![\"How](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/Kula.png?format=webp&v=1684674752\")
Did you know the average person spends 147 minutes per day on social media?
\nWhether you’re trying to make your first sale or you’ve been open for business for a while, it’s always good to find more ways to market your business on social media.
\nHere are 15 top ways to grow your following and earn more sales for your small business.
\nCreating a social media marketing plan helps to align, coordinate, and focus an organization’s marketing and communications teams. It also ensures everyone is working toward the same goals and resources are being used efficiently.
\nStart by identifying your campaign’s overall objectives and goals. Common business goals you can set include:
\nNext, figure out your target audience’s favorite social media platform. You can post content that’s tailored to each platform once you know where they are. If you know your audience is on TikTok, a short-form video strategy is critical to your social media success.
\nCheck out your competitors and see which channels they succeed on. Determine what formats are working best for them and what they’re missing from their social media strategy (which you can fill in!).
\nLearn more: How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy
\nIt’s easier to make content that resonates with your audience if you know who they are. The more you understand your audience’s needs and wants, the more likely you are to convert them into customers or clients.
\nTo find your audience on social, take a look at your current buyers and understand who they are. A few questions you’ll want to answer are:
\nThere are a few ways you can learn about your social media audience:
\nLearn more: Finding Your Ideal Customer: How To Define and Reach Your Target Audience
\nNow that you have all this insight about your audience, it’s time to choose your channels. Here are a few popular ones for ecommerce merchants.
\nInstagram’s visual focus is perfect for promoting products. Around 500 million Instagram users are on the app every day. Any brand would do well to share its products on this network.
\nThere are several ways to use Instagram to promote your store. You can share captivating images of your products, post a stop-motion video of one of your products in action, run a contest, or reach out to influential Instagram accounts and ask them to share your product.
\nMonthly active users: 1 billion
\nAudience profile: 18–34 year olds
\nLearn more: The Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Marketing
\nFacebook is a social networking website where people can post updates, photos, and messages, as well as interact with groups. You can create a Facebook page and share images and video content with fans. Facebook also lets you run ads, livestream, create short-form videos, and sell products.
\nMonthly active users: 2.98 billion
\nAudience profile: Men and women aged 18–44
\nLearn more: Facebook Marketing: 11-Step Guide for Your Business
\nTikTok users are highly engaged, spending an average of 46 minutes per day on the app. They’re also highly receptive to marketing messages, with saying they’ve made a purchase after seeing a product on TikTok. This makes TikTok an ideal platform for businesses looking to generate sales and drive conversions.
\nTikTok is all about creative, engaging content, so if that’s something you don’t have the time or resources to produce, TikTok may not be the right platform for you.
\nYou’ll also want to think long term when planning a TikTok strategy. TikTok isn’t a platform where you can just post a few videos and hope for the best. You need to produce frequent content and engage with your audience on a regular basis.
\nMonthly active users: 1.4 billion
\nAudience profile: Ages 18–34
\nLearn more: TikTok Marketing: Your Beginner’s Guide (+ Video)
\nPinterest is the place to be if you want to buy or sell products online. Eighty-three percent of weekly Pinterest users make purchases based on what they see from brands on the platform. Not surprisingly, many people use Pinterest to build wish lists. This makes it a great place to promote products—especially well-designed products that photograph well.
\nPlus, pins tend to stick around for a long time. It’s not uncommon for pins to get viewed for months after they’re posted. Optimize your pins by posting when more people are online, using the right keywords, and using captivating images. You can even run contests to extend your reach.
\nMonthly active users: 450 million
\nAudience profile: Largely female aged 18–34
\nLearn more: The Complete Pinterest Marketing Guide
\nLinkedIn is a great way to connect with other professionals and potential customers, especially for B2B marketing. By creating a company page and sharing relevant content, you can reach a wide audience of people who may be interested in your products or services. It’s also helpful for connecting with influencers in your industry.
\nMonthly active users: 875 million users; active user count unknown
\nAudience profile: Business professionals aged 25–34
\nYouTube has become one of the world’s largest search engines for finding fresh content. What’s more, YouTube videos can also rank in traditional search engines like Google. This presents a huge traffic opportunity.
\nYou don’t need to create a viral video to get results on YouTube. You can still promote your products with interesting or helpful videos. Many social media users may already be looking for your products or brand on YouTube. By creating a branded channel with your own videos, you can control the narrative.
\nMonthly active users: 2.68 billion
\nAudience profile: Mostly men aged 25–44
\nLearn more: Your Starter Guide to YouTube Marketing: Tips, Strategies, and Tools
\nSnapchat is a messaging app that allows people to send and receive photos and videos. These images and videos are called “snaps.” Snapchat also allows people to add text and drawings to their snaps.
\nYou can use Snapchat to market your business by creating snaps that promote your products. Many retailers use Snapchat to give customers a behind-the-scenes look at their brand. For example, you could create a snap that shows customers how your products are made.
\nDaily active users: 383 million
\nAudience profile: Ages 13–24
\nLearn more: What to Post on Snapchat: 21 Fun and Creative Ideas
\nYour social media bios are a great place to promote your website and branded hashtags. Most platforms allow for the inclusion of at least one URL, so make good use of it. Sustainable fashion brand Kūla sends Instagram users to its website, for example:
\n
Many brands link directly to their homepage, but you may have a dedicated landing page for social traffic or any current campaigns or promotions.
\nYou may also have a branded hashtag to promote your product or brand.
Branded hashtags help create a sense of community and connection among customers and followers. They can easily connect with each other and share their experiences within the hashtags thread.
\nSee how fast fashion retailer Fashion Nova uses the hashtag #NovaBabe to build community around its brand. Women regularly share their Instagram content with the branded hashtags, which enters them into a feed with more than 1.7 million posts. All this user-generated content is free, advertising Fashion Nova at zero cost.
\n\n
![\"fashion](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/fashion-nova_46877651-45d7-4965-b7c1-fadc6bbc769f.png?format=webp&v=1666893317\")
Shoppers can browse the different looks and see real people wearing the brand’s clothes, then continue on to Fashion Nova’s store to purchase.
\nCross promotion is a marketing technique you can use to promote your brand on different social media channels. It helps you reach a wider audience using less resources. For example, you can record a video on TikTok, publish it there, then repost the same video on Instagram and Twitter.
\nManifesto Mocktail & Coffee Bar, for example, repurposes its Instagram Reels on its TikTok channel:
\n\n
While most businesses don’t use Reddit ads, they can be quite effective. In fact, sometimes the least-used advertising networks are the most profitable, because the cost is lower and there’s more opportunity to stand out.
\nTry advertising on Reddit to promote your product. You can create a sponsored post in subreddits related to your business. Use it to talk about your product and offer a discount. The key is to make sure it blends in with the other posts in the subreddit.
\nFacebook ads are a form of social media advertising that lets you promote your business on Facebook and Instagram. You can target these ads to specific groups of people based on interests, demographics, and behaviors.
\nThe ads can appear in:
\nYou can run ads for many reasons, like growing your email list, building brand awareness, or creating hype for a new product launch, like the Pura Vida Bracelets ad below.
\n![\"pura](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/pura-vida-fb-ad_480x480.png?format=webp&v=1666893377\")
When creating your ads, remember to be authentic. Show real people using your products, test different ad types, and identify the metrics that matter most to your business. You’ll want to make sure all your ad elements tie in to your main advertising objectives.
\nLearn more: 8 Facebook Ad Templates for Building Campaigns
\nYou can take your social media marketing a step further by adding a Facebook and Instagram shop to your profile. This option makes it easier for people who discover your products on Facebook and Instagram to buy them.
\n![\"instagram](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/instagram-shop.png?format=webp&v=1666893407\")
If you have a Shopify store, add Facebook as a sales channel. You’ll be able to create your own Shop on your profiles where fans can learn about your products, look at pictures, and click the Buy button to make a purchase.
\n![\"shopify](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/shopify-fb-channel.png?format=webp&v=1666893431\")
Shoppable posts are Instagram posts that include a product catalog and a Shop Now button. Retailers can use shoppable posts to showcase their products and make it easy for customers to purchase them.
\nFor example, a retailer could post a picture of a model wearing a new piece of clothing from their collection and include a product tag. Shoppers can then click the tag to be taken directly to the product page, where they can learn more about the product and make a purchase.
\n![\"taggable](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/tagged-products.png?format=webp&v=1666893479\")
Sustainable athletic apparel brand Girlfriend Collective leverages product tagging on Instagram to promote the products it sells on its Shopify site. Users can tap through to purchase the items they see in the photo.
\n![\"How](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/Girlfriend.png?format=webp&v=1684675654\")
Many businesses are already promoting themselves with livestreaming tools. Although you’ll no longer be an early adopter, fewer companies do short, live video well versus, say, posting tweets or Facebook updates.
\nThere are many ways you can use livestreaming to promote a product. In particular, you can use Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Twitch, or TikTok LIVE to offer a demo of your product, answer questions through a Q&A, and even take your customers behind the scenes to show them what’s special about the way you do things.
\n![\"instagram](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/ig-live_480x480.png?format=webp&v=1666893502\")
Contests are an easy and affordable way to get your brand in front of a lot of people. By giving away your product, you can make sure your contest gets in front of the right kind of people: potential customers.
\nHowever, many contests fail. There are a few key mistakes to avoid when running a contest to promote your business. Make sure the platform, the timing, the messaging, and the steps people have to take to enter your contest are well thought out.
\nRead more: How to Run an Instagram Giveaway: Ideas + Tips
\nResearch from Glossy and Launchmetrics found that micro-influencers (accounts with less than 100,000 followers) offer the most social media value. Coming out of the pandemic, people are looking for real connections when it comes to brands and products.
\nPartnering with influencers helps you tap into their follower base, whether they have 5,000 or five million followers. When a follower sees an account they follow promote your products, it’s more likely they’ll buy. It also creates a positive association with your brand.
\nExplore more influencer marketing examples from Shopify store owners:
\nIt’s hard to keep up with the pace of social media without social media management tools. These tools help automate posts, track engagement, and analyze data to help you better understand your audience and how to reach them.
\nSome top tools we recommend are:
\nAs a small business owner, you’re busy enough as it is. Using the above social media tools can help you find, engage, and convert your audience on various social platforms.
\nGetting publicity is a great way to reach new customers and help more people discover your brand. Mainstream journalists are inundated with press releases and pitches for stories. Improve your odds by targeting bloggers instead.
\nInstead of sending bloggers press releases, reach out with a personal email and ask if you can send them a sample. You can also direct message them on Instagram or TikTok to set up a partnership. Target bloggers in your industry, product-focused websites, and even social media influencers.
\nSocial media is a fast-paced environment, and what works today may not work tomorrow. By tracking performance on a regular basis, you can quickly adapt your social media marketing strategy to stay ahead of the curve.
\nAnalytics can provide valuable insights into the demographics of your customer base, which can be used to tailor future social media campaigns. For example, if you notice that a particular social media campaign is popular with a certain age group, you can target future campaigns specifically at that age group.
\nTools like Sprout Social can give you insight into how each social profile performs. For example, you can easily check how your Instagram Business Profiles are doing.
\n![\"How](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/sprout-social_dcb23e04-2e0c-40b1-9912-1cc54c35f1fa.png?format=webp&v=1666893539\")
Reaching a large number of potential customers through social media is very cost effective. To maximize the return on investment for social media marketing, it’s important to track which campaigns work best for reaching, engaging, and converting.
\nProducts don’t sell themselves. Fortunately, there are many ways to build your social media presence and make sales online. With the social media marketing tips above, you’ll be well on your way to creating high-quality content that converts—and growing your business.
\nhttps://www.shopify.com/blog/69319365-20-highly-effective-ways-to-promote-a-product
\nTo succeed in ecommerce, you need three things: high-demand products to sell, the skills to market them, and the drive to succeed.
\nYou already have a winner’s mindset—you’re continually learning, researching, and preparing for success. But finding popular products to sell can be a challenge. That’s why we update this list every year to help you find trending products online.
\nOnce you’ve chosen what to sell, explore our Shopify themes to build a storefront around your product niche.
\nIn this list, you’ll find 17 trending products that will activate new business ideas in 2023—or maybe give you an idea for a great product to add to your existing online store.
\nSince each niche product is meant for a distinct audience, we’re also sharing relevant marketing tips for reaching new customers. The products on this list are the most popular product categories on the Shopify platform.
\nBrowse our list of highest trending products you can use to start your online business.
\nLip stain is a beauty product that provides long-lasting color to the lips without the heaviness or fading of traditional lipsticks. Its popularity has surged in 2023 because it delivers a natural, weightless finish that lasts throughout the day, making it an essential addition to many makeup routines.
\nThe term “lip stain” gets 60,500 searches per month on Google. Google Trends data also shows a significant increase in interest since early 2022.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/lip-stain-trend.png?format=webp&v=1684499048\")
You can market lip stain a few ways:
\nIf you’ve been to a coffee shop in recent years, you’ve seen matcha. It’s a finely ground, vibrant great tea powder that’s become a popular wellness product.
\nData shows that the term “matcha” receives one million searches per month. The graph below also shows the increased interest in matcha in 2023. ![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/matcha-trend.png?format=webp&v=1684499087\")
Here are a few ways online stores can market matcha products:
\nLooking for a trending product to sell in the home improvement industry? Power tool accessories are seeing an increase in sales globally.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/power-tool.jpg?v=1662751187\")
According to data from Keywords Everywhere, the term “power tool accessories” receives 27,100 searches per month, with sub categories like “tool accessories” receiving another 1,300 searches per month, and “tool box accessories” receiving 1,900 searches per month.
\nYou can sell accessories for any power tools:
\nWhen selling trending items in home improvement, focus on visual platforms like Instagram and YouTube. You could partner up with influencers in the space and run Instagram ads to hype products and make sales quickly. A more sustainable option is to create your own Instagram and TikTok profiles and publish content around DIY home improvement.
\nFor example, you could:
\nWhy are product trends like this great for selling items online? You can easily expand your product line to include other popular products in the home improvement sector to maximize your potential sales.
\nSecond on our list of trending products right now are dog toys. Valued at $8.1 billion, the global pet toy market saw explosive growth in the first half of 2023.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/dog-toys.jpg?v=1662751220\")
Product lines include:
\nToys are great for a dog’s well-being. They help fight boredom and provide comfort when dogs are nervous. With 210,000 average monthly searches for the term “dog toys,” it’s clear they will power 2023, as they powered 2022.
\nYou can promote these items in a number of ways:
\nYou’ll likely want to explore social media and Google ads to send traffic to your website and drive sales throughout the year. If you want to expand your product line, you can easily find new car parts and accessories to sell using a product-sourcing app.
\nShot glasses were one of the top selling items in 2023. Shot glasses are perfect for selling any time of year, especially around the summer, when you can take advantage of the party season. You can sell custom-made shot glasses, collectible shot glasses, or shot glasses for parties.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/shot-glasses.jpg?v=1662751470\")
When it comes to selling shot glasses online, focus on finding a target market and selling to one group first. People search online for specific types of shot glasses, such as “tequila shot glasses” (4,400 searches per month), “tall shot glasses” (2,400 searches per month), and “cool shot glasses” (3,600 searches per month). There are also opportunities to sell plastic shot glasses and personalized glasses for parties.
\nYou can sell shot glasses online from your own Shopify store, on third-party online selling sites like Amazon and eBay, and even on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. You can also sell shot glasses wholesale to other businesses.
\nCostume shoes for women and men have also been a bestselling product and show signs of being a trending item in 2023. Thematic shoes are perfect for cosplay or themed events, and don’t forget about Halloween.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/costume-shoes.jpg?v=1662751249\")
Some items you could sell include:
These trending items are best sold through visual platforms like Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, though a channel you may want to experiment with is Google Ads.
\nIf you choose to use some kind of millennial-focused marketing tactics, be sure to partner with influencers, as it’s the easiest way to get a new brand’s products in front of this audience.
\nOr, you can target Halloween shoppers and run sales through the fall season. Point being, there are many potential audiences you can explore with costume shoes. Conduct a competitive analysis or SWOT analysis of the market and decide what route is best for you.
\nOne trending product cropping up recently is slipcovers. Similar to other trending products in the home goods department, we’re probably seeing an increase due to the work-from-home trend. Slipcovers protect couches and loveseats from pets, children, dirt, and spills. A quality slipcover is less expensive than replacing furniture.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/slipcover-couch.jpg?v=1662751513\")
The search term “slipcovers” is generating 27,000 searches per month, with related terms “slipcovers for chairs” bringing in 27,100 searches per month and “slipcovers for sofas” generating 49,500 searches per month, supporting that slipcovers and home design can be a profitable business to start online. There are also many slipcover types available to sell, which gives you a lot of new product opportunities as you expand your line.
\nStart by narrowing down what kind of containers you want to sell—cotton, wool, polyester, spandex, linen, etc.—then promote your product on popular home organization and décor blogs.
\nYou can reach out to them online and ask them to link back to products on your website from round-up articles. (People are more likely to buy when they come to your site through an external blog post than from an ad.) Then, to win back the sale, run retargeting ads to people who viewed the product but didn’t buy.
\nAnother option is partnering or collaborating with interior designers to help promote new products to their audiences. If a product recommendation comes from a trusted source, shoppers are more likely to buy.
\nLike many home décor items, wall plates and covers have become one of the bestselling products online during the pandemic. The more people stay at home, the more inclined they are to spruce it up and create a comfortable atmosphere. From the couch all the way down to what covers their electrical sockets on the wall.
\nThere are many varieties of wall plates and covers to choose from. You can sell traditional ones with a finishing touch or ultra-modern decorative plates. There are also screwless wall plates that offer a clean aesthetic and popular HDMI wall plates that let you plug in HDMI-enabled devices.
\nAccording to Keywords Everywhere, top wall plate searches are:
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/switch_plate.png?format=webp&v=1662751592\")
You could run a pay-per-click ad campaign using online shopping ads and Facebook ads to attract new buyers. Since home goods may keep trending for a long time, you can also build a brand around your home décor and optimize your product pages to rank on Google and bring in organic traffic.
\nYou can bundle together wall plates with other trending products in your store or partner with micro-influencers on social media to target high-intent buyers and drive immediate sales.
\nOne recent product trending with new parents is baby shirts. Google Trends shows we’re close to hitting peak interest for this product, so if you’re looking for a top-selling product with validated demand, consider acting fast.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/baby-shirts-trend.png?format=webp&v=1684499138\")
The term “baby shirts” sees 13,000 searches per month. You could also target many variations like:
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/babyclothes.jpg?v=1662754320\")
To reach new parents with this item, you can turn to advertising on Facebook and Instagram. If you’re looking to explore other sales channels, consider selling on Amazon or listing your product on Google Shopping, although it’s worth noting that these marketplaces will take a fee from your sale.
\nAnother experiment to try is marketing to a local group with flyers. Create discount codes and distribute them among new parent meetup groups in your town.
\nThere’s been a growing trend in sales for curtain rings in recent months. People are spending more time at home and taking on home improvement projects.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/curtain_rings_f49fee10-70d8-491d-b6fa-001e18d78768.png?format=webp&v=1662754342\")
“Curtain rings” generates 22,200 searches per month. There are variations you could also target with an SEO strategy, including:
\nTo market curtain rings, you can create a blog with home improvement and DIY tips and tricks and links back to your products. Then, run retargeting ads to your blog traffic on Facebook or Google.
\nYou’ll want to run Google ads for targeted keywords like “curtain rings without clips” or “decorative curtain rings with clips.” This will attract customers who already know what they want. If you show up in front of them, they’re more likely to buy from your ecommerce store.
\nHome improvement is shaping up to be one of the best trending niches for ecommerce stores. By 2029, the cabinet hardware market is expected to skyrocket to more than $14.2 billion in sales.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/handles.jpg?v=1662754426\")
Retailers are also stocking their stores with top trending products in this niche, including cabinet knobs, fasteners, latches, locks, hinges, and handles.
\nWhat makes this product worth considering is that it offers retailers a lot of expansion opportunities. You can sell cabinet knobs in a home improvement store, along with drawers, interior finish material, cabinet shelves, and more. You can also use a variety of materials, such as plastics, metals, glasses, brass, iron, and steel.
\nWhether it’s putting together new furniture or sprucing up the house, every home needs cabinet hardware. Some want decorative knobs, while others want a simple, more functional version.
\nYou can sell trending products like this through search-based ads on Google. Over 33,000 people search for cabinet knobs each month, and more than 60,000 people search for handles each month, according to Keywords Everywhere. Another option is working with home improvement influencers on Instagram or through blogs to promote your cabinet hardware.
\nWatch accessories are one of those trending items with consistent high profit margins. The trend is hotter at some times than at others, but people usually look for watch accessories throughout the year. The market is also massive, with a market volume of $335 billion in 2023.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/watch.jpg?v=1662754571\")
Search volume for the term “watch accessories” gets around 5,400 searches each month, according to Keywords Everywhere. People are also searching for related phrases like “apple watch band” and “watch stand,” which are getting 450,00 and 14,800 searches per month, respectively.
\nThese top trending products give you a ton of opportunities to target different customer segments based on their watch type (Apple, Samsung, Garmin, etc.) and to drive sales.
\nSome items you can sell under this category are:
\nPromoting this trending product with Google Ads may be profitable. It can help you reach high-intent buyers and bring them into your store to purchase. Another option is using Facebook advertising to target specific groups based on your accessories’ design or functionality.
\nPeople who hike may need durable straps, while others may just want a trendy-looking watch band. You’ll want to share product images on platforms like Instagram. There, you can partner up with micro-celebrities and influencers to get your products in front of established audiences.
\nThe US tumbler market is an attractive opportunity for outdoor gear sellers, such as camping, hiking, fitness, and travel. It’s expected to reach $1.4 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.1% from 2023 to 2027.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/tumblers.png?format=webp&v=1662754481\")
Trend data from Keywords Everywhere shows the following search volume:
\nIncreasing threats to the environment from non-reusable bottles and the rise in people leaning toward a healthy lifestyle drive this trend. Your target audience will likely be more health conscious and aware of the harmful effects of one-time-use bottles.
\nTo market this bestseller, you’ll want to show these tumblers in use. For example, you could run a contest where customers post pictures of their tumbler cups out in the wild. Or, create staged photos of the tumblers in an eco-friendly setting and post them on social media and use them in ads.
\nYou can build a Custom Audience in Facebook Ads Manager and target specific groups of people. Or, run Google Ads for the keywords “tumbler cups” so you can target customers actively searching for similar products.
\nModel train sets have been a popular pastime activity for kids since 1891. They’re a great way to build problem-solving skills, encourage imaginative play, and distract kids for a bit while parents are working from home. Today, companies are exploring new and fun ways to reimagine the train set, such as electric-powered trains and smart trains run via smartphone app.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/model-train.jpg?v=1662754593\")
With 40,500 average monthly searches for the term “train sets,” it’s clear they are popular in 2023.
\nWhen it comes to promoting toy trains, think of the concept “friends trust friends.” Marketing toys relies on recommendations from influencers and friends, so you’ll want to collaborate with nano-influencers and on social media.
\nCustomer reviews are always a smart move for selling items like train sets online. Testimonials can help shoppers decide if the product is perfect for them and encourage a sale.
\nCreate an organic social media strategy around kids using your trains. Show them in action with photo carousels and videos, and include user-generated content from your followers’ accounts to build trust with potential buyers.
\nIf you have the budget, run a contest to give away free train sets to grow your email or Messenger marketing subscriber lists. You can then create drip marketing campaigns that convert subscribers into customers over time.
\nSigns are next on the list of products trending now. Search volume for the term “signage” receives 135,000 searches per month. Data from Keywords Everywhere suggests that people are searching for specific types of signs:
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/signage_8290da51-30a6-4643-96be-a1cf37d12dfb.jpg?v=1662754624\")
Social media is a great way to market signs. Figure out who your primary audiences are.
\nFor example, are you selling to restaurant owners who want to boost their social presence? Or younger crowds who want to make their rooms look trendy and cool? (Hint: You can sell to both). Then post a mix of staged photos and user-generated content of your signs being used in their respective settings.
\nYou could run Google ads targeting long-tail keywords such as “vintage signs” or “custom neon signs” to attract specific customers, as well as Facebook ads to test different audiences and learn more about who’s buying signs.
\nWedding dresses have been one of those trending online products with consistently high profit margins the past few years. The global bridal wear market is also huge and is expected to reach $69.9 billion by 2026.
\nValidation TIP: If you are unsure if selling wedding dresses is a profitable endeavor, use Shopify’s profit margin calculator to work out if it is a feasible option for you.
\nThe term “wedding dresses” gets 2.24 million searches per month, validating the hype of this trending product. There are more opportunities for terms like:
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/wedding-dress.jpg?v=1662754653\")
Plus, you can take this niche in several directions with a dedicated store or a product collection within a broader wedding wear store. For example, you could sell wedding nails, invitations, semi-formal wedding attire, accessories, and more. Depending on how you position your brand, there could be an opportunity to expand into related product verticals, such as jewelry.
\nVisual platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are ideal channels to grow your brand, whether you pursue organic growth or use their advertising options.
\nYou can also look into driving growth with influencer marketing. Influencers can model your apparel and give your brand a shoutout for a fee or a commission of sales.
\nTable runners saw huge growth in the first half of 2023, and the new trend doesn’t look like it’s ending soon. The global table linen market is valued at $10.6 billion as of 2022 and is expected to reach $14.7 billion by 2029. This is not a trending product you want to miss out on.
\nPeople can use table runners to make tables visually appealing and connect placemats. Table runners are also extremely durable and can withstand repeat uses and washing.
\n![\"17](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/table-runners.png?format=webp&v=1684499175\")
Competition is high in this industry. Brands like Crate and Barrel, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Wayfair take up significant market share. However, they all target a similar demographic: older consumers with more disposable income, which gives you a unique selling opportunity.
\nDropshipping costs are often lower for kitchen supplies, which means you can charge less than big retailers. You can target younger, niche audiences that don’t want to overspend on items like table runners.
\nYou can market items like table runners online through social media. You can target both older and younger audiences by running relevant campaigns. For example, targeting millennials who just bought a home. Your success on social media depends on how you connect with each segment and create interesting content to attract buyers.
\nYou can create video content to show off the benefits of your table runners. And show other creative ideas for styling them in the home. You can also run seasonal giveaways to promote new runners and bestsellers. For paid ads, Facebook will be your best bet, since you can use its behavioral targeting to find customers based on interests and shopping habits.
\nThese are some of the trending products to sell in 2023, but there are so many more to choose from when deciding what to sell on Shopify as a new dropshipper or established store owner. Finding high-quality products is only one part of the equation. The real secret is figuring out how to market them.
\nIf you’re interested in hands-on training that walks you through the process of starting an ecommerce business around a profitable niche and finding the right products, watch our free dropshipping business webinar series. One ecommerce entrepreneur will share how they grew an online business ideas to more than 8,000 unit sales per year, along with the marketing tactics that worked (and ones that flopped).
\nLet us know in the comments what products you plan on selling on your store. Happy selling!
\n"}]},"page_header":{"background":null,"backgroundOpacity":100,"color":null,"fieldGroupName":"page_header","title":"Trending Products 2023","opacity":100,"position":"on","size":{"desktop":64,"tablet":null,"mobile":null},"spaces":{"top":null,"bottom":null,"leftright":null,"units":"em"}},"link":"/blog/17-trending-products-and-things-to-sell-online-2023"},{"id":"cG9zdDo1MjM0","title":"How Sustainability Is Giving Allbirds a Way Forward","date":"23.05.2023","schemaDate":"2023-05-23","modifiedGmt":"2023-07-31T07:00:45","slug":"how-sustainability-is-giving-allbirds-a-way-forward","acfSchemaPost":{"blogPostingImage":null},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTox","name":"General Articles"}]},"levels":{"nodes":[]},"acfPost":{"fieldGroupName":"acfPost","excerpt":"Allbirds co-founders Joey Zwillinger and Tim Brown decided to leap into the shoe business while on a walk together in Marin Hills. They were surrounded by nature and sweeping views of the Pacific, just across the bridge from San Francisco, a city known for innovation. Combining natural materials and tech was their ticket to building a sustainable shoe company.\r\n\r\nAllbirds exploded onto the scene in 2016 with a novel wool sneaker that sold more than a million pairs in its first two years. From its soles to its new resale platform, Allbirds has pushed sustainability forward on every front. ","squaredImage":{"altText":"How Sustainability Is Giving Allbirds a Way Forward","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","backgroundColor":"#f8f8e8","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/static/15d9798428bbb1246754d19e339e7878/98549/Masters_AllBirds_02.webp","srcSet":"/static/15d9798428bbb1246754d19e339e7878/2b35b/Masters_AllBirds_02.webp 750w,\n/static/15d9798428bbb1246754d19e339e7878/98549/Masters_AllBirds_02.webp 1024w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[]},"width":1,"height":0.423828125}}}},"metaData":{"title":null,"description":"Shopify On Location: Discover Allbirds' Sustainable Journey | Learn how Allbirds co-founders embraced innovation and sustainability to build a successful shoe company. Join us for valuable insights and lessons on sustainability in business. Listen to the Shopify On Location podcast in San Francisco now"},"banner":{"title":"How Sustainability Is Giving Allbirds a Way Forward","showTitle":true,"image":{"altText":"How Sustainability Is Giving Allbirds a Way Forward","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","backgroundColor":"#f8f8e8","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/static/15d9798428bbb1246754d19e339e7878/98549/Masters_AllBirds_02.webp","srcSet":"/static/15d9798428bbb1246754d19e339e7878/2b35b/Masters_AllBirds_02.webp 750w,\n/static/15d9798428bbb1246754d19e339e7878/98549/Masters_AllBirds_02.webp 1024w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[]},"width":1,"height":0.423828125}}}}},"timeToRead":null,"sections":[{"fieldGroupName":"post_Acfpost_Sections_ArticleRichTextContent","content":"Join us each Thursday for Shopify On Location in San Francisco, a special miniseries from the podcast team. For the new few months, tune in for invaluable lessons about how to innovate and when to take risks. Listen to Shopify On Location here:
\n\nAllbirds co-founders Joey Zwillinger and Tim Brown decided to leap into the shoe business while on a walk together in Marin Hills. They were surrounded by nature and sweeping views of the Pacific, just across the bridge from San Francisco, a city known for innovation. Combining natural materials and tech was their ticket to building a sustainable shoe company.
\nAllbirds exploded onto the scene in 2016 with a novel wool sneaker that sold more than a million pairs in its first two years. From its soles to its new resale platform, Allbirds has pushed sustainability forward on every front.
\nDespite volatile economic times, Joey remains optimistic about the company’s mission to combat climate change and make products that consumers love. Here are some of the learnings he shared about building a business truly focused on sustainability.
\n\nTim is a former professional soccer player for New Zealand. Joey worked in biotech. Neither were deeply embedded in the shoe industry when they started Allbirds, and Joey says they used their outsider perspective to their advantage.
\n“We were two outsiders wanting to do things really different,” Joey says. “Tim and I thought we could come together and systematically offer products off the back of natural material innovation in a way that was incredibly compelling and differentiated for consumers.”
\nThe industry at the time was still reliant on leather and plastic to make shoes, but Allbirds engineered new materials: a performance-ready wool, soles made from sugar cane, and leather-like textiles made from natural oils.
\n![\"Person](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/Allbirds_SP23_Lookbook_PR_12_01_23_1900_1024x1024.jpg?v=1684372904\")
Joey says the key to success was looking for sustainability opportunities at every step of the process and going down roads their competitors would never consider. “We constrain our R&D process to be both better for the consumer from a performance perspective, but also better for the earth,” he says.
\nFor example, the company recently announced the world’s first carbon neutral shoe, which seemed unthinkable considering a normal sneaker typically has a carbon footprint of 14 kg CO2e.
\nSustainability doesn’t necessarily drive sales. Above all, consumers want well-designed products. In terms of shoes, they want sneakers that are comfortable, durable, and look good.
\nBut sustainability and good design can certainly co-exist. In fact, they have to. “If we can’t make a big sustainable business from a financial perspective, we’re not going to achieve our mission on the environmental side either,” Joey says. “ We are offering a beacon of hope for how you can have everything that you want from a consumption perspective, but not leave such a dent on the earth.”
\nA big part of the sustainable fashion movement is to buy used. Allbirds launched an online resale platform called ReRun to facilitate just that.
\nJoey has talked to several business owners about building similar platforms, but he says they’re often hesitant. “Their biggest fear is that it’s gonna cannibalize their core business and it’s going to take away sales from their full-price business,” Joey says. “And we have found that that’s not the case at all.”
\nIn fact, he says ReRun has been a good way to attract new customers at a lower price point. These same customers often later convert to purchasing the new, full-price Allbirds.
\n![\"Allbirds](\"https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/Allbirds_SP23_Lookbook_PR_12_01_23_1328_1024x1024.jpg?v=1684389607\")
Like many public companies, Allbirds is now under a microscope. Joey say his company plans to double down on its digital business and look for new partnerships to reach scale in international markets.
\nStill, Joey says he’s energized by the company’s mission and opportunity to bring customers even more sustainable options. “Without that purpose, it wouldn’t be successful no matter how much money was made.”
\nTo hear more about Allbirds sustainability practices and its San Francisco connections, listen to Joey’s full interview on Shopify Masters.
\nhttps://www.shopify.com/blog/allbirds-sustainability
\n"}]},"page_header":{"background":null,"backgroundOpacity":100,"color":null,"fieldGroupName":"page_header","title":"Sustainability Drives Allbirds","opacity":100,"position":"on","size":{"desktop":64,"tablet":null,"mobile":null},"spaces":{"top":null,"bottom":null,"leftright":null,"units":"em"}},"link":"/blog/how-sustainability-is-giving-allbirds-a-way-forward"},{"id":"cG9zdDo1MjA1","title":"How To Start Dropshipping: A 9 Step Guide (2023)","date":"23.05.2023","schemaDate":"2023-05-23","modifiedGmt":"2023-07-31T07:01:28","slug":"how-to-start-dropshipping-a-9-step-guide-2023","acfSchemaPost":{"blogPostingImage":null},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTox","name":"General Articles"}]},"levels":{"nodes":[]},"acfPost":{"fieldGroupName":"acfPost","excerpt":"Learning how to start a dropshipping business, like any type of venture, isn’t easy. Nevertheless, it’s a great first step into the world of entrepreneurship. \r\n\r\nYou can sell to customers without holding any inventory. You don’t need to pay for products upfront. And if you’re serious about your new venture, you can build a sustainable source of income in the long run. \r\n\r\n","squaredImage":{"altText":"How To Start Dropshipping: A 9 Step Guide (2023)","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","backgroundColor":"#f8f8e8","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/static/4c45a5031f44d44d7567c1b6a158bc35/94493/shopify_dropshipping_chapter_5.webp","srcSet":"/static/4c45a5031f44d44d7567c1b6a158bc35/8c326/shopify_dropshipping_chapter_5.webp 750w,\n/static/4c45a5031f44d44d7567c1b6a158bc35/94493/shopify_dropshipping_chapter_5.webp 1024w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[]},"width":1,"height":0.5263671875}}}},"metaData":{"title":null,"description":"Complete Dropshipping Tutorial: Learn how to start a profitable dropshipping business with these 9 steps. Commit to your venture, choose a business idea, conduct competitive research, select a reliable supplier, build your ecommerce store, establish a business structure, get your finances in order, market your store, and continuously improve. Start your entrepreneurial journey now!"},"banner":{"title":"How To Start Dropshipping: A 9 Step Guide (2023)","showTitle":true,"image":{"altText":"How To Start Dropshipping: A 9 Step Guide (2023)","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","backgroundColor":"#f8f8e8","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/static/4c45a5031f44d44d7567c1b6a158bc35/94493/shopify_dropshipping_chapter_5.webp","srcSet":"/static/4c45a5031f44d44d7567c1b6a158bc35/8c326/shopify_dropshipping_chapter_5.webp 750w,\n/static/4c45a5031f44d44d7567c1b6a158bc35/94493/shopify_dropshipping_chapter_5.webp 1024w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[]},"width":1,"height":0.5263671875}}}}},"timeToRead":null,"sections":[{"fieldGroupName":"post_Acfpost_Sections_ArticleRichTextContent","content":"Learning how to start a dropshipping business, like any type of venture, isn’t easy. Nevertheless, it’s a great first step into the world of entrepreneurship.
\nYou can sell to customers without holding any inventory. You don’t need to pay for products upfront. And if you’re serious about your new venture, you can build a sustainable source of income in the long run.
\nIf you’re contemplating dropshipping, consider taking the following business and financial steps in this complete dropshipping tutorial.
\nSome are mandatory from the outset, while others are just a good idea. But dealing with them upfront will save you time and headaches down the road.
\nAs with any other business, dropshipping takes significant commitment and a long-term perspective. If you’re hoping for a six-figure income from six weeks of part-time work, you’re going to be sadly disappointed.
\nBy approaching your business with realistic expectations about the investment required and your potential for profit, you’ll be much less likely to get discouraged and quit.
\nWhen starting an ecommerce business as a beginner, you’ll need to invest heavily using one of the following two currencies: time or money.
\nThe second step in learning how to start a dropshipping business is performing the necessary market research. Just as if you were opening up a retail store and looking into the different locations, competitors, and trends, you want to investigate a niche you’re interested in and make decisions based on how profitable it can be.
\nBut the truth is, coming up with validated product ideas to sell is tricky.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dropshipping-products_c621d387-1cfa-474c-8a6f-05889c56d31a-300x195.webp\")
To help inspire your next dropshipping business idea, Shopify curates a list of trending products based on the top-selling product categories on the platform. By focusing on more niche and trending products, you can help get the attention of shoppers and gain traction without competing with larger, established businesses.
\nNiche products often have a more passionate customer base, which can make selling to specific crowds easier by raising awareness for your products.
\nFitness, fashion, beauty products, electronics, phone accessories, and yoga-related items may be a good entry point to start dropshipping with no money.
\nSome examples of a niche dropshipping store could be:
\nYou can also use the following tools to test out your dropshipping business ideas:
\nGoogle Trends. Google Trends can help you determine if a product is trending upward or downward, as well as the seasons they tend to trend in. Note that Google Trends doesn’t show search volume. So if you use it, be sure to cross reference your data with a keyword tool like Keywords Everywhere to determine the product’s popularity in search.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/google-trends_80482cda-928b-440e-a51c-20dfede24ed7-300x136.webp\")
Keywords Everywhere. This keyword research tool shows you the monthly search volume for your product and how competitive it is. You can use this information to gauge the popularity of your dropshipping business idea and inspire new product ideas for the future.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/keywords-everywhere_221739e1-d5d4-4ba2-855c-f6230cd3ac90-300x233.webp\")
DSers order volume. In DSers, you can search for products based on order volume to determine the potential of your business idea.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dser-300x291.webp\")
Although the growth in ecommerce is a great benefit for those looking to start a dropshipping business, it also creates a lot of competition. That means you’ll want to do competitor research when putting together your dropshipping business plan to find success selling your products.
\nNow that you know what you’re going to sell in your store, you want to look at who your competitors are and understand the way they work. Your competitors may hold great clues to success and can help you build a stronger marketing plan for your dropshipping business.
\nIf your market has a lot of competitors (which is a good thing in dropshipping), limit your research to about five other dropshipping companies, including one or two big players like Walmart, eBay, or Amazon. It’ll help you keep focused and plan your next steps.
\nSome ways to go about your competitor research are:
\nLearn everything you can about your top competitors: their website, prices, marketing methods, product descriptions, reputation, etc. Keep your research organized in a spreadsheet so you can easily refer to it when making decisions for your store.
\nFor example, if you want to use an email list to promote your business, you can look at your spreadsheet to see if competitors are already doing it and the tactics they’re using, all in one place.
\nChoosing a dropshipping supplier is a critical step toward creating a successful dropshipping business. Without reliable suppliers, a dropshipping business wouldn’t have any products to ship to customers and, therefore, cease to exist.
\nAt this point, you’ve vetted what dropshipping products you want to sell and know they can be profitable—now you want to make sure you find a dropshipping supplier that gives you the high-quality service you need to grow. Ecommerce platforms like Shopify offer a plug-and-play style option for finding potential suppliers by connecting DSers to your online store.
\nDSers is a marketplace that makes it easy to find products to sell online. Whether it’s electronics, fashion, toys, or other trending items, you can find products with good profit potential from dropshipping suppliers around the world and add them to your store with one click.
\nThe app manages forwarding the customer orders to your dropshipping supplier, so you never need to worry about packaging, shipping, or managing inventory. It costs nothing to get started.
\nThe DSers app uses AliExpress to help you find and add products to your store. If you want to read more about product quality or shipping times, or further vet a supplier, you can do so from the DSers product page.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dsers_1b03750e-071c-4c31-b87c-0712379c118f-300x204.webp\")
When you click a supplier’s link, you end up on its AliExpress page, where you can find reviews, top selling products, and more.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dsers-suppliers-page-300x195.webp\")
One thing to keep in mind: Aim to sell quality products from DSers that provide ePacket shipping if your supplier is from China.
\nePacket is an affordable and fast option for shipping items from China to countries like the US, the UK, and Canada. Rather than wait months for a package to arrive from China, your customers will only have to wait up to two weeks, for a cost of only a few dollars.
\nThe next thing you need to start a dropshipping business is an ecommerce platform like Shopify. This will be the home where you send traffic, sell products, and process payments.
\nShopify makes it easy to build and launch your ecommerce website, from finding a domain name to adding marketing and sales plug-ins. It’s a complete commerce platform that allows you to sell in multiple places (including online), sell in multiple currencies, and easily manage products and accept payments.
\nYou don’t need to be a designer or developer to use Shopify either. And you can easily change the look and feel of your store template with the store builder and Shopify themes.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/shopify-website-theme-240x300.webp\")
Need help building your online store? Sign up for a free trial of Shopify and read How to Start a Shopify Store: A Step-By-Step Guide.
\nIf you’re serious about your venture, you’ll want to set up a legitimate business entity. We’re not lawyers and can’t offer legal advice, but we can give you a rundown of three commonly used business structures.
\nThis is the simplest business structure to implement but also offers no personal liability protection. So if your business is sued, your personal assets also may be in jeopardy. Filing requirements are minimal and you simply report your business’s earnings on your personal taxes. No other state or federal business filings are required.
\nAn LLC offers increased protection of your personal assets by establishing your business as a separate legal entity. While the liability protection isn’t foolproof, it does offer more protection than a sole proprietorship. You may need to comply with additional filing requirements and will need to pay both incorporation and ongoing fees.
\nMost major corporations are set up as C corporations, which, when done properly, offer the most liability protection. They are likely to be more expensive to incorporate and are subject to double taxation, as income doesn’t pass directly to the shareholders.
\nSo which structure to choose? It’s best to consult with a lawyer before making any incorporation decisions. Most small entrepreneurs tend to go with either a sole proprietorship or an LLC.
\nNote: The business structure and EIN (employer identification number) information discussed below is applicable for entrepreneurs in the United States and won’t apply to other countries. For information on incorporating a US-based business from outside the US, please see the notes at the end of this article.
\nThe IRS requires all businesses to have an employer identification number, which acts as a Social Security number for your business. You’ll need this number to file your taxes, apply for wholesale dropshipping accounts, open a bank account, and do pretty much anything related to your business.
\nFortunately, getting an EIN number is easy and free. You can apply for an EIN number online.
\nOne common mistake entrepreneurs make when starting a business is blending their personal and business finances. This causes confusion, makes accounting more difficult, can lead to personal assumption of business liabilities, and is a big red flag for the IRS if you’re ever audited.
\nYou’ll want to keep your business and personal finances separate as much as possible. The best way to do that is by opening up new accounts in your business’s name. You’ll want to open the following:
\nYou should run all of your business finances through one primary checking account. All business revenue should be deposited into it and all expenses should be withdrawn from it. This will make accounting much easier and cleaner.
\nYou should have a business credit card that is used for business expenses and dropshipping inventory purchases only. Because you’ll be buying a lot of merchandise from suppliers, you can rack up some serious rewards with the right rewards travel cards.
\nYou’ll need to collect sales tax only if both the following are true:
\nFor all orders placed by residents of other states, even if those states charge their own sales tax, you won’t need to collect any tax. There’s a good chance we’ll see changes to these laws in the coming years, but for now, the tax laws for small online merchants are very advantageous.
\nIf your state does charge sales tax, be prepared to collect it on the limited number of orders from customers in your home state. You’ll want to contact your state’s department of commerce to register as an online retailer and find out how frequently you need to submit the tax you collect.
\nLearn more about how to pay sales tax and liability by reading Drop Shipping and Sales Tax: A Simple Guide by Bench.
\nMost cities and towns require businesses to get a business license that needs to be renewed on a regular basis. However, this requirement may differ for dropshipping ecommerce businesses, many of which likely will be operated from home offices. You’ll want to look into your local laws and regulations to see what, if anything, is required.
\nIt can be complex, but it’s possible for international merchants to incorporate a business in the United States, giving them access to US-based dropshippers and customers. The merchant will need to come to the US to complete the necessary paperwork, have a trusted business partner in the US who can act on his behalf, or hire an agency to set everything up.
\nThe following resources can help get you started with understanding this process:
\nRead More: Amazon Dropshipping Guide: How To Dropship on Amazon (2023)
\nNow that you know how to start a dropshipping business store, it’s time to talk about marketing your new store. To stand out in your market, you may want to put extra effort into your marketing and advertising efforts when building your dropshipping business plan.
\nWith so many things about dropshipping being automated, you can spend time focusing on marketing and promoting your business in the following ways:
\nAs with any successful online business, keep an eye on which channels are working and which aren’t—especially if you’re investing money in them via paid ads. As you continue to grow and improve your business, you can always adjust your marketing strategy to lower costs and maximize revenue.
\nAfter you’ve been marketing and managing your dropshipping business for some time, you can start looking at the results of your hard work. Shopify analytics can help you answer some important questions about your online store, such as:
\nYou can also use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to measure search traffic over time and improve your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Plus, if you’re using a third-party app for your social media or Messenger marketing, check the reports monthly to make sure your overall strategy is working for your business.
\nWhen creating a dropshipping ecommerce store, you want to create a data-informed analytics system. Remain consistent with what you analyze over time and measure your store’s performance against clear KPIs. This will help you make smarter decisions for your store and take your small business to the next level over time.
\nDropshipping is an order-fulfillment method that lets store owners sell directly to consumers without stocking any inventory. When a customer purchases a product from a dropshipping store, a third-party supplier ships it directly to them.
\nThe customer pays the retail price you set, you pay the suppliers’ wholesale price, and the rest is profit. You never have to handle products or invest in inventory.
\nIn order to sell products, you just need to register an account with a supplier.
\n![\"How](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/how-dropshipping-works_67984d7e-b2e8-4f4a-bef5-fc0fae100864-300x200.webp\")
Three common ways to find a supplier for your dropshipping store are:
\nThe easiest dropshipping process for Shopify store owners is through DSers. You can source millions of products from the DSers marketplace through AliExpress and import them directly to your store with the click of a button.
\nIn the dropshipping business model, you are responsible for building your website and your own brand, as well as for choosing and marketing the products you want to sell. Your business is also responsible for shipping costs and establishing prices that result in a good profit margin.
\nYes, dropshipping can be a profitable business model for merchants because you are not responsible for shipping or manufacturing. It’s a low-risk business model that doesn’t incur huge costs like a wholesaler would normally have and you can earn a good profit margin with the right suppliers.
\nBUSINESS TIP: If you are unsure how to discover the profitability of a product, use Shopify’s free profit margin calculator to work it out for you.
\nThere are many dropshippers who make up to $100,000 per year as a side hustle. So, if your idea of being a successful dropshipper is to make $100,000 per year, you’ll need to choose the right suppliers and build a brand.
\nStarting a dropshipping business can be highly competitive. Because you can start a dropshipping business for free, you may face a lot of companies who are selling a specific product at similar prices.
\nWhether you’re a new entrepreneur or a veteran business owner, a dropshipping business is a great low-risk, low-cost way to start selling online.
\nGetting started with Shopify is easy. Sign up for a Shopify account today, choose a plan that suits your budgets and needs. Then, install the DSers app from the Shopify App Store.
\nUse Dsers’s marketplace to find suppliers and products that match your niche. Import products to your store. Then, customize your product titles, descriptions, and images to make them more appealing and informative.
\nAnd just like that, you’re ready to start selling!
\nHopefully this dropshipping guide inspires you to create a pathway to success and financial freedom, so you can live the life you’ve always dreamed of, like so many other ecommerce entrepreneurs.
\nhttps://www.shopify.com/blog/how-to-start-dropshipping
\n"}]},"page_header":{"background":null,"backgroundOpacity":100,"color":null,"fieldGroupName":"page_header","title":"2023 Dropshipping Step-by-Step","opacity":100,"position":"on","size":{"desktop":64,"tablet":null,"mobile":null},"spaces":{"top":null,"bottom":null,"leftright":null,"units":"em"}},"link":"/blog/how-to-start-dropshipping-a-9-step-guide-2023"},{"id":"cG9zdDo1MTk3","title":"How To Write an Elevator Pitch in 2023 (+ 3 Free Templates)","date":"23.05.2023","schemaDate":"2023-05-23","modifiedGmt":"2023-07-31T07:01:58","slug":"how-to-write-an-elevator-pitch-in-2023-3-free-templates","acfSchemaPost":{"blogPostingImage":null},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTox","name":"General Articles"}]},"levels":{"nodes":[]},"acfPost":{"fieldGroupName":"acfPost","excerpt":"When introducing yourself, your business, or a new project, you have a limited amount of time to make an impression. You need to find the best words to describe what you do, and you need to do it quickly.\r\n\r\nThis is where a compelling elevator pitch comes in—a quick, 30-second pitch that immediately grabs somebody’s attention. Finding the right words and also holding the attention of your audience can, however, be tricky.","squaredImage":{"altText":"How To Write an Elevator Pitch in 2023 (+ 3 Free Templates)","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","backgroundColor":"#e8a8c8","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/static/951758ac84087f51b9f97d3b4e8bd166/b956e/write-an-elevator-pitch.webp","srcSet":"/static/951758ac84087f51b9f97d3b4e8bd166/d1fa5/write-an-elevator-pitch.webp 750w,\n/static/951758ac84087f51b9f97d3b4e8bd166/b956e/write-an-elevator-pitch.webp 1024w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[]},"width":1,"height":0.4228515625}}}},"metaData":{"title":null,"description":"Unlock the power of an effective elevator pitch with our comprehensive guide. Learn how to craft a compelling pitch that grabs attention, communicates your value proposition, and leaves a lasting impression. Discover the key elements, such as attention-grabbing intros, clear explanations of what you do, identifying your target market, setting goals, highlighting competitive advantages, and including a strong call to action. Practice your pitch and explore three sample templates to help you get started. Don't miss this opportunity to perfect your elevator pitch and make a lasting impact in just 30 seconds."},"banner":{"title":"How To Write an Elevator Pitch in 2023 (+ 3 Free Templates)","showTitle":true,"image":{"altText":"How To Write an Elevator Pitch in 2023 (+ 3 Free Templates)","localFile":{"childImageSharp":{"gatsbyImageData":{"layout":"fullWidth","backgroundColor":"#e8a8c8","images":{"fallback":{"src":"/static/951758ac84087f51b9f97d3b4e8bd166/b956e/write-an-elevator-pitch.webp","srcSet":"/static/951758ac84087f51b9f97d3b4e8bd166/d1fa5/write-an-elevator-pitch.webp 750w,\n/static/951758ac84087f51b9f97d3b4e8bd166/b956e/write-an-elevator-pitch.webp 1024w","sizes":"100vw"},"sources":[]},"width":1,"height":0.4228515625}}}}},"timeToRead":null,"sections":[{"fieldGroupName":"post_Acfpost_Sections_ArticleRichTextContent","content":"When introducing yourself, your business, or a new project, you have a limited amount of time to make an impression. You need to find the best words to describe what you do, and you need to do it quickly.
\nThis is where a compelling elevator pitch comes in—a quick, 30-second pitch that immediately grabs somebody’s attention. Finding the right words and also holding the attention of your audience can, however, be tricky.
\nThroughout this article, you’ll learn more about an elevator pitch and how to write your own—plus, you can snag one of our three templates to help you get started.
\nAn elevator pitch is a short summary of yourself or your business. It can also be used to introduce a new project idea to your team.
\nEssentially, you want to create a quick pitch that offers an immediate understanding of what you or your business does, who it helps, and why it matters.
\nYou can use an elevator pitch to:
\nAn elevator pitch should be around 30 seconds long, or 75 words. It got its name from the idea that an elevator pitch shouldn’t take longer than a ride in an elevator.
\nYou can always take more time after your pitch to dive deeper if the people you’re speaking to are interested, but an elevator pitch itself should be a surface-level introduction. It’s meant to keep attention for 30 seconds—then the person or people you’re speaking to can decide if they want to learn more.
\nA job seeker, a salesperson, and a business owner will each have different goals in mind when it comes to delivering an elevator pitch—but the basic ingredients of an effective pitch are similar.
\nUse the following guidelines to craft the perfect elevator pitch.
\nYour elevator pitch will likely be in a place where many people are competing for your listener’s attention. Whether interviewing for a job, speaking with investors, or pitching your business at an event, there will be a lot of competition.
\nIt’s a good idea to start your pitch with an attention-grabbing statement. An effective hook should be flexible and dependant on how well your audience knows you, if they do at all.
\nAccording to Monroe’s Principles of Speech, a time-tested guide for persuasive public speaking by psychologist and Purdue University professor Alan H. Monroe, this can be done through sharing humor, compelling statistics, or astonishing information.
\nFor example, you might start with a known statistic about a pain point your product solves, or crack a joke about how annoying something might be without your product. Or, you can start your introduction with your company name in the hopes that it sticks in your listener’s brain.
\n“Lead with the name of your brand,” says Cindy Gallop, advertising executive and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn. “This may sound ridiculous, but you’d be amazed at how often I’ve been pitched someone’s startup where they tell me what it does, but spectacularly fail to tell me what it’s called. You need a brand name that’s compelling, memorable, and intriguing in itself. ‘MakeLoveNotPorn’ always lands straight away. ”
\nIt’s easy to sound robotic with your introduction, so try to personalize your approach for the listener and their existing knowledge in order to hook them from the get-go.
\nOnce you’ve made a splash with your hook, it’s time to reel the listener in by explaining who you are and why you’re making this pitch. For example, you might say something like, “I founded XYZ Zippers” or “I’m a salesperson with ABC Cosmetics.”
\nLeading with your name and your position immediately lets your audience know who you are, how you’re affiliated with the company, and what’s likely to come next.
\nThe last part of your introduction needs to share what you do, why you do it, and how. In other words, share your company’s mission. This should immediately follow up your personal introduction.
\nFor example, you might say, “I’m Sarah, the founder of Formula One, a company dedicated to creating and providing the best formula for babies, regardless of their food sensitivities.”
\nYour hook, who you are, and what you do should take up the first one or two sentences of your pitch. By the end, your audience should know:
\nThe next step is to demonstrate product-market fit—in other words, you need to illustrate who your target customer is and the opportunity you’re tapping into.
\n“Follow up with one quick, simple, straightforward soundbite that sums up what your brand does,” says Cindy. “In the case of MakeLoveNotPorn, I use our tagline to say, ‘We’re pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference.’ Immediately, without knowing exactly what we are and how we do that, my audience understands our purpose and why we exist.”
\nIdentify the need for your product. The goal here is to make the listener open to your ideas. Prove that there’s demand for what you’re doing by considering:
\nYou can illustrate these needs with facts, testimonials, and statistics.
\nThe listener is more likely to hear your idea when presented with a clear picture of how it solves a problem. Once you establish the need, show how your solution will work based on real-life examples.
\nWhat is the goal of your elevator speech? To land a job with a company? To generate investment in your business? To make a sale? Simply to grow your network?
\nWhatever it is you’re hoping to achieve with your elevator speech, make sure to mention it. This might look something like:
\nBy including why you’re pitching yourself or your company to your audience, your call to action at the end will be a lot more compelling.
\nInstead of glossing over your competition, acknowledge it—especially if you’re pitching to someone who knows your industry or market. Drawing attention to the competition gives you an excuse to explicitly differentiate your business from others.
\nEmbracing the competition is a great way to incorporate why your business is better, right inside of your 30-second elevator pitch.
\nHowever, you don’t necessarily need to call out a specific competitor. You can simply mention an existing alternative, even if it’s just the status quo or “the way things are done now.”
\nAsk yourself why your solution is unique. What’s the competitive advantage, and why is it superior?
\nThis helps you start a conversation with a one-up position over the competition. Be sure to avoid buzzwords, and include key points about what makes you the best solution.
\nWhat good is generating interest if you’re not converting that momentum into some kind of action? End your elevator pitches with a strong, contextual call to action based on who your audience is.
\n“Sum up what you are and what you do in a couple of sentences,” Cindy says. “But the important thing here is, you don’t have to inform your audience of absolutely everything about your brand and business. You want to tell them just enough so they really want to find out more, and want to book that meeting or call where you can go into more detail, or are prepared to make time immediately to talk in more detail. But what you do want to make sure you land within that elevator pitch is how your business makes money.”
\nNext steps can include:
\nOnce you’ve written out your pitch, practice it. Practice in the mirror, in your building elevator, with your team and friends. It’s the only way to get better at delivering a smooth elevator pitch.
\nBetter yet, record yourself. Pull up the audio recording app on your phone so you can track the length of your pitch in real time and easily listen back to it to make sure it makes sense.
\nSpeak with enthusiasm and excitement. Pay attention to the listener’s reactions and body language as you pitch. Collect feedback from people. If a few parts in your pitch sound “off” or unconvincing, go back and fix your pitch accordingly.
\nTemplates offer a good starting point, but you want to make it your own as much as you can. As always, practice makes perfect, and the more feedback you get over time, the more you can improve your pitch.
\nBut to start, here are three basic templates, with hypothetical examples, that will help you touch upon your major talking points in a natural way.
\nYour generic elevator pitch, this format provides you with a clear and intuitive way to cover all your talking points, letting you easily add and cut out parts depending on your audience.
\nTemplate:
\nMy name is [YOUR NAME], founder of [YOUR COMPANY]. We offer [PRODUCT/SERVICE] for [TARGET MARKET] to [VALUE PROPOSITION].
\nUnlike [THE COMPETITION], we [KEY DIFFERENTIATOR]. And we recently [RECENT MILESTONE].
\n[CALL TO ACTION].
\nExample:
\nMy name is Braveen Kumar, a marketer at Shopify. We offer a platform that enables both the early entrepreneur and the large enterprise to build and run their own stores.
\nUnlike most marketplaces where you can sell your products, Shopify lets you build and brand your own online store with the tools to sell across a variety of channels, manage inventory, start small, and scale fast.
\nToday, over one million entrepreneurs use Shopify to power their businesses.
\nIf you’ve got a product to sell, visit Shopify.com to start your three-day free trial.
\nThis pitch is aptly named because it invokes the traditional storytelling structure—something Pixar excels at.
\nStories are all about transformation and empathy, and if you can explain the journey your customer takes from point A to point B, you can get your audience to step into your customers’ shoes, even if they’re outside your target market.
\nTry this approach if your product solves a relatable pain point for your customers.
\nTemplate:
\nOnce upon a time [INTRODUCE CHARACTER AND CONTEXT].
\nEvery day, [ESTABLISH THE WAY THINGS WERE].
\nOne day, [INTRODUCE PROBLEM/INCITING INCIDENT].
\nBecause of that, [CHALLENGE].
\nBecause of that, [SEARCH FOR SOLUTION].
\nUntil finally [FINDS SOLUTION].
\nNow, [ESTABLISH THE WAY THINGS ARE BETTER NOW].
\nExample:
\nOnce upon a time, there was a full-time blogger named Andy.
\nEvery day, you could find him happily typing away on a computer, rushing to meet his clients’ deadlines.
\nOne day, he started experiencing chronic joint pain in his fingers and wrists, a consequence of the years he’d spent typing for hours on end.
\nBecause of that, he couldn’t write as comfortably or as fast, and it was affecting his ability to deliver to his clients.
\nBecause of that, he needed a better way to support his wrists to continue making his livelihood, but he could only find temporary fixes.
\nFinally, he came across Type-Aid, a therapeutic glove that supports his wrists and combats the joint pain in his fingers due to extended typing.
\nNow, Andy can resume his work with confidence, doing what he loves, distracted less by the pain in his hands and focused more on working magic for his clients.
\nSometimes you find yourself speaking directly with a potential customer. In this case, you know that focusing on them and their needs is the best way to position your product.
\nOpening with a rhetorical question lets you establish how qualified they are as a prospect from the start, potentially tease more information from them by actively listening, and personalize your approach according to how they identify with the pain point for which you’re proposing a solution.
\nTemplate:
\nHave you ever [SITUATION AUDIENCE CAN RELATE TO]?
\n[COMPANY NAME] offers [PRODUCT] for [TARGET MARKET] such as yourself to [BENEFIT].
\nUnlike [KNOWN ALTERNATIVE/COMPETITION], [YOUR PRODUCT] is [KEY DIFFERENTIATOR].
\n[CALL TO ACTION].
\nExample:
\nHave you ever found yourself up at night reading and starting to nod off, only to realize you still need to get up and out of bed just to turn your lights off?
\nBrightLight offers more control for the smart homeowner, such as yourself, to turn on and off all the lights in their home from any device with our app installed.
\nUnlike other smart lightbulbs, BrightLight is designed to consume 30% less energy, saving you money in the long run.
\nYou can buy them now in our online store.
\nThe above templates above shouldn’t be used as rigid structures—a pitch, above all, needs to be persuasive and compelling. It should entice your listeners to want to learn more.
\nThe following communication strategies can help you spice up your pitch.
\nIf you’re associated with any big brands, have celebrity customers or investors, have influencer endorsements, or can weave social proof into what you say, you can really raise some eyebrows.
\nWhy? Robert Cialdini, Regents’ professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University, and author of bestselling book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, defined social proof as people doing what they observe others doing.
\nPeople are more likely to engage with what is already popular. Think of it as safety in numbers.
\nSocial proof is used in advertising all the time. Say you’re someone with three young kids who struggles to get them into the car without slamming doors. You see an ad with a happy family driving around in a minivan with automated doors and extra protection features. You may feel compelled to experience the same.
\nPeople want to belong and command the respect of others. It results in people copying what’s already popular. If you propose that your ideas are already accepted, the listener is more likely to engage with it.
\nWays to incorporate social proof into your elevator speech include:
\nRemember that your elevator pitch is only 30 seconds long. You don’t have time to reel off an entire testimonial, but name-dropping some big brands can go a long way.
\nThe appearance of authority aids more convincing arguments for your ideas. If you can provide hard numbers and appear to believe in your product, so will your listener.
\nHard numbers appeal to any logic. How many units have you sold or how much funding have you secured? What’s your customer acquisition rate? Significant numbers add an extra layer of credibility to your pitch.
\nIn Made to Stick, brothers Chip and Dan Heath discuss how some of the most memorable pitches are grounded in analogies. A lot of movies get made simply because the pitch successfully anchors the premise to one that’s already well-known.
\nFor example, the writers of the movie Alien first pitched it as “Jaws in space” and had little trouble generating interest in the film. From those three words, you can understand that it’s a horror movie, involving an unseen threat that leaves death in its wake, set in space.
\nTry developing an analogy to use something familiar to explain the unfamiliar and complex, or embrace an obvious comparison to focus more on differentiation instead of basic features.
\nCommon analogies for businesses include things like “Uber for boats” or “Netflix for books.” Think how you can get a potential customer or investor to understand what you do in just a few words.
\nStories are a naturally persuasive vehicle: they grab attention, demonstrate change, and evoke empathy. Neurobiologists have shown that stories can act as a conduit for understanding pain points that make them a valuable asset in the business world.
\nA general rule in storytelling: The bigger the gap you can create between the beginning and the end, the more impactful your story will be. So don’t be afraid to start off unremarkably normal or even when your character is at rock bottom.
\nIt’s all the better if you yourself are the main character in the story—you’ve got a personal stake in solving the pain point.
\nAlliteration, rhyme, rhythm—there are a ton of ways to wield words so they roll off the tongue. And when most memorable expressions stick because they’re pleasing to the ear, you’ve got a good reason to put some art into your articulation.
\nGive your pitch a unique style with a certain charisma that’s hard to imitate, even amongst your direct competitors.
\nA modern spin on the traditional elevator pitch, video pitches give you a chance to speak directly to a listener and inspire them. They basically pack your elevator pitch into an online presentation.
\nYou can post your video elevator pitch on your businesses website, Wellfound, Product Hunt, social media, or other websites where investors search for new content.
\nFollowing the same principles as pitching in person, you have a bit more leeway in length with a video pitch. You’ll want to keep it between 30 and 60 seconds long. Show your passion and excitement quickly and provide numbers that prove you’re the best solution for an audience’s problem.
\nConversation-starters help you increase the number of people you’re able to deliver your elevator pitch to. By coming to the event or interview ready to network and start conversations with a wide range of people, you’re able to increase potential interest in what you have to say or what you’re selling.
\nThese don’t have to be complex. They simply just have to start up a conversation. Consider starters like:
\nBasic questions about the event are perfect conversation starters. Or, if you know of the person, you can mention that their background has impressed you, or you like what they’ve done in their work, etc.
\nCome prepared to start plenty of conversations. Switch up your icebreaker so your conversations don’t feel too forced or redundant. And be prepared to deliver your elevator pitch, catered to what each person does and if you think your company could help them.
\nLearning how to write an elevator pitch for your business, a project, or a job interview doesn’t have to be daunting. Follow along with our eight-step guide and get started with one of the three free templates we’ve provided.
\nJust remember:
\nFacebook’s advertising tool is an accessible platform used by many ecommerce entrepreneurs and marketers, especially those just starting out who don’t have much advertising experience or a big ad budget. Anyone can fuel their small business on Facebook with ads, as long as they’re willing to learn the basics.
\nBut that’s also led to increased competition, higher rates, and diminishing returns on ad spend. Despite waning confidence in Facebook ads, there are still ways to take advantage of this social media advertising tactic.
\nIn this beginner’s guide, we’ll look at what makes Facebook such a popular advertising platform and walk you step by step through how to set up a Facebook ad campaign to drive sales for your business.
\n\nMany people who give up on Facebook advertising do so because they set up their account incorrectly or become so overwhelmed by Facebook’s myriad ad options that they never make it to the point of actually running a campaign.
\nSo, to start off on the right foot, you first want to ensure you set up your Meta Business Suite account correctly.
\nMeta Business Suite is the section of Facebook that houses your Facebook ad account, business pages, and other tools you’ll need to run your ads.
\nTo create your Meta Business Suite account, go to business.facebook.com and click “Create an account.”
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/1_2b244a1b-fe12-4c95-b105-cdbbd7de7b27-300x251.webp\")
Facebook will ask you for your business name, your Facebook business page (create one first if you don’t have one), your name, and your email address.
\nNext, you’ll need to create or add an existing advertising account. This can be done by choosing Ads in the left menu bar.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/creating-fb-ads-1-106x300.webp\")
Follow the prompts to create an ad account. This is your advertising hub, where you can navigate to all the different areas of your business on Facebook.
\nOne of the most common frustrations among new Facebook advertisers is understanding whether or not their ads actually worked. It’s possible to boost a post or even set up an advertising campaign in Ads Manager, but without installing the Meta pixel you won’t know whether an ad drove any sales on your website.
\nThe Meta pixel is the connection point between your Facebook ads and your website. The pixel is a tracking code you need to create within your Meta Business Suite account and then add to your website before you begin paying for ads. It shows you all the actions being taken by visitors coming to your website through your Facebook ads. Essentially, the Meta pixel tells you not only if your ads drove results but which specific audiences and pieces of creative those conversions came from.
\nSetting up the Meta pixel on your website is easier than it sounds and rarely requires digging around in code.
\nIf you’re using Shopify, setting up your Meta pixel is as easy as copying your pixel ID (a 16-digit number) from your Meta Business Suite account and pasting it into the Meta pixel ID field, located under Online Store in the preferences section of your Shopify store.
\nYou should start seeing your website’s activity within a few hours of adding your pixel ID to your Shopify store. Stats such as visitors, add to carts, and purchases are recorded in your Meta Business Suite account under Pixels.
\nTargeting the right people with your ads is key to successful Facebook advertising. Facebook has billions of global users, so finding those most likely to be interested in your brand or product requires the use of Facebook’s audiences feature.
\nAudience is a section within Meta Business Suite where you can create lists of people to target with your ads. There are several different features available within the audiences section to help you define these lists, but they can be divided into two broad categories: retargeting and prospecting.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image1_d0778d32-f092-467e-aaa1-58645bdf9fd4-300x226.webp\")
Someone who has visited your website, added something to their cart, or followed you on Instagram is more likely to consider buying something from you—they might just need a little encouragement.
\nIf you’ve ever browsed a brand’s website and then found yourself targeted by its ads every time you open Facebook or Instagram, that’s called “retargeting,” and it’s one of the most effective forms of Facebook advertising.
\nYou can create Facebook retargeting audiences using the Custom Audiences feature, located in the Audiences section of Meta Business Suite. Facebook offers you the option to tap into all the data captured by your Meta pixel and business pages through Custom Audiences.
\nLearn more: What Is Retargeting in Google Ads and How Does It Work? (2023)
\nWhen creating a Custom Audience, you’re given a list of different sources to draw from. The three main sources ecommerce businesses will want to use are customer list, website, and catalog.
\n1. Customer list
\nCustomer list allows you to upload a file of email addresses, phone numbers, and any other contact information you’ve collected from customers or leads. Facebook matches this information back to its own users so you can target them directly with your ads.
\nCreating an audience using a customer list is great for re-engaging past customers with new products or reaching email subscribers who haven’t yet made a purchase.
\nLearn more: Create the right audience for Facebook Ads
\n
\n2. Website
Website traffic allows you to create a retargeting list for reaching your website visitors. Here, you can create lists of various sizes based on actions taken or pages visited on your website. Common retargeting lists that generally convert well include those who have visited your website in the past 30 days or added something to their cart in the past seven days.
\n3. Catalog
\nThis custom audience allows you to reach people who’ve interacted with items in your Catalog.
\nFinding new customers is an even better way to scale your business using Facebook ads than retargeting past customers and converting website browsers.
\nLooking for new customers is often referred to as “prospecting” and involves advertising to those who haven’t purchased from you or interacted with your business online. For small and medium-sized businesses, this encompasses the majority of Facebook’s billions of active users, and deciding how to start narrowing down that list can be difficult.
\nFacebook created two useful tools that help businesses find the best potential new customers:
\n1. Lookalike audiences
\nOne way Facebook finds good prospects for your business is by using a list of customers or leads you’ve already collected. Lookalike audiences use the data from your custom audiences to create a new audience filled with Facebook users who share similarities with your existing customers.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/3_f4abc450-f3ea-447e-8e42-48280f4d80d8-300x258.webp\")
Lookalike audiences can be created using any of your custom audiences, and range in size and likeness from 1% to 10% of a selected country’s population. A 1% lookalike audience contains people who most closely resemble the custom audience source and therefore are an easy first target for your prospecting campaigns.
\nAs you expand your targeting and increase your budget, moving to a 3%, 5%, and eventually 10% lookalike audience can provide you with more scale while still being tied to a user profile that matches your customer.
\n2. Interests, behaviors, and demographics
\nIf you don’t have a list of past customers or website visitors to create a lookalike audience, you can use Facebook’s interests, behaviors, and demographics data to create prospecting audiences when you create an ad.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/4_c8c2af21-2f2a-4d4a-935e-062f879cade4-222x300.webp\")
Here’s a breakdown of each category, with examples of sub-groups within each one:
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/5_af3cf30b-e2d7-460f-a72b-1d7ea20ce4be-300x249.webp\")
![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/6_2d1beaa5-c539-4c18-a9f2-400b3e79a90f-300x283.webp\")
![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/7_3c711e2b-d932-4ee4-aea3-857ffc86d1c8-300x287.webp\")
There are likely several audiences you’ll want to test from all of the options available within interests, behaviors, and demographics. Since interest, behavior, and demographic audiences are usually quite broad and consist of hundreds of thousands to millions of users, it’s good practice to test them individually so you can find which one works best.
\nOnce you’ve narrowed in on audiences that convert through your ads, you can start experimenting with additional audience layers to broaden your prospecting campaigns.
\nTo begin creating your first campaign, go to the Ads section in your Meta Business Suite account and click the “Create ad” button. From there, you’ll be asked to select a goal.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/8_69035f97-12e5-4aad-847c-443187d8f70a-300x192.webp\")
There are seven categories of goals within Facebook ads:
\nYou should consider your goal as a business and what you want to achieve with your Facebook ads and let the answers guide your decision.
\nNo matter what objective you choose, Facebook will always charge you for impressions—the number of people your ad is served to. It’s important to communicate to Facebook what your objective is so your ads will be optimized to reach your goal. If you choose traffic but are actually looking for website purchases, you won’t be guaranteed to reach your goal, because it wasn’t selected as your objective at the campaign level.
\nThe next step in creating your Facebook ad is coming up with the creative—the ad itself.
\nFacebook advertising is quite different from traditional advertising and has its own set of best practices for Facebook ad creative that actually converts.
\nWhen creating an ad, you’ll have the option to select the Facebook business page and/or Instagram account that will present your ads. This secondary benefit is a great opportunity to grow brand awareness and social media followers, even if it isn’t your overall campaign objective.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/9_2717e437-8d11-42ea-bdfe-84466040748d-300x194.webp\")
After setting your creative, you have the opportunity to choose:
\nYou’ll be given the option to select and refine a prospecting or retargeting list you created in the Audience section. Choosing locations, genders, ages, and languages can narrow your audience further and provide more variations to test in different ad sets. Select “Create new” to create your audience.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/10_3e7eccfa-3949-4429-8161-08e77b25ddb8-300x129.webp\")
Next, select the amount of time you’ll run the ad campaign. You can choose to run ads continuously or set a defined date.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/facebook-ad-budget-300x159.webp\")
Then, enter your budget and choose whether you want a daily budget or a lifetime budget. Deciding how much to spend on Facebook ads depends on several factors:
\nYou always want to make sure you’re giving Facebook ads a fair shot by allocating enough budget to achieve your goal. Once your ads are published, you need to allow time (and budget) for Facebook’s “learning phase”—the period when its algorithm examines your data. You can use Facebook’s campaign budget optimization (CBO) to automatically manage your campaign budget across ad sets to get the best results.
\nFinally, ad sets give you the ability to select where you want your ad to appear. You can choose between Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger ads.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ad-placement-300x124.webp\")
Once you’re finished and everything looks good, click “Promote now.” Facebook will then review your ad. Once approved, it will go live!
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/publishing-fb-ad-300x194.webp\")
One of the most common Facebook ad formats in ecommerce is the dynamic product ad. If you’ve ever browsed a store online and then been retargeted with the exact products you viewed, you’ve seen a dynamic product ad in action. These ads pair your Meta pixel data and your Facebook product catalog, so visitors to your website are shown products they looked at or added to their cart.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dynamic-ad-300x153.webp\")
The Facebook product catalog is another connection between your business website and your ad account that can be set up within Meta Business Suite, under the Assets menu. You can create a catalog through your Meta pixel or, if you’re using Shopify, you can add the Facebook sales channel and sync products seamlessly to your ad account.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/dynamic-ad-type-300x142.webp\")
Once your catalog is created and you’re ready to make a dynamic product ad, return to the Ad Manager and create a new campaign with Product Catalog Sales as the objective. This will allow you to select your product catalog at the ad set level, as well as customize who you want to show relevant products to.
\nAside from retargeting past purchasers or website browsers, you can also use dynamic product ads for prospecting. If you choose this option, Facebook will show products on your store it believes will be relevant to new prospects, based on their profile data, even if they haven’t visited your website before.
\nSetting up a campaign on Facebook is an important first step, but learning how to monitor its ad performance and optimize it over time is necessary if you want to succeed on the platform. Typically, you will want to check in on your Facebook ads at least once a day (even more frequently as you increase your spend).
\nIt might be tempting to make changes to your targeting or turn off an ad if you don’t see purchases after one day, but it’s important to be patient.
\nFacebook ads need time to optimize so the algorithm can learn who is most interested in what you’re selling. If you aren’t sure whether you should turn off your ad, try waiting until it gets at least 1,000 impressions before investing more or shutting it down to test something new.
\nProspecting and remarketing are both important audiences to target, but they generally work best when done together to create a “funnel.”
\nA funnel is a marketing strategy based on the simple fact that the vast majority of people you market to aren’t ready to buy right at that moment. A funnel-based approach to marketing focuses on tailoring your advertising depending on your audience’s intent to purchase and familiarity with your brand and products.
\nCreating a funnel on Facebook can be done by targeting a cold audience of prospective customers, such as a Lookalike Audience or a behavior-based audience in one campaign, and retargeting those who visit your website in another campaign. As you scale your advertising budget, your funnel can become more intricate, with multiple campaigns that target customers at different points within the funnel:
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/facebook-ad-funnel-300x260.webp\")
The above example shows how one campaign can be used to drive awareness and traffic from a larger audience at the top of your funnel and subsequent campaigns can re-engage or retarget that traffic to bring them back to purchase.
\nIf prospecting using the Purchase Conversions objective is not generating sales for your business, choosing a less expensive, higher-funnel objective, such as traffic or add to carts can create a list of prospects to retarget with a second campaign. This effectively will create a funnel with your Facebook ads, where you can serve each target audience different types of creative that bring prospects back to your website to complete a purchase.
\nYour success in Facebook advertising depends on your objective and the type of ad you use. Producing effective, high-performing ads, however, presents a challenge for many beginners, because there are so many different types to choose from.
\nTo help overcome this hurdle, we’ve outlined four key Facebook ad formats you can use.
\nSingle image ads are the standard for Facebook advertising. They’re easy to make, offer a clean format for you to promote your brand, and are one of the most effective ad formats. In one Facebook study, a series of photo-only ads outperformed other ad formats in driving unique traffic.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/single-image-ad-176x300.webp\")
Image ads are best for when you want to create an ad quickly or don’t have much of a budget. You can create an image ad right from your Facebook page as a boosted post or, if you want more detailed targeting options, you can make one in Facebook Ads Manager.
\nVideo ads let you show off your product or brand and capture viewers’ attention in the feed. You can create video ads in Facebook Ads Manager or boost a post that has a video from your Facebook page. These ads appear on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/fb-video-ad-163x300.webp\")
You can use Facebook video ads to show unique features or tell your brand’s story. Videos that are 15 seconds or less can help capture your audience and keep them engaged. They should also have a clear call to action (CTA) at the end, such as purchasing a product or visiting a website.
\nCarousel ads let you include up to 10 images or videos in a single ad, each with its own link. People can scroll through the carousel by swiping left or right on their devices or by clicking directional arrows if using the desktop client.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/carousel_ad-242x300.webp\")
You can use carousel ads to:
\nThe collection ad format includes a full-screen Instant Experience to make it easier for people to browse and buy your products. These ads include a cover image or video and can show multiple products underneath.
\n![\"Facebook](\"/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/collection-ad-167x300.webp\")
Collection ads are a great way to show off your product catalog, offer an enjoyable browsing experience, and help turn interest into sales. You can show these ads across the Facebook feed, Instagram’s feed, and even Instagram Stories.
\nThere’s a lot to keep in mind when running a successful Facebook advertising strategy, one of them being Facebook ad specs.
\nWhen creating the best Facebook ads for your business, you’ll want to stay within the recommended character counts, image sizes, and view campaign objectives.
\nAll but video views
\nAll objectives besides catalog sales
\nTraffic, conversions, catalog sales, store traffic
\nTraffic, conversions, catalog sales, store traffic
\nAccording to data compiled by WebFx, Facebook advertising costs, on average, range between 94¢ per click (CPC) and $12.07 per 1,000 impressions. Campaigns focused on getting page likes or app downloads can expect to pay $1.07 per like and $5.47 per download.
\nHowever, there’s no minimum spend on Facebook, and you don’t need to commit to any set-up costs. It’s a self-serve platform, and you can choose and control your budget and make it as low or as high as you want.
\nHere are some tips and recommendations that can help you create ads that convert, reach potential customers, and get better results from your Facebook advertising strategy.
\nWhether it’s your first or fifth Facebook advertising campaign, use the following ideas to get more leads and sales from your efforts.
\nClick to Messenger ads are a type of Messenger ad that appears in Facebook and Instagram feeds. When a user clicks the ad’s CTA button, they start a conversation with your brand. You can use a Shopify app like CX: Facebook Messenger Chat or Facebook Chat Box ‑ Chatbot to track and/or automate the lead generation and sales process.
\nBrands that use Facebook ads that click to Messenger see higher conversion rates and ROI. For example, Thai mattress company Solomon Mattress used Messenger ads to launch an entire product line. The brand achieved a four times return on ad spend and completed 700 transactions through Messenger during the five-day campaign.
\nGot an organic post or video that performs well on Facebook or Instagram? Turn it into a Facebook ad. High-performing organic content is a good indicator that viewers will respond to the same content as a Facebook ad.
\nYou can also repackage content into different ad types. For example, you can take the core points of a high-performing video and turn them into a slideshow with images. If you’re on a budget, you can easily design social images with a free tool like Canva.
\nInfluencer marketing is a great way to reach new audiences online. Team up with influencers in your niche to collaborate on ad creative and promotion. Influencers can run the ads from their personal Facebook and Instagram accounts to drive product sales and lower campaign costs.
\nLingerie brand LIVELY ran a similar campaign. It found that adding influencer content to its Facebook ad strategy resulted in:
\nWith so many options, deciding where to spend your marketing budget can be difficult. What makes Facebook particularly attractive to new and experienced business owners boils down to three things:
\nFacebook is a place where we connect with family and friends, and—as much as we hate to admit it—it’s pretty darn addictive. Facebook reportedly has more than two billion active monthly users, and those users spend more time on Facebook than on competing social networks.
\nIn addition, Meta, the company that owns Facebook, also owns Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, three other popular mobile apps accessible to Facebook advertisers through its advertising platform. That’s a lot of active, engaged traffic to drive to your landing page.
\nFacebook is designed for sharing personal updates and information with your network, such as vacation photos, new songs you’ve discovered, and relationship statuses.
\nAll the likes and connections made on Facebook and Instagram create detailed user profiles advertisers can tap into through targeted ads. Facebook advertisers can match their products and service against a long list of users’ interests, traits, and behaviors, resulting in a higher likelihood of reaching their ideal customers.
\nLarge and small businesses often have a Facebook and/or Instagram business page they use for connecting with their fans and customers on social media.
\nWhen you decide to use paid ads on Facebook and Instagram, you can opt to have them come from your brand’s social pages. This often results in increased brand exposure and new followers for your company, which is one of the benefits of advertising on social platforms.
\nThe Facebook advertising platform is designed to be easy to use for those with little to no experience with digital marketing, making it even more attractive to bootstrapped entrepreneurs who don’t want to pay an agency to run their ads.
\nIf you take the time to learn the basics of Facebook advertising, set up your account correctly, and launch a campaign, Facebook ads can continue to fuel your business as it grows.
\nhttps://www.shopify.com/blog/facebook-ads
\n"}]},"page_header":{"background":null,"backgroundOpacity":100,"color":null,"fieldGroupName":"page_header","title":"Effective Advertising on Facebook","opacity":100,"position":"on","size":{"desktop":64,"tablet":null,"mobile":null},"spaces":{"top":null,"bottom":null,"leftright":null,"units":"em"}},"link":"/blog/facebook-advertising-a-beginners-guide-for-2023"}],"totalCount":136,"currentCategorySlug":"","pageTitle":"Blog","lastmod":"2026-09-29"}}, "staticQueryHashes": ["1083880928","1850027792","2115852241","2249625599","2590265254","3117944600","3394409019","3777654359","589588126","842661457"]}