How to Start an E-Commerce Video Business
Entrepreneurs with a love of videos and a knowledge of e-commerce may want to launch an e-commerce video business. E-commerce merchants can reach a larger range of customers than operators of brick-and-mortar stores. An advantage to an e-commerce video store is that you can focus on a niche offering of videos and build a community on your website. Independent or foreign videos would be an example of a niche for your e-commerce video business.
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Things You'll Need
- Business plan
- Legal/tax documents
- Video supplier
- Video storage/packing area
- E-commerce website
Instructions
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Research your idea for an e-commerce video business carefully. Research the market and your competition. Consider how you will compete within the online marketplace--it's large and it can be difficult to stand out. Select a niche genre to specialize in based on your research.
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Write a detailed business plan based on your research. Compose a statement of purpose and define your business goals. Write an analysis of your market and competition. Create a marketing strategy, describing your business in detail. Include the types of videos you will sell, where you will get the videos, how you will store, pack and ship them, and your day-to-day activities for running your business. Provide financial projections for your business. Consider start-up as well as your typical operating costs. The business plan should initially cover the first year of your business. Attach any legal documents necessary to form your business at the end of the business plan. Revisit your plan after a year to adjust to the current situation of your business.
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Complete and file a business and tax registration form as well as any other documents necessary to establish your business as a legal entity with local, state and federal authorities. An e-commerce video business may be subject to special tax considerations. Consult an accountant for specific tax questions in regard to online stores. Consult a lawyer about legal concerns as the operator of an online business; for example, ask about collecting personal information from customers.
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Locate a video supplier for the type of videos that you would like to sell. Be sure that there will be a steady supplier from this dealer. Select an offering of videos that is within your niche genre yet will appeal to a wide variety of interests. Start off with a modest offering in your store and expand as your business grows. Introduce new videos on a regular basis to keep your inventory fresh. This will encourage repeat visitors to your website.
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Set up a video storage area in your home. Organize your stock so that you can easily locate a video once an order has been placed. Bookshelves in alphabetical order would be ideal. Place a table in the room to prepare your videos for shipping. Stock it with basic shipping supplies such as boxes, tape, bubble wrap and tape. Select a carrier that provides shipping insurance and has competitive rates. Establish a shipping policy based on your video availability and shipping carrier schedule.
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Work with a web designer to create an interactive e-commerce website. Focus on designing a secure website. Since customers will be making their purchases through your site, it is important to provide a secure shopping experience. Create interactivity on your website by integrating social networking links throughout the site. Design a forum to promote discussion and interaction. Blog regularly about new videos and host guest bloggers to provide reviews. Respond to feedback from your forums to improve your e-commerce video business. Be sure that the website is search engine optimized so that people can find your site through Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.
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Tips & Warnings
Post frequent and relevant blog articles to increase search engine rankings. Provide social networking links on each video listing. This will allow users to share the video listing with others in their social network who may be interested in the video.
Avoid the temptation to launch your website before you have fully completed it and have prepared the rest of your business for start-up.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit holding laptop image by Adam Borkowski from Fotolia.com
