E-Commerce Primer

E-Commerce Primer

Why have an e-commerce side-hustle?

In our estimation, an ecommerce hustle could prove better than trying to climb the corporate ladder or trading stocks or cryptos.

First, be sure there is sufficient demand. How “hot” is the market? Will customers want to order via the Internet? (You can test demand by listing products that aren’t available yet.) Check competitors sales ranks on Amazon. Does the niche have and spend money? Is your product or way of doing business better?

What do I need to start?

Use Ubersuggest, SEMrush and/or Ahrefs to research keywords and “spy” on competition.

Domains & hosting:   DirectNIC or Bluehost

Checkout: Shopify or PayPal or Stripe

Advertising:

  • Google
  • Bing
  • Facebook
  • All other social media
  • Forums
  • YouTube
  • Get mentions on other companies’ platforms.
  • You might “hire” affiliates via Clickbank or Commission Junction.
  • Word of mouth. (Is your product so hot it sells itself?)

Perfect your pitch:

  • You might read Growth Hacker Marketing, by Ryan Holiday
  • Write to a specific target audience/end user. Try to sell to everyone and you’ll sell to no one.
  • Consider framing and optics.
  • Develop a USP (unique sales proposition).
  • Design a logo.
  • Decide on your company’s tone and overall image.
  • Targeted advertising tends to beat broad advertising.

Production:

  • Do you own your own shop?
  • Do you have or need a 3D printer?
  • Do you need to hire a co like Flextronics?
  • Or are you running a service business?
  • Is NoCode an idea?

Misc.:

  • You could use a bot on your site to answer frequently asked questions or to qualify leads or to schedule a call. Your bots should be young women.
  • How quickly can you respond to attacks, criticism or to fix screw ups?
  • Capture attention with your ads and online presence.
  • How quickly can you build a substantial audience?
  • Should you use affiliate ads on your site(s)?
  • Does your site drive people to a physical location?
  • Does your business partner with other businesses?
  • Scale or magnitude?
  • Are your sales repeatable?
  • You can use corporate shells.
  • You can hire freelancers on FB and Twitter, not just Upwork and Fiverr.
  • Use open.ai to see how the top 1% in your general field designed their sites. What did your models do and not do? What explains top SE positions? Is the product experiencing strong demand or is there some other draw?
  • Make sure you take the time to develop a solid business plan that outlines your goals, strategies and resources.

Traffic (for mentions, feedback and market research.)

  • Promote in forums (where allowed).
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Direct mail
  • Endorsements
  • Joint ventures
  • Shameless plugs
  • Affiliate marketers
  • Google ads
  • Other Internet ads
  • Your opt-in lists
  • Use social media bio links

Conclusion:

Imagine the end result of your product, site, and overall business. Your e-comm business will evolve. It’s important to know your site is a reflection of you. It’s best to start as well as possible.

Instead of getting an MBA, learn as you go, adjust, adapt and read In Lieu of an MBA.

You might enjoy our Commandments page. Some of the sets of commandments are essential for entrepreneurs.