Thomas Kelly
8 November 2020
One of the great business opportunities in 2020 is starting an ecommerce business. Let look at Six Simple Steps
Part of the fast ways to make money online is e-commerce, according to the U.S. Census Data, this mode of doing business is increasing at a rapid rate than the conventional offline retail sales.
It is said to have ranked in over $190 billion in sales in a single year. Hence it has become a magnet to all entrepreneurs who wishes to explore the opportunities that abound online.
One of the challenges with the boom in internet marketing and ecommerce is the availability of volumes of information (ironically this ought to be a good thing) that you will have to sieve through in order to get the precise information you want.
You only need to Google a phrase like “starting an ecommerce business” and see the number of webpages on it.
With the huge interest on starting an ecommerce business, we have decided to summarise six simple and straight forward steps to starting an ecommerce business, along with some useful links that will be of great benefit.
Define your Niche and Business
Defining what your business structure will be is paramount in ecommerce, what you will be selling and why should people buy from you is key to your business plan. This could be simply be as Where to sell, What to sell and Why will people buy from you.
Where to sell – You need to define if you will be selling on your Website or on somebody else’s site.
To build your own website, it is advised that you used the known major players in the industry in Domain Name Purchase and in Website Hosting
Godaddy is the leading name in domain name sales while for website hosting is known as Ipage. Both are good and you could use either of them.
We do prefer using different service providers for the purchase of the Domain Name and Website Hosting.
Remember to first find out what Niche you want to focus on and then search for keywords that will help you choose a name for your website.
A very good Niche and Keyword search tool you will find useful is known as Jaxxy.
What to sell – Knowing what to sell is critical to the success of your ecommerce business. You have or be as specific as possible and find a niche that you have passion for or you can build up yourself as an authority on the subject matter. You should be able to get across to the right customers and also encounter the least competition. You also need to decide if you are going to do the actual sale or be an affiliate to the one selling.
Remember, selling products means you will have to include logistical issues like shipping, storage and initial purchase.
Why will people buy form you – You are expected to be able to offer what will give you the extra edge over all your competitors. This could be in the form of customer service, technical support or information on products.
Get a Blueprint or Plan
It is logical and business wise to come up with a business plan. Without one, you will not be focused and will not be able to accomplish your tasklist in the time line you are using. You could end up overspending, or putting effort on unnecessary issues.
The advantage of ecommerce business is that it could be very cost effective as the startup could cost you next to nothing. Major cost is for your domain name which we do advise you get. It is strongly advised that you don’t put in much until it has started bring in some revenue stream and is established in the Niche you choose.
Build a Website
Most online marketers will tell you that it is 99% better when the website you are has your domain name. These days it is very easy for you to build a website using different platform however wordpress still remains at the top of the pack. You could also build an estore using any of the platforms available.
For ecommerce stores, one of my top recommendations is shofity
Generate Visitors’ traffic to your Website
One of the major activities you will be involved in is to drive traffic to your website in order to create opportunities for site visitors to be able to see your products and buy them. Search Engine Optimization is also very essential in order for your website to be ‘found’ in search engine results.
There are SEO service providers that can help you enhance your SEO. One free SEO enhancing tool is the Google Adwords Keyword Tool
Lastly, Follow the Rule Book!
It is important that you familiarise yourself with the laws that govern your starting a business online and you abide by them when starting an ecommerce business.
