[ BDSN ] Stop Amazon from wasting your ad spend

💰 SELL to WIN: 5 LEVELS of MARKET SOPHISTICATION

Amazon is no longer just a marketplace—it’s a battleground of saturated claims, recycled benefits, and copycat products. In the supplement space, this is painfully clear.

If your “clean ingredients” and “natural energy” claims aren’t converting like they used to, you’re not alone. The issue isn’t your product.

It’s your niche’s level of sophistication.

Let’s break it down—and see how MaryRuth’s and barrière are rewriting the rules by rethinking how supplements are delivered.

What Is Market Sophistication?

Market sophistication isn’t about how “smart” your customers are—it’s about how numb they’ve become to hearing the same pitch, over and over.

“Lose weight.”
“Boost your immune system.”
“Feel more energized.”

That used to be enough. Not anymore.

Every time another brand enters the arena shouting the same message louder, trust erodes.

The solution? Level up your message to meet the market’s expectations. Let’s dive into the 5 levels—and how delivery format innovation is your unfair advantage.

The 5 Levels of Market Sophistication

Note: you have to be careful with claims on Amazon - these are to illustrate the point

Level 1: The New Market

Claim: Simple benefit. No competitors yet.
Example: “Fall asleep faster.”
Tactic: Just say what it does.

👉 When to use: Launching a product in a new or niche category (e.g., sleep gummies before they became mainstream).

Level 2: The Loud Market

Claim: Same benefits—just louder.
Example: “Fall asleep in under 10 minutes!”
Tactic: Push the promise harder, ride the trend.

👉 When to use: Early trend adoption—before saturation.

Level 3: The Skeptical Market

Claim: Explain HOW it works with a believable mechanism.
Example: “Fall asleep faster with melatonin + L-theanine, can help regulate circadian rhythm.”
Tactic: Mechanism = Credibility.

👉 When to use: Category getting crowded—your customer needs reasons to believe.

Level 4: The Jaded Market

Claim: Old claims don’t work. You need innovation—new delivery, better stack, clear contrast to “outdated” methods.
Example: “Sleep patches deliver melatonin transdermally—no pills, no digestion lag.”
Tactic: You’re not just making a claim, you’re attacking the old way.

👉 When to use: In crowded verticals where everyone says the same thing.

Level 5: The Burned Market

Claim: People don’t want promises. They want to believe you get them.
Example: “Why most melatonin doesn’t work—and what we did differently with our sleep patch after my doctor told me to ditch pills.”
Tactic: Story > Science. Proof > Promises. Brand Identity > Bullet Points.

👉 When to use: Deeply saturated markets. Your product isn’t the star—your story and trust are.

MaryRuth’s — Level 4 Sophistication: Rethinking “Gummy Everything”

Tired: Pills and capsules
Wired: Gummies
Inspired: Dissolvable strips

MaryRuth’s identified that gummies are now the clutter—so they pivoted. Their dissolvable strips offer fast absorption, no water required, and an experience.

"Why choke down a gummy when you can slip a strip under your tongue on-the-go?"

They didn’t invent supplements. They reinvented the experience.

On Amazon, this opens the door to:

• Scroll-stopping visuals

• Messaging that emphasizes “ease,” “no pills,” and “anywhere use”

• Keywords like “travel-friendly,” “melt-on-tongue,” “no sugar gummy alternative”

This is how you win in a Level 4 market—new format, positioned as a better experience.

barrière — Level 5 Sophistication: Trust Through Story + Design

barrière isn’t just selling vitamin patches. They’re selling a narrative (via DTC and social commerce - not on Amazon)😀 

“I had an iron deficiency. Pills didn’t help. My doctor recommended a patch. But the medical ones were ugly and irritating. So we made a better one.”

Now they own the intersection of performance + style:

• Transdermal absorption up to 10x more efficient

• No pills. No water. No nonsense.

• Beautiful, visible patches (that look like tattoos or accessories)

This is Level 5 mastery:
Emotion + Story + Proof = Belief

They give customers what they want and what they didn’t know they needed—proof and personality.

Diagnose Your Category

• Are you getting drowned out by similar claims?

• Are reviews stalling? CTR dropping?

If so, you’re likely in a Level 3–5 market. Time to evolve.

Test small on Amazon → watch performance lift → scale what sticks.

Let Format Drive Your Amazon Strategy

Use delivery method in:

• Titles: “Sleep Patch | No Pills | 12-hr Release”

• Bullets: “Designed for on-the-go use—no water or swallowing needed.”

• A+ Content: Use visuals to show how it fits into real life.

Compete With Experience, Not Just Ingredients

Anyone can use saffron. Or folate. Or B12.

But not everyone makes it portable, painless, and beautiful.

That’s your moat.

Use Story to Build Trust

Tell your why. MaryRuth’s shows up on TikTok with raw stories and lifestyle integration. barrière shares their founder’s journey and the real reason patches were created.

People purchase from people—especially in Level 5 markets.

Market sophistication doesn’t kill categories. It just punishes lazy marketing and uninspired products.

MaryRuth’s and barrière aren’t just selling supplements—they’re selling experiences, stories, and solutions designed for real life.

🧠 AMAZON’S AI LEARNS to THINK LIKE YOUR CUSTOMER

Amazon just rolled out a major AI upgrade that finally bridges a long-standing search gap: it now understands what shoppers DON’T want per this Amazon Science doc.

Until now, if a customer searched for “no laces,” Amazon often showed lace-up shoes anyway. Why? Because traditional search engines struggle with negation—terms like “no glare,” “not sticky,” or “no fingerprints.”

That’s all changing.

Amazon is now using large language models (LLMs) to rewrite customer queries with smarter, benefit-driven language. So instead of searching literally for “no laces,” the AI interprets it as “slip-on shoes” and serves listings that actually match the shopper’s intent.

✅ Your copy must focus on the benefit, not the absence.

Amazon’s new AI doesn’t match “no glare”—it matches “anti-glare.” It skips over “no cords” and favors “wireless.” Time to comb through your bullets and titles and rewrite anything framed in negatives.

📈 You could see more impressions and conversions.

Early tests show up to 15% more relevant search matches when listings are aligned with Amazon’s new rewrite logic. That means your products may start showing up for long-tail queries that never converted before.

🎯 Precision is king.

If your listing uses vague terms like “great for daily use” or “easy to wear,” you risk getting skipped. Instead, use specific features that map to rewritten queries:

• “Slip-on” instead of “no laces”

• “Anti-smudge” instead of “no fingerprints”

• “Odor-resistant” instead of “doesn’t smell”

🛠 Action Steps:

• Audit your top listings for negation-based phrasing.

• Replace negatives with the affirmative benefit version.

• Make sure your bullet points clearly list feature-based language that Amazon’s AI can match to rewritten queries.

Bottom Line:
Amazon’s search is now smarter and more intent-driven. If your listings aren’t using the same language its AI understands, you’re losing visibility—and sales. Update your copy, focus on benefits, and speak fluently to both shoppers and the algorithm.

🧠 Amazon’s AI isn’t searching the way it used to. Are you listing the way you used to? Time to evolve.

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CLICK for TODAY’S MYSTERY

🚀 AMAZON MAY BE WASTING a LOT of YOUR AD SPEND

Amazon doesn’t just show your Sponsored Ads on Amazon—it also displays them on off-Amazon sites like Pinterest, blogs, mobile apps, and news outlets via its ad network.

While this can boost impressions, many sellers see poor performance from these placements (low CTR, high CPC, low ROAS).

If you want more control and better spend efficiency, you can:

• Limit off-Amazon ad placements

• Block specific external sites where your ads shouldn’t appear

✅ How to Analyze & Block Off-Amazon Placements

Step 1: Analyze Current Ad Placements

1. Log in to your Amazon Ads console

2. Go to Measurements & Reporting → Sponsored Ads Reports

3. Create a Placements Report

   • Choose 30 days or your desired timeframe

4. Download the report and open it in Excel/Sheets

5. Look for entries labeled “Off-Amazon” under the "Placement" column

   • These show where your ads were shown outside Amazon

Step 2: Compile a Deny List

1. Review the external URLs (off-Amazon placements)

2. Identify underperforming or irrelevant sites where you don’t want ads shown

3. Save these domains in a .CSV, .TSV, or .XLSX file

• Amazon provides a template you can download

Step 3: Upload the Deny List

1. In Amazon Ads console, go to:
   Administration → Account Access & Settings → Deny list

2. Click Upload deny list

3. Upload your file (CSV, XLSX, or TSV)

4. Amazon will then block your Sponsored Ads from showing on those sites

Step 4: Limit All Off-Amazon Ad Spend

1. When setting up or editing a Sponsored Display campaign:

2. Scroll to the “Settings for ads served off Amazon” section

3. Select “Limit off-Amazon spend”

   This tells Amazon to reduce spend on external placements, which often perform poorly or unpredictably

✌🏼 See you again Thursday …

The answer to today’s STUMP BEZOS is
Six cargo ships sank in 2024