People are buying online now more than ever before. If you’re thinking to yourself, “it’s too late for me to start an online business!” you are 100% wrong! It is never too late.

Many people believe in the age-old quote, “build it and they will come” and that, unfortunately, isn’t the case when it comes to building a successful online business.

But! Never fear. We are here to help you figure out how you can set up a successful online business that has people coming to it daily and wanting to purchase from you.

Without further adieu, let’s get started!

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How to Set Up A Successful Online Business | Learn how to build a profitable online business from the start with these 4 tips!
How you can set up a successful online business that has people coming to it daily and wanting to purchase from you

1 | Determine what you’re going to sell

This may sound silly but many people like the idea of starting an online business but don’t actually think about what it is they will sell

And that’s clearly a problem!

Creating a website isn’t the same as creating a successful online business.

A thriving online business needs to sell something, whether it’s a service, a physical product, or a digital product.

If you are starting from complete scratch and are just starting to figure out what it is that you could sell, here are a few things to consider:

1. What are you naturally already skilled at doing? Maybe you have experience with marketing and social media. Or maybe you’re a therapist that has seen people in person but now you want to see people virtually. Lean into skills that you already have and are great to figure out a place to start!

2. What’s missing from the market? Once you’ve determined some skills you already have, what is missing from the industry and how can you fill the gap? What sets you apart from others in the industry and why should people want to work with you specifically? 

3. What’s going to be the easiest for you to get into? We started as service providers because that was the easiest way for us to start our business, Bluchic. Most times, offering one-on-one services is the easiest way to get started in an online business. But there are plenty of people who start by offering digital products or physical products and have amazing success! One thing to keep in mind with physical products, in particular, is that there is often more of an up-front cost (as you have to invest in products to be able to sell).

Related Post: How to Focus on Money-Making Tasks for Your Business

2 | Get your website set up

Alright, you’ve got whatever it is that you will sell and now it’s time for our favorite part…getting your website set up!

Any successful online business has a professional, attractive website that people can easily find the information they are looking for.

Whether you’re a service-based babe or a digital product shop owner, we’ve got you covered here at Bluchic!

Check out our ChicServe WordPress theme if you’re offering services.

Or if you plan on offering digital products, check out our ChicShop WordPress theme!

If you think you will be offering both services and digital products, our ChicBoss WordPress theme is the perfect one for you!

Mockup desktop ChicServe Bundle
Mockup desktop ChicBoss WordPress Theme

No clue how to start with WordPress? No worries! Check out our free dream website roadmap!

3 | Create content that directs people to your website

It’s content creation time!

Yes, launching a website and listing your services/products there is great but…how will people find you? 

Through the content you create online!

Every successful online business creates content that drives traffic to your website.

When we say “content” what we mean is:

  • Blog posts
  • Podcast episodes
  • YouTube videos
  • Email newsletters

One of the best ways to get started is by writing blog posts. 

Blog posts are fantastic because they can rank in Google search results (organic traffic for the win!) as well as can be pinned on Pinterest where people are searching for all kinds of topics.

We shared how we plan our editorial calendar in this blog post if you want to check that out!

We often get asked the question “how often should I write new blog posts?” and the answer to that can vary! A solid starting place is posting 1 blog post per week. 

One thing to keep in mind while you’re creating any content: make sure the content is on a topic that is related to what it is that you sell. 

This is where you can weave in your services and products into the content so that people naturally are curious about your paid offerings. 

As an example, if you’re an interior designer and will be offering digital consultations, topics you will want to create content about could include:

  • Optimizing your workspace for productivity
  • How to style a bookcase
  • Organizing your pantry
  • Decor trends

It wouldn’t make sense to create content about fixing a car or selling greeting cards because…well…those topics don’t go together!

Related Post: Your System for Repurposing Content for More Reach & Revenue

4 | Share that content

Now that we’ve created content it’s time to SHARE it with the world!

There are a variety of ways you can share your new content. You can share it on:

  • Facebook / Facebook Stories / Facebook groups
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest (one of our favs — follow us here!)
  • Instagram / Instagram Stories
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Email newsletters
  • Guest blogging

If your blog posts are SEO-rich (more on how to do that here), then you could also get people showing up to your website organically. 

Related Post: Organic traffic is our actual #1 website referrer & How You Can Get More Traffic!

Lather, rinse, repeat!

Yes, that’s it! That’s all you need to get started and to set up a successful online business.

Obviously, this is a very simplified process for starting an online business. There are many other nuances to running an online business, like:

  • Scaling the business
  • Measuring analytics
  • Gauging client satisfaction
  • Computing cart abandonment rates
  • Setting up evergreen email funnels
  • Adding in tripwires

…and SO much more. But you don’t need to worry about all of those things to get started. Your online business will always be evolving and changing but the important part is that you get STARTED!

Final Thoughts 

If you’re looking for further content on our site about setting up a successful online business, we highly recommend checking out the following: