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Announcing our latest integration with PayPal 🎉

We’ve teamed up with PayPal to bring you their latest integration, packed full of business-boosting features. And, like us, it’s now completely mobile!  

What’s so good about the latest version? 

  • We’ve already said it – it’s mobile! Get started from any device with a streamlined set-up flow.
  • More checkout options. Take payment from a wider range of credit cards and payment services. 
  • Faster set-up. Set up your PayPal business account within minutes, from any device.
  • Additional security. Complying with the latest EU regulations with PayPal’s security update.

I haven’t used PayPal before…

No problem! PayPal is one of the most popular payment gateways in the world, allowing anyone to send or receive money with just an email address. Setting up an account is easy; you can do this when creating your online store with Go Sitebuilder or head over to the PayPal website to sign up for your PayPal business account.

PayPal Commerce Platform

The PayPal Commerce Platform for business is PayPal’s most comprehensive e-commerce offering to date, enabled on your Go Sitebuilder online store. You can now automatically give your shoppers the flexibility to pay the way they want!

Selecting from the traditional PayPal button, a range of Alternative Payment Methods, Credit and Debit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express – All safeguarded by PayPal’s best-in-class machine learning fraud capabilities.

The new PayPal Commerce Platform also includes customisable credit and debit card fields in order to offer a seamless checkout experience for your customers paying by card.

… what are the benefits?

  • Sell more. PayPal Checkout provides a seamless checkout experience that makes it easy for your customers to purchase and helps you increase sales. Shoppers are 54% more willing to buy when a business accepts PayPal, especially in unfamiliar situations.​
  • Reach more customers. 93% of merchants who offer PayPal Checkout say they have reached a wider customer base.​
  • Proven Protection. PayPal’s fraud prevention tools are continuously adapting and give merchants total transparency and control.

Start selling

If you’re looking to open an online store, you’re in luck. A Go Sitebuilder subscription includes an online store (with unlimited product listings!) and much, much more. Sign up for a free trial and start selling online today!

More about PayPal…

Check out our dedicated PayPal page to learn even more about this latest update:

Learn More
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How to make your first online sale

How to make your first online sale

If you’ve already set up your online store, congratulations! You’re ready to start selling. We’ve come up with a few ways for you to get your store out there and make your all-important first sale.  

Haven’t set up your store yet? Take a look at how easy it is!

So, whether it’s in real life, with social media and online communities, or through advertising, here are a few ideas to help make your first sale…

How to promote your eCommerce store in real life

Even though your store is online, there are lots of ways to share it offline too:

  • Friends and family – Once you’ve set up your online store, tell your friends and family about it. Ask them to spread the word and share it with their own personal and online networks.
  • Sign-written vehicle – A little unusual, but stick with us! This is especially good if you have a strong online presence – which you will do now your beautiful site is ready! Have your web address, unique hashtags or social media handles made into a sticker. Put it in the rear window of your vehicle and you’ll have an easy way to direct people to your online presence.
  • Physical presence – If there are local places where your ideal customers regularly hang out, why not drop off some flyers? Leave them there for people to find and they can navigate to your store in their own time.
  • Pass on printed material – If you’re already attending things like makers’ fairs, local events or marketplaces, have business cards printed. Include your store details and hand out cards when somebody makes a purchase. That way, customers can share your store with their own friends and family. Who knows, they might even come back online and make a repeat purchase!

Leverage the power of online communities and social media

It couldn’t be easier to share your store online. However you choose to connect, be genuine and make it easy for customers to find you.

  • Share a link to your store on social media – Once your site is set up, you can share it to your online channels directly from the store itself. Click the social buttons and off you go!
  • Keep a link to your store in your bio – Whether you’re an Instagram person, a Twitter devotee, or you’ve set a Facebook business page, the bio section is prime real estate. The text ‘about you’ at the top of the page is highly visible. Put your store link there. If people are looking at your social feeds and they like what they see, they can explore your eCommerce site with a click.
  • Online communities – Join small business groups or residents’ groups local to you. There are communities of makers, side hustlers and business owners across the internet. A small word of warning: be sure to genuinely engage. Often communities will have rules about when, or if, you can post promotional material. Not only will people remember you better if you’re genuine, you might find that the support of a community is valuable in its own right.
  • Write a blog – Your blog is a great place to keep your followers up to date with everything that you’ve been up to. Sharing your store on your blog can be particularly useful, especially if you’ve got an engaged following. So, let your readers know your store is ready for business!

Don’t be afraid of online advertising

It might sound scary, but don’t worry! With the tools available to small businesses today, it’s easy to start advertising.

  • Google ads – You can drive traffic to your store in a few simple steps. Land the right customers on your website with clever targeting or take people to whichever product page you want to promote.
  • Facebook ads – If your ideal customer is on Facebook, then Facebook’s targeted advertising allows you to reach them.
  • Competitions and giveaways – These are different to the structured advertising on platforms like Facebook or Google. Social posts, where you offer a giveaway or hold a competition can help raise awareness of your products. Even if your followers don’t win the competition, you will at least have made them aware of your store. And you never know… they may go on and buy from you anyway.

 A quick word on advertising…

The key thing to remember with any kind of advertising is to know your audience. Have a clear idea of the kind of people that buy from you, where they like to spend time, what appeals to them and what doesn’t. For example, don’t advertise on Google, if people won’t be searching for your products on a search engine. Or, if you know that the kind of people that buy your products don’t use Facebook, you’ll probably be disappointed if you advertise there. So, bear your audience in mind when you plan your advertising.  

Good luck with your new store…

We hope this blog is helpful; these are a few ideas to help you on your way to your very first sale. Remember to be creative and keep letting people know that your store’s ready and open for business.

Excited? So are we… 😄 🎉

Set up your store today! Register for a free 14-day trial and you’ll be one step closer to selling your products online…

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How do I create an online store for free?

Happy smiling woman sitting on sofa, couch and using laptop to create an online store for free

If you own a business, building a website for your ecommerce store is the best way to expand your company. Considering that ecommerce sales are predicted to make up to 17.5% of retail sales globally by 2021, the world of ecommerce offers endless opportunities for you to help your business and brand grow. 

However, ecommerce sites can often be expensive. Most website builders charge extra if you want an additional ecommerce add-on with your website, although with Go Sitebuilder we offer it as part of our affordable and high quality package. However, if you’re new to the world of ecommerce, there are ways you can test the waters by setting up a store for free! 

Use social media 

Although you can’t make payments directly via social media, using platforms such as Instagram to show off images of your products is a great starting point for your ecommerce store. This is a good way to advertise your products, as it gives you the opportunity to get creative with your marketing: you can post short videos on how to use a certain product, or put together a collage of your best selling products. 

Social media is also a trusty source to turn to for a free ecommerce option as it gives the buyer the freedom to share their views on your products. For example, you can encourage people to comment on your posts with their views on your products – if what you’re selling is of good value for money, or is a quality item, the chances are the feedback will be positive, and can therefore prompt other potential customers to enquire into purchasing your products. Social media content is also easily shareable, which could help gain increased visibility for your ecommerce business. 

As most social media platforms have direct messaging services, a buyer can contact you if they see a product they like, and then you can arrange a simple payment via Paypal, or they can make a bank transfer. The downside is that there is no security for the buyer – although your business might be 100% genuine, there is no way for them to know that you’re not a scam. This could deter potential buyers from making a purchase with your business. 

Focus your attention on local sales 

Facebook marketplace is a great way to build your local reputation, which is ideal if you’re planning to build an ecommerce website which is mainly targeted at selling to individuals within your area. People on Facebook marketplace often know  what they’re looking for, so it is important to include relevant keywords and tags in your product descriptions. This way, your items are more likely to appear  in users’ search results. 

If you’re unsure of your pricing strategy, Facebook marketplace is also a good price comparison source – most offer discounted prices, as the products are second hand. If you have good quality photos of your products, and they are brand new, then you could get away with charging a bit more. However, you’ll need to really justify the reason for the price difference: make sure you write a great product description, and emphasise that you are a local business to really connect with potential customers. 

The downside to Facebook marketplace is that it is a fairly saturated market: most people will be on it to find the cheapest bargains they can find, and you don’t want to reduce your profit margin excessively by competing with other sellers who offer very discounted prices. Nevertheless, the platform is a good way to build your reputation as a local, trusted seller, and is a good starting point for your ecommerce business. 

Use a free ecommerce site 

Using a website builder with a free ecommerce section is perhaps the best way to build an ecommerce site for free. Most website builders will offer the option of having an SSL certificate, which shows buyers their details will be protected, although you might have to pay extra for this option. 

Building a website to advertise your products is also the best way to make your ecommerce site seem professional and high quality. This is because it allows potential customers to find your products easily by having them in categories, and gives you space to provide high-quality photos and in-depth product descriptions. 

The problem with free ecommerce sites is that they will often have hidden costs along the way, or have features which make your site seem less professional for the user. Freewebstore lets you create an ecommerce site for free, but its backend is complex and fairly restrictive, making it difficult for you to create a site with a web design which is right for your business. 

Webstarts is also another free ecommerce option, but it doesn’t give you any SEO options, such as a personalised URL or title tags and descriptions for products. If you want your website to rank on Google’s search engines, these factors are key: without them, Google’s algorithms won’t be able to see if your products are relevant to a search engine result, consequentially giving you a poor ranking on its search engine results. 

The best option for an ecommerce website is picking a website builder which offers all of the necessary features for your ecommerce site, at a low-cost price. Go Sitebuilder is an incredibly cost effective option, as we offer ecommerce features, SEO optimisation, SSL certificates and more within our bundle. And, with our 14-day free trial, you can see if it’s the right site builder for your ecommerce business free of charge!

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What’s the difference between local and global web design?

Pleasant conversation. Pretty young woman holding her kid while having telephone talk about the difference between local and global web design

If you’re building a website for the first time, or want to improve the web design of your site, you’ll need to work out whether you want to target a local or global market. Whilst it might be tempting to create a web design that falls into both of these categories, if you’re building a website from scratch for a brand new business, then it might be a good idea to focus your web design on just one of these categories. 

Go Sitebuilder offers ready to go sites which are completely customisable, so that you can build your website with a web design that perfectly suits your business, whether you’re aiming to keep it local, or to make it global. We take a look at some of the differences between local and global web design to help you decide which is the right web design for you. 

Colour scheme 

The psychology behind the colour scheme of your website is more important than you might think. According to TrueList, 42% of shoppers base their opinions of a website on the overall web design, and colour is an incremental factor when it comes to forming these judgements. When selecting the colour scheme for your site, think about what emotions you want to evoke, and what emotions the colours might inspire. 

If you’re building a website with the aim of targeting local customers or clients within your area, consider if there are any colours you can use that resonate with your locality. For example, if your town or city has a renowned sports team, you may choose to select a colour scheme which slightly mirrors the colours of that team. However, you also want to have a distinctive colour that resonates with your own brand – see if you can incorporate a colour which is unique to your business into your web design. 

On the other hand, if you’re building a website with the purpose of selling your products or services globally, you’ll want to pick a colour scheme which is more general. For example, some colours have negative connotations: in South Africa red is the colour of mourning, so you might want to opt for a more neutral colour scheme to ensure your web design is appealing to your global audience. 

Images 

Images also play an important role in the aesthetic appeal of your web design, as they not only add to the overall appearance of your site, but they help to convey a message. Using images is one of the quickest ways to communicate with your target audience – according to MIT, the human brain can process images in 13 milliseconds. That means it’s crucial to choose the right image for your website, as it is a great way to capture the interest of site visitors. 

If you’ve created a web design targeted at a local audience, one of the best ways to boost your image as a trusty, local business is to use local images. This doesn’t mean uploading a few snaps of some local landmarks onto your site – try snapping images of your products being used in a local area, or maybe upload a picture of your business collaborating with another local business. 

For a global web design, images of your local area are much less important: you don’t need to use images to highlight the fact  that you are a local business targeting local audiences, so you have more freedom in choosing which images to add to your web design. Use more general photos: stock images are a good way to add a professional touch to your website, without the cost of hiring a photographer. At Go Sitebuilder, we offer a huge range of stock photos to choose from, helping you build a website perfect for a global market within a few clicks. 

Content 

When building a website, your content not only conveys a message to your audience, but it also plays a big role in SEO, which affects your ranking on Google. You’ll need to decide how you want to structure your content for your web design: if your aim is to build a website for the global market, then you might want to focus mainly on keywords referring to the the products or services you sell, so that Google’s algorithms rank you higher on its search page results when someone searches for a specific item or service. 

If you’re a local business, you’ll still want to use keywords for your product, but you can also capitalise on local keywords, as it is fantastic for SEO: if you incorporate your location within your content on multiple pages then Google will rank you higher when someone searches for your products or services within the area. 

Whether you’re building a website for a local or global market, it’s important to find a website builder that is easy to use, but also offers quality services; Go Sitebuilder offers ready to go sites with completely customisable web designs, so that you can build a site that’s perfect for you. Our 14-day free trial gives you all the freedom you need to try our services, completely free of charge – try it today!

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How do I find a niche for my online store?

Asian woman using smartphone with happy mood smile face in shopping mall niche market

An online store can help you make some cash on the side, or it can be the start of a great new business venture. Either way, to make the most of your online store, you’ll need to put some research in at the beginning to make sure that you are supplying a product that will sell! If you’re still looking for a website builder, make sure you do your research and choose one like Go Sitebuilder that doesn’t have any hidden fees for selling products online. 

What is a niche?

Choosing a niche can mean several things, but the aim remains the same; providing a product or service that is different from others. Choosing a niche in general means deciding on the area you want to specialise in; that is, instead of DIY products in general, choosing kitchen DIY products, or painting products. This comes down to the old adage of being a jack of all trades and a master of none; if you specialise in an area, then people are more likely to trust you and your knowledge than if you sold many different products. 

This concept applies to a niche product – where you choose a specific type of product to specialise in (think leather shoes rather than all shoes) and to a niche market. A niche market is when you design a product for a specific market and then focus your marketing efforts on that small community. 

Why do I need a niche for my online store?

If you don’t choose a niche then you’re setting yourself up to disappear among the thousands of other online stores that are selling the same things as you. In 2020, competition is fierce in the ecommerce industry, product markets are saturated and consumers are becoming more and more demanding in terms of the convenience and speed of service. 

Choosing a niche product means that you won’t be in direct competition with huge competitors, who will be able to provide a faster, more convenient service. Because of their infinitely larger resources, this is not a competition you will be able to win. If you have a niche, however, you are more likely to appear higher up on a search engine results page when a user is looking for a specific product. More clicks – more revenue!

How to choose a niche product

Many niche products are unique, handmade products that cannot be replicated, so if you make jewellery or ceramics then this is a good area to move into. You’ll still need to focus on a niche though – in handmade industries it’s a good idea to focus on your brand to help you with this. Is your jewellery made with precious stones from a certain area? Do you have a certain glazing technique that makes your ceramics stand out? This is what you’ll have to rely on to set you apart from others. 

Other niche products are designed due to personal experience. Is there a gap in the market that you think needs to be filled? For example, Hatch is a clothing brand that was created by a mother who was looking for dressy maternity wear for events such as weddings and parties, but couldn’t find anything she liked. This company focuses on two niches; maternity wear and formal wear, making it a great example of a niche product. 

How to choose a niche market

A niche market, on the other hand, focuses on the consumer rather than the product itself. This makes your marketing easier, but also gives you more freedom in the items that you want to stock and sell. A niche market can be defined by its own unique needs, identity or preferences in comparison to consumers in general. 

A good example of this is conscious buyers. These are people who want to make less of an impact on the environment by reducing their waste and plastic use, and are looking for more sustainable solutions. Once you’ve decided on a niche market, it can help you decide on other things that are important for your ecommerce strategy. 

For example, how much would you charge for your products and how old are your audience likely to be? People are more likely to spend more on sustainable goods rather than traditional ones, and Gen Z and millennials are more eco-conscious than baby boomers. Once you’ve decided on a niche market, everything slots into place. 

Other considerations when choosing a niche

Make sure you carry out research when deciding on your niche; you don’t want to spend ages elaborating your ecommerce plan and then find out someone has already had the same idea! It’s also a good idea when you’re starting out to choose a product that will have high profit margins, as otherwise you might not make any profit at all after subtracting your time, website builder costs, delivery fees and potential return fees. 

There are lots of things to think about when choosing a niche for your ecommerce business, so why not have one less thing to worry about? Choose Go Sitebuilder as your website builder; we’re one of the cheapest website builders with a free integrated ecommerce platform, and no limits on the number of products you can sell. Try our 14-day free trial today to see how quick and easy it is to get your website up and running. 

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How do online shopping websites work?

Happy African American family with daughter using laptop at home, shopping online and reading how online shopping websites work

We’ve all thought about selling products online; whether that’s our own handmade gifts or choosing items to sell on for profit, and with website builders you can set up an ecommerce site in minutes! However, there are other things that you need to think about to be able to manage a successful and profitable ecommerce business. Let’s have a look at them here!

What an online shopping website needs

When choosing a website builder for your online store, it’s important to create a checklist to make sure it has all the features you need and that it doesn’t have hidden extra costs. For example, many website builders offer a free ecommerce template, but charge you more if you sell more than a certain number of products. Here’s a list of the basic elements an ecommerce website should have:

Product catalogue

Your customers need to be able to see what you’re selling! A product catalogue includes a list of available products, descriptions, and images. You want to make it as easy as possible for your customers to find what they’re looking for, so make sure you put your products in categories and if possible add a search bar. If your products don’t fit well into categories, then add a “best-selling” or “most popular” section – if others are buying it, that could persuade others to do so as well! 

Online payment processor

This is an absolute must-have. An online payment system is a third party software that handles customer payments, so you don’t have to worry about giving strangers your card details! PayPal and Stripe are popular options, but have a look at our blog on online payment processors to help you choose which one will work best for your site. 

SSL security

If you’re handling online payments and other sensitive information, then you need to make sure you have an SSL certificate. It encrypts the data passing through an online connection, making sure the information and your website are protected from potential hackers. It is the foundation of internet security, and you can tell if a website has one if it has a padlock symbol or https in front of the domain name. Without one, it is very likely that potential customers will not trust your site and buy from one of your competitors instead. SSL certificates can be complicated to get, but thankfully Go Sitebuilder gives you one with every website you create.

Ecommerce template 

You need to make sure the ecommerce template your website builder offers has certain features that make it easy for you to sell and easy for your customers to buy products. This means that each product must clearly state the price and allow the customer to choose different colours and different quantities. An extra feature Go Sitebuilder has is sending you an email when your stock levels start getting low – one more thing you don’t need to worry about! 

Choose your delivery method

One of the things many people forget to think about is how to deliver the products. If you’re selling homemade products that you keep in your house, then this is the easiest method; you just need to find a way to package your product. You can capitalise on this by using it as an opportunity to grow your brand; use your brand colours, stickers or add a handwritten note to make it seem personal. 

If you get your products from a supplier, you will have to decide whether to order the products in bulk and keep them yourself – you’ll have to make sure you have enough space – or dropship your products. Dropshipping is where a supplier holds the stock and sends it straight to the customer – less time intensive for you, but you can’t personalise the brand and returns can be complicated. 

You’ll also have to decide how much delivery will cost and what kind of returns policy you are willing to provide. Returns can be costly for a new ecommerce business, but equally not having one could put potential customers off as they cannot see the physical product – this is why good product photos and descriptions are so important!

Design a good online shopping website

When customers arrive on your website, they want to see a professional-looking site that they can trust. If this sounds like a daunting task, don’t worry! Use a website builder like Go Sitebuilder that gives you thousands of ready to use website templates, so you can have a stylish website up and running in moments. If you want a bit more autonomy, then our web designs are all easily changed to suit your brand colours and company style. 

Unlike many website builders, we have an ecommerce platform integrated into our website builder, so it is incredibly simple to use, whether you’re on a desktop, mobile or tablet. We designed our website to be as quick and easy to use as possible – so you can focus on the important bits of growing your business! Try our 14-day free trial today to see what your ecommerce website could look like!

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What homemade items are in high demand?

Woman selling homemade organic beautycare products in a shop which are in high demand

Now that you know how to make money selling homemade items, deciding the kind of product you are going to specialise in is an important step in making your homemade crafts business successful. There are so many different types of homemade crafts to sell, from  creating beautiful jewellery to personalised pillows. It all depends on your creativity and your skillset; but it’s also important to make sure there is a demand for the product you want to sell. 

A good place to start is to look at best-selling products on websites such as Amazon and Etsy to get a feel for what consumers are looking at when they buy a gift for themselves or someone else. Have a look at the most successful sellers on their websites to see how they market their products and interact with their customers on the platforms. 

The most popular homemade items vary from site to site and depending on the year. But in this blog we will outline some of the most popular homemade crafts to sell online.

Jewellery

If you have the skills and creative passion, jewellery can be a great homemade product to sell. There is the opportunity to create unique pieces which you can sell for a relatively high price. Jewellery also has the bonus that products can be easily personalised, allowing you to increase the price of the product and also give customers interesting gift ideas for birthdays and celebrations. 

There are many different types of jewellery you could create from rings to necklaces, and there is scope to use many different materials to make a product more or less expensive. Jewellery is also easily marketable, with the ability to create galleries of beautiful photographs and to use e-commerce facilities on website builders. The small size of these homemade gifts also means postage and packaging should be relatively low cost. 

Bath Bombs and Soaps 

One of the easiest homemade items to make, bath bombs and soaps can be a great product to sell online. With high demand for bath bombs from companies such as Lush and increasing momentum in the sustainable/plastic-free toiletries movement there has never been a better time to start creating these products. 

Before you start selling, ensure that your homemade soaps are safe to use, that they work effectively and smell amazing. Try to have a range of scents and types of soaps that you sell. Also consider selling items together as a gift set, so that when people go to buy a gift they are directed to your site. 

Planners and Notebooks 

Planners and notebooks are another example of a simple homemade gift to sell which is in high demand currently. If you can create beautiful notebooks and planners there is a high chance of sales and demand for your homemade items. There are many different types of planners and notebooks you could sell, some of the best selling types are:

  • Year diaries – a diary that starts in January and ends in December, usually has a few pages at the start for key contacts, addresses etc.
  • Bullet journal style planners – these are often very minimalistic, but have high quality paper and very aesthetic designs.
  • ‘Prompt’ diaries – these could be anything from a dream journal to a ‘one line a day’ type of journal.

Gift and Subscription Boxes

Gift and subscription boxes are a great homemade gift to sell, they can be so varied and allow you to create personalised boxes or set boxes depending on your customer base. You could market these as gift ideas or as a treat for the customer buying your product. 

Some ideas for gift boxes include:

  • Beauty boxes – this could be anything from drugstore makeup to luxury skincare. 
  • Food boxes – this could be a spice selection, different sauces for fresh produce. 
  • Book boxes – customers send you a book preference and you send them a book every month or a gift box of a few books. 
  • Interest-specific boxes – for example someone may be a fan of gardening or dogs and you send them speciality seeds or sustainable dog toys.

Although we have only listed a small number of ideas in detail there are many other types of handmade crafts you could sell. Here are a few more ideas:

  • Sewing or knitting crafts 
  • Printed t-shirts 
  • Pet products (e.g. toys)
  • Candles
  • Ornaments
  • Artisan sweets and chocolate 
  • Arts and photographs 

If you think you can sell these products but need a great website builder, then look no further than Go Sitebuilder. With built in e-commerce services, our simple website builder design means you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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How do you make money selling handmade items?

Cheerful vigorous woman making money by selling handmade items online using Go Sitebuilder

Do you have amazing handmade gifts that are not selling as well as you hoped? No matter how unique your products are, they will not sell unless you utilise as many platforms as possible to promote your items. With 76% of UK consumers buying nearly half of their Christmas present online, there has never been a better time to market your gifts online 

There are various methods for selling products, ranging from selling on social media platforms, through a built in ecommerce service in your website builder, or using other platforms such as Etsy.

In this blog we will take you through the different ways to make money by selling handmade items. Read on to find out more! 

Have a Unique Product

When there is so much competition for selling the best handmade gifts on the market, having a unique product that you believe in can really help sales. The product you make should be easy to market and you must ensure you know everything there is to know regarding your gift. 

When devising a way to sell your product you should think through the following questions to devise the best marketing strategy:

  • What price should I sell my product at?
  • Who is the target audience?
  • Can my product be sold as part of a set? (for example a hat, scarf and gloves)
  • Can my product be personalised to increase sales and price?

Sell Direct

In order to show your amazing handmade gifts in the best light it is important to have a website where you can promote and sell your products. You can use your web design skills using website builders, creating a visually stunning and useful website for selling your gifts. Selling directly through your website also allows you to take 100% of the profits, which you can reinvest into making more handmade gifts.

However, when choosing a website builder, make sure to choose one that has an ecommerce service. This means it has a way to market and sell products on your website, using online payment. Features to look out for are:

  • Pricing of individual products and collections
  • Capacity to upload high quality product photographs
  • Ability to take payment
  • A way to take reviews of your products and display them 
  • A way to sort your products in different ways (e.g. by popularity or price)

If designed and marketed correctly this can be a highly effective way of increasing awareness about your products and creating a loyal customer base. 

Use a Third Party Site

Many businesses that sell homemade gifts use a third party site to showcase their products. Sites such as Etsy and Not on the High Street allow businesses to showcase their products on their sites. The benefits of these platforms is the reach they have. More visitors means there is a higher likelihood of sales and increased exposure of your website. 

The site you choose will depend on your product and how you want it marketed as both sights are visually different. Generally Not on the High Street is a little more expensive and often personalised, whereas Etsy has a larger selection of gifts at all prices. Often these sites take a small percentage of each sale you make, so although it’s easy to set up, it can be more expensive than setting up your own site in the long run. 

Utilise Social Media

Social media is a great way to market your handmade items, there are low costs and a large audience. With so many businesses using social media for these reasons it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. However, there are certain ways to use social media to your advantage and stay ahead of the competition. 

Having a presence across all platforms is essential in gaining followers. The most important sites for marketing goods are Instagram and Facebook. But other sites such as tumblr may also help. A persistent presence across social media platforms allows more people to interact with your business and your products. Ensure you are:

  • Posting regularly with relevant content 
  • Using high quality images 
  • Using hashtags (these should be relevant to your post and content)
  • Collaborating with others (this may include creating something together for a collection, or tagging high profile craft businesses in your photographs)
  •  A public account (so that everyone can see your photos)
  • Utilising the sale features on sites such as Instagram to promote your products 
  • Linking to your website 

So if you are ready to start promoting and selling your products online then then look no further than Go Sitebuilder, an easy and professional website builder. We have an ecommerce platform built into our website builder for no extra cost, making us the cheapest website builder in the UK with this feature. Our simple ready to go website templates mean you can have a professional looking website up and running in minutes. Try our 14-day free trial today!

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How can a photographer make money online?

Amazed woman looking at a Go Sitebuilder photography website on a smart phone which is making money online

You’ve taken the perfect shot. The lighting is good, the angles are on point and the image has captured everything you wanted it to. But where do you display such a stunning photograph online? As a professional photographer, there is endless demand for your work online: businesses, bloggers, and social media influencers all rely on professional photographers to advertise their content. 

Considering that 75% of shoppers rely on product photographs when shopping on an e-commerce store, your work can be high in demand amongst those who sell products online. But how do you get yourself out there, and make money online?

Build your portfolio  

Before you start putting together your portfolio, it’s important to ask yourself what your style is. By working out what kind of photography you enjoy, you can build your image in a way that’s individual and unique to you. Perhaps you have a certain way of editing your photos, or enjoy taking pictures of certain things: whatever you decide, it is important to remain consistent so that the person who views your portfolio can get a good idea as to what kind of professional photographer you are. 

When building your portfolio, don’t just throw together a bunch of images and let the viewer decide for themselves which ones are the best. By crafting your portfolio so that you only include your very best pieces of work, you are proving to the viewer that your photographs are worth investing in. 

Even the order you put your images in can be crucial – Brian Dilg, the head of the New York Film Academy, advised that the first image must be the best one out of all your photographs. 

Have a beautiful site design

Just as an artist tries to make their exhibition as aesthetic as possible, you want to display your images in a way that is visually appealing. As your aim as a professional photographer is to make money online and become more visible, people will be more likely to purchase your images for e-commerce purposes if you have a stunning website design. 

Luckily, to create a beautiful site design you don’t need to be an expert in coding: website builders such as Go Sitebuilder offer a huge range of ready to go website designs, enabling you to display your photographs in a way that is attractive to anyone who visits your site. 

According to the Stanford Web Credibility Research, the credibility of a company is 75% based on their website design – by displaying your images in an appealing way, you are not only able to show off your skills as a photographer, but you’re also telling them that you’re a professional who takes their work seriously, meaning they are more likely to want to invest in your work.

Tell a story 

Whilst a picture might be worth a thousand words, actually telling your personal story, or giving the visitor some information behind a certain photograph helps build a relationship between the site visitor and yourself. The best way to do this is by writing blogs: by writing about your inspiration behind a certain image, you can convey your passion for photography, telling the site visitor that you would be completely committed to delivering them the highest quality photos. 

Blogging is also an invaluable tool for SEO – if you want to increase your visibility on the internet, then including relevant keywords within your blog that are highly searched for means that Google is more likely to index your site, ranking you highly on its search engines. This means that you’re much more likely to see a higher traffic flow to your site and, by repeatedly blogging, Google knows to reindex your site, so that you’re much more likely to stay at a high position. 

Utilise social media 

Overlooking the importance of social media is a huge mistake: it is a free way to market your photography, once you’ve built up a good following. Considering that most social media users log into their accounts at least once a day, creating a strong social media platform is a fantastic way to not only draw in existing fans of your work, but to also reach out to new potential customers. 

By having a strong social media following, you’re showing that you are not only a professional photographer, but that your work is also popular, meaning you’re high in demand. This is an attractive prospect, especially for someone who wants to use your photography for e-commerce purposes, meaning that you’re much more likely to make money online. 

As you’ll want to focus on shooting the best photographs you can, you won’t want to spend endless hours building your own website from scratch. This is why Go Sitebuilder is one of the best website builders for those who don’t have endless hours of time on their hands: we offer ready to go sites that can be crafted to suit your own image. Our free 14-day trial means you can try Go Sitebuilder today, so that you can build your own site completely hassle-free! 

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What are the best payment tools for your online shop?

Be trendy. Joyful young pretty woman researching the best payment tools for her online business shop using tablet and credit card.

When you’re opening your online store, it’s easy to get sidetracked by creating a stylish web design, uploading your beautiful product photos and publicising your ecommerce business. However, it’s also important to think about the most important bit – how you get paid! There are a multitude of ways you can get customers to pay for your products, and the most popular are payment gateways. 

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a third party service between sellers and buyers. It takes money from the buyer and sends it to the seller’s bank account in a secure way. Essentially, it’s the virtual equivalent of a till that you’d find in a physical store. 

Why do you need one?

Although it is possible to have an ecommerce store that is reliant on bank transfers and cash on delivery, most online retailers opt for a payment provider instead. They are easy to add to your website, and many website builders – like Go Sitebuilder – already have many integrated into their platform. 

From a buyer’s perspective, a payment gateway offers convenience and efficiency; often they can pay with just one click, rather than having to get up and hunt out their card details from their wallet. This is likely to drive sales as there are no boundaries to them ordering your products. Online payment gateways also allow you to reach clients from all over the world, rather than being limited to one country. 

Using a payment gateway also generally has a lower transaction cost, but most importantly they provide highly effective security and anti-fraud tools that keep both you and your customers safe. Although a bank transfer might seem easier, there are no security protections and having a PayPal or Stripe account will incite much more trust than just handing over your bank details for them to pay you.

One drawback of payment providers is that your customers will need to have an internet connection to be able to pay you, and they’ll need to input some of their personal data to be able to carry out the transaction. Read our blog on privacy policies to make sure you are protecting your and your customer’s data. 

PayPal

Paypal has over 87 million active accounts in 190 markets and 24 currencies worldwide. This makes it a great option for small businesses because it’s easy to set up and use, your clients will already be familiar with it, and they have cheap fees. You also don’t need a specialised merchant account to sell things online with PayPal, which removes another set-up hassle. 

However, due to their popularity, it can be difficult to reach their customer service department, and if you breach the terms of use they can suspend your account. Be aware that PayPal’s Seller Protection policies don’t cover digital goods, so it might not be the best option if you’re selling technology. 

Stripe

Stripe is rapidly joining PayPal as a leader in online payment gateways. The two have the same fee per transaction, and offer basic plans with no setup costs, monthly fees or contracts. Simple to set up, Stripe allows you to offer your customers discounts and coupon codes, lets you pro-rata charges and makes it easy to rebill a customer without having to store their credit card details. 

It has a seamless checkout experience, that enables the buyer to stay on your site when making a payment, rather than being redirected to a third party site. It even gives you a clear interface of graphs and charts so you can keep track of your finances. 

However, Stripe has the ability to freeze or cancel your account with little notice. If it decides your account looks risky, they can hold your funds or shut your account down completely, although this isn’t common. It also has a suite of complex tools and functionalities that you are unlikely to use.

WorldPay Online

WorldPay is the largest processing company in the United Kingdom, handling over 40% of all card transactions. It accepts 116 currencies, PayPal and all major credit and debit cards, is optimised for mobile and tablet use, and has strong security features. Unlike PayPal and Stripe, however, it does have an online setup fee of £25.

If you haven’t set up your website yet, WorldPay online does offer a pay by link option, where your customers can pay you securely just by clicking a link. They don’t have their pricing and transactional costs published online as they vary depending on your volume and business type, but you can request a quote.

There are a multitude of online payment gateways available, but if you’re just starting out with your online store, we recommend going with the simplest option, and ideally one that is already integrated with your website builder. At Go Sitebuilder, with just a few clicks you can decide whether you want PayPal, WorldPay Online, Stripe and 2Checkout, but we can add others if you need them. At £9.99 per month our package includes an integrated ecommerce platform with no restrictions on selling, meaning we are one of the cheapest website builders in the UK for ecommerce. Don’t take our word for it – try our 14-day free trial today!