Many new entrepreneurs want to bring in revenue before investing in their own websites and online stores. But at the same time, you don’t want to miss reaching a larger audience online to sell to. If you feel the same way, you’re in the right place.
There are multiple ways to sell your products/services to customers online, even without a dedicated online store.
Read on to know more and the things you should consider before choosing the method that is best suited for your business.
How to Sell Online Without a Website
Sell on Online Marketplaces
Online marketplaces are the best place to start. There are a lot of options out there, so make sure you choose the best platform to sell on.
Ecommerce giants such as Amazon and eBay are online marketplaces that allow sellers to list their products and sell directly to customers worldwide. You can register to create a seller’s account. Once that is done, you can start listing your products along with images and descriptions and wait for the orders to start rolling in.
The primary advantage of selling on ecommerce marketplaces is that they are established and popular online stores that facilitate the sale of millions of products every day. They also offer a variety of attractive packages that include a wide range of ecommerce services, such as speedy delivery and priority listing.
However, keep in mind that you will be charged a commission proportional to the total revenue you earn through sales on the platform.
Leverage Social Media Platforms
The social media boom in the last decade has been a blessing for small businesses across the world. That’s because social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram enable users to create a business account.
Social media giant Facebook allows you to create a personalised online store that can be accessed from your profile. This makes it easy for anybody to list their products and attract customers across the world.
Interested users can simply click the message button and reach out to you to complete their purchase. This entire process can be achieved without a website of your own.
Instagram allows users to create business accounts that showcase their product offerings. With an Instagram business account, you get access to analytics as well as unique engagement options to improve your interactions with potential customers.
Interested customers who wish to buy your products or want to enquire can Direct Message (DM) you. Then you can assist them through the process in real-time.
Both Instagram and Facebook also offer paid promotion plans that will help you reach a large number of users based on filters that you set.
To achieve success while selling on social media, it’s important to prioritise content and attractive visuals. Write informative and engaging product descriptions, upload attractive product images and create content that’s designed to showcase your offerings and engage your audience.
RELATED: How to Choose the Right Social Media Platforms for Your Small Business
Be an Online Wholesaler
If the previous two options are not for you, the next best thing is to become an online wholesaler.
If you want to sell your products without having to deal with the responsibilities of warehousing, delivery, and advertising, you can sell your products to other online retailers.
When you decide to become an online wholesaler, keep in mind that retailers will demand a significant markup on each product they stock and sell. So, you must determine if such a pricing model works for your business.
If it does, you can make a list of online stores that stock similar products to yours and approach them to build a potential partnership.
Why Having a Website is the Best Option
Despite the different avenues for online selling, certain drawbacks cannot be ignored.
Selling through marketplaces does little to nothing for your brand since customers tend to associate the purchase with the ecommerce platform instead of your business.
With selling over social media, the scalability is minimal. If you’re looking to expand your business in the future, it will be impossible for the platforms to support your desired growth.
Therefore, nothing beats having your own website. When you build your online store, you get to establish a strong brand identity and have absolute control over how it looks, the prices, transactions, and support for your customers.
Good thing you can get your own website up and running in seconds with a website builder and register a domain name that’s every inch your own.
