While it may seem obvious to use e-commerce tools when selling products online, did you know you can use them to sell your B2B writing services too?
Of course you can! You’re delivering a digital product, so why not use a digital, online e-commerce tool to help you optimize your workflow. This way you’ll spend less time on your administrative tasks and get back to what you do best, writing (or what’s best for your business, marketing).
Let’s take a look at the reasons why clever freelancers have been using e-commerce tools in their businesses and how you can, too.
Reason 1: Get paid faster
All B2B writers have experienced the dreaded net 60 or net 90 payment terms at some point, and it can put a serious crimp in your cash flow. Yet because this is how they normally deal with their vendors, you’re treated the same way.
But unlike most enterprise vendors, you can’t always deal with a 60- or 90-day delay, especially if you’re just starting out.
By using an e-commerce tool on your website, you’ll ensure you get paid before you deliver the final product to them.
Reason 2: Bundle your services more efficiently
Once you’ve been freelancing for a while, you may have built up a catalog of services you offer your clients. Why not bundle them together into packages and sell those alongside the individual items? Think of it as the Combo Menu from your favorite fast food joint.
For example, you could offer a standard package for $1,000 that included:
- A one-hour consultation
- A series of five blog posts
- An e-book based on the blog posts
- A checklist to use as a bait piece for the e-book
Clients may be more likely to choose the package over any individual item on the list simply because they feel like they’re getting more.
Top Click Marketing does this with their website writing packages, as does Plus Origin with their architectural drawing packages.
Reason 3: Sell complementary products alongside your services
Take a look at any coach or instructor, and you’ll see that after they’ve been in business for a few years, they start offering digital products like e-books for download. Usually they’re related to their business, and make great companion pieces to their main service business.
The e-commerce solution lets you add this additional revenue stream to your website easily, so you can start generating sales quickly.
Audience Ops initially started as a content marketing firm, offering writing services to businesses, but recently they added some WordPress plug-ins for sale as well (such as their landing page plug-in). Clients can purchase these plug-ins individually without being an Audience Ops client.
Yet the smart B2B writers out there will have noticed that these clients probably sign up for a writing package after buying the plug-in, as they need content to fill out the web pages the plug-ins create.
Having the plug-in by itself is great, since it saves them time when creating landing pages, but they often don’t have the time to write content that’s engaging enough for their prospects. Who do they go to? You got it, Audience Ops.
B2B writers could do the same, by offering a product that relates to their writing services but could still function without, such as a checklist, e-book, or plug-in. If you’re able to tie it in to your services like Audience Ops does, even better.
Reason 4: Bill your recurring clients automatically
B2B writing businesses that have a lot of retainer work like email newsletters, email autoresponders, and corporate blogs are the perfect candidates for an e-commerce solution. Why? Because they’re repeatable, billable services.
Think of them as subscriptions, and it’ll make more sense: A monthly subscription for five blog posts per month or an annual subscription for monthly newsletters.
By calling it a subscription, you ensure you’re paid on time every month because the e-commerce solution does all the billing and collecting for you.
Reason 5: Save on transaction fees
Some services like LemonStand offer no transaction fee options on any of their plans, thereby saving you anywhere from 2% to 4% per transaction. PayPal, for example, charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, though if you do enough volume, you can get that fee reduced.
Reason 6: Save on website design costs
Online e-commerce tools like Shopify also offer e-commerce website templates you can use for your entire website, not just the sales pages.
This saves you money on website design, and also gets you responsive and helpful technical support, including guides, videos, podcasts, and forums staffed by Shopify experts on a regular basis.
Are you ready for e-commerce tools?
There you have it, six reasons why you might want to consider using e-commerce tools on your B2B freelancing website.
It’ll take a little extra work to set it up on your site, but once you’re done, you’re ready to go.
Your website and business will look more professional to prospects and clients, and you’ll save on admin time for your business — which will leave you more time to market your business… or write the next project on your calendar… or participate in a client consultation call.
Author’s Note: Here’s a quick list of e-commerce tools to check out:
