How to Start on Amazon

Amazon can seem a little daunting if you don’t know how to get started. However, it’s a great place for large businesses and new entrepreneurs to expand their customer base and increase revenue. Interested in starting your own Amazon business? Here are some tips.

Why Sell on Amazon

Amazon is an e-commerce platform on which to start your business because of its large customer base and solid reputation that shoppers trust. If you’re trying to make it as an online retailer, building trust and customer base takes a lot of work.

Amazon’s infrastructure allows new sellers to join the game and succeed! On Amazon, you can compete directly with large competitors.

While Amazon charges fees, they’re nothing compared to large overhead fees and risks associated with starting your own online retail store. Amazon allows you to test the market with little risk and minimal fees.

How to Identify a Product to Sell

You need to pick a product to sell on Amazon. You have to put in time to conduct thorough research to determine which product idea has the best potential.

Here’s how:

1. Brainstorm

Brainstorm products that you think will sell on Amazon. Browse products you are interested in. Keep in mind that the product will need to be manufactured and shipped, so think of lightweight products that aren’t too complicated to build.

Additionally, avoid products that could be hazardous: food, major appliances, beauty products, etc. You will have to jump through additional hoops to get those products on Amazon.

2. Do Research

It’s time to see how your ideas do in the market. Conduct market research manually or using tools like Scope or Jungle Scout. Here’s the data you want to gather:

• Price: What do products sell for on Amazon? Aim for the $15 to $30 range, where buyers feel more comfortable.
• Monthly sales: Look for products with over 1,000 monthly sales.
• Number of reviews: Reviews can be hard to get. Competitors with fewer reviews of top-selling products results in a better opportunity for you to enter the market.
• Product ratings: Look at product ratings. Fill the gaps where products have low ratings with a better product that addresses customers’ concerns.
• Sales trends: Don’t sell trendy products. Identify a product that has steady sales.

3. Calculate Costs

Next, calculate your upfront costs. You can use the FBA Revenue Calculator or a third-party tool like this one from Viral Launch.

You want to know what your projected costs are to ensure that you’ll still have a good profit margin.

4. Think Ahead

Don’t stop there! Start looking for manufacturers. Plan out your marketing strategy. Develop your brand, and create social media profiles. Plan now to be more prepared for launch!

How to Optimize Your Product Listing

Now, assuming that you found a manufacturer and created your ideal product successfully, you’re ready craft the perfect product listing.

Combine visuals and content for maximum conversion. Here’s how:

Photos

Being able to see a product and how it could be used helps customers imagine what it would be like to actually own the product. Especially on mobile, images are a powerful conversion tool.

• Main image: Your main image must be a high-quality and zoomable product shot on a white background.
• Secondary images: These images include lifestyle photography and infographics. Lifestyle images show how products are used. Infographics utilize text and design to highlight product features.

Content & Keywords

Good content is keyword rich and has a well-crafted title, 5 bullet points, and product description. Here are some tips for each of those elements:

• Keywords: Conduct research to identify search terms that potential customers would use to find your product. Use tools like Merchant Words or Safari Scout to help you identify rockstar keywords. You can also enter keywords into the backend of your listing; however, these words can’t already be in your content.
• Title: Your title cannot exceed 200 characters (including spaces). Your top keywords should be at the beginning of the title and include as many relevant keywords as possible. Don’t just keyword stuff! Titles need to be readable and user friendly. Look at some competitors’ titles to get ideas.
• Bullet points: Each bullet point needs to be 400 characters or less (including spaces). Include a brief header (about 5 words) at the beginning of bullet points to help customers identify top features. The most important keywords should go first.
• Product description: The product description is at the bottom of your listing and has a maximum character limit of 2000 (including spaces). Elaborate on product features and benefits. Include more information on potential uses, warranty information, etc.

With a strong listing, you’re ready for launch!

How to Launch Your Product Successfully

There are many aspects to a successful launch: PPC, social media, brand awareness, etc. Here are some things to consider as you prepare for your product launch:

Create a Product Promotion

Offer a percentage off your product or add a sales price to attract more customers and boost your sales after your launch. These promotions are easy to set up within Amazon.

PPC

One of the most effective elements of your launch will be your PPC campaigns. Amazon PPC is the most cost-effective way to generate sales from the start. You can also create campaigns on Facebook and other online platforms to drive traffic to your new product listings.

Amazon’s paid ads actually count as organic traffic, unlike Google ads. Your product ads can help you outrank your competition even with a limited budget. Learn more about crafting the perfect campaign in our PPC guide.

Social Media & Influencers

Build a following on social media. These followers can create an audience of potential customers who want to learn more about your product and (hopefully) buy it! Social media is a great way to engage with customers and build a loyal following before your product is even available.

But don’t stop there! Reach out to influencers in your niche and arrange for them to promote your product and announce your launch to their audiences. Because influencers already have an established loyal base in your niche, they can be effective mouthpieces to build brand awareness.

Email Blast

Once you have an audience, you can begin to market to them directly. Use an email blast campaign to get potential customers excited about your launch! This email campaign should provide value to customers and be as simple as possible. Only include one call to action to avoid confusion. Your initial email blasts should have one goal: increase traffic on your new listing.

As you send more emails, you can test subject lines and times to determine what emails are most effective for your audience.

Reviews

Reviews are extremely influential to Amazon shoppers. If your product doesn’t have any reviews, potential customers may not trust your product. But how do you quickly get reviews for a new product?

Ask for reviews through emails to customers who did make a purchase. These emails can be automated for your convenience, but they can be extremely effective when crafted correctly.

Additionally, you can offer a product insert with a discount for customers who leave a review. Remember that Amazon does not allow compensation, discounted products, or free products in exchange for a positive review. However, you can ask customers to leave a great review and provide them with a coupon code.

If you received negative reviews (which you will!), respond and take action!

For more insight, contact Nozani! Our experts are happy to answer questions and help you navigate Amazon.