How to Use Shopify to Make Money in 2024? Top Seven Ideas

Shopify is a powerful e-commerce website builder allowing entrepreneurs to create their online stores and make money in many ways.

However, not all the ways are appropriate for every individual, as different ways mean selling different products in various ways!

Thus, if you want to know how to use Shopify to make money, reading this blog will help you with the top seven existing ideas to leverage Shopify in 2024 and beyond.

How to Use Shopify to Make Money in 2024? 7 Exciting Ways

People will tell you many ways to make money using Shopify, but we will only talk about the seven key ideas so that you see the big picture and sell anything you want using Shopify!
Let’s get started:

1. Start an E-commerce Store and Sell Your Physical Products:

One of the remarkable approaches to making money with Shopify is to start your own e-commerce store and sell physical products. With Shopify, you can quickly build an online store, add goods, and start offering to consumers worldwide using its drag-and-drop store creator.

It all starts with understanding the business model and making a plan. The keys are choosing a product, setting up a warehouse, creating a Shopify store, and selling.

The first step is to recognize what kinds of products you want to sell. There is a vast category of physical products, and you have to choose one product category initially.

You can sell clothes, furniture, medicines, or anything imaginable!

While selecting a product category and items, do market research, learn the supply chain management basis, and collect high-quality products. It will help you manage your inventory and fulfill every order you get.

For instance, if you see a demand for grocery products in your local area, you can buy everyday glossary items and set up a warehouse from where you will deliver the products to your customers.

When you have the products in your warehouse, the next stage is setting up a Shopify store and promoting your products through multiple sales channels. To do so, you must create a Shopify account and select an appropriate pricing plan for your company.

Shopify offers a 3-day free trial, which you can check before you purchase!

After that, the store creation part begins. To help you start quickly, the Shopify theme store offers tons of pre-built themes. You can choose and customize the look of your shop, add goods and start marketing your business to prospective consumers.

Shopify has a blog article for you if you don’t know how to start an online store with them!
You can also see how to use Shopify’s built-in features to help you simplify your company operations, such as inventory management, payment handling, shipping and sales tax calculators, and order administration tools.

Starting an online store has some risks, so having a solid plan to manage these aspects of your business is essential.

2. Start a Dropshipping Store Using Shopify:

Starting a dropshipping business is primarily similar to selling physical products. However, you don’t need to manage the inventory or shipping logistics in drop shipping.

Instead, you list the products in your Shopify store, and when a consumer places an order, the supplier ships the product directly to the customer.

With this flexibility, dropshipping becomes a great way to make money with Shopify.

And besides helping you create a professional e-commerce store, the Shopify app store also provides various dropshipping apps like Oberlo and Spocker that you can use to find trending products from suppliers worldwide, add to your store, and automatically fulfill orders as they come in.

Some popular examples of the dropshipping model are selling furniture and clothing items as a print-on-demand system, where you add dummy designs to your shop. When a customer orders a design, the supplier prints it and ships it to the customer!

Thus, when starting a Shopify dropshipping business, finding a high-demand product and contacting reputable suppliers is essential to boost sales. You must also focus on marketing and promoting your store to drive traffic and generate sales.

3. Sell Your Digital Products or Services:

You can also sell digital products in your Shopify store, like physical products. Selling Digital products is easy because it does not require managing the inventory or order fulfillment procedures.

And after you create your Shopify store, you can sell almost any digital products you can produce, such as e-books, music, online courses, software, and services like consulting or freelance services. Built-in features like Shopify payments, blog features, and other integrations will help you make it happen.

To make money selling digital goods, you must first offer a valuable digital product, optimize your shop for conversions, and promote your product through digital marketing channels like content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing.

For instance, if you are a bang-up musician, writer, or another creative professional, you can list your digital goods on the Shopify store and advertise them to customers; once they purchase them, they will have access to the product, and you will receive payment.

You can also sell your online courses or and if you are a freelancer, you can create your agency website using Shopify and sell services.

4. Start Affiliate Marketing:

Another terrific way to earn money using Shopify is via affiliate marketing, which refers to promoting other companies’ products or services and earning a commission when someone purchases through your referral link.

Like dropshipping, you do not have to manage the inventory and shipping logistics in affiliate marketing. But both are different business models.

In dropshipping, you promote and sell another company’s products under your brand name. On the other hand, in an affiliate sales channel, you promote other businesses’ products, help them drive more sales, and earn money.

If you find affiliate marketing fascinating, Shopify offers the tools to resell other people’s products or services and earn a commission on each sale.

With Shopify, you can do affiliate marketing in many different ways. The most popular one is content marketing, which involves writing product reviews and helpful blog posts to induce visitors to buy a product from you.

Another way is to link other people’s products on your store and redirect them to the actual owner’s checkout page by running ad campaigns on search engines, social media, and email marketing.

To make money through affiliate marketing, you must select a profitable niche and promote products relevant to your audience.

You can find affiliate products on popular affiliate platforms like Clickbank and others. After selecting your products, the next step would be setting up your own ecommerce store and getting ready with the content, such as product reviews and comparisons, that people would find helpful.

You must also use various marketing techniques to drive traffic to your affiliate links. The key to fruitful affiliate marketing is building trust with your audience, promoting original products, and being transparent about your affiliations.

5. Join the Shopify Affiliate Program:

You can also make money with Shopify by reselling Shopify itself as a product. It’s similar to affiliate marketing. Like other brands, Shopify has an affiliate program you can join.

The minimum requirement is to have an active website with some audience and share original written or video content.

After joining, you become a Shopify affiliate marketer. You can promote Shopify and earn up to $150 for each person who signs up for a paid Shopify plan through your referral link.

And you can promote your referral link using content marketing, email marketing, or running paid ads campaigns on different social media channels or search engines.

You can also promote Shopify quickly if you have a vast fanbase on social media platforms like YouTube. To make money through this option, you must create content explaining Shopify’s benefits and features, leverage your existing audience, and offer bonuses or incentives to encourage sign-ups.

6. Become a Shopify Developer:

Becoming a Shopify developer can be a fruitful path to making money using Shopify, as there is a high demand for developers who can create custom e-commerce solutions for Shopify.

Thus, if you know the complete account setup or can create custom Shopify themes and apps for the platform, you can sell your services to earn money.

To become a Shopify developer, you can start by taking the Shopify Partner Academy courses to learn the basic Shopify, which covers everything from setting up a store to customizing themes and developing apps.

However, you must need prior coding skills to build advanced Shopify themes or develop Shopify apps. If you have the skills, you can join the Shopify Experts Marketplace or sell your services on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.

Clients often pay top dollar for custom solutions that meet their needs, so becoming a Shopify developer can be an excellent way for skilled professionals.

7. Build and Sell Your Shopify Stores: 

Another fantastic way to earn money using Shopify is to build and sell your own Shopify store business. Many entrepreneurs are looking for pre-built Shopify store businesses that they can purchase and grow the business further.

You will also find individuals looking for Shopify startups that they can buy and start monetizing the business using their skills and knowledge. And there are many popular website buy-sell platforms like Flippa to sell your own online store.

But to sell your own Shopify business, first, you will need to create a dazzling e-commerce store, and it would be a plus if you could show some profit, which requires a strong understanding of the platform and its features.

But to sell your own Shopify store, first, you will need to create a good-looking e-commerce store, and it would be a plus if you could show some profit, which requires a strong understanding of the platform and its features.

Five Things to Consider Before You Start Your Money-Making Journey with Shopify Store

1. The Initial Budget:

Before starting your money-making journey with Shopify, it’s essential to clearly understand the specific way you choose and set your budget accordingly. For instance, if you want to sell your physical products and hold the inventory, the budget will be high, and if you choose to start selling through dropshipping or affiliate marketing, the initial cost will be less.

In addition, you have to determine how much you can invest in your store’s creation and ongoing maintenance, including marketing expenses. A clear budget will help you make informed decisions and allocate your resources effectively.

2. The Store Maintenance Process: 

No matter what way you choose, it’s essential to have a precise idea of how you will maintain your Shopify store after launch. It includes updating your product inventory, shipping labels, managing customer accounts and orders, processing payments, and handling customer inquiries.

To speed up these processes while freeing up time for important tasks of your company, you can use third-party integrations from the Shopify app store.

3. Creating Brand Identity is Important:

Your brand identity is crucial for building trust and recognition with your customers. It includes elements like your store name, domain name, logo, website design, product packaging, and tone of voice. Build your company identity slowly, focusing on the quality of the products and diversifying sales channels.

Ensure investing in content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and paid advertisements to create a cohesive and memorable brand.

4. It Can Take Time to Flourish: 

Building a successful Shopify store takes time and effort. Having realistic expectations and being patient while you build your brand and customer base is essential. Consistent marketing efforts and high-quality products are crucial to building a loyal customer base and growing your sales over time.

5. Business Models Always Matter:

Choosing a business model that aligns with your goals and budget is essential. As we discovered the top seven ideas in this discussion, you have to determine which suits your needs and budget. Each method has pros and cons, so consider your product offerings, target audience, and overall business goals when deciding which model to use.