a woman holding several banknotes which are on fire
My Step-by-Step Plan to Launch an Online Store (And Learn Marketing by Failing)

What’s in My Portfolio (Spoiler: It’s Not Perfect)

Most people start online stores to make money. I’m starting one to make mistakes—because the best way to learn digital marketing isn’t through courses, it’s by setting fire to £50 in ad spend and watching what happens.

Here’s my no-frills plan to turn a store into a marketing lab, step by step.

Step 1: Pick a Product and a Niche and Set Up Shop (Fast)

I’m not spending weeks agonizing over the “perfect” product. The goal is to get to the marketing part ASAP—because that’s where the learning happens. This means I’m choosing a product that’s easy to ship (think digital downloads, print-on-demand, or trending small items) to avoid getting bogged down in logistics nightmares.

First, I’ll do the market research:

 

  • Keyword tools like Google Trends or AnswerThePublic to spot demand.
  • Social listening on Reddit or TikTok to find niche audiences (“Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with [trending product]?”).
  • Reviewing competitor ads on Facebook Ad Library. What’s working? Can I do it better?

I’ll be setting up shop on Shopify because it’s quick and built for e-commerce. The site? Clean, simple, and optimized for conversions—no fluff, just a solid product page with an SEO-friendly description.

Step 2: Drive Traffic with Paid Ads and SEO (Digital Marketing in Action)

I’m starting with paid ads first because they provide instant traffic and data, so I can experiment and see results. SEO is a long game—it’s crucial, but I need fast feedback to test product-market fit and ad creatives before I double down on organic growth.

Paid Ads

  • Google Ads: Target people searching for the product.
  • Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram): Test different ad creatives.
  • Start small: £5-£10/day per campaign and adjust based on real data.

SEO

While ads bring in quick wins, SEO builds long-term traffic.

  • Keyword research: What are people searching for?
  • Content marketing: Blog posts, backlinks, and product page optimization.
  • A/B testing: Headlines, images, and CTAs—tweaking until conversion rates climb.

Ads aren’t about throwing money at the wall—they’re mini-experiments. I’ll track what works, tweak what doesn’t, and double down on what converts.

"...the best way to learn digital marketing isn’t through courses, it’s by setting fire to £50 in ad spend and watching what happens."

Step 3: Build an Email List and Retarget Visitors

Why email marketing? It’s the secret weapon of digital marketers—earning £38 for every £1 spent, retargeting visitors who abandoned carts, and running automated campaigns that convert while you sleep. It’s budget-friendly, persistent, and ruthlessly efficient.

  • Set up email automations—welcome sequences, abandoned cart emails, and promotional campaigns.
  • Capture leads with a discount offer or freebie (because people love free stuff).
  • Run retargeting ads to bring back visitors who didn’t buy the first time.

People rarely purchase on impulse. That’s why smart marketers build systems that bring them back.

Step 4: Analyse, Optimise, and Scale

Once traffic is coming in, it’s time for the real game—optimizing every click, email, and ad to squeeze out better results. No guessing. No gut feelings. Just data. I’ll adjust, optimise, and scale based on real numbers, not wishful thinking

 

  • Track everything: Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, email performance.
  • Kill the losers, scale the winners: If an ad isn’t converting, it’s gone. If an email subject line gets a 30% open rate, I’ll test variations to improve it.
  • Experiment relentlessly: A/B testing on ads, emails, product pages—because even a 1% boost in conversion rate matters

The Big Picture: Why This Experiment Matters

This store isn’t about sales—it’s about proof. Proof I can run ads, fix SEO, and turn visitors into email subscribers. Even if it flops, I’ll have case studies, failed campaigns, and angry Reddit comments to show employers.

The key? Keep the product simple. The real work is in marketing, optimisation, and scaling.

Want to see how this plays out? Follow my blog as I crash-and-burn (or maybe soar). And if you’re building your own, drop me an email—I’ll send you my “10 Mistakes to Make ASAP” checklist.