4 ways to increase your e-commerce website revenue

One of the most popular ventures for entrepreneurs is building an online e-commerce store, as it provides unlimited scaling potential. Simply building an online store and launching it doesn’t guarantee success, though. You aren’t going to increase your revenue without putting in the work and using creative strategies.

The fastest way to increase e-commerce revenue is by increasing your conversion rate, and there are several ways to get more sales rolling in, from new customers and your existing customer-base. Here are four ways that you can start to scale your online store’s revenue.

1. Use an abandoned cart exit-offer

The majority of website visitors that add products to the shopping cart will leave before completing the purchase. It’s actually much higher than you would imagine, with the average shopping cart abandonment rate for e-commerce stores being between 60 and 80 percent.

Imagine if you were selling a product for $50, and you have an average of 1,000 visitors add it to the shopping cart every month. If 40 percent convert and 60 percent abandon, that generates $20,000 in revenue. Now, if you could cut that cart-abandonment in half, it would take the monthly revenue to $35,000. That’s an increase of $15,000, which is a significant revenue spike.

An exit offer that pops up when a visitor is trying to leave prior to making a purchase can provide incentive to the shopper to continue with the purchase. Coupon codes and free shipping offers are two examples of highly effective exit-offers.

2. Launch an affiliate program

Affiliates can help you drive website traffic and increase your sales, with no out-of-pocket advertising expense. You compensate them for sales they are responsible for generating, making it a very risk-free strategy to test.

You can start your own in-house affiliate marketing program or join an established network full of affiliates looking for new offers to promote. Joining an existing network eliminates the need to hire someone to manage it, and it also gives you instant access to experienced affiliate marketers.

It’s important that you have a strong offer, commission-wise, as the potential pay-out is where affiliates pull motivation from. Your sales funnel and website need to be fully optimized as well, putting affiliates in the best position to be successful. Remember, the more successful they are, the more successful your e-commerce business becomes.

3. Set up cross-sell and up-sell offers

What if 20 percent of your customers purchased additional items? That would instantly increase your revenue without having to increase your advertising and marketing costs. It’s very simple, as long as you present your visitors with the right up-sell and cross-sell offers when they are checking out.

Cross-selling involves matching items that are often used and purchased together. You can use both common sense and your data to determine what cross-sell opportunities exist. Up-sells are often offers to purchase a higher quantity of a particular item at a discounted price or a bundle package that includes more than originally desired. An irresistible purchase price is typically responsible for a consumer accepting the up-sell offer.

This strategy can have a major impact on your online store, just like it did for Amazon back in 2006, when 35 percent of its sales were a result of cross-selling.

4. Spend money on paid social media ads

You have to spend money if you want to make money, and one of the most measurable and scalable advertising options these days is Facebook ads. With access to a worldwide audience and extensive targeting options, you can place your offer directly in front of your ideal audience.

Many e-commerce store owners try it once and get discourage, claiming it doesn’t work. It’s important to understand that there is a slight learning curve and it takes split-testing and optimization to build a profitable Facebook advertising campaign.

Start small, and only spend what you can afford to lose when starting out. This will help you learn what works and then you can scale your campaigns when you find the winning combination. There are plenty of free online resources to help you learn how to create campaigns, and even Facebook groups that you can join to ask questions and engage with other advertisers.