More than half the customers you work with are more likely to buy from you if you deliver unique content. Part of this comes down to creating a unique and engaging brand. But if you don’t know how to build a brand on Amazon, this guide will help you fill the gaps.
The barriers to entry on Amazon have gotten lower. Much of this comes down to private label selling.
What is Amazon Private Label?
Amazon Private Label is using your label to brand products manufactured by another company. The product can be completely new or a modification to an existing product. For more information, you check out this guide.
Private label sales provide numerous advantages:
- There is less competition (you don’t share a product listing with other sellers)
- You have more potential revenue
- Customization of products is entirely up to you
- Building a brand drives more loyalty.
Seven Steps to Start Selling Your Brand on Amazon
Still not sure where to start? Here are the seven steps you need to take to create an engaging brand on Amazon.
Step One: Do product research
Your first step is to find products through research. Remember that the two potential product types include new products or customization on current products. Here are some areas to look at:
- Amazon Best Sellers. This list provides you with numerous bestsellers divided into multiple categories. The deeper you go into categories, the more likely you will be able to compete as a new seller.
- New Releases. This list provides you with the best sellers for new (and future) releases. The list is updated hourly with the latest innovative product ideas great for finding the latest trends.
- Movers & Shakers. This list provides you with the biggest sellers from growth over the past 24 hours. Making it great for finding trending products.
As a beginner eCommerce owner, it’s great when you can save money with free research. However, much of the information above isn’t enough to go on. Instead, you need to know about product criteria.
Finding good products involves knowing backend details. To do this quickly, you should use third-party analytical tools for Amazon (like AMZScout). Here are some criteria to keep in mind:
- Look for high-demand products that will make you enough sales to make a good profit. Start by focusing on products above ten thousand sales and keep going down until you find a niche that appeals to you.
- Seek low competition niches that don’t have a high number of fellow sellers (below twenty products if possible). Looking through multiple product subcategories will help.
- Look through product categories where you see the potential for improvement. If you have personal experience with similar products, this helps out.
- Look for good profit margins. Avoid selling products worth less than $10, as those cheaper products typically have lousy margins.
Create a list of products on a spreadsheet or word document to consider later. Once you have narrowed it down between one and three items, you can look at step two.
Step Two: Source products
Once you have a list of products you might want to sell from step one, you’ll need to find out who you want to make them. To do this, you’ll need to work with the manufacturer.
Two of the most popular websites for this are Alibaba and Aliexpress. Both websites contain a database of manufacturers based around the world. As a result, you can find some pretty reasonable rates.
Wherever you select your manufacturer, you’ll want to avoid fraudulent suppliers. Given the popularity of building your eCommerce site, many people would love to take your money and run.
Keep these tips in mind when selecting your supplier:
- Stick with suppliers who have public recognition. This means you can quickly identify them as an authority on third-party websites. When browsing Alibaba/Aliexpress, look for manufacturers with many user reviews.
- Choose suppliers who have a lot of detail on their product page or website. A good manufacturer has nothing to hide, often bringing you through the process. Suppliers that do that are confident and know what they are talking about.
- Perform a news or court search on them. Looking the company up in public records (especially legal ones) is a great way to see if the company has a history of ripping people off. Using Google’s News feature helps.
The biggest issue for contacting suppliers on Alibaba is overcoming the language barrier. So if you want to avoid that confusion, consider sites like Thomasnet.
Step Three: Designing a logo and packaging
Part of ordering your products is to add your unique branding and design. However, you’ll find that most manufacturers you talk with don’t have this talent.
You can order logo and packaging design from Brands Design to make things simple. You can also order logo design packages to save yourself money.
Alternatively, you could take a crash course in Photoshop. However, your first design likely won’t be something you want to put on your brand.
A big part of branding is establishing a long-term relationship with your customers. Professional design elements remind us that first impressions matter, especially when someone opens your product for the first time.
Step Four: Order samples
Before you decide on a product supplier, one way to determine quality is ordering a sample. This should ideally be part of your manufacturer selection process.
Your sample order comes after logo design because you want to test your supplier’s ability to follow directions. If your supplier lacks the talent to apply unique designs to products, you won’t want to use them.
You should also keep the following in mind when ordering samples:
- Test natural movements of your product
- Try to avoid items with delicate, mechanical parts if possible
- “Flex” your product a bit to be sure it can handle a bit of abuse
- Drop your product on purpose
It isn’t good if your product breaks after one or two uses (or drops). You want a product that can withstand the abuse. Otherwise, you can expect a lot of returns.
Step Five: Create a Listing
Next, you’ll want to create a product listing. The listing is what customers see when first looking up your product. So you’ll want to make sure it looks professional.
The process of making your listing great is listing optimization. To optimize your listing, you’ll need to address the following factors:
- Have high-quality photographs of your product showing its excellent design. Make sure one photo is a pure, white background. Also, show people using your product.
- Choose a primary keyword that is three to five words long. These are long-tail keywords you need to include in your title and description. Have a list of secondary keywords you can also use. Make sure your keywords are accurate and relevant.
- Also, choose a series of backend keywords.
- Make sure your description focuses on the benefits (not the features)
The third-party analytical tools we mentioned earlier typically include keyword research functions. You can also use Amazon’s advertising platform to find keywords.
Step Six: Fulfill your orders
Your next step is to decide how you want to ship your orders. There are two options:
FBA, or Fulfillment By Amazon, is handing your storage and shipment off to Amazon. While you still have to track inventory, this works best for solopreneurs with no staff. However, you will need to pay Amazon extra money for the service.
FBM, or Fulfillment By Merchant, is when you handle your storage and shipment. This fulfillment method typically means you work with FedEx, UPS, or a business that can help you get discounts. Regardless, you’ll need to be willing to do all the shipping work yourself or pay someone else to help you out.
FBA is usually a better start because those who sell via FBA get more exposure. Amazon will ship your product across the country at multiple fulfillment centers, granting you better exposure due to fast shipping opportunities.
Step Seven: Promote products
You need to promote your products. If you are a private label seller, there is no way people will find your product without promotion. Your creation of a unique listing will be at the bottom of the search engine without advertising.
Invest some money into Amazon PPC, or Pay Per Click. This advertising method enables you to select a keyword and pay to be in a better position. If you are in a competitive market, your PPC rates will be higher.
More reasonable rates come from targeting less competitive, long-tail keywords in low competition markets. However, you’ll want to start by running multiple campaigns to find out what keyword works the best for you.
Ideally, you’ll let it run for a day, look at the results, and eliminate PPC campaigns that don’t result in you making sales. You might try new keywords, but don’t go too crazy if you find something that works.
Conclusion
Creating a new brand on Amazon can be challenging for a new seller. However, you might find that the results pay dividends. After all, you don’t share the listing with other sellers, boosting your sales when targeting the right market.
As Amazon recognizes your value, you’ll be able to grow your business. The result is expanding into complementary products with your brand. Branding on Amazon allows you to target entire lines of products.
Regardless, keep us in mind if you need a brand guide for your products and website. Thanks for reading.