Get Started with Shopify: A Comprehensive Dropshipping Guide

TLDR: This video provides a step-by-step dropshipping guide on how to sell on Shopify, from setting up a store, sourcing or creating products, to promoting the store and hitting the first sales.

Dropshipping Guide Insights

What is Shopify?

💡 Shopify is just a platform that allows you to create your online store.
💼 It does not source products or promote your store for you.

Creating a Shopify Store

🖥️ To create a store, first sign up for a Shopify account.
🎨 Customize your storefront to make it appealing to customers.
🔐 Choose a basic plan to have an extended trial period.

Sourcing Products to Sell

✨ If you have your own product, you can directly add it to the Shopify store.
🌐 If not, you can do dropshipping, finding products from a supplier to sell.
🛍️ You can source products from platforms like AliExpress, CJdropshipping, and Zendrop.
🚚 Try to find suppliers with fast shipping times.

Making Your First Sales

📣 You can promote your store either through paid ads or organic content.
📱 TikTok is currently a good place for advertising your store.
🔥 Creating organic content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram can help draw huge traffic to your store.

Video Summary

00:00: 🛍️ The video explains how to sell on Shopify, clarifying misconceptions about the platform. Shopify is a platform to create an online store, but doesn’t provide products or promote the store. The primary challenges are to find or create a product people want and marketing that product to draw people to your Shopify store. The video covers how to open a Shopify store and find products to sell, and promoting the store for sales. A special link is shared to extend the free trial (three additional months at $1/month) on Shopify to have more time to build and optimize the store.
Key ideas:

• Shopify is a platform for creating an online store, it doesn’t provide products or promote the store
• Finding a good product and marketing it effectively are the main challenges in selling on Shopify
• The video guide shows how to open a Shopify store, find products to sell, and promote the store
• A special link is provided to extend the free trial on Shopify, offering three additional months at $1 per month for building and optimizing the store.

01:50: 🛍️ The text provides a step-by-step guide for setting up a Shopify store starting from signing up for a free trial on the official Shopify website. Specific pointers are given on how to extend the trial for an additional three months, choose a basic plan, and how to enter payment details. It also highlights the possibility to cancel the subscription at any point if the store is not successful. Lastly, the text guides on how to add products to the Shopify store with relevant details like product title and description.
Key ideas:

• Shopify offers a free trial which can be extended to three months to set up the store.
• To extend the free trial to three months, one must select a plan within three days of starting the trial.
• The basic Shopify plan is recommended for new users, which can be upgraded later if needed.
• The Shopify subscription can be canceled at any time during the trial period.
• After setting up the Shopify store, products can be added with relevant details, such as the product title and description.

03:28: 💰 The text outlines how to add products to a Shopify store for sale, including needed details such as images, price, and shipping weight. It also introduces the business model of dropshipping, which is profitable when the price paid by the customer on the Shopify store exceeds the total cost of the product, shipping, and related fees. Platforms such as AliExpress, known for inexpensive Chinese products, serve as potential sources for dropshipping.
Key ideas:

• Products can be added to Shopify store with details like images, price, quantity, and shipping weight.
• Shopify can be used to process sales and payments if the product is already in inventory.
• Dropshipping involves selling a product that is shipped directly from a supplier to the customer, without the seller handling the product.
• The profit from dropshipping is the difference between what the customer pays and the total cost to the seller.
• Sites like AliExpress offer a wide range of affordable products for dropshipping, typically manufactured in China.

05:15: 🌍📦⏱️ The text discusses the challenges of dropshipping, with a particular focus on long shipping times that can lead to customer dissatisfaction. To mitigate this, the author suggests finding suppliers with warehouses in the same country as the sales market, thus lowering shipping times. He further suggests using platforms like CJdropshipping and Zendrop, which have suppliers with warehouses in various countries, and are user-friendly for beginners. Finally, he mentions demonstrating how to import a product from Zendrop to a Shopify store.
Key ideas:

• Long shipping times in dropshipping can lead to customer dissatisfaction.
• Finding suppliers with warehouses in your sales market can reduce shipping times.
• CJdropshipping and Zendrop are platforms suggested for dropshipping, due to their diverse supplier network and user-friendly interface for beginners.
• The author intends to demonstrate how to import a product from Zendrop to a Shopify store.

07:00: 💻 The text provides a walkthrough on how to import products from Zendrop to a Shopify store. After creating a Zendrop account, the user must connect their Shopify store. Products from Zendrop can be selected and added to the store. Once imported, these products display all necessary information including the title, description, images, variants, sizes and colors, and prices. The user can then design their store front for users to see upon visiting their store.
Key ideas:

• The text is a guide on how to import products from Zendrop to a Shopify store.
• To connect a Shopify store to Zendrop, the user needs to sign up for Zendrop and copy-paste their Shopify store URL.
• Products from Zendrop can be directly imported to the Shopify store.
• All relevant information about the product, including the title, description, images, different variants, sizes, colors, and prices are directly imported.
• Storefront design is crucial to create a welcoming experience for the customers visiting the store.

08:47: 🛒 The text is a guide on how to set up a Shopify store using the Dawn theme. It suggests starting with free themes when setting up, with the Dawn theme as the recommended option, which can be customized to suit the store’s design needs. The text touches on the functionality of Shopify’s editor, featuring the ability to customize pages, use mobile view, and import products from Zendrop. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of attracting customers to the store to facilitate sales.
Key ideas:

• Shopify store’s design can be customized using themes, with Dawn theme as a recommended option.
• Shopify editor allows store owners to customize all pages on their store.
• Products can be imported into a Shopify store using Zendrop.
• The design of a Shopify store can be viewed in a mobile format.
• Attracting customers to the store is crucial to facilitate sales.

10:27: 💰 The text discusses two ways to market a product: through paid advertising or organic content creation. Advertising on platforms like Facebook, Google, or TikTok can be an effective strategy. Creating organic content on platforms like Instagram or TikTok requires more effort but can yield results. The author suggests that advertising on TikTok is currently most effective as it’s cheaper than Facebook or Google, and it’s improving at finding the right customers. For those without a budget, the author recommends creating good content, citing multiple TikTok examples where this has proven successful.
Key ideas:

• Advertising on platforms like Facebook, Google, or TikTok is a marketing strategy.
• Creating organic content on platforms like Instagram or TikTok is another marketing strategy.
• TikTok advertising is currently more effective due to its lower cost and improved customer targeting.
• Creating engaging content is a recommended strategy for those on a budget.

12:18: 🛍️ The text describes the use of Shopify, with a focus on an example of a successful store that achieved high exposure without spending on ads. It mentions a free instructional course for Shopify, including product research, store setup, and advertising through TikTok, Facebook, and Google.
Key ideas:

• The store mentioned in the text has gained 53 million views on its video without ad spending.
• The tutorial offers a free course on using Shopify, including finding products, setting up the store, and advertising.
• The said course is completely free with no hidden costs or spam.

14:02: 🎓 The speaker is offering an educational course about setting up a Shopify business. This course, which is roughly three hours long, includes step-by-step guidance on the entire process. The viewer is encouraged to give a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel and await the next video.
Key ideas:

• The course offered is about setting up a Shopify business.
• The course content is approximately three hours long.
• A thumbs up and subscribing to the channel are requested.

Dropshipping Guide Q&A

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a platform that allows you to create your online store where you can sell your products.

How can I find products to sell on Shopify?

If you have your own product, you can add it directly. If not, you can source products from platforms like AliExpress, CJdropshipping, and Zendrop and do dropshipping.

How can I promote my Shopify store?

You can either pay for ads on platforms like Facebook, Google, or TikTok, or you can create organic content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram to draw viewership and direct potential customers to your store.

Comments

TLDR: The comments show viewers engaging with the video about Shopify and dropshipping, asking questions about the process and sharing their own experiences. Many people appreciate the language support, detailed explanations, and beginner-friendliness of the video.
Negative: Some users express skepticism about the authenticity of the video, wondering why successful Shopify users would share their strategies on YouTube. Others complain about limited language support in courses, the lack of a student support group, and promotional scams in the comment section.
Positive: Viewers praise the availability of multiple languages, the comprehensive and beginner-friendly explanation given in the video. Some viewers also share their success stories, likely motivating others.
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