Who are Shopify Experts
Shopify Experts are highly skilled and reliable professionals who assist Shopify merchants in establishing and growing their online business. These Shopify community members offer top-notch services to merchants in the required area. Shopify experts can specialise in a variety of fields according to their preference and interests, for example, branding, store setup and development, content writing, marketing, sales and much more.
Particularly, Shopify Experts could be:
- Freelancers
- Marketplace
- Shopify web designers
- Shopify theme and app developers
- Business consultants
- Agencies specialising in Shopify or e-commerce
Difference Between Shopify Experts And Shopify Partners
Shopify Experts and Shopify Partners are quite similar but there’s a difference as well. Consider it as two sides of the same coin. To become a Shopify expert, one has to first become a Shopify partner. For this, one has to register a partner account. While everyone can become a Shopify partner, everyone cannot become a Shopify expert. Shopify partners are professionals belonging to various fields of e-commerce. With partner account, one can develop and design unlimited stores at Shopify and earn money with referrals.
However, one needs to fulfill two important conditions to become Shopify expert and be showcased at Shopify Experts Marketplace. Firstly, you should have a track record of 5 stores that you have helped succeed and also must launch minimum six stores a year to retain the expert status. Experts are ranked in one of the six categories of Shopify expert. To become a certified expert, you need to fill a request form. Later, expert operation team of Shopify will review your portfolio and contact you if you are selected. Only limited applicants get approval to set up shop at Experts Marketplace, hence, competition is quite tough.
Experts Marketplace
Shopify merchants can hire experts from the Experts Marketplace. It is a vast sales channel which helps Shopify experts get more work. One should be an established agency or a freelancer before applying. Shopify has six categories of experts each of which provide a different service:
- Marketing And Sales Experts – These experts help in marketing and sales related activities of Shopify store.
- Store Setup Experts – Shopify merchants can launch store with the help of store setup experts.
- Development And Troubleshooting Experts – These experts assist merchants when there’s some issue with the website or if any application needs to be created.
- Visual Content And Branding Experts – Shopify merchants can take their help to create a brand image with high-quality visuals and images.
- Content Writing Experts – When it comes to engaging shoppers with text, these Shopify experts will come to your rescue.
- Guidance Experts – Professional guidance to build a business adds some extra value. These experts are meant to do that.
How You Can Become a Shopify Expert?
One cannot become Shopify expert by just having skill and knowledge in a specific field. You also need to boost your business profile and constantly enhance your skills. Below we have listed some suggestions that can help you become a Shopify expert.
Master Your Field Of Work
1. Enhance Skills
To be called an expert, you need to excel in a specialised field. In this case, one should have strong knowledge and skills related to Shopify and e-commerce. For example, if you are a visual content and branding manager, you should know how to create a page visually appealing, factors that make a website informative and attractive at the same, how to put together elements without making it clutter, help customers glued to the page and so on.
2. Constantly Gain Knowledge
E-commerce landscape is changing round-the-clock; hence, it has become crucial to learn new things every day. If you do not want to lag behind, then staying updated is the key. Shopify Partner can access Shopify Academy where there is option of different courses. Shopify Compass offers tutorials and webinars related to e-commerce, marketing and store development among others. You can even get certificates by completing the course and taking exams in Shopify Partner dashboard. You can even follow social media handles of Shopify Partners, Shopify Entrepreneurs and Shopify Community and learn from the discussion taking place in the group.
3. Help Merchants
Experts can’t be experts without helping people. Sharing knowledge and insights with others can help you hone your skills and learn rapidly. It is also a beneficial way of building your image among Shopify merchants. You can assist business owners in e-commerce groups, forums, Shopify community and even on Quora and Reddit. There is also an option of creating educational content through which you can not only establish yourself as an expertise in the community but also promote your business. The most common ways to do this is to start blogging, YouTube channel, hold webinars and produce courses.
4. Strengthen Portfolio
A strong profile is an important condition to become a certified Shopify Expert. Though a time-taking process, but once you have created and established your brand image, nothing can stop you.
4.1. Grab More Projects
To be a certified Shopify Expert, you need to find as much clients as possible. There are a number of mediums through which you can win customers for your business. Some suggestions have been listed below:
a. Webinars: Webinars is a medium through which you can exhibit your expertise, do brand promotion and meet potential customers and partners.
b. Freelance Marketplaces: Freelance marketplace is the first to come in mind when it comes to hiring web developers, content creators or web designers. Even popular brands like Microsoft and Google rely on popular marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork.
c. Communities And Forums: Communities and forums are quite popular among Shopify merchants as they find solutions regarding their businesses here. When a merchant drops a comment requesting others to help solve an issue, it is also a small way of introducing one’s business.
d. Partnership Programs: You can also earn customers via partnership program with other Shopify partners. It is basically a win-win situation for both the partners. One gets introduced to new potential customers through partners as they refer business owners to avail your service and vice versa.
e. Social Media: You can also win customers through Facebook and LinkedIn by building your brand image. Social media platforms are communication tools, you can interact with more number of people and take their help in earning clients.
4.2. Brand Marketing
People won’t suddenly get to know about your brand and services. You need to put effort into promotion, branding and marketing activities. If you do not pay attention to popularising your brand, the chance of earning new customers get thin. An impressive profile can help you win not only clients and partners but also Shopify. Here’s what you need to do:
a. Focus On Single Social Media Channel: You can work on expanding your business by working on a single social media at one time. As you know that social media is vast ocean, opportunities are innumerable with access to global audience. However, being greedy would be of no help. Investing in all social media platforms would only be waste of time and money. Pick the channels which you believe can work better for the kind of audience your business focusses.
b. Educate Merchants: By educating merchants with your knowledge, you can create a trustworthy image of your brand.
c. Use Client Testimonials: Client reviews are great addition to your portfolio. They are real proofs of your expertise, high-quality service and commitment.
d. Word-of-Mouth Marketing: It is important to nurture and respect your relationships with your clients and partners. Word-of-mouth marketing still impacts purchasing decision of a person. Positive reviews of your work will help you attract more potential clients and create brand awareness.
4.3. Expand Your Offerings
It is useful to offer a range of products and services. When you have expertise in more than one area, clients have more reasons to stick with you. Diversification and broadening your services and products, not only helps you in retaining customers but also help you grow in new direction with fresh set of skill and knowledge. With expertise in diverse fields, chance of getting certified by Shopify also increases.
