Do you want to create a Passive Income for yourself?
Have you dreamt of making money whilst you sleep? Many people do and Australian Sue Oliver has and this is how she has gone about the process. She wanted to learn how to sell products on Amazon and this is how she has gone about the process.
Her Big Reason WHY.
I decided to create an Amazon business to create a passive income. I think we should all have more than one way that we receive income to finance our lives. I have always wanted to make sure I’m not dependant on a pension when I finish working because I don’t want to have to suffer the limitations of not having enough money to do what I want to do when I want to do it.
Sue Oliver
Step 1: Decide on your product
Think about products that you personally would like to buy and start researching. I wanted to source a black onyx bracelet because I wanted the healing benefits of the bracelet.
My search started at Alibaba.com. When I logged onto Alibaba, I was able to see the various bracelets that were available from different companies in China and I began a dialogue with one of the companies.
Through our negotiations we arrived at a price for buying 1000 bracelets. (If I did a product set up again, I would make my original purchase much smaller and test the market before buying a large quantity).
The next step was to look at packaging. The company I worked with had the ability to produce packaging, so we negotiated the type of packaging I wanted in line with the look I wanted to achieve and what was available. I had my logo put on the box lid. The company cannot use my packaging
with any other buyer.
The next step was to pay for a sample to be sent to me so that I could do a close-up inspection of the product. After I had seen the sample, I then created a set of instructions for customers to look after their
product and it was produced by the factory.
Amazon has strict guidelines around packaging. The company I worked with had the correct plastic pouches for packaging so both my gift box containing the bracelet was inserted along with the ‘Cleaning Instructions’.
I also wanted customers to be surprised by the level of quality and service they received when opening my product.
I then created a second line of earrings which I designed and had the factory create them for me.
I then followed the same steps for the ear rings as I did with the bracelet.
Once all the product details were sorted, I then had other steps to follow.
Step 2: Set up an account with Amazon.
Step 3: Apply for an EIN number
As I was trading via US Amazon, I needed to apply for an EIN number with the Department of the Treasury. Internal Revenue Service. I applied for an EIN number using an SS-4 form. This was done over the phone and I received the number immediately.
I googled how to get an EIN number from outside of the US to get the information I needed.
Step 4: Setting up to sell on Amazon
Once you have your Amazon account setup and your product ready, it is time to let Amazon know.
I found and followed a good guide via a Google search – How to sell on Amazon: The Ultimate (Step by Step) Beginner’s Guide by Will Mitchell.
Amazon knows you have your product ready to ship. If you are opting to have Amazon fulfil your orders you will need to send your product to Amazon. Amazon will need the details of your manufacturer so that their details will be on the labels as well as the fulfilment centre that your
product is going to.
My shipments were split into two centres and had two different labels that were applied at the factory. The factory shipped off the product and I had filled out the details on Amazon so that they knew how many pieces were coming and the number of boxes in each shipment. Amazon sent
confirmation when the product arrived.
Some people employ someone to act on their behalf to go and check on the product before it is shipped. That is an option. I worked on creating a good relationship with the person I was dealing with and she sent photos so that I could see what was happening and that the boxes were ready for shipment etc.
Step 5: Amazon Seller Central
Amazon Seller Central is quite an intimidating platform. One thing to know is that changes don’t happen instantly because they take about 30 minutes to process.
I didn’t realise that in the beginning and made a few mistakes.
Step 6: Photos of your product
Pay a professional who has done photos of products on Amazon before. There are rules about how much white is in the background and your photos should tell a story helping your customers to want to buy your product.
Step 7: Keywords
Check out this keyword program to identify the top keywords for when people search for specific products on Amazon. This will help your product to be picked up in searches.
Step 8: The Amazon search engine
Understanding how the Amazon search engine works is very important, so spend time understanding that so that you optimise your sales.
At its core, Amazon’s ranking algorithm is similar to Google’s search algorithm. It analyzes search queries for keywords, then tries to match customer desires with relevant products. Every day, Amazon tries to find relevant, informative, and trustworthy content to deliver to its customers.
According to Amazon: “Customers must be able to find your products before they can buy your products. Search is the primary way that customers use to locate products on Amazon. Customers search by entering keywords, which are matched against the information (title, description etc.) you provide for a product.
Step 9: Your Guide to Building an Amazing Business on Amazon by Adam Hudson
When I was getting closer to setting up my Amazon account, I used Adam Hudson’s book ‘Primed – Your Guide to Building an Amazing Business on Amazon’.
It had lots of helpful information and was worth purchasing. He also offers an online course to learn all about trading on Amazon which would be helpful too.
Step 10: Have fun!
