For the owner of any online store, mastering marketing is a crucial success factor. Effective marketing ensures a steady flow of new customers, creates a competitive advantage, and is indispensable in building your team. This guide covers the five main marketing channels, their application, and key tips for maximizing profits and minimizing costs.
Five main channels of email marketing
There are five main channels for promoting your products:
- Search engines
- Social networks
- Display ads
- Affiliate programs
Let’s take a look at how to effectively use each of these channels in your email marketing strategy.
Search engine marketing (SEM)
Search engine marketing covers both organic and paid traffic from search engines like Google. Both approaches are vital.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
To get to the first page of Google organically, you need to implement search engine optimization practices on your website. This includes:
- Identify keywords that your target audience uses to search for your products.
- Matching the search intent.
- Building backlinks (links from other websites to your website).
- And much more
These steps will be discussed in detail in the Tips section. For a deeper understanding, check out our comprehensive guide to technical SEO for e-commerce
Paid search ads
Pay to appear at the top of Google search results. This is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, a valuable addition to SEO. PPC ads provide a quick (though potentially expensive) way to reach your target audience. PPC and SEO work best in tandem.
You’ve probably seen these “Sponsored” ads.
You can run Google Ads by creating an account, selecting a landing page, creating compelling ad copy (titles and descriptions), and choosing keywords. However, effective implementation requires time and investment. To get started, check out our guide to Google Ads basics.
2. Marketing in social networks
Social media platforms are essential for marketing your online store.
Organic marketing in social media
Growing an organic audience on social media is a cost-effective way to introduce your brand and products. However, it requires a lot of effort, especially on multiple channels. To determine which channels to prioritize, consider using SparkToro.
Paid advertising in social networks
PPC ads on social media can bring immediate sales, but at a price. Optimizing sales while minimizing advertising costs requires training. Retargeting customers who abandoned their shopping carts is a highly effective social media advertising strategy.
3. Electronic marketing
Email newsletters are often a source of high-converting traffic for online retailers. A well-maintained email list consists of people who know your brand and have a genuine interest in it. However, you need traffic to build an email database, so this source is not a standalone marketing channel.
Methods for growing your email database include:
- Email subscription forms on your website offering discounts or valuable information.
- Collecting customer email addresses during purchases (with their permission).
- Conducting product giveaways.
Once you have an email database, you can send product updates, blog content, sale announcements, and more.
Maintain engagement by deleting inactive subscribers every three to six months and avoiding excessive email frequency. Your email database is a valuable asset, so take care of it.
4. Display ads
Ad retargeting is effective because it provides multiple touchpoints at a relatively lower cost than traditional PPC ads.
Retargeting ads can be shown only to those who have visited your website and allowed cookies, or to those on your email list. You can also use general display ads to build brand and product awareness, drive traffic to your site, and then use retargeting ads to target visitors who didn’t make a purchase.
5. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a method of marketing that involves someone promoting your product or service and receiving a commission for each sale that occurs.
7 best tips for marketing your online store
Now that you understand where to promote your products, here are tips for maximizing sales and minimizing marketing costs:
- Don’t compete solely on price.
- Don’t offer big discounts.
- Start with keyword research.
- Optimize your website for search and conversions.
- Start a blog.
- Create video content.
- Create standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Conclusion.
Mastering email marketing is a surefire way to increase revenue from your online store. The learning process is ongoing, so take it one step at a time. Eventually, consider hiring a specialist or marketing team to help with these tasks, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business. A basic understanding of these tasks will help you make informed hiring decisions. And we’ll be happy to help you find the right specialists to take care of your product or service advertising. Contact us in a way that is convenient for you, send us a message via Telegram or call +888 888 888 8888.