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Launching a new product and brand on amazon

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

SeanLewis

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Hey everyone,

I've been around lurking the forum for the past 2 years now. Decided maybe i should actually sign up..

So let me give you a little backstory of where i am right now.

I launched my first product on amazon UK on november 29th 2018 and on december 1st i got my first sale (yes, i did jump around like a little girl with exitment)

After a very volatile month of ups and downs i ended up with about $1k in sales and a solid spot on the first page. Unfortionatly I spent about $700 on PPC so needless to say i didn't make much my first month..

december sales
(December sales)

Since then my product has been generating me about £500-1k(best month was £984) in profit per month from organic traffic and some PPC, while ofcourse i'm happy with this it's not what i had in mind when launching.

Percentage wise this product is doing well, but it's so cheap that the actuall dollar amount is not that much

Anyways,

I've done plenty of mistakes that i've learned from and now i'm going to document this next step in my business, I'm launching a new product in a new niche and this time i'm doing it the right way!

I'll be writing down a recap at the end of every day, and then i'll post it here on sundays (EU time)
 
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SeanLewis

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12/8/19

  • Created my post on FLF
  • Product research, looked for pains and problems with item X was able to find 4 things people dislike about others products which i can solve.
  • I was able to find 1 feature that people love which isn't featured in most of competitors products.

12 - 23 AUG

  • Went away on vacation to Spain for a week just after i posted on FLF about how i'm gonna be supper productive.. oh well, it happens.

23/8/19

  • Back from vacation, feeling fresh and ready to start creating. Today I went over the numbers on product X. Budget wise I have some room to improve the product, I Have 2 features that I want to add without the cost running away too much.
  • If my margins go below 40% (before advertising) i'll drop it and move on to another product or find another solution.
  • Because this will be my first product in this brand/niche i want it to be a "strong" product, this will allow me to launch more products in the same niche even if they have lower margins.

26/8/19

  • I've started contacting suppliers to get preliminary quotes and mainly try to find someone with a good response time and communication skills.
  • I finished my logo today. I have a background in graphic design so I do this myself. If you don't have experience please don't try to make it yourself.. it will most likely suck.
  • Currently researching product packaging, my last product came in a plastic bag which isn't doing much for my brand. My goal is for everyone to be able to tell what my product is about in the first 5 seconds of looking at the packaging. Also i want it to be pretty :)
  • Might hire someone to create the packaging, not sure if I can do a good job with it.
 

SeanLewis

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27/8/19

A few replies from suppliers have rolled in, Ultimatly the one who has the best quality and is able to create what i want within my price range will get the job.

I've signed up for buffer, did look around at other social media schedule apps but they're all pretty pricy and i don't really see the point of paying $200 a month to schedule some posts..

I scheduled posts for 2 week ahead. It's not the highest quality content but i want something to get the ball rolling.

28/8/19

Spent the day(couple of hours) talking with suppliers, not sure if it's this niche or whats going on but i've had big problems with finding someone who seem to want my money.

I feel like i have a lot of uncertainty/fear, probably because of my "failure" launching my first product. I'm forcing myself to keep going tho, if i quit now i'll just be one of those people who "tried that amazon thing but it didnt work out"..
 
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Monkeycom

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Well done for your initial success!
Don't forget that Amazon businesses violates the commandment of control.
Always build an email list, or some sort of database that you will keep as an asset, even if Amazon decides to shut you down !
 

SeanLewis

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Well done for your initial success!
Don't forget that Amazon businesses violates the commandment of control.
Always build an email list, or some sort of database that you will keep as an asset, even if Amazon decides to shut you down !

Yep, I've been doing email marketing form the start. And I also download all my customers information at the end of every month.

Edit: to elaborate, I have them sign up for warranty after their purchase. Not everyone does but the ones that do end up on my email list
 
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Monkeycom

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Yep, I've been doing email marketing form the start. And I also download all my customers information at the end of every month.

Edit: to elaborate, I have them sign up for warranty after their purchase. Not everyone does but the ones that do end up on my email list

Very good. Be careful to stay in the Amazon's policies. Retarget them with push notifications, emails, SMS and retargeting campaigns.
 
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SeanLewis

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30/8/19

I'm still having problems with suppliers and finding the right one. I've decided to move on to a different product, lets call it product Y.

These days i usually start my job at 12-1pm so i have all morning to work on my business wich is great because that's when i feel the most productive.

Going to start the process of finding ways i can improve on product Y, I've created a spreedsheet which allows me to easly store all the pains and problems people may have with my competitors products.

2/9/19

Finaly i've found a couple competent suppliers. After discusing prices and options it seems a profit margin of 45-50% (before advertising, after amazon fees, shipping etc.) looks realistic.

Heading to work soon, tomorrow I'm ordering 3 samples from 3 different suppliers. they should arrive in a week or so. This is only a first sample to check quality and overal responsiveness from the suppliers.

3/9/19

Today i had an admin day, finished all the bookkeeping that i have to turn in within 2 months.

I've also begun the process of signing up for VAT in Germany. I've been shipping from the UK to avoid storing goods in Germany(triggers VAT), but it's expensive and it also takes longer for my customers to recieve their goods.

Amazon is currently offering free VAT signup and filing for the first year(€400/year/country after that). I've heard that it can take a while so for once i'm not gonna procrastinate on this..
 

SeanLewis

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Btw do you guys prefer me to post every few days like this or wait till i've launched the product? don't want to spam the forum
 

Walter Hay

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SeanLewis

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Walter Hay

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Very good. Be careful to stay in the Amazon's policies. Retarget them with push notifications, emails, SMS and retargeting campaigns.
You can stay within Amazon's TOS by simply setting up your own eCommerce site, and including the URL in your labeling, or as an integral part of your product. At least some customers will visit your site, and if you have made it attractive enough for them to stay, and to revisit, you will be able to build an email list.

People tend to think that getting a supplier in China to label, print, or otherwise make your brand name, logo, or URL will be the cheapest way to do that.

That is often not the case, unless the volume is sufficient to cover the excessive set up costs the Chinese manufacturers like to charge. A simple print job to go on a product can cost $40 or $50 per color. If engraving is used, someone in your country will usually charge less. If inclusion of your brand/logo/URL in a mold is necessary, it will cost considerably more than having the product embossed, debossed, or printed near home. See my labeling book.

Walter
 

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