On paper, dropshipping seems like a simple way to make a living. All you have to do is set up your dropshipping store, advertise the products, and wait for the orders to start coming in, right?
Not quite. The dropshipping business is very competitive, so this strategy might work, but it’s more likely that you’ll only make low to average sales. Which makes you wonder what you need to do to boost your dropshipping sales and make some good money.
We knew you’d ask, so in this guide, we tell you everything you need to know to make more money with dropshipping and what to expect when your store is finally up and running.
Come with me and let’s look around.
How Long Does It Take to Get Dropshipping Sales?
In reality, there is no set time frame. You could start making sales in your first week or after a month or more. It depends on how well you promote your dropshipping store and how well the products you sell go over with your customers.
Still, as long as you work hard to get people to visit and shop at your online store, you will make sales.
How Do I Increase Drop Shipping Sales in My Store?
Most of the time, keeping a steady flow of sales from dropshipping takes work; there is no silver bullet. To get customers and keep them coming back to your dropshipping store, you’ll probably have to work on a number of things.
So, let’s talk about some things you could do to get your sales going in the right direction.
Market Your Dropshipping Store
Marketing lets people know about your online dropshipping store and tells them about the products you sell. Your marketing strategy should also try to get people interested enough in your dropshipping store to visit it.
To reach all of these goals, you would need to study your target market and pick a marketing strategy that will help you reach them. Since dropshipping is mostly done online, digital marketing is the best way to go.
Consider:
Putting the power of social media to good use– Millions of people use Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Try to get your products known on these platforms and set up a presence there. Also think about using influencers and tools like Facebook ads.
Using targeted ads–targeted ads are shown to users based on their demographics and what they’ve been looking at on their browser. Since they are more relevant, they may have a better chance of getting people to come to your store.
Using retargeting options–a targeted ad could bring customers to your site, but they might not buy anything. Retargeting ads or emails might get them to come back to your store and buy something.
Consider the Price Factor
Pricing is a key part of any transaction between a buyer and a seller. Getting it right also often requires a careful act of balancing. Try to make sure, though, that the prices you set:
Are appealing to your customers, which means that they find a good balance between cost and value.
Make you a fair amount of money.
Are competitive compared to those of other dropshippers in your product niche
Also, sometimes you can use price to get people to buy by giving discounts. Most customers are drawn in by deals like these, and they may even be tempted to buy more items than they normally would.
Make Shopping Easy For Your Customers
Dropshippers often complain that even though their online stores get a lot of traffic, they only make a few sales. This is known as low conversions or failure to convert.
A poorly designed online store is one reason why people don’t buy from you. If it’s hard for people to look around your store, they’ll probably give up before buying anything.
Because of this, it’s best to make your online store easy to use so that customers can shop with ease.
Some things to aim for could be:
A website that is easy to use and loads quickly
A platform for an online store that can be used on both mobile and desktop devices
A design that is easy to use.
Simple ways to “add to cart” and pay
Multiple secure payment options
List the Right Products
People are more likely to buy from your dropshipping store if you sell things they want and need. To do this, take the time to do research on your products and find out more about what your customers like.
It would be just as smart to ask for and act on customer feedback. After all, the consumer knows what they want and need better than anyone else. Also, putting customer requests into action makes them feel heard and appreciated.
Try to keep up with what products are popular on the market. Most of the time, they are in high demand because they are popular or needed at the time.
Keep an eye out for trends in products when:
During the winter, coats, mittens, and scarves may be popular, but during the summer, sunglasses and beach towels are often what people want to wear.
From Alexa to hoverboards, new products that offer advanced solutions are often popular and in high demand. You just need to find out what new products in your niche meet this criterion.
The holidays that happen every year are coming up. Easter eggs, Halloween costumes, gift boxes, and wrapping paper are all examples of things that are popular during holidays because they are tied to traditions.
The most important thing to take away from this is that your product listings should always be new, varied, and in line with changes in the market.
Cross-sell and Up-sell
People often mix up cross-selling and up-selling, but they are two different things. The one thing they have in common, though, is that they can both help you get the high sales you’ve been hoping for.
Cross-selling is when you offer customers products that go well together. For instance, if a customer orders a phone, your online store could suggest different designs of phone cases to go with it.
Since the customer probably needs the phone case, they would probably add it to their order. If you do this, you’ll make more money than if you just let them buy the phone.
Cross-selling can be done on your online store by putting together a list of relevant product suggestions. You could also put together packages of products that go well together and sell them to customers.
Cross-selling and up-selling
Up-selling, on the other hand, means getting customers to choose a more expensive product so that you can make more money.
Take the fact that you sell car seats for babies as an example. If a customer clicks to see a cheap model, you could show them a better “best seller” option instead. The goal is just to get the buyer to spend a little more than they had planned.
Use High-Resolution Product Images or Video
Customers can only tell what your products are like by looking at the pictures and videos of them on your online store. So, it’s best to make sure the pictures you share look good and are clear enough for the customer to see every detail.
It might seem easy to borrow images from suppliers, but those images are often blurry and might not meet the quality standards of your store. If you can, you might want to order product samples and do your own photoshoot.
Create Product Descriptions and Content
Your online store should have a product description for each item or group of items that are similar. Details about the product’s size, weight, and color options should be included in the description.
Here, the goal is to give customers as much information as possible so they can make a good choice.
Blog posts and videos that show how to do something are both reliable ways to increase sales. When a customer can read or watch about a product and see what it can do for them, it may make them more likely to buy it.
Putting keywords in this kind of content could also help your store’s SEO ranking and bring more people to it. Remember that your chances of making a sale go up the more people visit your store. So, having good SEO content would definitely help you.
Display Customer Reviews and Ratings
Trust is very important for online shopping. Customers have to pay and have faith that you’ll give them what you said you would. But because of how common online scams are, it’s easy to see why first-time shoppers might be hesitant to give you their orders.
Putting reviews and ratings from customers on your dropship store’s site could help other people feel more comfortable doing business with you. Even if they don’t trust your brand yet, they might if they see that other customers have had good experiences with you.
Also, reading about the orders of other customers and how much they liked the products they got could cause FOMO and make potential customers want to buy something.
Offer Vouchers and Coupons
Vouchers and coupons are a good way to get more customers and make money. When a customer can buy a voucher or coupon for a friend or a company can give them to its employees, your customer base grows beyond your target market.
Vouchers are also popular gifts because they take away the stress of having to pick out a specific item for a loved one. If they are popular, you could make a lot of money during the holidays.
Offer Loyalty Bonuses or Discounts
Customers are more likely to keep coming back to your store if you give them discounts or loyalty bonuses. This is important because customers who buy from you again help you keep a steady flow of sales and income.
Loyalty rewards also show customers that you care about them and don’t just see them as another sale. A relationship like this could be strong enough to make customers want to tell their friends and family about your store.
Pay Attention to Shipping
Shipping costs are a big reason why sales don’t go through. Studies have shown that most customers are usually willing to shop and pay a lot for goods. But if the shipping costs are too high, they will probably abandon their carts.
Because of this, it’s important that you choose dropshipping suppliers that offer shipping options that won’t break the bank. A lot of sellers on AliExpress, for example, ship for free.
Shipping times
You could also try to negotiate lower shipping costs with your preferred supplier before you start sharing orders with them.
Shipping that is safe, fast, and reliable is very important, even if it costs more.
Companies like Amazon have set very high goals, like delivering the next day. If a customer orders something from your store and has to wait a month to get it, they may go to a competitor whose delivery times are shorter.
Prioritize Customer Service
Good customer service is one of the best ways to make sure people buy from your store and keep coming back. Try to help people as much as you can and be patient with them. You can also learn how to improve your service by being open to feedback.
So, how good is your customer service on a scale of 1 to 10? Here are some pulse check questions you could use to evaluate your efforts.
Do you quickly answer customer requests?
Do you talk to people in a nice way and offer good ideas?
Do you accept returns and give money back? Is it written in a way that customers can easily see it and understand it?
Do you protect the privacy of your customers’ information?
Should I Monitor Sales in My Dropshipping Store?
Yes, keeping track of sales would let you know if the ways you are trying to boost sales in your dropshipping store are working or not.
Sales data can also help you figure out what your customers like and how they behave. You could easily find out what they like to buy and when they like to shop. This information could help them get what they need better.
Even better, you don’t need to do it by hand. There are trustworthy dropshipping apps that you could use to take care of this job.
In conclusion
Increasing sales through dropshipping is about more than just making more money. It is also a way to solidify your place in the market and prepare your store for growth. The key is to keep trying and find ways to boost sales that work for your store.
