Are you thinking about venturing into the world of online sales in 2024? If so, Amazon is an obvious place to start. It’s easy to set up an account, and with millions of customers visiting Amazon on a daily basis, the potential for decent sales is enormous.
In fact, Amazon’s share of paid units sold by third-party sellers like you has increased to more than 59% of its overall share as of quarter 1 in 2023.
But how can you stand out from the crowd and make sure your products get noticed? How can you adjust to the ever-changing rules and algorithm updates?
In this post, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about how to sell on Amazon in 2024. We’ll help you hit the ground running to maximize your reach and profitability.
Getting Started on Amazon
The first step in selling on Amazon is signing up with Amazon’s Seller Central. You can register for an account as an individual or a professional seller.
The professional seller account costs $39.99 per month, but it offers you more advanced features like the ability to sell in more categories and access to advertisements.
As an Amazon seller, you need to follow Amazon’s policies and guidelines, especially when it comes to the products you want to sell. Amazon has stringent regulations to ensure the quality of products sold on its platform. You will need to confirm that what you are selling is acceptable to Amazon’s policies before listing it. For example, you can’t sell things like alcohol, and items like medical equipment are heavily restricted.
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Things You Need to Get Started
Before you learn how to become a seller on Amazon, you need some basic things to be in place.
First, you need to determine what you want to sell. You can choose to sell products that are already available on Amazon or create a new product.
Product research is fundamental as you’ll want to identify a high-demand product with low competition.
After that, you’ll need the following:
- registered Amazon account,
- a tax ID,
- a bank account for your funds to be deposited,
- brand label,
- package, and
- shipping set up to start selling on Amazon.
MORE: Reason to start selling on Amazon.
Finding Profitable Products to Sell
The first step to selling anything on Amazon is to find profitable products to sell. A profitable product is one that has a high-demand and low competition in your niche. You can get an idea of what might be profitable by browsing current product listings. Looking at the Amazon Best Sellers listing is another good way to get an idea of which products are hot commodities, but again, look for those with limited competition if you want to stand out.
You’ll want to be able to source your products from a reliable supplier, so it’s a good idea to do this research ahead of time to make sure you aren’t going to have trouble getting your hands on the items you sell, too.
Once you’ve identified the products to sell, it’s essential to conduct a competitor analysis.
Analyze the top-performing competitors in your niche and study their pricing, product descriptions, and customer reviews. This will help you understand the customer’s requirements, market trends and expectations and adjust your strategy accordingly.
You can also use these findings to differentiate your product and offer a unique selling proposition (USP).
MORE: What Makes a Product Good to Sell on Amazon?
6 Steps to Sell Products on Amazon
Once you’ve figured out what you want to sell, here are some tips to help you get started with selling.
Step 1. Create a Seller Account
Before you can sell a single item, you need a seller account, as described above. Log in to get access to your sales page.
There are two types of plans – the Individual and the Professional. Individual plans charge sellers $0.99 for each item sold plus additional selling fees (by category). Professional plans cost $39.99 per month plus additional selling fees, but waive the individual item charges. If you’re looking to sell more than 40 units per month, then the professional account is the way to go.
Step 2. Set Up Product Listings
A well-optimized Amazon listing includes a catchy title, high-quality images, a detailed description, and a competitive price. Take time to craft these elements carefully to ensure your product stands out from the competition.
Make sure you put your product in the right category, too, so it’s easy for customers to find what they’re looking for.
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If you need assistance optimizing your Amazon business, you can use Amazon Listings Software. Check our in-depth reviews to make an informed decision.
Step 3. Optimize Your Listings
An optimized Amazon product listing is crucial for your success on Amazon. Your product title, description, and images need to be clear and accurate to ensure that your potential customers find your products quickly and easily.
Optimize your listings for search engine optimisation (SEO) by using relevant keyword-rich product titles to make it easy for Amazon customers to find your products. Your images should be clear, high-quality, and visually appealing. Use bullet points to highlight the key features of your product and make the description easy to scan.
Step 4. Promote Your Products
When your product is finally listed and optimized for search, it’s time to start promoting it. Utilize Amazon’s marketing tools, such as sponsored ads, to increase visibility. You can also use social media platforms to promote your products to your followers.
MORE: Should I promote my products on Amazon?
Step 5: Consider Using Fulfillment Options by Amazon (FBA)
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a program that allows you to store your products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Amazon handles the shipping, delivery, and customer service for your products.
Using FBA can help you reach more customers and provide them with a great shopping experience. FBA also makes it easy for you to manage your inventory, track your shipments, and handle returns.
MORE: What is Amazon FBA?
Step 6: Track and Measure Performance
Use Amazon’s Analytics Dashboard to analyze your performance to understand how you can improve. With this, understanding how much you spend on advertising and the amount you earn from sales help you adjust your margins.
Remember that providing excellent customer service is critical to your success on Amazon. Always respond to customer inquiries and feedback promptly.
Make sure that your process for packaging and shipping products is top-notch. Amazon collects customer feedback and reviews, and positive feedback can lead to better visibility and sales.
MORE: How to sell books on Amazon.
Tips for Selling Products on Amazon
Selling on Amazon is a great way to improve your profitability, but there are a few tips you should follow to make sure you’re as successful as possible.
Offer Competitive Pricing
One of the critical factors that customers consider while purchasing on Amazon is the price. Make sure that your product is competitively priced. If your product is higher than the average price, make sure that you can justify the price tag based on quality, features, and value.
Competitive pricing will help increase your chances of getting the Buy Box, a feature that allows customers to buy your product directly from the product detail page without having to go to a competitor’s site.
MORE: 10 Amazon pricing strategies to consider
Use Amazon’s Promotions and Advertising Tools
Amazon offers several tools that can help you promote your products. Amazon promotions like coupons, lightning deals, and prime exclusive discounts can help you get more visibility and generate sales.
You can also use Amazon professional seller advertising services like Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Amazon Stores to get more attention and generate more sales.
Amazon also provides a lot of helpful information about your sales and advertising performance that you can use to make informed decisions about your promotions and advertising.
How Much Money Do You Need to Start Selling on Amazon?
One of the most common questions that people ask is how much money they need to start selling on Amazon.
The answer isn’t straightforward, as it varies depending on your business goals.
You can start with as little as a few dollars for small inventories, but it’s better to have about $500-$3,000 to invest in inventory, branding, and advertising.
Amazon’s fees vary depending on the category of your product and the selling plan you choose. For example, if you sell a book on Amazon, the referral fee is 15% of the item price, while if you sell in the fine art category, the referral fee is 20%.
Takeaway Points
Selling on Amazon is an excellent opportunity to make some money by leveraging the power of one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms.
To sum up what we’ve discussed in the blog post, here are some takeaway points for beginners trying to sell on Amazon:
- Research your product market well to ensure low competition.
- Create your profile and complete all the paperwork required.
- Choose the right Amazon seller account for your business needs.
- Optimize product pages, visuals, and pricing to attract potential buyers.
- Invest wisely in branded packaging, listing optimization, and marketing.
Follow these tips, and you’ll be an Amazon star seller in no time.
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