How to Make Money Selling Online – Easy Step by Step Guide for Beginners

You’re looking to make money selling online but you’re confused. You don’t know what to sell, where to sell or start.

You’ve come to the right place.

This in-depth article is a step-by-step guide on how to sell online. So, keep reading to learn more.

This guide on how to sell online will show you:

• How to know which products to sell online.
• Where to source the products.
• Where to sell online.
• How to attract customers to your products.

You will also learn the key things you need to start selling online.

How can I make money selling online?

You can make money selling online by choosing products that are in high demand and have a reasonable profit margin. Then, identify your target customers and effectively promote the product to them.

Below, we elaborate on this to help you become a successful online seller. Continue reading.

You can also check out this article where we explain how to sell online with no money.

Decide what products to sell online

Finding your target customers is one thing and knowing what to sell online is another. If you want to succeed in online selling, you need to find products that people are looking for and are profitable. 

Here’s a list of 50 products that you can consider selling online from home.

You also need to have the desired skills to promote your products effectively.

So, how do you know what products to sell online and make money? This article should help you brainstorm ideas on what to sell.

The best part about selling online is that you’re not limited to physical products; you can even sell digital products like eBooks.

Ideally, when it comes to what to sell online, you have two options: you can sell evergreen products or trending products.

Evergreen vs. trending products: which ones to sell

Before you choose the products to sell, you need to know the difference between evergreen and trending products.

Evergreen products 

These are those that continue to sell for a long time. This means that whether new products are introduced to the market or prices of other products go down, evergreen products remain in high demand. 

Products in the health and wellness industry are considered evergreen because people are always looking to solve health problems.

Evergreen products have their good and bad sides.

1. Even though they are going to remain in high demand for long and they have an existing market, you will struggle to beat the competition, especially if you’re just getting started selling products online.
2. Another downside of evergreen products is that although their demand remains fairly constant, these products may have a lower profit margin than some trending products.

Trending products 

These are products that have a high demand for a short period of time, or those that sell well in certain seasons. For instance, men’s jackets or heavy clothes are always in high demand in winter. Trending products have their fair share of pros and cons.

For instance, if you’re the first one to identify them, you’re going to sell more and you may not face fierce competition until other people discover them.

On the flip side, your brand risks fading when the products lose popularity.

Which products to sell online?

Here are a few practical tips we’ve been using for many years to identify products to sell online.

Research

You need to do thorough market research.

Skipping this step is a recipe for failure in your online business. 

So, before you get started, you need to answer these questions:

• What products are in demand?
• Which other businesses are already selling those products?
• What’s the state of the competition?
• How can I stand out from the crowd?
• Can I scale my business selling these products?

The last mistake you want to make is to choose products that have saturated the market.

So, find out exactly what products people are looking to buy that are in low supply.

To take your research to the next level:

• Use Google Trends

Google Trends is a powerful tool that can help you to identify current trending products and those that are likely to remain popular. The tool can also work out which products are likely to become irrelevant.

To use Google Trends, you need to choose search terms that people enter in Google when looking for products to buy online.

For instance, let’s say you want to sell men’s jackets – this is your search term.

Head over to Google Trends, and enter a search term or a topic and see the results.

In our case, we have picked the United States as our target country and set the time period for the results to be the past 5 years.

As you can see, the demand for men’s jackets has been fluctuating.

That means that if you’re planning to sell men’s jackets, then you must be prepared for highs and lows.

The results will also help you to figure out what time of the year you might want to increase your stock and marketing.

You can use the tool to research as many products as possible but make sure you’re picking products that are consistently growing in popularity.

• Do keyword research

Once you have identified products that are growing in popularity, conduct keyword research to know how many people are searching for those products in a given time.

Google’s Keyword Planner can help you to know the monthly search volumes of the terms related to products you intend to sell (how many times people search for the keywords related to your products) and the state of the competition (businesses that are selling those products).

You can use as many keyword research tools (both paid and free) as possible to validate your product idea.

We recommend considering products with more than 400 monthly searches.

After all, there is no reason to sell products that people aren’t looking for.

• Take a look at what large online sellers are selling

You can also get inspiration from big online stores.

Usually, most popular online stores gather huge amounts of data every day. They understand what’s trending and what’s evergreen more than anyone else.

Feel free to visit their product pages of big stores in your industry and see what they are selling.

Head over to Amazon, eBay, and other popular e-commerce businesses and pay attention to the “Best Seller” section on their websites.

Amazon has the Best Sellers and eBay has a trending page. These are places you can find out what’s selling at the moment.

• Sell your passion

Alongside all the tips for identifying products to sell online and make money, you have to consider what you love.

Are you passionate about makeup or art? Do you love to sew custom-made clothes? If so, you should consider selling these products.

As a general rule of thumb, we recommend selling hot and trending products when getting started then sell evergreen products as your online business starts to grow.

Where to get the products to sell online

Knowing what to sell online is half the battle. You also need to know how to get those products.

The best ways to get products that sell online include:

• Create your own products

If you’re a hands-on person, you can create your own products and sell online. For instance, you can create jewelry, art, custom-made clothes, etc, and sell them.

You can also create online courses or downloadable programs that teach people how to do something.

Ideally, there are a ton of good things to make and sell online. You just need to make sure that there is a high demand for your products and you’re good to go.

• Buy from manufacturers

You can also buy products from wholesalers and manufacturers and sell them online.

In this method, you buy in bulk at a discounted price, store in your warehouse, and start selling.

Shipping costs are catered for by customers but you need to know how to factor these costs without scaring customers away with your prices.

Buying products from manufacturers is a good way to scale your business, especially if you get a reliable and trusted supplier. Here’s a piece we wrote on how to buy from manufacturers.

• Source products from dropshippers

Of all the ways to source products to sell online, this is one of the easiest. With this method, you fulfill customer orders without stocking inventory.

Yes, you don’t store products in your warehouse; neither do you struggle shipping products to customers.

Here is how things work: you sell products of other companies in your store (with prices a little higher than the original price of products); a customer orders them and pays you; you forward the order to the dropshipper (the company that owns the products) and pay for them; the dropshipper/supplier then ships the products to the customer and you pocket the extra money.

You can also get tips to finding a good dropshipper from this piece.

Decide how to sell online

When it comes to where to sell products online, you have multiple options to choose from based on your abilities.

Ideally, you can sell products on your own e-commerce store or on multiple online marketplaces.

The good thing is that there are a ton of apps provided by e-commerce store builders that let you link your online stores to make selling hassle-free.

That means that you don’t need to hire a team of people to do the selling.

For instance, you can link your Facebook page to your online store so that when you add new products, they are made available on your Facebook business page right away. 

In a nutshell, you can sell your products on different channels and manage all of them under one roof.

Let’s get into more detail about how to sell products on your online store.

Selling products on your online store

This option is suitable for online entrepreneurs.

Having your e-Commerce store gives you full control of your business.

You can decide your store’s design and how to present your products to customers.

An online store builder lets you automate certain activities so you get more time to focus on growing your online business.

You can use popular online store builders such as Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, and many others to create your online store fast.

There are certain downsides and disadvantages to having your own online store. Some charge commissions on sales as well as high monthly fees. Although, there are some that offer a limited free version of their store. We recommend to try out any service before enrolling into a monthly subscription.

Learn how to create an account with:

• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• Wix

Creating your e-commerce store earns your customers’ trust. You also look professional.

Selling products in online marketplaces

Online marketplaces are good for online entrepreneurs who want to start selling right away.

An online marketplace is simply an e-commerce website, like the one you are in right now Sheepbuy. You can sign up for an account and start selling products right away.

We will share a list of the most popular marketplaces below.

To start selling on online marketplaces, decide which e-commerce website your target customers buy products from (you can do your own research here), then follow the process below.

• Create your account.
• List your products with great descriptions, prices, and images.
• Indicate how you deliver products to customers.
• And start selling.

Another important factor to consider is how much commission and fees you’d be paying to sell your items.

It is also best practice to sell on various platforms. This to ensure maximum exposure to your items.

6 online marketplaces to sell your products

1. Amazon

Amazon is the largest and most well-known e-commerce platform with more than 100 million Prime members. On average, customers spend $1,400 per year on Amazon. This global giant is a goldmine for both large and small businesses.

When selling on Amazon, you can choose to fulfill customer orders yourself, or use their FBA program.

The good thing about the e-commerce platform is that it lends you its reputation and you can sell almost anything. You just need to know how to stand out from the crowd.

Amazon fees vary. Amazon’s professional selling plan is $39.99/mo plus other fees. Take a look at their pricing plans here.

We recommend choosing the individual selling plan if you’re just getting started.

2.  eBay

eBay is another powerful marketplace with a vast global market share. The e-commerce website boasts more than 168 million active buyers globally, so you can rest assured that your products are going to have some high competition on this platform. Items should sell as long as you market yourself properly.

You can sell anything on eBay but the downside is that the platform doesn’t compel customers to pay for products straightaway. If you’re looking to fulfill a short-term goal, then perhaps you shouldn’t consider this platform.

Even though eBay offers users up to 50 free listings, their fees are high for someone who is getting started selling products online.

3. Sheepbuy

Our very own Sheepbuy is a new and upcoming marketplace. Here, you won’t be charged a commission on sales, unlike eBay & Amazon, and you can have up to three active listings a month if you’re on our free basic tier. 

If you plan to sell large volumes monthly, consider one of our paid packages: there are the Starter and Plus tiers which start from $2.99 monthly. Find out more here.

And the best part is that there are no listing fees or commissions. This makes the marketplace a good option for new online entrepreneurs and established sellers as well.

4. Etsy

Etsy is a marketplace for creative sellers looking to sell arts and crafts. If you can make awesome handmade products then Etsy is the best marketplace to sell your items.

The platform attracts close to 33 million buyers worldwide.

Their fees are a bit lower than Amazon, but you pay a listing fee of $0.20 for each item, whether your item sells or not. Just make sure you understand the fees well so that you don’t end up making losses.

5. Walmart

Walmart’s online marketplace attracts more than 440 million buyers. The platform doesn’t charge any monthly or annual fees but charges commission on purchased items only.

The downside with Walmart is that you have to go through an application process. This means that you will have to wait or might even get rejected.

6. Facebook

You can connect your online store to Facebook or post your items on their marketplace. Items in marketplace are more of a classified listing and are sold locally.

This helps promote your brand and get the word out.

To sell successfully on Facebook, follow these few tips.

• Share incredible images. People are attracted to images. Facebook can let you down if you share poor quality images of your products. Try as much as you can to take high-quality images that attract users.
• Be entertaining. You need to entertain users by sharing not only images but also videos of your products. You also want to ask questions and share some jokes or memes to keep people attracted to your business page.
• Promote your page to people. If you want to grow your followers, you may want to offer a discount for people who will like or share your posts.
• Know what time to post. You need to know what time your target audience is active on the platform. You also need to keep them updated regularly about your products.

Other online marketplaces for selling online products include Alibaba, Rakuten, Zazzle, Bonanza, etc.

We also put together a list of 30 websites like Craigslist in which you can consider listing your products.

Note that different marketplaces have different requirements. Listing fees, audiences, product categories, and the signing up process are also different.

Conduct your research before you decide which marketplace to use.

For more information on where to sell, check out this article on where to sell online for free.

The benefits of selling in online marketplaces

As most of the online marketplaces continue to increase in popularity, they are constantly improving how customers and sellers connect.

For instance, it’s now easier to sell on Amazon than it was a few years back.

Also, customers can find what they are looking for easily, which saves their time and keeps them happy when using online marketplaces.

That said, here are some of the benefits of selling in online marketplaces.

• It’s easy to get started

Most of these online marketplaces require users to create an account and once you’re accepted, you can start selling your items right away.

•  Powerful programs

Popular e-commerce marketplaces have established programs that let users market or sell and fulfill orders fast.

For instance, eBay has eBay Promotions Manager, Amazon has Amazon Advertising, and Google has Google Shopping Actions.

The programs have a ton of useful features to help you promote your products to the right audience at the right time.

• Established customer base

Established marketplaces let you take advantage of millions of their users for free.

Marketplaces are effective for selling a small number of products though. Besides, you may end up selling at a loss if you don’t consider the fees charged by most of these online marketplaces.

Therefore, you need to calculate your profits when pricing, automate pricing, advertise ruthlessly (while adhering to marketplace terms and conditions), and diversify your shipping strategy to increase the chances of making good money.

Things to consider before selling online

No matter where you decide to sell your products online, you need to make sure your customers can buy your products without a problem.

Here are a few key things you need to consider:

• Delivery method. You need to know how you’re going to ship products to your customers.
• Payment. You need to use a payment method that your target customers are comfortable using. People are afraid of giving out their personal details these days, so you need to add a payment method that doesn’t require your customers to provide too much of their information.
• Customer support. You need to help customers at all times.
• Security. Customers want to be protected when using your store. Make sure customers feel safe when interacting with your products.
• License. To avoid getting at loggerheads with government agencies, make sure you have the right license to sell your items online.

Decide How to Drive Customers to Your Items

Now that you have picked your products to sell online it’s time to win your customers.

Below are some of the customer-winning techniques so scroll down and keep reading.

Search Engine Optimization

When people search for terms related to your products, you need to make sure they can find what you’re selling.

In other words, you should optimize your product descriptions, blog posts, images, and all the content in your item description to rank better in search engines.

Social media

Social media is a powerful marketing tool for small and established online businesses.

Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram are the best platform you can start with.

Note that you don’t have to be on all these platforms. Experiment and choose the best platform then capitalize on it.

The good thing about these social media channels is that you can share links, advertise your online store, and share a lot of information about your products.

The platforms also have incredible features that let you connect and engage with your customers in real-time.

And the best part?

They are all free to join and easy to use.

Blogging

When done right, blogging can help to improve your visibility on search engines.

You just need to keep your target audience updated regularly with new blog posts about the products you sell.

Make sure you share content that keeps your readers engaged, such as video tutorials, infographics, etc.

Start selling online!

All the bits and pieces of selling online might seem overwhelming but it actually isn’t as difficult as you might think. 

Start small and grow. Allow yourself to learn in the process and refine your business model as you go along.

Here is a summary of what we’ve covered in this in-depth guide.

• Decide what products to sell online. There are lots of products you can choose, whether evergreen or trending. You need to choose profitable products that are going to remain in demand for a long time.
• Decide how to sell online. Depending on what option you choose, you can create your e-commerce store or sell your items via online marketplaces.
• Decide how to drive traffic to your store. Having done all the above, it’s time to promote your products. SEO, social media, email marketing, and blogging, are just a few of the most powerful ways to do this.

You can also consider selling on Sheepbuy. This is perfect if you’re just starting out because you can sell your first products free of charge. That’s right: no commission, no hidden fees and no sign-up fees. And you can have up to three active listings at a given time, on our basic tier. Learn more here.