Amazon Seller’s Guide: How to Prepare for the Amazon Black Friday Sale 2024

How Should You Prepare?

Success on Black Friday doesn’t happen by accident; it needs careful planning and execution. Here are some tips on how to prepare for the upcoming 2024 Black Friday sale:

1) Plan and Ship Your Inventory Ahead of Time

If you’ve been in the selling game for a while, you know that Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t just two-day events; sales tend to spike for weeks before and after, making it more like Black November. To avoid missing out on these crucial sales, make sure you have enough stock ready at least 9 weeks before the sale date or by October 26th. Online buyers who are planning to shop during this time already have their favorite products wishlisted, and the last thing you want to do is disappoint them.

If you’re confused as to how much inventory to send to FBA, you can analyze last year’s sales trends and anticipate demand accordingly. Product categories that usually do well during Black Friday include home goods, fashion items, toys, beauty products, and electronics.

2) Optimize Your Product Listings

Properly optimized listings are what will get you noticed. Here’s how you can optimize your listings:

Optimize Your Text

– Title: Keep it within 150 to 200 characters, incorporate relevant keywords, and avoid restricted terms.

– Bullet Points: Aim for five bullet points, ensuring each one does not exceed 500 characters. Avoid including sales promotions or exaggerated claims within the bullets. Focus on the facts and include relevant keywords.

– Description: Follow the same guidelines as the bullet points, and make sure your description does not go beyond the 2000 character limit.

Optimize Your Images

– Use Various Types of Images: Include infographics to explain the product, lifestyle images that demonstrate the product in use, and even a 30 to 60-second product video if possible.

– Consider A+ Content: Think about using A+ content instead of regular descriptions. This allows you to reduce text and make your listing more visually appealing.

3) Optimize Your Ad Campaigns

Black Friday is the perfect time to revise and optimize your PPC campaigns. Here are some tips to help you out:

– Focus on High Performers: Direct a larger portion of your budget towards campaigns and keywords that have historically performed well.

– Review Underperformers: If certain keywords are not delivering results, don’t hesitate to replace them. In other words, remove keywords that have a high ACoS and are not generating sales. It’s a waste of ad spend to keep them running.

– Maintain Continuous Presence: Make sure that your ads are running continuously before, during, and after Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Since there significant surge of customers shopping during this period, you’ll want your products to appear at the top of the search results to capture this increased traffic.

Note: When running PPC campaigns, make sure that you have enough budget to handle the increased traffic. Due to so many people shopping online, you’ll probably get more clicks than usual, so you’ll need a bigger budget. If you set your budget too low, you might run out before the sales period ends, meaning you’ll lose out on increased visibility and potential sales.

4) Plan Your Promotions

To make the most of these busy shopping days, it’s important to have attractive discounts or special offers to increase sales. Amazon offers a wide range of promotional options designed for events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday:

7-Day Deals and Lighting Deals

7-day deals are just what they sound like: your product is advertised non-stop for 7 days straight. Lightning deals, on the other hand, are short, 4-hour flash sales.

Both of these options can quickly boost sales and prevent shopping cart abandonment. Keep in mind though, that running them during Black Friday or Cyber Monday week might cost more due to the increased competition.

Coupons

These are percentage-based discounts that are offered to customers through discount code coupons. They can be customized for certain groups of customers or used site-wide.

Prime Exclusive Discounts

These are special discounts and free gift offers exclusively available to Prime members. It is a great marketing strategy to target loyal customers who tend to shop and spend more.

You can access all these promotional offers by going to your Seller Central account and then clicking on the Advertising tab.

5) Try to Win the Buybox

The Buy Box is the white box on the right side of an Amazon product detail page where customers can directly start the purchase process by adding items to their shopping carts. Around 80% of sales happen through the Buy Box, so securing it is vital.

To boost your chances, make sure you’re a featured FBA seller, offer various shipping options, have sufficient inventory, and maintain good overall performance.

FAQs

What if I’m a new seller on Amazon? Can I still participate in the Black Friday sale?

Yes, new sellers can participate in the Black Friday sale on Amazon. However, it’s essential to ensure that your product listings meet Amazon’s eligibility criteria, such as having Prime shipping available and offering discounts of at least 10% off the regular price.

What should I do if my inventory runs out during the Black Friday sale?

Quickly restock your products to avoid missing out on potential sales. Also, communicate with customers transparently about any delays in shipping and provide estimated delivery dates.

Summary

Black Friday is one of the biggest online shopping events of the year. Millions of people flock to Amazon to grab deals on their favorite products. For online retailers and eCommerce companies, it’s an opportunity to boost online sales, clear out inventory, and attract customers. But to truly take advantage of this event, preparation is key. It’s not just about slashing prices; it’s about implementing the right Black Friday marketing strategies to transform an ordinary sales day into one for the record books.

Looking for expert assistance to help you with your Black Friday Marketing Campaigns? Enso Brands offers a comprehensive range of one-stop Amazon services tailored to optimize your performance and maximize your potential on the platform. Contact us today and discover how we can help your business thrive on Amazon!