Do you want to start a profitable eCommerce business to make some extra income? Starting your own business, in many ways, is easier today than it ever has been.
Creating an eCommerce business is like setting up a store that is open 24/7 and needs very little involvement to sell products. Some eCommerce models allow you to automate the process from beginning to end.
So many people come up with business ideas and quickly lose their steam as they look at the reality of what it takes to make and grow a business.
Don’t lose your spark!
There are easy ways to make your business happen. It just takes a lot of small, deliberate actions.
Here are some easy and reliable steps to make your eCommerce brand.
1. Decide What You Want Your Business To Look Like
If you skip this step and jump straight to figuring out which products you are going to sell, you could end up getting overwhelmed if you choose a model or niche that doesn’t work for you.
You need to answer some logistical questions first, including:
- How much work do you want to do before you sell a product?
- How will you manage your inventory?
- What kind of product do you want to sell?
Why are these questions important? Because they will help you gauge your limits and manage your expectations so you can avoid burning yourself out or becoming overwhelmed when running the business.
Before you start getting frustrated with packaging or lose your edge after making the same product three dozen times, consider what you want your business to look like and what would give you the most fulfillment.
Consider what kind of audience you want to sell to. If you aren’t sure what kind of products to sell, this can help narrow the choices down.
Here are some different options of products you can sell:
- Physical goods
- Digital assets
- A course or subscription
If you decide to sell physical goods, consider these inventory options:
- Self-managed inventory – Manage storing, packing, and shipping your products.
- Drop-ship – Sell a manufacturer’s goods and let them handle inventory and shipping.
- Outsource Fulfilment – Send your products to another company to manage inventory and ship goods.
Making these decisions now will save you the stress of working through them later. Figuring out what works best for you now removes roadblocks that can stop you or wear you out later.
2. Decide What Products You Want To Sell
Here comes the creative part. When you know what type of thing you want to sell and who to sell it to, it’s time to create a product line that solves problems and gets people excited!
You may have seen influencers on social media talking about buying products low and selling them high. It is a legit strategy you can use to make income.
One of the best ways to run a profitable business is to sell an original product. If you choose to resell items you purchase from others, you always risk competing with others who sell the same products for less.
Creating an original product does more to secure your foot in your niche than buying and selling others’ products.
Another thing to keep in mind is the marketing and demand for the products you want to sell. Online marketing tools give you a general idea of what is currently in high demand.
By searching your niche for high search volume keywords, you can determine if your niche is profitable and what kinds of products people are looking for in that niche. This research can give you an edge over competitors by finding markets ripe with willing buyers but lacking products that meet demand.
3. Decide on an eCommerce Platform
As intimidating as choosing an eCommerce platform may seem, this will be one of the easiest steps in establishing yourself online.
To create a space where buyers and sellers can interact directly, developers created eCommerce platforms to perform secure transactions. This is a relief for the rest of us who aren’t expert programmers!
Now you need to ask yourself again what your objectives are. Do you want to customize your website to make it stand out? Or are you content with a more generic website that functions well and causes you little stress?
If you want an easy website with limited customizability, consider these platforms:
If you want more customizability, you can build your own WordPress website and install the Woocommerce plugin.
4. Create a Brand for Your Business
Here comes another fun part!
Creating a brand should be fun! It’s easy to stress and overthink this process, but the truth is, you just need your website’s style to be consistent, easy to read, and look nice with complementary colors.
When you make your website, you might consider getting feedback from people you can trust to be honest with you.
Be creative with how you present your company and services! This will help you stand out from other eCommerce websites in your niche.
5. Market Your Business
Now that your website is running, it’s time to start marketing and selling your products!
This phase in the process is the most challenging and time-consuming. Your niche can help you determine how you can best find and be found by your ideal customers.
Some of the easiest and most common ways to market small businesses are:
- Word of mouth (tell your friends and family)
- Social Media Marketing (Organic and Paid Advertising)
- Search Engine Marketing (Search ads)
These methods are likely to yield results the fastest. Don’t expect overnight success, though. Even though ads can deliver results fast, testing and optimizing your campaigns take up to 90 days to optimize.
Less expensive, yet more time-consuming and long-term options are to use these techniques:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing (used frequently with SEO)
These listed methods can take six months or more to deliver consistent success.
Many people starting their business journey get frustrated the most here. Remember, results don’t happen overnight, but your consistency, persistence, and creativity will help you get where you want to go.
Revity Marketing Guides
Most people aren’t confident about marketing themselves or their businesses. It’s not one of those things we learn in elementary school. Digital marketing is something that we’ve studied a little and can probably lend you a hand!
If you need help starting a profitable eCommerce business, contact us today! We’re excited to help your business thrive!
