Merch by Amazon (MBA) sounds simple enough in theory. You design a t-shirt (or, if you’re selling in the US, a long-sleeved tee, a hoodie, a sweatshirt, or even a pop socket), wait for someone to buy, and Amazon prints and handles fulfillment for you. It’s an end-to-end version of its sister product, Amazon FBA, or fulfillment by Amazon. On paper, it looks like any old businessperson can do it. The reality, though, is a lot more complicated.

Amazon makes the production and fulfillment easier for you, but marketing and keeping your audience engaged and interested is still up to you. When you sell on Amazon, you are going up against small businesses AND giant companies like Marvel, Cartoon Network, and Universal. This means that it’s essential to play smart so that potential customers notice you and you can effectively sell your t-shirts to them.

This is where having a Merch by Amazon virtual assistant (VA) can help. An Amazon MBA VA can do the research necessary to create the best listings and conceptualize the best products. Virtual assistants can help you do everything from scouring social media for trends to creating product listings to working on graphic design. Not to mention, hiring a VA offers you more options by virtue of a wider pool of candidates. There is undoubtedly an MBA virtual assistant out there for your specific needs, whatever they may be.

Hiring a VA instead of a regular in-office Amazon merch expert also has the added benefit of being more cost-efficient. Not only do you get to hire for specific needs, but you can also hire for particular hours. You also don’t need to pay for peripheral costs required in hiring a physical employee, like transportation, insurance, office space, and office equipment. All of this makes it an excellent investment to hire a virtual assistant specialist for Amazon MBA.

An Amazon MBA Virtual Assistant is basically your Amazon Webstore specialist specifically for Merch by Amazon can handle nearly all aspects of your Merch by Amazon business, depending on your needs, like:

• Handling MBA account invitation/request

Just because you are an Amazon seller doesn’t mean you can automatically start selling via MBA. To get a merch account, you have to submit an application and wait to be approved. Your VA can gather the necessary information like your business contact information, bank account, and routing details, as well as any other element needed to apply. They can also keep follow up and keep track of your Amazon account status and do other tasks while waiting to be approved.

• Researching keywords for your MBA products

Before you submit your design to MBA, one crucial step your VA should not miss is doing the necessary keyword research for your potential products. This is because choosing the right keywords is your key to visibility on Amazon, and this visibility is the first and most essential step to getting potential purchases.

• Creating and conceptualizing tee designs

Specific Amazon MBA VAs can help you conceptualize shirt designs based on in-demand keywords that fit your interests as a company. They can also help you create the designs or provide feedback on design drafts.

• Taking care of MBA product listings

Given the importance of keyword research and persuasive copy, your VA can optimize your product descriptions to help you get more searches and convince more buyers.

• Tracking and product performance and royalties

One tricky thing about MBA listings is that Amazon has control over the products as well. Even when you set a price for your products, Amazon can choose to adjust it to something they deem more appropriate, sometimes even as part of a split pricing test. Your Amazon MBA VA can keep track of these fluctuations and note down your product’s performance with Amazon’s different changes. You can carry over anything your VA learns to other aspects of your business.

With so many crucial tasks under their belts, Amazon MBA virtual assistants need to be:

• Organized

Since Amazon MBA VAs have to do so many varied tasks, it is crucial that they’re able to keep track of everything they’ve done and have to do. Ideally, they should also be familiar with project management software like Trello so that you can stay abreast of their progress when you want to.

• Communicate well

Your VA should communicate well with you and your team to ensure proper coordination and a good working environment. They should also be able to write well so that your product listings are enticing to your customers.

• Familiar with copyright and trademark checking

Intellectual property infringement can get you banned, so your VA should be able to review your designs and listings against existing trademarks or copyrights.

Hiring a VA can help free up your time to focus on other aspects of your company, like business development, digital marketing, and partnership building. However, sometimes the idea of diving into the wide web to look for the perfect VA can be daunting.

This is where partnering with a company like 20four7VA can help. They can scour the world for good VA prospects for you, and all you have to do is interview the shortlisted candidates. Afterward, 20four7VA can even help you onboard and track your VA’s performance so that you have a hassle-free and seamless VA hiring experience.

To explore these possibilities, feel free to schedule a no-obligation pre-consultation call with 20four7VA to spec out your needs.