Tips for Selling Online Without a Marketplace
Social media best practices and other marketing tips to help you build your own community of customers for your online store
In the wake of the Etsy strike, many people are considering alternative selling platforms to avoid the high fees charged by marketplaces such as Etsy and Amazon.
Airmart is one of those e-commerce alternatives. But new vendors are understandably wary of selling on a platform without a marketplace.
Selling on an online marketplace gives you access to a whole world of customers but often requires you to follow strict rules in order to participate on the platform — whether that’s forcing you into ads or paying a hefty attribution fee if a customer sees an ad of yours before making a purchase.
You shouldn’t have to pay high fees and commissions to reach shoppers online, especially if you have returning customers or loyal fans in a community you have built around your small business.
If you are leaving Etsy or Amazon for Airmart and are unsure how to find customers without an online marketplace, these social media best practices and other marketing tips will help you build your own community of customers for your online store.
Promote new products and engaging content across social media
Facebook groups
Facebook has a group for everything. In addition to sharing your shop on a Facebook page, post individual products in buy-and-sell groups, niche interest groups, hobby groups, and shopping groups.
Instagram is still king when it comes to visual-focused social media. So take some quality photos of your products and link back to your shop in your bio, posts, and stories. For more Instagram tips, read our blog on Instagram tips for food businesses.
TikTok
TikTok is a great place to show off your products and the process that goes into making them. Get creative with the music and sounds you choose to make a short and sweet video impression. Don’t forget to add your shoppable link in the bio so your viewers know where to buy your products!
Twitter is not just for arguments. Creatives can get a lot of attention on the app by either tweeting about their products directly, or dropping shop links in response to a viral tweet or reply.
Pinterest is all about curating an aesthetic, so show off your pretty things! Style your products with a themed photoshoot (think similar colors, moods, vibes) and post the results on Pinterest.
Reddit threads for makers, as well as threads based on special hobbies or interests, are another great place to share your goods.
Highlight user-generated content
Customers love to follow what their peers and favorite influencers are currently obsessing over. User-generated content (UGC) operates as word-of-mouth referrals for your shop. Customers make a lot of purchasing decisions based on what others recommend. Reposting customer photos and videos and sharing reviews and ratings can help you gain new followers and customers.
Here’s how to take advantage of UGC on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook:
Instagram: Ask your customers to use the “Collaborations” feature next to the photo tagging feature, so that a post will show up on both the customer’s page and yours, with your brand name at the top.
TikTok: The “Duet” feature on TikTok videos allows you to make a “reaction” video in response to a customer video or join a popular thread of videos that are relevant to your products.
The relatively new “Repost” feature allows you to post customer content to your TikTok without having to download or save it first.
You can also respond to comments on your own videos with a video using the video camera icon on the left of the comment reply box. The comment will appear at the top of your video as you answer a question or respond to customer feedback about your products.
Facebook: Re-share customer reviews and happy customer photos on your Facebook page.
Keep in touch with customers
Make every purchase the gift that keeps on giving
Reward your returning customers with discounts for future purchases and referral credits. Your loyal customers are your best spokespeople. Referral programs incentivize word-of-mouth peer-to-peer marketing.
Collect email addresses and/or phone numbers
Newsletters keep you in touch with your customers, so your shop will be on their minds long after they make a purchase. You can send out holiday promotions, sales announcements, abandoned cart messages, new product announcements, or just a simple email to say, “Hey, remember our cute shop?”
Don’t let a platform get between you and your customer, take them with you wherever you set up shop.
Bonus tip for selling without a marketplace
Get featured in gift guides
Bloggers use Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to look for sources, brands, and businesses. Gift guide queries will often ask for a sample product, but many accept product links as well. It’s free to join as a “source” and receive daily emails with relevant queries looking for business owners like you.
About Us
Airmart is an online platform to help community organizers, local merchants and small businesses connect with their patrons. Airmart got its start helping minority-owned restaurants and produce wholesalers sell direct-to-consumer during the pandemic and save their businesses. It has since expanded to developing custom features for merchants to showcase their products, collect orders, and facilitate delivery.
When you start selling your products on Airmart, you will join a wonderful community of makers, chefs, and bakers who are earning a living through their small businesses.
Get in now to grow with us!
If you would like to see a 3-minute demo before launching your free shop, you can book a demo here.
