Starting an online store today can be as easy as one-two-three. As a case in point, Shopster can help you set up your virtual storefront in just thirty minutes. However, it is essential for you to remember that making money via an online store is not that simple.
So today, we’ve decided to star t our Power Merchant Tips series. We will tackle tips for selling specific products online at least once a month to help you get started on the right foot. After all, the key to successful selling online is finding the right niche for you.
Online bookstores are among the most popular niches to target for your first store. It has a wide market base and the level of entry is not that difficult. Of course, you have your usual competitions: Amazon and local bookstores with online presences. But people are always out to find the best deal online, so online booksellers still have a fighting chance in the market.
When starting your own online store for books, here are some tips you can follow:
- Do proper categorization. Start with the major categories, these can include the following: biography, business books, cook books, education, award winners, fiction, health, history, comics and graphic novels, Children’s books, magazines, technology, language, reference, music, religion, travel, science, sports and more.
- Make sure all your books are tagged properly, this should include the title, the author, the date of publication, the publisher, the ISBN and a short description of the book.
- Photos make a difference. Of course everyone knows that books are bought for their content, but give your sales a little push by making sure all your inventory have pictures of the book’s cover.
- Add a book review section. Today’s savvy shoppers always look for reviews for any item they purchase and book’s are no exception. A book review section encourages visitor interaction and adds valuable content to your website.
- Make book suggestions by posting your top sellers list as well as those known in the industry like the New York Times Best Sellers List. Display inventory that you have for items in the best sellers lists to take advantage of the particular item’s popularity.
- Add a section featuring your newest products. This is a good technique to keep your return visitors interested. These are the people who may already be familiar with your site but have come back to it to check if you have anything fresh to offer.
- Make sure popular items are always in stock. Even if you are working with dropship suppliers, order your items ahead of time before they run out.
- Consider adding special services like a book buy back program. This a is useful tactic for reselling used books. If you notice that school books or text books are a taking up a huge chunk of your sales, you may be able to capitalize on this some more by offering to buy back old books from your customers at a fraction of their cost.
- Add deals and promos. Book buyers are always on the hunt for best prices, if you can offer this, the next best thing is offering bundle promos. Put together your own set and price it for less than individual books. Also works well for book series, for instance, you can sell all 7 Harry Potter books for a set price.
- Cross promote your items. A subtle way of hinting more sales is to add a related items functionality to your product section. If your potential buyer is looking at a particular book, your product page can also suggest books by the same author or those that deal with a similar topic. Use encouraging words like: “You may also want to look at…” as the header of your related items feature.
There you have it, ten great tips to help you start your very own online bookstore.
Happy Selling!
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