How to Attract More Clients as a Shopify Partner

As Shopify'sPartner Priority Support, one of the most common questions we get from our Partners is:

"How can we attract more clients?"

When we look at our top performing partners, there are a few common factors that have played a role in their success.

Let’s take a look at each of these factors and break down how you can implement them for your own business.

1. Branding:Establish yourself as a Shopify Partner
2. Expert Marketplace:Become a Shopify Expert and we'll send you referrals
3. Word of Mouth:Produce fantastic work to get recognized
4. Get Social:Use social media to share your work
5. Meetups & Workshops:Host a Shopify Meetup or Workshop in your area

1. Branding

Shopify has over 500,000 customers and is continuing to grow. That means we have an increasing need for partners with Shopify knowledge. More and more merchants are actively seeking out Shopify and ecommerce-experienced designers/developers/marketers via Google search, social media and word of mouth.

As partner's support, we encourage our partners to take advantage of this exposure by letting people know you are a Shopify Partner. You should outline all the services you can offer merchants looking to launch or update their online store on Shopify.

You might also like:The Counter-Intuitive Approach to Getting Your First Client

Add an Ecommerce or Shopify page to your website

Give your potential clients confidence that they have found an experienced Shopify ecommerce expert. Showcase this knowledge on your website with a specific page dedicated to ecommerce or Shopify.

Here are a few examples of Shopify-branded ecommerce pages:

Embed a Shopify intro video into your site

A Shopify video is a great way to give your clients a quick, fun introduction to Shopify.

Inform clients about the perks of using Shopify

By giving your clients a quick overview of Shopify and its benefits, you’ll give them the confidence that Shopify is the right choice for them. Here are a few points to highlight:

• Shopify is the world’s fastest growing commerce platform with over 500,000 active global retailers
• You can sell online, offline and on-the-go using Shopify’s powerful technology
• Use your owndomain name
• Sell gift cards and generate coupon codes
• Use its integrated blogging platform to create blog posts
• Process credit card payments directly through Shopify, or other gateways
• Process in-store purchases with ShopifyPOS
• Process purchases with your smartphone using Shopify Mobile
• Receive 24/7 onboarding and technical support from Shopify Gurus
• Access ecommerce analytics
• Use built-in SEO
• Rely on fast servers, industry-leading response times, and cutting edge infrastructure
• Keep your customer’s data secure with PCI Level 1 Compliant checkout
• Sell unlimited SKUs
• Shopify is always adding free new features to help you sell

You might also like:The Ultimate Guide to Finding Web Design Clients.

下载a Shopify banner and/or logo for your site

The easiest way to let the world know you’re a Shopify Partner is to include one of ourShopify banners and logos在你的网站上。

Here’s an example of a Shopify Expert who has made use of our banners and badges:

Don't forget to include your affiliate link with all banners and logos you use — this is another great revenue stream. The way it works is that each Shopify Partner is able to apply for the Shopify Affiliates Program, and once approved, you'll be given a unique URL called an affiliate link.

For each Shopify Merchant who signs up using your unique affiliate link, you'll earn a 200 percent bounty payment on their monthly subscription fee. This bounty will be paid over the span of two months, with 100 percent of the total bounty paid each month. You can track your affiliate referrals in your Partner Dashboard.

2. Experts Marketplace

When you have five or more quality Shopify stores under your belt, you are eligible toapplyfor theShopify Expert Marketplace.

Once you are approved to be an Expert, you will be listed on our marketplace, which is searchable by our more than 500,000 customers. This is a huge lead generator. Some Experts have made well over $5,000 in their very first week.

We recently updated our Experts Marketplace to make it even more beneficial for our experts. It now features more prominent screenshots and improved aesthetics, as well as improved search engine integration to improve Google search results for your Experts profile.

Our Expert Profile pages include a profile picture and description, shop pictures and examples, project starting rate and client reviews. It also includes a contact form for the client to reach you. Here’s what our new and improved Expert Profile pages look like:

3. Word of Mouth

Sometimes your clients do your marketing for you. If you provide excellent customer service, they might be willing to spread the word via social media about the Shopify store you designed for them. Ask them to Tweet, post on Facebook, and even email their friends about your work. They may also leave behind a positive review, however this isn't something you should ask of them.

4. Get Social

Some of our top Shopify Partners have taken to Twitter to share their Shopify knowledge and gain exposure for their brand. This is a no cost, low maintenance social strategy that will help increase your reputation as a Shopify Partner. Use hashtags like#shopify, #ecommerce, #sellonline, #shopifypartner, #webdev, or #webdesign.

Share your successes

We see tweets all the time from partners sharing the launch of their latest shop, or announcing a milestone.

If you cc @ShopifyPartners on your tweets, we’ll be sure to share it with our followers.

One-hour live Q&A session

Try a one-hour live Q&A session on Twitter or Facebook to get in front of potential clients. You can answer their real-time questions about Shopify, as well as how to set up and successfully run their online store.

Use the hashtag#shopifychatto filter the conversation. Make sure you let us know the date and time well in advance so we can help you promote it!

Blogging and Newsletters

Start an ecommerce/Shopify blog or newsletter. This will help drive traffic to your website, increase your SEO, position you as an industry leader, and help you develop great client relationships.

You might also like:How To Find New Clients Using Social Media

5. Meetups & Workshops

HostingShopify Meetups and Workshopscan connect you with other local Shopify designers/developers, as well as merchants and potential clients.

Shopify Meetupsare independently-run events put on by local shop owners, partners, and experts. This is a great place to share ideas and knowledge, pass work along, or just hang out.

Additionally, you can host aShopify Workshopto educate your fellow designers and developers on any subject matter related to the platform. It might seem counter-intuitive, but our partners are constantly working together to lighten their workload and add additional expertise for their clients.

Don’t want to host one? Check out ourlist of eventsand attend one close to you.

You might also like:How to Host a Shopify Meetup

Thank you

As a Shopify Partner, I recommend you try one or all five of these recommendations. Thank you so much for all your hard work and for recommending the Shopify platform.

For additional details on how toattract more clients, check out ourPartner Docs.

Do you have any strategies to obtain clients that we haven’t covered here? Feel free to share additional tips in the comments section below.