10 Tips for Amazon Sellers: 2022

What does it mean to take your Amazon business to the next level? With more independent sellers joining the ranks of Amazon every year, there’s never been more competition on the world’s largest E-commerce platform. But, more competition can also mean more opportunity. Ready to grab a slice of the pie?

How many Amazon sellers are there?

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According to the latest reports on Statista, 56% of Amazon’s total paid units in the third quarter of 2021 were sold by third-party sellers. On top of that, the number of sellers joining the Amazon marketplace increases every year, with almost 300,000 new sellers in the first quarter of 2021 alone (according to Marketplace Pulse). 

Why sell on Amazon?

Consumers come to Amazon for inspiration. There’s so much out there, and people are looking for fresh ideas, products, and services to enrich their lives. And as an Amazon seller, one of the many ways to increase your sales is by making that connection with online shoppers. Whether you are just starting out or are an experienced FBA seller, there’s always work to be done on your Amazon store.

If you want to set up your store for success in the new year, these tips and tricks will help you become a better seller on Amazon in 2022.

Guarantee Success & Increase Sales With These Tips for Selling on Amazon

1. Optimize your product listings with images and videos

Every picture tells a story. And as a seller who has approximately less than three seconds to catch a browser’s attention before they click away, one of the most effective ways to keep a potential customer captivated is through dynamic product images. 

That being said, it’s definitely worth dedicating time and effort to optimizing your product listings with at least 7-8 high-quality images that send the right message to your customers. Spend time perfecting at least one video, too. Your time and effort on the video certainly won’t go to waste, as you can use it for your Amazon ad campaigns as well.

To create the best images for your products, make sure to use text with a helpful caption. You can catch people’s interest by showing how your product can be used, and what potential problem it can solve. 

Furthermore, don’t be afraid to outsource and hire a professional to get your product images just right. For some more tips, check out our blog on hiring a virtual assistant for your Amazon business. You can also check out freelance websites like Upwork or Fiverr. Another company is Soona, which is a content creation platform for Ecommerce stores.

2. Offer competitive pricing

As a third-party seller, you have much more control when it comes to pricing your items. But, we don’t recommend taking this step lightly. If you want to be a successful seller on Amazon, you’ll have to spend some time analyzing your market and your competition to find the right price that will not only keep you relevant in Amazon’s rankings, but actually make you a profit at the end of the day.

Seasonal sales and coupons are always a good idea - CNBC cited that holiday retail sales increase an average of 4.4% every year - but you don’t want to underprice, as this will devalue your product.

It’s all about timing, really. One expert tip that our CEO Ernesto Reza has for Amazon sellers is to slightly increase your product prices before big sales periods on Amazon such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so you can still offer great deals on your product when the time comes.

3. Build brand awareness to increase sales

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From how you engage with your customers, to the media on your Amazon listing, to your keywords and product titles, every aspect of your Amazon business is there to tell your brand’s story. Our seller tip here is to make use of every opportunity Amazon gives you to promote your brand.

For example, Amazon has introduced Image-led browsing (beta) to drive brand discovery and consideration, with curated lifestyle imagery.

The Amazon storefront is a great platform if you want to showcase your brand. This tool is available to you with a professional seller account and if you register your brand with FBA, then you get an individual URL, more room to optimize your product listings, and so much more.

4. Be proactive with your Amazon business

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This next point shouldn’t need to be said, but let’s be real here. You can find lots of videos online that make it seem like all Amazon sellers just sit around on the beach while the work takes care of itself. Don’t be misled by these videos, because there’s a lot of work/planning/etc that goes into running your online business. 

If you want to set yourself up for success on Amazon, you’ll have to get into a routine to take care of your important tasks on a regular basis. Make sure to check your orders every day, confirm the shipping with the Seller Central Portal, and reply to any customer queries or complaints. Get into a workflow, as this will help you familiarize yourself with relevant market trends.

5. Find the right terms for your listings through keyword research

Finding and implementing the right keywords for your product listings is a 4-step process: 

• Research
• Input
• Analyze
• Repeat

Spend more time searching for the right keywords than you would just inputting them to optimize your product listings. See what your competition is doing so you can find the best keywords to help your products rank on Amazon. And use the space to write in product details by optimizing it for SEO at every opportunity. 

But sellers, be aware that this data changes with the market, so schedule a keyword update every few months if you want to stay on top of things.

Making small changes like this to your Amazon store will help you compete with the best sellers in your market.

6. Get that Amazon Buy Box

It’s ambitious, but it can reap major rewards.

Amazon’s coveted Buy Box can be found on a product page where a shopper can click “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now”. Because sellers are allowed to market the same product on Amazon, a surefire way to increase your sales is to become the default seller for any of those specific product listings.

Here are some of the best practices to help you get that Buy Box:

• Offering free shipping: If you are set up on Seller Central to offer free shipping and a variety of shipping options, this will help you get that Buy Box.
• Stay in stock: If a customer orders your product and you are all of a sudden out of stock, this will hurt your rankings and will probably end up losing you the Buy Box.
• Great customer service: It helps if you have a record of prompt replies and are clearly an active seller on Amazon.

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7. Consider changing suppliers in 2022

While online sales boomed in 2020 (and they were already booming), the logistics around the supply chain also went through a transformation. While we can’t say if anything is permanent or not, we can share from experience that shipments from overseas are often subject to massive delays - not to mention stress for buyers and sellers all over the world. 

If you’re selling on amazon.com for the U.S. market and are used to getting the majority of your supplies from China, consider some alternatives going into the new year. What about Mexico? Or India? There are many benefits to reevaluating your current supplier when planning for the new year. We have more about that here on our first ever webinar, filled with expert selling tips and tricks for those looking to accelerate sales on Amazon.

8. Use analytics to hone your selling strategy

If you’re looking to invest more money in your ad spend to boost sales, then doing the research beforehand is vital. Knowing what to look for and how often you need to check the latest stats is important if you want to work towards really increasing your sales on Amazon. 

Our tools have helped Amazon sellers like you see major growth in their businesses. Check out our analytics services and find a price point that’s right for you.

9. Register for Amazon’s FBA program

While there are some exceptions to the rule, a good chunk of the most successful independent sellers on Amazon have paid monthly professional seller accounts. 

Registering as a professional seller sets you up to use Amazon’s FBA program (if you choose to do so) and a multitude of other seller tools that are offered by the platform. The fee for new sellers is currently $39.99 a month.

10. Attend Amazon seller events

Don’t underestimate the value of collaboration (or even inspiration!). Whenever possible, register for an Amazon seller event in your market. They are great ways to meet like-minded sellers, get new ideas for your business, and meet people in the massive online community. 

While it may seem like you’re selling all alone out there, events provide a much-needed break from your day-to-day business routine.

You can read more about the latest event we attended in Las Vegas, the Prosper Show, on our blog.

Looking to grow your Amazon business in 2022?

Start your new year off with improvements. Reach out to us at Mayanalytics and schedule a demo to see what we’re all about.

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