During the COVID-19 pandemic, so many people have focused on new ways to make money. People are out of work and frustrated. Perhaps you’re working less and making less money. With so many of us stuck at home throughout the last year, people have come up with new ways to keep the money coming in and cultivating their passion while they’re at it. There are a variety of platforms available to you to sell whatever you’re selling so that you can sell products online. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks, but if you are passionate about your product it will be a lot easier to put in the hard work to start your online store.
What Are You Selling?
Before you get started, you should determine what you are selling, who you are selling to, and how much you are selling it for. Once you have figured out what you are pushing, you will have a better idea where you should sell it. Are you making what you are selling or are you selling a collection that you have? If you are making the item, there are different platforms than if you are selling a collectible or another object.
Decide On the Platform to Sell Products Online
There are a variety of platforms where you can sell what you’re offering. If you are starting your own business, you can look into Shopify. Etsy is a great option if you are selling things you have made like crafts, household items, and other objects that wouldn’t fly on other online platforms.
Woo-commerce is a great platform if you are using WordPress to sell products online. Ebay is a great platform to sell your collectibles and other second-hand items. Finally, selling on Amazon is a great option for a variety of reasons. Not only will you be able to sell pretty much anything, some companies buy Amazon FBA business and take over their inventory for a sum.
Brand Your Store
Even if you are not starting a business, branding your online store is very important. Think about what you are selling and who you want to buy it. Basing your brand on this information will help you market your store later. Then, once you have decided on a name and a branding strategy, you can buy a domain for a website. All of this information should be tied to what you want your potential customers to remember. It’s important to take a cohesive look at how you want your business to be represented.
What Payments Will You Accept?
Deciding on what payments to take is another important process. While it depends on what ecommerce platform you are using to sell products online, working with a payment processor varies. A third party handles the payment transaction when a customer makes a purchase. You can use Square, Stripe, PayPal, or others. These sites employ security measures. If you are using Shopify or another service like it, there will be a payment service tied into it. Of course Amazon provides payment options as well. Is it your goal to have a brick-and-mortar store? When you decide on goals for your shop, you will be able to determine how best to move forward.
How Will You Ship?
Then, once you have determined what you are selling, what platform you are selling it on, how you will brand your store, what payment method you will use, you should determine what you will use for shipping and how much you will charge. Of course it depends on what you are selling and where you’re shipping it, finding the right method to do so can make or break you. While you could go to the post office, there are also options to ship from your home. Amazon makes shipping cheap and easy, but not every other platform can provide that service. It’s important to make shipping affordable for you and your customers.
Create Social Media Accounts
After you have the above details sorted, you should create social media accounts and start posting. Using social media to promote your online store is integral to your success. Most people will encounter the items you are selling online through social media. Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and everything else you can to promote your online store. It doesn’t matter what you are selling, there are plenty of options to promote your small business using social media sites.
Market Your Store to Sell Products Online
It doesn’t matter how ambitious you are, if you want to sell a decent amount of product online you should market your store. Buy ad space and invest in digital marketing. If you pay someone who specializes in SEO, it will make all the difference. Landing on Google is vital to getting the word out. It depends on what you are selling, but if it is a popular item online there will be a lot of online competition. Using SEO digital marketing will help you land on search engine sites and stand out amongst the crowd.
Keep Up with Sales & Grow
Then it will be time to start selling. When you begin selling your product, you should keep up with orders and send them out immediately. When you keep up with sales, you will be able to grow and expand your online store. What are your goals with the online business? How serious do you want to take it? Is it a hobby or a real company you are starting? It doesn’t matter what you’re selling, if you want to take it seriously you can and invest as much as possible to expand.
Starting an online business isn’t easy, but you can get started by doing the initial research and hard work it takes to get going. Whether you are trying to get rich off your business or simply want to sell crafts you make, there are plenty of options to take control of your online store. Work on cultivating your passion by starting to sell online. Once you have determined your goals and what you will sell, you can create accounts with the platforms that are conducive to your store.
