67: Holiday E-commerce Advice from Expert Kristine Neil 🎁
The holiday season is right around the corner, and if you're running an online store, you might be wondering how to prepare for the rush! In this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Kristine Neil, a Squarespace and Shopify e-commerce expert.
We dive into practical strategies for holiday preparation, bust some common Squarespace e-commerce myths, and share genius tips for writing product descriptions that actually convert.
Whether you're just starting your holiday prep or haven't even thought about it yet, Kristine's advice about leveraging user-generated content, optimizing product pages, and managing holiday-related stress will help you make the most of this busy season.
Plus, she shares a brilliant "5 senses" approach to product descriptions that you'll want to implement right away!
-
[00:00:00] With the holiday shopping season almost upon us, I wanted to invite one of my favorite e commerce experts to join me here on Think Inside the Square. In this episode, I'm going to introduce you to Kristine Neil, a Squarespace and Shopify e commerce expert. She has some great insight that can help you prepare for the most successful holiday season for your online store.
[00:00:30] For a transcript of this episode, along with the links to any resources mentioned, visit thinkinsidesquare. com. Visit InsideTheSquare. co forward slash podcast. The term Squarespace is a trademark of Squarespace Incorporated. This content is not affiliated with Squarespace Incorporated. A quick heads up before we dive into this episode.
[00:00:46] Kristine's audio is a little wonky for her first answer to my very first question, her introduction here. But stick with me. I promise the audio quality does improve. All right. Let's get into this episode. Now before I dig in, a quick [00:01:00] personal introduction to Kristine Neil. She is one of the first Squarespace ers that I ever got to meet in person because we both live up here in the Pacific Northwest.
[00:01:08] She is one of my favorite folks to share a cup of coffee with. Kristine Neil, welcome to Think Inside the Square.
[00:01:14] Hello, and no, it's, it's, um, sad to not be sharing a cup of coffee over this, although we're doing it virtually, so. Um, a virtual coffee. Cheers to you. Yes. Hi. Thanks for having me. I would not know that I was like one of the first versus people you guys meet person.
[00:01:31] That's quite an honor. Yeah, it's nice to have a square space neighbor. So how did I end up here? eCommerce is just almost like in my blood. I built my first eCommerce site in the early 2000s. did not need to date myself. It was on press, of course, but it really just sparks this long term interest in me and just the psychology of why people buy.
[00:01:56] And, uh, also why people don't buy. It's [00:02:00] also just as important. So just trying to understand the, uh, economics of online shopping. So I have a background in communications, business, brand design. I transitioned over the last five years or so from running a design agency to really just do e commerce consulting for small business owners, startups, and follow up designers.
[00:02:20] So I specialize in Squarespace and dabble in other platforms, really just whatever the best fit is. And, um, my all day every day is e commerce, so I'm glad to add into this topic.
[00:02:31] Yeah, that's super exciting. I love that we're both internet dinosaurs. Talking about working on websites back in the early 2000s.
[00:02:38] So drastically different than what we're working with today.
[00:02:42] Well, it was a wild, wild west. Brand new. Can you imagine what it was like when there was no road map? That was so crazy. That was kind of the world as you know that it, that it was, and um, it was really revolutionary I think at the time to be like, wait, our audience is not limited to [00:03:00] the people who can find us in the, so look, we can, we can sell to people on the internet, around the country, around the world.
[00:03:09] And that was just like, so revolutionary. And I think that like that. From the very beginning was just a really exciting idea to me.
[00:03:17] Oh, absolutely. Oh my gosh. And back in the phone book days, I still remember having to look things up just to order a pizza, you know, it was so different back then. So knowing that you've seen this, I mean, evolution across different platforms and different ways of selling content online.
[00:03:33] I'm curious about what drew you to specialize on Squarespace. And I know you work a little bit on Shopify as well. What drew you to the specific platforms that you specialize in today?
[00:03:44] So I'm really just trying to match the goals of my, my clients, their needs, like, what are their budgets, what are they actually selling, trying to match those up with a platform, I guess, [00:04:00] is always the, it's always the goal.
[00:04:02] It was also always a little bit of, um, do I enjoy this? And as I mentioned, the first site I built was on WordPress, it was a whole different time. And I really, I liked the way it worked, but I did not like the process of it. I felt really disconnected, I think, from a lot of the aspects that hire, you know, a coder to do these, like, really now, like, very simple things.
[00:04:32] And so when these other new platforms started to come out, like later 2000s, Shopify, Squarespace, and so many others, Um, that was so appealing because it was like, wait, we could make this easier. And there was this like, almost sound like democratization of like the access to e commerce, like it was no longer that you needed to be a huge enterprise level business.
[00:04:56] to be able to sell online. Like you did not have to be eBay, [00:05:00] you know, which was kind of gold standard, right? You didn't have to be even early Amazon to be able to have that. So it really was like, wait, this is a way to make this so much more accessible for people who I knew were my core audience.
[00:05:14] That's a really great point.
[00:05:15] I never really thought about how it kind of leveled the playing field for a lot of us entrepreneurs out there being able to control So many aspects of the actual selling process on these platforms, whereas before, you would practically need a degree in computer engineering to be able to actually manage an online store, and that's just drastically different now.
[00:05:34] That's really interesting. So I'm wondering, knowing how much easier it is now to get started on those different platforms, I'm wondering if there's still some common misconceptions that your clients bring to you about, like, starting a store on Squarespace. What are some of the, the common myths that you hear that you can debunk right here on our podcast?
[00:05:52] Okay, so the biggest one for Squarespace, is obviously that it's just not true. [00:06:00] possible to do e commerce on like period that's and that's like the elephant in the room right everyone always asks that that's the number one question um and it's just not true the reality is that squarespace has really been investing in e commerce improvements and they have made obviously some big pushes in improving their e commerce capabilities there's obviously Aspects that we would still love to be better and that's when we tap into other things.
[00:06:30] So Shopify or been loving Podia lately. I use that a lot for like digital products, some of my own digital products. Uh huh. Um, and so I just think always use the best tool for the job and we could get into like some other reasons why I think like Squarespace. is really strong. But the number one misconception is just that it's not powerful enough.
[00:06:51] It's not even an option. You shouldn't even consider it. And I just think that's too blanket of a statement. Um, like there's, there's more to that story [00:07:00] and Squarespace is the answer for a lot of people.
[00:07:01] Yeah, that's a really great point. And I definitely going to pull out the audio clip of use the best tool for the job.
[00:07:06] I think that's definitely one of the key takeaways from this episode. Is that there will be other tools out there that might do a better job at all of the things, but if you're focused on one specific thing, work with the best tool for that specific thing. Just a word to my listeners as well, in the show notes, I will link to a few articles on Kristine's website.
[00:07:24] She's got a great blog that has information about different platforms, so if you're curious about Squarespace or Shopify or other information, I'll be sure to link to her blog in the show notes. So check out the links for that. Now, thinking about the holiday side of things, I definitely want to get into some details here about preparing for the holiday season.
[00:07:43] How early should store owners start preparing for the holiday rush? Do you have any tips on that?
[00:07:48] Well, if you're taking your holiday selling cues from mass retail, uh, They, they've started last year and then some. So it's a really long planning [00:08:00] process for like most large retailers. For small business owners and entrepreneurs selling online on like Squarespace or Shopify, you probably haven't actually taken a year, a year and a half to like plan this holiday selling season and that's okay.
[00:08:15] So ideally start as early as you can. Um, but if you're here now and it. November, or if you're listening in December, or if you're listening into the new year and you made now, now you really are getting ahead. That's okay. There's still things you can do. So long answer, short answer is start as early as you can.
[00:08:36] It's never too late, though.
[00:08:37] I like that. It's never too late. Well, then let's pull away from the holiday for a second and just think holistically talking about strategic. Offers and sales and marketing tactics. You have so much experience with helping a variety of business owners in a variety of different industries, selling physical products, services, digital products.
[00:08:55] I'm wondering if you know of underutilized marketing tactics [00:09:00] that works well. For small businesses, small businesses that are selling on Squarespace, regardless of what product type it is, what would be one of the underutilized marketing tactics that you recommend people explore?
[00:09:12] Um, great question. I think that I put it in two answers.
[00:09:16] So one is content that you can control. So creating valuable, shareable type of content on your own sites that could be things like think, you know, quality specifically, like if vibes. or, you know, like how to guides or tips, things like that. Uh, I think that makes the shopping process. I feel a gift giver during the holiday season, a lot easier.
[00:09:41] Like people love to see, you know, like gifts for him, gifts for her gifts under 20, you know, bundles of things that go together. Just taking that mental load out of it, I think really helps. So like that's content that I think you have control over. And the other side of that, I think is just really [00:10:00] Doing your best to leverage user generated content, so tapping into your audience to get them to share their pics of your product in use or, like, tag you in their own post or whatever.
[00:10:14] So, like, as you know, I'm not on social media, so what I would do, though, is make sure if my customers, who are on social media, If I can get my customers to say my product is great, that's a million times more valuable anyways. So I think there's kind of like two different tactics there depending on, you know, Which direction you're planning to come from.
[00:10:36] Totally, and I love using user generated content. I feel like that's becoming more and more popular these days for good reason. Testimonials really help provide that social proof that people need. And I think although visuals are great, even written testimonials are awesome. Do you have any tips on how to incorporate testimonials into a product listing or a sales page or landing page?
[00:10:57] Yeah, on Squarespace [00:11:00] specifically, I always, always, always use that additional info section. Everyone should be using this on every product listing. Add content to that every product page to make it more rich and engaging. The saddest thing is when I land on a product details page and that little section is empty and it's just so bare.
[00:11:21] It's like a barren little wasteland. And like, there's nothing that. It's compelling me to really dive deeper into either the brand story or the features, the benefits or the why behind why we're here. People assume that if they put it out there, people will buy and we have to do a little more work for that.
[00:11:40] So use that additional info section.
[00:11:43] I love it. I'm totally going to put in a sad trombone sound in there. When you see that product description, there are no additional details.
[00:11:54] Yeah, that's perfect. So thinking about these product descriptions, um, I'm kind of curious if you [00:12:00] have a creative approach to product description, something that you've seen boost sales for some of your clients, any suggestions?
[00:12:06] Yeah, so I have what I kind of, I mean, like, maybe I should trademark this, but um, I have kind of this like five senses tack that I sometimes take, which is if you're having a hard time coming up with a compelling product description to tap into five senses.
[00:12:26] Um, and you don't have to get off by them, like to start to tap into senses to describe it. Because otherwise we, we describe things like gray t shirt made in the USA, printed with white ink and you're like, well, yeah, I'm boring. And if we can instead tap into some senses about like, um, this breathable, 100 percent cotton shirt.
[00:12:50] will make you feel great after a long day on the hiking trail, you know, like that. Now, I can really envision and almost feel myself wearing this [00:13:00] shirt. Um, I've used sensory words that help replicate that in person shopping experience online because that's what we're trying to do. Like, it's easy to buy that shirt when you're in a shop in person and you can Like, rub the fabric between your fingers and kind of be like, is it, that's right?
[00:13:18] Is it breathable? Is it going to wash well? And we don't have that online. So we need to use words that evoke that, the same experience. And if you're struggling with that, I just say, start running through senses and I'm up with words that describe the senses that people might like if you're selling a candle, like you have to describe to people clearly until we invent scratch and sniff online.
[00:13:46] Right? Like you have to be able to use your words to really describe that.
[00:13:50] I love that so much. It's such a great technique using the idea of Sensory terms to invoke that physical feeling that we're missing with the online shopping experience. [00:14:00] That really just connected two dots for me that had not been connected before, Christina.
[00:14:04] I do love keeping my episodes concise, so I feel like we should probably bring this back to holiday to kind of wrap things up. I'm curious if you have any, maybe the top three stress free action steps for setting up an online store for success this holiday season. Like, let's say this is coming out on November 7th, and someone has an online shop, but they haven't done anything to prepare for the holiday season, and they want to.
[00:14:29] They've got a few weeks left. What should they do next? What are the most impactful and the quickest wins that they can do today?
[00:14:37] Okay, number one, focus on communication, I think, and that sometimes this is like a very unsexy tip, but I think that this is a great time to revisit your FAQ page. Add a section at the top about specific holiday concerns.
[00:14:54] So when is shipping cut off? When do we guarantee delivery by because [00:15:00] nobody wants to be the person who's like, I printed off this picture of your gift. It'll be here January 19th, right? So I'm like, put all of that detailed stuff at the top of an updated FAQ page. Be really clear about your return policy or exchange policy for, you know, we all want the gift to work out, but in case it doesn't.
[00:15:23] Um, so I think. That's probably my number one. So you're just covering things like shipments, returns, exchanges, guarantees, you know, the nitty gritty, not, not fancy, but I think highly effective because what we're trying to do, obviously, is provide reassurance to people. Um, we, we want them to feel like, okay, I'm going, I need to check out on this now.
[00:15:46] Like this is the right gift. And so just allaying any fears is what we're trying to do there. And If we were to move on to, if I still, if I had that done, what I would take care of is [00:16:00] just double checking my email marketing, like, automations or follow ups. So, like, making sure that my, like, order confirmation email reiterates some of this stuff.
[00:16:10] Your order confirmation email might need to be different for the holiday season than it is today. Throughout the rest of the year, maybe you take a little bit longer to fulfill items just because of volume. Like maybe you're only shipping out items on certain days of the week or, you know, just anything that stays ahead of potential problems is also going to save you a million customer service emails, right?
[00:16:33] So, which you probably are short on time anyways, so use emails to reiterate any of that. Like, information, like, if there's a special delivery date or a reminder about their order or whatever, hit that at the top of their, the order confirmation email, and then make sure you have some of your email marketing automation so that, like, these people, people shopping during the holidays might be first time [00:17:00] customers.
[00:17:01] because they're, they're buying for somebody else. But this is a great way now that you have them kind of like in your orbit, set up some automation. So like after the holidays, you can revisit, reconnect, reintroduce them to other products that they might be interested in, or just, you know, introduce them to your brand.
[00:17:20] I think that's a really good opportunity.
[00:17:22] I like that. I think that we could probably wrap that one up as tip number three. The idea of the post holiday planning. I think that's an excellent thing to incorporate. A lot of people think we're in it for the home stretch. We're going to do all the holiday offers.
[00:17:34] And when that holiday window is closed, we'll focus on customer service for those orders. And then we'll start the new year fresh. But the truth is there's such a huge marketing opportunity for you after that holiday season to connect with your new customers, reintroduce them to your brand. Consider creating a brand new funnel for people who just placed their first order with you, haven't been on your email list, to introduce who you are, offer complimentary or supplementary products and content, [00:18:00] all kinds of ways to connect with them in a new way.
[00:18:02] I love that. All right. So that was a lot of insight, Kristine. I really appreciate it. I actually have two final questions. I thought of one while you were talking about that. And after recently doing a website relaunch myself and working on some new products, I got pretty sick right after, and I think that my immune system just couldn't handle the stress.
[00:18:22] That's something that I'm not good at managing, and I know that you work with people in a lot of high stress situations during large volume sale times and different holiday periods for a lot of online store owners, that's a really stressful time period. So I'm curious, do you have any self care tips for these store owners to avoid burnout and too much stress during the busy holiday season?
[00:18:42] Yeah, I think that the most important thing is obviously just to set boundaries, set boundaries about like, when are your working hours or like, what are you willing to take on as small business owners, we always want to do the most right to make everyone happy. But if we're not well, [00:19:00] then nobody can be taken care of.
[00:19:01] So you got to take care of yourself first. I think that it's smart to just prioritize tasks and learn to outsource or delegate where you can. So work on where you're most impactful. And if you can automate things, like that's why I love email, because you can automate it, plan it in advance. If you want to automate some of your social media, if you want to, Use a like AI chat bot, you know, what leverage some of the tools that are like readily available to us now to take the load off.
[00:19:32] So if it's something that requires your hands on, then then make that your priority and outsource or delegate the rest. So
[00:19:40] I love it. That's something I need to definitely step up that outsource and delegation part. That's such great advice All right, Kristine You dropped some awesome wisdom in this episode today And I want to thank you so much for being a guest here on think inside the square Before we call this episode a total wrap before we wrap this up.
[00:19:56] Where can people learn more about you? I know you're not on social. So [00:20:00] how do they get a hold of this amazing information that you have to share? How do they work with you?
[00:20:04] Right. So my website is just my name. It's Kristine with a K and Neil and EIL. So Kristineneil. com all of my resources are just at Kristineneil.
[00:20:14] com slash resources to in particular that people are really loving right now are my e commerce platform picker and that's just at Kristineneil. com slash e commerce. Flowchart. I love a good flowchart. Definitely check that out, everyone. And for any of my fellow web designers out there, I have put together a, um, new guide.
[00:20:35] It's called the Web Designer's Guide to eCommerce Platforms, and hopefully helps break down some of the different reasons why you might choose one platform over the other when selling or working with clients on projects. And that's available at KristiNeile. com slash platforms.
[00:20:50] Fantastic! I will link to those in the show notes.
[00:20:53] Kristine Neil, thank you so much for being a guest here on Think Inside the Square. I am so happy that we get to connect in real life and [00:21:00] virtually, and that we can partner up for this episode to help people make the most out of their websites out there. Thanks again for joining me, and to everyone listening, be sure to drop a comment if you're watching this on YouTube or on my blog.
[00:21:10] Let me know what you think of this episode, and check out those link in the show notes, and most importantly, have fun with your website. Bye for now.
-
Kristine’s Content
🔗 Kristine's Website: kristineneil.com
📊 E-commerce Platform Picker Flowchart: kristineneil.com/flowchart
📘 Web Designer's Guide to E-commerce Platforms: kristineneil.com/platforms
Recommended Tools & Platforms Discussed:
Squarespace (affiliate link) squarespace.com
Shopify: shopify.com
Podia (afiliate link) podia.com
