The Smartest Amazon Seller

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Episode 30: What You Can Gain From the Prosper Conference | James Thomson Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

In today’s episode, we speak with James Thomson from Prosper, an Amazon-specific conference. He was Amazon’s first FBA account manager and then ran Amazon Services, the group that is responsible for recruiting almost all 3rd party sellers to the platform. We discuss how Prosper is different from other conferences in that its main focus is education and providing networking opportunities without bias. While some conferences may try to promote certain methods, Prosper aims to help sellers get a better perspective on Amazon's current circumstances.
What Sets Prosper Apart From Other Conferences? 2:14
Keeping Ahead of the Curve With Content 11:35
How Prosper Has Developed 14:11
The Show Is Only As Good As the Attendees 19:45
Choosing Speakers and Topics 23:16
“Prosper’s meant to be that place where you go and say, ‘Listen, not only are we going to learn from lots of different folks who are living in this space every single day, but we’re going to get different perspectives, and we’re going to try to strip away as much of the bias as possible.’” 7:31
Social
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 29: The Magic of Product Page Optimization | Danny Carlson Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

In today’s episode, we do a phone interview with Danny Carlson, E-Commerce professional and founder of the Amazon FBA Agency, Kenji ROI. Danny also hosts the podcasts, Actualize Freedom Podcast and The Danny Carlson Podcast. In this interview, we get into the details of product page optimization and discuss the best approaches to structuring product descriptions. We also talk to Danny about indexing, getting Amazon’s search algorithm to work for you, and the best ways to incentivize customers to leave reviews.
What is “Lamplighting?” 2:55
Prioritizing The Different Aspects of Product Description 6:15
Indexing -- Prioritizing Fields 16:30
Getting Reviews -- What’s Allowed and What’s Not 20:28
How Danny Learned About Product Page Optimization 26:20
“I think copywriting is one of the most important skills that a small business owner should learn, because it’s going to increase the effectiveness of all of your emails, all of your Facebook ads, all of your Amazon listings -- just anywhere that there’s written copy, if you can make that more effective, it’s going to make pretty much everything you do more effective.” 4:05
Social
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 28: Amazon PPC | From Fundamentals to Advanced Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

In today’s episode, we discuss advertising on Amazon through pay-per-click. We explain the basics of PPC, discuss what’s unique to Amazon’s approach to PPC, and talk about many different strategies to optimize your advertising strategy, including choosing and managing campaigns and determining the best average cost of sale.
Introducing Topic 0:33
Why Do PPC? 3:03
What’s Unique About Amazon PPC? 5:13
Choosing and Managing Campaigns 8:43
What’s the Right “A Cost”? 10:29
What Does BuyBoxer Do for Its Advertising? 14:57
Launching Products With PPC Alone 18:54
“Fly-wheel Approach to E-Commerce Lifestyle” 19:43
Drawbacks to PPC 20:34
Learning the Fundamentals To Optimize Your Own Advertising Strategy 22:30
“If everyone is spending money on advertising, then it kind of hits all of our gross margins. You know, you kind of want to get into a space where you just don’t have to spend as much. So that’s why I say its goal is to get to organic spend, so you can actually make more money on Amazon with a reasonable margin and a modest advertising budget.” 21:10

Episode 27: Diversifying Your Amazon Business | Thinking Ahead Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, we share our perspective on the importance of thinking ahead by diversifying your business on Amazon. We cover the advantages of the Seller Central Program vs. the Vendor Central Program, as well as what agencies are and how we can use them to our advantage. We also discuss the current state of brands and wholesale on Amazon, as well as where they could be going and how diversification can prepare us for the future.
-Intro: Where is Amazon Going? 0:20
-Negotiation in the Vendor Central Program 1:53
-Seeing Amazon’s Profitability Strategies as an Opportunity 3:46
-What is an Amazon Agency? 4:21
-How Agencies Are Helping Seller Central 5:10
-Going From Vendor to Seller 6:19
-Brands vs. Wholesale Now 7:30
-The Benefits of Diversifying 10:07
-Treat Every Day Like Day One 13:09
-Amazon is Always Changing--Think Ahead 14:47
“If I was talking to my best friend in the world who had a brand, I would tell him, ‘Sell directly yourself on Amazon.” 6:08
Social
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 26: Expand your Business | Warehouses Nov 26, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of The Best Amazon Seller, we talk about when to get your own warehouse, what this might require, and what type of warehouse you would best benefit from.
- Meet-Ups 1:03
- When Should you get Your own Warehouse 7:25
- What Warehouses Allow you to do 13:05
- Black stocking 16:53
- Payability
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 25: Networking for Sellers | Meet-Ups Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of The Best Amazon Seller, we dive a little deeper into what a mini-conference (meet up) of mine looks like and why they are so helpful. I will be starting to visit cities around America and hosting these mini-conferences for sellers so if you are interested in attending one please DM me on my social media platforms.
- Introduction 1:17
- My Goals for Meet-Ups 6:59
- How I will keep it Exciting 9:38
- What you get out of the Meetup 13:57
“I think only 5% of sellers attend conferences. That’s because you have to fly, you have to take days off, and pay money. So what I want to do is take the best of a conference as close to you as I can and not even like charge you money. “ 7:44
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 24: Find your Niche | Amazon Categories Nov 12, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of the Best Amazon Seller we talk about the different categories to sell on Amazon. There are a wide variety of categories to choose from and each one has its value. I will highlight just a few, talk about the up sides and downsides of each, and share a little on the categories Buyboxer focuses on.
- Sports 2:32
- Home and Kitchen 6:46
- Toys 7:48
- Grocery 9:43
- Arts and Crafts 12:01
- Electronics 12:48
- Health 14:27
- Beauty Baby and Pets 15:03
“I’m growing more stubborn about what sells a product and I think it comes down to three things: I think it’s the reviews, the price, and the images. If you can nail all three of those, people that land on your product are going to convert.” 1:31
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 23: Getting to Your Customer | Shipping Methods Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of the Best Amazon Seller, we talk about how to improve your shipping process. Some of the topics we cover are figuring out how software can help increase productivity in your business and when it’s needed. We also give examples from my business and give an overview of what we use in our shipping process, things we avoid and products we lean toward.
- Introduction 0:15
- Designing your own software 5:53
- Using Amazon’s API 7:05
- Our Shipping Process 8:35
“There’s one type of inventory that we just really steer clear of, and that’s seasonal oversize.”
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 22: Show Don’t Tell | Albert Polanco Oct 29, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of the Best Amazon Seller, we interview Albert Polanco, a founding member of Zon Product Photography. He gives us a wealth of knowledge not only on product pictures for Amazon but also on the subject of general marketing tips.
- How did you start? 1:20
- The Primary Image 5:37
- Show Don’t Tell 11:55
- Good and Bad Lifestyle Photos 15:01
- Text and Badges 20:01
- Mistakes of Past 30:09
“If your product is stronger than the competition, don’t say that. Show your product doing something stronger than the competition. Demonstrate it.” 13:52
Link for 7 step framework. https://7steps.zonproductphotography.com/
Promo Code: BuyBoxer5
Contest for product photography. https://vyper.io/c/18009hhdyu
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

Episode 21: Catch Your Customer’s Eye | The Power of Photography Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

On this episode of the Best Amazon Seller we talk about the power of having good photography. With many people using the mobile app for amazon, people are looking for quick quality pictures that tell the story well. People often would prefer looking at a picture rather than looking at the bullet points to find information. We talk about different routes including hiring or doing it yourself.
- How photography affects your business 1:21
- Few things to consider 3:56
- Rewards on Amazon 11:35
- Graphic Design 12:37
- Case Study 14:05
“Not only does a good picture increase the likelihood of selling but if you tell the story really well through some pictures, you probably reduce your return rate cause you’re showing how it’s used.”
https://www.instagram.com/smartestseller/
https://www.buyboxer.com/

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