What Makes for a Successful Amazon Product Launch?
After your listing goes live, it’s time to start driving sales with a successful Amazon product launch.
Because regardless of how great your product is, if no one’s buying it, it doesn’t matter. Being successful in this space all comes down to product visibility.
When someone searches for your keyword, you want to be the first product seen. The tricky part? Most people aren’t looking past Page 1.
But in the crowded Amazon marketplace, how do you get there? It starts with having the right product launch strategy. And after working with over 8,000 brands to run more than 35,000 launches, Viral Launch knows exactly how to create a successful launch campaign. Our launch experts are ready to help you today!
What a Product Launch Does
Amazon rewards sellers who bring in outside traffic and sales with more predominant search placements. Product launches, also referred to as promotional giveaways, are a common practice on the platform and a way to help boost sales, which in turn will benefit ranking. The concept is pretty simple, although it can seem confusing at first, especially for new sellers.
So, let’s break it down a bit more.
A product launch is designed to project your listing to Page 1 for a major keyword or phrase relevant to your product. Remember, the higher you rank, the closer you are to Page 1 (if you’re not there already!). The goal is to get your listing to appear in organic search results and increase your organic sales.
Shoppers like launches for the discounted prices. Sellers benefit from launches because they can:
- Boost keyword ranking
- Improve organic traffic for a better conversion rate
- Increase sales velocity and sales history
- Give your product more authority on Amazon.com
Boosting your sales means more than extra money in your pocket. Increasing your sales velocity improves your ranking, and products with a higher rank have better visibility. It truly is a cycle, with one thing impacting another for better or for worse.
Who Would Benefit from a Launch?
Once you’ve selected a product, found a supplier and got your listing up and going, you want to see those sales rolling in. The truth is, without any outside effort, you’re really leaving it to Lady Luck for your product to take off.
Launches can help any seller gain a competitive edge. If you’re new to Amazon, you’re starting from scratch with no reviews and no sales. That makes it awfully tough to get your product in a good position to sell. Running a launch puts your product in front of more buyers right from the start. Who wouldn’t want that?
If you’re an established seller, launches can help a stagnant product sitting on Page 20 start moving again. And even if your product is selling, is it selling enough? Are your margins being met? Use a launch to drive exposure and move your listing up in ranking and in search results.
Developing an Amazon Product Launch Strategy
Letting your listing become lost in the crowd leaves you with untapped potential. More importantly, untapped profit. Running a launch can be very beneficial, but be aware it’s an upfront investment. Also, note that not every Amazon product launch strategy is the same. Everyone in the space has their own opinion of what works and what doesn’t. Regardless of what approach you take, make sure you:
- Pay attention to your bottom line and don’t let the wrong launch strategy cost you money in the long run.
- Take advantage of the holidays and/or special sales days. Target the influx of holiday shoppers, and remember to run launches before big sales events like Cyber Monday and Prime Day in particular.
Check out this podcast with VL Launch Director Andrew Field for more tips on launching your next product.
The VL Launch Strategy
Viral Launch has long been known as a successful launch platform. Let’s learn the basics behind our Amazon launch strategy.
First, we’ll determine a keyword (we recommend targeting no more than 4) with a good search volume that will convert well for your product. Next, we’ll analyze the market to determine the number of units required to give away at a discounted price on our own buyer deal site. This discount typically ends up being about 90% off and is based on the sales of Page 1 products.
We typically recommend running a giveaway for a period of 7-10 days. This is long enough for Amazon to recognize the sales, but still short enough to limit the number of products being given away.
Amazon’s algorithms are always being updated and tweaked, so it’s important to stay up to date on best practices. Some sellers are finding success with shorter launches/higher giveaway days, even to the point of only giving away a large number of units for one day. We are currently doing testing and looking at our large data set to keep everyone informed.
Creating Your VL Amazon Product Launch
Before you begin to reap the benefits of your unique Amazon product launch, you need to set and schedule it on our platform.
You’ll be required to input the following:
- Target keyword
- Launch duration
- Units to give
- Promo price
- Coupon codes
Once that’s all set, the system will take it from there. A major advantage of the VL launch platform is its ease of use. You don’t have to be an expert in any way! And while launches can easily be set up by yourself, you can always talk with a Viral Launch Seller Coach to receive expert advice and guidance.
Maintaining Your Rank After a Launch
A successful Amazon launch strategy will see a listing increase in rank and ideally land on Page 1. But you don’t just want a better ranking, you want better sales, too. How can you maintain your rank position and rack up more sales numbers? Here are 4 ways:
- Listing Optimization: Maximize your ranking and purchasing potential by optimizing your listing. Use relevant, high-volume keywords, and find the high-opportunity keywords that competitors aren’t targeting. The better you position your product with high-ranking keywords, the more you’ll boost your visibility.
- Price Strategy: Price your product in line with your competition. If your price is a lot higher than most of the Page 1 competitors, you probably won’t convert as well.
- PPC: Paying for sponsored ad content can also drive people to your listing. Similar to promotional giveaways, PPC (Pay Per Click) generates traffic through targeted keywords and can contribute to ranking improvement.
- Customer Service: While you can’t incentivize reviews, you can encourage review generation with great customer service and email follow-up campaigns. When customers have a pleasant shopping experience with you, the more likely they are to leave reviews and even promote your product themselves.
Recap
Keyword ranking and visibility on Amazon are crucial for your success. Launches are a fast, easy way to increase your rank, sales, and reviews.
Watch this VL launch series for more information on how to run a launch and learn more about our proven strategy. Schedule yours or talk with a Viral Launch launch expert today!