or scroll down to get the highlights

How to build a simple, sustainable plan for growth when your current audience has already bought

There comes a time in every ecommerce business when the sales start to slow down—and it’s not because your products aren’t good or your customers don’t love you. It’s because the people who’ve already bought… have already bought.

If you’re relying on the same loyal group to keep your store going, and your numbers are starting to slide, it’s probably time to do something most business owners put off as long as possible:

Go get new customers.

Now before your brain spirals into “I don’t have time,” or “ads are expensive,” or “I have no idea how to do that,” stay with me. This post is going to walk you through a simple, repeatable plan for customer acquisition—and how to know when it’s actually the right time to make that shift.

Let’s start there.

Is it time to focus on new customers?

This is one of the most common questions store owners ask me. The easiest way to find out is by checking your Shopify dashboard and looking at your Returning Customer Rate.

If about 30–40% of your orders are from returning customers, you’re in a great place. That means your retention strategy is working and your existing customers are coming back—which is amazing.

But once your returning customer rate creeps above 40%, it’s time to shift gears.

“When you get over 40% [returning customers], I think it’s actually urgent that you focus hard on getting new customers.”

That doesn’t mean you stop serving your existing customers. It just means you stop relying on them to drive your growth. At some point, your audience becomes a well you’ve tapped too many times. And if you want to increase your sales, you need more people entering the funnel.

Choose one product to promote

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to attract new customers is that they try to sell everything. All the products. All at once.

It doesn’t work.

Instead, pick one product to promote—something you know people love, something easy to understand, something giftable or entry-level or just really good. This could be your best-seller, a bundle of related products, or even a curated “starter set” made up of existing items.

And then?

Focus all your marketing around that one product.

“Whatever I shine a light on and focus on is what people buy.”

You’re not trying to sell your whole store. You’re inviting new people into your world through a single, compelling entry point.

Build a simple system to promote it

Once you’ve picked your product, the next step is to build a marketing plan around it. And don’t worry—it doesn’t have to be complicated. You just want to make sure you’re showing the product to new people regularly, and giving them multiple ways to see, understand, and trust it.

Here’s what that might look like:

• Create a short brand-style video focused just on this product, and run inexpensive video view ads to build awareness.
• Run a review ad (if you’re using JudgeMe, you can do this right inside the platform) using your best social proof.
• Create a simple static ad with an image of the product and a clear CTA—this can run as a conversion or traffic ad.
• Email your list regularly, and feature the product in at least one mini campaign each month. Even better? Add a P.S. about it to every other email.
• Feature the product in your site’s pop-up (especially if it has a discount tied to it), and include it in your welcome flow.
• Once people start buying, set up automated review requests to collect even more social proof.

You don’t have to do it all at once—but the more places people see the product, the more likely they are to trust it and buy.

One product, one path: a real example

One of our longtime Inner Circle members is a maker in the cosmetics space. A while back, she created a bundle of her bestselling items and called it the “Start Here Bundle.” It’s the product she features everywhere—on her pop-up, in her welcome flow, in ads, and across her site.

She doesn’t discount her entire store—just that one bundle. And it works.

When I checked recently, that single product had almost 500 reviews.

Why? Because she’s not leaving it up to chance. She decided what product she wanted new customers to buy, and then she made a plan to support it from every angle.

If it’s not working, check these things—in order

When you’re trying something new and it’s not converting, it’s easy to assume the problem is the product or the offer. But more often than not, it’s just the numbers.

Here’s what I recommend checking—in this order:

1. Traffic: How many people are actually seeing the product? If only a handful of visitors are landing on the page, you don’t have enough data to know if it’s working.
2. Click-through rate on ads: Aim for 2% or better on a conversion ad. If you’re not getting clicks, test your visuals or messaging.
3. Product page performance: Add a heatmap tool like Lucky Orange to see how people are interacting with the page.
4. Pop-up opt-in rate: You should be getting at least 5% of visitors to subscribe. If not, tweak your offer or design.
5. Email open and click rates: If people aren’t opening, try new subject lines. If they’re opening but not clicking, rework your call to action.

That’s really the key. Don’t throw out the whole plan—just keep adjusting the pieces that aren’t performing until they are.

Track what matters

If you’re going to focus on acquiring new customers, the most important thing you can do is track your progress. Not obsessively—but consistently.

Here’s what to look at each month:

• How many new customers did you get?
• How much did you spend on ads?
• What was your cost to acquire a customer? (Total ad spend ÷ new customers)

Once you have that number, you can make smart decisions about scaling. If it costs you $10 to get a customer who spends $70 and buys again later… you’ve got a growth engine on your hands.

Just Start

There’s no magic bullet for getting new customers. But there is a method—and it’s much simpler than you think.

Start with one product. Build a system around it. Track what matters. And keep going until it works.

Because it will.

RELATED LINKS:

Do you even know what it costs to get a new customer?

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/do-you-even-know-what-it-costs-to-get-a-new-customer-episode-187/

How Melissa reduced her cost of acquiring a customer by 44%

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-melissa-reduced-her-cost-of-acquiring-a-customer-by-44-percent-episode-191/

Growing your sales: what you must know first

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/growing-your-sales-what-you-must-know-first-episode-261/

10x’ing Jane’s Sales

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/10xing-janes-sales-episode-251/

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

or scroll down to get the highlights

The 3 Things Every Ecommerce Store Owner Must Learn to Grow Sales (Without Spending a Fortune on Ads)

If you’re looking for a way to grow your sales without pouring money into ads, you’re about to hear one of the most effective (and misunderstood) strategies for ecommerce store owners.

This is the very first thing to learn as an e-commerce store owner. To get sales, we need to acquire customers.

That’s the short-term strategy that works—and it really works—but if you keep doing it past a certain point, it can actually stall your growth.

Here’s what you need to know about the three things every ecommerce store owner must learn: how to get customers, how to keep them coming back, and when to stop doing what’s worked so far and pivot to something new.

Let’s break it down.

Step 1: Get Customers—It’s the First (and Most Expensive) Thing You’ll Learn

Acquiring a customer simply means getting that first time buyer. That’s the whole game when you’re just starting out. And getting that first-time customer is going to cost you. Not just in money, but in time, brain space, and effort. Basically the sum of all your marketing is how you get customers. And marketing doesn’t come to most of us naturally.

You might be using organic posts, SEO, email, SMS, Meta ads, Google ads, influencers, maybe even Pinterest or TikTok. Whether it costs dollars or just your time and energy, it all counts.

Want to know what it’s actually costing you to acquire customers?

“Choose a defined period of time – at least six months,  a year is even better. Simply add up the cost of all your marketing and divide that cost by the number of first-time customers you get.”

That number is your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). And it’s probably higher than you think.

Step 2: Make Each Customer Worth More

Once you’ve figured out how to acquire customers, it’s time to get smart about keeping them—and getting them to buy again. We’ve got to set ourselves up for success by maximizing the lifetime value of that customer.

If your product is replenishable, make it easy for them to re-order. If it’s not? You still need other products that appeal to the same person—don’t go inventing something totally different for a new audience.

This is where your profit starts to show up. This is where your sales become predictable and reliable.

So how do you do it? Stay visible.

Here are a few ways to stay top of mind:

• Set up a post-purchase email automation: It’s a thank you for becoming a customer, and a warmup to place a second order.

• Include them in weekly email campaigns and events: Give people a reason to buy

• Launch new products or variants: Even a new scent, a new color, or a collectible can get existing buyers excited to come back.

• Create VIP offers or memberships: If you have customers who buy regularly… consider a group, like a Facebook VIP group.

• Keep posting organically: Frequency is key

The Strategy Most Store Owners Rely On

Here’s what most ecommerce owners do once they’ve got a customer base: they launch more products to the same audience.

They don’t have to have a big ad spend. These are mostly things that they can do without a lot of cost, and it leads to an increase in their conversion rate.

It works. It gets sales. It builds momentum.

But…

The Metric You MUST Watch

There’s one number that tells you when it’s time to shift gears: your Returning Customer Rate.

Go to your Shopify dashboard and  have a look at your returning customer percentage.

Here’s how to read it:

• Under 30%? You’ve got room to grow with your current customer base.

• 30–40%? Sweet spot. You’re balancing new customer acquisition and keeping current customers happy.

• Over 40%? That’s a red flag.

When you’re too reliant on returning customers, your growth starts to shrink. You’re constantly creating new SKUs just to keep up. Inventory bloats. Profit slips. And the number of new customers coming in isn’t enough to replace the ones who stop buying. You’re actually losing more customers than you’re gaining, and so your pool of buyers is actually shrinking every month.

Step 3: Know When It’s Time to Shift Gears

If your Returning Customer Rate is climbing too high, it’s time to pivot. You want to shift your focus to going out and looking for more customers. Knowing full well that you are already set up to maximize your lifetime value.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Stop creating endless new SKUs.

• Focus on selling your existing products to new buyers.

• Resist the voice that says your customers “need something new.”

“Everything you have in your store is new to the people that aren’t your customers yet.”

That’s the mindset shift. You don’t need more products—you need more people.

Take Action: What’s Your Next Move?

Here’s what I want you to do next:

1. Check your Returning Customer Rate in your Shopify dashboard.

2. If it’s under 30%, focus on getting current customers to buy again.

3. If it’s over 40%, switch gears and put your attention on acquiring new customers.

That’s the fastest way for sure to grow your sales without spending a ton of money on ads.

Growth Isn’t Magic—It’s Knowing What to Do Next

Growing your sales isn’t just about more hustle. It’s about learning these three things:

1. How to get customers

2. How to keep them buying

3. When to go find more of them

If you want to grow your sales, you have to make this switch. So go check your dashboard. Then get to work!

RELATED LINKS:

How Melissa reduced her cost of acquiring a customer by 44%

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-melissa-reduced-her-cost-of-acquiring-a-customer-by-44-percent-episode-191/

Do you even know what it costs to get a new customer?

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/do-you-even-know-what-it-costs-to-get-a-new-customer-episode-187/

The piece of the puzzle you’ve been missing

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/the-piece-of-the-puzzle-youve-been-missing-episode-258/

Ready For Results? I Think You Should Hear This

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/ready-for-results-i-think-you-should-hear-this-episode-243/

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

or scroll down to get the highlights

Struggling to Reach Your Goals? Here’s the Simple Fix Every Store Owner Needs

There’s nothing worse than setting a goal for your business, feeling excited about it, and then… failing to hit it.

You start wondering, What’s wrong with me? Why is everyone else growing while I feel stuck? You see other business owners posting wins in your Facebook groups or showing off their latest sales milestone, and suddenly, you feel like you’re doing everything wrong.

Here’s the thing: you’re not the problem, but your goal-setting strategy might be. And I can show you how to fix it.

The difference between store owners who reach their goals and those who don’t isn’t luck, talent, or some magic marketing hack—it’s how they set, qualify, and stick to their goals. And today, I’m giving you a simple, four-step process that will help you set goals you can actually achieve—without the constant frustration.

Why You’re Not Reaching Your Goals (And Why It’s Not Your Fault)

One of the biggest mistakes I see store owners make? Chasing vague, long-term “one day” goals instead of setting clear, measurable short-term ones.

Here’s how that usually plays out:

• You decide, I want to grow my email list (but you don’t define what that means).
• You start working toward it, but after a few weeks, it doesn’t seem to be growing fast enough.
• You get discouraged and pivot to something else (Maybe I need to work on my social media instead!)
• A few months go by, and… you’re right back where you started.

Sound familiar?

The real issue isn’t that you’re not capable—it’s that you’re setting yourself up for frustration by not defining exactly what success looks like.

So many of us don’t have clear goals. And these are goals that make sense and are achievable for you and your business, and they’re in a defined period of time. They’re not like a somewhere-out-there goal—it’s a clear goal, a short sprint.

So let’s fix that.

Step 1: Stop Chasing “One Day” Goals—Set Clear, Measurable Goals

Your first task: define your goal in a way that makes it impossible to ignore.

A good goal should have:

✅ A specific number (e.g., grow your email list from 1,000 to 5,000 subscribers)
✅ A deadline (e.g., within six months)
✅ A why (e.g., “Once I hit 5,000 subscribers, I should be able to increase my sales by $3,000/month”)

Write it down. Seriously, this step alone makes a huge difference. Put it on a sticky note, in your planner, or as your phone wallpaper—anywhere you’ll see it daily.

Step 2: Qualify Your Goal—Is It Actually Doable?

Before you commit, let’s do a quick reality check.

A great goal isn’t just about what you want—it’s about what’s actually achievable based on:

• Time: Can you realistically do this in the timeframe you’ve set?
• Money: How much will this cost?
• Past Results: Have you done anything before that got you similar results?

For example, let’s say your goal is to grow your email list from 1,000 to 5,000 subscribers in six months. That’s 4,000 new leads.

If your current pop-up is bringing in 200 new subscribers a month, you’re not going to hit 4,000 just by doing what you’ve always done. You’ll need additional strategies—maybe a quiz, a giveaway, or some paid ads.

More importantly, you need to know what a lead costs you. If it’s costing you $3 a lead, 4,000 leads are going to cost you $12,000. But most e-commerce stores can get leads for $.30- $1. So if you need 4,000 leads, and they cost $1 each, are you able or willing to spend $4,000?

If the answer is no, adjust your goal to something you can commit to.

Step 3: Make an Action Plan—And Stick to It

Now that you have a clear, realistic goal, it’s time to map out exactly how you’ll get there.

Start by asking:

• What has worked for me before? (Look at past list-building efforts)
• What can I do for free? (Think: collaborations, referral programs, pop-ups)
• What will I need to invest in? (Paid ads, giveaways, etc.)
• Who can help me? (A coach, a business friend, or an accountability partner)

The key here is focus. Don’t get distracted by shiny new tactics every few weeks—commit to a plan and give it enough time to work.

You have to do the same thing longer than you thought you ever should have to actually get the results you want.

Step 4: Track Your Progress + Hold Yourself Accountable

If you’re not tracking your progress, how do you know if what you’re doing is working?

You need a simple tracking system to monitor:

✅ Your key metric (e.g., number of new subscribers per week)
✅ Your ad spend vs. cost per lead
✅ Your progress toward your goal

The best way to stay on track? Set up accountability.

• Book a coaching call every two weeks (or find an accountability partner).
• Have a “check-in” meeting with yourself every Friday to review what’s working.
• Commit to sticking with your plan instead of switching strategies too soon.

Stay the Course

Reaching your goals isn’t about trying harder—it’s about having a system that works.

If you’re constantly setting goals but never quite reaching them, it’s time to change how you approach goal-setting.

💡 Write your goal down.
💡 Make sure it’s realistic.
💡 Create a focused action plan.
💡 Track your progress + stay accountable.

Most importantly? Stick with it. The only way to guarantee failure is to keep giving up too soon.

And to make it even easier, I’ve created a Good Goals Worksheet that walks you through the entire goal-setting process. Download it [HERE]

Let’s make this the year you finally hit those milestones.

RELATED LINKS:

Download my Good Goals Worksheet HERE

How long will it take to reach your goals?

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-long-will-it-take-to-reach-your-goals-episode-203/

The powerful work that will get you to your goals

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/the-powerful-work-that-will-get-you-to-your-goals-episode-159/

How to Create Profit Goals

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-to-create-profit-goals-episode-209/

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

or scroll down to get the highlights

How This Jewelry Designer Grew Her Email List and Created Viral-Worthy Content—Without Ads or Expensive Photoshoots

March is “Product Tester” Month in the Inner Circle. It’s a training created for our members by Jane Hamill of Fashion Brain Academy. And last year it got jewelry designer Trisha Flanagan thinking—could this work for her business? She gave it a shot, and the results were pretty amazing. She built a high-intent email list, got real customer photos (without an expensive photoshoot), and turned testers into paying customers. Here’s how she made it happen.

The Jewelry Business Dilemma: Visibility vs. Budget

When Trisha Flanagan set out to grow her jewelry business, she faced two big challenges: expanding her email list and gathering high-quality content to showcase her pieces. She had plenty of product photos but not nearly enough of real customers wearing them—something crucial for building trust and engagement.

The usual solution would have been a professional photoshoot. But for a small business, the costs of hiring models, photographers, and stylists can add up fast. Instead of taking that route, Trisha turned to an unconventional but highly effective strategy: inviting real customers to be product testers in exchange for free jewelry.

The Lightbulb Moment: A Free “Product Tester” Campaign

Trisha decided to give the Product Tester strategy a shot, offering free jewelry in exchange for honest feedback and user-generated photos.

This approach not only helped her collect authentic content from real customers but also grew her email list. It turned out to be a simple, cost-effective solution that tackled both of her biggest struggles at once.

Choosing the Right Product

While her Morse code jewelry had always been a best-seller, Trisha had another product that needed more visibility—her fidget rings. These rings, designed for people with anxiety, ADHD, or skin-picking habits, were flying off the shelves at in-person markets but weren’t selling well online.

She realized she needed real testimonials and visuals to highlight their benefits. But instead of just telling people how great they were, she wanted customers to try them and share their own experiences. A product testing campaign was the perfect way to do that.

The Power of “UGC”

Rather than investing in a polished, expensive photoshoot, Trisha saw an opportunity to leverage user-generated content (UGC). Not only was it a budget-friendly option, but it also made her brand feel more authentic and inclusive.

With UGC, she could showcase a variety of people wearing her jewelry, representing different skin tones, hand sizes, and styles—something a single photoshoot wouldn’t easily achieve. Plus, customers sharing their own images naturally created social proof, making it easier for others to picture themselves wearing her pieces.

Building the Campaign

1. Setting Up the Product Tester Program

To make the application process simple, Trisha created a dedicated landing page on her Shopify store with a Typeform survey. The page explained the opportunity: participants would receive a free piece of jewelry in exchange for wearing it, providing feedback, and sharing a photo.

2. The Application Questions That Made the Difference

Instead of letting just anyone sign up, Trisha crafted a 12-question survey designed to filter out those who weren’t truly interested. The questions covered everything from willingness to wear the jewelry for two weeks to metal allergies, ring size, and even shipping location.

She also included a question about subscribing to her email list—an easy way to grow her audience while selecting testers. Surprisingly, almost everyone who applied was happy to stay connected, making this a win-win strategy.

3. How She Recruited Testers (Without Ads)

Trisha’s Instagram following wasn’t massive—just 1,500 people—but that didn’t stop her from getting the word out. She asked her existing audience to share the opportunity with friends and also reached out to other small business owners whose audiences aligned with hers.

This grassroots approach worked. People shared the campaign, leading to a steady stream of applicants. And the best part? No money spent on ads.

The Results: A Flood of New Subscribers & Authentic Content

The results exceeded expectations:

• 150 new email subscribers
• 51% survey completion rate (a strong stat in marketing)
• A collection of diverse, high-quality customer photos

Trisha proved that even without a massive following, a well-structured campaign could generate real engagement and business growth.

Turning Testers into Customers

Growing an email list is great—but only if you leverage it to increase your sales. Trisha turned those new subscribers into paying customers. Here’s how:

Follow-Up Emails with Exclusive Offers

After the testing period, she sent an email thanking testers for participating and offering a special discount on their next purchase. Since they had already worn the jewelry and enjoyed it, many testers took her up on the offer.

Encouraging Reviews & Social Proof

She also asked testers to leave a review on her website, which helped improve her product listings and build credibility with new customers.

Adding Testers to Her VIP List for Future Promotions

Since these customers were already engaged, she added them to her VIP email list, where they would get early access to new launches, behind-the-scenes updates, and other perks. This kept them interested and increased repeat purchases.

Instead of just getting free content, Trisha used email marketing to turn testers into lifelong customers.

Why This Works for Any Small Business

This wasn’t just a one-time experiment—it became a repeatable, scalable strategy. The key takeaways?

• You don’t need a big audience—just an engaged one.
• People love being part of something exclusive. A simple invitation to test products made customers feel valued.
• Authentic content outperforms polished studio shots. Seeing real customers wear the jewelry made the brand more relatable.
• Low-cost marketing strategies can yield high-impact results. With no ad spend, Trisha gained both customers and content.

Running This Strategy Again

Encouraged by the success of this campaign, Trisha is already planning to do it again with a different product. And this strategy isn’t limited to jewelry—any business can try it.

Even if you don’t have a huge Instagram following or email list, you know people who would love to test your products. Reach out, get creative, and start gathering real customer content that helps sell your brand.

If you’re ready to give it a shot, all it takes is a little initiative, a simple survey, and a willingness to think outside the box.

Related Links:

Check out Trisha’s jewelry at www.trishaflanagan.com

Check out Jane’s podcast here: https://fashionbrainacademy.com/category/podcasts/

Why Jane Hamill Loves The Product Tester Strategy
https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/heres-what-to-do-differently-next-year-episode-195/

A 6 figure start-up strategy that you can use even if you’ve already launched

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/a-6-figure-start-up-strategy-that-you-can-use-even-if-youve-already-launched-episode-81/

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.

New FREE Course

GROW YOUR SALES

(without breaking the bank)

Conversion School is a step by step process to grow your sales,
without spending a fortune on risky ad strategies, or discounting your products.

Works for Ecommerce stores at all stages.

Start getting consistent sales, and see significant sales growth every month.