It takes a lot of good people for an ecommerce business to be successful. And by “people,” we mean those who deal with manufacturing, inventory, marketing, sales, customer service, and more.
That’s a lot of work, right? And it also costs a lot of money.
That’s the reason business owners prefer to hire freelancers to help them run their online store.
In fact, freelancers can help businesses save around 20 – 30% of time and money when it comes to ecommerce operations. That said, we listed down nine jobs that freelancers can look for if they want to dive into ecommerce.
In this article:
Inventory Coordinator / Manager
Unless an ecommerce business uses the dropshipping method, any online stores must have an inventory coordinator or manager.
As an inventory manager, your role is to make sure that the product inventory is updated. Meaning, you track the products as it comes in from the suppliers or manufacturers and once they are shipped for delivery.
In fact, you may even be tasked to manage a team of freelancers who also deal with inventory. This also includes checking whether the business is overstocking specific products or if they are running out of stocks.
Your job may also require you to assume a number of responsibilities, including some managerial tasks such as the following:
- Evaluating Suppliers
- Documentation
- Making Purchase Decisions
- Inventory Tracking
Order Fulfillment Manager
According to Alison Green, order fulfillment is the “process that allows businesses to optimize delivery of goods to customers.” Thus, it is important that someone oversee this part of the ecommerce business operations.
A freelance order fulfillment manager is much like an inventory coordinator. Your role is to supervise various order processing functions. This is to make sure that all products are shipped and delivered to the right customers.
This means that your role is an essential part of creating a good online shopping experience. Not to mention that you are taking the shipping logistics off of the business owner’s plate.
Customer Services / Customer Relations
Great customer service experience is integral in the success of any business. After all, there can be unforeseen events that could ruin the inventory management or order fulfillment process.
If you are someone who is patient, organized, a problem solver, and can work with grace under pressure, then you might want to consider being part of an ecommerce business’s customer relations.
Sure, working as a freelance customer service coordinator could mean responding to negative reviews and handling customer complaints, but there is more to it.
You should also be familiar with your products and must be diligent in understanding customer needs. That way, you can answer basic inquiries, as well as suggest various products that are suitable to what the customers want.
Ecommerce Website Specialist / Developer
No matter what ecommerce platform a business is using for its website, having a technical person who can get things done fast is essential to any business. This includes an ecommerce website specialist.
Every ecommerce business needs a functional and intuitive website. And whether business owners are using Shopify or WordPress to host and sell their products, your role as an ecommerce website specialist is to build, maintain, and understand the complexities of an ecommerce website.
Thus, you are an essential part of making an ecommerce business grow.
Ecommerce Marketing Manager
Here’s the thing, just because an ecommerce brand already have a website specialist does not mean marketing managers no longer have a place in this industry.
In fact, not all ecommerce website specialists have a background in digital marketing. This means that you can still put your digital marketing management skills forward.
As an ecommerce marketing manager, it is important that you know the nitty gritty of how search engine works. That because your role will include the following tasks:
- Keyword research
- Data analytics
- Link building
- Competitive research
- Conversion optimization
- and more!
In addition, you have to keep yourself up-to-date with any search engine algorithm updates, understand how it can impact the ecommerce business you are handling, and create an action plan for it.
Social Media Specialist / Manager
Social media is integral in digital marketing. That’s because it helps business owners to reach their target customers and promote their products in a platform outside of their website
And if you consider yourself a social media marketing expert, this is where you can help.
As a freelance social media specialist, your job boils down to creating an effective social media marketing strategy. This includes the following:
- Building a streamlined social media presence for the ecommerce brand
- Creating and implementing social media content calendar
- Connecting with social media influencers
- Running and managing social media ad campaigns
Generally, it is your job to drive quality traffic to the online store through various social media marketing means.
Website Content / Copywriter
A web copywriter can help set the tone of a business. Not to mention that content is the foundation of search engine optimization.
In fact, content is what makes an ecommerce store easy for search engines and customers to find. It helps generate web traffic and convert those traffic into sales.
Thus, your role as a copywriter is to create content that can help build the business’ credibility, that can grab a potential buyer’s attention, as well as convince that buyer to purchase your product.
That said, expect that you will be tasked to write blog posts, product descriptions, meta information, and more.
Visuals and Graphic Designer
Blog posts and text are not the only type of content on the Internet. There are the beautiful and eye-catching images ‒ which are essential for an ecommerce business to be successful.
Since customers cannot hold and scrutinize a product online, high quality images allow them to have a feel of the product.
That’s why as a visual and graphics designer, it is important that you can produce product images that stand out from the competition. Meaning, your photos and graphic arts should be able to showcase a product.
This is how you can help an ecommerce business become successful.
Virtual Assistant (VA)
Any business owner who have worked with VAs can tell that they are a gift that keeps on giving.
That’s because your role as a virtual assistant allows business owners and other freelancers in the ecommerce niche take a lot off of their plate. This includes administrative tasks like answering emails, setting up meetings, bookkeeping, and more.
Building an ecommerce business means that owners have to take care of a lot of things. But with the help of VAs they are able to focus on important business matters.
So if you are an ecommerce VA, think of yourself as one of the business’ secrets to success.
You can find a lot of job posts related to ecommerce on freelancer platforms like Upwork and FreeUp. Nevertheless, what is more important is to pick up a skill that you can master. That way, you will know how you can best contribute to an ecommerce business’s success.