Q4 2022 is bound to be one of the most impactful online selling seasons ever. As part of our effort to bring prime Q4 selling advice to eCommerce entrepreneurs everywhere, we sat down virtually with eCommerce expert and top YouTube influencer Tatiana James to get her thoughts on the 2022 holiday shopping season. With over 180,000 subscribers on YouTube, Tatiana helps countless people find financial freedom by building epic eCommerce businesses on Amazon and Shopify.
Here are her top tips for Amazon sellers and eCommerce businesses in Q4:
Order Enough Inventory
Running out of stock is no fun, especially when you’re missing out on the chance to increase sales during the holiday season. The goal is to have enough stock without being overstock. If you are overstock, you risk paying high FBA storage fees during Q4. If you’re a new seller, keep in mind that you may have a storage limit if you’re using Amazon’s FBA fulfillment centers.
An option is to place a larger order with your manufacturer and store that inventory at your home or a separate warehouse within the same marketplace you wish to sell from and from there you can replenish your Amazon inventory levels regularly.
Suppliers are usually extremely busy during the holiday season and will take much longer than usual to manufacture your order so consider placing your order as soon as possible. Take into account that due to COVID-19 freight is often slower and costlier than usual and this will be exacerbated during the holiday season.
Make sure you check to see when Amazon’s cut-off dates are for receiving inventory for the holiday season.
Have a Marketing Plan
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two major sales days for Amazon sellers. That is if you create a compelling offer. Find ways to differentiate your offer from other sellers. Turn on Amazon Sponsored Ads to get noticed on page one of the search results. Expect to pay more for ads during Q4 so make sure you know your numbers well so you don’t overspend. It would be sad to see all the sales coming in only to realize that you aren’t making any profits because of your ad spend.
Work with Influencers
What will you do off of Amazon to promote your products or brand? Influencer marketing is something I’m super passionate about because IT WORKS and is much more cost-effective than cold ads. Find people within your niche who already have a small/medium size social media following that likes, knows and trusts them. Then reach out to the influencers to promote your product. You’ll also score some great content that you can repost on your social platforms! Start creating buzz around your products through influencer marketing as soon as possible.
Update Your Listings
Make sure you prepare an updated listing to reflect the upcoming holidays through your photos, copy and videos. Optimize the frontend and backend of your listings with popular holiday search terms. Don’t forget to save a copy of your old listing so you can revert back later.
Breathe
Don’t get too caught up in all the craziness of the holidays that you don’t enjoy yourself. Enjoy the process because that’s what life is about!
See what Tatiana has to say about Payability Instant Access and Instant Advance for Shopify in these YouTube videos.
