Top Tips for Successfully Starting an Ecommerce Business

Starting an e-commerce business is not as easy as it sounds. Though it can be extremely profitable, there are also many pitfalls you’ll need to avoid if you want your new company to succeed. Luckily, plenty of other entrepreneurs have done this, and you can benefit from the wisdom they gleaned from their successes and their business mistakes. Here are some of the best tips for starting an e-commerce business, so you can sidestep common pitfalls and make sure that your business gets off on the right foot from day one.

👉Choose a niche

If you're starting a business, it's important to first choose a niche. For example, if you want to start an e-commerce store that sells skateboards, then choosing to sell those specific products is something you'll want to research thoroughly. You may also want to consider what your target demographic will be and whether there's a market for your product or service. In addition, it may be wise to consider how many competitors already exist in your niche. There are some businesses with very low competition, such as private tutoring; however, if you're looking into starting a business that operates in major cities or large metropolitan areas (such as New York City), there are sure to be established players in your field.

👉Consider Retail Arbitrage

Retail arbitrage is similar to wholesale arbitrage, but it involves buying goods at retail stores instead of wholesale clubs or online. It can be a very lucrative business idea that only requires a small initial investment to start. You buy from retail stores, then turn around and sell on eBay or Amazon. For more information, check out our detailed guide to getting started with retail arbitrage. If you're not quite ready to start your own store, there are several companies you can work with as a retailer arbitrage wholesaler. We recommend using either MaxBounty or ThredUp in conjunction with Ebates (see below).

👉Do research before jumping in

Before you start your own business, research others in your industry. Learn what works and what doesn’t. If a particular approach didn’t work for another business, there’s no reason to think it will work for you. Learn from other e-commerce businesses that have already succeeded or failed at certain strategies. When conducting your research, keep in mind that many entrepreneurs are willing to share their experiences online and give advice on how they grew their companies. Make use of everything available to you, including books and blogs written by successful business owners as well as online forums where other small-business owners can offer their thoughts and insights on topics such as marketability, money management, and social media marketing.

👉What do you want to accomplish?

When you start a business, your goal is to provide a product or service that people want and are willing to pay for. But you also need to think about what else is going on in your life. Start-up costs: To be successful, it's best to start with as little initial capital outlay as possible (even if there's debt incurred later). Try starting small: If you're not sure if you have what it takes, try setting up shop as part of a bigger organization; that way you can at least get some experience before taking off on your own. Be prepared for setbacks: Not every eCommerce business succeeds -- that's just a fact of life. When things don't go well, keep moving forward -- and learn from what doesn't work.

👉Use eCommerce templates or hire someone

As I discussed in a previous post, your ability to create a great-looking eCommerce site does not equal your ability to run a successful business. There are so many things you need to know and do on a day-to-day basis that are completely separate from how pretty your store looks or how easy it is to buy from. For example, how do you set up Google Analytics? How do you optimize conversion rates? What about taxes and shipping? The list goes on! Even if building your own site is somewhat simple, there's still so much work that comes after. If you want something done right and done fast, hire a professional eCommerce template designer like Shopify's Site Looks Templates.

👉Use Quality Images on Product Pages

If you plan to sell products online, then make sure you take high-quality product photos. Since customers won’t be able to touch and feel your products, your photos will play a crucial role in selling them your products. If you don’t have a good camera or lighting setup, enlist help from someone who does or pay for professional photography. Overly grainy, dark photos will turn people off from shopping on your site so do yourself a favor and get some pro shots!

👉Search Engine Optimization / Marketing (SEO/SEM) Section A

What You Need to Do First. Include at least one subheading in your post: How to get a great domain name and website hosting. How to market your business, both online and offline. How to build a successful brand. Section B: Our Strategy (at least four subheadings). What are you going to do? 

1) Local Search 

2) Google 

3) Social Media 

4) Affiliate Marketing 

5) Other _____________________

List at least three things you will do each day/week until launch.

👉Pay Attention to UX & UI

For many e-commerce businesses, offering a fantastic user experience (UX) is just as important as having products that sell themselves. Even if you don’t have UX/UI expertise in-house, there are resources available that can help you craft a stellar user experience. For example, you can use tools like Hotjar and Google Analytics to see where users are getting confused or frustrated with your website—and fix those issues before they turn away. It’s also important to make sure that your user interface (UI) is optimized for mobile devices. Mobile traffic increased by 54% from 2016 to 2017, so making sure visitors can find what they need quickly on their smartphones and tablets will help keep them engaged with your business.

👉Promote your Shopify store with Facebook ads

Running a Facebook ad campaign is a smart strategy for boosting your Shopify store’s online visibility and your bottom line. For starters, it gives you more control over what people see when they type relevant keywords into Facebook’s search bar or visit a category page. If you select products as your audience on Facebook, you can make sure that anyone searching for products like yours will be directed to your Shopify store. You can also use ads to drive traffic to product pages or even to specific posts within your Shopify store. Plus, since these are paid ads, there are ways to target high-value customers—like those who have already purchased something from you—and reach them with different versions of your message.

👉Build a team around you

The best teams are ones with a diverse range of talents, so you’ll need to recruit and hire various experts to help your project along. You may have skills in creative design, product development, or marketing, but you can’t do it all on your own. Partnering with experts who complement your abilities will give you a great team of people to get through some tough times. Attract Investors: Entrepreneurs often turn to investors when their businesses start out slow or they find themselves without funding. Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family for support as well as other local business owners that can make introductions.