174: Turning Digital Creations into Cash on Shopify
Are you ready to explore selling your digital products via an e-Commerce platform but feeling overwhelmed by the options?
In this episode of the Creators MBA podcast, I'm joined by Shopify expert Erin Alexander, creator of Product Powerhouse. Erin shares her wealth of knowledge on building a successful online store, whether you're just starting out or looking to optimize your existing setup.
From choosing between Etsy and Shopify to mastering the art of product listings and leveraging themes and apps, Erin breaks down the essentials of creating a thriving e-commerce presence to sell our digital products.
If you're interested in selling your digital products online, this episode is packed with valuable information to help you succeed in the world of e-commerce.
Key points discussed:
[02:26] Erin's background and how she helps product-based businesses
[05:12] The importance of starting with product listings when building your Shopify store
[10:22] Understanding Shopify themes and how to choose the right one for your business
[15:50] Navigating Shopify apps and determining which ones are worth the investment
[19:10] Erin's top tip for building an effective Shopify homepage
Mastering Shopify: Expert Tips for Building a Thriving Online Store
In today's digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for any business, especially those selling products. Whether you're crafting handmade goods or offering digital downloads, the world of e-commerce can seem daunting. But fear not! We recently sat down with Shopify expert Erin Alexander on the Creators MBA Podcast to unpack the essentials of building a successful online store. From choosing the right platform to optimizing your product listings, Erin shared a wealth of knowledge that can help both beginners and seasoned entrepreneurs alike.
Etsy vs. Shopify: Finding Your Perfect Platform
One of the first decisions many new e-commerce entrepreneurs face is choosing between Etsy and Shopify. Erin's advice? Start with the platform that feels less intimidating to you. For many, that's Etsy, with its user-friendly interface and built-in audience. However, Erin emphasizes that ultimately, having both an Etsy and a Shopify store can be beneficial.
"Etsy is great at bringing in new traffic because they have, like, a cult following. People love Etsy. But you have more control over Shopify, and you can do different things on there," Erin explains.
While Etsy offers a ready-made audience, Shopify provides more control over your brand and customer experience. The ideal strategy? Use Etsy to attract new customers and direct them to your Shopify store for a more personalized shopping experience.
The Power of Product Listings: Start Here, Not with Themes
When setting up your Shopify store, it might be tempting to dive straight into choosing a beautiful theme. However, Erin suggests a different approach:
"The most important thing on your store is your products. So I think that you should start creating product listings first."
By focusing on your products from the get-go, you'll have a better understanding of what you need from your theme and overall store layout. This approach allows you to create a store that truly showcases your products in the best light.
When creating product listings, pay special attention to:
1. Product titles: Make them descriptive and searchable.
2. Product descriptions: Tell the story of your product and include key details.
3. Images: "People are gonna look through the images more than they actually read the text. So you wanna have really good, clear images, a variety of different styles," Erin advises.
Navigating Shopify Themes: Free vs. Premium
Once you have your products in place, it's time to choose a theme for your store. Shopify offers both free and premium themes, each with its own set of features and design elements.
The Dawn theme, Shopify's default free theme, has improved significantly over the years and can be a great starting point for new store owners. However, premium themes often offer more design flexibility and built-in features that can enhance your store's functionality.
When choosing a theme, consider the features you need for your specific products and business model. Do you need a mega menu for extensive product categories? Are out-of-stock notifications important for your business? These considerations can help guide your theme selection.
Remember, it's easy to switch themes later as your business grows and evolves. Starting with a free theme and upgrading when needed is a cost-effective strategy for many new store owners.
Leveraging Shopify Apps: Enhancing Your Store's Functionality
One of Shopify's strengths is its extensive app ecosystem. These apps can add extra functionality to your store, from automating customer reviews to setting up subscription boxes. However, with so many options available, it's easy to go overboard.
Erin's advice? "I always recommend looking at the fees in terms of, like, what is this going to give me or what is it going to save me?"
Consider the value each app brings to your business before making a purchase. While many apps cost less than $10 per month, these fees can add up quickly. Start with essential apps, like those for customer reviews, and add others as your business grows and your needs evolve.
Crafting an Effective Homepage: Beyond the Theme Template
When it comes to designing your store's homepage, Erin offers a surprising tip:
"When you install a theme, it's gonna have these prefilled in sections. Those are just the way they're designed is to highlight the theme, not to highlight your business. So I recommend you pick out your theme and then clear out all of the sections and start from scratch."
Instead of relying on the theme's default layout, think strategically about your homepage content. What sections will best tell your brand story, build trust with customers, and guide them through the buyer's journey? By customizing your homepage, you create a unique shopping experience that sets your store apart from the competition.
Building a successful Shopify store is a journey, not a destination. It requires ongoing optimization, testing, and refinement. But with these expert tips from Erin Alexander, you're well on your way to creating an online store that not only looks great but also drives digital product sales and builds lasting customer relationships.
Remember, the key to e-commerce success lies in understanding your products, your customers, and the tools at your disposal. So dive in, start building, and don't be afraid to experiment along the way. Your perfect online store is waiting to be created!
Mentioned In This Episode:
Creator's MBA Newsletter: Actionable marketing advice that you'll want to save in a special Gmail folder to grow your digital product business, sent weekly to 10,000+ readers. Subscribe here.
How to get in touch with Erin: Website, Erin's Shopify Store
Erin’s Free Gift: How to Design a Shopify Homepage that Converts Like Crazy
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Transcript:
Dr. Destini Copp [00:00:07]:
Welcome to the Creators MBA Podcast, your go to resource for mastering the art and science of digital product entrepreneurship. My name is doctor Destini Copp, and I help business owners generate consistent revenue from their digital product business without the need to be glued to their desk, constantly live launching, or worrying about the social media algorithms. I hope you enjoy our episode today.
Hi there. Destini here. And before I jump into today's episode, I wanted to give you a little bit more background here. This particular podcast episode, I first recorded it for the HobbyScool podcast. Erin is the guest I have on today, and she was 1 of my speakers in my Monetize Your Craft Summit that we did earlier this year at HobbyScool.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:01:04]:
But Erin is just a whiz at Shopify, and I know a lot of you are interested in building a Shopify store to sell your digital products, or maybe you're trying to decide between Etsy and Shopify.
So I wanted to bring this episode on the Creator's MBA podcast just so you can hear directly from Erin. And, again, I love the tips that she gives us in this episode. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
And my special guest today is Erin Alexander. Erin is the creator of Product Powerhouse, a web design agency and education resource for product makers and seller. She's a wife, mom of 2, and loves being by the water. And Erin has been building Shopify websites for many years working with brand new businesses to seasoned entrepreneurs.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:02:00]:
She knows a lot about how to build a website that sells online, and she loves supporting other strong women building the businesses of their dreams. And, Erin, I am super excited to jump into this topic with you. I have 2 Shopify websites of my own, so I'm very passionate about it. But before we get into the questions that I have, can you tell the good audience just a little bit more about you and how you help people?
Erin Alexander [00:02:26]:
Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me, Destini. I'm so excited to chat with you today. So I like she said, I'm Erin. I live in Washington with my family, and I have been an entrepreneur for 8 years. I am, currently, I help product based businesses really learn to use and leverage the power of Shopify. A lot of people think it's just a website, and it's really much more than that.
Erin Alexander [00:02:56]:
Like, the website is maybe the main piece of it, but there's a lot of ways to use it to really build your business. So I teach people how to get creative with their design, how to get creative with the solutions available on Shopify, and really how to leverage the power of everything Shopify can do for their small business.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:03:18]:
Now, Erin, I guess the first question I have for you, and I'm sure you've gotten asked this question quite a bit. If somebody is considering or they know that they need an online presence to sell their either their digital products or their handmade products that they have created, and they're trying to decide between Etsy and Shopify. What do you generally tell people?
Erin Alexander [00:03:42]:
Yeah. I do. I get this question a lot, and I think if you're just getting started, my suggestion is to go with the one that feels like the path of least resistance. For a lot of people, they think getting up on Etsy is gonna be quick and easy and it's less stressful. And if that is how you feel, if that seems easier, then I highly recommend you go that route. If for some reason, like, I would say, like, 90% people think that building an Etsy store is gonna be easier than building a Shopify store. Ultimately, I think you should have both. If you're going to be selling on Etsy, you should also have a Shopify store or at least a website of your own, even if it's not a Shopify store.
Erin Alexander [00:04:22]:
They really work well together. Etsy is great at bringing in new traffic because they have, like, a cult following. People love Etsy. And but you have more control over Shopify, and you can do different things on there. So, ultimately, you wanna have both. But if choosing 1 seems easier to get started, that's the way I think you should go.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:04:43]:
And I think that's one of the reasons why I went with Shopify instead of putting up my shops on Etsy was I wanted that control. Right? But I also had the audience built, so that was another another thing for me. But I definitely wanted that control. So if somebody is wanting to build out their their shop on Shopify, what are some of the first couple of steps that you recommend that they take that won't stress them out and won't overwhelm them in the beginning?
Erin Alexander [00:05:12]:
Yeah. That's such a good question because I think it's a lot different than what most people would say. When you go into Shopify, the very first thing they're gonna do is they're gonna be like, okay. Pick a theme. That is super overwhelming. I kind of think about things differently. The most important thing on your store is your products. So I think that you should start creating product listings first.
Erin Alexander [00:05:36]:
I think you should go in and set up a full product because you're gonna need to know, like, what's the name of your product? How are you gonna describe it? What images are you gonna have? And you can put all of this product listing information in place. And then when you are looking at themes, you have a better idea of what you need and what you want once you start seeing it. So when you start a Shopify store, it's gonna come with Shopify's, like, base free theme. It's called the Dawn theme, and it's gonna come with that already installed. So you can look at your product listings even before you've actually selected a theme. Putting in your products first means that, like, they will be populated in the different fields where, like, it's showing you a feature collection or a feature product. It helps you visualize things better if you can put in some product listings first. I also think, like, your product like, I I mean, I already said this, but your product is the most important part of the store in the first place.
Erin Alexander [00:06:32]:
So spending your time putting in your products and understanding how that works is gonna make everything else inside of Shopify easier.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:06:40]:
And I've never heard anybody say that, but that is such an important point is going when you're first starting to build your website there is to start with the products, and I think that's a great tip there. So when somebody is building out their product, what are some things that they need to keep in mind? What do they need to have ready to start doing that?
Erin Alexander [00:07:01]:
Yeah. So the basics are gonna be things like a good product title that is descriptive of what the product is. So a description of your product, you know, whether you've already, like let's use a a candle maker, for example. If you have a candle and you're going to you're gonna wanna create a descriptive title, so something probably around the scent, the size, and you're gonna wanna have that information. Then you have your product description, which is pretty obvious, you know, like, describe the product. A lot of people want to, like, maybe include a little bit of storytelling in this. You also wanna have maybe some bullet points that clearly list things out for people who are just gonna scan your text because people probably won't read a really long description. However, you do want to have a little bit of a description because that's what Google likes to see.
Erin Alexander [00:07:48]:
So if you want to get benefit from SEO, you wanna have some kind of description on there. And then you're gonna have your product images. So you can have as many images as you want. You know, you're gonna probably have an individual image of the product, maybe the product in use, maybe someone holding the product or using the product or, you know, flat lays styled styled ver versions of your product. You could have as many as you want. You can even have video in there and try it. And then you start getting into some more of the logistics. And then that's then you also are gonna put in your inventory here.
Erin Alexander [00:08:30]:
You can put in the price it costs you, like, whatever the base price is. That way you can see your profit margins and things like that in the back end of Shopify. Then you can start building in, like, even more custom customized things with Shopify's meta field. So, like, let's say let's say you're, like, special size chart or different things like that. You can use meta fields to do that. That's really, like, the meat chart or different things like that. You can use meta fields to do that. That's really like the meat of what you need for a product listing.
Erin Alexander [00:08:59]:
There's a lot that can go into it. It could really be as detailed as you'd like. It could be as simple as you'd like, but those are gonna be the things you need to get started.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:09:08]:
And would you say that the images are 1 of the most or 1 of the most important parts of that product listing?
Erin Alexander [00:09:14]:
Oh, absolutely. People are gonna look through the images more than they actually read the text. So you wanna have really good, clear images, a variety of different styles. You know? I always like to say it, like, at least 3, usually, like, 1 of the product by itself, 1 of the product on a person or with a person or, like, next to a person. That way, like, they can really visualize themselves. Any, like, details that they need
Dr. Destini Copp [00:09:37]:
to know, like, up close shots, Those things are really, really important. Now you mentioned a few minutes ago about the theme in Shopify. Can you tell the folks, and a lot of people listening here might not know what that means. I'm using the Dawn theme, which I think you mentioned was the, you know, kind of the standard or what it what a Shopify store comes with. And then I think for 1 of my other stores, I purchased 1, but I can't remember off the top of my head what I purchased there. But can you walk people through what do you mean by that theme and and what somebody should look for in a theme when they're just starting out? Because I think when you go to the website, there's a lot to choose from. Right?
Erin Alexander [00:10:22]:
Yes. Absolutely. There's hundreds of Shopify themes. So the the the theme is what determines how your store looks, and it also includes some of the built in functions. So the Dawn theme is, like, the standard Shopify's basic free theme. There are a handful of free themes inside of Shopify, like, in the Shopify theme store that you can choose from, and they are all based on the Dawn theme. So, you know, if you see 1 like, I think there's 1 called craft. Craft is just the dawn theme styled differently.
Erin Alexander [00:11:00]:
The dawn theme is actually a really great theme. I have been using it more and more. There's a lot you can do with it. Shopify has been investing in building that theme out. However, there are also premium themes, and premium themes are developed by 3rd party Shopify developers. They are vetted by Shopify if they are in the Shopify theme store, which means that they have to follow a pretty strict standard when it comes to, like, their the way they create their code, the way they respond to customer service, the way that they have documentation of their themes to to help you build out your store. The premium themes have a lot more flexibility in terms of the design, so you'll have different types of content sections, you know, like different types of galleries or different types of sliders or different types of ways to display your testimonials. And they also sometimes have built in features.
Erin Alexander [00:11:54]:
Like, they might have built in feature that sends out of stock notifications or, like, back in stock notifications. Or they might have I'm trying to think of a good example. Like, maybe they have some different product tabs built in or, you know, there's a bunch of different things. Most of the time, all of the themes have the base features. You know, they're all gonna allow you to put video in. They're all gonna allow you to put images in, but the theme determines how it looks. So, like, whether things are, like, maybe full width. Not every theme allow is designed to have images that go from edge to edge of your screen.
Erin Alexander [00:12:33]:
So those themes really have some different features. Previously, I was always like, you need to buy a free theme. The the free previously, I was always like, you have to buy a theme. The the free version is just not good. Like I said, Shopify has been investing heavily in the new Dawn theme or it's relatively new. And so I actually I have a second Shopify store that does use the Dawn theme, and I think it's fantastic, especially if you can add in some apps that can really help you customize it, which I'm happy to share those if you're interested too. But when you're really looking for a theme, the main thing you want to focus on are the features. Like, what options does the theme have that you need? For example, some people really wanna have a mega menu, and a mega menu is, like, 1 of those menus that drops down, and it has, like, a lot of different layers, and sometimes there's a image in it.
Erin Alexander [00:13:27]:
Not every theme offers a mega menu. So I recommend you do some research. And this 1 of the things that helps is if you have your products in place and you know what you need for your products to display the way you want them to is do some research about the features you need. You know? Do you need or do you have something that's gonna go out of stock often and you wanna have notifications for your people that tell them when something's out of stock? All those different features you can find in a theme built in, or maybe you'll see a feature in a theme and you're like, oh, that would work really well for my product. So I recommend you research first, find the features that you want, and try to find a theme that has those features. That's gonna save you money in the long run because you won't need to either add them in with code or use an app to get those extra features.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:14:19]:
And is it pretty easy just to, like, start with the free theme, maybe Dawn theme? And if you find, like, 2 years down the road that it's just not serving your needs anymore, is it pretty easy to move to 1 of the paid themes?
Erin Alexander [00:14:31]:
Yes. Absolutely. I totally recommend that. If you haven't been if you haven't been selling on Shopify and you're, like, not sure and you're just not ready, I would absolutely start with the free theme. When you switch themes, all of your product listings, all of your collections, all of your blog posts, all of your pages, I'm gonna say pages with, like, a little asterisk by them. Okay? All of that content stays. You don't have to redo any of it. What you do have to redo is, like, building out your homepage and putting the content in place.
Erin Alexander [00:15:02]:
But if you have an older version, it's really easy to, like, copy and paste. You're gonna have a lot you you might have new features, so you might, you know, get to add new things or take things out, but it is really easy to switch. It'll just take you time to rebuild your pages as in, like, your home page. If you have pages that have different sections like your about page, those might take you some time to rebuild. But overall, it's much better to start with the free theme and then upgrade later.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:15:31]:
So let's talk about some of those apps that you mentioned a few minutes ago. I know that some of these apps cost money. Some of them are free. And and, you know, since they cost money, it's extra cost, right, that new shop owners might not be aware that they have to do. So walk us through exactly how that works on Shopify.
Erin Alexander [00:15:50]:
Yeah. So Shopify out of the box does, you know, a handful of things. It's pretty pretty standard ecommerce stuff. But then you can add on these apps that give you additional functionality or additional design options or you know, it can just make your store really customized. Like, if you wanted to sell a subscription box on Shopify, you can do that with extra apps. You wanna sell bundles on Shopify, you can do that with extra apps. I always recommend, like, sending setting up an app that will setting up an app that will send out a request for your customers to leave a review after they've made a purchase. So different apps cost money.
Erin Alexander [00:16:31]:
Some are free. I would say most apps actually cost money. And I mean, like, I know that this frustrates people, but it's really what makes Shopify unique is that it's allowing you to build a really customized store, and it allows you to get exactly what you need. So for the most part, most apps are, like, maybe under $10 a month or maybe they'll have a onetime fee. I always recommend looking at the fees in terms of, like, what is this going to give me or what is it going to save me? Because I'm just like you. I I mean, like, the listeners. I don't wanna pay it extra for things that I don't need. But if if an app is going to really, like, help me get, like, more sales or, you know, do different things and it's worth the price for me So I, you know, I have a list of, like, 20 apps that I recommend.
Erin Alexander [00:17:29]:
And, you know, depending on the store and depending on your needs, every store is gonna need different things, but I always recommend installing an app that will request reviews. I really like stamp. Io. The free plan on that 1 is fantastic. The paid version is only $15 a month, and it does give you a lot more options, which is something I love. And I use the paid version on 1 of my sites, and I use the free version on 1 of my sites. It just really depends on what you need and what you want. And sometimes I think people get a little bit hung up on having to pay for those apps.
Erin Alexander [00:18:04]:
And so, like I said, my suggestion is think about what it's gonna bring you in return, but, also, is this something you could wait on? And, you know, maybe you don't set up an automated subscription box right away. Maybe you wait until you have, like, 20 members or or something so that it's actually gonna save you time. You can really think about those things. I also don't don't like to install apps like page builders or things that have reoccurring fees for my design because I feel like I could hire a developer to to code that for a 1 time fee rather than, like, the life of my website. So there's a lot of nuance when it comes to apps, but I think that those are something that you have to kinda think about, which is another reason why I recommend you research your functions before you pick a theme. That way you could perhaps find a theme that does some of the things you are wanting without needing to add an app.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:18:54]:
And I definitely think that those are some good tips, and I'm kinda like you. On 1 of my stores, I have some more paid apps, and the other ones, I'm using some of the free versions. So I think that's some really good tips there. Erin, before we wrap it up here, any last minute tips for the audience?
Erin Alexander [00:19:10]:
Yeah. I think the number 1 tip I have for people building their Shopify store is don't follow the theme. So when you install a theme, it's gonna have these prefilled in sections. It's gonna say, like, oh, talk about your brand here. Put a gallery here. Those are just the way they're designed is to highlight the theme, not to highlight your business. So I recommend you pick out your theme and then clear out all of the sections and start from scratch. I actually have a workshop where I teach people the 7 essential sections to or for your Shopify homepage that's gonna help tell your brand story and also build trust with your customers.
Erin Alexander [00:19:50]:
So build up that know, like, and trust factor so that they want to make a purchase. It also leads them through the buyer's journey. So that's every every section is very strategic and the reason behind it. And I have a training that's completely free. It's and it talks about each of those sections, why you want them, and how to put them and, like, how they work in your Shopify store, and I even show examples and things like that. So I have that actually, you can get it at product powerhouse.co/homepage. And I know I gave Destiny the link, so you're I know you'll share that too.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:20:26]:
Yes. Absolutely. We're gonna make sure that that link for that free workshop is in the show notes so everybody has access to it. And, Erin, also, can you let people know where they can find you, your website, Instagram, whatever you wanna share there?
Erin Alexander [00:20:41]:
Yeah. Absolutely. So the honestly, the number 1 place to is to find me is my podcast, which is called product powerhouse. You can find that on, well, all the shop all the podcast apps, but I think that the podcast apps are getting smaller and smaller. So, you know, Apple, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, I have the podcast published. My website is productpowerhouse.co, and I have a bunch of resources and digital products, you know, like, little bite sized things. I also have a full course that teaches, like, really how to leverage Shopify for people who want to learn it. Then if you wanna hang out with me on social media, the best place would be Instagram, which my handle is product dot powerhouse.
Erin Alexander [00:21:23]:
That's where I show pup pictures of my puppy and It
Dr. Destini Copp [00:21:26]:
is a cute 1. It's a very cute puppy.
Erin Alexander [00:21:29]:
He is adorable. He's my baby. And then that's also where I share, like, tips. Like, I'll share a lot about apps I'm using, apps I'm loving, and just Shopify tips and things like that.
Dr. Destini Copp [00:21:40]:
So, Erin, thank you so much for joining me and sharing all of your wisdom about Shopify, 1 of my favorite tools to use. Yeah.
Erin Alexander [00:21:47]:
Thank you so much. I had a great time.