OER-CRAFT

How to build up your own Online Shop and sell online

ICT_3  

 Title:
How to build up your own Online Shop and sell online
 Keywords
Online shop, Online selling, ICT
 Author:
IWS
 Languages:
English
 Objectives/goals:
At the end of this training fiche you will have enough knowledge about building up your own Online shop and what is the best way to sell online.      

 Description:

How to set up an online store: If you are reading this fiche then you probably asked yourself the last question, " how to set up an online store?" Due to the fact that online stores are becoming an increasingly popular way to reach customers, and the establishment of an online store is associated with low barriers to entry new markets, this topic is becoming a must.

With free tools and cheap web hosting, there's really no reason you can't have your own catalog and shopping cart on the web if you've got something worth selling. Whether you're looking for a side project or a real source of income, here's a starting-from-scratch guide to setting up shop on the web.



 Contents

• Idea: If you think about how to set up your own online store than you probably already have some idea of business, product range and potential customers of your online store. The case seems simple and obvious, but it is worth to stop for a moment on this point before we get to the proper setting up of an online store. Think about exactly what kind of products and prices you will include in your shop. Is it worth it to open a specialized online store or perhaps your business should rather be offline?

• Software, hosting, domain: The elements necessary to set up an online store are software online store, hosting and domain. The most difficult part is choosing which software to use our online shop. There are several possibilities, from free to expensive tailor made software. "All in the package" software’s offer maintenance, installation, but sometimes the problem with pre-configured online stores is that technically it is the users who have to adapt their business to the software and not vice versa. In case of only shops it might be worth, in terms of ROI, to spend a little bit more and have an ad hoc platform.

• Be unique, unless you are actually producing your own products: There is a good chance that you are using product feeds, including photographs and descriptions supplied by the manufacturer. This is a bad idea because the content is going to be the same as hundreds of other online shops that purchase from the same supplier.

• Consider general e-commerce services: Companies like Shopify and Yahoo! Stores will allow you to set up professional-looking online storefronts when you ship your own inventory. Hosted e-commerce solutions go further to provide storefront design, secure payment, hosting, mailing lists, selling statistics, customers support. This is attractive for those who don't want to do their own programming.

• Look into reselling products for a profit: Affiliate store services such as Amazon eStores LLC allow you to resell products carried by Buy.com and other merchants by writing reviews of products and focusing on a theme that makes consumers' lives easier. Amazon eStores stores allow you to get running quickly, but don't allow you to carry your own physical inventory.

• Take eBay to the next level: If you've already sold some stuff on eBay, and you're confident that most of your customer base will find you there, then you can "graduate" to an eBay store to save money on listing fees.

• Sell crafts on Etsy: Etsy is a popular choice for people who make what they sell. There's a 20 cents charge for every item listed, and Etsy keeps 3.5% of your sale price if the item is sold. You get paid directly and are responsible for shipping the item. You're charged fees (depending on what sold) on a monthly basis.



• Payment methods: Make sure you offer you customers different payment methods in order to widen your target. Possibilities are: bank transfer, PayPal, Credit Cards, Google Checkout, Cash on delivery, etc.

And if you don’t’ want to run your own online shop, you still have the possibility to sell online through external market places.

• Best Online Marketplaces To Sell Your Art & Crafts (And Buy Affordable Art)

1. Etsy

Etsy is one of the most popular sites for buying and selling art and crafts. Etsy sellers offer everything from handmade furniture to vintage purses to one of a kind artwork. Often, this artwork is priced to sell, so buyers not only have a lot of selection, but also access to some pretty good prices as well. Etsy has apps for iPhone and Android for those of you looking to buy and sell on the go.



2. Society6

Society6 is another popular website. Vendors can sell their artwork as prints, pillows, iPhone and Android cases, and t-shirts. For buyers, this site is a great way to get framed or unframed prints at a low price. Moreover, if you find an artist you like, you can get their artwork in a variety of forms!



3. Zatista

Zatista is a great place to find original paintings, photographs, and mixed media artwork. This site allows you to refine your search by price, size, and type of artwork to ensure that you find just the piece you are looking for.



4. IndieMade

IndieMade helps artists create professional looking websites in order to sell better their artwork. The site helps you set up your site and helps you attract potential customers, and since it is designed specifically for artists, the websites are all tailored to be as navigable and attractive as possible.



5. CollegeArtOnline

CollegeArtOnline is a place for students to sell their artwork. Because of this, the prices are often lower than they would be at a gallery, and each purchase goes towards supporting a budding artist. The site also allows student artists to sell their artwork.


 Results

After these recommendations, you will have a basic knowledge on the different steps to take to build your own Online Store.



 Indicators

Online store owners want to increase their sales and the traffic to the shop. It is important that you analyze a lot of factors, before you take an important decision, that have an influence on your sales.
•    Site traffic:  By analyzing the traffic to your online shop on a daily, weekly and monthly base, you will get a clear overview of when and why there has been a dip or spike in the traffic to your website.

•    Product page visits: By analyzing the traffic that is going to specific product pages, you will have a better understanding of what your customers prefer and how they are interacting with your site.

•    Average page views and time:  These stats will give you an overview of how your shop content is engaging you traffic, if the stats are low, you have to consider changing something in your campaigns and keywords.

 

•    Promote your store on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. Social media platforms are an important way for businesses, especially online businesses, to market themselves. Start an account and encourage people to "like" and "share" your store's page to spread the word. Offer incentives for customers to promote your store. You could offer a discount or a free giveaway for those who participate. Be sure to keep the accounts up to date with information on new products and deals. 

•    Make sure you fully utilize the free trials all the ecommerce software platforms have to offer. This gives you the chance to test them out from every aspect with no money out of your pocket. Also, if you don't see a free trial offer contact them to set one up. Most likely they will make an exception.

•    Watch out for any service that involves selling products you don't have. These are often called "drops hipping" service and while some are legitimate, many are scams. Even those that are authentic have a low chance of success because you're selling stuff that someone else is probably already selling. You'll need extraordinary marketing skills to make it work in which case, why not apply it to your own products?



 Learning Outputs
Online learning


 Bibliography

Training fiche reference link: 


http://lifehacker.com/5796577/how-to-set-up-your-own-online-store





http://freshmail.pl/blog/jak-zalozyc-sklep-internetowy/





https://www.evohosting.co.uk/blog/web-development/ecommerce-web-development/10-tips-to-help-you-improve-your-online-store/





 





http://www.wikihow.com/Start-an-Online-Store