Monthly ArchivesMarch 2022

Did you know 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years of operation, and approximately half of all businesses don’t get past the fifth year?

If you read that stat and felt more determined to achieve your goals, you have the perseverance needed to succeed in your business.

However, no matter how long you’ve been in business, you’re bound to run into problems at some point since missteps are a natural part of the business process.

The key to a successful business is to quickly identify your mistakes, learn from them, and avoid making the same errors again. It’s also wise to learn from others’ mistakes to avoid paying the price with your own business.

That said, here’s what we’ll cover:

Mistakes Small Business Owners Make

1. Trying to do it all themselves

2. Making unnecessary investments

3. Mixing personal and business finances

4. Not having an online marketing plan

5. Underpricing/slashing prices

Let’s have a more in-depth look at the mistakes listed above.

1. Trying To Do It All Themselves

Most entrepreneurs feel they must do everything. They believe they’re the only people who know how to get things done correctly. While it’s true you know more about your business than anyone, you need to delegate some responsibilities to others as your business grows.

As a business owner, there are numerous areas you’re not good at. For example, handling customer service calls, social media, or managing taxes can be a bad idea if you’re not qualified to do so.

To avoid doing everything yourself, identify your strengths and weaknesses, then recruit people who are good at what you’re not good at. That will help you focus on where you can add the most value.

Also, hire trustworthy, experienced advisors to discuss your business strategy, growth, and challenges. These people will give you continuous feedback, and you’ll make fewer mistakes in the long run.

2. Making Unnecessary Investments

According to CBInsights, 38% of startups fail because they run out of cash.

One of the reasons for that is overspending when starting a new business. While you have to spend money to make money, that only works if you spend it on the right things.

Wise entrepreneurs treat business purchases like buying any other capital investment — with return on investment (ROI) in mind.

For example, hiring a web developer is an unnecessary expense when you can use a store builder to create an online store without writing a single line of code. With Hostdedi StoreBuilder, you can create an online store that’s customized, beautiful, and unique in just a few clicks.

Be as economical as possible until your small business has grown enough to permit large purchases and still have money left to save.

3. Mixing Personal and Business Finances

When you’re a business owner, it’s natural to consider the company’s assets to be your own. While this is true to some extent, it can lead to serious financial risks if you start treating business finances as your own.

For example, you risk losing valid tax deductions when you mix personal and business expenses in the same credit card and bank accounts.

To deduct items from your taxes, you must be able to prove that those expenses are deductible business costs. With your finances mixed up, it’s difficult to prove what’s what, and the IRS may throw out your business expenses to make sure you’re not deducting personal costs.

To solve that, open a bank account specifically for your business and apply for a business credit card to track your business expenses.

4. Not Having an Online Marketing Plan

Many entrepreneurs with offline businesses are not new to marketing. However, driving traffic to an online store can be a different animal altogether.

With 32.5 million small businesses in the U.S. alone, you’ll need a competitive edge to succeed.

An online marketing plan will enable you to identify your target audience and differentiate yourself from competitors. By defining your ideal customer, you can effectively tailor your marketing strategy to address them directly.

That’ll make your marketing tactics more engaging and more likely to generate a positive ROI.

From there, you must optimize your most effective online marketing asset — your website. Even if you generally rely on client referrals, a website with stunning visuals and valuable content can set you apart from the competition and boost sales.

With Hostdedi, you can power up your website or online store with custom-built technology designed to make every aspect of the digital commerce experience better.

Check out our hosting plans for a faster and more secure website.

5. Underpricing/Slashing Prices

One common mistake new business owners make is underpricing their products or services. They often do this to woo customers, boost sales, or overtake competitors.

However, over 80% of customers compare prices on the internet before buying. In addition, a BigCommerce study revealed 80% of shoppers state competitive pricing is the most crucial store feature influencing their purchasing decisions.

So, slashing prices will eventually undermine your business’ offering, and you’ll end up in the trap of diminishing returns with insufficient profit to keep your business running.

For example, when you underprice your products, the revenue you’ll generate will not be enough to cover the manufacturing, promoting, and delivering costs, leaving gaps that must be filled.

To solve this, do competitor market research to determine what you should charge.

The Most Common Mistake Small Businesses Make When They Start Growing

The most common mistake small business owners make is expanding geographically without proper planning.

Your business’s success mainly depends on your ability to analyze the market and see where your product fits in, which is even more critical when entering a new area.

9% of businesses fail due to unsuccessful expansion, so expanding your business can be a big mistake without proper planning.

Final Thoughts: 5 Small Business Mistakes and How To Avoid Them in 2022

Although you should avoid these startup mistakes while building your business, keep in mind that missteps are unavoidable, so set realistic expectations.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Instead, learn from your mistakes and make necessary changes to your business model. Test new ideas and get feedback to improve your offering and better meet your customers’ needs.

If you run an ecommerce business, you should consider optimizing your website as well.

You can do so by signing up for Hostdedi’ fully managed WooCommerce hosting. Get started today and make your ecommerce website faster and more secure.

As an entrepreneur, building an ecommerce store is an exciting process — especially after investing time and effort into making your website modern, feature filled, and customer ready. But once you open the digital doors to your online shop, how do you go about generating qualified customer traffic? Enter: ecommerce marketing.

Just like digital marketing, ecommerce website marketing allows you to use multiple digital channels to promote your products and grow your business online. From social media and digital content production to search engine optimization and email campaigns, marketing for your ecommerce store is a crucial aspect to growing web traffic and driving conversions.

If this is your first time coming up with an ecommerce marketing strategy, this guide is here to help you get started. Below, we will break down the ins and outs of ecommerce website marketing. Keep reading for 14 of the best ecommerce marketing tips to help you boost online webstore sales fast — and grow your returning customer base.

What is Ecommerce Marketing?

Ecommerce marketing is the process of using promotional tactics—such as an Instagram post or a display ad on Google—to drive traffic and sales for your online store.

It all starts with generating brand awareness, which can increase website traffic. With the right strategy, you can convert that traffic into paying — and hopefully returning — customers.

Ecommerce marketing is a powerful and necessary tool for any online store owner. Let’s dive into some of the best strategies for generating awareness and revenue for your brand.

14 of the Best Ecommerce Marketing Strategies to Boost Sales

To help you establish an ecommerce marketing plan, we have outlined 14 of the best ecommerce marketing strategies that will help you boost traffic, increase sales, and kick-start your online business.

1. Incorporate Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a key ecommerce marketing tactic that allows you to place ads on major advertising platforms. As the name indicates, you pay the platform each time an ad is clicked.

Google Ads is one of the most popular online advertising platforms, as it allows you to create PPC display ads that target users based on their web searches.

A few common PPC advertisements on Google include:

1. Paid search ads
2. Display ads
3. Google Shopping ads

Google Ads utilizes a real-time bidding (RTB) process to sell advertising real estate on the search engine results page (SERP) through private, automated auctions.

2. Optimize for Search Engines

Search engine optimization (SEO) is another crucial element to running your ecommerce business that you can incorporate even before your site launches. At its core, SEO is the process of ensuring your site ranks highly in the SERP when a user searches for a keyword or phrase that relates to your products.

While there are many SEO strategies you can utilize, foundational SEO elements like well-optimized title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt text are key tools to help your pages rank.

It’s important to remember that SEO is long-term ecommerce marketing strategy, but it can pay off if done right. To start, you will need to learn the best practices and rules for the search engine you’re optimizing for (Google, YouTube, Amazon, etc.). From there, it’s all about creating and optimizing the content on your site.

3. Design for Mobile Devices

While creating a desktop- and SEO-optimized ecommerce store with unique design is important for attracting customers, optimizing your store for mobile devices is even more important.

In 2021,53.9 percent of all retail ecommerce is expected to be generated from mobile devices, which means your website needs to function properly on smartphones and tablets of all shapes and sizes.

To ensure your ecommerce store is mobile-friendly, make sure it features a responsive design that adapts to the device it is being displayed on. Additionally, it is important to make important information easier to find on mobile, such as an “Add to Cart” button or your contact information.

4. Create Engaging Content

Content marketing is important to incorporate into an ecommerce marketing plan.

Content marketing involves creating multiple types of organic content to improve your website’s SERP ranking while answering the questions your customers are asking online. Three ways to create content that will help your ecommerce store rank higher and drive traffic include:

• Product Page Copy: Outside of your title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt text, your product pages should feature written copy that incorporates product-driven keywords. This increases the chances of your product pages showing up in the SERP for related search queries.
• Blogs and Long-Form Guides: Writing blog posts and long-form guides that are related to your products can help you connect with new customers and rank higher in the SERP. When outlining a blog or guide, it’s important to focus on creating captivating, engaging, and keyword-rich content that helps to answer your customers’ questions or concerns while showcasing how your product is the solution.
• Guest Posts: Creating guest posts for external websites is a great ecommerce content marketing tactic that allows you to get your website or products in front of new audiences. This strategy can help you increase your domain authority and traffic through backlinks from websites that already rank highly for your targeted keywords.
• Videos: Producing product-related videos for search engines like YouTube can also help you get your website or products in front of your targeted audience. Using high-volume keywords that relate to your products, you can develop topics for visual content that will be engaging and helpful to your customers.

5. Establish Social Media Profiles

Launching business pages on social media can help you grow your ecommerce store and connect with new audiences. Because ecommerce websites are highly visual, platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are great for showcasing your products and expanding your reach.

Many social media platforms also allow you to create shoppable content, such as shoppable display ads in a social feed or tags that take users directly to your ecommerce store’s product pages.

Social media networks you should consider for your ecommerce marketing plan include:

1. Instagram
2. Facebook
3. Pinterest
4. Twitter
5. TikTok
6. LinkedIn

Don’t spread yourself too thin. Be sure to focus your time and energy on platforms that are best for your business’s needs and that generate the most ROI for your store.

6. Reach Out to Influencers

Influencer marketing is a simple way to boost traffic and sales for your ecommerce store, and it can easily tie into your social media marketing plan. Influencers are celebrities or members of a community that have large followings on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or Twitch.

Because they have already built trust with their followers, an organic product recommendation or a sponsored post about your brand will feel less intrusive than a standard ad in a social feed. Just be sure to find a credible influencer that fits into your product niche well, as that’s where your potential customers will be.

7. Take Advantage of User-Generated Content

Another ecommerce marketing tactic that could fall into your overall social media marketing strategy is user-generated content (UGC). Unlike influencer marketing, UGC is a free way to get your customers to market your product or ecommerce store for you. You can take advantage of UGC in multiple ways, including:

Promoting social media hashtags that users can add to their photos or videos of your products.

Creating online competitions where users are entered to win a prize when they display your product to their followers.

Incentivizing customers to leave a review or testimonial about your products or their shopping experience on your website.

8. Partner with Affiliate Marketers

Affiliate marketers are people or businesses who help sell your products on their websites for a commission. These marketers utilize affiliate links to track which customers go from their site to yours and you only have to pay a commission when a product sells on your website.

To generate interest around your business, affiliate marketers might use digital marketing tactics like paid advertisements and content creation that drives traffic to a page that features your products. Additionally, merchants can set their own commission rates for affiliate marketers, which means you can closely control your return on investment.

9. Reward Loyal Customers

Customer loyalty is a major aspect of your ecommerce store’s success. To help you capitalize on repeat traffic and sales, establish a customer loyalty program that rewards your long-term customers.

Whether you provide exclusive offers, discounts, or access to limited product runs, your customer loyalty program will not only help with customer retention, but also provide more opportunities for organic referrals through UGC.

When establishing a customer loyalty program, be sure to think through all the ways you can incentivize your customers, including through a point system, special discount codes, or share-worthy perks.

10. Build an Email Subscriber List

Although email marketing might not be as glamorous as social media marketing, it is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic, make sales, and generate loyal customers.

As internet users are bombarded with social media posts daily, email provides a more intimate avenue to reach your targeted audience — not to mention it gives you more space to deliver a message than short-form social media posts on platforms like Twitter or Instagram.

Ecommerce email marketing starts with gaining new email subscribers. Grow your list by promoting your blog or newsletter, or through other email capture techniques like lightbox popups on your website.

Remember, it’s important to be strategic about how you add website visitors to your mailing list and when you send them emails. You want to maintain the trust of your customers without coming across as “spammy.”

11. Follow Up After a Purchase

After a customer has purchased a product, you can send a follow-up email or message that keeps the conversation going. Not only does that help keep your brand top of mind, but it gives your customer the chance to provide feedback on their purchase experience.

Getting customer feedback can help you make changes to your ecommerce store that will streamline the shopping experience for future customers. Plus, it lets the customer know that you care about them, and that you are willing to help should they feel dissatisfied.

12. Ask About Abandoned Shopping Carts

When a user abandons their shopping cart, reaching out with an email can make the difference between a conversion and lost revenue. According to the Baynard Institute, the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is 69.80%.

In this follow-up email, you can remind them that they have left items in their shopping cart, or that you are there to help them through the checkout process should they require it. Much like following up with a customer after a purchase, this process shows that you care about making the shopping experience as seamless as possible.

13. Consider Local Shoppers

Local marketing allows you to focus on areas where most of your customers or prospects are located. This ecommerce marketing tactic is especially important if you have a brick-and-mortar store, as you want to ensure you retain your local, in-person customers while promoting your business online.

Local marketing consists of strategies like:

1. Optimizing the content on your site for localized keywords.
2. Offering free shipping for customers who live near your storefront, warehouse, or shipping facility.
3. Creating location-based landing pages that discuss your product offerings in areas you regularly serve.
4. Taking out ads in local publications or radio stations to generate awareness for your site.
5. Opening a temporary “pop-up” shop that you promote to customers who live near your main operation.

14. Personalize Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategies

Personalizing your marketing strategies according to your customers’ past actions, preferences, or email data is a great way to drive ecommerce sales. This could be as simple as addressing a customer by their name in the subject line of an email, or by showing them smart content that’s based on an ad they have previously interacted with.

Personalization can even be based on where your customers are located. For example, if you sell clothing in your ecommerce store, it’s important to factor in seasonality and weather when presenting certain clothing items to customers in different states.

Grow Your Online Business with Ecommerce Marketing

Whether you’re trying to attract your first customer or making your 1,000th sale, ecommerce marketing is one of the most important aspects to driving online sales, traffic, and returning customers. Fortunately, there are multiple strategies and tactics you can incorporate in an ecommerce marketing plan—and many are easy and affordable to get started with.

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Rather than choosing an ecommerce platform with starter themes or pre-made templates, StoreBuilder uses industry specific insights to help you create a unique, captivating online store with an optimized homepage — and no coding is required.

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Ecommerce makes up over 14% of all sales worldwide. That equates to over $4 trillion in revenue made on the internet in the last year. With so much potential for profit online, many are left wondering: what is ecommerce, and how do I get the most out of it?

If you want to start an ecommerce business, the first step is to decide what type of ecommerce you’re going to engage in and what business model you’ll use. Once you know what you’re selling and how you’ll sell it, you can then look for the best ways to grow your online business.

In this guide, we’ll cover the four main types of ecommerce and the 9 different business models that you could apply to them.

The Four Types of Ecommerce Businesses

With so many online businesses emerging in the last two decades, it can be helpful to divide them into categories based on who’s selling to whom. The following four ecommerce models are broad categories that we’ll later narrow down into more specific business models.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

Business-to-consumer, or B2C, is the most common type of ecommerce. In this category, a company markets and sells products or services to individual customers for themselves. Clothing stores, home décor, and meal prep stores are great examples of a B2C business.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce is where companies buy and sell from one another. These sales could be goods or services. Two examples include a catering company selling its services to a law firm, and a law firm selling its services to a tech company.

Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

In a consumer-to-business (C2B) ecommerce model, individuals sell their goods or services to businesses. Here, you might imagine a freelance photographer contracting with a professional sports team or a new restaurant.

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)

The fourth type of ecommerce business is consumer-to-consumer (C2C), where individuals market and sell to other individuals. eBay is the most prolific example of a C2C marketplace, with Facebook Marketplace and apps like OfferUp and Poshmark following closely behind.

Examples of Ecommerce Business Models

Now that we’ve looked at the four types of ecommerce, let’s look at some examples of ecommerce business models. Getting a feel for successful models in ecommerce can lead you to a few online business ideas.

Traditional Retail

Traditional retail is a business model type that closely reflects in-person shopping models.

A traditional retailer will usually sell goods from several different brands to its customers. Whether you source from wholesalers or small businesses, your job as a traditional retailer is to provide added value to your customers and prospective customers during their shopping experience. That value can come in the form of convenience, quality assurance, expert advice, and more.

For example, Target and Walmart are traditional retailers that leverage convenience. Upscale grocery stores like Whole Foods and Fresh Market leverage quality assurance. Retailers leveraging expert advice include Vitamin Shoppe and REI.

Single Brand Retail

The single-brand retail model is, well, exactly how it sounds: in this model, a retailer sells their brand and only their brand.

The single-brand ecommerce business model is quite popular for people just starting in ecommerce. If you have a small business producing goods or services, it makes sense that you would stick to your brand when first starting out. As you expand your business, you can weigh the pros and cons of selling other brands on your site.

There are countless examples of successful single-brand retailers online. A few that are prominent in the clothing industry are Pendleton, Patagonia, L.L. Bean, Bonobos, and Lululemon.

Wholesale

One of the less accessible types of ecommerce for beginners is wholesale. Wholesalers generally sell in bulk to retailers or individuals at a discount that reflects the size of the purchase.

To become a wholesaler, you need access to large quantities of a specific good. This barrier to entry is often why most ecommerce businesses do not start as wholesalers. But it’s important to know they’re out there.

The prime example of a successful ecommerce wholesaler is Alibaba, a wholesale marketplace with nearly limitless options to find distributors of all product types. Some examples of smaller more niche wholesalers would be companies like Nuts.com and Black Ink Coffee.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping site owners are responsible for marketing and selling products that are ultimately fulfilled by a third-party supplier. The site compiles and brands products that are easy to ship and have a low level of customer support needed.

Popular products to dropship include cell phone accessories, grooming tools, niche products, custom office supplies, face masks, and much more.

Digital Products

Many ecommerce businesses have digital products to sell, such as music, instructional courses, or software. In many ways, this is the height of ecommerce since these products don’t have a long history of being sold in brick-and-mortar stores.

While digital goods may have a higher degree of difficulty when it comes to production, your business’s logistics will be much simpler. No physical goods mean less physical space, materials, and capital needed upfront.

Some popular platforms that help creators sell digital products are Bandcamp and Kajabi.

Subscription Services

Subscription services represent ecommerce models that rely on monthly and annual subscription revenue.

One of the benefits of employing a subscription services model is flexibility and scalability in pricing. After launching your service, you’ll be able to evaluate what level of subscriptions bring you the most returns.

Prominent subscription service businesses include streaming companies like Netflix and Hulu.

Subscription Goods

Subscription goods are similar to subscription services in their sales strategy, but instead of services like entertainment, businesses are offering recurring delivery of goods.

In recent years, the trend of subscription boxes has taken off with the rise of companies like Dollar Shave Club, BirchBox, and HelloFresh. These companies have taken markets like grooming, beauty, and food products and allowed customers to curate their subscriptions boxes to be sent on the timeline of their choice.

Membership Services

The membership services model is similar to subscription ecommerce business models, but these sites tend to have a bit more focus on interaction and community. Some popular examples of membership sites in the Health & Wellness industry include Peloton, KetoConnect, and The Neuro Studio.

Affiliate Sales

An affiliate sells products for a company they actively promote but are not employed by. Affiliate arrangements can take on many forms, some as simple as offering discount codes to your Instagram followers in exchange for kickbacks from a brand. Alternatively, you could actively fulfill orders for a company in exchange for a percentage of profit.

How To Select Your Ecommerce Business Model

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of ecommerce terminology around different business models that have become increasingly popular over the last decade.

After surveying the types of ecommerce available to you, ask yourself the following questions to help select your ideal business model:

• What do I want to sell?
• Who is my ideal customer?
• What kind of pricing will work best for my goods or services?
• Is my business likely to grow rapidly?
• What third-party services will help my business the most?

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Are press releases still a thing? Ask any PR pro and they’ll tell you “yes, they are.” While companies don’t rely as much on traditional news media to spread information these days, the combination of dropping a press release and posting on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offers boundless coverage for news you want to share.

The lines between public relations and marketing have blurred — especially where social media are concerned. Public relations supports and represents the brand’s overall vision, goals, and structure. On the other hand, social media marketing consists of using social media channels to deliver PR messages directly to your audience. Social media marketing allows you to directly connect with your audience with other types of messaging as well, such as that related to sales or promotions. Which approach or combination of approaches you choose depends on the message content and your goals (informational vs. promotional) in distributing it.

So when do you actually need to send a press release? A new product launch. Moving your headquarters. A big-name industry speaker is coming to visit. Things happen within your company, and sometimes you need to share that information publicly. That’s when you need to know how to draft a press release.

Companies used to send press releases (aka news releases) to traditional media outlets to make announcements. The idea was to announce news simultaneously, generating interest and media coverage. Calling sources at each news outlet and repeating the same information was simply not an efficient use of time.

Press releases are an important part of your public relations strategy, especially as an ecommerce store owner.

When to Deploy a Press Release

You don’t just decide to send a press release because it’s a Tuesday or because you haven’t sent one in a while. A press release is a strategic piece of marketing content, and you should treat it as such. It is best if you have a clearly defined reason for sending a press release. That reason typically revolves around news value. Here are some examples:

• Relevance — think about your audience and how the information applies to them. Do they want or need to know the information? Is it useful to them in their day-to-day lives? If so, it is relevant and worthy of a press release.
• Interest — information must be interesting to the audience, or they’ll ignore it. What affects their lives? If it’s a change in an internal process, they’re probably not interested. If it’s a change in an internal process that will alter the way you do business with them, they care.
• Impact — How many people are affected, and how seriously? The greater the impact, the more likely the information is to receive wide-scale interest.
• Conflict — Is there an issue? When something arises, communicate first with transparency and control the message.
• Prominence — People care about the lives of prominent people. If you have a big-name speaker coming to visit, your audience probably wants to know and informing them gives your company clout. Then they’ll also want to know what that big-name visitor said while they were there. That’s an opportunity for two press releases!

Remember that a press release should be about a single event or happening. You should write your press release clearly so the average person (not an industry insider) can understand it. And it should always have news value.

How to Draft a Press Release

Like any type of content, press releases start with the most important information and work their way to the least important information.

There are five parts to a press release:

• Summary News Lead — the main subject of the release. If the audience reads no further than these sentences, they should understand the topic of the press release.
• Benefit Statement — tells the reader why the lead is relevant or important to them. The benefit statement puts the lead in context. Together, they answer the who, what, when, where, and why.
• Body — information that is important, but not worthy of the first two paragraphs. The body of the release includes interesting facts/details related to the announcement and quotes from company leaders.
• Action Statement — tells the reader what to do next. It’s the call to action. Think who to call for more information or a website to visit to sign up for something.
• Boilerplate — a final paragraph that gives a short overview of your company’s mission and history. You’ll write this one time and share it at the end of all of your releases.

6 Steps: How to Draft a Press Release

All of the parts of a press release come together in six easy steps.

• Determine the News Peg What news value does your release topic fulfill? Identifying this information helps you focus your release.
• Write the Headline. The headline is a single sentence summarizing your press release and its purpose. The headline is the first thing readers see, and it should make them want to read your release. The headline should be direct, simple, and contain an action verb. Write in subject-verb-object format for the simplest, most active headline construction.
• Write the Lead and Benefit Statement. These two pieces of the release together shouldn’t be more than a couple of paragraphs. Draw the reader in with the lead, ensure both parts of the release address the who, what, when, where, and why of your announcement.
• Write the Body. This is where you put the remainder of the information you need to tell the audience, including quotes from company leaders. Work from most important to least important and keep the information brief. Your press release should be less than two printed, double-spaced pages. One page really is best.
• Add a Call to Action. Never end a press release without a call to action. What do you want the reader to do when they finish the release? Include a contact name and number for questions. Also, websites for more information are helpful.
• Tack on the Boilerplate. End your press release with who your company is and what they stand for. Remember that you can write this information once and copy and paste it on all of your releases.

Press Release or Social Media Promotion?

You should promote your company every time it’s possible. If you have a good reason from a public relations perspective to send a press release, do it. Use social media channels instead when it makes sense for promotion.

Happenings that Merit a Press Release

• Product Launches or Changes. You want to make sure your audience knows about a new product and why they should consider it. Include the product’s specs, pricing, availability, and why it’s being offered. Your audience also wants to know when their favorite products change. Include what the change is, why it’s happening, when it’s happening, and how it will benefit them.
• Mergers and Acquisitions. Big organizational changes are worthy of a press release because they inform stakeholders of information important to them. Include information about the organizations involved, why the merger or acquisition is happening, outlines of any known changes as a result, and quotes from the leadership teams of the organizations involved.
• Awards and Honors.If you don’t brag about your company, who will? Make sure your company and your employees get credit for winning awards and honors. Include information about the company, the award received, and when the honor was or will be given.
• Newsjacking. Tie in with other news of the day that’s related to your company. Be sure the news happening is actually related to your company or industry. Also, this is best done when the news is positive or when your product/service solves a problem.
• Executive Promotions/Hiring. Your audience wants to know if you make changes in important company positions. Include information about who was in the position, where they went, who the new individual is, and where they came from. Headshots of the people involved also are helpful so the reader can connect faces with names.
• New Partnerships. Your audience wants to know about new business relationships that affect the way your company works for them. Include information about each company, why you partnered, and any changes readers can expect as a result.
• Tell Your Side. Sometimes you need to tell your side of a controversy or make your audience aware of a happening within your company. Be proactive and transparent in sharing this information. Be sure to tell them what happened, how it happened, who was impacted, and your plans for the immediate future. Apologize if necessary.

Promotions and Messaging Better Suited for Social Media Promotion:

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• Hosting Events. Announce events if you want coverage of them and/or if your audience is invited to attend. Announce the happening before, telling who should attend, when and where it will be hosted, how much it will cost to attend, and how to register, if necessary. After the event, post again to tell the audience the outcomes of the event. Think how many people attended, how much money was raised, etc. Don’t miss this important opportunity to promote your organization’s success.
• Event Attendance or Participation. Use social to promote big events which employees are hosting or attending. Include information about the event, who is attending, how they are chosen, and what they will teach or learn. Perhaps more importantly, what will your customers gain from this opportunity for your employees?
• Grand Openings. Announce a new headquarters or a new branch. Include the time, date, and place of the grand opening celebration, who is invited, what will happen there, and the reason for the new location.
• Anniversaries. Celebrate a milestone anniversary for your organization. Include a brief history of your organization, from the beginning to now. If there will be an anniversary celebration, include the time, date and place, who is invited, and what will happen there.

Key Takeaways: How to Draft a Press Release

Press releases are a great opportunity to promote your organization and develop a better relationship with your audience through content marketing.

The most important things to remember are to always have a clearly defined reason to send a release (based on news value) and make sure each release has all of the information the reader needs to take action. Now it’s time to jump in and write. Trust us, you’ll get better at it with every release.

Figuring out how to start an online store can be daunting when you aren’t tech-savvy, but there are several ecommerce platforms available that you can use to set up an online business quickly.

Learning how to create a website to sell stuff doesn’t have to be difficult when you follow our step-by-step guide:

How To Make a Website To Sell Stuff

1. Select an ecommerce platform.

2. Set up your website.

3. Take product photos.

4. Write convincing product descriptions.

5. Promote your online store.

1. Select an Ecommerce Platform

When you learn how to build a website to sell products, first decide what kind of platform you’ll be using. Some of the most common ecommerce platforms include:

• Ecommerce marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay or Etsy.
• SaaS ecommerce solutions, like Shopify, Wix, Squarespace or BigCommerce.
• Ecommerce website builders, such as StoreBuilder.
• More advanced ecommerce websites, built on platforms such as Magento.

Additionally, when you learn how to create an online store, look at the features each platform offers. Some features you should look into when you choose an ecommerce platform include:

• Price: Every new business owner has a budget they have to work with. The good news is there are plenty of affordable options, even for small businesses with tight wallets.
• Ease of use and set up: Choose an ecommerce platform that you can navigate with ease since you’ll probably be dealing with it daily.
• Ecommerce business model: Will you be selling digital or physical products? Will you be catering to suppliers or consumers? Will you have inventory on hand, or will you be dropshipping?
• Security: Since you’ll be receiving payments and handling sensitive customer information, ensure that your platform has an SSL certificate and is PCI-compliant.
• SEO-friendliness: Your chosen platform should support search engine optimization (SEO), so your potential customers can find your online store easily.
• Third-party integrations: It takes more than just an ecommerce platform to run an online store. You also need solutions for email marketing, inventory management, shipping, and customer relationship management.
• Payment gateways: Ensure the platform you choose accepts credit cards and other payment options, such as Paypal, at checkout.

As a prospective online store owner, considering all these may feel overwhelming since each platform has its advantages and disadvantages.

If you’re learning how to make a website to sell products, we highly recommend StoreBuilder. It offers affordable pricing and combines the ease of a website builder with the customizability of an ecommerce website.

2. Set Up Your Website

In the quest to learn how to create a website to sell products, after you choose an ecommerce platform, you need to set up your website. Be sure to:

With StoreBuilder, there’s no need to sign up with a separate hosting provider. Powered by managed WooCommerce hosting, each StoreBuilder plan also includes a free domain name and SSL certificate.

StoreBuilder teaches you how to build a website to sell products with just a few clicks. Its intelligent engine helps you choose the right web design for your business needs and includes over 50,000 WordPress plugins that add functionality to customize your website.

3. Take Product Photos

Once you’ve set up your ecommerce website, it’s time to populate your storefront with product photos.

High-quality product photos are a must for your online store’s product pages as customers cannot see or touch your product in person. We also recommend you create product videos to demonstrate how your products work.

This step-by-step tutorial on how to start an online store wouldn’t be complete without tips for product photography:

4. Write Convincing Product Descriptions

You need to figure out how to write effective product descriptions when you learn how to create a website to sell online. Convincing product descriptions complement product photos to persuade customers to add products to their shopping carts.

Some tips to consider:

• Know your target audience.
• Perform keyword research.
• Use “power words” that convince buyers to purchase.

5. Promote Your Online Store

Once you’ve launched your online store, the only step left in learning how to build a website to sell products is to market your ecommerce store.

Blogging isn’t the only way to do it. You can also increase your online presence by using:

If having multiple channels sounds hectic, create a digital content strategy to plan what you post and where.

Final Thoughts: How To Make a Website To Sell Stuff: 5 Steps to Success

With the variety of tools available, starting an online business and your own website has never been easier.

Learning how to create a website to sell your products is straightforward when you follow the five steps above.

Start your ecommerce store and sell products today with StoreBuilder.

Fantastic branding, marketing campaigns, and customer service will take you far as you grow your online business.

But believe it or not, all that work and spend is not all you need to be doing and tracking to drive your business.

According to PipeCandy, there are 1.3 million active ecommerce businesses in the world — and that number is going to continue to grow. In order to stay ahead of your growing competition, you need to make sure you’re spending time and paying attention to the right things. The right activities and actions that make a difference. In other words, the ecommerce metrics that matter.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) help companies evaluate their success and shortcomings. But not every KPI is equal. You need to decide which ecommerce KPIs will empower you to stay on track and ensure the consistent growth of your online business.

Want to know how KPIs can help grow your online business?

Read on to learn:

• What KPIs for ecommerce are and why they are important
• Which metrics are most important for ecommerce companies
• What makes an effective ecommerce KPI

Importance Of Ecommerce KPIs For Your Online Business

KPIs give you a data-driven way to monitor the most critical factors contributing to your ecommerce businesses successes and struggles. They help you gauge whether your sales, marketing, and customer service strategies are giving you the results you’re looking for — or what activities require more attention or a different approach to work.

Effective Ecommerce KPIs

An analysis of your ecommerce KPIs will offer you the insight necessary to make informed, strategic decisions.

The grand list of potential ecommerce KPIs could easily overwhelm you. But you don’t need to track every single KPI. What you measure should depend on the kind of business you’re running and your specific goals.

The ideal ecommerce KPIs should be:

• Actionable
• Goal-oriented
• Measurable
• Real
• Timely

Here’s a great list of core KPIs for ecommerce stores:

KPI Group 1: Retail / Business Metrics

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
• Average Order Value (AOV)
• Cost Of Goods Sold (COGS)
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
• Customer Retention Rate
• Customer Satisfaction Score
• Average Complaint Resolution Time
• Social Media Engagement

Customer Acquisition Cost

Your CAC is the amount you spend to get a single customer. This figure will help you calculate other metrics and ensure you aren’t spending more on advertising than you’re making back in sales.

CAC = (sales + marketing expenses) / (total customers acquired)

Average Order Value

The AOV shows you the average amount of money your customers pay per transaction. If your business is making a profit, a customer should spend more on their order than you spent acquiring them — AOV needs to be greater than CAC.

Calculate your AOV by dividing total revenue by the number of orders received in a given period.

AOV = (total revenue) / (total orders)

Cost of Goods Sold

The COGS is the total amount you spend to produce and sell your product, including labor and

manufacturing costs. Be sure your COGS doesn’t exceed the price of your products.

COGS = (inventory costs at the beginning of the year) + (additional inventory costs during the year) – (end of year inventory)

Customer Lifetime Value

CLV indicates the value a customer adds to your company over the time they patronize your business. Ideally, you want customers who return to your business and spend their money in your store again and again. If the CLV is low, you may need to evaluate your customer satisfaction rate.

CLV = ([customer’s profit contribution per year] x [total years as a customer]) – CAC

Customer Retention Rate

Customer retention rate refers to the percentage of clients who remain loyal to your business over a period of time. If your customers are not returning to buy more, you may have a problem with product quality or customer service.

Customer Retention Rate (over a given period) = ([total new customers] / [total number of customers]) x 100

Customer Satisfaction Score

You can measure customer satisfaction by sending surveys to your customers. Ratings can be on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10, and should cover a variety of factors that are relevant to your business. Surveys can be created through plugins like WPForms or linked through a website like SurveyMonkey.

You can average out the scores on each survey to get an overall customer satisfaction score for each patron. If you want to find your business’s score across all of your clients, take those scores, add them all together, and divide by the number of surveys.

Customer Satisfaction Score = (sum total of all survey scores) / (total number of surveys)

Average Complaint Resolution Time

This is the time it takes your customer service team to solve customers’ issues. Taking too long to solve a customer’s complaint can lead to lower customer satisfaction scores..

Social Media Engagement

When you set up a business account on social media platforms, you’ll be able to check individual metrics on your posts. The social media engagement metric consists of other metrics, including the number of followers for your account, as well as the amount of likes and comments you receive on individual posts.

KPI Group 2: Ecommerce Metrics

• Conversion Rate
• Cart Abandonment Rate
• Average Time on Website
• Bounce Rate
• Click-Through Rate (CTR)
• Subscriber Growth Rate

The following KPIs are relevant to those with an ecommerce business that operates primarily online.

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate shows the percentage of website visitors who do what you want them to do. Typically, you want them to make a purchase, but this metric also applies to other actions that lead to an eventual sale. This includes visitors who sign up for an account, subscribe to a newsletter, or purchase a product.

One way to track your conversion rate is with clickable call-to-action (CTA) buttons. You can use  tracking pixels, plugins, or settings on your website’s backend to check your conversion rate.

Conversion rate = (total website visitors) / (total conversions) x 100

Cart Abandonment Rate

The cart abandonment rate shows what percentage of website visitors leave their shopping cart before completing their purchase.

According to the Baymard Institute, the average ecommerce shopping cart abandonment rate is almost 70%.

Cart abandonment rate = ([total completed purchases] / [total shopping carts created]) x 100

Average Time On Website

The longer visitors stay on your website, the more interested in your product they are likely to be. You want a relatively high metric for the average time on your website. Divide the total duration of website visits for all visitors by the total number of visitors.

Average Time On Website = (total session duration) / (total number of sessions)

Bounce Rate

The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that abandon your website after they view only one page. If people aren’t staying on your website, they’re certainly not going to make a purchase. Make sure you know how to reduce your bounce rate if it’s too high.

Bounce Rate = ([total number of visitors viewing a single page] / [total website visitors]) x 100

Average CTR

Click-through rate (CTR) is most often used in the context of online advertisements. This metric evaluates how many people click on your ad versus how many see it.

A high CTR indicates your ads and keywords are doing well. But if the CTR is low, you may need to examine and adjust your online marketing strategy.

Average CTR = ([total clicks an ad receives] / [total number of impressions]) x 100

Subscriber Growth Rate

The subscriber rate indicates how fast your subscription list has grown. A healthy email list is crucial to companies that primarily communicate with their customers digitally.

Newer ecommerce businesses should strive for a high rate of subscriber growth as they establish their customer base. The number should continue to go up overall, but as the company ages, it may be acceptable to see a lower subscriber growth rate.

However, when the subscriber growth rate moves into the negatives, it’s time to re-evaluate your email marketing strategy.

Subscriber Growth Rate = ([total new subscribers] / total past subscribers]) x 100

Final Take: Core Ecommerce KPIs to Monitor and Manage your Online Store

While the above ecommerce performance metrics are core for any online business, over time you may find that there are other data and metrics that can help you evaluate how your business is going, and provide guidance for next steps.

KPIs tell the story, but driving success for your online store also requires you to run a site that’s optimized for selling. To get your company online quickly without coding, and using one of the strongest ecommerce platforms available — WooCommerce — check out StoreBuilder by Hostdedi today.

Ecommerce stores that want to cater to a worldwide clientele must provide customers a superior user experience. One of the best ways to do so is to provide a variety of online payment methods.

In this guide, you’ll learn about:

Benefits of Multiple Ecommerce Payment Systems

Nowadays, providing multiple ecommerce payment systems isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a must.

According to a 2021 Fiserv study on consumer payments, customers prefer having multiple payment options.

Some advantages of having multiple payment gateways are because they:

• Serve as a backup in case another payment gateway isn’t available.
• Open up your customer base internationally, as some payment options aren’t available in certain countries. For instance, PayPal does not service Pakistan or Iraq.
• Provide convenience to customers that have a preferred payment method.
• Prevent cart abandonment. According to the Baymard Institute, not having enough payment options was one reason for abandoned shopping carts. You can make more sales just by having multiple payment platforms.

There are several considerations when choosing a payment provider, such as quick checkout and multicurrency support, but platform security is most important. The ecommerce payment system must complement your secure ecommerce website.

Types of Online Payment Methods

There are several types of online payment methods, which are categorized according to the following:

• Bank cards: Comprised of credit cards, debit cards, and even prepaid cards, bank cards are used to access financial accounts with the associated bank account.

Top electronic payment processors, such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, make it possible for customers to transact with bank cards.

• Digital wallet: A digital wallet is a system that stores a person’s payment information for numerous payment solutions. Digital wallets can be used with mobile payment systems, empowering customers to pay for purchases using their mobile devices, ensuring a seamless checkout process.

Examples include Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and Google Pay.

• Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments: Peer-to-peer payments (or transactions) are electronic money transfers between two people from their bank accounts or credit cards through an intermediary website or app.

Examples include PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle.

It’s important to note that there is an overlap in some ecommerce payment systems. For instance, PayPal accepts bank cards and can make P2P payments.

Online Shopping Payment Methods

1. PayPal.
2. Stripe.
3. Square.
4. Apple Pay.
5. Google Pay.
6. Amazon Pay.
7. Bank transfers.
8. Cryptocurrency.

1. PayPal

PayPal is one of the most popular and familiar online payment processors in the world. Online businesses with PayPal checkout options have an 82% higher conversion rate than those without the option.

PayPal lets you accept payments via physical point-of-sale (POS) terminals and QR codes. It also empowers you to accept online payments via PayPal Checkout integrations on your website.

2. Stripe

Stripe is one of the top online payment services for both large and small businesses alike. Besides ecommerce stores, it’s also a recommended ecommerce payment system for subscription sites because of its ability to set up recurring payments.

• Advantages: Can set up recurring payments.
• Disadvantages: Limited availability; setup is not as easy as PayPal’s.
• Accepts: Digital wallet payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Grab Pay, Alipay, and Microsoft Pay), credit cards, and debit cards for both online and in-person payments.

3. Square

Although Square is known as an in-person point-of-sale solution that processes credit card transactions, it can also process online transactions. It’s recommended for small businesses that have a physical store and want to open an ecommerce store.

• Advantages: No monthly fee for using Square as an ecommerce payment system; easy integration with ecommerce sites.
• Disadvantages: Not suitable for large businesses because of stability issues.
• Accepts: Credit cards and debit cards for both online and in-person payments.

4. Apple Pay

Apple Pay is Apple’s mobile payment service that empowers users to make secure, contactless payments using their mobile devices. Users add debit and credit card information to their Apple Wallet to make quick payments.

Consumer security is guaranteed courtesy of Face ID and Touch ID, and merchant accounts don’t receive sensitive details.

• Advantages: Secure; seamless; easy P2P transfers via iMessage.
• Disadvantages: Apple Pay is only limited to Apple devices and certain countries.
• Accepts: Credit cards, debit cards, and P2P payments via iOS.

5. Google Pay

Formerly known as Google Wallet, Google Pay (or G Pay) is Google’s online payment system used on browsers and apps. Google Pay’s main advantage is that most people have already saved their financial information on their Google accounts, so the checkout process becomes seamless.

Google Pay also allows retailers to set up deals and loyalty programs (without physical cards) and does not charge transaction fees for both merchants and consumers.

• Advantages: Secure; free to use; seamless; wider adoption than Apple Pay (works on both iOS and Android).
• Disadvantages: Limited merchant availability; app issues.
• Accepts: Credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts, and PayPal.

6. Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay is a digital payment processing service similar to PayPal. It empowers customers with Amazon accounts to pay on third-party websites using their stored information, providing a quick checkout experience.

• Advantages: Secure; quick checkout for users with existing Amazon accounts; Amazon fraud protection.
• Disadvantages: Requires Amazon Seller account to use; risk getting shut down if Amazon thinks you violate its terms of service; limited payment options accepted.
• Accepts: Credit cards and debit cards.

7. Bank Transfers

As the name implies, bank transfers involve payment transfer from one bank account to another. It is a common payment method in Europe and Asia.

• Advantages: Safe; can be disputed at the bank; can verify the legitimacy of bank account and its owner.
• Disadvantages: Slow — the merchant will have to verify the customer’s payment before sending out the goods, which can take a while since there are banks without instant transactions.

8. Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency and other digital currencies are slowly becoming accepted as legitimate payment methods for online purchases, while some people remain cautious.

Several major retailers, such as Microsoft and PayPal, already accept cryptocurrency as a payment method.

• Advantages: Quick transactions; lower transaction fees; can be treated as an investment (because of the limited quantity).
• Disadvantages: Extremely volatile market; digital currency wallet is unrecoverable; sustainability issues.

Final Thoughts: Top 8 Online Payment Methods for Ecommerce Stores

Having multiple online payment options matters to consumers. Each ecommerce payment system should be secure and integrate well with the platform used.

Hostdedi’s StoreBuilder’s intelligent technology includes integrations with hundreds of payment gateways and empowers you to build and customize an ecommerce site in minutes.

Build your online store with StoreBuilder by Hostdedi and start earning today.

The future of commerce is online. Over the past three decades, online business models have revolutionized the way money, goods, and services are exchanged. Now, more and more evidence shows that ecommerce is here to stay.

Over 2 billion people made purchases online in 2020. And these aren’t just one-time buys—62% of online shoppers make monthly purchases. The market for ecommerce is recurring, growing, and diversifying.

In this guide, we’ll address the following questions:

• What is ecommerce?
• What types of ecommerce are most relevant?
• What are some valuable ecommerce examples to know?
• Where is ecommerce headed?
• How do I get started with ecommerce?

What is Ecommerce?

Ecommerce, short for electronic commerce, is the buying and selling of goods and services that takes place online. In other words, businesses and consumers connect via the internet to engage in commerce.

This definition of ecommerce is deepened by an understanding of its origins, which begins in the 80s when companies like Microsoft and Apple were busy creating the rise of the personal computer. As the computer grew more compact, less expensive, and more accessible, ecommerce was made much more viable to the public.

Then in the 90s, Amazon was founded. Starting off as a bookseller, Amazon proved it was possible to sell and fulfill online orders at a scale that would soon transform it into the ecommerce example we know today. A few years after Amazon began, PayPal paved the way for payment processing in ecommerce, making online transactions much safer and more convenient.

In the 2000s, companies like WordPress and other content management systems (CMS) introduced the business side of ecommerce to the content being created online. Thanks to these software platforms, individuals with less resources could create an online store and sell goods just like big businesses.

Now that we have an understanding of what ecommerce is, let’s take a look at some different types of ecommerce that can be found online today.

Common Types of Ecommerce

The common types of ecommerce are categorized by the parties selling and/or buying the goods and services. The four most common types are business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer, and consumer-to-business.

Even within each category, you’ll find a wide range of business ideas, models, and tactics that create niche categories of ecommerce. This flexibility and scalability of the ecommerce industry continues to drive the rapid growth of online enterprise.

So, what is ecommerce in its four most common forms?

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce is when one company sells goods and/or services to another company.

The B2B model is popular for contracting out services that aren’t a business’s primary strength. It may even be an ecommerce-related service. For example, companies like MailChimp and Constant Contact sell ecommerce marketing services focused on email to businesses looking to boost sales.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

Perhaps the most common model, business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce takes place when a business sells goods and/or services to individual consumers.

The B2C model is perhaps the most representative of what we traditionally think of when we experience brick-and-mortar retail. Except instead of walking into a store like Target, Walmart, or Old Navy, the consumer is visiting the business’s online store.

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) ecommerce includes individuals who buy from, and sell to, one another — with no businesses involved.

The most obvious C2C ecommerce examples include sites like eBay, Craigslist, Letgo, and OfferUp. These platforms allow individuals to post a variety of items or labor for sale. While businesses can be present on these platforms, most transactions are between consumers themselves.

Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

The fourth type of ecommerce is consumer-to-business (C2B), which allows individuals to market their goods and/or services to businesses.

Sites like ACX and Upwork are examples of C2B models. Upwork allows freelancers to sell their services to businesses in need, and ACX allows voiceover artists to market their skills to audiobook publishers.

Ecommerce Examples

By now, we have a solid grasp on what ecommerce is. Let’s shift focus to some examples of ecommerce websites you might recognize.

When it comes to tips for new ecommerce business owners, try analyzing the pros who have been driving the most popular trends online. When you visit your favorite online businesses, try to observe their page layouts and the terms they use to describe themselves and their products. You can learn a lot from a successful company’s website.

So, what is an ecommerce website supposed to look like? Here are seven examples of highly effective ecommerce sites across industries.

Everlane

Everlane has become the definition of ecommerce in the fashion industry, growing its online model to become a giant clothing e-tailer.

Unlike other clothing brands, at least pre-2020, Everlane relies very little on in-person shopping: most of their business is conducted online, with only a handful of brick-and-mortar stores. Everlane’s online store is stylish and simple. Its shopping cart features make it easy to browse or buy whenever is most convenient for the consumer.

Slack

Slack is the perfect example of a B2B ecommerce website. Slack sells workflow software that allows companies access to direct messaging, file sharing, video conferencing, and more.

It’s important to point out that Slack is an example of a subscription-based business model. Companies pay a monthly fee to subscribe to Slack’s services. Another great takeaway is Slack’s scalability, providing pricing levels correspondent to different sized companies’ needs.

eBay

eBay was one of the frontrunners in bringing C2C ecommerce into consumers’ homes.

What’s unique about eBay is the variety of user involvement. You can be a single consumer and buy something once on eBay, or you can create an eBay store and sell large quantities of items. You can act as a “middleman,” or a distributor, and fulfill orders on eBay. Whatever your intention, eBay is the ultimate example of consumer-to-consumer ecommerce.

Fiverr

Like Upwork and ACX, Fiverr is an example of C2B ecommerce in which freelancers can sell their services to companies in need.

Writers, editors, marketers, designers, and more can create a profile with samples and rate structures for their work. By incorporating a safe payment processing service into its platform, freelancers can get paid and track their income in one convenient dashboard. Sites like Fiverr highlight the variety of services available in ecommerce, not just tangible goods.

Warby Parker is an online glasses retailer that has become a popular alternative to more brick-and-mortar companies such as LensCrafters.

The reason why Warby Parker is such an innovative ecommerce example is its free home try-on services. This service allows customers to sample their first 5 frames for free, mirroring the experience of trying on glasses at an in-person store. It’s these types of premium benefits that business owners can leverage into a lasting brand identity.

Spotify

Spotify is what an ecommerce website looks like when it sells digital goods, as opposed to tangible goods. With free and premium options for streaming and downloading music, Spotify has become a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.

If you want to sell digital products like music, most successful business owners will offer some version of their product for free. Whether that’s an introductory course, a sample track, a free week of service, or some other perk, freebies up front are what motivate customers.

Dollar Shave Club

Dollar Shave Club: one of the trend starters behind subscription boxes. They proved that subscription models in ecommerce could work for tangible goods—not just services.

One distinguishing feature of Dollar Shave Club’s online store is the level of customization available to customers. You can curate your very own box of grooming supplies and choose how often you would like it sent to your house. For many consumers, it’s taken one more trip to the store off their plate each month.

The Future of Ecommerce

What started as a few companies forging paths in specific industries has now grown into a global phenomenon that spans every kind of enterprise.

Now it’s your turn to start your ecommerce business.

Just like the examples provided in this guide, your ecommerce business should be easy to shop and browse at your customers’ convenience. Think about growth and how you’re going to scale your business in the long run. And don’t forget about the innovative touches that set so many online businesses apart.

Ecommerce Made Easy with StoreBuilder

If you’re looking to start your online store with the help of experts, StoreBuilder by Hostdedi has the tools you need to create an online shopping experience that’s built to last.

StoreBuilder by Hostdedi is:

• Fast — Get your store launched in minutes.
• Smart — AI-powered insights build your store based on your inputs.
• Template-free — So your site will be unique and custom to you.

For unparalleled support and limitless design potential, get started with StoreBuilder today.

“Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers,” says marketing expert and dot-com entrepreneur Seth Godin.

You may be a marketing whiz or have an optimized ecommerce website, but if no one wants to buy what you’re selling, your online business is going to fail.

In a survey of startup founders, nearly 30% recommended conducting more research before launch. Therefore, you can prevent business failure by learning how to do product research.

In this article, you’ll learn:

Importance of Product Research

Product research is a part of market research that involves evaluating a product’s features and gathering information on whether the product might be sellable to the intended target market.

It’s an ongoing process that gauges what works and what doesn’t, avoiding expensive mistakes and encouraging improvements.

How To Do Product Research

1. Check Google Trends.
2. Consider your passion and industry.
3. Look for profitable products on social media.
4. Look through Amazon.
5. Create focus groups.

1. Check Google Trends

Google Trends is a great tool to determine popular products.

To start using Google Trends for keyword research, input the keyword you’re interested in and check its performance over time. To succeed at learning how to find products to sell online, look for products that are part of a strong market and not seasonal or gimmicky.

For instance, the search volume of “yoga pants” is stable over time, while the term “candy cane” is only popular during Christmastime.

After comparing the trend, check regional popularity and compare different variations of products.

For instance, if you want to sell phone cases, you can check for keyword usage over time and then compare it to phone cases of specific brands. In the below example, “iPhone cases” has more usage than “Samsung cases.”

2. Consider Your Passion and Industry

When you have difficulty thinking about how to do product research for ecommerce or dropshipping, why not consider sourcing products related to your passion and industry?

Selling products that you’re passionate about or constantly interact with in your profession also helps because you already know what’s sellable and how to market it. You’re familiar with key trends in the area and can identify customer pain points and gaps in the market that can be addressed.

3. Look for Profitable Products on Social Media

If you don’t have a product concept in mind, one way to do product research is to look for trending products on social media.

Often promoted by millennial and Gen Z influencers on social networks such as Instagram and TikTok, trending products can be profitable for dropshipping.

Other social media platforms you can check include:

• Pinterest, a visual search engine. Just like Google, you can look for trends and do keyword research to look up related terms.
• Reddit, which is also a good place to work on your marketing strategy. You can ask a question and look through people’s answers. There are dedicated subforums (called subreddits), such as r/BuyItForLife, where people share their best finds.
• Facebook and Twitter: Both websites are perfect for social listening.

4. Look Through Amazon

Another way to do product research is to look through Amazon.

Amazon is the biggest online marketplace in the world. You can use its search feature to look for potential products to sell. Some ways to do Amazon product research are to look through the:

• Amazon Bestseller page, which readily provides insights into the bestselling products and the top sellers people are willing to buy.
• Categories and subcategories to find products you’re interested in.
• Product listings to find similar products or products frequently bought together.
• Customer reviews. Happy and dissatisfied reviews alike let you know that the product is sellable and empowers you to find pain points to address.

You can also check other online marketplaces, such as Shopify, Etsy, or eBay.

5. Create Focus Groups

If you can’t think of a winning product, maybe you have a profitable niche in mind? If so, why not form focus groups to talk about new product ideas?

During focus group discussions, you can ask your demographic about:

• The type of products your target audience prefers.
• What would make them buy a great product.
• What they like or dislike about a product.

Showing focus groups prototypes of your own product lets you get direct feedback before launching a new product.

It’s important to note that creating focus groups doesn’t always guarantee success. Just because a group validates your idea, it doesn’t mean that they would abandon competitors to purchase your product.

How To Find a Product To Sell Online

After learning how to do product research, you can now figure out how to find a product to sell online.

The ideal product is:

• Inexpensive, so you can make a good profit margin.
• Unique, so customers will buy from you instead of looking for alternatives on Amazon and AliExpress.
• Solves a problem, so customers will be willing to wait for the product in case shipping takes long or pay more if shipping costs are high.

Final Thoughts: How To Do Product Research for Your Ecommerce Business

Learning how to do product research is an essential skill for any ecommerce entrepreneur. It helps you find the right product, validates whether your product idea will be sellable or not, and makes all the difference in your business’s success.

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