How to get started with dropshipping? Dropshipping is an extremely popular business model for new entrepreneurs. Since there is no need to store or manage the items you sell, you can start a dropshipping business with limited funds.
An eCommerce site that runs a dropshipping model buys the items it sells from a third-party supplier or manufacturer, which then fulfills the order. This not only reduces operating costs but also allows you to spend time focusing all of your efforts on customer acquisition.
1. Select a niche
The first, to get started with dropshipping business you have to select a niche. The niche you choose has to be laser-focused and something that you are really interested in. A range of products that is not focused will be difficult to market. For product research information, check out some Shopify dropshipping apps that order products from suppliers based on the growth in orders over the past few weeks. They also show you the profit margins to expect when you search for products on major eCommerce platforms and calculate the average resale price.
If you’re not interested in the niche you choose, you’re more likely to get discouraged as it takes a lot of work to successfully scale a drop shipping business. When choosing your niche, the following points should be considered:
Look For Attractive Profits: If you run a dropshipping business model, your focus will be on marketing and customer acquisition. The labor takes to sell a $20 item is roughly the same as it does to sell one item. from $ 1,500. Choose a niche with more expensive products.
Low shipping costs are very important: even if your supplier or manufacturer takes care of shipping and the cost is too high, it acts as a repellent for the customer. Find something that is inexpensive to ship as it allows you to offer free shipping to your customers as well and absorb that cost as a business expense to get more sales.
Make sure your product attracts impulsive buyers with disposable income: If your focus is on driving traffic to your website, you want the highest conversion rate possible because most visitors will never return. The products you sell should trigger impulse buying and attract those with the financial ability to shop locally.
2. Do competition research
If you want to get started with dropshipping, you should do competitive research. Keep in mind that you will be competing with other drop shipping businesses and retail giants like Walmart and Amazon. This is where many potential direct mail shippers get it wrong because they are looking for a product that has little or no competition. This is a sign that there is no demand for that particular product.
There are many reasons a product might not face a lot of competition, including high shipping costs, supplier and manufacturing problems, or poor profit margins. Look for competitive products as this is a sign of high demand and a sustainable business model.
3. Find a supplier
Finding a supplier is also an important thing to get started with dropshopping. Partnering with the wrong supplier can ruin your business. It is therefore important not to rush this step. Do proper due diligence. Most drop shipping providers are located overseas, which makes communication extremely important in terms of both speed of response and understanding. If you are not 100% sure about a potential supplier’s communication skills, continue your research.
Alibaba has grown to be one of the largest online resources for identifying and communicating with potential manufacturers and suppliers. Make sure to ask lots of questions and find out what manufacturing capabilities are in place in case your business grows exponentially. You want to make sure that they can adapt to you.
4. Build your eCommerce website/store
The quickest way to start a website that supports a drop shipping business model is to use a simple ecommerce platform like Shopify. You don’t need a tech background to start working and there are plenty of apps out there to help increase sales.
Even if you have a sizeable budget to hire a web design and development company to create a custom solution,it’s a lot smarter to use one of the plugs and play options, especially when you’re starting out. Once you’re set up and sales are on the way. You can make further adjustments to the website.
5. Do Marketing
Having a great product and website is great, but you won’t have a business without customers to buy. There are several ways to attract potential customers. However, the most effective way to do this is to start an advertising campaign on Facebook.
This allows you to generate revenue and revenue right from the start, which can contribute to rapid scalability. With Facebook you can place your offer directly in front of a target group. This gives you the opportunity to compete instantly with the biggest brands and retailers.
You also need to think long term, so search engine optimization and email marketing should also be a focus. Collect emails from the start and set up automatic email sequences offering discounts and specials. It’s an easy way to leverage your existing customer base and generate income without additional advertising and marketing costs. Doing marketing is always necessary to get started with dropshipping.
6. Analyze and optimize
You need to keep track of all available data and metrics to grow your business. This includes Google Analytics traffic and pixel data for Facebook conversion, if this is your main channel for customer acquisition. You are able to track every single conversion to know where the customer is from and what path they took on your website that ultimately led to a sale. So you can scale what works and eliminate what Not.
You will never have a set and forget marketing or advertising solution. You need to constantly test new options and optimize current campaigns. So you know when to optimize or move campaign spend.
