Connect with us

Starting A Business

How to Write an Executive Summary in 6 Steps

Published

on

When you’re starting a business, one of the first things you need to do is write a business plan. Your business plan is like a roadmap for your business, so you can lay out your goals and a concrete plan for how you’ll reach them.

Not only is a business plan essential for any business owner, but it’s also a requirement if you decide to apply for small business funding or find investors. After all, before a bank or individual hands over any money, they’ll want to be sure your company is on solid ground (so they can get their money back).

A business plan consists of several pieces, from an executive summary and market analysis to a financial plan and projections. The executive summary will be the first part of your business plan.

If wondering how to write an executive summary has kept you from completing your business plan, we’re here to help. In this guide, we’ll explain what an executive summary is and provide tips for writing your own so your business plan can start strong.

What is an executive summary?

An executive summary is a short, informative, and easy-to-read opening statement to your business plan. Even though it’s just one to two pages, the executive summary is incredibly important.

An executive summary tells the story of what your business does, why an investor might be interested in giving funds to your business, why their investment will be well-spent, and why you do what you do. An executive summary should be informative, but it should also capture a busy reader’s attention.

Why write an executive summary?

Anyone you’re sending your executive summary and business plan to is likely busy—very busy. An entire business plan is long, involved, and deals with a lot of numbers.

Someone busy wants to get an understanding of your business, and they want to do it quickly, which is to say not by diving into a complicated, 80-page business plan. That’s where your executive summary comes in.

An executive summary provides just the opportunity to hook someone’s interest, tell them about your business, and offer a clear selling point as to why they should consider investing in your business.

Your executive summary is your chance to sell your business to potential investors and show them your business is worth not only their money but also their time.

What to include in an executive summary

By its nature, an executive summary is short. You must be able to clearly communicate the idea of your business, what sets you apart, and how you plan to grow into a successful enterprise.

The subsequent sections of your business plan will go into more detail, but your executive summary should include the most critical pieces of your business plan—enough to stand on its own, as it’s often the only thing a prospective investor will read. Here’s what your executive summary should include—consider it an executive summary template from which you can model your own.

1. The hook

The first sentence and paragraph of your executive summary determine whether or not the entire executive summary gets read. That’s why the hook or introduction is so important.

In general, a hook is considered anything that will get a reader’s attention. While an executive summary is a formal business document, you do want your hook to make you stand out from the crowd—without wasting time.

Your hook can be sharing something creative about your company, an interesting fact, or just a very well-crafted description of your business. It’s crucial to craft your hook with the personality of your reader in mind. Give them something that will make your company stand out and be memorable among a sea of other business plans.

Grab their attention in the first paragraph, and you’re much more likely to get your executive summary read, which could lead to an investment.

2. Company description summary

Now that you’ve hooked your reader, it’s time to get into some general information about your business. If an investor is going to give you money, after all, they first need to understand what your company does or what product you sell and who is managing the company.

Your company description should include information about your business, such as when it was formed and where you’re located; your products or services; the founders or executive team, including names and specific roles; and any additional details about the management team or style.

3. Market analysis

Your market analysis in the executive summary is a brief description of what the market for your business looks like. You want to show that you have done your research and proven that there is a need for your specific product or services. Some questions you should answer:

  • Who are your competitors?

  • Is there a demand for your products or services?

  • What advantages do you have that make your business unique in comparison to others?

To reiterate, stick to the highlights of your market analysis in your executive summary. You’ll provide a complete analysis in a separate section of your business plan, but you should be able to communicate enough in the executive summary that a potential investor can gauge whether your business has potential.

4. Products and services 

Now that you’ve established a need in the market, it’s time to show just how your business will fill it. This section of your executive summary is all about highlighting the product or service that your company offers. Talk about your current sales, the growth you’ve seen so far, and any other highlights that are a selling point for your company.

This is also a good time to identify what sets your business apart and gives you a competitive advantage. After all, it’s unlikely that your business is the first of its kind. Highlight what you do better than the competition and why potential customers will choose your product or service over the other options on the market.

5. Financial information and projections 

In this section of your executive summary, you want to give the reader an overview of your current business financials. Again, you’ll go more in-depth into this section later in your business plan, so just provide some highlights. Include your current sales and profits (if you have any), as well as what funding you’re hoping to acquire and how this will affect your financials in the next few years.

This is also where you can explain what funding, if any, you’ve received in the past. If you paid back your loan on time, this is an especially bright selling point for potential lenders.

6. Future plans

While asking for what funding you need is essential, you’ve also got to make clear what you’re going to use that funding for. If you’re asking for money, you want the person to know you have a plan to put those funds to good use.

Are you hoping to open another location, expand your product line, invest in your marketing efforts? This final section of your executive summary should detail where you want your business to go in the future, as well as drive home how funding can help you get there.

Tips for writing an executive summary

Even if you include each part of a good executive summary, you might not get noticed. What is written can be just as important as how it’s written. An executive summary has to strike a delicate balance between formal, personable, confident, and humble.

1. Be concise

An executive summary should include everything that’s in your business plan, just in a much shorter format. Writing a concise executive summary is no easy task and will require many revisions to get to the final draft. And while this is the first section of your executive summary, you’ll want to write it last, after you’ve put together all the other elements.

To choose your most important points and what should be included in the executive summary, go through your business plan, and pull out single-line bullet points. Go back through those bullet points and eliminate everything unnecessary to understanding your business.

Once you have your list of bullet points narrowed down, you can start writing your executive summary. Once it’s written, go back in and remove any unnecessary information. Remember, you should only be including the highlights—you have the rest of your business plan to go into more detail. The shorter and clearer your executive summary is, the more likely someone is to read it.

2. Use bullet points

One simple way to make your executive summary more readable is to use bullet points. If someone is reading quickly or skimming your executive summary, extra whitespace can make the content faster and easier to read.

Short paragraphs, short sentences, and bullet points all make an executive summary easier to skim—which is likely what the reader is doing. If important numbers and convincing stats jump out at the reader, they’re more likely to keep reading.

3. Speak to your audience

When writing your executive summary, be sure to think about who will be reading it; that’s who you’re speaking to. If you can personalize your executive summary to the personality and interests of the person who will read it, you’re more likely to capture their attention.

Personalizing might come in the form of a name in the salutation, sharing details in a specific way you know that person likes and the tone of your writing. An executive summary deals with business, so it will generally have a formal tone. But, different industries may be comfortable with some creativity of language or using shorthand to refer to certain ideas.

Know who you’re speaking to and use the right tone to speak to them. That might be formal and deferential, expert and clipped, informal and personable, or any other appropriate tone. This may also involve writing different versions of your executive summary for different audiences.

4. Play to your strengths

One of the best ways to catch the attention of your reader is to share why your business is unique. What makes your business unique is also what makes your business strong, which can capture a reader’s interest and show them why your business is worth investing in. Be sure to highlight these strengths from the start of your executive summary.

5. Get a test reader

Once you’ve written and edited your executive summary, you need a test reader. While someone in your industry or another business owner can be a great resource, you should also consider finding a test reader with limited knowledge of your business and industry. Your executive summary should be so clear that anyone can understand it, so having a variety of test readers can help identify any confusing language.

If you don’t have access to a test reader, consider using tools such as Hemingway App and Grammarly to ensure you’ve written something that’s easy to read and uses proper grammar.

How long should an executive summary be?

There’s no firm rule on how long an executive summary should be, as it depends on the length of your business plan and the depth of understanding needed by the reader to fully grasp your ask.

That being said, it should be as short and concise as you can get it. In general, an executive summary should be one to two pages in length.

You can fudge the length slightly by adjusting the margin and font size, but don’t forget readability is just as important as length. You want to leave plenty of white space and have a large enough font that the reader is comfortable while reading your executive summary. If your executive summary is hard to read, it’s less likely your reader will take the time to read your business plan.

What to avoid in an executive summary

While the rules for writing a stellar executive summary can be fuzzy, there are a few clear rules for what to avoid in your executive summary.

Your executive summary should avoid:

  • Focusing on investment. Instead, focus on getting the reader to be interested enough to continue and read your business plan or at least schedule a meeting with you.

  • Clichés, superlatives, and claims that aren’t backed up by fact. Your executive summary isn’t marketing material. It should be straightforward and clear.

Avoiding the executive summary no-nos is just as important as striking the right tone and getting in the necessary information for your reader.

Executive summary examples

Sometimes the best way to learn is to see how other people are doing it. The U.S. Small Business Administration has multiple business plan examples; you can flip to the executive summary to help you write your own executive summary. For more inspiration, here is an example from Harvard Business School:

Executive summary template

After all the information we threw your way, you’re probably itching to get started. If you’re ready to apply what you just learned, download our free business plan template. Our template will not only make it easier to write your executive summary; it will also guide you in writing the rest of your business plan.

The bottom line

While an executive summary is short, it’s challenging to write. Your executive summary condenses your entire introduction, business description, business plan, market analysis, financial projections, and ask into one to two pages. Condensing information down to its most essential form takes time and many drafts. When you’re putting together your business plan’s executive summary, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to write it and to seek the help of friends or colleagues for editing it to perfection.

However, some tools make crafting a business plan, including your executive summary, a simpler process. A business plan template is a great place to start, and business plan software can especially help with the design of your business plan. After all, a well-written executive summary can make all the difference in obtaining funding for your business, so you’ll want all the help you can get.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

This post was originally published on this site

Continue Reading

Business Ideas

10 Signs Your Side Hustle Will Be a Success

Published

on

By

While lots of people are interested in taking up side hustles, far fewer actually succeed with them. What’s one sign a side hustle will likely do well, and why is that such a good indication of its success?

These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs. Learn more at yec.co.

1. It Breeds Consistency

A side hustle that’ll likely do well is the one that breeds consistency. There’s no such thing as overnight success; you’ll fail multiple times until you reach your goal. The reason most side hustles don’t make it is that people quit midway and don’t see things through. If you don’t mind giving 100% despite failing at something multiple times, you’ll eventually find a way to turn things around.

Jared Atchison, WPForms

2. It’s Based on Your Expertise

One strong indication of a side hustle’s potential success is when it’s based on your area of expertise. When you share what you’re good at, not only do you have the chance to earn extra income, but you also deepen your understanding of the subject. Teaching requires exploring every aspect of your craft, keeping you engaged and pushing you to improve continuously.

Yury Sokolov, Finazon

3. You Have a Well-Defined Business Plan for It

A side hustle will likely do well if there is a clear and well-defined business plan outlining the goals, strategies, target market, financial projections and operational details of the side hustle. It helps the side hustler stay focused, make informed decisions and navigate challenges effectively. A well-structured plan shows that the side hustler has thoroughly thought through their venture.

Kazi Mamun, CANSOFT

4. You’re Passionate About It

Is it a job or a passion project? Are you pursuing it for the dollars it will bring? Or are you pursuing it because you enjoy it? In order for any venture to be successful, you need to invest your time, energy and commitment. If you’re not enjoying it, you won’t pursue it for long enough. Choose a side hustle that doesn’t feel like a hustle! Success and money will follow.

Candice Georgiadis, Digital Day

Working on a side hustle

5. It’s Low-Cost and Automatable

Side hustles that can be automated and run on low overhead costs are more likely to succeed. A side hustle should only take up a maximum of five to 10 hours a week, and anything longer starts to creep into part-time job territory. Try to generate a positive return on investment using a sustainable revenue plan within three to six months before you worry about scaling or investing more money.

Ian Blair, BuildFire

6. It Offers a Unique Solution

If you can define a unique value proposition for your side hustle, you’ll know that you can achieve success from it. Look for ways your users can benefit from your product or service. Is it different from your competitors? Does it offer a unique solution to solve the pain points of your users? These are a couple questions that can help you identify your unique value proposition.

Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite

7. It Increasingly Engages Customers

A promising sign of a successful side hustle is consistent, increasing customer interest and engagement. Whether through sales, inquiries or social media interactions, sustained customer engagement indicates your offering resonates with people. It’s a practical metric of market validation, which is crucial to the longevity and success of any business venture.

Kyle Goguen, Pawstruck

Business owner working on a side hustle

8. It Combines a Growing Trends With Your Own Interests

A side hustle will likely do well when it encompasses a growing trend that happens to coincide with one of your interests. Starting a side hustle may sound fascinating, but people often don’t give 100% to it. But when it aligns with your interests, work becomes fun. So, you’re more likely to commit to it even after a busy day at work, day in and day out. That’s what ensures its success.

Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

9. You’ve Done the Market Research for It

People often take up side hustles without careful consideration, and that’s one of the major reasons they don’t succeed. Market research is very important and provides you with relevant insights to make informed decisions. So, you should consider different factors such as market demand and competition along with careful analysis of your available resources before getting started.

Chris Klosowski, Easy Digital Downloads

10. It Has Expandability and Longevity

A key factor for a successful side hustle is its “expandability and longevity.” If your venture can grow without a significant increase in effort or resources, it’s likely to thrive. Also, it’s crucial that your side hustle isn’t a fleeting trend but addresses a long-term need. This balance ensures your side hustle can evolve over time, providing a steady income and satisfaction.

Vikas Agrawal, Infobrandz

This post was originally published on this site

Continue Reading

Growing a Business

Transforming Your Business Ideas into Action: 13 Ways

Published

on

Embarking on the journey of turning a business idea into reality is a thrilling adventure for eager entrepreneurs. It’s a quest that demands meticulous planning, flawless execution, and a rock-solid strategy to breathe life into that idea.

Read on to embark on a voyage where we’ll unravel the vital steps and intriguing factors involved in metamorphosing your business ideas into tangible plans that can pave the way to triumph. So, fasten your seat belts and get ready for an exhilarating ride toward success!

photo credit: Fauxels / Pexels

1. Validate Your Idea

Before diving into execution, validate your business idea to ensure it has market potential and addresses a real need or problem. Conduct market research, seek feedback from your target audience, and analyze the competitive landscape. This validation process helps refine your idea, identify potential challenges, and validate its viability.

2. Create a Business Plan

Develop a comprehensive business plan that outlines your vision, goals, target market, competitive analysis, marketing strategies, financial projections, and operational details. A well-crafted business plan serves as a roadmap for your business and provides a framework for decision-making and securing funding if needed.

3. Build a Support Network

Surround yourself with a support network of mentors, advisors, and like-minded individuals who can provide guidance, expertise, and encouragement. Seek out networking opportunities, join entrepreneurial communities, and engage with industry professionals. A strong support network can offer insights, challenge your ideas, and provide valuable connections and resources.

4. Develop an Execution Strategy

Break down your business plan into actionable steps and develop an execution strategy. Identify the key milestones, tasks, and timelines required to bring your idea to life. Assign responsibilities and establish accountability to ensure progress and track your achievements. Regularly review and adapt your strategy as needed to stay agile in a dynamic business environment.

5. Secure Funding

Assess your financial needs and explore funding options to support your business idea. This may include self-funding, seeking loans or grants, or attracting investors. Prepare a compelling pitch, create a financial forecast, and be diligent in presenting your business’s value proposition to potential funders. Consider utilizing crowdfunding platforms or alternative financing options to fuel your business’s growth.

Product devlopers discussing

6. Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Consider developing a minimum viable product (MVP) as an initial version of your product or service. An MVP allows you to test your idea in the market, gather feedback, and make necessary improvements. It can also attract early adopters and potential investors by showcasing the value your business offers.

7. Establish Strong Partnerships

Identify strategic partners or collaborators who can complement your strengths and help accelerate your business’s growth. Establishing strong partnerships can provide access to new markets, distribution channels, expertise, or resources. Nurture these relationships and ensure that they align with your long-term goals and values.

8. Embrace Continuous Learning

Entrepreneurship is a journey of continuous learning and adaptation. Stay curious, invest in your personal and professional development, and embrace opportunities to learn from both successes and failures. Seek feedback, attend industry conferences or workshops, and stay updated on emerging trends and technologies relevant to your business.

9. Leverage Digital Marketing and Online Presence

Utilize digital marketing strategies to build your brand and reach your target audience. Establish a strong online presence through a well-designed website, social media platforms, and content marketing. Engage with your audience, build relationships, and leverage digital tools to expand your business’s visibility and attract customers.

Entrepreneurs working on a business idea

10. Stay Resilient and Adapt

Entrepreneurship is filled with challenges and uncertainties. Stay resilient, be prepared to adapt your plans when necessary, and embrace change as an opportunity for growth. Learn from setbacks, pivot if needed, and maintain a positive mindset. The ability to navigate adversity and adapt to evolving market conditions will contribute to your business’s long-term success.

11. Monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the progress and success of your business. Identify metrics that are relevant to your goals and regularly monitor them. KPIs can provide valuable insights into your business’s performance, highlight areas for improvement, and help you make data-driven decisions to optimize your operations.

12. Cultivate a Customer-Centric Approach

Place your customers at the center of your business. Understand their needs, preferences, and pain points. Seek feedback, engage in customer surveys, and actively listen to their concerns. By cultivating a customer-centric approach, you can tailor your products, services, and marketing strategies to better serve your target audience and build long-term customer loyalty.

13. Continuously Innovate and Stay Ahead

Encourage a culture of innovation within your business. Foster creativity, encourage new ideas, and promote a willingness to take calculated risks. Stay informed about emerging trends and technologies in your industry and explore ways to incorporate them into your business. By continuously innovating and staying ahead of the competition, you can differentiate your business and seize new opportunities.

Entrepreneur learning growth strategy

To Conclude…

Transforming your business ideas into actionable plans requires thoughtful consideration, strategic planning, and consistent execution.

By validating your idea, creating a comprehensive business plan, building a support network, developing an execution strategy, securing funding, building a minimum viable product (MVP), establishing strong partnerships, embracing continuous learning, leveraging digital marketing and online presence, staying resilient and adaptable, monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs), cultivating a customer-centric approach, and continuously innovating, you can bring your entrepreneurial vision to life.

Embrace the challenges, remain adaptable, and continuously refine your approach as you navigate the journey from idea to reality. Get ready to embark on a rewarding adventure where creativity and determination pave the way to success!

This post was originally published on this site

Continue Reading

Marketing

How to start selling online, full guide for beginners

Published

on

Get up to 30%* off! Get going with GoDaddy!

Get your business online

Is selling online over-saturated? No way! It’s still very doable to make money from anywhere with a laptop. You just need to learn how to sell online and have the dedication to make it work.

This guide will give you proven methods to sell products and services online with insights from people making money using digital platforms. Plus, we’re sharing tips for building your own website and the secrets to selling with social media.

How to start selling online

Before jumping in and making your first sale, you need to know what you’re selling and who to. Through market research, you will find the answers.

Do market research

Once you’ve brainstormed the products or services that you’d like to sell online, you’ll need to see if there’s a market for those products. To do this, there are market research tools online that you can use.

Market research involves gathering information about your target market, competitors and industry trends. The goal is to determine whether or not your ideas are likely to make money and, if they are, how you can reach an audience interested in buying from you.

Market research includes:

  • Competitor analysis to see what others are doing and what works for them. You need to look at where you fit within the market, what makes you stand out and what you can offer that competitors don’t.
  • Analyzing online forums where your audience hangs out to build a picture of who your audience is and what they need so that you can target them better.
  • Look for trends to discover products people are looking for now.

Top tip: When it comes to identifying trends, you can use Google Trends, which is a free tool. Search the product or service you’re considering selling and see how interested people are.

For example, a search for ‘buy selfie stick’ shows that searches for this product peaked in 2018 and have steadily declined in search volume; probably not the product for you right now.

Google Trends can help you choose what to sell online. The screenshot shows a steady decline for the keyword ‘buy selfie stick’.

Searches for air fryers, on the other hand, increased in 2020 and have remained relatively stable ever since.

Google Trends can help you choose what to sell online. The screenshot shows a stable search volume for the keyword ‘buy air fryer. An air fryer may be a great choice of product to sell online.

Google Trends can help you choose what to sell online. The screenshot shows a stable search volume for the keyword ‘buy air fryer. An air fryer may be a great choice of product to sell online.

Choose a niche and product

If you’re starting your online selling venture from scratch, it’s best to start with a niche product or service.

Niching allows you to build out an audience looking to solve a specific problem. You will get to know your buyer deeply, and only then can you provide them with all the reasons why your chosen product or service helps them.

Top tip: it will help if you genuinely like and believe in what you’re selling, especially if you’re going to sell on social media (more on that later).

Choose a platform or create an online store

The key to choosing a platform – or platforms – is not to spread yourself too thinly. If you’ve done your market research thoroughly enough, you will already have an idea of where your audience is hanging out online.

Top tip: consider your time. You are better off covering fewer platforms well than covering many badly. You can always scale later.

Market and sell

Once you’ve covered the above, it’s time to jump into your marketing plan. You’ll need a marketing plan that considers the buyer funnel. Think about the content you need to create to persuade prospective customers to buy from you. You will also want to build trust as part of your marketing strategy.

Top tip: sites like Reddit and Quora are free and provide insight into your audiences, their problems, their issues with competitors and so much more. The same applies to Google’s People Also Ask.

Sticking with the idea of selling air fryers, a quick search of the word ‘air fryers’ returns commonly asked questions about pros and cons.

Screenshot of Google’s People Also Ask shows questions about air fryers asking mostly about advantages and disadvantages. The screenshot shows how someone selling this product might want to answer these buyer queries.

Screenshot of Google’s People Also Ask shows questions about air fryers asking mostly about advantages and disadvantages. The screenshot shows how someone selling this product might want to answer these buyer queries.

Now that you’ve got your marketing plan started, it’s time to choose a platform for selling online.

Sell on your own online store

You can’t sell online without a digital store or platform. While you can sell on social media (more on this later), an owned channel like a website can become an asset over time.

Here’s some guidance on setting up your own platform.

Choose a domain

Check your desired domain name is available and buy online. Your domain name should be the same as your business name. It should be memorable, easy to spell, and relevant.

Create your store

Create an online store using GoDaddy’s Website Builder and set up shop within a day. You can add products, take payments and sell online from anywhere in the world.

Add payment processing

You need to integrate your online store with a payment gateway to accept payments. The gateway you choose comes down to personal preferences, terms and conditions and transaction fees.

PayPal is free to integrate but may charge a higher rate per sale, but if you want to test your ecommerce store before committing to a gateway like Stripe, PayPal can be a good start.

Manage inventory

Inventory management is crucial for any ecommerce business, especially if you receive orders online. If you have physical products, your inventory must match what’s available online; otherwise, your risk selling more products than you have in stock, resulting in disappointed customers.

If you’re selling online and offline, stock inventory can get more complicated as you must regularly update your online inventory.  Larger businesses have inventory management systems for this, but as a start-up, you can sometimes manage inventory updates with good administration.

Choose a shipping provider

Shipping can get rather complex, especially if you’re planning on handling international orders. You need to think about shipping costs and how you will manage them. Some businesses choose to absorb shipping so there’s no obvious cost to the buyer. Of course, if you do this, shipping costs should be factored into your product price.

Shipping calculations vary, but here are some options.

  • Flat-rate shipping is as it sounds. The business charges the same shipping cost for all packages, regardless of weight or distance. Flat-rate shipping should be carefully monitored. With a flat rate, your business expects to profit on some purchases and lose on others, especially if you’re shipping internationally. Flat-rate will only work if the profits and losses are approximately balanced.
  • Actual cost is a calculation where the business calculates the exact shipping cost for each package and charges this to the customer. This is usually done automatically at checkout using a shipping calculator. The calculation will take into account location, weight, size and more.

You can incentivize a purchase with free shipping, and you can also offer more expensive shopping options for faster delivery.

Top tip: Test your shopping experience before you start. You must ensure your prospective customers have a seamless experience from finding you to buying. That means no broken checkout.

Sell on Marketplaces

Marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, eBay and Craigslist offer excellent opportunities to reach a broad audience and sell your products. Service-based businesses can try Freelancer, Upwork, Toptal and more.

You can sell on many of these marketplaces and your website. You can try the marketplaces and see how they perform.

Naturally, each marketplace will take a percentage of the sale, so you’ll need to factor that in.

Amazon

Any ecommerce brand should at least try out Amazon. It is a search engine for products, and some of your buyers will go to Amazon before Google.

Pros

  • Amazon is one of the largest ecommerce marketplaces.
  • It’s simple to set up a seller account and list your products.
  • Users may use Amazon as a search engine rather than Google, so you’re reaching a new audience.

 Cons

  • Amazon has over two million sellers, so you need good product photography to stand out.
  • For users to find you on Amazon, you need to know a little about Amazon SEO.

Etsy

Etsy is a popular marketplace for crafts, handmade and vintage products. But Etsy is also an excellent marketplace for digital products like guides, ebooks and more.

Pros

  • If your product is crafty, handmade or vintage, you can know that users are heading to Etsy to find it.
  • It’s cheap to start selling.

Cons

  • It is a busy marketplace with lots of sellers.
  • You don’t have the same control over your Etsy store as you do your store.
  • Customers often expect personalization on Etsy.

eBay

eBay is one of the oldest ecommerce marketplaces. By now, most of us have probably sold (or tried to sell) something on eBay.

Pros

  • It’s familiar.
  • You may already have an account with some reviews to build trust.

Cons

  • eBay’s UX isn’t as friendly as some alternatives.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a classified advertisements website that allows you to sell products locally.

Pros

  • There are no fees
  • You can sell locally, which helps with shipping fees if you want to keep your business geographically small.

Cons

  • Local sales only can be limiting once you have the desire to grow.

Sell on social media

Once the products or services are available to buy, your first task is to drive traffic to the site. Here are some tips for promoting and selling your products digitally.

Social media

Social media is a great place to build an audience and, importantly, a brand. Through social media, you get to know your audience, and they get to know you; social media is personal.

TikTok

TikTok is a platform credited for its generous algorithm providing accounts with excellent reach. As one of the fastest-growing platforms with over 1 billion users, your audience is likely hanging out there.

Mia Steele is a TikTok creator who began monetizing content in April 2022. She reports great success on the platform.

Steele says, “In less than six weeks of posting on TikTok and diving into User Generated Content (UGC), I began monetizing my content. I managed to replace my income by creating content and ads for brands.

“As my TikTok following grew, I even sold my own digital products to my audience.”

Steele’s top tip for a successful social media account is, ‘Devote time to cultivate and nurture your own audience, so you can capitalize on the traffic to sell your own products.’

TikTok also has TikTok Shop that you can access once you have 1,000 followers. TikTok Shop allows you to take a commission from items promoted and sold within your videos.

Facebook and Instagram

Like TikTok, you can grow an audience on Facebook and follow the path of selling digital products. Facebook and Instagram also have Shop functionality to sell products directly on the platform.

Facebook and Instagram benefit from the ability to post from Instagram to Facebook automatically, which will save you time.

Pinterest

Pinterest allows you to create a shoppable feed to list your products and sell them directly on the platform. You can also use Pinterest to drive traffic to your online store or blog.

Pinterest marketer Kayla Ihrig says, “The best way to make money on Pinterest is by making pins that lead to your services or products. Unlike other platforms where you need to constantly share valuable information to market your product or service, on Pinterest, users are searching for it and just want to be able to find it. Creators need to create images or videos (called pins) that display what they offer and then optimize them for search. Then, when a user searches for a solution to their problem, they find your content and go back to your website.”

Ihrig’s pin, pictured below, is the perfect example of a pin that leads a user to her service-based site.

Screenshot of a Pinterest pin demonstrating Pinterest done well. The pin links to a website where a sale can be made online.

Screenshot of a Pinterest pin demonstrating Pinterest done well. The pin links to a website where a sale can be made online.

Selling on social media opens a window of opportunity for entrepreneurs. You can sell your own products and services or explore affiliate and email marketing, which you can advertise in tandem with your platform.

Affiliate marketing

With a combination of your website and social media, you could sell products online without actually owning or stocking a single item. Ideal for the entrepreneur craving ultimate freedom.

With affiliate marketing, you take a percentage of sales made via your channels using trackable affiliate URLs.

Mia Steele drives traffic from her social media following of 20,000 to her website. She started with a domain name from GoDaddy and started her journey into affiliate marketing.  Steele says, “Within just seven months, I had joined more than 15 affiliate programs, built an email list of over 3000 subscribers, and earned over $90,000 in commissions by promoting products on TikTok and through my blog.”

The key, Steele says, is “Building your email list from day one. I underestimated the power of an email list until I ventured into affiliate marketing, and I regretted not starting earlier. Having a compelling free lead magnet and consistently producing high-quality content to drive traffic to your offers will be the key to your success.”

Email marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective way to reach your target audience and promote your products. Done well, every email you send can make money. At least, this is the case for the team at Siligrams.

Arlene Battishill, Chief Marketing Officer, says, “Our email marketing is killing it with an average 55% open rate. Every email makes money. A recent email marketing campaign – a series of 10 daily emails – had an average 63% open rate because the campaign was nothing but stories and bad jokes and had absolutely nothing to do with our product!”

The secret to Battishill’s campaigns is consistency and humor; not every email is a sales plea that likely contributes to the sales success. Siligrams choose to humor and engage their audience instead of going for a hard sell. Remember, people buy from people.

Top tip: you can create and send stylish emails in bulk using GoDaddy’s marketing suite.

Trust the process when selling online

If it were easy, everyone would do it. Although the online selling path is simple, it requires dedication. Commit to your product, trust the process and be consistent.

As a budding entrepreneur, you have a lot to explore, and a platform that works for one business may not work for another, so be bold and experiment.

Sell online FAQ

Finally, we’re answering some of the most asked questions when it comes to selling online.

How do I sell online for the first time?

Your first online sale is the result of small steps made consistently. Follow the steps in this guide, from idea generation and market research to marketing and set-up, and you will make your first sale.

What are the most profitable items to sell online?

The most profitable items to sell online vary based on trends, but some items stand the test of time. These items include SaaS products via affiliate marketing since you earn recurring revenue.

For physical products, you can explore items in the following categories:

  • electronics
  • fashion accessories
  • beauty products
  • home decor
  • health and wellness

Naturally, these categories are also some of the most competitive, and you should consider the challenges. For example, electronics can go wrong, resulting in customer service issues and refund requests. Health and wellness is challenging to build authority in, especially if you’re relying on a new, owned website to sell from.

How can I sell products online legally?

The legal requirements for selling online can vary, and you must research to ensure you comply fully with laws and regulations.  You must consider registering your business, correctly paying your taxes, and customer privacy and security. Advertising online also requires you to adhere to rules and regulations, from product information to the types of images and ad copy.

What is the easiest platform to sell online?

Ease of use is a priority for any platform that allows you to sell online. You can set up an eBay, Etsy or Amazon store within a day. The platforms are already geared to helping people like you sell.

If you want to own your platform, which is not a good idea, website builders help you set up shop as quickly and efficiently as possible.



Get Hosting for $1.00*/mo with GoDaddy!

This post was originally published on this site

Continue Reading

Trending

SmallBiz.com does not provide legal or accounting advice and is not associated with any government agency. Copyright © 2023 UA Services Corp - All Rights Reserved.