Happy July…smile.

Last month I started talking about my Author Store.  I finally have it up and running.  That’s the good news. Now for the bad or not as good as I would like it news.  No sales, yet.  However, there’s been plenty of traffic. Last month the store had almost one thousand visitors.  YEAH!  But no sales so far.

I have to admit I thought this would be easy, especially because I come from a retail background.  What I forgot is this is a new venture and most new ventures need time to garner momentum.

So what’s my plan?  Post about the store on social media.  Run Facebook ads and possibly reach out to some bloggers and do giveaways.  

I’m also working on a marketing campaign for the boxes.  The Facebook ads are great and so are the blog posts and mentions, but it’s that in your face mentality that will hopefully generate sales.

Here’s a little info on my Author Store.  I’m using Shopify.  I already have a store on Shopify and feel comfortable with them.  They have amazing customer service.  

Before I switched to Shopify, I designed my own site in Adobe Muse.  I liked it, but when I decided to offer signed print books as well as set up a store, I knew I had to switch to a shopping cart system.  I could have gotten Shopify Lite, which would allow me to add a  cart to my existing site for only $9.99 per month.  It was too complicated to attach my old site to this vehicle.  Instead, I opted for the basic Shopify plan which gave me more options. 

Switching to Shopify gave me access to some really amazing templates and things I wasn’t able to do with Adobe Muse.  One of the cool things about using one of their FREE templates, is you can adjust it for your needs.  I did some minor tweaking to a free template and was very surprised when Shopify complimented me.   

Another added perk to using Shopify, is the KIT VA Bot.  This is one of my favorite tools.  Kit sends me data based on internet activity and how it might relate to the products in my store. As well as marketing suggestions.  I’ve tried Kit on Facebook Ads, but they weren’t as targeted as I’d hope.  However, Kit is good for social media posts. Shopify also offers pretty good analytics.  They may not be as detailed  as Google, but they’re pretty good.  There are other website hosts you can use, but Shopify happens to be my favorite. 

So what’s in my store?  I have curated a small selection of items to start: A mug, book plates and subscription boxes. In the next few months, if not sooner, I’ll be adding exclusive print books.  I don’t want to overload my readers with a lot of choices in the beginning.  I want to keep things fresh, which may mean rotating the inventory.  

In the beginning, there will be a lot of trial and error and much needed feedback as to what to offer.  But I believe my Author Store will become a valuable and profitable asset for me.

If you’d like to see my store, stop by www.readtracyreed.com.  

Have an amazing month.