Growing An Ecommerce Business In 2019, with Scott Voelker, Ep #4

Growing an Ecommerce business is still one of the best ways to build something that can financially serve you and your family long-term, but it has never been more difficult. That’s why you should take advantage of the knowledge and experience of those who have done it in the past and are still doing it today, even with all the changes that have happened in the Ecommerce space.

This episode of Maximizing Ecommerce features Scott Voelker, Kevin’s long-time mentor and friend, a super successful Ecommerce seller, and host of “The Amazing Seller” podcast. Scott shares his story, how the Ecommerce industry has changed over the last few years, and how you can get involved in building your own brand, investing your time, energy, and resources wisely, and establishing a long-term revenue stream (or two, or three) that makes all the effort worth it. You can grow a successful Ecommerce business today! Listen to hear how Scott and Kevin advise you go about it.

Learn the steps to successfully growing an #ecommerce business in 2019, with @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #PrivateLabel #Amazon #ProductSales Click To Tweet

Outline of This Episode

[0:30] How the Ecommerce world is constantly changing – and what doesn’t
[1:30] Introducing Kevin’s friend and mentor, Scott Voelker
[3:09] The backstory behind Kevin and Scott’s friendship
[8:09] Why the things that worked in the past don’t work as well in 2019
[21:01] Content is a huge part of building a brand. Scott shares how to do it well
[20:31] What to expect from your content marketing efforts
[37:90] How product sales can pivot into digital products
[42:44] Relationships with others who are building brands are valuable
[47:12] Scott’s parting advice for those looking to grow and Ecommerce business

Private label sales: Not as simple as picking a product that is selling well

It wasn’t too long ago that private label sellers were able to research popular items selling on Amazon, create their own version of the product, and begin selling it (and making money). Back then, if you ran out of inventory due to rapid sales, you typically had time to reorder and get back in the game. But today that is not the case. By the time you reorder and resupply your initial stock at Amazon, 3 to 5 new sellers are likely to have copied what you’re doing and will be raking in the sales in your place. It's also likely that one of those suppliers will have taken over the product listing you worked so hard to build and you won’t have a chance of regaining your place at the top.

What’s the solution? In this episode, Scott and Kevin talk about the options you have for growing an Ecommerce business in 2019. You could…

Sell varied products as cash-flow opportunities (and constantly be shifting what you sell)
Build a brand of your own around the same niche area of interest

Which is better? Does one have greater benefits for you as a seller than the other? Listen to this great conversation between two experienced Amazon sellers to get the answers.

Two options for growing an Ecommerce business you should consider

Consider this scenario: You find products that are selling well and begin supplying products of your own in that market. They sell well at first, but it isn’t long before the market fills up with look-alike products and suppliers. You have to pivot and wind up selecting a different product to add to what you sell. You experience the same sort of success at first – but the niche is quickly saturated again.

OR, you could do this: Once you’ve found a product that both sells well and that you enjoy, you decide to double-down on that market. You work to differentiate your product by adding new features. You brand your product with your particular logo and mark, you customize the packaging, you add additional products that complement the ones you already sell. All of that leads to buyers having a good feeling about your brand – and customer experience turns into customer loyalty.

Which would YOU prefer? Scott Voelker, Kevin’s guest on this episode has seen and experienced both scenarios and he’s convinced the later of the two is the best long-term gain, for many reasons. Listen to this episode to hear how he advises to do it in 2019.

Here are 2 options for growing an #Ecommerce business you should consider. Learn from an experienced seller, @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #PrivateLabel #Amazon #ProductSales Click To Tweet

Step one for building an Ecommerce brand in 2019

There are people out there who are selling products on Amazon who don’t want to build a brand. The brainwork and nuance required to make things cohesive is not attractive to them – and perhaps they enjoy the “hunt” of finding new products and making them rise to the top of the Amazon search. If that is you, what does Scott recommend you do?

First – Scott recommends you figure out a specific market and find and develop a variety of products in the same niche. It’s easier to research and provide products that are related, and each of them can point buyers to the other products you sell. If you do go about things in that way, Scott recommends you start investing your profits in other things that are completely unrelated to your product and your Amazon efforts. That’s because you want your income diversified so that if Amazon changes its algorithms or policies, you don’t lose everything.

Isn’t that smart?

A huge part of growing an Ecommerce business depends on Content Marketing

Do you understand the term “Content Marketing?” It’s the process of producing valuable, free content for those who are interested in what you are selling so that you can build a following (“Bass Fishing” is one of Scott’s favorite illustrations). You’ve likely benefited from this kind of marketing yourself and didn’t even realize it was marketing. This podcast is one example of content marketing. When you do this, follow these two principles…

Provide value – don’t make content just to make content. Truly help people
Be consistent – content marketing is a long game, but a very effective one

As you do this, you are able to connect with people who are truly interested in what you have to offer by building an email list. You can then sell your products to them through emails, place advertisements on your website that takes advantage of the traffic you're getting, create digital products that relate to your physical products, make sales through affiliate links you provide, and more.

This episode is full of great information about how to build a brand, how to use it to its fullest potential through content marketing, and how to diversify your income streams so that you can be protected from the ups and downs of Amazon sales.

As a BONUS, Scotts shares how to build relationships with others in the Ecommerce space for the possibility of joint ventures and new opportunities – like the Brand Accelerator Live event Scott and Kevin are putting on this year. Listen to get all the details!

A huge part of growing an #Ecommerce business depends on #ContentMarketing. Get tips for doing it right from @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #PrivateLabel #Amazon #ProductSales Click To Tweet