by Jessica Dahlquist, Director of Operations | Marketing
If you work in e-commerce, you’ve probably heard of the dynamic Ezra Firestone, founder of Smartmarketer.com. He has helped countless online sellers to dial in their marketing and increase their sales, using his arsenal of tools and resources. Ezra was on the Playbook for Amazon Podcast episode 19 last month, and shared some real gems with our audience. In case you haven’t tuned in yet, here are three of Ezra’s teachings that have truly transformed our business:
He gives more than he takes.
While Ezra’s created multiple businesses now doing $20M+ in revenue, he also freely gives of his advice, content, mentorship, and experience so others can work towards achieving their own massive success. We love his Facebook page and his frequent videos that are always the kick in the pants we need to take things to the next level.
He enjoys his life and lets his quirkiness work for him.
While it takes an extraordinary amount of work to be an entrepreneur, we love how Ezra doesn’t preach a 23-hour workday mentality. He’s about working smart so he can enjoy his hobbies, his family, his rural living, etc. Check out this video to hear more about his view on business. If you have something that makes your business unique, use it as an asset to set you apart!
The most successful sellers we work with have systems in place so that their entire business is not hinging upon them showing up to keep the motor running. If you are at a place where a day off would tank your sales, you need to make some changes (check out these Accelerator courses to get started with some of these systems). Ezra epitomizes success in this field, and we love watching him work smart and remember to laugh at himself.
He recognizes that you are only as strong as your team.
We learned so much of what we know about hiring and developing rapport among a virtual team from Ezra. Check out his video on team building here. It’s not easy trying to scale a business, and it’s more than just the nuts and bolts of a business that make it thrive. Ezra shows how it’s really about developing a team culture and when everyone is all in on the collaborative vision you share for your team, THAT is the recipe for success.
So, whether you are in need of marketing tools and tips or you just need a virtual mentor, Ezra has made such an impact on TurnKey and our team members, and we’re grateful for all he shares with this industry. Who do you look up to in this space?
by Jessica Dahlquist, Director of Operations | Coaching, Full-Service, Special Events
Are you one of those last-minute shoppers who binge buys on Christmas Eve? Or do you have you had your shopping list all checked off since late August? The holiday season and end of Q4 are MAJOR opportunities for sellers to up their game and achieve their highest sales of the year (unless you sell boogie boards, then December is probably not your top month!). Increased sales don’t happen on accident, you need to properly plan in order to see maximum returns in Q4.
When should you start planning for the holidays?
Since you may need to apply for some of the promotions you’ll want to run, we recommend planning for the holidays and its coordinating promotions at least a month in advance. This ensures you won’t miss the window to apply for certain deals.
Once you know what promotions you want to run, you should immediately start applying for them. Opportunities disappear the closer you get the holidays. If you know you want to do a Black Friday deal or a coupon, look for the application window NOW so you can ensure you don’t miss out.
Beginning prep this early will also ensure you have enough time to order the inventory you’ll need to get you through the holidays. Don’t miss out on sales because you’ve run out of stock in Q4! Avoid this hazardous mistake by forecasting early and planning ahead.
What promotions are most effective?
The answer is that it varies for everyone. To start, look at which promotions have worked best for you in the past. Have lightning deals been successful? Does it work to offer a discount on multiple quantity purchases? Have coupons been effective?
TurnKey Pro Tip: We see coupons that offer a dollar amount discount convert better than the percentage off ones because customers don’t like doing the math!
If you take the time to run promotions and ads for the holidays, make sure you get the word out about your deals. In addition to reaching out to existing customers, now is the time to attract new customers into the fold. Running external ads work very well in order to share your deals. People tend to trust Amazon more than purchasing on individual random websites, so it’s worth pushing people over to your Amazon listing versus just advertising to your website.
So, take some time to prepare for the holidays and maximize your Q4 sales. If you want even more strategies, our Client Manager Jenna is over on our Playbook for Amazon podcast chatting with Jeff on Episode 18 all about what she’s doing to help clients prep for the end of Q4!
by Jessica Dahlquist, Director of Operations | Accelerators, Coaching, Motivation Monday
A Quick Note From TurnKey:
As of October 10, 2019, Amazon Giveaways is no longer a feature hosted by Amazon. We loved this strategy so much and are sad to see it go. That being said, the principles that made the giveaway effective still apply:
- Leverage social media, email lists, etc. in order to send people over to a landing page to collect even more customer email addresses.
- Use squeeze pages to share more information and connect with customers. Video is a fantastic medium to include on the landing page because it gives you the unique opportunity to talk to your customers and pitch to them as if you were in the same room.
- Offer a discount code to people who watch the video.
So don’t worry just because Amazon isn’t offering this feature anymore. You can still find ways to incorporate the aspects of this strategy in order to impress your customers and increase sales! If you need more support, we have lots of other strategies to help you grow your sales, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
On a scale of 1-10, how nervous do you get when it comes to staying compliant while trying to get reviews? I know…it can literally leave you feeling helpless as your niche is getting more and more saturated and you don’t want to overstep with any shady strategies that will get you slapped on the wrist. The rules surrounding customer reviews and giving away products have definitely changed in the Amazon world over the years, so how do you know what’s okay and what is not?
While there’s a whole list of terms you must adhere to on Amazon’s website, at TurnKey we try to focus on what you CAN do to get results, and not just what you can’t do. One of our favorite strategies is utilizing Amazon Giveaways. The giveaway is literally hosted BY AMAZON, and as long as you follow their rules, you are good to go. Our clients have seen huge returns by running Amazon Giveaways. We are talking $1k in product for $10k in trackable revenue from a Giveaway.
So what’s the secret? Well, it’s important to first know HOW to set up an Amazon Giveaway. We walk you step-by-step through how to do that on Episode 2 of our Playbook for Amazon Podcast. Then once you understand the process, how do you actually make it result in massive returns?
Our #1 tip for running a successful Amazon Giveaway is to include a promotion for customers that don’t win the giveaway. By giving them a discount for entering, you’re much more likely to have an immediate customer or a customer down the road.
And if you want a bonus tip… we love adding educational videos to the squeeze page for the Giveaway. This is your chance to connect with your customers, appeal to their emotions, and get them to buy into the “why” behind your product. Make sure your video focuses on the benefits of the product and how they will feel after they use it. That’s exactly how we 10x’d our investment for the client I mentioned above.
If you haven’t already given Amazon Giveaway a try, we HIGHLY recommend this tool for getting more sales and in turn more reviews. If you want more information on Growth Strategies, we have a course designed specifically for the seller who is looking to GROW!
Need a bit more help generating the reviews you need to gain sales? Check out our Review Generation Accelerator for step-by-step strategies to increase your review numbers!
by Lauren Amos, Operational Facilitator | Coaching, Full-Service
No matter how amazing the product, how phenomenal the price, or how finely composed the listing, one of the challenges that any Amazon seller faces is listing visibility. Your ideal customer cannot purchase your product if they do not know that it exists. Utilizing Amazon’s coupon clipping feature can help you to increase both your visibility and your sales.
What Are Coupon Clippings
Coupon clippings are essentially the same as their real-world counterparts. Customers on Amazon can virtually “clip” the coupons you set up and the savings are applied to their purchase at check out. In addition to the incentive of a discount that is given to customers, coupon clippings help boost your visibility.
Not only do these clippings appear on your listing, but they also are compiled in a virtual “circular” on Amazon’s website. All of the clippings that are currently active amongst Amazon sellers are sorted here by category. This gives you an opportunity to put your product in front of customers who are looking for your product but who might not have otherwise known that it existed.
How Do They Work
When setting up coupon clippings in Seller Central, it is important to understand exactly how they work. To begin, you will need to set a budget for the clipping. The budget you set for your coupon will be used for both the USD equivalent of the discount you are offering and the fee Amazon charges you each time a coupon is redeemed (currently this fee is set at $0.60 per redemption). Once the budget you’ve set for the clipping is depleted, your coupon deactivates.
For example, let’s say you are offering a $4.00 off coupon on a $25.00 item and the first day your coupon becomes active 50 customers redeem it by purchasing your product for $21.00 after clipping the coupon. This is how you would calculate the cost regarding these transactions:
(USD equivalent of the discount you are offering times the number of redemptions) + (redemption fees times the number of redemptions) = ($4.00 * 50) + ($0.60 * 50) = $200 + $30 = $230
The next day, your budget will be decreased by $230 as a result of customer interest.
When setting a budget, please keep in mind that you can always increase your budget, but you may not decrease it. It’s also important to note that if you do not use your entire budget, you won’t be charged that money. For example, if you set a $2,000 budget and $1,500 is used, you will only be charged the $1,500.
Real Life Results
Our clients have had great results when using coupon clippings. Here is an example of one of our clients’ actual numbers:
As you can see, the return on investment for coupon clippings is well worth it! Factor in the increase in exposure, the possibility of repeat or subscribe and save customers, and a larger pool of customers for reviews and there should only be one question remaining: How quickly can you set up your first coupon clipping?
by Sasha Martinez, Client Manager | Accelerators
A Quick Note From TurnKey:
As of October 10, 2019, Amazon Giveaways is no longer a feature hosted by Amazon. We loved this strategy so much and are sad to see it go. That being said, the principles that made the giveaway effective still apply:
- Leverage social media, email lists, etc. in order to send people over to a landing page to collect even more customer email addresses.
- Use squeeze pages to share more information and connect with customers. Video is a fantastic medium to include on the landing page because it gives you the unique opportunity to talk to your customers and pitch to them as if you were in the same room.
- Offer a discount code to people who watch the video.
So don’t worry just because Amazon isn’t offering this feature anymore. You can still find ways to incorporate the aspects of this strategy in order to impress your customers and increase sales! If you need more support, we have lots of other strategies to help you grow your sales, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
Amazon Giveaway is a marketing tool used to set up sweepstake promotions on Amazon products. Essentially, you are creating a prize out of your product. The giveaway is displayed on Amazon’s giveaway page which provides your product with endless exposure. This is a great way to engage with your customers. With giveaways, you are able to provide each participant with a promo code. It will make them feel special AND draw them to your product listing.
Upon setting up an Amazon Giveaway, you are able to create entry requirements such as have the participants follow you on social media or watch a short video. Having the participants watch a short video is our favorite. We were able to get one of our clients to over 22,000 YouTube views in a week using this entry method! From there they could pixel each viewer thus adding 22,000 people to their retargeting ads. This is your chance to appeal to your customers by letting them know what your brand is about. You want to catch their attention and provide them with a visual of your brand that they won’t forget!
Amazon Giveaways can be used as a complete growth strategy. Not only can you increase your sales conversions, but you can also expand your customer base.
Social media will be your best friend to maximize this strategy. Create a post on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that will create a BUZZ around your product. Simply inform your followers that you’re having a giveaway and give them a link to the giveaway page. Or even better, to make sure that the word gets around, ask them to tag 3 of their closest friends in the post for a chance to win an exclusive prize just for your social media followers!
Amazon automates the entire process for you by picking the winners and losers! You simply select how many products you want to give away and Amazon will randomly select the winners. Don’t forget to HAVE FUN and get CREATIVE while promoting your giveaway. The more excited you are about the things going on with your brand the more excited your customer base will be.
If you’re interested in finding out more information about how giveaways and other strategies can help grow your sales check out our Growth Strategies on Amazon Accelerator.
