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Platform Alignment Principle – how to sell on Amazon the RIGHT way
This is the true story of how I went from $1m to $0 in 24 hours. It’s a cautionary tale of how to sell on Amazon the RIGHT way, using a principle I call Platform Alignment.
The Year is 2014
I’m selling on Amazon and I’m having a hard time getting reviews for new products (some things never change, huh? 😉)
So I start building an email list of US-based Amazon shoppers looking for deals.
I give these folks deep discounts (e.g. 90% off) in exchange for Amazon reviews. Warning: this is now against Amazon TOS, so please don’t do this today! But we’ll get to that in a second.
Anyway…
I’m building my email list. 100, 500, 1000… eventually up to 30,000+ people. I now have the power to rank and review almost any product. Even competitive stuff like supplements. It was a powerful resource for me. And soon, I start letting other Amazon sellers use my email list, too. For a price! By 2016, I have a million dollar business effectively “renting” my email list to sellers from around the world, so they can launch their products, too. And get honest reviews. I run this business for 2 years.
Jump forward.
It’s the morning of October 3, 2016 (coincidentally, 6 years ago tomorrow). I open my laptop and see the news: Amazon just changed their review policy, blocking “incentivized reviews” from the platform. I remember my stomach sinking reading a Tech Crunch article on the subject.
And just like that, my company is forced to close its doors that very day. I go to McDonalds and just sit there for a while.
Some folks have a “$0 to $1m” story. That’s cool. I just happen to have a “$1 to $0” story, as well… 😂
^ tears of pain
Here’s what you can learn from this. I call it “Platform Alignment Theory”. It’s not discussed much, but it’s life-or-death knowledge if you sell on Amazon.
The idea is:
If you sell on a platform like Amazon, your business practices must align with the best interests of the platform. It’s a trade: Amazon gives us built-in traffic, we deliver Platform Aligned activities. Fair trade. Full stop.
So what does Amazon want?
Thankfully, they’re very public about it. Amazon has 16 “Leadership Principles” they live by. But there’s 1 principle that’s “first among equals”. It’s Customer Obsession. Amazon wants the best possible experience for its shoppers. That means the best products at the best price, delivered as fast as possible.
In this case, Amazon was concerned that “incentivized reviews” pre-2016 caused too many biased, overly-positive reviews. That’s not Customer Obsession, so they shut it down. Amazon viewed that practice as misaligned with the platform. So for us sellers, it’s important that every listing, every marketing effort, ad, etc. has Platform Alignment.
Now, I’m an entrepreneur. I have zero quit.
So I dust myself off and try again.
But this time, I launch an Amazon Advertising company called AsteroidX. In building the company, Platform Alignment Theory was top-of-mind. By running ads, Amazon gets paid. So that’s good. And it helps customers discover new brands that they might like. Win-win-win. All boxes checked.
I wrote a free 40+ page book on the mistakes that 6 figure sellers make that 7 &8 figure sellers get right. You can grab your free copy here:
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