[ BDSN ] 🧰 How to build a 7-figure business from scratch

STUMP BEZOS

Live social media shopping has not really taken off in the USA. It is quite popular though in China, Indonesia and what other two countries?

[ Answer at bottom of email ]

Welcome Brian Johnson to the Billion Dollar Dream 100

Every 2-3 weeks I announce a new member of the Billion Dollar Dream 100.

These are the people you should follow and get to know. They’re announced in no particular order.

Brian Johnson is today’s inductee into the Billion Dollar Dream 100.

Brian has been involved in e-commerce for nearly 20 years. He was one of the early pioneers educating sellers how to do Amazon PPC. He was the “go-to” guy for those trying to figure out Amazon in the early days.

He developed one of the very first tools called PPC Scope for managing sponsored product ads, and led the way teaching sellers how to set up and manage their campaigns with his advanced Sponsored Products Academy training.

In 2018 he co-founded the agency Canopy Management with Brian Burt. In his Amazon career he has helped clients add an additional $3 billion to their bottom lines.

Brian Johnson is a master strategist with a deep understanding of the Amazon algorithm and what it truly takes to rank and make sales on the platform.

Last year he co-founded DeepM AI, a machine-learning solution that predicts organic rank opportunities for products sold on Amazon. The tool can see every competitor’s weakness in a product's subcategory to advise you what to exploit for better rank.

Brian has been the quiet force behind many successful brands on Amazon and has changed a lot of sellers lives.

Earlier this month, he and “the other Brian” launched a new podcast called Million Dollar Moment to highlight the triumphs and challenges entrepreneurs face in finding million dollar success.

🐕 BUILD an AUDIENCE & COMMUNITY to LAUNCH

In today’s competitive landscape, creating a successful e-commerce brand often involves building a loyal audience and fostering a vibrant community to gain a competitive edge.

Here’s how: use the ACP Funnel—Audience, Community, Product. Bryan Reisberg did it to launch a dog backpack to six figures per month by first building an audience, then a community of fans, then a product.

Step 1:
Build an Audience

1.1 Create Value and Distribute It

  • Identify Your Passion: Focus on what you love and can consistently create content about. This is your unique narrative.

  • Content Strategy: Share engaging stories and content that resonate with your audience on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Document daily adventures or unique experiences, as Bryan Reisberg did with Maxine the Corgi.

  • Quality Over Quantity: Prioritize attracting like-minded individuals who truly connect with your content. Engage with people who share your values and interests. It’s not about how big the audience is. It’s about how engaged they are.

1.2 Engage and Listen

  • Interaction: Engage with your audience through comments and direct messages to understand their interests. Respond to feedback and questions to build relationships.

  • Feedback Loop: Pay attention to what your audience saves, shares, and comments on to refine your content strategy. This feedback is crucial for understanding what resonates.

Step 2:
Build a Community

2.1 Transition from Audience to Community

  • Create a Space for Connection: Provide a platform where your audience can interact, such as a Facebook group or Mighty Networks. This space should encourage connection, collaboration, and celebration of shared passions.

  • Host Events: Organize live sessions, workshops, or events like Brian did for Chonk Fest to foster deeper connections. These events can be offline or online, providing opportunities for community members to engage with each other and your brand.

2.2 Cultivate a Shared Passion

  • Encourage Collaboration: Allow community members to share experiences and collaborate, strengthening their bond with your brand. Facilitate discussions and group activities that align with their interests.

  • Celebrate Achievements: Highlight community milestones and individual achievements to maintain engagement and loyalty. Recognize contributions and celebrate successes within the community.

Step 3:
Develop Products with Community Input

3.1 Use Community as a Sounding Board

  • Gather Insights: Use community interactions to gather insights about desired products. Engage in conversations and surveys to understand their needs and preferences.

  • Test Ideas: Tease potential product ideas within the community to gauge interest and demand. Use feedback to refine product concepts before launching.

3.2 Launch Products that Resonate

  • Leverage Community Feedback: Develop products that address the needs expressed by your community, ensuring higher success. The Maxine One backpack is an example of a product born from community feedback.

  • Create Scarcity: Consider limited releases to create urgency and exclusivity, as seen with the Maxine One backpack, which sold out quickly and reached 7-figure revenues with no marketing spend.

Additional Lessons and Tips

  • Build a Magnet, Not Just an Audience: Your content should attract like-minded individuals who share your interests and values. Focus on creating a magnetic brand that draws people in.

  • Focus on Feelings, Not Just Information: Determine the emotional experience you want to provide and deliver it consistently. Whether it's joy, excitement, or inspiration, ensure your content evokes the desired feeling.

  • Continuous Improvement: Adopt a mindset of continuous improvement, focusing on enhancing one aspect of your content with each iteration.

  • Create a Binge Bank: Develop a library of content that new followers can consume, deepening their connection to your brand. This archive serves as a resource for new and existing community members to explore your brand's journey.

🔭 TOP 10 SELLERS DROPPING NUGGETS on X

John Derkits says if you’re only getting your Amazon social media news and insights from Linkedin and YouTube, you’re falling behind.

There's a vibrant community of Amazon sellers dropping deeply technical knowledge and advanced tactics EVERY DAY on X (Twitter).

In this episode of Marketing Misfits, Norm Farrar, Kevin King and Tim Ash dive deep into the psychology behind marketing, emphasizing the power of understanding human behavior, and how to effectively build trust with your audience.

Discover why mid-sized companies are the sweet spot for innovation, and learn about the importance of crafting a compelling origin story that resonates with your tribe.

🌎 STATS YOU SHOULD KNOW

🔎  BEST WAY to LEARN AMAZON PPC?

BDSS Dream 100 member Destaney Wishon was recently asked in the BDSS members-only Whatsapp group what’s a great way to learn Amazon PPC?

She herself provides some great training modules inside Helium 10’s Freedom Ticket, but she also says if you haven’t checked out Amazon’s Learning Console recently it’s worth taking a look.

They have beginner to advanced topics and build in trainings for AMC / DSP or by career path.

You can get yourself or your team members “accredited.” Destaney says the accreditation tests are really good, and include a sandbox environment to learn how to optimize bids in.

Find Out How Your Product Category Stacked Up on Prime Day with Levanta’s Affiliate Marketing Report

Discover the detailed conversion rate lift Amazon sellers experienced from affiliate marketing, broken down by product category. See how your category performed and leverage these insights to drive even greater results next Prime Day.

Here are some key highlights:

đŸ”¶ 10x sales volume on Prime Day compared to an average day

đŸ”¶ 4x conversion rate compared to an average week

đŸ”¶ 20% average conversion rate for top brands on Levanta

đŸ”¶ Highest Converting Category: Clothing, Shoes and Jewelry at 36.81%

Click message above to try it

🚀 AVERAGE PPC CONVERSION RATES by INDUSTRY

Source: Banafshe Salehi

đŸ—œ  OVER 1,000 AMAZON SELLERS in NEW YORK CITY

Join me (I’ll be there and BDSS is exhibiting) at the sixth annual Innovate conference, one of the premier events for Amazon sellers and the eCommerce community.

Going down October 29-30, 2024 at Pier 60 in New York City, this year’s event will feature over 1,000 attendees and a stellar lineup of speakers.

Scheduled to speak are Daniel Winer and Jason Panzer from HexClad, Ben Yahalom, Aaron Cordovez, Steven Borrelli, Sima Mosbacher, Kevin Gould, Jack Savage, Rafay Hussain, Christine Self Krogue, and Brandon Young.

Highlights include a Best Seller Panel and an influencer marketing workshop focused on driving TikTok and Amazon sales.

Secure your spot now and enjoy exclusive VIP perks like mastermind sessions, a yacht cruise, and a private dinner with the speakers.

Use code BDSN to save $100 on your ticket. Register today at Innovate 2024 and prepare to connect, learn, and elevate your brand!

🧳 TO TRAVEL IS TO LIVE 
→ here’s looking at you kid

My “why” has led me to visit 94 countries and all 7 continents. I create my business around my life. Not my life around my business.

I hope to inspire you in your journey of business and life with photos, a short video I filmed, and a brief description of my time there.

Map with pins of Kevin’s travels

Where has your life journey taken you so far?

The map above hangs on my office wall. It has pins of all the major places I have been in my travels.

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit 94 countries and all 7 continents so far. To accomplish this, for 20+ years I have created my business around my life. Not my life around my business.

You can get inspiration for your next adventure by checking out past editions of the BDSN newsletter in the mobile app (load the website version of this page in the top right corner where it says ‘read online’ on your mobile phone to install the app).

I asked Perplexity AI what is a consensus Top 50 place everyone should try to see in their lifetime. Below is the lost it spit out, with a checkmark by the ones I have visited.

Check off how many you have visited, and reply to this email with a screen shot or list. Anybody with five or more be entered for a chance to win all the recordings and PDFs from BDSS 10 in Hawaii ($1,497.00 value).

đŸ”„ MORE HOT PICKS đŸ”„

đŸ„ƒ PARTING SHOT

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Albert Einstein

âœŒđŸŒ Have a great weekend.

See you in the ”in-box” next Monday.

The answer to today’s STUMP BEZOS is
Thailand and India are the other two countries