Starting A Small Ecommerce Business

With a little knowledge, skills, and determination, anyone can
start an ecommerce business. In this article, I'll go over a few
of the basic components that you'll need when starting your
ecommerce business.

1 – Product or service
If you don't have your own product or service to market, you
can market other people's products, either via affiliate
programs, dropshippers, or network marketing programs. Once
you've found a top quality product or service to market, you're
ready to get started!

2 – Shopping Cart software
To sell products online, you will need some kind of shopping
cart software, to facilitate online ordering and order
processing. I recommend Oscommerce - It is free, very flexible,
and feature-filled.

3 – Online Payments
To sell online, you'll need a way to accept online payments.
The easiest way to do this is via Paypal. However, Paypal is not
the most convenient for your customers – it's better for them if
you get a merchant account and accept credit cards.

4 – Communications
Even in ecommerce, communication with your customers is very
important. At the bare minimum, you should have an email address
and physical address for your customers to contact you at.
Ideally, you should also have a toll-free number.

5 – Webhosting
Of course, you'll need a server to host your website and
software on. There are many reputable hosts that offer
everything you'll need for under ten dollars. Use a web host
rating website to find a good host.

6 – Marketing
Many small business owners fail at one of the most important
points – marketing. If you don't properly market your website,
you won't make any sales, and your business will fail. The key
is to utilize marketing methods which are effective and
profitable for your business. Experiment to find what works
best, but here are a few tried and true methods to start with:
pay per click marketing, search engine optimization, article
marketing, shopping comparison websites, email marketing, and

joint ventures.