Any Tips and Tricks for new store?

[SolsticeCarlet]

So I’m in the process of opening a store, have creations underway, have land, am decorating and setting up vendors, etc. 

 

it’s really small for now and I’m not totally new to SL or to marketing in general but I guess I am new to opening a store in world. I know to send up a landmark, list in search, etc. 

 

Any other tips or must do’s when opening up a place?

please and thank you in advance ❤️
 

Also worth mentioning—> im barely starting to figure out flickr for anyone who mentions that lol but I know there’s so much to gain from that too. 
 

I’m hoping this could help other small merchants opening up as well. :3

[Chic Aeon]

Firstly have fun owning your shop. 

 

For a majority of creators these days sales are down (yes, anecdotal but I personally don't know ANYONE whos sales are up -- hence my "majority statement".  If I am wrong I will be happy) --  so don't expect a great income stream.  Try and get into some of the weekend sales events (instore) since those seem to be doing fairly well still.  

 

You might want to start a store group. Most stores have those; I never have :D.   

 

If your items are presented in poster form (as in clothing - jewelry etc. rather than out on the floor as in furniture) then learning to take GOOD VENDOR PHOTOS should be high on your todo list. Find some examples that you like to pattern yours after  those.   

 

Good luck. 

 

 

[Polenth Yue]

Events are the best promotion I've found. I sell a lot at the event and the publicity keeps things selling afterwards. Not all events are equal though, so I'm not suggesting signing up for a billion of those monthly events. Look for bigger events and sign up for one of the cheaper options to test the water. (I've sold more at events this year than last year, so I haven't noticed a drop in sales as a small merchant.)

On that note, when you make a bunch of new things, put a few aside as event exclusives. The usual event thing is it'll be new and exclusive for the event, but you can sell it normally afterwards.

Make sure you include your landmark and marketplace link everywhere. In every product, every hunt gift, as clickable signs in event shops... this sounds so obvious, but so many shops don't do this.

I don't do Flickr, my social media is general rather than SL only and my store group is small and mainly used to announce a few events a year. So though you can do various things if you want to, they're extra frills.

[SolsticeCarlet]

10 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

Firstly have fun owning your shop. 

 

For a majority of creators these days sales are down (yes, anecdotal but I personally don't know ANYONE whos sales are up -- hence my "majority statement".  If I am wrong I will be happy) --  so don't expect a great income stream.  Try and get into some of the weekend sales events (instore) since those seem to be doing fairly well still.  

 

You might want to start a store group. Most stores have those; I never have :D.   

 

If your items are presented in poster form (as in clothing - jewelry etc. rather than out on the floor as in furniture) then learning to take GOOD VENDOR PHOTOS should be high on your todo list. Find some examples that you like to pattern yours after  those.   

 

Good luck. 

 

 

I agree with the having fun part. I'm actually just eager and excited to have a little space I'm managing. Whatever I make from it is fine as long as I'm having fun ❤️ thanks for the advice! I have been thinking of making a group I feel like everyone has one now a days...definitely will consider that. and thankfully the majority of my items are items that will be out on the sales floor so no demos needed soon lol 

[SolsticeCarlet]

8 hours ago, Polenth Yue said:

Events are the best promotion I've found. I sell a lot at the event and the publicity keeps things selling afterwards. Not all events are equal though, so I'm not suggesting signing up for a billion of those monthly events. Look for bigger events and sign up for one of the cheaper options to test the water. (I've sold more at events this year than last year, so I haven't noticed a drop in sales as a small merchant.)

On that note, when you make a bunch of new things, put a few aside as event exclusives. The usual event thing is it'll be new and exclusive for the event, but you can sell it normally afterwards.

Make sure you include your landmark and marketplace link everywhere. In every product, every hunt gift, as clickable signs in event shops... this sounds so obvious, but so many shops don't do this.

I don't do Flickr, my social media is general rather than SL only and my store group is small and mainly used to announce a few events a year. So though you can do various things if you want to, they're extra frills.

oooh. I was thinking about certain events. FLF was a huge one that I really enjoy and it's something recurring, but you're right..setting some things aside to leave as an exclusive for big events is really good advice. ❤️ thank you so much. lol yeah I made sure to copy my landmark in every item folder and soon to be given to anyone who stops by.  Flickr seems nice and I feel like it's a gem that can drive traffic (i could be wrong) like tiktok lol but it's probably going to take me a while to get the hang of it. 

 

You guys gave me great advice! ❤️ I'm legit so grateful I felt a little lost at first lol

[Bree Giffen]

Another thing you can do is put a link to your inworld store and/or marketplace store in your signature here in the forums.

Include a current working store landmark with the product.

Test everything in your store with an ALT to make sure you are not selling things for the wrong price or with wrong permissions.

[rasterscan]

Enjoy your journey !  If selling clothing, demo versions will help greatly with sales. Having an MP presence as well as a store is kind of ... important too. And dont expect more than a bit of pocket money in the early days. People tend to flock to a certain set of well known and reliable sellers rather than test the waters with new sellers.

Edited June 2, 2021 by rasterscan

[Sid Nagy]

1. When into clothing, demo's are key. Not only in your store but also on the marketplace.

I always found working for the marketplace pretty boring, but these days a good marketplace store is becoming essential. The MP is for SL what Google is in RL.
And just as in RL online stores become more and more accepted and important. Ordering while at the office or during lunch breaks.

2. Use a catching simple brand name, and keep using that on every thing, your vendor pictures, your marketplace pictures, in your signature line on the forum, your blog, wherever you post something. It doesn't have to be big, but consistent. And stick with it. Don't change it. Look at big companies like Pepsi, Coke, McDonalds, KFC, Philips. They change colors or letter types very rarely, and not for nothing. People start remembering when they see things often enough.

Back in the prim days I had a successful door store. It's name: The DoorStore. Everybode knew where it was about the moment they saw the name.
I could have named it Chez Sid as well, but that could be a restaurant, a bar or a whatever too.

Recently I started with some goods on the marketplace again. This time I have choosen 3 letters as a logo.
Nobody knows where they stand for, but I think it could work if I just stick to it.

3. Be honest about your products. Show them at their best, but don't make the pictures look a lot better than it looks in SL.
Look at the discussions about the new second life homepage here on the forums, there are many people who dislike that.

4. Have good customer support. Avoid self important people: customer is king, but don't jump through every hoop presented either.

5. Don't expect to get rich over night. SL is full with oldbies who already have their inventory more then filled with everything. The days that you only had to put stuff up to sell it to a newbie are long gone. There are thousands of new products everyday on the marketplace. Every market segment is flooded with items.

I'm back in as a merchant for about 6 months or so, and now I'm getting to the point that I make tier for my 4096 plot most of the weeks.
I have to admit that I'm a slow not easily satisfied builder. Most of what I make ends up in the trash pile somewhere in the process.

6. Don't put all your free time in your shop, how exciting it might be. SL has a lot more to offer than you alone, somewhere on a platform. So does RL.
There is always that next event where you can participate in. Pick them carefully.
If you're not careful, the store dictates your life, which The DoorStore did with me for a few months,  It was not a good choice to be honest.

Have fun.
 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Sid Nagy