%20(3).png)
Meet Paul
Hello there! I’m Paul, and for around 15 years, I've been navigating the waters of Talent Acquisition, HR, and Consulting. Though I have a slight IT background, I've always been keen on leveraging my knowledge to automate as much as possible. So, when AI started making waves, it felt like Christmas to me.
Learning the AI Way
Eager to ride the AI wave, I quickly dove into tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney/Dall-E. While I did start with a few videos and tutorials, I realized that isn't how I learn best. My learning style? Finding a seemingly insurmountable challenge and relentlessly chipping away at it until it works. This approach helped me build a CRM without any programming knowledge. So, I thought, "If I can build a whole e-commerce site in 5 days instead of months, that would be really cool."
Choosing the Right Business
You might be wondering why an e-commerce site. Well, ChatGPT suggested it. When I asked for company ideas requiring minimal investment, the AI churned out a list similar to what you'd find on the first page of Google: dropshipping, affiliate marketing, freelancing (which I'm already doing), and a few others. Among these, dropshipping was the one.
Taking the Plunge
With no prior experience in building an e-commerce site, I knew this task would be an uphill climb. I had a basic understanding of the mechanics but was far from being an expert. However, my unquenchable thirst for learning and my fascination with AI pushed me to take the plunge.
The Journey Begins
At this point, I was unsure about what kind of dropshipping to pursue. Naturally, I turned to my machine learning mate (you'll find this to be a common theme) and received a mixed bag of ideas. After careful consideration, I chose to leverage another AI tool that I've grown fond of: Midjourney. This image-generating AI creates some stunning visuals, and it struck me: why not create a print-on-demand dropshipping business using pictures generated through Midjourney? And that's exactly what I set out to do.
Embracing the Challenge
Thus, my journey began. I was under no illusion that it would be smooth sailing. I braced myself for potential hiccups, roadblocks, and a fair share of frustrating moments. But the excitement of learning, problem-solving, and visualizing the end result kept my spirits high.
The Chronicle of a 5-Day Rollercoaster Ride
This series is the chronicle of that journey - a roller-coaster ride of five days, during which I found myself, often late into the night and in my jammies, building an e-commerce site from scratch. It's a tale of triumphs and tribulations, of surprising discoveries, and of a whole lot of Club Mate. So, buckle up, because it's quite a ride!
Day 1 - Planning and Design: The Blueprint of Success
Every great execution begins with a carefully crafted plan. As I embarked on this journey, I turned to ChatGPT for guidance on what I needed to consider. Let’s delve into that list:
Choosing Tools and Platforms
First off, I needed to decide on the tools and platforms to use. Printful, a tool I'd used previously and found quite intuitive, was my go-to for print-on-demand. Midjourney was slated for generating images, and ChatGPT was my ever-ready co-pilot. The only thing missing was the marketplace to sell my products. Among several recommendations, Shopify caught my attention for its power and versatility. Spoiler alert, though: I didn't end up using Shopify, but more on that later.
Deciding on Products
The product was clear from the get-go: printed canvases featuring art from Midjourney. I aimed to kick off with around 50 different prints. I stuck with square images to keep things simple, allowing me to use a standard format. Furthermore, I opted for two sizes for the canvases: 12x12 and 16x16 inches, amounting to a total of 100 products. A pretty solid lineup for a startup shop, I reckoned.
Naming the Site and Choosing a Domain
My trusty AI companion was instrumental in generating potential names and domains for my site. After a few AI-centric suggestions (like CyberneticCanvas and ArtificialArtistry), my silicon sidekick hit the nail on the head with a name that resonated with me. With the name in hand, I scouted for a suitable domain, eventually settling on one with a .shop ending—affordable and straightforward, just the way I like it.
Selecting a Marketplace
Next up was deciding where to sell my products. Initially, I considered Germany, my home country, but the legal hurdles seemed daunting. Hence, I set my sights on the good old US of A.
Crafting a Marketing Strategy
My AI confidante was my go-to for crafting a marketing strategy. But with the actual building phase still ahead, I decided to save this discussion for later.
Designing the Website
As a non-designer and non-programmer, I needed all the help I could get for designing the website. My AI co-pilot provided a wealth of ideas, examples, and tips. However, my lack of technical expertise made them hard to implement. Initially, I thought Shopify, with its premade templates, could be my saviour. But its overwhelming complexity felt counterintuitive, especially since I wanted a quick solution. So, with my bot buddy's assistance, I found Wix. This user-friendly, drag-and-drop website builder came equipped with an extensive e-commerce suite and a direct interface to Printful. All I needed was to find a fitting template and start building.
Day 2 and 3 - Development and Implementation: Laying the Foundations
After dedicating a portion of the day to my regular job, it was time to refocus on the project at hand. With a solid to-do list at my disposal, I teamed up with my byte buddy to structure the project. Following a bit of back-and-forth and a few hours of diligent work, I had a well-structured site, a functioning shop, and even a connected domain. However, the real challenge was still ahead: creating 50 designs, uploading them to Printful, generating mockups, writing SEO-approved descriptions, creating categories, and a few more tasks. But there was a catch—I am as creative as a doorknob.
Creating Categories and Designs
I turned to my code comrade for assistance with categories. Out of the suggestions, I handpicked these five:
Gothic/Horror
Minimalism/Geometric
Nature-Inspired
Futuristic/Sci-Fi
Seasonal
Then came the task of generating ideas for pictures, for which I relied on my digital ally. Armed with ten different picture ideas and their descriptions, I used Midjourney to create the visuals. The descriptions were next—I fed the canvas details from Printful to my AI sidekick and asked for short, SEO-friendly descriptions. And just like that, the descriptions were ready.
Overcoming Technical Hurdles
With the designs and descriptions in place, it was time to create my first product on Printful. But as I uploaded one of the pictures, a problem surfaced. The DPI (Dots per Inch)—an indicator of print quality—was too low. Wanting to ensure top-notch canvas prints, I had to find a solution. After some research, I found Bigjpg, a tool for image upscaling. With my newly upscaled images, I was able to create my first product—a gargoyle overlooking a city.
My first upload to my shop
The next issue was that Printful only uploaded one picture to my Wix page, while I wanted multiple mockups. Thankfully, Printful offered a solution, albeit a manual one. I had to upload the images, create mockups, and then upload them directly to Wix. Despite the time-consuming process, I was inching closer to my goal.
Automation Attempts and Repetitive Tasks
Day two was all about product creation, but day three was a different story. I had the ambitious idea to build an API connection between Midjourney, ChatGPT, Bigjpg, and Printful to automate the creation and upload of prints. However, due to lack of access to ChatGPT's 4.0 API, I had to stick with the monotonous process of creating images, upscaling them, uploading them to Printful, downloading the mockups, and uploading them again to Wix. This process for all 50 designs was not just time-consuming, but exhausting. Repetitive tasks aren't my forte, and by the end of the day, I was spent. But on the bright side, I was ready to prepare for the launch on day four.
Day 4: Testing and Launch Set Up - Getting Real!
As my e-shop took shape, with a sizeable product catalog in place, I knew I was getting closer to the big release. But before the grand launch, I needed answers to some critical questions. How would potential customers find my shop? How could I continuously improve the business in the long run? Was I legally compliant and secure? And most importantly, how would customers pay for their purchases? All these questions called for the expertise of my algorithmic ally.
Legal Matters Sorted
Being German, my first priority was ensuring legal compliance. I sought legal help and quickly realized that I needed comprehensive texts to inform site visitors about data usage and collaboration details. My AI aide came to the rescue, pointing me to a fantastic resource called "termly". After a few questions, I had all the texts I needed, putting my mind at ease.
Navigating Payment Options
Payment was a critical aspect. While my goal wasn't solely about making money, an e-commerce site needs smooth payment processes. I initially used the built-in Wix payments tool but ran into a snag during a test purchase due to Euro to US Dollar conversion issues. To resolve this, I turned to Stripe and, with some valuable tips from my binary brother, everything worked flawlessly. Now, I could finally start selling with confidence.
Unveiling the Power of Analytics
ChatGPT wisely mentioned the importance of data tracking for long-term success. Setting up analytics on Wix was surprisingly simple and quick. In just a few clicks, I had a functioning analytics page that provided insights into visitors' origins, time spent on my page, and more.
Crafting a Stellar Marketing Strategy
With everything falling into place, the next crucial step was to drive traffic to my website. I entrusted my pixel pal to create a marketing strategy for me, and he outdid himself. Not only did he recommend actionable approaches, but he also delivered a treasure trove of SEO-relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and captivating introductory texts (complete with emojis) for Instagram and Facebook. On top of that, he even crafted my first 14 social media posts! Armed with this bounty, all I had to do was set up accounts and schedule posts using Canva for eye-catching images.
Ready for the Launch
With all preparations complete, I was ready for the grand launch. Yet, it was almost the next day already, and excitement brimming, I decided to call it a night.
Day 5 – The Launch, the Learnings, and the AI Adventure
The launch of my e-commerce site was as uneventful as any other Monday morning. No fanfare, no fireworks. My target audience was likely sipping their first cup of coffee or still lost in dreamland. The launch button was pressed, the website was live, and then... quiet. But this wasn't a story about a groundbreaking launch. It was about the journey, the learnings, and the exploration of AI's capabilities.
AI: The Game Changer
In this experiment, AI was not just a tool; it was my co-pilot. From generating business ideas to designing the website, creating product descriptions, and forming a marketing strategy, AI was at the helm. It was like a constant brainstorming session, with my AI co-pilot churning out suggestions, ideas, and even some offbeat humour.
The sheer capacity of AI to generate creative solutions was awe-inspiring. Asking it to come up with product categories yielded results that were not only relevant but also demonstrated a level of creativity that I hadn't expected from an AI. The way it guided me through the maze of legal texts and SEO-friendly descriptions further underscored its immense potential.
An Unconventional Metric of Success
Now, you might be wondering about the performance metrics of the website. In the days following the launch, the site did see some traffic, a mix of new and returning visitors. Yet, the 'converting visitors' metric sat at a grand zero. A disappointing figure? Not in the least.
For me, the success of this project wasn't to be measured in sales or conversions. The true metric of success was the journey itself - the experience of using AI to navigate the unknown territory of building an e-commerce site from scratch in just five days.
Looking Back to Look Forward
The journey was challenging, enlightening, and, at times, downright frustrating. But it was these very challenges that made the adventure worthwhile. They pushed me to think differently, to experiment, and to keep learning. And isn't that what life is all about - to keep learning, growing, and embracing new experiences?
So, did I sell anything? No. But that doesn't matter. The goal was never about selling products or making profits. It was about understanding and harnessing the power of AI, embracing the challenge and learning from the experience. And in that respect, I consider this project a resounding success.
This experiment may have ended, but my journey with AI is far from over. I've glimpsed its potential and I'm excited about the prospects it holds for future endeavors. In fact, as I write this, I'm co-founding an AI startup currently in stealth mode, set to emerge soon. The e-commerce shop may or may not exist in a few weeks, but the lessons learned and the experience gained from this project will undoubtedly influence my approach to this new venture.
So, here's to the adventure that was, and the adventures yet to come in the uncharted territory of AI. The possibilities are truly endless.
Comentarios