Maximizing Ecommerce

A positive entrepreneurial mindset can often be the difference between finding success and failing. Most entrepreneurs know that running a business isn’t easy. It requires hard work, sacrifice, positivity, and knowing what you want. Do you know what drives you? Do you understand what is required of you to reach your goals? Joel Bower joins Kevin in this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce to talk about the mindsets that will drive you towards success.

Joel knew from a young age that he wanted to own his own business someday. He had the drive and ambition necessary to dive in and figure out the direction he wanted to take. He’s working in many niches, including tech, travel and even door-to-door sales before landing on marketing. He’s passionate about helping other entrepreneurs learn how to reach their goals. Listen to this episode for his process!

Outline of This Episode

• [1:35] All about mindset
• [3:35] Where Joel got his start
• [7:15] What drives someone?
• [9:15] What separates the success from the failures?
• [12:30] How do you figure out what you want?
• [16:55] How do you know if you’re on the right path
• [19:45] The difference between purpose and passion
• [29:55] How to find the broken pieces in your process
• [38:45] What things could you offload now?
• [43:05] Exercise: Vision for the future
• [45:50] Action steps to figure out what you want
• [49:30] Connect with Joel

How do you figure out what you want? 

Joel points out that new entrepreneurs tend to do things in two phases. The first phase is following the trail that’s been blazed for you—doing what has worked for everyone else. It’s easy to learn the business when you can pattern what you do after successful people. But you need to take that, and turn it into a business that works for the life that you want. 

There is no perfect answer and the right path is constantly changing. 

Joel believes the best way to decide your path for the future is by choosing something that lights you up. What brings you joy? Where do you see your business going? Read about successful entrepreneurs, get enmeshed in entrepreneurial communities, and surround yourself with like-minded people to help you get in the right mindset. 

Constantly move in the direction of your dreams, even if it means taking a path that isn’t linear. 

There is a difference between purpose and passion

Joel noted that people often confuse passion and purpose. They’re stuck in this belief that whatever you’re passionate about is what your purpose is supposed to be. They’re wrong. Your purpose is being who you are—your character, your personality. Passion is something that excites you, but passion is fleeting. 

Happiness and passion are constantly changing and in flex.

Often, people find that when they pursue a goal and finally reach it, they realize they found more happiness in the journey. It is the progress, the challenge, the growth that leads to happiness and fulfillment. That is part of the joy of being an entrepreneur. 

Joel helps others find their passions by means so simple that it’s astounding more people don’t realize it. Do your job. Entrench yourself in the day-to-day of your business and learn the ins and outs. You find out what makes you miserable and therefore narrow down what you enjoy. 

Maximizing the entrepreneurial mindset: learn to let go

When your business is your “baby” and you’ve been working in it for so long, it’s hard to take a step back. But you can only do everything for so long and eventually you will need to share some responsibility. Find someone to come alongside you and begin to take over the things that you despise (or don’t excel at). 

As you begin to build a team of competent people, you have to learn to let go.

They may only work at 80% of the expertise level that you’ve attained. You may feel as if you’re the glue holding everything together. Joel advises leaving for a few days and going on a vacation. Those few days will show you the broken pieces in your system. You’ll learn what needs to be changed or what systems/processes need to be in place. 

Kevin and Joel talk more about building the right team, how to interview and hire, and what tasks you can offload to someone else. Don’t miss it!

Action steps to find a vision for your future

Joel has a fun exercise that he likes to run through with entrepreneurs. You sit down for 15-20 minutes and write down a plan for the future of your business. What do you want it to look like in one year? How do you want the business to perform? What do you want your staff and employees to learn? You then take this lengthy list and look at what is possible to obtain in one year. 

This process allows you to begin to lay out the skills, tools, and systems needed to get to where your vision for the future is. You can add reasonable time limits to obtain goals. Rate each item on your list with the level of excitement you have about it (on a scale from 1-10). Then break it down into the THREE things that light you up inside. 

Shift your focus to what you can implement immediately to begin reaching those goals. It changes your mindset and allows you to think positively about the future of your business. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
• The E-myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
• Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz

Connect with Joel Bower

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Support(at)theamazingseller.com

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

In a world where so many businesses are competing for attention, you must create a connection with customers to stand out. You may offer a similar product or service, but what you do to brand yourself and connect will make a difference. This episode is all about connection, marketing, and how to stand out from the crowd.

Chris Shaffer—an expert in customer relationships and branding—joins Kevin in this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce. They worked closely together to put on Brand Accelerator Live with Scott Voelker. He’s an absolute whiz in ecommerce and here to share his expertise. Don’t miss this episode! 

Outline of This Episode

• [2:55] Cultivating relationships with customers
• [4:50] Kevin introduces Chris Shaffer
• [5:55] Background in Ecommerce
• [11:55] Baseline Budgeting
• [13:30] Strategy and optimization
• [15:35] How to start building a list
• [17:30] Learn your target market
• [20:20] Facebook has a group for everything
• [24:30] Content - how do you pick where to start?
• [26:50] The power of Facebook groups
• [34:00] Market, message, match.
• [42:20] Learn how to communicate with your list
• [51:30] How to track how your emails are performing
• [57:20] How to connect with Chris

If someone wrote you a blank check, what would you do? 

If you were offered unlimited resources to grow your business, what would you do? Chris points out that it can be fun and allows you to be creative with marketing. You can experiment without the fear of an idea failing. In reality most of use don’t have an open-ended budget, but what if you attempted to innovate as if you did? 

Many companies follow a strategy labeled “baseline budgeting”. In simplistic terms, if they don’t spend their complete marketing budget they run the risk of being stuck with a lower budget for the upcoming year. This drives the marketing team to spend money wastefully—and why you’ll often see CPC driven upwards towards the end of the year. 

They’re spending upwards of $10,000 a month when they could get the job done with $6,000. Chris believes this type of budgeting system needs to be phased out. It penalizes a team for doing great work on a lower budget. Chris and Kevin continue to talk strategy and figuring out your target market, so keep listening. 

Offer value where your audience lives

If you understand your target market, you need to begin to learn where they “live”. Is your customer on Facebook? YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest? Start where others in your market have found success. Once you build an audience, you can transfer it to any platform you prefer.

Scott Voelker and Chris met because they had booth joined ecommerce Facebook groups and were answering questions. They quickly became the go-to experts in the group because they offered value. It was one of the catalysts that led to the success of the Amazing Seller podcast. 

They were involved in the community and leading with value. When the podcast was launched, a linked was dropped in the Facebook group. It took off. People in the group downloaded the podcast, and chatter about it spread to other Facebook groups.

What could you do to boost your business if you simply placed the needs of your customers first? 

Market. Message. Match.

List-building is a strategy that everyone everywhere recommends, and for good reason. It allows you to directly market to people who want to hear from you. It pulls traffic to your website. But how do you get people on your list? According to Chris, one of the easiest things you can do—and the hardest to mess up—is a product giveaway. Don’t do something crazy like an iPad. Everyone wants one and you won’t convert true followers. You’ll end up with a lot of people who hit “unsubscribe” after the getaway. 

Instead, offer a package that plays off of your target market and meshes with your product. Chris’s favorite way to do this is to offer a “newbie” giveaway and an “expert” giveaway. It speaks to both sides of the spectrum of customers. Whatever you do, make sure to always remember: does the product you're offering match the market you’re offering it to? Chris summarizes the principle as “market, message, match”. 

A connection with customers can’t be an algorithm

Chris points out that your #1 competitor is a nameless and faceless brand on Amazon. Email marketing can be one of the easiest ways to cultivate a connection and relationship with customers. That connection allows you to transcend the platform—and separates you from the lowest priced offer on Amazon.

How do you create that connection? Treat them like your friends. 

Make your emails conversational. Treat people like people, not an algorithm that you’re trying to figure out. Allow people to learn to hear your voice in your writing. The way you read a message from a friend is a different, deeper connection. It’s not always about the call-to-action. Start by piquing their interest, offering something of value, and building the relationship. 

Chris and Kevin talk about how to incorporate a call-to-action, how often to include one in your emails, and how to track how they’re performing. If you’re looking to connect with your customer on a deeper level and ready to build a loyal following for your brand, this is a can’t-miss episode!

Resources & People Mentioned

• The Amazing Seller Podcast
• The GaryVee Audio Experience
• The Amazing Seller on YouTube

Connect with Chris Shaffer

• The Amazing Seller Facebook Group

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Are you trying to find ways to increase your sales without going the nightmarish route of launching a new product? Are you stuck treading water, unsure which direction to take? All entrepreneurs at some point or another hit a point where their product seems to be stalling. Steve Chou joins Kevin in this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce to fill you in on some of his best-kept secrets to combat this problem.

When Steve’s wife was pregnant with their first child, she wanted to quit her job. Armed with a desire to replace her income—and after stumbling upon the perfect product—they launched their first Ecommerce business and the “My Wife Quit Her Job” blog. Steve branched out into podcasting and is the co-founder of the Sellers Summit. He’s got some great ideas, listen to hear them!

Outline of This Episode

• [3:15] How Steve got into Ecommerce
• [5:45] Day-to-day running the business
• [7:30] Starting a Conference
• [9:10] Grow your business with these 3 tips
• [14:20] Driving traffic to your website
• [19:00] White hat options to generate traffic
• [27:05] Steve’s top tips for upselling
• [34:20] Scarcity and the fear of missing out
• [36:30] Find ways to reframe the product
• [41:05] Connect with Steve

Three ways to grow your business

People often continue adding products to their stock to increase revenue—but it’s a lot of hassle. You have to decide on a product, find a manufacturer, and deal with production. Why not work with what you already have? Steve says there are 3 key things you need to focus on to leverage your current product(s).

1. Increase traffic to your product
2. Increase repeat business
3. Increase order size

It is far easier to implement these three things instead of creating new products. If you want to hear Steve’s favorite way to get repeat business from an Amazon customer, keep listening!

White hat options to increase your traffic

There are some great options to generate traffic to your website that are off Amazon. Steve’s favorite recommendations are: 

1. Pay for ads: If your product is searchable, use Google Shopping ads. If your product is something people don’t typically search for, then a Facebook ad may be a better fit. 
2. Content Strategy: Blogging, producing videos, and podcasts are all great options. Write content that you can rank in search and help you build a following. Get people to sign up for your emails and market directly to them. 
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Consciously create content. It’s a long-term play and you will see results down the road. Take your SEO content and run ads with it. 

Steve and Kevin go into detail with each of these recommendations. To gain more insight into the process, keep listening. 

If you don’t ask, you won’t receive

It’s all about the upsell. To increase your average order value, there are some great things you can do. You control how products are listed on your own website—so move the product that generates the most income to the top of your sales page. Stop organizing from the lowest price to the highest!

Remember that people like to buy in bulk. They also tend to choose items that are bundled together versus purchasing separately. You can connect with customers who make bulk orders (because YOU get their information when you sell on your site). You can offer them a discount if they continue to purchase from you in the future. 

Put automated sequences into place that immediately sends purchasers an email with an upsell. Perhaps there are matching napkins in a different size or another product that pairs well. Shopify users can use Zipify—it’s a one-click upsell that offers double what they just ordered for a discounted price. 

Fear of Missing out and Scarcity

The fear of missing out—now popularized as “FOMO”—is a powerful driver. When faced with making a purchase, or losing out on the option altogether most people will buy. It’s a tactic that works on both Kevin and Steve—so why not implement it on your website? 

Amazon will often tell you (in bright red) that there are only a few items left of the product you’re looking at. Some people implement countdown timers. If the timer runs out, you lose your ‘hold’ on that product. Grocery stores give you strict time periods for deals: “Buy 2 get 1 free ends in two days”. 

Steve talks about how you can reframe your product and shares more tips and tricks. Listen to the whole episode of Maximizing Ecommerce for details!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Brand Accelerator Live
• Seller Summit 2020
• Click & Carry
• Shopify
• Zipify

Connect with Steve Chou

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• My Wife Quit Her Job
• Profitable Online Store

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Should an Amazon seller consider launching Facebook ads? In a world where social media is king, it seems foolish not to take advantage of the platform. With Amazon and Google being very keyword-driven, how does Facebook differ? What makes for a successful ad campaign? Monica Louie, A Facebook ads extraordinaire, joins Kevin in this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce. 

Monica dove into the industry in 2015 when she launched a blog. Her end goal was paying off debt. She began to drive traffic to it using FB ads and fell in love. 2 years later, she and her family paid off 120k in debt. She now runs a thriving business and manages 7 figures of ad-spend, helping entrepreneurs master Facebook advertising. 

Outline of This Episode

• [3:40] Kevin introduces his guest, Monica Louie.
• [5:00] Monica’s background 
• [10:00] How she paid off 120k in debt
• [14:35] 3 pillars for Facebook ads
• [19:30] Targeting your audience
• [24:00] Install the Facebook Pixel
• [27:45] Create content your audience wants
• [32:45] What does it cost to run ads?
• [35:40] What constitutes a view?
• [39:30] Ads can be affected by external factors
• [54:45] Test different titles, ad copy, and visuals
• [50:35] How long should you run an ad campaign?
• [55:00] Accept the help that Facebook’s Marketing Team offers
• [57:00] Connect with Monica

Monica’s three Pillars for Facebook advertising

Facebook ads are a whole different ball game compared to Amazon or Google. It’s a place for billions of people to gather and share moments with friends and family. Advertising on this platform falls into the realm of what can be labeled interruptive advertising. Monica suggests three things for successful ads:

1. You must present an amazing offer in the ad. 
2. You have to place your offer in front of the right audience.
3. Your offer must be eye-catching and unique.

You have to stop a user from scrolling through their Facebook feed, pique their curiosity, and pause on your ad. To hear more about Monica’s three-pillar strategy, be sure to listen to the whole episode!

Facebook ads 101: It’s all about the audience

Instead of being keyword-based, FB ads are all about reaching your target audience. But how does one figure out who their perfect audience is? Monica states there are three types of audience: 

1. A “warm” audience: people who are already engaged with you. They have liked your Facebook page, purchased your product, or are on your email list.
2. Look-alike audience: If you have a list built of at least 100 people, you can input that list into Facebook’s algorithm. It will look at their similarities, interests, behaviors, and a plethora of other categories and will market your ad to people who are similar to that audience. 
3. Targeted audience: You input a detailed targeting section including keywords, interests, behaviors and specific demographics and create what you think is your proper audience. 

If you’re starting completely from scratch, Monica recommends installing a Facebook Pixel on your website. It allows Facebook to track conversions and build data to help better target your audience. Kevin and Monica talk about it in detail—don’t miss it!

Facebook ads can be an inexpensive option

Ads on Google can be expensive, depending on how competitive your product is. So what does cost look like for Facebook ads? Monica says you’re looking at mere pennies per view. Facebook ads are a great way to build an audience on a budget. If the product is in a more competitive niche or your target audience is much smaller the cost can go up but you can often keep it below 10 cents. 

But what counts as a view? Will you blow through your budget quickly?

Typically, a view is captured if anyone pauses and watches a video for 3 seconds. However, Monica points out that you can separate your audience depending on how long they watched the video. If they’ve watched 50%, you can have them placed into a category for retargeting. In this way, your most engaged audience (further down the sales funnel) will see your ads again. 

What kind of content is successful in an ad?

What is the best type of ad to place in front of your audience? A static image? A slideshow or a video? The list of questions one could ask is endless, but Monica simply recommends playing around with different techniques. 

Test static images vs. videos—some will perform better than others and those are you what you want to optimize. The same goes for ad copy. She says to interchange different titles and change the voice of the ad depending on which audience the message is going to.

Another way someone can change the ads in a meaningful way is to look at user comments. Do they have some sort of objection? Create an ad that counters that objection or answer their questions. Learn from your audience.

Monica goes on to share other tips and tricks including how long to run ads, budget optimization and much more. Don’t miss this amazing episode of Maximizing Ecommerce! Be sure to check out the link below to get your special FREE offer from Monica. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• PixelMe
• The Facebook Pixel

Connect with Monica Louie

• Monica’s Free Facebook Ad Starter Kit
• Monica’s Website
• Monica’s Podcast
• Monica’s Twitter

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Would you love to work with social media influencers and bloggers but are unsure where to start? The influencer world provides a unique opportunity to promote and sell products. If you think it may be a good fit for your particular product—what’s holding you back? Alexandra Jimenez joins Kevin in this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce to talk about the intersection of Amazon and influencers.

Alexandra started as a blogger and influencer and has built up a following of 1 million unique visitors to her blog monthly. She then launched an Amazon business she promotes on her site—and is making a 7-figure income. To hear about her impressive accomplishments, don’t miss this episode! 

Outline of This Episode

• [5:15] Kevin introduces Travel Fashion Girl, Alexandra Jimenez. 
• [9:20] How did Alexandra get started?
• [12:15] Why she launched her site
• [16:50] Utilizing the Amazon Affiliate model
• [20:00] Partnership Proposal gone awry
• [25:00] Driving traffic to Amazon with a blog
• [29:00] Two reasons’ Alexandra sells on Amazon
• [30:40] Launching a physical product
• [36:55] International shipping
• [41:15] How to reach out to an influencer
• [47:15] Where do you get started?
• [53:45] Who is ranking on Google for topics/products?
• [56:00] Ads on Google and Pinterest
• [1:01:10] Connect with Alexandra

Why Alexandra created the Travel Fashion Girl blog

Alexandra had the opportunity to work for an SEO agency alongside a web-developer and a social media manager. She learned the ins-and-outs of keyword research and how to drive traffic organically to a website. Alexandra launched her website as she was learning industry tactics to drive traffic to a blog, and it’s part of why it’s been so successful. 

It was optimized from day one. 

At the time, she had been an avid long-term backpacker for almost 5 years. She was traveling the world and struggling with properly packing her luggage. No one wants to constantly deal with overweight or hard to manage bags while traveling. Her goal was to enable women to travel light while packing everything they needed—for short trips or year-long journey’s. Now, seven years later, she’s built a sustainable business.

The Amazon Associate world and affiliate marketing

When Alexandra started blogging, she linked to products on her site as an Amazon Associate. If someone clicked the affiliate link on her site and purchased the product on Amazon she would receive a 4-8% commission on the sale. It was a consistent revenue stream that allowed her to track data.

She knew what people liked, what purchases were being made, and even what colors were chosen most often. 

Her website was a goldmine of information. She also had a unique advantage: people came to her site to shop. What if she could leverage the data she had gathered and begin selling a product? She had dreamt for years of selling her own packing cubes and luggage—could she make it happen?

Keep listening as Kevin and Alexandra chat about the Amazon Affiliate program, driving traffic to Amazon, and why she chose Amazon over other platforms. 

Launching a physical product

Alexandra only recently started selling physical products. She struggled with the process because she had no real experience in the manufacturing industry. She spent time feeling out the market and desperately trying to find someone to partner with her, with no success. So she made a bold move. She went live on Facebook and told her audience that regardless of how well it sold, she was going to launch her products.

During a two week pre-sale, she sold 660 packing cube sets.

She didn’t make a profit on any of those sales, but what she learned was invaluable. She realized that shipping products herself was not an easy task, and was in fact quite costly. It gave her unique insight into quality control and customer service. She quickly realized that using Amazon’s platform would streamline the process for her and allow her to focus where she was needed. 

How to reach out to social media influencers

According to Alexandra, reaching out to influencers through social media is like approaching a random person on the street to come mow your lawn. There’s no established relationship, yet you’re asking someone to carry out something very personal. Alexandra has developed a system that she suggests you use:

1. When reaching out, use the person’s name—not just “blogger”. It’s more personal and isn’t immediately rejected as spam.
2. Point out the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and why they are the perfect fit for your product. Be very specific and detailed and provide all relevant information
3. Tell them exactly where your product(s) are sold and how potential customers can access it. 
4. Ask to send them a product, free of charge, with no strings attached. 

Be genuine and don’t come across as shady. She points out that you can’t assume that someone will want to work with you. They may also charge a fee for reviewing your product, so be sure to be prepared to ask what they charge—not everyone wants to work for free product. 

Kevin and Alexandra round out the podcast covering what level of influencer to reach out to, how to find the right influencer for your product, and the topic of Google and Pinterest ads. 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Become an Amazon Associate
• International Checklist

Connect with Alexandra Jimenez

• Travel Fashion Girl 
• Compass Rose Travel Accessories
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

With the growing trend to build multiple streams of revenue, investing some money in Google Shopping ads can drive your sales off-Amazon. It’s important to build a brand that people can find off-Amazon and learn how to drive traffic to your site. In this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce Ryan McDonald shares his insight into paid traffic and why you need to make the leap.

Ryan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing. He owns and operates Shade Digital Marketing which specializes in online advertising, graphic design, and website creation. His 6 years of experience managing over $2,100,000 in monthly ad spend is welcome experience in this episode.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:40] Driving sales to your website
• [1:50] Kevin introduces his guest, Ryan Mcdonald. 
• [6:30] Ryan’s paid ad career
• [13:50] Google Shopping ads long-term picture
• [17:00] Where to get started
• [20:20] Search results are determined by auction
• [24:45] Things to think about
• [26:30] What should someone start with?
• [30:20] Google shopping gets you faster results
• [31:55] How to connect with Ryan

If you’re in ecommerce Google Shopping should be your priority

Ryan has worked with over $50,000,000 in ad spend, and over 80% of that spending has been on Google. Google has 4 different categories for ads: Search, Shopping, Display, & YouTube. Ads on Google Search are an option, but in ecommerce, your focus should be to leverage Shopping ads. 

When a person types in a search query on Google, the algorithm does it’s best to gauge your search intent. If it ascertains that you are looking to buy something, it will return shopping ads in the results. If you’re not familiar with it, these ads typically consist of images in the sidebar that show the product that’s for sale. If clicked on, these images will link to a website. 

The future of shopping on Google

Ryan dropped a piece of hush-hush information (but if you did a google search you’d find it) about where Google is headed. Typically, when a buyer clicks on a shopping ad, they are taken to the merchant’s website to complete the purchase of the product. In the future...

Google is planning to tie your virtual wallet to your Gmail account. 

The end goal is to enable one-click purchases directly on Google. You will no longer be required to purchase directly from the merchant. Google will send all necessary information to the merchant and act as the middle-man. It’s where the future of purchasing is headed. 

Where do you start?

If you’ve only exclusively sold on Amazon and are ready to branch out and diversify your sales platforms, where do you begin? It may be obvious, but Ryan states you must build a website for your brand. If people do a Google search you want to know that your product will come up in the search results.

Secondly, open up a Google Merchant account. This is where you set up and optimize your shopping ads, decide what your max bid will be for certain keywords, and set up negative keywords. If you’re used to the Amazon platform, Google’s is a little more advanced, but gives you more options for optimization. 

To hear more of Kevin and Ryan’s conversation on where to get started, as well as the bidding process for ads, listen to the whole episode now!

Some things to consider as you grow your presence

A large chunk of product-based searches happens on Google. You want your presence there. People don’t always navigate to Amazon—so It’s time to stake your claim by investing in ads. When your product shows up in shopping ads, the other thing you need to consider: is it competitive?

Is your price point competitive? Do you have positive reviews? Do you even have reviews?

As you’re building your brand these are some basic things to consider. Building a website and investing in ads and slowly building reviews helps your brand awareness. People are more likely to purchase from a brand they’re familiar with. Remember to adopt a long-term mindset and that success off-Amazon will not happen overnight.

To hear more about dominating the market, listen to the whole episode with Kevin and special guest Ryan McDonald now!

Resources & People Mentioned

• Sign up for Google Merchant Center
• Yotpo
• Shopify

Connect with Ryan McDonald

• www.ShadeDigital.com
• RyanM(at)ShadeDigitial.com
• Ryan’s LinkedIn

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Jungle Scout founder Greg Mercer knows what works on Amazon as well as what doesn’t. If you’re learning how to run a business on Amazon or are new to the entrepreneurial world it’s hard to know where to focus your attention. In this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce, Greg lends his perspective and expertise to the conversation. 

After becoming a Civil Engineer and finding the job miserable, Greg took his strong entrepreneurial spirit and forged ahead. He started selling products on Amazon—eventually completely replacing his income as an engineer. In the process of finding new products to launch, he founded Jungle Scout. Listen along as he shares his journey!

Outline of This Episode

• [1:40] Kevin introduces Greg Mercer, the founder of Jungle Scout.
• [5:10] How Greg got into the software business
• [9:20] Developing a suite of products
• [13:00] The big thing that is working today
• [16:40] There is no cookie-cutter formula for success
• [17:45] What’s not working on Amazon
• [21:00] How to describe your product
• [22:30] To diversify or not?
• [31:00] Where you should devote your time
• [35:20] What Greg wishes he would’ve known
• [37:40] What is Pickleball?
• [40:45] Million Dollar Case study and other resources

How did Jungle Scout come about?

Back in the day Amazon was a different landscape. To gauge what products sold and how well they did, many people utilized the “999” trick. Amazon allows you to purchase a maximum of 999 units of a product. If you put that product in your cart and the inventory wasn’t available, Google would return an error message—stating exactly how many units they were actually available. When checked daily, it was an archaic way of tracking how well a certain product sold.

Greg started toying around with different algorithms to solve the problem for himself. He knew there had to be a better way to track sales and gauge how certain products sold.

His first attempt was crude, with 10-20 data points and a simple linear regression. He continued to develop and build a better algorithm. He started selling it in an attempt to recoup what he had spent developing it. Amazingly, Jungle Scout took off and has since grown into an empire. Greg never intended to build a software business, but ended up filling a need that existed for every seller.

What is the one big thing Greg Mercer recommends doing?

Anyone can make a specific niche work well. They can sell in one particular niche with a limited selection of products. Or they can focus on selling small, light, inexpensive products. Others focus on high-quality expensive products. There is an endless amount of routes you can take to find success on Amazon.

The “big thing” that Greg recommends you do? Focus on making improvements to an existing product. 

It doesn’t have to be a product that you even offer. Choose a product that sells well, and spend time going through the negative reviews for the product. Take those negatives and have your factory make improvements to the product.

Is the fabric too thin? Find a different material.

Does a certain element of the product break? Does it continue to function properly? Whatever the problem is, fix it in production—then start selling it yourself. Your positive reviews and ratings will begin to rank higher than the other products, driving traffic to the product you sell over your competitor.

Build your product descriptions around what customers are saying

It can be difficult to accurately describe your products. We all have certain adjectives we lean towards that we think best describe something. You may describe a towel as absorbent or moisture-wicking, but your customer describes it as “fluffy” or “soft to the touch”. 

While all those words describe your product, changing the product description to use the words your customers use can make a significant impact.

Why? Because that’s what they’re looking for. The terms they are searching for need to be in your product description. It helps solidify and validate that it was exactly the product they were looking for.

The big debate: Do you diversify?

There is a large push in Ecommerce right now towards diversification. AKA, don’t put all your eggs in the Amazon basket. Many people advocate directing traffic to your product website or other sales channels. They argue that you need to build an email list that you can market to off of Amazon. All in the off-chance Amazon may suspend your account at some point in time. 

Greg argues if 90% of your sales are through Amazon, why focus your time elsewhere?

Your account may be suspended at some point in the lifetime of your business, but it is rare that suspended accounts won’t get reinstated. The actual risk of an account suspension is far lower than the perceived risk. Instead, Greg recommends doubling down on what is working and focus on the things that you do exceptionally well. 

Kevin and Greg discuss reinstating suspended accounts, optimization, where to focus your time, and much more—so check out the whole episode now!

Resources & People Mentioned

• The Jungle Scout Blog
• Jungle Scout on YouTube
• Jungle Scout 8-Week Webinar
• Splitly
• Fetcher

Connect with Greg Mercer

• Greg on LinkedIn
• Greg on Twitter
• www.GregMercer.com

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

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So what is Value Added Tax—commonly abbreviated to VAT—and how is it applicable to selling on Amazon in Europe? Is it similar to sales tax in the United States? If you’re looking to begin selling internationally and need to learn how their tax system works—this is the episode for you! Kevin interviews Melanie Shabanga from AVASK Accounting in the UK.

Melanie is an international tax Guru, with 6 years of experience in the industry and an additional 10 working with small and mid-sized enterprises. She understands the ins and outs of international tax law and is a valuable asset if you’re looking to sell internationally.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:40] Diving into VAT with Melanie Shabangu
• [2:35] What does AVASK Accounting offer?
• [5:00] How does VAT compare to sales tax?
• [9:20] Understanding the EORI number
• [11:20] VAT must be filed quarterly
• [13:45] Selling thresholds across countries in the EU
• [19:20] Language localization
• [20:30] What is a Tax “scheme”
• [28:20] Does “Brexit” affect sellers?
• [33:20] Learn more

Understanding Value Added Tax (VAT)

In the United States, each state governs a sales tax—a tax placed on top of the sale of goods or services. Europe does things a little differently and operates using a VAT rate. Simply put, it is like a sales tax (the typical rate is 20% in the UK) that is added on top of the cost of a product (sort of) at each point in the supply chain. This percentage is what you pay to the government.

Traditionally, customers in Europe expect the advertised price on Amazon to incorporate VAT. For example, let's say you would normally sell a mug for £10 in the UK. Because the VAT is included in the selling price in the UK, you’d instead incorporate the 20% into the price of the mug and sell it for £12. While it’s a simple example, it’s an easy way to understand what you as a seller would likely handle VAT as part of your price otherwise it could eat into your margins.

What is an EORI number and why is it important?

EORI is short for Economic Operator Registration and Identification. You need an EORI number to import or export goods out of the European Union. A declaration is made for all products entering the country—and an import VAT is assessed. If you have your VAT registration in place and an EORI number this VAT may be refundable.

The import VAT can be refunded back to you. How?

When you sell the goods you import, in many cases you may be able to subtract the import VAT from the VAT you collected from the customers.

It’s a little complicated—to learn more about how this process works, keep listening as Kevin and Melanie discuss in detail.

[bctt tweet="What is an EORI number? What is Value-added Tax? If you sell on Amazon internationally these are terms you NEED to know. To learn what they are, listen to this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce with Melanie Shabangu now! #Ecommerce #AmazonSeller #ProductSales #Entrepreneurship #VAT" username=""]

Understanding how VAT works when selling in other countries

Melanie recommends registering for VAT in all countries you intend to ship to. Why? Amazon will store your product in all of those countries and distribute them locally. You can begin by selling in the UK and they will distance ship to other countries. VAT will apply in that transaction—but it is payable to the UK versus the country the product was purchased in.

But a distance selling threshold may apply. 

This is where you need to accurately predict what your sales may be in the countries you ship to. If you go above a certain threshold in the fiscal year, you will be required to register for VAT in that country. So you either need to plan and register ahead of time, or work that countries percentage into your sales cost—just in case.

Melanie and Kevin discuss distance selling thresholds in-depth, keep listening.

Language Localization: Use the local lingo

Another slightly less tax-related detail that you must consider is language localization. Selling in the UK is easier because we share a language—English. However, phrases and titles for items in the US are going to wildly vary from those in the UK. Melanie gives the example of a “jersey” which they would call a “jumper”. If you want to sell your products effectively, be sure to adopt the local lingo.

As you begin to sell in other countries where the widely adopted language is not English, Melanie advises translating your item descriptions into the native language. In some instances, Amazon will do it for you. If they don’t, there are many tools out there that allow you to translate that you should take advantage of.

Melanie and Kevin continue to discuss what a tax “scheme” is and how it differs from an American understanding and whether or not we should be concerned about “Brexit”. This is a detail-oriented episode that you do NOT want to miss!

Resources & People Mentioned

• AVASK Accounting
• Brexit
• Google Translate
• Go to Internationalchecklist.com for Kevin’s guide!

Connect with Melanie

• melaniev.shabangu(at)avask.co.uk

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

 

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

 

People often ask Minna Khounlo-Sithep and Jacqueline Snyder from The Product Boss how they put their product in front of potential customers. How do you sell a product without being pushy? The short answer is in your content creation. Listen to this episode as the three of us chat about creating great content for a product-based business. 

Both women have extensive backgrounds in product sales. After years in corporate graphic design, Minna created Lil’ Labels—reusable labels for baby bottles that are writable and washable. Jacqueline has been in the fashion industry for over 20 years, helping over 1,000 entrepreneurs launch Fashion Apparel and Accessory companies.

Outline of This Episode

• [1:40] ‘The Laura Johnson’ Listener shoutout
• [2:50] Minna Khounlo-Sithep and Jacqueline Snyder’s stories
• [7:10] How did Minna and Jacqueline meet?
• [11:10] Questions people ask when building a product-based business
• [12:52] The 3 C’s of content creation
• [21:50] Start building an email subscription list
• [25:45] What should I start with?
• [28:20] Finding writers at an affordable price
• [33:40] Overcome excuses and set goals

How The Product Boss Podcast was born

Jacqueline heard Minna mentioned on a podcast and knew she was an Amazon expert. She was looking to clear out her inventory of a product. So she reached out to Minna to see if Amazon would be a good medium for that. As Minna answered her questions they began to chat back and forth on Voxer, often using the full 15 minutes allotted on the app for a message. 

Jacqueline invited Minna to Los Angeles to be the Amazon expert on a speaking panel. They’re both Mom’s, both entrepreneurs, and they both speak “product”. They connected well and knew they could develop something together and not get sick of each other. So the Product Boss Podcast was born!

The 3 C’s of Content Creation

Recently, their listeners have been asking for content ideas—how to place their product in front of potential customers without constantly pushing sales (such as through ads). So Minna and Jacqueline developed three points of communication through content.

• Calendar: Put out content that correlates to holidays—real or made-up (i.e. National Dog Day). Or you write a piece of content that relates to something that is trending (Game of Thrones, anyone?). 

• Conversational: This can easily be done on social media. You can ask questions or post a poll, but the goal is a short and engaging call-to-action.

• Cornerstone Content: These are typically blog-style posts on your website that describe your mission, values, and vision. They can be how-to posts, industry facts, case studies, testimonials and much more. 

Above all, they recommend being consistent with your content. If you’re short on time, identify where your core customer is and focus your effort there. Minna and Jacqueline go into detail on this topic—if it piques your interest, keep listening!

Your list is your greatest asset

Building an email list for your product and website is the #1 thing you can do to connect with your customers. The platform you sell on is never guaranteed and Amazon’s algorithm can be fickle. The best way to build your business is to focus on funneling clients to your website. 

Make your call-to-actions geared towards signing up for your email subscription or offer 20% off if they join your email list. 

You are building an asset with every single piece of content you put out. Having customers on your email list is your best opportunity to connect with them and engage. Take advantage of whatever platform suits your product best—and push them to subscribe. If you have to start anywhere, make it here. 

Can you outsource the writing process?

As an entrepreneur, it can be hard to find the time to post on social media or write content for your website. So what do you do? Outsource. 

Jacqueline isn’t able to write consistently, so she often uses services such as Upwork or Free-Up. She sets the structure for what she wants and provides the keyword research and lets her freelancer handle it from there.

Minna hired a “Mom-blogger” to write posts for her in batches, usually around 9 articles at a time. She’ll let her blogger know the style she is going for her and points her towards other articles for inspiration. Once the posts are done Minna will go in and edit the post to fit her voice.

Both strategies work well and can be great options for busy entrepreneurs who want to put out great content but don’t have the time to do it themselves. Kevin, Minna, and Jacqueline cover this topic in-depth, as well as setting goals and overcoming excuses. Don’t miss it! 

Resources & People Mentioned

• The Product Boss
• The Product Boss Free PDF
• The Multistream Machine
• Lil’ Labels
• Designer Consulting Co-op
• Voxer
• Flocksy
• Upwork
• Fiverr
• FreeUp

Connect with Guest Name

• The Product Boss on Instagram
• Minna on Instagram
• Jacqueline on LinkedIn

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Diving into an Ecommerce business headfirst can be emotionally taxing as well as exhilarating. Have you always dreamt of being an entrepreneur? Do you know when a side-hustle can become a full-time gig? In this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce, Kevin talks about his emotional roller-coaster as he gives us his backstory and really delves into the ‘why’ behind his Ecommerce journey.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:40] Kevin’s background in Ecommerce
• [2:15] His goal in life was to climb the corporate ladder
• [4:50] Listening to entrepreneurial podcasts
• [8:10] Time to stop working for other people’s dreams
• [13:10] Building a brand using Amazon
• [16:50] Launching Brand Accelerator with Scott Voelker
• [21:00] Put your dreams and ideas out into the world
• [23:45] Don’t be afraid to quit your job

When climbing the corporate ladder isn’t enough

Kevin had established that his goal in life was to climb the corporate ladder. He interned at Disney and was in management there for a time. He was always questioning if it was the right path for him.

Then a tragedy struck that changed everything.

His father—who had been healthy his entire life—had what they thought was a stroke. It ended up being a Glioblastoma. He was diagnosed with a fast-growing brain tumor. His Dad fought a hard battle but passed away 16 short months later. 

His deep loss made him realize he wasn’t happy with the goal he had set for his life. He wasn’t sure where to start. But in 2011 he started listening to entrepreneurial podcasts. He realized there were so many things he could do—and he was always being told what he couldn’t do.

Was it time for him to transition out of the corporate world? Just like that—the decision was made for him. His hotel company had been bought out, and his job didn’t exist in the new company. He was let go.

Stop working to fulfill someone else’s dream

He started working with a friend in an insurance agency to bring in income, still unsure of what direction he wanted to take. He was tired of working to fulfill someone else’s dreams. During this time, he came across the Amazing Seller—a podcast by Scott Voelker. He inspired him to rediscover his entrepreneurial roots. 

So he decided to go the route of retail arbitrage and purchased some Nike golf clubs off eBay. He thought he could buy them cheap and flip them for a few hundred dollars. But as he researched what they sold for used his heart sank. Doubt began to creep in. He didn’t even attempt to sell them. Keep listening to find out what happened next. 

Building an Ecommerce business both domestically and internationally

Flash forward, Kevin decided to attempt giving Amazon a shot. He bought a few things, shipped them to Amazon, and waited at his computer. That night, he made his first sale.

He raced downstairs to his wife—and scared her half to death—as he shoved his phone in her face, proclaiming the sale. 

That first sale made something click inside him. He knew he could do more.

So he took some money he had been saving and invested it into his first product. He went to sleep every night thinking “This is awesome, I can do this”. And he woke up every morning thinking, “What did I do?!”. 

To hear more of his tumultuous selling journey and breaking into the international marketplace—keep listening!

What happens when you don’t pursue your business dreams?

Entrepreneurs are no strangers to self-doubt and fear. It takes immense courage to leap into something unknown. But when you realize that it’s time to do something—go do it. 

By not pursuing your dreams, ideas, and passions—are you cheating someone else?

What if your idea would have made a positive impact?

What if the value you would have offered is lost? 

Scott hit a turning point where he realized he was ready to be all in. So last year, right before Christmas, he put in his notice; he left on his own terms. Now he’s nearly a year into being a full-time entrepreneur and his business is thriving. 

Do you want to hear all the cool things Scott is accomplishing? For some valuable insight and encouragement in your entrepreneurial journey listen to this inspiring episode now! 

Resources & People Mentioned

• Smart Passive Income Podcast
• The Amazing Seller Podcast
• Brand Accelerator Live
• Kevin’s International Checklist
• Podcast Fasttrack

Connect With Kevin Sanderson

• www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce
• www.Twitter.com/maxecom

Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM