Forget stocks, mutual funds, and investments on flashy startups! It’s time to start an online CBD business.
Why, you ask?
Well, there are a number of reasons, and I’ll talk about all of them in this article. But, to get the ball rolling, let me give you an idea of why investing in a CBD business in 2018 makes great sense.
The CBD market is growing at a rapid rate. And with all the changes in laws in favor of CBD, we can expect the hemp CBD market to grow to a staggering $ 22 billion by 2022.
But, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to setting up a CBD business online. There are many hurdles you’ll face.
Hey everyone, it’s your favorite bald CBD Encyclopedia, Matt again. And today, I’ll tell you all about how you can set up a CBD oil business and overcome all the challenges you’ll face down the road.
So, let’s get started, shall we?
Why Start a CBD Business?
Look, if you are in it just for the money, then this article isn’t for you. I highly respect the CBD industry, and I would love to see it grow to unprecedented heights in the coming years. And that can only happen if the world of CBD isn’t ruled by money minded freaks.
So, if you’re like me and are tired of artificial pharmaceutical drugs or health supplements, then CBD might have a lot to offer you.
CBD offers a completely natural and holistic solution to various health problems. In fact, I use it daily to treat my chronic back pain and sleep problems.
The interesting part about starting a CBD business is that the industry is expected to grow ten folds in the next few years. And, more importantly, there are not many legitimate players in the field currently.
So, if you can plan your moves correctly, you might just become a force to be reckoned with in the world of CBD.
Excited? Well, let’s now take a look at the various aspects of selling CBD oil.
Benefits of Selling CBD Online Vs. Retail
Now, there are obvious benefits of selling CBD through a website as well as selling it through a retail outlet. And perhaps the ideal way to capture market share is to have a mix of both. However, that means you’ll be investing a lot more.
So, if you have a limited budget, do check out the following benefits of both aspects.
Selling CBD in a Retail Space
- The first obvious benefit of selling CBD in retail space is the fact that you can directly interact with your customers. And so, it is easier to build a great customer relationship, and induce loyalty as well.
- Since the CBD business is still in its infancy stage, people don’t fully trust an online seller. Now, part of the reason for that is due to many dodgy companies hogging up space. Having a physical store means that you do not have to worry about building trust with potential customers.
Selling CBD Online
- The biggest benefit of selling CBD online is having access to a huge potential customer base. And with the help of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques, you can take your online business to unprecedented heights.
- The previous point becomes even more relevant when you consider the fact that Facebook and Google currently do not allow advertisements related to the cannabis industry (there is a workaround; more on that later). And that makes it quite challenging to bring in new customers if you run a retail store.
- Retail stores can be quite costly to set up. You need employees, invest in a physical store and even push local advertisements. Online businesses do not have to worry about all that.
- Finally, due to restrictions in certain locations, you may not be able to set up a retail store in the first place. And if you live in such an area, online is surely the way to go.
If it were my money, I would surely go down the online route. However, having a retail store does have its benefits.
And if you’re fortunate enough to have a significant amount to invest, then perhaps having access to both methods is the best way to go.
Benefits of Selling CBD Online Vs. Retail
Step 1 – Business Registration
Needless to say, the first action you need to perform to set up an online business is to register it. That means creating a new legitimate brand name, logo, setting up a physical business address, among other things.
If you’re confident in handling all the things on your own, then go for it. Otherwise, you can always take the help of law firms to do all the work for you.
Sure, it will cost you a significant amount. But it will also save you a lot of time.
Remember, there’s no point in saving pennies in the present and losing dollars in the long run.
Step 2 – Resale License
To acquire a CBD oil supplier, you will need to apply for a resale license. Most wholesalers in the CBD business will not proceed with the partnership if you don’t have the license or Employer Identification Number (EIN).
Step 3 – Build Your Website
Remember, most customers will not pay attention to your legitimate business name or resale license. However, they will care about your website. And so, it is important to invest a significant amount of time and effort into it.
But, that doesn’t mean you have to design the website from the ground up. In fact, that wouldn’t be a smart decision at all.
In today’s age of WordPress, you shouldn’t even think of looking elsewhere. Also, Shopify Bans CBD websites so i recommend using WordPress to build your website.
The WordPress platform is highly modular, and that means you can add various sorts of helpful plug-ins, which will handle payments, track customer behavior (in a legal way of course), and the SEO rating of your blog posts, and much more.
Having a WordPress website means that you can easily outsource your blog content by creating multiple logins with different levels of access permissions.
Moreover, there are many beautiful drag-and-drop themes which will not only make your website look absolutely dashing but also add a touch of fun to the designing process.
Now, if you believe you do not have the time or expertise to build a beautiful website, you can always take the help of the people on online platforms.
And, these developers will also have the knowledge of creating a website with smart navigational elements to make things convenient for your customer.
Step 4 – Secure a CBD Merchant Processor
After your website is ready, you need to find a merchant processor. That will allow you to charge your customers for the CBD products you sell on the website.
Now, this is a challenging part, mainly because CBD is still in a grey area when it comes to legality. Although it is technically legal in all the 50 states of the US, there are quite a few star marks next to the laws in some of the states.
And that means many merchant processors and banks do not want to get involved with CBD businesses.
You might find it easier to secure a merchant processor from states where marijuana use is considered legal.
Benefits of Selling CBD Online Vs. Retail
#1 Indulge and Make Your Own Facebook Group
As you might already know, Facebook and Google do not allow any form of paid advertisements for CBD products. Now, while I believe that is absolutely ludicrous in 2018, laws are laws, and you just can’t do anything about it.
But you can still make the use of Facebook groups to drive traffic to your website. So, how exactly do you drive traffic to your Facebook group or page?
Well, you can use advertisements. Just remember not to mention any form of CBD or CBD-related products in the ad. Which will mostly get banned (I have tried). Hire professionals to run ads for you who know how they can market CBD.
You can, however, use images which imply the use of cannabis-related substances to drive potential customers to your page.
Moreover, you don’t necessarily have to use Facebook advertisements for growing your Facebook group.
You can push your group’s existence on other social media platforms like Pinterest, Quora, and other similar websites.
#2 Instagram Works Slow but Does Work
Instagram is yet another way to get a sizable amount of high-quality traffic for your CBD oil website. However, growing the page will take some time and effort.
So, the best way to start is by creating a bunch of high-quality posts related to the CBD and cannabis industry.
You can use platforms like Canva to make the creation of posts simpler. In fact, by making just a few templates, you can pump out hundreds of posts in a fraction of time.
After getting your posts ready, make sure you do some hashtag research so that your posts are visible to users with similar interests.
I have also done Instagram marketing, and in my opinion, one of the keys to growing your page is by pushing posts regularly (3-4 posts per day).
So, you can create themes for each day of the week. That will make your hashtags for a certain day constant, and you can simply copy paste it to the comments section of your post.
Actively pushing quality posts on Instagram is certainly necessary. But, if you want to boost the number of your followers even faster, I suggest you go for Instagram service providers who know what they are doing.
And trust me, they will get you active followers, and you can drive a part of that traffic to your CBD oil website.
Moreover, the great thing about publishing posts on Instagram is that you can duplicate the same post for your Facebook group just by clicking a button.
That way, when potential customers see your brand’s presence on multiple online platforms, they have the added confidence to buy from your website.
#3 45K Traffic Per Month Through Pinterest
Here’s one mistake I see even pro marketers make: they hold the impression that an image sharing site like Pinterest is useless. Well, I beg to differ!
My blog gets approximately 45,000 unique visits alone through Pinterest. But, driving traffic from that site is a lot of work. Thankfully, I’m able to outsource such tasks to Sociominati and focus on things I do best.
If you cannot afford to hire an agency, consider hiring a VA at least. However, be prepared to teach them the ropes along the way.
#4 90K Page Views Per Month through SEO
I don’t know about you, but I’m not that great of an internet marketer. The things I do best are testing CBD and writing about them. The marketing part, I outsource as much as I can.
If you’re planning to start any business online, not just related to CBD, you better know how to use Search Engine Optimization to its full potential.
I don’t worry too much about this either because Sociominati does all the heavy lifting for me. So, far we’ve crossed 90,000 page views. Anticipating more in the coming months.
#5 Indulge in Subreddits
If you’re an avid Reddit user like I am, you’re gonna love this. Participating in CBD related subreddits is one of my favorite ways to drive traffic because of two reasons: I get to help out people in need and the people end up buying things.
If you’re planning to use Reddit as well, I suggest keeping a long-term goal in mind. Don’t drop your link at every opportunity or you’ll be banned soon.
Start by helping others without expecting anything in return.
So, You Ready to Begin?
I’m not gonna lie; breaking in the CBD industry is no longer child’s play. You’ll need to give 100% to make bank, and that’s why I recommend outsourcing the most complicated tasks.
You can check out Sociominati as they offer Pinterest marketing services and SEO at affordable rates. They helped me take website visits from 0 to 100K within a year!
Good luck!