I started my first dropshipping store on a low budget—just $29—way back in 2008. Despite the low budget, I was able to generate more than $600,000 in sales in my first year. One major reason for my success was that I saved money whenever and wherever I could. One way was by looking for budget-friendly and free tools to use in my business.
Here are five free dropshipping tools you shouldn’t miss out on. I’ve personally used these tools, and they can help you create and manage a profitable dropshipping store. Whether you’re a beginner or not, you can use them to achieve your dropshipping goals.
5 Must-Have Free Tools for Dropshipping Success
1. Canva
Canva is a popular graphic creation tool with ready-made design templates. You can use these to design your own graphic materials, such as logos, custom banners, and any other visual materials. You can use these templates for your store and marketing strategies.
It includes a free plan that provides a variety of features to help you create professional-looking designs. These graphics can make your store appear more trustworthy to customers. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to use Canva:
Go to Canva and sign up or log in to your account.
Choose a design type you want to create, such as presentations or social media posts.
From that category, choose a pre-designed template to use.
Then, customize that template based on your brand colors and design needs. You can modify the elements and even change them or add more.
If you want, you can also add your own image by uploading it onto the platform.
Once you’ve customized the design, preview it and then save it in your preferred file type (PNG, PDF, etc.).
This is all free to use and do. In fact, many people in different industries use Canva for their graphic designs.
2. ChatGPT
ChatGPT is one of the most popular free AI tools, and you can utilize it for copywriting in your store. You can use it to write product descriptions for your product pages. You can also use it to write the “about us” page and even for page content ideas for some blog posts.
Remember, content is king, as it helps persuade your market to buy from your store. Although you can learn copywriting or hire someone to do it for you, this costs money upfront. But with ChatGPT, it’s free. It’s easy to write content and copy for your website, emails, and social media posts without paying for anything.
Here’s a summary of how to get started with ChatGPT:
- Go to ChatGPT and log in, or sign up for free.
- Enter your text prompt on the homepage or message box. A prompt is the instructions you will give the AI on how you want your content and copy to be written.
- After it replies, you can try different things:
- Edit your original prompt.
- Enter a new instruction to improve its response.
- Regenerate other versions of the response.
- Once you’re satisfied with the content, simply copy and use it for your store.
The key is to provide the AI with clear prompts to generate the content you need.
3. Meta Pixel Helper
The third free tool you shouldn’t miss out on is the Meta Pixel Helper. It’s a free Chrome browser extension that will review a website’s Meta Pixel code.
For a dropshipping store, the Meta Pixel Helper will help you ensure that your pixels and tracking are working properly. At the same time, you can use it to check your competitors and what events or factors they’re tracking on their websites. These can include actions like adding items to the cart, checking out, etc.
Here’s a quick procedure on how to use it:
Install it in your Google Chrome browser. Take note that it’s only available on Chrome.
Once installed, visit your store or a competitor’s website and click the extension beside the address/search bar.
A drop-down menu will appear and show what pixels are found on the webpage and whether they have loaded successfully.
Use this tool to ensure that you’re able to track what you need. This will be useful for analytics and improving your strategies and website.
4. Google
Google is a powerful yet often overlooked tool for dropshipping research. This is where you will do niche research and competitor analysis. There are different ways to do niche research using Google, including:
Use Google Trends to check what items are consistently selling.
Use Google Search to look for niche ideas.
Search for your preferred product type and go to the Shopping tab to check your potential competitors and their products.
Using Google for research helps ensure that your chosen niche and products are dropship-friendly, helping you avoid costly mistakes.
5. Shopify (Free Trial)
Shopify offers a limited free trial, which you can use to explore its features for dropshipping. Keep in mind that this isn’t permanently free, unlike the others. You can get a 3-day free trial, and you can get your first month for a discounted price of $1 only.
Shopify is the backbone of our dropshipping stores. We use it to build stores, accept orders, and make payments. The platform includes many built-in features, such as live chat and an inbox, that you can use without additional costs. Even though it’s not entirely free, I highly recommend that you take advantage of the free trial.
To start, just go to Shopify.
Create an account and avail the free trial.
Once completed, start building your store and customize its elements.
This will let you try out the features and see if it’s a good choice for your business.
Summary
There are many tools out there that you can leverage to start and run a dropshipping store. These five tools are must-haves, especially for beginners. To summarize, here’s what they’re for:
Canva for creating professional-looking graphics.
ChatGPT for easy copywriting.
Meta Pixel Helper to ensure you can track different events on your website.
Google for niche research and competitor analysis.
Shopify for its free trial plan for building a website.
Have you used any of these tools before? Share your insights and experiences in the comments below. If you have questions about them, please comment below!
