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My Amazon Guy is proud to announce we have upgraded our advertising management service offering. Within the next two weeks all MAG clients we manage advertising for will start to use our newly developed proprietary advertising system we are calling MAGADS. 

MAGADS is a series of techniques combined with advanced macros to optimize current advertising efforts. With the new technology we will be able to update your advertising faster, more frequently, and more holistically. It will also increase the transparency of our efforts as we will store the bid adjustments for your viewing pleasure at any time. All with no cost increase to you. Just MORE value!

New Ad techniques
There’s also a lot of new advertising segmentation that has been rolled out by Amazon recently. Many new techniques require creative human marketing skills such as copy writing and design. So our new MAGADs tool will help free up resources on our side to dedicate “humanized” advertising methodologies that no automated robot can muster. 

Such as:

• Display ads with text headlines (New as of this week)
• Logo and creative advertisements (New as of this week)
• Custom brand headline ads
• Video ads
• Offensive competitor ASIN targeting

My pledge to all clients of My Amazon Guy: We will continue to be cutting edge, engaging in best practices that will work continuously and long term. I will NEVER sell My Amazon Guy which means you can partner with us for years to come and grow with us. As the founder of My Amazon Guy it has been a pleasure and a feat to navigate the ever changing Amazon platform with you. 

#MAGADS #amazonseller #MyAmazonGuy

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Steven Pope talks about why you shouldn't give away your margins when everybody is going to stock out this year. An internal Amazon email seen by The Verge confirms that its Prime Day shopping event will take place October 13th and 14th, and that the company will make an official announcement September 27th. 
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/22/21450957/amazon-prime-day-october-13-internal-email

In a separate internal email, Amazon warehouse workers were told no new vacation requests would be accepted between October 13th and October 20th, which suggests that the company needs all hands on deck for Prime Day.

An Amazon spokesperson said in an email to The Verge that the company has not announced any dates for Prime Day. “Stay tuned for more details on Prime Day,” the spokesperson said, adding that customers can ask Alexa devices to keep them updated about Prime Day.

The e-commerce giant is keeping a tight lid on any leaks about this year’s Prime Day, which was postponed from July due to the coronavirus pandemic. A promotional poster from personal care company Braun that surfaced last week showing its Prime Day Deals “in mid-October” disappeared from several sites following an inquiry from The Verge. At that point, Amazon would only confirm that Prime Day would be in Q4, which means sometime after October 1st.

Whatever the date, Amazon likely wants to keep Prime Day and Black Friday sales from overlapping. According to Tamebay, a publication for Amazon third-party sellers, Black Friday deals are expected to begin showing up on Amazon somewhere around October 26th and run for several weeks.

In the past, Prime Day has started on a Monday; last year’s homage to consumerism lasted for two days. Analysts estimated Prime Day 2019 brought in somewhere around $6 billion. Amazon warehouse workers staged a Prime Day strike last year to protest working conditions at the company.

Get Amazon Consulting at https://myamazonguy.com/

#amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfba

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Amazing Exits launches today as a company and podcast. What does it take to sell your business? In today’s podcast I speak to Paul Miller and Kellianne Fedio of Amazing Exits. We talk about goal setting, planning, mistakes and best practices so you can get an Amazing Exit when you sell your Amazon business.

How to Exit 

• Kellianne's background/experience as a successful Amazon Seller growing and selling her ecommerce brand
• Paul's background/experience as a 7 figure brand builder.
• The most money that you can put into your pocket comes from when you sell the business.
• Many businesses don’t know how much their business is worth.
• Hire someone else to do the bookkeeping.
  • Clean financial records are critical
• Exit planning - why it's important to have an exit mindset; what should sellers do to plan for a successful exit
• Reverse engineering your goal.
  • Financial independence - net proceeds.
• What makes your heart sing
  • Financial independence
  • Freedom of choice
• What makes a serial entrepreneur?
  • Bunch of screwups (joking) - driven to be self employed
• Build business with intention. 
• When best time to plan to exit?
  • Now. And always. Know the value of your business.
  • Paul missed his ideal exit. 4 years of growth. Created company Cozy Phones. Copy cats took market share.
• Have growth shown historically
  • Plan for buyer to continue growth
• Diversification
  • Product mix
  • Skill mix
• Multiples
• Types of buyers
• Read book: Built to Sell

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Fake review news story from CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/06/amazon-reviews-thousands-are-fake-heres-how-to-spot-them.html

Customers are reading reviews
online-review-statistics-2019

Nearly 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase (Spiegel Research Center, 2017) 
94% of customers read online reviews (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
93% of local consumers use reviews to determine if a local business is good or bad (BrightLocal, 2017)
72% of customers don't take action until they have read reviews (Testimonial Engine)
The impact of online reviews on sales and revenue
92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (G2 and Heinz Marketing, 2017)
Displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by 270% (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
Businesses that claim their free listings on at least four review sites earn 36% more revenue than average (Womply, 2019)
Having five reviews results in purchase likelihood increasing by a factor of almost four times (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
Displaying reviews for higher-priced products can increase conversion rates by 380% (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
Purchase likelihood improves 15% when buyers read verified buyer reviews over anonymous reviews (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
One-to-one peer recommendations, original research, and product reviews are the most influential content in affecting purchase decisions (Content Marketing Institute and SmartBrief, 2017)

Get Amazon Consulting at https://myamazonguy.com/

#amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfba

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Amazon.com Inc. plans to open 1,000 small delivery hubs in cities and suburbs all over the U.S., according to people familiar with the plans. The facilities, which will eventually number about 1,500, will bring products closer to customers, making shopping online about as fast as a quick run to the store. It will also help the world’s largest e-commerce company take on a resurgent Walmart Inc.

Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/amazon-plans-to-put-1-000-warehouses-in-neighborhoods

Get Amazon Agency Full Service at www.myamazonguy.com

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Get new images at POW. My Amazon Guy photo guide. 

Creating an Amazon Listing that generates sales and builds a brand takes a lot of work.
You have to have titles optimized, copy in place for title and descriptions, backend keywords added, clear photos, and much more.

Today, we’re going to talk about optimizing our photos to ensure that we catch the eyes of customers and convert as many clicks into sales as possible.
Amazon has a strict policy when it comes to photos. You can view their guidelines here.

In order to accommodate Amazon rules, MyAmazonGuy has created best practices that you can follow that also helps you optimize your photos.

– MAIN/HERO Image has to be on a pure white background (255, 255, 255). Your photo may get rejected by Amazon if it doesn’t. It will also look much cleaner if you do it in Amazon’s uniform and desired manner.

Get Amazon Consulting at https://myamazonguy.com/

#amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfba

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Full policy update here: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/rainier/help/legal/Communication_Guidelines_English_US_090820.pdf

Watch the CNBC story on fake reviews https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/09/06/fake-reviews-are-all-over-amazon-and-its-getting-harder-to-spot-them.html

Communication Guidelines As part of selling on the Amazon store, sellers communicate with buyers both directly and indirectly. Amazon requires that sellers follow the guidelines below for any communication with buyers. The Communication Guidelines policy is meant to protect buyers from fraud and abuse, and to protect you from unscrupulous actions from your competitors. Raising the bar for all communications to buyers benefits all our selling partners, resulting in a stronger Marketplace. Direct communication Order status messages 1. Problem with Order messages: Sellers must communicate with buyers if the product ordered is not available to be shipped. First, adjust the full order amount using the Manage Orders feature in Seller Central or via an Order Adjustment feed. Sellers must use NoInventory or CouldNotShip as the reason codes for the adjustment as necessary. Second, use these directions and select the “Problem with Order” option to communicate with the buyer about your inability to fulfill the order. The message must contain a confirmation that the order amount was adjusted with the appropriate reason for the unavailability of the items. If you think you can fulfill the order but the shipment will be delayed beyond the advertised availability, you must notify the buyer about the delay. If the buyer decides to cancel the order, you should then start the refund process. Note: Do not contact the buyer and request that they submit a cancellation request. 2. Return-related messages: Sellers must process refunds for the order amount (minus any charges) using either the Manage Orders feature in Seller Central or via an Order Adjustment feed. You may communicate with the buyer about their return only when you need additional information to complete the return or you are offering a partial refund, following these directions and selecting the “Follow-up on return request” option. Buyer-Seller messages You may only send Permitted Messages to customers who have contacted you about purchasing a product or who have already purchased a product from you on the Amazon store. We define Permitted Messages as those communications necessary to complete an order or to respond to a customer service inquiry. Proactive Permitted Messages are those messages that you initiate that are not responses to a buyer’s question. Proactive Permitted Messages can be sent via email, using Amazon’s templates via the Contact Buyer or Request a Review page in Seller Central, third-party applications in the Application Store, or via Application Programmer Interface (API). You may send proactive Permitted Messages for the following reasons: resolving an issue with order fulfillment, requesting additional information required to complete the order, asking a return-related question, sending an invoice, requesting product review and/or seller feedback, scheduling the delivery of a heavy or bulky item, scheduling a Home Services appointment, verifying a custom design, or any other reason where the contact is required for the buyer to receive their purchase. Proactive Permitted Messages must be sent within 30 days of order completion. All proactive Permitted Messages must include the 17-digit order ID and be in the buyer’s Language of Preference. Sending proactive Permitted Messages to your buyer using Amazon’s templates, third-party applications, or via API automates the inclusion of order ID, Language of Preference translations, and critical message guidelines. Permitted Messages do not include any of the following message types (in many cases we are already emailing customers with this information on your behalf): 

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Bradley Sutton - Director of Training, Chief Evangelist sits down with us to talk about overlooked keyword product strategies, how to handle Q4 inventory issues, and some PPC tips to grow your Amazon sales. Be sure to subscribe to Bradley's podcast the Serious Sellers Podcast. https://www.helium10.com/podcast/

1. Keyword Research Strategies
   1. Buyer’s viewpoint
   2. Look at pinterest, etsy
   3. Absence of data 
   4. Filter for keywords that competitors are not all in the top.
2. Inventory
   1. 3PL must needed for any seasonal item or new product this year
   2. Takes 13-14 days to get the stock increase, sale 3-5 units a day - can ship in 450.
   3. External ads like Facebook for brand new items.
   4. Keep FBM active all the time.
   5. 1-4% more sales by having 2 active. % of population without prime. May not see buy box. 
   6. Gone are the days 
   7. Virtual bundles - bad, tested.
   8. Honeymoon period still exists. Don’t create listing until ready to ship, day 3.
   9. No formula for guaranteed success or failure
      1. PLay the odds. Set yourself up for better chances of success. Blueprint of managing right inventory, research. Still never guaranteed.
      2. Ever year you will have pivot on something. 
3. PPC
   1. Video ads - stops a scroll. For now it’s auto play.
   2. Bradley constantly running 155 campaigns with 1-2 hours a week.
4. What do you put on you tacos?
5. Influencer marketing
6. Will Walmart ever catch up to Amazon? No.
7. Businesses partners kept me in the dark - biggest failure.
8. What makes your heart sing?
   1. Traveling. 
   2. Helium gives 1 month sabbatical at 2 year mark
9. PPC charges put them on Credit Card with cash back. 

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Good companies get bigger, or evolve. Great companies do both. Examples of companies that did not evolve Blockbuster, Kodak. Examples of companies that did not get bigger. our neighbor’s startup you never heard of. 

• It should be obvious why a company needs to both evolve and get bigger, but this isn’t practiced by many. Amazon is probably the greatest example of a company that successfully did both. Amazon started out selling books. Today they are even opening up their own electrical car division, have their own supply chain, and have their hands on everything from unicorn meat to their own private labels and video streaming services.
• If you don’t evolve you won’t stay competitive, and one day it could put you out of business.
• If you don’t get bigger, you’re not relevant, you’re stagnant, and you may not ever become an industry leader.
  • Don’t just grow for growth sake. You don’t want to go out and acquire a random competitor on a dime. That’s not the purpose of getting bigger. 
• Why both grow and evolve?
  • Market conditions change. Rinse and repeat of same playbook will result in less profit and stagnation.
  • “If the CEO has an engineering background, loves the products, and knows the DNA of the company, that firm is going to be focused on internal innovation. A CEO with more of a financial or investment banking background will go after deals. Even a specific type of deal.” Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma.
• The concept of just in time supply chain management is dead. Companies need to have a year's supply of all stock moving forward. Minimum. In the states ready. That's where the company should be financing right now.
• Fastest way to grow on Amazon is to add more products, advertise, launch on more marketplaces, and more countries.
• #pain is a good teacher. But it is not a necessary one. If you want to be a daredevil 😈 that's cool. But when it comes to business you can avoid many bad situations by having a plan and focusing to it's execution with #perseverance.

Sales can often decrease for a variety of reasons. Here are the most common reasons sales are down:

Common Reasons Sales are Down

• Seasonality - Seasonality of your Product (Weather, time of year, holidays.)
• Stockouts - If your top items at FBA stockout, this has a massive impact.
• Decreased Advertising - If cost cutting was recently done, advertising was pulled back or paused, this will lead to immediate velocity loss.
• Increased Competition - Did a competitor undercut your price by 25% and take the market by storm?

How to Improve Sales Right Now

• Keep products in stock - If this is the issue, send immediate replenishments to FBA.
  • If a shipment is already on the way to FBA, what else can I do?
    • Activate duplicate Fulfilled by Merchant skus if FBA is out of stock and you can ship direct to the consumer. 
• Increase advertising -  The fastest way to increase top line sales. 
• Add Video Content/Video Ads to the Listings - Video ads are hot right now. Please provide us all relevant video content and we can help get them loaded onto Amazon! 
• Lower your prices - Decreasing your prices will increase conversion rates, and draw in more traffic. This can be a temporary measure, later reverted back up.
  • Can be done through interactive promotions, couponing, social media giveaways, or by simply lowering your price
• Share your products Externally - If you have a social following, or other resources outside o

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This is the first time Mitchell has been on a podcast, so you're getting an exclusive look at what it takes to run a large publicly traded company in eCommerce. We discuss Etail's journey, their new brand name, and how to compete with Amazon. Steven Pope also went onto the etailz podcast with  CEO Kunal Chopra.

• Discuss etailz's journey
• Mitchell has been with etailz since 2011 when it was around a single coffee table. Now at 60,000 square feet business.
• About Kaspien / etailzs
  • FBA - 800-900 brands working with
  • Drop ship business 50,000 sku
• How to compete with Amazon
• Don’t outsource a core competency
  • Infrastructure
    • Ad management
    • Supply management
  • Demand forecasting
    • Healthy inventory turns
• Challenges/wins
  • What challenges have you had to overcome?
  • Supply chain disruption
• Rebrand that will be going public on 9/3.
• What makes your heart sing
• How to beat Amazon
  • Target, Walmart, Etsy, Shopify 
  • Walmart fulfillment centers
• How to grow sales
  • Consistency
    • Pricing
    • Messaging
    • Imagery
    • Content
  • Really defined strategy

More info about etailz.

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