Dropshipping has gained popularity as a business model. This business can be started with limited funds as you do not have to handle or stock items you are selling. Dropshipping business model is a great way to earn money as an e-commerce business because this model allows you to sell products without the hassle of managing inventory and has minor risks.

Consider these points before starting a Dropshipping business to make it successful:

1. Select a Niche

Choose a product for dropshipping after carefully considering the characteristics and features of each product. It is advised to start with products that you are familiar with and passionate about as this would reduce the amount of research required. Check the legal laws to ensure the product you want to sell does not require any kind of license or permit.

Some other points you should consider when choosing your niche are:

• Seek Attractive Profits- In a dropshipping model, the focus is always on customer acquisition, marketing, and the hard work involved in selling low-cost items is the same as required to sell a higher-priced item. So, select a niche with higher-priced products that can give you more profits.

• Low Shipping Costs- In dropshipping, the manufacturer or supplier handles shipping, but customers do not favour high shipping costs. So, find products that are inexpensive to ship as this will help you attract more sales.

• Make Sure the Products have Demand and Appeal to buyers- Selling products that trigger impulse buys and appeals to high-income groups will mean a higher conversion rate. Use Google's Keyword Planner and Trends to find out the terms your niche searches. It is important to ensure that people are searching for what you intend to sell. Also, sell something that is not readily available in the market. This will help you attract more customers.

• Create your own brand- Rebranding will add more value to your dropshipping business. So, look for products that you can label as your own with customised branding and packaging.

2. Perform Competitive Research-

Selling products with little or no competition is a sign that there is no demand for that product. Study your competition to find out products with high demand as selling them will help your business sustain itself. So, study the competition before you begin.

3. Secure a Supplier-

Identifying the right supplier requires due diligence. Before zeroing on the supplier, check their production quality and ensure their production is scalable in case your business grows exponentially. Also, pay attention to language issues as most of the suppliers will be located in different countries, so make sure you can easily communicate with them. A supplier can make or break your business, so select one after conducting proper due diligence.

4. Build your E-commerce website-

There are two ways to do this. First, build your own website from scratch, but this will consume time and will require investment. The other way is to use platforms like Shopify to launch your website; it is fast, and you don't have to be someone with a technical background. The best way for beginners is to use such platforms, and when your business scales, you can have a full-fledged website of your own.

5. Create Customer Acquisition Plan-

You need to have a robust plan in place for customer acquisition. SEO, email marketing, social media ads and other promotional methods such as discounts etc., should be an important part of the customer acquisition strategy to scale quickly and generate sales and revenue.

6. Analyse and Optimise-

Analysing the data and metrics will help you optimise your website and eliminate unnecessary elements. Tracking data will provide you information about the customer's journey, such as from where it originated, what pages he visited, what led him to make a purchase decision etc. Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel can help you to track the data.

With careful research and planning and eliminating potential pitfalls, one can easily start an online drop shipping business.