Over the past few years, many of you have learned that it is easier than ever to be an entrepreneur. All a person needs is a product, an internet connection, a responsive website, and they have a business.
The number of online businesses is continuing to grow. Today, almost anyone can become an online entrepreneur. Some companies make the products themselves (Etsy), while others purchase products to sell online (eBay or Amazon).
However, before you jump on the bandwagon, you need to already have some basics in place, like products to sell and a website to sell them on.
Of course, the hardest task is figuring out the next “big thing” that will skyrocket your eCommerce business. As you can imagine, there are many opinions and approaches on what products to sell online.
In the end, you are the only one who can decide what is a good product to sell. With that said, we have some general guidelines to help you get started.
Finding your ideal client
First, you should know the target market you want to sell to. You certainly don’t want the market to be too small to generate significant recurring revenue, but you also don’t want the market to be too big to be too competitive. Before choosing a niche, determine the size of your market.
Once you've identified your market, learn as much as you can about the people who make up it. Ask yourself what problems do they face and what products can solve them?
It helps in building a profile of your ideal client. Are they predominantly male or female? What age group do they fall into? What are their likes and dislikes? Who do they turn to when searching for solutions?
By knowing your audience closely, you’ll be able to better understand their needs and how to meet them.
Promotional Products
You might be asking yourself where to start searching for product ideas to sell in your store. The best indicators are sometimes the most obvious.
When you browse an online store, check out its products and pay attention to its promotional items. These sections typically contain their highest performing products. They are important to note because they change frequently. Keeping up with the latest hot-selling items will inform the types of products you choose to sell in your online store.
Amazon even has a bestsellers page where you can view over 20.000 products. On these types of pages, you can steal great product ideas for your business. When browsing these pages, click through to the products and see which items are recommended as companion items. Pairing related items together is a great way to cross-sell and increase revenue per purchase.
Competitive Analysis
Understanding your competition can give you valuable insights into which products to sell. Finding a market to sell in is as simple as researching your competitors, finding out what they are doing and comparing their ideas to what you intend to do.
The reality is that businesses that don’t make money won’t stay in business. You should focus on businesses or sellers that thrive in a specific niche. Look at their past and roughly determine their trajectory. In the process of comparing multiple businesses and sellers, you’ll discover patterns between the types of items they sell that can validate whether you should start bringing those specific types of products to your market.
Another trick you can employ is to check your competitors’ social media accounts to see the level of engagement their brand posts are getting from customers. A large amount of active participation is a sign of the popularity of these products. On the other hand, excessive complaints and negative feedback are great opportunities to find out if there are product categories where you can offer better value.
If you’ve run out of ideas for finding popular sales products, here’s a tip: Check your credit card statements to see what you’re ordering the most online. Go back six months and review your purchases to see how often you purchased online products. If you buy the same item once a month, there is a really good chance that someone else will do the same thing or want to buy something similar.
Current demand
The question you should ask yourself when looking for the right product to sell is, “Is there an existing demand?” Future trends are predictions of current demand growth, so start your search by analyzing current demand.
Once you complete a competitive analysis, choose a niche you are confident in and determine the most popular products being searched for with Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner.
Google Trends is a great free tool for finding total search volume. With your niche in mind, think about every type of product and product variation and search through Google Trends. You can then compare which of these products are trending in searches. Filter all the top performing products and proceed to the next step.
Keywords
Google Keyword Planner is a tool that will cost you some money to use on its own; however, it is worth purchasing when used in conjunction with a Google AdWords account as this is included in the cost.
It is one of the best keyword analysis platforms in the market and will help you understand the best keywords to target the products you want to market now.
When you're looking for keyword ideas for a product, enter a general keyword in the text field in the Find New Keywords section. The keywords populated will be directly related to your product category. This will most likely result in highly competitive keywords. An advanced trick you can use to get around the most generic and competitive keywords is to copy and paste a category page from another niche competitor’s website into the text field. You’ll see a list of keywords that your competitors are unlikely to know.
You’ll also see the search volume averages for your keywords and the level of competition they face. Your task is to find relevant, high-traffic keywords for your products that have the least competition. Try setting search filters to exclude high competition and get at least 1,000 searches per month.
Finally, a good sign that a niche is strong is if it has a wide variety of long-tail keyword variations. This indicates that your product is being searched for to the point where multiple variations are needed.
investigation
Don't underestimate the power of research to gather information. Once you identify your customer profiles, use Google Forms to solicit feedback from valuable customers and send out surveys through your social media channels. Also reach out to your colleagues, friends, and family to help you provide feedback. This is probably the quickest way for you to get a sense of direction. The information you gather will help you come up with a minimum viable product, which you can then test in a specific market.
Pricing strategy
Quickly search for images of the products you want. When you shop for similar products, keep their prices in mind. They should always link to your product page on Google. Build a list of these products and prices for reference and determine where your product fits in the comparison. This will give you a good foundation for developing your pricing strategy from the beginning. If you're not sure the price you're charging is right, maintaining a profit margin of 30% or more is a good sign that you're pricing effectively.
Selling Tips for E-Commerce Products
Of course, within your target market, there will be good and bad products that can potentially solve customer problems. Learn about these products; list the qualities that make them suitable or unsuitable.
For example, if you have identified a target market of women who want to buy picture frames, don't just sell them to the average lady. This market is already very saturated. Instead, consider offering adjustable, custom-designed picture frames. Unique items like adjustable picture frames will fit better in their home and give them more freedom in interior design.
weight
Correct product weight is an underestimated consideration for most online sellers. Make sure the product you offer is not heavy. Keep in mind that the heavier it is, the more it will cost to ship.
It is recommended that the heaviest product for a drop-shipped item should be around one pound. If you plan to sell heavy products, readjust your shipping strategy. Generally, keeping your products under the one-pound weight limit will keep your costs low. Selling items that weigh less can also protect you from any damage that may occur during shipping.
Repeat purchase
If you sell durable items that last a long time, it’s hard to get recurring revenue. Many people like to sell items that are intended for repeat consumption. The previous problem is that you are always looking for new consumer groups to market to. If you have a quality product that encourages repeat purchases, you don’t have to attract as many new customers. Your products will also have a longer buying cycle.
Testing the purchase process
Test your suppliers. Always order products from their website and pay attention to the delivery time, the quality of the purchased goods, and the condition and appearance of the packaging. These factors greatly influence your customer experience and how they perceive your brand.
Low turnover rate
Consider focusing on products that don’t require annual updates so you don’t neglect your customers and constantly change your website to accommodate every update. By selling items with a longer life cycle, you can make your capital last longer.
Think globally, not locally
As globalization grows, working with international suppliers has become a more viable option. Not only can they reduce your bulk ordering costs, but they can also provide products that are not available locally.
Any items that cannot be purchased locally will be purchased online. This is your main opportunity to cash in on your online store, so if you’re not super niche, avoid easily buying local items from your store’s offerings.
Amateur
All are fanatics of something. Exploiting a trending hobby can earn you a ton of cash. Hobbyists are customers with deep pockets who are passionate about handicrafts. Including products that cater to hobbyist needs as well as your essentials is a great strategy to potentially increase your revenue.
Why selling solutions beats selling products
People search online for many reasons, and finding a product or service that meets their needs is one of them. When you manage to grab people’s attention, make the most of it. When marketing your product, highlight its purpose right away. Market your product as a solution to your customers’ problems. Get in touch with your customers’ pain points and how your product can help alleviate that pain. Include this article in your product description and keep it concise.
For advertising, use the PAS formula. This formula has been used successfully time and again in advertising copy and is a proven method for inducing a purchase. Start by solving your prospect’s problem or pain point. Make the questions as specific to your target market as possible. If you are selling unbreakable chew toys for dogs, address the regular issues surrounding chew-breakable toys. What are the consequences? It could be that the dog then gets tired of the broken chew toy and moves on to chewing your shoes.
The next step in the formula is to inspire the reader with descriptive details about the problem so that they can relate. Continuing with the chew toy example, perhaps the dog happens to chew on a guest's shoe or a more important item. At this stage, the copy should escalate the issue to the point where the reader is invested because your copy is addressing something that truly matters to them. If what is important to them is a well behaved dog, outline the abnormal behavior of the dog in situations like the absence of your product.
Now that you have set up the problem and addressed it, you can provide a solution. Once the reader is aware of the problem, you have framed it, are impacting something they care about, and you present your product as a means to alleviate their pain, rather than just being another commodity.
in conclusion
Remember to do your due diligence before choosing a product to sell. With smart choices, after understanding your market, product considerations, and the PAS formula, your career as a newly minted online entrepreneur is sure to soar. When you’re ready to sell, make sure you have an enticing eCommerce store.
