Do you ever wonder why you’re constantly publishing content on social media? What’s it all for, what’s the bigger picture?

As a small business, your top goal is to make sales. Social media can help you improve your bottom line and let me show you how!

I use a tool called Soldsie and it has been effective in helping to help grow my business. It’s a tool that enables me to make sales directly on Facebook and Instagram. Their website is pretty vague; it doesn’t include pricing or details about how it works. Here’s a Soldsie review to help you decide if it’s right for you!

Signing Up With Soldsie

The only way to get started with Soldsie is by filling in their contact info form.

It feels a little bit like throwing your information into a void because they don’t have many details on their site. But if you never try you never know, right? That’s what I thought when I signed up.

The purpose of the form (I speculate) is for Soldsie staff to filter who would be a good fit for using their app.

It’s not built for everyone, but there’s no “nice” way of saying so without turning people off. Soldsie is a big investment, but don’t let that stop you from giving a try—it can be totally worth it!

They want to be sure they’re working with clients that will pull their weight to make this work as a team.

What To Expect

Soldsie isn’t a way to instantly grow your Facebook following overnight.

It’s not an instant way to increase your engagement.

In fact, you should have both of those things in place before trying Soldsie. (More on that later.)

Soldsie is merely a tool for making money directly on Facebook and Instagram, utilizing your existing fan or follower base. Pinterest support is coming soon.

How Soldsie Works

Soldsie has created a revolutionary way of monetizing your social media followers. Here’s how it works:

1. You post a photo of the item for sale.
2. Your fan (customer) simply needs to comment “sold” on the item
3. First-time buyers register by clicking a link.
4. Transaction complete!

It’s a really easy process for both buyer and seller.

The customer’s registration process is easy–one time only and takes less than a minute.

Social media sites have always been known as a place of comfort where people can unwind among friends.

Their mental barriers tend to be lower on social sites, so bringing the sale directly to where they are already hanging out is genius.

Is Soldsie Right For You?

Before joining Soldsie, consider this: does your Facebook page have a good following and active engagement? “Good” is subjective but your success really depends on how responsive your fans are. Your page should have active engagement before you even think about using Soldsie. Your fans should be both:

• Interested in purchasing your products
• Actively commenting on your page

They need to comment “sold” to buy, so getting them to come out of their shell and chat in the comments is the key to success.

The price range of your products is also a factor. Items priced under $50 are great because they target impulse shoppers. I’ve also heard of thousand dollar items being sold with great results, so it really depends on how engaged your fans are.

What type of products do you offer? Are they suitable for quick online sales?

Lifestyle products like jewelry, women’s and children’s accessories, food, and clothing perform very well on Soldsie.

Selling on Facebook is all about taking advantage of scarcity, urgency, and peer pressure.

In your Soldsie sale, you generally say you only have x number of units available, and people can publicly see who has already commented “sold” to figure out how many units are left.

Like a flash sale, the pressure is on!

Fee Structure

I pay $200 per month for six months in advance.

The $200 includes prepayment for a 6% monthly commission on sales.

Any sales commissions beyond the monthly $200 are invoiced to me at the end of the month.

I have heard of other price points, so ask Soldsie for a custom quote for your brand.

Soldsie Benefits

There’s a lot more to Soldsie than making sales.

You get an awesome account manager who checks in via phone. My manager even helps me come up with strategies for making more sales. He’s so lovely to work with.

I always feel like the Soldsie team is on my side, supporting my small business with tips and tricks they’ve learned over the years of comment selling.

You also get free, super-extensive social media training. It includes books, webinars, calls, and access to special Facebook groups to ask questions and talk to other Soldsie users.

Of course, Soldsie also has a sales management tool. The dashboard is really slick and super easy to use!

My Results

I’m three months into using Soldsie. As of this writing I have:

• 13,000 Facebook fans with 2,200 engagement
• 5,800 Instagram followers
• $11,000 in sales from Facebook

Considering the fact that my monthly base fee is just $200, I think it’s an incredible return on investment. Soldsie is totally worth it for my business. I’ll definitely be renewing my contract!

Soldsie Cons

Of course there is no perfect sales tool. Here are a few cons that I’ve found while using Soldsie:

• There’s an initial learning curve for fans, and some just won’t “get” the concept of Soldsie.
• The interface is a little quirky. For example, you have to manually combine shipping costs when a customer doesn’t pay for all of their invoices in the same transaction.

Luckily, the great customer service can help overcome these obstacles.

Overall I’d recommend Soldsie as long as you have a solid, active fan base.

Here’s the Soldsie sign up link again and tell them I sent you!

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.