By: Victoria Greene
Dropshipping is an ideal solution for budding entrepreneurs who want to start a new business with very little upfront investment. Sure, it’s not without its flaws – and I speak from personal experience. But compared to manufacturing your own products or buying in bulk from a wholesaler, dropshipping offers an on-demand system that lets you control your inventory with ease, so you can focus your energy on maintenance and marketing.
How to Start Dropshipping
If you’re new to the dropshipping scene, you won’t find a simpler platform than Shopify. Sure, there are other options available, but Shopify is perfect for beginners. I myself run a number of stores using Shopify and find that as an all-in-one ecommerce solution, it has a lot of things going for it – not least that you can be (more or less) up and running within a day.
1. Don’t Bypass Product Research
There are all sorts of ways to research products online. But before you even go near a computer, I recommend sending half an hour brainstorming ~10 niches that you’re personally interested in. You’ll find it easier to motivate yourself further down the line if you care about the products you’re selling – and understand the needs and wants of your customers.
Next, head over to Google’s trusty Keyword Planner tool to discover what people are searching for in relation to these niche keywords online. Take note of keyword volume and competition. Keep in mind that your best chance of success lies in catering to niche markets over broader terms. eBay and Amazon already have generalists covered.
Speaking of eBay and Amazon, you’ll want to look here next to discover which products are selling well. If people aren’t already buying similar items from Amazon, then chances are the demand for them isn’t very high. Finally, delve into how your potential customers are engaging with popular brands in your niche on social media. Are there any overriding trends? And more importantly, are there any gaps in the market?
2. Finding Products to Sell with Oberlo
Assuming you’ve settled on a niche to move ahead with, now is the time to find the right supplier. I’m going to talk about Oberlo in particular, since it’s one of the easiest ways for beginners to import products from AliExpress suppliers directly into your Shopify store. Having done so, once orders start coming in, they will then be shipped directly to your customers with little to no intervention from you whatsoever.
When you’re starting out, having somewhere between 15-20 products is a good baseline. What I’ve found to be the case after working on a number of stores is that products in the range of $10-50 sell best. Of course, it all depends on the products you’ve chosen to sell – you’re obviously not going to sell a brand new washing machine online for less than $50.
Trending products are a great option, and if you manage to source them before they hit the commercial masses, you’ll have a better chance of establishing yourself online. Take a look at Google Trends to get an idea of what’s up and coming. Likewise, targeting a specific niche with promising search stats will ensure you have less competition and improved ability to rank your store for niche-relevant long tail keywords.
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