How To Launch a New Product on Amazon During the Holidays

Launching a new product on Amazon around the holidays can be quite successful. Learn the ins and outs of launching on Amazon with the help of this comprehensive tutorial.

Do you want to introduce new items on Amazon in time for the holidays?

It’s guaranteed that the 2023 Christmas season won’t be exactly like all the ones before it, but that doesn’t mean Amazon sellers won’t have plenty of chances to introduce new items. Our webinar presenters forecasted a larger window of shopping for the holidays this year, with an estimated 60-70% of purchases expected to be made online versus in brick-and-mortar stores. Shopping via mobile devices, or “Mcommerce” for short, is also expected to grow substantially.

This webinar has a detailed discussion of these topics by our specialists and is highly recommended if you want to learn more.

When Selling on Amazon, What Should You Launch for the Holidays?

In a nutshell, the answer is contextual. Launching a product in the run-up to the holidays requires careful consideration of seasonality, barriers to entry, inventory management strategies, and return policies, among other factors.

Discovering a viral product with limited competition and strong demand is the holy grail. Finding a means to set your goods apart from the crowd is essential if you’re in a highly competitive market.

 It’s important to think about the seasonality of products when deciding which ones to introduce during the holidays. One example of the contrast between the seasons is the increased demand for winter jackets and the simultaneous decreased demand for swimwear, for instance. However, when contemplating the seasonality of your items, you also need to account for regional geography.

Also, consider how difficult it is for potential customers to get their hands on your products. You should think about whether or not there are a lot of rules and regulations to follow (as with alcohol or CBD items, for instance). But even low-barrier-to-entry products (such as apparel) can be subject to fierce business competition.

You should also think about how you’ll keep track of your product inventory. If you’re just starting out in the industry and your items come in a large number of variations, you might find that simply satisfying your customers’ desires could be difficult.

Finally, when deciding what types of products to launch around the holidays, consider the possibility that your goods may get returned. This is crucial when selling apparel, for example, which can result in a high percentage of returns or exchanges. It’s not unheard of for consumers to order more than one size of an item to send back the ones they don’t want or need.

‍

How You Plan to Promote Your New Amazon Product Launch

The days of putting your goods up for sale on Amazon and waiting for customers to start buying are over. If you want people to see your listings and learn about your newly launched items before they make a purchase, you’ll need to put some serious thought into your advertising strategy.

Why Should You Promote Your Newly Launched Products on Amazon?

 Selling opportunities grow each year as Amazon expands the amount of ads available to Amazon sellers. On average, Amazon advertising accounts for 52.22 percent of total sales. Andrew, our senior account manager, says this is a major shift from years ago when Amazon advertising accounted for just 10-20% of total sales.

 Ad placement is crucial, so make sure you know what you’re doing. Keep in mind that 40% of all users’ first clicks go to the first four top search result items.

Promoting Your Amazon Product Launch

 Expect your advertising strategy for a newly released product on Amazon to vary somewhat from that for an established product. Listen to Andrew delve into some of these key points in the webinar:

• Using exact, phrase, and broad keywords for keyword targeting

• Ad placement on specific product pages or your rivals’ websites — this is a low-cost strategy to increase your Amazon presence. The cost per click (CPC) for product-targeted campaigns is much lower than the industry average of 80 cents for across-the-board placement.

• Develop a plan for advertising outside of Amazon. Andrew goes over his approach to advertising outside of Amazon and how Amazon rewards you for sending traffic from non-Amazon sources. (With the right attribution setup, you can even earn referral incentives this way!) TikTok has quickly become a popular choice, joining the ranks of Google Pay-Per-Click ads, YouTube options, and Instagram influencers.

How Much Money and the Types of Results You Can Expect From Your Ad Spending

 It’s unrealistic to expect a return on ad spend (ROAS) of more than 1 to 2 in the first month. But spending money on advertising your product when it’s first launched on Amazon is a wise long-term investment. When you initially launch a product, between 80% and 90% of your conversions are going to come from your ad efforts, but that will diminish over time as you receive more product reviews.

The “Honeymoon” Phase of Amazon Product Launches

 Amazon is eager to support new offerings. Fresh product launches are a great way to get high search engine rankings for relevant terms. In our webinar, Andrew outlines the most common blunders vendors make during this “honeymoon” phase.

Things to Consider When Taking Pictures to Put on Amazon

 People are less likely to purchase a product if they have no idea what it looks like. If you’ve never managed a photo shoot before and don’t have professional equipment on hand, taking pictures of products can be a very stressful experience. Consider how you’ll maintain coherence in your visual identity (which is an integral part of your brand) across all of your platforms. Moreover, you should think carefully about how you can achieve this if your resources are limited.

Guidelines for Developing Engaging Holiday-Themed Content and Images for Your Online Store

 You should create seasonal content and limited-time offers for your website and start promoting them at least four to six weeks before the holidays commencing. Launch holiday-themed marketing campaigns in advance of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Create a seasonal content schedule that celebrates both major and lesser-known holidays (such as “National Pet Day,” “Grandparents’ Day,” etc.). To better engage your readers, you might want to think about using a video or animated GIFs (i.e., graphics that incorporate movement) in your imagery.

How to Choose the Best Title and Keywords for Your Amazon Listing

 Finding the balance between search engine optimization (SEO) and consumer attention is key when crafting your Amazon listing.

‍

When writing your listing’s headline, put yourself in the shoes of someone who’s never heard of your product and has no clue what it does. If someone is searching Amazon, what terms (keywords) would they be entering? Consider how you can incorporate these terms into the various components of your listing.

When crafting your keywords, it’s crucial to think about the following:

1. Describe your product.

2. Describe its function.

3. Describe why someone would want it.

4. Describe the form the product takes.

5. Describe any additional applications or uses for it.

6. Discuss how long it takes to start seeing results from using it.

7. If the product is very similar to others in the market, use the power of your branding to differentiate it from competing products.

Promoting New Amazon Products Through Holiday Gift Guides

In 2022, about 60% of shoppers trusted editorial suggestions made to them while they were researching new product categories, as Kris Weissman from Seller Rocket described in a past webinar. Consumers appreciate these third-party suggestions, made in lists or posts with titles such as “Best Gifts for the Last-Minute Holiday Shopper.” Amazon’s editorial program includes around 200 such third-party editors. In the webinar, it will be explained in detail how to get your items included in these online lists and posts.

Make success a breeze with Mayan