D's Online Store

Most e-commerce businesses die in six months and not because people are lazy. It's because they follow broken advice One of my students once d I've seen it hundreds of times. My name is Steve Chu I've run a seven figure e-commerce store for 18 years I've taught over six thousand students and I host one of the top e-commerce conferences in the country called the Seller S Those business models are built on borrowed time They might work for a couple months Maybe even a year or more, but they won't last and I know they waste time chasing trends that were dead two years ago Now back in the day drop-s You don't start by scrolling through trending products on tiktok or copying what's already on Amazon You start with a problem yours or someone else's We started selling handkerc There are tools to help Jungle Scout shows what selling on Amazon Ahrefs reveals what people search for on Google but can't find Terapeak gives insight into what's moving on eBay and shop hunter shows you how much any Shopify store is making Do not chase what's hot find what's missing and make it better Now once you've narrowed down a short list of product ideas the next step is figuring out how to actually make them Now I personally source from over 20 factories all over the world and attend the Canton fair in C There's Alibaba T You just search for your product filter by region Compare minim It's a hundred percent free and I guarantee you'll learn a lot All right, so you got your product idea. You found a supplier. You're fired up and ready to hit the order button Stop right there Don't order 1000 units just yet because the last thing you want is a garage full of products that nobody wants I once knew a guy who ordered 1,000 fidget spinners because they were trending they arrived late the quality sucked And now they're collecting dust in his garage Before you invest thousands of dollars inventory you need to validate your idea So start simple order a small batch of samples just enough to test the man And then try to sell them on eBay Etsy or Facebook marketplace You can also tap into Facebook or discord groups in your niche and that's exactly how we validated our wedding handkerchiefs in the beginning I posted in bridal groups asking Hey, anyone know where I can find a hanky with initials on it and then a week later I followed up with hey, I finally found a supplier, but I had to buy a bunch if anyone wants one of my extras Let me know that one post led to our first sales and even better Feedback people told us what they 99 I turned to my wife and I said someone just bought a handkerchief online And we chuckled for 10 minutes straight That's the real goal of validation not to get rich, but to learn what works before you go all in Now if you're still unsure you can use tools You've proven your product works Now it's time to get real customers and real moment Your listing has to sell the product before anyone even clicks Write a title that grabs attention Use bullet points that clearly highlight the benefits and include keywords that help you show up in search and your photos They need to look clean professional and make the product feel irresistible once your listing is live Turn on Amazon PPC ads this put your product right at the top of the search results Even if nobody knows who you are yet and with just a small ad budget You can start getting sales and build moment They want reassurance They want to know that other people have bought your product loved it and had a great experience That's why social proof is an optional. It's required. You must show real reviews share customer photos and testimonials Offer a clear return policy and answer the questions. They're already they feel confident That's when they click add to cart, but here's where most people blow it They launch their site list their product dial on the branding and then immediately ask how do I get traffic? But that's actually the wrong question because traffic doesn't matter if you can't convert it Here's the truth only about 2% of the people who land on your site will actually buy That means 98% of your hardened visitors leave without purchasing a this is for people who join your list, but haven't bought yet They're interested but not convinced and this sequence is where you share your story Explain what makes your product different and then build trust so that when they'ready to buy they buy from you Third is the post-purchase flow and remember the sale isn'the finish line It's actually the start of the relationship I once wrote a handwritten note for a bride who rush ordered 10 handkerchiefs She replied with a photo and said this made me cry as much as the actual wedding That is how you create a repeat customer So follow up say thank you let them know their orders on the way and then recommend something else that they might love That's how you turn first-time buyers into repeat customers and finally there's the wind back flow If a customer hasn't purchased in a while reach out check in send a limited time offer Remind them why they loved your brand in the first place Many of these lost customers just need a nudge to come back and together all these flows chip away at the 98% of traffic That would have otherwise left they fully automated and they keep your business converting even while you sleep Now none of this works of course unless people actually join your list So give them a reason offer 10% off free shipping a helpful guide Whatever fits your brand just make sure it'something they care about I Personally use claveo for email marketing and post script for SMS, but the tool doesn't matter nearly as much as having these systems in place email alone accounts for about 30% of my revenue And that is how powerful it is when done correctly And once your store is live and your back end is built to convert This is where things get exciting because now it's time to drive traffic and for that I use a two-prong strategy content for long-term organic growth and paid ads for fast short-term sales Let'start with content Right now the most powerful way to get your product in front of people for free is short form video I'm talking tiktoks instagram reels and youtube shorts These platforms are built for discovery and they're still giving small creators massive reach and the best part is that you don't need fancy equipment You don't even need to be on camera, but what you do need is clarity Show the product solve a problem and tell a story Here's what most people miss short form video isn't just for social media anymore platforms Let's talk about written content next Yes, blogging still works, but the game has changed You're no longer writing to rank on google You're writing to be picked up by tools They're already ready to buy because they're actively searc Most people are nervous about spending money on ads, but here's the mindset s Why is that? Because your email and sms flows are already working be You just need to win on day 30 and that's how real e-commerce brands scale And that brings us to the final step Focusing on your best customers These are the people who buy more often spend more per order and tell their friends Now i'm in the wedding industry. It's only about 12 of our customers ever come back But here's what most people miss That small group they drive over 36 of our total revenue And why is that because they're not just one-time buyers. They're wedding planners event coordinators and bulk buyers They order regularly purchase in vol She's a planner who's ordered from us 252 times She even sends us photos from events that she decorates and that kind of relationship does not happen on amazon And that's why we treat our repeat customers They bring others with them So bottom line I started all t If I can turn that into a seven figure business, you can do t