In this case study, we will be examining the exact steps and strategies that Logan Alt used to generate $1 374 in revenue in 14 days using TikTok. So If you are looking for a proven and effective way to drive traffic and sales to your e-commerce store, this case study might be for you.
Dropshipping is Logan Alt's primary focus as an internet entrepreneur who is involved in several online businesses, and he has a Tiktok account where he showcases his earnings, dropshipping challenges, and his students' results. Logan said:
"Many people ask me if starting a dropshipping store with little to no money is possible. Yes, it's 100% possible and easy to pull off."
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How to Conduct Product Research For an E-commerce Store Using TikTok
To find an excellent product to sell, Logan used hashtag search queries on TikTok. There are special hashtags influencers on the platform have created that they use to research best-performing products, and these are the hashtags Logan opted to use. From his result, the method works well, so we are discussing this method in detail in this article.
How to Use TikTok Hashtags to Find Dropshipping Products
Some TikTok keywords allow you to find different products that have gone viral. For example, using the keyword #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, you can find products that are trending. This is a great method to keep up with the newest trends on the platform and allows one to find popular products. Another good keyword one can use is #amazonfinds, and it always shows the reviews of products purchased on Amazon by TikTok members.
Using TikTok hashtags and challenges is an excellent strategy to learn about your target customers' preferences since it allows you to know the reasons for their choices; therefore, content creators use hashtags for product research to discover interesting products on TikTok that they want to share with their audience.
Other common hashtags for product research are:
#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt
#Amazon(favorites/must-haves)
#AliExpress(favorites/must-haves)
The result of these keywords gives potential winning products, and you can further verify their profitability so you can choose the best among them.
Furthermore, you can conduct product research by selecting a product category using hashtags to search for upsells. This strategy is useful if you already have a store that sells in a specific niche, so it might be an advantage to search for upsells to add to your store using this method. Using upsells is an excellent strategy dropshippers use to increase sales.
Here are examples of category hashtags you can use in your searches:
#Product for cat/dog
#Beauty product
#Decoration
#Kitchen
You can also combine two different hashtags for advanced searches. For example, you should combine #AliExpress and #cooking to form #AliExpress cooking. Another good example is combining #Decoration and #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt to make #Decoration TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.
Despite the many benefits of using hashtag searches, the main disadvantage of using them is that you may find mostly saturated products because your competitors are also using the same hashtags and many of them have seen these videos before you, and have entered the market ahead of you.
Logan has several ways of researching on TikTok, and another way he shared that you can conduct product research is by choosing a specific product category on Tiktok to narrow down your search. The following is the list of the 11 most engaging Tiktok categories based on the number of views:
- Entertainment: 535 billion views
- Dance: 181 billion views
- Pranks: 79 billion views
- Fitness/Sports: 57 billion views
- Home Decor/DIY: 39 billion views
- Beauty & Skincare: 33 billion views
- Fashion: 27 billion views
- Cooking & Recipes: 18 billion views
- Life Hacks, Advice & Wellness: 13 billion views
- Pets: 10 billion views
- Outdoors: 2 billion views
You can pick any category to limit your research scope to only products in any of the categories.
After searching endlessly, Logan eventually came across a dice camera, and according to him,
"This product was blowing up on Tiktok when I found it, and I know it would be very easy to market it since there is a great "wow" factor. Likewise, I've seen similar products like this that blow up in the past."
The model Logan promoted is HD 1080P SQ16 Dice DV Mini Spy Camera. It is a multi-purpose camera used for spying because it has a tiny camera embedded in it which makes it easy to set it up in a warehouse, bedroom, lobby, office, etc. The loop recording feature on the tiny camera for residential homes allows for the automatic addition of new footage to existing footage.
All video clips it recorded are stored in a Micro SD card, availing an opportunity to take full HD videos and photos, high-quality daylight videos and photos, and an enhanced night mode that allows a clear display in low light conditions IR(infrared light) LED lights. The dice camera supports up to 32GB memory card and has a built-in 240mah battery, which can work for about 50 minutes when fully charged. The camera only records video when it detects movement, making it more efficient in saving storage space and usage time.
How to Set up the E-commerce Store
Logan usually sticks to a straightforward website design with a simple logo design. He bought a similar product from Amazon so he could take some custom images with the product which he used in setting up the store and he highly recommended using custom images. He said that using custom images would set you apart from your competitors who are just using images from AliExpress or the manufacturer's website. Also, using custom content images on your store will make your brand much more legitimate.
In addition to setting up the store, it is advisable to stick to a three-color scheme, that is, white, black, and your brand color. For this store, Logan only used black and white because those are the color of the dice camera.
For the product description on his store, Logan followed a special sequence. First, he had text, followed by images and GIFs typically followed, and finally ended the sequence with text again to properly explain what the product is all about. People don't like to read so using images and GIFs works very well. Besides, having images and GIFs after the text will help increase your conversion rate.
How to Use Organic TikTok Traffic For Shopify Dropshipping Store
The next thing to do after setting up the store is to promote the product in the store, and the way Logan chooses to promote the dice camera is through TikTok organic traffic. He created a Tiktok account for the camera and started posting video content three to five times a day. In the video, he ensured that the beginning of the video was the best part where his viewers got interested in the product.
According to Logan,
"The first three seconds of your video are the most important because it is essential to get your audience's attention and stop them from fast-forwarding it so they can watch it from the beginning to the end. The main reason to ensure the full video is watched is that Tiktok rewards high watch time above all other factors, so you must ensure your videos are highly engaging and can get your viewers' attention."
The best time to post videos on Tiktok according to Logan is from 1 to 7 pm eastern time. He added,
"I also don't use any hashtags because I did not notice any difference in the performance of my video when I added hashtags to them, but you can try them if you think they will help your videos perform better."
The first day Logan posted three videos on his Tiktok account, the videos didn't perform well. So, after posting the videos you should wait 24 hours to see how they will perform. Logan said:
"This process can take weeks before you start seeing sales. Usually, after two weeks of promotion and I don't make any money, I usually close the store and start a new one."
Eventually, the videos started getting more views and likes. The first video that went viral was a video with a funny clip of a cat at the end, and it was the reason people watched and shared the video.
Result Review
Fortunately, over the following first two weeks, he started the store, multiple videos went viral, and the store made over $2 000 in sales from just posting simple TikTok videos, and he had a profit of $1 374.
Note that the cost of getting the camera from Amazon didn't later count as an expense towards setting up because Logan returned the product and got a full refund.
Although the videos on the Tiktok account later went super viral and generated over 10 million views, Logan had to shut down the store and this made him lose out on his opportunity to make more money.
He shut down the store because he realized there was a quality problem with the camera that he was unaware of before he started selling it. Logan also decided to abandon promoting the dice because he didn't want to scale a bad product to avoid future chargebacks and customer complaints.
Lastly, about the shutting down of the store, Logan said,
"Though I could have made a ton of money, I decided it just wasn't worth it. I like to run products I can build a long-term sustainable brand around so I can keep making money on them in the future, and I recommend you do this. You can run a pump and dump store, but I honestly recommend picking a product for the long term."
Income
- Revenue: $2 643.13
- Ad spend: $0
- Cost of domain name: $15
- Shopify fee: $29.99
- Profit margin: 52%
- Income: $1 374
Conclusion
In this article, we've analyzed how to set up a profitable dice camera store using Logan's method of making a $1 374 profit in 14 days as a case study. You can conduct your product research using the broad category method, specific hashtags, or the product category method.
However, it should be noted that using hashtags for products means the products might be saturated. Also, using a simple website design, logo, and unique content photos is essential for starting a successful e-commerce store. You should also adhere to a three-color scheme and make sure your product descriptions include a mix of images and GIFs.
Remember that when using TikTok to promote a dropshipping product, the beginning of the video content is important, as this determines whether or not your audience will watch your video completely. Lastly, you should have your goals defined for your dropshipping business and not be blinded by the money you want to make.
