Simon / Published on September 17, 2013
You have decided to sell online and have a great range of products, but where do you start when it comes to e-commerce?
If you finally have everything ready and you are ready to start selling your stock, whether it be home and garden products or fashion items, then you are going to need to learn all about online selling and fast!
So, we have come up with a 5 minute guide to help you on your way to turning all of your hard work into actual revenue.
Start Off Selling via an Online Marketplace
Instead of spending lots of money on a e-commerce site, it makes sense to start selling via online marketplaces. Not only can you see if your products are popular and which ones sell the best, but you can save yourself a lot of money by dipping your toes into the water first.
The main benefit of selling via Choiceful instead of other online auction sites is that it is much cheaper. Choiceful only charge 5% and it is free to list your products on our site, whereas the industry average is around 15%, including charging you to list your products online.
By using an online marketplace, you can save money and have a hassle-free infrastructure due to Choiceful’s product templates, meaning a lot less stress!
High Quality Images are Essential
Brick-and-mortar stores rely on mannequins and good merchandising to showcase their stock, so when it comes to selling online you need to ensure you do all you can to show off your products the best you can.
Take photos on a clean white background and be consistent with your images, making sure they are all taken using the same lighting.
Play around with different angles of your product until you get the best angle, but make sure you offer customers more than one view so they can get the full idea of what it looks like in real life.
If you are struggling to make your photos look decent, hire a professional photographer. Use a site like www.elance.com, where freelance photographers can bid for your project so you get a good price, and you can choose one based on their credentials and portfolio.
Create Content that is Optimised for Online
Product descriptions ensure your customer know exactly what they are buying, but they are also a good way to attract customers. By creating content which has been optimised for search (SEO), the likelihood of your target customer finding your product rises.
Longer product descriptions are better, along with every bit of detail you can provide. Check out these top tips for SEO for small business owners if you are unsure how to best optimise your online content.
Build Trust and Authority
Online shoppers can be wary when buying online, so building up trust and positioning yourself as a secure, safe business is very important.
"The biggest mistake new sellers make is not giving enough information about who they are and their background," says Ruby Lane's Frishman.
Customers like to know who they are buying from, so for a small fee, you can apply to be screened to gain a stamp of approval from consumer advocacy groups such as TRUSTe and Better Business Bureau Online.
You can also gain trust by maintaining a free returns policy, where you promise to offer customers all of their money back if they change their mind or don’t like the product. This serves as a guarantee to the customer, instilling them with confidence to buy from you.
Now that you are more in the know, you can start selling online via Choiceful’s cheap online marketplace!
What is your biggest concern as a new online seller?
