Asheville is a city in western North Carolina, with a population of around 102,000 inhabitants. It is an excellent place to live, with a mild climate and plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities. The city is well-known for its vibrant music scene and its eclectic collection of restaurants and bars; there are even street performers playing outside of restaurants and clubs. One of the biggest attractions in the city is the Biltmore Estate, a grand mansion and former home to George Vanderbilt. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it houses a fabulous collection of 20th century art and furniture. It is located in the center of the city, a 15-minute walk from the heart of downtown. You can go there for a picnic, have a stroll through the gardens, or drive to one of the many wineries that line up along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

If you’re looking to launch an online business in Asheville or are considering relocating there then continue reading because this article is for you. In it we’ll cover everything you need to know about setting up and running an online store from scratch, including legalities, payment options, and much more.

Why Online Marketing in Asheville?

In 2021 alone, according to marketresearchstore.com, online retail sales were worth about 4.6 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide and this figure is expected to grow to 6.4 trillion dollars by 2027.

The global e-commerce market was valued at 4.6 trillion dollars in 2021 and is expected to grow to 6.4 trillion dollars by 2027.

With so much money to be made online, it’s a good idea to launch an e-commerce store in the city.

Why? Well, in 2021 alone, according to the Downtown Asheville Association, over 300,000 visitors came to the area and spent over 9.8 million hours shopping. So, it’s clear that there’s plenty of opportunity to do business in Asheville.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that your business will thrive without any effort on your part. To ensure the success of your online store you’ll need to put in the work and ensure that you leverage all of the opportunities the city has to offer. One great way to do this is to use online marketing in Asheville to attract potential customers to your store.

What Is Online Marketing?

Put simply, online marketing is all the advertising you do online that’s related to selling a product or service. It can include everything from paying for ads on social media to creating websites to putting out YouTube videos or Instagramming to attract customers.

When you’ve got an online marketplace or store you can use all the usual channels to get the word out there. You can run social media ads, send out press releases, and register your business with online directories to increase your chances of being found by potential customers. You should also consider using an SEO company to increase your online presence and optimize your search results so when potential customers are searching for products or services you offer, they find your website first.

If you have a physical store in addition to your online venture, then you can use online marketing to attract customers to your physical location. Consider setting up some social media accounts for your physical store, too, so when customers visit your store they can discover your online presence.

Setting Up an E-commerce Store in Asheville

As already mentioned, with so much money to be made in online retail it’s a good idea to launch an e-commerce store in the city. While it’s great to have a physical location, you don’t need one to run an online store.

To set up an e-commerce store in Asheville you’ll need to decide on a payment processor, package handling company, and shipping company. In this article we’ll discuss how to select these three important components because they directly affect the success of your store.

Payment Processor

This is the component that handles all the financial transactions on your behalf, including charging your customers and sending you reports at the end of each month. There are many different payment processors companies such asstripe, PayPal, and Amazon Payments that offer e-commerce solutions. Some of these businesses, however, are only suited for specific niches like retail or hospitality. If you’re looking for a broad-based payment solution then look no further because they’re out there.

Shipping Company

Shipping companies such as FedEx and UPS offer freight shipping services and they have offices all over the country. If you have a physical store and you want to start shipping products to customers then you can use a shipping company or you can use your preferred delivery service. We recommend the former in regards to saving money but it’s up to you.

You’ll also need to work with a package handling company to ensure that your packages are properly packed and tracked so when your customer opens their package and gets their goods delivered to them with the right paperwork they’ll have no reason to question its authenticity.

Product Packing And Labeling

Packaging and labeling are both important aspects of e-commerce stores so take the time to learn about different types of labels and how to properly package your products. To properly label your products you’ll need to purchase a custom shipping label from a packaging company so you can ensure that your products are correctly identified and delivered to the right place at the right time. There are many popular packages that you can choose from including flat rate boxes, padded boxes, and tailed boxes which are all suitable for online shopping. You can even choose from different colored labels so you can match them to your website’s theme.

Packaging and labeling your products is an essential part of online marketing and it can also be a pain. Take the time to learn how to do it properly before you start selling products online because if you want to have a thriving e-commerce store then you’ll need to get it right.

How Do I Select The Right Hosting Plan?

It’s important to have a reliable and efficient host for your website because this is where your site’s files are stored and it also determines how smoothly your site loads. When selecting a web host in Asheville you need to think about numerous factors from price to features. In this article we’ll discuss some of the best hosting plans for e-commerce sites.

Self-Hosted

If you’re a tech-savvy individual who wants to have full control over their website’s look and feel then you can self-host their website. With this option you’ll have access to all the hosting features including programming and security. The only drawback is that this requires a lot of technical knowledge so if you’re not comfortable getting down in the technical details then this is not for you. Another option is to hire a web designer or in-house team to build you a functional and attractive website.

Cloud Hosted

This is the most popular and the most cost-effective hosting option because you’re not required to purchase expensive hardware to run a website. The downside to this plan, however, is that you have little to no control over the look and feel of your website. You also have to rely on the host to provide high-quality services which some companies simply cannot guarantee. For example, if you have a database query that takes a long time to process then you’ll have to wait until the host’s support team comes back with an answer. You can mitigate this risk by paying for extra features such as an SSD or a VPS.

VPS Hosting

If you don’t want to deal with technicalities then a VPS is for you because this hosting plan gives you the freedom to focus on growing your business while the host handles the technical stuff for you. You won’t need to worry about hardware maintenance because the host will handle all of that for you. This is a popular choice among online marketers because it saves them a lot of time and it allows them to focus on growing their business rather than looking after a physical server.

Dedicated Server Hosting

If you’re a business owner who wants to have total control over the look and feel of your website, as well as the ability to update and create new content as needed then dedicated server hosting is the perfect option. With this plan you’ll have access to a physical server that is solely dedicated to your website. This option, however, is quite expensive and it requires a significant amount of technical knowledge to setup and maintain. If you’re looking for a cheap but reliable option then dedicated server hosting is a great choice because you’ll be saving money in terms of the amount of hardware you need to purchase and in the amount of money you have to spend on hosting fees each month.