THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I RECEIVE A COMMISSION FOR PURCHASES MADE THROUGH THESE LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU.
eCommerce platforms have revolutionized online shopping experience. A number of people are looking to open up their own online stores. There are several things that you need to take care of if you want to succeed with selling on any of the eCommerce platforms out there.
While Amazon has become the largest online marketplace in the world, Shopify has become the ultimate platform for business owners looking to open up an online store. Similarly, a number of other online platforms have popped up that enable people to sell online and make money.
But what do all of the new sellers have in common?
- They get lured into making a hefty amount of profit from home right off the bat.
- They get into something that they do not know completely about.
- They learn things along the way.
Sure, online shopping is very convenient for buyers. If you are looking to buy something online, all you have to do is look at some images, read the description and place an order, all from the comfort of your bed or couch.
But if you are looking to sell on any of the eCommerce platforms, you have to take care of many different factors if you want to succeed in making money.
Majority of the people who are looking to sell want to make a living out of it. What you need to realize is that selling is a business activity. This means that you have to register your business so that you can sell legally.
To make sure that your business succeeds, there are a number of things you need. Here are 5 things you need if you want to successfully sell online:
1. Budget
There is some sort of misconception that you do not need any money to get started. You absolutely need to have a budget.
If you are just starting out with a new business idea that involves selling on one of the eCommerce platforms, you need to set apart some money for
- Business registration
- Advertising expenses
- Product sourcing
- Platform fees
- Shipping costs
- And more
You just cannot get your business off the ground, let alone grow and establish it, unless you are willing to spend upfront and during every stage of selling.
With Amazon’s FBA business model, you need to spend on product sourcing. With the dropshipping business model, you need to spare some money for advertising. In addition, eCommerce platforms charge their own fees such as listing fee, selling plan fee, referral fee, inventory fee, etc.
You need to realize that money is the name of the game here.
Moreover, you do not know if people would actually buy your product. If people do not respond positively to your product, you may incur losses. You need to factor that in to your budget as well.
2. Product Research
Product research is extremely important if you want to succeed in selling on eCommerce platforms.
Why is product research important? It comes down to the point 1 of this post, budget. You need to divert your funds towards a high-potential product so that you can minimize your chances of incurring losses and maximize your chances of making a profit.
You might be very excited about a product idea but chances are that the product you want to bring in to the market already exists. It is also possible that the product you want to introduce in the market falls under a highly competitive niche.
You need to avoid choosing a product category that is highly competitive or highly monopolistic. If you choose a product in an over-saturated category, then differentiate the product from the competition and design it uniquely in a way that people have never seen before.
Use Google Trends to study and analyze trends. Look into trends and patterns about things that people have been searching for online. You can also browse trends by country, city, year, etc. Use historical data to compare information and make smarter decisions.
Learn more about the product category you are interested in by researching and checking keywords. Keywords are the words that people type in to search for what they want to buy. Check for keywords on Keyword Tool and Google Keyword Planner.
Product research also involves sourcing the right product from the right supplier. Finding a reliable supplier can be a daunting task. But Salehoo can make your supplier hunting process very easy.
Salehoo is an excellent platform to find reliable and verified suppliers. They do charge a fee to join, but the platform is very well worth it and the revenue you would generate from selling would far exceed the fee.
3. Consistency
You can only be as successful in selling online on an eCommerce platform as you are consistent.
Why is consistency important? Consistency is important because selling online involves dealing with systems and algorithms.
For example, if you decide open up a Shopify store to sell products, you would have to advertise your products to make your products visible to people. Many people choose to advertise on Facebook’s advertising platform.
Facebook’s advertising platforms requires latest website traffic data to work effectively. This means that you have to consistently run and optimize your ads.
Advertising is not the only thing you need to be consistent in. You should consistently provide great customer service too.
If you sell something on Amazon and a customer sends you a message, you should reply to the customer within a specific time frame. Amazon’s algorithm would notice if you are not consistently replying to your customers on a timely basis. This may result in account deactivation.
In addition, you must constantly and consistently update and maintain your stock levels on the eCommerce platform you are selling on. The last thing you want is a customer ordering from your online store when your product is out of stock.
4. Time
Selling on eCommerce platforms is a fairly new concept. You need time to understand everything.
A six-figure online store cannot be built overnight. You need to learn about the tools you would need to succeed. You also need to learn about different strategies and tactics you can use for your business.
Learning is not the only thing that requires time. There are many different elements involved that take time too.
Coming up with creative advertisements, researching about different products, sourcing high-potential products, understanding customers’ needs, finding the right suppliers – everything requires time.
Only when you give yourself time to complete all of the tasks needed to sell online will you start growing and flourishing your business.
So don’t beat yourself up if you get stuck in one of the stages that is taking too much time. Remember that time is a part of the process.
5. Will-Power
Let’s face it. Selling on eCommerce platforms is a hectic task. You have to factor in a number of different things as mentioned above just to make a sale.
If you have absolutely no experience in selling something online and you are looking to establish a long-term business, you would without a doubt go through some tough and challenging times. You might even question your chosen career path.
It’s hard to stay focused when you have a lot of stock but are making zero or very few sales. You could be losing all your money on advertising desperately waiting for someone to purchase your products or you could experience a decrease in the demand for products of your type. Times can become challenging.
Remember that challenging times are actually learning experiences. With each experience, you would learn how to select your products more carefully, how to advertise your products more effectively, and how to allocate your budget more optimally.
Now you might be wondering, why is will-power a part of one of the five most important things you need to be successful in eCommerce platforms?
What you would actually need to get through all of the challenging times (or learning experiences) is your will-power.
Will-power is immensely important when it comes to selling on eCommerce platforms. It is just as important as the other 4 points mentioned above.
Without will-power you might just give up and not pursue selling things online. But I am here to let you know that eCommerce is just in its initial phase. This is an opportunity that you do not want to miss out on. So start your journey and strive to become successful in selling on eCommerce platforms.
Do You Have What It Takes To Be Successful?
As you can see, selling on eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces is not for the faint of heart.
If you believe that you have what it takes to be successful in selling on eCommerce platforms, the next step is to identify the right eCommerce platform for you.
There are many different eCommerce platforms out there. Here are 5 “easy” eCommerce platforms you can choose from to sell things online.
If you liked this post, pin it!
