Recap: How To Run A Flash Sale In Shopify Webinar

[Jacqui]

This blog post is a recap of the webinar Getting Ready For BFCM: How To Run A Flash Sale In Shopify Webinar. 

 
What is a Flash Sale?

Flash sales are all about creating excitement and urgency among online shoppers. Unlike regular sales, flash sales have a shorter duration, typically lasting only a limited time. The primary goal of a flash sale is to catch the attention of potential customers and create a sense of urgency, encouraging impulse buying and capturing customers who may have been hesitant to make a purchase. 

These limited-time offers often involve deep discounts that wouldn't typically be provided during regular sales, enticing customers to take advantage of the deal while it's still hot! Some examples of popular flash sales include Boxing Day sales, Black Friday Cyber Monday, and anniversary sales.

Creating a Marketing Plan

Before diving into the logistics of your flash sale, it's crucial to have a solid marketing plan in place. A well-defined marketing plan helps you keep track of your promotional efforts and ensures that you're effectively communicating your flash sale to your target audience. Shopify provides a comprehensive guide on developing a marketing plan, which we highly recommend you check out here. This guide will assist you in structuring your marketing strategy and implementing it seamlessly.

Collecting Customer Emails

To kickstart your flash sale marketing campaign, it's essential to have your customers' email addresses on file. There are two primary methods for collecting customer emails: through the checkout process and by setting up an email sign-up form on your store page. To set up an email sign-up form, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Shopify Admin.
2. Navigate to Online store > Themes > Customize. 
3. On the left hand side click Add Section > Email Sign up.
4. Customize the email sign-up form according to your preferences.
5. Once the form is active, customers can provide their email addresses to sign up for your mailing list.
6. By utilizing this email list, you can target potential buyers in your flash sale campaign.

Learn more about customizing your theme.

Executing Your Email Campaign with Shopify Email

Email marketing is often considered the top of the funnel for many businesses. Shopify Email is a powerful tool that allows you to create and send professional email campaigns directly from your Shopify store. First you’ll need to install Shopify Email:

1. Go to your Shopify Admin.
2. Navigate to the Marketing page.
3. Select email and follow the prompts to install Shopify Email.

From here you can work on your marketing email. Inside Shopify Email, you'll find various templates on the left-hand side. Choose the template that best fits your preferences. All templates can be customized according to your requirements.

Utilize the template customization options to create an eye-catching and persuasive email that aligns with your flash sale theme. You can use Shopify Magic to generate your subject line to streamline the process. While creating your email you can also utilize free images available within Shopify Email to enhance the visual appeal. 

Include the subscriber segment that you want to use for your sale to ensure your email reaches the best potential customers. Include the discount you are offering. This should balance enticing customers to shop and ensuring your margins are high enough to turn a profit.  

Before scheduling, review your email and utilize the preview options to ensure it looks great on desktop and mobile devices. Schedule the email to be sent at the ideal window for marketing. This is most often between 9am and 12pm local time. Additionally, consider sending another email closer to and during the sale to further drive customer engagement. You can set that up following the same steps as above.

After the email is sent, you can explore the analytics provided by Shopify Email to gain insights into the performance of your campaign. This data will only populate once the email is sent and subscribers have begun to open it. 

Content Marketing through Blog Posts

Leveraging blog posts can significantly enhance your flash sale promotion. Blog posts provide numerous benefits, including improved SEO, social proof, and additional communication with customers. To add a blog post about your flash sale, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Shopify Admin.
2. Navigate to Online Store > Blog Posts.
3. Add a blog post highlighting how your products are the perfect gifts for the upcoming holiday or occasion.
4. Emphasize the unique features and benefits of your products to attract potential customers.
5. Add the blog post to your store's menu for easy navigation and visibility.

You can utilize Shopify Magic to generate a blog post for you if you aren’t sure what to include. Click the Shopify Magic icon and follow the prompts to describe the kind of article you’re looking for. Select the article if you’re happy with the content.

Promoting Your Flash Sale with Shopify Collabs

In addition to email marketing and blog posts, influencer marketing can be a powerful tool to boost the visibility of your flash sale. What is influencer marketing? If you aren’t familiar with the term, influencer marketing is the use of social media influencers (also called content creators, or “influencers”) who promote your brand or product to their vast audiences.

Shopify Collabs is an excellent tool specifically designed for influencer marketing allowing you to connect with content creators who can promote your brand in general, or flash sales. Let's explore how you can set up and leverage Shopify Collabs to collaborate with social media influencers and promote your products to their followers.

1. Begin by installing the Shopify Collabs app from the Shopify App Store. Follow the prompts provided to complete the installation process.
2. Once you have installed Shopify Collabs, go through the setup process to configure the app according to your business and requirements.
3. In Settings you can fill out important information about your business that influencers can view. Provide comprehensive details to attract potential influencers and showcase the unique aspects of your brand.
4. Recruit is where you can search for and connect with influencers who align with your brand and target audience. Explore the options available here to find the perfect influencers for your flash sale campaign.
5. Programs is where you can create and manage influencer marketing programs. Explore the options available here to design programs that incentivize influencers to promote your flash sale effectively.

Want to learn more about Shopify Collabs? Check out the video below:

Now you’re ready to market a successful flash sale in Shopify. We covered various marketing strategies, including email campaigns, blog posts, and influencer marketing with Shopify Collabs. By implementing these strategies effectively, you can create excitement, generate urgency, and maximize sales during your flash sale.

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