Sep 12, 2021
Starting with dropshipping? Follow this complete step-by-step plan!
It’s the first steps to a successful dropship business. I also followed these steps and had great success. Now it’s your turn!
You might want to start dropshipping but you don’t know how to get started yet.
To be able to start dropshipping, it is important that you gain information on the subject and it is useful to make a step-by-step plan to have a clear view on how you are going to start.
I have already made a step-by-step plan for you in this article. By following these 5 steps you will create a good start for your dropshipping business. First, I would like to briefly explain what dropshipping actually entails.
What is dropshipping?
To start dropshipping, it is first of all useful to know what the business model is. To briefly explain dropshipping, it actually works as follows.
Dropshipping is a form of e-commerce. As a dropshipper you have your own webshop where you offer products. As a dropshipper you can also choose to sell your products through a platform such as Bol.com.
When a visitor places an order at your webshop or via the platform, you receive the order.
You will send this order directly to your supplier who has the products in stock at your webshop or on the platform.
When the order is received by the supplier, the supplier sends the product directly to the consumer.
So as a dropshipper you never have your own stock and you never get to see the products when the order is sent from the supplier.
The dropshipper runs an online shop where he/she does not have his/her own stock. This saves a lot of cost and effort like packing and shipping the products.
The step-by-step plan to start dropshipping
It is important that you follow all the steps. If you skip one step, especially the first one, it will not work. So read it carefully and take notes. I am an experienced dropshipper. I have been doing this successfully for 2 years now.
Choose a niche
When starting out as a dropshipper, the most important thing is to think about a niche you want to be in first.
Choose a niche that you like and find interesting. Also make sure you have some feeling for the niche and know a bit about it. This will make the rest easier and more fun.
Then choose products from that niche that you want to sell through your webshop or through a platform.
Do research
The second step is to do research on the chosen niche and the chosen products.
Ask yourself the following questions. Who are my competitors? Are the products selling well at another dropshipper? How will you distinguish yourself from your competitors? Who is your target group? And what are the characteristics of your target group?
By answering these questions through research, you can design your webshop accordingly.
When you know that the products you want to sell are also sold in other webshops, you know that it is a good product, because it has been proven that it sells!
Then it is important that you distinguish yourself from your competitors. You can do this by building up a brand name, providing more service or by other possibilities.
Find suppliers for your products
You have now chosen a niche, chosen products and done research. Now you can look for suppliers who offer the products you have in mind.
You can of course look on Aliibaba or Aliexpress, but there are also Dutch suppliers you can approach. It all depends on your product. Especially the cheaper products are best bought from China.
Look for a supplier of which you consider the chance of bankruptcy to be small and who offers good quality products. Also check whether the company has a good reputation and look for any reviews.
It is also wise to ask the supplier if they have experience with dropshipping, for example.
Also make agreements on what to do if a package is broken on the way. Who takes care of those costs?
Also discuss the service that will be provided by the supplier. Think about the delivery time and the quality of the packaging.
Create a webshop
By building your own webshop, you are building a brand, as it were. This is a strategy that is aimed at the long term.
You create real added value with it, which means that your shop will only grow in the long run.
In addition, with your own shop you have freedom. When you sell through a platform, you are bound by rules, you would have to give a percentage and you are dependent on the conditions and design of the website.
You can easily create a webshop with Shopify, CCV-shop or Lightspeed.
Use good quality photos and a good description of your products in your webshop. This will radiate authority and the customer likes it too. If this is unique, you will also score better in Google with your webshop.
In addition, the design of your shop is also of great importance. Make sure you have a professional design and possibly look at a proven good working web shop. Then you know that certain designs work.
Start promoting your products
Once the web shop is up and running, there is little more you need to do.
You can now focus your full attention on marketing/promoting your products.
You can start by writing blogs about your products. Find good keywords through keyword research and start blogging.
Blogging will ensure that your website will be found well in the search engine. The more keywords you blog about, the more your website will be found.
Remember, generating sales starts with generating visitors.
You can also introduce your brand on Instagram and/or Facebook. Here you can make product videos and post content to generate followers. These followers will then be led to your webshop.
You can also choose to run advertisements. As a dropshipper you can advertise relatively cheaply on Instagram and Facebook. Here you can accelerate the growth of your webshop and generate more paying customers.
However, it does cost money to advertise through these channels, but as long as the ROI (return on investment) is positive then it is definitely worth it.
Start your own dropshipping business today!
In this article I have explained how you can start dropshipping.
However, by following this roadmap you will still have to figure out a few things yourself. Don’t you want to find out everything yourself and be professionally guided by one of the best dropshippers?
Then look for courses or people who offer a course. I also had a mentor to achieve success. They know what to do. I don’t have to imitate their elders.
I hope I have inspired you to start dropshipping. Of course, it is not a certainty that you will become successful with it. That’s okay, because dropshipping doesn’t work for everyone. It is important that you try, but if it does not work out, try again or try something else.
You are not going to work your whole life, are you?
