What steps should be taken to market and bring traffic to one's site? - Help the Newbie Please!!(Part 2)

OK guys, first off I want to say that I really appreciate the help and advice you all have been giving me. Every dime I spend on this endeavor is a MAJOR sacrifice for me, however investing in SaleHoo has by far been the best investment.

If you guys have been following along, I was seeking advice on what direction I should go....ebay, website, inventory, dropshipping...just so confusing!

Well I FINALLY made up my mind and after filing for all the appropriate business and tax licenses, I am proud to announce that I have my very own ecommerce site up and running, complete with a blog AND an eBay account selling health and nutritional supplements (thanks to the Research Lab and the various SaleHoo articles for this niche).

I now have several dropshipping accounts with wholesale suppliers and I must say that having the proper licensing makes this process super easy, so before seeking these accounts, it is in your best interest to get your licensing and tax/reseller permits in order.

Now that I have shown the community that I am serious about this...maybe you guys can let me in and share the Holy Grail of information...

How can I make my business grow and what steps should I take to market my business and bring traffic to my site?

At first I was kind of hesitant after seeing the millions of other sites, but by the same token, doing a little research about the creation dates of the websites makes me feel better. Even on eBay, some of the most successful sellers in my niche have only been on there since Jan of this year!

So please advise and I promise that it won't fall on deaf ears. Thank you all for your time to Help The Newbie.

Thanks to Yvette for pointing this out -

My store: Link hidden: Login to view
My blog: Link hidden: Login to view

Hi fenway2k! Wow congratulations by taking the necessary steps in a very short period of time. It's definitely a sign that you are taking things seriously. And I wish you LOTS of luck!

Unfortunately, this message is not to give advice for I, myself, am still learning. In fact, maybe I can get some tips from you.

What is your website? I can check it out and spread the word. It's funny because out on the ebay world or any other auction sites, we are competing against one another. BUT here we are one big happy Salehoo family that can help and even share experiences.

BTW, I need to create a website immediately. So once that is up and running, I can also share the great news to everyone. :-)

Well, take care!

All the best,
Yvette
timelinegoods

[quote]Hi fenway2k! Wow congratulations by taking the necessary steps in a very short period of time. It's definitely a sign that you are taking things seriously. And I wish you LOTS of luck!

Unfortunately, this message is not to give advice for I, myself, am still learning. In fact, maybe I can get some tips from you.

What is your website? I can check it out and spread the word. It's funny because out on the ebay world or any other auction sites, we are competing against one another. BUT here we are one big happy Salehoo family that can help and even share experiences.

BTW, I need to create a website immediately. So once that is up and running, I can also share the great news to everyone. :-)

Well, take care!

All the best,
Yvette
timelinegoods[/quote]

Hi Yvette,

Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned that in my previous post. You can find my store at Link hidden: Login to view

The blog can be found at Link hidden: Login to view

Since I don't have thousands of dollars to give a way to some firm to design my store, I've had to pretty much take a crash course in web design.

I chose Go Daddy because hands down, they are the cheapest place to register domain names. Right now they have .info registrations for 89 cents...for the entire year! The .biz registrations are just 5.99 for the year..and even the .com registrations are at 9.99 for the year.

I went with Host Gator for hosting not only because they are cheap (you can't beat unlimited domains and bandwidth for $10-15 bucks a month), but they come with a host of different platforms for your needs. They have a variety of ecommerce platforms available that will literally be up and running in about 2 minutes.

My blog is a subdomain of my ecommerce site, so I didn't have to pay for a separate domain name, just went to the c-panel and hit the ADD SUBDOMAIN button, and my blog was created. I hit the INSTALL WORDPRESS button and my blog was up and running in less than 5 minutes.

I chose to use Open Cart for my store because by far it was the simplest to use. At this stage I don't need all the bells and whistles. I can list products, sort them by manufacturer, brand, price....etc. I can setup discounts, sales, and promo codes...and include any feature articles I want. You can also upload a logo (which I created by downloading a free trial of Photoshop and watching you tube on how to use it). The best part is that Open Cart didn't cost me a dime.

So that's what I did to get up and running. It's all I know so far and I hope it helps you to get started.

oh wow, those are some good rates...ESPECIALLY for a newbie like myself. The thing is I am a single mom. My daughter's father and I are NOT in good terms. He doesn't even support my daughter (well, we can probably discuss that in a private message...LOL) BUT I need income to support my daughter and myself. It's hard for me to find a full time job, just because I am running back and forth with my daughter's school and personal errands at home.

So, I will definitely look into those websites you have mentioned.

Thank you so much for everything and I promise I will check out your site.

Keep me posted!

@Yvette: I wish you the best of luck and hope everything works out well for you and your daughter :) If you need help, please don't hesitate to let us know...

@fenway2k: Congratulations! Your site looks great even if it was made by someone who took a crash course on web design :)

Below are forum threads and blogs that will help you get traffic to your site. Hope these help -

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Cheers!