Advice for the Eager Ecommerce Seller
It’s time again to revisit the various and sundry “tips and tricks” feature that serves up a reminder on how to make your online store work for you. Search engines are littered with hints from analysts, fellow ecommerce vendors, and influencers alike, all poised to help you kickstart or continue to grow your business. Peruse every hint you’re given; choose the ones that may fluidly be put into practice.
Just think! At some point you may be in a position to hand out advice. Until then, embrace the lessons learned by those whose trails were blazed before you, and those who have kept close watch on the booming commercial phenomenon of internet sales.
Here are four useful tips, in no particular order:
Spread yourself thick
The beauty of cyberspace as a virtual shopping mall is its reach, obviously. Though it can be confusing, or bogged down with competition, focus forward and look specifically for ideas that address your needs, your niche, and your passion. The rest will follow.
That means building a presence on as many social networks as possible. The analogy for conventional retail biz would be advertising in as many media platforms and physical areas as possible. For our purposes, it’s a tad more fun. Facebook, the social media giant, is a start. With more than 1 billion unique users worldwide, it’s the biggest stage, but increasingly not the best. Depending on your product mix, a younger crowd on Instagram and Snapchat may be more lucrative; niche collectors congregating on Pinterest turn out impressive endorsements; and don’t forget that run-of-the-mill neighborhood community pages are opening up to ads.Get noticed
Tempting as it is to refine and re-refine your product inventory, customers won’t appreciate your efforts unless they know you. Keep your focus intently on marketing, building a growing list of loyal buyers you reach through social media, or through expanded post-sale contact with current clientele. Post daily (or several times daily) to social media. Reach out to product-specific magazines and high-profile blogs, enticing them with well-crafted writing, photographs, and products that will catch their attention.
Name recognition is vital currency, but getting it isn’t automatic. Of course quality and excellent service are part of this equation, but selling to buyers who have never heard of you is next to impossible.Make a toolbox
Applications, or apps, are your best friends and life-giving entities. Ecommerce sites aren’t successful without them, but the key lies in determining what’s suitable for a business of your size, what will fill needs you can’t fill, and what will make your everyday efforts easier. Try out the array of apps in the Shopify ad store, using free trials until you find something that gels. Redbytes offers a primo list of suggestions as well. Give each a look-over. This invaluable piece from Influencer Marketing Hub does a fab job of summarizing the process with breakdowns of areas you can best use an app, such as supplier directories, branding and design, shipping, and more.Hire help
Speaking of filling holes, the typical ecommerce newbie may be resistant to relinquish control. This could be a mistake, as there are limitless opportunities for outsourcing tasks you may not have mastered. A good second-hand vendor might be the glue that joins your already stellar store. Oberlo has some resources for you.
Perhaps you’re tiring of the endless stream of “tips and tricks” directed at new and growing ecommerce stores. They can be a dizzying spate of redundance, or a useful collection from which you carefully consider and choose. Go for the latter. Building a successful online business is not for the faint of heart, but it is for anyone with a dream, some time, and a desire to be the best.