15 Free Advertising Ideas and Sites to Test Your Dropshipping Products

Starting a business has always been a costly and challenging endeavor. At some point, almost 30% of startups fail because of a lack of cash. The only way to beat dozens of big-budget companies in the same niche is to be a skilled and savvy entrepreneur.

Whether your business is large or small, new or established, you need to tell people about it, and that means advertising.

However, you don't need a big budget to get the word out. Business owners of all sizes can benefit from free advertising ideas, especially those who are just starting.

A small business has always had a difficult time competing with big corporations whose advertising dollars make up for three times what they make in a year. Whether you spend a little or a lot of money on advertising, it's all about getting noticed, gaining customers, and growing.

15 Free Advertising Ideas for Ecommerce Stores

1. Email

If you use an emailing platform, email marketing can be highly effective and free to get started. Drive signups from your own social media profile, then send regular emails to your audience. Build rapport with your subscribers by sending individualized messages.

2. Content Generated by Users

Website-based marketing is all about creating content. Your content can make or break your business, so take the time to create and publish high-quality content.

Ephemeral posts add no value to consumers, so they don't want to read them. More than 80% of people are expecting brands to create and deliver content that entertains, tells stories, provides solutions, and creates experiences and events.

3. Make Use of Social Media

Social media has more than 2 billion daily active users, making it the most efficient channel for promoting your business globally. Keep in mind, however, that certain social platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, require special attention, so you shouldn't cover all of them.

We recommend finding one or two options that fit your style of work instead. Among entrepreneur favorites are:

· Facebook: One of the largest social networks and the top priority for most companies.

· LinkedIn: Prospects are usually targeted on LinkedIn by B2B organizations.

· Instagram: Especially for product-based businesses, it's the perfect channel.

· Twitter: The easiest way to stay up-to-date on industry trends and grow your professional network is through LinkedIn.

What you can do is:

• Drive traffic to your website by promoting your blog posts.
• Communicate directly with followers to express your brand's voice and increase engagement.
• Request feedback and conduct polls.
• Use excerpts from longer forms of content to create quick and easy-to-digest posts.

Your social media accounts should be regularly active and proactive, no matter what your motivation might be. Focus on consistency, collaboration, community, and commitment.

4. Utilize Hashtags

It's also a free marketing tactic for Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook that can help expand your reach - if you use hashtags.

The use of broad or trending hashtags can reinforce your brand identity, but they should not be the only ones. When you are providing resources or advice, more specific hashtags (like long-tail keywords) are best.

Local businesses need to use hashtags based on their location. Custom hashtags are also important! In your posts, use a mix of hashtag types so they can be seen by the right people.

5. Repurpose Your Content

Getting more mileage out of the content you already have is easy when you repurpose it. Repurposing allows you to reach a whole new audience, whether you're polishing up an outdated blog post or turning any e-book into an email course.

6. Contribute Guest Posts to Other Blogs

Guest posting for a well-established blog has a few major advantages. By connecting with the blog's audience, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

Often, guest posting on a popular blog is more beneficial than posting on your blog, as it allows you access to an established audience and high domain authority.

Additionally, you can link back to your website from your article, giving you an inbound link that boosts your domain authority and can improve the ranking of your website.

7. Give Away Free Products

Offering a product giveaway or contest is a great way to attract new viewers to your social media channels or website.

In addition, giving away inexpensive branded products like T-shirts or mugs is an excellent way to promote your brand. Having a little swag can go a long way when it comes to word-of-mouth.

8. Request Online Reviews from Satisfied Customers

You cannot beat word-of-mouth marketing for marketing your product. When there are many positive testimonies, consumers trust the opinions of other consumers.

It is a good idea to encourage happy customers to write a review about their experience on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp. If you don't already have a Facebook Business page, you need to create one if you want good reviews on Facebook.

9. Respond to Questions on Quora

Quora is often where internet users turn when they have a question. Several businesses have found great success posting answers to questions on Quora, and doing so can help build subject matter authority, add backlinks to your website, and generate traffic.

Make sure your posts are helpful, not just promotional - don't just post links to your blog and call it a day. Look for questions related to your industry, especially if you've already written a blog post or produced a video about that topic. Provide a summary of the answer, including a link to additional information (if desired).

10. Take Advantage of Local SEO

Google's algorithm is designed to provide searchers with the most relevant, accurate, and high-quality results. Because this is not a pay-to-play model, this levels the playing field and enables small businesses to compete with large competitors for page one placement.

It is free to do local SEO, but it does take some time, so start now and keep working; you can reap huge rewards over time. Here are some local SEO tips:

· Make sure your main website pages contain location-based keywords

· Ensure your information is consistent across online directories by listing your business in them

· Publish neighborhood-specific pages and blog posts

11. Take Part in Local Events

Participating in local events doesn't require a large sponsorship budget. Your team could volunteer to work at an event, or you might donate event space, refreshments, your product as auction items, or service related to your industry (for instance, a sound company could assist with sound).

12. Share Helpful Videos

You don't need to hire a professional to make and upload a YouTube video, as video is a highly popular medium for consumers. With today's smartphones and social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, DIY video marketing is easy.

13. Give a Speech at an Event

Participate in a panel or speak at a conference to share your expertise. You can position yourself as a thought leader and get in front of an audience that's (hopefully) a good match for your business or product by selecting an event closely aligned with your business or industry.

14. Participate in the Discussion

You may even find your business is already being discussed on forums and discussions related to your industry!

Keep in mind that an obvious advertisement and a link won't get you anywhere. Rather, try to add value by answering questions, sharing your expertise, or, if a customer is unhappy, offering help. A single forum thread can generate passive income for years because it is searchable for years.

15. Become a Volunteer

Donating to local nonprofits not only helps you build goodwill and valuable connections in your community, but it can also help you gain visibility for your business. If you serve in a leadership role, you can serve on a board of directors or do a service project with your team.

Testing Products to Find Winning Products

Profits will come from a few products with most dropshipping stores. Testing products is therefore essential. You must find yourself one of these supposed "winning products".

The best products are ones that your target audience loves and that sell like crazy. As a result of these products, you will have the confidence to keep going and not give up.

You might think this is all easy right now, but I'm here to tell you it's not. Success in dropshipping requires effort and time. Last but not least, you have to keep going even when your body is telling you you can't do it and you should give up.

Why Test Products Quickly Important

The answer is that time is money. Every day you let unproductive advertisements run, you lose money. If you are on a tight budget, you definitely shouldn't get this. Your money is too valuable to waste on this. Tests are still important, however, despite your fears of losing money.

What's the reason? The reason is that most people have to test a lot of products before they find one that sells, particularly if they haven't yet worked with marketing products to customers.

In that case, quick testing of products is essential. You can quickly test products with this method so you know if they work or not without spending a lot of money.

You still have to test a lot in subsequent campaigns after you have tested a product, got some sales, and think, "Hey, this is working.".

Consider the following:

· Low product prices might convert better (get you more sales).

· Right now you might be offering 50% off, but you could also offer $10 off or 60% off.

· Offers of different kinds, you could do a regular retail discount offer now, but you could also try "buy one, get one free" or "buy this and get a gift!".

You might be able to get better results if you:

· Using an image or a video (or if using an image, maybe trying a video)

· To have people click on your store, you need a caption (text that appears next to your image or video).

· Different targeting, which means using a different Influencer or targeting a different audience on Facebook

Sites to Test Your Dropshipping Products

Imagine you've located both a supplier and a product. Now, it's time to put the products in your store and see how they perform.

It is possible to upload products manually to your store, or you can use a Shopify App to save time and make things much easier.

1. Emails

Using email marketing is the most effective and least expensive way to determine whether a product will be accepted or not by your target audience.

The results are comparable to your previous campaigns, and it's free. Create a newsletter (New Arrivals or something like that), send it to your subscribers, and see what the CTR is and how many sales you receive.

2. Instagram

Instagram allows you to find an Instagram page in your niche or the niche of your product. Afterward, contact the owner (or so-called influencer) and ask how much shoutouts cost.

When you have more than one influencer lined up to test a product, don't do them all at once! If you are already familiar with how that page performs for you, just don't use it. This is because you won't know from which Instagram page the traffic originated.

In this way, you can determine if the product or niche is working for you and if you would like to do more with that Instagram page.

3. Facebook

Facebook can be incredibly profitable, but it takes time to learn how to use it properly.

Test your test products with a Facebook Marketing campaign and see how well your target audience engages with them. See how much it costs you to acquire a customer, and if you see an opportunity, stock the products and continue to expand your inventory.

If you would like to go even further, follow up with your customers who ordered the test products and ask for their feedback.

It's okay to say that you're testing new product ideas and want to determine if they are worth it.

Validating your products this way will eliminate any concerns you may have about whether stocking those products is worth the effort or investment.

Conclusion

You can run a dropshipping business if you have a beautiful website and are willing to invest time and creativity into free advertising ideas.

There is no need to spend too much money promoting your business online since there are so many valuable features available. Make sure your customer wants the products and that your supplier can fulfill the orders.