online business |

How to Sell Physical Products Online (3 Easy Methods)

Selling products online can be intimidating, but it’s clear that ecommerce is the place to be. While the concept of online sales is simple, deciding where to begin can be challenging.

There are many different ways to start selling a physical product online. For example, selling through a marketplace such as Amazon is a quick way to reach a vast pool of customers. Alternatively, you could create your own website or utilize social media to avoid restrictive rules and commission fees.

This article will explore the primary methods for selling a physical product online, including marketplaces, social media, and creating your own website. Let’s dive in!

Why You Should Consider Selling Physical Products Online

Selling online has many advantages. Less overhead and lower startup costs mean you can start selling sooner with minimal upfront investment.

The internet may seem saturated with every type of storefront, but the market is still growing fast. As a matter of fact, eCommerce is expected to grow more than 16% in 2023, with more than a trillion dollars being exchanged online.

With a good product and the right strategy, you can earn your piece of the pie. Furthermore, selling online business has never been easier.

With tools like WordPress, email marketing software, and social media, you can start your own online business and increase sales in no time!

Compared to renting or buying a physical store, selling online also has lower risks. You don't need to worry about hiring employees or limiting sales to local customers.

With an internet connection and a few days of work, you can start selling to anyone in the world!

How to Sell a Physical Product Online (3 Methods)

When it comes to selling products online, there are a few different ways to get started. We'll start by looking at using a marketplace.

1. Sell Through a Marketplace

Selling through a marketplace, like Amazon, can be easy. You simply need to sign up, list your products and prices, and you'll gain exposure to multiple consumers:

You can sell a physical product online through Amazon.

Many companies sell through marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and even eBay, making them viable options with the right business model.

Using a marketplace can also be a great way to generate revenue and gain customers while building your own website or online presence elsewhere.

Using an established marketplace means you won't need to build a website or attract your own customers. Plus, you can usually choose from supported shipping options, and you won't need to accept payments directly.

However, these platforms also take a cut of your profits. On Amazon, you can expect to pay up to 15% commission.

While this amount may not sound like a lot, average gross profits are generally less than 50%. Therefore, a 15% loss can be considerable.

2. Make Your Own Website

Making your own website is an excellent way to sell physical products online. Your site can be a base to market your products, establish your brand, and build a pool of recurring customers.

When you build your website with WordPress, you'll have complete control over your website's layout and design. Not to mention, you'll be using the most popular content management system (CMS) to showcase your products:

Nalgene WordPress physical product store example — nalgene uses WordPress to sell physical products

Furthermore, having a website enables you to attract customers organically. You can use content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to enhance your online visibility and increase sales.

Keep in mind that you'll have associated costs with running a website, such as hosting, premium plugins, and development. Furthermore, you'll be responsible for keeping your site secure and running smoothly.

You'll also need a few things to get started with a website. You'll need to list your products through an online store and set up shipping. Additionally, you'll need a way to securely collect payments.

Fortunately, with our Buy Now Plus plugin, you can create buy now buttons and collect payments through Stripe:

Our plugin is completely free and easy to use. You can collect one-time and recurring card payments, protected by Stripe's security measures. Overall, you can design the website you want and sell your products hassle-free.

3. Social Media and Email Marketing

Alternatively, you can sell your physical products online through social media and email marketing. These strategies can expose you to wider audiences and help you engage with your customers.

There are various ways to approach this strategy:

Creating a social media “store” can fall into a gray area on some platforms. Yet other sites have embraced it, such as Instagram and Facebook Shops:

Using a website, email marketing, and social media together can be a highly successful approach to selling online. However, you can also use buy now buttons to sell directly through social media platforms.

Buy Now Plus lets you create and embed buy now buttons just about anywhere. Our free alternative to Shopify links gives you the power to turn any social media post or email into a sales opportunity!

Conclusion

There is a lot to consider when getting started with ecommerce. Focusing on the right online platform to sell your physical products can significantly affect your overall success.

To recap, here are 3 easy ways to start selling online:

Use an online marketplace such as Amazon.
Create your own website.
Use social media and email marketing.

Do you have any questions about selling physical products online? Let us know in the comments section below!

If you liked this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

How to Grow and Scale Your Brand (5 Tips)

Starting a business is difficult, and scaling a brand into something bigger is another challenge in itself. Many entrepreneurs don't realize that a company must be both flexible and sustainable in order to grow securely.

Fortunately, setting up your brand's processes and operations can be a relatively straightforward process. When you establish a solid foundation and streamline your workflows, you can increase your chances of navigating growth more easily.

In this post, we'll discuss why smart scaling is critical for any business that wants to last in the long run. Then, we'll look at 5 key tips you can implement to start growing your brand safely. Let's get started!

Why Scaling Your Brand Is So Important

In business, scaling is the idea of setting up your processes to foster and support steady (or rapid) expansion. If it's not done well, growing companies can get stuck with more customers than they can handle.

Alternatively, they may not be able to maintain a certain level of quality throughout the sales funnel due to the strain of growth. This can ruin a reputation and sink a business as well. Typically, this happens because inexperienced entrepreneurs focus on growth tactics before they've established their foundation.

To put it simply, many would-be-successful businesses have failed due to issues with scaling. In fact, about 19% of businesses fail within their first year and a whopping 50% fail within 5 years. Moreover, expanding too fast is often cited as one of the top reasons that companies go bust.

Therefore, if you want to protect your business from a similar fate, you'd be wise to think about scaling. That way, you can avoid this issue and grow seamlessly.

5 Key Tips for Growing and Scaling Your Brand

Now let's talk about how you can set up your business for growth and scalability.

1. Have a Clear Vision and Mission

Having a clear vision and mission is essential for your brand's image and identity. Your mission is your brand's purpose. It's what you are doing for customers and the world right now. A vision is the ultimate, long-term dream for your business, and it's linked to your brand values.

Nike has a meaningful vision and mission statement. It's short and simple, but it effectively describes what the company is doing for the world:

A memorable vision and mission statement give your business direction. Customers and employees alike can refer to it for guidance around the purpose of your organization.

Coming up with your own vision and mission can take a long time, but that's okay. You'll want it to be something that means a lot to you. It should resonate with all the founding members of your organization.

To land on a mission, you might want to start by identifying your biggest selling point. Consider what sets you apart from your competitors. Then, expand on that with your values and goals.

Once you've come up with the winning statement, share it everywhere for customers, the public, and employees to see.

2. Optimize Your Workflows with Templates and Style Guides

Templates are pre-designed documents that can speed up the content creation process. They can eliminate the need for most formatting and designing, allowing you to simply fill in the blanks.

Essentially, templates can save you a ton of time. If you're looking for a beginner-friendly tool to help you create templates for your brand, Canva is a popular option:

This platform has thousands of templates for a range of different tasks and channels, including presentations, graphics, and even social media posts.

Creating company style guides can also increase your productivity and efficiency. This type of document can also help maintain consistency across your brand.

Ideally, a style guide should be as detailed as possible, but it should also allow for some flexibility and innovation. When creating a style guide, you might want to begin with logo designs, a color palette, typography, and image requirements. You can gradually build in more details as time goes on.

3. Streamline Your Social Media Content

Social media content is one of the best ways to reach a wide range of potential customers efficiently and affordably. When you use social media, you can increase brand awareness and educate potential customers about your products and services.

Additionally, including powerful calls to action in your social media posts can boost your conversion rates. In a nutshell, if you want to scale your brand, you'll likely need to be on a range of social media channels.

If you use WordPress, you can use Nelio to get a head start on social media. Nelio Content specifically enables you to automate and schedule your social media posts on a variety of channels.

4. Build an Online Community

If you look at any large company, there's almost always a thriving online community associated with it. Spotify, for example, has been very successful in building an impressive group of followers.

Spotify has achieved this through its online forums, shareable playlists, and its Stars Program:

One benefit of an online community is that it can minimize work for you. For instance, minor customer support issues can be discussed among community members in an online support forum. Furthermore, healthy communities tend to help spread the news about your brand for free.

To begin building a community, the first step is to create the platform itself. You'll need to decide between a more exclusive membership community and an open group. Then, you'll want to promote your new community to customers and any other potential members.

5. Design a Flexible Checkout Process

Creating a flexible checkout process is another excellent way to ensure that your business survives any rapid growth spurts. That's because a lengthy or confusing checkout process can clog up your sales pipeline.

Simplifying your checkout can prevent this. Furthermore, allowing customers to pay how they want and when they want will likely lead to more conversions.

With our tool, Buy Now Plus, you can make buy now buttons for an easy checkout experience:

Buy Now Plus allows you to securely accept credit card payments virtually anywhere. You don't even need a website to set it up.

Also, you can fully customize your buy now buttons and checkout. This means you can tailor it to your market and create a positive user experience for your customers.

Conclusion

Growing and scaling a brand can be a complicated task if you haven't set up clear workflows and strong documentation. Establishing a foundation is crucial if you want to enable your business to grow smoothly with your customer base.

To recap, here are 5 key tips for growing and scaling your brand:

Have a clear vision and mission.
Optimize your workflows with templates and style guides.
Streamline your social media content.
Build an online community.
Design a flexible checkout process with Buy Now Plus.

Do you have any questions about growing and scaling your brand? Let us know in the comments section below!

If you liked this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

The 5 Best Online Business Ideas for 2023

When starting an online business, there are no limits to what you can do. While you might already know that you can make a living by working online, it's hard to know where to begin.

Fortunately, there are plenty of online business ideas with plenty of potential for success. Knowing your options can narrow down your choices and help you make the right decision. That way, you'll be able to launch a business that works for you and improve your chance of success.

In this post, we'll discuss why you may want to start an online company. Then, we'll cover 5 of the best online business ideas this year. Let's get to work!

Why You Might Want to Launch an Online Business

If you're looking to start an online business, there are many avenues you can take. In the internet age, more companies are either entirely online or have a presence on the web.

Plus, the future of ecommerce is looking bright. Over 2.1 billion people made an online purchase in 2022, and online sales are expected to grow to over $7.4 trillion by 2025. If you sell online, you can turn a significant profit.

Additionally, getting a WordPress ecommerce site up and running is relatively easy. This is especially true when you use beginner-friendly tools to streamline your workflow and sell your products.

With our Buy Now Plus plugin, you can create “buy now” buttons in no time and provide a quick and easy checkout experience for your customers.

Our plugin enables you to sell from your website or social media accounts, making it a versatile option for anyone starting an online business.

Plus, our payment processor is built on top of the secure Stripe platform to protect your payments and customer data.

The 5 Best Online Business Ideas for 2023

Now that you know it's possible to start an online company, it's time to look at some of the top choices. Here are 5 of the best online business ideas to consider for 2023!

1. Create and Sell Online Courses

You can create and sell online courses if you're an expert in a particular area or industry. An online class can consist of anything, from science and engineering to foreign languages and cooking:

This can be a profitable business model because you can make all the learning resources yourself. Then, you can use a membership plugin such as MemberPress to upload and paywall your educational content:

MemberPress is a paywall, membership, and learning management system (LMS) plugin that helps you build online courses easily with a drag-and-drop interface. Furthermore, you can add online quizzes and enable learners to track their progress.

2. Open an Ecommerce Store

If you have a product you want to sell, consider opening up an ecommerce store. This business model lets you reach customers worldwide, with no limit to the merchandise you can sell online:

You'll just need to factor in the costs of purchasing products and setting up your online store. Reaching customers can also be affordable, particularly if you opt for search engine optimization (SEO) techniques.

Additionally, you could use a platform such as Zulily. This site can showcase your products to interested customers and boost your sales:

However, if you opt to sell from your own website, we recommend creating a high-converting sale s page. You'll also need robust security measures to keep your ecommerce customers safe.

3. Become a Graphic Designer

If you've always dreamed of working professionally as an artist, consider becoming a graphic designer. This career path enables you to create physical and online graphics for your clients:

Working as a graphic designer can be highly lucrative. You'll also have the flexibility to work from home and choose client projects that align with your creativity.

If you don't have any credentials, consider taking an online graphic design course through platforms such as Udemy:

This platform offers hundreds of design course options to help you hone your skills. Then, you can start making graphic designs using Adobe Creative Cloud:

Adobe allows you to create materials using video, design, photo, and user experience (UX) apps. You can quickly put together professional designs and sell your services from your website.

4. Try Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing has become a popular way to make money online. In this setup, you promote a third-party company's products with branded links. Whenever readers buy items through your links, you'll earn a commission:

According to BloggingX, affiliate marketing is currently worth $12 billion. Plus, you can make money quickly if you have a dedicated audience on your site or social media platforms.

To get started, you'll first need to choose a platform, such as Instagram or Facebook. Then, choose a niche and search for affiliate programs within it that you'd like to join.

Next, it's just a matter of creating content and including your affiliate links. However, we recommend only promoting high-quality products that align with your audience's interests.

You might also consider writing honest reviews and including affiliate disclosures to build trust with your readers.

5. Teach English Online

Finally, English as a second language (ESL) is a growing industry. There are an estimated 1.5 billion English language learners globally, and much of that market is online.

Teaching ESL is a great online business idea if you have an educational background or a strong command of the English language. ESL companies such as Open English connect you with learners worldwide:

Some companies require an ESL certification or a teaching degree. Alternatively, other lower-paying jobs just need you to be a native speaker.

If you don't want to work for a company, you could market your services directly through your site. You can sell lessons using Buy Now Plus and organize classes through a video conferencing platform like Skype.

Conclusion

Choosing an online business idea can be overwhelming. However, by doing a little research and selecting a field that aligns with your skills, you can set yourself up for success.

To recap, here are 5 of the best online business ideas in 2023:

Create and sell an online course using MemberPress.
Open an online store and sell products using Buy Now Plus.
Make money by becoming a graphic designer.
Sell third-party products through affiliate marketing.
Teach English to learners worldwide.

Do you have any questions about the best business ideas for 2023? Let us know in the comments section below!

If you liked this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

5 Popular Payment Gateways Customers Will Appreciate on Your Site

Do you need a payment gateway for your online business? Here’s a list of our top picks of 2022 with tips for how to choose the right one!

If you want to start selling online, you probably already know that a payment gateway is a must. Yet with so many options to choose from, how do you make sure you pick the right one for your business?

The right payment gateway can increase conversions by providing customers with a user-friendly and transparent experience. Once you understand what each option has to offer, you'll be well-placed to choose a platform that's suited to your goals and niche.

In this post, we'll explain what a payment gateway is and how to choose the right one. Then we'll explore our 5 top picks, including the pros, cons, and pricing of each.

Let's jump right in!

How to Choose the Right Payment Gateway for Your Online Store

A payment gateway is simply a platform for processing payments. It collects payment data from a customer (such as credit card details), then processes and approves the transaction.

If you want to accept payments through any method besides cash and checks, you'll need to work with at least one payment processor. Often, it's smart to provide your customers with multiple options:

The right payment gateway makes buying online secure, quick, and easy. However, what works for one online business might not be ideal for yours. So it's important to consider your needs and target market before making a decision.

When choosing a payment gateway to work with, you'll want to consider:

The payment types and currencies you want to support.
The cost of using the processor, based on the transaction volume you expect.
Integration options for your website's ecommerce platform, and any POS systems and other third-party tools you use.
Whether a payment processor has a strong reputation and positive reviews, as well as PCI and DSS compliance.
Customer support, so you can resolve any issues quickly.

As you might expect, there's no one platform that's perfect for every use case. It's important to do plenty of research and consider all of the available options before settling on your top choice(s).

5 Payment Gateways Your Customers Will Love

Now that you know what you're looking for, let's take a peek at 5 of the top payment gateways available for WordPress websites.

1. Stripe

Stripe is one of the most popular gateways thanks to its unique approach to payment processing. It provides a range of tools to customize the payment process, giving you full control over your payment pages to create an excellent shopping experience for your customers.

Pros:

Feature-rich payment gateway
Many integrations with third-party platforms
Extensive wallet payment and local payment support
Accepts over 135 currencies
24/7 customer support
Particularly useful for European businesses, as the transaction fees are smaller

Cons:

Customer service isn't as prompt and reliable as it could be
No card machine for in-person payments, so it's not ideal for merchants who are also running physical stores

Price:

Setup fees: None

Monthly fees: None

Transaction fees: 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge

The simplest way to start accepting credit card payments via this gateway is with our own Buy Now Plus service. It's built on top of Stripe, and is beginner-friendly, free, and easy to get started with.

2. PayPal

PayPal is one of the easiest payment options to add to your site, and one of the most trustworthy because it's so well-known. PayPal claims that offering this option to customers can increase checkout conversions by up to 44%. It also has quick transfer rates, making it an ideal choice for online businesses.

Pros:

Simple to add as a payment option
Flexible option that supports credit and debit cards, mobile devices, QR codes, and contactless payments
Offers PayPal Credit, the option to spread payments out over time
Provides a consistent User Experience (UX)
Features predictable pricing

Cons:

Provides an off-site checkout experience that involves redirecting users to collect payments, rather than integrating into your website
Includes additional cross-border fees, so it may not be the best option if you rely on trade overseas
Accounts can be shut down immediately without any justification

Price:

Setup fees: None

Monthly fees: None (although the Premium version costs $30)

Transaction fees: Vary based on transaction type

3. Ayden

Next on our list, Ayden is a widely-known payment gateway used by Spotify, Uber, Microsoft, and eBay. It's a strong option if you prioritize security and compliance, and it has the added bonus of allowing you to learn about your consumer behavior patterns.

Pros:

Used by major companies, so it has a strong reputation
Accepts 250 payment methods and 150 global currencies
Features built-in tools to manage risks and track results
Relieves you of the burden of self-validation and compliance

Cons:

Not the best customer reviews
Limited features for brick-and-mortar businesses
Complex pricing structure, which is determined by payment method

Price:

Setup fees: None

Monthly fees: None

Transaction fees: Fixed processing fee of $0.12 + a fee determined by the payment method

4. Authorize.net

Owned by Visa, Authorize.net is one of the most established payment gateways available. It offers a range of options to suit your business, and works with almost any merchant account – and all over the world.

Pros:

Streamlines the payment process, making it a great choice for firms of all sizes, both online and brick-and-mortar
Easy to set up and use
Works with nearly any merchant account
Accepts more payment types than most of the alternatives, and is one of the very few gateways to accept PayPal

Cons:

Requires your business to be registered in the UK, Europe, US, Canada, or Australia
Charges a monthly fee, making it less ideal for smaller businesses or startups

Price:

Setup fees: None

Monthly fees: $25

Transaction fees: All-in-one option: 2.9% + $0.30. Payment Gateway Only option: 10 cents per transaction, 10 cents daily batch fee

5. Square

Last but not least, Square features an extremely versatile software that essentially transforms your customers' devices into portable POS terminals. It is a fast-growing payment gateway that centers around simplicity, making it perfect for smaller businesses and brick-and-mortar stores. It provides everything you'll need to accept payments and manage your business in one centralized system.

Pros:

A great option for merchants with physical stores as well as online businesses
Accepts all major credit cards and payment types (although not PayPal)
Extremely easy setup process, requiring users to download a free app and take payments using a mobile credit card reader that Square supplies free of change
Provides a smart, slick checkout UX
Allows you to sell easily on social media, integrating with Facebook and Instagram

Cons:

Has been known to withhold funds or accounts with little notice or justification
Limited customer support hours

Price:

Setup fees: None

Monthly fees: None (although Premium is $72)

Transaction fees: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction for online payments

Conclusion

A well-optimized ecommerce store, top-quality products, and excellent marketing can bring lots of customers your way. However, if you don't provide them with familiar and easy-to-use ways to pay, you risk losing them before they make those final conversions.

To sum up, here are 5 of the best options for your payment gateway:

Stripe: A feature-rich option with many tools to offer.
PayPal: A popular and reliable gateway that supports many payment methods.
Ayden: A more advanced choice with excellent security features and analytics.
Authorize: An easy-to-use and streamlined option that’s a good all-around choice.
Square: A gateway that’s quick to get started with and very user-friendly.

Do you have any questions about payment gateways? Let us know in the comments section below!

If you liked this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

How to Keep Your Ecommerce Customers Safe (4 Tips)

If you own an ecommerce business, chances are the threat of a data breach is never too far from your mind. This is no surprise, considering how serious the consequences can be when information falls into the wrong hands.

While the possibility of exposing user information is a scary one, you're certainly not powerless to keep your customers safe.

You can significantly lessen the chances of a data breach by processing payments securely and following other safety best practices.

In this post, we'll look at why protecting personal information is so important for ecommerce businesses. Then, we'll share four tips for keeping your customers safe. Let's go!

Why Protecting Customer Information is Crucial

Perhaps now more than ever, data privacy has become a central concern for anyone who spends time online. Unfortunately, this wariness is in response to a rising number of data breaches, which has been trending upwards since 2005.

Ecommerce sites may be especially attractive to bad actors as they're likely to store payment details as well as personal information.

Stolen data is not only a concern for the owners of the information, but it can also have serious consequences for your business.

The financial impact can be especially devastating, as the cost to recover can be pretty high. In 2020, the global average cost per data breach was $3.86 million.

In addition to taking a financial hit, you could lose the trust of your existing customers, who may take their business elsewhere. These customers may also warn their networks against doing business with you, resulting in further losses.

How to Keep Your Ecommerce Customers Safe (4 Tips)

Now that we've discussed the seriousness of a data breach, let's look at a few tips you can use to keep your business and customers safe.

1. Process Payments With Buy Now Plus

Since payment information is especially sensitive, you may want to make protecting it your first priority.

Using a tool like Buy Now Plus will not only make the buying process easier for your customers, but it will also provide additional security as it's built on top of Stripe:

Buy Now Plus uses Stripe to keep payments secure.

Stripe is a very secure payment solution. All transactions processed through it are Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protected to keep data safe while it's being transmitted. Moreover, credit card numbers are encrypted and kept secure in Stripe's data center.

Getting started with Buy Now Plus is quick and easy, even if you don't have a Stripe account yet. To get started, click on the Connect to Stripe button on the Buy Now Plus login page.

Then, you'll be prompted to enter the email associated with your Stripe account. If you don't have one, any email will do:

On the next screen, you'll create a password for your Stripe account. You'll then need to secure your account using a mobile number. Enter the code that you'll receive via text to continue.

At this point, you can either connect to an existing Stripe account or create a new account to use with Buy Now Plus:

Connecting a Stripe account to Buy Now Plus.

Next, you'll need to enter some details about your business, as well as some personal information.

When you're ready, you can connect your new Stripe account to Buy Now Plus.

2. Control Access With Strong Passwords

Chances are you protect sensitive information with passwords, so you'll want to be sure they're up to the task. Your best strategy for this is to follow some simple password best practices:

Never use the same password for more than one account.
Ensure that passwords are both long and complex.
Change passwords regularly.
Avoid sharing passwords.
Never write passwords down.

You might also consider implementing Multi-Factor Authorization (MFA). MFA adds an additional security challenge after an individual has entered this password.

This challenge could be answering a security question, entering a pin, or using a one time password (OTP) provided via text or email.

If you'd like to add this functionality to your WordPress site, you can use a plugin called WP 2FA:

The WP 2FA plugin which adds two factor authorization.

This free plugin is easy to set up and supports several OTP-generating apps. You can also configure it to force users to set up MFA immediately or give them a grace period.

3. Collect Only the Information You Need

Simply put, hackers can't steal information that you don't have. For this reason, it's best that you only collect the information needed to provide an efficient service. Remember that you can always ask for additional details later.

Aside from security concerns, asking for too much data up front can contribute to a poor customer experience. The last thing you want is to be losing customers during your signup or checkout process.

If you've already collected information you don't need, you might want to delete it now.

You'll not only keep your customers safer, but this can also help you comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Take the time to carefully consider what information you truly need. You may want to develop guidelines for the collection, storage, and eventual deletion of customer data.

Firm policies are beneficial if you work with a small team to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

4. Keep Your Software Up to Date

Outdated websites and software make desirable targets for hackers. Once word gets out about a vulnerability, it will likely be exploited quickly.

To keep your website safe, it's important to be vigilant about any updates developers release for the software and tools you use.

You'll want to be especially aware of any emergency patches which are often issued in response to a potential threat.

You can be even more proactive about this by regularly checking your software vendors' websites for any updates you may have missed. Ensuring that all of the plugins on your site are updated on a regular basis can help keep your site safe.

Conclusion

As the owner of an ecommerce business, you have an obligation to your customers to keep their private information secure. Fortunately, there are ways to protect both your customers and your company.

Let's recap the four tips we shared for protecting user data:

Process secure payments with Buy Now Plus.
Control access with strong passwords.
Collect only the information you need.
Keep your software up to date.

Do you still have questions about keeping your customers safe? Let us know in the comments section below!

If you liked this post, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Join the Great Resignation (Start Your Ecommerce Business in 3 Steps)

In 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a record number of resignations. You may dream of joining the great resignation, but quitting your job is never a decision to take lightly.

Fortunately, there is an industry that’s going from strength to strength. By starting your own ecommerce business in 2021, you can finally become your own boss without feeling like you’re taking a massive gamble.

In this post, we’ll look at why more people are quitting their jobs than ever before. We’ll then show you how to start your ecommerce business in three easy (and affordable) steps. Let’s get started!

An Overview of the Great Resignation (And Why You May Want to Join It)

The number of people quitting their jobs is on the rise. There are many reasons why so many employees are joining the great resignation, including burnout.

While exhaustion has always been an issue within the workforce, 67% of employees feel that burnout has worsened over the course of the pandemic. For tired and overworked employees, a change of career may seem like the perfect solution.

The seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired many people to re-evaluate their lives, including their jobs. The historic rise in resignations could signify that employees are taking actionable steps to improve their work situation.

Whatever the reasons for it, this trend shows no signs of slowing down. The job site Monster reports that 95% of US employees are currently considering a career change. If you’re one of these people, then it may be time to start your own ecommerce business.

While the pandemic forced many physical stores to close their doors, it also sparked an online shopping revolution. In 2021, over 2.14 billion people are forecast to purchase goods and services online. That’s a lot of potential customers for your new venture.

In fact, with the global population expected to reach 7.87 billion people in 2021, these figures suggest you could be promoting your online products and services to around 27% of the world’s inhabitants.

If you already run a website, you could add ecommerce functionality to your existing content. For example, if you run a successful membership site, you might consider creating a members-only store. This can be a way to monetize your audience and turn all of your hard work into profit.

Join the Great Resignation (Start Your Ecommerce Business in 3 Steps)

According to Microsoft, 41% of people plan to change jobs in 2021. If you’re eager to join them, then starting your own ecommerce business may be the answer. Here’s how to become your own boss in three easy steps.

Step 1: Find Your Niche

Running an ecommerce business offers many opportunities, but there’s also lots of competition. With more and more online stores opening every day, you may get the best results by focusing on a specific niche.

Choosing a niche immediately reduces the competition and gives you a stronger brand identity. In particular, it helps differentiate your venture from ecommerce giants such as Amazon, which already excels at being all things to all people:

By promoting products that have huge appeal to a very specific audience, you can often achieve more conversions and a higher Return On Investment (ROI). With this niche approach, you can also tailor every part of your business to speak to the deep needs of your target audience.

If you don’t already have a niche in mind, then the next step is identifying some products that you’re passionate about.

By specializing in items that you’re genuinely interested in, you can tap into an authentic drive and enthusiasm that will influence your business. For example, this passion can enhance your marketing and advertising campaigns.

While it’s a good idea to keep your business tightly focused, it’s important to find a big enough niche to generate healthy revenue.

Here, you can use tools such as Google Trends to evaluate the level of interest in the products you’re considering stocking:

The Google Trends dashboard can help you join the great resignation.

When crunching these numbers, keep in mind that you’ll want to grow your business over time. This means there should be enough interest to support your future expansion.

Step 2: Create a Business Plan

A business plan is a written document that defines what your ecommerce business is, the activities it’ll perform, and its core objectives. It also details how you’re going to achieve those aims.

By creating a business plan now, you can verify that your grand idea has the potential to be a viable ecommerce company before you start pouring time and money into it.

This document can also help you secure funding without a proven track record if you're seeking external investment.

Every business plan is different, but most documents start with an executive summary. This outlines your ecommerce business and its mission statement.

Next, you’ll detail your products and pricing, how your business benefits the customer, and your Unique Selling Point (USP). If you’re focusing on a niche, this is the place to stress that you’re offering a specialist, focused service.

This is also the perfect opportunity to demonstrate a deep understanding of your target audience and prove the demand for your products.

Even if this document is for internal use only, it’s a good idea to include a section on financial planning. This can help you budget and balance your cash flow. Otherwise, you risk negative cash flow completely derailing your operation.

3. Generate Buy Now Buttons

It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that your new ecommerce venture requires a website. While many successful businesses do operate an online store, this isn’t a necessity.

Designing, developing, and launching a digital shop requires a significant amount of financial investment. This includes purchasing web hosting, securing a domain name, and potentially even hiring specialist designers and developers.

If you want to minimize your running costs, then you can operate an entire ecommerce business and sell anything from anywhere, thanks to Buy Now Plus:

You can use our free online service to generate a wide range of buy now buttons. Buy Now Plus operates on top of the popular Stripe payment gateway, so you can even accept credit card payments without an online store:

The Stripe checkout can be useful tool for joining the great resignation.

After creating these buttons, you can post them to any location that accepts text, including all major social media platforms.

You can even sign up for an email automation service such as ActiveCampagn, and run email campaigns featuring your buy now buttons.

Conclusion

Quitting your job is never a decision to take lightly. However, if you’ve always dreamed of running your own ecommerce business, then now may be the perfect opportunity.

Let’s quickly recap how to launch your own ecommerce venture and join the great resignation:

Find your niche.
Create a business plan.
Generate buy now buttons, using a tool such as Buy Now Plus.

Do you have any other questions about how to start a successful ecommerce business? Let us know in the comments section below!

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