How To Build An Online Store For Your Roastery To Sell Online 24/7, 365:

Step 1: Set Up Your Online Store

Setting up an online store starts with picking a platform. This is the system where you’ll display and sell your products so customers can buy directly from your store.

1. Choose a Platform: You’ll need a platform to “host” or hold your online store and a domain host. You can think of your store host as the house you buy, and a domain host as the land you put that house on. Popular options for a store include Shopify, Wix, and Webflow. Shopify is the most recommended because it’s built for selling products online and is easy to use.

   Why Choose Shopify? Shopify gives you everything you need to run your store—from managing payments to handling orders. It also has customer support if you need help. Shopify is a complete solution that’s ideal for businesses like coffee roasteries.

Claim your Shopify store for just $1 by clicking here and follow their setup instructions. Getting Your Domain: You will need a domain to put your new store on the public internet. To do so, head to namecheap.com, create an account and look for an easy to remember domain to purchase. Typically something like "yourstorename.com" is best.

Action Step: Go to Shopify, sign up, and follow the instructions to create your store. Go to namecheap.com, sign up, and purchase a domain.

1. Add Your Products with Photos and Descriptions: Once your account is set up, head into your stores products area. It's time to add the the products you’ll be selling. Include items like coffee beans, mugs, brewing tools, or even gift cards. For each product, upload a high-quality photo and a short description. Good photos and descriptions help customers know what they’re buying.

   Action Step: Take or gather clear photos of each product and add them to Shopify. Write a few sentences about each product’s unique features.

2. Tell Your Roastery’s Story: Customers enjoy buying from businesses they feel connected to. Sharing your story gives them insight into who you are and why you started the roastery. Include a section on your Shopify store’s “About” page to explain the history of your business, what makes it special, and a bit about you and your team. Photos of the team, shop, or roasting process help build a personal connection with customers.

   Action Step: Write a short “About Us” story, and add a few photos to give customers a feel for your roastery.

3. Set Up Payment Options to Make Buying Easy: Shopify makes it easy to accept various types of payments, such as credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Giving customers different ways to pay makes the checkout process smoother, so more people complete their purchases.

   Action Step: Go to Shopify’s payment settings and enable as many payment methods as possible to make buying convenient.

4. Add Shipping Options (and Local Pickup, If Possible)Shopify also helps you set up shipping options, so you can decide how to deliver orders to your customers. For people who live nearby, consider offering a local pickup option—customers can order online and pick up in-store, which can save them on shipping.

   Action Step: Set up your shipping and delivery options in Shopify’s settings, and enable local pickup if it works for your business.

5. Make Your Store Easy to Navigate: Organize your store so customers can easily find what they’re looking for. Set up different categories for products (like “Coffee Beans” and “Accessories”) and add a search bar to make browsing easy. A well-organized store improves the shopping experience and helps customers quickly locate products.

   Action Step: Organize your products into clear categories, add a search bar, and test the store by finding a product yourself to ensure it’s simple.

Step 2: Offer a Memorable Shopping Experience

Once your store is set up, consider adding a few extras that make shopping with you enjoyable and memorable. This can keep customers coming back.

1. Create Special Products and Options: Add unique products to make your store more appealing. For example, consider offering gift boxes, monthly coffee subscriptions, or a “Roast of the Month Club.” These special options give customers something unique to look forward to.

   Action Step: Set up at least one special product in your store, like a gift box or subscription option.

2. Bundle Products Together for a Better Deal: You can create “bundles” by pairing products together. For instance, you could combine a bag of coffee with a mug, or create a starter kit with coffee and a brewing tool. Bundles encourage customers to buy more items at once, which helps increase sales.

   Action Step: Create one or two product bundles that pair items customers might enjoy together.

3. Get Ideas from Other Roasteries: Check out websites from other coffee roasteries to see what types of features or products they offer. This can give you ideas to try on your own store.

   Action Step: Choose one feature or product you’ve seen on another site that you think could work well for your store, and make a plan to add it.

Step 3: Help In-Store Customers Engage with Your Online Store

If you have a physical location, you can encourage customers who visit in person to shop online too. This helps build a connection between your in-store and online experiences.

1. Make Your Website a Key Part of Your Business: Think of your online store as a major part of your business, not just an extra. Share it in as many places as possible: on social media, in emails to customers, and at your physical location. The more you share, the more people will know about your online store and visit it.

   Action Step: Set a goal to promote your online store every month, like posting about it on social media or emailing a reminder to customers.

2. Place QR Codes in Your Store: Use QR codes to help in-store customers find your website. A QR code is a small square that people can scan with their phone camera, taking them directly to your website. You can print and place these QR codes around your store, on product labels, or on receipts.

   Action Step: Print QR codes linking to your online store, and place them at checkout counters, on receipts, or around the shop.

3. Reach New Customers with Shopify’s Marketing Tools: Shopify has built-in tools to help people find your store online. These tools, like SEO (search engine optimization), make it easier for your store to appear in search results. Paid ads can also help you reach customers outside your local area.

   Action Step: Add keywords to your product descriptions that people might search for online, like “locally roasted coffee” or “fresh coffee beans.”

4. Use Social Media to Show Off Your Products: Social media is a great way to keep customers interested and reach new ones. When you post, focus on these types of content:

   • Education: Teach customers something, like how to brew coffee or what makes your beans unique.

   • Entertainment: Share fun videos or behind-the-scenes looks at your roasting process.

   • Engagement: Get customers involved by asking questions or running a poll.

   • Elevation: Share customer reviews or thank loyal customers publicly.

   Check out this Video Guide: For a quick lesson on value-driven social media, watch this video that explains how to create content around the four types listed above to turn social media followers into buyers.

   
   

   Tools to Help with Social Media:

   • SubMagic: Quickly add captions, sound effects, and transitions to your videos. Click here to claim your free account and start creating polished videos.

   • CapCut: This app lets you edit videos easily with effects and music. Click here to claim your free account for creating eye-catching videos.

   • Canva: Canva helps you create photos, graphics, and videos with user-friendly templates for everything you need.

   Action Step: Use one or more of these tools to create simple posts. Aim to post weekly, using a mix of the four content types listed above.

Final Tips: Keep Your Store Fresh and Let Customers Know About It

Your store is most successful when it’s regularly updated and actively shared.

1. Update Your Products Often: Keep adding new products or special seasonal items, so customers always have something fresh to check out. When you update your products, share it on your store and social media to keep people interested.

   Action Step: Set a reminder to review and update products every month, and announce any new products.

2. Share Your Store Frequently: Spread the word about your store as often as possible. Send a monthly email with any updates or promotions, and remind customers in-store that they can shop online.

   Action Step: Send a monthly email to customers with updates, new products, or a seasonal promotion to keep people interested.

3. Use Shopify’s Analytics to Track Performance: Shopify gives you insights into what products are selling best and where visitors are coming from. These insights help you understand what’s working, so you can make changes as needed.

   Action Step: Set a monthly reminder to check Shopify’s analytics, and use the results to adjust your store as needed.