Most people are aware that the failure rates for new businesses are astronomical: 50% of all new businesses go under in the first year, and after five years, a depressing 95% are nowhere to be seen.  Now, you might be saying to yourself, “But those are mom and pop stores, and people who try to start lawn care businesses.  I’m starting an online business.  That’s totally different.”  Yes, online businesses ARE different than businesses in the “real” world, and it’s important to recognize and capitalize on those differences.  But online businesses are no less subject to failure if you don’t work scrupulously to protect your investment.  Whether you’re building a website to sell your own homemade toffee, or you want to join the ranks of dropshippers selling Blue Ray DVD players and Inkjet printers on eBay, you need to plan carefully before taking your first steps, or if you’re already in business, analyze your practices to maximize your success.

#1: You’re in the Matrix Now.  Like I said above, online business is different than “real world” business.  So you better do your research before you start.  The products that sell on websites are different than those that fly off the shelves in stores, and the products that dropshippers can successfully unload on eBay are different again.  When you’re selling from a personal website, consider selling consumable products that will allow you to capitalize on return business.  Products purchased in bulk or high quantities are a good idea, as are items that will lead to the purchase of more expensive items.  Knowledge-based or information products are always in high demand, and involve little or no shipping costs.  For eBay dropshippers, do your research before hand, check what’s selling on eBay for a price that will allow you to make a profit, and do some keyword research using resources like the Google adwords tool.

photo credit: rick

#2: Websites Don’t Promote Themselves. There’s no “If you build it, they will come” Field of Dreams moment with your website.  You need to actively work to promote your website on a regular basis.  One of the best ways to do this is through search engine optimization (SEO).  A few  things help you to get a good ranking on search engines.  One of the biggest is continually providing fresh content.  Update product descriptions, add new pages to your website, and easiest of all, write a blog related to your product(s).  If you can hardly write a shopping list let alone a blog, take advantage of all those starving would-be-JK Rowlings out there.  But really, SEO is easier than you think.  Just make sure to run your content through an SEO tool like those on SEOMoz to ensure you’re hitting all the points necessary to get your website top ranked.  Fresh content is important anyway to ensure that return visitors to your website have something new to look at.

#3: Online Business Works on Incentives.  Why do people shop online?  Because they see some benefit they’re not finding in the real world.  Whether it’s the ability to shop at 2 AM in the buff, or because it’s the only way to find an original 1977  Han Solo action figure, you need to make sure there is an incentive for shoppers to buy your product online.  For dropshippers, this incentive is usually price.  You need to be the cheapest, or at least in the ballpark of the cheapest.  Ultimately, the number one reason people shop online is convenience, so make it easy for them.  Don’t give them the runaround: be prompt in your service, easy to reach, and use the fastest shipping options.

#4: We All Want to Feel Safe.  An image of security is absolutely integral, both for websites and for dropshippers who use other venues like eBay.  You need to show that you’re trustworthy and reliable.  Some of the best ways to do this on a website are to have plentiful contact info and posted comments from satisfied customers.  If you’re using eBay, then your customer satisfaction rating is everything.  A guy called me yesterday freaking out because he’d been dropshipping products on eBay and some of his orders got cancelled by the company.  (This happens when you try to dropship 20 products at once from a company that doesn’t allow resale, and because they’re not idiots, they know what shipping to 20 different addresses means).  So the orders were canceled, but the refund took two weeks to process.  In the meantime, his eBay customers had no product and no refund.  Obviously, his approval rating suffered.  So don’t be like Stupid eBay Man.  Before you dropship a product, check the company policies.  And have a slush fund for these kind of  exigencies.  Why was this guy dropshipping $2500 worth of product if he didn’t have the money to cover it?  Not smart.

#5: You Can’t Do Everything Yourself.  Why do new business owners believe that if they try really hard, they’ll suddenly know how to design a beautiful website, or find the perfect dropship supplier?  Be aware of your skills and use them, but you’re going to have to invest a little money.  It’s inevitable.  In fact, you’re going to waste a lot more money spending 112 hours trying to update your website, than if you’d paid some techie kid $400 and all the pizza pockets he can eat.  Dropshippers, bite the bullet and pay for access to a supplier database.  You may find one or two suppliers on your own, but they won’t be the best ones, and you’ll waste a huge amount of time.  Here at Wholesale Match, for a small fee, you get unlimited access to the best supplier database.  You also have unlimited research requests, so instead of searching through the database yourself, you send us your request and we find you the perfect suppliers to match it.  We even offer a money-back guarantee, so there’s no risk to your investment.  So basically, you have no excuse for not using professionals to do what you can’t, so that you can make the maximum amount of money in the shortest amount of time.

dropshippers, eBay, internet marketing, online business