Carmella Borchers

Succeeding as an Online Bookseller

More and more brick and mortar book stores are turning their focus to e-commerce. Would it be possible for you to make money by selling books online?

Even though the sales of books, such as the latest Romance Novelshave either gone up or remained steady in the past few years, book stores everywhere are closing some of their locations or shutting down entirely. Obviously, this is not due to the fact that the population is slowly going illiterate, but rather due to the fact that an increasing number of people get their books online because of better selection and lower prices. Can you succeed if you start a website that sells books? It's possible, and here are some things to keep in mind when you create your online book store.

-- Focus on a specific niche if possible

You will have a better chance at success if you sell a specific type of books, like romance books online, rather than trying to upstage well established companies like Amazon by offering every category of book imaginable. It will be easier to market your site and target your customers that way.

-- Offer personalized service

One aspect of physical book stores that is hard to find on big e-commerce sites would be the personalized service and the “human” side of the business. For many, online shopping seems too business-like and the customer service too rigid and formal. Add a live chat button to your site so that your visitors can ask you a question while they visit your site. Be attentive to emails that your customers send you and write a decent response rather than using cut and paste answers. Your customers will appreciate that more.

-- Consider offering eBooks for sale as well

One of the differences between buying books online and buying them in stores is that on the internet you can get an electronic edition of the book. If your site sells romance related books, you can sell erotic eBooks and various romance eBooks in addition to selling paper based copies of books.

-- Offer the right promotions to stay competitive

Look at the books titles that you are selling and see whether they will be easy to find on other websites. Check out the prices that other online book sellers have for these books. Are your prices competitive? Giving more value to customers is also about more than just having prices that are lower by a dollar or two. Give promotions to your loyal customers, such as discount codes after they have bought a certain number of books from you. Offer great discounts on some of your titles, especially the ones that you are having trouble moving. Be creative and think up of some other promotion ideas. This is one of the main elements that will set your apart from your competitors in the online world.

Read more: Libraries Rolling Out Ebook Lending Around the Country

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