Amazon has paved the way for entrepreneurs to set up stores, start selling products, and build businesses. With hundreds of millions of clicks every month on Amazon, the right store can generate millions annually for a global audience.
However, how you use the platform can make the difference between success and failure. Here is your guide to selling on Amazon.
Check the Restricted Products List
If you have not decided what to sell on Amazon, look at the ‘restricted products’ list. This will minimize the risk of complications when selecting products. Many categories—including jewelry and DVDs—require approval before listing.
Consider private labeling an existing product
Some manufacturers make generic, high-quality products that add your private label. Many of these products sell in big numbers every month, and it is a simple way to start selling on Amazon without manufacturing.
Take a look at what’s hot and trending
Inspiration for your Amazon store can come from popular and trending products. This will help you decide what products to sell, what niche to tackle, and how to model your Amazon store after what’s working. You can also see product demand.
Search for a supplier for your product
When you decide what products to sell on Amazon, it’s time to find a supplier. Look up the names. Ask for samples. Negotiate your price. Ensure your product is high-quality, made properly, and resembles the pictures you will post.
Use third-party Amazon fulfillment services
Third-party Amazon fulfillment services involve shipping products to an Amazon-approved warehouse, and as sales come in, they ship them for you. There are no monthly service fees, but they cover all inventory, storage, and shipping costs.
If your product is small and lightweight, you are selling many units, and you can’t handle order fulfillment yourself, using a third party is the answer.
Create an Amazon seller account
To open a Seller Account, you will need a bank account number, credit card, government-issued ID, business tax information, and a phone number. When you register, you can choose your plan.
‘Individual’ is meant for stores that sell less than 40 units a month and charge a price-per-sale. ‘Professional’ is for stores with sales above 40 units. It offers more advantages, including advanced reports and APIs, and charges a flat monthly fee of $39.99.
Decide how you will pay
To reduce cart abandonment rates:
- Make paying online for Amazon products easy.
- Consider customer preferences and what they prefer, such as PayPal (not available on Amazon), credit cards, or digital wallets.
- Ensure payment methods are secure and reliable and have minimal transaction fees eating into your revenues.
List your products
Once you have an account, your product listings go up. You can use an existing listing for an identical product or create an entirely new listing. Amazon product listings should include the product identifier, stock keeping unit, price, product condition, available quantity, brand, description, and images.
Product listings should be optimized for search engines with high-click keywords that increase visibility. These keywords can be included in the title, description, and elsewhere in your listing. Make your product listing stand out with the correct text.
Using advertising to attract customers
Turn your product listings into sponsored listings to appear on product pages and in search results. For these ads, you pay per click and create brand awareness. This, combined with search engine optimization, will attract customers and reviews that help you build your Amazon store.
Get more reviews for your products
While you cannot incentivize customers to leave reviews, you can ask for one without incentive. Professional customer service will increase your reviews, and positive reviews encourage more sales and reviews.
Small businesses should ship their products themselves
Order fulfillment is next on the Amazon tasks list. You can fulfill it yourself. This is where you store and ship your inventory, handle customer service, and micro-manage shipping aspects. Bulky or heavy products and small businesses that do not sell many products often use this method as it reduces storage fees.
Profit and cost analysis as you grow
Consider your time, business costs, revenues, and profits. A beginner Amazon seller with the right strategy can sell above six figures annually and grow from there. Though these results aren’t guaranteed, many businesses can benefit.
However, with this growth comes increased costs. Be sure to weigh costs vs. revenues and ensure everything from inventory ordering to order fulfillment is optimized.
