HOW TO START AN E-COMMERCE BUSINESS

Building your online store, and then seeing it grow can be very rewarding. However, many aspiring entrepreneurs create nice looking e-commerce sites which don't bring in the expected number of sales. Here's what you can do to maximize your chances to succeed.

Begin by doing your thorough research. What products do you intend to sell? And will they sell? You need to validate your business idea before investing time and money into it. To get started, try to make a few initial sales. Meet with various people and convince them to buy your product. Do these first potential customers see the value of your offer? Are they willing to part with their money to get your product?

How are your future competitors doing? In other words, is there enough demand for your products? Run some simple searches on Google, and then evaluate the number of ads. Don't get discouraged if you discover that you've got lots of potential competitors; this demonstrates that your products are needed. You can also use Google Trends to see if your next store has the potential to thrive or not.

Now that you've discovered a set of winning products for your e-commerce store, it's time to register your business. You want to build a solid brand, which will hopefully gain credibility, and thus encourage people to buy new products from you in the future.

Choose a catchy domain/store name; ideally, it should be identical with the name of your business. It's true that most catchy domain names have already been taken, but if you use a site such as Instant Domain Search I guarantee that you will get lots of great ideas fast. You should always pick a niche-appropriate name, of course.

While you are waiting for your business license and employer identification number, try to find the best suppliers. Let's assume that you plan to sell toys; you should run web searches for "toys wholesaler", and then examine as many results as possible. Be sure to pick a supplier which offers a large variety of products and doesn't have huge initial purchase requirements.

It's time to build your site. We have already discussed the best e-commerce platforms on our blog, so be sure to read that article. If you are a beginner to e-commerce, you should choose one of the established site builders; if everything works as planned, you'll have a decent looking site in less than 24 hours.

Don't forget that when it comes to e-commerce, graphics matter – a lot! So, be sure to use high quality images, including proper brand colors and a good-looking logo. Use the vendor's product images to get started, but then take the time to capture great images of the products that you are selling.

How do you plan to attract customers to your store? If you plan to use search engine optimization, you will need to wait at least a few months before seeing measurable results. Use social media to spread the news about your new store, and don't forget to subscribe to your competitors' newsletters if you want to find out how they attract clients.

To build your email list, use an opt-in freebie and/or run a contest with valuable prizes. Many online store owners use giveaways to build their lists, because this method helps them drive free traffic to their websites as well.

Building your e-commerce business can be challenging, but it's an endeavor that will help you learn a lot and has the potential to increase your income substantially. I hope that this simple guide will help you get started.