There are 12 million to 24 million eCommerce sites across the world. However, less than 1 million of these sites sell more than $1,000 a year. This means you can’t just start an ecommerce business and hope it works for you.
There is a proven step-by-step method that works and has worked for every successful ecommerce business that exists today, and we’re going to dive deep into each of them.
Start an Ecommerce Business with These 5 Steps
If you’re considering starting your own ecommerce business, take these five steps first for the best chance of success.
1. Research Ecommerce Business Models
Before you start a business in the ecommerce industry, look into the different business models out there.
For example, if you don’t want to touch the product or start investing heavily in the beginning, dropshipping or print on demand could be a good option. You can even start the business while working from home.
2. Research Ecommerce Niches
If you’re trying to start an ecommerce business, you need to understand what the well-known names in your niche are doing. There are case studies about all the big brand names that go into how their idea was conceptualized, how it came into being, and everything in between.
For those interested in starting an eCommerce business from scratch, utilizing the Etsy platform can be a great way to get started.
By studying what those who have gone before you did, you will learn what to do and what not to do to be successful when you start an ecommerce business. For a comprehensive understanding, you can follow a guide on how to start an ecommerce business.
3. Find Your Target Market
Don’t sell your product immediately upon opening your ecommerce business. The most important factor is who you’re selling it to. If you don’t define your target audience, there’s literally no one to buy your product. That’s not a sustainable strategy for your business.
When defining your target audience, develop an archetype or persona of the average user your product is for. Write out what they do for a living, where they live, where they spend most of their time, and everything else you can think of that would help define your ideal customer. This information will help you know where, when, and how to reach them.
4. Create Your Website
Once your target audience is defined, you’re in the game. All that’s left is to pick a name for your brand, complete legal paperwork, and create your website.
Most people use platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce to set up their ecommerce websites. You can research your options to pick the best one and build the site yourself. You could also hire a UI/UX developer and an ecommerce developer to create your website from scratch.
5. Create a Marketing Plan
Use your target audience information to develop a marketing plan that will allow you to advertise to and reach the right people. Your marketing plan may include creating an email list or relying on paid marketing.
In both cases, you’ll want to create a landing page on your website where your target market can learn more about your business and products.
Conclusion
Initially, there may be several hiccups in the process to start an ecommerce business for yourself, but as soon as you’re done following all the steps, you’re bound to take off.
It’s only a matter of time until you can stop micromanaging every little process and begin operating on a macro-level. Once a large majority of your tasks are automated, you can focus on more important business decisions.
