This guide will teach you how to open an online store by spending as little as possible and increasing your chances of success.
Thanks to the advice below, you will save time and money.
Opening an online store is not as simple as they want you to believe, but with the right strategies the project to sell online becomes feasible.
Even if we are experiencing one of the most important revolutions in recent years, namely the digital revolution , being able to create a business on the internet capable of generating profit is not always possible.
We will begin this guide by debunking some myths about ecommerce, to then continue on the steps to follow and the tools necessary to save money and stress.
Opening an online store presents additional difficulties compared to traditional activities, the potential turnover is greater but at the same time the pitfalls.
If you are tired of false promises, if you are looking for a real guide that will help you, you just have to continue reading.
My articles are long because there is a lot of information, if you go in a hurry save the article and return more calmly.
Index
1 Myths about e-commerce
2 The steps to follow to open an online store
3 Switch from theory to practice
4 The importance of the graphic look
5 Ideas for an online store
6 Open online store: final considerations
MYTHS ABOUT E-COMMERCE
open online storeFirst, let's start by debunking some myth that runs on the net.
The first enemy to take down if we want to open a successful online store is to believe that starting an online business does not require commitment .
This is the biggest mistake you make when starting a business project.
The network is a means that helps us to expand our visibility, it is not a shortcut to make money easily.
Easy money doesn't exist.
Except for inheritances and New Year's lottery, the chances of making money quickly are void.
Underestimating the effort to open an online store is the primary cause of failure.
The initial enthusiasm disappears quickly if we don't see immediate gains. And often and willingly an online store earns absolutely nothing.
I see hundreds of ecommerce open which immediately become phantom platforms destined for closure. An online store requires even more work than a classic store. For years, a distorted idea has been passed on e-commerce, considered as the solution to all economic problems, only to turn out to be a money-eating machine.
The basic mistake is the lack of planning because there is a tendency to minimize obstacles.
The second myth to dispel is start-up costs. It is believed that it is possible to start an online store with 2000-3000 dollars , when in reality the sums to be invested are clearly higher.
Making and selling something requires some initial capital. Of course, there are ways to save such as drop ship , but the need for capital remains.
The initial investment will probably be less than in a traditional shop, but it is not always possible to remain low with the investment.
Some costs that may not be expected but which should instead be included:
· Need to hire a professional web designer.
· Procurement of raw materials
· Consult an accountant
· Online marketing
· SEO activity
All expenses will be quantified and included in the business plan.
The third myth about having an online store is that everyone can sell something successfully.
To generate revenues and earnings you have to create a product that is requested by customers. An online store is comparable to a real classic store.
You will have to create a nice showcase, you will have skills on what you sell, a visibility strategy, a clear idea of ​​the target market, a strategy to increase the visibility of the site, to optimize conversions, ultimately, online merchants don't you improvise.
The difference between a classic shop and an online shop is only the way to sell . You will also find all the other factors involved in buying and selling products on your e-commerce
Opening an online store requires competence, determination, patience, tenacity, capital and the right level of determination.
Many information gurus preach that the online sales market is saturated.
Instead, I believe the opposite.
Every year the% of Indians who buy online increase .
The market is there, but first you have to learn to exploit it.
The Steps to Follow To Open an Online Store
The first step to seeing your online business born is to have clear ideas from the beginning.
We will not start selling shoes, then we will focus on hams.
How do you get a project and not change it?
Easy, planning everything, doing a market research and listening to our passions. We will never be successful in selling something we don't love.
You don't have to start your online store thinking only about money as an end. You have to sell something you love, something you have no problem talking about it all day.
You will have to convince customers that your product is the best and that they cannot live without it.
For example, I could never sell clothes.
I buy them against my will, imagine selling them.
Instead I would be very good at selling food and wine. So if you're wondering which product to sell online, the answer is simple: sell something you love.
Once you understand what we want to sell, the second step to follow is to study the feasibility of the business project.
A dream remains such if it is not feasible.
We must study the competition, study the strategies of others and overcome them in quality.
Next, you need to understand if the product or service is required by people and if it is a product that can be sold online. The average Indian customer does not always turn to the web for his purchases.
Analyze the market, do a research and ask if they are interested in buying your product. If they express interest, ask them to actually buy it: you will see if theirs was just a hypothetical intention or if they are really interested in buying and selling.
In practice, preliminary market research works something like this:
· Establish a sample of people, say 100
· Prepare a form with questions
· Analyze the answers
· Expressly ask those who responded positively to buy.
The research can be carried out both via the web and in the real world. Online you have to organize a survey to advertise through a marketing campaign, in real life just stop people on the street.
Are you ashamed to talk to people?
Overcome this fear, selling means interacting.
After understanding if your online store has a chance to be born, start by getting interested in the bureaucratic process.
Opening a VAT number with the minimum system is certainly sufficient.
Switch From Theory to Practice
Ok, we have clear ideas of what we want to sell, we know all about bureaucracy and we understand that our online store has a chance of success.
In practice, what if we do not have specific skills to open an online store?
The first thing to do to start your own online store is to be familiar with the technical terms.
Start-up costs can be reduced if we can do something ourselves. Networking a small ecommerce site is not that difficult.
Only later, when we are online, and we have a small initial feedback, can we call a professional web designer. If money isn't a problem, hire a professional right from the start.
How to choose it ?
From the comments he receives from his customers and from the portfolio.
If you want to open a successful online store you have to open a blog.
Through the blog, if you create good content, you can get additional traffic without spending money.
The techniques to increase visitors to your web page are few, the important thing is to follow some guidelines:
Establish the target customer right away
Write unique and valuable content for the potential customer
Insert sales links in the articles
Let's take an example.
Let's imagine that we want to open an online store specializing in smartphone phones.
Opening a blog and writing articles of product reviews does not require financial commitment but only a great desire to work.
The Importance of The Graphic Look
I see many Indian ecommerce who forget to take care of the image of the company website and miss a big opportunity.
When we talk about online stores, we must understand that the reliability of a site starts from the idea that the visitor makes himself as soon as he enters our site.
Analyze the big ecommerce sites, all of which have an impeccable graphic look.
If you want to open an online store you need to budget for the use of a professional web designer. It is possible to find excellent jobs for a fairly low budget, on the order of a thousand euros, an affordable amount if you want to become an online entrepreneur.
Also, do not underestimate the study of the logo.
The logo is of fundamental importance: it must be easy to remember and not too complex.
Study the logos of large web portals. You will notice that they are of a disarming simplicity. Amazon's is an arrow, Facebook's an F.
Many web platforms give the opportunity to open an online store through their website.
The advantage is the simplicity of starting and the low costs. The disadvantage will be less professionalism. To start an e-commerce you need to invest: it will be the proof that you primarily believe in the project
Some platforms known to open an online store are:
· Blooming;
· Compry;
· Magento.
Ideas for An Online Store
In this paragraph, rather than creating a list of business ideas related to online commerce, I want to report an example of an ecommerce startup with a limited budget, let's say in the order of 2000 euros.
First step, choose the niche that I want to conquer. Having a limited capital, I will start with a narrow niche that is expandable in the future.
If you have little money you cannot start with a large project and the catalog must be specific and limited. If the online store is large, the budget is bigger, reduce the size by reducing the target customers.
Let's take this example on a very refined niche such as that of wines.
Imagine that you want to open an online wine shop, doing a superficial analysis I would tell you to create a shop that sells all Indian wines.
If we stop for a minute to reflect, we will immediately understand that it is impossible to attack such a large niche with a limited budget .
What if I dedicate myself to just one wine, perhaps already famous, and create an ecommerce around it?
Take for example Chianti , a Tuscan red wine famous all over the world.
This is an excellent niche because we would be the only ones to treat a single wine and we will do it in as much detail as possible.
To start, I would buy a domain name and hosting for a paltry expense. The domain name must be short, easy to remember and linked to the site's topic.
I advise you to use Siteground, an economic and reliable service. I have been using it for two years and am happy with the assistance and performance. To view the offers, click below:
Siteground, the best hosting to open a website
Having bought the domain, I would choose a good web designer and together with him you will create an attractive graphic look.
In the same period, I would begin to study books on books on Chianti, so as to become an expert, I would taste the bottles, I would study the history and the differences.
Become an expert on the subject, I would write the best guides and reviews on Chianti, I would have them translated into different languages ​​and I would begin to insert links on the articles directed to the sales pages. Also, I would start contacting wineries to offer them advertising space.
Read Also: Professional web designer
You still don't know, but if you have the balls to work hard for about a year without seeing a euro , you've just created a serious and lasting online job.
That said it seems rhetoric but it is not, if you commit yourself 100%, I guarantee you that such an ecommerce becomes profitable.
Open Online Store: Final Considerations
Opening an e-commerce is not easy.
The problems involved are numerous, however, with the right commitment everything is possible. If you take this activity with commitment and seriousness, you will be able to reap the benefits.
There are no shortcuts: the seriousness and reliability of the service will be, together with the tenacity to overcome the difficulties, the real keys to the success of the ecommerce business.
Read Also: Search Engine Positioning
Many sectors are relatively saturated, give space to creativity, create an innovative service useful for the customer and time will repay you for the effort.
There are dozens and dozens of feasible niches to open an online store, some we have seen, others are hidden in your mind.
If you are really motivated to create an online store, I recommend reading the Web Digital Marketing Guide: Idea Traffic Money, the step by step method to earn on the web.