You can find the best dropshipping websites, trustworthy dropshipping vendors, buy the best dropshipping products, and use a dropshipping website builder to create a great site, but it's worthless if you can't attract customers.
That's where dropshipping ads come into play. What you invest into eCommerce PPC ads and where you show them greatly impacts your sales and revenue. That means it's vital that you put thought and planning into every ad you create.
Keep reading to see tips for dropshipping advertising, strategies for different platforms, and guidance on creating different types of ads.
Best Way To Advertise Dropshipping Store
The dropshipping model relies on eCommerce marketing and advertising more than any other type of eCommerce business. Luckily, advertising dropshipping businesses isn't too complicated and can be made even easier by sticking to some best practices.
Here are a few tips to get the most out of your dropshipping advertising:
Use Multiple Platforms
Though it may seem obvious, the more places you advertise, the greater your chances of reaching your target market. One of the most common dropshipping mistakes is relying only on social media networks, but a multi-faceted approach offers a better return on investment (ROI meaning). You should try to get your ads to prospective customers using social media, search engines, and email marketing. Just make sure to tailor your marketing efforts to the platforms. Not all types of ads work in every medium, so set eCommerce KPIs and track the success of your ads, then make adjustments to get the most bang for your buck.
Focus on SEO
Search engine optimization (eCommerce SEO) is the partner of paid advertising and shouldn't be ignored. This is the natural ability of your website and product pages to appear in search engine results. The higher up your pages rank, the more traffic you naturally get and the more favorably Google treats your ads. The success of your on-page SEO for eCommerce and SEO for eCommerce product pages directly affects the relevance of your brand and your ability to increase eCommerce sales. It also signals search engines that your ads are worth showing since you already have traffic to your website. It's best to familiarize yourself with various SEO terms.
Use Email Marketing
Though email may seem like an old-school marketing channel, it's actually still the most successful eCommerce marketing tool. In fact, eCommerce email marketing has a return of $44 for every $1 spent, and conversion rates are higher than every other channel. Don't ignore the power of email marketing, particularly for converting new customer leads into sales. To make things easier, look into eCommerce marketing automation, so you can set up emails that are automatically sent to customers after particular actions. If a customer abandons their cart or hasn't purchased in a while, they'll receive a reminder email to help make the sale, and you only have to create it once. It's a great tool for anyone looking at automated dropshipping.
Dropshippers that sell online using BlueCart eCommerce for their digital storefront, can easily set up automated emails. it allows you to automate email sends to customers who haven’t placed an order recently to remind them to shop. This is especially great at increasing conversions when paired with abandoned cart emails. Even better, all BlueCart customers also get listed in our online marketplace where their products can reach 95,000+ buyers in the U.S.
Embrace Influencers
Social media users with large followings can make or break a business in the modern era. This means they're also great tools for promoting your business. You can do this in two ways. First, you can engage with these influencers and their fan base and hope that they notice and start buying from you. Second, you can sign a contract with the influencer for them to actively promote your product, usually receiving a small kickback for each sale attributed to them. The latter method is more effective and why people no longer have to choose between affiliate marketing vs dropshipping as they can do both.
Google Ads Vs Facebook Ads For Dropshipping
Google and Facebook are two of the largest platforms for eCommerce advertising. Most businesses advertise on both, but they also see different impacts for their ads. ROI, customer intent, ad type, and more all vary. Make sure to understand the two platforms and the markets that use them, or you could quickly eat through your budget.
Google Ads is the most used form of paid advertising for all types of eCommerce businesses. It lets you promote your business directly above, or next to, organic search results. This means you can pay to beat your competition and customers aren't put off by in-your-face advertising. However, these ads are only useful in showing your brand to people who were already searching for a similar product or business. If you're competing in one of the less popular dropshipping niches or don't understand your market, you won't be served by Google Ads. Google Ads can also become overly expensive, particularly if you're competing with the best dropshipping websites that have deeper pockets.
Facebook Ads offer the benefits of having visual assets, video, and interactive qualities. These are particularly helpful if you sell unique products or things that are better seen than read about. They're also much cheaper than Google Ads at less than half the cost. However, these ads have less of a reach than Google and are best suited for direct to consumer businesses, not B2B.
Google Shopping Ads Dropshipping
Google Shopping is a separate section of Google where products are listed and sold directly through the Google platform. These products appear for regular search queries, so having your products listed in Google shopping can really increase sales.
Here are a few tips on how to use Google Ads for dropshipping:
First, make sure all product information on your site is accurate. This is vital as Google Shopping doesn't let you target keywords like regular Google Ads. Instead, it pulls all product data from your Google Merchant Center. If products are mislabelled, missing descriptions, or sold out, they may not be shown or will be viewed as misleading to your customers. This can damage your brand image, ruin your business, and lead customers to ask "is dropshipping dead?" and "is dropshipping legal"?
Second, focus on best-selling products and sales. To get the most out of your Google Shopping ads, you don't want to list every product you sell. Instead, you should cherry-pick products that offer the best dropshipping profit margin and represent your brand. You should also take into consideration the competition you'll face. If a big brand owns many ad slots for a given product type, it might not be worth spending ad dollars to fight them. This is key in how to make money dropshipping with Google Shopping.
Third, create a negative keyword list. You can't target specific words and terms with your Google Shopping Ads. Interestingly, you can create a list of keywords you don't want to show up for. This is highly recommended as it will help you avoid wasting ad dollars to show your products for terms that won't help you sell them. Just upload a list of keywords to your Merchant Center and update it regularly to get the most out of your budget.
Facebook Ads Strategy Dropshipping
It can seem daunting trying to figure out how to run Facebook ads for dropshipping. In fact, a recent analysis found that more than 60% of small businesses have failed with their Facebook advertising. The most important thing when it comes to these ads is setting and understanding marketing goals. Are you looking to make sales from Facebook or drive traffic to your site? Is this campaign going to target existing customers or find new ones? Make sure to plan everything in advance, so it's simple to set up and evaluate your ads as you go along.
We also recommend spending 80% of your time and ad budget on testing, with the rest spent on optimization. Try A/B testing different images, ad types, copy, and more. Once you find something that works well, adjust it to get the best results possible and keep testing other ad types. It's no different from testing out new dropshipping business ideas. Creating and optimizing will become easier over time as you start to establish customer personas and work on demand planning.
Instagram Ads Dropshipping
Instagram ads for dropshipping are some of the most commonly used ad types. That's because dropshipping businesses see a strong ROI from social media ads, particularly when they're targeting 18 to 35-year-olds. 90% of Instagram users follow at least one brand on the platform and a majority of users say they've discovered new products on the app. This makes it the perfect choice for dropshipping ads. It's also a great platform to connect with your customers to perform customer service for dropshipping.
The most important thing when it comes to Instagram ads is to showcase your products in an organic way. Facebook ads can get away with products on a white background, but Instagram users expect lifestyle images in their ads. If possible, try to get imagery from your suppliers with the products being used. This isn't an uncommon request, and they likely have images you can use as long as your contract allows it. If not, order some products yourself and start photographing. This is particularly important if you perform reverse dropshipping, where imagery is key in conveying product value.
Pinterest Ads For Dropshipping
Pinterest is a unique social platform that's built around users creating digital boards to "pin" ideas and products that they like. Many dropshippers ignore the platform, but it's actually quite a good platform if you sell products that are visually appealing. You can run standard PPC ads on the platform, but you can also create your own board with product images and grow your reach organically. This is a great slow-burn strategy that requires little maintenance other than adding and removing products. The key to advertising on Pinterest is to let your products do the talking. Imagery is key in convincing people they need your products, so treat it as you would Instagram and try to use the most appealing images you have access to.
Dropshipping Video Ads
Video is a growing medium for digital advertising and can be used to great effect for dropshippers. Video ads are an option for most social media networks with Facebook and Instagram being the most popular. However, dropshipping businesses can have a difficult time creating these ads since they usually only have stock images of the products they sell.
The most important thing for dropshipping video ads is to understand the platform you're advertising on. Facebook users range in age and their tastes are quite varied. Ads can be more text-heavy and descriptive on the platform. Instagram users skew younger and mostly want to see products in action. Always try to serve your market the content that they want so you can maximize your chance at making a sale and avoid damaging your brand image.
How To Make Video Ads For Dropshipping
Making eCommerce videos and ads for dropshipping can seem difficult since you don't actually stock the products, so you can't just film them. There are two ways around this limitation. First, you can coordinate with your vendors to get your hand on imagery and footage that they own. Many suppliers will shoot their own imagery to share with dropshippers and retailers, so they can continue to sell more products. If you take this route, you'll still want to touch up the content and splice it together to create a cohesive ad. These ads are usually less than 60 seconds long, so you don't need many assets.
The second way you can make a video ad for dropshipping is to buy one of each product from your supplier or request samples. With products in hand, you can shoot your own footage and edit it into an ad. This gives you far more control over the content and lets you add branding very easily. However, this may cost you additional money and takes more time and skill to create.
Does that All Ad Up?
Dropshipping businesses rely on advertising more than any other type of eCommerce business. Follow the tips above and keep your budgets in check to grow your brand, increase sales, and achieve new heights. Just make sure to include a paid advertising budget in your drop shipping business plan.
For more tips on how to dropship and increase your brand recognition, check out our free drop shipping for dummies guide, and read dropshipping books, eCommerce books, and take dropshipping courses.