The optimal Amazon (FBA) launch: These strategies work best
An Amazon launch is understood in the seller community as the introduction of a new product on the Amazon marketplace. This topic concerns all sellers at least once: whether an experienced Amazon veteran or a complete beginner, everyone must deal with successfully launching new products on Amazon. Sellers must not only have a good product but also be optimally prepared and implement a well-thought-out strategy.
This article is intended to help you overcome all the big and small hurdles in product launch. Many launch strategies that are circulating online may have worked a few years ago, but are now outdated or even harmful. Instead, learn now how to do it right and give your product a successful start.
Finding new products and preparing for the Amazon launch
The foundation of any good product launch is the product itself: with a bad product, you may achieve short-term success, but as soon as the first negative reviews and returns come in, the apparent success will turn into its opposite. Therefore, you should invest a considerable amount of thought and effort into product selection and sourcing.
Get inspired – Product selection as the foundation of every Amazon launch
Finding a good and suitable product is not so easy for beginners. They lack the experience and the certain intuition for a profitable product. But only those who take the plunge, make mistakes, and celebrate successes can build a profitable Amazon business. Not every launch will take off directly on Amazon, and sometimes a product may not work at all. Be prepared for that – it should not jeopardize your entire existence.
To get inspired, you can of course browse relevant platforms like Alibaba, Zentrada, and others. The advantage of this is that you can see directly what purchase prices you can expect. Amazon itself can also be a good source for trends and bestsellers. But be careful: just because a product sells often does not mean it is sold profitably or will work in your specific case. You should keep an eye on your competition.
The competition
Take a look around on Amazon. Which products are doing well, and which are not? Find out what your potential competition is doing, what prices they set, how many sellers there are, how elaborate the product detail pages are, and so on.
A large number of sellers suggests that the targeted niche is highly competitive, and many providers only get a small piece of the pie. Conversely, few offers may indicate that selling is not worthwhile – or that you have stumbled upon a lucrative, yet untapped niche. To assess this, you need to closely examine the offers, the sellers, the products, the purchase prices, the selling prices, and the estimated sales volume. Additionally, pay attention to whether there are many large sellers or also some smaller ones involved.
At Amazon, customers buy where they are familiar. If a well-known provider could be one of your competitors, you should think carefully about whether you want to enter – especially if you are still new. After all, this also means that you are unknown, and what the farmer does not know… You will have to make a significant effort in marketing before you can compete with a big player.
From the trick box: The 999 method
To get a sense of the sales potential of a product, you can apply the 999 method. Unfortunately, the competition will hardly provide you with information about how sales are going. Here, a fairly simple trick comes in handy if you do not have an appropriate analysis tool at hand. Click on the product and add it to your shopping cart. Then increase the quantity to order to 999. Usually, it will then show you that the respective seller only has a certain amount in stock.
You repeat this process daily over a certain period, for example, for a month, and note the respective stock levels. This way, you can estimate how many orders come in per day.
Unfortunately, this does not always work, as sellers can also set a maximum order quantity that will then be displayed to you.
Nevertheless, the 999 method can be a helpful approach to get a first impression of a product’s sales. Here you will find a step-by-step guide in video format:
Prices
By now, you have learned quite a bit about the market situation of the product. Since you are already spying on your competition, you should also take a look at their prices.
You should take the selling price as a rough guideline around which you have some leeway, but it should not be too large. If a comparable product costs €15, then you cannot offer yours for €30. If your product has added value for the customer that the competitor’s product does not have, you can of course set the price a bit higher.
If that is not the case and you want to sell the same product as your competition, you need to set a competitive price. Not only does the algorithm negatively evaluate prices that are too high or too low, but the final price on Amazon is also an extremely important factor for the potential customer. Therefore, it is better to calculate a bit more conservatively than to take too much risk.
Make sure to also engage with the topic of repricing. You may have already noticed during the competitive analysis that prices can change multiple times throughout the day. A dynamic repricer constantly checks the current market situation for you and adjusts your price accordingly. This is important for winning the Buy Box or achieving a good ranking. Ensure that you use a dynamic tool rather than a rule-based repricer, ideally one that is AI-supported. Additionally, you should be able to specify not only a minimum and maximum price but also include your purchase prices and other costs in the price optimization.
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Fulfillment
When you introduce a new product on Amazon, you also need to choose a shipping method. This decision will affect your costs, which we will look at in the next section. As a seller on Amazon, you basically have three different options for how you can handle your fulfillment.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
Since the online giant places a very high value on the perfect customer experience, it has developed a shipping method that leads to the highest possible customer satisfaction – Fulfillment by Amazon, also simply called FBA. For the end customer, this means free and fast shipping, excellent customer support, easy return processes, and much more. The seller not only benefits from this customer loyalty, but FBA products are also labeled with the Prime label, which many customers filter by when searching for products.
The clear advantage of FBA is that you hand over most tasks to the online giant, which is a specialist in customer service. As an Amazon FBA seller, you simply send your goods to an Amazon logistics center. From here, the online giant takes over all further steps – from storing the products to picking and packing, to shipping and any returns.
Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)
Alternatively, you can of course take care of fulfillment completely independently and handle all processes from A to Z yourself. However, these products do not receive the coveted Prime label. In addition, building your own logistics is extremely expensive and hardly manageable, especially for beginners.
Prime by Seller
An alternative to the FBA service could be the Prime by Seller program, which is only accessible by invitation and requires comprehensive quality assurance. In addition, Amazon provides the seller with specific instructions for processing (e.g., requirements for the shipping service provider). Of course, these products are also labeled with the popular Prime label, allowing access to the largest buyer group on Amazon, the Prime customers.
Which of the three methods best suits your business depends on many factors, such as the size of your goods.
The optimal Amazon launch: Basic knowledge
In addition to a good product and a well-thought-out pricing strategy, especially beginners should also bring a certain basic know-how before they tackle their first Amazon launch.
The Amazon algorithm
There are all sorts of rumors surrounding the algorithm of the e-commerce giant. However, the important information is well-established, and the details are not so interesting for marketplace sellers. The algorithm ensures that customers are only shown products in the top positions of the search results that are relevant to them and their search query. The greatest influence on the relevance rating comes from performance, specifically the click-through rate (CTR) and the conversion rate (CR).
These important metrics are in turn influenced by other factors. The CTR is primarily affected by the product photo, the price, the rating, and the title. The CR, on the other hand, is particularly influenced by the product page, namely the brand and product presentation including A+ Content, the product images, the bullet points, and the reviews, as well as the shipping method.
In the past, it was possible to quickly rank among the bestsellers with a good Amazon product launch. It’s not that easy anymore today, as the algorithm now also takes long-term performance into account. Nevertheless, sellers can lay the foundation for optimal performance with good preparation of the product listing.
Search Engine Optimization (Amazon SEO)
When planning an Amazon launch, you often have the invaluable advantage of being able to create a completely new product page. You can add your own images, optimized descriptions, and well-crafted bullet points.
You should take advantage of this and design your content in an SEO-compliant manner. For this, you need to know which keywords customers use to search for products like yours. Once you have conducted such research, you can incorporate these search terms into your product title, bullet points, product description, and in the backend accordingly.
Good search engine optimization is not rocket science. Here you can read all the details: Amazon SEO: How to optimize your listing.
Advertising, PPC, Sponsored Ads, and customer reviews
A new product on Amazon needs to be promoted. Only then will it be noticed and purchased by potential customers. A great product with flawless SEO won’t do you any good if hardly anyone hears about it.
It’s not just about classic advertising like PPC campaigns (Pay Per Click) and Sponsored Ads. A subtle but very effective method to make your product more known is customer reviews.
In addition to the Amazon product testing club (Vine), there are numerous Facebook groups where you can offer your product for testing. You provide your product for free or at a discounted price and receive reviews in return.
Another way to reach more interested parties is through discount codes that allow your product to be purchased at a reduced price. This not only increases your sales but also raises the awareness of your product. Learn more here.
The optimal Amazon launch: The 5-step strategy
Not every product is the same. Marketplace sellers should always keep this in mind. The following steps may work for many launch projects on Amazon, but in individual cases, additional measures may still be necessary.
Additionally, it may be necessary to make the first sales without margin or even at a loss. This is something that especially beginners, who often do not have a large financial cushion, should be aware of. Important: Products should not continue to be sold without profit after the launch phase. To maintain your profitability, a professional profit dashboard is therefore essential.
Step 1: The first sales
The product detail page is designed with sales psychology in mind, all keywords are included, and the professional product photos are uploaded – perfect. Once the listing is online, the goal is to generate the first sales.
It may be tempting to simply enlist family, friends, and acquaintances for this purpose. This approach is not fundamentally prohibited, but it should be approached with caution, as product reviews should not be given by relatives or close friends. Amazon’s policies prohibit this.
Step 2: The first reviews
Product reviews are extremely valuable for the algorithm. However, they are subject to certain restrictions to prevent purchased or other fake reviews. This includes the fact that sellers may not provide any compensation in exchange for a review, and family members, friends, etc. should refrain from leaving reviews, even if they have purchased and paid for the product through Amazon. Otherwise, the seller risks account suspension.
Instead, there are some legal ways to generate reviews. A good option for getting started is Amazon Vine. In this program, products are provided for free and are reviewed anonymously but honestly by testers. Sellers can easily set up participation in Seller Central under the “Advertising” section.
We have summarized more legal ways to collect reviews here: 6 ultimate tips on how to generate more reviews on Amazon.
Step 3: The first advertising (Amazon PPC)
Once the first few reviews have been submitted, the exciting phase of the Amazon launch begins. Now it’s about getting the ball rolling and achieving more sales, more reviews, and thus more sales again. PPC ads should definitely be used, as they can make even a brand new listing appear at the top of the search results. Whether an order is generated organically or through advertising is secondary – for the algorithm, a sale is always a signal to push the respective product. As the ranking rises, more sales occur, which in turn improves the ranking, and so on.
However, make sure that the advertised product page is optimized. In Amazon PPC (“Pay per Click”), billing is done per click on an advertisement. A poor product listing does not generate sales, and if no sales are generated, it is wasted money to advertise on such a page.
The same applies to the PPC campaigns themselves. After some time, these should be reviewed again, evaluated for effectiveness, and optimized if necessary. However, give your campaigns some time initially so that the algorithm can learn.
Step 4: The first external traffic
Up to this point, the focus has been solely on Amazon. Many strategies for a successful Amazon launch end here. However, the internet is vast, and even though most online shoppers have an Amazon account, it is invaluable to reach customers outside of Amazon as well.
On one hand, this is possible with Amazon DSP. However, this form of advertising is also quite expensive. Another option is advertising in the Meta universe, primarily on Facebook and Instagram, or Google and YouTube, as well as TikTok Ads. Collaborating with influencers can also be worthwhile depending on the type of product.
Which platform and target audience are promising is very individual. Therefore, anyone who does not have their own know-how in performance marketing but wants to test this potential at least once should seek support for it.
Step 5: The first price optimization
As soon as you notice that you have successfully set the ball rolling and the product is regularly moving over the digital sales counter, you can start to dynamically adjust your product price. If you may have sold in the first phase of the Amazon launch with very little or no margin, you should change that at the latest now. Because in the long run, you want to operate profitably while also being competitive.
Professional price optimization on Amazon is no longer possible today without a repricing tool. In some product categories, prices change every second. No one can keep up with that, especially when the product range grows.
A repricer, on the other hand, optimizes the product price 24/7 according to the current market and competitive situation and has many advantages for Amazon sellers. Not only does a repricer work independently in the background, it also ensures that sellers sell at the highest price that could be achieved under the current conditions. However, there are a few criteria that should be considered when selecting the tool:
The SELLERLOGIC repricer for Amazon is such a professional tool for price optimization that meets all and more criteria. Secure your free 14-day trial today and maximize your sales through the AI-supported repricing of the German market leader.
Conclusion
Launching new products on Amazon not only needs to be well prepared and planned, it also requires a lot of expertise and knowledge. Don’t worry if your very first Amazon launch doesn’t go perfectly – most beginners experience this. Practice makes perfect. However, be aware that you should have financial reserves to possibly start over again.
Place great importance on an optimized product page and professional product images before you start the Amazon launch. Your SEO should also be completed. Then start generating the first sales and reviews before you move on to directing ads and external traffic to your listing. Afterwards, proceed to dynamically optimize your prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
An Amazon launch or Amazon Product Launch refers to the planned introduction of a new product on the Amazon marketplace. A high-quality product should be chosen for this. In the first step, sales and reviews are generated, and then advertising is placed for the product listing.
1. Go live with an optimized listing. 2. Generate initial sales. 3. Participate in the Amazon Vine program to receive reviews. 4. Run ads, both on and possibly outside of Amazon. 5. Dynamically optimize prices.
Image credits in the order of the images: © Nina Lawrenson / peopleimages.com – stock.adobe.com / © kiatipol – stock.adobe.com / © inthasone – stock.adobe.com / © sam richter – stock.adobe.com
