Amazon was the first ecommerce site I tried to make money with. I’ll be honest, I didn’t make a million… or anything close. But, looking back on what I did then, I learnt that what you expect your customers to do and what they want can be very different.

My First Store On Amazon

If you search for technical writing software and find an Amazon shop for technical writing software… you might find mine.

I thought it would make money. And it did. About six hundred dollars.

You make 8% of what you sell on Amazon, so you need to be selling big time and I wasn’t – so I left and had more luck selling affiliate products, such as BizTree Business Documents, Write English with Confidence kits and Project Management templates for Method123.

What I Did Right

First, it’s hard to know what other technical writers want before you open a web store. What surprised me was that they didn’t buy many technical writing books (which is what I had thought) but lots of gifts.

Lots of gifts. Gifts for kids were the biggest seller with Star Wars and The Simpsons selling tons.

I had developed the site navigation to focus on:

• Adobe
• Business Writing
• DVDs
• Gifts & Toys
• Grammar
• Gerry McGovern
• Information Architecture
• Proposal Writing
• PDF
• Robohelp
• Technical Drawing
• Technical Writing Software
• Technical Writing
• Training
• Magazines
• Screen Capture
• Web Writing
• Writing As a Career

Looking at Google Keyword tools, these were some of the terms technical writers were searching for. So, I built the site around these topics.

What I Did Wrong

What I didn’t know then was:

• Technical writers don’t buy many books online. They get them through the company or downtown.
• Technical writers don’t buy much software online. Same thing – they get them through the company.

What do they buy?

Instead, they:

• Search for technical writing books online
• Find them on Amazon and
• Buy a present while they’re there… and maybe a book as well.

So, if I was starting again, I’d design the store around gifts for technical writers.

Do you see the difference?

While they may start out looking for books, when they come to an ecommerce site, their priorities change. One way to capitalize on this is to learn how to upsell. More on that next week!

How about you? What do you buy online?

PS – setting up these stores is Free. Just register as an affiliate and it takes about five minutes. You get paid by check every quarter.

I preferred to avoid risks, especially big ones, until I saw this short video by Jeff Bezos. In less than four minutes he changed my perspective on how to take risks and have more confidence in your decisions.

He describes the framework he uses to deal with risk-taking and gives examples of how you can apply this approach to your life.

[Video] Jeff Bezos & Risks Assessment

How to use the Regret Minimization Framework?

Like most great things, it’s very simple. If you have trouble making a decision, for example, leaving a high paid job with all the nice perks to start up a business, then you can use this framework.

After all, this is the way he justified his decision to himself when starting Amazon.

We’ll come back to justification later on but, for now, keep it in mind.

Regret Minimization Framework

To reduce the fear you have of taking a risk, try this:

• Imagine you are now at the end of your life, about 80.
• You look back on all you have done and all you have NOT done.
• You regret certain things you did, for example, hurting others and causing them pain.
• BUT you deeply regret NOT doing things when you had the time, energy, and opportunity to do so.

As we age, it’s what we COULD have done but did not that hurts the most. Other things we accept as they were part of growing up, maturing or things beyond our control.

Think about this…

Ask yourself, at the end of my life, would I regret not taking the chance to setup the business (when you really felt it would work)?

Chances are you’d regret it deeply. You won’t regret that you didn’t make enough money, or had a bigger car, or wore fancy clothes but you would regret not doing what you felt was part of your calling.

Others might call this your destiny, vocation, fate, talent… it doesn’t matter what you label it as. It was something you felt you could achieve and you let the opportunity go. That will hurt if you don’t take it.

Bezos assessed his life and decided that he could forgive himself for many things but this business (Amazon.com) had to happen. He didn’t want to meet himself later in life and have to justify his (lack of) decision.

and…

Taking a long-term view allows us to stop thinking about the mundane daily worries that clog our thinking.

By reviewing our lives from a future place (eg as an 80 year old looking looking backwards), we’re removed from the little things that distract us.

The other side of this is how we justify this decision to ourselves.

How We Justify Things

Another way of looking at this is how we justify our decisions.

Look at how you justify things you buy.

I often disguise my true motives with loftier aims. For example, I bought an iPad because I wanted to be in the loop. Like a small child, everyone else had one, so I wanted one.

The justification was… this is an education tool/I can learn how to monetize my business with this/my kids will learn things with it.

When I go on expensive holidays, I can justify it be pointing to all the hard work I put in over the year. But, at the back of my mind, I simply feel that I deserved it. Explaining that to other can be tricky, awkward, and embarrassing depending on who you’re talking to.

Conclusion

Emotions often drive our decisions: we use logical arguments to justify the outcomes.

We can reduce our fear of Risks if we fast forward to the end of our days and revise these decisions. From that place, what seems like a risk to us now, appears almost irrelevant.

Why would you not take the risk?

I would urge you to watch the video and see if you agree with what Mr Bezos has to say. His arguments are very compelling.

Let me know what you think.

Taobao.com is the 11th most successful website in the world. It makes more money than most all US ecommerce sites, except Amazon, and this may be about to change. The way ecommerce works in China is different than in Europe and the US. Partly this is to do with low credit card penetration, complex delivery logistics and customer support.

How the Chinese Amazon.com works

Ecommerce is different in China for several reasons. Low credit card penetration, for example, means that Chinese buyers tend to be in the larger cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzen, Xian, Nanjing and Chongqing. Once you get outside these areas, credit card penetration tends to decline.

So, how do you get around this?

Simple. You pay with cash. Most ecommerce is China is cash on delivery. Here’s how it works:

• You order products online – but don’t pay for it.
• Chinese is mostly cash on delivery – credit cards are making inroads but with no credit history, it takes time.
• Credit cards are still relatively new. Interest rates are high and the approval process is very stringent. In many cities, you need someone to guarantee that you’ll pay of the card if you overdraw.
• Credit card adoption is further complicated as most people have no credit history. Many products are paid for in cash. It’s not unknown for new home-owners to pay 100% cash for a new house – they like the security of owing it now!
• Goods are delivered by motorbike couriers. These are a carried by bike or, or for high-end goods, secured in a steel holding at the back of the bike. Keeping the couriers honest is another headache. The salary of many couriers is often less than the goods they deliver. You can imagine what happens…
• When the goods arrive, you can (and are expected to) open the box and check the goods.
• Your signature is recorded, sometimes on a palm/mobile/tablet device.
• Later if you have problems, you can return the goods to the distributor.
• In many cases, returns are not accepted (e.g. savvy students are known to swap the hard drives and return a PC with less powerful parts). Similar things happen with jewellery and other high end products.

Taobao Key Details

• Established in 2003
• Located in Shenzhen, a special economic zone, it is one hour from Hong Kong.
• China’s largest Internet retail platform
• 75% of market share, according to iResearch.
• Platforms within Taobao include Alibaba (www.alibaba.com), an affiliate network in China and Koubei.com (www.koubei.com), China’s leading classified listing website.

Takeaways

• Credit card adoption is on the rise but not as accessible as in the west.
• Chinese web shoppers are very web savvy and will do intensive research before buying products.
• Chinese web shoppers use Taobao to compare prices in the high street, e.g. printout of specs from the web to help negotiate.
• Negotiating (i.e. haggling) is the norm in Asia. You’re expected to haggle and fight for a better price. Only westerns pay the sticker price.
• Taobao is now so popular it is considering high streets branches and partnerships to capitalize on its position.
• Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) trading accounted for US$2 billion turnover in Q1 2008.
• Plans to have 700 stores available to buyers for the launch of mall.taobao.com. Companies pay five percent of transaction value to Taobao if their outlet fails to sell more than US$133,333 a year. In addition, they have to pay a 5,000 to 15,000 yuan one-time deposit for Taobao to compensate shoppers in case of complaints.

Ecommerce Opportunities in China

• Upselling & cross-selling are not as common as in the west.
• Long-term relationships are not cultivated, e.g. most ecommerce retailers don’t request email addresses and if they do (it seems to me) don’t know how to leverage these.
• Sales people are not trained to help customers. Their role is more to accommodate the customer rather than look for up-selling opportunities etc. They don’t waste time on this as they assume you won’t come back, which is often the case.

Taobao v Amazon

Do you think Amazon poses a real threat to Taobao? Can US ecommerce sites make a profit in the China? What do you think?

For those involved in out-sourcing or off-shoring, Andy Rappaport discusses why outsourcing works for the IT industry but fails in the automobile industry. He writes that “the U.S. IT industry has been able to innovate over the past 20 years even while ceding leadership of component technologies and basic processes.”

For example:

1. Apple enjoys an unfettered supply of leading edge technology because its software, design, marketing, and retail prowess give it ultimate control over customer spending.

2. Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, AT&T, and Qualcomm have used their investments in software, services, infrastructure, and intellectual property to do the same.

3. All use their market power to force upstream vendors to invest for them to make the inputs to downstream innovations and transformations cheaper and more plentiful.

4. As long as they innovate sufficiently to follow the flow of market value downstream, all are able to limit the eventual return and market power accruing to these upstream innovations.

However, he warns that this model breaks down “where U.S. companies and innovators do not naturally control downstream demand. Take batteries for electric vehicles. The U.S. has ceded both innovation in the critical building block (the battery) as well as leadership in the integration of these blocks into downstream value (competitive automobiles).”

Full article here: http://blogs.harvardbusiness.com

Amaznode is a relation-based search engine for Amazon which is made with Adobe Flash9. It’s pretty slick compared to most search engines and reminds me of Google’s Wonder Wheel.

This search engine visualize a relation network of products in Amazon, from the statistics data “customers who bought this item also bought”, by digging related products again and again. Amaznode is not only for searching but also good for researching and making an associate link.

Amaznode enables you to make a direct link to a specific search query, and you can also add your own Amazon associate link.

You can see it in action at: http://amaznode.fladdict.net/#keywords=iphone&locale=us&searchIndex=Books&affiliate=fladdict-20

Google’s Wonder Wheel?

You can see it in action here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=technical%20writing&hl=en&newwindow=1&output=search&tbs=ww:1&&tbo=1

[ad#black]

You can now use Paypal directly from inside Yahoo. Why bother you might ask? Well, before we get into that, let’s see how it works. Or does it work?

Where is the Paypal button in Yahoo?

It’s hard to find at first but here’s where it is.

1 Open Yahoo Mail.

2 If you look in the lower left corner of your Yahoo Mail, you’ll see a box called Applications.

3 Scroll down this list and, hey presto, there it is!

4 Click on the PayPal icon and it will tell you all nice and wonderful things, some of which are true.

How does it work?

There are a few ways to use PayPal. For example, if you see an item on the Yahoo site which has this blue shopping cart on it, then you can click on this and pay directly with PayPal or through your Yahoo account. That’s the idea anyway, but I didn’t see it happening in the examples I found on the Yahoo site.

The simplest way to use it is to send me directly to your friends while logged into Yahoo.

I want to Stay on Yahoo – You can Request money without having to leave Yahoo.

I want to Leave Yahoo – You have to go to the PayPal site if you want to Send money.

Click the PayPal icon to get started and when it asks you to Agree to the terms and conditions, click Yes.

Then click Continue. This opens the main screen from where you can send and receive payments.

To request money:

1 In the To field, enter your friend’s name and email address. Double check that it’s correct.

2 In the From fields, enter your name and email address. Double check that it’s correct.

3 Enter the Amount. Check that you selected the currency you wanted.

Tip: The default is US Dollars. Change this if you want to.

4 Enter a brief message and click Request Money.

To send money:

Basically, it’s just the other way around, except that you have to go to PayPal as well, which defeats the purpose of using it inside Yahoo. Either it’s one or the other surely.

1 In the To field, enter your friend’s name and email address.

2 In the From fields, enter your name and email address.

3 Enter the Amount.

4  Click Continue to PayPal.

And this takes you over to PayPal where you complete the transaction. Note that another web browser or tab will open. You should be brought here automatically but in case you’re not, check for any new browser windows.

Does it work?

1 This is a test payment that I sent to myself.

2 When the receiver, Ivan, gets this email, he has to click the Pay Now button to make the payment.

When I did this test, I had some issues. As I was not in the US, it redirected me to a foreign language version of the PayPal site.

This was understandable (as PayPal thought I was in that country) but it didn’t offer any way to return to the US site without closing the session.

If I simply went to the US PayPal site, I wouldn’t have had this problem.

What are PayPal Fees via Yahoo?

If you send money within the US:

• It’s FREE if your payment is fully funded using your bank account or your PayPal balance
• Credit or debit card fees are 2.9% plus 30 cents and you can choose who pays those fees-either yourself or the person you’re sending money to

If you send US dollars outside the US:

• 0.5-2% if your payment is fully funded using your bank account or PayPal balance. The fee depends on where you send the money
• 3.4%-3.9% plus 30 cents if you pay with a credit card or debit card

• Currency exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee

When you send money, the basic payment sources for your PayPal account will be used.

The following order is where funds will be withdrawn when you send money:

• PayPal balance
• Bank account
• Debit Card
• Credit Card

What currencies does it support?

You can send money to 65 countries. PayPal supports the following currencies:

• Australian Dollars
• British Pounds
• Canadian Dollars
• Czech Koruny
• Danish Kroner
• Euros
• Hong Kong Dollars
• Hungarian Forints
• Israeli Shekels
• Mexican Pesos
• New Zealand Dollars
• Norwegian Kroner
• Polish Zloty
• Singapore Dollars
• Swedish Kroner
• Swiss Francs
• US Dollars
• Yen

Technical Support

I regret to say that Yahoo and PayPal didn’t really cover themselves in glory here.

The PayPal Help site shows no answers for Yahoo. So, they don’t know about Yahoo. Again, I have some sympathy with PayPal as they’re probably writing the tech docs as we write and getting them online.

Yahoo were worse though. I emailed them twice and even sent screenshot. Nothing came back. I also posted some comments on their development blog – where they asked for feedback – and got no response.

I’m a big fan of PayPal, so I wrote on the blog that this Yahoo experiment was damaging the credibility of the PayPal brand.

Here is what I wrote:

Hi Folks,

First, can I say well done to you all! It looks like you guys/girls have turned a corner, esp with the WordPress integration last week.

Anyway, here’s my question and forgive my ignorance re tech terminology.

Is there a security risk if I log into Yahoo, log into PayPal, make a payment – but do not log back out of Yahoo?

In other words, is there any connection between my Yahoo and PP sessions?

I assume not but as these are so closely integrated, I had some concerns that the login/logout aspects could undermine the process, eg if someone used the Back button when logged into Yahoo and tried to ‘retreat’ into my PP account.

Thank you,

Ivan Walsh

http://developer.yahoo.net/blog/archives/2009/06/paypal.html

Posted by: Ivan Walsh at June 14, 2009 7:47 AM

I added those comments in June and here we are in Sept and no-one from Yahoo bothered to reply…  So much for wanting customer feedback.

Why bother to use Paypal inside Yahoo?

Wouldn’t it be simpler just to go to Paypal, I hear you say.

To be honest, that’s what I’d do.

1 I don’t see too many benefit to Yahoosers (yahoo users) if they have to use this clunky and buggy application.

2. Having to use both systems defeats the purpose and the rush to integrate both these technologies seems to have been too fast, resulting in glitches that you usually don’t find in Yahoo and especially PayPal.

3. Yahoo needs to reconsider what it’s doing here. Rather than throwing features and new apps at users just to get headlines and media coverage is a waste and frankly erodes the credibility of the company.

4. Likewise, PayPal need to get closer to Yahoo as these type of partnership diminish both companies.

5. Maybe an alternative approach would be to send users directly to the PayPal site, but somehow, fast-track them through the payment process. In a similar way that Amazon has with its 1 Click buy option.

A 1 Click pay option would be great.

Can these companies do it?

What do you think?

Posted via email from ivanwalsh’s posterous

Amazon.com has acquired Lexcycle, the company that created the iPhone reader, Stanza.

[ad]

Customers can still browse, buy, and read ebooks from Lexcycle content partners.

Amazon announced a new, free iPhone application earlier in the year which lets you read Kindle books on mobile devices.

[ad#adc-2]

If you use Amazon to sell digital products, such as ebooks or MP3s, you should take advantage of this new slideshow widget. We performed split testing with this widget versus the standard text links and found the pages with the slideshow widget generated more click-throughs than the plain text links.

You can make slideshow widgets out of images chosen from products across the entire Amazon catalog, including your own products if they are listed in Amazon.

The Slideshow widget lets you make very slick slideshow from the images of products in the Amazon catalog. On the Klariti FrameMaker page,we have used this widget very successfully, generating several 100 dollars per month in referral fees.

To create a slideshow:

1.   Enter your search terms in the search box. You can search the entire Amazon catalog, or choose to search only within a selected Amazon store.

2. When you find the products you are interested in, click ‘add product’ to have then shown in your widget.

3. Add comments to your selected products (remember to click the ‘Save Comments’ button), and you can drag and drop the products to rearrange their order in the list.
4. Click “Next step” button to customize the look and feel of your widget.
5. Choose the format of your Slideshow – simple, gallery or scrolling – as well as the size of the widget. You can also choose which style of slide transition you think looks best.
6. When you like how it looks, click “Add to my Webpage”
7. Copy and paste the code into your page.

Slideshow Example: See how it works on Klariti.com’s Information Architecture page. 

How many products can I add to the slideshow?
As many as you want. Viewers of your widget will be able to scroll through your list to view all your chosen items. Don’t add too many of add products that dilute the message. ‘ target=_blank>’ target=_blank>Stay focused and select only products that match your site.

Tip: Amazon recommends that you don’t choose more than 20 products as viewers are unlikely to scroll much further than this.

Add comments to personalize your slideshow

You can add comments to help customers choose products. When adding a product to the slideshow, you can add comments into the widget.

BUT I have mixed feelings about the usefulness of this feature. On paper it might sound good but I found that it gets in the way of the slideshow and distracts me from enjoying the slideshow. We’ve removed comments from the slideshow and seem to have had a better response from customers.

Also, I’m not sure if customers place much trust in these ‘endorsements’ anyway.

Limitations with widget
The only limitation we found with the widget is that you cannot change the widget size or orientation once you have saved it or added it to your webpage.

This is because the widget size options are a part of the widget code on your web page. As Amazon doesn’t have access to your web page, it can’t update the widget code dynamically.

Key features

• Add comments to the Slideshow widget to make recommendations.
• Customize the transitions speed to suit your page
• Offer alternatives to plain text links
• Customize the color scheme to match your site/blog
• Interface is very easy to use
• Generated code works with most blogging sites such as Blogger, WordPress and Typepad. Free to use. No restrictions.

Tips

• Keep the number of products under 20
• Stay focused on one product area, e.g. educations books or country and western.
• Avoid using a catch-all approach. 
• Put yourself in your customer’s user’s shoes. Only choose products that you believe in and that YOU would also want to buy.
• Remove high-end and expensive products
• Choose products between 20-33 USD. This is most people’s average price range when buying on Amazon.
• Choose a small slideshow that doesn’t take too long to download.
• Test different slideshows until you’re happy with the results.
• Test different slideshows and examine the click-thru’s to the Amazon site. That’s the only way to really see what customers like and don’t like.
• Don’t fall in love with your slideshow. If it doesn’t work, change it until you get the best results,
• Test, test, test.

PS: we’d love to see what you’ve done with your Amazon widget. Send it your link and we’ll give it a plug on the site.
Ivan

More: Amazon

Amazon’s Digital Text Platform is a new self-publishing tool that lets you upload your books for sale in its Kindle Store.

This allows writers to sell any kind of document, whether it is a scientific report, technical document, case study, or other type of material that you feel people would pay money to read. The difference here is that the content will be delivered in digital format (mostly PDFs ad HTML files) to Amazon customers using the Kindle wireless reading device.

The Digital Text Platform service is free and the user interface really is a joy to use. The only downside is that the service is valid for US publishers only, as you need a US bank account to receive payment. Of course, you may be able to open an account online with a US bank or if they have a branch in your city. The forums provide a few tips and how to get around this.

There business driver behind this of course is the Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device
reading device product. Amazon is moving from print to digital and has now the world’s largest Book Store with the Kindle Store selling more than 260,000 books as well as newspapers and magazines.

Amazon’s vision is to have “every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds on Kindle.”

Over 100 of the 111 books currently on the New York Times® Best Seller list are on Kindle. New York Times Best Sellers and most new releases are $9.99.

• At 10.2 ounces, Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback and as thin as most magazines.
• Kindle is designed it with long-form reading in mind. Kindle’s page-turning buttons are located on both sides, allowing you to turn pages comfortably with one hand from any position.
• The 5-way Controller enables on-screen navigation for selecting text to highlight or looking up words.
• Kindle is completely wireless and ready to use right out of the box. No setup, cables, or computer are required.

So let’s take a look at Adobe’s new publishing platform and see how you can make some money out of it.

Kindle wireless reader

What is Digital Text?

Digital text is text that exists in a “digital” electronic format, such as plain text files (.txt) and word processor files (.doc).

What is Digital Text Platform?

The Digital Text Platform let’s you publish digital text content for the Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device Amazon Kindle wireless reading device.

Once you log in, just upload your content, enter sales descriptions and pricing information, and then publish it.

How does the Digital Text Platform work?

You upload your Word or text files and the Digital Text Platform then converts it so that Kindle owners can download and read it. It collects basic details such as author, content type, cover image, and price.

Using graphics

Digital Text Platform can process graphics in .GIF, .PNG, .BMP, and .JPG formats.

Can customers download my published content to their computer?

Content purchased from the Kindle Store can only be downloaded to the Amazon Kindle wireless reading device. However, Amazon says that it may choose to offer your content through additional avenues in the future.

What percentage of the list price does the publisher get?

Publishers receive a set percentage of the list price that you set yourself. In the event that the Kindle Store opts to discount your title, you still receive that percentage of the list price, and the Kindle Store retains the remainder of the discounted price.

Requirements for publishing with Digital Text Platform

• Agree to and comply with the Digital Text Platform Terms and Conditions.
• Have a valid US bank account
• US Social Security Number (SSN), EIN or TIN.

Can I sell my title if it hasn’t been published yet?

Content becomes available on the Kindle Store when you publish it with Digital Text Platform. It usually takes around 12 hours for your content to become available in the Amazon Store.

How does the Kindle Store handle customer returns?

The Kindle Store provides refunds up to 7 days for customers unsatisfied with their ebook purchases. Refunds will appear as a negative transaction on your Transaction Report, and will be deducted from your payment amount.

What formats can I upload to Digital Text Platform?

Digital Text Platform accepts content in HTML, .mobi, Microsoft Word (.doc), Plain Text (.txt), Adobe PDF (.PDF), and Zipped HTML (.zip) formats.

Note: The preferred format for Amazon DTP content upload is HTML.

How can I format content (e.g., into bold, italics, headers)?

Digital Text Platform will handle most basic formatting for you as it converts your content. You can format your content in your source document (e.g. HTML) and DTP will convert that formatting.

Who and Where will be able to buy and read the content?

Amazon Kindle owners can purchase your content on the Kindle Store and Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device download it for reading on the Amazon Kindle wireless reading device. They can find your content on the Kindle Store, either via the Amazon Kindle device or via their computers.

How much does it cost to publish content?

There is no charge to publish your content on the Kindle Store with Digital Text Platform.

How you get paid?

As the Kindle Store is invoice-free, you will get paid automatically (if your account has a positive balance of $10 or more) approximately sixty days following the end of the calendar month during which applicable sales of your content occur. Payments are made by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to a U.S. bank account.

Links

Learn more about Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device here and the Adobe Digital Text Platform here.