The Official E-Commerce/Website Business Advice Thread

Billy Preston

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Working on a new site about how to make money online...I'm gonna break down all the skills needed to get started and keep going when times get tough :mjcry:

  • Email marketing
  • Copywriting
  • Blogging
  • Product Creation
  • Social Media
  • Mindset
  • And more
The site gonna be crazy mane. Will update next month.

Do u do any freelance work? I do some here and there on Upwork but I don't make a significant amount on there.
 

The Coochie Assassin

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Do u do any freelance work? I do some here and there on Upwork but I don't make a significant amount on there.
I used to. Upwork can be hit or miss for people.

I heard they changed the payment system recently. I'm working on a side consulting business now via the new site I'm creating.

I like having more control over how I get paid.

And fukk bidding for work. People should ask you to help them make more money.
 

Billy Preston

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Anybody have success doing Amazon FBA? I've been researching items on sites such as Aliexpress and I still haven't come across anything profitable. I know of someone that makes a good living doing this, but it takes a certain skill to pick out a profitable product.
 

LinusCaldwell

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Do u do any freelance work? I do some here and there on Upwork but I don't make a significant amount on there.
:ohhh:
I used to. Upwork can be hit or miss for people.

I heard they changed the payment system recently. I'm working on a side consulting business now via the new site I'm creating.

I like having more control over how I get paid.

And fukk bidding for work. People should ask you to help them make more money.

:blessed: I'm trying to start making that mula on my site www.fteswl.com


@PewPew where you at
 

Billy Preston

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For those asking: basically you find a "print on demand" manufacturer who you can submit your designs to. Check out what they charge to create each product. Negotiate and/or ask about price breaks. You want to buy low, sell high. I chose to sell on Etsy because the traffic is already there v.s. a standalone website and trying to get traffic when you first start off. The reason I've been successful is because all my items are personalized so you can't get it anywhere else.

Example:

Take this t-shirt: Vintage Year Whiskey Person Funny Birthday T-Shirt
You see how it's personalized? So, the customer would need to message you the year and what they want on the shirt. I just used that shirt on Zazzle as an example but I don't suggest you sell your designs on there. Their commission is stupid low and I think you have to wait 60 days to get paid. Back to the shirt-- say your manufacturer charges $6 for DTG (direct to garment) for a shirt. Put your design on their t-shirt mockup or find a mockup to use (a lot of free t-shirt mockups on the net). List it on Etsy for like $20 or whatever. Charge shipping. Some manufacturers only charge you like $2 to ship your product for you but you can charge say like $5 on Etsy. So, $20 + $5 = $25 for the shirt. T-shirt expense is $6. Profit: $19. Minus Etsy fees (varies per item) can be like $1.50. Repeat. The more listings you have on Etsy the better because the more likely you'll be found in the search engine (on both Etsy and Google). Also, think about niches like wedding t-shirts, sports t-shirts, funny t-shirts, kid's t-shirts etc.

t-shirts – Etsy UK

Also, you don't have to do just t-shirts. You can put your designs on whatever products you want (phone cases, mugs, posters, tote bags etc). Just make sure it's something the customer can personalize or a design that people haven't seen before. I would take the time to look on Etsy in the category you want to sell in and see who are the top sellers and study what they do (their pricing, their designs etc), just so you can get an idea. It's really simple once you get started and keep repeating the process of listing new products.

Print On Demand Manufacturers to Check Out:

scalablepress.com
Direct to Garment T-Shirt Fulfillment. Print on Demand Dropshipping
theprintful.com

For those places I listed above you don't need money to start. The only expense would be Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop (or whatever program you use) and the Etsy listing fees which is like twenty cents to list your item in your store. If you don't have Adobe or know how to use it, you can go on Fiverr and have folks make t-shirts designs for you for $5. Then you just submit that design to your manufacturer. When you choose a manufacturer, you're assigned an Account Representative who's there to help you all the way because it's a win-win situation for both of you. So, any questions that you have make sure you ask them. Again, it's free to start with a Print on Demand company but you just want to find the one that works for you.

Question - I did some pricing on printaura.com and the price for a printed Black shirt is $13.25 not including shipping. Is that around the going rate? I ask because you mentioned $6 for manufacturer charges in your example, and was curious which is more the standard rate?

Props for the all the info given so far. :salute:
 

PewPew

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@PewPew @irishfury whats good with some back linking advice/marketing tips

Hello Brothers!,

Thanks for the reminder tag first and foremost. Im out of the digital marketing industry and im now doing medical/clinically sales so i would be more than happy to drop the knowledge I have. Ill get right to it. What you want to do is sell SEO! See a lot of people think web design is the money maker, and i did too, but the real money is in SEO. See seo is residual and adds up. If you got one client paying $200 a month for services, its not very lucrative. But when you have 20 clients paying that, it adds up.

I run a small firm where i help onboard people to our sales team and they sell SEO based on our scripts and whatnot. Pays 100 percent commission but selling SEO is much each easier because its a service they really need. Websites are one and done. Even if you dont want to work with me, just start selling SEO. Bundle a website with it of course because thats sales 101. Ummmmmm also CL is a great resource. I used to wake up early every morning and go to the gigs section of every state, AND CANADA, and email or call or text anyone that said they needed logos, web design, any type of SEO, any type of programming, etc. Then id simply find someone to do the work. I typically made 25 to 35 percent profit off each deal. Not much, but when you start websites at $1,000 and $200+ for monthly marketing, it adds up.

So there you go. You have my exact play on how ive made a good amount of money in my life. Im giving this info away freely because it changed my life and helped me get on my feet when i really needed it, so im paying it forward and hoping this info helps y'all in the same way.

Stay Blessed,
Pew
 

LinusCaldwell

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Hello Brothers!,

Thanks for the reminder tag first and foremost. Im out of the digital marketing industry and im now doing medical/clinically sales so i would be more than happy to drop the knowledge I have. Ill get right to it. What you want to do is sell SEO! See a lot of people think web design is the money maker, and i did too, but the real money is in SEO. See seo is residual and adds up. If you got one client paying $200 a month for services, its not very lucrative. But when you have 20 clients paying that, it adds up.

I run a small firm where i help onboard people to our sales team and they sell SEO based on our scripts and whatnot. Pays 100 percent commission but selling SEO is much each easier because its a service they really need. Websites are one and done. Even if you dont want to work with me, just start selling SEO. Bundle a website with it of course because thats sales 101. Ummmmmm also CL is a great resource. I used to wake up early every morning and go to the gigs section of every state, AND CANADA, and email or call or text anyone that said they needed logos, web design, any type of SEO, any type of programming, etc. Then id simply find someone to do the work. I typically made 25 to 35 percent profit off each deal. Not much, but when you start websites at $1,000 and $200+ for monthly marketing, it adds up.

So there you go. You have my exact play on how ive made a good amount of money in my life. Im giving this info away freely because it changed my life and helped me get on my feet when i really needed it, so im paying it forward and hoping this info helps y'all in the same way.

Stay Blessed,
Pew
:ohhh: do you have any tips for my site? www.fteswl.com Also are you still in touch with irishfury? I sent you a pm breh
 

LinusCaldwell

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Haven't spoke with Irish in a very long time. I will check your website out when I get a chance
That's my dude I hope he's alright :mjcry: nikka lives around me but I lost his contact

Def would appreciate your insight on how to marks my site tho breh :salute:
 

TwistedMetal

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Question - I did some pricing on printaura.com and the price for a printed Black shirt is $13.25 not including shipping. Is that around the going rate? I ask because you mentioned $6 for manufacturer charges in your example, and was curious which is more the standard rate?

Props for the all the info given so far. :salute:

Colored shirts are going to be more expensive v.s. printing images on plain white tees. So, that number seems about right but don't be afraid to negotiate or see if they offer discounts for bulk orders or if you reach a certain amount of sales each month. If I was going to sell t-shirts, honestly I would do plain white t-shirts (where the $6 comes in) with a trendy or niche saying on it and keep it that. You'll be more profitable since it's cheaper plus you'll be surprised what people will buy especially if you brand your shirts in a certain niche (i.e. cats, weddings, funny sayings, fitness sayings etc.). But if you want to stick to getting images printed on black shirts I would still look around different print on demand services to make sure you're getting the best deal BUT will still get a quality product. Sometimes cheaper isn't always better but you never know.
 
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