Starting an eCommerce Store
Step 1: Find products & services to sell.
If you already run a business and want to start selling online, then your already completed the hardest step. Finding a quality product can be difficult; its best to start with a hobby or a topic of interest. Research wholesalers & distributors to find the best supplier for your new business.
Step 2: Choose a Software & Design.
e-Commerce sites are can be easy to update and manage with the right software. A quality shopping cart software will incorporate design, updating, marketing, accounting, management, & customer service into one package. Zen-Cart, Magneto, & OSCommerce are the leading FREE software programs availible with hosting accounts. These programs are 1 Click installs, so you will be up and running in minutes.
If you have experience Flash, HTML, PHP, Java etc.. then your one step ahead for customizing design. You can purchase professional templates & scripts with easy to edit features. You an even purchase editors like DreamWeaver to make (and sell) your own templates.
Step 3: Find a website host and upload your sales pages.
Even if you don't know what a website host is and have never uploaded anything before, hosting companies make it easy as possible to do everything you need to run your web business like email, statistics, ftp & one-click shopping cart installs.
Step 4: Setup credit card processing on your website.
Accepting credit cards online is neither complicated or expensive. Banks and companies like PayPal & Authorize.net offer small to large business credit card proccessing. Small business's features include processing credit cards for no monthly fee,and an industry average transaction percentage. Only use proccessors who can provide encripted payments & other security measures.
Step 5: Promote your website & products.
The most important step in making money online is to promote your business and products to the right target audience.
Strategies to promote your Web Sites
- Link exchanges. Getting links on relevent high ranking web sites helps your site list higher on search engines likes google, yahoo, msn.
- Start a Blog. A blog can help your business gain attention and loyal customers.
- In Print Advertising. A great way for people to see your products. Also, keep in mind your car or truck can be one of the biggest & most viewed advertising options your business has.
- Selling Ad Space. Not only for extra income, selling banner space can give your business attention from other business. A good way to show others that your serious about business.
Step 6: Watch the orders come in!
Be sure to provide excellent customer service. A New sale is your 1st impression; a customer is not going to do business again if they feel they could have got better elsewhere!
Always Keep Records & Always Make Backups