Starting an Ecommerce Business: Check Out These Free Educational Resource

Ecommerce: it’s the new big thing, and you want to be part of it. You’ve heard stories of people making money off a brilliant idea, finding the perfect niche of customers who want to buy a special service or unique product. You’ve read up on the stats, like that 51 percent of Americans now prefer online shopping to brick-and-mortar retailers. Now you want to start an ecommerce business of your own, becoming a part of this exciting online shopping world.

 

Even more exciting, there are plenty of free resources out there that you can learn from to make your best ecommerce business possible; whether you’re selling athletic gear like golf irons or consulting services to improve your clients’ credit score, you’ll definitely find something that can benefit your business with these resources.

 

1 Oberlo resources

 

Oberlo, a company that specializes in dropshipping, has a variety of free resources available to anyone looking to start an ecommerce business, including a community forum, free ebooks, an ecommerce wiki, and advice on what to sell, where to sell it, and how to reach your target audience. Additionally, they’ve got a great blog, where they cover topics such as how to make money on Instagram and drafting a solid business plan for your online store.

 

According to Invesp, “global online retail sales are growing and estimated to reach 8.8 percent of total retail spending in 2018, as compared to 7.4 percent in 2016,” so it’s definitely time to get as informed as possible to become part of the ecommerce economy.

 

2 HubSpot

 

HubSpot is one of those websites that any business owner will benefit from visiting, whether they’re based online or otherwise. They specialize in content marketing and social media strategy, offering “a full stack of software for marketing, sales, and customer success, with a completely free CRM at its core.” Additionally, they have a lot of free resources for anyone who wants to grow their customer base and improve their online marketing techniques.

 

When it comes to what they can offer to ecommerce business owners like yourself, there’s plenty: ebooks on ecommerce holiday success and ecommerce retention and loyalty, for instance, and if you’re looking to learn a thing or two less casually, they also offer free certifications and courses, which you can check out here. With 8 in 10 Americans shopping online, it’s time to get started!

 

3 Google Analytics Economy

 

According to Practical Ecommerce, Google Analytics Economy is one of the best free resources out there for any ecommerce merchant, because you’ll get “lessons from Google’s digital analytics experts. Test your skills through short quizzes and practice exercises. Dialog with other students and analytics experts in course forums and on Google+. You can also use Analytics Academy to prepare for the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) exam.”

 

Without detailed and accurate analytics, you’re never going to be able to get the full picture of who your customer base is and of how to broaden your market. There’s a reason the job market for data analysts is growing at 27 percent annually, according to Entrepreneur, and it’s because now more than ever, analytics are determining who companies choose to target with their content and when and how to engage with consumers.

 

4 Entrepreneurship podcasts

 

As an entrepreneur (or at least an aspiring one), you know just how valuable your time is. Sure, a lot of these resources are helpful, but when are you going to find time to dive into all of them? That’s where podcasts come in; if you’re short on time, you can listen to podcasts while you’re commuting, at the gym, or even while cooking.

 

According to Volusion.com, the best podcasts are Mixergy (“featuring insights from some of the world’s top startup founders”) and Online Marketing Made Easy (“with Amy Porterfield, featuring user-friendly advice about all things marketing, ranging from SEO to Facebook ads”). According to salesforce.com, podcast listeners are on the rise in the US, with 24 percent of Americans having listened to podcasts in the last month.

 

As you can see, there are lots of fantastic and free resources out there online for anyone who wants to learn more about the ecommerce business economy. Even if it’s not your first time trying out an online business venture, you’ll still learn a lot and stay up-to-date with the newest trends in the industry, helping make your business more successful.

 

What other free resources have you found helpful in your ecommerce business journey? Recommend a resource in the comments.