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How I sold $500k+ of 1 generic AliExpress product in the last 5 months (technically 4). I started ecom in February
Covering all the problems I ran into, how I solved them, and my advice to others.
30%ish margin all said and done, only 1 product, Facebook ads cold traffic only
Covering all the problems I ran into, how I solved them, and my advice to others.
30%ish margin all said and done, only 1 product, Facebook ads cold traffic only
First and foremost you need to find a proven product.
The biggest mistake I see new people make time & time again in ecom is looking for a ‘gap in the market’ product which isn’t being sold yet.
Don't do this unless you have good experience already in ecom.
The biggest mistake I see new people make time & time again in ecom is looking for a ‘gap in the market’ product which isn’t being sold yet.
Don't do this unless you have good experience already in ecom.
For my biz model, I needed a product that:
- solves a problem
- I can markup 3-4x
- is lightweight for cheap shipping
- is already selling well
I found my product on the IG/FB feed being sold by someone else.
I find this the best way, but I also use spy tools such as adspy
- solves a problem
- I can markup 3-4x
- is lightweight for cheap shipping
- is already selling well
I found my product on the IG/FB feed being sold by someone else.
I find this the best way, but I also use spy tools such as adspy
I use an agent in China to fulfill the goods, who has roughly 1-2 week shipping. (we make this clear to all customers who purchase)
After finding my product, I came up with:
- brand name
- logo
- product copy
- script for ads
- video content
After finding my product, I came up with:
- brand name
- logo
- product copy
- script for ads
- video content
I create a basic Shopify store around this one product. Just a homepage, product page, and the legal pages. Took about 36 hours from finding the product to finishing the store.
Once the site is complete time to make a creative or two.
Once the site is complete time to make a creative or two.
I used LumaFusion (iPhone app) and stock content from other ads, aliexpress listing & YT content to come up with 2 slightly different but basic viral style videos in a few hours.
(Since then I have hired someone for creatives, more on that later)
(Since then I have hired someone for creatives, more on that later)
Next up is running traffic to the site, I purely use Facebook ads for cold traffic.
This is down to the fact it has become very easy to use, has a very large reach, and I feel that Facebook is probably the best medium for impulse buyers.
This is down to the fact it has become very easy to use, has a very large reach, and I feel that Facebook is probably the best medium for impulse buyers.
Not going to go into Facebook ad strategy too much in this thread but I started scaling the winning creative out of the 2 fairly fast.
Fast forward April 15th I woke up to the first $10k revenue day. Mind blown.
It was also the day that shit started hitting the fan.
Fast forward April 15th I woke up to the first $10k revenue day. Mind blown.
It was also the day that shit started hitting the fan.
PayPal froze my account pending reviews
Amex called me up to verify my biz details
Revolut BANNED me (3 year premium user, banned without reason, no contact, fuck you @revolut)
HSBC froze my business bank account temporarily due to suspicious activity.
All within 2 days
Amex called me up to verify my biz details
Revolut BANNED me (3 year premium user, banned without reason, no contact, fuck you @revolut)
HSBC froze my business bank account temporarily due to suspicious activity.
All within 2 days
Simultaneously the best and most stressful day of my life. I learned once you start hitting modest revenue numbers everybody wants to know what’s going on.
Prior to this Facebook had disabled my ad manager, and also froze my personal account pending a government ID check.
Prior to this Facebook had disabled my ad manager, and also froze my personal account pending a government ID check.
Needless to say, I dealt with all those problems that arose and continued on doing big days the rest of April.
In the start of May, we ran into some serious problems.
My feedback score on Facebook had been cruising along for weeks around 3.0 (not bad for shipping from China).
In the start of May, we ran into some serious problems.
My feedback score on Facebook had been cruising along for weeks around 3.0 (not bad for shipping from China).
One day it just tanked to 0.9 out of nowhere. Page disabled from running ads. Fuck.
I considered setting up a new FB page for it, separate Biz manager, new domain etc, but never went through with it.
Perhaps we scaled too fast and something wasn't right somewhere, who knows.
I considered setting up a new FB page for it, separate Biz manager, new domain etc, but never went through with it.
Perhaps we scaled too fast and something wasn't right somewhere, who knows.
We didn't seem to have unhappy customers.
There was an appeal button so I clicked it.
A week later & they restored the ability to run ads, but with a penalty. I tried a few times, results were not good. Little did I know it would be under penalty for 8 weeks..
There was an appeal button so I clicked it.
A week later & they restored the ability to run ads, but with a penalty. I tried a few times, results were not good. Little did I know it would be under penalty for 8 weeks..
I didn’t run ads for the most of May, or at all in June due to the penalty. We had very small sales coming in from email flows and organic traffic.
During this time I improved the email flows, hired customer support, custom packaging and set up a couple of new shops
During this time I improved the email flows, hired customer support, custom packaging and set up a couple of new shops
After 8 weeks (!!) in early July, Facebook had 'gathered enough info' and I had a positive feedback score again (2.9). I could run ads again.
However, I had just had a big reality check the last 8 weeks and wanted to make sure we had the best setup possible.
However, I had just had a big reality check the last 8 weeks and wanted to make sure we had the best setup possible.
I think it was @tahmmygiovanni who said about learning to cruise at 10,000 feet.
When I read that tweet I knew it was a sign that I needed to learn how to keep things running smoothly instead of just scaling hard and dirty.
When I read that tweet I knew it was a sign that I needed to learn how to keep things running smoothly instead of just scaling hard and dirty.
For me the main things to keep things running smoothly are:
- Solid backend
- Friendly customer service
- Great product quality
- Realistic customer expectations
- Staying on top of Facebook ads performance
- Solid backend
- Friendly customer service
- Great product quality
- Realistic customer expectations
- Staying on top of Facebook ads performance
You also need to refresh creatives once they start tiring.
By far one of the best decisions I made is to utilize @StackingEUR.
As soon as I saw the quality of work from this guy, felt his energy, and found out that he is only 17 (16 when I hired him), I had to have him onboard
By far one of the best decisions I made is to utilize @StackingEUR.
As soon as I saw the quality of work from this guy, felt his energy, and found out that he is only 17 (16 when I hired him), I had to have him onboard
Rens makes fresh creatives for me weekly, and I get to test out new ads constantly. I’m excited to see where this guy can go, truly.
I let the results dip slowly for the original creative without doing anything about it for a long time.
I let the results dip slowly for the original creative without doing anything about it for a long time.
It was actually one of @SCHM7DT emails, that mentioned refreshing and testing lots of creatives to keep results up which got me itching to get new videos for testing.
Ran into lots of issues but nothing that I couldn't handle once it occurred.
Ran into lots of issues but nothing that I couldn't handle once it occurred.
Long term plan is to create longer-term, multi-product, unique brands with a potential exit, but for now these stores generate great cash and teaching me valuable ecom & system skills.
Thanks for reading this far if you did. Please ask if you have any questions
Thanks for reading this far if you did. Please ask if you have any questions
