How to Create Free Personal Online StoreWITH JUST YOUR SMARTPHONE AND INSTAGRAM APP

Introduction

Online website builders, shopping cart solutions and other e-commerce technologies might seem complex and intimidating to small and micro business owners which leads to a dramatic situation – up to 45% SMBs in US and UK still don’t have a website, let alone an online shop.

It’s true that building own e-commerce site from zero requires at least basic knowledge of coding and some experience. But thanks to new innovative tools even the most tech non-savvy person now can get free personal online store in just a few minutes and few clicks using only the smartphone and Instagram app.

This presentation provides a detailed and comprehensive step-by-step instruction.

Step 1Setup Instagram account

Download Instagram app and register using email or Facebook account

Choose a nice and appealing one that says something about either yourself or the things you sell.

Fill in the profile. Include a few words about your sales offers and a few words about shop policies (e.g. no returns; no trades; payments by PayPal; international shipping; etc.). Consider to @mention your private Instagram account for a more personal touch.

Step 2Snap your items for sale

Snap pictures of your items for sale using your smartphone. Mind few things:

Ensure there’s enough natural or artificial light

Choose a nice background that highlights your item’s best features. Or opt for plai white background

Clothes looks best when being worn or in a flat layout paired with several accessories

Step 3Post pictures to Instagram Photo editing tools to enhance your product photo’s

quality:

Camera+ (for iOS)

Powerful photo editing app for iOS devices.

VSCO Cam (for iOS and Android)

One of the most popular photo editing apps with great functionality and user-friendly interface.

Photoshop Touch (for iOS and Android)

One of the Photoshop family products. Apart from great photo editing features, this app offers 29 fonts for adding cool looking text to your photos.

Foto Fuze

Unique product photography enhancement engine that puts your product on a crisp white background. Free.

Clipping Magic

Another tool to remove image background online. Payment plans from $3.99 per month.

According to statistics, the best time for posting on Instagram is 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. for weekdays and 8:00 p.m. on Mondays. There's also another sweet spot for posting - late at night, when very few Instagrammers are updating their accounts and therefore your picture will remain on top in the search for a much longer time than during the hot hours. This is called the Infomercial Effect and it definitely shouldn't be ignored.

Step 4Tagging

Tags can be divided into 3 major groups:

1. The so called "selling" tags that are used to mark pictures with items for sale.

#forsale, #4sale, #igshop, #shopmycloset, #instasale, #buymystuff, #shopmykidscloset, #buyitnow, #closetshop, #buynow, #ig_iso,#igiso

2. Relevant tags that describe the item itself.

#dress, #littleblackdress, #earrings, #vintage, #art, #decor etc.

3. General popular tags.

#fashion, #cute, #girl, #beautiful, #loveit, #summer, #amazing etc.

Choose ~3-5 from each group to tag every picture.

Hashtags are crucial for any business looking to get more visibility on Instagram. Carefully selected tags will ensure good outreach and promote your shop inside the social network.

Step 5Connect Instagram to

inSelly

Now that you have an Instagram account with several sales offers, you are just one step away from getting your own personal online store.

INSELLY is a service that will convert your Instagram into an e-shop in just a few minutes and a few clicks. This platform doesn't charge any sales commissions or membership fees.

Simply sign in on inselly.com using your Instagram login and password.

Step 6Setup your shop

Take time to fill in all the information in the profile.

The most important fields are:

Country

PayPal email - to receive direct payments from buyers right to your PayPal account.

Description - to tell your shop's story to potential customers.

Step 7Get your shop up and

running Head to "My Shop" section. If you

have been using tags like #forsale, #igshop and other "selling tags", then all your sales offers are already there. If some are still missing, just add one more tag, #inselly, in the comment to those pictures and they will get straight to inSelly.

Click the Edit button under each picture and add the item's price and shipping rate. Correct the item's description, if necessary.

Check that your item is located in the relevant category.

Repeat with all pictures

That’s it, your shop is up and running!

Promote your online shop

Instagram Put the link to your shop as a

webpage in Instagram profile.

Comment each sales offer with «To buy click the link in bio» to allow your followers to buy your items in just one click.

Social networksShare the sales offers from your shop to Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, Google + using social icons next to each picture.

Online communitiesBe an active member of different online communities, Facebook groups. Comment in blogs and on forums. Use all available channels to promote your shop and boost sales.

Conclusion

Instagram in combination with inSelly makes a great tool for online selling.

Free

Takes as little as few minutes to complete the set up and even less to update

Doesn't require any tech knowledge.

But just as always, magic happens only when you work hard. Be persistent, invest time and effort into growing your follower base throughout all social networks, engage with your customers, and it will definitely pay off!