Hustle of the Week: Dropshipping

Okay, before judging, let me run through the argument here, and no, I'm not selling you a course… In the last decade or so, you would've almost certainly come across a dropshipping guru telling you that you can make $100,000 from your laptop on some beach in Hawaii. Well, just like any hustle nowadays, technically speaking, you can. But it doesn't come easy; it takes months to years of hard work and consistency before you see any return. We're also going to talk about the rebirth of dropshipping and what exactly reignited the flame. Dropshipping is made up of three main sub-topics: Marketing, Product, and Conversion. Shortly, we'll be covering each and hopefully leaving you with a good idea of what dropshipping really consists of.

First, let's start with the most essential aspect of your dropshipping business - your product. If you don't have anything to sell, then how are you going to actually make money? So, now finding a product… There are a few methods: Some people choose to stalk other dropshippers and copy their product onto their site. It's obviously important to know who you're copying - there's no point copying another seller doing just as bad as you. There are many tools available online that allow you to check how much revenue a Shopify store (almost every dropshipper uses Shopify for their product site) is generating. This method allows you to get a good idea of what works for others and helps you understand the landscape a little better. While this may be smarter while starting out, you can never make a massive amount of money by copying. Like the saying: "If you're chasing the forward gap, the chase will never end."

Another method, similar to the one above, is checking what's trending. For example, by checking TikTok for hashtags that represent new purchases, you will get a great understanding of what products are hot in the market right now. Finally, you can take a little initiative and scout for products on AliExpress or any other cheap wholesale distributor with the sole purpose of looking for a "viral" product.

So, let's picture this - after hours of looking, you have found your product, and now you're wondering what the next step is. Not quite marketing yet, make sure you create a site. Normally, dropshippers use Shopify.com as an easy non-code platform for designing their sites. If you want to get really technical and improve conversion (the ratio of people clicking on your site and people actually buying your product), you'd put your product on the home page, which cuts the whole journey of finding the product on your site, adding it to the cart, and then checking out, etc. So, that's a small tip to improve that.

Okay, all the small details are out of the way - let's talk about marketing. No, it is no longer 2015, so we won't mention Facebook ads, but, in fact, the rebirth of dropshipping has positively correlated with the rise of TikTok. This doesn't come as much of a surprise, considering the possibility to go viral on TikTok is much, much higher than that of its social media competitors. TikTok's "For You" algorithm gives many dropshippers a fair chance of having their products seen by hundreds of thousands to millions of people across the world. The basis of these videos is hooks, something that pulls the user into the video and keeps them engaged in what you're selling. But other than that, it sometimes takes a little creativity - the most viral videos are usually those that include something you wouldn't expect; something that gets the "wait what?" out of you.

To wrap up, dropshipping is very much "back," and you can make a really good amount of money if you dedicate a few months of your time to learning the craft and perfecting it. Not only are many dropshippers publicly showing their success, but you are very likely to come across a product "ad" while scrolling on TikTok. If you see an account with a link to the product in their bio, chances are they're dropshipping. Even still, you can check their estimated revenue using online tools.