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Amazon Seller Tips: How to Crush It After the Holidays in Q1

By Erik Mathes

Most Amazon sellers have a pessimistic idea about how Q1 is supposed to go: slow sales, holiday returns, and seller frustration. Call it the “Q4 holiday shopping hangover.” But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right Amazon seller tips to guide you, you can turn Q1 from lackluster to lucrative in no time.

But first, a disclaimer: Surpassing your Q4 sales won’t be achievable for every Amazon seller.

Understanding that your Q1 benchmark for success shouldn’t be matching or exceeding Q4 will help you keep things in perspective.

With that said, there are still plenty of ways you can set yourself up for Q1 selling success. Keep reading for our Amazon selling tips to help you start the new year with a bang.

Amazon seller tips #1:

One of the best things that any business owner can do is to reinvest capital into her or his business. That goes especially for Amazon sellers and other online retailers.

If you prepared for Q4 correctly, you should be coming off your most profitable quarter when Q1 starts. Instead of taking those profits and depositing them into your savings account, use them to strategically build your inventory.

The smartest sellers will tell you that investing your profits back into your business is the best long-term play. For Amazon sellers, that means sourcing products early in Q1 (and late in Q4, if you can) with high selling potential.

Some of the products you source with your reinvested profits should be bestsellers from the Q4 holiday season. That’s because some consumers will have missed out on buying them in time for Christmas/Chanukkah, but they’ll still want them. Stay on top of what was trending during the holidays to gauge what’s worth sourcing after they’re over.

Also, consider that many consumers will have received Amazon gift cards over the holidays. And, as you’d expect, many of them will be looking to spend their gift card balances early in Q1. We can’t predict exactly what these gift card holders will want to buy, but you can make educated guesses.

Which brings us to our next Amazon seller tip:

Amazon seller tips #2:

The last Q1 tip for Amazon sellers is to start sourcing for the Q1 holidays as soon as you can. Every holiday outside of Q4 offers sellers the chance to boost sales during an otherwise slow time. So, the sooner you source for each one, the better position you’ll be in to outsell your competition.

Here’s a list of the Q1 holidays with the highest potential for sales:

• Chinese New Year (January 28, 2017)
• Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2017)
• St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 2017)

And, while it’s not technically a “holiday,” Super Bowl Sunday is another day that Amazon sellers should think about targeting. In 2017, it falls on February 5th, so start paying attention to the teams that are doing well early on so you know what merchandise to source.

Also, don’t forget that Easter hits right at the start of Q2 on April 16, 2017. Products you can source for this highly commercialized holiday include:

• candies
• clothing
• Decorations
• gift baskets
• books
• toys

By studying the calendar for upcoming holidays at least a few weeks in advance (and preferably months in advance), you can identify times of year where you can experience a major spike in your sales–if you prepare properly.

Amazon seller tips #3:

This next Amazon selling tip applies not just to Q1, but to your overall selling strategy. That is, source a healthy mix of products across multiple categories and price points with different margin potential.

Source products with high potential upside but that are potentially low-turnover and then balance your inventory with low-margin, high-turnover items. The idea is to keep a vast array of products with different selling potential and risk levels to hedge your bets against future losses and keep your cash flow strong when those slow-movers aren’t selling.

Following a balanced business model throughout the year affords you the opportunity to be patient.

Often, prices will dip below your desired selling price after the Q4 holidays. But, these prices often rebound a few months later (or the next holiday season). So, sellers who have patience also have the potential to profit more in the long run.

And, as stated above, you can always use aggressive pricing strategies to help liquidate slow-sellers when you’re desperate for cash.

Amazon seller tips #4:

January and February may have sweet-sounding names, but they’re known for the most brutally cold weather all year. That means people will need products to help combat the frigid temperatures, sheets of ice, and piles of snow.

While they aren’t glamorous, products like snow shovels, rock salt (for melting ice), and windshield scrapers can net serious cash. You can also branch out to the Clothing category by listing snow boots, gloves, scarves, and jackets/coats for the season.

On top of clothes and winter necessities, Amazon sellers can also add winter recreational gear to their inventories. Skis, snowboards, sleds, and equipment associated with these snowy activities can impact your bottom line very positively.

And, if you can’t sell out these seasonal products before the weather warms up, you can always try to sell them next year. Or, if you’re looking to avoid Amazon inventory fees, you can always use an aggressive setting on your repricer to help liquidate those products from inventory and free up cash to reinvest in seasonal products for spring/summer.

That’s all for now.

(SOURCE)

13 Tools And Supplies To Have When Selling On Amazon FBA

- Find out what tools these guys use to help them make $500,000 in Amazon!

Amazon FBA Recipe for Success!

- Share your thoughts on this video by leaving a comment below!

Start sourcing your Q4 inventory now (Free ideas)

BY JORDAN MALIK

Right now (Summer '16) is the time for you to start sourcing for Christmas/Q4 shopping season. This is whether you sell on Amazon or eBay (or anywhere else).

See, I get an influx of emails in October from sellers panicking because they waited too long.

By then it's (generally) too late. So read the below and take action! I cover the best private label training first and then (further down) retail/online sourcing of products.

Want to sell private label products? Research product(s) now. Orders from manufacturers (particularly non-U.S.) can take several weeks to a few months.  If you're unprepared you'll face plenty of pitfalls. More resources:

• 'How to Pick a Hot Product' free webinars live (win real prizes) or catch a recent replay. From my trusted partners The StartupBros.

• The Amazing Seller Workshops - free, live 'find a product to sell' session with another trusted expert

• The Amazing Seller podcasts - free 200+ episode podcast library - learn all about private label

• Free trial of JungleScout -  a trusted Amazon product research tool. (Unsure how to use JungleScout? Go to this page, click on 'Free Resources' at the top of the page, and select 'Find A Product'

• Import Bible  - free primer on importing from China

Want to sell products from physical stores ('retail arbitrage')? Hit your local retail stores now as many are a.) clearing out discounted merchandise and/or b.) going out of business.

• I cover some of my own sourcing strategies here (last year's blog post), here (podcast), and here (recent podcast)

• Inexpensive retail arbitrage training:  There are at least two great courses included in Amazing.com ($39/month but your first month is free and you can cancel before the 30 day mark if you don't want to continue.) You'll get full access during the trial for arbitrage courses and more

• What to buy in a 1 sentence: Well-known brand items - new and yes, used - that are marked down 70% or more

• More recommended retail arbitrage help

Want to source products online (online arbitrage)? Now is the time to:

• Start checking all major stores' clearance and sale sections online (free list here)

• When you buy online, get more cash back and save more using my tacticshere (free)

• If you need to know what to source in a quick sentence: Buy well-known brand items that are marked down 70% or more

• If you need an inexpensive course on online arbitrage, I recommend the $57 ABCs of Online Sourcing

• Make your online research easier with my free CleerPro.com or $97CleerPlatinum.com software

If you've never sold on Amazon before: Free getting started help right here: goo.gl/4ksIBA

If you've never sold on eBay before: Free getting started help is under the 'FREE eBay Help section on this page: goo.gl/eEXOh7

Good luck and keep me posted!

-Jordan

(SOURCE)

- What do you think? Time is of the essence as they say!

Interview With Amazon Seller & Private Label Expert Andy Slamans

By The Selling Family

Today I’m so pleased to post an interview with Amazon superstar Andy Slamans. You may recognize his name from his popular website, but a few short years ago he was just a dad looking for a way to spend more time with his kids. I think that’s something most of us can relate to. I know I can! Andy is living proof that you don’t have to be a born businessman to find success with Amazon.

Read on to find out how he did it.

Hey Andy, thanks for being here! Can you tell me a bit about your background and how you got started with Amazon?

Hey guys! I have been really impressed by the great community that you’ve built here and I just wanted to share my story.   I have been selling on Amazon for a little over 3 years now. When I first started, I was selling everything I could find around my house, going to thrift stores and hitting up every Walmart in my area – like many of you, I’m sure! At that time, I never would have guessed that I would be selling $1,000,000+ dollars of product/year on Amazon in just a short amount of time!

You see, I do not come from a business background at all. In fact, my wife and I were house-parents for 12 under-privileged boys for 15 consecutive years, and I have a college degree in social work and youth ministries. While we enjoyed our jobs, there is definitely a significant emotional and mental drain that goes along with constantly mentoring and guiding 12 boys from troubled homes. As my children got older, spending time with my family and having the ability to homeschool my 2 kids was at the top of my priority list – so I was searching for a way to make that happen.

Thankfully, a neighbor of mine introduced me to selling on Amazon and I was instantly turned on by the possibilities. Prior to selling on Amazon, the thought of owning my own business and working from the comfort of my home was never something I even dreamed of.

Seems like most new sellers start out that same way. What made you decide to explore private labeling?

While I was doing really well with garage sales, retail arbitrage and online arbitrage, I felt like I was starting to hit a ceiling because of the somewhat limited time that I had during the week to source for new products. Even if I found some great products one week, I would need to constantly be sourcing new products to keep my inventory levels (and sales) up high.

Well, after a year of selling on Amazon, I was introduced to an exciting concept that really made sense to me: building my own brand of private label products. I was definitely nervous at first, because for me, the thought of importing products from China to my home sounded way too complicated. I mean, there’s no way that someone like me, with no experience, could learn to import my own branded products, right?

Thankfully, I had some friends push me towards starting private label and it has been life-changing! Within just a short period of time, I have now sold over a million dollars of my own branded products on the Amazon marketplace, have over 45 private label SKUs and plan to sell well over $1,000,000 of my branded products in 2016 alone (with very good margins). None of this would have been possible if I wouldn’t have made the decision to go all in on building my own branded products.

How else has your business changed since you’ve made the switch to private label?

The time I spend looking for new inventory has been significantly reduced because now I can just reorder my products on a regular basis. My best selling branded product has been my best selling product for 2 years now. During that time I have had dozens of reorders from my supplier and have sold tens of thousands of units!

One of the things that I love most about selling my own brand of products is that it is surprisingly simple. I find products, contacting suppliers and have my goods sent to my home/Amazon all from the comfort of my own home and now have been able to homeschool my kids.

Thanks so much, Andy! Where can readers get in touch with you to learn more?

Glad to be part of this community of sellers and would be happy to answer questions that you have about creating and importing your own brand of private label products! Pop over to the facebook group here and say “hi!” And while you’re at it, join Jessica and me for a free webinar on July 14, where we’ll talk about how you can get started with private label products. Click here to register.

(SOURCE)

- Awesome insights and great motivation for other starters out there! 

The hidden (really big) profits in used toys

by JORDAN MALIK

Ed. note: This type of product sourcing can be very profitable, so don't dismiss it until you try it! 

U.S. consumers are living in a "throwaway" economy. This means that we buy lots of 'stuff', use it for a little while, and then replace it with other 'stuff'.

Example: children constantly demand popular toys and games. They get the toy, play with it for a short while, lose interest and then put it away.

Purchasers of those toy (e.g. parents) end up giving them away or selling them for far below their used value. Those toys typically end up at yard sales, garage sales, thrift stores, estate sales, or on Craigslist or eBay.

Fortunately, this is where smart Amazon and eBay sellers like us can make a huge profit.

In fact, this revenue stream is so reliable even this multi-millionaire does it to show you that it works. 

See, used toys and games are generally "out of production" (OOP). Meaning they're no longer manufactured, making them much more difficult to find in stores. Rarely is there a convenient match between owner and consumer in the 'local' market. So buyers turn to eCommerce giants like Amazon or eBay to find a specific toy. These large online platforms create a place where demand meets supply. Thus, a toy that was worth next to nothing in the local market can now fetch anywhere from $15 to $150 (or more) online.

For nearly a decade, I've made a very profitable business out of sourcing and selling these 'forgotten' toys and games on platforms like Amazon and eBay. (Yes, you can sell most used toys on Amazon. When listing the condition you have to select 'collectible', not used.)

Here are just a few reasons why I love sourcing used toys locally (just like this other millionaire entrepreneur, who has a whole team to do it):

1. The market is nearly untapped. Many competing sellers are reluctant to roll up their sleeves (it's too 'dirty' for them).

2. Higher profit margins. Many OOP toys can be found 'new in package' which means a higher margin of profit for you.

3. The toys do not have to be perfect. If your toy is incomplete, there is a market for that too. Pieces or parts of many toys are sold on eBay (and sometimes on Amazon).

4. Out-of-pocket expenses are minimal and inventory is abundant. Used toys can often be purchased for just a fraction of the original cost and can be found just about anywhere.

5. Used toys sourcing can be 'scaled' online. Placing an 'item wanted' add on free sites like Craigslist or Facebook can help bring toys to you. Or use this free site to alert you when a toy (or just toys in general) or listed on Craigslist locally.

6. Help is easy to find. If you want help cleaning, testing or inspecting the toys, you can easily enlist a friend, neighbor or relative to help you.

7. This market will remain largely open. Few homeowners are willing to do the work required to sell these toys online themselves. This means more profit for savvy sellers like us. And every day, families are buying new toys that they end up giving away again, contributing to your endless cycle of available inventory.

So how can you get started sourcing used/new profitable toys? Here are some ideas:

1. Start with your friends. Ask 5 of your friends (local or through social media), if they have unwanted games or toys in  their home. Chances are that you'll end of with boxes of items that they are more than happy to part with. They might even ask  some of their friends to do the same (which results in more inventory for you.)

2. Keep an eye on trends. Once you start selling games or toys, make sure to keep a list of which items sell quickly. Take that listt and figure out how you can 'get more' Another method is to search Amazon for games or toys in 'collectible'  condition that are selling for an unusually high price, and then find the equivalent on eBay.

3.) To find more profitable used toys, search online for "hot toy" lists of previous years. This will help you find toys that were hot during holiday seasons but have likely been forgotten since. Odds are high that homeowners' are looking to get rid of these items.

Now, take your list of these toys and "source more" via:

a) Local thrift stores (Free directory near you: thethriftshopper.com)

b) Local estate sales (free directory near you: estatesales.net) or garage sales (free directory and app: gsalr.com)

c) If Amazon is your primary selling platform, try finding the same toys on eBay. Generally speaking, you can find a higher selling price on Amazon than you can on eBay.

d) If eBay is already your primary platform, look for the item on eBay that is poorly represented (blurry pictures, confusing or missing descriptions) as these items are generally under-priced and can be purchased, received, and flipped back on eBay via your own listing.

e) Search for toys free local classified sites/apps OfferUp.com or Craigslist.org. In addition to checking the 'toys' section on those sites, look  for a 'free' section where homeownes are posting items that are free for pickup.

(For safety purposes, always meet any stranger you contacts in a public location and during daylight hours. Consider bringing a friend with you if you are uncomfortable.)

More tips:

1.) Do your research and ensure that you can make a profit before you buy. For Amazon sellers,  make sure to check the sales rank and prices for any items you wish to sell. On eBay, use the free sellers site to review the 'completed listings' of a toy to find out what it has previously sold for.

2.) For Amazon sales, ensure your the used toy is 100% complete.  For toys that are missing instructions, search online to see if they can be downloaded and printed for the customer.

3.) If you are new to selling online, consider joining a seller Facebook group. You'll be able to get support/ideas from other sellers of used toys and games.

When it comes to sourcing used toys, there is unlimited potential for profit. Follow these simple tips and start crushing it! 

(SOURCE)

- Any used toy sellers out there? How has your Amazon selling experience gone so far?

The ONE QUALITY That All Successful People Have In Common

What is the one quality that all successful people have in common? They have unshakable confidence.

Confident people don’t spend time wondering if they are going to be successful. They know that success is inevitable. They have an incredible amount of belief and certainty in themselves and their abilities.

I have been successful in multiple areas of my life because I made it a priority to cultivate confidence within myself every day.

You have to believe that you can make anything happen, no matter what obstacles or barriers may stand in your way. Always remember that your perceptions shape your reality.

If you adopt the mindset that anything is possible, you will be unstoppable.

Brian Tracy once said, “confidence is a habit that can be developed by acting as if you already had the confidence you desire to have.”

By consciously taking specific actions, like having a daily morning ritual or investing in yourself by way of a training program, a coach or a mentor, you can train your mind to behave more confidently.

If you want to be successful, you need to work harder on yourself more than anything else. Nothing will work unless you work.

You need to believe in your potential and act on it. Confidence is just an emotional state. It is up to you to make that state a reality!

(SOURCE)

-Wow! What a great, inspiring video! What did you think of his ideas on how to have confidence in yourself?

Amazon Grows Sales 31 Percent in Second Quarter

By Ina Steiner

Amazon grew sales 31% to $30.4 billion in the second quarter of 2016, it announced on Thursday. It also reported a profit, revealing net income of $857 million for the quarter. And based on its report, it's clear third-party sellers remain a key contributor to its success.

During a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky and Head of Investor Relations Darin Manney answered questions (quoted below) and revealed the following statistics:

• Worldwide paid unit growth was 28% for the second quarter.
  
• Worldwide seller units represented 49% of paid units.

Amazon is opening 18 Fulfillment Centers in the third quarter, compared to opening 6 in the third quarter of 2015. "This will bring us up to 21 net FCs for the year by the end of Q3. That compares to 10 FCs for the first 3/4's of last year on a net basis."

Amazon's CFO said, "Why are we expanding so much? If you remember back in Q4 and the capacity restraints we had in Q4 primarily due to really strong FBA growth." He revealed some statistics, giving signs of expected growth in the 2nd half of the year in terms of unit sales.

In the second quarter, Amazon saw 28% paid unit growth - but for FBA, it was higher than that.

That compares to last year in Q2 which saw 22% unit growth - and that turned into 26% in Q4 last year.

Amazon executives declined to update customer numbers or reveal how many Prime members it had, including declining to reveal how many new members were added as a result of this year's Prime Day.

The executives said "there's a lot of room in Prime," and said there were "a lot of different flavors of Prime," referring to tailored programs for students; tailored video programs; its new monthly membership option; and plans related to grocery delivery.

"We are aggressively looking for the perfect Prime for everybody."

In a press release announcing earnings, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos was quoted referencing the importance of India. "It's been a busy few months for Amazon around the world, and particularly in India - where we launched a new AWS Region, introduced Prime with unlimited free shipping, and announced that Prime Video is coming soon, offering Prime members in India exclusive access to Amazon Original Series and Movies - including original content featuring top Indian creators and talent. The team in India is inventing at a torrid pace, and we're very grateful to our Indian customers for their welcoming response."

Amazon called out the performance of its second annual Prime Day, calling it the biggest day ever for the company. 

"Compared to Prime Day 2015, worldwide orders grew by more than 60%, orders from third-party sellers with Prime Day deals nearly tripled, and Prime members saved over twice as much on deals."

Someone reading the press release who was unfamiliar with the company would be hard-put to determine if Amazon was a retail marketplace, a hardware company, or a Hollywood producer. But among the many shout-outs to its devices and content were some significant factoids about its ecommerce business:

• Amazon Business now serves more than 400,000 businesses and generated more than $1 billion in sales in its first year. Amazon Business has more than 30,000 third-party sellers who fulfill over half of Amazon Business orders.
  
• Amazon Prime Air and the U.K. government announced a partnership to advance the safe use of drones for small parcel delivery, providing Amazon with permission to trial new methods, including beyond line-of-sight operation.

Amazon also mentioned the launch of its Pan-European Fulfillment Program, the launch of AmazonFresh in its first international location (London), its growing selection in Mexico where it launched a year ago, and some milestones in India.

It also called out Amazon Marketplace's inaugural Women's Entrepreneur Conference, which will be held in August in Seattle, stating, "The full-day event will bring together over 300 women entrepreneurs and business owners from around the world to network and learn from experts on how to grow, lead, and scale a business on Amazon."

(SOURCE)

- Great news all around! We're excited to grow along with Amazon. What do you think? 

10 Tools to Scale Your Amazon FBA Business

By MonetizePros

Everyone hates top tens, but everyone loves making money. That’s why having an Amazon FBA Business is so popular today, it’s all online entrepreneurs are talking about. And it makes sense.

Entrepreneurs invest in themselves. Amazon’s all about upfront investment – time and money. Put in the work and pull relatively passive profit every month. What entrepreneur wouldn’t want that? There’s a problem though.

We Only Have 24 Hours

We all get it. There’s only 24 hours in a day and even entrepreneurs need sleep. So how do you scale? Scaling is the only way to true, mind-boggling profit. I certainly couldn’t run my business on my own. Packing and shipping hundreds of orders a day? No thanks.

Here’s the thing..

Amazon makes it easy. Fulfilled By Amazon, that FBA acronym we all hear, it means Bezos handles the logistics. Ship product to warehouses and then just focus on sales – it’s that easy, almost…

Only Half the Battle

But maintaining is not growing. There’s more to Amazon FBA success long-term. You NEED to rank higher or launch more products, or do both – that’s the ONLY way to grow. And that takes time. Time to search and source products, time to promote and gather reviews. All of this takes time, time a solo-preneur doesn’t have. And there’s a cliche for it.

You Have to Work on Your Business, Not In It

Boring. Yeah, you’ve heard it before. But for Amazon it’s more true than ever. Individuals are commanding massive wealth and cashflows, all without touching the product or worrying about the little details. Automation and software is the key. Here are my tools of the trade.

Top 10 Tools to Amazon FBA Success

I’ve never liked Top 10 lists. I’m process-oriented. So, here’s a step-by-step process for Amazon success. This is how Amazon sellers start faster. Enjoy.

Product Selection

Nothing trumps this. Pick a loser and you’ll have to restart, pick a winner and the game accelerates. It’s that simple.

Here’s how I do it, in order!

1. The Jungle Scout Webapp

Today, I start here – a database of Amazon success. I have to thank Greg Mercer for this one. He’s a personal friend, a two time guest of FBA ALLSTARS and owns Jungle Scout. But believing bias motivates this selection is foolhardy. The webapp provides a custom filter system for searching Amazon products and a huge database of information. You can choose categories, target BSRs (or Best Seller Rankings), sales, reviews, sizes – the options are vast.

Pros:

·         Fast product ideas

·         Easy to search

·         Filter based results

·         Free 7 day trial

Cons:

·         Recurring billing

·         Helps others find my products too

·         Not a complete database

This makes finding profitable products easier – way easier honestly. It’s almost scary. But I start here searching for my brand. After setting filters, everything fits my criteria for successful private label products. I track these in a Google spreadsheet.

Then it’s time for Amazon + Jungle Scout.

2. Jungle Scout

I thought this was stupid INITIALLY. I’ve done a complete 180. Jungle Scout is a Chrome extension which saves you hours. It automatically pulls BSR stats, seller data, review reports and estimated sales and revenues of all the products showing in an Amazon search. I used to manually open and search every listing. This is a must have for serious sellers.

Pros:

·         Save tons of time

·         Export data

·         Analysis markets instantly

Cons:

·         Stats are estimates (real data on sales is impossible)

·         Price

3. CamelCamelCamel

The name sucks, but it’s free. And it’s helpful. CamelCamelCamel picks up where JS left off, it tracks historical data. Specifically sales price and BSR. This helps in determining the legitimacy of sales data. You can tell if products are just launching and spiking sales or consistently performing. It also helps identify trends over time, a big plus for seasonal products.

Pros:

·         Totally free

·         Tracks historic data

Cons:

·         Non-friendly interface

·         No other functionality

Amazon Product Sourcing

After ideas it gets physical. Finding products and getting samples is an unavoidable bottleneck. It’s often intimidating, especially since most suppliers are overseas. So, here’s a free guide to get you started. And it’s easier than you think, sort of.

4. Alibaba

There’s nothing better. Excluding supplements and skin-based beauty products, most items are manufactured in Asia. The majority of these are Made In China. And short of flying there (which I’ve done), Alibaba is your best bet. It’s a matchmaker for suppliers, like Craigslist on steroids with Yellow Pages added in.

And it’s overwhelming at first. You just have to get started.

Here’s a few rules of thumb:

·         Submit buying requests – these allow manufacturers producing what you want to contact you

·         Search product offerings – you can find most things if you are crafty

·         Migrate to email or Skype communication ASAP

·         Do your homework and get samples

·         Always start with Trade Assurance

·         AliExpress is essentially Alibaba for samples

·         Many “suppliers” are just trade companies, middle men for sourcing – they make things easier but slightly more expensive

·         Don’t be stupid

Pros:

·         Basically the only option

·         Connects buyers and suppliers anywhere

·         Trade Assurance protects your investment

·         More legitimate than some sites

Cons:

·         A million and one scams

·         Scary to get started

That’s the basics. The rest you learn as you go. But production takes time. While waiting, work on your listing. It’s time to optimize.

Copywriting and Keyword Research

Sales depend on being found. Even a time machine would flop if no one knew about it. Keywords and optimization are critical to Amazon. You need traffic to get buyers.

5. Google Keyword Planner

Amazon’s bad about data. They don’t like sharing search numbers, or sales. For these you need 3rd party software. Google’s the biggest search engine in the world, Amazon’s the biggest for products. That means search data in Google will be similar to Amazon. You can get an idea what customers are searching for, look at keyword trends and find terms to target for PPC (paid ads).

The easiest way is to copy/paste competitor URLs into the tool. Google then spits out its idea of the page’s keywords. BINGO. Now you know.

Pros:

·         Free

·         Easy to use

·         Tons of data

Cons:

·         Requires an AdWords account

·         Has lots of irrelevant keywords

Review competitor listings and reviews. Here you will find gems of keywords, phrases and customer complaints, all of which can help your listing shine.

MonetizePros Tip!

Google Keyword Planner does the trick but can be difficult to use. We recommend using SEMRush for everything keyword research related. It also has a lot of other features that’ll come handy with your Amazon FBA business. Spy on your competitors, see where they’re spending their PPC budget, what keywords are bringing them the most traffic and much more.

You must measure progress or you’ll be spinning your wheels indefinitely. To do this, sales and profit are king. But rankings are important too. Where you rank determines sales and success. Tracking this is the only way to monitor your efforts. There’s two I like.

6. AMZTracker

I push hard. It’s the reason my business and FBA ALLSTARS has grown so fast. To do that I need data. I need to know which keywords I rank for, what to optimize and the 80/20 of increased sales. AMZTracker allow me to do all this, plus monitor negative reviews and launch products easier (and faster) with their review club. Recently they’ve released a solid competitor to Jungle Scout, Unicorn Smasher, which makes things interesting as well.

Pros:

·         Simple keyword tracking

·         Product launch review club

·         Negative review monitoring

·         Email updates

·         Unicorn Smasher Free tool

Cons:

·         Monthly cost

·         Doesn’t track PPC data

7. Amazooka

Similar to AMZTracker but different in several key ways, Amazooka’s making a splash in the Amazon FBA world. While offering keyword and BSR tracking, negative review monitoring and it’s own review club (although a bit premature on this), there’s a few features I love. You guys will too.

First, Amazooka let’s you export customer phone numbers. That means you can target existing customers on Facebook. That’s big. But there’s also the autoresponder. Amazooka’s working on a feedback follow up sequence to make customer communication and review gathering simple and effective. But that’s not all.

The dashboard is the gamechanger. See all your sales by product, by country (even by state) right on an easy to use interface. Any seller with multiple products knows the poor job Amazon does of displaying this.

Pros:

·         Keyword tracking

·         PPC tracking

·         Negative review monitoring

·         Email updates

·         Customer phone number exports

·         Powerful dashboard

·         Feedback follow up

Cons:

·         Monthly cost

·         Still in its infancy so occasional bugs

Customer Interactions

Emails get excessive. When you sell hundreds of units a day, you cannot email everyone. That hurts. Rankings are partly dependent on reviews (likely feedback as well). But gathering reviews is hard. Have you ever left a review on Amazon? There’s a trick.

Email automation, it’s vital. Like an autoresponder, Feedback Followup software allows entrepreneurs to individually, automatically email every customer. This automates customer service and allows sellers to ask for seller feedback and reviews. That means more organic reviews and sales – it’s a flywheel.

But what’s the talk of feedback and reviews, what’s the difference? Well seller feedback reflects your performance as seller, it also has minimal impact on rankings and conversion rates. Reviews on the other hand are product focused. These directly affect ranks and build customer trust and boost conversion rates. I ask for the feedback prior to reviews, despite their lessened importance as this provides a filter. I’ll only then ask happy customers for reviews which as you’d expect, leads to better reviews. There are two solid softwares, I use the first.

8. Feedback Genius

While Feedback Genius allows Amazon sellers to automate their messages and track negative seller feedback as well – avoiding customer complaints and issues before they begin. But that’s not all.

The biggest differentiator for me in Feedback Genius vs Salesbacker is in the reviews. Feedback Genius filters customer feedback. When a customer leaves a positive feedback, that triggers a custom message asking for a review, hence my safety net filter. And it’s automated, Salesbacker can’t.

Pros:

·         Automates feedback requests

·         Automates review requests

·         Tracks negative seller feedback

·         Automatic safety net

Cons:

·         Analytics software is ineffective

·         Hard to track open and conversion rates of emails

9. Salesbacker

Salesbacker doesn’t have this feature of feedback triggers. It does however have quite a lot Feedback Genius lacks. Chiefly, improved analytics and testing. It’s also got canned emails which help you get setup. And in case you haven’t got a rank tracker, Salesbacker’s got your back on BSR tracking.

Pros:

·         Automates feedback requests

·         Automates review requests

·         Tracks negative seller feedback

·         Tracks BSR

·         Offers enhanced analytics

·         Comes with template campaigns

Cons:

·         Doesn’t enable feedback filtered emails

Product Launches and Reviews

Sales don’t start themselves. You need to do a blast to build up reviews, boost your rank and get sales going. That’s how the algorithm works. Amazon makes money on sales. That means your product needs to sell to make Amazon succeed. Sell and you’re rewarded, stagnate and your rankings drop.

It’s not all about sales though. Reviews help too. Reviews are social proof that strengthen conversion rates. A solid base of reviews with spiked sales and your listing will start itself.

10. Tomoson

Reviewers love products. Sellers love sales, and reviews. Tomoson’s a way to work together – matching sellers offering with promotions with product testers. It has an awful interface and is challenging to use, but it’s free, it’s easy and it will help you find reviewers faster. Plus Tomoson has a free month trial so time it right and you won’t pay a dime. Play with the site before getting started and then scouting reviewers. It’s time to promote your product with coupon codes and speed those sales.

Pros:

·         Plenty of experienced reviewers

·         Free month trial

Cons:

·         Painfully bad interface

Pro tip: use one time use claim codes for your promotions or risk ALL your inventory evaporating overnight. And NEVER use a percentage off. It’s a recipe for disaster. Imagine one person buying your entire stock,90% OFF. That’s a bad day.

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