Passive income is tricky. When you’re making steady, consistent revenue it can be life changing (read more about that here). I started selling Showit website templates about 4 years ago and it took a while to really get into the groove of things. I built a shop page on my website (sales were done via Shopify). Customers only trickled in every few weeks. It wasn’t until I made the changes listed below that I really began to see consistent growth in my sales.
1) Offer payment plans
A little over a year ago I switched the cart software for my design shop from Shopify to Thrivecart and my life was forever changed. Thrivecart lets customers pay via installments (I give the option to pay in full, pay in two payments, or pay in four payments). When I began to offer this, my sales skyrocketed. Seriously. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I would open my email in the mornings. For a while I thought the increased sales were because more people were buying during quarantine, but over 14 months later, things have not slowed down.
2) Presentation is EVERYTHING
I used to just make a few standard mockups of my templates on a very simple mac screen and share those repeatedly on social media. Little did I know at the time, this was majorly holding me back. What may visually appeal to one person may not have the same effect on another. Social media marketers typically create multiple ads with the exact same wording and content and run them simultaneously to see which designs are most effective. As my skill grew as a designer, I realized it was also time to step up my presentation. I redesigned my sales pages AND my mockups to be more visually eye catching – I used various styles of typography, dark faded backgrounds, deep colors, and just added more visual interest in general, and I instantly increased the visual appeal of what I was selling. This is something that might take some trial and error to figure out. Not every product or industry has the same audience, and as I said above, what might appeal to one consumer might not necessarily appeal to another. It’s worth taking some time to test this out, practice, and find the right groove.
3) Let your past customers hype your product
Client reviews hold so much power. Not the generic ones that say “She’s the best, hire her!” but the ones that give an inside perspective into what it’s like to work with your product and the results that users can expect to see. How many new clients have your clients booked since using your product? How much money have they made back? How have they gained confidence/skill in their craft? Have they made their investment back? These reviews build trust and legitimacy. As soon as I started using real, results-driven reviews, I saw a steady increase in sales. Need some help collecting reviews that don’t suck? Here’s a how-to guide for collecting killer client reviews. Bonus – when you include these reviews in an Instagram post and tag the person that gave you the testimonial, they will usually repost and sing your praises to their audience as well.
4) Get some outside help
About 8 months ago I hired someone to help with Pinterest marketing. I was terrified to make the leap – it’s a big investment (plan to spend about $500/month). But then I tried to look at less from a scarcity mindset and more from an abundance mindset – $500 was really only one or two sales. If I was able to make just TWO extra sales each month from Pinterest leads, I would make my investment back. And I certainly did- tenfold.
These tips should be pretty helpful and straightforward for anyone trying to earn some extra passive income, but I realize that every industry varies a bit. And as always, remember that good things take time but anything worth doing is worth doing well.
If you’re ready to take the leap, our design market offers TWO fabulous sales funnel designs for getting your project started. Use them on their own OR as an add-on page to your current website. They quickly and simply spell out what your product is, who it’s for, why they need it, and how their life will change once they purchase. You can view them in greater detail here and here.
