As online markets become more saturated, shoppers also become more vigilant. According to a report by the eCommerce Foundation, 88 percent of consumers pre-research their products online before purchasing a product, either online or in-store.
There’s still plenty of room on the web to grow a business. Yet, many people still fail. One of the main points of failure is not picking one of the in-demand online services to operate within.
If you’re tired of working at a 9 to 5 job and like the idea of starting something of your own, these following ideas can get you off the ground.
Set Up an E-commerce Store
E-commerce stores allow their customers to buy goods online through their websites. If you want a quick start, Shopify is among the most popular hosting platforms for e-commerce businesses, and it’s pretty easy to set up too.
There are various ways you can start your own business on Shopify. You can sell all types of goods and services, including clothes, art, and tech products. Shopify allows you to add and curate items for your customers to view and buy.
A top tip to make your customers happy is listening to feedback, providing quality products, and being open to making changes to your Shopify store.
Dropshipping
If investing in making your own products for an e-commerce store seems too much of a hassle, then try your luck in dropshipping. It’s a way of selling products without ever having physical contact with them.
Rather than stocking products, you only order the products from the seller once you receive an order, and send it directly to the customer.
This method saves you from renting a warehouse for storage. The only thing you have to worry about is marketing your store, maintaining it, and collecting payments.
Spocket for Dropshipping on Shopify
Spocket is an app with access to tons of great suppliers in the US, Europe, Canada, Asia, and more. It pairs perfectly with Shopify, as you can add new suppliers to your store in just a few clicks. It’s an intuitive app that’s very easy to use, and it’s an excellent source for suppliers. Spocket currently boasts the highest reviews among all the dropshipping apps. To try out this awesome app visit this link here.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a popular marketing tactic that gives the affiliates a commission in the case of a sale based on an affiliate’s recommendation.
Several platforms offer an affiliate program where you get a unique affiliate link. When the customers click this link, they go to the merchant’s website. Then, if they buy a product, you get a percentage of the sale.
As an affiliate marketer, you should service the retailer and the customers by providing honest reviews and product comparisons of quality products.
Many big e-commerce sites offer affiliate programs, including Amazon, eBay, and Skillshare. There are various ways to promote these links, including social media websites, YouTube, ads, and blogging.
3D Printing Services
3D printing has matured enough to become a viable manufacturing process since its inception in the 1980s. Although 3D printers have become cheaper over the years, many individuals are reluctant to purchase a printer themselves.
Instead, they choose to outsource the production of their designs by people that offer online printing services. If you own a 3D printer, then providing online printing services isn’t too expensive to start.
You need to focus on marketing and have sufficient storage to store your products.
3D printed products may include jewelry, tech accessories, and toys, etc.
App Development
In 2021, there are around 6.3 billion smartphone users worldwide, and this number continues to grow each year. With this increasing popularity, app development is becoming an ever-growing field.
Popular application types include games, management, and messaging applications. If you’re a software developer, you can use the relevant software to develop applications for either IOS or Android operating systems. You can then publish these apps to either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, respectively.
App building is also becoming more accessible to the general population, with many no-code app builders existing today.
Buying/Selling Domains
Selling domains is an online service that can help other online services get their start by providing them with a catchy domain name.
A domain is a website name. Buying domain names to resell them at a later date is a brilliant business opportunity.
There is no setup cost for this model. However, a lot of time is required to research which domains to buy. You can search up new names that are not yet purchased or the ones about to expire.
Once you have a domain registered under your name, you can look for buyers to purchase that domain. You should avoid buying trademarked domain names as companies can legally force you to sell them back to them at little to no cost.
Editorial Services
Content, content content, no online business gets off the ground without it these days.
A considerable amount of editorial work in today’s market doesn’t require you to set foot in an office. Editorial services include content writing, proofreading, ghostwriting, email copywriting, and many more.
If you have a good command of your language, you can quickly start working from home, as long as you have a computer and an internet connection.
Once you establish your reputation as a great writer, the business should flow in. You could start with content mills or Upwork. Then, in the long term, you can also reach out to larger companies offering your writing services.
Customer Service
This is one of the more popular choices for online business owners, and these days almost everyone interacts with customer support in one way or another.
If you like helping people, a remote customer service agent could be a good option for you. You can choose to help customers via chat or a phone call.
For a company like Walmart, you can apply for Walmart Online Customer Services jobs by filling out application forms on their website. You could also choose to freelance instead.
Social Media Management
You can find social media everywhere in our lives, and this is an excellent opportunity for businesses to communicate with their customers.
Several businesses outsource their social media marketing and management jobs to outsiders, who then create posts shared across various platforms, which helps scale their business.
You can also work as a social media consultant who offers their services to business owners to teach them how to use social media to their advantage.
Search Engine Optimization
Brands these days are looking to rank at the top page of Google and other search engines. SEO is essential for the success of any online business, and this means that SEO consultants and specialists are high in demand and can earn decent revenue.
Becoming knowledgeable in SEO takes a lot of time and effort. If committed enough, however, you can create excellent content that sells itself. You need knowledge and experience in the industry, as well as an analytical mind that can interpret data.
What Online Services Are in Demand? ( quick video )
Start Selling Online Services
Online businesses can be a great source of income and require very little investment compared to traditional businesses. You just have to put the effort in to start!
Choosing which online services to provide can seem like a difficult task, but with a little bit of patience, you can get the wheels moving on your new business adventure. Check out some of our other articles to help get you started.
