If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’ve done a fair amount of online shopping in the past. There are countless opportunities for doing this now, and it’s pretty clear that the high street is now playing second fiddle to the ever-expanding world of e-commerce. I bet you weren’t aware that the average e-commerce weekly sales in the UK alone came in at £1.25 million in January of this year!
It’s pretty clear this is a growing sector, and it seems likely it will grow and enhance even more in the future. In fact, many bloggers these days have set up online stores on their blogs as a way of generating some more revenue. If this sounds right up your street, you’ll want to know a little more about how you can make e-commerce easier for your customers and secure more business as a result.
1. Web Design
Finding the right web hosting company is so important for making your website as amazing as possible. You want to find a host that lets you use WordPress, as this will make it easier for you to design a fast and user-friendly site.
This is something you should focus on, because the website plays a massive role in e-commerce. I like to return to e-commerce stores that look great and are user-friendly, and give them more business. Think about sites like Amazon and how great they are, and use them as inspiration.
2. Special Offers
Special offers are a wonderful way of attracting more people to the site and driving traffic to your store. You don’t need to necessarily have offers on all the time, but this is so important when it comes to attracting interest. I always look for offers whenever I do any kind of online shopping, and this is definitely something budding entrepreneurs need to try to include.
3. Utilise Social Media
Social media is perhaps the most powerful tool modern businesses have these days. It is clear just how much of an influence social media can have, and I was stunned to discover that over 3 billion people have some kind of social media account, more than one-third of the world’s population!
It is really crucial to make the most of social media to make your e-commerce easier. Many e-commerce sites find their Facebook community grows by around 8% every month, and that is a lot of people!
4. Content is King
Content is absolutely crucial, and the companies that succeed are those where quality content is the priority. You have to make sure you are serious about taking things forward and helping the e-commerce business grow, and top content is the way to do this. Blog content can greatly enhance your e-commerce success and is a great way of generating more interest (and traffic) for the blog.
5. Free Samples
It might seem like a novel idea, but free samples can actually have a massive impact on the success you achieve. They are a great way of getting people interested in your products, as well as generating positive publicity. You should send free samples to bloggers, magazines, and other online personalities so that you can benefit from affiliate marketing and exposure.
6. Make Purchasing Simple
It’s so important for e-commerce owners to make the payment process much simpler. I don’t know about you guys, but when I want to order dresses online, I want it to be a smooth and enjoyable experience. There are a lot of things that I feel businesses do well in this regard, and others not so well. It’s important to keep in mind the fact that purchasing needs to be as simple and uncomplicated as possible.
7. Market Better
There are a lot of things you need to consider when it comes to improving and enhancing your e-commerce, and making things much easier. One of the big ones is to make sure you market your company as effectively as possible. I always look at the way a brand markets itself, and you would be surprised by how many get it wrong. Better marketing leads to better understanding from customers, and more business for your site.
As you can see, these are just a few of the great ideas that are going to help you be more of a success in the world of e-commerce. If you are a blogger who may wish to add an e-commerce store to your blog, this is a great way of making sure you can achieve the success you want.
Do you have any other tips I should have included? Let me know in the comments!
This was a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.
