Tips for Creating an Online Store

Jay has got some sweet bhangra moves and is starting a new workout routine that is fun and effective. Check out a clip from his video and his store.

We just added pictures of us on our “About” page. Now you have a face to put behind our names.

Check out the her blog too!

Good News! We got rid of all Google ads on basic stores because we want you to love your store, and we want to improve the buying experience of your customers.

Enjoy!

Check out this about.com article on ways to promote your business.  They have a few good tips on how to get your business out there.

Below are the ones that I liked the best.

• Use a digital signature in every outgoing e-mail.  I put a link to our blog and website on every e-mail I sent out.
• Write articles on topics related to your business.  Create a blog, answer questions on forums, etc.
• Give out some freebies to promote your product.
• Go on a Talk Show.  I guess this one is kind of far fetched.  But if you can pull it off, it could be huge!
• Give a seminar or presentation

Shoes Ever has been doing well from the day Nicholas Lee opened it. Below are a few questions I asked him in hopes to unlock a few of his secrets.

Rishi: Why did you start an online business? and why shoes?
Nicholas: I have been in the internet business since 1998. My business was doing pretty well on eBay until 2006. Competition on eBay reduced my revenues and profits significantly. So I need to diversify my business.

Rishi: What were your first 3 steps in creating a new business?
Nicholas:

1. Find a market niche, targeting age 15-29, the generation that uses the internet
2. Easy Start, keep a low budget
3. Check the possibility – non-expensive items under $100 but with familiar brand names

Rishi: Based on your experience what is your most effective way of promoting your online store?
Nicholas: Utilizing Search Engines (? not sure though) with non-expensive brand names targeting late teens to twenties

Rishi: What websites do you read on a daily basis?
Nicholas: Google, eBay

Rishi: Anything else you would think our readers would like to know?
Nicholas: Yes, read the market trends. The market will move online eventually!

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FYI: Shoes Ever ranks at the top of Google for a lot of his products “Blossom Media Shoes“, “Blossom Troop Shoes“, “Soda Issac Shoes“. Beating out giant shoe companies like Zappos.com and Shoes.com.

Want to increase sales?  Take better pictures! Never underestimate the power of your photos.

When you are building your online store put some time and effort into making your products shine.

7 tips on taking better product pictures

1. Use a digital camera.  (Just in case you don’t) Using a digital camera will allow you to instantly preview, upload and edit.

2. Use a tripod or some sort of stand.  Stack some books, if you don’t have a stand. You will avoid blurry images by having the camera in a fixed position.

3. DON’T USE FLASH. Using flash will wipe out the color and details. Worst of all it will create shadows.

4. Use an easy-on-the-eyes backdrop. Use a cloth or a solid color background. Your product should be the only item in the entire picture. Avoid clutter at all costs.

5. Get close, get personal. Buyers like to see the details of the product, so take pictures that can show every possible detail of the product.

6. Take multiple pictures at different angles. It is all about trial and error. After taking 5-10 pictures of your product, check it out on your computer to see which one looks the best.

7. Edit your pictures. Crop out unneeded space and/or items in the picture. Save them as JPEG files.

I guarantee that after following these 7 tips your customers will have a better shopping experience.

If you are building an online store and want to pick a domain name that is better for search engine placement. Here is a tip!

Put the Keyword in your domain or subdomain name. If you are targeting the keywords handmade cloth purses, make your domain name HandmadeClothPurses.com

Instant Domain Search is a great website to quickly see which domain names are taken and which aren’t.

Yahoo Answers is great place to get answers on questions around anything. Its good on finding answers from how to get a date to how to make jewelry shiny again. I know what you are thinking and no, I didn’t ask the “How to get a Date” question… haha.

Here are my top 5 ways you should use Yahoo Answers

1. Find a category and start answering questions you can answer well.
2. Make sure everyone of your answers contains a link to your store. Great for link building, SEO, and allows other viewers to see what else you offer.
3. I can’t stress this enough… give a really really good answer. No one is going to purchase anything from you if your answer doesn’t actually solve their problem.
4. Don’t find any questions you can answer? Have a friend post a question for you that would be relevant and then answer it.
5. This is a little harder, but try to be the first one to answer the question. People always read the first few answers. Very few will check out the 110th answer.
NOTE: Don’t SPAM Yahoo Answers

Here are some other Yahoo Answer type sites:
answerbag.com
askville.amazon.com
yedda.com