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Self-Distribution / Support Forums / Neoflix / New NF Program for Amazon
Posted:  29 Dec 2007 20:36

Registered User 		Posts:  52
Join Date: Oct 2007
Please log-into your account to read the new announce about a special program created to have your DVD or products on Amazon.
Posted:  25 Jan 2008 17:33

Registered User 		Posts:  52
Join Date: Oct 2007
Amazon Progress:

We tested three DVDs on Amazon--2 starting in December and 1 in January.  One client had to drop out due to possible conflict with an on-going distribution agreement.

So far the result has been about a sale per week.  That equates to about an extra $1000 in revenue for each filmmaker for the year--assuming that we make no further progress to improve sales.  However, I expect that number to go up as the sales rank for each DVD improves.  We also expect to become more knowledgeable about the Amazon site marketing process, and that will improve sales.
Posted:  27 Jan 2008 07:49

Registered User 		Posts:  52
Join Date: Oct 2007
to see the Occupation 101 and So Much So Fast listings on Amazon, search for B0012OTLIA and B0011G8ELY, respectively.
Posted:  30 Jan 2008 00:22

Registered User 		Posts:  52
Join Date: Oct 2007
This is useful information for anyone using Amazon Pro Merchant. We're studying it to get better results for clients currently using NF to list in Amazon.

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Using the Online Item Classification Guide

The following article applies to Pro Merchants only

Overview

The key to successful selling on Amazon.com is properly categorizing your products so that customers find them when they use Search and Browse. And the information you use to describe your inventory is the main method Amazon.com uses to categorize your products. For more information, see Using Search and Browse.

Please note:
* Missing or incorrect terms can prevent your products from appearing in Search or Browse results.
* At this time, you cannot use the Online Item Classification Guide to add Apparel products. Please use the information found in the Apparel template (found on the Item Classification Guide page) to add these products to your inventory.

You enter your inventory information using one of several methods. You can use the Add a Product feature, or you can upload your information using flat file templates. For more information, see Add a Product or Inventory File Templates.

    * If you use the Add a Product feature to add your products, then you go through a series of screens that prompt you for all the necessary information.
    * If you use flat file templates to manage your inventory, then you must enter many data elements into the spreadsheet. While most of the information you enter in the flat file template is optional, some of it is required, and without this required information, your inventory will not be uploaded correctly. And, the information you enter must also match exactly what Amazon.com uses.

For example, one element you must enter is the item type, which is used to determine where Amazon.com displays your products. It is critical that you not only use the right item type, but that you also spell the information correctly, and that you pick the most accurate and narrowly-defined item type as well. That is, if you sell a special set of pots for cooking pasta, you want to be sure you use "pasta-pots-set" as the item type so that when customers search or browse for pasta pots sets, they see your product listed with similar products. If you simply use "cookware," then chances are that customers will never see your product, because it's simply included with all the tens of thousands of cookware products.

For the best results for your customers, use the right item type for your products, and specify the item type correctly. You can find the item type using one of two methods.

    * You can use the Item Classification Guide files to help you find the right item type. These are files you download and then review to find the item type you want. See Item Classification Guides for more information.
    * You can also use the online Item Classification Guide, which can quickly help you find the right item type. You select the appropriate category and subcategory for your product; then, you can find the right additional information, such as item type.

You can use the online Item Classification Guide to find the following information about your products:

Using the Online Item Classification Guide
You use the online Item Classification Guide to search or browse for elements that you want to associate with your products. If you already know how to use the ICG search and browse features, jump ahead to Finding an Item Type.

ICG Browse
On the first page, pick a category and subcategory from the "Select a Category" drop-down menu on the left; then, you can find the right item-type and other attributes for your product, such as the "Used for" or "Subject Content" attribute. When you've chosen your category and subcategory, the page will reload with the Item Type box open. You can experiment by entering different categories and subcategories to see other item types.

ICG Search
When you submit a search, it returns all matching results, organized by category. The category with the most results displays its matches in a list:

From these, choose the link that best matches the item you're selling. (Making this choice opens the Item Type box.) You can also click on any other categories listed at the top of the results, and select a term from those lists.

The basic ICG search function uses "AND" logic. This means that if you enter three different search terms, you only receive results in which all three terms appear. The ICG search box also permits a variety of options that may make your searches more precise. For more tips, see Advanced Search Tips.

Attribute
   

Example
   

Comment

Item Type
   

pasta-pots-sets
   

Required
Used for     kitchen     Optional
Other Item Attributes     contemporary     Optional
Subject Content     nautical themes     Optional
Target Audience     unisex-adult     Optional
Additional Attributes     bamboo     Optional

Find an item type

   1. On the Inventory tab, click Advanced Features.
   2. On the Advanced Features page, click Item Classification Guides.
      The online Item Classification Guide page appears:

   3. Use the Category and Subcategory drop-down boxes for your product.
      You can experiment with different categories and subcategories until you find what you want. Notice that after you pick a category and subcategory, the Item Type area shows the name of the current item type:

   4. You can use the Category and Subcategory drop-down boxes to browse for your product, or search for it with keywords. If you use the Search box, the next step is to choose and click a matching term from the search results. ICG Search and ICG Browse both open an Item Type window that shows the item-types for that subcategory.

Please note:
� When browsing, you must pick a category and subcategory.
� In some cases, there are no entries for a given attribute. This depends upon the category and subcategory.

   5. In the Item Type area, in the first column, click the listed item type.
      If there is a [+] next to a sub-category name, then an additional column appears with further sub-categories:

   6. Keep clicking a sub-category until you select one that does not have a [+] (plus sign) next to it.
      A sub-category without the [+] is the lowest-level entry for your product. When you click an entry without the [+], the item-type appears in the Item Type box:

Please note:
� If you do want to use an item type with the [+] next to it, double-click it.
� You can use only one item type per product.

Copy and paste the item-type to the flat file template

   1. In the Item Type box, select the text (if necessary), and then use Edit: Copy; or, right-click the text and choose Copy.
      The text is copied to the Clipboard:

   2. Open your flat file template that contains your inventory information.
   3. Find the product with the item type you want to enter.
   4. Scroll across the row to the "ItemType" column; and then, in the row that contains your product information, click the cell under the ItemType column.
      In some instances, the name of the column might be "Item-type" or "item type."
   5. Use Edit: Paste; or, right-click and choose Paste.
      The information from the Clipboard is pasted into the cell:

Please note:
� Some product categories do not use all attributes, such as Subject Content or Used For.
� Most attributes (except for the Item Type attribute) can have multiple values. For example, for the Target Audience attribute, you can use up to three values, such as children, toddlers, and babies-unisex.
� If you copy multiple values from the online Item Classification Guide, be sure you select the correct starting location before you paste the values into the Flat File Template. That is, if you copy five values for the Other Item Attributes, be sure you select the cell with the column heading OtherItemAttribute1 so that the five values copy across the row properly, from OtherItemAttributes1 through OtherItemAttributes5.

Find an optional attribute and paste it into the template

   1. Switch back to the online Item Classification Guide page.
      If you closed the window, use the instructions under "Find an item type" to find the right category and subcategory.
   2. On the online Item Classification Guide page, click the [+] next to an optional attribute.
      Additional information appears for the category and subcategory.
   3. Click the listed information to display further entries (if any).
      When you reach the lowest level for that entry, the information appears in the Attribute text box:

   4. Use the previous instructions to copy and paste the information into your Inventory File Template into the appropriate columns.

Please note: If you use Additional Attributes for your product, the name in the left side of the Additional Attributes is the column name you should use, and the information on the right side of the Additional Attributes is the actual value you copy into your spreadsheet template, as shown in this image:

Copy and paste multiple attributes

   1. Switch back to the online Item Classification Guide page.
      If you closed the window, use the instructions under "Find an item type" to find the right category and subcategory.
   2. On the online Item Classification Guide page, click the [+] next to an optional attribute such as Other Item Attributes.
      Additional information appears for the category and subcategory.
   3. Click the listed information to display further entries (if any).
      When you reach the lowest level for that entry, the information appears in the Attribute text box.
   4. You can continue to click up to five values you want to copy to the Attribute text box.
      The selected attributes appear in the text box, separated by tabbed spaces:

   5. Open your Inventory File Template, select the first cell for your attribute, and right-click the first cell.
      You can also click the Edit menu. 

   6. Click Paste.
      The multiple values are copied across the row, starting in the first selected cell. Your screen should look like this:

Advanced Search Tips

Filter by category: You can use the drop-down search menu to limit your results to within a chosen category. This feature is useful if you already know which major category your product fits into.

OR search: Use this operator to find elements that include any of two or more keywords. For example, a Gourmet search using the terms "mushrooms OR truffles OR oils" gives results that include "nameko-mushrooms," but also "truffle-oils" and "corn-oils." Note: You must type OR in capital letters.

Wildcards: You can use the wildcard symbol (*) to get results that match a partial search string. For example, batt* gives results that include both "batteries" and "battery-chargers." You cannot use a wildcard at the beginning of a word.

Dashes: The simplest way to search is by using keywords alone or in short combinations, such as "video" or "video accessories." As you become familiar with item-type names, you may want to use dashes to limit your results. A search string with dashes must exactly match its results. For example, a search for "video-accessories" finds "vehicle-video-accessories" and "audio-video-accessories-and-parts" but not "console-video-game-accessories."

NOT search: This operator can be used to filter out terms from searches that give large or mixed results. For example, "game NOT video" excludes most video-game results, but includes such terms as "lawn-game-equipment" and "meat-and-game." Note: You must type NOT in capital letters.

Ignored words: Many short, common words such as "at" and "an" will be ignored in searches. Using the wildcard (the asterisk, "*") in your searches can be helpful. For example, the search "at*" finds results such as "atv-tires" and "atomic-clocks."

Spelling similarity: Use the tilde symbol (~) to find results that are spelled like your keyword. For example, entering "gnocci~" gives results for "gnocchi-pasta." Searching for "easal~" gives results that include "artists-easels."

Getting too many results? Try the following:

      � Restrict your search to the most relevant category.
      � Use more specific keywords.
      � Do not use wildcards or the OR operator.
      � Add the NOT phrase to filter out frequently recurring keywords.

Not getting any results? Try the wildcard search (the asterisk, "*"), or add OR between words. For example, when you want results relating to beds, the best searches would be:

      � bed OR beds
      � bed*

If you are searching within a specific category, such as Home & Garden, you may want to use the "All Categories" search instead--maybe your product is actually in Pet Supplies or Office Products.

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