How to sell on Amazon successfully

In this presentation, I cover the top 4 things you need to know to start selling successfully on Amazon.  The transcript of the slides are below, plus an offer to get a free Audit of your existing product listings or a Competitor Analysis to help you size opportunity. 

Here are a few tips on how to successfully sell on Amazon:

1. UNDERSTAND AMAZON’S SEARCH ALGORITHM

• Amazon's Best Seller Rank: Every product page on Amazon displays its Best Seller Rank or ‘BSR’.  
• BSR indicates how well an item is selling within its product category. The lower the BSR, the more units are selling for that product.
• Products with a low BSR generally show up higher in the search results. Your goal: ensure your product has a LOW BSR
• What drives BSR? Amazon’s ranking algorithm prioritizes 3 factors:
  1. Volume of Sales over time or ‘sales velocity’
  2. Conversion Rate. Amazon asks, “What product is the searcher most likely to buy?”
  3. Product Reviews by customers. Reviews indirectly affect BSR by increasing trust (and conversions)

     A product's Best Seller Rank or BSR is shown on every product page.
     This product has a BSR of 1,047. 

2. SELL A POPULAR PRODUCT

• Is there enough demand for your product? If you’re investing time, money and effort in launching products on Amazon, you’ll want to ensure there is existing demand first.
• How to get a quick estimate of your competitor's sales on Amazon: One way to gauge the demand for a product is to look at the number of recent product reviews. We know that less than 10% of Amazon customers actually leave product reviews, so you can get a rough estimate of the monthly sales by multiplying the number of product reviews left in the last 30 days by 10. 

This product had 11 reviews left in the past 30 days, so is potentially selling
around 110 units per month.

3. OPTIMIZE YOUR PRODUCT LISTING

Two factors in optimizing your Amazon product listing: 

• Getting found.
  1. Use strategic keywords in your product name, description, and back-end
  2. Boost your BSR by increasing the ‘velocity’ of sales in a short period
  3. Running Amazon Product Listing Ads
  4. The better your product listing converts browsers into buyers, the higher they will rank you in search results
• Getting the sale. 
  1. Having lots of genuine product reviews to build trust
  2. Compelling, benefits-focused descriptions, bullet points, and product title
  3. Product photos and images that tell your product’s story
      

How to have a compelling product listing: turn browsers into buyers by telling the story of how your product solves the customer’s problem.

• The right mix: features tell, benefits sell Attractive product images, and lifestyle photos that tell a story
• Copywriting: headlines, bullet points and product descriptions
• Trustworthiness and social proof from genuine reviews
   

The Sales/Review Paradox. To get sales, you need reviews. To get reviews, you need sales. BUT Less than 10% of Amazon customers leave product reviews.

4. PRIORITIZE & COMMIT

• Amazon is not a 'set & forget' platform. 
• Conduct a daily account review. Your Seller Rating is impacted by your responsiveness to buyer questions, returns, shipping delays, and other metrics. Don’t wait more than 24 hours between checking your key account metrics
• Be aware of potential policy violations. Amazon is known for a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach with policy violations. Policies change over time, so follow updates and announcements to avoid potential restrictions and suspensions
• Check competitor activity. Unauthorized resellers may ‘squat’ on your product listing and erode your good reputation; new competition may appear and bring new challenges
• Respond to reviews and feedback. Especially in the case of negative feedback and reviews, its imperative to respond quickly and do damage control. Other potential customers will judge your company & product based on the speed and thoughtfulness of your response.

BONUS ROUND

If you're an existing Seller...Do you want to know exactly what is wrong with your product listing?
Get a free AUDIT of your existing product listing, including:

1. A 5-minute video walkthrough of your listing, showing where to make immediate changes
2. Actionable bullet-point tactics for reference Learn more about our free Amazon Product Listing Audit

Click here for a free, honest review of your product page. 

If you're not yet on Amazon...Do you want to know how much money your competitors are making?
Get a free, customized REPORT about your industry not yet on Amazon, including:

1. A detailed spreadsheet showing the estimated monthly units sold & revenue of your competitors’ products
2. Concise market analysis, showing you the opportunities and challenges in your niche Learn more about our free Amazon Opportunity Report

Click here for your free competitor & market opportunity Report.