1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,560 Kevin Mako: Hello, product innovators. Today we learn how to build a successful Amazon product launch from an expert who has put 50 products onto the Amazon marketplace. 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:17,360 Kevin Mako: This is the Product Startup Podcast, a show to learn from top leaders in hardware product development, prototyping, manufacturing, product selling, and everything in between. 3 00:00:17,540 --> 00:00:22,200 Kevin Mako: Hosted by Kevin Mako, the leading expert on product development for hardware startups. 4 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:26,540 Kevin Mako: Welcome back, everyone. Today I'm very excited to introduce Robb Green to the show. 5 00:00:26,540 --> 00:00:29,980 Kevin Mako: Robb is the founder of Solving Alpha, a company with dozens of products. 6 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,620 Kevin Mako: and multiple product brands on Amazon that also acquires other Amazon brands. 7 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,300 Kevin Mako: He also hosts the I’m The One Podcast to help people migrate to the world of entrepreneurship. 8 00:00:39,900 --> 00:00:42,820 Kevin Mako: Today, Robb is going to share some valuable knowledge for inventors, startups and small 9 00:00:42,820 --> 00:00:46,680 Kevin Mako: manufacturers on the importance of properly planning for an Amazon product launch, 10 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,120 Kevin Mako: the technical aspects of an Amazon listing, and how to succeed in launching and growing your 11 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,700 Kevin Mako: product sales on the Amazon Marketplace platform. 12 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:55,240 Kevin Mako: Now, on to the episode. 13 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,780 Kevin Mako: This show is produced by Mako Design, the original firm providing 14 00:00:59,780 --> 00:01:04,560 Kevin Mako: end-to-end consumer product development services tailored specifically to hardware startups, 15 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:11,400 Kevin Mako: small manufacturers, and inventors. Take your product from idea to store shelves at MakoDesign.com. 16 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,874 Kevin Mako: Now on to the episode. Hey, Robb, welcome to the show. 17 00:01:14,874 --> 00:01:16,660 Robb Green: Hey, thanks for having me, Kevin. 18 00:01:16,660 --> 00:01:21,180 Kevin Mako: Well, we're excited to have you on today to talk about successfully launching on Amazon, 19 00:01:21,340 --> 00:01:28,040 Kevin Mako: not just listing on Amazon, but truly launching a new consumer product on Amazon in a successful 20 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,740 Kevin Mako: a way that builds brands. And who better to bring on the show than yourself, 21 00:01:31,820 --> 00:01:37,280 Kevin Mako: who's launched numerous brands. So before we get into all the weeds of what makes for a great 22 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,080 Kevin Mako: Amazon launch and scale, just give us a quick backstory of how you got to the success that you are today. 23 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,160 Robb Green: Yeah, I started in corporate America. Everybody says, find your passion. I found mine. I 24 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,920 Robb Green: I hated corporate America. I wasn't a great employee and didn't really want to be in 25 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:55,280 Robb Green: corporate America too much bureaucracy for me. So started drop shipping e-commerce in 2011 and then 26 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,520 Robb Green: shifted over to creating my own brands in 2015. So I've been selling successfully on Amazon 27 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:05,920 Robb Green: since 2015. So a handful plus brands, had a few exits, and we're continuing to launch 28 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:10,860 Robb Green: and list products on Amazon today. Yeah, amazing. Well over 50 products that you've launched there. 29 00:02:10,940 --> 00:02:14,640 Kevin Mako: So you've learned the ins and outs. I think you're just at Amazon headquarters last week as well. 30 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:19,260 Robb Green: I just was one of four panelists up at Amazon headquarters in Seattle talking voice to the seller 31 00:02:19,260 --> 00:02:24,580 Robb Green: program, talking to a bunch of executives, directors, and VPs about how they can bring some of their 32 00:02:24,580 --> 00:02:29,200 Robb Green: data to us so that we have a better chance and actually perfect for this of launching on 33 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:34,540 Robb Green: Amazon. They want new products and they want successful new products. So they're trying to alter 34 00:02:34,540 --> 00:02:39,320 Robb Green: the information they can provide to us. And then also maybe play around a little bit with the search 35 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,080 Robb Green: results and how they look so that it's something that we can actually penetrate that market. 36 00:02:43,420 --> 00:02:47,460 Kevin Mako: That's amazing. I'm really curious to dig into that today on the show to figure out like in 37 00:02:47,460 --> 00:02:53,380 Kevin Mako: 2023, what are the best practices now on Amazon from the source themselves. I find it very interesting 38 00:02:53,380 --> 00:02:57,320 Kevin Mako: what you mentioned. I think this is inspiring, especially to emerging hardware startups. 39 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:03,560 Kevin Mako: Amazon wants your product. If you build a great product that solves a pain point or creates 40 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:08,580 Kevin Mako: opportunity for the world for a certain demographic, it can it be very, very niche demographic? 41 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:14,120 Kevin Mako: They want it because that's how they grow. They grow through more products so that they can sell 42 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:19,800 Kevin Mako: more things to more people around the world. So Robb, Robb, let's dive into the details. Let's talk first 43 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,360 Robb Green: about listing. So the way I think about this is if back in the day, 44 00:03:23,380 --> 00:03:28,260 Robb Green: we just get these paper catalogs in the mail, right? And when you list a product on Amazon, 45 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,240 Robb Green: essentially what you're getting done is you're getting put into this catalog. And that's it. 46 00:03:32,580 --> 00:03:36,400 Robb Green: So you list a product, you create a listing, you go out there, you're now in the catalog. 47 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:42,300 Robb Green: The reality is there's thousands, if not millions of products in that catalog, right? So that's what 48 00:03:42,300 --> 00:03:47,140 Robb Green: your average seller does or the average person who launches a product. They just listed on there. And to be 49 00:03:47,140 --> 00:03:51,940 Robb Green: honest with you, that's not really the key to success because you're now in the catalog, but you're in the 50 00:03:51,940 --> 00:03:57,180 Robb Green: back of the catalog. You're on page 400, so you're not discoverable, right? So I always say you've 51 00:03:57,180 --> 00:04:01,400 Robb Green: got to launch a product as opposed to list it, right? And we'll dig in a little bit on what that means. 52 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,440 Kevin Mako: Yeah, that's excellent. Launching a product is key. We want things to explode. We want them to be a big 53 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:11,580 Kevin Mako: success. And we want them to scale over time, especially as people get to know the market as you start 54 00:04:11,580 --> 00:04:16,360 Kevin Mako: collecting the reviews and so on. That's what really a hardware startup should be all about is building 55 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:21,560 Kevin Mako: great products. So let's dig into what that actually looks like. Let's dive deeper into the actual list. 56 00:04:21,940 --> 00:04:27,920 Kevin Mako: prepare for a great list that is a launch and not just a list. Great question. So you start 57 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,640 Robb Green: with preparation, which is the key operative word in what you said there. So you've got to actually do 58 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:38,040 Robb Green: your research. So creating a great listing is like telling the story. A lot of us product guys, 59 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,760 Robb Green: maybe not great storytellers, but we can be great storytellers by getting a few things right. And 60 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:47,080 Robb Green: understanding the marketplace that we're playing in, if you think about any type of like physical 61 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,920 Robb Green: real estate, Amazon is not only the anchor store at a mall, but they're also the source. 62 00:04:51,940 --> 00:04:57,820 Robb Green: store on every street corner, they have that digital real estate. How do we capture eyeballs 63 00:04:57,820 --> 00:05:02,200 Robb Green: once we have the visibility and get people to go through the funnel, right? And that starts 64 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:07,140 Robb Green: with your main image. Main image is the most important thing. Try to differentiate your main 65 00:05:07,140 --> 00:05:11,980 Robb Green: image. Obviously, do the basics. The basic would be making it large enough, fitting the requirements, 66 00:05:12,220 --> 00:05:16,800 Robb Green: making it attractive, making it grab someone's attention. Then people typically go to 67 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,020 Robb Green: title with their eyeballs. Then they make a decision to make a click. Once they have a click, 68 00:05:21,020 --> 00:05:25,760 Robb Green: they're into the listing, and they either do one of two things, either read the bullet points, 69 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,160 Robb Green: which I find is very rare, but mostly they go through the left-hand side, which is your stack image, 70 00:05:30,180 --> 00:05:35,040 Robb Green: is to understand the story. And then they'll go to reviews. So the idea is you want to create an 71 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:41,780 Robb Green: optimal listing. Main image is number one, title is number two. And then what I do and what we do here 72 00:05:41,780 --> 00:05:47,160 Robb Green: is we write for the algorithm, but we tell the story for the consumer in the pictures. What do I mean by 73 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,480 Robb Green: that? You've got to have the right keyword. So keyword research is optimal. 74 00:05:51,020 --> 00:05:54,880 Robb Green: Because if you think about any time you put a product into the catalog, Amazon doesn't know what 75 00:05:54,880 --> 00:06:00,260 Robb Green: your product is, right? It's a widget to them. How do they reference that product from a search 76 00:06:00,260 --> 00:06:04,900 Robb Green: perspective? And so you've got to think from their perspective, what you're doing is you're seeding 77 00:06:04,900 --> 00:06:12,640 Robb Green: that product in Amazon's eyes and their algorithm to say this product is relevant to these keywords. And 78 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:18,400 Robb Green: you're doing that by creating the listing. So that is by far step one to give you the best opportunity 79 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,200 Kevin Mako: to have success. Wow, there's a lot of stuff in there, a lot baked in. I really appreciate 80 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,800 Kevin Mako: that you giving the priority of how somebody's eyeballs typically track through an Amazon ad 81 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:32,260 Kevin Mako: because I think for a hardware startup out there, like first of all, with a new proprietary 82 00:06:32,260 --> 00:06:37,520 Kevin Mako: product, you should be working with their designers to create amazing hero shots or user case examples 83 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,900 Kevin Mako: or videos or pictures or whatever else of your product. If it's designed recently, which typically 84 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:47,120 Kevin Mako: a new consumer product is, that means it should be modern, sexy, sophisticated, but also, of course, 85 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:52,540 Kevin Mako: solving a major pain point or creating an opportunity for that end user. So reflect that 86 00:06:52,540 --> 00:06:57,320 Kevin Mako: in your images. You only have a handful of images in a video in order to paint the picture and tell the 87 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:03,660 Kevin Mako: story. But the listing goes so much deeper than that. And I want to kind of break down the concept of, 88 00:07:03,740 --> 00:07:08,640 Kevin Mako: I think everybody can understand putting a great picture is paramount. And that goes across platforms 89 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,880 Kevin Mako: as well. It's not just for Amazon. That's any way that you're trying to sell your product. The hero shot 90 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,960 Kevin Mako: is critical. And then how you tell the story on subsequent pictures or video is critical. 91 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:23,360 Kevin Mako: well. But let's assume we've done that right. Talk a bit more about how the Amazon algorithms 92 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:28,660 Kevin Mako: look at a listing via keywords. How does it index? How does it sort? How does it prioritize 93 00:07:28,660 --> 00:07:34,060 Robb Green: based on those keywords? Yep. So now you're in the catalog, let's say you're the back of the 94 00:07:34,060 --> 00:07:40,220 Robb Green: catalog. And now have you been indexed? What that means is, does Amazon find you relevant for that 95 00:07:40,220 --> 00:07:44,800 Robb Green: keyword? So now, let's say you're on page 20. Let's start with something easy. 96 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:46,620 Kevin Mako: Now, for Amazon to move you up, 97 00:07:46,620 --> 00:07:52,100 Robb Green: It's a relative game. And what do I mean by that? There are 20 pages worth of products that are ahead of 98 00:07:52,100 --> 00:07:58,800 Robb Green: you for a, let's use an easy one. So cell phone case, right? And you're on page 20, which means you've got 99 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:06,140 Robb Green: probably 700, 800, 800 products ahead of you, right? So now Amazon, as the proprietor and the owner of this 100 00:08:06,140 --> 00:08:11,760 Robb Green: digital space, they care about making money. So what we want to do is we want to give them the signals 101 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:19,380 Robb Green: that our iPhone case is better for them to put earlier in the search results. So what does 102 00:08:19,380 --> 00:08:23,260 Robb Green: that mean? That means there's a couple key metrics that they're looking at. They're looking at 103 00:08:23,260 --> 00:08:27,440 Robb Green: sell-through, which is conversion rate. And they're looking at click-through rate. The easiest way 104 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:32,280 Robb Green: to think about this is put yourself in Amazon's shoes. If Kevin's got a cell phone case and I have a 105 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:36,140 Robb Green: cell phone case and Kevin's gets a higher click-through rate and a higher conversion rate, 106 00:08:36,460 --> 00:08:40,720 Robb Green: why would Amazon ever put me higher than Kevin? It wouldn't make any sense. 107 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:46,143 Robb Green: So what we need to do when I say launch is we need to drive traffic to our listing. 108 00:08:46,143 --> 00:08:47,100 Kevin Mako: Now, again, 109 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,900 Robb Green: we hopefully have an optimal listing that is getting better click-through rate because of the better 110 00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:55,680 Robb Green: image and better title than our competitors. And then we're driving traffic in which people 111 00:08:55,680 --> 00:09:02,960 Robb Green: click and buy our product on a relative basis more than our competitors. What happens then is 112 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:09,160 Robb Green: Amazon's, they're not dumb. They know what to do. They're going to move you up the rankings, right? So how do we 113 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:14,360 Robb Green: do that. The easiest way to do it is Amazon ads on their own platform. That buys you visibility. 114 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:18,320 Robb Green: So you're paying a cost per click. You're bidding on specific keywords, which you've already 115 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:23,480 Robb Green: done the research for. And then that will allow you to get visibility. You'll get data. You'll get 116 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,320 Robb Green: clicks, which is effective your click-through-rate. And then what's going to happen is you get conversions. 117 00:09:28,060 --> 00:09:33,200 Robb Green: That conversion rate and click-through-rate is relative to your competitors for that specific keyword. 118 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:39,140 Robb Green: And as you, the best way to think about it is buy product, buy keyword strategy. If you have 119 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:44,900 Robb Green: that type of granular strategy. That's how you can move up in the rankings. Very useful. 120 00:09:44,900 --> 00:09:51,260 Kevin Mako: This really strikes a core too because there's an adage in product design that if you can make a product 121 00:09:51,260 --> 00:09:59,120 Kevin Mako: 5% better than a competitor, you will start to erode them. If you make it 10% better, you will start to conquer 122 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:05,100 Kevin Mako: them. And if you make it 15% better, you create an empire, essentially. So if you look at this in terms 123 00:10:05,100 --> 00:10:11,600 Kevin Mako: of what Amazon is doing, you just have to be slightly better than a competitor. Now, a lot of 124 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:17,540 Kevin Mako: hardware innovations out there are fairly unique. Maybe it's an entirely new solution to an existing 125 00:10:17,540 --> 00:10:23,100 Kevin Mako: problem. But there's still competition in that space for keywords based on alternative products 126 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:27,860 Kevin Mako: that somebody might buy to solve the problem a different way or whatever else. Or it might be a direct 127 00:10:27,860 --> 00:10:33,380 Kevin Mako: competitor. Either way, if you could just be slightly better than your competition, you will get the 128 00:10:33,380 --> 00:10:37,680 Kevin Mako: edge on Amazon. And if you continue to improve that, you'll continue to grow that and get 129 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:41,320 Kevin Mako: higher and higher in the rankings against not only your direct competitors, but indirect 130 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:46,240 Kevin Mako: competitors are alternative products that Amazon might want to serve for those specific keywords. 131 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:51,060 Robb Green: Yeah. And the one benefit about this from a marketing perspective is these slight improvements or 132 00:10:51,060 --> 00:10:56,020 Robb Green: relative advantages your competition, they stack. So let me talk to you about what I mean by that, 133 00:10:56,020 --> 00:11:00,520 Robb Green: Kevin, real quick. If you think about it as a funnel, and what do I mean by that? You've got impressions, 134 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:05,720 Robb Green: So visibility, if I get more impressions than you do, and let's use you and I competing again, 135 00:11:06,220 --> 00:11:11,900 Robb Green: then I'm slightly better and I get more eyeballs. Then I'm slightly better on clicks or click-through rate. 136 00:11:12,220 --> 00:11:15,700 Robb Green: So now I've got more impressions, plus I've got a better click-through rate than you. 137 00:11:16,060 --> 00:11:21,160 Robb Green: Then the next level of the funnel is what they call add to carts. People go to the product detail 138 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:25,760 Robb Green: page and then the number of people that add that product to their cart. And then the final piece of the funnel 139 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:30,340 Robb Green: is the actual conversion where they buy the product. So if I'm slightly better than you, 140 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:36,380 Robb Green: At each piece of that funnel, it compounds. And I'm selling far more units than you are, 141 00:11:36,580 --> 00:11:41,080 Robb Green: which at the end of the day, that's what Amazon really wants, right? And now they actually 142 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:46,320 Robb Green: release some of this data in their brand analytics and their SQP data, search query performance data, 143 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:52,520 Robb Green: that allows you to see at each step of that funnel, how your ASIN is performing relative to the market. 144 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:58,980 Kevin Mako: That's amazing. You can actually start driving deeper into those details. How much of this can you 145 00:11:58,980 --> 00:12:04,460 Kevin Mako: apply towards A-B testing or how does that work in terms of really improving all of those 146 00:12:04,460 --> 00:12:09,360 Kevin Mako: layers of your listing, which is your advertisement, basically. And a little bit of the challenge, 147 00:12:09,420 --> 00:12:13,100 Robb Green: there's all these opportunities. So it's not like there's a shortage of opportunities to improve. 148 00:12:13,180 --> 00:12:17,680 Robb Green: It's like, where do I put my time and energy first, right? A real live example is just last weekend, 149 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:23,540 Robb Green: my sales and marketing manager, he just changed our listing to be more relevant for some other keywords. 150 00:12:23,820 --> 00:12:28,500 Robb Green: And our sales, and we've been selling this product for a couple years, our sales jumped up significantly 151 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:34,000 Robb Green: from a Saturday to a Saturday. We went from two Saturdays ago. We sold 55 units. 152 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,520 Robb Green: This last Saturday, we sold 103. And this is a product. We've got it. We've had it around for a while. 153 00:12:38,580 --> 00:12:43,320 Robb Green: It's got more than a thousand reviews. He went in and changed using chat GPT. We already had the keyword 154 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:49,140 Robb Green: research to redo the listing, which created more visibility. And we are constantly doing this, right? We're 155 00:12:49,140 --> 00:12:54,300 Robb Green: constantly keeping up to speed on what's happening, what's changing with the keywords. So that's a great news. 156 00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:58,480 Robb Green: The great news is there's tons of opportunities to improve and constantly improve where. 157 00:12:58,500 --> 00:13:02,960 Robb Green: where you can go and what you want to focus on to make it better. How do you do some of that 158 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:09,320 Robb Green: keyword research to figure out what to try? There are an abundance of tools out there nowadays. So 159 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:15,140 Robb Green: nowadays, you've got all these third-party tools. I would say your best option is on Amazon. It's the 160 00:13:15,140 --> 00:13:21,640 Robb Green: most reliable data. It's called Product Opportunity Explorer, P-O-E. And that is on Amazon inside 161 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:26,060 Robb Green: the growth tools. So if you have an Amazon seller central account, that's easy way to go. We know 162 00:13:26,060 --> 00:13:30,960 Robb Green: it's directly from Amazon. Everybody else's data is interpretations of the data from Amazon, right? So 163 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:37,380 Robb Green: Helium 10 is a big one. Jungle Scout is a large one. And these are just third-party apps in which you can say 164 00:13:37,380 --> 00:13:43,400 Robb Green: you can give the ASIN, which is an Amazon-specific identification number. You can take the ASIN from a 165 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:49,100 Robb Green: competitor, put it in there, reverse engineer it. It'll tell you all the keywords they rank for. That's a 166 00:13:49,100 --> 00:13:56,040 Robb Green: great starting point to say, hey, Amazon already determines these keywords as relevant for this. 167 00:13:56,060 --> 00:13:59,960 Robb Green: product. Well, that's a great starting point, right? We don't want to reinvent the wheel here. 168 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,840 Robb Green: We want to take what's already out there and do a better job of what already exists. 169 00:14:04,580 --> 00:14:10,420 Kevin Mako: How much does the quality of the product matter on Amazon? I know it's a bit of a obvious question 170 00:14:10,420 --> 00:14:14,600 Kevin Mako: here, but I like hearing it from you yourself, who's right in the weeds on the sales side. 171 00:14:15,100 --> 00:14:19,680 Robb Green: The product matters a lot. I think of it in time, right? It matters a lot in the beginning 172 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:24,440 Robb Green: because you need those initial reviews to be good. And it matters a lot in the long term because 173 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:26,040 Robb Green: it also, you need the ratings to be. 174 00:14:26,060 --> 00:14:29,620 Robb Green: be good, right? So the ratings, there's two factors here. We talk about reviews. There's the 175 00:14:29,620 --> 00:14:34,180 Robb Green: quantity of reviews and ratings, which is just a number. And then there's another scoring mechanism 176 00:14:34,180 --> 00:14:41,640 Robb Green: on a one to five rating system. And you can see a difference between a 4.7 and a 4.2. It's not a true 177 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:47,180 Robb Green: average. They have their own scoring mechanism. I think they have a recency bias in the way that they look at the 178 00:14:47,180 --> 00:14:52,540 Robb Green: actual scoring from a star rating system. So if you look at that, you want a high quality product because 179 00:14:52,540 --> 00:14:56,040 Robb Green: people will always look at that and say, hey, I want. 180 00:14:56,060 --> 00:15:01,740 Robb Green: a high quality product that I can buy, that the reviews are high quality. I think that it's easier 181 00:15:01,740 --> 00:15:05,960 Robb Green: nowadays. You've got a lot of third party sellers that do just, they just throw anything on there, 182 00:15:06,020 --> 00:15:10,380 Robb Green: honestly. And I think that's good news for people that actually want to put the time and energy to make a 183 00:15:10,380 --> 00:15:15,820 Robb Green: a high quality product. I think it's actually beneficial that some of these low quality sellers, 184 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:20,280 Robb Green: lower-quality products are on there because it's easier to differentiate your product 185 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,200 Robb Green: against a low-quality product. 186 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,040 Kevin Mako: Powerful stuff. Any other last tips, words of wisdom for 187 00:15:26,060 --> 00:15:30,760 Kevin Mako: especially hardware startups as they're on their journey to being a big success on Amazon. 188 00:15:31,100 --> 00:15:36,760 Robb Green: It's one of those things that can be very complicated. This is a simple but not easy system, right? 189 00:15:36,780 --> 00:15:40,700 Robb Green: It's a marketplace. It sounds simple. We're going to list it. We're going to sell products. I would get 190 00:15:40,700 --> 00:15:45,820 Robb Green: somebody either employ somebody as a contractor or an employee that stays on top of this because it does move 191 00:15:45,820 --> 00:15:51,360 Robb Green: quickly. So find somebody that can help or assist you with this. I think this is one of those opportunities 192 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,040 Robb Green: where you will you will reap high ROI on getting somebody who's an expert at this. 193 00:15:56,060 --> 00:16:00,140 Robb Green: this. Because it's such a fast moving. It's not like you learn it once and you never 194 00:16:00,140 --> 00:16:03,760 Robb Green: have to change over the next two years. So my recommendation, anybody that's getting started 195 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:09,020 Robb Green: that doesn't have expertise on it is actually get somebody is or a contractor or be a part of a 196 00:16:09,020 --> 00:16:13,860 Robb Green: group or something along those lines so you can actually leverage their knowledge to have a greater 197 00:16:13,860 --> 00:16:18,000 Robb Green: chance of success. It gives you a higher probability success. Absolutely. Especially if you're 198 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,800 Kevin Mako: new to online selling. It could only help you to have some experts on board with you helping you through 199 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,040 Kevin Mako: those processes. Now, there's a lot you've talked about in this episode that 200 00:16:26,060 --> 00:16:29,780 Kevin Mako: it just gives a powerful framework for somebody that's kicking this off for the first 201 00:16:29,780 --> 00:16:35,580 Kevin Mako: time. But of course, there's lots into the weeds that everybody should be understanding on a 202 00:16:35,580 --> 00:16:40,820 Kevin Mako: real-time basis. And it is changing. It adapts. It modifies. It moves. This is a real-time interactive 203 00:16:40,820 --> 00:16:45,960 Kevin Mako: organic platform. So they're constantly trying to improve a variety of things on the Amazon platform 204 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,480 Kevin Mako: so that they are competing with other platforms like Walmart Marketplace, etc. So before I let 205 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:55,760 Kevin Mako: you go, Robb, I just wanted to talk a bit about on the one podcast that you're running. Tell everyone a bit 206 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,360 Kevin Mako: about what you're doing and where they can click to learn more about that. Yeah, thanks so much. 207 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:04,460 Robb Green: We just launched a podcast. I'm the one a couple months ago. And the concept really is we talk about health, 208 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:09,320 Robb Green: wealth, and relationships, right? So I think being an entrepreneur is the key in the recipe to an 209 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:14,220 Robb Green: extraordinary life. And so we just talk about my experience of becoming, going from corporate America to being 210 00:17:14,220 --> 00:17:19,820 Robb Green: an entrepreneur and designing my life the way I want, talk about health and trying to say that optimal. 211 00:17:19,820 --> 00:17:24,160 Robb Green: I want to win in each of those categories throughout my entire life. I want to be an A in every one of 212 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:28,800 Robb Green: those categories without having a deficiency. Too many people actually focus on one or two, 213 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:33,540 Robb Green: and they really fall down in the other two categories or one of those three categories. So that's what 214 00:17:33,540 --> 00:17:38,380 Robb Green: we talk about. If I can be of any help to anybody on this, please reach out. LinkedIn. It's Robb Green, 215 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,860 Robb Green: R-O-B-B-Green, and then I'm the one podcast. Robb, thanks so much for all your words of wisdom today. 216 00:17:42,980 --> 00:17:47,720 Kevin Mako: As always, I'll put those links in the show notes below for anyone that wants to click through. Thanks again, 217 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:52,000 Kevin Mako: Robb. Robb, appreciate having you on the show. Thanks, Kevin. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Take care. 218 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:59,900 Kevin Mako: of the Product Startup Podcast. If you found some value in the show, please do us a huge favor and hit 219 00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:04,920 Kevin Mako: the like button and subscribe. If you have any questions, guest suggestions, or anything else, 220 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:12,200 Kevin Mako: feel free to reach out to us anytime at our email, podcast at MakoDesign.com. This show is hosted by 221 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:17,880 Kevin Mako: Kevin Mako, North America's leading expert on product development for hardware startups. And the podcast 222 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:23,820 Kevin Mako: is produced by Mako Design, the original firm providing end-to-end consumer product development services, 223 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:29,400 Kevin Mako: specifically to hardware startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Take your product from 224 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:38,060 Kevin Mako: idea to store shelves at MakoDesign.com. That's M-A-K-O-Design.com. Thanks for joining and see you again soon.