Building a super successful business on Amazon is absolutely, perfectly do-able.<\/p>\n
However, whilst it all sounds very simple \u2013 research and source a viable, in-demand product, create your product title and description, upload to Amazon, sell hundreds and make a profit \u2013 there are some rules that you should understand, and importantly stick to, to save yourself time, money and heartache and also achieve your goals much faster.<\/p>\n
Amazon is a platform intended for you to build a successful business upon, selling premium products \u2013 preferably your own brands \u2013 with exceptional standards of customer service, and getting all those things right requires quite a steep learning curve.<\/p>\n
With this in mind, these are the top seven mistakes almost every new Amazon seller makes and how\u00a0you\u00a0can avoid them!<\/p>\n
1. Don\u2019t try to run before you can walk<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, you want to get started! I get that. Your enthusiasm and motivation is at its peak when you\u2019re getting a new business off the ground, but you simply must be realistic about what you can and can\u2019t do. There\u2019s no point in getting ahead of yourself and trying to create an empire when you haven\u2019t listed a single product yet.<\/p>\n By all means dream \u2013 dreams are what motivates us \u2013 but in reality, every business must start small and grow. This is particularly true if your budget is tight. Know what you\u2019re capable of, how far your knowledge and buying power goes, and start by taking baby steps.<\/p>\n Get your first product researched, sourced and listed \u2013 and most importantly actually start making sales before you start adding multiple products and trying to rival long established companies!<\/p>\n 2. Don\u2019t be unwilling to invest the money!<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure why, but for some reason, many people hold the belief that starting and building an online business takes absolutely no money and all they need is an internet connection to access great riches!<\/p>\n This is simply not the case for Amazon (or eBay) businesses or indeed any eCommerce venture. This type of business \u2013 just like any other – requires an investment if you want to build a real, successful business.<\/p>\n There will be costs such as Amazon fees and there will also be variable costs, like marketing and so on. Most obviously you will need to invest in stock, and whilst it\u2019s possible to do so with less than \u00a31000, I always recommend an initial investment of around \u00a31500.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll then need to reinvest your profits for as long as possible, before you even contemplate taking any profit for yourself!<\/p>\n 3. Don\u2019t pick the wrong product!<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n This sounds obvious of course but you would be surprised at the number of newbie sellers who totally underestimate their buying power. The issue happens because you make the mistake in choosing a product that you think is perfect, based only on its selling price of, let\u2019s say \u00a3100 for example. That\u2019s a decent amount and you want some of that action, so you\u2019re feeling confident because you\u2019ve got \u00a31000 to spend on the stock\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n Unfortunately, even though \u00a31000 is a good investment, it\u2019s not going to allow you to invest in a product that retails for \u00a3100. Depending on the product, you may be able to purchase a few units but that isn\u2019t enough to be able to get the best deal from the manufacturer. It\u2019s essential that you choose the right product for YOUR buying power. This is crucial and is vital to your success!<\/p>\n 4. Don\u2019t try and compete with the lowest price!<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n This is a recipe for disaster! The simple truth is that your buying power and sales volume won\u2019t support this strategy! And anyway, why would you want to cheapen yourself and sell low priced products?<\/p>\n There will always be sellers on Amazon with rock bottom prices who are simply turning money or using the product as a \u2018loss-leader\u2019. These businesses will have the buying power to purchase container loads of stock at a time giving them the best wholesale prices and lower shipping costs. There is no way you can compete with that \u2013 so don\u2019t even try.<\/p>\n Instead, price for a decent profit, offer a free gift or incentive, provide fast dispatch and shipping and second to none customer service along with a quality product. Take a look and you\u2019ll see that prices vary wildly on Amazon for the exact same products, so you do not have to be the cheapest seller!<\/p>\n 5. Don\u2019t expect results overnight<\/b><\/p>\n Building an online business takes time, effort and patience so don\u2019t expect results like magic. Slow and steady is the way forward and whilst that may seem frustrating, persistence will pay off as long as you ensure you stay motivated, set goals, celebrate achievements and milestones \u2013 however small, and make progress every day.<\/p>\n The temptation to quit after a month – or even a year – will sometimes be great, particularly if you hit a hurdle or make a mistake, but actually, your biggest mistake \u2013 and ultimately your biggest regret \u2013 will be to throw in the towel.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important that you understand you are in it for the long haul and quitting is the easy option, which leads nicely into mistake number six\u2026<\/p>\n 6. Don\u2019t take (uninformed) shortcuts! \u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n We are all lazy! No really \u2013 it\u2019s in us all whether we like to think so or not. For most of us, in our everyday lives, if there\u2019s a shortcut, we\u2019ll always consider it \u2013 if not take it!<\/p>\n But when building an eCommerce business, short cuts should most definitely not be considered. If you think for example that you can throw together an Amazon product title, bullet points and description for your product in 20 minutes flat then running an online business is not for you \u2013 seriously. If you think you can watch a few tutorials and then take stunning photographs David bailey style, then please don\u2019t even try. Those types of shortcuts will be detrimental to your success.<\/p>\n If on the other hand, you accept that sometimes you simply can\u2019t do as good a job on a specific task as you\u2019d like to, it\u2019s ok to take a \u2018professional\u2019 shortcut. By this I mean outsourcing tasks such as product description writing, product photography, design and so on.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t try to become a writer or a photographer when you can let a professional do a much better job for you. Your business will grow faster \u2013 trust me.<\/p>\n 7. Don\u2019t procrastinate<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n If you want to do it \u2013 just do it! Don\u2019t over-think it, take action. And when I say action, I mean take action that will actually help you make progress in your business.<\/p>\n Answering emails, packing and posting orders and counting stock is not taking progressive action. That\u2019s just keeping on top of administrative tasks. For you, taking action might mean researching and sourcing a second product. It might mean creating a red-hot product description. Or it might mean working on your marketing strategy. All of these things lead to business gains. General administration does not!<\/p>\n Finally\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n Even if you do make mistakes, remember to learn from them. Don\u2019t think you\u2019re so smart that you don\u2019t have to keep learning! The world of eCommerce is constantly evolving and by keeping up, you will have a far higher chance of success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Building a super successful business on Amazon is absolutely, perfectly do-able. 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