15 Hacks to Supercharge Your Amazon Business with Former Amazonian John Derkits
Aug 22, 2023
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Former Amazon employee and e-commerce expert, John Derkits, shares 15 hacks to supercharge your Amazon business. Topics include leveraging Amazon posts, optimizing for mobile shoppers, avoiding stock-outs with ShipmentmakerPro, post-sale support for consumer electronic brands, customer support mechanisms, increasing PPC ad spend limit, challenges of obtaining loans for sellers, and valuable Amazon business tips and resources.
Utilize Amazon Posts to create infinite content and improve brand visibility.
Combine influencer partnerships with Amazon Attribution for maximum bonuses and ROI.
Prevent stockouts by using ShipmentmakerPro's FC Scorecard to avoid fulfillment centers with backlogs.
Ensure product availability by activating Instock Headstart and utilizing Amazon partnered carriers.
Increase conversions by targeting prime customers with prime-exclusive discounts based on shipping speed data.
Recover the buy box by running deeply discounted coupons and validating list prices on the Amazon backend.
Deep dives
Hack Number 1: Amazon Posts Infinite Content
The podcast discusses a hack related to Amazon Posts, which are restricted in terms of image usage. The hack suggests various ways to modify existing images to bypass the content filter and create infinite content. Examples include mirroring or flipping images, adding logos or banners, using different filters, stretching or rotating images, and commissioning user-generated content videos for frame stills.
Hack Number 2: Stacking Amazon Influencers and Attribution Links
This hack focuses on driving traffic through Amazon influencers. It involves identifying Amazon influencers and requesting them to use your Amazon attribution link to create their affiliate link. By both tagging associates with your attribution links and offering additional commissions, this hack aims to increase traffic and sales. The hack also recommends using tools like AMZ Rolodex to efficiently identify relevant Amazon influencers.
Hack Number 3: Avoiding Stockouts with Shipment Maker Pro
To prevent stockouts during peak seasons or when faced with fulfillment centers backlogs, this hack suggests using a software called Shipment Maker Pro. By reviewing real-time data on inbound receiving performance for different Amazon fulfillment centers, sellers can choose to route their shipments to centers with quicker check-in and receiving times. This helps ensure that inventory is received and available for sale promptly, avoiding stockouts and potential sales losses.
Hack Number 4: Activating In-Stock Head Start for Availability
This hack introduces the In-Stock Head Start program aimed at improving product availability. By using Amazon partnered carriers and having them hold inventory in transit, sellers can still make sales even when the products are not yet received and checked in at Amazon fulfillment centers. Customers will be able to purchase these products with a delayed delivery promise, ensuring that the products are viable and available. This hack helps sellers avoid missed sales opportunities due to stockouts during high-demand periods like Q4.
Hack Number 5: Using Shipping Speed Data for Prime Exclusive Discounts
This hack focuses on improving average order value by leveraging shipping speed data in search query performance. Sellers can determine the proportion of prime customers versus non-prime customers for specific search terms and identify keywords with a higher proportion of prime members. By offering prime-exclusive discounts on these keywords, sellers can attract prime customers with frictionless purchasing experiences and increase conversions. This hack utilizes Amazon's shipping speed contextualization to target prime members effectively.
Hack Number 6: Determining the Right Price for Buy Box Recovery
This hack addresses buy box suppression due to competitive price matching. Sellers can recover the buy box by setting their standard price equal to their list price and running deeply discounted coupons for a short period. By making sales at their actual price, sellers can validate the list price on the Amazon backend, which then enables the list price strike-through feature. This hack helps increase conversion and click-through rates by displaying strike-through prices on products.
Hack Number 11: Optimizing PPC Payment Terms for Cash Flow
This hack suggests increasing the PPC ad spend limit with Amazon to extend the payback period by 30 days or more. By asking Amazon to charge the credit card only when a certain threshold, such as $2,500, is reached instead of the default $500, sellers can delay the payment for their PPC spend. This effectively extends the cash flow cycle and provides additional float for sellers to manage cash flow more efficiently.
Hack Number 12: Reducing Returns with Product Life Cycle Support
This hack focuses on decreasing return rates by utilizing the Product Life Cycle Support (PLS) program. PLS allows sellers to directly communicate with customers and provide post-sale support, especially for technical or setup-related issues. By addressing customer concerns and providing timely assistance, sellers can reduce returns caused by controllable reasons. Sellers can enroll in the self-service option or work with companies like Onsite to manage post-purchase flows and improve customer support efficiency.
Hack Number 13: Increasing PPC Ad Spend Limit for Extended Payback
This hack advises increasing the PPC ad spend limit with Amazon to extend the payment terms and gain additional float. By increasing the ad spend limit, sellers can delay credit card charges until a higher threshold is reached. This allows for an extended payback period, providing more time for cash flow management and optimizing working capital.
Hack Number 14: Reducing Platform Costs with Seller-Fulfilled Prime
This hack introduces Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) as a way to reduce platform costs. SFP allows sellers to leverage their own fulfillment capabilities while still offering Prime benefits to customers. By meeting the stringent requirements and providing quality fulfillment services, sellers can access the Prime audience and potentially reduce fees associated with FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). This hack enables sellers to optimize their logistics operations and potentially save on platform costs.
Hack Number 15: Leveraging Reviews for Conversion Optimization
This hack emphasizes the significance of reviews in driving conversions and offers strategies to leverage them effectively. By encouraging buyers to leave detailed and positive reviews, sellers can improve social proof and increase trust among potential customers. The hack suggests using various methods such as follow-up emails, inserts, and incentives to encourage customer reviews and maximize their impact on conversion rates.
Hack #1: Use the Ajax link to diagnose buy box suppression
To determine the exact price needed to regain the buy box when Amazon suppresses it, sellers can use the Ajax link, which provides access to the back-end script of their product. By searching for the phrase 'FMA_buy_box_constraint' in the script, sellers can uncover any price constraints that are causing the buy box suppression. This information allows sellers to adjust their price accordingly and regain the buy box more efficiently.
Hack #2: Optimize main images for mobile shoppers
For products with a large number of mobile shoppers, it is recommended to adjust the main image to a 5:6 ratio rather than the typical 1:1 ratio. This ensures that the image displays properly on mobile devices, as square images can appear elongated and distorted. By optimizing the main image for mobile, sellers can improve the mobile shopping experience, increase click-through rates, and ultimately boost conversions and rankings.
15 Hacks to Supercharge Your Amazon Business with Former Amazonian John Derkits
Episode Summary:
In this highly informative episode, Adam Heist returns to the show and sits down with former Amazon employee and e-commerce expert John Derkits. They dive deep into 15 hacks that every Amazon seller should know. From leveraging Amazon Posts to optimizing for mobile shoppers, these strategies are designed to elevate your Amazon business to new heights.
About the Guest: John Derkits - *Previous Roles*: Worked at Amazon and for a major aggregator. - *Entrepreneur*: Built his own brands and has helped others exit their businesses successfully. - *Persona*: Known for being highly intelligent and an all-around great human being.
Key Hacks & Tips:
HACK 1: Amazon Posts Infinite Content Harness the power of Amazon Posts to create infinite content and improve your brand’s visibility.
HACK 2: Stack Amazon Influencers + Attribution for Greater Bonuses Combine influencer partnerships with Amazon Attribution to maximize bonuses and optimize ROI.
HACK 3: ShipmentmakerPro’s FC Scorecard Avoid stock-outs by steering clear of Fulfillment Centers (FCs) with backlogs, using ShipmentmakerPro’s FC Scorecard.
HACK 4: Activate Instock Headstart to Improve Availability Ensure your product is always available by activating Instock Headstart.
HACK 5: SQP Shipping Speed Data Identify the best ASINs for PEDs by analyzing SQP Shipping Speed Data. (Discussed in last week's newsletter)
HACK 6: Recover the Buy Box Determine the exact price point necessary to regain control over the Buy Box. (Also explained in a previous newsletter)
HACK 7: Image Ratio for Mobile Shoppers If the majority of your customers are mobile shoppers, adjust your main image to a 5:6 ratio for better visibility.
HACK 8: MobileCards Chrome Extension Preview your mobile shopping experience by using the MobileCards Chrome extension.
HACK 9: Use Oxolo for Quick Video Creation Enhance your Product Detail Pages (PDPs) with videos created in less than 15 minutes using Oxolo. This can lead to a 9.7% lift in sales.
HACK 10: FBA Damaged Opt-Out Prevent Amazon from selling damaged inventory and affecting your reviews by opting out of Warehouse Deals.
HACK 11: Earn List-Price Strike-Through Get a 3.9% sales lift by setting your Standard price as your List price and running a 24-hour coupon at 50% off.
HACK 12: Product Lifecycle Support Cut your return rate by 50% or more with Product Lifecycle Support. (PRO TIP: Use OnSite Support for this service)
HACK 13: Increase PPC Ad Spend Limit Extend your payback period by 30+ days by increasing your PPC ad spend limit.
HACK 14: LandingCube for Customer Data Use LandingCube to qualify and tag traffic while capturing customer emails.
HACK 15: Inventory Funding Options Access more affordable inventory funding through SBA 7a Express Lines of Credit and Securities-Backed Loans.
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