FAQ eCommerce Scaling Secrets
Facebook Ads
After how much spend (or what metric do you use, or maybe time period) do you decide to scale a CBO?
3 days at a consistent profitable performance
Do you have someone you could recommend to hire for creating our ad campaign?
I would recommend to do it by yourself at first, try to emulate the ads created by competitors. At this stage it’s hard to outsource this, it’s important to understand the ad creation process so you can repeat it in the future and outsource it to someone else.
For ad sets running for longer than 3 days, for example, what period do you use to evaluate them and decide to kill or not? 3 Days? 7 Days?
You use multiple windows to compare the performance and see how it changes over time. If you see it’s getting worse and not profitable anymore, kill it. If you are on a lower budget you give it BE KPI to spend before deciding, if you are in scaling phase and have budgets, give it 2X BE KPI to spend – Facebook Ads KPIs Cheatsheet
For LLAs, we’ve only been testing 0-10%. Do you break it down 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, etc. or 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, etc?
You can test it broken down into 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, YES. This is subject to testing.
For scaling, let’s say we narrow our current CBOs down to 2 or 3 ad sets that perform. Do you duplicate it with only the winning ad sets? Or higher or lower budg
Yes, duplicate winners to higher budget as long as the audience size for each adset is sufficient for scaling (5-10mm+)
Had a record day yesterday and then today 0 sales so far. Why is this happening?
Inconsistencies are ok. Lower the spend and test gradually. Once you see the ROAS is coming back, increase the spend back. That’s in case your metrics: CTR link, CPC link are according to KPi’s and competitive: Facebook Ads KPIs Cheatsheet. If not, then could be your ads are just weak and then inconsistency will be a constant for you
High CTR or ROAS? When you test new creatives what are the key metrics you are looking at?
ROAS is king. The metrics like CTR, CPC make a difference only if used in a context. So for instance, if you are not profitable you start digging deeper into CTR, CPC, ATC ratio etc and see what you can leverage to improve it. So if lower CTR makes money then it’s ok, just do more of those.
How would you start to test a seazonal product in a small country (population of 5 mil). What ad sets would you create for this seasonal product? (Which Interests, Age, etc).
Start with broad targeting: Engaged shoppers/ coupon site / Groupon etc to start with. Use FB suggestions to get more ideas for targeting. Even zero targeting (age+gender+country) often works very well with small countries
I have a serious dropoff from people who click on my ads and people who actually land on the website (sometimes even 30%-40%). Where is the problem?
The page speed load time is most probably the problem. Check the page speed load time. You can try this app to help you out with the speed: https://apps.shopify.com/plug-in-speed
SEE THE CHEATSHEET ON SPEEDING UP THE WEBSITE: http://www.alexfedotoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Cheatsheet-For-Speeding-Up-The-Website.pdf
If I break down the adset by 4 country each. That would be 4 videos x 4 thumbnail x 4 countries, a total of 64 adsets to test under 1 campaign?
Each adset can have 4-5 creatives. You can combine thumbnails and videos and see what combination works best. 64 adsets is abit too much to start with. FB prefers less adsets but with higher budgets.
Is a Link Click a good objective for Facebook ads when you try to sell a product?
I don’t recommend it. It attracts not the right type of traffic. I recommend going for ATC or PUR optimization.
Is it possible to have an above-average rating for 3 criteria evaluated by facebook, of involvement, quality and conversion?
2 of them above average is typically enough to do well with FB
Our break-even cost per ATC is $10. Should we kill ads that spend that much and don’t get an ATC? Or should we kill an ad set that doesn’t get an ATC after that? Or should we just look at the break-even cost per purchase and RoAS? And if so, do we look at ads or ad sets?
If you can spend 20$ to get a sale, if adsets spent 20 with zero sales, I would kill it then. Killing on adset level works better for me If it works for the last 3 days and the average ROAS falls below BE ROAS, I would kill it. If I kill the adset today, I can reactivate the same adset tomorrow to see if it gets back to good performance.
With ATC if you know you should get ATC within first $10 of spend, and you don’t get it, I would kill it.
Typically adsets either perform from start or don’t perform so that’s how I would do it.
Our Pixel has disadvantage because on our site we sell lots of different niches. Does it make sense to use FB ads in that case?
You can sell many different products with the same pixel. For example, some of the general stores that advertise massively like Vigoshop.pl have just 1 pixel. So it’s ok to have few products and sell them with 1 pixel. It’s ok to have 1 pixel for multiple products. I overall recommend focusing on 1 product whenever possible so if you have 1 product, you can definitely go with 1 pixel and have no issues. Then find another product in a similar niche and scale it using the same pixel. This way you are maximizing the learning process.
Retargeting ad – you mentioned that I should run a retargeting ad for the ATC. While I was setting a campaign for this, I saw Facebook message that my custom audience for ATC last 30 days is too small for the campaign. Should I continue or wait until the ATC size becomes bigger? My current ATC is around 50.
Retarget VC, those who engaged, 95% video viewers last 30,14 and 7 days, it should have enough data. Exclude purchasers. Give 20% discount with your retargeting
Should I continue to keep adsets running, or should I kill them since it’s been running for 4 days and exceeded the CPP/below BE ROAS?
I would kill them and do another angle.
Should I continue to test the ad funnel using the same single broad interest, or I should test with 10 different interests in 10 adsets using the same video?
I would do 10 adsets, 1 single interest per adset, same video. If metrics on the video don’t look good on any of the adsets you test you need to change the video.
The ROAS in the ad set is decreasing. Should we just shut it down or try to make new content and try again
From your metrics seems your CPC link is 1 euro+ and your CTR link is 1.8%. Which tells me your creative/ ads isn’t strong enough to be competitive.
With that being said you are getting sales, so I would just duplicate this adset and add new creative to it to test and get it to benchmarks we have established as a standard – Facebook Ads KPIs Cheatsheet
We are not really sure if it’s better to have a bigger audience (500K) or narrowed down to 250K with Active Buyers / Online Shoppers.
You can test this variation for initial testing. If these work and you are looking to increase your sales/scale-up, don’t narrow it too much because FB won’t have room for optimization. So you would do only ENGAGED SHOPPERS with no extra layers of targeting
What are the main features to create an above-average creative in the 3 criteria. Could you list some important features?
Good creative (use human faces, real people), ad copy identify what people would resonate with and comment share, etc. Make your website highly converting/ fast to load as this is the part of CONVERSION calculation
What can cause Facebook to restrict a personal profile from advertising and how do you go around this?
Facebook can do this if you have multiple banned accounts or if you consistently break the policies. Also if you login from multiple locations into your account. ALWAYS use BM to login into accounts especially from unusual locations. You need to appeal and use this template: I used a VPN for other services. and maybe its the problem because I forgot to disconnect when using facebook. That’s why my IP on facebook is changed. Also please join our skype group where we discuss strategies to get back the ad accounts/ BM/ profiles: https://join.skype.com/eLjHR2mB5IBg
What is the pattern to follow to make a good video? (lengh/structure/duration/font)
Please refer to the lesson “Best Converting Facebook Video Ad Structure” in module “Bonus training” https://course.ecommercescalingsecrets.com/products/ecommerce-scaling-secrets/categories/1739320/posts/5839336
What spy tool would you currently recommend for FB Ads?
Adspy, Droppoint are good ones. ✅ FREE Trial of Adspy to find winning ads: https://adspy.com?a=18050
What tools do you use to make videos?
Please refer to lesson “Tools to help you create videos in under 5 minutes” in module “Bonus training”
When you do retargeting, what is the frequency cap?
Frequency doesn’t matter. As long as it sells profitably, we keep it running.
When you duplicate a CBO or ad set to a higher budget, do you stop the original campaign/ad set with a lower budget?
Yeah I’ve noticed it’s best to kill it
Which are the best marketers to follow in terms of videos?
Find examples to emulate in your specific niche. So even if you dropship gadgets, find brands that are selling gadgets successfully and see what they do. I personally like ads of:
https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=all&country=ALL&q=Snow%20At-Home%20Teeth%20Whitening&view_all_page_id=613958365368983
https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=all&country=PL&q=vigoshop&view_all_page_id=246232655918709
https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=all&country=ALL&q=Protalus&view_all_page_id=263682907118099
It’s best to EMULATE BRANDS, not dropshipping stores, so you differentiate from the competition
You test 3-5 creatives. Are these the same 3-5 creatives across all interest-based prospective ad sets? Or do you modify the creative or ad copy based on the interest you’re targeting in the ad set.
Yes, the same. No adjusting. You want to see what works, then improve based on that (test another thumbnail/ ad copy etc)
Shopify
Can you tell me please the name of the app that syncs the tracking numbers to the paypal account?
Does anyone know of any ways to customize checkout in regards to format, reviews, pictures, currency ect? Or any other ways to bring the conv up?
Intercart does this. There is a waiting line, but you can bypass with this: Please sign up first at www.intercart.io/prelaunch After that please Join this Skype Intercart group https://join.skype.com/RhN4S4219OIc Once in the group have him Message Richard to activate your account to cut the waiting list
For email marketing Alex recommends klaviyo or conversion, but just for follow up emails, letting them know their order was placed, shipped, how far away their package is, and when it’s delivered; do you just use the regular Shopify emails?
I’ve always let Shopify handle the shipping emails. It can be a pain to set up in Klaviyo.
Is Flexify a must? FB denied my product (push up bra)
It’s not a must, you can set up retargeting manually or with scalify app: https://apps.shopify.com/scalify or refer to the cheatsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pWbsNuCFWDlKUUmJo5iRSi5VU3BBMEwo/view?usp=sharing
Shopify removed integration with Mailchimp. Is there a workaround for integration between Shopify and Mailchimp?
Just need https://apps.shopify.com/shopsync-2 to connect it to your store. It’s free and works just fine.
SMS Bump app – is that something worth trying?
YEAH, this is a very good app. Highly recommended from the beginning of your store.
What apps would you consider critical and must-haves from the start in a general store?
What exit pop app do you guys suggest?
Privy and Wheelio are good ones.
What Shopify theme would you say is the best for a general store right off the bat?
Booster. I recommend it in one of the videos in the program Please watch. module 2 I think. We use it in our stores it’s pretty good.
When using booster theme and Klaviyo which pop do I need to use for the exit popup? Booster theme has it built in and with klaviyo I have to create it. Will using the booster theme popup automatically add email sign ups to my klaviyo newsletter? I noticed the newsletter section of booster theme had an input section for klaviyo sign up form so I was a bit confused.
Will Dropified be ok to use instead of Oberlo?
Yes, dropified is ok to use. They are both pretty similar tools and easy to use
General business questions
Do you have an american credit Card? if so, does it benefit you in any way? Which bank do you use / recommend to me?
Yes, I have a bank of America credit cards. Over time you build a track record there and they allow you higher credit limits that help with a cashflow of your business.
You will need to have a proper LLC setup and have an IEN number to open a bank account / credit card. You can contact yaimis.m.vera@bankofamerica.com . Please tell him Alex from AF MEDIA LLC referred you. You can also get a bank account for your LLC with https://mercury.co . It’s much easier and can be done full remotely once you have LLC/ EIN.
Do you have the name of the merchant account guy at Bank Of America so I can get a merchant account with them?
Please email Leonardo.Peralta@bankofamericamerchant.com
Do you look at competitors when determining the price of your product? Or is the price simply based on your own ROI calculations.
Start with competitive pricing. Adjust based on conversion rate/ if it’s high, I raise the price and test. If too low, lower the price.
Got denied as affiliate for aliexpress on admitad not sure why. Does this happen often?
Please sign up through my link https://www.admitad.com/en/promo/?ref=zrwjkbartq If you don’t get approved please email: a.kryvoborodia@admitad.com and say you are from me, you’ll get approved
How bad is it to start running FB ads only with PayPal Express Checkout? We want to sell only in the USA.
Paypal by itself is fine. I know people who do well just with PP. Most buyers in the USA have a PP account. Be aware of Paypal holds please. ALWAYS upload tracking numbers for every order, submit your business information to Paypal to verify your identity/ company name and DON’T extract big sums of money in bulk from PayPal, do it in small amounts to your bank account if needed.
Extracting big sums triggers the PP safety system and they might put your account on hold. Stripe by itself is also tricky to use. ALWAYS let your customers know how much time it will take to get the order with an order confirmation email. Confirm your business information if Stripe requests it and DON”T scale too aggressively using Stripe only. You might use https://paycertify.com/ as an alternative too, basically doing half of the volume on 1 payment processor and a half on another limiting your risk.
I don’t have an LLC or anything like that. Is it necessary to have that set up from the very beginning?
Ideally, you would have this setup as it’s a matter of time till you will actually need it. You will need a company Stripe/ PP etc. and you will need to pay taxes for the company. These posts outline it well how to establish LLC: https://www.facebook.com/groups/392775941293956/permalink/531479327423616/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/392775941293956/permalink/531685810736301/
If I’m going to split test a new product page, can I name both page the same? and how should I start driving traffic to the new page? I mean, do I use my best performing campaign and duplicate it 2 times, 1 campaign drive traffic to my original page and 1 campaign drive traffic to my new page?
Yes, Name them differently. For example: page1 and page2.
Yes, duplicate your best performing campaign and drive it to the new page (so just change the link URL in your ads). The alternative is to use VWO to properly test it
If on the landing page is not a single word on shipping time. Wouldn’t that put off quite a lot of people by not knowing the expected shipping time frame?
Shipping of 10-20 days is ok. We notify customers through an order confirmation email and give them a chance to cancel their order if they don’t want to wait. Only a very small percentage of people cancel their orders. As long as you are transparent and communicating with customers you wouldn’t have issues.
PayPal limited our account. We can’t even accept payments. Should I keep running ads or pause? If we keep them running, will it hurt optimization? If so should we keep PayPal linked to the shop or unlink it?
I’d unlink it until I get everything settled with them or link a different PayPal account.
Question about Privacy Policy, TOS, Returns Info, FAQ: are you referencing a boilerplate / template for this and customizing to your specific stores?
Yes, we basically customize the templates. This can be as advanced as it needs to be but to start with just can be a modified version of the provided template. Please find templates here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16zcxnffq_n0WYxxq_XD7VqgjdkPvlwx2m3EzxRkoh4k/edit?usp=sharing
Setup PayPal and Stripe based on company name (which is diff name from my store name). Is this ok?
YES, THAT”S OK. you will tell customers’ company name in your order confirmation email
Should I wait to start running ads until my LLC and EIN are in and I’ve got a company credit card set up? Or, can I start and go back and enter/change that info over?
I would start that process now with the establishment of the company. You need a payment processor. So if you can set it up without a company, we can start running ads now and change it later.
Please see the conversations of students who have been through this process here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/392775941293956/permalink/531685810736301/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/392775941293956/permalink/531479327423616/
Stripe, Shopify Payments, sent me an email to let me know that they can’t provide any more support to my business.What alternatives can I use.
Ask your bank if they have a merchant account service. Oftentimes they can provide a direct merchant account service. Also, you can try with this service instead of Stripe, they are more open for dropship business model, and more chances to be approved – https://www.easypaydirect.com/ . Another option is by using PaymentCloud, which implements directly onto Shopify through Authorize.net.
We need to set up a payment gateway but we are unable to use Stripe. Stripe is not in our country. Which alternatives can you recommend?
Checkout.com and Authorize.net are decent ones. Also see which ones are available in your country: https://www.shopify.com/payment-gateways
What are the best ways to increase the average order value?
One-Click-Upsell (OCU) and bounce back email: https://www.klaviyo.com/blog/bounce-back-email . These two ways don’t hurt the initial sale as they happen after the sale.
When it comes to Shopify theme, which one you recommend for one product store based on your experience and conversion rate?
Zipify is good, its 67 or 97 per month though. You can go with it if you want: https://tg259.isrefer.com/go/vslpages1/Alexfedotoff/ Brooklyn theme is free and it’s ok to use
Would the $9.95 shipping affect the conversion?
Depending on the cost of the product, it’s size, etc. If the conversion rate is not acceptable, you should remove the shipping cost and just increase the price of the product to accommodate it
Would you recommend to start off perhaps with ClickFunnels right away or would suggest with Shopify until product is validated?
I would do with Shopify to start with. It’s easier to setup and all integrations are easier to manage. Then we would scale the winning product with a Zipify landing page. Then Clickfunnels
Product research
How to increase the speed of shipping time?
Reach out to suppliers and compare their offerings. And try these https://shipping-revolution.com/home-page Say you are from Alex Fedotoff. Drophippo.com, eprolo.com, or sourcinbox.com are great too. Reach out to all of these for your particular product and ask for a quote.
Should I source the product directly from Ali? Or do you have a better recommendations?
At the beginning from Aliexpress. After 30 orders a day you can:
1. Connect with an agent in China, they ship faster and oftentimes cheaper: http://m.me/arec.long or skype: live:465067197. Say that you are from Alex Fedotoff Get in touch and find out the price for the product you want to source
2. Use https://eprolo.com/ even before 30 orders a day: Install it and find out the price for the product you want to source
This is a product with 14000 orders on AliExpress. Do you think is it too late to start selling it or its still possible because of its high demand? What do you think about it?
I would test it if it’s validated by other sellers, sold on Facebook. I would use adspy to check the keywords for the product. If the product sells successfully on FB, I would go after it. Aliexpress by itself is not enough of a validation factor in my experience. Needs to be confirmed and double-checked with adspy
We were thinking if it’s not hard to sell products that are already being sold well. Isn’t it better to find new products and try to sell those?
You could definitely try to sell those products. I just prefer to go after something that’s validated and proven. There are more unknowns in selling something that wasn’t sold before, more testing/ more guessing.
You can do it but I recommend going after products that have proven to be successful AND find a better way to sell them: Better ads OR better website, different angle. Please watch the video about angles in module #2: Creating Angles and Resurrecting Winner Products
What is your strategy for product research?
1. Adspy.com to see what products are being advertised right now and used to do well in the past.
Metrics we watch out for: as a close ratio to 2 to 1 with LIKES to shares on ads. So if the ad had 1000 likes, ideally it would have had 500 shares or more. It shows it’s viral.
2. Comments on ads. If a lot of people are saying they’ve ordered the product, it means the product is actually something people buy.
3. Bitly links and + at the end. For example https://bitly.com/2LBv3mI+ shows if the product driving a lot of clicks and how consistent that is. If the product is driving a lot of clicks and it’s consistent it means it’s getting a lot of sales. No one simply paying for fun. Traffic costs money.
4. Similarweb analysis. If the store is within 500,000 range it means it’s getting a lot of traffic. We are looking for stores that have gotten a lot of traffic from high quality countries: US, CA etc and big portion of traffic is for social (facebook specifically)
5. The google trends for the products. We are looking for a positive up trend for the product. If there are a lot of people searching/ looking for the product, this is good product to sell. Example: dog collar https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F05q778