The feeling of making money online while you sleep is unrivalled and is the reason more people will keep going into eCommerce. While most self-proclaimed entrepreneurs will make it seem easy, it is far from it. Without the right tools and patience, you’ll find yourself on a slippery slope of losses and frustration.

The problem is most business owners have their eCommerce website created and sit back and expect the orders to roll in. it doesn’t work that way. Here are vital steps you need to take to take your eCommerce business from zero to a hundred.

If people don’t see what you’re selling, then how will they place an order? You can’t buy what you can’t see. This is why generating both paid and organic traffic is key to a successful eCommerce business. Don’t start throwing money to advertising agencies without setting up your inbound marketing, content marketing, and social media marketing strategy. These organic ways of generating traffic will offer you a better return on investment than paid ads in the long run.

Search Engine Optimisation is everything you do to make your products visible on google, bing, and other search engines. First, ensure you set up your eCommerce website with Google and Bing shopping if you want your products to send automated feeds to prospective customers. You will need to create a Google Merchant Center account and create a product feed. You can also use platforms like Shopify and wooCommerce if you want fast, automated feeds.

Hiring a freelance SEO strategist will be a wise investment to avoid hit-and-miss runs. Using services like Ubbersuggest will help you discover keywords related to your business that are currently ranking. Don’t be carried away by the highest-ranking keywords because they are more competitive and will take a longer time to rank. Focus on keywords people are using but aren’t getting satisfactory answers on Google Search.

Also, ensure you use the right keywords as tags for your product images.

Social media gives you an opportunity to be personal with your customers, which buyers love. It gives you the ability to show them you care about their needs and that you are working hard to satisfy them. Studies show that business owners who use up to three channels to promote their business make 190% more sales than those with one channel. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter should be your go-to channels to expand your brand.

For startups, do one platform at a time. Only move to the next channel once you generate reasonable traffic in the first one.
Regarding social media marketing, users prefer visual content to written content. Make sure you invest in quality graphic designs and video content that are catchy and highlight your brand identity.

Use social media influencers. It doesn’t have to be Kim Kardashian or Cristiano Ronaldo. It can be a random Instagram influencer who shares a similar passion with the product your brand sells and has a reasonable amount of organic followers.

Social media gives you an opportunity to be personal with your customers, which buyers love. It gives you the ability to show them you care about their needs and that you are working hard to satisfy them. Studies show that business owners who use up to three channels to promote their business make 190% more sales than those with one channel. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter should be your go-to channels to expand your brand.

For startups, do one platform at a time. Only move to the next channel once you generate reasonable traffic in the first one.
Regarding social media marketing, users prefer visual content to written content. Make sure you invest in quality graphic designs and video content that are catchy and highlight your brand identity.

Use social media influencers. It doesn’t have to be Kim Kardashian or Cristiano Ronaldo. It can be a random Instagram influencer who shares a similar passion with the product your brand sells and has a reasonable amount of organic followers.

Everyone hates spam emails, but it’s not spamming if you speak to the right people. A good email marketing strategy will give you the opportunity to reach your target audience on a personal level. If you do it right, you will turn leads into customers and subscribers.

There’s a term in social media marketing called social listening. It is the process of actively searching for things your target audience is saying about your brand, competitors or the industry. This will help you better understand your customers’ needs better and help you create content to suit their needs.

One way of building an online community is by creating social media group pages and forums for people who share common ideas related to your product or industry to share their views. Information like this is a powerful tool because you will know;

• Complaints your target audience have that haven’t been sorted out by any product
• What they wish you could add to your service or product to improve it
• New trends in the industry
• What your competitors are doing that they like and prefer your product/service

You might be overwhelmed by the operational things you must do to help your business make more sales, which is understandable. However, you don’t need to be an web/digital professional at any of the abovementioned skills. If you are on a low budget, prioritise things like content and SEO if you have time to learn each skill. It is best to delegate these digital tasks to professionals who have previously worked with businesses to give you more valuable insights.