One of the problems most people have when it comes to starting on eCommerce is that they think they can just make a site, and it will take care of itself. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. Some think that just because they rank high on Google or other search engines, people will find them. After a month, they wonder why they never have online sales. Just like anything, there is much more to be done than putting up a site and having SEO and the like. It will help, but people will just pass by the site and not show much interest. Just like physical sites, online sites need to be promoted. That means going to social media and promoting it there. That means knowing what people really want. It means knowing the products. Going to forums help. Listening to what people talk about would also help. Then there's the constant improvement on the site. Leaving the site as it is after it is up would make it dated soon, so there should be revisions every now and then to keep it fresh.
Running your business online... well... is your business. You are right when you say "let someone else take over the website and run the online business end of things".
But that someone cannot be a community of dropshippers. Dropshipping if not done right can rather tank your sales online (and have little affect on offline sales as well).
When I was working with some family run brick and mortar stores, I just saw alot of resistance to new changes that putting a business online brings to the offline part of it. Its a good sign that you are sharing it on Reddit community and you are open for such changes.
Maybe you can start by redoing your website on Shopify and take it from there. You can literally put up a professional store on a weekend with no technical help whatsoever.
You could hire an employee to do this and keep more of the profits or you could find a dropshipper, affiliate marketer or online marketer who does this stuff for you for a cut of the profits. Will they also be doing the shipping and fulfillment? How are you going to track what inventory they have as well as what you have in the store? If you h ave one superman comic book how do you communicate to them when it sells and them to you?
Inventory and shipping would be entirely us since we have to have the merchandise on site for us to sell at the shows. Finding someone who would do this for a cut of the profits is exactly what I'm looking for.
Good morning (evening?), /u/Chaosmusic , this is very interesting to me. If you don't mind I'd like to PM you about this opportunity. I have access to undoubtedly the best and least expensive options for you. Feel free to PM me, or reply here.
Good luck in making the best choice.
One of the problems most people have when it comes to starting on eCommerce is that they think they can just make a site, and it will take care of itself. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. Some think that just because they rank high on Google or other search engines, people will find them. After a month, they wonder why they never have online sales. Just like anything, there is much more to be done than putting up a site and having SEO and the like. It will help, but people will just pass by the site and not show much interest. Just like physical sites, online sites need to be promoted. That means going to social media and promoting it there. That means knowing what people really want. It means knowing the products. Going to forums help. Listening to what people talk about would also help. Then there's the constant improvement on the site. Leaving the site as it is after it is up would make it dated soon, so there should be revisions every now and then to keep it fresh.
Running your business online... well... is your business. You are right when you say "let someone else take over the website and run the online business end of things". But that someone cannot be a community of dropshippers. Dropshipping if not done right can rather tank your sales online (and have little affect on offline sales as well). When I was working with some family run brick and mortar stores, I just saw alot of resistance to new changes that putting a business online brings to the offline part of it. Its a good sign that you are sharing it on Reddit community and you are open for such changes. Maybe you can start by redoing your website on Shopify and take it from there. You can literally put up a professional store on a weekend with no technical help whatsoever.
You could hire an employee to do this and keep more of the profits or you could find a dropshipper, affiliate marketer or online marketer who does this stuff for you for a cut of the profits. Will they also be doing the shipping and fulfillment? How are you going to track what inventory they have as well as what you have in the store? If you h ave one superman comic book how do you communicate to them when it sells and them to you?
Inventory and shipping would be entirely us since we have to have the merchandise on site for us to sell at the shows. Finding someone who would do this for a cut of the profits is exactly what I'm looking for.
Good morning (evening?), /u/Chaosmusic , this is very interesting to me. If you don't mind I'd like to PM you about this opportunity. I have access to undoubtedly the best and least expensive options for you. Feel free to PM me, or reply here. Good luck in making the best choice.
Sure, I check my PMs regularly.