I ruthlessly unsubscribe from almost all newsletters. Eric’s one of a select few that I look actually forward to opening because it has proven itself consistently valuable for Shopify merchants.
— Kurt Elster, Ecommerce Strategist, founder of Ethercycle, and a top Shopify Plus Expert.
Past issues
Shopify Dispatch Issue #151 - When to email, DIY SEO
Only you can determine the best time to send emails to your eCommerce customers Sometimes doing what everyone else does is a bad idea. For years marketing companies have said that Tuesday is the best day to send emails to customers. So guess what happens? Everyone sends emails on Tuesday...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #150 - Shopify updates, Gap analysis
What's New at Shopify: August 2, 2018 Though targeted at Shopify partners, this article highlights some upcoming changes that could impact merchants. Specifically the retail package and Facebook checkout retirements, and the new Google Shopping channel. How to perform a Gap Analysis on your eCommerce store (in 3 steps) Bill...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #149 - Welcome campaigns
Welcome emails This week I want to try something different. I found two newly published articles this week, both on different aspects of email marketing for your store. First there's Shopify where they describe different types of drip email campaigns including the welcome email, post-purchase emails, event emails, and offer...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #148 - Amazon Prime Day, Shopify Academy
Amazon's 2018 Prime Day Sets Record Despite Glitches Amazon's Prime Day (and a half) appears to have been a successful event, surpassing all of last years big shopping days. It might be worthwhile to look at how they marketed it to adapt to your own campaigns. Introducing Shopify Academy: Free...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #147 - Technical SEO tips, Back-to-School marketing
10 Technical SEO Tips to Get the Most from an Ecommerce Website Emily Mace has a list of SEO tips for Shopify stores. I've seen many stores get bitten by out-of-stock products (#4), especially when they delete products because that will remove rankings and Rich Snippets. Back-to-School Marketing: Ideas, Stats...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #146 - Customer accounts, Email segmentation
New Research Findings on 'Accounts & Self-Service' UX The Baymard Institute has published a new set of research, this one on accounts and self-service. This sample outlines many issues customers experience with ecommerce stores so there's a lot you can pull from it. At the very least, if you're planning...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #145 - SEO for new stores, Brand personality
SEO: How to Drive Traffic to a New Ecommerce Site Hamlet Batista offers a collection of tips when starting a new ecommerce store. These would also be useful whenever you're about to launch a new product line or enter a new market. How to Add Brand Personality To Your Store...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #144 - Sales taxes, Giant SEO competitors
Economic Nexus: What South Dakota v Wayfair Means for Your Ecommerce Store US sales tax laws have changed again. With the new US Supreme Court ruling, you might need to register and collect sales taxes in more states. SEO: How to Win against Giant Competitors Hamlet Batista shares a few...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #143 - Customer service, Ecommerce metrics
Upset Customers? Here's How to Tackle Complaints When There's No Easy Answer. Customer service overall is really poor, which is surprising since customers have more power than ever (social media, protection laws, etc). It's much better for everyone involved to try to fix the relationship and potentially win a customer...
Shopify Dispatch Issue #142 - Psychological triggers, Magento sold
7 Psychological Triggers that Win Sales and Influence Customers Beth Morgan outlines how to apply the psychological triggers from Robert Cialdini's Pre-Suasion to ecommerce. Magento sold, again A few months after Adobe begins to sunset Business Catalyst, they've now acquired Magento. I wouldn't be surprised to see another mass migration...