Podcasts about tomoson

In this SaaS Fuel™ Founder Episode this week, Jeff sits down with Dan Fernandez, co-founder of various SaaS platforms, such as SoStocked.com and Tomoson.com. With more than 15 years of hands-on experience in overseeing and collaborating with coding teams located abroad, he possesses exceptional skills in effectively communicating task requirements and deadlines, resulting in remarkable outcomes. Dan highlighted the significance of prioritizing customer service and its potential to significantly impact a business's trajectory. He also delved into the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing the customer experience and enabling businesses to scale. However, above all else, Dan underscored the immense value of passion and perseverance in the realm of entrepreneurship and how they serve as catalysts for achieving success.Key Takeaways[00:01:05] - The Importance of Execution [00:04:04] - Success Story of Shopify[00:11:45] - The importance of having a three-legged stool approach to business, with the marketer, operator, and industry expert working together.[00:17:56] - SaaS Pathway, a program designed to help individuals turn their SaaS business ideas into tangible goods and execute them.[00:20:00] - The benefits of using no code/low code applications to build software quickly and efficiently, allowing for faster iteration and validation.[00:23:19] - The value of having a consultant to help entrepreneurs navigate the decision-making process and keep the ball rolling.[00:30:24]- The impact of AI on technology and how it is changing the role of founders in the development process.[00:33:01] - AI in data summarization and email summarization, and how it can accelerate humans without replacing them.[00:41:31] How to prevent copycats in the SaaS industry by focusing on brand differentiation, product-market fit, and customer service.[00:45:02] - Workarounds and anticipating the next steps for customers when they encounter problems, as part of a strong customer service strategy.[00:47:34] - Ritz-Carlton Mentality for Customer ServiceTweetable Quotes"Just being able to talk to somebody that's gone through it has is insanely valuable and it was for me whenever I would get stuck like when we were raising money I'd never raised money before and we were in a group of people that had done that before and I was able to bounce ideas off and granted I paid for that consultation but paid dividends in the end because we exited because we raised money and we went through the process and it was the right time." - 00:26:38 Dan Fernandez“The combination of those three things is really where I found and was able to get rocket fuel." - 00:13:44 Dan Fernandez"I am scared less and I get it. I've been there and I've had that happen where a big company has acquired or a partner or a big round of funding and that press release hits you like a truck." - 00:01:05 Jeff Mains"Nothing drives me crazier than when I contact customer support and they have some canned response that then I have to reply saying I know that I already read that article." - 00:43:43 Dan FernandezSaaS Leadership LessonsCustomer service can be a critical differentiator that sets businesses apart in a crowded marketplace. Embrace the power of exceptional customer service to create long-term success and positively impact your customers' journey.Knowledge Empowers Customer Service Representatives. Training is pivotal in equipping customer service representatives with the knowledge and skills they need to excel in their roles.Documentation establishes a foundation for consistent customer service delivery. By documenting best practices, standard operating procedures, and frequently...

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Dan Fernandez, Co-Founder of SoStocked, the first and only customizable inventory management and forecasting software built for Amazon sellers by Amazon sellers. Not only that, but he is also the Co-Founder of Tomoson, a Board Member at Birdies4Brains, and is the lead consultant at WebBizIdeas.com!They delve into how poker helped Dan become the entrepreneur he is today, how to manage the hiccups and struggles that come with running a business, and why the people you work with can make a massive difference to your business' success. He also explains what the ‘three legged stool' analogy is in business and why it's so beneficial.Guest at a Glance:Name: Dan FernandezAbout Dan: Dan Fernandez is the Co-Founder of SoStocked, the first and only customizable inventory management and forecasting software built for Amazon sellers by Amazon sellers. Not only that, but he is also the Co-Founder of Tomoson, a Board Member at Birdies4Brains, and is the lead consultant at WebBizIdeas.com!Dan on LinkedInSoStocked on LinkedInSoStocked's WebsiteTopics we cover:The journey of a serial entrepreneur in SaaSHow poker helps you be a better business personStomaching the ebbs and flows of being an entrepreneurThe three legs of the business stoolDeveloping the architecture of your SaaS businessLearning to manage the hiccups and the development burnDon't take on everything yourselfSurrounding yourself with people who can correct your shortcomingsKey Takeaways:Can Poker Help You Become a Better Business Person?Before Dan even started SoStocked he would play poker with his friends and feature in tournaments; when starting a business, it will always require some gambling, but he isn't suggesting that's all there is to business. Rather, it allowed him to learn how to stomach the unknown and face problems with confidence. He also argues that, if you really believe in something, you have to sometimes gamble on yourself - it's all about risk, and the best entrepreneurs are risk takers. “I think as an entrepreneur, you have to have the stomach for the unknown. You need to be able to know when to gamble. That's not to say that being an entrepreneur you're gambling all the time, but you're taking the gamble on yourself. You are that pit in your stomach.”Finding the Third Leg of the StoolEvery successful SaaS product has to have the three legs of the stool: a subject expert, an operations person, and a marketing professional. Without those, you'll find yourself in a tricky situation. And this isn't exclusive to just SaaS brands, it's actually something that anyone in any business can learn from - those three legs will hold your business up and keep you balanced; the last thing you want is for it all to fall apart.“Every SaaS product that I've had success with, I've had those three legs of the stool. What brought the odds in our favor was finding that subject expert that could truly articulate the hole in the market and then had passion enough to do social media, to go to conferences etc.”How Long Can You Sustain the Development Burn?Your business will require a lot of sustainability in how much development you can burn. You need to be able to balance as much as you can without fully burning out or exhausting yourself and your expenses. Dan points out that every SaaS product he's been a part of has never stayed on budget, and that if you can plan for the hiccups, then you can move on and you'll prove yourself.“In SaaS, business, or whatever, if you can plan for the hiccup and it happens, then it doesn't faze you. It's very rare in SaaS that you're breaking even; sometimes it's a year or eighteen months of burning cash…but you're seeing results and users sticking. The metrics can tell you that it's working, it's just that you're waiting for that lag in the bank account to catch up.”Don't Do Everything YourselfDan says that most people burn themselves out when they try to take on all three legs of the stool. Trying to take on more than one intense role is almost a form of self-abuse and it will lead to blowing up in your face. You need to know your faults as well as what you're good at; fill your business with people who can close the gaps of your weaknesses and compliment them - this is the best way to make sure everyone in your organization is an asset.“SaaS is complex. Where I see a lot of people get burned out and overwhelmed is when they try to do all three legs of the stool themselves. I enjoyed having partners that I could laugh and cry with - that is the way I worked.”

Let's face it, campaigns and launches are quite big to handle on our own especially when we don't have a wide network. We definitely need a hand in promoting and getting our products reach more. That's when influencer marketing comes in. In Today's episode, we are joined by Dan Fernandez of Tomoson- an influencer marketing platform to share with us everything we need to learn in engaging influencers in boosting Amazon sales. In This Episode: [00:28] Welcoming Dan Fernandez on the show [02:11] What is Tomoson and what does it do? [04:50] step by step walkthrough on how Tomoson works [12:45] User/Influencers Data [15:05] How to tell which influencers are perfect for your campaigns. [18:45] 10% ratio doesn't work for everyone. Here's why. [19:50] How influencers can apply for a campaign under Tomoson [28:50] Giving influencers the direction. [34:25] Working with mommy influencers/bloggers works most of the time. [36:40] Hate Content Less means [42:15] How do you cope and deal with it? Guest Links and References: WEBSITE: https://www.tomoson.com/ Book References: The Lean Start-up By Eric Ries The Four Hour Workweek By Timothy Ferris Links and References: Wizards of Amazon: https://www.wizardsofecom.com/ Wizards of Amazon Courses  Wizards of Amazon Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/South-Florida-FBA/ Wizards of Amazon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WizardsofAmazon/ Wizards of Amazon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wizardsofecom/ Wizards of Amazon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wizardsofecom/

|God Calls Isaiah |Isaiah 6:1-8 | Finding Your Story in God's Story. Chris Tomoson, Preaching.

Psalm 34 - "Worshipful Lament" Christipher Tomoson, preaching

In this episode, we chat with Brad Degraw. Brad is “The Amazon Geek” and helps his clients scale ads on Amazon using a simple framework that just simply gets results. Whether you already have products on Amazon or want to create new products to add a new revenue stream to your business, this is a great episode to get the ball rolling and give you what you need to get started with this untapped media platform. Enjoy! If you’d prefer watching the video you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/3SAtdIEs76o Resources Mentioned https://www.amazon.com/ https://www.alibaba.com/n.com/ https://www.kickstarter.com/ https://www.infusionsoft.com/ http://amazonsherpa.com/ Transcript Jeremy Reeves: Hey everyone, Jeremy Reeves here with another episode of the sales funnel mastery and today I have on the line Brad DeGraw and this is going to be a pretty intense conversation I think because I am a huge fan of selling stuff on Amazon. I always thought it was kind of cool, but I have never actually done it. I have a couple clients that sell things on Amazon. I help them with their descriptions and you know, taking them from Amazon into an online sales funnel that kind of thing. Maybe we will get into that, but you know, I no nothing about actually setting it up and like what you should do to you know, increase your -- you know, whatever Amazon search or engine rankings or whatever you call them. I am sure there is a term for it, I do not even know. But yes, we are going to talk about essentially how to sell a whole bunch stuff on Amazon, right. So Brad is kind of the you know, the Amazon God or Amazon nerd as he calls himself. He started with a $100 and basically computer and turned it into over a million dollars in Amazon sales. So he clearly knows what he is talking about. So Brad how are you? Brad DeGraw: Excellent, excellent. Thanks for having me. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, yeah. Thanks for coming on. So before we get into all the Amazon stuff. This is actually a podcast first and we are going to kind of start with a couple of questions to get to know you a little better. You have had a little bit of time to think about 4 of them, but the 5th one is going to be surprised. It is going to be -- it will be funny, it is one that like -- If I had you think about it, it would not be as good of an answer. You will see once we get there. So the first one is what is your favorite alcoholic drink? Brad DeGraw: You know, I have not drink in several years. It is something (inaudible 1:55.3) these days it is just Arnold Palmer, but back in the day, it was anything with rhum. Jeremy Reeves: Rhum, okay, nice. What is one bad habit that you are trying to get rid off? Brad DeGraw: You know, I move really quickly through life and I feel like I do not take enough time to like learn about people at deeper level. So slow down. Learn people’s names and stories. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, that is a good one. I like that. Wow, that is hard to beat. That is really good. So what is the one thing in your bucket list that you want to cross off. It is on there, you have not cross off, but you were like, once you hit, it is like one of those things that it is like you know, yes. Brad DeGraw: You know, for me, I love to see the Northern lights. I love to take my woman out there and just watch the sky change colors and do its thing. Jeremy Reeves: That is on mine too. Brad DeGraw: Excellent. Jeremy Reeves: Another one. Similar one. I want to see the milky way galaxy like you know, without like being in space, you know what I mean like from earth you know what I mean and I guess sometimes like in certain parts of the year and certain places like up on top of mountain and stuff you can kind of see you know, it is clear enough that you can actually see like you know, the whole kind of thing you know. Brad DeGraw: Cool. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah. So it is kind of a similar thing. If you could change one thing about your life instantly, just snap your fingers and it is done, what would that be? Brad DeGraw: Man, I wish my wife would have her green card. I could have that and we could travel international and do some awesome things. That is the biggest snap of the fingers. Jeremy Reeves: How long is that going to take? Brad DeGraw: Supposed to be 6 months. We are still waiting. That is all we can do at this point, just wait. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah. It is the government. You will be waiting in a while. Brad DeGraw: (inaudible 3:34.7). Jeremy Reeves: Alright. The final one before we get into the good stuff is, when I say, do not think about it whatever pops in your head, just say it, right. What is your spirit animal? Brad DeGraw: Turtle. Jeremy Reeves: I know see. And that is why I do not want you to think about it, whatever animal pops in you know and it is funny because I forgot somebody did that to me one time and I am like, it is such like a weird question, but it is like, it is just funny you know, I mean it is like -- then you (inaudible 4:08.6) why a turtle. Why not like a cheetah or like a rhino or like --- Alright so -- I like that question. It is fun. So with those out of the way. Let us -- you know, I guess tell us about what you do and with clients and you know, kind of just you know, dive into to what you do and like what is the Amazon world look like. Brad DeGraw: Yeah, absolutely. So for me, what I do is I find markets. People have a specific problem fantasy desire. Maybe they have diabetes or curly hair and they want straight hair. I find some emotional thing and I read the 1, 2 and 3 star reviews of products they already buying and (inaudible 4:51.3) expectations. So I go out to make (inaudible 4:54.1) and make those products better under our brand. That is the short and sweet part of it. Then we teach people how to do the same thing. Jeremy Reeves: Nice. Yeah, it is awesome. It is actually kind of funny because you know, I was like, I write copy for selling you know, services and products and things like that and one of our main focus is when we are doing a research to understand the market is the same thing. You go to Amazon. You look to the reviews you know so it is actually funny you said, not a lot of people do that or even know to do that, but I mean, oh my God, such a gold in there. I mean people just pour their souls out in Amazon you know. So what kind of products do you sell? You know, are they high ticket or low ticket. Does that not matter. Do you focus more on like the pain you know, like the level of the pain. Brad DeGraw: It is a little bit of everything. So we have pet products. We have parenting products. We have survival products/privacy, outdoor fitness products, and sexual wellness products. We have a little bit of everything. Jeremy Reeves: Okay, nice. When you -- I guess you know, take us to the process like what does it look like -- you know, say somebody on here is -- I guess we will start if they do not have a product and then we will get into like the (inaudible 6:06.2) things you can do to optimize your campaigns, but let us just say that you know, you are listening to this and somebody that wanted to get into the Amazon kind of like me. Like, at some point, I am going to do it. I have not done it yet, it is kind of like one of those things you know, like a little side project that I want to do on the weekends or whatever, at least to you know, for the first time doing it. What is like the process you know? Brad DeGraw: So the process, you know this from writing copy. First, you have to have market. Market is not like a platform. A market is a group of people who are passionate about spending money on a specific problem, fantasy, and desire. So you are not going to end up with catch a popsicle, something that no one wants. You are going to end up maybe targeting women who are pregnant with their second child and they want to maintain their body. They know what the first kid did to them and they wanted to do everything they can to kind of keep their body together. That would be a specific type of market. So let us jus use a very specific example. I live in Colorado and there are a couple of rules in Colorado. You have to have a mountain bike and you have to have a dog. That is just a rule. And if you do not have one that means you neighbor has got two. So if you can take that people who have dogs and bikes well you want to ride your bike and you want to walk your dog. So we looked it. There is actually a product for that and it is like a bike leash. So instead of holding it in your hand while you are trying to you know, stir the bike, there is a device that you can put on to the seat and it will kind of like make the dog run behind you. And so we look at this product and said wow sales are through the roof, but if we read the 1, 2, and 3 star reviews, there are some flaws with the product. Number 1 is being made in China with really lousy metal like pop metal. I am not a scientist, but if we can go from garbage to maybe steel, it is going to weigh a little bit, but is going to last. It is not going to break and your dog is not going to send you into traffic or the dog with the traffic. So great. We hire a designer. You do not have to be an engineer or anything like that. We hired someone, say, here are the flaws read the 1, 2, and 3 star reviews on Amazon and he made the new version of it. So he made all the drawings. We sent it over, had some molds made and now we can go through like Kickstarter to build up an audience while Facebook and then Kickstarter and then Amazon, but if you do not want to do the Facebook and Kickstarter that is fine. You can go right into Amazon because there is an ecosystem of buyers ready who may have bikes, they have dogs and they are looking for that solution. Jeremy Reeves: Okay, and you know what, I always -- I am always kind of you know, a lot of entrepreneurs do this and it is like you know, you come up because you are so -- if you are the right kind of entrepreneur at least, like our mindset revolves around, okay, well here is the problem, how do I solve it you know. That is why -- I think a lot of entrepreneur guys get in trouble with their wives because you should not do that in a relationship you know what I mean and I know I always fight myself mentally. It is like you know, when Katie, my wife Katie which she is actually pregnant number 3 by the way. So like, when there is a problem, my mind is, how do I fix it you know, where as you know, in most cases it is okay, no I just have to listen to -- and you know, and that kind of thing. We will not go into like the whole relationship part. Brad DeGraw: No. You figure it out that is the secret to marriage (inaudible 9:21.3). Do you want me to fix it now or do you want me to listen. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah and I actually sometimes -- I sometimes actually ask that exact question and she is like, no, just listen, you know, and I am like fine, alright, you know, let me get a drink. You know, but then sometimes, she is like, no, I need like, I do not want -- I need it fix you know, and I am like, boom, boom, boom. So a lot of times like I have had a whole bunch of like you know, invention-type ideas in my head right. Especially when I am doing things where I am not that good at it and it is like, this thing you know, because you (inaudible 9:56.8) fresh eyes. So like I am just starting to get into like building things with my hands. I was never really like a builder you know, but I have realized that it is really good to get into a flow state you know, which is good for like disconnecting from business. So I have been building a lot of stuff lately. I am still like in that kind of like learning you know, I am not really that good you know, I am smashing my fingers and hammers and all that kind of thing, but there is a lot of tools that I am using right and I am like why is not this like you know over here like the other side or whatever. So let us just say that you are like that. A lot of people listening to this probably are, they probably you know, heard like thought of ideas. How long does it take like you know, what you just said actually made it sound so simple because the reason I have never actually made anything was not really like time or money or anything in that, it was more like, oh, I have never done it you know and like I never really -- like in my head, the process is like you know, like (inaudible 10:54.6) but it seems like it is not that bad. Brad DeGraw: What I just described is the most complicated way to do it and that can take you maybe 3 months (inaudible 11:05.4) start to finish (inaudible 11:06.9) the idea to where you have your first organic sales. Jeremy Reeves: Okay. Brad DeGraw: You could even go a shorter process. So here is a great example. Pokemon came out like a month and a half ago. My kid and I are in the park and we have overhear someone like, oh man, by battery just died. Oh I got 1% I am going to have to go home soon and so our ears perked up (inaudible 11:26.9) even my kid he is like, hmmm, I wonder how we could solve that and there is a device called a power bank right, it is an external battery hook up that you can just recharge your phone portable. So what if we sold portable power that was already charged. You can solve (inaudible 11:43.4) utility company. Now given the hardware and the power and so I got on Alibaba that night. I am looking up power banks they are $2.31 per unit. Ordered 500 of them and before I could even get to market to it someone wanted to buy my brand. I had a great little domain and a name and so before I could even take the inventory and get it into Amazon, someone bought my brand, and made an offer. Jeremy Reeves: That is awesome. Brad DeGraw: So you could even -- you can do a shorter process, they call it, oh yeah man, it is basically off the shelf technology. You are not developing anything a thing you just say how much for that thing can you put my name on it. Also, it is called private label. So you could even do a (inaudible 12:25.2) and you can turn that around in a week, 2 weeks, let us say 2 weeks. Jeremy Reeves: Okay, got you. Yes. I mean it sounds like the process is not even that bad you know, alright so let us say, let us say design. Let us just say that -- I tried to look at something in my room here. I do not know like a new glass, I do not know, maybe something more complicated than that. A new timer, like an egg timer, right. So you have some kind of cool concept for an egg timer. What would you go and you know for the designer because I guess that would be the first thing. I guess like say, hey, here is what I am envisioning with it and then like what type of designer do you like you know, you go into the Google and it is like you know, X designer you know -- Brad DeGraw: It is literally a product designer and depending on how specific it is. It could be a plastics engineer or silicone engineer. You can get very, very granular and there are people who have studied their whole life on how to engineer plastics to do special things. So if you were doing timer let us say, it is a timer to I do not know, reward your dog. Like you are out of the house and you want to get a treat every hour. So it does not go crazy and tear up your house. Great. So you say it well, it is a product, I mean a product engineer. It is probably going to be made of plasticish and it is probably basically going to be a little spin timer. Done. And you reach out, you can Google you know, product engineer and find the match. Jeremy Reeves: Okay. How do they you know, do you pay them, is it like by project, by hour, it is probably various. Brad DeGraw: It still varies. So you could do a little bit of both. You can say, hey, this is what I think it is going to be, send me a scope of work and I would like you to bid it. Tell me how much do you need for a flat rate. Tell me much you need for an hour and we need to know time and money. How long is going to take it to complete it. How much is going to cost me. Jeremy Reeves: So it is similar hiring someone for like a software program. Brad DeGraw: Same thing. They are service provider. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, but instead of software -- and I am imaging a lot of times because one idea I have always had -- so my wife has epilepsy right. So I am always you know, when she is out of the house I mean she could be on the walk with the kids and she has seizure you know, on the side of the road. So I have always wanted to come out with something that was like some type of you know, some kind -- type of thing that would like measure it, like you know, it probably be like a predictor type of thing. So it is like, I do not know something happened like the electrical signals if she wore it on her wrist or necklace or something and it would -- like certain type of electrical signal hits it, it would send me a message something like that, so like would that be more of like a software type of thing or -- Brad DeGraw: That would be both. You are starting to go into kind of an IOT space with wearable technology and it is coming. There are already people working on that. Last year we went to the trade show called CES and it is all about the future technology like showcase there and then it comes out in a year or two. There are already at least 4 companies working on wellness monitors specifically for like senior citizens, but it is not that -- it could not be use (inaudible 15:31.7) but yeah, that is a big, big problem and whoever solves that the best it will be a billion dollar company. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, definitely. Okay, yes. So I got (inaudible 15:42.9) now you got me one to start. Because I am always you know, I am always tell my wife and my wife always you know, she is always like, well, Jeremy, why do not you just do it and I am like, yeah, you know, and then got this thing going on and that thing and -- but like, the real reason (inaudible 15:56.3) in my head the amount of work was way bigger than I actually think it is you know what I mean. Brad DeGraw: For that because the software itself -- I actually went down this (inaudible 16:07.6). Jeremy Reeves: That is probably the harder, yeah. Brad DeGraw: You are talking around $100,000 for the software side of it and for the most start ups I got a crazy idea. You do not want to spend $100,000 on the crazy idea. So it is okay to let someone else roll with that one and there is some really smart companies working on it right now. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, okay. Sounds good. So let us know, you know, let us say that you have the product whether you created or you got it from something like Alibaba or whatever the case is and now you are at the point where you actually on Amazon and it is like alright let’s you know, let us actually make money you know, let us sell this. What are some of the things that you have seen that work? You know, because I know the last client that I work with on Amazon product, he was telling me how basically -- like he was kind of talking about the organic results from Amazon and reviews are huge you know, that type of thing and just like you know, SCL all the various ways to kind of rank yourself better you know. So what are some of those besides reviews because that is kind of obvious one. Brad DeGraw: Well it gets really, really simple. Once you have a great product, your business is really 2 things and you love this from being a copywriter (inaudible 17:19.5) traffic and conversion. That is it. So traffic wise, it is search term. You have to have the right search terms. There is a feel when you create your listings that says keywords. You want to load that up with keywords. You have 5 lines each of them can hold a thousand characters and number one thing that newbies fail to do is fill that thing up. That is your real estate. That is how you dance with the search bots, so your search terms. Next up is getting reviews. We use bloggers. There is a service called Tomoson. It is kind of like a dating site for bloggers and rent owners that you kind of match them up, which is perfect because not only do you have the Amazon review but they are blogging about your product everywhere. So you have some juice. Next, also, most people miss this, you have customer questions and answers right there above the reviews most people miss it, but the blogs really, really love this. So each one of those is a high quality back link. Without getting super technical, means every question, every response is going to help you start ranking for that relevant market. Does that make sense? Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, yeah. I love that. Brad DeGraw: And then another -- this is super, super important. Do not try to do this yourself. The images. People do judge based on your first image that has everything to do with your kind of click through rating. Nothing super technical, has something intriguing, has something compelling that is emotional, not just like an iPhone hero shot you know, it has to be compelling. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, I mean everybody is you know, everybody says, do not judge a book by its cover, but it is literally impossible not to. It is, I mean you know, there is no saint on earth that does not like -- there is not a split second you know -- Brad DeGraw: Why -- it is how we survive this long (inaudible 19:01.9) species because we understand danger or you know, pleasure. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, yeah. So how about you know, let us say you know, actually before we go there. Is there anything with you know, with the copywriting, so like with the description, you want the keywords, but you also want to sell the product right. So you know, you actually have to talk to them about what they are suffering from and you know, how your, you know, widget overcomes that and how it is unique and awesome you know, that kind of thing. So is there really like kind of copywriting tips. Do you have any kind of like formula or template or anything like that or is it you know, do you sell too much of (inaudible 19:39.2) stuff. Brad DeGraw: Here is our best practices and it evolves. So half of the things we talked about today and 6 months from now they are going to be updated processes. So currently, the title we write for the boss is all about the traffic. So we have our most relevant keywords at the front and without being super technical when you do that you have a great (inaudible 19:59.8) which means the boss loved it. Those search terms are going to give you the most relevant traffic. So after your title, you have bullet points and those bullet points are (inaudible 20:09.9). You want to go ahead and sell, sell, sell. It is not just like the futures of the product is wireless. Forget the fact it is wireless. Tell them they are never going to have to get tangled up to the wall. They are going to be able to unplug and do whatever they need to do. Give them the benefit of the benefit. Just ask yourself. You know it as a copywriter. Ask yourself why is that matter. Why did they care. Why should they care and by the time you get to the 5th time of answering it that is what you need to write. The benefit of the benefit. Also, you need to end with the call to action. It is silly, but when you tell people to buy it, they buy it and 3% increase in conversion just on that little thing there. So in with your last bullet point is a call to action and the same with your product description. Forget about what it is. You are really selling who it is for. You are selling people their identity and so talk about their life circumstance when they are feeling like they need to buy and then again, end with a call to action. Jeremy Reeves: What you just said is beautiful. I hope people pick up and that you are selling like themselves their identity. That is absolutely beautiful. I love that. So everybody listen to that. And also real quick before you keep going. An easy thing from the bullets right, because a lot of people only do the features or they only do the benefits. What I found works really well is doing like kind of a feature, but then you say -- so it is like, whatever you know, a purple nozzle right which means and then you go to the benefit you know, which means whatever, it looks beautiful or you know, whatever the benefit is. Brad DeGraw: Yes. In the benefits as well as creating an infographic. So, because people want to feel like they are educated without actually going to the process of being educated. And infographics are great for that you know, do your little arrows, your callouts and tell them why that matters to them and why this one is the best one on the planet because it has XYZ. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, I love that and nobody has infographics on Amazon. That is awesome. Brad DeGraw: So few. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah. And I always noticed because I actually just saw one -- I was buying a green -- like a powdered greens thing and by the way, if anybody is not drinking powdered greens in the morning, you definitely should. I know it is a huge difference. Number one, my heartburn, because I suffered from heartburns since I was like 16. Also, like just energy throughout the day you know, it is huge. But anyway, I noticed -- I forgot if it was the one that I bought or not, but when I was looking at a couple of them, the first thing that I looked at was the label right, the design of the product and then the second thing was, I think I picked like 3 of them to kind of compare. The one with the infographic, I was on significantly longer. Like looking at it you know then the other ones, because the other ones are just bullet, bullet and then the one had an infographic it was gorgeous. It was like showing all the different things you know, it had pictures (inaudible 23:08.3) individual ingredients and I was reading about that one significantly longer you know. I forgot if I bought that one or not. I definitely look again, but I remember like as you were saying, I kind of get the flashback of being back there. Brad DeGraw: Yeah (inaudible 23:24.9) make great buying decisions. Like the whole point of the listing is to help people making a quick buying decision towards you. That is what Amazon does really well is they shortcut the shopping process down to where -- I want it. One-click purchase is on the way before you realized, wait, I just bought that thing. That is what Amazon is genius for. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah. I suffered from that all the time. So how about you know, one of the huge downfalls with Amazon is that, they do not really give you the customer you know what I mean like you cannot really like synch it with you know, Infusionsoft or whatever you use in for emails and (inaudible 24:06.1). Do you have any kind of like ninja tricks for getting Amazon customers into -- so you can then follow up with them better? Brad DeGraw: Yes. Jeremy Reeves: Oh, nice. Brad DeGraw: Okay, so we have to make sure that we do not compromise the account. So Amazon allows you to reach out to customers for customer service issues. This is within the terms of service. If you are going out there and saying, hey, buy a cheaper on my website. You are risking your account, your business model can have to shift radically. So what you do is you make sure every communication has customer service in it. So you can put in product inserts. So on site A, we tell you how to use the best product or how to get the best results from the product and then on the back side of it, we will say, do not forget, you get to join our VIP program for no cost. Here is the link. Go over here for promos, samples, and special offers. And then as soon as they put their email in and you know, it is just going to be a squeeze page, soon as they put their email in we have a thank you page that says as promised, here is a promo, a special offer, or a sample. And now you are there. You can (inaudible 25:14.5) so there are happy Amazon customer and there are VIP. So you can do product inserts. You can also -- I do not recommend this, this is going to take a lot of time if you are soloproneur, but you can actually reach out to them by phone and just want to make sure you are happy with your order, that is called customer service. You did that. And then once they are done, (inaudible 25:33.8) yes or no whatever they say, just listen. If they are not happy just give them a refund and hang up the phone. Do not try to (inaudible 25:40.9). Just give them their money back and call it a day. However, if they are happy, then you can say, oh great, I do not know if you know, some people miss this but you are actually able to join our VIP program and you get special promos and coupons and discounts and offers. If you want, I can send you the link you know, it is in that insert it is just you know, name of our company.com/specialoffer. Done. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah and you know, think about -- because I saw a lot of high ticket stuff so like think about, if you had, you can use Amazon. If you have let us just say, you are in -- you are selling like a new tropic, right. Do you know what a new tropic is? Brad DeGraw: Oh yeah. Jeremy Reeves: So you are selling a new tropic. So if anybody does not know what that means, it is basically a brain pill, right. It is supposed to -- it is kind of like the movie, Limitless. It essentially makes your brain work better so you have more concentration and you know, less brain fog that kind of thing. So let us just say that you have a supplement and you could probably label supplement really easily. You put it on Amazon and then you have some type of high level entrepreneurial coaching program right. Those are the types of people that that product attracts you know what I mean like, when you -- like people buying new tropics are just kind of regular (inaudible 26:54.1) you know, working at McDonald’s or whatever. I mean (inaudible 26:56.6) but you know, the majority are you are like a high performance type of situation you know and you need your brain to be you know, working really well all time. So you can then use that call to then like you have, like an automated webinar selling a high ticket whatever program or service or coaching or whatever it is. And you know, if you make a 100 calls and you get 2 people on -- like 2 sales you know, from each 100 calls for that you know, $2,000 program, well then, it is a very much worth it you know, calling them. And you know, you just hire a sales person that says you know, hey, you know, call these people and you get a percent you know, so you are not -- you are only paying them out of money you made already you know. So I mean, there are a lot of different ways to do it even if you just have a higher level or higher you know, price product, you know, it does not have to be $2,000, but yeah I mean it is you know, and you can just pay people based on commissions. All you have to do is make a script for them and then there is nothing else you know what I mean. So it is very easy to make that work and the reason I brought that up is because that is what I tell you know, my audience all the time. If people are not calling their customers, it is the biggest wasted opportunity in the history of the world you know what I mean. So I highly recommend if you have something on Amazon, try to figure out a way to make that work because it can be definitely huge you know. Brad DeGraw: I love phone sales that is my background. So to me, when I get someone on the phone whatever I am selling it is done. So email marketing is great because it scales. Phone is a little bit slower, but once you get good at listening to people and understanding what their real problem, fantasy, and desires, you can close those deals I mean sometimes or half the time depending on you know, how steep your offer is. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, definitely. And you have to remember they are buyers too you know, even you know, calling a 100 buyers and making 2 sales is probably really low you know what I mean. Depending on the price point you know if you are selling $100,000 program you know, obviously, but yeah, I mean it is you know, you have a good salesman that is doing it for you and not someone that is just going to say, hey you know, buy my stuff, buy my stuff, here is what I need you know. If you actually have a good salesman that you know, like you said, listens to them and finds out why you know, they are having the problem and what the problem is and then you match that with solution you know, it is done you know. Brad DeGraw: Yes. Jeremy Reeves: Any other ways to get them you know, to kind of monetize the buyer? Brad DeGraw: Those are the 2 easiest one. So you have product insert. So you can just go to (inaudible 29:26.9) print business cards or postcards. Second one is phone. The third one, some smart people nowadays are coming up with some software that can plug it into Facebook. So yes we have the buyer’s name and phone number. So Facebook has a nice you know, audience generator. It is not 100% -- nothing is a 100%, but there is some software coming out now and it is doing pretty fair where you can grab that information from Amazon and put it into Facebook. I am not a lawyer. I do not know the ethics of whether this is legal or appropriate. There are so many different laws. So follow your moral compass. If this does not feel like something that works for you, do not do it. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah and it is really you know, I mean you could do that with email list, so it is really no different, it is just a phone number you know what I mean. It is just kind of the same -- you are doing the same thing. I mean people use their email list to build you know, look like audiences and things like that all the time you know what I mean. Yeah, I love it. So how about -- is there anything that like any kind of you know, do not do that, that Amazon kicks people off for, you know what I mean. So like for example, I know that you cannot put like a thousand links to your website and like you know, push them away from the Amazon experience essentially you know, is there any more stuff like that? Brad DeGraw: Yeah. There is 1 cardinal rule on Amazon. No customer should ever feel deceived. So as long as you are not thing that could lead to deception. So if your product does not have batteries and you are showing a picture with the batteries in it. Even if you say, batteries not included with a little star, that could lead to deception. If anyone thinks that you are deceiving them, you are out. Like you said, if you -- you have this great Amazon page which is saying do not buy it here, buy it there. That is deceptive because the whole Amazon experience is to have Amazon grow their customer base. So those are the big ones. There are some incidence especially depending on your market. If you are in supplements that is kind of a black hat space where a lot of people are not playing by the same rules. There are people who will -- your competition, there is someone out there who will play dirty and they will call Amazon. They will buy the product and then they will call Amazon and say, hey my babies have been born naked it is because of this supplement. I have headaches and nausea and -- (inaudible 31:51.7) you know like well, I mean the human body is pretty complex. How are you going to say that your thing is because of my thing. Were you pregnant. Did you drink during the day. Like what your thing. And that is kind of a gotcha space. So if you are new and you are kind of fragile, you do not want to play with those folks, I stay out of the supplement space. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah and I have -- I do a lot of work in that space and I fully agree. They are going to do anything to make it work. I do not personally work with people like that, but I work with a lot of companies that really, really like you know, high level companies, but I know they told me stories of things you know. It is the same thing in merchant accounts like they will call and do charge back and they will call and say that they got you know, like dupe into something or there are some kind of a fraud or I mean it is just -- it is a rough industry. It is the backstreets of Harlem essentially. Brad DeGraw: So if you can stay out of those. If you are new and you want to have some success and feel good experience, stay out of those markets. I would stay into pet space or baby products, something where you can make the world a better place and it is maybe a little less crowded. Jeremy Reeves: And you should be doing that anyway you know. Brad DeGraw: Exactly. Jeremy Reeves: You know, it is kind of like anything else. I mean, like the smaller the niches you know, there is kind of like that you know, you are down here and the niche is like really small and but it is really easy to succeed and yeah, maybe you might not turn into a billion company, but the odds of succeeding is huge, whereas, the higher you go, the more potential there is you know, for like a bigger and bigger and bigger business, but it is that much its exponentially harder to actually get to that point you know what I mean. Brad DeGraw: You nailed it. Jeremy Reeves: So you have to have something that is like totally just you know, blows everything else out of the water or totally transforming ever you know, like just -- like a game changer you know what I mean. An industry disruptor. But yeah I mean you know, if anybody is interested in doing that I would definitely recommend starting and that is what I am going to do. Like I eventually do it, I might do like kind of a side project you know what I mean maybe if I sell one of my side businesses or something I will replace it with that, but yeah, I mean, I would definitely start with something smaller you know, versus like going into like the health space or something like that. How about -- one last question before we hop off. How about doing things so like and you might not even focus on this area, but you know, there is like selling the physical products, but then what about things like Kindle you know like selling books or PDFs or things like that you know for Kindle. Do you have any experience on that area? Brad DeGraw: Oh yeah. There is a bit of a crossover if you are creative. So the great thing about Kindle books is they are reading them on the screen. So it is easy to get them from this screen, this book, over to anywhere you want. So you can lead them from Kindle over to your product. You can lead them from Kindle to your squeeze page. The smart, smart marketers are putting Kindle books out with tons of links back to squeeze pages and then now you have a list that is the real (inaudible 34:59.1). You are not going to make much money on the book. And now that list, you can drive them anywhere you want over to your physical product, back over to a more digital products. It totally works. We did some work for (inaudible 35:11.2) brand and there is a lot of bootlegs out there at cash flow game and some of them are great looking bootlegs, but they are still illegitimate. So what we did is we said, hey Robert, why don’t you just put a 1 page kind of letter telling people how to integrate those lessons into their life so they can improve their lives in their business and we will have this as an exclusive bonus. We can easily copywrite that letter and anyone who jumps on the listing and said, hey, we are selling this too. They are doing one of two things either fraud because they do not have the letter or copywriting infringement. Either way it is easier for us to (inaudible 35:49.1). Jeremy Reeves: Yeah. It is easier to find them. Yeah. Oh, that is awesome. I love that. That is smart. I am going to think about that even with (inaudible 35:55.7) products and stuff like that because it is you know, as soon as you put something online, it is like all the freakin you know, idiots go and you know, put somewhere you know, but that is the, unfortunately, that is the world we live in. Well that is -- you know, definitely been an interesting conversation for me because I have been personally thinking about it and I know a lot of our audience has also been you know, and plus there are just a lot of entrepreneurs on here that just like the you know, they like to try new things and dabble on new areas and things like that. The last question that I have for you is, is there any question that I should have ask and I did not or like some kind of point that I missed or anything that you know, if you got off, you would be like, oh I wish the audience knew this you know, is there any kind of last lesson or you know clarifying thought. Brad DeGraw: Yeah, absolutely. The thing that you might want to think about that did not come up is ask yourself what is this thing or any other thing is. What is the difference between those who are going to succeed and those who are just going to try it and then move on. So (inaudible 36:55.9) what I found, we teach this all day every day. The people who are successful here are those that make up their mind. They know their outcome and they lean forward. You can still sit down and do this business but if you are sitting on the couch you need to lean forward towards the coffee table and bang this (inaudible 37:10.9) rather than leaning back and get over the Netflix. So that is the key. That is what I found, is the key to this business and everything else will pursue. Jeremy Reeves: Yeah, I mean you got to you know, if you are going to try it do not just you know, try for 2 weeks and no, it did not work and just go to the next. Yeah, definitely lean in forward. Alright. I had a great time chatting you know so everybody again this is Brad DeGraw and Brad, why don’t you tell them you know, if they want to get in touch, I know you have various services for helping people do all this you know, so why don’t you tell people how to get in touch with you if they want to you know, lean forward so to speak. Brad DeGraw: Excellent. Yeah, just catch up with us on amazonsherpa.com. We have a newsletter. We send out every Wednesday. So it is tips, tricks, stories about what is working right now in our business. This week is really, really good newsletter and then yeah, if you guys need help, I am happy to jump on like a 20-minute call either to help you get started or if you are already rolling and you need to take it to the next level just jump on our schedule and I am happy to jump on in one-to-one call. Jeremy Reeves: Sounds good. Hey, well, thanks again. I really appreciate it coming on here. Brad DeGraw: Excellent. Thanks for having me.

  Part of the difficulty in launching a private label product on Amazon is always the task of getting interested eyes on your product. You’ve got to be able to find out how to get your product in front of the people who are most likely to buy it. This episode is a chat with a TAS community member who took it on himself to find his own ways of doing that and he had some pretty significant successes. So sit back and relax, grab a cup of coffee and a pen and paper because you’ll want to take some notes about what Kent did to get attention for his products which in turn ramped up his sales and built an interested email list of customers right from the start. Are you selling a product or the story behind the product? One of the things today’s guest did masterfully to build enthusiasm for his product was to create a story (a true story) around the product and even the process of how it came to be. He highlighted the story of his own family and the need they felt for a particular type of product that didn’t exist - and followed up with a description of how they decided to create the product themselves. It’s a beautiful demonstration of what’s being called “story selling” and you get to hear the inside scoop on how Kent pulled it off, on this episode of the podcast. Using Facebook to enlist the help of friends, family, and associates. When Kent finally got his products ordered he wanted to start a pre-promotion phase to encourage interest in the product before he actually launched. He coupled the story behind the product’s creation with requests to friends and family (and others) to help him get a good start with ratings and reviews. He invited those interested in helping to join the mailing list to learn more about the product and get a discount when the product launched. He was able to build a list of 130 subscribers before he even had product in stock at Amazon. You can hear his creative solutions to product promotion on this episode. The up and down of a product launch’s initial stages. As Kent finally got his products listed on Amazon and began his launch he had an initial spurt of good sales and 25 reviews within the first week. But his sales began to slump fairly quickly once the first week launch was over. He was discouraged for a bit and quickly realized that the momentum of the launch was not something he could count on long term. But the fact that he’d already built a list of interested customers - and that his product was one that needed to be replenished over time - enabled him to stay encouraged and keep moving forward. That’s when he got the idea to do a different form of promotion that worked big time. You can hear him tell his entire story on this episode. Don’t forget to try promotions through traditional media outlets. After Kent’s initial launch week was over he started thinking outside the box to find additional ways to promote his products. One approach he thought of was to offer a “feature” story to the local newspaper. He sent a very simple email that briefly outlined the story in an appealing way and got a great response from the paper. His product and family’s story was featured in the Saturday edition and Kent got over 150 sales the day of publication. He’s excited to see where his product will - and you can hear all the details of the journey so far on this episode! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:25] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:02] The power of building an email launch list. [1:49] A shout out to a member of the TAS Facebook Community! [5:50] How Scott noticed what Kent was doing. [7:20] Kent’s story of going from retail arbitrage to private label. [10:50] How Kent chose his first product for private label. [12:43] Kent’s process for collecting email addresses. [16:40] The 6 part email sequence Kent used. [18:30] Getting purchases and reviews. [21:10] Asking people to purchase in the smartest way. [22:50] How Kent did this the smart way by building relationships. [24:25] Using his personal Facebook profile to publicize the product. [31:33] How things proceeded after the launch. [32:45] Kent’s traditional media approach through local newspapers. [35:21] How Kent’ pitched the article to the local newspaper. [38:27] Scott’s takeaways from this episode and process. [41:50] Kent’s advice to those getting started with private label sales. RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE: www.StepsToPassiveIncome.com www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop - get into a LIVE workshop for free. www.Tomoson.com

Jeff is the Co-founder and CEO at Tomoson, the influencer marketplace. The platform allows bloggers and social media influencers to get paid for posting sponsored content. He’s been running a digital marketing agency for over 10 years and yearns to become an amateur drone pilot.

Jeff is the Co-founder and CEO at Tomoson, the influencer marketplace. The platform allows bloggers and social media influencers to get paid for posting sponsored content. He’s been running a digital marketing agency for over 10 years and yearns to become an amateur drone pilot.

Are you convinced that building an Amazon Private Label business could work for you but you’re a bit hesitant to take the plunge? Today’s episode of The Amazing Seller features someone who was in your shoes not long ago. Tyson Starling got into private label sales through retail arbitrage and became convinced early on that Amazon’s platform could be a powerful way for him to build his income. He did the product research, built his listing, then ordered his first sample of products. He took action, which is exactly what YOU have got to do if you’re going to make a go of it on Amazon. Hear Tyson’s story on this episode.   Retail arbitrage is a great stepping stone into private label sales.   Tyson Starling was doing retail arbitrage on Amazon way before he got into selling private label products. He feels that the experience he had working with the Amazon system and learning about the way things work was instrumental in him being able to move into sales of his own products without too much of a learning curve. He admits that retail arbitrage sales is tougher and time intensive, but he suggests it for anyone who’s a bit unsure about whether Amazon is right for them. Find out how Tyson made the transition from retail arbitrage to private label products on this episode of The Amazing Seller.   Your first time dealing with a foreign supplier is very nerve wracking.   It’s hard enough doing all the product research and settling on a product without knowing 100% that it’s going to be a winner for you. To take that additional step to find the product you want and to send a big chunk of money… THAT is stress! Tyson Starling felt that and more when he ordered his first set of products and to make matters worse the email server at his supplier’s office got hacked and he wound up having to jump through some extra hoops to make sure things were done properly. Hear Tyson’s tips about dealing with suppliers by tuning in to this episode.   Why Scott always recommends your first order of private label products be shipped directly to you.   Yes, you can save money by having your supplier send your products directly to Amazon, and many sellers do that without any problems. But Scott is convinced that in order to make sure your business and brand are represented by quality products, you’ve got to take the additional (and sometimes more expensive) step of receiving your first batch of products so you can check out everything about them yourself. Tyson Starling, today’s guest, was so glad he received the first set of products he ordered because the packaging on all 500 products was all wrong. Because he knew about it he was able to get some new packaging ordered, communicate with his seller to correct the problem for future orders, and make sure his products were received in a a quality state by his customers.   Should you try to sell a product when there’s a big name competitor in the niche?   Many Amazon Sellers turn away immediately when they see a big name brand company selling the same product they are considering. But Tyson Starling suggests you take a second look. In his thinking, the big brands are mostly selling through retail outlets throughout the world and Amazon is not their main area of focus. He believes (and is proving) that his products can compete with the big name simply because there’s enough room within the Amazon marketplace for both to sell decently well. He’s content to make the cash he’s making, assuming that his small amount of sales is not going to threaten the big company enough to cause them to ramp up their efforts on Amazon. Hear more of what Tyson’s got going on, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.   OUTLINE OF THIS Q&A EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER   [0:03] Welcome to episode 110: Interview with Tyson Starling [1:17] Shout out to the TAS Community member Vin Thomas! [2:56] Tyson’s a listener who’s made his Amazon business successful: His story. [5:56] How Tyson proved the Amazon model to himself. [6:48] Taking his sales experience into his Amazon business. [8:23] Beginning to research private label product selection. [9:57] The nervous feelings of dealing with foreign suppliers. [11:50] How Tyson arranged payment with his suppliers via Paypal. [13:57] Learning how to effectively communicate with foreign suppliers. [15:23] Tyson’s first order of 500 units and how he underestimated the cost. [18:55] Having the order sent directly to Tyson and the discovery of a shoddy packing job. [21:26] 3 sales the first day at full price - using Tomoson to get some reviews. [23:24] Experimenting with Amazon PPC. [27:16] Consistent sales and sales growth after 10 to 12 reviews. [30:08] Additional orders of his products from the supplier. [31:57] What new products is Tyson planning? [33:19] Selling against a major brand: Why Tyson did it and what his thinking is. [35:50] Why Tyson set up a website independent of Amazon. [36:51] Tyson’s average sales at this point. [37:50] A comparison of reviews between Tyson’s product and those of his competitors. [38:29] Tyson’s parting advice to Amazon sellers. [41:50] Dealing with negative reviews and remarks. [42:47] What to do when you get those discouraging, doubtful feelings. [45:14] Scott’s encouragement to TAS members to create meet-up groups and masterminds.   LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   Scott’s free workshop  - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop   www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community

Way back in episode 8 Scott gave you a very simple, step by step launch sequence that he recommended at the time. In today’s episode he’s going back to that launch plan to tweak and update it based on changes that have happened on Amazon and additional pieces of software or technology that make the process a bit easier or more streamlined. If you’ve been considering the launch of an Amazon Private Label product, you really have no excuse now because Scott is going to show you how to do it successfully in this episode.   Do sales and reviews from family members do any good on Amazon?   You’ll hear a strange mix of answers on this one. Some people have had family member reviews vanish, or the family member never even receives the opportunity to leave a review on Amazon. Others have had no problem. What makes the difference? The honest answer is that we don’t know. Amazon’s criteria for determining what are “family” reviews and what are not is hard to pin down but we do know this. All reviews matter when you can get them, so you want to ask your family and friends to help you out with a review, or at least try. Scott’s got lots of great advice about getting reviews on this amazing episode of The Amazing Seller, so give it a listen.   What is the difference between “verified” reviews on  Amazon and “unverified” reviews… and does it really matter?   The difference between the two is pretty simple. A “verified” review is a review from a person that Amazon is able to track as an actual purchaser of the product being reviewed. Even if they purchased the product using a discount code, it was still an actual sale, so it counts as a “verified” review. An “unverified” review is exactly what it sounds like… Amazon knows the person did not purchase the product. Does it matter? Not always. When you launch your product you’re just wanting to get as many stars and numbers on your rating scale as possible. The average buyer doesn’t typically notice whether a review is verified or not, but they do notice whether you have 2 reviews or 200. Find out more about it on this episode.   You can use a Facebook fan page to promote your products AND build your email list.   One of the important steps Scott has in his launch process is the task of building a Facebook fan page that focuses on a topic related to your product. You’re doing this for a couple of great reasons. #1 - you’re building a community around the niche area your product is aimed at. You’ll be able to present offers to them, conduct surveys about your product, and offer free resources to help them. But you’ll also be able to use the page to solicit sign-ups for your email list and target special offers through Facebook ads. Don’t know how to do that? Great! Give this episode a listen and you’ll find out!   If you don’t have a follow-up email sequence to reel in your customers, you’re missing out!   Once a person purchases your product you’ve discovered something important about them. They actually WANT what you have to sell! You’ve got to be sure to follow up with them to make sure they are happy with your product, to solicit a review and seller feedback from them, AND (maybe most importantly) get their email address added to your “customer list.” You can do most of that through Amazon’s built in communication channels. You can also use inserts in your products. But how it all works requires some explanation, like what you’re going to hear on this episode of The Amazing Seller.   OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER   [0:05] Welcome to this episode of the podcast! [1:20] You’re welcome to join Scott for a free, live workshop at www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop [2:43] The first steps - the “Pre-launch” phase. [3:00] Using discount codes properly to get reviews. [4:10] The ways that Amazon sales to and reviews from family members will “stick” and won’t. [5:50] The difference between “verified” and “unverified” reviews and why they matter (or don’t). [7:40] Building a Facebook page for people interested in the niche your product is in. [12:22] How to use a Facebook ad to build your email list. [14:43] Starting your launch. [15:25] Get busy using www.Tomoson.com. [16:18] Work to receive 5 to 7 sales a day - how to aim at that target. [17:17] Starting Amazon PPC, when and how. [18:21] Create a 3-part email follow up sequence. [18:40] How Scott uses Salesbacker to set his follow-up sequence in motion. [20:05] Continue to push sales and reviews using Pay Per Click and Salesbacker. [21:56] Sticking to the simple launch plan. [23:17] Recap of these launch steps. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   The original “How to Launch a Product” podcast - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/8   Scott’s free workshop  - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop   www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ppc   www.Tomoson.com Salesbacker - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/resources (affiliate link

True story: A new Amazon seller followed Scott’s instruction step by step and the results were phenomenal. In the first 30 days of his product going live John made $11,305.94. It’s proof that the model of private label sales on Amazon not only works, it’s a legitimate way to earn a very substantial income. In this episode of The Amazing Seller Scott talks about the highlights of John’s experience, gives encouragement about how you can go about the same processes that John followed, and most of all, continues to stress that you have to take action now.   John quit his job and dove into Amazon sales. Should you?   That took a lot of guts. Not everybody would feel comfortable doing that. Scott is one of those people. His Amazon sales business took a full 90 days before he started seeing any kind of significant growth. If he’d quit his job to get into it, he would have been in a world of hurt before significant income came in. While John had incredible success in his first 30 days, Scott says it’s better to do your homework on the side and get started part time. That way you don’t put yourself or your family in a difficult spot. Find out more about why Scott advises caution when it comes to quitting your job to start Amazon FBA sales, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.   The 10X10x1 Formula worked like a charm for John.   John gives the credit for the quick launch and success of his Amazon business to Scott’s 10X10X1 formula. What is the formula? Simply put, it’s this: 10 units - $10 profit - 1 day. So 10 units sold at $10 profit, every day. That formula is what you’re shooting for to keep your product sales (and business growth) rolling in a positive direction. John set the 10X10X1 formula as his goal when he launched his product and discovered that the focus enabled him focus only on products that were already selling at least $10 per day, and to work smarter and more diligently as he tried to get his business going. Find out what those steps were by listening to this episode.   How did John learn everything that he did to make his private label business successful?   John learned everything that he did from Scott’s podcast. But he didn’t just listen to each episode once or twice. He listened to every episode multiple times because he learned that the first couple of times through he heard what he wanted to hear, not what he needed to hear. The repeated listening enabled him to pick up things he’d missed in the first listens that were critical to his success. Hear how John suggests you go about learning the things you need to know in order to make your products take off like his did, on this episode.   How John maximized his promotions - it’s not a common way of doing it, but it worked.   John offered some discount promotion codes for his product when he first launched. He put out the codes on fliers that he hung up at a local convenience store. He also made the offer that if the people using the code recommended the product to their friends, he’d give their friends a discount as well (10% to 20%). The fliers disappeared from the convenience store and every single one of the discount codes was used! That’s an amazing response to an unorthodox way of getting the offer out. Hear the details of how that promotion impacted John’s product launch, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.   OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER   [0:05] Welcome and introduction to this episode! [0:55] The story behind this episode’s content. [1:45] Do you know about Scott’s Periscope adventures? You can join him! www.TheAmazingSeller.com/Scope [4:33] You are invited to Scott’s live workshops, including the live Q&A. www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop [5:21] The post from the Amazing Seller Facebook group that highlights the situation that brought in over $11K within 30 days. [6:59] Scott’s caution about how to get into Amazon private label sales in a wise way. [7:56] The details of the product John was providing. [8:39] The 10X10X1 formula. [10:18] The interaction surrounding John’s post and the questions that came in. [11:00] What it takes to be successful. [13:20] The importance of listening to your mentors (podcast episodes) more than once. [14:00] How John started out printing physical fliers to use his promo code and get product sales started. [16:23] John believes that the problems people face in their Amazon sales is because they are missing something. [17:10] How John went against conventional wisdom and priced his product lower than expected. [18:29] The promotional tactics John used - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/launch. [19:46] Why Scott is not a fan of doing continual promotions but does see the use of them at the beginning. [21:30] Taking action is the best teacher - John’s experience is an example. [22:15] What you can learn from the Amazing Seller Facebook group - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB [24:18] Scott’s summary of John’s experience. LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   Scott’s free workshop  - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop   http://www.Tomoson.com - the website where John got some reviews.   Interview with Greg Mercer - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/35   www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community

An email list is an asset that is yours forever.   It’s a tool you can use to make your products known to people who are perfectly matched for them, and no company or person can keep you from using that list to increase your sales, reviews, and success. If you aren’t building an email list right now, you’ve got to start. You can use the tips Scott shares in this episode to get a jump on the process, using mostly free tools. And in the end, even if you do need to invest a small amount of money in building your list, you’ll recoup that cash quickly once those you target through your email campaigns begin responding to your products. Find out how to do it on this episode. Amazon won’t give you the email address of people who buy your products. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build an email list of your own.   How can you do it? It’s really not that difficult to figure out, and once you do it, you’ve got a “launch list” to market to for every new product in your niche that you develop and place on Amazon. Imagine the impact of being able to target your new products directly to people who have already expressed interest in your products. You’ll have a jumpstart on Amazon reviews, sales, and ultimately, success. In this episode of The Amazing Seller Scott is going to give you his top 6 tips for building your own email list.   How you can use a Facebook fan page to capture emails and build a community.   Anyone can create a Facebook fan page… it’s really pretty simple. But how do you get people into the group? Even more importantly, how do you get people into the group who are truly interested in what you have to sell? That’s where Facebook ads come in. For a very small amount you can specifically target people who have already indicated that they are interested in the types of things you sell. You can set daily limits on what you spend, tweak your ad campaign at any time, and cancel when you feel it’s done all you need it to do. This is one of Scott’s favorite ways to build a fan page, which you can then use to build your email list. Find out the details on this episode.   Tomoson is another way you can build an email list of people who want what you have to sell.   Tomoson is a website dedicated to connecting review bloggers and the people who have products needing reviews. That sounds like you, doesn’t it? Using their platform you can locate bloggers who are interested in reviewing the kinds of products you sell, make contact with them offering to send them your product in exchange for a review, and increase your exposure through their review and through the things they say about your product on their blog. It’s a great way to increase interest in your products with the potential of building your email list with the addresses of those who respond. Find out how Scott uses Tomoson on this episode of The Amazing Seller.   You can also use Amasuite to find and filter reviewers who are interested in the type of products you sell.   Amasuite is Chris Guthrie’s amazing tool that helps you research and filter through the Amazon listings to find the exact products that might be big sellers. But there’s tons more to Amasuite than just product research. You can use the filter functionality in the program to find people likely to review a product like yours so you can reach out to them for a review. It’s another amazing way you can get your products into the hands of interested reviewers, which in turn can increase your product’s profile in Amazon. Find out how Scott uses Amasuite to gain more subscribers to his email list, and how you can get $100 off the software - in this episode.   OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER   [0:05] Introduction to building your “launch list.” [1:58] Your invitation to one of Scott’s live workshops. [2:41] A shout out to “Geekerson” - one of the TAS iTunes listeners. [4:39] An asset that is YOURS, forever - your own “launch list.” [5:26] Create a Facebook fan page and post to it daily. [9:45] Run ads to funnel people to your Facebook fan page. [11:40] Build your own email list using Facebook ads & an autoresponder, or using Tomoson. [15:26] Contact the top Amazon reviewers asking for reviews on your product. [16:51] Scott’s invite to talks to a “Top Amazon Reviewer” - any takers? [18:32] Use Amasuite to find and filter the reviewers that apply to your product (get $100 off using Scott’s code - www.TheAmazingSeller.com/ams - affiliate link) [21:16] Build an email list using the reviewers of your competitor’s products, or people interested in your niche (again, using Amasuite).. [26:19] Why building an email list is vital to your future sales and success. [27:28] Recap of the 6 tips to build your own email list.   LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   www.TheAmazingSeller.com/AMS -   Scott’s free workshop  - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop   www.Tomoson.com - an additional way to promote your products. Amazon’s Top Reviewers

This episode proof that you can relatively quickly build a successful Amazon FBA business!   Tim Holterman is a regular guy. He worked for years in a good job, working to take care of his responsibilities and life. He came to a point where he wanted to change his life so that he could spend more time with his family. He heard of the possibility of making a change through beginning an Amazon sales business from Chris Guthrie (a previous guest on The Amazing Seller podcast). So he decided to take the leap and get started building his own business. He asked lots of questions to know that what others were doing was possible for him. Once he was convinced, Tim began building his business - and he did all of it without ever signing up for a paid course of any kind. He invested a portion of his salary each month to building his business. Listen to this episode - part 1 of a lengthy conversation where Tim tells his story and how he got over $6,000 in sales within the first 30 days of beginning his FBA Business.   Tim’s product research process for his Amazon business began with the purchase of one piece of software.   Amasuite was the software Tim began with, simply because he trusted it’s creator, Chris Guthrie. He started researching the top 100 sellers in lots of categories. He drilled down into those products by setting up filters to weed out products he didn’t think were good options. Some of those products were not an option because the niche was too saturated. Others he simply didn’t think were good. Through that process Tim found a product he felt good about. He wasn’t concerned at that point with building a brand, though he does feel that is the best way to begin. He just found products that might sell well and made a decision. The next step was sourcing the product. Find out how he went about his product sourcing in this episode.   Tim’s smart way of getting a sample of the product he was interested in.   When Tim researched his product on Alibaba (An online Chinese directory of product providers), he found one of the exact products that were listed on Amazon. He felt there was room in the market for him to offer the exact same product, so he simply ordered one of his competitor’s products from Amazon.  He accomplished two things at once by doing this. He got to see the actual product - it’s quality, packaging, etc. AND he got to see how his competitor was presenting the product, including a misspelling on their packaging that hasn’t been corrected to this day! Find out more about the quality control process and getting samples of your potential product in this edition of The Amazing Seller.   Shipping a private label product to Amazon - directly from the product supplier!   The supplier Tim was able to find had experience shipping products directly to Amazon so he thought it was worth trying. He bought his own UPC to put on the products, printed out his own labels to brand the product as his, and the supplier put the labels on the products, printed out shipping labels, and sent the products directly to Amazon for Tim’s account. It was a tremendous time saving step that enabled Tim to keep one more piece of the process off his table so that he could fulfill the goal of spending more time with his family. Hear exactly how Tim went about working out this deal on this episode.   Getting reviews for a new product - Tim’s unique strategy.   Getting reviews for your Amazon product is essential to begin moving your product up in Amazon’s search results, and giving your product a sense of legitimacy. Tim knew that and wanted to boost his product through getting some quick reviews. The first step he took is common sense, but one not many people do. He enlisted people he knew who had Amazon Prime accounts (so they could get free shipping) and asked them to purchase and review the product, and he would pay them back the purchase price. Essentially, he’s giving away the products for free but through Amazon it registers as a full-blow purchase. It was an ingenious strategy that got him some great initial reviews and had a dramatic impact on his product’s ranking. From there, he did a few product giveaways through Tomoson… and you can hear the rest of how Tim got reviews by listening to the show!     OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER   Welcome to this episode - a victory story from a regular guy… you’ll love it! Introduction from Tim Holterman, a member of The Amazing Seller Facebook community. Tim’s story - where he came from and how he got into Amazon FBA sales. How Tim began researching his first product. Sourcing the product came next, and Tim shares exactly how he did it. How Tim got samples of his product to see if he wanted to purchase larger quantities - it’s a smart idea that killed two birds with one stone. Getting his product to Amazon - a partnership of sorts Tim worked out with his supplier. What Tim did while his supplier was producing the products (a 2 week turnaround). What Tim did to promote reviews of his product. Get part 2 of this interview at http://TheAmazingSeller.com/84   LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   The Amazing Seller Facebook Community -  http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB   Scott’s free workshop  - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop

Chris Guthrie is a superstar when it comes to Amazon sales. He’s made tons of cash through the Amazon Affiliate program but has also moved into the realm of his own Private Label products being sold on Amazon and is making a killing. He’s especially adept at building product niches on the back of product feedback and reviews, taking advantage of Amazon’s built in algorithms to move products up in the Amazon search rankings. Listen in to the extra-powerful conversation on The Amazing Seller podcast.   Why are reviews of your product so important?   Reviews are proof to a potential buyer that your product has not only been purchased, but has been enjoyed. Internet sales nowadays is highly dependent on customer reviews - they are the social proof that your product is what it says it is, and that you are a reputable seller to purchase from. If you don’t have a significant number of product reviews on Amazon, your products are going to languish at the bottom of the search results, not even being on the table as an option for the people who are searching for what you sell. How do you get more reviews for your products? In this episode Scott talks with his guest Chris Guthrie about several strategies you can use to solicit feedback from your customers to boost your product listings in Amazon search. What about feedback? Should you ask for it? What if it’s negative?   There are plenty of Amazon FBA sellers who are afraid to ask for feedback because they believe that if they receive negative feedback about their products, they will take a hit in Amazon’s search algorithms. While that’s possible, a better strategy, which Scott addresses in this episode with Chris Guthrie, is to bury the negatives with tons of positives. Asking for feedback is yet another way you can boost your products in Amazon search. Scott and Chris also reveal some simple ways you can get rid of the results of some of your negative feedback, all in this episode of The Amazing Seller.   Plant your flag in a product niche and build your business from there.   That’s some of Chris Guthrie’s advice for new Amazon sellers. He believes that once you do your initial product research and find a product that you can take action with, you should do your best to get a quick “win” with that product and then branch out into other related products from there. You have to be interested in more than just making money, you have to build your business around a certain niche of products so that purchasers of your first product will be open to buying your next product as well because they’re comfortable buying from you because of their good experience with your first product. Find out more about how Chris suggests you go about doing just that, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.   Did you know you can automate a request for feedback from your Amazon customers?   That’s what Scott does, as does his guest, Chris Guthrie. In fact, Chris has created a software solution to do exactly that. Scott’s been using it and loves the simplicity and ease of use - and has seen his reviews rise to over 600, with 4 to 6 new reviews coming in on his products every day. Even if you can’t afford a product like Chris’ you can still solicit feedbacks and reviews from your customers through Amazon’s contact options. Don’t neglect this important step in boosting your products in Amazon’s search algorithms.   OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER   Welcome to this Q&A episode! Scott’s introduction to Chris Guthrie - an Amazon pro How Chris got started - and a quick word of advice for those doing Amazon sales on the side. Why Amazon feedback and Amazon reviews are so important for private label products. How Chris started going after low competition products and found his preferred niche. Why Chris believes Amazon to be a great opportunity for people. An overview of Chris’ software Amasuite - and how he first created it in February 2012. Using reviews to beat the competition and position your products higher. Be careful using friends and family reviews on your products. How to “plant your flag” in a certain area and expand from there with additional products in the same or complementary area. Chris’ thoughts on Tomoson and what he’s heard about its usefulness for generating reviews. Why Chris is more interested in how products are actually selling rather than the review count of the product. Getting your first “win” is very, very important for a number of reasons. How Chris views Amazon’s top 10,000 reviewers. What is their usefulness and is it worth chasing them down for reviews of your products. The most important question to ask about your business decisions as it relates to your Amazon sales. How to drive more traffic to your products through websites, groups, etc. The value of feedback in Amazon’s system and why you should do your best to solicit those for your FBA products. Scott’s method of soliciting feedback that has produced over 600 reviews on his products. How Chris Guthrie follows up on product sales to solicit feedback and reviews for his products. How Scott deals with negative feedback and the impact it has had. Why you should present yourself to your customers as a PERSON, not a company. How Scott used Feedback Genius and Chris Guthrie’s new product Salesbacker to do the actually follow up with customers through automated methods. What makes Salesbacker THE go-to product for automated FBA Sales follow up. Why it’s important to solicit feedback and reviews even if you have to do it without paying for an automated service. Chris’ 6-day trial offer to The Amazing Seller listeners… with no credit card needed. Final advice from Chris for wanna-be Amazon sellers. Scott’s new podcast - http://www.SalesBacker.com/podcast LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE   Amasuite - Chris Guthrie’s software - http://getamasuite.com/   The episode that describes Scott’s email sequence - http://TheAmazingSeller/com/10   Feedback Genius - http://www.feedbackgenius.com/   Chris’ new product, Salesbacker - https://www.salesbacker.com/   Contact Chris at Chris@salesbacker.com   How to get Chris’ 60-day trial offer - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/reviews http://www.salesbacker.com/podcast

In this episode of The Amazing Seller Podcast I will answer listener questions about Amazon FBA Selling. This is session #9 of “Ask Scott” and it covers Inventory, Spiking Sales, Gated Categories, Forming LLC, Trademarks, Tomoson and Amazon Training Courses. The questions asked were: How Do I Spike Sales After Running Out of Inventory? Should […]