3 Ways To Save Money Running Your Online E-Commerce Business

Running an online e-commerce business is tough yet rewarding work. Not only do you have to source and stock the products that you're selling, but you have to handle website management and virtual marketing tasks too. On the other hand, all your hard work makes your customers' lives more convenient and your products more enriching to their lives.

But you don't have to run yourself ragged or break the bank to maintain success. Here are a few effective ways to save your business some money—and some hassle—hassle while running your e-commerce business:

Invest in Data Center Colocation

Because you can't make money while your website is not working properly, it's crucial to make sure that you have as much uptime as possible. The best way to do this is to invest in your own server hardware and dedicated hosting services. But managing these things in your own facility can be costly because it involves hiring someone to monitor the system full-time and renting or buying a facility to keep the hardware in.

Investing in a colocation service from a site like http://colocationnorthwest.com means the ability to rely on a third party company to manage your data center for you. This ensures that your IT employees can focus their time maintaining a strong web presence and managing Internet performance. Other benefits of using data center colocation services include:

• Predictable Expenses
• Optimal Uptime
• Decreased Risk
• Opportunities to Take Advantage of Tax Incentives

Colocation facilities typically include locked cabinetry for your hardware, real-time monitoring services, and physical security to ensure that your investment stays safe.

Crowdsource Your Copywriting Work

As an online retailer, you understand the importance of content marketing in the form of catchy product descriptions, helpful blog posts, and social media communication. But hiring professional writers to handle the bulk of your work is costly when compared to crowdsourcing it.

Crowdsourcing simply means having your writing tasks completed by a large group of online workers. These workers are willing to complete writing tasks on a freelance basis, which means that there are no employee salaries to pay. And because of the competitive nature of crowdsourcing, workers are often willing to provide quality work for a fraction of the cost of a full-time copywriter.

You can create your own crowdsourcing community to work with, or you can hire a service provider to do all the crowdsourcing for you. There are many benefits crowdsourcing has to offer in addition to money savings such as:

• Faster Content Creation Opportunities
• More Diversity
• Improved Creative  Options

Even with the help of crowdsourcing, it's a good idea to work with a professional in your area who can effectively moderate and monitor the work your crowdsource team does for you. They should be able to catch common errors being made and nip them in the bud, as well as manage the crowdsourcing process overall.

Work with Affiliate Marketers

One of the most cost effective ways to market the products that you sell online is to work with affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketers simply get a small percentage of everything they sell to their customers and clients through your website. Here are some benefits of creating your own affiliate program:

• Deeper Market Penetration
• Improved Social Media Engagement
• Increased Sales

Affiliate marketing saves money because it significantly cuts down on the need for upfront marketing investments, and you only pay for results. The cost of your affiliate fees can easily be factored into the overall cost of your shipping and handling fees too.

There are a variety of affiliate program platforms on the Internet that will match your business with affiliates who have a strong following and extensive knowledge in your industry.

In addition to saving you money, you'll find that these three techniques help you to build brand recognition and create authority within your business niche.