Tips for Creating an Online Store

Ali and Amy of the Indie 5 Collective made a pretty informative video on on how to take product pictures.  Check it out.

I hope you answered yes.  haha

Ok so here is the point of this post.  Go ask a few of your friends to go to your store and buy something.  If they say NO ask why not?  Their feedback will be priceless.

I’m not telling you to go and bug your friends to buy something from you.  I’m telling you to get first hand feedback on ways to improve your store.

Keep me posted on the results!

The best businesses in the world were started by 2 or more people.  Having a good business partner can go a looooong way.  Do you have a business partner?

Teamwork

There are lots of people that have this problem. Wouldn’t it be great to have your own business, work from home, and have the freedom to set your own hours? Of course it would.  But what will you sell?

You need to sell something that you are passionate about. You will be looking at your products day in and day out, convincing other people why they should buy them, and being a spokesperson for your product. If you don’t love what you sell, you will not enjoy running your own business.

You can either sell something that already exists or you can invent something new. If you make art or crafts, that would probably be your obvious choice. If you would like to invent a new product, think about a problem that you have that your new product could solve. If you have a certain problem, so do lots of other people and they will want your product.

If you want to sell products that already exist, you need to narrow it down. Think about your hobbies and interests. Make a list of five things you do for fun on the weekend.  You are probably already somewhat of an “expert” at these things, which automatically puts you in a good position for starting a business. Next, make a list of two or three products that are related to each of those activities.  Are there any products in that list that it would be realistic for you to sell? Choosing a very specific set of products is better than choosing a broad set.

Here’s an example. I’m a long-distance triathlete and I place high physical demands on my body each day. Compression socks are a new trend with endurance athletes… basically, they are athletic knee socks that you wear after or during a workout to improve muscle recovery so you can be ready for the next workout. They are effective for me and I recommend them to others.  My business could be an online store selling every type of compression sock that exists. It’s a very specific market, but there is no store like that currently in existence. I could establish myself as the internet resource for these socks. I enjoy talking with and helping other athletes so this seems like a good match for me.

Do some brainstorming and talk to your friends to figure out what would be good for you. It will take some work to get your business going, but if you like what you do it won’t feel like work at all.

Video is everywhere on the web because sites like YouTube make it so easy for people to do. If you go to a site and you see a video, do you click on it?  Would you be more likely to read about something on a site or watch a video that explains it to you?  I think in general, we are all getting lazier and lazier about the whole “reading” thing. Why read when you can have content spoon-fed to you with video?  I’m a cynic, it’s true.

That said, I think video can be effective in small, high-quality doses. Putting a video of yourself and your products on your site is an effective way to create a connection with your customers. All you need to make your own video is a webcam. They are built-in to most new laptops, and they also are pretty cheap to get as an add-on.  (Another great use for a webcam is free video chatting on Skype.)

Making a video is simple. You just start your video software, turn on the webcam, and hit record. Spontaneous unpolished video is totally acceptable, and has a nice friendly feeling to it. Don’t be modest, point the camera and talk. Then get yourself on the web. Rishi wrote up a post a while back about how to upload your video to YouTube.

Here’s your first video assignment: In 30 seconds, tell us how Flying Cart is working out for your business. Upload your video to YouTube, send us the link, and we’ll feature your video and your store on our site. In your video, make sure you say your name, your store name, and the web address of your store.

I just got back from a family vacation in Mexico.  I brought back sand, a sun burned face, and a mild annoying cough.

Sooo…  I googled “How to Get Rid of a Cough?”  The first link was this page with an article by Jonathan Hatch.  One thing he recommends is Eucalyptus Oil.

What did I do?  I bought Eucalyptus Oil.

If you sell a product that can help fix something.  Research and write about it on different sites like Get Rid of Things. Then recommend the product you sell.

Screen Shot of How to Get Rid of a Cough

I laughed really hard when I saw this.  Also true.

Margo “the creative one” Baxter made some awesome business cards for the team.   I love seeing peoples reaction when I hand them my business card.

Here is what my business card looks like.

Front

Back

We used Blockbuster Print to print our cards – good printing service.

Next Tuesday, March 24 we will be rolling out some changes to our pricing plans. A fourth level plan, called “Super”, will be added and will allow up to 1000 products. Pro level stores will now be allowed up to 250 products. The Standard and Basic plans will allow 50 and 5 products respectively, as they do now. Customers on the Super plan will pay $59.99 per month, while the prices to the other plans will not change.

Curent Pro customers will be automatically upgraded to the Super plan and will continue paying just $29.99 per month. If you are a Standard or Basic store right now and are thinking about upgrading to Pro, now is the time to do it. Upgrade to Pro before Monday March 24, 2009 and get locked in to the Super plan for the price of Pro.

Why are we restructuring our prices, you ask? The main reason is so that we can focus on smaller stores and continue to offer you a good quality product and personalized customer service. Stores that sell thousands of products benefit from using a more customized solution, as they have more complex technical needs than we can provide at a low monthly cost.

Thanks to all our loyal customers!  Please email us if you have any questions about your account.