But I have nothing to sell. That's the common excuse. You hear about ecommerce and you just shrug. Why should I pay attention, I don't have anything to sell? That's where you'd be wrong. Ecommerce can be for everybody because everybody has something to sell. You just might not realize it yet.
10 things you can sell:
- Bloggers can sell an ebook collection of their best posts.
- If you do any kind of speaking you could sell mp3s of speeches, presentations, sermons, etc.
- If you've ever been successful you can find ways to package and sell that expertise. It might be a coaching or mentoring program.
- You can sell access—maybe it's an exclusive webinar, a chat, an opportunity to ask questions, etc. People would pay (or maybe make a donation to your nonprofit, if paying seems kind of weird) for the opportunity to pick your brain.
- Anything with your logo. People like to be fans. Give them a way to wear their fandom like a badge of honor and support you at the same time. You might make those items just for kicks or to give away, but why not offer them for sale as well and let the fanatics show their love?
- If you've got the right crowd and the right audience, you could sell mementos. It could be anything simple that has a connection to your organization. A sports team could sell a piece of the AstroTurf when a new stadium goes up.
- A band could sell discarded guitar pics or drumsticks. For racing fans there are all kinds of mementos that would otherwise be scrap, from used lug nuts to pieces of sheet metal from old race cars. It's the kind of thing fans soak up. Just think about stuff you have that might otherwise be garbage but you could find new uses for, either as a way of recycling or by turning it into a memento. It's a different way of creating something, more like recreating, but it's just as valid.
- Designers have a special power in today's image-based, digital world: they can create all these incredible graphics people are eating up on all their devices. Photo-creation apps are hungry for fonts, text treatments and design components. Other designers will purchase reusable elements like vectors and fonts. Usually design is a service, but there are graphic creations that can easily be turned into products. And good design has never been so valued.
- Photographers have always sold photos, but today the market is even wider than ever. Stock photography has grown and now organizations and even individuals are looking for photos to share online.
It's hard to believe, but you can sell photos for people to share on Facebook. Weirder yet, some people still buy physical prints.
- Coders can create new products. Maybe it's something you created for a client or internal use but it could have wider appeal. Maybe it's a plugin or theme.
Maybe it's an app. Maybe it's a new ridiculously addictive game to distract the world and be a drag on productivity, all while you rake in some cash.
- Get your hands dirty and make stuff. Drawings, crafts, clay, you name it. Get creative and make something. You don't have to be artsy either. It could be something incredibly practical, like directions. Maybe you write instructions for how to create stuff, whether it's using LEGO pieces or office supplies.
People have literally sold pixels online. You can sell anything.
© Ecommerce for Everybody
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