Best way to market an online fashion store

Ronan007

Hello all,
I will be opening an online fashion store with in few weeks. I am mainly targeting Irish people. Can you please suggest best way of marketing this? Waiting for your valuable comments

What's the plan so far? in terms of marketing and advertising?

Ronan007

google adwords, brochures through fashion saloon/clinics, email marketing, showcasing in fashion shows/wedding shows etc. if budget permits radio/news paper adverts. These are the plans now. also thinking of displaying small posters(like sign post) near heavy traffic lights. I have seen few like these but don't know the legal side of this.

Any other ideas, experiences welcome.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

I have some businesses in this area, it varies depending on the product and target demo-graph. Generally print media translates poorly to online sales though.

Whats your product?

Ronan007

hanks for ur reply Ronan.Starting with fashion jewellery as I have years of experince in this. later will add hand bags, foot wear etc. using print media I just want to convey the main idea to the consumer and the website address.

Ashlinggnilsia

well the main thing would be to make sure your website comes up on the first page of google search, I would maybe get a few plain t-shirts (fitted not baggy loose ones) printed with just the web address on it and get people wearing them in well populated areas, ive often seen it and it does make people wonder what its all about. Not sure how expensive your stuff is but why not contacting someone like xpose! No harm in going all out is there! Especially if your products are unique!

Ronan007

Thanks very much Ashlinggnilsia, definitely consider this.

Sonnenblumen

TheCostumeShop.ie (Ronan) wrote: »

I have some businesses in this area, it varies depending on the product and target demo-graph. Generally print media translates poorly to online sales though.

Whats your product?

Is the photo of the Zatori building real? Nice building and to put a photo on website would be sensible, but why put one up with all that crap/rubbish outside the premises?

Awful, says so many bad things to extinguish any potential interest in your business!:eek:

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

@Sonnenblumen

Haha very true. Yes our office is real, Its brand new and the official launch is this Thursday coming (check it out - Zatori Building). Exciting times. We're just barely finished the building work and the front needs a clean alright.

The reason we jumped the gun on putting up the pic before the launch was that I got nominated for the Net Visionary Entrepreneur of the year award last Monday, It means i've been doing radio interviews and traffic is up on the site so it was important to have a visual (all be it a bad camera phone one) on the site. We'll have a proper pic from a photographer at the launch.

Btw would appreciate if people would vote for their favourite entrepreneur and don't forget to check out the other contestants cause their's some great Irish talent there.

http://www.iia.ie/net-visionary/vote/7


@Ronan007, I find print media have a very low conversion rate and ROI unless you have an amazing call to action. I'd focus most of your budget online to start with SEO, SEM and Conversion optimization.

Whats your top three keywords you want to compete on?

Sonnenblumen

Get off the stage!!

A bad visual is worse than no visual! Do not understand your logic/reasoning (votes in some fluffy award contest)!

In business there should be no excuses for half cocked efforts, especially if at the time you're aware of same.

Such excuses would be worthy of a vote in a Vision-lacking Contest!

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

It depends on the goals really, It's not like we put up that photo's on our an e-commerce site. I'd argue that a granite front building of that proportion doesn't "look bad", just because the photo isn't the best - having it there ads more to our goals of the page than it takes away. Very few people would know what Zatori does so, the photo makes a point of magnitude that's all.

I think your in the old school mind set of keep everything secret until its perfect, I have pages on my site about businesses I haven't even finished acquiring (obviously non IPO'd) and another that I haven't even launched. It's just how I like to do things, I'm proud of growing so big, move from 3 warehouses into one massive unit and it's a landmark move for us, we're only 3 years old.

In summary, it's staying until we get the photo re-shot at the launch. No more hijacking the other Ronan's thread... back on topic.

Sonnenblumen

TheCostumeShop.ie (Ronan) wrote: »

It depends on the goals really, It's not like we put up that photo's on our an e-commerce site. I'd argue that a granite front building of that proportion doesn't "look bad", just because the photo isn't the best - having it there ads more to our goals of the page than it takes away. Very few people would know what Zatori does so, the photo makes a point of magnitude that's all.

I think your in the old school mind set of keep everything secret until its perfect, I have pages on my site about businesses I haven't even finished acquiring (obviously non IPO'd) and another that I haven't even launched. It's just how I like to do things, I'm proud of growing so big, move from 3 warehouses into one massive unit and it's a landmark move for us, we're only 3 years old.

In summary, it's staying until we get the photo re-shot at the launch. No more hijacking the other Ronan's thread... back on topic.

On the contrary, this is an enterprise forum and I believe my point is pertinent to any discussion on enterprising but also related professional standards. If your opinion varies thats fine by me, but I'm entitled to my opinion. I believe being professional means being professional in all aspects of running a business! Perhaps I have a higher standard than you, and yes when it comes to products I sell, I certainly do. You want to make money selling monkey outfits thats your call. But don't be offloading monkey standards as 'new thinking'.

Getting confused or caught up in your own smoke or getting excited about being nominated for some haemorroid award is no justification.

Your rationale gives new meaning to 'boundless modesty'. Others might put it more crudely?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

It's not new thinking... Microsoft release unfinished software on a regular basis and update the software as they realise there's better way of doing things. If they waited to have windows 7 and never launched an OS before, no one would have heard of Microsoft.

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Perhaps I have a higher standard than you, and yes when it comes to products I sell, I certainly do.

Are you implying your quality of garden tools are better than the products I retail across several different business... Apples & Oranges mate, espesically since it seems your basing your opinion on a photograph of our future offices.

Did you buy a bikini that was too tight or is there some underlying issue that makes you think our product standards are not in line with yours?

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Getting confused or caught up in your own smoke or getting excited about being nominated for some haemorroid award is no justification.

Yes, I was interviewed for Ernst & Young's entrepreneur of the year and shortlisted for the Net Visionary Internet Entrepreneur of the year. I haven't won either, but frankly i am really excited my peers would hold me in that light and up there with other people I massively respect. I work hard enough to be comfortable enjoying my success. You might not appreciate those institutions or people, but then again i'm not in business to get your respect - i'm in it to make money.

Look I get that your business is gardening and maybe in that business image is everything, some would say making gardens is a lifestyle business with different goals to that of online retail. In my business sales are everything.

Take a step back mate, your implying all my businesses have monkey standards based on a decision to put sales ahead of reshooting a photo of a building undergoing construction. Whats with the animosity?

Sonnenblumen

^^^One of the early but valuable lessons I learned in business, was that marketing begins on your own doorstep. Although I am not a prospective customer for any of your products, I wish you success with your business endeavours.

TheGooseLicker

Are u only seeling online Ronan..

Are you aware of the site www.irishwebmasterforum.com ... Great tips there on how to get going....

( Just google irish webmaster forum in case of mis spelling )