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Selling products online is a satisfying and potentially lucrative way to make a living. And it can certainly be a fun business to own. However, it’s definitely more fun and more lucrative if your online store is successful. Here are seven tips to make your online store successful.

#1 It’s about more than your products. In fact, if your visitors are turned off by your website or cannot quickly and easily find what they’re looking for on your online store, they’re going to click away and will never get close to becoming a customer. So the first and perhaps most important consideration for online success is to make sure your website is user friendly.

This means it’s easy to navigate and visually appealing. Know that visually appealing doesn’t necessarily mean fancy. In fact some of the most successful online stores appear quite simple. Don’t believe it? Visit amazon.com. That is not a fancy storefront and it’s probably the most successful online store ever. Make sure that:

- Your customers can easily search for the items they want
- Items aren’t more than two clicks away
- Placing items in a shopping cart is simple and intuitive
- The page isn’t visually cluttered

#2 Make sure the purchasing process is seamless. Abandoned shopping carts are the bane of an online store owner’s existence. One of the reasons people abandon their shopping cart is because they weren’t able to find information they needed before they clicked “submit”. For example, the shipping fees and taxes aren’t readily available.

Another reason people abandon shopping carts is because they don’t feel their information is safe. Take every precaution to keep your customer’s information safe. Use VeriSign and other encoding tools and confidently publish your customer’s safety on your website.

Make sure the shopping cart is easy to find, easy to use and the checkout process is safe.

#3 Think about the products themselves. Now, every product isn’t necessarily going to be a five-star winner. However, you want to make sure you’re selling products you’re proud to sell and feel comfortable standing behind. Additionally, when it comes to an online store, people want to know what the product is and how it benefits them, and they want to see a picture. High-quality pictures go a long way and so too does an accurate and thorough description.

#4 Shipping and fulfillment – This is a two-sided coin. You want your customers to be completely over-the-moon happy with the shipping and fulfillment process and you want it to be simple and cost-effective for you. If you’re using a drop shipper, this takes much of the burden off of you. However, you still need to make sure your customer is satisfied with the process.

#5 Management – Make sure you have systems, policies and procedures in place that not only make running an online store almost automated, but also that protect you and your customers. The more efficient your business, the easier it is on everyone and the less likely it is that there will be mistakes.

#6 Market your business. Marketing an online store embraces online marketing techniques like PPC and article marketing. However, it can also take advantage of offline marketing tactics like radio, print and even local television. Create goals, a budget and a plan and then execute that plan with an eye toward the data. Find systems and strategies that work and fine-tune them.

#7 Always remember your customers. Your customers are your biggest asset and to that end they should always be at the forefront of your mind. Are they satisfied? Are they thinking of you when they need your product? Are they recommending you? How can you make your business better meet their needs? Follow up, offer them incentives and make your customer feel like they’re the most important person in the world.

Owning an online store takes planning, time and energy. However, once it’s up and running and your systems are fine-tuned, you can have a business to be proud of. To your success!

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