. With her friends, subscribers and family in mind, she created a product line called BLUE by Adelaine Morin, which she sells on WhatsMode. Her product line includes pajamas, jewelry, and other accessories.

3.     PONY EFFECT by PONY Syndrome

Born Park Hye Min, Pony is a Korean beauty vlogger who gained popularity in 2015 with her Asian themed makeup looks. In just three years she has gained over 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 5 million followers on Instagram. Her interest in the beauty industry gave her leverage to create her own makeup line. You can find many of her beauty products from her PONY EFFECT makeup line on WhatsMode.

5 of the Best Ways to Promote Your Startup

5 of the Best Ways to Promote Your Startup

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No matter what kind of startup you’re running, you have to put some extra effort into bringing your products/services closer to consumers. The only problem is, your marketing budget is probably quite limited, which is something big companies don’t face. This is why you need to follow some of the ways of business promotion that have proven to be effective for other startups out there. We came up with 5 of these that might be exactly what your startup needs.

Email marketing

It may seem like email is a bit outdated but in reality, it still plays a huge role in the world of marketing. It allows you to keep your customers updated on anything that’s going on in your company for absolutely free. Moreover, if you decide to use an email marketing software, you can make your emails more personal which is always a big plus. In order to make your email marketing strategy more successful, make sure you collect the email address from every customer that shows up in your store.

5 of the Best Ways to Promote Your Startup

Social media marketing

We’re living in the age dominated by social media and this is something you need to take advantage of. Luckily, there are so many social media platforms you can use to promote your business, with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter being the most popular among them. Just make sure you create pages on all the platforms your customers might be using and try to stay in touch with them. This is something you can do by posting news about your startup or sharing articles relevant to your niche.

5 of the Best Ways to Promote Your Startup

SEO

You’ve probably already heard a lot about SEO but it’s important to note that having a good SEO strategy can do wonders for your business. People nowadays tend to turn to Google when searching for a product/service and showing up on the first page of Google search results is an absolute must. Luckily, there are SEO professionals you can turn to in order to improve your Google ranking. On top of this, you need to make sure you have a well-designed website, especially if you’re in ecommerce. This is why working with experts in ecommerce website development is recommended.

5 of the Best Ways to Promote Your Startup

Influencers

Influencers are the next big thing in the world of marketing and you’ll definitely want to start working with a few of them. You just need to make sure you find influencers whose audience might be interested in what your startup has to offer. What’s so great about influencer marketing is that it won’t cost your startup too much. In fact, sometimes, you’ll just need to give the influencer freebies or coupons at your store and they’ll be willing to review your products/services and recommend them to their fan base.

5 of the Best Ways to Promote Your Startup

Promotional products

People enjoy getting stuff for free and this can also help you promote your startup. Basically, what you need to do is come up with things you could put your company’s logo on and give out to potential customers. Promotional products have been around for quite a while and it seems like they’re never really getting out of style. Pens, keychains and T-shirts are the most common options, but you can also go for something different like umbrellas or USB flash drives with the logo of your company on them.

All in all, it’s possible to promote your startup without having a large budget like big companies do. It’s all about finding what your target audience likes and sticking to it. Give each of these 5 ways a go and you should be able to see your sales starting to grow pretty soon.

 

Latest eCommerce Design Trends in 2017

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UX and responsive design are what all the eCommerce sites looked for in the past year. There has been a lot of talk among the designer communities over the new eCommerce web design trends. Which designs are going to reign in 2017 and which will become trendsetters are all among the on-going discussion.

It is not an easy task to analyze and predict the upcoming designs for any web designer. Some web designs may be the trend today but may become history tomorrow. Nothing can be static in this business as designs are made to change and evolve constantly. Here in this article, we will go try to understand the designs, the trends, and the evolution of web designs since the dawn of 2016.

  • More mobile responsive design

If we just look at the beginning of the last decade, eCommerce websites were established keeping desktop in mind. Gradually as time passed, touch screen phones came into the scene. Hence designs were made and developed to be supported on these. Now at the break of this year, the fashion has changed drastically. This smartphone generation has seen a huge rise in eCommerce since the emerging of smartphones. People are able to get everything at just a tap of a finger. Hence, designers have reversed the process completely. They have now started to make designs and establish new trends for the mobile application first and then they go on to think about the website for larger devices. The mobile version has also been given huge dedication because of things like detailed images, buttons, creative icons, hidden menu bars and much more.

  • Evolution of semi-flat design

The flat design has been the trend setter and gained huge success in the previous year. But, the trend of flat designs has begun to sink in and now is taking re-birth in form of a semi-flat design. This new design is user-friendly, eye captivating and attractive. This semi-flat design is completely based on the flat design characteristics in terms of operation, usage etc.

  • Images, lots of images

Images are very lucrative and attract the attention of any person almost immediately. Extensive research has also proved that people get more swayed by the image of a product and this becomes the purchasing factor. In this year, people will be looking for more images for more validation of any product, goods, and items out there. Take out all the excessive text on the site. People take only 2 sec to judge a particular thing. So, therefore give in more pictures and try to grab the attention of your customer.

  • Material design to evolve further

This design was first launched in 2014 by Google on Android platforms. Since then, it has made a name for itself and is still now running strong. This design was the perfect one for new companies to establish themselves as a brand. Till this day this design is ruling over the eCommerce sites. Layouts like cards, alterations, animations are some of the characteristics of this web design. This is still bound to continue this year also.

  • Long scrolls with lazy loading

Another trendsetter for 2017 is the long page scroll designs. When you visit a website, it is somewhat a hectic job to go on clicking ‘next page’. This makes it more annoying on mobile phones, where it takes more time load a new page. So, by adding more products on one singular page, it is easy for the customer to make his choices or preferences. It saves time and is way easier for the customer for product selection. This trend is to be seen in 2017 designs.

  • Rich animations and cinemagraphs

As said above, images mean a sense of validation. They will be a necessary element in web design for the upcoming year. But to make them a little fancier and eye captivating, designers have come up with ideas such as animations, GIFs and the likes for the eCommerce sites. If any company wishes to make customers return more and more to their website, then they must adopt this new trend of GIFs coming their way. These may be put on the banners of the home page, headers background, etc.

  • Hamburgers on the left

Like the material design, hamburger menus are trending for quite a long time. Many sites are widely using hamburger menus as of now. The websites which have been designed by bootstrap framework have the hamburger type menus on the right-hand side. In this year, the changes that are about to come to this type of menu is that it will be placed on the left-hand side of the website. The eCommerce websites want their customers to look up this menu as soon as they enter the site. Hence this is another specific designing to look up for in 2017.

  • Hand drawn elements

Nothing is better than handmade stuff. The time has come for handmade elements to make their way into the arena of web designing. This year many trends will change and many will evolve. Logos and icons this year will be largely substituted for hand drawn elements. These elements will create a very strong impression on the customer about your brand. Try to hook yourself up with such stuff and keep the icons and logos on the sidelines. Ask for specifics of what type of hand drawn stuff you want and then get going with it.

  • Large and flexible typography

Flexible typography is one such design which works wonders on both mobile phones to large screen devices. Typefaces, especially large ones can have large impacts on the customers. Larger typography makes it easier for customers to read on their mobile phones. This will help the companies to build a better and brighter brand name for themselves.

Hence all these are the different trends in 2017 web designing for eCommerce websites.

Author BIO

Tom Blake is a digital marketing guru at Media Shark digital agency in Gold Coast, and all round entrepreneur. Running his own businesses since the age of 20 his work has seen him travel the world living in various countries. Now heading up Media Shark in the sunny Gold Coast of Australia. His passion lies in helping people with online marketing and providing technical SEO and digital strategies with one goal ROI.

Facebook : http://facebook.com/mediasharkgc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MediaSharkGC

5 Essential Components of a Great eCommerce Site

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At one point or another, as an eCommerce business owner you may have thought to yourself “what makes a great ecommerce website?”

While the case is not that you do not have any idea on how websites work, it is mostly because creating your brand’s site is an overwhelming undertaking. In fact, you may have a mental list of your inspirations & which components of these sites you will implement.

Still, there is a nagging voice in your head that says “it will still not work out”. The cure? Start with the basics.

Your Brand Elements

 

Humans, by nature, are visual creatures. We recognize & remember identities by what we see. For this, be sure that you have a working logo & tagline for use in your site.

Your logo is the symbol that represents your brand as a whole. Your tagline, is an encapsulation of your brand’s promise & offers. When visitors come to your site, you have that one shot to introduce what you are about. So do not miss out on these two.

Safety shopping guarantee

At the end of the day money is money. No matter how good your products and pages are if your payment gateway is a wack no one will attempt to do business with you.

Employ major payment modes such as Paypal, credit & debit cards, gift vouchers & cash on delivery arrangements. Being widely used for eCommerce transactions these payment modes come with the assurance of secured & safety shopping.

 

MOBILE NUMBER AND ONLINE CHATS

It is easy to do business with brand that are easy to get in touch with.

Make sure your contact details especially your phone number & email address are highly visible throughout your website. Indicating your stores contact number is important not just technically but for legal matters as well.

Provide your customers as many routes as you can to get in touch with you. At a certain point, a 1-800  will be a good investment. However, if you are not on that level yet, a live chat support form can be your best bet.

Keeping your lines open will not only help you deal apeace “mad” customers in real time. Being readily available will also keep the doors of opportunity open for you. You just can’t tell where you next bulk orders will come through.

 

Social Media Links

20% of successful purchases online are from surfing through social media sites. This is because people seek public approval and confirmation.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr are the best platforms to use if you want public exposure and market. As simple clicks can showcase our products online, people who are please can share, like and refer you.

Social media is the great equalizer among brands in the internet. It enables you to study your market & how you can best reach out to them. It also allows you to study your competitors so you can show them up.

 

Deals, offers & promos

Most of the time people can decide whether they like a website or not with just a snap of a hand. That is why it is crucial to get their attention and interest just few seconds after they entered your site.

Get your latest deals, offers & promos on strategic places all over your site.

For example, you can have a panel for your “free shipping announcement” on your front page. You may also have an invitation to your newsletter above the fold.

Alluring promises and unique prices stimulate visitors to spend, spend and spend. In general, designs also makes a big contribution to this strategy’s success. Positioning eye catching banner designs with jaw-dropping discounts makes sense all the time. NO FAIL.

And that’s it! I hope the tips above will help you make your ecommerce website develop and improve with great potential.

5 Ways to Increase Your Ecommerce Sales

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E-commerce sales have steadily increased over the last few years. In 2015, companies that offer products and services online are expected to earn approximately $1.500 trillion. The figure for 2015 is an increase of more than 20 percent over sales in 2014. The reasons behind the increase are that more customers are using mobile devices at home or at work to order products and services online. E-commerce sites are offering faster, more secure payment options for customers and thousands of major brands worldwide are expanding into international markets. It’s necessary to take crucial steps to be competitive in the online market.

A Well Designed Website

Online shoppers expect a site to load quickly and have the capacity to run on a variety of browsers. If the page doesn’t load fast, or there are broken links, customers will go elsewhere, and you have to make a good impression the minute a buyer navigates to your site. An e-commerce site should be easy to navigate. Some sites allow visitors to choose the browser they prefer, based on their Internet connection. All products should have a designated category and title. If you offer a wide selection, sub-categories should be used. Use a menu bar so customers can find what they’re looking for easily.

Product Selection

Offering unique or unusual products are likely to attract new customers. Provide detailed information about your products. Information about availability, sizes, and colors is important. Customers want to know what makes your products different. For example, if you create one-of-a-kind jewelry, describe the natural materials, gems, and findings in detail. Provide a close-up image of each of your designs with a background that compliments each piece. You may offer a service in which clients may choose the stones, colors or findings used to create their designs.

Special Features

Online customers appreciate extra features, especially if the purchase is a gift. Upsell products everywhere on your website. Add-ons or other incentives encourage customers to buy from your site. If you have an online bookstore, offer special prices on books if a client orders additional books by the same author or offer discounts to students and seniors. Another means of increasing your sales is to provide related items such as a tote bag or a cool bookmark as part of a promotion.

Personalized Service

People like to shop online but don’t like high-pressure sale pitches. Provide personalized, customer service and assist your buyers with purchases in a friendly, courteous manner. Offer a toll-free number to call with questions or concerns and respond promptly. Great service can result in repeat customers.

Payment and Shipping Options

Customers want payment processors that are easy to use and are more inclined to order products from a merchant if they can make payments with one click. Along with payment options, they want an easy return policy that is in plain english, not jargon and that have a finite policy period. Shipping terms and conditions should be prominently displayed on your site. Customers should know what they have to pay for shipping before they click the payment button. If you offer promotions for holiday items, show the cutoff date for ordering to make sure your customers receive their orders on time.

These are just a few ways that you can increase your ecommerce sales. Make sure that you take full advantage of everything that is available to ensure that your site is always ready for customers and to keep your customers coming back.

Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who has worked in eCommerce for the last five years. She currently writes for Rakuten Super Logistics and recommends them for all your online order fulfillment needs to further your success.