Starting an online store can be overwhelming if you don’t have the right tools to help you out. In order to help people get started, I’ve put together this step-by-step guide on how to start an online store and successfully bring your products and services to your customers in the digital age. Let’s get started!
Step 1) Decide on your niche
The first step is deciding what niche you want to focus on. This will be the foundation for the rest of your store. Do you want to do children's clothes, home goods, or produce? Once you decide on a niche, narrow it down even further by choosing a specific category.
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Step 2) Come up with 3 Niche keywords
Choosing a niche for your online store can be tricky. It's essential that you know exactly what you want to sell, and have a good idea of who will buy it. If you know what type of person would purchase the product, then it should be easier to come up with keywords and phrases they would use when searching for this type of product.
Try looking at some products that are already selling well on sites like eBay or Amazon, and see if there is something similar in your chosen niche.
Once you have found a few niches that interest you, try plugging them into an Amazon search bar and seeing how well they rank on the first page.
Step 3) Select an Ecommerce platform
There are many ecommerce platforms out there and you should select the one that best suits your needs. Some popular ones include Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. Create an account with your chosen platform and create a product listing for each of your products. Upload photos of your products as well as a description of them. Select a payment gateway: It's important to find a payment gateway that has low fees and provides international services (if necessary).
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Step 4) Design your website
1. Create a domain name
2. Find a hosting site 3. Choose a template for your site 4. Create an email account 5. Install WordPress and choose a theme for the website 6. Install plugins on the website (themes, search engine optimization, social media integration) 7. Add content to the website 8. Promote your new site
Step 5) Host it
1) Find a domain name. A domain name is the URL that people type into their browser when they want to visit a website, so you'll need one before you can even get started. It's also important that the domain name is easily recognizable and not already taken by someone else - it's hard to be successful if people can't find what they're looking for! 2) Purchase a web hosting package. Web hosting is the service that will allow people all over the world to access your site on the Internet.
Step 6) Choose a shopping cart plugin
WooCommerce is one of the most popular shopping cart plugins for WordPress. It's free and provides support for a variety of payment gateways.
Step 7) Create product descriptions and add content.
1) Choose a name for the business.
2) Decide what type of products you want to sell.
3) Register as an LLC with the right state.
4) Choose an e-commerce platform, like Shopify or WooCommerce.
5) Design your website with a theme that is appropriate for your brand.
6) Create a Facebook page and Twitter account.
7) Create product descriptions and add content.
8) Ship items to customers using Amazon FBA.
9) Invest in other marketing channels, like Google Ads and Instagram ads.
10) Involve yourself with your customer service team by answering questions about orders/products on social media platforms.
11) Build relationships with influencers who will be advocates for your product/company on their social media channels
12) Check out other successful businesses such as Nike Store or Nordstrom Online Store to see how they do things on their website.
13) Collect feedback from customers using live chat app Olark so you can better understand how they feel about the products they bought from your company
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Step 8) Promote your site using various marketing channels.
You can promote your online stores by integrating social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, email marketing and search engine optimization.
1) Create a Facebook page for your online store and place links on the page that will take people directly to the products. This is a good way to generate traffic.
2) Place banners or text ads on other websites that have an appropriate demographic for what you are selling.