If you want to open an online business and have a low budget, the ideal would be to use an online store pre-design. Understand that to set up an online store of ecommerce, any company will ask you for some money because it is a project that requires some investment in time and resources. In practice, creating an online store with a good user experience is crucial, but there are other crucial aspects such as bringing visitors to your online store. What happens in most cases 80% of the investment is allocated to the construction of the online store and there is an expectation that only the construction of the online store will achieve sales but in reality if you have an excellent online store and you don’t get traffic to it will get any sale.

To help you, we recommend the platform that allows you to create an online store on a pre-designed template (There are several: Ecwid, Shopify, Prestashop…). The one we recommend is Ecwid. A Ecwid is one of the best online platforms worldwide for building online stores that has become famous for its integrations and ease of use. Here, creating your online store takes just a few minutes and you have software at your disposal that integrates with platforms such as wordpress, Drupal e Joomla, as well as the possibility to create an online store automatically in the facebook and no instagram in a few moments. In addition, the Ecwid does you the favor of taking care of all the technological side of your online store , as well as offering dozens of payment solutions, so that you only have to worry about managing the business.

Advantages of using a free online store :

www.ecwid.com

There are some interesting videos on the ECWID website:

If you were just looking for a platform to create your online business at a reduced or free cost, we hope you have clarified it, if you still have doubts about why you should have an online store , we explain.

Importance of having an online business

• The world is increasingly becoming a digital space. Everyone has a computer, cell phone or both. With these convenience devices, physical spaces become less and less required, everything can be done online. We won’t say that physical spaces have lost their usefulness, but in this era, not selling online is a mistake for any company that wants to succeed.
• Digital space costs much less than physical space. In an exhibition venue such as a shopping mall, renting a physical space is quite expensive, not to mention theft could be one of your concerns. With a site of ecommerce it reduces costs and problems and increases exposure. Of course you will have to invest, nothing is done without investment, but instead of investing in a physical space, you can invest in your own business, something much more beneficial .
• Can sell worldwide. With an online business, limitations are gone. On the internet your business is exposed to everyone, the concept of a local business that only sells in the region ends and there is a global business that sells to the world!

Now that you understand the importance of having an online business, let’s explain what factors to consider when designing your ecommerce plan.

Find out if there is a market for your business
If you want to invest in an online store, it is essential to know whether or not there is a market for your product. Google trends allows you to do just that. With this tool, in addition to concluding whether or not there is a market, it is possible to know where and when your product generates more interest.

Another essential tool to find out if your product has a market is the ubersuggests. With this tool, in addition to being able to analyze your product’s monthly traffic, you have at your disposal an array of keywords accompanied by search volume, which will help you rank yourself in Google and get conversions .

How much do you want to invest

As said before, without investment your business doesn’t grow. Investing in marketing is fundamental when it comes to selling online. These conversions range from 0.5 to 1.5%, that is, for every 1000 visitors, 5 to 15 buy your product. Bearing this in mind, it is essential to create an investment plan in order to recover your money and simultaneously expand your online business.

Digital Marketing for E-commerce

It is important to realize that having sales needs to have constant visits from potential customers. The only way to achieve a volume and consistency of visits to your online store is to have several sources of traffic that allow you to be profitable.

Free traffic sources vs paid traffic sources.

Nowadays, nothing is completely free because there is always an investment of time to put into practice any digital action plan. The most important thing will always be to understand the cost benefit of any digital marketing action for ecommerce.

SEO

Most experts will recommend SEO for your online store but the reality is that in practice you will only get some amount of traffic from 6 months to 1 year of work. Therefore, we recommend a good SEO strategy for your store from day 1 of your online store promotion to get traffic at a reduced cost in the medium term but it will have to be complemented with other traffic sources so that it is possible to sell equally in the short term. deadline.

Social Networks

Networks can indeed be an excellent source of short-term traffic but it is important to understand how each social network works.

Note: Social networks become effective when we communicate to a segment that is interested in our products.

Facebook:

Facebook becomes a social network with a very low organic reach, so it is important to understand that it will be necessary to promote the posts to the right segment to achieve results in the short term.

Instagram:

The instagram despite seeing its reach increasingly reduced continues to have some impact especially through stories. Stories are a good sales channel, always focusing on an interested audience. Tip: From 10000 followers unlocks the option to be able to add links in stories.

Pinterest:

In some countries pinterest does not bring a very large volume of traffic to your online store but the truth is that Pinterest has proved to be an interesting place to make online sales due to the conversion rate it presents. That is, on pinterest with few visits it is possible to achieve sales.

Linkedin:

Linkedin is a professional network but for several products (Ex: Digital Courses / Saas) it can be an interesting sales network because its organic reach remains quite high compared to other social networks.

Paid Advertising

To achieve short-term results, it is important to invest in buying traffic. However, the profitability of each traffic source and each campaign must be analyzed to understand which will be sustainable in the medium / long term.

Google Shopping

Google Shopping is an excellent tool for promoting your online store’s products. Basically, with Google Shopping you can present your products in one of the largest online stores in the world and pay only for each click, that is, pay only when someone is interested.

Google Search Network

The google search network can be an excellent strategy for digital products or services where users are in the habit of searching on google and have a strong purchase intention. Tip: In most cases if your online store products have a very low margin this strategy will not be profitable.

Youtube Ads

The visual impact of youtube combined with good segmentation will allow you to achieve a strong visual impact. As advertising in video format is much superior to advertising in text format. Tip: This experimentally works with products that are currently being promoted.

Facebook Ads

With Facebook Ads, the key factor is finding the ideal targeting for your online store products. In fact, with facebook ads you can achieve an interesting return.

Instagram Ads

As we said before, stories can be an excellent way to sell, so advertising in stories is a powerful resource in terms of sales. Note: Again the video resource can be a determining factor.

Pinterest Ads:

Your conversion rate for online sales and the fact that there is less competition are determining factors to consider this feature to drive traffic to your online store.

External Online Stores

Selling your products in online stores external to yours can be an excellent strategy to sell the products of your online store, particularly when these online stores have a high visibility like the one in the online store of Amazon. (Yes it is possible to sell your products on Amazon but there are a series of requirements that must be met and some costs).

Facebook Store: To create a store on facebook you just need to have a facebook account and a business page. Creating a facebook store brings you exposure to the world’s largest social network, combined with the ease and convenience of any online store.

Instagram Store: A social network where around 130 million users view shopping posts is the dream of any ecommerce, right? Instagram is that platform. Just have a business account and a business page on facebook and you can start your sales.

Sell on third-party online stores: One way to ensure sales is to sell on third-party online stores. The important thing is to understand what the requirements are to be able to enter. Some examples: Dott.pt | Amazon.com | Fnac.pt (It’s usually in the footer of the site).

Do better than the competition

Understand that your biggest competitor is you. If there are thousands of ecommerce companies selling the same product you are going to sell, make sure there are few to sell like you. Focus on the details, have something that your competition doesn’t have, it could be fast deliveries, it could be offers on the purchase of two or more products, anything your competition isn’t doing and can increase your prominence and conversions from your online store. Remember that innovation generates more impact and more impact generates more conversions!

Plan stocks and deliveries

The ideal, depending on what you sell, is to gradually increase your stock and the variety of products you offer. As demand increases you make the necessary decisions. When opening an online store, you should have a space to store your merchandise. However, if that’s a problem for you, you can always talk to your supplier and set up an agreement where they stock your stock in exchange for a small percentage of sales.

Another factor that has to be very well planned in ecommerce is the logistics of deliveries. Errors or delays in deliveries can be the bane of your online store, so whether it’s by mail or by contract with a distributor, make sure the product arrives at the customer’s destination on time.

The reality is that in a market like ecommerce, it’s never easy. Commitment must be constant, investment must be minimal and knowledge must be vast. If you are having difficulties selling online, Remarketing.pt  has a team of professionals prepared to make your goal of having an ecommerce successful!