Author: Peter Pru

How iOS 14 Hurts Facebook Ads (And What This Means for Dropshipping)

by Peter PruFacebook Ads For Dropshipping2 Comments on How iOS 14 Hurts Facebook Ads (And What This Means for Dropshipping)

Many business owners and dropshippers are understandably worried about how Apple iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads. If you’re wondering about how the new update will affect your dropshipping business and the ecommerce industry at large, here we’ll go over this update and what it means for the future of dropshipping.

How iOS 14 Hurts Facebook Ads and Campaigns

If you’re unfamiliar with the specific change that the new update brings, iOS 14 users on iPhones will now see a prompt before opening certain apps. That prompt requests the user’s permission to track them “across apps and websites owned by other companies,” like Facebook.

Users are then given the option to “Allow Tracking” or “Ask App Not to Track,” too. If the user opts out of tracking, that could hinder advertisers as it prevents the user from seeing personalized ads. The new prompt and tracking option applies to many third-party apps, including Facebook and other social media channels. In fact, Facebook recently released a white paper that discusses how iOS 14 will affect ads on the platform. 

If you want to make sure that your ad campaigns can function in light of the iOS 14 update, Facebook recommends that you take certain actions.

How to Prepare Your Facebook Ads for the Update

Screengrab of Peter Pru explaining Facebook's response to the iOS 14 update

According to guidance from Facebook, if you intend to deliver ads for opt-ins or other conversion events that inspire people to take action on your website, you will be required to verify your website’s domain to prevent any potential disruption to your ad campaigns. Facebook states that you “may” need to verify your website. But you absolutely need to do it if you want to keep your campaigns in working order. Facebook makes it easy to verify your domain, so you should have this task completed in no time.

Another element discussed in Facebook’s white paper is the set of limitations on ad creation. For dropshippers, it’s important to note that “your pixel may only optimize for a maximum of 8 conversion events for each domain.”

In dropshipping, eight conversion events are more than sufficient. Just consider what the conversion events are in a dropshipping store, which consist of:

  1. Page views
  2. Initiating checkout
  3. Purchases

There will be plenty of workarounds for this limit. For example, you can create multiple domains that each have a series of conversion events. So this shouldn’t be a huge concern for you. This does bring us to our next limitation, however.

There are more changes in addition to a limited number of conversion events for each domain. According to Facebook’s white paper, “each app is limited to 9 iOS 14 campaign at once. Each campaign is limited to 5 ad sets in the same optimization type.”

This is one of the biggest ways iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads. The takeaway for us here is that dropshippers should separate their iOS 14 campaigns from others, such as desktop and other mobile campaigns for other devices. We’ve always recommended keeping your campaigns separate to gauge the performance of each one. But now, it’s even more important to separate iOS campaigns from desktop, Android, and others.

Will the iOS 14 Update Kill Dropshipping?

Screengrab of Peter Pru discussing iOS 14's opt-out options

With these and other limitations, you may still wonder if this is the beginning of the end for dropshipping. But it’s not — while iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads, it doesn’t cut off the advertising route entirely. There will be some changes in place that could influence your campaigns, but you’ll still have the opportunity to thrive with your iOS campaigns if implemented properly.

Remember, there are four main things to think about as you adapt to the new update and prepare your campaigns:

1. Your Ad Campaigns Will Still Reach Apple Users

Keep in mind that with this update, people will still be able to see ads. They’re given a choice to avoid tracking for more personalization, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll be opting out of ads entirely on Apple devices. You may not be able to target those users as effectively, but you won’t be entirely invisible to your audiences on these devices.

2. Make Sure Your Website Domain Is Verified

If you want your Facebook Ads campaigns to work for iOS 14 campaigns, you need to ensure your domain is verified. Facebook might claim that this isn’t always necessary, but there’s no doubt that it’s mandatory.

3. You’ll Be Limited to 8 Conversion Events

While eight conversion events per domain are more than enough to help your campaigns succeed, you should bear in mind that this limit exists. You can use multiple campaigns across several domains as a workaround.

4. You Can Only Run 9 iOS 14 Campaigns Simultaneously

With this limit on the number of iOS 14 campaigns, this update only emphasizes the importance of keeping your iOS 14 campaigns separate from others as you test ads for Apple devices.

In short, dropshipping isn’t going anywhere, even if other updates affect other campaigns in the future. It will impact retargeting efforts, but dropshipping is here to stay. Dropshipping has been around for a long time and consists of simply shipping products to consumers from your suppliers. It’s not reliant on AliExpress, Alibaba, or any other platform. There will always be ways to get around potential obstacles that could otherwise set you back. It’s about change, which has always affected ecommerce and dropshipping. 

The key is being able to adapt to these changes as you grow your business and navigate the evolving landscape. It’s equally important to avoid going into dropshipping alone. Try to follow people who have been in this business for a long time. Pay attention to what they’re doing. If you spend time with people who have plenty of dropshipping experience, you can learn how to apply their strategies to your own business. One of the most common elements of any successful dropshipping campaigns you’re likely to come across is the sales funnel.

Why You Need a Sales Funnel to Offset How iOS 14 Hurts Facebook Ads

Dropshipper planning changes to his ad strategy

One of the most integral components of any dropshipping business is a sales funnel. One of the main reasons many dropshippers are likely to suffer due to the iOS 14 update is that they don’t have a sales funnel. Many of those businesses depend on retargeting through Facebook Ads, which is not the right approach.

With a sales funnel, you can attract leads through multiple platforms and more effectively lead them toward a sale. You can build phone and email lists that go well beyond simply pushing ads on Facebook and hoping for the best. At the same time, it’s important to have ads on many other platforms. Creating a comprehensive campaign will give you the chance to succeed and overcome any challenges like how iOS 14 hurts Facebook ads — and any other updates that you’re likely to face.

Do you want to learn more about how you can use sales funnels to build a winning dropshipping store? Then reserve your seat at the free ecommerce masterclass from Ecommerce Empire Builders today. We’ll show you how you can create a successful business without relying on costly ad campaigns or the need to build a website.

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How to Improve Your Dropshipping Store: Our Animated Lure Analysis

by Peter PruDropshipping Case StudiesLeave a Comment on How to Improve Your Dropshipping Store: Our Animated Lure Analysis

You may have seen the company Animated Lure featured on the “Shark Tank” television show. There, they advertised a robotic fishing lure that features lifelike movement to attract fish. The product itself is impressive, but it’s important to remember that marketing is what will ultimately sell it. Improve your dropshipping store by seeing how Animated Lure runs their marketing efforts.

As Kevin from “Shark Tank” himself has said, many of the products on that show wouldn’t have been successful if it weren’t for the publicity that the show provides. Animated Lure experienced a particularly notable amount of success following their “Shark Tank” appearance, and we wanted to find out whether that success came down to their publicity through “Shark Tank” or their own marketing efforts.

Here, we’ll review what Animated Lure is doing to sell their products and determine what they’re doing right and wrong. In turn, you can apply some of what’s working in these strategies to your dropshipping business.

What Animated Lure Is Doing in Their Ads

Looking at the Facebook Ad Library, we were able to gain some insight into what Animated Lure was doing to sell their products using social media ads. We were able to focus on one ad that launched on November 6. This ad featured brief, concise copy and a demonstration video. It’s worth noting that demo videos are great for warm traffic. People likely came across this product on “Shark Tank,” which led them to find out how the product actually works. 

The video ad features someone fishing with the lure, throwing the lure into a pond and catching a large fish with it. While it doesn’t show the actual act of catching the fish, only the result, it’s effective enough to show that the product works. The ad also shows the lure while used in a pool. This allows you to see its movements, which are as realistic and lifelike as advertised. Overall, it’s a reasonably effective ad that shows the lure in use and highlights the “animated” element that makes this product stand out.

At the time of this review, that ad is the only ad that Animated Lure is running on Facebook. Ultimately, it takes people to their website with a CTA directly below the video.

Navigating the Animated Lure Store

Screen grab of Animated Lure's long purchase process through product clicks

The store that their Facebook ad takes you to is a very basic store. At this point, people can choose from several variations of the Animated Lure product. Now, there’s one problem that we noticed with this strategy so far. Generally, after showing an ad with a demonstration of a specific product, you would simply link to the specific product shown in the ad. Instead, Animated Lure links to their main store page. This forces the customer to choose between different options, potentially leading to indecisiveness and uncertainty that turn people away.

Audiences want to be told what’s best when shopping for products. While options can be great, they may not know which to choose. They might not even be open to experimentation because they lack familiarity with the product. In a product demonstration that shows a product in action and resulting in success, people want to know which specific product is used and buy it. An easy way to always improve your dropshipping store is by clearly directing your customers to the product shown in your ads.

Improve Your Dropshipping Store With the 80/20 Rule

It’s always advisable to go by the 80/20 rule. This rule dictates that 80 percent of your sales will come from 20 percent of your products. Once you’ve pinpointed which of your products are the money-makers, improve your dropshipping store and direct new customers to them. If you give people too many places to click, each click leads to another touchpoint. The customer can drop off.  You want to simplify the process and keep your sales funnels efficient instead. So keep the number of possible clicks to a minimum for visitors from your ads. The shorter the distance you can create between your ads and the checkout page, the higher your conversion rates will be.

We believe the Animated Lure ad’s destination may have given people too many choices for initial sales. But their store, in general, is admirably simple. It’s not overly complicated to navigate, and the products have clear thumbnail images that show what people can expect.

How Animated Lure’s Strategy Could Benefit From an Upsell

Business owner testing out how to improve their dropshipping store

Rather than sending people to a wide selection of product variations the way their ad currently does, we recommend linking to the specific product that appears in the ad. However, with so many variations, we think the sales funnel could try to upsell the other products. 

An upsell would be a great way to advertise variations that may be ideal for certain fishing conditions. For instance, a customer may buy the Gizzard Shad variation. Then, the site might upsell their Bluegill lure, claiming that it’s best when used in certain weather or when the water is murkier.

By pushing that popular item based on the 80/20 rule and upselling others, you can significantly boost sales, improve your dropshipping store performance, and maximize your average cart value. Even better, you can use a subscription to keep people paying while sending them different variations. This will be perfect if your customers like their initial purchase.

Inadequate Product Pages Could Further Hinder Sales

When looking at individual products on the Animated Lure website, we discovered a disappointing lack of listed benefits. There are some brief product descriptions. But if someone comes across the store who hasn’t seen the company’s “Shark Tank” episode, that absence of information could keep them from buying. 

Another issue we noticed was the quality of the images that the website uses. Some of the images are not appealing and don’t do their products justice. They have plain white-gray backgrounds and nothing to make the product stand out. In addition, we also wondered where any testimonials and reviews were that could convince people to make a purchase.

Ultimately, it seems to us that Animated Lure relies mainly on their “Shark Tank” publicity to sell these products. As a result, the company is offering nothing really concrete and persuasive for people who might be entirely unfamiliar with their brand and products.

In your product pages, you should improve your dropshipping store by:

  • Highlighting benefits
  • Using high-quality images
  • Showcasing reviews
  • Providing enough details about features that can collectively convince people that your products are worth buying

Looking at Animated Lure’s Social Proof at Improve Your Dropshipping Store

Online shopper leaving reviews and ratings as social proof

Another big contributor to a business’s success is good social proof. We found plenty of videos on YouTube showing Animated Lure’s products in action. But we were a bit disappointed to find that they had a mere 3,000 or so followers on Instagram. Their YouTube profile was also underwhelming. It has only around 800 subscribers and a handful of videos, the most recent of which was uploaded a year ago. 

In a niche like fishing, it should be easy to get hundreds or even thousands of likes for photos on a platform like Instagram. People are always showing what they caught and sharing their experiences with different fishing gear. So it’s important to harness the power of social media if you’re in this niche. Show people using your products to catch big fish, or show the different features of your products. If you stay active on social media, you can hook (no pun intended) a lot more people through these channels.

Animated Lure is doing certain things right. They have a simple store that’s easy to navigate and ads that show their product at work. However, we believe there is a lot of room for improvement in their sales funnel and social media strategies. Although Animated Lure might be seeing around seven figures on a weekly basis from sales, much of that success is likely due to their “Shark Tank” appearance — not their overall online presence. We hope you can learn from some of the issues we found and use these lessons to build a winning dropshipping sales funnel.

Improve Your Dropshipping Store — Consult With the Pros

If you would like to learn more about how to create the perfect dropshipping store that makes it easy to generate a full-time income online, reserve your free spot at the Ecommerce Empire Builders masterclass today! Also, visit our YouTube channel for more insights into building your ads and stores.

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How to Build Long-Term Wealth With Dropshipping

by Peter PruSystems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on How to Build Long-Term Wealth With Dropshipping

Empire builders, you know that you’re already dedicated to achieving success with your dropshipping business. But what comes next after the money rolls in? Yes, it’s fantastic to make ten grand a month, but what’s much better is making ten grand a month for years and years on end. It’s the difference between having money with dropshipping and having wealth with dropshipping. 

One is a temporary state, while the other is a solid financial foundation that lasts for the long term and can even become generational wealth. For many of you, achieving this kind of enduring wealth from your dropshipping business is the goal. If it isn’t already, then it absolutely should be. Let’s talk about how it’s possible to use dropshipping as the stepping stone to creating long-term wealth for you and your family.   

Build Wealth With Dropshipping by Thinking Long-Term  

I’m always preaching about the importance of thinking about your business in terms of the broader picture, including years down the line. If you want to build wealth, and I know you do, then having that long-term perspective is essential. For many of you, dropshipping is going to be your very first entry point into making money online. But what you do after you start earning from dropshipping is incredibly important. 

This is the advice I wish someone had given me 10 to 12 years ago when I was getting started with my online businesses — before I ever made my first dollar. 

What I’ve learned over the years about building wealth with dropshipping or any other business is that it’s not how much you make. It’s how much you actually keep within your businesses that matters. That means using your profits to reinvest and create a more solid foundation.

A lot of people that start out in dropshipping are not setting up their business properly, and they don’t know what to do with the money they make. They get excited and rack up a ton of expenses. Buying nice clothes and fancy things feels good in the moment, but it definitely doesn’t create wealth. Before spending on luxuries, think about the long term. Only spend money that you really don’t need and won’t even bat an eye at. If making that expense is going to affect the decisions you make in your business, such as not being able to invest in something that can help you grow, then just forget about it.  

Getting Your Money Right

Screen grab of Peter Pru explaining the importance of an LLC business structure

Making sure your business is structured properly is one of the most significant things that’s going to set you apart from everybody else. This is one of those nuggets I really wish I could have told myself 12 years ago because I would have saved millions of dollars. 

When I got started, I made all the expenses for my business with my personal credit and debit cards. Naturally, the profits that came in went straight to my personal bank account. I had no idea that I needed to be separating the spheres of my business and my personal finances. Most of you are probably making these same mistakes I made and, trust me: this is killing you. If you don’t have the money from your business flowing properly, you are wasting so much money and paying so much extra in taxes that it’s not even funny. 

You won’t build any wealth until you get your money right. 

How to Think About Taxes and Finances

The problem with running your business this way is you’ll get hit with a massive tax bill at the end of the year. You’re taking a salary from your business and then paying for your ads, your team members, your business trips, miscellaneous expenses, etc., from your own personal accounts. Every dollar you pay yourself as salary comes with income tax. So you’re essentially getting double-taxed for all business expenses. You’re paying the income tax and then also paying the actual taxes on the product.

Trust me, that’s not how you build wealth. You need to get your money right by creating something that legally separates you from your business. Something that makes it so that every business expense becomes a tax write-off instead of a tax liability. That “something” is called an LLC. 

A Quick Overview of Setting up LLCs

There are many types of business structures out there, including S-Corp and C-Corp. Typically, you want to set up your dropshipping business as an S-Corp. But it depends on your unique situation, and I am NOT giving legal advice. If you want professional guidance for how to get your money right, I definitely recommend scheduling a call with the team at PCS. They worked with me to help me set up my businesses and opened my eyes to strategies that I never knew about. They’re great people, and they’re helping me save millions of dollars, so that’s why I can enthusiastically recommend them to anyone. If you’re still using your personal accounts to do business, it’s time for a new strategy. 

Once you have an LLC, many doors will open up for you. That’s why it’s a crucial step in the direction of building wealth. All your business expenses will now be made by the legal entity occupied by your business. You can think of it as a person that’s separate from you because, legally speaking, that’s what your LLC is. Now your business can pay for courses, pay your marketing expenses, and pay for services. It’s all completely separate from the personal income in your salary.

There’s a huge variety of things that can be considered a business expense, which means there are massive tax benefits just for being a business owner. And this is only the beginning.  

Build Your Empire and Long-Term Wealth With Dropshipping

Screen grab of Peter Pru emphasizing the importance of reinvesting revenue into the business

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. You will never get wealthy by paying yourself more from your business. Wealth comes from growing your businesses and creating more value. It’s as simple as that. You need to focus on building an empire and investing back into it as much as you can. Jeff Bezos, for example, doesn’t pay himself a huge salary even though he’s the richest man in the world. He doesn’t need to because he controls Amazon and puts his focus on growing Amazon.

When you own things personally, that just sets you for liability. Try to own as little as possible. Instead, create an empire and control it all. If you want to build wealth with dropshipping, you can’t just have one business, either. Having only one business means you’re not optimizing what you have well enough or profitably enough. 

The Value of Multiple LLCs

If you set up your dropshipping business as an LLC and you’re making money, that’s absolutely fantastic. But let’s say you have another business idea, and you start another dropshipping store. That’s even better. Now you open up a second LLC, and the new business can be completely separate from the first one. Why do you want to do that? Because if your original LLC gets sued, you’re legally protected. They can’t come after you personally, and they can’t go after any other LLCs you have. Remember, each LLC is its own entity.

This is where it starts getting interesting and where it becomes possible to build long-term wealth. Because remember, you don’t want to pay a lot of income tax. Don’t pay yourself a salary that’s the most you can possibly afford to pay yourself. Instead, nurture your empire at every opportunity. For example, the way that my business is structured is that I have multiple LLCs. I pay myself a salary from only one of them. 

In the case of another LLC, I’m able to take those profits and reinvest them back into wealth-building projects like real estate. In legal terms, this investment would be considered a loan from one company to another. That means I create a third LLC that owns rental property, generates a cash flow, and pays back my other LLC for the initial investment.

I also have an LLC dedicated to affiliate marketing, which is a fantastic side project for generating extra money. Any dropshipper will benefit from going to Clickbank, finding some relevant niche products that are for sale there, and then promoting them to your customers with affiliate links. 

These are just a few examples of what’s possible when you want to create wealth from your dropshipping income.

The Impact of Multiple LLCs

Doing business this way means that you can minimize income taxes, maximize tax deductions for business expenses, and stay focused on reinvesting in your empire. Beyond my modest salary, I don’t want that money for myself. I want it to be circulating amongst my businesses, helping me to grow and creating a solid foundation of wealth.

Why Delayed Gratification Is Crucial for Wealth With Dropshipping

Ecommerce business owner setting up an LLC

Personally, my lifestyle doesn’t get crazier with the more money I have. But that doesn’t mean I don’t reward myself for milestones. It’s all about finding a balance and staying focused on your broader goals. Be honest with yourself about what you can really afford and where your priorities should be. For example, I like nice watches. Maybe for you, it’s something else. If you can utilize these extravagant purchases to motivate yourself to get to the next level, and the next level, then that’s great.

But make your consumption as mindful as possible. That’s how you create wealth with dropshipping: by delaying a little bit of gratification in service of your long-term goals. You should definitely enjoy your success but never at the expense of growing your businesses. Get your money right and get yourself set up. Make sure that when the moment comes that you want to spend ten grand on something you really enjoy, it’s because you can genuinely afford it — in short, because you’ve earned it. 

If you want to learn much more about building wealth with dropshipping and a high performing ecommerce business, you’ve come to the right place. To get practical advice on creating a full-time income online, reserve your free seat at our sales funnel masterclass. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel for regular tips and insights.

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How to Use Ecom Cheetah for Unlimited Ecommerce Opportunities

by Peter PruDigital & Information Products / Facebook Ads For Dropshipping / Product ResearchLeave a Comment on How to Use Ecom Cheetah for Unlimited Ecommerce Opportunities

There are a ton of tools for quick and convenient success in dropshipping and selling online. The problem is it can be incredibly overwhelming trying to sell your products with all the same software and tools that every other business in your industry are using. Ecom Cheetah serves to take the hassle out of selling online and give you the edge over competition in your ecommerce business.

Our new service, Ecom Cheetah, aims to make your ecommerce journey that much easier and help you grow your business with exclusive access to unlimited winning products and suppliers, Facebook ad images, offer stack image creation, and digital information products. Check out this quick breakdown and watch our video for more in-depth information on leveraging Ecom Cheetah in your ecommerce business. 

1. Find Unlimited Winning Products and Suppliers

First and foremost, we offer unlimited winning products and suppliers. A major issue in dropshipping is that many businesses are buying all the same software to get their hands on winning products. Industry-standard resources can be a great place to start for inspiration. But you run the risk of selling the same products as your competition. Your business will suffer if your customers can get your products from a thousand other businesses. 

That’s where Ecom Cheetah comes in and makes a difference for you and your business. We vet the supplier and handpick your products to tailor them specifically to you. Many ecommerce businesses fail because of market saturation and no brand differentiation. They’re trying to sell the same products on the same software as everyone else in the industry without any real differentiating factor that appeals to consumers. 

Your business needs to stand out from the crowd and offer unique, winning products consumers can’t get anywhere else. With Ecom Cheetah, we do all the work for you by finding winning products that best suit your business. We also vet the suppliers and send you on your way with products that are proven to sell. 

2. Gain Unlimited Facebook Ad Images

Screen grab of Peter Pru talking about Facebook ads

We also give you unlimited Facebook ad images to add variation to your Facebook advertising strategy. Ad images have the potential to be an excellent way to drive traffic from Facebook — as long as you have the right images and do it the right way. When done correctly, our Facebook ad images have a 3-5% click-through rate (CTR), which is well above the average CTR. It’s an amazing rate that will get consumers to wherever you’re driving traffic.

A 3-5% CTR takes away the hassle of getting people to your website. It makes it easier to focus more of your time on your business and your funnel — you’ve already pulled consumers in. All you need to do now is keep them on your page and close the deal. 

Ecom Cheetah offers you Facebook ad images with the potential of 3-5% CTR. It also offers an unlimited amount of Facebook ad images to utilize. It may sound excessive, but it is more effective for your business to use a multitude of ad images rather than one or two. The more ad images you have, the better!

The algorithm on Facebook thrives on variation. If you’ve been advertising on Facebook for a while now, you’ve likely figured this out. You need as much variation as possible because not every consumer is alike, and different images entice different people. It can sometimes take multiple ad images before the right one reaches the right consumer and drives them to click on it. It’s a daily test of variations so that you can convert as many Facebook users as possible with your ads. 

3. Use Unlimited Offer Stack Image Creation

Dropshipper browsing through digital information product options

Next, we provide you with unlimited offer stack images to enhance your website. In many cases, your products and digital bonuses are incredible deals. But your website lacks perceived value when the consumer lands on it. This can be a huge problem. No matter how much traffic you drive to your page, if they don’t see a significant amount of perceived value, then it was all for nothing. They will leave.

Online shopping already comes with the stigma of mistrust. If your business isn’t one the consumer already knows and has worked with previously, you have to earn that trust. You need a tremendous amount of perceived value the moment they land on your page. They’re going to be a lot less likely to make purchases if they don’t immediately see the benefits and value of what you have to offer. 

Our unlimited offer stack images cut out the risk of mistrust and restore credibility. It doesn’t matter if you’re offering one product or bundling it with other great products if you don’t have high-quality offer stack images to showcase it. Poor quality offer stack images are why many businesses see a good amount of their products in consumers’ carts but still aren’t making the sales they should be. You need crisp and clean offer stack images that successfully highlight your offer and elicit trust in your business. 

4. Create Unlimited Digital Information Products

Finally, we offer unlimited digital information products. It can’t be stressed enough how vital they will be to the growth and success of your ecommerce business. This is the most important offer we’re going to provide you with. Why? Because it can serve the purpose of adding more value to your products and enticing more customers to purchase. They can be offered as part of a bundle with a physical product or as a free bonus. Not to mention, they’re great for upselling orders, too. 

Businesses need to start leveraging digital information products right away. They’re extremely versatile, last forever, and can be updated easily when they fall behind in technological advancements. With Ecom Cheetah’s exclusive access to unlimited digital information products, your consumers will get more perceived value. You can add them as bonuses, bundles, or upsells. With more perceived value, consumers are more attracted to what you have to offer.

Don’t Miss Out

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing Ecom Cheetah

Here at Ecommerce Empire Builders, we provide you with nothing but the best tools for setting up your ecommerce business for success and tremendous growth. Our dedicated team of experts is ready to upgrade your business from being like the rest to differentiating you from the competition. Are you ready to upgrade your winning products, add more variation to your Facebook ad images, increase perceived value on your landing page, and add a versatile asset to start using for your business right now? Reserve a seat to our exclusive free webinar and check out our YouTube channel for more insights into growing your ecommerce business and increasing profits. 

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Dropshipping Ad Copy That Gets Sales on the First Day

by Peter PruFacebook Ads For DropshippingLeave a Comment on Dropshipping Ad Copy That Gets Sales on the First Day

One of the key ingredients of a successful Facebook ad campaign is the copy that you use in those ads. As a dropshipper, you need to ensure that your ads are visually alluring. But they also need to include well-written and efficient dropshipping ad copy that brings people into the sales funnel.

While you may think that it’s possible to recycle copy from other ads, it’s not a good practice. Not only is this unethical, but it generally doesn’t work the way you might anticipate. Instead, try to develop unique, high-quality copy for your ads. If you’re new to ads, you may not be sure where to start. But here, we’ll discuss how you can create engaging dropshipping ad copy that can help generate sales on the first day of implementation.

To get some ideas for creating winning dropshipping ad copy, we spoke with Jordan Strauss, our Copy Chief at Ecommerce Empire Builders. He was able to provide some advice for dropshippers just starting out with Facebook ads.

Know Your Big Three

In an ad, there are two main components: 

  1. The content of the ad.
  2. The structure of the ad that dictates the layout of that content. 

To determine both of those elements, you need to know what your “Big Three” are.

The “Big Three” consist of three main aspects that you want to push with your content in your niche. For instance, a men’s fitness magazine may push these three goals: Get abs, build muscle, and look 20 when you’re 40. All three of these points address the audience’s problems and the solutions in brief and concise ways. Knowing your own “Big Three” can help you determine how best to sell those products via cold traffic ads.

One of the mistakes that many people make with Facebook ads is that they treat their ads the same way they would an Amazon product listing. However, people who look for products on Amazon are actively searching for those products. Audiences on Facebook and other social media platforms usually aren’t. With those value points provided in your “Big Three,” you can attract people with your ads and hold their attention.

The best way to come up with your “Big Three” is listening to what people say they want the most. What are those three main benefits that your audience seems to be looking for more than anything else? Even if you find those three benefits that are worth pushing, you might realize that you need to change one or two out. You might even rework all three. The important thing is to be flexible but consistent with these items. They will be the key to developing your ads’ content and structure.

Optimize the Ad Headline

Screen grab of discussion about dropshipping ad copy between Peter Pru and Jordan Strauss

With your “Big Three” figured out and ready to implement, you can begin thinking about how you want to approach your Facebook ad headlines. Keep in mind that headlines in Facebook ads aren’t the same attention-grabbers that appear on the landing page of your sales funnel. Facebook ads are structured differently. The first item that people will encounter is the image, which is intended to get people to stop scrolling. Underneath that is the “headline,” which is the dark, bold text beneath the image. 

Despite its placement, that text functions as an ad’s headline that can attract people’s attention, making the content in that headline crucial for your ads. From there, you’ll see the body text. This can feature the main benefit of your product that you want to push.

The Headline Is Usually the Most Important Aspect of Dropshipping Ad Copy

The hierarchy of ad engagement, from the most attractive element to the least, tends to be: image, headline, and body text. However, for selling dropshipping products, the factor that tends to make or break Facebook ads tends to be the headline. An image can help get people to stop scrolling down their feed. But it’s that offer in the headline that will influence people to actually click through the ad.

In short, the headline is vital and needs to include an enticing offer that people simply cannot refuse. At the same time, you won’t be able to make an offer unless the people you’re selling to have a reason to jump on that offer.

The only way you can make an offer is if people:

  • Know your product
  • See a clear benefit that your product offers, or
  • Have seen your product before

People at least need to know your product and know that they want it before you can develop the offer that reels them in.

Look at What Your Competitors Are Doing With Their Own Dropshipping Ad Copy

When optimizing the offers in your ads, you also need to consider ways to stand apart. Your ads should differentiate your ads and products from the rest — without making any claims that you can’t back up.

If you’re not looking at your competitors’ ads to find out what their approach is, you won’t know what’s working and what isn’t. You may also inadvertently wind up just doing what everyone else is doing, which will lead to your ads getting lost in the mix. Consider how people are commenting on your competitors’ ads. What are the offers that seem to be performing the best for similar products?

Only Focus on What Moves Your Audience From A to B

Potential buyer scrolling through Facebook ads

Many people tend to get too hung up on the length of ads when it comes to actually writing the copy. However, this is counterproductive; there is no magic formula for the perfect amount of content to include or other “tricks” that work every time. Instead, focus on producing copy that simply functions to move people from A to B. What hooks them in, keeps them engaged, and encourages them to click through your ads?

In your dropshipping ad copy, only say what you need to in order to help people get to know your product and inspire them to trust it. You can include as much content as you need to that will give people the information they’re looking for and bring them into the sales funnel, but it isn’t a matter of “short vs. long” or any other factor.

This is where that big benefit comes in, which will lead your ad copy. From there, you can go down the list, following that big benefit with:

  1. What is the product?
  2. How does it work?
  3. Why does it work?

Depending on the product, you could also provide your audience with social proof, detailing what other customers say about that product. Finally, you would go into the offer that will ultimately help people get to that “B” step of buying your product.

Think of Your Ads Like a Mall Kiosk

As you think about how to move people from one point to the next with your ads, remember that people on social media aren’t looking to buy in most cases. They’re on there to find out what their friends are up to and make updates about their own lives, which makes your ads naturally intrusive. It’s similar to when you’re in a shopping mall and someone at a kiosk tries to get your attention — you may already know what stores you want to go to, but an engaging, attention-grabbing hook from one of those kiosks can quickly pull you off-track.

Many of those kiosks rely on demonstrations to show you the value of the products or services they’re selling. You can do this in your ads by discussing how and why your products work, which can supplement your offer.

Think of how you can get your audience to stop what they’re doing on social media and go for that offer in your ad. 

Make Sure Your Ads Drive Sales While Maintaining Compliance

Peter Pru and Jordan Strauss discussing Facebook compliance requirements

All Facebook ads need to comply with Facebook’s ad policy. This is why we advise that you read the policy once and then two or three more times to ensure you understand what will keep your ads in compliance. Your ads should be appealing, but without doing anything that might get you in trouble.

When determining what to say and what to avoid saying, consider the details in Facebook’s “Personal Attributes” policy. This prevents advertisers from asserting or implying anything about their customers’ physical, mental, or other condition that your product addresses. However, you can address a particular problem without applying it directly to your audience.

You can try avoiding the second-person perspective by cutting the word “you.” Only say that your product helps solve a problem that the audience doesn’t necessarily have. Also, try to be as critical as possible of your copy. Don’t assume that it’s compliant. Any wrong word could create an issue that you might not have anticipated. If you are as careful about your content as possible, you’ll be able to avoid potential misunderstandings that might otherwise lead to frustrating unforeseen consequences.

Give Your Dropshipping Ad Copy the Attention It Deserves

Implementing each of these elements in dropshipping ad copy creation can help you create winning ads that grab and hold people’s attention. Excellent ads ultimately move buyers through your sales funnel to a purchase. By understanding your products’ three core benefits, optimizing your headline, understanding your product and how it works, and determining how to move people from A to B with compliant content, you can significantly boost sales with successful Facebook ad campaigns.

If you would like to learn more about how to drive sales for your dropshipping business and develop the perfect sales funnel, we can help. Reserve your seat at our free Ecommerce Masterclass today.

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3 Dropshipping Product Research Hacks That Will Drive Your Business’s Success in 2021

by Peter PruProduct ResearchLeave a Comment on 3 Dropshipping Product Research Hacks That Will Drive Your Business’s Success in 2021

One of the hardest things business owners face is figuring out what products they should stock. Each product you’re considering needs to be researched, not just for quality but also to make sure it’s something the members of your target market will love. You also have to make sure there is a high enough profit margin to justify selling the product. Not only is this research time consuming, but it’s also difficult to know where to start. If the idea of delving into product research has you feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath. We can help. We’ve put together some dropshipping product research hacks that take the stress out of product research.

These hacks will improve your confidence as a dropshipper and improve your time management skills. Best of all, they’re easy.

Cruise Over to AliExpress.com

When it comes to product research, AliExpress will become your best friend.

AliExpress was founded in 2010 and has spent the past decade becoming one of the most valuable tools in the savvy consumer’s product research toolbox. The website is designed to provide you with a safe online shopping experience and to help you connect with the suppliers who have the products that perfectly suit your business.

Once you’ve set up your AliExpress account, simply type VIP into the website’s search bar. It’s as easy as that!

Dropshipping Product Research Hacks on AliExpress

Screen grab of how to search for products on AliExpress

VIP Listings

The VIP search brings you to a page that presents you with links to a VIP supplier’s products. These links are supplier-created pages that were designed with the specific intention of making it easier for you, as a business owner, to connect with the suppliers you want to do business with. You won’t believe how much simpler your life becomes once you’ve gained access to your supplier’s VIP shopping experience. 

AliExpress’s VIP shopping experience doesn’t just allow you to get the best possible prices from your favorite suppliers. It also makes it possible for you to bundle some of your favorite products together. Some people don’t realize that they can use AliExpress’s VIP feature as a product research hack.

Instead of heading straight to your favorite supplier’s page, take a couple of minutes to look over the VIP listings. It won’t take you long to realize that this is a great opportunity to see products that are selling extremely well. What most people do is click on the first couple of products they see on the page. We don’t recommend this. We suggest clicking on the pages that only show a VIP logo.

Supplier Pages

When you visit the supplier’s page, you’ll find an assortment of valuable data that allows you to not only see the product and its various options but also read reviews. The page provides valuable insight into what currently appeals to consumers.

“Also Recommended” Pages

Take a look at the page’s “Also Recommended” links that appear on the VIP page you’re exploring. Looking at these “also recommended” products allows you to see products that usually complement whatever you’re already selling.

HINT: Recommended products can be a huge asset when you’re putting together a sales funnel!

We recommend that you not necessarily use AliExpress when you first start working with a supplier. It’s usually best to start by purchasing directly from the supplier and establishing a trust-based relationship. We feel that in the long run, working directly with the supplier saves you time and possibly even money.

Using additional keywords can help you streamline the process of finding VIP suppliers for your business. One of the keywords we like to use is dropshipping. We’ve also noticed that changing things up, such as simply writing drop-shipping instead, can reveal different products. Even small dropshipping product research hacks can help you find brand new opportunities.

We believe that using AliExpress is a great way for business owners who haven’t established a niche for themselves to find products and develop ideas.

Check Out Ecomhunt

Screen grab of using dropshipping product research hacks on Ecomhunt

Yes, Ecomhunt is a paid product research tool, but you can create an account for free to use these dropshipping product research hacks. The free account is pared down from the paid account, but it still provides you with a great deal of information and product research ideas. If you decide you want to use Ecomhunt to purchase products from suppliers, the subscription is only $20 a month. 

Ecomhunt has all sorts of tools that aid in your product research efforts. These tools include:

  • Product descriptions
  • Facebook ads
  • Profit calculators

Our favorite thing about Ecomhunt is the ability to sort through different products by niches. This saves so much time.  

Don’t Discount Amazon

Before we get into our third product research hack, we need to let you know that this particular hack isn’t really meant for the business owner who is just starting out. This hack is designed for businesses that already have established themselves as a niche and have a relatively solid understanding of their target market. 

Many business owners don’t realize that Amazon can be used as a product research tool. What we suggest is finding a product that you think would sell well in your niche. Open up its Amazon page and go to the bestsellers link that is listed under “product information.” Look at the top-level category. If the number ranks in the top 20,000 products, you automatically know that there is a great deal of demand for that product. 

How to Use Your Search Results

When you use this and similar dropshipping product research hacks, it’s extremely important that you only look at the top product level category. Ignore the bottom two. The lower categories are sub-categories and far more niche-specific. They don’t present a super accurate impression of how the product is selling. The biggest problem with using the sub-category to determine how a product is performing is that it’s difficult to determine how many people are actually purchasing products that fit that category and how many products are in the category.

Once you’ve determined that the product is under 20,000 in the top category, you can start exploring the sub-categories (ignore them if the product is over 20,000 in the top category). Click on one of the sub-categories. On the left hand of your screen, you’ll see a menu of similar sub-categories. When you click on an interesting sub-category, you will see the bestsellers. This is a fantastic way to discover products that you can incorporate into your sales funnel or even offer directly to your customers. Once you’ve found a few interesting categories, it’s time to go to either your favorite supplier or to find a supplier via Ecomhunt or AliExpress and place an order.

Get More Expert Tips and Business Advice From Ecommerce Empire Builders

Dropshipper researching products and creating his business

These three dropshipping product research hacks are just the tip of the product research iceberg. When you sign up for our free webinar, you’ll get several more insights that will help you find the products you need to create a successful dropshipping sales funnel and grow your business in 2021.

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How to Create Info Products in 30 Minutes or Less

by Peter PruDigital & Information ProductsLeave a Comment on How to Create Info Products in 30 Minutes or Less

Empire builders, you already know that you need to present an irresistible offer to your customer to be successful in the dropshipping industry. One way to create an amazing offer is by pairing your physical products with high-quality information products. While I love bundling physical products with information products, producing high-quality info products can be challenging and time-consuming. Whether you’re starting to create info products from scratch or rebranding PLR products, it requires a great deal of time and effort. 

However, I’ve recently stumbled across a game-changing tool when it comes to creating fantastic products. Today, I will teach you the most efficient way you can start making these products to use in your own business bundles. Read on to learn how you can rebrand PLR products and create high-quality information products in just minutes. 

The Value of Information Products 

Having high-quality information products to bundle with your physical products is a game-changer in the dropshipping industry. Not only can you use these products for free giveaways or upsell products, but you can also sell them as stand-alone purchases. I love information products and PLR products. They really add perceived value to every cart. Getting this element right in your business is the key to success.

When talking about PLR products, I am referring to Private Label Rights Products. The cool thing about PLR products is that you can buy the rights to articles, ebooks, graphics, or videos at a low price and simply rebrand the information to make unique information products for your dropshipping business. PLR products are readily available online at stores like THEPLRSTORE.COM. Through buying PLR products, you can create some awesome information products if you are willing to take the time to rebrand the content to make it more engaging for the consumer. 

Two Paths for How to Create Info Products 

When it comes to creating information products, there are two main routes: 

  1. Buying a PLR product from a place like THEPLRSTORE.COM, or 
  2. Taking the time to research and write your own information. 

Either one is a viable option. You will just need to determine which works best for your specific situation. 

At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we love offering information products in the funnels that we build out. To create information products quickly, we used to hire someone on Fiverr or Upwork to create them. However, we’ve recently come across an incredible tool that allows us to create our own high-quality information products in-house. We have found great use out of this paid tool and know you can as well.

Sqribble Will Transform Your Information Products 

Showing how to plug in new content in Sqribble templates

The paid tool I have been using to create info products efficiently in the last few months is called Sqribble. You can get Sqribble for around $67, and it is well worth your investment. Through Sqribble, you can simply load in your PLR products and efficiently generate high-quality PDFs or eBooks within a 20- to 30-minute timeframe. This software is so effective and easy to use that you could even start creating and selling eBooks and information products for others. There is really no reason why you can’t create your own high-quality information products today. The benefits of Sqribble are countless as it adds so much value to every eCommerce endeavor. 

How to Get Started

Screen grab of exploring the different templates on Sqribble

Let’s say you just purchased a PLR product consisting of a few articles of around 600 words. The ability to purchase PLR products is fantastic. The drawback is that they are often long and dull when you first get your hands on them. What I like to do in this situation is to pick out the bullet points of these PLR product articles and place them in a Sqribble template. 

As you create info products, remember that you never want to overwhelm your customer with information. My advice to you is to hand-select the information that you believe will give the customer the most value. Then plug this information into an easily digestible ebook or PDF file. 

The Sqribble templates that are available to you have an incredibly high quality. Using one of these templates will allow you to create a high perceived value ebook or information product in as little as 20-30 minutes. There are hundreds of templates for you to utilize on Sqribble. Just find one that fits with the vibe of your business and just start plugging in your information. If you have a brand or color scheme already with your business, then try to find a template that aligns with your scheme. This will help keep everything nice and consistent in your branding. 

How Long Should Your Info Products Be?

Along with having a good visual appeal, there are some content guidelines you should try to adhere to as you make your information products, too. Keep in mind that the length of your information product or ebook should vary based on your plans for it. 

A good rule of thumb is to stick to around the five-page range when giving the information product as a free bonus item. When you’re going to sell the information product by itself or as an upsell option, aim for the 10-20 page range. Ultimately, using Sqribble has been a game-changer for us here at Ecommerce Empire Builders. I know you can experience the same kind of success with this paid tool, as well. 

Consult With the Pros As You Create Info Products and Build Your Business

dropshipper working on her ecommerce business at home

I hope this information will help you in the process of creating high-quality information products for your dropshipping business. If you feel like you need a little more guidance in setting up your own profitable ecommerce business, then feel free to reach out to us today. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we can help you build, launch, and scale your own profitable dropshipping business. To get the ball rolling, sign up for our exclusive free webinar today. Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for even more free resources and insights. Remember, your empire starts now!

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How to Protect Payment Gateways for Your Dropshipping Business

by Peter PruSystems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on How to Protect Payment Gateways for Your Dropshipping Business

Empire builders, you already know that there is a lot to learn when it comes to starting your own ecommerce business. One of the things I had to learn the hard way was the importance of having multiple payment gateways available for a dropshipping business. Many dropshippers, myself included, have gotten their Stripe or PayPal accounts shut down and have been left with no way to accept payments from customers. Through trial and error, I have picked up some tips for how to protect payment gateways. Read on to learn how to avoid getting your payment accounts suspended, as well as what to do should you ever find yourself in this situation. 

Backup Plans Are Key in Business, Especially to Protect Payment Gateways 

If you’re new to dropshipping, I’m not here to scare you. What I am here to do is to prepare you for the hiccups that happen in business. 

Starting your own dropshipping business comes with some risk. One risk is having your PayPal or Stripe account shutdown. This has happened to tons of dropshippers before you, all for various reasons. These things happen. However, expecting these hiccups isn’t quite enough. You also need to make a plan of action on handling these situations before they actually arise. You can’t just close up shop when things don’t go your way. Running a successful dropshipping business will require you to develop creative solutions to make things work over time. You always want a backup plan in place. 

When I started out dropshipping, I wish someone would have told me the importance of having a backup plan to protect payment gateways when it came to accepting payments from customers. When I first started using Stripe, I thought I would never get shut down or banned. I played by the rules and had no worries. But if you think something could never happen to you, think again. 

One too many chargeback or refunds, and then poof, there goes your account. Just imagine that you’re finally making $100,000 a month, and then your payment processing account gets shut down. You never set up a backup account, so you’re instantly losing thousands of dollars for your business. This would be devastating. Don’t let this happen to your business. Always have backup plans in place to protect payment gateways for your payment processing. 

Every Dropshipper Needs a Stripe and a PayPal Account 

Screen grab of discussing the benefits of Stripe

Even though we’ve all heard the horror stories of Stripe and PayPal accounts being shut down or suspended, I still recommend that every dropshipper have a Stripe and PayPal account set up for their business. Stripe is simply the best payment processor for any dropshipper to get started with. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we use Stripe for every funnel we set up. While any Stripe account can get suspended, the platform still provides many perks. 

The Benefits of Stripe

Stripe is incredibly easy to set up, and you can start accepting payments from customers in just a few minutes. When I first got started in ecommerce, setting up a payment processor was not this easy. You used to have to go through large amounts of paperwork and legal work to simply get your ecommerce store off the ground. When Stripe came into the picture, the ecommerce world was made a lot simpler. 

However, Stripe will always have its brand and its best interest in mind. So when your account starts getting too high of a refund or chargeback rate, your account will be shut down. If you play by the rules, your account will most likely remain secure. However, things come up even when you play by their rules. So having a second payment processor setup is key. 

The Benefits of PayPal

After you have your Stripe account setup, go ahead and make a PayPal account as your first backup method. Stripe and PayPal are simply the best payment gateways for any beginner in the dropshipping industry to get started with. Both platforms are incredibly simple and quick to set up. Just like Stripe, PayPal has rules you must adhere to. When your dispute percentages reach a high rate, your PayPal account will most likely have a hold placed on it. 

When this occurs, you’re going to want to have another payment processor readily available to your business. This is when knowing about alternative merchant accounts becomes important.

Great Alternative Merchant Accounts for Dropshippers 

Screen grab of discussing the benefits of Easy Pay Direct

While you could simply bypass Stripe and PayPal and go straight to the alternative merchant accounts, that wouldn’t be my first suggestion. Both Stripe and PayPal are extremely user-friendly and quick to set up. They allow every new dropshipper to start accepting payments almost instantly. For these reasons, I would always set up a Stripe and PayPal account and then look into setting up alternative merchant accounts. The two alternative payment gateways that I have found success with are Easy Pay Direct and Gateway Funnel Pros. 

Easy Pay Direct

Easy Pay Direct is a great alternative payment gateway for established dropshippers who want more options to protect payment gateways for their businesses. Think of a payment gateway as a dashboard. Within this dashboard, there are a number of different merchant accounts available for you to use. Essentially, when you sign up with Easy Pay Direct or any other payment gateway, they can help you open multiple merchant accounts that will allow you to accept payment from customers. So, if one account gets shut down, you can easily and efficiently open another one without slowing down your sales. 

Keep in mind that with Easy Pay Direct, you will need to be making a decent amount of money with your business and have some sales history before they approve your account. But once your business is built up and you’re generating a fair amount of income, having merchant accounts through Easy Pay Direct is a must. 

Gateway Funnel Pros

For those of you just starting out but who still wanting to set up alternative merchant accounts, Gateway Funnel Pros is the way to go. Gateway Funnel Pros will work with new dropshippers and will help with setting up an NMI account. Just like any payment gateway, Gateway Funnel Pros will be able to help you set up multiple merchant accounts for your business under a single gateway. 

Regardless of which route you choose, I can’t stress to you enough the importance of having multiple backup plans in place to protect payment gateways for your overall business. 

Consult With the Pros 

dropshipper setting up accounts to protect payment gateways for his business

I hope this information will help you in efficiently setting up payment methods and backup plans for your dropshipping business. If you feel like you need a little more guidance in setting up your own profitable ecommerce business, feel free to reach out to us today. At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we can help you build, launch, and scale your own profitable dropshipping business. To get the ball rolling, sign up for access to our exclusive free webinar today. Be sure to check our YouTube channel for even more free resources and insights into the dropshipping and sales funnel industries. Remember, your empire starts now!

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Should You Invest in Zipify or Clickfunnels?

by Peter PruClickFunnels Training / Systems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on Should You Invest in Zipify or Clickfunnels?

Empire builders, you’re looking to build your wealth through online sales. As you progress through this journey, there are a lot of learning curves you must work through. One typical learning curve is trying to find the best platform to make online sales. A recent ecommerce newbie asked me how I would choose to use either Zipify or Clickfunnels. Below I outline the pros and cons of both of these excellent ecommerce software programs. Read on to get the full scope on both the Clickfunnels and the Zipify software. 

What Is Zipify? 

Screen grab of a diagram of how Zipify works

Before we delve into the pros and cons of these two ecommerce software programs, we need to understand what they are and how they function. Zipify is an application that Shopify stores can use to create one-click upsells after a customer has purchased a product. Essentially, traffic is sent to a Shopify product page. After a customer reaches the checkout and puts in their billing information, the Zipify application allows for the creation of a one-click upsell. The best app for Shopify stores to invest in for one-click upsells is definitely Zipify. 

For those of you with Shopify stores, the Zipify application is an easy way to maximize the amount a customer spends with you when they come to your store. Ultimately, this application helps to increase the average cart value in Shopify stores by offering easy one-click upsells to customers after they have already provided their credit card information. So, you might be wondering why anyone would use Clickfunnels if they could just add the Zipify application to their existing Shopify store. 

Zipify is a great application to add to any Shopify store. But it lacks some of the top features that Clickfunnels can provide to all ecommerce entrepreneurs. 

What Is Clickfunnels?  

Screen grab of a diagram of how Clickfunnels works

Clickfunnels is an ecommerce software that looks very similar to the average Shopify store. However, the simple formula behind the sales funnels in Clickfunnels yields much better results compared to the average Shopify store. When using Clickfunnels, traffic is sent to a landing page or opt-in page. The purpose of this opt-in page is to collect the email of your customer before they make a purchase or leave the store. This email is an asset to your business as it allows you to send retargeting or promotion emails later on. After the email is collected in Clickfunnels, the customer then moves on to the checkout page. The checkout pages in Clickfunnels are a real game-changer for ecommerce entrepreneurs. 

The checkout hacks offered on Clickfunnels just can’t be found anywhere else. Order bumps and quantity break discounts are just some of the features that can be used with this software. Using these types of checkout hacks is a great way to increase the average cart value in any funnel. 

When comparing the Zipify and Clickfunnels upsells features, they are very similar overall. However, the one element that Clickfunnels offers and Zipify simply doesn’t is the one-click recurring revenue upsell. This one-click recurring upsell bills the customer on a monthly basis, usually for a subscription box similar to BarkBox or Dollar Shave Club. This feature really sets Clickfunnels apart from Zipify and all other competitors. 

The Zipify vs. Clickfunnels Debate 

So now that we know what the two software programs offer, what is the end consensus about choosing Zipify or Clickfunnels? Well, for the ecommerce newcomer, my suggestion would be to simply go with Clickfunnels. However, if you already have an established Shopify store, I would definitely invest in adding the Zipify application. It allows you to easily increase your average cart value for your store. If you have a Shopify store, I would invest in Clickfunnels, too, along with adding Zipify. 

My recommendation for Shopify store owners would be to run all of your cold traffic to a Clickfunnels page in order to get that first sale. Through this process, you can collect emails from potential customers. This will allow you to build your email list and retarget these customers and send them offers to your Shopify store. 

Again, if you are just starting out in the ecommerce industry, I would simply purchase Clickfunnels and forget about Shopify and Zipify. Clickfunnels gives you access to all of their services and features for a monthly price of $97. Getting both a Shopify store and the Zipify application can end up costing you an arm and a leg when it’s all said and done. Zipify charges $50 a month and takes 2-3% of the sales that it make you. On top of this, the average conversion rate on a Shopify store is much lower than the average funnel built through Clickfunnels. 

Final Thoughts: Zipify or Clickfunnels?

At the end of the day, either Zipify or Clickfunnels would be great software for anyone in the ecommerce industry. However, before you invest in either, make sure to do your research. Determine which software program will better suit your current situation and your long-term goals. For the average individual, I would invest in Zipify if I already had a Shopify store. However, if you’re just starting out, opt for Clickfunnels. It will provide you with everything you need to start building your ecommerce empire today.

Consult With the Pros 

dropshipper watching online resources about starting an ecommerce business

The Zipify application for Shopify and Clickfunnels both offer amazing features for ecommerce entrepreneurs. I hope the information in this article has helped you to learn more about the pros and cons of the different software. Do you feel like you need a little more guidance in setting up your own profitable ecommerce business? If so, feel free to reach out to us today. We can help you to determine whether Zipify or Clickfunnels is better suited for your ecommerce goals.

At Ecommerce Empire Builders, we can also help you build, launch, and scale your own profitable dropshipping business. To get the ball rolling, sign up for access to our exclusive free webinar today. Be sure to check our YouTube channel for even more free resources and insights into the dropshipping and sales funnel industries. Remember, your empire starts now!

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Increase Dropshipping Sales Without Paying for Ads

by Peter PruSystems & ProcessesLeave a Comment on Increase Dropshipping Sales Without Paying for Ads

If you want to increase dropshipping sales without running a paid advertising campaign, read on. There are ways to easily multiply your sales by using subscriptions. Many people who go into eCommerce fail because of a lack of one major component: predictability. It’s easy to get excited when you start making those first sales through dropshipping. But then you have to handle shipping, product costs, and other expenses until you have barely any money left over. Without that predictability, you’re less likely to appeal to customers and encourage sales.

Using Subscription Services to Increase Dropshipping Sales With Predictability

One of the best ways to bring predictability to your business is to implement subscription services. If people know what to expect with your business on a regular basis with a repeat subscription — and the same customers keep buying from you on a weekly or monthly basis — you’re much more likely to both attract and retain more customers. Consider how many subscription-based businesses have become successful, from Dollar Shave Club to Disney+. The reason a company like Dollar Shave Club was able to sell for billions of dollars was that it had predictable revenue. People don’t want to invest in businesses that only drive one-time sales.

Keep in mind that you need to do more than simply add a subscription to your business. Think about specifically how you intend to sell the subscription. The following guide will help you start using subscriptions to increase dropshipping sales.

Step 1: Get Inspired

Screen grab of how to find product ideas through subscription box reviews

The very first thing you need to do when adding subscriptions to your business is to get inspired. You won’t be able to implement a subscription if you don’t have some ideas to help you get started. Regardless of whether you currently have a dropshipping business, you should take some time to see what people are doing and incorporate some of those ideas into your own business model.

One of the best ways to get some ideas is to visit MySubscriptionAddiction.com, which is a blog that publishes reviews of just about every subscription box out there. While the site consists of reviews, it’s not the reviews themselves you’ll be looking at. Instead, look at what some of these boxes are offering. Get some ideas for products that look like they will help you increase dropshipping sales. Based on the niche you want to target, you can locate a box with relevant products and see if something similar is worth including in yours. 

For example, you may find a cool-looking arts and crafts box that’s intended for people of all ages. This can help you develop your own arts and crafts subscription box if you want to target this particular niche.

Step 2: Choose Products for Your Box

After you’ve gotten some ideas for your own subscription box while browsing MySubscriptionAddiction.com or other sources, you can begin looking for some products to sell.

Let’s take the arts and crafts example. Once you’ve decided that you want to cover this niche after seeing an example, check out Alibaba.com. In the search bar at the top of the page, you could conduct a search for arts and crafts. From there, you may see a list of a wide range of products in this niche, such as decorative wood figures that your customers could put together. It’s easy to get lost in the many products available, especially since so many of the options can help you increase dropshipping sales. So feel free to take some time to browse and find the perfect product for your business.

Step 3: Look at the Supplier

Dropshipper calling a supplier in an independent meeting

Even if the product looks good and you’re ready to add it to your subscription, take a close look at the supplier. You can’t increase dropshipping sales without a supplier who can keep up. Your supplier should be reputable and well-liked, as you’re likely to be working with this supplier for years on end. On Alibaba, you can look at the supplier’s star rating. This metric grades suppliers on a 5-star scale based on service, on-time delivery, and product quality. A star rating of 4.5 or higher is generally great.

You should also check to see if the supplier has regular transactions. You can see the total dollar amount of transactions per a certain number of transactions over a period of time. 

Finally, look at the supplier’s response rate, which is crucial. If it’s hard to get ahold of your supplier, you’re going to have a difficult time working with them to sell their products through your subscription. A good response rate is around 80% or higher. This indicates that the supplier is very quick to respond and won’t leave you in the dark at any point.

Pay Attention to the Business’s Details

Also, find out how long the supplier has been on Alibaba. You may find that while a supplier looks great, with a high star rating, fast response time, and an ideal location like the United States, the supplier has only been on the website for a year. In most cases, you’ll likely want to avoid suppliers that haven’t been on Alibaba for very long. The website has been around for a long time, and good, well-established suppliers are likely well aware of this platform. So there’s generally not a good reason for them to not be established. 

However, you may find a supplier that, while not having been on the site for long, is verified. In these cases, it may be worth trusting a supplier that’s relatively new to the platform.

Look Carefully at Their Alibaba Page

Once you’ve found what looks like a good supplier, visit their company page on Alibaba and learn more about them before reaching out. Keep in mind that when contacting a supplier, don’t rely on Alibaba’s website’s live chat or other on-site communication. Try to get them to contact you via phone, Skype, email, or other third-party channels.

The most important item to look at on their company page before contacting them is Business Type. Here, it should always say Manufacturer. If it only says Trading Company, skip over this supplier. Trading companies essentially act as unnecessary middlemen between you and the manufacturer. Instead, it’s best to work directly with a manufacturer when possible.

You can also see other details such as how long they’ve been in business, the number of employees they have, certifications, and more to help you make your decision.

Step 4: Reach Out to the Supplier

After finding that perfect product and ideal supplier, don’t click that “Start Order” button just yet. You’ll wind up being overcharged. Instead, negotiate with the supplier when you contact them and try to work out the best possible deal.

Also, ask for a product catalog, which the supplier should always be willing to send. You should then receive a massive PDF or another file that could give you an endless number of ideas for products to sell in your subscription.

When contacting a supplier, always stress that you’re looking to establish a long-term relationship with them. This will encourage them to do business with you as a reliable seller. 

Step 5: Choose a Fulfillment Center

Screen grab of discussing fulfillment service providers

With a product and supplier chosen, you’ll want to ship products to a fulfillment center. There are several fulfillment centers that you can choose from, including:

  • Dollar Fulfillment
  • ShipOffers
  • ShipZOOM

In some cases, your supplier could also fulfill orders for you. Regardless of how you go about it, the fulfillment center will package and ship your subscription boxes on your behalf.

Step 6: Select Packaging Options

Some fulfillment centers will provide packaging options in addition to fulfillment. Otherwise, you will need to seek other packaging options. 

If you want to use custom boxes that feature cool and unique designs for your subscriptions, we recommend you go through Lumi. Simply visit their catalog page from the main navigation menu, and take a look. Their Corrugated Mailer Boxes, for example, are great for most subscription boxes.

If you have under 1,000 subscribers at this point, we don’t recommend getting a custom box. Using a plain box design without any writing on it is often best to start with. Wait until it’s worth the cost to upgrade to a custom design. Most customers will care more about what’s inside of the box instead of the exterior. So don’t spring for a custom box if you don’t need it.

The fulfillment center will also take care of all the logistics for packaging. All you need to do is tell them what you want, and they’ll do the rest.

Step 7: Build a Sales Funnel to Increase Dropshipping Sales

When it comes to actually selling your subscription box, you don’t want to rely on Facebook ads. Why? Because you’ll quickly find that those ads don’t perform the best on their own. People are more likely to see your box as just another monthly bill that they have to pay if you don’t sell it effectively.

Rather than relying on generic ad campaigns, the best way to sell your subscription is to develop a sales funnel. Start by leading people in with an inexpensive one-time product, which gives your customers value. From there, you can upsell them with your subscription box. This way, you’ll be paying social media advertising platforms for a sale rather than for a monthly subscription.

Through an effective sales funnel, you’ll be able to increase dropshipping sales of your main product and your subscriptions. This can boost your revenue without the need to pay for costly ad campaigns or other expenses. To learn more about how to build a winning sales funnel and develop an unstoppable eCommerce business, reserve your seat at our free eCommerce masterclass today.

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