Historically speaking, people were mostly divided into two classes, the upper classes, and the lower classes, and if you were born into one, that was pretty much it; the chances of you moving anywhere, especially up, were astronomically low. You had the lords and dukes and the like, and at the other end of the spectrum, you had the peasants, but when the merchants showed up, a new class was born, the middle class, where you could work your way up, go from rags to riches, literally. Today, it is a lot less strenuous, of course, but the fact remains that commerce is, albeit risky, one of the best ways to attain wealth, and there are few more profitable and big markets than the giant Amazon. Today, you are going to learn a little about how you can get started on this journey.
The Product and PPC
First off, you have to know and lock down on what you want to sell and what your product is going to be; that is your beginning. Begin by asking yourself some basic questions, like what products are currently selling the best online, what niche might be the most profitable, or is the most interesting to you, among others. One way to get inspired is to check what is already performing well for other sellers and see what makes them so enticing to so many buyers.
One tool for researching and everything else is something called PPC, and as Amazon is the focus here, you can take a look at these leading PPC tools for Amazon to give yourself a leg up on the overview you need to get started. Check the pricing, reviews, and other relevant data to see what might work for you as well.
Seller Account
Once you have an idea of what you are going to sell, it is time to create a seller account on Amazon. To do this, you will need to have some details on hand, like your bank account number, credit card, and official ID, such as a driver’s license, phone number, and tax information. Once you have everything on hand, navigate to Seller Central and pick a selling plan. If you are starting, the individual selling plan is likely your best option, made for sellers who sell less than 40 units a month. You can think of it as a sort of pay-as-you-go plan, as it is 99 cents per sale.
Add Product
Now that your account is up and running, it is time to add some products, for which there are two options available to you: using an existing listing of an identical product or just creating a new listing. If you are the only one selling a particular product, for example, you will have to use the new listing option.
A listing has to contain some details, including stock keeping unit (SKU), product identifier (UPC, GTIN, ISBN or EAN), product condition, the price (obviously), available quantity and shipping choices, the product name, brand and category, along with a description and images, and search terms and keywords.
The Description
Keep in mind that your product descriptions need to be optimized for search engines, also known as SEO, a significant element of which is researching keywords. The idea here is to add keywords to your product listing that potential buyers are searching for, and adding irrelevant keywords can hinder your visibility, so you may be obstructing your own way without even knowing it. If writing is not one of your strong suits, you may consider hiring someone else, like a copywriter, to write these optimized product descriptions for you, which you can find on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. Take your time in finding someone who knows what they are doing, is familiar with SEO, and writes quality descriptions that will sail through the algorithm.
Images
In the same vein, images are just as important as the description, as the vast majority of people are drawn to visuals and will click on your listing because of the image and not the title, and a slim percentage of those people will even glance at the description. Photos should ideally have a white background and a minimum dimension of 500 x 500 pixels, but if you want to go for a higher quality and a cleaner overall look, crank up the file size to 1000 x 1000 pixels. Many sellers utilize a lightbox to take images of their products, so consider getting one, too.
It can be surprisingly easy to get started on Amazon and start selling on your own if you have an idea of what you are doing, and some little tricks and knowledge can go a long way in getting started.
