Whether you’re starting out or looking to grow, you never want your online business to stagnate. The way to avoid eCommerce stagnancy is by staying informed on new products, marketing methods, business techniques, and eCommerce goals. But how can you stay up to date with all the overwhelming amount of information out there? How do you balance selling and learning about selling?

This guide will give you HomeRev’s favorite resources for online marketplace sellers that will make staying up to date with eCommerce trends and information simple, quick, easy, and fun.

1. Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are the first place to go to learn quality information from long-term and innovative sellers on your platform.

For Amazon sellers, we recommend looking at the following Facebook groups:

• FBA Masters has over 23,000 members. It’s made for anyone looking to share and learn from a wealth of expert knowledge. The group hosts events, and they are welcoming of people in every stage of the selling journey.
• Amazon FBA Rockstars is a “non-judgmental place to come with your questions, concerns, and ideas for building FBA businesses.” With over 35,000 members, you’re sure to find information and advice, whether you’re new or experienced. Check out their welcome video here.
• Amazon FBA Competitive Edge has almost 30,000 members, and they focus on Amazon FBA selling. This group is created by the founder of Jungle Scout, so you many of these Facebook members also use Jungle Scout’s platform.  

Our favorite eBay Facebook groups: 

• CAMP eBay is open to all eBay sellers and it has about 20,000 members. CAMP stands for Considerate Advice on Marketing and Prospering, and they promote a positive discussion about how to navigate the eBay trail.
• eBay Master has 1,500 members, making it an intimate setting to learn about successful online reselling with a tight-knit community.

You can also find your own Facebook entrepreneur groups through friends and networks. Use the search bar at the top of Facebook to find groups specific to your industry and service.

2. Meetups

Want to meet online sellers in your area? Growing your professional network offline can help your online business thrive with partnerships and collaborations. Meetup offers Amazon meet up events and eBay meetups, where you can meet and network with local sellers. These tend to be smaller events, so they’re great for networking, sharing ideas, and growing brands in tandem.

3. Sites and Blogs

There are hundreds of websites and bloggers out there geared towards eCommerce and online marketplace selling. With so many, it can be hard to weed through all of the information to find what will work most efficiently. At HomeRev, we’ve found two key sites that prove most relevant and fruitful to the seller’s journey.

EcommerceGuide.com is 100% about eCommerce. It gives tips and tricks as well as daily news, feature articles, events calendars, and case studies. It gives you information on a variety of subjects regarding different platforms, so you can always find up-to-date information that is relevant to your business. They even have discussion forums where you can meet other online sellers to discuss frustrations, goals, tips, and advice. The site is highly usable and attractive, so you’ll actually enjoy learning about eCommerce trends!

Scott Voelker’s The Amazon Seller has great Amazon-specific resources, guides, and a podcast with unique insights. Scott has built a strong and successful brand on Amazon, and he’s sharing his own personal knowledge with the world. He created his podcast as a way to keep motivating content flowing out by interviewing successful sellers and business owners. He also runs a Facebook group that contains a lot of experienced and influential Amazon sellers that offer up a wealth of knowledge to users—all for free!

4. Platform-Specific Learning

If you have an Amazon Professional Sellers’ account, you can have access to Amazon’s Selling University. This gives you video and content training regarding selling plans and fees, FBA, fulfilled shipping by the seller, the Brand Registry, add-a-product, and much more. They also offer a virtual advisor that can give you personalized recommendations on the Amazon platform. (This assistant can sometimes get pricey, so we recommend trying out HomeRev’s human-based Managed Services first.)

eBay’s Seller Center also has similar resources, including a seller checklist and product recommendations. Shopify too has a great e-commerce university learning center for all online sellers, not just Shopify users.

We recommend looking into these platform learning centers to better understand target audience and procedures. However, you may be missing out on some tips, tricks, and secrets that these platforms don’t or won’t share—which is why you should always look at the other resources on this list as well.

5. HomeRev Newsletter

Of course, you can’t forget to sign up for the HomeRev newsletter to have great content delivered to your inbox every week! Or LIKE us on Facebook for even more tips! We sort through all of the above resources to consolidate the information into digestible, interesting articles that are designed to enhance your business immediately.

Check out our article “The Top Apps For Emerging Amazon Sellers” for more software-based resources to boost your brand presence in the eCommerce world.

Grow your professional networks in order to grow your business. Learning from competitors and tangential peers can be a great way to gain new insight into online selling trends, advice, and development tactics.

Keep up to date with HomeRev’s blog for more pro-selling tips to grow your online business! And check out our managed services for growth-related advice personalized to you and your company!