The e-commerce business is booming at the moment. There are many people selling everything that they can get their hands on. The worldwide Retail E-commerce sales grow each year, and from $1.5T in 2015 got up to $2.8T in 2018 and it is not showing any signs that it will stop.
So, the answer to the question: can you make money from e-commerce? The answer is Yes! Many people from all over the world have built their empire based on an e-commerce business.
Online retail business is a complicated process that involves step by step preparation and knowledge in order to succeed. A bit like horse racing. However, you cannot get the experience until you try it for yourself. The only way to stay successful in e-commerce is to start with basic guidelines and learn from your mistakes. As the competition is getting higher, it will be more difficult to stand out from the pack as the market is limited.
However, if you believe in your idea you should start immediately with e-commerce. In this article, we will go through some basic guidelines that will ensure that you will have a successful launch of your store.
- Research The Basics of E-commerce Business
It is very difficult to go into the unknown expecting something great. The e-commerce business is an investment and you should treat it as such. Understanding the process of how e-commerce works will result in making fewer mistakes in the process.
You should know that there isn’t any business structure that works for everyone. You will have to adapt your e-commerce strategy with your idea and make it work for you.
Research! You must have a clear idea on what to sell online as well as the different business models available online. Is it going to be physical products or digital? Are you going to sell your products or resell and from where? What niche is your e-commerce store going to represent? What is your target audience?
Basically, you must know how e-commerce works and make a business plan, finding out the best strategy for the launch of your e-commerce store.That will save you time, money and energy, rather than go all in and scrap the project later.
2. Niche Research
At this stage most people make mistakes. First of all, you must understand that you are starting your e-commerce business with limited resources, so it is best if you use them wisely. Niche research means that you must find the best products by category or brand to sell online. It is considered the most important step.
Extensive niche research is required. There are a few simple guidelines you should follow.
- Try keeping it simple. You cannot go into the business selling all kinds of stuff. You must pick one niche! With a limited amount of budget for advertising, you cannot cover all the categories from your store. Also if you attract somebody with your ad, they will not buy anything just because they were the wrong targeted audience and that is money wasting.
- Make sure you pick the niche with low competition. You are better of selling only shoe polish if there is low competition in that market rather than adding all kinds of products.
3. Products selection
Everything in e-commerce depends on research. Product selection is also a key element for running a successful e-commerce business. People make so much money just by finding the next trends and entering the market first. You have to be careful with the product research and finding new trends, as we witnessed what happened to the fidget spinner. Many people lost money on that wrong estimate.
Your personal taste may be different than the market demands. So make sure that you select your products that you think they will sell well, not that you like them. There are many websites that can help you finding top selling products on the internet, just to have a rough idea of where to go to. Everything else will be for your imagination.
If you choose Dropshipping model you will be exposed to less risk just because you do not own the products. However, if you buy them and resell them, make sure you have done plenty of research for your products.
4. Establish your brand
Since you covered all the basics, it is time to get technical. Making a statement with your brand will have a huge impact on your e-commerce business. Make sure you have a catchy domain name that can grow to be a brand and elegant timeless logo.
The message that your business will represent it is also important. The first impression that customers get will decide if your business module will succeed. You got to make sure your brand looks trustworthy.
5. Build your store
Do not worry if you are not an experienced, web developer. There are many websites like Shopify or Woocommerce that will assist you. They will take care of many things like setting up an order tracking system, stock, price regulations and much more. Of course, there are some fees that you will have to pay in order to use their services. You have to make sure you implement your business idea into the visuals of the store. The process is very simple nowadays, you can set up an e-commerce store in minutes.
6. Market your products
After all the work you have done, it is time for customers to start purchasing from your store. There are a lot of marketing platforms to advertise on like Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, Affiliate Marketing, Influencers. However, the success of your marketing campaign will be determined by the targeted audience you choose. It doesn’t matter if you have an outstanding offer about canine products if you advertise to people that do not have dogs. So, make sure you segment your audience much better and only advertise to fewer people that are more likely to buy.
Are you ready to start your online e-commerce business?
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