Online shopping is at an all-time high and is predicted to keep growing exponentially. Experts also predict that by the year 2023, the United States alone will hit 300 million online shoppers. That’s more than 90% of the entire population.

With the uncertainty of COVID-19 job loss, more and more people are turning to a second or third income to make ends meet. Now is a great time to try your hand at an online business.

If you’ve already got an online business, it’s a great idea to educate yourself as much as possible.

Whichever of these categories you fall into, you should keep reading if you want to succeed and learn five great tips as you venture into the e-commerce world.

1. What Interests You?

The first thing you need to figure out is what most interests you. What you’re passionate about? What’s going to keep you pushing through long nights and lean times, especially at the beginning?

The good thing is you probably already have a pretty good idea of what the answers to those questions are. If you don’t, that’s okay. It just takes a little brainstorming and jotting a few ideas down to see what sparks your interest.

2. What Do You Want to Say?

So, you figured out what you want to sell. Now it’s time to figure out what you want to say and how you want to say it. Think of it as your mission statement to the world. This will be your “brand.”

This may come easy to some and not so easy to others. It depends on what you decide to sell and what type of seller you want to be.

For instance, do your want your brand to be loud? Do you want it to be smart? Do you want it to be pretty? Do you want it to be rugged or vintage?

All of these will work. You just have to make sure they work for you first. You have to be aligned with the cause, so to speak. If you do that, you’re already setting yourself and your online store up for success.

Remember, there are almost 2 billion websites on the internet so what you say and how you say it will help you stand out.

3. Product Cost

Now that we’ve got the fun creative stuff out of the way let’s get into logistics and bottom line. For any business online or otherwise, you need to handle these to get positive results.

Many online retailers only produce their products as they’re sold. This is where you have a big advantage over brick-and-mortar stores.

4. Shipping Costs

Shipping costs are another important thing to consider. Shipping boxes and other shipping supplies can cost you a lot of money. So it’s essential to do your research and find the best deals.

5. Advertising

Likely, you don’t have a huge budget for marketing and advertising. That’s ok. In today’s world, you can do your own advertising. If you have or build a good social media following, you can save tons of cash. Plus, several websites are already in place just to help small online retailers.

Your Online Business

Hopefully, after reading this, you’re extremely excited to start or improve your online business. You’ve got some basic but important tips to use to make the best online store possible. Now it’s time to make it happen. You can do this!

If you enjoyed reading this article, check out our Business section for more great tips.