Dropshipping is booming! Here’s the deal: You open an online store and sell products, but you don’t hold any inventory. When a customer buys something, you order it from a supplier and they ship it directly to the customer.
Getting customers to your store is a tough hurdle in dropshipping. Moreover, where influencer marketing can help!
Want to skyrocket your dropshipping business with influencer marketing? This article gives you the key ingredients for success! We’ll break down essential tips to find the right influencers and build partnerships that bring results.
Find Relevant Micro-influencers
Big influencers (millions of followers) can promote many things to a large audience, but it won’t be as targeted. Micro-influencers (tens or hundreds of thousands of followers) are a better choice for promoting a specific dropshipping niche. Because their audience is more interested in that kind of product.
Need an influencer for your outdoor gear store? Skip the celebrity! An adventure blogger with 80,000 followers focused on hiking is a better fit. Their audience loves the outdoors, just like your ideal customer. This brings more people interested in your products to your store.
Don’t just pick any micro-influencer! Look for creators who chat with their followers in the comments. Influencers who answer questions and listen to feedback tend to be more engaged and put more effort into partnerships with brands like yours.
Read Also: DSers V/S AliExpress Dropshipping
Offer Free Products
Free products can be a great way to start your influencer pitch! Many micro-influencers will be happy to create sponsored social media posts and stories if they get to try your products first. This lets them give honest reviews to their audience.
Don’t worry, we’re not asking influencers to shove ads down their audience’s throats or hide sponsored content. Instead, focus on building a real connection over time. Ask them for their honest opinions and to mention your brand like they would any other product they love and use! This way, you create a natural and trustworthy relationship.
Influencers might become more willing to promote your products for a fee over time, if they keep having positive experiences with them. But the best way to start is by giving them free products, on their terms. This way, they can try your products and see if they’re a good fit for their audience.
Leverage User-Generated Content
Regular shoppers trust reviews, photos, and videos from other customers more than fancy ads. This content, called user-generated content (UGC), is made by everyday people, not professional marketers. Sure, influencer partnerships are great, but UGC shows real experiences with the product.
Don’t forget fun props when sending influencer packages! Furthermore, include signs or other items that encourage them to take photos and videos. Think custom stickers for electronics that say “Posted with @yourstore” for Instagram Stories. This way, you get their genuine reactions and content, just like you would from any other happy customer.
The more user-generated content (UGC) you collect over time from different influencers, the stronger your social proof becomes. This strong social proof attracts more organic traffic and sales to your dropshipping store.
Track Performance
Need to track how influencer promos are working for your dropshipping store? Be honest with potential influencer partners! Tell them you’ll use special discount codes and track links to see what sales and website traffic they bring in. This way, everyone knows what to expect.
Most influencer marketing professionals understand performance tracking as standard practice. Choose user-friendly analytics tools that allow you to easily generate reports on metrics like sales totals, average order value from an influencer’s audience, product page sessions, add to cart rates, and much more.
Check your analytics to find your top influencers and see who’s driving the most sales. You can also see which products sell best with each influencer, so you can tailor future promotions for even better results!
Compensate Generously
Free products are a great way to start with new influencers, but for long-term partnerships, offer them money. Even small influencers with less than 100,000 followers deserve fair pay for promoting your products in their social media posts, stories, videos, blogs, and more.
Most industry experts suggest paying around $100 per 10,000 followers per sponsored post. That breaks down to $500 for an influencer with 50,000 followers. You may be able to negotiate slightly lower rates with very small influencers, but lowball offers often lead to lackluster promotions on their end.
Top influencers can earn big bucks – over $1,000 per post! Your dropshipping store might not have that kind of budget, but offering fair pay based on what’s typical in the industry shows influencers you value their work and audience.
In Conclusion
Influencer marketing is a great way for new dropshipping stores to find customers! Influencers already have a following interested in your niche, so you can reach them directly. Follow these tips: find real micro-influencers, pay them a fair price, track your sales closely, and use the content they create. This can really boost your dropshipping business!
Dropshipping lets bootstrapped businesses reach huge audiences for less money than most marketing channels. It’s fast and cost-effective! Build strong relationships with influencers by offering free products, fair commission, and reliable service. Watch your dropshipping store take off!
