Drop shipping is a type of online business where one acts as
a middle-man and instead of keeping goods in stock; he transfers customer
orders and shipment details to a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer. In this
case, he just links them and gets paid for the link created depending on the
agreement with the stock owner.
In clearer terms, you get paid for getting people buy a
manufacturer, retailer or wholesaler’s goods. In this article, we would be
discussing how to get started with drop shipping and run it on autopilot (i.e.
without always connecting people to a seller all the time).
check out: top businesses you can start online today
HOW DOES DROP SHIPPING WORK?
To explain how drop shipping works, we would do so by
listing some of its advantages.
Advantages of drop shipping
Involves less capital: This is because you don’t
need to get the stock yourself. You just need a way of finding people who want
a product and link them with a supplier. Cost of purchasing the goods, cost of
packaging products, shipping, having a store and a shop are not involved in
this business.
All you just need is a website where you can list the inventory
of the supplier and a way of advertising your store to people through several
advertising platforms like Facebook, twitter, adwords, Instagram, etc. You can
also engage in offline advertisements to make your store visible.
Low overhead cost: because you don’t need to
stock the goods yourself, the overhead cost is low. With as low as $100
dollars, you are good to go into this business and make thousands of dollars
monthly. You don’t even need an office as this business can be done from the
comfort of your home.
Wide selection of products: because you don’t need
to buy the goods, you can claim you have a wide range of goods and get them
listed on your website and then, advertise all of them. You can also list goods
from different suppliers at the same time and this is the beauty of this
business.
Easy to start: this business can be started in
less than one hour from the comfort of your home with just a laptop, internet
connectivity and a functional credit card. Scared because I mentioned credit
card? Don’t be dear……. You don’t need it at the moment. Some of these websites
allow trial periods.
Convenience: I mentioned earlier that this business can be
done from anywhere provided you have an internet connection. This is the
convenience enjoyed by drop shippers. Also, with advancements in technology so
many processes can be automated and you don’t have to be checking them out all
the time.
HOW TO START DROP SHIPPING TODAY
In this section, I will be exposing a
method that I have been using over the years to pull thousands of dollars on
autopilot. That is, I setup the store and it runs on its own. My profit is
immediately updated as soon as someone buys from my store; the shipping process
starts automatically, etc.
Using Shopify platform with Printify app
Some of you might be new to Shopify and so,
I will give a brief overview of what it is and then, continue with the process.
Shopify is a Canadian online store that develops
online applications for online stores, etc. In clear terms, shopify is a place
where you can come and setup your online drop shipping website and list
products from online stores (these stores are also on shopify).
To get started, follow the following
procedures:
>> Go to shopify.com and click on get
started at the top right corner of the page.
>> You will be given a 14-day trial
period and during this period, you can get the most out of shopify and if you
wish to continue, do well to purchase a plan and make drop shipping your business.
>> Fill the form that appears and
click on create your store. The image below shows the form.
>> Fill the forms that appear based
on your preferences until you see a screen similar to the one below;
>> From here, you can add a customized
domain to add more credibility to your brand. You might do this when you have
upgraded to a plan of your choice.
>> For the purpose of this article,
we would go straight to the part that makes the whole thing automated. Click on
the “APPS” tab on the left sidebar.
>> Select the “Visit shopify app
store” button on the page that appears.
>> On the web page that appears,
search for “PRINTIFY” and click on “GET”. Then, click on install app on the web
page that appears. Then, because you are starting a new site, click on “CREATE
NEW” to create a new printify account. See the picture below for the said
interface;
>> The account will be created and
you will be redirected back to your shopify dashboard. There, you can set up
your store and sell the products that printify have in stock. Click on add
products and you will see their products.
Currently, they have products like T-shirts,
skirts, Mugs, phone cases, hats, dresses, beach blankets, etc. Select any of
the products and follow the simple procedure to get it listed on your store.
You can add multiple products to your store and make them look nice.
On printify, you are allowed to upload a
picture or clip art that you would like to get printed on your products on
production. When someone orders for a product, printify immediately begins
processing of the order and upon completion, the system sends you your own share
of the money.
Follow the prompt and setup your store. You
can also view your store, write blog posts, etc. on your store so as to make
the store lively and get visitors engaged.
HOW DO I GET VISITORS TO MY STORE AFTER SETTING IT UP?
This is the major thing in this business
because if you setup your store and have no visitors, then it is useless. It is
worth noting at this point that your visitors should be targeted visitors in
order to increase the conversion rate (i.e. the possibility of getting your
products bought).
Having said this, let us discuss the
different ways of getting targeted visitors. They are:
Facebook: having over 1.86 billion active monthly
users, Facebook has grown to be a very good site to advertise and get targeted
audience. With a mastery of Facebook advertising, you can get so many visitors
who are interested in your business with a little amount of money.
You can also buy Facebook pages and groups
where you can post links to your store and advertise your products free of
charge.
Adwords: This is an advertising platform
owned by Google and when you make use of this platform; your adverts get
displayed on blogs that make use of AdSense and on Google search result page.
Get acquainted with Google adwords and get your business known.
Twitter ads: Twitter also has an
advertising option and you might also want to make use of their platform.
Other ways of advertising your store
include:
- Advertise on blogs and websites with high traffic.
- Submit your store to various search engines and get them displayed on search result pages.
- Carryout offline advertisement, on radio and TV stations and get more visitors to your store.
Conclusion:
Wow Wow, what a great content you got here. And Thank you for shearing... You're one of the few people that can shear such information for free.
ReplyDeleteBut please , you didn't address one very important thing, which is;
How do you receive your earnings right here in Nigeria?
Since we can't use Paypal and others like 2Checkout is almost a no go area.
Oh yeah, watch out for my next part in that sir. Thanks for pointing it out.
DeleteThanks for the heart-warming comment and I hope the content was helpful
Apeh, have you been able to come up with such post?
DeleteHello sir, Our newest Post addresses this issue. Check out our new post and see the available ways
Delete