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Starting a dropshipping business can be a great way to earn money on your own terms, while building an online business, being creative and providing customers products they value. The global dropshipping market size was valued at $351.8 billion in 2024, a 23.6% increase since 2023. This dropshipping startup guide covers the basics of how to choose a product to dropship, determine your marketing strategy and set your business up for success.
Dropshipping is a way of selling products without keeping inventory. You set up an online shop, have customers place orders and those orders are fulfilled directly from the manufacturer.
Dropshipping is a great way to start an ecommerce business without the need to develop your own product or even store inventory. This makes the startup costs low, which means the bar to entry to start isn’t high either. However, like any other business, dropshipping isn’t easy (even if it’s presented that way online!).
Before you start a dropshipping business, you want to make sure it’s the right choice for you and your goals. So let’s cover the main things needed to start dropshipping for beginners.
The first thing you need to create a dropshipping business is a product. What will you be selling? This can be anything from children’s toys to clothing to accessories. So, since the sky is the limit, how do you even choose? You’ll need to start by researching the products available from manufacturers. Spend some time on websites like AliExpress or AliBaba (which is a marketplace for manufacturers) and learn about the products and prices.
Your job as a dropshipper will be to create your own store where you are selling one of these products. For the purposes of this article, let’s choose a specific example: A jewelry box.
As illustrated above, there are many different options for jewelry boxes to choose from on AliExpress, with different prices and quality. As you are doing research, you’ll want to test out a few products yourself and see which one you are most excited about selling. This will also give you direct experience with specific manufacturers. Since your manufacturer will be fulfilling orders and sending them directly to customers, it’s critical that you have a good working relationship with the manufacturer and that they are reliable. You wouldn’t want customers who paid you not to receive their products because the manufacturer did not ship them out!
When choosing a product and manufacturer, keep the following in mind:
Once you’ve chosen a product and a manufacturer you’re going to partner with, the next step is figuring out how to market the product to start getting customers. You’ll need to figure out how much you want to sell your product for and how you’ll direct people to your brand. Many dropshippers set up a website, while others rely solely on social media. Regardless of the method you choose, it’s important to give people as much information as possible about the product and provide exceptional product photography.
There are different ways of going about creating a store and brand identity. Some dropshippers will focus their entire store on one product, which can be an effective way to stand out. But you can also consider building a store with multiple products. If you’re unsure, start with one product and as you get more comfortable, add more.
As you develop your marketing strategy, consider other ways to communicate value to your potential customers. Do you want to create user generated content (UGC) about the product? Do you want to create a blog that relates to the product you’re selling? When dropshippers are just starting out and they don’t yet have an audience, they often start with paid social media ads or working with social media influencers that will promote their brand. There are countless ways to do digital marketing, but you need to choose something to get your product in front of potential customers.
Before you officially launch your website, make sure it is as professional as it can be. Are your product photos good quality and clearly show what you’re selling? Have you clearly explained all the details of the product? Test your website with a friend to make sure all the copy and images are clear and that the links work.
While setting up an ecommerce dropshipping business doesn’t necessarily take long, putting the work in to make your business successful requires an investment of time and energy.
If you’re new to digital marketing, expect that there will be trial and error and it will take some time to get your dropshipping business off the ground. You’ll want to get clear on your starting marketing budget and decide how you will spend it. Then, assess your return on investment (ROI) based on how much profit you made compared with what you spent.
Continually evaluate your digital marketing strategy. Are you reaching your target audience? How long do they stay on your website? Are your customers satisfied? How can you improve the experience? Have you thought about ways to engage your customers in the long term by creating an email list where you can sell follow-up products or offer discounts?
All of these considerations are key to a successful dropshipping business and what will distinguish a website that sits dormant with no orders and a thriving business where customers continue to come back.
Once your dropshipping business is off the ground, you can start thinking about ways you want to continue to grow and expand. That might mean adding new products, or developing a content marketing strategy to give potential customers more information when they land on your site. You could also begin to research white labeling, which is where you work with a manufacturer to label a product with your specific branding. There are countless directions you can consider, but the most important step is to start.