Looking back, most of the stuff I know today, I didn’t know seven years ago when I was launching. Most of it wasn’t even learned from a book. Learning as I go has helped me grow my business tremendously. Running a successful brand no one really knows about is kinda funny, too. The reason my business has grown with the help of my loyal following is because of how I diversified my sales channels for my merchandise.
When Imperfect Concepts was an online resale boutique, I sold on my website, Etsy, and Ebay. Three different platforms with different audiences. Now that I sell digital products, they are all on different sales channels, as well. I am currently utilizing ICB Consults’ on Etsy and Gumroad for my companies sales channels.
Home Base Website
Every small business needs their own website to be the home base for their company. This is super important because any sales channel can be shut down at any moment and you unfortunately lose your audience. If you are currently using a third party channel to sell that’s great, now it’s time to add a home website to your line up. I would look into WordPress, Squarespace, or Bigcommerce for your website options.
Selection of Sales Channel
When I was selecting new sales channels for my company, I wanted to make sure that they could actually enhance sales for my business and bring in traffic without me doing much work. The first option was Etsy for a platform for my digital products. Etsy has millions of people using their platform every second of the day. This was a huge factor in the decision process for my business.
Cohesive Branding
No matter the platform you’re selling on, your company needs to be cohesive. Making sure that on all three platforms the same imagery and text are being used. I want people to know, no matter the platform its the same company with the same message. As much as the sales channel allows you, make sure your brand is cohesive all together with your logo, product images, descriptions, customer service and more.
Every Platform Is Not For You
Earlier this year I debated on and off about using Amazon for my business. Feeling that the sales channel would help me bring in another new audience. However, it failed miserably for me. Know which platforms are best for your audience. Yes, people are buying digital content from Amazon, but not my style of digital content. It’s okay if platforms don’t work for your business.
Some people feel that you should only sell on your own sales channel. I have mixed emotions about this. I never want people to use only one platform as a crutch for their business. Basically putting all the eggs in one basket. It’s okay to diversify when you first start out. Later on down the line, when your website is bringing in six figures a month on its own, you can reel in the various channels to one.
