Launching a new product on Amazon can be a daunting task, especially for newcomers. However, understanding the intricacies of Amazon’s ecosystem can significantly increase the chances of your making your new product a success. 

In this guide, we’ll dive deep into every little detail you need to know to successfully launch a new product on Amazon.

Jump right in: How to Launch a Product on Amazon

• Step 1: Understand Amazon’s A9 Algorithm
• Step 2: Your Amazon Product Launch Strategy
  • A. Product Research
  • B. Sourcing Your Product
  • C. Creating Optimized Product Descriptions
  • D. Deciding How to Fulfill Your Orders: 3PL or FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon)
  • E. How to Attract Initial Sales
  • F. How to Track Performance After Launch
• Step 3: Post Launch: Scaling and Expansion
• Summary
• FAQs

Step 1: Understanding Amazon’s A9 Algorithm

One of the most important aspects of launching a new Amazon product is making it easy for customers to find your item. This is where understanding how Amazon lists their products is crucial. Amazon’s search algorithm, commonly referred to as the A9 algorithm, determines the products that appear in search results. Here’s how it works:

Relevance: Ensure your product listings are relevant to user queries. This means utilizing keywords in your product title, backend search terms, bullet points, and description.

Price: Competitive pricing can influence your product’s ranking. Too high might deter sales; too low might compromise profitability.

Customer Experience: This encompasses stock availability, Prime eligibility, and delivery times. Amazon prioritizes sellers that provide the best customer experience.

Conversion Rate: Products that convert views to sales at a higher rate are favored by the A9 algorithm.

Step 2: Your Product Launch Strategy on Amazon

Step 2 consists of multiple parts. Each part of the overall product launch strategy is important, so it’s important to understand each section fully. These sections consist of:

1. Product Research
2. Sourcing Your Product
3. Creating Optimized Product Descriptions
4. Deciding how to Fulfill Your Orders: 3PL or FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon)
5. How to Attract Initial Sales
6. How to Track Performance After Launch

Product Research and Selection

Find a Niche: Identify a product niche that has demand but not excessive competition.

Why Finding a Niche is Important:

• A niche market is a specialized segment of a larger market. Targeting a niche reduces the number of direct competitors, making it easier to establish your brand.
• With a niche focus, you can tailor your marketing more effectively to resonate with a specific audience.

Steps to Identify a Niche:

• Research Trends: Use platforms like Google Trends, Trend Hunter, or even Pinterest to find out what’s gaining traction.  Additionally, you can check out annual articles that give insight into the latest Amazon Trends.
• Listen to the Audience: Join Amazon seller forums, Facebook groups, or Reddit communities. Direct feedback from customers can reveal unmet needs.
• Evaluate Market Size: A niche shouldn’t be so narrow that it lacks a decent customer base. Estimate the potential number of customers using tools like Google’s Keyword Planner.

Analyze the Competition: Use tools like JungleScout, Helium 10, or Keepa to understand the competitive landscape.

Why Analyzing the Competition is Vital:

• Understanding your competitors helps you find gaps in the market, refine your value proposition, and position your product more effectively.
• You can gauge the level of demand and potential profitability of your chosen niche.

Steps to Analyze Competition:

• Competitor Product Listings: Examine the best-selling products in your niche. Look at their reviews, pricing, and product details.
• Check Sales Volume: Tools like JungleScout and Helium 10 can provide estimates of monthly sales for any product on Amazon.
• Read Customer Reviews: Find out what customers love or hate about competing products. This can provide insights into potential product improvements.
• Monitor Pricing: Tools like Keepa can show historical price changes, helping you understand pricing strategies of competitors.

Ensure Profitability: Factor in product costs, Amazon fees, shipping, and potential returns.

Why Ensuring Profitability is Crucial:

• Without a clear understanding of costs and potential revenue, you risk selling at a loss. A profitable product allows for sustainable growth and reinvestment.

Steps to Ensure Profitability:

• Calculate All Costs: Include manufacturing, packaging, shipping (both to Amazon warehouses and to customers), Amazon’s referral and FBA fees, and marketing costs
• Estimate Potential Sales Price: Research the average selling price of similar products on Amazon.
• Factor in Potential Returns: Returns are a reality on Amazon. Factor in a percentage of sales as potential returns.
• Use Amazon’s Fee Calculator: This tool gives a breakdown of all potential fees associated with selling your product using FBA.
• Plan for Promotions: If you intend to offer launch discounts or run PPC campaigns, these costs should be included in your profitability calculations.

Sourcing the Product

Find Reliable Suppliers: Websites like Alibaba or Global Sources can connect you to manufacturers. Order samples before bulk purchasing.

Your supplier plays a critical role in ensuring the quality of your product, which directly affects customer satisfaction and reviews. Consistent supply and timely delivery prevent stock-outs, which can adversely affect your Amazon ranking.

• Research Potential Suppliers: Platforms like Alibaba, Global Sources, and ThomasNet list thousands of manufacturers. Look for suppliers who specialize in your product category.
• Verify Supplier Credentials: Check for certifications, factory audits, and trade assurance. This ensures they meet international standards and can be trusted.
• Order Samples: Always order samples before committing to a bulk purchase. This helps you assess product quality, packaging, and shipping times.
• Visit the Factory (if feasible): This might not be practical for everyone, but if you can, visiting the factory can give you a firsthand look at their operations and product quality.
• Check References: Ask the supplier for references or previous clients. This can give you insights into the supplier’s reliability and quality.

Negotiate Terms: Aim for favorable payment and shipping terms. Ensure product quality and timely delivery.

Proper terms can safeguard your investment, ensure timely product delivery, and enhance profitability. Clear terms help avoid misunderstandings that can lead to supply chain disruptions.

Research Market Prices: Have a good understanding of the going rates for your product. This will give you a baseline for negotiations.

• Start with a Larger Order Quantity (but be cautious): Suppliers often offer better prices for larger order quantities. However, don’t overcommit, especially for your first order.
• Discuss Payment Terms: Standard terms might involve a 30% deposit with the remainder due upon shipment. If you can, negotiate for better terms such as a smaller deposit or payment upon receipt.
• Clarify Shipping & Delivery: Determine who is responsible for shipping costs, potential import duties, and delivery timelines. This can influence your final product cost.
• Draft a Quality Agreement: Clearly outline the quality standards the product must meet. This helps in case of disputes over product quality.
• Consider Using a Sourcing Agent: If you’re unfamiliar with international sourcing, an agent can handle negotiations on your behalf. They usually have local knowledge and can sometimes get better terms.

Create an Optimized Product Listing

Use High-Quality Images: Ensure professional images with white backgrounds. Use lifestyle images to show the product in use.

Images often make the first impression on a potential buyer. They help the buyer visualize the product and its uses. High-quality images can increase conversion rates and reduce the likelihood of returns due to mismatched expectations.

• Professional Photography: Invest in a professional product photographer or, if on a budget, use a high-quality camera and good lighting.
• Use a Variety of Shots: Include close-ups to show details, different angles, and possibly an image indicating size (e.g., next to a common object for scale).
• Lifestyle Shots: Display the product being used in its intended environment or by its target demographic.
• Follow Amazon’s Guidelines: Ensure the primary image has a white background and covers at least 85% of the frame.

Detailed Descriptions: Highlight features and benefits. Use keywords naturally.

A well-written description informs the buyer and helps them make a purchasing decision. It can also help with organic search visibility (Amazon SEO) on Amazon.

• Focus on Features AND Benefits: While features are the specific details about the product, benefits tell the customer how those features will improve their life.
• Use Natural Keyword Incorporation: Use relevant keywords in your description, but ensure they’re included naturally and make sense contextually.
• Make it Readable: Use short paragraphs and bullet points to make the description easy to skim and understand.

Use Backend Keywords: Use relevant search terms that customers might use to find your product.

Keywords help improve the visibility of your amazon listing without cluttering the public-facing content. Using relevant keywords can help your product appear in more search results.

• Research Relevant Keywords: Tools like Helium 10 or JungleScout can provide keyword suggestions. Additionally, you could partner with a professional digital marketing agency like MMF Infotech to help you nail down the best keywords and SEO practices for your product.
• Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Amazon limits the number of backend keywords to about 40 keywords. Use them wisely and avoid repetitions.
• Stay Relevant: Only use keywords that are related to your product. Irrelevant keywords can harm your ranking.

Engaging Bullet Points: Keep them concise, yet informative.

Using bullet points provides quick, digestible information about the product. Efficient bullet points can highlight the main selling points effectively.

• Start with the Most Important: The first couple of bullet points are the most viewed, so begin with the most critical features or benefits.
• Be Concise: Each point should be a brief yet informative snapshot of a feature or benefit.
• Use a Consistent Format: This makes the listing look professional and easy to read.

How to Fulfill Your New Amazon Products

Consider Using a Third-Party Logistics Provider (3PL)

Third-party logistics providers specialize in integrated operations of warehousing and transportation services that can be scaled and customized to customers’ needs, based on market conditions. When you’re launching a new product on Amazon, ensuring timely and accurate deliveries is crucial, and a 3PL can be a game-changer.

Benefits of Using a 3PL during an Amazon Product Launch

Scalability: As your orders increase (which they hopefully will following a successful launch), a 3PL can easily scale to meet the demand, ensuring a seamless experience for your customers.

A 3PL can be Cost-Effective: Managing warehousing, packing, and shipping in-house can be expensive, especially if you’re unsure about the demand. 3PLs can often provide these services at a lower cost due to their efficiency and economies of scale.

They Have Logistics Expertise: 3PLs specialize in logistics. They have the experience, tools, and technology to ensure your products reach their destinations on time.

Global Product Reach: If your product garners international interest, many 3PLs have a global network that can manage international shipping, customs, and other complexities of cross-border e-commerce.

Many Handle Returns Management: Handling returns efficiently is vital for maintaining good customer relationships. 3PLs often offer streamlined return processes, ensuring quick refunds or exchanges for customers.

Set Up Amazon FBA

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) can take care of storage, packaging, and shipping. They also handle returns and customer service for shipped products. This can be an efficient solution for a lot of sellers. 

However, it is important to keep in mind Amazon has strict inventory and packaging rules for using Fulfillment by Amazon. If you are planning on using Amazon’s FBA service to fulfill your product orders, we recommend partnering with a 3PL who specializes in FBA Prep. By partnering with a 3PL, they will handle all of the FBA stipulations and packaging requirements. That way you can focus on selling, rather than packaging and FBA inventory management.

For more information on FBA Prep, check out our complete FBA Prep Guide Here.

How to Attract Your First Sales

Amazon PPC: Use Amazon’s Pay Per Click (PPC) ads to promote your product. Start with automatic campaigns, and later transition to manual campaigns as you gather keyword data.

Benefits of Amazon PPC:

• Immediate Visibility: Your product can appear on the first page of search results or on competitor listings.
• Controlled Spending: You decide your budget and can adjust based on performance.
• Valuable Data: Gather insights on high-performing keywords and customer search behavior.

Strategies for Success:

• Start with Automatic Campaigns: Let Amazon choose where to display your ads based on your product information.
• Analyze Performance Data: After a few weeks, analyze which keywords are converting well.
• Transition to Manual Campaigns: Use the data from automatic campaigns to bid on specific keywords and refine your ad strategy.
• Adjust Bids and Budget: Monitor your campaigns and adjust your bids to maximize ROI.

Discount Coupons: Offer limited-time discounts to attract initial sales.

Why They Work:

• Consumer Psychology: Shoppers are more likely to purchase a product when they perceive they are getting a deal.
• Improved Visibility: Amazon may give preference to discounted items in search results or the ‘Today’s Deals’ section.

How to Implement Effectively:

• Set a Time Limit: Creating urgency by limiting the discount duration can motivate shoppers to act fast.
• Percentage vs. Fixed Amount: Decide whether a percentage discount or a fixed amount off would be more appealing for your target audience.
• Promote Your Discounts: Share your discounts on social media, email newsletters, or other platforms to drive traffic.

Early Reviews: Consider the Early Reviewer Program by Amazon to garner those crucial first reviews.

The Importance of Reviews:

• They Build Trust: New buyers often look at reviews to determine product quality and seller reliability.
• Reviews Improve Conversion Rates: Positive reviews can significantly enhance the likelihood of conversions.
• Positive Reviews Improve Organic Ranking: More reviews can lead to better organic rankings on Amazon.

Utilizing the Early Reviewer Program:

• What It Is: Amazon incentivizes customers to leave reviews for new products by offering them small rewards.
• Eligibility: Your product should be priced over $15 and have fewer than five reviews.
• Benefits: You can quickly accumulate reviews, which can jump-start sales and organic rankings.

Monitor and Optimize

The journey doesn’t end once your product is live on Amazon. Continual monitoring and optimization are crucial to maintain and improve your product’s performance. Here’s how you can effectively manage this:

Track Sales: Use Amazon Seller Central to monitor daily and monthly sales.

The Importance of Tracking:

• Identify Trends: Understand which days of the week or times of the month perform best for your product.
• Stock Management: Regular sales tracking helps anticipate stock requirements and avoid “out of stock” situations.
• Performance Metrics: Evaluate the success of marketing and promotional efforts by correlating them with sales spikes.

Using Amazon Seller Central:

• Sales Dashboard: Provides a comprehensive view of your sales metrics, including units sold, revenue, and more.
• Business Reports: Delve deeper into specific data like conversion rates, sessions, and customer demographics.

Adjust Pricing: Modify your price based on sales data and competitor pricing.

Why Price Adjustments Matter:

• Competitive Edge: Regularly assessing and adjusting your price can help you remain competitive.
• Profit Margins: Ensure you’re hitting desired profit margins, especially if costs change.
• Sales Promotions: Temporary price reductions can stimulate sales and increase visibility.

Effective Pricing Strategies:

• Reprice Tools: Consider using automated repricing tools that adjust your product price based on predefined criteria and competitor actions.
• Regular Monitoring: Manually check top competitors’ prices and see if your product remains competitively priced.
• Promotional Pricing: Occasionally offer discounts to attract more buyers and potentially boost organic rankings.

Optimize Ads: Refine your PPC campaigns based on performance metrics.

The Need for Ad Optimization:

• Budget Efficiency: Ensure your ad spend results in profitable conversions.
• Enhanced Visibility: Refining campaigns can improve ad positioning and drive more relevant traffic.
• Keyword Performance: Identify high and low-performing keywords to adjust bids accordingly.

Strategies for Ad Refinement:

• Analyze ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale): If the ACoS is too high, it may indicate that your bids are too aggressive or your ad isn’t converting well.
• Keyword Refinement: Remove non-performing keywords and add potential new ones based on search term reports.
• Adjust Bids: Increase bids for high-performing keywords and reduce or pause bids for those that aren’t converting or are too expensive.

Step 3: Post-Launch: Scaling and Expansion

Launch More Products

Launching more products is an effective strategy to enhance brand presence on Amazon and mitigate risks associated with relying on a single product. It allows for cross-promotion, bundling, and increased brand recognition.Conducting market research, responding to customer feedback, and maintaining quality control are crucial when introducing new products.

Expand to Other Markets

Furthermore, expanding to international Amazon marketplaces opens up access to a global audience and diverse customer bases, balancing seasonal sales variations. It’s vital to understand each marketplace’s nuances, comply with local laws and regulations, and consider financial implications such as currency exchange and taxation.

Leveragethe Amazon Brand Registry

Amazon Brand Registry offers a suite of tools designed to protect your brand and enhance your presence on the platform.

Benefits of Amazon Brand Registry:

• Brand Protection: Amazon Brand Registry helps in proactively preventing counterfeit listings and protecting your intellectual property.
• Enhanced Content: Gain access to enhanced brand content, A+ content, and brand storefronts, which can improve conversion rates.
• Increased Control: Have more control over your brand’s product listings and how your products are represented on Amazon.

Steps to Leverage Amazon Brand Registry:

• Trademark Registration: Ensure you have an active registered trademark for your brand.
• Enrollment: Complete the Amazon Brand Registry enrollment process and verify your identity.
• Optimization: Once registered, optimize your listings with the enhanced content options available and monitor your brand using the provided tools.

Wrapping It Up: How to Launch a New Product on Amazon

Launching a new product on Amazon necessitates a thorough understanding and careful execution of several key steps. From the initial stages of in-depth product research and sourcing from reliable suppliers to creating optimized and compelling product listings, each phase plays a part in the overall success of the product. 

Furthermore, the journey doesn’t end post-launch. Continuous monitoring, optimization, and strategic adjustments are essential for sustaining success and staying competitive. Sellers are encouraged to diversify their portfolio, explore international marketplaces, and utilize Amazon Brand Registry to fortify their brand. This comprehensive guide is designed to empower new sellers with the knowledge, strategies, and insights needed to navigate the Amazon marketplace successfully and make their product launch a success .

FAQs: Amazon Product Launch