Selling digital products online involves several strategic steps, from creation to marketing. But all in all, it’s not too difficult and something that anyone can achieve. Whether selling digital products might be your cup of tea depends on a few things.
First, consider your passion and expertise. Are you knowledgeable and passionate about a specific niche? Your interest and expertise in a particular area can significantly impact your success in creating and selling digital products within that niche.
As you focus on your niche, ideas, expertise, and business requirements, we made this comprehensive guide to help you navigate the process.
Here, we’ll talk about what selling online involves, what you need to know about online sales and marketing, and how we can help you achieve all this hassle-free.
- What Is the Best Site to Sell Products Online?
- Can I Sell Products Online for Free?
- Building an Online Store: The Basics
- Selling Online on Your Own Online Store: A Step-by-Step Guide
What Is the Best Site to Sell Products Online?
If you’re new to eCommerce platforms and/or our Website Builder, which has many options to sell online – the process is easy. Utilizing an online marketplace like Amazon or eBay can help you reach new audiences and expand your global reach.
Any website platform works, but you have to consider what’s best for your situation. For example, WordPress is known for having top support and thousands of plugins that can add eCommerce capabilities – just like the famous WooCommerce plugin.
EasyHosting has three main website solutions, including for Basic, Business, and Professional websites built with our intuitive Website Builder. We also have our eCommerce store where you can sell up to 1,000 products online – a valuable feature built into our easy-to-use platform.
Can I Sell Products Online for Free?
The short answer is no – because of the cost of the server, web hosting, some plugins, themes, etc. These add up, but if you choose affordable web hosting and free themes and plugins, it can cost you less than $100.
If you don’t have experience building websites, you might need the help of a website developer or a whole web design agency, which can cost you anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands in a matter of months.
On EasyHosting, a Professional website with an eCommerce store of up to 1,000 products can cost just $48.99/mo, and that includes a domain name and 250 email addresses with 3GB of storage – all based on our Website Builder.
We make it simple and affordable to create your own online store, which can grow into a big eCommerce business.
Building an Online Store: The Basics
Before moving on to how to start selling online, we have to discuss the basics of executing your business plan. Here’s our list of tips to keep in mind.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for increasing the visibility of your online store in search results, helping you reach your target audience effectively.
Build Your Brand Name
With every new launch, you add to the good impression your new business will make on potential customers.
Whatever your product is, a bland brand name will get lost in the noise. But a cool brand name will grab your audience and pull them to your site.
A brand name is like a logo. It tells a short story about your business, and by getting people to your site, you can continue the story.
Choose Your Selling Platform
Next, you’ll have to choose the platform on which you’ll base your online store. Using online selling sites can help you gain exposure to new audiences and generate additional sales channels outside of your own direct channels.
EasyHosting offers a complete package of DIY website design and Professional Website Design with options to add a sleek logo design to your website.
Then, it’s a matter of selecting the look and feel of your new website to finalize your design and make your website public.
Shipping and Sending Orders
Most businesses forget about this part of their online store, but it’s one of the most important details. An online store calculates shipping costs, offers multiple shipping options, and shows customers product availability.
This effectively builds customer loyalty in the long run and helps attract customers more easily.
Marketing
Lastly, let’s not forget about marketing. If you want to get into eCommerce email marketing, we covered this in our previous blog. Check it out.
Collecting customer data through your online store is crucial for personalizing your marketing efforts and deepening customer relationships.
Marketing your online store on social media is the best way to find potential customers. More than 5.10 billion people are estimated to be using social media in 2024, making it a significant opportunity for finding potential customers online.
Places like Facebook Marketplace, among other online marketplaces, are perfect for placing ads to let others know about your new online store. Experiment with different ads based on your niche, and you’ll be surprised by the outcome.
Selling Online on Your Own Online Store: A Step-by-Step Guide
Building your online business starts with searching for your target market and audience, and setting up your brand, domain name, and website. In this section, we’re going to guide you through the process.
Step 1: Find Your Niche and Audience
Similar to setting up a DIY website, it’s crucial to identify your niche and define the purpose of your (digital) products. Seek inspiration for product ideas on social media, or identify market gaps that you can leverage to your advantage.
Here are two key tips for this step:
- Market research: Research market trends and customer needs to find a profitable niche. Use social media, search engines, or third-party tools to help with your research. Know what’s trending and what your potential customers are looking for.
- Target audience: Define your ideal customer profile to tailor your products and marketing. Check out how you can reach them and try to align your own preferences with your target audience. This step is crucial to ensure your products meet the needs and wants of your market.
Step 2: Source High-Quality Products
The hardest part is actually finding (or creating, if that’s what you do) the products to sell online. It’s hard for many but very rewarding. Some try dropshipping, which is reselling interesting products at great prices with added benefits the original product didn’t have.
With dropshipping, you don’t have to manage inventory to start selling products online, and you can set up your business online in a matter of days.
But why quality products?
A survey says 74% of customers will be more loyal to a brand if it sells quality products. Even if you’re reselling or selling popular products, having great after-sales support, eco-friendly packaging, and a fast-loading website can help.
Regarding high-quality product tips, we recommend focusing on these:
- Invest time: It takes time and resources to create valuable and well-made products. Make sure you dedicate enough time to research, development, and refinement.
- Professional tools: Use professional software and tools to ensure your content is high quality and up to your standards. This can include graphic design tools, video editing software, and content creation platforms.
- Online courses: Consider the potential of selling online courses. Creating high-quality content for these courses can boost your sales and allow you to share your knowledge.
Step 3: Choose Your eCommerce Website Platform
Choosing the right platform to sell your products online is key to your success. You can build the website yourself or seek the help of professional website designers – another service that EasyHosting offers.
Here are your options:
- eCommerce platforms: Platforms like WooCommerce for WordPress websites and EasyHosting’s Website Builder have robust solutions for selling products. These platforms have all the features you need to manage and sell your products, with plenty of customization options.
- Marketplaces: If you don’t want to create your own website or even ask our Professional Web Design team to help you out, consider selling on established marketplaces like Udemy or Etsy as alternatives. These marketplaces have an audience ready for you, which is a big advantage.
Step 4: Set Up a Payment System with Delivery and Shipping Options
Now that you have your products and platform ready, it’s time to set up a payment system to process transactions. Most payment gateways are universal and work on many platforms. These include PayPal, Amazon Payments, Stripe, WePay, and many more.
What do you need to know about these? Here’s a quick list:
- Build an excellent checkout page: Offering a fast way for users to check out and get your products is another excellent way to increase sales. A poorly designed checkout page can make customers abandon your website and explore other options.
- Payment gateways: Integrate payment gateways like Stripe, Square, or PayPal to process transactions within your website. WooCommerce, for example, has a wizard to guide you through the process, making it easy to set up.
- Honouring delivery dates: Automate the system to start the delivery process instantly after purchase. This will increase customer satisfaction and reduce your workload.
- Keep customers updated on their orders: Try to send a few emails with lots of info and transparent updates on where their package is.
Step 5: Market Your Products
Now that you have your products and payment system in place, focus on your marketing strategy. Here are some strategies to consider:
- Content marketing: By creating valuable content that attracts and engages your target audience, you lay the foundation for your brand’s future. Blog posts, videos, and infographics can be great ways to provide value and promote your products.
- Social media: Use social media to promote your products and reach a broader audience. Regular posts, stories, and ads can increase visibility and drive traffic to your website.
- Email marketing: Bring people from social media and SERPs to your website. Then, build an email list to nurture leads and drive sales through targeted campaigns. Offer incentives like discounts or exclusive content to encourage sign-ups.
Step 6: Focus on SEO
The process of selling products and services online also requires you to take advantage of every opportunity. And search engine optimization is definitely one of them.
Your online store can get lost in millions of search results, but proper SEO will help your site stand out from the pack.
Most eCommerce sites also have a blog that features articles about their products and maximizes their online presence. This increases sales and makes your site an authority on specific topics, which search engines love.
Step 7: Support Your Customers
The final step of your journey is to harvest the fruits of your semi-passive income. Apart from physical products which you (or your team) still need to ship, digital downloads can happen without you being present all the time.
But minor issues and questions about your products are to be expected. So for that, you need:
- FAQs and tutorials: Provide support materials to help your customers use your products. Pre-answer any questions so you won’t have to! This can include written guides, video tutorials, and a detailed FAQ section on your website or at the end of each service – if you’re offering online courses, for instance.
- Responsive support: Respond to customer inquiries and issues to build trust and loyalty. Good customer service can lead to repeat business and word of mouth.
- Use automated tools: Use chatbots and other AI-powered tools to help you answer common questions like parcel tracking numbers so your support team can focus on more pressing matters.
Final Thoughts
Selling online can be awesome if you do it right. From finding your niche and audience to building a strong brand and marketing your products effectively, it all comes down to planning and execution.
Use the right tools and platforms, like EasyHosting’s all-in-one website solutions, and the right marketing techniques, and you can have a successful online store.
Remember: persistence, creativity, and customer centricity are key to surviving in the online selling landscape. So follow these steps, stay committed, and watch your products find their way to customers all over the world.
Get started, sell online, and build your product business today.
Need help to get your eCommerce store online? Get in touch with us today!
support@easyhosting.com
Call us: 1-888-390-1210
