How to open an online store and why the time is now
Many have a list of goals to achieve each year. I’m sure many of you have had “starting a digital business or online store” on this list at some point in your lives. Most of the time this desire never leaves the list, it never becomes a reality, many times for justified reasons. But thanks to the gods of technology, the barriers preventing you to make it successfully are being lowered. In this article we’ll tell you how to open an online store and why the right time for it is now. Fasten your seatbelts.
Believing that you can’t start a business on the internet is a mental barrier you must eliminate
Opening an online store is one of the best ways to start a business venture. If you’re looking for economic independence, being your own boss and having a say in your destiny, opening an e-commerce business can be a good first experience as a digital entrepreneur. Opening an online store allows you to learn the basics of a business without too much risk, a low cost and better yet, selling a traditional or virtual product that interests you. If you own a physical store, an e-commerce is the perfect complement. With it you can try out new ways of reaching your audience with exclusive promotions. This can stimulate people to buy online or go to your store to look for products (and maybe even get something extra). Don’t think doing business on the internet is only for some people. The access to tools that eliminate or simplify the technical heavy work, is being democratized today more than ever. Leave those boring and difficult things to those who know what they’re doing. You should only focus on discovering what products you are going to sell.
- Step 1: Believe in yourself and decide to try an online store. Barriers are no longer technical but mental.
It has never been easier to pay online
With the increase in electronic commerce around the world, including Latin America, different payment methods available to online stores make it possible so that anyone with access to the internet can use these new options. Platforms such as Jumpseller, offer a variety of payment methods including debit and credit cards, wire transfers or Paypal, adapting to the needs of each country. Every day is safer to buy and sell online thanks to sophisticated security processes that avoid electronic fraud.
- Step 2: Choose the technological platform where you will build your online store. Jumpseller offers free plans so you can start selling with a single click.
Increase the use of mobile devices
In 2016 more than 65% of online store traffic around the world will be from mobile devices. This number is expected to rise in the following years. This makes it mandatory for an online store to adapt to mobile devices, having a shopping process specially designed for this type of device. Many think this is too complicated, but modern e-commerce platforms such as Jumpseller offer this functionality by default. Let’s get selling!
- Step 3: Verify that the selected platform is capable of selling to multiple mobile devices.
Sell experiences, not products
If you know what products to sell and believe you already have a good market for them, now you must create the best shopping experience possible. People don’t visit your online store only for products, they look for information and advice. They look to identify themselves with your brand and to be heard. The sale is the result of the client’s process of falling in love with what you’re offering, the experience. The shopping experience has a significant effect on client fidelity. As you may have heard, what makes an online business grow isn’t the number of visitors or daily sales but loyal customers who buy repeatedly.
- Step 4: Create the best shopping experience possible, chose the best communication channels for your specific audience such as chat, emails, newsletters, etc.
Quality content
Quality content refers to 3 different processes you must create initially: - SEO - Product descriptions - Relevant content SEO (Search Engine Optimization) means optimizing all of the content in your store for indexing by search engines such as Google. In this article you can find information about it. The second point refers to the creation of product descriptions that match your products as well as your audience. In this article you can learn how to create the best possible descriptions. The last point has to do with the creation of relevant articles, ideally in a blog, to become well positioned on Google and other search engines. It also adds value and gives information to your clients.
- Step 5: Create optimized content for search engines that’s also relevant to your clients. You’re ready to sell! By following these steps you will have a fully functional online store that will generate visitors in the short term. Remember, starting barriers are only in your head. Today, more than ever, it’s easy and quick to see if an online business will work for you. If you’re ready, click here and you’ll be one step away from having your own online store.