Finding the best products to sell online is one job, but making the sale is another story. It is no lie; many eCommerce sellers end up with dead stock.
If you want to propel your online business to another level, we have covered you below. We look at tips to help you sell your products like hotcakes.
Here are 12 expert online selling tips for beginners you should incorporate in your business.
1. Create a Strong SEO Strategy
Vanessa Molica, the owner of The Lash Professional, tells online shop owners to live and breathe SEO.
If you are selling online, you must ensure buyers find you there. Remember that you have competitors selling the same thing as you.
How do you appear on top of your competitors? By using the right SEO tools to ensure your product descriptions, blogs and social media captions are well-optimized to suit clients searches.
It may take time and effort, but the proper SEO strategy will help buyers find you online on search engines or eCommerce platforms.
Related: Reliable Wholesale Suppliers for Small Business Owners
2. Pick the Right Platform for Your Business
There are many online platforms you can choose from. Now, if you are beginning your business, you want to research the pros and cons of different platforms. Ensure you settle for features that will give you, the seller and the clients a pleasant experience.
You want to choose one that suits you, your target audience and your business.
3. Make Things Easier for Your Clients
To sell products online, you want to reduce the constant back and forth for clients.
One way to do this is to right very descriptive product descriptions. Ensure the products’ sizes, colors, and other features are clearly stated. And most important of all, ensure the item’s price is clear.
You also want to include the following:
- How your product will solve the customer’s problems,
- Clear photos and videos of the product from all angles,
- Customer reviews.
If your customer can find all these in a single place, you increase your chances of selling. You also reduce friction, such as sending messages asking for, for example, what colors are available for the products when you could have highlighted this in the description.
4. Invest in a Good Website
Yes, you can sell products online without a website. However, the earlier you get one, the quicker you take things to the next level. When setting up one, understand that nobody is going to trust you if your website looks scammy.
Invest in a reputable website that is compatible with the eCommerce platform you are using.
You want the website to look legit to your clients and, most important of all, give your clients a pleasant experience.
Also, if you want to sell successfully online, you want clients to trust to login in with their details on your site. Highly consider hiring a professional web developer to do the job.
5. Have a Strong Online Presence
To sell successfully online, you must be all over the digital spaces. This will increase your chances of landing clients from different social media platforms.
Here are some great ways to increase your success chances of selling online:
- Create youtube and TikTok videos,
- Write blog posts for your site,
- Make social media posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,
- Create pins on Pinterest.
Create a solid digital presence to interact with potential clients from different walks of life.
6. Find Your Selling Point
Thousands of other sellers will always be selling the same thing as you. And many of them have established their customer base. How do clients trust you after knowing your competitor is a reliable seller for ages?
You need to find a selling point your competitor does not have.
Find their weak point and make it your strong point. For instance, when I was selling children’s games online, I realized that my top competitor rarely engaged clients in the comment section. They would post on Instagram and Facebook and receive questions but never answer them.
I made it a point to always answer the comments in detail, and looking back; this tactic made me make a good number of sales.
7. Consider Your Customer’s Needs and Wants
Research your customer’s needs and wants, and focus your sales on them.
For instance, if you sell children’s books, your marketing point could be helping parents reduce children’s screen time. You will then focus on ways your books can keep the children engaged.
This way of selling touches the customer’s needs and wants. Always be on the watch out for the changing market needs and wants. Adjust your business plan to suit the needs of your growing audience, and you will always make sales.
8, Find a Sustainable and Not A Trendy Strategy
This starts right from finding the best products to sell online. You want to get something in the trend for a month.
It will cost you way more to need help to keep up with a short-lived trend.
Whether you are finding products, a wholesaler, or a marketing strategy, ensure you go with something sustainable.
9. Take Good Photos and Visual For Your Products
Good photos will help your customers better understand what they are about to buy.
Here are some good practices for creating good visuals of your product:
- Take photos from a well-lit area ( natural lighting is preferred)
- Use a plain background for your photos
- Keep off filters
- Have multiple photos showing different angles of the products
- Show the product in its realness
- Add a video to help the clients visualize the products better,
Clear and good photography will help lower the chances of returns, which eats into your profit.
10. Research the right selling price
To begin with, whatever prices you set should have you earning the biggest profit margin you can.
To achieve this, consider the following:
- The products’ cost,
- The shipping from the manufacturer and to the clients,
- Inventory,
- Taxes,
- Marketing and advertising.
With this, you can calculate what prices you will sell your product and still have something to pocket at the end of the day.
However, according to Shopify, 40%- 80% of purchases are fueled by impulse buying; they further state that lower prices are one reason people buy things. If your prices are lower than your competitors, your clients will likely feel like they are getting a deal and making a purchase.
However, some clients still raise eyebrows and question why a product price is that low. You, therefore, want to be careful.
Ensure the product price you set is not just to lure clients into making purchases. After subtracting all the costs, ensure you are walking out with a good profit.
11. Package the Products with Love and Care
Unless a site like Amazon FBA is doing the packaging and shipping for you, you must do a great job ensuring the product reaches your client in good condition.
You want it to get there with something other than broken, chipped and missing parts.
One tip to do this is to ensure the packaging material has adequate space to fit the product. Remember that you risk damaging the product if the space is limited. Ensure it fits the product well, whether it is a box or envelope.
Also, consider including cushioning material to protect your products from damage during the shipping process. You can have air pillows, bubble wrappers, and foam peanuts to protect delicate products.
You can also add personalized thank you notes to your products; clients live it.
Also, ensure you correctly label the customer’s address; you do not want it to arrive at the wrong destination.
Lastly, seal the product well, so it does not pop open during transit.
Remember, receiving damaged products will undoubtedly result in you having bad reviews. A customer will not care whether it was damaged in transit. The fault will be all yours, and they will give you poor ratings without thinking twice.
Final Thoughts on How To Sell Products Online
Selling products online successfully is about going above your competitors to grab clients’ attention. And even more importantly, it is about retaining customers and having them be your repeat clients. The tips above are an excellent way to jumpstart your online business and make sales more than ever before.
