Swag Store | Your Guide to Starting a Dropshipping Business | Marketing Merchandise

One of the best ways to enter entrepreneurship is through a dropshipping business, as it offers a significant amount of convenience without worrying about stocking up on inventory. With this business model, you have the freedom to market merchandise the way you want it.

Through the dropshipping paradigm, get to sell your items to your clients and set the prices that will give you some profits. This way, you can also have the freedom of marketing your brand without paying for items that haven’t been sold yet. Another advantage of the model is that you do not have to take care of the shipping because the supplier directly ships the product to your clients. With this, you are not responsible for packaging it as well.

How Dropshipping Works

When you make use of the dropshipping model, there are three essential components to make it work. These are the retailer, who is the business owner; the customer; and the manufacturer. All these key players are critical to the success of a dropshipping business.

The retailer is the one responsible for selling the products made by the manufacturer. They would market these products on their website using their brand, and they would also be the ones to set the product’s prices.

The customer buys the product from you, the retailer, and if they have product-related concerns, they will reach out to you. Meanwhile, the manufacturer is creating products and carries the inventories, is also responsible for shipping the items to your clients on your behalf.

The dropshipping method does not give many risks to the entrepreneur as they are not the ones doing the manufacturing and the shipping of the products, and they also do not have to pay for unsold items. It is a perfect model for beginners because you can do it in your spare time and on your own. The entrepreneur does not have a warehouse, and the products are not sent to him. He markets the items and the buyer receives the products straight from the manufacturer or supplier.

Steps Involved in Setting Up a Dropshipping Business

First of all, the main thing is to come up with the best idea for your business. Find time to do your project research and know what’s trending and in high demand. For this, you can check out Google Trends or Orbelo, or you can try using Ubersuggest, Keyword Tool.

Once you have decided on a product, know your competitors and then find the right supplier. Have a minimum of five potential suppliers, start contacting them, and get answers to your relevant questions like their minimum order requirement, costs involved, etc.

Then it’s time to create your online store. Use a broad domain name using a “.com” and something that would help in marketing merchandise. If you are on Shopify or Wix, choose a theme for your online store and start marketing your store on different platforms like social media, paid search, email, etc. Lastly, optimize your website and streamline your operations to assess how your online traffic is doing through Google Search Analytics.