[ BDSN ] 83.2% of Amazon sellers optimize for AI wrong

Everyone who joins Kevin tomorrow (Friday) for a 45-minute Q&A will be eligible for a partial scholarship to come to Market Masters in Austin this November.

Market Masters is the most life changing event in e-commerce for sellers. Over the course of a weekend, businesses are turned around and put on rocket ship growth by a group of experts curated solely based on the needs of the business owner.

If you are serious about growing your business and wiling to take action, it is the best investment you can make in the entire Amazon seller ecosystem.

Sit in the hot seat and change your life, or come as an audience member and watch others change their lives (and get a few tips for yourself along the way).

Join Kevin for the Market Masters AMA | More info about Market Masters

👀 TIPS from INSIDE the BILLION DOLLAR SELLERS CLUB

What is the Billion Dollar Sellers Club (BDSC)?

Kevin King's exclusive mastermind has quietly become one of the most valuable resources for serious Amazon sellers. BDSC delivers monthly expert training sessions, live Q&A calls, and an AI chatbot called the BDSS Oracle trained on Kevin's 1.000+ pieces of content.

Here are a few example tips from the past two months inside BDSC:

Joe Hides - The $200M Shopify Secret: The Positioning Test

Joe generates over $200M in Shopify revenue using this simple framework that most sellers completely miss:

The Strategy: Create 10 identical product images, write 10 different headlines targeting different pain points, then run all ads in Meta with a $500 weekly budget. The winning positioning becomes your entire funnel foundation.

Why It Works: Instead of guessing what customers want, you let them tell you. Joe's clients regularly discover their "obvious" positioning was completely wrong - and the winning angle often comes from left field.

Action Step: Download your Amazon reviews, upload to ChatGPT, and ask: "Who are the 10 ideal customer profiles and what are their specific pain points?" Use these insights for your 10 test headlines.

Michelle Barnum Smith - The TikTok Product Discovery System

Michelle reveals how to find winning products before they become saturated:

The Strategy: Use TikTok Shop Analytics → Products → TikTok Bestsellers, sort by category, then look for products with high GMV but low competitor count. Validate externally using KaloData or Euka, then test with sub-500 unit orders.

The Secret Edge: Start with 30-50 videos minimum before heavy affiliate outreach. This proves conversion to affiliates and gives the algorithm data to work with.

Action Step: Go to TikTok Shop Analytics right now, identify 3 products in your niche with high sales but under 10 competitors, then validate demand using Creator Search Insights for content gaps.

Paul Harvey - The GMV Max Ads Breakthrough

Paul's proven method for TikTok Shop ads that actually work:

The Strategy: Start with 30-50 videos minimum, then use Max Delivery at $50/day to accelerate algorithm learning. Begin with aggressive ROAS targets, then optimize down based on performance.

The Time Advantage: Unlike Amazon PPC that requires constant management, this takes only 10 minutes per day per brand. The algorithm handles optimization - your job is feeding new creative content.

Action Step: Create your first 30 videos this month (even simple phone videos work), then launch GMV Max with a conservative $30/day budget and 4x ROAS target.

Stephanie Tramicheck - The Product Validation Framework

Stephanie's four-question system eliminates 80% of bad product decisions:

The Validation Questions:

• Can you demonstrate it dramatically on video?

• Do you have sufficient margins (25%+ after commissions)?

• Is fulfillment cost reasonable for "free shipping" expectation?

• Can you differentiate in a crowded space?

The Reality Check: If you can't answer "yes" to all four, don't launch. This simple filter saves months of wasted effort and capital.

Action Step: Run your next three product ideas through these four questions before investing a single dollar in inventory.

Steve Chou - The AI Cross-Sell Revolution

Steve's AI-powered improvements are generating 5x search conversions and 18% revenue lifts:

The Strategy: Implement smart search with RAG database using AI-generated product descriptions, plus visual cross-sell where AI analyzes product photos to suggest similar-looking items.

The Results: 5x boost in search conversions and 18% lift in cross-sell revenue from AI analyzing customer behavior patterns.

Action Step: Start with AI-generated FAQs for every product page using schema markup - this alone positions you for AI search dominance and improves conversions immediately.

Dan Kurtz - The LLM Indexing Hack

Dan reveals how to dominate AI-powered search results before your competitors catch on:

The Strategy: Directly prompt ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity with your URLs to force faster indexing. Create individual backlinks from LLM-generated pages for each critical product page.

The Advanced Move: Install Microsoft's NLWeb plugin to allow AI models to interact directly with your website content, positioning you prominently in future AI search results.

Action Step: Right now, open ChatGPT and type: "Please visit and analyze my website: [your-url]" for each of your main product pages. Do this weekly.

Lauren Petrullo - The Instagram Algorithm Hack

Lauren's Meta optimization strategy that guarantees ROAS:

The Strategy: Launch Shopify "Shop" app ad campaigns (takes under 5 minutes) - choose target CPA, target ROAS, and budget. Shopify covers upfront ads; you only pay upon conversion.

The Content Edge: Rewrite Instagram Reel descriptions and first comments with relevant keywords for Google's new indexing. Use Instagram's native "Edits" app to boost algorithm visibility.

Action Step: Set up your Shopify "Shop" ads campaign this week with a conservative budget, then optimize 5 of your best Instagram Reels with keyword-rich descriptions.

Ready for the Full Playbook?

These are just 7 strategies from hundreds shared monthly in BDSC. Members get access to complete presentations, Q&A sessions, exclusive tools, and direct access to 7-8-9 figure sellers who are actively implementing these tactics.

BDSC pays for itself with just one implemented strategy (it’s just $9 to join). The question isn't whether you can afford to join - it's whether you can afford to keep missing out on strategies that could 10X your business.

[Join BDSC Today for $9 - Limited to Serious Sellers Only]

🔭 YOU GOTTA SEE THIS

Don’t miss Ritu’s jam-packed action AI talk tomorrow (Friday) in the Billion Dollar Sellers Club at 2pm EST!

🔬  SEARCH FUNNEL DOCTOR SUMMARIZES SQP DATA

Turn your Amazon Search Query Performance export into clear, prioritized actions without connecting any API.

This intelligent analyzer processes your SQP data in under 60 seconds, identifying exactly where the search funnel is bleeding revenue.

Get instant insights on CTR gaps, cart abandonment patterns, and conversion bottlenecks with specific keyword-level recommendations that typically take hours of manual analysis.

Key highlights

In under 60 seconds, it is designed to read SQP data and provide executive summary 

• Works across all marketplaces (CA, US, Australia, etc)

• Pinpoints funnel leaks (CTR gaps, Add to cart; Purchase rate)

• Quantifies the business impact 

• Generates a downloadable report in case anyone wants to work offline 

Check it out here

🇺🇸  CARDBOARD BOX DEMAND PLUNGES in USA

The Wall Street Journal reports corrugated packaging industry is experiencing its worst downturn in over a decade, with major implications for e-commerce sellers who rely on cardboard boxes for shipping.

Key Statistics:

• Box shipments have dropped to their lowest levels since 2016

• Per-capita box usage is down over 20% from its 1999 peak

• The U.S. has lost about 9% of its containerboard production capacity in just 8 months - twice the amount lost during the 2009 recession

What's Driving the Decline: The slump reflects broader economic headwinds affecting consumer spending, including uncertainty from tariffs, a weakening housing market, and reduced consumer purchasing power. Even International Paper, the country's largest box maker, revised its 2024 demand forecast from +1% growth to -2% decline.

Impact on Amazon and E-commerce: Interestingly, even Amazon and other e-commerce giants are contributing to reduced cardboard demand by:

• Switching more shipments to paper and plastic mailers

• Using custom-sized boxes to reduce waste

• Eliminating "boxes within boxes" packaging

Pricing Pressures: Despite falling demand, box prices remain elevated. Linerboard (the outer layer material) costs about $945 per ton, up from $725 in late 2019. However, recent price increase attempts by manufacturers have met resistance from buyers.

Bottom Line for Sellers: While reduced competition for packaging materials might seem positive, the underlying demand weakness signals broader consumer spending concerns that could impact sales volumes. The industry consolidation and mill closures may also create supply constraints and pricing volatility in the future.

✌🏼 Have a great weekend.

See you again on Monday.

The answer to today’s STUMP BEZOS is
Independent sellers move 5 billion products per year