4 Steps Toward Yahoo Small Business Startup

You must have thought of starting an eCommerce business at one point or the other. Although it’s quite an enterprising thought, most of the aspirants don't follow through it. The reason being lack of knowledge. If you are one of those who have missed their eCommerce dream, read on and find out how you can set up your own Yahoo! Store.

1. What to sell?

The eCommerce market is wide and deep. If you are confused about what to sell, contemplate your hobbies. Study the products of your interest from commercial perspective. If you have handicrafts skills, you won't even need a huge budget to start the business because you can make your own products at the lowest possible prices. However, if you have a unique hobby or don't have any handicrafts skills, look for the hot products. You can sell electronics, clothes, accessories, books or anything that’s in trend for the long run. 

2. Who are your competitors?

Once you narrow down on the products that you wish to sell, it’s time to study competitors. Check out their websites, study their products, try to understand their target audience and think about the ways you can steal those customers for your store. Try to find answers to the following questions to come up with a formidable strategy:

Is their product price higher or lower than yours?
Do they have exceptional features?
Does their web design look amazing?
How does their navigation work?
What kind of promotions are they offering?

3. How to set up a Yahoo eCommerce website?

The next step is build a place of business, and for eCommerce business, it’s a website. The very first thing you need to do is look for a hosting provider ( e.g. Yahoo Small Business ) and register a domain name. While choosing a domain name, be very careful. Try to have a domain name that reflects your business. For example, if you are thinking to sell mobile phones, go for something like bestmobilephones.com When you have a domain name that suits your business, it becomes quite easy to brand them.

Once the domain name is selected, design your website. If you hire a Yahoo! store designer for that, it would be affordable choice. If your budget is high, opt for eCommerce software products that offer all the features and designs that suits your business.

4. How to promote your Yahoo store?

After you are done with the setting up of the website, it’s time to sell. You can promote your blog in three ways – blogs, social media channels and community forums.

• Blogs: Although this medium requires lot of efforts in form of creation of unique and engaging content, it pays off quite handsomely. When you offer information and useful ideas, you are building an authority in the field. This will help you engage with your potential clients.
• Social media channels: Apart from socializing, you can use social networking channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to connect with your customers. Talk to them about how you can offer best products. When you are launching a new product, make your potential customers aware about it.
• Community forums: When you become a part of a community, you will find like-minded people. Listen to their views, share your opinions, and comment about the latest happenings of the industry in which you operate. By being a part of the community, you are creating an awareness of your business among your target audience.