Dropshipping is an online marketing model that is almost like affiliate marketing, only a bit different; here you are, the middle man between the buyer and the actual merchant,
In the other forms of digital marketing, you need to have your products listed in your store or stock, then find a market to make your sales,
But in dropshipping, you don't necessarily need to have the goods in-store; you only order when the buyer has made a payment, then you make your order and have the merchant ship the goods to the buyer's location, with your brand name and address.
HOW DOES DROPSHIPPING WORK?
This is a transactional chain that consists of three stages and three people, which is the:
- THE RETAILER
- THE BUYER
- THE MARCHANT
Here’s how this works,
The retailer advertises a product that is not in his possession: and mind you; this is not a link; he markets some products though existing in the market when he can secure a buyer,
He gets the buyer to make payments for the goods, and he then sends his charges to the merchant, who could either be the manufacturer or a whole seller,
Then he would have the merchant ship the product straight to the buyer using the retailer's address and brand name.
Meanwhile, the relationship between the retailer and the merchant is confidential and unknown to the buyer.
This marketing model is usually adopted for expensive products that the retailer cannot purchase because he lacks the capital for it.
Nevertheless, he will list it as a new product, and when the buyer makes the payment, he then sends payment and takes his gain, excluding the shipping fees and other charges.
ADVANTAGE OF DROP SHIPPING
MINIMUM OR SPENDING, AND MAXIMUM GAIN
In this business model, unlike the other digital model where you have to spend certain kinds of income to run adverts and all other stuff ranging from paying for stores and other expenses,
In drop shipping, you get to minimize cost and maximize profits you would not need to pay for a store or shipping fee; neither do you need any form of capital upfront; all you need is to establish a strong relationship with your supplier, and that's it you are set.
NO NEED FOR CAPITAL
In drop shipping, you don't need capital or any form of well-stacked up in a store before you initiate; all you need is a business plan and establishing relationships with a reputable supplier, which you can find on many platforms; one of those platforms is alibaba.com.
You will make sales like never before if you know how to list your products well and play your cards right.
TOTAL CONTROL OF YOUR GAINS
In other business brands like Affiliate marketing, after a sale is made, you only gain about 5- 10% as commission depending on your arrangements and the goods bought.
But in drop shipping, you are totally in charge of the gains you get to make; depending on your bargaining strategy, you can make quite a fortune selling winning products dropshipping that belong to others, and you might still get a percentage from the merchant,
And for you, it's a win-win.
IS DROPSHIPPING LEGAL?
Dropshipping is legal; you can think of it as a partnership, you are actually partnering with other companies to help them market or promote their products, so this is legal and in your position as a retailer; the only difference is the fact that you don't have a capital to buy and stock the product in-store, and that doesn't mean, because you don't have the product in-store then marketing it is a fraud, and one of the processes of starting a drop shipping business is to get a legal certification and a business name to begin with.
IS DROPSHIPPING WORTH IT?
In the year 2020, while other people were busy complaining about the pandemic, few of my friends ventured in to drop shipping, and I must say they made a hell of much money that got me concerned so much that I had to look into the matter to find out the entire system works,
Here are some things I found out drop shipping is not one of those get rich quick kinds of business.
In my opinion, any business that promises quick success without work is either trying to scam you or being lured into something, and they are not completely honest with you.
So back to the central question of even if it is worth it?
As much as it is not easy as you heard, however, if you are willing to invest your time and be consistent in it, one thing is specific drop shipping is worth the time and the stress.
And like I said, my friends made quite a fortune right in the heart of the pandemic; their gains were flowing in millions of dollars,
And I ran a few checks and did much research and what I found out is that Dropshipping is one of the significant lucrative online marketing business models that ever existed.
If you are looking forward to making a fortune for yourself as a marketer, and you are wondering whether to try drop shipping or not,
Then I recommend you go ahead and give it a try; it is worth every little time you spend investing in it, and very soon, you will reap the benefit as we did and as all my friends did.
HOW DO I BEGIN WITH DROPSHIPPING?
PICK YOUR DESIRED NICHE
The first step in Dropshipping is probably like every other online business; it will be ultimately catastrophic to get a product then begin to scramble for how and where to sell it,
You have to do in-depth marketing research to find a market and to locate a need in the market or demand that doesn't haven't met sufficient response and build a product to suit those demands,
This is precisely where a niche comes in you need to identify a specific problem you want to solve and build your marketing strategy around that problem; that way, you have a clear cut idea about the kind of people to target, and you will know precisely how to build your bargaining system and start making profit right from the start.
I must also let you know that in the search for a niche, you must understand that you will see many niches that look attractive, but you cannot serve everybody simultaneously.
You have to pick a niche that suits your personality and excites you as a person; that way, you can pay the price and not know you sacrificed anything; money is where the enthusiasm is.
DO A RESEARCH ON YOUR COMPETITORS
Trust me, and it is excruciating to go into a market without adequate information about who is in the market before you came and the strategies they employ to make sales; what is their pricing system?
What is their greatest strength? Do you have any unique selling point that is better than them? These are the points that will make up for your unique business strategy.
When you have all of this information, you can then decide whether or not to pursue that niche or drop it for a less competitive one.
BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH A FEW TRUSTED SUPPLIERS
You see, remember you don't have any product of your own, but you can find any supplier online who are open to doing business and will readily accept you,
After all, your partnership with them is for their interest, these are the guys who own the products you are promoting, and when you make sales, they will send the product to the address you gave them, and of course, they will send it in your name and brand name as the retailer.
Be careful not to rush in your decision to select a supplier you need to do adequate reviews before making your choice because he has to be effective in communicating with you and very fast in delivering to your buyers; otherwise, you will leave a trail of dissatisfied clients, and it is not suitable for business
Alibabagroup.com is the most significant resource when it comes to getting suppliers.
BUILD AND DESIGN YOUR ECOMMERCE WEBSITE
this website will be the connection between you and your customers, a well-designed website helps you gain the audience's trust, and if it is optimized well to give customers an efficient shopping experience, you can be entirely sure that they will always return for more purchases.
But as a beginner, it is advisable to use an easy e-commerce website like Shopify because they support drop shipping business, and you don't necessarily need any experience whatsoever in coding or website designing.
you can also use the Reddit platform to start your Dropshipping business.
BUILD A CUSTOMER ACQUISITION PLAN
When all of the above is in place, you need an excellent laid down plan to draw traffic to your e-commerce website and attract buyers.
You need to take courses and learn from your predecessors to succeed at the speed you desire.
PROVEN DROPSHIPPING TIPS
GO FOR HIGH-PROFIT NICHES
Trust me, the same effort you will put in to sell a product worth $1000 is the same effort you will need to sell a product worth $50
So if it is advisable to go for high-paying needs, you need to be careful not to pick a niche that is not high in demand.
BE MINDFUL OF THE SHIPPING COST
See, even though your supplier is responsible for the shipping, it will scare off customers,
So you need to find products with low shipping fees; it will help you give out free shipping slots and increase your chances of landing many sales.
For example, the price for shipping a car is not the same as the price for shipping an iPhone, yet all of them are high-paying products, so be wise.
YOUR PRODUCTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO APPEAL TO THEIR EMOTIONS
See, your first goal as a beginner is to draw as much traffic as possible; your product should find a way to hook your visitors' emotions enough to have those with the financial strength to purchase their first arrival because a good number of them would not come back.
CREATE YOUR BRAND
Droop shipping is most effective if you can pass off the goods you sell as your own, so you have to do all of the documentation needed to present yourself as a brand of yourself; it helps build your customer's confidence in your products and services.
DO AN IN-DEPTH KEYWORD RESEARCH
It would be best to be sure that the product you are enlisting is what people are actively searching for; it will help reduce your work and increase your organic traffic.
You need to do serious SEO research and find the terms people use to optimize your product, enlisting.
