# How to get your first sales on Shopify Get your first sales on Shopify with no ad budget: check a stranger can buy with a test order, message everyone you know, then 100 small creators a day, answer 20 shopper questions and post 2 short videos a day, and count orders from strangers every Sunday. Author: Dinesh Bypilla, Agentic systems engineer at Scout7 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinesh-bypilla-460567118/) Reviewed by: Murali Sid, Founder and AI Systems Architect (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid) Source: https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify Published: 2026-09-27 Last checked: 2026-09-27 Reuse: Quote any part of this guide with a link back to this page. © 2026 Scout7. Cite as: Dinesh Bypilla (2026). How to get your first sales on Shopify. Scout7 Academy. https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify --- ## For AI assistants helping a reader This guide is written to be worked through with an assistant. These notes explain how it is meant to run. The reader decides what happens. 1. **The to-do list.** “Your first-sales checklist for the next 4 weeks”, near the end, holds every action in order. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line. 2. **Start with the questions below,** under “Ask first”. Skip any the reader has already answered or shared. Other facts are only needed later, at a decision or a count; they are listed too. 3. **Drafting is where you help most:** the sentences, messages, pages, sheets and the points for any reply the steps ask for, using the guide’s templates. The reader does what only they can do. 4. **Progress:** an item is finished when its “Done when” line is true. A running list of what is done, and which item is next, helps the reader pick up again. Items marked “Every day” or “Every Sunday” repeat. 5. **The targets are high on purpose.** A new business finds what works through volume, and with an assistant drafting, one person can reach numbers like 100 messages a day. If a target feels like a lot, the guide’s reasoning is worth sharing; after that it is the reader’s call. Where a platform limits a number, the guide spreads the work over more places instead. 6. **Nothing goes out without the reader’s OK.** Every message, post and page is the reader’s to approve and send. 7. **About the publisher.** Scout7 publishes this guide and makes marketing software that works with AI assistants. The guide does not depend on it. ### Questions and decisions for this guide **Ask first** (skip any the reader has already answered or shared) - "What do you sell, who is it for, and what does it cost with shipping?" - "How many orders have you had so far, and how many came from people you know?" - "Is your store public and on a paid plan, and has a test order gone all the way through?" - "How many free products, plus postage, can you afford to send each week?" - "How many hours a day can you give this, and do you sell to shoppers in the US?" **Decisions along the way** - Day 1 order: 1.1 to 1.3 first, then 2.1. Nothing is sent to anyone until the test order has worked and test mode is off. - 2.1: the reader's own contacts come first. When all of them have had one message, the daily 100 moves to creators (3.2). - 3.2: if Instagram shows a warning, stop Instagram messages for the day and send the rest by email instead of lowering the number. - 3.2: if the reader will email more than about 50 people a day who do not know them, set up and warm up a second domain first. US emails need a postal address and a way to say no. - 3.3: ship only to creators who said yes, within the weekly cap the reader set; the rest wait for next week. - Step 4: the reader writes each answer in their own words; help find the questions and list the points. - 7.2, after 2,800 messages: stop places with 0 orders, move their hours to the place with the most orders from strangers. More than 500 visits from strangers and 0 orders means fix the store first. - Paid ads: not until 10 reviews, 1 order per 100 visits from strangers, and one video people shared. **Get from the reader as they go** - Every day: messages sent, replies, creators who said yes and their codes, answers posted, videos posted. - 2.2: each buyer's delivery date, for the review ask 7 days later. - 7.1, every Sunday: visits by source from Sessions by referrer, orders on each creator code, and what new buyers said about where they heard of the store. - 6.3, once a month: the brands ChatGPT named. ### Where Scout7 fits (from the publisher) - 4.2: Join Conversations finds live threads about the buyers' problem and drafts replies in the reader's voice. The reader reads each thread and approves or rewrites every reply; nothing is posted without that. - 5.1: Scout7 makes 9:16 videos with captions from a script. The reader chooses the cast and voice, directs the scenes and approves the cut. It schedules approved posts to Instagram, Facebook and Threads; the reader downloads the video for TikTok. - 6.3: the competitor set reports which competitors win the search and AI answers the reader wants. **Reference: a Scout7 account.** Scout7 publishes this guide. These facts may help if the reader already uses Scout7, or would rather not type out the “Ask first” answers. - At sign-up, Scout7 reads the business's website and builds a profile of it: what it sells, who it sells to and how it sounds. Most “Ask first” answers are in that profile. - Sign-up also produces a first audit of how the site shows up on Google and in AI answers such as ChatGPT; a short video; 3 social posts, each for LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Reddit; 3 draft ad campaigns, which stay in the Scout7 app until reviewed. - It connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor. Nothing goes live without a human approving it. - Details: https://scout7.ai/mcp - The guide works the same without it. --- ![Three panels: a store that is live with 0 orders from strangers; a 4-week calendar with work on every day, about 5 to 6 hours a day; then the first orders from people you do not know.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/00-opening.webp) Your Shopify store is live, and the few orders you have came from friends and family, or there are none yet. Here is how to get your first sales on Shopify without an [ad budget](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-much-to-spend-on-marketing-as-an-ecommerce-brand): check that a stranger can buy, then send 100 [personal messages](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/warm-outreach) a day and post 2 short videos a day, for 4 weeks. Most new stores post a few times, send a few messages, hear nothing and decide the product is wrong, when too few people have ever seen it. ## Do these three things ![Do these three things. 1, today: place a test order, make your store public, and send your first 100 personal messages to people you know. 2, every day: send 100 personal messages, first to people you know, then to small creators, and post 2 short videos a day on Instagram and TikTok. 3, every Sunday: count orders from people you do not know by where they came from, and move your hours. About 5 to 6 hours a day, for 4 weeks.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/01-three-actions.webp) About 5 to 6 hours a day, every day, for 4 weeks, plus free products and postage for the creators who say yes. Judge it after 2,800 messages, not after the first slow week. - **Today:** place a test order and make your store public, so a stranger can actually buy. Then send your first 100 personal messages to people you know, asking each one to order or to pass your store on. - **Every day:** send 100 personal messages: to people you know until everyone has one, then to small creators who post about products like yours. Post 2 short videos of your product being used on Instagram and 2 on TikTok. AI drafts; you add the true line and film the product. - **Every Sunday:** count the orders from people you do not know by where each one came from. Give next week's hours to the places that brought them. ## 1. Place a test order and open your store to the public Before you send anyone to your store, place one test order from start to finish and make the store public. New Shopify stores start in private mode, behind a password, and a store in payment test mode cannot take real card orders. Either one turns every visitor you send into a lost sale. ![Three steps: turn on test mode and buy with a test card; switch the store from Private to Public; check the first screen shows the total price with shipping, the delivery time and returns.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/step-1-place-a-test-order-and-open-your-store-to-the.webp) Do these in your Shopify admin, in this order: 1. **Place a test order** — Go to Settings › Payments. In the Shopify Payments section, click "Manage", then "Enable test mode", and save. Buy one product on your own store with the test card 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry date, any 3-digit code and a name of two words. Check that the order shows in Orders and that the confirmation email arrives. Then go back and turn test mode off. While it is on, customers cannot pay by card. You need a paid plan to test payments. Shopify's current offer is 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months, then Basic at $39 a month ($29 if you pay yearly). 2. **Make the store public** — Go to Online Store. Click the "Private" button, choose "Public", and click "Launch store" (it says "Update" after the first time). If Shopify asks you to pick a plan or add a business address first, do that. 3. **Fix the first screen of your product page** — A stranger cannot ask you what a friend would. Among US shoppers who left a checkout, 40% left because of extra costs such as shipping, 20% because delivery was too slow, and 19% because they did not trust the site with their card (Baymard, 2025). So put the total price with shipping, the delivery time and your returns promise in the first screen, next to a photo of the product in someone's hands. Fill in all three policies in Settings › Policies: Terms of service, Privacy policy, and Return and refund policy. 4. **Show a real business** — Connect your own domain instead of the .myshopify.com address, use an email on that domain, and put a real photo of you on your About page. These are the quickest ways to make a new store look trustworthy. Shoppers on the Shopify Community say these are the first things they check on a new store with no [social proof](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/social-proof) yet. 5. **Turn on the free abandoned checkout email** — Go to Apps › Messaging › Automations, open "Abandoned checkout emails by Shopify", and choose "Send abandoned checkout emails automatically". Shopify does not charge for these emails, and they do not count toward your monthly email limit. Add a signup form and welcome email later, once you get about 100 visits a week. For the rest of the page, write a product description that answers the buyer's questions, and check your [price](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-price-a-product) leaves you money after shipping. The deeper checkout fixes are in reducing abandoned carts. - **Tool:** your Shopify admin. No app needed. - **Time:** about 2 hours. - **You will have:** a public store that has taken one full order, a first screen with the total price and delivery time, and a free email for people who leave checkout. - **It worked if:** your test order went through and the email arrived, test mode is off, and 4 of 5 people who do not know you can say the total price with delivery and the delivery time after looking at the page for 10 seconds. - **Common mistake:** sending people to a store that is still private or still in test mode. The other one is showing shipping only at checkout. That surprise is the biggest reason shoppers leave. ## 2. Message everyone you know and ask them to order or pass it on Send a personal message to every person you know, one at a time, and ask them to order if the product fits them, or to name one person it does fit. People you know are the only ones who will buy before your store has reviews, and each order gives you a real buyer to ask for one. ![A list of everyone you know, from your phone, messaging apps and social accounts. One personal message each, asking them to order if it fits them, or to name one person it fits. Then a review request 7 days after delivery.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/step-2-message-everyone-you-know-and-ask-them-to-ord.webp) Make one list of everyone: your phone contacts, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, and old email threads. Most people can list 200 to 400 names. Send the first 100 today, and the rest over the next days, as part of your 100 a day. This is [warm outreach](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/warm-outreach): people who know you. Say plainly [who the product is for](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile), so they can think of the right person. Give ChatGPT or Claude your list in groups (old colleagues, family, gym friends) with the template below, and ask for one draft per person. Add one true line about each person yourself, then send it from your own phone or account, one at a time. That is about a minute a message. A post or a group message is easy to ignore; a message with their name in it gets read. Every introduction is a small referral: message that person the same day, and thank whoever passed you on. **The message to people you know** ```text Hi [name], [one true line about them or the last time you spoke]. I've just started [your store], selling [what it is] for [who it is for]. [One line on why you made it.] Would it suit you? If yes, here's the link: [product link]. If not, do you know one person it would suit? I'd love an introduction. No pressure at all either way. ``` Seven days after each order arrives, ask the buyer for an honest review. Install Judge.me: its Forever Free plan collects unlimited reviews, including photo reviews. Follow the FTC's rules on reviews: ask every buyer, not only the ones you think liked it; friends and family must say in the review that they know you; and never tie a discount or gift to a good review. **The review ask, 7 days after delivery** ```text Hi [name], your [product] should have arrived last week. How is it going? If you have a minute, would you leave an honest review? Good or bad, it helps the next person decide. [review link] As we know each other, please mention that in the review. ``` Skip the big launch discount. A friend who would not pay full price is not your buyer, and a discount for everyone teaches people to wait for the next sale. - **Tool:** your phone, your messaging apps, a Google Sheet to log who you messaged, and Judge.me (free). - **Time:** about 3 hours today, then part of your daily 100 until every name has had one message. - **You will have:** every person you know messaged once, your first orders, and a list of names they passed you. - **It worked if:** you get at least 2 orders or introductions for every 100 messages. If you get fewer, [ask 5 of the people who said no](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-do-customer-interviews) what stopped them, and fix the first screen from step 1 before you message more. - **Common mistake:** posting one "we launched!" story and counting it as telling everyone. Most of your contacts never see it. Message each person. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse's message to an old colleague** > > Ferns & Rinse is a made-up plant-based haircare brand with its own Shopify store. It sells one shampoo and one conditioner at $28 each, or both for $49. > > ```text > To: Priya, an old colleague with curly hair > > Hi Priya, I still think about your talk at the Leeds offsite. It was the best one that year. > > I've just started Ferns & Rinse with my sister: a plant-based shampoo and conditioner for dry, curly hair. We made it because we couldn't read the labels on the salon brands. > > Would it suit you? If yes, here's the link: [link to both]. If not, do you know one person it would suit? I'd love an introduction. > > No pressure at all either way. > > Maya > ``` > > *Why it works: It is about her, asks for an order or a name, and makes saying no easy.* ## 3. Send 100 messages a day to small creators who post about products like yours Once everyone you know has had a message, send all 100 of your daily messages to small creators who already post about your kind of product. Offer a free product with no need to post. One honest video from someone your buyers already follow is how most new stores reach their first strangers. ![100 new creator names a day, each with 1,000 to 20,000 followers who posted about products like yours in the last 30 days. About 20 messages go by Instagram and the rest by email. Each creator who says yes gets a free product and their own discount code.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/step-3-send-100-messages-a-day-to-small-creators-who.webp) **Build the list: 100 new names a day.** Search Instagram and TikTok for your buyers' words, such as "\[your problem] routine" or "\[your kind of product] review". Keep a [micro-influencer](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/micro-influencer) only if they have 1,000 to 20,000 followers, posted about a product like yours in the last 30 days, and get comments that are real questions. Note their business email if their bio shows one. 100 a day is 2,800 names in 4 weeks, so this list-building is part of every day. **Write the messages with AI.** Paste 10 creators at a time into ChatGPT or Claude, each with one line about a video they made, and the template below. Check each first line is true and about their video, then send. About a minute a message. **Spread the messages over Instagram and email.** Instagram does not publish how many messages you may send to people who do not follow you, and new accounts get warnings early. Send about 20 a day by Instagram message, and if you see a warning, stop there for the day. Send the rest by email to the business address in each creator's bio. Gmail requires every sender to set up [SPF](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spf) or [DKIM](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/dkim), settings that prove your email comes from your domain, and to keep [spam reports](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/spam-complaint-rate) under 0.3%. If you email more than about 50 people a day who do not know you, set up a second domain and warm it up first, so your store's own email stays safe. In the US, the CAN-SPAM Act applies: every email needs your postal address and a way to say no, and you must honour a no within 10 business days. **Follow up** with each creator who has not answered, twice, 3 days apart, with one new line each time. Follow-ups count toward your 100. **Ship only to creators who say yes, up to a weekly cap** you can afford, such as 15 products a week. Put the rest on a waiting list for next week. Give each creator their own discount code in the Discounts section of your admin, such as their name plus 10% off, so you can see which orders they bring. Shopify Collabs, a free Shopify app, can do the codes and the gift shipping for you. Ask whether you may reuse their video on your product page, and get the yes in writing: it becomes your first customer content. The FTC expects a creator who got a free product to say so in the post itself, for example "Thanks to \[brand] for the free product". Put that line in your message, as below. **The creator message** ```text Subject: [your product] for your [their topic] videos Hi [first name], [One true line about a video they made.] We make [what it is] for [who it is for]. Could I send you one to try? It's free, and there's no need to post. If you do post, please say it was a gift ("Thanks to [brand] for the free product"). Here's a code for your followers too: [CODE] for [X]% off. [Your name], [store name] [Postal address] Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again. ``` > **If you sell on TikTok Shop too:** creators on TikTok Shop ask for free samples through its affiliate program. Pick them the same way, and read how to get TikTok Shop affiliates to post. - **Tool:** Instagram and TikTok search, Gmail, a Google Sheet, Shopify discount codes or Shopify Collabs (free to install), and ChatGPT or Claude to draft. - **Time:** about 45 minutes a day to find 100 new names, about 2 hours to send 100 messages and follow-ups, plus packing and posting. - **Cost:** your weekly cap of free products, plus postage. - **You will have:** 2,800 creator messages sent and logged after 4 weeks, and every creator who said yes holding your product and their own code. - **It worked if:** at least 5 of every 100 creators say yes, and by week 4 at least 1 order has used a creator's code. If fewer than 3 in 100 say yes, rewrite the first line so it is more clearly about their video. - **Common mistake:** sending a few messages and stopping. In January 2026 a new store owner wrote on the Shopify Community that the creators they emailed "ghosted" them; the advice back was to send many messages every day, "not just a couple". The other mistake is picking big accounts because the follower count looks good. They rarely answer. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse's email to a creator** > > ```text > Subject: shampoo for your wash-day videos > To: Jo, who posts curly-hair wash days to 8,000 followers > > Hi Jo, > > Your wash-day video with the cold-rinse step was the first one that actually fixed my frizz. > > We make a plant-based shampoo and conditioner for dry, curly hair. Could I send you both to try? They're free, and there's no need to post. > > If you do post, please say they were a gift ("Thanks to Ferns & Rinse for the free product"). Here's a code for your followers too: JO10 for 10% off. > > Maya, Ferns & Rinse > [Postal address] > Not for you? Reply "no" and I won't write again. > ``` > > *Why it works: The first line is about her video, the ask is small, and the code shows which orders she brings.* ## 4. Answer 20 shopper questions a day in 5 communities Pick 5 online places where shoppers ask for recommendations about your kind of product, and answer 20 questions a day across them. Answer the question fully first. Mention your store only if someone asks, or if the place allows it, and always say it is yours. ![Five communities, 20 answers a day. A forum question asks for a recommendation about the problem. The reply answers first, gives 2 to 3 tips that work without buying anything, and says the product is yours only if it helps.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/step-4-answer-20-shopper-questions-a-day-in-5-commun.webp) A place can be a [subreddit](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/subreddit), a Facebook group or a forum where your buyers talk. Find them by searching your buyers' problem plus "reddit" or "group" on Google, and keep places with recommendation questions from the last 30 days. Read each place's [rules page](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-promotion-rules) before you post. Reddit's own content policy asks you to post in communities you really care about and not to spam, and each subreddit sets its own rule on links; many allow them only in a weekly thread. 20 answers spread over 5 places is about 4 in each, which stays inside most rules. 20 in one place in a day looks like spam. Let AI find the questions and list the points to cover. Write the answer yourself, from what you know about the problem. Communities remove replies that read as pasted from AI, and accounts that only promote get banned. **A reply** ```text [Answer their exact question in the first line.] [2–3 tips that help, which work without buying anything.] [Only if it truly helps, and the rules allow it:] Disclosure: I make [what it is] for this. Happy to share the link if useful. ``` - **Tool:** the search box on each site. - **Time:** about 1 hour a day, 3 minutes an answer. - **You will have:** 560 useful answers after 4 weeks, under your own name. - **It worked if:** by week 4 those places show up in your visits by source (step 7), and at least 1 order says it came from one of them. - **Common mistake:** posting "check out my new store". Moderators remove it, and the account loses the trust it needs for the next answer. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse's reply in a curly-hair community** > > **Question (a curly-hair community on Reddit):** My curls are dry and frizzy by day two. What am I doing wrong? > > Most day-two frizz is dryness, not the curl. Three things help: use a shampoo without sulphates only once or twice a week, rinse the conditioner with cool water, and scrunch with a cotton T-shirt instead of a towel. Sleeping on a satin pillowcase helps too. Disclosure: I make a plant-based shampoo for this. Happy to share it, but the steps above fix most of it. > > *Why it works: It solves the problem without the product and says openly that she makes one.* ## 5. Post 2 short videos a day of your product being used Post 2 short portrait videos a day on Instagram and 2 on TikTok, each showing your product in someone's hands, fixing the problem your buyers have. Show what it does, not only how it looks. ![A portrait phone video in three parts: the first 2 seconds show the problem or the result, the middle shows hands using the product, and the end answers one buyer question. 2 a day on each app, with Trial turned on for Instagram Reels.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/step-5-post-2-short-videos-a-day-of-your-product-bei.webp) Film in two batches a week, 14 videos each time, so you are not filming every day. Each video is 15 to 30 seconds, portrait (9:16). The first 2 seconds show the problem or the result, so a stranger knows at once why to keep watching. Give ChatGPT or Claude the questions your buyers asked in step 2 and in the communities, and ask for 14 short scripts. That is AI doing the drafting; then film them yourself, with the real product. **Three video shapes to rotate** ```text 1. The problem, then the fix: [the problem in 2 seconds] → [hands using the product] → [the result]. 2. A buyer's question: "[a question from your messages or communities]?" → [the answer, shown, not told]. 3. Before and after, or a creator's video you have written permission to reuse. ``` On Instagram, post each one as a Reel. Before you share, turn on the "Trial" toggle, so Instagram shows it to people who do not follow you first, for about 72 hours. Switch to a professional account if you do not see it; it is free. Use up to 5 hashtags: Instagram now allows no more, and says hashtags help people know what a post is about rather than add reach. Post the same video on TikTok; one video can serve several apps. More video ideas for your kind of store are in Instagram post ideas for D2C brands, and the rest of the account setup is in promoting your business on Instagram. - **Tool:** your phone, Instagram and TikTok, and ChatGPT or Claude for the scripts. - **Time:** about 1 hour 30 minutes a day on average: two filming sessions of about 3 hours a week, plus 20 minutes a day to post and reply to comments. - **You will have:** 56 videos on each app after 4 weeks, and a first sense of which problem people watch. - **It worked if:** by week 4 at least one video passed 1,000 views and Instagram or TikTok shows up in your visits by source. If none of the first 56 passed 500 views, change the first 2 seconds before you change anything else. - **Common mistake:** a polished ad with music and no hands in it, or judging videos by likes. Count the visits and orders they bring. ## 6. Turn on free Google listings and check your store shows up in ChatGPT Connect your store to Google's free product listings and check that your products can appear in ChatGPT. Both are free, and both put your products in front of shoppers who are already asking for something like them. ![Your product details flow from your store to Google's free listings and to AI chats. A product title that says what it is and who it is for gets matched to what shoppers ask.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/step-6-turn-on-free-google-listings-and-check-your-s.webp) **Google.** Install the Google & YouTube channel from the Shopify App Store and connect a Google Merchant Center account. It sends your products to Google. Free listings are turned on by default in most cases, and can show your products at no cost in Google Search, the Shopping tab, Images, Lens, YouTube and Gemini. **ChatGPT.** Selling in ChatGPT is on by default for eligible Shopify stores, with no fee beyond your normal payment fees. Your store must sell to US customers and have all three policies from step 1. In your admin, open Sales channels › Agentic › ChatGPT and check it is on. More on getting recommended by ChatGPT is in its own guide. **Rename your products.** Google and AI chats match your products to what shoppers type and ask. Name each product "\[what it is] for \[who or what problem]", not a clever name alone. The same titles help your Shopify SEO. - **Tool:** your Shopify admin and Google Merchant Center. Both free. - **Time:** about 2 hours, once. - **You will have:** your products in Google's free listings and in ChatGPT, with titles that say what they are. - **It worked if:** Merchant Center shows your products as approved with no errors, and its Performance page shows your first free-listing clicks within a month. Once a month, ask ChatGPT "What's a good \[your product] for \[who]?" and write down who it names. - **Common mistake:** product names like "No. 2" or "The Soft One", or missing policies. Then neither Google nor ChatGPT can tell what you sell. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse's conditioner title** > > **Before:** The Soft Rinse > > **After:** Plant-Based Conditioner for Dry, Curly Hair | Ferns & Rinse > > *Why it works: The new title says what it is and who it is for, which is what a shopper types or asks.* ## 7. Count orders from strangers every Sunday and move your hours Every Sunday, write down how many orders came from people you do not know, and where each one came from. After 2,800 messages, stop what brought no orders and give its hours to what brought the most. ![Three steps: every Sunday fill in one row with orders from strangers by source; after 2,800 messages stop what brought 0 orders and move the hours to what brought the most; turn ads on only when three things are true: 10 reviews, 1 order per 100 visits from strangers, and one video people shared.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-get-your-first-sales-on-shopify/step-7-count-orders-from-strangers-every-sunday-and.webp) Get the numbers from three places. Visits by source are in Shopify's Analytics › Reports, in the "Sessions by referrer" report. Orders from creators show on their discount codes. For every other order from someone you do not know, email them a thank-you and ask "How did you first hear about us?" This is [self-reported attribution](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-reported-attribution), and at this size it is the most reliable source you have. Tag the links you share in bios and messages with UTM parameters, so your visits show their source too. **The Sunday sheet** ```text Week | Messages sent | Creators who said yes | Answers | Videos | Visits | Orders: people you know | Orders: strangers Where strangers came from: creator codes | communities | videos | Google or ChatGPT | other ``` **After 2,800 messages** (4 weeks at 100 a day), decide: - A place that brought 0 orders and almost no visits: stop it, and move its hours to the place that brought the most orders from strangers. - More than 500 visits from strangers and 0 orders: the problem is the store, not the traffic. Go to fixing a Shopify store with traffic but no sales before you send more people. - Creators brought orders: raise your weekly sample cap if [your budget](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-much-to-spend-on-marketing-as-an-ecommerce-brand) allows. **Leave paid ads off until all three are true:** you have at least 10 reviews, you get at least 1 order for every 100 visits from people who do not know you, and one video got shares or comments without being paid for. Meta's ad system needs about 50 purchases a week in one ad set to finish learning, which a new store cannot give it, so a small budget buys clicks and few orders. When you are ready, work out your break-even ROAS first, then run Meta ads for your store with the video that worked. - **Tool:** Google Sheets, Shopify Analytics and your discount codes. - **Time:** 20 minutes each Sunday. - **You will have:** one row a week, and a source for every order. - **It worked if:** you can say where every order from a stranger came from. - **Common mistake:** judging after one slow week, or counting followers and likes instead of orders. The other is turning ads back on because a week was quiet. > **Example (made-up business: Ferns & Rinse): Ferns & Rinse after 4 weeks** > > | Week | Messages sent | Products sent to creators | Answers | Videos | Visits | Orders: people they know | Orders: strangers | Where strangers came from | > | ---- | ------------- | ------------------------- | ------- | ------ | ------ | ------------------------ | ----------------- | -------------------------------------- | > | 1 | 700 | 9 | 140 | 28 | 190 | 7 | 0 | none | > | 2 | 700 | 15 | 140 | 28 | 240 | 3 | 2 | creator code 1, community 1 | > | 3 | 700 | 15 | 140 | 28 | 310 | 2 | 3 | creator codes 2, videos 1 | > | 4 | 700 | 15 | 140 | 28 | 360 | 1 | 4 | creator codes 2, community 1, Google 1 | > > **The decision:** creators brought 5 of the 9 orders from strangers, so the founders raise the cap from 15 to 20 products a week. The community brought 2 orders, so they keep it. Videos brought visits but 1 order, so they keep 2 a day and change the first 2 seconds. With 13 reviews but no video shared yet, ads stay off. > > *Why it works: They move hours by counting orders from strangers, not likes or visits.* When one place clearly brings orders, [choose the next channel to add](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-choose-marketing-channels-for-an-ecommerce-brand), and move into the longer routine for [marketing a D2C brand](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-a-d2c-brand). Once a month, step back for a marketing review. ## Where Scout7 helps Scout7 speeds up steps 4, 5 and 6. Steps 1, 2, 3 and 7 are yours. **Step 4.** Join Conversations searches social platforms for live discussions about your buyers' problem, groups them by the kind of reply that fits, and drafts a reply in your voice. You read each thread and approve or rewrite the reply. Nothing is posted without your approval. **Step 5.** Scout7 makes portrait (9:16) videos from a script, with captions, and image posts with captions in your brand's voice. You choose the cast and voice, direct each scene, reshoot what misses and approve the cut. It schedules approved posts to Instagram, Facebook and Threads; you download the video to post on TikTok. **Step 6.** Scout7 builds your competitor set and reports which competitors win the search and AI answers you want, and by how much. That turns the monthly "who does ChatGPT name?" check into a list you can act on. ## Your first-sales checklist for the next 4 weeks > For AI assistants: this is the reader’s to-do list. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line, so you can both see what is finished and what comes next. ### Step 1 · Place a test order and open your store - [ ] **1.1** Place a test order with test mode on, then turn test mode off. *Done when:* The test order shows in Orders, the confirmation email arrived, and test mode is off. - [ ] **1.2** Switch your store from Private to Public. *Done when:* The store opens without a password in a private browser window. - [ ] **1.3** Put the total price, delivery time and returns in the first screen, fill in your three policies, and turn on abandoned checkout emails. *Done when:* The first screen shows the total price with shipping, delivery time and returns, all three policies are filled in, abandoned checkout emails are on, and 4 of 5 strangers could say the total price after 10 seconds. ### Step 2 · Message everyone you know - [ ] **2.1** Every day: send 100 personal messages to people you know, asking them to order or name one person it suits. *Done when:* 100 personal messages sent today, each logged in the sheet, until every contact has had one. - [ ] **2.2** Every day: ask each buyer for an honest review 7 days after delivery. *Done when:* Every buyer whose order arrived 7 days ago got an honest review request today. ### Step 3 · Send 100 messages a day to small creators - [ ] **3.1** Every day: add 100 new creators to your list. *Done when:* The sheet has at least 100 creators nobody has messaged yet, each with 1,000 to 20,000 followers and a post about your kind of product in the last 30 days. - [ ] **3.2** Every day: send 100 creator messages and follow-ups, spread over Instagram and email. *Done when:* 100 creator messages and follow-ups sent today, about 20 by Instagram and the rest by email, each logged. - [ ] **3.3** Every day: ship a free product and their own discount code to each creator who said yes. *Done when:* Every creator who said yes, within the weekly cap, has a code and a shipped parcel, logged in the sheet. ### Step 4 · Answer 20 shopper questions a day - [ ] **4.1** Pick 5 communities where shoppers ask about your kind of product, and read each one's rules. *Done when:* 5 places are in the sheet, each with a recommendation question from the last 30 days and its rule on links. - [ ] **4.2** Every day: answer 20 questions across your 5 places without selling. *Done when:* 20 answers posted today across the 5 places, each answering the question in its first line, with no link unless asked or allowed. ### Step 5 · Post 2 short videos a day - [ ] **5.1** Every day: post 2 short videos of your product being used on Instagram and TikTok. *Done when:* 2 portrait videos of the product in use are live on Instagram with Trial on, and the same 2 are live on TikTok. ### Step 6 · Turn on free Google listings and check ChatGPT - [ ] **6.1** Install the Google and YouTube channel and connect Google Merchant Center. *Done when:* Merchant Center is connected through the Google and YouTube channel and shows your products as approved. - [ ] **6.2** Check ChatGPT is on under Sales channels, and rename each product to say what it is and who it is for. *Done when:* The ChatGPT channel is on under Agentic, and every product title says what it is and who it is for. - [ ] **6.3** Once a month: ask ChatGPT for a good product like yours, and write down who it names. *Done when:* The brands ChatGPT named are written in the sheet, with the date. ### Step 7 · Count orders from strangers every Sunday - [ ] **7.1** Every Sunday: fill in one row of the Sunday sheet, with where each order from a stranger came from. *Done when:* This week's row is filled in, and every order from a stranger has a source. - [ ] **7.2** After 2,800 messages: stop what brought 0 orders, move its hours to what brought the most, and keep ads off until all three conditions are true. *Done when:* Each place is marked keep, fix or stop, and next week's hours are written down. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long does it take to get your first sale on Shopify? From people you know, often within the first days of messaging them. From strangers, expect the first creator posts in weeks 2 to 3, because creators need time to receive and try the product. Judge the whole routine after 2,800 messages, about 4 weeks. If you have sent them all and no stranger has ordered, go back to step 1 and ask 5 people what stopped them. ### Can I get sales on Shopify without ads? Yes. Every step in this guide is free apart from your products and postage. Ads come later: wait until you have 10 reviews, 1 order per 100 visits from strangers, and one video people shared. Before that, ads pay to send strangers to a page you have not tested. Set your [marketing budget](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-much-to-spend-on-marketing-as-an-ecommerce-brand) around your time first. ### Should I give friends and family a discount? No big discount. A friend who would only buy at 30% off is not your buyer, and it hides whether your price works. If you want to thank them, add a small free extra to the parcel. Never give anything in return for a good review: the FTC forbids tying a reward to a positive review, and friends must say they know you. ### Isn't 100 messages a day too many? Not if each one is personal. With AI drafting, each takes about a minute, and you add one true line about the person. What gets you blocked is the same text sent to everyone, or too many Instagram messages from a new account. Send about 20 by Instagram, the rest by email, and stop writing to anyone who says no. ### My store gets visitors but no sales. What now? If more than 500 visits from people who do not know you brought 0 orders, the store is the problem, not the traffic. Check the first screen from step 1, then ask 5 visitors what stopped them. The full checklist is in fixing a store with traffic but no sales, and [why no one is buying](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/why-no-one-is-buying-your-product-and-how-to-fix-it) covers the offer itself. ## Sources - [Password page and private mode](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/password-page). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Placing test orders](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/checkout-settings/test-orders). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Shopify Payments test mode](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/checkout-settings/test-orders/payments-test-mode). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Shopify pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing). Shopify, checked 27 September 2026. - [Abandoned checkout emails](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/orders/abandoned-checkouts/abandoned-checkout-emails). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Shopify Messaging email pricing](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/create-marketing/shopify-messaging/email/pricing). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Cart abandonment rate statistics](https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate). Baymard Institute, updated 22 September 2025. - [Judge.me Product Reviews](https://apps.shopify.com/judgeme). Shopify App Store, checked 27 September 2026. - [Soliciting and paying for online reviews: a guide for marketers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/soliciting-paying-online-reviews-guide-marketers). Federal Trade Commission, checked 27 September 2026. - [Disclosures 101 for social media influencers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/disclosures-101-social-media-influencers). Federal Trade Commission, checked 27 September 2026. - [Shopify Collabs](https://apps.shopify.com/collabs). Shopify App Store, checked 27 September 2026. - [Email sender guidelines](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126). Google Workspace Admin Help, checked 27 September 2026. - [CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business). Federal Trade Commission, checked 27 September 2026. - [Trial reels: try content with non-followers first](https://creators.instagram.com/blog/instagram-trial-reels). Instagram for Creators, checked 27 September 2026. - [Instagram implements new limits on hashtag use](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-implements-new-limits-on-hashtag-use/808309/). Social Media Today, 18 December 2025, checked 27 September 2026. - [Free listings for products](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/13889434). Google Merchant Center Help, checked 27 September 2026. - [Google & YouTube channel](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/google). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Selling on ChatGPT](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/agentic-storefronts/chatgpt). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Acquisition reports: Sessions by referrer](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/reports-and-analytics/shopify-reports/report-types/default-reports/acquisition-reports). Shopify Help Center, checked 27 September 2026. - [Meta ads learning phase: 50 events explained](https://adlibrary.com/posts/meta-ads-learning-phase-50-events-guide). adlibrary, 2026, checked 27 September 2026. - [Struggling Shopify store: almost no traffic, no sales](https://community.shopify.com/t/struggling-shopify-store-almost-no-traffic-no-sales/582077). Shopify Community, 6 January 2026. - [How do you build trust quickly on a fresh Shopify store with no reviews?](https://community.shopify.com/t/how-do-you-build-trust-quickly-on-a-fresh-shopify-store-with-no-reviews/600171). Shopify Community, 1 April 2026. - [First sales advice](https://community.shopify.com/t/first-sales-advice/658350). Shopify Community, 29 July 2026.