Selling physical products online: get these right before you advertise

Know your margins

Work out what you keep from each order after the product, packaging, delivery, payment fees and returns. That's what pays for your ads. Thin margins aren't fatal, but they mean you need bigger orders or repeat customers to make ads pay.

Let the product page do the selling

• Clear photos from every angle, and the product in use.
• A short video where it helps people understand size, texture or how it works.
• Answers to the questions customers ask: sizing, materials, care, what's in the box.
• The price, delivery cost and delivery time, visible before checkout.

Take the surprises out of checkout

Unexpected delivery costs and forced account sign-ups lose sales at the very last step. Show delivery costs early, allow guest checkout and offer the ways to pay your customers expect.

Collect reviews from day one

Reviews with photos reassure new buyers more than anything you can say yourself. Ask every customer, at the right moment, and make it easy.

Make bigger orders worthwhile

Bundles, free delivery over a sensible amount, and useful add-ons all raise the value of each order, which gives you more room to pay for ads.

Then advertise

With pages that convert and margins you understand, ads become a dial you can turn up and down. Judge them on profit per order, not just sales.