There are many ways you can successfully sell whitelabeled Botanie Soap, but selling online is one of the simplest and most effective ways. Not only can you run your online soap business completely out of your home, but you can also tap into a nearly unlimited number of customers since it allows you to sell all over your country and even the world. When it comes to setting up your online business, there are many options, such as building your own website, selling on Amazon or using a website building software. Be sure to check out our post, “How to Sell on Amazon,” for information on selling your product with an Amazon seller account. In this article, we are going to dive into the steps to create an online store using the website building software Shopify.
Before Creating Your Shopify Site
In order to start an online store on any platform, there are a few things you need to decide:
- Your store name
- Your store brand identity
- What products you will sell
Knowing this information will help you set up a consistent and professional online business. Take some time to consider name, branding options and products that your ideal customers will love before you dive into the technical side of opening an online store.
Try Shopify For Free
Once you have decided on a store name, brand identity and product list, visit Shopify.com to start your 14-day free trial. At the start of your free trial Shopify will have you enter your business name and personal information such as your name, address and phone number. Then, Shopify will ask you a few questions about the nature of your business in order to help you set up a store that works best for you.
After you are all signed up, you will land on the store admin screen and you can begin customizing your store. This includes adding products, setting up payment options and designing the look of your website.
Shopify Website Customization
Shopify makes it easy to customize the look and feel of your website by supplying pre-designed themes for you to choose from. After you choose a theme, you are able to customize that theme by changing and adding images, text and other features. You can upload your logo, select your color themes and much more.
After you spend some time customizing the look and feel of your site, begin to add products by selecting “Products” from the left-hand navigation bar and then click “Add Product.” Once you are here, Shopfiy makes it very easy to customize your product information. Enter your product names, descriptions and images, hit “Save Product.”
Shopify also allows you to create product collections that makes it easy for your customers to find exactly what they are looking for. For example, you could have a “Bar Soap” collection and a “Liquid Soap” collection. Under the “Products” menu on the left-hand navigation bar you can choose “Collections” and build the collections that work best for your business.
Selling on Shopify
After you customize your site, add your products and create product collections, it’s time to set up ways for your customers to pay you. There are many ways to accept payments on Shopify, so be sure to compare the fees they charge and which types of credit cards they take before choosing one. Shopify also makes it easy to incorporate Google Pay, Amazon pay and Apple Pay.
Before you make your Shopify site live, you need to make sure you are charging taxes and shipping on the correct products. In order to do this, go to the “Products” page and choose which product you would like to look at. Scroll down to the “Variants” section and make sure to check or uncheck the relevant tax and shipping boxes. To make sure your shipping costs are set up correctly, visit your “Settings” page and click “Shipping.”
The final step to take before your Shopify site goes live is to connect your domain. You can buy a domain from Shopify or a third-party source. Visit the “Settings” page, click “Domains,” and follow the instructions to connect your domain.
Once your free trial is up, you will have the opportunity to choose from their three pricing plans. Beginning at $29 per month, you can choose the plan that best fits your business needs. When you begin to pay for your Shopify account, it is time to hit the ground running to make sales. Here are a few tips for making more sales on your Shopify website:
Use personalized, branded product photos. Your customers are not interested in seeing the generic images of Botanie Soap or whatever products you are selling. Get creative and take photos of your products that match your brand and appeal to your ideal customer.
Optimize your product descriptions and titles for search engines such as google so more customers can find you.
Keep your site updated. Create a simple, enjoyable shopping experience for your customers by adding new products, updating descriptions and removing products no longer available.
Collect email addresses for marketing. When customers purchase from you, be sure to collect their contact information for future marketing efforts. Sending a discount email to previous customers or reminding customers to purchase what they left in their cart can greatly impact your sales.