Private Label for Dummies Episode 4 of 4 – Listing & Launching Your Product
EPISODE OVERVIEW
Before you get to this step, you should have listened to episodes the first three episodes of Private Label for Dummies. Don't be a hero and skip around, follow the directions for success!
To listen to episode 1 click here.
To listen to episode 2 click here.
To listen to episode 3 click here.
Listing Your Product:
To list your product, go to your Seller Central account and hover over "Inventory" then select, "Add new product". Skip the search function, as your product doesn't exist yet--so you won't find it. Click "Add New Product".
Amazon will then ask you to search for your category. You can choose from the selection below, or search by search term. Just pick the category that is most appropriate. Don't worry about getting this perfect just yet, you can always go back and edit later.
*Note* Certain product categories may require permission or approval to be able to sell in. If yours is one of those categories, Amazon will walk you through the required steps. Often your supplier can help with receipts, purchase orders or other things needed to speed up this process.
Once you have selected a category for your product, Amazon will walk you through 6 or 8 different screens and ask you to fill out information about your product. Everything from title, to ingredients to shipping weight may be available as forms for you to fill out. Only fields marked with a red * are required, and must be completed now. Other fields are optional. Some can be beneficial to fill out, for example dimensions and ingredients, or indicating that your product is made in the USA or is All-Natural. Others are a waste of time, in my opinion.
To help you prepare to list your item, the following is a list of information to have on hand:
UPC Number (from your barcode)
Product Name (doesn't have to be perfect-you can edit it later)
Product Description
Key Attributes for Bullet Points
Product weight and dimensions (obtain from supplier)
Ingredients list
This should get you started. Remember, all you are doing at this point is creating your listing. You can come back later and edit any of this. Once you are done, hit submit. In a few minutes, you can click on your listing from within your seller account, and see what it looks like on Amazon. Keep in mind that it won't look finished yet, and it is also not yet "live" because there is no inventory. This means that no one will find your listing when you are selling on Amazon.
Pro Tip: Prepare for Hazmat Review
Amazon will often flag new products for hazardous material (or Hazmat) review. This means they want to ensure that the product is safe to store in their fulfillment centers, and to sell to their customers. You can prepare ahead of time by knowing the list of restricted products as well as hazardous materials.
Your supplier can and should provide you with an SDS (Safety Data Sheet) or MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). This document will list important safety and ingredient information about your product, and include transportation and storage guidelines as well as spill clean up information. Having this on hand before Amazon asks for it (if they do) will speed up any potential review of your product. This is not something to be scared of, and is simply a part of the process. Make sure to have your supplier take out any of their company or contact information and include yours instead.
Optimizing Your Listing:
As you get closer to the date where your product will be shipped to Amazon, you will want to go back and flush out your listing. Below are the core components of your listing, in order of importance according to yours truly. I've also included the tools I personally use to build my listings:
Title: Your title MAY be different on Amazon from the actual name printed on your product. Your title should include the most important keywords that people will use when searching for your product. It can also use other key attributes or benefits, and include descriptive terms such as color, size, etc. For researching keywords, I use Merchant Words and AMZTracker. You will want to have a nice long list of keywords because you will put more of these in your bullet points as well as the Search Terms area in the back end of your product listing.
Photos: Product images are extremely important. I believe that buyers click on an item to view because of the photos. It's that simple. I personally use and recommend SellShotz for amazing images. You can also find artists that can do 3D renderings and mock ups of your product (for example putting your label on a bottle, etc.) using 99 Designs. A last resort would be Fiverr.
Bullet Points: Amazon gives you five sections of "bullet points" in which you can list the most important attributes of your product. This is an opportunity to grab the buyer's attention and convince them to purchase your item. I use the first bullet to make a bold statement like "The best bicycle helmet money can buy". I use the next to to solidify that statement with things like "The strongest material available" or "Enhanced comfort with exclusive Gel Cushioning". I then use the final two bullet points to overcome any objections the buyer may have. These can be statements like "100% No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee".
Spend some time on your bullets. Include some additional key words here that people may search for.
Back End Keywords: The back end "search terms" field when setting up your listing is extremely important. These terms are not seen publicly by viewers to your listing; instead, they are used by Amazon's search algorithm to direct appropriate traffic to your product. This is a great place to put in relevant product or brand names that may be appropriate to your product. Use Merchant Words or AMZTracker to find your keywords.
Product Description: Your product description is probably the least important item you will optimize, but it should still make a good impression on the reader. Most people have already made the decision to buy by the time they get to this part of your listing, but if they haven't, now is the time to seal the deal! The best product descriptions read like a story, rather than just listing off a bunch of bullet points about the item. Engage the reader. Think about the things you would want to know if you were searching for such a product, and then do a great job of answering those questions in your description. PRO TIP: Close your description with a call to action by telling the buyer exactly what you want them to do! For example "Go ahead, add this premium bicycle helmet to your cart right now. You will be glad you did!"
The above is just a primer on optimizing your listing. If you want some help, our friends over at ZonBlast offer a great service called "ZonOptimize" where they will do this for you. You can also join our private facebook group, Private Label Empire Builders and immerse yourself in a community that has proven to be very helpful and supportive.
Launching Your Product
There are many ways to launch a product. The following are just two:
Build an Audience: Use facebook or other social media to build an audience that is relevant to your product. If it were a bicycle helmet, you could create a group that focuses on bicycling, for example. Perhaps you already have an audience in the form of email addresses to a bike club, or something similar. Launch to this audience by providing them a free or heavily discounted product in exchange for a review. By doing this, you are building social proof of your product in the form of (hopefully positive) reviews, and beginning to juice the algorithm and tell Amazon to rank your product for those search terms. You can use a Super URL to target keywords using a tool like AMZTracker.
ZonBlast: By far my favorite way to launch a product is to let someone else do it for me! ZonBlast takes all the work out of your launch process, and it is well worth the cost. I personally use ZonBlast when launching new products, and to maintain ranking for my existing ones. If you are planning to launch multiple products, consider their VIP 2 or VIP 4(what I use) plans, which give you multiple blasts each month for a discounted rate.
If you want to find out exactly how I launch each and every product, click here and fill out this form. I will email you my launch strategy, and you can use that in your own business.
OK, that's it! Congratulations! You are well on your way to building a real private label business! I could not be more excited for you. If you've gone through this process and find yourself looking for some extra help, motivation or accountability, I am for the first time ever opening up a few consulting slots for private label brand owners. Previously the only way to get my help 1-1 was to join ZonSquad, but I am opening up a few slots. If you want more information on how you can work directly with me, click here.
I want to hear from you! Contact me on Facebook, or leave a comment below and let me know where you are in the process!
--Kevin
