Organic vs Paid Dropshipping: Which Path Oh Traveler?
Greetings chump,
There comes a time in a man’s life where he has to make tough calls.
Should he stay with the girl or go for the job?
Team Marvel or Team DC?
Stay at the company or take the leap of faith?
But none compare to the age old dilemma of organic vs paid dropshipping. Do you choose starving slowly or setting yourself on fire to see if you can cook dinner?
Do you listen to the great Mark Twain, “If it’s organic, it probably tastes bad,” or the late Mahatma Gandhi, “Run ads you must, if an impatient wuss you are.”
You’ve got two ways to get traffic to your store: throw money at the problem like a deadbeat rich dad or sacrifice your time like Timberlake in that one film I always get on YouTube shorts.
The Free Traffic Fantasy
Maybe you’ve bought into the Organic Dropshipping lie:
You post a couple TikToks, maybe a reel or two, they go viral, and the sales flood in while you sit there counting the zeroes.
Cute story. About as realistic as that “limited-time offer” your site’s been running since 2 years ago.
Here’s reality:
Organic takes time. And skill. And the patience of a Buddhist monk.
Beware, if you choose this route you’ll likely post every day for months with nothing but 12 views and 2 pity likes (one of which is from your mom).
Yes, organic works. But it’s a grind. A long one. If you’ve got zero budget, and a hatred for working a regular job to gain capital, then it’s your only option. Just know you’re trading money for time, and the time bill is huge.
I know I sound negative around organic thus far, but I must say, if you can master the skill of making organic content go viral, you will reap dividends even when scaling with paid.
The Paid Traffic Trap
Paid traffic is the opposite sales pitch. The gurus tell you to “just run ads” and watch the orders roll in like you’re printing money in the garage.
Here’s what actually happens:
You turn on ads, you see clicks, maybe even a few sales. Your brain screams “it’s working!”
Then you check your ad spend.
You spent $200 to make $80.
Regardless of free or paid, it’s really the creatives that matter. Paid advertising can save time, sure, but at the cost of your soul… and margins.
Without a winning product, solid creative, and a store that actually converts, ads are a fast way to burn through your bank account and your last shreds of hope.
When to Use Organic
Start here if you:
Have no budget for ads. By “no budget” I mean you can afford a couple orders of Uber Eats without having to use Buy Now Pay Later.
Don’t need more money immediately. If rent’s coming up and you’ve got no other income, pick a different business. You’d have a better shot making $100 in your first week holding a cardboard sign at an intersection.
Want to test if your product even gets attention before scaling with paid ads
Are willing to post like it’s your part-time job for at least 60–90 days
Organic is great for learning what hooks people, testing offers without funding the alien Lizard, and building a solid returning audience that costs you nothing but your will to live.
But don’t kid yourself.
It’s slow, and most people quit way before it even starts to pays off.
What do I recommend?
I think there’s a time and place for both models.
If you have a separate source of money, or you have virtually no expenses and live with family, then starting with organic dropshipping is probably the move.
You gain a critical understanding of what goes viral, what converts and how to hijack trends and translate other videos in other niches for your product.
Switch to paid once you:
Have proof people actually want your product
Know your store converts at a healthy rate
Can afford to lose money for the first few weeks while you figure it out
If you’re willing to lose a few thousand dollars in testing alone, then starting with paid is fine.
Ultimately once you scale, you will end up paying for ads anyways.
Think of paid ads like gas on the fire of ad creatives. If the fire isn’t really there, you’re just pouring gas on the floor and hoping for a miracle.
Both methods work. Both methods suck in their own way.
Organic drains your time. Paid drains your wallet.
The real pros use organic to test and build a brand, then paid to scale the winners.
This eliminates wasted money on losing products and creatives.
Beginners fail because they pick one blindly, expect it to carry them to glory, and quit when it doesn’t.
Pick one based on your budget and commit.
Stop switching every week.
Stop waiting for a method that’s all reward and no pain.
It doesn’t exist.
And for the love of pizza, please stop asking me which one is “better.”
Better is the one you’ll actually stick with until it works.
– S