Amazon is one of the most practical platforms new businesses can tap to introduce their products to the market. Today, we’re going to look into the dynamics of Amazon selling and how it benefits a business.

Ecommerce has exponentially grown as a modern marketplace for consumers. Retail e-commerce sales are projected to grow almost $843.15 billion in 2021, showing a 6.1% increase from the previous year. And as the biggest online retailer in the US, Amazon takes up the majority of those sales from a global basis.

Despite the number of online retail competitors vying for the same success, Amazon still holds its place at the top. And when it’s leveraged correctly by a brand, it has the potential to expand a company’s reach and boost its sales dramatically. However, this comes with a price. A tool is only as good as how you use it.

Nike, the world’s largest athletic apparel maker, pulled out of Amazon because they were overpowered by third-party sellers. They tried to strike a deal with the platform for first-party sales but couldn’t compete with the number of competitors burying their listings. Although Nike’s case is pretty unique in that they have a lot of brands to contend with, it still shows how important strategy is in selling on Amazon.

So, to use Amazon successfully, we must figure out what we should do and avoid.

Benefits of Amazon Selling

Let’s look at the reasons why most companies use Amazon to sell. This will give us a better idea of how to capitalize on it.

Large Marketplace

One of the biggest reasons startups turn to Amazon is they want access to its phenomenal audience reach. Being the most popular online shopping platform, Amazon has billions of visitors browsing their site. On top of that, it is the first place people start their product research on. With a strategically optimized listing, an unknown brand can turn into an overnight bestseller to the right shoppers.

Logistics

For most early-stage startups, logistics is an issue that takes up a huge chunk of the budget. Selling on Amazon gives a company the benefit of a vast supply chain. Amazon’s Fulfillment program allows vendors to send their inventory to Amazon and Amazon manages and tracks its movements in shipping. This takes away a lot of the headaches in customer service and saves a lot of time and resources.

Branding

Launching a new brand is a challenging endeavor. Amazon selling allows you to forego the heavy lifting of creating a website, running a marketing campaign, and generating traffic. Amazon provides a minimalistic and flexible platform that gives you just enough room to customize and show off your branding while keeping the transactions professional.

Whether it’s the efficient shipping system or the cost-saving product posting, Amazon has a lot to offer for small and large businesses alike. It takes away the pressure for a startup to create and maintain a running website for transactions. It’s ideal if you’re new to eCommerce and are not particularly familiar with how online selling works.

Step-by-step Guide to Amazon Selling

If you’ve decided to start selling on Amazon, here are the steps to get started.

1. Create an Amazon account

Signing up for Amazon selling is easy. You can register an individual seller account or a professional one. They offer premiums based on the number of products you plan to sell and the tools you’ll need in selling. If you plan to sell less than 40 items then the individual account is the safer option. You can always switch plans in the future if your customer base grows.

The cost for the individual plan is $0.99 per sale while the Professional plan requires you to pay $39.99 every month, regardless of sales. Before signing up, be sure to review the selling fees and shipping policies; these are based on the plan you choose.

2. Submit the Selling Requirements

Once you’ve done the initial sign up, Amazon will verify you’re eligible as a seller and will ask you to submit the following items:

• Bank account number and bank routing number
• Credit card
• Government-issued ID
• Tax information
• Phone Number

3. Set up your account and seller profile

To establish credibility, you need to design a professional sound profile. You can provide images, a bio description that mentions your website, or other online accounts.

Although not mandatory, it’s best to hire content writers and graphic designers to create your profile. They can create your branding while following Amazon’s guidelines and restrictions. Plus, you get a more polished result with a trained eye. A lot of customers visit a seller’s profile to ensure they are authentic, so be sure to put in the work to your profile.

4. Create an optimized listing

When you’re creating your product page, you have to keep these factors in mind:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Amazon’s algorithm is unique so you would need specific tools designed for Amazon’s search engine. Your best bet is to hire an SEO specialist and content writer to ensure you’re visible in people’s searches. An SEO specialist can generate effective keywords for your copy. Likewise, a content writer can weave them coherently in the text without sounding monotonous.
• Images – Online shoppers will naturally rely on the visuals when they’re deciding their purchase. Your product image will determine the success of your listing. You must upload high-resolution images with professional editing. Remember, the sharper the pictures, the more chances you can close sales.

5. Track your Sales

Once you’ve done things right, you’re bound to create a following on your Amazon shop. Keep monitoring the amount of sales you’re getting every month and study your customers’ behavior.

Amazon’s metrics offer a lot of insights but there are also other SEO tools that can also provide supplementary analytics. An SEO specialist can help you interpret the data and monitor the performance of your listings.

How to Sell Better

To successfully run an e-commerce business on Amazon, you need experts who can maximize its functions. It can be an overwhelming task to create everything from scratch, especially if you’re new in the business. You have to ensure that the operations will consistently run smoothly. Hence, you need a dedicated team to help you launch and maintain your Amazon operations.

Full Scale can provide you with a team of experts to get you started. You can recruit SEO specialists, content writers, graphic designers, and project managers to create your materials. We can take care of all the tedious processes while you focus on developing your product. Want to build your team today? Talk to us!