As web technology is advancing more and more every day, it gets easier to make money online. In addition to blogging, affiliate marketing, youtubing, and many other ways to earn online, there’s also e-commerce. Establishing an online store is now effortless. To make profits, you don’t even have to make your own products, you can always resell someone else’s. Here are eight easy steps on how to start an online clothing store, with or without your own designs to sell.
Research
In any business, it is crucial to know what your competitors are doing. Before you begin, do some research on the products other clothing stores are selling, try to understand why some are more successful, and some are less, explore their marketing strategies, and experience the user interface of the shop. It is also good to try and buy a few of the items on your competitor sites. When doing so, pay attention to the steps you have to take before you buy the product.
The products
To establish an online clothing store, you need to have a clear idea of what you’re going to sell. The rule of thumb here is passion. You must be passionate about the products you’re going to sell as the chances are you will be selling them for many years to come. Find your niche, find the style of clothes that interests you, find a unique selling point for your store. If you don’t have the clothes on hand, it’s good to look into dropshipping options.
The right name for your store
If you have dreamed of having online clothing store for quite some time now, you probably already have a name for it. If you have, make sure you buy a domain name for your online store as soon as possible as you don’t want somebody taking it from under your nose and using it as their web address. If you haven’t yet chosen the name, then select it wisely. The name of your store is your brand. You want it to reflect the kind of clothes you’re selling, you want it to define where you’re aiming to be in the future, and also, you want it to be memorable.
E-commerce platform.
Once you’ve decided on the name of the store and bought the domain, you now can choose the platform you’re going to build your store on. One of the most popular e-commerce platforms out there at the moment is Shopify. It has all of the technical features you might need for your clothing store: SSL integrated to secure sensitive information exchange between you and your clients, easy-to-use drag and drop store builder, mobile responsiveness, built-in SEO features, and automated marketing. Most importantly, Shopify provides star customer support.
The design of your shop.
Luckily for you, you don’t have to go through the fuss of looking for real estate or a designer. All you need for your online clothing store is an attractive template. There are plenty of options to choose from regardless of an e-commerce platform you have picked. The design of the template is going to create the feel and the atmosphere of your store. It can vary from very quirky looking to very professional and hi-end. If you don’t like any of the templates your e-shop hosting platform is offering, you can always search for the perfect one online.
The online order forms.
No e-shop has ever survived without an excellent online order form. Establishing easy and quick ordering of your products is essential. When choosing the right online order form, make sure it’s as short as possible but includes all the necessary fields. Long online order forms are time-consuming and painful to fill out. Research shows that the order pages of e-commerce shops have the most prominent bounce rate, so make sure you create an effective online order form. These online order forms are one of the most popular ones out there at the moment. Using 123 Form Builder, you can quickly create and customize your ordering forms.
Choose the right marketing strategies.
Once you have established a fully functioning online clothing store, it’s time to make it visible. Built-in marketing and SEO features into your e-shop’s hosting platform might not be enough to generate the traffic you want. The best way to market an online shop is to create a buzz around it on social media and create good quality content. Write a blog where you can share your ideas about style and design of your clothes, newest trends and insights into what famous designers and models are creating/wearing. Don’t forget to share your blog articles through all social media channels.
Be ready for the growth.
Once you generate enough traffic and create a vast circle of loyal customers, the next step will most likely be – expansion. Think about selling not only clothes but also maybe accessories or shoes. Also, ask yourself if your current website is handling all the traffic well, as it may be the right time to upgrade your hosting platform. By simply updating and redesigning your website, adding some more items for customers to purchase, you will nicely surprise your current customers and increase the amount of new.
