Besides being trained in the best keyword ranking techniques, you need to have just the right product. Easy to manufacture but not too easy to knock off. Otherwise you will find yourself ranking and then immediately getting chased by others willing to go leaner on margins. Product sourcing and design/development can be the differentiator that allows you to stay in a product category for much longer and really get a good ROI.
A major part of a successful FBA Amazon business is understanding the economics of both your product and the market you are entering on the Amazon marketplace.
The operational costs associated with selling on Amazon are:
Product cost
Shipping
Product prep (third party or self prep)
Shipping to Amazon
Amazon referral fee
Fulfillment fees including:
Order handling
Pick/pack
Weight handling
Amazon storage fee
Once you have your operational margin understood, think of your margin as your budget for Amazon Sponsored Products where you can reach millions of targeted buyers.
Hey, I assume you are just getting started with Amazon FBA as this is a pretty broad topic. I've sold on FBA for almost 5 years. It's mostly been a side hustle for me, but the extra income has been great!
First off, you should determine how much you can invest initially. You can get started with as little as $100 but it will take awhile to get traction from there. You'll have to source, ship to Amazon, sell products, and collect money (Amazon pays out every 2 weeks for pro accounts). Then you start the process over while hopefully reinvesting profits to source more products.
Next, figure out how you will find products to sell (called sourcing). Most beginners practice retail arbitrage by going to local stores, scanning products, and buying ones that are selling at a higher price point on Amazon. Clearance sections are a good place to start so you can get a few wins under your belt and build confidence. For scanning, there are paid apps like Profit Bandit but Amazon has a one you can download and use for free, which I would recommend. There's also online sourcing and private label options as well.
Do your research to understand all of the nuances to selling on Amazon: fees, sales ranks, pricing strategies, and keeping inventory in stock are a few I can think of.
As your budget allows, make sure you are always buying and sending inventory to Amazon so you can keep selling. The quickest way to stall out is not sending inventory to replenish your stock.
Don't forget to track your business costs (mileage, shipping supplies, Amazon fees, etc) for tax time.
Hope this helps you get started. If you need some more information let me know and we can set up a call to discuss specific strategies for your success.
Having managed and dealt with my own and clients' Amazon businesses, I would have to say that the one key technique is to have a solid foundation.
A solid foundation has the following characteristics:
1) High-quality products that you would personally use. If you don't believe in your own products, then don't expect shoppers to buy them. Simple.
2) A great product title with main keywords, features, and benefits that make the sentence flow. You don't want to just throw in a bunch of keywords or use a one liner as your product title.
3) Using great product images will help shoppers make a purchasing decision. The only sense shoppers have is Sight so you need to bring other senses such as smell, touch, sound, and taste to life for an unforgettable experience.
Just like yourself, shoppers want to know what exactly they are getting, the more details your images portrait, the better it is for shoppers to decide.
4) Great copywriting for your product description makes a huge difference as you want to hit shoppers' pain point with a thought provoking question, then provide a generic solution and your solution as well. Be sure to include product benefits, scarcity, and also call-to-action in your description as well.
5) Running Amazon ads and other marketing strategies (i.e. giveaways, JVs, facebook ads, quiz etc). What better way to do so than offering great discounts to shoppers making the offer irresistible!
The above are some of the main techniques to build a successful Amazon FBA business. Keep in mind that if you care about your customers more than your competitors, you will always win!
Thanks for reading.
