Welcome to our Amazon FBA for beginners Q&A!
If you want to start selling on Amazon, you will most definitely have questions that you need answering. Tatiana and I are passionate about supporting people's dreams.
This is why we wanted to take the opportunity to acknowledge some of the questions that we have been receiving from our followers on Instagram.
I hope this knowledge inspires you to take action and start building your Amazon business. With the right mindset, anything is possible.
Watch the video below:
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Do you want to discover how to build a successful brand leveraging the power of Amazon? CLICK HERE to get my FREE training!
Anyone can build a business selling on Amazon.
However, a lot of people are held back because they don't have the knowledge to guide them in the right direction. Building an online business selling on Amazon has changed the lives of both Tatiana and myself, in more ways than we thought was ever possible.
Since launching our first Amazon FBA Q&A it has been inspiring to see so many people motivated to build an Amazon FBA business. We want to help you get off the ground so that you feel empowered to start building your dream life. The best way to do so is by sharing our journey on Amazon and answering some of your burning questions. Let's dive in!
How much money do you need to start an Amazon business and when can you expect to see a profit from it?
The recommended amount that you should start with is $1000. There are people that have started with $500 or less. However, if you are going to start with less, it will be harder. There will be fewer options and choices of products to choose from.
That being said, start with what you've got! This will mean that you have to start with a lower amount of inventory, but don't let that stop you. I've seen people that have gone on to do very well, even though they started with less money.
You don't need more than $5000 with your first product. There may be some exceptions depending on certain products. However, there comes a certain point when you don't want to take such big risks.
As you gain more experience you will have the confidence to start with products that cost more.
In the beginning stages of an Amazon business, it's all about getting your feet wet. Focus on gaining some experience, understand how the Amazon game works, makes some money, and then take all of that knowledge with you to the next product that you launch.
How often should you be adding products on Amazon if your first one isn’t doing well?
Before you start your next product, you need to identify why your first product isn't doing well. If it's not, there are a lot of lessons that you need to extract before you move onto the next thing. If you don't learn from the first product you will only repeat the same mistakes.
Determine whether or not there was a demand for your product. If not, then you need to do research and look to see if there are other similar products selling. you can look at the Amazon BSR that will tell you how many reviews products have. A tool like Jungle Scout can help you do this research as well.
If there are other products that are selling that are similar to yours, why wouldn't your product sell? Maybe there is a market demand but you haven't done a good enough job in marketing and selling it. You may have to do more work to build it up in order to get yourself into a similar position as other products.
Secondly, I would look at your keywords.
Maybe you can change or re-optimize your listing for other keywords that may be better suited for you. Maybe you are getting traffic to your listing but they aren't buying. In that case look at your Amazon analytics in order to figure out how people are behaving when they come to your listing.
This may be a sign that you have a problem with your conversion rates, in which case you need to improve your product images or try changing your title, bullet points or description. These are all things that you want to test so that you find the winning conversion formula.
If your listing is not getting the traffic to your listing, you cannot move onto the next product. You are the one that makes your product work. Amazon only rewards you once you have a selling product.
I want to sign up for the Amazing Selling Machine (ASM) but I don't have the money right now. What advice would you give me?
For those of you who aren't familiar, ASM is a course that Tatiana and I both started with in order to learn how to sell on Amazon. ASM is by far the best training course out there. It teaches you, step-by-step, how to build an Amazon business the right way. You can learn Amazon on your own, but it will be a lot harder.
Oftentimes, people make costly mistakes that end up getting them into trouble, like losing money and time. Amazon can be a hard journey without the right training and guidance.
If you don't have the money for the course, find ways to make more money so that you can afford it.
Similarly, start saving the money that you already have. In order to be successful in business, you have to be resourceful. If you can't find a way, then you've got to make a way. There were a lot of times when Tatiana and I didn't have the money for training, but we always found a way.
I remember one time I put on a car wash to raise money so that I could attend a seminar. I also picked up extra shifts doing construction work, which I hated. However, I did these things so that I could invest that money into my personal growth and development.
Maybe you need to get some freelance work online so that you can make extra cash.
Similarly, maybe you need to cut down on your expenses and simplify your life. At one point in my life, I had to sell my car and start taking the bus so that I could save money. I also had to move into my friend's house and sleep on his couch for a while to save on rent.
These were sacrifices that I did not want to make, but I was willing to make them because I believed in my vision. I knew that, in order to get out of the rat race of living paycheck-to-paycheck, I needed to change something in my life.
I wanted to learn from people so that I could be guided towards creating the life that I really wanted. It's who you become in the process that is the most valuable thing. When I didn't have money, it forced me to grow, get creative and tap into different parts of my intelligence. I had to find ways to come up with money.
I became a hustler.
If you are the kind of person that says, “I can't afford this”, you immediately shut off your brain from the resourceful power that resides inside of you. Instead, ask yourself, “How can I afford this and come up with the money?”
When Tatiana and I moved to Panama, I sold almost all of my stuff. I'm living more of a minimalist lifestyle now and I love it. I've given up attachment to materialistic things. As a result, I've been able to invest money into more important things, like my business.
How long should a seller continue to reinvest profits until an Amazon business becomes profitable enough to leave a traditional 9-to-5 job?
This question will depend on several factors, including the product that you choose, your profit margins, your marketing skills, and your work ethic. Most importantly, it's going to depend on what your goals are. Do you want to scale and grow your business as fast as possible? If that's the case, you will want to continue to reinvest your profits.
Obviously, the more money that you have to invest in your business, the more potential there is for growth.
However, if your goal is to just replace your 9-to-5 job with your Amazon business, then you should always have a few months worth of inventory. If you can afford two months worth of inventory, and still have excess money to pay yourself, that's the right time to quit your 9 to 5.
What is the best way to rank a privateproduct listing that has zero reviews if you don't have any external traffic sources?
The best way to rank your product without any reviews is to market your product with external traffic sources. Where else are you going to get the traffic from? You've got to put in the work to promote your product and drive sales to it. Doing so triggers Amazon's algorithm. It tells them that your product is doing well, which prompts them to promote it and rank it higher on the search engines.
One way to get traffic to your listing is through the Amazon search. This is when you have your product ranked for a keyword that people search for. However, if you aren't getting many sales, then your product won't rank very high. Secondly, you should be taking advantage of Amazon ads. Even though you may be losing some money at first, that's OK.
You've got to determine which keywords are bringing in sales. When you are turning on ads, your job is to go broader at first in order to determine which keywords are converting the best. Once you do this, then you turn off the keywords that aren't converting. You can get reviews by reaching out to friends and family.
However, beyond that, you've got to hustle to promote your product.
That's what Amazon wants. By doing so, you will get organic sales and traffic. You only launch a product once, which is why you've got to do it the right way. If you don't, you build a bad history with Amazon. This is why you need the right guidance and help when it comes to building your business.
Having the marketing formula set up is what will determine the success of your product. Putting up the product is the easy part. It's building your brand and marketing it that people need the most help with. That is what we specialize in.
You've got at least 2 months to work on your pre-launch. The problem is that a lot of people don't want to put in the work. That's a big barrier to success. If you are willing to do the external marketing, you're solid. When you build a brand, there are so many possibilities for your Amazon product to do well.
Do you think it's better to focus on a product that you are passionate about and create a brand around it, or just any product that you know will make you money?
If you have the choice, why not pick the product that you are passionate about and one that you are going to personally use? When you choose a product that you believe in, you will put more effort into building your business.
If you take this route, when you promote and share your product, it will feel like something that you enjoy doing.
Most people are successful on Amazon because they build a brand that they are passionate about. If you are only selling on Amazon to make money then you won't be motivated to continue. There are plenty of profitable products online that are related to your passion. You've just got to find them.
If you find a product that is portable and that you can use, this is a great product that you can market. Our friend, James Swanwick, sells blue blocking glasses on Amazon and he carries them everywhere he goes. Whenever he sees an influencer or a celebrity, he puts the glasses on them and takes a pic.
How do you get started selling on Amazon?
We believe that the best way to get started is to find a great course, like ASM, that can guide you through the process. ASM has changed both of our lives. It has allowed us to find a business model that we truly enjoy and that works with our lifestyle. We have the freedom to travel the world and work on our time.
For someone who was a beginner with zero business experience, ASM gave Tatiana the tools to become a successful Amazon seller. In only a few years she has grown her business to the point where she is making great money. It's a business that has become an asset for her.
I provide a lot of free content. However, this information does not compare to the value found in a course. As soon as I started selling physical products on Amazon in 2014, I instantly knew that I had to invest in a course. I realized that Amazon was a different business model altogether.
The Amazon process can be fairly complex to someone that is a beginner.
Everything from how you do product research, to launching a product, to contacting suppliers, to launching and promoting your product can be challenging. Once you invest a lot of money into inventory, then you've got to transform that inventory into profit.
Learning how to build a brand from people that have already succeeded is going to help fast track your success. A course will cost money, but it's worth it. Tatiana has had 80,000-dollar months in her business. I've also experienced massive success as well. When we look back at the price of the ASM course, it's a no-brainer because of what it's allowed us to accomplish.
We hope our Amazon FBA for beginners Q&A has inspired you.
Amazon FBA is an investment in your future. It has literally changed both of our lives. If you are willing to put in the hard work and are committed to the process, there is no limit to the success that you can achieve. If you want to receive more motivational content, follow us on Instagram.
Follow Tatiana on Instagram to learn more about her successful online biz, LuxxHealth and how you can start living the laptop lifestyle. Follow me on Instagram to learn how you can create financial freedom and build a life that you don't need a vacation from.
Do you want to discover how to build a successful brand leveraging the power of Amazon? CLICK HERE to get my FREE training!