5 Steps to Successfully Transition from a Blog to an Online Store

There are countless of ways to make money online with your blog. And you may have launched your blog for this particular reason.

However, there's also a chance that you want to expand your sources of income online. Monetizing your blog using ads and affiliate links can only draw you so much.Therefore, you may want to consider making money with products you made instead of words you wrote. This method is specially advantageous if you truly have the passion for online selling.

One thing you should be aware of is the drastic shift from publishing content to becoming a seller. Not only do you have to get acclimated with the changes that come with managing an online shop, but also temper the expectations of the audience you've built throughout the years with your blog.

Therefore, if you are hellbent on integrating e-commerce elements into your blog, then you're in the right place. Below are the steps that you need to take to transition gradually from being just a blogger to also becoming a seller.

1. Consider Changing Your Platform

Selling on your current platform may not be adequate for you. In this case, you could consider hopping onto Shopify. Shopify is a widely used e-commerce platform for online stores on the web. It's the most preferred platform especially for new owners because of its functionality. It's also easy to use with no coding experience required when building your online store. Plus, it supports multiple payment gateways that are fast and secured, an endless theme selection, and a reliable technical support among others.

2. Ease in Your Email List

Consider the importance of transitioning your email list about your plans. If you don't have a list yet, then it's high time that you should start building your following. It is critical to building an email list because your customers may want to hear more from you than you realize.

As you build up your list, you can eventually pitch to them your products. To persuade the people who consume your free blog is to repurpose and enhance the value of your content. Remember, this list is highly valuable. They are the people that are already interested in your blog and will probably be interested in the products you are going to sell too.

3. Prepare Your Marketing Materials

Next thing to prepare is your marketing materials. Do you have high-quality product photos? Have you created your social media accounts already? These are just some of the things you'll need to have so you can market your products successfully.

You will also need to create a plan that will cite all the things you'll need and do before and after the launch of your store.

4. Leverage Influencer Marketing

Having influencers who are well known in your industry can help you market your products as well as build more of your followers. These followers can then be eager to purchase your products because they know that who they follow are vouching for you. Tap into bloggers that are relevant to your niche, know how to talk to them, and provide them something in return.

5. Build Anticipation

Launching a product can be a stressful yet exciting event for you. To be able to spread the word out, it's great that you create anticipation towards your followers and non-followers. An e-commerce store, Solid Giant, made more than $3000 within minutes after launching because they successfully built a hype on their community.

Hand Out Freebies

It's recommended to give offer them freebies and giveaway to develop your relationship with the people who regularly visit your site. Additionally, you can also hand out special deals that are only available specifically for your readers.

Create Teasers

Creating teasers on your blog and social media can excite your followers. Maximize social media and create short clips of videos or product shots to get more attention. If you already have an email list, make sure to include them in sending out your teaser promotions.

Wrapping it up

Get the tools you need to setup your launch and your e-commerce store and follow the steps above to sell things from your blog effectively. As simple as it may sound, there is still commitment required from you. Take it upon yourself to do something that the products you'd love to sell will be loved by your followers as well.

Related posts:

How to Build an Online Store on WordPress Using WooCommerce

10 Things You Should Do When Starting an Online Store

Author: Christopher Jan Benitez

Content marketer during the day. Heavy sleeper at night. Dreams of non-existent brass rings. Writer by trade. Pro wrestling fan by choice (It's still real to me, damnit!). Family man all the time.

Source: 5 Steps to Successfully Transition from a Blog to an Online Store