If you’re a small business selling product on your website, it may be time to expand your horizons and offer your products on Amazon as well. It’s no secret that Amazon is one of the largest online selling platforms out there, but many business owners are unsure how to sell their products on Amazon; it’s actually easier than you think! Here are a few easy tips to help you sell your products on Amazon.

Who is Amazon?

It almost seems silly to add this section to this article because unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, chances are you’ve bought something from Amazon, or at least heard about them. However, we’ll go ahead and give you the quick rundown on who Amazon is. Amazon.com is an international e-commerce company offering online retail, computing services, consumer electronics, digital content as well as other local services such as daily deals and groceries. They’re the leading e-retailer in the United States with close to 232 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 net sales. Sound enticing for your products? It could be! Let’s take a look at how to get started.

Set up an Amazon Seller Account

The first step in starting your Amazon business is to register for an Amazon Seller Account. There are two plans to consider: The Individual Seller Account and the Professional Seller Account. You’ll need to decide which one you want to get started. The biggest difference between the two is that on an Individual Seller Account, there is a cost per item sold, whereas on a Professional Seller Account, it’s a flat monthly fee no matter how much or how little you sell. Some people like to start with an Individual Seller Account to get their feet wet while others dive right in to the Professional Seller Account. Which one you choose is really up to you, but note that the Individual account offers much less features than the Professional account. Here’s a breakdown of each.

Individual Seller Account

Ability to add new products to Amazon

Amazon handles all shipping, handling, billing, customer service and fulfillment

Cost: .99 per item

Professional Seller Account

Ability to add new products to Amazon

Amazon handles all shipping, handling, billing, customer service and fulfillment

Ability to sell in US, Canada or Mexico from a single Amazon account

Use bulk listing and reporting tools

Customize shipping rates

Offer special promotions

Eligible for top placement on product pages

COST: $39.99/month

You can see that there’s a big difference! Whichever you decide, go to Amazon’s Seller Central to register for a new seller account. You’ll need to decide on a few options when you set up your account, including:

Self-fulfill or fulfill by Amazon

Product selection

Adding your products to the Amazon catalog

Amazon does a good job walking new sellers through the process; just follow the instructions and you’ll have it set up in no time.

Getting your products ready to list on Amazon

This is the first step to helping you succeed online. Before you start adding products, really take the time to think about each product listing such as the title, the description, images, and other information. You want it to be engaging, enticing and informative, so it may be a good idea to create a spreadsheet or document to get all this information in order before you start. Need inspiration, look at similar product listings online and see how they do it. While you have the ability to change your listing, it’s best to get it right in the first place! If you’re not comfortable with writing compelling product listings, you may want to engage the services of a marketing professional to help you. You can also reference a great article A Better Lemonade stand how to successfully sell products on Amazon; they put together great info on product titles, images, etc.

Advertising on Amazon

Many sellers find that the best way to get found on Amazon and boost sales is through sponsored ads. Amazon’s Sponsored Products program is an advertising outlet for Amazon sellers which increases visibility. It elevates Marketplace seller products on search and product pages with an additional cost per click fee, and features automatic targeting, easier Seller Central usability, and most notably more visibility on Amazon search and product pages. One of the biggest benefits of Sponsored Products for Amazon sellers is gaining visibility on Amazon’s competitive and product dense marketplace. With that in mind, its key sellers leveraging Sponsored Products to optimize existing product information on Amazon. Consistently audit and optimize your product information with advertising in mind product price, image, shipping, etc.).

Getting product reviews on Amazon

Now that you’ve created your brand on Amazon and you’ve invested in advertising, there’s one more step to consider. You need to encourage reviews! If you want consumers to choose you over other brands, you’ll need to make sure your reviews are positive. If they aren’t, you’ll need address them quickly and professionally. When it comes to Amazon, the most crucial practice to master is good customer service. Focus on listing content in an engaging manner, following up on emails quickly, offering tips and usage recommendations for your products to be helpful to customer, and maintaining a dedicated customer support effort. Here are two easy ways to solicit reviews on Amazon:

Add product inserts – printed messages added inside the packaging of a product such where customers can contact you and reminding them to leave an Amazon review.

Create a drip campaign to follow up with customers after they purchase – emails thanking them for buying, providing helpful info, and asking them for a review if they’re happy with the product.

Need for ideas? Check out this article on how to get reviews on Amazon.

Following these easy tips to help you sell your products on Amazon can really boost your sales and online presence. Try them and watch your business grow!