This post originated as a reply to an email. I spent over an hour replying and felt the info was worth sharing here.
The email had over a dozen questions on several topics:
The email had over a dozen questions on several topics:
- Sourcing and shipping
- "Launching" a Test Product Listing
- PPC Campaigns
- Indexing
- Product Launches
- Others
1. Sourcing and Shipping
Q1: You mentioned you do not use 3PL in a fb post. Any reason/bad experience? Project X actually recommends 3PL to help to reduce storage fees, especially for new launch where products are expected to take longer to sell.
A: For Amazon US sales I have been 100% FBA and not used 3rd party logistics (3PL) fulfillment services in the US. I have always used US Prep companies to receive, prep and ship my products to Amazon for FBA. I have also used 3PL to store larger quantities from overseas and then "drip" forward to Amazon for FBA.
A: For Amazon US sales I have been 100% FBA and not used 3rd party logistics (3PL) fulfillment services in the US. I have always used US Prep companies to receive, prep and ship my products to Amazon for FBA. I have also used 3PL to store larger quantities from overseas and then "drip" forward to Amazon for FBA.
2. "Launching" a Test Product
Q2a: Project X recommends we do a PPC testing on an identified product with a “test” listing. Tim Jordan’s idea is to get data for impression and cost per click, suggested we just buy similar product from other platform (E.g: Esty) and send in to amazon FBA.
Is it relevant for sellers in SG (like us)? Would you recommend to create a listing (focusing primarily on keywords, and “neglect” imagery, sales copy etc) just to get data, and subsequently create another listing for the actual product?
A: You can. It's not wrong. I don't personally start specifically with a "test only" listing that I do not intend to use as the actual listing. But my actual listing is also effectively like a test listing, since I only do basic or minimal packaging and images. I only bother to improve images after sales are proven. However with the new product photography and image service in Singapore by GS1, there's no reason to not get at least 7-8 good images for just SGD40! Click the link for details about this service and other product image tips.
I also do not order more than what I realistically expect to sell in 1 to 3 months depending on a combination of weighing the velocity of similar listings with low social proof (less than 10 reviews), cost of products vs the initial capital I am will to spend (and lose), production and shipping lead times.
I do NOT set a high price to discourage sales, as done in Project X. I usually start with a very competitive price, including the use of Amazon discount coupons to encourage more clicks and sales conversions. My reasoning is that a new listing starts with zero reviews (no social proof), therefore it needs other push/pull factors to convince potential buyers to buy it instead of other alternatives. And my objective is to both test keywords, as well as proof of concept that it sells.
I do however do very thorough keyword research and optimize the copywriting for keywords and conversions. I then also target Amazon Sponsored Product Ads aggressively from the start for multiple objectives:
1) Gain rank from sales attribute to keywords targeted.
2) Mine keyword data to find high conversion keywords and discover possible new keywords.
Is it relevant for sellers in SG (like us)? Would you recommend to create a listing (focusing primarily on keywords, and “neglect” imagery, sales copy etc) just to get data, and subsequently create another listing for the actual product?
A: You can. It's not wrong. I don't personally start specifically with a "test only" listing that I do not intend to use as the actual listing. But my actual listing is also effectively like a test listing, since I only do basic or minimal packaging and images. I only bother to improve images after sales are proven. However with the new product photography and image service in Singapore by GS1, there's no reason to not get at least 7-8 good images for just SGD40! Click the link for details about this service and other product image tips.
I also do not order more than what I realistically expect to sell in 1 to 3 months depending on a combination of weighing the velocity of similar listings with low social proof (less than 10 reviews), cost of products vs the initial capital I am will to spend (and lose), production and shipping lead times.
I do NOT set a high price to discourage sales, as done in Project X. I usually start with a very competitive price, including the use of Amazon discount coupons to encourage more clicks and sales conversions. My reasoning is that a new listing starts with zero reviews (no social proof), therefore it needs other push/pull factors to convince potential buyers to buy it instead of other alternatives. And my objective is to both test keywords, as well as proof of concept that it sells.
I do however do very thorough keyword research and optimize the copywriting for keywords and conversions. I then also target Amazon Sponsored Product Ads aggressively from the start for multiple objectives:
1) Gain rank from sales attribute to keywords targeted.
2) Mine keyword data to find high conversion keywords and discover possible new keywords.
Q2b: One possible scenario is the test listing may have bad product review. Will product review affect seller’s rating/score?
A: I always only sell good quality products. Or in other words, I do not sell poor quality products that I would not be happy to use myself. This mitigates getting poor product reviews. However there are always occasional nasty customers who give bad reviews. For example I have had reviews which said, "Good product", or "excellent quality" and rate as 1, 2 or 3 stars!
If your first handful of reviews include one or more that are negative, that can leave you with a listing that is dead in the water. Since nobody would buy something that had only one 1 star review! In such cases, if the poor review is for a high quality product but given by a nasty buyer, then I would recommend creating a new listing and moving the inventory over to start on a clean slate, rather than try to flog a dead horse with the original listing. Amazon Seller Central has an option to copy a listing. Or if you have saved your listing in a document or in Helium 10 Scribbles, that would make creating a new listing a breeze too.
A: I always only sell good quality products. Or in other words, I do not sell poor quality products that I would not be happy to use myself. This mitigates getting poor product reviews. However there are always occasional nasty customers who give bad reviews. For example I have had reviews which said, "Good product", or "excellent quality" and rate as 1, 2 or 3 stars!
If your first handful of reviews include one or more that are negative, that can leave you with a listing that is dead in the water. Since nobody would buy something that had only one 1 star review! In such cases, if the poor review is for a high quality product but given by a nasty buyer, then I would recommend creating a new listing and moving the inventory over to start on a clean slate, rather than try to flog a dead horse with the original listing. Amazon Seller Central has an option to copy a listing. Or if you have saved your listing in a document or in Helium 10 Scribbles, that would make creating a new listing a breeze too.
3. Amazon PPC Campaigns
Or more accurately, Amazon Sponsored Advertising, which uses a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) system.
Q: Do you have a recommended approach/split in terms of timing and budget allocation between Exact Match, Broad Match and Auto Campaign? I got confused watching Project X, and doesn’t know the priority/allocation of budget. It seems that Project X started with exact match campaign for two weeks, to be followed by another two campaigns for broad match and auto campaign. However, they didnt really explain the rationale, or circumstances which trigger the subsequent campaigns. Or would you recommended that we concurrently start all 3 different campaigns?
A: Yes I do. I do not use the same methodology as in Helium 10's Project X. I have a much more extensive (and complex) Amazon Ad strategy. For example, my top selling listing currently has 42 active ad campaigns!
Probably would take many hours to explain! I might have to do a video course so that you can watch and follow the steps over and over again, as it is definitely not possible to grasp and implement it from hearing or seeing it one time.
Q: Do you have a recommended approach/split in terms of timing and budget allocation between Exact Match, Broad Match and Auto Campaign? I got confused watching Project X, and doesn’t know the priority/allocation of budget. It seems that Project X started with exact match campaign for two weeks, to be followed by another two campaigns for broad match and auto campaign. However, they didnt really explain the rationale, or circumstances which trigger the subsequent campaigns. Or would you recommended that we concurrently start all 3 different campaigns?
A: Yes I do. I do not use the same methodology as in Helium 10's Project X. I have a much more extensive (and complex) Amazon Ad strategy. For example, my top selling listing currently has 42 active ad campaigns!
Probably would take many hours to explain! I might have to do a video course so that you can watch and follow the steps over and over again, as it is definitely not possible to grasp and implement it from hearing or seeing it one time.
4. Indexing
Q: Is my understanding correct that Amazon’s algorithm for indexing keywords is a blackbox and we can only make a guesswork by mentioning the keywords in the title, bullet points, description etc? Is Helium 10’s Keyword Tracker the only tool to ensure our key words are indexed?
A: All search engines have a complex ranking algorithm that no human can fully decipher. However it is not a totally black box. Like Google, Amazon does provide official guidance on some key indexing and ranking factors. For example, it is clearly stated that words in the title carry the most weight out of all the words in a listing.
No, I'm sure there are several tools and ways to check for Amazon keyword indexing. However since I subscribe to Helium 10, I don't need to use or pay for any other tool. And the Helium 10 tool to check for indexing is called Index Checker, which I think is one of the free tools. Keyword tracker can also be used to check indexing, but it is much more powerful as it checks keyword rank position in search results and also keeps track the rank daily history. It also has a notes function where you can insert notes on dates where you make changes, such as adding a discount coupon, running a new PPC campaign, changed images, edited copywriting with a new keyword, etc., this then allows you to see if there is any impact on the ranking for whatever keyword terms you want to track.
A: All search engines have a complex ranking algorithm that no human can fully decipher. However it is not a totally black box. Like Google, Amazon does provide official guidance on some key indexing and ranking factors. For example, it is clearly stated that words in the title carry the most weight out of all the words in a listing.
No, I'm sure there are several tools and ways to check for Amazon keyword indexing. However since I subscribe to Helium 10, I don't need to use or pay for any other tool. And the Helium 10 tool to check for indexing is called Index Checker, which I think is one of the free tools. Keyword tracker can also be used to check indexing, but it is much more powerful as it checks keyword rank position in search results and also keeps track the rank daily history. It also has a notes function where you can insert notes on dates where you make changes, such as adding a discount coupon, running a new PPC campaign, changed images, edited copywriting with a new keyword, etc., this then allows you to see if there is any impact on the ranking for whatever keyword terms you want to track.
5. Actual Product Launch
Q5a: Any thoughts on the usefulness of Early Reviewer Program to improve the organic ranking?
A: I ALWAYS enroll in the Early Reviewer Program for all my new listings. I think it is a great value-for-money way to try to get reviews early on. Much better than the incentivized review programs that cost a lot more and are a violation of Amazon terms of service which can get you in trouble. Note that reviews don't directly affect ranking, though it has an indirect effect. Keyword ranking is affected by optimization, Ads, sales attributed to keywords, competition. However reviews do affect clicks and conversions, which then affect sales, which in turn affect a listing's rank for various keywords.
However, you still need to first rank (get impressions), so that you can be seen, and therefore potentially get clicks and conversions (sales). This is explained in this post about the 3-Step online sales funnel. This is because you can only get reviews if there are first sales. And you can only get sales if you can first get clicked on, and you can only get clicks if you first get impressions (seen by being found in search results organically and/or through advertising).
So the optimization of the right keywords and running ads well are key to getting impressions.
Once that's done, I also use Amazon coupons to attract more clicks and conversions. This page explains how to create and use Amazon coupons.
Q5b: Project X recommends Search-Find-Buy service providers like Rankbell and AZ Rank, as compared to free giveaways to improve organic rankings. Any thoughts on this?
A: I can't comment as I don't use them and have never found a need to. I suggest doing your due diligence and assessing your own comfort level in using such services as they do violate the spirit, if not the letter of law in terms of Amazon policy and could potentially come to bite you down the road as Amazon has a track record of taking action retrospectively.
A: I ALWAYS enroll in the Early Reviewer Program for all my new listings. I think it is a great value-for-money way to try to get reviews early on. Much better than the incentivized review programs that cost a lot more and are a violation of Amazon terms of service which can get you in trouble. Note that reviews don't directly affect ranking, though it has an indirect effect. Keyword ranking is affected by optimization, Ads, sales attributed to keywords, competition. However reviews do affect clicks and conversions, which then affect sales, which in turn affect a listing's rank for various keywords.
However, you still need to first rank (get impressions), so that you can be seen, and therefore potentially get clicks and conversions (sales). This is explained in this post about the 3-Step online sales funnel. This is because you can only get reviews if there are first sales. And you can only get sales if you can first get clicked on, and you can only get clicks if you first get impressions (seen by being found in search results organically and/or through advertising).
So the optimization of the right keywords and running ads well are key to getting impressions.
Once that's done, I also use Amazon coupons to attract more clicks and conversions. This page explains how to create and use Amazon coupons.
Q5b: Project X recommends Search-Find-Buy service providers like Rankbell and AZ Rank, as compared to free giveaways to improve organic rankings. Any thoughts on this?
A: I can't comment as I don't use them and have never found a need to. I suggest doing your due diligence and assessing your own comfort level in using such services as they do violate the spirit, if not the letter of law in terms of Amazon policy and could potentially come to bite you down the road as Amazon has a track record of taking action retrospectively.
6. Others, General Questions
Q6a: From Freedom Ticket – free one week preview. Do we need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) if we intend to start selling using individual name (instead of company)?
A: This applies typically only if you are a US business entity. You can get a free EIN easily by applying over the phone with the US tax authorities. I did that some years ago but have never ever needed to use it, so it is pretty much redundant.
Amazon allows sellers from over 100 countries to sell on their various marketplaces.
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200417280, I found this in 2 seconds by Google searching for countries eligible to sell on Amazon). Sellers can also register a seller account as a personal or business entity. If you register your seller account as a non-US entity personal entity, your ID number would be your national tax identification number. For Singapore, that would be your NRIC number. If you register as a business or company, then you would use your business registration number, such as a UEN in Singapore or ABN in Australia.
Q6b: With the recent disruption on Amazon's US marketplace, do you recommend we wait a while for the product research? I am looking at when to start the paid Helium 10 subscription.
No. The best time to get started is always now, not later. Online sales are exploding with many countries in lockdown. This is also creating and changing shopping habits with many people forced to buy online who have never done it before, or increasing online orders significantly. It's a catalyst that's making online shopping more mainstream than ever before.
The only thing to note is that some short-term keyword search volume and trend data will be skewed, such as a multiple times increase in searches for masks, sanitizers, and virus related products, while demand for products related to gatherings such as weddings and parties is down.
Remember to use the discounts when you subscribe to Helium 10.
A: This applies typically only if you are a US business entity. You can get a free EIN easily by applying over the phone with the US tax authorities. I did that some years ago but have never ever needed to use it, so it is pretty much redundant.
Amazon allows sellers from over 100 countries to sell on their various marketplaces.
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200417280, I found this in 2 seconds by Google searching for countries eligible to sell on Amazon). Sellers can also register a seller account as a personal or business entity. If you register your seller account as a non-US entity personal entity, your ID number would be your national tax identification number. For Singapore, that would be your NRIC number. If you register as a business or company, then you would use your business registration number, such as a UEN in Singapore or ABN in Australia.
Q6b: With the recent disruption on Amazon's US marketplace, do you recommend we wait a while for the product research? I am looking at when to start the paid Helium 10 subscription.
No. The best time to get started is always now, not later. Online sales are exploding with many countries in lockdown. This is also creating and changing shopping habits with many people forced to buy online who have never done it before, or increasing online orders significantly. It's a catalyst that's making online shopping more mainstream than ever before.
The only thing to note is that some short-term keyword search volume and trend data will be skewed, such as a multiple times increase in searches for masks, sanitizers, and virus related products, while demand for products related to gatherings such as weddings and parties is down.
Remember to use the discounts when you subscribe to Helium 10.
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