I Created a Shopify Store & an Ads Campaign From the Ground Up In One Month

7 min readMay 29, 2020

A super awesome retro version of my storefront page

Hey, thanks for dropping by!

During the month of May 2020, I built a Shopify store from the ground up. I used various ad services such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Pinterest to market my products.

My store is an apparel store that sells my own designs on various options such as hoodies, t-shirts, and hats. Some of the skills I gained were:

Project management
Digital marketing (Facebook Ads, Snapchat Ads, Pinterest Ads)
Writing
Creative design
Branding
SEO

Additionally, I challenged myself to write a blog post every day for 30 days. I succeeded, and included in those blog posts are some extra documentation and tutorials on the processes I implemented in my store.

Over the past few months, as I’ve been immersed in the pursuit of personal and professional development, I’ve heard something repeatedly that stuck out to me.

The importance of being able to write, and write well.

I’ve heard people say they would never have gotten their particular opportunity if it hadn't been for their writing skills.

I decided this was something I wanted to add to my portfolio, not just because it’s valuable to an employer, but because I honestly enjoy it. I love sharing stories, reflecting on events, and conveying opinions in a way that others can benefit from.

I’ve created a separate landing page with each blog post I wrote from May 1–30 and that can be found here. Enjoy!

Weekly project updates:

Week 1: Planning and Intro

This post highlights my goals and expectations for the upcoming weeks. I did my best to break my project down into sections. For instance, the second week was devoted to store creation and product design, while the fourth week was almost strictly ad work.

Week 2: Store Building

This week was spent learning by doing. I got great experience at building a website, writing good webpage copy, and laying a brand foundation.

Week 3: Store Polishing and First Set of Ads

This week, I continued fine-tuning my storefront and worked with Facebook and Snapchat Ads to do some product and brand awareness campaigns.

Week 4: Second Set of Ads and Final Results

The final week of my project saw me creating more Facebook ads and working with one of my new favorite ad platforms, Pinterest.

What I Learned

One of my design mockups

Along with these examples, I also gained a lot of experience in areas that can’t as easily be shown with a post or a video.

Things like:

Confidence in my abilities

At the beginning of the month, this seemed like a daunting project. Now that it is in the rearview, I’ve gained some great perspective on just what I’m capable of. I’m not going to sell myself short.

Dedication to an end goal

There were a lot of times when I got discouraged with my progress or the state of the project. Learning to take things one day at a time was a huge growing pain this pain. Breaking the project into day by day projects, instead of looking at the month as one huge task, really helped me keep grinding.

Perseverance through adversity

I encountered some roadblocks along the way. I’ve always been someone who moves on pretty quick when running into resistance, which is not a good thing, in my opinion. I learned to push through problems, instead of getting beaten by them.

Creativity

Recently, I’ve been disappointed with my lack of original ideas. It seemed like everything I had was just a rip-off of something already being done. I saw a lot of improvement in that area this month. I created an original store, an original brand, based on an original idea.

Big Ideas

There’s always a way to take things to the next level, and I learned the importance of not settling for just ok. There’s a verse in the Bible (Matthew 5:41) that says “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” Simply, this means going above and beyond. There’s always an opportunity to pursue a bigger idea.

I Wish….

I had more time. I had a very tight schedule for this project, completing it while simultaneously working 70+ hours a week. I am pleased with the work I was able to do, but as I said earlier, there is always more I could have done. Getting up earlier than early and going to bed later than late gets old after a while. But, I did what needed to be done.
I had a better understanding of the analytics behind the ads I was creating. At times, I felt like I was just randomly creating ads with no apparent goal in mind. It took a while to get a good idea of who my audience should be and how my ads were helping to reach that group.

I would have had a pyramid case filled with pizza, just like Stanley. For those especially late nights.
I would have built out my store’s Facebook page a little more. A well-established Facebook page is an important piece to an online presence.
I would have been able to spend more time experimenting with all my different tech tools and ad platforms. I had a schedule to stick to. I had enough time, but not much extra. For something as intricate as ad building, it would have been awesome to immerse myself deeper in each platform and its strengths and weaknesses. Canva is really awesome tool as well, and I would enjoy spending more time finding out all it can do. I’ll have to do that on my own.
Shopify’s trial period wouldn't end! Unfortunately, I don’t plan on keeping the store running for 30 dollars a month, which is the Shopify basic plan fee. They currently offer a 90-day free trial which was exactly what I needed. Raising Heaven is definitely something I would like to come back to someday. I believe in it. It’s promoting something that is very important and meaningful to me, and I think the message could help make the world a better place.

What Does Success Look Like?

I had a goal at the start of the month…..

Make one sale.

I thought that was a pretty realistic goal for an entirely new brand without any publicity or online clout.

I didn't hit that goal.

Well, technically I did. My sister bought a t-shirt with one of my designs. But obviously, that doesn't count.

So was my project a waste cause I didn't make that sale?

No way!

Even without making a sale, during this month I:

outlined a project plan and schedule for executing that plan
organized an idea for a brand and created the visuals for that brand.
created a fully functional Shopify store, Raising Heaven.
created original designs and applied them to various merchandise for print on demand sale

optimized SEO for the store by adding keyword-rich alt text, meta descriptions, headlines, and blog posts, and submitting a sitemap once these actions were complete.
improved potential customer experience by setting up a contact page and custom notifications.
pushed my store out into the public eye by using Snapchat, Facebook, and Pinterest Ads.
wrote a lot of documentation for what I accomplished.
wrote walkthroughs of some of the processes I used.
screen-recorded videos of work I did with certain tech tools.
stayed accountable with weekly update posts
used Excel to compile my ad results in an easy to view format

I’d call it a success.

What Does This Say About Me?

Theo can tackle big projects and find a way to break them into manageable pieces.

Theo can learn new things, and learn them fast.

Theo can work past roadblocks to achieve an end goal.

Theo gives more than is required.

Theo can write well, he can write about a diverse array of subjects, and he can write fast. He is always looking to become a better writer.

Theo has a working knowledge of many different digital marketing platforms and is always eager to build on that knowledge.

Theo knows how to work hard, and can put his own interests on hold if a situation requires it.

Theo knows how to create value, and he can do it for you!

Thanks for exploring my project landing page!

If you have any questions, conversation topics, or to chat about how great The Office is, add me on LinkedIn!

I look forward to connecting!