6 Easy Ways to Start Selling Online Successfully

Online selling or eCommerce is the selling of goods and services using the internet. In the last decade, it has become a popular form of business or commercial transaction. People worldwide can sell any item with ease.

Aside from it being easy, online shopping offers consumers several advantages that physical stores may not be able to:

• Savings on resources like time and fuel
• No long lines
• Lower prices compared to inline stores
• Open 24/7
• Searchable shopping items

How to Sell Online

Online selling has given opportunities for entrepreneurs to reach a market that they wouldn’t have reached in a brick-and-mortar shop. Starting a business, in general, is a risk and does not always guarantee success. If you are looking to sell merchandise online but don’t know how to do so successfully, here are some tips:

1. Choose where to sell

What’s great about online selling is that you can sell across these channels without hiring staff.

• Your website. You can create your online store either with WordPress or Shopify and other similar platforms. Online store builders let you process sales faster and easier and showcase your products to help you sell successfully.
• Online marketplaces. Online marketplaces already have several dedicated customers who visit their sites, exposing you to potential customers that enable you to start selling quickly.
• Social media. Selling on social media is also popular these days. Similar to marketplaces, there are already several frequent visitors and users to platforms such as Facebook and even Instagram. Social media is a busy place, and its users have a short attention span. Products and services need to stand out, so be sure to follow a social selling guide.

2. Determine your online business strategy

Having an online business is tricky, which is why it’s important to have a business strategy before you start selling online. It doesn’t have to be complex, nor does it require you to be a genius to come up with one. Simply ask yourself the following questions:

• What do you want to achieve with your online business?
• What margin do you hope to make?
• Who are your competitors?
• How are people spending their money online?
• How will customers find you and your products?

By answering these questions, you can navigate your way into successful online selling.

3. Determine what products to sell online

Initially, you may have problems not knowing what products will sell. Do your research. Use Google Trends, conduct a keyword search, read online forums, or see what big stores are selling.

Once you know what products to sell, source these from a manufacturer or wholesaler and buy in bulk. Or you can make them yourself.

4. Create shoppable posts

When posting items to sell online, you’ll need to create shoppable posts. These posts contain product images and product descriptions to call buyers’ attention.

Remember to use high-quality images and not blurry ones, or you could lose customers. Provide as many views of the product as possible, and if your product comes in different variants, make sure to have images of these as well. Include photos of how the product can be used.

When writing the product descriptions, always add alt tags and keywords for search engine optimization (SEO). Avoid copying and pasting descriptions from other shops or manufacturers.

Steer clear of clichés and instead be more original, highlighting the benefits of the product. Write for your customers so they are motivated to buy your item but do not lie to them. And if your product has received rave reviews from previous customers, add these as well as proof that your items are legit.

5. Complete the customer experience

After creating an online selling platform, complete the customer experience by providing a shipping method, payment options, a customer service, and adding security to your online store to protect it and your customers from fraudulent activities.

6. Start marketing

Many people are online these days, so your goal is to market your products to as many buyers as possible.

Your marketing strategies may include:

• Partnering with influencers
• Blogging
• Building an email list and sending newsletters
• Using Google Ads and Facebook Ads
• Running promotions and contests

When it comes to selling products, online selling is the future. Through the powers of the internet, you can reach more potential customers at lesser costs and, sometimes in the comfort of your own home. But setting up your e-commerce store still takes a great deal of work. Since the eCommerce industry is competitive, you could use the numerous tools readily available online such as online ads and social media.

Check out: 10 Things You Are Doing Wrong While Selling Cars on Jiji