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General Marketing
Build an Online Income Through Drop Shipping
With the financial climate being what it is – many people are looking to make extra income any way that they can and the internet provides many opportunities. One of these opportunities is that of drop shipping. It offers many advantages and should be something that is seriously considered when selecting which home business would be right for you.
So what exactly is drop shipping? It’s really being the middle man between a manufacturer or a supplier of physical products and the consumer. You will not need to keep an inventory of the products but will place an order once a consumer makes a purchase. The supplier would then ship the product to the address of the consumer, and you will profit in the difference between the wholesale price and the retail price.
So let’s look at the pros of drop shipping:
- You will not need to keep any inventory or stock
- You will not need to ship or package any goods
- Your main task will be in marketing and promotion of products
And what to watch for:
- It is essential that the products that you select to sell are in demand – to discover what is in demand, watch ebay, Google Adwords keyword tool and Google Trends to check how many people are buying and searching for those products
- Keep a close eye on the competition for prices and for products.
- Start small and build up. You will need to smooth out any hiccups with the ordering and delivery processes.
Our conclusion on drop shipping is that it is a viable business model for income, just as long as you do your research.
23 Marketing Channels for Selling Products Online
So you’ve decided that you want to sell products online. You’ve selected products, set up a website but are now at the stage where you are looking for marketing channels to promote your products. There are bucket loads of channels that you can use to market your products, whether they are affiliate products or even physical products.
Here’s a list of the most popular ones that are on the web. I suggest that you select a few that you fancy trying out and add them to your marketing plan. Assign a specific measurable goal on your plan too, for example, add 5 of your products to each channel. This will give you a clear idea whether the channel is suitable for promotion of a particular product. Once you find a channel that works for you – then you’ll need to scale up your efforts to make the best of it.
- Social media – Facebook and Twitter via news feeds
- Facebook – marketplace application
- Auction sites such as – ebay, plunderhere.com, bidville.com
- Pay per click advertising – such as adsense
- email marketing or newsletter
- ad in a printed trade industry publication
- local newspaper- in classifieds or via regular column
- blog posts
- ebook giveaway
- white paper
- local event sponsorship
- radio advert
- television advertisment
- online forums
- squidoo
- article marketing
- search engine optimisation
- free web seminars (advertise on Facebook)
- online directories such as hotfrog.co.uk
- relevant industry trade shows
- google products
- Amazon
- Craigslist
There are plenty of other sites and methods that you can use to sell your goods. Many of the ones listed here are free – remember start small and once you find something that works, then build it up. Which ones do you use?