黑料门

We have a discussion with Daniella.io who has created 50+ videos about 黑料门 tactics on YouTube on her favorite tips for 黑料门 merchants. We cover the following in depth with numerous examples so you can think of how to apply to your business:

• Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails
• Coupon Codes
• Cross-sell/Upsell

Show notes:

• Link to eBook (Coupon code PODCAST)

Transcript

Jesse: Hey guys! Jesse Ness here with the 黑料门 podcast, I鈥檓 here with my co-host Richard Otey.

Richard: How is it going, Jess? How are you?

Jesse: It鈥檚 good. So, yeah, today I think I鈥檓 excited about this podcast, because, you know, a part of the reason we started this, we just wanted to have an e-commerce conversation. You know, if I have a happy hour with some friends, that are in the business, what kind of questions am I asking them, how can I, you know, find out how to bring my business forward, so, yeah, I鈥檓 pretty excited.

Richard: Yeah, this is going to be a good one, Daniella鈥檚, definitely, how long she been working with 黑料门? I know she doesn鈥檛 work for you guys, but the work with you guys.

Jesse: So many years, I think, for listeners of the podcast here, you might actually be hearing a familiar voice, so, Daniella has made probably fifty to a hundred 黑料门 videos and posted them on YouTube. So, that鈥檚 only the first fact about Daniella, so, you know, let鈥檚 bring her on, Daniella.io — she is a freelancer with over ten years of e-commerce experience, and like I said, she鈥檚 created, like fifty to hundred 黑料门 videos.

Richard: She manages 黑料门 store, right? We will ask her.

Jesse: So, Daniella, how are you?

Daniella: Hi Jesse and Rich, how are you guys doing?

Jesse: Doing great, how are you?

Daniella: I鈥檓 super happy to be here today with you, thanks for having me on the podcast.

Jesse: Yeah, yeah!

Richard: Of course, of course!

Jesse: So, Daniella, we鈥檝e mentioned all the YouTube videos, so you are kind of a like a queen of 黑料门 videos, so, thank you for doing all that.

Daniella: That鈥檚 my pleasure, I really love the product!

Jesse: Awesome! I mean, so that鈥檚 why we had you on. You know, we鈥檝e noticed you in a lot of different places and really want to help out the 黑料门 community, you鈥檙e putting out this great content, you know, both on YouTube and I know you have some clients. So, explain to us, what exactly do you do, how do you explain yourself?

Daniella: Sure. I started working with 黑料门, well, using 黑料门 back in 2015. I was looking for a versatile e-commerce solution, that was really user-friendly, that can integrate multiple websites actually at a time, and that didn鈥檛 require any development, because I鈥檓 not a developer, I鈥檓 more an entrepreneur, and I really wanted something that would easy to use with my clients. And, yeah, I came across 黑料门, I was super enthusiastic about it, and I started helping entrepreneurs to get online with it. And they always had the same questions, and I don鈥檛 like repeating the same things so many times, so it鈥檚 like: “I鈥檓 going to start making YouTube videos!”

Jesse: So just turn on the camera, press “record,” and yeah, awesome!

Richard: You hit the whole rinse and repeat thing, you rinse and they can repeat over and over on their own. That鈥檚 great, good idea.

Jesse: So, Daniella, you mentioned that you found 黑料门 several years ago. So, since I handle the marketing, how did you find 黑料门, what did you search for?

Daniella: Yeah, that鈥檚 a good question. I was actually part of a business incubator. Actually, I鈥檓 still there now. And I was talking to a couple entrepreneurs there, and I was asking, you know, what should I do, I was making an e-commerce platform. I was looking to make something kind of along the line of an eBay and sense that people could come on, have their own store and manage their store themselves, within a marketplace. And I was talking to people, should I go with Magento, should I go with all these other solutions that exist. And one guy said: “Have you heard of 黑料门?” I hadn鈥檛, so I looked it up, 补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑补迟鈥檚 one I discovered the product.

Jesse: Awesome. Thank you, to whoever that guy was.

Richard: Is he still in incubator?

Daniella: Yes, he is still actually.

Richard: So thank you, for real.

Jesse: Yeah, absolutely. Word in the mouth is the best advertising. So, I鈥檓 glad that he loved it and gave you the advice. So, that was a couple of years ago, when do you think you started using 黑料门?

Daniella: At that time, back in 2015, I started helping people to get online with it and then now I have my own 黑料门 store too, so I use it for myself.

Jesse: Got it, so 2015. so not even that long ago, really, so, awesome, but you had several years, how many client websites have you worked on?

Daniella: Yeah, since then, I鈥檝e helped — at least actual people that I worked with directly — about fifty entrepreneurs, to make their stores online, it鈥檚 so easy and so quick to get online, that it鈥檚 been easy for me to help fifty people directly. But I know that from my YouTube videos I鈥檝e helped many other people, and sometimes it gets questions like: “Hey, Daniella, I really like how you are explaining this, could you help me with this and that?” Those I get a couple every week that coming here and there.

Jesse: Perfect. So, I mean, that鈥檚 a pretty good segue, you鈥檝e helped all these people on YouTube, and now we鈥檙e taking that it鈥檚 pretty to a wider audience via the podcast. So, perfect.

Daniella: So happy to be part of that.

Richard: Yeah, good stuff. And it鈥檚 a part of the whole philosophy too. I mean, you鈥檙e solving your own problem at first, right. You鈥檙e an entrepreneur, you鈥檙e an action taker, you went to this business group. And someone told you about it, next thing you on the own it, here we are two years later, you鈥檝e got fifty stores that you鈥檙e working with people and lot of that spread because you realized, you need to keep the things that were easy easy, right.

Because if you鈥檙e an entrepreneur, there鈥檚 always an endless number of things that you need to do. And so, these little things that you are doing to solve it, like, first picking a good cart to work with it, that was easy to work with, was one, second, you realized they鈥檙e all asking the same questions and you could answer those in a video, so you could get back to work. Because I think if you had to keep answering all those videos, or all those questions all the time, you could never get to the fifty stores, right.

Daniella: No, definitely not.

Richard: So you鈥檙e solving your own problems and keeping this processes as easy and free flow. Sounds to me, to be a big part of what鈥檚 helped you get these many customers, aside from having an obviously bubbly vivacious attitude. Like, that doesn鈥檛 hurt any. Do you think that kind of happen and you鈥檙e solving your own problems is led you to have these many stores or you just, do you want more? Can you handle more?

Daniella: Thank you. I mean, 黑料门 is an excellent product so it鈥檚 been easy to just be like “Hey, look at this” and it鈥檚 a user-friendly, so it鈥檚 been very easy to find people, who had the issues, such as, you know, a lot of the solutions take fees on their sales, or those barriers to entry, like hosting and set up the installations, and you need a developer. All these things entrepreneurs do not want to do it, and neither do I, and yeah, 黑料门 was easy to find those people to get them online, so it鈥檚 been pretty easy, thanks to the product, yeah.

Jesse: Good, good. I mean, I didn鈥檛 prompt you to say that or paid you for those words. So, I promise (laughing). Yeah, when you started with these clients, 黑料门 could be put on a lot of different platforms, we usually use 黑料门 with WordPress, or what was the other platforms that you are working with generally?

Daniella: Back when I was doing my own project, I was figuring out how I could get all of those stores into the same platform. I started using WordPress, and it was very easy just to add an 黑料门 store to a WordPress page, and there you go ahead a platform with a bunch of 黑料门 stores on it, that was managed by individual users, so it was very easy to set that up.

Jesse: Sure, still, your clients can still, if they want to create a blog post on WordPress, it鈥檚 already right there, they have access, they don鈥檛 need to ask you, they could just do it.

Daniella: Yeah, I love optimizing things and if you are booking an independent and own those things, because of a side note. Some people contact me, they鈥檙e asking if I鈥檓 in a web agency or things like that, and I鈥檓 really a freelancer and an entrepreneur. My true belief is that your website, your domain name, all that stuff, your store, your online store for entrepreneur those things, they asserts, they belong to their companies. And I don鈥檛 like taking those things, and contrary to some of that agencies, I have the philosophy to teach people so they can be independent and manage things on their own.

So when I started creating the platform using WordPress, there are a bit of a learning groups, I did have to teach people a little bit how to use that, but if some people wanted to independent on their own, have their own store and website, that they could manage very easily, I鈥檇 usually worked for them, and if they were local too. I鈥檇 usually directed them to WIX, which is also very easy to set up 黑料门 within weeks, probably two platforms that I worked with the most so far.

Jesse: Sure. So if they were a little bit more technical and had some trumps, maybe WordPress, but if it鈥檚 just going to be, maybe the easier option might be weeks for some people. Was your thought?

Daniella: Yeah.

Jesse: Cool. Well, Daniella, I mean want to help you with your sharing of knowledge in teaching, so, let鈥檚 talk about the first tip you want to share with the audience about converting abandoned carts. Let鈥檚 break that down into, you know, I know what that means and Rich does, but for the people, that might not know what we鈥檙e talking about. What exactly are abandoned carts?

Daniella: Sure, yeah. Abandoned carts are pretty much a cart that your client started, they put a couple products in the virtual cart, and then they started the checkout process, but then they never finished it for some reason, they just didn鈥檛 completed their order. Sometimes it鈥檚 a lack of time, sometimes there鈥檚 a technical issue, for example, I鈥檝e already seen that PayPal timeout and the people have to come back later on to do it, so there are multiple reasons why, but the first time I noticed that was actually in 2015. I had a client, who had $400 of abandoned carts, just sitting on the account, and I was like: “Hey, this is $400 just sitting there, that you can convert easily.” And he was like: “Oh, what鈥檚 that?”
So, I showed him how to set it up, back then you have to do it manually, so you just have to send an email, but recently I could come up with the really cool feature, you could automatically send your customers an email after they abandoned their cart. So two hours later an email can automatically go out to remind them that they have an abandoned cart and that they could come back to their order and complete it if they wish.

Jesse: Awesome. So you have helped that cliented a particular, you helped him to set up his process, you know, and yeah, you鈥檙e right, so 黑料门 did make it automated now. You know, how hard is it to set up one of these鈥�

Richard: Wait, wait, wait. Before we go on that, I鈥檓 interested how much of $400 did he convert, when he did it?

Daniella: Yeah, it鈥檚 actually interesting, I saw that 黑料门 released a statistic that 15% of abandoned carts are usually processed, 补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑补迟鈥檚 exactly what I observed, about 15% of his $400 that was converted.

Richard: Nice, so it worth this time.

Daniella: Absolutely, yeah. And now, well, to answer Jesse鈥檚 question that he started, I think he was asking, how hard it is to set that up with the abandoned cart automation now. It鈥檚 literally a click of a button.

Richard: So, if you made, you know, $50 back in a click of a button time, that鈥檚 a nice per hour rate.

Daniella: Absolutely. It鈥檚 not complicated at all.

Jesse: Wow, so, I mean, I work at 黑料门, I didn鈥檛 realize what鈥檚 that easy. So, basically, most merchants potentially have some money just sitting there, where you go into the abandoned cart section to set up the email. Did you customize an email for clients now, or it鈥檚 like it鈥檚 just ready to go up a push of a button?

Daniella: 黑料门 already offers a customised message within the, when you go to the abandoned cart section, and you click on that to open that automation you click “OK” I鈥檇 like to activate that automation, there is a pop up, you can change the message, that鈥檚 there by default. You can customize it with your own information if you wish, or you could leave it the way it is.

Honestly, I usually leave for the way it is, I was going to modify, but it鈥檚 perfect, it鈥檚 pretty straightforward, it鈥檚 like: “Hey. We noticed that you placed an order up for this product” (with the product usually named) and, you know, you could be like: “If you have any questions, or need assistance, we鈥檙e here for you, and here鈥檚 the link, if you would like to complete your order.” So, that鈥檚 the most important thing is there by default.

Richard: I鈥檓 interested, two hours sounds like a perfect demand of time. Did you choose that time or there are available times you can send it within there? Or do they just know that a multiple time in 黑料门?

Daniella: Yeah, I think that time is set by 黑料门. I didn鈥檛 see any places where you can edit it, so.

Richard: Two hours is perfect. I just wanted to know because I didn鈥檛 know either that was that easy and sounds like: “Wow, someone was thinking ahead, like, let鈥檚 just put this optimal time, let鈥檚 make it super easy, a click of a button.” It would almost be silly for someone that鈥檚 hearing it right now, that owns an 黑料门 store to not go right into their store, and walk through this. I wish I do a whole another this podcast specifically to walk someone through. Could you walk through, like is there a way you could do it right now in a few seconds or do you have a store or something there?

Daniella: Sure, I could do it really quickly actually from memory. I know the interface pretty well.

Richard: You鈥檝e worked with fifty stores, you probably have done this a couple times now.

Daniella: I鈥檓 actually going to check just to make sure real quick. Because I know, there鈥檚 been a couple updates to the 黑料门 interface recently, some really cool new things that 黑料门 is releasing, and some of the options have been changed places, so I just want to make sure I鈥�

Richard: Alright. Let鈥檚 go ahead and talk more about it. I mean, if you could do it on the background and if you find out, that鈥檚 fine, but if not, we can keep just talking about abandoned carts in general. So, to your point, are you found it?

Daniella: Got it!

Richard: Alright! So, go ahead.

Daniella: The user would go to “My Sales” and then click on “Abandoned Carts,” and then read at the bottom of the page, it says “Recover abandoned carts automatically”, just click on “Enable” and it鈥檚 done.

Richard: Well, and you鈥檙e now making two thousand dollars an hour! As long as you have four hundred dollars at least to your cart. Yeah, that鈥檚 funny.

Jesse: Yeah, so, I mean, so if I鈥檓 a merchant and I鈥檓 listening, this is your commute, you know, pullover, take on this not, this is just a鈥�

Richard: Super easy tip, yeah.

Jesse: Do not drive and log into your Control panel, you know, but yeah. A super easy thing to turn on, you are going to start sending emails to customers immediately, that put stuff in your cart and then left the process. Everybody does this, this is not a spammy tactic, you can be kind of fun with the emails, you know, like, depending on your product, if you have a boutique, you know, “Hey, looks like you ran at the front door, and you left this bag behind, you know, chasing you down the sidewalk with a special deal” There are always to be creative, even if it sounds maybe a little cheesy. There are always ways to make fun.

Richard: It wasn鈥檛 horrible, I mean, you are trying to be fun, and you did there on the fly. That was actually not bad (laughing).

Jesse: There are no notes here, guys. We鈥檙e doing it live. So, I mean, Daniella, any other thoughts on abandoned carts, that you鈥檝e set up for your clients, that you would like to share?

Daniella: No, but I definitely recommend that the customers use this option, it鈥檚 there, and it works, so, definitely activate that if you can.

Jesse: Awesome, perfect tip.

Richard: So, what were, so you鈥檝e had this frequently ask questions, you started making this videos, other than abandoned carts, what was another, what was another thing that someone could take advantage of, a tip and/or a frequently ask question?

Daniella: Sure, yeah. Another thing, people usually ask about, was coupon codes, how to set them up, how they work, all those things.

Jesse: For people that haven鈥檛 seen this since the 黑料门 control panel, you know, this is basically a way to send an email to customers, you know: “Hey, we鈥檙e having a sale, what鈥檚 the holiday that鈥檚 coming up, do you need to clean some inventory.” Essentially open up your own inbox and see all the emails that you鈥檙e getting from all the e-commerce companies and you can borrow those ideas, and coupon codes are what you do, that鈥檚 the mechanics to actually to make this work

Richard: Did you see anything, when you were working, because you have a lot of clients and so I鈥檓 interested in that merchants, that鈥檚 listening and wondering what do you offer? You don鈥檛 want to give away, you have a margin that you work with, do you start with the small number, like five dollars off and worked it up for ten, couple days later, like, do you have some sort of thing that you saw, when you were working with coupon codes across various merchants, that you would get different results?

Daniella: Within my merchants or me as a Daniella.io?

Richard: All you, right, because you鈥檙e sounds like, you are e-commerce too, so just in general, when you鈥檙e using coupon codes, what鈥檚 a good way for you too, what did you say in your video? Other then other set it up, like, what do you think someone should be doing when they set up their coupon codes inside 黑料门, we鈥檒l put in links to YouTube or let people know to follow you more, but what would you say to them as far as when trying to figure it out how much?

Daniella: Okay. So, usually a good practice is to have some indication as to where and how the person got the coupon code within the code, or at least within 黑料门, at least have some kind of note somewhere as to did I give it away in person, did this person use this code when came to an event that I intended. Was it through networking, was it at the conference that I gave at the end? There was a conference when I gave off coupon codes, and then the people used the codes they came through the conference. Was it in the trade show, in-store, online, for example?

The reason for that is to understand where your best sales channels are. Because if you know that at the conference there are fifty people that use your coupon code in your store, it was another that worked there. And maybe you want to go back to that conference next year because it was because it鈥檚 something that worked for you, your marketing and the coupon code had return on investment. So, there鈥檚 that a good practice to have some kind of education, so it could be, for example, you name your coupon code “TRADESHOW”.

Richard: It completely makes sense, though, like you would name it what it is if you鈥檙e going to internet retailer or something.

Jesse: Or, like, if you鈥檙e going to the farmers market, and you鈥檙e putting up your tent and your table there, and you鈥檙e giving people customers, like, all that farmers market April 21, like, you know, give yourself some tip for later, that they鈥檙e like: “What the heck this 黑料门 coupon code for, oh, yeah, yeah we read a trade show, or this was a promo that I did for Father鈥檚 day.”

Richard: I love that idea, plus you can segment now, so, when you鈥檙e putting that coupon code together, that answers kind of whatever it鈥檚 going when you鈥檙e working with the margins. You know how much that trade show cost, you know what type of client, you鈥檙e going to possibly get out of that trade show, it鈥檚 different for different merchants, but no, that鈥檚 a great idea to name it, the actual event, so it鈥檚 probably clear in their mind too, also, what does this coupon code for, again? You know, you could almost name it within that, you know, “SPRING50” for some sort of fifty per cent off for spring sale or something too, so, make sense.

Daniella: Absolutely, and I guess, in the world that we are on today, people think of coupon codes online a lot, they be like: “Okay, we get that coupon code in podcast and emails, articles and blogs, and you鈥檙e getting in your inbox,” but don鈥檛 forget to use them in person still, like a, in conferences and trade shows, as a sign-off after you鈥檙e giving a whole bunch of free content, it鈥檚 always good too, within the farmers market, why not. You can give a coupon code and say: “Hey, use this in my online store,” it鈥檚 a good way to get people, that are your physical customers to come online and purchase from you in your online store.

Jesse: For sure. So, Daniella, I mean, there is a lot of ways to use coupons, you know, can you give us a couple examples, that you would, you know, advise your clients to use them, like, when would you use a promo?

Daniella: You can use them to reward loyal customers, I really like that, particularly, because I don鈥檛 know, sometimes you鈥檝e been a customer for a company for many years and you, I don鈥檛 know, talked about it to many, many people. And you never feel like the company thought of you, it鈥檚 cool to get a coupon code from a company that you really, really love and you could share it with other people or something like that. It鈥檚 a good way also to encouraging word of mouth. So, yeah, I鈥檓 rewarding loyal customers a one way.

Jesse: Well, I mean, with that too, like, this is, for e-commerce owners out there, I really hope you鈥檙e grabbing emails, so when you make a sale you definitely should be storing those emails somewhere. And then, you know, if you need a reason, maybe you need to place the inventory, you could always make a sale to your list, like, that the easiest money in e-commerce is repeat sale to your existing customer list. And, you know, you鈥檙e not paying for the marketing, so if you paid for the marketing to get them at the first time, this is essentially free, so, do not be afraid to send promotional emails to your existing customer base, not maybe everyday, take it easy, but don鈥檛 be afraid to do it.

Daniella: Absolutely, yeah.

Richard: To your point there though, with the loyal customers. I really love that idea and I鈥檝e done it a few times with various customers, clients of mine as well. What鈥檚 really worked very well is what appears to be random too, right. Jesse鈥檚 point is a hundred percent correct, don鈥檛 be afraid to market to your list, but since we鈥檙e talking right now about rewarding a loyal customer, kind of, if it doesn鈥檛 feel, like marketing to them, but actually it鈥檚 not the same, like, it鈥檚 because it spring, or it鈥檚 because it鈥檚 Christmas, or it鈥檚 because of this, but it just really feels, because you are thankful for them being your customer, I鈥檝e seen an event have a larger lift, I don鈥檛 know, if you鈥檝e ever tried something like that that usually goes around the holiday and you鈥檙e trying to do your promotion at the same time, but one of your input if you鈥檝e ever tried something like that, Daniella, do you have any thoughts on that?

Daniella: I haven鈥檛 tried it, but I definitely have a couple companies that I really, really like and, yeah, I don鈥檛 know, I feel like sometimes you get that question “How likely are you to refer to this company”, I think it鈥檚 the NPS — Net Promoter Score. If you got a 10 on 10 I want to reward those customers, I really want to, like: “Hey, thank you so much for being so enthusiastic about our company for referring it to your friends, like, here鈥檚 a coupon code if you want to share it with your friends, the next people that you were referring to.” I think that鈥檚 a really good idea, I haven鈥檛 seen it implemented towards me or my customers, I haven鈥檛 seen them implemented it either, but I think it鈥檚 a really cool idea and I definitely want to try it with some clients in the future.

Jesse: For sure. Actually, I wanted to add it to Daniella, I know these are your tips, but I want to add one to, I鈥檝e personally used them on my own business to basically solve customer service problems. So, if somebody鈥檚 calling in about a delivery problem, you know, “this was late”, “I expected it to be different”, etc., like whatever the reason is, it鈥檚 very easy to give them a coupon code for a future order, and that coupon might be a little bigger than you would like to give if you were giving them a refund, because they basically have to order again in order to use that coupon. So, I鈥檝e seen that used very effectively to diffuse difficult customers. They might start out yelling at you on the phone, but by the end, you know, a $50 or $100 gift certificate, you know, and they鈥檙e smiling and telling their friends about it at the end of the call.

Daniella: That鈥檚 a great idea, yeah for sure, yeah.

Jesse: Daniella, your next step, what is your next tip on coupons?

Daniella: On coupons, well another thing you can use them for is, like I was saying before, encourage offline buyers to purchase online. So, you鈥檙e saying, I hope that you guys e-commerce owners out there, store owners out there are taking your customers emails.

Of course you probably do it online, right when they鈥檙e placing an order, but also in person. Some people will say NO, 补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑补迟鈥檚 okay, but if you can get their emails in person from your physical customers if you own a brick-and-mortar store, and then offer them coupon code, if they make their first purchase online, it can be great. Some people actually make it higher return on investment through online sales than in-store sales, if you鈥檙e one of those people who want to encourage your physical buyers to purchase online, using coupon codes and getting their emails for coupons is a good way to do it.

Jesse: Absolutely.

Richard: That鈥檚 great, you can probably use it both ways too, I鈥檓 sure, right, like, you have some sort of driving them from offline to online, just getting a bounce around in either of your ecosystems going to probably make a stick your customer. I mean, you鈥檙e obviously not going to sell pizza online too, but, right, if there was something where “Hey, print this out and come in or just show us on your phone come in the store, come into the restaurant, coming to whatever it is”, you could do this both ways, sounds like.

Daniella: Definitely. Yeah, that鈥檚 great.

Jesse: Yeah, so, Daniella, because you鈥檙e the YouTube “how to” specialist here, can you give a quick rundown of where you would go inside the control panel?

Daniella: Absolutely. So, if you鈥檙e in the 黑料门 control panel and you鈥檙e not driving right now, right鈥�

Richard: Maybe we should put time stamps for this.

Daniella: You go to “Discounts” and then you can create a discount coupon. So, you add a new coupon, I might have a video on my YouTube channel, it goes in detail on this, because it鈥檚 a little complex in the sense that very easy to create a coupon code, but there鈥檚 a little button called “No limits” and that offers an extensive array of, like, possibilities.

Richard: You mean, like, “no limits” on the possibilities? Wow, so I was thinking there.

Daniella: I didn鈥檛 think of that, but it鈥檚 really good. Unlimited possibilities with this button you can apply your coupon code to a subtotal on all orders, or you can limit it per category, per product, it could be a one-time use or more than one use.

Jesse: What about shipping? Can we do free shipping with that?

Daniella: Definitely, yeah, absolutely.

Jesse: Okay. So basically just get creative and get in there and start to see, like, you want percentage off, dollars off, certain products, maybe there鈥檚 a product you do have too much of and you want to clear it out, you know, like. So, if you can think about it and you see all the emails you get in your inbox, you can replicate that inside of 黑料门, it doesn鈥檛 take that long, and I think we鈥檝e come to a point in the world now that people expect coupons. So, if you鈥檝e bought from a place, you expect of it eventually to get an email from them to check in, and coupons really come a part of that transaction.

Daniella: Definitely.

Richard: Oh, that鈥檚 awesome. Did you or do you use coupons much in your e-commerce and what is your e-commerce store yourself?

Daniella: It鈥檚 Daniella.io/store. Pretty much in my store, I have 黑料门 e-books. Couple e-books that I wrote for 黑料门 because I really like the product and I had a whole bunch of ideas, so, it鈥檚 just a couple of e-books that are close to the business.

Richard: Have you found out after how many downloads of these e-books does it turn into a client? You don鈥檛 have to answer that, I鈥檓 just messing with you, I鈥檓 a marketer too, so, I just constantly I could go down so many paths, I got to keep it on track here, I鈥檝e got to keep it on track.

What鈥檚 another one of the things that come up in the how-to videos that you have as far as, what people can do, unique ways to maybe they鈥檝e gotten to the store, you鈥檝e sold a product or they鈥檙e about ready to sell a product, is there a way to maybe increase the average order or get a bigger sale out of presenting things in a different way? Do you have any tips or anything come up with something like that?

Daniella: Yeah, definitely. There鈥檚 something that people don鈥檛 think about all the time, or they know of, or they鈥檝e been they鈥檝e already used, but they don鈥檛 offer in their own e-commerce, 补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑补迟鈥檚 cross-selling, up-selling, and down selling or maybe they do it in the store in their brick-and-mortar store, but they don鈥檛 do it online. So, I could explain maybe this more about these things: cross-sell, up-sell and downsell.

Richard: Yeah, let鈥檚 hear it, sounds good.

Daniella: Okay, well, cross-selling is a way to increase your revenue but at the same time you want to offer good service. So, a couple examples of that are Amazon鈥檚 customers who purchased A also purchase B, for example, I just bought a new mic for my recordings, I hope the sound will improve on my recordings, thanks to this, and I bought it on Amazon, and when I purchased it, they offered to get the arm with it which is great, because I needed something to prop it up on my desk and I didn鈥檛 think about it when I was buying the mic. So, it really helped me, and Amazon made this cross-sale pretty easily, because it鈥檚 something that I needed with Mike I was buying, so.

Jesse: Awesome. And so, 黑料门 merchants actually had that same ability to set up that same, you know, upsell opportunity?

Daniella: Absolutely. It鈥檚 really not hard to set up within 黑料门. Did you guys want me to go into how to do that within 黑料门?

Richard: No, you could still just talk about a little bit more about cross-sells in general and then will maybe pop down to see if it鈥檚 pretty easy to do over a podcast, if not, we can always go into detail later and do some of our webinars, so.

In general, I鈥檓 just wondering how people would do this, what should they be thinking about when they鈥檙e doing these cross sales, I mean, that鈥檚 obvious, but not so obvious, right. Another one, a friend of ours that Jesse and I that we used to work with and he still has an e-commerce store, he used videos a lot, he did iPhone parts and when he would do a video on how to replace a part, then he would also show other things that you might need, like: “Oh, if you鈥檙e going to replace this part you鈥檙e going to need this tool, and you鈥檙e going to need this magnifying glass to see that small part,” or whatever and so. It鈥檚 fascinating to me how much you can potentially increase that average order value if you really think about the customer experience, where the customers are, what they鈥檙e really doing and even though you used Amazon as an example there, into Jesse鈥檚 point 黑料门 could do this. It鈥檚 in you know of your customers, even though their machine algorithms are good. Watch, you are going to get things for mics for the next 3 weeks, although you already bought the damn mic, right. So, we can actually do better than Amazon, when we get really think out the customer path, because we know them, we talk more, you know, they鈥檙e great, and there are behemoth and you know the whole another segment we should probably talk about, you should probably have that store as well. But, just because of their sheer size, but it for this being able to control in your 黑料门 store and knowing your customer and your customer鈥檚 journey, that could be a very powerful way to up the average order value.

Daniella: Absolutely. There鈥檚 a couple questions that, like, listeners can ask themselves to help them to figure out what they could cross-sell together if they weren鈥檛, for example, could you sell your product with a service? For example, if you have a product that needs a repair service, or a warranty or a guarantee, those are easy cross-sells. Also, does it need some other product to work, for example, you are giving the iPhone; definitely I鈥檝e already had that experience myself where I was going to fix an iPhone, but I didn鈥檛 have the tools to do it. So, if I had seen a cross-sale that was offering me those tools, I would have got them for sure.

Richard: Shit, we should have you go to his site.

Jesse: Whoever said that store of wasn鈥檛 thinking they yet to think? What do people need as soon as they buy it?

Richard: I鈥檓 surprised, If you had done a YouTube video search first on how to do it, you probably would have found this, but you鈥檙e entrepreneur going for it on your own.

Daniella: That鈥檚 it I wanted to get it done. Anyway, but yeah, they鈥檙e also, I don鈥檛 know, if the listeners, if they have e-goods, that鈥檚 another way of cross-selling if you want to offer a downloadable product with what you鈥檙e selling, it鈥檚 another way of making sure that your customers have a good experience with the product sometimes.

Richard: That鈥檚 a great idea there because you got an e-book and now you give even hyperlinks in their back for other products and/or services in your store in the e-book.

Daniella: Yeah.

Jesse: And you have a pretty decent margin on an e-book as well, so you get to keep that money. So who are other examples of sellers that should think about it, you know, an up-sell, cross-sell?

Daniella: Actually I had one client recently who is selling candle holders online, it鈥檚 a thing that you put waxing, and it makes a room smell really nice. I鈥檓 sorry I only know the word in French for it, but I鈥檓 not going to say it.

Jesse: We can be bilingual there, go for the French word.

Daniella: I worked with her in French, but鈥� She just wanted to make sure that her customers knew that they needed a special wax for it to work correctly, right. So, she was like: “I want to offer a cross-sell, but I want to make sure that my client takes action and say no I don鈥檛 need it if they don鈥檛 need it, or ‘yes I do, I don鈥檛’ have any in a home”. 黑料门 didn鈥檛 offer that specifically. You couldn鈥檛 cross-sell products easily you be, like: “Hey, do you want to buy this with that?” It鈥檚 not mandatory, and in that case, we just made an option, and we made sure that the person has to take action on that to cross-sell. So it鈥檚 really cool that you can do, just you know, “Those who purchase A also purchase B, are you interested?” regular cross-sell, or “Hey, do you want this product?” 补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑补迟鈥檚 more of a mandatory cross-sell when they actually have to say yes or no.

Jesse: Got it. Okay, then you鈥檙e covered, the customer had the option, they had to actually click something in order to say no.

Daniella: Aha. And that is important for some other clients I worked with, who are selling batteries. They were selling it in a brick-and-mortar store, but they have the possibility of purchasing online, and for legal reasons, the person actually had to say: “Yes, I heard that I need this product, but I don鈥檛 want it.” So, sometimes there are constraints that make you say yes or no, and you have a legal proof like the person said no, they didn鈥檛 want to buy it with it. So, it depends on the cases.

Jesse: Perfect, this case. Yeah, So, I think it鈥檚 kind of to every merchant out there to think about, you know, “Okay, the products I鈥檓 selling, is there something I tell them in the product description, like, oh yeah you鈥檙e going to buy this,” and then you need this. If you鈥檙e not selling those items, you鈥檙e definitely leaving money on the table, you don鈥檛 want to tell them to go to Amazon.

Daniella: No.

Jesse: Cool, so, you know, any other ideas on cross-sells?

Daniella: Yeah, one idea. Always make sure that your cross-sells are pertinent. I鈥檝e seen some clients do some cross-sells that just don鈥檛 make sense. Cross-selling is a great tool, but make sure that what you鈥檙e offering does go with the other thing, I mean that the two items should go together or three or whatever, as many items are you鈥檙e cross-selling, but it should make sense.

Jesse: Okay, perfect.

Daniella: Like, don鈥檛 cross-sell a banana with the bike, like, you know, you want to cross-sell a bike with a helmet, that makes sense.

Richard: I was going to date myself, we used to have banana seats on our bikes.

Daniella: Banana seat, okay, that鈥檚 a good cross-sell! Banana seat.

Richard: So, as far as an up-sell in a scenario it was, some people might be thinking that you know, that sounds very similar. What is the difference between an upsell and a cross-sell?

Daniella: Yep, cross-selling is more of a suggestion, unless you鈥檙e in the case where you know, you鈥檒l have to ask the client if they want the product but, up so is more where, you know, the customer is interested in the product, but they might be interested in something as a little bit higher quality or higher perceived value.

If we look at iPhones, for example, someone鈥檚 purchasing an iPhone and they could buy the latest iPhone, but they鈥檙e still the one that they鈥檙e buying the older version, maybe you want to up-sell, and you want to try to sell them the better version one, and they can compare them and have a look and see, you know what I mean, it鈥檚 offering, you know, the higher-end product and letting the client decide if they would rather have that one.

Richard: Is that usually happening, like, they put it in their cart and then you鈥檙e trying to do it after they鈥檝e put it in the cart, or what exactly, where is that happening for them, how are they experiencing it?

Daniella: So within 黑料门 for the clients that I have, we鈥檝e mostly done it within the description. So it would be in the part description you just say: “Hey, if you are interested in the product that, you know, higher-end or,” we used a better word than what I just said.

Richard: “If you don鈥檛 want that scrummy product鈥�”

Daniella: No, wouldn鈥檛 say that, but that word that correctly, but you would link to this product, the other product that can have a look at. And explain why maybe that one would be a better choice, it鈥檚 always customer service, if you want to offer good service, maybe that product actually is better, the one that they鈥檙e looking at, you know, little bit cheaper, might not last as long, but it鈥檚 still a good product, but you still want just to see if they want to go towards the higher-end products.

Richard: Yeah, I鈥檓 sure there is always a percentage of your market, we鈥檝e a kind of experienced in working with different clients and on their own stores, that they鈥檙e just some clients, if you let him know there鈥檚 something more high-end, there鈥檚 just going to be a percentage that will always take it, I can鈥檛 guarantee it鈥檚 going to be a large percentage but they鈥檒l be some percentage of your customers that will take the higher-end offer.

Daniella: Up-selling can be going for a higher-end product, but it can also be, you know like, for example, buy 2 get 1 free, you鈥檙e up-selling, because the person is going to buy two, but they鈥檙e also going to get another one, or they鈥檙e going to buy one, maybe they鈥檙e thinking of buying one, but now they鈥檙e going to buy 2 to get 1 free.

Richard: That鈥檚 actually a good question, I鈥檝e never really asked you that just is and maybe you know, like say someone was doing a book launch, could you set it up where it鈥檚 like, buy one, buy three, buy five, you know, to where you can kind of have these different packages to almost to encourage them between the lines, like, buy some for your whole family for. I鈥檓 putting you on the spot here because I have no idea, I could dive in and find out pretty quick, but have you ever seen anything like that or?

Daniella: Honestly, I haven鈥檛 set it up in 黑料门, but if I had to think of a quick workaround, I know that you could offer a coupon code, so, for example, if you put that offer on, if you went to the “No Limits” option, and then you made that offer on specific products, and then you made the subtotal that had to be a certain amount, and the person used the coupon code in which case to be able to use the offer, or if it鈥檚 buying 2 get 1 free, I guess, it鈥檚 a version of buy 2, you just send him one free, you don鈥檛 even have to set up anything in 黑料门 for that.

Jesse: For sure, I mean, so that鈥檚 one way to do it, I think another way, that鈥檚 used commonly is, you know, people need to hit a certain threshold, right. So, you know: “Hey, spend $100 and get $10 off or spend a $150 and get free shipping.” So, there are several ways that you can incorporate your upselling there, and there are couple ways to do it. But definitely a lot of terms that by hitting a certain threshold, so people need to spend more money at the store.

Daniella: Yeah, good call, yeah.

Richard: I can imagine too, like at checkout, that would be a great spot also there oh and maybe the up-sell shortens the time frame for them to be able to, you know, “we鈥檒l assemble it for you” or whatever the thing is, right. Who knows what someone鈥檚 business is that it鈥檚 listening right now. But once they鈥檙e in there, there might be some what鈥檚 that phrase again, where are you it鈥檚 cheap, it鈥檚 fast, and it鈥檚 good you get a pick too? So, it鈥檚 like, maybe, the up-sell is, like: “Oh, you got it,鈥漼ou know, fast and or you got it good and cheap, but, you know, you can help sell the faster or something like that, you know what I mean? Not necessarily shipping it faster, but you don鈥檛 have to be a service business or something probably to take advantage of that. So you were also mentioning down-sales — what exactly is that?

Daniella: That鈥檚 kind of the opposite of up-selling in a sense that the person鈥檚 looking at the mid-product at a mid-market product and maybe that customer would actually want the lower-end product. So, you have to know your customer personas pretty well to be able to gage this to apply it well to your products. But sometimes if you notice, for example, there鈥檚 a couple indicators that can show you that you should be down-selling, for example, if you notice that your customers are leaving your online store without purchasing at a specific product they always leave on that product, they never purchase it, maybe you could, you know, have a pop-up that comes up and say: ‘Hey, you know, if you buy this other product, that鈥檚 lower perceived value, still a good product, but you know, a little bit less expensive, maybe doesn鈥檛 have as many options and features on it, maybe you鈥檒l be able to catch sales, before they leave your store with that pop up so.

Richard: Man, you just gave me a great idea. I think either that or I鈥檓 just dreaming. We鈥檙e such a comparative species, that if you could, as long as you鈥檙e not misleading and you actually had a real product you were trying to sell for a high price, and you knew, that most people weren鈥檛 going to be able to afford that product, and you鈥檙e almost doing it like it鈥檚 a car commercial during the Super Bowl, and you see that lease, and it鈥檚 for that great price, but then in the fine print you鈥檙e like: ‘That鈥檚 not the one that shown in the picture though.’

I鈥檓 not necessarily saying to be misleading, because they鈥檙e not either, you got a limited amount of time, and we鈥檙e trying to catch people鈥檚 attention. So what I really mean by this is if you had a real product there, and you knew they aspire to get to that, the down-sell could be: ‘Hey, you not quite there yet, or how about this,’ and almost of a psychological play in being transparent, like: ‘Hey, you might not be able to afford this yet, but you aspire to do that how about this one, you know, I like an entry-level version of that high-end product.’
And then they don鈥檛 feel like: ‘I鈥檓 buying a low-end product,’ it鈥檚 like we came you presented in such a way where it鈥檚 almost you giving them training wheels to get to that higher-end product.

Daniella: Yeah, for sure, like of being something that works too.

Jesse: I think this is Elon Musk鈥檚 idea here, this is the Tesla 3.

Richard: ‘I know you want the Tesla S, but that鈥檚 a lot of money. Here is the Tesla 3, it looks kind of the same, but a little smaller鈥�’

Richard: ‘But for those who want a rocket鈥�

Jesse: You鈥檝e got the up-sell and down-sells covered, I mean that鈥檚 a pretty wide range there from trips to the Moon down to a, call that an entry-level car.

Richard: That鈥檚 hilarious!

Daniella: If you wanted to bring it to like, our listeners who maybe don鈥檛 have Teslas to offer. One thing I saw was really cool, was, I had one customer selling music, and they wanted, they notice that like CDs sometimes, you know, people don鈥檛 use CDs anymore these days, and you have to ship it in the physical product. And they decided to down-sell with a pop-up using downloadable music, he鈥檚 like: ‘Okay, I鈥檓 just going to let them be able to download it. I don鈥檛 have to ship anything so I can lower the cost.’ And yeah, it was an easy down-sell for him he didn鈥檛 want to offer it as a specific, like the front right up until a front product, that rather people purchase the CD, but at the end of the exit he has a possibility of buying the downloadable files instead.

Jesse: So he actually used an exit pop-up, you can you describe what an exit pop-in is for the audience?

Daniella: it鈥檚 it鈥檚 a pop-up that comes on your screen when at a certain point which you can configure usually. And yeah, you have to take action on your other days to close it either, you have to say okay, there鈥檚 some kind of action that you have to take. Sometimes it can be to provide email, here鈥檚 another offer there鈥檚 a couple of things, maybe you guys might have better wording on that for me.

Jesse: There are ways to do it. Okay, it鈥檚 the annoying pop-ups that everybody hates, but they do work, and I think there鈥檚, i鈥檓 pretty sure there is it an app inside of 黑料门 that does that, so we鈥檒l do a little more research and put that in the show notes.

Richard: Yeah and I鈥檓 about to leave anyway, so.

Jesse: See you later, here鈥檚 a pop-up, sorry.

Richard: So there was you鈥檙e doing all this on YouTube, and you got you have all this exposure, you have all these other clients, that you鈥檝e been working with. I鈥檓 sure there are times when you just, like in the cross-sell, you see certain products that would work well with another product.

I know 黑料门 has a feature and you can help me come up with the name of it is, I can鈥檛 remember exactly what it鈥檚 called, but say you have an audience, and you want to feature your product in front of someone else鈥檚 audience, it is a good fit for that there鈥檚 a widget or something that helps you sell on partner sites, like something like that, like, say someone is just. How does that work? First, do you know what I鈥檓 talking about?

Daniella

Richard: Awesome, because I鈥檓 almost positive when we talked a while back you are saying that you are doing this with what I鈥檓 asking so. One, is there a certain name for that widget and I鈥檓 sure we could do a whole podcast on, this so let鈥檚 try to keep it a little high-level, what exactly can someone do to take advantage of someone else鈥檚 audience keeping this really easy within 黑料门, selling it potentially on other people sites and what does that look like?

Daniella: Absolutely, okay, this is one of the reasons why I came with 黑料门 initially, I was looking for a solution that can integrate, like, you can have more than one store on a website. In the case of our listeners maybe they want to add their store to a partner site, then maybe work with a blogger, and they want their store to be on that blogger site, or within a blog post. The idea鈥檚 that, you can take your 黑料门 store and put it anywhere you want online, and you can manage everything in your Control panel. So you could have your sore on, I don鈥檛 know, a hundred websites, but you鈥檙e still managing everything in one spot, that鈥檚 an incredible opportunity, and it鈥檚 something I really love are I feel like a lot of people don鈥檛 know if that 黑料门 is capable of doing this so, it鈥檚 definitely something super enthusiastic about talking about obviously.

Richard: Yeah! Trying to keep it super high-level, but just one or two questions here, because we definitely should go deep on this at one of these days. How does that work like this, does that person can do the other, say Jesse and I, let鈥檚 use us an example. I have something that I want to sell on Jesse鈥檚 site. Does Jesse manage that store, do I give him a piece of code, how does that work. I can obviously just go put it on a bunch of sites, and no one knows so.

Daniella: Of course the person has the consent to.You can鈥檛 just, like through your store anywhere.

Richard: However we wish we could.

Daniella: Only on certain places, so make sure that you鈥檙e not putting your site on whatever. So in your case either you can give Jesse one product so you can give him a piece of code, it鈥檚 just a piece of code, that you sent him it鈥檚 easy that, all I have to do is copy paste it, there鈥檚 no programming, nothing it could be any platform, it could be WordPress, Wix, custom HTML — doesn鈥檛 matter. So you could send the code for just one product, or you can send the code to your entire store. I can explain where to find that in that 黑料门, but the basis of it, it鈥檚 as easy as that. He just takes that piece of code, paste it to his site, 补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑补迟鈥檚 it will anyone can purchase from your store that is now on Jesse鈥檚 site.

Richard: And in 黑料门 is it that tracking that that鈥檚 coming from Jesse鈥檚 side or do some sort of, like your coupon code and outer some way you name that product a little different on his store? So you would know where it鈥檚 coming from or some sort of affiliate setup? I know that鈥檚 a bunch of questions in one question, but you get where I鈥檓 coming from like, how would you know where that鈥檚 coming from?

Daniella: I have so many ideas to answer your question too.

Richard: So it does sound like we should do a full-blown webinar, another podcast on this particular thing. Give me your initial thoughts of that and because we don鈥檛 want to keep you all day, it鈥檚 not necessarily that easy. I鈥檓 sure even though pretty easy with 黑料门 to run 50 stores so that鈥檚 the first example of something you think and we鈥檒l leave it at that.

Daniella: I must admit though I have had questions about how to track this the most optimal, so maybe if we do another podcast on this in the future we can make sure that we give them the best information for how to track that, but I know that there are two options that integrate with 黑料门 to be able to track a reseller鈥檚 so you could have a tracking code with an external third-party plugin that works with 黑料门 plugin. There鈥檚 two of them that I know that work with 黑料门. I haven鈥檛 tested it though, so.

Richard: Yeah we鈥檒l do that, because this is fascinating like I could go I could literally talk all day about the possibilities with this and it sounds like you could too on just the ideas they started to come up, but I mean I wouldn鈥檛 want to blow everyone away too much, there are so many things that people, alright we covered three-four things people could do right now that could truly potentially move the needle today in their business pretty easy. So we鈥檒l go deeper at another date on that, but that鈥檚 cool.

Jesse: Yes, I want to touch a little bit on the strategy there. That鈥檚 maybe a little more in-depth maybe a video is better for that, but I wanted to let every all the merchants think about their business and what鈥檚 the strategy behind it? Like if I sell a product and I read all these blogs about my industry, that might be an option, if you know the webmaster or somebody that works the business, the beginning of a partnership, begins right there. So you can have your store on that existing blog or forum. So, just wanted everybody to kind of expand their mind a little bit and thinks beyond just your own store. You can be on Facebook, you can be on multiple partners sites, you can be on social media, everywhere from your one store, so definitely think about that.

Daniella: Absolutely. I actually have a video that explains how to add an 黑料门 store to any website, and I can be the basis for anyone actually I might have some customers who have taken that video and sent it to their partner so that they can follow the tutorial which is about 1 minute. And learn how to add the code to their site, so it鈥檚 super simple, it takes a minute but that resource鈥檚 there for you if you want to already test it out with a partner, just grab the link on YouTube and then put it in the notes on this podcast.

Richard: It sounds good, that鈥檚 a good idea.

Jesse: Yeah, great idea so will get done the show notes so people can dive deep a little bit more and I think this is a good time to bring you back and we鈥檒l go more in-depth on this. So, yeah we can cover some great topics about coupons, we talked about upsells, cross-sells, abandoned carts and a lot of those strategies all work together. So, you know, if you鈥檙e using an abandoned cart, you should be put in a promo in there, you should be, you know, using cross-sells or up-sells, so definitely the tips come over together.

Daniella: Definitely.

Jesse: So, Daniella, I really appreciate having you on here today, where can people find out more about you?

Daniella: Yeah, on my website, so it鈥檚 Daniella.io. I if you want you can look for me on YouTube the same thing just search for Daniella.io. And yeah, I have an 黑料门 an e-book containing 30 ways to increase your e-commerce revenue with tips like ones that we talked about today, 补苍诲&苍产蝉辫;迟丑补迟鈥檚 available in Daniella.io/store. You know, as we talked to about offering the coupon code, you can get 15% off if use the promo code ‘PODCAST.’

Richard: Nice, they can see it in action.

Daniella: Exactly.

Jesse So you named it ‘PODCAST’, everybody. So when you see this coupon later, you know that you鈥檙e on, the customers came from podcasts are. So, awesome, timing together.

Richard: And, Daniella the multitasking entrepreneur probably created that on the fly, because it鈥檚 so easy while we were doing the podcast.

Daniella: Don鈥檛 tell them that! (laughing)

Jesse: Awesome, so yeah I hope those are a bunch of really good tips for merchants out there you know, listen to it again, check out the show notes if you want to see more information, YouTube videos, Daniela thanks for having you on.

Richard: Great to have you on, Daniella!

Daniella: Thank you it was a pleasure honestly, thank you!

Jesse: Okay this is Jesse Ness with Richard Otey on 黑料门 E-commerce Show.