Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!! Facebook pages before site launch?

497 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by EnMartian, Jul 29, 2010

Shany

Discussion Starter · Jul 1, 2010

So I started my online store last week on Facebook and been struggling with it. Basically I need some customers to be able to start so I created this event: Simply T Events | Facebook

Is it really a right thing to have customers first before you even officially open the store or am I doing it all wrong? I'm just afraid if I print the shirts and cannot find any customers... Please also take a look at my page here and let me know what you think: Simply T | Facebook

Thank you very much.

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kimura-mma

· #2 · Jul 1, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

So do you actually have an online store or just a facebook page? Not sure what others experiences are, but facebook really isn't a place people go to buy product. It's a nice way to market and communicate with your audience, but to expect sales from it is a bit ambitious.

If I am understanding correctly, you have not printed your shirts yet? Are you requiring pre-orders? Or are you just trying to get people to be fans of your page? Don't assume that just because people become fans that they will definitely place an order. So try to get them to pre-pay. But if you do that, make sure you don't let too much time pass before you produce and ship their order.

How are you getting the shirts printed? Screen print, DTG or heat transfer?

If you are concerned about the risks of building inventory, try looking into a print on demand fulmillment service like CafePress, Zazzle, etc.

Hope this helps and good luck!

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Shany

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 1, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

kimura-mma said:
So do you actually have an online store or just a facebook page? Not sure what others experiences are, but facebook really isn't a place people go to buy product. It's a nice way to market and communicate with your audience, but to expect sales from it is a bit ambitious.

If I am understanding correctly, you have not printed your shirts yet? Are you requiring pre-orders? Or are you just trying to get people to be fans of your page? Don't assume that just because people become fans that they will definitely place an order. So try to get them to pre-pay. But if you do that, make sure you don't let too much time pass before you produce and ship their order.

How are you getting the shirts printed? Screen print, DTG or heat transfer?

If you are concerned about the risks of building inventory, try looking into a print on demand fulmillment service like CafePress, Zazzle, etc.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Yes I do have an online store here Hanh1010 - RedBubble

But the cost is too much so I'm trying to print it myself. I have a friend who does printing and we're signing a contract for mass printing. The reason why I created that page is to spread my marketing messages to as many people as I can.

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TeesForChange

· #4 · Jul 1, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

I think it's a great idea to start gathering followers and customers before you open an online store. That way, when your store is ready you can contact them and let them know. And since they're interested in you before they even see your store, then hopefully they'll be ready to buy once your store launches.

Good luck! Would love to see your website once it's live.

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Shany

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 1, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

TeesForChange said:
I think it's a great idea to start gathering followers and customers before you open an online store. That way, when your store is ready you can contact them and let them know. And since they're interested in you before they even see your store, then hopefully they'll be ready to buy once your store launches.

Good luck! Would love to see your website once it's live.

Thank you. But one thing that worries me is people wouldn't be interested in a store that they can't buy anything from yet... How am I supposed to spread the message around, inviting people in?

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airborn

· #6 · Jul 1, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

If you want to open up a store on facebook that you dont have to pay for ecwid would be a good solution. They have stores that now interface with fan pages or a profile page.

Their payment system is paypal

here is their website - Customer’s Front-End | Ecwid: E-Commerce Widgets

I will be using the same system on mine when i am a bit more organised, but have it up on a demo website right now if you want to see what it looks like front end.

Airborn Inc. Clothing

Hope that helps, its cost effective and a decent solution i think.

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24PRINTS

· #7 · Jul 2, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

Bigcartel.com is one of the best online shopping carts for clothing company's and bands. check it out!

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ktbbrand

· #8 · Jul 29, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

Shany said:
Thank you. But one thing that worries me is people wouldn't be interested in a store that they can't buy anything from yet... How am I supposed to spread the message around, inviting people in?

Keep inviting people and make your site into a teaser. Have a text or an image saying "coming soon" and tease the sh*t out of them. You know how movie previews like inception just draws you in without them saying a word. It's like that. I think this method is called buzz marketing or something but it does work.

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EnMartian

· #9 · Jul 29, 2010

Re: Am I doing it right...? I NEED HELP!!!

You've made a good start, but there are a few more things I would do.

First, reach out to people. Right now all your messages are sell, sell, sell. People who get sold to all the time start to ignore the message. Put some information in about how you create your designs, ask what designs people would like to see, talk about the types of t-shirts you offer, etc. Give people a reason to identify with your company.

Second, post more often. You don't have to post every hour of the day, but try to say a couple of things each day. People tend to remember the companies and people who pop up most often on their feeds. If you only show up occasionally, you might get lost in the clutter.

It is certainly all right to tease new products and try to get pre-orders, but to do that you have to build a buzz. In order to generate buzz you have to give your fans something about which to buzz. Simply saying you're having a sale may not be enough.

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