"It's so funny, sometimes I get questions like, ‘Should I get into drop shipping by someone new to eCommerce?’

Usually I advise no.

I would much rather someone starting eCommerce start an affiliate business first. Just start writing content, start recommending products, build up an expertise, build up a following.

Then you have an audience. You have something. That is something that no one can take away from you.

But if you're a drop shipper, and you are paying money to Google, you really have nothing. You're renting your whole business."

I said this on a recent podcast and perhaps it's counterintuitive from someone who has spent almost their entire career helping companies get better at drop shipping and marketplaces.

The point about audience and marketing I believe so much. You need something unique. What is your point of view? Your point of view can't be solely about the product you just found out about, which is likely the same type of product that anyone else could "exclusively" sign up for and sell.

Steven Haggerty and I were on his podcast Founders 365, and this is just part of the conversation. You know the rest has to be good.

Victor Castro added some thoughts, saying “Most commonly heard, even at e-com conferences, "it’s easy, just find a dropshipper..." - and while it’s true, that's the easiest way to make available and deliver product to the customer. It’s pointless if you do not have the customer on the other end. The idea to start on the affiliate side is a good one - it’s not a fast one, but that's OK. Skills developed as a good affiliate go a long way. I always told folks to start by seeing if they can develop an email list - if you can convince them to give you an email, then the selling in the future will be much easier. You'll have an audience ready to listen. Developing an email list forces you to think about your value prop and provide value first before extracting value from your audience. Then you can just dropship those orders ;)”

I think the idea of an email list is a great one. So old school, but will complement your social presence and your blog, and you need all 3 to have a great affiliate business.

Lori McDonald echoed my sentiments about bringing a point of view: “Having an area of uniqueness is so important. You can compete with companies with bigger digital budgets by demonstrating your subject matter expertise…I tend to work with manufacturers and distributors that are 50-100 years old. I suggest they look at the conversations they have with customers that help them solve problems. It's not "ecommerce expertise" but it is expertise that solves customers problems. If one is new to the business it is also possible to build expertise and to highlight other experts in the space. You still need to find a way to be unique.”

Michael Nurse posed an interesting question: “…there are a lot of publishers that could become sleeping giants of niches in e-commerce. Could Essence win against Amazon for Black beauty products? How about Car and Driver for auto accessories?” I think the answer for most is to find your people and wow them. If you don't give them something unique and interesting, we can't be surprised when people just buy on Amazon. It's a skill that has to be learned.