How to Start a Shopify Dropshipping Business?

Shopify dropshipping can make you $1,000 per day Three things are required:

  1. You can brand yourself in a niche that is popular.
  2. Shopify stores can be professionally designed and set up
  3. Create a marketing strategy

This guide will help you launch an online store that is successful, whether dropshipping is your side business or full-time.

Let’s make some money!

Let’s start with the basics. If dropshipping is something you are familiar with, then go directly to the steps to create an online shop on Shopify.

What’s dropshipping?

Dropshipping allows merchants to sell products directly from wholesalers or third-party suppliers.

Dropshipping has the advantage that merchants do not need to manage inventory or fulfill orders. This is done by third-party suppliers. Dropshippers are basically marketing managers. Their main job is to make an attractive, trustable online store and get customers.

What’s Shopify and how does it work for dropshipping?

Shopify, a subscription-based software, allows anyone to create an online shop in just a few steps. Shopify is used by over 1,000,000 businesses around the world and has gained the reputation as the most popular ecommerce platform.

Many people love Shopify because it is more than just a tool for creating dropshipping stores. Shopify also provides a wide range of services and apps that will help you manage your dropshipping company from A to Z. Shopify has played a major role in the growth of dropshipping.

Shopify allows dropshippers to:

  • Hosted online shop
  • Multiple templates
  • Shopify App Store offers thousands of apps to market your store
  • Payment integration
  • A powerful checkout system
  • Integration with Oberlo is an easy way to add products to your store.
  • 24/7 customer support
  • Ship with Shopify

What does it cost to dropship?

Dropshipping is an average business that will cost you $288.

Dropshipping costs include:

  • Shopify’s basic plan: $29
  • Oberlo Basic Package (platform to find products to sell): $29.90
  • Sampling: $100 (will differ depending on your niche)
  • Marketing: $100 (budget for paid ads)

If you want to grow your online shop, you will need to invest more. We have a detailed blog post on dropshipping that provides information and tips for saving money.

How to set up a Shopify dropshipping shop

Our step-by-step guide will show you how to create a Shopify dropshipping company. This concise guide is clear and straightforward. It covers everything you need to know from choosing your niche to getting your first customer.

These four steps are about setting up dropshipping and the five following guide you through the technical aspects of setting up your shop.

Pick your niche

You can use Shopify, or any other ecommerce platform to start your dropshipping shop. But first think about the products you will be selling.

Here are some tips to help you choose the right products to sell.

Consider what interests you.

It’s easier to market and brand your store if you love what you sell. A passion or strong interest can help you build a relationship with your customers and increase loyalty.

Find out if your products are in the trending.

It won’t suffice to have interest. To see if your products sell, use Amazon Best Sellers or Google Trends. In our article How to Find the Best Products For Your Shopify Dropshipping Store, we’ve explained how to analyze product trend. You can check it out!

Calculate your potential margins.

Once you have created a list of popular products you are interested in, you can go to AliExpress and see how much they cost. Compare their prices to those on Amazon or other marketplaces and figure out the difference. Add up your shipping and marketing costs to determine which products are most profitable.

Do you want a quick way to get there? Here’s a list of top-selling products online for 2021. Start branding the products that you love the most.

Define your target audience

Next, think about who your target audience is. Which people are most likely to purchase your products? You need to give your store personality, something that makes it stand out, no matter how often your product is used. If you are targeting everyone, all of this will be impossible.

You need buyer personas to represent your ideal customers. Below is an example of a buyer persona.

Your buyer personas will likely be based on your assumptions and some research. Consider what motivates people to buy your products, what their fears and challenges are, and how you can help them.

You’ll start to see the benefits of customer insights once you get your first sale. Add Google Analytics to your shop to collect behavioral and demographic data about your clients.

Consider branding

After you have identified your ideal customers, it is time to plan how you will brand your store. Dropshippers often skip this step and open another generic store. This is a big mistake if your goal is to make money.

Shopify dropshipping has a low entry barrier, so multiple dropshippers can sell the exact same products you are selling. You must create a unique angle to attract customers.

Reconnect with your buyer personas.

What brand type would appeal to your ideal customer? What topics and moods would they be interested in? What image do they see of themselves? Your Shopify brand name, logo and social media content should reflect your target audience’s aspirations.

Select the name of your store

This is the right time to give your dropshipping shop a name. By default, Shopify provides such a name template for all new stores: your-store-name.myshopify.com. To make your store look more professional, we recommend that you remove the “myshopify” part and instead create a custom domain.

Shopify offers a free business generator, which you can use for creating your store name and checking domain availability.

These are some key points to consider when creating a store name.

  • You should try to get.com. People are more likely to type it into their browsers.
  • Keep it short
  • Use your main keywords
  • It should be simple to spell

A tool called Namechk is also recommended. It will allow you to see quickly if your desired name is available on any social media platforms.

If your store name isn’t perfect but you have a great idea, try adding “social” to your handle. So that your customers can find you easily, try to have a consistent name on all platforms.

Let’s now get into the technical side of opening a Shopify dropshipping shop.

Create Shopify accounts

You don’t have to decide which Shopify plan to use right away if you aren’t sure. Start a 14-day trial to get started setting up your shop.

After you have completed the information in the above image, Shopify will ask you some more questions. For example, what industry are you in and do you have any products you want to sell? Shopify will use your answers to help guide you through the creation and operation of your store.

The dashboard of your store will be displayed. This is how it looks like:

To get your store up and running, here are three things you need to do:

  1. Add product
  2. You can customize your theme
  3. Add domain

Let’s now quickly cover the third in the next section.

Create a custom domain

As we’ve discussed before, your default store name will look like this: your-store-name.myshopify.com. It’s not bad but it will make you look more professional.

You have two options to buy a domain through Shopify or add third-party domain names. You can also connect existing domains.

Create your Shopify store

Next, give your store a unique look that sets you apart from the rest.

Shopify offers more 100 paid and free themes. To find the right fit for you, you can search them by industry. You can also customize each theme to suit your needs. You can add or delete blocks of content. You can further fine-tune your store if you are proficient in coding.

Tips for designing your Shopify dropshipping store:

  • High-quality images

Even if you have cool images from your supplier, remember that dropshippers also have them. If you want to be different, get samples of the products that you plan to sell and arrange a photoshoot.

You can also find great stock images on websites like Unsplash, Pixabay or Pexels if you need photos for setting the mood in your store.

  • Less is more .

Your potential customers will be more inclined to purchase from you if there are fewer distractions in your store. Avoid having too many pop-ups in your store.

  • Use social proof

You should plan a place that includes customer reviews and user-generated content. If others are happy with their purchases, people will trust you more.

You will also need to design a logo that you can use for your store. You can create a logo for your store using Hatchful, an online Logo Maker from Oberlo.

Add products

There are many ways to add products to your Shopify dropshipping shop:

  1. Export your product catalogue to a CSV file.
  2. Bulk Upload your Items
  3. Upload each product one at a time.
  4. Oberlo can connect to your Shopify account. Dropshippers will love Oberlo’s platform, which makes it easy to search for products and add them to their stores.

You can also find our complete list of dropshipping suppliers if you still haven’t found them.

Your products will need to be described. Pay more attention. Think about the aspirations of your ideal customer. Your product title should be short and compelling enough to get people to click it. Also, your description should focus on the benefits of your product, not on its features.

Select your shipping and payment options

You will need to provide some additional technical information. Your:

  • Shipping settings. There are three options: 1. Offer flat-rate shipping. 2. Offer free shipping (you’ll add your shipping cost to your product price). 3. Charge additional shipping costs. Shopify’s Shipping will assist you in calculating your shipping costs. It can also be used to fulfill orders.
  • Payment settings. Shopify Payments is our recommendation. It’s already in your account. All you have to do is turn it on.
  • Store policies. You will also need to include policies regarding refunds, terms of service, shipping, and other matters. Shopify’s privacy policy generator allows you to create store policies.

You are almost ready to go!

9. Shopify’s App Store allows you to add apps

Shopify offers thousands of apps to help dropshippers manage their businesses. The Shopify App Shop has everything you need to run automated ads, find products to sell, and fix SEO mistakes.

We recommend adding apps for:

  • Paid ad automation

To get traffic to your Shopify store, you’ll need to invest in paid ads. To run targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram, you can add sixads. Uploading anything is not necessary – you can simply approve customized ad texts and visuals. Sixads will stop showing corresponding ads if a product in your store is sold out.

  • Product reviews

To collect real reviews for your online shop, send automated review requests to customers. Loox is one of the best review apps. Loox allows you to display customer reviews and their photos.

  • Livechat

A good customer experience is key. Tidio offers a live chat application that allows you to reply instantly to your customers’ questions. This allows you to answer customers’ questions immediately and prevents them from leaving your store.

How do you get your first customers

It’s not difficult to create a Shopify dropshipping shop. It can be difficult to get shoppers to visit your new store, especially if it isn’t your first time marketing. Don’t worry! We have all the resources that you need to help you find the best sales channels.

A Dropshipping Marketing Guide has been created to help you reach your customers even though you may be in a saturated niche.

Add sixads to your store to run automated ads on Facebook and Instagram. Even if you have never run an advertisement before, our app makes it easy to set up ads. Targeted shoppers will be able to find you and your product.

FAQ

What’s dropshipping?

Dropshipping allows online stores to fulfill orders without having to manage inventory. After a sale, third-party suppliers (or wholesalers), send products directly to customers. Dropshoppers manage marketing to draw shoppers.

Is Shopify dropshipping allowed?

Dropshipping with Shopify is legal. Before you do business with your suppliers, ensure that they are reliable. You could end up in trouble if your suppliers use intellectual property belonging to someone else.

Is dropshipping worth it?

Dropshipping can be a full-time income stream that pays all your bills. It also gives you the opportunity to enter the world of ecommerce and be your own boss. Selling products that are related to your interests or passions can help you fulfill your lifelong dream to make money. Dropshipping is definitely worth the effort. Dropshipping is a viable option, but it’s not an easy way to get rich quick.

Dropshipping through Shopify:

You must first choose your dropshipping niche. Next, define your target market. Next, you need to work on branding. Create your store’s name, logo, and position yourself. Start adding products to your Shopify account. Start advertising your products and launch your shop.

Dropshipping lessons:

You can begin Dropshipping in 24 to 48 hours. I have done about ten hours of work before my website is launched.

Take A / B tests. Make sure to test your product selections, advertising efforts, and marketing strategies until you are satisfied with your science. I will continue to refine my second promotional campaign.

Do not stop planning. It is possible to spend months researching dropship product options, but it won’t result in sales. Prepare and plan, but don’t be afraid to pull out the trigger.

Use coupons. You will have a huge profit margin, so don’t be afraid to use an Instagram or Facebook coupon. I have a 5% discount, but it’s possible to get a higher price.

Dropshipping is possible with high returns.

Many success stories have been shared by the most successful people in this industry.

Peter Koch, from Seller At Heart Website, has many articles on how to create an Amazon business by buying Alibaba products. These are his own insights, experiences and results.

This isn’t a dropshipping model, but it is very similar and I recommend reading the series.

Retail arbitrage can be a viable business model if you are able to do product research, find trustworthy sellers, and promote your target market efficiently.

Is it difficult to start a dropshipping business?

This is the second edit of a post I made on 7/3/2018. It contains my thoughts about dropshipping and whether or not this side trick is viable.

It works with dropshipping.

Dropshipping companies can be started with very little startup cost. You can scale your business by using social media, SEO, and paid advertising to increase sales.

How can I find out?

There are many success stories. I also saw a lot companies advertising their clearly Instagram AliExpress-sourced products for months. This is because they know they have big businesses out there that spend a lot advertising . If they aren’t profitable, they don’t get as much advertising months.

It’s difficult to start a dropshipping business.

Now, I realize that I was too greedy for Buy Hunting Gear at my first store launch.

Dropship space is limited and there are many niches that offer dropships. These products have easy 100% margins.

If I had the chance to dropship, I would have surely reduced my margins on all my items in my shop in order to keep my prices competitive.

There were dozens of people adding their products to my cart, but I only had one person. I underestimate the competitiveness of the market and how willing people are to compare prices.

You have many great lessons to learn when starting your online store. Dropshipping companies can also help you make money.

You will need to dedicate a lot of time and effort to the pilot for many months (even if your size isn’t important).

Dropshipping is my main focus right now. I don’t have an extra hour or two in the day. This is why I put this store online.

I felt that I owed everyone an explanation as to why the money-making experiment was stopped.

When I open a dropshipping company, I hope to crack another one!

Dropshipping is ethical?

This question came to me after I made my first sale.

The arbitration principle applies to all retail business models. If they didn’t, no business could survive.

Even if your margin is between 100 and 200 percent, it’s not wrong for a “middleman”, to mark up your products.

However, transparency regarding consumers is something I believe must be maintained.

In my product descriptions, I include my brand names in Buy Hunting Gear.

Although I won’t make it obvious that the products were made in China, you should look at the brand name of the product before you purchase.

In my about and shipping sections, I provide additional information that explains how to give feedback and what shipping times can be expected.

Dropshipping can be a legitimate model for business. Dropshipping is a legitimate business model, provided you’re honest and offer high-quality customer services.

I hope you find this article helpful and informative.

Dropshipping is something I am just starting, but it will be a part of The Content of This Online World if the experiment works.

If you are interested in learning more about money-making projects that I have started, I suggest you check out my phone farm guide.

Shopify is also a great choice if you are looking to start a dropshipping company.

We appreciate your time! All the best with your adventures!