How to Sell Books Online and Earn a Higher Profit

Selling books online is not a new business idea, but if you love books and love business, it is still a goal worth aiming for. To succeed and earn a high profit, you need the tips and experience shared by people who have already done it. In this article, let’s Mona Media learn more about how to sell books online effectively!

What to know before selling books online

Choosing where to source books for your online store

For an online book business, you can get books from many sources. Visit publishers and talk to them, and they will most likely give you a discount of 30% to 50%.

A high-margin online business model

These days, most book sales rely on the online business and we can see for ourselves that selling books offline does not bring better profit than online. Students often buy comics and novels by visiting bookstores in person. On the other hand, for study books or office skills books, parents tend to look for them online. Besides online bookstores, businesses that e-commerce are also a choice many people turn to.

See also:

• Guide to effective online selling: 10+ online sales channels for you
• Tips for selling online and attracting customers
• Tips for selling cosmetics online effectively

Understand how to choose products

Books are fairly easy to sell because buyers do not need much previewing or comparing. They just need the right title and they buy. On the other hand, books have a problem: the profit margin per item is very low. Because each order is small, the cost of handling an order is high and it is hard to make a profit unless your business is large. So the lesson for anyone starting to sell books online is to calculate very carefully when choosing products.

Choose the product line you understand best, ideally one where you have experience in the field. You need to understand the behavior and habits of your target customers, then weigh that against the capital you have and the market you serve.

Manage cash flow and costs

Before calculating profit, work out your costs carefully and make sure you have enough money to keep the business running and growing for at least 6 months.

How much capital you need to sell books online

In practice, to start any kind of business, money is always the most important requirement, ahead of customers, premises, products and so on. It decides the scale, the equipment you can buy and the number of staff you can hire. According to experts, a small business needs capital of about 30 to 50 million VND, while a larger one needs at least 70 to 150 million VND to start selling books online.

Which online books are popular?

To pick the books for your store, first identify your potential customers. Once you know which titles and genres they like to read, you can choose suppliers and plan your purchasing to save money.

If you run a small bookstore, focus on one specific type of book so you do not spread your buyers too thin. If you target students, you can look at reference materials, children’s stories, comics, textbooks and similar books in the same field.

Used books are also a good option because many people like them. Many reprinted books are seen as worse than the originals, which is why used books are so popular. Used books are also cheaper, so they suit buyers who cannot afford new ones.

Where to buy books at wholesale prices

To earn a high profit, you must buy books at the original price or the wholesale price. You can contact publishers or large bookstores to place orders and sign a contract to become a distributor. The average discount on the market today ranges from 20% to 60%, depending on the agreement between both sides and the quantity you take.

Example: If the cover price is 100,000 VND and the discount is 30%, you pay 70,000 VND. If you sell at the cover price, you earn a profit of 20,000 VND.

What you need to prepare to manage an online book business

Staffing

Just like a traditional business, you will always need a team to keep the store running. For selling books online, though, two shop staff on two different shifts are enough. Their work is to post books on the website, the Facebook fanpage or other e-commerce sites,… as well as advise customers online, answer the phone, receive online orders, prepare goods and work with the post office or shippers. Depending on the store’s sales and the workload, you pay them a suitable salary, usually 2 to 5 million VND per month.

When you are just starting out, or when orders are few, you can partner with a reliable outside shipping company. Once you have many steady orders every day, you can hire a delivery person for the inner city to make delivery faster and cheaper.

Note: you should hire someone who knows the streets well to save time finding routes and deliver to customers faster.

Equipment

For an online book business, a computer with an internet connection is the first thing you need so staff can process orders and post products. You can buy a used computer for about 3 to 10 million VND to save money.

You also need a printer/scanner so you can scan books to post on the website and print invoices, documents and records during work. In addition, get 2 hotline phones to advise customers and handle other business tasks.

To take good care of customers and always be there when they need you, you can read more at:

• What is a chatbot? Chatbot applications in online business
• What is live chat? Should you use a third-party live chat or build your own?
• How to add Tawk.To to your website, step by step

Book storage

Even though you sell books online, you still need a warehouse to store them. It does not have to be on a main road. Since it only holds books, you can rent a small warehouse in an alley to save money. Or, even simpler, you can use some space in your own home as a warehouse at no cost at all.

Build your own professional online bookstore website

A website is one of the most professional, effective and popular online business channels today. It is seen as one of the most important preparation steps. For selling books online, a book-selling website is like your bookstore on the Internet. What you need is to design an online bookstore website that is convenient, easy to use, easy to access, and makes it easy to search for books and place orders. You can also post promotions and contact information on the website so customers can reach you when they need to.

There are currently 2 online marketing methods commonly used to raise your website’s ranking on Google and increase your chances of reaching potential customers: Google Ads and SEO. Each has its own pros and cons, suited to different cases and needs.

With Google Ads, your product keywords rank high on Google, but you pay a fairly large cost and spend quite a lot to keep it up for a long time. With website SEO, you can keep a high ranking for a long time at a lower cost. However, it takes quite a while to see results, usually 2 to 3 months.

That said, you can alternate Google Ads campaigns in the first months, when the website is new and few people know about it. This increases your chances of reaching new potential customers. In the long run, once you have a steady flow of customers, you can cut your Google Ads budget and focus on SEO campaigns to grow your website more sustainably.

If you are just starting out and lack experience, it is best to contact a company that specializes in online marketing services to make sure you get results. MONA is also ready to support you with everything, from website design to helping more customers find you through SEO services in the most professional way!

Use social media channels to sell books online

Simpler and cheaper, we also cannot forget channels like social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Zalo. To boost book sales, you can run ads, collect feedback or reviews from influencers or from customers. You can mix quotes from famous books into your sales posts to increase engagement. Update prices and hot titles often to keep your online store fresh, and combine this with mini games or promotions to attract customers. Finally, pay attention to customer care and to packing and shipping, to leave a good impression.

See more:

• Secrets to selling on Facebook for high profit
• The most effective tips for selling on Instagram
• Experience selling online on Zalo

Conclusion

MONA hopes the experience and tips above on selling books online will help you run an online book business successfully, with higher profit and fewer obstacles. What could be better than working on your passion and getting good results? Wishing you success!