Wed, 30 September 2015
There’s a ton of noise going on lately about hijacked product listings. It sounds pretty scary, and in some ways it could be if you don’t know how to stop it, but as always Scott’s got some great, simple, actionable advice for you as to how you can protect yourself from your products being hijacked. Don’t let it rattle you. You CAN take practical steps to safeguard your product listings from hijackers… now there’s no guarantee all of this will prevent your product from being hijacked, but it will definitely make it much, much harder for it to occur. Listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear all the details. What is a “hijacked” product on Amazon? You’ve done the research to find and purchase your first product. You’ve listed it on Amazon. You’ve got it labeled as your unique brand. Then suddenly you no longer have ownership or control of the “buy box” on your own listing! Somebody has taken over your listing by sending products to Amazon that they “say” are identical to yours… but they CAN’T be. You’re the only one selling your products. You had them created just for you! Do you see the problem? Your sales will be impacted if you don’t do something to remove the hijacker’s products from your listing. How do you do it? That’s what this episode is all about so be sure to listen.
What Scott recommends you do as the very first step if you see that your product has been hijacked is to send a “Cease and Desist” letter to the hijacker. It’s basically a legal-sounding, somewhat threatening letter warning the person of what could happen if they don’t stop positioning their product as yours. They are breaking the Amazon terms of service and could be kicked off the platform, so you’re using that possibility to motivate them to remove their product on their own. What exactly should you letter say? Scott reads an effective C&D letter verbatim on this episode, so make sure you put it on slow play and get every word!
One of the things Amazon has put in place to help you safeguard your listings from hijackers is the “Brand Registry.” It’s a page on Amazon’s site where you can go to register yourself as the owner of your brand, give Amazon a lot of details, and set yourself in a very good defensive position should your products ever be hijacked. Scott recommends that every Amazon Private Label seller register their brand immediately, the minute they begin putting their products on the Amazon sales platform. Find out how on this episode of The Amazing Seller or by using the link to the Amazon Brand Registry included in the show notes.
What? Why would you want to buy the product that’s posing as yours? Because when you contact Seller Support at Amazon they are going to ask you to document exactly why the product listed is not your product. That means you’ll need pictures of the product, detailed examples of how it is different from yours, and the overall ability to prove that it is not your product at all. So the minute you notice your product listing has been taken over, order one of the products. You’ll be that much ahead when it comes to rectifying the situation because you’ll be able to prove your product’s uniqueness sooner.
It’s OK to put labels or stickers on your products to “brand” them when you first start selling on Amazon. But you can’t be satisfied with that. Stickers are too easy to fake. You want to do something unique that will make it much harder for a hijacker to create a fake of your product. Things like engraving, custom packaging, or combining your product with a related accessory that will be hard for the imposter to source, all those and more can help you set your product apart. Scott’s got other ideas too, so listen to the podcast to get all his thoughts.
Free Private Label Course - www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com Amazon Brand Registry - https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/200955930 The TAS Facebook advice from Jeremy - https://www.facebook.com/groups/TAS.Private.Group/permalink/518908858277252/ Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community |
Mon, 28 September 2015
Every person who takes on the challenge of building their own business through Amazon’s Private Label options dreams of hitting it big with real product success from the start. Today’s episode highlights a guy who did just that. Scott Thomas and his partner stepped out of the ecommerce realm to try their hand at Amazon simply because the Amazon Sales platform is such a powerful machine for drawing in customers and closing sales. Even with their experience in Ecommerce they were shocked at how quickly their products took off. Hear the whole story on this episode.
Scott and his partner put in their first order from a supplier in China and received it within a few months rather than having it sent directly to Amazon. They are very glad they did because there were a number of things wrong with the order. If it had reached Amazon as it was shipped things would have gone very wrong. Scott recommends that every Amazon Seller check their first couple of orders themselves to make sure everything is dialed in and the supplier knows exactly what to do every time. Hear more of Scott’s advice on the Amazing Seller.
Scott Thomas and his partner have gone through Scott Voelker’s material and knew they could get sales and reviews by offering discounts on their product. But they had a hunch that if they had full price sales within the first few days of their product being listed, they’d bounce higher in the rankings almost immediately. So they explained what they were doing to 20 close friends and asked them to purchase their product at full price to help them get things rolling. Those 20 sales came in within a few days and things happened exactly as they suspected. Find out more about how Scott combined that tactic with Amazon PPC in this episode.
Scott Thomas discovered that one of the best ways to find out what consumers want is to spend time reading posts in the forums where your ideal customers hang out. They often talk about specific products and their gripes and gratitude surrounding those products. From there a ton of ideas come up that enable Scott to make the modifications that people buying their products actually want. That’s just one of Scott’s tactics and you can hear the rest by listening to this episode.
If you’ve never attended one of Scott’s free live workshops to learn the basics of how he sells products on Amazon, you’re missing out. Scott walks through is product selection and launch process step by step so you know exactly what to do. And as a bonus, he answers questions at the end of every workshop session. If you want to connect with Scott and other Amazon Sellers as a part of the next workshop, you can! Go to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop to sign up.
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community Get your Amazing Seller Tshirt - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/shirt (all proceeds go to charity) www.TheAmazingSeller.com/56 - Greg Mercer’s view on prodcut research. Jungle Scout - product sourcing software |
Fri, 25 September 2015
Scott’s got another great edition of “Ask Scott” on tap for you today. This is YOUR opportunity to get your questions answered about Amazon FBA, Private Labeling, Product Launching, and a whole boatload of other stuff having to do with Amazon sales. And you’ll get answers from Scott Voelker, a guy who’s been there, done it, and is still doing it successfully every single day. Scott is not one of those guys who teases you in with a little bit of knowledge and then tries to sell you a course to fill in the blanks. He doesn’t hold anything back. If you have a question, he’ll answer it as fully as he can. So ask your question by going to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask and Scott will see what he can do to include your question in an upcoming edition of “Ask Scott.”
Scott often refers to setting up a landing page and one of the services he uses to do that is called LeadPages. It’s a ready-made sales/landing page that you can direct people to in order to get them signed up on your customer mailing list. A listener asks Scott how he can go about setting up a LeadPage for his business when he doesn’t have a website. Scott’s got good news for him - you don’t have to have a website in order to use LeadPages. Find out the details and hear Scott’s advice on setting up an email follow-up sequence as well by listening to this episode.
One of Scott’s listeners is a bit confused because he’s a manufacturer and is putting his products on Amazon to test the waters. He’s doing merchant fulfillment instead of Amazon FBA (fulfilled by Amazon) and is NOT seeing his product in the “buy box.” Why is that? Could it have to do with the fact that he’s not using FBA? Could it be that a competitor is hijacking his product listing? Listen to Scott’s answer to get the full story.
A new Amazon seller asks Scott a question relating to seller feedback. Seller feedback is the place where purchasers of your products are able to leave comments and ratings about the service you gave them. This person’s customer left a pretty good product review (4 stars) but did it in the seller feedback area. Should the seller remove the comments? Should they contact the buyer and ask them to leave it in the Amazon Product Review section? Scott’s advice is spot on, as always. Find out what it is by listening to this episode.
It’s true. Amazon has recently changed its terms of service regarding product giveaways. It’s a topic that’s getting lots of buzz and has many people worried that their giveaways to generate product reviews are going to earn them a slap by Amazon. Is this true? Scott’s not all that worried about it and is continuing to do his product giveaways as he always has. Can you guess why? Find out his thinking on this 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 feedback/review email sequence - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/email The Episode about landing pages - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/24
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Wed, 23 September 2015
Scott loves bringing case studies to the TAS community. It’s one of the best ways to see what’s working, the hurdles that Amazon sellers face every step of the way, and the kind of success that everyday people can achieve if they are willing to take action. This conversation is with a long-time friend of Scott’s who has been around since the beginning of this podcast. Bill has moved from retail arbitrage to private label sales and his first product is now selling 30 units a day or more. How did Bill do it? Scott’s got all the details for you in this episode.
Many people have great success doing the legwork required to pull of a successful retail arbitrage business, but Bill feels he’s not the kind of person who’s cut out for it. He was able to make some money but found some of the limitations and difficulties involved in arbitrage to be hurdles he didn’t want to have to get over. When he got into private label sales he enjoyed the kind of research, product sourcing, and brand building required and found it much more aligned with the kind of work he wanted to do. Find out all the details of retail arbitrage VS private label sales in this episode.
Large Chinese product sourcing companies like Alibaba make it easy for Amazon sellers to find products that match their criteria. But sourcing products from them also has its disadvantages. Bill saw that if he sourced his products from a common source like that, they could be easily imitated or even hijacked, so he went another route. How did he go about it? By going directly to a manufacturer. You’ll have to listen to the entire episode to find out all the details!
Scott’s guest today is a student in his Private Label Classroom and followed Scott’s recommended launch sequence. As a result he’s getting those 30 sales a day in record time! It’s a proven system that works when you take it step at a time, and Bill’s story proves it. Find out how Bill went about launching his product, got reviews, used PPC, and much, much more on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
The guy you grab a drink with after work is probably not going to understand your entrepreneurial spirit. Your parents or siblings may not get it. But you’ve got to have the support and encouragement all the same. Where do you find it? In a mastermind or discussion group that is focused on accomplishing the same type goals you are. Scott has created his TAS Facebook community to help Amazon Private Label sellers come around each other for support, encouragement, tips, and help. You’re free to join, anytime. Listen to this episode or use the links below to become part of the group.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.UpgradedImages.com Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community Scott’s private label classroom - www.PrivateLabelClassroom.com |
Mon, 21 September 2015
Way back in episode 8 Scott gave you a very simple, step by step launch sequence that he recommended at the time. In today’s episode he’s going back to that launch plan to tweak and update it based on changes that have happened on Amazon and additional pieces of software or technology that make the process a bit easier or more streamlined. If you’ve been considering the launch of an Amazon Private Label product, you really have no excuse now because Scott is going to show you how to do it successfully in this episode.
Do sales and reviews from family members do any good on Amazon?
You’ll hear a strange mix of answers on this one. Some people have had family member reviews vanish, or the family member never even receives the opportunity to leave a review on Amazon. Others have had no problem. What makes the difference? The honest answer is that we don’t know. Amazon’s criteria for determining what are “family” reviews and what are not is hard to pin down but we do know this. All reviews matter when you can get them, so you want to ask your family and friends to help you out with a review, or at least try. Scott’s got lots of great advice about getting reviews on this amazing episode of The Amazing Seller, so give it a listen.
What is the difference between “verified” reviews on Amazon and “unverified” reviews… and does it really matter?
The difference between the two is pretty simple. A “verified” review is a review from a person that Amazon is able to track as an actual purchaser of the product being reviewed. Even if they purchased the product using a discount code, it was still an actual sale, so it counts as a “verified” review. An “unverified” review is exactly what it sounds like… Amazon knows the person did not purchase the product. Does it matter? Not always. When you launch your product you’re just wanting to get as many stars and numbers on your rating scale as possible. The average buyer doesn’t typically notice whether a review is verified or not, but they do notice whether you have 2 reviews or 200. Find out more about it on this episode.
You can use a Facebook fan page to promote your products AND build your email list.
One of the important steps Scott has in his launch process is the task of building a Facebook fan page that focuses on a topic related to your product. You’re doing this for a couple of great reasons. #1 - you’re building a community around the niche area your product is aimed at. You’ll be able to present offers to them, conduct surveys about your product, and offer free resources to help them. But you’ll also be able to use the page to solicit sign-ups for your email list and target special offers through Facebook ads. Don’t know how to do that? Great! Give this episode a listen and you’ll find out!
If you don’t have a follow-up email sequence to reel in your customers, you’re missing out!
Once a person purchases your product you’ve discovered something important about them. They actually WANT what you have to sell! You’ve got to be sure to follow up with them to make sure they are happy with your product, to solicit a review and seller feedback from them, AND (maybe most importantly) get their email address added to your “customer list.” You can do most of that through Amazon’s built in communication channels. You can also use inserts in your products. But how it all works requires some explanation, like what you’re going to hear on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
The original “How to Launch a Product” podcast - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/8
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
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Fri, 18 September 2015
TAS 100 : How To Choose and Launch Private Label Products on Amazon in 2016 (Round Table Discussion)
You’d better buckle up for this episode of The Amazing Seller! It’s over one hour and 15 minutes long… and for great reason! Scott’s hosting a “round table” episode with 3 three other Amazing Sellers - Chris Schaeffer, Rich Kibble, and Danny Brewer. They’re talking about how to launch products, changes to Amazon’s algorithms, marketing strategies, setting up your own ecommerce site, and tons of other great stuff. You’ll want to take notes and listen to this one more than once because there’s just TOO MUCH information to digest at one time.
Do you have the right mindset to be a successful Amazon seller?
What kind of mindset is that? It’s one that believes in the Amazon model and that anyone can be successful if they follow the steps Scott outlines. It’s a mindset that won’t give up even when disappointments or setbacks come. It’s a mindset that doesn’t try shortcuts, but patiently does what needs to be done each step of the way. It’s a mindset that surrounds itself with other people who are doing the same things, to receive encouragement and be an encouragement. It’s a mindset that takes action, over and over again. Find out more about how to be an Amazing Amazon Seller on this episode.
The fundamentals of building an Amazon Private Label business stay the same…
but you have to learn to be flexible as some of the particulars change. Over the last few years Scott’s formula for product research and product launch has proven to still work. His strategies for using reviews and PPC still get results. But since the Amazon market is getting more crowded, you’ll need work harder at those things and also add more effort to differentiating your product from others. You’ve got to stay flexible and be creative to make it work, but it still works.
What about the stuff going around that Amazon is cracking down on review groups?
It is concerning to think that potentially hundreds of reviews for your products could vanish because Amazon deems them to have been “paid for” through a review group. But is it really something to be THAT concerned about? In this episode of The Amazing Seller Danny Brewer says that so far it’s all seemed like smoke without a lot of fire. He still uses review groups to do what he calls his “aggressive product launches.” But other people say that they’ve had reviews vanish without notice. What do you think? What does today’s guest panel think? Find out more by listening to this episode.
You need to differentiate your Amazon products, but how do you go about doing that?
There are many ways to make your products stand out, but one of the guests on today’s episodes has a great trick: He finds sellers that are offering products that are the same or similar to what he’s offering, and goes into their seller profile. There he can see everything they’re offering. He might decide to carry a product that is like something that competitor is doing, or he might get a great idea from browsing around the items they offer. Either way it expands his possibilities and helps him build a business not just a successful product. Hear more ways of making your company pop, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/23 - Chris Schaeffer’s previous episode
Rich’s episode - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/53
Episode that features Jungle Scout - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/56 (with Greg Mercer… and includes a video showing how its used)
The 500 dollar challenge episode - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/68
Karon Thaxton’s tips on benefits VS features - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/86
Find out about the 5 steps to launching your product in Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
Simple Keyword Inspector - http://www.keywordinspector.com/simple/index.php
Episode with Steve Chou about ecommerce sites - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/93 |
Wed, 16 September 2015
The 4th quarter is the undisputed champion in terms of retail sales in the United States. Amazon is one of the most popular marketplaces out there and as an Amazon Seller you’d be wise to maximize your products and product listings for the 4th quarter so you can make the most of this natural time of consumer activity. This episode is focused on helping you do exactly that. Listen in as Scott covers 5 basic tips to get yourself ready for the 4th quarter. And as a bonus, he throws in an additional 6th tip.
If you don’t have enough cash on hand to get your private label products ready for the 4th quarter, you can do something else to build up your business.
It’s called Retail Arbitrage. Simply put, you’re purchasing existing products at discounted prices - either through stores or online - and reselling them for higher prices on Amazon, using your FBA account. Many sellers use this strategy to get started on Amazon, making extra cash that they can then roll back into an Amazon Private Label business. Where do you find these discounted products? On clearance racks, in thrift stores, at garage sales, anywhere that deals are to be found. Hear Scott’s advice about using Retail Arbitrage to boost your income to eventually get into a private label business, no this episode of The Amazing Seller.
If you don’t plan your inventory for the 4th quarter now, you’re going to have trouble.
One of the biggest problems private label sellers have in the 4th quarter is getting behind on their inventory. It never fails that sales or demand are higher than expected and they run out of product. That’s never a good thing since you’re sourcing from a manufacturer or wholesaler and will have to wait at least a few weeks to be restocked. Plan now to have enough product to last you through the 4th quarter sales season. Scott’s got stacks of his best selling product in his garage already and is gearing up for a big 4th quarter as a result. Find out what more you can do on this episode.
To make the most of the 4th quarter you need to get your seller account and products up in the Amazon rankings.
How do you do that? By generating traffic to your products, converting that traffic to sales, then appealing to those customers for reviews and feedback on the product they bought. It’s really as simple as that. One of the best ways to start that cycle is through Amazon PPC. That’s “pay per click” advertising, which puts your products in the view of those who come to Amazon searching for itit.. and that starts the ball rolling. You’ve got to invest in PPC now and throughout the 4th quarter to get your products ranking higher throughout the selling season. Hear Scott’s recommendations on how to go about it, on this episode. Now is the time to optimize your listing by testing the elements you include in it.
By the time the 4th quarter gets into full swing you want your listing to be optimized to its fullest. That’s why you should be testing the elements included in your listing now, so you have time to dial it in and get the most out of the high traffic season ahead. Experiment with images, verbiage, titles, bullet points - do anything you can to test your listing for peak efficiency and conversions. You can find out more about how to go about it on this episode of The Amazing Seller. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
Google Trends to discover sales history and trends.
www.CamelCamelCamel.com - use to research sales history
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community |
Mon, 14 September 2015
Most people who listen to this show or try to get a business started through Amazon FBA live in the United States. But Scott wants to offer help to everyone, no matter where they live. That’s part of what motivated this episode of the Amazing Seller. Scott chats with an Amazon seller from Israel, Yinon Shiryan and discovered that while many of the tips and tricks are the same, there are some very unique things that International Sellers have to deal with that make it a more difficult journey. But Yinon’s story is very encouraging because he’s persevered and overcome all of those hurdles. Hear his story on this episode!
Why Yinon got started trying Amazon sales.
Like most people, Yinon was already working a job that paid his bills, but he found himself never having time to get to the projects and other things her really wanted to do. His mind was dead after a full day of work. He heard about Amazon sales from a friend and was very interested. After only a little bit of research he decided to take the plunge and get started. He found a very popular product from a local supplier and looked to see what it sold for on Amazon. The margins weren’t very big, but he decided to go for it anyway. After stumbling through the process he has made his way to a very successful business. Find out how he got from there to here, in this edition of The Amazing Seller.
The obstacles International Sellers face are huge!
There are shipping issues, account issues, and support issues from Amazon. One of the most surprising things Yinon discovered was that Amazon support would not return calls to numbers that were outside the U.S. So he had to get creative, using a combination of Google Hangouts and another app to connect with Amazon support and get the help he needed. Yinon’s story shows how a commitment to reach a goal combined with massive action can propel anyone into a successful Amazon Sales business. Hear the entire story on this episode.
Making sales, even with a terrible listing.
When Yinon first started his Amazon Sales business, he admits he didn’t know what he was doing. His first listings, in his words, were “horrible.” He didn’t understand English as well as he needed to, so he had a very hard time optimizing his listings for keywords. But within a few weeks he was making sales anyway. What he discovered was that his product quality was very high compared to others in his niche and even though he was asking a higher price than others, he was beginning to make sales. At one point he dropped his prices to see if it would generate more sales and his number of sales actually went down. It’s a testament to value perception and the importance of having a quality product. Get all the details on this episode.
Variations of products have enabled Yinon’s products to rise in the Amazon algorithm.
Multiple listings for the same type of product, but with variations, has enabled Yinon’s products to gain a broader reach than many products do. His sales rank has benefitted from this and he’s glad that he chose a product with so many varieties. Yinon and Scott both feel that when you set up your product, you should list it as having variations so that should the time come when you want to add variations, you’re already set up to do so. Find out more about Yinon’s story and how variations are helping his products rank, on this episode of The Amazing Seller. 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 |
Sat, 12 September 2015
Today’s episode is one of Scott’s “Bonus Episodes” covering his income through his Amazon Business for August of 2015. These episodes are designed to be an encouragement to you, to show you that a real income can be provided through an Amazon sales business done the right way. That’s what The Amazing Seller podcast is all about.
So grab a pencil and paper to take notes and listen in as Scott reveals the actual numbers of his business - expenses, profit, sales, everything. It’s one of the most open episodes you’ll hear. He’s going to open up not only with his numbers, but with the lessons he’s learned over the past month.
OUTLINE OF THIS Q & A EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
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Fri, 11 September 2015
It’s always nice to have a trusted and experienced person to ask about questions that you have, in any area of life. That’s what Scott hopes these Friday “Ask Scott” episodes can be for you. He’s got 3 (actually 6) questions lined up today dealing with everything from customs fees to hijacked product listings. It’s a great show with some very practical, relevant content that should help you avoid some pitfalls and ramp up your business.
What is this I hear about a $2,500 limit on product costs to avoid customs fees?
There is a little bit of truth to the question, but it’s not that you avoid customs fees altogether. What happens is this: When you order products from China or other territories outside the United States, and the total product cost is over $2,500, your products are bumped into a different category where your order is processed by customs manually. That incurs additional customs fees that you will have to pay. Scott’s not sure if $2,500 is the exact limit, but received that information from a DHL representative. Listen to this episode to learn how Scott avoids that fee now.
Scott, help! My product listing has been hijacked!
It’s a very maddening thing when you go through the work to get your private label products purchased and sent in to Amazon and then someone else takes advantage of all your work by listing their product on your listing and works hard to get the “buy box.” What should you do? That’s the exact situation one caller is in and he asked Scott how to handle the situation. Scott’s response includes a “cease and desist” letter that one of the TAS community members uses to address those issues in her business. You can listen to hear how she uses the letter and what kind of response she gets.
When sourcing products through Alibaba, do you focus only on factories or manufacturers, or do you use any company?
The Alibaba listings can be confusing, especially when many companies have similar names. In today’s episode a listener asks Scott what to do when there’s an “XYZ wholesale company” and an “XYZ manufacturing company,” and an “XYZ Medical company” and they all offer the same or similar products. Should he go with the one that seems like the actual manufacturer or does it make a difference? Scott’s answer is focused more on the terms of the deal than the type of company it is, and he goes into his thinking in detail, so listen in!
If you’d like to get your Amazon FBA or Private Label question answered…
All you have to do is ask! Go to www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask and leave your own voice mail, asking your question. Scott would love to include your question on an upcoming episode and answer it at the same time! Don’t be shy… get over there right now and ask your question!
OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Ask your question: www.TheAmazingSeller.com/Ask
Find Scott’s Periscope sessions www.TheAmazingSeller.com/Scope
The episode about avoiding a customs mistake - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/32
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community |
Wed, 9 September 2015
Every Amazon seller has to learn how balance and manage their time in order to get their business rolling and keep it rolling. There are tons of ways you can organize your time, but on today’s episode Scott has a guest who’s going to help us get a better handle on our time. Welcome Kate Erickson, best known for her role in creating the Entrepreneur On Fire Audio Blog, “Kate’s Take.” Kate uses a process called “SCRUM” to help her focus on her goals and get more stuff done. Listen to this episode to discover how you can apply the same process to get more things done in your Amazon sales business.
How do you decide where to focus your energies each day?
That’s the first question Scott asked his guest, Kate Erickson on this episode. Her answer was very enlightening. She uses a process called “SCRUM” to help her dissect each goal to the basic, elementary steps of what is required to get them to the point of completion. It’s fully focusing on your goal one step at a time, no distractions, no pauses, no excuses. It enables her to knock out one aspect of a larger goal in a relatively short burst of time and then get on to the next step toward the goal. Hear more of how Kate goes about this process in this episode.
Many of you are Amazon Sellers on the side… so how can you best use these concepts to your advantage?
It’s not uncommon for people who are trying to build their business outside of regular work hours to find the time crunch almost impossible. There’s only so much time each day and you’ve got to be able to use it effectively. But there’s so much other stuff that demands that time - family, friends, hobbies, fun - it’s limitless. How do you go about using the “SCRUM” process Kate Erickson covers in this episode to manage all those obligations and needs? You’ll have to listen to this great conversation to find out!
The power of just getting started.
At first it may be hard for you to determine what steps are needed in a larger project in order to get it done. The first step in the “SCRUM” process is making a plan for achieving that goal, and you do that by breaking it down into smaller steps. But you won’t always know what those steps are when you begin. What do you do? You just get started. You’re going to launch into the project and your mind is going to naturally gravitate to the first things you need to do. Get started and write down your steps as they come to your mind. Set time frames to guide you, and get busy. Find out more about how Kate Erickson recommends you take on these projects, on this episode. The impact of not taking action - on you and others.
There are many things that keep us from moving on the things we know we need to do. We feel that we don’t have enough information, that our idea isn’t good enough, that there are other things we’d rather do. But we need to realize that when we allow those things to keep us from action we are not only hurting ourselves, but also the people who are depending on the outcome of our work. Those may be family members, customers, or people like Scott’s listeners who would never have been helped by his knowledge if he hadn’t started this podcast (and he almost didn’t.) Hear Scott’s story about learning this lesson on this episode of The Amazing Seller. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Kate’s Take - Kate’s podcast
Entrepreneur On Fire - John Lee Dumas’ podcast
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community |
Mon, 7 September 2015
True story: A new Amazon seller followed Scott’s instruction step by step and the results were phenomenal. In the first 30 days of his product going live John made $11,305.94. It’s proof that the model of private label sales on Amazon not only works, it’s a legitimate way to earn a very substantial income. In this episode of The Amazing Seller Scott talks about the highlights of John’s experience, gives encouragement about how you can go about the same processes that John followed, and most of all, continues to stress that you have to take action now.
John quit his job and dove into Amazon sales. Should you?
That took a lot of guts. Not everybody would feel comfortable doing that. Scott is one of those people. His Amazon sales business took a full 90 days before he started seeing any kind of significant growth. If he’d quit his job to get into it, he would have been in a world of hurt before significant income came in. While John had incredible success in his first 30 days, Scott says it’s better to do your homework on the side and get started part time. That way you don’t put yourself or your family in a difficult spot. Find out more about why Scott advises caution when it comes to quitting your job to start Amazon FBA sales, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
The 10X10x1 Formula worked like a charm for John.
John gives the credit for the quick launch and success of his Amazon business to Scott’s 10X10X1 formula. What is the formula? Simply put, it’s this: 10 units - $10 profit - 1 day. So 10 units sold at $10 profit, every day. That formula is what you’re shooting for to keep your product sales (and business growth) rolling in a positive direction. John set the 10X10X1 formula as his goal when he launched his product and discovered that the focus enabled him focus only on products that were already selling at least $10 per day, and to work smarter and more diligently as he tried to get his business going. Find out what those steps were by listening to this episode.
How did John learn everything that he did to make his private label business successful?
John learned everything that he did from Scott’s podcast. But he didn’t just listen to each episode once or twice. He listened to every episode multiple times because he learned that the first couple of times through he heard what he wanted to hear, not what he needed to hear. The repeated listening enabled him to pick up things he’d missed in the first listens that were critical to his success. Hear how John suggests you go about learning the things you need to know in order to make your products take off like his did, on this episode.
How John maximized his promotions - it’s not a common way of doing it, but it worked.
John offered some discount promotion codes for his product when he first launched. He put out the codes on fliers that he hung up at a local convenience store. He also made the offer that if the people using the code recommended the product to their friends, he’d give their friends a discount as well (10% to 20%). The fliers disappeared from the convenience store and every single one of the discount codes was used! That’s an amazing response to an unorthodox way of getting the offer out. Hear the details of how that promotion impacted John’s product launch, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.
OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
http://www.Tomoson.com - the website where John got some reviews.
Interview with Greg Mercer - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/35
www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community |
Fri, 4 September 2015
It’s another great episode of “Ask Scott” where you get to ask your questions about Amazon FBA sales, private labeling, promotions, keyword and product research, and all the other things that go into building your own Amazon sales business through the amazing Amazon platform. In this episode Scott fields questions from 4 listeners - one all the way from Singapore! You won’t want to miss out hearing Scott’s responses to questions about pumping up slow sales, U.S. manufacturers or suppliers, optimization of search terms, and dealing with imitators of your product. All that on this episode of The Amazing Seller. You’ve followed all of Scott’s suggestions, but sales are very slow… now what?That’s the situation a listener finds himself in and on this episode he asks Scott if perhaps he missed a step or has not done something correctly. He’s getting a few sales a day, but is not even coming close to catching the top seller in his niche when it comes to product reviews. What should he do? It’s a hard question for Scott to answer without all the details, but he gives it his best shot, providing a handful of things to look at that could result in higher sales. Wouldn’t it be great to find a U.S. Manufacturer to source your products?There’s been a lot of chat on the Amazing Seller Facebook Group about this one: finding U.S. based product sources to keep the cash flowing within our own borders. Scott’s all for finding U.S. suppliers, but knows that in order to make a profit you have to spend as little as possible on the product side of things. That’s why this question is such a difficult one to answer definitively. In this episode Scott highlights some of the ways Amazon sellers might be able to find U.S. based suppliers, and invites anyone who HAS found a U.S. based source for their products to contact him to share their tips! How important is it to key in on the search terms and suggested customer profiles available in the product page setup?In every Seller Central product page there’s an option to give suggested categories of people that might be interested in the particular product you’re adding to the Amazon catalogue. A listener asks Scott how important those fields are and what might be done to optimize their use. Scott’s answer points to a previous episode where an expert on Amazon listings shared a wealth of fabulous tips about making your product listing the best it can be. You won’t want to miss Scott’s suggestions and that valuable resource, on this episode. Someone seems to be imitating my product, right down to the images, description, etc. What can I do?Here’s the scenario: A new seller of the same product I sell has shown up in the Amazon listings. His images are exactly the same as mine. His product descriptions are exactly the same as mine. The product is the same as mine. Should I patent my product? Should I contact Amazon? How can I keep this person from horning in on my sales by offering a product that is by all intents the exact same thing as mine? Scott’s answer on this one might surprise you. Listen in to find out the details. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEFind Scott on www.Periscope.tv - @ScottVoelker Get your question answered - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ask The episode about Amazon optimization - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/86 Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community |
Wed, 2 September 2015
Steve Chou has been building his own, private ecommerce stores online for a very long time. He did so way back before the days of Amazon FBA. In this great interaction Scott gets schooled by Steve on why every Amazon seller should consider, at least down the road, setting up shop on their own private ecommerce store. Steve tells the story of how he and his wife did that very thing, how they’ve grown it over the years, and how they’ve even used Amazon’s own system to drive traffic to their private store. You won’t want to miss this. Why would an Amazon seller want to set up his own ecommerce store?
Steve Chou thinks it’s a must for every Amazon seller to eventually move beyond Amazon to set up their own store. There are many reasons, but two of the greatest are #1 - the ability to create your own promotional content, and #2 - the ability to capture your customer information and follow up on them during and after the sale. He’s found that ability alone to be a significant source of conversions for his products. If you’ve been thinking about setting up your own platform for sales outside of Amazon, don’t miss this episode. You mean I can use Amazon to drive traffic to my own private ecommerce store?
Yep, that’s exactly right. Steve Chou has been doing it for a while now through what Amazon calls “sponsored ads.” It’s a way you can take advantage of the search traffic Amazon draws in… and it’s not just any search traffic - it’s people who are ready to buy exactly what you’re offering. Listen to Scott’s interview with Steve to find out how Steve sets up these sponsored ads and the kind of traffic and conversions he’s getting from doing so, on this episode of The Amazing Seller. Have you ever considered creating content to drive people to your products?
Bloggers have been doing this for a long time. It’s that great article, or video, or “how to” lesson that gives great value to the audience and then drives them to purchase the blogger’s product or course. You can do the same thing for your products. Steve Chou and his wife have been doing that for a long time and have found it to be a powerful way to feature their products and get people to check them out. Find out all the details of how Steve does it on this episode. How to use Pinterest to drive traffic to your products.
It’s becoming more apparent all the time that out of all the social media platforms available today, Pinterest is one of the best at driving traffic to product pages. Why? Because oftentimes people are searching Pinterest for ideas or products to solve a particular problem. What better place to post your product images and posts? In this episode of The Amazing Seller Steve Chou talks about how he uses Pinterest to drive traffic to his products, and he covers some important tips on how TO and how NOT TO use Pinterest. You won’t want to miss this. OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Steve’s website - www.MyWifeQuitHerJob.com
Steve’s podcast - http://mywifequitherjob.com/category/podcast/
Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop
|
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