I’m sure that at this point you have read some stories about entrepreneurs that started to earn a huge amount of money just selling stuff online.

 

You picture them working just a few hours from home and getting rich as the sleep at night.

 

Well, let me tell you something:

All these big fish started exactly where you stand know.

 

If you’re reading this post is because you have a business idea in mind or because you want to improve your business online.

 

If that’s the case, congratulations! You already have the most important part of your (soon-to-be) online business.

Now you just need a little push to take your idea to the next level.

Let’s not panic here and think about an effective strategy for your E-commerce.

 

Let’s start with these tips for successful E-commerce sites.

 

7 tips for successful E-commerce sites

 

1. Find and explore a profitable niche

This must be your first step.

Maybe you think that your idea isn’t worthy because the marketplace is too crowded and the competition is very high.

 

Well, you need to explore the market and observe if that’s the case.

 

That’s exactly what I thought when I started working as a freelance translator an interpreter. I thought that the market was so crowded that I had nothing to do out there.

 

Wrong!

 

Everything I was doing is to compare my business model with other translators out there.

I was focusing on the red ocean.

 

However, we need to swim out of it as soon as possible to reach the blue ocean.

And we need to do that by being different from the rest and by finding a gap within your industry that nobody out there has covered yet.

 

It sounds difficult, right? It took me quiet a while to get it right.

 

Start answering this question: what do/can I offer that no one out there does/can?

 

Brainstorm as much as you can and come back to this question every three months. I’m sure you’ll come up with new ideas and strategies as you develop your business and figure out the direction that you want it to take.

 

2. Define your Ideal Customer Avatar

If you don’t know exactly what your ideal customer looks like, you won’t be able to know how and who to sell your products to.

 

You need to know as many details as possible:

• Where are they gathering?
• What are their needs?
• What do they want to achieve in life? (And so on!)

 

You’ll have to tailor all your marketing strategies to cover these questions.

[Tweet “All your marketing strategies must be focused on your clients’ needs and concerns.”]

 

3. Validate and test your business idea

I have heard crazy stories about people investing a lot of money in a business idea and then went bankrupt because it failed.

 

Well, fear not! You don’t need to invest a great a lot of money to test and validate a business idea.

 

We can start with a Minimum Viable Product.

 

If you can’t invest in a E-commerce platform from the very beginning, try to sell your idea in other platforms such as Amazon or eBay before launching your own. This way you’ll be saving some money to invest and you’ll be testing your idea at the same time.

 

I know; every business is different. That’s why you need to think about your own strategy to test your idea.

 

4. Position your brand and product and work on your reputation online

You image online is essential. It’s the first thing your clients are going to see once they’ve found you.

 

In my case, it was the first thing that I invested in when I was starting up.

 

If you don’t know how to create a logo, hire a designer. If you don’t know how to write copy, hire a copywriter.

 

But if you’re not sure how to create the brand of your business, don’t do it on your own. This is something that I always work on within my coaching programmes.

 

You need to know the identity of your business and you need to know how to convey it to your clients.

 

Nobody is going to invest in a dodgy or old-fashion website. And probably your clients will run away if they see a logo that has been created in Word, even if the product that you’re selling is extremely good.

I know that you need to save money when you’re starting up. But this isn’t the aspect that you should save money from.

 

Also, having an online business means commitment and being active online. Learn how to manage social networks. I know it’s a lot of work and I know it can be daunting some times.

When I created my Twitter account, I had to be very active for three months before people started noticing me online. But soon after these first three months, I got my first client on Twitter. And believe me, the numbers will exponentially increase over time.

 

5. Master the basic skills or outsource your weaknesses

When you start an online business, there are certain skills that you need to master if you want to make the most of your online efforts.

 

If you’re not willing to learn these skills, be sure to outsource them or you won’t be able to make your business grow.

 

What are these skills? These are some of the most important ones for me:

 

• Your platform:
  • Copywriting: There’d be no businesses without words. Writing what your customers want to read is essential to connect with them.
  • Graphic design: The appearance of your business
  • IT support.
• Online Marketing:
  • SEO
  • Social Media
  • Online advertising
• Business:
  • Bookkeeping and taxes.
  • Business management.
  • Business strategy.
  • Customer service.

 

6. Correctly price your products

Once you’re aware of your niche in the market and your ICA, you must adjust your prices accordingly.

 

One of the mistakes that I find in some of my clients is that they reach price-sensitive clients and sell their products at premium prices.

We can find two possible mistakes here. The first one is that they are not positioning themselves correctly in the market. The second one can be a problem in the price of their products.

 

You can follow this guide to price your products depending on the products that you’re selling.

 

7. Escalate your business and make it grow

You need to focus your business model in earning money.

 

I know, this may sound a bit greedy, but if you want to run a business that lasts in time, you need to make it scalable.

 

Otherwise, you’ll find yourself working more hours for the same salary at the end of the month.

 

Most Ecommerce decide to get their platforms translated into a different language to target a different marketplace and export their products.

That’s the case, for example, of the Spanish brand Mr. Wonderful.

Consider invest in your business wisely in a way that would make your business scalable.

 

Dos and don’ts of a successful E-commerce site

 

• DON’T think that people are going to discover your site out of the blue

Because they ‘re simply not going to.

You need to have a strategy to increase your readership and attract more people to your website.

 

Consider implementing a content marketing strategy, as that’s the most reliable strategy in the long term for online businesses.

 

• DO invest in marketing and test marketing strategies

Keep some of your budget to invest and test different marketing strategies. You never know what strategy is going to work better from the very beginning.

 

Be creative and explore new options.

 

• DON’T try to do everything in your business

Outsource and focus on what you can do better.

Otherwise, you’ll get fed of having your own business and you’ll give up.

 

• DO listen to the opinion of your clients

They will point you in the right direction.

I normally send them a survey so they can anonymously tell me what needs to be improved.

They have already bought from you and they know what it feels like working with you, that’s why they are the ideal people to tell you what can be improved.

 

• DON’T be a workaholic

Working more doesn’t mean working better.

Take some time off for yourself. That will help you to recover your energies and be more creative for your business.

Remember that being productive doesn’t mean working more hours, but getting things done in less time.

 

• DO build a solid foundation to escalate quicker

Without a solid foundation, you won’t be able to make your business grow as much as you’d expect.

 

Having your own business requires commitment and hard work. But remember that you can also become one of these big fish that make money while they sleep. Are you taking the necessary steps to achieve it?