How to Prepare Your Business For the iOS 14 Update

How to Prepare Your Business For the iOS 14 Update

Because 2020 hadn’t already thrown enough at small business this year, we now have widespread panic about Apple’s iOS 14.4 release set to happen in early 2021.

So what is the big deal about this latest software release and how will it affect your business?

Let us start by saying it’s not all doom and gloom. We will certainly see changes to the way we can use data to track and target people using ad platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, but there are measures you can take to make sure your business keeps striving forward… regardless of this update.  

According to Apple

“Privacy is a fundamental human right and at the core of everything we do. That’s why with iOS 14, we’re giving you more control over the data you share and more transparency into how it’s used.”

“You can now get information on the App Store to help you understand the privacy practices of every app before you download it”

According to Facebook

“Apple has announced changes with iOS 14 that will impact how we receive and process conversion events from tools like the Facebook pixel. Businesses that advertise mobile apps, as well as those that optimise, target, and report on web conversion events from any of our business tools will be affected.

Specifically, Apple will begin to require that all apps in the App Store show a discouraging prompt to users on iOS 14 devices, in accordance with their AppTrackingTransparency framework. Apple’s policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing unless people opt into tracking on iOS 14 devices via the prompt. As more people opt out of tracking on iOS 14 devices, ads personalisation and performance reporting will be limited for both app and web conversion events.”

“Apple’s new iOS 14 policy will have a harmful impact on many small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat and on the free internet that we all rely on more than ever.”

In English

In short, Apple has released a new privacy addition to their next update of iOS 14 which will enable users to turn off tracking for any app (i.e Facebook) they use on the phone. On one hand this may seem great for you as a personal user, but on the other hand this means as advertisers, and business owners, if people opt out of tracking we loose the ability to run personalised ads to them.

It’s important to note that users will have the option to opt out of tracking, it’s not a blanket application. 

Facebook ads are a powerful tool for eCommerce business owners and allow us to show a personalised message to people based on where they are at in the buying funnel. It’s this personalisation of the right message at the right time, to the right person that makes Facebook ads the success that they are for many eCommerce stores large and small.

If you’re not familiar with how we currently use Facebook ads to grow eCommerce stores check out:
How to use Facebook Ads to Deliver the Right Message to the Right People

The 5 Pillars of Successful Facebook Ads

The Effects

Turning off this ability will certainly change the way we run Facebook ads in the future.

Not only will we not be able to track when someone makes a purchase after seeing an ad, we also won’t be able to show ads to someone who has viewed a product or added it to their cart. The dynamic ads showcasing the exact product they were looking at, or had in their cart, have always generated the highest returns for Facebook ad campaigns.

Facebook is adapting as fast as possible to the changes – as you can imagine this will affect their bottom line – A LOT!

One change is your pixel may only optimise for a maximum of 8 conversion events for each domain.

Conversion events include things like ‘PageView’, ‘ViewContent’, ‘AddToCart’, ‘InitiateCheckout’ and ‘Purchase’.

Facebook will initially configure the conversion events they believe are the most relevant to your business based on your activity, making all other events inactive for campaign optimisation and reporting.

You will then be able to manage your preferences in Events Manager. When you create your ad set you’ll choose only one of the 8 designated conversion events to optimize for (same as normal). Any existing Ad sets that were optimising for a pixel conversion event that is no longer active, will be paused so you will need to update these.

If you’re in eCommerce I believe the 5 events listed above are all you need so I wouldn’t stress too much about this change. The only reason you would need to narrow down to 8 is if you are using lots of custom events such as ‘PurchasedTop’, ‘PurchasedBottom’ etc.

Outside of the iOS update for apps other measures have already been put in place including ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention) for Safari, Apple’s internet browser closely followed by ETP (Enhanced Tracking Prevention) by Firefox.

Some of the effects from the browsers include limiting Cookie Data to a 7 day lifespan. This means:

  • You won’t be able to track conversions attributed to your ads that happen outside of a 7 day window. This means 28-day click-through, 28-day view-through, and 7-day view-through attribution windows will not be supported. You will need to prepare to transition to the new 7-day click-through attribution.
  • Re-targeting audiences such as Viewed Content, Added To Cart, Initiated Checkout or Purchased will be limited to the last 7 days (currently up to 180 days). This will change the whole re-targeting game.
  • If you’re running Lookalike audiences built from the above custom audiences your seed audience will be reduced to the last 7 days, greatly reducing your audience size and ability to create a lookalike as you need to have a minimum 100 people in the same country in your seed audience. So if you don’t have 100 purchases in 7 days you won’t be able to create a Lookalike audience from that event.

What Can You Do?

So other that hide under the Christmas tree with your eggnog, what can you do?

  • Narrow down to using only 8 Facebook events or less.
  • Remember the principles of marketing and advertising haven’t changed (and they never will).  
  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Facebook ads in their current state are amazing, but as things change make sure you have other ways to re-target your customers. Start collecting emails from your website visitors so you can interact with them via email once they leave your site. Consider running a competition to entice them like they do at https://picnicseason.com/, the old 10% off your first order is not enticing these days as it’s everywhere.
  • Sync your email lists with Facebook. As you’ll want to be able to target old customers, or exclude recent purchases and likely want more than 7 days data it’s a good idea to sync your email lists with your custom audiences so you can use these audiences to target and exclude. We recommend Klaviyo which makes this super simple.
  • Get super clear on your customer avatar. This is particularly important if you have been relying on Lookalike audiences and Broad audience targeting. Narrow down your avatar’s interests so you can start targeting people that way.
  • Verify your domain with Facebook. We’ve started seeing issues in creating ads for our clients recently and our Facebook rep has suggested all accounts verify their domain to ensure there are no further issues with pixel integration etc. There are 3 ways to do this. 

It’s not all doom and gloom – the fact that Privacy is becoming a top priority for large digital corporations is a good thing overall, just inconvenient for those of us who use the data to place ads! Facebook is trialling a new tool already which we are setting up for some of our clients which will replace the pixel all together. As updates continue to happen we can be sure Facebook will continue to evolve to the current climate – after all their ad revenue is their business model and they’re not going down without a fight! 

For now stay calm, take the steps mentioned above and keep an eye on out for our email with any further updates.

Here’s to an amazing 2021 for your business!

 

Oh sh*t this page doesn’t exist!

Our tech may have blundered but to be honest, it’s likely a human error (yep, my company is run by humans).

You may be able to find what you’re looking for with the links below. 

Or send me an email and a real person will get back to you.

Karyn x

[/et_pb_column]
Ep. 104 – 3 must have product images for eCommerce

Ep. 104 – 3 must have product images for eCommerce

In this episode Paige shares the 3 types of photos you need for your eCommerce business to create an emotional connection from your audience, gain trust and ultimately answer all their questions so they feel confident purchasing from you.

Achieving your goals without excuses

Achieving your goals without excuses

You want to achieve big things, or you wouldn’t be reading this article. Right?

If you’re like most people, me included, you’ve set yourself big goals but something always gets in the way of you achieving them.

When I was in my early 20’s, I started a degree… but I didn’t finish it. Fast forward to my early 30’s, I set countless big goals for myself in my business… but I didn’t ever quite finish them. Something always got in the way and I’d always feel like a little part of me died along with that incomplete goal. It wasn’t until I had a major ah-ha moment that I started completing the goals I set for myself.

I’m going to share that ah-ha moment with you now so that you can start achieving your goals too.

Especially if you’re thinking of doing an online course such as eComm Ignitor, this is the one thing you need to do to get the most out of the investment you’re making in yourself, your business and your success.

Sound good?

Ok let’s go!

Step 1: Write down all your reasons

Firstly, I want you to articulate the reasons why you haven’t achieved what you want to achieve in your business so far.

We all have different reasons – it could be lack of time, money or knowledge or something completely different.

Whatever it is I want you to write down the reasons why you haven’t achieved what you want to achieve so far.

Get real and be totally honest with yourself here.

Step 2: Acknowledge the reasons that hold you back

Now have a look at those reasons and acknowledge that they are real…

And now acknowledge that they are going to be the same excuses that pop up again and again to hold you back.

See, as humans we are really good at staying in our comfort zone. Our ego is here to keep us safe and it does that by keeping us in our comfort zone. So by calling out your excuses before they show up, you will be able to recognize when your ego is trying to keep you playing small, and you will be able to grow past it.

Step 3: Develop a game plan

Not only do I want you to call out your excuses, I also want you to develop a game plan as to how you are going to overcome those excuses right now. If not having enough time because you need to look after the kids is one of the reasons, ask yourself what can you do to give yourself more time?

Can you get up an hour earlier each day to get this done before the rest of the house gets up? What do you need to put in place to make that happen? Do you need to ask your partner for some extra help? Do you need to set an alarm? Do you need to sacrifice some TV time and go to bed earlier?

We have a saying at Unstoppable eComm – you can make money or you can make excuses, but you can’t make both.

Once I learnt to call out my excuses and had a game plan in place to overcome them when they did pop up, I took away their power and now I am able to achieve the goals I set for myself. And it feels amazing!

Written by Megan Winter

Megan is an award-winning marketer and has worked with some of the fastest-growing eCommerce brands in the world.

Megan loves helping ethically-produced, heart-centred, soul-driven online store owners to make more income and achieve more impact. 

5 time management tips to get the most done

5 time management tips to get the most done

One of the biggest challenges people face when doing anything is actually finding the time to do it!

And here’s the thing. We are never taught how to work efficiently. We are taught how to do our jobs, but we are never taught how to manage our time.

So in this article I’m going to share with you 5 really important tips that you can implement to manage your time, so it doesn’t manage you.

Tip 1: If it isn’t scheduled it isn’t real

When people join eComm Ignitor we get them to really acknowledge that they are participating in a doing program and this will take time. Every program is different. In eComm Ignitor most people find they need 3-5 solid hours a week. But this time doesn’t just appear out of thin air. You need to carve out some time for you to consume the content, take action, participate in the community and take care of you. So we tell people to schedule this time in your calendar – now. Same goes for any project you are taking on.

Tip 2: Get the support you need

If you need support from your partner, friends or family to be able to give yourself the gift of time to be able to commit to a project, program or activity you’re doing make sure they know how they can help you and why it’s important for you to have this time. Have this conversation early and be as open and honest as you can be.

Tip 3: Manage your email – or it will manage you

I try to think of my inbox like a physical letterbox. I don’t sit there all day waiting for something to be delivered. I check it once a day. I sort through it and throw out the junk and open and action the rest.

Well, I treat my email inbox the same way. Here are my email rules:

  • Check it once or twice a day.
  • Delete (and unsubscribe) from the junk.
  • Action anything that will take 5 minutes or less.
  • Schedule time into your calendar to action anything that requires more of your time and attention.
  • Turn OFF your email notifications from your phone and desktop.
  • Close your email program after you’ve checked it.

Tip 4: Treat social media like a serious business tool – because it is

Just like email, if you don’t manage our social media it will manage you. So allocate a couple of times a day to check your social inboxes and notifications. Turn off all notifications and close the apps when are not in use. We use kill newsfeed, a chrome extension that kills your Facebook newsfeed on your desktop. You can still check your messages and notifications, post status updates, and do everything you could do before. You just won’t get distracting news feed posts.

Tip 5: Kill all distractions

Now… in case you haven’t noticed I want you to turn off all pop-ups and notifications. Disruptions are the worst productivity killer of all time. Every time you see a popup or notification or whatever, your brain turns its attention to that and your concentration on the task at hand is broken.

Final word

So just to recap the 5 tips to manage your time so it doesn’t manage you:

  1. Schedule your time
  2. Get the support you need
  3. Manage your email or it will manage you
  4. Treat social media like a serious business tool
  5. Turn off all notifications and distractions

Remember… you only get out what you put in.

Written by Megan Winter

Megan is an award-winning marketer and has worked with some of the fastest-growing eCommerce brands in the world.

Megan loves helping ethically-produced, heart-centred, soul-driven online store owners to make more income and achieve more impact. 

Tools to successfully run your business from anywhere

Tools to successfully run your business from anywhere

Xero recently published a report on how businesses will operate in the ‘brave new world beyond lockdown’, Rebuilding Australia; The role of small business

As part of the report, Xero featured us – Unstoppable eCommerce founders, Karyn & Megan – and how we work together 2,500km apart. The aim of the feature was to give those in lockdown a glimpse into what successfully working from home looks like. 

Although some of us are out of lockdown (hooray!) the tools and tech we use can be implemented into your business so you can run your business successfully from anywhere. 

Curious to know what tech and tools we use and recommend? Read on to find out…

Tools to make running your online store easy:

Shopify

We recommend Shopify as the platform to set up your online store because it’s eCommerce centric, user friendly, integrates with marketing platforms and will scale with you.

Klayvio

For email marketing for your online store, we recommend Klayvio.

Xero

Xero is an easy-to-use accounting software that allows you to sync with third-party apps for inventory, point of sale and more. It allows you, and your accountant, to check cash flow and the health of your business – from anywhere.

Profit First for eCommerce

We also highly recommend the Profit First system of bookkeeping. You can buy the book here.

 

Keeping our business running:

Google G Suite

We use Google G Suite for our document, email and calendar management. This allows us to have multiple people working on the same document simultaneously and the changes are reflected in real-time.

Zoom

We use Zoom for our Monday check-in and Friday check-out, as well as for any midweek catch ups we may need. We also run our student coaching calls and client meetings on Zoom.

Facebook Messenger

For day-to-day chat we use Facebook Messenger. We use this for what would normally be office banter. We keep important and actionable information to email.

Email

Emails are the death of productivity. We hardly use cc at all and we try to be direct, short and sweet in emails. For example, I am responsible for our client management, so I am their port of call. There is no point in cc’ing Karyn in on all the back and forth I have with them. If something needs her attention or action I will email her directly. I only check my emails once or twice a day and I feel no obligation to respond immediately to an email.

We use prefixes in our subject lines too. Currently, our most used are Action Required and Response Required, and occasionally I’ll use Important & Urgent This just helps to filter to what’s important and kind of acts like a triage system.

Asana

We use Asana for our task management tool… lightly. It has way more capabilities than what we use, but we do use it.

Facebook Groups

We use Facebook Groups for our student support and we also have a private free Facebook Group we use to share our knowledge to help online store owners grow. Feel free to join.

Xero

We use Xero to send invoices and manage our bookkeeping, payroll and accounting. We do all our bookkeeping inhouse and have an external accountant. Xero makes it super simple and easy to do.

Thrive, Samcart & Stripe

We use these tools to automate and collect payments for our student enrolments and payment plans. Honestly, Karyn takes care of this so if you want more info, ask her. Haha.

Active Campaign

We use this as our Client Relationship Management and communication tool. We have some epic segmentation and flows set up thanks to Karyn. The backend is complex, but the front end is super smooth and it makes sure the right people get the right emails. I use this to send our broadcasts… or bunches of flowers, as we refer to them.

WordPress

Although we recommend Shopify for eCommerce websites, we use WordPress with the AccessAlly plugin to host our training. This allows our students to have a super-sexy learning experience when accessing our training.

Final word

If you have any questions around the tools and tech we use and recommend for running a successful online store from home please comment and let us know.

Written by Megan Winter

Megan is an award-winning marketer and has worked with some of the fastest-growing eCommerce brands in the world.

Megan loves helping ethically-produced, heart-centred, soul-driven online store owners to make more income and achieve more impact. 

Compliance check list every online store needs

Compliance check list every online store needs

There are a few policies you need to have on your website to make sure you have all the legal stuff sorted.

We can’t give you legal advice, so this is just general information. If you have any further questions, please consult a local lawyer or privacy professional.

We are going to cover the following in this article:

  1. Laws, regulations and standards
  2. Insurance
  3. Terms of service
  4. A privacy policy
  5. Shipping policy
  6. Returns policy

 

Mandatory product standards:

Your product may be in a category that is covered by mandatory product standards. It is compulsory to have particular safety features or information on products for legal supply of the product into the Australian market. It is an offence to supply goods that do not comply with mandatory standards and you may face a fine or penalty.

There is a range of products that come under the standards including anything, but certainly not limited to, baby and kids toys, bean bags, cosmetic labelling, Care labelling for clothing & textiles, Sunglasses, toys and the list goes on.

Check out the ACCC Product Safety Australia website for more information.

And if you sell to other countries make sure you check that you comply with their standards too.

 

Insurances:

Insurance is something that is specific to each situation. We recommend that you talk to a broker to see what kind of insurance you and your business need.

Here is some general information about insurances you may need to consider:

  • Liability insurance and this usually covers you in case someone gets injured while using your product, no matter where they are.
  • Property insurance and this usually covers the loss or damage to your physical products. It’s important to note that your existing homeowner’s policy would cover your personal items, but likely won’t cover anything related to your business. If you run your business from home, it’s important to have both aspects covered unless you could replace all of the inventory and equipment out of pocket.
  • You may also need to look at transit and shipping insurance.

Again, we recommend you talk to a trusted insurance broker to see what insurances you may need.

 

Terms of service policy

Your website needs to have a terms of service policy. This lets anyone who visits your site know things they are and aren’t allowed to do when shopping on your site.

You need to state your terms of use in clear, simple, and easily understood language.

Your terms of service need to include terms around products, billing information, third-party tools and links, indemnity and governing law.

Now this all sounds a bit complicated but Shopify have provided a free terms of service policy generator.

 

Privacy policy

Your online store needs to have a privacy policy.

Online privacy is important because as an online seller, you collect and retain personal information about your customers including their name, address, email address, and possibly their credit card and other types of financial information. As the online store owner it is your responsibility to ensure this personally identifiable information is protected, and that when you collect such data you comply with federal and state privacy laws. And privacy policies are mandated by law in many countries.

Your privacy policy needs to clearly state what kind of personal information you will collect from users visiting your website, who you will share the information you collect with, and how you will use and store that information. And your privacy policy needs to be clearly accessible on your site.

You need to comply with the laws of the location that you are selling to.

Most countries have their own privacy policy and if you sell in that country you need to comply. Some of the more newly introduced laws to be aware of are:

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the Greater Union’s data privacy law and affects you if you are based in Europe or who serve European customers.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a California law that gives California residents more control over their personal information. If your website is available to California residents or you are involved in the sale of California residents’ personal information, then this law likely applies to you.

Shopify have a great whitepaper on CCPA and GDPR if you need more info on this.

We can’t give you legal advice, so this is just general information. If you have any further questions, then consult a local lawyer or privacy professional.

Shopify have a free privacy policy generator that you can access.

 

Refund policy

A good refund or return policy can help protect your company and win your customers’ trust, which in turn increases conversion.

We recommend having a really good returns policy. And by good, we mean good for your customer. Make it easy for them to return items. Don’t make them jump through hoops.

People are literally taking a leap of faith when they shop online. They need to trust that the product is as good as you say it is and they need to trust that they can return it if they don’t like it.

If you don’t have faith in your products why should your customers?

Sure, by having a returns policy you may have some returns to deal with, but this will be far outweighed by the increased conversion rate.

Shopify have a free refund and returns policy generator that you can access.

 

Shipping Policy

Another policy that you should have on your website is a shipping policy.

Customers have been burned by orders taking 6+ weeks because they unknowingly purchased from a dropshipping site. So having your shipping terms clearly stated is really important to build trust and to increase your conversion rate.

You want to let people processing times, shipping times, shipping methods and different policies for different locations or order values if you have that. You don’t have to be boring here either, you can add some flare to your shipping page by including pictures of you packing orders and how your orders look when they are sent. People love a good unboxing experience.

 

Spam

 If you send out your marketing emails or messages, you need to know about spam laws.

If you plan to send marketing messages or emails, you must first have permission from the person who will receive them.

Even if someone else is sending out your marketing messages for you, you must still have permission from each person who will receive your messages.

After you get permission, you must ensure your message:

  • identifies you as the sender
  • contains your contact details
  • makes it easy to unsubscribe

 

Getting permission

A person who gives express permission knows and accepts that they will receive marketing emails or messages from you.

People can give express permission by one of the following:

  • filling in a form
  • ticking a box on a website
  • over the phone
  • face to face

 You cannot send an electronic message to ask for permission, because this is a marketing message.

Keep a record when a person gives express permission, including who gave the permission and how.

Under the Act, it’s up to you to prove that you got a person’s permission.

You may infer that a person gives permission to get your marketing messages if you can satisfy both of the following:

  • they are a current customer
  • the message you want to send is related to the product or service they already bought from you

For more information about spam laws in Australia check out the ACMA’s website and if you are sending to another country, be sure to comply with their spam laws.

Final word

So to make sure your website ticks all the rules, regulations and legal boxes make sure you have these elements covered:

  1. Laws, regulations and standards
  2. Insurance
  3. Terms of service
  4. A privacy policy
  5. Shipping policy
  6. Returns policy

Written by Megan Winter

Megan is an award-winning marketer and has worked with some of the fastest-growing eCommerce brands in the world.

Megan loves helping ethically-produced, heart-centred, soul-driven online store owners to make more income and achieve more impact. 

A sneak peek into our facebook ad campaigns

A sneak peek into our facebook ad campaigns

There is a lot of fear flying around at the moment due to Covid19. We’re hearing things like

  • “If you aren’t discounting, you aren’t competitive”
  • “People aren’t buying”
  • “I’m going to pause everything until this blows over because you can’t get good results at the moment”

Fear is really dangerous. Fear is contagious, and it is often worse than the thing that we’re initially afraid of.

Fear often comes from the unknown, so we wanted to get real with you and show you what’s happening for our clients.

Did you know that we also run a boutique Facebook Ads agency where we manage clients ad campaigns for them…

We wanted to lift the hood and give you a sneak peek into our current results.

Below are 2 screenshots from 2 very different accounts, with 2 different budgets.

We know there are a heap of numbers here, so what do you look at to make sense of it all?

  • Amount spent: this is how much was spent on Facebook ads
    Purchase conversion value: this is how much was made in sales on the website as a result of the ads
    ROAS: return on ad spend

Both of these accounts are NOT discounting, people are still buying, and they are getting good results.

So, if you have felt yourself slipping into a state of fear… breathe.

Surround yourself with evidence of success, abundance and positivity.

If you’d like to learn more about running Facebook ads for your online store, click here to take our FREE Facebook Ads Masterclass.

Written by Megan Winter

Megan is an award-winning marketer and has worked with some of the fastest-growing eCommerce brands in the world.

Megan loves helping ethically-produced, heart-centred, soul-driven online store owners to make more income and achieve more impact.