Summary

The author grew their e-commerce store sales to $30,000/month using customer event marketing on Instagram without paid advertising.

Abstract

The author, a former e-commerce store owner, shares their success story of achieving significant monthly sales through strategic Instagram marketing. By leveraging customer engagement through "Be the Buyer Days," flash sales, and mystery boxes, the store was able to drive sales and build excitement around its products. These tactics capitalized on word of mouth and fan interaction, creating a sense of scarcity and urgency that led to increased sales. The author emphasizes the effectiveness of these customer-centric events in growing the business to over $30,000 in monthly revenue, all without the need for paid advertisements.

Opinions

The author believes that customer event marketing, a term they coined, was pivotal in driving their store's success.
They highlight the importance of customer engagement and interaction on Instagram as key drivers for sales.
The author suggests that the buzz generated by customers discussing products can significantly impact store attention and sales.
They express that creating an environment of scarcity and urgency through flash sales is effective in prompting customers to take immediate action.
The author is of the opinion that involving customers in the buying process, such as voting on products, enhances the shopping experience and fosters customer loyalty.
They imply that regular scheduling of sales events and consistent communication through social media and email marketing are crucial for maintaining customer interest.
The author views mystery boxes as both a fun and strategic method to manage excess inventory while providing value to customers.
They are confident that these engagement-focused marketing strategies can be adapted and successful across various types of businesses.

This Smart Instagram Marketing Tactic Grew My Sales to $30,000/mo

No Paid Ads Required

I used to own an e-commerce store. I was running it alongside working my 9-to-5 job and about a year after starting, I made enough from the business every month to quit my day job!

That day gave me one of the best feelings ever!

The store was pretty successful, in part due to this smart Instagram marketing strategy.

How did I grow my sales to five figures per month with no paid ads?

I used customer event marketing.

To be honest, I’m not sure if that term even exists. I kind of made it up back then to best describe what I was doing.

On Instagram I noticed that word of mouth, fan engagement, and interaction were huge drivers of sales.

If a customer talked about how much they liked or disliked a product, the buzz that would result, good or bad, would drive loads of attention in the direction of the store.

I used a variety of customer-based events to drive up engagement as much as possible to cultivate this attention and generate more store sales.

And, it worked!

Here are the customer events I coordinated every single week on Instagram while running my business:

Be the Buyer Days
Flash sales
Mystery boxes

How do Be the Buyer Days work?

Be the Buyer Days are just what they sound like.

You pick a day out of the week and share your potential stock picks with your social media fans.

I’d do this a few times a month and it’s an incredibly easy way to create customer engagement and get fans excited about possible new releases coming to the store.

First, pick a handful of items you’re considering ordering. I’d usually pick around 3 for Be the Buyer Day.

Then, I’d put together a social media post on Instagram, polling the audience and asking them to vote on their favorites.

This was before Instagram stories, polls, and all the other cool features Instagram offers today. I think using these tools now would make this event even better.

Back then, I’d just have customers comment their favorite choice.

The comments grew quickly and it created an exciting experience for customers.

Then, I’d announce the winner, buy stock of that item and then start selling it in store.

What are flash sales?

Flash sales are another event I’d run and I did these the most.

How do flash sales work?

You choose a select number of products and feature them in limited quantity in a quick sale that would only last a few hours.

Most of the sales would result in sold out items which is something we always wanted.

When an item sells out, it contributes to that scarcity feeling and it can prompt the customer to visit your store on the spot to find a similar product to buy, join your email list, subscribe as fan, etc.

They would simply take action and this is what we anted.

I’d hold flash sales twice a week and they created that environment of scarcity I mentioned, which would drive up sales like crazy.

When I first started these flash sales, the store only had a few thousand Instagram followers.

The flash sale events would feature 3 items and each one would get at least $400 to $600 in sales each!

$400 x 3 items = $1,200

That’s a $1,200 day just on social media!

Do that twice a week and you just had nearly a $10K month just from Instagram!

$1,200/day x 8 events/month = $9,600

Anyway, these flash sale events did very well.

We kept a schedule, holding the flash sales the same time every week and we’d send reminders on social media and email marketing. That’s about it!

How do mystery boxes work?

Mystery boxes are so fun.

You might see them today on Tik Tok or on retail websites but all you do is bundle a box of store products and sell them as a mystery box.

I would put together around a $100 value mystery box and sell it for $30.

You want to sell high value boxes at a discount.

Customers are excited to see what they get and this is a really smart way to get rid of your excess inventory.

It worked!

Using a mix of Be the Buyer Days, flash sales and mystery boxes helped grow my company to $30K+ per month in revenue without the need to explore paid ads.

These customer event marketing strategies can be translated to all kinds of businesses. Maybe not the exact same way but, involving your customers and creating an engagement-friendly environment can do wonders for sales!

Have you tried this?