Create a Promotion Code on Amazon
Creating Promotion Codes on Amazon is not really difficult, however the first time through can be a little intimidating.
Lets start with “What is a Promotion Code?” That phrase could have a host of meanings. Amazon uses this term to refer to an 8 digit Alpha-numeric code that a customer enters right before they check out. There is an APPLY button and when the customer clicks on that button a discount is applied and the price is adjusted. (Some codes are for “Buy One – Get One Free” or for Merchant Fulfilled products they might be for “Free Shipping.” In this example we will create a code that applies 60$ off of the list price.
Here is a look at where the code is applied during Check Out on Amazon.
Amazon Check Out Screen Showing Where you Enter a Promotion Code
#1 – Where you enter the code (blurred out on the screen shot)
#2 – The Apply Button – you must click this button to apply the discount.
#3 – The price will change based on the Promotion Code the Customer enters. If the code is wrong or no longer active an error message will appear.
Note: We could call this a coupon code or a coupon or a discount code. I suggest you use the term “Promotion Code.” When you deal with Amazon support they can be very helpful, however if you don’t use this vocabulary you can get strange answers. I’ll give one example. We may think that the page that displays our product in Amazon is an “ad.” To them it is a “Display Page.” Ads are what you get when you buy Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. You really need to learn the vocabulary.
The Steps You Follow When You Are Creating Promotion Codes
Step 1 – Sign Into Seller Center with your Amazon seller Account.
Step 2 – Click on the Advertising Tab
Step 3 – Click on the Promotion sub-menu to start creating promotino codes.
Promotion Menu Option
#1 – Click on Advertising
#2 – Click on Promotions
You will see a screen that lets you work on existing promotions or create a new one.
We are going to create a new one. There are obviously several options like Buy One and Get One Free. We are going use the Money Off Option. (Note when you are creating promotion codes you cannot use the Free Shipping option for FBA products.)
Money Off Option
Step 4 – Start to fill out the data for your promotion code. The first option allows us to say that they must buy more than one to qualify. We’ll leave that one as the default.
Step 5 – Amazon uses a set of items that it calls a “Product Selection.” (Well they don’t really name it, but it helps to talk about it as if it has a name). A Poduct Selection is a list of items you want to apply your promotion code to. It might be one item or it might be your entire inventory. When you create these Product Selections, keep in mind that you may use them over and over. For example I have two Christmas Dog Collar – a small and a medium. I like to offer discounts to both of these at the same time. I have actually created different Promotion Codes for when I send people from Facebook, from my email, from a Review Site and more. The point is that you might actually list 30 or 300 different items in a Product Selection. It helps to only have to do it once and maintain it in one place.
Note; The Product selection has nothing to do with “How Much Discount?” is being applied. It is only used to identify “Which Products?” the discount should be applied to.
Step 6 – Since the Product Selection I want isn’t in the drop down menu under “Select One”, I’ll have to create a new one. Click the Create link (#1 below)
Select or Create a Product Selection
#1 – This is where you create a new Product Selection
#2 – Shows part of the drop down of existing Product Selections.
Now we need to select how we are going to identify the products that belong to the Product Selection. I’m going to use ASIN numbers, here but you can use what ever works for you. (ASIN stands for Amazon Standard Identification Number. You will find this listed in the Details section of every Display Page in Amazon.)
Step 7 – Choose ASIN List and press the Submit Button
How You Will Identify Products in a New Product Selection
Step 8 Name the Product Selection (two ways) and enter the ASINs for the product(s).
Product Selection Name and List
#1 – You must enter a tracking code. This can be complex or just name the items. That depends on your needs.
#2 – This field is a more human readable field. It also names the group of items in the Product Selection
#3 – The ASIN number(s) – this can be just one if you want.
#4 – The Submit button (there is also a change log there if you need it.)
The next screen you see will be a list of your Product Selections.
Product Selection List
Once you have the Product Selection you want (you only have to do this once. If you have already done it, you just select the one you want.)
Step 9 – Move back to the original Tab. The “Create a Product Selection” option opened a new tab (or window)
Switch Back to the Creating Promotion Codes Tab
#1 – This is the currently Active Screen
#2 – This is the screen we want to move back to
Step 10 – Select the Product Selection you want from the Drop Down menu (It won’t be there) You need to click on the “Select Another” link to find your new one.
#1 – The Select One menu – which does not have your new Product Selection.
#2 – The “Select Another” option – click this.
A screen pops up and your new Product Selection is there. Choose it.
List of “More Product Selections”
Step 11 – You can now fill out the entire screen. See the numbered notes below this screen shot.
Fill Out The Screen
#1 – We already looked at this one – we are choosing that they must buy one
#2 – We have selected the Product Selection group that we want to apply the discount to.
#3 – We choose between Dollars off and Percentage Off. I chose Percent Off in this example
#4 – We choose how large a percentage or how many dollars off.
#5 – Leave this as the default “Purchased Items”
#6 – Pick a Start date (It defaults to NOW)
$7 – Pick an End Date – the little icon opens of the calendar
#8 – Pick a date from the Calendar.
Note: You can also pick times to start an stop when your Promotion Code is Active. The soonest you can start a Promotion is four hours after you create the code. Don’t wait until the last minute.
Step 12 – Name this Promotion. In the previous screens we named a group of products – like the “2014 Spring Collection.” Now we are naming the Promotion we are running that uses the Product Selection. Here I called it the “60 Percent off Christmas Special.” This title is for you.
Step 13 – Click on the “Claim Code” check box and choose a code. You can let Amazon select a Random code (Press the “Suggest a code” button if you don’t like the one they chose) Or You can fill in your own. I like to do that since they can make more sense than a totally random set of letter. (Something that is a little reasonable give my mind a chance to see it and say “Whoa -that’s not right!” If the code is random, that will never happen. The codes are always 8 digits and they are always capitalized. (Amazon also converst 1’s to I’s and Zeros to Oh’s. This reduces customer frustration when they wrote down an Oh when the code had a Zero.)
Fill Out The Name of the Promotion and the Claim Code
#1 – You name for this Promotion (NOTE NOTE: The description should include what is being discounted. When you Manage Promotions later the title shown above is insufficient since it doesn’t say what we are giving 60 percent off on. This is the title to you will when you decide which one to edit, fix, clone, etc.)
#2 – Check the Claim Code to open up the section of the screen that lets you fill in a coupon code.
#3 – Either fill in an 8 digit code or let Amazon fill in a random code.
#4 – Be Sure to Click on the Customize Messaging Link
Step 14 – Click on the Customize Message Link and UNCHECK the Detail Page Display Test.
If you don’t uncheck this box, your coupon will display in the Details section of your Display Page and everyone will be able to use your discount. That may be what you want, but it usually isn’t what I want.
Uncheck the Details Page Display Text
Step 15 – Click the Review Button
You are not done, Amazon is going to show your the whole promotion and let you look over it one more time. It may show you error messages here. For example you may not have chose a Product Selection group.
Review Button
Step 16 – Review the Page and Click the Submit Button – the Promotion does NOT exist until you do this step.
NOTE: YOU MAY NOT BE DONE
Submit Button
When you press the Submit Button, you may get an error message. Here is an example
Error Message
This message says that the code I selected has already been used. I needed to select a different code.
Make the change press the Submit button again.
The green Check Mark indicates Success. You now have a Promotion Code. It will become active at the date and time you indicated. (As noted this is at least four hour in the future.)
Success
By now you should know enough that creating promotion codes goes fairly smoothly for you.
Now that you have one you can tell people about this code in your marketing and when they use it, the discount will be applied.
Until Next time, you have a Great Day! Oh Hale Yes!
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Hale Pringle Ed. D.
Hale Pringle – Hale Yes!
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