One of the most common questions dropshipping entrepreneurs ask is, “How do I start a dropshipping business?” A dropshipping business must comply with the laws and regulations of the country or city in which you operate. It must adhere to local and industry-specific laws. Its location and type of products will also determine its compliance obligations.
Getting started with dropshipping can be challenging, so here is a step-by-step guide to getting you going in the right direction.
Research the Products
First, you should research the products that you want to sell. Once you have chosen a product niche and an eCommerce platform, you need to create a distinct brand identity. Branding includes everything from messaging to copy, colors, logo, and brand voice.
Many dropshipping businesses fail because they fail to create a unique brand identity. In addition to focusing on your niche, you need to build a recognizable brand.
While identifying the products and marketplaces that you want to explore, you must research the direct competitors. Using Google to find their online presence and see their marketing strategies will help you identify the most successful dropshipping companies and set you apart.
Register Your Business
While it may seem challenging to start a dropshipping business, you’ll need to register it with your state’s Department of Commerce and submit any sales tax you collect.
You’ll also need a bank account for your dropshipping business. You should consider obtaining a license from the local government.
There are many requirements to register a business, and they may differ from state to state. For instance, if you’re in South Carolina, you’ll need to use its official name.
While many new dropshippers start with a marketplace, setting up their e-commerce store allows for more flexibility in marketing and customer experience.
Build a Brand Identity
A branded website allows you to build a brand identity for your business, so it’s crucial to invest in this aspect. A good online store will have professional staff to support you as you grow.
After choosing a business name, you’ll need to start marketing your products.
Once you’ve established your brand, you’ll need to build your product lines. Once you have products, you can start selling them online. Then, you can choose to stock your products. After building a list of products, you’ll need to start developing your website and listing your products.
If you’re looking for a dropshipping niche, you can follow a few steps to find the right product to sell. You’ll need to choose a product that you’re passionate about.
Find a Supplier
You need to find a supplier that’s reliable and has the products you’re looking for. These companies should be able to ship products to your customers promptly.
Your success in dropshipping depends on your suppliers. They will ship the items that you list on your website.
A good supplier will take care of any problems your buyers may have. If you don’t have a strong relationship with your supplier, you’ll have to worry about the future of your business.
Promote Your Dropshipping Business
An excellent way to start a dropshipping business is to identify a niche with high growth potential. Once you have identified this niche, you will need to find ways to market your products and set prices.
Depending on the niche you select, you might want to try marketing on specific holidays, such as Valentine’s Day. Then, you can work with suppliers to get the items you need. However, if you want to increase your sales and profits, you need to ensure that you are on top of your competitors.
Social media is a great way to promote your products. You can post video tutorials or articles for your audience.
You can also join communities to share your knowledge and expertise. While being helpful is essential, you want to avoid being too salesy and build relationships with your audience. This will help you build trust and build relationships.
As you market your dropshipping business, you must be sure to keep your content fresh. A good marketing plan will be worth the effort.
You can promote your dropshipping store with the help of affiliates. You must pick the right keywords for your niche.
Using creatives and data feeds will help you create a strong brand and emotional connection. Using social media for marketing will help attract a wide variety of customers.
Research Your Competitors
Find the competitors’ social media profiles. Follow them on Facebook and find out which ones are popular in your niche. Then, you can reach out to them. They might recommend the best products and help you grow your business.
By doing this, you can increase your chances of being found. You can subscribe to their newsletters to stay up-to-date with their latest news and trends.
As with any other business, you’ll need to be better than your competition. Researching your competition will help you find the products they are selling. By studying your competitors, you can also find the gaps in their businesses.
Specialize in a Niche
If you specialize in a niche you’re knowledgeable about, you will have the edge over your competitors.
You can create e-books that focus on a specific niche. You should also use social media to reach your target audience. Using social media to promote your business can help you gain followers and potential customers. These are the best ways to market your dropshipping business.
To be successful, you must choose the right niche. Once you’ve identified the product, you’ll be able to compete with them. For your dropshipping business, make sure to offer unique products.
You can even find niches with low competition to ensure that your product will be in high demand. This way, you won’t have to worry about competing with retail giants.
You can find low competition niches with he tool below.
Once you’ve chosen a niche, you’ll need to find a few competitors in the market. You should aim for five or more competitors if you want to succeed.
Using Google Trends to research a niche is a great way to learn which products are already selling. In addition, you’ll need to know the average price for each product, which is a crucial factor in a dropshipping business.
Conclusion to What is Dropshipping About?
To boost your sales and grow a profitable dropshipping business, you should focus on two or three main channels.
These include websites that are easy to navigate and blogs to highlight your products and attract readers. You should also have an active social media presence to build your brand. If you can make a strong impression on your customers, it will be worth your time to promote your products.
It is possible to make a livelihood online if you put in the effort and stick with it. Free and fast money is out there for the taking. So, which online businesses are you trying first?
Did you find this article useful? Feel free to share your thoughts. We would be happy to hear from you!
Stay tuned for more Work from Home Business ideas.
Any/all links on this site may be affiliate links, and if you make a purchase through one of them, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read the full affiliate disclosure here.
Mark
CEO and Founder of The Retired Affiliates
10 responses to “What is Dropshipping About?”
Hi Mark, starting a dropshipping business can be a good avenue for some people that want to start their own business, but do not want to carry the physical stock or deal with the shipping. Having a reliable supplier can be make or break when it comes to dropshipping.
Do you think it is best if one visits the supplier in person? That way one can inspect the products, and build a relationship?
Is there a minimum amount of money that one should have to start, to make sure you can advertise and promote your brand? Thanks
Hi Line,
While it is not critical to visit a supplier, Pre Covid I would always take a quick trip (business/mini vacation) to suppliers to get more of an idea if they can really deliver on what they say.
That’s the thing with drop shipping, there is no minimum or maximum to start. Just like any other business this all depends on how quickly you want to scale.
I remember back when I started my first shop I think I had about $100 in the bank, that now earns me 20X that a month.
Mark
Thanks for the helpful article to explain what dropshipping is. I had thought about testing out this as a business strategy a while back, but I got bogged down when trying to find actual dropshipping suppliers. Do you have any good resources for finding great suppliers, or would you say this is one of the more challenging parts of dropshipping?
Hi Aly,
Finding suppliers these days is a lot harder due to the fact you cant visit them in person.
Pre-Covid times once I had done all my screening through emails and skype I would always take a trip (business/vacation) to personally meet with my suppliers. This way I could see their products and also start to build a relationship.
As far as my shops go now, the biggest challenge in this current climate is shipping times, however most customers these days understand the reasons behind longer shipping times.
I have always used Alibaba and AliExpress for sourcing my suppliers.
Hit me up if you need help or have any questions Aly.
Mark
The advantage of dropshipping is that you don’t have to purchase hundreds or thousands of the same product before you can sell them in your online store You can literally purchase them one by one. This means that you only pay for products when someone places an order on your online store! Isn’t that nice?
HI Emmanuel,
Yes dropshipping is definitely a great option to add to your online business empire, however it takes a lot of time finding good suppliers with quality products, especially in todays current climate, where it is a lot harder to go over and visit them.
Also shipping times are hurting a lot of the new dropshipping businesses.
Mark
Thank you for an interesting article! And, this business sounds so interesting, and appreciate how you have highlighted what is needed to start the business. I agree with you when you’re talking about having a good impression on your articles – to me, it gives you an indication your articles are seen, and maybe liked too.
Great article indeed.
Thanks Aubin… Are you doing drop-shipping?
The name dropshipping is familiar to me, however, I still have difficulty interpreting it. What does the drop refer to? What is being dropped? You are giving a very solid way to start a dropshipping business and a lot of people will have gotten the confidence from reading this article. I agree with you that branding is a very significant part of setting up a successful business. Isn’t affiliate marketing a better and easier option?
Hi Jerry,
The drop in Drop-Shipping is the delivery part from usually a Chinese supplier like Aliba or AliExpress.
I am in both industries, and in todays current climate, if I was just starting, I would go with Affiliate Marketing every time.
Covid has really made drop-shipping for newbies hard as it has blown out shipping times, something that doesn’t help build trust with customers that you haven’t yet built a relationship with.
Also when I first started it was easy to take a quick vacation/business trip to go and meet a few suppliers once I had done all the research and initial introductions. Very hard to do that these days.
Mark