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For many entrepreneurs, bloggers and ecommerce website owners, buying a domain is an exciting first step to entering the online marketing world. For some people though, it can be an overwhelming time when faced with the question of what to do next: Figure out how to get traffic to your new domain.

Unfortunately, the name alone will not get you much in the form of traffic.

As I’ve joked here on the blog in the past — building a website isn’t like “Field of Dreams.” Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come.

In fact, most people will not know your domain name, let alone that you’ve launched a website. Therefore, you’ll have to find a way to get in front of them and make them aware of it.

Having traffic makes it more likely for someone to become a customer or take other actions from your site. But what is the best way to get those critical eyeballs to your new domain?

The good news is there are many methods for how to get traffic quickly, and some are easier than others. If that sounds good to you, keep reading and hopefully, you’ll glean some ideas to get traffic to your new domain name fast!

Why does your domain need traffic?

People buy domains for various reasons, but most do so with the hope of building a website that converts visitors into paying customers. In some instances, a site may get a lot of traffic without much work or effort on the owner’s part. Other sites will find it more challenging and it will require more work to attract people.

Still, getting traffic to a new domain is usually the starting point for any business owner hoping to make money online. Here are some reasons you might want to get traffic to your new domain.

1. Conversion data

Whether you’re just starting or have been doing business for years, you may not have had the chance to get conversion data. Knowing how many people come to your site and how they navigate the pages can help you make future marketing decisions.

2. Offers on your site

Offers are one way of getting money from people visiting your site. Whether you’re offering affiliate products or something else, having a site that people see and ultimately buy from can provide income.

However, it’s important to note that not everyone who comes through your site will buy something. Even if someone doesn’t make a purchase now, they might do so in the future.

3. Raising your domain authority

Getting traffic to a new domain name is helpful because it can help you build up domain authority.

If you find yourself getting more of the right kind of backlinks or social media shares, this could all help with increasing your overall authority on the internet.

You also might see an increase in search engine rankings as a result.

4. Building your brand

Getting traffic to a new domain could also be used to help grow your brand online. People are likely to remember sites they visit regularly. Even if you don’t get direct conversions from the site, getting people there for other reasons could be an effective way of consistently staying top-of-mind with your audience.

How to get traffic to a new domain

Now that you understand the merits of why driving traffic to a new domain is essential, it’s time to talk about how to get traffic quickly. Here are some of them:

1. Buying established domains to build your domain portfolio

When trying to get traffic to a new domain name, some companies may choose to purchase multiple established domains as part of an overall plan to build their portfolio. This includes both purchasing generic keywords and brandable names for later use.

Having a network of domains can allow someone to send traffic to lower authority domains (new ones like your website) from one high-authority domain with the hope of gaining a higher ROI from it. This can be a way for someone without high domain authority to compete with more established websites.

While this method can require time, energy and significant resources, it can sometimes yield the results you’re looking for.

2. Paying for traffic with advertising

Paying for advertising can be a great way to get people to visit your new domain. This can be done through paid ads on social media sites or even more targeted campaigns on search engines like Google Adwords.

Marketing with advertisements is often one of the best ways to quickly generate high volumes of traffic, but it can also be one of the more expensive options. This strategy can be complicated for beginners who may not have the experience or know-how to implement it properly.

3. Linking out to other sites

You often can drive traffic to your new site by getting other people to link to you. You can do this by putting up valuable content on other websites that link to yours.

One of the more popular approaches is known as guest posting, where you contribute an article to another site on a topic related to yours in some way. This can help direct readers to check out your new domain name.

4. Social media reach

Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or another social media site, getting attention on social media platforms can help you promote your domain.

Social media is a great way to generate traffic because it doesn’t require too much effort to get started.

It’s also great for beginners because it’s less expensive than other types of marketing.

Many entrepreneurs I have spoken with feel that paying for advertising on social media will yield the fastest results. Though admittedly, most have said Facebook is dying out in terms of click conversions. Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok are still driving traffic, however.

5. Email advertising

If you have access to an email list (yours or someone else’s), you can use it to promote your domain. Emails featuring links to important pages on your site, like the homepage or a contact page, can help generate interest and bring people to your site.

What do I mean by someone else’s email list? You could guest post for an established blog or website, and if they send the post via email, there is the potential to drive traffic. Another idea is to pay for advertising in their newsletter. A third option is perhaps the riskiest, and that is to buy the list.

You always want to use caution when buying email lists to drive traffic as it could get you blacklisted for spam. Still, it sometimes can work depending on their website’s niche and their introductory email.

6. Influencers and partnerships

In some cases, people who have a big social media following or email list may be willing to partner with you.

Sending free products or a trial of your service and encouraging them to share with their audience is one way to collaborate with others.

This can be a compelling strategy for getting traffic to your new domain.

Of course, it’s worth noting that the higher the level of influence, the more likely it is that you’ll need to pay for access to an influencer’s audience.

7. Guest posting and guest podcasting

I alluded to this in the email advertising tip, but hijacking, er, I mean borrowing other people’s audiences is a great way to get traffic to a new domain name quickly. Writing guest posts on established websites and getting featured as a guest on well-known podcasts will often result in backlinks that can drive people to your website.

The most important thing you can do if this is the method you choose is to deliver maximum value to the audience of the podcast or website you hope to be featured on. The truth is that website owners and podcast hosts know most people are fishing for backlinks, and as a result, they are becoming much pickier about who they feature. Therefore, it’s critical you give a decent pitch and give them more than just a watered-down version of content they are already sharing.

And, the more places you are featured, the more likely you are to get featured somewhere else. Read this post on how to start guest posting for a step-by-step guide to establishing your authority.

Note: Many of these tips can be repurposed for guest podcasting too!

8. Get lucky and go viral

This is the hardest method on the list, but I’ve seen websites crash from the amount of traffic they got from going viral. If you have a funny, scary, gross or otherwise wildly engaging idea for social media or YouTube, it could yield untold amounts of interest in your website.

For this method to work best, you’ll want to add your website link to the bio of all of your social media profiles, YouTube description boxes, about pages, etc. After all, if you go viral and no one knows how to find your domain, all that effort would have been for naught.

9. Organic traffic through SEO

I saved this one for last because although it’s not the fastest way to drive traffic, it’s a tried-and-true method for how to get traffic to a new domain. Plus, it doesn’t cost anything directly and will have the longest staying power.

SEO strategies often take content creation into account, so you will need original written content on your website. This content should be helpful to consumers and past the point of being self-promotional. It should focus on providing value and driving people to take action, such as visiting your FAQ page or contacting you for more information.

As with any marketing strategy, traffic-driving tactics need to be tailored to fit your audience and your niche.

What works for someone else may not work for you, so experimentation is often the best way to know if something will be helpful or not.

Conclusion and next steps

If you have been searching for how to get traffic quickly to your new domain, this post may have burst your bubble. That’s not to say that you can’t get traffic to a new domain name fast. It will take effort, and if speed is the primary goal it might take advertising funds, but it can happen.

Getting traffic to your new domain can be a manageable task if you know the right way to go about doing it. With these tips, you should have no trouble getting people to visit your site — though it may take longer than you would like. Your best bet if you plan to make money online is to focus on the long game and start by putting out really good content.

Try to blend these traffic-driving strategies with your content marketing plan so you can attract the right kind of visitors. And, as I often say on my podcast May your page views be high, and your bounce rate be low!

The moment you sign up as an Amazon seller, the clock starts ticking. Amazon will hold you to its monthly performance metrics from day one. And being prepared makes all the difference: with this checklist, you’ll be ready to ace every step of selling on Amazon. We’ve covered everything from the most basic preparation to the next steps necessary to grow into your success.

How to get started selling on Amazon

To start selling on Amazon, you’ll need to start with these steps:

1. Gather your paperwork.
2. Figure out the logistics.
3. Prepare your business plan.
4. Register your seller account.
5. Create product listings.

Let’s start selling.

1. Paperwork you need to start selling on Amazon

It’s a lot easier to start selling with your paperwork in order.

Some of this will be needed for the account opening process, some of it is common sense, and some of it helps to protect your business in the future.

You’ll need to start your Amazon store:

• Your business name: The name of your business. If you’re doing business as another name, things get more complex, but you’ll need this whatever you do.
• Email: You’ve got to have a valid email address. But I’d consider setting one up especially for your Amazon seller account – maybe add a new account to your business email or if you don’t have one, open a fresh Gmail and keep signed in on an alternative browser so checking it regularly is easy.
• Credit card: You’ll need to have the credit card you’re going to use for your business handy and solvent.
• Tax ID and State Tax: You’ll need your tax ID. If you’re selling as an individual, have your Social Security number handy; if you’re selling as a company, you’re going to need your company’s
• Federal Tax ID number: When you’re in the process of signing up to your Amazon account, you’ll need to fill in a 1099-K Tax Interview document.

If you’re not based in the United States, you might be asked for this in error; contact Amazon and it should be cleared up in a couple of days.

State Tax ID information is only needed for states in which you have a physical presence (‘nexus’). If you have an office in Arizona, a warehouse in Nebraska, and a factory in Minnesota, those are the states you need State Tax ID info for.

If you’re planning to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), there can be other tax issues. For a single seller with a single location, FBA tax is simple. But for a multi-state entity, it can get complex.

If that’s you, it’s cheaper and simpler to talk to a specialist tax attorney or adviser before you start selling on Amazon, in the same way that it’s far cheaper to have a good accountant than muddle through it all yourself. (Small business owners know what I’m talking about here!)

Companies that specialize in Amazon tax issues include:

• Taxjar.com
• Avalara.com
• Taxify.co
• Vertexsmb.com
• FBAsalestax.com
• Zip-tax.com
• Catchingclouds.net

Yes, it’s just boring paperwork. But having it all set up before you start selling on Amazon is a lot less irritating than chasing it around on a time limit. And if you don’t have the tax info to hand to fill out your 1099-K, you won’t be able to sell on Amazon at all until you do.

This content should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Always consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

2. Figure out your logistics in advance

Once you jump in and actually start selling on Amazon, fixing these logistical issues becomes much harder. It’s easier to set things up so they never become a problem in the first place.

You’ll need to know:

Your returns process:

Amazon has its own internal returns policy which you have to meet or exceed in order to be an Amazon seller. It’s a good idea to read this page, figure out what you’re going to do that’s at least as good as Amazon’s policy, and write that down somewhere, even if it’s a sticky note on your desktop. When you get an item returned, that’s the wrong time to be figuring out what to do about it – especially since you only have a 24-hour window to begin the process.

• How (and if) you plan to use FBA:

You can oversimplify and say: smaller items work with FBA, bigger ones less so.

FBA works very differently if you commingle your items. Commingled selling lets Amazon sell your items and those of other sellers interchangeably, assuming that the item is the same.

The problem with that is, you can end up with your products – which you have control over and have carefully verified – mixed up with someone else’s who hasn’t bothered checking, or is selling fake stuff on purpose. Then when an order of yours gets shipped, it’s their poor quality product that arrives – and your reputation that gets trashed.

There are benefits to this approach, but it’s risky. By and large standard practice should be, use FBA but don’t commingle.

• Whether you want to use a DBA name on your Amazon account:

Amazon lets you use a DBA (doing business as) name on your Amazon account, basically rebranding your Amazon account as something different from your main business.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to do this – such as, you have a specific part of your business that takes place on Amazon. If you normally sell furniture of every kind but on Amazon you sell only wardrobes, Texas Furniture isn’t as good a name as Texas Wardrobes, for instance.

But there are also plenty of sketchy sellers on Amazon who use DBA to conceal the real identity of their company; you might have more credibility and trust if you just use your regular business name.

• How Amazon’s product gating applies to what you want to sell:

Amazon uses restrictions to decide who can sell things in certain categories. If the categories you want to sell are gated, you’ll need to apply for the ungating process as soon as possible. Check if your products are on the gated list here.

3. Prepare your business plan

Decide your business plan in advance. Don’t try to wing it.

Your answers to these questions might change, even in your first month as an Amazon seller.

But by planning out your first month, you force yourself to ask the questions.

At the very least, ask yourself:

• Are you going to sell the same products or change it up?

If you’re going to sell more opportunistically, or from a large range, this isn’t so much of an issue. But if you’re selling the same products all the time, it’s smart to take advantage of Seller Central’s replenishment alert.

• How will you identify stale inventory?

However you’re selling, keeping track of inventory age is an important part of handling your supply chain. If products are sitting on the shelf for three months, that tells you something about what you need to order.

More urgently, if you’re using FBA, it’s vital to identify stale inventory so you don’t get caught in Amazon’s 180-day inventory sweeps and charged a much higher storage fee. Don’t wait 179 days and then wonder how much of your inventory is now costing you money instead of making you money.

You can find Amazon’s inventory report under Reports > Fulfillment > Manage FBA Inventory if you’re using FBA. There, you’ll find a full real-time inventory report containing numerical values for a range of inventory data – SKU, product condition and so on.

• How will you source your products?

Inventory is a major issue on Amazon. Sellers who aspire to the buy box already know: you won’t get in if your product’s out of stock. You also need to avoid periods when you’re out of stock and not selling – and thus not making any money.

Only you know the most appropriate sources of inventory for your business, but make sure you have fallbacks if it’s possible so you don’t get caught out.

• Who is already selling the same products as you on Amazon?

It’s pretty common for new sellers to jump in with products that are already so popular, in such crowded markets, that there’s no real chance of successfully selling them. So it’s really vital to check that you’re selling something where you have a chance at actually making a business work.

The biggest competitor on Amazon is Amazon itself – check your intended catalog against Amazon and if the company itself is selling your products, rethink your approach.

Related: Product targeting — How to optimize exposure on Amazon

4. Register your Amazon seller account

So, how do you become an Amazon seller? You need to register an Amazon seller account.

There are two types of accounts: An individual seller account, with no monthly fee but a charge of 99 cents for each item you sell, or the pro seller account for $39.99 per month no matter how many items you sell. So, if you plan to sell only a few items per month, go with the individual seller account.

But, if this will be a larger venture, plan on using the pro seller account. If you want to sell on Handmade or Launchpad, you have to use a pro seller account, no matter how much product you are selling. You can change plans at any time.

For both account types, you can sign up with your existing customer account or you can create a new seller account with your business email.

Before you sign up, be sure you have these items ready:

• Business email address or Amazon customer account
• Internationally chargeable credit card
• Government ID (identity verification protects sellers and customers)
• Tax information
• Phone number
• A bank account where Amazon can send you proceeds from your sales

Amazon also collects a referral fee on each sale no matter the chosen plan, which is a percentage of the total transaction and varies by product category.

5. Create your product listings

You have your seller profile created, so now you need products. But, how do you put your product on Amazon?

First, you need to consider what you are listing — you can’t just list whatever you want. Some categories are open to all sellers, some require a pro seller account, some require approval to sell, and some include products that cannot be sold by third-party sellers.

So, consider what you are selling and make sure you have the appropriate account.

Once logged in, you’ll navigate to Seller Central to create your listing. To create your listing you’ll need:

• A product identifier, such as GTIN, UPC, ISBN, or EAN to specify the exact item you’re selling. You can get a UPC code directly from GS1, or request an exemption.
• A SKU, which is a product ID you create to track your own inventory.
• Details, including the price, product condition, quantity available and shipping options.
• Product details including name, brand, category, description, and images.
• Keywords and search terms.

If there is already an exact product match on Amazon, then you can match your listing so things like product identifier will already be in place. If you are the first, then you will have to provide those details.

 

Your offer details will be displayed on a product detail page, the page in which people see when they look at products on Amazon.

Here is what is included on this page:

1. Title: 200 characters max, capitalize the first letter of every word
2. Images: 500 x 500 or 1,000 x 1,000 pixels to increase listing quality
3. Variations in colors, sizes, etc.
4. Bullet points: Short, descriptive sentences highlighting key features and benefits
5. Featured offer (“Buy Box”): The featured offer on a detail page. Customers can add to their cart or “Buy Now”
6. Other offers: If you sell a product that is sold by multiple sellers, you’ll see the same product sold by multiple sellers offering a different price, shipping options, etc.
7. Description: Be sure to use keywords that will help customers find your product.

How to promote your products on Amazon

To profit as a seller, you have to stand out against over two million merchants. But if you do grab buyers’ attention, you’re bound to make sales since so many shoppers flock to Amazon. The average conversion rate in the marketplace is roughly 15%, roughly three to five times that of other ecommerce sites.

The key to reaching Amazon shoppers is maximizing your listings’ visibility.

There are so many products on the marketplace, and buyers don’t have the time or patience to sift through every single one. Make it easy for buyers to find your products and you’re on track to win greater sales.

To boost your listings’ visibility, we’ll highlight nine key ways to drive external traffic outside of Amazon and internal traffic within the marketplace to your products. Using these strategies leads buyers right to your listings, so they can make their way down your sales funnel and grow to become a customer.

1. Optimize your listings with SEO

Search engine optimization attracts a wide range of buyers to your listing. Both shoppers who are already on Amazon and those who are using other sites can find your listing when you include popular keywords. With these additions, search engines — both Amazon’s and others — determine that your listing is a relevant result and rank it higher.

There are a few key tools to identify the keywords your shoppers are searching for most frequently.

• Google Keyword Planner: This free tool indicates the monthly search volume of keywords on Google’s search engine. Since Amazon listings can rank on Google, this tool is especially helpful.
• Scope: A keyword tool that’s specifically geared for Amazon. It allows you to track keywords’ monthly volume, ranking position over time, estimated sales, and more.

Once you’ve collected your keywords, place them throughout your listing, such as in the title and description. Detecting these popular keywords, search engines will recognize your listing as a relevant result for your buyers’ searches and rank it higher.

Related: 10 simple small business SEO tactics that you can do in-house

2. Buy sponsored product ads

Even with SEO, there’s no guarantee that your listing will be placed higher in Amazon’s search results. The marketplace’s engine considers other factors for ranking — selling history, price, and more — so SEO alone doesn’t necessarily lead to higher rankings.

To gain more control over their listings’ visibility, Amazon sellers can pay for the marketplace to sponsor their products and place them higher in search results.

Sellers only pay when shoppers click on their ad, so the payoff with Amazon promotion is guaranteed. Your listings’ visibility is increased, so shoppers on Amazon can easily find your product and potentially make a purchase.

3. Share listings on social media

The average person spends nearly two hours per day on social media platforms. Given this popularity, sharing your Amazon listings on social media through your business’ accounts is a powerful way of getting your products in front of more buyers.

Since your followers expect to receive value from your posts, it’s best to avoid creating posts on your account that are basically ads for your listings. Instead, it’s better to share your listing in more subtle ways that are still helpful to your followers. Here are a few ideas:

• Use a social media promo code. Merchants with a Professional Selling account on Amazon can create a promotion link to share through social media about a discount they’re offering on the listing. Unlike a traditional ad, sharing a promo code gives users value by helping them save money. For more details on setting up this promo code, check out this guide.
• Share content that includes your listing link. Posting an informative, helpful blog post or video that includes a link to your Amazon listing, such as a How-to video or list post, is a great way to indirectly promote your products through social media.
• Host a contest or giveaway. Announce through your social media accounts that any user who posts your Amazon listing in their bio will be entered for a chance to win a prize. This reward will motivate users to share your listing and spread the word about your Amazon products.

By creating social media content that is exciting and relevant, you can promote your Amazon listings through social media in a way that feels natural rather than invasive.

Related: How to get more customers with social media

4. Run competitor analysis

For internal visibility on Amazon, your listings need to stay ahead of competitors’ products. In buyers’ searches, your products will fall behind competitors’ items in rankings if you aren’t monitoring how those listings are engaging shoppers.

To keep your listings high in Amazon’s search rankings, there are a few factors you should monitor in competitors’ listings:

• Price: You want to keep your listings’ prices at or lower than competitors’ not only because shoppers are looking for the best deals — you also want to win the Buy Box if you’re sharing a listing with other sellers, and Amazon highly prioritizes price in choosing the box winner.
• Images: When Amazon shoppers are browsing through search results, they’re not only looking at price — they’re also checking out images. Visuals can be a very persuasive factor in encouraging purchases, so you want to make sure that your listing has more images with higher quality than competing items.
• Text: If your listing currently isn’t ranking high for your product keywords, it might be because the listing text isn’t considered relevant by Amazon’s search engine. Analyze the text of the current top-ranking listings to search for potentially relevant keywords that you can include to boost your product.

Finding ways to make your listing outshine competitors’ items on Amazon will increase your product rank in the marketplace’s search results.

5. Partner with influencers

Just like products on an online store, Amazon listings can gain significant traffic through influencer marketing.

When prominent individuals in your industry stand behind your product and link to your listing, it sends a message to communities of your key buyers that your listing is worth checking out.

To promote your listing through influencer marketing, start by coming up with a list of key individuals in your sector with a large base of social media followers. You brainstorm this list by considering your own personal network or use an influencer platform like Influence.co.

Once you have a list going, check out this guide to learn about the best ways to reach out to influencers and measure results once they share your Amazon listings.

6. Maintain strong product ratings

First impressions matter when you’re on a marketplace as competitive as Amazon. Buyers are browsing through thousands of products, so they won’t settle for items that seem low-quality.

A clear way to give shoppers a positive first impression of your Amazon listings is to maintain high-star ratings. When buyers are browsing through their Amazon search results, the star ratings are visible for each product.

Along with price, these star ratings are a major factor in whether shoppers decide to click on your listings. They can’t see your products in person, so this feedback from other buyers is especially meaningful to shoppers trying to make a purchase.

Here are a few tips for maintaining high-star ratings on all of your Amazon listings:

• Describe your item exactly as it is in your listing. False product details and images may boost sales initially, but ultimately they only hurt your Amazon business. Buyers who receive a product that’s totally different from the listing are bound to leave a low rating in disappointment.
• Provide excellent customer service. If you don’t handle customer requests properly, such as shipping the item late or not being prompt in completing a return, you’ll anger buyers. Avoid receiving a low product rating by delivering the item as expected and promptly resolving issues.
• Reach out to disappointed buyers. When a customer leaves a poor rating, reach out to the buyer to see if you can still resolve their issue. If you can fix their problem, they do have the power to edit their review and could adjust their rating to improve the product’s overall score.

Ratings are a key way for buyers to quickly assess your Amazon products. Make sure your items’ scores stay high to keep buyers interested in your listing.

Related: Generate reviews — 8 ways to get more product reviews

7. Maintain strong shipping performance

Shipping, at first, might seem totally unrelated to promoting your products. But on Amazon, your shipping performance is a key factor in your listings’ visibility.

Amazon wants to keep shoppers happy, so they discourage poor shipping practices by making shipping a factor in winning the Buy Box and ranking high on Amazon’s search rankings.

With consistent shipping issues, you’re less likely to win the box or to rank high in search.

Instead of hurting your visibility, use these tips to maintain a strong shipping performance on Amazon:

• Regularly check your shipping performance metrics. In Amazon Seller Central, you can monitor several key shipping performance metrics — on-time delivery rate, valid tracking rate — to ensure that you’re consistently offering great shipping and pleasing customers.
• Use Amazon FBA. By signing up for Fulfillment by Amazon, sellers no longer have to worry about providing great shipping as the marketplace handles fulfilling your orders. If there are any complaints about your shipping from buyers, the marketplace will remove the rating since they are responsible for shipping issues.
• Use inventory management software. Adopting an inventory management program, like Sellbrite, keeps you on track so you can avoid understocking and being unable to complete orders. Sellbrite monitors when your stock is low across channels so you always know when to reorder.

Always provide great shipping and you won’t hurt your chance at winning the Buy Box or at ranking high in search results. With this visibility, Amazon shoppers can easily find your products.

8. Monitor your seller rating

Like shipping performance, your overall seller rating on Amazon also impacts your chances of winning the Buy Box and ranking high in Amazon’s search results.

Punishing low-rated sellers with less visibility is a measure to keep Amazon shoppers happy and sustain the marketplace. It ensures that buyers are first and foremost working with merchants who have a positive record and can provide great service.

To keep your listings visible on Amazon, follow these tips to maintain a high seller rating:

• Monitor your seller rating. On Seller Central, you can view the factors that contribute to your overall seller ratings — such as Perfect Order Percentage and Late Response Rate — and determine which ones need to be improved to increase it.
• Be prompt in customer service. Set a daily reminder to resolve customer issues and respond to customer messages. The quicker you give buyers attention, the more impressed they’ll be with your service.
• Determine whether negative feedback could be removed. Amazon has clear guidelines for providing feedback. Review this post to determine whether any of your negative feedback from buyers should be removed.

Make an effort to keep your seller rating as high as possible and you’ll help your listings stay visible through the Buy Box and Amazon search results.

9. Launch a Lightning Deal

Beyond convenience, many shoppers come to Amazon for the marketplace’s low prices. With this interest, a primary way of attracting Amazon shoppers to your listing is by launching a Lightning Deal.

Lightning Deals are time-based, marked-down products that buyers can find in Amazon’s Today’s Deals section. They draw a lot of attention and sales from Amazon’s shoppers not only because they appreciate discounts, but also because their limited time frame motivates buyers to make a purchase.

Sellers have to pay a fee and Amazon has to approve Lightning Deals before they’re launched.

Here are a few of the key guidelines that sellers need to meet for their Lightning Deals to be approved:

• Lightning Deals run for four to twelve hours.
• Lightning Deals can only run once in a seven-day period.
• You should have your proposed quantity for the deal available at least seven days before the deal is expected to launch.

Amazon selling FAQs

How can I put my product on Amazon? You need to start with a seller account. Choose an individual account or a pro seller account. Once you have that set up you can, you can begin listing products. You’ll need to have a product identifier, a SKU, product and store details, and keywords to show up in the search.

How do beginners sell on Amazon? If you only plan to sell a few products a month, start with an individual account. You will be charged 99 cents per item sold, but does not have a monthly fee.

How much does it cost to sell on Amazon? It depends on the plan you choose and what you are selling. Individual accounts are free, but you are charged 99 centers per item sold. Pro seller accounts have a monthly fee of $39.99, with unlimited sales. Each sale, no matter the account, also has referrals fees, which depend on the type of product. There are additional fees for shipping and Fulfillment by Amazon, if using that service.

Can you sell your own thing on Amazon? There are limits to what you can sell. You can view a list of restricted items here. If you are looking to sell your handmade products, you’ll need a pro seller account to use Amazon Handmade.

Lauren Joyner contributed to this article. 

Image by: Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

This article was originally published on Feb. 22, 2016, and was updated on Jan. 20, 2022. 

Table of contents:

Managing cash flow is critical to the ongoing health of your small business. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs struggle to do so effectively.

Lending Tree reports that almost 30% of small businesses blame “running out of cash” as a major contributor to their startup failure. Almost 20% say they went under due to pricing or cost issues.

Calculating and understanding your cost of goods sold (COGS) will help you to better understand your small business cash flow, and set you up for long-term success.

In this post, we’ll explain what the cost of goods sold is, how to calculate it, and how to report it during tax season.

What is cost of goods sold (COGS)?

Your cost of goods sold includes the direct costs associated with the production of the products your small business sells.

Your direct costs are most often the inventory purchased to make or sell products to customers. But there are other purchased items and indirect costs (like overhead costs) that can be included in your COGS calculations, which we’ll get into shortly.

What counts under COGS?

If you own a donut franchise, for example, you’d include the following in your COGS calculation:

• The direct inventory cost of manufacturing the donuts, including the regular purchase of baking soda, flour, sugar, and yeast.
• Any tools you need to operate while making a donut — from pots and pans to fryers and stand mixers.
• Indirect costs like employee wages to make the donuts, utility bills for things like water (if it’s in the recipe), or rent paid for a manufacturing facility.

What’s not included in COGS

If you are a small business owner who doesn’t manufacture your own products, your cost of goods sold typically would not factor in your indirect overhead costs (or operating expenses) incurred to run your business.

For example, when you purchase inventory from other vendors for resale, your indirect costs might include the monthly cost to rent your storefront or to keep the lights on.

Likewise, you do not need to include anything in your COGS calculations that goes into your cost of revenue, meaning the total amount you invest to sell products to customers. These costs include line items like your marketing and product distribution expenditures.

It’s always best to check with an accountant or tax expert to learn what direct and indirect costs should or shouldn’t be included in your COGS calculation.

Why service-based small businesses don’t use COGS

When doing COGS calculations, business owners must itemize the inventory they purchased (within a set time period) to manufacture or sell their products to customers.

That’s why most service-based businesses, like freelancers, consultants, and service-based software do not typically use COGS when preparing financial statements.

Of course, there are some exceptions, like a hairdresser who might sell items in-store such as shampoo, hairstyling products, and anything else that is part of their inventory as a good to be sold.

Why small businesses should care about COGS

From a tax perspective, you need to know your cost of goods sold — broken down into different line items on your business income tax form — so you can report it to the government. We’ll get into income tax reporting for COGS later in this post.

From an accounting and finance perspective, small business owners must also understand your break-even point and determine the lowest price you can set for your products to keep your business running smoothly.

COGS plays a crucial role in determining those factors, as well as in managing cash flow and finding cost savings.

For help with calculating your break-even point, read: “What is break-even analysis.” You might also want to learn more about cash flow forecasting for small businesses, and understand how to avoid cash flow problems.

How to calculate cost of goods sold

To calculate your cost of goods sold, you first need to understand the total amount of inventory and other relevant costs (if you’re a manufacturer) you regularly spend for the products you sell on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.

The time period for calculating COGS depends on the type of business you run and how you do your accounting.

Likewise, there are different ways to do the COGS calculations, including:

• First in, first out (FIFO)
• Last in, first out (LIFO)
• Average cost
• Special ID method

It’s crucial to have all of this information ready for your accountant — or for a tax professional to help you understand what you need to do if you manage your own books.

COGS calculation formula

For each relevant COGS reporting time period, start with the total value of your beginning inventory (i.e. the materials you already have on-hand) before you make any new purchases. Then, add on the total value of any new materials you purchased over the same time period.

For simplicity, let’s say you want to measure COGS over one month, and your total value for existing inventory is 5,000 units at a cost of $1.00 each. Your beginning inventory is, therefore, worth $5,000.

Next, you buy an additional 5,000 units at the same cost. You now have $10,000 worth of inventory ($5,000 + $5,000) to sell.

Over the course of that month, you sell 7,500 units. At the end of the month, you’re now left with 2,500 units in your inventory (at a cost of $1.00 each = $2,500).

Here’s the formula you’d use to calculate your cost of goods sold for the month:

Beginning inventory = $5,000

• Purchases = $5,000

– Ending inventory = $2,500

________________________

Cost of goods sold = $7,500 for one month

As your business grows, and as you start to measure your cost of goods sold over longer periods, you might use more sophisticated ways to calculate these numbers.

Let’s assume you’re looking at your COGS on a quarterly basis, and the cost to purchase your inventory changes each month. The first month, the cost per unit is $1.00, the second month it goes up to $1.50, and in the third month, it costs $1.25 per unit.

First in, First Out (FIFO) method

This COGS accounting method assumes you’ll sell the inventory worth $1.00 per unit first, before selling items sold in later months. Let’s assume that over the 2nd quarter of 2022, you sell a total of 325 units. In April, you had 100 units left in stock (worth $1.00 each) and you sold all of them.

In May, you purchased an additional 200 units at $1.50 each and sold all of them. Finally, you purchased another 200 in June and sold only 25.

Let’s do the COGS calculation, starting with the cost per unit sold each month.

• April = $1.00 x 100 units = $100
• May = $1.50 x 200 units = $300
• June = $2.00 x 200 units = $400

Your cost per goods sold is, therefore:

$100 (for the existing inventory in April)
+ Purchases in May and June worth $700 ($300 + $400)

– Ending inventory of 175 units (@ $2.00 each) = $350

________________________________

$450 is your quarterly FIFO COGS ($100 + $700 – $350)

Last in, Last Out (LIFO) method

In this scenario, you calculate COGS by using the value of your inventory in the last month of the quarter first.

Some businesses use this method to get a tax break when their cost per unit goes up significantly over a set time period.

Using the numbers illustrated above in the FIFO COGS calculation, you’d use the value of your goods purchased in June as your starting point. Let’s say you sold a total of 300 units in the quarter. You’d take the value of the 200 units sold in June (at $400), add 100 units at the May rate (100 x $1.50 = $150), and calculate your COGS like this:

$400 (for all units bought in June)
+ $400 (for units purchased in April and May)

– $250 (inventory left from April and May = 100 @ $1.50 + 100 @ $1.00)

____________________

$550 is your quarterly LIFO COGS ($400 + $400 – $250)

Keep in mind that using the LIFO method for COGS will eat into your profits. Therefore, you need to weigh the value of reporting losses for tax breaks versus reporting higher revenue, which might raise concerns with your bank when you need financing, or if you have any business investors or shareholders (as your business grows).

Average cost method

This is a simple COGS method that uses the average cost of the inventory purchased over a three-month or annual reporting period in the COGS calculation.

Using the example above, you’d add all three unit prices up and apply the average cost against all units sold during that time period. You may want to start out using the average cost method to manage cash flow, especially if you don’t manufacture your own products.

Special ID method

This COGS method is used when you sell multiple products that vary in manufacturing costs over a set time period. For example, an automobile manufacturer will sell different car models with different product identification numbers. In this instance, it would be wise to work with an accountant to properly calculate your COGS.

What do I need to know about COGS and taxes?

Regardless of whether you calculate your COGS monthly or quarterly, you’ll need to do so during tax season. Your COGS calculations must be completed in Part III (Schedule C) of your small business income tax statement.

You can use the cost of goods sold worksheet on lines 35 to 42 of page two.

This content should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Always consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation. Check the IRS website for up-to-date instructions and requirements.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the line items that go into the COGS calculation.

Line 35: Inventory at the beginning of the year

If you’re an online or physical retailer, and simply re-sell the inventory you purchase from someone else, the amount on this line is the cost of the merchandise you had on hand at the beginning of the year.

It’s different if you manufacture your own products. The amount on this line would be the cost of any items you produced, plus the cost of the supplies you purchased in the reporting tax year and still have on hand to make products you’ll sell in the future.

Note: If there is any difference between the previous year’s ending inventory and this year’s beginning inventory, you will need to explain why.

Line 36: Purchases less cost of items withdrawn for personal use

For re-sellers, the amount you input on this line should be the inventory you bought during the tax year.

If you manufacture your own items to sell, the amount should include the materials and parts you purchased during the year from vendors (including any discounts they gave you).

Always be sure to remove the cost of any items you returned, as well as any items you pulled out of your inventory for your own personal use.

Line 37: Cost of labor (minus your own paid labor)

Your cost of labor consists of three elements:

1. Direct labor: Wages you paid to employees who made the products to be sold.
2. Indirect labor: What you paid to employees who performed general factory functions, such as a foreman, and whose work does not have a direct connection with the making of the product.
3. Other labor: Wages for selling or administrative personnel.

If you run a manufacturing business, the labor costs you input on line 37 for COGS should be relevant to each product produced during the period. A tax account should be able to help you identify which costs to use in your COGS calculation.

Re-sellers won’t likely have many labor costs, and you must not include your own paid labor (as the business owner) in your cost of goods sold.

Line 38: Materials and supplies

The number inputted on this line for COGS should include the cost of the items that are separate from the main materials used in the manufacturing of your product — but are still an important part of producing it.

For example, these materials might include glue or buttons that a fashion retailer sews onto their garments.

Line 39: Other costs

Additional costs can be added to your cost of goods sold, depending on the type of business your run.

Manufacturers can use this line to record any additional costs of creating your product — such as packaging and shipping costs to bring in supplies and materials — as well as the overhead costs for running your factory (but not the costs to sell or distribute products).

Line 40: Cost of goods available for sale

On this line, you should add up the amounts on lines 35 through 39 to get the total cost of goods available for sale.

Line 41: Inventory at end of the year

On this line, you should include the value of the items you have in your inventory that have not yet been sold as of year-end.

Like most businesses, you may need to do a physical inventory count of what you have in stock on December 31, and determine the cost to produce the items in that count.

When placing a value on your end-of-year inventory, be sure to use the cost to produce the items in your COGS calculation and not the price you charged customers for these items.

Now you have everything you need to calculate your cost of goods sold for the tax year. On line 42, subtract the amount on line 41 from line 40. You’ll input this final number on line 4 of page 1 of Schedule C – Cost of Goods Sold.

For additional help when completing your small business taxes, read: How to organize your financial statements to make tax season smooth sailing.

Planning for long-term growth with COGS

Once you calculate your cost of goods sold, you’ll gain a better understanding of your monthly, quarterly, and annual cash flow.

Your COGS calculations can also help you to price your products accordingly, complete your business income taxes, and plan for the long-term growth and success of your small business.

Keep in mind, the above content provides a general explanation, and how you calculate COGS will depend on many factors. For example, manufacturing businesses will have more sophisticated requirements for tracking inventory and calculating the cost of goods sold.

Always consult an accountant or tax professional for specific COGS reporting or tax requirements for your small business.

This article includes content originally published on the GoDaddy Blog by Chris Peden.

As we all come to terms with the new retail landscape after a global pandemic, it’s definitely worth exploring how to use a sale to get more business. Reducing your prices might be a necessary short-term action, but it shouldn’t reek of desperation.

A good sale is sustainable to your bottom line and welcomed by customers feeling the pinch.

It’s also a great opportunity to remind people that you’re still open for business, as you adjust to a new reality.

How to use a sale to get more business

The sale is a tried and trusted way to promote your business, boost revenue, and make people feel good about their purchase. Ultimately, everyone likes to feel like a winner when they walk away with a bargain.

Planned well, they’re a great short-term booster to:

• Spike interest
• Gain customers
• Get some product moving

All of these can be as valuable for motivation as they are for your bottom line.

Why launching a sale is important for small business

For small businesses, a strategic sale can be the gentle nudge to convert a new customer from “I’m interested” to “yeah, might as well.”

If you’re just starting out and trying to gain a foothold in a crowded market, you can start with a tempting introductory offer.

This is a brilliant way to:

• Get your business noticed
• Promote your brand
• Attract some of your competitor’s more fickle followers

For existing customers and followers, you can present discounts as exclusive rewards to help build loyalty.

Treating your core customers right is most important.

And with the right message, a sale could be your brand’s way of helping folks out in a time when money is hard to come by.

Avoid common pitfalls ‍when pricing

Make sure you’re being careful when tinkering with the price of your product. Your product is inextricably linked to its perceived value and a “90% off” or “Five for the price of one” sale could raise a few red flags for savvy shoppers.

Similarly, the sun-bleached “Clearance Sale” poster that’s been stuck on your window all year long isn’t fooling anybody. Remember to use sales sparingly and set a specific goal in mind. This could include a seasonal tradition or a 24-hour flash promotion. Whatever route you decide to take, do it thoughtfully and make it count. ‍

Design tips to get you noticed‍

The most important thing is that people know about your promotion. Take the time to design some eye-grabbing posters and spread the word far and wide. Use the tips below to help get you started.

Be bold, but stay true to yourself: If ever there was an excuse to use bold colors and display fonts, this is it. But stay true to your brand’s identity above all.

Utilize motion to grab attention: It’s worth it to use GIFs or a video template to stand out in people’s social media feeds.

Make sure your call-to-action (CTA) is clear and unmissable: Potential buyers need to know exactly what the special is and what they need to do to get it. Making the mechanism too complex, or burying terms and conditions in the small print, is the easiest way to lose a lead and cause frustration.

Generate hype ahead of time: Creating FOMO and building hype is critical to your sale’s success and promoting your brand. Anticipation and limited availability serve as fuel for the fire when it comes to promotions.

Avoid recycling the same poster design: This might make it invisible over time. Instead, try planning different design phases that lead up to your sale. You can use similar aesthetics to maintain interest and create the impression of something growing day by day.

Additionally, spreading similar promo designs over different platforms can also only help build awareness.

Here’s how GoDaddy Studio can help

Luckily, GoDaddy Studio has specific layout collections to help you design your own sale promo. It allows you to easily create a multi-platform campaign leading up to your business promotion. Simply pop your own images and text into these pre-designed templates for a clean and beautiful design in minutes.

Beyond the specific promotion at hand, wrapping up your marketing material with a coherent and professional design makes a great impression for your brand.‍

Related: GoDaddy Studio — Create eye-catching imagery for your brand

Utilize a marketing calendar‍ to help with promo planning

Take advantage of seasonal opportunities. Many industries (most notably fashion) operate by the shifting seasons.

Clearance sales are the perfect time to refresh your inventory and offer customers a few benefits in the process.

Special celebration days might range from Easter to National Pancake Day. It’s important to be aware of dates like these in regards to sales, especially if they align with your audience’s likes and interests. You can also use them for extra promo power to help encourage meaningful engagement with your target audience.

Key marketing tactics to try‍

These are a few variants of the discount promotion you might want to try for your own brand or small business. Let’s review them below.

The seasonal sale‍

The seasons shift in very convenient three-month phases, enabling four foundational sales every year. These shifts are essential for fashion (or anything fashionable) to keep offerings on-trend.

The upside is that consumers expect these, so you’ll have an eager audience looking out for discounts. But, you’ll need to work hard to stand out and out-promote the competition.

Off-peak deals also work well for seasonal industries like:

• Tourism
• Swimwear
• Restaurants

They often do this to keep business ticking into the quiet times.

Special days

Whereas seasonal sales are quite generic, special days help you find and target a relevant crowd to which you can promote your brand. Most brands plan these days ahead of time on a marketing calendar.

But besides obvious holidays like Christmas and Halloween, you’ll want to look out for celebrations that align with your product and your audience. There are many special days for the following niche audiences:

• Yoga
• Craft beer
• Mental health
• The environment
• Women in tech
• Bulldogs
• Hot dogs

Your company’s anniversary and other milestones count too, so take advantage where you can!

The exclusive sale‍

You’ve worked hard to gain the followers you have, so it’s worth making them feel special to keep ‘em coming back for more.

Never underestimate the marketing power of a happy customer.

An exclusive sale is more likely to have a higher engagement since you’re selling to folks who already know (and hopefully love) your brand.‍

Mystery deals‍

Intrigue new customers by offering a range of variable discounts or special offers to promote your business. These promos can range from 10% to 50% off and entice the customer to click the offer to see if it’s their lucky day or not.

If they end up being offered a discount at the higher end of the spectrum, there’s a decent chance they’ll see it as a sign and jump on the opportunity. Done right, mystery deals can be more engaging and feel more personalized. ‍

Sign-up specials‍

One of the most failsafe ways to acquire a potential customer is with a sign-up offer. You can think of it as a very clean and mutually beneficial agreement. While you gain a new lead, they gain a wicked deal on their first purchase or session. Everybody wins!

Activating a new customer is one of the hardest things to do for a small business, so it’s worth the cost and effort to incentivize this. Simply bringing them into your orbit (via a newsletter sign-up or social media follow) is worth offering something in return. If a customer feels noticed or taken care of from the start, it bodes well for the ongoing journey.‍

Buy one get one

Aah, the classic BOGO technique. There’s a reason we all know the phrase “Buy One Get One” so well. It works like a charm at ramping up sales because free or discounted stuff is very hard to say no to.

A good BOGO promo works great for introducing a wider range of products to your customers.

For example, a candy salesman might notice a customer enjoying something watermelon-flavored and suggest a lime flavor as an add-on. You can also use it to gain new customers by setting up your offer to be shared with a friend.

Checklist‍

Before you go live, make sure you have the essentials in place. Use the checklist below to help launch your sale effectively and better promote your brand.

Timeline ‍

Create a timeline to plan ahead and use the following questions as your guide:

• When does it kick-off and end?
• Are there different phases to the sale?
• When will you start advertising it?

Answering these questions will set up the frame for the rest of your parameters.

Measuring success‍

Zeroing in on goals and objectives will give you a clear direction on how to measure success. Ask yourself the following questions before getting started:

• What are you hoping to achieve with this promotion?
• Is it just about the number of units sold?
• Are you more interested in new leads or retaining customers?

Once you have these answers, work out how you’ll measure success (Google Analytics is a good start). You’ll learn plenty for future promotions by monitoring this data. ‍

Terms and conditions‍

Don’t wait for a disgruntled customer or a devastating loophole to pop up. Take a moment to think through the basic terms and conditions and make them known. Post them on your website or somewhere in your social post. ‍

Unmissable social media posts‍

Visibility within your social media posts can’t be overemphasized. And while attracting attention to your sale is one thing, making it seem enticing and well-organized is another.

That’s what good design does.

A professional design evokes a quality product or service. Nobody needs to know you made it yourself in GoDaddy Studio. Try it out for free and see how it’ll save you time and money.

All images are available as editable templates in GoDaddy Studio.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been devastating. From health concerns to the economic downturn, we experienced it all. Luckily, as vaccines continue to roll out and the world starts to normalize again, a plethora of business ideas for post-pandemic opportunities sit on the horizon.

A lot has changed since the onset of the pandemic.

First, we saw digital interaction companies like Zoom, Microsoft and Slack take off as we found ways to stay connected through our screens. Then, we saw companies that relied on physical interaction and travel take massive financial hits.

As we look to the future, we must leverage all the changes over the past two years to build sustainable businesses for the long term.

Related: 3 low-cost marketing trends for the new normal

5 business ideas for post-pandemic needs

This post will cover the five business ideas that are perfect for the new post-pandemic world. These ideas will range from concepts that you can run from your iPhone to in-person experiences including: 

• Start a dropshipping business.
• Offer virtual assistant services.
• Become an Airbnb host.
• Manage influencers.
• Open a food truck.

By the end of this post, you’ll be familiar with these five ideas that you can pursue and leverage to build a profitable business.

1. Start a dropshipping business

More and more people are turning to digital commerce to buy the things they need. People no longer want to go to their local store, wait in line and travel back home. Instead, with a click of a button, they expect to get the products they want in a timely manner.

A great way to capitalize on this new shopping trend is through dropshipping. Dropshipping is a timeless business model that can work under any economic situation.

The great thing about this business model is that it’s a very low-cost business to start. Dropshipping is when the retailer (you) does not keep any inventory on hand. Instead, you work as a middleman, transferring the customer’s order to the manufacturer.

By not holding any inventory, there are virtually no startup costs.

You may have to pay a monthly subscription for many ecommerce platforms. However, your hosting costs shouldn’t exceed more than $30 a month when you’re just getting started. You will likely have to pay for additional tools like a landing page builder or an email service provider, but these services should only cost around $10 to $20 a month.

Interestingly though, it is possible to start a dropshipping business for free. Many successful dropshippers use platforms like eBay and Etsy to list their products. The benefit of using a platform like eBay, outside of the zero-dollar startup cost, is that they already have users on their platform looking to purchase items. Whereas, if you build a brand new store, you start with zero traffic. You will have to run online ads to your website or create content via social media or a blog to attract visitors.

Although the traditional online store strategy is more expensive and takes more time to generate sales, you will benefit from designing your own website and creating your own custom pages. You also will have the ability to collect the email list of your buyers and market to them in the future.

2. Offer virtual assistant services

If there’s one thing the pandemic taught us, it’s that we can continue working even if we’re not sharing the same office space.

With the proliferation of technology that allows us to have virtual communication, it has never been easier for businesses to outsource tasks.

As a virtual assistant, the services you could offer are limitless. I would recommend teaching yourself a high-income skill. When most people think of high-income skills, they think of jobs like being a lawyer or a doctor — skills that need years and years of education before making a living in that field.

However, there are many skills you can learn on the internet with no need for formal education. For example, skills like copywriting, search engine optimization, coding, web designing or social media marketing can all be learned through YouTube or how-to articles.

Once you have a solid foundation of the skill you just learned, you can sign up on a freelance platform like Upwork or Fiverr and create a seller’s profile to start getting projects.

Also, don’t be afraid to leverage social media platforms, like LinkedIn or Twitter, to message business owners about your services.

3. Become an Airbnb host

As the pandemic comes to a close, people are starting to “revenge travel” to make up for all the time they spent in their house since the start of COVID-19.

If you have a spare bedroom in your house, you may want to look into monetizing that space by becoming an Airbnb host.

The process of becoming a host is effortless and can be done within a couple of minutes.

Like eBay dropshipping, becoming an Airbnb host is great because it is entirely free to list your home on Airbnb. In addition, the platform already has more than 150 million users who book vacations or experiences.

If you do happen to have the extra space and becoming an Airbnb host is a reality for you, you can check out the free rental property calculator on their website to see how much money you could make based on your location and property size.

4. Manage influencers

Influencer marketing has grown from a market size of just $1.7 billion in 2016 to an expected $13.8 billion by the end of 2021. With platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok all growing in popularity, it is no surprise that brands are looking for ways to get their products in the hands of influencers who have an engaged following.

Still, many influencers don’t know the monetization potential behind their accounts. Most individuals with a large following have amassed their following because they love what they do, not because they want to sell something to an audience.

A great strategy is to pick a platform and reach out to influencers within a specific niche.

The more specific you get, as in makeup influencers on TikTok, the easier it will be to represent them as a manager.

Reach out to these influencers and ask them how much they would charge to promote a product in their video. Many influencers won’t know the value of their audience and will give a number below market value.

Once you understand how much they would charge for a promotion, message companies in that niche and ask if they would be interested in promoting their product with that influencer. When they ask for pricing, give a number 10x higher than what the influencer told you.

Make sure to be upfront with the influencer that you will be making from these placements. However, they will usually be fine as long as they get the amount they ask for.

5. Open a food truck

Although a food truck doesn’t sound like a sexy idea, it’s one of the most practical ways to get into the food business without taking on the risk of starting a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

The food truck industry has been growing in consumer demand as the need for high-quality, affordable food has increased over the years.

With a food truck, you can meet your customers where they are instead of having them come to you.

Additionally, by not being stuck at a physical location, you can try placing your food truck in different areas at different times of the day to see what strategy generates the most sales for your business.

Editor’s note: If you need point-of-sale payment options for your food truck, check out the offerings powered by GoDaddy Payments. With low transaction fees, you’ll keep more of your hard-earned cash. 

Which business idea for post-pandemic needs appeals to you?

There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic is full of unprecedented problems. However, now that we can see an end to it, it’s time for business owners to start looking toward the future. There is no shortage of business ideas for post-pandemic needs worth pursuing in this new environment.

With this new economic landscape, you can do anything from creating in-person experiences to leveraging digital commerce. As long as you deploy patience and consistency, the sky’s the limit.

A website is good for business. But, a strategic website that aligns with your business and marketing goals is great for business. Whether you are getting ready to launch a website or you already have an existing site, your business needs to develop a website strategy that elevates the effectiveness of your website and makes it more useful to you and your customers.

Let’s look at what a website strategy is, why you need one, and how you can develop one in four simple steps.

What is a website strategy?

It’s not enough for your website to look good. It also needs to work well — and that means successfully engaging audiences and driving them through a funnel that leads them to take steps toward working with your brand.

That’s where a website strategy comes in.

A website strategy is a plan of action that directs the content, layout and funnel on your business website.

It considers your business objectives and then outlines the ways your website can align with those plans to actively help you reach your goals.

When you develop a website strategy, you answer questions like:

• Who will visit our website? How will they find it?
• What do audiences need when they visit our website? What information are they looking for?
• What messaging would resonate with our target audience?
• What do we want people to do when they visit our website?
• How can we move people through the website page by page?
• How does the website move our business closer to our goals?

When you have answers to these questions, you can determine what content, messaging and calls-to-action you need on your website so it can effectively help you reach your business goals.

How to develop a website strategy in four steps

Whether you are starting a new website or updating an existing site, here are four steps to develop a website strategy that can make your website more effective. Consider these website strategy examples as you lay out a plan for your site.

1. Define your website goals

It will be practically impossible to develop a website strategy if you don’t know the goals for your website.

If you don’t know what you want your website to do, how can you set it up to drive action?

Goals are the foundation that directs your website strategy. There are a variety of goals for a website, and the type of goals you have will direct the approach you take with your website. Goals in website strategy examples might be:

Goal: Increase organic search rankings.

Approach: Create a content strategy for SEO.

Goal: Build trust and educate your customers.

Approach: Develop sales pages and educational, thought-leadership blog posts.

Goal: Showcase your work.

Approach: Build a portfolio or case study library.

Goal: Generate leads.

Approach: Build gated content assets.

Goal: Drive sales and online orders.

Approach: Build an online store.

Keep in mind that there are many goals for a website. Don’t be too broad with your goals, and don’t set too many.

Identify two or three primary goals, and optimize your site to reach those objectives.

Giving your audience too many things to do or filling your site with too many options can lead to lower effectiveness.

As you develop a website strategy, make at least one of your goals aligned with driving customers toward doing business with you, such as joining your email list, contacting you, or buying or scheduling. Outline an on-site funnel to lead them toward that action.

2. Outline your on-site funnel

An on-site funnel is a series of steps you present to website visitors to guide them closer to working with your business.

You want a website visitor to do something to help them on their customer journey  before they leave your site. This may mean entering their email address and becoming a lead or making a purchase and becoming a customer.

Whatever your intended goal, create an on-site funnel that guides website visitors closer toward doing business with you.

Start with the pages that a new website visitor lands on and then use calls-to-action to lead them page by page to where they can take the final action. A website strategy example might be a lawn and garden business that wants to drive website visitors to schedule a service. The on-site funnels for this site might be:

• A homepage that starts by funneling website visitors to either a residential or commercial landing page that explains the details of the service and has a button to schedule.
• A blog post that speaks to homeowners about the best way to keep their yard properly watered and ends with a call-to-action button to schedule a residential lawn service.

End each page on your website with a call-to-action that guides visitors toward the next step to working with you.

3. Define your target audience

Many businesses miss this step in their website development process. Or, they make their target audience category too broad.

For example, a hair salon might say anyone who needs a haircut and lives near their business is their target audience. This is a mistake. The salon likely caters to a specific type of clientele (it may be kid-friendly, specialize in up-dos for women or great at razor cuts for men). The website should speak to that specific audience.

Avoid filling your site with generic copy that speaks to all audiences.

Hone in on your ideal customer and create copy that resonates directly with them. When they land on your website, let them know your business is the place for them and what they need to do to work with you.

Related: Build and use your ideal customer profile and personas

4. Create or update your pages and posts

Once you have your goals, on-site funnel and target audience, you can start the content creation and optimization process. Start creating and updating the pages and posts you need to align with your website strategy.

• Outline the pages you need on your site to guide website visitors toward the primary end goal of your site (becoming a lead, buying something, etc.).
• Create content that speaks directly to your audience.
• End each page and post with a call-to-action that drives website visitors through your on-site funnel.
• Do keyword research to find terms that might attract your audience, and optimize your pages to match those keywords.
• Remove pages that don’t serve your goals or on-site funnel.

Also, consider if you need to modify your site structure and navigation to make it as easy as possible for website visitors to find what they need, take the steps toward working with your business and help you reach your business goals.

Develop a website strategy to drive better business results

Setting up a website for your business is more than buying a domain, setting up hosting and building a few pages. You also need to develop a website strategy that guides the direction, purpose and planning of your new site.

Follow the steps in this post to develop a website strategy for your business. Then, get to work on updating your existing site or planning your new website.