My fiancé Ben Mack and I wanted to share what we do online with my 15-year-old cousin Kyle.

What we came up with is a simple board game we call eStoreOpoly. This game is so easy, we’ve been told a 6-year-old enjoyed it!

Discover how fun learning the essentials of eCommerce really is. Don’t let the simplicity fool you… this game is crammed with exactly what you need to know to open your first online store, or get better conversion with an existing store.

This is Ben and I playing eStoreOpoly with a Stomper Local Meetup Group. Listen as we explain how this game supports my work as a distance learning teacher.

Please post any questions you have here as a comment. I’m really excited about the launch!

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We all make mistakes. Whether it’s because we’re beginners who don’t know any better or we’re experienced storeowners having a “dumb moment” – it happens to everyone.

Of course you always learn from your mistakes but isn’t it so much better to learn from others so you don’t have to suffer the stress and/or profit loss to gain the knowledge? Absolutely. So here are my big eCommerce mistakes – we’ll start simple and go from there.

Some of these really are like duh… if you’ve made any of the same you can laugh along with me if you haven’t you can go right ahead and laugh at me while making a mental note not to do it yourself.

Whoops #1

The first order I ever received was paid through PayPal. It was simple; I got the order notification followed almost immediately by the PayPal payment receipt. It was awesome; I was on top of the world! Previous to store ownership I had sold on eBay and everyone paid me through PayPal, it worked the same way.

The second order was paid via credit card and so was authorized for the order amount… but not automatically charged. Since I had never had a merchant account or payment gateway and in all my store building excitement I set them up but didn’t bother to learn anything about them, I didn’t realize I had to charge the card myself.

I lost $200 on that sale and only realized it when I went to look in the backend to figure out how to do a refund.  I noticed it hadn’t been charged and the authorization had run out two days before.

Lesson learned, be sure you know how your gateway works or you may not be charging for your products.

Whoops #2

About eight months into the life of A2 Armory I got an email from one of my vendors about a new Braveheart Replica Sword they just started carrying. The price was low and the sword was hot! I immediately added it to the store, created an eye-catching ad for the home page, sent out a newsletter, and put a banner ad on a bunch of ezine type sites (they were still worth something then) – all without considering how many other stores were doing the same thing or the stock my vendor had.

I was able to fill two orders, the rest turned into irate customers who didn’t want to wait six weeks for the next shipment. Not fun.

Lesson learned, always check stock before running a big promotion.

Whoops #3

Finding a new vendor is exciting… all the new products and sales possibilities always put a smile on my face. But I don’t let myself get caught up and forget to make sure I know the vendor’s policies.

I once found a vendor with an awesome line of daggers and swords. I read all their sales literature and it seemed straightforward and acceptable. I added a bunch of their products to my site and since it was well-established orders for the new products started coming in right away. So far the new product line was performing exactly as planned.

I placed the first few orders and received an email from the vendor saying, “None of the orders placed meet the minimum order requirement for drop shipping and so would all be cancelled.”

Wait, what?

So I get on the phone, fighting to keep my cool, to find out what is going on. Apparently the sales literature was incorrect and the drop ship minimum is $100. Each of the items I’d added cost me less than $40 – I couldn’t sell their products unless I packaged them together. All the yelling was for naught, they wouldn’t budge. So I ended up cancelling the orders and dealing with disappointed customers.

Lesson learned, don’t assume anything about your vendor or their policies. Double check everything – at worst you spend a little extra time on the phone, at best you save yourself hassle and upset customers.

Whoops #4

A customer calls wondering what the charge from A2 Armory is on their credit card. I tell them who we are and what we sell and the customer says okay, he doesn’t remember ordering anything but he would sort it out. I say to please let me know if he has any more questions or needs more info about the order.

A few days later I receive a chargeback in the mail describing the order as fraudulent. I have no record of my phone call to send to the credit card company and the package has already shipped. The best I can do is refute the chargeback with my AVS information and the shipment tracking number, usually not enough for this type of chargeback.

I call the customer and get no response, same when I email. I ask that he please either refuse delivery or send the package back so I at least get the product back. I follow up my original chargeback case with a letter explaining that the product had already shipped and the customer was not responding to my emails for it to be returned, hoping they would see that something was amiss. No good, judgment in his favor and I never heard from him again.

Lesson learned, handle all customer issues yourself. Don’t rely on your customer to fix it, do the right thing, or even understand what’s going on. Once you relinquish control it’s hard to get it back again.

Whoops #5

There are problem customers who argue about restocking fees and return shipping then there are problem customers who threaten and/or waste huge amounts of your time.

I once had a customer who I’ll call Logan who fit into the second group. His first order from me was for a full armor breastplate and spaulders. He wrote me an email to tell me how excited he was to be getting his first real piece of armor and how he couldn’t wait to wear it, etc. It was nice – I like getting customer feedback.

After he received it I got another email. This one extremely hostile in tone saying the armor had cut him and was unsafe and if I didn’t take it back for a full refund I was going to be hearing from his lawyer. Whoa. I wrote back asking how he had put it on. After all the armor wasn’t sharp and if it was worn over something (as it is supposed to be) it would be very hard to cut yourself with. The response was more threats so I refunded him and paid for the armor to be returned.

A month later I got another order from Logan. It was for a sword and it was followed by an email asking if the blade was sharpened. I responded saying, “No, the blade is not sharpened but could still be considered sharp. Was he sure he wanted it.” The answer was yes, he was thrilled about the sword, he went on to say how beautiful it was and he was going to use it for display. Okay… I sent it.

Another nasty email asking if I knew what the word sharp meant. Once again my product was too dangerous and if I didn’t pay for it to be returned I was going to be in big trouble. I sent a semi-terse email back suggesting that Logan was handling the sword incorrectly and I would pay for the return again but he was no longer allowed to order from A2 Armory.

The next month Logan ordered again. This time he didn’t even get the chance to send an email about how excited he was. I cancelled his order immediately. He still tries to place orders from time to time but they are never filled.

Lesson learned, don’t deal with these problem customers – cut them off at the knees, they will only waste your time and money.

Whoops #6

A couple months after the Armory started to produce a steady income I decided to open a second store. I brainstormed, did a bunch of keyword research, and found a few drop shippers. I ultimately decided to open a store selling a line of dishware. I was meticulous about all the demand research I did and went in full force to build the store.

I had gotten everything in place – all my products, the site design, the merchant account, etc and it was ready to go. I started promoting it through paid ads and went to work getting it to rank in the natural search listings. In total I spent about two months dedicated to this store… all without looking closely enough at the supply side of the equation.

That was a major mistake. Ranking for every term related to my product line and bidding on the top spot in all the paid listings was my drop shipper. Their retail prices were too low for me to compete with, in some cases even lower than I could buy the items for.

They were unsympathetic when I called about it, saying their prices would not change. It was suggested that I concentrate on other ways of marketing like mail order or print ads and not try to compete with them. Yeah, okay, that’s ridiculous and I just wasted two months of work for absolutely nothing.

Lesson learned, do not neglect to research supply. Demand can be huge but if you can’t compete with other suppliers it won’t do you any good.

Learn from my mistakes, these are all big time and money wasters that will frustrate you and impede your forward progress.

Related posts:

1. The Customer is NOT Always Right
2. eCommerce Drop Shipping

#1 problem is figuring out traffic in some way, shape, or form.

What if there was a simple solution that was based on what Google has done to change the way they provide search results?

There is.
https://immortal.infusionsoft.com/go/tmv/eStoreOp

I’ve been beta-testing this new software for article submission for the past two weeks. Two weeks of results is too small of a time to measure with confidence. My initial results are fantastic!

What I have seen is new traffic and more sales. Yesterday my tapestry store took in my first $1k+ order since Christmas.

This is anecdotal data. Bigger amounts of time will be required for me to make the formal case-study that I’m likely to start presenting at Live Seminars.

Let’s talk about traffic to Your Store…

Here’s what I know to be real. I started using Ross Goldberg’s new software two weeks ago and I’m getting more traffic and seeing more sales. Will this sustain? I sure hope so!

In less than 2-weeks I’ve already made dozens of times what Ross is asking for this software… $37.

You have to try this to believe it.

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, but this one is 100% true to my tests so far.

See what I’m doing by watching this video:

https://immortal.infusionsoft.com/go/tmv/eStoreOp

Thanks,

Audrey

P.S. This video is shorter than most of the ones you’ve seen before => https://immortal.infusionsoft.com/go/tmv/eStoreOp

Related posts:

1. Where I go for SEO I Trust

Jaunary 31, 2010 I’m launching my first home-study-course… It’s a 12 week eCommerce Incubator designed to get your store up and profitable in 3 months. The image attached shows a game Ben and I are just now finishing creating that will accompany this launch…

Can you help us with a favor?

PLEASE TAKE A COUPLE MINUTES to really help Ben and I out! Your testimonials are what allow us to tell others that I provide valuable teaching.

To thank you for your testimonials, I’ll be choosing a random winner to receive a free replica flintlock pistol. This is one of the pistols I sell at A2 Armory, one of my eCommerce stores.

The winning comment number will be announced this Friday – January 22nd – at Midnight EST here on the blog.

THANK YOU for your testimonials!

3 kinds of testimonials, please pick whichever one resonates with you

1) Specific increase testimonial
“Audrey’s eCommerce Incubator increased my business from ___ to ____ …
This could be dollar amounts, traffic or any specific measurable result you can help us brag with

2) General recommendation testimonial
“I recommend Audrey Kerwood because…

3) Transformative testimonial
“Audrey’s teaching taught me to see X when I was seeing Y… and this helped me to ____
This is usually how I got somebody unstuck or really turned on their profits

Write from the heart… don’t worry about editing or anything. We’re grateful for your willingness to support us in public through your testimonial!

To your continued success,
Audrey

Related posts:

1. Where I go for SEO I Trust

The tough part is that when the holidays are over all too often the sales and profits plummet. Not a good way to start off the new year. But there’s not much you can do, right? I mean people were buying for Christmas, they’re not in the same buying mode now so it makes sense that sales would drop off… doesn’t it?

It doesn’t have to my friends. People have gotten cash for Christmas, they’re also gotten things they didn’t necessarily want and didn’t get things they did want. And, they ARE still in buying mode – only now it’s for themselves.

So how can you capitalize on the after holiday buying season? You can run after holiday sales and promotions.

Get on the phone with your vendors and find out what they have overstock on, then work out a deal to get you better pricing, and promote the crap out of that product. I’m running a “Get What You Really Wanted For Christmas” Sale in the Armory. As of this writing it is 4 days after Christmas… my sales have not dropped. And I don’t expect them to in any sudden fashion. They will eventually return to normal monthly levels, but not until around the middle of February and the decline will be a slow one instead of the typical drop off the cliff many eCommerce store owners experience.

So use your vendors, they will appreciate the continuing sales. Use your list, make them feel special and get them thinking that they most certainly do deserve to treat themselves. Use your store and your blog to get new customers buying with your super after Christmas discounts.

These tactics work and make the after holiday blow much much softer. If done right you won’t even feel it.

Related posts:

1. Take Advantage of Holidays

I’ve been following their stuff for a long time myself – even before I started working with them as StomperNet Faculty – and have always gotten great results from their recommendations. They both personally helped me with SEO on two of my eCommerce stores: http://www.a2armory.com and http://www.european-wall-tapestries.com.

Problem is, they have both been “underground” for a couple years so neither of them was making their newest stuff public.

Until now.

About a month ago they finally joined forces and are about to give away some of their newest research and teaching. Here’s a link to an intro video that will tell you what’s coming next.

http://www.seobraintrust.com

And be sure to opt-in so you get the videos just as soon as they go live.

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Please mark your calendars for
SUNDAY EVENING TELESEMINAR
9pm Eastern / 6pm Pacific FREE

Click => How to Think Like an eCommerce Marketer <= Hear Audrey sing.

Remember when Dr. Pepper TV commercials starred Dr. Pepper Models singing and dancing about what it feels like to “be a Pepper.”

Well, being my own boss makes ME feel all peppery…

I think like a marketer and I’m proud.
I used to feel alone in a crowd.
Now if you look around these days…

There seems to be an “I’m a marketer” craze!

Oh… I’m a marketer, He’s a marketer, She’s a marketer…

We’re all marketers.

Wouldn’t you like to be a marketer too!

Hear me sing that => http://AWAKENDmarketing.COM

What’s the “How to Think Like an eCommerce Marketer” teleseminar really all about? In a word, magic. Marketers have the ability to make something out of nothing. How you use your magical skills is really up to you.

WARNING: This call is only for Awakened Marketers.

Have you noticed that any marketer pushing harder than you is an A$$HOLE while any marketer not making as much money as you is an idiot? George Carlin explained this phenomeon in terms of driving… “Ever notice how on the freeway anybody driving faster than you is an a**hole and EVERYBODY going slower is an idiot?!”

The key is to drive at the speed you feel most comfortable…

Sunday Secrets => http://AWAKENDmarketing.COM

How is this a catalyst to your eCommerce store?

Have you ever noticed the difference in MINDSET between a successful eCommerce Marketer versus most Internet Marketers? Most people who call themselves “Internet Marketers” appear to me as rushing from marketing event to event. Sure they make brief spurts of profitability, but what they do one day often actually undermines their future profits!

What works for me is going slowly, making incremental improvements that build on each other to create a long-term, sustainable business.

Join me Sunday => http://AWAKENDmarketing.COM

Listen to Ben Mack and I discuss Mindset: eCommerce vs. Internet Marketing… Listen now by clicking the player below=> Come absorb how I think like a marketer today…

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I can only coach PROFIT-MINDED PEOPLE WHO CRAVE WEEKLY DIRECT Live Interaction WITH THEIR INSTRUCTOR… And, who are motivated enough by making more that they have a track-record of…

1) Implementing on their own EVERY WEEK,

2) Being able to follow step-by-step instructions, and

3) Asking questions if you get stuck in a weekly Q&A.

This is access like you’ve never had before.

eCommerce Catalyst LIVE
Weekly Class => Mondays 3pm Eastern
Weekly Q&A => Wednesdays 3pm Eastern
REPLAYS ARE IMMEDIATE & ONGOING
Weekly 7-Person Peer Mastermind (TBD by Group)

Listen to Ben Mack and I discuss Mindset: eCommerce vs. Internet Marketing by clicking play on the audio player below.

Related posts:

1. eCommerce Catalyst Mastermind Partners Wanted

I can only coach 7 directly. I need 7 Bad Ass students who are ready to implement quickly. That’s the BAD ASS OFFER below, FOR BAD ASS PROFIT-MINDED PEOPLE WHO CRAVE WEEKLY PERSONAL MASTERMINDING AND ARE WILLING TO COMMIT TO 15+ HOURS A WEEK OF FOCUSED IMPLEMENTATION of MY INSTRUCTION.

There is a lighter version, where you go at your own pace… FOR PROFIT-MINDED PEOPLE WHO CRAVE WEEKLY DIRECT CONTACT WITH THEIR INSTRUCTOR… And, who are motivated enough by making more that they have a track-record in being able to follow step-by-step instructions that are well written and supported in weekly Q&A.

This is access like you’ve never had before.

eCommerce Catalyst
Weekly Classes, Q&A + MM
7-Person Peer Mastermind
$20 7 Day Trial, then $97 each Month

Weekly Classes + Q&A eCommerce Catalyst
Audrey Kerwood Personal Mastermind
YOU MUST BE A BAD ASS!
$197 each month + Other Biz Expenses
YOUR SUCCESS STORY IS MY PRODUCT!
3-Months Total… Must be willing to document
PROGESS AND ALLOW ME USE OF DOCS.

Related posts:

1. Join the eCommerce Catalyst Community

I will be talking about the top three ways to make your customers adore your store and increase your overall conversion. Whether you entice them to buy when they order or make them fall in love so they keep coming back these conversion tactics will increase your sales and customer retention.

You don’t need to be an expert, you don’t need to be a technical genius, you don’t even need to spend a lot of time. These conversion tweaks are not hard but they are important. So join Ben and I Wednesday night at 9pm EST at http://www.andsoitis.me, we’ll have a good time and you’ll come away with money-making ideas that are simple to implement.

If you’re sick of saying ” I don’t know where to start” or tired of “not making enough” for all the effort your put into your business, this is a call you won’t want to miss.

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