Expanding Your Business Onto Amazon? Avoid These 5 Costly Amazon FBA Mistakes:
Want to avoid the most common Amazon FBA mistakes? There’s definitely a lot to learn from Amazon marketing experts. Let’s talk about John for a second.
He was running a very successful eCom store of his own. But like all of us entrepreneurs, John wanted to take it to a new level! The logical next step was to start killing it on Amazon. How hard could it be?
After $74,230 lost and six months wasted, John learned that Amazon is a different beast. Trying to tame it on his own cost him severely.
As someone who works with Amazon FBA sellers, I see the same missteps all of the time. you can check done for you amazon
“It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from someone else’s.”
Warren Buffet
This post will show how other eCom owners can avoid falling into traps. We will call out five common mistakes people new to Amazon make (Heck, even seasoned sellers can struggle with some). After identifying the issue, we’ll discuss how to CRUSH IT instead.
This is going to be a good one, so get ready!
MISTAKE #1 – Throwing money at PPC and hoping for the best
Amazon PPC advertising is undoubtedly an essential part of your strategy. But chucking piles of money at it won’t fix all your issues.
PPC is not going to solve your problems if:
1. You don’t have many reviews
Reviews are your social proof. You could have the best product in the world, but with 0 reviews, your conversion rate will always be poor.
If you’re running heavy PPC with a low amount of reviews, you are setting your money on fire. We’ll talk about Review acquisition later on.
2. Your organic rank is crap
Amazon PPC alone will not move your product to the top-of-search organically. It can certainly help, but you should also consider:
Influencer Marketing (Instagram posts, unboxing videos, reviews, etc.)
Rebate “Giveaways” (this is where you pay a customer to buy your product)
Email Marketing using your current list
3. Your listing looks ‘meh’
Just because a customer clicks, doesn’t mean they will buy. We have to convert them now! But if you have poor images, copy, and EBC, you’ll likely lose the sale. More on listing optimization in a second.
PPC for Amazon takes time to learn. Rookies can quickly lose a ton of money in the process. And since it’s constantly evolving, you need to stay on top of the latest strategies.
OR
You could always outsource to an expert. Many agencies offer Amazon PPC Management and take out all the guesswork. Including us! Check out our services here. https://amazingmarketingco.com/services-info
MISTAKE #2 – Not professionally optimizing your listing
Over 50% of all eCom sales in the US are on Amazon. To grab their slice of the pie, FBA sellers are spending a lot of time, money, and effort on the optics of their listings.
Check out any high-ranking product. These products have professional photos, engaging/SEO copy, and killer EBC.
If you aren’t doing the same, you will get stomped!
1. Gallery Images, Video & A+ Content
Your potential customer can not see, hold, or touch your product, which means your images are the only visual impression they get. So make it a good one.
Do not use the photos from your supplier’s page on Alibaba. These are usually pretty terrible and don’t have a place on a good Amazon listing. And no, don’t try to take pictures yourself either.
You need PROFESSIONAL photos created by someone who understands Amazon marketing.
Check out this vibrant A+ Content created by the Amazing Marketing team for a client
- 3D Renderings: These can be super powerful! They can often turn out better than actual shoots and are highly customizable. They’ll give your listing the sleek look it needs.
- Infographics: Whenever customers click on your listing, what do they view first? Your images, of course – so use this as the opportunity to sell, educate, and hook. Include short sales copy on some of your images and create infographics so your customer can learn.
- Lifestyle pics w/ sexy models: Use models to capture lifestyle photos that connect with your target audience. People’s faces (attractive ones) cause more emotion than a product by itself ever will. It can also cause your customer to imagine themselves using your product.
2. Amazon SEO
Before they purchase, a customer needs to find your listing. But how can yours be spotted in a sea of millions of products?
Sometimes using google’s keyword planner or MerchantWords is not enough. You need to conduct Amazon Keyword Research.
PPC specialists use tools like Helium 10, Viral Launch, and Jungle Scout. They will give you info like:
- Search volume and level of competition of different search terms
- What keyword phrases your competitors are ranking high for
- Search terms that you may have never thought of before
Of course, finding the right keyword phrases is only a part of the battle.
3. Amazon Copywriting
In reality, you will not be able to get 100 keywords phrases into a listing, so don’t even try. If you keyword stuff, your listing will come off as robotic.
Instead, pick the 25-35 best phrases and concentrate on making your copy engaging. You’ve got to grab attention, sell, and close. Write in a way that has your potential customer daydreaming about your product.
But wait. You’re probably not as good of a writer as you think you are.
Writing “GREAT GIFT IDEA” or “PREMIUM MATERIAL” is not going to sell. Your customer has seen these 1000 times. The golden rule of Amazon content is to show, not tell.
My take? Hire an Amazon copywriter. They write listings all day, every day. You don’t.
Check out our full listing services list here: https://amazingmarketingco.com/services-info
MISTAKE #3 – Not having a review acquisition strategy
As touched on before, reviews are ridiculously important for your conversion rate. It helps if you get as many reviews as quickly as possible.
But they won’t just appear out of thin air, so you need to take action. Have multiple strategies running simultaneously. Here are a few:
Utilize your current audience
Send out a coupon code or other incentive to previous customers of your own eCom store. They have bought from you once and are likely to buy from you again.
And since it’s your email list, you don’t have to follow Amazon’s strict Terms of Service. You can essentially say whatever you want to them. Doing this makes it much easier to get a review.
Use product inserts (but don’t ask for a review)
Most sellers use their Amazon product insert to tell a brand story, say “thank you,” and straight-up ask for a review.
But why in the hell would they leave you a review? They literally just received your product! Your customer needs some time to use it first.
Instead, offer additional value.
For example, create a short e-book as a guide for your product. Your customer will need to scan a QR code from your insert to get the e-book (or whatever freebie you go with). That will take them to a landing page where they must input their email to get the e-book.
Now that you have their email, you can request a review a few days later. Since they have had time to use your product and you added value, they are much more likely to give you a review.
What else could you offer on your product insert?
- Coupons for your other products
- A FREE product
- Video guides
- Extended warranty
- Membership to a VIP club (monthly discounts, etc.)
What I currently recommend:
1. Set up a chatbot sequence
I could go on for days about the power of chatbots. There’s so much marketing you can do for them (Including getting reviews!).
Instead of your QR code sending the customer to a landing page, bring them to your chat flow. Just like with email, give them the freebie first. Then, follow up a few days later for the review.
Alternatively, you can get people subscribed to your chatbot before they purchase. Run Facebook ads with slight discounts for your product. If someone clicks, they will be sent to your chatbot, where they can get a coupon code. Follow up with a review request sequence.
With chatbots, you can avoid negative reviews. You can guide the Karens of the world to leave negative feedback on the bot and send satisfied customers to leave an Amazon review.
How? Check out our article on running Facebook & Instagram Ads to Amazon via ManyChat.
2. Use the ‘Request Review’ button
Amazon allows you to send a generic “review request” email. It’s not the most effective, but it’s worth the small amount of effort. You can find the “Request a Review” button by clicking each order.
Advertisers have two options for running Amazon DSP automation:
Just kidding! 😆 Sign up for Jungle Scout Review Automation, and it will automate this for you! It’s as simple as turning it on!
Here’s a tutorial video on how to set it up:
“94.7% of listings saw an increase in reviews using this feature.”
Jungle Scout
Do you use other methods to reel in those ‘oh so precious’ reviews? If you have any tips, leave them in the comments!
Mistake #4 – Not sending external traffic to your Amazon listing
I know what you’re thinking. If you have your eCom store, why send traffic to Amazon? They take a hefty commission, after all. But this is short-sighted!
The more sales on Amazon you get, the higher their ranking algorithm will push you. Your organic sales will explode when you climb to the top of the search for high-volume search terms! Your visibility on Amazon beats anything you could do with your own site.
Of course, you should still send traffic to your Shopify or website, too – just find a balance. Facebook and Instagram ads will be your best bet!
We set up optimized campaigns for all our clients. Click here to learn more https://amazingmarketingco.com/services-info
Mistake #5 – Not working with an Amazon expert who’s done it before
There are many intricacies to finding success on Amazon. I could write a 10,540-word article and still barely scratch the surface.
With so much to learn, you are bound to make mistakes that will cost both money and time. That is unless you seek out the proper guidance.
Working with Amazon experts will help you take the guesswork out. With years of trial & error under their belt, they know what works.
Before contacting Amazing Marketing Co, John was about to give up on Amazon. He had lost a ton of money. But after our consultation, all he needed was an expert team behind him.
John was back on track within a few months of working with us! His conversion rates were way up, organic ranks skyrocketed, and PPC campaigns were profitable. The best part?
Our process makes the whole thing fairly turn-key. which gave John the time to focus on other aspects of his business.
So, you’re interested in learning more about Amazing Marketing Co? Check out our services here: https://amazingmarketingco.com/services-info
I’ll end it with this. YOU ARE fully capable of crushing it on Amazon. If you avoid the rookie mistakes, get expert guidance, and fully commit, you will make money!
So…are you ready?
