What the eff does Effie say?

I have another secret shame and it is reading (semi) trashy magazines and looking at things I can't afford (also watching the Today show, see: Today show scaring mums into using Paypal ) I was reading the latest copy of Real Living on the weekend and came across some useful tips for anyone running a consumer based ecommerce site.

It's important to stay aware of what journalists are telling your target audience as often they dish "useful tips" to the mums at home and you need to stay one step ahead of them. Here are Effie's tips:

"Never Pay for Shipping"

Effie says to be organised and order early so you never have to pay for shipping. She tells readers to go to finder.com.au/free-shipping to find offers before buying anything online. She tells readers to read the fine print before ordering.

What I would do? Make sure I have an offer on finder, don't hide fine print and make it obvious and always offer free shipping.

 

"Parcel Forwarding"

Effie says that if the site doesn't offer shipping to Australia then look for a parcel forwarding service. She talks about Gooping.com, hopshopgo.com myus.com and parceliton.com.au. 

What I would do? Well first I would ship world wide but if logistics makes that hard then I would advertise some of these sites during the checkout process as to not hinder a sale due to shipping limitations.

 

"Look for discount codes"

Effie says that if you want to grab a bargin (and who doesn't) then you should do a quick internet search for a free shipping code for the site you want to buy from.

What I would do? Make sure when you google your company and then the words "discount codes" that some are returned. Retailmenot.com would be a good place to start.

 

These are quite obvious to us Internet-folk however mum at home reads this and thinks shes stumbled onto million dollar advice. If follow these steps before Christmas you will not see orders drop that’s for sure.

And finally, a picture of Tigerlilly the Bulldog that is not related what so ever to this blog post but she liked to watch me read trashy magazines.