Mon, 16 May 2016
Part of the equation in business is that you’re going to hit roadblocks and frustrations. It’s simply going to happen. Today’s episode highlights a real Amazon seller’s disappointments with his product sales and Scott has a lot to say about it. There are more bright spots in this listener’s situation than he recognizes and some things he could still do to improve the listing itself and possibly drive sales higher. Listen in to Scott’s response to this frustrating story so you can hear ideas for optimizing your own listings and addressing your own frustrations. Don’t move on until you do the most you can with what you’ve got!Alex is an Amazon seller who is feeling a bit frustrated with his first Amazon product. It’s taking alot longer to increase in sales than he expected it would. He’s just about ready to find a second product and let this one languish, but Scott’s not so sure that’s the right thing to do. The situation doesn’t sound as hopeless as it seems. Listen in to hear what Scott thinks can be done in order to make this product rank higher and get more sales, on this episode. The only thing you can do to rank for your main keywords.The main thing you need to focus on in order to hit your main keywords, you’ve got to optimize your listing for that keyword and push sales toward that keyword using PPC. But your main keyword isn’t the only thing you should be trying to rank for. You need to be aiming at other long tail keywords, things people could be searching for related to your main keywords. The cool thing is that PPC is what enables you to know what those keywords are. You can find out the details of how to use pay per click to your advantage on this episode. The duds may be your cash cows!Alex feels that his product is a “dud” simply because it’s only selling at a rate of $1,000 per month. But the key to a prosperous Amazon private label business is not to find the “perfect product” that brings in millions every month. The key is to get a handful of moderately successful products that together build the income and success that you need. It’s an amazing thing to watch when the collective sales begin to creep up over time and each one is an integral part of the whole. Don’t be afraid of the duds, they may be the pieces to your overall success. The power of being part of a great community of like minded people.Today’s episode was spawned from a post and its responses within the TAS Facebook Community. It’s the place where many private label sellers get together regularly to share triumphs, struggles, obstacles, and to receive the help and encouragement they need to keep their business going strong. Be sure you get over the TAS community to get the support and camaraderie that you need. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 13 May 2016
It’s time to crank up the volume and get your own personal coaching for your Amazon FBA private label business. You’re going to hear real life questions from real life private label sellers who have hit a roadblock in their business. Scott Voelker is going to answer those questions from his own experience and from the things he’s learned helping Amazon sellers get their problems addressed. If you want to ask your own question, you can do that just like the listeners on this episode by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask - state your name, and ask your question! Once I start ordering my products, how do I get my logo and branding on the packaging?A listener today is about ready to order his first bulk shipment of products from a supplier. He’s curious how to go about putting branding of various kinds, UPC codes, and other identifying markings on his packaging. Does the supplier do that? Does he have to do it himself? On this episode Scott’s going to answer this question by walking through the variety of ways these issues can be addressed and the pros and cons to each one. Be sure you listen so you can know the options for packaging and branding on your products. My product lends itself to variations and individual listings. How do I choose which to do?There are many kinds of products that could possibly be listed as a “variation” of the original product. A great example is a garlic press that can come in different colors, or styles, or materials. They are all garlic presses, but have varying qualities that make them slightly different. When you have variations in a product you can list those variations on one product listing But even in that situation, it’s possible to list those products individually in their own listings. What are the benefits of each approach? Scott’s got the answer for you on this episode. A listener has a few negative reviews about his products. What should he do?No matter how good the quality of your products are, you’re eventually going to run into a situation where someone leaves a negative review. Maybe something broke during shipping, or there was a cosmetic issue with that individual product that was shipped to the customer. Is there a way that you can deal with negative reviews to mitigate their effect on your sales and brand? On this episode Scott fills you in on what he does when negative reviews come in and how he uses a software solution to make it happen. You can even get a discounted version of the software by using Scott’s affiliate link - available on this episode. Free Private Label workshop! Do you want in?If you’d like to know the 5 step process that Scott Voelker uses every time he introduces a new product to the Amazon marketplace, you’ll want to get in on his next free private label workshop. There’s nothing for sale, just a lot of great information to share to help you get your first private label product off the ground. Scott will walk you through those 5 steps and answer your questions live during the workshop, so head to the links on this show notes page and get yourself registered for the next private label workshop! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 11 May 2016
One of the most frustrating issues sellers run into on the Amazon platform is when they get some success under their belts with a great product and then wake up one morning to find that someone has hijacked the Amazon listing where they sold their product. It’s a black hat way that people without morals try to take over your listing with an inferior product while claiming that they are selling the identical product. It hurts your sales and could ruin your entire brand if you don’t safeguard your products. On this episode Jon Haver shares what’s happened to his listings and how he went about securing his products so that others cannot hijack a listing effectively. It’s important to do what you can to avoid Amazon listing hijackers in the first placeThere are steps you can take to remove a hijacker from your product listing on Amazon once they’ve begun tampering with your brand. But there are steps that can be taken to prevent it from happening in the first place. On this episode Jon Haver tells the story of how his products were hijacked and what he’s discovered about the things you can do to keep them from having a desire to target your product as a hijacking prospect. Be sure you listen to this episode where Scott asks Jon all the details. The role Amazon’s Brand Registry plays in preventing product hijackers.If you’ve not registered your private label products with Amazon’s Brand Registry you need to do it today. It’s one of the ways that Amazon has created for you to give yourself some security when it comes to the ownership of your brand. You do some specific things to prove to Amazon that your products are indeed your very own branded products and Amazon places you in its database as the “owner” of that product. This helps with the eventuality of hijackers trying to take over your episode so that you can maintain control of your brand, product, and sales. Discover the steps to protecting your listing with Brand Registry on this episode. A security system for your Amazon product listings.If you lived in a high crime area in your city you would likely have a home security system installed to monitor your home. A security system doesn’t keep criminals from breaking into your home, but it gives you a warning immediately when it happens and might even notify the police. Jon Haver has developed a “security system” of sorts for Amazon listings to give you notification when a potential hijacker has jumped on your product listing. This enables you to take immediate action to protect your listing and your product brand. Find out how you can use Jon’s service to protect your product listings. Would you like a discount on your own “watch dog” for your private label listing?One of the most important things you need to do when a hijacker begins tampering with your product listing is to take action immediately. But you can’t do that if you don’t know that a hijacker has begun making changes on your product listing. What can you do to find out sooner? You can get your very own watchdog that will “bark” to let you know that a potential hijacker is on your site. Jon Haver has created a great software solution to enable you to take immediate action when a hijacker shows up and he’s giving a special discount to everyone in the TAS community. Find out how to get your discount on his Listing Eagle service, on this episode of The Amazing Seller. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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www.ListingEagle.com/TAS - (affiliate link) get your discount on Jon’s notification service. |
Mon, 9 May 2016
This episode of the podcast ispretty special because it’s only been a bit longer than a year thatScott has been publishing the show and he’s already reached 200episodes - and for this episode he wanted to do something special.That’s why he’s doing something a bit different - a solo show -that covers the information he spoke at the Rocky MountainResellers conference in Denver, Colorado at the end of April, 2016.It’s a motivational, inspirational, get started talk that will giveyou practical ways to get started making money online. You’ve got to be clear on why you want to build abusiness.Everybody has dreams of doingsomething of their own, making a product, running a shop of somekind, making a business work on their own. But very few of them whoget started actually keep going long term. Why is that? Becausethey don’t have a strong enough sense of WHY they are doing whatthey are doing. It has to be about more than the money, more thanthe success, more than the creative outlet it might be. You’ve gotto have a “why” that will motivate you to keep going when you hitobstacles and difficulties. On this episode Scott goes deep intothe issue of “why” and gives you practical ways to develop your own“why” that will fuel you long term. A key element in your success is keeping short termgoals in mind.When Scott was a young man heworked with his father in his construction business. He did well,worked hard, and loved the work, but he knew in a short amount oftime that he didn’t want to do that kind of work long term. That’swhen Scott and his wife started figuring out how much cash it wouldtake for him to step out of that role in his father’s company andwork full time in his own business. That’s an example of a shortterm goal that gives you something to aim at and move toward. Youneed to know where you’re going if you are going to getthere. You don’t need to have everything figured out - justenough to get you started.Many people never start abusiness because they think they have to have all the detailsfigured out before they can get started. The problem is that theynever will get everything figured out because life and businessdon’t work that way. On this episode of the podcast Scott is goingto walk you through how to figure out the basics of how to simplyget started and then pivot and make adjustments as you are going.It’s the best way to build a business because it takes advantage ofmomentum and enables you to learn in the crucible of actually doingit. You’re going to learn a lot from Scott’s experience andinsights on this episode, so be sure you listen. There’s lots of power in focusing on the stage you’reat instead of moving ahead.Nobody can deny that there arethousands of things to learn as you build a business of your own.It’s true. But you don’t have to learn all of them at once. That’sthe beauty of the things Scott has to share on this episode. Scotttalks about real life examples of how he’s learned only the thingshe’s needed for the project he’s working on at the time. Thatenables you to specialize in what’s most important at the momentand to make adjustments to your learning and processes as you go.You’re able to keep moving without getting sidetracked and make themost of the time you’re dedicating to the business. On this episodeScott shares his insights about how anyone can get started on theirown business dream. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZINGSELLER
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Fri, 6 May 2016
You’ve found the show notes pagefor this episode of “Ask Scott” - the place where you can ask your own real-life private label questions and receiveanswers. But there’s more benefit than just asking your questions -you get to hear the answers Scott Voelker gives to other people’squestions. It’s like learning from the problems and mistakes othersare making so that you don’t have to experience them yourself. Somake sure you take the time to listen to this episode to get aneducation from the experience of thousands of Amazon sellers, inone episode. How can I add my product to different subcategoriesinside the Amazon interface.When you set up your productlisting on Amazon you’ll be able to choose the individualcategories that you feel best represent the niche your product isin. However, you won’t always be able to select all of thesubcategories that you see when searching for items on Amazon.Where can you find those mysterious subcategories and how do youget your products listed there? On this episode of The AmazingSeller Scott is going to walk you through the steps he’s taken overthe years to get his products into subcategories, and so farthey’ve worked every time. I’m getting overwhelmed by the Alibaba listings. Isthere a way to filter the results?When you are doing productresearch for private label products to sell on Amazon there are alot of options. One of the common sources of good products isAlibaba. But when you search for something on Alibaba you’ll oftensee the same company multiple times in the listings. It’s enough tomake your head spin! How can you narrow the search results to get asimpler view of the product offerings that are available? On thisepisode Scott gives some tips about how to do product research inthe simplest ways so that you can avoid overwhelm. I’ve never done Amazon FBA but want to get started. Atwhat point should I invest in software?There are lots of software toolsout there to help with almost every aspect of running a privatelabel sales business on Amazon. For somebody starting out it couldseem like the costs of subscribing to all of the tools will mountup pretty quickly. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Scottwalks a newbie through the steps he would personally take if hewere starting all over, and he includes his opinions about ahandful of software tools and tells when he’d look into purchasingthem for us in his business. If you’re new to the private labelgame you’ll get a lot out of this answer.
Amazon private label sales is not the only viableonline business.
As you listen to the AmazingSeller you naturally are going to get lots of tips and tricks forapproaching the private label sales world. But Scott takes a fewmoments near the end of this episode to point out that much of whathe talks about are simple business principles that apply across theboard in any online business enterprise. If you want to start yourown online business but don’t want to be limited to private labelsales on Amazon, you might want to hear what Scott’s got to sayabout how to transfer many of the concepts he teaches into yourother online businesses. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZINGSELLER
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Wed, 4 May 2016
This one is no joke. Scott was able to get money from Amazon that was rightfully his, without selling a product. It has to do with product refunds and damaged products that Amazon has processed in the past, and he owes it all to Jacob, today’s guest. The cool thing about it is that today Jacob is going to give you the step by step process for getting the money that is due to your seller account and he’s going to show you how you can use his automated service to get those refunds credited to your account without you having to lift a finger. It sounds too good to be true but it’s not. You can find out the details on this episode of The Amazing Seller. Stumbling across a cash cow in his Amazon seller account.Jacob sort of accidentally came across a situation in his refund reports that tipped him off to the fact that Amazon was holding some money that was due him in a suspension account. It was money that came as a result of customer refunds that were reconciled but Amazon had never given back to him. All it took was a simple inquiry to Amazon’s seller support and Jacob was able to recover that money on the spot. The more he dug into his reports, the more money he discovered that Amazon had not credited to him properly. On this episode Jacob will show you how he discovered his “cash cow” and how you can use the same tactics to get money that is rightfully yours. Have you checked out your Amazon Seller Refund Report?Inside your seller account you can run all kinds of reports that show you the status of your sales, damaged products, refunds, and other variables that have to do with your products on Amazon. One of those is the “refund report.” It has to do with refunds that have been issued to your customers and the credits and debits to your account that correspond to those refunds. It may sound odd, but quite often you are credited money through the refund process and Amazon lists that money on your refund reports. By comparing that number with actual money you’ve been credited, you can find money that Amazon owes you but you’ve never received. Check out this episode to find out how you can get that money back immediately. Inventory damage is another area where you might be owed some money by Amazon.With any massive warehouse operation like Amazon you are going to eventually have some of your products damaged during handling. It’s part of how the business works. Amazon is usually very good about noting damage and giving you credit for it so that you don’t lose money because of their mistakes. But you don’t always actually receive that money, even though Amazon has noted the damage. On this episode Scott’s guest is going to show you how to investigate damaged products to discover if you’re owed money from Amazon. You’ll want to listen so you can get the cash you’re owed. A software product that retrieves the cash from your Amazon Seller account automatically.As Jacob’s Amazon business became larger and his sales grew, he was having more and more situations where his refunds from Amazon were not being processed in a way that credited his account. The time it was taking to stay on top of those important issues was mounting - so he decided to work out an automated system to search his refunds for him. Now he’s taken that system into a commercial software application that you can use to get back your own refunds from Amazon - and it will only cost you pennies on the dollar. Listen to Scott’s chat with Jacob today to find out how you can use this great software to get your cash from Amazon, and be sure to use the special TAS coupon code to get your discount. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODEwww.TheAmazingSeller.com/recover (affiliate link) - use code “TAS” for 10% off. |
Mon, 2 May 2016
Todays’ episode of The Amazing Seller is one of the “Hot Seat” editions where Scott joins forces with his friend Chris Schaeffer to analyze a product that has been submitted for appraisal in hopes that Scott and Chris can give some advice to increase sales and success. Today’s product is one that is in a very competitive space and the seller is curious if he’s reached his limit and should simply give up on the product and move on. Chris and Scott both say, “No way” and give plenty of tips as to how this seller can crank up his sales once again. You’ll learn tons from this episode so make sure you listen.
When you choose a private label product make sure you’re comparing apples to apples.
Lots of people see a niche of products that have tons of great sales numbers but don’t know how to analyze those numbers and products to make sure they are comparing the exact same type of product to what they have in mind, or that the great numbers they are seeing are “real” numbers. Making that mistake can make the road to sales success very difficult. On this episode Scott and Chris address how to go about the right kind of product research before you jump into a promising market. You won’t want to miss this one, especially if you’re going to be choosing a new product soon.
Get your product on page 1 using Pay Per Click.
If your product is languishing on a page way back in the search results there’s a lot you can do to get more exposure for your items so that people see them, buy them, and organically push your product higher in the rankings. The main way to do it is by using Amazon PPC to ensure that your product is being shown when your buyer’s keywords are being searched. On this episode Scott and Chris chat about how to use PPC to make that happen and how it can fuel a surge in your product’s sales and popularity.
Are you doing good follow up with your prior customers?
It’s true that Amazon will not give you the contact information of people who purchase your private label products. But that doesn’t mean you can’t follow up with them. Amazon will allow you to contact them through the Amazon system to offer product support, ask for reviews, troubleshoot product issues, and much more. On this episode of The Amazing Seller Scott and Chris give some options about how to follow up effectively so that you can increase reviews, seller ratings, and increase repeat sales of your private label products and related products.
Did you get in on Scott and Chris’ live event?
There were only 30 spots for the live event in Denver on May 1st. Were you able to get involved? If not, don’t worry. Scott and Chris plan to do some more live events in different parts of the country in the future. If you want to have the opportunity to attend and take part in a live hot seat event, you can get your name on the notification list at www.TheAmazingSeller.com/live. Be sure you do, maybe you could even be one of the people who are on the hot seat and get some first hand advice on your product or brand!
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Fri, 29 April 2016
It’s time once again for the Friday edition of the Amazing Seller podcast. Why is that special? Because these Friday editions are the “Ask Scott” version of the show where Scott Voelker answers your questions questions from real life Amazon sellers who have run into a snag, hurdle, or issue of confusion in their Amazon Private Label business. Scott’s got over a year of experience doing his own private label business and has also had the opportunity to learn from numbers of experienced guests as he’s interviewed them on his podcast. You’ll find Scott’s answers revealing, helpful, and timely, so be sure you take the time to listen.
Is there a way to dominate ALL the PPC ad spots for a product?
A listener to the podcast wants to know if there is a way he can structure his PPC campaigns so that his ads show up in all of the ad boxes available for his product keywords. Why would he want to do that? If he could do so, he would have his product shown on the page more than any other products. That translates into a higher percentage chance that he will get the purchase rather than some of his competition. Although Scott is not entirely sure if this can be done, he does give some good advice on how to go about trying on this episode of the podcast.
How should I go about determining the colors for my product?
When you sell a product that can come in a variety of colors, how should you go about determining which colors are the best ones to offer? Today a listener asked that very question and Scott has some very practical advice on how to go about choosing the colors that you were going to sell. You shouldn't guess, and you shouldn't do what feels right to you. You should do what the facts tell you. On this episode Scott is going to tell you how to find out the facts and how to apply them to your own color choices when it comes to variations on your products.
I have closely related products. Should I create variations or individual listings for them?
It's a great idea to have products on the Amazon selling platform that are closely related to each other. This enables you to get cross sales from one product to another, which increases your profitability. But at some point you're going to need to decide if those products are so closely related that they are actually variations of each other, or if each one is unique enough that it deserves and should have its own listing. On this episode of the podcast Scott answers a question about that issue and gives some very practical advice.
You can get a free private label course in your inbox for the next 10 days.
If you are new to the world of private label sales on Amazon you can get a free 10-day course from Scott that walks you through all the steps you need to take to find your product, research whether it is worth investing in, get it established on the Amazon platform, start to drive sales through promotions, and follow up with your customers, as well as much, much more. You can get that free 10 day course about private label sales by listening to this episode of the podcast. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 27 April 2016
Many people get hung up, never giving an online business or private label sales a go simply because they think they don’t have enough money. Today’s story should dispel all the myths floating around that say that you have to have a lot of cash to get started online. Ken is a regular guy who found a way to leverage $65 into $1,100 in profit in just 90 days and now has begun his own private label business that is doing very well. Even more incredible is a new service he’s begun to help Amazon sellers get their products handled for them. It’s an amazing story of ingenuity and drive that anyone can do, and you’re going to hear all the details on this episode of The Amazing Seller. Retail arbitrage as a foot in the door.
Ken is a normal guy just like many of the TAS listeners. He spent a good deal of time listening to podcasts (including this one), learning about online business opportunities, and deciding to start generating a little bit of income by selling books through retail arbitrage on Amazon. Those steps enabled him to get some cash coming in to begin looking toward his own private label products. What happened for Ken can happen for anyone who is willing to do the work to make it happen. It’s a great example of hard work and action taking, so be sure you listen to Ken’s exciting story.
He found an amazing opportunity on Craigslist.
Ken was scrolling through the online classified site Craigslist one day and found a lot of discontinued or closeout stickers that he thought sounded interesting. He took a chance and bought all 1000 sticker packets for $65. It was that $65 investment that he was able to sell on Amazon for a profit of $1,100. It’s an example of how there are opportunities everywhere, you just have to know how to look for them and take advantage of them. It happens by taking action. Ken tells his story and gives some excellent tips on this episode.
Have you heard of Ken’s new venture - www.MyFBAPartner.com ?
As Ken has built his Amazon private label business he’s seen requests for good shippers, agents, repackaging services, and much more repeatedly in the private label communities he frequents. And having never seen good answers to some of those questions he decided to create his own company to meet those needs. It’s a company that provides receipt and shipping inspection, inventory and measurements, quality inspection, FBA preparation, Vendor materials, repackaging and shipment services, and a whole lot more. Ken’s offering a special discount to TAS listeners so be sure you pay attention to the end of the show to hear how you can get some free services from his company.
Is all this exciting talk about Amazon private label sales got you eager to give it a try?
Scott’s got an amazing live workshop that he does where he walks you through the 5 main steps to getting your own business and product up and running so that you can start making sales on Amazon. It’s incredible and absolutely free to you. You can find out more about that free workshop by listening to this episode so be sure you take action today. Your future and your business can be a reality, but it takes more than dreaming, it takes getting started. You can do it, What are you waiting for?
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Mon, 25 April 2016
It is so easy to hear all the stories about business online and success that others are having and to think that the journey toward that success is easy. But that is the furthest thing from the truth. On this episode Scott he's going to give you an inside look into his income figures for the first quarter of 2016. He's doing this to show you that even those who seem to be successful have their down turns in both profit and success. He wants you to go into your private label business with your eyes wide open so that you can prepare yourself for the obstacles you will inevitably face. So grab a drink and sit back and listen to this great episode where Scott bares all. Business profits on my private label business are down.The personal revenue Scott is receiving from his private label sales are down from what he desires and expected. But it's not something he’s letting himself get down about. Instead, he’s taking it as an opportunity to up his game. What happened is pretty simple. When he started this podcast a little over a year ago he began to focus on many things besides his private label business. His time was divided and he began to coast when it came to paying attention to the business. This downturn is showing him that he needs to pay more attention and that he has to be more diligent. On this episode Scott is going to share his plans with you about how he is going to turn around his profit figures. Differentiating your products is key.When Scott first started selling as a private label seller on Amazon he chose a product and got it on to the Amazon platform quickly. As he went along he discovered that products are more successful when they are differentiated within the niche. His first product wasn't standing out enough and consequently his profit figures have begun to drop. On this episode you will hear the steps Scott is going to take to address that issue and make his product a one-of-a-kind item within his niche. It's a lesson all of us learn sooner or later and you can walk right along with Scott as he makes improvements. Building a brand means more than one product.In the big picture the health of the business is more important than the health of one particular product. That doesn't mean you want your product sales to get any of your individual items, but when one does dip it isn't the end of the world if you have other products to back it up and pick up the loss. On this episode Scott emphasizes the importance of building a brand that includes multiple SKUs within your product line. You're going to learn a great deal by listening to the hard lessons Scott has endured over the past quarter. Pretend you’re in danger of going out of business every day.One of the pieces of advice that Scott has received from Gary V. is to pretend that your business is in danger of going under every single day. That mindset will force you to up your game, increase your effort, and be smarter about the way you run your business overall. You can learn a lot from Scott's example and the illustrations he gives of how he is going to implement that advice if you listen to this episode. So take the time, set aside the time, make the time, and listen to this episode of the Amazing Seller. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 22 April 2016
You have just landed on another episode of The Amazing seller where Scott is answering your questions about private label sales on Amazon. You can get your questions asked and answered on this special Friday episodes. Today's episode features 3 questions, one about product quality issues, another about a first product that is barely breaking even, and the final question about keeping procedures for Amazon private label sales. There's a ton to learn and lots of fun ahead so be sure you listen to this episode. My first product is not the greatest quality. What should I do to address that?A listener to the podcast called in with a question about product quality. He is making about 20 sales a day, which is great, but is getting a decent amount of product returns due to a quality issue. He wants to know if he should abandon the product all together, make some modifications, or something else. Scott's main concerns center around the returns and his advice aims toward improving the product to get past the return issues. You can hear how Scott advises going about it on this episode. What should you do when your private label product barely breaks even?Many first time private label sellers don't calculate in the various costs associated with selling their product on Amazon. Today's episode features a question by a listener about a product they are currently selling on Amazon but it is barely breaking even. Their questions centers around what they can do to increase their profit margin and salvage this product since it is making around 10 sales per day. What would you do? On this episode you get to hear the various areas that Scott what address if this were his product, so be sure to listen. Keeping good financial records is a must. How is the best way to do it?One of the biggest headaches for most private label sellers is the issue of keeping accurate records. Finances are important, including taxes and various fees and costs associated with running a successful business. On this episode a listener ask Scott for his advice about the various software packages that are available to help private label sellers keep track of their financial obligations. Scott recommends one that he uses regularly and mentions many others that he has heard good reports about. You can get all the information on this episode. Would you like to have your private label questions answered?These Friday sessions where Scott answers the questions of real life Amazon sellers are some ofe his favorites. If you have a question or an obstacle in your private label business that you seem unable to get past, why not ask Scott to help you think through the issue? You can get your questions answered by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask and leaving a voicemail with your question. Be sure to include your name so Scott can recognize you on the show! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 20 April 2016
If you have been on the internet for any length of time you already know that the social media room can be one of the most overwhelming but effective ways of getting your content and products out there for people to see. On this episode of the podcast Scott is talking with an expert at social media about how to use it effectively to increase traffic to your website and product listings. Laura Roeder joins us today to share about her experience with social media and to give some great tips on how to advance your business using her tool for social media management. The importance of having content to share.Many people try to use social media as a bullhorn to blast out promotions and offers about their products. Well that can work to a small degree it is not the way social media actually works when done right. Social media is meant to be social, that means people building relationships with people. In order to do that in a way that is adding value to those natural conversations you need to have content to share that is both promotional and helpful at the same time. On this episode Scott's guest shares some great tips about how to create that topic surrounding a product or niche that you want to promote. How to promote physical products on social media.Every Amazon Seller wants to get their product in front of people who love that type of product or niche. But doing so is the tricky part. You don't want to blast your product in front of people repeatedly, they will turn you off if you do. But you also don't want to be shy about telling people about your great product when the timing is right. That balance can be very difficult to attain. Scott decided to go out and find a social media expert who could help clear the air on this important subject and help you develop a game plan to promote your product the right way on social media. That's what this episode of the show is all about. Build relationships with thought leaders in your niche if you want to gain traction.By taking the social aspect of social media seriously, you can do a lot to promote and build your brand over time. And notice, it does take time. That's because relationships that are valuable and trusted take time to build, you can't just share your product with an influencer in your niche and expect them to share it right away. There needs to be a relationship that is foundational to that conversation. On this episode of the podcast Laura Roeder shares her insights into building those kinds of relationships with key people in your product in it so that you can build your business on the backs of those important personalities, and do it the right way. A warning to those new to the private label arena.If you are just getting started with private label sales on Amazon Scott has a very wise caution for you. The contents of this episode are likely not something you need to focus on right now. Your first step is to get a product onto the Amazon platform and use the tools that Amazon provides to get your sales going. That is the best way to verify whether the product you're selling is a good choice, and to start your business rolling in the right direction. Once you've done all of that, the social media tips on this episode may be relevant to what you are doing. So don't get overwhelmed thinking that you need to do everything on this episode. At this point, it may not apply to you at all. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Mon, 18 April 2016
If you’re entirely new to the idea of private label sales, this is the perfect episode for you to hear. Today’s guest is a regular guy from Australia who began his private label journey from square one. David had no prior business experience, no understanding of how private label sales on Amazon work, and very little in terms of resources. When he found this podcast he was turned on to the idea right away and began making plans. In this conversation you were going to hear that David took it from square one all the way to 6 figures per month in less than a year. It's a testimony of how doable this business model is and how realistically a person with zero experience can create a very good living for themselves. Can you do private label sales if you have no online business experience?This episode answers the question with a resounding, “YES!” David story is one inexperienced moving toward experience through the process of learning. David read and listen to everything he could about private label sales on Amazon and started taking action. It was those actions that brought clarity and understanding which is now translated into a very healthy monthly income. Take the time to listen to this episode, you will discover so many nuggets of gold for your private label business, whether you are a newbie or have been doing Amazon private label sales for a very long time. Keyword research tips you may never have considered.As today's guests began his own journey into Amazon private label sales he began to learn a lot on his own about keyword research. Yes, he had read and listen to many tutorials and instructionals on the subject but I learned a lot simply by doing. On this episode David shares some of the insights and tips he has learned about doing effective keyword research and not all of them are things you commonly here. You'll get a lot of value from this episode so be sure you take the time to listen. Do you know the “cash in/ cash out” equation?If you're considering private label sales on the Amazon platform you need to be aware of the many things that will bite into your profit margin over time. David learn the hard way that there is much more that comes out of the gross income figures than he expected. Now he operates according to what he calls the “cash in / cash out” equation. it is a simple way that he calculates the amount of profit he is going to receive from any potential product as he sells it on Amazon. Sticking to the results of the equation helps David to stay in a place of maximum profit while avoiding the pitfall of overestimating his success. If that sounds a bit confusing, it won't have to listen to this episode so be sure you take the time. Everyone wants to take the easy road, but it seldom leads to success.You don't have to spend much time online in the various business communities before you realize there are many, many people who are trying to take the easy way to significant income. today's guest, David, has made the observation that the easy road may look best at first, but it seldom leads to genuine success. Hard work is involved, even in private label sales on Amazon. David's philosophy is that if you can be the expert, you should be. Yes, it takes a lot of time and hard work, but it is entirely worth it. Find out how David has a apply this attitude to his own private label business on this episode. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 15 April 2016
What are your current struggles in building your Amazon private label business? Do you have the resources you need in order to deal with those hurdles effectively? If you don’t, this is the episode for you. This is a Friday edition of the Amazing Seller, which means that it’s an “Ask Scott” episode. These are episodes where Scott fields question from Amazon sellers about the confusion and issues they are dealing with in their own Amazon business. This is a ‘real life’ episode where you will receive clear, thoughtful, powerful answers to help you with your Amazon business. Amazon allows me to create “money off” offers on my products. Can I mention those in my product listing?The Amazon promotions platform allows you to create all kinds of promotional offers on your private label products to motivate and drive sales. A listener today asks if there are any rules in the Amazon terms of service that say you cannot mention or point to those discount offers in within your product listing itself. Scott’s as honest as he can be in response to this question and gives his own guidelines in light of the fact that Amazon’s TOS are not all that clear on this issue. You can hear the voice of experience about this important issue on this episode. When should I form a LLC for my business?Amazon sellers need to learn to think of their activity on Amazon AS a business, not a hobby. Part of that means organizing yourself as a business entity. A listener today asks Scott how he can know when he’s reached the point to organize his company as a LLC. Do you know when is the right time? Today Scott is going to answer the question with a lot of options and a ton of resources that can help you make the best decision for your situation. Hear it all on this episode. When my competition is all sourcing from the same China supplier. Should I differentiate my product or just use the same one?Almost anyone can determine a profitable niche for their first private label product and get the product from a China supplier. In fact, that’s how most sellers on Amazon get their start. But what should you consider if all of the competition in a niche you’re considering are all doing that and obviously have the very same product from the same Chinese supplier? Scott’s got concerns about jumping into the fray with little to differentiate your product from the competition and he shares those concerns on this episode. If you’re considering a new product launch on Amazon, this response could save you lots of headaches in the future. Would you like your own, 10-day private label action course for free?If you would like to learn how to find a profitable private label products, research it for sales potential, find a supplier for it, get your first order made, and get those products onto the Amazon sales platform, you’re in the right place. Scott’s got a free private label course that you can walk through at your own pace. For 10 days he’ll send you an email, each one containing a different step in the private label track to success. Listen to this episode of the podcast to find out how you can get your own free private label course, sent directly to your inbox. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 13 April 2016
How helpful would it be to you if you were able to have a step-by-step instructional walkthrough of the best way to research and validate potential products for Amazon private label business? Would that be something you'll be able to use? In today's episode Scott is doing exactly that. He takes you through every tiny step he goes through to research a potential product and ensure that it is the best chance he has of launching a great, profitable product. There are no guarantees, but this is the best way Scott has found to make sure he's not stepping into a difficult niche or product align. Be sure to listen so you get all the details. What if the initial numbers look good for a potential private label product?Imagine that you have found a private label product that is potentially a good seller. It has low reviews and high sales numbers. Is that all that you need to look at? On this episode Scott will tell you why that approach can be deceptive if you don't go a little bit deeper into your product research. He's going to show you what you should do next to ensure that you were looking at numbers that realistically represent the actual sales of that product. That's a step you won't want to miss and one that can make the difference between a failing product and a very successful one. The pricing history of a potential private label product is important for you to know.As you investigate the possibility of adding a product to Amazon, you need to understand the pricing history of other products that are similar. Has the pricing been fairly consistent? Has it increased? Has the price dropped from the time the product was initially introduced to the Amazon platform? All of these questions are ones that need to be answered before you take the leap into sourcing that product for yourself. On this episode Scott is going to explain to you why you need the answers to those questions and how you can get them. How you can determine the sales trends a specific product has experienced.Okay, say that you have found a great product, the reviews and sales seem to be legitimate, and you are getting excited about sourcing that product for yourself to get into an Amazon private label business. But there is one more thing you should consider. Have the sales trends of the product demonstrated that it is a niche that is actually growing? Or is it declining? If you don't know the answer to those questions you could be stepping into a market that is not going to be sustainable long-term. On this episode Scott will walk you through how you can discover if a product is one that you can count on looking into the future. That is something you really need to know. Has your competition gotten organic sales or promotion based sales?Why is it important for you to know if products that compete with your potential product have gotten their sales through organic search results or through promotions? It's because cells that have been supported solely by promotions are not the kind of sales you want to count on. That would mean that if you enter that niche you would be spending money on promotions consistently rather than building a product base from organic searches. Be sure that you take the time to listen to this episode, Scott is showing you exactly how to determine the reality of the sales you see for the products within the niche you're considering. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Mon, 11 April 2016
Being on the “Hot Seat” doesn’t necessarily sound like a pleasant thing. But in this case it could be a powerful helpful place to be. Today's episode of the podcast is a “hot seat” edition where Scott and his friend Chris look over an existing Amazon product listing to supply tweaks and suggestions on how to maximize sales. Today's hot seat participant has a product that has begun to sell much less than it once did and he's curious if he should even put in the effort to maximize its potential, or to just give up and choose different product. Many Amazon sellers ask that same question, so you can learn a lot from this episode. What if I picked a trendy product?We've all seen those trendy products that sell like hot cakes for a short time and then fall off the face of the Earth. Selfie sticks are one example that are mentioned in today's episode. What do you do if your product is one of those trendy items that may not be popular a year from now? Are there ways to leverage it differently so that you can continue to get sales? Are there ways to couple it with other things to create bundles? On this episode Scott and Chris are going to deal with those exact issues relating to the product on the hot seat today. Make sure you listen to get some tips about what you can do with your products, where they are trendy or not. The main image of your product is critically important.The product listing on today's hot seat edition of the podcast is a great example to teach you the importance of the primary image on your listing. This product is unique in some of its design characteristics, but the main image does not clearly show what it is. When Scott and Chris each went to the product listing page neither of them recognized the product for what it really is. They feel that switching the main image to one that is similar to those of the competitors would be a great step in increase in sales. It's a simple step that could make all the difference. Find out more of the tweaks Scott and Chris suggest on this episode. Your product category matters - a lot.When setting up your product listing on Amazon you need to be careful about the category you select for your product to be listed under. Today's hot see participant has chosen a category that is related to the product and both Scott and Chris can see why he chose that category, but most of his competition is in a different category that is more clearly related to the product. They feel that in order to be competitive he should be in the same category as his competition. On this episode will get to hear how they suggest he makes that transition and what effect they think it will have. PPC is not always the answer.The listener who is on today's hot seat edition has spent more and more money on pay per click and is seeing very little results. Scott and Chris both feel that part of the reason his pay per click campaigns are not being effective is because his listing is not fully optimized. On this episode Scott & Chris walkthrough the listing and give quite a few tweaks that can be done to maximize effectiveness of the natural key words and images in the listing to make the PPC campaigns as effective as they should be. If you struggled with spending too much on PPC you may find some answers to your problems on this episode. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 8 April 2016
Wouldn’t it be great to have experienced advice every step of the way as you launch your business? What if that “mentor” was willing to answer your questions every single week to help you on your business journey? That’s exactly what every Friday’s episode of The Amazing Seller is - it’s Scott Voelker’s Q&A with listeners where you get to ask your questions about private label sales and Scott gives his answers.Today’s episode has great questions and Scott’s seasoned answers - and you’re sure to get lots of value from what you hear, so be sure to listen! Is a $5 profit per unit worth pursuing?A listener from Australia is just getting into the Amazon Private Label sales world and has been using Jungle Scout (affiliate) to research his first product. He’s found one that meets all of the criteria that Scott typically recommends but isn’t sure if the pricing is viable. Every seller at this point is only selling at $10 which would only allow him $5 profit per unit. He’s curious if that is enough profit and if Scott would take the leap. You might be surprised by Scott’s response on this one, so be sure you listen to get the insights he shares. Which is more important - seller feedback or product feedback?A listener asks whether or not he should be asking his customers to leave feedback on his seller account or to leave reviews on his actual products. It can be a confusing thing because you need both in order to convince the Amazon search algorithm that you are both a reputable seller who is selling valuable products. On this episode Scott’s going to answer the question by giving a few different approaches that he’s seen work to garner both seller feedback and product reviews. You’ll get lots of good ideas from Scott’s response to this great question. I see two types of Pay per Click ads (at the top and at the side). Is there a way for me to choose which I want to use?
Amazon has created an ingenious service in their promotional to all. Using pay-per-click you can run ads for your product to place them with in plain sight of people searching for the keywords you were trying to rank for. For new sellers this is one of the best ways to begin getting sales, which in turn will help you rank organically for the keywords you are pursuing. On this episode Scott talks about the placement of those pay-per-click ads and gives you some strategies you can use to maximize the use of PPC. You'll want to hear his insights on this difficult part of the Amazon private label process. The best way to rank for a specific keyword.If you are not able to get your private label products to rank for your preferred keywords, you will not make any sales. But the best way to rank for your targeted keywords is by selling your products. How do you get out of that catch-22? You do it by promotions and giveaways that enable you to make sales in spite of the lack of organic ranking. That is the best way to start ranking for the keywords you're targeting. On this episode Scott is going to cover this issue in depth and give you some strategies to approach your promotions and giveaways successfully. You won't want to miss this one. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 6 April 2016
There are many, many ways you can make mistakes when selling your private label products on the Amazon platform. One of those has to do with three legal areas: patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Today’s episode is not meant to scare you but to make you aware of the issues involved in those three areas and equip you to protect yourself and protect your own rights when it comes to the use of your product and brand names, images, and unique characteristics. You’ll want to listen carefully to this episode to learn what you need to know. What’s the big deal with patents, copyrights, and trademarks?The reason you need to be aware of these three important legal terms is because you have the possibility of either being in violation of another company’s trademark, patent, or copyright, or will be violated in regards to your own products or brand. If you’re not aware of the differences between these 3 things you could be in danger on either side of the issue. Today’s guest, Ted Luymes is an attorney who knows these issues backwards and forward and can help you understand the places you may be vulnerable. You’re going to learn a ton from this conversation. How can you know if a product is patented?Patents are difficult to research to ensure that the product you’re wanting to sell is not already patented by someone else. Today’s guest, Ted Luymes is an attorney who deals with these issues and says that even patent attorneys can have a hard time discovering whether a specific type of product is patented or not. You have to do your own research to make sure that your potential product is not shaped like other products and avoid any possible patent violations. You should also deal with your supplier about this issue to ensure that you’re aware of their experience and knowledge of patent issues relating to the product. You’ll learn a lot on this episode so be sure to listen. What IS a product trademark and how is it used?A trademark is something a company registers with the U.S. trademark office to affirm that their company and products are certified as belonging to them. It can include the name, logo, label design, and fonts used in those things. There is legal protection for you if you don’t have the official trademark registration but the registration enables you to establish your claim as of a particular date to ensure that your rights are not being violated. Today’s guest, Ted Luymes is going to walk us through the dos and don’ts of trademarks. What IS a copyright?A copyright is a legal title used to delineate ownership of a particular item or photo to an individual or company. Copyright is important for Amazon sellers in terms of photos. Ideally you should be taking your own photos or ensuring that the photographer who takes your photos knows that you want the rights to the photos. The © mark can be used liberally on your product listings and your photos to ensure that you are the owner of those images and items. You’ll learn some very helpful things from today’s guest, attorney Ted Luymes about trademarks, copyrights, and patents. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Mon, 4 April 2016
For very long time Scott has recommended a specific approach to launching new products on the Amazon platform. But he's making some adjustments based on the feedback and input he's received from some of his friends who are selling products on Amazon as well. On this episode of the podcast Scott is outlining the specifics of these tweaks and telling you why they work as well as they do. On future product launches he's going to be trying the suggestions and will report back to you in the future about the success he's he's on his personal products.
Have you gone through Scott’s free 10 day course?
If you are brand new to the world of Amazon private label sales, you don't have to reinvent the wheel or start from square one. Scott has put together a tremendous resource for you to help you understand and apply the principles behind everything from finding a great private label products to getting it listed on Amazon and making sales. You can find out how to get Scott's free 10-day course by listen to this episode of the podcast. Be sure you do so that you don't have to learn all of the hard learned lessons the hard way.
An adjustment to using promotions to launch a product.
So far when Scott has launched a new private label product he has done a very large promotion at the beginning to get quite a few reviews on the product listing so that the social proof for the product will be higher and therefore spawn more sales. But he's taking a new approach now based on the feedback from some friends. He's going to be doing a smaller promotion at first to get the ball rolling and wait for a bit to see if it prompts organic sales. If it does he will wait before he does any further promotions if it doesn't then is when he will put together his larger promotional strategy. You can hear all the details of this new approach on this episode of the podcast.
Do you understand WHY product reviews are so important?
One of the key components to a good product launch strategy on Amazon is facilitating a way for your buyers to give you reviews on the product. Reviews are vitally important, not because they cause your products to rank higher in the Amazon search results, but because when people do search on Amazon and find your product there is more social proof behind your product that will prompt him to become a purchaser. It is those purchases that rank your product higher in organic search. On this episode of the podcast Scott walks you through the new approach he is taking to his product launch so that you can understand the benefits of the adjustments.
The Amazing Seller Facebook Community is ready to welcome you!
If you have not joined The Amazing Seller Facebook Community you are missing out. It is filled with Amazon private label sellers who are there to share their successes, failures, and encouragement for those who are just getting started. It's a great place to hang around like-minded people and get the boost you need to keep going in your private label sales business. You can find out how to become a part of that community, and it’s FREE, on this episode of the podcast.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 1 April 2016
Welcome to this episode of The Amazing Seller Podcast. You’ve landed on the Friday version which an “Ask Scott” episode. This is where Scott Voelker fields your questions relating to Amazon private label sales and answers them for you. On this episode Scott is addressing questions about keywords and product rankings (and gives tons of resources on that one), whether potentially great products should be pursued if the competition for sales is high, how to do market research effectively, and the best margins for an Amazon private label product.
Why you need to focus your efforts on a more specific niche of products.
You may find a product that looks like a great possibility for sales but the general category is filled with competition and lots of product reviews. But you’ll find that the competition will thin out when you’re able to provide a product within that area that is more specific and specialized. A differentiated product will always enable you to have a better opportunity for good sales on Amazon and will make it more difficult for others to copy the exact thing you are doing. Find out more on this episode.
The best approach for choosing keywords to rank your private label products.
Keywords are one of the most important parts of private label sales on Amazon. If you don't choose the right keywords you will have a very hard time making sales. So how do you go about finding those keywords? Scott was asked that very question on this episode of the podcast and goes into great detail about the resources you can use and the websites that are available to help you discover the best keywords for your specific product. If you don't listen to any other part of this episode you will want to hear of this one. It is worth gold.
The best margins for private label sales.
When considering a product to sell on Amazon you want to make sure that you're going to have an adequate margin of profit to make the selection, purchase, shipping, and sales of the product actually worthwhile for you. Naturally, you want the margin to be as high as it can be, but what is an acceptable margin given all the fees and shipping costs that are involved in selling a private label product on Amazon? On this episode of a podcast Scott walks through his thoughts regarding the margins that are acceptable for him and what he shooting for with every product that he sells.
There are lots of different keyword fields in the Amazon backend. Which ones do I use?
When you begin to fill out all of the fields on the back end of a product listing in Amazon, you'll discover there are many of them that you may not understand or do not know what they are for. On this episode a listener ask Scott about the various keyword fields and how they should be completed. Scott gives a very good answer regarding the use of those fields and make some suggestions on how you can find keywords to place in them that will be effective for the search functions on Amazon. You won't want to miss this one.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 30 March 2016
It wasn’t too long ago that Scott received a bad news email from Amazon. One of his products, a bundle of items, was suspended by Amazon and he was being required to rectify the situation that caused the product to be suspended. On this episode Scott is going to walk you through the exact steps he took to address the situation with Amazon and give you a ton of things to think about when it comes to dealing with Amazon directives like this. If you haven’t had this issue yet, you will, so be sure you listen to the episode so you can be ahead of the game!
The importance of some kind of product inspection.
When Scott received a notice from Amazon that one of his products had been suspended, it was because his return rate was at 13%. Why was it so high? Some of his products were missing pieces and the customers were returning them. Scott learned that his practice of having his items shipped directly from his supplier to Amazon was not working. He was going to have to figure out a way to ensure that every product was inspected before it was shipped. On this episode Scott’s going to tell you how he addressed the issue and give you some resources to check out to set up your own product inspections.
You need to set up variations on every product.
When Scott received a notice from Amazon that one of his products was suspended he had a few options he could pursue. One of those was to set up a variation of the same product and then ship in some products he had in hand to replace the ones that were being suspended. That would enable him to get a listing for that product back up in a rather quick fashion. Scott suggests that every time you set up a product listing on Amazon you create it with the option for variations, even if you don't think that product will ever have a variation. This enables you to address issues like he faced if it should come up.
The tax implications of products you can’t use.
One of the things Scott was concerned about when he got a notice from Amazon that a product was being returned by customers because it was missing parts, was the loss he would have to take on those products. It amounted to $7,000 worth of products and he didn't want to take a hit that large. He called his tax accountant and discovered that he would be able to write those off as a loss and benefit himself on his taxes to some degree. On this episode Scott covers what that sort of loss would look like and how you would go about it if it happens to you.
Why Scott changed his product to Merchant Fulfilled.
The first thing Scott did when he discovered that one of his products have been suspended by Amazon list to switch that product to a merchant fulfilled status. That enabled his product to remain live on the Amazon catalogue and potentially get some sales while he investigated the problems that had caused his products to be suspended in the first place. On this episode Scott is going to walk you through every step he took to get his product back on the Amazon catalog in record time and address the issues with his products that were causing the high return rate that got it suspended in the first place.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Mon, 28 March 2016
New product ideas can come from anywhere. Really, you might be surprised where you discover the next great thing. On this episode Scott’s going to share with you exactly how he discovered his latest product idea quite by accident and how it’s proving to be a pretty good product from the first go ‘round. Listening to this episode will inspire you to think a little more outside the box about your next product idea. So be sure to listen and start dreaming about your next product! There are some things in life Scott said he would never do…
And He’s finally wising up and learning not to say those kinds of categorical things. Why? Because there are so many of those “nevers” that He’s wound up doing. That’s instrumental to this episode of the podcast because He’s entering into one of those areas with his newest product. It’s in the supplement niche, which he said he’d never do and he wants you to hear the story of why he’s going in that direction, how it came about, and how you can learn from his story to find your own new product ideas.
The journey you are on has opportunities at every turn.
You never know what a day may bring. You really don’t. There could be a huge challenge or a massive opportunity, and Scott’s learned that the opportunities will pass you by if you don’t have your eyes open and your brain engaged to see them when they show up. On this episode of The Amazing Seller Scott’s walking you through an example of that - how he came across some situations that have offered up his latest product - and how his situation is an illustration of what you can do to find some great product ideas as well.
The people you meet might be your next source of inspiration.
There are people you meet everyday who have areas of expertise and experience that you will never have. Those people may have something of tremendous value to add to the world but you’ll never know if you don’t get out there and meet them or talk to them. Scott has recently discovered the Dad of his daughter’s friend is a fount of knowledge about things Scott never knew he’d be interested in, and has a lot to offer by way of information and products. So Scott’s investigating the possibility of going in on a product line with him, in the supplement niche. Hear the entire story on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
8 things Scott has learned about tapping into a new market.
When you get a new product idea and it’s in a new market that you’ve never worked in, you need to get some specific things right at the beginning. Tacked on to the end of this episode of The Amazing Seller are Scott’s 8 tips for what you need to do when you’re setting up a product in a new niche. This section is so jam packed with information you will be glad you listened for that brief list alone. So be sure you tune in and grab these 8 great steps to getting set up in a new market.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 23 March 2016
One of the scariest parts of building an Amazon private label business is the fact that at some point you have to send off a big chunk of money to a supplier you have never met, in a factory or warehouse that you cannot inspect in most cases, and trust that you are products are going to arrive at your location or the Amazon warehouse as promised and in good shape. Today's episode deals with that exact subject in the experiences of one Amazon Seller who had trouble getting his product payments refunded after he decided the products were not up to his quality standards. You are going to learn a lot of lessons from his hard learned experience.
How do you know the products your supplier gives you are the quality you want?
The first thing you should do when you find a product that might be a potentially good fit for your business to feature on Amazon is to have a sample sent to you. That's a very needed and necessary first step, but it may not be the total solution. The process of sending a sample can be manipulated by the supplier sending you the very best one that they have, giving you the impression that all of the products they produce are the same quality. Today's guest decided to have an inspection company check out his products prior to them being shipped from the supplier and that one step saved him a thousand headaches. You can hear his entire story on this episode.
What is Trade Assurance and why you should only use suppliers who are verified through it.
When you are seeking a supplier for the products you want to sell through Amazon private label you will come across many options on the Alibaba website. You need to make sure that you were only looking for products among sellers who are certified by Trade Assurance. Trade Assurance is Alibaba's way of verifying suppliers and is a way that you can have peace of mind that you're dealing with reputable companies. On this episode Scott's guest is going to share his experience with Trade Assurance and why it was an invaluable part of the process when seeking a refund from one of his suppliers.
If you have to ask for your deposit back, expect a long process.
It doesn't really matter how you pay the deposit for your first round of products, whether by wire transfer, escrow, or PayPal, if you need to request a refund you will have a long time to wait. Refunds come through a multi-stage the process of verification and investigation about what was actually done by the company and by you. It's very important that in that entire process you document every communication and every step along the way. Today's guest is going to share with you how he did that and the results that came of it.
How to effectively use an escrow account.
One of the tools you can use when paying a supplier from China through Alibaba is called an escrow account. Escrow accounts basically hold the funds that you have sent for your deposit until you indicate that you are satisfied with the product you have been supplied. It's a way to ensure that your money is going to be returned to you if the product you receive are not up to the quality standards that you were led to believe. On this episode Scott shares why he values the escrow functionality so much, and how you can be sure to use it in your interactions with suppliers.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 23 March 2016
This is one of the Ask Scott sessions where Scott Voelker answers your questions about Amazon private label sales. If you’d like to get your question answered on one of these podcast episodes, you can do it by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask. Scott would be happy to address your issues to the best of his ability so be sure to take advantage of this powerful resource.
Should international sellers try to start in their local Amazon market on or the U.S. market?
A listener of the show does not live in the United States and wants to get started with private label sales on Amazon. He’s not sure if he should start selling in his local Amazon market or try to get his products set up on the U.S. Amazon market. Scott’s answer is an “it depends” kind of answer but you’ll want to know what it is that it depends on. ;) There’s lots to consider in a situation like this so be sure you take the time to listen.
I have a customer who has contacted me through Amazon’s system and wants to buy large quantities of my product. How can I handle that?
It’s an amazing opportunity - or it appears to be. This listener and active Amazon private label seller has been contacted by one of his customers through the Amazon system. The customer claims to want to purchase large quantities of his products in bulk. The listener is not sure if there is a way he can connect with the seller legally within Amazon’s terms of service to work out that deal. Scott’s answer is very helpful and you’ll hear it on this episode.
I’m an international seller but I sell on the U.S. Market. How can I get my products shipped to the U.S.?
Scott has often recommended that international sellers get access to a U.S. based address to have their products sent to before sending to the Amazon warehouse so that products can be inspected before being stocked in the warehouse. It’s a great idea, but today’s listener doesn’t have access to a U.S based address and is curious if there are other options. There are indeed and today Scott is going to walk through them. It’s all on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
Would you like to get in on a free 10-day private label course?
One of the things Scott has done to create a helpful training resource for brand new Amazon private label sellers is to put together a 10 day course walking through every single step Scott has taken to get his private label products, get them onto Amazon, and make sales with them. If you’d like to get that 10 day course sent to you via email, you can get it by going to www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com - and Scott will send it right to you!
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com - get the 10 day private label course. |
Mon, 21 March 2016
Welcome back to the show notes page of The Amazing Seller Podcast. Scott Voelker is here to lead you in understanding and building an Amazon Private Label business that can build the life you want to live. On this episode Scott’s got a great list of 10 things learned in the first 3 months in the FBA world, and it was contributed by a listener to the podcast. You’ll get some great insights from this list, from a person who is fresh into the industry and knows the realities of starting from square one. Even if you’re experienced at private label sales, you’ll be encouraged by what this listener has to share. Hard work cannot be replaced. There is no easy way forward.If you want to build a business through Amazon Private Label sales you are going to have to do exactly that, build it. Building things takes a lot of hard work. It takes determination. It takes a commitment to seeing things through. One of the biggest lessons shared on this top 10 list is that hard work cannot be replaced. There Is no easy way forward if you want it business that will provide the lifestyle and the income that you are seeking. Listen to this episode of the podcast to be encouraged in ways that will enable you to stick with it when things get hard. Take action. If you let yourself get overwhelmed, you’re going to give up.When you first get started building a business on Amazon through private label sales, you will discover that there are so many variables and so many things to consider, it seems like you might never figure it out. You can easily get overwhelmed, but you have to fight the over whelmed by systematically doing one thing at a time that will take you a simple step forward. It's that kind of single-minded determination that will enable you to do what you want to do in building your business. Be sure to listen to this episode to hear more of Scott's tips about how to fight overwhelm. Amazon private label is a long term endeavor.The stories you hear about someone putting a private label product onto the Amazon platform and hitting $10,000 in sales during their first month are the exceptions not the rule. It's very common that sellers never hit $10,000 a month in sales. It's also common that those who do take a month and possibly even years to get there. You have to think of your Amazon business as a long-term Endeavor. It's going to take time, especially if he do it the right way. Make sure you listen to this episode to hear Scott's encouragement about what it takes to build your business with a long view. Learn from others, but make up your own mind in the end.When you're first starting out in your Amazon private label business it is vital that you learn all that you can. You want to listen to people who have gone down the path you are traveling ahead of you. But there comes a point where you have to make your own decisions, where the advice you receive is weighed against the circumstances that you are actually in. It's at that point you need to have the confidence to make up your own mind about the direction you were going to take. On this episode Scott gives some great advice about how to get to that place, and how to make the right decisions when you do. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 18 March 2016
Welcome to this question and answer episode of The Amazing Seller podcast. Scott Voelker is here to answer your questions about Amazon private label sales, everything from researching and buying your first product to collecting your paycheck from Amazon. On this episode Scott gets some great questions about pay-per-click campaign, freight forwarders, maximizing sales even if it means you run out of stock, and others. If you are at all interested in getting involved with Amazon private label sales, you need to listen to these Q&A episodes of The Amazing Seller.
When I do multiple PPC campaigns, and I charged for clicks on a keyword that are in both campaigns?
Pay-per-click can be one of the most confusing parts of a successful Amazon private label business. There are so many variables it is hard to keep track of everything and know that you are actually spending your money wisely. On this episode a listener asks a question about using multiple campaigns and whether or not he is charged for using the same key word in different campaigns. Scott's answer is yes, but there's a lot more to it than that. Make sure that you listen to ensure that you are not spending any money on your pay-per-click campaigns. What are the benefits and the difficulties of working with freight forwarders?
Getting your product shipped from China to the United States can be quite an ordeal. Sometimes it is beneficial to use a company called a freight forwarder. these are companies that receive your order from your China supplier, and forward it on to Amazon following various criteria that you have set up. On this episode a seller from outside the United States asks Scott a question about setting up a freight forwarding service. If this sounds like something you might need in the future, be sure to listen to Scott’s informative answer.
Do I want to maximize sales first even if it means I run out of stock?
On today's episode of the podcast a listener asks if it is wise to maximize his sales right off the bat with his newest product even if it means he will run out of stock quickly. There are different viewpoints on this type of question but Scott, as always, has his own opinion which makes a lot of sense. But he doesn't only share his opinion, he also tells some of the pros and cons of the other approaches. If you want a good comparison of the approaches to getting your product onto the first page of the search rankings, be sure to listen to this podcast episode. Would you like to get in on Scott’s next free, live workshop?
One of the things Scott does to enable new Amazon sellers to get up to speed quickly is to put on his free private label workshops. If you have never been a part of one of these amazing webinars, you will be amazed at the value Scott puts out for free. He's going to walk you through his 5 step process for finding launching and selling products through Amazon private label sales, and will also do a live Q&A session at the end of the webinar. This is one of the best resources on the internet for learning how to sell your products on Amazon. Listen to this episode to find out how you can be a part of the next free live workshop
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop - get into the next live workshop. |
Wed, 16 March 2016
If you’ve not heard the name of Chris Ducker, you are going to be glad you have by the time this interview episode of The Amazing Seller podcast is over. Chris is an online business guy who’s made it big in many different areas, and on this episode he’s joining Scott to chat about how he would go about building a business independently of Amazon after successful sales on Amazon. Scott’s been interested in this possibility for a long time and Chris has the business experience to help him think through the issues involved.
Why Chris Ducker doesn’t like the Amazon platform for building your business.
Scott Voelker has long encouraged everyday people like you to build their own real business on the Amazon platform. It’s an unprecedented opportunity. But his guest today, Chris Ducker, doesn’t like the model for a very specific reason. It’s something you’ll hear from him over and over and it has to do with building on your own platform instead of a platform someone else owns. You can hear all the details of what Chris things, and why, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
The power of Customer Service for your Business.
One of the biggest mistakes that business owners (including Amazon sellers) make time and time again is to get a customer and then forget about them. But if you think it through, you’ll realize that it’s much easier to serve an existing customer well so that they become a repeat customer, than it is to get a new customer. On this episode Chris Ducker shares a couple of powerful stories about what customer service can do for your business, both in terms of customer retention and increased revenue.
When is it time for you to outsource some of your business workload?
Scott’s guest on this episode of the podcast is Chris Ducker, a pro at outsourcing And business building. Chris knows what it takes to get the Right outsourced team working on a business and you also know the great big mistakes that can be made. On this episode Scott asks Chris about his recommendations for figuring out the timing of adding a virtual team to your business. This section alone is worth you listening too, so make sure you set aside the time to do it.
The vital question for you to ask about hiring a virtual assistant or team member.
If you've been considering adding a virtual assistant do you business workflow, this episode is one you really need to listen to and take some notes on. Chris Ducker shares his insights about when it is time to add team members to your business and why you would want to do it. For him, it comes down to one final question that you need to ask yourself. It's a question that provides incredible amounts of clarity and direction for you and your business moving forward. Be sure you take the time to listen, it's a powerful lesson in outsourcing and hiring. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
Chris’ website: www.ChrisDucker.com |
Wed, 16 March 2016
There are so many people who are eager to get into Amazon Private Label sales, and they should because it’s a great platform to build a viable business that can support and even transform your lifestyle. But there are a handful of common mistakes that newbies to Amazon FBA make again and again. On this episode of the podcast Scott Voelker covers the top 5 rookie mistakes that trip up new sellers. Product research can be frustrating, but don’t give up.Perhaps the most difficult part of selling products on Amazon is finding the product in the first place. The product research phase is very difficult because there are so many variables and so many possibilities. What most rookies do when doing product research is work at it for a couple of days and then give up because it is so frustrating but that is the worst thing you could do. On this episode Scott’s going to teach you how to push through the product research base to make sure that you find that product that is going to set you up for Amazon selling success. You can’t forget about the depth of your potential market.It's great to find a product that seems like it's going to be a winner on Amazon FBA. But if you don't take into consideration the depth of the market you're trying to enter, you could be setting yourself up for a terrible loss. On this episode Scott once again covers the issue of depth of market, and give you some tips to help you understand what you need to look for, why you need to watch out for those things, and how to maximize your chances of setting up a product that will be successful. If you misunderstand your profit margins on Amazon FBA, you’ll be sorry.It's easy to hear all the success stories about Amazon FBA sales and think that you can do that too. And you can. The problem is that many people don't recognize that the figures they hear from success stories don't typically reveal the costs involved in the research, packaging, shipping, and fees related with feeling that product on Amazon. The end result is you may have an unrealistic idea of what the actual profit margins for a product are. On this episode of the podcast, Scott is going to point out some of the things you need to consider when calculating profit margins so that you can know and accurate estimate of what your profits will be. Don’t be fooled by seasonal products.You may find a product to sell on Amazon that appears to be a wonderful opportunity. But always take into consideration whether or not that product and its related products are seasonal in nature. Seasonal products are great for a very short time but throughout the year don't provide the consistent income that you really want to achieve an Amazon private label sales. On this episode Scott is going to give you some things to watch out for when considering the possibility of selling products that are seasonal in nature. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 11 March 2016
Isn’t it great when you’re able to ask an experienced person how to do what you need to do? You get all kinds of insights and tips that you wouldn’t even think about asking for. The Friday episode of The Amazing Seller (this one) is where Scott answers your questions about Amazon Private Label sales and shares them with the entire TAS community. You’re able to ask your own questions by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask - as well as learn from the many other questions that are asked and answered on these Ask Scott episodes. Be sure you subscribe so you don’t miss any of his answers. I need to makeover my listing page. How should I go about it?
As you get going with your Amazon Private Label sales, you’ll realize down the road that some of the steps you’ve already taken need to be refreshed or updated. A listener today says that he’s ready to go back and makeover his product listing page and asks Scott how he should go about doing that. Scott’s got some great insights on that issue as well as some past conversations with podcast guests to point you to. Do you need to update your product listings? You won’t want to miss this episode for all the tips and tricks you need to know.
I was wondering what I need to change if I’m selling a generically labeled product on Amazon?
Is it possible to take a product from Aliexpress or Alibaba that is already generically labeled, and sell it as your own? That’s a common situation you might run into as you’re getting trial products and trying out different possibilities and you need to know what’s ethically right and what’s even possible if you’re going to do it right. On this episode Scott’s going to walk you through that issue and tell you what he would do in those shoes. It’s a great, practical issue that you can learn from, on this episode.
I have a unique product that fits within a broader niche. How do I research whether it’s as good an opportunity as I think?
Today's episode of the podcast, one of our Friday editions were you can ask your own questions, a listener ask Scott about a specific variation of a broader product, and whether it is possible to find out the viability of the product selling well on Amazon. It's a very busy broad niche but the unique qualities of this particular product are what makes the listener believe it will really be a big seller. Scott's got some good insights on the issue, and you can hear the mall on this episode.
Have you attended one of Scott’s live workshops? They’re free!
One of the amazing things about what Scott does through The Amazing Seller podcast, is that every month he provides and absolutely free workshop to walk new Amazon private label sellers through the 5 steps he takes to research purchase and launch a brand new product on Amazon. If you have never been a part of one of these workshops, you are missing out. The end with live question and answer sessions where you can get clarity on anything that you didn't quite catch the first time. Listen to this episode to find out how you can register to be a part of the next free workshop.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 9 March 2016
A few episodes back Scott invited his friend, Chris Schaeffer onto the podcast to do a “hot seat” evaluation of an Amazon business to give advice on tweaks, changes, and adjustments to the existing product listings to ramp up sales. You’ve got a great opportunity today to hear another of those Hot Seat sessions - this time relating to an existing retail business that is trying to get onto the Amazon platform. There are some tweaks and tips you may have never heard before taken from Scott and Chris’ experience so be sure you listen.
Would you like to be a part of a “Hot Seat” event coming to a town near you?
Scott and Chris are already doing a hot seat event in Denver Colorado in May of 2016. But that event is already booked solid. They plan to do future events in cities across the United States. If you would like to be a part of 1 of those events, you can get your name on the notification list so that you will be among the first to know where and when those events are going to happen. Listen to this episode to find out where you can go to put your name on that list and being part of an event just like the evaluation and suggestions you were going to here on this episode of the podcast.
Optimizing product listings is huge.
On this episode of the podcast, Scott and Chris are taking a look at some existing listings of a retail business that is moving its products on to the Amazon platform. One of the first things I notice is that the product listings are not optimized as well as they could be. There is only one picture, very little in the description, and they suspect that the back in the keywords are not optimized very well. Looking at the company website, they see a beautiful presentation of the products that are offered and suggest using some of the same principles from the website on the Amazon listing. You can hear the specifics of what they suggest on this episode of the podcast.
Images are powerful in presenting a profession product on Amazon.
And Scott and Chris evaluate a product listing on this episode of the podcast, but they notice that the seller is not making the best use of the images on their listing. Their website for the products display all kinds of beautiful images, but very few of those are included on the Amazon listing. As well, the website includes many testimonials and logos from industry platforms where the products have been featured, and Scott suggest the seller create images from those and include them on the Amazon listing as well. You can hear more great suggestions like this for how to optimize your Amazon listing, on this episode of the podcast.
How to figure out the keywords you should go after.
On this episode of the podcast, Christie has asked Scott and Chris to evaluate her product listings. One of the questions she asks has to do with how to determine which keywords she should be trying to rank for. Scott and Chris suggest some great tools for her to use, and also how to use her existing website for the products to find even more possible keywords. Chris also makes a good point about utilizing the many variations she has of her product to find even more relevant keywords. It's too complex to describe here, but if you listen to this episode you won't have any trouble figuring it out.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Mon, 7 March 2016
There are lots of people who hear of what’s going on with Amazon private label sales and think that they can’t get into it without a huge investment. But that’s not true, and this interview episode is proof. Today, Scott is chatting with Travis, a normal guy who calls himself an “average Joe.” Travis heard about private label sales on Amazon and decided he was going to make it work even though he didn’t have software to research his product ideas or a huge budget to do it. You’re going to be blown away by the success Travis has had simply by following some common sense steps. Getting the product idea first.Travis’ first private label product idea was a product that is a popular trend right now, so he wasn’t sure if he should go with it or not. But getting a good price on the product and the possibility of a good sized margin prompted him to take the leap. So with $1500 spent in products and fees Travis was able to get his first product onto Amazon. His story is an amazing one because his approach was truly a “bare bones” attempt and his hard work and risk taking has paid off. You can hear the exact steps Travis went through on this episode of The Amazing Seller. Playing with the price to get his product off the ground.When Travis first got his bare bones product onto the Amazon selling platform, his competition was pricing their products are around $15 each. He decided to go below that at $9.99 each. He wasn't sure what kind of effect that would have but went to sleep after posting his product consoling himself that he shouldn't expect much the first few days. He woke up to 5 sales of his product and he didn't even have any reviews on it yet. You can hear Travis’ amazing story as he shares it with Scott on this episode of The Amazing Seller. Pay per click right away and no reviews.One of the things Scott recommends to new sellers is to get their product onto the Amazon platform and then do a couple of giveaways to prompt reviews for the product. But Travis wanted to see what would happen if he didn't have any reviews but started with PPC right away. That's what he did, just using a broad search PPC campaign, and his sales began almost immediately. In his first month he sold over a thousand products and still has not secured any reviews for his product. He's hoping that organic reviews will happen soon, but also knows that he eventually needs to get a giveaway going to get his review started. Travis's gutsy approach is one you'll enjoy hearing about it, on this episode. Proof that private label sales can be done with a small budget and low amount of experience.Today's guest has never done Amazon private label sales before. He did not have a large bank row and had absolutely no experience sourcing or selling products online. The only education he had was listening to the episodes of this podcast. the results he's gotten are amazing. Within his first month Travis has well over $1,000 worth of sales and is already ordering more products to replenish the ones that have been sold. He expects to expand this product into multiple products, possibly variations of the same product, and even adding accessories to his product line. It's proof that Amazon private label sales is the real deal and anyone can do it. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Fri, 4 March 2016
It’s time for another episode of The Amazing Seller podcast and this session in particular is an “Ask Scott” episode where Scott Voelker answers your questions week after week. It’s an opportunity for you to get your specific problems addressed by a guy who’s been studying and doing Amazon private label sales for quite a while, now. If you want to have your question answered on one of these episodes, you need to listen so you can find out how to do it! You’ve mentioned not trying to sell supplements as a first product. But I currently have a business selling supplements online and want to get onto Amazon. What should I do?Scott has addressed the sale of vitamin or health supplements before and he’s never recommended that a person who’s never done private labeling start out with supplements. Why? Because it’s one of the most crowded markets on Amazon and will cost you tons of money to get yourself recognized and ranking for keywords. But this listener already has a supplement business, so Scott takes a bit of a different approach to that. Listen in to this episode to see how Scott would go about it. What are the different “levels” or “types” of private labeling?One of Scott’s listeners is curious how to think about private labeling in terms of the different “levels” of involvement that private label sellers may be involved at. There appears to be a “full blown” level that includes branding your own products, getting custom packaging, etc. but there’s also the level that buys products from a site like www.Aliexpress.com and resells them without doing any kind of branding at all. Scott gives a great overview of the different ways it’s possible to do a private label business, so be sure you listen. Amazon support advised me to delete my listing. I’m a bit hesitant. What should I do?A listener has his product listed on Amazon’s brand registry but due to a little bit of missing information he’s being advised by Amazon seller support that he should delete his listing, create another one for the same product, and include the missing information on that listing. He’s hesitant to delete a long-standing product listing and asks Scott’s advice. Scott has plenty to say about this one and is NOT sure the guy should do what he’s been told. Do you know why? You can hear Scott’s reasons on this episode. I’m trying to dial-in my PPC campaigns and am not sure I’m doing it correctly. Can you help?One of Scott’s listeners is doing a great job analyzing and optimizing her PPC campaigns week to week, but she doesn’t feel she’s getting everything out of it. In order to respond to this question, Scott asks his buddy Chris Schaeffer to come on the show to give his insight because Chris is an expert at PPC. He’s got a few incredibly insightful tips regarding how she should go about getting her PPC to work better, on this episode of The Amazing Seller. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 2 March 2016
Welcome back to this edition of The Amazing Seller, on this episode of the podcast Scott is going to cover the issue of product images. This episode has been a long time coming, especially since Scott is a photographer in his own his own portrait studio in the past. He's going to talk to you about all things having to do with your product images, how to make them the best they can be, how to optimize them to get better conversions on your product sales, and how to deal with things like lighting, white background, and all the other things that go into an Amazon legal product image. What a good product image does on your Amazon listing.Your private label products need the attention of those who are seeking to buy it. But how do you get that attention? Keywords get your products found, but your image is what gets it the attention it deserves. Think about what you do when you shop Amazon. You punch in your keywords and find the products you are interested in, then you scroll through the results looking at images, don't you? That's what everyone does and it’s what you need to keep in mind when you create your product images. They need to be stunning, eye-catching, they need to pop! On this episode Scott is going to tell you everything you need to know about optimizing your Amazon product images. What impact does a great image have on your Amazon PPC?If you're utilizing Amazon's pay-per-click platform to drive traffic to your products, you need to keep in mind that the primary Image you upload to your product page is the same image that PPC will display when your dad comes up on a search results page. That image needs to be the very best image you can make it. It needs to highlight your product’s strengths and features in a way that draws people to move from prospective buyer, to actual buyer. On this episode of the podcast you are going to learn 7 product Image tips that should bring you higher conversions. When you’re taking pictures of your product, lighting is everything.In years past Scott built up a six figure photography business in his local community, so he knows a thing or two about good photography. One of the key things you need to understand is that good photography requires good lighting. You can't expect to get good images if your environment is dim or without adequate lighting. On this episode Scott is going to tell you the very best things you can do to get great lighting for your product images, so that your photos will pop off the page and get the attention you want them to get. Play by the rules when creating your product images.There are many Amazon sellers who play fast and loose with the Amazon guidelines regarding images. You will see product images with text on them, without white backgrounds, and many other things. The plain and simple truth is that these things are illegal when it comes to Amazon Terms of Service. Scott recommends that you always stick with the guidelines because Amazon will find you out sooner or later in your listing will be shut down. On this episode Scott reviews the Amazon image guidelines and gives you tips to maximize your images within those guidelines to optimize your sales conversions. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Mon, 29 February 2016
Welcome back to The Amazing Seller Podcast and thanks for checking out the show notes page for this great episode about product sourcing. In this great conversation I’m talking with Peter Zapf, an employee of Global Sources, a company that works directly with Chinese and other Asian manufacturing companies to make their products available to retailers, ebayers, and Amazon sellers. We’re going to take a deep dive into the process that Global Sources has put in place to enable to you to skip the middle man (agents) and talk directly to the supplier of the products you want to sell.
How is Global Sources different than Alibaba?
Global Sources is a company that’s been around for many, many years and today’s guest, Peter Zapf has been working with the company for over 15 years. He tells us on this episode that the primary difference between Global Sources and other suppliers for the Asian manufacturing market is that GS works directly with the manufacturer - no agents involved at all. So if you were to search for a supplier for your product, you’d be dealing with the actual company that makes it. You can see how that could cut down on the possibility of confusion when ordering customized aspects of your products. Listen in to this episode to find out how Peter suggest you best utilize the platform.
How does Global Sources work with test orders?
Today's guest, Peter Zapf says that his company, Global Sources, is a great platform for working with manufacturers in Asia to find products that you can trust. Very much like Alibaba, Global Sources manufacturers enables you to order smaller quantities as a test order so that you can get to know the product quality and understand the process of each manufacturer that you contact. Peter suggests that you contact more than one manufacturer as you research your product ideas to make sure that you are getting the best deal and the best quality on the product. Hear about this new supplier that you may not of heard of before, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
What are the benefits of working directly with a product supplier?
Global Sources is a China based company that works directly with Asian manufacturers to provide products for retailers and independent sellers. Their connections are with the manufacturers, not independent agents or agencies. That means that when you work with a supplier through Global Sources, you are able to work directly with the people who are creating the product you want. That makes modifications and customization much easier, and the communication process more smooth. Find out more benefits of working with a company like Global Sources on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
Scams to watch out for when working with product suppliers.
For even experienced private label sellers, sending a large chunk of money to accompany across the ocean that you have never visited seems like a pretty sketchy deal. How can you be sure that you're not getting scammed? How can you be confident that you're going to receive the products that you are asking for? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Peter Zapf, of Global Sources, tells some of the most common scams that he sees when it comes to ordering products from overseas vendors. You will be helped by the things he has to share, so be sure to listen. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Sat, 27 February 2016
It may sound strange to you to hear that Scott likes to share his exact costs, profits, and other numbers with anyone who listens to this podcast. Isn’t that private information? It is, BUT - Scott’s more interested in helping you know the REALITY of what an Amazon private label business is like. You need to hear it all instead of just knowing the high sales numbers you might hear other places. Those can be misleading because they don’t include costs, fees, and other overhead that goes into being successful. So today you’re going to hear Scott’s numbers for January 2016, costs, profits, losses, and new projects included. He’s also going to share the numbers for a new brand he’s been working on with a friend to show you what can happen with some brand new efforts on a very low priced product. But more important than all of that, Scott’s going to walk you through the lessons he’s learned from the numbers and challenges he’s faced up to this point. This is a great thing for you to pay attention to because you’re able to see how an experienced private label seller thinks about the things he’s experiencing and the numbers that his business is producing. So listen to this episode and get some seasoned insights into the private label business process. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
Resources mentioned in this episode
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Fri, 26 February 2016
Welcome to this episode of the Ask Scott version of the Amazing Seller Podcast. This is where you can get your Amazon private label questions answered by Scott Voelker, an experienced Amazon seller. He’s had all kinds of successes and failures from which he is able to draw answers to the questions that come his way each week. If you’d like to submit a question for Scott to answer about your private label efforts on Amazon, you can submit your question by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask - and let Scott know what you’re having trouble with.
My manufacturer asked me a strange question about “shipping marks.”
A listener to the podcast was working with her supplier to get the products shipped and the supplier asked her what “shipping marks” she could supply for the packaging. She’s not sure what that really means so she turned to Scott to get his input. You’re going to be surprised at the simple advice Scott has for this listener and how easy it might be for her to get this issue resolved, so be sure you listen to this episode in case you ever run into this issue with your supplier.
Amazon assigns products their own barcode, so why do I need a UPC number for each product?
The issue of UPCs and Amazon assigned barcodes can be one of the most confusing things for new private label sellers. Why do you need a UPC if Amazon assigns its own? The simple answer is that Amazon requires you to have a unique UPC code for each of your products before you’re able to create a listing for the product on the Amazon platform. So you’ve got to do it. Period. Beyond that, Amazon does use its own barcode for internal and sales purposes. You can hear why this is the case and how it impacts your product selection and bundling of products on this episode.
I understand why it’s important for me to capture my customer’s emails, but I’m not sure how to do it.
Once you have people buying your products on Amazon you want to create a way to capture their email address. Why? So that you can market to them the next time you have a new or related product to sell. Those people who have already purchased from you are most likely to buy your new product. But how do you get those emails? What’s the best system to follow in order to make it easy, and to do it within Amazon’s terms of service? Scott’s got an in depth answer for you on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
I’m ready to decide on my first product. Should I select a product that has variations like size, color, or style?
There are so many options when it comes to selling products on Amazon through private label sales. How do you go about picking the right one with the right features. A listener to the podcast asks Scott if she should steer clear of products that have variations like size and color - and Scott recommends that she DOES steer clear of them for her first product. Do you know why he’d say that? You can find out on this episode of The Amazing Seller podcast.
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Wed, 24 February 2016
This episode of The Amazing Seller has been brewing for some time. It’s a response to some of the most frequent myths Scott hears during the Q&A of his private label workshops (they’re free, by the way). Today Scott is not only going to tell you what these common myths are, but also WHY they are myths and what you can do to make sure that none of them happen to you. It’s a practical episode with lots of great resources you can use today to make your private label business more successful. MYTH: Amazon is too saturated to get new products to take off.It’s true that there are more products appearing on Amazon every single day. But it’s also true that more people are shopping on Amazon every day. The ratios of each are not the same by any stretch, but it’s clear that Amazon is still a vibrant place for businesses to be built and profit to be made. Scott’s got some very strong opinions on why people think Amazon is too saturated, and it has a lot to do with what they’re expecting as they begin to build their business. Hear the entire response to this myth, on this episode. MYTH: It takes a lot of money to start an Amazon business?If you had a lot of money to get started on an Amazon private label business, sure, you’d be in much better shape from the beginning. But that’s the case with any business venture. This myth is actually very foolish because it’s very easy to get started on Amazon with little to no money. In fact, Scott’s going to put you onto a case study that demonstrates that to be true. Be sure you listen to hear how Scott blows this myth right out of the water! MYTH: The flop of a first product means Amazon private label doesn’t work.Any product idea can flop the first time and there are a number of reasons for it. Sometimes the person didn’t follow the best practices for getting a product launched. In other words, they tried to shortcut the process. Other times the person didn’t research the depth of the market well enough to ensure that their attempts had a good chance of success. As a result, they moved into a market that was too crowded for them to get a foothold. And there are more reasons products flop on the first try, but none of that means that Amazon doesn’t work. Be sure to listen to Scott’s product launching advice so you don’t become one of the statistics. MYTH: Amazon PPC (pay per click) is too complicated and ineffective.It’s true that Amazon PPC is a bit complicated. But it’s not so terrible that you can’t learn it. It only takes time and experimentation to figure it out, and Scott’s confident that anyone can do it. Once you understand the system and are able to begin using it, you’ll find it to be extremely effective in helping you gain sales, which translate into a higher ranking for your product, and in turn, more organic sales coming to your listing. Find out how Scott destroys this myth, on this episode of the podcast. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Mon, 22 February 2016
On this episode of the Amazing Seller podcast you’re going to learn all about the power and importance of reviews on your Amazon products. Danny Brewer and Scott Voelker have a lot of experience soliciting and promoting reviews and both of them have tons to share about reviews and review groups and how they can help and hurt you when you’re trying to get your products out to the world.
What do reviews accomplish for your products?
Reviews are one of the most important parts of getting your product moved to the top of the page when someone searches for keywords related to your product. But there’s not a direct correlation. Reviews encourage potential customers to buy your product. Why? Because it appears to be more legitimate, more trustworthy. It’s THOSE sales that push your product higher in the organic search results. On this episode you’re going to hear two experienced Amazon sellers chat about the right and wrong ways to go about getting reviews for your Amazon products.
What’s the biggest reason reviews are deleted by the Amazon powers?
Amazon’s policies require reviews to be posted within certain guidelines. If your reviewers are not following those guidelines, the reviews they leave will eventually be deleted, which is of no benefit to you. The main reason for deletions is that people who receive a product for free (through one of your promotions) in exchange for a review do not say so in their review. Amazon requires that. On this episode you’re going to hear how you can encourage and even help you reviewers leave their response to your product without it being deleted.
Be careful of the trolls that lurk in public review groups.
When you post a free code for your product in an effort to promote it, you may get a great response. But consider what could happen (and often does). The people who see your free promo are not only potential customers, they could be potential competitors - and some of those competitors will do anything to hurt your sales, even buying your product using your promo, and leaving a bad review. It’s something that happens and that you should be very leary of. Today’s episode features some ideas you can put into place to make it where you don’t have to use public groups.
How can you find good, quality places to ask for good reviews?
Danny Brewer learned early on that promoting Amazon products with free or discounted coupons is problematic at best. Not only can trolls buy your product and give you bad reviews, people who are not serious about reviewing products can get in there, give you bad or lackluster reviews, and hurt your product in the end. Danny’s got a group that he’s been able to develop that is a powerful way to get quality reviews, and you can submit your products for consideration. The group doesn’t accept every product, so know that going in. Listen to this episode to get the details.
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Fri, 19 February 2016
Welcome back to the Ask Scott sessions of the Amazing Seller podcast. These Friday sessions are one of the funnest things Scott does every week - answering your questions from his own experience - about Amazon Private Label sales. This episode includes questions about handling returns through Amazon FBA, product categories as it relates to seller accounts, product selection tips, and customizable product offers. This episode is going to ramp up your ability to make your private label business rock!
What happens when a customer returns one of my products?
One of the aspects of Amazon private label sales that is seldom talked about in depth is the issue of product returns. It’s going to happen. You are going to have products returned either because they are broken in shipping or have some sort of flaw. What happens at Amazon when somebody returns one of your products and what can you do from there? Scott’s going to walk you through every step of the process so you know what to do, on this episode.
Should I keep all my products in the same categories?
A listener has noticed that some Amazon sellers have their products listed in a variety of categories. She’s wondering if there’s any advantage to this, or if it’s a waste of time. Scott’s got a definite opinion about this and it all centers around the use of keywords and how they impact what a searching customer is going to find when they are looking for a product. There is some powerful food for thought in Scott’s response to this question, so be sure you take some time to give it the thought it deserves.
Is there any way to make a customizable offer to an Amazon seller?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could offer your products in a customizable format of some kinds? A listener today asks if there is a way to make a custom offer to particular Amazon customers. While Scott’s not sure exactly what will come of it, he chats a bit about a new Amazon program that’s still in beta mode, called Amazon Custom. You can find a link to the program in the resources for this episode, and hear what Scott has to say about it by listening.
Have you attended the FREE Private Label Workshop?
One of the things Scott does most months to help you understand, start, and ramp up your private label business is a free online workshop where he walks you through the 5 phases of getting your product live and selling on Amazon. Much of the TAS community attends these workshops again and again because there’s so much helpful content - AND there’s Q&A at the very end where you can ask your specific questions. If you’d like to get in on the next workshops, check out this episode to find out exactly how you can do it! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
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Wed, 17 February 2016
Welcome back to this episode of The Amazing Seller, the very BEST place for you to learn how to sell products on Amazon. This episode is all about finding product ideas. That’s really the first and most important step to a successful private label selling business. You can’t even hope to make a living doing Amazon sales if you don’t have a product that people want to buy. So take this step seriously. Scott’s got some great tips for you about how to find product ideas that you KNOW will sell. Be sure to listen. This one’s full of great value.
First, think about serving a market.
You want more than one product that sells on Amazon. You want a brand, a business. If you’re going to build a line of products like every brand does, you need to think in terms of the overall market you’re going to serve. Are they hunters? Knitters? Chefs? Parents? Athletes? Drill down even further. Is there a subset group within that market? The more specific you can get the more clearly you’ll be able to discover specialty products that niche can use and will be willing to pay for. Think about the market and the wide variety of products they need and you’ll be on your way to finding a successful product you can private label on Amazon.
If you want to find great products to sell, start with a daily “touch list.”
You may have heard Scott talk about a “touch list” before, but it bears repeating because it’s so important. Everyday you touch thousands of things that you use to make your life work. Computers, clothes, toothbrushes, and more. Spend time over the next few days looking at everything you touch. Is there an item you use that’s kind of unique? Interesting? Popular? Is there a way you could come up with a product idea centered around a product like that? Take the time to make a touch list and you won’t be short of ideas for great products.
Your hobbies or passions may be the very best place for you to find a product idea.
Think about that one for a minute. If you’re already passionate about something you’ll know it better than most people. Start digging into those hobbies that you love so much to consider what items or products other people who like it would buy. Is there any way a product could be modified or tweaked to serve the market better? Is there something everyone wants but nobody can find? Do you see how this works? The more questions you ask about your hobbies the more you’re going to be able to find product ideas that can really work. Listen to this episode to get more great ideas from Scott about how to make your hobbies and passions into a business.
What have you purchased in the last 7 days?
Asking yourself this one question - and making a list - is going to open your mind to the possibilities of things that people buy regularly, over and over, for the daily business of life. Those are the kinds of things that will help you get your mind going to find those products that can be consistent in their sales and demand. Don’t be lazy and just try to think about it, write it down. Then expand your question to the last 30 days. You’ll be amazed at all the ideas you come up with from this one simple exercise.
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Mon, 15 February 2016
Pay Per Click on Amazon is one of the most difficult and time consuming things that run behind a successful Amazon sales business. And you can’t do without it, it’s what makes your private label products pop up on the first page of Amazon before you’re able to get there through pure organic sales and recommendations. But how can you learn it and invest the time you need to in order to make it work without breaking the bank. On this episode, Scott Voelker and his guest, Ty Rooney, are talking about ways to amp up PPC campaigns on Amazon.
Starting your Pay per click campaigns the smart way.
There’s no reason the average person can’t manage their own PPC campaigns wisely. But you’ve got to get started in a smart way if you’re going to receive the benefits your products need. How do you start smart? The first thing is to set up an “auto” campaign and a few manual campaigns, then let it run for a while. Most people start tweaking things too early, before they get enough data to make some wise decisions. So be sure you don’t jump into the changes too soon. Hear how Scott Voelker and Ty Rooney think about PPC and what’s working for them.
What are you looking for in your PPC data?
When you open the Amazon PPC dashboard after a week of letting it run on an auto campaign and a couple of manual campaigns, you’re going to see a lot of numbers there. How do you know what to look for, and how do you know what those numbers mean? First, you’re going to start at the top and look at every single keyword. Your goal is to find the keywords that are getting the actual traffic to your product. Those keywords (and possible variations of them) will be the ones you’ll want to focus on as you adjust things. It’s way too complicated to explain here, so make sure you listen!
The new “Bid Plus” feature in Amazon PPC is here!
It was only a few months ago that Amazon provided some new features to the PPC dashboard that have made it a much more usable and powerful tool to drive traffic to your products. But now they’ve added another feature, called “Bid Plus.” What is it? We’re not exactly clear on that yet, but the first looks into it are promising. You can hear what Scott Voelker and Ty Rooney think about the feature and the other adjustments that Amazon is making to their platform all the time, on this episode. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/manage - get on Ty’s list to try out his beta package.
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Fri, 12 February 2016
You’re back! Welcome! We’re so glad to have you here for another episode of The Amazing Seller podcast. This is a Friday episode - an “Ask Scott” episode that answers your Amazon sales questions each week. If you want to get your questions answered, you can submit them for consideration by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask - and your question will be in the cue. So sit back, grab your pen and paper, and make sure you take good notes because you want to be sure you’re able to take action on what you learn!
Should I start Amazon sales with clothing as my first product?
Everyone needs clothes. There’s no doubt about that. But does a large demand for a product make it a good fit for you? Not necessarily. Clothing, for example, is a VERY saturated market. There are so many companies offering similar products that putting out a new product yourself will be an uphill battle at best. Besides that, there’s the issue of variations and sizing. It’s likely that clothing will be returned far more often than other items. Listen to Scott’s thoughts about whether you should choose clothing for a product line, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
I want to offer a product that is very similar to a patented product. Should I move ahead?
Patents are something you don’t want to play around with. The legal trouble you could get into is more than you are prepared to face - trust us. But it is important to understand exactly what a patent is and what it means if a product is patented. A patent says that “something” about a product is unique and that company has the rights to use that “something,” but not necessarily the entire product. The patent might cover a particular style of grip, for example. So you could offer a similar product, just not one with the same grip. Scott’s got some great insights on this episode so make sure you take the time to hear what he’s got to say on this one.
I just learned about the Chinese New Year break. Is this going to keep me from getting my product restocked?
You heard right. New Year celebrations in China are a huge deal, so huge in fact that the working force typically takes off work for 2 weeks or more to celebrate. What does that mean for your inventory and product ordering? It means you’ve got to think ahead. You’ve got to plan ahead. You can use previous sales to estimate how many products you’ll need to last you through a time like Chinese new year, and you should. Scott tells his experience and approach to these kinds of inventory issues on this episode, so be sure to listen.
All these numbers: Barcodes, UPC, AISN - what are they and when do I need them?
Yes, there are lots of little codes and acronyms that you’ll have to learn if you’re going to do private label sales on Amazon. But once you know what each of them is and when they are used, it’s really not that hard. On this episode a listener asks Scott to explain all the codes and acronyms and in characteristic style, Scott gives a very thorough and helpful answer. You can learn this “newbie” issue too by listening to this podcast episode.
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Wed, 10 February 2016
Hey, hey! What’s up everybody! It’s wonderful to have you back on another episode of The Amazing Seller. On today’s show, Scott has invited his buddy, Chris Schaeffer to join him for a very special, first time experience. Scott and Chris are going to be doing what Scott’s come to refer to as a “hot seat.” They’re going to take a real product, sold by a real TAS community member, and are going to evaluate the strategies being used to sell the product. This is the same format Scott’s going to do at an upcoming live event in Denver, Colorado, so listen in to get a taste for how this event could benefit YOUR product sales.
The product is live, the listing is good, but it’s not selling very well.
Today’ Scott Voelker is doing a “hot seat” where he and Chris Schaeffer are evaluation a real Amazon product to help increase sales. Ebony has submitted her product for evaluation because she’s got plenty of reviews, a good product listing, and can get to page 1 with PPC, but the minute she stops doing Pay Per Click campaigns, the product drops to page 3 or worse. What should she do? Scott and Chris have some very helpful insights for Ebony that are likely to help you do it right the first time, so be sure you take the time to listen.
Consider seasonal products a second time.
On this “hot seat” session of the Amazing Seller, Scott and his friend Chris Schaeffer are evaluating a product that isn’t selling very well in hopes that they can increase its ranking on Amazon and increase sales. As they look it over, it’s clear that this is a seasonal product, which is not entirely bad, but it’s also not a product you can expect to have consistent sales all year round, which would be very nice, wouldn’t you say? So when you’re thinking about selling a seasonal product, you might want to think again before you pull the trigger. Or, you may want to consider other products you could offer to fill in the gap during the down times.
Depth of market is the HUGE issue for most products that don’t sell as expected.
When Scott Voelker talks about product research, one of the terms you’ll hear him use over and over is “depth of market.” What does he mean? He’s talking about determining whether or not there is actually “room” in a particular product market for you to introduce another of the same type of thing and legitimately expect that you’ll be able to gain a significant foothold. If you don’t do your market research well and for a long enough period of time, you may be setting yourself up for frustration. On this episode Scott and his friend Chris Schaeffer give a good amount of time to the process of market research, so make sure you listen so you can understand how to do it the right way!
What kind of 2nd product should you offer?
Today’s “hot seat” participant has a product that isn’t selling as well as she’d hoped. One of the solutions to the issue may be to offer a second product to her offerings. That way she could either bundle it with her original product to offer a completely new product, or she could choose a product that offsets the down-time of her original product, which is seasonal. Scott’s got some good insights into how you should think about the process of choosing a second product, and he’s going to share it with you on this episode, so be sure to listen! .
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Mon, 8 February 2016
One of the things that makes for a better business is learning from people who are down that business path ahead of you. Scott loves to hear from people who have been doing Amazon private label sales for some time and one of those people he’s chatted with before is Greg Mercer, creator of Jungle Scout and Amazon seller himself. This conversation is a bit of an update to a previous episode (Episode 56), where Greg and Scott share their current tips about choosing products, launching, and the lessons they’ve learned over the years.
Greg Mercer’s criteria for good products to sell on Amazon
There are some common sense things you should be aware of when choosing products to sell on Amazon. Many people don’t think of these but would be hugely benefitted if they did. Here they are: Smaller products that weigh less than a pound - this keeps your shipping costs and fees lower. Nothing that can be easily broken in shipping or by use (that means electronics among other things). There’s really many more than we can cover in a short paragraph so be sure you take the time to listen to this value packed episode.
You’ve got to know how to research the depth of product markets to sell successfully.
You hear Scott talk about this issue quite often. It’s the role that depth of market plays in discovering if you have indeed found a true opportunity in a particular market. On this episode of the Amazing Seller Scott and his guest, Greg Mercer, go into quite a bit of detail about how each of them does market research, why it’s important, and the pitfalls you can avoid if you do this step the right way. Get ready to take some notes because these guys unpack it all the way!
Once you start ranking on Amazon you’ve got to keep your products near the top.
It’s one thing to enter a new market with your brand new product. It’s an exciting thing when you start to see your product sell. It’s even more exciting when you find your sales pushing your product toward the top of the search rankings. But how can you keep it there? That’s one of the many things Scott Voelker and Greg Mercer talk about on this episode of the Amazing Seller. They’re going to cover reviews, PPC (pay per click), and product sales, in depth. You won’t want to miss this one.
Jungle Scout: One of the best Amazon Private Label research tools out there!
When Scott first started selling on Amazon there was no software available to help with product and market research. He literally created a spreadsheet and tracked things day after day after day to find out what he needed to know. Now there are amazing software solutions that make that same research happen in seconds rather than months, and one of those is Jungle Scout, created by Greg Mercer. On this episode Greg unpacks the details of what Jungle Scout can do and how it works to help you optimize your product selection process - and he gives a discount on the software that listeners to this episode can get. Be sure you listen to find out how you can get that price break!
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Fri, 5 February 2016
This is the episode of the Amazing Seller podcast where you get to ask your own questions and Scott will respond! That’s what you’re going to hear on this episode… real Amazon sellers or potential private label sellers who are just like you, asking questions about the way forward into Amazon sales. Scott answers them honestly, from his experience and from what he’s learned relating to other successful Amazon sellers and running his own business. If you want to ask your own question, you can do that by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask I’ve only got $1,000 to get started with. How would you stretch that money as far as possible if you were beginning again?There are many ways you can get started with building your own business by selling on Amazon. Scott’s not so arrogant as to think that there’s only one answer to the question. But some of the things he recommends are these: retail arbitrage as a way in and a way to get started - and you can do it today! From there you could move toward finding lower priced products on Alibaba or Ali Express to head toward private label sales. In all of this there are a variety of things you can do to trim costs, so be sure you listen to this episode to get the full picture of what Scott advises. My products are running out of stock. What should I do to address this?It’s a great problem to have when your products are selling at such a rate that you’re running out of stock before you can get more products in from your supplier. What should you do? Well the first issue you need to look at is your price. Is it possible that your product is prices way too low for the market? In response to this question Scott’s not only going to share a smart way to start increasing your price to discover your ideal price point, he’s also going to give you some other strategies for managing your inventory and keeping products in stock at all times. You used to use Feedback Genius but have switched to Salesbacker. Can you tell me why you switched and what the differences are?This listener is correct. Scott used to use and promote Feedback Genius in the early days of his Amazon private label sales business, but he’s made the switch to a different piece of software, Salesbacker. On today’s episode a listener asks what the differences are between the two and why Scott made the switch. Scott’s answer has more detail than we can cover here (so you should listen to his response), but the main reason is that Salesbacker was created for specific use with Amazon private label sales. The features and functions are specifically designed to give sellers exactly what they need in a variety of ways. Check out Scott’s entire explanation on this episode. . OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER[0:25] Scott’s introduction to the podcast! [0:40] A voicemail Scott loves and wants to share to pump you up! [1:24] How you can submit your own questions [4:05] Proof that you can get started with a relatively low amount of cash. [5:43] QUESTION ONE: Is there any way to know the shipping costs ahead of time? I only have $1000 to play with, how can I stretch it as much as possible? [15:10] QUESTION TWO: How should I address the issue of running out of stock? [18:48] QUESTION THREE: Can you tell me the benefits between Feedback Genius and Salesbacker? |
Wed, 3 February 2016
Keywords are the tracks upon which your Amazon Sales engine runs. It’s how Amazon knows what you have to sell. It’s now customers find your products. It’s how you drive traffic through PPC and organic search. Knowing that, it should be clear how important keywords are to the product listings you place on the Amazon platform. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Scott is going to share 7 tips to find and use the best keywords for your product, and he’s also going to share some bonus tips for you regarding exactly what you should do with those keywords once you find them.
How would YOU search for your product?
Too often Amazon sellers forget that the reason keywords are important is because it’s the main things searchers use to find the products they are looking for. That means that the best way to approach keyword research is to get inside the heads of your ideal customer. What would THEY be searching for if they were looking for your product? You can start answering that question by asking YOURSELF what you’d search for if you were trying to find it. Then expand your question to your spouse, your friends, your coworkers. There’s no better way to find relevant search terms and keywords than to ask real live people. Get more great tips like this, on this episode.
Did you know that Amazon will GIVE you the keywords you should pursue?
Most people don’t think of it in those terms, but really, Amazon will give you its most searched keywords. How? Begin typing your primary keywords into the Amazon search field as if you were a customer searching for that product. You’ll notice that once you complete the word and hit the spacebar (like you were going to add another word), a list of search terms will be suggested to you. THOSE are additional keyword ideas that Amazon is telling you are commonly searched for surrounding your primary keyword. You’d be foolish not to use those in your PPC and listing optimization. Scott’s got lots more tips like this to share, on this episode.
Google search is still a great place to get keyword ideas.
When you search for anything on Google, you’ll notice two things if you pay attention. #1 - Google fills in your search box with suggestions as you search. Those suggestions are searches that other people have made using the same words you’re using. Write those down. #2 - Once you enter your search terms and hit “return,” you’ll notice that there is a list of “related” searches at the bottom of the first page. You should write those down as well. All of the things listed there are actual searches that have been done for the keywords you’re targeting. Take a few minutes to listen to this episode and learn even more simple ways you can find the keywords you need to include in your Amazon product listings and PPC campaigns.
Do you know HOW you should use the keywords you discover?
It’s one thing to find a bunch of great and unique keywords for your product. But do you know what to do with them once you have them? It’s not as simple as cramming your product title and listing full of them. There are certain ways to use them, particular places to put them that bring you the most bang for your buck. That’s what you want to do rather than waste the space you have on your listing with unneeded keywords. On this episode, Scott walks through some “bonus” tips about using keywords in the right places and at the right frequency. That section alone is worth the time it takes you to listen to this episode.
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Mon, 1 February 2016
Many new private label sellers feel overwhelmed right from the start. There truly IS a lot to learn and a lot to do in order to build an Amazon sales business that truly thrives. For that reason, Scott wants you to know that the topic for this episode is one you DON’T have to do right away. This is for down the line, when you’re products are already on Amazon, your brand is already solid, and your sales are going well. THEN, you may want to consider building an authority website for your brand. What IS an authority website? You’ll learn all the details in answer to that question on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
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Sat, 30 January 2016
There’s nothing that compares to getting together with like minded people to synergize, brainstorm, and gain inspiration. Today’s bonus episode is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to that kind of thing, and Scott is very excited to let you know about some of the places he’s been booked to speak on Amazon private label sales this coming year.
Find out two conferences where Scott will be this year, both in the early Spring months, and how you can attend. He’s excited to meet more of the TAS community and is hopeful that many of you can get to these events to learn, grow, and find new ways to advance your Amazon business.. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
Resources mentioned in this episode
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Fri, 29 January 2016
It’s Friday again. Do you know what THAT means? It means that it’s time for Scott Voelker to field your Amazon private label questions again… and it’s one of the highlights of his whole week. If you’re a seasoned Vet at private label sales, or brand new, chances are that you’re going to hear a question on these Friday “Ask Scott” episodes that helps you move your Amazon business forward. And if you’d like to ask your own question, Scott’s going to tell you how you can do that on this episode, so be sure to listen.
Have you heard of Scott’s “999 Method” of tracking your competitor’s sales?
A listener wants to know if there is a way he can estimate how much of a product is being sold by one of his competitors. There are all kinds of reasons you might want to do that, and Scott walks through them briefly on this episode. But he also points out two ways you can do that very thing, one using software (Jungle Scout) and another that you can do on your own, over a period of just a few days, and it will cost you nothing. Scott calls it the “999 method” and you’ll find out how you can do it, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
I hear you talk about waiting for UPS to pick up some of your items. How do you get a UPS account and how much does it cost?
When the time comes to ship your products to Amazon’s warehouse, there are a couple of ways you can do it. First, you can load up the boxes in your car and drive them down to your nearest UPS store or packaging store and let them take it from there. Or, you can have UPS come to your house and pick up the products. If you’re only shipping one box, it may be a bit too costly to have them come to your house, but if you have multiple boxes, it may be the most cost effective. Hear Scott’s explanation of this simple task, on this episode.
I’m about to start using Amazon PPC. What kind of conversions am I looking for to know if I’ve got a good campaign going?
One of the most confusing parts of promoting your private label products on Amazon is learning how to build and manage effective pay per click campaigns. A listener who is just starting out on PPC asked what kind of conversion numbers she should be looking for from a campaign, and even though the variables are many, Scott’s got a general guideline that he suggests any Amazon seller should look for. He’s also going to explain what those numbers mean for you and your product sales.
Do you know how to dial in your Amazon PPC campaigns to be the most effective?
No matter how cool or beneficial your private label product is, you’ve got to get people to your product page before you’re going to make much profit selling it. That’s where Amazon PPC comes in (pay per click). It’s Amazon’s tool for placing advertising on a customer’s search results page that has to do with the items they are searching for… and it’s YOUR way to get your products seen by people who are looking for exactly what you’re selling. But PPC is not an easy thing to fine tune, and on this episode Scott walks you through the exact steps he uses when he’s setting up his own Amazon PPC campaigns. . OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
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Wed, 27 January 2016
It’s not uncommon for people who are thinking about starting an Amazon private label business to step into the ring expecting great things right away. It’s nice when that happens, but the truth is that it doesn’t happen very often. There’s lot of hard work required to get to the point that truly significant profit is coming in… that’s because most people don’t take into account the product costs, FBA fees, advertising costs, and other variables that bite into your profit margins. On this episode Scott reveals his December 2015 numbers, sales and costs, so you can get a realistic picture of what a successful Amazon business is really like.
The 4th quarter was not the outstanding success for Scott that some sellers experienced.
Most of the buzz in the Amazon sales community is that the 4th quarter is a time of incredible income and sales. The reason for the expectation is that Christmas (gift giving) is part of that time frame. While it is true that retail sales are generally much higher than normal, the 4th quarter is not that way for everyone. Scott’s one of those people. Why wasn’t it a big gain for him? The reason is very simple… and one Scott intended. What? Why would he intend to make less sales during the 4th quarter? Listen to this episode to find out his well reasoned purpose behind it.
One of the effects of competition in your niche.
When Scott first started his Amazon business in the fall of 2014, he got into a niche that didn’t have much competition. His products were seeing $10 to #12 margins regularly at that time. But as time has gone by more sellers have entered that niche area. As a result, the competition has become as much about pricing as anything else. What happens in that case? Everyone starts dropping their prices in an effort to get the lion’s share of the market, which isn’t really very good for anyone. Scott’s margins have dropped significantly since then. On this episode Scott talks for a good while about the dynamics of pricing wars and what you can do to protect yourself (and your private label products).
Why Scott believes it’s good to have a number of unique products for sale simultaneously.
It’s always better to NOT have all your eggs in one basket. Not only are you vulnerable to greater loss when your income is dependent on one product line, you’re also not enjoying the stability that can come from having multiple products. Why stability? Because the down trends in one niche will likely be offset by the “up” trends of products in another niche at any given time. That means your overall income is less of a roller coaster and more of a gentle incline. Scott’s got some intriguing thoughts on this subject and shares what he’s doing to expand his products on Amazon, so be sure you listen.
It’s easy to get discouraged when you’re selling private label on Amazon.
Almost every week in the TAS Facebook community somebody shares a screenshot of their product sales. It’s not uncommon to see $20K months, $30K months, and even more. It’s fine to have that as an ambition, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind so that you don’t become discouraged that your product sales are not at those levels. #1 - Those numbers don’t show all the fees and costs associated with making the sales. The actual profit is much less than those numbers. #2 - The people who are getting those kinds of sales have likely been working at it for a good deal of time. You can’t and shouldn’t expect your sales to match theirs right off the bat. And # 3 - well, you’ll have to listen to the episode to hear Scott’s other thoughts about this important issue. . OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
Links mentioned in this episode
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Mon, 25 January 2016
Every person who lists a private label product on Amazon is playing in Amazon’s playground. That means Amazon makes the rules, and man, do they set the rules! There are all kinds of guidelines and rules that govern how you list your products and a host of other things. You want to make sure you’re doing things right. Amazon is not shy about banning people from their sales platform for breaking the rules. Recently, some changes are happening within those rules, and they’re things you need to know about if you’re going to stay within the guidelines. Today’s episode features Karon Thackston, an Amazon listings copywriter whose business creates done-for-you Amazon listings for sellers. She’s got the low down on all the changes, so make sure you listen. Rolling it out changes a little bit at a time.Karon Thackston and her team deal with Amazon listings all day, every day. It’s their job to write incredible product descriptions and copy for Amazon sellers. As part of her role she interacts with seller support technicians often. Lately, she’s struck up a relationship with a support guy named Peter who’s been helping her address some of the inconsistencies within Amazon’s rules and system. Many of the changes we’re beginning to see are a result of these interactions. On this episode you’re going to hear how Amazon is rolling out small changes in certain product categories and how they might wind up being added to other categories as well. Why do some product listings have images in their descriptions but I can’t put them in mine?Listing your products on Amazon means that you have to play by Amazon’s rules. One of those rules has to do with the way product listings are formatted. Up until this point, basic Amazon sellers are not allowed to put images within their listings. But you still see images in some listings. That’s because Amazon extends special privileges to big name brands and what they call A+ sellers, as well as their own Amazon branded listings. It’s somewhat of an unfair advantage those companies have, but again, it’s Amazon’s rules that govern the listings. Character restrictions for bullet points in your product listing have changed!Previously, bullet points could only be so long, but Amazon has increased those (in certain categories) to 200 characters. Now your bullet points can be longer. But don’t get too excited. Today’s guest, Karon Thackston recommends that you not overstuff your bullet points with unneeded words and descriptions. She believes it will actually detract from your listing and cause shoppers to click away. Find out why she thinks so on this great interview episode of the Amazing Seller. Entering your keywords on the Amazon backend is not as simple as it may look.There can be lots of confusion about what format your keywords should be in when you enter them in your product description. Should they be comma separated? What about spacing? Should I include multi-word keywords? These and other issues are very important because the Amazon software handles each of them differently. Karon Thackston is on the show today to clearly define these keyword issues to help you get your products seen and purchased. You’ll want to hear this one, for sure. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEwww.TheAmazingSeller.com/86 - Karon’s first episode Amazon Advantage: Product Listing Strategies – Karon’s book (Use the code “scott20” to get 20% off) – NOTE: this is case sensitive www.MarketingWords.com – Karon’s company website focused on Amazon copywriting Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community |
Fri, 22 January 2016
These Ask Scott episodes are the highlight of the week for Scott. He just loves brainstorming problems to find solutions, and this is your chance to get your specific questions answered. You can listen to find out how. But Scott’s not satisfied with only doing these Friday Q&A episodes. He’s going to be doing a LIVE event as well! It’s coming up soon in Denver, Colorado and the space is limited due to the type of event it is. You can find out how to get yourself on the list to attend that live event by listening to this episode! The Amazon stats dashboard is not all that great. Any suggestions for finding daily product stats?A listener is a bit frustrated by the lack of usability of the Amazon stats dashboard inside his seller account. Scott agrees, the Amazon dashboard is not exactly user friendly. He’s got a great little hack to help you discover your daily product sales rather than seeing only the total sales of all their products. You’ll want to know how to do this, especially once you have more than one product in your Amazon lineup. Get all the details on this Q&A episode. When should I promote my seasonal product?A listener called in with a question about his seasonal product. It’s based around students, so the time of year it will likely sell more is right around the middle of August or the end of September when school is starting up. He wants to get his products ready and his listing live, but isn’t sure when he should begin promoting the product using Amazon PPC (pay per click) to drive traffic to the product. Scott loves the question and has a very specific answer for this listener, so be sure you check out what he’s got to say. Once my products got to Amazon, the MSKU changed? How can I correct the problem?A caller just shipped in his first set of products in two different boxes. When the boxes arrived they were checked in to the Amazon system, he can see that from his seller dashboard. Since both boxes were identical products with the same SKU numbers, they should look identical in the Amazon dashboard, but they don’t. One has a different MSKU number assigned to it and he’s being told that it’s a problem that he needs to fix. What’s he supposed to do? Scott’s got a simple solution for the guy, so be sure you listen to find out what he suggests. Could my product idea be too soft? There’s not many products or reviews.A listener who’s been doing retail arbitrage on Amazon is considering giving private label sales a try. He’s doing his product research and has found a product in the “hobbies and sports” category that he thinks might be a good one. But there are very few other products in the niche, none that have many reviews, and the sales rank is only average. He’s curious if the market for this product on Amazon is too soft, or if it’s a winner waiting to happen. Scott’s insights on this situation are very helpful, so don’t miss this one! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEwww.TheAmazingSeller.com/live - Scott’s upcoming event! www.StitchLabs.com - inventory control and management Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community
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Wed, 20 January 2016
If you spend any time in the online entrepreneur communities you’ll hear all kinds of negative things about getting involved in a partnership. But is it really all that risky or bad? On this episode Scott wants to address some questions he’s been getting about the wisdom of getting involved in a partnership for an Amazon business. There are pros and cons and you need to be aware of all of them going in. So take some time to listen to this episode, even if you’re not considering a partnership. You never know what’s going to be on your radar sometime down the road.
The first question you want to ask yourself about a partnership possibility.
A partnership may sound very tempting for a variety of reasons. But you need to go into it with your eyes wide open. The very first question you need to honestly ask yourself is the very simple “why.” Why do you want to go into a partnership. Are the reasons you’re considering a partnership important enough? Will those reasons sustain you throughout the course of your partnership? There’s lots of difficult decisions down the road that you may not be aware of, IF you’re not aware of the possibility ahead of time. That’s what this episode is all about, so be sure you listen.
What are the advantages of entering into a business partnership?
There are many advantages to partnerships, and Scott covers three of the biggest ones on this episode. One of the most obvious is if your partner is bringing in the cash to get your product purchased, advertised, and online to make profits. Clearly, if you’re struggling to get started, that’s a huge plus. You can also share the load of work and planning. But there are some disadvantages too, so be sure you take the time to listen to what Scott’s got to share on this episode.
What are the disadvantages of a business partnership?
It’s clear that one of the biggest disadvantages of a partnership is that you have someone else’s opinion and concerns to consider in every situation. You can’t go out and make decisions on the business the way that you think is best without discussing it with your partner. It’s like a marriage. You need to be willing to operate together in a way that is beneficial for both of you. Beyond that, you’ll have to share the profits, so the income opportunity is cut in half and as a result you’ll have to wait longer to see the personal benefit of your Amazon business. Listen in to this episode to hear the whole list of things to consider about partnership possibilities. The three different types of partnerships.
Partnerships are not all the same. There are at least three different ways you could be involved in a partnership. Some allow both partners to have a say in the business activities and directions, others do not. How do you know which type is best for your situation? What are the pitfalls of each that you should watch out for? On this episode of the Amazing Seller, Scott is going to walk you through all three types of partnerships and give you tangible examples of how each one would work. If you’re going to step into a partnership, Scott wants you to do it with your eyes wide open.
OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community
Scott’s story episode - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/145
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Mon, 18 January 2016
It’s a big deal when another person or company undercuts your Amazon product listing and begins selling an inferior product as if it is yours. It’s called hijacking and can be a very serious problem. Scott’s addressed this issue in a handful of episodes lately and today he’s chatting with an attorney, Ted Limus, who’s helped some clients of his take on hijackers and get them off the product listings. Scott’s got lots of questions for Ted about best practices for addressing this important issue in an effective way. Be sure you listen to get some great tips for handling hijackers.
The “ramp up” strategy this attorney uses to address product hijacking.
Attorney Ted Limus has discovered that the best way to approach the hijacking of one of his client’s listings is to start with the least threatening approach first, then escalate things as needed. He begins with a simple and kind email to the hijacker, asking them to do the right thing. The assumption is that the person on the other end of the communication has made a mistake and is giving them the benefit of the doubt. It’s a kinder, gentler way to approach the issue that gets results 50% of the time. You can hear how Ted escalates the process from there, on this episode.
You can write your own cease and desist letter.
A Cease and Desist letter is simply a documented correspondence that you send to a person who is breaking Amazon’s product listing rules, notifying them that you are aware of their infraction and that you are warning them that they must stop their activity on the listing or else you will take legal action. It’s fine for you to write your own C&D letter, but there are certain things you need to make sure you do in that letter to keep yourself out of legal trouble. On this episode, attorney Ted Limus shares the basics of what can and should not go into a cease and desist letter, so be sure to listen.
Is a Trademark really necessary?
Today’s guest, attorney Ted Limus, recommends that Amazon sellers who are making a decent profit on their product sales consider going through the process of registering a Trademark for their brand name. Doing so gives you a very strong legal footing, should a hijacker try to take over your listings. Amazon is much more likely to take action against a hijacker if you can easily prove your ownership of your brand through a trademark. But it’s important to note that you aren’t required by anyone to get a trademark, it’s just a good idea. Hear Ted speak to the process of securing a trademark and what to expect as a benefit, on this episode.
The best prevention against hijackers.
If you want to keep hijackers from taking over your product listings, there are some specific things you can do to make it less likely that your products will be targeted. First off, make sure your product is unique. Logos on the product, specialized packaging, combinations of unique products into bundles, and many other things can help. On this episode Ted Limus also shares something you can do with your product listing to inform your buyers of a way that they can watch for counterfeit products masquerading as yours. You can get those details by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller. . OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Ted’s website: www.TedLawFirm.com or call 626-993-7000
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/150 - Surround Yourself With LIke Minded People
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community
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Fri, 15 January 2016
Today’s show starts out with a great testimonial from a TAS listener who’s rocking it on Amazon with private label sales. It’s proof not only that this show is helping people take action every day, but also that Amazon private label sales is the real deal! You CAN make more than just a decent living, you can make a VERY NICE living selling on Amazon. This is the podcast that teaches you how to do it, step by step. Nothing is held back. Nothing is hidden. This particular episode is the weekly “Ask Scott” episode where you can ask your own private label questions. You’ll learn a lot from listening to these Friday episodes, so sit back, grab a pen and paper, and get ready to take notes because you’re going to learn a ton about Amazon Private Label.
What is the easiest way to figure out taxes and customs on imported products?
One of the places new Amazon sellers often make mistakes is in cutting their margins too close. One of the main things that goes into figuring out those margins is the “cost” of doing business. What goes into that cost? Lots of things: taxes, Amazon fees, shipping, customs fees, etc. On today’s episode a listener is trying to understand those margins before hand (a very smart idea) and asks Scott how he goes about determining the costs of his import fees and duties when importing products from China. You’ll learn a ton from Scott’s answer.
What determines your pricing changes throughout the year?
Pricing is one of the most undefinable things in building an Amazon private label business. How do you determine a good price? Does that price stay the same throughout the year? If it changes, when should you make those changes, and why? None of these question has easy answers and no one answer will fit all businesses and products. But there are some general approaches to pricing that prove to be helpful for most people. On this episode, Scott’s asked about how he prices his products and he shares a handful of helpful principles and tactics that most Amazon sellers find work most of the time. I bought an Amazon business with 4 existing product lines. How should I proceed?
Wow, this listener has his work cut out for him. He bought an existing Amazon private label business that has 4 different product lines already on the Amazon catalogue. How should he proceed? It’s a great question, and Scott’s answer centers around discovering which of those product lines will get the biggest bang for the buck. He walks through how he’d go about doing that on this episode, so be sure to listen - you’ll learn a lot! Do you use product management software?
A listener asks Scott if he uses any product management software to keep his product lines, vendors, invoicing, etc. straight. Scott’s simple answer? No. Scott doesn’t have anything against project management software but he finds that given what he’s doing, there’s only one tool that he needs to keep all of the things for his private label business organized: Google Drive and it’s suite of tools. You can hear how Scott uses Google drive on this episode.
OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask - Ask Scott your question.
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/150 - Episode on mindset and success.
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/32 - Scott’s $8000 customs mistake.
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/135 - Tools Scott uses daily.
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/126 - Episode where Scott discussed pricing.
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/live - Let Scott know your interest in a possible event. |
Wed, 13 January 2016
The temptation is always there to look at people who are successful and think that everything just happened to go their way. But that is seldom true. Most people who are very successful got to that point because of determination, a positive, can-do mindset, and hard work. That kind of mindset doesn’t come naturally for most people. We tend to let discouragement, difficulties, and missed opportunities sidetrack us from the goals we desire to reach. In this episode, Scott’s going to talk about the importance of mindset, surrounding yourself with the right people, and how each of those things impact your success in Amazon sales, and in life.
What kind of mindset do you have?
Is it a positive, can-do mindset, or is it pessimistic one? Your mindset is one of the things about you that most determines your level of accomplishment, success, and happiness. And the good news is that it’s one of the things that’s well within your control to change. It’s not always easy to change… in fact it can be quite hard, but it’s a change that will revolutionize your life once it’s made. So how do you go about changing your mindset? Scott has some great, actionable advice about that very subject, on this episode of The Amazing Seller, so make sure you stick around.
You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
Jim Rohn is credited with this timeless statement, and its truth resonates deeply in most people. So look around you. Who are you spending your time with? How are the impacting the way you look at life? The way you behave? The opportunities you have and the things you attempt? If you’ll take the time to look, you’ll begin to see just how true this statement is, and hopefully you’ll also begin to see that you can actually do something about it. On this episode Scott talks about how to surround yourself with people who are supportive of your private label dreams and gives you three practical ways you can begin to do it today.
How to meet great people who will support your dreams.
We’ve all met a “Debbie Downer,” someone who seems unable to say anything encouraging about the ambitions you’re pursuing. That’s not the kind of person you want to hang around for very long because she’ll begin to rub off on you, even if you’re the most positive person. How do you get out of those kinds of relationships and find relationships that will support you as you move to the levels of success you desire? One way is through the TAS Facebook community. It’s a place where so many like minded people hang out that you’re sure to find at least a few who think like you do and want what you want. Listen to Scott’s advice about how to use the community to find supportive relationships, on this episode.
Do you want to attend a Q & A hotseat event?
Scott’s been thinking how fun it would be to host an event for Amazon private label sellers, a sort of Q & A hotseat event where everyone could interact, help each other brainstorm issues and problems, and learn from each other as well as from a couple of speakers. It’s not an idea that’s fully formed yet, but Scott would like to know if you’re interested. It would be a very limited capacity event, and would be an event that would have an entry fee. If you’re at all interested, you can get your name on an information list to find out more details as they become available. Head over to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/live to get your name on the list. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEScott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community
BOOK: The Compound Effect
Amber Patterson’s story - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/140
Scott’s story - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/125
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/live - Let Scott know your interest in a possible event. |
Mon, 11 January 2016
One of the hardest things for international sellers is feeling motivated to get started when their particular market size and volume is only a fraction of what U.S. Amazon sellers have at their disposal. This episode of the podcast should be of great encouragement to international Amazon sellers because it features a guy from the U.K. who has launched his Amazon business to over $250,000 in sales in the U.K. alone. There are all kinds of lessons to learn from this one, so make sure you listen.
From dropshipping, to FBA, to Private Label sales in the future.
That’s the road Francisco followed, and he’s discovered that compared to everything else he’s done in terms of product sales, Amazon is THE best opportunity that exists, even in the U.K. market. He’s worked his butt off to get his products onto the Amazon platform and is now seeing the fruits of his labors. On this episode he shares the journey he’s been on, the things he’s learned trying to run a seller fulfillment business, and tell you exactly why he’s switched to FBA.
What might happen if you could get exclusive sales rights to your products?
Francisco did a very smart thing when he approached his suppliers about gaining exclusive rights to sell their products on Amazon. Why would he want to do that? First off, it eliminates the issue of bidding wars over identical products. Secondly, it gives him more leverage when hijackers come around and try to take over his listing. And he doesn’t have to worry about someone else buying the same product from his supplier and becoming his competition. You can hear how Francisco did it, on this episode.
Another way to deal with product listing hijackers.
Once Francisco had his products on Amazon, and had gained exclusive rights from his supplier to sell the products, he was making incredible numbers of sales every day (in the 100s). When someone tried to hijack his listing, he responded with a new tactic. He looked over the hijacker’s other items, and realizing that they were nothing special and that he could easily find the supplier of those products… you could say he made an offer to the hijacker that he couldn’t refuse. Find out exactly what he did to get rid of his hijacker immediately, on this episode.
Why there’s no such thing as “LUCK” when it comes to success in Amazon sales.
Many people say that they got lucky at various stages of their Amazon sales journey. But Scott doesn’t buy it. The fact is that the supposed “luck” wouldn’t have happened at all if people like today’s guest hadn’t taken action in the first place. It’s action that matters, not luck. Find out how taking action enabled Francisco to sell $250,000 of product a month! OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEScott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community
Scott’s episode about hijacking of product listings - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/105 |
Fri, 8 January 2016
Welcome to the Ask Scott session of the Amazing Seller Podcast. This is where you, and sellers like you are able to ask their practical questions about private label sales on Amazon. Scott Voelker has learned stuff the easy way, the hard way, and by interviewing experts on Amazon and related issues. He’s got a lot of advice regarding a variety of issues surrounding Amazon sales and would love to answer your question. Find out how you can ask your own question on this episode of The Amazing Seller!
When should I decide it’s time to give up a product due to competition?
On this episode a listener asks a question that almost everyone faces at some time. He created a product, got it listed and was making decent sales, then temporarily ran out of funds. When he was able to get back to the product, he found a ton of competition and his product is far down in the search rankings. He’s wondering if he should just give up on this product and try another, or are there ways to test a comeback of sorts? You’ll love to hear Scott’s “can do” answer to this question, on this episode of the show.
I love books and hear that selling used books on Amazon is pretty profitable. Could you talk about that?
This is a great question, and from what Scott has heard, selling used books on Amazon is still a pretty profitable way to make some cash. But it’s not the private label model that Scott focuses on. That approach is called arbitrage and there are lots of great podcasts and resources that teach how to effectively do retail arbitrage. On this episode, Scott recommends a great resource for learning about selling used books on Amazon, especially textbooks, coffee table books, and others.
How is promoting a product off of Amazon different than promoting on Amazon?
Scott often recommends that Amazon sellers also expand their brand to places other than Amazon, for the sake of stability and reach. A listener asks about the ways Scott recommends promoting and marketing products that are not on the Amazon platform. It’s amazing to hear Scott riff on this subject even though he doesn’t do any sales off of Amazon currently. He’s got tons of knowledge about the online space overall and gives some very practical, actionable things this listener can do.
The next Private Label Workshop is going to start soon!
If you’re new to Private Label sales on Amazon, the best news in the world is that you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Scott regularly holds private label workshops where he walks through the details (yes, the details) of the 5 steps he takes to launch every one of his new products on Amazon. He includes finding the right product, dealing with suppliers, promotions, product listings, packaging - everything you need to get started doing your own Amazon private label business. If you’d like to attend one of these interactive video workshops, be sure to listen to this episode to find out how. And yes, it’s free! . OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
www.Periscope.tv - find Scott on Periscope - @ScottVoelker
www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/56 - Greg Mercer and the Jungle Scout interview
www.CamelCamelCamel.com - A sales tool for Amazon sellers.
www.AWebber.com - Email service Scott uses.
www.AskJordan.net - Jordan Malik’s podcast about FBA arbitrage (for book sales)
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community
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Wed, 6 January 2016
Most Amazon Private Label sellers have heard the term “product hijacking,” but what does it mean and how does it happen? On this episode of The Amazing Seller you’re going to get the full story of this underhanded practice and come to understand why people do it, what they’re trying to gain, how it happens, and most importantly, what you can do to protect yourself. And you’re going to hear it all from a previous Amazon employee who dealt with these kinds of issues in his responsibilities with Amazon.
What does it mean for your product to be hijacked?
Your product listing can be hijacked when another Amazon seller comes onto the listing and claims that they are selling an identical product as yours, but really are not. They will send in their products to Amazon, begin changing details on your listing, maybe even the pictures, and in time, will completely take over the listing and rob you of your sales. In this episode you’re going to learn how to setup your listings and your brand in a way that will make the likelihood of someone hijacking it much less, and will set you up for greater security in your Amazon business.
What steps should you take if your listing is hijacked?
Scott’s guest, a previous Amazon employee named James, shares a number of simple, common sense steps to take if your product listing becomes hijacked. Many of the steps work best if you’ve kept accurate records of the process and details you went through as you set up your product. On this episode you’ll learn what those steps are, why they are important, and how you can prepare for the day your listing may be hijacked. This is powerful information, and you’ll only hear it on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
Why getting your brand into Amazon’s brand registry is vitally important.
Amazon’s brand registry is the company’s way of identifying brands and linking them to their own products within the Amazon catalogue. Private Label sellers who are serious about getting their product listings the fullest amount of protection from hijackers need to make sure that their brand and each of their product listings are submitted to the Brand Registry. In this episode an Amazon specialist is going to tell you how to do that, step by step. How to prove that an imitation of your product is not the real thing.
Most product listing hijackers take over a listing in order to sell their product that is similar to the one originally on the listing. If your listing is hijacked, you’ll need to be able to prove that the product being represented in the hijacked listing is not your product. There are some simple but very effective things you can do to customize your product and packaging that makes it a slam dunk to prove that a product is or is not yours. On this episode Scott’s guest, a former Amazon employee, is going to give you those simple things so you can protect your brand from hijackings. . OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEwww.TheAmazingSeller.com/145 - previous episode about highjacking
www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com
www.ProsperShow.com - The event James is part of.
TIP: Ask your Amazon technician to look up your producct on csi.Amazon.com
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
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Mon, 4 January 2016
One of the most important phrases you’ll hear from Scott Voelker on The Amazing Seller is the phrase “take action.” It’s become Scott’s slogan and has motivated so many people to step out in spite of the negative voices they hear. As a result, many people are creating their own substantial income through Amazon private label sales. Today’s episode is about equipping you to be one of those action takers, one of those people who experiences the kind of success that you dream of. Toward that end Scott is chatting with John Lee Dumas, entrepreneur and podcaster about his new “Freedom Journal” and how it can help you accomplish your #1 goal within the next 100 days. It’s a practical tool that John guarantees will set you up for the success you’re looking for. Find out more on this episode. F.O.C.U.S. - Follow one course until success.Just as Scott encourages the TAS community to “take action” every week, John Lee Dumas talks often about the power of F.O.C.U.S. What does that mean? Simply, it’s John’s version of what Scott’s been saying: Follow One Course Until Success. There are many, many “weapons of mass distraction” out there (John’s phrase) and they will pull against your desires to accomplish significant things in your life. You need to learn the discipline to overcome those distracting things so that you can reach the level of success you want. This episode is a primer for you, leading to understand that kind of focus and how you can begin taking steps to developing it in your everyday practices. Be sure you listen. Those who are successful know how to set and accomplish goals.In interviewing thousands of successful entrepreneurs John Lee Dumas has discovered one commonality between them all. Those who are successful on any level are the people who know how to set and reach goals. For those people there are no excuses. No turning back. They wisely set S.M.A.R.T. goals (more on that in a bit) and take action. Today John Lee Dumas shares why he’s so committed to helping people discover how to set and accomplish those kinds of goals and what he’s doing to ensure that more and more people can learn the skills necessary to enable them to add that skill to their toolbox. It’s an important episode Scott’s got for you today, so be sure you take the time to listen. What are S.M.A.R.T. goals?S.MA.R.T. is a tried and true acronym that many people have used to help themselves set and accomplish goals, and it’s one John Lee Dumas recommends and uses in his new book “The Freedom Journal.” S.M.A.R.T. stands for “Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. If you create goals that adhere to those 5 characteristics you’ll have no problem accomplishing them. John is so convinced of that he’s included the S.M.A.R.T. methodology as a key component of his new “Freedom Journal.” Find out more about the journal below and by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller. Why John created the “Freedom Journal” and what it can accomplish for you.What difference would it make if you knew without a doubt that you would accomplish your #1 goal within the next 100 days? What would it do for your confidence? Your work ethic? Your commitment to success? John Lee Dumas is convinced that certainty like that will move you to take action like never before and make the world a better place in the long run. That’s why he created “The Freedom Journal,” a practical, daily tool to help you set your goals and systematically accomplish them day by day. He guarantees that if you follow The Freedom Journal, you WILL accomplish the #1 goal on your list within 100 days of beginning. He’s tested it with many users so far and stands by that statement. Find out how you can get your copy of The Freedom Journal and how the proceeds for this amazing resource are going entirely to charity, on this episode. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEJohn’s new book: The Freedom Journal www.TheAmazingSeller.com/96 - Kate’s episode Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community Scott’s story episode - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/125 BOOK: The Compound Effect NEW To The Blog and Podcast?I created a Page Just for You called…START HERE! If you enjoyed this episode share the love with your friends…Click To Tweet the show. Subscribe To Be The First To Receive Updates and NEW Podcast Episodes |
Fri, 1 January 2016
Scott loves the way these Q&A episodes encourage action taking in relevant, practical ways. Taking action on your Amazon Private Label business is the most important thing you can do to see success happen. As you listen today, carefully listen for the things that Scott’s suggesting in his answers that you can do. Today. Now. To get your Amazon private label business moving forward in a new way. You can make changes now if you’re just willing to take action and put things to work for you. So don’t just be a consumer, be an action taker! It could be the difference between huge success and none at all. Done is better than perfect, so don’t wait to take action.One of the most crippling mistakes Amazon private label sellers make is to try to get all their ducks in a perfect little row before they take any action. That’s a mistake. You won’t know if what you’re investing all your time in is actually worth it until you start taking action. That means that it’s possible that all the work you’re putting into getting things perfect are wasted efforts. You won’t know if that’s the case until you get things out there to start testing the market. Done is better than perfect. Scott’s got lots of passionate things to say about that topic at the beginning of this episode, so be sure you give it a listen to get your dose of inspiration for the day! Why am I not getting enough impressions on my Amazon PPC campaign?A listener called in to ask Scott about a PPC campaign because the impressions being received were not as many as expected. What are the reasons a PPC campaign could NOT be driving traffic? Scott’s got some insightful things to share about this issue and one of the main things has to do with keywords in your listing: where you use them and how you use them. You’ll get all the details on how to maximize the money you’re investing in PPC and how to make sure the keywords you’re using are the right ones, on this episode of The Amazing Seller. Amazon Seller Support tells me not to do PPC for variations? Is that right?A listener has a few products that are similar, but are slightly different (color, size, etc.). Those differences are what Amazon considers to be “variations.” This listener wants to drive traffic to all of his variations using Amazon PPC but is having trouble doing it. The seller support folks at Amazon have told him that setting up PPC campaigns on products that are variations of each other will cause him to compete with himself for those keywords - costing him money and cutting down on his effectiveness. Is that right? Hear Scott’s answer and how you can tweak things just a bit to get the most bang for your PPC buck, on this episode. What are the pros and cons of starting with a minimum budget?One of the strategies Scott recommends often is to set a minimum budget and get started with a private label project in order to prove to yourself that the model is real and can work. It’s worked for many people who are now successful at Amazon private label sales, but is it the right way for everyone to get started? On this episode a listener asks a question about that approach. She wants to know the pros and cons of starting that way VS a traditional product launch approach. You’ll want to hear Scott’s response. He’s got lots of good stuff to share. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEScott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community Amber’s episode - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/140 www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com NEW To The Blog and Podcast?I created a Page Just for You called…START HERE! If you enjoyed this episode share the love with your friends…Click To Tweet the show. Subscribe To Be The First To Receive Updates and NEW Podcast Episodes |
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