Being a creator means wearing many hats -- planning and creating content, engaging community members, navigating technical obstacles, managing income streams, and more. Now more than ever, as macroeconomic conditions shift and platforms change their policies, creators want more control over their destiny.

Taking the leap into ecommerce, a fancy word for anything that involves selling a product or service online, can feel a bit intimidating at first, but we've got your back. Selling products online, especially merchandise or apparel, is a great way to make money as a creator. To do this, you’ll need to have a strong marketing strategy in place. Whether it’s content marketing or email marketing, you’ll need some way to increase brand awareness and customer loyalty.

8 E-Commerce Marketing Strategies for Creators

From merch to memberships, here are our top 10 strategies for creators looking to build a marketing plan for their ecommerce businesses:

1. Create a content marketing plan

Social media and email marketing are both goldmines for reaching your supporters and advertising your business. Create a content calendar that lays out what you'll post and when, focusing on marketing channels and platforms where your supporters hang out the most. Use pictures, videos, Instagram stories, and even consider livestreams to connect on a personal level and showcase your products in real-time.

2. Offer giveaways + promo codes

Everyone loves a hype moment. Maintaining momentum is critical in the first few days after a drop, so offer limited-time promo codes to celebrate your launch and incentivize purchases. This can also be a good strategy to help drive new energy around existing items in your shop (drop a “last chance” promo code to let people grab items before they’re removed, for example). Giveaways are another way to get eyes on your products while involving your community in the fun – try inviting followers to RT and comment on your content for a chance to win a free item and use a randomizer to pick the lucky winner. 

3. Showcase your business on social media

• YouTube Merch Shelf: YouTube’s built-in merch shelf allows you to advertise your products while viewers are enjoying your videos. Making the shopping experience as easy and convenient as possible for your followers is a great way to promote your shop where you produce content and boost sales.

• Display Link: Ensuring your links are easily and prominently visible across all surfaces seems like an obvious tip, but it’s often forgotten. Try using a #LinkinBio tool to make it as easy as possible to connect with you across all of your channels. Include your socials, content creation platforms, website, shop, and anywhere else your community can find you. 
• Facebook/Instagram Shopping: Display your products on your Instagram/Facebook shops on your profile. This is a great way to get eyes on your shop, while also giving your supporters a seamless shopping experience.
• Google Shopping: Take advantage of Google Shopping to put your products in front of a broader audience. It's another avenue for supporters to easily find what you offer, right from their search results.

4. Regularly re-engage + reward loyal fans

• Thank you videos: Recognizing those who choose to support your shop is a great way to show your appreciation and keep them coming back. Fourthwall makes it easy to record and share personalized videos with your supporters by displaying a centralized “thank you” queue in our creator mobile app. Whenever someone makes a purchase, they’ll be added to this queue so you can keep track of who’s left to thank. This will make your supporters feel special, which is key to driving loyalty over time. They may even choose to post their video on socials, which means free promo for you!

• Email re-engagement: Social media can be a highly effective way to promote your launches, but it’s not the only important tool, and it isn’t the most targeted. Once you’ve launched your shop, you can use supporters’ emails to create a mailing list or newsletter where you can give loyal customers an early heads up on new drops, offer special promo codes, and share regular updates on you and your content.

5. Lean into user-generated content and testimonials

Sending samples of your products to fellow creators and loyal supporters is a great way to build hype around your drop, collect early feedback from people you trust, and get some help promoting your store across a wider range of communities. Ask friends to post photos of your samples before your launch as a sneak peek, or after you launch as a way to show love. Once you launch your ecommerce website, request reviews and photo proof from happy supporters. 

6. For streamers: Try different engagement integrations

• Twitch Gifting: Like gifting subs, but for products from your shop, this feature is the ultimate community love generator and is only available on Fourthwall. Once you’ve linked your Twitch account, your shop will display a “LIVE” badge whenever you’re streaming and automatically add a “Gift this product” modal to all of your product listings. When someone purchases a gift, the Fourthwall gifting bot automatically kicks in to initiate a giveaway in chat, invites your viewers to type !enter for a chance to win, and randomly selects a winner. Winners click a redemption link and use their Twitch login credentials to easily redeem their prize for $0. Pretty neat, right?

• Stream Alerts: StreamElements and Streamlabs are great tools for creator success. If you’re a streamer, these are necessities for keeping your viewers engaged and celebrating important moments on stream. Once you create your shop, it’s a smart move to start utilizing these integrations to power purchase alerts. These will pop up whenever someone makes a purchase from your store. Not only does this allow you to thank and build relationships with supporters, but it inspires other viewers to make a purchase and feel the love on stream, too.

7. Consider offering memberships 

Building and nurturing your community is essential to long-term success as a content creator. Platforms like Twitch and Youtube offer first-party tools for engaging and rewarding your most loyal supporters, but revenue splits are high and you don’t have much control over the experience. Fourthwall Memberships lets creators offer rewards and exclusive content to community members, all in a centralized home base that’s integrated with your shop and website and is 100% branded to you.

8. Create a user-friendly website

In the digital age, your ecommerce website is your storefront, and ease of use can make or break a sale. Focus on a clean design, minimal products, and intuitive navigation to keep your supporters happily clicking 'Add to Cart.' Visible promo codes and discounts can also encourage those on-the-fence visitors to complete their purchase. The more user-friendly your website, the better your sales will be. Platforms like Fourthwall make all of this easy for you, whether or not you have experience building websites. 

How to Create an E-commerce Marketing Strategy in 5 Steps

1. Know your target audience

Understanding your target audience is the cornerstone of any effective marketing strategy. Identify the demographics, preferences, and online behaviors of your supporters to tailor your marketing tactics appropriately.

2. Set goals

Setting measurable and attainable goals is crucial for tracking the success of your marketing initiatives. Whether you aim to increase website traffic by a certain percentage or achieve a specific conversion rate, having clear objectives will guide your efforts. Set clear, measurable goals like "Increase website traffic by 20% in 2 months" or "Achieve a 5% conversion rate by the end of Q4." These goals give you something concrete to aim for and will guide your marketing decisions.

3. Pick your channels

Once you know your audience and goals, select the most effective marketing channels to reach your supporters. Choices might include social media platforms like Instagram for product showcases or Twitter for announcements, as well as email marketing and retargeting for more personal approaches.

4. Create content

Focus on creating content that promotes your business while also being consistent with your other content. Use product highlights or tutorials, customer testimonials, and other engaging content to drive interest and guide supporters towards making a purchase. Keep it aligned with your business goals for maximum impact.

5. Analyze and adjust

After implementing your strategy, it's vital to monitor key performance indicators like conversion rates and sales. You can typically find this in your analytics for any social media or email marketing platform you’re using. Use this data to refine your approach, making necessary adjustments to optimize for better outcomes.

Get Started

Fourthwall provides tools that make it easy to build your brand on your terms, which means you can turn your passion into a sustainable living and keep your focus on your community, all without compromising on quality. Whether you’re a creator, influencer, or business owner, you can join Fourthwall today to jumpstart your ecommerce business.