This article will teach you how to make money online buying and selling stuff. It will cover the basics of online shopping, how to find profitable bargains, and how to succeed as an online entrepreneur. So, read on and learn.
Start Small
Inevitably, you’ll have a ton of questions when launching your online store. So, instead of answering all of them immediately, I recommend that you start small. Begin with a simple e-commerce store based on your personal website. This way, you can gradually build your knowledge base and gain experience. You can also look into partnering with an e-commerce wholesaler to gain access to more products and expand your catalog. A small online store can generate $500 to $1000 per month. And if you want to expand your business, you can always replicate the model and start a second store. The more you sell, the more you make. So, do your research, find a good provider in your area, and get to work.
Be Picky
When researching products for your online store, be picky about what you purchase. It’s always best to buy the best quality you can afford, but this will only get you so far. If your products start breaking down after a few months, then you’ll be in the same situation as before. Buying cheap, poorly made products will hurt you in the long run. Quality control isn’t exact science, and it’s certainly not something you can always rely on. Sometimes, the cheapest option isn’t the best option at all. In those cases, it’s better to spend a little more money and be sure about what you’re getting.
Understand The Mechanics Behind Shipping
If you’re going to be running an online store, then you need to understand the mechanics behind shipping. The weight and size of your products will determine whether or not you can offer free shipping. Most e-commerce platforms will give you an idea of how much it will cost you to ship a certain amount of items to a specific location. There are various fees that you’ll need to include, such as the loading dock fee, which is determined by the type of carrier you use. You should also look into whether or not you’ll need to pay for extra shipping insurance, as this can sometimes be required by shippers to allow you to collect the package and drop it off at the post office. Knowing all of this will help you price your products accurately and offer the best possible value for your customers. In some instances, you might not be able to provide free shipping without risking a financial loss. In those cases, you might want to consider an alternate payment solution, such as PayPal or Square Cash.
Find A Niche Market
It’s important to find a niche market for your products. This means that you’ll be creating products that will appeal to a small group of people. If you can become familiar with a specific group of consumers, then it’ll help you figure out what they want and need. When developing your niche, make sure that there is enough demand for your product in your area. You can use online tools, such as Google Trends or Similar Web, to easily find the popularity of ANY niche or trending topic.
Offer A Variety Of Products
If you want to make money online, then you need to offer a variety of products. When developing your product line, pick items that are in high demand. If you can become the go-to resource for a certain type of product, then you can start charging for that service. For example, if you’re the best in your area at making cupcakes, and nobody else is offering that service, then you can develop a cupcake baking service and start charging people for baking you cupcakes. In most cases, you’ll need a website with the capability to take payments, such as Shopify, Squarespace, or WordPress.
Use All The Right Tools
When successfully launching an online store, you’ll need to have all the right tools. These are vital to the process and will enable you to run your business efficiently and successfully. A few of these tools include an e-commerce platform for selling your products, a virtual assistant to help you manage your business, and a content creator to produce sales-worthy content to drive traffic to your site.
The following sections will teach you everything you need to know about selling your products online.
Selling On A Personal Website
As mentioned, you’ll need an e-commerce platform to sell your products. There are numerous providers, such as Shopify, Big Cartel, and WordPress, that can be used to launch an online store. Each of these platforms are incredibly easy to use and will have all the necessary tools and features you need to get started. In addition to this, you’ll need a merchant account, which can be quickly and easily acquired from a reliable bank or credit card company.
If you don’t want to go the DIY route, then you can opt for an e-commerce platform that will handle all the back-end stuff for you. The prices of these platforms are reasonable, and they usually offer one-click shopping with a credit card.
To give you an idea of how much money you can make with a small personal website, here’s an example of a product I sold on my site. I bought the cream cheese last week for $3.99/pound and it was going for $4.99/pound the next day. So, if you were to sell it for those prices, you’d make $2.00 per sale (before you factor in your cost).
Creating A Product Line
Instead of simply selling one product at a time on your website, you can create a product line. A product line is where you create various products based on a theme or category, such as kitchenware or fashion accessories. A product line can be incredibly profitable if you’re able to establish yourself as the go-to source for your category. If you’re able to create unique items that haven’t been made before, then you’ll have an advantage over your competitors. In most cases, you’ll need a product sample and some inspiration from existing products to create something unique. Once you have an idea of what you want, it’s easy to figure out how to make it happen.
Selling Your Products Online
Now that you have a product line, it’s time to start selling. The first thing you’ll need to do is set up a simple e-commerce store on your website. This can be done with any of the platforms mentioned earlier, such as Shopify or WordPress. Once you have this established, you can start to promote your product line by writing product reviews or creating product comparisons.
The trick here is to make sure that you’re only reviewing products that are within your niche. If you’re doing your own product reviews, then make sure that they are relevant to your target audience.
For example, if you’re a baker and you’re reviewing makeup products, then your target audience will be mostly other bakers. Make sure to keep your reviews objective and focused on the product itself.
Analyzing Traffic And Making Adjustments
As your business grows, you’ll inevitably want to find out what’s working and what needs to be changed. One of the most vital tools for tracking the success of your online store is Google Analytics. With this tool, you can easily track the behavior and activities of your visitors. From here, you can easily identify products that are performing incredibly well, and you can decide what’s next. Do you need to lower the price of a certain product to make more revenue? Increase the prices of others to turn a profit? Experiment with different discounts or sales to see how much you can bring in.
When it comes to analyzing results and making adjustments to optimize your business, you can use various tools, such as Google Analytics, to reach your goals.
Managing Channels And Promotions
Depending on how much you’re making, you’ll have to decide which channel is going to be the focus of your marketing and sales efforts. Do you want to use social media to gain more traction? Launch a marketing campaign on Facebook or Instagram to gain more followers? Or, should you use email marketing to grow your audience and drive traffic to your site?