Megan Boitano

Megan Boitano

Registered dietitian nutritionist Megan Boitano, MS, RD, helps dietitians leverage their expertise and generate income via creation and sale of online nutrition resources. She is the founder of Well Resourced Dietitian, a digital marketplace for dietitians to both sell and buy original, digital materials for use in their nutrition practices, including ebooks, handouts, presentations, webinars, worksheets and more.

7 Steps to Create a Profitable Store in the Next 30 Days

Before you jump into creating products, take time to define your goals. This process will help you decide how best to structure and prioritize the time you devote to working on your Well Resourced Dietitian store.  

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Here are 4 questions you can ask to help you clarify your goals:

  • Do you want Well Resourced to be a small side income or a sizable, consistent source or revenue for you?
  • How much time do you want to dedicate to your store per week?
  • How much time can you reasonably dedicate to your store per week?
  • How fast do you want to earn your first $100 or $1000?

Setting clear goals ensures that your expectations are aligned with your plan.  Your answers to the questions above will help you establish realistic targets for both revenue and product creation. Starting up your online store, creating quality resources and promoting require a large upfront time investment.  If you’ve set your sights on making sales as quickly as possible, you will need to be willing to invest a larger amount of time upfront.

Time upfront = passive income later.

The more work you put in each week, the faster you’ll start earning.  If you want to earn your first $100+ in 30 days but only plan to invest 2 hours per week in your store, you may want to adjust your expectation for when you’ll achieve your $100 profit goal.  I recommend working on your store for at least 1 hour per day at the start. Remember, this is all time that will pay off in passive income down the line. In the 30 Days to a Profitable Store Jumpstart Toolkit, setting an earnings goal occurs in week 1.

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Step 2: Find Your Store Niche

Well Resourced Dietitian is a marketplace that is prime for sellers with quality products. With sales and products growing monthly, competition within product categories and specific topics is growing.  It is essential that your store and products stand out as much as possible.

“How can I do that?” 

The first step is to find your niche. Your niche is something you specialize in, be it a disease state such as diabetes, practice setting such as school nutrition or retail, resource type like handouts, presentations, toolkits or forms/worksheets, or some combination of those.  A well-defined niche doesn’t mean you’ll never create a product outside of that specialty, but it does give your store a focus around which to create your resources and brand your store. Top selling RDNs and DTRs specialize in niches ranging from Functional Nutrition, Business Tools to Plant-Based Nutrition and Graphic Design.

“I know it’s important, but how do I narrow down”

There are 3 steps to getting more clarity with your niche.

  • What am I passionate about? This is often the most intuitive place to start. You are naturally energized by topics that you are passionate about which can make resource creation easier. For example, one of our top sellers, Dianne Rishikof of Health Takes Guts is incredibly passionate about functional nutrition and gut health. She has made that her store focus.
  • Where do my strengths lie? Consider what you’re most successful at communicating.  In a nutshell, whatever is working in your practice setting or specialty will likely work in other similar environments so if you’ve been getting a ton of compliments about your menu planning worksheets, consider pursuing that as your niche.
  • What niches are out there? Identify what other vendors’ niches are.  Check out top sellers to get an idea of what kinds of niches others specialize in and try to find your unique spin.  Go beyond current products available on WellResourced.  Visit other sites that sell nutrition resources such as Eatright.org Store, NCES and Learning Zone Express. Conduct a thorough internet search of your topic area looking for successful stores and product listings. 

Carefully studying the market and quality products can help you brainstorm ways to stand out, or you may find areas that are underrepresented that you know you could create amazing resources for. In week 1 of the 30 Days to a Profitable Store Jumpstart Toolkit, a worksheet is provided to help you identify your store niche.

Step 3: Build a Strong Brand

Whether your Well Resourced Dietitian store is a side hustle or your primary income, it is a business. For all businesses, branding is an element that requires thought and strategy. Your brand is what distinguishes you from the rest and helps consumers and other vendors identify you. Remember that the public and other health professionals (not just RDs) browse and purchase resources from WellResourced.com.  

Your brand is how you want to represent yourself and your store to others. A brand isn’t a brand without consistency. To be recognizable, you want consistency across all your social media accounts and your blog, if you have one. Consistent branding helps reinforce awareness of your brand and can help drive traffic to your store.

It isn’t necessary to have a website to have a successful and profitable store.  Your Well Resourced store features a custom URL/web address that lists all of your products, bio and profile image.  Sharing your store link is quick and easy.

Next, we will explore each of the elements of your store brand. There are 4 main components to your Well Resourced store branding.

Store Name

Use either your personal name or create your unique store name. When choosing a store name, brainstorm ideas by identifying nicknames, plays on words, or anything related to your niche.  For example, Melissa Brown’s store name hints at her niche of sports nutrition.

You can also keep it simple and use your name as your store name.  If you change your mind, you can always update your store name in the profile area of your vendor dashboard.  Check out Brittaney Berendsen’s store, a great example of a store that has consistent branding across product offerings.

Logo/Profile Photo

You’ll also need a store image for your Well Resourced store page and associated branding.  This can be a unique store logo that you create or have created for you, a personal photo of yourself.  It can also be a combination of the two.  One isn’t necessarily better than the other.  Some prefer to have a recognizable brand logo while others prefer a more personal photo or professional headshot.  Whatever option you choose, be sure to be consistent across social media accounts.  You want your store brand to be immediately recognizable. This is Jessianna Saville’s business logo and she also selected as her store profile image.

A professionally designed logo isn’t necessary.  The top selling stores include a wide variety of stores and profile images. In week 1 of the 30 Days to a Profitable Well Resourced Store Toolkit, a store branding worksheet is provided.

Biography

Although a biography is optional, it’s an excellent way to build credibility and connect with customers shopping your products.  Prominently placed below each product listing is the store name, image and bio of the vendor.  This is an excellent opportunity to highlight your background and why you are passionate about the items you create and sell. Remember that the biography isn’t a mini-resume, it is a way to build rapport with customers.  It should be fun to read and be focused more on connecting with the customer than a list of your credentials and professional experience.   Think about brainstorming about the purpose of your resources and the needs they fill when crafting your bio.  Jessianna’s store bio below is an excellent example.

 

Social Media and Website

Create professional business accounts for each social media platform you intend on using.  Pinterest is a must because it can drives consistent traffic to your store. Use your branding on your accounts for easy identification and integration among platforms.

Link your social media accounts to your Well Resourced store and to each other. This enables users who visit one page to easily access your other pages, and ultimately, your store.

If you already have social media accounts and or a business website, create a link to your store from your website and feature your products in blog posts and other locations throughout your site.

Remember that your store URL lists only your products on WellResourced.com.  It features your store name, image and bio. Here is a link to Ashley Thomas’s store.  You can see her product images feature  consistent and recognizable branding.  

Step 4: Create Resources that Fulfill a Need

Coming up with ideas for resources may be easy for your or you may struggle to hone in on what to sell. 

Take time to carefully consider the questions below as well as the information in steps 1-3 when creating your resources for your Well Resourced Dietitian store.

“What kinds of resources can I create?”

WellResourced.com offers a wide array of products related to nutrition – from handouts, presentation templates, forms, calculators, webinar recordings, ebooks and toolkits. If you can think of it, you can probably sell it. Products are digital downloads so it is important that any items you create have a file that can be easily uploaded and provided to the purchaser after payment is completed.

Download the Quick Start Guide to a complete list of resource categories and descriptions here.

“How Many Should I Upload?”

Aim for having 10-20 high quality resources in your Well Resourced store.  This range ensures that you have a diverse offering of resources to appeal to customers.  You might be thinking that 20 sounds like a ton, but trust me, sellers with a greater number of products have higher performing stores and greater earnings.

Don’t get overwhelmed.  

If you’re looking for more help, you can download my free 30 days to earning your first $100 on Well Resourced calendar worksheet here.

You don’t have to upload all those products at once. It’s important to pace yourself and remember the goals you established in step 1. Do you want to earn your first $100 in the next 30 days or are you happy to earn it in 120 days?

Depending on your goals, your schedule will look a little different. Adding 3 new products each week is a good target if your goal is to earn $100 and beyond as quickly as possible.

Remember that quality will always outperform quantity, so don’t focus so much on creating products that their quality suffers.

Use the Product Idea Selection Matrix included in the Toolkit to identify which products have highest potential to be bestsellers.

What makes a quality, bestselling resource?

The number one quality of a bestselling resource is that it fills a need. Ask yourself three questions:

  • What do you need in your practice or work environment that you don’t currently have?
  • What do other RD need in their businesses or job?
  • What resources do you currently use in your work environment that are successful?

Chances are, if your resource is successful in your work environment, it is also needed and can be successful in others. Figure out what need each resource you intend to create will fill and design it around that core focus.  

Find ways to make your resource stand out or to fill needs that aren’t currently being met. Use the Product Planner worksheet included in the 30 Days to a Profitable Store Toolkit to help you stay organized for each of your product ideas.  

Step 5: Promote Products with Freebies, Bundles & Social Media

It might seem strange to give away a resource when your goal is to make sales and generate earning from your store. Your free resource draws both customers to your store and creates interest in your paid products.  The most visited product category on WellResourced.com is Free Resources

Freebies = Traffic ($$)

A customer can easily shop your other products after finding your store from your free listing(s). Freebies act as your calling card.

They allow consumers to get a sample of your work and your style, and they can generate interest in paid products. This is why it’s paramount that your freebie be of the highest quality. Customers will be judging your work based off of your freebie(s).

You want to show customers that your paid products are absolutely worth it by offering them a great freebie. Your freebie should also be a stand-alone product.  No additional items should have to be purchased to use it. By making it completely usable as a stand-alone product, you are providing customers with “no-strings attached” value and creating positive attitude toward your brand and increasing the likelihood of future purchases.

It’s also free to submit them to be featured in the weekly eblast, Free Download of the Week. This marketing opportunity is a great way to increase store exposure and traffic, and drive sales.

Create a Product Bundle

Bundles are great promotional tools to help boost sales. Bundles are great bestsellers because they offer more value for the price.  

A product bundle groups multiple resources that are similar together and offer them for a cumulative price that is less than what would be paid if each included product was purchased individually.  Product bundles can be set-up by contacting Vendor Support at [email protected] once you have your product listings created.  

Use Social Media

Social media is a valuable tool to increase exposure and get your products in front of interested customer. You can generate sales and gain a following. With consistency and engaging content, you can gain a following and build loyalty around your brand. 

As you develop new products, keep your followers up-to-date on availability and ask them directly for feedback and suggestions for new products. Use social media as a promotional tool, but don’t use it only for posting product related advertisements. Focus on content that provides followers with value.

Post, pin, and tweet blog posts from other RDs, useful articles, DIY ideas, or personal photos and stories of activities in your work environment.  Social media is first and foremost for engaging with your followers.  

There are 3 key items to keep in mind when using your Well Resourced branded social media.

  • Post fewer promotions than you do other content, and integrate them among your other posts.  To gain and keep followers, you don’t want your feed to feel like a constant commercial for your product. Share stories, fun tidbits that will connect with customers that would be interested in your products.
  • Promote Strategically: When you do promote your own resources, make sure your post is engaging and not just advertising. Include a clear and succinct call to action (CTA). 

Post a photo of your resource being used in a real-world environment or being created.

Write a short summary about how much your clients love this or that resource and upload the listing image with a link for more details.

Consistency is key. For sites like Instagram and Facebook, try to post a few times a week and for Pinterest, aim to add new pins daily. Try a social media scheduler to pre-schedule pins and save time so you don’t have to manually post every day.

  • Consider sponsored posts: You may also want weigh the cost-benefit for promotion by an influencer or social media advertisements to boost sales. However, it isn’t necessary to spend money on advertising to make sales. You can steadily build organic traffic from your social media accounts and blog (if you have one).

In the tasks/timeline overview included in the 30 Day to a Profitable Store Jumpstart Toolkit, creating posts for social media starts in week 3.

Step 6: Get a Premium Membership

Well Resourced offers two types of memberships: Free and Premium.  The premium membership is $49 per year, but it allows you to maximize your earnings.  In the FREE, 30 Day Calendar download, I suggest you set your goals and sign up for your Premium Membership in your first week.

Why?

Because with a Premium Membership you get to keep more of what you earn.

Free: You only keep 65% of each sale.  With Premium: You keep 80% of each sale.

Let’s say you have a handout priced at $5.00.

Free: $5 x 0.65 = $3.25

Premium: $5 x 0.80 = $4

With Premium you keep nearly 20% more of your revenue per sale.

When your goal is to earn your first $100 in 30 days, you’d be leaving a large chunk of potential earnings on the table without it.  When your store is earning $35/month, the upgrade to premium will pay for itself in annualized earnings difference.  

The Premium membership also gives you access to premium Canva templates as well as upgraded, live support. 

The 30 Days to a Profitable Store Jumpstart Toolkit contains a revenue planning worksheet that allows you to conduct earning projections based on product details such as price, sales volume as well as basic or premium member status.  

Step 7: Track Your Well Resourced Store Sales Data

Tracking sales data is an important element of a successful online store.  Reviewing your data allows you to analyze which of your products are selling well and which aren’t filling the need you intended.  Your vendor dashboard provides you with valuable insight and help you determine which products may need to be modified and identify areas where you could develop even more successful products. The dashboard has three key areas that you should review to evaluate your sales.

Earnings

This area shows you details about sales including specific amount earned from each sale.  Earnings are paid out on a monthly basis so you will see both a list of paid an unpaid earnings.  You can download a monthly paid earnings report from this page as well.  You also receive an email notification with each product sale.

Orders

From this area, you can review details about each sale such as the product sold and price paid.

Reviews

Verified customers can post product reviews which are public and viewable by site visitors. Responding promptly to reviews, both positive and negative, is essential. 

Customers place a large amount of trust in the experience of other customers. The response you leave (especially if the review is negative) can be a strong selling point.

Notifications of reviews are sent via email to the inbox specified for communications in your vendor profile.

Products

Use this to quickly review your product listing as the number of sales numbers for each product.  It is also the area where you can access your products to make updates to the listing description, image, price or file associated.

Conclusion

So, there we have it: 7 Steps to Create a Profitable Well Resourced Store in the Next 30 Days.  Take this guide, create resources to sell, spread the word about your store and start enjoying consistent, passive income from your digital products each month.  Also, enjoy the amazing feeling that knowing you’ve created a tool that has helped another person!

Interested in getting your hands on the 30 Day Jumpstart Toolkit with calendar, task lists, worksheets and templates?  Enter your information below to receive your copy!

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