Private Label is Not a Hack
In this ridiculously fast-paced world of technology, speed has become key. Amazon launched 1-click ordering and free 1-day shipping. Facebook blows up our phones with immediate updates from our friends and their culinary marvels. Celebrities can tweet to the masses in seconds. We expect speed. We demand speed.
The way we conduct business is no different. We want to build businesses, make money, and enjoy successes, freedoms, and adventures—we want all of it faster. Business used to be slower. Set up shop, shake hands, and slowly let people find us and engage with us. It was a slower burn.
Working in this industry, I have seen a lot of cool new things pop up—new widgets, new tools, and new tactics. I’ll tell you something most people aren’t willing to admit: implementing new tactics to increase speed isn’t always a good thing. Even as we speak, a lot of flashy, trendy tactics are failing. In our desire for speed in building private label businesses, we often forget basic business pillars
#1. Tactics does not replace demand or saturation
I see it all the time: “Use this software or method and you can sell your stuff better.” There’s no quick fix to selling a product better. Oftentimes, the problem is you’re selling into a saturated market. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people trying to launch the same product that 500 other people have already listed on Amazon. It’s simple, if the market is saturated, the problem is a surplus in supply, not your business “tactics.” Take your time and effort and apply it to find a different product that is actually in demand with low competition. Find a product that won’t require you giving away hundreds or thousands of units in order to start ranking.
I have launched those exhausted products. I have given away tons of units and paid for reviews—the whole nine yards I have even ranked highly for a few days with some of them! But the competition was fierce and it wasn’t long before I got knocked back down. It’s not only a drain on time and resources but it was also a race to the bottom, fighting to offer lower prices.
Stop trying to cheat the system. Try a little old-school business approach and find a unique product with low competition. It’s a bit slower and less glamorous, but the tortoise always beats the hare!
#2. Salesmanship is not dead! Start using it!
There are a lot of different factors that influence the Amazon ranking algorithm, and it’s undeniably important to at least consider them as you create product listings. However, it becomes problematic when the algorithm is the only thing you consider.
We’re all so focused on the data and keywords that we often forget it’s people who are buying our products! Even if we rank highly in the search results, sales can still suffer if the listing itself lacks general salesmanship. You’ve seen it, and may even be guilty of doing it—creating a listing with a title or bullets so stuffed with keywords that it was laughable. The content makes no sense, and while we know the reason for it, the millions of shoppers strolling through the listings hate it.
Listings are a balance between the nerd and the salesman. There is plenty of room within your listing and backend to get your keywords and phrases inserted without it looking like a giant random word dump. Remember that people may see that your listing ranked high, but you still have to sell them on it.
Go old-school, put some smooth lines in your bullets, ease up on your title keywords, and get those conversions. Those sales conversions will help your ranking in the long-term better than any Keyword-stuffing hacks.
#3. Amazon demand patience
One of the hardest things I’ve had to do in this modern era of speed is just relaxing a bit. We have so many things going on that we tend to get impatient, and some things just take time! Not everything has to happen overnight or instantly! Another problem with us as entrepreneurs is that we equate our business success with our personal success. When things move slowly, we think that there is something wrong with the US. so we get impatient and frustrated.
Amazon is making this even more of a problem now because they’re slowing down our ability to use hacks, get reviews, etc. and what are we supposed to do?
We chill out. We slow down. We wait for it to happen, and we appreciate that this is the reality now! When it is more difficult or slower, fewer people try it. We can outlast the quitters who don’t want to build a real business! In the long term, this is a good thing! It levels the playing field and means that only the serious can survive!
Conclusion
Don’t get too caught up in the hype. Slow down, be grateful for the opportunities that we have as entrepreneurs, and enjoy the ride! Just remember that we need to keep some standard business principles in mind, and not everything can be “hacked!”
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Private Label is Not a Hack
Amazon Pro-tips from Tim Jordan
In this ridiculously fast-paced world of technology, speed has become key. Amazon launched 1-click ordering and free 1-day shipping. Facebook blows up our phones with immediate updates from our friends and their culinary marvels. Celebrities can tweet to the masses in seconds. We expect speed. We demand speed.
The way we conduct business is no different. We want to build businesses, make money, and enjoy successes, freedoms, and adventures—we want all of it faster. Business used to be slower. Set up shop, shake hands, and slowly let people find us and engage with us. It was a slower burn.
Working in this industry, I have seen a lot of cool new things pop up—new widgets, new tools, and new tactics. I’ll tell you something most people aren’t willing to admit: implementing new tactics to increase speed isn’t always a good thing. Even as we speak, a lot of flashy, trendy tactics are failing. In our desire for speed in building private label businesses, we often forget basic business pillars
#1. Tactics does not replace demand or saturation
I see it all the time: “Use this software or method and you can sell your stuff better.” There’s no quick fix to selling a product better. Oftentimes, the problem is you’re selling into a saturated market. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people trying to launch the same product that 500 other people have already listed on Amazon. It’s simple, if the market is saturated, the problem is a surplus in supply, not your business “tactics.” Take your time and effort and apply it to find a different product that is actually in demand with low competition. Find a product that won’t require you giving away hundreds or thousands of units in order to start ranking.
I have launched those exhausted products. I have given away tons of units and paid for reviews—the whole nine yards I have even ranked highly for a few days with some of them! But the competition was fierce and it wasn’t long before I got knocked back down. It’s not only a drain on time and resources but it was also a race to the bottom, fighting to offer lower prices.
Stop trying to cheat the system. Try a little old-school business approach and find a unique product with low competition. It’s a bit slower and less glamorous, but the tortoise always beats the hare!
#2. Salesmanship is not dead! Start using it!
There are a lot of different factors that influence the Amazon ranking algorithm, and it’s undeniably important to at least consider them as you create product listings. However, it becomes problematic when the algorithm is the only thing you consider.
We’re all so focused on the data and keywords that we often forget it’s people who are buying our products! Even if we rank highly in the search results, sales can still suffer if the listing itself lacks general salesmanship. You’ve seen it, and may even be guilty of doing it—creating a listing with a title or bullets so stuffed with keywords that it was laughable. The content makes no sense, and while we know the reason for it, the millions of shoppers strolling through the listings hate it.
Listings are a balance between the nerd and the salesman. There is plenty of room within your listing and backend to get your keywords and phrases inserted without it looking like a giant random word dump. Remember that people may see that your listing ranked high, but you still have to sell them on it.
Go old-school, put some smooth lines in your bullets, ease up on your title keywords, and get those conversions. Those sales conversions will help your ranking in the long-term better than any Keyword-stuffing hacks.
#3. Amazon demand patience
One of the hardest things I’ve had to do in this modern era of speed is just relaxing a bit. We have so many things going on that we tend to get impatient, and some things just take time! Not everything has to happen overnight or instantly! Another problem with us as entrepreneurs is that we equate our business success with our personal success. When things move slowly, we think that there is something wrong with the US. so we get impatient and frustrated.
Amazon is making this even more of a problem now because they’re slowing down our ability to use hacks, get reviews, etc. and what are we supposed to do?
We chill out. We slow down. We wait for it to happen, and we appreciate that this is the reality now! When it is more difficult or slower, fewer people try it. We can outlast the quitters who don’t want to build a real business! In the long term, this is a good thing! It levels the playing field and means that only the serious can survive!
Conclusion
Don’t get too caught up in the hype. Slow down, be grateful for the opportunities that we have as entrepreneurs, and enjoy the ride! Just remember that we need to keep some standard business principles in mind, and not everything can be “hacked!”
