As Featured In Fatstacks

The Sales-Traffic Paradigm Shift hitting the Amazon marketplace

Published Categorised as Amazon FBA, Traffic

Difference between your own traffic and your own sales?

A checkout page

Difference between Amazon traffic and your own traffic?

A focused team, an investment mindset, a long term view… not following the crowd (maybe a guide like Future State Media…)

People talk about being “off Amazon” – most take this to mean “having a Shopify site”. At the core however, it’s about owning the traffic. It’s a huge step going from Amazon traffic to your own traffic, it’s a small step going from your own traffic to your own sales on your own site.

How Ranking on Amazon’s A9 Algorithm is changing

The Current Paradigm – Ranking On Amazon Sales = Sales

Rank for keywords in the Amazon A9 Algorithm by stimulating an Artificial Sales Velocity with reduced price sales.

This is similar to the high street sales strategy. Shout SALE as loud as possible to get the volume of product flowing.

Another version of this paradigm is the “loss leader” – a loss we’re convinced we have to make in order to make money with other products, sales or customers.

“Lose money on some in the hope of making profit overall”

Over time we’ve become experts, refining intricate ways of losing money on sales to feed the concept of this paradigm.

We even named this in our business. It was our “perpetual giveaway system” helping us giveaway enough product at the right Velocity to help us maintain a velocity of organic sales.

The Paradigm Shift… Ranking on and OFF Amazon

Paradigm shift definition;

“a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions…”

Here’s the difficult part about this paradigm shift. It’s going to sound obvious. It’s also going to sound weirdly familiar – like it’s just a tactic that you read about a little while ago.

But that’s the thing with paradigm shifts. There are signposts, clues and false starts that just miss the mark. Then… BANG the shift has happened, leaving many behind desperately clinging to the old paradigm – having invested significant time and cash in building systems, processes and expertise that serve the old paradigm.

By now you’re thinking, “get to the point”

So here it is…

Artificial sales Velocity Management with cut price sales is being replaced by REAL demand full priced sales.

You’re now thinking, “you’re crazy!”

Rather than interrupting customers on Facebook or Instagram. Trying to entice them into a purchase with a drastically cut price. There’s a different way…

Serving customers with recommendations, advice, social proof and useful information when THEY’VE searched for it – leading them towards your product as the answer to their problem or need.

I said it would sound familiar.

There’s a TONNE of Google Traffic out there that purchases full price products from Amazon as a result of being directed to Amazon by high authority “media properties”.

What the hell is a media property?!

If I’d said “review website” or “niche website” I wouldn’t be providing enough “gravity” or emphasis to the power of these, more accurately termed “authority websites“.

These website owners are shifting some serious full priced product volumes. Meanwhile, every Amazon seller is enthusiastically building a chatbot to help them giveaway product at massive discounts with extremely efficient automated systems.

It’s kind of like having a money printing machine and pointing the “printed tray” directly out the window and letting the wind carry your money away whilst you work diligently on other aspects of your business.

**Palm to Face moment**

Sticking with the analogy. These “Media Properties” are closing the window through which we’ve become highly effective at throwing money out of, once and for all.

The Difficulty and Expertise Required in This New Traffic Paradigm

This paradigm sounds familiar because there are some established concepts mixed with some newer ones that form this paradigm.

To name a few of the overlapping concepts;

  • Content Marketing
  • SEO
  • Influencer Marketing
  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Niche Websites
  • Authority Websites

The difficulties and expertise are therefore many. But for the savvy business builder with a long term view, this will be music to your ears.

Difficulty means defensibility.

Creating a “Mote” around your business that others don’t dare attempt to cross.

Most “hacks” or short term thinkers simply won’t even attempt to align with the new paradigm.

They’ll instead opt for futile denial. Clinging to the tools, processes and methods of the old paradigm. Eventually succumbing to the capitalistic drivers – they’re cost base being significantly more expensive than those adopting the new paradigm. Resultant lower profits leading to lower investment, ultimately leading to lost market share and eventual collapse.

Yes. It’s that serious.

This isn’t a “new tactic” that serves the same paradigm and provides a marginal change in the sales economics.

It’s not a new “hack” that can or cannot be adopted.

Call it capitalism.

Call it Darwinism.

Does it really matter? The point is – this shift will change the economics of being an Amazon seller. Forever.

It’s not survival of the fittest, but as James Schramko puts it; it’s survival of those most capable of change

.

A New Plan For The New Paradigm

Knowing about a paradigm shift is actually a burdening prospect. Now you know about it, you need to do something, but right now there isn’t a plan.

There’s no playbook.

There’s no $495 course from Udemy.

There’s no “solve it now” software…

This is scary territory.

This brings me back to my original statements;

  • Q: Difference between your own traffic and your own sales?

A: A checkout page

  • Q: Difference between Amazon traffic and your own traffic?

A: A focused team, an investment mindset, a long term view… not following the crowd (or a guide who can help on this journey, like us – Future State Media)

Building your own traffic IS the answer behind the paradigm shift to full priced sales on Amazon enabling the maintenance of sales velocity and even launching brand new products.

The plan therefore needs to be to build your own traffic as quickly, sustainably and cost effectively as possible. Using content to deliver value – enabling the full priced sales.

Sounds simple.

If you want to know the necessary components of this strategy and how you can build sustainable traffic at a 10th of the cost of paid advertising, contact us today and let’s talk about how you can get ahead of your competition in this new paradigm.

By Ashley Pearce

I'm the founder of Future State Media, a "small-on-purpose" creator-focused SEO agency skilled in helping creators systematically generate traffic, build audiences and maximise their monetisation whilst staying true to their brand.