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Ready to let your work shine? Build your portfolio →   There’s more to Pinterest than beautiful mood boards and inspiration. Here’s how to make the most out of the platform and use it to promote your work. A never-ending fountain of inspiration, Pinterest is a platform that’s all about visual creativity and discovery. This strictly professional environment is free of FOMO-inducing selfies of friends, freeing you to fully submerge yourself in your tasks of picking out color palettes or researching mid-century type. On Pinterest, probably the least social of all social media channels, ideas and great visuals and mood boards are valued more than followers or likes. Engagement between users is kept to a minimum, to the extent that the platform went as far as removing its own ‘Like’ button earlier last year. This makes using Pinterest a whole other art to designing for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Since its launch back in 2010, Pinterest has become an integral part of most of our work processes, and it’s a favorite go-to place for finding inspiration. Yet, there’s an added perk to the platform that’s overlooked by many designers, as Pinterest marketing offers a great opportunity for promoting your own work. We’ve pinned down a few tips to help boost your Pinterest account, from optimal image sizes to the best board titles. As for the creative ideas, however, we leave those to you – and to the pins you’ll encounter. Showcasing your talent should be easy. With Wix’s portfolio builder, you can create a professional, eye-catching portfolio that shows your best work in just a few clicks. Wix’s customizable templates and easy-to-use tools let you present your skills with confidence–leaving a lasting impression on anyone who visits your site. 1. Pin your own work Liking your own photos is a pretty awkward move on most social media channels. But on Pinterest, it’s what the cool kids do. Or more precisely, they pin them, as pinning your own work could get your designs circulating around the platform. Since the Pinterest algorithm suggests related images based on users’ personal preferences and searches, there’s no knowing where each pin could end up. In other words, your art can reach the feeds of people who weren’t previously familiar with your work, but were searching for something just like it. Create a board or two that showcase your own creations. But don’t overdo it and go too promotional, as the majority of your boards should be dedicated to your inspiration and ideas. – All pins should lead to your website: The pins that you create will hopefully sprout wings and fly, straying far from your own boards and into new and exciting realms. For that reason, each pin you create should be able to find its way back home. And when we talk about the Web, what is home if not your online design portfolio . Linking your pins to your website, design blog, or online store means that people who come across your art in your graphic design portfolio , can immediately be redirected to its original web source – your portfolio – to find out more. Looking to learn how to make a website ? Check out our full guide. Illustrator and Wix user Levi Jacobs has created a Pinterest board to showcase his own creations, titled ‘Levi Jacobs Illustration’. – Add pin descriptions: While Pinterest is a visual platform, the right use of text can make a big difference. Adding short written descriptions for each of your pins can help maximize engagement. Explain what the pin is about in a few brief sentences, around 100-500 characters long. Pinterest is basically a search engine, not unlike Google, which means that keywords are an important factor in the way it evaluates search results. Therefore, your textual descriptions should include a few keywords, just like you would do for your portfolio’s SEO - this is a great graphic design portfolio tip . In order to pick out the best keywords for your needs, ask yourself what people would type into Pinterest if they were looking to find images similar to yours, and include those words in your text. For example, notice how illustrator and Wix user Naomi Wilkinson captioned her illustrated feline print as ‘Leopard print A2’. She didn’t neglect to mention her own name as the creator of the image, so that it would remain there for future repins. Another way to perfect your keywords is by typing your own text into Pinterest’s search bar, and see what suggestions show up right below it. Those are related words that people usually search for alongside your keywords, and therefore could help make your own caption more specific. You might want to consider something along the lines of ‘Leopard print illustration’,  ‘Leopard print art’, or  ‘Leopard print poster’, depending on what works best for your content. Illustrator and Wix user Naomi Wilkinson‘s pin, Leopard Print, links to her online store. – Keep pins coming with new content: Whenever you add new content to your online portfolio, don’t forget to add it to your Pinterest boards as well. Updating your social media with fresh content is always a good practice, and the same holds true for your Pinterest account. – Pinterest pin dimensions: Since Pinterest displays pins vertically, tall pins perform better than wide ones. The recommended dimensions for a Pinterest pin are 600 px wide by 900 px high, but those can vary. More important is to retain an aspect ratio of 2:3, or similar. 2. Get your work pinned by others Pinterest has a Chrome extension that enables users to easily convert any image they see online to a pin. But for those visitors browsing your site that don’t have the extension at hand – prep your portfolio so that it’s ready to be shared in an instant by adding social buttons to all images, including the Pinterest Save button. And since sharing the love should go both ways, link your personal website back to your Pinterest account, together with all of your other active social platforms. 3. Beautify your account and claim your website Your Pinterest account should be as polished and branded as the rest of your online presence, from your designer's Instagram account to your portfolio website. Edit your settings to add a logo , icon or photo as your profile pic (165 x 165 pixels is the optimal size). Fill in your location and add a brief introductory sentence in the ‘about’ section. Now enter the most important stage of all – it’s time to claim your website. This step is crucial, as it will make both your URL show up in your bio, as well as allow you to see what people are pinning from your portfolio. It will even automatically add your logo to all future pins. Lastly, confirming a website makes your account more reliable to Pinterest, hence giving your pins a boost in search results. As part of your effort to create one of the best portfolio websites out there, this is also a great way to get people to discover your work. 4. Share what you want to, hide the rest Maintaining a beautiful Pinterest feed is fun. After all, you get to collect your favorite eye-candy and organize it into categories – what’s not to like? Your boards can be about anything, from striking lettering to quirky objects or your favorite logo designs. But looking at Pinterest from a professional standpoint, creating great boards is also an opportunity for you to provide your fans with a better understanding of your interests and sources of inspiration. Pinterest, as mentioned above, is a search engine that makes use of keywords. It is therefore recommended to include keywords in the titles that you give your boards, whenever possible. If you create a board for unique textile designs, for example, naming it something like ‘Fabric frenzie’ would make it less visible than a more straightforward ‘Textile prints and patterns’. Illustrator and Wix user Naomi Wilkinson‘s Pinterest boards, such as ‘Beautiful Objects’, can provide insight into some of her sources of inspiration. On top of the beautiful boards that are meant to be shared with the world, some designers prefer to brainstorm and research more privately. For those occasions, Pinterest offers the option of creating secret boards, that only you and the people you work with can see. There, you can pile up all of your disorganized thoughts until finding that very specific dream decor for your new living room, while at the same time keeping your feed curated and professional. Designer and Wix user Simon Walker uses Pinterest to collect beautiful type, book covers, and other sources of inspiration.

Every day, the world watches 1 billion hours of YouTube videos. The platform’s immense popularity has transformed it from an entertainment channel to a powerful monetization tool for businesses and personal brands. So, if you’re interested in making money on YouTube, now is a great time to get started. We suggest beginning by using a website builder to host your videos and to have a home for your brand, and then sharing your content on YouTube. Not only will this expand your reach, but it will also help you make money from your fans. In this article, we’ll take a look at the seven most effective ways to monetize your YouTube video ideas. How to make money on YouTube: Become a YouTube Partner Turn on ads for your videos Sell merchandise Work with brands as an influencer Crowdfund Use fan funding License to the media Create sponsored content Become an affiliate marketer 01. Become a YouTube Partner Once you start a YouTube channel , you can join the YouTube Partner Program to get access to special monetization features, including the ability to serve ads, display merchandise and more. While joining is completely optional, it does give you access to a variety of channels for making money, including Premium subscription fees and a merchandise shelf. Here’s how to become a YouTube Partner: Step 1: Stay compliant with the guidelines When you first apply to the Partner Program, YouTube will review your channel for compliance. For this reason, you should get acquainted with the platform’s monetization policies , and make sure your content abides by the rules every time you upload a YouTube video . Your content will be under continual review, even as you grow your channel and start to make money from it. If you do get accepted as a Partner, keep tabs on the latest compliance policies to make sure you’re up-to-date. Step 2: Meet the YouTube Partner Program requirements In order to join the program, you’ll need to become a successful YouTuber . The criteria for joining are that your channel has reached 4,000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers within the past 12 months, or 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views within the past 90 days. Only once you’ve met or surpassed these numbers can you apply to become a YouTube Partner. Step 3: Apply to join the program Provided you meet the necessary requirements, you can submit an application to join the program following these steps: Go to the top right of the YouTube homepage. Click your account icon and select Creator Studio. On the left-hand side, click Channel. Then, select Status and Features. Under the box that says Monetization, click Enable. Agree to the YouTube Partner Program Terms. Step 4: Set up AdSense As part of the application process, you’ll need to set up an AdSense account associated with your profile to ensure you’ll earn money from your videos and get paid. Keep in mind that you can only have one such account, and that multiple channels can be linked to the same account. Step 5: Get reviewed Once you’ve applied to be a YouTube Partner and set up an AdSense account, your channel will be put in a queue for review. At this point, both automated systems and humans will check your channel for full compliance with the guidelines. Step 6: Explore your monetization options If you’re accepted by YPP, congratulations! It’s time to set up your ad preferences and enable monetization. You can choose from a wide range of YouTube monetization options , but keep in mind that they each have different eligibility requirements: Advertising revenue: Earn money by including display, overlay or video ads next to your content. To do this, you must be at least 18 years old or have a legal guardian who agrees to handle your payments. Your content must also meet the advertiser-friendly content guidelines . Channel memberships: Offer special perks to Channel members who make recurring monthly payments. This requires that you’re at least 18 years old and have more than 30,000 subscribers. Merchandise shelf: Showcase official branded merchandise on your watch pages for your fans to browse and buy. For this option, you must be at least 18 years old and have more than 10,000 subscribers. Super Chat and Super Stickers: Make money from fans who pay to get their messages highlighted in chat streams. You must be at least 18 years old and live in a country where Super Chat is available. YouTube Premium revenue: Get part of a YouTube Premium subscriber’s membership fee when they watch your videos. 02. Turn on ads for your videos Running ads on your YouTube videos is one of the easiest ways to earn passive income, and it’s a no-brainer once you’re accepted into the YouTube Partner Program. Here’s your step-by-step guide. Step 1: Enable monetization Before ads start running, you’ll need to turn on monetization in YouTube Studio. Once inside, find the specific videos you want to monetize and allow ads. For videos over eight minutes, you can also add mid-roll ads, which are shown during your video, increasing your earning potential. Step 2: Choose your ad preferences YouTube offers different types of ads, like pre-roll (before videos), mid-roll (during videos) and post-roll (after videos). While YouTube automatically decides which ads to show your audience, you can select the types of ads best suited to your channel. Step 3: Earn revenue Every time someone watches or clicks an ad, you earn a cut of the revenue. Keep in mind that YouTube keeps a portion, so combining ads with other strategies can grow your overall earnings. Step 4: Analyze your performance Stay on top of how ads are performing with YouTube Studio’s revenue analytics. You’ll be able to see metrics like views, revenue per 1,000 views (RPM) and your total earnings. Use these insights to adjust your content strategy and optimize future videos. 03. Sell merchandise Another way to make money on YouTube is by selling merchandise. You can offer products you’re already selling on other platforms, or you can create a new collection based on your channel’s content. Keep in mind that you’re far more likely to make sales if your videos already have a fan following, so focus on building your popularity before you start producing such products. Step 1: Design your products Your merchandise should represent your brand, appeal to your target audience and build a community around your channel. As you dream up your products, think of something relevant to your niche that your viewers would be interested in. Note that you can check your YouTube analytics to get a better understanding of the kinds of people interested in your content. For instance, if your channel is about makeup or beauty, you might want to sell branded cosmetics or makeup bags. On the other hand, if you’re a YouTube fitness instructor you might consider selling branded fitness equipment and energy bars. You can also poll your audience to ask about which kinds of products interest them the most. Step 2: Source and build your products Now, it’s time to make your product ideas come to life. You’ll likely need a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer to produce and deliver your products to you. You can also try dropshipping, a method by which the manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer ships the products to customers directly. Whichever method you choose, be careful not to overstock at the beginning. Instead, start with just 1-2 products and produce them in small amounts. That way, you’ll have time to gauge their popularity and estimate how many people will buy. Step 3: Start an online store To handle transactions, you’ll need to create an online store . This will allow you to manage end-to-end fulfillment, accept secure online payments and more. Having your own professional eCommerce site will also boost your brand’s credibility while providing a dedicated platform for your audience to browse through your merchandise. Step 4: Enable your merchandise shelf If you’re a YouTube Partner, you can also take advantage of YouTube’s inbuilt merchandise shelf . This lets you display up to 12 official branded products on the video page of your channel so that you can showcase the items to your viewers. Step 5: Promote the products in your YouTube videos Once you’ve created your products and set up a website, spread the word by promoting them in your videos. Think of creative ways to present the merchandise to viewers, such as wearing or using it or featuring customers with your products. Conclude your videos by reminding users to like, subscribe, and check out your website. You should also add a link to your online store in the description section so that users can navigate seamlessly to your website and make a purchase. 04. Work with brands as an influencer Brands are constantly on the lookout for creators who can help them connect with their audience. Partnering with brands as an influencer is not just a great way to make money, it’s also a chance to build lasting connections with businesses you believe in. Step 1: Find the right brands Start by identifying brands aligned with your channel’s focus. If your content focuses on gaming, fitness or beauty, for example, look for brands in those niches. Step 2: Create an irresistible pitch When reaching out to brands, share your channel’s story and why you’re a good fit for their product. Highlight your analytics, like average video views, audience demographics or engagement rates. Show the value you bring and keep your pitch concise and professional. Step 3: Nail your sponsorships Once you’ve landed a brand deal, it’s time to create sponsored content that feels natural and genuine. Whether it’s a dedicated video, product review or brief mention, integrate the brand into your videos in a way your viewers will enjoy. Above all, only promote products you truly believe in to keep trust levels high with your audience. Step 4: Track your partnership’s success Use performance metrics like clicks, conversions and viewer engagement to gauge how well your sponsorship went. These numbers not only impress your brand partners but also help you secure long-term collaborations in the future. Pro tip: Transparency matters. Always disclose when a video is sponsored to stay compliant with guidelines and maintain your audience’s trust. 05. Crowdfund Crowdfunding is the practice of raising money from a large number of people, whether it’s friends, family or third parties interested in your project. This is a viable option for making money on YouTube if you’re looking for monthly revenue or a one-time donation to jumpstart your efforts. Step 1: Join a crowdfunding site First, you’ll need to join a crowdfunding platform. Take a look at YouTube’s list of approved crowdfunding sites for different options. Some of the most well-known ones include: Kickstarter Indiegogo GoFundMe Angel.me Crowdfunder Note that some platforms are best for raising money for one-off projects, while others help you run a long-term fundraise. Whichever your preference, make sure to choose a platform that aligns with your needs. Step 2: Promote your crowdfunding efforts After you create an account, you’ll need to raise awareness of your campaign. This is where your YouTube channel comes into play. You can use your videos to tell the story behind your project or brand. Build interest, excitement and suspense by keeping your fans up-to-date on your fundraising progress. In addition, draw in donors by offering rewards - such as shout-outs, exclusive content or free merchandise - depending on the amount they contribute. To raise further awareness, couple your YouTube videos with other social media marketing strategies. Post about your campaign on your Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and include links to both your YouTube videos and crowdfunding page. At the same time, you can increase your content’s visibility on Google by optimizing your YouTube SEO . 06. Use fan funding Another option for making money on YouTube is fan funding. While crowdfunding platforms target a general crowd for donations, fan funding specifically sources funds from your audience. Step 1: Join a fan funding platform You can get started with fan funding by joining a dedicated platform. One of the most popular is Patreon , which provides tools for content creators to get recurring, long-term support from their fans. Another option is to fan fund through YouTube directly using YouTube’s built-in features. For this, you first need to become a YouTube Partner. As a Partner, you can raise money by offering channel memberships , which take the form of a Join button directly beneath your YouTube videos. By clicking this button, fans will get the option to provide regular support in exchange for perks like custom badges, custom emojis and exclusive content. Additional YouTube features that are built into the Partner program include Super Chat and Super Stickers , which let fans pay you in exchange for pinned comments and animated graphics, respectively. Step 2: Promote your fan funding efforts In order to run a successful fan funding campaign, you’ll need to spread the word to your audience so they have the opportunity to contribute. Conclude your videos by politely inviting viewers to support your work. 07. License to the media Most content doesn’t go viral. When it does, however, many news outlets want copies so that they can replay it to their audience. In this case, you can make money by licensing it to the media and charging them a license fee for permission to use it. Step 1: Put your contact information front and center There’s no real formula for creating viral content. It’s often just a matter of strong marketing strategies and chance. If you do happen to create a viral video, the first thing you should do is make your contact information easy to find. This will improve the chances that news outlets will reach out and offer payment in exchange for a licensed copy. Create an email account containing your YouTube channel name and place it on your website and in the description section of your YouTube channel. Explain what this email address is for with a clear and direct statement, such as: For business inquiries, please reach out at [email address]. Step 2: Join a video rights marketplace You can also pay to have your videos listed in a video rights marketplace. This makes it easier for media professionals to find and purchase your content. Jukin Media , for example, is a video rights marketplace that saves your files in their content library and sends it to news channels, advertising agencies and other organizations. You’ll then make money if these organizations decide to use your content. 08. Create sponsored content If your channel gains traction, you can become an influencer and make money on YouTube with sponsored content. Once you have a large and engaged following, you may be able to profit by endorsing branded products. Step 1: Find a brand to sponsor As you grow your number of YouTube subscribers , brands might start to reach out for a collaboration. When this happens, it’s a good idea to research the brands and their products before promoting them on your channel. Endorse products that you can sincerely recommend to fans so that you avoid compromising the quality of your content. If you have a particular brand in mind you’d like to sponsor, you can reach out to them yourself and explain how they would benefit from working with you. For example, you might tell them why your target audience is relevant, how many people are subscribed to your channel, and how much engagement your videos receive. You can also find brands by joining influencer marketplaces such as Grapevine Logic , Famebit , Channel Pages and CrowdTap . Some companies on these influencer marketplaces will gift free products in exchange for sponsorship, while others offer payment. Step 2: Create branded content Once you partner with a brand, there are several ways you can promote them on your channel in order to bring in revenue. For example, you can create entire videos focused on the brand or include the products in other video content. Many beauty influencers, for instance, sponsor beauty products as part of a broader makeup tutorial. 09. Become an affiliate marketer Another option is to sponsor products and brands with affiliate marketing . As an affiliate marketer, you’ll get a special link to a company website that tracks back to your page. When people buy from the company using that link, you’ll get commissions from the sales. Since the brand pays you only when you make sales - rather than paying you to simply recommend their brand - you don’t need a large fanbase to get started. Here’s how to do it: Step 1: Join an affiliate program There are several affiliate programs that you can join. A popular option is Amazon Associates , which is a good choice for those new to affiliate marketing and offers a commission of up to 10%. Other big brands, like Target and BestBuy , have affiliate programs as well. For even more options, take a look at affiliate marketing platforms such as: CJ Affiliate Rakuten Advertising ShareASale Impact Using these platforms, you’ll be able to connect with a variety of brands and get affiliate links that you can use to make sales. Step 2: Reach out to brands While joining one of these platforms is the easiest way to connect with brands, you can also reach out to companies that you’re interested in promoting and that you think would be valuable for your audience. When you contact them, be sure to explain how they’ll benefit from the collaboration and why your fans would be a good audience for their brand. Step 3: Feature the products in your content Once you connect with a brand and obtain an affiliate link, incorporate the products into your videos. Be sure to integrate them seamlessly into your content so that you don’t come across as overly promotional, as this may put off some of your fans. Instead, recommend products in a way that offers genuine value to your audience. An online fitness instructor, for instance, might promote a pair of good-quality athletic shoes. An outdoors enthusiast, on the other hand, might recommend a particular brand of camping gear. The more relevant the products and brands are to your fans, the more they’ll enjoy your content and the more likely they are to buy. Step 4: Add an affiliate link Finally, place the affiliate link in the description of the relevant videos. At the end of your video, remind users of the products you recommended, and tell them they can buy them using the link below. How many views do you need on YouTube to make money? The number of views you need on YouTube to make money isn't as straightforward as you might think. While views are ultimately how you reach viewers and expose them to potential money-making avenues, there's no magic number of views that guarantees earnings. Here's why: YouTube Partner Program: To start earning money directly from YouTube ads, you need to meet the eligibility criteria for the YouTube Partner Program. This requires 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past year, or 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days. Revenue per Mille (RPM):  This is the average amount you earn per 1,000 views. Your RPM can vary greatly depending on factors like your niche, viewer location, ad engagement and video type. Typical RPMs range from $1 to $30 per 1,000 views, but some niches can go even higher. Monetization methods:  Ads aren't the only way to make money on YouTube. You can also explore brand deals, sponsorships, merchandise, affiliate marketing and channel memberships. These can bring in significant revenue regardless of your view count. How much money can you make on YouTube? Now that you know how to make money on YouTube, you’re probably wondering whether you can earn enough for it to be a full-time job. These stats provide some insights into how much YouTubers make : Google pays 68% of their AdSense revenue to the video creator. That means that for every $100 an advertiser pays, Google will pay you $68. YouTube advertisers pay an average of $0.18 per view of their ads. This means a YouTube channel can receive $3-5 per 1000 video views, on average. The amount you make from other YouTube monetization strategies - whether it’s selling merchandise or creating affiliate content - depends on your marketing efforts and the number of fans you have. As with many things, the answer isn’t black-and-white. You might start out making some extra cash on the side - and later, with enough hard work and persistence, make a comfortable living out of it. We recommend experimenting with different monetization options to find the choice that’s best for you and will make you the most money. How much money do YouTubers make per year? Top YouTubers with tens of millions of subscribers can make astronomical amounts of money. Accounts including Mr. Beast, PewDiePie, and Markiplier all make upwards of $25 million per year through their channels alone, and that isn't taking other income streams into account. However, the average YouTuber isn't earning that kind of money. According to ZipRecruiter , the average YouTuber in the United States makes around $1,269 per week, or $66,999 yearly. The top 10% of YouTubers make over $25,000 per month, and the top 1% make over $1 million per year. It's important to note that these are just estimates, and the actual amount of money that a YouTuber makes can vary greatly. However, these numbers give you a general idea of how much money some of the most popular YouTubers make. Tips for succeeding on YouTube You know how to make money on YouTube now, but there are some extra tips to make sure you succeed on YouTube: Create high-quality videos that people will want to watch. This is the most important thing you can do to make money on YouTube. If your videos are not good, people won't watch them, and you won't earn any money. Make sure to do your research, plan your videos in advance, use the best equipment you can afford and to edit your videos carefully. These details matter and will help you stand out on YouTube. Build a large audience. The more people watch your videos, the more money you will earn from ads. This is why it's important to build a large audience for your channel. One of the best ways to build your audience is to find your niche. What are you passionate about? What do you know a lot about? Find a topic that you are interested in and that you can talk about knowledgeably. This will help you attract viewers who are interested in the same things as you. Be consistent. Upload new videos regularly, whether it's daily, weekly, or monthly. This will help keep your viewers engaged and coming back for more, and it signals to YouTube that you take your channel seriously and that you are committed to creating content on a regular basis. Promote your channel. Share your videos on social media and other platforms. Make sure to spread the word so you can get as many views as possible from the start. This will help you reach a wider audience in time. On top of that, spend time interacting with your subscribers. Responding to comments and questions will help you build relationships with your viewers and make them feel that they are part of your community. Be patient. It takes time to make money on YouTube; don't expect to become a millionaire overnight. Just keep creating great content and building your audience, and eventually you will start to see results. YouTube monetization basics Now that we have reviewed the best ways to make money on YouTube, we wanted to cover some information about how YouTube works and some overarching tactics that will be relevant no matter which monetization method you choose. To get started on YouTube, you’ll need to create a channel to host your videos. Uploading video content will not automatically make you money, however. So, be sure that you enable monetization in your settings as you’re configuring your account. This will give you the possibility of making money from your YouTube videos down the line. At that point you can decide which monetization tactics to work with. Another important item to note is that you can make money from your YouTube channel even without millions of subscribers. One of the best ways to do that is by understanding your audience and then targeting them with relevant content. Try to step into the shoes of your subscribers, or who you want to follow you in the future. Once you have a strong understanding of your audience, your next goal should be engagement. Think deeply about what type of content they would be interested in, what would be most useful to them, and how you can prompt viewers to click, comment or subscribe. Only then can you create videos that are sure to succeed with one of the monetization methods. How to make money on YouTube FAQ How do beginners make money on YouTube? Beginners can make money on YouTube through affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and the YouTube Partner Program. To be eligible for the Partner Program, you must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past year, or 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views within the past 90 days. Once you are in the Partner Program, you can earn money from ads that are displayed on your videos. How much will YouTube pay me for 1,000 views? The amount of money that YouTube pays you for 1,000 views depends on a number of factors, including the following: The type of ad that is displayed on your video The country where your viewers are located The overall demand for ads A YouTube channel usually receives $3-5 per 1,000 video views on average. Do you get paid for uploading videos on YouTube? No, you don't get paid for uploading videos on YouTube. You only get paid if your videos are monetized through the YouTube Partner Program and viewers watch ads on them. How can you make money on YouTube without making videos? While creating videos is the traditional way to build a YouTube audience, there are alternative methods for monetization even without directly uploading your own content: 1. Post work from other creators: You can curate and showcase high-quality content from other creators under their permission. This requires good taste and understanding your audience's interests. 2. Alternative content: Explore audio-based formats like podcasts, guided meditations or even curated music compilations. You can also host live streams with Q&As, interviews or gaming sessions, building a community through voice alone. Viewers can show their love with virtual gifts or paid memberships. 3. Business-oriented approaches: Offer consulting services to help other YouTubers grow their channels, become a YouTube Ads Specialist or sell branded merchandise like t-shirts, mugs or other items related to your niche or channel theme.

These days, people are finding creative ways to digitally connect with others from within their homes - whether they video chat with family and friends, play music from their balconies, or create a website to spread the word about their business. Live streaming may sound complex and technical, but it's actually a simple and highly accessible process for anyone. It's also a highly beneficial marketing strategy for engaging with new audiences and customers. Thanks to a wide variety of easy-to-use online platforms, you can produce your own live videos in a matter of minutes. In this article, we’ll go over everything from the equipment you need to live stream to the best live streaming platforms. Then, we’ll dive into how to live stream on your website, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Live streaming equipment Learning how to live stream isn’t difficult, but it does require a bit of hardware and software. Obtaining these various tools is sometimes a barrier to those interested in live streaming, simply because there are so many options and they don’t know where to begin. Here’s a very clear overview of the equipment you’ll need to get started: Strong Internet connection . Be sure that the place you’re filming - whether it’s your home garden, exercise studio, or place of worship - has reliable internet connectivity. Quality microphone . Rather than use the microphone on your laptop or mobile phone, you’ll need to get a professional microphone for clear sound and minimal background noise. Good video camera . To improve the visual quality of your videos while staying within budget, opt for an HD webcam you can attach to your computer. You can also use the camera on your mobile phone, as long as you won’t require zoom. Alternatively, you can invest in a professional camera. Look into the types of cameras t hat are best for casual filming, such as handheld video cameras, or mirrorless and DSLR cameras. Tripod . If you’re filming using a camera or your phone, you’re going to need a tripod to hold the device and keep the video steady. Encoder . An encoder is a tool that takes your content and converts it into a streamable format for the web. Not every live stream platform requires an encoder, but it’s worth having to keep your options open. Streamlabs OBS is an encoding software that is easy to download and use. Live streaming platforms After you choose your equipment, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the different live streaming platforms. You may want to upload to just one, but you can also upload to all of them to maximize your reach. Popular live streaming sites include: Your own website YouTube Facebook Instagram Your choice of platforms depends largely on your audience and goals. Using your own professional website as your live streaming platform allows you complete control over the way you display your content and shape your story. At the same time, you can use live video as a social media marketing tactic. This is particularly useful if you’re a social media influencer and you want to promote your brand on Facebook or Instagram. Pro Tip: You can use a link in bio tool such as Hopp by Wix in order to direct your audience towards all of your live streaming platforms as well as your website from one designated URL. Let’s go over the steps for how to live stream on each of these different platforms: How to live stream on your website If you choose to broadcast your live video on your website, you can do so using Wix Video . This is an effective tool for sharing all types of video content, including live streaming fitness classes, religious services, online courses , Q&A sessions, concerts, and more. By streaming directly onto your site, you can connect with users in real time. This is especially helpful if you're teaching online or if you want to give your audience feedback or answer their questions throughout your video. Here are the steps for how to live stream from your desktop directly to your Wix website: Download the live stream encoder from Streamlabs OBS. Go to your Video Library, and click “Live Stream.” Under “Go Live Now,” click “Desktop.” Choose “I Have an Encoder.” Select a Wix Video Channel for your live stream. Add details about your video. Under “Video Info,” you’ll see options to add the title, cover image, description, and more. Under “Video Pricing,” you can choose whether to offer it for free or enable rental or purchasing. Then, click “Next.” On the Connect Stream tab, copy the Server URL and Stream Key. Paste them both into the encoder. On your computer, open the OBS Studio Encoder and click “Settings.” Then, click the “Stream” tab on the left. Select “Custom Streaming Server” from the drop-down menu, and paste both your Server URL and Stream Key in the appropriate fields. Click “OK.” You should see a feed from your camera in the encoder. Now is the time you’ve been waiting for: Select “Start Streaming” When you’re finished, be sure to click “Stop Streaming” on the encoder. If you’d prefer, you can also live stream from mobile using iOS. Regardless of which device you use, your video will be automatically saved on your website, so you won’t have to worry about uploading it later. Also keep in mind that even if you don’t want to live stream at this very instant, you can schedule your live streaming event by setting your start date and time in advance. How to live stream on YouTube For those interested in video marketing or vlogging, getting on YouTube is a must. While most of your videos probably won’t need to be broadcasted in real time, live streaming does come in handy for when you want to interact with your audience directly. You can live stream on YouTube using your mobile phone, a webcam, or a separate camera. However, it’s important to note that you already need to be a successful YouTuber with at least 1,000 subscribers to be able to live stream from your phone. If you’re using a camera, you’ll need to use an encoder to live stream on YouTube. Here’s how: Start a YouTube channel . Enable your channel for live streaming by going to Creator Studio tools, then clicking the “Live Streaming” tab. Download an encoder (if not using a webcam). Click the upload icon - which looks like a grey video camera - in the upper right corner. Click “Go Live.” This will take you to the Live Control Room. Select “Live Stream” at the top of the page. Add details about your video. You’ll have the option to enter a title and description, select a privacy setting, schedule your live stream, add a custom thumbnail, and more. Start your encoder, then go back to the live dashboard. Click “Go Live” on the right. To end the stream, click “End Stream.” Keep in mind that if you’re using a webcam rather than a separate camera, you don’t need to use an encoder to live stream on YouTube. Instead, you can simply click the grey video camera icon in the upper right corner, select “Go Live,” and then select “Webcam.” How to live stream on Facebook Another option is to broadcast from your Facebook account . Facebook calls its live streaming feature Facebook Live , a term you may have heard before. While YouTube restricts mobile video to channels with a high follower count, Facebook makes it easy for anyone to broadcast from their phones. Facebook Live has exploded in popularity since its launch in 2016. Research has shown that the time people spend watching Facebook Live has quadrupled in the past year, with live videos generating higher engagement rates and performing better with Facebook’s algorithm. Here’s how to live stream on Facebook directly from your phone: In the Facebook app, tap the camera icon to the left of the search bar. Give Facebook access to your camera and microphone when prompted. Switch to “Live” at the bottom of your screen. Select your privacy and posting settings. Now, add some details: Write a description, choose a location, tag your friends, and more. Add lenses, filters, and drawings to your upcoming video by tapping the magic wand icon. Click “Start Live Video,” and start broadcasting! Note that you can broadcast for a maximum of 90 minutes. To end the broadcast, click “Finish.” If you wish, click “Post your video replay” so that your video gets published on either your personal wall or Facebook Business page. If you’re broadcasting from your webcam, the process is quite similar. Just go to Facebook, click the “Write something” box, and tap the “See All” option in the menu. From there, you can click “Start a Live Video.” How to live stream on Instagram Now for our final live streaming platform: Instagram. You can think of live streaming as a longer ver sion of Instagram Stories. Instagram live videos are meant to be light, casual, and fun, rather than professional. They show your audience what you are doing right now, and in doing so gives them a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your life. Not only is this an effective way to promote your videos, but it’s also an important strategy to build authentic relationships with your viewers so that they can get to know the individual behind the personal brand, or everything that makes your company unique. As with everything else on Instagram, you take live video directly from your mobile phone. This is how to do it: Tap the camera icon in the top left of the feed. Alternatively, you can swipe right from anywhere in the feed. Scroll to “Live” at the bottom of the screen. Tap the circular recording button. You’re now broadcasting live! When you’re finished, tap “End” in the top right. If you wish to share a replay of your live vide o, you can post it on your story by tapping “Share to Story.” You can even add hashtags and location stickers to your story to make it discoverable. Keep in mind that like all Instagram Stories, it will disappear in 24 hours. That’s all there is to it! Live streaming best practices While each of these platforms operates a little differently, they do require similar techniques for maximizing your success. Regardless of the platform you choose, you should keep the following strategies in mind: Know your audience . From the platform you choose to the time you stream your video, every aspect of your broadcast should reflect the interests and preferences of your audience. Be sure to stream your video at a time that’s convenient for your users, and on a platform that’s easy and intuitive for them to use. You should also make sure that the style and tone of your video reflects your brand identity. Whether you opt to keep it casual, professional, or inspirational, speak to your audience in a way that resonates with them. Promote your event . Schedule your event ahead of time, and promote it so that your audience knows when and where to show up. Be sure to announce your event on a variety of channels, such as your website, social media pages, email newsletters, p rinted flyers, and more. Practice beforehand . While your live video shouldn’t sound scripted, you should make a mental note of what you’re going to say. Before you hit that stream button, jot down some bullet points and rehearse your presentation. You should also double check to make sure your internet connection is strong, your equipment is working smoothly, and your environment is free of distractions. Even if you’re shooting a casual Instagram video, scoping out your surroundings can help you avoid any mistakes or awkward moments. Interact with viewers . What makes live streaming such a popular and effective tool is that it allows you to engage with your audience real-time. In other words, your viewers can leave comments during your video, and you can respond right away. This is the primary benefit of live streaming a video, rather than simply posting it. Be sure to do this, as it fosters a sense of community and brings viewers closer to your brand. Follow up . Even as your video draws to a close, you’ll want to maintain the connecti on you’ve just built with your audience. Keep the momentum going by telling your viewers where they can get more information, providing them with additional resources, and sharing your contact details. If your goal is to promote a specific offer or service, you can also provide them with a link to a relevant landing page. If you’re planning to live stream again, be sure to announce that, too. Edit and manage your content . Once you’ve stopped filming, you may be perfectly fine posting your video as is. However, if you want your content to appear more professional, you’ll probably need to make some minor edits. Save your video to your computer, and us e a video editing software - such as the Wix Video Maker - to trim off any glitches, add titles and video captions, and more. You can also try these simple video tips to enhance your content even further. Then, upload your edited video to your website and other platforms of your choice. Congratulations! You now know how to live stream. Remember to gather the right equipment, choose the platform that’s best for your organization and your audience, and captivate your viewers with real-time interaction. By methodically following these steps, you’ll be able to hit the ground running in no time.

If you want to get your message heard, it needs to make it to the right people at the right place and time. As a business owner, getting your products or services to resonate with your target audience is at the core of marketing. But before you embark on marketing your business, it’s crucial to determine precisely who it is you’ll be targeting. Market segmentation is the first move you’ll want to make in order to define who your brand should address and appeal to. Segmenting your market will allow your business efforts - from finding the perfect website maker for building your online presence to the launch of your service or product - to be perfectly aligned with what your audience is looking for. This complete guide will explain more about this vital business practice and dive into the different types of market segmentation strategies, plus provide tips on how to conduct your own. What is market segmentation? Market segmentation is the process of dividing a targeted audience into subgroups based on commonalities, ranging from age, gender or location to priorities, values and behavior. This is a critical part of building a marketing plan , as it allows you to effectively determine consumers’ purchasing habits. Segmenting your market can help you understand what personal, cultural, economic or social factors may influence clients’ dealings with your offerings. Segmenting your customers will give you better insight into their wants and needs. It shows how specific groups of consumers are more likely to seek or buy a product over others, as not every customer is alike. By grouping your audience into niches, you’ll be able to market in a more cost effective manner rather than focusing your resources either on an individual level, or on a level that’s too broad. Benefits of market segmentation The best business websites share a deep understanding of their target audience. Whether your industry is food or retail, your small business can benefit from conducting in-depth market segmentation. Having a clear understanding of your audience increases conversion rates and revenue, and makes it easier to expand your reach down the line. Cost effective marketing: Market segmentation can help you get the most out of your marketing strategies , as it allows you to direct your resources at the right audience with the right message. Segmenting your target audience correctly is also the most efficient way to increase your revenue. Better conversion rate: The more specific you are in addressing the needs of your prospects, the more likely they are to convert. You will have a better sense of what motivates your audience, which can help you make more informed decisions, such as writing effective calls-to-action on your site. As a result, you could increase your conversion rate . Customer retention: Segmentation is a good way of keeping customers satisfied and retention rates high. With the data you’ve captured from your market segmentation, you’ll know how to tailor your customers’ experience to meet their individual needs. One way to do so is to employ different marketing automation methods to ensure you’re targeting them at each strategic milestone of their customer journey. Expand your business: Segmentation can reveal new areas where you can expand. It can help businesses, who are now armed with a plethora of information about their prospects, find new audiences they may not be currently tapping. Improve product development: With your target audience segmented, you are more likely to identify new interests your customers have. This can lead to development of new products or services that will better cater to their needs. Types of market segmentation Demographic segmentation As one of the most common types of segmentation, demographic segmentation refers to splitting up an audience into subgroups based on variables like age, gender, occupation, income level, marital status, nationality and more. It is perhaps the most obvious and simplified type of segmentation. Statistical data about people is relatively easy to obtain using various market research methods, like a demographic survey. This takes the form of a questionnaire or an online form , allowing you to extract specific data about your audience. When writing your demographic survey you can choose between open-ended and closed-ended questions. You can keep your intention narrow in a question like “How old are you?” or broaden your results with the query “What’s your favorite hobby,” depending on how much you’d like to know about your clientele. Some businesses or products cater to certain demographics based on at least one trait. A personal care store, for example, may sell one shampoo for men and another for women. Alternatively, some brands are designed with a narrow demographic in mind - such as grooming products brand targeting stylish young males. Behavioral segmentation This type of segmentation is about knowing your customer’s attitude and actions toward your brand. It allows you to divide audiences by behavior and decision-making patterns. Types of customer behavior to consider include: Shopping habits: What they are purchasing Brand loyalty: How often are they returning to your brand Usage rate: Are they using your service a lot or not at all Benefits sought: What needs are being met by the product or service Readiness to convert: Where are they in the marketing funnel ; do they have awareness, interest, consideration or intent to convert Behavioral data gives you insight into the customer experience, allowing you to adjust or change elements of your business accordingly for better results. If you know the benefits that users are seeking from your product, it will help you highlight that part of experience for them. For example, a yoga studio could offer a loyalty program toward more sessions as a way to enforce engagement with the brand. Alternatively, if most consumers only have time to read over the weekend, bookstores could incentivize their purchases with special weekend sales. Behavioral segmentation variables are often collected from a person’s digital footprint. This is information that is gathered while visitors browse a website, consisting of their online actions and the way they interact with the site. This sort of insight can be accessed using different tools, such as Google Analytics . Geographic segmentation This type of segmentation splits up your market based on location. Identifying users due to their geographical settings, such as by country, state or zipcode, enables you to tailor your message around regional interests, languages, climate or cultural norms. If you’re targeting customers who live in colder climates, for example, they are more likely to show interest in ads featuring warmer clothes than those living on a tropical island. Depending on the area you’re targeting, you may need to build a multilingual website or localize your visual content. Images carry different meanings for different cultures so make sure that you’re sending the right message. Psychographic segmentation Less tangible than demographic or geographic segmentation, this category deals with characteristics that are more emotional. They give you insight into how consumers decide to buy a product or book a service, what are the motives behind those purchases and which preferences they may have toward a brand. Psychographic characteristics consist of personality traits, beliefs, opinions and lifestyles. Taking into account a customer’s values, and not just their demographics and geographical location, can lead to a better understanding of their needs and behavior. For example, someone who leads a healthy lifestyle may not have the same values as their work colleague who doesn’t. Though these two individuals share at least one demographic trait - occupation - they will ultimately make dissimilar purchasing decisions and therefore must be approached differently. There are several methods you can use in order to obtain this level of insight of your target audience. These include focus groups, surveys, interviews and tests you can run among your market. One common methodology is A/B testing , which compares similar versions of an interface design with only one variant between the two, to measure which of the versions performs better. How to conduct your own market segmentation 01. Analyze your customers The first step in creating your own market segmentation is to analyze your existing customer base. This process will help you create your segments of consumers who share similar traits and responses. There are several ways to perform your customer analysis: Interview your users: Building products around the needs of your users is at the heart of your business, so why not go straight to the source? Conducting user interviews gives you a deep understanding of how customers feel in relation to your brand. Asking the right questions will give you the information necessary to set up all four types of market segmentation. Use your own business data: You may have already gathered some useful details about customers as part of your day-to-day interactions, from your mailing list to your clients’ invoices. Using this data, you’ll be able to find patterns that indicate what customers are buying time and again, where they are coming from, and more. Check in with website analytics: Your website is a great source of data about users who’ve navigated through your pages. This can be turned into powerful knowledge for your business, with the help of website analytics . These platforms are a great way to gather insights about visitors’ online actions, from the number of users on each page, to the average time one has spent on your site and so on. 02. Create a buyer persona The next step is to put a face on the data you’ve gathered. Creating a buyer persona, or a fictional character that serves as the mold of your ideal customer, allows you to visualize your target market. This in turn will help you maximize your marketing efforts since you already know precisely who you want to attract. When writing down your buyer persona, try to create a fictitious name for your persona to give them a realistic depth. Add demographic details, like age and gender, and give them an image for visual context. 03. Segment your data At this stage, you can begin to sort the data into segments. A good practice is to ask yourself questions such as “Is the segment attainable to me?” or “Will this segment be around long enough to want to invest in?” These initial questions can also help you extract additional market segment opportunities, as well. A good practice is to think back to how you built your brand in order to pin down what sets you apart from your competitors, or what segment is currently not being served. 04. Understand your potential segment You might want to check that you’re on the right track before kicking off a marketing campaign. Verify whether your segmented market will be interested in your offerings by doing a little research. By looking at how your audiences search for the terms you’re targeting, you will be able to measure whether your business efforts line up with their needs. 05. Trial and error It’s now time to test your market segmentation. Here are a couple of targeted campaign methods that will allow you to track performance and see your results: Facebook campaign ad: Customize your Facebook ads to fit your objective and match your target market. Displayed prominently on users’ feed, Facebook ads are highly visible to your desired market. The ads appear in various media formats, including video, image text and slideshows. At the end of your campaign, you can track your ad’s performance and see if it's impacted sales using Facebook Pixel, a tool which can be easily integrated to your Wix website. Email blast: An email blast is a marketing tool to promote your brand and a fun way to spread the word. At the core of email marketing , it may come in the form of newsletters, promotions, product updates, eBooks and more. Email blasts are sent to subscribers on your mailing list, which you can segment by demographics, geographics and behavior. You can track and optimize your performance using various email metrics, from the delivery rate to the click through rate. You can view your email marketing statistics on your Wix dashboard to analyze and understand the fruits of your labor.

Advertising on Facebook requires decision making with precision. Whichever image, caption or price you use for a Facebook ad campaign can determine whether it hits or misses the target. To start, you’ll need to answer the following questions so that you can take appropriate measures toward your next Facebook ad: Who is your audience? How much to budget for running a monthly campaign? Are your image dimensions to scale? And will your ad be mobile optimized? For Wix site owners, you can reach new customers, boost sales and get results with Facebook Ads by Wix . This built-in Facebook marketing solution lets you create a Facebook ad campaign with powerful AI. That means your ads are continuously optimized to make the greatest impact on your audience. Without skipping any steps, this beginner’s guide to advertising on Facebook will help you keep all your campaign details in line with your goals. From creating an account with Facebook Ads Manager to setting a budget and monitoring your ad’s performance post-production, we’ve got you covered. Types of Facebook ads Before we delve into the multi-faceted Facebook advertising process, a big part of your success depends on the kind of Facebook ad you use. These ads can help you create brand awareness, increase engagement and drive sales. Decide which one is the right option for you and your business. Dynamic Collection The collection ad format directs customers to your products based on their interests and previous purchases. When customers click on your ad, they'll be taken to your store's product page. This option is ideal for making sales and bringing your goods to a wider audience. Image Image ads draw people to your business by using an enticing, professional shot image. This can be great for promoting an event, sale or special offer. Use it to keep your brand on your customers’ minds. Video Videos are the best way to attract attention when advertising on Facebook. You can use a video maker to produce a video that explains who you are, what you offer and how your offerings can help customers. You can also check out video polling, a feature that lets you include a survey in your video to boost customer engagement. Slideshow If you don’t have the budget or time to make a video, create a slideshow of photos to achieve a similar effect. Slideshow ads load quicker than videos, can be made in minutes and are another great way to showcase your products. Carousel Display up to 10 products or services in a single Facebook ad. You can also use this to show different details about a single product. How to advertise on Facebook Get on Facebook Ads Manager Set clear goals Check out the competition Know your audience Plan a budget Create your ad Perfect your content Integrate Instagram Boost conversion Optimize your ads 01. Get on Facebook Ads Manager One third of the global population actively uses Facebook , which is why 7 million businesses use the social media platform to market their goods. With this in mind, setting up Facebook Ads Manager is the starting point for advertising on Facebook and across all its apps and services. First, head to your Facebook homepage and on the left side of the page, click ‘See More’ to expand the menu and then select ‘Ad Manager’ to get to your ad account settings. At this point, you’re in the section of your Facebook account where you’ll choose an ad type and select which photos or videos you want to advertise. The Ad Manager is a place to monitor your ad’s performance and modify your campaign based on the analytics Facebook provides. If you started your blog , created your business or online store with Wix, you can set up your Facebook ad campaign from your Wix dashboard in just a few clicks. 02. Set clear goals When advertising on Facebook and managing your social media marketing strategies, you’ll want to make sure your long and short-term business goals are clear. In fact, Facebook offers 11 marketing objectives based on what you want to achieve in your ad campaign, such as brand awareness, website traffic, engagement, lead generation and conversions. When you select any of these options, Facebook will display an ad format that could work best for reaching your goals. If you haven’t already defined what those are, here are some questions to help you determine your ad objectives: What are your overarching business goals? What do you hope to accomplish with this specific campaign? Do you want to drive traffic to your business? Do you want to promote your product or service locally? Are you notifying your customers about a sale or promotion? How does this campaign fit with your overall marketing strategy? 03. Check out the competition To advertise on Facebook, you’ll also want to take a look at your competitors. Learn which type of ads worked for them, and which didn’t. Look out for content that catches your eye and makes you click. Get a feel for the tone of voice that businesses use. Take note of which ones inspire engagement by looking at their likes and comments. Finally, create a list of ads that generate high levels of engagement by writing down what makes these ads stand out—and use these ideas to build your own campaign. 04. Know your audience A major factor in launching a successful Facebook ad campaign is making sure the right people see it. Facebook charges you per impression and per click, so you have to be strategic. Understanding your target audience and their intent will help you make better decisions and ensure that your ads resonate with the right people—the ones most likely to purchase your products. If you create your ad on Facebook Ads Manager, start by imagining your ideal customer. Are they male or female? How old are they? Where do they live? What do they do? What are their interests? If you can, try to define them as much as possible. This will narrow down the group you target, and in turn make your ads more successful. You can learn more about your target audience by looking at your current customers. Review previous sales to find things your customers have in common. With Facebook Ads by Wix, you just need to define your audience by gender, age, interests and location. Wix’s AI can figure out the rest by reviewing users’ online footprint. Wix will even use this data to automatically create lookalikes and retargeting audiences for your ad campaign. 05. Plan a budget Determine how much money you’ll invest in your advertisements. Then, plan your campaign run time. If you’re creating your ad through Facebook Ad Manager, you can decide how much to spend per day. Depending on the amount, Facebook will show your ad to a different number of people. Start small until you are able to better optimize your ads and ensure they reach your target audience. Once you see clicks turning into sales, lean in and increase your budget. When you create a Facebook Ad campaign with Wix, you can choose your monthly budget, starting at $79/month. Once you set it up, your work is done. Wix’s AI will learn, test and optimize your ads automatically to reach your target audience. While it can take time to create an effective campaign, thousands of businesses built on Wix have already seen success with Facebook Ads by Wix . For example, Eat to live, not to die uses the tool as one of its biggest sales drivers. This health and wellness website already had a very substantial Instagram following, and tapped into that sales potential by advertising on social media. As a result, it saw a 332% increase in sales coming from Instagram. 06. Create your ad As mentioned earlier, depending on your original objective, Facebook suggests an ad format that could potentially fulfill that goal. For example, if you’re hoping to increase web traffic, you might be presented with an image ad or carousel, allowing people to scroll through more than one image. Facebook provides the following image recommendations for each type of ad format. Whichever ad you choose, you’ll need to check that your photos fit those design requirements for advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and any other Facebook app. Additionally, you can learn how to take perfect product photos and use them to your advantage with our own expert guidelines: Use good lighting: Quality lighting ensures the item and its details are clearly visible. Try to avoid harsh shadows. Wait for a cloudy day to achieve a softer look or use a reflector or diffuser. Stand out from your background: The item you want your viewer to focus on should clearly contrast with its background. Consider using solid color backdrops. Try not to get too creative. Let the product be the main subject of the photo. Make it match your brand: Use photographs that are aligned with your brand identity. Add a logo watermark to your photos, but keep it subtle. Don’t let it distract from your product. Avoid common photography mistakes: Take professional photos. Make sure they aren’t grainy, blurry or cropped awkwardly. Make it pop: Don’t be scared to use bright or bold colors. Your images need to grab the attention of shoppers and make them want to buy. Avoid using too much text: Facebook doesn’t allow photos that include text covering more than 20% of the image. Edit down your text. Put any extra information in your ad description. Facebook Ads by Wix lets you create an ad campaign in a matter of minutes. Matan Holi, a Wix user and owner of Plant It , explains “It took 4 minutes to set up my ad campaign and, in a few days, sales increased 10x what I invested.” Plant It grew their business over the course of a few months, earning over 1,000% ROI. Here’s how you can create a paid ad campaign for your business with Wix: Log into your Wix account . Head to your site dashboard, select Marketing Tools, then Facebook Ads to get started. Your site dashboard will promptly connect your site to Facebook. Choose whatever you want to feature on your ad campaign and describe your target audience. Wix will automatically optimize your ad to target potential customers. Select your campaign budget, keeping in mind it will run for a minimum of 2 months. Preview your Facebook ad to make sure the images look great on all platforms before you publish. Track and measure your Facebook ad campaign performance. Wix’s algorithm will show you how to get the best results. 07. Perfect your content Similar to your images, the quality of your text can make or break your ad campaign. The best Facebook ad examples use carefully crafted captions that ensure their business looks professional, and while convincing people to pay attention to their offerings. When writing your ad description, here are a few things to keep in mind: Write a clear call-to-action. Your customers need to know exactly what you want them to do next. Use a call to action that creates urgency. Encourage people to make that purchase now, not later. Reassure them that buying from you is the best option and that you can offer something your competitors can’t. Clearly explain what you offer. Text is there to provide your customer with more information. If your text isn’t complimenting your image, revise it. Look at your ad from the perspective of someone who has never heard of your business. Do they understand what you sell? Can they tell what makes you unique? Is your product’s value clear? Avoid typos. A misspelled word or even an ill-placed comma can distract from your message and make your business seem unprofessional. Before publishing, have someone else look over your text. Attract attention. Your text needs to entice casual shoppers. So think about your customers' state of mind and how they feel. Then, tap into this emotion with simple and clear language that drives them to take action. Convince them that it will be worth their while to take a look at what you’re selling. Speak your customers’ language. Try to use a language that is unique to your target shoppers. Emojis can make your ad feel friendlier, but make sure they work with your brand. When advertising on Facebook, strong messaging can create quick results. Bonsie 's text offers a clear, urgent call-to-action. It encourages customers to click on their products and visit their eCommerce website . Their ad campaign brought in nearly 400% ROAS. Pro-tip: The Wix's AI needs time to learn about your audience to optimize ad performance. In other words, give your ad time to perform before making adjustments to it. 08. Use Instagram Have beautiful product images? Don't forget about Instagram marketing . Instagram users are 58 times more likely to engage with branded content than Facebook users, according to research . Instagram ads are also ideal for targeting millennial audiences. In fact, more than half of Instagram users are under 34. So if you’re targeting this age group, this could be the platform for you. To start, make sure to connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts. You can do this by tapping the settings icon on Instagram. Then choose Accounts and tap Linked Accounts. Select Facebook and log in. If you're using Facebook Ads by Wix, your ad will automatically be shared on your Instagram account. 09. Boost conversion Even if your ad is a hit on Facebook, your campaign's success is measured by sales. Use these tips to turn your casual shoppers into buyers: Simplify the process: Make your shopping experience as smooth as possible—from ad click to checkout—the fewer clicks the better. Create a clear call-to-action: When customers reach your store’s product page, it should be immediately clear what they need to do next. Create a direct call to action, like Buy Now or Add to Cart. Use a familiar design: Make your customers feel comfortable completing a purchase by matching the tone and look of your ad to your brand identity. This way customers will recognize your business and feel comfortable purchasing from a site they know and trust. Write quality product descriptions: Write product descriptions that are both informative and engaging. Tell customers specifics about your product, like dimensions and materials. Include relevant SEO keywords to increase your chances of being found on Google. Highlight how the product will be of value to your customers. Display your policies: People feel more confident purchasing products when they know the store’s policies. Let them know your shipping and return policies from the outset, so you can set clear expectations. Add payment options: Simplify the process for customers to complete their purchase. Offer secure and flexible payment options to streamline purchasing. Recover abandoned carts: Get shoppers who abandoned their carts to complete their purchase. Create an abandoned cart automation and send emails reminding customers to check out. Take a look at Sim Racing Studio’s purchase funnel. When you arrive on their product page, you see a clear call-to-action directing you to Add to Cart. The product page features multiple images. You can zoom in to view different parts of the product. The description breaks down exactly what you’ll receive when you make the purchase. It explains how to use the product and even includes a video link to experience it. Their cart page is also customer focused. It offers buyers multiple payment options and shows the exact shipping cost before checkout. A smooth checkout flow like this helped Sim Racing Studio generate 16,000% ROI from their Facebook Ad campaign. 10. Optimize your ads The longer your ads run, the more you will learn about your target audience. Enhance your campaign using this information to ensure your ads reach their highest potential. If you created your campaign on Facebook, embed Facebook pixel on your site. You can use your data to retarget site visitors and encourage them to make a purchase or target existing customers to build loyalty. Create a Lookalike Audience to target people with a similar online footprint as your customers. Use split testing to try out different images, copy and audiences and see what brings in more sales. If you created your ad campaign with Wix, all this optimization is done for you. You can simply sit back and track your ad's impact on revenue. From your dashboard, you'll get detailed analytics on ad views, conversion rates and the effect on your sales. If over time you're not seeing the conversion rates you were hoping for, tweak your ad text or be more specific with the way you define your target audience. If your ads are getting clicks but not sales, try to figure out why. Ask yourself the following questions, based on your answers you’ll be able to get a clearer picture of how your ads are performing and make necessary changes. Are potential customers thrown off by your shipping rates? Is your return policy unclear? Are your ads overpromising or misleading? Are customers unable to reach out to you with questions? Does your site look professional? Does your checkout flow need to be simplified? Most importantly, don’t give up. It takes time to build a successful campaign. How to advertise on Facebook FAQ How do I advertise on Facebook as a beginner? First we recommend learning as much as you can about the different ways to advertise on Facebook, and their expected outcomes. How do these align with the KPIs you hope to achieve with your Facebook advertising? As a beginner there are ways to make the process easier, by using a third party, such as Facebook Ads by Wix, to help you run your campaigns. We also recommend starting small, and scaling your ads as you understand the process and data better. How do I advertise on Facebook for free? It's not possible to run Facebook ads without paying for them. However there are other ways to promote your business on the social media platform organically. You can do this by generating traffic to your Facebook page by joining Facebook groups and sharing your business or product in those when relevant. You can also generate traffic from your email marketing to your Facebook page.

Email marketing is fundamental to any growing online business. It works because it’s one of the easiest ways to communicate with customers and has one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) of any marketing channel. It’s so easy, anyone can send beautiful newsletters, invitations and promotions. In fact, over 1.5 million businesses already use Wix's email marketing service to motivate, engage and retain clients (learn how to connect your email to Wix website ). Of course, a great email marketing service does more than just know when to schedule your next product update email (Saturday and Sunday have the best open and click rates on average). There are easy methods to measure and optimize specific metrics to help you better engage with your audience and get more value for your spend. Our own experts gave us their 5 most essential email statistics you should be tracking. With these helpful tips and our collection of email marketing examples you’ll be able to promote your site with a more precise marketing strategy. List growth Conversion rate Unique opens Click-through rate Bounce rate 01. List growth What : The rate at which your subscriber list is growing. How : (New Subscribers – Unsubscribed / Total Subscribers) x 100 If you don’t have a list strategy as part of your email marketing effort, you may as well be wandering in the dark. The more subscribers you have, the more traffic and conversions you’ll get. Get started with a list by grouping all of your contacts together, then segment them based on location, interest, demographic , device and whatever other variable that may make for a more targeted email blast. Goal number one is to make more people sign up as quickly as possible every day. List growth usually starts with your website or blog as new visitors opt in to receive your latest updates. There are various email marketing tools to help you build your email list. Most users prefer to fill out contact forms , which you should consider using in various points on your site to make it easy to access. When new visitors land on your blog and read through an entire article, try using a pop-up to offer them an update on a relevant feature or something related to your post. Despite their reputation, well-used pop-ups are known for driving subscriptions up. A must-know: An important email marketing tip is to never use third party lists. Email service providers can easily detect them and shut you down. If you notice unengaged subscribers, try to provide them with more incentive to interact. If after numerous attempts they remain inactive, best practice dictates removing them completely. Keeping your lists healthy improves your overall email metrics and sender reputation. If you see your lists dropping, ask yourself what’s causing people to unsubscribe. Are your emails meeting the recipients needs? Do they provide enough value? Perhaps you may want to reduce your volume or segment your list again. Focus on what you can do to get more engagement from those that have the potential to be engaged and leave the rest behind. 02. Conversion rate What : Percentage of subscribers who clicked within the email and completed a desired action. How : (Subscribers Who Completed Action / Total Emails Delivered) x 100 Every email should be sent with a single purpose in mind. That purpose is to drive the recipient to take a specific action that will result in a conversion. The conversion rate essentially measures the effectiveness of an email campaign. This rate will often depend on the difficulty of the action you’re requesting from your audience and how many steps they have to go through to complete it. Simple requests such as ‘Get This Song’ will convert much better than more complex and time-consuming requests such as ‘Fill Out This Questionnaire’. The goal is for your audience to take the action that your email has asked them to take. This will generally require highly engaging content or incentives like coupons and other giveaways that will draw a click. The process should be simple and highly relevant to what your recipient signed up for.  When your audience isn’t moving to the landing page or store as you expected, assess what possible variables could cause them to drop off. Perhaps you made the email mistake of offering them too many alternative choices that distract them from the conversion. Are there links in your email that take readers away from your main goal? Is your text clear? If this is the case, you need to simplify your users’ choices or provide a more compelling reason to act.  03. Unique opens What : Percentage of recipients who open your emails. How : (Total Opens / Total Delivered) x 100 Unique Opens is the percent of distinct recipients who’ve opened your email. The difference from Total Opens being that no matter how many times a person has reopened an email, it only counts as one. Unique Opens is essentially a measure of your recipient’s interest in the "from" category and the subject lines of your email, since these are the only two fields affecting their decision. While there is no one winning formula for writing strong subject lines , there are many methods to help you succeed. Try to think about what kind of subject line would make you personally click to open an email. In order to be effective, you must target your audience with content they desire. Another good rule of thumb is to keep your subject lines short and include a question or call-to-action.  The more you test different subject lines, the faster you’ll improve the performance of future campaigns. Testing a subject line can be as simple as creating two separate emails with the same body of information but using different subject lines for each half of your recipient list. Measure the open rate for both and see which one performs better. This is the basis of A/B testing. Every audience is different, and with enough effort, you’ll find out what works best for yours.  04. Click-through rate What : The percentage of recipients who clicked on a link within the email. How : (Total Unique Clicks / Total Delivered Emails) x 100 Click-Through Rate (CTR) describes the email recipients who not only opened your email but also interacted with it by clicking on one or more links you placed inside. This is the most popular metric email marketers like to track because it lets you easily calculate performance for every individual email you send, and is used for determining the results of A/B tests. The CTR provides insight into how many people on your list were interested in your content and how well you converted that interest into click-throughs. The more targeted your content, the better your CTR will be. Certain blasts will always do better than others. For example, advocacy appeals perform better than fundraising, but you should still always try to match your content and audience carefully. Your descriptions and visuals should be clear and compelling. Changing your email format may have dramatic effects on user experience, particularly with eNewsletters. About 35% of people still prefer plain text emails, so a hyperlinked text-based call to action above the header can ensure your audience is seeing your message even when images are disabled. Try and test different methods to improve your email click-through rate to determine what really works with your list. 05. Bounce rate What : Percent of unsuccessful delivery. How : (Total Bounced / Total Sent) x 100 When an Email doesn’t reach its intended recipient it is called a ‘bounce’. Bounces are inevitable but with some work can be reduced considerably. They come in two forms: Hard bounces can be a result of invalid emails or simple misspellings. They should be removed immediately because internet service providers may mark your business as spam and even place your account under review if you breach terms of use. You want to maintain a quality list, not a long one. Soft bounces tend to occur when an email server encounters an issue like reaching capacity. These should be removed after a few attempts as well. You don’t want to jeopardise your business’s reputation or your delivery rate, so these are important to keep a look out for. The best way to fight bounce rates is using an email marketing solution that has a bounce management system in place to detect and process all bounced emails by flagging or removing anything invalid. Employing verified opt-in lists will make certain that the email addresses you are marketing to are healthy. Also, when your lists include additional contact info of your subscribers, you can follow up and request a valid email address for future email blasts . Wix Email Marketing helps you do just that. Not only will you be able to create and share beautiful emails in minutes, you can easily track and optimize your campaigns to grow your business.

Get started by:  Creating a website →  |  Getting a domain → Many online sellers have a love-hate relationship with flash sales. When done well, a flash sale can serve as a powerful eCommerce marketing  tool, with the ability to attract new customers, strengthen existing relationships and bring a surge of revenue in a short period of time. On the flip side, a poorly executed flash sale can be costly. It can erode brand loyalty, attract the wrong kind of customers, and cheapen your brand. This step-by-step guide will help you develop a flash sale strategy that works for your business. Learn how to run a flash sale, avoid common pitfalls and view a real-life example of a successful flash sale. Read Also: How to start a business What are flash sales? By definition, a flash sale runs for a limited amount of time—usually between two to three hours, all the way up to 72 hours. A flash sale offers specific products at a can’t-miss price and taps into your buyers’ sense of FOMO to prompt impulse buying. Some of the most famous flash sale events include Amazon Prime Day(s) and Cyber Monday. These events rake in billions of sales annually, with Amazon Prime topping $12 billion  in July 2022 and Cyber Monday expected to reach a record-breaking $11.2 billion . Buyers eagerly await these events, some hoping to nab items that they’ve been eyeing for months prior. The pros and cons of running a flash sale Before you jump right into running your first flash sale, here are the benefits and potential risks that you need to be aware of. Pros Boost revenue quickly: The greatest appeal of a flash sale is that it can drive tons of purchases. We’ve found that, on average, online stores increase monthly gross merchandise value (GMV) by 64,000% when they run a flash sale. Attract new customers : Drive traffic to your online store , plus nudge new shoppers to try your products for the first time. Win them over and you could have a customer for life. Earn repeat customers: A solid discount is a great way to show some love to your best customers. When customers love your brand and feel appreciated, they’re more likely to buy from you in the future. Get customers who are on the fence to take action : The average abandoned cart rate in eCommerce is inching towards 70%, according to the latest data by Baymard Institute . A flash sale is one way to bring people back to their carts and retain shoppers. Clear excess inventory : Unload out-of-season or excess products via a flash sale. This ultimately helps to reduce operating and inventory costs, plus make room for newer, in-demand products. Cons Erode your profits: Poorly calculated flash sales can end up killing your profit margin, or worse—cost you money. This could hurt your business in both the short-term and long-term. Attract the wrong customers: If you bring in too many one-and-done shoppers, you won’t see much of an increase in brand loyalty. Fatigue your shoppers : If you’re pushing flash sales too hard or too often, you risk “flash sale fatigue.” Customers can become numb to your marketing tactics and promotions, making it very hard to re-engage them. Damage your reputation: Customers could be deeply disappointed if you’re not set up to deliver on fast shipping or an outstanding customer experience. This could then prompt a series of poor online reviews. In addition to this, relying too much on deep discounts may wrongly position your brand as a discount merchant. 3 mistakes to avoid with your flash sale strategy The eCommerce space (see our guide on what is eCommerce ) is littered with flash sales, and many businesses have paid the price for failed flash sales. The most common reasons for this include: 01. Website crashes A website crash can bring your sale to a dead stop. Crashes often happen due to server overloads and not having the right amount of capacity to handle the surge in traffic. To avoid this, find an eCommerce platform that can handle the extra load. For example, Wix’s autoscale infrastructure allows for limitless scalability and is built to prevent an eCommerce site crash. Alternatively, if you use apps or tools that rely on API calls to your website, make sure they have the right amount of bandwidth on their servers to handle traffic surges. 02. Overselling If you lack the tools for proper inventory management , you run the risk of selling more products than you have on hand. As a result, you could wind up having to cancel customer orders or keeping your buyers waiting for much longer than expected to receive their products. Therefore, it’s imperative to have a system that updates your listed quantities in real time across all of our sales channels. With Wix, you can rest assured knowing that your inventory levels are synced with your integrated fulfillment solutions. 03. Shipping delays The joy a shopper feels from your flash sale may quickly fade if it takes weeks for your item to ship. When this happens, the customers you worked so hard to win over may start to feel negatively about your brand. To avoid this, make sure to provide clear and accurate shipping information, and to smooth out any inefficiencies in your operations. Use an eCommerce platform that automatically routes orders to the right fulfillment partner, plus simplifies other backend operations. Flash sales example: How The Spice Suite uses flash sales and sells out in minutes every time When she moved her brick-and-mortar spice shop online, Angel Gregorio used a flash sale model to grow The Spice Suite’s  web presence. Today, she has sold more than $2 million worth of products from both her online and offline stores—and more than 25% of those sales are specifically from online flash sales. Here’s why a flash sale approach has worked so well for her: She builds on her success : Gregorio’s first online sale showed her that she could easily manage online orders with Wix, and could tap into an even wider audience with a buzz-worthy online sale. “To see that first online sale was just affirming,” she says. “It made me think, you know what—if there’s one, there’s more.” She prepares for flash sales in advance: Gregorio has prebuilt spice boxes at the ready before  each sale, in addition to up-to-date product details and inventory information. “The day of the spice drop, no matter what I'm doing, I literally just have to go into Wix and make [my settings] visible…and folks are ready to purchase,” she says. She invests in promotion : Gregorio relies on social media to announce dates and build the buzz about her flash sales. Her most valuable platform: Instagram , where she has amassed more than 133,000 followers. She builds a sense of FOMO with her customers : Gregorio runs flash sales every time new inventory arrives, and her followers have grown to anticipate these sales. The best part? Her products sell out in five minutes—every single time. “It’s like a sport to get a spice box now because they sell out so quickly,” she says. She delivers outstanding customer service - As soon as a flash sale ends, Gregorio and her team are able to efficiently pick, pack, and ship orders to their customers. This is all thanks to their ability to plan ahead, and somewhat ':' their approach to flash sales. How to run your own flash sale: A step-by-step guide Set a goal and choose the right products Define your target audience Choose the right timing Set the right price Get your payment solutions in order Get your inventory in order Optimize your shipping and fulfillment workflows Create a strong promo plan Create a sense of urgency   01. Set a goal and choose the right products The best flash sales start with a specific goal. Do you want to acquire new customers, improve customer retention, or drive deeper customer engagement? Once you know your goals, you can build an effective sale strategy to help you reach that goal. As a few examples of how it could play out: If you’re looking to attract new customers,  you could boost brand awareness by selling your signature products at a discount. Or, you could put your best sellers up for sale, as well as trending products. If you’re looking to retain existing customers,  your flash sale may involve products that get lots of views but are low-converting. Switching up their price could be all it takes to trigger orders, and can simultaneously help to inform your pricing strategies from here on out. Alternatively, you could put newly released products up for sale in order to build up momentum and initial interest in unfamiliar items. Tip:  Regardless of which type of customers you’re looking to attract, it helps to choose one particular category, product line, or theme so that it’s easier for your customers to understand what you’re offering at a discount and why. 02. Define your target audience Narrow down your target audience so that you know exactly how to tailor your messages and can confirm that they’ll get value out of your sale. Too broad of an audience can cause confusion or result in messaging that’s too broad to resonate with any single customer segment. Meanwhile, a well-defined target audience can give you a clear path forward. It can help to boost your conversion rate, lower your ad spend, and increase your overall ROI. 03. Choose the right timing Many sellers have found that running a flash sale either before or after the holiday season can yield great results. A flash sale timed right before the holiday season (e.g., September) can help to build brand awareness prior to the biggest shopping season of the year. Meanwhile, a flash sale held right after the holiday season (e.g., January) can help you to reclaim revenue you may have lost due to post-holiday returns. However, every business is different. Review your historical sales data and customer behaviors, and see what sells best when. It additionally helps to check when email open rates are highest to guide your marketing efforts. Use this data to your advantage, and monitor the impact that your flash sale has on baseline performance. 04. Set the right price It goes without saying that deciding on the right price is crucial. Price your item too low and you could lose money. Price it too high and you might repel shoppers. If your brand has unique products and seldom holds sales, then 10% might be an enticing enough sale. But if you sell more common products and already run regular promotions, your shoppers may expect a heftier discount. A good rule of thumb is to set a price that’s equivalent to or just a tick higher than the discounts you offer on Black Friday or Cyber Monday (i.e., slightly higher than your lowest possible price). 05. Get your payment solutions in order Your flash sale is worthless if your customers can’t pay you, or if your payment provider won’t approve your sales or payouts. Make sure you’re ready to accept payments online and get paid out by taking the following steps. Connect a payment provider and verify your account before you start selling.  If you’re adding or switching payment providers, make sure your account is verified and approved before the sale begins. The verification process can take time, so you’ll need to set up your account in advance. Remember that if you don’t do this, all payments from your site will be refunded. Be responsive to customer requests and understand that some customer refunds will happen.  Make sure you respond quickly and refund clients before they turn their refund request into a chargeback. This will negatively affect your chargeback ratio and bank history as a merchant. Clearly communicate your refund and return policy on your site. Make sure your policy is clearly visible on each product page. This can help to prevent false expectations and complaints. Keep records of emails and calls with dissatisfied customers who happen to contact you.  You can use these to help manage disputes for potential chargebacks later on; they could be the deciding factor in your favor. 06. Get your inventory in order Poor inventory management can turn your flash sale into chaos. If you’re relying on manual inventory processes, trying to keep up with the frenetic pace of sales will be impossible. To avoid this problem, establish strong workflows that include an automated and centralized system for managing inventory across all of y our sale channels. This will allow you to: Check the accuracy of your website’s inventory numbers and add inventory quantities to your product pages so customers will know how many—or how few—on-sale products remain. Sync inventory data between all of your sales channels, warehouses, brick-in-mortar locations, and fulfillment partners. Keep enough buffer stock so you don’t accidentally oversell, especially as you receive orders from multiple channels. Retain full visibility over inventory movement, plus stay in constant contact with buyers, should a mistake occur. 07. Optimize your shipping and fulfillment workflows Prepare your operations to support timely shipping, i.e., give your third-party logistics partner (3PL) a heads up about your upcoming sale, send enough inventory in ahead of time, and specify any special requirements related to packaging. For your customers’ sake: make sure to provide accurate delivery times. If you’re not set up to offer two-day shipping, don’t offer it. Accuracy and honesty are far more important than speed. If it comes down to it, you can even make up for slower shipping times by offering free  shipping and/or express shipping at an additional cost. 08. Create a strong promo plan There are plenty of ways to spread the word about an upcoming sale, so you’ll want to take the time to plan your strategy ahead of time. Among the many options at your disposal, you could: Target your competitor’s customers with ads.  Look for competitors offering similar products and customers who left them negative reviews. Target your social ads to them, using messaging that speaks to their values and pain points. Run limited-time Google Ad campaigns using keywords  associated with your sales products. Take care to select keywords that attract users with an intent to buy. Partner with micro-influencers on social media who resonate with your target audience. Ask them for help promoting your flash sale products, though influencers should ideally be happy users of your product before being asked to promote your store. Give loyal customers exclusive or early access to your flash sale.  Send invitations via email or SMS. This will help your best customers feel special, as you reward them for their loyalty. 09. Create a sense of urgency Keep in mind that you’ll only have a short amount of time to promote your flash sale. As you use multiple channels to generate interest, create a sense of urgency by: Creating a flash sale landing page on your website, from which you can clearly list the products that are up for sale and promote relevant messaging. Sending pre-promotional emails and include the discount amount in your email subject lines. Using a countdown timer before and during your sale to amp up the race against the clock. When your sale reaches its final hour, remind your customers that time is running out. Using concise copy to emphasize that time is of the essence, and point out when this is the “last sale of the season” or “your only chance to buy our best sellers—40% off!” Manage everything from landing pages to inventory under one roof—test drive Wix for eCommerce  today. Flash sale FAQ What is the best day for flash sales? The best days for flash sales are typically during major shopping holidays, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and New Year's Eve. These days are when people are already in a shopping mood, so they're more likely to be receptive to flash sale offers. However, you can run a flash sale any day of the year, as long as you promote it effectively. Is a flash sale good or bad? Flash sales can be a great way to boost sales, clear out inventory and build customer loyalty. However, they can also be risky and damage your brand if they're not done correctly. How long should a flash sale last? The duration of a flash sale can vary based on several factors, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The optimal length for a flash sale depends on the nature of your product or service, your target audience and your marketing strategy.  Here are some considerations to help determine the duration of a flash sale: Product type and complexity Target audience Marketing goals Platform and promotion Previous success and industry norms Ultimately, the ideal duration for a flash sale is a strategic decision based on your specific circumstances. Test different durations and analyze the results to refine your approach over time. Additionally, it's important to clearly communicate the start and end times of the flash sale to create a sense of urgency among potential customers. What are daily flash sales? Daily flash sales are brief, time-limited promotional events where products or services are offered at significantly discounted prices for a single day. Designed to create urgency and drive quick purchases, these sales leverage scarcity to motivate consumers, often occurring on e-commerce platforms or through targeted marketing channels. Are flash sales effective? Yes, flash sales can be effective marketing tools. By creating a sense of urgency and offering limited-time discounts, they stimulate immediate customer action, boost sales and generate excitement around a product. However, success depends on factors like product relevance, target audience and proper promotion to maximize the impact of these time-limited promotions. Can flash sales be profitable? Flash sales can be profitable when strategically executed. They generate quick revenue, clear excess inventory and attract new customers. However, potential drawbacks include decreased profit margins, customer expectations for continuous discounts and the risk of eroding brand value. Profitability hinges on careful planning and alignment with overall business goals. Flash marketing vs flash sales Flash marketing involves creating a sudden, time-sensitive buzz around a product or service through promotional tactics like social media campaigns. Flash sales, on the other hand, are time-limited events where products are offered at discounted prices. While flash marketing builds anticipation, flash sales aim to drive immediate purchases by leveraging scarcity, both contributing to effective short-term promotional strategies.

When it comes to building effective marketing strategies , understanding the four Ps—product, price, place and promotion—is fundamental to achieving sustainable growth and success. These four pillars form the foundation of any successful marketing strategy, guiding businesses in crafting compelling propositions that resonate with their target audiences. Mastering the four Ps not only help you to reach the right customers, but also ensures your products are readily available, priced competitively and effectively communicated. Below, we dive into each of the four Ps. Whether you’re working on a social media campaign or using a website maker to create your website, the four Ps are there to help you with every aspect of your promotional efforts. Build your online presence with Wix . The 4 Ps of the marketing mix The idea of the marketing mix was first popularized by Neil Borden, a professor of advertising at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. In 1964, Borden published an article titled “ The Concept of the Marketing Mix ,” which discussed different advertising tactics that companies could use to target consumers. It was here that he highlighted the marketer as an artist—a mixer of all the ingredients needed to achieve the firm’s marketing objectives. Still, there was no real consensus about what should be included in the mix until 1960, when E. Jerome McCarthy, a marketing professor at Michigan State University, identified four basic ingredients known as the four Ps of marketing. Since then, the four Ps have been widely adopted by marketing professionals as the core pillars of an effective marketing penetration strategy. And while there have been a few changes and additions over the decades, the fundamental principles remain the same. What are the 4 Ps of marketing? Below we’ll define the four Ps of marketing and show you why each ingredient plays an important role in increasing sales, building a competitive advantage and building a smart strategy for promoting your business. 01. Product This one’s easy—products refer to the good or service that you offer to customers. Whether you’re launching a new product or seeking to improve an existing one, making sure that it meets the demands of consumers is a core pillar of marketing. For your product to be effective, it should either satisfy an existing consumer need or create demand so that people believe they need it. Familiarize yourself with product differentiation and what it means for your marketing efforts. In addition, you should be familiar with your product’s life cycle—meaning its introduction into the market, its growth, maturity and decline. From a marketing standpoint, this lets you adapt your messaging, KPIs , pricing and target audience according to each life cycle stage. To master the product element of the marketing mix, ask yourself the following questions: What is your product? Who is it for? How and where do customers use your product? What existing needs does your product satisfy? If it doesn’t satisfy an existing need, how will you create a new need in the market? What specific features does your product have that will directly address those needs? Are there any features you may have missed? What are the key elements of your product design and user experience? Do they work together to meet the needs of your consumers? What is your product called? How will you brand your product? How does your product differ from the competition? When you create a marketing plan for your business, the answers to these questions will help form a set of guidelines. 02. Price The price is what consumers pay for your product. As simple as that sounds, determining what to charge can be tricky. You’ll need to make a profit, but you also want consumers to feel that the price corresponds with the product’s value. Whether your product is a budget option, luxe option or somewhere in between, the price you charge greatly affects the language you use in your promotional messaging. It’s also deeply interconnected with the kinds of customers you’ll market to, as well as the country or region where you plan to sell your product. It might also impact your customer acquisition costs as well. To come up with the pricing, ask yourself the following questions: What is the perceived value of your good or service to the buyer? How will you align your marketing strategy with consumer perception of the price of your product? How does the price compare with that of your competitors? Is your audience price-sensitive? Will decreasing the price help you capture more customers, or will it decrease your profit margin? Conversely, will increasing the price gain you more profit margin, or will it result in a loss of customers? Can you use different pricing tiers (for instance, a basic versus premium package) for different customer segments depending on how you understand each customer journey? 03. Place The third P of marketing is place. This refers to the location of your marketing and distribution activities. Place can be a physical location, like a brick-and-mortar store that primarily targets local community members. But it can also refer to online locations, referring to the various platforms and marketing channels you use to promote and sell your product. Place is an important factor to consider as you market your product or services, since it helps you understand what kind of buyer persona has access to it. The bottom line is to promote and sell your product in view of the types of people who need it and can get it. If you market to an audience who ultimately decides that your product is too hard to find or inconvenient to purchase and use, you’ll likely hit a wall with your marketing efforts. Are you focusing on local marketing , or something broader? Similarly, this concept applies online when you determine the most effective channels for promotion. If your product is U.S.-only, there’s little reason to promote it on an Italian news site. If you’re selling a product for grandparents, you probably shouldn’t start by creating paid ads on TikTok. When factoring place into your marketing strategy, ask yourself the following marketing intelligence questions : Where is your target audience located (both in person or online)? Not sure? Time to build out your marketing analytics tracking and reporting plan Where do people look for your product? If they look in a store, what kind (e.g., a boutique versus a large chain)? If they look online, what platforms are they using? Use these to build better customer segments to target. What kinds of distribution channels and outlets can you use to sell your product? Where are your competitors selling? What physical locations and online channels are they using? 04. Promotion Promotion is the fourth P of the marketing mix. This all encompassing ingredient involves using the factors you identified in the previous three Ps—product, price and place—to craft your messaging and spread the word about your product via advertising and marketing campaigns. To incorporate this final pillar, ask yourself: Where can you get your message across to your target market ? Online channels like social media? PR? TV, radio or podcasts? Print advertisements? Email marketing? What sort of language, media and personas does your audience connect to most in these online and offline locations? When is the best time to promote? Is your product seasonal? Are there events or other external factors that might affect your messaging? How, when and where do your competitors promote their products? The answers to these questions—as well as the ones listed earlier—will help you to to create a strong small business marketing strategy that promises to meet consumer needs, offers value in relation to its price, reaches consumers using the right channels and uses the right messaging. Examples of the 4 Ps of marketing To help you better understand the four Ps of marketing and apply them to your business, let’s go over some real-world examples: 01. Apple Apple has a top-notch marketing strategy, especially when it comes to its popular iPhones. Certainly, a big reason why consumers love the iPhone is because Apple used the four Ps of marketing to put together the ideal product, price point, distribution channels and brand messaging. Product: The first iPhone directly addressed consumer needs at exactly the right time. Cell phones were already becoming more stylish (who can forget the appeal of the Blackberry?), and Apple took full advantage of that trend. But the iPhone wasn’t only sleek and well-designed. It also addressed the need for an improved user experience. The product eliminated the hassle of a keyboard or stylus, reduced the need for a separate music device and added other key features (on-the-go internet, a decent camera, fun apps and a user-friendly screen). Price: The iPhone became a pioneer in the mobile world, promising quality and extra value that prior mobile devices didn’t have. On top of that, it was produced by a reputable and well-loved company. As a result, customers were willing to pay a premium price compared to other brands. This pricing strategy worked well for Apple and continues to do so over the years, attracting middle and upper class consumers thanks to maintaining the brand’s high-end appeal. Place: Apple has cultivated an aura of exclusivity by authorizing specific stores to sell their products. While this might limit their reach, it helps establish the company as a designer brand. This also lowers the brand’s distribution costs so that it can invest in other areas instead. Promotion: Apple’s promotional strategy for the iPhone often takes the form of commercials and print ads. Their advertisements tend to be highly visual, emphasizing the high-quality screen and camera features while showcasing the brand’s sleek, stylish aesthetic. Their goal is to prove to their audience that their product stands out against the competition. The brand further promotes their products through Apple Keynote events, presentations given to the press two to four times a year. This is a great opportunity to supply them with quality PR while establishing Apple as a thought leader and visionary. 02. Spotify Spotify is another big brand that’s achieved success by strategically applying the four Ps. Here’s how: Product: Spotify’s main product is music streaming. Before this technology came along, people could only hear their favorite artists by purchasing CDs, buying digital albums or songs, listening to the radio or pirating music. Music streaming solved this problem, filling an important niche in the music industry by providing consumers affordability and convenience. Price: Spotify has a broad audience—everyone who listens to music—and it maintains a wide reach by offering various pricing tiers. Using a freemium model, they allow users to listen to content for free, but offer extra perks (such as ad-free listening) to those who pay for a premium subscription. They additionally upsell their product by offering bundle packages to couples and families, and incentivize young adults to go premium with student discounts. Place: Music streaming solved a huge accessibility problem. People no longer needed to go to the store to buy a CD, find music to download illegally, or listen to the radio in hopes of finding their favorite tunes. Spotify made its product available online so that it can be instantly accessed in nearly every country. Promotion: As an online platform, Spotify does most of its promotions on the web with the goal of driving traffic to their website . Because the product satisfies an important consumer need and is easy to use, fans of the platform also tend to spread word of the product to their friends. This makes social media marketing—and influencer marketing in particular—an organic promotional strategy for the brand. 5 quick tips for applying the 4 Ps in your own marketing Now that you’ve seen some examples of the four Ps in action, think about how to apply these principles to your own marketing strategy. This marketing mix can be used to improve existing marketing campaigns and products, or starting a fresh one from scratch. Here’s how: Identify the good or service you want to promote and then match each of the four Ps above as they relate to your chosen product. Review your answers to the four Ps and challenge them by providing alternatives: What would happen if you raised or dropped the price, changed the color or design, advertised on a different platform, or sold through a new channel? Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. As the customer, does the product meet your needs? Is it priced according to your values and perceptions? Can you learn about the product or service and purchase it in places that are relevant and accessible to you? Do marketing promotions reach and resonate with you? This might mean conducting market research and user testing your product. Iterate the process and don’t hesitate to run A/B tests with your pricing, promotions and messaging along the way. Keep asking questions and tweaking your answers until you’ve created the optimal recipe. Run marketing audits of your campaigns and approaches regularly. Remember that even once you’ve created your ideal marketing mix, the journey isn’t over. Your product will most likely evolve, new marketing trends will take hold, and your customers, competitors and the environment will change over time. Because of this, it’s important to revisit your marketing mix on a quarterly, biannual or yearly basis, depending on your product’s lifecycle. The four Ps of marketing aren’t static and should be continually strengthened to adapt to the changes around you.

Understanding how to calculate your sales tax, can be stressful and complicated, especially for online businesses with a global reach. That’s because when calculating sales tax for your online store , there's rarely a one-size-fits-all-approach. Instead, you have to navigate city, county, state and country regulations to understand your tax obligations. Read Also: How to start a business In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about sales tax. You’ll learn what sales tax is and if you even need to charge sales tax. Then, we’ll share a variety of different formulas to help you figure out how to calculate sales tax for your business. What is sales tax? Sales tax is a type of consumption tax that makes up a small percentage of the total sale amount. You only need to charge sales tax when someone buys goods or services from you. Upon receiving it, you then pass it on to the government. Sales tax is governed at the state level, with forty-five states and Washington D.C. all collecting sales tax to pay for things like schools, roads, and public safety. However, each state creates its own rules and laws - within a legal framework - when it comes to administering the tax. For example, the amount of sales tax you need to charge and the types of products and services that are taxable vary from state to state. Most states also allow local areas like cities and counties to have their own sales tax, so the total sales tax amount may be made up of three or four smaller components (the state tax rate, the county tax rate, and the county district tax rate, for example). Learn more: Best business ideas to start with little money   Do you need to charge sales tax? For traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, it’s easy to determine whether you need to charge sales tax and how much. If you only sell from one location, you would need to find the sales tax rate and charge that rate to all customers. Selling online, however, adds extra layers of complexity. Whether or not you need to charge sales tax depends on a few factors: 01. Are the items you’re selling taxable? Many physical items, like furniture, electronics, and books, are taxable, but certain services (like consulting or home repairs) are not subject to sales tax. Some items are also considered “necessities” and may not be taxable in all states. For example, grocery items, clothing, supplements, and digital products (books, music, movies, etc.) may not be taxable. Again, these guidelines vary by state, so make sure to check with each state’s taxing authority to find out if the products you sell are taxable. 02. Where are your customers located and do you have a nexus there? Sales tax generally depends on the ship-to location of the item (if you’re shipping an item to a customer in California, you may be required to pay sales taxes in California) and whether you have a strong connection to the state (referred to as a “nexus”). You’ll always have sales tax nexus in your home state, however the following business activities may subject you to that state’s sale tax regulations: Having an office, warehouse, store, or other physical presence of business Having an employee, contractor, salesperson, or other person doing work for your business Storing inventory Working with affiliates or someone who advertises your product in exchange for a portion of sales Having a dropshipping relationship (like a third-party that ships to your customers) Some states also impose sales thresholds for sales tax nexus. For example, if you have more than $100,000 in sales, you may be required to pay sales tax in that state. To understand your business’ tax responsibility, start by researching nexus laws  in states where your business has a physical presence or meets economic nexus thresholds. Once you’ve listed these states, it’s a good idea to confirm your list with a certified accountant. How to calculate sales tax Once you understand your sales tax obligations, it’s time to figure out just how much sales tax you need to collect. Identify the sales tax rate for each state where you pay taxes   Calculate the total transaction amount for an item   Calculate the sales tax percentage from the total   01. Identify the sales tax rate for each state where you pay taxes First, identify the sales tax rate  for each state where you are required to pay taxes. Then, multiply that rate by the selling price. When doing this step, don’t forget to transform the percentage into a decimal, so that 8% becomes .08. (Cost of the Item) * (Sales Tax Rate) = Total Sales Tax For example, in Seattle, the sales tax rate is 10.1% . If you wanted to calculate the sales tax required on a $50 item, the formula would be: 50 [Cost of the Item]  * .101 [Sales Tax Rate]  = $5.05 [Total Sales Tax] 02. Calculate the total transaction amount for an item If you wanted to calculate the total transaction amount for an item, combining the selling price and total sales tax required, you would multiply the selling price by 1 + the sales tax rate. (Cost of the Item) * (1 + Sales Tax Rate) = Total Transaction Cost Taking the same $50 item, the formula would be: 50  [Cost of the Item] * 1.101  [1 + Sales Tax Rate] = $55.05  [Total Transaction Cost] 03. Calculate the sales tax percentage from the total What if you want to figure out how to calculate the sales tax percentage from total? This could be helpful if you have receipts for the total transaction amount, but aren’t sure what percentage of that amount should be allocated for sales tax. The formula to calculate the sales tax percentage from total is: Total Sales Tax / Cost of the Item * 100 = Sales Tax Percentage from Total If you knew you sold a $50 item, with $5.05 in sales tax, you would use this formula to figure out the sales tax percentage: 5.05  [Total Sales Tax] / 50  [Cost of the Item] * 100 = 10.1 [Sales Tax Percentage from Total] Simplifying sales tax for your online store Calculating sales tax on your own can quickly become a manual, burdensome process when starting a business . Not only do you have to keep track of all your sales tax nexus locations and ensure you’re charging the right amount, you also have to stay on top of ever-evolving tax regulations. An easier way to manage sales tax is to use an automated sales tax solution. With an automated system, tax calculation for your business is hassle-free—all you need to do is select the states where you do business and the software takes care of the rest. Wix Merchants can take advantage of an automated sales tax  integration with Avalara, which automatically calculates sales tax for each location you sell to, so your customers always get real-time rates as they shop and check out. There’s no longer a need to rely on ZIP codes or rate tables because your sales tax rates are updated and calculated based on the most current rules worldwide. This automated system can reduce the time you spend on tax-related activities by 50% or more. To connect your Wix online store to Avalara: Log in to your Wix account. From your Wix site dashboard, click Settings. Select Store Tax. Click Get Automated Tax on the top right. Click + Add Country to add the regions you sell and ship anywhere in the world. Avalara will automatically calculate the tax compliance rate for each geo you add. Here are some guides to setting up your sales tax automations if you sell in home rule states  or Canada . Don’t have your online store up and running yet? Create your eCommerce site  and start selling today. How state tax is determined State income tax is a tax levied by state governments on the income of individuals and businesses within their jurisdictions. The specific way that state income tax is determined varies from state to state, but there are some general principles that apply. Determining taxable income The first step in determining state income tax liability is to calculate taxable income. This is done by taking the taxpayer's gross income and subtracting any allowable deductions and exemptions. Gross income is defined as all income from whatever source derived, including wages, salaries, tips, interest, dividends, capital gains, and rental income. Deductions are expenses that are allowed to be subtracted from gross income to reduce taxable income. Common deductions include standard deductions, itemized deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and state and local taxes paid. Exemptions are amounts of money that are subtracted from taxable income before tax is calculated. Common exemptions are for personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents. Calculating state income tax Once taxable income has been determined, the next step is to calculate the state income tax liability. This is done by applying the state income tax rate to taxable income. State income tax rates can be flat, meaning that the same rate applies to all income levels, or they can be progressive, meaning that higher rates apply to higher income levels. State income tax credits In addition to deductions and exemptions, many states also offer tax credits to reduce state income tax liability. Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of tax owed. Common tax credits include credits for child care expenses, education expenses, and renewable energy. State income tax withholding Most states require employers to withhold state income tax from their employees' paychecks. Withholding is a pay-as-you-go system that helps to ensure that taxpayers pay their state income tax throughout the year, rather than owing a large sum of money at the end of the year. State income tax filing Taxpayers are required to file a state income tax return if their taxable income exceeds the state's filing threshold. The filing deadline for state income taxes is typically April 15, but some states have different deadlines. Here are some additional factors that can affect state income tax liability: State residency:  Taxpayers are generally required to pay state income tax to the state where they reside. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, many states allow non-residents to credit taxes paid to their home state against their state income tax liability. Income from multiple states:  If a taxpayer earns income from more than one state, they may be required to file tax returns in multiple states. This can be complex, and it's often advisable to seek professional tax advice. State tax changes:  State income tax laws are constantly changing, so it's important to stay informed about the latest changes. The best way to do this is to consult with a tax advisor. How to calculate sales tax FAQ What states don’t have sales tax? There are five states in the United States that don't have a statewide sales tax: Alaska Delaware Montana New Hampshire Oregon These states generate revenue through other means, such as income taxes, property taxes and excise taxes. What states have the highest and the lowest sales tax? Highest sales tax:  California (9.25%) Lowest sales tax:  Colorado (2.9%) What is nexus? Nexus is a legal term that refers to a connection between a state and a business. If a business has nexus with a state, it's required to collect and remit sales tax on sales made to customers in that state. There are two types of nexus: physical nexus and economic nexus. Physical nexus:  This means that the business has a physical presence in the state, such as a store or office. Economic nexus:  This means that the business has a significant economic presence in the state, even if it doesn't have a physical presence. For example, if a business makes a lot of sales to customers in a state, it may be considered to have economic nexus with that state. What is value-added tax (VAT)? Value-added tax (VAT) is a type of consumption tax that is imposed on the value added to a product or service at each stage of production and distribution. The tax is paid by the final consumer, but it's collected by businesses at each stage of the supply chain. VAT is a common type of tax in Europe and Asia, but it's not used in the United States.

Maybe you sketched it on the back of a cocktail napkin or jotted it down in the middle of the night. Maybe it's been in the back of your mind for months—or even years. What is it? It’s a brand-new product idea and you have a hunch it could be a success. Transforming that inspiration into concrete reality—much less a product on a store shelf—can seem like a pipe dream. But with perseverance and plenty of research, you can design and manufacture a quality product that will resonate with customers and help you start your business . We’ll cover all the main steps in this blog. How to manufacture a product: 6 steps to get started Get clear on the concept Protect your idea Build a good-enough prototype Find a manufacturer Plan and test logistics Start manufacturing and monitoring 01. Get clear on the concept While a burst of inspiration may have gotten you started, you’ll need a much more concrete concept before moving forward with manufacturing . To get a clearer picture of what your product is, answer these questions: What is it? You might have a single object in mind or something that’s part of a larger set. Will buyers assemble it themselves, or does it come ready-made? If multiple sizes, styles, or colorways are involved, consider how many you’d like to offer, given that each variation adds to your initial production costs. Pro tip:  Research your options for raw materials, and keep sustainability in mind: 77% of consumers want to make more sustainable choices and 49% have paid a premium for products labeled eco-friendly or socially responsible in the past 12 months, a survey from IBM  found. Who will be interested in it?   Conduct research to understand the size, makeup and location of the potential market for your product. Identify other brands that serve a similar audience and study their offerings—as well as styles, features, and pricing that seem to resonate with buyers. Consider surveying your potential audience and tap experts in the industry through professional organizations and trade shows. This additional background research will not only help cement your product concept, it can help you flesh out a business plan, plus attract investors or secure a bank loan to finance development. Where can it be sold? If the ideal marketplace for your product is through a major retailer, your strategy will be different than if you plan to sell it exclusively through an online store . In general, selling directly online is a quick way to move your goods into the market while waiting to finalize dealer and retailer partnerships. What’s your unique selling point ? Your product may not be an entirely new invention but iit may offer updated technology, features that appeal to a specific audience, or new style options. Define what makes your product different from other products that are like it. 02. Protect your idea Once you have a concrete product idea to introduce to potential investors, suppliers, and manufacturers, take proactive steps to ensure you retain ownership and creative control. At this stage, it’s a good idea to consult an attorney. Create an NDA As you begin sharing your concept and seeking manufacturing bids, a well-crafted non-disclosure agreement (NDA) helps to protect against improper use, copying, or sharing of your idea or the information you’ve collected and created in the process. An NDA also requires any designers or producers who work on your product development  to return materials they’ve created or used once their work is done, ensuring that your trade secrets stay secure. File a patent with the help of an attorney If you believe your idea is inventive, you can research existing patents and publications to determine whether your product may be patentable. With a patent, you can prevent others from making, using, or selling your invention without your consent. A patent can cover both your product and any innovations in materials or processes you use, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A working prototype is not necessary before filing a patent application, so making early preparations to file can streamline the process and save on legal fees when the time is right. Protect your branding Consider obtaining a federal trademark registration for the name, logo, or other branding of your new product once they’ve been created. Where applicable, you may want to make a copyright registration for any associated artwork, creative designs or original music. Make sure you’re in the clear If you’re building on someone else’s technology or incorporating existing designs into your products, run a check on existing patents, trademarks, and copyrights. That way, you’ll avoid accidentally infringing on others’ work and can obtain any required licensing upfront, without needing to pay costly fines or legal fees. In addition to preventing others from copying or stealing your work, these safeguards may come in handy when selling via retailers and third-party marketplaces. The U.S. government has identified more than three dozen online marketplaces  as hotbeds for counterfeits and pirated products. In response, multiple marketplace sites have begun vetting sellers to ensure they own or have permission to use intellectual property associated with their wares. 03. Build a good-enough prototype With solid research, a concrete product idea, and legal protections in place, it’s time to make the physical product for the first time. Start with a prototype, which can be a single item or a limited-production run to test how your idea actually works in real life. Hire professionals to help You may need to enlist engineers, designers, artisans or other experts to build your product. This will enable you to obtain a reliable and realistic prototype that you can confidently show as an accurate representation of your idea. At the same time, don’t wait for perfection In fact, you may want to use the concept of a minimum viable product (MVP) to guide development. Rather than waiting until every detail is exactly right, you can create an MVP with the most essential product features and begin collecting feedback from testers to shape the final version. If speed to market is a factor—e.g., a competitor is planning to launch a similar product and you’d like to be the first to market—you may even decide to launch the MVP version to the public and add other features in an upgraded edition later (though tread carefully). Think about product packaging Use your prototype to start designing the product packaging . Bulky or oddly-shaped items might be costly to transport, and extra labels and materials may be necessary to pack component parts, so getting an early start on packaging can influence the product design itself and inform the initial price of your product. 04. Find a manufacturer Once your prototype is tested and refined, you’re ready to find manufacturers  and put your project out to bid. Finding the right partner to transform raw materials into your finished product is a complex process. Logistics, sourcing relationships, pricing, and other considerations may influence your decision, so weigh your options carefully and don’t rush this step. Start with very specific requirements Assemble detailed specifications, measurements, schematic drawings, and even swatches or samples of raw materials that you have in mind to help manufacturers understand the scope of the undertaking. It may also be worthwhile to connect manufacturers with the designers or engineers that helped you design the prototype and/or sharing testers’ feedback as you talk through the options for producing at scale. In addition, consider what quantity you need to launch, how often you think you’ll be replenishing your stock, and how quickly you’ll need items to ship. Are you planning to store inventory at a retail location or warehouse, or will you dropship items on demand? Ask about your manufacturers’ capabilities upfront and document details like production turnaround and order lead times. Evaluate the pros and cons of domestic and overseas options Overseas manufacturers are plentiful and tend to offer lower prices than manufacturers in the U.S. But the past two years have shown how an unstable global supply chain can impact even the smallest retailers, so consider whether the risk is worth the cost savings. Additionally, domestic manufacturers enable more control over the safety, quality, and provenance of raw materials—all important considerations, given consumers’ growing expectations around sustainability and sourcing transparency. Working conditions for employees are another potential flashpoint; domestic manufacturers will by and large adhere to U.S. labor laws. Meanwhile, you may need to request that overseas manufacturers follow a code of conduct you specify, but you may have no legal recourse to enforce that behavior. Obtain quotes and order samples Once you have a list of prospective manufacturers, request price quotes based on the detailed information you’ve provided. Select at least two top contenders for comparison and request that they make samples. Evaluate these samples for quality, durability, and safety. Compare your original specifications to the finished product. Did the manufacturer follow your instructions thoroughly? This stage is a good time to gauge how easy it is to work with manufacturers, as well. While you don’t want to invent reasons to complicate the process, don’t hesitate to request assistance, provide feedback, and even ask for multiple samples in different styles, sizes, or colorways. Is your manufacturer responsive to emails, text messages, or calls? How detail-oriented are they? How do they handle supplemental requests? Negotiate terms and finalize the agreement While manufacturers may ask for payment upfront for an initial shipment, expect and negotiate for more flexibility when it comes to subsequent orders, e.g., 50% payment when placing the order and 50% when products are received. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure timeframes and other expectations are spelled out clearly, and consider having an attorney review the contract to ensure that it’s clear, legal, and enforceable. Learn more: Product sourcing 05. Plan and test logistics Once you have a manufacturer agreement in hand, finalize the logistics  of moving your goods from the factory to customers. More than four in five consumers say they won’t return to a brand after a poor delivery experience, according to a survey from FarEye , so it’s essential that you invest time during the pre-launch period to streamline the process. Get a holistic view of fulfillment Use a solution, such as Wix for eCommerce , to centralize your inventory management  across all of your sales channels, apps, and fulfillment partners. Having a source of truth (or a unified system) is the first step to avoiding costly errors due to inventory mismanagement. Get your multichannel operations in order If you store and fulfill orders through a program like fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), make sure that you’re fully aware of any product prep instructions, lead times and other factors that impact your logistics. Prepare for good problems and headaches When your product launches, you may experience a rush of orders that outpaces production. This is a good problem to have, but one that can lead to customer dissatisfaction if you don’t have a system in place to expedite backlogged orders. Your manufacturer agreement should include pricing and expectations for placing rush orders, and you may want to consider building up a reservoir of emergency stock. Once your product has a track record of typical monthly or seasonal demand, you’ll be able to predict inventory needs and can judiciously reduce the reserves. Don’t forget about reverse logistics Prepare in advance for returns with a robust reverse logistics operation and a plan for returned merchandise, whether resale or recycling. Double-check the agreement with the manufacturer to ensure that costs are shared in the event of returns due to product defects or recalls. 06. Start manufacturing and monitoring As you ramp up production at last, take a moment to celebrate. But remember that your work is just beginning. Monitor operations closely for quality control, and stay in close communication with your manufacturer as products begin rolling off the assembly line so that you can respond to any unforeseen glitches. Launch a marketing campaign to drive interest Let new and existing customers know about your product using a tool like Wix’s eCommerce marketing  features. Consider incentivizing orders with special thank-you gifts, extra loyalty points, and hashtag contests on social media. Don’t forget to give your manufacturer a heads up so that they’re not surprised by the influx of orders. Use early customer feedback to perfect product content If early buyers are flooding customer support with questions or complaints, re-examine your online product content to ensure that images and descriptions are accurate and set realistic expectations. (Need inspiration? Check out these standout product page examples .) Consider proactively addressing the most frequently-asked questions in how-to videos, FAQs, or in your product descriptions. Respond to reviews promptly and respectfully. Document recurring feedback so that updates or future iterations of your product can incorporate customers’ suggestions. How to manufacture a product FAQ What are the crucial main steps when it comes to manufacturing a product? Product design and conceptualization Material sourcing and procurement Prototyping and testing Tooling and setup Production and assembly Quality control and assurance Packaging and distribution What are the 5 P's of manufacturing? The 5 P's of manufacturing are: 1. People : Skilled workforce and management 2. Product: Design, quality, and features 3. Process: Production methods and efficiency 4. Plant : Facilities, equipment and location 5. Planning : Scheduling, inventory management and forecasting How do you manufacture a new product without having a complete factory? You can manufacture a new product without owning a complete factory by partnering with contract manufacturers or co-packers who handle production for you. These companies produce goods based on your specifications, allowing you to reduce startup costs and leverage their expertise. Shared facilities and maker spaces are also great for small-scale production or prototyping, as they offer access to professional-grade equipment without large investments. Before scaling up, focus on creating prototypes and testing to refine your product and ensure it meets quality standards. This approach helps you manage risks while building a solid foundation for manufacturing.

Get started by:  Creating an online store →  |  Getting a domain → If you're thinking about selling on Etsy, then you’re likely left with an important question: How much does it cost? While there are plenty of things to take into consideration, one thing you must evaluate with any online marketplace is the true cost of selling through that channel. In this blog, we’ll cover the various fees associated with selling on Etsy, plus tips for adding Etsy to your multichannel sales strategy. With humble beginnings in a Brooklyn apartment, Etsy is now one of the leading eCommerce  marketplaces on the web, offering sellers the potential to reach higher revenues and new audiences. Set up your eCommerce website  with Wix and start selling today. What is Etsy? Etsy is a global eCommerce marketplace with a primary focus on handmade, vintage and artisanal items. It’s a hotspot for people looking to snag—or sell—one-of-a-kind goods you wouldn’t find in most big-box stores. Established in Brooklyn, New York in 2005, Etsy has become one of the top eCommerce marketplaces , distinguishing itself from larger players like Amazon and eBay through its specialized product offerings. According to Statista, the platform had over 95 million active buyers  in 2023 and 7.5 million active sellers, with revenue topping $2.6 billion. Selling on Etsy  is one avenue you can take toward diversifying your eCommerce income. Multichannel selling is an effective way to reach new audiences beyond those only visiting your website. Learn more: Amazon alternatives Mandatory Etsy seller fees for 2024 You may have seen Etsy claim that “All it takes is 20 cents to get started.” While that’s not totally off, there are several other required fees to take into account. Type of fee Amount Listing fee $0.20 per item Transaction fee 6.5% Payment processing fee 3%+$0.25 per transaction Offsite ads (high volume sellers) 12% Currency conversion 2.5% Regulatory fees Cost varies Listing fees: $0.20 per item This is where the “20 cents” comes from. For every item you publish on Etsy.com, you must pay a flat fee of $0.20 (USD). You’ll be charged this fee whether or not your product actually sells, and your account will be charged as soon as you hit “publish” on a listing. Keep in mind that there are other quirks regarding Etsy listing fees: Auto-renewal :   If your item hasn’t sold after four months, Etsy will automatically renew your listing (read: charge you another $0.20). You can opt out of auto-renewal from your account, which means you’ll have to manually repost a listing once it has expired. Multi-quantity listings :   If a customer buys multiple units of the same product, then you’ll be charged $0.20 per unit (unless your units are sold as a single pack). For instance, say that you list a T-shirt for sale and a customer decides to buy 10 of them in different colors. You will be charged a grand total of $2 in listing fees, or $0.20 per additional unit after the first T-shirt sold, which you already paid a listing fee for. Multipacks and pre-bundled items :   When multiple products are prepackaged together and   sold as a single product, you will only be charged one listing fee per pack. Private listing :   On Etsy, you have the option to list certain items for sale just for a particular buyer to see. These types of listings will be subject to the same $0.20 listing fee. Transaction fee: 6.5% A transaction fee is what you pay whenever you make a sale on Etsy. It’s currently 6.5% of the total sales price and includes the cost of shipping, gift wrapping and product personalization. (However, on your Etsy bill, your transaction fee will appear as two different line items: transaction fees deducted from your product price and transaction fees deducted from your shipping cost.) For sellers in the U.S. and Canada, this fee is based on the pre-tax total. Payment processing fee: 3% + $0.25 per transaction The processing fee covers the costs of handling credit card or bank transactions when using Etsy Payments . Sellers in 52 eligible countries (including the U.S. and Canada) have access to this tool, which accepts PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, credit cards and debit cards. Etsy Payments charges a flat rate ($0.25 USD) and a percentage of the final sales price (3%), including tax and shipping, for sellers in the U.S. Outside of the U.S., processing fees vary by country .   Offsite Ads (for high-volume sellers): 12% Offsite Ads are ads that Etsy places on behalf of its merchants to drive more business to its marketplace. Offsite Ads appear on search and social media destinations (think selling on Instagram ), as well as other select media sites. All sellers are automatically enrolled in Offsite Ads—and if your Etsy shop has earned more than $10,000 in the last 365 days (as calculated on the first day of the month), you are required to stay enrolled. You will be charged 12% of the total sales price whenever someone purchases your product from an Offsite Ad. This advertising fee will never exceed $100 USD. You will also remain enrolled for the lifetime of your shop, even if you fall below the $10,000 threshold on a later date. The fine print :   If a customer clicks on an Offsite Ad that features one of your listings, then buys something from your shop within 30 days of that click, this will be attributed to an Offside Ad. For example, say that an Offsite Ad features a $25 lamp you sell. If someone clicks on the ad and decides to buy a $500 table you offer, you’ll be charged the 12% fee even though the ad was for your lamp. Now, let’s say that within that same 30-day period, the customer purchases your $25 lamp—that too will incur the 12% fee. In addition to this, you will still be responsible for paying shipping transaction fees or other applicable fees. Currency conversion fee: 2.5% If your company attracts international business and uses Etsy Payments, you will be charged a 2.5% currency conversion fee on your total sales price (including the cost of shipping, gift wrapping and personalization). Put another way, this fee will be applied whenever the currency on your shop’s listing is different from the currency of your Payments account. Regulatory operating fees: cost varies Merchants located in select countries outside the U.S. are subject to regulatory operating fees  in addition to the standard Etsy fees. The regulatory operating fee is a fixed percentage of your total sales price (including the cost of shipping, gift wrapping and personalization). This fee ranges from 0.32% to 1.1%. Optional Etsy fees for 2024 On top of these base costs, Etsy offers optional services that carry their own costs. Etsy Ads: cost varies Etsy offers onsite ads to boost the visibility of your items. Fees for these ads are “pay per click” (PPC), meaning that you incur charges any time a person clicks on your Etsy Ad, whether or not they proceed to buy your product. The cost per click is determined based on an auction system. You can set a daily budget, which essentially tells Etsy how much you’re willing to pay for a single click on your ad. When you’re first starting out, you’ll be allowed a maximum daily budget of $25. Etsy will recalculate this limit on a weekly basis for Etsy Payments users, and on a monthly basis for users who aren’t enrolled in Etsy Payments. Offsite Ads (for lower volume sellers): 15% If your Etsy shop has generated less than $10,000 in sales over the last 365 days (as calculated on the first day of the month), you can opt out of the Offsite Ads program. Sellers below this threshold are charged a higher fee (15%) for Offsite Ads than those who exceed the threshold (12%). Shipping labels: cost varies If you choose to leverage Etsy Shipping, you can save up to 30% on shipping costs from USPS, FedEx and Canada Post. You can also print labels directly from your Etsy account. Doing so automatically marks items as shipped and adds a tracking number to the order—both of which can help boost your seller ranking and earn you Etsy’s Star Seller badge. In-person selling fee: $0.20 If you have a physical store and use Square as your POS system , you can sync your Etsy listings with your store inventory. The benefit of this is that if someone purchases your product in stores, your listed quantity on your Etsy page will be updated automatically. There’s no extra charge beyond the usual listing fees when your Etsy listings are synced with Square. However, if you sell an item via Square that’s not  synced with your Etsy listings, you’ll be charged a separate $0.20 fee that shows up as a “Square manual” fee on your Etsy bill. Square charges additional processing fees  for each transaction, which varies by the type of sale. Etsy Plus: $10 per month Etsy Plus is an optional subscription service that offers perks, such as: 15 listing credits each subscription cycle $5 in Etsy Ad credits each subscription cycle Etsy Shop customization Ability to accept restock requests from your shop Discounts on web domains, custom shipping boxes, business cards and more An example of an Etsy bill To put all this into perspective, let’s pretend you sell snazzy dog collars. They cost you $10 to make and you sell them on Etsy for $20. Your customer pays $5 in shipping and $1 in tax, bringing their total price to $26. You have sold less than $10,000 in the last 365 days, but you choose to pay for Offsite Ads for extra exposure. Here’s what your bill shakes out to be at the end of the transaction. Etsy takes a total of $6.61 from your sale, or 25% of the total amount that your customer paid at checkout. The bottom line: Etsy should supplement—not replace—your online store Etsy, no doubt, has its perks and can bring lots of business your way. But there’s also no denying that selling on Etsy comes with a cost (albeit, so does selling on Amazon , selling on eBay , selling on Facebook Marketplace , and selling on any other marketplace). These costs present their own challenges: Smaller margins :   As the hypothetical example above shows, the costs can add up quickly, which means you may not be able to price your items competitively if you want to maintain a decent margin. Rising fees : As on any marketplace, policies and fees can change at any time. Etsy has increased its transaction fees twice since 2018. The most recent change was in April of 2022, prompting a temporary strike  among sellers. Your brand is secondary : Customers come to Etsy for Etsy. Read: they trust Etsy, which is why Etsy is a great destination for both buyers and sellers. On the flip side, customers may not pay as much attention to the individual shop that they’re purchasing from, making it harder for you to establish brand recognition and earn repeat business. Popularity means more competition : Etsy’s rapid growth has attracted more sellers than ever, which means your products may not stand out unless you invest in paid placements.   To avoid becoming over-reliant on Etsy and having to pay fees for every sale you make, leverage Etsy as a complement to your online store. You can start an online store  with a no-hassle platform like Wix eCommerce, which includes built-in tools for inventory and price management, marketing, multichannel sales  and more. Read also: Best online selling sites It’s never too early to start creating an ecosystem that belongs 100% to your brand, which is why it's so important to know how to create a website . You can control the messaging, visuals and the overall user experience, helping customers to remember your brand name and be loyal to you—not just Etsy. 3 tips for success in selling on Etsy With that said, here are some tips for striking the right balance between Etsy and your online store: 01. Curate your Etsy selection Just because you sell on Etsy doesn’t mean you have to make all of your products available at once. Consider offering a limited selection of top sellers or product lines that you believe would perform well on Etsy. Doing so can help you to better define Etsy’s role in your overall strategy, run controlled experiments and strategically optimize your Etsy listings. As a way of introducing Etsy shoppers to your brand, you can experiment with sets or sampler packs that showcase the breadth of your brand’s offering. 02. Invest in an amazing customer experience on your site When it comes to your online store, you’ll want to make sure that it’s in tip-top shape so that when an Etsy buyer (or any  buyer, for that matter) wanders to your site, they won’t be disappointed. Make sure your product pages, images and descriptions are up to snuff. Ensure that your products are easy to find. Incorporate videos, social proof and other creative content that draws your shoppers closer to your brand. 03. Optimize your listings Whether on Etsy or your branded site—every listing you publish should be carefully crafted. Take the time to tailor your product description to your target buyer, which may differ from channel to channel. Offer a variety of high-quality product photos, and don’t skimp out on product attributes. One surprisingly easy mistake to make is misclassification when listing a product to multiple channels. Every marketplace has its own way of categorizing products; double-check that you’re using the best category and subcategory for Etsy, and that you provide all the details that customers expect when browsing items here. All in all, Etsy’s unique and enthusiastic audience could be a great fit for your brand. But it goes without saying that you’ll want to monitor your costs closely and have a plan for building up your brand both on and off Etsy. Read also: How to start a business , eCommerce vs marketplaces Sell on Etsy FAQ Is it worth it to sell on Etsy? Whether or not it's worth it to sell on Etsy depends on your individual circumstances and goals. Etsy is a great platform for selling handmade, vintage and craft items, but it's not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time and effort to build a successful Etsy shop. However, if you're willing to put in the work, you can make a good living selling on Etsy. What is the downside of Etsy? There are a few downsides to selling on Etsy. One is that the competition is fierce. There are millions of sellers on Etsy, so it can be difficult to get your products noticed. Another downside is that Etsy takes a cut of every sale you make. This can eat into your profits, especially if you are selling low-margin items. What sells best on Etsy? There are a wide variety of products that sell well on Etsy. Some of the most popular categories include jewelry, handmade crafts, vintage items and home décor. Is Etsy a good side hustle?

What are Infographics?   Information graphics – or infographics in short –  are used to visualize information rather than conveying in through text. Though different types of infographics have been around for ages (maps are a kind of infographic too), they’ve been enjoying a sweeping revival thanks to the internet in the last few years. Two things make a great infographic: 1. Great design 2. Interesting data The following 10 examples show just what infographics should be: funny, smart, revealing, witty and downright stunning. Take a look and let us know what’s your favorite one!