Tag: Facebook ads

What You Need to Know About Unprofitable Facebook Ads and Dropshipping

by Peter PruFacebook Ads For DropshippingLeave a Comment on What You Need to Know About Unprofitable Facebook Ads and Dropshipping

Many businesses rely on unprofitable Facebook ads to create their dropshipping business. However, this strategy doesn’t work. Facebook’s entire business is predicated on you buying ads from them. They will never give you the tools to be so successful you won’t need them anymore. They’d be damaging their own business, and they aren’t going to put you ahead of themselves. 

You need to find a way to use unprofitable Facebook ads properly, and that means seeing them as a tool to create free traffic rather than relying on them to make a profit. This guide will give you a peek behind the scenes of Facebook and explain how the algorithm can keep you reliant on their ads instead of giving you the ability to break free and become successful.

Why You Can’t Use Unprofitable Facebook Ads to Make Money

Screen grab of Peter Pru discussing how Facebook is a business

Facebook is a business itself, and the money it makes comes from your ads. It’s challenging to balance the amount you are paying for your ads on Facebook and the profit they produce. If you are actually successful and make a fortune on your Facebook ads, you’ll be able to afford more effective ad spaces, and you’ll stop using Facebook. It isn’t in Facebook’s best interest to allow you to make the kind of profit where you will be as successful as you desire.

Facebook’s algorithm doesn’t try to make you successful. Instead, it keeps you reliant on their ad space for customers. Facebook ads should therefore not be used to make money but to gather data to monetize your information.

The Key to Your Success Is Free Traffic

As long as you are paying other businesses to funnel people to your site, you are not making the kind of profit that you need. The key to creating your own business is to use the algorithms that other businesses use to your advantage. 

For example, gather data on your customers (just like social media sites do), so you don’t have to pay for ads on these sites. Instead, you can use the data directly and gain free traffic to your site. Any site that you buy ad space on needs to find a healthy balance between your success and their success. You will never come out on top in this balancing act.

Paid Advertising Can’t Be Your Only Way to Earn Money

Facebook optimizes its ads to meet whatever your cart value is, so you never quite get ahead of the algorithm. So, for example, if your average cart value is 20 dollars, Facebook will try to funnel you $20 customers. Still, as your business grows, instead of funneling you more customers, Facebook will optimize the ads so what your customer spends matches your new cart value.

With advertising as your main expense, you need Facebook to be sending you customers who have varying levels of spending — but they don’t. They’ll always match the type of customer they send you to your average cart value. They want to keep you dependent on their ads. That’s how they make money. They always try to balance your cart value with your average cost per purchase to keep you dependent on their ads.

Your Net Profit Will Not Increase by Spending More Money on Unprofitable Facebook Ads

Peter Pru discussing how Facebook ads can scale unprofitably

Facebook won’t help you get ahead to the point where you don’t need their platform anymore. They are going to continue to optimize your ads so as you make more money, you are also paying more per customer. They make their money off you purchasing their ads, and they will not prioritize you over themselves. It can feel like they’re keeping you on a treadmill.

As the customers you funnel into your business grow in value, the more you pay to attract those customers. It never ends. The more money you make, the more profitable businesses you will be facing when you bid for Facebook ads. Facebook ensures that everything scales in their favor so that you never make the profit you need to break out of your dependence on their platform.

The Secret Is to Do Your Own Optimization and Gather Your Own Data

If you are going to make real money on your dropshipping business, you need to get off this treadmill and make yourself some real money. You need to be able to control how much you spend on ads. Also, you need to decide how to use the information you get to make the ads work for you. The purpose of the ads will not be to make you money. The purpose of the ads is to gather valuable data instead. Then you can use it to funnel the type of customers you want to your site.

You want to be off of the Facebook treadmill as soon as you can. You might still use Facebook ads, but you won’t be using those ads as the entire marketing foundation for your dropshipping business. Instead, you’ll be using those ads to gather your own data and create your own audiences. It’s the only way you’ll ever get off the treadmill and make a decent profit.

How Ecommerce Empire Builders Can Help

Dropshipper using data from unprofitable Facebook ads to analyze traffic

Don’t use unprofitable Facebook ads as your only tool in starting your dropshipping business. Don’t set yourself up to fail! Use them to funnel sales to your website, but don’t rely on them for success. I have started businesses before, and I can help you start yours. Our team of eCommerce experts builds eCommerce websites with the right processes to streamline your conversions, traffic, and revenue.

We will teach you how to build your eCommerce empire by signing up for our training program taught by experts. When you have your own business and the insights to run it, you won’t constantly be stuck on a never-ending treadmill where your cart value always equals your cost per customer. If you want to know how to start and market your own business, click here to reserve a seat at our webinar. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel for more insights and ad strategies.

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How to When Know It’s Time to Move on to New Products

by Peter PruFacebook Ads For DropshippingLeave a Comment on How to When Know It’s Time to Move on to New Products

It may seem in your best interest to continue using a winning dropshipping product that’s previously gotten great results. But that’s not always the case. There are certain situations when it’s ideal to cut your losses, drop the product, and move on to new products. 

If you stick with a product that’s no longer generating the kind of income you want, you may wind up losing money if you don’t switch to a new source of revenue. So much of people’s success in dropshipping comes down to momentum and the encouragement it brings. But businesses lose drive when they’re bleeding money. This is why it’s important to know when to make the necessary transition to maintain that momentum.

In this post, we’ll go over when you should move on to new products as your current products begin losing momentum.

Test Your Facebook Ads to Determine Their Effectiveness

First, it’s important to know how often you should test your ads to determine their effectiveness in the sales funnel. This can help you gauge when it’s time to move on to new products — or a new strategy. 

Here we’ll be strictly referring to Facebook ads, which are commonly used. As an example, we’ll use an ad with a “free plus shipping” offer, which we recommend using when you’re just starting out as a broke beginner. Even if you make some mistakes with this offer, you can still make money.

For a typical ad with a “free plus shipping” offer, we would start with a budget of $250, which we spread to $30 per day across a six- or seven-day period. One mistake we see a lot of people make here is that they’ll spend around $30 on ads for one day. But they won’t make any money on them, so they turn them off entirely. Unfortunately, this is the mindset that many beginners have in dropshipping, which keeps them from being able to test ads effectively.

What you really need to do is invest a full $250 in a single week. This will more accurately show you how effective your campaigns are as you test your campaigns. Within a week, you can begin to see certain trends that stand out. For instance, you’ll likely find that certain days perform better than others. This can help you schedule your ads and determine when to expect sales.

Here’s why we recommend you give your ads seven days to work their magic or encourage you to move on to a new online business strategy.

Your First Three Days Will Be the Most Crucial

Breakdown of how to organize ad spending over the first three days

As we explore the first week of an ad campaign, the first three days will be the most important. The first day will be the day you launch your ads, followed by the next two days, all of which will have ads running for $30 per day. Throughout these three critical days, it’s important not to touch anything as you let your ads do their job.

During this time frame, you’ll want to keep an eye on a few key elements, including:

CTR

The first item to look at is your click-through rate (CTR) for each day, which should be around 2%. If your CTR falls around that mark, this indicates that people are actively interested in your ads. If your CTR is too low, you may need to change the ad creative to entice more people to click, be it a modified image, video, or text. Ideally, you should run ads using three different pieces of creative material to see which performs the best.

We suggest you look at the CTR regularly on days one and two. This can help you determine if it’s likely to continue increasing or remaining steady. After two days, if some ads still see low CTR, turn them off. Also, if ads don’t see more than a 0.5% conversion rate on day one, chances are this won’t increase through day three. 

Landing Page Stats

Once you’ve determined that your CTR is where it should be, it’s time to look at your landing page, at which point you’re looking at your funnel stats. Are people opting in? If not, this could indicate a problem with your landing page and the value of the offer. Your ideal opt-in rate should be at least 25%.

If your opt-in rate is below 25%, you may need to modify the offer to encourage more people. Generally, try modifying your current offer before you move on to new products entirely. In this case, we recommend using an offer stack image that serves as a visual representation of what you’re offering. Testimonials and lifestyle photos can also help enhance your opt-in pages.

Order Form Stats

If your ads and landing page seem to be functioning optimally, a problem could lie with your order forms. For a beginning offer, you should see a minimum conversion rate of 5%. 

For order forms that dip below that minimum conversion rate, there are a few ways to improve it. 

One way is to make sure you offer quantity break discounts for products of 2x to 8x. Here, you should highlight the 4x quantity break and autoselect it for the customer to encourage them to convert. 

Second, you have to name your product something unique and catchy that differentiates it from other more generic options. All of this can increase the perceived value of your product to get more people to purchase.

It’s worth noting that if you do not see the numbers you want on a small scale, they won’t likely improve on a larger scale. This is why you need to make the necessary changes early on if your campaigns are underperforming. If your ads don’t culminate in a high CTR, you need to focus on your marketing. This will drive more people to your sales funnel and purchases.

Look Ahead to the Rest of the First Week Before You Move on to New Products

Breakdown of how to organize ad spending over the first seven days

Generally, if your CTR is low and you’re not making any sales in those first three days, it’s often best to go back to the drawing board and tweak your ads, opt-in pages, or order forms. However, if you are making a few sales, the next several days will be important to monitor. 

For example,  your CTR may be over 2% and your opt-in rate may be around 25% by day four. Your order form might also be seeing a 3% conversion rate. These are all good numbers when starting out with your ads. 

It’s also important to keep in mind that early on in your campaigns, the Facebook algorithm will still be adjusting the targeting for your ads as it attempts to identify your customers. Because of this, your stats could potentially double later on as you feed the algorithm more customers.

Throughout the last four days of that first week, you’ll want to figure out ways to optimize your current ads. You might introduce new ad creative on day five as you remove ads that aren’t yielding good results. Some ad creative is likely to do better than other images, videos, or text. So remove ineffective assets and replace them with ads that are similar to the ones getting results. You can also target new interest groups based on interest groups that responded favorably to your previous ads. 

Based on your campaign’s performance during the first seven days, you can truly get a sense of how well your ads, landing pages, and sales pages are doing. From there, you can decide what needs work and revamp your strategy accordingly.

Determine When to Cut Your Losses or Keep Moving Forward

Dropshipper adjusting his ads and monitoring results

In the first week of advertising, keep an eye out for issues during those first three critical days. If you’re making sales and seeing decent stats by day four, you can continue monitoring them for the rest of the week and optimizing your campaigns. 

Your CTR simply might not be cutting it in those first few days. So it may be time to optimize your existing ads or try new ones. If you’re not seeing any opt-ins or sales by the third day, you may need to try an entirely new offer or price point. You might even move on to new products if adjustments don’t seem worth the effort. 

To learn more about how to succeed with your dropshipping business and develop a winning funnel, register for my free eCommerce masterclass today. You’ll find out how to use ads and other fundamental elements to make a full-time income online, whether you’re new to dropshipping or looking for a way to improve your efforts. Also, subscribe to my YouTube channel for more insights, whether you move on to new products or stick with your current item.

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A New Way to Find Dropshipping Products Within Minutes

by Peter PruFacebook Ads For Dropshipping / Product ResearchLeave a Comment on A New Way to Find Dropshipping Products Within Minutes

If you want to succeed with your dropshipping store, you need to know how to find the best products worth selling to your target market. Thankfully, there’s a new method of finding products that could earn you as much as $10,000 per month in as little as minutes. Here we’ll go over this way to find dropshipping products. We’ll show you how you can use it to build a winning dropshipping store for your business.

Take Full Advantage of the Facebook Ad Library

While the Facebook Ad Library is nothing new, the recent update has brought some interesting changes that can come in handy for dropshippers. If you’re unfamiliar with the Ad Library, it’s a tool that Facebook created to enable users to browse the many ads that companies are displaying. You can easily use this tool to get some ideas for your own ads. You can also see which ads perform the best. 

If you want to use the Ad Library as a way to find dropshipping products for your own store, you can take the following steps to get started.

1. Search for Ads With the New Search Function

Screen grab of Peter Pru using the Facebook Ad Library

The big game-changer with the Ad Library update is the search function. It allows users to search for ads across the massive library. The old-school method of looking for ideas was to simply visit Facebook’s main website and search for company names and products, but the Ad Library’s search capability makes this even more convenient.

In the new “Search Ads” section near the top of the main Ad Library page, you’ll be able to search ads by category. These categories include “All Ads,” along with specific categories. For your purposes, you’ll want to select “All Ads” first. From there, you can search by keywords or advertisers in the adjacent search bar. Use this as a way to find dropshipping products before zeroing in on more specific ideas.

When searching by advertiser, you can type in specific company names and see all the ads that they’re currently running. Otherwise, you can search by keyword, which would be a particular niche you want to target. When it comes to keywords, you can type in everything from individual product categories to industry-specific phrases and topics. 

For example, you can search for “get yours today” and see a list of results that include active ads. 

2. Look Through the List of Ads

After conducting your search, you’ll see a page with all the currently running ads based on the keyword you enter. When searching for “get yours today,” we found a wide range of products. This includes physical products such as tool kits and gym equipment. There turned out to be a lot of ads featuring this highly specific phrase. So you can probably find many other examples based on your niche.

3. Try a Wide Range of Keywords

As you look through the Ad Library and perform various searches, try other keyword entries that might yield optimal results. For instance, you could type “free plus shipping” to see what types of products primarily have customers pay for shipping costs. You could also look for items that are discounted with the phrase “50% off.”  

Keep in mind that not all the products you look through are going to be winners. Not all ads shown are necessarily successful. Some ads might have just been launched today, for example, with no real chance to gain traction and drive results. Meanwhile, other ads might be from months earlier and no longer as relevant. 

4. Research Individual Products and Companies

Unfortunately, this tool isn’t a perfect way to find dropshipping products. One of the downsides of using the Ad Library is that you can’t actually gain insight into ads’ performance. You won’t be able to see engagement such as likes, comments, or shares. So you have to dig deeper on your own. More experienced dropshippers might be able to determine whether an ad is good. But even if an ad doesn’t look great, the product it’s selling might be a favorite among customers. 

The best way to figure out how an advertiser is performing is to look at the company website. View their Facebook business pages. These can give you a better idea of how well ads are performing and the level of quality that competitors provide. Based on these aspects, you can determine how to approach your ad campaigns to get the kinds of results you want.

Use the Facebook Ad Library to Start Your Ad Campaign

Screen grab of Peter Pru showing how to filter ads through keyphrases

Whether you’re a veteran dropshipper or just trying to launch your business, the Facebook Ad Library is one of the best tools to use. You can now easily search for everything from the kinds of products you sell and types of offers to specific companies whose ads might influence your own. If you’re not using this tool, you’re missing out on one of the most effective ways to see what’s working and what isn’t. This can mean the difference between resonating with audiences and wasting ad spend.

However, remember that you will need to look closer at each ad that grabs your attention. You might find that ads are too new or old to be relevant. Alternatively, you may discover that a particular company isn’t a worthwhile competitor to mirror. Whenever you use the Ad Library, take the time to do your research. Then you’ll be able to get some winning ideas for your next ad campaign.

Learn More About How to Build Your Dropshipping Business With Ecommerce Empire Builders

Dropshipper brainstorming ways to market new product offers

The Facebook Ad Library can be an invaluable way to find dropshipping products. But there are many other elements that you need to consider when developing a dropshipping store. Do you want to find out more about how to develop a successful business and earn a full-time income online? The experts at Ecommerce Empire Builders are here to help. To get started on building your business and ensuring its success, register for the free Ecommerce Masterclass with Peter Pru today. We’ll show you how to get started without the need to build a website, touch the products you sell, or spend too much of your budget on pricey ad campaigns. For more insights as you develop your store, subscribe to my YouTube channel.

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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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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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24 Winning Q4 Dropshipping Products That Are Great to Sell on Facebook

by Peter PruProduct ResearchLeave a Comment on 24 Winning Q4 Dropshipping Products That Are Great to Sell on Facebook

Selling winning niche products is the key to success as a dropshipper. Whether you’re new to dropshipping or a veteran looking for new ideas for products to sell, there are plenty of ideas out there. The following are 24 of the top Q4 dropshipping products we’ve found to be very profitable. They can enable you to earn up to $50k per month with them. They sell especially well on Facebook.

1. Sushi Making Kits

As people are still forced to spend a lot of time at home due to the pandemic, they’re looking for fun things to do with the family. One of the Q4 dropshipping products that can help with this is sushi making supplies. Sushi making kits are some of the more popular products out there that people are buying. They allow people to turn their home into a sushi restaurant by including everything that’s needed to make maki or sashimi. 

Like with other kits, try to include lifestyle photos that highlight different scenarios in which customers might use the kit. For example, if you’re selling to families, show a photo of a family putting the kit together.

2. Silicone Pastry Mat

Silicone pastry mats are also great in this stay-at-home environment, as many people are looking for ways to make cooking easier. Like many of the Q4 dropshipping products on this list, silicone pastry mats are great to sell because they save time, save money, and have that “just gotta have it” appeal. It’s a great choice for a one-product store. But they also come with many opportunities to upsell with cooking accessories and other products that help customers get the most from their purchase.

3. Vacuum Sealer

While this product is a bit more on the expensive side, costing around $30 to $50, vacuum sealers are great because they save money and time by helping people preserve fruits, vegetables, and other items. It may not be ideal as a core front-end product to sell, but it may make a great upsell opportunity.

4. Cross-Stitch Kits

Similar to sushi kits, cross-stitching kits are great to sell while people are stuck at home. Many people are getting into various hobbies, including cross-stitching. These kits fall under the embroidery niche, which we’ve found to be one of the best since it ticks every box in our criteria for dropshipping products.

5. Easels

screenshot of finding suppliers for easels

Easels are another great product to consider. They are often inexpensive on many sites, but they can sell for a lot on Amazon, which means they provide good markup value. As many people continually get into art, you’re likely to find a good market for easels.

Easels aren’t limited to the art niche, either. For example, people could use easels to prop up whiteboards, which they might use for business.

6. Cat Candy Snacks

There are plenty of opportunities in the pet niche, especially when it comes to holiday and Q4 dropshipping products. Pet owners are willing to buy just about anything for their pets, be it a dog, a cat, or any other companion. People spend a lot of time with their pets, so they’re often going to spend a lot of money on them.

One of the best things about the pet space is that innovations are always taking place. One example of a fun new product that doesn’t necessarily save a lot of time or money is cat candy snacks, which is essentially a little catnip tree that keeps cats occupied while providing them a nutritious snack. 

7. Electric Ball Cat Toy

This toy is a great example of a product worth upselling after pushing the cat candy snacks on the front end. It has tech appeal to it, and it’s relatively inexpensive. You can clamp it to a desk, table, or even a scratching post, and it’s very entertaining for cats, making it a likely popular upsell for a lot of pet owners.

8. IP Security Camera

New parents are always looking for products to keep their children safe, healthy, and happy. One of the more expensive products out there in this niche is a good baby-monitoring security camera. 

As a side note here, always order electronic products for yourself first to perform a quality check before selling.

9. Mini LED Headlamp

There are many niches for mini LED headlamps. You can sell this product to just about anyone in need of a convenient LED light source, such as fishermen who fish at night, hikers and campers, homeowners who need a hands-free flashlight while working on the house, and many others.

With Q4 dropshipping products like these, try to keep in mind that it’s best to sell to a specific niche rather than selling it to just anyone.

10. Fishing Reels

Fishing reels are another great upsell opportunity for other fishing gear. Sell a fishing reel with lures, fishing hats, and other products that aren’t as expensive. It’s a great moneymaker, as fishing reels cost around $100 in some places.

11. Fingerprint Padlocks

This is a clear example of a “just gotta have it” product that a lot of people are likely to want. It can save money and time, giving people a convenient and secure method for locking their valuables. It makes for a great stocking stuffer, which is an important consideration for Q4 dropshipping products. 

Also, it’s ideal for anybody interested in home security. It may not sell very well outside of Q4. But if you’re in this niche right now, then take the opportunity to add this product to your dropshipping queue or sell it to existing customers.

12. Folding Chair

Folding chairs are another product that people are more likely to buy on impulse. They can find a use for one for many occasions. There are also many niches you can sell it to. Everyone from soccer moms sitting at the sidelines of their kids’ games to campers in need of cheap and convenient seats to place around the campfire can use these chairs.

13. Hair Trimmers

Throughout the year, many people have been uncomfortable with going to salons and barbershops to get their hair cut. As such, hair trimmers and other grooming products are popular among people stuck at home who still want a haircut.

14. Mini Drones

A man wrapping holiday presents at home

Mini drones are also great stocking stuffers to consider for Q4. They are cheaper than many other larger drones that you’d find in stores. Also, many different people may want them, including parents looking for fun gifts for their kids. Just remember to try them out before you begin selling them.

15. Thumb Piano

The thumb piano is a product that’s ideal for a very specific niche. Even if you can’t find a use for it yourself, some people out there might use something like this on a daily basis in a particular sub-niche that’s worth targeting.

16. Makeup Brushes

Makeup brushes and other makeup items are also popular among many audiences. One of the nice things about makeup brushes and other similar beauty products is that they wear out over time, which means you have the opportunity to earn repeat business.

17. Nail Art Tool

Another product in the beauty niche worth selling is a nail art tool. Similar to the hair trimmers we mentioned, this product is great for people who want to do their nails at home while unable to visit a salon.

18. Rolling Ball Cat Toy

Unlike the other cat toys discussed, this one is free-standing and curiously over-engineered. Products like this tend to sell a lot among pet owners because they look cool, feature remote control operation, and are generally good at keeping pets occupied for long periods of time.

19 and 20. Pet Carrier Backpacks

Because of the versatility of this product, we’ve decided to use it for two slots. Pet carrier backpacks are similar to baby carriers, allowing pet owners to strap their pets to their chest with a harness. This product is available for both dogs and cats, which means it’s great for two different niches: small dogs and cats. If you’re looking for a great gag gift to sell, this is it.

21. Pet Bandana or Scarf

Another fun product to get in the pet niche is a pet bandana or scarf for dogs, which comes with many variations. While you may think that these variations are a bit daunting to sell, there are plenty of opportunities to sell each variation in its own campaign.

22. Watercolor Pencils

Like other art supplies, watercolor pencils are great to offer. Not only can you pair them with paper, easels, paintbrushes, and other accessories that customers are likely to want, but customers who like them enough are likely to buy them again once they’ve depleted their supply. 

23. Storage Vacuum Bag

This product is a good complement to the food vacuum sealer. Whereas the vacuum sealer is good for keeping food fresh, storage vacuum bags can help with organization at home by sealing and storing clothes or other items. They’re also great for moving if people need to make more space in moving boxes.

24. Dog Muzzle

screenshot of shopping for dog muzzle suppliers

Not all dogs are the most well-behaved, and while they may not love these muzzles, their owners might. Unlike plain muzzle designs, you may find a market for muzzles that feature colorful and unique designs in addition to other dog accessories.

Choosing the Right Q4 Dropshipping Products Is Just the Start

All of these winning Q4 dropshipping products are some key examples of items that are suitable for many niches and sub-niches. If you can pinpoint which niche you want to target, there’s a market for just about any product imaginable. If you would like to learn more about how to start your career in dropshipping and maximize profits with winning products, reserve your seat at the exclusive, free Ecommerce Empire Builders webinar.

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How to Generate Over $50,000 as an Ecommerce Empire Academy Student

by Peter PruDropshipping Case StudiesLeave a Comment on How to Generate Over $50,000 as an Ecommerce Empire Academy Student

Empire builders, sit back and get ready to learn some awesome insider secrets of the ecommerce industry. I recently sat down with Michael Koss, an Ecommerce Empire Academy student. Mike is a great guy that has an inspirational story that everyone can learn something from. Over the last few years, Mike went from being a high school dropout to generating over $50,000 a month in his ecommerce business. I asked him what his secret to success has been and what his advice would be to other aspiring entrepreneurs. Read on to learn more about Mike’s success in the industry. Also, discover how you can create this reality for yourself by becoming an Ecommerce Empire Academy student. 

The Road to Ecommerce Empire Builders 

Mike’s road to becoming an Ecommerce Empire Academy student was one of many ups and downs. Mike began with affiliate marketing three to four years ago. He got his start with the Motor Club of America. Through the MCA, Mike was earning $80 per referral. However, any traction he had gained was soon lost when the company sold. Referrals went from $80 down to $10. At this point, Mike knew he needed to break into an industry where he had more control over his earnings and career. 

The Switch to Clickfunnels

After his initial setback, Mike learned about affiliate marketing for Clickfunnels. He started promoting Russell Brunson’s books and was sucked even deeper into the world of ecommerce. He began to dedicate all of his energy to learning from the multitude of big names that were already thriving in the ecommerce world. Mike was talking to his dad one night about all he was learning about ecommerce and how he wanted to get into sales funnels. The next morning Mike’s dad actually stumbled upon one of our Ecommerce Empire Builders webinars and sent Mike the link.    

The stars seemed to align for Mike at this point. After watching our Ecommerce Empire Builders webinar, Mike was hooked on sales funnels. He took the plunge after watching the webinar and became an official commerce Empire Builders Academy student. Mike has been in our community for over a year now, and I met Mike in person for the first time in February 2020 when he came to one of our Build Your Empire Live conferences.

 Mike already had a great business idea but was not getting the results he wanted. Our team was able to set Mike up on the right path as he became an Ecommerce Empire Academy student. His business, as well as his mindset, has grown leaps and bounds over the last six months. 

The Importance of Understanding Your Niche 

Man doing niche research for his ecommerce business

Mike’s business has grown significantly over the last six months. One element that has helped Mike find success is his thorough understanding of his niche and the customers he is trying to sell to. Understanding your niche will always be important in this industry. Without understanding your customer base and what they are looking for, your odds of creating a profitable ecommerce business are very low. You have to understand the ends and outs of your niche. 

One thing that has helped Mike better understand his niche is his willingness to test and test often. In a month, Mike created over 100 different Facebook ads. His goal was to understand what types of ads and what targeting keywords resulted in the best results within his niche. Mike’s willingness to test paid off. He went from making $10,000 a month in sales to $50,000 a month in sales through this research alone. 

Another element that Mike has learned very well through growing his business is what offers and upsells are most enticing to the customers within his niche. Mike sells unique American flag stickers. He is selling a passion product. The offers and upsells Mike offers or presents to the customers in his niche prey on their passion. Mike’s ability to understand the customers within his niche is what has allowed him to grow his business and stand out from his competitors. 

Mindset Will Always Be the Key to Finding Success 

Screen Grab of Peter Pru and Michael Koss

As our interview came to an end, I asked Mike what his biggest piece of advice would be to those entering the ecommerce industry. Mike has put a lot of work, time, and effort into understanding both his niche and the ecommerce industry. These elements are definitely important to finding success within the industry. However, Mike believes that most of his success came from his mindset. 

Mike’s advice to all aspiring entrepreneurs is to keep a positive mindset throughout their journey. There will always be ups and downs in whatever you choose to do in life. However, the key to overcoming the hurdles you face is keeping a positive and can-do mindset.

There are huge opportunities awaiting you in the ecommerce industry. You just have to be willing to learn and keep pushing forward even if things don’t go exactly how you envisioned. Mike’s final piece of advice is to simply try to be amazing at whatever you choose to do. 

I couldn’t agree more. Having passion in your work will always take you further, and in the end, your business success will always be dependent on one thing: you.

Consult With the Pros as an Ecommerce Empire Academy Student

Ecommerce student watching webinars on his tablet at home

Mike took himself from being a high school dropout to a successful ecommerce entrepreneur. He accomplished this journey through hard work and adopting the right mindset. It’s my hope that you will be able to take the information and advice Mike has provided and implement it into your own ecommerce 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. If you’re ready to get the ball rolling, then sign up for access to our exclusive free webinar today and become an Ecommerce Empire Academy student. Also, be sure to check our YouTube channel for even more insights into the dropshipping and sales funnel industries. Remember, your empire starts now!

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How to Fix Failing Facebook Ads and Boost Sales

by Peter PruClickFunnels Training / Facebook Ads For DropshippingLeave a Comment on How to Fix Failing Facebook Ads and Boost Sales

Empire builders, have you been trying to crack the code on how to fix failing Facebook ads? Facebook ads can only get you so far on their own, and sometimes they simply won’t work at all without a good sales funnel in place. Here we’ll go over how you can analyze your sales funnels and fix those broken ads while improving your sales funnels to finally get the sales you want. The following steps will work best for Facebook ads, but you can also apply them to Instagram campaigns.

Identify Issues by Looking at the Data

When looking at your own data, we recommend that you do what you can to remain as emotionally detached as possible and analyze the data objectively. 

It helps to look at your business as an entity and yourself as an investor. Many business owners tend to look at their business through the subjective lens of a parent with a child that they’ve created and nurtured, and that’s the wrong approach. It’s a lot easier to get frustrated and distraught with your store’s performance if emotions get in the way. That could make it harder to pick yourself up after those low moments.

Keeping this in mind, we’ll go through what might go wrong and how you can fix failing Facebook ads to increase sales.

1. Look at Your Customers’ Purchases First

When looking at your data, the first item to look at is the purchases. You’ll want to look at the purchases made over a three-day period, which is the same period you should allow for each type of data. It could also be as long as five days, but the important thing is to give your campaigns enough time to perform and determine whether they’re working or need some tweaking. Otherwise, you could be making decisions before your campaigns really have enough time to take effect.

In this example, let’s say you’ve been running Facebook ads for around two to three days. A couple of things have happened in your ad sets, one of which is a complete lack of purchases made within the three-day period. Now that you know what’s going on with the purchases, it’s time to go deeper.

2. Check the Click-Through Rate

screen grab of Ali's flowchart for how to fix failing Facebook ads with a CTR below 2%

If you notice that you’re not making a single purchase with your ads, the next item to examine is the click-through rate (CTR). To view your CTR in Facebook ads, you will need to go into your customized columns and select this metric manually.

When looking at your ad sets’ CTRs, you will specifically want to determine if it’s greater than or less than two percent. (FYI: two percent is the industry standard for the CTR that the average Facebook ad will get.) If your CTR is greater than two percent, it’s best to leave the ad set running for either another two to three days or at two to three times the cost of the product. 

For example, say you’re selling a product for around $10 and your CTR is at around three percent or higher. If that’s the case, then wait until you’ve spent at least $30 before choosing to continue or stop the campaign. Doing so can help give Facebook ad sets more time to generate traffic to your landing pages. You can potentially gain more traction and increase your odds of breaking even.

If your CTR is under two percent, you’re better off leaving the ad set running for two more days or twice the cost of the product, which can give it a chance to reach or exceed two percent. If the ad set still fails to perform after running for two more days or twice the product cost, you will need to fix one of two things: the ads, or the targeting.

How to Fix Failing Facebook Ads: Either Change Your Creative or Your Copy

The most effective way to boost CTR is to change the creative elements of your ads. Changing the copy can also help if you develop an appealing headline and body text or offer that speaks to your audience. But if you want quick favorable results, then your best bet is to change the creative.

How to Fix Failing Facebook Ads: Change the Ad’s Targeting

If you’re happy with your creative and copy but your ads still aren’t performing the way you want them to, then it’s time to look at the targeting. Make sure your ads are targeting and reaching the right audience, which can also improve CTR.

Once your CTR increases, leave your ad sets running for another two to three days to allow them to gain hold.

3. Look at the Opt-In Page

If your ads are still failing to perform with a CTR above two percent and you’re not seeing any increase in sales, the next step is to find out what’s wrong with the opt-in page.

Specifically, you’ll want to look at the opt-in rate. It should be in or greater than the 20 to 30 percent range. If the opt-in rate is lower, the best way to increase this metric is to change the way the offer is displayed. People may have clicked through the ad because of the offer’s initial appeal. But you need to figure out how to maximize the proposed value of the offer and prove that it’s worth the customer’s investment. 

How to Fix Failing Facebook Ads: 2 Quick Ways to Improve Your Offers

Two key steps can help improve the performance of your opt-in offers:

  1. Hide the price
  2. Use the best possible offer stack image

You can also add more customer testimonials, change the headline, or increase the offer. 

4. Modify the Order Form

dropshipper following a tested process for fixing their online order form

If you’ve made all the above changes and your opt-in rate is at or exceeding 20 to 30 percent but you’re still not making any sales, the next phase would entail looking at your order forms. 

When it comes to gauging your order forms’ performance, you’ll want to look at the order rate. You should try to aim for an order rate of greater than 10 percent. If your order rate is low even with a high opt-in rate, this indicates a broken ordering process.

How to Fix Failing Facebook Ads: Test the Funnel and Fix the Offer

To boost the order rate, the first step to take is to test the funnel. If the funnel is still working well and there doesn’t appear to be a reason for a lack of orders at this point, you’ve either:

  1. Priced the offer too high.
  2. Priced the offer incorrectly.

If the offer is priced too high, consider dropping it down slightly to increase acquisitions. If the price is incorrect, this could mean that people think that the offer promises an entirely free product, only to feel like they’ve been misled and have to pay for shipping or other costs. Change the order form to reflect the costs of shipping and handling or other expenses.

What to Do If the Ads Are Working (But Not Well Enough)

If you’ve finally made one or more sales, look at the cost per purchase (CPP). A CPP less than the average customer purchase (i.e., the cost of the cart) is a good sign of success.

If your CPP exceeds the average cart cost, here are some steps you can take to tip the scales and increase the average cart:

  1. Add upsells.
  2. Include quantity breaks that give a discount for buying two or more of an item.
  3. Create or further optimize the order form.
  4. Add an order bump.
  5. Add products to the “Thank You” page.
  6. Improve continuity by encouraging customers to subscribe and maximize their lifetime value.
  7. Send emails reminding people to continue their purchases after abandoning their carts.
  8. Add buyer automation that keeps customers coming back for upsells and repeat purchases.

Remember, give your campaigns time to perform and stick. If your ad sets still fail to perform after you make changes, you can proceed to dig deeper. Find out where the issues lie and optimize your campaigns accordingly. Ultimately, this will help you win with highly effective Facebook or Instagram influencer marketing and maximize acquisitions to boost sales.

Consult With the Experts

screen grab of the flow chart for how to fix failing Facebook ads

Now that you know how to fix failing Facebook ads, it’s time to keep growing. To learn more about how to take advantage of sales funnels and grow your ecommerce business with ease, sign up for the free dropshipping webinar with Ecommerce Empire Builders today. You can also pick up more tips and insights on my YouTube channel.

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