Whether you run a large ecommerce site or simply sell your merchandise from home, there are a vast variety of options for effectively selling your products online. Alas, some are more costly than others and not everyone has the money to pay for the more upmarket methods, especially if they’re just starting out. Here are some more cost-effective ways you can ensure your products reach the right audience and that you sell your products.
Social Media
- Promote On Facebook
Chances are you’re already aware of Facebook and know how to use it socially, but have you tried promoting your products on the social media giant?
When you actively promote your merchandise on Facebook by sharing information, connecting with friends or followers and promoting sales and competitions you can persuade your audience to not only look into your store themselves, but also get them to share with their friends, thereby reaching a wider audience.
- Share On Twitter
Once you have a foundation of followers and a reasonable knowledge of how to utilize hashtags, you can easily promote your products to your Twitter audience. If they like what you’re selling, chances are they’ll retweet or mention you to their followers and so, much like Facebook, you’ll reach a wider audience. Using Twitter does require time, patience and effort, but once you’ve gotten the ball rolling you’ll soon see the benefits.
- Pin On Pinterest
Pinterest is a relatively new social platform compared to the others, but it’s extremely popular. You can create themed boards where you can pin images from your website and online store, which others can easily re-pin leading to great exposure. Pinterest is entirely free and incredibly easy to use, so get pinning regularly.
- Use Daily Deal Sites
There are absolutely loads of daily deal sites across the web, most notably Groupon and Living Social. These sites offer their audience deals on everything from gifts to holidays, as well as local bargains. If you choose to use a daily deals platform you should expect a huge number of sales in a short period of time, and it’s likely that many initial buyers will return if they like your product. However, make sure you have enough to sell before you place the ad, as not fulfilling orders can be bad for your reputation.
Ecommerce Stores
- Start A Store On Spaces
Also known as Go Spaces, ecommerce platform Spaces is a relatively new site having been originally thought up back in 2013. You can sell clothing, jewelry, digital downloads such as eBooks, and a whole load of other products on your own customizable store page (or ‘Space’), all for free. There is no limit to the amount of Spaces you can create or products you can sell, and they’ll even take care of all the boring payment stuff behind the scenes.
- Sell On Shopify
Like Spaces, Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce platform that allows you to set up your own online store without having to build your own site or pay someone else to do it for you. Your page is easy to build and thoroughly customizable, so you can ensure your brand and page use similar color schemes and create the same atmosphere. Shopify isn’t entirely free, but there are various pricing plans you can choose from and the exposure you’ll receive will probably outweigh the costs.
- Make It Big On Big Cartel
Big Cartel aims to promote products from clothes designers, jewelry makers, bands and other such creative entrepreneurs. They offer customizable pages and take absolutely no percentage of your sales, making this perhaps the best method for beginners and smaller businesses operating within specific markets.
Other
- Sign Up For Google Shopping
If you’re selling online, it’s crucial that you’re listed in Google Shopping search results. To do this, you must first sign up to Google Merchant Center and upload information about your products. After this is completed, your products are likely to appear with relevant search queries, leading to more business and website traffic, especially if your products offer better value than the competition.
- Make Product Videos
Sites like YouTube have an absolutely massive audience; so tapping into their site will probably get you at the very least a small percentage of their views. Consumers are likely to search for all sorts of media relating to products they wish to invest in these days, as they often don’t have access to the hands-on experience of checking out the product in person before making the purchase. By creating thoroughly planned, informative, good quality videos displaying and explaining your products, those who come across them will be more likely to delve further into discovering the wares you have on offer.
- Write Reviews
Review sites such as Review Centre and The Best Of can make all the difference, as good reviews will encourage those who would otherwise shy away from the lack of information and personal experience available to them when buying online. Ensure you’re listed on as many review sites as possible so that your customers can share their positive experiences with you and your products. When others see you have happy customers, they’ll most likely want to become one of them too.
- Send Emails
Email may be one of the oldest web methods of selling products available, but it’s still incredibly effective. Email accounts are still a hub of information for many of us online as it’s where all of our social media notifications, shopping receipts, newsletters and personal information is sent and stored. So, if someone’s willing to give you their email address, chances are they’re interested in what you’re selling. From then on you can share highlights, news, special offers and sales right to their personal hub.
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