Setting up a business can sometimes feel like a massive amount of work. There’s so much to consider, from the legal side of things to whom you’re going to employ.
But when you boil it down to its fundamentals, there’s not a great deal that you need to do, especially if you’re looking to get into the eCommerce sector. So long as you’re reselling – and not creating products from scratch – then you should find setting up a breeze. There’s less to it than you might think.
Sell Via Third-Party Marketplaces
The first option is to sell via third-party marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy. This way, you don’t even have to develop a website. You find an arbitrage opportunity and start listing. It’s relatively easy.
Once you make a sale, part of the profits will go to you, and the rest will flow to whatever platform you use. This setup might sound like a tax – and it is – but mainly you’re making money passively. So any returns you gain are worth it.
With affordable UPS domestic shipping rates, you can send parcels out yourself. Or, if your operation is extensive, you can use platform fulfillment services.
Sell Via Your Own Site
Another option is to sell via your own personal website. The benefit here is that you can avoid paying commission to third-party vendors. But the cost is that you will have to do a lot of marketing to make your site visible.
If you’re selling generic goods, always go to the big platforms. There are so many players in the market selling these items that you’ll struggle to rank in SERPs.
If, however, you’re selling something niche, then setting up a private site could be the better option. When people type in your targeted keywords, they’re much more likely to find you compared to the bigger sellers.
You can, of course, do both. But most eCommerce companies run from home shouldn’t expect a lot of traffic through their official websites.
Market Your Ecommerce Business
Even if you sell through a third-party platform, you’ll need to market your eCommerce business. At first, you’ll need to use pay-per-click advertising and affiliate promotions to get the volumes you need to make your enterprise viable.
Once you’ve done that, the next step is to work on SEO – something that usually takes a couple of years to come to fruition. Dominating here requires creating plenty of content related to your niche so that people can find you when searching for generic search terms.
Optimize Your Shopping Cart
Finally, you’ll need to focus on creating the best shopping cart you possibly can. Carts are what customers fill as they browse your site. You don’t have to worry about this if you’re using Amazon or Etsy. But you will need to consider it in detail if building your own site.
Don’t try to develop a cart yourself – it’s tricky. Instead, use cart ghosts like Magento, Shopify or BigCommerce. These platforms contain all the tools you need to create a decent eCommerce checkout facility.
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