A guide to selling online

Econsultancy has recently published a report titled 'Selling Online: A how-to guide for small businesses'. The report covers the whole process of selling online, from market research, assessing the options for selling online, selecting an eCommerce platform, to digital marketing and social media. We thought you might be interested in some of the items included in the report, so we've pulled out a couple of highlights here:

Ongoing skills: Any company with an eCommerce presence is going to need to maintain their website once the build is complete. Ensure that you have members of staff who have the following skills to get the best out of your site: copywriting, online marketing (even if you're employing an agency to help you, you need to understand this field in order to assess the quality of what they're doing for you), web analytics, photography/photo-editing, customer service, and fulfillment and inventory management.

Online marketplaces: The report considers the advantages and disadvantages of selling via an online marketplace (such as Amazon or eBay) in addition to selling through your own website. One massive advantage is the traffic and audience that marketplaces can provide. Interestingly, the report suggests that serious online sellers should always have their own site in addition to any shopfront they have on an online marketplace, to reduce the risk of being dependent on the marketplace.

Shopping comparison engines: The report looks at the importance of shopping comparision engines for some types of product, and compares the various ways you can get your products listed on them. Again, these are a great way to bring your products to the attention of your audience, but the downside is that they're obviously highly price-sensitive.

Usability and conversion: The report looks at the common areas that cause problems in a site's usability, and how you can increase your conversion rate by ironing out these problems. It gives some suggestions for ways in which you can improve the usability of your site using Google Analytics, a usability audit, or usability testing.

Email marketing: Obviously, email marketing is a must for online shops, and the report looks at the different models for email marketing, and how to improve the effectiveness of any email campaign.

With so many of our clients selling online we thought you might find this report a useful resource. And if you've got your own pearls of wisdom about selling online, share your expertise by leaving a comment!

Econsultancy is a great source of information. We're members, and we find it invaluable. Their blog is a great place to keep up with news. We hope you find it useful!