This Issue's TLDR...

• Writing your sales and marketing copy using the language of your customers -- good idea or bad idea?
• An important Google AdWords update
• Semantic search and audience targeting is the new wave. Are you ready to ride it?

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SPONSOR Color More Lines Yes, this is the Amazon agency that I acquired. I haven't told the full story of how I acquired it (that's for another day), but one important detail of the story is that I spent 18 months looking for the RIGHT agency. Over that period, I diligenced ~12 Amazon agencies and saw various combinations of bad and...meh. Many were founder dependent. Many lacked systems and processes. Many consisted of B and C players. In short, I kissed a lot of frogs before finding the one that had the people and processes to consistently deliver great results for clients. If, in your gut, you feel like something is lacking with your current Amazon agency (HINT: It probably is), then drop us a line. ​ Grow Faster on Amazon

BEST From Me

A couple weeks back, I saw this tweet and had a "eureka" moment:

Alex Cooper @alexgoughcooper Still the number one source of static headlines: customer reviews 🏆 Load up your reviews in ChatGPT and paste the following prompt: "Look through these reviews and find the ones most suitable for a Facebook ad headline. It should not be long, but it should use the customers'… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1797353609379639532 2:44 PM • Jun 2, 2024 18 Retweets 210 Likes Read 6 replies

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I read this tweet and immediately thought I had a silver bullet to level up any creative asset on Amazon.

Of course! It seemed so simple (and obvious).

But, before I committed to changing my entire Amazon catalog and pushing out new image stacks, I figured it would be good to gather some data on a small scale.

So, I picked a few images from different brands that I've worked with and/or admire, and headed over to Canva and PickFu.

This was my original "control" image:

My first test, in line with the recommendation of the tweet, was to use actual customer product review language in the asset.

Here's what happened:

By an overwhelming margin, the "customer language" version underperformed the original.

Survey respondents didn't believe that "Stephanie" was a real person (she wasn't) and were skeptical of the claim because of it.

Good to know.

But, now, what if I removed the direct customer quotation but still spoke in the customer's language (as used in product reviews).

Here's what happened on that test:

Again, the original outperformed the "customer language" version.

This result repeated across multiple categories, brands, and products.

Bottom Line(s):

• Don't believe everything that you read on the internet (duh).
• Test early, test often.

FRIENDS OF B@A Hey You! I'm continually impressed by the caliber of readers of this newsletter. Best@Amazon readers truly are...the BEST...and I want to pay it forward by showcasing and celebrating different things that you all are doing. So, if you're working on something cool, or have something that you want to share and get feedback on, just reply to this email and I'll give you some page space in a future edition of B@A. ​

Amazon Questions? Amazon isn't easy. Everyone needs a little help from a friend. If you ever have a tough Amazon question, I'm only a phone call away. Let's Chat

BEST from Everyone Else

Best Deal That I've Seen This Week

You all seem to enjoy these "Best Deals."

So, here's another deal that I recently looked at:

👶 Children's Education Brand

• Channels: Amazon, Wal-Mart, eBay, Shopify
• Geographic Markets: US, UK
• Interesting Assets: Domain name worth $10k; 48k email list
• TTM Revenue (through Apr-24): $735,714
• TTM Net Profit (through Apr-24): $233,679
• ASKING PRICE: $950,000

👍 BEST Reason to Buy: Large email lists always catch my eye. They're a powerful and protected way to grow a business...when used correctly (i.e., the brand regularly engages with subscribers/customers).

👎 BEST Reason NOT to Buy: The asking price here is divorced from the current market environment. The broker on this listing claims that it is "SBA Pre-Approved" but the math of SBA loans breaks down for deals that are priced above 4x unless the margin profile is super rich.

PS: If you're interested in pursuing this deal, respond to this email and I'll share more details.

Best From X

Google Employee 1: "Hey, how can we piss off our advertising community?"

Google Employee 2: "Remove the ability to pay for ads with credit cards?"

Google Employee 1: "Let's do it."

Barry Schwartz @rustybrick Google Ads forcing some advertisers off paying for their campaigns using credit cards and through ACH/Check/Wire payments instead - Google is looking to save the CC fees :) https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-remove-credit-card-payments-37574.html via @JeremyBrandt and @MenachemAni with reply from @adsliaison 6:41 AM • Jun 17, 2024 8 Retweets 39 Likes Read 9 replies

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Best From LinkedIn

Paid traffic and SEO on Amazon are about to undergo seismic shifts.

The old world of keyword-based search, PDP optimization, and PPC targeting is going away.

Enter: The new world of semantic search and audience targeting.

The tea leaves are everywhere, if you're paying attention.

And Dustin Wassner is a smart dude who is paying attention.

Updates to Amazon Private Label Pathway

No updates this week.

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Back Story on the Amazon Private Label Pathway, ICYMI...

A few months back, I had a small group of coaching clients that were at the same point in their Amazon seller journeys.

I found myself answering the same questions, and pointing them to the same resources, so, in true Amazon fashion, I asked myself "What's the 1-to-Many solution here?" and built a Notion page of helpful resources, which I've called "Amazon Private Label Pathway."

You can get access to it here: https://auxo.gumroad.com/l/amazonpathway (it's free; but if you want to buy me a beer, I won't object)​

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