The hardest thing about starting anything new is knowing where to start. The amount of resources available on the internet for getting started in ecommerce can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing as there is help at hand and a curse due to the amount of sites that provide information and some of the 'advice' conflicts.
There is an easy way to start without the head ache. Look at your idea as a business from the start. This way you won't be unpleasantly surprised by what needs to be done to both get your idea off the ground and manage it successfully.
The starting point is an idea. Should you not necessarily know what the 'idea' for you is yet, then a great place to start is to list out the things to love to do, the subjects your are passionate about. Having a list of two to three ideas is far better than just one.
The key advantage of looking at your ecommerce idea as a business from the outset is that there are activities that you can undertake to measure and plan to verify if the idea is worth investing money in.
It does take money though to conduct the research thoroughly. Free research tools can provide part of a story. However it is far better to spend a bit of money here, than find out later the ugly side of the story. You can spend the time, greater amounts of money and effort required to get the site up and going to later find out that other side of the story and the up hill battle that may lay ahead to get a return.
There are two tools that I would recommend.
1. Wordtracker.
Wordtracker is a purpose built keyword search and research tool. As such the information available is superior than what is available on free tools. Another great aspect to Wordtracker is that they offer a free trial period, meaning you can begin researching for free to complete the majority of your research prior to having to spend any money.
2. SBI Brainstorm It!
Should you be in a position of little doubt that you are going to start an ecommerce venture I would highly recommend SBI or Site Build It! This is a full host and domain registration service that massively over delivers. An example of this over delivery is the Brainstorm It tool that comes with your subscription. It is a high quality tool, easy to use and has some fantastic user friendly features.
So to get started in e-commerce make sure you treat the process like it's your new business. I would recommend 4 first steps.
* One, get organised. Have a clear space to work in and free of distractions.
* Two, list your ideas. Have two to three ideas that you are passionate about.
* Three, research. Conduct research on your idea to attain keywords, keyword demand and supply statistics to realistically evaluate if your idea is a flyer.
* And four plan your activities to get your site or blog up and running.
