How To Start Stationery Store (10 Steps)

Stationary has always been integral in daily life. Given the fact that people have become much digital-oriented in their approach, the happiness in a “thank you note” is far more than a Whats app forward or an appreciation mail.

If you ever thought of starting your own stationery store online then this is the perfect time because people opt to shop online most of the time.

You can be your own boss and have a set up of your own through which you can serve the market and earn a considerable living from the same.

Some of the tips to keep in mind before starting your own online stationery store are mentioned below

In This Article

Steps To Start A Stationery Store Perfectly

Select your niche

It is always advised that when you start your own online business you should start small and then gradually with time increase your venture in the market.

Choose a target audience and try to stick to the needs of that particular customer group. You can also target events such as graduation or wedding or birthdays where you can sell customized and personalized stationery items to the people.

Having a particular niche will help you in creating an identity for the brand and position itself accordingly.

Mode of operation

When you start your online stationery business either you have to be a retailer or a designer.

Being a retailer you can just buy the products from the whole sellers and sell them to the customers via the website you have. While being a designer is a bit difficult but has fruits to bear!

You can import from the whole sellers and then customize the goods based on your creativity and then sell it to the people on the internet.

This will lead to the making of a product that is unique and also you can make sure the quality of the product is well checked and maintained.

If you are opting for suppliers then make sure you have more than one supplier so that in case one of the suppliers fails to deliver due to any issue, you have a backup and take the stock from another supplier and provide it to the customers.

Make a plan

You have to make a business plan for your online stationery store. You need to analyze the competition in the market and then learn from the good practices they have had over time that has made them the market leader in the domain.

In your business plan also include the various operational costs that you plan to spend for the business and also focus on how you aim to earn profits from the store.

If you look for finances then this business plan will be the first thing that any professional financer shall ask for before they decide on lending you money for the project.

Also provide detail so as to where the online store shall serve i.e., the location of the business.

Create a portfolio

Online stationery business needs proper visual representation so that people can understand every detail of the product that is up for sale on the website. You need to shoot a professional portfolio for the products to get images that you can put on the website.

There should be mid-shots and close-ups of the product so that people can virtually see all the sides of the product.

Also if you have a unique feature in any of the products try and highlight the same with these photographs so that people are aware of it when they buy.

This shall showcase your skills as a designer and the extent to which you can successfully customize the stationery items. It will be a testimonial on its own!

Website

Your website needs to be well designed and it needs to be done by professional web designers if you do not have knowledge about it. Professionals shall select a theme for the website that is relevant to the nature of business in operation at the website.

You need to have written content that is a call to action in nature and seeks the customer into making a purchase decision right now!

Try and highlight some of the testimonials and unique products that you have on offer so that people know right on the first page of the website about the variety and quality you possess.

For the payment, part makes sure that you get proper and safe payment gateways for the people to transact online on the website. People these days also prefer using their digital wallets so try and accept e-wallets too.

Be concerned regarding safety because any misplacement of the payment can cost dearer to the reputation of your online stationery store. Try and get a unique name for the domain so that people can recall the name quickly and also find it attractive for its uniqueness.

Make sure that you get a shopping cart feature added to the website for multiple orders, it shall help in growing sales quantity.

Marketing

The success of the business depends on the fact, how well can you drive in traffic to the website?

You need to hire an SEO for the work and they can bring in traffic with the help of keyword targeting and regular blog posts that seek attention from the customers.

Also, use the social media profiles to their optimum use to promote the brand and also communicate clearly with the consumer brand.

Your online behavior with the clients shall make or break the reputation of your online stationery store in the market.

Distribute pamphlets along with newspapers during specific occasions to promote the various offers you have in the store for them.

Third party selling

If you are just a designer who wants to sell the products to the customer and in a quick manner then you can register yourself as a seller on Flipkart or Amazon.

By registering as a seller you can sell your products through their website and it creates a greater chance to get sales because of the huge consumer base they have.

They shall charge a share of the profit from you only if you make a sale through them.

Dedicate yourself completely to the business and you shall surely reap results in a couple of month’s time. Online shopping is trending and you never know, your online stationary store could be the next big thing on the internet! All the best!

There are enormous ways to optimize and get more sales from your online store. Many factors playing an important role in the growth of Ecom Store. Here is the infographic which gives you more idea how to optimize and what to add to the store.