Expand Your Shop With Integrations and Apps

If you're looking for more tools for running your business, it might be time to consider an integration. Big Cartel is simple and easy to use, but maybe you could use a new bell or whistle.

What's an integration?

An integration is sort of like an after-market stereo for your car: a separate company built something to make your ride even better. It's an extra step for you to incorporate it, but once it's in there, you'll never look back.

Your online shop is the the hub for your business, and that won't change. But adding third party integrations can expand what it's capable of without starting from scratch. With an app or integration, you can smooth out your shipping process, automate your social media posts, add a newsletter signup to your checkout page, and more.

This is not a to-do list: not all of our ideas are crucial for every business. Just start thinking about what can be the biggest help. You should leave with an idea or two for how to make your life easier, not a laundry list of must-haves.

Unrelated question: do people still put after-market stereos in their car?

Challenge: It's hard to promote my business

Hoo-boy, we get it. While it's worth spending some real time on marketing your business, there are ways to passively build your audience and foster a sense of trust in your shop.

• Connect your shop to Mailchimp to add a newsletter subscription signup to your checkout page. Now you can announce your new releases to that person who already liked your stuff enough to buy it!

• Add customer reviews, testimonials, or a social feed to your shop with apps like Power.io or Elfsight.

• Automate all sorts of tasks with Zapier, like posting new products to social feeds, sending customized emails, and more.

Challenge: I want to add more products to my shop

The classic chicken-and-egg: you need more cash to produce new stuff, but you have to sell stuff to get that cash. You might need print-on-demand: you can design a product, create a mockup image, and list it in your shop for free. The item won't be produced until the orders come in, so there's less waste and you don't spend money on production in advance.

• Art of Where produces a wide range of apparel, masks, scarves, and home decor.

• Printful produces printed and embroidered items and can automatically create product listings in your Big Cartel store during the design process.

Challenge: The line at the post office is too dang long

Our global network of postal services are a marvel! Seriously! But sure, you may not love standing around waiting to get orders shipped out. What if you integrated with shipping software to predict costs and print labels at home?

• Pirate Ship helps you ship via USPS at discounted rates, and only charges you for the postage you use.

• ShipStation, ShipRobot, and ShipRush work with multiple shipping carriers and help you manage orders using presets, batch printing, and coordinating with multiple sales channels.

Challenge: What the heck is even happening with my shop?

We haven't quite perfected the crystal ball that tells you who your customers are, what they're thinking, and where you put that box of padded envelopes that was just here. But there are integrations that can help you stay organized, and keep an eye on how your customers navigate your shop.

• Big Cartel for iOS or Android help you do the obvious things like manage orders and products from anywhere, but they also make it easy to sell in-person at your next event.

• Google Analytics and Lucky Orange help you track customer traffic, clicks, and other behavior.

If your wheels are turning over what you'd like to off-load in the day-to-day running of your business, head over to our list of integrations. There's more to discover, so start prioritizing and keeping your overall budget in mind. And as always, we're here to help if any questions come up.