It takes a little help and a lot of action to be an FBA ALLSTAR. So here’s a few tools and resources to get you going and grow and scale your Amazon empire a bit more effectively. Note that some of these links are affiliate links (to help pay for editing and such) but if you’re uncomfortable with that, just Google the tool and you’re good to go
Product Research – Find Great Private Label Products
I didn’t use Jungle Scout to get started and honestly wish I did. Product research is almost TOO easy. Jungle Scout saves FBA sellers time (and money!!!) by automatically exporting BSRs, showing sales figures, tracking competitor review counts and and a ton of other great stuff when searching for private label Amazon opportunities.
And, there’s filters to find only products based on your private label criteria. Seriously, Jungle Scout automates most of the pain of product selection I struggled with as an Amazon seller.
Amazon Best Sellers – Find all the top selling products on Amazon and get ideas on products to private label.
CamelCamelCamel
A free, powerful tool with a weird name, CamelCamelCamel allows you to review BSRs and product prices (including history) of any Amazon products in the past. It rocks for checking trends and tracking competitors.
Scott Voelker’s FREE Private Label Workshop
The Amazing Seller podcast helped IMMEASURABLY when getting started private labeling and research profitable Amazon niches to sell in. Now Scott’s released an in-depth class guiding folks through the hurdles and challenges of successfully researching, creating and launching an awesome FBA business. His free stuff is GREAT, I can’t even imagine how powerful the group mastermind, coaching and step-by-step hand holding is for people putting it all on the line and looking to build a badass business.
Keyword Research – Sell More and Rank Your Listings
Google Keyword Planner
Google is organic search and they have a FREE tool to go through ALL the data. Search keywords, get suggestions and check search volumes (great for Amazon keyword selection and setting up PPC ) and even steal competitor keywords…
Simple Keyword Inspector
A cool little tool to find Amazon keywords and see where sales are coming from. It’s simple with pay as you go plan, but Keyword Inspector lets you run individual ASIN searches for more keywords to focus on, target with PPC and scale your Amazon products. Worth trying but but it’s expensive unless you buy in bulk.
Merchant Words
Here’s another great tool to estimating Amazon traffic. Merchant Words searches products and provide calculated estimates on Amazon search volume. I’d stick with the free version personally but assume both are useful.
KeywordToolDominator
Dominate keyword ranks and sales with auto-complete search volume information from Amazon, Google, Youtube and more. The recommendation engine (when Amazon or Google autocomplete before you finish typing) is a powerful long tail traffic source to focus on the exact phrases buyers and browsers are searching for. Again, paid and free and worth checking out.
Amazon Business Software and Keywords
I got started in Amazon and expertly crafting and strategizing SEO and keyword ranks with AMZTracker, the software to skyrocket sales and was glad I did. AMZTracker comes with a built in, robust review club, keyword and BSR, superurls (uncertain on the effectiveness of these anymore) and a whole lot more. It makes a great addition to any FBA business as it allows you to constantly track and improve organic ranks and of course product sales over time.
Amazooka
Now you’re probably wondering why Amazooka’s not at the top or linked, and there’s good reason. The awesome seller software I helped build and launch but ultimately had to walk away from is a killer tool for FBA sellers…once it’s ready. Right now there are some small tweaks and changes being made but once the PPC tracking, keyword reporting, product dashboard tools are complete, Amazooka will be in a class of its own. For now though they’re not taking on new sellers until it’s 100% ready to rock.
Amazon Autoresponders – Automate Reviews and Feedback
Salesbacker
Salesbacker is a system to automate customer emails and interact with Amazon buyers at scale. Follow up sequences save tons of time and money and with a decent follow up email series, can systematize the process of boosting seller feedback and reviews – to drive your Amazon business forward.
Feedback Genius
I personally use Feedback Genius though both softwares are solid. Feedback Genius does much the same as Salesbacker without tracking BSR rankings or negative reviews.
Product Sourcing – Finding Suppliers
Alibaba – The undisputed king to connect with factories, trade companies and manufacturers around the world, Alibaba is where the world sources its products. There will be a podcast episode on this shortly so stay tuned..
AliExpress –Like Alibaba for smaller orders and samples. Not a fan personally but great for small steps into private labeling.
Product Reviews – Social Proof Sells
Amazon announced an earth shattering update to their Terms of Service just a few days ago. FBA sellers are reporting, though unable to confirm that SuperURLs and big product giveaways are losing umph when it comes to sales and keyword rankings. As of yet there is no consensus however so I’ll include links to some of the preferred review and product launch services out there.
Tomoson
Tomoson’s a popular platform for connecting bloggers interested in product reviews with private label sellers looking for promotion and reviews – essentially perfect for Amazon sellers (although a bit clunky and time consuming). Tomoson has a FREE 30 day trial so you can use it for your first product launch and get reviews quickly without having to pay for the overly expensive service.
Email Marketing Off Amazon
Email marketing is the true power behind most all successful ecommerce companies. Your customer list is what drives repeat sales, profit and is the one asset Google, Amazon or any other big player can never take away from you. AWeber it top dog when it comes to email marketing, building funnels, managing lists and interacting with customers. It’s an inexpensive, powerful and easy to use to use email marketing software that FBA sellers need to grow and scale.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is another great email marketing provider, though a bit less powerful than AWeber. They have autoresponders and work list management but have less powerful automation tools and segmenting than AWeber which make it harder for effective upsells. Either are great options for FBA sellers just getting into email marketing though and will do what you need.
Off Amazon Ecommerce
Honestly it’s an easy choice here when taking your FBA brand off Amazon. Shopify is the fastest, easiest and most effective shopping cart to get started for ecommerce sellers looking to scale and grow a business. Their free templates are awesome (I actually use a free theme on my own Shopify site and get complements all the time) and they take a lot of the hassle of building an ecommerce store out of the equation. Unless you’re building a massive site with loads of products, I’d personally stick with Shopify as they are pretty simple yet plenty powerful (I’ve used BigCommerce before and results are night and day apart and support has been great).