How to Create Your Successful Online Store and Make Money Fast?

If you’re looking for a way to make money, maybe you’ve already thought about opening your own online store? Maybe you’ve even given up on the idea because it seems out of your skill set? However, I will show you in this article that you don’t necessarily need to have studied business or to have learned how to create a website to do it. I won’t explain in detail how to build your store from A to Z nor the sales techniques you’ll have to put in place (I’ll probably do that later), but you’ll discover the steps you’ll have to take to get started serenely.

What is an online store?

Let’s start by defining what an online store is so that everyone understands exactly what we are talking about here. I guess 99.9% of you know what it is and that you have most probably already made some purchases online, but let’s do this for the 0.1%.

An online store is a website offering various products (physical or digital) or services for sale. Interested Internet users can make a purchase through an online payment platform. Once the payment has been made, the site manager then starts the process of sending the package (or sending access to the service), which will then be delivered to the customer, either via its own delivery service or via a private service (DHL, FedEx, DPD, etc.).

Be careful not to confuse an online store with a marketplace. A marketplace is a platform allowing anyone to offer their products for sale (brand new or second-hand). The most famous examples are Amazon, Facebook, eBay, or Etsy, but we will come back to this later.

And just a little clarification, for the sake of simplicity, I will talk mostly about selling physical products in this article, but most of the information is also valid if you sell a service or a dematerialized good.

What are the key steps to opening your own online store?

There’s a lot to say on this topic, and it’s important to have an overview, so you know what to expect, but also what’s best to start with, and most importantly, don’t skip any steps. In a nutshell, here’s how it goes.

  • 1Ask yourself the right questions: Do you have the rigor, tenacity, and seriousness necessary for this type of activity? Do you like selling in general and contact with people, even virtual? Are you a trustworthy person? I won’t hide the fact that it is better to have answered yes to each of these questions if you want to start this adventure.

  • 2Decide what to sell: If you have answered yes to the questions above, you can start looking for the type of product or service you will offer on your store. So, no, this step is not about simply finding one or more random products and crossing your fingers that they work. You’ll need to find a niche that fits some specific criteria as we’ll see later.

  • 3Find one or more suppliers: Whether it’s for physical products or not, and if you don’t produce it yourself, it will be a matter of finding a good supplier, one that’s reliable and offers both quality items and good prices. Depending on what you have decided to sell, this will not be the easiest step as you will spend long hours Googling, sending emails or making phone calls, ordering samples, etc.

  • 4Finding a name for your online store: This topic would deserve an article on its own as it is so vast. And the good news is that I’ve already written it, so I highly recommend you to read it here

  • 5Create your online store: There are many possibilities today, from the simplest and fastest to the most complex, with which you will have the most control over your store… but we will see that together and in detail later in this article.

  • 6Learn how to manage your store: Now that your store has been created, you will have to add your products but also learn how to manage your sales, your stock, your customers, payments, etc. This will depend in part on the platform you choose in the previous paragraph, but overall, there is nothing very complicated about it since it is mostly a matter of learning and then being organized.

  • 7Launch advertising campaigns: You may have the most beautiful online store on the web, offer the best products at the best prices, but if nobody knows about it, it will be a total fiasco. Fortunately, advertising is there to help you.

  • 8Create and develop your social networks: An aspect not to be neglected because it is via social networks that you can keep in touch with your customers, but also promote your products for free to them, and especially find new ones.

  • 9Persevere and grow: Initially, you will have to work not in an intense way, but especially in a smart way in order not only to keep the ship afloat, but specifically to make your company grow. Never stop learning more about your business, sales, and marketing techniques, new trends, current events, etc. Be curious, innovative, and opportunistic, but above all, work every day to build a good and solid reputation around your brand.

So, of course, there are certainly other important points to pay attention to, but these seem to me to be the most crucial. Let’s look at some of them in more detail now.

a young entrepreneur in front of her computer Here is a nice little image to help motivate you 😊

How to choose a profitable niche for your online store?

But first, what is a niche? A niche is a market segment in which a company can find a group of people with common interests or needs. It is, therefore, a specific target audience that could potentially be interested in your product.

For example, if your target audience is vegan and cares about animal welfare, you will have a hard time selling them bear traps or guns that can shoot an elephant from 300 meters away.

I sincerely hope you see the problem here, because if you don’t, I’m sorry to tell you, but there is a problem. Because in fact, this target group will be more interested in vegan cookbooks, T-shirts with funny illustrations related to veganism, shoes and clothes made of fake leather, etc. Now, I’ve expressly taken a somewhat caricatured example to illustrate my point, but you should know that offering the right product to the right person is often a much more subtle “science” than that.

So, how do you find the right niche? In fact, there are 3 main criteria that determine whether a product will potentially sell well or not:

  • aA sufficiently strong demand.

  • bLittle or no competition in the market.

  • cA price adapted to the prospects.

In other words, this means that you will have more chances to sell your products if they are interesting to your target, the competition is not too high, and the price you ask for them seems appropriate to the offer (not too high, but not too low either).

And if you don’t have many ideas, here is a small list of the most popular niches. It’s up to you to find the one that suits you but, more importantly, the products or services that you could offer and that correspond to the criteria I just mentioned.

  • Weight loss and fitness
  • Health and well-being
  • Personal development
  • Cooking and food
  • Fashion for women, men, and children
  • Beauty and cosmetics
  • Travel
  • Personal finance and ways to earn money
  • Pets and animals
  • Parenting
  • Do-it-yourself
  • Photography
  • Video games
  • Japanese anime
  • Internet and technologies in general
  • Dating and finding “friends”

These are just a few examples, and since these niches are the most popular, they are also the most exploited. So, what if you have chosen a niche, but it is already overused or the demand seems non-existent? If it’s a niche that is close to your heart for some reason (family heritage, related to your passion, your expertise, etc.), it will probably be harder but not impossible. So, you will certainly have to work harder, perhaps also invest a little more in marketing, advertising campaigns, market research, etc.

Some people say that with a good sales technique you can sell anything to anyone, or as we sometimes hear in this business, “sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo”. It’s true that sometimes a simple detail, just a well placed argument or a convincing storytelling is enough to turn a flop into an interplanetary success.

And so, if this is your case, here are some ideas that could be useful to you:

  • Spy on the competition: And see what works for them and might be a better option for your customers.
  • Create or find a sub-niche: A niche can very often be broken down into multiple sub-levels that are more easily exploitable. For example, if your niche is pets, which is already very popular, then you can address exclusively to dog, cat, reptile, or other owners, or even to some very popular breeds (French bulldog, Scottish Fold, Boa constrictor, etc.). You can also specialize in food supplements for cats or toys for dogs. Here again, the possibilities are numerous.
  • Create or find an entirely new product: Every day new products arrive on the market, some of them being spectacularly successful. So, get your brain working, explore new trends and be inventive.
  • Find a partnership with a brand: Not easy, especially when you are starting out, but it will most likely boost your sales.
  • Offer limited edition products: People love what’s rare and, as you know, anything that’s rare often fetches a premium. Again, it’s up to you to think about it.
  • Set up an original and striking marketing campaign: Turn to professionals. It will cost you money, but it is often an investment that will pay off.
  • Be cheaper than the others: but while keeping the same quality—it will not be easy.
  • Change your niche to a less competitive one.

In any case, take the necessary time before deciding which niche you want to exploit because once you start, it will be more difficult to change it, especially if you have built all your marketing around it. And if you get stuck, if your sales don’t take off, think again because there are certainly many ways to fix this problem.

Best ecom niches Little bonus, here is a list of the best ecom niches of the moment. Source: nichepursuits.com

How do you know if a product will be a success or not?

It is sometimes quite unpredictable, but since men and women have been selling things to each other for so long, specialists have had plenty of time to study the subject. It turns out that people buy a product mostly:

  • Because they need it
  • Because they have “a crush” on it
  • Because it is popular

With this in mind, it is easier to find a product with a high sales potential. Let’s look at this in more detail.

  • 1The necessary product

    There are many examples, such as food, water, toothpaste, clothes or toilet paper… but let’s look at one category of products in particular: those that solve a specific or chronic problem. In this case, the product must represent a quick and efficient solution to a physical or emotional pain that the customer feels deeply affected by.

    Let’s take the example of mosquitoes. They keep people awake at night (but more importantly, they also kill). Someone who hasn’t slept a wink all night because of a pesky mosquito will most likely start a Google search the next day to find out how to get rid of it. If your store appears before his or her eyes, with items such as mosquito nets, repellents, anti-mosquito devices, etc., there is a good chance that he or she will click on your link.

  • 2The favorite product

    This is the one that provokes a strong and positive emotion when they see it. Concrete examples include jewelry, watches, certain clothes, or even that little lip gloss you spotted in a women’s magazine. You have certainly experienced this type of compulsive and irresistible purchase yourself. Even after hesitating for a long time, you finally gave in.

    That’s why, when you’re browsing through your suppliers’ catalogs, be sure to look for the items that are highlighted and those that catch your eye because, before you’re a merchant, you’re also a consumer like everyone else, after all.

  • 3The trendy product

    This is a trend that continues to grow over time. People are snapping up the trendy, whether it’s the latest Nike or Ray-Ban, the latest iPhone, but also, remember, the Rubik’s Cube or more recently fidget spinners, etc.

    Marketing agencies have understood this very quickly and have created partnerships between famous actresses or sportsmen and big brands. Kylie Jenner is sometimes paid thousands of dollars just to wear such an accessory or clothing. And it works!

A Rubik's cube and a fidget spinner A Rubik’s cube and a fidget spinner. Photo by Donald Tran

How to find a good supplier?

Once you have identified the niche(s) you want to exploit, as well as the products you will sell, it is now time to find one or more suppliers from whom you will find quality products at a good price. Of course, if you are the one producing what you are going to sell, I don’t think this section will interest you, but it won’t take long.

The easiest way is to start by searching the Internet with specific keywords, such as the name of the niche, the name of the products you need, and the place where you live. For example, if your store offers fitness equipment, search for “wholesale fitness equipment Seattle”. You can also use social platforms to find a supplier or reseller since most of them are present on these networks. There are even groups on Facebook that list them.

Whichever way you use, here are a few things to consider when making your choice:

  • Fast delivery: The provider doesn’t have to be located near you, or even in your country, but just make sure you get delivery in a timely manner. And don’t forget to consider any import fees as well.
  • Efficient customer service: Pay special attention to return and refund conditions for defective or faulty items.
  • A good reputation: Choose a supplier who has been working for a number of years and has a good reputation. Don’t hesitate to look for additional information on the web for each supplier, as well as any reviews from weary customers.
  • Good prices: Finding good prices is essential, but beware of abnormally low prices. This often hides something not so great (bad after-sales service or poor quality, for example).

How to choose the best solution to create your online store?

You have your niche, your product, your supplier… All that’s missing is your store. As I said in the introduction, you don’t necessarily need to have or acquire skills in website creation for this. There are a multitude of platforms and tools, both paid and free, at your disposal for this. So, let’s see what options are available to you.

1The marketplace

I’ll start with this option which is not really an option, at least not to create your online store. Many sellers use marketplaces because they allow you to offer products for sale very quickly, offer immediate and wide visibility to your products, manage the entire online payment process, etc.

There are many advantages but also some disadvantages. The main one being that you will have to pay a commission for each sale to the platform, but also variable fees depending on the type of payment made (credit card, PayPal, transfer…). Moreover, the competition is often very tough, and a simple search can return a multitude of very similar products. It is difficult to stand out from the others in these cases.

But it is a solution to consider if you have no experience in the field of online sales. And if it works, you can always create your own online store later.

Among the most popular marketplaces, there are Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, eBay, Walmart, but also Flipkart in India or Shopee in Asia. Most of them allow you to create a personalized sales space for free.

And then, some social networks, such as Instagram, also give you the possibility to sell directly through their platform.

2Online Website Builders (OWB)

These are cloud-based web hosting platforms that allow you to create websites without any coding knowledge. Some are designed to be simple to use while others offer more advanced features.

The website is built through a kind of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface that is generally very simple and intuitive, where each element that makes up each page is added by a simple “drag and drop”. Each of these elements can then be customized (colors, texts, spacing, etc.). It is therefore a very accessible solution, which will allow you to quickly build your online store and customize it according to your inspiration.

And the good news is that most of them offer either a free formula (but rather limited, let’s say), or a trial period without commitment on your part. Prices generally range from $15 to $300 USD, depending on the platform and the package you choose.

Here is a small selection of the best platforms specialized in online commerce:

  • Shopify: an excellent platform, very popular among young entrepreneurs, with a very good compromise between the price asked and the features offered. It’s probably also the best for beginners, and their plan starts at only $27/month. Plus, you can try it for free for 14 days.
  • BigCommerce: a comprehensive yet robust solution for professionals, perfect for multi-channel selling. Their plans start at $29.95 USD/month, but they don’t offer a trial period, unfortunately. Still, this is a good alternative to Shopify.
  • Ecwid: the cheapest on the market, a nice interface and efficient tools. They also propose a free offer (quite limited however).
  • Shift4shop: another solution that doesn’t look bad (but that I didn’t have the opportunity to test, I admit), with a very good quality/price ratio.
  • Autres OWB: there are other excellent platforms which, unlike the 4 previous ones, are both dedicated to E-Commerce but also to more classic sites (blog, showcase, etc.). Among the most famous, we find Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, or Zyro.
The Shopify user interface The Shopify user interface

3CMS

These solutions are much more technical but offer much more freedom. Unlike the OWBs mentioned above, you will have to take care of everything here: installation, hosting, domain name, etc. But, in return, you will have total control over your online store and will have almost no limits if in the future you want to grow your project.

Among these solutions there are:

  • WordPress: This is the solution I use for all my projects (except static sites). I have also created two online stores (with WooCommerce), and I must admit that I have always been very satisfied.
  • Prestashop : I created an online store 3 or 4 years ago with Prestashop. Very good CMS too.
  • Adobe commerce (Magento): I had the opportunity to test this solution. A bit more complex, in my opinion, but very robust.
  • OpenCart: Never tested, but this solution is also very popular, and has, like the 3 previous ones, very good ratings left by users.

I won’t go into more details here because there are too many things to say about CMS. But if you want to know more about these different solutions, I refer you to my article “What Are the Best Solutions to Create Your Website?“.

4Hire a professional to build your online store

Honestly, if you have the budget, this is probably the easiest and most efficient solution. He can either build this store with an OWB (Shopify, Wix, etc.) or a CMS (WooCommerce or Magento). The two big advantages here are that:

  • You will be sure to have a “turnkey” store, which is both clear, visually pleasing, intuitive, and above all will not contain any bugs.
  • You will have time to concentrate on other important and time-consuming tasks, such as finding products and suppliers.

Moreover, you will easily find a webmaster specialized in E-Commerce on platforms gathering freelancers, such as Fiverr, UpWork or freelancer.com.

So, that’s it for the options available to you for the construction of your online store. If you’re not sure about 2) and 3), I recommend watching presentation or training videos for each service on YouTube or Dailymotion. This way you will get a visual overview of the user interface and learn how it all works.

The 9 Secrets to Reaching Success With Your Online Store

Let’s end this article with some tips that will be very useful to achieve the success you are hoping for. First of all, focus on the satisfaction of your customers! There are 3 things I think you should focus on.

  • 1. Take care of the quality of the product: Post high-definition photos of all its facets, give as much information about it as possible, don’t lie about the quality, and avoid being too enthusiastic in your description.
  • 2. Take care of the shipping: send your packages as soon as possible, put a nice note with a discount coupon, and give customers the possibility to track them with a tracking code.
  • 3. Take care of your customer service: offer different communication channels (Email, WhatsApp, Messenger, phone number…), and above all, answer emails/messages without delay. Don’t hesitate if a defective item needs to be returned and immediately offer an exchange or refund.

If these 3 elements are combined, there is a good chance that your customers will come back to visit your store but also that they will become your best ambassadors to their friends, families, and colleagues.

There are other important points that I didn’t have time to cover in this article, so I’ll quickly go over them here.

  • 4. Don’t buy large quantities of stock right away: Start with just a few units; do some testing by comparing different variations of your ads (A/B) on Facebook, with different visuals, messages, targets… And when you find a product that seems to take off, order more stock, improve your communication and focus on it, but still look for other products that can be successful.
  • 5. Be present on social networks: You probably can’t imagine how important this is. Social networking is a way to communicate and keep in touch with your customers, introduce new products, inform them about the latest promotions, etc. So, post quality content and at regular intervals. I even advise entrusting the task to a “Community Manager” as soon as you have the possibility. He or she will take care of all this much better than you and will allow you to boost your sales while lightening your workload.
  • 6. Create a newsletter: A bit like social networks, it allows you to easily communicate on everything related to your store. Include a sign-up form for your newsletter from the start, something visible and convincing, and send one email per week, always on the same day and time.
  • 7. Encourage your customers to give feedback on the products they have purchased and the service you have provided. Ask them to send you one or more pictures of what they bought and publish the best reviews on each product page. Don’t hesitate to offer them a coupon as a reward.
  • 8. Use SEO tools such as Semrush, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest or BuzzSumo to spy on the competition and improve your visibility on search engines. Your good positioning on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. will progressively help you not to have to rely only on advertising to generate sales.
  • 9. Invest in targeted and thoughtful advertising campaigns on AdSense, Facebook Ads, Tik Tok, etc. If there is one post where you will have to spend money, it is this one. Don’t hesitate to call on professionals who will help you create eye-catching visuals (images or videos), powerful slogans, in short, convincing ads.

Conclusion

That’s it for now. I will probably add more to this article as there is so much to say on this vast subject. But I think you know the basics now. Some important topics (SEO, advertising campaigns, social networks…) have been covered in a very superficial way, and each of them would deserve a fully dedicated article. I will certainly do it as soon as possible.

I’ll just end this article by saying that the first few months of your business life are the most critical. Many businesses don’t make it past the 3-year mark. That’s why I advise you to work relentlessly, to never stop learning new things about the various subjects revolving around your business, and to have the courage to always question yourself, but especially the hindsight and the lucidity necessary to spot the mistakes you might have made.

I am personally convinced that for every problem there is (at least) one solution. If you encounter a problem, if your sales stagnate, or worse, if they collapse, you must react quickly and cleverly. Identify where the problem is and put solutions, even experimental or temporary ones, in place. And the best way to do this is, I can’t stress this enough, to see how and why your competitors are succeeding, what business techniques they use, what advertising campaigns they run, what products they offer, etc.

Don’t be afraid to ask for professional help either, especially in areas where you know you lack skills. As explained in the article, there are ways to find highly qualified freelancers for not too much money, who can help you find an effective solution to unblock a delicate situation for you.

EcoTips

Environmental and climate change issues are more than ever at the heart of the concerns of this 21st century, which is why I am proposing a few ideas that will enable you to limit the negative impact that the implementation of this idea could have.

These solutions that I suggest are sometimes largely insufficient to compensate for these negative impacts, such as carbon offsetting. Unfortunately, there is not always an ideal and 100% efficient solution, far from it. And if you have others, please do not hesitate to share them in the comments below.

I usually reserve the “Ecotips” for posts in the Ideas category, but I’ll make a small exception here because I think there’s important things to say. The sale of material goods often has a very negative impact on our environment, for several reasons.

  • The raw materials used to manufacture the product: often plastic that will end up polluting the waters of our rivers and oceans. Sometimes much more toxic substances are used (glues, paints, etc.), some of which are even banned in Europe or the US because of their proven dangerousness.
  • The manufacturing process: often very polluting and energy consuming, as for example most of the products coming from Asia (and not only from China) where the energy used is still massively produced by coal.
  • The sending of parcels: which often travel thousands of kilometers on board of huge cargo ships or by plane, consuming indecent quantities of fuel during each trip.
  • Social and human conditions: often deplorable, not to mention child labor… Do you remember the collapse of the Rana Plaza, the factory that manufactured our clothes, located west of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and which killed more than 1000 people?

Some people will tell me that things are changing, that the big brands have become aware of the problem and put solutions in place… Unfortunately, these solutions are not enough and sometimes even look like simple greenwashing.

I won’t go into more detail on this, but just know that there are ways you can use to limit the negative impact of your store, such as opting for ethical products, possibly organic, avoiding plastic, using biodegradable packaging, etc…

There is also a large market that is opening up right now (started a few years ago), so this is an opportunity not to be missed. Try to be part of the solution, rather than the problem…

And then, put a maximum of social and ecological ethics in your store. It’s trendy and, therefore, good for the business and the planet.

This article could be completed or improved with your help. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any question, a relevant remark, a feedback, additional information or spotted any error.Go to comments

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