Selling on Amazon offers a huge opportunity to build a profitable business. With over 197 million monthly visitors, Amazon has enormous reach and demand from customers looking to buy products online. However, with over 2 million active sellers on Amazon, the competition is fierce. You need the right strategy in order to succeed. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to start selling profitably on Amazon.
Table of Contents
Choose a Profitable Niche
The first step is to identify a profitable niche that has strong customer demand. You can get product ideas by:
- Browsing Amazon’s bestseller lists
- Using Amazon’s Product Opportunity Explorer
- Monitoring popular hashtags on social media
- Looking at your own purchase history
Focus on niches such as:
- Kitchen and home goods
- Toys and games
- Arts and crafts
- Pet supplies
When evaluating potential niches, consider:
- Customer demand – High sales volumes and consistent demand
- Competition – Don’t go into overly competitive niches
- Profit margins – Target at least 30% profit margins
- Sourcing – Make sure you can source quality inventory
Source Quality Inventory
Once you’ve identified a niche, you need to source inventory to sell. Good options include:
- Wholesale suppliers – Buy in bulk directly from manufacturers or distributors
- Liquidations – Take advantage of overstock and customer returns
- Private label – Contract manufacturers to produce your own branded goods
When sourcing inventory:
- Order samples to assess product quality
- Negotiate discounts for bulk orders
- Ensure you can still earn good profit margins
Create Standout Listings
Converting browsers into buyers depends heavily on your product listings. Some best practices:
- Optimized titles – Include your most important keywords
- High-quality images – Showcase your products in the best light
- Detailed descriptions – Go beyond basic specs to sell the value
- Reviews and ratings – Prompt buyers to leave you feedback
Tools like Jungle Scout and Helium 10 can help you create SEO-optimized listings.
Choose the Right Fulfillment
You can either fulfill orders yourself (FBM) or let Amazon handle fulfillment (FBA). FBA makes more sense for most sellers since Amazon handles:
- Storage
- Packing
- Shipping
- Customer service
The benefits of FBA include:
- Increased sales – Eligible for Prime shipping
- Reduced workload – Focus on growing your business
- Better customer experience – Faster, more reliable delivery
FBA fees are worth it for the massive boost in conversions you’ll see.
Promote Your Listings
To increase visibility and sales for your listings, leverage:
Amazon PPC
- Bid on relevant keywords
- Display ads to targeted shoppers
- Drive more traffic to your listings
Amazon Coupons
- Offer discounts to incentivize purchases
- Appear higher in search results
- Affordable way to acquire new customers
Amazon Vine
- Give out free products to top reviewers
- Get more reviews, boost SEO rankings
- Establish credibility as a seller
Monitor Metrics
Keep a close eye on key performance metrics:
- Sales volume – How many units are you selling daily/monthly?
- Bestsellers – Which products have the highest demand?
- Profits – Are you achieving your revenue goals?
- Reviews – What do customers have to say?
- Returns – Why are customers returning items?
Continually optimize based on this data to boost profits over time.
Expand Your Catalog
Once you’ve built momentum in your initial niche, expand your catalog to unlock additional growth:
- Related products – Upsell complementary products
- New categories – Expand into adjacent niches
- Bundles – Package products to increase order values
Diversifying your catalog reduces reliance on just a few bestsellers.
Selling on Amazon is tremendously competitive, but also tremendously rewarding. By specializing in a profitable niche, sourcing quality inventory, creating compelling listings, and relentlessly optimizing your business, you can build a highly successful Amazon FBA business.
