How to start dropshipping – Dropshipping business in most countries is still very lucrative and profitable business to start. Why? Only a few know the word dropshipping even exist. Maybe you have thought about running a dropshipping business, but you don’t know exactly where and how to start a dropshipping business. Don’t worry this article will guide you, as you will be getting full details and all explanations, ranging from how to start dropshipping and all you need to move to Pro level in dropshipping business. Let’s get started!
A dropshipping business is a new form of e-commerce that is becoming increasingly fashionable, especially in stores that use eBay as a platform. The United State of America takes the highest percentage of drop shippers around the world. They have been taking advantage of this dropshipping business model formula for years and for some time now. Companies, especially from China, have also signed up with really adjusted prices.
Also Read: TOP 15 LARGEST SHIPPING COMPANIES IN THE WORLD
Step By Step Guide On How to Start a Dropshipping Business
1. Choose Your Niche
The first step to Start a Successful Dropshipping Business is to select the product you delight to sell. You should have envisaged the product that you are passionate about and you fully understand and can relate with. You need to streamline your niche and not sell randomly or almost anything.
It is best if you are known for selling a particular product and customers know they will get it a high quality at the right price. That is why you need to make your findings properly before you dabble into the sales of any product.
2. Find a Reliable and Trustworthy Supplier
Once you have successfully settled for the product you want to sell, the next step is to find a reliable supplier. There are tons of suppliers in the market but not all of them are worth working with. Supplier(s) role in a dropshipping business is important because they are the owners of the goods or products that you will be selling to your customers. As such, the success of your business rest on the quality of your supplier(s).
Please note that this step should not be rushed, Proper evaluation should be carried out so as to get the best and reliable supplier that will help your business grow.
3. Choose your Platform
Another important step we perceive to be important as we consider How to Start Dropshipping is to select your selling platform. This step is equally important as the aforementioned tips. Before you launch your dropshipping business, you should finalize the platform that you won’t either to set up your own e-commerce store or sell on popular e-commerce platforms such as Amazon & eBay that allows other merchants to sell on their platform.
The latter option is best if you know you don’t have the fund to build your own platform. If you do, you can use one of the popular cloud-based website builders such as WordPress and Shopify to design your online store.
4. Conduct Sales Promotion
Promoting products and store (domain) is one of the key instruments in a successful dropshipping business. There are now various promotion techniques at your disposal ranging from: sales promotion, publicity, direct marketing such as word of mouth, social media marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing (paid marketing), and also conventional marketing such as billboard design, an advert on Newspaper, TV and radio promotions etc.
it is apparent that you conduct marketing because without advertising your business, nobody is going to visit your store and it will seem like you didn’t start anything. You can’t just sit down and expect customers to dabble into your website by chance or come and buy from your store. You have to work for it and take your business to them.
Employ every marketing strategy that will work for you from the above listed and promote your business to the nooks and cranny of the United State of America so that your business will be known and engaged as well.
5. Managing your Finance
The last point is the financial management which also is an important tip that should not be frowned at. As you are earning money from your dropshipping business, make sure you monitor your finance so that you will note any loopholes that can ruin your business. You need to possess basic financial management skill such as accounting, tax remittance; payroll management and invoicing so as to help you manage your business.
Also, you can seek advice in the comment section and our experts will give you some helpful tips and solutions that will allow you to effectively manage your dropshipping business.
Full Guide and Knowlege You need for a Successful dropshipping business
What Is a Dropshipping?
Dropshipping: simply means selling products without buying or having them. it is a type of business model in which you can sell products without having them physically. Therefore, the supplier of the product will send it directly to the customer after the transaction occurs. Dropshipping Business is a model of business in which you run a complete store without ever holding any inventory.
Once you’ve made a sale your supplier will ship your products from their warehouse, straight to your customer’s doorstep. You’ll never need to worry about storing, packaging, or shipping your products.
So how will You make a profit dropshipping?
You can do this by setting a markup on your prices. Which means that you should put a higher price than the one provided by the provider.
The dropshipping mechanism is as follows:
- The customer buys the product from the retailer (drop shipper)
- You as a retailer (drop shipper) orders the product from the supplier.
- The supplier ships the product to the customer.
Despite its popularity, the dropshipping business has some advantages and disadvantages to consider. These are the things you should know before diving into the world of dropshipping… I will discuss all advantage and disadvantage in the latter part of this article.
So, if you are interested to start a dropshipping business and you have no idea how to start, this article centred on How to Start a Dropshipping Business is for you.
How to start a dropshipping business Word Wide?
So, you already know the basics of the dropshipping business. Now we will tell you what you must do to fully understand how to start a dropshipping business and be successful.
We’ll guide you from finding product ideas to marketing your dropshipping store. These are the steps:
1. Generate dropshipping business ideas
How to start dropshipping – You need to know what you want to sell before you even enter the dropshipping market. It would be a bad idea to choose products only for what you believe or like.
In the beginning, identify who you are trying to offer your product to. Find out what the problems are and choose a product that can solve them. In this way, your products will be considered valuable to your customers.
Above all, the product must be of value to both the buyer and the seller. That is why you should also check if the product you want to offer is profitable and if that industry has good prospects in the future. With Google trends, you can check if your chosen products are trending or not.
If you are sure of the specific niche you chose, the next step is to find the right provider. You should compare vendor candidates in terms of credibility, business policies, and the quality of the products they offer.
Make sure the supplier doesn’t hurt your business in the long run. Also, you have to convince the supplier that you will be a great partner for him. In other words, the relationship has to be mutually profitable. How to start a dropshipping business? there are still things you need to know, please continue reading!
Now that you know all this, here are some
Questions to consider before choosing the product?
- How popular is the product niche?
- What type of suppliers do you want to work with?
- What region will you sell to?
This is a very important part when answering the question of how to start a dropshipping business. Answering those questions will help you find the right product for your business.
2. Get a domain name
Knowing which products to sell is one thing, but getting your customers to know about your products is another. This is why you need to make sure that customers know where to go when they want to buy the products.
After all, every store needs an address. Similarly, an online business also needs an address in the form of a domain name. The point is, you need to make your domain as memorable as possible and relevant to your target customers. Because that’s what your customers will write when they need your products.
You may already have some domain name ideas. But is it available?
Don’t worry, because you can check availability and buy a domain with Hostinger’s registration tool.
You just have to type your domain name to see if it is available or not. In addition to giving you information on availability, it will also suggest other related domain names, more info on how to buy Domain.
3. Build an online store
So, you already have your own address, but what about the store? The store is your online website connected to your domain. Your store holds and displays all product you available to your customers.
How do I build an Online Store for my Dropshipping Business?
Building an online store can be accomplished using WordPress. For this reason, the first step is to install it. To make your life easier, use the automatic WordPress installer at Hostinger. It will automatically configure and install WordPress on your website.
Once you have successfully created and launched your WordPress site, you can start installing the Woocommerce plugin. It will allow you to create an online store within your website.
Finally, after finishing the installation of WordPress and Woocommerce, you can proceed to complete your website by adding the products and designing your online store.
4. Make decisions about the details
Adding products to your online store can be tricky. Because there are some things you should keep in mind, like:
Shipping costs
You should consider what type of shipping fee you will charge your customers. Sometimes customers examine shipping costs before making a purchase. For your information, there are three types of shipping rates you can choose from:
- Rates by type: This rate will classify the cost according to the size of the products. This means that a smaller product may have a lower shipping cost than a larger product.
- Real-time rates: this option is more flexible. Because the cost will be based on the weight and destination of the product. Therefore, the shipping cost between products may differ.
- Flat Shipping Rate – A flat rate is one of the easiest rates to apply. Because you only charge a fixed price for all types of shipping.
Taxes
If you live in a state where you are required to pay sales tax, you need to find out how much the tax will be. Then, you must adjust the cost with the total expense that customers must pay per product.
For this task, it is always best to consult with a tax expert.
Payment methods
The payment method will affect the shopping experience of your customers. The more convenient the method, the happier your customers will be.
You can also take advantage of the popularity of a particular payment method to attract customer attention. In addition, you will also need to confirm if the payment method offers a low transaction tax.
5. Advertise your store
At this stage, you should think about promoting your dropshipping business. You could use some digital marketing practices to expose your business to the world.
Here are some digital marketing methods that you can use in your online dropshipping store:
SEO
People are constantly searching the Internet, and if you are using search advertising, you will surely have an advantage.
One of the most popular methods of search advertising is search engine optimization (SEO). It is a way to make your website rank higher on the search engine results page.
To manage the SEO performance of your website, you need to do a little research on how the search engine works.
If you implement SEO well, you can gain more exposure by gradually increasing the rank of your website.
Paid Ads (PPC)
There is another way to get your website to the top of the search engine results page, this way is called search engine marketing (SEM). You can use it as one of your digital marketing strategies.
Basically, you buy ad space on the search engine, then you have to bid on a keyword in your campaign. The success of your offer will depend on the relevance of your keyword in the ads and the value of your offer. To manage all this, you can use Google Adwords.
Unlike SEO, this method will cost you some money. Because as the name implies, ads need to be paid based on how much they are clicked on. The more they click, the more you have to pay.
But, in return, your online dropshipping store will be able to get a wider reach with secure ad space.
Another PPC option lies in social media. You can request paid ads on Facebook or Instagram, target a specific demographic, and have them, direct people, to your dropshipping business.
Email Marketing
You can avoid losing customers by keeping them in contact with you through Email Marketing. At this point, you are probably wondering how this method could work.
The first step in email marketing is an email list. You can send emails offering free products, discounts, and other attractive offers.
Once you have the mailing list, create a marketing campaign. Send newsletters, special offers, etc. This strategy will help you maintain a close relationship with your clients.
Steps to Start a Dropshipping Business:
- Choose Your Niche
- Find a Reliable and Trustworthy Supplier
- Choose your Platform
- Conduct Sales Promotion
- Managing your Finance
Also Read: TOP 15 MOST FAMOUS FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS
Conclusion on the Step by Step Guide on How to Start a Dropshipping Business
How to start a dropshipping business? Having completed your online store or eCommerce website and added your product to it. Not the physical stock but the pictures and descriptions of the product. Once an order is completed and the transaction is made, you have to contact your third-party supplier (owner of the product) by sending your customer address and paying the supplier from the initial money paid to you by your customer.
That is the much we can offer on How to Start a Dropshipping Business and we hope you enjoy reading through and also learnt something new that will help you establish your dropshipping business successfully. Dropshipping is a popular and lucrative business.
An interesting feature of this business is that you don’t need to stock or handle the items you are selling, and the low cost of establishing this business has attracted many entrepreneurs to venture into this business. We are positive that if you follow the step by step guide provided above you will be able to begin your dropshipping business faster than you think and then start earning money.
To this end, we will be showing you How to Start a Dropshipping Business. We will love to hear from you particularly how helpful this article is by giving us feedback.
Hope you have learned how to start a dropshipping business AND the Step by step to Start a Dropshipping Business