Amazon is undoubtedly the leader in the American online shopping segment. According to the results of 2023, the platform is among the most famous brands. According to Statista, Amazon's revenue in 2023 amounted to more than $ 30 billion, which is comparable to the annual budget of small countries. It is not surprising that such success and huge recognition of the platform attract the attention of both powerful corporations and small businesses, because sales on Amazon allow you to enter the global market.
How to start a business: a step-by-step guide
We have prepared detailed instructions for you on how to register and start selling.
Account types
There are two main options:
- Individual: for those who plan to sell up to 40 products per month and do not need special tools for advanced sales. Provides a payment of $0.99 for each completed transaction.
- Professional: For more active users who sell 40 or more items per month. Provides access to API, reports, offers additional options through Handmade and Launchpad applications. The cost of the plan is $39.99 per month.
You can always switch from one plan to another at any time after signing up. If you start with the individual plan, then switching to the professional plan will not be a problem.
Account registration: how to create a seller account
To register, use the same email address you use for purchases, or create a new account. When registering, you will need the following information:
- Bank details.
- Credit card for international payments.
- Identity document.
- Tax information.
- Phone number.
To register, go to the home page, select the “Sell” section, and click “Sign up.” Then either log in to your current account or create a new one.
Once completed, you will have access to Seller Central, a special control panel for users. There you can track your progress, process orders, add products, and customize processes.
To manage your trade on the go, the marketplace offers a convenient mobile app that will allow you to track orders and communicate with customers, even when you are away from your computer.
Choosing a product to sell: how to choose a niche and products to sell
Go to your account, then select the “Inventory” section, and click “Add a product.” If the product is already listed, you simply add the offer to an existing page. If your brand is new, you need to create a new page and all subsequent offers from competitors will be added to this page. This way, consumers will be familiar with all the options on one page.
When writing your description, consider the questions that potential customers may have. Write a concise description, giving all the necessary information without unnecessary details. Always remember: brevity is the sister of talent.
Main page elements:
- Title: up to 200 characters, with a capital letter at the beginning of each word.
- Pictures: dimensions 500×500 or 1000×1000 pixels. It is important that the product is on a white background and takes up at least 80% of the photo.
- Options: available colors, sizes, etc.
- A short description highlighting the benefits and key features.
- Pricing and other available offers.
- Basic description, including keywords for better search.
Logistics and delivery: choice of delivery method, integration with FBA or FBM.
The site offers three main models for organizing transportation:
- FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) — storage in warehouses, where the company takes on most of the operations: packaging, logistics, and service. The most popular model, saves time, but has higher costs.
- FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) — the subscriber independently processes orders and organizes logistics. Suitable for those who have the necessary resources to organize their own warehouses and work with shipping.
- Fulfillment services are an alternative option that resembles FBA and offers additional services. It is chosen if a company wants to reduce transportation costs.
Each model has its advantages and disadvantages, and the choice depends on the specifics of commerce, including the desire to reduce costs or optimize processes for scaling.
Withdrawing money
After you have sold your products, you need to transfer the earned funds to your own bank account. You can withdraw funds to bank accounts in the USA or Europe. As mentioned earlier, it is worth using the services of Wise to obtain details for withdrawing funds.
Wise service offers more than 40 currency accounts, real exchange rates, and fast transfers to dozens of countries around the world, guaranteeing a high level of security.
How to set up sales: key tools
Keyword optimization
Research keywords to understand which queries are most relevant. Include keywords in titles, descriptions, and search terms to increase your chances of increasing visibility in results.
Improving headings
Create clear and concise headlines that include important keywords, sizes, colors, and key features. Avoid keyword spamming, but make sure it’s user-friendly and easy to read.
High-quality product images
High-quality images have a significant impact on appeal and significantly increase conversions. Use high-resolution images that show your product from different angles with a clear focus on key features.
Creating compelling descriptions
The description should be informative and engaging, highlighting all the important features and benefits. Including relevant keywords will help with SEO and also provide important information. Use bullet points and short paragraphs for ease of reading.
Backend search optimization
Include additional keywords that are not included in the main list. Use synonyms and misspellings for keywords, and regularly update search term information according to query results.
Motivation for positive feedback
Positive reviews have a significant impact on customer decisions and product leadership in search engines. Motivate customers to leave reviews by providing high-quality service and responding quickly to comments.
Monitoring and constant updating
Regularly check the effectiveness of your product using metrics such as sales, clickthrough rate, conversion, and keyword performance. This will help you understand what needs to be changed and adjust your SEO strategy if necessary.
Test different methods: change keywords, change headlines or images, and see how your metrics change. By continuously optimizing your ads, you stay competitive and increase your profits.
Pricing: How to Determine a Competitive Price and Strategy
Successful trading requires not only offering a quality offer, but also the right approach to pricing. The success of the enterprise largely depends on the correctly set price.
There are different strategies used to determine the price:
- Minimum cost: Offering low prices to attract customers is especially useful for new users looking to gain an initial audience.
- Premium pricing: Setting high prices for unique or branded themes. This strategy is suitable if the item has high quality or unique characteristics.
- Average market price: Setting the price at the level of competitors. This approach avoids wars and maintains a stable income.
- Using dynamic pricing
The web resource offers a dynamic pricing tool that automatically adjusts prices based on market changes. Using it, you can stay competitive without having to constantly monitor the market situation.
Marketing and promotion
When consumers come to a resource, their main goal is to find a specific product. But in this case, it is important not only what they want to buy, but also where it is sold. If you want the answer to be “you”, it is important to understand how search engine optimization works and how to get ahead of your competitors.
To stand out among millions of competitors, you need to constantly optimize your pages, make them clear and attractive.
SEO Basics
Let’s take a closer look at how optimization works. It’s based on numerous factors that affect visibility. Here are the main points:
Search window.
A place where people type in queries and an algorithm analyzes them and shows relevant results. Optimizing keywords in titles, descriptions, and search terms significantly increases the likelihood that a position will appear among the results.
Search filters.
After entering a query, users can refine the results using various filters: rating, brand. If products are optimized for filters, they will have better visibility among target groups.
Search results page.
Here, users see a list of offers that match their queries. Your products should be presented attractively: high-quality images, clear and understandable titles, detailed bullet points, and compelling descriptions increase the likelihood of a click and increase conversion.
Rating.
Provides important information about how well a product is selling in its category. The lower the BSR, the higher the sales. Optimizing your listings and using strategies helps increase your BSR and subsequently improves your visibility and sales volume.
Sponsored offers and advertising
Paid ads in search results and on pages. Although they are not a direct element of SEO, the presentation strengthens the organic promotion system, increasing traffic and attracting more potential buyers.
By properly configuring and optimizing these aspects, the visibility of positions on the site is significantly improved.
How to increase sales?
Promotions are one of the most effective tools for increasing sales. One of the most popular promotions on the marketplace is the annual Prime Day sale, which takes place in the summer. During the 36 hours of the promotion, it is recommended to increase sales, increase profits, improve reputation and position.
Planning for Prime Day promotions should start well in advance. The resource has a strict deadline for submitting applications. They are usually accepted 6-8 weeks before the event, and package deals should be formed about a month before the start.
The main promotional tools for Prime Day include:
- Offer of the day (for manufacturers): participation of one or more related products. Discount valid for one day only;
- Coupons: discount on specific items;
- Lightning (for manufacturers and consumers): Limited-time promotional offers. Often people buy only one unit, pre-selected by the seller for the promotion.
To make the most of your Prime Day experience, you need to prepare carefully. It's important to optimize your graphic and text content, as well as determine your budget for promotion.
Attracting external traffic
To increase your profits even more, you should attract traffic from other resources. To do this, you should use:
- YouTube.
- Reddit.
- Pinterest.
- Facebook.
- Instagram.
- LinkedIn.
- Twitter.
- Blogs.
You can launch an information campaign on social networks or collaborate with popular bloggers-influencers. They promote products through affiliate links.
To attract potential customers through social networks, you need to publish posts with promotional codes or useful information with a link to the page, and organize Giveaways - contests with a draw for gifts for ads in profiles.
Risks and problems that sellers may face
Although many people who try to work on marketplaces fail, many of them continue to look for the cause of problems in chance or minor mistakes. However, in reality, the reasons for this lie in serious mistakes at the very beginning - in choosing the right product. The right product is a key element of success, and when everything is chosen incorrectly, it will be very difficult to restore the situation.
The biggest mistakes sellers make about their products
- Choosing a position without understanding the reasons for popularity. One of the main mistakes is an unconscious preference for products that sell out quickly, but their popularity is due only to temporary factors.
- Competition with powerful players in the market. With ambitions to enter highly competitive areas, such as electronics accessories and charging cables, beginners often fail to take into account the fact that there are thousands of such offers on the market, and manufacturers have opportunities that small entrepreneurs do not have.
- Focus on low-value TMs. Amazon has certain commissions and fees worth less than 12$. Commissions take about 50% out of the final price and significantly reduce the earning potential. Beginners sometimes focus on such low-value topics, not taking into account that their margins are often obscenely low.
By paying attention to the details, you will significantly increase your chances of success. The right choice of products, a well-thought-out financial strategy, the ability to optimize the page and interact with customers significantly improve your position in this competitive market.
How to build a successful sales strategy?
Choosing a trading strategy is a question often asked by novice entrepreneurs. According to experts, the best option for this is the Private Label model, as it provides predictable results and has a number of advantages.
However, to make an informed choice, it is worth considering all available strategies in detail.
Dropshipping
You act as an intermediary, without having direct contact with the product. Your role is to find a buyer, receive payment, and pass it on to the supplier, keeping the difference or taking a percentage of the transaction.
Pros: No need to purchase products in inflated quantities or rent a warehouse. Minimal start-up costs — they mainly go to promotion.
Online Arbitration
You buy the product directly from the manufacturer or supplier and resell it on the website, competing with competitors.
Pros: Minimal marketing costs, as the marketplace itself organizes part of the order distribution. You can use fulfillment by sending the package directly to warehouses, relieving yourself of many of the responsibilities of order processing.
Private Label
You find a supplier, mostly in China, who manufactures products under your brand name (with your company logo and other attributes).
Pros: One product is enough to create a stable income. You create the listing yourself, so competition is minimal. Income depends on management, not on changes in the algorithm. This approach is ideal for scaling and long-term work, and you also have to use fulfillment.
The choice of strategy depends on the goals, desired level of control over the company and willingness to invest in start-up capital. Private Label seems to be the most optimal for those looking for stability and long-term benefits, but at the same time requires more time and resources to launch trading.
Resources for self-learning and growth
Amazon Selling courses are one of the most popular marketing courses, with over 747,000 students enrolled. The training programs are highly rated for their engaging and practical information, helping participants effectively launch their own business on the popular marketplace.
The most recommended course in this area is “Amazon: The Complete Course on Starting a Business.” The training covers the key aspects of selling on Amazon, from how to properly sell on the platform to more complex issues: organizing a profitable business. The course covers in detail the necessary investments for a successful start and development of commerce on the largest online trading platform in the world.
