Opening an Online Store

Opening an Online StoreOpening your own store as a Wahm is easy when youtake your business online. Online shopping isbecoming a mainstay of American commerce and morepeople are comfortable with making purchases fromInternet stores. If you have something that youare passionate about selling, consider opening anonline store.Before you start an online store, do some researchonline and check out your potential competition.If you have a business idea in mind, it is worththe time and effort to see what else is being sold

in your category of products. If you have no ideawhat you want to sell, you 抣 l also want to headonline to search out what would be most profitableto sell.When you make the selection of what you are goingto sell, remember to think 搉 iche.?A niche is asmall category of products that meet the needs ofa specific group of people. Your online storeshouldn 抰 have a 揥 al-mart?approach where thereis a little bit of everything for everyone. Onlinecommerce is all about small categories ofinterest. There are so many things to choose from,you have more success when you cater to a smalland specific group of people.The best place to start with finding a niche isthinking about your own interests. When you sellto a niche that you know well, you are more likelyto know what products will be of interest to thosepeople. You can sell to your clientele based onyour own experience.

Many Wahms start an online store because they havehomemade products to offer. One example ishandmade baby clothes and cloth diapers. ManyWahms have found success with putting theirsewing skills to work and selling their waresonline. Other popular handmade online storesinclude bath and body products, candles and giftbaskets.This does not mean that you can 抰 have onlinestore success if you don 抰 make your own products.There are hundreds (if not thousands) of Wahms whohave success by opening stores stocked withstore-bought inventory.Whatever your choice, whether handmade or storebought, there are many options for hosting youronline store. These options depend on howcomfortable you are with web design. Manycompanies, like Yahoo, offer store websites thatare very user friendly and simple to set up. They

can cost anywhere from $30 to $200 per month forthe storefront services. Many Wahms also findsuccess with eBay stores, which allow them to sellin auctions or in a fixed price format.Look at all of your options before you choose youronline store hosting. Remember that the qualityof your hosting will reflect the quality of yourbusiness. The last thing you need is your entirewebsite going down due to cheap hosting. The bestchoice is to find a reputable host that willprovide you with a storefront and hosting for areasonable price. Don 抰 try to pinch pennies onthis aspect of your business. You could end up outof business in no time.Once you 抳 e found a place to host your store, you抣 l need to drive internet traffic to the store.One of the easiest ways is to trade banners withother Wahm online stores. Many Wahms support eachother in their online efforts. This form ofnetworking is a great way to introduce your

products to customers who already look to supportWahms. You can also advertise using pay per clickadvertising and work on your website so that itincreases in page ranking for certain searchterms.Keep your customers coming back with an easy tonavigate website, simple ordering techniques andgood customer service. Even though most of yourbusiness will be done online, it 抯 a good ideato get a business phone line and put that numberon your website. This way customers can feelconfident in purchasing from you because theyknow they can speak to a real person if there isa problem with their order.Regardless of what type of online Wahm store youchoose to open, following these tips will makeyour business a success.PPPPP

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