So, you want to become an ecommerce store owner? Building your own online business is a thrilling experience that will pay off when done right. However, don’t think that you’re the first one to do it. Literally thousands of people have tried it, and you can benefit from that majorly. It’s always best to learn from the mistakes of others, instead of repeating them. That’s why we’ve prepared ecommerce tips for beginner entrepreneurs to allow you to get a head start and understand what kind of journey awaits you.
The ecommerce industry is a part of a digital world that’s been constantly ever-changing and evolving. Moreover, our devices that we access the internet everyday are also becoming more and more advanced.
But that doesn’t mean that starting an ecommerce business is getting harder. Quite the opposite, actually. Now is the time when it’s easier than ever to start your own online store.
Especially with Sellvia! The ultimate ecommerce ecosystem that includes all the features you need to start, manage, and grow your business. And you can try it completely for free.
Some things remain the same. Ecommerce online stores will always require making a good first impression, attracting new customers, and taking good care of them.
Thus, let’s look at some tips for ecommerce success that beginners should follow to launch an online store.
Ecommerce tips: what beginners should know about the ecommerce industry
What should an ecommerce beginner know when they enter the ecommerce industry?
Like we stated previously, the ecommerce industry is growing every year. Online shopping used to be a luxury few could afford, just like ecommerce for beginners, however, we live in a different time. Now, online shopping is a necessity which everyone has seamless access to.
For you to get a better understanding of the current state of the ecommerce industry, here are a few fascinating statistics you should be aware of.
It is projected that eсommerce will account for more than $6.5 trillion in sales by 2023, which is 22% of retail sales, globally.
By 2040, it’s estimated that 95% of all purchases will be through ecommerce.
In 2021, retail ecommerce sales amounted to approximately 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide. This figure is forecast to grow by 50 percent over the next four years, reaching about 7.4 trillion dollars by 2025.
US retail ecommerce sales will grow 16.1%, reaching $1.06 trillion in 2022.
All of these statistics indicate that there’s never been a better time to start an online business. And if you’re a person who is looking for a way to build an extra source of income or even replace it instead of your primary income, starting an ecommerce business is an opportunity you just can’t pass.
So, what should you pay special attention to if you’re looking to start an online business?
Ecommerce tips for beginners: make a good first impression
Online customers form their first impressions about an online store very quickly.
Did you know that it takes less than a second to decide if they like your website or not? Those 0.05 seconds will determine if a visitor will stay or leave your store.
You have to make it count, since you can only make a first impression once. Therefore, ecommerce stores need to look especially good to win over customers.
With Sellvia, you’ll get an online store tailored to your specific needs. You can fill it with bestselling products from the Sellvia catalog that are all warehoused in a US-based fulfillment center. Moreover, all the products will be quickly delivered to your customers. Sounds like a unique opportunity you simply can’t miss out on! Find out more, by booking a free call with our business advisors that will tell you all about starting and growing your online store!
An investment in the best possible site design is the first step towards improving the user experience. And with Sellvia, you will have a professionally looking website that will have everything you need and allow your customers to have an awesome shopping experience.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: stick to a consistent schedule
Whenever you start a new endeavor, in order to achieve great results you have to be consistent. The same goes for operating an online store.
Your online presence has to be felt by your customers throughout all your online platforms. This means consistently posting on social media, your blog (if you have one), updating your online catalog with new trends, and so on.
Not only that, but in order to build something truly amazing that will allow you to create an incredible stream of income, you have to consistently manage and grow your online store.
As soon as you start becoming inconsistent with your schedule, you’ll start to lose potential customers, and as a result, your business.
Luckily, by partnering with Sellvia, you will have no trouble sticking to a schedule, as you will be able to get a fully-functional online store. All you’ll have to do is manage your business and find ways to grow your business.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: expand your channels from the start
Before fully launching your online store, you should build out your channels to contact your audience directly. This includes emails, social media, and other platforms.
Building an online presence across multiple social platforms will allow you to attract various types of customers to your website without extra costs.
A common mistake that many online stores make is choosing a single platform and sticking to it. The wider your presence is, the more people you’re able to communicate your product to. Using a combination of platforms might seem like some extra work, however, it will allow you to form a competitive advantage over your competitors.
Sticking to one platform, can one day lead to that platform disappearing and you’re going to be left with nothing.
Sharing your business, or brand, across social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat can be particularly useful when you’re just starting your ecommerce endevour. Publish social media posts to grow a follower base who’ll share your interests, beliefs and passions. These kinds of early marketing are free and can be used to drop hints and build excitement about upcoming launches or product reveals. Moreover, start collecting the email addresses of website visitors by offering them extra discounts to build an email list of potential customers.
Doing all of this from day one will allow you to build your customer base much faster.
The focus on building out social media, email listings will also allow you to spend less on ads over the long-term. In addition, you can contact your audience directly and promote your content through your own channels.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: be customer-centric
An ecommerce business is totally different compared to regular brick-and-mortar stores. Your customers can’t touch, feel, or have a closer look at your products before making a purchase.
That’s why you have to show value to your customers in other ways.
First of all, never forget that it’s simply more convenient to purchase something online rather than going to a store..
Don’t forget to offer free shipping on all the products you offer. Moreover, the whole process of purchasing something should be easy and simple from the selection to the checkout.
What’s more, by providing high-quality customer service you also demonstrate how much you value your customers. Make sure that people come away from interacting with your online store with positive feelings.
Another way to place your customer first is to share their content through social media. As you start getting your first sales, ask your customers to take pictures of your products and how they use it. Getting as many pictures of people using or wearing your products will serve as social proof to other potential customers.
People want to see how the actual product looks like when it’s delivered, rather than what it looks like in photoshopped pictures. Thus, you showcase your product in real life photos and share the content of your followers. Remember to always give your customer credit by tagging them in the photo.
By treating your customers the right way, you make sure they will keep coming back to purchase more products. Show them how you appreciate them.
Notify them about new products, events, exclusive promos and sales. Send them thank you notes letting them know how grateful you are for their purchase. Brainstorm things you can do for your customers that’ll make them happy while strengthening your relationship with them.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: provide relevant information to your customers
In the ecommerce world, customers can’t quite come up to talk with you or ask any questions. That’s why it’s important to make sure your customers have access to the relevant information on your website.
This means, making it easy for customers to find information about your shipping policy, i.e. shipping, refunds and returns. Moreover, your website should include easily accessible and visible contact information, so that your customers can contact you in case an issue arises.
In the era of social media, you can always update your customers on relevant information through various social media posts, stories, etc.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: make well-thought out texts
All the textual content on your website should hold a meaning. From the landing page, to the catalog, and the checkout page.
You have to make sure that you provide important information that’s easy to understand, view, and find.
Make sure to include various CTA’s (call to action) to persuade your potential customers to make a specific action. It can be anything, from checking out your catalog, to subscribing to email letters, to getting a flash deal.
Don’t forget about other pages throughout your website, such as the name of the products, and their descriptions.
Does your brand have a fascinating story you can share? Create an About Us page, and tell your potential customers about the creation of your brand. There’s a high chance people will sympathize with your story and find points of interest that will connect them with your brand on a more personal level.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: find an ecommerce brand for inspiration
Starting out can be hard, especially if you have no previous experience in a specific field of interest. However, with the right help and some inspiration points, you can easily build an ecommerce store you’ll be proud of.
To do this, find an online brand (or even a few) and do some research on how they operate their online business. Keep in mind that you don’t need to exactly copy their business model, simply find a few patterns you like and apply them to your online business.
For instance, you can find a customer-centric business and find out what their strategy is based on, or find a brand who has a phenomenal marketing or branding strategy. And the list can go on and on.
Find the strategies that you like and can apply to your business.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: create unique content
In the online space, you have to find a way to stand out from your competitors. The easiest way to accomplish this is by creating unique content.
Your blog for example, can be a way to provide this. With a blog you can easily educate your readers, announce various news, or other novelties. Publish blog posts a couple of times a week to attract and build an audience. Successfully running a blog will allow you to keep your website looking fresh and up to date.
However, don’t forget about other content platforms. People enjoy visual content even more, compared to text. As a matter of fact, people process visual content 60,000 times faster than text. Therefore, make sure that throughout your website there’s plenty visually appealing content.
Don’t forget about your social media. A platform like Instagram will allow you to create unique visual content and engage your audience. At the same time, you can use YouTube to create video content with your products.
Unique content can make your business much more profitable. And luckily, this is one of the easiest ecommerce tips to follow. Just go ahead and add more pictures to your site and social media platforms.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: offer free shipping
When you have a brand new online store with a small following, it should be your priority to organize free shipping. This will significantly improve the chances of your customers making a purchase.
People are simply less likely to trust their money to a new company they haven’t previously ordered from. Yet, if you offer free shipping, customers will consider it as a much smaller risk to their wallet.
All in all, offering free shipping puts you at an advantage over your competitors who don’t offer it.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: marketing should be your main focus
Without marketing and advertising no one will know about your online store.
Perfecting your online store is great, however, will it bring in any money? Of course a beautiful online store will please a customer’s eye, but first they need to get there. And only through advertising and marketing will your potential customers find out about your online store. So, don’t waste too much time perfecting your store.
After all, you’ll get a professionally looking one if you choose to partner up with Sellvia. And literally, all you’ll have to do is spread the word about your store by marketing it!
Here you’re going to need to consider what kind of ads are going to attract your potential customers to the store. And which ones are going to persuade them to make a purchase.
From the very beginning, make sure to set a budget for advertising. Only once you’ll see some results from the ads, consider reevaluating your budget and reinvesting the incomes to get even more customers!
A free way of advertising is writing blog content. Here, you’re going to need to apply various SEO techniques to make sure your website ranks higher in the search engines. By putting your store out there, you better your odds of finding more customers.
Paid advertising brings in the traffic that converts into customers. This is the part where you’re going to need to experiment with different types of ads and products to find the winning ad.
Once you achieve results there, everything is going to go smoothly.
Ecommerce tips for beginners: key takeaways
Hopefully, these ecommerce tips will help you build out a thriving online business. Remember, there’s no single way of doing it. Every business is unique in its own way. Thus, don’t be afraid to tap into your imagination and find new ways to market your ecommerce business to the world.
Nevertheless, with Sellvia, you have a sure way to start your own ecommerce business. And you can do it for free as well! You’ll literally won’t have to risk anything. Get an online store tailored to your specific needs packed with bestselling products.
Then, all you’ll need to do is to market your store and your products online, and wait for people to purchase the products. It’s that easy and simple!
So, are you ready to become an online store owner? If you want to know more tips on how to build a successful online store, you can book a consultation with our business advisors and they’ll consult you on how you can start an online business of your own! Now is the best time to become an online business owner, and you’ll have everything you need to do it.
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