May 05, 2022
How to grow your dropshipping business.

Dropshipping is one of the simplest ways to make money online. You don’t have to manage inventory the same way a wholesaler would. So it’s pretty simple to earn a four-figure income with a dropshipping business.

But getting to six figures and beyond is a different ballgame.

Dropshipping is estimated to be worth $591 billion globally by 2027. So you need a recognizable, trusted dropshipping brand to establish yourself in a competitive market.

Most dropshippers begin small, but after some time, they must grow their dropshipping business to compete on a global scale with larger competitors.

Here are three tips that’ll help you grow your dropshipping business and compete with retail giants:

1. Invest in a High Converting Ecommerce Website

The success of a dropshipping business model depends on your ability to market and sell the best dropshipping products without storing them yourself.

That means the traditional brick-and-mortar business model is unsuitable for dropshipping. It only works if you have a great website to connect with dropshipping suppliers and customers.

Your online store helps you connect with dropshipping suppliers and customers.

The good news is that with so many ecommerce platforms to build your website, creating an online store is pretty simple.

Here’s what you need to build an ecommerce website:

A good ecommerce platform should make it easy to build your dropshipping store — from finding a domain name to installing marketing and sales plugins. It should also help you sell in multiple currencies and accept payments easily.

Make sure to include the following elements in your website:

Your dropshipping business will benefit significantly from digital marketing efforts like ecommerce email marketing. But it's only valuable if you have an online store you can direct potential customers who see your dropshipping ads to.

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2. Market Wisely

Driving traffic to your dropshipping store is critical to the growth and success of your online business. Most store owners work hard to create a perfect ecommerce store, only to launch it to an audience that has no idea it exists.

Start by figuring out the right traffic ecommerce channels for your website.

For example, there are 4.62 billion social media users globally. So having the right social media strategy will empower you to reach your target audience and boost your chances of having a successful dropshipping business.

While you shouldn’t market yourself on every online platform, a comprehensive marketing strategy will help grow your small business faster.

With that in mind, try out these three practical marketing tips:

  • Run TikTok or Facebook Ads that suit your marketing budget and goals to drive traffic to your ecommerce store and increase sales.
  • Leverage influencer marketing to grow your dropshipping business. Influencers usually have more sway over customer shopping decisions than any other channel. That’s why 54% of companies working with influencers have ecommerce stores.
  • Focus on content marketing to engage and educate customers about your products. 82% of companies actively invest in content marketing, so you don't want to be left behind. Concentrate on creating high-quality content to enhance customer experience and improve conversion rates.

3. Specialize in a Profitable Niche

Using a dropshipping business model isn’t straightforward. Most people think you simply add products to your online store, and customers flock to buy. But that’s not the case.

You should focus on a niche you're genuinely interested in since a non-focused product selection will likely be difficult to promote. If you aren’t committed to the niche you choose, you're more likely to fail since it takes a lot of hard work to grow an ecommerce business successfully.

Choosing a niche to sell in can make or break your dropshipping business. When scaling your business, consider avoiding these three types of products:

  • Low-profit margin products: Don't go after products everyone knows about since they come with fierce competition and low-profit margins. When pricing your dropshipping items, consider the product costs, shipping fees, possible refunds, and marketing and advertising expenses.
  • Restricted products: These products aren't illegal but have strict rules on selling them. They may also be legal in some areas but illegal in others, like cannabis. Such products may be appealing initially, especially if they have a high-profit margin and few people sell them. But selling these products can also limit your advertising and increase business risk due to their restrictive nature.
  • Copyrighted products: You're usually not allowed to sell these products unless authorized to do so — for example, t-shirts for a popular TV show.

Here are some pointers when selecting your niche:

  • Make sure people are interested and actively looking for your product. Use search engine optimization (SEO) tools such as Ahrefs to check common search terms related to your potential niche. If no one is looking for what you want to sell, you're out of luck before you even start.
  • Select a niche with higher-priced products since the amount of work required to sell a $10 item is typically the same as selling a $1,500 item.
  • Find a product that's inexpensive to ship. It will enable you to offer free shipping to your customers, absorb that cost as a business expense, and attract more sales.

Final Thoughts: How To Grow Your Dropshipping Business in 2024 and Beyond

Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or seasoned business owner, a dropshipping business is a low-cost, low-risk way to start selling online.

You can scale your dropshipping business to a whole new level with a highly optimized ecommerce website, effective marketing strategies, and reliable suppliers. But it takes time and effort, so you have to be patient and work hard.

To start with the right foot, build a dropshipping ecommerce website with Managed WooCommerce.

Maddy Osman
Maddy Osman

Maddy Osman is a WordPress expert, WordCamp US speaker, bestselling author, and the Founder and SEO Content Strategist at The Blogsmith. She has a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Iowa and is a WordCamp Denver organizer while also operating The Blogsmith, an SEO content agency for B2B tech companies that works with clients like HubSpot, Automattic, and Sprout Social. Learn more about The Blogsmith's process and get in touch to talk content strategy: www.TheBlogsmith.com

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