Today’s post was contributed by Connor Gillivan, Chief Marketing Officer at FreeeUp.

Ecommerce has been on a roll the past couple of years.  With a staggering $4.2 trillion in sales estimated in 2021 with growth continuing to surge, it is without a doubt, one of the most profitable businesses in the world today.

Not only is the Ecommerce industry lucrative, it also gives business owners flexibility by letting them operate the business in just about any part of the world they may wish to.

Though running an Ecommerce business seems easy from the outside, the fact remains that it is no walk in the park.  There’s a lot of work involved “backstage” and if you want to grow your business, you’ll be needing all the help you can get.

If you’re a business owner who’s just starting out and still trying to find your way, hiring freelancers can help. Here are some types of ecommerce freelancers to consider.

1. Customer Service Specialist

Every business needs a good customer service specialist to handle all those pre-sales and post-sales inquiries that customers may have. Ecommerce is not an exception.

Customer service is integral to an Ecommerce business primarily because of its nature.  Buying products online is entirely different from buying them through a physical store. People have to wait to get their products delivered before they can really take a good look, so they’re not often able to do a proper quality check before making the purchase.

Things can easily go sideways with this kind of process, which is why you need to have people who can reassure your customers. Setbacks like delivery delays, replacements and refunds can become problems that you will need someone to efficiently resolve via email or chat.

This is the value an experienced customer service specialist brings to the table.  If you want to see your customers continue to come back and buy more from you, investing in a customer service specialist is a great way to encourage them by keeping them happy.

2. Lead Generation Specialist

When it comes to selling online, it’s not enough to market your products to the same audience over and over.  You’ll need fresh leads all the time so you can expand your reach and increase your revenue.

Lead generation experts can help you reach more people by coming up with strategies that attract potential customers.  Such lead generation strategies can be in the form of email marketing, content marketing, or pay-per-click (PPC), to name a few.

These strategies can make a huge difference for your business because you’re not just getting a new set of people to market to, but you’ll also be getting a more targeted crowd that are ready to buy from you.

3. Product and Inventory Manager

Equally crucial to an ecommerce business is the availability of product.  You don’t want customers to purchase products only to find out later that you no longer have any.

You wouldn’t want to overstock, either, and be left with either unsellable products sitting in the warehouse or unnecessary long-term storage fees. That would be a big hit on your budget.

Inventory management is indeed a tough balancing act and one that requires time and attention.  The good news is that there are freelancers who specialize in inventory management. These freelancers will help you monitor your remaining stock and inform you if you need to restock. Better yet, you can even set them up to communicate with suppliers to make the orders for you.

By hiring an inventory or product management expert, you’re not only improving customer satisfaction, you’re also making better use of your budget.

4. Advertising Specialist

Great products and content would amount to nothing without people to look at them. In the online space, grabbing people’s attention is a primary goal.

With so many websites and similar businesses to contend with, getting noticed and standing out has become mandatory.  If you are serious about separating yourself from the competition, hiring a marketing and advertising expert is essential.

Social media has become a powerful marketing tool for propelling businesses to the top, which is why a social media marketing expert comes in handy.  You’ll be wasting a ton of opportunities if you can’t leverage the power of social media, so hiring an advertising expert makes a lot of sense.

Another advertising strategy you can take advantage of with a marketing expert in your fold is PPC advertising.  This is especially useful for getting your business in front of new, more targeted pairs of eyes, which is perfect for startups and growing businesses that are trying to reach more people.

The online space is a noisy world, and if you want to see immediate returns on your efforts and investments, it would be wise to get the services of an advertising and marketing expert.

5. Bookkeeper

Keeping your financials organized and up-to-date is essential to keeping your business profitable.  As a business owner, you need to be able to track where your money goes. You need to be aware how your budget is being utilized, from the advertising fee you paid for last month down to your webhosting fees.  In the same light, you also need to be aware of different income streams, from your web ads to your individual products.

Every incoming revenue and outgoing expenditure needs to be accounted for. As easy as that may seem, unfortunately, it’s isn’t.  Bookkeeping is time-consuming and requires attention to every minute detail.

While you may be able to handle the responsibilities on your own, having a dedicated and experienced freelance bookkeeper is still the best way to go.  Learning the basics of bookkeeping may take time, but when you have a freelancer who’s been doing it for the longest time, it not only makes things easier, but it also keeps everything organized.

You have a lot on your plate as a business owner.  Instead of doing the financials yourself, it’s more productive to have someone advise you on your financial situation so you can be left to decide how best to spend your budget.

Conclusion

Ecommerce is a profitable business and it’s bound to get even bigger in the years to come.  Though it is possible to run the business in the comfort of your own living room, maintaining one takes a lot of work.

If you want to see your online business soar to new heights, you need the help of the Ecommerce freelancers mentioned above to take the load off your back.

Connor Gillivan is a serial Ecommerce entrepreneur and an expert in online hiring, Ecommerce, and bootstrapping businesses. With his first Ecommerce business, he sold over $20 million worth of product and managed over 60 freelance workers. He is now the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of FreeeUp.com, the hands-on hiring marketplace connecting hundreds of online business owners with reliable, pre-vetted remote workers. He is an avid writer on his own site, ConnorGillivan.com, and his business advice can also be found in top publications such as WebRetailer.com. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado.