In this podcast episode we will be sharing The REAL SECRET To Rank On Etsy's 1st Page NOW and In 2025. There's more to getting ranked than choosing good keywords and we dive deep into this during the show.

For more free resources, visit https://brandcreators.com

In this episode, we will discuss why Etsy EXPERTS will HATE Me for saying this about Q4. 

For more FREE resources, visit - https://brandcreators.com

0:00: ⚙️ Effective strategy for Etsy growth through niche selection and research.

10:34: ⚡ Importance of choosing a profitable niche with consistent demand for long-term success in e-commerce.

19:58: 💡 Effective strategy for Etsy shop growth through niche selection, demand validation, and high-margin product focus.

29:30: ⚖️ Effective Etsy shop growth strategy emphasizing niche focus, product validation, and optimized listings.

39:09: 💡 Effective strategy for boosting Etsy shop growth through targeted product launches and Etsy ads.

49:05: 💡 Effective Etsy shop growth strategy involves optimizing listings, prioritizing sales, and leveraging data from ads for continuous improvement.

58:23: 💼 Effective strategy for Etsy shop growth through product launch, pricing adjustments, and data analysis.

1:07:45: 💡 Effective strategy for Etsy shop growth through niche selection, product research, launch, and data analysis.

1:17:04: ⚠️ Debunking the unrealistic claim of making $38,500/month with 20 minutes of work on Etsy

1:27:04: 💡 Exciting new gift features announced by Etsy to boost sales and enhance gifting experience.

1:42:06: ⚙️ Etsy confirms sellers can use AI in handmade designs, emphasizing AI-assisted creations as the next big thing.

1:46:08: ⚙️ Effective Etsy shop growth strategy involves consistent optimization and product launches.

1:55:08: 💡 Effective strategy for Etsy shop growth discussed with emphasis on keyword relevance and listing optimization.Recap for 

https://youtu.be/CeCm-3cVWF8 by Tammy AI

I will be sharing with you a recent case study we did with one of our private clients. How Sending 6 Emails Generated $5,014.48.
We'll break down exactly what we did, what made it work, and the different elements you will want to use in your business.
Now, if you're listening to this and you're not yet using email in your business, You definitely will want to. 
Email is here. It's going to stay, and it is not dead. 
I will put it right out there because it is working. Significant brands are still using it, and we want to use it too. 
Our clients are using it, and it works. Okay. Now there are some things you need to be aware of regarding what makes it work. 
For more information, listen to this episode in the media player above or the video below.

One of the things Scott enjoys is learning from the successes of others. One of the ways he’s able to do that more effectively is to pass along what he’s learned by teaching you about it. Lately, he's been learning quite a bit concerning retail VS online sales from the television show, Shark Tank. He’s hearing some repeated themes and stories from the show and wants to pass along his observations to you so that you can learn some of the things he’s noticed. So take a few minutes to invest in your own education by hearing what Scott has noticed from the experts on Shark Tank. You’ll be glad you did.

One of the things Scott has noticed when he watches Shark Tank is that the investors always ask about sales numbers right from the start. Why do they do that? It’s because sales numbers indicate that there is already interest in the type of product that the newcomer is proposing. That’s called “proof of concept” and it means that there's good reason to expect success with the product you’re wanting to create and sell. Scott’s got some ideas about how you can use the tools provided on Amazon to discover if there’s adequate proof of concept for the products you want to sell, on this episode.

People come to Scott all the time with a great new product idea that is entirely original. He’s all for new products coming to the market but he also knows that if there're no other products in the market like it then there may not be enough demand to warrant creating the product in the first place. On this episode, Scott’s going to talk about that situation and give you some ideas for what you should do if your DO indeed have an entirely new product.

Anytime a world-changing new development or technology comes on the scene there’s a ton of work and money that goes into helping the public understand exactly what it is, why it’s needed, and how to use it to best effect. As Amazon sellers, few of us have the resources to launch that kind of product on the scale needed to accomplish all of those things. What should do if you have a world-changing product that nobody’s heard of? On this episode, Scott gives you some suggestions regarding what he would do if he was in that situation.

Many of the people who bring product or company ideas to the Shark Tank TV show are seeking investment money because they want to get their products into retail stores. That’s not a bad idea but many times it’s premature given their situation. On this episode, Scott shares what he’s noticed about the advice the “sharks” give those people and relates it to Amazon sales and business. You’ll learn a lot from what he has to share so be sure you listen.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [2:52] A shout out to some recent iTunes reviewers.
• [5:33] The concept of “proof of concept” and what it means.
• [9:40] Do you have to educate people about your product before they buy?
• [14:30] What to do if you have an entirely original product.

Here it is! The “Ask Scott” session of the Amazing Seller podcast. This is where we talk about all kinds of things relating to online business, private label sales on Amazon, and anything having to do with making a better life for yourself and making a difference in the world. On this episode, you’re going to get straight, helpful answers to real life questions. And the person answering your questions is Scott Voelker, an experienced online businessman, and Amazon seller. You can also hear how to ask your own questions, so be sure to listen and learn!

Scott has recently moved from upstate New York to South Carolina and he’s noticed the difference his surroundings are making on his own mindset. In particular, he’s aware of the people in his neighborhood. Their focus on fitness and healthy eating are impacting Scott and his family, encouraging them toward their own version of fitness and health. It’s an example of why the people you surround yourself with are hugely important for your life - and Scott's got some encouragement for YOU along that line, on this episode.

Many people are discovering opportunities to create multiple products based on their first product. Sometimes it’s as simple as creating a variation of the product (color, size, etc.) and other times it’s a new product that is different in a unique or significant way. On this episode, Scott covers the advantages of variations VS new product listings and encourages Amazon sellers to think about who they are targeting with their product as one way to decide whether there are advantages to one approach over the other. Be sure you listen if you’re interested in creating multiple products as a spin-off from your original product.

There isn’t any way to know for sure how your product rating relates to your reviews simply because Amazon doesn’t reveal how its algorithm works when it comes to product ratings. But there are some things you can focus on to help you improve your product rating. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Scott gives a couple of very practical things you can focus on to improve your product rating overall. Both are simple but do take some time. So make sure you listen and commit yourself to doing the work to improve your business and products.

A listener called in to ask for help from Scott concerning scaling his sales to a higher level. He’s purchasing bulk size orders of various products and breaking the bulk packaging apart to place the individual products into smaller quantity packages. The problem is that the labor of doing so is slowing down his ability to scale his sales. It’s a very creative and intriguing idea that’s getting good sales traffic but he wants to have more opportunity. Scott’s got some great ideas about how he can leverage others to help him scale the business.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [2:20] The TAS power hour - a Facebook/Periscope broadcast - Fridays 1PM Eastern.
• [4:01] The power of surrounding yourself with like-minded people.
• [9:12] QUESTION ONE: What are the

One of the most common sticking points Scott hears from people who are looking into the possibility of placing products on Amazon is the product discovery phase. Many people experience brain-lock when it comes to figuring out what to offer for sale. On this episode, Scott’s got a couple of great stories of how he figured out some product and business ideas that should help you see the kinds of real life things that can help you discover product ideas. You won’t want to miss this one. It covers some of the most practical ways you can discover unique products to serve a particular market.

There are many people in the world who are also engaged with the exact areas where you have skill and expertise. They need resources to help them become even more accomplished in that niche. What knowledge, skills, or expertise do you have that can be turned into a product that you could sell to those people on Amazon or other online platforms? You have a leg up on the competition because you already know the market and need. That’s just one way that you can create a product that you can be fairly certain is going to be a success. Listen to this episode to hear the whole story of how you can discover product ideas.

Every one of us has our interest in a new topic piqued from time to time. When that happens there are many things you have to learn or resources you need to purchase in order to get started in that area. Right there are a handful of product ideas that you could possibly begin selling through private label on Amazon. What are you interested in right now? Are there any new hobbies or areas you’re about to step into? Listen to Scott’s ideas on this episode to help you sort out the many opportunities that exist around you right now.

Scott’s daughter has just begun to get involved in two new activities - playing the piano and volleyball. In each of those areas, she’s got to gather the resources she needs in order to be equipped for the activity. For piano lessons and practice she may need a metronome or staff paper. For volleyball, she may need specialized shoes or knee pads. Those pieces of equipment are some of the things that many people need when they are interested in the same activity. On this episode, you’re going to learn how you can observe the things you’re already doing or just getting started with so that you can generate product ideas to sell on Amazon.

Scott just moved to a new home in South Carolina. As a result, he’s meeting lots of new people and getting to know his neighbors. In almost every conversation he’s noticing skills, interests, or knowledge that his new friends have that could be leveraged into a product idea to sell on Amazon. On this episode, he’s not only going to tell you a handful of stories about those encounters but also give you some ideas about how you can begin to pay attention to the relationships you have that could be tapped into for the sake of product ideas.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:08] The upcoming LIVE event in Phoenix, AZ in October 2016.
• [3:52] Scott’s story about how he got started online.

One of the most unaddressed and confusing issues when it comes to selling any kind of products online is the collection of sales tax. One of the reasons it can be so confusing is because every State has its own set of regulations surrounding sales tax as well as its own process business owners need to go through in order to register and pay their taxes. That description alone should show you how difficult it is to remain in compliance. State sales tax issues are one of the most frequently asked questions Scott receives so he decided it was time to get someone on the show who could answer the basic questions about sales tax. That someone is Mark Faggiano of Taxjar. You can hear their conversation on this episode.

Sometimes the fact that the internet is worldwide makes it seem like State and National jurisdictions don’t apply to what goes on, on the World Wide Web. But the fact is that when a product is purchased that transaction is taking place in a particular place. In other words, the purchaser is sitting at a computer or other device within a specific jurisdiction. It makes sense that States would want to collect sales tax when that happens. So yes, as a seller of products you really do need to be collecting sales tax with each product you sell. But how do you do it? That’s what this episode of The Amazing Seller is all about, so be sure you listen.

When it comes to knowing what States you should collect sales tax for it comes down to a couple of issues. First is the issue of “nexus.” Nexus refers to the place where you as a business are actually doing business. The most obvious qualification for where your business nexus is located, is the State in which you reside and do your work. But what if you have employees in a different state, or a warehouse in yet another State? And what if Amazon is warehousing your products in a number of States? As you can see, it gets very complicated. But Mark Faggiano from Taxjar is on the show to help us sort it all out. He’s Scott’s guest on this episode.

What if you discover that you’ve sold enough products in a particular state - let’s say Maine - to owe $15 in tax to the State of Maine. Does that mean that you should register with the State of Maine so you can fork over that $15? Technically, probably so. But there’s another way to look at it that most people who do product sales for a living feel is safe and ethical. You can hear abou the varying approaches to the issue on this episode as well as hear all of them explained in detail. What are you waiting for? You should listen to this one.

It’s entirely possible that many people who sell products on Amazon - either private lable or retail arbitrage - are just now hearing about the possibility that they may owe sales tax to various States. If that’s you, here’s something important you should consider. What kind of sales volume have you done in various states in the past? That may impact whether you should be concerned about the issue or not. But at the very least it’s an issue you should look into because of the possibility that a given State may decide to audit you to come after their Sales tax money - and that could be even more costly than paying the tax of your own accord. Find out how you should think through the issues on this episode.

It’s time for that cup of coffee and a conversation across the virtual table as you and Scott get to chat about the Amazon private label questions that are on your mind. If you’ve got a sticking point, a lesson learned, a piece of information you need to know… this is your chance to ask Scott about those questions. If you are eager to get answers to your Amazon questions this is the episode for you. Find out how to ask your questions directly to Scott by listening to this episode.

A listener to this episode of The Amazing Seller asks why it’s important that private label sellers use Amazon Pay Per Click. It’s quite an expense over the long haul and she’s not quite sure why it’s beneficial. On this episode Scott answers her question, telling her why PPC is vital to getting your product started generating sales from the beginning, which in turn will drive your organic sales higher in the Amazon search rankings.

The BSR ranking on any product in Amazon tells how often and well the product is selling. There are ways you can track the sales ranks of your products and your competitor’s products manually, but it is tedious and requires a good deal of discipline. On this episode Scott describes how he did this using a spreadsheet when he first began selling products on Amazon. He also tells how you can use software to do it much quicker - and offers an affiliate link for you to get the software to try for yourself.

A listener called in for this episode of the podcast to ask about her product launch. She’s going to be selling items that belong in the clothing category and is curious when she should create a parent product with variations underneath it for size, color, etc. - and when she should start an entirely new listing for products. It can be a bit confusing so Scott tells her what he’d do if he were in her shoes, and more importantly, why. You can hear his answer on this “Ask Scott” episode of The Amazing Seller.

October of 2016 is going to see the beginning of Scott’s next TAS LIVE event. This time, it will be held in Phoenix, AZ. It’s a two-day event that allows 10 Amazon sellers to go on the hot seat. The entire group will analyze their business, products, listings, and make recommendations as to what can be done to increase their product sales and improve their brand. The last event was sold out quickly so if you want to be part of this one head over to the show notes page for this episode and find the link to TAS LIVE.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the episode!
• [2:13] Scott’s next live event is going on in Phoenix Arizona!
• [5:03] You can also join the TAS Power Hour on Fridays!
• [7:28] QUESTION ONE: I don’t quite understand the benefits and use of PPC.
• [18:47] QUESTION TWO: I’m trying to understand BSR rankings. Can you give me some illumination?
• [25:05] QUESTION TH

Occasionally Scott likes to have roundtable type discussions with people who he’s come to know through his experience selling private label products on Amazon. On this episode, he’s recorded their conversation which was originally published to Facebook Live and Periscope. You’ll hear Scott, Chris Shaeffer, and Don Sugar chat about some of the things happening around the Amazon private label space and how the issues impact private label sellers and retail arbitrage accounts. Stick around for this one, there’s a lot of insightful thoughts to learn from and some cautions that could save you some real headaches.

Much of what’s going around in the online communities that surround Amazon private label is not verified by Amazon yet, but nevertheless, there does appear to be some changes happening. What is the stink about? Most of it surrounds the issue of brand registry and the conditions Amazon is requiring. There are also many brand products that Amazon is bringing into the issue, requiring that sellers prove their right to sell the product. It could be a mess, or it could be a blessing. Find out why on this roundtable episode.

Many private Label sellers are concerned about the brand registry requirements Amazon appears to be enacting but Chris Shaeffer says that it’s a blessing more than a curse. Why? Because it is going to make it more difficult for hijackers to take over the listings of private label products. In fact, that could very well be the issue Amazon is trying to address with the new actions they are taking regarding brand registry. You can hear Chris’ argument on this episode and find out other things going on in the Amazon universe, on this episode.

Part of the discussion on this episode of the podcast surrounds the tactic of building an email list of potential or previous customers. Email list building is a proven online sales strategy that many private label sellers have not tapped into. On this episode, the guys chat about why email lists are so important, how to go about building one, and how you can use them to generate sales and build your brand.

One of Scott’s concerns when things in the Amazon community begin to get stirred is that people who might be considering private label sales might use the confusion as an excuse not to get started. If you’ve listened to this podcast for any length of time you won’t be surprised to hear Scott addressing that issue. After all, he’s the guy who’s coined the term, “Take Action.” No matter what’s going on in the Amazon space there are always going to be hurdles. But don’t let them scare you away. Everything is going to take some hard work, diligent research, and learning. But the benefits are much larger than the difficulties it takes to get started.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this roundtable discussion.
• [3:50] What are the changes Amazon has been doing?
• [11:45] Why the changes are good news to private label folks.
• [15:25] How can you deal with “gray market” products?

If you are curious how an experienced Amazon seller would go about optimizing a product listing that isn’t performing very well, this episode is for you. On this one, Scott chats with his friend Chris Schaeffer about a product one of their listeners is selling. The listener feels that she might want to liquidate the products to get rid of them so she can start over with an entirely new product. Scott and Chris talk about that approach but also give her some ideas about what she might be able to do that could increase her sales.

Many people who try to sell products through Amazon Private Label if you don’t take the time to do the research required. You’re going to need to know what products are selling well and how much room there is for you to introduce another of those products. Just because you don’t launch a product on Amazon doesn’t mean it’s going to be a winner. On this episode, Scott and Chris talk about what can be done if you didn’t do your product research properly to make something out of the loser products you have listed. OR - you may want to liquidate the product altogether. Scott and Chris talk about both options on this episode.

Sometimes in spite of your best efforts and product research, you’ll get a product listed on Amazon that isn’t selling well - and won’t - no matter what you do. That’s when you want to create an “exit strategy” to get rid of those products. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’re going to hear how Scott and Chris would go about selling off unsuccessful products in order to get as much out of the failed effort as possible. That way you can begin to invest your time and resources in another product that might be able to do better for you.

There are two ways you can drive people to your products on Amazon using the Amazon tools provided in your seller account. The first is PPC (pay per click). That’s an ad platform that enables you to place your products on the top or side of the search page when people search for the keywords you want. PPC is great - but it can be expensive. The other option is doing promotions - which can cost you much less. When should you do PPC and when should you do promotions? On this episode,  Scott and Chris answer the question.

When you begin selling products through your own website you’ll want to take advantage of every opportunity you have to sell products to the people who join there. One of those opportunities revolves around your creation of a sales funnel. It’s a simple but powerful tool you can create to capture email addresses and market to people in a way that is appealing and helpful to them. Scott and Chris walk through a real-life scenario, telling a listener what they would do to create a sales funnel for her products, on this episode.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:07] The upcoming LIVE event you can get involved in.
• [5:20] How can you get out of a product that is a loser?
• [13:53] Is it better to continue PPC or do a new promotion?

This is the podcast that teaches you, step by step, how to find, source, purchase, list, and sell your own private label products on the Amazon sales platform. It’s The Amazing Seller with Scott Voelker. This is one of our Friday episodes where Scott answers real life questions from private label sellers like you. If you’d like to ask Scott a particular question about what you’re experiencing, the challenges in your business, or the Amazon sales platform itself. If you’d like to ask your own question, you can listen to this episode and hear how you can do that!

Scott has found it incredibly helpful to keep a clear sense of why he’s doing his Amazon business in  mind at all times. A clear and compelling “why” fuels your business and motivates you to keep working on the things that really matter. On this episode you’re going to hear Scott riff on why his “why” is important - and he’s going to tell you how you can develop your own compelling why that will keep you moving forward and taking action.

A listener has a pretty interesting situation - he’s got two products that are identical in all other ways except that their colors are different. One of those colors sells very well and pretty consistently. The other doesn’t. His question is this: How can he optimize or promote the product that is not selling as well to get its sales numbers higher like the other product. Scott has a great set of suggestions for this listener and there’s a good chance that you’ll hear something that’s helpful for your business as well.

One of the best tools provided on the Amazon sales platform is the pay per click tool that can help you drive sales to your products. But there are some product categories that do not allow sellers to use PPC. What do you do then? Scott’s got a handful of suggestions that center around optimizing the listing, researching your top 5 competitors, doing some sales promotions, and running ads from Facebook to a Leadpage. If you don’t know what all that means - you need to listen to this episode. Scott breaks it all down for you.

Running a business of any kind can be quite a challenge. And if you’re a solopreneur or solo entrepreneur like Scott is (and many of you are), it can be especially tough. That’s because when you don’t have anyone telling you specific things to do in order to move the business forward, you’ve got to figure all of that out for yourself. On this episode Scott is asked what his daily routine looks like, and in typical Scott style he doesn’t answer the exact question - but what he does have to say is worth its weight in gold. You’ll want to hear this one.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:15] Why it comes down to figuring out your “why.”
• [5:57] QUESTION ONE: I have two identical products of different colors. I’m trying to increase traffic on the one that sells less. Can you help?
• [11:55] QUESTION TWO: I’m launching a product in a category that doesn’t allow PPC.

Today’s conversation is one that should give anyone considering Amazon private label sales hope that they can be successful. Jarret Colton is a guy who went to Scott’s LIVE event in 2016 with his head spinning. He’d listened to almost every TAS podcast episode and knew a lot of information, but it was all a grable in his head. Once he was able to talk with other sellers who had seen success and glean a lot of tips from the speakers at the event, he took action - and that action translated into incredible sales. You can hear how Jarret did it, on this episode.

Jarret is an example of a person who got his head crammed full of information and began to overthink things. There are too many things you CAN do to attempt to make your private label products sell, but there are not a lot of things you SHOULD do at first. So the back to basics mindset that Scott talks about on this episode is the prescription for many people. Be sure to listen to Jarret’s story so you can be inspired by what’s happened in his business - and get some ideas about what you can do to move your sales forward.

Every person who has placed a product on the Amazon sales platform has a next move that they need to take. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling lots of products or very few. You have something you can do to move your product sales forward. On this episode you’ll hear how Jarret made the decision to shut off all the noise and information that was clogging up his mind and simplified his process so he could simply do the next thing. You may be in the same place Jarret was - so be sure to hear how he got himself taking action on the right things.

One of the most important things that Jarret and his wife decided to invest in was professional photos for their product. He knew that once a person searches for his products he had to have some way to catch their eye and get them to click on his listing instead of the listing from his competition. The photos were exactly what did it for him. You can hear how Jarret found his photographer, the difference the professional photos made, and how he uses them within his listing, on this episode.

After applying the tips and strategies that he learned at the TAS LIVE Breakthrough event, Jarret was able to increase the search ranking of his product listings. In fact, he was so successful at optimizing his listing that he’s now got 4 out of 6 of his main “parent” products showing on page 1 for their primary keyword. You should take the time to hear Jarret’s story. It’s inspiring and instructional for anyone who’s looking to rank their listing higher and get more product sales.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to his next guest, Jarret Colton.
• [3:12] Jarret’s experience before jumping into Scott’s live event.
• [8:14] Why Jarret attended Scott’s live event in Denver in 2015.
• [11:35] The mess Jarret was facing with all the products his wife ordered.
• [14:12] Where Jarret found the photographer for his product images.
• [15:30] J

Running a business is complicated in and of itself. There are all kinds of things you have to keep track of including taxes. There are many common mistakes made when it comes to taxes and on this episode of the podcast, Scott is talking with his friend Josh about the common questions that come to him when it comes to business text questions. Being a CPA, Josh has the actual answers you need in order to do things legally and ethically. You can hear all of these common questions and their answers on this episode of the podcast.

Many people think that in order to calculate their taxes correctly when it comes to inventory they simply need to add up how much they have spent on products during the calendar year. Scott's guess today is a certified public accountant and he says that is actually not the right way to do it. You will find up providing wrong figures to the IRS if you do so, and you could be liable for a much larger payment, plus penalties by doing it. On this episode, you were going to learn the right way to calculate inventory for tax purposes.

When you hear the phrase, “tax audit” it may cause you to break out in a cold sweat. But do you really need to be so concerned? What is the likelihood that you were really going to be audited? And if you are, which kind of audit is it that you should be concerned about? And this great conversation with a certified public accountant you were going to hear about the different kinds of audits, what each of them really is about, and what you should do if you are audited. It's a great episode to dispel a lot of the myths that are floating around in the business community, so make sure you take the time to listen.

Many people who run a business have been told that they can deduct meals and entertainment that have to do with their business with no problem. But is that entirely true? When this episode of the podcast a certified public accountant is going to tell us that you actually only get to deduct 50% of your meals and entertainment, and you can only do that if those are directly related to a business activity of some kind. If you want to hear the full story on this important issue, make sure that you listen. It could save you a lot of money in the end.

There's a good deal of confusion about which business entity you should choose for your business activity. Should you be a sole proprietor? What about an LLC? Or maybe an S corporation or C corporation? If you're confused by all of these possibilities you are not alone. On this episode of the podcast, you will hear the definitions of each of these, what their advantages are, and how you should go about choosing the one that is right for you and your business. This section of the podcast alone is worth the time it will take you to listen.

• [0:09] Scott’s introduction to this episode!
• [3:19] How to deal with inventory as a business expense - the RIGHT way.
• [11:29] Turning common personal expenses into business deductions.
• [13:15] Home office space - how do you deduct it as a business expense?

Today I’ve got a nifty little hack for you to implement. I call it an ultimate content hack for Ecomm sellers to make more sales.

This could be your game changer if you are struggling with content or sending things to your email list.

One of the private clients we’re working with right now, we’re implementing this strategy right now, and I’m not going to give it away. It would be best if you listened to this episode. 

I will tell you this: many people overlook the power of leveraging others to create content for you. 

I’m just going to leave it at that because what I’m talking about here is we can check all the boxes and cover all the bases. 

Learn more by watching this episode below or listening to it above.

Enjoy, and let’s CRUSH YOUR WEEK! 

FYI: If you want to be part of the Rock Your Brand Building Profitable Niche Website Properties Facebook group, where you can ask any question, head over to brandcreators.com/group.

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“Remember, I’m here for you, believe in you, and rooting for you! Now it’s time to take action and rock your brand”! 

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When was the last time you sat down to pick the brain of someone who is experienced at what you’re learning? It’s always a great experience where you get to learn what you don’t know. That’s the flavor of what happens on these Friday episodes of the Amazing Seller podcast. Scott answers questions that are submitted via voicemail to give you an idea of how he thinks about the challenges and obstacles that you come across when selling private label products on Amazon. Today’s episode includes questions about saturated markets, international sales, keyword usage, and more. Be sure you take some time to listen to this one. You’ll get lots of great insights from Scott’s responses.

Here’s a very interesting question about choosing a market: A listener has been working in a particular market outside of Amazon for some time and feels that he knows a lot about it already. But the market on Amazon is incredibly crowded and he’s not sure if he should take the risk of putting a product onto Amazon in that market. Scott’s got some ideas about how he could do it that may not be typical. It’s likely that you’re going to get your wheels turning about your own products after hearing the answers Scott gives to this great question - so be sure you listen.

On today's episode, a listener asked about expanding her product line into sales platforms outside of the United States. She is getting an average of 20 sales per day and thinks that expanding into Canada or the UK may be a good step for her at this time. Scott has some great insights into what it would take to become successful in other countries and gives her some tips on what to look for as indications that she could be successful doing so. If you've never sold your products in countries other than the United States you will want to hear what God has to say to this listener.

One of the many confusing things about the Amazon platform has to do with the use of keywords and Search terms in the back-end of the Amazon seller account. There have been quite a few theories and opinions shared about how to best use those fields for the best results. On this episode, a listener asks about how those fields should be used and Scott gives an answer that covers all the bases. If you've ever been confused about the search term fields in your Amazon seller account, this is a response you will want to hear.

It's not often that your success is noticed by people who are further along the path than you are. But that happened just this past month when Pat Flynn reached out to Scott to ask him to submit a response for one of his podcast episodes. It was a great honor and Scott was excited to condense some of his hard-learned business lessons into a short sound byte for Pat’s podcast. You can find out how to hear Scott's responses to Pat’s question by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:31] How you can ask your own question.
• [2:42] Scott’s appearance on Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn.

If you’re going to build a business you really need to think long-term. One product can’t sell on a sustained basis - you need related and sibling products that can fill in the gaps of what people who use that product need on a regular basis. On this episode, Scott wants to walk you through 7 steps that he suggests for building a brand from the ground up. It’s a step by step process from product and market research all the way to ongoing sales and customer retention. You’ll get a lot out of this episode of the podcast - in fact, you should be sure to grab the transcript so you don’t miss anything.

Scott talks about this a lot on the podcast because it is vital: are you building a business based on a product or aimed toward a market? It is entirely possible to build a business around one product. But in Scott’s view, that is not a long-term solution that you can count on. The reason is that one product can lose its appeal over time but if you have multiple products within the same product in it or Market you will be able to maintain consistent sales in spite of downturns in the sales of one product line.  On this episode of the podcast, Scott wants to help you understand the difference between a single product and a product line that can take over a product market so that you can be even more successful in your online ventures.

Once you have done the research to know the product line and Market that you want to reach with your products, you need to discover who is buying those products. That doesn't mean you need to know names and email addresses but it does mean you need to know the common characteristics of the people who are regularly buying those items. Are they men or women? How old are they? What other types of things are they interested in? As you are able to answer those questions you will find yourself getting a clearer picture of who your ideal customer is. When you know the characteristics of those people you will be much better equipped to position your product in the market in ways that are attractive to them. Make sure you listen to this episode so you can hear Scott's explanation of how to discover your ideal customer.

If you are not familiar with the term “content marketing” you need to make sure that you understand it and know how to use it to advance your brand. The concept behind content marketing is that you are providing value to people through your resources and tools that help them understand the product market better and begin to view you as a valuable authority or resource within that market. When you can effectively do that you will gain the trust of the exact people you were trying to sell your products to and they will become more prone to purchase your product as a result. Content marketing is one of the most effective ways of building a loyal following of customers who believe in your product line. Listen to Scott’s explanation of how to use content marketing to advance your business and brand, on this episode.

Selling products online is not that difficult if you're willing to put in the work to build the foundation's necessary to support the success of the business over the Long Haul. On this episode is Scott is walking you through 7 steps that you can use to build an online brand that will weather the ups and downs of Market swings. None of the steps can be successful on their own, and none of them are easy. But if you break them down into bite-sized chunks you will

There is no argument with the statement that we’d all love to see more revenue coming into our business. But there are tremendous disagreements about the best ways to create that revenue. Scott is convinced that the “how” is not important as long as you are increasing your revenue and he wants to see everyone who listens to his podcast do so as soon as possible. On this episode, Scott walks through 5 ways to generate more revenue that you may not have considered, and many of them are able to be attached to your existing brand by going for a market, not just a product. You can hear it on this episode.

Think this through for a moment. If you put all your eggs in the “selling products on Amazon” basket, and Amazon changes things in a way that impacts your success, you’ve just lost all of your eggs. That means the money you were once making dries up overnight. Scott’s a great advocate of creating multiple streams of income to support your business and personal life. The more you have your income spread out the less vulnerable you are to the changes in any one platform. Today’s episode is filled with Scott’s insights into the ways you could launch some additional streams of income and support your life and business even more successfully.

You probably haven’t thought of it this way but no matter what your product niche is, there are people who need to know more about that niche. There is probably an opportunity for you to create a digital book that you could sell on Amazon that covers some of the most important elements of the niche. You’d be providing a great service to would-be customers and creating an additional stream of income for yourself. Listen to Scott’s ideas about how to understand your market so that you can come up with ideas for additional streams of income.

It might require some creative thinking but many physical products can be pivoted into a digital version or a related product that is digital. There are so many ways you can create helpful things for people who are using your existing products and offer those items for sale. Creating additional streams of income is not as difficult as it might sound. You can do it - and this episode is full of ideas for how you can rethink what you do to increase your revenue.

You may not be a technically oriented person. You may not know a thing about video. But you can be assured that there’s something you know well that others would pay money to learn. And more importantly, they would pay money to learn it in the WAY that you teach it. Scott’s got lots of ideas to give you about how you can create additional streams of income, and one of those is a video course that you can offer online or via DVD. You don’t have to be the expert on video, you can still create the course. Scott’s going to tell you how, on this episode.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [0:53] Scott’s invitation to you: Subscribe to the podcast and share it!
• [1:55] The international TAS connections.
• [4:39] The importance of multiple revenue strea

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

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

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

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

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

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [2:28

One of the most important parts of running a successful Amazon private label business is making sure you are establishing your brand and products as high quality and reputable. A HUGE part of doing that is getting honest reviews from your customers. If you don’t know how to effectively get those reviews you’re going to have a very hard time building a successful sales channel. On this episode, Scott and his friend Chris Guthrie are here to walk you through the ins and outs of reviews - what makes a good one, why you need them, and how to get them. Be sure you take the time to listen. It could increase your sales tremendously.

There’s a lot of talk lately about Amazon’s attitude when it comes to product reviews - and it’s actually more than JUST talk. Amazon has adjusted its terms of service and is cracking down on reviews that it considers being fake or in some way manipulated. There’s only one way to ensure that your product reviews are safe from the Amazon crackdown and that’s to get real, legitimate reviews in the first place. This episode of the podcast is dedicated to making sure you understand the right and wrong ways to go about that - including some thoughts about the use of review groups, so be sure you listen.

You hear the terms “real” and “fake” applied to product reviews on Amazon all the time. But do you know what constitutes a real or fake review? On this episode of The Amazing Seller podcast, Scott has asked his buddy, Chris Guthrie to come on the show and unpack the details of what makes a good review and what contributes to the kind of reviews that Amazon has been removing from product pages. It’s their hope that using the information you hear on this episode you’ll be able to not only safeguard your product reviews from being removed but also get better quality reviews in the first place.

You may not even have known but Amazon provides an email contact option within your seller account that you can use to directly contact your customers. Using that email tool is the best and most effective way to follow up with your customers once they’ve purchased your product - and part of that follow-up strategy can and should include a reminder to your customers to leave an honest review for your product. We all need reminders now and then, right? Your customers are the same way. Find out how you can use the email solution Amazon has provided on this episode - and learn how you can automate it so you don’t have to worry about it ever again!

This episode of The Amazing Seller podcast is all about product reviews - OK, well not ALL about reviews - there’s a section right toward the end of the conversation where Scott and his buddy Chris Guthrie chat a bit about seller feedback and its role in making sure your account and products stay in Amazon’s good graces. Sometimes in the rush to get good reviews we forget about seller feedback, which can be a mistake. Be sure you hear this part of the conversation. It could keep your account from being banned for shut down temporarily.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [0:30] A LIVE review workshop coming up that you can attend for free!

When dealing with a huge platform like Amazon you've got to expect that there will be places where confusion sets in. This episode is an example of that very thing. Karon Thackston is with us today to help us understand the new items within the Amazon terms of service. Not everything is coordinated and not everything makes sense but if you learn how to operate within the Amazon guidelines your products were ranked better and your sales will increase. Karon Is here to help us navigate the changes and make sense out of all of it.

The rules have changed many times over the years but now Amazon has a new guideline when it comes to the length of your product title. 200 words is the new limit and you have to be careful because the back end will not stop you from putting in more characters. But if you do you could be subject to a suppressed listing or even worse, Amazon could change the title for you and not allow you to change it back to something of your choosing. You've got to hear this one to believe it, and you can hear it on this episode of The Amazing seller.

You can take a few minutes to click around the Amazon website and find conflicting guidelines for how you should list your products on their platform. But today's guest, Karen Paxton believes that you should only pay attention to the Amazon style guide when you are trying to conform your listing to the Amazon standards. The things Karon shares on this episode are from the Amazon style guide and as you will see, are not all that simple. But Karon is a pro and can help you navigate it more simply, so be sure you listen.

If you run into issues with any of your product listings and need to contact Seller Support it is likely that you will run into a support agent who doesn't know the facts of how Amazon runs. Why would we say that? Because it's absolutely true. You can call Seller Support and talked to two or three different agents and get two or three different answers to your questions. That's why our guest today, Karon Thackston,  recommend that you continue to call Seller Support until you get help with the things that you need. Eventually you will be able to talk to supervisor and get things straightened out.

It wasn't too long ago that Amazon increased the number of Search terms you could enter in the search type fields in your product back end feels. But now they have come out saying that the search term fields don't really need to be used at all as long as your keywords are included in your description and bullet points. But Karon Thackston doesn't believe you will be penalized if you leave words in the search term fields, and is not recommending that any more experienced sellers go through their listings to remove them. You can hear the entire fiasco on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode with Karon.
• [5:00] Karon’s summary of what she’s covering for you today.
• [8:15] Another reason to build a platform of your own off Amazon.
• [9:56] T

Nobody knows it all. Not even those who have been doing something for a very long time. We all need to ask for help from time to time and these Friday episodes of the Amazing Seller Podcast are an opportunity for you to ask your questions about Amazon sales and private label products. Scott LOVES these episodes where he gets to sit down and deal with the real life situations that you and many other sellers like you are facing each day in your business. You can listen to the questions people have already asked and even ask your own questions, right here on the Friday episodes.

On today's episode a listen to the podcast asked whether he should wait to start his pay per click campaigns until he has a significant number of reviews, or whether he should begin PPC immediately once his product is live on the Amazon platform. What would your answer be? Today, Scott has an answer for this listener and has advice for you if you are trying to determine when and how to start your PPC campaigns. You can hear it all on this episode of the podcast.

Do you know what a long tail keyword is? A long tail keyword is a keyword phrase that uses a primary key word with other qualifying words added to the beginning or end. For example, garlic press maybe the base keyword. But long tail keywords would be, “stainless steel garlic press,” OR “long handled garlic press.” On today's episode a listener asks if he will rank for all of the keywords within a long-tail keyword phrase, or only the long tail keyword phrase itself. It's a great question and Scott has a great answer. Be sure you listen to find out what it is.

The first thing you need to do in order to sell products on Amazon is to create a seller account. Today a listener asks if he should set up multiple seller account if he is going to be selling products under multiple brand names. It's a great question and one that can have many answers depending on what your and goals are for your business. On this episode, Scott answers the question with a good deal of insight and foresight, so be sure you take the time to listen.

A listener today has found a product possibility in a niche where there are many, many sellers of the product. But he's curious if it is a good opportunity anyway since there is only one seller who is providing the product in question in a different color, while all the rest offer the exact same product. He is curious if he could create a bundle that includes both colors, or even add additional colors to make a bundle that is more attractive. You can hear Scott's answer to this interesting question on this episode of The Amazing seller.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this “Ask Scott” episode of the podcast.
• [2:30] Why you need to schedule and plan things if you’re going to be successful.
• [6:03] QUESTION ONE: How long do you wait to start your Pay Per Click campaigns after getting reviews?
• [10:15] QUESTION TWO: I’m trying to rank for a long tail ke

When you start anything new in your life you’re going to feel nervous or scared. That’s OK. Nerves and fear are natural in any new endeavor but they aren’t the thing that determines success. What determines your success is your own mindset. On this episode Scott chats with a successful Amazon seller, Bobby Jacques and the two of them agree that mindset is crucial. You can hear how both of these guys approach their business in light of mindset, on this episode.

When people talk about mindset they’re addressing the issue of belief. If you are going to attempt a business on Amazon or any other platform you’ve got to first believe in your ability to learn, to grow, and to pivot through the disappointments and obstacles until you reach success. It’s a “never give up” attitude that you have to develop - and today’s episode is one that can help you do that. You’re going to hear from a very determined Amazon seller who made it his goal to replace his full time income in a very short period of time. He did it, and is a testimony to the fact that you can do it too, if you’re willing to work hard, learn, grow, and keep going.

When it comes to building an online business, whether through private label sales on Amazon or some other approach, you’ve got to believe that you can do it. The person who doesn’t believe in their ability is the one who will give up quickly after they hit the first obstacle. And you WILL hit obstacles if you take the entrepreneurial route. Bobby Jacques shares his story on this episode and tells how he went from nothing to $50K per month in sales on this episode.

One of the tools that makes private label sales on Amazon such a successful thing is Amazon pay per click. PPC is one of the tools Amazon provides to help you get people's eyes on your products when they are searching for exactly what you have. Make awesome money and takes time to figure out, but one You can be the pot at the end of the rainbow. On this episode Scott's guest is going to tell us how he manages his pay per click campaigns and what you can do to organize your campaigns properly from the start.

Determination in any business is huge. You can't be the type who will give up at the first sign of trouble or difficulty. No difficulty can stop you if you are convinced that you can learn and grow for the sake of overcoming any obstacle. Your job as an entrepreneur is to make yourself successful so that you are able to bring great value to the world.  On this episode of the podcast you're going to here a great story of success from a guy who started with no money in the bank and is now bringing in $50,000 per month in sales revenue. Bobby Jacques is Scott’s guest on this episode of the podcast.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:30] Join the next live workshop.
• [2:20] Shout out to an iTunes listener who left a review.
• [4:04] Why Scott wanted to chat with Bobby for today’s show.
• [6:45] How Bobby got

One of the things Scott and his friend Chris Schaeffer love to do to help private label sellers boost their sales is to do these “hot seat” episodes. It’s a real life Amazon product that is already selling that is submitted for review and suggestions to increase sales. Scott and Chris are looking at a product today that is in a tight niche and is very low priced - both of which are problems from the get go. But there are some things that can be done to improve the sales of this product regardless. You can hear Scott and Chris’ suggestions on this episode.

If you get into a market where the sales price for the product is $7 or so, you’re going to run into a problem. Even if your product only costs you $1, you’re going to pay a lot in Amazon fees and not have much product margin to play with. That’s why Scott recommends that you look for products that will sell for $15 or more most of the time. You can hear more insights into the way the product cost impacts your profits and success, on this episode

When you’re putting together your Amazon listing one of the most important things that can’t be underestimated is the photo you use to highlight your product. Amazon requires that your product photo is the product alone on a white background - and Scott and Chris both feel that it’s vital that the photo be high quality and positioned in a way that shows it as large a possible. Today’s hot seat product needs a better photo and Scott and Chris will tell you exactly what they’d do to make the listing photo better.

The product that’s on the “hot seat” on this episode of The Amazing Seller also includes a free ebook to help the user learn how to use the product. It’s a great idea and is a powerful way to increase the perceived value of the product. However, this seller hasn’t taken advantage of the bonus. How did they miss the opportunity? The bonus item is not mentioned in the title of the product OR shown in the product image. Both of those are great opportunities to stand out from the competition. Find out how you can use this example to improve your product listing on this episode.

Often, once a private label product is introduced into the market others begin to jump on board and offer the same product. Before long that niche is flooded and the price begins to race to the bottom. It’s not a good situation for anyone but there are ways to become the dominant seller in the market, and the main way is by bundling your product with accessories or related products that purchasers might need in order to use your product. You can hear some great ideas for how you can think in terms of bundling for your product on this episode.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this hotseat episode with Chris Schaeffer!
• [3:00] Introduction to this hotseat scenario.
• [6:19] The market today’s product is in: good or bad?
• [9:21] The market looks saturated and the price point is low.
• [14:22] An i

Here is the regular Friday version of The Amazing Seller Podcast - the “Ask Scott” session! This is where you’re able to ask your very own questions about Amazon Private Label sales, online sales in general, and how to do your pay per click, promotions, and more. If you’ve got your own questions about selling on Amazon you can ask Scott directly and possibly be featured on an episode just like this one. You can find out how to ask your question by listening to this episode!

One of the listeners to the Amazing Seller is a guy who does his own podcast and has his own online following established already. He wanted to know if there is a way that he could effectively begin selling physical products that he lists on Amazon through his other brand. Scott’s answer to his question was a big, fat, enthusiastic, “YES!” and you can hear why Scott’s so excited about this kind of opportunity by listening to his response.

Ordering products from China is one of the most affordable and easy ways to get a private label product brand started. But are you limited to the products the suppliers have on hand? Nope. You can take any product idea - even one you haven’t seen on their platforms - and send them sketches, schematics, etc. and ask if they can build it for you. You’ll go back and forth with the supplier for a while getting the details right, then you’ll have to front some cash to get a prototype made. You can find out what comes next by listening to Scott’s answer to this great question - on this episode.

It’s the most natural thing in the world to ask people to buy your product. It’s also natural to make it easy for them to purchase by sending them the direct link to your product on Amazon. But the way Amazon’s algorithm works that’s not always the best idea. Why? It’s because Amazon continually calculates how many purchases of your product happen based on the number of views it receives. So if you send someone directly to the product and they don’t purchase, you could be hurting your product rankings. Find out how it all works out on this episode.

A listener has been doing his product research and wants to know if he would be safe to try to enter a product into a market where the competition has over 100 reviews. Scott says it’s OK but more important than the reviews the competition has is what he calls the “depth of market.” What is that and why does it matter? You can find out all the details by listening to this episode of the podcast.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [0:34] Scott’s recording on his birthday to spend time with his family later!
• [5:09] A question to ask yourself right now.
• [7:42] QUESTION ONE: I have an online presence and brand already. I want to combine that with private labeling. Will product suppliers customize products for me?
• [16:05] QUESTION TWO: What links should I use to drive outside traf

Today I will share with you how I generated $12k From 1000 Email Subscribers.

How I did it in just four days while doing a case study that goes back in time. I will tell the whole story behind it. 

But what is that case study, you may ask? Well, it's a good one. 

This is something that totally changed everything moving forward for me. 

This was the one email promotion that I did that had me saying, Scott, you got to keep doing this.

Here's the deal over the years, things have changed. I'm not saying this to brag, but I have generated millions of dollars through email promotions.

Whether it's for myself or whether it's for other clients. I've concluded that email is the main driver of a lot of sales. Brands that I've built or the brands that I've helped. 

That's what I want to give you today. Take one moment to listen to this episode. 

You've heard me talk about this time and time again. Then finally it clicks with you and you think, well maybe I should do a little bit more of this email marketing thing. 

So that's what today's episode is all about. How Chris Schaffer and I went live inside the Rock Your Brand group. 

Learn more by watching this episode below or listening to it above. Enjoy, and let's CRUSH YOUR WEEK! 

FYI: If you want to be part of the Rock Your Brand Building Profitable Niche Website Properties Facebook group, where you can ask any question, head over to brandcreators.com/group.

Today’s guest is Spencer Haws, he’s a long time web entrepreneur who has built his experience and knowledge creating niche based websites. You can see more of what he’s done in that realm at his site www.NichePursuits.com. But today Spencer is with us to help us understand how you can build your own website that sells your own products - independent of Amazon. Interested? Be sure you listen to this great episode.

Spencer strongly believes that you need to take your success to a different platform once you’ve gotten your feet wet on Amazon. Why? Because you want to build something that you have entire control over, no matter what. On Amazon you have to follow the constantly changing rules and make sure you’re not making any mistakes. On your own site you are the king of the castle and you make up the rules. And maybe just as important, you’ll be cutting out the Amazon middleman that bites into your profit margin. Hear how Spencer and Scott suggest you take that step, on this episode.

Let’s say you’ve had a private label product on Amazon for a while and you’re selling a decent amount of products every day. Should you take the step of creating your own website and trying to sell your products independent of Amazon? Spencer Haws says that once your products are selling well on Amazon you’ve got a great test case that shows that your products could sell independent of Amazon as well. Find out exactly how Spencer says you can know if you should take the step to build your own sales platform, on this episode.

You may not even know what a long tail keyword is, but Spencer Haws believes that you’ve got to become skilled at identifying and using them if you’re going to have success building a sales site for your products that operates independently of Amazon. Spencer has proven on his own sites that going for the lesser known long tail keywords can be very successful in the long run. You can find out how Spencer does it, step by step, and the software tool he uses to do his research on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

If all of this website building talk sounds a bit scary to you, relax. Spencer Haws has created two ways you can learn everything you need to know to build a website the right way and start selling your products independent of Amazon. First is an internship where over the course of 4 weeks you’ll learn how to do everything you need to make your site stellar. Second, if you can do an internship there’s an 8 week course that covers the same content. Before you know it you’ll be rocking your own sales platform that cuts out the Amazon middleman!

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode with Spencer Haws!
• [1:51] Details about stuff you’ll want to know for this episode.
• [3:49] Why Spencer believes you need to move your success onto your own platform.
• [5:45] When is the right time to build your own website property?

A big part of launching any business is the fear you have to conquer because of the risk that’s inherent in starting a business. While the fear may be an obstacle, it doesn’t have to be such a big one. You can reduce the chances of failure (what you’re really afraid of) by checking out what’s already working in your product niche and duplicating those things for your product. On this episode Scott goes way outside his normal topics to show you how he looks at products and marketing approaches so that you can learn how to use other people’s hard work to make your own business less risky and more profitable.

Most of the time Scott is talking about Amazon as a sales platform - and that it is. But you may not have considered that Amazon’s setup is also designed in a way that you can use it to research product ideas and market trends. On this episode Scott talks about how you can use reviews, data, and the “also bought” section of Amazon, eBay, and other platforms to make smarter decisions about your products and business.

When you buy any product - from Amazon or even your local Walmart - you should pay attention to the way the company has positioned your buying and follow up experience. Is the packaging appealing and cool? Does the verbiage on the package give you clear instructions? Does it encourage you to submit contact information so you can receive more from them? Does it offer you other ways you can benefit from your product or receive more information? Scott has begun observing these kinds of things and it’s given him all kinds of ideas for his own business and products. What about you? Learn more on this episode.

One of the best things you can do for your business is to know your competition. Not just who they are or what they sell, but also HOW they sell it and WHAT they do to follow up with their customers. The best way to do that is to become a customer. When you purchase one of your competitor’s products you’ll get to see exactly what they do to connect with their customers, follow up with them, offer them related products, and more. Then you can reverse engineer it to include those things in your process OR you can improve on it and blow your competitors out of the water. Find out more about tweaking your competition on this episode.

While you may never consider advertising your Amazon private label products on TV or in a magazine you would do well to pay attention to what advertisers on TV and in magazines are doing to sell their products. Advertisers have been using print and video for years and they really know what works. You can borrow their ideas and apply them to your promotions and advertisements to up your game. Scott goes through a ton of ideas for promoting and presenting your products better, on this episode.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [2:07] This episode was sparked by questions from listeners.
• [5:36] The importance of using Amazon.com and eBaby.com for data and insight.
• [9:21] Using product reviews to refine products and buil

Amazon private label sales is one of the best ways to get started with online business. You don’t have to have any experience because there are many good hearted people like Scott Voelker who are eager to walk you through the ways you can get started with even a small amount of cash. This episode is one of Scott’s weekly “Ask Scott” episodes where anybody who has a question about sales on Amazon is able to ask their questions. This episode highlights listener questions about product categories, shipping costs VS storage fees, responding to bad product reviews, and using the keyword fields in the Amazon product backend wisely.

A listener asks a very good question today about product categories. It’s often the case that one product could legitimately belong in more than one category. When that’s the case, how do you go about choosing which category you should designate as your “primary” category. On this episode Scott answers the question and encourages the listener who ask it to focus on keywords and optimized listings more than the category - though he does give some tips on how to choose the most effective category as well.

A TAS community member called in to ask Scott about his situation - he’s got a great product but in order to get his best price he’d have to order 2000 of them! He’d be saving enough money that it seems like a wise thing to do, but he doesn’t want to keep them at his home and doesn’t believe that Amazon would allow him to send in that many at once. He’s asking Scott’s advice on whether storing those products at some warehouse would make sense. Scott’s got his typical common sense answer to this one and you can hear it on this episode.

A listener asks Scott if he is able to respond to the comments that are made to his products, and if so how? The tool you need to know about in order to do that is called Sales Backer (find it in this episode’s resource links) and it’s a great way to be active in the space surrounding your product and to do great customer service that can not only fix problems your customers are having but also get some of those negative reviews removed or changed. You can find out about Sales Backer and how you can use it on this episode.

There has been a lot of confusion about keywords and how they are used in the Amazon product listings, and for good reason. It appears from trials that various Amazon sellers have done that some of the conventional wisdom surrounding keywords may have been incorrect. On this episode you’ll hear Scott dig into the topic a bit in response to a listener’s question about how to use keywords. It’s a very helpful response so make sure you take the time to listen.

• [0:25] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:29] Shout out to the TAS Facebook community.
• [4:10] QUESTION ONE: I’m doing a new product launch and I’m not sure how to choose the right category in light of competition, etc.
• [11:11] QUESTION TWO: I’m having trouble figuring out if I should pay high sh

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

• [0:25] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast!
• [1:02] The power of building an emai

Once you get started doing private label sales on Amazon and other platforms you need to understand the importance of how you present your products and brand to those who are considering a purchase from you. That means packaging is a big deal. On this episode Scott is taking a look at the packaging of a product he recently bought because he thought it was done very, very well. He wants you to learn from some of the smart things the company did to increase his perception of their company and the product he purchased. It’s all on this episode.

Scott recently purchased a lens for his iPhone to make his photos and videos pop a bit more. When he received it he was blown away by the packaging and all the little “extras” the company included with his order. On this episode of the Amazing Seller you’re going to hear about Scott’s experience and get some great ideas for how you can increase the perception people have of the products you are selling with some simple little tricks and added value. It’s a great, thought provoking episode so don’t miss it.

Depending on what type of private label product you are selling you may want to consider adding some helpful materials like a “Getting Started” guide or insert card that leads the purchaser to a page on your website that demonstrates the product in use. Why would you want to do that? Because you want your customers to have the impression that you are a real business (and you are, aren’t you?). You’re erasing any doubt or skepticism they may have had with every little value add you can provide. A help resource is a great way you can do that.

When you think about creating custom packaging for your private label products you may only be thinking of logos, colors, shape, etc. But did you ever consider that you can place some kind of call to action on the packaging that drives people to your website? That’s a great way to encourage opt-ins to your email list so you can communicate directly to your customers. You don’t want to draw them away from Amazon for the purchase of your product, but you can offer them something more such as product registration, help guides, etc. That enables you to get them on your site where they can be asked for an email address. You can hear Scott’s thoughts on this great idea on this episode.

If you are interested in selling products online it’s always better if you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Thankfully, you don’t have to. Scott Voelker has put together a free private label workshop that he runs now and again and you are invited to register. You’ll not only hear the 5 phases of getting a product for sale on Amazon, you’ll also get to be part of the Q&A session at the end of the workshop. It’s all done live via video so you can attend no matter where you are in the world. On this episode you can get the details of how you can sign up to be a part of that event. And don’t forget, it’s free.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast!
• [3:30] Why you might hear some odd sounds in this episode.
• [4:29] Why the packaging to Scott’s recent

When it comes to researching and launching a private label product on Amazon there are many hoops to jump through - and the Amazon terms of service change often. How do you know that what you’re doing is the right thing to do? One way is to find a trusted person who’s already been down the path - and that’s what these Ask Scott episodes are all about! You can ask your own questions of Scott Voelker, an experienced Amazon seller. He’s got 4 questions today about PPC, unloading failed products, the impact reviews have on sales or PPC, and whether or not you should try to sell your products on platforms other than Amazon. It’s all on this episode.

A listener called in to ask Scott if he could walk through the various options when it comes to liquidating private label products that simply aren’t selling. Scott understands the question and the need behind it. There are many reasons you might need to get rid of products that you’ve been trying to sell and his answer to this question is one that will give you a head full of ideas to try out if you’re in the same situation. Be sure you listen to find out ways that you can sell products to recoup the money you’ve invested.

On this episode a caller asks about using PPC when she’s already got an established and broad Amazon seller account. In her case, she’s already listed hundreds of products on Amazon. Choosing how to approach PPC seems like a daunting task. But Scott’s got some good suggestions for making her pay per click strategy effective and he shares them with her on this episode. Are you confused about PPC? As Scott answers this question you’ll probably find some help to the issues that are hanging you up, too.

A lot of people who place their private label products on the Amazon sales platform don’t understand how product reviews work in the Amazon ecosystem. It’s not that your reviews directly get you a higher ranking on Amazon search results OR give you an increase in your sales numbers. Reviews serve more of a complementary function. Imagine this: You’re searching for a product you’ve been meaning to buy and there are two options. One of them has 3 product reviews, the other has 300. Which are you more likely to trust? The one with the 300 reviews. Do you see that the number of reviews your product receives serve as social proof that your product is a good one? Find out how Scott advises this caller who only has a handful of reviews on what she can do to get more social proof for her product by listening to this episode.

Selling private label products on Amazon is really an ecommerce business. Since it’s on Amazon you may not have thought of it that way, but it’s the truth. Ecommerce can be implemented on a wide variety of platforms - Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and more. But you have to understand that whatever platform you’re selling on, you have to play by that platform’s rules. It’s understandable - and somewhat frustrating at times. Scott answers a listener’s question today with a question of his own… Is Amazon holding your ecommerce business hostage? You’ll want to hear this one.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:04] How you can submit your questio

Every private label seller has dreams of their business going big. But very few think as big as what actually happened for Chad Rubin. Chad’s private label success forced him to create an amazing software solution for his biggest problems. You’re going to hear Chad’s story from the beginning until now - how he built an amazing private label business on Amazon, grew it to monstrous proportions, and then pivoted to create a software that is now leading the way in the ecommerce space.

One of the most difficult aspects of building an Amazon private label business is finding that perfect product that sells - and continues to sell. Chad Rubin says that those kinds of products require a lot of research into the market it will be serving. You’ve got to make sure that you’re actually meeting a real life need to ensure that there will always be a market for the product so you’re not left with a huge investment that never pans out. You can hear Chad’s advice for finding those kinds of products on this episode.

You can’t expect to jump on Alibaba and choose the first product that looks like it might sell. You’ve got to find one that truly meets a need that consumers are willing to pay to have solved. Chad Rubin’s formula for private label success starts there. He suggests that you look at your own life - at the problems you face and the things you wish were different - and let those frustrations inspire you to create products that solve those problems. If you have the problem, you can bet thousands of others do too. Find out how Chad goes about his own product discovery on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

Many private label sellers fade away over time because they start selling a product they think will be successful, but it’s not something they personally have an interest in. Chad Rubin says that long term success requires that you’re working on something that you actually enjoy or have interest in. When you’re passionate about the products you sell you’re going to be much more motivated over the long haul and will be able to persevere to see your business thrive. If you want to be inspired by an incredible story you’ll want to hear this episode.

Successful private label sales depends on building a brand, not just selling one popular or in-demand product. When you only have one product you get stuck in a one dimensional place where it’s hard to branch out and create secondary streams of income for your business. Chad Rubin suggests that you start out with an eye toward building a brand that can span many different niches of products. That way you’re able to pivot more easily, add complementary products to your product line in a natural way, and maximize your potential to cross sell to your existing customer base.

• [0:04] Scott’s introduction to this podcast episode.
• [1:46] An iTunes review left recently (leave your review over there, too!).
• [3:24] The upcoming workshop!
• [4:24] Scott’s introduction to Chad Rubin and the beginnings of his story.

Every Amazon private label seller is going to face this problem sooner or later: you’ll run out of stock so quickly that you won’t be able to get new products to Amazon in time. There are many ways you can deal with it, but what should you do to ensure that your sales resume at a good pace once you have products back in stock? On this episode Scott and his friend Chris - both experienced Amazon sellers - are looking at a real Amazon product that ran out of stock and is now having trouble resuming the good sales it had before. Both guys have great insights into the issues that are causing problems, on this episode.

You may not think of your particular product as a seasonal item. But you might be surprised. Scott and Chris always recommend that a key component of your product research phase is to use a tool like Google Trends to research the trends of how your product has sold in the past. On this episode Scott and Chris discover that a product that was selling like crazy and suddenly lost it’s momentum is actually seasonal in nature. It makes a huge difference in how you approach your product sales and sometimes impacts whether you choose to sell that product at all.

In an effort to build brand recognition many Amazon sellers place the name of their brand in the title of their product. Both Chris and Scott believe it’s a mistake to do that. Why? Because unless someone is specifically searching for your brand name you won’t get any search juice out of having your brand name in the title - and the title of your product is one of the most important spots you want to have keywords that people may be searching for. On this episode you can learn some additional hacks you can use to optimize your listing for better search accessibility and greater sales.

Amazon’s terms of service make it clear what type of picture can be used for your primary product photo, but when it comes to your secondary photos there are many things you can do to make them stand out and attract attention. On this episode Scott and Chris analyze a real private label product that is having problems with sales and the images are one of the things they notice. Find out what remedies they recommend and get some ideas for how to improve your own product listing, on this episode.

It only makes sense that if one product in your niche is dominating the sales, you should borrow from what they’re doing. Never use the exact photos they are, but if you can create a photo that is similar in approach or feel, do it. Never completely copy their title or description, but if they are expressing the usefulness of your product in different ways, try to learn from what they are doing. You’ll find some “best practices” from those who are doing it the best - so be sure you take the time to analyze your competition.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this “Hot Seat” episode of the podcast!
• [1:26] How you can get into Scott’s free workshop.
• [2:08] Get into the TAS Facebook group.
• [4:28] The scenario the guys are look

This episode of the Amazing Seller podcast is where Scott Voelker answers questions about Amazon private label sales and ecommerce. On this episode he’s addressing some pretty interesting questions. Should you try to compete directly with Amazon when it is the only seller of a particular product? How can you go about coming up with a brand name? When would it be better to merge two identical products that only have one small variation? Those are just some of the things you’ll hear on these Ask Scott episodes, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss an episode.

There are many products on Amazon that only Amazon sells - and it may be intimidating to think of going up against the mighty Amazon. But Scott thinks that if you approach it the right way and keep your head on straight. You can do it. On this episode Scott is asked about that issue and he gives a very clear answer to whether it’s a good idea to compete directly with Amazon, what questions you should be asking, and what you should look out for if you’re going to take it upon yourself to challenge Amazon’s sales.

When you list a product for sale on Amazon you have two options. You can set up every product you bring to the platform in its own listing, or if they are similar and only differ by variations such as color or size, you can place them under the same listing, but as variations of the same product. Which is better? It depends on a number of things that can sometimes be confusing. So on this episode Scott tackles the question and gives you his ideas on how to make the decision.

In many ways naming your brand is just like naming your first child - you really want to get it right. But Scott doesn’t think it’s all that important at first. Instead he recommends that you get a trial run of your product on the way and experiment with its sales first to ensure that all your energy to name it is well founded. But he doesn’t stop there - Scott does have some good ideas for how you can brainstorm brand name ideas, so be sure to listen to this episode.

It can be very confusing trying to figure out all the rules and steps involved in listing a product for sale on Amazon. That’s why Scott Voelker has simplified things into 5 steps and put it into a free course. You can learn everything from researching product ideas, to choosing the product, to finding a supplier, to getting your first shipment and listing it on Amazon. You won’t find a better resource to teach you how to get started so make sure you listen to this episode of the podcast to see how you can get started with Amazon Private Label.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [3:57] QUESTION ONE: I’m curious if I should try to launch products that Amazon itself sells?
• [13:08] QUESTION TWO: I’m trying to come up with a brand name. Any tips?
• [19:29] QUESTION THREE: I have some products that are duplicate except for their colors. Should I merge their AISNs?

Scott hears people complaining all the time that they can’t do sales on Amazon because they don’t have the cash to get started. Hey, we all know what it’s like to be tight on cash. But if you are honest with yourself you’ll be able to look at the opportunities you have to get the extra cash you need to get started. That’s what this episode of the podcast is all about. Scott’s talking with his friend Dom Sugar about the way he’s gotten started and the simple but significant things he has done to make cash when he didn’t realize he had the resources. Anyone can do what Dom suggests on this episode so be sure you take some time to listen.

Dom Sugar grew up in an environment where business was a significant part of life. As he grew older he began looking for ways that he could “set up shop” for himself and one of the most significant in the early years was through eBay. He learned quickly that he could sell used and new items for a profit and began leveraging the opportunity to increase his own cash flow. As the online space grew and changed, so did he, and the success he’s experienced in his business overall is a testament to the power of diligence and patience. You can hear Dom’s story and get some ideas about how YOU can get started selling items online, on this episode.

It seems that many of the people who say they want to get started selling products on Amazon just don’t want it badly enough. Dom Sugar is convinced that anyone can scrounge up the money to get started, whether it’s through a garage sale, through selling used or unused items on eBay, or beginning to step into the retail arbitrage area. On this episode he tells the story of how he got going with retail arbitrage, gives some great tips on how to go about it and the types of products to look for, and speaks to why he thinks RA is the first logical step into the Amazon waters. You can learn a lot from this conversation.

One of Scott’s favorite sayings is, “Take action” because nobody ever did anything by waiting for it to happen. If you want to get started selling products on Amazon there is a way. The question is, “Do YOU have the will to see it happen?” On this episode Dom Sugar shares with Scott how he’s been able to make his business grow through consistent hard work and learning, and how he’s now sending truckloads of products to Amazon to prepare for Christmas and the 4th quarter. It’s a long way from where her started, but he’s convinced that you can do it too - and on this episode he tells you where he’d begin if he were starting all over.

From a big box department store chain to a mom and pop store on the corner of your town, any successful business has to pivot as the market changes. That means the leaders of the business have to adapt, come up with new strategies, introduce new products, whatever it takes to ensure that the business can continue to make sales and expand profits. Dom Sugar has done that as his online business efforts have changed time and time again over the years and on this episode he shares some of his ideas about how you can not only get started building cash for a successful Amazon business, but also how you can strategize to stick with it long term.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast!

Here I'm going to dig a little bit deeper into what we talked about last week. 

We talked about the three different types of emails that every single business, not just the e-comm, should be using in their business to increase sales and goodwill.

There are three different kinds. If you miss that episode, go back and listen to it. 

What we are going to do is we are going to dig into the one email style.

We call this our hybrid stealth selling email method, where you can sell without selling.

I know it sounds kind of weird. Like how can that even be? I'm here to tell you it's something we've been doing for a long time. 

Learn more by watching this episode below or listening to it above.

Enjoy, and let's CRUSH YOUR WEEK! 

FYI: If you want to be part of the Rock Your Brand Building Profitable Niche Website Properties Facebook group, where you can ask any question, head over to brandcreators.com/group.

Since the beginning Scott’s blog, website, and podcast have been all about making money through Amazon Private Label sales. Scott will always be teaching people how to get started selling products on Amazon because it’s a great platform where buyers are already hanging out. You can test product ideas and start generating revenue right away. But if you put all your eggs in one basket - even the Amazon basket - you are at the mercy of the platform where you’ve put all those eggs. On this episode Scott begins talking about how you can begin to build your own platform, that you control, to sell your own products and have total control over the revenue you make.

If you want to build a business that will benefit you financially over the long term you’re going to need to have entire control over the costs you have to pay to serve your customers - AND you’ll need to be able to interact with your customers freely. If you’ve been selling private label products on Amazon for any length of time you know that those are two things you DON’T have when using the Amazon platform. When you’ve got control over those things you’re able to make decisions and do promotions in a way that are able to move your business forward at a much more consistent and rapid pace. You can hear Scott’s outline of why this stuff matters, on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

There are many people who have built a significant business on the back of a blog. But if you want to go this route to build your own platform for product sales you need to know that it’s a very crowded space - which only means you’ll have to do an excellent job at it. As you blog, adding valuable content that helps your ideal audience or customer you’ll be building the trust your audience needs to feel comfortable purchasing your product. And in the meantime, you’re building systems into your blog that captures the email addresses of those who come to your blog. It’s an amazing thing that really works. You’ll want to hear Scott’s approach to this idea on this episode.

If you want to start building your own mailing list of people who are interested in your products you can do it right away by doing a giveaway. A previous guest on Scott’s show - Mike Jackness - did this with amazing results and got thousands of email subscribers. You can use those emails later to provide a discount to those who did not win the contest, provide them valuable content to help them with their particular area of interest relating to your products, and to promote future products in your market to increase future sales. Scott walks through the details of how to set up an effective giveaway on this episode.

If you’ve never sold a product or service online before, there’s no better and easier place to get your feet wet than by selling on Amazon. It sounds intimidating at first and there are lots of things to learn and tweak as you go along, but you can do it. Scott’s focus up to this point has been to help you build and maximize a sales channel on Amazon so that you can build the life and business that you truly want. If you’d like to get in on one of Scott’s live workshops that teaches you the 5 steps to building an Amazon sales machine, you can find out how to get in on the next workshop by listening to this episode.

It’s time for you to get your Amazon private label questions answered from Scott Voelker, an experienced private label sales professional who is actively building his business both on and off Amazon every single day. You can submit your questions and hear others ask their real life PL questions and Scott will give his best suggestions, answers, and tips for how to resolve the problems that are presented. If you want to ask your own private label questions, listen to this episode to find out how you can!

One of the main ways you can build your Amazon private label business is to capture the email addresses of the people who purchase your products so that you can then remarket to them with discount offers, other product possibilities, and more. But how do you get the email addresses of your customers? One Amazon seller has the idea to put his website URL on his actual product packaging.But is that legal according to Amazon’s terms of service? On this episode Scott is going to answer the question from his own perspective. His take is interesting because the answer is not very clear in the Amazon terms of service.

If you’ve already got your products or they are on the way to you, that’s great. Way to take action! But sometimes you might start to second guess yourself while you’re waiting to receive your products. It’s not unusual for people in that situation to continue to check their niche and begin to feel that they chose the wrong product because the market is too crowded. If that’s you, what should you do? On this episode Scott fields that question and gives some hopeful answers to make the most of the products you already have. You won’t want to miss this one.

Two of the best tools out there to help Amazon private label sellers make the most of their product research and listings is Jungle Scout - but it comes in two versions - the basic and PRO. What is the difference and how do they work together? Scott is personal friends with the creator of Jungle Scout and he has used both versions of the product. That means he’s got a very solid experience and opinion about the software and on this episode he shares the differences, similarities, and which you should get if you’re looking to get into Amazon sales.

There’s been mixed advice over the years about how to use the “search terms” field in the backend of your Amazon product listing. Some people have said that you should not repeat words in those fields while others say that it’s OK to repeat words to maximize the possibility of being found for long tail keywords. Which is right? On this episode Scott outlines what he’s heard on both sides of the argument and invites listeners to submit their split-test data regarding keywords so he can report on it to the rest of the TAS community. If you want to be part of this experiment, go to the contact page on the website and let Scott know!

• [0:04] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:20] How you can ask your own questions.
• [1:54] How to get into Scott’s free private label workshop.

Scott has long been a champion of working the Amazon sales engine to build your business - and he still is. On this episode he’s going to say that over and over. But he also wants to be known as an Amazon seller who will speak the truth about what’s really happening as Amazon gets more and more crowded and as Amazon adjusts its algorithms as a result. He’s not abandoning Amazon (no way!) but is beginning to notice why he’s got to think bigger, broader, and make things a little less dependent on Amazon alone. You’re going to hear his latest sales numbers and what he is planning to do to adjust his strategy, on this episode.

On any of the Amazon sales communities you find on Facebook or other places online you often see screenshots of amazing sales numbers that sellers are getting from their private label products. Great! That’s what selling on Amazon is all about. But often those screenshots and brags don’t tell the whole story. The costs, fees, and other miscellaneous things that go into running a successful business have to be clear as well. So that you can see the real situation that exists for most Amazon sellers, Scott likes to share his own expense and profit numbers. He doesn’t do it to impress you but to impress upon you the realities of what it takes to sell on Amazon successfully. You’re going to get a great education on this episode.

Next time you look over the reports Amazon provides about how your private label products are doing, take a look at the amount of fees Amazon is taking for every sale. Does that number make you sick? Recently Scott looked over his numbers and saw that almost 40% of his sales income was going to Amazon. That’s OK, Amazon deserves something for helping him sell his products so successfully. But what would it be like if even half of the products Scott was selling were able to be sold independent of Amazon? That’s a huge amount of profit back in his product. On this episode you’re going to hear what Scott’s going to be doing to break free of the Amazon fees, so be sure you take some time to listen.

Do you know the term “content marketing?” It’s one approach to getting people to look at the things you’re doing online. But it’s a long term game. It requires you to be producing quality information that educates people about the topics surrounding your product. It requires you to be working hard to produce lots of things that don’t actually sell your product, but build the level of trust that people have when they see what you have to say about your market area. Can you create content around your market that helps your customer? Scott thinks you probably can and that you should be to begin building a sales channel that is independent of Amazon so that you can make greater profits. Business is business and you need to adjust as you go to make your sales go as far as they can. Be sure to listen to this one.

It’s great to get sales from selling lots and lots of popular products. Profit is profit. But if you’re making those sales for only a short time, that’s not a strategy that’s going to last you. That’s why you need to be focusing in on a market that will provide you with many product ideas that can create a sort of product line - not just one product that’s popular right now. On this episode of the podcast Scott unpacks what it means to build a product line within a market and why it’s so important so be sure you take the ti

Scott just completed a physical move of over 800 miles. He’s in his new home office and doing his first recording of the podcast from there, on this episode. The planning, preparation, and pressure of the move got Scott thinking about the simple but important things he’s been able to do that enabled the move to go smoothly… and as usual, he’s got to share what he’s thinking with you. So today you’re going to hear Scott’s thoughts about work life balance and how to avoid the overwhelm that can easily happen in life, and especially if you’re trying to build a business while you enjoy your life. It’s a great episode you can learn a lot of practical things from, so be sure you take the time to listen.

And isn’t that everybody? All of us have dreams, but until those dreams have something behind them that pushes them forward, they remain dreams only. Scott’s a “take action” guy in case you haven’t noticed. His belief that action precedes success has proven to be true in his business over and over. On this episode he’s addressing the need for a balance between work and life, and like everything else in life he believes that if you’re going to accomplish it, you’ve got to structure things so that it comes about. Nothing happens by serendipity or chance, it happens because forces are at work that make it happen. You can be that force for your own life and business. You can be the one to impose a structure that leads your life and business in a direction you want. Find out more on this episode.

If you were to take the time to create a list of all the tasks and obligations you have to do in any given day - work, family, social, religious - how long would that list be? For some people it’s exhausting just to think about listing everything out, but there’s an actual freedom and lightening of the load that happens when you do. Getting things on paper makes them a bit more manageable, a bit more “real” in terms of seeing them for what they are. It will help you think through everything at one time and recognize the things that need to come first, what is next, etc. Scott’s 5 tips for achieving better life work balance are pretty simple, and if you apply them to your life and business you’ll see some amazing results. Be sure you get to hear all 5 by listening to this episode.

Do you remember your school days? You always had due dates for certain assignments, didn’t you? Why did your teachers make you complete papers or projects within a certain timeframe? It’s because they knew that non-time-based objectives are not really objectives at all. A task that has no time of completion attached to it floats around in your head and on the periphery of your personal radar and is easily bumped to a secondary place in your mind. You don’t pay as much attention to it and it tends not to get done. Tip #3 on Scott’s list of ways to find work life balance and avoid overwhelm is to set your own deadlines for the things you have to do. He’s got some great ways of thinking about that, on this episode.

Think about it. The major things we want to accomplish are often too big for us to get done all at one shot. That means they have to be broken up into smaller, bite-sized tasks. Those are the things we have GOT to insert into a daily workflow, a daily schedule that enables us to take those individual bites that enable us to get the whole thing done over time. It’s a cooperation of time and ta

It’s time for Scott’s favorite part of the week, the episode where he gets to answer your Amazon private label questions on the show. Today’s episode is filled with questions from real Amazon sellers who are in the trenches, building their own business to benefit themselves, their family, and the world. Today Scott answers questions about choosing a second product, aiming at a particular market, shipping to Amazon USA when you live in a different country, maximizing your PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns, and how to use Camel Camel Camel. It’s all on this episode of the podcast.

The short answer is, “No.” A second product has to be researched effectively and tied into your current product line to make the most sense and give you the most return on your effort. You can’t expect to simply pick a product, set it up on Amazon, and see sales come in. It simply doesn’t work that way. It makes a lot more sense to research your market and to develop a uniquely branded product line within the market that feeds from one product to another within your brand. That way you can promote cross sales and related items to people who are already familiar and happy with your products and brand.

A caller has heard that it makes sense to have your products from China shipped to your home before you send them to Amazon so that you can inspect them and assure that the quality is as you wish. But what if you don’t live in the U.S. but are selling on the Amazon U.S. site? The answer is to find an inspection company that can go on site to your supplier and inspect your products to ensure their quality before they ship. It’s an added expense and an added step, but it is a great way to enable your supplier to ship directly to Amazon and ensure that the quality of your products is high as well.

If you’re running a PPC campaign where the daily budget runs out quickly or almost immediately, you may have a very good problem. What’s happening is either one of two things: #1 - You’ve allotted a very small amount and it’s running through it quickly - in which case you’d need to increase your daily budget. OR #2 - There are many people searching for your target keywords and clicking on your ads as a result. How do you determine which it is and what can you do to take full advantage of it? You’ll find out on this episode of The Amazing Seller when Scott answers a listener question about PPC.

When you’re considering a new product, it’s easy to be misled by the initial research. The numbers can look very good at first until you dig a bit deeper. You want to use tools like www.CamelCamelCamel.com to look into the sales history and other facts surrounding similar products before you take the plunge. You can learn a lot that could save you from making a mistake that could cost you thousands of dollars. You can hear Scott’s description of how to use it effectively on this episode of the podcast.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1

If you’re a fan of The Amazing Seller Podcast you’ll recognize right away that this is not your normal episode. Scott and his Dad, Papa V., were driving a moving truck to Scott’s new home and decided to use the time on the road to record an episode of the podcast. It’s a fun ramble around the topics of business building and pursuing a particular market niche for your business. You’ll hear Scott and Papa V. brainstorm product and content ideas live as they drive (hey, that rhymes), on this episode of The Amazing Seller Podcast.

It’s a great thing to get your private label product onto Amazon and get it selling. Good for you. That’s the way to take action. But just because you have one product that is selling doesn’t mean you have a long term, sustainable business yet. You’ve got to do some strategic thinking around that product to discover the vertical products or related products that you can offer to build an actual brand. When you’re able to do that, you have a long term business that can serve you and your customers over the long haul. This episode of the Amazing Seller features Scott’s ramble about how to get started moving toward a brand and building that long term business.

You remember the kid in elementary school who was always bragging about the things he could do or had done? Nobody really believed him, did they? That’s because it’s much more impacting to have others praise you. That “social proof” serves as credibility for you that doesn’t have to come from your own mouth. That’s the power of reviews and testimonials - and once you’re able to get them flowing, you want to keep them coming, because when potential customers see that other people have purchased and enjoyed your products, they are more prone to trust you too.

Amazon is great. You’ll never hear Scott saying otherwise. But he has seen enough to know that having all your eggs in the Amazon basket is not a good long term strategy. You need to be able to sell your products on a platform that you control so that you can have greater margins and greater flexibility in how you interact with your customers and serve them with new products. The first step toward that is building your own website. When you do that and begin getting customers on to your sales list, your sales can increase exponentially every time you have a new product or an addition to your product line. Listen to how Scott recommends you go about setting up your website on this truck-cast episode.

When you are able to establish your own website that features your products, you’re ready to begin collecting email addresses from your customers. But Amazon doesn’t allow you to communicate directly with your customers - so how do you get their email addresses? One way to do it is through adding inserts to your products that ask your customers to register their product for future customer service benefits or information. That allows you to communicate directly with them without having to go through Amazon’s systems. Imagine what you could offer your customers if you could communicate directly. And you can do it if you take action on the things Scott has to share on this episode.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [0:34] Why Scott’s driving a moving truck for today’s episode.
• [1:11] Today’s topic: How to start a business that lasts long term.
• [2:21] The reason Papa V. was able to attract customers over other competitors.
• [5:07] How social proof and testimon

The number of questions Scott gets week after week about whether or not a product idea is a good one are so numerous that it’s prompted him to record this episode. There are certain things that make for a great private label product opportunity and other things that make for a lot of trouble and very few sales. On this episode Scott highlights 3 of the main things you should look for that would serve as warning signs or red flags that the product you’re looking at is not a good idea to invest in. You can hear it all on this episode of the Amazing Seller Podcast.

If you’re considering a particular product to sell on Amazon you’ve got to be aware of this one. It used to be an approach for sellers to simply grab the exact same product from a Chinese supplier that is already being sold on Amazon and put it up on Amazon. And believe it or not, they would get sales. But that approach doesn’t work anymore simply because it’s too easy for other sellers to sell the exact same thing and undercut you, steal your listing, and other problems. So if you look at a potential product on Amazon and see the identical product over and over and over, beware. Find more things to be careful of when choosing a private label product on this episode.

If you’ve got an idea for a private label product and find pages and pages of the exact same product on Amazon already, you should be very careful. It will be very difficult for you to get your product to make any headway on that product. Why? Because there are so many of the same thing. But there is still a possibility and it lies in whether or not you’ll be able to differentiate a product enough to make yours desireable in ways that the competition is not. You can hear Scott dive into the issue on this episode and ramp up your private label sales.

The reason you don’t want to try to start selling a new private label product when the images and product description on the suppliers website is exactly what is already on Amazon is because that product is easily copied. Not only will you have tons of competition for sales on that product, you’ll also have a very high risk of your product listing being hijacked and you will lose control of the buy box and your overall ability to control your prospects for sales. You can find out exactly what all that means on this episode of The Amazing Seller podcast.

The answer is to make your product unique in some way that the buyers truly care about. How can you discover the ways you should differentiate your product? You’ve got to a little legwork by reading through the reviews about similar products that have been left on Amazon. You’ll discover things that actual buyers have complained about regarding the product which translates into improvements you can make to the product that will make yours more desireable. You can also look at related products that could be added to your product in a bundle so that your product is not only a greater value but also more unique. Scott has lots of ideas about this kind of thing and you can hear them on this episode.

• [0:25] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the show.
• [1:57] How you can get transcripts and show notes.

This is the Friday Ask Scott episode of The Amazing Seller podcast where you (and people like you) get to ask their particular questions about Amazon sales. On this episode Scott fields question about choosing a product when the market appears to be very crowded, how to differentiate products, and what to expect when having products shipped from China. You’ll get a great taste from the type of things Scott is able to answer and learn how you can submit your own questions regarding Amazon private label sales, on this episode.

One of the things that you need to research when it comes to finding a product that could be a good seller on Amazon is the market that product is within. You want a product that is already on Amazon and selling fairly well, but if the market is too crowded you’ll have a very hard time getting your product to become a contender in that niche. BUT - that’s not always the truth. If you find a crowded market but many of them are not optimized well or are not getting many sales, you might have a winner, especially if you can differentiate your product somehow. On this episode you’ll hear Scott go over a number of ways a product can be created that is unique and draws in buyers, so be sure to listen.

If you’ve found a potential product that has great sales numbers in the highest selling products but is in a very crowded market, you can break in by offering a product bundle that meets more specific needs of the market. How do you do that? On this episode Scott talks through many of the things you can do to find exactly how you can make your products unique, get them into the market in a powerful way, and begin taking some of that market by adding value that nobody else is adding. You’ll hear it all on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

A listener called in to ask Scott about what’s normal or customary when it comes to working with overseas suppliers. She’s already found her product and negotiated a deal on cost and features and the products are being produced now. But just recently she received an email from her supplier saying that her shipping costs had more than doubled - from $1000 to over $2500! She wants to know if that’s normal or if she should be skeptical and ask more questions. In typical style Scott goes right to the heart of the issue and gives some clear and practical advice on what this listener can do to find out exactly what’s going on. You can hear it on this episode.

There’s no reason you can’t ask and get an answer. The Ask Scott sessions of The Amazing Seller podcast publish every Friday and are a great way for you to submit specific questions about Amazon private label sales and get an answer from Scott Voelker, and experienced Amazon seller. He takes questions from the most fundamental to the most advanced so don’t be shy about asking. You can find out how to submit your question on this episode of the podcast.

• [0:04] Scott’s introduction to thIs Ask Scott episode!
• [1:03] The issue of moving in Scott’s life, and how good is coming from it.

If you’ve not experienced the frustration of a well selected private label product that simply won’t sell yet, you probably will in time. When a product won’t sell but it looks like the market is a pretty good niche to be in, there are usually some fundamental things wrong with the product listing itself. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, Scott Voelker and his friend Chris Schaeffer look over a real life product listing of a product that’s having those exact problems and true to form, the listing itself is much of the problem. You can hear all the details on this episode of the podcast.

That’s exactly what you get from these Hot Seat sessions of the Amazing Seller podcast. Scott Voelker and Chris Schaeffer take their time walking through the fundamental and advanced steps to optimizing product listings of private label products that have been submitted for help. They normally find a little bit of both and help struggling Amazon sellers get over the hurdles so they can begin selling their products more consistently. There’s not a regular schedule to these hot seat sessions so you should subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss them, and hear how Scott and Chris advise today’s seller on this episode.

How can you know if a potential private label product is one you should take a chance on or one you should leave alone? The best way is to research the broader market that product is in and the current sales of that particular product or things that are similar. By using some simple software tools (many of them free) you can discover exactly what the market for that product is like and whether there is enough room in it for your product to push in and grab some of the sales. Scott and Chris chat about the details of doing that and a whole lot more on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

The product listing that Scott and Chris are looking at today has one major problem that both of them notice immediately; the images do not possess the quality and clarity of any of the other products in their niche. It’s the main reason Scott and Chris believe this product listing has only gotten one organic sale so far. You can hear what they recommend to upgrade the images and how they’ve seen an improvement of the images change the sales of a product dramatically, on this episode. But that’s not all. There are other suggestions for this seller that Scott and Chris make so be sure you take the time to listen. What they share could be the key to YOUR private label product getting even more sales.

As Scott and Chris look over an actual private label listing on Amazon on today’s episode they notice that the seller is already running an exact match PPC campaign, and both of them feel that he’s probably wasting his money. Why? Because he’s not taken the time needed in order to truly understand what his exact match keywords should be. It takes weeks and sometimes months of broad match campaigns to receive enough data to show exactly what keywords are most used when finding your products, and then it takes some time to discover where the actual clicks and sales are coming from within those keywords. Only when those milestones have been crossed you might be ready for an exact match campaign. Find out more on this episode.

Today’s episode is a bit unusual for the Amazing Seller podcast because it’s a recording of a live event where Scott was asked to speak about using Amazon’s tools to launch and rank products. He spoke at the Seller’s Summit, an event put on by Steve Chou of www.MyWifeQuitHerJob.com and was a great opportunity for Scott to meet many people interested in making money online. His talk was very well received and serves as a great introduction to those who are unfamiliar or new to the Amazon platform. Be sure to pass this episode along to those you know who have been talking about selling products on Amazon. There are some great insights on this episode.

Scott had a significant business background when he first came upon the idea of selling products on Amazon. He had helped his father run a construction business, established and run his own photography business with his wife, and then moved into online sales. Private label sales made perfect sense to Scott because he saw it as a way to take advantage of Amazon’s built-in mechanism for getting and selling to customers. You can hear Scott’s journey and how he’s come up with a 5 step formula for finding and launching products on Amazon, on this episode.

Think about that for a minute. Anyone who’s doing a search on Amazon is doing so because they are considering the purchase of something. Millions of people have their credit cards on file with Amazon already so a purchase decision once they’ve found the item they’re searching for is that much easier. If there was a way that you could take advantage of that incredibly effective buying environment, wouldn’t you want to do that? That’s exactly what private label sales on Amazon allows you to do. Learn about the Amazon platform and how you can get your very own products for sale for searchers to find, on this episode.

What is that? Sales. As your product sells the Amazon search algorithm considers that it’s a product that people who are searching actually want to buy. Naturally, the more purchases of your product that happen, the more Amazon considers your product to be desirable by real people who are searching. With that in mind, it’s vitally important that you know how to optimize your listing for the things people searching for it will be looking for. That means you have to learn how to use keywords in your listing and in your Amazon dashboard to make it clear to the algorithm what your product is and how it relates to the searches people are making on Amazon. Listen to this episode to get more detail on how you can make your products stand out on the Amazon platform.

When you have your listing optimized for search you still may not get many sales simply because your product listing is not being found frequently in the flood of products that are on Amazon. You need to do something to boost your product to the top of the search results. That “something” is paying for your product to be promoted using Amazon pay per click. Amazon PPC enables you to choose the keywords you want to target and when people search for those keywords your product appears at or near the top of the listings. You can learn the entire simple approach Scott uses to set up his PPC campaigns for products, on this episode.

You're here because today we're going to discuss three types of emails that generate more sales that every ECOM seller should send. 

It's what I call the trifecta method.

Here we will be discussing three types of emails you must send to your email list. 

Now I've been talking to a lot of e-commerce sellers lately. We've been doing these game plan calls where we're allowing people to hop on a call with us and dig into their business. 

We're seeing if there are some holes that we can find. And then also we look and see if there's anything we feel we could help them with and then potentially work together.

Now, while we're doing these calls, we're also identifying many of the holes in the business. 

One of the major holes is either they have an email list but are not sending emails, or they don't have an email list.

They will need to start building one. 

So today, what we decided to do was dig into if you do have an email,

and even if you don't

Learn more by watching this episode below or listening to it above.

Enjoy, and let's CRUSH YOUR WEEK! 

FYI: Should you want to be part of Rock Your Brand Building Profitable Niche Website Properties Facebook group where you get to ask any questions, head over to brandcreators.com/group.

One of the most powerful things that any entrepreneur can do is to make sure they are around others who are of the same mindset that they are. The energy and motivation that surrounds getting together with those kinds of people increases your level of energy and motivation just from being around them. On this episode Scott reveals the top 5 takeaways he had from spending time with like-minded people at the recent Seller’s Summit. Be sure you listen to Scott’s takeaways and learn some tips about how you can move your private label business forward.

One of the things that Scott was aware of but not well verse in before the Seller’s Summit conference is the power and effectiveness of Pinterest for driving interest and sales to a product. Being an image based platform, it’s a powerful way to make the appeal of your product instantly attractive to people who are most interested in it. You can hear Scott’s thoughts about Pinterest and how he’s going to be moving into PInterest marketing in the months ahead, on this episode of the Amazing Seller.

Facebook Ads are one of the things out there that can be a bit intimidating at first. It requires money, it requires a bit of knowledge about how the platform works, and it takes time to learn. But it’s one of the most powerful ways to drive very targeted, specific traffic to your webpage or product sales page and in time, you’re going to have to get going on Facebook Ads. With FB Ads you can put our products directly in front of the very people who are most interested in your products. Hear what Scott’s thinking about Facebook Ads and how he’s going to be moving into them sooner rather than later.

One of the things Scott has been talking about a lot lately is the task each private label seller should be aiming toward of setting up their own sales channel outside of Amazon. For most of us that’s going to mean setting up your own eCommerce store on your own website. These stores are very effective and many, many people are making incredible money building their own store that sells products independently of Amazon. Not only do you get to keep a lot more money (Amazon doesn’t get any), you also get to interact directly with your customers - which is invaluable. Find out more about how eCommerce stores are rocking online sales on this episode.

If you don’t know what a sales funnel is, here’s the short answer: A sales funnel is a systematic, planned sequence that you take prospective customers through that narrows their focus from interest in what you have to say and sell, all the way to becoming a paying customer. You can learn how to build an effective sales funnel, and you should because it’s such a powerful way not only to get sales, but to get repeat sales from loyal customers. On this episode Scott gives his thoughts about sales funnels and tells some of what he’s doing to build out his funnels more, so be sure you listen.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the podcast!
• [1:51] The biggest benefits of being at conferences, and the TAS online version.
• [3:06] How you can get started with private label sales.

There are so many things to learn when it comes to selling a private label product on Amazon. But you don’t have to learn it all from scratch, you’ve got a friend who’s been down the road a bit farther and is willing to help you get going and be a success. Scott Voelker publishes these Friday “Ask Scott” episodes to answer your Amazon private label sales questions. If you’d like to submit a question to Scott for one of these Friday Q&A episodes, you can find out how to do that on this episode.

A caller for this episode of the Ask Scott podcast episode, the seller had a great problem that he needed some advice about. He is selling his first product at a rate of 30 sales per day. That’s a wonderful start. He gets most of his sales through Amazon Pay Per Click and has established a daily budget to ensure that he doesn’t spend more than his budget allows. The problem is that he’s selling so much of his product that he runs out of budget by early afternoon each day. He’s afraid to increase his PPC budget because he might run out of product. What would Scott do? You’ll get to hear his answer on this episode.

A listener called in to ask Scott about his situation, and it is a very unique idea. He and his wife have created a product of their own and would be able to source their product components from Alibaba in China. He’s curious what they should do because there is nothing on Amazon that is even close to it but they believe that it would sell very well. He’s curious about whether he should try to sell the product on Amazon or not? What would Scott do? As always, you’ll hear Scott’s response on this episode of the Amazing Seller Podcast.

When you first begin running pay per click to promote your Amazon products you need to start with broad match categories using the keywords that you are hoping your product will rank highly for. You let that run for around 7 to 10 days to discover which of those keywords are actually converting into sales. Once that happens, you should take the keywords that have gotten sales and put them into their own broad match campaign to put your entire budget toward those keywords that work. Once you do that for another 7 to 10 days, you’ll need to take the winners from that campaign and put them into an exact match campaign to crank up your sales on your most profitable keywords. You can learn a lot from this episode as Scott answers a question about Amazon PPC.

What are you waiting for? Scott has created a free 10 day course to help beginners to the Amazon private label community learn how he’s gone about researching, buying, packaging, promoting, and selling his own private label products on Amazon. It includes everything you need to know to get started. If you want to learn how to build your own business the private label way, you need this free course. Nothing is held back so be sure you listen to this episode of the podcast to find out how you can get into the 10 day course.

• [0:03] Scott’s introduction to the episode!
• [0:25] How to ask your question for Scott to answer.
• [1:10] How to connect with the TAS