7 Habits of Highly Effective Amazon PPC’ers

August 26, 2020
By The Badger

No matter what experience level you’re at when it comes to Amazon PPC, there is always room for improvement. There could always be better numbers and a better run business.

We’re playing a game where there is no such thing as perfect. The only way to measure success is by comparing today versus our performance last year, last month, or even the day before.

Being successful with Amazon PPC is a two-part equation. We mainly focus on the nitty-gritty of PPC strategy, the X’s and O’s that get sellers on the right track; however, in today’s post, we’re going to take a look at the other part of the equation: Managing your mindset and your habits when it comes to Amazon PPC.

Habit #1: Be Proactive

For each habit, we have a quote from the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that we feel are applicable to Amazon PPC.

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”

All too often, we hear excuses from sellers about why they are underperforming. While they think they’re justifying their poor performance, in reality, they are essentially ensuring they never get back on track.

There’s a ton of factors that are simply out of your control as a seller. Accept that. Also, realize that your performance is primarily tied to the decisions you make, so you should worry a hell of a lot more about those factors.

Instead of excusing your decision making when looking at your performance, take responsibility for your influence on your PPC account. Have a product that isn’t performing well? Don’t see a bad market. See an opportunity for an improved listing. If you don’t see an opportunity and only see bad circumstances, you aren’t looking hard enough.

Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind

“People are working harder than ever, but because they lack clarity and vision, they aren’t getting very far. They, in essence, are pushing a rope with all of their might.”

We see so many advertisers lose their focus when it comes to their Amazon account. New sellers especially tend to get caught up in the weeds because they have three or four goals for an individual campaign.

Instead, sellers should pick a singular goal, and, more often than not, the rest of the dominos will fall into place.

To have a singular focus, it’s important to understand what the goal of your campaign is. If you’re launching a product, that requires a certain set of expectations and strategies. If you’re wanting to lower your ACOS, the strategy and expectations are completely different. Having the same mindset and goals for these situations will leave you with two underperforming campaigns.

Habit #3: Put First Things First

“Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities. It is living and being driven by the principles you value most, not by the agendas and forces surrounding you.”

There is almost a limitless number of distractions that can take away from your focus on your business and more specifically your PPC campaigns.

Most people think of distractions as occurrences that are in no way productive; however, that isn’t always the case. A lot of sellers spend time on tasks they think are important, but in reality, are of little importance at that moment.

To find where your time is best spent, divide your tasks by urgent and non-urgent and important and unimportant.

What normally gets overlooked in this matrix are the tasks that are important but not urgent. For Amazon PPC, these tasks usually aren’t obvious but if acted upon can lead to long-term success.

Habit #4: Think Win-Win

“In the long run, if it isn’t a win for both of us, we both lose. That’s why win-win is the only real alternative in interdependent realities.”

One area that most PPC’ers are lacking in is their network. Sellers often see other advertisers as competition when they should see them as a valuable resource.

We’re not saying that Nike should buddy-up to Adidas, but if you’re thinking of Amazon PPC with an “us against the world” mindset you’re missing out on an invaluable opportunity.

As an individual seller, you can only view your account through one lens. A group of sellers with a win-win mentality can provide you with diverse opinions that can potentially open up opportunities that you never thought of.

Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

“If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

If you haven’t caught on yet, many of these habits are centered around communication. If you can’t communicate with your client, other sellers, or even Amazon in an effective manner then you’re limiting your potential.

Two examples stick out when looking at relationships that often break down within the Amazon PPC community.

For agencies, communicating with clients is essential. While most agencies have a large quantity of correspondence with their clients, the quality of those discussions when it comes to goals and expectations can be lacking.

One method for fostering client relations, when it comes to expectations, is re-phrasing. If you can hear a client’s goals, process what they want, and effectively communicate those goals in your own words then everyone is on the same page.

Habit #6: Synergize

“Synergy is not the same as compromise. In a compromise, one plus one equals one and a half at best.”

We get it, synergy is one of the most overused buzzwords in workplaces across America. However, it didn’t get to that point without being useful.

For Amazon PPC, you want to build structures that accelerate your growth and maximize your performance. That means building relationships with companies or employees that aren’t centered around mutual benefit alone. Compromising most often leads to mutual benefit, but synergy leads to relationships where neither party settles and instead amplifies all parties involved.

Habit #7: Sharpening the Saw

Congratulations. If you’re reading this, you’re already sharpening your saw.

Like we touched on at the very beginning of this post, we’re in a game where perfection is unattainable. The summit of the Amazon PPC mountain doesn’t exist, but climbing higher every day gets you in the best position possible to be successful.

If you want to continue sharpening your Amazon PPC saw, check out all of our other posts that range from the basics of selling on Amazon to the most intricate PPC strategies.

Key Takeaways

Amazon PPC is a two-sided coin. The daily grind and maneuvering that leads to near-perfect performance is often seen by sellers to be the most important side of that coin. However, taking a look at your mindset and macro-level business practices is just as important in the long term.

When it comes to your goals, find a singular focus for each part of your account. When you have that goal in mind, prioritize the specific tasks that will turn that goal into a reality, and also keep tabs on the big picture by executing on tasks that have long-term benefits.

Never think of your performance as a product of circumstance. You are the captain of the ship.

Build a network that you can rely on for feedback.

And most importantly, never stop learning.