Most of the time, thinking about selling online automatically makes us think of a website. But the truth is, you can sell online without a website. In fact, this option isn't always the most viable, especially if you have limited time, budget, or lack technical knowledge, which would prevent you from positioning your website without hiring the services of others.
But there are alternatives to selling online with your own website. Below, we tell you what you can do.
Selling online without a website: why is it possible?
It's true that a website allows you to create and fully customize your online presence, as well as have complete control over your store, your brand, and so on. But websites require money for the domain and hosting. Furthermore, you need technical skills to optimize it for search engines, or at least to design and manage it.
For small, emerging businesses, or independent professionals, this can be a cost and a barrier. For example, a carpenter won't know much about the internet or websites, making it difficult to manage a website. But there are alternatives.
Alternatives for selling without a website
Imagine you have a business. It doesn't matter if it's big or small. You've decided not to have a website, but you still want to sell. So your options aren't as limited as you might initially think. Below are some ideas.
Marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy and more
The first option you have for selling online without a website is marketplaces, also called digital markets. These are platforms that allow you to sell your products to all customers who visit their site. This way, you don't have to invest in a website; you actually benefit from the platform's search engine ranking and visibility to promote your products.
Perhaps the most important of all is Amazon, because nowadays, when we want to buy something, we look first at this online store. But don't overlook the others either.
For example, on Etsy you could sell handmade, vintage, and creative products, because that's where people go to look (especially from other countries).
However, selling through these platforms isn't free. They typically charge sales commissions, in addition to a seller fee. Add to that the intense competition and the limited customization options available on your own website.
Social media: a way to start selling
Initially, social media was used to communicate with others and build a large circle of friends (or rather, acquaintances). But it has evolved and now serves as a powerful direct sales channel. You can buy products without leaving the platform.
Currently, almost all social networks offer this option. For example, Instagram Shopping lets you tag products in posts to drive purchases. With Facebook Marketplace and Shops, you have two ways to sell: creating product catalogs on your Pages (your own online store) or using Marketplace for local sales.
The most recent is TikTok Shopping, which allows you to sell through videos and profiles. Finally, you could opt for WhatsApp Business, which allows you to display your catalog and generate orders to close sales.
However, here you do have to manage everything yourself, and sometimes the fact that you depend on the platform means you have less control over the data.
Payment platforms and instant stores
Imagine you have a lot of followers on social media and you advertise what you sell there. Some people ask you for those products via text, and you have to ask them to place the order online. But what if you didn't have to do that?
The easier you make things for your customers, the better. That's why, if you sell through social media or messaging, enabling direct payment links is the best way to facilitate purchases . This allows you to create payment links for the order amount, and customers simply click to pay. In other words, you record the order and just wait for the customer to pay.
The other option is instant stores. We're talking about Shopify Lite, Gumroad, or Sellfy. They allow you to create a mini-store that can be integrated into social media or have a link. You don't have a full website, but you do have enough presence to give you visibility where your customers are.
Strategies for selling online without a website
Now you know the options you have. But you need a strategy. And to do that, you have to focus on the following:
Optimize your social media profiles
If you want to attract customers, it's best to have social media accounts focused on your brand. This means having an attractive, professional, and clear profile or page. Make sure your profile picture and cover photo are high-quality. Include a bio with a value proposition and a call to action (CTA). Manage your product catalog and keep it up to date.
Value content
You need to post often, but make sure the content is valuable, useful, inspiring, and related to your products. For example, if you're a carpenter, a post could be about how to maintain parquet flooring for longer if you have pets.
The goal is for customers to see that you're good at what you sell and that your products can be what they're looking for to solve their problems.
Promote
Investing in advertising isn't as crazy as it sounds. It will take up a large part of your budget, but it's important for reaching specific audiences. This doesn't mean you have to advertise everywhere, but some platforms will be more profitable.
Now it's your turn to get down to business and start choosing which platforms you'll be on. In reality, you can have a presence on all of them, but remember that they require minimal maintenance and you shouldn't let them go to waste. Manage your time based on what you can manage.