Selling is the main objective of anyone who, like you, has, or is going to open, an Internet business. However, there are effective alternatives to achieve it with the least effort. One of them is dropshipping. Do you want to know how to give the necessary boost to your online store?

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a method that allows you to not have a warehouse full of products, spend money handling them and have a team of professionals who are in charge of the process of taking the product, packaging it and shipping it. You just have to buy the requested product from a third party, who will send it. By adopting this system you will be able to save costs, not risk your money and be able to start a business of this type with a minimal investment.

What do you need to apply this method to your online store?

Contact one of the dropshipping providers that offer their services on the Internet. Remember that the offer is wide and that it doesn't hurt to find a market niche or one to exploit, something almost impossible, or very specific and in high demand. Remember that given the low cost of this proposal, you will be able to open several specialized stores as the market changes.

Essential aspects before opening your store

Before knowing what the steps of the detailed process are within the platform, you need to take into account the following factors:

• Start by analyzing the sector of your interest and finding the most suitable niche for you. It is always positive to acquire some knowledge about it to choose the best alternatives within the niche you choose.
• Analyze all the keywords related to the chosen sector, take note of all the synonyms, expressions, idioms and possible questions that any potential customer may ask to find your store.
• Conduct a market study checking that what you are going to sell has a price that allows you to obtain profits in the period you decide.

Advantages of dropshipping.

These types of methodologies provide you with some advantages when creating your online store, such as:

• Reduce costs: You do not need to have a warehouse, therefore storage costs do not exist, since the suppliers are the ones who directly send the product to the customer. In addition, this allows for a high rotation of products and means that you do not have stock of products that are not sold correctly.
• Product availability: Conventionally, ecommerce stores need to receive products to put them for sale on their website. Dropshipping allows you to publish the item directly, since the shipment will occur directly to the customer.
• Extensive catalog, without risks: Dropshipping allows you to offer a catalog of very diverse products, in this way your online store can increase its sales, since you only have to publish the products on your website and the suppliers take care of the rest, without physically have any product. Furthermore, if any product in the catalog is not successful, the risk for the seller is zero, since the inventory of this product is managed directly by the supplier.
• Elimination of the logistics part of your business: You will be able to completely stop worrying about the shipping part of the products: preparation, labeling, shipping... All of this is carried out by the dropshipper who is the one who has to take care of this task. This will allow you to dedicate your time to other activities to improve your ecommerce.

Disadvantages of dropshipping.

Not everything was going to be advantages, below we will also tell you some disadvantages of dropshipping.

• Lower profit margin: You will have profits, but they will be lower than if you buy and later sell the product. Your profit will be closely linked to market demand, since if you are in a very competitive market and you have to lower prices to sell your product, what you will decrease is your profit margin.
• Loss of the logistical part: As we have seen, this has its good part, but we also have to talk about the bad part of the loss of control of this step. Any incident that occurs with a shipment will be your fault for the customer. Furthermore, if you have different suppliers, orders may arrive in different phases or customers may have to pay different shipping costs for each order and this can always be an impediment when making the purchase.

How can you dropship on Shopify?

There are several steps to follow to turn your new store into a commercial success. We discuss them all in the following list.

1. Sign up.
   Open an account on Shopify. During registration you will have to add the name of your store (what is stated in the previous section is essential to find a word that is easy to identify and recognize). Complete the corresponding form with the requested information. Wait for the confirmation email to arrive.

2. Start filling out your product catalog.

Add the products you are going to sell. You may find it more appropriate to start with the design, but it will be easier to do so with your operational catalog. Select the supplier you prefer and upload the products you want to sell.

Typically, tools like Oberlo, Modalyst or Spocket allow you to upload whatever you want easily. Select the sale price by calculating the profit you want to obtain. Check the platform's tools, since most are specialized in specific product groups, which will prevent you from having to search through, normally, a huge catalog of wholesalers.

3. Edit each tab.

No matter how much you choose a specific and successful niche, you will always have competition. To have more opportunities, you have to design an effective content marketing strategy. Describe each product, inform about its advantages and stand out for using language tailored to your clientele. Don't forget about labels to make it easier to find what you sell.

4. Design your store and configure the sales system.

Start by grouping the products into groups creating collections. This is when you should put the Data Driven philosophy into practice to use the data analysis of the corresponding niche to your advantage. Use all the techniques available so that each customer buys what they are looking for, but also knows that you have other complementary items for sale.

When it comes to design, choose between a free theme and a paid one (considering what you'll save, this option is the most appropriate). Choose the corporate colors and specify all the details as much as possible. We insist, there is a lot of competition and design can make a difference. Add photos, graphics and specific designs to create a personalized space that invites you to shop.

5. Don't forget to add pages to your store.

It is essential that the customer knows who you are on a specific page. It is also possible to add details such as a selection of the most frequently asked questions, contact information and even a blog where you can post content about the new products in your catalog. If you avoid falling into what others do, you will make your proposal the favorite of your potential clientele.

6. The importance of the menu.

Remember that you are going to receive traffic from search engine results or through your blog. Now, if one of your potential customers takes more than 15 seconds to find what they are looking for, they will leave your store. Therefore, you must include a search engine, a side menu and everything necessary to facilitate navigation and, especially, so that in two or three clicks anyone can buy a product.

7. The finishing touches.

Edit your preferences (they are related to the title of your store and its meta description). Choose a domain name (go for a word that is easy to remember and write) that will be the one you include in your store address. Remember that if you hire an external server, all the better to gain independence.

Shopify allows you, for about 10 euros, to buy a domain with the name of your store. Finish by specifying which payment methods you are going to accept (the more the better to give greater freedom to the clientele). After selecting the most suitable plan for you, all you have to do is start selling.

As you can see, taking advantage of tools like Shopify to start dropshipping does not require a large investment of money or time. This way, you can start selling any product as soon as possible and focus on developing a marketing strategy that will catapult you to success.

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