In mid-October Shopify enabled some new functionality that allows you to create a shareable discount code link.

Previously, customers had to remember to apply discount codes at checkout - and if they happened to forget the code or forget to enter it there was a chance they might abandon their cart.

Now you can generate a discount code url link and share it with your customers in email marketing campaigns, social media posts or send them directly to customers. When they click the link it will automatically apply the discount code for them at checkout.

This will help improving the customers experience when purchasing from you and in turn, lead to higher conversion rates!

You can try it out by going in and adding a discount, then clicking promote to get your shareable link - too easy!

If you thought video is only for big brands with big budgets, think again. We take a look at some tools that will help you create a video in no time, helping you multiply likes and shares.

Video marketing has clearly arrived. One look at Facebook or Twitter and you’ll know where content is headed. Take a look at some of these stats if you need convincing on why your business needs to join this bandwagon.

• 82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter.
• YouTube has more than one billion users and 72 hours of video are uploaded to it every second!
• More than half of the video is viewed on mobile. 92% of mobile video users share videos with others.
• 10 million videos are watched on Snapchat each day.
• Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.
• Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined.

Phew! Numbers all good, but, how do you go around creating videos without spending a bomb?

If your users are watching it on a mobile device – more than half of them – then you should create it on mobile.

Invest in a smart phone with a good quality camera and support it with tools such as tripod, battery back-up, basic lights (especially if you’re doing product shoots) and selfie stick will make the whole process quicker and more efficient. Next, find a platform that you’re most comfortable working on and master it. We put the magnifying glass on a few in this post.

Nutshell. Free app on iOS. Take three photos, add captions, choose your graphics and away you go. It’s very basic but super easy to create a quick mini-movie for social posts. 

Animoto. This is a very popular app. It makes editing simple by limiting the customisation and making many of the tricky editing decisions for you. You’ll end up with a pro video in no time. It’s free to try with paid plans available depending on your need.  

Magisto. Free to try. You’ll be charged at downloads or to use the advanced features of a premium account. This is a user-friendly platform to convert your photos and raw videos into edited movies with music and effects.

Videoshop. A video editor for beginners, this tool lets you create a video without restricting you to a template. You’ve more freedom and depending on how comfortable you’re with technology, you’ll either love this tool or hate it. You’ll know pretty quick! It is a paid download with no additional costs.

iMovie App. Similar to Videoeditor, this app lets you make a video without limiting you to a template. You’ll be charged for download but no additional costs.

These apps aside, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have inbuilt video platforms – use them! You can even download your Facebook live video and cross post to other channels or your website. Facebook’s slideshow post feature is also rad.

Pro tips for video making …
Start with the goal of the video. Do you want to showcase a product or service? Is there a problem you’re trying to address? Then, write a script. Short and sweet - and only if necessary.

Then decide the location, props for set up etc. For example if you want to show fresh cookies, get the video of a tray of cookies being taken out of the oven.

Think out of the box. Add an element of fun or quirkiness to your videos – it’s the viral factor. Maybe give the cookies to a pre-schooler – they do make a great prop!

If you’re launching a new product, use a video to do the product reveal. It’s the mystery factor.
And lastly, make it real. Go behind the scenes. Show the goof-ups and wins that got you to where you are.

Shopify have rolled out a new image picker update in the theme editor to all Shopify store owners. This allows you to upload your own images or use free stock images.

Instead of the overlay modal, the image picker will show in the sidebar. There will also be a second tab on the sidebar model that will allow you to pick free stock images from https://burst.shopify.com/.

You now have the ability to reach your customers through their preferred notification method, eg, email or SMS (mobile phone): 

• You can allow your customers to checkout using either their phone number or email address.
• Customers can receive order updates by SMS after checking out with a phone number or by opting into SMS notifications on the Thank You Page or Order Status page
• You can edit the templates for SMS notifications

As developers who are comfortable with HTML we normally remove the 'powered by shopify' text in the code behind. But you can also do this by editing the Language settings of your theme:

1. In Shopify Admin go to Online Store, Themes.
   
2. Find the theme you want to edit, then click Actions and select Edit Language.
   
3. In the Filter translations box enter 'powered', then press enter.
   
4. You will now see the Powered by shopify textbox. Put a single space in this box.
   
5. Click the save button.

 If you have an ecommerce website you'll know how essential a good email marketing strategy is to help generate first purchase and repeat sales from customers. You can setup a MailChimp automation, which are free for all MailChimp accounts, to automatically send a welcome email to new subscribers encouraging or offering them an incentive to make that first purchase with your store.

This tutorial will guide you through the process of setting up a Welcome Series Automation in MailChimp using a Shopify discount code as an incentive. Before beginning this tutorial you'll need to make sure your MailChimp account is integrated with your Shopify store.

• Click Start Workflow to make your welcome automation active.
• To pause or edit your automation, click Automation from the top menu, click the automation name you want to edit, and then click Pause.

How easy was that!
Now you have an automated incentive running for new subscribers who join your list - you can set and forget this now and hopefully see an increase in first purchases from customers.

If you need help with this automation or any of the other automation options in MailChimp, let us know. We can even help you with your email marketing strategy, so just get in touch. ​​​​​

9 out of 10 consumers say free shipping is the number 1 incentive to shop online more.

If you can, consider building your shipping costs into your product pricing. For customers buying online, free shipping can greatly influence whether a customer completes an order or not. Adding your products to your cart, then getting to checkout and seeing the shipping cost can make many people think again about completing their purchase. Offering free shipping, means they only need to consider the product price and know that when they get to checkout there won't be any other additional costs.

If you can't affordably incorporate shipping costs into your product prices, then consider these options instead:

• offer free shipping on orders over a certain value
  
• offer a fixed, flat rate shipping cost
  
• offer reduced shipping cost for customers who join your loyalty program

Trying to avoid that 'shipping cost shock' at checkout, can reduce the number of abandoned carts you see for your shopify store and hopefully increase your online sales!

There are a number of excellent apps that you can use to easily create a loyalty program for your Shopify store. A loyalty program can really help to encourage repeat purchases from your existing customers. 

Pricing for loyalty apps varies:

• some apps offer a free version and some don't.
• some pricing plans allow a certain number of orders per month and some charge by the number of members in your loyalty program

Here are 2 great loyalty apps that you make like to trial:

Loyalty Lion

• free plan for under 400 orders/month and unlimited members
• paid plans start from $159(USD) - you can book a demo too

Main Features:

• 5+ different rewards
• integrates with Yotpo, Shopify and Stamped.io so you can encourage more reviews with loyalty points
• different loyalty tiers
• customise to match your brand

Sweet Tooth

• free plan for up to 500 members
• paid plans start from $59(USD) for up to 2k loyalty members

Main Features:

• 10+ different rewards
• VIP Tiers
• ability to integrate loyalty functionality directly in your store headers/footer etc
• customise to match your brand

Here is a link to a great Shopify article that you should read if you're considering implementing a loyalty program for your store: www.shopify.com/blog/117007237-how-to-start-a-loyalty-program-that-keeps-customers-coming-back

If you'd like any help choosing an app and setting up your loyalty program, just give me shout.

Here is a selection of Live Chat apps you can use in your Shopify store to increase conversions by engaging your customers and answering questions that may be preventing them from completing their purchase.

1) Tidio

• easy to install
  
• mobile support
  
• option for offline contact
  
• option for automatic messages
  
• lots of good reviews for their app on Shopify

2) Formilla Live Chat

• allows you to see customer actions in real-time as well as chat with them
  
• out-of-the-box installation
  
• pro-active chat (initiate chat with visitor)
  
• desktop notifications to ensure you don't miss any chats
  
• custom banners, colours and themes

3) Reamaze

• allows you to communicate with customers across multi-platforms
  
• integrates with email, twitter, facebook, instagram
  
• real time and classic live chat
  
• manage different stores customer support in one place

4) FREE tawk.to Live Chat

• monitor website visitors in real time
  
• mobile support
  
• free app

If you’re a blogging newbie, here are three common questions to consider before you start writing. Hopefully these answers will help you gain the blogging confidence you need to get started.
 
How often should I update my blog?
 
In an ideal world, the answer would be ‘as much as possible’. But the world is far from ideal – and the same goes for the content that’s posted on most blogs! Aim for quality over quantity. It’s better to write a good-quality post once a month than to write a low-quality post once a week.
 
That said, it’s important to be consistent. Try to get into a predictable blogging rhythm so your customers know when to expect fresh content – and so that you stick to your own schedule.
 
Here are some tips:

• Set out a content plan that you can comfortably write yourself. Come up with 8-12 topic ideas at once and then schedule the writing time in your calendar.
  
  
• If time is an issue, consider outsourcing the writing to a freelance copywriter. Or, write a rough draft and outsource the editing process.
  
  
• Make sure your blog post adds value to the reader. Your writing should help, guide, and entertain. Give away some knowledge for free so your readers can trust in your expertise.
  
  
• Don’t forget to include keywords. Aim for a couple of keywords per post and keep it natural.

 
What’s a good length for a blog post?
 
Blog articles should ideally be at least 500 words – but quality is more important than word count.
 
Most people read blogs because they need good, solid information that helps them get to the bottom of an issue. At least 500 words is usually enough to explore a topic in-depth without going into too much detail. If the topic warrants more explanation, aim for 800 words.
 
Here are a few tips:

• Do your research and plan your articles before you start writing. Planning helps you focus your mind on the article at hand and means you can gather good links to use within your articles. Search engines like quality links and quality writing.
  
  
• Write about topics that interest you. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the word count goes up AND how helpful your writing will be to readers – a win-win for everybody.
  
  
• Share your blog posts on social media. After writing an outstanding post, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it across all platforms.

 
Should I set up a blog?
 
The short answer is yes. Here are just three reasons why you need a blog as part of your store:
 
One: A blog keeps your website fresh
 
Updating your blog regularly sends signals to search engines that your site is a ‘living digital organism’ – that it’s breathing and hasn’t died! The ‘Google Spider’ will crawl your site more often to check for updates. This is great for SEO and for quickly indexing your pages.
 
Two: A blog allows you to define yourself as a thought leader
 
People are more likely to buy from you if you know what you’re talking about. They’re also more likely to buy from you if you’re passionate about your product. Your blog is a great platform to showcase your expertise and increase conversions.
 
Three: A blog drives new traffic to your website
 
Blogging gives you an opportunity to write about a range of topics, including your interests and hobbies (as they relate to your products) and your opinions on industry news and developments. Think of every blog post you write as a new door opening to your online shop. Each new post could attract visitors who might have never found your site through your product keywords alone.
 
So what are you waiting for? Start blogging and experience the results for yourself. And if you have any more questions, get in touch and I’ll do my best to help.