eCommerce: Building the Store

Wow, busy week and a good week.

I found contacting dropshippers and wholesalers and manufacturers surprisingly easy.  Sure, there is a lot of paperwork.  But nothing as bad as people were revving me up for.  I expected reams of paperwork.  There was only one application that was obnoxious...and they still haven't returned my calls! (I guess "lots" of paperwork depends on who you are and what kind of work you've done before.)

My initial store catalog plan has shifted around a bit.  I'm still waiting to source 2 or the 5 major cornerstone brands, and the minor players in the market are especially hard to source.  However, I've got 3 major brands to build my catalog on and I've started assembling the store.  I've already had some traffic, which is encouraging since I haven't been marketing the store yet.

Store is a little rough for now, but I'm more interested in loading in products to sell than in how pretty it is.  (Although I'm too vain to let be ugly for long!)  So far I've got 37 products listed.  I've attached the PayPal Standard shopping cart for start up, but I'm already looking forward to getting my own cart. 

The NicheBlueprint 2.0 store software is pretty amazing to me.  I can't believe all the things it can do, and I haven't even scratched the surface of learning about all of the functions of my ecommerce platform.  I'm feeling optimistic so far.  I hope to begin marketing within a few days, after I've loaded up 50 or so items and tested the shopping cart.

What an amazing learning process!

eCommerce: Dropshippers and Hosting

I've had a busy week, and I think the dolldrums are over.

After a slow start due to cold/flu misery, I've finally begun calling wholesalers and dropshippers to begin sourcing product for the site.  I've had some rocky calls (the market I've chosen seems dominated by Koreans and I talk too fast) and some decent calls.  I'm in the process with paperwork and packets for three dropshippers and I've got two more calls to make tomorrow. 

Since one of the dropshippers wants my site to be live before I apply, I've also moved ahead with a domain name and hosting.  I figure, oh what the heck!  The domain name costs me less than $10 per year, and the hosting is only $5 for this month and $15 thereafter.  If I can't source product I should know within a couple weeks and I'm out $15.  Please!  I used to tip more than that at some restaurants.

If none of the 5 dropshippers I'm working with now works out, I've got two more I can try.  I just didn't want to pay setup fees or monthly wholesale subscription fees to get started.  But I wouldn't mind paying if I find the niche bears up.  So that's another avenue to try.

I also spent some major time on my affiliate sites this week.  I was too sick to make calls, so I had to do something!  I've re-jiggered site #1 by moving almost all the affiliate links to the one product that converts.  I've been wasting 40-80 clicks per cycle on sales pages that do nothing for me.  And site #1 made two sales this week.  That is interesting to me, because I notice that any sales I make are happening early in the month.  I wonder why? 

Site #2 got some love in the form of added graphics and copy editing.  When I researched the registry cleaner niche, I thought the sites looked awful with all the junky badges and crowded, flashing banners.  But I think that it is all a part of building trust.  This niche requires more graphical reassurance, LOL.  I shouldn't complain, because my CTR is pretty good on site #2.  If I could get traffic rolling, I bet I'd get a few sales.  Slow traffic is a bit of a puzzle, but I think the AMA articles are beginning to pick up steam.  And the directory submission package may help a bit over time.

Now my working hours are very full.  While my daughter naps, I make phone calls and faxes and emails to dropshippers.  After her bedtime, I work on the site and fill out paperwork.  If I can get any products to list in my store catalog I'll really have lots to do!  Here's hoping.

eCommerce: Dolldrums

Finally, my vendor's license is here.

I'd be more excited, except I've lost my voice with cold and flu.  So I can't make a lot of phone calls for a couple days.  I'm thinking there must be some cosmic reason for this delay.  God doesn't want me to call dropshippers yet, ha!

I've completed the initial catalog plan and the pricing comparison spreadsheet while I was waiting.  So the time was not wasted.  But I didn't get the domain name yet.  I'm still hoping to confirm the margins before I commit to the DN and hosting.  I expect some dropshippers will want to see the site, though.  I'm looking forward to building the site at this point.

I've also been making some progress with lining up the PayPal business standard account and the debit cards that should make ecommerce transactions possible for me.  My former spouse knee-capped my finances pretty thoroughly, so using credit is impossible.  I'm still dotting the i's and crossing t's for that whole circus.

I visited a couple karaoke forums.  Very interesting.  It gave me some more insight to WHO is typing in the keywords I've selected for my site.  And more background on the niche.  I need to spend some more time on forums.  It is productive research.

February has ended and my affiliate marketing sites performed pretty dismally.  Site #1, MafiaWars411.com, had 4654 visitors, 551 hops (11.8% CTR) and 2 conversions (.3%).  Site #2, ErrorFreeRegistry.com had 107 visitors, 20 hops (18.7% CTR) and 0 conversions.  Hosting, email autoresponder service, and AMA subscription cost me $68.31 for the month.  Sales totaled $49.84.  So I lost $18.47. 

You've got to love ebusiness.  A twenty dollar loss is pretty minimal.  I can't think of offline business that I could do with so little money invested.  Still, it is disappointing.  I'd hoped to be pulling in $50 per week on site #1 by now.  And if the conversions were 1%, I'd be darn close to that.  It's those lousy conversions that nix the deal for affiliate marketing.

Site #2 is still suffering from lack of effective marketing.  I did work on another spin for the site and I submitted an article to EzineArticles.  The 100 directory submission package was also completed this week.  I hope to finish the spin this coming week.  I haven't moved on the PPC campaign at all with site #2.  I really should give it a go, but it was so depressing last time! 

For the coming week, I hope to continue trying to connect all the financial supports for the ecommerce site.  And, assuming my voice comes back, I want to make phone calls to dropshippers.  If I can get one dropshipper on board, then I can begin building the site.  I'm hoping for more than one, though.

Most important thing: Getting healthy enough to function!

eCommerce: Niche Agony and Waiting

I'm still hovering over the e-commerce precipice.

I've picked a niche.  (There's some agony!  Talk about second guessing yourself.)  I've picked keywords.  I've made a list of the 150+ products I want to offer at my ecommerce site.  I've made the pricing comparison spreadsheet for the products.  I've received my trade name certificate from the state.  I've upgraded PayPal to business standard and ordered the debit card.  I've opened the business banking account at a local bank.  I've picked clever little domain names.

Alas, no business!

Why?  Well, I'm waiting on the annoying vendor's license from the powers that be, that's why!  And here I thought that would come in a flash because the state taxing authority loves to collect tax, right?  Wrong.  I also am still wavering over whether I should get an online fax service.  It's only $40 per year to get a toll free fax number and a small page allowance.  That's much cheaper than buying a machine and ink, and upgrading my digital phone line.  But I hate to waster $40 if I can get away with not having the fax period.

Hopefully my license will arrive very soon.  I'm ready to talk to dropshippers already.  Let's get this ball rolling, as they say.  I've been reading in the Niche Blueprint forum about talking to dropshippers, and I can see that it is not always an easy road.  I'm crossing my fingers for friendly dropshippers!

Besides the research into the e-commerce business, I've put a few hours  into my affiliate websites.  Site #1 (MafiaWars411.com) gets good traffic and I've even got PR1, now.  CTR is good, but there is no conversion happening.  I re-wrote an article at the site, added the FCC affiliate disclaimer to the footer, and applied to DMOZ.

Site #2 (ErrorFreeRegistry.com) is still doing a big nothing.  I added the affiliate disclaimer to this site as well.  I think I've chosen the wrong "money" pages to market - too much competition for those keywords.  I went into my AMA articles and diversified the links to get some SEO juice on the "error problem" type keyword pages.  Maybe that will help.  I also bought a 100 directory submission package from SubmitEdge.com.  I did that for site #1, and I believe I got some good links there (one PR5 even).  Traffic is pretty dismal.  I don't think my best pages have been indexed yet, because search volume is high and competition is LOW (one has only 9 exact match competitors) so I should have mucho traffic.  I'm getting nothing.

As I'm working on the ecommerce site, I'll be doing a lot of link building.  And while I'm out there, I hope to sprinkle links around for my affiliate sites, too.  I re-watched several videos in Niche Blueprint 2.0 this week.  I started lists of dofollow blogs and forums for my chosen ecommerce niche.  And I checked my top 7 competitors in my keywords to see what brands they offer and what kind of store platforms appeal to the niche customer. 

Here's hoping that my vendor's license comes soon!  Until it does, I'm just waiting.  This week: Work on pricing spreadsheet for (hopefully) products.   Continue to connect finances for site: PayPal, bank, and debit card.  Spend some time on the niche forums to learn more about problems I can solve.  I should do another spin for site #2, especially if the vendor's license doesn't come.  It will give me something awful to do while I wait.  Ha.

eCommerce? My Final Frontier

Just to recap:  I started trying to make money online in April of 2008.  So far I've tried mlm social marketing and affiliate marketing.  I've dumped money into Renegade Professional, Renegade Breakthrough Mentoring Program Home Study, Ultimate Crash Copywriting Course, Clickbank Code, Affiloblueprint, and Article Marketing Automation.  I've built three websites so I've bought domain names and hosting, too.  Too much money out and not enough in.  And I've worked my tail off.

Without much visible success despite following the instructions of several of these gurus to the letter.

I purchased NicheBlueprint 2.0 on January 17.  It is an online training course to teach me how to build an eCommerce website.  And I've taken about a month watching through the first 6 training modules and doing research into possible niches and possible keywords.

I've chosen a niche and narrowed keywords down to the vetted few.  I've researched my competitor's websites enough to discover the brand names they sell and I know the names of a few dropshippers distributing those brands.  I've applied for a trade name and vendor's license with my state.  I've upgraded my PayPal account to business standard so I can attach it to the site.

Last week I finished building my second affiliate site using the AffiloBlueprint course.  So this week should have been a major mover for the ecommerce business.  Yet I've been wavering.

I cannot tell a lie.  I'm just not feeling confident in the gurus.  Is this program any good?  Will it yield real results or just waste countless hours of my time?  And nothing paralyzes you like lack of confidence in the process someone is selling you.

It's not these specific gurus - they seem like decent fellows.  But don't the gurus always seem like decent fellows in the beginning?  Don't they all tell you that you can really do it?  That in just a few minutes (or weeks, or 30 days, or some ridiculous lie like that) you can have a six figure Internet income and quit that hated job? 

I'm guessing that rhetoric sells better than water in the desert.  Tell people what they want to hear and they will buy form you?  I HATE feeling like a mark.  My real question is this: If I invest another chunk of my life in yet another program, will I get any real results this time?  Have I grabbed on to another "bright shiney object" in a desperate attempt to redeem my life?

Because I'm getting tired of zero results.

Everyone I know thinks I'm crazy.  My friends and family want me to get some 14 hour a job (or two!) and put my daughter in daycare and get on with "real life."  After all, they say, why should I expect any better?  I'm a single mom.  That's what life is for a single mom.  This Internet business is just a pipe dream.  Too hard to crack.  If it was for real, everyone would be doing it.

Wow, it is hard to keep up enthusiasm for a new business endevour when you get feedback like that.  Maybe you've heard stuff like that from your family and friends, too.  Drop a comment on this post if you have endured that kind of "support!" 

I can see the impact of the negative vibes on my work.  I'm spending less hours on the computer.  I'm making excuses to quit early every night.  I'm watching a few hours of TV every week, when I used to work on the business all the time. 

I need a shot of adrenaline in the worst way!  You know, a syringe in the heart like in the movies.  I need to find a reason to believe this set of promises or else I can see that I'm going to fizzle out on this.  And I've got a lifelong habit of quitting on something right before the going got good.  I just don't want to swing the hammer again and hit nothing but air.  That's getting old.

Heck, I don't need six figures.  Although I wouldn't say no, ha ha.  I'd be happy to see just SOME results at this point.  I'm still in the game, but tired of being on the (money) losing team.

This past week I received the trade name certificate from the state.  That means that I can open a business checking account at the bank this week.  I still need a vendor's license before I contact the dropshippers, so I'm going to continue researching product I want to offer in my store.  And I think it would be good to begin product pricing research, even if I can't tell for certain which products I can ship.  I can at least make up the spreedsheet and practice.

This week I also hope to watch module 7.  And if I've got time, I want to review pieces of module 6 about marketing the site.  There was a lot to learn there and I'm in need of a second looksie. 

Pray for me.  I'm praying for all of you, my fellow Internet hopefuls!