Empire builders, are you ready to absorb some insider secrets of the ecommerce industry? I sat down with an Austin Eckman, one of our Ecommerce Empire Academy students. I asked him what his secret to success has been with creating profitable ecommerce dropshipping businesses. Austin was able to generate $109,000 from his sales funnel in just a month’s time and has graciously let us in on his winning formula to success below.
Getting Started in Ecommerce
Austin started his first ecommerce endeavor in November 2017. He launched his first store using Shopify and did pretty well. In the first two months with his Shopify store, Austin generated $10,000 in sales. He had a 9% conversion rate, which is extremely impressive for a Shopify store. However, after about three months, the traffic and sales started to taper off significantly.
After his first ecommerce endeavor fizzled out, Austin went back to focusing on his original career of website consulting, as he is a web designer by trade. It wasn’t until a year later, in November 2018, that Austin decided to give ecommerce another shot after being inspired by Ecommerce Empire Builders YouTube videos.
After watching Ecommerce Empire Builders on YouTube, Austin decided to give the ClickFunnels platform a try. Austin has found a ton of success through utilizing ClickFunnels and has achieved a 33% conversion rate on his order form. After generating over $100,000 in sales in just a month’s time, Austin has not looked back.
Choosing a Profitable Niche
During my interview with Austin, I asked him how he went about choosing a profitable niche. Austin told me that he dove into his passion when it came to choosing a niche for his ecommerce business. I was thrilled with Austin’s response, as I encourage all of my Ecommerce Empire Academy students to go into a niche that they are genuinely passionate about. Being passionate about your business makes it so much more enjoyable.
Austin advises everyone getting into the ecommerce industry to choose a niche that they are passionate and knowledgeable about. He has seen how his passion and knowledge about his niche has given him an advantage over his competitors. Because Austin truly understands the products within his niche, he can see problems that exist within the space and come up with product solutions to these problems. This first-hand knowledge also allows Austin to create well-rounded offers that customers simply can’t pass up.
How to Pick the Right Product Niche
My advice is to pick a niche you’re passionate about and figure out how you can provide value to your customer through a physical or digital product within the space. Austin is an entrepreneur who understands that you have to really understand the psychology behind why a customer wants your product and then fulfill that “why” through an exceptional offer.
Every product out there, no matter how small, solves some sort of problem for a person. Austin likes to solve customers’ “why”s through an offer that combines both a physical and digital product. Austin’s strategy for getting digital information products is through working with content creators. Austin has actually paid creators on Udemy to produce information products that teach customers how to use the physical products that he sells.
Ultimately, combining a physical and digital product together in your offer is a great way to set yourself apart from competitors. To be successful in the ecommerce industry, you have to create exceptional offers. You have to give customers a significant reason to buy from you rather than from Amazon or Walmart.
Advice for Ecommerce Empire Academy Students and New Ecommerce Entrepreneurs
Towards the end of our interview, I asked Austin what his advice would be for those just getting into the ecommerce industry. Austin’s first piece of advice is to keep your ecommerce business simple. The most profitable funnels are the ones that keep the buying process simple and easy to follow. Austin created his first funnel from our Ecommerce Empire Builders sticker template. This template is a straightforward funnel that allows us to:
- Hold the hand of our customers.
- Walk them through the buying process.
- Provide an overall excellent customer experience.
The second piece of advice Austin has for newbies in the ecommerce space is to be passionate about the products that you are trying to sell. If there’s no passion behind your business, it won’t be sustainable. It doesn’t matter what your passion is. Within every niche, there is a way to frame an offer that provides value to the customer. You just have to be willing to put the time and effort into your market research to create a winning offer.
Tip: Build Reading Into Your Schedule
Austin’s final piece of advice is to invest a ton of time into understanding buyers’ psychology. He suggests that all ecommerce entrepreneurs dive deep into books on the subject and read every day.
I couldn’t agree more with this piece of advice. I truly believe that reading has become a lost art. If you’re looking for a mentor in this space, then there is no easier way to find one than through a book. If you’ve been struggling to figure out the why behind your business, a great book to invest in is Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson. The book provides key insights into choosing a profitable niche. It also explains how to market your products in ways that are proven to generate sales.
Consult With the Pros and Join Our Ecommerce Empire Academy Students Today
Austin presented some useful nuggets of information for Ecommerce Empire Academy students and new ecommerce dropshippers. It’s my hope that you will be able to take this information and implement it into your own ecommerce sales funnel. Do you feel like you need a little more guidance in setting up your own profitable ecommerce business? If so, then feel free to reach out. We can help our Ecommerce Empire Acamdey students build, launch, and scale a profitable dropshipping business.
To get the ball rolling, sign up for access to our exclusive free webinar today. Be sure to check our YouTube channel for even more free resources and insights into the dropshipping industry. Remember, your empire starts now.