Wondering how to dropship? Essential in the USA, dropshipping is a method for creating an e-commerce without stock which is slowly becoming more popular in France.
Find out how to have a functional e-commerce in just 8 steps.
What is dropshipping?
On your online store, you sell products from a supplier who is responsible for shipping the goods. In exchange, he pays you a commission on the sale. It's easy to create, inexpensive and risk-free.
There are two different ways to get started with dropshipping:
- You receive orders from your customers and set the quantity to be produced by the supplier yourself.
Attention ! In this situation, it is you, the distributor, who bears the costs of overstocks.
- The supplier receives the orders placed by your customers and decides the quantities to be manufactured.
This second possibility allows you to open an online store without stock and thus concentrate on other important tasks without worrying about the costs linked to excess stock.
Step 1: Choose your industry for dropshipping
Before you begin, you will need to choose your activity. What are you going to sell? Do not ask yourself this question lightly and consider carrying out market research beforehand. Indeed, there is no point in launching into a saturated market.
Consider differentiating yourself on a thriving sector on which you can add your personal touch.
Step 2: Create your dropshipping business
An e-commerce is a business. You will not be able to sell your products and negotiate with suppliers if you do not have Siret.
Do you want to start alone, with minimal costs?
We advise you to opt for the status of micro-entrepreneur. Its simplified management is perfect for testing your project and collecting your first sales.
The micro-enterprise plan allows you to benefit from very attractive advantages:
- Significant accounting reductions
- Reducing operating costs
- Simplifying tax calculation
- Simple calculation of your social security contributions at fixed rates
Create your micro-enterprise simply and in just a few clicks on the site www.autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr.
Also read : What legal status should I adopt to create a business?
Step 3: Research and contact your suppliers
How to do dropshipping without suppliers? Finding good suppliers is the very essence of a dropshipping business. As it is still underdeveloped in France, do not expect to find suppliers only via Google. On the other hand, you will not have any problem finding foreign suppliers.
Brands and wholesalers do not always announce this possibility on their website. Contact them directly to find out if this solution is possible.
Also think about professional sellers on marketplaces:
- Amazon,
- eBay,
- AliExpress,
- Alibaba
- Cdiscount,
- Rakuten,
- Fnac
- Joor, etc.
As well as automation tools for CMS platforms.
To help you choose, we have established a comparison of the best dropshipping solutions.
Step 4: Grow Your Dropshipping Online Store
It's time to develop your e-commerce! For this, you can use a dropshipping solution like Dropizi.
Developed in France and accessible to all, Dropizi also gives you access to:
- Complete video training with around ten modules (entrepreneurship, niche products, SEA, SEO, emailing, etc.),
- Support from a team of Business Coaches
- And many features (including the DropiziRank).
You can also hire a professional developer. The latter will be able to provide you with an online store that meets your needs and the expectations of your customers.
A professional is able to deliver a perfectly functional site, equipped with efficient ergonomics and all the functionalities necessary for an e-commerce site.
Step 5: Work on your SEO
So that your e-commerce attracts its first visitors, remember to work on your keywords.
Using Google Keyword Plannerfind the expressions used by your prospects to search for your products.
The objective is to establish a list of keywords to insert into the structure of your site as well as the content.
Step 6: Write product descriptions
Once the site is set up, collect the photos from your suppliers and create product sheets.
Warning: For the sake of your SEO, do not copy brand or wholesaler information sheets, write unique descriptions, in which you insert your keywords.
This work is often long and tedious but you can, for example, call on a freelance writer on Editor.com.
Redacteur.com is a web writing platform that puts you in touch with professional freelance web writers. For needs in writing descriptive sheets, product sheets, blog articles, etc., get in touch with quality writers on Editor.com.
Step 7: Develop your web marketing strategy
When your e-commerce is ready to make its first sales, think about its promotion! To do this, create profiles on the social networks where your target is located.
- For an online store with products aimed at the general public, head to Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
- For B2B, think about Linkedin and Twitter.
Furthermore, use the Google Ads advertising network to run campaigns targeted to your keywords. You will appear first in line when people search for these expressions.
Also consider creating a blog to boost your SEO and have quality material to share on your social networks.
A web marketing strategy is built over the long term: you will not have results the day after your actions! To put all the chances on your side, freelance experts can support you in implementing your strategy.
Step 8: Analyze and Optimize Your Dropshipping Site
Once your e-commerce is launched, your last mission, and not the least, will consist of analyzing and optimizing! You need to track all available data and metrics to grow your business.
To do this, analyze the traffic results of Google Analytics and conversion results from your primary customer acquisition channel.
You need to be able to track every conversion. This will allow you to analyze your conversion funnel and pinpoint what works to eliminate what doesn't.
The secret to success is to constantly test new opportunities and refine your current campaigns through analysis of previous ones.
All these strategies work together and set up a virtuous digital communication system.
Are you ready to get started with dropshipping? Do not hesitate to call on a professional freelance service provider on Codeur.com to help you with all the steps. To do this, submit your project for free in a few clicks and quickly receive numerous quotes!