[00:00:00] Welcome to the Professors Podcast where we discuss the best strategies to massively improve the reach and bottom line of your business in the current virtual and economic landscape. Your host, Howard Thai, generates over $5 billion for his clients annually using innovative tactics, both on and off Amazon.

[00:00:21] Hey everyone. Welcome to the Professors Podcast. As usual, I'm Hurricane Liz and I'm the host of the Professor's Pandemic Event panel that we have. And we've got a bunch of really talented speakers that we're highlighting in these first few episodes of the Professor's Podcast who will be speaking at the first ever Professors Pandemic Event.

[00:00:41] to be held live virtually for the first time ever, online at the end of June. Now with me as usual, is my co-host Howard, who is here always, and he's always combing the globe to find the best of the best at Amazon. Howie, we've got a really special guest who's actually been to two of the previous events that we've had, and he's pretty much also traveled the globe just to be the best of the best at what he actually does.

[00:01:07] You want to tell me a little bit more about this gentleman and how you came to meet him? Well, this gentleman is Mark Casey, right from the Jewish community in the New York area. So that's where, I think it was the, I believe that was, he came to my first mastermind in Las Vegas. I believe that was the one that we were at first.

[00:01:30] Yeah, I remember, I remember we were serving some Jewish, uh, Jewish food to them and all that good stuff. So then he went to the second one, that recent one though. So it was a lot of. Right?

[00:01:49] Yeah. And you know, there's a couple of things I love about this guy, and he's a true hustler. Like he really gets out there, and I know he has a ton of clients. He's handled a ton of the biggest friends that you actually see on Amazon. People might not even be aware of that, but he's a true hustler. He's actually out there testing and doing things himself.

[00:02:06] And I remember having a conversation here with him when Tiktok first started and he was already out there hustling. He'd already liked slung so much stuff on Tiktok. It was insane through his Shopify site. So he’s a true tester and doer. And that's kind of what I love about him. And the second thing, as you guys are going to learn here in a second that you're going to love about him too, is his signature item, which you'll see here.

[00:02:29] I'll let him show us his signature item in a second. So he's really, you can never miss the guy because of this actual item. So he's been able to not only brand some of the biggest brands out there on Amazon, but also himself thanks to this item. So let me, without further ado introduce him and then kind of give you guys a heads up on how we're going to handle this. Howie and I are going to tag team him and as I say, like there's a lot of dirty bastards out there usually seeing like, what are you talking about?

[00:02:54] tag team.  I'm not talking about that tag team. I mean we're just going to, high five it's your turn Howie to ask Mark some questions. So I'm going to go first and I'm just saying this much more. I haven't said too much about you other than the two things that I absolutely love about you that are really awesome and amazing and great branding by the way.

[00:03:12] But I want you to pretend that you're on an elevator with Howard, and of course, he is the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Howard Thai. And you really want to speak at his Professor's Pandemic Event. You've heard fantastic things about it. You've obviously seen it cause you've been in attendance at two of the actual events.

[00:03:29] Tell him in two minutes of quick elevator pitch and why you are the best at what you actually do. All right. Hello. Well, yeah, my name is Mark Casey and we started off working as one of the top 500 brands on Amazon who are doing nine, nine figures annually. To keep it short, I have a lot of friends that work at Amazon, so, you know, they'll able to help me out and kind of keep me in the loop about things as soon as they come out on the rules that they're going to be putting into their place and whatnot.

[00:03:55] So that's certainly one aspect and always being in, you know, keeping up to date on what's going on. So for example, like you mentioned before, as soon as the Tiktok trend came out, so I kind of mixed that into like how you can market it in a high and mix it with Amazon specific, like you mentioned my branding, which is actually the Amazon

[00:04:11] Yarmulke. So as you know, I'm Jewish, right? So I'm always wearing my yarmulke and I do Amazon. So why not mix the both? So I'm all about like, you know, thinking outside of the box to see what works. And this really works because when I wear it out, okay, this guy has something to do with Amazon, so I'm always with it.

[00:04:27] I know people could relate that together and just get things going. Just being in the loop and being advanced about what's coming forward and having the best strategy and that’s important. I just, you just taught me a new word. It's called tricks in English and it's stick? Shtick.

[00:04:48] Amazon shtick. I was interesting. I was, I wrote it down and everything. I just have to remember it cause I got like some Jewish community following. So yeah. Also, you know, I want you to ask me more deeper into like, what do you think you're the most foremost expert in when it comes to Amazon and what would you say.

[00:05:11] So creating a brand is, it's very important. People just think you could just order something from China and bring it in and just put it up and to sell. But it's realistic. It's very important to create a brand and a store that you can expand on and people will shop more and buy other items from you.

[00:05:25] So don't think in like just the short run that I'm just gonna launch one product. Think in the long run that you could use the  same branding and so forth and mix different strategies together on how to actually sell well on Amazon. Okay, so that's good. What do you, how do you, can you classify yourself that you're, that you're outside thinker, you think outside the box compared to other experts.

[00:05:47] Besides the fact that, as you can see, I always think outside of the box, but so, you know, one of the things that I, you know, I, which I helped the brand that's a top 500 brand was thinking outside the box and anything from as small as reviewing, you know, the reviews on their page or to the images or, or how their bread flows on Amazon.

[00:06:06] So I took response, took part in the responsibility of that. I have to think outside the box. And that's what gained more sales. Because not everyone just like seeing the regular, you have to think.

[00:06:19] Right, amazing. Mark. You do stand out. You obviously branded yourself, and that in itself can sometimes be a really difficult thing to do. So you managed to take a twist on something that was so simple that a lot of people would never have thought about it. You even did a cartoon of yourself with that yarmulke.

[00:06:36] So the things that you do and you put yourself into, you make it a purpose to stand out. So let me ask you this question based on your gigantic, almost catalog of knowledge, because I know that the Jewish community really like leans on you. You were a very valuable member, and I saw that at the masterminds because you brought them in and they all kind of crowded around you.

[00:06:57] You, you're almost sorta like the leader. Based off of all that information, what three to five topics do you have and your magic tricks that you would be willing to share with people and really wow them during this first ever Professor's Pandemic Events. Firstly, it’s ranking. You know, I got it pretty down

[00:07:16] path. Has spent a couple of years trying to figure out what's really working and not just guessing. So that's where a lot of the work I do that I'm confident about. I mean with like back because I get the job done. So that's ranking. And it could be as simple even as listing optimization, but not just like, okay, you're making it, you know, adding that. You were there to like, how to like make your, those things flow and kind of get it to the next level.

[00:07:37] And also with reviews, you know, different strategies and tactics on how to get reviews and make your page look like, as a whole. Right. And so that brings me to the following question, which I'd mentioned already. I gave people some insight behind the fact that you'd already tested on Tiktok. Do you think Tiktok is a worthwhile form of traffic right now in the USA for an Amazon brand or even in the future?

[00:08:02] Is it worth spending our time and energy to actually put our money into Tiktok as brand owners? 110% she will use Facebook ads right now and Amazon traffic because everyone could just pop up on Facebook that whenever someone posts something, they're actually going, they're doing a search fund buy for you and you're not even having to do anything because it'll just show a product, right?

[00:08:24] And then they'll just show the brand or something, and there's already, are we going to Tiktok, Tiktok to Amazon and type in your product name and buy it organically? So I've done this as a test. Literally as a test, I just got someone to just to show him one product briefly in the tech talk, he got tens and hundreds of thousands of views within literally minutes and hour.

[00:08:45] So sales increasing going up like crazy. So if I were to invest money in, like if I had a pool of money and where to invest in, whether Facebook ads, Instagram, whatever the top of my list was for sure, Tiktok ads and influencers, hundred percent. In terms of Tiktok, is that something that you've continued to test since I actually saw you, and is it actually something that you'd be willing to talk about or share some of your findings with people?

[00:09:10] Yeah, it's actually very effective. I’ve done it before. I've done it in the past. Like for example, even a supplement or whatever it came out with, once someone sees something there, it just feels like a trend so wonderful to pick up on it and you'll get other people reviewing your product for free and buying it.

[00:09:25] Without even having to give it to them. So even just in the beginning, if you just blow the money to the right people, other people will find it as a trend and just they'll pick up from there. So it is true. Tiktok is really powerful. I was talking about like social commerce, which a little later you'll see that Tiktok

[00:09:44] We'll add a little shopping cart, like an add to cart button inside there, Tiktok. So those are going to be influencers, micro influencers, or if they're big there, big influencers that would be able to actually sell on the platform. That's just the social commerce side, but regarding the Amazon traffic, going from Tiktok to Amazon instead.

[00:10:06] Yeah, it's really popular. It was really good because Amazon really thinks that these social. The social

[00:10:15] things are very valuable. And because the reason why is if someone's searching for your product from Tiktok social to Amazon the conversion rate is really high. So I almost don't likes to see those conversion rates. Okay. So  I wanted to ask you also like I do for all our interviews, listerners, what are the kind of problems do you see Amazon sellers having in 2020 regarding the pandemic now?

[00:10:43] I mean, literally just a couple of days ago, not even, they just took off the restriction of suddenly getting products. Firstly, it was the delayed shipping time, but now Amazon's getting much better they said, as I see. There are just a couple of people who tend to chip in, you know, more than a couple items or nonessential items are, Amazon has been getting better with it.

[00:11:02] I just saw it yesterday. They started advertising product because you know, right now they just advertising movies and TV shows with it and stuff like that. So they just started adding different ads and stuff like that together and stuff that they weren't showing before. Now they’re showing, so it looks like Amazon's kind of picking up and cooling down the focus restrictions.

[00:11:20] Right. And focusing on problems, Mark, since you've had a lot of experience and you've been selling on Amazon for quite some time, helping brands and do all the things that they do, what kind of problems do you foresee in the next six to 18 months, particularly for sellers that are already selling on Amazon?

[00:11:39] So now everyone just ordering inventory. So besides the manufacturers and stuff like that, what I see is a lot of people ordering inventory because they're going to be scared of what's coming next because you don't know, like one day it could go down, but it could go back up and you don't know where it's going to end up.

[00:11:54] Just ordering tons of inventory just to have it here. So I would say, you know, kind of inventory control and making sure that you order enough, but not too much, or you're going to be, you know, tons of fees and stuff like that from Amazon. That's not gonna make sense. Wow. Yeah, that's true. So how about, how about the opportunities that you see Amazon seller having right now because of the pandemic.

[00:12:13] Well, the opportunities are that you could literally post almost anything and you're able to, you know, you're able to solve all with it. There's no one's going to the store. Even if they're going to the grocery store, everyone's at home. And besides the fact that essential is what people need, and they're not buying, but people are buying stuff like that.

[00:12:30] And that's why, you know, we're going to go right back into Tiktok. People are spending more time on social media. So that's much more like right now, the best time to invest in and pump in more money. Because when people are home, they're scrolling through social media and they're going to buy things.

[00:12:42] Then visit us

[00:12:45] Yeah, and you know, I know that we've been talking about Tiktok a lot, but here's the thing. You've had experience, you've tried a lot of the social platforms. Right now, at this very moment which actual platform is your favorite to sort of send some of this actual traffic to Amazon? I would say first Tiktok.  Then second would be Pinterest.

[00:13:05] I believe underrated and then third will come Instagram. But Pinterest has great traffic, great conversion, and there are tons of people on there and a lot of different demographics, so it's great. And Instagram ads will do well because also it's more like millennials are on Instagram rather than Facebook.

[00:13:23] Do you think Amazon sees the traffic from Instagram and Facebook as the same traffic, or does it actually have the ability to see that it's separate? Or do they understand that sellers can run ads through the Facebook platform, and it's basically, if they pick auto placements, it's pretty much running for everything.

[00:13:41] So they know, they can detect where the traffic is coming from. Even if I open up a link from my WhatsApp or something, we can see where, where the referrals coming from. So anywhere where you're opening up a link or where you're coming from so Amazon can see all of that. So, so that's what I'm saying. Whenever I see Facebook as cheap traffic.

[00:14:00] Amazon could detect it came from a Facebook ad it wouldn’t value as much as search fund or buy or a different kind of like a blog, like blogs are very important, or like let's say PR, press releases and stuff like that. So yeah, Amazon traffic is, I alluded inside Amazon's eyes, so you got to think of other ways to kind of freshen up your traffic source.

[00:14:22] So, because like, you know, Anthony does a lot of Tiktoks. He does a lot of those. I see his user accounts and stuff like that. It's crazy. Like so many people, if someone's listening, like 20, 30 thousand people watching it and he's become more and more on there more. And I see, I see a lot growth from when he started, at least.

[00:14:42] Okay, so, you know, Jewish, Jewish, here I, when people would say Jewish community and those New York and New Jersey, that zip code, what does that zip code? What's that zip code with all the Jewish people in Brooklyn? I believe Brooklyn. So that zip code is like, does like 15 to 17% of all Amazon sales.

[00:15:11] 17% or 15% of Amazon sales in just that one zip code. That is just crazy. So can you like kinda, do you know any, what kind of sellers are there in that Jewish community. There are tons of different sellers where a lot of people didn't even go to college or don't even have a degree in something. So, you know, stuff like that.

[00:15:39] You don’t have to have a degree, you don’t have to have all that kind of stuff down pat. There's so many people who are running a successful, successful Amazon business without any problems. So, you know, there are tons of different sellers either doing seven to eight, nine figures on Amazon, it's not a problem, but it's a very large spread of very large, you know, demographic.

[00:15:59] But you know, there are many people who are running a very successful business without having any college or you know, experience or stuff like that. Or they didn't have any business experience per se, and now they're running it wrong. You know? Interesting. Okay. So what was your last word? What kind of last final words would you give us to our audience here before we close up today?

[00:16:22] Well, I honestly believe we're gonna have a great time, but, you know, learning something new and outside the box. For example, like that takes off or something, anything like that. Even if you just learn one thing, it just worth to have that knowledge because you can take more and more and more. So I'm really looking forward to sharing really cool tips and tricks and ideas on how to think outside of the box and you know, get those extra sales your competitors are not getting.

[00:16:45] Yeah, I think that's super exciting. I mean, it's kind of like this gives everybody out there the opportunity to say, to be a fly on the wall during one of the Jewish seller meetups, you're almost going to get to speak to one of the legends from those groups and he's going to be able to just show you what he's been working on

[00:17:01] Tiktok. I mean, 15 to 17% of Amazon sales is like pretty much insanity. I mean, don't you agree. Insanity. That's crazy. How many zip codes are there in the U S

[00:17:17] yeah, 17% that's, that's amazing. So I look forward to that, that actual talk that you're going to give Mark. I'm, I'm a huge fan, obviously, of the personal branding, so I look forward to that and I appreciate you coming here on the Professor’s Podcast. I mean, it's the first ever podcast, and if you didn't already hear earlier, I talked about the first ever online virtual Professor's Pandemic Event as we're calling it, and that's going to be at the end of June, held live virtually.

[00:17:46] You could be in the comfort of your own home. So like right now, I could be in my pajamas technically, right? I mean, as could you guys, and nobody can actually tell that. Yes. In fact, I do have pajama bottoms off. Yeah, me too. Fantastic. That's the world of Amazon, and that's the world that you guys will be introduced to some of you, but a lot of you were veterans, so you'll understand.

[00:18:08] We'll all be live virtual, being able to talk to one another and interact with one another on all things Amazon, both intermediate and advanced sellers are welcome. If you want to find out more information on that, go to a9mastermind.com/ppe. And once again, you won't have to leave the comfort of your own home.

[00:18:26] No worry, no problem. We'll all be shooting back and forth and talking about some things and of course we'll have very special guests like Mark will be speaking there on their area of expertise. And I do want to remind you Howie himself combed the far reaches of the globe. Even during almost the crisis, he was still traveling all over the place, finding these guys and handpicking them.

[00:18:50] In order to speak during his event and Howie I'm excited for that. How about you? Of course, this is my first event virtually, so everyone's been asking me about it, so let's see how many people really come and join our event. That's going to be kind of interesting to find out. Yeah, and I look forward to it.

[00:19:08] I look forward to hearing Mark's talk and the talks of many other people, and again, if you want to find out more information about that, go to a9mastermind.com/ppe. Other than that, thanks so much for joining us. I look forward to next time when we have another speaker who's going to talk about a couple other things, and again, you get lots of these hidden gems sprinkled throughout.

[00:19:29] I for one, never even considered Tiktok, even though I had a conversation with Mark at the Las Vegas event, which I want to say was maybe almost a year ago, right? Maybe nine months. Wow. That goes to show how I've lost track of time Mark here. So I look forward to seeing Mark and the other speakers and Howie.

[00:19:51] Also, Howie any last words for you? For me right now? He's a man of few words, so I’ll say the final words for him. Thanks again for joining us. I look forward to seeing many of you on there and I for one, am super thrilled to be emceeing the event, so thanks again for joining us. Welcome to the Professors Podcast where we discuss the best strategies to massively improve the reach and bottom line of your business.

[00:20:18] in the current virtual and economic landscape, your host, Howard Thai, generates over $5 billion for his clients annually using innovative tactics, both on and off Amazon.