30 ways to achieve your first online sale

updated May 6, 2022
Reading time10 minutes
Clayton Quist
Clayton Quist
Customer Service Genie

After creating your strategy, designing your business, choosing which tools to use and finally putting your virtual store online, comes the decisive moment: selling. We could not leave you alone in this; then, to help your business to take off, we have listed 30 ways to help you achieve your first online sale and make your ecommerce take off!

Read also: How great experiences can turn into a sale

1. Find out where your client is

Descubra Clientes

Especially in those businesses involving a hobby, it is common that you might be already inserted into the community and know where the client is. If not, you need to search for and start attending the spaces where these potential customers usually are. If your business area is mainly in Instagram, it is mandatory for you to be also there. If these customers have a meeting place - for example, bookstores - it is there where should also be.

2. Promote your business on Facebook

Regardless of where your customer is, nowadays it is a requirement for you to create a Facebook page. In most lines of business, Facebook is the main social network for disclosure, but even if not, it is still important to be there.

3. Join groups on Facebook

One way to start promoting your page is joining groups related to your area of expertise. First, remember to check the rules of that space and check if it allows promotion. Another option is to search for a specific sales group.

Grupos de Facebook

4. Boost posts on Facebook

To give a kick-start on your Facebook page, you can invest a certain amount to boost a post, or make it have a greater reach on the social network. Boosting a publication can be useful when your page is at the beginning, especially for a promotion to increase its range.

5. Promote your business on Twitter

Not all businesses need to use Twitter to reach their first sale. However, unlike Facebook, publications appear in a chronological order on this social network, which can become an advantage. Our tip, in this regard, is to try to have as many followers as possible before you start promoting your promotions on the microblogging service.

6. Show your products on Instagram

Instagram is reaching a level of importance similar to Facebook, especially for those who sell products. The social network cousin of Facebook can be a great way to publicize your showcase, showing high quality images of the products from your ecommerce.

Instagram para ecommerce

7. Create a channel on Youtube

Another way to reach your customers is through Youtube. The video sharing network can be a great way to give more details about the products of your brand and create more familiarity between your company and consumers. Like the other social networks, you can use the channel to create promotions and disseminate your sales channels.

8. Create your own blog

It is essential to have a blog to promote your own business. Through it, you can take the knowledge you have in your area of expertise to its customers, as well as having a platform to publicize your social networks. Publishing relevant texts in your area will give more credibility and trust to your ecommerce, facilitating sales.

9. Boost your page and blog with SEO

Another important point that should be followed no matter your field of business. Optimizing your page with SEO will make it easier to be found through a Google search. Several platforms for ecommerce’s building already have optimization for ranking, but you should also think about how to make your blog more easily found, trying to write texts on subjects frequently sought.

SEO para fazer vendas

10. Create campaigns on Google Adwords

At first, it will be difficult to get a good ranking on Google, especially when your ecommerce is part of an established industry. To work around this detail, it is worth using Adwords to create ads and campaigns so that it has greater reach in the search engine. However, it is not enough to simply choose a word and pay: it is necessary to study the tool so you can create the most effective campaigns.

11. Buy banners

One of the oldest methods of dissemination on the Internet, the use of banners is still one of the tactics that can be used to get your first sale. Like the campaigns on Adwords, it is necessary to study the functioning of banners and how Google auctions work, so your banner can have the maximum possible presence.

12. Learn about Analytics

Another useful tool to advertise your products and achieve your first sale is Google Analytics. Through it, you can know the behavior of your website visitors and where they head after leaving. With this knowledge in hand, you can better target your campaigns and measure what is going right and wrong in their disclosure.

13. Get good ranking in shopping search engines

A very effective way to get your first sale online is to seek a better ranking in specific search engines, such as Buscapé in Brazil or Google Shopping itself. The only problem associated with them is that you might need to lower your price to get better position for yourself, Sell your products and build a legacy.

Google Shooping

14. Have an ecommerce with a friendly interface on mobile devices

Another of the commandments in ecommerce nowadays is counting on a friendly interface with mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. This is the main difference between an updated ecommerce and one that will possibly be abandoned by visitors. Prefer a platform that supports any type of display and is easy to use on those devices.

15. Have a proactive online chat platform

This is where JivoChat enters. As one of the best chat platforms for ecommerce today, we offer ease of use on mobile devices for both the vendor and the customer. One of our tools allows you to send a message to a visitor on your site, offering to answer questions and referring them to their first purchase.

JivoChat

16. Send samples of your products and ask for reviews in exchange

A good way to kick off is sending products to digital influencers so they can make an analysis and publish a review on their channels. It can be an analysis published on a website, printed vehicle, a video on Youtube or even a review mentioning the social networks. Having a positive review published is a great way to attract consumers to your store and its products.

17. Do something unexpected to promote your product

Some consider it to be eye candy; others, a genius idea. The truth is that an unexpected action on social networks can turn your ecommerce from the unknown to the revelation of the year. After years of big surprises - the campaign Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014, multiplied tenfold the collection for the research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which enabled the institution to make a breakthrough this year - several formulas to go viral on the Internet can be researched and used in your favor.

Ice Bucket Challenge

18. Have a product that is unique and stands out

Having a single product is not easy, but it is still one of the best selling strategies. Getting a prominent product that meets a consumer desire - even if they themselves do not know they longed for a product - can be the key to your first sale. Not only that, but it also gives more chances to be found on search engines with less investment, as well as on social networks.

19. Build your mailing list

Email addresses are never enough. When launching your ecommerce, use strategies to capture emails from your visitors. Always keep some room on your page for visitors to leave their email. JivoChat also has an important tool for capturing emails through its pre-service form, which can be offered to a visitor or a customer as soon as they interact with your chat.

20. Adopt an email marketing service and send newsletters to your mailing list

With an established email database, it is time to adopt an email marketing service to send newsletters to your visitors and customers. Through it, you may disclose your new products, and keep your clients informed about promotions and discount coupons. It is one of the most used strategies by large retailers like Amazon.

21. Sell your products to major retailers

Your ecommerce does not need to target only the final consumer. It is also possible to be partner of large ecommerce networks, offering your products for sale on these platforms, especially if you have items that are not present in these places. Even if you do not get the full amount of the sale, acting as a distributor can increase your volume, compensating the value kept by the retailer.

ecommerce

22. Participate in events in your field

Being online does not mean you should just keep online. When it is possible, you should be physically present at events from your field or industry related events. For example, if your ecommerce specializes in items for Oriental cuisine, you can be present in both specialized events in cooking and also those for the pop culture of this region.

23. Sell in person

Following the logic of the previous item, to be present at events applies not only to demonstrate the products of your ecommerce, but also to sell them there, even if you do not have a physical establishment. You can take advantage of this event to sell your products at a discount, or to publicize your page, giving every buyer a coupon for discount on your site.

24. Create your own event

Especially useful if you are located in a region with few or no events related to your field. When creating your own event - which can be published on your page or on local groups – you can make your ecommerce known in your filed. The organization of an event itself can help you expand locally before trying to "rule the world".

evento

25. Make networking with local businesses, even if your presence is digital

Having an ecommerce as your business does not mean you should stop having relations with local businesses, especially when they can be complementary. Getting to know your field and people involved in it can be of great help in spreading your ecommerce. Remember that logistics costs also fall considerably when you can rely on loyal customers based next to your region.

26. Promote your business locally

No wonder we recommend building a network with local businesses, even with only virtual presence. As mentioned earlier, digital presence does not mean excluding your local area. Sometimes it is more advantageous and cheap to disclose your local store than to invest large amounts of time and money on a post on Facebook. Therefore, consider the area in which it is inserted, your community and the potential of purchases.

27. Use your personal contacts to promote your business

Especially useful in the initial phases of your ecommerce. Do not be shy and involve family, friends and all kinds of personal contact to promote your page, making a digital word of mouth. The tactic is especially useful on Facebook, since the social network recently started to give higher priority to family and friends compared to business pages publications.

boca a boca

28. Offer promotions and discount coupons

We have already partially covered this item in previous tips. However, it is always good to remember that competition on social networks, distribution of discount coupons and good old promotions are effective strategies. Regardless of your goal, attracting more followers, achieving your first sale or burning your stock, plan how you will promote your product according to your current goal.

29. Partner with complementary businesses

In addition to researching how your competition works, it is essential to search which ecommerces and companies offer products or services similar to yours. It is possible to propose partnerships with each other, offering product packages together, as well as marketing activities and combined publications on social networks.

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30. Be persistent

The item 30 can be considered as the number 1 on this list and is the golden rule for every seller: be persistent! With the tools we have presented here, you can start having opportunities on several fronts to make your name best-known, as well as different ways to achieve your first sale online and start the ignition to take off your ecommerce!

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