Сreate an eCommerce store in 2024

How to actually start selling online

So how can you actually start selling online? eCommerce is a broad term and there are many different ways of both acquiring items you wish to sell as well as selling them. There are, however, some basic steps that every online seller needs to take in order to start their business regardless of the business model or the platform they are selling on. Here are some basic steps you would need to take in order to have something an online shopper can eventually add to cart:


Product research
This is probably the most crucial step that will determine the strength of your online business venture. Picking the right product that people are actually looking for and are willing to spend money on is crucial. You can do everything else absolutely perfectly and it will be of no use if your product choice is incorrect.

When it comes to product research, it’s important to think long and hard about the criteria that your product needs to meet. These criteria can vary depending on your business model, your knowledge of your market, or your target audience. However, your criteria should be along these lines:

The weight - Since you will be almost certainly sourcing products from somewhere else on the globe, most likely China, you want to make sure that you spend as little on shipping as possible.

The size - Size of an item is important to minimize for the same reason as weight. However, while you cannot really influence the weight of a product once you choose it, you can find ways to reduce an item size with clever packaging.

The moving parts - This is a criteria that is related to risk and quality control. If you are selling items that are electronic, mechanical or otherwise fragile in nature you need to make sure that they don’t get damaged in transport and that they remain functional. These items tend to be more expensive. Usually sellers who are equipped for a larger scale business carry these items.

The selling price and the margins - Needless to say, the amount of money you can make per item sold is extremely important. It's important to make sure that you precisely calculate the cost of manufacturing a single unit of your product and the expected selling price.

Seasonality - Even though you might find items that are in demand and selling well you must also factor in seasonal trends. Not all items sell all year round. Items that do sell in every season are called evergreen. It’s not necessary to sell evergreen items, but if you sell seasonal items, you just need to plan your inventory accordingly.

Once you have your criteria set you can go ahead and start working on making a list of items that meet them. There are a lot of ways to get product ideas such as:

Google trends - You can check the popularity of any type of item or even some broader term related to a lifestyle that would include the item if you use Google trends. It’s a free tool and it’s extremely useful to obtain a general idea of what people are looking for.

Amazon - Amazon is the biggest online selling platform on earth. Even if you don’t intend to sell on Amazon, you can use the information there to gauge the popularity of any type of product. One of the easiest ways is to see how many reviews products in a certain niche are getting. If you wish to actually sell on Amazon then it is wise to use specialized Amazon market intelligence tools like AMZScout Pro Chrome Extension.

Pinterest - Pinterest is a more niche platform that is specialized and oriented toward handmade items. However, it’s a platform that quickly picks up new trends, which makes it very useful if you want to find interests that are gaining in popularity. There are also “pins” which serve as a sort of bookmark for people that are looking for information or ideas about a particular interest. The more pins, the more people are interested in the particular item.

Social media - If you want to put your finger on the pulse of whatever is going on in the world, social media is the place to go. If you are researching a product, you can visit pages that sell those items. You can also join groups gathered around an interest or a lifestyle that might include a demand for a specific item.

Choose a selling method and find a supplier

There are many different business models that fall under the umbrella of eCommerce. Any entrepreneur can choose the model that suits them the best. There are 3 basic ones:

-Reselling - This business model involves you finding discounted items in mostly physical stores and outlets and selling them online for profit. This is what is referred to as Retail arbitrage. You can also buy things online and resell them. This is what is referred to as Online arbitrage.

-Dropshipping - Dropshipping is great because you don’t have to hold any inventory yourself. You simply collect orders on your desired platform or website, make an order from the supplier and ship it to the address of your customer.

-Private label - This business model might be most demanding since it requires that you create your own brand of products and sell them using whichever platform or selling method you choose. This enables you to take advantage of the market situation that you’ve identified using your own design and brand.

Finding a supplier

Unless you are a reseller, you are going to be needing a supplier. For a private label seller, Alibaba is the place to go since you can almost certainly find exactly what you need and have it manufactured to your exact specifications.

It’s important to get all of the right information from a supplier such as prices at different order quantities, the price of shipping, and most importantly, to first test a prototype of the product you need. If you are dropshipping, the closely related website AliExpress is what you are most likely going to have the most success with.

Create your storefront

When it comes to creating your own storefront, you can either create your own website or sell on an established platform.

Selling on a platform - The largest online eCommerce platform is, of course, Amazon. It’s usually the first place to go for new entrepreneurs that want to join the world of Ecommerce. Figuring out what to sell on Amazon might even be easier than on other sites because there is a lot of free information available as well as paid courses. There are also specialized software tools. The great thing about Amazon is that there are literally millions upon millions of customers visiting the website every day. However, there are also millions upon millions of products and thousands of sellers and brands. Success requires proper decision making and planning ahead. Amazon also offers its Fulfillment service which allows you to run your business without ever handling inventory. There are also other platforms to consider,like Ebay, as well as the new growing Walmart online store.

Building your own website - Online sellers that choose this route are the ones that are willing to put in extra effort in order to have full control over every aspect of their business. The truth about online selling platforms is that they have rules and guidelines to follow, not to mention fees to pay. If you are willing to take care of everything by yourself and keep as much of the profits as possible, you should be building your own websites. There are numerous plugins like Shopify and Salt Creative e-commerce solutions that make this process less challenging than it might seem at face value. Keep in mind that if you have your own website, bringing in traffic is your own responsibility as well. This choice boils down to a reality of all of the responsibility and all of the profits.

Promoting your products

Marketing is, financially speaking, a very impactful factor when it comes to starting your own online business. It is certainly a cost that has to be calculated in advance. We are almost living in an age where digital marketing might as well be just called marketing at this point.

You can use social media marketing, which is what many sellers go for, and even there the options are varied. You can create sponsored posts, collaborate with influencers, create your own page or all of the above. Also, every platform has its own mechanism that is necessary to master in order to get the most advantage out of that system.

If you have your own website, using Google adwords is a must. Getting your website to rank higher on Google is what will most greatly impact your future sales.

If you are selling on a platform, you can use their internal advertising Pay Per Click systems. They are usually very sophisticated and effective, but can be pretty complicated and might take a while to master.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there has never been a better time to get into eCommerce than right now. Retail sales are down across the globe and e-commerce sales are up. As long as you have an entrepreneurial spirit and the proper mindset, you are sure to find the exact business model and product that will suit you, no matter your experience or disposable capital. You just have to put in the work and research. Good luck sellers!