SaleHoo Hands-On Review (Part 1)
As part of my commitment to delivering a quality Internet marketing training experience for you, my valued reader, I’m throwing a complete curve ball out here and will be giving you an exclusive hands-on review of the leading wholesaler/supplier directory, SaleHoo (as well as its sister product, SaleHoo Stores) over the coming weeks. Ever since I started buying products online I have always toyed with the idea of setting up an eCommerce website.
Compared with building niche affiliate sites, there appears to be a greater simplicity and purity when it comes to building a small-scale eCommerce site. Fundamentally, with eCommerce it seems to boil down to finding a product people want to purchase, finding the keywords they are using to search for that product (or directing traffic via PPC) and then sourcing it from a wholesaler/dropshipper/supplier at a price point where you can turn a margin. I think within the general public there is a greater level of trust for eCommerce sites as well, at least compared to thin affiliate sites that promote physical products through Amazon or eBay. I personally hate winding up on physical product affiliate sites, as they never provide much “value”. Furthermore, I am starting to develop a belief that Google is going to continue to develop a greater favoring of eCommerce and direct-to-consumer websites, as opposed to affiliate websites that add an extra layer of hassle between the customer and the product (UNLESS the affiliate site provides a truly useful review, additional benefits, or some kind of holistically positive experience).
Why SaleHoo (and SaleHoo Stores?)
I’m reviewing SaleHoo and SaleHoo Stores because SaleHoo is one of the most respected brands in the arena of home-based eCommerce. Combining a very popular directory of trusted suppliers, wholesalers, and dropshippers, with fresh training is a winning combination and I want to test it thoroughly myself. SaleHoo Stores particularly interests me as a point-and-click solution to building an eCommerce site.
The Goal of My SaleHoo Review
The goal of this ongoing review is simple – I want to use SaleHoo (i.e. the wholesaler/supplier directory) alongside SaleHoo Stores to build a simple and effective eCommerce website in a niche I research using SaleHoo’s Market Research tools. Using the SaleHoo directory I will find 3-5 products to sell on my eCommerce site, which are supplied using a drop shipper (I live in NZ so it would be impractical for me to run such a business any other way). By the end of 2013 I hope to make at least $100 in profit from this website all up. I realize this is peanuts for the amount of time I’m investing, but I’ve never explored the potential of eCommerce before and I believe once I cross that important psychological barrier I will be able to work my site up to the ultimate point of $100 per week profit. This will then form part of my growing desire for diversified income streams.
How My SaleHoo Review Will Work
So instead of doing a traditional review where I write a bit about the product and then urge you to purchase through my affiliate link, I will be doing more of a dear-diary/micro blog approach to reviewing SaleHoo and SaleHoo Stores. Basically, I will be building up a log of what I’m doing with SaleHoo and SaleHoo Stores.
There is going to be no regular posting schedule for this little project, but I will be sending out email updates at relevant intervals (so make sure you’re signed up to my mailing list). I will also be updating the blog as frequently as possible. I do have some other pressing commitments, and because I will be attempting to rank a brand new site from scratch it’s going to take some time. However, I am committed to making this hands-on, play-by-play review of SaleHoo and SaleHoo Stores as engaging as possible. This is going to be a case study review where you can comment
Where Can You Purchase SaleHoo/SaleHoo Stores?
If you like the idea of my SaleHoo review, and like the idea of SaleHoo/Stores even more, then you can find out more about both products here.
What’s Coming Next?
In the next installment of my hands-on review of SaleHoo I will tell you a bit more about the directory of wholesalers/suppliers itself. I will also start trying to find a potential drop shipping supplier in a niche that seems promising. I’m already leaning toward something in the power tools/DIY sector of the market; consumer electronics, fashion etc are all too cut-throat for a newbie.
