How to Sell CBD Online | 7 Simple Steps

What Is CBD?

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Let’s start with the basics, because there’s a lot of confusion and misunderstanding around what CBD actually is. CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of the main ingredients of cannabis – but don’t let that put you off.

CBD isn’t psychoactive – that means it’s not responsible for any of the “high” symptoms associated with cannabis (like paranoia or euphoria). The ingredient of cannabis that causes those symptoms is called THC.

You can get CBD from both hemp and marijuana plants. This guide will focus on hemp-derived CBD, because it contains much less THC – around 0.3%, which is the legal limit allowed when selling CBD products (we’ll cover the legal side of selling CBD next).

Why Do People Use CBD?

So, why is CBD so popular? Well, people believe it has medical benefits without the negative side effects that come with THC. These benefits include helping to:

• Relieve pain
• Reduce inflammation
• Relieve anxiety and depression
• Ease migraines and nausea
• Decrease seizures

There are plenty of different CBD products available. The main types include:

• CBD tinctures – place a couple of drops under the tongue.
• Edible CBD products – such as CBD infused chocolate, or adding it to coffee!
• CBD creams – applied directly to the skin to help with inflammation or arthritis.
• CBD capsules – tablets are a fast and familiar way of taking CBD.
• CBD isolates – “purified” CBD that has been turned into a powder.
• CBD vaporizers – vaping delivers quick results, and is a popular method of taking CBD.
• CBD patches – similar to nicotine patches, this gradually releases CBD into the body.
• CBD for pets – our four-legged friends can benefit from CBD, too!

That’s quite a list, and it’s barely scratched the surface of all the ways CBD can be taken. Nasal sprays, lollipops, and CBD oil-infused candles are just three examples of how you can get creative within these product categories.

Okay, so CBD won’t get you high, and there’s a wide range of product types to choose from. But is anyone actually reaching into their pockets to buy CBD products? What if this is just a passing craze?

Unfortunately, we can’t see into the future, but all signs and statistics are pointing towards CBD becoming a booming industry. The Farm Bill, passed in December 2018, has been largely responsible for the surge in CBD sales.

The bill allows farmers to legally grow hemp, opening the door for the CBD market to boom…

…and boom it did!

For starters, the US CBD market saw a growth of 562% from 2018 to 2019, and it doesn’t seem to be tiring after such an explosive sprint off the starting blocks.

As many as 14% of Americans say they use CBD. Treating pain was the biggest reason given, with anxiety the second most common cause for turning to CBD products.

Is CBD Legal?

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A lot of the confusion around CBD is to do with the legalities of selling, buying, and using it. So we’ve picked out the key things you should know about the legal side of selling CBD online.

The first thing to make clear is that, yes, CBD is federally legal in the USA, as long as it meets certain requirements.

It is federally legal to sell hemp-derived CBD in the US, as long as it only contains up to 0.3% THC. If your CBD product contains more than 0.3% THC, it is legally defined as marijuana – not something you want to be selling!

Despite this, you do need to be careful – or at least mindful – about how you approach selling CBD online.

For one, different states have different rules and restrictions around CBD, and don’t always match up with the federal law. Because of this, you must always check your local legislation to make sure you’re not breaking any rules.

For example, some states require CBD to have 0% THC rather than 0.3%, and in a few states any CBD is still illegal.

Aside from always checking your state’s laws, there are two main things to know:

1. You can’t make medical claims about CBD

We know, this seems designed specifically to trip up CBD sellers. While the main reason most people use CBD is for its medical benefits, you can’t make grand medical claims when selling CBD products.

This is because CBD hasn’t been officially researched or approved by the FDA – until more is known about the effects of CBD, you simply can’t make claims about its medical benefits.

For example, you shouldn’t advertise on your website that your products can help prevent or cure serious illnesses like cancer or Alzheimer’s. Be careful about what you’re promising your customers, and always ask yourself what evidence you have to back up these claims.

Like many other natural drugs, CBD can interfere with other medications, which is why it’s especially important to be careful with your marketing. In short, you can sell CBD, but you can’t start promising to treat people with it.

2. US sellers should avoid CBD edibles

While CBD edibles are legal in other countries like the UK, and are a familiar sight on US shelves, they’re actually illegal under US law. The FDA has banned adding CBD to food and drink under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Until that changes – if it ever does – it’s best to avoid selling CBD edibles if you’re based in the US. Some companies market their CBD products as “dietary supplements” – do not do this. (You’ll get in trouble).

Instead, pick a CBD product that doesn’t involve food, drink, or diet, and sell safe in the knowledge that your business is totally above board.

CBD Dos and Don’ts

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We realize that we’ve already given you a lot of information, and haven’t even started on the steps to setting up your business yet!

The upside to selling CBD is that it’s a fast-growing market, but you do have to be switched on to make the most of it. We want your CBD business to be a success, and to do that, you need to ensure you’re selling safely for both you and your customers.

Here’s a helpful list to remind you of the key CBD dos and don’ts – now is the perfect time to grab a cup of coffee and a slice of cake, before settling in for our seven steps to CBD success!

#1. Do the Research

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You’ll have realized by now that selling CBD comes with a lot of important, and often confusing, information that you need to stay on top of.

Before you set up your business, make sure you know CBD inside and out. Understanding your product and becoming a bit of an expert in what you’re selling is crucial for long-term success.

It’ll help you navigate the rules and regulations a lot easier if you know your isolate CBD from your full spectrum CBD, it’ll help you make more confident sales decisions, and it’ll even help you provide a better service for your customers.

While you can’t make medical claims about CBD, customers will value your advice on which product they should choose, how to best use the product, and information on your product such as the extraction process used.

Knowing your products inside and out can help you to build a loyal customer base and add value to your brand in an increasingly saturated market.

#2. Pick Your Products

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This is the fun part where you get to pick which CBD products you want to sell through your online store!

Here’s a quick recap of the main CBD product categories:

The 3 Types of CBD

When deciding on your products, you’ll also have to choose which type of CBD to sell. There are three main types of CBD, with many arguments for using each. You’ll need to pick the type that best suits your needs – click on the plus icons below to find out more about each one.

As always, when deciding on which products to sell, you should look for opportunities within the market.

CBD pet products earned $9.4 million in four states between 2018 and 2019 – so finding products within this category could work well.

Finding a niche is always important when starting a business, but with more and more CBD products popping up in stores and online, a strong niche is essential if you want your CBD business to succeed long-term.

Here are some tips for picking a profitable product niche:

• Carry out market research using tools such as Google Keyword Tools and UberSuggest to understand what people are searching for online.
• Perform competitor research to understand what other brands are doing within your niche or industry. Look at their social media, content, products, and customer profiles to get an insight into how and why they’re doing well.
• Dig out some data to try and predict what’s going to be hot, rather than only focusing on what has been hot. Or, target products which perform consistently well – aim to combine longevity with profitability.

There are a few factors which could affect your research – the main one being how young the industry is. Because of this, there isn’t much hard data out there to help guide your decisions.

To combat this, try to gain a thorough understanding of the market as it is, and use this to direct your approach. Listen to customers and what they want; use your own imagination and identify gaps in the market; find problems that only you can solve.

#3. Choose a Reliable CBD Supplier

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This is arguably one of the most important things you can do for your CBD online store – find a trustworthy, high quality CBD supplier.

This will affect everything from the quality to the legality of your products, as well as customer trust in your business. 

Because of the boom in the CBD industry, sellers and suppliers have sprung up everywhere – and some are more reputable than others. Some products have been found to contain no CBD at all, while others have worryingly high (not to mention illegal) levels of THC.

Growing and extracting your own CBD is next to impossible, so here are some things to look out for when choosing a supplier…

1. Extraction Methods

The way that the CBD is extracted from the hemp plant affects the quality of the final product. Make sure that your supplier uses a clean extraction method – the best one is CO2 extraction, which produces a purer product.

Petroleum-based extraction is a common (and cheaper) method – however, it uses harsh chemicals like butane and propane, which can affect the final product (and not in a good way).

2. Growing Standards

Hemp plants are particularly partial to soaking in nutrients from the soil around them, but if there are harmful substances present, then they get absorbed too. This means that pesticides, plastics, or other toxins can have an especially negative impact on the quality of both the plant and the CBD extracted from the plant.

Check out the growing standards of any potential supplier to make sure they maintain clean growing conditions.

3. Medical Claims

If a supplier’s website is making grand medical claims about their CBD, consider that a huge red flag and stay away.

The FDA will crack down on companies making medical claims about CBD, so be careful that neither you, nor your supplier, are misleading your customers.

4. Testing

Your supplier must absolutely have strict testing in place to ensure the high quality of their products.

They should also send the products away for third-party testing, and readily present any certificates or reports from these tests. You should check these reports for an unbiased analysis of the potency of the product, as well as for confirmation that there are no contaminants present.

If a supplier is unwilling to share these results, go elsewhere – it’s possible their products are not high quality. Some suppliers even disguise hemp seed oil as CBD, so don’t fall for it!

5. Certification

If you’re worried about picking a subpar supplier, then the safest way to ensure high quality is to look through the list of US Hemp Authority certified companies. This certification program aims to provide high standards, best practices, and self-regulation in order to help consumers find CBD sellers they can trust.

There are over 60 certified companies on the list, and some offer wholesale as well as selling directly to the public. Picking a supplier with an official certification is a great way of gaining consumer trust, while also giving yourself peace of mind over the quality of your products.

#4. Start Creating Your Brand

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It can be hard to stand out in the CBD market – and it can be even harder to win customer trust and loyalty. Building a brand will help you stand apart from competitors, connect with your customers, and create a strong identity to market your products with.

1. Identify Your Target Audience

You can’t sell CBD online without knowing who you’re selling to. Understanding your target audience is essential for building your brand, because it’ll influence a lot of your decisions.

Think about what products you’re selling and who they would appeal to. Perhaps there’s a customer group that nobody is catering for yet? Or maybe you have a specialism that you can use to benefit a particular audience?

A recent study found that over 60% of Americans are aware of CBD products – but that currently only 36% have tried (or are interested in trying) CBD. Drilling into statistics like these can help to guide your branding and identify who might have an appetite for your products.

Whether you’re selling CBD to Millennials, mums, or dog lovers, you need to step into their shoes and get inside their heads. Start by searching social media, creating customer profiles, and even conducting surveys to learn more about your target audience.

Knowing your target audience pays off – 90% of consumers believe that brands focused on custom content are more trustworthy, and more interested in building good relationships.

2. Choose a Business Name

Once you know your target audience and brand values, you can tailor your business name to make your brand more appealing. A great way to get started is with a free business name generator – such as Namelix or Shopify’s naming tool – which gives you multiple options.

72% of the best brand names are created with made up words or acronyms, so don’t be afraid to get creative!

3. Create a Logo

You don’t have to be a designer to create a logo – instead, start off with a logo generator like TailorBrands. Using professional tools like this can help to inspire your imagination, or even give you a perfect logo design right there and then.

It only takes visitors 10 seconds to form an impression of your logo – so no pressure!

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4. Find Your Tone of Voice

Don’t forget the importance of your brand’s voice. This is the way you talk to your customers, write content for your website, describe your products, answer emails, and post on social media.

Your tone of voice should speak to your target audience – use natural language that your customers connect and feel comfortable with. Your tone of voice should also be consistent across your business – consistent branding across all channels can increase revenue by 23%!

5. Pick Your Color Scheme

The right color scheme can increase brand recognition by up to 80%, and using color psychology you can even tell people about your brand without saying a word.

You’ll often see the color green in CBD marketing. It makes sense – green represents nature, renewal, relaxation, and safety, making it an obvious choice for CBD sellers. Even if you don’t choose green as a primary color for your brand, you could use it in images or to highlight call to action buttons.

Other colors you might want to consider for your branding include blue, which inspires trust and is used by 33% of the world’s 100 most well known brands, and purple, which has a calming effect and is often used to market beauty products.

If you’re unsure where to start, try out a free color scheme generator like Coolors.co to get inspired.

Once you’ve got these building blocks for your brand, you can start to build a website for your business!

#5. Build Your Online Store

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Usually, online sellers need to decide where to sell online. However, selling CBD online comes with restrictions, meaning you can’t sell through popular channels such as Amazon, eBay, or Etsy.

Because of this, building your own online store is the best option for CBD success!

There are still decisions to be made, though – starting with how to build your website. And you can’t just pick any old website builder, because a lot of them have restrictions around selling CBD. We’ve picked out the top three ecommerce builders for you to check out:

BigCommerce

BigCommerce became the first full-featured ecommerce platform to support CBD sellers in August last year, with the launch of its CBD sales suite. A member of the National Hemp Association, BigCommerce is leading the way when it comes to supporting CBD sellers’ online success. It won’t charge transaction fees either, unlike other platforms such as Shopify.

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Shopify

This is a popular ecommerce builder that we’ve tested thoroughly – in fact, we found it was the best online store builder on the market. Shopify greenlit CBD sales last year, meaning that CBD sellers can now make full use of its impressive and easy to use sales platform.

WooCommerce with WordPress.org

If you have the time and technical confidence, WordPress is a powerful platform to build your online CBD store with – especially if you use the WooCommerce plugin. It’s fully customizable and gives you total control over your store – although the flip side of this is that it’ll take a while to set up, and takes a lot more time and effort to maintain.

Once you’ve chosen your platform, you can set about building your store. Remember to integrate your carefully chosen color scheme, business name, and logo onto your site, and make sure all your design choices are consistent with your brand.

Here’s a quick run-down of the key steps to follow when building your online store:

1. Pick a theme – this will outline the design and layout of your store, so pick one that you really love. You can replace the example content to really make it your own!
2. Add your products – upload product photos and enter product details into your store’s dashboard, so that they appear on your website.
3. Write content – welcome your visitors with some copy! Examples of content you might want to write include the homepage, an About Us page, and product descriptions.
4. Connect social channels – integrate your website with your social channels, such as Facebook and Instagram. This will help grow your business’ online presence.
5. Set up shipping – if you’re storing and shipping your own products, you need to sort out your shipping settings. This includes shipping regions, fees, and couriers.

Remember that transparency and trust are key factors in building a successful CBD business. Here’s a list of some important things to have on your website:

• A disclaimer stating that your products aren’t intended to cure, prevent, or diagnose diseases, and that any medical statements have not been FDA approved. A banner at the bottom of every page is a good idea.
• An FAQ section answering common and important questions, such as “What are the active ingredients in your products?” and “How much THC is in your products?”
• Contact details that are easy to find – put them loudly and proudly on your homepage. This will help customers get in touch with any questions they might have about your products.
• Certification – if you have a Certificate of Analysis from your manufacturer, make it available on your site. This will inspire trust and signal quality.

We recommend checking out the Charlotte’s Web website as inspiration for how to check all these boxes!

#6. Set Up Payments

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Setting up payments is an essential part of building your online store – it’s so important that we thought it deserved its own section!

You should pick the right payment processor for you and your business before publishing your store. This can be tricky, because CBD is classed as “high risk” – meaning there are restrictions around accepting online payments for CBD products.

For example, PayPal and Stripe are just two popular payment processors that won’t accept payments from CBD sellers. This means that you need to put in a little more time finding a high-risk payment processor that will best assist you.

To save you time, we’ve gathered together five examples of highly recommended CBD payment processors to get you started:

1. USAePay
2. PaymentCloud
3. SMB Global 
4. Easy Pay Direct
5. PayKings

You might be wondering, what makes a good CBD payment processor? Well, here are three things to look out for…

1. High-Risk Experience

Your payment processor will need to be experienced in handling high-risk transactions – this is important, as you need to know that you’re protected from fraudsters. A good way to find out if a payment processor has this experience is to look at what other industries they cater for.

Look out for online dating, gaming, and pharmaceuticals, as these are all high-risk industries.

2. Customer Support

Nobody wants to deal with the ins and outs of payment processing issues on their own, so make sure that your chosen company has first rate customer support, just in case.

It’s worth remembering that your customers will also be dealing with your payment processor – if they ask for a chargeback, for example. Ask your processor what happens in cases of disputes and how they handle tricky requests, and test out their customer service team if you can.

There’s a good chance that your processor’s customer service will affect your customers’ opinion of your business – make sure they offer 24/7 support as standard.

3. Integrations

You want a payment processor that will easily integrate with your online store.

One of the good things about platforms such as BigCommerce is that they have integrations with dozens – sometimes hundreds – of payment processors. This makes setting up and connecting the processor to your online store much easier.

At the end of the day, you want to get paid for all your hard work and effort, so don’t rush this step – take the time to find your perfect payment processor before publishing your store.

#7. Market Your CBD Products

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Once you’ve published your online store, you need to get people visiting your site and adding products to their baskets. It’s time to see all that hard work pay off and watch the sales come rolling in!

There’s still one last bit of hard work left, though – this is the last step, so gather up your energy as we walk you through marketing your CBD online store.

The not-so-good news is that you can’t use traditional marketing methods such as Google, Facebook, or Instagram adverts. This means you’ve got to get creative in marketing your products.

1. Bloggers and Influencers

Do you have a favorite CBD blog or Instagram influencer? Do you think your products would appeal to them or their audience? If so, you might want to give this marketing tactic a go!

This marketing approach can be especially effective if you’re targeting a younger demographic – 72% of people under the age of 45 have tried a CBD product before.

Do some research and find blogs that suit your brand – perhaps they review CBD products on a regular basis, or maybe they write for a particular audience that your products would appeal to. Get in touch and offer to send them free samples in exchange for a fair review.

When looking for influencers, you can either connect with influencers who already promote CBD products, or you can get in touch with Instagrammers who you think might be open to promoting your products.

This is a tactic that Tom Bourlet, owner of the blog CBD Sloth, recommends:

“One clear stumbling block for many is how to reach their audience. You cannot sell CBD via Amazon or eBay. You cannot advertise it through Facebook or Instagram ads. It’s also not allowed on Google ads or Bing ads, so you quickly start seeing your avenues to the customer limited. Utilising influencers or bloggers is a popular option, such as my blog CBD Sloth… I’ve got a pile of 30 products on my table needing reviews!”

2. Content

Did you know that just over half of businesses rely on content marketing as a branding strategy?

This is where that CBD expertise from step one, “Do Your Research”, comes in handy. Share your knowledge in blog posts and videos to engage your audience and grow your following – this in turn will get your products in front of more people.

Not to mention, it does wonders for helping your site rank on Google.

If you’re unsure of the sort of content you could create, here are some good places to start:

• Informative articles – such as “CBD 101” or “What Is CBD?”
• Interviews with experts or other CBD sellers.
• Helpful guides – like this one!
• Product guides or information – such as “How to take CBD oil effectively.”
• Guest posts – where other people write articles for your blog.

3. SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about optimizing your site to reach the number one spot in Google’s search results. Getting as close to the top of those rankings is vital for gaining more traffic – after all, when was the last time you scrolled to the bottom of the results page?

By using keywords, linking to other pages as well as your own, structuring pages using headings, compressing images, and more, you can help your site climb the rankings.

4. Trade Shows

If the very thought of navigating the digital world of SEO gives you a headache, then attending CBD trade shows might be more up your street.

This is a highly effective way of building contacts while also allowing you to learn new things, forge business relationships, check out the competition, and market your products.

Examples of popular trade shows include NoCo Hemp Expo and the USA CBD Expo.

5. Email Marketing

Did you know that acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than keeping an existing one? This is where email marketing shines – it keeps your current visitors interested and coming back for more!

Email marketing is an effective way of keeping your customers engaged – you can send loyalty rewards such as discounts, or alert email subscribers of sales ahead of time to make them feel valued.

You can also make use of abandoned cart recovery, a feature that sends emails to customers who have abandoned their order at checkout. You can personalize these emails, or include discounts to draw shoppers back to your store.

BigCommerce has found that its Abandoned Cart Saver feature automatically recovers 15% of lost sales on average!

5 CBD Mistakes to Avoid

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Now you know the seven steps to setting up your own CBD online store, and are ready and raring to go. Before you jump in feet first, though, check out these top mistakes that CBD sellers make, so that you can side-step these common blunders and head straight for success!

1. Don’t Make Medical Claims

Yes, we’ve said it about a hundred times, but just in case you missed it – don’t make any medical claims about the magical effects of CBD. It’s not allowed, and can be dangerous for your customers if they have a real illness that needs diagnosing and treating.

2. Don’t Forget to Research

The CBD industry is complicated! Be 100% clear on your products – otherwise, you risk letting your customers down and losing sales.

3. Don’t Slack On the Legal Side

Just don’t.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on any new regs or legislation coming out of the FDA, government, or your local state – attitudes toward CBD are changing fast, and you need to keep up if you want to stay profitable.

4. Never (Ever) Go Above 0.3% THC

Otherwise you’re legally selling marijuana, which is not the purpose of this article – and hopefully not what you had planned for your career.

Summary: Next Steps to CBD Success

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Selling CBD online offers a big opportunity for ambitious entrepreneurs. It’s a young, greedy, and fast-growing market – like a small and controversial baby that’s just learnt to walk and is now careening at full speed towards life, so the CBD market has taken off.

There are still grey areas and regulations that you need to be aware of. We can’t stress enough the importance of checking your local state laws, and staying on top of any new legislation that comes out. 

However, if you can take that in your stride, then there could be a long-lasting and lucrative business in the works – simply follow these seven steps to get started!

How to Sell CBD Online: Recap

1. Do the research
2. Pick your products
3. Choose a reliable CBD provider
4. Start creating a brand
5. Build your online store
6. Set up payments
7. Market your CBD products

Avoid the common mistakes that most new CBD sellers fall into, and sell your way to CBD success!