Welcome to this Friday Q & A episode of the Amazing Seller Podcast. We call these the “Ask Scott” sessions because it’s exactly that - your opportunity to ask Scott Voelker anything you want about selling on the Amazon platform. From product research and selection to shipping issues, to Amazon seller accounts and terms of service, to packaging, promotion, reviews, seller feedback - you name it and Scott is willing to address it on these Friday episodes. Be sure you ask your question. Who knows? Maybe it will be featured on a future Ask Scott episode.

Why results bring confidence in business and in life.

Everyone knows this but it’s true nonetheless. When you get results in any area of life you begin to gain confidence in that area. But you’ll never get the results if you never start. That’s why one of Scott’s biggest mantras is #takeAction. So if you’re struggling with confidence when it comes to your Amazon sales simply because it’s so new to you, you may need to simply take a step into the unknown so that you can gain the results you need to build that confidence. You can hear Scott’s thoughts on how he’s experienced this dynamic in business and in life, on this episode.

How can I best use Pay per Click to get myself to page 1 of the Amazon rankings?

Amazon’s pay per click tool is an amazing way to quickly make your product visible in the Amazon search rankings. But it’s not a normal listing that your potential customers see, it’s a promoted listing. But it’s what you’ve got to do in order to get your first sales. The first part of the launch is not about ranking, it’s about getting initial sales and reviews. That is where  Amazon PPC comes in as a powerful way to drive those sales. The next part of a launch is about ranking higher and that doesn’t happen through promotions, it happens through organic sales. And those organic sales are fueled partly by the existence of good reviews. Reviews serve as proof that your product is quality and actually something others want as well.

When I have variations on my products will my Best Seller Rank (BSR) apply to all variations or does each have it’s own BSR?

Every product in the Amazon catalog, including yours, has a seller rank. Every seller wants their product to achieve a best seller rank that shows potential customers that their product is worth buying. A listener asks about how variations of a product impact BSR. Do the variations each  have their own BSR or is the overall “parent product” the only one that has a BSR to be concerned about? It’s a great question and Scott has one of his “it depends” answers for you on this episode.

Should I have my products shipped first to my home address or directly to Amazon?

It may seem like a sensible shortcut to have the products from your supplier sent directly to the Amazon warehouse. After all, why would you want to keep inventory in your own home? Isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid through FBA? But the issue is that when you send products directly to the Amazon warehouse you have no quality control process in place to ensure that your products are free of defects. The only way you know is that customers begin leaving negative reviews on your products - which is never a good thing. On this episode of The Amazing Seller Scott outlines some of the options for shipping that make sense for international sellers and domestic sellers.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER

[0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!

[2:28] Random thoughts from Scott: results build confidence.

[5:28] QUESTION ONE: How do I get to page 1 using PPC and how l can I track it?

[12:18] QUESTION TWO: Questions about product variations and shipping.

[19:16] QUESTION THREE: My products are large and heavy but sell well. What can you tell me about freight forwarding services?

[26:50] QUESTION FOUR: Can you recommend a good copywriting ...