The moment you sign up as an Amazon seller, the clock starts ticking. The online retail giant will hold you to its monthly performance metrics from day one. Knowing how to sell on Amazon can make all the difference to how well you do.
This knowledge could give you the power to make money online.
With this five-step checklist, you’ll be ready to ace every step of selling on Amazon. We’ve covered everything from the most basic preparation to the next steps necessary to grow your success.
Are you ready to start selling? Let’s dive in.
- Do market and product research
- Write a business plan
- Open an Amazon Seller account
- Create detailed product listings
- Manage and grow your store
- Frequently Asked Questions
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1. Do market and product research
Your marketing and product research efforts will form the very foundations of your ongoing Amazon sales strategy — so it's a step you shouldn’t overlook.
In addition to knowing which types of products and product categories are most popular with consumers in your niche, you will also need a firm grip on Amazon’s seller’s fees. Your fees will vary depending on the type of seller’s plan you opt for, as well as the type and volume of products you’re looking to offer in your store.
Once you understand your seller’s fees, there are two key steps to well-rounded market and consumer research. Let’s take a look at them now.
Related: Top 10 trending products to sell online in Canada
Step 1: Find a product niche
Finding the right product niche will help you to develop your brand while allowing you to tap into a specific vertical and own it. Rather than being a ‘one-stop shop,’ focusing on a specific type of product or buyer will give your selling efforts a clear-cut direction.
For example, instead of selling all kinds of electronics, maybe you would like to focus only on those used by gamers. Or perhaps you focus on selling pet products, instead of general retail.
Focusing on a niche will allow you to connect with more engaged customers (which means more sales).
When it comes to picking a niche, you should choose something with an active market that aligns with your personal interests or expertise. This will give you a level of authority that will boost your brand credibility.
It’s also useful to have passion for the product if you’d like to succeed in a competitive marketplace.
Step 2: Look for a unique product (or one that aligns with your interests)
It’s common for new sellers to jump in with products that are already popular. However, there’s no real chance of successfully selling them in such crowded markets.
It’s vital to sell something where you have a chance at actually making your business work.
For the best product selection results, it’s always best to find out which products are trending the most and then decide where you can exploit any gaps in the market.
For example, if you discover that car cams are trending, then you can dig a little deeper to learn which styles, brands and sizes are in the highest demand so you can refine your potential product range.
It’s always worth remembering that physical products aren’t the only things that prove popular on Amazon — digital products like eBooks and music are also worth exploring.
The biggest competitor on Amazon is Amazon itself — check your intended catalogue against Amazon. If the company itself is selling your products, rethink your approach.
Learn about restricted or gated products
When it comes to knowing how to sell on Amazon with confidence, learning about restricted or gated products is essential. It’s important to understand that:
- Some categories are open to all sellers
- Some require a Pro Seller account
- Some require approval to sell
- Some products cannot be sold by third-party sellers
In fact, there are plenty of products that come with stringent restrictions.
Here are some of the products that are restricted on the platform (if you’re a third-party seller):
- Alcohol
- Explosives, weapons, and related items
- Laser products
- Surveillance-based equipment that is used for purposes like bugging or wiretapping
To discover which items you can sell in your niche, check out Amazon’s official restricted product list. Consider what you are selling, and make sure you have the appropriate account.
Ask for samples
If you’re a budding Amazon seller, requesting samples of any product you’re potentially looking to sell on the platform is a smart move.
Some suppliers will offer free samples as an incentive, while others will charge a small fee.
Either way, getting samples will usually prove a solid return on investment as you will be 100% sure about the quality — preserving your brand reputation in the process.
Run a competitor analysis
Once you’ve selected your niche and you’re ready to start both sourcing and selling the products that your target customers will want to buy, you should do a little competitor research.
By understanding what your competitors are selling and how they are doing it on the platform, you will be able to find gaps in the market.
This is called Blue Ocean thinking.
Finding customer needs that aren't currently being met will give you an edge while helping you establish your very own unique selling points (USPs).
To ensure that your listings can compete effectively against competitors’ listings on Amazon, you’ll want to consider the following factors:
- Price: You want to keep your listings’ prices at or lower than competitors’ — and not just because shoppers are looking for the best deals. You also want to be the Featured Offer if you’re sharing a listing with other sellers, and Amazon highly prioritises price in choosing the Featured Offer. Bookmark this post on setting prices for products and services.
- Images: When Amazon shoppers are browsing through search results, they’re not only looking at price — they’re also checking out photos. Visuals can be a very persuasive factor in encouraging purchases.So you want to make sure that your listing has more images with higher quality than competing items.
- Text: If your listing currently isn’t ranking for your product’s keywords, it might be because the listing text isn’t considered relevant by Amazon’s search engine. Look at the text of the current top-ranking listings to search for keywords that you can include in your own product descriptions to boost their visibility.
Finding ways to make your listing outshine competitors’ on Amazon will improve your product rank in the marketplace’s search results.
Related: A step-by-step guide to keywords
2. Write a business plan
Before we go any further, an essential piece of advice: decide on your business plan in advance. Don’t try to wing it.
Take the time to establish a solid business plan and you will have a clear roadmap of how you will run and grow your business over time.
Naturally, your business plan will evolve as your Amazon store continues to grow — but by having a framework in place, you're more likely to succeed.
A business plan also comes in handy when applying for loans.
When writing your business plan, you should focus on these key points:
- Explain why you’re in business and what you’re trying to sell
- Describe your inventory management, fulfilment and logistics processes
- Define your milestones and goals
- Outline your financials: fees, costs, advertising
- Explain why you’re in business and what you’re trying to sell
Knowing how to sell on Amazon effectively isn’t just a case of putting products on your site and hoping for the best. You’ve also got to define exactly why you’re in business and what you’re trying to sell with confidence.
Of course, at this stage in the game, you’ll have a decent idea of what you want to sell. But a detailed business plan will give you greater focus. It will help you stay on track and keep you accountable for your actions.
Let’s look at the key requirements to defining your Amazon selling business rationale.
Determine your inventory scope
Take some time to decide if you’re going to sell the same products or if you plan on regularly changing your inventory.
If you plan on selling the same products all the time, it would be smart to take advantage of Seller Central’s replenishment alert. This way, you won’t ever run out of your main items.
The best way to manage your inventory scope with pinpoint precision is by creating a timeline.
For instance, you could commit to selling a range of 12 items in the first six months, then double your range after the first year.
Setting benchmarks will ensure you grow steadily without working beyond your limitations (which is bad for business).
Define your value proposition to customers
Your value proposition is how your business or product will benefit customers and why they should choose you.
A strong value proposition will keep all your Amazon efforts on track while giving your target audience a clear reason to buy what you’re selling.
The key to defining your value proposition successfully is outlining the promise you will offer to your customers, including:
- The exact benefits in detail
- Why your offerings are better or more valuable than your competitors
Outline or describe any intellectual property
When producing your business plan, it’s also important to outline any intellectual property (IP) rights related to the products or services you’re looking to sell on Amazon.
If you’re selling digital books or music especially, you should make sure to clearly define any IP you have (such as copyright) within your business plan.
Describe your inventory management and fulfilment processes
Next up in your business plan, you will need to outline your inventory management, fulfilment and logistics specifics. This is perhaps the most functional area of your business operation, so giving it due care and attention is vital.
Let’s take a closer look.
Step 1: Decide where you will get your products
First, you will need to decide how you’re going to source your products. Inventory is a major issue on Amazon.
If you become eligible to be the Featured Offer, you will be able to direct shoppers to the checkout more swiftly, earning more sales as a result.
But you won’t become the Featured Offer if your product’s out of stock.
You also need to avoid periods when you’re out of stock and not selling — and thus not making any money.
Only you know the most appropriate sources of inventory for your business. But make sure you have fallbacks if possible, so you don’t get caught out.
Related: 6 ways to use sustainable sourcing in any business
Step 2: Choose your fulfilment option
In addition to deciding where you’re going to source your products, you’ll also need to choose one of Amazon’s fulfilment options.
Here are the three choices for Amazon sellers:
- FBA: The Fulfillment By Amazon option is attractive as the platform handles the entire end-to-end process from picking and packing to delivery. This steady flowing model will increase your chances of earning the Buy Box, but it’s worth noting that the fees are a little higher than other fulfillment options.
- FBM: The Fulfillment By Merchant option is attractive as it comes with lower associated fees because the seller handles the entire end-to-end process. This will give you more control but it comes with extra responsibility.
- 3PL: Also known as Third Party Logistics, 3PL is the process of outsourcing your fulfillment and logistics processes. Using 3PL services can reduce costs and streamline certain aspects of your operations—but it’s important to check through your options in detail before making a firm commitment.
Step 3: Make a plan for stale inventory
No matter how you’re selling, keeping track of inventory age is an important part of handling your supply chain. If products are sitting on the shelf for three months, that tells you something about what you need to order.
More urgently, if you’re using FBA, it’s vital to identify stale inventory so you don’t get caught in Amazon’s 180-day inventory sweeps and charged a much higher storage fee.
Don’t wait 179 days and then wonder how much of your inventory is now costing you money instead of making you money.
You can find Amazon’s inventory report under Reports > Fulfilment > Manage FBA Inventory if you’re using FBA. There, you’ll find a full real-time inventory report containing numerical values for a range of inventory data — SKU (stock keeping unit), product condition and so on.
Step 4: Outline your returns process
Amazon has its own internal returns policy that you must either meet or exceed in order to be an Amazon seller.
It’s a good idea to:
- Read this page for Amazon's rules
- Figure out what you’re going to do that’s at least as good as Amazon’s policy
- Write that down somewhere, even if it’s a sticky note on your desktop
When you get an item returned, that’s the wrong time to be figuring out what to do about it — especially since you only have a 24-hour window to begin the process.
Outline your financials
At this point in your business planning, you will need to outline your various potential outgoings.
As an Amazon seller, these costs will include platform fees, product costs and advertising expenses.
Consider your costs and set your price point
When you’re setting your price points, it’s important to remain competitive while leaving enough of a margin to allow for discounts or special offers.
It’s also worth looking at how much your competition is charging.
You’ll want to take these costs into consideration:
- Direct costs such as product procurement, SKU and shipping fees
- Indirect costs like warehousing, bookkeeping, product samples and marketing
- Amazon fees such as sales commission, fulfilment fees, selling fees, FBA fees, commission on returned products and refunds, storage fees, return shipping or disposal costs and FBA inbound shipping fees
Define your milestones and goals
To make sure the strength of your business plan can be measured, you need to set specific goals and milestones based on your desired outcomes. Here’s the way to do it.
Set deadlines
First, you need to note down deadlines for your business moving forward.
This part of the process is vital to your ongoing success, as it will give you a definitive roadmap to follow.
Deadlines will keep you on your toes and help shape your business strategy.
For example, your deadlines could be based on when you source all your inventory, when you set up your online store, and when you launch your first marketing campaign.
Related: How to make a one-page strategic plan
Establish your goals
Armed with your deadlines and milestones, you should also establish your key business goals.
These business goals will helpe you keep moving forward while holding you accountable for your continual growth and success.
For example:
- Do you want to expand your product range after 12 months?
- Do you have specific quarterly sales targets you’d like to hit?
- Is there a number of repeat customers you’d like to have after the first 18 months?
Ask yourself these questions and set realistic milestones you can work towards.
Sketch out a response plan
One of the most vital parts of selling successfully on Amazon is being able to respond to unexpected issues or continual change.
You must create a response plan. Your response plan should contain scenarios you can work through if your business isn’t hitting its goals. This will give you the tools to get to the root of the issue quickly and take action.
Here’s a checklist you can use as a guide:
- Are any of my products causing the issue in terms of quality?
- Are my product descriptions/photos poor or misleading?
- Am I spending enough on advertising?
- Are my policies not clear enough?
- Have my competitors started doing something new that is luring my customers away?
3. Open an Amazon Seller account
With your business plan in place, it’s time to set up your Amazon Seller account.
Working through each step carefully will ensure your account is set up for success. Let’s take a look at what you need to do.
- Gather documents needed to open your Amazon Seller Account
- Line up a tax adviser
- Determine if you want to use a registered business name on your Amazon account
- Register your account
Gather documents needed to open your Amazon Seller Account
It’s a lot easier to start selling with your paperwork in order. Some of this will be needed for your account-opening process, some of it is common sense, and some of it will help to protect your business in the future.
Gather the below items to create your Amazon Seller account:
- Business email or Amazon customer account: You’ve got to have a valid email address. Consider setting one up.
- Credit card: You’ll need to have the credit card you’re going to use for your business handy and solvent. The credit card must be able to be charged internationally.
- Government ID: A government-issued ID is necessary to verify your identity and protect both you and your customers.
- Tax ID and information: Whether you’re registering as a business or a sole proprietor in Canada, you’ll need your corresponding tax ID and any other tax information required by your local government (e.g. Business Number issued by the Canada Revenue Agency).
- Phone number
- Bank account that can receive proceeds from Amazon sales.
Line up a tax adviser
If you’re planning to use Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), there could be tax issues.
Different provinces in Canada may have different rules for doing business, especially regarding tax regulations and other legal requirements.
For a single seller with a single province, FBA tax is simple.
But for businesses acting in multiple provinces, it can get complex.
If that’s you, it’s cheaper and simpler to talk to a specialist tax accountant or adviser before you start selling on Amazon, in the same way that it’s far cheaper to have a good accountant than muddle through it all yourself.
Companies that specialize in Amazon tax issues within Canada include:
- Accountor CPA
- Baranov CPA
- Jones and Cosman
- A2X Accounting
- Canadian Tax Compliance
Note: This content should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Always consult a legal or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.
Determine if you want to use a DBA name on your Amazon account
Amazon lets you use a DBA (doing business as) name on your Amazon account. This basically rebrands your Amazon account as something different from your main business (if you have one).
There are plenty of legitimate reasons to do this — such as, you have a specific part of your business that takes place on Amazon. If you normally sell furniture of every kind but on Amazon you sell only wardrobes, Texas Furniture isn’t as good a name as Texas Wardrobes, for instance.
But there are also plenty of sketchy sellers on Amazon who use DBA to conceal the real identity of their company. You might have more credibility and trust if you just use your regular business name.
Register your account
You’ve done a lot of work and are now ready to open your Amazon Seller Account. Make sure you have the documents you gathered on hand, and then go straight to Amazon Seller Central and click the sign-up button.
There are two types of accounts:
- An Individual Seller Account, with no monthly fee but a charge of $1.49 CAD for each item you sell.
- A Pro Seller Account for $29.99 CAD per month, no matter how many items you sell.
So if you plan to sell only a few items per month, go with the Individual Seller Account.
However, if your Amazon selling will be a larger venture right from the start, plan on using the Professional Seller Account.
If you want to sell handmade products, you must use a Professional Seller Account.
This is true no matter how many products you are selling.
Keep in mind that you can change plans at any time, either upgrading or downgrading to the appropriate level.
For both account types, you can sign up with your existing customer account or you can create a new seller account with your business email.
Note: Amazon collects a referral fee on each sale no matter the chosen plan. This fee is a percentage of the total transaction and varies by product category. The amount depends on the product category, with most falling between 8% and 15%.
4. Create detailed product listings
Great product listings are the best way to earn visibility on Amazon’s platform.
Once logged in, you’ll navigate to Seller Central to create your listing. To create your listing, you’ll need:
- A product identifier, such as GTIN, UPC, ISBN or EAN to specify the exact item you’re selling. You can get a UPC code directly from GS1 or request an exemption.
- An SKU, which is a product ID you create to track your own inventory
- Details, including the price, product condition, quantity available and shipping options
- Product details including name, brand, category, description and photos
- Keywords and search terms
If there is already an exact product match on Amazon, then you can match your listing so things like product identifiers will already be in place. However, if you are the first to sell a product on Amazon, then you will have to provide those details.
Your offer details will be displayed on a product detail page. This is the page people see when they look at products on Amazon.
Here is what is included on this page:
- Title. 200 characters maximum. Capitalise the first letter of every word.
- Images. Use 500 x 500 pixels or 1,000 x 1,000 pixels to increase your listing image quality.
- Variations in colours, sizes, etc.
- Bullet points. Short, descriptive sentences highlighting key features and benefits.
- Featured offer. The featured offer on a detail page. Customers can add to their cart or “Buy Now.”
- Other offers. If you sell a product that is sold by others, you’ll see the same product sold by multiple sellers offering a different price, shipping options, etc.
- Description. Be sure to use keywords that will help customers find your product.
Incorporate keywords in your product descriptions
When creating your product listings, make sure you think about the words shoppers are using when searching for your products.
There are a few key tools to identify the keywords your shoppers are searching for most frequently.
- Google Keyword Planner: This free tool indicates the monthly search volume of keywords on Google’s search engine. Since Amazon listings can rank on Google, this tool is especially helpful.
- Scope: A keyword tool that’s specifically geared for Amazon. It allows you to track keywords’ monthly volume, ranking position over time, estimated sales and more.
- Sellesta: An AI-powered keyword tool designed to help you discover a range of high-converting words for your Amazon Seller account’s landing pages and product descriptions.
Once you’ve collected your keywords, place them throughout your listing, such as in the product’s title and description.
When detecting these popular keywords, search engines will recognise your listing as a relevant result for your buyers’ searches and put it in front of more of them.
5. Manage and grow your store
To profit as an Amazon seller, you have to stand out against over 80,000 other Canadian-based and Amazon sellers (and more than 1.7 million globally).
The average conversion rate on Amazon is roughly 15% (conversion is the percentage of browsers who actually buy). Amazon's conversion rate is about three to five times that of other ecommerce sites.
The key to reaching Amazon shoppers is maximising your listings’ visibility (see keywords section, above).
There are so many products on the marketplace, and buyers don’t have the time or patience to sift through every single one.
Make it easy for them to find your products and you’re on track to win greater sales.
Boosting your listings’ visibility comes from both effective management of your store’s products and from smart product promotions. Keeping the below areas in mind will help your store to grow and flourish.
- Learn to use the Amazon Seller platform and Amazon App
- Maintain strong product ratings
- Maintain strong shipping performance
- Monitor your seller rating (this has to do with customer service)
- Use internal Amazon Ad channels
- Use external advertising channels
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Learn to use the Amazon Seller platform and Amazon App
Taking the time to get a firm handle on the Amazon Seller platform and Amazon App will give you the greatest chances of success.
Once you’re 100% confident with all the key functions and features, you will be able to show both your store and your products in their best possible light.
Work your way through the Vendor Central platform as well as the Amazon App and learn how to:
- Track sales
- Fulfill orders
- Respond to questions
- Edit photos
- Source new products
- Find key seller’s analytics
Maintain strong product ratings
First impressions matter when you’re on a marketplace as competitive as Amazon. Buyers are browsing through thousands of products, so they won’t settle for items that seem low-quality.
A clear way to give shoppers a good first impression is to maintain high star ratings.
When buyers are looking through their Amazon search results, the star ratings are visible for each product. Along with price, these star ratings are a major factor in whether shoppers decide to click on your listings.
They can’t see your products in person, so this feedback from other buyers is especially meaningful to shoppers deciding whether to make a purchase.
Here are a few tips for maintaining high star ratings on all your Amazon listings:
- Describe your item exactly as it is in your listing. False product details and images may boost sales initially, but ultimately, they only hurt your Amazon business. Buyers who receive a product that’s totally different from the listing are bound to leave a low rating in disappointment.
- Provide excellent customer service. If you don’t handle customer requests properly, such as shipping the item late or not being prompt in completing a return, you’ll anger buyers. Avoid receiving a low product rating by delivering the item as expected and promptly resolving issues.
- Reach out to disappointed buyers. When a customer leaves a poor rating, reach out to the buyer to see if you can resolve their issue. If you can fix their problem, they could adjust their rating to improve your product’s overall score.
Ratings are a key way for buyers to quickly assess your Amazon products. Make sure your scores stay high to keep buyers interested in your listings.
Watch your shipping performance
On the surface, shipping might seem totally unrelated to promoting your products. But on Amazon, your shipping performance is a key factor in your listings’ visibility.
Amazon wants to keep shoppers happy, so they discourage poor shipping practices by making shipping a factor in becoming the Featured Offer and ranking highly on Amazon’s search rankings.
If you have consistent shipping issues, you’re less likely to be the Featured Offer or to rank well in search.
Instead of hurting your visibility, use these tips to maintain a strong shipping performance on Amazon:
- Regularly check your shipping performance metrics. In Amazon Seller Central, you can see key shipping performance metrics such as On-Time Delivery Rate and Valid Tracking Rate to ensure that you’re consistently offering great shipping services and pleasing your customers.
- Use Amazon FBA. By signing up for Fulfilment by Amazon, you won’t have to worry about providing great shipping as Amazon ships your orders. If there are any complaints about your shipping from buyers, then Amazon will remove the rating since they are responsible for shipping issues.
- Use inventory management software. Adopting an inventory management program like Sellbrite keeps you on track so you avoid understocking and disappointing customers. Sellbrite monitors when your stock is low across channels, so you always know when to reorder.
Always provide great shipping to improve your chance of becoming the Featured Offer ... or at least ranking well in search results.
With high visibility, Amazon shoppers will easily be able to find your products.
Monitor your seller rating
Like shipping performance, your overall seller rating on Amazon also impacts your chances of becoming the Featured Offer and ranking high in Amazon’s search results.
Punishing low-rated sellers with lower visibility is a measure to keep Amazon shoppers happy and sustain the marketplace. It ensures that buyers are first and foremost buying from sellers who have a positive record and can provide great service.
To keep your listings visible on Amazon, follow these tips to maintain a high seller rating:
- Monitor your seller rating. On Seller Central, you can view the factors that contribute to your overall seller rating — such as Perfect Order Percentage and Late Response Rate. This will tell you what needs to be improved.
- Be prompt with your customer service. Set a daily reminder to resolve customer issues and respond to customer messages. The quicker you give buyers attention, the more impressed they’ll be with your service.
- Determine whether negative feedback could be removed. Amazon has clear guidelines for providing feedback.
Make an effort to keep your seller rating as high as possible and you’ll help your listings stay visible through the Featured Offer and Amazon search results.
Launch a Lightning Deal
Beyond convenience, many shoppers come to Amazon for the marketplace’s low prices.
A primary way of attracting Amazon shoppers to your listing is by launching a Lightning Deal.
Lightning Deals are time-based, marked-down products that buyers can find in Amazon’s Today’s Deals section. They draw a lot of attention and sales from Amazon’s shoppers not only because they appreciate discounts, but also because their limited time frame motivates buyers to make a purchase.
Sellers have to pay a fee and Amazon has to approve Lightning Deals before they’re launched.
Here are a few of the key guidelines that you need to meet for your Lightning Deals to be approved:
- Lightning Deals run for four to 12 hours
- Lightning Deals can only run once in a seven-day period
- You should have your proposed quantity available at least seven days before the deal is expected to launch
Use internal Amazon Ad channels
A key step in learning how to sell on Amazon is reviewing the Amazon Ad channels that are available. These can help you generate an excellent return on investment (ROI).
Even with search engine optimisation (SEO), there’s no guarantee that your listing will be placed higher in Amazon’s search results.
Amazon’s algorithm considers other factors for ranking — selling history, price and more — so SEO alone doesn’t necessarily lead to higher rankings.
To gain more control over your listings’ visibility, you can pay for your products to be sponsored and placed higher in search results.
- Sponsored Products: A cost-per-click (CPC) based platform that will help you promote individual listings on Amazon at the best possible times. You pay a fee whenever a buyer clicks on your sponsored ad.
- Sponsored Brands: An excellent awareness tool that will showcase your brand to customers with creative ads that appear in the shopping results.
- Sponsored Display: Another tool that serves your sponsored ads to relevant platform searches.
- Stores: An intuitive online store builder with a range of tools and features that will help you create the best possible shopping experience for your customers.
Use external advertising channels
In addition to using Amazon’s in-built advertising tools, using external ad platforms will help you attract plenty of traffic from elsewhere on the web.
Share listings on social media
The average person spends nearly two hours per day on social media platforms.
Sharing your Amazon listings on social media through your business accounts is a powerful way of getting your products in front of more buyers.
However, since your followers expect to receive value from your posts, it’s best to avoid creating posts on your account that are basically ads for your listings.
Instead, it’s better to share your listing in more subtle ways that are still helpful to your followers. Here are a few ideas:
- Use a social media promo code. Amazon Sellers with a Pro account can create a promotion link to share through social media about a discount they’re offering on the listing. Unlike a traditional ad, sharing a promo code gives users value by helping them save money.
- Share content that includes your listing link. Posting an informative, helpful blog post or video (e.g. how-to video or list post) that includes a link to your Amazon listing is a great way to indirectly promote your products through social media.
- Host a contest or giveaway. Announce on your social media accounts that any user who posts your Amazon listing in their bio will be entered for a chance to win a prize. This reward will motivate users to share your listing and spread the word about your Amazon products.
By creating social media content that is exciting and shareable, you can promote your Amazon listings through social media in a way that feels natural rather than invasive.
Related: How to sell on social media
Partner with influencers
Just like products in an online store, Amazon listings can gain significant traffic through influencer marketing.
When prominent individuals in your industry stand behind your product and link to your listing, it sends a message to their communities that your listing is worth checking out.
To promote your listing through influencer marketing, start by coming up with a list of influencers in your sector with a large base of social media followers. You can brainstorm this list by considering your own personal network or use an influencer platform like Platform Media.
Once you have a list going, reach out to influencers and ask if they are interested in partnering with you. Then measure the results after they share your Amazon listings.
That’s how to sell on Amazon
As the world’s biggest ecommerce platform, Amazon is a potential gold mine for those willing to put in the time and effort to succeed. But your success on the platform will depend on how you approach your strategy from the get-go.
Learning how to sell on Amazon and working through the right steps will give you an edge on the competition.
Use this guide as your Amazon-selling North Star and you will be up and running in no time. Best of luck.
How to sell on Amazon: The FAQs
Do I need a business licence to sell on Amazon?
Depending on your geographical location or region, there are slightly different licensing laws.
Some Provinces require you to have a valid seller’s permit or tax license to offer your products or services. These are required for many industries within Canada. Check out Do you need a business licence to sell online? for details.
How do I research and find products to sell?
From Keepa to FBAmultitool, there are several different tools that can help you research and source the best possible products in your niche.
Can I sell the same products on Amazon as on my online store?
Yes. As long as your product and the details outlined in the listing are exactly the same, you can sell your inventory through your main site or another third-party platform.
How can I put my product on Amazon?
You need to start with a Seller Account. Choose an Individual Seller Account or a Pro Seller Account. Once you have your account set up, you can begin listing products. You’ll need to have a product identifier, an SKU, product and store details, and keywords to show up in potential customers’ searches.
How do beginners sell on Amazon?
If you only plan to sell a few products a month, start with an Individual account. You will be charged $1.49 CAD per item sold, but does not have a monthly fee. If you’re just starting to research selling on Amazon, we recommend you read the text above, as it provides everything you need to know.
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon?
It depends on the plan you choose and what you are selling. Individual accounts are free, but you are charged $1.49 CAD per item sold.
Professional Seller Accounts have a monthly fee of $29.99 CAD per month with unlimited sales.
Each sale, no matter what type of account you have, also has referral fees, which depend on the type of product. There are additional fees for shipping and Fulfilment by Amazon, if you use that service.
It’s also worth noting that you will need themoney to purchase your original inventory.
For beginners, a budget of around $1,300 to $2,000 CAD may be an adequate amount.
Can you sell your own thing on Amazon?
There are limits to what you can sell. You can view a list of restricted items here.
If you are looking to sell handmade products, you’ll need a Pro Seller account.
Some sellers create or manufacture their own products in-house, which is a great way to stand out from the competition.
The information contained in this blog post is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an endorsement or advice from GoDaddy on any subject matter.