How to Read "The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations: 81 Strategies for Building a Successful Cutting-Edge E-Commerce Site"
On August 24, 2021, Impress Corporation published a book titled "The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations: 81 Strategies for Building a Successful Cutting-Edge E-Commerce Site." I, Kurose, had the honor of contributing as a co-author, covering the theme of Shopify × growth hacking.
The Definitive Beginner's Guide to Shopify
The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations is designed so that Shopify beginners can read just this one book and gain the practical, comprehensive knowledge needed to build and operate a store and grow their revenue.
Although it is written for beginners, running a commerce business spans a wide range of operational areas, so the required body of knowledge is substantial. While the book stays focused on the essentials, it runs to over 350 pages. For my own section on Shopify × growth hacking, I narrowed it down to only what truly matters for beginners, trimming the original draft to about one-fifth of its initial length. The result is a dense, information-packed 350 pages.
That said, the book does not cover content that requires coding. Please note that it is not suited for those expecting theme development or app development. Developers can find the latest information on the Shopify Developers Platform.
Reference: Shopify Developers Platform
A Comprehensive Learning Resource for Shopify Operations
The book comprehensively covers everything you need to know to run a commerce business on Shopify — from Shopify's key features, store setup, team and organizational structure, front-office and back-office operations, logistics, and workflow efficiency, to growth strategies, partner selection, and app selection.
The StoreHero blog typically covers topics at a general level, but this book features in-depth contributions from specialists in each field, packed with content you won't find on the blog. Whenever you hit a roadblock in running your Shopify store, we hope you'll turn to this book and find the clues you need to solve your challenges.
Essential Fundamentals That Lead to Advanced Practice
A solid understanding of the content in this book will enable you to take on more advanced strategies as well.
For example — and this is a bit of a spoiler — I wrote in the book that one of the most important aspects of growth hacking is "keeping your data in a state where it can be actively utilized." When our company provides consulting, we often start by analyzing a client's customer data, but we frequently find that the data simply hasn't been accumulated, making analysis impossible.
Even without sophisticated analytical methods, if data is stored in a structured way, you can still extract insights that drive growth.
It's tempting to want to use trendy analytical methods like big data analysis, but there are few cases where machine learning can be used effectively with just the data available from an e-commerce site generating a few tens of millions of yen in monthly revenue. It is far more important to properly manage the basics of your data.
This book is filled with exactly this kind of foundational knowledge that opens the door to advanced practice.
The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations Support Site
A support site exclusively for readers of The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations has also been launched. It serves as a resource to quickly communicate corrections to the content and to keep pace with Shopify's rapid evolution.
The site is planned to feature revision updates to the book, information that didn't fit within its pages, as well as reviews and discussions inspired by the book, along with additional content based on reader requests.
In fact, since launching The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations, I've had the opportunity to discuss its content with several readers, which has helped me deepen my own thinking. I hope to continue sharing those updates going forward.
Reference: The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations Support Site
Growing Together with Readers of The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations
The primary motivation behind writing this book was the desire to work with merchants who have the capacity to move forward together on growth projects.
Needless to say, growth projects cannot deliver results through the efforts of a support partner like us alone. Our company, StoreHero, exists to make merchants into heroes — and the hero is always the merchant.
Achieving great results and becoming a hero requires the right foundational strength. StoreHero will do everything in its power to help you focus your efforts in the right direction, but executing those efforts correctly still requires a solid foundation. The content of "The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations" is precisely that foundation.
For those who have built that foundation by reading The Complete Guide to Shopify Operations, we believe it will be possible to achieve big visions and business goals together. The desire to partner with such merchants on growth initiatives and create meaningful results was the biggest motivation for writing this book.
If you are looking to leverage Shopify and take your commerce business to the next level, we hope you'll pick up a copy.