Opening an Online Store
Opening your own store as a Wahm is easy when you take your business online.
Online shopping is becoming a mainstay of American commerce and more people
are comfortable with making purchases from Internet stores. If you have
something that you are passionate about selling, consider opening an online
store.
Before you start an online store, do some research online and check out your
potential competition. If you have a business idea in mind, it is worth the
time and effort to see what else is being sold in your category of products.
If you have no idea what you want to sell, you’ll also want to head online to
search out what would be most profitable to sell.
When you make the selection of what you are going to sell, remember to think
“niche.” A niche is a small category of products that meet the needs of a
specific group of people. Your online store shouldn’t have a “Wal-mart”
approach where there is a little bit of everything for everyone. Online
commerce is all about small categories of interest. There are so many things
to choose from, you have more success when you cater to a small and specific
group of people.
The best place to start with finding a niche is thinking about your own
interests. When you sell to a niche that you know well, you are more likely
to know what products will be of interest to those people. You can sell to
your clientele based on your own experience.
Many Wahms start an online store because they have homemade products to
offer. One example is handmade baby clothes and cloth diapers. Many Wahms
have found success with putting their sewing skills to work and selling their
wares online. Other popular handmade online stores include bath and body
products, candles and gift baskets.
This does not mean that you can’t have online store success if you don’t make
your own products. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of Wahms who have
success by opening stores stocked with store-bought inventory.
Whatever your choice, whether handmade or store bought, there are many
options for hosting your online store. These options depend on how
comfortable you are with web design. Many companies, like Yahoo, offer store
websites that are very user friendly and simple to set up. They can cost
anywhere from $30 to $200 per month for the storefront services. Many Wahms
also find success with eBay stores, which allow them to sell in auctions or
in a fixed price format.
Look at all of your options before you choose your online store hosting.
Remember that the quality of your hosting will reflect the quality of your
business. The last thing you need is your entire website going down due to
cheap hosting. The best choice is to find a reputable host that will provide
you with a storefront and hosting for a reasonable price. Don’t try to pinch
pennies on this aspect of your business. You could end up out of business in
no time.
Once you’ve found a place to host your store, you’ll need to drive internet
traffic to the store. One of the easiest ways is to trade banners with other
Wahm online stores. Many Wahms support each other in their online efforts.
This form of networking is a great way to introduce your products to
customers who already look to support Wahms. You can also advertise using pay
per click advertising and work on your website so that it increases in page
ranking for certain search terms.
Keep your customers coming back with an easy to navigate website, simple
ordering techniques and good customer service. Even though most of your
business will be done online, it’s a good idea to get a business phone line
and put that number on your website. This way customers can feel confident in
purchasing from you because they know they can speak to a real person if
there is a problem with their order.
Regardless of what type of online Wahm store you choose to open, following
these tips will make your business a success.
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