By Ikenna Pius
A new study has recently revealed that eCommerce stores record profits of around 22% more than brick and mortar stores.
Therefore, the short answer to the question is yes, online stores can make a great deal more money than normal stores; one only has to get the dynamics right. The only evidence one needs as to the accuracy of this statement is to look at the sheer number of ecomerce websites that have sprang up.
Regular internet users will testify that every day, while doing their normal internet browsing, they come across adverts of clothes, shoes, bags, and watches. This is the work of savvy online boutique owners trying to grab a share of the market while it is still hot. You too can make a lot of money selling items like these if you act fast. Here is how:
How Can I Start An Online Boutique?
Open Your boutique Through Social Media
You can start an online boutique right now if you have a solid social media presence. In fact, the social appeal gives one more leverage in the world of internet marketing, which is why big brands come down to size by using influencers to market their products.
Think of it that you are your own influencer; you are both the influencer and the business owner.
Of course you need to have built up a reputation on that social media platform as someone who knows fashion. You cannot spend 4 years tweeting and blogging about politics or religion, and then one day start posting pictures of nice clothes.
It will take some time; by consistently posting the products from your online boutique for between 6 months and 1 year; you will get your followers to associate you with nice things. It will also give the social media algorithms time to attract new followers to you, based on your interests.
Of course the time is reduced to a matter of weeks if one is already a popular figure; and has long been known to have a sense of fashion.
What To Know About Online Boutiques (Social Media)
Quality Over Quantity
It is not about having millions of followers as some foolishly pay money to do. Even if one only has a few hundred or thousand followers one can still achieve success in this business if the followers are quality ones.
This quality is measured by the number of engagements that one gets. That means the number of views, likes and comments; especially reasonable comments.
If one gets a lot of comments like those, then it shows a lot of potential. It shows that when one starts posting the products he has for sale, then there are high chances of converting that potential into profits.
Be Your Brand Ambassador
This is a lot easier if one has a background in fashion, make up or things like that; in fact, many people who go on to establish online boutiques actually started by casually posting pictures of themselves.
In simple terms; it has to be about the person first, before the products. That is what social media is after all; a place for people to connect with one another. People need to like the person or admire the person; and then naturally they will like to dress and behave like the person.
It is a natural progression of events; and the end result is the same; getting people to buy your stuff. However, it has to happen naturally; by first getting people attracted to you, getting people’s attention.
It certainly helps if you are pretty, and know how to smile.
Social media is not the only way to operate a boutique online; there is another way; although it is somewhat more expensive, and less personal.
Selling With An Affiliate Website
There are many companies that enable people to open e stores through which they can sell online. The idea is that the person registers with the company, and so becomes an agent or a seller on their platform. When a sale is made, the profits are shared, and the buyer has the product shipped to his location.
However, that still leave us with the problem of sharing the profits with a rich company. That would not have been any problem except for the fact that it takes a lot of work to get the products seen.
After going through all that stress, many people prefer to keep the profits for themselves. Which is why they choose the option below.
Selling With Your Own Website
This brings individuality, more control, and more profits to the boutique owner. When you see names like chukkyscollection dot com, brianeselection dot net, or jennysboutique.biz, what comes to mind?
You know right away that it is all about clothes, and that going to such a website will mean seeing fashion items. In truth, that is power; when a websites purpose is easily known, then people are more likely to visit.
Even with your website you will still need to draw traffic (draw eyes) to your products. The easiest way to do this is still through social media; but this time with paid ads. This gives you more reach. For a small payment you get hundreds of thousands of people to see what you have to sell.
This even tells people that ready for business because when they see an ad they know you spent money to do it, and that you want money in return.
You can also place adverts on Google or on websites and forums where you know that people within your country or city are in large numbers. By so doing, you can have a nice business operation going; when you make a sale, you set aside a small fraction of the profits to spend on adverts.
How To Prepare Before Starting An Online Boutique?
You can operate from home. You do not need to have an office or a brick and mortar boutique, although if you have one, then it is still a plus.
In fact, those who already have a brick and mortar clothing stores have better chances of finding success as online boutique owners. It can also work if you have been selling clothes out of your house or car.
Your physical business operations will give you an important resource; a customer base. This means phone numbers, contacts, or even addresses. You even know what type of clothes or fashion items that each individual customer likes. This information is power which you can leverage upon to build your online presence.
You can then send pictures of similar products that you have in store to their whatsapp, facebook, email or twitter, or any other online avenue that you have collected. But you need to have first collected that data. Here is how to go about that.
When someone makes a purchase from you, you directly tell them that you want to get their contacts so that you can show them when you have more in stock. Be aware that most people do not like to give away their information to strangers, so it will take a little bit of persuading.
Smile, be polite, and tell them you can save them the stress of coming out here by bringing the goods to them. People like convenience, so they are going to fall for that.
Where To Start Your Online Boutique
A good place to start your online boutique is wherever you are sitting right now. Look at the person next to you, and try to sell him something. Yes, it is a lot easier if the person is an acquaintance; someone you have known for a long time.
That should give you confidence; it would just be like a normal conversation. Tell the person that you have a product in stock, and it would be a lot better if you have some pictures to show him.
After a few conversations like that (with that person and others) you will have learned what to expect from people. In order words, you would have learned how to sell.
It is funny how people who have sold anything in their lives think they can just come to the internet and make millions of dollars. If dreams like that came true, I would be president!
Start selling now, and then build your brand. Selling is a thing of passion; it is something that comes naturally, or at least is built naturally.
Further Reading:
- 5 Secrets To Successful Online Boutique
- Is Boutique Business Profitable?
- Where To Get Clothes To Start A Boutique
- How To Do Dropshipping In 4 Steps
Closing
Yes, studies have shown that online boutiques are more profitable than brick and mortar stores, but studies should also show that most success stories in the online clothing business actually start from brick and mortar outlets. Individuals and corporations who make big money selling online have their foundations in the old school way of selling fashion items-they have only adapted to the trend.
While it is not necessary to first open a physical boutique; it is necessary to at least have a background in selling fashion. That experience is what you will build upon to grow your online boutique to compete with the big boys.
Of course there are some exceptions to the rule; some very lucky persons can hit a home run straight out of the blue; but the chances of that happening are rather slim, and a betting person wouldn’t care for the odds.
