You are in R&D Phase 👋

You are in R&D Phase 👋
You that you are looking to invest in 'Amazon Real Estate' but don't have a brand yet. 
You're in luci. I made this FREE guide for soon-to-be brand owners – detailing what you NEED to know, expectations, budgets, and HOW to find & develop a GREAT product. 

Looking to start your own brand? 
Read this FREE guide 👇

Are you an investor looking to buy a business? Request an expert consultation.

In this guide:
Product Research & Development Tips
Launch Budgets
Launch Timeline
Account Setup Roadmap

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Creative Roadmap
Here Are the Steps to Get Started Selling on Amazon
1
Branding
Get your brand created! This includes but is not limited to: brand name, product names, website, logo, vision, brand voice, visuals, packaging, vustomeretc. 
Branding done
2
Photoshoot 
Your photoshoot will be the bedrock of your brand, your Amazon pages, and your website – for years to come. If you want to be a Million Dollar Brand, invest in a professional agency. Ask for a recommendation.
Photoshoot done
3
Videos
You already know that videos are extremely important in e-commerce. You'll want to get 3 kinds of videos from the jump, 1) a Main Video - this is like your commercial - put it as video #1 on your listing, and front & center on your A+ and Storefront. 2) a UGC highlights video. 3) a longform video – 5-10 minutes of someone (you!) just talking all about the product. Get these 3 videos and your conversion rate will skyrocket. Then have an Amazon expert to edit 5-10 video cuts to test as Amazon Video Ads - important. Video ads are an absolutely crucial part of success on Amazon. If you need a  recommendation just ask.
Main video
UCG highlights video
Longform video
4
Amazon Pages & Storefront
Time to sell! Make your Amazon product pages & storefront look great, optimized for conversion. Make sure to use a professional copywriter & graphic designer who know Amazon strategy. My team at Amazing Creative is the best at this. 
Product pages done
Storefront done

Launch Budgets
What kind of budget will I need to create & launch a brand from scratch?
I get asked this a lot, so here the napkin math.
Product Research & Development
This is the most important step. Make sure you do proper research & development. This is where the money is made. Costs for this vary depending on if you're doing it yourself or outsourcing it. Think around $10k-50k. 
Inventory Costs
This ranges a lot depending on the product and how many units you order. For most products under $50 retail, you'll want to start out with 1000-5000 units. In terms of cost for your first order, think 5k at a very minimum, more realistically 10-50k, including packaging.
Branding
If you want to compete with top brands, you'll want to invest in a premium Branding Agency to make your brand look like a Million Dollar Brand. What is branding? Logo, brand name, product name(s), color scheme, fonts, look & feel, brand identity, customer avatar, packaging design, etc. Think around 3k a minimum, and ideally invest in the most expensie branding agency you can afford - because the more amazing your branding is, the more customers will buy! 
Professional E-Com Branding Agencies typically range from 5-20k depending on the package. This is a no-brainer one-time upfront investment that is a killer ROI – good branding from the get-go is something that will reap rewards for 10+ years. At Amazing Creative, we are offering Compelte Branding Packages for select brands.
Photoshoot
Your photoshoot will be the bedrock of your brand, your Amazon pages, and your website – for years to come. If you want to be a Million Dollar Brand, think around 3-5k for a photoshoot. 
Videos
You already know that videos are extremely important in e-commerce. You'll want to get 3 kinds of videos from the jump. 
1) a Main Video - this is like your commercial - put it as video #1 on your listing, and front & center on your A+ and Storefront. 
2) a UGC compilation video. 
3) a longform video – 5-10 minutes of someone (you!) just talking all about the product. This works wonders.
Shopify Website
You should get  a professionally designed Shopify website. Think around 3k at a minimum. If you want to look like a Million Dollar Brand, think 5-20k to have your Shopify created by a professional Shopify Design Agency. This could be the same agency as your branding agency.
Amazon Product Page
If you want to outsell your comeptitors, on Amazon, don't you think that your listing should look as good or better than theirs? Yes. So make sure you get your product pages written and designed by an Amazon expert to ensure your pages look like you're a Million Dollar brand.
A common mistake I see is when brands spend 50K on startup costs then spend $1000 to someone on Fiverr to design their Amazon page. Big mistake! When it comes to products page design, remember this mantra: "Cheap is expensive, and expensive is cheap!" 
This is becayse for every 1% improvement in CVR, you'll make an extra $10,000 per year, for example. So by investing in a Million Dollar Page will easily pay for itself because it will convert much higher for years to come. At Amazing Creative we specialize in desiging high-convering Premium A+ product pages. Or as I call them, "Conversion Pages". 
Think around 3k per product page for a professional designer. Whoever you choose, here are some questions to ask your designer: Do they specialize in Amazon? Are they a copywriter, or just a graphic desinger? Make sure the copy, headlines, and infographics are written a professional copywriter! This is arguable more important than the visuals! They must know how to SELL the product, and the exact sales pitch that you're going for. On Amazon, a USP-based sales pitch converts best – focusing on your Unique features/benefits, and how you are different from your closest 3-5 competitors. 
Amazon Storefront
Your Amazon Storefront is like your second website. Make sure it looks like a millinon bucks. Think around 3k. This should be done by the same expert/agency designing your product pages. 
Amazon Management Agency
If you want to outsource the management of your store (Setup, PPC, SEO, Seller Central, Inventory etc). If you want a US-based agency, most good agencies charge around 2.5-5k/mo for ongoing management. 
Here are some questions to consider when shopping for an Amazon agency: Are consulting calls included and how often exactly? Who is my account manager, are they US-based? Is creative included in the management fee or is it per-project? (I've seen that when an agency offers free unlimited creative it's usually done by a Junior graphic designer and is very mediocre, so I don't recommend that). Do they charge a percentage of revenue/profit/adpsend? How many clients does the account manager have?
Amazon PPC Ads
We typically start at $100/day and adjust from there. This varies a lot based on keyword competition. Breaking even on ads can take 6-12 months. Think around 3-5k/mo per product that you want to push. That's around 20k-60k set aside for advertising.
The Best Amazon Launch Strategy
Is shooting for a breakeven point for year 1. If you hit that, you’re in a pretty good spot.

Launch Cost Examples
Below are some budget examples of what I consider to be the absolute minimum budget, a good budget, and a better budget. Like any business, the more startup capital you have, the greater your chances of success. 
Startup Costs
Monthly Costs
6-Month Costs
FREE Launch Budget Calculator. Make a copy and play around with it.
Google Docs
FBA Launch Budgets

How long does it take to hit break-even? 
This depends on many factors, such as how good your product is, and product-market fit, supply & demand, and keyword competition. 
But you should be thinking along the lines of 3, 6 or 12 months. Let's say you have a 40% profit margin after FBA fees and COGs. So you need to hit a 40% TACOS to hit breakeven. During launch phase, your focus will be pushing for velocity to build up rank & reviews. 
What I recommend is this. After 3 months of pushing for rank & reviews, see where your TACOS is at. If you want to start optimizing for profitability, dial down PPC for a month and see where you're at. You may find that you're TACOS is still not profitable because you're not ranked organically high enough – so you'll need to keep spending to build up ranking. 
If you're OK with continuing to push for rank/marketshare, then do that.  If you need to optmize for profitability for cashflow reasons, then you can dial down the spend. You may find that your TACOS gets below 40%, but sales velocity is lower. 
Longterm, a 20% TACOS is a great goal to shoot for, and this is a killer sweet spot for many brands. If you find your sweet spot at a 10% TACOS, then that's very good (you may want to consider spending more if you haven't tested it).

Product Research & Development Tips
This is the most important step in your business. Make sure you do proper research & development. At the end of the day, companies succeed by creating great, unique products. 
1) Deep-dive market research. There's no way around this. A great product starts with lots of deep-dive research!
2) Differentiation. Make sure that your product is different/unique in some way. If it's not, then why would someone buy it? Some questions to ask:
How can I improve this product?
What is something that I wish this product had?
What is a product I wish existed?

Product Research - Best Practices
Give fresh life to an outdated product. Choose a product that is no longer available but may be beneficial in the present. Redesign and enhance it to meet current standards.
Research current trends. Investigate the media, the Internet, and the world around you to learn about current styles, fashions, and expectations. Make a product that supports and advertises the hottest themes and trends right now.
Investigate consumer feedback. Customers are the first stakeholders in your company, therefore don't forget to find out what kinds of items they are looking for and what may be done to better your present offerings.
Make a new niche to differentiate yourself from your rivals. You may "create a new product" by repositioning or rebranding your present offering. As long as your product is superior to those of your rivals in terms of size, scope, speed, etc., you can always claim that it occupies a different market niche.

Research your own life and experiences. What items do you use on a regular basis? What might make your life easier? What about the items around you would you want to see improved?

Examine product scarcity. Lacks of requirements and pleasures frequently give rise to innovative solutions. Most likely, you'll provide a suitable alternative for the rare good.

Study new trends. Stay up to date on the most recent developments in your business since new theories and knowledge are an endless supply of fresh ideas.

Research regions of difficulty and hardship. Look at procedures and areas of activity where individuals use a lot of work and energy; you can come up with a concept for a new product that makes these people's labor easier.

Analyze current products to identify the possibilities for combination. This is a form of optimization — look for goods with a similar application, study their characteristics, and consider how these features might be integrated in one new product.

Consider visiting websites like Indiegogo or Kickstarter, Etsy, Pinterest, TikTok. These websites present you with cutting-edge goods for which you might create accessories. By displaying the number of supporters for each suggestion, they also have the added benefit of providing social proof of their effectiveness

How to Use Esty for Ideas
A Sneaky Secret Way to Finding Unique Product Ideas
Introduction
For Amazon sellers, discovering unique and trending products can be a game-changer. Etsy is a perfect platform for finding new product ideas that can lead to successful listings on Amazon. This guide walks you through a simple yet effective process for product research on Etsy, including how to validate the demand on Amazon.
Step 1: General Product Search
Start by searching for products on Etsy. Etsy is known for its niche markets and unique products, making it an ideal place to find new product ideas and trends. 
Here’s how to get started:
Step 2: Brainstorming
Before diving into Etsy, spend some time brainstorming ideas. Here’s how:
Read the Reviews: Look out for customer comments about things they don't like about the product or how to improve it. Keep these in mind when thinking of ways to differentiate/improve products.
Look out for NEW & Hot Trends: Identify trends or interesting ideas that could lead you to products already performing well on Etsy.
Secret Tip! Look on Pinterest too! This is another great place to spot trends & ideas.
Once you have some ideas, move on to deeper research stage.
Step 3: Deep Dive
Now that you have your brainstorming done, it’s time to dig into Etsy:
Visit the Bestsellers Section: Start by going to the bestsellers section on Etsy. This will give you a clear idea of what’s currently selling high and trending among Etsy shoppers.
Step 4: Validate on Amazon
Once you’ve identified a potential product, it’s crucial to validate its demand and availability on Amazon. Here’s how:
Quick Amazon Search: Start by doing a quick search on Amazon for the product you have in mind. This will help you gauge its availability and competition.
Use Helium 10
Magnet: Use this powerful tool to find high-volume search terms related to your product.
Xray: This Helium 10 Google Chrome extension helps you instantly evaluate Amazon search results to ensure there’s sufficient demand.
Step 5: What to Look For
When searching for products, keep these tips in mind:
Uniqueness: Your main goal is to find unique, one-of-a-kind products that have high demand on Etsy but are not easily available on Amazon.
Value: Look for products that offer great value. This is often where sellers start.
Profitable Niche: Seek out unique and quirky products that fall within a profitable niche.
Manageable Competition: Ensure that the product has a healthy level of competition that you can manage.
Competitor Research: Take advantage of your competitors’ ads and analyze their products for insights.
Reliable Sourcing: Make sure the products can be easily sourced from a reputable supplier at a reasonable price to avoid future issues.
Step 6: What to Avoid
Not all products are worth pursuing. Here are some things to avoid:
Jewelry, Handmade Clothing, or Fine Art: These categories can be challenging due to high competition and the subjective nature of their value.
Seasonal Products: Stay away from products with seasonal demand. Instead, focus on products that have a relatively consistent demand year-round.

The Esty Method - Continued
The Etsy method involves the following steps:
Start on Amazon's best sellers list and look through different categories to find products that are small, lightweight, and have low manufacturing costs. Riley's brother only sells fabric products because they meet these criteria.
Once you find a product category on Amazon, go to Etsy and search for the same product. Look at the top selling products and see if there are any unique or creative versions that are not sold on Amazon.
Use the keyword research tool Merchant Words to verify demand for the product on Amazon. Look for keywords with high search volume.
If you find a product that meets all of the above criteria, you can launch it on Amazon.
Here are some additional tips from Riley's brother:
It is important to look for products that are not already sold on Amazon. This will give you a better chance of competing.
You should also consider the pricing of the product. Make sure you can sell it for a profit.
Do not be afraid to launch multiple products. The more products you launch, the more likely you are to find a successful one.
Here are some additional details about the Etsy method:
Riley's brother recommends using the keyword research tool Merchant Words to verify demand for the product on Amazon. This tool allows you to see how many people are searching for a particular keyword each month.
When looking for products on Etsy, it is important to look at the top selling products. This will give you an idea of what is popular with buyers.
It is also important to consider the pricing of the product. Make sure you can sell it for a profit.
Do not be afraid to launch multiple products. The more products you launch, the more likely you are to find a successful one.
Here are some additional tips for finding good Amazon product ideas:
Use social media to find product ideas. Look at what people are talking about and sharing on social media.
Attend trade shows and conferences to find new product ideas.
Talk to your friends and family to get product ideas.
Use online forums and communities to get product ideas.
23:34
YouTube
The ESTY Research for AMAZON Method 🛍 NEW Way to Find $10k/mo Amazon FBA PL Product Ideas
This Mini-Workshop goes through the ESTY METHOD of Product Research for Finding $10k/mo Amazon FBA Ideas. If interested in my FULL COURSE on this, ask me at riley@amazingmarketingco.com.

What are your questions & tips? Share in the comments! Don't forget to Like & Share this in groups if you find this helpful.


ULTIMATE GUIDE VIDEOS
• Product Launch Playbook 🚀 https://youtu.be/WK8LUA_PbYE 
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• Ranking on Page 1 📈 https://youtu.be/oZ5P0fzbUw4
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How to Use Amazon's Product Opportunity Finder to Find Profitable Products
The Product Opportunity Finder is a New Tool Inside of Seller Central to Help Sellers Do Market Rsearch
Amazon's Product Opportunity Explorer is a powerful tool inside of Seller Centrla that provides valuable data on search volume, growth trends, sales history, and pricing trends. Here's how to make the most of this tool to discover promising product opportunities.
How to Access and Use Amazon's Product Opportunity Explorer
Access Requirements: The Amazon Product Opportunity Explorer is available to Brand Registered sellers and is currently accessible only on Amazon US and Germany platforms.
Finding the Tool: Navigate to the 'Growth' tab in Seller Central, then click on 'Product Opportunity Explorer' to access the tool.
Using the Tool:
Browse and Filter: Use the “Browse and Filter” option to search for specific product niches. This helps narrow down search results across different Amazon categories based on your set parameters.
Keyword Focus: Aim to identify high-performing keywords using the data provided. Incorporate complementary search terms in both the front and back end of your product listings.
Requesting Access: If the tool isn’t visible in your Seller Central account, you can request access by emailing your merchant ID to opportunity-explorer-request@amazon.com. Allow up to 2 weeks for the tool to appear in your dashboard.
Downsides of Amazon's Product Opportunity Explorer
General Data: The information provided can be too general, limiting detailed insights.
Limited Search Terms: The search terms available are limited, which can be a critical drawback for new sellers looking to thrive.
Data Recency: The most recent data available is for the previous 90 days, which may not reflect the latest trends.
Geographic Limitations: Sellers outside the US and Germany must find alternative methods for product research, as this tool is not available in other regions.
Conclusion
Amazon's Product Opportunity Explorer is a useful tool for gaining insights into product trends and keywords, but it does have limitations. By understanding its benefits and downsides, you can better navigate your product research process.

4 Steps to Finding a Quality Supplier (S.A.F.E. Method)
Finding a reliable supplier is crucial for the success of any business. The S.A.F.E. method offers a systematic approach to identifying and working with high-quality suppliers. Here’s a brief overview of the four steps involved.
Step 1: Search
Platforms to Use: Start by looking for Chinese suppliers online through platforms like Alibaba, Global Sources, and 1688.
Alibaba: Ideal for finding and browsing factories, though some suppliers may be trading companies.
Global Sources: Offers higher quality suppliers but with fewer options and more time needed for assessment.
1688: Provides access to less expensive factories with fewer competitors, but it's not recommended for first-time sellers due to the language barrier (all listings are in Mandarin).
Evaluating Factories:
Check the years of experience and the website’s layout.
Look for pictures of the factory and certifications as positive indicators.
Be cautious of suppliers with a very diverse range of products, as this might indicate they are trading companies.
Communicate directly with the right contact person.
Step 2: Assess
Create a Shortlist: Develop an initial list of potential factories, including their basic information.
Initial Contact: Send out emails or use other channels to gather basic information, eliminating unsuitable factories from your list.
Questions and Monitoring:
Prepare a list of specific questions.
Monitor response times—legitimate suppliers typically reply within 1-2 days.
Assess the flexibility of the factory to produce original products and scale orders.
Sample Orders: Order 3-5 samples to evaluate the quality.
Consolidate shipments to save on express fees.
After selecting a factory, consider visiting them in person.
Step 3: Finalize
Narrow Down to Three: Focus on two main factories (primary and backup).
Sales Agreement: Set up a basic sales agreement, ensuring it’s translated into Mandarin.
Quality Control: Ensure products undergo a quality control inspection to verify standards.
Step 4: Elevate
Building Relationships:
Communicate effectively with the supplier through the right channels.
Develop a strong relationship with the salesperson.
Understand the factory's operations and workflow.
Assist the factory in identifying and solving problems.
Conclusion
By following the S.A.F.E. method, you can systematically search for, assess, and finalize your choice of suppliers while building a strong, long-term relationship. This approach helps ensure you work with reliable and quality-focused suppliers.