How to Get Your First 10 Orders on Your Online Store
The gap between zero orders and your first ten is the hardest stretch you’ll cross — no reviews, no reputation, and nobody has heard of you yet. The trick is to stop thinking like a stranger fighting for attention and start with the people who already know you. Almost every seller’s first sales come from exactly there. Here is the sequence, in order, with no ad budget required.
Sell to the people who already follow you
Your first buyers are hiding in plain sight: your Instagram followers, your WhatsApp contacts, the people who liked your last post. Put your store link in your bio, share every new listing to your story, and message a few past customers directly. You’re not cold-calling — these are people who already trust you.
Be specific rather than broadcasting. "My store is live, link in bio" gets ignored. A message to someone who bought from you in DMs six months ago — "I’ve finally got a proper store, and I made these in the colour you asked about" — gets a reply. Ten personal messages will outperform ten stories, every time, at this stage.
WhatsApp status is the most underrated channel available to a Pakistani seller. It reaches the people who already have your number, it costs nothing, and it is seen by people who never open Instagram.
Make the first review worth chasing
Nobody wants to be the first to buy from a shop with no reviews. So make those first orders count: over-deliver on packaging, drop in a handwritten thank-you, and follow up after delivery to ask, kindly, if they’d leave a review. A handful of honest reviews flips a nervous browser into a buyer.
Timing decides whether you get one. Ask a day or two after delivery, when they have the thing in their hands and are still pleased with it. Ask a fortnight later and the feeling has faded; ask before it arrives and you look like you are chasing.
Ask like a person, not a business. "Would you mind leaving a review? It genuinely helps a new shop" works. An automated-sounding request for feedback does not.
Give them a small reason to act now
A gentle nudge helps — a launch discount for your first customers, or a "first 10 orders get free delivery" line in your caption. Keep it honest and time-bound. You’re not tricking anyone; you’re just giving a fence-sitter a reason to decide today instead of "later" (which usually means never).
Keep the offer small and finite. A permanent discount is not an offer, it is your new price, and it is very hard to walk back. "Free delivery on the first ten orders" ends by itself. "20% off" with no end date quietly becomes what your work is worth.
Post like someone with something to sell
Most new sellers post a product photo and a price and wonder why nothing happens. The posts that produce first orders show the thing in a life, not on a table.
Show your hands making it. Show the parcel being packed. Show it being worn, used, given. People buying from a small business are buying the maker as much as the product, and that is the one advantage you hold over every large retailer — so stop hiding it behind flat-lay photographs.
Post the process, not just the result. A half-finished piece with "this will be a bridal set by Friday" gets more replies than the finished photograph, because it invites people in before the thing exists.
Turn one buyer into three
Every early customer is a marketing channel. A genuinely happy buyer tells a sister, a colleague, a group chat. Ask them to. And keep them: a quick "thanks, here’s 10% off your next order" costs you little and is far cheaper than finding a brand-new customer.
Make the sharing easy. Include a card in the parcel with your store link and Instagram handle, so when someone is asked "where did you get that?", the answer is in their hand rather than in their memory.
And be honest about the arithmetic: winning a new customer takes far more effort than selling again to someone who already liked what you made. Sellers who chase only new buyers stay busy and stay small.
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Put a card in every parcel with your store link. When someone is asked "where did you get that?", the answer should be in their hand, not in their memory.
What to do if a week passes with nothing
It happens to almost everyone, and the instinct — drop your prices — is usually wrong. Diagnose before you discount.
- No views at all? Nobody knows the store exists. That is a distribution problem: post more, message more, put the link everywhere.
- Views but no orders? Something on the page is blocking the decision. Usually photographs, missing sizes or measurements, or unclear delivery time.
- Added to cart but not ordered? Almost always delivery cost or time appearing later than expected.
- Orders but refusals on delivery? Confirm on WhatsApp before dispatch and be honest about how long it takes.
- Only then consider price — and change one thing at a time, or you will never know which one worked.
| What you see | What it actually means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No views at all | Nobody knows the store exists | Distribution — post, message, put the link everywhere |
| Views, no orders | The page is blocking the decision | Photos and descriptions |
| Cart, no checkout | Delivery cost or time surprised them | Show delivery clearly, earlier |
| Orders, then refusals | Expectations were not set | Confirm on WhatsApp before dispatch |
| All of the above fine | Now you may look at price | Reprice from your costs |
⚠️ Do not start here
The instinct in a dead week is to cut prices. It is almost always the wrong first move — and once you have trained buyers to wait for a discount, it is very hard to undo.
Set up your store and message your first customers today.
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Frequently asked
Do I need to spend money on ads to get my first sales?
No. Your first orders should come from the audience you already have — Instagram, WhatsApp, past customers. Paid ads make more sense once you know your product converts; advertising something that does not sell yet just buys you proof faster and more expensively.
How do I get reviews when I’m brand new?
Over-deliver on your first orders and follow up a day or two after delivery, while they still have the thing in their hands. Ask like a person, not a business. On dapxop, buyers can review once an order is delivered, so a few great early orders build real social proof fast.
How long does it take to get the first order?
For most sellers who message their existing audience directly, days rather than weeks. If a week passes with nothing, the problem is almost always distribution — not enough people know the store exists — rather than price.
What if I get views but no orders?
That is a page problem, not a traffic problem. It is usually photographs, missing measurements or sizes, or unclear delivery time. Fix those before touching your price, and change one thing at a time so you know what worked.
Should I offer a launch discount?
A small, finite one helps a hesitant buyer decide today. Keep it time-bound or capped — "free delivery on the first ten orders" ends by itself, whereas an open-ended 20% off quietly becomes your real price and is very hard to walk back.
How do I ask friends and family to buy without being awkward?
Don’t ask them to buy. Tell them the store is live and ask them to share it. The ones who want something will order anyway, and the sharing is worth more than a pity purchase.
Is it worth messaging people individually?
At this stage it is the single highest-return thing you can do. Ten personal messages referencing something specific — a colour they asked about, a piece they admired — will beat ten stories comfortably. Broadcasting works later, once people already know you exist.