Run a contest with an influencer
Most larger influencer’s these days need to be paid to promote your store. However, you can still target the many influencers still trying to make a name for themselves by offering them a freebie or creating a special contest just for their followers.
The better your contest idea and the better the giveaway the more likely you are to attract a bigger influencer. Creating engagement and great new content is an increasingly difficult proposition for influencers. If you can make their job easier and create a win-win scenarios they will be more likely to take you up on your suggestion.
Even though smaller influencers don’t have as large a reach, they can still help you get some sales and you can use those successful campaigns to step up to larger influencers.
Post to marketplaces – craigslist, fb buy and sell, kijijji, ebay
For new stores, this can be a great way to get your first few sales. The big advantage of using existing marketplaces is that buyers already trust these marketplaces and they have built in feedback systems in place to protect buyers and sellers.
Furthermore, people specifically go to these marketplaces with the intention of buying products like yours, so conversion are very high if you have a good product at a good price. If you have a good reputation, you can often get away with charging a bit more as well. The key here is to engage with the user in a professional and friendly manner and make sure they have a great experience buying from you. If you have a happy buyer you can let them know that you are selling on behalf of your shop and ask them for a testimonial that you can post to your store.
Work on trust
Trust is a HUGE factor when trying to sell something to someone. For a new store , buildingn trust can seem like an insurmountable obstacale. How, do you build trust with someone you don’t even know?
Well one thing people trust is people they already know and engage with. And if you think about it, this is one reason its not a good idea to start spending money on facebook or adwords with your new shop.
You can think of somebody coming to your shop from an ad as a stranger. Whereas someone coming to your shop through a referral, influencer, or link in a blog post is more like a friend of a friend.
Other factors that build trust once someone lands on your site is a good About Us page, A Blog that shows there are real people that want to help you behind the products you sell, a good looking website that is user friendly and products/services that have ample information to help users make a buying decision. Check out this more detailed post on how you can build user trust on your site.
Use Hashtags
Using hashtags is a great way to capitalize on what is currently hot or trending. The key here is to do your homework and find hashtags in your niche that are currently very popular. If you create a post or content fast enough, you can capitalize on the increased media exposure and popularity of that hashtags.
You can also create posts with evergreen hashtags that get a steady albeit much smaller amount of traffic. Overtime, this can result in a significant amount of exposure for your store as well. The big advantage of evergreen hashtags is that the exposure tends to be long term rather than just a one time thing.
Run a contest just for customers – ie. Entry is a post in their social media using your product
Everyone loves winning things. And nobody likes bad odds. Running a contest for anyone that buys something from your store and posts it on social media. Not only do you get a lot of social media exposure but you are encouraging people to make a purchase on your site.
A side benefit is that you get free exposure to all the friends and followers of the person that entered your contest. After the contest is over you can even reach out to everyone that entered, thank them and give them a discount coupon on their next purchase. This not only increases engagement with your brand but builds trust and confidence in your new store.
You can use Shopify Apps like Social Boost to create your contests.
Make everyone an affiliate
After making a sale, a great way to leverage that customer for more sales is to send them an email thanking them for their business, and letting them know that if they know they can make a commission on any referrals they send to your store.
The low risk makes this technique especially effective since you only need to pay the commission on successful sales. This is one of the primary ways that amazon built their brand and market reach in the early days of ecommerce. It’s a tried and true method that Amazon still uses to this day.
To take it one step further, actively reach out to influencers and bloggers in you niche and ask them to be affiliates. Sweetening the pot by offering to ship them a free product from your site will definitely get their attention.