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).
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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:
