101 Steps To Selling Online
Do you run an online store or would you like to be successful at selling products and services online? There are numerous guides online offering advice on how to do so, but much of what they say are often of little use.
Listed below are are 101 ways to help you to generate online sales!
The business basics
1. Write a business plan: It may sound boring and it will take some time, but having a plan of action is a fantastic starting point. It needn't be lengthy, but it should set out what you plan to do for at least the next 12 months.
2. Work out how much money you need: Although selling online can be cheap, you'll probably need some money. Be honest with yourself when you think about how much.
3. Get your funding in place: Whether you get that money from your own savings or from elsewhere (like a bank loan), you'll want funding in place before you start. Plenty of great ideas have been ruined by a lack of money.
4. Write a marketing plan: Again, it can seem boring, but it will be massively helpful.
Finding the right products
5. Find a product that you think others would like to buy!
6. Would friends, colleagues, family members buy it from you? In essence, this will be your first bit of market research. Be slightly wary here: you want people to be honest.
7. Broaden your market research: see how others react to your product offering. You might mention it on internet forums for instance - but be careful not to let others have too much information.
8. Is anyone else selling the same product? If so, how will you compete?
9. Investigate rival products. Maybe other products are being sold that are similar to yours. How do they compare?
10. Is the product legal? You'd be suprised at some of the stuff that we see!
11. Are there moral issues? Some people are concerned about selling certain products and services. Think about how you'd feel about selling your product.
Product pricing
12. What would you be prepared to pay for the product? This can be a really good starting point. If you'd not be prepared to pay more than £50 for a product that you really like, then you can be pretty sure that few other people will!
13. What do friends think it's worth? The responses will be interesting - many may come up with a much lower figure than you were imagining.
14. ...and the wider world? Again, you could ask on internet forums to see what independent, objective respondents think it's worth.
15. Search on Kelkoo. Kelkoo is a price comparison service. Use it to compare the prices of similar products to the one that you're proposing to sell.
16. Search on Pricerunner. You'll find that Pricerunner is similar to Kelkoo but lists a different range of retailers and products.
17. Google for your product. A great way to see whether any other retailers list your products, or alternatives. Check out how much they're selling them for.
18. Check out your competitors. Now have a look at those who look like your main competitors. How do their prices compare with your own thoughts?
Delivery and costs
19. Look at postage costs. Is it cheapest to send your product via Royal Mail? Are there other alternatives?
20. How does it impact on pricing? Have you factored in delivery costs when coming up with your pricing strategy.
21. Measure your product. Have you got the dimensions and weight? These will be important when determining postage costs.
22. Product packaging. Think about how you will be packaging your product. You'll want to provide protection and also keep the weight down.
23. Do you need postal insurance? Some courier services will offer a level of insurance against damage in transit.
Routes to market
24. Where will you sell your product? Have you thought about it? Now's a good time to!
25. Ebay. Can be cost effective, though some think it looks less professional.
26. Classified ads. Gumtree and Craigslist offer good starting points.
27. Your own website. Likely to cost more to set up and maintain than using Ebay, but could it work for you?
E-commerce site considerations
28. Domain name. You'll want something that's memorable and also available. Will you go for a .co.uk or a .com domain name. Plenty of companies allow you to register online.
29. Website design. Have you got the necessary skills or will you need help. If so, you'll need to think about the costs involved.
30. Online shopping carts. They come in all shapes and sizes - prices vary considerably too, but you'll probably need one and to have it integrated into the rest of your site
31. Payment processing. Will you need to accept credit card payments? If so, there are plenty of options, including the likes of Paypal and Google Checkout. Don't forget that their charges will eat into your profits.
32. Maintaining the site. How will you go about making changes in the future? Have you got the technical skills? If not, you'll need someone who has.
Supplier issues
33. How well do you know your supplier? Having a regular supply of your product is likely to be vital. Have you got a supplier who you can rely on? Can you easily get hold of them in case of problems.
34. Receiving damaged items. If you receive damaged goods from your supplier then what does this mean to you? Is there an agreed process in place.
35. Staying in touch. Do you prefer to keep in touch with suppliers via the phone, or by email? Is this going to be a satisfactory arrangement.
36. Compare wholesale prices. Could you be buying in the products cheaper elsewhere?
37. Ask for a discount! Don't be afraid to do this, especially if you're ordering in large quantities.
Tax and regulation
38. Paying your taxes. Are you clear on the taxes that you'll need to pay, who to and when?
39. Data Protection. Do you know what it is and do you need to pay your fee?
40. Industry regulations. Are there any regulations or laws specific to your industry that you need to be aware of.
Trade bodies and networking
41. Trade bodies. These can be great for offering advice, but can also be really good for putting you in contact with potential suppliers and customers.
42. Chamber of Commerce. A great opportunity to network and get added help.
Offline marketing
Don't forget that, just because you have an online business, it doesn't mean that you can't advertise in more traditional ways too. Here are some great ways to advertise your business:
43. Word of mouth. Possibly the best way of all. It's free and people respond well to personal recommendations.
44. Newspaper adverts. You'll obviously need to pay for them but they can work well.
45. Newspaper classified ads. May well be worth it, particularly if you're looking for local business.
46. Speak to a journalist. A wonderful way to make yourself known. Go and speak to some people at a local newspaper about what you're up to.
47. Host an event. Maybe you could host an event for charity, gaining publicity and networking opportunities as you put something back into the community.
48. Sponsor a good cause. Can be great for grabbing attention. Maybe a local sports club or social club would like a donation of this sort.
49. Yellow Pages. Get your business listed along side all of the other businesses in your area. You'll be suprised at how many people look at the Yellow Pages (or equivalent) first as a source of information
50. Leaflet drops. Can be expensive and the response rate will vary considerably depending upon your product and the area.
51. TV advertising. Well, maybe one day!
52. Put your website URL on your car. It may sound a bit mad but there are plenty of people that do it and it can help to raise awareness of what you're up to.
53. Give out branded items. Pens, mugs, mouse mats and other such small gifts can be bought in bulk at discount prices and then used to build brand awareness.
54. Cold calling. One for the brave maybe, but does have it's place in some offline marketing campaigns.
55. Joint initiatives. This is often overlooked, but advertising costs can be reduced considerably if you're prepared to share the costs with another business. Can work really well, although both sides need to be very clear on the costs and opportunities.
Online marketing
The world of online marketing is, in some sense, more complex for many. If you're new to this area then it will obviously be worthwhile learning as quickly as you can - here are some great ideas (many assume that you'll be using your own website)
56. Find out about SEO. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about getting your website to appear near the top of the page when someone searches for a particular term in Google, or other leading search engines. Learn the basics and you'll be off to a flying start.
57. Submit your site to some free web directories.
58. Consider paying for major directories. The Yahoo directory, for instance, is highly rated by many internet users and could help your search engine positioning, although it's not cheap
59. Start a blog. A good way to keep customers up-to-date with what you're up to.
60. Get a Twitter account. Give regular updates on what you're doing, special offers and more.
61. Submit to Digg. Got something of interest? Let the world know about it!
62. Create a Facebook account. Either a personal one or even one for your online store - encourage customers to become Facebook friends so that you can keep in touch.
63. Create a Squidoo lens. Use it to tell the world about your website and let everyone know that you have expertise.
64. Read related blogs. Get to know what others are up to and add comments, where they're related.
65. Post on industry forums. A great way to get yourself known, to discuss issues and to encourage people to take a look at your own site
66. Publish an RSS feed. A fantastic way to syndicate your content and attract more visitors.
67. Write more content for your site. "Content is king" and your customers will love to see more detailed information on your products and services.
68. Write articles. There are numerous article submission directories online, so why not write some useful content and get it published all over the internet. In return, you'll get more visitors to your website and you'll also become better known.
69. Submit your site to business directories. A short listing can be a great way of introducing people to your business.
70. Link to sites that you like. There's no harm in providing links to reputable, relevant sites that you think may be of interest to others.
71. Ask others to link to you. If you're proud of what you have to offer then make sure that you let others know about it!
72. Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. Consider making use of PPC platforms - the most popular of which is Google Adwords.
73. Show off your expertise! Yahoo Answers is an excellent place to show off how much you know and to encourage people to visit your site.
74. Maintain a mailing list. That way you can send out newsletters when you get new products or have special offers available.
75. Run a competition. Everyone loves a competition and it will get more people to your website.
76. Send product samples. This can work really well. If you've got an innovative product then why not send it out to some leading bloggers and let them review it.
77. Press Releases. If you've got something to say then you could try sending out news in the form of an online Press Release. There are PR professionals that you can hire to help with this.
78. Get a link from your supplier. Has your supplier got a website? If so, could you get a link to your own site from theirs?
79. Start an affiliate program. The idea here is to create your own online sales team - it needn't be expensive and can soon pay dividends!
The power of email
80. Email signatures. Don't forget to include your website on your email signatures.
81. Customer services emails. Will you be accepting customer service calls by phone? This can build consumer confidence. If you're just using email then you may want to set up a specific email address for the purpose.
82. Keep in touch with suppliers. A quick email once a month to keep in touch with suppliers can be extremely useful and will help you to make the most of opportunities.
83. Spreading the news. Could you send information to friends? They might like to pass it on to their friends - it's amazing how quickly things can snowball.
84. Joined up thinking. Always take the opportunity to let people know about your website, email address and social networking accounts - it's all about keeping people informed.
Key strategies
85. Get things done. It's easy to spend days planning and this can be great but don't forget to actually get things done. There's no point in having great ideas if you never put them into practice.
86. Improve your visibility every day. Sent out a newsletter today? Posted on a forum? Written a new article? You should be looking to spread the word every day.
87. Time management. If you think that there's just too much to do then you really need to prioritise and concentrate on what's important.
88. Working from home. Business people who work from home can be distracted. It's vital that this doesn't happen to you - make sure that you are spending time developing your business.
89. Communicate. Good communications are absolutely vital to the success of any business.
90. Don't forget the real world. If you're spending all of your time emailing, blogging and on social networking sites then you may want to step back a little. Nothing quite beats a phone call or personal contact.
91. Delegate. We're not all brilliant at everything - delegate where possible.
92. Hire experts. If something's complex then don't be afraid to hire expert help - it could help you to save money over time.
93. Keep learning. None of us know everything that there is to know about business. Always make time to learn from those with expertise.
94. Look out for new opportunities. There's no limit to how much you could sell, so keep an eye out for more opportunities.
95. Don't run before you can walk. It's an old saying, but one that makes a lot of sense. Don't get ahead of yourself. Make sure that you build on solid foundations.
96. Be careful who you trust. If you're business is easily replicated then you need to be really careful about how much you tell others.
97. Get a good bank manager. Sooner or later, you may need their help. Try and build a good relationship.
98. Get a good accountant. You could save yourself a lot of money by doing so!
...and most importantly...
99. Relax. You shouldn't be working every second of every day. Make time for your family and friends - you'll be a more rounded person as a result!
100. Enjoy yourself. Running your own business should be fun. If you're not enjoying yourself then step back and ask yourself what's going run.
101. Make money! That's the key here! Follow the first 100 steps and you'll be well on your way to success!