How to Create a Brand on Amazon: Featuring the Brand Author

You’ve poured your heart and soul into product development. You 100% believe your product is full of value and competitive enough to stand out on Amazon. You’ve invested in PPC, and you have enough inventory to keep the Amazon gods happy. Wait a second – you’re not quite ready to launch. What’s your brand building strategy? Have you wrapped that beautiful product in run-of-the-mill plastic packaging and slapped a logo printed on your Inkjet onto the bag? Looks like you could use a few branding strategies. Otherwise, your product won’t fly the way you’d like it to, believe us.

Once upon a time, there was someone who thought exactly the way you do. They had a series of organic jams, which tasted delicious, and were crafted out of the best ingredients available on the market. The brand developers believed that the jams were so amazing, there was no reason they wouldn’t just walk off the shelves on their own. So they poured their high-end confitures into regular jam jars, printed labels onto sticky paper, and headed to farmer’s markets and fairs. To their shock, their sales were so low, they barely broke even. Nobody noticed their little jam jars in the midst of pretty preserves arranged picturesquely on gingham tablecloths. Especially not after their DIY labels absorbed the water from the jams and the ink started to run. What a sorry sight those expensive conserves made!

Enter Zarah Cruzan of the Brand Author.

“Why invest in packaging?” the jam makers lamented. “We’re hardly making any money – if we spend extra on packaging, we’ll be out of pocket.”

And that attitude, ladies and gentlemen, is what differentiates wealth builders from business owners. Many people fall into the same trap of looking at their brand as an expense. Branding for small business owners can be quite simple – here are a few tips from Zarah herself:

1. Start small. It’s all about a solid communications strategy with few really good moving parts, as opposed to a full-on branding kit with assets you probably won’t need for another 4 years.
2. Consistency is key. Your customers need to differentiate you from all the white noise out there, and they need to have a brand to remember. Establish the basics first before you try to play around.
3. You are not your customer! Listen to your audience; your communication efforts exist to connect with them and create a relationship with them.
4. Fulfill the brand promise. If you’re saying your confitures are high-class, pay an extra $0.25 for packaging that reflects that luxe status.

Zarah drops so many more nuggets of wisdom as she chats with Amy on Seller Round Table. Click here to access the interview – don’t forget to take notes. Give it an hour; you’ll come out on the other side feeling strong and empowered with a better brand building strategy that’ll do your pretty product justice. Believe us!