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Up0John Romaine, post: 254081, member: 39536 wrote:I see a lot of people on this forum asking about setting up an online store, and selling physical products on the internet.
I also see a lot of members here really struggling trying to make sales, as well as those asking a million questions in order to minimise risk and avoid costly mistakes.
I thought I’d share some thoughts here in an effort to give you all something to think about.
This is going to be quick, dirty and straight to the point – I don’t have much time.
1. Stop trying to be clever.
I see people trying to sell toasters that glow in the dark and shoes that receive FM radio. Forget about all that nonsense. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just give people what they want. This applies to your online store too with all that fancy crap that does nothing more than annoy people when they’re trying to buy. Sure, be different but dont try to be clever. Just sell whats already selling. which brings me to my next point.
2. Sell whats already selling.
Every now and then I see people trying to sell sh*t nobody wants. Horrible. If you want to minimise risk and make money, just sell what is already selling. HINT – Go into a marketplace that is so massive its almost impossible to screw it up.
3. Focus on making money.
I see people wasting days, weeks, months on trivial bulls*t such as the background colour on their website, or whether or not they should include the dancing chicken on the homepage. F all of that. Focus on making sales.
4. Avoid vanity metrics and the emotional BS
I also see people falling in love with their own ideas before they’ve even proved its financially viable. No one cares. Again, just focus on making money. Likes and followers dont pay bills. Nor does getting emotionally involved. One of the best lessons I ever learnt was this – whatever you do, succeed or fail – do it quickly.
5. Be prepared to work your face off
For some reason people think making money online is easy. Its just a matter of slapping up a website and waiting for sales to roll in. I often think it might be easier for some people to open a traditional bricks and mortar store rather than trying to make money online. Selling on the internet can be a tough gig. Its cold and lonely and youll often find yourself struggling, which brings me to my next point.
6. It takes years
Unless you’re willing to be in this for the long haul – dont even start. I see so many posts here from members saying “About to launch”, “starting a new”, “Just finished our website”. I often make a point of going back months later and almost every time the sites are gone. Why? Because people give up too early. If you’re not in this for at least 7 years then forget it.
7. If sh*ts not working, then DITCH IT.
I’ve made this mistake myself plenty of times. Hanging on to something that’s not working. You should be very confident that whatever you’re about to do has potential and will start making money FAST. If you’ve been banging away on this for 3 years or so and you’re struggling then KILL IT. Anything that has potential should start bringing a return relatively quickly.
8 Keep your mouth shut and work
Ive lost count of how many times Ive been to parties and weekend BBQ’s only to have someone in my face telling me how theyve just setup a website and its wonderful and they’re going to make a million dollars by next Wednesday. Guess what? That rarely happens and in the end they end up looking like fools. Sure, be ambitious, but keep your mouth shut and brag when you buy that new Lexus.
9. Get paid first.
This is without a doubt one of the biggest mistakes I see people making here especially, and in general when it comes to selling online. People will either spend a fortune having a product developed or filling their back bedroom full of $50,000 worth of stock that they cant sell. Dont do that. Test the market first. Go to a FB group with 10,000 members who love gold fish and say “Hey Im selling goldfish shaped sunglasses, who wants a pair?” This should be highly targeted and you SHOULD make sales. If you dont then somethings wrong. Also, dont spend $20,000 on a swanky website. Setup your goods on ebay or something where theres NO investment or outlay on your behalf. If you start making a lot of sales then great – THEN setup your own store.And lastly, GET PAID FIRST. Dont spend $100,000 having those fancy widgets made then panic when you cant sell them. Instead, have people pay for them FIRST, then sort out the order AFTER you’ve been paid. In other words, work with other peoples money. I have done this successfully time and time again, and it reduces your risk to almost zero. Most people dont care if your website reads “made to order, please allow x weeks”. Always be honest when doing this.
10. Sell what you love, or you have an interest in
Unless you’re passionate about the subject matter – forget it. I see people all the time here saying “Im going to sell coffee cups” and i think “Wow this person must really love coffee cups?” and then in 3 months time the site is gone and they’re sitting at the end of a bar in some rundown part of town crying in their beer saying “I dont know why I bothered, I dont even like coffee cups, I was just in it for the money”. Remember, whatever you do, you’ve got to do it for YEARS. Its like a relationship. If you cant roll over every morning and be excited about it, then dont even start. Sell something you’re passionate about.
What a great post.
I had to giggle at the sub titles like “work your face off” and “keep your mouth shut and work”
I one hundred percent agree.
I would add “Sell what you love, or you have interest in.”
Whatever this maybe, in one form or another, this, your favored niche WILL link back to a primary category that sells well. That is assuming you have drilled down and researched well, to ensure worthiness of effort, time and money to market.
As it’s already been mentioned above, sell what is already selling. YES.
I agree also, content marketing is coming into play MORE within the ecommerce space.
All drives traffic, qualified curious and/or ready to buy, traffic!
Generating content on something you already resonate with and enjoy, will only produce and more easily at that, outstanding content!
Valuable content with the end user in mind, linking back to the product or products, well, say no more. Increased sales.
Excellent post.
Up0What Karensaid
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Up0Totally agree just because you love something doesn’t mean there is money to be made.
Many people think that having a website is enough. In reality, the website is just a small part of the business.
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Up0In starting I created a website to sell my products online but due to low budget for SEO/Internet Marketing I failed. Then I joined eBay and now I am earning nice amount monthly.
Up0Thanks for advising about Starting An Online Store. I really appreciate the advice and will be sure to follow your tips to get started.
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