Travis Marziani Review | How To Use Kickstarter to Create a 7-Figure Private Label Business?

April 10, 2024

Travis Marziani, the founder of the Passion Product Formula, is a successful entrepreneur from Los Angeles County, California, who created a 7 figure income by selling his private label products on Shopify and later Amazon. Travis Marziani is definitely legit, as he is a trusted Amazon advertiser and is featured on promotion material for Amazon’s own advertisement training alongside David Zaleski.

It could cost as much as $4,000–$12,000 to start an Amazon FBA private label product. Travis understood that not everyone has the capital to start a private label business. In his course, he also teaches how to market and acquire capital using crowdfunding. Read along to find out how crowdfunding can help create a 7 figure private label brand.

Starting an Amazon business with private labeling requires a lot of start-up capital. If you are looking for a business model that requires very little starting capital and creates passive income, check out local lead generation. With this business model, you don't need to create products, run ads, deal with suppliers, or deal with customers. Local lead generation works as a sort of digital real estate where you create and rank a site to rent to local businesses for a predictable passive income.

Using Crowdfunding to Finance Your Private Label Business

Travis Marziani’s net worth is estimated to be $1.2 million. This assumes a 20% profit after all expenses on the $6 million in sales earnings reported in 2022. He was able to reach this level of success mostly due to his Performance Nut Butter brand.

When Travis created Performance Nut Butter, he did not have the capital to fund his new product idea. He looked to Kickstarter to source funding for his new enterprise. Travis was able to raise over $15,000 from crowdfunding.

Using crowdfunding to finance your private label brand comes in 2 parts.

1. Create a Presence

The first step would be to get your idea known and have people talk about it. YouTube is a great platform to create a presence with. There you can create videos that talk about your vision and planned features of your product. You need to know YouTube SEO in order to rank and make your channel visible.

Facebook and Instagram are great for organic marketing. One of the most effective methods is creating a Facebook launch group. Here you can post different ideas of your product and get feedback. It will act as a place where people can learn about your product, be part of the creation process, and be the first to know when your product launches. This will be of great help when you launch your product on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or straight on Amazon.

2. Build Up

When you launch your product on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, create a short, simple video that talks about you, your vision, and the features of your product. Offering early bird specials to those who pre-order will prove effective. Use this time to grow your email list. Interact and reply to every comment to build relationships with those interested. Send free product samples to influencers to increase your social media marketing.

Who Is Travis Marziani?

travis-marziani

Travis Marziani is the creator of the successful private label brand Performance Nut Butter. He has founded and co-founded several successful private label brands. Travis founded several courses and also co-hosted the educational podcast "Build My Online Store" in 2014.

He has a free Amazon FBA course about 6 hours long on his YouTube channel that gives very useful information for those who cannot afford his paid courses. He's been featured in many interviews that you can find on YouTube, Google podcasts, and Apple podcast.

Background

Travis has a bachelor's degree in biomedical (electrical) engineering from the University of Southern California. He was very active in college, working as a research assistant and tutor while he pursued his studies. In 2013, he quit his 9-to-5 job as a staff consultant for Capgemini to create his first online business.

Journey Into eCommerce

travis marziani review

Bdancewear, a clothing brand that makes dance wear, was co-founded in 2013 by Travis and his mother Cyndi. The experiences he learned with this business encouraged him to create Effective Ecommerce in 2015, which was the name of his YouTube channel and website. He posted educational how-to-videos on ecommerce and Amazon private label selling. Travis now has 261K subscribers on his YouTube channel.

Success

travis marziani review

In 2017, Travis launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund his new private label product, Performance Nut Butter. The campaign was a great success, and he raised over $15,000. Performance Nut Butter was Travis’ own brand that sold healthy organic keto snacks. It became a successful brand and was even featured in several publications, such as Men’s Health.

In 2021, Travis sold Performance Nut Butter for close to $1.1 million while maintaining a 25% stake in the company. Seeing the popularity of his educational YouTube videos, Travis has created several courses on ad marketing and private label selling. In 2019, he created his latest course, Passion Product Formula.

Travis now made a complete shift to focusing his business on Amazon FBA. His courses still teaches how to sell on Spotify, but do not expect those parts to be up to date.

Pros and Cons of Travis Marziani’s Passion Product Formula

Pros

Travis shows real world examples of the success of his private label brands.

Program comes with 6 group training Q&A sessions, a 2 hour 1-on-1 coaching session, and lifetime membership to the private mastermind group.

Comprehensive training that includes organic marketing and fundraising. Access to other of Travis's courses.

Regularly updated course materials.

Cons

You need to finish the first 4 modules in the course before you can ask questions on the calls.

The focus is on a niche you are passionate about. This may not translate well when diversifying.

Price

$997

Refund Policy

30-day money-back guarantee. $1,000 guarantee: if you finish the course, launch your product, and are yet unable to make $1,000 in the first year of selling on Amazon, Travis will pay you $1,000.

Origin

2019

Reputation

Overall, people say great things about the Passion Product Formula. It’s hard to find any negative reviews about Travis or any of his courses due to his proven legitimacy as a private label seller.

What Do You Get With Travis Marziani’s Passion Product Formula?

travis marziani passion product formula review

Included in the Passion Product Formula course is a step-by-step A-Z training on how to create your private label product. The training materials are over 7 hours of video content in 7 training modules. By purchasing the Passion Product Formula, you will also receive all 3 of Travis's other courses.

1. Intro

The intro module gives you the Passion Product Formula overview and how the business model works. He also gave book recommendations that could help get you into the right mindset.

2. Create an Idea

In this module, you'll be challenged to brainstorm ideas for an excellent product. You'll learn the process that Travis uses to come up with ideas, including how to properly do product research. 

3. Create a Tribe

A tribe is what Travis refers to as "fans" or "supporters" of the product. This module will teach you how to create a following, using Facebook, for your product to get an estimate of the level of interest in it.

4. Creating Your Product

In this module, you'll learn how to create your logo, design your product and packaging. You do not need a logo for Amazon FBA, although having one will help your branding and marketing. You’ll need a logo to run effective ads and to establish an identity that will build trust with your customers. You'll also learn the dos and don't to finding a manufacturer. Travis also gives his tips and tricks to making a killer a program.

5. Gearing Up For Launch

This module prepares you for the official launch of your product. It features Travis's Kickstarter marketing method with his 9 secret crowd funding marketing techniques.

6. Crowd Funding

The module focuses on Kickstarter and crowdfunding. You'll learn how to set up your Kickstarter and keep interest in it until you hit your goal. Travis also answers FAQs about crowd funding.

7. Amazon

The final module has all the info you need to set up your seller's account, create listings, and how to launch your product effectively. Travis also gives his 9 Amazon sales secrets.

Pros and Cons of Travis Marziani’s Google AdWords and Product Listing Ads Course

Pros

1 year membership to his private mastermind.

Access to a premium checklist.

1-on-1 30 minute coaching session.

Cons

Outdated. Google AdWords is now Google Ads with a different interface. Bing Ads is now Microsoft Advertising.

Since the update. Google has some free tutorials on YouTube.

Price

$197

Refund Policy

30 Day money-back guarantee

Origin

2018

Reputation

Good reviews. Travis' success with Google ads led to him being featured on Amazon.

What Do You Get With Travis Marziani’s Google AdWords and Product Listing Ads Course?

travis marziani review

With Travis Marziani's Google AdWords and Product Listing Ads course, you get a step-by-step training that will teach you everything you need to know to run profitable AdWords and product listing ad campaigns. This comes in 7 training modules with over 5 hours of video content.

1. Overview of AdWords

An overview lesson on AdWords and how to use keywords effectively. It comes with 4 videos.

  1. Welcome to the Course (5:12 min.)
  2. How AdWords Works (4:30 min.)
  3. What are keywords (7:20 min.)
  4. Broad vs. Phrase vs. Exact Match (4:55 min.)

2. Planning and Setting Up AdWords

The lessons include how to use negative keywords to maximize ad performance as well as setting up AdWords.

  1. Planning (6:30 min.)
  2. Using keyword Planner (7:50 min.)
  3. Finding Negative Keywords (12:43 min.)
  4. Setting Up AdWords (22:12 min.)

3. Product Listing Ads

This module is about product listing optimization. You'll get the complete rundown on product listing ads and how to use them.

  1. Overview of what they are (7:23 min.)
  2. Set Up Tutorial (23:23 min.)
  3. Exact Match and Phrase Match Negative Keywords (4:23 min.)

4. Reviewing and Optimizing

The lessons in this module are focused on the optimization of ads to get the best out of your ad budget.

  1. Finding Out the value of a click / a minute etc. (22:12 min.)
  2. Go Over the Paid Ads Review Sheet (23:12 min.)
  3. Review of PLA’s (20:14 min.)
  4. Review of AdWords (22:17 min.)
  5. Finding Negative Keywords / Adding Negative Keywords (14:12 min.)

5. Display Ads and Retargeting

Retargeting ads are effective marketing tools. This section teaches you how they work and how to set them up.

  1. Setting Up Display Ads for Retargeting (22:12 min.)

6. Bing Ads

Bing ads have less competition and cheaper CPC than Google ads. Older people commonly use Bing as a search engine so it may prove profitable to run Bing ads.

  1. How to set up (12:47 min.)

7. Reviews

This module presents a case study of Travis' ad performance with his 2 businesses.

  1. B Dancewear (22:17 min.)
  2. Performance Nut Butter (21:56 min.)

Pros and Cons of Travis Marziani’s Beginner Facebook Ads Course

Pros

1 year membership to his private mastermind group.

Access to 3 premium checklists and 2 worksheets.

Course is comprehensive and up to date.

Cons

The training is tailored for beginners. There are not advance lessons in this course.

No live coaching.

Price

$197

Refund Policy

30 Day money-back guarantee

Origin

2016

Reputation

Good reviews. Travis' success with Facebook ads led to him being featured on Amazon.

What Do You Get With Travis Marziani’s Beginner Facebook Ads Course?

travis marziani review

With Travis Marziani's Beginner Facebook Ads course, you get a comprehensive training on Facebook ads. The materials are separated into 7 training modules with over 5 hours of video content.

1. Introduction

In this module, you'll get the complete rundown on the what, how, and why of Facebook ads.

  1. Course Introduction (5:12 min.)
  2. Complete Walkthrough (45:00 min.)

2. Initial Setup

You'll learn the entire process of setting up your Facebook ads.

  1. How To Make a Facebook Page For Your Business (7:13 min.)
  2. Facebook Pixel Overview (10:12 min.)
  3. Installing The Facebook Pixel in Shopify (1:45 min.)
  4. Posting Calendar – Planning is Your Key to Success (5:45 min.)

3. Building Your Audience

This module guides you on how to build your brand from the ground up and attract an engaged audience.

  1. Creating Your Brand and Finding Your Avatar (12:08 min.)
  2. Creating an Audience For Your Facebook Ads (10:12 min.)
  3. Custom Audience and Audience Insights (10:12 min.)
  4. Tips and Tricks for A Better Audience (7:15 min.)

4. Facebook Ads Campaigns Breakdown

A very important part of the training. This module will teach you the different campaigns and ad types so you know which ones best fits your business.

  1. Which Facebook Ads Campaign is Best for Your – Comparing the Campaign Types (10:45 min.)
  2. Lead Ads (11:22 min.)
  3. Video Ads (11:59 min.)
  4. Conversion Ads (12:36 min.)
  5. Remarketing Ads (13:13 min.)
  6. How to Boost a Post (5:17 min.)

5. Facebook Ad Images and Copy

Knowing the types of ads and campaigns is not enough. This module will teach you how to create effective ads that convert.

  1. Marketing 101 – 3 Elements of Successful Ad (10:15 min.)
  2. Video Explaining This (11:12 min.)
  3. Video Showing How to Do This (12:11 min.)

6. More Tips For Building A Powerful Facebook Ad

This module features lessons that will help you increase the effectiveness of your Facebook ads.

  1. Power Editor (10:15 min.)
  2. How to Split Test Ads (11:12 min.)
  3. How to Increase Facebook Engagement (12:11 min.)
  4. Facebook Ads: Bidding, Budgets & Schedules (11:15 min.)

7. Reviewing and Tweaking Your Ad For More Profit

The final module features lessons on how to analyze the performance of your campaigns and how to further improve them.

  1. Facebook Ads Metrics, Columns, Breakdown and What To Look At (12:23 min.)
  2. Walkthrough (10:12 min.)

Pros and Cons of Travis Marziani’s 25K Ecommerce Profit Plan

travis marziani review

Pros

1 year membership to his private mastermind group.

Includes AdWords, SEO and 6 other ecommerce checklists.

The course is a walkthrough of the tactics and strategies that used on his private label businesses.

Cons

AdWords training is outdated.

No live coaching.

The training is focused on Shopify marketplace.

Price

$197

Refund Policy

30 Day money-back guarantee

Origin

2016

Reputation

Good reviews. No serious complaints found.

What Do You Get With Travis Marziani’s 25K Ecommerce Profit Plan?

With Travis Marziani's 25K Ecommerce Profit Plan, you get a step-by-step ecommerce course to learn how to make an extra $25,000 a year. The course has over 10 hours of video content organized into 10 modules.

1. Introduction/Developing Your Idea

In this module, you'll get an overview of what you'll be learning in this course. You will also be taught the important pre-set up things you need to do before creating your business.

  1. Introduction & Mindset (13:30 min.)
  2. Course Overview (12:22 min.)
  3. Mindset (8:33 min.)
  4. Market Research (8:38 min.)
  5. Leveraging Google To Do Research (6:23 min.)
  6. Creating Your Brand (12:24 min.)
  7. Action Items to Develop Your Brand (3:47 min.)

2. Setting Up Your Store

This module teaches you the basics of setting up and customizing your store on Shopify. Travis also teaches about Google Analytics and how to set it up with your store.

  1. Introduction (4:55 min.)
  2. Shopify Walkthrough (27:18 min.)
  3. Website Design and Colors (7:16 min.)
  4. Home Page Design (6:20 min.)
  5. Google Analytics (5:16 min.)
  6. Action Items to Setup Your Store (1:45 min.)

3. SEO Basics / On Page SEO

To make your products visible, you need to use optimize your keywords. This module tackles the basics of keywords and Amazon SEO.

  1. Introduction (3:32 min.)
  2. Keyword Research (7:26 min.)
  3. Onpage SEO Overview (15:22 min.)
  4. SEO Your Products On Shopify (4:10 min.)
  5. SEO Action Items (2:03 min.)

4. Advanced Store Setup

In this module, you'll learn advanced methods how to optimize your store page. The additional pages for the visitors are important to show credibility and build trust.

  1. Introduction (6:15 min.)
  2. Setting Up About Us, Contact Us, FAQ and more (6:44 min.)
  3. Customizing Automated Emails (3:59 min.)
  4. Category Pages (3:04 min.)
  5. Email Capture (7:53 min.)
  6. Optimizing For Conversions (8:58 min.)
  7. Advanced Store Setup Action Items (3:16 min.)

5. Social Media

Knowing the types of ads and campaigns is not enough. This module will teach you how to create effective ads that convert.

  1. Introduction (13:01 min.)
  2. Facebook (4:40 min.)
  3. Pinterest (6:47 min.)
  4. YouTube (9:38 min.)
  5. Twitter (3:28 min.)
  6. Instagram (6:05 min.)
  7. Other Platforms (9:14 min.)
  8. Social Media Action Items (1:42 min.)

6. PR, Backlinks and Off Page SEO

In this module, you'll learn how to promote your product organically before even launching your product. You'll also learn how to increase your visibility by engaging with your audience.

  1. Off Page Introduction (8:45 min.)
  2. Guest Posts (10:16 min.)
  3. PR and Press Releases (15:00 min.)
  4. Get Blogs Posting About You (5:06 min.)
  5. PR, Backlinks and Off Page SEO Action Items (1:51 min.)

7. Content Marketing

This module is all about creating effective content marketing.

  1. Content Marketing Introduction (4:51 min.)
  2. Content Ideas (9:27 min.)
  3. Spotlight Marketing (10:21 min.)
  4. Creating a Content Calendar (4:59 min.)
  5. Content Marketing Action Items (1:13 min.)

8. AdWords

The module offers lessons on AdWords and Bing ads.

  1. AdWords Introduction (6:25 min.)
  2. AdWords Basic Campaign Setup (13:31 min.)
  3. AdWords Advanced Walk-through (10:19 min.)
  4. Bing Ads (2:58 min.)
  5. AdWords Action Items (2:10 min.)

9. Product Listing Ads

This module teaches you how to set up effective product listing ads.

  1. Introduction (5:34 min.)
  2. Feed Set Up (8:41 min.)
  3. Campaign Setup (12:49 min.)
  4. PLA Action Items (0:49 min.)

10. Tightening Conversions

This module is all about optimization. You'll learn how to analyze and improve the productivity and conversion rate of your ads,

  1. Introduction (2:48 min.)
  2. Further Testing (6:50 min.)
  3. Split Testing (4:41 min.)
  4. Google Analytics (8:20 min.)
  5. Action Items to Tighten Conversions (2:51 min.)

BONUS: Advanced Ecommerce Tactics

A bonus module that has lessons in organic and paid marketing tactics.

  1. Introduction (2:16 min.)
  2. Retargeting (4:01 min.)
  3. Paid Social Media (5:32 min.)
  4. Email Marketing (6:20 min.)
  5. VIP and Whales (5:47 min.)
  6. Advanced Ecommerce Action Items (2:55 min.)

How To Make Money With Amazon Private Label?

Amazon is the best marketplace for private label selling. Branded products are very popular on Amazon due to their quality guarantees and fast shipping. Private label products are manufactured by a third party and sold under a retailer’s own brand.

Private label brands are often cheaper than national brands. You can create a private label by finding a manufacturer from which you can buy unbranded goods and low price and selling it under your brand name for 2-3 times the cost.

How Do I Start a Private Label Business?

To start a private label business, you need to follow these 6 steps:

  1. Find a niche market to sell products - First step is to find a profitable niche that you would want to get in. Some private label sellers like Travis suggest you pick a niche that you are passionate in as this will motivate you to create a great product.
  2. Contact the manufacturer - Second step would be to find and contact a manufacturer or supplier that can sell you the items you need at a discount.
  3. Order samples - Quality is very important for a long term private label business. Good quality creates loyal customers, which will make your business sustainable.
  4. Set up an online store - Once you got your product ready, you'll need to find the best marketplace that would work best for your product and niche. Amazon is a great marketplace for any niche.
  5. Add your products to your store - It would pay to invest in good copywriting for your store. Create good product description, use high quality photos of your product, and determine the optimal price for your product.
  6. Launch and market your store - Finally, launch and market your product. Use advertising methods, such as social media marketing, paid ads, SEO, customer loyalty programs, etc. 

What Are the Advantages of Selling on Amazon Private Label?

There are many advantages of selling on Amazon private label.These include:

  1. Higher profit margin - Pricing control is the top advantage of private label selling. As your item is unique, you get to set the price that you think is best.
  2. Brand building - If you can create a brand that would stand out from others, you can find tremendous success with your private label business. Constantly improving your product and listening to feedback will build trust and create loyal customers.
  3. Brand exposure - Private label products are very popular on Amazon helps private label brands with exposure. You can sell private label products on Amazon without registering for Amazon’s brand registry. You can even sell multiple brands under one Amazon seller account. However, registering your brand with Amazon’s Brand Registry will help protect your trademark.
    Also, you have full control of your brand marketing. Creating a unique brand that stands out will make it easier to market to a specific audience.
  4. Sustainability - Brand loyalty, reliable manufacturers and suppliers, organic marketing, are some aspects that can turn your private label into a long term sustainable business.

What Are the Disadvantages of Selling on Amazon Private Label?

As with every business model, there are downsides. The disadvantages of selling on Amazon private label are:

  1. High starting cost - Compared to other ecommerce business models like dropshipping or arbitrage, you will need a substantial amount of capital to invest at the start. Manufacturers will often demand bulk buying, and it will also be best for you in the long run to reduce per product costs.
    You will also need extensive marketing to expose your new, unknown brand. Outsourcing work like logo creation, product design, copywriting, etc. will also add to the initial cost.
  2. Manufacturer dependency - You rely on your manufacturer for a steady supply of products. If your manufacturer proves unreliable or something happens to their company, it will affect your business. The availability of stock and product quality rely on a reliable supplier.
  3. High risks - High starting costs create high risk. There is the chance that your product will flop, especially if you do not do a good job of marketing it. Pre-launch marketing, such as the methods taught by Travis, is great for minimizing this risk.
  4. Amazon's private label brands - If your brand falls into the same category as one of Amazon's own private label brands, you may find it very difficult to compete with them.

Is Amazon Private Label Worth It In 2024?

Amazon private label is still profitable in 2024, with private label products having the highest profit margins of 25% to 30%. Jungle Scout reported that private label sellers on Amazon makeup 59% of all sellers on the platform. Amazon also has its own private label brands. If you put enough effort into researching, creating and marketing your product, Amazon private label selling could prove profitable.

In mid 2022, Travis posted a video where he discussed the growing challenges and why sellers are leaving Amazon. Compared to when he started on Amazon, new sellers with have a harder time in 2024.

travis marziani review

Here are some problems that he highlighted:

  • The global pandemic increased the prices and time of shipping. Amazon also increased its fees in 2022, that included prep and label service fees, fuel surcharge fees for FBA, and storage fees. Amazon's ad costs are also constantly increasing.
  • The influx of Chinese manufacturers selling their products led to private label sellers unable to compete with the low prices. The influx of Chinese sellers also increased the frequency black hat tactics were used to manipulate reviews and ranking.
  • Copycat products are constantly popping out. If a private label product does very well, a cheaper copy cat product will usually appear to compete with it.
  • Amazon's own private label brands are expanding. At the end of 2022, Amazon had 118+ private label brands. It is almost impossible to compete against Amazon's own brands.
It is still possible to be a successful Amazon seller, but it will just be more difficult. It will take a lot of time, effort, and money to increase your chances of success and minimize the risks. Amazon private label isn't dead, it's just much harder. 

My Top Recommendation for Making Money Online in 2024

Local lead generation is my best business to make money online. Its process is simple and easy to reproduce. You first create and rank your site on Google using free tactics like SEO, then rent it to local businesses. These businesses will pay you monthly for the leads they receive from this site. You don't have to worry about competition as you target smaller local markets.

There are very minimal maintenance costs. Your site can even stay ranked on Google for years before needing an update. Scaling your business simply requires you to repeat the process, and you can do this as many times as you desire. This makes local lead generation the best business model to create time and financial freedom for you.

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