Each and every month, roughly 7,000 people go to Google and look up “how to sell online.” Just for the record, this number is extremely impressive for such a specific search term. Do you wonder why I say so? The very fact that you’re reading this is a justification for my statement and you’re here for answers! In this article, we show you what selling online is all about and the available options.
Here are the most popular questions people ask about selling online.
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How does it all work, and do I need an eCommerce store or website?
For starters, all that is required of you is to list your offering “somewhere” on a website, a social media platform, or your own site as well. From here, you should have tools in place that would allow people to buy things from you. One notable fact is that having an online store website opens up a lot more opportunities.
Yes, you can sell products and services straight from your social media profiles like Facebook which also allows you to set up a shop page. On the shop page, you can list your products for sale.
What can I sell?
The short answer is: You can sell absolutely anything you wish. The internet has grown so much that lately, it can handle almost anything. To be specific, you can sell stuff from physical products, digital downloads, services, event tickets, and appointment booking to subscriptions.
How to sell online
There are a number of paths you can take when starting your adventure in learning how to sell online. As we said above, the most intuitive path for most people is to have an online store website built. While not necessarily wrong, there are simpler ways to sell online. Fortunately, there exist several platforms out there that make the whole process. These include services like Shopify, WooCommerce, and others. However, having your own online store is considered the final stage when building up an online selling operation. When you have your own store, you can connect all your other online selling channels to it.
This method allows you to create a more personal relationship with the customer. The biggest part is building a presence on social media (a company profile), getting followers, and finally listing products to those followers directly on the platform. With Facebook Shop pages, for example, you can handle almost everything handled in one place.
Selling via joint ventures
This method of selling requires diving into a partnership with other businesses. You can either pay them for access to their audience or barter something of yours in exchange.
For starters, this may be a very tough venture although it’s a great option later on.
Selling via email
People often say that they do not read emails, but they are not saying the truth. One of the most effective methods of contacting businesses and individuals to date is via email. The tough side of it is the need to have access to a list of email addresses initially. With the right resilience though, you should build a list of your own preferably using newsletters. Alternatively, you can buy another person’s email list although that’s clearly not so efficient.
Selling through Google Ads or Facebook Ads
This method is one of the most effective methods out there. To get a Google or Facebook Advert, you pay for exposure in people’s news feeds or regional Google results. To benefit, you have to point your advert to a sales page you own. Fortunately, learning how to sell online with Facebook ads can be easy and at the same time, this is the fastest way to test a business idea.
Drop shipping
Drop shipping is a sales method where you act as a middleman between the product supplier and the customer. Simply put, the customer buys something from you, but whatever they buy is shipped directly from the manufacturer to the customer without your touch.
With this method, you can offer an ambiguous catalog of products without even a warehouse. You might earn small per product, but the amount might make up!
Selling via Amazon
Amazon is unlike anything else in the online market world. The brand is the biggest eCommerce marketplace and thanks God, it is very easy to sell with Amazon.
One of the methods is by listing your products on Amazon normally whilst they get you, customers. Eventually, you have to fulfill all orders yourself.
Another method is when you take part in the Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) program where you send your products to Amazon. Now, it’s Amazon that fulfills all orders for you.
Thirdly, you may sign a contract with Amazon and agree to sell your products to Amazon at a given price. With this method, Amazon sells the products on its platform and handles everything from start to finish.
You should remember though that each method might have certain forms of fees and challenges.
Selling on eBay
This selling method is mostly auction-based you never know what the final sale price of your product is going to be. However, you experience more direct interaction with the buyers.
That aside, if you have the right products, you might make a fortune on eBay! Just like with Amazon, there are already tons of people looking for all kinds of stuff there.
Selling on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace
This method of selling online works by limiting you to a regional audience, but locally. With this method, you can post an advert on a platform and you might be found by people in your country. You are bound to enjoy this if you have locally needed products.
Use Jumia
Jumia is probably the biggest marketplace in Africa. The company is so common that most people no longer worry about importing goods from abroad. All you have to do is sign up as a seller on Jumia or Jumia food and their app will automatically list you to relevant or nearby potential clients. This platform is very reliable if you’re living in Africa.
Use Jiji
If you’re living in Uganda and you’re looking for a way to sell your products countrywide, you should try Jiji Uganda. The simple app supports the upload of products, chatting, and even running ads. You might get the pair of shoes sold within secs if you use this platform in Uganda.
That was our list of the top 10 methods to sell your products or services online. What do you think of this list and did we miss out on something? Please nudge us in the comments section.