How to Sell CBD Online - Stand Out in a Crowded Market -

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a compound found in the Cannabis plant. It’s one of the main active ingredients found in marijuana and hemp plants. CBD is a powerful, non-psychoactive cannabinoid known to inhibit pain and inflammation naturally and promote wellness.

From time immemorial, it has been used for its potent medicinal properties. They are also used in lip balms and other beauty products.

CBD that is extracted from industrial hemp contains less than 0.3% THC, which means it cannot cause any high and is perfectly safe to purchase. Today, its legal status differs from country to country due to the manufacturing process which allows CBD Oil.

Why Do People Use CBD?

There are several reasons why CBD is popular; most people believe it’s not harmful and has medical benefits. Some of which are:

Pain relief
Reduce inflammation
Relieve anxiety and depression
Ease migraines and nausea
Reduce seizures

CBD and its products

1. CBD tinctures

CBD tinctures are usually made with an alcohol base, vegetable glycerol, or coconut oil. The CBD tincture is absorbed through the lining of the mouth, but can also be absorbed from under the tongue or through the lining of the cheeks.

The sublingual (under the tongue) route of administration is one of the most popular methods because it creates high concentrations of CBD in a small amount of time.

2. CBD isolates

CBD isolates or CBD Crystals as they’re sometimes called, are pure CBD. They are the starting material used to create all of our CBD products.

It is also a great way for a customer to enjoy all of the benefits of CBD without a recognizable strength (THC) you might see in offer THC-based products.

3. CBD capsules

CBD capsules are the most common way to take CBD. They’re also easy to make – there’s no complex chemistry involved, like with many other forms of cannabinoid products. You just take these capsules and swallow them like a pill.

4. CBD for pets

Pet lovers have discovered the many health benefits of CBD oil for their furry friends. Vet CBD is CBD for pets, a natural supplement that can help in treating various ailments and health problems.

Cannabidiol is an effective medicine that helps support the body’s immune system and if used regularly, it can help strengthen your dog’s immune system against illnesses.

5. CBD topical formulations

CBD topical formulations such as lotions, salves, and balms are in high demand. They are easy to use, with a localized effect that allows customers to easily target the area of discomfort. CBD topical formulations are sought-after for the following primary reasons:

skin absorption;
ease of use and application; and
CBD penetration into the skin.

6. CBD edibles

CBD edibles can be a great addition to any cannabidiol business. There are multiple types of CBD edibles available on the market.

Some of the most popular include hard candies, butter, capsules, and gummies. These different types of products lead to diverse customer appeal, which is important when running a business.

Note that there are many rules and regulations, depending on which state you live in, about how much CBD can go into each edible product.

CBD guidelines

Here are some of the things you want to remember about CBD before we head on to the seven steps for selling CBDs online.

Dos

Check local state laws before selling
Source for tested and quality CBD products
Label your products clearly offer certification
Understand how CBD works by doing intense research
Create a trustworthy brand for your business

Don’ts

Avoid CBD that contains more than 0.3% THC
Never make medical claims about CBD products
Don’t use an unreliable CBD supplier
Don’t be careless when providing payment options
Avoid risks that will hamper your business

7 Simple tips to Set Up CBD online sales for Success

1. Do the Research and understand your legal obligations

As you may have guessed, selling CBD online comes with a lot of vital information you need to possess to stay on top of your game.

Whether you are new to the CBD business or have specialized in the Hemp Industry for a long time, learning how to sell CBD online effectively starts with understanding your own legal obligations.

Also, what state vendors must comply with and which states are cannabis legal. Make sure you know CBD inside out before you start selling.

It’ll help you figure your way around the rules and legalities if you know your isolate CBD from the full spectrum CBD. This will also help you render profitable advice and suggestions to your customers.

Knowing your CBD will help you build a confident customer base and secure more trust for your brand in a saturated market.

2. Choose your products

The next step is to find the products that you are going to sell. This is probably one of the most important steps because more often than not, the market will dictate what you can sell (profitability).

Which products will you sell? Will they be CBD oil, CBD Extracts, CBD Skincare products, or a variety? Access to a variety of products gives your customers greater choice and creates more of an environment for long-term success.

If you just have a generic CBD oil with no brand recognition then you are going to have two problems. The first will be that it will be hard for potential customers to find your store or business. The second will be the likelihood is that your retail price will need to decrease in order to bring buyers in off the street looking for CBD.

3. Select a reliable CBD supplier

This will affect everything from the quality of products to building customer trust. Due to the boom in the CBD industry, there’ll surely be a mix of credible and fake suppliers. Some products contain no THC at all while others contain extremely high levels of THC.

Here are some of the things to look out for:

Extraction methods

The way CBD was extracted from the mother plant influences the quality of the final product. CO₂ extraction is actually the best; it gives a purer product.

Petroleum-based extraction is a much cheaper process that uses butane or propane as an extracting material. This can affect the final product in a not-so-fantastic way.

Growing standards

It’s always vital to familiarize yourself with the growing conditions of the supplied hemp plants. Some may get mixed up with pesticides, plastics and toxins which may input negative quality on the products. And ultimately, on the CBD extracted on the hemp plant.

Medical claims

If your supplier begins to make grand medical claims about its CBD products, you need to remove him as supplier. The thing is, FDA will track down and prosecute companies like that misleading customers.

Testing

Your supplier must carry out strict testing in order to validate the high quality of CBD products. Suppliers should also send out products for third-party testing and provide certificates upon completion.

Certification

If you’re worried about selecting a subpar supplier, the safest way to ensure high quality is to browse through the list of US Hemp Authority certified companies. There are over 60 certified companies on the list, and some offer wholesale and selling directly to public.

4. Create or build your brand

Standing out in the CBD market is hard; winning customer loyalty is harder. You’ll need to create or build a firm brand to boost your influence and chances of selling.

Whether you’re selling CBD to millennials, mums or dog lovers, you need to relate with their experiences to catch their attention. Drilling in such statistics helps you to discover how best to serve your target audience.

Once you know your target audience and establish brand values, then you need to choose a suitable business name. A unique Business name will make your brand more appealing to potential customers.

Use more natural language to connect with your customers either through posts or replies. Let them feel that you’re human too, even though you’re trying to persuade them to choose your CBD products.

In CBD marketing, you’ll often encounter the color green; green is for life, renewal, relaxation, and safety. This makes it a ready choice for everyone. Even if you don’t select green as your main color; you can apply it when highlighting.

5. Build your online store

CBD oil is becoming increasingly popular, and that means there are more and more businesses that sell it. If you want to get in on the trend, you’ll need a website to run your company and to sell your CBD oil on.

Hence, building your own online store is your surest route to selling CBD! Let’s explore some of the top three platforms you can use to create your own CBD eCommerce website.

BigCommerce

This is the first full-featured platform to support the sales of CBD online since August last year. With the launch of its CBD sales suite, and being a member of the National Hemp Association, BigCommerce is taking the lead as regards supporting the sales of CBD online.

The good news is it doesn’t charge transaction fees.

Shopify

Shopify is an impressive eCommerce builder which I found to be the best online store builder on the market. Now, CBD sellers can make full use of Shopify’s easy-to-use platform for selling; however, there are small transaction fees.

WooCommerce with WordPress

WordPress is an incredible platform to create your online store especially if you’ve got time, patience, and technical knowledge –using the WooCommerce plugin. Fully customizable, it provides you with total control over your store.

The only downside to using this builder is that it takes a while to set up and maintain.

Owing to the fact that transparency is key to expanding your online CBD business, some of the important features to have on your website include:

A disclaimer stating your products aren’t intended to diagnose, cure any diseases; and any medical statements have not been approved by FDA.

An FAQ section that answers all the common questions that might arise from your product.

Contact details where customers can reach out to you immediately.

If you have certification of Analysis, display it on your site to build and solidify the trust of your customers.

6. Set up payments

One of the most important steps in running your business online is to set up an online payments platform. If you’ve got customers, and no way to take their money online, you are leaving profit on the table.

Most popular eCommerce platforms include integrated payment platforms. These payment options are the online equivalent of a cash register. They allow you to accept any form of payment your customer can pay for, including major credit cards, PayPal, and even Apple Pay or Android Pay.

You’ll need the right payment processor before publishing your store because CBD is classified as a ‘high risk’ business.

For instance, PayPal and Stripe are two famous payment platforms that won’t accept payments from CBD sellers. So, you’ve got to put extra effort into finding a suitable processor for you.

Nonetheless, here are five highly recommended CBD payment processors to help you:

USAePay
PaymentCloud
SMB Global
Easy pay direct
PayKings

Square recently changed some rules and is now accepting CBD payments on its platform. So even though it’s early, you might want to check out Square’s CBD solution.

At the end of the day, you’d love to be rewarded for selling CBD online, so I suggest you take time and consider your choice well.

7. Promote your CBD products

Once your store goes live, you’ll need to get people visiting your site and adding products to their cart. It feels very fulfilling to see people patronizing your store and all that hard work paying off.

Just there’s one last thing to do. It might look like hard work, too. You can’t use traditional marketing methods (Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads) to market your CBD products so you have to get creative.

Bloggers and Influencers

Make some research and find blogs that value CBD content –contact them and offer to send them free samples for fair reviews.

When searching for influencers, look for those who already promote sales of CBD products or fresh influencers on Instagram who might want to market your products. This is always an effective means to connect with your audience.

Content

This is where research comes in handy. Pour out related knowledge in your blog posts, videos to engage your audience and grow your followers. This will get more people interested in buying your CBD products.

Create informative articles, interviews, helpful guides, product guides, guest posts and so much more content on CBD. This also helps your site to rank higher on Google and get more visibility online.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO is all about optimizing your site to rank higher in Google search results. Reaching nearly close to the top is akin to creating more traffic for your site –after all, no one really scrolls to the bottom of the results page.

So maximize the use of keywords, link other pages to yours, structure your pages using headings, compress images and these can help your site rank higher.

Trade shows

Perhaps navigating the world of SEO seems challenging for you, then attending CBD trade shows might be a simpler route.

Trade shows are highly effective for building contacts while also letting you learn new things, create business relationships, and discover competition and the big one…market your products.

Email marketing

This helps you retain existing customers more than finding new ones; which are extremely strategic. Through email marketing, you can send out discounts, sale rewards, blog posts, upcoming events to your customer subscribers.

This makes them feel valued and keeps your brand afresh in their minds.

Answers to questions you may have

Can CBD get me high?

No. CBD is a non-psychoactive natural cannabinoid that is extracted from the hemp plant. It contains no THC which means there is no psychotropic activity or “high” associated with consuming it.

Do I need a license to sell CBD Online?

No, you don’t need to register or get a license to sell CBD online. Furthermore, be sure that the THC content is not above 0.3%. Also, please be aware of your local laws regarding selling CBD oil, as they may be different than federal laws, especially when shipping across state lines.

Can I make money selling CBD?

Yes! you can make money selling CBD online. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme though. As the CBD industry continues to grow online, more and more people want to learn how to sell CBD online. When you do so, there are several ways to make money by selling CBD online.

Is it too late to start a CBD business?

There’s no time like the present. CBD products, including oils, gummies, and vape pens are selling faster than ever. With so many customers looking to purchase CBD products for pain management, it’s only a matter of time before you’re able to successfully start your own online business.

How much money do I need to start a CBD business?

The costs involved in starting a CBD business vary significantly. There are many factors involved, including your location (does it have access to power?), facility rental, utility rates (water, electricity), labor costs, the state you live in (will you need to obtain a license?), and the maximum number of clients you anticipate servicing.

With that said, it is difficult to start a high-quality CBD business for less than $1,000. All the equipment you need costs money, after all!

Final thoughts

A key concern for anyone new to selling online is how to set themselves apart from their competitors. CBD sales is a booming industry right now and there is no shortage of business in this space.

Selling online offers you the luxury of being location-independent. Even if you’re just peddling CBD oils at first, you can learn how best to market yourself and offer your customers a shopping experience they’ll be more than happy with.

How to sell CBD online can be summed up into the above points and how, by focusing on an audience’s needs, you will be victorious in your endeavors.

To conclude, think about what you are selling and then ask yourself what potential customers would want from it.

Consider what problem you are solving and how your customers would benefit from this solution. After all, this is the main reason why people will buy from you and not a competitor.