How to Sell Digital and Physical Products Online and Make Money
Did you know that you can bring in cash from the web? Making money online is now a trend because it is easy and convenient to do so… add on to that the extra cash you will earn! You can start an online business as a side- hustle for extra cash without even quitting your regular job. A lot of people are selling things online because it brings in extra revenue and has a positive result. However, just like in any business, you must be aware that there are different approaches you must learn and take into consideration. There are two things that you can sell online: digital and physical.
When you sell online, you must decide between selling digital products or physical products. Or you can even do both if you like. Digital products are those you can buy virtually and stay virtually such as eBooks, digital music, or online courses. On the other hand, physical products involve things that you can touch and are delivered to you like toys, clothes and actual books. In selling digital and physical products online, you must know the ins and outs of the online world.
You must ensure that you are well-equipped to get in touch with your target market so that your efforts will bring positive results and profit. What are the Advantages of E-commerce? It may not feel like it, but e-commerce has been around for ages! Though we have only seen the obvious rise of e-commerce in recent years, the start of online transactions began before the 21st century even started.
Despite many people favoring online shopping nowadays; we still have not realized the importance and advantages this new method of purchasing brings to our society. E-commerce allows sellers to reach audiences all around the globe, thereby increasing sales in the process. One of the benefits of e-commerce and selling your products on an online store or online marketplace is the fact that the internet does not stop.
Your website is up 24 hours, 7 days a week where potential customers can browse and purchase your products anytime – even when you are sleeping. With the presence of thousands of e-commerce websites, people can buy anything they want without leaving their homes. This convenience is one of the main reasons why the e-commerce industry continues to rise. You should take this opportunity to start selling your products online as well to generate more sales.
Starting up an e-commerce-based business is easier than setting up a physical store. Starting up your business website isn’t as costly as renting a space for your shop. Maintenance fees for an online business website are also low compared to maintaining an actual store. In addition, an online business allows you to keep track of your business faster and effortlessly.
With tons of online shoppers in the world, you can cater to them all and provide them with your best products and exemplary customer service seamlessly. Having said all of these, there is no point in why you should not open an online business when everything is in favor of you. What are the Best Online Store Solutions?
You cannot sell online products without building your online store. To help build your online store, there are several online store solutions available on the web. Each online store’s solutions differ from what they offer, their pricing, as well as how user-friendly their platforms are. The list below highlights the best and most popular online store solutions you can use to start your online business and sell your products online: BigCommerce.
Like Shopify, BigCommerce provides excellent 24/7 quality support to sellers using their platform. With the extensive features this online store solution provides, it makes it very easy for sellers and purchasers to navigate the site when selling and buying. BigCommerce does not have transaction fees. However, most of the design themes they provide for sellers are paid. The different themes are mobile-friendly and allow you to personalize your store to help it stand out among the other stores. Recently, the platform introduced the BigCommerce Plugin for WordPress that allows you to sell your products easily in any WordPress site page.
PinnacleCart. PinnacleCart is intended for business owners who prefer more control of their online store. This platform allows you to build an online shop easily and keep track of progress conveniently. What makes PinnacleCart unique from the other online store solutions is that it allows sellers to make a fully customized shop which can meet even the most bizarre and unique needs and ideas of businesses.
The platform also provides an array of services designed for business growth such as live chat, customer support, store management and many more. Though it is pricey compared to other online store solutions, this platform provides top-notched features which are worth every penny you spend on it. SHOPIFY. One of the most popular e-commerce platforms is Shopify. It has more than 400,000 online stores making it one of the largest online store solutions there is.
It also allows a seller to sell products at a retail site. In Shopify, you can upload as many products as you have and can create a customized list for these products. The platform also makes it easy for sellers to track leads and conversions. When it comes to designing your online shop, Shopify offers 100 themes for the design you want to use with 1400 plug-ins that improves your shop’s functionality. Moreover, Shopify has a mobile app for easy access.
It can also be integrated with social media apps. If you have any issues with regards to selling or technical difficulties, the 24/7 live chat support is always there to help you with your needs. WEEBLY. If you are looking for affordable, don’t look any further and go directly to Weebly. It is one of the most affordable website builders that most sellers are using to build their e-commerce stores.
Weebly offers uploading unlimited products that you can offer in your online store and provides you with fresh template designs and attractive layouts. Aside from being affordable, it is also known as a user-friendly platform since it is easy to navigate even for people who do not have any ideas on how to make websites. It also offers 24/7 support and can be downloaded as a mobile app as well.
WooCommerce. WooCommerce is another e-commerce platform that is popular among sellers. It has hundreds of themes and plug-ins and provides sellers several great features that enable customization in the seller’s online shop with the WordPress Content Management System. It is important to note that before installing WooCommerce, you must have WordPress first to proceed with the installation. 3dcart.
An all-in-one store builder which is considered one of the best e-commerce platforms for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 3dcart’s design conventions are favored by Google leading to a boost in your website’s search engine ranking. Though it does not provide as many plug-ins as the other online store solutions, 3dcart recompense for it with tons of built-in features that include marketing & SEO, secure hosting and customer support.
Selling Digital and Physical Products Online: What’s the Difference? Before putting up your products to sell online, you must know the difference between digital and physical products. As said earlier, digital products are those that are virtually sold and acquired. These products are things you can sell constantly without the physical distribution of goods nor manufacturing costs.
Digital products can be acquired through a simple download at your customer’s end. Your clients will receive the purchased digital item in a file format compatible with their device. More examples of digital products being sold online are software, website themes, digital photographs, digital artworks, and graphics.
Meanwhile, physical products are those products that are tangible which customers can lay their hands on and touch. As a seller, you need to ship the actual items to your customers once they finished their purchase online. Included in this category are items from grocery, apparel, merchandise and everything that requires real shipment and delivery of objects. Another difference between the two products is the method with which they are sold. To sell physical products, you need a traditional e-commerce store. However, to sell digital items, you only need a website where you can place and advertise your goods for clients to buy and download by themselves.
Knowing the difference between digital and physical selling allows you to provide the exact services your client needs. You must think of what type of products you want to sell and choose one of the online store solutions that are designed for products you sell. After you have decided on your product/s and online store solutions, you need a marketing strategy to engage your potential consumers and make them buy your products. Marketing online shops and products allow you to advertise your store to gain more traction in selling.
Since you offer your products and services alone, it is also best to advertise online in different ways. Blogging is one of the most common ways to promote a business. Once your online store is up and running, you need to start a blog. Your blogs should talk about your different products where you highlight each of their best features and what your customers can get from buying it. It is important to produce blogs that are engaging and have compelling content so that visitors who are reading your blogs will stay longer on your site.
You have to take note that you have to publish fresh content on a regular basis to increase more traffic on your site as well as engage your customers by having something to look forward to from you every now and then. Inserting appropriate images on your blog posts is strongly recommended to make your posts more appealing. Videos for blogs such as testimonials and tutorials are also recommended since it connects more to your consumers than just words.
Extending your connections by reaching out to influential bloggers also helps a lot and may generate a strong and avid following. EMAIL MARKETING. Sending e-mails to your target audience is very powerful in marketing. When you send an email to a potential client, you generate leads and share important information about the products you are selling. You must have a subscription option on your online store so that customers can subscribe to your e-mail list.
With this subscription list, you can send out emails to promote new products, offer discounts, and encourage them to read your blogs. You can increase your blog subscriber base using other options such as posting on forums or starting a podcast. Incorporating such ways will help increase your sales and profit. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING. The age of social media makes it easy for sellers to advertise their products and services. It allows the expansion of advertising to reach a global audience and establish your products on different mediums that can best promote what you are offering.
Encouraging your followers and customers to provide testimonials about your products is helpful in advertising and building trust among your clientele. Engagement on social media such as replying to comments and messages is essential in building a good reputation for your online business. People will feel that your online shop is customer centered as you consider everything they say.
Connection is the best way to increase engagement and a strong customer base for your brand. Furthermore, social media platforms allow you to create poll questions, contests and some other exciting promotions that will entice your followers, and future followers, to join the different activities you set while promoting your products in the process.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ADVERTISING. Most start-up businesses avoid PPC advertising since it can be costly at times. However, if this method is set-up appropriately, it will lead to increase revenue that can surpass whatever you have spent on this marketing strategy. PPC advertising increases website traffic to attract quality leads, thereby increasing sales and revenue from a targeted demographic.
Payment Gateways for Online Selling
A payment gateway is a service provided by your online store solution which allows credit cards or direct payments to e-commerce retailers like you. A payment gateway verifies clients’ credit card details so that payments are made accordingly. Payment gateways are not the same as merchant accounts, which hold funds prior to sending it to your bank account. The primary job of payment gateways is to approve or decline transactions.
They only pass your customer’s credit card information to a merchant. Once it is approved, the payment is deposited into your account. Several payment gateways, meanwhile, do not use merchant accounts such as Paypal and Stripe. These payment gateways confirm credit card information and directly transfer the money to your bank account if there is no problem with the verification process.
One of the downsides of these payment gateways, however, is that they charge higher fees in every transaction you make. As your business grows, the fees may also grow. Online selling of digital and physical products is relatively easy when you know the ins and outs of the system. Setting up your online store is simple nowadays.
If you properly make use of several marketing strategies to your advantage, you can generate income 24/7! If you read it here, then you are well-equipped to start your ecommerce store. Choose the best online shop solution for your products, advertise your online store accordingly, and start building a loyal base of customers by providing engaging contents and excellent customer service.
