Launching your business or products requires preparation. Unfortunately, because I ‘hit the ground running’ I did not prepare in advance for launching my products. I just launched! I launched my first products on Amazon and it did not go well. I was new to selling, advertising, marketing and everything that goes along with selling products. My only training consisted of attending countless webinars and watched hours of YouTube videos on creating Amazon and Facebook ads. It was very difficult and confusing. You see, no one really tells you ALL the steps involved in creating ads, why you are inputting this information, or checking that box, and how it connects to other information for the ad to produce the results you are looking for. I realized this, but I had no choice but to push ahead in creating my own ads. I followed all the steps, and then hit ‘Publish’.
It didn’t work. Seeing the lack of sales, I hired a professional company to help me in creating my Amazon PPC ads to boost sales. Over $2000 later and 3 months, I sold $720. I couldn’t believe my product wasn’t selling like hotcakes! It was a good product. I saw that my competitors were moving their similar products. That was my first lesson in selling and finding your audience. Just because you have a good product, doesn’t mean you will sell. There are so many other factors involved in a successful launch.
After 2 more slow product launches on Amazon (with better products), I prepared my website, while simultaneously designing my Amazon Storefront. (https://www.amazon.com/mvmoniluxx) I made sure to become Brand Registered on Amazon. Basically, registering your trademarked company name or brand with Amazon. Once they approved it, I was able to create an Amazon storefront for my Amazon products.
I created a list of products that I wanted to sell on my website, and I sketched out the design and layout of my website. I do not have ‘coding’ experience, so I hired website designers to bring my vision to life. After hiring various ‘designers’ (I’m doing air quotes!) on Fiverr, I finally decided to hire a professional firm. That was one of the best decision I made. Fiverr can be a good source for many things, but, you must choose carefully. I ran into quite a few sellers that were not as skilled as they advertised to be. Unfortunately, this will cost you unrecoverable time and money.
Next, I concentrated on suppliers for my inventory. I negotiated with suppliers at Alibaba.com to get the lowest prices and lower quantities than their preferred MOQ’s. *Word of caution…..If you are told they cannot accept low quantity orders, go to another supplier. * They will attempt to pressure you into ordering more than you need. Don’t fall for it and find another supplier. Too much inventory on hand equals to losing $$.
Finally! The website was ready in January 2021. I began listing my products, one by one. I didn’t realize it, but I was repeating my first mistake. I was not advertising my company on social media! My son asked me one day, ‘Mom, how many followers do you have for your company?’ I looked at him blankly. He said, ‘You are posting and advertising on FB and Instagram, right?’ I stated I was not, and I had no idea how to. Crazy, Right?! So, a crash course of the ins and outs of social media platforms began! I had to learn how to post, follow, and understand what is a hashtag, how to use it, and the importance of using them. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and now Tiktok became my lifesavers! I found that for me, advertising on these platforms is nowhere as expensive as advertising on Amazon.
The most important lesson I learned from my experience….is you must find your target audience! You find your audience by running ads and reviewing the charts and responses to your ad (by demographics, age, platform). You keep doing this and re-target your audience based on which group response the best, and you’ll find YOUR target audience for your product. In all honesty, it isn’t easy or cheap. You must put the work in (and I mean A LOT!) to see success. I am still tweaking my website, products, ads, and graphics to generate as much attention as possible for my products.
As of January 17, 2021, my website went ‘live’. What do you think happened next?
Till Next Time……..
