I have started noticing recently, that a lot of young men and women have started to turn to create a free online store on Facebook or Instagram.
I am really glad that youths began to understand the possibilities and advantages of the Internet, and began trying to find innovative ways to work and profit financially through it.
But what worries me a bit often is that many of these stores that their owners announce their opening do not withstand some challenges and competition, whether with their online or real counterparts.
It takes only a few weeks to find many of these stores have disappeared, and the owners give up and abandon the idea completely.
This is why I made this topic, so that you do not also make mistakes that others make when starting their free online stores.
Note: Here we will talk about how to operate a free online store and market it through Facebook or Instagram.
There was a girl who lived in a small village, and every day she communicated with the people of her small village and communicated with her. This girl did not have a good income to help her with the demands of life.
But what made her somewhat happy was her good relationship with the people of her small village, and her realization that she had a unique talent to communicate with them at any time.
As one of this village, she was well aware that they all needed a product that would protect them from the scorching heat, while they were on the move to spend their daytime work.
Her mind was busy with this topic and she could not think of anything else, but after deep thinking she decided that she would be the owner of this product.
She started making 3 types of hats, one fit men, one fit women, and the other designed it to fit children.
After several months, and due to her unique ability to communicate with the people of her village easily and offer them her product, she became the owner of the largest hat store in the village.
It is interesting that, after a short period of time, she was not only selling hats to the people of her village, but to many neighboring villages as well.
You also my friend, you can have a success story like the heroine of this story, by owning a free online store on the Internet.
What do I need to start a free online store
You can manufacture this product yourself, or buy it from a factory or large wholesale store.
If you do not have a clear idea of the product that you will sell through your online store, you can follow the following steps:
Think deeply about the common need for your friends list on Facebook or Instagram. Don't just rely on your own ideas, but try to have separate discussions between samples of your potential clients
Ask yourself what if I offered through my online store people would buy.
Make a list containing 5-7 different ideas for different products that you think you have on demand, write them in your project agenda with a detailed description of how each idea is implemented, ways to obtain the product, how to deliver it to the buyer and the method or means of payment that you will accept.
Sort all the ideas that you came up with and reduce them to just two ideas, based on your capabilities and your own circumstances.
You can choose only one idea, but I recommend choosing two ideas to make an idea under implementation, and the other as a backup in case the first does not succeed.
2- A camera with some skills in photography
The images component is extremely important and strongly influences everyone's purchasing decision. The picture is the window that will express the quality of your product, and you must pay special attention to this element.
I will not tell you here to buy a professional camera for thousands of pounds, or to take a professional course in photography, but what I would just say is that you have to have good pictures of your product that attract attention in order to get purchase orders.
3- Some communication and persuasion skills
I say it honestly here. If you do not have this method and patience that every buyer prefers, then you should assign this job to another.
You have to fully understand the nature of the product you will be selling, then you can talk about it with understanding and persuasion. You need to be patient and understand buyers' concerns at times, or help them make a buying decision through the information you provide about your product.
4- A dedicated page on Facebook or Instagram
This is where you will display your product images, and from where you will communicate with your customers. You will receive purchase orders through it as well.
You can create a page or group on Facebook and another on Instagram, but in my opinion, I prefer to focus in a direction at the beginning, and then you can expand.
5- Establishing a fixed, clear and predefined system for dealing with your clients
You have to set a system that defines the method and manner of dealing between you and clients. This includes:
Payment method and timing
Although payment is hand in hand upon receipt is the best option for both the seller and the buyer, which is followed by many large stores such as Jumia, there are other methods of payment such as telecommunications companies that provide payment systems through the mobile phone.
You also have to set conditions for exchange or return. With more expensive products, you have to come up with the idea of paying in advance, either in full or in part. Also, you can consider the option of paying in installments, which may attract more customers.
Delivery system
Will it be home delivery, or does the buyer have to come to you to pick up his product?
Price stability or setting up room for negotiation.
Price fixing in itself is a very important element and must be dealt with wisely.
It is worth noting that negotiating prices may bring some problems, but remember that people like discounts.
You have to develop a solid plan for this.
Tips for creating a successful free online store
1- You can first be ready with a small amount of the product, and then you can make it bigger, you will learn which colors are in demand the most, and which designs your audience likes best.
2- Be ready for any level of demand.
In order to be ready for any number of purchase orders, you have to have a good relationship with the source of the product that you sell, or to have the materials and manpower that enable you to manufacture the product in the fastest time.
3- Price is the most effective factor in the success of your online store. It
will cost you almost nothing but the price of the product in order to start your free online store, as there is no rent, electricity bills, and taxes, so you will have a great competitive advantage compared to the stores on the ground, you have to use that well.
4- Don't traditionally just do what other people are doing.
Rather, own your own online store that expresses your own ideas, and with which you will sell your own product.
Your product, which you choose yourself, know well about and are primarily interested in what it has to offer.
Always those who achieve great successes are innovative people who have their own idea, which always occupies their minds and are interested in it, so their work comes out sincere and they are convinced of what they offer.
5- Clothes and accessories are not the only option to start your free online store.
You can sell anything you can imagine on the Internet.
You can sell something that you make yourself, or create an idea for a specific product and find someone to design it for you and you are the only owner of this product. Broaden your perceptions, don't be limited, and think outside the box.
6- Use appropriate method to communicate with potential buyers.
There is no need for your advertisements to be in English, unless you want to lose all potential customers who are not fluent in English, and there is no need to follow a certain method in your publications, such as always ignoring talking about prices, but try everything and try every method to reach the best possible result.
7- Be well-versed in what your competitors are doing.
Not to copy what they do and do the same, too, but to be familiar with the behaviors, sales volumes and prices of your competitors.
8- Long breath is the advantage of everyone who achieves success, especially in the world of the Internet.
Therefore, when creating an online store, be patient and do not despair quickly, and try constantly to be innovative in displaying your goods, you must be flexible in modifying whatever you suspect is a reason hindering your success.
How do I market my free online store
Marketing is the key element in creating a successful online store, and you should give it special attention and time.
Here is a set of the most important points that every online store owner should pay attention to.
1- Marketing your online store must start before creating the store itself.
Tell your acquaintances, friends and relatives that you will soon create an online store, and offer them the products that you will sell in your store.
Work to achieve your first sales through your own circle of acquaintances, this will be very useful to you when you start marketing.
2- Be in constant contact with potential buyers and answer all their questions, and provide them with all capabilities and facilities for payment methods or product delivery methods.
3- I ask everyone who has bought you to tell their friends about your store and their buying experience.
4- Use paid ads on Facebook,
you can at some point invest some money in order to advertise your store to the largest possible number to achieve more sale.
5- You must have sufficient faith in your project idea before starting to implement it.
Nothing good is achieved in this life except with effort, fatigue and persistence.
6- It is better to start your project before one of the occasions such as Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, one of the holidays or famous occasions.
This will inevitably make you achieve good sales, due to the increased demand for many products on these occasions.
7- Believe in what you do and speak in your posts as someone who believes in what is presented and trusts that his product is valuable.
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