Starting an eCommerce store is exciting, but doing it on your own can be overwhelming. You have to know what you’ll sell and where, how to entice potential buyers, where to market your products, how to accept and process payments, and more. The first step to take when starting an online store is to make some rough plans that serve as a template for what you are doing and how to do it. You’ll likely make adjustments along the way, but in the early stages, you need to have an idea of how much time and money you’ll need to invest, how to apply your skills, growth plans, and how you’ll overcome slumps. Below are three important things you should know about running an eCommerce store before taking the plunge.
1. The eCommerce platform you choose could make or break your business.
The easiest way to set up and run an eCommerce store is to choose the right eCommerce platform. An eCommerce platform is a type of website designed to allow customers to purchase products or services from your business. Think of them as an all-purpose selling solution that allows customers to complete their purchases directly on your site. Using a quality eCommerce solution puts the tools in your hands to bring your business to life and help drive sales.
There are numerous eCommerce platforms on the market to choose from, each with different features, customer support options, pricing, ease of use, and more. It’s essential to perform due diligence and take the time to thoroughly research all of your eCommerce solution options for your eCommerce store.
You can opt to launch your own website rather than use an eCommerce platform. This means you’ll need to purchase an IP address. Purchasing an IPv4 address that’s been flagged and placed on the IP reputation blacklist could cost you in the long term. The best way to purchase an IPv4 block on the secondary market is to work with an IPv4 broker that offers fully managed transfers in ARIN, RIPE, or APNIC.
IPv4 Connect provides clean reputation IPv4 address blocks. Their team of experts qualifies each IPv4 seller and respective regional internet registry and clean each IPv4 block before listing it for buyers. The broker works with verified address block owners to ensure that the address space is legally registered and free of any liens.
2. A strong brand identity is key to reaching your niche.
A brand is a visual representation of a company’s culture, vision, values, mission, and objectives. A company’s logo, colors, actions, personality, tagline, typeface, story, and voice all factor into the brand identity. Establishing your brand starts by knowing why you are launching a business, what it stands for, and how you will communicate this to potential buyers. Building a strong brand identity is key to finding and reaching your niche. Do market research to determine who your competitors are and find a way to differentiate your brand before launching your online store.
A great example of a niche is providing food for owners who have reptilian and amphibious pets. Some reptile owners choose to control their pet’s diet by breeding cockroaches. Dubia roaches are slow-breeding feeder insects that are highly nutritious for reptiles and amphibians. TopFlight Dubia explains how to breed Dubia roaches and raise your own Dubia roach colony. The cockroaches’ water source, diet, and environmental temperature all affect how fast they grow. The basic setup for a breeding colony includes a heat source, a hygrometer, mesh with ventilation to cover the enclosure, egg crates, and a water bowl with water crystals. It’s important to maintain the right male to female ratio within the enclosure to ensure you have enough new roaches to replace breeders approximately every eight months.
3. You get one chance to make a great first impression.
Connecting with your target audience is essential to making sales. You need to understand how to get users to engage with your online store. It doesn’t take long for users to decide to stay on your site or leave, which means you need to be creative. Making a great first impression involves several factors. Choosing the right name and domain for your online store, the design of your website, the type of content, color scheme, and font style all factor into the impression you give to potential buyers.
Don’t be afraid to be playful and descriptive with your products, especially if your potential buyers are women. A great example of this is MyTellTale, an eCommerce store brand that sells intimates to women of all body types. Their cheeky underwear collection includes flirty undies that sit comfortably on the hips, sporty cheeky panties, everyday boyshorts, and sexy thongs. Their panties come in a variety of fabrics, such as romantic lace or durable mesh, in all of your favorite colors. Cheeky undies are a fun and feminine way to update your underwear drawer.
Once you get through the hard work of getting your eCommerce store up and running, the rest is easy. When planning to start an eCommerce store, carefully choose the right eCommerce platform, build a strong brand identity, and be ready to make a great first impression.
