Photo to Painting

Nearly all people have digital camera models today. Hopefully, they’re a minimum of 6 mega-pixels because this size or bigger has become standard, and a pair of and four mega-pixels cameras have become has-beens. Technology moves fast! Are they looking for a photo to painting? Visit our website today!

You’ll care in case your digital photo is “as much as snuff” when you wish to create canvas prints from photos. Setting your digital camera models for their greatest/ best settings to be able to record the maximum information possible from the image you’re recording is vital to some quality photo along with a quality canvas print. Software applications for processing photographs make use of a procedure for interpolation whenever you enlarge your photo beyond its natural size that looks there are other pixels contained in the look than there are once the image was adopted low settings. This kind of interpolation process borrows information from adjacent pixels and copies these to complete just the more significant size dimension. The brand new pixel counts generated by doing this tend to be more like “guestimates” of the items ought to be there so when you enlarge your photo beyond, say, 8 x 10, the look is filled with ghosting and fuzzy lines – since the “filler” pixels aren’t real. You need to be conscious of the.

There are plenty of pluses having a camera! No film to purchase. You don’t have to accept a movie to some film developer, nor make sure to get it! Easy, right? So, how frequently would you make use of your camera? The majority of us only take it out for that periodic family shots – which is an essential use for the camera what about just heading out and searching for that artsy shots? A hike within the forest, possibly? The park? The town roads?

We are usually cowered by professional photographer’s work and could question how on the planet they are doing it. We might feel we don’t obtain that “natural eye” for that unusual within the usual or that people lack creativity. Maybe. But, are we able to develop that natural eye and gain some creativity having a couple of pointers?

There are several broad styles to think about when you’re on an outing searching for the photograph. Browse around at the scenic area. Exist defined lines as with structures, telephone rods? How about circles or arcs? If you notice something with interest for you, go creatively inside your viewing – consider the scene in a panoramic mode in addition to a portrait by turning the digital camera. These new perspectives might just demonstrate that special something we’re searching for. Slowly move the camera sideways and back, possibly even upwards and lower. Do keep your camera aligned using the horizon, however! Then take a risk. Snap the photo. If your camera, you can quickly delete it. But, remember to aim (pun intended) to impress yourself – and not the masses. Artists in almost any other medium don’t care whether others similar to their work or otherwise; rather, the work they do is an expression of themselves. Photography – unless, of course, you do studio portraits and so on – is the expression of yourself. Proceed. Be bold. And if you have one which enables you to smile, it may be a great candidate for any canvas print from photo work you have carried out and could make you burst with pride to determine it is hanging in your wall as the personal canvas art. For the best portrait painting, visit us today!

Creation Can’t But Redemption Can

Creation Can't but Redemption Can

And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
John 9:7

CREATION CAN’T BUT REDEMPTION CAN!


When Adam sinned and fell, everything about creation fell. Yet, people today are still putting their trust in creation. For example, they try to become healthy by eating what is called the “Eden diet”—vegetables and no meat. They are acting as if creation did not fall. They also forget that there are people who eat well and exercise regularly, and still drop dead in the prime of their lives!

Thank God that what creation cannot do, redemption can and did. Jesus demonstrated this when He spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva and put it on a blind man’s eyes (see John 9:6–7). Now, it is certainly unusual to put clay on a blind man’s eyes because he would become doubly blind!

So why did Jesus do that?

He was demonstrating to us that all our body parts come from the ground and that because creation is fallen, the work of creation cannot open a blind man’s eyes. But the work of redemption can! That is why He sent the blind man to the pool of Siloam. The word “Siloam” means “Sent,” referring to the sent one, Jesus. When the blind man washed his eyes in the pool of the sent one, he received supernatural healing for his eyes.

Beloved, when we go to Jesus, the sent one who came to redeem us with the price of His blood, and we rest in His finished work, we will receive the miracle we need. If we believe that by His stripes we are healed (see Isaiah 53:5), we will have greater health than those who trust in creation.

Jesus was sent to redeem us from every curse that came upon creation with the fall of Adam (see Galatians 3:13). He has redeemed us from sickness, pain, sorrow, depression, poverty and even death. The world may know Him as the Creator. But today, we know Him as our Redeemer. Where the work of creation cannot save us, His work of redemption can and has!

Teeth Whitening Houston

White-colored teeth and healthy gums look wonderful on everyone. However if you simply don’t brush and floss regularly and find out a dentist at least one time year, you place your smile in danger. Take time to look for a physician who will meet your needs exactly. To obtain began, examine a couple of tips to bear in mind during your search. For more information on teeth whitening Houston, visit our website today!

Education and expertise

Before practicing on anybody, a dentist should have attended a certified college or college. Also, it’s needed they pass a board exam to ensure that them so that you can practice in your neighborhood.

Also, for the way you are feeling about getting work done in your mouth, it might or might not bother you to definitely determine if your physician is fresh from school. While it’s perfectly acceptable for a brand new physician to complete the job, this understanding could make you uneasy. Many people feel at ease with doctors who have been doing their jobs for some time. Knowing you are not keen on visiting the dentist and wish to feel comfortable as you possibly can, you might like to see someone who has a minimum of 10 or even more years’ experience.

Professionalism

It doesn’t matter how great the physician is, if you’re not treated kindly with respect you will want to locate another dentist. You are making appointments for any reason and when a physician cannot respect your time and effort don’t outlay cash your hard-earned money. Pleasant, welcoming employees are what you would like while searching. Also, you should bear in mind that for those who have a young child that may also be visiting this same dentist, then you definitely especially wish to make certain they act inside a sincere manner. Children need special attention and care to make them feel at ease. When the office operates properly as well as in an expert manner, then everybody, including children will feel relaxed.

Location

Many people love their doctor’s office a lot that they’ll travel almost any distance they have to be able to discover their whereabouts. Yet, if the does not seem attractive to you, then it is best to look for a professional dentist that’s inside a location for you personally. It’s wise to bear in mind where you are originating from. For example, if you are someone who works within the city, then it might be ideal to locate a healthcare professional in your area. However, if much of your appointments are scheduled when you are in your own home, then locating a physician close to your residence is good. Want to know more about the top dentist in Houston? Visit our website for more information.

Prices

Typically, individuals have insurance coverage which covers dental costs. Yet, some offices may charge more for several services. It’s wise to discover exactly what the pricing is, so you aren’t set for any surprises when you finish together with your service. Many occasions, location, the dentist’s experience, education and much more can increase costs. The main point here, discover what you must have and look for someone who can get the job done to find the best cost.

Chiropractor

Considering the variety of people struggling with back discomfort growing each year also does the number of chiropractors. So many people are unsure what to look for when selecting a great chiropractor, and we’ll provide you with some useful advice with regards to making the best decision for you. The initial step to understanding how to find a good chiropractor would be to know if you want one to begin with. For more information on the best Chiropractic Office, visit our website today!

Chiropractors are educated to manipulate your spine to assist the vertebrae to sit well as well as for everything to stay in the best position. It’s the incorrect positioning of some bone, ligament, or muscle that’s causing the back discomfort problem, which is in which a good chiropractor can help and ease your suffering.

Many chiropractors will begin having a discussion to find out your exact needs and for more information about how they may assist you in letting us start with a couple of approaches to determine whether your chiropractor is kind:

Honesty

This is an adage. However, you need to look for reliability in a chiropractor. In case your chiropractor is honest, they’ll recommend the best treatment using the fastest results. When they suggest that you are taking supplements, a genuine chiropractor will recommend the least expensive place to purchase them instead than offering their very own supplements. Many not-so-honest chiropractors will offer you the individual a bundle of the set quantity of sessions and treatment. This can be a bad sign, especially should they have yet to determine the way you are answering any treatment to date. If your package is provided before there is an opportunity to determine your problems, this is a definite bad sign. When the chiropractor knows that they can’t assist you to and rather make reference to another specialist, that’s a genuine approach along with a definite good sign.

Status

Should you learn about a chiropractor being suggested with a family member or friend, this is a good sign. Nearly all good chiropractors do not have to advertise because they have developed a great status using their previous and current clients. This is the best sign you have found a great chiropractor.

Chiropractic Techniques

Different chiropractors use different techniques, so you should understand what they focus on before selecting to utilize one.

The best treatment in the best place.

Should you have trouble with a particular section of the back, then that’s the area that needs to be treated. Be skeptical of the chiropractor that recommends you have treatment in part of the end, which has no issues with. Within this situation, it’s easier to seek another opinion.

Certified

This might appear like an apparent point, but you may still find many non-certified chiropractors available. Make sure you make use of a chiropractor that’s certified using the American Chiropractic Association.

Not scared to consult another specialist

Even though many chiropractors wish to keep any clients they’ve, in fact, they can’t treat all conditions. In case your chiropractor identifies any inherent problem that’s causing the back problem, next to be known another specialist to cope with this. A chiropractor who attempts to keep your client, although the condition isn’t highly relevant to his specialization, isn’t good. Want to know more about the best Chiropractor? Visit our website for more information.

Home Senior Care

Existence expectancy has elevated, and also the senior citizenry can make up a more significant percentage of people a bit longer of your time soon. More than 10,000 Seniors are retiring daily and finally will require top care services because of acute or chronic health issues. It’s broadly recognized that just about 90 % of seniors people choose to live individually. For more information on at home senior care, visit our website today.

Access

Senior care services become more and more necessary inside the community when a seniors person’s independence is interrupted either temporarily or by lengthy-term needs. Being a seniors person’s physical abilities diminish, ordinary tasks, for example, driving, cooking, housekeeping, along with another day to day activities will also be affected. These everyday functions could be along with the introduction of the home health care professional. Many people don’t realize that this kind of there’s help frequently available and funded by local, condition, and federal sources supplemented by Medicare. In-home care may be the response to maintaining independence and living at home. Local agencies provide information for connecting seniors to those senior care services.

Daily Routines and Support

Aided living facilities aren’t affordable for a lot of senior citizens and don’t interest individuals who would like to stay in the familiar surroundings that belong to their house. Change can be quite hard for the over 60’s. A routine can produce a feeling of comfort and control, and disruption may confuse. Using the social interactions and helpful prompts supplied by a visiting caregiver, habits could be maintained or changes established within the convenience of a person’s own home. The trained home health aide can provide encouragement and companionship for individuals who live alone. Securely dispensing medications in correct amounts is yet another duty typically supervised through the visiting professional.

Recovery Services

Recovery from surgical procedures or hospitalization may temporarily require additional help upon a senior’s return home. Senior care services can offer daily physical rehabilitation sessions, helpful tips for healthy methods to exercise, meal preparation, or medication pick-up. They may also give reassurance to lengthy distance family people who might be not able to attending their loved a person’s care. Obtaining the care required for a complete and fast recovery inside the familiar and comfy setting could make the main difference between ongoing to become self-sufficient or requiring nursing home care. Want to know more abouthome nursing? Visit our website for more information.

Individual Attention

Senior care services are made to offer assistance in developing the very best and many practical personal plans for everybody. Collaborations are created between medical teams, concerned family people, and social advocates to get the best solutions to have an older adult to keep their independence. Each situation is handled based with empathy. The security from the seniors individual is always of primary importance and really should take priority to freedom when physical conditions warrant.

Driving Traffic but No Sales? Here’s How to Diagnose and Improve Your Store

illustration of woman lifting up an online store to see why it isn't making sales

In an online store’s early days, it’s not uncommon to draw hundreds, even thousands of visitors, but for some reason… no sales.

Assuming you’re driving the right traffic, figuring out exactly what is stopping these potential customers from making a purchase can feel like solving a mystery with few clues.

There are a number of factors that play a part in a customer’s decision to make a purchase, from details as small as the color of your “Buy Now” button to choices as big as the way you weave your brand story.

Like any diagnosis, you need to objectively evaluate every potential cause in order to root out the actual problems before you can fix them.

So take a step back from the online store you’ve poured hours into building, look at it with fresh eyes, and ask yourself the following questions:

Navigate your store like a new customer

Your website won’t be the first experience your potential customers have with online shopping.

Much in the way you expect the fitting rooms in a brick-and-mortar clothing store to be located at the back of the shop, there are certain conventions that users have come to expect from a website. While some may seem obvious, a misstep can easily result in lost sales.

Is your main navigation menu easy to use?

In most cases, users find their way from your homepage to your product page to your checkout by using your navigation menus. These are typically found at the top (the header navigation) and bottom (the footer navigation) of your website.

bailey nelson navigation menus
You can see the priorities for first-time shoppers clearly reflected in the header and footer navigation menus of glasses retailer Bailey Nelson.

Look at examples from large online retailers like Bailey Nelson, Knixwear, and Kylie Cosmetics, and you will quickly spot the common elements that customers are used to.

Header navigation menus often feature a Shop button, which usually either leads to a collection page featuring all of a brand’s products or a drop-down menu to sort products into further categories, like sweaters, t-shirts, and shorts.

morphe expandable navigation
Cosmetics company Morphe keeps its main navigation clean and simple, with a Shop button opening up to a more detailed menu of categories.

Depending on your business, you can also include links to other pages customers might want to visit before making a purchase, such as:

  • About Us, for customers who want to learn more about your business or your founder story
  • Contact Us, so customers can reach out to you with any questions or concerns
  • FAQ, to answer some of the most common questions customers have about your products
  • Shipping, so customers know how much they’ll have to pay on top of the price of their purchase
  • Size Guide, to help shoppers confidently order the right size and reduce returns for yourself
bomas navigation example with size guide and about page
Bombas includes key pages like About and Size Guide in its main navigation to help customers get to know the brand.

Can you move any non-essential pages to the footer navigation?

Even though it’s tucked away at the bottom of your website, visitors frequently consult the footer navigation to find out more information about a company.

Footer navigation menus are another best practice for online stores. The links found here are different than those found in your header. Links to secondary information, like your returns and exchange policy, customer reviews, privacy, and terms and conditions, all belong in the footer of your website, and not the header.

allbirds footer navigation
Shoe brand Allbirds keeps its header menu simple with only a few key items and puts all of its secondary pages in the footer.

Make sure both your header and footer links are working correctly. Test each one to make sure the title matches the page it links to. A broken or incorrect link is an easily fixed mistake that could be hurting your sales.

Be honest about your homepage

Your store’s homepage is like the display window of a physical store. It needs to simultaneously reflect your brand in the best light, while also encouraging customers to enter and start shopping.

While the Shopify theme you choose will play a big role in the look and feel of your store, there are many other factors to consider as well.

Does your visual brand look professional?

Your brand is on display on your website homepage—everything from the font you choose to your color palette is used by shoppers to understand who you are as a company and whether they should become your customer. Ask yourself:

  • Do you have a professional logo?
  • Do you build a strong visual brand identity with consistent colors and fonts?
  • Are your images high quality and clear (avoid blurry or pixelated pictures)?
  • Is your text easy to read and, more importantly, scan?

Luckily, piecing together these visual elements of a brand doesn’t need to be complicated. Even if you already have a logo, you can use Hatchful, Shopify’s free logo maker, to generate a visual guideline you can apply to the rest of your website.

using hatchful logo maker to choose complementary brand colors
Hatchful provides more than just a logo—you also get access to a color palette and icon ideas you can use to brand your online store.

Take the professionally chosen complementary colors of your Hatchful logo and, when in doubt, use them in your store template to create a seamless branded look that will instill trust in prospective customers.

The same can be done with product photography. Your photos will be used by shoppers to judge the quality of your products, which shoppers won’t be able to see in person. Invest in them accordingly.

For lifestyle photos, you can shoot your own or use the free professional stock images available on Burst. Most of the images on Burst have been curated for ecommerce, so you’re likely to find something that can reflect your brand.

food photos from burst stock photo site
Stock photos are organized into collections on Burst according to different e-commerce markets and niches.

When it comes to creating your own high-quality product photos, use simple and affordable tools like:

If your current website doesn’t use professional and clean-looking photography, it could be turning customers away.

Does your homepage have a compelling call to action?

Just like a navigation menu, having the right calls to action on your homepage can help orient customers and direct them from the front of your store to the checkout page. A call to action is a strong line of copy supported by a clickable button. They work together to draw attention and encourage action from a website visitor.

Ecommerce stores typically feature their main call to action through their homepage banner. The main banner typically catches a customer’s eye first and is used to promote your best-selling product or most compelling collection.

Beauty brand Vanity Planet has all the necessary elements of a strong homepage banner on its website:

vaniety planet homepage example
Vanity Planet’s homepage features a strong call to action and a single message promoted on its website banner.

Its homepage banner takes center stage and contains a single clear message that speaks directly to their target audience, compelling them to click through to shop. If your own homepage doesn’t have a strong banner image, or if it contains too many competing messages upon first glance, you could be confusing customers and losing them as a result.

If you have a secondary message to promote, like free shipping or a discount on certain items, the best place to surface that call to action is often with an announcement bar. Announcement bars typically show up at the very top of your website page in small text, so as not to compete with your main banner.

outdoor voices announcement bar
Outdoor Voices promotes a secondary message on its homepage through a subtle announcement bar.

The announcement bar used by Outdoor Voices on its website doesn’t distract from its banner image. It does, however, tell customers about an important chance to get free shipping and returns when they spend a certain amount. Integrating special promotions like this into your homepage through an announcement bar can help you surface a secondary call to action, such as an offer that caters to price-conscious shoppers.

Does your website copy speak to your target audience?

Another important element of any good homepage is the copy—the text that persuades and directs visitors to shop with you.

Copy should be persuasive and to the point. Unnecessarily long sentences or big paragraphs can make users lose interest in what you’re trying to sell. Most big online retailers tend to keep their homepage copy to a minimum.

mejuri's about us copy on homepage
The shortened version of an About Us page on jewelry brand Mejuri’s homepage.

Even when telling its brand story, Mejuri keeps its homepage copy tight, with only one to two sentences. Users who want to learn more are encouraged to click through to read its About Us page, but the company is mindful not to clog up its homepage with an entire origin story.

One of the most common copywriting mistakes is not having an ideal audience in mind. Your target customer should be able to land on your homepage and say, “This site is for me.”

If your homepage copy tries to speak to everyone, then it speaks to no one.

Selling online is all about trust, and nothing looks as unprofessional as a glaring typo on a website’s homepage. Even if you’ve proofread your own website, it’s worth borrowing a friend’s fresh eyes or even hiring a copywriter or editor from Upwork to elevate your copy.

Does your website look just as good on your mobile phone?

The problem with troubleshooting your own website is that you’re likely not seeing it on the same screen as your potential customers. The majority of ecommerce website traffic now comes from mobile devices, where your website can look very different than it does on a desktop.

Load your homepage on your own mobile phone, as well as any other devices you have access to, in order to make sure it looks good and functions properly on each one.

If you don’t have access to popular devices like Androids or iPhones, you can use the Inspect tool on your browser to view your website as it would look on different devices:

using the inspect tool to view your website on different screens
Right-click on your store and chose “Inspect”. This lets you view the code behind your store. Here, you can toggle between different views. You may need to enable developer tools on some browsers.

Does your business seem trustworthy?

Building customer trust when you have zero sales can be challenging, but it’s a necessary step in converting website visitors into customers. Since your visitors can’t get to know you in person, you’ll need to make sure your website is inviting and makes every visitor feel secure.

There are a number of ways you can do this.

1. Chat with customers live

Even though you can’t be physically present in your store, you can still introduce yourself and build a one-on-one connection with every visitor through live chat. A live chat function can be added to your website using apps like Shopify Chat and Tidio, or through Facebook Messenger.

live chat example

Live chat can let you greet visitors while they’re still looking around and answer any questions they might have about your products. Some live chat apps can even be programmed with automated messages and responses. This lets you stay available even during off-hours, so visitors can ask questions 24/7.

2. Use social media to build relationships

Social media accounts are a key component of a brand’s online presence. If your website visitors didn’t discover you on Instagram, it’s likely they’ll check out your brand’s social profiles at some point in their decision-making journey.

While you don’t need to be on every social platform, you should maintain a presence on the ones your customers use. This requires you to regularly update your social profiles with content to show that your business is active, and engaging with customers in comments or even direct messages.

bulletproof coffee instagram profile
Bulletproof coffee regularly shares customer photos on its Instagram account, which has over 1,000 posts and 300,000 followers.

If you have a thriving Instagram account, for example, consider embedding an Instagram gallery on your site to incorporate your social media presence into your online store.

3. Source and feature user-generated content

If you don’t have any customer photos or reviews to leverage on your store or in your marketing, consider giving your product to friends, family, or influencers in exchange for user photos or reviews. You can also run a contest or giveaway where entries are based on creating content that you can share.

These images can be used in paid ads, on your website, or on your social media profiles, making them valuable assets in building consumer trust.

4. Craft your story and share it with customers

People like to buy from people. That’s one edge you have over big-box retailers. If your brand is missing that personal element, consider incorporating your story or mission into your homepage or on an About Us page to connect with new visitors and encourage them to give you a shot.

Look at your data to see where you’re losing shoppers

Once you’ve made sure your website is following the best practices most shoppers look for when evaluating a brand online, take a closer look at your website data.

Each store is different, and reviewing your analytics can point out specific areas where your users are struggling. This data can be found in your Shopify dashboard or through Google Analytics.

shopify analytics dashboard
Shopify’s analytics dashboard shows important metrics, like your online store conversion rate.

The percentage of website visitors who make it to the purchasing stage is referred to as your conversion rate. While your overall conversion rate is important, breaking it down into purchasing milestones like “added to cart” and “reached checkout” will help you pinpoint specific drop-off points from the first visit to checkout.

Are shoppers adding products to their cart?

Looking at how many of your website visitors are adding products to their cart is a good way to evaluate changes you might need to make to your store.

Look at your online store conversion rate in your Shopify analytics dashboard to see how many visitors are adding your products to their cart.

shopify online store conversion rate breakdown

If visitors are not adding products to their cart, you might want to consider doing the following:

  • Offering a variety of multiple photos to browse through
  • Increasing the size or changing the color of your Add to Cart button
  • Make sure your Add to Cart button is easy to find on both the desktop and mobile versions of your site
  • Removing unnecessary or long product copy pushing your Add to Cart button too far down the page
  • Using bullet points, bolding, and other formatting options to make your product page easier to scan
  • Applying these best practices to your product page
olivia watch product page
Notice how the Add to Cart button on the Wristology Watches product page is large, colorful, and immediately visible even on a mobile page load. 

Are shoppers abandoning their cart?

One area where conversion rates most frequently struggle is abandoned carts. You can see if you have any abandoned carts under Abandoned Checkouts in Shopify.

Luckily, there are several ways to recover abandoned carts and bring users back to your website to complete their purchase.

Here are some of the top ways to reduce abandoned carts:

  • Customize your abandoned cart email, either within Shopify or through an email marketing platform like Klaviyo
  • Consider adding a discount code to your abandoned cart emails to help recover lost sales and improve your conversion rate
  • Send multiple abandoned cart emails, set up in an automated sequence, giving you more chances to persuade customers to complete their purchase
  • Consider removing the Review Your Cart page and have a slideout cart with a button that takes customers immediately to checkout after adding products to their cart
  • Add a Buy Now button to your product page using dynamic checkout, which lets customers skip ahead to checkout if they are ready to purchase
customize your shopify theme to add dynamic checkout
Eliminating any unnecessary steps in the checkout process can help improve your conversion rate and turn more website browsers into shoppers. 

Is price or payment options stopping them from checking out?

If your conversion rate is strong from product page to checkout, but you are losing people at the final point in their purchasing journey, you may need to do the following:

  • Revaluate some of your pricing and shipping costs to be more attractive to shoppers
  • Create a free shipping threshold to encourage shoppers to buy more
  • Provide a wider choice of shipping rates, from inexpensive standard shipping to a more costly express post
  • Give customers more options for paying at checkout by adding mobile payment options like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay
  • Offer new customers a first-purchase discount code through a pop-up app such as Privy that they can apply at checkout
play with pieces
Play with Pieces offers a discount code that can be applied at checkout to those who sign up for its newsletter.

The easier you can make the checkout process, the higher your chances of increasing your conversion rate. If customers make it to this final step in their shopping journey, it is up to you to make the checkout experience frictionless.

Are you remarketing to your website visitors?

It’s important to keep in mind that not all consumers are ready to make a purchase on their first visit to a store. Depending on your product and price point, their decision might require multiple trips back to your store, more time, and further consideration.

Remarketing targets previous website visitors based on the actions they took, like abandoning a cart or browsing a certain product page. It’s an effective strategy to keep your brand top of mind for website visitors who aren’t yet ready to buy yet.

Remarketing usually takes the form of email marketing (such as sending out a discount code to shoppers who abandoned their carts) or retargeting visitors with paid ads.

It may take some setting up, but retargeting is a powerful form of advertising because it can dynamically show ads to visitors for the products they viewed on your website. One of the most popular ways to retarget shoppers, if you’re willing to learn how to create campaigns yourself, is with Facebook ads.

How are visitors scrolling, clicking, and searching your website?

If it isn’t immediately clear where customers are struggling to understand your brand or product, consider watching a few recorded sessions of actual users. This can be done using Hotjar or Lucky Orange, two apps that create recordings of sessions on your website that you can watch as videos.

hotjar heatmap
Hotjar offers the ability to watch recorded videos of users shopping on your website.

Seeing someone struggle to find what they’re looking for or unable to navigate through your website is a humbling lesson on user experience. Hotjar also creates “heat maps” that show you where most customers are clicking and dropping off, and allow you to map out and improve their journey to checkout.

To understand where your users might be getting lost, and what your own main navigation is lacking, it’s a good idea to enable the search function on your site. Once you have a search bar on your homepage, you can check out your Shopify reports for top online store searches. This report will give you a glimpse into the minds of your shoppers and an idea of what they’re struggling to find on your website.

the search report in shopify
The top online store searches report, found under the Behaviors category of your Shopify reports, can show you what your customers are looking for.

Adding popular search terms to your main menu can aid your store navigation and improve your conversion rate.

What else could be stopping you from making sales?

Looking at your website data can quickly reveal the holes that potential sales are leaking through, while paying attention to best practices used by most ecommerce brands can help elevate your overall store experience. If you’re confident in your business idea, these small changes are often what you need to start earning your first sales.

However, if your efforts to drive traffic still aren’t converting, ask yourself:

Keep in mind that your store will always be a work in progress. By doing a regular audit of your performance, you can make it better over time.

Illustration by Rose Wong

Photo of Mary-Rose Sutton

About the author

Mary-Rose Sutton

Mary-Rose Sutton is a Digital Marketing Consultant who enjoys helping Shopify merchants grow their business.

Charlie’s Angels – 2019 Movie

A team of Angels, led by senior operative John Bosley, capture international smuggler Jonny Smith in Rio de Janeiro and turn him over to American authorities. A year later, the European division of the Townsend Agency is informed that Elena Houghlin, a programmer employed by tech entrepreneur Alexander Brock, wants to expose her superior and Peter Fleming, Brock’s head of development, for covering up a potentially dangerous flaw in Calisto, an energy conservation device she helped invent that can trigger fatal seizures when used. She meets with operative Edgar Bosley to turn over evidence of Fleming’s wrongdoing, but the meeting is ambushed by an assassin named Hodak, who manages to kill Edgar and leaves Elena to drown. Edgar’s protégé, Jane Kano, rescues her and brings her to operative Rebekah Bosley with the help of her partner, Sabina Wilson.

John, who has since retired from the agency, discovers that Rebekah has tagged him with the agency’s specialized subdermal implant without his knowledge. Rebekah tasks the Angels with breaking into Brock’s corporate headquarters to steal the remaining Calisto prototypes before they can be duplicated and Elena joins them. She finds one of the devices but is forced to use it to escape, killing a security guard in the process. The other prototypes are already gone, and Fleming is identified as the thief. Rebekah tracks him to Istanbul, where Jane utilizes one of her old intelligence contacts to locate Fleming. They track him to a remote rock quarry, where the supposedly-imprisoned Jonny is revealed to be Fleming’s intermediary for selling Calisto. Hodak is also present and kills Fleming before the Angels break up the sale. Rebekah suddenly disappears, allowing Jonny and Hodak to escape with the prototypes.

Returning to their safehouse, Sabina shares her growing belief that Rebekah is secretly working against the agency and has been manipulating them to steal Calisto for her own benefit. The safehouse is bombed, and when Rebekah shows up, John shoots her and rescues Elena, believing Sabina and Jane are dead. The two are still alive, however, and when Rebekah reappears, she explains everything: John is the real traitor, having spent the last few decades secretly building his own network within the agency after he was passed over to succeed the late Charlie Townsend.

John takes Elena to a party hosted by Brock, who is also in league with him but is unaware that John intends to weaponize Callisto. Using Elena’s colleague Langston as a hostage, he forces her to program a Calisto device to kill them both before leaving. The Angels, having deduced his plan due to the information provided by Smith (Rebekah’s informant), show up and rescue Elena and Langston. Jane exacts revenge by impaling Hodak on a spike, while Rebekah catches up with John and his men. Outnumbered, she has other Angels posing as guests subdue the men, while Sabina knocks out John with a punch. Brock is arrested for conspiracy, and Jane and Langston start a relationship. Elena is accepted into the Angels after passing a series of rigorous training exercises and receives an official Angels tattoo.

The Procrastinator’s Guide to Black Friday Cyber Monday

For many merchants, Black Friday Cyber Monday planning started months ago.

While you don’t need to let the rush pressure you into a bad decision—BFCM is just the start of the rest of the holiday shopping season, after all—you can still participate as an independent merchant by employing a little creativity.

From one last-minute junkie to another, a tight deadline is a great motivator.

Here’s your 3-step guide to planning and executing a last-minute Black Friday Cyber Monday promotion.

1. Plan

Are you ready?

Is your store in a good state to handle a surge in sales? Shopify has your back when your store floods with traffic, but the rest is up to you.

Do you have the inventory? Do you have the infrastructure in place to handle an uptick in customer service inquiries? Can you ship everything on time?

If you answered “yes”, let’s get rolling!

What’s your offer?

While customers expect steep deals, you are not Wal-Mart. Drastically slashing prices just isn’t feasible for most small businesses.

There are other meaningful ways to participate in BFCM and still reward your customers without making a huge dent in your bottom line. Win-win.

How much will your discount be? Will it apply to everything or specific collections or products? Are there other ways to reward your customers without killing your margin?

There are several options, including:

  • Unique coupon codes for specific customer groups
  • Site-wide sale with a universal coupon code
  • Sale products or collections (no code required)
  • Gift or gift card with minimum purchase
  • Free shipping

Jcrew Free Shipping

Implementation

You can implement and communicate your plan in a number of ways. If your offer itself isn’t a “door crasher”, your approach can still create some buzz. Make it creative and interactive, inspire urgency or anticipation, and consider exclusive loyalty offers.

Here are some ideas (with real examples from other retailers) to inspire your own campaign:

Gift guide or gift-giving themes: Remind your customers of the impending holiday season, and the urgency to start shopping. Link to holiday-themed or gift-giving collections. Studies show that consumers are eager for holiday content as early as Halloween.

BFCM Gift Guide

Timed deals: Create excitement with new deals released every hour or at different intervals throughout the weekend.

BFCM Brooks Brothers

Sneak peek or pre-sale: Allow social followers and email subscribers early access to view or apply the deal.

BFCM sneak peek

“Door crasher”, early access, or limited-quantity promotions: Reward early birds and create a sense of urgency, exclusivity, or scarcity.

Extend your sale: Catch the procrastinators or anyone who missed the buying frenzy, and extend your deals through or past the weekend.

BFCM Naja

Release a new or seasonal product or collection: Give current customers a reason to come back for new products that are also on sale.

BFCM Kate SpadeGift with purchase: Add the element of suspense by offering a “mystery gift” with minimum purchase.

BFCM Ulta Mystery Gift

image: Ulta

Gift cards as gifts-with-purchase: Give a $10 gift card (valid only after January 1st) to customers who purchase over $100, for example, to extend the relationship with the customer through the holidays.

💡 TIP: Now might be the right time to update the look of your gift cards with seasonal themes.

Run a contest or giveaway: Use Shopify’s integration with Gleam to generate anticipation for your promotion and build your email list

bfcm hhgregg

Establish terms

What are the terms and conditions of your offer? How will you communicate terms clearly to your customers to avoid disappointment or customer service nightmares?

💡 TIPS:

  • Establish clear start and end dates and times for each offer.
  • What is the discount? Is there a minimum order value to be eligible for the deal? Set conditions on the Discounts page.
  • Are there any excluded products? Clearly identify these terms in your fine print.
  • Is the offer exclusive to certain customers or regions? Targeted email communication is best for this type of deal.
  • If you’re offering free shipping, are any countries excluded? This is also a good time to set up your shipping calendar with order-by dates to receive products in time for Christmas.

 

Schedule

Create a content calendar for your campaign that accounts for every step. When will social posts and emails deploy? What will be scheduled automatically and what tasks will be implemented manually. Do you have a team? Who is responsible for what?

Set up your sale collections to launch on time using Future Publishing.

Be sure to schedule email and social communication throughout the campaign—teasers, reminders, and “last chance” notifications.

BFCM last chance teaser email

2. Execute

Assets and copy

Create and schedule all of your emails, blog posts, and social content upfront to free up your time to manage the influx of sales and customer service inquiries during the busiest shopping season of the year.

What assets do you need to create? Consider:

  • Website: home page, landing page, banners, pop-ups, collection headers
  • Email: template and banners
  • Social: network-specific posts

If you’re not a designer (or don’t have the budget to hire one), there are plenty of free, beautiful graphics and photos, plus tools to quickly put them all together.

Layer type over free stock images from Burst using a tool like Canva, and create graphics from scratch using a free Photoshop alternative like Gimp.

💡 TIP: Keep your imagery and messaging consistent across all channels, but optimize copy to suit each social audience or customer group.

Free stock photos by Burst

BFCM Canva

Create social graphics with Canva

Set up your store

To discount only certain products in your shop (with no code required), set sale prices by adjusting the regular and “compare at prices” of those products, then create a Black Friday Cyber Monday collection with automatic conditions. Alternately, you can use an app like Bold Discounts to easily apply deals to products by brand, type, or collection.

For a site-wide discount, you can opt to create discount codes that customers apply at checkout.

If your deal is free shipping, either add a free shipping rate or create a shipping discount code.

What other apps can you integrate with your store to help your campaign? Check out 11 Shopify Apps to Help You Sell Your Best This Black Friday Cyber Monday.

Install a live chat app to help alleviate the customer service crush, and respond to support issues in real-time.

Free Reading List: How to Brand Your Business

A great brand can help your products stand out from the crowd. Get a crash course in small business branding with our free, curated list of high-impact articles.

 

Set up your email marketing campaign

Email marketing has the highest conversion rate during BFCM weekend. As a small business competing for sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, email is a powerful tool.

It can get expensive to stand out in the noise of BFCM. Why not focus instead on repeat business from a captive audience: your customers and subscribers? Use BFCM as an opportunity to reward existing customers, maintain relationships, and improve loyalty.

💡 TIPS:

  • Install an email marketing platform and Bulk Discounts to send unique codes to each customer
  • Segment your list to send exclusive gifts to repeat/loyal customers or re-engagement deals to lapsed customers
  • Schedule emails by timezone to reach your customers at optimal times
  • Simplify the design process by using predesigned or drag-and-drop templates
  • Get inspired by other successful email marketing campaigns

Subject lines on an average day are critical to email marketing. They’re even more so as email volume hits its holiday apex. Take a minute to remember your own inbox last year.

 

💡 TIPS:

  • Use keywords like “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” to appeal to customers looking for deals in their inboxes, but remember that these terms are saturated, so you’ll need to be creative to stand out
  • Use segmenting to make subject lines more personal/relevant to each specific customer group
  • Personalize subject lines with customer names, location, etc.
  • Split test your subject lines throughout your campaign and tweak as you go

Promote it on social media

Consider both organic (loyalty offers for existing fans) and paid content. Remember that the paid space is competitive on Black Friday Cyber Monday, so be sure to target your campaigns wisely to get the biggest bang for your buck.

💡 TIPS:

  • Ask customers to share or tag friends.
  • As with email efforts, schedule posts throughout the campaign.
  • Remember: customers use social media as a customer service channel. Stay on top of your mentions and DMs throughout the weekend.
  • Design catchy but on-brand graphics that don’t cheapen your profile—especially important for lifestyle brands.

Instagram Sale

Additional reading:

Deploy

Even if you’ve automated everything from go-live sale prices to social posts and emails, make sure you’re on hand to check that everything deploys smoothly and on time.

Shopify 24/7 Support is ready to help you through the busy weekend.

💡 TIP: Submit your offer to deal aggregator sites like SlickDeals or RetailMeNot.

3. Reflect

Before executing your campaign, be sure you understand how you will track its success. Results will help inform future marketing efforts.

Split test email subject lines, track the success of discount codes, understand Shopify Analytics, and use UTMs to track referral sources to your sale collection or landing page.

When your deal expires, look at the results. Was it worth it? What worked? What didn’t?

Additional reading:

💡 TIP: Have a follow-up strategy to keep existing and new customers engaged beyond BFCM.

Anti-Black Friday campaigns

Many merchants elect to not participate in Black Friday or Cyber Monday in a traditional way or even at all. When we visited merchants across North America, we discovered that small businesses approached the weekend much differently than their massive chain counterparts.

Here are a few ways to (not) participate:

Small Business Saturday

This Saturday focuses on supporting small businesses—almost the antithesis to the winding lineups outside of Best Buy. Appeal to consumers looking to support small and local businesses for their holiday shopping. Tell your brand’s story in your campaigns.

BFCM SmallBizSat

Giving Tuesday

While everyone’s suffering buyer’s remorse, this is the time to draw customers to your store with the promise of regaining a little good karma. Typically on Giving Tuesday, “offers” are in fact in the form of donations to charity or 1-for-1 campaigns.

Giving Tuesday

Charity partnerships

Outside of Giving Tuesday, extend the good-deed-doing through the entire weekend by partnering with a charity in line with your business or values. During a past BFCM weekend, Goods Shop found that their customers embraced the donation-over-deals approach and “no one left empty-handed”.

BFCM Charity

Opting out

Probably the most famous example of Black Friday Cyber Monday push-back is Cards Against Humanity’s annual stunts—in 2015, they sold “nothing” at $5 a pop.

Outdoor gear retailer Rei gained massive press attention with their #OptOutside campaign, in which they close their stores and encourage their employees and customers to spend the day, err, not spending. While the chain may not be generating a cent that day, the hashtag yields 1.8 million Instagram results—valuable brand reach that keeps on giving beyond BFCM.

OptOutside Campaign

Planning ahead

You may have been late to the game this year, but there’s still time to change your feet-dragging ways. Use your learnings from your 2019 efforts to start planning for next year.

Don’t let it creep up again! Another year will pass quickly for a busy entrepreneur.

Photo of Dayna Winter

About the author

Dayna Winter

Dayna Winter is a Storyteller at Shopify, curious about the humans behind the brands and the moments that motivate them to create. She follows more dogs than humans on Instagram and isn’t a real redhead.