$26,976 In 1 Year: How Chanong Makes Money Online In Philippines

Is it difficult to make money online in Philippines? Is the result worth the effort? Our today’s guest is Chanong – and he’s happy to share his dropshipping experience.

Disclaimer: all the success stories published in AliDropship blog are the results of interviews conducted in the written form. Even though the editors may make some minor changes to the grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation, the respondents’ writing styles, views, opinions, stores screenshots and personal photos are left unchanged.

Hi, please introduce yourself!

Hi! I’m Chanong from Baguio City, Philippines.

I’m 26 years old, I’ve graduated as a nurse. Although I finished this degree, I was more on to computers. Been playing computers since childhood. Tried to look for employment as a nurse but haven’t really been successful so I tried to look for ways to make money online instead. I found a forum called Blackhatworld and that’s where I started to learn more about methods such as affiliate marketing, dropshipping, selling services, etc.

Before you started dropshipping with AliExpress, did you have any previous experience of making money online in Philippines?

Just a bit. I tried affiliate marketing through an Amazon Niche Site but haven’t been really successful since I’m not good with writing content.

I was making designs on TeeSpring but didn’t know how to drive traffic that time so I was just trying.

Also, I tried other methods from BHW that involved spamming, and made some few bucks. 🙂

Why did you choose the dropshipping business model, after all?

Since 2016, while having my own store, I decided to work for clients who also own online stores so that I can learn more and then apply it to my own business.

I did everything from customer service to product research and to order fulfillment. Also, I was making stores and doing the marketing part. That’s how I got to learn a lot about Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Pinterest Ads, IG influencers and other kinds of sources of traffic.

I learned that Dropshipping is the realistic kind of a get-rich scheme. Haha 🙂

Don’t get me wrong, Dropshipping can be really hard but also can make you a lot of money in just a short span of time if you do it properly.

I have handled some stores of my clients that literally went boom just few days after launching it.

Another reason is that it’s easy to set up and manage and it doesn’t need an expensive startup cost.

How did it all begin?

It started when I stumbled on a Dropshipping Thread on BHW. I then started to read more threads about it and then later I found Yaros’ thread.

After a couple of months, I decided to buy a store package from Yaros to learn more about it since I didn’t have knowledge in making WordPress Stores that time.

That’s where I started to slowly learn more on how to make stores using the WordPress platform and also about Dropshipping.

Do you remember the first online sale made from your dropshipping store?

Yes. It was an anime keychain sold for $12.99 😀

It only happened after 6 month of my store operation. That time, I have no knowledge of driving traffic to the store.

I was so happy about it. I did nothing to stimulate this sale, the buyer just came from an organic search.

Which tech solutions do you use to earn money online in Philippines?

I use the AliDropship Original Plugin, your hosting, and some of the add-ons like Facebook Business and Social Rabbit.

It actually helps a lot, especially the Plugin. Just with the plugin, you can make a sustainable business and even manage it on your own. It also makes importing products and placing orders really easy on AliExpress.

How many stores do you have now?

Just 1 at the moment. Made some several stores but closed them because of the niches I have chosen in the past.

It made some money, but I stopped promoting it for now since I sell copyrighted items. Will start to promote it again when I find a good product to sell. Here’s a screenshot of my dashboard since last year. My metrics are below the industry average but still i managed to make some $$$.

It did not do that much yet but I learned a lot from it. From disabled ad accounts, to unresponsive suppliers, to making good creatives, to product research, copyright issues and more.

How did you choose the niche?

I previously had 2 stores and the niche mistakes I learned was that the niche was too small and at the same time I was selling copyrighted items.

So I decided then to just go to a semi broad niche like the Home niche. With this, I was able to test more products and had more options to scale from. This is a good strategy if you are starting yet and doesn’t have much knowledge on niches.

I also combined my personal interests on this semi broad niche so I was able to find a narrower niche that is into my liking.

How did you choose products and suppliers for your store?

I just followed the tutorials from AliDropship. I also follow some other ecom “gurus” and then just mix the knowledge I learn from them.

For suppliers, I just check their reviews, shipping method and time to my target countries, and their store age.

I also sometimes stalk on popular shopify stores and just spy on their best-selling products. You can also just find their FB pages and just check their own ads.

I also tried using AliExpress Mobile App’s Blog section where the shoppers just review the AliExpress products that they have ordered. I think it was called Stars.Aliexpress. I’m not sure if it still exists today

You can also join Telegram App AliExpress channels and other product compiling sites like thieve.co and touchofmodern.com for more product inspirations.

Do you have any strategy of adding new products from time to time?

If you just want to add products, then you can start adding 3 products a day. You can also use other plugins to bulk import other products. But for me I just add products on my store if I found a product I would like to test.

How do you set the prices?

I initially used AliDropship’s pricing formula but readjusted it since I’m using Paid Traffic. I came up with a certain formula settings on my own but I still price the product depending on its perceived value. Sometimes I price $3 items as high as 30-60 bucks.

It depends also on the purpose of the product you added – for example, whether it’s just for upselling or it’s an independent product.

How do you promote your stores?

Facebook Ads are most efficient for me. I also use Instagram Ads, but Instagram shoutouts had no success – I tried them in the past but haven’t had a good result.

On average, I spend $300-S3,000 per month on marketing.

How did you understand who’s your target audience?

My customers come from all over the globe, really.

I just kind of read more about the product I’m trying to promote and from there, I just find the interests that are related to the product on Facebook.

I usually just find medias, icons, influencers, brands, hobbies, groups, magazines, Movies, Series, etc. that are related to the product.

How much time does it take you every day to manage your stores?

Just a couple of hours depending on whether I’m testing a product since I need to optimize its product page and make a good creative for it.

But when I’m done with the ads, I just monitor them and just fulfill orders and reply some emails if I got some inquiries.

Which task(s) demand more time than others?

Sometimes customer service, depending on the issue.

But usually the ad creatives since I’m not that good with videos and Photoshop yet.

What are the most difficult challenges?

Disabled Ad Accounts, Paypal and Stripe accounts, Difficult Customers, Winning Product Hunting, Not Converting Ads, Creativeness when making Ads.

I just usually join on groups/forums related to the problem and search for solutions. I also just use Google most of the time.

How do you deal with difficult customers (if any)?

Sometimes, I just refund them fully coz i dont want to have headache. LOL

But usually, I handle them accordingly depending on their issues. I got some experience in Customer Service so it’s kind of easy for me.

Do you have any funny/sad stories?

Sad? Not really but RIP to my disabled ad accounts for no reason and burning $1k without sales. Hahaha

Did you register your business officially?

Nope. I only used my friend’s LLC EIN to get a Stripe account.

What are the legal requirements for making money online in Philippines through a dropshipping store?

For Philippines, I think you just need to register your company in the Department of Trade and Industry so you won’t be having problems with your paypal account.

For now I don’t pay taxes since there’s no law yet I think that handles this kind of business model.

How has your life changed?

It greatly affected my views in life. My mindset and how I approach problems has changed.

Got some cash and some material things I really wanted. But I’m still on the learning curve/process of growing so currently I’m still investing in myself to establish my own empire soon.

What do your friends and family think about your online business?

They don’t know what I’m doing. Haha 🙂

They still want me to pursue my medical profession but I have already decided not to pursue it anymore.

Are you going to keep making money online through this business model?

Yes, I plan to establish my own Online Empire and help provide life changing opportunities to my community.

What can you advise our readers – those who already run their stores and those who didn’t start the business yet?

For newbies, try to learn as much as  you can but try also to apply the knowledge. Also try to focus on something first before quitting.

I’m not saying I’m successful already but I think I’m going there. 😀

You can do what I did. Try working for business owners for faster learning and then just apply it on your own business.

For those that are hesitating to start, Online Businesses are the next big thing! They are much easier to handle than traditional businesses. Also, they are easier to set up and much cheaper. Dropshipping is only one example of the way of making money online but there is actually many more.

I also suggest you guys to read Yaros’ original journey thread on BHW and start joining groups related to this kinds of business model. Even Facebook Ads groups and other marketing groups.

If you are already starting to gain some profit, try to improve your system and invest in Branding.

It seems like it’s not that difficult to make money online in Philippines – at least, it’s totally rewarding! We greatly appreciate Chanong’s feedback, and we hope his positive attitude will inspire you to start your own business journey, too!