There's no doubt Amazon takes a hefty chunk out of your profits. Whether you get them to ship for you through fulfillment by Amazon or you're just paying the referral fee, that's 15%-65% of your profits gone to the big brand. You've punched some numbers and figured out it's well worth your time and money to ship from your own eCommerce site, but where should you even start?
Redirect Traffic from Social Media to Your Own Website
This should happen from the moment the new site is created. Ensure that all links on social media are now suggesting buying from your personal site. There's no reason to give Amazon more traffic and advertisement. Switching these social media pitches to your own site and leaving Amazon products selling organically is the best practice for transferring frequenting consumers over to your personal shop.
Place Advertisement for your Website in Amazon Sales
Placing business cards or other references directly to your own site inside of Amazon orders is a fair method of transferring customers from Amazon to your own site. Many customers don't even know another site exists. The best way to do this is to include a coupon or other convincing sales material only applicable on your personal site so that customers have a reason to go there. This is harder to do if you have your orders fulfilled by Amazon, or FBA, as you are not the one packing the product, but placing a simple link and maybe a non-expiring coupon on the product is definitely an option.
Provide a Benefit to Shopping on Your Own Website
After selling on Amazon, it's hard to convince consumers that switching to your new platform is worth it, especially if your orders are being fulfilled by Amazon. Most Amazon shoppers use Prime, and it's really hard to beat free two-day shipping. Give consumers a reason to want to shop on your personal site. This can be sales, exclusive products, or even free shipping promotions. Anything to convince customers that they really do get more out of shopping through your official site than just buying your products on Amazon.
Ensure the site is set up well and functions perfectly before trying to redirect traffic. The worst case scenario is a launch goes wrong and it makes customers not want to touch your personal shop. Transitioning customers away from a traffic dominator like Amazon can be tough as it is hard to convince people there are better options, but it generates substantial profits compared to Amazon and it is worth converting as many customers as possible.
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