As of 2017, the number of digital buyers all over the world was 1.66 billion. It’s more than 20% of all global population and it represents a huge market with great potential. Furthermore, today not only big companies work in this sphere, but individuals too. 

For many people, it’s an opportunity to become self-employed, improve their financial situation and do something they really like. If you’re one of them, but you don’t know how to build an online business from scratch, then read this article to learn the basics. 

Types of online business 

Any kind of business carries a certain degree of risk and requires money to start. However, its different types have different pros and cons. 

Depending on the nature of the product, one can split ecommerce into the following types: 

1) Selling physical goods 

Despite being located on the web, a store can easily sell real products. Although people rarely order such goods as high-tech electronics or food (except for local delivery), a typical online store is very similar to a regular retail business. 

The riskiest option is to resell products after buying them from a wholesaler or manufacturer like a typical brick and mortar shop does. Here you’ll have to purchase goods in bulk (which requires large investment), then keep the products in a warehouse (or at home) and then try to sell them. You’ll also have to take care of delivery issues. 

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to sell these goods. If the risks seem like too high, you may want to sell hand-made stuff. 

Those with skills in sewing, timbering, drawing, pottery and arts often sell their works in the internet. They start with their own relatives, friends and colleagues, then go to social media and finally decide to create a store. 

If you don’t have such skills, you can try dropshipping which is often regarded as a relatively safe way to start an ecommerce business. 

In this business model, you create a store and start promoting. When a customer buys something, you contact your supplier (manufacturer or wholesaler) and ask him to send the required product directly to the customer. 

What’s most important, you don’t have to purchase goods in bulk. Instead you buy them each time you receive an order which is much safer. Plus, no need to worry about storage issues or delivery. Besides, one doesn’t need a huge budget to start a dropshipping business. 

2) Selling digital goods

The main advantage of digital products is the ease of distribution. Being just ones and zeros, they can be simply copied to any number of computers or smartphones, and there’s no need to produce each product. Instead, you only need one original copy. Besides, it takes only time and knowledge (and a little bit of electricity) to create digital products. 

Digital goods are usually sold at large marketplaces or at online stores. Here are some of the common examples. 

eBooks, unlike their paper alternatives, don’t require a printing press, materials and warehouses. A text and a few pictures are all you need. Furthermore, with a huge number of people browsing the internet, there’s always somebody who’ll show interest in your book.

People write about anything – fiction stories, education books, their experience and memories. 

Software is another popular digital product sought after by many people all over the world. We need programs and applications for all devices we use and for different purposes. People buy games, smartphone applications, plugins and addons. They buy such products for entertainment, self-education and business. 

Digital art, photos, videos and music. If you have talent, you can try selling these things at different platforms as long as you license them correctly. 

These and other types of digital products are a good choice for those wishing to start an ecommerce business. 

3) Selling services 

And of course, a lot of people offer services for money. Freelancers, online agencies and consultancies with copywriters, designers, programmers and bookkeepers have become a part of everyday life. 

Professionals working online don’t need an office and don’t have to meet clients in real life. Everything is done via the internet. A lot of companies prefer hiring freelancers if they have a single task that doesn’t require a staff employee. As for finding customers, in most cases, freelancers use special online platforms where people and firms place tasks and prices so you don’t even need to create a website. 

Create a website to start an ecommerce business

In some cases, you can get by with social media accounts or web platforms. But certain types of ecommerce business work best if you have your own website. The design of the site largely depends on what business you have chosen. 

Quite a number of websites are created on the basis of WordPress. This content management system is easy to use and offers a lot of plugins and extensions including those designed for specific types of business. For example, Shopify and WooCommerce are used for online shops, and AliDropship Plugin is used to create AliExpress dropshipping stores. Such ecommerce solutions allow you to start your business faster and with less effort. 

If you have no knowledge of web design, it is recommended to order a website from a professional team. 

Optimizing and promoting your website 

Now your ecommerce business starts for real! You’re ready to sell products or services, but you have no customers, so your first task is to start attracting them. How? There are several common promotion methods. 

SEO

First of all you need to optimize your site for search engines. Ideally, it’ll allow your site to get to the top of search results. The AI used in Google and other engines is very complicated and calculates the result based on various parameters including the length of texts, keywords, bounce rate, etc. 

Those with little experience in SEO can learn the basics with Google’s SEO Starter Guide. This method is aimed at attracting organic traffic, i.e. visitors coming from search engines. 

Email marketing 

Another way to tell people about your offer is to send emails. You start with collecting their addresses by asking them to subscribe. Then you send newsletters and offers. 

In the right hands, this method pays good dividends, but if done the wrong way, it’ll turn into spamming. The idea is to send really interesting emails with captivating titles, useful content and personalized offers. 

PPC

Pay-per-click advertising includes a number of subtypes, but all of them are based on a similar principle. There’s a link, and each time a user clicks on it and gets to your site, you pay a commission. 

• Paid search. You have probably seen such advertising in Google results. The best part of this method is that the ad shows up only after you type a certain search query. It’s very soft and relevant. 
• Banner advertising. It shows banners on certain websites devoted to the same theme as your business (or similar to it). It is targeted at the audience that is likely to take interest in your product. 
• Retargeting works in a similar way, but such banners ‘follow’ a user who showed interest in a certain product or service. 
• Affiliate partnership. In this case, you partner with a blogger or a website owner who somehow advertises your offer and gets paid each time somebody follows his or her affiliate links or uses his or her promo code, etc. 

Social media promotion 

Many entrepreneurs start ecommerce business in social media, but even a successful company must not neglect this channel. After all, many internet users, especially the young, spend most of their online time in social media. 

However, most of the content you distribute via this channel should be useful or entertaining. Social media is a place for communicating with your potential clients and target audience. So telling something interesting, sharing news and organizing contests will work much better than spamming calls to buy something. 

Combining promotion methods 

Most likely, these methods will not work all by themselves. Only a combination of such will bring good results. To develop an efficient promotion strategy, you must understand where your target audience is and check what methods work best. Don’t be afraid to try them and find the best ones. 

Now you know the basics about how to start an ecommerce business.