Intro to Setting up an Online Store: EP19


The Ag Engineering podcast is a conversation with small scale fruit and vegetable farmers to discuss tools, tips or techniques to improve the sustainability of your farm. In this episode, we talk with Zachary Smith (zachary.m.smith@uvm.edu) of the University of Vermont Extension Farm Viability Program to talk about what farmers need to think about when deciding to get started with eCommerce.

Show Notes/Chapters

2:38 Platform introduction & marketing plan

  • Hosting & domain
  • Keep your domain (website) name simple. ex) xfarm.com
  • Quick start to an online store? Shopify

7:31 What do farmers need to know?

  • It’s going to take some dedicated time. Upwards of 40hours to get fully set-up. 
  • Use the customer service
  • Find a younger peer who is knowledgeable to help if need be

10:06 How did you learn about this subject? 

13:31 What’s the reason for an online store anyways?

14:54 Features to look for in different platforms

  1. Support
  2. Security (ssl certificate)
  3. Knowing your contract terms & fees
  4. Shipping support
  5. Social media integration

18:22 Is paid advertising required? No, but you should. 

  • Ways to get traffic (potential customers) to your website.
    • Direct traffic (people that know you already)
    • Social Media
    • SEO (Search engine optimization)
      • And add Google Analytics to know where your traffic is coming from! 

23:44 Other ways to get traffic? 

27:20 CSA Management Programs

28:55 Cost of an online store?

  • Average costs are ~$200 to set-up and get going then $30-80/month

29:22 Key Take Aways

  • Give it time and have patience

Listen to this Episode

Transcript


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