Wait a minute with that investment! How to start a shopping site

When launching an e-commerce site, what do you think about first? Basically, I think most people start by selecting a vendor, considering which company to ask, and how much it will cost to create the site.

However, before selecting a vendor, there's something you should do first. It's to thoroughly understand and research the products you intend to sell, especially their online sales potential. How big is the market? Who is the target audience? How will you sell it? Can it even be sold in the first place?

And these are things that should be researched and decided before spending a lot of money to build a system. And if possible, the ideal is to be confident that it 'will sell' before building a solid e-commerce site and starting to spend a lot of money.

In reality, there are countless ways to sell products online without spending a lot of money on an e-commerce site. There are many platforms, including Shopify and BASE, that allow you to start selling products right away.

In this day and age, there's no need to make a large investment without any particular conviction that it will sell, or without any sales track record. Because products that don't sell online won't sell, no matter how good a website you create.

Even if you have a track record of offline sales, the needs online will be different. Therefore, the best approach is to try selling online, and if it sells, then expand. This time, we will introduce those methods.

1. Thoroughly consider your strategy.

In any case, let's think about strategy. Who is the target, and how will you present your brand? How will you attract people? Thoroughly consider your sales strategy, including branding, and put it into writing or diagrams.

Branding is, of course, also important. Let's decide on the basic policy for presentation, such as whether to go for a luxury route, or high volume with low margins, and what kind of impression you want to convey.

If the basic policy isn't decided here, there's no way to move forward. Actions should always be based on strategy and hypotheses, and there's no need to lose profit by moving blindly.

However, taking action is more important than anything else, so it's also not good to keep refraining from acting just because your strategy isn't fully solidified. Even if it's not perfect, if you're reasonably satisfied, try implementing it right away.

Seeing is believing. Take action, correct course if you make mistakes, and gradually improve the completeness of your strategy. In this day and age, even goals can change if necessary. Let's make flexible adjustments.

2. Prepare product photo materials, write introductory text, and set prices.

As I wrote before in 'How to increase sales on an e-commerce site,' one way to more reliably increase sales is to 'prepare a vast amount of information.' Thoroughly create descriptions for each and every product.

Also, photo materials are important. Take the cleanest photos possible. If you can ask a photographer, I think it's best to ask them, but you can also take photos yourself if you have a reasonably good camera.

Smartphones, including iPhones, have also become capable of shooting with excellent image quality. In any case, strive to take clear photos that clearly show the product.

Also, what's important here is pricing. This relates to the branding you decided earlier. If you're going for a luxury route, the price will be somewhat high, and if you're going for high-volume, low-margin products, you'll naturally sell them at a low price.

It's often better not to choose ambiguous prices if possible. Of course, it's not to say that there are no cases where choosing an ambiguous price intentionally leads to success, but in any case, pricing is important, so decide it carefully in conjunction with your branding.

3. Select a platform that allows selling for free.

Up to this point, it should be possible to try it for free, unless you hire a photographer. Now, let's finally publish it online.

Traditionally, you would outsource to a website production company to develop an e-commerce site, etc. This would be the most expensive part of the process. However, in this day and age, conveniently, there are tons of platforms that allow you to sell products for free. There's no reason not to use these platforms.

Even if you plan to build a proper e-commerce site later, trying to sell using a free platform can lead to significant discoveries. Will it actually sell in the first place? By trying to sell, you can also get a feel for whether it's likely to succeed. Before making a large investment, try it out first. We will introduce several platforms, so please give them a try.

★ Daily sales & free listings on LINE MALL
https://mall.line.me/

★ Easy flea market app on your smartphone
http://mercari.jp/

★ Fril – Already sold, safe and easy flea market app
https://fril.jp/

★ BASE – Creating an online shop has never been easier
https://thebase.in/

★ STORES.jp – Create an online store surprisingly easily in as little as 2 minutes
https://stores.jp/

★ BASE Download Sales
http://apps.thebase.in/detail/20

★ Synapse Online Salon Platform
https://synapse.am/

★ Time Ticket – My 30 minutes, now for sale.
https://www.timeticket.jp/

★ Street Academy – Learn, teach, connect
http://www.street-academy.com/

★ Shopify
https://www.shopify.com/

I've included concepts from a different angle than just e-commerce sites, but this is just what I found with a quick search. Download sales, membership communities, selling your own time, and education can all be sold anytime now using free platforms. Not just physical goods, but all sorts of things can be sold by utilizing existing platforms.

Before making a large investment, try mastering and selling with these tools. If you can solidify your strategy and create a solid sales funnel, then products that can sell, will sell.

4. Secure your sales funnel and lists.

However, even if branding is established and strategies are in place, it's meaningless if people don't visit. Adding new content to the internet is like throwing a gold nugget into a desert. No matter how good the product is, it's completely meaningless if it can't be found.

In many cases, when developing a strategy regarding lead generation, you'll likely think about it with a marketer. For effective selling methods, relying on professionals will lead to more efficient progress. In any case, let's consider where to attract people from.

Then, ensure you can always deliver communications to the people you've gathered. Let's create a list of contact information. Social networks such as Instagram, Facebook Pages, X (formerly Twitter), Ameba Blog, and YouTube make it easier to build a list. By effectively using social networks, it's possible to gather a large list quickly.

For Facebook Pages, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), increase followers. For YouTube and Ameba Blog, increase readers and subscribers. By steadily continuing content distribution and gathering more lists, gain more routes for people to see your products. This list itself will become a great asset.

5. Let's promote.

Once you've created lead generation and gathered a list, it's time for promotion. If the product information is well-prepared and its appeal is sufficiently conveyed, simply delivering that information to people who desire the product should lead to purchases.

Distribute products to your list, upload articles to your blog, post on social media, etc. In any case, make sure it's visible. If you don't promote, no one will pay attention to your products. Don't be afraid; promote your products aggressively.

However, what you should consider here is to avoid making users uncomfortable by being too overt with your promotions. Think from every possible angle and consider how you can connect with product purchases without making users uncomfortable.

This will likely require the most thought. Even beneficial products, if pushed too aggressively, can diminish purchasing desire. Put yourself in the customer's shoes and consider what you should communicate. If you can deliver comprehensive information about better products to many people at a fair price, sales can be expected. If it's not selling, it means something is misaligned.

6. Summary

If you only invest your own effort, you can reach sales with almost no monetary cost. By simply leveraging sales platforms, you can offer services or sell products from zero cost, without making huge investments yourself.

As I've said many times, there's no reason not to use these. It's not too late to make significant investments, such as building a shopping site, even after conducting test sales for free with minimal cost, repeating improvements, and recognizing that it sells to some extent. Let's properly launch a site and develop marketing with a clue that can achieve greater effects more efficiently.

That being said, I believe there are various opinions regarding the content of this discussion. Opinions may vary, such as 'It's better to do it properly from the start' or 'Selling products on free platforms affects branding'.

However, wouldn't making a large investment without conviction, running out of cash, and ultimately closing down be more of a risk?

First, learn about marketing for free, experience it, research it, and repeat input and output; even after that, making a large investment is not a late decision. First, start with what you can do immediately around you. Let's try it out!