Today there are many methods and ways to sell online, as it has become one of the most important practices for businesses.
Have you ever heard the phrase “if it’s not on the Internet, it doesn’t exist”?
Well, that’s not far from the truth. Technology has advanced to the point where people no longer want to travel to a distant store to go shopping.
Instead, they prefer to go straight to their computer and find a store that sells online.
· Advantages of buying and selling online
Today the Internet is a very useful tool for all kinds of tasks. In fact, many people have been taking advantage of it for years to offer their products and services online.
This way, they can considerably increase their profit margin, which is basically what every business owner wants.
Seen this way, selling online can bring us several kinds of advantages, for example:
► 1. Online stores “never close”
Unless the hosting where these eCommerce sites are hosted is down or out of service, they are businesses that are open and available for you to shop 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Since they are open 24 hours a day, products are on display indefinitely, which has a direct impact on product sales.
► 2. Accessible to all kinds of people
Because it is a website, anyone around the world with Internet access and basic computer skills to browse the web can visit your store, so you will have a wider variety of customers.
This also matters from the buyer’s point of view, since it makes getting a product more convenient for them.
► 3. Better organization of all your operations
Thanks to the systems that today’s online sales platforms provide, anyone running an online store or digital business can keep their business statistics organized.
► 4. More competitive prices than in physical stores
As an online store, it can offer products at lower prices than physical stores, since it doesn’t carry the fixed cost structure of a brick-and-mortar shop.
· Disadvantages of selling online
But every action has a reaction, and selling products online is not all sunshine and roses.
On the other hand, selling on the “2.0” web has several disadvantages, for example:
► 1. Not all Internet users fully trust “digital”
Admittedly, even though it is 2018, there are still some people who don’t understand, or don’t trust, making a purchase or investment online.
So online sales may not be as rewarding as they could be because of the “distrust” factor, especially among older people and/or those with less computer knowledge.
In Spain, the step that has been least successful so far is clearly entering bank details, out of fear of unexpected or “fraudulent” charges.
► 2. The lack of immediacy in getting the physical product
Because buying from an online store is not immediate, many potential buyers will lose interest in the product.
For someone like you, who surely has enough digital knowledge to understand it, it’s obvious that from the moment you place your order, at least a few hours or several days have to pass before it reaches your home or, in general, the destination you chose.
As I mentioned earlier, many users are reluctant to give their bank details on this kind of site.
So they may not even bother to look at your store, or they may abandon it the moment you ask for their bank details.
► 3. Technical problems can ruin a sale
At some point a technical problem may occur on your website, which will cause you a series of issues, since you will need to restore everything to normal.
This can seriously harm your business, because when potential customers visiting your eCommerce site or blog see that it has had problems once or several times, they are very likely never to come back, given the distrust it will cause.
► 4. More competition
The level of competition will increase, because with your business online, your product will be in a global market, which will force your brand to compete with other brands, both on product quality and, even more fiercely, on the prices of other stores.
· How to sell online step by step with these 10 examples
It’s important to mention that to sell a product (whether online or in a physical store), you need to do market research, for example by asking yourself the following questions:
- Which market do you want to reach?
- What product do you want to sell?
With this in mind, there are two ways to sell a product or service:
► The first is building a website from scratch, which will contain detailed information on each individual product or service that you, as a seller, want to offer to the general public.
In this case, you’ll need technical knowledge of web design and a solid command of the different WordPress themes or templates, if you work with this CMS.
Otherwise, with a small investment, you can have a professional who specializes in this area design the site to your liking.
► The second way, which is very common among savvier users with plenty of experience in the online sector, is to use websites like Amazon, Mercado Libre, eBay and others, which let them advertise their products on their own website and, through affiliation, earn a commission on their sales.
The steps for selling on this type of site are very simple.
- Open an account with your own domain.
- Create content related to the topics of the blog or website.
- Upload photos of the products or services you want to sell.
- And wait for a user to complete the purchase.
· What can I buy and sell online?
The Internet is so vast and varied that you could easily argue that almost any product can be sold online.
And by “product” I mean services or physical objects, from the smallest shirt button to the most luxurious car you can imagine.
However, it also has a “dark” side, known as the “Deep Web”.
The Deep Web is the part of the iceberg that lies below the surface, since on this kind of site there is illegal trade, or the black market.
So, what can we buy and sell online? The answer is very simple: anything you can imagine.
► What sells most online?
This varies from site to site, since it depends on each market or country.
However, the best-selling products include women’s clothing, books, computer hardware, computer software and toys/video games, which make up the top 5 best sellers.
According to “Statistic Brain“, total annual online sales last year reached thirty-eight billion fifty million dollars ($38,050,000,000).
That represents twenty-six percent (26%) of the total market share. And that’s just from sales of software, books, music and flowers.
· What tools will you need to sell online?
There is a variety of tools you can use when selling online. They fall into 3 categories:
1) Tools focused on SEO optimization:
a set of algorithms or methods that will help increase the number of users who visit your websites, by learning what SEO is and which techniques to apply to improve your rankings in search engines such as Google.
2) Shopping carts:
these are open-source programs that let shoppers buy on your site using another platform, such as PayPal. They are very useful because of how the service is handled.
3) And finally, email marketing:
This is a very effective way to keep users informed about the different promotions offered by your brand, company or business.
Of course, one of the companies that does it best, and still does, is Mailrelay, the tool behind this very blog.
· 10 tips for selling online
Here are also some very useful tips so you can start selling online whatever you can think of, keeping in mind the 7 ways I mention at the end of this article:
1. Before rushing to create an online sales platform for your company, first determine whether it is viable and suitable for selling your products and/or services.
2. Write your own product descriptions, as this will help you stand out from your competitors.
3. Include social media links such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn on your website. By being available on social media, you can get to know your customers and answer any questions they may have.
4. Don’t let your website get cluttered: customers want clean, simple interfaces that clearly show the products on offer. Anything you do to complicate this will reduce your chances of making a sale.
5. Minimum clicks mean maximum sales: whenever possible, aim for the fewest clicks possible before the actual checkout.
6. Track your users’ habits: this lets you follow users’ paths, showing you where they tend to click and where they usually drop off.
7. Choose the right payment method for your business: it could be credit card or PayPal.
8. Provide excellent customer service.
9. Categorize your products clearly: make sure your search tool is clearly categorized and includes multiple categories. Letting users search by brand, season, price and more speeds up the buying process and also lets them compare products.
10. Don’t forget SEO and SEM: an attractive website is useless unless you can bring people to it. Make sure you improve your search engine rankings!
· 6 profitable ways to sell online that work
Now that we’ve seen the pros and cons of selling online and all the factors you should consider, I’d like to give you some good ideas.
They are all proven ideas, tested either by me or by other trusted professionals, so I know for a fact that they work.
Of course, it will take a good dose of consistency and hard work 😉
1. Create an online store
When we think about ways to sell online, the most natural thing is to think of selling something physical or tangible, such as products, objects and, in general, anything we know may have demand in the market.
That’s why setting up an eCommerce store is one of the most common ways to sell online, given how relatively easy it is.
Even so, we should first do proper market research before embarking on an online business of this scale.
Before you start, make sure the products you plan to sell are suitable, comply with all legal regulations and, above all, are in high demand among your target audience.
Jumping in blindly can bring you a lot of trouble and, above all, heavy financial losses that may be hard to recover later.
2. Selling info products
If your business model is based on a content blog about your niche or the sector you specialize or work in, it’s very common to create info products such as ebooks, courses, templates, etc.
For a blogger, this will mean a big increase in leads, in the form of email addresses, from people interested in your info product and, therefore, in the way you work.
A large list of leads means having a community of people who follow you and every action, post or piece of content you publish. So, as this list “grows”, make sure your content lives up to what they expect from you.
From there, you can launch new info products, this time paid ones at a very low price, but still bringing some extra income into your coffers.
3. Affiliate marketing
This is an indirect way of selling online: once you have joined and registered with a particular platform, you earn a small commission for each conversion of that product or service.
In the blogging world, the most common type of affiliation that many professionals monetize through is digital marketing tools.
A widespread example is creating a very comprehensive step-by-step guide that covers all the advantages of using the tools, showing real data where possible, to convince your readers that it works and that they should therefore buy it.
At the end of this content, you could add an affiliate link through which, if they buy or subscribe to the tool, you earn a % of that purchase.
Those percentages may not make you rich, but they can help your overall monthly income quite a bit.
Believe me, I know bloggers who are earning thousands of euros a month with this kind of monetization system!
4. Sell your second-hand products
This may be the oldest way of selling online since the Internet began…
Making some money from products that still work but that we no longer want to use or would rather replace is an easy and relatively quick way to earn some money online.
Platforms like Vibbo, Milanuncios or Wallapop are already big classics among sites where you can show other users which of your belongings are for sale.
With a bit of luck, while clearing your home of things you no longer used, you’ll also get cash you can put to other, more useful purposes.
6. AdSense advertising
Google AdSense online advertising is probably one of the most controversial topics when it comes to monetizing online, but for me it definitely works.
Obviously, you need to follow good practices with this Google system to make money online, have several websites to monetize, analyze exactly where to place the banners… and a long list of other factors that I won’t go into this time.
However, what is clear is that with this system you are selling space on your website to advertisers who pay Google to place their commercial messages on it.
My advice here is to use AdSense only when the website(s) where you run your projects get fairly high traffic, from 50,000 monthly visits upwards, so that selling space on your site is reasonably profitable.
7. Rent out the rooms in your home
If I mention “Airbnb”, I’m sure you know which company I’m talking about, right? And if not, you can look it up on Google and you’ll see that it’s one of the platforms that help you find an apartment in a private home for a few days.
Obviously the creators of the website take a commission, but at the beginning they were ordinary people who sometimes struggled to make ends meet and even to pay their mortgage.
They came up with the idea of renting the empty rooms in their own home to other people… which turned into a more than profitable business idea for them, and from it they created today’s Airbnb.
So, even if you don’t end up starting a similar business, you can advertise on a platform that your guest room is available to rent for days, weeks or short periods, and earn a very interesting income from it.
Conclusions
As you’ve seen, selling online today is something that, if you put in the effort and consistency and look a little into what’s working for other people, can be quite profitable for you.
Whether you have a website, a blog or neither of these 2 platforms, you can sell products, services or even space in your own home to other people online.
Are you ready to put any of these ways of selling online into practice?
If one of these routes is dropshipping, it’s worth learning what dropshipping is before you jump in, and in any case, don’t forget to take care of how to write an irresistible sales email, whichever channel you choose.
