Tag Archives: holiday-season

How to Create Shipping Guidelines for Your Online Business in 5 Steps

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Hosting

The post How to Create Shipping Guidelines for Your Online Business in 5 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog . Your new online store may have the coolest design, the greatest products, and the most reasonable prices, but does it have the one thing shoppers really want? We’re talking about a great shipping policy—one that gives your customers free options and fast options and provides delivery tracking—can seal the deal with today’s e-commerce customers. Here’s how to create shipping guidelines that can help your store compete.   1. Give Your Customers Multiple Shipping Options People are particular about shipping when they shop online, and they like to have choices. A 2018 international survey of e-commerce shoppers found that half have ditched an online shopping cart because they didn’t like the merchant’s shipping options . It’s a good idea to offer at least two options—a free option for people who aren’t in a rush, and a faster, paid option. Depending on what you sell, where your inventory is stored, and where your customers are, you may also be able to offer local same-day delivery through a third-party service. 2. Calculate Your Shipping Costs The most complex part of creating your shipping guidelines is comparing rates from different shippers and figuring out what shipping will cost, so dive in and get it done first. Your shipping costs will include not only the rates you pay to the carrier but also the cost of packing material and time spent handling and packing the orders, printing shipping labels, paper and ink for labels, etc. All these costs should be built into the shipping charges your customers pay or built into your product pricing if you’re offering free shipping. To keep your shipping-related costs as low as possible, spend some time with different carriers’ rate tables and package classes. See who offers free boxes and envelopes for flat-rate shipping. Compare the rates for those containers with what it would cost to provide your own packaging and pay based on weight. A lot depends on the weight of your products and how far they must go. You’ll also need to figure out the costs your customers will pay at checkout, and it’s almost mandatory to offer some sort of free shipping option, because shoppers expect it. “75 percent of consumers surveyed expect delivery to be free even on orders under $50 , up from 68 percent a year ago,” according to the National Retail Federation’s data. That doesn’t mean every customer wants free shipping every time, though. The same survey found that 35% of online shoppers are willing to pay more for faster, more convenient delivery options when they need them. Whatever you choose to offer, you don’t want to lose money through your shipping choices. Keep in mind that most carriers raise their rates at the beginning of each calendar year because demand is so high. That means you’ll need to review your shipping policy and product pricing each fall—those rate hike announcements usually appear during or just before the holiday season, so don’t miss them amid the holiday rush. 3. Set Up Shipping Security Best Practices If you offer same-day or next-day delivery, make sure your payment processor provides thorough screening for transaction fraud , especially if you sell expensive or rare but popular items. Faster shipping options are popular with scammers because they can sometimes get their merchandise before the bank or the merchant discovers their payment fraud and stops delivery. Always track your shipments, no matter how small. Why? If the item is lost, you’re out the purchase price, and if the customer charges back the purchase through their card issuer, you’ll also have to pay a chargeback fee to your payment processor , which can run anywhere from $20 to $100, depending on the size of the transaction. Tracking keeps your customers happy, cuts down on inquiries to customer service about deliveries, and gives you a way to prove your packages are delivered. Finally, work with a shipper who won’t re-route packages from your store without consulting you first . Scammers sometimes use an unsuspecting consumer’s card and delivery address data to make a purchase, and then call the shipper directly to have the item sent to their lair instead. The result for your store is a loss of merchandise, the value of the sale, and a chargeback fee. 4. Plan for Holiday Season Shipping Changes The holidays are the peak season for most retailers, and they’re crunch time for shipping carriers, too. Every e-commerce store owner needs to keep tabs on holiday season shipping surcharges and timetables to avoid getting stuck with unexpected shipping costs, delayed deliveries, and unhappy customers. Most carriers announce their peak surcharge rates at least several months in advance. You can search your carriers’ sites for surcharge information and use it to adjust your pricing and shipping deals during the holiday season. For example, UPS peak surcharges during the 2018 holiday season ranged from 27 to 99 cents per package, depending on shipping speed and date. If you’re planning a holiday special that cuts your profit margin on a popular item in order to sell more, make sure holiday shipping surcharges won’t push your deal into money-losing territory. Shipping windows and cutoff dates are important for store owners and shoppers alike. Once your shippers publish their cutoff dates for the season (the last dates by which you can ship an item for delivery by Christmas Day), you can add the time it takes to process and pack orders to come up with your store’s cutoff dates. Post them on each page of your site during the holiday shopping season. 5. Share Your Shipping Policy After you decide on your shipping policy, feature the basics on every page of your site along with a link to the fine print in plain English. Put it up high on the page so visitors don’t miss it. And if you have a special shipping deal, include that information, too. Nike does this by promoting its free-shipping offer in exchange for customers’ social media info and/or email address. “Free Shipping for Members. Want it faster? Upgrade for two-day or next-day delivery. Join now.” And just in case shoppers miss that message at the top of each page, Nike also includes a free-shipping dropdown info box on each product page. Set Up Shipping for Your Online Store You can create shipping policy notices on your store pages easily with Gator Website Builder’s drag and drop tools. Gator also gives you a choice of e-commerce templates, coupon tools, inventory management, and other features to help your store run smoothly. Be sure to add an SSL certificate to protect your store from hackers and data thieves, and to help your store do better in customers’ search results.   See how easy it is to get started with Gator now . Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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Holiday Ad Deals On Our Webmaster Services Website + Get December Free!

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Hosting

Hello Looking to advertise your Hosting Company or Hosting related Services this Holiday Season? Maybe you make WHMCS or WordPress Module… | Read the rest of http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1742675&goto=newpost Continue reading →

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How to Create a Social Media Holiday Marketing Plan

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Hosting

The post How to Create a Social Media Holiday Marketing Plan appeared first on HostGator Blog . The holiday season is fast approaching, it’s time to get ready for shopping, spending time with your family, big meals, and… social media marketing? Yes, this time of year is perfect for developing a top-notch social media marketing plan! Marketing doesn’t have to be a challenging task anymore. There are plenty of different ways to reach a wide range of audiences. The most difficult decision you have to make now is deciding which sales methods you’re going to use this year. Fortunately, we’ve made it easy for you. Here are four top ways you can add some seasonal spice to your social media marketing campaign. 1. Link Your Social Media to Your Holiday-Themed Emails First, spread the cheer through your emails! You can use a tool like Constant Contact to build wonderful holiday-themed marketing emails. Make sure you take advantage of all of the holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and small, fun, social holidays in between. Email marketing is successful because you can reach a large group of people almost instantly. Typically, marketing emails have a 21.80% read rate and a click through rate of just under 3%. Initially, these numbers may not seem impressive. However, take the time to consider that if you send emails out to 10,000 people, about 280 people are going to click through. Those are now 280 people that are much more likely to purchase a product from you. One great way to boost your click-through rate is to increase your email personalization. You can do this by segmenting email lists based on previous behavior. For example, if someone clicked through on a previous email, send them more of that type of email to incentivize them to make the purchase.   2. Use Festive Hashtags If you’re looking for a way to boost your marketing reach with Twitter or Instagram, start paying attention to  holiday hashtags . When people use hashtags, all of the same hashtags can be viewed on one page. For example, if someone uses #EmailMarketing, anyone can click the phrase and see what everyone who used that particular hashtag is talking about. You may be wondering how this fits in with the holidays. It’s simple. If you use hashtags for the holidays such as Christmas, New Years, or Thanksgiving, your posts will appear when someone searches #Christmas or #NewYearsDay. When you use hashtags, you increase your visibility, especially when the topic you choose is being widely discussed, like during holidays. Don’t stop at just the mainstay holidays. There are plenty of fun “secondary holidays” that often start trending, like #NationalCocoaDay. Take advantage of these holidays by checking out an event calendar and scheduling your upcoming posts accordingly.   3. Incorporate Buyer Keywords Into Your Content Did you know that Google’s algorithm prioritizes certain content and businesses during the holiday season? This is because a user’s intent usually changes around the holiday season. They are more likely to buy. The first thing you have to do is make a list of keywords you’re going to target throughout your content. Google Keyword Planner is an ideal resource for looking up keywords and seeing how popular they are. If you are an eCommerce business, this is a great time to focus on creating content with targeted buying keywords. Some example of buying keywords to target this holiday are: Best holiday gifts this year Best gifts for entrepreneurs Cute holiday dresses Don’t forget: it’s normal to start working on holiday keywords months in advance. By the time the search volume is in the thousands, you’ll already be in a comfortable ranking position. Use Google Keyword Planner to find low competition, high search volume keywords to create content with less competition. If the competition is low or medium, you have a much better chance at ranking towards the top of Google.    Once you’ve decided on keywords, it’s time to put them in your content. SEO Yoast is a tool that lets you target specific keywords and ranks how well you use them on each page. Make sure you follow all of the suggestions at the bottom of the Yoast plugin, and you’ll increase your chances of ranking for your chosen keyword.   4. Add a Retargeting Pixel to Your Checkout Page Why is a retargeting pixel important for your checkout page? Shockingly, up to 80% of people who start filling up an online shopping cart will leave before making a purchase. These are people that were obviously close to buying but changed their mind for one reason or another. You can use a retargeting pixel to bring them back in and secure the conversion. There are multiple types of ads you can use to target these folks. One of the best ways to convert is by offering them a discount, as in this example from  Cole Haan : If they’re browsing the internet and see your add with “Get 10% off now” on the banner, it may be enough to bring them back to complete their order. You don’t have to worry about people who complete the checkout getting these ads. You can program the pixel to “burn” upon completion of their order, which will take them off the “audience” list.   Social Media and Your Holiday Marketing Game Plan Having a game plan is important in any marketing situation.  The holiday season is perhaps one of the best times to draw in new customers and get old customers to come back and try new products. Your social media is important in determining how much traffic comes your way. If you use the tips and tools provided, you should be able to get a steady flow of high-quality traffic to your business page, which translates to more sales. Happy holidays! Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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