Online shopping has made life more accessible, and more and more people globally enjoy the convenience it offers. Approximately 2.14 billion people worldwide shop online, which is roughly 27.6 percent of the current global population.
With such a huge market, entrepreneurs and investors are rapidly adapting to this change. What better site to start your own online business than Shopify? If you want to become a successful Shopify store owner, read on to learn how to make money on Shopify.
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is a global ecommerce platform that helps individuals grow their businesses using the internet. Shopify has made it easier for new online entrepreneurs to sell, advertise, and endorse their products by providing efficient and user-friendly online tools.
That said, no platform is perfect. Even an ecommerce platform as popular as Shopify has its own set of pros and cons. To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s what we like and don’t like about this platform:
What We Like About It
A lot of people get hooked on making money on Shopify. Here’s why:
- Ease of Use
Your main goal when starting a business is to have the largest sale possible. Among several things, establishing an online presence is an incredible way to enhance your store’s sales.
The problem is that not all people know the ins and outs of selling online. Fortunately, Shopify has easy-to-use online tools that will make it easier for you to run your online store. Whether you’re new to this or not, you’ll find its features practical and intuitive.
- Many Payments Processors
The main concern for anyone opening an online business is how to make payments quick and easy for its customers. Shopify also takes care of this for you. It has built-in payment gateways, including Apple Pay, Amazon, and PayPal. You can also accept credit card payments through Shopify.
- Top-Notch Site Performance
Shopping can be unsatisfactory because of wait times, regardless of whether it is online or in real life. Shoppers can be impatient, and if your website has a slow loading time, they will leave without buying anything. This results in your store losing potential profit or sales.
Compared to other websites, Shopify loads much, much faster. As such, you can expect lower cart abandonment rates and more sales.
- Enhance Sales with Built-in Features
Boosting sales should be one of the main priorities when opening an online store. There are times when a customer already has items in his cart but forgets to finalize the purchase because of unforeseen circumstances.
This is where Shopify’s abandoned cart recovery feature becomes useful. It automatically sends an email to all customers with idle items in their shopping carts. This way, they can finalize their purchase without you having to remind them.
What We Don’t Like About It
Again, Shopify is not a perfect site. It has its own set of drawbacks, especially compared to a custom-built ecommerce website. Here are areas where we think the platform can use some improvements:
- Hard to Tailor-Made a Theme
The platform offers pre-made Shopify themes you can take advantage of, but what if you want one tailor-made to your preferences? Creating a personalized theme is hard if you do not know how to code using the language used on the existing website.
- Does Not Offer Email Hosting
While web hosting is available on all plans, even the Basic Shopify plan, email hosting is not. In a nutshell, this means you cannot name your email using your online store name.
- Can Be Pricey
Shopify offers a lot of free features. However, if you need a fully functioning page, you should be ready to lay out some cash. Shopify’s cheapest plan is priced at $29.00, while its most expensive plan will cost you $299.00.
How To Build Your Business on Shopify
If you think its pros outweigh the cons, you can go ahead and try your luck with Shopify. The thing is that not everyone knows how the e-commerce industry operates. To build your Shopify business, here are the basic steps to take:
Step 1: Prepare a business plan.
This step is a must for anyone wanting to open a business, online or not. With a business plan, you’ll know exactly what to do every step of the way, instead of just blindly investing in something. Here’s a list of things you need to consider before starting a business:
- Business Type – Know the ins and outs of the industry you are in. Consumers will ask you a lot of questions and inquiries, and you should be prepared to give them the information they need.
- Skills and Effort – Know the skills required in selling your products and enhance those skills. It could be marketing your products or learning how to communicate with your target market. You will also want to manage your time to know how much effort you’ll exert or devote to your business.
- Expected Profit – Set expected profit margins or how much you think you will make based on the products and services you’re selling
- Costs – Before making money on Shopify, you will have to shell out enough capital to get your business up and ready.
Step 2: Create a marketing plan.
Here are some key points to remember when laying out your marketing plan:
- Analyze your target market. – Being able to know which type of customer will most likely buy your product will help you improve your business.
- Focus on product theme and representation. – Prepare suitable images to help advertise your product on the platform. Also, make sure you have the correct product description.
- Know where to put your products. – Selecting the most appropriate digital platform for your products will significantly help you with marketing them.
- Use search engine optimization techniques. – Remember to use the right SEO (search engine optimization) keywords. This will help your product appear at the top search results whenever some criteria related to your products are being looked up by potential buyers.
Step 3: Determine how your digital store would operate.
This step incorporates the need for logistics, your sale taxes, and how your customers would pay for their products.
- Logistics/Shipping – Select the most trusted courier for your products while still considering the price for their services. You don’t want your products to arrive in bad condition.
Proper handling and delivery of your products would boost your reputation with your customers and will make them more likely to become repeat buyers.
- Taxes – Some of the tax matters and computations are automatically handled by Shopify. However, it won’t be held liable if you make any errors with tax returns. Seek help from an expert to avoid such circumstances.
- Payment Gateways – One of the most important things to consider when starting a store is deciding which payment gateways to use.
Not all customers can pay cash upfront when their items are delivered to them. Ensure you have other options, such as electronic bank payment using your online bank account, e-wallet payment, debit cards, and credit cards.
How To Make Money on Shopify
Now that we’ve talked about the basics, it’s time to start your own Shopify business. Here’s a list of the most profitable ways on how to make money on Shopify:
1. Build your own e-commerce store.
This is what most people do to make money on Shopify. The platform is well known for assisting you with running your e-commerce business. From the start until you make money online out of selling, Shopify will make it easy for you.
Online transactions are just one click away with Shopify. Everything you need is already set up and ready to use. It’s all about ease of access and not adding additional burden to both sellers and consumers by making it hard to buy or sell.
Every e-commerce shopping platform has its corresponding prices with featured plans. The plans differ from each other as they provide different services that store owners can choose from.
Whether you are a small business or a large brand with a high volume of merchants, Shopify is ready for it. The platform offers five options:
- Shopify
- Shopify Basic
- Shopify Advanced
- Shopify Plus
- Shopify Lite
If you still can’t pick which one suits your business the most, you can try Shopify’s 14 days of free service. This trial period will help you determine which plan you can use when starting your Shopify business or company.
If you are ready to set up your Shopify store, consider these factors:
- Applications and Software Programs – These are third-party apps you can install on your store. They are designed to help and assist you on your daily Shopify journey.
- Shopify Themes – This is what your customer sees. A poorly designed store will almost always result in a negative user experience. Design your store to be more welcoming and attract more customers in the process.
- E-mail Marketing – Sending emails is an excellent way to reach out to your previous customers. Letting them know about new product launches and price changes would encourage them to return and buy something from your store again.
- Mobile Accessibility – Most customers browse shopping websites on their mobile phones. Hence, you will want to make your Shopify platform accessible on mobile. If not, you will lose a lot of potential customers. Make sure to consider this before opening your Shopify store.
2. Learn how to make money dropshipping on Shopify.
Not everyone can afford a vast inventory, especially small store owners. That is where the dropshipping option comes to play. With a dropshipping store, you don’t have to worry about having a limited capital to fill your inventory.
To master how to make money dropshipping on Shopify, look for a dropshipping supplier that sells the same products as you. Using this method will alleviate the stress of having such a small inventory. That said, how does this business model actually work?
In a dropshipping business, customers will have to place their orders in your Shopify app store. After receiving the order, it will send the order information to your chosen dropshipping store suppliers.
You don’t have to worry about preparing the order, as your dropshipping supplier will take care of it for you, including the labeling and packaging. Your dropshipping supplier will then deliver the package to your customer by their delivery system or other delivery couriers.
Using this business model will allow you to partner with the world’s biggest dropshipping suppliers. You can use this to gain an advantage over your competitors. As you can imagine, having a considerable brand working by your side is very helpful for advertising your products.
3. Be a Shopify affiliate.
Are there ways on how to make money on Shopify with no money? Aside from opening a Shopify store and offering your services, you can also earn commissions and referral fees by becoming a Shopify affiliate marketer.
Bloggers and other influencers are encouraged to sign up for Shopify’s affiliate program and become affiliate partners. Once accepted, you will receive instructions and a link on how to endorse your chosen product.
Being creative will make you stand out and convince your target audience to avail of the products you’re endorsing. You can create an infomercial or an honest review of the product and post it on your site or social media page.
Another way to learn how to make money on Shopify with no money is to encourage business-minded people to start their own Shopify business. You will receive a referral fee when your target registers and avails of a Shopify plan.
4. Use social media platform trends to your advantage.
Social media has taken the e-commerce business by storm. Tons of customers throughout the entire globe must have seen at least one product ad per day on distinguished social media platforms. This shows how important it is to establish your social media presence to further reach out to potential buyers or customers.
Utilizing social media marketing is a significant step when expanding your online e-commerce business. It has hundreds of ways to advertise yourself and your brand to your potential market. Some social media platforms even allow you to embed a “Buy Now” link to your social media posts.
You can start by creating a business page on Facebook or Instagram and showcase what services or products you are selling. By posting about your business consistently, you will have a better chance of converting your audience into loyal customers.
You can also opt to promote your business directly on Shopify. It has all the online tools to help you boost sales and strengthen your store reputation. Just make sure to study how SEO keywords work to help you optimize your social media posts.
5. Start your own unique brands.
Shopify has made it easy for new store owners to endorse their own products however they want. To be ahead of the competition, you will want to offer the best products that suit your customers’ needs.
Many products that you sell might also be available at other e-commerce shops. Plus, prices will always be different because of shipping matters and other expenses. That’s why you should consider starting your own brand.
Whether selling homemade consumable products or simply making accessories, people will always want something unique that suits their taste. Starting your own clothing line is also very trendy nowadays.
Of course, a clothing line store is all based on how much you’re willing to spend when starting up these types of businesses. Your main goal would be to sell clothes online, and that comes with its challenges.
If you are on a tight budget, we suggest starting with something small but very eye-catching. Remember that a unique idea always stands out but will not always guarantee success for your business. Still, keep in mind the very influential trends, especially to consumers.
6. Learn how to market well.
It is not enough that you have a complete inventory that never runs out or top-of-the-line services that guarantee five stars. If you don’t know how to market your products and services well, your business won’t flourish.
You need to know how to encourage potential buyers to acknowledge your products. Start by knowing who your potential clients are. Study your target market and what products are recently going up the trend, but accept that you can’t cater to everyone’s needs. Instead, learn how to control and maintain your inventory.
Having a specific target market will help you analyze where and to whom to sell your products. Also, make sure your consumers understand the products they are buying or the services you are offering. Doing this will also be beneficial to you.
7. Learn to set up a local online store.
The recent years saw a rise in the number of local stores offering necessities and other items to local shoppers. Such an online store caters to customers near where you operate, so the logistics will be easier.
How does a local online store work? Search engines will help customers locate your online store via geolocation targeting. Meaning, that if the customer is near your vicinity, there’s a high chance your online store gets recommended and included in the search results.
For instance, an online grocery store must always have fresh products to create the experience of actually shopping in a supermarket. It’s also important to maintain the quality of the products; otherwise, people will stop buying from you.
Consider the delivery charges, too, which should not be costly as this is a “local” online store. What if you are not comfortable with the idea of delivery or your budget doesn’t allow you to afford delivery necessities? In such cases, you can set up a pickup location for your customers to go to and pick up their purchased products.
8. Offer other services.
Shopify is not all about selling products. You can also sell digital products and non-physical items, such as your freelancing skills. Imagine selling something that doesn’t always require an inventory or delivery and logistics.
You can showcase your skills and actually earn commissions via Shopify. This feature helps a lot of freelance artists, writers, illustrators, and designers. Also, being advertised on a global e-commerce platform will help boost your exposure. It will help you grow by having a variety of clients you can offer your expertise to.
Shopify offers a way of showcasing your talent and helping you do what you love. If you’re already good at something, why not get paid while doing it? Building a Shopify platform for your online services will be a huge factor when trying to reach out to potential customers worldwide.
9. Consider blogging.
You may have seen a blog about a specific business at some point in your life. These businesses use this type of strategy to educate consumers, build their audiences, generate potential leads, show insights, and maximize revenue.
Blogging will help you gain an advantage over managing your business. It will help you be more insightful, know your products better, and express your thoughts to educate your potential buyers.
In addition, you can start a blog to advertise your products more effectively. Doing so will help you attract more consumers without having the burden of paying an external website for maintenance fees.
Taking this route is an excellent marketing move as long as you know how to write effectively. Here are examples of essential blog criteria:
- Tell stories, real-life experiences, ideas, and interests
- Educate your readers, especially your target market
- Describe what services you offer or products you are selling
- Enhance and develop your personal brand
10. Be an influencer.
Becoming an influencer is a huge step when it comes to advertising your products. It is a marketing strategy that businesses, big or small, are looking forward to having.
No, you don’t have to be exceptionally talented or be a well-known celebrity to become an influencer. Rather, you must understand the products you are selling and become an expert at what you are doing.
Understanding specific criteria essential to endorsing your products will significantly increase your follower and view count as an influencer. These criteria include the following:
- Word choice – Use words that are easy to understand. Also, everything you say will significantly affect your reputation as an influencer. This is how people will look up to you and really consider buying what you’re trying to sell them.
- Product knowledge – Understand what you’re selling. If you are planning to upload videos of product demonstrations, you will get multiple comments asking you about the product. It would be best if you were prepared when those circumstances happen.
- Relate to your audience – You must learn how to communicate with your target market. Having an emotional connection or just having something in common with your consumers can help you gain a lot of potential followers.
- Follow the trend – An outdated influencer doesn’t gather much attention, especially when it comes to gaining new followers. Learn how to use internet slang and other methods that will help you fit the modern era of advertising.
You don’t need millions of followers to be called a successful influencer. Also, not everyone who follows you will buy the product you are endorsing. Some will follow you just because they enjoy watching your videos, like the way you look, or just like you in general.
Use user-friendly platforms when it comes to uploading videos and demonstrating your products. Doing this will help your potential followers or customers access your stuff quickly. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are great examples of these user-friendly platforms.
Moreover, remember to maintain your image as an influencer to gather more potential followers. The bigger the fanbase, the larger your market is going to be. So, always wear a smile.
Make Money With Shopify
Starting a business is never easy. It takes a lot of time, effort, and knowledge to make it grow and earn you money. Remember to have a well-built marketing and business plan before starting your e-commerce platform.
With Shopify, you will always be the captain of the ship; the platform will only help you set sail toward your goal.
There will be ups and downs when you run your business, but remember to look forward and plan ahead. These are just the common methods on how to earn on Shopify. We hope you are inspired and become successful in your future endeavors.
How To Make Money Using Shopify FAQs
1. Do people make money on Shopify?
Of course. Shopify is among the most popular eCommerce business platforms worldwide. It has over two million users all over the globe, regardless of its revenue size. It is a great and proven revenue stream for all types of entrepreneurs.
2. How does one earn from Shopify?
In some cases, you will not even have to sell products to make money on Shopify, such as if you join its affiliate program. Instead of selling, you’ll make money for each successful affiliate linked to your account. The more people you bring to Shopify’s platform, the more money you will make.
3. What is the easiest way to be successful on Shopify?
We have eight tips you should follow if you want to succeed on this platform:
- Be prepared for mobile commerce.
- Construct a plan to retain your customers.
- Make an email list.
- Create an effective marketing content strategy.
- Develop a strategy for storytelling marketing.
- Create content that is interactive to engage customers.
- Effectively use paid ads.
4. What are the possible reasons my store is not selling?
One main factor why your Shopify store is not selling well is the lack of budget and effort on marketing. You need to dedicate money and time to market your products. Develop a marketing strategy, and your sales will surely improve.
5. Is it worth it to sell products on Shopify?
Shopify provides you with a platform that allows for easy selling. At the same time, it has all the tools you will need to increase your sales. It may cost you a few bucks, but its ecosystem and support are surely worth it. The headache involved in operating an online store is mostly taken out the equation if you utilize Shopify.
6. Does Shopify require PayPal?
Shopify does not require you to have a PayPal account before you can sell your products. In fact, it has its own Shopify payment method. However, these Shopify payments are only available to limited countries. If you don’t want to use PayPal, there are other third-party gateways you can utilize.
7. Does Shopify require a business license before I can start selling?
No. Shopify does not require you to have a business license to start selling online, but there are instances where you will be asked to have a business license. One example is if your country requires a business license for the kind of business you set up on Shopify.
8. Is a barcode needed before I can sell on Shopify?
If you are selling solely on Shopify, then there is no need for a barcode. You only need yourself and your products. There is no need to confirm any of your product’s identification through a bar code.
