Launching your Brand on Amazon

January 24, 2023

E-commerce is a nearly $1 trillion market in the U.S. and is projected to grow to $2 trillion by 2030, making online sales an essential revenue stream for many companies. For newcomers to the e-commerce market, selling on Amazon is an obvious choice. Amazon alone is responsible for 40% of total retail e-commerce sales, and is home to over 300 million customer accounts globally.

Anyone can register as a seller on Amazon. However, the exclusive benefits that come with brand ownership can elevate your product to stand out on the world’s largest marketplace.

 

Set Up Your Account

Registering as an Amazon seller is easy; all you need is a bank account and routing number, credit card information, government-issued ID, tax information, and a phone number. Registering gives you access to the Seller Central portal.

There are two selling plans: Individual and Professional. Individual costs $0.99 per sale, while Professional costs $39.99 per month, no matter how many items you sell. Amazon takes a referral fee from each sale, which scales according to product, but typically lands between 8% and 15%.

If you are a brand owner, you qualify for the Brand Registry program, which establishes and protects your intellectual property (IP). In addition, Brand Registry grants exclusive access to key features like Sponsored Brands, advertising campaigns, and A+ Content that can play an important role in your brand’s ability to compete in its category.

 

Optimize Product Listings

Optimizing your product listings is essential to a successful brand launch. More than 60% of product searches start on Amazon, and customers typically do not look past the first page of results. Conducting and integrating Amazon keyword research into your listings’ copy can improve your product’s search ranking. This practice is known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Cutting-edge Amazon SEO keyword research software like Jungle Scout and Helium 10 allow users to research important keywords for their product category. Long-tail keywords will typically have low search volume and low competition (the buyer knows what they want). Broad keywords will have high search volume and high competition (the buyer is browsing). Integrating a combination of both long-tail and broad keywords will improve the chances of your product appearing on the first page of a relevant search.

 

Optimize Product Listings

Beyond SEO, below are tips for optimizing your product listings:

• Title: The most critical SEO real estate on your listing is the title. Make sure all of the most relevant and highly searched keywords for your product are present here.
• Images: Capture the browser’s attention with well thought-out, high quality images. Include a mixture of infographics and lifestyle images that highlight your product’s best differentiators and benefits. Make sure the primary image is high resolution and on a pure white background.
• Copy: Highlight key selling points and your product’s most compelling benefits in a clear, concise, and professional way. Include keywords throughout your copy to improve SEO value, but avoid keyword “stuffing”.
• Price: Conduct thorough market research to name a competitive price without sacrificing your profit margins.

 

Order Fulfillment Options

There are two ways to handle shipments on Amazon: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).

FBA gives Amazon primary control over customer support, warehousing, and delivery. For those without the infrastructure means, this is an ideal option for lightweight products with rapid turnover. FBA qualifies products for Amazon-Prime, guaranteeing 2-day delivery, a major selling point for buyers.

However, FBA includes monthly service and inventory fees. Additionally, handing over control to Amazon can be a risk. If Amazon cuts storage space, it can bottleneck supply and cut into your profit margins.

For sellers who want greater control over their product and customer service, consider shipping yourself via Fulfilled by Merchant or “FBM”. This option is ideal for sellers with logistical infrastructure. Self-storage avoids ongoing Amazon warehouse fees associated with FBA and lets you react to demand spikes.

FBA and FBM are not mutually exclusive choices, as you can sell some products through an FBA arrangement and others through FBM.

 

Start Marketing

After you finalize your product listing and shipment strategy, it’s time to market. Brand owners gain access to a variety of beneficial marketing tools available only to those with Brand Registry.

Amazon Sponsored Ads can be an easy and cost-effective way to advertise your products. Creating Sponsored Ads requires no graphic design skill; the toolkit pulls information from your relevant listing and creates streamlined, professional ads that link directly to your listing. These ads target customers who have searched for similar items. Ads will appear at the top of Amazon search results and on third-party websites. These ads operate on a pay-per-click scheme (PPC), which charges you every time someone clicks your ad, even if they don’t make a purchase.

Brand Registry also allows enrolled users to create A+ Content for their listing, which displays product features with enhanced images, giving your listing an extra professional edge to earn customer trust.

If you have a Professional selling plan and are enrolled under Brand Registry, you gain access to Amazon Storefronts, which displays your brand’s products, videos, and marketing assets through a landing page. The Amazon Storefront metrics also provide improved customer and conversion rate analytics.

 

How ZQUARED Can Help

Handling complex delivery logistics and optimizing listings requires time, resources, and expertise. By working with an e-commerce expert like ZQUARED, you can focus on product quality and relax knowing that the Amazon side of your business is in the hands of industry experts. ZQUARED provides cutting edge SEO, A+ content, customized advertisement campaigns, and manages e-commerce logistics for brands selling at least $25k monthly via Amazon and Walmart.

To learn how ZQUARED can help you stay ahead in the Amazon game, request a comprehensive assessment of your Amazon channel. Your audit results will focus on your listings, category, competitors, reseller landscape and more with an individually-tailored strategic plan for capitalizing on opportunities.