Admit it, there have been plenty of times that you’ve thought of starting your own e-commerce business but you didn’t because of fear. That’s okay. Doing so can be daunting, especially when you’re just starting out, and starting out alone. There are many factors for you to consider and worry about like inventory, storage, logistics, delivery, fulfillment, marketing, and so much more. Affiliate marketing is a good option for some to try. It gives you an idea of how things can go without a lot of risks. But it isn’t really close to the real thing. If that’s what you’re looking for, you could try drop shipping.
A drop shipping business is where a store doesn’t keep the stocks of the product it sells. They purchase it from a third party and ship it to the customer. It’s a handy way of keeping your business going without the hassles of product storage and missed inventory; which gives you more breathing room to work on other things like advertising, content marketing, promotions, and more. It’s easier, but it still takes a lot of hard work; which is why doing through a good training course and submerging yourself in a community of helpful and like-mined people is a must- do to prepare.
What You Need
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Online course like StoreCoach
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Domain and hosting
Setup Steps
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Write down some niche ideas. Something competitive but something you’re passionate about.
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Do keyword research on each.
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Search for products in an online marketplace to determine the demand for each niche. Choose a popular site like Amazon.
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Find out what people are saying about it on different social media platforms. Note the popularity and preferred platforms.
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Choose the niche that succeeded best from your research.
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Sign up for a training course on drop shipping, like StoreCoach.
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Find a supplier. If you’ve chosen to train with Store Coach, they have a Supplier Directory that you can check.
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Find the ones that seem like a good fit and get their contact info.
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Use NicheNinjaPro to identify top brand names and pick the ones you want your store to carry.
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Get the manufacturer’s contact information.
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Prepare to contact suppliers. Each one is different, some easier than others. Find out what their requirements are and meet them before making the call.
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After getting the deal, check Store Coach’s Pre- Build Checklist and follow the course till you get your site launched.
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Define your brand.
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Set up your store.
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Define product pricing.
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Post your products along with descriptions, images, and pricing.
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Create pages such as About Us, Contact page, FAQ, and more.
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Set up your entire site.
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Make a test purchase.
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Launch!
Marketing Setup
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Upsell your products.
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Reduce abandoned carts by creating an email recovery campaign.
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Send wishlist reminder emails.
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Create exit offers.
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Share your products on Instagram.
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Create a Facebook store.
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Work on driving traffic to the site. Research and learn about SEO or get an SEO plugin for your site to assist you if you’re new to it.
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Work on providing great customer service. Good reviews and feedback go a long way.
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Create content for your site and newsletters that are related to your products and provides helpful information for consumers.
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Email newsletters and promos to your customers.
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Submit your product feed file to free shopping portals and your site to the Dmoz Directory.
Timeframe
Time to do: 5 weeks
Time to see results: 5 months
Additional Tips
Optimize your site to make your customer’s buying experience a quick and easy one. Allow them a space for feedback and comments and work hard to rectify the bad ones.
The training course provides in-depth and detailed information. Keep going back to it as you get your business going. Visit their tips in securing a reseller account, content on what to do and look out for as you progress. Ask the coaches for assistance if you feel a little lost.
Configure Google Products for your store like Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, Google Publisher Tag, Google Merchant Center, Google AdWords, and Gmail. They’re free and make a big contribution in helping you drive traffic to your site.
Allow for advertising on your site. Setup banner ads and experiment with the type of advertising you use to figure out which works best.
Focus on quality over quantity.
Potential Results
Investing in an eCommerce business, especially drop shipping, is not a get rich quick kind of thing. It will take a lot of time and effort. For the first few months, you could probably earn around $100 per month; which isn’t that bad considering the fact that setting up your business site will cost around $50. But if you’re serious about drop shipping then you could earn thousands of dollars per month with proper marketing and maintenance.
