June 2022

Our new monthly newsletter is here! Get the inside scoop on all things e-commerce.

We’re happy to announce our redesigned, refurbished, and refreshed monthly newsletter—E-Comm Unboxed.

Once a month, we’ll be delivering major updates—from the e-commerce world, our partners, and here at Soapbox—to your inbox.

If you have any feedback or would like to contribute, let us know.

Now, let’s kick off the first edition with newsworthy developments in summer sales strategies.

The Front Page

In The News

4 Strategies to Boost Summer Sales

Having a product to sell and a platform to sell on is essential for e-commerce sellers. However, it is also vital that each business has a sales strategy in place.

In our latest blog article, we tackle the “summer sales slump” and offer four sales strategies to keep your business hot this summer. Head to our blog to read more, or check out our key takeaways below:

1. Sales strategies should be constantly evolving depending on your business model and customer preferences.
2. You can use more than one sales strategy at a time, targeting various segments of your customers.
3. A comprehensive sales strategy should address old, new, and prospective customers.

How Does Inventory Financing Work?

Business owners often depend on a business loan in order to launch their brand. However, there are other (better) options besides a traditional loan.

How so?

1. Inventory financing may be provided as a lump sum or a revolving line of credit.
2. The difference between inventory financing and other types of loans is that the money must be used for inventory. The inventory is used as collateral so that, if a company defaults on their loan, they could lose their inventory.
3. Any type of company that sells inventory can qualify for inventory financing.

If you're interested, learn how inventory financing from Kickfurther can help your business.

The Anatomy of a Good Social Media Post

Our final story is a quick read on the anatomy of a good social media post.

Trends come and go on social media, but the basics of a good post don’t have to change:

1. Step One: Hook your audience
2. Step Two: Provide context
3. Step Three: Hit them with a zinger

If you’re looking for a content marketing platform to grow your brand's presence, check out StoryChief.

Soapbox Announcements

We’re Hiring! We’re currently looking to add a Senior Python Engineer and a Senior JavaScript Engineer to our team. Both positions are full-time and remote. If you’re interested, head to our hiring page and learn more.

We're excited to announce that Soapbox is now available on the Shopify App Store. You can easily access our platform and manage your orders, inventory, shipping, warehousing, and returns from the Shopify 3rd-party app section. To learn more, head to the Shopify App Store.

Tech Talk

We introduced new features, made enhancements, and applied a few bug fixes to our software in May.

Let’s take a look at the biggest updates:

New Features

• Additional delivery options for UPS: Users can now select additional delivery options when UPS is the selected carrier. This includes delivery confirmation, carbon neutral, direct delivery only, Quantum view notifications, Saturday delivery, and require adult signature.
• Additional Handling option for UPS: Users can manually toggle this option if their shipment requires special handling due to size, weight, or packaging material.
• Residential address checkbox: Users can flag addresses for residential delivery.

Enhancements

• Address Force Override has been added to the Custom Order modal.
• Hovering over a bundle icon in Order Details displays the contents of the bundle.
• Number badges have been added to Fulfillment on the side navigation pane. This allows users to see how many orders are open or on hold.
• Hovering over a long product name and SKU in Order Details will display the full text.
• Users can view the full product name or SKU with an easily-accessible COPY function.

Bug Fixes

If you recently encountered any of the following bugs on the Soapbox platform, they have now been fixed:

• Receiving inbound shipments doubling inventory
• Custom Order Shipment weight was not updated when adding more than one product
• Unable to generate return labels
• Viewing the last page of orders was not displaying properly

Curious about how our software can help your business? You can create a free account or attend our Platform Demo Webinars every Monday from 10-10:30 AM PST.

Click here to add our webinar to your calendar.

Outside The Box Insights

In our third exciting update, we can officially reveal E-Comm Elevated, our Soapbox-produced podcast. We launched E-Comm Elevated to provide a platform for thought leadership and to share exciting, transformational ideas in the digital commerce space.

Our opening act features Joe Spisak, serial entrepreneur and 4x founder of two successful D2C brands, a 3PL, and a full-stack marketing agency.

So, grab some popcorn and a notepad, pull up a chair, and prepare yourself for an insight blast from our conversation with Joe.

If you’d rather read than listen, check out our interview in Q&A format. For those short on time, here is a quick summary:

• It’s okay to start your business small and part-time. Even if your business is a side hustle, you’ll see growth over time as you put hours and work into the brand.
• When it comes to creating ads and social media posts for e-commerce brands, TikTok is king. The social media platform also provides TikTok Spark Ads, which are designed to spark conversation and interactions between creators, brands, and the community.
• Don’t overextend yourself when it comes to creating ads and social media posts. Find a niche and a system that works for you. Once you’ve identified that system, continue to implement it in different ways.

If you 1) know someone who would be a great guest on E-Comm Elevated or 2) want to share your own experience in e-commerce, fill out our Podcast Guest Form and we’ll be in touch!

Network News

Sharing is caring, and we love talking about the great customers and partners that are working with Soapbox. This space is dedicated to updates, announcements, and cool innovations coming from our partners and customers. Let’s dive in!

Customer Portal

Small Business Spotlight: SensorPush

Looking to make a better humidity and temperature sensor, Jonathan Cousins and Nick Sears co-founded SensorPush. Now, whether you’re a beekeeper, cigar collector, or piano tuner, monitoring climate conditions has never been easier.

Partner Portal

FlavorCloud

FlavorCloud makes global shipping easy, affordable, and friction-free. They provide the largest cross-border shipping carrier network, along with managed services and customs expertise. By working with FlavorCloud, you can expect improved international conversion rates and more returning customers thanks to a seamless cross-border shipping process.

KickFurther

KickFurther is the first online inventory funding platform, helping businesses in need of funding. From $20,000 - $1,000,000, brands choose KickFurther because of their lower costs, higher limits, and flexible terms that are not available elsewhere.

A Look Ahead

July brings vacation, heat, and significant e-commerce growth opportunities. Between sales, summer shopping, and *gasps* Q4 prep, there’s plenty going on during this typical “down month.”

We’re staying busy at Soapbox HQ as well, with fresh insight coming your way all throughout July. Here’s a peek at topics we’ll be tackling in upcoming content.

• The Art (and Science) of Running an E-Commerce Sale: Regardless of how profitable you think your business is, the numbers don’t lie. In this article, we’ll share our knowledge on calculating sales profitability.
• Product Sourcing: A Beginner’s Guide: This article will detail the basics of creating and/or sourcing products. We’ll dive into the pros and cons of each type of product sourcing and help you determine which is right for your brand.
• E-Comm Elevated Featured Guests:
• Nick Malinowski and Parker Barnes, Co-Founders of OTW Shipping
• Michelle Bryer, COO of SKU
• Aaron Knipp, Owner of The CICO Company

Closing Thoughts

Thank you for reading the first edition of E-Comm Unboxed. We’ll see you next month with more updates, insights, and inside scoops from the world of e-commerce.

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