“A business is nothing other than the sum of thousands of tiny decisions, and each one of those decisions is critical to the success of your online business”
– A Better Lemonade Stand.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Whether you’re new to the ecommerce industry, looking to start a business, or you’re an experienced entrepreneur looking to improve business performance, lots of little decisions need to be made to achieve online success.
There’s a lot to learn in the way of ecommerce – think pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing, website usability, streamlined shipping, content marketing, and all the latest ecommerce tools and resources to improve the customer experience.
The ecommerce industry is shifting and changing all the time, along with your customer’s needs and desires. You need to keep up with the latest news, innovations, and trends to keep sales coming through the door (or the checkout).
You’re in luck – the internet is packed with ecommerce news sites and publications, all pumping out new information, advice, and tips every day. In this blog, we share some of our favourite sources of ecommerce info to whet your appetite.
#1. Internet Retailing
While Internet Retailing isn’t focused 100% on ecommerce, there’s a whole section dedicated to ecommerce news, fulfilment and logistics, website security, and startups. From news articles to interviews with successful entrepreneurs, Internet Retailing is your go-to for all things ecommerce.
#2. Power Retail
Want to learn from the best in the ecommerce business? Power Retail is an absolute essential to visit regularly. Among news updates and advice, Power Retail also has a series called the “Ecommerce Time Machine” where the writers revisit now-successful ecommerce giants like Bunnings Warehouse, ASOS, and more.
Both engaging and fascinating, make sure to sign up for Power Retail’s newsletter “Pulse”.
#3. Practical Ecommerce
Practical Ecommerce is an American website, but their articles are still super relevant to Australian ecommerce business owners. Featuring “how-to” guides, advice on ecommerce platforms and marketing, pandemic selling, and more, Practical Ecommerce delivers what it says on the can… practicality!
Plus, each month, the writers also put together a listicle on the month’s new ecommerce product releases. You might find some brand new tools to boost your ecommerce performance!
#4. BigCommerce
Like Woocommerce, Shopify, and Magento, BigCommerce is an ecommerce software platform – but their blog is packed with content marketing advice, email automation advice, social media marketing, “ultimate guides”, and much more, BigCommerce is an absolute essential read for ecommerce business owners.
Don’t have time to sit down and read a bunch of articles? Consider signing up to their email newsletter. You can catch up on the latest news and learn how to boost your business on the train, waiting at the doctor’s office, or even in the back of an Uber.
#5. Neil Patel
The mastermind behind genius SEO tools like Kissmetrics and Ubersuggest, Neil Patel is an SEO, marketing, and ecommerce guru.
Neil’s website is overflowing with helpful blogs, how-to guides, video tutorials, and more. Plus, he explains things in a simple manner, so you don’t need to have tonnes of prior knowledge to connect with the topic at hand.
#6. Hubspot
Hubspot is one of the most popular pieces of marketing, sales, and service software in the world right now, and their blog is filled to the brim with professional, trustworthy content to help build your business from the ground up.
From the basics of writing a blog to in-depth marketing reports and insights, Hubspot provides all the how-to guides and statistics to ensure your business can adapt and thrive.
#7. Shopify
While Hubspot focuses on sales and marketing for both lead generation and ecommerce businesses, Shopify focuses on ecommerce exclusively… because it’s their specialty!
Alongside adorable animations and graphics, you’ll find how-to guides on how to sell to new and existing customers, how to boost business growth and sales, how to create a global brand, how to manage online inventory, how to create better social media ads, and much more.
The team also has a free newsletter packed with news and tips on how to start (or grow) a business.
#8. Volusion
Similar to Hubspot, BigCommerce, and Shopify, Volusion covers stories on successful entrepreneurs, how-to guides for SEO and ecommerce, marketing tips, and website usability “must-haves” to achieve success in an online space.
Catch up on their latest stories for tips and tricks to improve the customer experience and bring more sales through the door.
#9. Sellbrite
Sellbrite is a similar ecommerce software tool to Shopify, Woocommerce, or Magento. Their articles revolve around left-of-centre marketing opportunities for ecommerce business owners like Etsy, Shopify Exchange, Instagram Shopping, and Google Shopping.
You can discover the benefits of each of these marketing opportunities and learn how to use them to boost your revenue.
#10. A Better Lemonade Stand
A Better Lemonade Stand takes on the tradition of setting up a lemonade stand as a child and making your first dollar. Packed with comprehensive and reliable advice, resources, and tools, A Better Lemonade Stand will teach you everything you need to know to build a successful ecommerce business.
And last but not least… Transdirect!
Here at Transdirect, we’re committed to all things shipping and freight… but we also want to help our customers succeed online!
In our blog, we share advice on everything from ecommerce to web design, marketing, shipping, and more – all written to help boost the performance of your business and keep you in the loop about upcoming trends and essentials for ecommerce businesses.
We have a huge backlog of blogs to read through and learn from. Get reading!
Discover more entertaining ecommerce blogs with Transdirect, or sign up to our newsletter for bi-monthly tips, advice, and free resources.
*UPDATE: COVID-19 Shipping Impact (Thu 27 Aug)*
Thank you for your patience with our team and service providers, as recent restrictions have made transport and shipping more challenging in recent weeks.
We wanted to address frequent enquiries around delivery times, and provide an update on our operations, to give you a clearer understanding of potential pickup and shipping delays.
The impact on shipping related to COVID restrictions and economic shifts has resulted in several simultaneous challenges:
- The surge in online shopping in recent months has drastically increased the volume of goods being shipped across all delivery and courier service providers. This means many more pickups, stops and deliveries, so some delays are likely to occur across our service areas.
- All freight companies have also had to reduce head count in Victoria by 33% during peak shifts, resulting in a 10% reduction in staff overall.
- Meanwhile, the delays resulting from increased border and travel restrictions also contribute to the delivery issues.
At Transdirect, we’re working every day to expand our support staff, accelerate training, and improve our response and issue resolution times, to minimise the impact on our customers as best we can.
In turn, we ask that you please add 1 business day to pick ups and 2 business days to deliveries, before raising issues with customer support.
You can also track your shipments here at any time.
We’re doing all we can to ensure timely delivery in the face of these challenges. We regret the inconveniences and our entire Transdirect team, especially our friendly customer support representatives, appreciate both your patience and understanding at this time.
Regards,
Trent Alexander
Managing Director