Tuesday, 25 February 2020
Can It Really Be Done? - Making Money Online
If you are thinking of looking into making money by running an online business the question that is most likely at the forefront of your mind is...
Making Money Online - Can It Really Be Done?
A couple of years back, I had this same question going around and around in my head...
A couple of years back, I had this same question going around and around in my head...
I had read countless stories of people making millions online without never really having any experience of running a web-based business before.
I'd heard people tell of how they had made a fortune online selling eBooks, seminars or courses.
I had also heard of how easy it was to make money this way, so easy in fact - anyone could do it.
Being the born sceptic that I am, I was not totally convinced by what I had read or heard, so I decided to dig a little deeper and see if this really was a viable business idea. Could the average person in the street capitalise on it and really have a chance of making money online?
After all, I knew if I was going to do this, I would be taking a big risk, investing a lot of time and a fair amount of money in it.
So I Started digging and I found a few names kept popping up on a regular basis, names such as Robert Kiyosaki, Mark Anastasi, Derek Halpern and Andrew Reynolds to name but a few.
These guys are making millions from internet businesses they set up with very little knowledge or investment and for a price they will teach you how they do it.
Now whilst these guys are at the top of the food chain and making unimaginable amounts of money, as I looked at testimonials on their web pages and investigated the individuals they have taught, I found a lot of the people who have learned from the Mr Big's have gone on to amass small fortunes themselves.
Now whilst these guys are at the top of the food chain and making unimaginable amounts of money, as I looked at testimonials on their web pages and investigated the individuals they have taught, I found a lot of the people who have learned from the Mr Big's have gone on to amass small fortunes themselves.
What's more further investigation showed that there are literally millions of people out there in every corner of the world making money online, pulling in anything from $1000 a month upwards from their own web based businesses.
So, I guess the short answer to the question is a resounding YES!
We now know making money online can be done, but what if you have no idea what you are doing when it comes to computers or the internet. These guys must all be IT geeks right?
We now know making money online can be done, but what if you have no idea what you are doing when it comes to computers or the internet. These guys must all be IT geeks right?
Well surprisingly no, not at all...
Whilst some of the individuals who are making money this way have a good knowledge of computers, the majority had very little experience with that side of things before they started and some still don't, they just outsource those jobs to others who then do it for them.
You see one of the things I learned when I was looking into this is that in order to make a decent regular income from you own online business, you really don't need any background in IT or qualifications in computing to be successful, just time, determination and a willingness to learn the necessary basic skills required to make it work.
That's not to say that if you possess all of the above you will make a success of it, in fact for every person that does make it there are thousands that fall by the wayside.
Individuals that start with great optimism and purpose can soon become disillusioned by how much work you have to initially put in, in order to make small inroads.
Why do they give up?
What reason could there be for them to let go of their dreams?
I found there were a number of reasons all but the most driven individuals gave up, but the majority quit for one of three main reasons...
1. Money
When the uninitiated decide to venture into internet marketing they seem to think because it's all online there will be little or no cost involved.
When the uninitiated decide to venture into internet marketing they seem to think because it's all online there will be little or no cost involved.
This of course is wrong. Even though you are working primarily online, usually from your spare bedroom it is still a business, and no business can be run without overheads.
Assuming they already have a computer, expenses are still going to accrue...
Domain names, Web hosting, advertising, building your customer lists, products to sell (if you don't develop your own) to name but a few that they will initially encounter.
Of course some of these can be done free of charge or 'on the cheap' but that is usually to the detriment of the time it will take before they see a regular income, and some people just don't have the patience to wait.
Which brings us to the second reason...
2. Time
The reason a lot of us decide to give internet marketing a go is because we have been seduced by the stories of individuals making thousands within the first couple of months of starting up.
The reason a lot of us decide to give internet marketing a go is because we have been seduced by the stories of individuals making thousands within the first couple of months of starting up.
Although this can and does happen it is the exception rather than the rule, when I was looking into how long it took some of the more well known names to make money I was surprised by what I discovered...
Chris Farrell (Online Millionaire) was one of the quicker ones to start seeing returns after just six months.
Derek Halpern (Online Millionaire) Built his business up for twelve months before he even decided on a product to sell.
Steven Essa (Online Millionaire) took eight Months before he started seeing any returns.
The world of internet marketing is filled with successful people that spent a very long time trying before they saw any returns on their investments.
The moral of the story?
Don't give up your day job just yet, but don't give up on your dream either just because it is taking longer than you anticipated.
3. Commitment
A lot of people getting in to internet marketing are under the illusion that they can be successful by working just a couple of hours a day...
A lot of people getting in to internet marketing are under the illusion that they can be successful by working just a couple of hours a day...
Whilst this may be true for the already established internet marketers it is certainly not the case for someone just starting out, in fact you should be ready to put in the (long) hours that will be required just to get everything into place.
If you are already working a full time job this will mean giving up your evenings and weekends and maybe sacrificing time with your family and friends as well as missing out on hobbies and interests (at least for a while).
After you have got everything set up you will then be facing more long hours trying to build up your customer list, keep your website(s) up to date, writing blogs, marketing your products, developing new products etc. etc.etc.
Believe me when I say there is a lot of time and work that you will need to put in, before you get to reap the fruits of your labour.
In Conclusion.
Making a comfortable income online can be done.However it is not for everyone.
Making a comfortable income online can be done.However it is not for everyone.
In order to make it work you will need a certain kind of resolve and a strong belief in what you are doing...
You will need support from the people closest to you and the right mindset to overcome the challengers that you will face.
When you look at what is involved and consider the sacrifices you will have to make along the way coupled with all the problems and frustrations of finding the right help, advice and information, it is not hard to understand why so many people do give up on their dreams and go back to what they were doing before they had this crazy notion.
Having said that if you go in with your eyes wide open and are aware of the obstacles you will need to overcome along the way and if you understand that it is a marathon rather than a sprint then your chances of successfully making money online will be greatly improved.
Find out what you can really expect before starting your own online business. Download 'The Five Things You Should Know Before Starting An Online Business' HERE
I am a full time internet Marketer and Product Developer living in Birmingham UK.
Thursday, 20 February 2020
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Tuesday, 18 February 2020
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Saturday, 15 February 2020
How To Monetize A Training Video
How To Monetize A Training Video
Most everybody has a specific area of experience in a specialized field that will be good for other people to learn. Whether you are a worker, entrepreneur, or entertainer, there is good money to be made from educating others on how to possess precisely the very same successes you've got. Only displaying video precisely the very same actions to achievement you have taken, it is possible to make thousands of additional dollars by imitating your experience.
1. Determine your field of experience. What are you good at for your entire life? What are the hobbies, pastimes, or occupation skills which you've been perfecting? Perhaps you've been capable of parenting, creating crafts, casting parties, devising, or the way to enjoy a night out on the town. If it's something as straightforward as winning board games, then odds are there are individuals out there that might want to know from you. Perhaps you have been an administrative assistant for many years and have been praised by how valuable you are to your provider. Then you've got a foundation of coaching others how to become elite administrative helper, contemplating just how much job earnings some businesses might have. Firms enjoy training with videos since it saves precious time from supervisors and convey everything necessary at precisely the same manner every time.
2. Plan your strategy. Once you've decided your marketplace for coaching others, you have to gather an outline of the articles. Outlining the material is where you're going to invest most of the time since the content is always king. Begin with bullet points, moving from general to particular. Sketch from the scenes you will be taping to exemplify the message. Make sure you talk about what does not get the job is done, and everything does, by discussing the errors you have made on the way. Give them tools and suggestions to begin and how to multitask.
3. Take the movie. To begin with, you're going to want to select a professional manufacturing company to make your movie if you're not experienced or equipped. Don't use your house camcorder thinking you may earn a professional movie acceptable for selling at a top cost. For tips about the best way best to pick a video production business, do an internet search for"the best way to select a video production firm" or hunt with this writer's name. As soon as you've selected a manufacturing company that satisfies your budget, then make sure you produce scenes that show your points and the way they could replicate it. Nobody would like to obtain a movie of a talking head, so help keep it more interesting. For information on producing compelling video articles, make sure you perform an internet search on this subject with this same writer. Decide if you're acceptable to be on-camera speaker and talent. You have to depict yourself as a professional, or at least an expert writer of this content. If you are bad at conveying a camera or not able to talk naturally, you might have to employ a celebrity to operate off a teleprompter. The manufacturing company can allow you to make that choice.
4. Market the movie. When the film is taken and replicated and prepared to be marketed, decide the areas of supply to publicize your video into your intended audience. Getting your search engine website is essential, with the ideal key terms your audience will probably be searching for. Amazon.com and other movie traders will happily stock or drop send your movie to get a cut of your selling price and therefore are well worthwhile. Trade displays, school campuses, swap meets, magazine advertisements, local newspaper classifieds, and anyplace your viewer's eyes will be appearing is where you want to be boosting your video. With determination and perseverance, you may create a one-time movie investment, get you lots of additional cash, and perhaps even stop the job which you're educating people how to perform!
By the way, do you want to learn more about how to monetize a training video? If so, go to my website and download my FREE guide: https://www.makemoneyonlinehappy.com
And do you want to read more blog posts like this about similar topics? If so, go here https://www.makemoneyonlinehappy.com/articles-about-successful-online-business/building-your-integrity-as-a-potential-coach/building-a-website-as-your-coaching-home-base to read more of my articles.
Friday, 14 February 2020
6 Tips to Get More Views on Your YouTube Videos
Do you have a YouTube channel? If so, you may be looking for ways to get tons of views. According to statistics, YouTube videos get more than 1.5 billion views per day. On average, one viewer spend more than one hour on this platform. If your view counts are too low, we suggest that you follow this simple guide to grow your channel. Read on to know more.
1. Spur on your Existing Viewers to Subscribe
Your existing viewers are an ideal source of video views for your next videos. So, you should encourage them to subscribe to your channel. Once they subscribe, you will see a gradual increase in your view counts.
All you need to do is request them to hit the subscribe button on your channel. Adding a call to action to your videos is also a great idea. You may also want to place a subscription link in your video descriptions for search engine ranking.
2. Ask your Viewers about what they want to see
If you make videos that don't appeal to your viewers, you will barely get any views. So, what you should do is ask your viewers about what they want to see. As a matter of fact, uploading content that your audience loves is a great way of building viewership and keeping the attention of your audience.
3. Use Playlists for Better Watch Time
According to the statistics released by YouTube, top channels on the platform have a lot of playlists. Actually, these brands know the importance of auto-play. When the content is great, people will just continue to watch videos as they auto play.
4. Use Cards and End Screens
With end screens and cards, you can direct your viewers to your other great content. Actually, cards work like pop-ups that show up during the playback. On the other hand, end-screens show up once your video ends.
5. Create SEO Titles and Descriptions
If people don't find your videos, they won't be able to watch them. In other words, you need to follow best SEO strategies in order to make your content search engine friendly. So, what you need to do is add potential keywords when creating titles and descriptions. Make sure that the keywords are relevant to your videos.
You can use Google AdWords Keyword Planner and Google Trends in order to make a list of useful keywords for your video descriptions.
6. Use Compelling Thumbnails
Most people scan content rather than read. Similarly, on YouTube, they scan through the list of videos before they hit the play button. So, make sure that the thumbnails of your videos are compelling. It's not a good idea to use auto-generated thumbnails. Instead, you should use custom thumbnails.
In short, if you want your videos to get tons of views, we suggest that you follow the tips given in this article. With these tips, it will be much easier for you to grow your channel and get a lot more subscribers than before. Hope this helps.
If are looking for a great way of getting more views on your YouTube videos, we suggest that you check out SocialMedia Masters for Youtube views Kaufen.
Thursday, 13 February 2020
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Monday, 10 February 2020
Sunday, 9 February 2020
Saturday, 8 February 2020
How to Develop Your Million Dollar Mindset
If you don't have the million dollar mindset, you won't succeed at your business regardless of how good it appears to be. Mindset affects us in more ways than just in our job. Having the right mindset involves having self confidence in ourselves and believing we're as good as we can be. Any dreams you may have about becoming wealthy will not come true if you don't believe in yourself. This is known as the wealth creation mindset.
All our lives we've been told to feel self confident in what we're doing, whether it's sports, school, work or anything else that's important in our lives. You're probably wondering how your mindset could possibly have anything to do with becoming wealthy. The answer to this very simple question is that you cannot become successful if you don't believe that you can. If you've ever known any really wealthy people, you'll agree that they're very self confident. While most people will say that luck played a part in their financial success, the truth of the matter is that the right mindset was definitely much more important.
It's a well-known fact that money attracts money. If you're successful at one business adventure, it's probably given you the self confidence of knowing you can do it again. Being around success often adds to your mindset. Business people that are wealthy realize that they have every right to be wealthy and successful as well as having the ability to be successful. Regardless of how poor they may have been as a young child or how underprivileged they may feel they are, the right mindset will overcome those past feelings and have them brimming with self confidence.
Mindset can best be described as your state of mind on a day-to-day basis. It's what you think of yourself and what you have ahead of you for each day. If you have a positive and creative mindset, you will succeed because you know you can and will overcome any obstacles rather than give up without trying. You can put two individuals side by side with the same project. One will have a positive mindset while the other not so positive. The positive mindset is going to be more successful and much quicker.
When you read about success and are around success, this also builds up your success. If you're planning on playing NFL football and have Brett Favre helping you and showing you the ropes, your mindset is going to be a success mindset because you're around success and feeling positive.
So if you aspire to become a successful entrepreneur, you must first develop the entrepreneurial mindset. Optimum-mindset.com is a good place to read about the importance of this type of thinking. You also may want to read a good mindset book or two. The bottom line is this; If you want to make a million dollars, you can never stop learning and developing your million dollar mindset.
Making money online is really simple if you just have the right strategies to follow; unfortunately many people never experience the success they desire because they don't have a guide to show them the way. Sign up for Justin Glover's FREE 7 Day "Online Marketing Boot Camp" to discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine - Go here: [http://theincomecoaches.com/article-gift]
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1901797
Thursday, 6 February 2020
What Is A Niche In Blogging?
What Is A Niche In Blogging?
Have you ever heard someone say, "She's really found her niche in life?" This refers to someone discovering a career, job or pastime that perfectly suits that person's values, goals and abilities.
The same is true for a niche in blogging. A blogging niche is nothing more than a very focused interest or market.
Niche Blogging
A niche blog may be relevant to a specific industry or age group. It could focus on the needs of a particular ethnic group, geographic area or future goals. If you are someone who relates to hard definitions, and you want to develop a blog that makes a difference and is truly helpful, here's what you need to remember:
"A niche market is a subset of a larger market on which a specific product or service is focused."
So a blogging niche might be scrapbooking for beginners with a passion for scuba diving. Scrapbooking is the large market. Scrapbooking for beginners narrows the focus, and by further narrowing your marketplace to scuba diving enthusiasts who want to take up scrapbooking for the first time, you have an excellent niche marketing opportunity for an authoritative blog.
Create An authoritative Web Presence
Niche marketing is far from a 21st century concept, it has been around forever. Blogs are certainly not new, though they are relevantly new in comparison to niche marketing. When you put the two together, you can create an authoritative web presence which can help people answer big problems in their lives.
Authoritative niche blogging is different from running a website where your goal is to simply get people to click on ads that earn you money. Yes, you may have some type of monetization on your niche blog, but that is not the main intent. Successful niche blogs inform, answer questions, provide solutions and work to develop relationships with their readers and followers.
Choosing A Niche
When choosing which niche you want to blog about, think about a specific problem in a tight marketplace. Don't try to be everything to everyone. When you have a laser targeted approach, you can quickly become an authority figure in your niche.
So think of a marketplace where you want to really make a difference. Then niche down until you have identified a very specific area of focus. Inform, answer questions, help and care about your audience, and your niche blog will never be confused with a spam blog (splog) or autoblog intended solely for revenue generation.
Are you are ready to be a better blogger? Discover 21 different one-a-day tasks and activities for getting more traffic, more prospects, more customers and more sales. Download my free checklist, 21 Days To A Better Blog, at https://jonallo.com/better-blog
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10209406
Tuesday, 4 February 2020
5 Tips to Win at Working from Home
5 Tips to Win at Working from Home
Last Updated: Oct 14, 2019
Working from home seems like a dream come true to many, but it's not without problems. Here are five tips to help you win at working from home.
Working from home seems like a dream come true to many, but it's not without problems. Here are five tips to help you win at working from home.
Image source: Depositphotos.com
Remote working seems to be all the buzz. Apparently, 70% of professionals work from home at least once a week. Similarly, 77% of people work more productively and 68% of millennials would consider a company more if they offered remote working. It seems to make sense: technology, connectivity, and culture seem to be setting the world up more and more for remote working. Oh, and home-brewed coffee is better than ever too.
Here’s the stark truth: remote working is not a panacea. Sure, it seems like hanging around at home in your jimjams, listening to your antisocial music, and sipping on buckets of coffee is perfect, but it isn’t for everyone.
Some people need the structure of an office. Some people need the social element of an office. Some people need to get out the house. Some people lack the discipline to stay focused at home. Some people are avoiding the government coming and knocking on the door due to years of unpaid back taxes.
Remote working is like a muscle: it can bring enormous strength and capabilities IF you train and maintain it. If you don’t, your results are going to vary.
I have worked from home for the vast majority of my career. I love it. I am more productive, happier, and empowered when I work from home. I don’t dislike working in an office, and I enjoy the social element, but I am more in my “zone” when I work from home. I also love blisteringly heavy metal, which can pose a problem when the office doesn’t want to listen to After The Burial.
I have learned how I need to manage remote work, using the right balance of work routine, travel, and other elements, and here are five of my recommendations:
1. You need discipline and routine (and to understand your “waves”)
Remote work really is a muscle that needs to be trained. Just like building actual muscle, there needs to be a clear routine and a healthy dollop of discipline mixed in.
Always get dressed (no jimjams). Set your start and end time for your day (I work 9am – 6pm most days). Choose your lunch break (mine is 12pm). Choose your morning ritual (mine is email followed by a full review of my client needs). Decide where your main workplace will be (mine is my home office). Decide when you will exercise each day (I do it at 5pm most days).
Design a realistic routine and do it for 66 days. It takes this long to build a habit. Try not to deviate from the routine. The more you stick the routine, the less work it will seem further down the line. By the end of the 66 days it will feel natural and you won’t have to think about it.
Here’s the deal though, we don’t live in a vacuum (cleaner, or otherwise). We all have waves.
A wave is when you need a change of routine to mix things up. For example, in summertime I generally want more sunlight. I will often work outside in the garden. Near the holidays I get more distracted, so I need more structure in my day. Sometimes I just need more human contact, so I will work from coffee shops for a few weeks. Sometimes I just fancy working in the kitchen or on the couch. You need to learn your waves and listen to your body. Build your habit first, and then modify it as you learn your waves.
RELATED: 6 Ways to Maximize Your Productivity
2. Set expectations with your management and colleagues
Not everyone knows how to do remote working, and if your company is less familiar with remote working, you especially need to set expectations with colleagues.
This can be pretty simple: when you have designed your routine, communicate it clearly to your management and team. Let them know how they can get hold of you, how to contact you in an emergency, and how you will be collaborating while at home.
The communication component here is critical. There are some remote workers who are scared to leave their computer for fear that someone will send them a message while they are away (and they are worried people may think they are just eating Cheetos and watching Netflix).
You need time away. You need to eat lunch without one eye on your computer. You are not a 911 emergency responder. Set expectations that sometimes you may not be immediately responsive, but you will get back to them as soon as possible.
Similarly, set expectations on your general availability. For example, I set expectations with clients that I generally work from 9am – 6pm every day. Sure, if a client needs something urgently, I am more than happy to respond outside of those hours, but as a general rule I am usually working between those hours. This is necessary for a balanced life.
3. Distractions are your enemy and they need managing
We all get distracted. It is human nature. It could be your young kid getting home and wanting to play Rescue Bots. It could be checking Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to ensure you don’t miss any unwanted political opinions or photos of people’s lunches. It could be that there is something else going on your life that is taking your attention (such as an upcoming wedding, event, or big trip.)
You need to learn what distracts you and how to manage it. For example, I know I get distracted by my email and Twitter. I check it religiously and every check gets me out of the zone of what I am working on. I also get distracted by grabbing coffee and water, which then may turn into a snack and a YouTube video.
The digital distractions have a simple solution: lock them out. Close down the tabs until you complete what you are doing. I do this all the time with big chunks of work: I lock out the distractions until I am done. It requires discipline, but all of this does.
The human elements are tougher. If you have a family you need to make it clear that when you are work, you need to be generally left alone. This is why a home office is so important: you need to set boundaries that mum or dad is working. Come in if there is emergency, but otherwise they need to be left alone.
There are all kinds of opportunities for locking these distractions out. Put your phone on silent. Set yourself as away. Move to a different room (or building) where the distraction isn’t there. Again, be honest in what distracts you and manage it. If you don’t, you will always be at their mercy.
4. Relationships need in-person attention
Some roles are more attuned to remote working than others. For example, I have seen great work from engineering, quality assurance, support, security, and other teams (typically more focused on digital collaboration). Other teams such as design or marketing often struggle more in remote environments (as they are often more tactile.)
With any team though, having strong relationship is critical, and in-person discussion, collaboration, and socializing is essential to this. So many of our senses (such as body language) are removed in a digital environment, and these play a key role in how we build trust and relationships.
This is especially important if (a) you are new a company and need to build these relationships, (b) are new to a role and need to build relationships with your team, or (c) are in a leadership position where building buy-in and engagement is a key part of your job.
The solution? A sensible mix of remote and in-person time. If your company is nearby, work from home part of the week and at the office part of the week. If your company is further a away, schedule regular trips to the office (and set expectations with your management that you need this). For example, when I worked at XPRIZE I flew to LA every few weeks for a few days. When I worked at Canonical (who were based in London), we had sprints every three months.
5. Stay focused, but cut yourself some slack
The crux of everything in this article is about building a capability, and developing a remote working muscle. This is as simple as building a routine, sticking to it, and having an honest view of your “waves” and distractions and how to manage them.
I see the world in a fairly specific way: everything we do has the opportunity to be refined and improved. For example, I have been public speaking now for over 15 years, but I am always discovering new ways to improve, and new mistakes to fix.
There is a thrill in the discovery of new ways to get better, and to see every stumbling block and mistake as an “aha!” moment to kick ass in new and different ways. It is no different with remote working: look for patterns that help to unlock ways in which you can make your remote working time more efficient, more comfortable, and more fun.
…but don’t go crazy over it. There are some people who obsesses every minute of their day about how to get better. They beat themselves up constantly for “not doing well enough”, “not getting more done”, and not meeting their internal unrealistic view of perfection.
We are humans. We are animals, and we are not robots. Always strive to improve, but be realistic that not everything will be perfect. You are going to have some off-days or off-weeks. You are going to struggle at times with stress and burnout. You are going to handle a situation poorly remotely that would have been easier in the office. Learn from these moments but don’t obsess over them. Life is too damn short.
Jono Bacon is a leading community and management strategy consultant, speaker, and author. He is the founder of Jono Bacon Consulting, which provides community and management strategy, execution, and coaching. He also previously served as director of community at GitHub, Canonical, XPRIZE, OpenAdvantage, and has consulted and advised a range of organizations. He is the author of People Powered: How Communities Can Supercharge Your Business, Brand, and Team. For more information, please visit, https://www.jonobacon.com/ or connect with Jono on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Linkedin.
Monday, 3 February 2020
The 5 Questions Every Brand Leader Should Be Able to Answer About Amazon
The 5 Questions Every Brand Leader Should Be Able to Answer About Amazon
By James Thomson
Last Updated: Jan 13, 2020
If your company's products are being sold in Amazon's marketplace by unauthorized sellers, how is that affecting your brand? Here are five key questions you need to be able to answer.
Image source: Depositphotos.com
With the introduction of online marketplaces like Amazon, today’s brands are faced with new challenges that they have never faced before. Unfortunately, many of the largest brands have not adequately evolved their channel management efforts, subsequently creating an “Amazon problem” where brands have unauthorized sellers offering the brand’s products at prices lower on Amazon than most any other channel. This trickles down to create complaints from existing brick and mortar retailers, as well as challenges for the brand looking to add new distributors or retailers.
There are common structural issues that cause brands to be inadequately balancing the tradeoff of the sales opportunity from the Amazon channel versus the uphill battle of creating consistent branding and retail pricing across all channels.
To be able to construct best practices around operating procedures, branding procedures and pricing procedures, ask yourself these questions to understand how well you have prepared your brand for the Amazon channel:
- How are your offline sales team & ecommerce teams incented to work together to account properly for diverted product, and to stabilize pricing across all channels?
- Where is the biggest distribution leak in your business? How are you reducing its impact on your overall business?
- Do you have an online reseller policy in place? How do you police your distribution channels? When was the last time you fired a distributor or retailer for diverting?
- Does the person in your organization overseeing online channels (including marketplaces) have a senior seat at the table?
- What programs are in place to ensure consistent branding offline and online (your website & marketplaces)?
The culmination of these questions raise a number of issues for brands that are used to treating all retail channels the same. With the introduction of the Amazon marketplace, product from previously loosely controlled retail channels can now flow efficiently and with few barriers to entry onto the Amazon marketplace, leaving brands guessing at identifying the sellers offering their products on Amazon.
The typical sales team is focused on selling more units – not worrying about the long-term implications on brand equity of selling to a distributor or retailer that may not be diverting some inventory to resellers that aren’t authorized by the brand to sell in online marketplaces, usually at lower than desired retail prices. Ecommerce teams that are charged with building the ecommerce portion of the brand’s business find themselves at odds, usually in-fighting, with the (brick and mortar) sales team. If there isn’t proper alignment across internal brand teams, the sales team may know who is ultimately diverting product, but it is not in the best (sales incentive) interest of the sales team to police such behavior.
While many brands have implemented minimum advertised price (MAP) policies, those policies apply only to authorized, known sellers, and do little to provide the brands with a legal basis to regulate unauthorized seller activity. Hence, there is need for a more sophisticated online reseller policy, which can provide additional mechanisms for the brand to protect its brand’s desired distribution efforts. Yet any policy is only as good as the level to which it is policed, and best practice brands now make the effectiveness of the policing a shared goal across executive teams inside the brand. For only with senior buy-in will brands make the necessary tradeoff of cutting off short-term sales to likely product diverters in order to shore up control of distribution (and likely reduce cross-channel pricing discrepancies).
Finally, while controlling distribution remains critical to a brand’s ability to manage its inventory and sales across channels, the brand must also ensure that its brand message is consistently managed across all channels, including Amazon – even if the brand itself isn’t selling its product on Amazon. It is unlikely that a reseller will apply the same level of effort to consistent, correct branding as what the brand can do for itself if it chooses to be active in this responsibility.
For brands that are serious about growing their Amazon channel business, these initial steps around brand control are paramount to building a firm foundation to support longer-term growth. Some brands are used to doing business a certain way for decades before Amazon became relevant. Yet the unique pressures of the Amazon channel are forcing brands to rethink how they do business both offline and online. Only with an evolved, disciplined approach will brands be able to remain in the driver seat when it comes to determining where, when and how they are sold.
James Thomson is a partner at Buy Box Experts, a managed services agency supporting brands selling online. Earlier, he served as the business head of Amazon Services, the division of Amazon responsible for recruiting tens of thousands of sellers annually to the Amazon Marketplace. In 2020, he will release a co-authored book "Brand Control in the Age of Amazon," designed for brand executives struggling to make sense of what it takes to make the Amazon channel a positive component of their brands' overall growth flywheel.
Last Updated: Jan 13, 2020
If your company's products are being sold in Amazon's marketplace by unauthorized sellers, how is that affecting your brand? Here are five key questions you need to be able to answer.
If your company's products are being sold in Amazon's marketplace by unauthorized sellers, how is that affecting your brand? Here are five key questions you need to be able to answer.
Image source: Depositphotos.com
With the introduction of online marketplaces like Amazon, today’s brands are faced with new challenges that they have never faced before. Unfortunately, many of the largest brands have not adequately evolved their channel management efforts, subsequently creating an “Amazon problem” where brands have unauthorized sellers offering the brand’s products at prices lower on Amazon than most any other channel. This trickles down to create complaints from existing brick and mortar retailers, as well as challenges for the brand looking to add new distributors or retailers.
There are common structural issues that cause brands to be inadequately balancing the tradeoff of the sales opportunity from the Amazon channel versus the uphill battle of creating consistent branding and retail pricing across all channels.
To be able to construct best practices around operating procedures, branding procedures and pricing procedures, ask yourself these questions to understand how well you have prepared your brand for the Amazon channel:
- How are your offline sales team & ecommerce teams incented to work together to account properly for diverted product, and to stabilize pricing across all channels?
- Where is the biggest distribution leak in your business? How are you reducing its impact on your overall business?
- Do you have an online reseller policy in place? How do you police your distribution channels? When was the last time you fired a distributor or retailer for diverting?
- Does the person in your organization overseeing online channels (including marketplaces) have a senior seat at the table?
- What programs are in place to ensure consistent branding offline and online (your website & marketplaces)?
The culmination of these questions raise a number of issues for brands that are used to treating all retail channels the same. With the introduction of the Amazon marketplace, product from previously loosely controlled retail channels can now flow efficiently and with few barriers to entry onto the Amazon marketplace, leaving brands guessing at identifying the sellers offering their products on Amazon.
The typical sales team is focused on selling more units – not worrying about the long-term implications on brand equity of selling to a distributor or retailer that may not be diverting some inventory to resellers that aren’t authorized by the brand to sell in online marketplaces, usually at lower than desired retail prices. Ecommerce teams that are charged with building the ecommerce portion of the brand’s business find themselves at odds, usually in-fighting, with the (brick and mortar) sales team. If there isn’t proper alignment across internal brand teams, the sales team may know who is ultimately diverting product, but it is not in the best (sales incentive) interest of the sales team to police such behavior.
While many brands have implemented minimum advertised price (MAP) policies, those policies apply only to authorized, known sellers, and do little to provide the brands with a legal basis to regulate unauthorized seller activity. Hence, there is need for a more sophisticated online reseller policy, which can provide additional mechanisms for the brand to protect its brand’s desired distribution efforts. Yet any policy is only as good as the level to which it is policed, and best practice brands now make the effectiveness of the policing a shared goal across executive teams inside the brand. For only with senior buy-in will brands make the necessary tradeoff of cutting off short-term sales to likely product diverters in order to shore up control of distribution (and likely reduce cross-channel pricing discrepancies).
Finally, while controlling distribution remains critical to a brand’s ability to manage its inventory and sales across channels, the brand must also ensure that its brand message is consistently managed across all channels, including Amazon – even if the brand itself isn’t selling its product on Amazon. It is unlikely that a reseller will apply the same level of effort to consistent, correct branding as what the brand can do for itself if it chooses to be active in this responsibility.
For brands that are serious about growing their Amazon channel business, these initial steps around brand control are paramount to building a firm foundation to support longer-term growth. Some brands are used to doing business a certain way for decades before Amazon became relevant. Yet the unique pressures of the Amazon channel are forcing brands to rethink how they do business both offline and online. Only with an evolved, disciplined approach will brands be able to remain in the driver seat when it comes to determining where, when and how they are sold.
James Thomson is a partner at Buy Box Experts, a managed services agency supporting brands selling online. Earlier, he served as the business head of Amazon Services, the division of Amazon responsible for recruiting tens of thousands of sellers annually to the Amazon Marketplace. In 2020, he will release a co-authored book "Brand Control in the Age of Amazon," designed for brand executives struggling to make sense of what it takes to make the Amazon channel a positive component of their brands' overall growth flywheel.
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