Work at Home Moms

If you don't want to sell information products, downloadable products, or run a membership type website, then starting an ecommerce business is the perfect business model for you. If you are not sure what type of products to sell online, or need ideas on choosing a niche, then you've landed on the right page! Now more than ever is a great time to start your ecommerce business.

 

Step 1. Choose a Niche - What Do you Want to Sell Online?

 

 

The first step is to choose a niche. Check out the lists below to get a feel for what niche you may want to enter online and then go to step number two.

 

Apparel Internet Business

Automotive and Tool Internet Business

Beauty and Health Internet Business

Bed and Bath Internet Business

Books, Music & Movies Internet Business

Computer and Laptop Internet Business

Consumer Electronics Internet Business

Fashion Accessories Internet Business

Gift, Craft and Hobby Internet Business

Home and Garden Internet Business

Industrial Supply Internet Business

Jewelry and Watches Internet Business

Kitchen/Housewares Internet Business

Kids and Baby Internet Business

Leisure and Sports Internet Business

Toys and Collectables Internet Business

 

Step 2. Supplies and Order Fulfillment

In order to start your internet-based business you will need a large supply of products. Naturally you're not going to want to create your own products or even ship the products out yourself; this is where using drop-ship vendors will fulfill this task.

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Doba

 

As you locate drop-ship vendors each drop-ship vendor will need to obtain your EIN (Employer Identification Number) in order to use their services. You can apply for an EIN online at the Internal Revenue Service's website. If you plan on running your business as a sole proprietor you may not need to obtain an EIN. You can simply use your social security number when submitting your information to each drop-ship vendor.

Before heading off to apply for an EIN from the IRS, now is a good time to start thinking about what type of business entity you would like to form:

Download the Legal Structure Mini Guide

 

Generally, if you use a service online to form a corporation the service provider can also obtain an EIN for you -- saving you valuable time. Or, you can consult with your Lawyer or Accountant to help you get set up.

 

 

 

Step 3. Building your Online Business Storefront

 

 

 

Once you've located reputable drop-ship vendors, you'll need a robust online shopping cart. There are many shopping cart service providers on the Internet -- so much so that it can become quite confusing on selecting one.

Here are your choices for creating an ecommerce store:

 

Using a website builder
Hiring a Web programmer
Using an online shopping cart service
Using a shopping cart script

 

 

 

The Easiest Way to Build an Ecommerce Store

 

 

The easiest way to build your online storefront is using an online shopping cart provider. The benefits of using an online shopping cart provider are:

- No graphic design skills needed

- No programming necessary

- Comes with email accounts

- Comes with free store templates

- Use PayPal and Google Checkout

- Bulk product imports and exports

- Automated thumbnail image creation

- Customers can create wish lists/registries

- UPS, Fed Ex & USPS integration

- Customers can track & view order history

- Real-time inventory control

 

- Setup drop shippers & automatically route orders to those warehouses

- And more!

 

 

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Step 4. Marketing and Advertising

 

Once you have your online storefront set up, it's time to start getting the word out about your new online business. The fastest way to bring potential customers to your online store is purchasing pay-per-click advertising. There are many advertising networks online, but you should start out first with all the major online advertising networks like Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and the Microsoft AdCenter.


Using services like Google AdWords will allow you to display text ads, video ads, banner ads, and even audio ads. Although you will need some money to use these services, it's a sure fire way to bring in interested buyers looking for your products. At first you will need to play with your ad copy and keywords to ensure that you are converting those clicks in to actual paying customers.
 

 

Build an Ecommerce Store Easily...

 

Mommy Empire Hosting

 

 

Discover Drop-Ship Vendors...

 

Doba