4 online business growth hacks that’ll increase your sales by 30x. Whether you’ve got a fresh online startup or a long-standing e-commerce store, you have a standing goal that never goes away. You need to increase your online sales. And like so many things in this world, it always looks and sounds a lot easier than it really is. There’s no magic bullet you can fire or switch you can flip to suddenly generate more sales. However, there are a number of ways you can “hack” your growth to start building more online sales. They’re not as simple as flipping a switch, but they’re not painfully difficult, either. These hacks just involve a little time, but at the end of the day, you’ll pay far less to acquire new customers, and you’ll see that your customer retention rate skyrockets. #1 Hack: Find your influences There are influencers in just about every industry – the people customers turn to for the latest trends, opinions, advice, and information.You can and should find a way to work with these influencers to rapidly spread the reach of your brand.It’s like strapping a rocket to a word-of-mouth campaign, which is worth the investment when Ogilvy found that at least 74% of consumers rely on word of mouth to drive purchase decisions. Influencer marketing has gotten huge in fashion and apparel, but that doesn’t mean that other online businesses can’t tap into influencers to gain the benefits. #2 Hack: Use strategic giveaways to generate buzz and traffic A giveaway is a great way to turn eyeballs toward your brand, generate traffic, and get an influx of relevant subscribers you can market to and turn into customers.But only if you handle the giveaway properly.Big-ticket items like Apple products tend to draw a big crowd, but many members of your audience might already have the latest tech.Or they might be a die-hard fan of a competitor and aren’t at all enticed by a brand new iPad. #3 Hack: Spark social shares offline Another great way to get your customers to start talking about you and build visibility through word of mouth is to capture them when their excitement is at its peak. For a customer anticipating a purchase, the moment they get their package and open the new product they’ve been waiting for is peak excitement. This is the best time to hit them with the ask. Include a card or pack-in note that prompts them to share their new purchase on social media with a custom hashtag, or to tag your brand in the post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. #4 Hack: Push hard with social proof Recommendations and referrals from friends carry significant weight – that’s why referral programs are so crazy effective for growing an e-commerce business. People are guarded about how they spend their money online. If you want them to open their wallets you have to instill trust.Since not every customer will generate referrals, your next best option is to build social proof into the funnel.