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? 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
Advertising:
Bing
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
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.
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.
Traffic:
Promote in forums (where allowed).
TV
Radio
Direct mail
Endorsements
Joint ventures
Shameless plugs
Affiliate marketers
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, and read In Lieu of an MBA.
You might enjoy our Commandments page. Some of the sets of commandments are essential for entrepreneurs.
