Dropshipping is a business model where you, as the seller, don't keep inventory in your warehouse.
Instead, you sell a product online, and when a customer orders then the manufacturer will ship that product to your customer.
The product can be your own, but it sits in the manufacturer’s warehouse, or it can be the manufacturer’s product and he just changed the brand name to yours.
In many cases, you will sell someone else’s product and not change the brand name at all.
So, how do you earn money from dropshipping?
Basically, you just have to find a product for sale online, sell it and market it in your dropshipping store for a higher price.
When someone buys, you ask the seller to ship it to your customer, and the price difference is your profit.
Dropshipping is a good business model for people who have no manufacturing experience, and for those who have no large capital to buy products in bulk.
In a typical business, you have to buy a large number of products. You store them in your house, then sell them online, then ship a product if a sale was made. If they do not sell, you suffer a financial loss.
Dropshipping doesn't work that way, if you don't sell a product it doesn't really matter because you didn't pay upfront for it.
In simple terms this is how running a dropshipping business works.
- Find a product online, you don't buy it first, so you don't spend money up front
- You post and sell the product in your own online store, like Shopify for a higher price
- Someone orders from you, then you get paid for the order
- You use that payment to buy the product from the supplier, and the supplier will ship it to your customer
- Your customer receives the product, and the price difference is your profit.
Looking to get started? In this free dropshipping course you will learn how to start your very own online store. By the end of this you will know how to run a profitable dropshipping store.
The Dropshipping Blueprint
Ok, now you know a little more about this business model and how it all works.
The next step in this free training is to learn about building a store so you can sell your products. In this video you will learn exactly how to do that step by step.
How To Start Your Ecommerce Store
Related: Ecom Elites – Best Dropshipping Training Course
To start your dropshipping business, you need an online marketplace where you can post products for sale. We use a platform called Shopify to do this. It's super easy to use.
If you want, you can also post your products on Facebook and Instagram. But if you do this, your capabilities are limited.
Besides, how will the customers pay you if you sell on social media channels?
So, whats the solution?
The solution is for you to build your own online store that you will manage on your own. This is why we use Shopify.
Now, don't be afraid if you do not know how to code. Shopify was built to help you create an online store in a few simple steps.
All you need to do is to upload a picture of the product, write the details, and then it is up for sale on the internet already!
But why Shopify?
Shopify is a useful platform where you can build a store even if you have zero experience when it comes to computers
If you use Shopify, you can easily change your store’s colors, themes, and use your own brand name. We have listed the best themes here so you can see how beautiful Shopify is.
We even have our own custom theme that's specifically designed for dropshipping. Ecom Turbo can help you make more sales and quicker.
If you use Shopify, you also don't have to worry about how you will collect payments and transfer them to your bank.
Shopify has this built into the system so you can charge your customers via credit card online. You don't have to go through the hassle of applying for credit card payment processors.
Shopify was also designed to make it easy for you to upload your products, create collections of products, change prices, add product sizes, and even add a blog page so you can add value to your readers and customers.
Want to learn more about starting a store? Here’s an in-depth tutorial on how to get started.
How To Find Products To Sell On Your Store
AliExpress is an online marketplace that is based in China. Think of Amazon or eBay, but it's in Asia instead. It's safe to buy from AliExpress and you can find great products and extremely low prices.
AliExpress is different because you can buy products without having to stock them. So, your supplier sends the products not you.
On Amazon and eBay, you are paying the retail price, and most sellers will only ship worldwide.
First off, you need to look for a seller with a good rating. There are three main categories where sellers are rated.
All of these are rated between one and five stars, the highest of which is a 5-star rating.
These are:
- Communication – refers to how fast and responsive a seller is.
- Shipping timeliness – refers to the speed by which the seller processes the shipment. This does not refer to the length of shipping, as this depends on the courier and customs policies of the receiving country.
- Item quality – refers to the quality of the product, and whether those who bought the item are satisfied.
Read the product details carefully, because the things written in there are the same things you will commit to your customers, such as refunds, or what the package actually contains upon delivery.
Once you have found a supplier with s satisfactory performance, you can then start uploading products to your store.
You can use fulfilment apps like Oberlo to import products quickly. You can check out the best app right here. Once you have done all this you can start running adverts to sell your products online.
If you want faster shipping times you can use an app called Spocket. Learn more about Spocket in our review.
How To Start Facebook Ads For Dropshipping
Also See: Dropshipping For Beginners: The Simple Step By Step Guide To Starting
After setting up your Shopify dropshipping store, the next challenge is driving traffic. An online store is not like a brick and mortar business where people walk pass on the sidewalk and decide to stop in and buy.
No one will find you on the internet unless you make yourself visible.
So, how do you establish an online presence?
The answer is Facebook ads. Facebook has more than 1 billion active users globally.
Just imagine the number of people you can reach if you advertise on the platform. Your reach is limitless, but all of this will depend on how you run your ads.
Facebook is your primary choice not just because of its user base, but also because you can customize your advertisements. If you only want to show your advertisement to teenagers, you can program it this way.
If you only want to show it to a specific state, county, city, or province, you can do it, too.
You also have choices of whether you want to run video campaigns, still photos, or carousels where customers can swipe different product pictures without leaving their Facebook profile page. Facebook also allows you to run advertisements without incurring substantial costs.
Here, you can run an ad at a price point that you are comfortable with. You can set your budget in the way you want, like $10 a day or more, and you can cut it off anytime you want.
With Facebook ads, you are not bound by a contract. With TV and radio ads, you have to pay a specific minimum, and they run your ads for a specific time.
Facebook does not operate this way. You can turn your ads today, and then turn it off next week. Facebook also allows you to change the content of your ad anytime, in case you have a message to share to your potential customers.
There is also a market place where you can sell products on facebook. Learn more about that in our Facebook Marketplace guide.
How To get Free Traffic To Your Store
This free dropshipping course will not be complete without me showing you how to get traffic!
If you have no money to spend on ads, or if you are hesitant to put up one yet, your other course of action is to get free traffic.
Free traffic means you are getting people to go to your website, not just to buy, but also to read your blog and browser your products, without spending a dime.
Why is this important?
In the physical world, you want to put up your business in areas where there is massive foot traffic.
The more people there are, the more people are likely to buy.
In the online world, it works the same way. You want thousands of people to at least check your store and browse it per day.
Just think about the mathematics of it. If 1% of the traffic converts to a sale, ten people for every 1,000 will make a purchase per day.
Thats 300 sales in a month, which is not bad for a start-up dropshipping business. As you grow your traffic, you will also increase the number of your sales per month.
What are the ways that you can get free traffic?
- Search Engine Optimization
- Blogs
- Keyword-optimized product listing and product description
- Social media posting
All these are free, and these ways can help you generate traffic for many years.
These free ways to get traffic puts your website out there for people to see. With advertising, your website and products will only be shown for as long as you are paying.
Wrapping Up This Free Course
Now that you know the components of building a dropshipping business, the next step is to determine the product you want to sell.
It must be a product that is close to your heart, something that you love and passionate about, as it will help you keep motivated in your dropshipping journey.
Do not expect dropshipping to be an overnight success. The people who succeed in this market are those who are determined to make their stores work, even if it takes months of hard work.