The Real-World eCommerce Training Course You’ll Love

The Real-World eCommerce Training Course You’ll Love

Today I’m thrilled to announce The Insider’s Guide to Building an Online Store. The Guide is a comprehensive, step-by-step eCommerce training course designed to help you build your own store – even if you’re just getting started.

To celebrate the launch,  I’ll be giving away a few copies … but more on that in just a minute. First, I want to share how the Insider’s Guide can help you build a life-changing business:

Everything You Need in One Place

There’s an incredible amount to learn when starting an eCommerce store, and trying to glean information from hundreds of sources is time-consuming and frustrating. This eCommerce training course includes everything you need to know to successfully build your business – from incorporation to niche selection, and all the way through marketing and site optimization.

Learn From Real-World, Successful Stores

The Insider’s Guide offers you a true insider’s look at the techniques I used to grow my two eCommerce businesses, TrollingMotors.net and Right Channel Radios, to more than $1.3 million in annual revenue. I incorporate my successes (and failures) into every aspect of the eCommerce course so you get to learn from proven first-hand experience.

Screencasts That Show You Exactly What to Do

Ever gone through training only to remain confused at the end about how to actually implement what you learned? It’s frustrating. That’s why the guide is packed with “in action” screencast videos that let you watch over my shoulder as I apply the concepts learned to actually carry out the task.

Watch over my shoulder as I create a real AdWords campaign for TrollingMotors.net. You can also see the exact process I use to do keywords research from scratch. The Guide’s numerous in-depth screencasts show you precisely what to do.

High-Quality Video Training

The Insider’s Guide is made up of 70+ bite-sized video lessons and more than 20 hours of content. The eCommerce course also includes nearly two dozen worksheets, spreadsheets and checklists. All the content is immediately available, and you can download every lesson (in audio and video form) for ultimate flexibility.

If you’ve enjoyed the content I’ve published on the blog, you’re going to love this eCommerce course – it’s by far the best work I’ve ever done. The lessons are incredibly detailed, well organized and actionable, and are designed to help you quickly understand what took me years to learn.

 

Student Reactions

A few weeks ago, I invited a small group of Beta testers to review the Insider’s Guide. Here are just a few of their comments:

Harradine“I have gone through several paid eCommerce courses and I can say without a doubt this is the most comprehensive, well laid out and specific course I have taken. You really get the sense that a lot of time, energy and thoughtfulness were used in putting this together.”  

— Jesse Harradine, Beta Tester

Richter-3“The beauty of this course is that it is taught directly from experience, using real-world and successful eCommerce businesses as examples. The content is more practical and exhaustive than any I’ve ever seen.”

— Jason Richter, Beta Tester

Bear“I was ready to spend thousands of dollars on a personal business coach to get the same information that was provided in your course. The content is highly detailed and focused, and far exceeded my expectations.”  

— Mindi Bear, Beta Tester

Smith“Compared to other trainings I’ve done, this one is quite exhaustive. Most training programs only offer an overview. You go into a lot of detail. I believe your training course is so extensive that a person who wanted to get into eCommerce would be able to do so.”

— Michael Smith, Beta Tester

 

The Complete Edition

The Complete Edition of the Guide includes all the Guide’s content and is designed to help you launch and market your own successful store from scratch, even if you don’t have a niche idea yet. The eCommerce training course includes all five modules of content:

  1. Business Incorporation
  2. Niche Selection
  3. Launching Your Store
  4. Marketing
  5. Store Optimization

If you don’t already have a store, the Complete Edition is the one you’ll want. It includes everything you’ll need to build a profitable store from the ground up.

For more details and to purchase, please see The Complete Edition of the Insider’s Guide.

 

The Store Owner’s Edition

The Store Owner’s Edition includes just the last two modules of the Complete Edition – the Marketing and Optimization modules – at a discounted price.

If you’re an existing store owner, you likely don’t need the information in the first three modules (picking a niche, launching your store, etc.). So I created the Store Owner’s Edition to offer you the option of just buying the Marketing and Optimization modules at a fair price.

For more details and to purchase, please see The Store Owner’s Edition of the Insider’s Guide.

 

Win a Copy of the Insider’s Guide

To celebrate the launch, I’ll be giving away copies of the Complete Edition of the Insider’s Guide to two lucky readers! To enter the contest, get acquainted with everything the Insider’s Guide has to offer and then let me know in the comments what aspect of the training would be most beneficial to you.

For Bonus Points: Let me know why you deserve to win. Have you sacrificed to make your business dreams a reality? Maybe you’ve already taken the first steps toward opening your own store or even have a storefront online! Whatever it is, let me know why you deserve to win.

Deadline: I’ll be selecting the winners on Monday, June 3, at 10:00 MST so make sure to get your entries in by then. Already purchased your copy? You can still enter! Leave your comment below, and I’ll refund your purchase price if you win.

And The Winners Are….

Thank you, everyone, who submitted an entry below!  It was extremely difficult to pick just two, but after significant deliberation the winners are:

Melanie Riddell – Despite being a full-time mother and working, Melanie has made large strides with her store, Sizzling Science, and is even manufacturing her own product.   Awesome work, Melanie!

Umayr Hussaini – Reading Umar’s comment, you get the sense he’s really put in some serious time to learning as much as possible about eCommerce, online business and even the technical side of things.  Not only that, but he’s showing this commitment at 19 years of age when few of his peers are investing in their own business education outside of school.  Well done, Umayr!

Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to the winners!

Andrew Youderian
Post by Andrew Youderian
Andrew is the founder of eCommerceFuel and has been building eCommerce businesses ever since gleefully leaving the corporate world in 2008.  Join him and 1,000+ vetted 7- and 8-figure store owners inside the eCommerceFuel Community.

Double Your eCommerce
Business in the Next Year alt alt

Learn from the thousands of case studies, stories, and lessons our private community members have shared, plus what we’ve learned in 12+ years of studying eCommerce stores

151 Comment

Paul LaFaverMay 30, 2013

I would especially love to find out how to automate the SEO process. It takes so much time to do all of the things that are necessary. Small businesses are generally lacking two things, time and money. To be able to have a “Cliff’s Notes” SEO would be great.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hey Paul! Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately, to build a viable business up you have to be willing to invest either time OR money, so there’s no way around that. But the three month of free SEOMoz Pro that comes with The Guide has some pretty awesome tools for automating SEO research and tasks. I’ve been a Pro member for years and their tools have been indispensable to my marketing efforts.

Best of luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
BarbMay 30, 2013

I have created several ecommerce websites and have had some success, but not nearly the success I am looking for. I believe your course can help to confirm or change what I am currently doing. One of my concerns that I feel your course could help me with is conversions. I am getting targeted traffic yet my conversion rates are in the tank. I feel I have a lot of things set-up correctly. I am just not getting enough visitors to pull out there credit cards and make the purchases I am looking to get. In addition to the other topics you cover I believe conversions could benefit me the most.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hey Barb! Conversions can be tough, as it really requires understanding your customers and going through a process to find their problems and then position your site / products in order to solve them. In the Optimization module, I go through the exact process I’ve used to re-launch multiple sites to better meet customer needs and resulted in dramatic increases to conversion. It’s a long process to go through, but it’s worth it at the end.

Best of luck with your future eCommerce work, and in the contest!

show dialoguehide dialogue
StrayKatMay 30, 2013

Wish this course was around a year ago! In the past I worked in copy writing and made retailers a tonne of money writing product descriptions etc. for them (I know because they told me). I decided to stop making others rich and build my own online business. Jumped on a plan and went to a fair few trade shows in both Hong Kong and mainland China. Met with potential suppliers via translators and narrowed down a few niches but the importing process is not an easy one and I was more confused than ever.

Then I started playing around and testing all the shopping carts and dealt with some ecommerce developers in India. Once again this experience left me baffled more than anything. So then I thought I could be an ‘intrapreneur’ and work for a successful ecommerce store and learn behind the scene the day to day process. Found a local company willing to pay me minimum wage to pick and pack orders and answer calls from irate customers. Interesting experience but I can see ways they can streamline the process and I got terrible allergies from all the dusty boxes and was exhausted from fulfilling orders all day, not to mention bored from the monotony. Came to the conclusion dropshipping is the way to go.

After running around in circles I think I am now on the right track after all this trial and error but a few pieces of the puzzle is still missing and this course, particularly the ‘Build and Launch Your Store Quickly’ module (!!!) will certainly help me launch a site some time this year.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Very cool you made it over to Hong Kong to chat with suppliers. I’m hoping to make it over there in the next year or so, and would love to see the Canton Fair (I think that’s what it’s called) where a huge number of manufacturers meet up to showcase their goods. If there was ever a great place to get niche inspiration, that’s it!

Good luck and thanks for sharing your story!

show dialoguehide dialogue
katrinaMay 31, 2013

Ummmm. You’re all nuts. Why don’t you just buy the course instead of trying to win a free copy?? You’re just wasting time.

For a few moments, I too got distracted by Andrew’s offer of winning a copy, and then wondered why I would bother spending time crafting a pleading comment, and then wait days to find out if I won, when he offers a money back guarantee …..!

So, I win! While you’re still trying to ‘win’ a course I have it on my computer right now and am watching the video about % of sales from email marketing.

And no, I don’t know Andrew, and he doesn’t know me. I bought the course because I run 4 eCommerce stores of my own, and am interested to see if he takes a different approach that I can learn from. If it’s rubbish, I’ll simply ask for my money back! If his ideas make me $400 then I’ll be very happy.

Anyway … back to the videos while you all keep trying to ‘win’ your way to eCommerce nirvana.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hey Katrina! Love your comment. 🙂

I looks like you have a TON of experience building stores at Motive Media so I hope you’re able to learn a few new things given your extensive history. I’m sure you’ll have some suggestions on how the Guide can be improved and/or additions that would be valuable, and would love to hear them when you’ve had some time dig into the content.

Thanks for picking up The Insider’s Guide – I hope it’s helpful!

show dialoguehide dialogue
David GoldsteinMay 31, 2013

For me, what I’d find most beneficial is niche selection. I just have too many fleeting interests and need to zero in on a product line that is accessible via drop-shipping that I actually enjoy.. and can make a comfortable profit with too!

I’ll aim for bonus points on this one: I moved from a big metropolis to a small town to be with my spouse a couple of years ago. I gave up a good IT job in the process. Adjusting here has been ….. hair-raising. I’m not making anywhere near the same income I once was. Last week the big city tempted me once more and I landed a great job offer.

When reality sunk in that I’d have to be away from Sunday – Friday each week.. without family, I just couldn’t deal with it. So just today I turned down the offer. Bittersweet yet I’m feeling frustrated once more that I’m back to square one. Really an ecommerce site would be just the solution.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hey David! Thanks for sharing!

One word of warning: it can be dangerous to put yourself in the position where you feel you MUST find a product that can 1) be drop shipped 2) that you enjoy and 3) you can make a lot of profit on. Drop shipping has a lot of strengths (location independence, little capital required, etc) but the margins aren’t extraordinary – 25% to 30% on the high-end for most items. So being able to drive traffic inexpensively is really important, which is why there’s such a massive marketing module in The Insider’s Guide.

In terms of a product you enjoy, I think it’s important to make the decision about what’s more important: getting a cash-generating business or enjoying what you sell. It’s often really hard to find something that meets both. Not impossible, but can be hard – especially if you’re looking to drop ship.

It’s a very personal decision, as some people really won’t enjoy the business selling something they’re not passionate about and won’t have the motivation to really see things through, which I understand. But personally, when I started, my #1 goal was to get cash flow generated so I picked what I thought had the best chance of success. Not always a viable strategy based on personality, but I think it’s important to consider.

Don’t mean to be preachy, but just wanted to share my thoughts given your position! Ideally, if you can find a niche that meets all your criteria then that’s fantastic. But if you don’t, don’t let it stop you from moving forward. 🙂

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your niche search.

show dialoguehide dialogue
David GoldsteinMay 31, 2013

Thanks for the great feedback, Andrew! Yes, I was spinning trying to figure out a product a couple of months ago. I had a gigantic spreadsheet all set up, and after spending many nights whittling through potential products, virtually eliminated everything! That lead me to think that maybe this isn’t the right type of business for me… but it sounds like I should revisit this with less stringency.

show dialoguehide dialogue
LukasJune 2, 2013

David,
there is one important thing you did not do yet, despite I understand your reasons. You have to move! Pick one niche that suits you best and just move. You can’t do anything wrong if you move. Even if you don’t succeed, you’ll get knowledge and the second round will be much easier. There is no wrong action! Any action is right!
One more thing. You don’t have to be in love with your niche in the beginning. You’ll fall in love “on the way”… It is same as I have started working 10yrs ago in the area I didnt know anything about. I was scared, I thought it is boring, I was simply not in love with it. But after 3 months I got some knowledge and first successes started to come. Step by step, day after day I was falling in love with my job. And it did not happen just once. 😉
Stop thinking, take action. Right now. Otherwise you are just loosing time. I lost few years like this… 🙁

show dialoguehide dialogue
David GoldsteinJune 3, 2013

Thanks Lukas, that’s a really interesting perspective that never occurred to me. Falling in love with the work…
I had to check out your website btw, flashlights! Nice work.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Chris TernoskyMay 31, 2013

Wow, what can I say that hasn’t already been said? The course looks amazing. As someone who has a strong drive, but little direction your course seems to bridge the gap. The part about niche selection will probably prove most beneficial for someone in my case. The eCommerce model is rather appealing to me. Currently I am a teacher who has been traveling abroad. Right now I live in Taiwan, and I would love to continue teaching/traveling while making money on the side. In my early 20s I was more focused on partying and taking it easy. Now in my free time I am studying Chinese (ni hao!), and tutoring on the side. I see everyday as an opportunity to get better, and improving my financial situation, as well as my overall life are the only goals I seek to achieve. I am focused on eliminating my debt, and starting an eCommerce business. Your free content is amazing, so I can only imagine what the extent of the course looks like. I know that seeing actual pictures, and faces will make a huge difference versus staring at text. Text is nice, but pictures speak louder.

My motivation is so strong that one day I hope to outshine the master, and teach you a few things. However, until then I shall remain the humble student and ingest any information you are willing to share. Thanks for offering your course for free (to those lucky few). It shows that you are passionate, and willing to help others who were in a similar situation before you had started your eCommerce life. I look forward to hearing more great things from you.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Ni Hao Chris! Glad you enjoyed the mini-course Insider’s Guide preview, and hope you got some actionable take-aways. And I think it’s awesome you’re making it a priority to get your debt paid off – solid priorities.

Best of luck in the contest, and looking forward to learning from you in the future!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Chris TernoskyMay 31, 2013

Thank you so much Andrew!

show dialoguehide dialogue
JohnMay 31, 2013

What I’d be most interested in is how to build for the long haul and not trend hop,

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

The long-haul is where it’s at, and I think building brandable websites – vs. SEO optimized ones and SEO optimized domain names – is going to be infinitely more important in the future. Good luck, John!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Melanie RiddellMay 31, 2013

Thank you so much for the email taster snippets of your Insider’s Guide to Building an Online Store – they have been so useful and beneficial, I’ve really enjoyed the hands-on, real store results. I can only imagine that the full course will be even more insightful to launching or re-branding a site.

I’m the process of manufacturing my own products for my site, although it will also contain other suppliers products too. Currently I’m re-writing the site using OpenCart (so excuse the demo products!) and this course couldn’t come at a better time for me as I aim to launch in the next two/three weeks when my new stock arrives and I finish product photos! This is my burning the candle at both ends project, I also work part-time and I’m raising a family, so I’d like to prove that us Mumpreneurs can make it happen : )

I’d love the opportunity to test your course on a new to market product! Module 4 – Market Your New Store Like a Pro really caught my eye and I’d be particularly interested in the Turn Video Into Visitors and Use Facebook the Right Way sections. I also think this section would help my focus my SEO efforts as I’m finding it tricky to choose my keywords when my product is new and the product itself will be targeted at both the educational and home children’s party market. I’d also like the opportunity to test the Finding Wholesalers Sections in a rather different way – I’d be looking for wholesalers to stock my new product.

Really hope I win a copy, I’d buy the course in a shot but cash flow has been rather tied up in new stock and product development so fingers crossed!

Thanks, Melanie

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hey Melanie! Congratulations on all the progress you’ve made so far with Sizzling Science – sounds like you’re makings happen. Very cool. How are you liking OpenCart?

One tip / opportunity based on your comments: With newly released products (at least from known manufacturers who will be marketing them) there’s a BIG opportunity to rank well quickly in SEO. Most existing products have lots of people who have had years of time to try to rank for it and build up links. But when a new product comes out, the playing field is much more level. Not perfectly level – as domain authority helps some people rank much more quickly – but you’ll often be able to rank for a new product simply by optimizing a page and pointing 1 or 2 links at it. So if the “new” product you mentioned is one from an existing manufacturer people will be searching for, a little SEO will go a long way.

Best of luck, Melanie!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Melanie RiddellMay 31, 2013

I’m finding OpenCart very adaptable and relatively easy to find the bits I want to change within a theme.

Just to clarify, the new product is being brought to market by myself, not a current manufacturer so that is why I’m so interested in how to SEO a totally new product.

Thanks, Melanie

show dialoguehide dialogue
MarkMay 31, 2013

Hey Andrew,
I’m really liking the look of this course! I’m actually at the start of the process at the moment. I have been saving up for several months now and just this month quit my job doing enterprise SEO consulting (for fortune 500 style companies) and moved to South East Asia (from Australia) so that I could focus on doing this full time.

I’ve got the SEO side of things locked down but there are a few other aspects to the course that look really helpful. I’d love to get one of these giveaway copies. I’d be more than happy to help you build out the SEO content if you like in exchange. I’m willing to bet I can help add a ton of value to it.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Wow, a big congratulations on quitting the job and moving! Kudos for saving in order to make it happen. Thanks for your offer to help with SEO, and best of luck with the giveaway!

show dialoguehide dialogue
LukasMay 31, 2013

Hi Andrew!

I am following your blog for a few weeks now. I even dont remember how I found it, but the most important thing is what I found in it. I appreciate you put together so much useful information and advices for ecommerce entrepreneurs.

I already posted my story below one of your posts somewhere around here, so I’ll not bother with it again. Shortly, I am from Czech Republic ( Europe ), I have a full time job and for almost a year and half I am working on my ecommerce business in US. It is hard, slow process, but I am managing it.

Recently you post an article about who to follow in the ecommerce world. I got interested mainly in Steve Chou whose blog is full of awesome and very helpful information for free. just a few days ago I was interested to sign up for his course. I was checking it and at the end BANG! 500 bucks… No way…

Yesterday you announced your own course, with similar price tag. This is not a complain! I am sure both courses are worth to pay even more!

Yesterday evening I thought about becoming a winner of the free copy of your course, but I wanted to take some time before writing my comment, till morning. But in the morning over 60 comments slapped me directly in my
face. No chance here for you, Lukas! There are over 60 people in the same situation as you are! They all have their dreams, they all have their own desires and obstacles in their lives. Why Andrew should pick you as winner? I started thinking…

Five topics in your course. Business incorporation – I have done it! On my own! Niche selection. I have done it! On my own! Launching Store – I have also done it! And also on my own! It was really hard, no doubt ( imaging you as US citizen doing business in Czech Republic 😉 )! Before I incorporate my business I thought I cannot do it, but I did! Same with finding niche and supplier, etc… I passed all the obstacles and I solved all problems successfully.

Now I am working on the last two things – Marketing and site optimization. I know roughly how to do it from your free advices here on the blog, also from Steve Chou’s blog. Your course will help me for sure to speed up the process and will give me some tips&tricks of how to do certain things. But if I deserve it? Sure I did! Why? Because I put already so much effort to fullfill my dream! I am getting up every day at 5:30am, going to work, returning at 4pm and start working on my business till 10pm. Every single day. No parties, no friends, no hobbies, no free weekends. For more than one year. But, I am not the only one who deserves it. Everyone who is reading your blog deserves it. We all targetting to same goal, we all put same effort in it in order to succeed.

Even if I don’t win, I will keep going straight forward to fullfill my dream. I am very close. I know it. I will do many mistakes without your course, thats for sure. But isn’t that the best school? I think yes. I am working since I graduated secondary school when I was 18 and everything I have now when I am 33, I must thank to myself. I did it. By myself.

Take my comment as it is, I am not complaining, I am not blaming you for too high price, I am not blaming you for giving out just two copies for free, etc. I just believe strongly in myself and my skills and experiences I got from past 15 years.

Keep writing your blog and help us, ecommerce newbies! You are on right way! And, when I suceed and quit my job, one of the things I will do first, I will invite you for a drink and say “thank you”, because your blog and tweets kicked my ass hardly. You refreshed my motivation when I felt down regarding my business. Thank you!

Last but not least, I am starting my own blog these days, beacuse I think I can say a lot to the world. It is not going to be about advices, it will be more like a book of what it means to running own business together with day job, about fullfilling dreams, etc. I am sure it can inspire many people.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Thanks for such a detailed response, Lukas! You’re obviously pouring a ton of energy and effort into your your business. And you’re right – I do think learning by doing stuff yourself – even if you make mistakes – is the best way. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way for things to really stick. I know that’s been true of myself.

Best of luck in the contest, and with your businesses!

show dialoguehide dialogue
LukasJune 2, 2013

Thank you, Andrew! It’s always pleasure to find someone that is on “same page”.;) Thx!

show dialoguehide dialogue
cristiano perfettiMay 31, 2013

Andrew,
My brother and I will celebrate this year the 20th anniversary of our STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNIT (SBU) shop in Rome, and we think it is a good occasion to finally open our online shop. We design and produce our clothing in Italy and export our product in the best windows worldwide, from America to Japan. We never took part to any show, nor advertised our product in any way. SBU is underground and independent. We always wanted to keep the company small and reactive. No need to tell you the incredible amount of sacrifice spent in these past decades (we started the business at the age of eighteen years old), and the huge number of mistakes we had to pay for! Nonetheless we are happy, determined and well motivated. We love to be free and, mostly, we love SBU as a child.
Since we discovered your articles on the blog of Shopify, about ten days ago, we are fully immersed to understand all what is necessary to build up our online shop, as fast as possible, despite our English and some slowness due to the new terminology and concept. Your vision and comprehension of modern business is as valuable as your competence and skill. We will buy The Complete Edition of the Insider’s Guide in any case, being sure that it will make a big difference in this our new adventure, but we would be honored to be listed among the winners for the blood we left on the arena in countless battles so far. Congratulations, Andrew, and best of luck to you too!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hello Cristiano! Congratulations on the success you’ve had so far with SBU. I just checked out the SBU websites and love the picture of the guy smoking the cigar! Are these your employees? Or models?

Hope the articles here and on Shopify have been helpful, and I wish you the best of luck migrating your business online!

show dialoguehide dialogue
cristiano perfettiJune 1, 2013

Hello Andrew! All portrait showed in the Album section of SBU website belongs to our customers, and has been taken inside the shop. All the best.

show dialoguehide dialogue
MalindaMay 31, 2013

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for this oppertunity!

What will be most beneficial about your course would really be… EVERYTHING. I am sure in every aspect of your course, will be loads of things that I did not know before. Online marketing also remains a challenge for newbies such as myself, but I can’t honestly single anything out. All the content will be helpfull.

I am not sure if I “deserve” to win, more that anyone else who have posted already, but I will be honest and say, should I not win this, I will probably not be able to afford your course. I am working full time, studying in the evenings, to learn how to make the product I will be selling online. I work on weekends and I do research on, online marketing and e-commerce in every spare second I have.

I know I will succeed as, I am extremely motivated to have a life where I can make money while, sleeping, eating, travelling and spending quality time with my family. A life fully lived.

I am a person who does’nt dream of success, I work for it and therefore I know I will achieve it!

Who knows… I might invite you to join me on my private yaught one day 🙂

Malinda

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Thanks for sharing Malinda, and best of luck with the contest! I’m looking forward to hanging out on your yacht soon…. 😉

show dialoguehide dialogue
RavindraMay 31, 2013

I think the one section that will help me the most from the Guide will be the part about find a niche market/product. What can I sell to ensure that I have a successful business and how to find that product? There will be many businesses that will be selling the same product so finding something that is sold by very few competitors if not none is something that I find hard. If I could figure out what I can sell, then I would start my own business.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hey Ravindra! Thanks for sharing. One thing to remember: you’ll never be able to find a product that’s being sold by very few people that is a profitable market. Good niches will always have competition – that means there’s money to be made there! The trick is to find a niche you can effectively compete in, and that isn’t so large that it takes years to start building a business and profits.

Good luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Ramon EspinosaMay 31, 2013

Hello Andrew, this is Ramon Espinosa from Santo Domingo. About a month ago I googled for dropshipping and I came across eCommerceFuel.com. I downloaded your Profitable eCommerce and The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping ebooks, and also followed the link to Mr. AAron Wise’s Doing Business in The USA guide. I have read them because I have made up my mind to open an online store. I’m trying to learn eCommerce and you have helped me a lot so far. And now you present your Insider’s Guide. From its description I understand that it is exactly what I need. I’m sure this couching will eliminate my doubts. I think my biggest problem is the incorporation and the Guide will help me solve it. It would be great if I’m benefited with one of the copies you will be giving away.

Thank you very much,

Ramon

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Hey Ramon! Glad my content’s been helpful, and that the Insider’s Guide looks valuable to you! Best of luck in the contest, and with setting up your new business.

show dialoguehide dialogue
WadeJMay 31, 2013

The biggest thing that I would look for in an e-book/course would be how to find a niche and how to work with suppliers. Thanks for your help so far Andrew

Wade

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianMay 31, 2013

Very welcome, Wade. Good luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
RemiMay 31, 2013

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for putting all the 5 years of your eCommerce experience into this guide. I’m looking forward to start exploring all the material included. What I would probably benefit from at first is the Drop Shipping model but outside the US. Not sure if you or any of your followers had dealt with any suppliers that offer drop shipping business in other countries. I wonder how I could start talking to suppliers in my country that do not offer this option but may be willing to start this kind of business venture.

Thanks again for your 3-month hard work to help beginners and experienced users in eCommerce.

Remi

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Very welcome, Remi! It know there are fewer drop shippers outside of the U.S., but it still should be possible to talk with suppliers and see if you can work out a drop shipping arrangement with them. And if not, there’s always stocking your own product or incorporating in the U.S. and selling to the U.S. market from your home country.

Good luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Jb LilleyMay 31, 2013

I’ve been researching ecommerce for about 3 weeks now and you’re exactly the resource I was looking for. I went back and read all your blog posts and your ebook. Awesome information. I also bought your “How to build a profitable ecommerce store” through startupplays. So my question is… how is this guide different?

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Hey JB! Great question, and I was worried that the difference between the two was a bit confusing.

The difference between the The Insider’s Guide and the Startup Play is that the Insider’s Guide is MUCH more thorough. The Startup Play is a high-level outline that gives you the steps needed to start a store with brief descriptions, but really doesn’t dive into the details. The Insider’s Guide includes detailed videos, interviews, worksheets and screencasts and goes into MUCH more detail on exactly how to do specific things. It also includes numerous worksheets and spreadsheets to help with the process, including a custom-build financial model for estimating niche profitability.

The Insider’s Guide also includes a number of “In Action” screencasts that show you exactly how I do things like create an AdWords account, do keyword research and find suppliers in Google. It also comes with 3 months of SEOMoz for Free – which would normally cost $297.

Ultimately, the two cover similar information but The Insider’s Guide goes into much more detail and walks you through the process in a much more in-depth way. The Startup Play is more of a high-level outline that can get you pointed in the right direction and give you “action items”, but won’t go into as much detail.

If you do decide to get The Insider’s Guide, please email us after purchase and we’ll issue you a refund to credit you for the amount you spent on the Startup Play. 🙂

show dialoguehide dialogue
AdamJune 1, 2013

Hey Andrew,

I first came across ecommercefuel while reading a comment you left on Tim Ferris’ blog about six figure businesses built for less than $100. Since then, I’ve learned a lot from all the information in your ebook, your blog, The Ultimate Dropshipping, etc. Thanks for all the helpful information. It has all been very useful in getting things rolling. Thank you!

I am nearing the “launch” phase and hope to do so near the end on this month. I know that I have a lot to do before then, but I also know I have a lot of resources at my disposal (this blog being at the top of the list!). The biggest hurdle that I think I’ll face after launching my store will be marketing. It seems like that will be the thing that will be the most time consuming. I think that portion of your guide will be the most beneficial to me.

Again, thank you for sharing your ecommerce experiences with of us us. You have definitely helped me to get started on a new veture!

Adam

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Hey Adam! Glad you found me through 4HWW and I think it’s awesome you’re looking to marketing as the biggest priority and challenge – it is. That’s a great sign you’ll spend the necessary time and energy on it.

Best of luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Angela RandevJune 2, 2013

I’ve read your ebook and have been very inspired by all of your blog posts.

I started a website about a year ago and have had trouble getting any natural traffic. I’m lacking in SEO knowledge, and I think your course is exactly what I need to get my site on its feet.

Thank you for the wealth of information you’ve been providing in your blog!

Many thanks,

Angela

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Good luck, Angela!

show dialoguehide dialogue
SheetalJune 2, 2013

I’ve been working so hard to help other people make money. I’d love to put the time and dedication into working for myself, but where to start, it’s a mine field. I have the passion and dedication, but the knowledge from your online course would be absolutely invaluable. It would help me make the changes I’ve been wanting to make for so long.

Sheetal

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Thanks for sharing Sheetal. Best of luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Randy FelizJune 2, 2013

I have been a member for the past year, after loosing my job in the finance world and almost loosing my house to foreclosure, I found your program and purchased the online version for 49.95. It has helped me get to the point of almost launching, I feel I need that little extra that your new program can provide. Your stories have been very inspirational and I feel I can really get this finally up and running, but I need a little bit more knowledge and insight. I can honestly I would not have even gotten this far it it wasn’t for your program. Your next program should be what I need to get this completed and be on my way to a successful business I can attribute all to you and your program.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Hey Randy! Awesome to hear that my material has helped you so far, and that you’re very near launching. If you do decide to get The Insider’s Guide, please email after purchase and we’ll issue you a refund to credit you the $50 you spent on the Startup Play action outline. Good luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
NadineJune 2, 2013

I’ve been looking to start an ecommerce store this year to be able to create a new stream of income, and as I’m working with very limited funds, I’m looking to bootstrap the process. I’ve started doing some research a while ago and discovered your blog and ebook (as well as the dropshipping guide with shopify) which has been of tremendous help in understanding how the process works. My main challenge lies in the niche selection part, I’ve already narrowed down on an ecommerce platform (Shopify) and looking through a dropshipping database at the moment, but struggling to find a scientific approach to choosing the appropriate market to enter. I feel that your course will be of tremendous help in helping me narrow down on a market, and use appropriate marketing strategy once I launch.

Thanks again for all the valuable info you’ve been providing on your site!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Hey Nadine! Picking a niche can be really, really hard – it’s probably the biggest struggle people face when trying to get started. That’s why I spent a ton of time on the Niche Selection module in The Insider’s Guide. It walks you through an entire process from offering tons of niche ideas (including 1000s of magazines, business broker sites, niche products in Google, etc) to filtering out the bad ones to competitive research to finding suppliers to a 5-page decision worksheet to help you pick the best niche. It even includes a niche profitability financial spreadsheet that makes it very easy to get an idea for how profitable a niche will be.

Best of luck with choosing a niche, and good luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Cristian ErivesJune 2, 2013

Dear Andrew:
My name is Cristian Erives; I like your story of successful entrepreneurship and I’m one of your biggest fans.
I like your blog ecommerce fuel a lot and I think your publications are a treasure for anybody that would like to get started into this business.
Your Insider’s guide it’s just an amazing piece of work and even though I think every single module it’s an essential part of this starting process, personally I think the most benefitial modules for me would be:
Module 2:
Picking the Niche market easier.
Module 4:
Marketing your Store as a PRO

For Bonus Points:
I think I deserve to win because I’m just like you.
I wasn’t happy with my job back in my country where I’m from (Mexico), I was working long hours with low pay, I was living frustrated and in the need of new opportunities.
One day I decided to leave everything behind (Family, Friends and a Culture) to come to the USA and start again, looking for the American Dream.
Now after several years of embracing the USA as my Country, learning English and studying, I think finally I’m ready to launch my internet business and I think your Insider’s guide would be one piece of the core in providing me with the right tools in my entrepreneurship.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 2, 2013

Awesome story, Cristian, and a (belated) welcome to the U.S! I can only imagine what a wild experience it’s been over the last few years, and I think it’s impressive you made the decision to pro-actively move to try to improve your working position.

Best of luck with your business and in the giveaway!

show dialoguehide dialogue
CarlosJune 2, 2013

Hi Andrew,

I’ve been reading your blog for a while and helped me to put so many ideas together and easy to know what I would like to do next. Congrats for that!

The main purpose I want to dive myself into eCommerce is, not only for getting the experience and acknowledge and help/share with others, but to help my sister who is in charge of a cosmetic shop here in Spain. (Very difficult business)

I think the best sections from your Great Insider’s Guide that will help me at the beginning are 3) Launching Your Store, 4) Marketing and 5)Store Optimization. Of course I would apply for the Complete Edition as my other big challenge this year is to learn about the other 2 main topics you mentioned (Business Inc and Niche Selection)

I’m not sure whether being outside U.S. is a big issue or not to follow every single advice from your side but I have the solution for that: I would required to read and learn a lot about my regulation (if different) here in Spain and the different strategies to be followed.

I would write much more but I would wait for my next entry 🙂

Wish you the best Andrew and I hope the guys getting the free copy will use it for helping others as well and get fun while learning eCommerce.

Regards,
Carlos

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 11, 2013

Good luck in Spain, and thanks for entering!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Umayr HussainiJune 2, 2013

I’m SHOCKED. When I read you were giving away two copies of “The Insider’s Guide to Building an Online Store”, my heart literally skipped a beat because this is exactly what I need, and this is in one word- amazing! Alright, sorry for posting this sort of late, but I had to make sure I took some time to piece together my thoughts and message, because this means a lot to me.

I won’t go to deeply in my “sob” story, because let’s face it everyone has difficulties, and honestly it’s what you are actively doing to differentiate yourself, in my case it’s learning as much as I can despite not being financially fit to purchase premium content. Alright let’s get on to my story, my parents being immigrants and living in poverty most of their lives have developed a very traditional mind set of success, being that the only way to have a successful life is by doing well in college and pursuing a Masters, and ultimately becoming doctor or lawyer. So they are having a very hard time lending me money so i can start my eCommerce business. Being that I’m in college and I already pay for my own tuition, I took the initiative to get an additional job at Dunkin Donuts to earn some money over the summer so I could fulfill my passion of starting and maintaining an eCommerce store. Since money is already short I know that if I want to succeed and conserve the money I already have, I need to go above and beyond when it comes to learning all the ins and outs of eCommerce, and more specifically drop-shipping, since that’s the business model that is most attractive for my situation. The great thing about being a motivated and passionate individual in this time and age is, no matter what your passion is you can at least become well versed in that area, if not succeed, and even if you don’t have the financial standing to receive face to face training, you can get it online, and frankly Andrew you are contributing towards that future by giving away free copies.

That’s why I took the opportunity to self-learn, basically everything I could with the aid of the plethora of knowledge available online. I became serious about starting an online business, so I read, watched, listened to everything associated with not just eCommerce but business in general. Around March 2013 I subscribed to eCommerce fuel, and I have not only read every single one of your posts, but re-read them including your in-depth EBook, and the ultimate guide to drop shipping. Along with your blog I follow literally every source of information I can. Literally my whole twitter feed is filled with eCommerce related aspects, whether it’s the psychology of a consumer or why drop-shipping isn’t a perfect business model. Ha ha, I won’t lie it’s usually overwhelming the amount of knowledge that goes into making a successful business, but that’s life. Just 6 months ago I knew almost nothing, fast forward to today and I feel confident that I can succeed in eCommerce by Drop-Shipping Niche products, and if I feel if I win it would help immensely.

Your prompt asked “what sacrifices did you make”, and the answer is possibly the most valuable resource of all, TIME. I spend at least 3 hours a day increasing my knowledge with eCommerce related aspects, not just blogs, but related posts on websites such as Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, Quora (one of my favorites), you name it. 3 hours doesn’t seem like much but college, and working to pay tuition takes a lot work. Not only do I try and learn the tips and tricks to eCommerce type of things I also self-learned how to do HTML and CSS from the various sources on the internet so I can honestly say I tried my best. You also asked what would be the most valuable part of your Insider’s guide to Building an Online Store, for me, and sadly I can’t really say. Over the past you have proven that you are one of the leading individuals when it comes to providing free knowledge on eCommerce and specifically the Drop shipping model and every time I read one of your posts, I learn something new, and even if it’s the smallest of things I feel I’m better off than before I read it. Although this is true, if I had to, I mean absolutely must pick one, I would have to say the Niche selection module. I already have a good list of Niche ideas that are worth pursuing but I believe your course would help in further reducing it to the best of the best. Niche selection is in my opinion the most important first step in eCommerce, especially when it comes to drop-shipping mainly because of the margins, but hey there’s always going to be a downside. That’s why I really need this course, since it’s mainly catered to Drop-shipping as it’s based on your background and experience it would really help me a lot since it’s the same business model I’m pursuing.

Overall what I’m trying to say is, alright everyone has a sad story of why they deserve the insider’s guide, and that’s why I didn’t go too deeply into mine, instead I tried to show you why I deserve the Insider’s guide, despite these obstacles. I could be doing what all the other 19 year olds are goofing around, and going to parties, but I value my TIME, and firmly believe that my passion to succeed will pay off, because I’m not just trying to succeed, I will succeed, and I hope you can see that your course will go to a person that will make good use of it. It would really mean the world to me. Thank you for this opportunity.

show dialoguehide dialogue
umayr hussainiJune 5, 2013

Woooohoooo i’m still so psyched i won!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 11, 2013

Congrats Umayr!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Mark BurnsJune 2, 2013

Wow, this course sound like just what I have been waiting for. I have been learning internet marketing for the 4-5 years part
time and six months ago I decided to go full time pro….this is my future! Over the years I have dabbled in all the various
marketing models to see what would work best for me. But recently my sister has hit on some really hard times (lost her job,
lost her home) and I was looking for a way to help get her back on her feet without her having to rely on a pay check that
she has no control over. So I decided that my first real foray into the online world would be to help here set up an online store
business. We chose this model because it is more familiar to her than the information selling model. However, this is the
model I knew least about. So, off I went in search of training, and after paying for various courses and joining groups it led me
to you and eCommerce Fuel. Unfortunately, your new course wasn’t ready yet and I didn’t even know it was in the works. But I read the free guide you offered and it was great….so I just keep waiting for more.

I have looked over the course module descriptions to decide which one would best benefit me and my situation. I would have
to say there likely isn’t one that I couldn’t have got useful info from specially since we have already started setting up a new eCommerce business. I am a Canadian and my sister lives in the US so module one would have helped with the legal and
outside of the US issues.

Module 2 would have really reduced the time we spent slogging through the niche research and market selection. This has
always been a tough one to wrap my head around no matter what business model.

Module 3 would have been helpful in picking the platform to launch from, even though I am familiar with keyword research and SEO etc.

But I would have to say Module 4 “Marketing You New Store Like A Pro” will be the most help for us. Getting traffic (the right
kind of traffic) is a little different than most other business models. But with the Adwords training and a real campaign built
right in the course, will certainly put this course over the top for me. You see, my first try doing Adwords and following other marketing experts got me banned for life from Googles Adwords and Adsense programs. Which sucked big time as I was doing fairly well until Google told me they didn’t like my campaign but wouldn’t tell me why? After hours and hours of reading
through their hundreds of guide line pages (they didn’t have tutorials back then) I sort of guessed what they didn’t like, but
it was too late….banded for life.

Module 5 is all about keeping your store moving upward and increasing rankings and in turn profits. This module will be the desert cream after getting the store off the ground. With Andrew’s long time experience running online stores I’m sure this will be
equally valuable in the long run.

Thanks Andrew.

show dialoguehide dialogue
AdamJune 3, 2013

Hey Andrew,

Super pumped about the Insider’s Guide! I’ve already gone through your Profitable eCommerce guide more than once and loved the recent mini course you shared. The amount and quality of the information you share for free is awesome…definitely more than enough to help people get started on the right foot. So, thank you!

I was laid off from my job a little over 2 months ago and, while it was unexpected and getting laid off is never fun, I have to say that I am glad that it happened. Deep down, I have always wanted to build my own business to live and work by my own set of rules. Instead of jumping right into a new job search, I took some time to figure out what it was that I REALLY wanted to do. I was sure that I wanted to build an online business, but wasn’t exactly sure what or how.

I researched a TON while trying to filter out all of the get rich quick junk that is out there. I want to build a legitimate, long term business that provides value to people. I stumbled across your blog about a month ago while reading the Dropshipper’s Guide at Shopify and instantly new that this is where I want to start.

Since then, my wife and I have put forth a plan to make it happen while paying down our debt at the same time (Dave Ramsey style). It has taken and will take incredible sacrifice from both of us to build this business without me having to get another job in the near future. We have a budget set aside for the business and are narrowing down our list of potential niches (it’s so hard to not just jump on something that sounds exciting!).

We are trying to figure out a way to fit the Insider’s Guide into our budget, but winning it would obviously be awesome! I have the time, motivation, and (thanks to you) a pretty good foundation of knowledge to build a successful store online, but having the in-depth Insider’s Guide would no doubt make the journey a little easier.

show dialoguehide dialogue
Andrew YouderianJune 11, 2013

Love the Dave Ramsey approach – awesome work, Adam. Thanks for entering and best of luck!

show dialoguehide dialogue
Avi LangJune 3, 2013

Hi Andrew

I love this guide you put out and the full training. I think the most beneficial points in your training would be to open and setup the store correctly, and to get the traffic to the store.

So let me go straight to the bonus points. so i am currently working in a job where i hate its so boring my boss doesnt know what he is doing. i have been following everybody on the internet for example empire flipper, nichepursuits, smartpassiveincome and others there all great but your going to be focest on ecommerce sites. my is trying to work on mary kay makeup but its not doing so good i have a very big passing to win this i know what it takes to build an ecommerce site i just need some guidents.

there is another site that teaching you ever step o the way in building an ecommerece site but your is so indepth.

So i want to thank you for this opportunity to try to win one of your copys. I feel i should win bec i have will make good with it and not waist this unbelievable training.

Thank you Andrew

show dialoguehide dialogue
CaroleJune 3, 2013

Hi Andrew,
I would love to win the shop owners edition. I have been putting my first online shop together for the past 5 months, and found your Practical Ecommerce ebook and Start Up Play to be really helpful. It has taken longer to get up and running than I thought it would, but that is partly because I am having a custom website built rather than using an out of the box option. Also I am selling handcrafted furniture and decor, so have been sourcing all of my suppliers through google searches and links from other sites. It’s been a fantastic experience so far, and I haven’t even launched!

I am sending the website to a few friends to get feedback next week, then launching for real! Therefore, I could totally use the store owners version of your new program. I’ve collected a lot of your blog posts in my Evernote file on marketing, so I know there will be great content in it that I’ll be able to use.

Keep up the great work. Between you and Steve Chou I have great mentors.

Regards,
Carole

show dialoguehide dialogue
RicJune 3, 2013

After having a disastrous few years with the GFC wiping out my major clients and seeing my superannuation and property disappear, I am about to embark in an eCommerce operation with 2 partners. We are committing months of research to make sure the products we produce are eco-friendly, our own funds plus borrowing a substantial sum.

I think I’d benefit from the Australian quick start section, SEO and driving traffic to the store, but the whole course is attractive.
Why do I deserve to win? Ah… because I am a thoroughly decent chap! Seriously though, it would be nice bonus to get something free, but my main focus is to get it right. Three of us have our futures, and our childrens’ futures motivating us, plus a commitment to a charity (stem cell research) as a tribute to the disabled person who has faith in us and providing the loan. We have an obligation to succeed.

show dialoguehide dialogue