If you’re looking for a way to earn passive income, you’ve probably considered exploring the lucrative world of online retail. But what happens when things don’t go according to plan and you find yourself struggling month after month? You could find yourself in a rut, wondering how you’re ever going to be able to make enough to meet your basic needs. But before you give up and go back to slaving for the man, consider this article. It contains everything you need to know about how to earn $4,000 a month or more from selling online.
The Basics: How to Start an Online Store
If you’re looking to venture into the world of online retail, there are a few things you need to know upfront. First, you’ll need a web domain name. This will act as your online storefront and will be the URL people visit to find your products. For example, if you decide to go with Bluehost as your web hosting service, your store could be found at domain name–yourstore.com. Naturally, you’ll want to pick a unique and relevant domain name that won’t become obsolete or outdated in the future. Once you have this, you’ll want to look into purchasing a Shopify store. This is a completely free platform designed for online retailers that provides all of the tools and features you need to get started.
The Goods
Before you start selling your products online, you’ll need to make sure you have a good supply of the items you plan on selling. Just like in real life, the key to successful online retail is proper inventory management. Having an ample supply of every item you plan on selling will help ensure you have enough inventory to satisfy your customers. However, it is essential you don’t sell products that are difficult to ship. This will make a huge difference in your shipping costs and ultimately your bottom line. So, before you go any further, make sure you’ve thought of all the items you’ll need in order to start running a successful online store.
Shipping
This is where things get a little complicated. The average person doesn’t want to pay for shipping, so you’ll need to find a way to mitigate the costs. Luckily for you, we’re here to help with seven tips on how to ship your goods for free. So sit back and get inspired.
Use Your Social Media
One of the best things about the internet is its vast reach. Thanks to services like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, anyone with a computer and an internet connection is potentially a consumer. When used properly, social media can be a powerful tool for acquiring customers and increasing sales. For example, if you sell ladies’ wear, you might want to create a brand identity on Instagram by using the hashtag #LFW (ladies’ fashion week) and joining the @lfw2019 account. At the end of the day, you’re just asking people to follow you so you can let them know when new clothing items are available. But the reach of these platforms is so great it could potentially bring in a ton of new customers.
Use Airbnbs
Airbnb is a popular platform that connects travelers with homeowners who want to rent out their properties for a fee. So, instead of staying at a hotel, you could use Airbnb to stay in a beautiful home while selling your products. The upside is you get to keep all of the profits and don’t have to worry about paying for your lodging. The downsides are you have to put in a lot of work to make sure your Airbnb is perfect for travelers and you have to hand over all of your profits to the site.
Reduce Your Bills
One of the ways people earn a decent amount of money online is by selling their products on Ebay or Amazon. But if you don’t want to go that route, you can create your own listing on Alibaba, where you can sell your products directly to Chinese consumers. You’ll have to get your products manufactured in China, but other than that, the process is completely automated. You’ll have to register with the Chinese trade agency TiSA and then apply for an account with Alibaba. Once you’re set up, you can start advertising your products. It’s a win-win if you decide to put your products on sale through Alibaba as it is the world’s largest market and its many billions of users make for a very valuable audience. Plus, you get to keep all of the profits.
Use Drop-Shipping
Instead of going through the hassle of manufacturing your products and then shipping them to your customers, you can use a service known as Drop-Shipping. This is when a manufacturer or supplier drops off the products you order at your door. For example, you place an order with a company that sells luxury goods, like jewelry or perfumes, and they provide you with the items you ordered. While you avoid all of the associated costs (such as storage and personnel), you have to pay a premium for this service. Sometimes, the cost of drop-shipping can even be more than what you’d spend if you bought the items yourself from a manufacturer.
Sell Your House
If you’re looking for ways to earn quick cash, you might consider selling your house. After all, who doesn’t need extra money? Unless you want to become a landlord and deal with all of the hassles that come with it, this is usually a bad idea. But if you want to explore the wonderful world of online retail, you can either rent out your house and use the money to fund your travels or you can create a store and sell your house as part of your real estate collection. Either way, make sure you do your research before you get started or commit to anything. Additionally, make sure you work with a real estate agent who has experience in digital marketing and email list building. If you need help figuring out how to sell your house for the most money, contact me today!
The Extras
Once you’ve gotten the basics down, you can start to think about the extras. These are all the little things that you might want to include in your business plan, but probably wouldn’t think about when trying to earn a living. Things like brand identity, shipping discounts, and more are considered “bonus” items when planning a retail business.
Marketing
Like any other business, you’ll need to put in the time and effort to get the word out there about your business. When it comes to marketing online, things are a lot more complicated than just throwing up a couple of ads and hoping for the best. You’ll also need to consider the content you’re creating and sharing on social media. It’s crucial to develop a brand identity and create content that will make your customers want to discover more about you. Additionally, you’ll need to find ways to gain credibility and build trust with your audience. To do this, you can either create content that is directly relevant to your product or you can create content that is relevant to a position you hold (e.g., an attorney, a doctor, or a judge). If you decide to go the former, make sure you’ve considered the language you’ll need to employ when discussing your products as well as the tone of the content. For example, if you sell baby clothes, make sure you have a nursery brand identity and bring in the right audience with relevant content. Think of things like YouTube videos, podcasts, or blog posts that you can include in your marketing mix.
Management
Now that you’ve got a good product, shipped and stored properly, you can start thinking about management. This is all the stuff behind the scenes that makes a business run smoothly. Things like payroll, bookkeeping, and employees. While you don’t need to have employees to be a successful online retailer, having someone to help you along the way will certainly help mitigate the headaches that come with being your own boss. Additionally, you can outsource some of the tasks you’re not equipped to handle (e.g., bookkeeping, payroll, or warehousing).
As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts to running a successful online store. But with a little planning, research, and strategizing, you can easily reach your goals. Don’t get discouraged if it takes a while to build up your audience. It’ll happen naturally as long as you put in the effort. And last but not least, make sure you keep track of your business expenses. It would be best to set up a separate bank account for business transactions so you can accurately record which expenses are connected to your business and which are personal. This way, you’ll be able to properly file your taxes at the end of the year.