My Amazon Guy

Send us Fan Mail

Today should be the largest sales day of the year for most Amazon sellers. Watch your stock levels, monitor your ads, and buckle up!

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Portions of Seller Central went down Wednesday morning. I suspect system outages again on Black Friday or possibly Cyber Monday. Order reports will be delayed, not unusual. Lots and lots of glitches today. Affects reporting, shipments and more.

• Black Friday deals launched early this year
• Seeing some FBA items lose buy box to MFN. This happened in May during peek buying on Amazon. FBA overwhelmed. Increase your MFN prices, or turn MFN off if you can’t handle a surge.
• Amazon has added 100 product type classifications and attributes. Some are auto classifying.
• Grocery is being standardized with sizing variations.
• Lot of parentages being broken up for color and size. Can’t make sense of it.
• Amazon added a “Growth” section on drop down in seller central, nothing of value in there
• The new brand drop down, however, is very valuable, check out weekly to monitor reviews and brand analytics.
• India Becomes Amazon’s Second Largest Marketplace
• Amazon.com products auto translate to Spanish with customer preference settings.
  • Still recommend putting in a couple of Spanish keywords peppered in on search terms and A+ content photos.
• Biggest question I have right now is what will the IPI requirements be in January and will the 90 day stock limitations go away. I think they will, but too early to tell.
• Brand registry pending trademark registration now done through regular brand registry portal. 
• If you don’t have brand registry - a new section showed up yesterday to load videos for non brands in the video load section. This was supposed to be available 60 days ago but just seeing it for first time.
• Walmart back end has removed search terms
  • They might rely heavier upon titles and bullets as a result
  • Etsy uses “tags”
• Target’s ecommerce sales jump 154% in Q3 2020
• Walmart’s eCommerce sales jump 79% in fiscal Q3
• Amazon Pharmacy Business Adds Online Store, Free Delivery for Prime Members
• Google “Amazon news” top result is “Will Amazon go bankrupt” and that’s pretty click baity but found it interesting
  • Amazon will go bankrupt. If you look at large companies, their lifespans tend to be 30-plus years, not a hundred-plus years," he said. Bezos went on to say that it was his job to delay that date by as long as possible. Amazon turned 25 years old today, so it is fast approaching Bezos's 30-year benchmark
• Selling tips for today - 
  • AB test A+ content and titles
  • Run video ads.
  • Make sure campaigns don’t run out of budget

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Michael Erickson is the CEO of Ad Badger, easily the best podcast that is dedicated to Amazon PPC. I've listened to them test real case studies, doing things to prove them so to speak. When Amazon misleads or doesn't transparently share how things work, these guys know how to cut through the thick of it and figure it out. 

• PPC, the most important thing on Amazon or the mostest important thing on Amazon?
• If you had to summarize your entire 100 podcasts into one soundbite, what have you learned about PPC?
  • Right product with right message to right consumer at right time.
  • People who master PPC - wield a weapon.  What they know to be true is that there are many ways to market your product. Lot of PPC dimensions. 
  • Not all keywords are treated equal.
  • One keyword will be best.
• So what you're saying is, put my top 3 keywords on a manual campaign and an auto campaign and I will then have Amazon passive income? /s
  • Simple and digestable - and giving the right advice. Step by step process is a disservice.
  • Be helpful/accessible but too complex.
• How many ads is too many?
• Improvements someone can make today:
  • View search term report
  • Add new negatives
    • Negative phrase and exact match.
• When would I want a high ACOS?
  • More often than one would think.
  • Amazon looks at conversions and orders.
    • Pick between 10 orders at 10% acos, or 100 orders at 50% acos, most of the time it makes more sense to do 100 orders at 50% acos.
    • More reviews creates more orders.
• What has changed on Amazon?
  • Way more ads
• What will change in 2021?
  • More ads.
  • Higher complexity.
  • Higher CPC
    • Counter to this to make best listing for that keyword. If you bid less, if you convert better. Be the best result.
  • More competition
  • MUST have brand registry.
• What use case was the most helpful to your cause? Most surprising? 
  • The higher you spend the lower your ACOS. 
  • Diminishing returns?
  • Product market fit - spend more to hungrier market.
• Growing up played starcraft. Got a degree in biology. 
• Taught high school biology

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Bill LaPierre |  Catalog Strategies, Catalog Survival, Catalog Trends I’m not going to recap Covid cases or report on the retail sales shifts – we already know that store traffic is down or non-existent, and as the virus cases grow, fewer consumers will venture out. Be glad you have a direct to consumer business.

However, here is what I’m hearing from readers and clients about current catalog and ecommerce results: hard goods and food mailers are generally doing great. Some moved their Black Friday sales events forward by a week or two, simply because demand is so strong, they were afraid they would be unable to ship all their orders. Despite many Americans still being unemployed, many catalogs report difficulty in hiring enough staff for the warehouse.

Backorders and out-of-stocks remain a massive problem, due to factories that were closed, shipping delays, and an overall increase in demand caused by the pandemic. Those of you selling anything for the home, or products that consumers use in a pandemic are simply struggling to get through the next six weeks. Several of our clients reduced circulation – even eliminating holiday mailings – simply to avoid customer service issues. Moreover, many clients have reported that they are reducing short-term digital advertising, simply because they can’t get orders out the door.

Response to apparel offers however is mixed, with most mailers reporting soft response. Fortunately, most apparel mailers did not dramatically increase circulation in anticipation of picking up sales that would have ordinarily been done in retail stores, which they expected to be shunned due to the pandemic.

The bottom line is that most of you are doing very well, but operational issues – which have not been part of the holiday season for years at the magnitude they are this year – are causing huge problems.

What I Didn’t Hear:

In years past, mailers always complained that they experienced soft sales the week before or the week of the election. However, despite all the other things that have gone wrong in 2020, no one has reported any hiccup in response related to the election, or its continued aftermath. And if consumers don’t go to the malls over Thanksgiving weekend, you should continue to reap a strong harvest into December, or until the shipping network grinds to a halt.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Judson started his career as an actor. He met his wife Kelly Overton in Hollywood (she stars on Netflix series Van Helsing as Vanessa Van Helsing, a Syfy fantasy drama) but left Hollywood to become an Amazon seller. 

Most important skill from being an actor to help as an Amazon seller: Storytelling. Make the visuals match the solution to the problem the consumer has.

Listing we analyzed while on the podcast - MicroDerm Glo https://www.amazon.com/Microderm-GLO-Diamond-Microdermabrasion-System/dp/B078Z8LKB9/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=microderm+glo&qid=1605908957&sr=8-5

Coolest thing behind the scenes fact about Van Helsing.

What is the #1 most important piece of content for your amazon product page? - Split test main image it with PickFu. Showing product in use, like candle lit, will perform better. Test a wine glass with wine and without.

Small guys optimize better on Amazon. Big guys lazily check it in because they are killing it off Amazon.

How do sellers increase conversion rates in 2020/2021?
Video.

What is the #1 missed opportunity for Amazon PPC today?
Video ads.

Amazon mistakes: Launching a "cool" product. But I didn't vet it enough.

butter.la - Judson runs an agency to do storytelling in photos and videos.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Joe Shaw is a food Scientist with formulas on barbecue seasonings. Won the National BBQ Association contest 1st place.

My favorite seasoning Joe has made is the Slap Apple Bourbon. As a current My Amazon Guy client, he joined us because he didn't know what he didn't know.

Mike Mills is the LEGEND - won Memphis on Main 3 times. 

"Start with what your confident in, build up to what you're competent in."

Joe first got started when going to school he became good at "Food math." 

How do you find your marketing demographic. Flying Swine: Targeting not just consumers of bbq but buyers who will prepare the food. 

We discuss how Joe got started, how he picked the food category, and why he contacted My Amazon Guy to take it to the next level.

Flying Swine Seasonings are made for all your smoking and grilling needs. They are all purpose seasonings for all you can think to try. From meats like pork, beef, chicken or fish to side dishes ranging from chili to mac & cheese, and even popcorn, you will not find a better seasoning anywhere. Buy it on the Amazon store.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

My father now works for me, I talk about how backed up Amazon is, how more people shopped on Amazon for Prime Day (And Walmart), and how my agency is doing in general.

Send us fan mail here.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Robert Ferrirer and Lee Loree Founders of Seller Investigators who run our My Refund Guy https://myrefundguy.com/service at My Amazon Guy.  Amazon Owes You Money? We’ll Help You Get It Back by chasing Amazon!

WHY DOES AMAZON OWE 99% OF SELLERS MONEY?

Lost and Damaged Units

• Damaged inventory at the warehouse
• Destroyed item without permission
• Lost inventory at the warehouse
• Carrier damaged inbound shipments in transit

Refunds and Mishandled Returns

• Improperly received or miscounted items
• Refund issued, but customer never returned item
• Failure to reimburse a return
• Failure to issue 20% restocking fee

Lost Inbound Shipments

• Reimbursed you for less quantity
• Reimbursement smaller then the item value
• Issued a chargeback but didn't reimburse you
• Failure to replace items back into inventory

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

After you've completed all the best practices, your PPC, SEO, Design, and Catalog are setup, you may consider. Check out Seller.Tools.

• How are sellers using more advanced strategies with chat marketing right now?
  • Won Many Chat top developer award.
  • Journey a customer goes on. The flow is the journey.
  • Advanced straetgy staying accessible.
• Have processed $10,000,000 in rebates.
• All ships rising, expotential growth, 85% of days on par with Prime Day 2019.
• What's the future of more advanced strategies on Amazon coming into 2021?
  • Amazon wants customers staying on platform longer and engaging further.
• What is the biggest thing a seller can do to start winning on Amazon? (Or phrase this as what's the most common but obvious mistake sellers are making right now?)
  • Differentiantion of product. Action you can take today in 5 mins. Amazon is a compare and contrast marketplace. Your product is not seen in isolation.
  • Tried and true optimization on Amazon. First impression is important.

Troy Johnston bio:
Troy Johnston is the Co-founder of Seller.Tools, a robust suite of optimization tools leveraging actual Amazon data. He sold one of his flagship brands for multiple 7 figures and quickly moved to consulting for 8 & 9 figure clients on Amazon.  Troy is obsessed with creating data-driven solutions for Seller.Tools clients by empowering sellers with the best data alongside exclusive features. You can find Troy and an amazing community of FBA sellers through the Facebook community FBA Kings.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

I saw my sales pick up 26% on 11-14-20 and that's unusual for a Saturday. Telling me that the Christmas Season purchase behavior has officially begun!

Get help from the best Amazon agency in the USA at www.myamazonguy.com

Support the show