3 months ago, I started to sell one of my products on Amazon as a side business.

My goal was to learn how to do it, so that I could create a guide for my readers. In fact, I know for a fact many of you want to sell beauty products on Amazon.

 $3700/month. This is my balance until now.  It doesn't seems bad at all considering that I started from 0 and never engage for more than 4 hours /week into this business. 

People might argue whether starting with Amazon is the right thing to do; you could use the same effort in setting up your own e-commerce store and building a brand. 

I think it depends.

If you're young, just starting out, and inexperienced, Amazon is a good choice. If you're a seasoned entrepreneur, maybe you want to look somewhere else.

Starting a cosmetic business on Amazon, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to sell your own products (private label). You could also be selling other brands' products or simply raw materials for DIY cosmetics (for example beeswax, jojoba oil etc.).This makes your possibility almost endless.

For instance, I had a client who wanted to sell his own beauty products, but down the road he changed his plan. He was left with hundreds of pounds of raw materials and didn't know what to do. I suggested him to repack the raw materials and sell them on Amazon. Not only he recovered all the money spent for the ingredients , he made so much more that he eventually decided to do that as a full time job.

This is not complicated at all. All you need are some containers, labels, plastic bags, and a nice design. 

The following is a list of tools to help you succeed on Amazon:

 Another question client ask me regularly, is if it's better to sell cosmetics on Amazon or Etsy.

As usual, it depends.

I would say that if you don't feel comfortable with Amazon requirements or fees, you should opt for Etsy which has lower selling fees and easy access.

Etsy gives products that "artisanal" feeling that brand-wise might beneficial or not. How do you want customers to perceive your brand?

Here's an example. I tend not to write about "how to make your own stuff in the kitchen"  because I want people to see me as a professional chemist with an academic background. I am not interested in attracting customers that want to make a body butter with a Kitchen aid food mixer. Hope this makes sense.

Based on what my clients experienced, Amazon seems to be more profitable than Etsy. Even so, I've had clients who started on Etsy and ended up building a major brand in the U.S.

In the end, I think the platform is important, but what really counts is your attitude to business and success.

You are never going to sell anything if you just sit there and wait. Nothing on Amazon and nothing on Etsy.

Success doesn't come this way.

You need to attract visitors/customers to your listings. As already mentioned for Amazon, your beauty products need to be on page 1. 

Put in a simple way, Amazon works as a search engine, meaning they're both governed by an algorithm. The algorithm is responsible for your products to be shown on first, second , third or whatever page. 

How can we take advantage of this algorithm and have our beauty products showing up on the first page?

By trying to fulfill as many "Amazon Ranking Factors" as we can. Below there's a ranking factors list. It is not exhaustive, but it will give you a general sense.

How can I find relevant keywords for my products? 

I use and recommend MerchantKeyword. The process is simple. Visualize your products and think how would you look for it on Google. Then type the words in the keywords tool and see how many monthly researches. Based on this number, consider slightly changing your keywords (if search volume is too low).

I hope this post inspired you. If you're not selling on Amazon or Etsy, why is that? And, if you're doing it, what was the biggest challenge?

Before I go, I want to share with you a tip that allows to increase sales and beat competition...

PRO TIP: to differentiate yourself from competitors, besides having better photos and description, add something as a gift. Who doesn't like free stuff? This could be everything, but since you're selling cosmetics, an informative ebook is a great idea.