Selling Things Online
There’s a Way to Make It Happen
Painted wings and ceiling wax…you’ll find someone willing to sell anything online. And when someone wants to get into selling things online, there are five hundred and one marketing gurus promising people to turn them into instant millionaires. “With my special e-book / e-course / SEO service / etc., you’ll get into the lucrative business of online sales from home. Work at home, stay at home…using my secret list of drop-shippers and my new marketing techniques.”
I can only say one thing…if they were making millions by selling things online, they wouldn’t have time to train anyone else to do it. Because selling things online takes work…a lot of work. For example, I’m backed up on my own work right now, but I still have to take time to write this article…because the work will stop if I don’t keep producing my own material.
And don’t forget perseverance. Some months aren’t as good as others, but you have to hang in there. Again…I’m backed up, but last week I did a whole lot of nothing (I guess I should have been working on staying ahead of these articles…oh well.)
Oh, and it takes one more thing…a strategy. And if you’re thinking about selling things online, you’d better have one. A good one.
I can outline a strategy for you…I can give you the full report- tell you where to buy, tell you where to sell, tell you where to advertise. But I’m not going to…not in this short little article. Instead, I’m going to give you just a few tips…probably the most important ones for anyone selling things online.
- Specialize – Don’t sell computer stuff. There are about 5,000 competitors selling computer stuff. Instead, sell hard drives…or even the very latest, top of the line hard drives. Sell one thing on your first online store, and nothing else. Become an expert in that field and publish some good articles all linking back to your site (if you can’t write, hire me). You’re site is much more likely to attract search engine traffic, and it’s three times as likely to turn web surfers into customers.
- Sell Cheap or Sell Expensive – When selling things online you have a choice – you can either be the cheapest (not very likely if you want to make money) or you can sell commodity. This is difficult if you’re selling the same model product as everyone else, but you can sweeten the deal by offering a better warranty deal (the prices will pay for it). But never settle in between.
- Don’t Make Your Site Look Hacky – If you don’t have a nice storefront, you won’t get many visitors. Make it look nice, but simple. Don’t rely on software generated templates (FrontPage). Art comes from the brain, not a computer. If you don’t have it, hire someone.
- Don’t Make Your Site Sound Hacky – If you don’t know how to write copy, then hire someone to write it for you. If you’re selling a common product, it’s OK to simply cut and paste spec lists from the manufacturer. If you’re selling something unique, you’re copy is one of the most important aspects of the site.
- Give Great Customer Service – I see it happen again and again. Online stores look fabulous, and then you try to call someone and get a rude ‘clerk’, or you don’t get any answer at all. What’s more, half of the online businesses don’t return calls! Be the different one. None of that McDonald’s mentality.
These concepts aren’t industry secrets…they’re mostly common sense. But you’d be surprised by how many people don’t apply them in their strategies. Use them as a starting point in your plan, and selling things online can happen. Ignore them, and you’re just wasting money on hosting space.
Selling Things Online |
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Selling Things Online 
