Can drop shipping be successful in the year 2021 and beyond? The answer is a big yes. It allows you to start selling online without wasting time on manufacturing or procuring products. However, it comes with some drawbacks that make it difficult to be profitable. The biggest of those is the small profit margins.
You are working with minimal profit margins, which means you have little or no margin of errors. This is why it is better to learn the fundamentals before you spend your time and money on setting up an online store.
Table of Contents
The Ecom Dudes Course
Several courses can teach you the ins and outs of dropshipping. Ecom Dudes is one of them. It is offered by Dan Dasilva who runs a popular YouTube channel. The good thing about the course is its price so you don’t get to lose much even if you don’t learn anything new. You can read this Ecom dudes academy review to make your mind.
It is possible to learn everything for free by going through the guides and blog posts. Here’s how you can set up an online store using dropshipping suppliers.
Do Market Research
Don’t just choose a niche and start promoting your products recklessly. You should know who your audience is and what they are looking for. The goal of market research is to help you figure out how much profit there is in the industry, which merchants have a lot of traffic, how profitable it can be per sale, and other related info.
Find a Supplier
You can find your suppliers from platforms like Alibaba.com. Always choose reliable suppliers with positive feedback and a good product rating. Another alternative is to use dropshipping software like Oberlo.
It helps you find the right suppliers automatically after analyzing the niche you want to sell in. It has easy integration options with Shopify and other eCommerce platforms. You can save a lot of time by using a premium plugin or tool like Oberlo.
Choose a platform and build an online store:
Select a platform that has features like mobile optimization, an easy-to-use admin panel, and high customer support. Popular eCommerce platforms include Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly. Shopify is the most popular one but Bigcommerce and Wix have their advantages.
Not to forget the Woocommerce plugin for WordPress that gives you a lot more control. Once you find an appropriate platform, it’s time to build your site. It is better to start with a premium theme because it will give you better loading speed, responsiveness, and SEO-friendly options.
Optimize for search engines
SEO traffic will take some time but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Optimize your store by using the keywords in the right places. Create unique product descriptions and content for category pages.
Don’t rely on organic traffic alone. You should create a solid marketing plan to get more targeted leads via all possible channels (SEO, PPC, email marketing) and social media. Do keyword research to find niche-specific search terms that will boost your website ranking.
Set up a blog and post regularly:
Writing blog posts regularly is a good way to keep the customers engaged and coming back. Write about trending topics of your niche that people can relate to. Answer their questions, solve problems, give tips and advice on how they can get better results from specific products or services.
Similar read: Must-Avoid Mistakes When Setting up a Dropshipping Online Store
Blog posts will help you target and rank for long-tail keywords. You will have to convert blog visitors into subscribers and use email marketing to convert them into buyers.
Work on conversion optimization:
Customer satisfaction is very important. If people are not happy with your service or products they will leave negative feedback and tell their friends about it. You can improve the conversion rate by offering free shipping, a money-back guarantee, discount coupons, and other incentives to customers.
Post social proof of successful sales:
Being able to show others that you are successful in your niche helps build trust among them. You can do that by sharing customer testimonials, success stories, awards, and ratings from 3rd party websites like Google or Facebook. It also gives potential customers an idea of how profitable a specific industry is before they dive into it themselves.
Manage finances:
To have a successful business, you should make sure that your revenue is more than the expenses. Make sure that you can meet payroll for employees and other bills without taking any major risks with the cash flow.
Scale wisely:
After you have done everything right and your business is stable, you can invest more in marketing. Otherwise, it’s not wise to spend a lot on paid traffic and other expensive strategies before you at least break even. Be patient and keep learning from the experts who have already succeeded in your niche. You don’t want to make the same mistakes twice!
If you’ve been looking for a way to sell products without the hassle of inventory, consider drop shipping. Dropshipping is an eCommerce fulfillment method that allows merchants to offer items on their online store without actually owning any stock.
When someone buys something from their site, they give the merchant’s supplier information so that he or she can ship directly to the customer’s doorsteps with no involvement from them whatsoever.
This system has many benefits over traditional retail including greater profit margins since there are fewer costs involved in getting goods into customers’ hands and more time available for other aspects of running one’s business.
- Guide to Choosing the Best Spy Phone App in 2023 - April 20, 2023
- Playable Ads: Get All the Juice Out of Your Advertising Efforts - April 6, 2023
- 10 Most Notorious Black Hat Hackers in History - March 27, 2023