Making Your Online Store Your Primary Revenue Source

As the world collectively tackles the coronavirus pandemic, business owners all over Canada are struggling with ways to keep revenue coming in. Of course, the health and safety of all Canadians is the top priority. But when businesses are forced to shut down in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, what can be done to keep them afloat?

Thankfully, the internet allows businesses of all types to flourish without ever opening their doors. As a business owner, the present time is arguably the most important time in your career to ensure your online store is up to snuff. That’s because, for the foreseeable future, your online store may be your primary revenue source.

Sell your products.

The first and most obvious way to generate revenue online is to offer your customers the ability to make purchases directly from your website. Shipping your items instead of having to make people come to your store to pick them up is a great way to continue making sales during the COVID-19 crisis.

“E-commerce businesses are popular for those interested in how to start an online business from home,” writes Benyamin Elias on ActiveCampaign.com, “If you manage your margins and scale up your processes, there is no theoretical revenue limit for an e-commerce business. You’re not limited by time in the same way as the ‘delivering services’ model. Another major benefit of e-commerce is the ability to create repeat customers.”

Sell ad space.

You don’t have to feel limited to only selling products. In a time like this, you’ll need to come up with inventive alternatives for generating revenue for your business. So why not help other businesses out? As long as they aren’t your competitors, other business owners should be welcomed to purchase ad space on your site.

According to Corey Rudl on Entrepreneur.com, “advertisers are willing to buy ads when they\’re being directed at large numbers of their target market. Nowadays, though, advertising revenues are a lot less than they used to be, so I don\’t recommend you plan on making this your sole source of income. Selling ad space can be a great additional profit stream, but it\’s unlikely to keep your business afloat on its own.”

Sell information.

If you own a business that offers services instead of physical products, your website can still help you to generate revenue during this tough time. Find ways to offer your expertise to people who are in need of the type of assistance your brand offers. Information products, says Elias, exist solely online and are essentially vehicles for delivering expertise. We’re talking e-books, video courses, worksheets, guides and templates, as examples.

“First, information products scale very easily,” notes Elias, “Once you’ve created an ebook, it doesn’t cost you anything to make another copy of the ebook—but you can sell more copies at the same price. Second, information products are especially appealing for people who currently run service-based businesses—if you convey your expertise in a product instead of a service, it’s easier to scale up your business.”

Does your company website include an online store? If not, please don’t hesitate to contact Canadian POS to learn about our safe and secure e-commerce solution! Call us at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.