How To Sell on Amazon in 6 Essential Steps

This navigator offers tips and strategies for building a successful business on Amazon.

How to sell on Amazon for beginners

1. Conduct economy research
2. Choose a selling schedule
3. Write a strategy document
4. make an Amazon seller account
5. Decide which fulfillment alternative to use
6. List your first product

1. Conduct economy research

Use economy research and competitive analysis to assist you decide what to sell on Amazon. You’re looking for products that are trending and have a excellent boost spread in a space with relatively frail competition. There are a few ways you can assess the current economy landscape on Amazon and decide which products to prioritize:

Review Amazon bestsellers lists

Amazon’s bestsellers page is a great place to discover product ideas based on what’s selling well correct now on the site. Although it takes period for a product to attain Amazon bestsellers rank (it’s based on sales volume), you can still get a sense of what consumers are buying. Can you propose a version of a popular product that serves a specific niche or satisfies an unmet require?

Use keyword research tools

Jungle Scout is a popular keyword research tool that can narrow down your list of ideal products to sell. When you use a keyword research tool like this, you make decisions based on data. The search volume of a product helps you determine customer gain.

Read Amazon reviews

When customers review products, they may unwittingly reveal gaps in the economy. receive a look at Amazon product reviews to determine what customers like and dislike about specific brands and products. You may be able to discover a consistent issue with competitors’ products that your product can solve.

Check for restrictions

After deciding which products you are going to sell, check Amazon’s list of product restrictions to make sure you are in regulatory adherence. Items like fine art, surveillance equipment, and recycled electronics are among the products not allowed. sure products must leave through a preapproval procedure before you can sell them. Read the overview of product categories before setting up your account.

2. Choose a selling schedule

Depending on the product you’re selling and the amount of pool at your disposal, you’ll likely choose one or more of the following ways to sell on Amazon:

• Retail arbitrage. If you buy something below economy worth and sell it at a higher worth while profiting off the difference, that’s retail arbitrage. Amazon sellers can search for products on sale or clearance at places like Target, Best Buy, and large Lots, then sell them on Amazon for a higher worth.

• White labeling. Generic products with your own brand name or logo added are known as white label products. You don’t require to have any manufacturing or product design encounter to sell white label products—your focus is primarily on sourcing standard products and creating appealing branding. 

• Private labeling. Private-label products are produced by a third-event manufacturer based on retailers’ specifications. Retailers then economy and sell those products under their own brand. You can discover private label products through marketplaces like Alibaba and Thomasnet.

• Dropshipping. When dropshipping on Amazon, you never keep products in inventory. When someone purchases a product, the order goes to a third event. The third event then fulfills and ships the product to the customer.

3. Write a strategy document

Draft a strategic strategy document that details elements that are crucial to business achievement. Action items can include the following:

• Listing your products to sell
• Determining product pricing
• Defining your marketing schedule
• Identifying your ecommerce operating schedule
• Creating a schedule for inventory management

4. make an Amazon seller account

To make an Amazon seller account, you must first decide what type of seller schedule you require: person or professional. The main difference between the two depends on your projected volume of sales.

The person schedule is a pay-as-you-leave schedule that gives you access to basic listing and order management tools. person sellers pay a $0.99 seller’s fee every period they sell an item. If you sell fewer than 40 products per month, the person schedule may be for you. Once you sell more than 40 items per month, the person schedule becomes more expensive than the professional schedule, so you may as well upgrade.

The professional seller schedule is a $39.99 monthly subscription service that offers a suite of tools and benefits, including global selling programs, advanced business reports, and eligibility for Amazon’s Featured propose position.

Once you’ve selected a schedule, it’s period to set up your recent Amazon seller account. Collect the following information and enter it on the Seller Central signup page:

• Business email address
• lender account number and lender routing number
• energetic capitalization card
• Government issued national ID
• responsibility information
• Phone number

Once your Amazon seller account is approved, you’re ready to get your products listed and commence selling.

Read more: Is selling on Amazon worth it for you?

5. Decide which fulfillment alternative to use

As a seller, you have two fulfillment options: fulfillment by merchant and fulfillment by Amazon:

Fulfillment by merchant (FBM)

With FBM, you fulfill orders directly to customers and manage shipping, returns, and customer service. This is a excellent alternative for made-to-order products or for products that require a longer navigator period for processing.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

With FBA, you send inventory to an Amazon warehouse, known as an Amazon Fulfillment Center (FC). These fulfillment centers ship products and manage returns from customers. You control inventory levels and pay storage fees for the product, in addition to a fulfillment fee for every unit sold to customers. Keep in mind, you still own the inventory until a customer receives it.

In this model, Amazon handles settlement from the customer and, in turn, pays you. You get access to Amazon’s customer service throng that handles questions, returns, and refunds.

6. List your first product

There are two ways you can list a product on Amazon: The first is for products already for sale on Amazon—these products have an existing Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN), and your listing will be combined with the product specific page for all other sellers offering this product. The second is for recent products (private label products) that you’re listing on Amazon for the first period.

Let’s consider the initial example: declare you’re selling trip mugs you bought at wholesale prices, and there’s already a listing on Amazon for that exact product.

1. The first thing you’ll require to do is copy the ASIN from the “product details” section of the existing listing.
2. Next, navigate to Seller Central, click Catalog and select Add Products. This brings up a search bar where you can paste the ASIN. Doing so will bring up the product listing. Use the dropdown to describe the state of your item (recent, Used – Like recent, Used – Very excellent, etc.)
3. Click “Sell this product,” set your worth, select your fulfillment options (FBM or FBA), and pursue the subsequent prompts. You have the alternative to enter a SKU for your item, after which you can click the “Save and complete” button. You can view your listing in the “Manage inventory” page of your Seller Central account.

Now let’s look at the procedure for listing a product that has never been sold on Amazon, like your own line of emu leather platform clogs. Here’s how it works:

1. From the Seller Central dashboard, you’ll again click “Add a product” followed by “I’’m adding a product not sold on Amazon.”
2. Choose your product category from the list, then enter all relevant information about your product (title, worth, details, photos, fulfillment options).
3. Once you’re done with this, simply click “Save and complete” and your product will be submitted for approval. Once it’s approved, Amazon will assign it an ASIN and list it for sale. You can access the listing via your “Manage inventory” page.

Once your product specific page is live, shoppers can discover your product by searching on Amazon. If your product has appeal and you use effective marketing strategies, soon enough the orders will commence rolling in.

How to make successful product listings on Amazon

1. Write a targeted product title
2. Upload obvious product images
3. Write thorough product descriptions
4. Include product variations

The product specific page of your product listing is where the sales happen on Amazon. The information you put on this page helps customers decide whether or not your product meets their needs. Candle brand Homesick has a stellar example of a product page. Let’s look at why.

1. Write a targeted product title

Your product title should capture shoppers’ attention and inform them they are in the correct place, and a excellent one can enhance your click-through rate in search and enhance your SEO ranking within Amazon’s platform.

Product titles have a 200-character limit, but you’ll desire to keep your title between 60 and 80 characters. Why? An Extensiv study of more than 3,000 high-ranking Amazon listing titles found 33% of them fell between 60 and 80 characters, and the Amazon Seller Central guidelines recommend keeping titles in this range.

Every word in your product title is searchable, so aim to include vital information. For example, Homesick uses its brand name (Homesick), the product line (Scented Candle), the style (Hawaii), features (Scents of Pineapple, Coconut), and the container size.

2. Upload obvious product images

Your main photo should clearly display what the product is. Additional photos can provide other angles of the product and, if relevant, lifestyle imagery.

You can also add video to provide shoppers a more in-depth look at your products. Shoppers can scroll through your media to assess if the product is a excellent fit for their needs. receive worry that your images are high standard so that shoppers can zoom in to view the finer details of your product.

3. Write thorough product descriptions

Product descriptions list the specifications and benefits of your product. Homesick uses bullet points for its descriptions, highlighting key information potential buyers look for in a candle, such as burn period, scent notes, and type of wax.

4. Include product variations

Variations let you easily display the same product in various sizes, colors, and styles. While each version of a product has its own distinctive ASIN and specific page, variations provide customers the ability to quickly switch between options.

expense of selling on Amazon

When you commence selling on Amazon, there are some fees you should be aware of because they’re frequently charged and can impact your Amazon channel’s profitability on pool (ROI). The following fees aren’t the only fees, just the ordinary ones:

• Referral fees. Amazon charges a fee for selling on the platform. It’s different for each category. The average referral fee is 15% but can range from 8% to 45%.

• Closing fees. This is a $1.80 fee taken from each unit sold for products in media categories (books, DVDs, music, software and computer/video games, video game consoles, and video game accessories).

• FBA fees. If you use Fulfillment by Amazon you’ll pay a fee that covers picking, packing, shipping, and customer service. The exact expense depends on your product’s category, size, and weight, but it starts out at just a few dollars.

• Additional Amazon fees. Amazon will also expense you storage fees for inventory in its fulfillment centers, with additional fees for aged inventory that has been in storage for more than 181 days. You may also have to pay fees for unsold inventory that Amazon returns to you, discards, or liquidates.

For an in-depth look at all feasible fees, read the selling on Amazon fees navigator.

Tips for selling your products on Amazon

• inspire product reviews
• Run sponsored product ads
• receive advantage of promotions
• Drive external traffic
• Get your pricing correct

Amazon gives ecommerce businesses a distinctive chance to sell products to a wider spectators, helping enhance brand awareness in the procedure. Here are key tips for getting there:

inspire product reviews

Reviews can be the deciding factor in a purchase, even if the product has a higher worth than competitors’ offerings. One way to inspire reviews is to send a pursue-up email after a customer purchases your product.

Amazon sellers can send customers automated pursue-up emails that are related to a specific order. The guidelines are here but, in summary, you may not:

• Send emails with marketing or promotional messages.

• Include links to websites other than Amazon.

• Request or incentivize positive reviews.

You can, however, send emails that inquire the customer to leave a review—so long as you don’t specifically request that the feedback be positive.

There are ample best practices for email marketing out there, but aim to send no more than two emails: one during the order confirmation or delivery phase and one post-purchase email after the customer receives the product.

Run sponsored product ads

Amazon has a robust ad platform that lets you economy your products to Amazon customers. Amazon Sponsored Product Ads is a PPC (pay per click) model that lets you promote your Amazon products. Ad placements on desktop can be above, alongside, or below search results for related search terms, as well as on product specific pages.

A few things to keep in mind when running Amazon PPC ads:

• commence with automatic targeting. This allows Amazon to use its powerful search algorithms to automatically discover and recommend an exhaustive list of potential keywords for you. You can commence by selecting a flat default bid across all keywords, but your eventual objective is to get data on how various keywords perform and target the ones that are most effective.

• assess your automatic targeting campaign. Assess your automatic targeting campaign once you have at least a few weeks’ worth of data to determine which keywords performed the best. You desire to shift those over to a manual campaign, where you can focus on only the most relevant keywords. With a manual campaign, you have the ability to adjust bids by keyword.

• Continue to iterate your manual campaign for keywords and bids. Different bid amounts can profit various placements and results, so continue to test until you discover a schedule that works well for you.

• Use insights to optimize product details pages. As you refine your PPC schedule, you’ll boost a better sense of which keywords are relevant to your product. You can add those keywords to your product specific pages to assist you capture more organic traffic without having to pay for ads.

receive advantage of promotions

Leveraging promotions can assist you generate sales and boost brand awareness. A popular type of promotion on the Amazon platform is Lightning Deals. These deals are flash sales featured on the Amazon Deals, one of the most frequently visited pages on Amazon.

Lightning Deals can assist:

• boost discoverability of your product, especially during large events such as Prime Day and holidays.

• navigator to more online reviews due to greater product reach and sales.

• Drive conversions after the promotion ends, as more units sold can enhance rankings on search engine results pages.

• Trial recent products and triumph recent customers for upcoming purchases.

Lightning Deals appear in the “view All Recommendations” section of the screen on Seller Central. Lightning Deals run across many different categories, including health and personal worry, home and kitchen, customer electronics, fashion, grocery, and much more.

Drive external traffic

Many brands savings their external marketing channels to point to their ecommerce store. While there is worth in using ads to direct traffic to your own site, those same tactics also work to promote your Amazon listings.

If you collaborate with bloggers and influencers, you can expand your reach through programs like Amazon Associates and Amazon Influencers—as well as external platforms for connecting with influencers, such as Shopify Collabs.

Additionally, you can make discount codes to distribute externally, such as on your social media channels, to inspire customers to buy on Amazon.

Get your pricing correct

Finding the correct pricing schedule for your products is especially significant in Amazon’s marketplace, where you compete against other sellers. Here are some key considerations when aiming to hit the correct pricing:

Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy

According to the Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy: You can’t set a worth “that harms customer depend.” Amazon offers some examples of pricing practices that raise red flags, including pricing a product significantly higher than recent prices offered on or off Amazon, selling bundles of multiple units for a higher worth per unit than if sold individually, and adding excessive shipping fees. Avoid a potential account suspension by pricing your products fairly.

Automate pricing

Repricing tools like Amazon’s Automate Pricing on Seller Central assist you to automatically make pricing decisions. With the free Automate Pricing tool, you can establish parameters for pricing products and specific how to automatically adjust product prices to a competitive level.

Complement your Shopify store by selling on Amazon

At first glance, Amazon can seem like a challenger to your ecommerce business: a global marketplace, a massive spectators, a leave-to goal for customer search. However, when approached as a resource, Amazon can actually assist entrepreneurs make money online. Under the correct circumstances, selling on Amazon is worth it for Shopify store owners.

Your Shopify store is your home base, and Amazon’s global marketplace is your chance to reach massive recent audiences. Strategic planning, experimentation, and some hustle will get you a long way to successfully selling on Amazon.