Archive for March, 2009

Adding Products and Setting up the Store

March 17, 2009

You now have your shopping cart lined up, you probably have most all of the backend setup so that you can add products to your store. You might even be looking at how many products you want to add. Now is the time to start evaluating that process.

Adding products should be a fairly simple process

If you picked the right shopping cart for your products, this should not be a difficult task. On the other hand, it can be quite time consuming depending on how many items you have. Evaluate your shopping cart and see what options you have for getting this process done. Try to eliminate or modify the shopping cart if you have to take repeating steps.

For example, let’s say the vast majority of your work requires that you select a category for the product to go in, but most of the products are going into the same category. Perhaps have it setup so that this category is already chosen when you go to add a product. This may not seem like a time saver, but if you have hundreds of products to add, this can be a significant amount of time wasted here.

Outsourcing the work

If you have too much work, you might consider outsourcing the work. I highly recommend that if you can avoid doing this, you should. There are a couple of reasons. First of all, adding products is primarily copy and pasting anyway. You typically copy and paste from the vendors’ description, you type in the price, copy and paste the name, and submit it. Therefore, if you are telling someone else, add “this name, this price, and this description” you are simply defeating the purpose.

Another problem is that this costs money. I highly recommend that you save money where possible so that this money can be invested into marketing your website. If you are on a budget, this is especially true. You do not want to run out of funds before you ever get started.

Feature your big items

Always keep in mind that your big items should be featured in some manner. It is not uncommon for your ecommerce store to be tailored to a specific product you have. For example, you may sell candles. If your website is devoted to this, have some of your best candles directly on the front page and easily accessible and highly visible. Products such as candle holders or candle lighters should take a back seat. This way the products you want to sell most of are the ones that are most likely to be purchased.

Always keep in mind your initial concept

If you have read all about sourcing your products and things, you probably had an initial concept for your shopping cart. It is understandable that you deviated from this a little bit, but try not to go too far. A lot of people, once they get right into it may see dollar signs on some products and totally revamp the direction that they originally had for their website. This is terrible because you have already done research and rationally thought out what could potentially work. Straying away for this only increases your chances of failure. While studying the marketplace on products, do not change the direction you are going simply because of profit margins. Stick to the original plan, and then maybe add on if you see these other products selling too.

This is not to say that you can not add additional products to your website. You just should keep in mind what products are the ones you have done research on and are most likely to sell well online.

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.

Crushing the Marketing Competition

March 17, 2009

Everything is set for the launching of your online store. You have the items readied, an Internet Merchant Account and Drop Shipping Provider waiting for the first transaction, a Shopping Cart Software customized for your site and a perfect website and domain name to lure your prospect customers into buying. You are one step away from your most awaited day but before getting into it, make sure you make the necessary marketing strategies so that it would indeed be a grand launching.

With the vast resources that we have right now, most especially with the help of the internet, we can market our business as much as we can, anyway we want to. Here is a list of some of the best and most effective ways of campaigning your market to success:

Observe Your Competitors

Check out their websites and see what has made their site popular to people. Check their statistics and try to improve whatever they have in the site. Be as objective as possible- if you liked their business then chances are many other people also liked it. Be a recipient of their mailing list and see what’s inside their list which makes the customers go back for more. Don’t think of their success as your downfall, be positive and smart- bank on their success. Begin with what they have and improve it.

Blog Your Way to Success

Blogging is free so why not take this chance and sell your products through content filled articles which can boost your online sales. With a blog, you don’t need to acquire new items for the customers to return to your site, all you need are contents which the customers would look forward to. Try making articles about the hottest and best selling items, try to segment them into pieces, releasing them say once or twice a week- and that would give customers something to look forward to. Tips about your items and many other topics can be posted in a blog. Just see to it that they are all somehow related to our business.

Get Inside Their Inboxes

It may sound illegal but it’s not. You may send them newsletters by inviting them on your mailing list. With the help of your newsletters, you can constantly update them with what’s going on in your business, what items are on sale, what items could give them the best deal, and all those marketing strategies needed to gravitate them into visiting your site. Links are very important and should be included in your newsletter. That way, they won’t need to type the site and search for it. One click will do and they will surely love it.

Pay Per Click Advertising

A pay per click advertising is a very efficient and cost-effective tool in marketing a certain business. Unlike having your website published magazines and pay for them at a fixed rate, PPM allows business owners to have their stores advertised and pay for them not on a fixed basis but on the number of responses which customers have made. It makes advertising a lot easier and cheaper.

Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites are very common nowadays and are being utilized by people of all ages. Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, Multiply- all these are valuable tools which an online seller can use to make more customers. Imagine millions of people visiting these sites on a daily basis? Well trying your luck through these social networking sites is worth the effort. And by saying worth the effort, I mean social networking sites are free to use, and all you need is a little effort on your part to make an account and customize your profile to suit your business.

There are many other strategies which can make your online business boom into success like posting demo videos and audios, search engine optimization, and the like. The mentioned strategies are the easiest and by far the most successful ways to market your online store.

A modern day gold rush, as we may call it- the online selling boom has overgrown many businesses and has attracted many business men to venture into this rapidly growing market. Furthermore, competition in this very liquid market is as tough as it is in the real world of physical businesses. And just like an ordinary competition, there are ways by which one can gain an edge over the other.

Can’t wait? Well work on these stuffs and surely, your store’s future success would be really worth the waiting. Good luck on your business venture!

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.

Setting Up Your Virtual Store

March 17, 2009

Online stores are heavily populating the World Wide Web. It became an instant internet craze which opened every single computer user to a possibility of becoming a successful e-commerce businessman. This fad turned many people into setting up their own online stores, and encouraged those giant ecommerce sites like Ebay and Amazon to make things easier for their subscribers by setting up ready-to-use online stores. Because of these features and offers of established e-stores, setting up one is as easy as breathing. However, one still needs to strategize and plan wisely so that the business won’t be among those short-lived businesses which start to fail after a month or so.

Lay Out and Templates

Now that you have successfully decided which products to sell, an Internet Merchant account already approved and an Online Shopping Cart purchased- you’re almost good to go. Next step is to design your own site. There are some sites which offer templates or ready to use lay-outs for e-stores. However, I strongly recommend you not to use these ready-made templates because you will lose the chance of customizing your e-stores appearance that is supposed to be coordinated with what you are selling. Experimenting things up with the designs, colors, lay out is a thing which you could easily learn, or if it pains you a lot, you may ask someone to do what you want your site to look like.

Easy Browsing

Customers want everything the easy way- that is the rule of thumb. They want a transaction completed in a few clicks of their mouse. This is the reason why you need to pay extra attention in building your site because a website which loads forever will never be appreciated by customers.

Keep your site clean and neat. Remove any unnecessary images but leave a striking logo- something that customers will remember. A user-friendly navigation bar is an indispensable tool in e-stores and even for almost all websites because it directs the customers to pages they want to go to in a very timely manner.

Your Website Host

In finding the best website host to cater to your website’s needs, there are many factors to take into consideration: First, see to it that the website offers Secure Server Locket (SSL) Encryptions. Above all other websites, e-store websites need this the most because e-stores involve money transfers and transactions. Expect an additional charge for this SSL, as compared to ordinary website hosting.

Second, seek for a host which guarantees a high up-time, meaning the guarantee that your site will always be online. If the uptime of a server is not that high, it may hurt your business a lot as it won’t be available for browsing over the net. Also check their guarantee of backing up files in case of system errors or malfunctions.

Web logs and statistics should also be considered because by monitoring the logs and statistics, you can analyze the volume of traffic coming into your site. You can also gain information about the statistics of your customers, thus giving you the chance to present ideas on retaining them and attracting more.

Lastly, delve on their customer support. The customer support is a very valuable aspect in maintaining your site’s availability on the web. Check the hosting company’s other customers and asks them the real score of the host; that way, you could expect the service they would give you.

Your Website/ Domain Name

You’re not done yet- and this is the most important step in setting up a website. Giving your site a good domain name is definitely something which you should not miss. While you would want to give your site the name of your e-store, it would be hard for you to market it and compete with hundreds to thousands of other e-stores. Try using keywords which sells the most, say for example your e-store sells flowers, you may search for the keywords pertaining to the product and use it as your domain name- e.g. flowersforallseasons.com. If you can limit your domain name to no more than three words, the better it would be so that customers can remember your site well. It is also a good edge if you have .com as your domain name system. People tend to remember sites with this ending compared to others.

Moving a step closer

You’re a step away from starting your online business and the next task is already predictable- yes, marketing your site online, it is. But there is no need to hurry, be sure to take all factors into consideration because marketing strategies won’t work well if you have missed any of the steps mentioned above.

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.

Start Selling Online with the Shopping Cart

March 17, 2009

The Shopping Cart Software

You want to shop for a week’s supply at Walmart and as you enter the store, you notice that all the shopping carts are gone. How would you feel? Of course, you’d feel like not shopping at all and switch to other stores where shopping carts are available. The same applies for online shoppers who wanted to make a more organized and one-way shopping, most especially if they’d purchase multiple items. A customer would always want it the easy way out and one way of letting them shop the easy way is through online shopping carts.

Shopping cart softwares have improved a lot as years passed and as e-commerce boomed to overcome a lot of tangible business out in the business world. Having an Online Shopping Cart Software is important and will reap you a lot of benefits both in short term and in the long run. Through a shopping cart, you would be able to cater the best shopping experience to your online customers like they’re in a virtual shopping mall picking up what they want and stashing it inside the cart for the cashier to bill them out.

Free vs Paid Shopping Carts

There are a lot of shopping cart softwares available; most of them are pay-to-use while some few are for free. Free shopping cart softwares may be very tempting to avail of because they are absolutely free of charge. Take note, however, that these free shopping cart softwares may be a good option while starting a business, when the customers are not that overwhelming yet. But try to anticipate when your business made it into the main stream. Surely, the free shopping cart software won’t be able to handle the demands of multiple customers in the long run. As compared with paid shopping carts, free carts are less stable and have less customer support available for technical difficulties.

Multi-Tasking Carts

There are available shopping cart softwares which come in a package making them more versatile than ever. Shopping cart packages allow for the users to perform multiple tasks at once.

Suggestive carts- Aside from the usual shopping cart where all the items to be purchased are stored temporarily, current carts also generate information about the customer’s history of previous purchases and offers them similar products which could catch their interests- this is through the power of cookies which collect previous information of users and dig them up for future use.

Search Tool- Search tool is also integrated in some shopping carts so shoppers won’t need to scour over the list of items. They can also sort these items out so that they can compare the prices, and all other essential information.

Cross Selling- Some carts can also be designed to do cross-selling such that there would be Hot Listed Items on a part of the cart which could raise the interest of a customer.

Computations of Fees- One important feature of a shopping cart is to make the job of the online seller easier so that before it reaches the Internet Merchant Account service, everything is already ironed out and ready for billing. Computation of taxes, shipping costs, discount rates and all other necessary calculations can be done by a shopping cart and this helps a lot in making the transaction smoother and more convenient.

Reporting- A shopping carts task doesn’t just end once the customer leaves the site and billed out by the IMA. The cart should also display reports to the online seller about the hottest items on the list, the overall sale for a certain time, the information about the traffic, the type of customers and all essential information necessary to improve the store.

Customizability of Design

The flexibility of the shopping carts is important so that it could be well adapted and customized according to the design or layout of the online store for which it is designed to work. By this feature, you can easily change the look of your store if it starts out to feel dull and monotonous. You should also see to it that the interface is user-friendly so that those persons with no idea about HTML or web designing can easily tweak the design up. There are also some shopping cart software providers who can customize the carts for you- all you need is to give them a logo of your store or tell them how you want those shopping carts to look like.

Shopping carts are very vital in the functioning of an ecommerce website. It gives heaps of benefits for both the seller and the customer. For this reason, be very careful and strategic in choosing the right shopping cart for your store. Just bear in mind those tips and points which should be looked into and surely, you’ll get the best shopping cart service suited for your business.

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.

Finding the Right Drop Shipping Provider

March 17, 2009

Your online business venture isn’t complete yet. Now that you have finally made a deal with the Internet Merchant Account Provider, you’re a step closer to the real world of online selling. To move a step further, you should find a perfect Drop Shipping Provider.

Drop Shipping Providers, as the name suggests, ships the purchased items or products and drops them to the customer’s specified address. They are the courier company which handles the picking, packing and shipping which makes them very essential in the booming of a certain online business. There are two general types of drop shippers: the first type are those drop shippers who have the items within their warehouse, while the other type are those drop shippers who picks up an item from a supplier. Whichever type you choose, it’s not a big deal anymore- what’s important is that the supply chain is greatly reduced, thus lessening the costs of transport on the part of the seller.

All you need to do is to send them the customer request and specific details and they would be in charge of everything. In short, you won’t need a stock room of all your items so that they can be placed in a safe storage- the drop shipper handles it all. No need for inventories, no need for checking this and that- all you need is your ability to sell and market these items over the internet.

There are many factors to consider when choosing them and here are a few aspects which you should look into.

Reputation Counts

You must choose a drop shipping provider who has established a good name in the shipping industry and in the industry in which their items belong to; say they sell computers and do drop shipping- you should see to it that their computer products are of quality and that their handling is perfect. Don’t be tempted to engage with drop shipping providers whose names you have never heard of. Don’t get tricked by their super high commissions for you because chances are, they might be fraudulent shippers waiting for you to fall on their traps.

Your choice of drop shipper would also influence your prospect customers. Surely, they would delve into the details of shipping since it is a crucial step in ecommerce. The customers would want a shipper which they can trust and rely on.

You can check the reputation of a certain drop shipping provider by checking out the internet and searching for feedbacks from online sellers like you- they are the best resources in searching for the perfect courier.

Speed of Delivery

This is not a question anymore. Speed matters a lot because not all customers are patient enough to wait on their doorsteps for the delivery to arrive. Remember that every transaction which failed to meet the demand is a point against you, not against the drop shipping provider.

Speed of delivery may entail additional expenses but surely you can find one reasonable shipping provider which delivers items in a timely manner. Again, one way of getting to know speedy shippers is through the internet and fellow online sellers.

Customer Support

You, as a customer of the shipping company, should be in constant contact with them and should be provided with technical support whenever you need one. Having a customer friendly staff and excellent technical and customer support is one sign of a legitimate shipping provider.

The customers who have purchased the items should also be able to contact them through you, the online seller, say check the status of the delivery, and confirm the exact date of arrival of the item.

Shipping is a very crucial step in an ecommerce venture. It is a forked road wherein your online store might tread either the right or the wrong path. It is an essential aspect of the business because it is a determinant of the business’ success. Shipping providers serve as the contact between you, the store owner, and the customer- they would bridge you both and it should be a well-established connection between both parties. This is one reason why online sellers should put a great emphasis on choosing one.

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.

Choosing the Right Ecommerce Products

March 16, 2009

ANY PLANS putting up your own ecommerce business? Well it’s not as easy as it seems. Whoever said that putting up a business is as easy as one-two-three is a whacko because truth is, putting up one’s own business is an intricate task, most especially for those people with less to start with. From the preparation alone, a struggling businessman would really put all his efforts off. Basically, putting up a business entails a lot of courage, investment and efforts for it to go main stream. One needs to be prepared both financially and emotionally because the only vehicle to business Mecca is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.

Online Selling is basically using the power of the online world to sell almost any type of goods; it may be a tangible commodity, a service or any kind of product. Before embarking on an Online Selling venture, be sure to make up a concrete plan. And an essential step in making a real business stratagem is to identify the products which would sell big time. Here are some of the best and hottest items to sell:

1. Clothings

Many consumers today, due to their busy work life, have evolved from frequent shoppers who visit the mall regularly, into highly time saving shoppers by shopping in the internet. One advantage of buying apparels in the internet is that customers don’t need to spend for gas and wait impatiently for traffic to subside. Much time is wasted for these people, which is why they resort to this type of shopping. Also, who would not want the idea of having those shopped items delivered directly at your doorstep? I bet everyone wants it.

Bear in mind that the clothing line should also be in relation with the season. Nowadays, spring fashion is what most people are searching for, and as early as today, I highly advice you to start looking for prospect supplier of summer apparel like bikinis, swim suits and the like.

2. Digital Cameras and Portable Media Players

Digital cameras, most especially DSLR cameras are fast growing gadgets nowadays and because of its immense fame, more and more people turn into searching for affordable cameras in the internet. The trend is rising upwards so better get one in your list and sell it before the prices soar high.

Portable media players such as iPod Touch, iPod videos, Microsoft Zune and many other gadgets under the portable music genre are best sellers. Almost every month, there are new models of music gadgets being released in the market.

3. Playstations/Xbox/Wii

Gadget gizmos are not uncommon today. In school, workplace, even in the busy streets, you may see someone playing with their PSP, Nintendo DS and other portable gaming gadgets. It’s popular among the younger generation, and even for a few select older ones, so expect a steady upward trend in the sales of these gadgets most especially during graduations or end of school seasons when students tug on their parents and beg for an Xbox or Nintendo Wii.

4. Home Improvement and Gardening

Home-grown people won’t get behind the online shopping craze. The same way gadgetistas are lurking around online stores looking for the best gadget deals, home improvement and gardening enthusiasts also love to shop Espresso and Ice Cream makers, Home and Outdoor Decors and the like. Be sure to give them the best deals ever so they won’t look for other sellers.

Choosing your items is not that hard, after all. However, don’t solely depend on what you feel about the zeitgeist. Be scientific and technical- check out the latest from Ebay, Amazon and Mpire- they can give you the pulse of today’s online buyers.

This is just step one and there are more steps to learn about, but HOLD IT- did I say putting up a business is an intricate task? Well that was the situation before, because now- things are gradually becoming a lot easier and more convenient. Even a fourteen year old high school student can put up his own business. There is absolutely no need to save a big amount of starting fund- a little budget may work out for you. The most important investment in online selling is not a Latin Title during college graduation nor an MBA, what online selling requires is strategy and knowledge with the online business world, which is a fairly quick technique to learn.

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.

Choosing the Right Ecommerce Software

March 16, 2009

Choosing the right ecommerce software for you can be a difficult task. There are so many on the market, that it may come down to the small things that make the difference in your decision. However, I want to help you quickly narrow your search down to a select few. Start out with a list of shopping carts you have found and are contemplating using.

Find Ones That Work For You

First off, you should start out with a short list of things you would like the shopping cart to include. Try to be as specific as possible so that when looking at shopping carts, you know immediately if it will work for your needs or not. You should keep your list or requirements short, only focus on what is important to you. As you look at shopping carts, quickly mark off those that will not meet your needs.

Easy to Update

One of the reasons to go with third party ecommerce software is to make things easier on you. If you feel that the platform will be difficult for you to use, you may want to avoid going with that shopping cart. Put a star next to those that you think specialized in this area.

Give Their Customer Service a Test

Regardless of how experienced you are in development, you will undoubtedly have some questions regarding their platform. This is especially the case if your intentions are to eventually alter it in some manner. You will want to make sure they have adequate support to help you when needed.

Start out by just sending them a quick email asking them a few questions about their shopping cart. If you have legitimate questions, that is even better. If you are struggling to come up with questions, then simply ask them about the features you listed as being the most important to you.

Review how long it takes for them to reply and the quality of their response. If they take several days to respond, or do not respond at all, I would quickly mark them off of the list of possible shopping carts to use. If you feel they did an excellent job in answering the questions (rather than an automated type response) and did it in a timely manner, you might put a star next to that shopping cart.

Read Other Users Opinions

Lastly, never hesitate to get others opinions. Read reviews on the shopping carts you still have on the list to get an idea of what people liked or disliked about it. Good reviews are a good indication that you might have a good experience with them too. If you see too many negative reviews, I would mark them off of the list.

By this point, you should have a good idea of which shopping cart is best for you. You might take a careful look at those that are not crossed off of the list and have stars next to their name.

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.

Choosing the Most Proper Ecommerce Solution

March 16, 2009

When running a business website, one of the most important things to consider is what kind of ecommerce solution you will implement. This is vitally important because it is the ecommerce part of your website that will be actually handling the monetary transactions. A lot of the reputation of your website depends on this aspect too, hence it is important to choose it with care.

The following are some of the points that you need to keep in mind when you are choosing an ecommerce solution for your website.

The Shopping Cart

The very basic feature that your ecommerce solution must have is an effective shopping cart system. This is where your customers can pile up the items that they are wishing to purchase and then later make the payments and check out. The shopping cart has many other jobs to do. It has to compute the total cost of the purchases, implement any discounts or surcharges, keep track of all the offers you have mentioned, etc. Look carefully at the shopping cart software that your ecommerce provider will give you; a lot will be depending on that.

The Inventory Management

Good ecommerce solutions will keep track of the inventory that you have and will send alerts to you when your stock is dwindling. This protects you from going out of stock, which may cause a big dent to your business. Also, when you are tracking your inventory, you are better able to put a finger on the kinds of expenses you will need to make.

Globalization

Most websites cater to an international audience. In such cases, it might be necessary to handle a lot of global currencies. This will also include implementation of local taxes wherever applicable. See if your solution provides that.

Integration with Several Payment Methods

You will be spending on your ecommerce solution in proportion to the number of payment options they provide. You will need facilities such as credit card and debit card payments, electronic and physical check payments, online bank transfers, electronic wire transfers and the like. See what you are getting. Since PayPal is the online bank which is most widely preferred by people who use the Internet, it is best to have integration with it.

Supply Tracking

Most ecommerce solutions of today provide a feature in which they can track the deliveries of the products even after the transactions have been made. The status of the delivery will be shown on the website whenever a buyer logs in to their own account. This generates a lot of goodwill and, most importantly, relieves pressure on your employers who might have to otherwise physically take calls from people asking about their deliveries.

Online Security

No amount of discussion about online security can ever be enough. Since you are going to handle money on the website, which will include several sensitive details such as people’s credit card numbers, you have to make sure you get a great deal of security. SSL encryption is a must, and you must go for as advanced encryption as you can afford. Get the site protected by a security service like VeriSign. Look for all security measures that you can implement and see if your ecommerce provider gives you those.

Learn how you can increase your Internet business with ecommerce shopping cart software, content management system software, and email marketing software by Interspire.