Tuesday 8:41am. As I sip my second coffee of the morning, I quickly check the analytics of my client’s e- commerce website. My eyes glance to the left of the screen where a bold yellow “1” displays in the “SOLD ITEMS” section. I can’t believe it, my eyes are drawn back again as I consider it, not quite believing until I put down my coffee and click on the notification.
It’s a sale. I let a smile cross my face. The customer has spent more than 200 euros on designer clothing, the clothing our client sells via his dropshipping website. We set up the shop from the get-go; creating the corporate branding, personality of the brand, plus the design and programming of the web shop. Since the AdWord campaign only went live a couple of weeks ago, a sale is incredibly positive. Dropshipping is a complicated process because you are bidding against the same products offered by competitors. You do not have the control of the products – how they look, the photography to use on your own website, the shipping process… but it is a long-term game and the results can be fantastic. Patience is key.
Leaving my coffee to go cold, I carefully scroll through the analytics. By methodically adding a series of codes when the Pay Per Click campaigns were set up, we can monitor exactly where the sale originated from and that means we can map the successes of every aspect of a campaign. The good news, this sale was the result of our Google Search campaign; the customer has searched for branded clothing online, seen our client’s advert, clicked and then progressed to buying a number of different products.
9:02am. As the rest of the Redline team spill into the office and start their own morning routine, I continue to pour through the analytics. We have an AdWords campaign running, positioning our client’s products against some realistic competitors, so we’re constantly working to improve the adverts that we are running in terms of keywords and products we are pitching. It is working well, traffic is high and the views of the website are up month by month.
9:31am. The client calls, as we talk about the results, I reiterate that it is important to bear in mind that drop- shipping is a complicated game. Set up costs are typically high and it’s essential to implement a marketing campaign so that the products “get out there” on the web. It is VITAL that an investment is made in marketing a web shop, if nobody knows it is there, no one will be able to find it.
9:50am. As my colleague brings me a hot cup of tea, my client concurs that we continue with the AdWord budget and goes with our recommendation of running advertising on Instagram, where we can show off some of the bestselling products; the handbags, the shoes. Coupled with our aggressive social media posts, this is starting to build a healthy following and the brand is gaining visibility.
10:00am. Time for a meeting with my colleague to devise the Instagram advertising strategy. Back to work.
