How to Start Selling Online

You’ve got a product and now you’re ready to go to market — online.

Before you begin setting up an online store, be sure to have these steps completed.

1. Conduct market research.

The beauty of ecommerce is that anyone anywhere can join in on the action. Whether you’re a small business owner or part of a large enterprise, there are endless opportunities to go digital with your business and get a piece of the pie.

However, with this low barrier of entry also comes a saturated market — and a great way to stand out is to find your niche.

Before brainstorming your product, think about which markets are already competitive and which markets have the potential for growth. Consider what markets where you already have a presence or a passion, and go from there. Utilize tools like Google Trends or Google Ads Keyword Planner to see what products and services are trending and how big the market is for your niche.

Then, once you know your target market, it’s time to determine what value you can offer in your market. Are customers willing to buy your product or service? How much are they willing to pay?

This is the time to dig deep into market research by studying your competitors, surveying your audience and gauging the right price point for your product or service.

2. Choose what products to sell.

After you’ve honed your research and landed on a market, it’s time to build your product.

This is one of the most — if not the most — crucial step in the process, as every other aspect of your business revolves around what you’re selling.

Just as it’s important to choose a niche market, it’s also a good idea to narrow down to a niche product. This can help reduce the competition and give you more opportunity for growth.

For example, a sportswear brand would likely face harsh competition from bigger, more established brands. However, by niching down to a specific type of product or sport, such as swimwear or running shoes, you may find it easier to position yourself in the market and invest more time and energy into your product.

3. Identify your target audience.

You may have a stellar product, but it’ll do you no good if you’re selling it to the wrong people. In fact, $37 billion is wasted in ad spend each year from ads that fail to engage the target audience.

But by having a comprehensive understanding of your target audience, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about marketing and advertising, leading to more customers and more money.

Follow these steps to help identify your customer base and segment your audiences:

1. Survey potential customers. How old are they? Where do they live? What is their annual income?

2. Identify industry trends. Look for similar products on the market to see how other companies are marketing themselves, and identify what makes you stand out.

3. Analyze competitors. How are your biggest competitors selling online? What are they doing that works and doesn’t work?

4. Build buyer personas. Gather data and conduct surveys to give you a more comprehensive picture of your ideal buyer. This will help you hone in on specific customer segments of your target market.

4. Conduct ecommerce platform research.

Before building your online store, you’ll want to do some research on what kind of ecommerce platform you’d like to sell on, whether it be your own online store, Amazon, eBay, Facebook or any other online marketplace.

Luckily, there is a plethora of SaaS ecommerce platforms on the market that allow merchants to sell products online for a set monthly fee, regardless of how technically skilled you are. Or, if you have the coding experience, you can go the open-source route and build your online store from scratch.

5. Create product content.

Unless you’re a well-established business, chances are you won’t have a photographer, copywriter or social media manager on hand, especially if your business is just taking off. As a small business owner, you’re likely wearing many of these hats yourself. If so, here are a couple things to keep in mind.

1. Images: Make sure all imagery and product photography is high-quality and aligns with your brand image. Utilize professional product photos if your supplier offers them, or go the DIY route and shoot your own product photos — a smartphone and good lighting can go a long way.

2. Product descriptions: Keep your product descriptions brief, yet thorough and creative. Choose engaging, descriptive language and don’t be afraid to have some fun with it! Plus, try offering free or discounted products to help encourage customer reviews and testimonials.

6. Build your online store.

Now that you have your product, target market and content, you’re ready to start building your online store.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the technical expertise to build a website from scratch — many ecommerce platforms allow you to create a beautiful online store without writing a single line of code. With SaaS platforms like BigCommerce, you’ll have all the tools you need to design your online storefront, upload your product catalog and successfully market your brand.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the number of ecommerce platforms to choose from, just remember that there is no one-size-fits-all ecommerce website builder. Every platform has its own benefits and drawbacks, and the best thing you can do is choose the solution that best suits your needs.

7. Promote and market your store.

Finally, you’ll need to create a strategy to market to your potential customers and start driving traffic to your store. The best way to promote your brand is by taking an omnichannel approach and marketing across a variety of offline and online sales channels. Here are just a few to consider:

1. Social media.

2. Google advertising.

3. Influencer marketing.

4. Events.

5. Facebook Pages and Groups.

6. Discounts and promotions.

7. Email marketing.

8. Content marketing.

9. Word-of-mouth.