See all the Shopify store income reports here.
Maybe you’ve been wanting to start a store, but don’t know where to start or what platform to choose.
Maybe you’re scared to start a store because you don’t know how you’ll possibly be able to drive traffic to it.
Maybe you already have a store and can’t understand why you’re not making anything but chump change in it.
Maybe you’ve spent some time on your store and seen only crickets in traffic.
Maybe you’ve tried other platforms like Etsy, ebay, Amazon, Creative Market, the list goes on and on and have seen a little bit of money, but know there’s more out there for you.
Whatever your situation is, you’re in the right place! Opening up my own Shopify store, very quickly changed my entire life, and while I’m not promising massive amounts of money your very first month, what I AM saying is that most people don’t realize the POWER having your own Shopify store has.
Today, I’m going to be sharing my Shopify store income report for October 2018 and by doing so, answer the question, “Can you make money on Shopify“.
Can You Make Money On Shopify: Income Report – $272,074 (October 2018)
Most of you know that I’ve been selling on ebay for over 20 years now. Back before they were even CALLED ebay. 🙂 I was just a teen back then, but really realized the power of selling things online. It was a whole new world for me. An exciting world.
But there are several things I’ve always LOATHED about selling online.
- I HATE to ship products.
- I hate keeping track of inventory.
- I hate keeping everything perfectly organized to sell.
- I hate not being able to find something right as it sells.
- I hate following someone else’s rules.
- I hate when they CHANGE said rules and I have to go back through all my ads and completely redo all of them to comply.
- I hate feeling like I have no ownership over the store. Like I’m powerless.
- I hate not having the capability of making certain sales the way I want them to be, instead of working with the basic tools they give me.
- I hate being at the MERCY of a customer who does something shady and leaves bad feedback and everyone thinks it’s ME who has done something bad. Or competitors who leave negative feedback to ruin you (yep, it’s happened!)
So, while there’s a lot of good things about selling on a platform like eBay or Etsy, there are also a lot of bad things you MUST accept in order to sell on someone else’s “turf.”
I sold on Amazon, I’ve sold on Creative Market, I’ve sold on ebay, I’ve sold on a membership site, I’ve sold on a stock photo site, and I’ve sold on Shopify.
For me, out of all the options I’ve tried, Shopify is, HANDS DOWN, the best way to go.
Income total for my printables store (Shopify store only; doesn’t include blog/misc. income) – $259,820
Income total for my stock photos store (Shopify store only; doesn’t include blog/misc. income) – $12,254
Traffic total for my printables store (to my Shopify store only) – 14,579 sessions
Traffic total for my stock photos store (to my Shopify store only) – 1,335 sessions
Can you make money on Shopify?
Yes! Absolutely.
I’ve had my Shopify store since June 2017. To date, I’ve made over $3.1 MILLION dollars on 100% digital products. Not bad for less than a year and a half. 🙂
Stats per product:
This is my favorite part of researching analytics. Figuring out which products sell (or get downloaded for free) the most. Stuff like this tells me EXACTLY what to create more of in my store and what to stop creating, so it’s something I gauge very heavily.
If you have the $79/month Shopify plan, which I do, you’ll get FANtastic analytics reports that will give you all this information broken down by product. I then go into my newsletter (I have ConvertKit and love them) and compare the two in order to get conversion rates.
Genius Bloggers Toolkit Planner
My newest binder out this month was a Genius Bloggers Toolkit Planner. It was designed to go along with the Genius Bloggers Toolkit that was a bundle on sale last month by Ultimate Bundles. Anyone who bought the toolkit would love to have this planner to go along with it to really help them not get overwhelmed by the amount of products offered in the toolkit.
This month, 961 people downloaded the planner, so it did pretty good. I didn’t expect it to be downloaded a lot b/c it was just something that went ALONG WITH the toolkit. Not a stand-alone type of planner, however many of the sheets can be used for anything. Things like goal tracking, etc.
Binders Sale
This month I created a binders sale as a test. Many of the binders were free and/or $3 each.
Priced extremely low, I made $5,973. This was an okay sale. I don’t feel like it generated enough income to do it again though. I ran the sale for two weeks (two newsletters).
Shopify Scholarship
My first (of many) Shopify courses is set to go live Black Friday. So, of course I want to get it out to as many people as I can so that I’m always giving back and remembering my roots (I was homeless).
I’m giving out 10 full scholarships! The deadline to enter is Saturday, November 17, 2018 at 11:59 pm. You can still enter here while there’s time! 🙂
As of November 7 (as I’m writing this post), 313 people have applied and I’m going through every single word that is written in the application form to find the best candidates for the scholarship as well as to glean insights into my brand.
Big giveaways like this are something that I tend to do 1-2 times per year b/c I really LOVE hearing all the feedback I get from them. It’s so insightful and I use all the data to plan out my next 6 months of what I will be working on and releasing.
In taking results from this survey, I’ve been able to meticulously calculate exactly what I will be releasing every week in my email newsletter from now until September 3 of next year! I have a BOATLOAD of binders and courses to release and it’s really exciting!!! 🙂 I’m stoked! I love having a plan!
Stock Photos Store Closed
Although the store was doing REALLY well (it’s made me $121,417 in income in the three months I had the store), I realized pretty quickly into it that it wasn’t what I truly wanted. I was always feeling like my pictures weren’t good enough and there was a lot of pressure (caused by myself and no one else. Many people LOVED my photos!) 🙂
It was also a big nightmare to have TWO stores for a couple reasons. When talking to people they ask, “Hey, what’s your store?” and you have to constantly be looking for two links and explaining what they both are about, etc. Having two stores also messed up a lot of the apps. So, you’d be signed into one app and the app would break or freeze and mess up if you suddenly go to your other store. It was a mess and constantly a headache for me.
But I think overall, having a second store made my efforts distracted. It’s harder to hold up two things rather than just one. It’s hard to be divided and feel split. What do I work on? Should it be the stock photos store or the printables store. I felt torn much of the time.
There were several more littler reasons why I closed it but for the most part, those were the major ones. After closing the store, I feel a sense of RELIEF. I know what to focus on and life is simpler. I think it was a good choice for me.
With that said, this month, it only generated $12,254 in income. Keep in mind that for the last two months, I didn’t do ANYTHING on it. I didn’t pitch it, I didn’t launch anything, or add new products. I literally did nothing on it. So, for doing nothing, that’s really good money. 🙂
But I didn’t want to just leave it open doing nothing on it. So, I transferred ONE product, 50+ Styled Stock Library over to my printables store. I had my host put a redirect so that anytime anyone clicks a link to head to the store, they automatically go to that one stock library.
I don’t know how much that one item will make me in the printables store, however, I closed the stock photos store on Oct 27 and from then until now (November 7), that one product has generated $714 in revenue. While it’s not as good as having a full store, it’s not a total loss and I can spend even more time cultivating and lovin’ on my printables store. 🙂
How I Spend My Income
Many people have been asking me how I SPEND all the money I make. B/c there were so many questions on it, I decided to make an entire post showing what I do with my income and what my current bills are, etc. If you’d like to check that out, you can see it here: What Do Rich Bloggers Spend Their Money On?
Your Biggest Questions Answered!!!
With being so successful in Shopify, I get asked a LOT of questions. I just LOVE to answer them too, so here are a mess of questions you guys have asked me this month!
Ready?!?!
Cinthia from CA asks, “What is the most important thing to do when starting your own Shopify?”
To start. 😉 See, that’s totally a legit answer b/c so many are afraid to start! But, okay, okay…I’ll answer better. 🙂 Most important thing would be to produce HIGH QUALITY merchandise. You’re up against retail stores like Kohls and Macy’s here. Make your stuff GOOD! 🙂
Kari from RI asks, “I would love to learn how you setup the email funnel after a sale.“
Sorry Kari…no tengo. Simply put…I do not have one. I believe everything should be 100% organic. 🙂
Shinga from the UK asks, “Will I need to buy ads?“
You can if you want…I never have. 🙂 I’m cheap. I will eventually, probably on my Shopify courses, but, not sure I will on my Shopify store. Not sure yet. Just taking one step at a time. <3
Neena from CT asks, “With my blog I struggle to get enough traffic to make affiliate marketing and any kind of advertising work. So, it seems that you would have the same issues with a Shopify Store…”
I totally get it. This is just my opinion but affiliate marketing comes off SCAMMY to buyers. They think we are just trying to make a buck and lie to get the sale. Creating our own products seems a lot more “legit” to consumers…at least from what I’ve seen. I believe affiliate marketing is dying off and our own shops are the next big thing.
Monica from AL asks, “How do you balance out your life and make money?“
If I answer that, I’ll look like a complete loser…but here goes. lol. I worked my buns off for 3 years (working 80-120 hours a week, not a typo). I got tired. Wanted something more passive. Had an idea to sell something I could resell over and over and over again. Got my entire life set up on Todd Herman’s The 90 Day Year, so much so that I only have to work 10 hours a week now and my assistants (friends) work about 10 hours a week.
BECAUSE everything is passive Monica, I’m not bound to my computer all day, which is what I wanted. What’s the point of working from home if I never see my kids! I still work more than 10 hours a week, b/c the kids are in school and it’s just me. Might as well do something I love and work for our future. But b/c of The 90 Day Year, I don’t have a struggle with balancing. It’s very rare I’m busy. I plan ahead and everything is taken care of. Simple…peaceful life. <3
Brandice from FL asks, “Can I set up a successful store with only a few (currently 3) products?“
Absolutely. I started with one product. Others have started with only 1-3 as well and have still made a killing! 🙂
Jennifer Maker started with 2 products and made a total of $24,337.16 in her first 30 days on Shopify.
Diane from MO asks, “How do you make it clear from the get go that your items are unique and worth the buy?“
Give them away for free to start and let your products do all the talking. 🙂
Stephanie from PA asks, “How does Shopify compare to other online shopping platforms such as Etsy, Ebay, etc.?“
Off hand, Etsy and ebay don’t give you your newsletter list of customers. Over half of my sales are REPEAT customers. That means, I make over $1.2 million dollars a year, solely on repeat. While there are lots of other reasons, no more is needed to be said after that. 🙂
Gina from AK asks, “Does Shopify allow sellers to market their MLM e-commerce items on their Shopify store? I sell Plexus and would love to know if I could utilize Shopify to share my link.“
Absolutely. I am part of an essential oil business and have thought of making a store for those, but I stick with printables b/c there’s nothing to ship. 🙂 As for the actual company you represent, best to ask them directly, so in this case, reach out to Plexus and make double sure it’s okay with them. 🙂
Katie from UT asks, “Where do you get your photos?“
Most of them I take the pictures myself. Some I create. Here are my favorite sources for stock photos.
Shelly from OR asks, “What have you found to be the best copy to write for your products? Is it short and just the facts? Answering a problem or meeting a pain point? Is this information put into the description itself on Shopify or is it put on a sales page on the blog.”
Honestly Shelly, I don’t bother too much with it. I put what is needed, a pain point if I feel like it. MOST ALL people DON’T READ descriptions…learned that in selling on ebay for 21+ years. 🙂 It’s a great idea to make it good, but, don’t hire it out or put a ton of thought into it. Short, to the point, and connect with your audience is really all you need.
Kirianne from FL asks, “What is the best converting copy for marketing your products?“
The one that you write from your heart. <3
Caroline from NY asks, “How much of your sales come from advertising on Pinterest?“
Dunno. I don’t advertise my store on Pinterest. 🙂 It doesn’t seem organic to me and didn’t work for the 4 or 5 pins I tried early on.
Michelle from AZ asks, “Does this format give you the ability to work more effectively, but less hours and provide a sustainable income?“
ABSO-stinkin-LUTELY! 🙂
Ashley from IN asks, “I already have a blog so I just started a WooCommerce shop. (It hasn’t actually made any sales yet though). WooCommerce lets me “sell” affiliate products, does Shopify?“
You can but I wouldn’t recommend it. YOU are your brand…not someone else. <3
Fana from AU asks, “How do I build a loyal audience that likes to hear what I have to say or what I have to offer them?“
- Be yourself
- Speak from your heart
- Be genuine
- Give a lot of free stuff away
Jessica from NY asks, “Do you have to have your own products to have a Shopify store or can you do drop shipping? Which is better?“
Never drop ship. Ever! It’s 99% of the time just a scam and a major nightmare. Plus, even if you do find a good one, the products they sell are so generic. Like…go to Ross and buy a mug for $2.99 with sparkles on it. Who’s gonna pay $14.99 for a mug with blog’s logo on it? Hint: just your mom. 🙂 Don’t bother. It’s just a waste of time.
Kristin from CA asks, “What is the best way to advertise and get your name out to potential customers?“
Your focus is wrong. You’re not trying to sell to anyone. Therefore, you’re not even LOOKING for customers. You’re looking for people you can serve and give free stuff to…they do the rest. <3
Tamikia from TX asks, “How do I run ads on a Shopify store?“
I go through MediaVine. My blog qualifies for the traffic part requirement (so does my store on it’s own) and so I just had them add a couple media ads to my store. Putting ads in my store has not hurt sales for me or my clients who do it.
Elaine from TX asks, “What skills or background did you have to help you start out?“
I’ve been in ecommerce for 21+ years…specifically ebay and also Amazon.
Lori from OH asks, “Can Shopify help someone with a zero mailing list and low page views?“
Absolutely.
Trixie from MS asks, “How do you come up with the ideas?”
I ask my audience to vote. 🙂
Misty from MO asks, “Do you have to know a lot about technical computer programs to make Shopify work? I am not very computer savvy, but would love to be able to work Shopify”
Nope, I’m TERRIBLE at technology! I licked it! 🙂 It’s fairly easy and I have a Shopify Binder and Shopify course that goes over a lot of the tech stuff.
Beatrice from CO asks, “Is this truly for everyone and can this be used for any theme?“
Nope, it’s not for everyone. 🙂 It’s for leaders who don’t mind doing the work initially to set up a nearly-passive income stream. Most people are just lazy and want free money. That’s not really how it works, so it wouldn’t be for them. Let’s just say it’s for people who don’t mind a little elbow-grease. <3
Janeal from CA asks, “Why is Shopify better than alternatives- what makes it stand out from others like Woocommerce etc?“
That is fully answered in the free Shopify Binder here. 🙂
My top 5 products
You can see this months’ top 5 products by clicking the links below:
Ready to start up your OWN Shopify store?
Click here and you can get a 14 day trial FREE! It just might be the best move you ever make. It certainly was for me!
$3.1 million dollars in 17 months? That’s INCREDIBLE! Thank you for sharing your journey and including all of the tips and information that you do, you are very generous with sharing advice.
Absolutely Sarah. Glad to help. It’s been an exciting journey! 🙂
Amazing post! Thanks for sharing from your experience with Shopify, Sarah. $3.1 million in 17 months is definitely incredible!
God is very good. <3
Thank you for sharing- I found you quite by accident- although I suspect it wasn’t truly an accident <3 My story is long so I'll save you from it- and just again say thank you and I can't wait to learn more!