How to add products into a Dropshipping online store

In this post I will show you how to add products in a Dropshipping online store from AliExpress. I will also give you some tips to choose good suppliers and products, and how to edit and publish them to optimize your online store. This is the fourth and ...

If you have already read my article How to create an online store for Dropshipping, you are now in a position to follow the next step.

Adding products to your online store from AliEXpress is a fairly easy and almost automatic process, but it can become a monotonous and tedious task.
And like almost all things automatic, they are not very satisfactory.

My professional experience in this type of task has led me to the conclusion that it is necessary to define a routine and always respect it for all products.
In this way you make sure to maintain a graphic, aesthetic and conceptual coherence throughout the store, no matter how many sessions you do.
It happens many times that, after a while without publishing products in the store, we forget the criteria that we had used previously.

Step-by-step tips for publishing your products with AliDropship

Here is a basic routine to import and synchronize AliExpress products in your own online store.
The first three items are made from the AliExpress website, while the last two will be done within your WordPress store.

1. Choose a product

Register and log into your AliExpress account, always using the Chrome browser.
Use AliDropship's statistics tools to choose the most convenient product.

Before choosing a product, I suggest you follow the following tips:

 

  • Choose a supplier: Make sure that the supplier or manufacturer is reliable and has a good reputation, as it will become your allied partner.
  • Choose the best price: You will see several identical products from different suppliers with different prices. Use the Search tool.
  • Availability: Make sure that the product has a lot of availability in stock.
    You must think that this same product is available to thousands of customers around the world and can sell out quickly.
    I suggest you have a stock of more than 5000 units.
  • Delay time: Verify the established times for the delivery of the product to the customer.
  • Type of shipping: I recommend that you choose products with free shipping to the countries you sell, that will give you a greater profit margin and will be more convenient for the buyer.
aliexpress front

In the previous image you can see identical products, from different suppliers and with different prices.

 

Always take care of the institutional image

AliExpress is a mega platform for online sales of Chinese origin, but its aesthetic is really horrible.
It is full of advertising banners that distract the customer's attention and it has too much information that is not relevant to the product.

Many products of Chinese origin have a bad reputation in the rest of the world for their quality and originality, but there are also others that are really very good and their wholesale prices are excellent for resellers.
It is only a matter of choosing those products that you consider appropriate for resale, that they are not easy to find in local stores in your area, and that justify the wait in the delay of delivery.

tienda aliexpress

As you can see, the products shown here look "very Chinese", with all the bad reputation that this brings.
Even some images may have texts in Chinese or logos of the manufacturer, which you would like to remove.
The texts Descriptive statements are often very poorly written, poorly translated, and misspelled.

You probably do not want to publish products in your online store as they are presented in AliExpress, nor do you want your store to have an inappropriate aesthetic. So I advise you to take the time to edit the products before exporting them to your online store.

 

Download product images

Although you can publish the images as they are presented by the provider in AliExpress, I suggest you edit them beforehand with Photoshop.
AliExpress publishes millions of articles from different providers, and that means that there is no graphic and functional coherence in all products.

But it is highly advisable that your store maintain an aesthetic, logical and personalized criterion, which will give corporate identity and robustness to your brand and your business.
That is almost impossible to achieve when the content comes from so many different sources.
By That is why you must unify the graphic and textual criteria so that your products are displayed in your store as you wish, and not as AliExpress indicates.

In the following image you will see what the original product looks like on AliExpress (unedited)

Producto en aliexpress sin editar

Now we will see the same product already edited by the seller for his own online store.
As you can see, it has a cleaner and more organized design, adapting to the general aesthetics of the online store.

producto en tienda oline editado

The best way to edit a product is to get all the elements separately (photos, videos and texts).

I advise you to save them in a separate folder for each product on your computer and edit it according to your preferences.
Save all the images on your hard drive, both those in the gallery and those found in the product description.

carpeta de fotos en pc

Select the ones that you are going to publish on your website and edit them with Photoshop.
It is advisable that they all have the same size and resolution, to speed up the download in navigation, and control the design grid of your website.
Furthermore they will take up less space on your web server since providers tend to publish photos in large sizes which are unnecessary.
A square size of 700px at 72 dpi is optimal for displaying products on your website and on your social networks.
Always save them using the SAVE FOR WEB option to optimize their compression and facilitate online download.
I also suggest that you install an image optimization plugin for the web .
I use WP-Optimize which is free and gives excellent results.

The following image shows the same photos from the online store published on Instagram.

Perfil de instagram

Delete all the manufacturer's logos and texts in Chinese, and if you wish, translate also the ones you consider necessary.
Leave the images as clean as possible since these are the ones that will define the aesthetics and quality of your own website.
I also advise you to rename the files sequentially with the name of the product. This is very good for SEO.

For example: Pet Sling Bag 01.jpg; Pet Sling Bag 02.jpg; etc.

If you decide to publish the images directly from AliExpress, they do not take place on your server as they remain on the original site, but you will not be able to edit them later or use them for other publications on social networks.
You will not be able to optimize their size and file names for SEO either.
That is why I advise you to download and use them as you wish.

2. Edit the product

Once you have saved all the edited images, you must edit the textual contents of each product, to adapt it to your web store.
It is very important to define here how you want to display your product on your website.
Discard what is not you need the original publication and add all the information that you consider useful for your clients.

To edit a product on AliExpress you must click the EDIT button found in the gray AliDropship bar at the top of the page.
Never click on IMPORT since that makes the product be published as it is in your store, and it will be more difficult to edit it later.

barra edicion de producto

All edits can also be done later, editing the product in your own online store, although some are preferable to do from AliExpress.

Edit title

Clicking EDIT opens a new window where you can modify the product information.
The first thing you should do is choose an appropriate title, which is short and concise and contains the keywords for your search on Google.
It is important that you think in advance about the optimization of textual content and images to promote SEO.

If you want to know more about SEO, read my article How to improve SEO on your website.

In the example of the following photo, the original title is: "Pet Puppy Carrier S / L Outdoor Travel Dog Shoulder Bag Mesh Oxford Single Comfort Sling Handbag Tote Pouch"

editar titulo antes

As you can see, the title is very long and inconsistent and it is not in your best interest to keep it.

Let's change the title to "Pet Sling Bag". With 3 words we define the product.
It is important that this name is brief since it is the same that appears below the image in the general catalog of the website and in Google search engines.

produto en catalogo de tienda

That same title must be copied in the permanent link (permalink) and that will be part of the product's URL
We also define the categories to which the product applies, which we will analyze later.

editar titulo despues

Edit description

I recommend that each product have two descriptions: a short and a long one.

The short description is the one that appears below the title as a complement and is the one that is seen in Google searches, so it is important that it be brief and concise.
You should try to summarize in a single sentence the main characteristics of the product.
This description also invites the customer to continue reading the long description for more information.

visualizacion seo en google

Create relevant textual content

The long description is the one that appears in the body of the article and is the most important for your products.

A good description is the one that will distinguish your store from the competitions that offer the same product.
That is why I advise you to contain relevant information for your products.
This will also favor SEO and will make your products stand out in Google search results.
The long description should show technical data, modes of use, specifications, general characteristics, functionality, etc.
In addition, this description allows you to add complementary photos and videos that will make your product look more attractive to customers.

The original textual descriptions from AliExpress are usually very bad, but you can take them as a starting point to create a more adequate description.

Pay close attention to spelling, grammar, typos, punctuation, correct use of upper and lower case letters, etc.
It is important that you take care of the writing of these texts to provide as much information as possible to your customers.
This way you will avoid them asking you unnecessary questions that can delay the online purchase.

Do it strategically trying to include key phrases by which you would search that product in Google.
All those well-kept details give quality and credibility to your store, and separate it from the low quality of Chinese publications.

 

Do not include HTML code

In the editing screen there are three boxes: Remove text, Remove images and Remove packaging information, which allows you to control which elements to include.
I advise you not to include the images, but choose which ones to add later in the edition in your store.
If you decide to include the texts, you should know that you will be able to edit them right there or later in the edition of your store.
You can also delete them there and write them directly in your store, or as you wish.
If you prefer to edit them there, I advise you to select all the text and press the last button DELETE FORMAT .

We will return to this topic later in Complete the editing of the product section.

texto con formato html

This causes all the HTML code on the page to be deleted (headlines, bold, italics) and you can apply your own styles later on your website.

If you do not delete the format from here, it will be very difficult to do it later in your store if you do not have knowledge of HTML code editing.

The following image shows the result after deleting the style format of the texts.
Notice that the boldface has disappeared from the title and the spaces and line spacing would be deleted, if any.

Spaces between words, punctuation, bulleted texts, and the final description of the product remain to be corrected.
This can be done from here or later at complete product edition section.
I recommend doing it later since there you can also alternate the text with images and videos, and you will have a better idea of the final result.

texto sin formato html

Edit the photo gallery

The photo gallery is the main image that we see when entering the product page.
It can be viewed as a grid or as an image slider in your online store.

I suggest you remove ALL images from this section and upload them later to the Complete product edit section.

As I said before, if you decide to publish the images directly from AliExpress, they do not take place on your server, but you will not be able to edit them later or use them for other publications on social networks.
You will not be able to optimize the sizes and file names for it. SEO.

galeria de fotos en alidexpress

Edit prices and attributes

In this section you can apply the price formulas that you have previously established in the configuration of your web store.

You can also change the attributes of the items, if they have them.
Items with attributes are those that have different versions of the same product, either in color, size, size, origin, etc.

If you click the box APPLY TO ALL VARIATIONS, all variations of the product will have the same price. This is not advisable if your product has variations in size or design.
Therefore I suggest you not activate this option.

editar precios y atributos

These versions allow you to create an individual product for each attribute, and so the customer can choose the one he wants to buy and the prices are displayed automatically.

For example: Yellow bag, large size (L)

elegir productos con atribustos en tienda

It is very important that you take care of the details at this stage before importing the products to the store.
Some aspects of the publication CANNOT BE EDITED later in WordPress.
Once you have imported it, AliDropship will not allow you to edit or import them again from AliExpress, showing a message in the top bar.
This is to avoid duplicate products in your store.
For this reason, I advise you to make the main edits here, and correct only the details later in WordPress.

el producto ha sido importado

3. Add the product to the import list

Once the product is edited in AliExpress, you can now synchronize it with your online store.

There are two ways to do it:

  • Add to import list (Recommended): Save the product in draft mode for later editing and publication in your online store.
  • Publish: Publish the product directly as it is in your store and it is visible to the public. This option allows it to be edited later in your store and republished.

The only difference between both options is that the first does not show the product in the catalog until you finish editing it, while the second shows it as it is without the final edition.
That is why I recommend the first option .

agregar producto a lista de importacion
producto compartido en facebook

4. Complete product edition

Once the product is imported into your store, you can finally edit it and publish it.

You must log in to WordPress with your administrator account and look for the newly imported article in the Products panel.

If you have published it in IMPORT LIST mode, appears with a green label in the list that indicates that it is not yet published and is not visible to the public.

Click on EDIT and the product editing window will open.

producto en lista d eimportacion

The following image shows the product editing window.
All the elements you see here can be edited, as I mentioned before.
Here you will see the Title, the permanent link (URL), the featured image, the categories of products and short and long descriptions with added images, etc.

ventana de edicion de producto en tienda

Featured image

This image is very important since it is the one that will be seen in the general catalog of your store and in the Google search engine.

If you want to highlight your product and differentiate it from the rest of the sellers, I recommend you change this image to another from the gallery that you consider appropriate.
This way it will look different and you will not see yourself as “one more” that sells the same product, although actually you are ...

Always try to choose simple images, without text, preferably with a white or neutral background.
This allows you to stand out at "first glance" and leave no doubts about what the product is about.
Keep in mind that this will be the first image that the customer will see in your catalog and on Google.
Through it they will feel motivated to click to see the rest of the information, and finally to buy it.

This image fulfills the same role as your profile photo on your social networks.
Its mission is to quickly identify the product and highlight it from its peers.

prodcuto en catalogo de tienda

You cannot configure this image in AliExpress, as it has been assigned by default.
You can only do it from your WordPress store.
To change this image to another of your choice, you must click on the photo and choose another in your Media Library.
It is important that you complete the metadata of the image with consistency with the title of the product to improve SEO.

biblioteca de medios

It is important that you complete the metadata of the image with consistency with the title of the product in order to facilitate SEO to facilitate reading for people with visual disabilities.

metadatos imagen detacada

Product Categories

The categories allow you to organize the store's products by category and facilitate filtering in searches.
It's like when you go shopping at the supermarket and you have the sections for Drinks, Meats, Dairy, Cleaning, etc.
You can assign the categories to each product in the initial edition of AliExpress, or during the final edition in your online store. It is indistinct and there are no preferences for it.

I advise you to pay special attention to the definition of the categories because it depends on them that customers find the products easily.
You can create as many categories as you need but do not abuse that, since they do not look good in the store, especially in the visualization in telephones, where the screen is very reduced.

It is preferable to create categories with general thematic ranges, and add more specific subcategories for better organization.

A product can belong to more than one category, for example: Dogs, cats, puppies, transport, bags, etc.

Categorias de productos

You can create a main menu using these categories to give direct and featured access to the main items of your products.

menu principal con categorias

Product description

As I mentioned before in Edit the Product before publishing it, this section is very important and you should not underestimate it.
It may take a lot of time and work to write the texts, but I assure you that together with the photos they are the soul of your online store.

Here are some tips to optimize your product descriptions:

 

  • Always start the description by copying and pasting the title of the article here, and assigning it the format of Title1 (H1)
    This will favor SEO since surely the name of the product contains the main keywords, and the more times they are repeated, the better positioning you will have.
  • Then continue with the short description, which is a text that complements the title in a few words.
    You will also copy and paste this description in the SEO section and it will be displayed in Google searches.
  • Add the long textual description, where you can detail the characteristics of the article, technical specifications, modes of use and everything you want.
    The longer the text, the more information you will provide to your customers and avoid delays in the purchase when asking questions waiting to be answered.
    It is important that you understand that the success of an online purchase resides fundamentally in the immediacy.
    You should not allow your potential customer to hesitate about what you offer and end up buying in another site.
    Imagine that a customer has a question.
    He writes you an email and you reply the next day, and in the meantime, he has already found the same product in another store … And you lost the sale!
    Also, the longer the text, the more likely you are to include keywords so that your product is relevant to Google.
    Make sure the text contains the phrases for which you you would look for that product on the web, and thus you will favor the positioning of your store.
  • Add images and videos that you can import from your media library by pressing the button ADD MEDIA
    These images complement the descriptions and provide additional information to your customers.
    I suggest you not repeat the images in the descriptions with those in the product gallery, unless you consider it necessary.
Descripcion del producto

Edit product options

In this section you will be able to edit various publishing options that we had seen before in AliExpress, and I suggested doing it later.
Normally it is not necessary to change anything except for the Gallery, Comments and SEO.

 

Photo & Video Gallery

They make up a slide carousel with photos and videos of the product that is fixed on the main page of each product in your online store.
That is why I previously suggested that all the photos have the same size, to give visual and functional harmony to the galery.

galeria carrusel en tienda

In this section you can upload the photos you want to the gallery, change the order of appearance by dragging the thumbnails, or delete them.

If your product has a video you can also change it, delete it, or leave the AliExpress video by default.
You can change the cover image of the video by clicking on the SELECT IMAGE button and choose one available in your Media Library.

Do not forget to click on SAVE CHANGES to finish editing the gallery.

Editar galería en tienda

Import Comments

If you want to include the comments, ratings and reviews that users around the world have left on that product, you can do so from this configurable section.
It is highly recommended that you do so as they increase the rating of the product and will give you stars.

Having products with several stars on your website indicates that you sell articles of high quality and acceptance by customers around the world.
This favors the reputation of your store and improves your positioning with respect to your competitors.

importar comentarios

The reviews written by customers are absolutely real, and that builds prestige and trust.
I personally choose to import reviews of 4 stars or higher and that only have images.

Don't forget to click the IMPORT NOW button. Wait for the import progress and they will be published automatically on your product page.

reseñas en la tienda online

Set up SEO

Finally, you should configure SEO, copying and pasting the Title and the short description in the corresponding fields.
You can also add a list of keywords separated by commas.
Don't forget to click SAVE CHANGES before exiting SEO.

editar seo en tienda

If you want to further improve your SEO performance, I suggest you install the Yoast SEO plugin and configure the options for each product.

yoast seo

Finalize and publish the product

Once you have finished all the editing you must publish the product, clicking on the PUBLISH or UPDATE button of the right sidebar.
In this way, the product will be added to your store's catalog and will be visible to all users.

publicar producto en wordpress

5. Share the product on your social networks

Once the article is published, you can share it on your social networks directly from the product page.
Click on the SHARE button and choose the network you want.

compartir un producto en redes sociales

The advantage of sharing from here is that you are sharing the URL of the product.
In this way, if a user clicks on your Facebook post, it will take them directly to the product page and they will be able to buy it, without having to search for it in the store .

In the following image I show you how to share on a Facebook fanpage.

You can publish it as it is presented or, add a complementary text, location and sentiment in the Facebook post.
I advise you the second option, since leaving it blank would be wasting a good means of dissemination.
I usually copy and paste the textual description of the product in the comment field and add the geographical location.

postear en facebook

Finally, this is what the Facebook post looks like.

producto compartido en facebook

Final conclusion

I hope this article has been useful and clarified your doubts about How to add products in an online store for Dropshipping.

It has been a very hard work but I wanted to share with you my own experience as a web designer of these types of stores and the way I found to optimize the work.
If you could follow the previous advice, you will be in a position to create a great looking online store and professional functionality

You already know the aesthetic differences between AliExpress and your own online store, and you have learned how to edit and publish the products.
It was worth the work, right?

If you wanted to have your store for Dropshipping and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read. Thank you!

adrian pablo conti director

Adrián Pablo Conti

I am a Graphic and Web Designer graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA)
Since 1993 I have run Web4, my own freelance graphic and web design creative studio, located in the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Me I specialize in the development of visual identity, institutional communication, web sites and online stores, editorial design, catalogs, magazines and packaging design, among others.

All the images shown in this article are their own or were obtained from the web for illustrative purposes and belong to their respective authors.

 

Website consultados:

Let Share:

Related Posts

How to create an online store for Dropshipping

In this post I will show you how to create an online store for Dropshipping, what features it has, how it works, and the main differences with traditional stores.

If you read my previous articles What is Dropshipping ? and How to start your Dropshipping business , you will be able to develop your online store.

WooCommerce vs. Dropshipping

The main difference between traditional e-commerce (developed with WooCommerce) and Dropshipping lies in the origin of the products we sell.

In the first case, the seller has the products offered on his website in stock, has previously bought them, sells them and delivers them to the customer.

On the contrary, in the second case, the seller does not have in stock the products he offers and does not need to buy them previously.
He obtains them from the inventory of a supplier or wholesaler and sells them at retail prices.
He is the supplier wholesaler who ships and delivers the product to the customer.

woocommerce vs alidropship

We will see two concrete examples of both modalities where I am going to show you how the products are loaded in the store and how the stock is controlled.
Both websites correspond to my clients and have been developed by me.

Online store developed with WooCommerce

We start with an example of a traditional online store developed with WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is a free plugin that must be installed within a website designed in WordPress for it to function as an online store.

This plugin provides the web with all the necessary functionality to display the products in a catalog, see their descriptions, images and prices.
Finally, it gives the customer the possibility of buying them online.
It also manages all commercial activity, determining shipping and packaging costs, fees and taxes, discounts, offers and promotions, payment methods, product stock control, etc.

All these functionalities must be carefully configured in advance by the webmaster according to the client's needs.

The first case I'm going to show you is about a manufacturer and importer of silver and surgical steel jewelry.
My client has a commercial office in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and also makes online sales to wholesalers with the option of home delivery.

web woocommerce

This client is a manufacturer and supplier of its own products.
Therefore, you must take the photographs, write the descriptive texts, establish the prices and all the necessary information for each article.

In the event that the store is a reseller of third-party products, the manufacturer or supplier must deliver that information (photos and texts) to the reseller so that it can be published in their own online store.

catalogo woocommerce

How to create products with WooCommerce

To add a product in a store with WooCommerce, you must access the PRODUCTS panel and add a new one.
All product data must be entered by the seller.
You must assign a name, a short description, a longer description with additional information, upload the images and indicate the sale price.
Also set the variables of size, color, size, etc. (if any)
In this way, the product is published in its corresponding categories and begins to form your online sales catalog.

In the following image we can see the WooCommerce product editing panel where all the data is entered.

edicion de producto wc

I am not going to talk about traditional stores because it is not the end of this article.

I recommend you read my article Requirements to have an online store (items 5, 6 and 7) to see in detail how to create products with WooCommerce.

 

Stock control with WooCommerce

As we said before, in this case the seller is the one who controls the stock of products and does not depend on the supplier to display them in their store.
WooCommerce offers an excellent graphical interface to manage the publications of the products, show their availability, alter their prices etc.

In the following image we can see the WooCommerce Products panel, from where we can edit the data and control the stock and visibility in the store.

panel de productos de woocommenrce

Online store developed with Dropshipping

The second example is an online store for pet products and accessories, located in Los Angeles (CA, USA).
It does not have a commercial premises for sale to the public and manages its business remotely, from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

catalogo woocommerce

My client has decided to work only with AliExpress providers, so we consider it advisable to use the AliDropship plugin instead of WooCommerce.

The AliDropship plugin is not free, it must be purchased and only works with some WordPress templates (themes) suggested by the same plugin.
For the specific case with which we will work in this article and the following one, I have chosen the Rubens template.
Choosing certain templates with AliDropship can limit a bit the aesthetic concept of your website design, which you could get using WooComerce.

tema Rubens

The AliDropship plugin allows you to synchronize the products of the online store with their original counterpart on AliExpress.
So if the product has variations in stock or price, they will be changed automatically on your website without you having to deal with it.
In addition, all product data is obtained from its original publication on AliExpress, therefore we should not enter them manually as in WooCommerce.

 

The advantage of task automation when processing orders

Unlike WooCommerce, where we must set up all the business configuration and product delivery, AliDropship takes care of automating all the business management between the seller and the supplier.

By simply clicking the AUTOMATICALLY ORDER button, the supplier receives all the necessary data to process the order and make the shipment.
The seller and the customer can track the shipment, once dispatched by the supplier.

procesar pedidos

AliDropship also takes care of applying strategic formulas to establish very favorable retail prices for the seller, which the seller can edit at their convenience, among other things.

formulas de precios

AliDropship is a very convenient solution for dropshippers, and it is developed by a team of AliExpress experts who know the market and how it works very well, so that you can "automatically" manage your business without having to worry about almost anything.

How to search for products on AliExpress to publish with AliDropship

First you need to be registered as a seller in AliExpress and download and install the AliDropship extension in your Chrome browser (it does not work in other browsers)
This extension allows you to connect your store online with AliExpress, import the products to your store and synchronize them so that they are automatically updated once published.

The presence of this extension is displayed with gray bars on AliExpress product pages.
The top bar allows you to connect your online store with AliExpress, import the products to your store and synchronize them so that they update automatically.

barras alidropship

The left sidebar provides information about the rating, price evolution and reviews of each product, so that you can evaluate before choosing them.
These are fundamental marketing tools that you should consider when choosing a product.

We are going to know the functionality of this bar below.

 

Search Button

It allows you to know if there are better prices for that product or similar in other providers.
Clicking on the button READY! GO TO PRODUCTS! takes you to the second image where the results obtained are shown.

boton de busqueda
resultados de busqueda de productos

Rating Button

Shows the reputation of the supplier's product relative to its competitors.

boton rating de productos

Price Button

Indicates the historical evolution of the price of the product.

evolucion de precios del producto

Reviews Button

Shows the reviews left by buyers about this product.

reseñas de productos

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful.
Now you know everything you need to create your Dropshipping online store and the main differences with traditional stores.
If you want to know How to add products to a Dropshipping online store, I recommend reading my next article.

If you wanted to have your store for Dropshipping and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read. Thank you!

adrian pablo conti director

Adrián Pablo Conti

I am a Graphic and Web Designer graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA)
Since 1993 I have run Web4, my own freelance graphic and web design creative studio, located in the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Me I specialize in the development of visual identity, institutional communication, web sites and online stores, editorial design, catalogs, magazines and packaging design, among others.

All the images shown in this article are their own or were obtained from the web for illustrative purposes and belong to their respective authors.

 

Website consultados:

Let Share:

Related Posts

How to start your Dropshipping business

In this post I will show you how to start your Dropshipping business through a list of simple steps that you could easily follow.

If you read my previous post What Dropshipping is? you already know the basic concepts to encourage you to this new project.

5 steps to launch into Dropshipping

 

Once you have made the decision to have your business online and that you consider that it would adapt well to this model, let's now see the steps to follow to do dropshipping, from finding product ideas to marketing your online store.

Inicio dropshipping

1. Choosing a niche for your business

Before starting your business, it is very important that you define what you want to sell and how to do it.
To define a market niche, it is essential to decide what your target audience is.
A market niche is a specific category of a business sector.
There the type of products and services, the price range and the quality destined to satisfy the client's needs are determined.

nicho de mercado

In the graphic examples that I will show you in this article and the next one, we will refer to the niche “pet supplies and accessories”.
This is the case of a client of mine for whom I have developed their online store.

 

Here are some ways to choose a niche for your business:

 

  • Determine your interest or passion: Choose a niche with which you are well familiar and which you understand a lot about it.
    Do not get involved in topics that you will not know how to handle with certainty, do it conscientiously and do not improvise.
  • Find a solution: If you have a problem, other people probably have it too.
    Customers will naturally discover your business if you offer solutions to their problems.
  • Research the best-selling products: You can make a lot of money selling products that are fashionable or trending.
    Use tools like Google Trends and TrendHunter , or check popular products on sales platforms to see what people are currently buying.
Trends en articulos para mascotas

In the image above we can see how searches in the world for pet toys have changed in 2021 according to Google Trends.
This tool can give you an idea of what they are the products most sought after by people today, so you can focus on the ones that are popular.
In addition to the popularity of the product, you must take into account the region to which you want to offer your products.
In the above case , my client is located in Los Angeles (CA, USA)

On the other hand, basic products, such as industrial tools, household appliances, entertainment items, etc., are always in high demand.
Bet on a niche with items that people need on a daily basis.
You must consider that you can find a lot of competition in popular dropshipping products, especially from big retailers.

Once you've found your niche, come up with good ideas for your business and make a list of the products you want to sell.

ideas para tu negocio

Choose original products for which it is worth waiting for the delay in delivery and also, that cannot be easily acquired in any commercial premises in your area.
Make the only option to buy them either through an online store ... yours one!

2. Do market analysis

Market analysis is a thorough assessment of your business sector.
It includes an assessment of the target market, the competition, and your brand promotion strategy.

Market research is crucial because it will allow you to understand the needs of your customers.
It is also useful for advertising purposes, to estimate revenues and profits, and to predict the growth of your business.

Do not improvise. Always hire an online marketing professional to advise you.

estudio de mercado

A good market analysis should answer these questions:

 

  • Who are my potential clients?
  • What are your needs and buying habits?
  • How big is the market and how much are they willing to pay for the product?
  • Who are my main competitors?
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
preguntas marketing

What items should be considered?

The following tips will help you carry out a good market analysis:

 

Research the volume and value of the industry

Detailed statistics on the size, trends, prospects and growth rate, to know if there are enough customers interested in the products you want to sell.

crecimiento del negocio

Define your target audience

Starting with demographic targeting, age range, gender, income level, hobbies, and lifestyle preferences.

publico objetivo

Observe the size of the market and the buying habits of customers

It is important to observe the buying patterns and behavior of people, which will allow you to see what motivates and drives their demands.
By knowing your target market, it will be easier for you to reach them.

habitos de consumo

Research and know your competitors

It is highly recommended that you get to know your committers.
Visit their websites and observe their way of selling and contacting their customers, the general aesthetics of their websites, etc.
You can use tools such as Similarweb and Alexa to find competing sites and examine their performance.

analisis en similarweb

Perform a SWOT analysis to know your strengths and weaknesses

A SWOT analysis consists of evaluating the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of your competitors.
You can always learn from the mistakes and successes of your competitors to create a reference for your business.
This will allow you to innovate in your field . Innovating means “improving what already exists” and that implies being in growth.
In addition, observing your competitors allows you to know the average sale price of a product and the price range.

analisis DAFO

3. Find product providers

Finding dropshipping suppliers will be easier if there is a solid list of products to sell based on the market research you've done in the previous item.

It is essential to find a good dropshipping provider, capable of responding effectively to your needs and those of your customers.

elegir proveedor

Make sure the company is trustworthy, meets your criteria and has an excellent reputation.
You should bear in mind that a supplier will become your "partner" in this commercial activity, and their behavior towards your customers will also speak of you and your business values.

For this reason, it is advisable to order or buy some samples and review them carefully, before publishing them on your website.
As the product reaches your hands, it is how the supplier will deliver it to your customers.

deposito proveedor

Some details to observe

The following tips will help you find a good supplier:

 

  • Check that they are legitimate and legal: Always work with trusted providers.
    Ask for the business license or vendor identification number and verify it on the local government website.
  • Verify the phone number and the address of the company: Make sure you can find the data in Google Maps and they are not registered in the name of another company.
    Check if they have a professional email address domain name, of the type info@yourcompany.com
    If you use free email services or webmail, (Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) it is not reliable, since anyone can obtain those accounts in anonymously.
  • Verify that they have their own website: Having their own website (in addition to publishing on AliExpress) implies being the holder of a document on the Internet and being legally authorized.
  • Find out if they have experienced and attentive staff: Customer service is essential. Don't be afraid to call them and ask them questions.
  • See what other products it offers for sale: A good and varied stock of products shows commitment and commercial experience of the supplier.
  • Always watch reputation: Read other buyers' reviews and ratings.
  • See if the supplier sells on different platforms: Find the same product from the same supplier on AliExpress, Ebay, Amazon, etc., and observe their ratings.
  • Check that the product is of good quality: Do they resemble the photos published on the supplier's website? Does the description on the website correspond to the product?
  • Check if the packaging is presentable and safe: Try to order a fragile item and make sure you receive it in perfect condition.
    See if the suppliers are consistent with the packaging by sending some products to your friends. Make sure that your commercial data does not appear on the package that reveals its origin.
  • Ensure that the shipment and execution of the order meet your criteria: How long does it take to process an order and send it? Do they handle returns well?
rating proveedores

4. Develop an online store

Once you have defined your niche, analyzed the market and chosen your suppliers, it is time to develop your own online store.

If you are not familiar with the subject of web design, I suggest you read my article Requirements to have a website to know the previous steps and everything you need to start your business online.

tienda online

I recommend that you hire a good web designer and webmaster who has experience in e-commerce developments with Dropshipping.
Unlike traditional e-commerce, which is generally developed with WooCommerce, the stores that use Dropshipping are quite different due to to the very nature of the operation of this type of online sale.
Therefore, it is good that your designer is suitable to be able to give you the best performance of your online store and avoid many inconveniences later.

Your virtual store, in addition to being functional, must have an aesthetic and corporate character, which shows business strength, responsibility and commitment to your customers.

tienda online diseño

It is not as easy as it looks

Designing an online store in WordPress is not too complicated, and there are many free video tutorials on the web that encourage you to do it on your own.

What is really complex and requires specialized professional attention is its configuration, functionality and start-up.
Special attention should be paid to optimizing content for SEO and above all, to security to carry out commercial transactions online.

Never dispense with the professional gaze of an experienced designer, who knows precisely the inner workings of a virtual store and will guide you to obtain the best results for your online business.

I know many clients who have wanted to make their own websites and have abandoned it at the first try, since it involves a lot of technical and functional aspects that are beyond their ability to understand.

panel de productos

5. Perform Marketing and SEO

After creating the website, it is time to work on promoting your business.
Do not think that having your own online store has already been solved.
It is necessary to promote it, optimize its contents to be found in search engines such as Google (SEO), conducting online marketing campaigns, etc.

These are some tips that you should consider:

 

Create a landing page or "coming soon" page

This page generates anticipation before the official launch of your store or a product.
Keep it simple as it should primarily display your brand name, logo, and a short description of your dropshipping business.
Feel free to add a couple of product photos, a discount coupon and a subscription form.

landing page

Create social media accounts

Your social networks will allow you to drive traffic to your website and improve your brand presence.
Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are great platforms for sharing high-quality product photos.

I recommend that you hire a good «community manager» capable of creating their own and original content on your social networks, taking care of the aesthetics and maintaining the graphic coherence of all your publications, to favor your institutional presence.

perfiles sociales

Optimize content for search engines (SEO)

If you do it right, your products will rank high on search engine results pages, increasing the chances that people will click and buy.
Research the most important keywords related to your niche is an essential step when it comes to SEO.
There are online tools such as Keyword Planner from Google and the Keyword Explorer from Ahrefs that can help with the process.
Include the keywords in the names of the products, the descriptions, the labels and the alternative texts of the images.

I recommend you read my article How to improve SEO on your website for more information

optimizacion para seo

Do content marketing

Start by creating a blog page where you can write your own content related to the niche, and articles about your business.
You can write articles with reviews, recommendations, modes of use and benefits about the articles you sell.
This will boost SEO and site traffic.

crear un blog

Update the contents

Take care to add new products regularly, this way you will keep your website active and updated and your store will grow gradually.
Do not allow your store to remain unchanged for a long time, as it does not favor the SE.
Google will consider your contents as little relevant for its indexing in search engines if it does not register changes for a long time.

actualizacion de contenidos web

Create mailing lists for email marketing (Newsletters)

Enable a subscription section and regularly send emails to your subscribers about new products, content, events and offers.
You will not only drive traffic to your site, but you will convert your subscribers into customers.

newsletters

Perform Advertising

If you have the budget to invest in advertising, show product ads through Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
You will get a greater reach and higher conversion rates.
I suggest you do not do it on your own and hire a specialist in online marketing, as it is a very complex subject.
It will allow you to optimize the performance of your budget and the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.

advertising

Contact influencers

Taking advantage of influencer marketing is very favorable for your business.
Contact experts in your niche who have a social profile with many followers and propose an agreement to promote each other.

influencers

Find other ways to promote your website

For example, look on Reddit or Facebook groups for people discussing topics related to your dropshipping business.
Don't forget to check the group rules to see if promotions are allowed.

grupo de facebook

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful.
Now you know everything you need to start your Dropshipping business.
If you want to know How to create an online store for Dropshipping, I recommend reading my next article.

If you wanted to have your website and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find some articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read.
I invite you to read them, share them and leave your comments if you wish.
Thank you very much.

adrian pablo conti director

Adrián Pablo Conti

I am a Graphic and Web Designer graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA)
Since 1993 I have run Web4, my own freelance graphic and web design creative studio, located in the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Me I specialize in the development of visual identity, institutional communication, web sites and online stores, editorial design, catalogs, magazines and packaging design, among others.

The images shown in this article were obtained from the web for illustrative purposes and belong to their respective authors.

 

Website consultados:

Let Share:

Related Posts

What Dropshipping is

In this post I am going to tell you what Dropshipping is, how it works, its characteristics and its main advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional electronic commerce.

This work is the result of an arduous personal investigation when facing for the first time an order from a client who decided to enter the Dropshipping business.
This article is complemented by the next three, where I intend to show you a general idea of what you should know before starting a business as a dropshipper.

I also recommend you read the other 3 articles that I have written about Dropshipping, which are the following:
How to start your Dropshipping business , How to create an online store for Dropshipping and How to add products in a Dropshipping online store

Throughout the 4 posts I will refer to specific examples of work requested by my clients and you can visit their respective websites to see the results obtained.

Do you know what Dropshipping is?

Dropshipping is a type of online sale where the seller does not have in his inventory the products offered in his own virtual store.
Therefore, the merchant buys inventory from a third party as you need to fulfill your customers' orders.
This third party is generally a wholesaler or even the manufacturer of the product itself, and can be domiciled anywhere in the world.
The vast majority of suppliers of dropshipping are of Chinese origin.

esquema dropshipping

How does a Dropshipping business work?

Although the literal translation of Dropshipping is "direct sale" it is actually a "Triangulation of shipments" , where the seller is an intermediary between supplier and buyer.
As a seller, you must find wholesale suppliers that make the products you want to sell.

Then, the items will be listed in your own online store, where customers place their orders and pay you for the product and shipping costs, if any, as some wholesalers offer free shipping.
You receive the order with the buyer's data as if you were a traditional online store.

Triangulacion de envios con dropshipping

The commercial operation is summarized in three steps:

  1. The customer buys from your online store at a retail price, including shipping costs.
  2. You charge for the purchase on your website and send the order to the supplier, paying the wholesale price and shipping.
  3. The supplier will process the order, package and ship the products directly to the customer.

In other words, you only help the customer to buy the product.

In the dropshipping business, it is not necessary to manage inventory management systems, warehousing, shipping costs and logistics.
However, dropshippers have to calculate the prices of the margins, do the marketing of the product and generate business ideas .
Also, if a customer encounters a problem with the shipment or the product, they will contact you first and not the supplier.
That is why I advise you to provide good customer service.

Differences between dropshipping and traditional e-commerce

Before starting your business with Dropshipping you should know the main differences with traditional e-commerce, which we can summarize in the following aspects:

 

Delivery times

One of the main differences with traditional e-commerce is manifested in the time that elapses between making the purchase and receiving the item by the buyer.

Whenever we talk about Dropshipping we will have "deferred terms" that can be extended between 5 and 45 days from the purchase.
This depends on the type of product, its geographical origin, its supplier and the type of shipment.
The most of the suppliers are in China and that represents such a delay in final delivery.

The wholesaler is the one who establishes delivery times and manages possible returns, disregarding the seller from any participation in said process.
For this reason, it is advisable for the buyer to know in advance that your online store uses the dropshipping method .
That is a difference perceived by the buyer.

tiempos de entrega

Triangulation of shipments

Another important difference, (this time perceived by the seller) is the one referring to the dropshipping operating system that I mentioned earlier.
This is that the supplier automatically receives the same order form as you, and sends the products directly to your customers.
This means that you never see or manipulate the products you sell, and you ignore much of the management of shipments to the buyer.

Therefore, the supplier is in charge of storing, packaging and shipping the products to customers on behalf of your online store.
The supplier automatically charges “its share” corresponding to its own cost of the product and shipping, and you earn the difference.
In this way, the traditional logistics of e-commerce changes completely.
Your online store is only responsible for managing customer orders, billing and generating a database.

On the other hand, in traditional e-commerce stores, the seller has a stock of products, manages the orders and makes the delivery to the customer.

asi funciona dropshipping

Absolute privacy

Your customers at no time know or can have contact with the supplier, nor do they know their prices or your profit or profit margin.
The shipment is dispatched as a "masked package" that does not include logos or inscriptions.
By therefore, the supplier ships and delivers the products anonymously. No identification on the package will indicate the actual origin of the product.

Privacidad

Advantages and Disadvantages of Dropshipping

The Dropshipping business has grown in popularity around the world in recent years.
Like any business model, it has positive and negative aspects that it is important to consider before starting our project.

Let's review what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of Dropshipping.

ventajas y desventajas del dropshipping

Advantage

  • Getting started is easy: Unlike other ventures that require following some complex procedures and having certain resources (a local store, merchandise warehouse, employees, logistics, etc.) you only need to have a laptop and a stable internet connection.
  • Flexibility: When conducting business through a laptop, you can work from anywhere, even from your own home or office.
    You only need to communicate with suppliers and customers to manage and manage your business with ease.
  • Menor capital inicial: La mayor ventaja de dropshipping es que se puede lanzar una tienda online sin invertir demasiado dinero por adelantado.
    Sólo pagas el diseño y puesta en marcha de la tienda virtual (Lee mi artículo Requirements to have a website para más información)
  • Low cost: You don't have to think about inventory costs or hire employees to take care of it. You don't need to buy a product unless you've already sold it and received payment from the customer.
  • Very few fixed and / or maintenance expenses: By not having to deal with purchasing inventory and managing warehouse, the fixed costs are very low.
    You pay your webmaster for it maintenance of the online store and / or the publication of products, in case you do not want to do it yourself.
    It is also advisable to invest in product marketing, publication on social networks, campaigns aimed at improving SEO, advertising, etc.
  • Wide selection of products: Since you don't need to buy items to sell in advance, you can offer a wide range of products to your potential customers.
    If the suppliers have it in stock, you can include it in your web catalog at no additional cost.
  • Sale of several products: You can sell the products of more than one supplier and not limit yourself to a single type of product.
  • High scalability: By having the freedom to choose products and be able to try different providers, a business of this type can grow rapidly.
    For your business to be scalable you must have a robust e-commerce and well developed.
    Contact a web designer who has experience in designing this type of online store.
  • Lower Labor Demand: Most of the order processing work will be done by suppliers, allowing you to expand with lower costs and labor.
ventajas de dropshiping

Disadvantages

  • Very hard competition: There are many people who participate in the dropshipping business, so you will have to work hard to stand out, with a greater investment in your online store, social networks, advertising, etc.
  • Low profit margins: Since you are faced with many sellers, there may be a price war.
    Which means you should set your price as low as possible to make your offers more attractive .
    But this can be avoided if you can find a niche of low competition products to sell.
  • Problems with suppliers: Your business can fail if you choose a disreputable supplier.
    A bad supplier can ruin your online presence with shipping errors, poor packaging and delayed responses.
  • Lack of control over shipments: If a customer orders products from different suppliers, they will have to pay for more than one shipment and it is likely that the orders will arrive at different times.
    This can make things difficult when handling sales.
  • Inventory difficult to manage: You need to be aware of and frequently track your supplier's inventory to match the amount of stock available in your store.
    Although the products in your store are synchronized with the stock of your suppliers, you must be aware of availability and "pause" the products without stock to avoid inconveniences.
  • Shipping logistics can get complicated: If you work with multiple suppliers, the products on your website will come from multiple dropshippers. This complicates your shipping costs.
    Suppose your customer orders three items and they are all available, but from different suppliers.
    You will have to pay three separate shipping costs to ship each item to the customer.
    It is not advisable to pass this charge on to the customer, as it can make shipping too expensive.
    But do not be discouraged, there are thousands of products that offer free shipping, so I recommend that you choose those items to offer them in your store.
  • Customer service: The seller is the one who is directly connected to the customer. So if there is any problem, you will need to take care of it.
  • Drowback to build an online brand: When sending third-party products and not participating in the shipment, you will not be able to include any type of brand logo on the products.
    This is usually an important factor in the Internet sales.
  • Risk of supplier errors: Even the best dropshipping suppliers make mistakes when completing orders; for which you will have to take responsibility and assume them.
    Mediocre suppliers will cause you inconvenience by losing items, ruining shipments and using poor quality packages, which can damage the reputation of your company.
    That is why I always advise you before to publish products in your store, check the reputation and responsibility of each supplier, and that they have robust logistics to reach your customers.
    I suggest you contact them and inform them that they will be "allied partners".
Competencia

What profit do I get with Dropshipping?

The seller receives a commission or fixed amount on each sale, and makes a profit by taking advantage of the margin between wholesale and retail prices.
You must configure a series of formulas that are automatically applied to wholesale prices according to the value of each product , and that will determine your profit.
Generally the suppliers are Chinese wholesale companies that publish their products on portals such as AliExppress, Ebay, Amazon, etc. from where you will take the articles to add to your web catalog.

logos tiendas

The prices published in these megastores are very low since they are wholesale prices, your customers will not find those prices in traditional retail stores.

Your mission as a seller is to offer those same products in your own online store, with a personalized design and with your own sales prices.
In this way, your customers will never know the real origin of the product you are selling.
I am not referring to the country of origin of the product, but to the place where you purchased it.

For this business to be profitable, you must think about the price of the product you offer.
Your profit is simply the difference between the cost of your own purchase and the money you asked your customer for.
Therefore, the difference between the sale price of the wholesaler and the price that you can set as a retailer, it can be really very convenient and thus justify having an online Dropshipping store.

compra cliente

Why would a client buy on my website if these megastores exist?

Surely you wonder why they would buy from you, being able to pay a much cheaper price for the same product.
Many customers prefer to buy in specialized stores, as if they were local stores instead of large supermarkets.
Not all people they feel confident to buy in mega stores, and much less if they are Chinese or are in another country.

Taking this example to everyday life, you would choose to buy your weekly or monthly purchases in a large supermarket, where you supply yourself with a wide variety of products. (food, cleaning, etc.)
But when you need to buy something more specific (clothing, electronics, machinery), you choose a specialized store that only sells what you are looking for and can give you more advice.

comprar con celular

Your accessible, friendly and reliable store

A retail "theme" store is reduced to a specific niche and the customer is not distracted by thousands of products that do not interest him.
In addition, it provides the customer with a friendly and reliable trade image, where a specialized person can answer their questions. concerns.

On the contrary, these mega stores offer a very poor post-sale service, where anonymous people who do not speak your own language respond.
They generally use automatic online translators and the results can be very imprecise, generating distrust or fear in The buyer.

When a customer buys from a dropshipping store, they are paying for accessibility to the product, which they probably would not have known without us.
This accessibility is not only manifested in the price but in the way we present the product in our store online.
They should always be displayed in a simple, limited way, with detailed information and with an excellent design.

El cliente paga por la comodidad y experiencia de usuario de nuestra tienda, y también por la atención al cliente y confianza que le damos.
Con el marketing que realizamos del producto estamos aumentando el valor percibido que, junto a lo anterior, justifica el precio que le ponemos.
Esto nos permite vender el producto a un precio mayor (minorista) del que lo adquirimos (mayorista), y esta será la base de nuestra ganancia.

I suggest you read my article How to start your Dropshipping business for more information.

comprar online

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it was useful to you.
The possibilities that Dropshipping offers you are so many, that there is definitely no reason not to try to start your own business.
Si quieres saber How to start your Dropshipping business lee mi siguiente artículo donde encontrarás unos cuantos consejos y sugerencias para tu emprendimiento online.

Si te dieron ganas de tener tu tienda virtual y consideras que soy un profesional idóneo, no dudes en contactarme que te asesoraré con mucho gusto.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read. Thank you!

adrian pablo conti director

Adrián Pablo Conti

I am a Graphic and Web Designer graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA)
Since 1993 I have run Web4, my own freelance graphic and web design creative studio, located in the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Me I specialize in the development of visual identity, institutional communication, web sites and online stores, editorial design, catalogs, magazines and packaging design, among others.

Let Share:

Related Posts