Venturing into the world of e-commerce can be terrifying. Check out the article below for detailed instructions on what to do before setting up your store!
An annual report by Amazon shows that by 2020, the company has managed to acquire more than $21 billion in revenue. Since this platform has joined the ranks of the world’s most profitable companies, there should be no surprise why more and more people are becoming Amazon sellers.
However, setting up a store and ensuring its effective performance is not a piece of cake. Whether you are an experienced businessman or an amateur, familiarizing yourself with how a digital shopping website works can be a challenge.
Does this sound familiar? If yes, keep reading to see the step-by-step guide on how to get ready for Amazon!
6 Steps To Get Ready For Your Amazon Business
1. Determine the products you want to sell
The possibilities are endless on Amazon, which makes it increasingly difficult for new stores to nail down a specific line of products. If you go for something hugely popular and in high demand – such as electronics or wristwatches – chances are you cannot compete with longer-established companies.
But on the other hand, selling niche products like ethical clothes or self-coaching books will be a dead end unless you infiltrate the market successfully.
Another factor to take into account when it comes to selecting your catalog is the budget. For example, for teenagers and young people wanting to have a start-up, spending thousands of dollars stocking up on expensive items will not suffice.
You have to be realistic regarding your capacity. Try to align what you can do with what the customers need, and find a balance between these two. Once you pinpoint which products to put on the shelf, you will have a solid foundation for the next steps.
2. Have the supply chain and logistics under control
After deciding on your listing, it is time to start acquiring the necessary goods. You need to find a roomy space for storage, or you even have to rent one. Buy in a few items of each product depending on how you calculate your business strategies. Try to strike a deal with your providers, as you can substantially increase your profit margin by lowering the cost.
Purchase carton boxes, duct tapes, and shock-absorbing materials to make sure each of your packages is delivered to the customers intact. Reach out to your personnel and let them know when the work begins.
3. Prepare the copy and imagery
Since all of your items are sold online, the only way for customers to assess what they intend on buying is through the provided information and visual assistance.
Thus, you must invest in writing concise, info-packed product descriptions that analyze the tiniest bits of your products. Keep the texts short and scannable so that your potential buyers are kept engaged. Remember to illustrate the unique selling points of what your store has to offer.
As far as the photos are concerned, be sure to pick different shots from different angles, which showcase the entire product in detail. If the circumstances allow, you may even put on a video to create an impression with the target audience.
Nothing provokes more feelings from online shoppers than a neatly organized, visually pleasing product page.
4. Come up with your marketing strategies
Putting your products on Amazon is one thing. Ensuring customers know about your store and want to buy stuff is another. This is why you need to sketch out a set of tactics and approaches to boost the visibility of your catalogs.
The easiest way is to take advantage of Amazon ad running services. Improve your Amazon bidding skills and lay your hands on the most relevant keywords. Put up promotion programs to attract new buyers and convince them to place an order.
Give away free samples for influencers or KOLs so they put in a good word for your store. Create a blog and include the external links that direct viewers back to your landing page.
There are many ways in which you can reinforce your brand image, increase your traffic, and introduce your products to a wider range of customers. Be sure to experiment with various marketing plans to see which delivers the best results.
5. Research your competitors
Entering a market as a newbie means you have to go up against better-known businesses. If you are ignorant of their strengths and weaknesses, you may end up getting surpassed in no time soon.
Therefore, spend a few days digging through the activities of your most potential rivals. These include companies at the top tier, which are more or less the household names, as well as companies that are the same size as yours.
Learn about the business tactics and which keywords they are ranking for. Comb through their listings to see if they leave out any important details.
Check the reviews to understand their products from the viewpoint of the customers. Anything concerning how your competitors handle their businesses is likely to provide you with fresh insights on how to optimize your store.
6. Audit your listings
When it comes to strengthening the performance of your newly set up store, you cannot miss out on Amazon SEO. Since the platform functions on search-based algorithms, your job is to keep the product pages matching the requirements of potential buyers.
You can start easy by doing keyword research and inserting them into the copy, from the title to the bullet points and FAQs.
Next up, find some long-tail keywords that best describe a specific product to aim at customers with strong commercial intent.
Put in backend keywords, namely misspellings, variations, and names of different brands and products related to your items.
Conclusion
Navigating your business on Amazon for the first time can be a daunting experience. If you cannot perform these tasks on your own, do not hesitate to ask for professional advice at Olifant Digital – a reliable marketing agency ready to help you out!