We are living in a digital world, and for the tech-savvy business person, the opportunities are endless.
In this day and age, people like to conduct research and make buying decisions on the move. In fact, in the UK alone, 60% of retailers have already adopted mobile channels to boost their eCommerce business.
That said, if you have a product or service you’d like to sell, should you play your cards right, you could make a healthy living from the comfort of your own home – all you need to do is leverage the digital applications, technology and sales channels available to you.
Tempted to start an empire of your own? Here are some practical tips on how to start your eCommerce business.
Think about your product or service
Of course, if you’re in the position to kick start your e-commerce business, you’ll most likely have any idea of the product or service you want to offer.
Before you do anything else, consider if your proposed product range needs to be produced in-house (at home) or if it can be sourced from a third party using a dropshipping solution. Find out the best dropshipping products that you could sell. Once you’ve refined your range of products or services and decided how you’re going to supply them, you’ll be ready to get started.
Set up a productive workspace
Before you begin putting together your virtual store and building your online presence, you’ll need to set up a productive workspace in which to operate. Choose a space that is comfortable, ergonomic, distraction free and has enough space for potential inventory, business materials or paperwork. A comfortable desk and posture friendly chair are both essential as are viable storage solutions: mess or clutter can seriously stunt productivity. A motivational picture or poster will help too.
Set up an online store and social media channels
Once you’ve refined your product or service offerings and set up a viable workspace, you’ll need to create a solid online presence to market your eCommerce business. To do so, you’ll need to do the following things:
- Choose and create a logo.
- Gather your business assets, including images, graphics, and videos.
- Build a website: Shopify and WordPress are both user-friendly platforms that yield excellent results.
- Register your business for tax and commercial purposes.
- Set up branded social media channels including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Market your eCommerce business
To entice people to your online store, it’s not sufficient to simply exist online. You need to build brand authority for your online store and do everything you can to market your business and earn a solid customer base.
If you want to market your business successfully, you should learn how to choose the right keywords for your website pages and product descriptions to help with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts and get ranked well for relevant search terms on Google. Here is a video to help you do so:
Also, you will need to produce and share fresh content with your target audience on a regular basis to expand your online reach, boost brand awareness and continually enhance your search authority. The best way to do this is by launching a blog and producing niche articles that offer your audience insights and value. Once you’ve created your blog content, you should amplify it by sharing it through your various social media platforms, encouraging sharing, growing your audience in the process.
Finally, you should measure the success of your webpages and blog content by looking at performance data. To do this accurately, you should learn how to use Google Analytics (GA) and install it on your website. Google offers a free GA course and it’s certainly worth enrolling in – after all when it comes to eCommerce, data driven decisions are the most effective.
Starting a successful home-based eCommerce business is challenging but by taking your time, being methodical and following these top tips, the rewards could well be endless.
For more eCommerce-based insights, read 8 Types of Communication Technologies Taking Businesses to the Next Level.
Originally published on August 29, 2017. Updated on April 11, 2020
