Hello guys!
In short:
I'm located in germany and started a physical products brand focused at Dachshund owners.
My first product is called DorsusProtect. Dachshunds are because of their anatomy very prone to backpain, and the ingredients of DorsusProtect can avoid this medical issue in most cases. It's a powder you simply add to your Dachshunds food.
I'm selling in my own online store, because of fulfillment costs i only ship to germany. At the moment i'm facing serious issues.
Timeline:
Dec 2022 - Jan 2023 Research on ingredients, finding a supplier, setting up site, building social media audience (1.2k on insta by now), 300 person email list, pre-launch.
19.02.2023 Launchday, about 1k in sales on day one, mostly through my email list, good days followed.
Thinks were looking rosy.
Product cost per unit: 18,11€
Overall fulfillment costs (incl. pr. costs): 28 €
Asking price: 59,95€
Since then i got steady sales, mostly through Meta and google Ads. My product already got some fans, i get great reviews etc....
The thing is: My ad costs are extremely high, i only make about 2-3 € net profit per sale on a 60€ product. My ads wear off very fast (in a matter of days), probably because my niche is too damn small. The CPC increases from 40ct to 2€ in a matter of a few days.
I'm going all in on my customers, everyone gets a handwritten letter, my customer support is fantastic, the customers love my product. I got a 30 day money back guarantee noone ever used.
Nevertheless my overall CPC also increased day by day, now i'm practically operating a non-profit with a lot of work behind it.
If that wouldn't be exhausting enough:
DHL (german mail) has "lost" a package with the new batch i payed around 2000€ for. In germany the seller (my producer) is only responsible for the goods until he gives it to the transport company (DHL in my case).
I probably won't get my money back from DHL, and if i do it will take at least MONTHS.
Because of that I'm running nearly out of stock.
All of this is just so F*cking exhausting.
I ditched my whole social life, doing nothing "fun" in my life anymore, I'm working 17 hours a day (including my employee job), and putting all my energy and money in that project.
Also i feel bad for my GF helping my a lot with the fulfillment, spending a lot of her time as well on my business (voluntary of course, told her she doesn't need to do that).
Today i stopped placing ads so that i don't run out of stock.
No more sales. As expected.
I don't know where my head is, i don't know what to do.
What's the damn issue?
Is it me?
Is it my product?
Is it my marketing?
Is my niche to small?
I'm feeling helpless, i don't know what to do. How should i go on?
If it's me/my skills, a change of niche would only bring me back to square zero, just to experience the same shit again.
If it's my niche being too small it would help.
Could someone give me some advice on what to do?
I'd be really glad.
With gratitude,
Alex
In short:
I'm located in germany and started a physical products brand focused at Dachshund owners.
My first product is called DorsusProtect. Dachshunds are because of their anatomy very prone to backpain, and the ingredients of DorsusProtect can avoid this medical issue in most cases. It's a powder you simply add to your Dachshunds food.
I'm selling in my own online store, because of fulfillment costs i only ship to germany. At the moment i'm facing serious issues.
Timeline:
Dec 2022 - Jan 2023 Research on ingredients, finding a supplier, setting up site, building social media audience (1.2k on insta by now), 300 person email list, pre-launch.
19.02.2023 Launchday, about 1k in sales on day one, mostly through my email list, good days followed.
Thinks were looking rosy.
Product cost per unit: 18,11€
Overall fulfillment costs (incl. pr. costs): 28 €
Asking price: 59,95€
Since then i got steady sales, mostly through Meta and google Ads. My product already got some fans, i get great reviews etc....
The thing is: My ad costs are extremely high, i only make about 2-3 € net profit per sale on a 60€ product. My ads wear off very fast (in a matter of days), probably because my niche is too damn small. The CPC increases from 40ct to 2€ in a matter of a few days.
I'm going all in on my customers, everyone gets a handwritten letter, my customer support is fantastic, the customers love my product. I got a 30 day money back guarantee noone ever used.
Nevertheless my overall CPC also increased day by day, now i'm practically operating a non-profit with a lot of work behind it.
If that wouldn't be exhausting enough:
DHL (german mail) has "lost" a package with the new batch i payed around 2000€ for. In germany the seller (my producer) is only responsible for the goods until he gives it to the transport company (DHL in my case).
I probably won't get my money back from DHL, and if i do it will take at least MONTHS.
Because of that I'm running nearly out of stock.
All of this is just so F*cking exhausting.
I ditched my whole social life, doing nothing "fun" in my life anymore, I'm working 17 hours a day (including my employee job), and putting all my energy and money in that project.
Also i feel bad for my GF helping my a lot with the fulfillment, spending a lot of her time as well on my business (voluntary of course, told her she doesn't need to do that).
Today i stopped placing ads so that i don't run out of stock.
No more sales. As expected.
I don't know where my head is, i don't know what to do.
What's the damn issue?
Is it me?
Is it my product?
Is it my marketing?
Is my niche to small?
I'm feeling helpless, i don't know what to do. How should i go on?
If it's me/my skills, a change of niche would only bring me back to square zero, just to experience the same shit again.
If it's my niche being too small it would help.
Could someone give me some advice on what to do?
I'd be really glad.
With gratitude,
Alex
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