FREE 30 Day Course

 

Shopify is by far my favorite e-commerce platform and CMS or Content Management System.   With Shopify, you can sell stuff online, build emails, create pages, and even create blogs!  Yes, Shopify is an amazing blogging platform!

Right away I’ll tell you that if you're ballin’ on a budget, Shopify is going to be the most expensive platform that I talk about in this course.  The cheapest plan goes for $29 a month.  If you're starting from scratch and don't have the funds to pay that monthly premium, I totally understand!  I promise you two other budget-friendly options later on in this course.  

That being said, Shopify will take care of all of the tech aspects that go into building a website.  Somebody has already figured out how to make your website look pretty, how to make it run fast, and how to include fancy apps for you.  All you have to do is put in your desired images,  drag and drop some displays, choose a few apps and you're done.  

Creating a Shopify Store

To begin, start by clicking here to sign up with Shopify.  This link will provide you with a 14-day free trial just by entering your email and a few things about yourself and your business.  You will then be led to a page that looks like this:

 

Shopify Overview

I love Shopify because it is so simple.  As you can see, everything is laid out neatly on the lefthand side of the screen.  If you're selling products via dropshipping or e-commerce, the Orders and Products tabs will lay out your transactions, inventory, product photos, etc. 

To add a product click New Product.  Enter the name of your item, write a short description, and enter photos.  Lastly, enter your price and shipping choice.  For the sake of this post, I created an example that can be found below:

The Analytics tab will become your best friend as a Shopify user.  On this page, you can see your sales, return rate, conversion rate, average order value, etc.  You may recognize some of these key terms from earlier on in this course.  

With the Marketing tab, you can set up email campaigns and add plugins like an abandoned cart feature.  Discounts allows you to add discount codes.  Pretty neat, right?

Finally, my favorite part about Shopify is the Apps page.  Apps are tools that you can add to your website to make it run and look just like you want it to.  There is literally an app out there for anything you can dream of.  

Building Your Store

Under Sales Channels, you’ll see the Online Store tab.  Clicking on this will lead you to see a few other sub-tabs.  

First up is choosing your Theme.  Before creating other pages on your website, it is important to have a presentable home page that truly communicates your brand.  Your theme will help you accomplish this.  

To begin, click Explore Free Themes.  Shopify offers hundreds of free beautiful templates for you to use free of charge.  The “Debut” option is a great theme to choose if you're a blogger thanks to its visual elements and clean look.  

Next, change the default images to ones that fit your brand.  Shopify also offers thousands of free, quality stock photos.  There’s no need to hire a photographer or take your own pictures (unless you're selling something you made).  Stock photos will work just fine when starting out.  

After this, fill in any default text.  Your header should be something inviting and brief.  Underneath, include a short motto that describes your brand. 

Once you have your header done, you can add sections that tell your story and show off what your brand has to offer.  You can drag sections to rearrange them.  Remember that a homepage should be legit and professional.  This means no spelling mistakes or grammar issues!

Lastly, you need a call to action.  Most websites do this via an email opt-in or popup.  This is where your opt-in offer comes into play.  For help drafting your offer, refer back to Day 23 (I planted tons of ideas in this post!).  

Blogs

Creating a blog post on Shopify is simple.  To start, click Add Blog Post.   I prefer writing my posts in a separate place like Google Docs and them copying and pasting them into Shopify.  You can insert images, videos, and links by clicking their respective buttons at the top of the page.  You can also change text color, formatting, add numbers, italicize things, etc. — basically anything you usually use when blogging is available in Shopify too. 

Adding a Featured Image is a very important step before uploading your post.  This image will act as a header and gives the reader a preview of what your blog post is about.  It is also the image that will be displayed when someone shares your post on social media.

At the bottom, you’ll see a box called SEO.  SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is how a blog ranks online.  This box will auto-fill with content from your post unless you change it.  

To publish, set the post to being visible.  You can either give it a time and date to go live or publish now.  

Our Story

Every website needs an About page.  This page should include a story about the motives of your brand.  I advise you to really put some thought into this page and to make it at least a few paragraphs.  This shows effort and dedication to your customers!

 

Contact Us

In addition to an About page, every website also needs a Contact page.  This is a great way for both viewers and possible affiliate brands to reach out to you!  To make this page work, change the Template dropdown on the right-hand side of the page from “page” to “contact page”.  This will create a contact form for you.  

 

Navigation

To change the order of your pages at the top of the screen, go to the Navigation tab.  This will let you reorder your pages and add new menu items.  

 

Connecting a Domain

Shopify makes adding a domain so easy.  All you have to do is type in your domain and Shopify will know exactly what registrar it came from.  Shopify will automatically link your domain.

 

Preferences

Under the Preferences tab, you can add in the home page title, SEO descriptions, your Google Analytics code, your Facebook pixel, etc.  Shopify pretty much does it all!

 

 

With Shopify, you can literally build a website in 20 minutes.  Back when I started selling online, it would take me weeks or even months to create a website!  

Do you think you're going to use Shopify for your side hustle?  I’d love to know!  If you already have a store, post the link in the comments below!  I’ll be sure to swing by and take a look around.  

Otherwise, thanks for sticking with me this far.  

Peace.  

For the complimentary worksheets and resources, go to adrianbrambila.com/30days.

I make new content every single week, so be sure to subscribe to my Youtube and follow my Instagram @brambilabong and TikTok at @AdrianBrambila. I also have tons of resources and courses on my website that you won’t want to miss. Head over to www.adrianbrambila.com to learn more about what I do and how I live a financially free life.